Bad Couple

I lack motivation to do things these days because of the H-O-T weather. Still managed to complete Bad Couple (SBS, 16 epidodes), which cheered me up a bit.

Bad Couple Synopsis (from DramaWiki)
Choi Gi Chan is an University Botanic Professor with the "perfect genes." The drama is about an editor of a fashion magazine, Kim Dang Ja, who suddenly develops an urge to have her own baby despite opposing the idea of marriage. The story will talk about Dang Ja striving to look for a man with perfect genes to accomplish her mission. Gi Chan happens to be her "target" in order for her to accomplish her mission. The story later develops as Dang Ja must persuade him to do it without any commitments, which is a problem because Gi Chan doesn't believe in the idea of sex before marriage.

Cast:
Ryu Soo Young as Choi Gi Chan
Shin Eun Gyung as Kim Dang Ja
Byun Jung Soo as Na Dol Soon
Kim Ha Kyoon as Jo Yong Goo
Yoo Gun as Seo Jung Soo
Choi Jung Yoon as Han Young
Park Sang Min as Kim Yoon Seok
Chae Min Seo as Kim Sae Yeon

My comments:
At first glance, Bad Couple looks similar to TVB’s La Femme Desperado with both heroines being an independent career woman, not trusting men but wanting a child of their own, therefore hunting for the perfect genes. Later, differences between these two dramas are noticeable as Bad Couple is going to a more serious and drama side.

I’ve been through an emotional rollercoaster ride watching this drama. At first it started hilarious and funny with Dang Ja’s silly and embarrassing tactics to seduce Gi Chan. Then, it turns sad and dramatic with Dang Ja’s illness coming to the picture but there is still some comical moments here and there. I was crying a lot during the later half once I’m attached to the character Dang Ja. I might not agree wholly with her actions and decisions but I tried to picture myself in her position, trying to understand her.

Ah…Gi Chan…what perfect man! I don’t think such man still exists nowadays, there are probably more Yoon Seoks (cheating husband) existing in this world (sigh…). I’ll remember Gi Chan’s film rolls love confession for some time…Lee Dong Wook was originally casted as Gi Chan but he backed out and now thinking about it, I couldn’t picture him as a mature botanic professor as he really looks too young for that role.

I wasn’t too into Joon Soo/Han Young/Yoon Seok/Sae Yeon side story. Whenever Yoon Seok and Sae Yeon are on-screen together, my blood boils. I didn’t feel a lot of sparks between Han Young and Joon Soo and I wasn’t convinced that they are really in love. But it’s always amusing to see Yoon Seok ajusshi getting jealous and irritated…haha!

The last episode tends to drag a bit and a big part of the drama focuses on how critical Dang Ja’s situation is but everything is resolved by a “sudden miracle” and you’ll just go ‘yeah right!’. But since this is a good and well acted drama overall, I’ll just close my eyes on the flaws…

* Opening credit of the drama

Korean songs vs. Chinese cover versions

I was looking for some originally Korean songs that were being covered by Chinese artists and vice versa for a friend so I decided why not post them here too...

Original Korean versions => Chinese cover versions:

- Freestyle - Y (Please Tell Me Why) => Will Pan & Xuan Zi - 不得不爱
- Yoo Seung Jun - Passion => Juno Mak - 愛上殺手
- Brown Eyes - Already One Year => Wong Hei - 我信
- G.O.D - Road => EO2 - 我知道
- Jo Kyu Man - I Will Give You All => Leon Lai - 愛比我重要
- J - Goodbye => Joey Yung - Goodbye
- Koyote - I Love Rock & Roll => Krusty & 2moro - 男生女生配
- Park Jin Young - Honey => Jacky Cheung - 頭髮亂了
- FIN.K.L. - I Can’t Cry => Emme Wong - 戀愛拼圖
- Tei - Sorry => Kenny Kwan - 分手不要太悲哀
- Wax - Want To Love You => Janice - My Love My Fate
- Lee Jung Hyun - Crazy => Evonne Hsu - 孤单芭蕾
- Lee Jung Hyun - Change => Sammi Cheng - 熬科
- Lee Jung Hyun - Wa => Sammi Cheng - 獨家試唱
- Rich - (unknown title) => Jacky Cheung - 禮物

Original Chinese versions => Korean cover versions:

- 老鼠爱大米 => Lee Soo Eun - I Love You
- David Tao - Melody => Jo Kyu Chan - Melody

Phew...there are more to the list but this is actually very time consuming...

P.S. This post is not meant to bash Chinese artists are unoriginal and copycats or vice versa!

A post about TVB

A friend of mine who knows me for a long time commented that my blog is mostly about Korean stuffs, calling me a "traitor" of TVB and HK stuff...hehe...right, I admit that I am! While I still listen to Chinese songs, I'm just not as enthusiastic about HK dramas and movies as I used to be.

