With two episodes of Gu Family Book, it left me wanting to throw things at the screen by the end. Conversely with two episodes of Jang Ok Jung, Live in Love, I wanted to give this drama a hug for doing the rare deed of actually exceeding all expectations and doing so in a refreshing way. It’s so well-made, not in … Continue reading →
Is there anything presently annoying me that a glimpse of smiling Lee Seung Gi doesn’t immediately make it all go away? I’m hard pressed to find it, because all my gripes about the shoddy characterization with the parental section of Gu Family Book got washed away the moment I laid eyes on the new batch of official stills from the drama. … Continue reading →
I might have to rename my blog Angry Koala’s Playground if I can’t stem the periodic outbreak of online douchiness. As many of you have noted, in recent months there have been times when accessing the website you’ll get a malware warning from Chrome or similar types of notifications on other web browsers. This is true only online, it will … Continue reading →
I have to admit I’m starting to get iffy on the upcoming revenge drama Shark. I know I was super excited about it last month when I reported that Kim Nam Gil and Son Ye Jin were in talks to headline the final drama in the Revenge Trilogy from the famed production team behind Resurrection (Rebirth) and Mawang (The Devil). … Continue reading →
The first two episodes of Gu Family Book is a textbook example of the tail wagging the dog. The writer picked an end point and then wrote towards it, as opposed to writing a journey where the ending organically happened. The writer needed the parents of Kang Chi, the mountain spirit Gu Wol Ryung and the down-on-her-luck former nobleman turned … Continue reading →
A few months ago Lee Jun Ki told his fans that he would definitely be doing a drama this year, which was exactly the perfect morsel of news I needed to perk up since his sageuk Arang and the Magistrate didn’t own my heart or mind last year. I remained patient even as all these K-dramas got cast, wondering which … Continue reading →
Ah, The Fugitive of Joseon, what other superlatives I can hurl on you well in advance of even seeing one full scene from this drama. I guess the worst thing that could be said about the promotion of this upcoming gritty sageuk is how the English title doesn’t do its Korean title justice. How cool is Mandate of Heaven or … Continue reading →
The wonderful world of casting K-dramas keeps on turning like a perpetually wound up clock, the only difference is some dramas ink a cast well in advance while others scramble at the last minute and roll the dice. Last year Go Soo was supposed to return to dramas after a two year hiatus since he did Will it Snow for … Continue reading →
Has anyone ever pondered pairing up Ha Ji Won with Song Joong Ki? I confess it never once crossed my mind. Until now. But I’ll get to that later – let’s first talk about how utterly wonderful they were today using their celebrity to heartfelt use for their work with the initiative Medical Korea. They were feted today at an … Continue reading →
Forget love triangles, that is so passé (Roy Qiu–Tang Yan–Tia Li what?, George Hu–Annie Chen–Gui Gui who?) – the hottest love gossip in Chinese entertainment is a freaking love pentagon! This shit is awesomely good in the “I can’t believe this is even remotely true” way, yet it is all over the newspapers and magazines when I was in Asia … Continue reading →
Lee Sang Yoon is one of those leading men in Korean entertainment that has quietly built a solid career as an actor with complexity and range. Recently he finished up the ratings-leading weekend hit My Daughter So Young, and it was also with the weekend time slot that he initially broke out a few years ago in Life in Beautiful. … Continue reading →
So……..episode 2 of Gu Family Book was kinda like waking up from a warm bed by having a bucket of cold water splashed on my face. Oh vey, in the blink of an eye it turned into all sorts of poorly develop romantic drivel and behavioral fail all around. I can’t figure out anyone’s motivations other than the dim lovelorn … Continue reading →
This one completely and utterly took me surprise. Gu Family Book was the drama I was looking forward to, while Jang Ok Jung, Live in Love was the one to mock if it turned out to be a disaster or merely tolerate if it was simply serviceable. I never once imagined it would be good. And not just good, episode … Continue reading →