I hope my opinion doesn’t ignite a firestorm but if it does then at least good old-fashioned debate still exists even for something as inane and inconsequential as Korean dramas. Heirs or The Inheritors has already released first stills of Park Shin Hye‘s Cha Eun Sang and Lee Min Ho‘s Kim Tan first meeting. Apparently it takes place in Los Angeles and he appears to be extricating her from a bind, though the “It’s okay, baby” spoken in perfect Engrish (and no, I didn’t misspell English) rather deflated the cuteness of the moment. I can’t handle the drama telling me Kim Tan spent years studying in LA and still speaks with as noticeable an accent. But that’s beside the point, I can overlook that, but what really concerns me is something I noticed in the first stills and its repeated itself now with the latest batch of stills showing the two leads interacting. Cha Eung Sang and Kim Tan have an encounter at almond farm (apparently filmed near Santa Barbara) and it’s rather romantic what with the beautiful scenery and even some strategic sprinklers going off around them to spray the scene with droplets of misty water. I know Kim Eun Sook overly manufactures all her romances and I don’t mind if the leads have oodles of chemistry to sell it.
Here’s the rub – Park Shin Hye and Lee Min Ho have zero chemistry, in these stills and in the first stills. Zero, nada, zip. It’s like they are in two separate scenes and spliced together. No, I don’t need them to be all over each other since clearly that is not where their relationship is at, and as high school students they can’t be all “I want to tear your clothes off” eye-sexing each other from the get go. I get all that. But chaste teen chemistry exists, a sweet kind that makes the air around the two thrum with an awareness. I swear these two are like mannequins propped up in a scene. And Park Shin Hye’s wide-eyed look in some of her stills is really off-putting because she is capable of way more than a stunned deer look. I’m worried now the PD is directing these two all wrong, because both are decent enough actors and these stills are so blah. When I see them in action on the screen after the drama airs, perhaps their chemistry will shine through then. But it’s just not here and there are tons of K-drama leads who can burn up a screen even in chaste stills alone. Kim Eun Sook is usually really good at picking leading couples that ooze chemistry (Lovers, City Hall, On Air) and even the lesser combustible pairings are pretty darn good enough (Secret Garden, Lovers in Paris, Lovers in Prague, A Gentlemen’s Dignity). I hope my initial impression turns out to be wrong but so far these stills are not making me squee in the least. Consider me unimpressed for now.
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I agree...I really like them both but I don't think they go well together. Also, it might be the hair but does LMH look different from his City Hunter/Faith days to you too?
YES! He looks much skinnier than before...also, could he have gotten plastic surgery on his face? it seems thinner...
He's lost a lot of weight, but it's also his jaw. I'm convinced he had some jaw shaping done. It's really a shame, because like Hyun Bin his face now has that hungry jackal look and I am not comfortable when I see it, I just want to give him a sandwich.
@ Skelly (hello!),
So would you say that Hyun Bin had some plastic surgery (the jaw thing)? I wondered the same thing, after seeing him in SeGa, and especially after seeing him here (look at the picture below). I had a hard time believing that it was him, mostly because he seemed to be looking so different than his MNIKSS and World Within days, for example. I personally do not think HB looks his best that way. I feel that he looks better when his face (and his body) are fuller (he has never gotten too big or bulky on all the pictures I have seen of him, and I think that is good, so I am not concerned about that).
Here is the picture I was referring to: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Hyun_Bin_closeup.JPG
And that comes from here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyun_Bin
I personally didn't think HB looked attractive (at least not to me) in SeGa. I would not have been attracted to his character.
I also wanted to add that I can now see what you guys meant about LMH's face looking a little different. I rewatched BOF on KBS World recently, and in it, LMH (who yes, is younger and much thinner), has a face that is a little more square shaped than here (one sees his jaws more, imho): http://thedramacorner.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/h_lmh.jpg
His face on this picture looks more oval to me. I can't prove anything (whether he has had plastic surgery done about his jaws), however, it makes one think...
I thought I was the only one who thinks that LMH got plastic surgery recently. Just like @ivoire I watched BOF and LMH looks way different than what he looks now, especially his chin is more sharp now and his face complexion is kinda glowy/shiny now -I don't wanna think that he got botox, but who knows!- so that makes me think that he might got some plastic surgery recently. He is a good actor, talented and he has a big big charisma,I don't think he needs to do anything to his face.
They look ok. Even couples with little natural chemistry can become squeeworthy given the proper context.
Let's hope minus and minus will make plus.
There goes Park Shin Hye with her wide eyed look again...which makes me wanna punch my computer everytime I see it.
That is so true...that wide eyed look has been severely used in YB and here it is again!
same here, same here hahahahha
I never thought she was a good actress. I don't even get the hype around her. Lee Min Ho is good. In some scenes of City Hunter, he just killed it. Not the best actor in his age group, that goes to actors like Song Joong Ki, Yoo Ah In, Lee Jee Hoon, and Lee Jun Ki, but he is still decent and deserves the hype. But Park Shin Hye? She is bland compared to actresses like Son Ye Jin, Moon Chae Won, and Gong Hyo Jin. Those 3 are just so charismatic on screen, but Park Shin Hye is just so boring. She uses the same facial expressions, and her chemistry with her co-stars (namely the kiss scenes) are nothing special. Can someone please explain the hype around her? Is she really that popular in KOrea, or just with the international audience because of You're Beautiful?