Speaking of TVB, it was really my ultimate favorite station for HK dramas back then but end up being a station that I boycott now. Seriously, I was such a fan of TVB, watching almost every single released drama in the 90s to completing only 3 last year and not even finishing one from this year! Yup, I did not even watch Heart of Greed despite the hype.

Why I can’t stand watching TVB now?

- The actresses => I think I have low tolerance of the actresses of the station. Forget about the newer ones, even the first rate leading actresses’ acting is ‘scary’. Watch them cry and you’ll see what I mean. As you can see, TVB tends to favor actresses with weak voices nowadays, which put me off.

- The ‘freshness’ of the combination of the cast => I understand that TVB is one station but c’mon putting the same 2 actors/actresses in like 6-7 dramas together within 4 years is soooooo refreshing (roll eyes…)! Want example? Here you go:

Moses Chan + Gigi Lai appeared in:
Riches and Stitches
War and Beauty
Healing Hands 3
The Charm Beneath
Dance of Passion
Super Cops
Jewel’s Splendor

How about the Bowie Lam and Moses Chan combo:
Healing Hands 2
War and Beauty
Healing Hands 3
Dance of Passion
Jewel’s Splendor

- The music/themesongs => TVB likes to recycle their background music, fine. But can they be more considerate of their viewers when it comes to themesongs? By pushing its own artists to sing the themesongs is just so annoying. No wonder you cannot find memorable themesongs these days. If they are actors, let them focus on acting instead of “trying” to make them multi-tasked. What’s the point of pushing them to be singers, giving them awards at JSG and then getting booed on stage?!

P.S. Some people think that I’m nitpicking TVB productions. Maybe it’s true since I’m too spoiled by the detailed and beautifully packaged Korean productions that I can’t help it. No matter how bad the Korean drama is, at least the scenery of the drama or the OST can be a redeeming factor. I cannot say the same about TVB. However, I know it’s unfair to compare TVB (that’s one station) and Korean television (they have multiple channels producing dramas). Okay, enough blabbing now....

Unstoppable Marriage

Unstoppable Marriage Synopsis (from http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/)
Eun-ho, a daughter of Ji-man the Feung Shui expert who lives up to tradition inheritance, and Ki-baek, the only son of Mal-nyon who is both a tycoon in Kangnam-gu and a leader in luxury, rode a paraglider and had an minor accident. They grew up and live in the different backgrounds so that they fight like a cat and dog over everything. Even though they hate each other, at the same time, they come to fall for each other and become a couple. The only matter is to obtain each family’s consent.

My comments:
I expected a lousy comedy but it turned out to be pretty entertaining. Despite the movie being almost 2 hours, I didn’t feel so. I thought that Ha Suk Jin and Eugene lacked chemistry as a couple and I didn’t buy how they suddenly fell in love. On the other hand, their parents were more interesting and fun to watch as I found their bickering funnier. I would say it's worth a watch if you're not a picky viewer...

My Sister-in-Law is 19

Watching My Sister-in-Law is 19 (SBS, 16 episdoes) can be quite difficult for me since we know what happened to Jung Da Bin earlier this year. Watching her smile brightly in this drama...sigh...

My Sister-in-Law is 19 Sypnosis (from DramaWiki)
This series is about a 19 year old girl, Yoo Min who was being abandoned after the death of her mother. She lives alone with her adopted brother, Kang-Pyo. She accidentally meets Seung-Jae, the younger brother of Min-Jae. By chance, Yoo Min actually had a crush with Min-Jae, a doctor who treats her brother illness for a long time. To fight off his mother demand, Min Jae gets in an engagement contract with Yoo Min and they all end up living at Min-Jae's house. Unexpectedly, Yoo Min and Seung-Jae are going to the same high school. From there, Seung-Jae secretly loves Yoo Min. On the other hand, Yoo Min's father who got amnesia from a car accident is looking for her again after 15 years old she had been abandoned by her neighbors. The conflict comes when the people who living in Min Jae's house are actually related to Yoo Min's abandonment. They are the neighbours who stole the inheritance and abandoned her when she was four year old.

Cast:
Jung Da Bin as Han Yoo Min/Jung Hae Won
Yoon Kye Sang as Kang Seung Jae
Kim Jae Won as Kang Min Jae
Kim Min Hee as Choi Su Ji

My comments:
It's one of those type of dramas where it started as comedy then turning to melodrama later on. Well, not the best drama nor the worst. The first episode is appealing enough to get you into the drama when little Hae Won was abandoned on the train and I was so looking forward to the retribution of the shameless and heartless women. Just when I had a tiny sympathy toward Su Ji, she will tell those lies that I hope she will have a bad ending too. The way that they were exposed was a letdown as I expected something more intense and exciting. However, I was crying hard during final episode because I find it touching at how the characters were “sacrificing” themselves for love or family.

