Written Preview for Episode 5 of Drunken to Love You

If you watch Drunken to Love You carefully, you’ll notice that Jie Xiu and Xiao Ru are not the stereotypical bickering opposites attract type of couple. They don’t always argue, and when they butt heads, it’s not because of selfishness, it’s because they are looking out for the other person. Jie Xiu pushes Xiao Ru to get over Yi Xian, Xiao Ru pushes Jie Xiu to take a step back from his bad temper so he can move three steps forward in his career. If these two are not meant to last a lifetime, I’d be hard pressed to find a more sane, down-to-earth, and realistic drama coupling. Continue reading

Material Queen Releases Official Stills and Second Trailer

I can’t deny that I am extremely curious about Material Queen, the upcoming TW-drama starring Vanness Wu and Lynn Xiong, which was filmed on location in Paris, styled by Patricia Fields, and helmed by the PD who directed the unbelievably beautiful Autumn’s Concerto. While the story doesn’t appeal to me right off the bat (hur, what do I know about being a material queen – okay, Mr. Koala, you shut up over there, I can hear you muttering), a well constructed story with a great PD can be a potential entertaining summer drama.

MQ premieres on June 17, 2011 (it gets a Friday slot). The official website opened this week and, voila, I’ve got tons of gorgeous official drama stills released by the MQ production to share with everyone. Also, a second teaser trailer was just released (I posted about the first trailer here if you want to watch it), and it continues to look like the drama is just dripping with haute couture touches. Tres chic. Continue reading

Best Love Episode 4 Recap

Best Love (The Greatest Love) is a shining example of what I keep saying about rom-coms. The basic premise is always the same, all the elements are recycled in various iterations, and the end result is a foregone conclusion. The only way to create a memorable and engaging rom-com is to understand the inherent limitations and use it to your advantage. Don’t throw out tropes and expect it to be sufficient – do it correctly and uniquely, and suddenly the world is your rom-com oyster and I a paying customer. Continue reading

49 Days Episode 18 Recap

I am running out of superlatives to describe 49 Days, while the drama is clearly not running out of steam or gamechanging cliffhangers. O.M.G. I was not expecting the ending of episode 18. Heh, how many of you are going to skip ahead and read my last paragraph after what I just said? Bravo for the completely awesome and unexpected (only as to timing, otherwise I thought this might happen), but oh so rewarding moment. Continue reading

Another Preview for Drunken to Love You Episode 5

It’s such a shame that Drunken to Love You airs only once a week, because the interminable wait between episodes feels like a month rather than 7 days. I love the drama’s pace – taking important plot developments and moving through each one briskly and efficiently, and lavishing the slower moments for developing the relationship between the Jie Xiu and Xiao Ru. The preview for episode 5 made me squee out loud is all I can say. Continue reading

City Hunter Releases Second Trailer and Additional Stills

Oh boy, this isn’t looking too good for my boy Lee Min Ho and his turn as City Hunter. The second trailer is out, and the WTF-ery level actually didn’t go down from the inexplicably odd first trailer. This trailer makes it look like two completely different genre dramas spliced together, the comedy rom-com with the taunt thriller.

Look, even if CH manages to execute both portions well, it’s very difficult for a drama to integrate the two disparate styles, stories, and elements into a cohesive end product. CH the manga was in fact a thriller and a slapstick comedy, but the manga medium was suited for that type of toggling of elements. Continue reading