She's being hyped so much because she used to be a child actress. Even when an actor or an actress is underperforming, they easily get forgiven and still get praised if they were once a child actor.
Son Ye Jin and Gong Hyo Jin are very charming, but Moon Chae Won is not charismatic to me. She acts ok, but there's something about her that feels bland to me. She is verly lucky for having a good agency who has great connections.
Son Ye Jin and Gong Hyo Jin are terrific actresses. They are the complete package
I agree with what you said about Park Shin Hye, but I disagree with you said about Moon Chae Won. I think she is one of the most charismatic actresses in her age group with a lot of promise to go far as an actress. Not only that, but she has the rare ability (in Kdrama actresses) to be subtle, yet display all the right emotions. Although her role in Good Doctor hasn't done it for me, I think the fault lies in the writer rather than the actress, because she just isn't given enough to work with. Have you watched Princess Man? She just absolutely killed it in that drama. And about her company having good connections, that is just a unjustified accusation. Rather than that, I think she just has a knack of picking excellent dramas. And Son Ye Jin is in the same company as her.
Different strokes for different folks I guess. Like I said I just dont find Moon Chae Won engaging. If you like her as an actress, good for you I guess. Yes I have seen Princess Man & Shining Inheritance
Son Ye Jin is more of a movie superstar than a tv actress. She has hits after hits in movies, but doesn't deliver so well in drama ratings.
Moon Chae Won is under an agency, her agency has more say in what projects she chooses than her. She's very lucky to be paired with good actors and male centered storyline.
I think she's so popular due to You're Beautiful it really has a cult following. It explains how so many of the actors and actresses from that show still have work.
On a side note, the only time I have ever seen her have chemistry with anyone was with Yun Si Yun. Then again, he's so talented, he could make a sack of potatoes look good on screen.
That wide-eyed look just makes her look stupid. It made sense in YAB, where her character was sweet, loyal, and incredibly brainless, but seeing it in Heartstrings and FBND and yet again here whenever she talks to LMH ... I am just so over that look. Is she amazed, astounded, shocked, appalled, puzzled - or are the synapses just not firing? Who knows?
I'm just happy to see them together on my screen :-)
IMO psh's acting has been bland ever since stairway to heaven. Her wide eyed look is getting old, hope she tones it down. Sometimes she feels lost in the dramas she leads and its hard to see the chemistry. Hope she has breakthroughs through this drama.
I like PSH... But to me, she's one of those actresses who does not have electrifying or a lot of chemistry with her male leads in dramas... just my opinion.... especially in the eyes... I can see her sadness and sometimes sadness through her eyes, ut I don't see love....
But these are just stills, I still need to see the real thing.
Oopppssss... that should be sadness and happiness through her eyes...
Here's my take on the problems with on screen chemistry between Korean actors and actresses. Many don't have normal real life experiences with the opposite sex to draw from for their romantic scenes because they have to live such sheltered lives. It amazes me that they spend so much time and money on looking perfect but fangirls and fanboys are SHOCKED if they date in real life. In fact it's called a scandal!! LOL I don't know how it all started but it needs to stop.
Lol i don't think that theory works with LMH :P
Hehe... I am willing to bet that there is at least some loving going on somewhere :) just we don't know about it nor do we really need to know about. I find it hard to believe that they would have little real experience in this modern age. High school or youth love... At least that much for this particular drama.
Such interesting point of view, thank you, never thought much about it but I truly agree with you. Brilliant
So, according to your theory, if an actor is to perform a role of murderer, he better get some experience?
I'm convinced in the opposite: staying pure gives one inner strength and insight to do things the best possible way. It comes from the heart.
I totally get the same 'no chemistry' vibes from them! Even though i like both of them.
I will reserve full judgement on chemistry when I see the first few episodes but so far, it's not looking promising. It could be totally not their fault. I was somewhat bored by the JoJ lil stills but the OTP totally rose to the occasion after I saw the trailers.
I honestly was neither excited nor unexcited by the OTP pairing as I don't consider myself a fan of either. For psh, I too hope that she can really have a breakthrough in drama performance here. Her characters tend to blend all together for me.
Either way, I know KES's dramas always entertain me in one way or another even if I think a lot of it stinks or drives me crazy. So OTP fighting!! Please have good high school youth love chemistry for us to chatter over.
It's true that KES can work magic with couple scenes. But previously she has worked with better, older actors playing more mature roles. Even though I am not a Jang Dong Gun fan, and I thought the chemistry in A Gentleman's Dignity was hit or miss (mostly because of Kim Ha Neul), that bathroom scene was off the charts. I am skeptical about the chemistry in Heirs because KES is hampered by the "youthful innocence" Korea required for high school dramas, her leads are definitely hit or miss in the chemistry department (although LMH is loads better than PSH) and this doesn't seem to be a PD known for romance.
How CUTE, a farm !!!