It dragged in the middle about the love relationships between the 4 main characters. I wasn’t too into the romance maybe because I actually didn’t mind who Yoo Min ends up with. Both brothers are worth rooting for individually and I find that very rare in Korean dramas! What bothered me the most about this drama are the hair pulling, head slapping and even more extreme: head biting (?!) scenes. Geez, I think I’m too old to find that funny and amusing…

Hello! Miss

Caught 5 episodes of Hello! Miss but I will not continue further since I think the story is going nowhere. Not only that but I think a large potion of the female characters are annoying and yes that includes Lee Soo Ha (played Lee Dae Hee) as well.

It's time for me to say Goodbye! Miss…

What to watch next?

Umm...last week, I was bored with nothing much to watch, which drived nuts. Now, I have a pile of Korean dramas available but I can't decide to start which one....

Hello! Miss => opinions have been extreme for this one...should I give it a shot?
Surgeon Bong Dal Hee => I really want to watch it but but...why is each episode so long?
War of Money => read about the ending already, I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet...
My Sister-in-Law is 19 => I have it for a long time but until now, I still don't have the courage to watch it because of Da Bin onni(R.I.P). Sniff...

Crazy For You

Just finished Crazy For You (SBS, 16 episodes) and I have to write down my thoughts before I forget them...

Crazy For You Synopsis (from DramaWiki)
Suh Jin Young is an aviation maintenance technician and her husband passed away due to a traffic accident. Kim Chae Joon dreams to become an aviation pilot but he encounters an unfortunate accident. Chae Joon goes to prison for accidently killing a man in a car accident. The man happens to be Jin Young's husband. Jin Young and Chae Joon develop a love relationship.

Cast:
Yoon Kye Sang as Kim Chae Joon
Lee Mi Yeon as Suh Jin Young
Lee Jong Hyuk as Lee Hyun Chul
Kim Eun Joo as Jo Min Hee

My comments:
Crazy For You from start to end carried a dramatic tone. Even when there were supposed to be happy moments, I felt pain. For me, it was a difficult viewing experience because after I finished each episode, I wanted to continue but at the same time, I was so afraid that something tragic will come up next. When I finished the drama, I felt relieved. I expected a major tragedy at the end but I was pleasantly surprised that the end gave us a glimpse of optimism for our lead couple. I think it’s the best ending for them.

Jin Young and Chae Joon were absolutely not meant to be together in the first place but what can they do when fate brings them together? Fate is really playing a cruel joke on all the characters. Who should be blamed for all the mess? I thought about it but had no definite answer. The characters, there were really no evils here as I cannot hate anyone of them. They all had my sympathy. I wished that Hyun Chul and Min Hee had a better ending, hoping that they could end up together, if it was ever possible. The acting was very good. Korean actors/actresses prove us once again that they can cry convincingly (and beautifully), whether it’s tearing, sobbing, wailing or bawling (Ha!).

This drama can be easily labeled as clichéd, predictable, boring and slow and I semi- agree with that. There are times that I wish the pace could be faster but there are also times that I was really into the drama. I think this drama is not recommended to those who are impatient and those who are not into mature story…

The main cast

The Restless

The Restless Synopsis (from http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/)
It is AD 924, at the end of the United Shilla Dynasty. Continuous riots sweep the land ruled by a corrupted government. Evil forces are rampant and malicious demons roam the land. YI Kwak, born with the powers to see spirits, joins the royal demon hunting squad, ‘Chuh-yong-dae’ after losing his fiancée, Yon-hwa to evil demons. YI Kwak excels as the most talented warrior of Chuh-yong-dae and the royal squad seems to gain momentum as powerful fighters against the forces of darkness. Then one day, YI Kwak drifts into Joongcheon, the world of the dead through a strange shrine. Joongcheon, the intermediate world between Heaven and Earth, a place souls remain for 49 days, preparing for reincarnation.


My comments:
I read a lot of bashing about The Restless and I just have too see it if it’s really THAT bad. Watching it with low expectations already, I didn't find it great. If I can use one word to describe this movie, it would be: awkward. Both the acting and romance is awkward. The ever cool Jung Woo Sung is disappointing and don’t even mention Kim Tae Hee. Jung Woo Sung still has his piercing gaze while Kim Tae Hee still displays her cold stares, which didn’t help their chemistry as couple, I was totally unmoved by their love story. I liked So Yi Hyun more and the supporting cast did better than the leads. I wasn’t really in awe by the action as well; one particular action sequence reminds me of Spiderman…There are so many "how come?" moments but at the end, I didn't even bother to think. See, I didn't have anything good to say about this movie as well...

Playlist of early July

一句 – Justin Lo => Finally a song that I like after being slightly disappointed by his second album.

殺手 – JJ Lin => I was attracted by the intro when I first heard it. It’s very rich in terms of arrangement. The French part is cute => Qu'est-ce que c'est? C'est la vie... C'est l'amour... C'est la mort...hehe...that's what I think he sang. Alright, I’m going to buy the CD soon…