Monday, December 22, 2014

Healer: Abs in the First Episode, Sign Me On!

Why did I start this one right away?  Now I'm really struggling with the whole waiting thing.  This one had me hooked from episode one, and not because of this:


Although I am totes ok with him showing off his abs in the first couple of minutes.  What really grabbed me was the premise, with his Night Courier and his whole spy mercenary type deal and this messy web of relationships.  Super cool and fun.

Friday, December 19, 2014

2015: The Year of Sexy Necks

Every year I make a calendar for myself, so I get exactly what I want and that sense of accomplishment.  I usually have a different theme each year (such as smiles or flower boys), and this year I decided to use my list of the Top 10 Sexy Necks as the general theme of 2015's calendar.


There was so much I could have put in here, and so many ways to do this, but I finally decided to count down to the number 1 on this list, and use the two remaining months for the other honorable mentions and general hot guys that I like and wanted to use.

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Another List of Men Who Make Me Watch Dramas Against My Will: Flower Boy Edition

This might be the last of this series... I can't think of any more editions, but the Flower Boy edition probably has the strongest motivation of all.  I used to have a huge weakness for flower boys... I still do, but not as much as I used to, and that lead me to watching some horrible, horrible shows, because sometimes even the flower boys can't make up for the silliness... (cough, Nail Shop Paris, cough cough).  Oh these Flower Boys...


I think that there might be more ridiculous shows with flower boys in them than any other handsome type man shows.  There is like a trend for dumb flower boys dramas that have super hot flower boys but no actual plot, or if there is a plot then it's ridiculously overly dramatic and over-the-top.  I mean, Boys Over Flowers is the king of flower boy dramas, so that should tell you something... but then again, all of the actual "flower boy" series are pretty good.  Such as Flower Boy Ramen Shop and Flower Boy Next Door...

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Drama Proof That Necks are Sexy

I just had to collect a small list of some drama or movie moments that show off necks as attractive or even seductive.  I mean, it's a well established fact that necks are a sexy thing, that's where the whole vampire thing becomes so popular, because a neck bite is just sexy enough to keep that trend alive.  But enough with them, this is not about them.


Here are some solid moments of neck's being attractive and seductive.

Monday, December 1, 2014

Shin Sung Rok Needs to be Added to the Top 10 Sexy Necks

I have already admitted openly that I am obsessed with this man.  I mean, he has it all.  Sexy neck, sexy voice, sexy smile, sexy face... the list just goes on.  So I have to write this post dedicated to him, and seriously consider who he could possibly bump off of the Top 10 list, or should I just make it Top 12?


If you've seen my recent lists, you'd already know that I am obsessed with him.  He made the list for men with smiles, men with sultry voices, other men, villains I love and hate (multiple times), and he could probably make more lists that I haven't made yet.  Basically he's like my ideal type or something (if I could have one of those, because I like so many different things).

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Sexiness Overload: Pride and Prejudice and Choi Jin Hyuk's Hotness

What the... whew! I can't handle this show already!  Too many sexy men in one office!  Rawr!  It is the perfect replacement for Ghost, which we've been going through withdrawals for, because it's snarky, intense, and full of crime mystery.  Perfect!


It's not really based on Pride and Prejudice, since this is a law show, but it does have the same very basic premise when it comes to character types.  He's super proud and she's prejudiced against him and a lot of other things too.  She seriously has a skill for jumping to conclusions, which makes for a lot of misunderstandings and strangely increases the sexual tension.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

"I love Choi Daniel in So Ji Sub's Body" and Some Nicknames in Phantom

I was surprised at how much this drama sucked me in at once.  Now I regret not watching it when it first came out, but not at the same time, because now we could watch it as fast as we wanted... and that was very very fast.


How could I resist watching it when I finally figured out that it had some of my favorite actors?  So Ji Sub (that man is just so very sexy), Choi Daniel (I'm pretty sure I just want to marry him, he's so freakin' hot), and Uhm Ki Joon (also known as Grumpy Cat). Once I figured that out, I was watching it pretty much the next day.


Now to talk about this show without too many spoilers or whatnot.  But it's old, so that shouldn't be too big of a problem... unless you're like me and waited to watch it...

Friday, October 31, 2014

Still More Men Who Make Me Watch Dramas Against My Will: Sultry Voice Edition

Do I watch dramas just for the sultry voice of one of the male leads?  Why yes, yes I do.  Some men just have buttery, husky, velvety, and/or soothing voices that just make me what to listen to them while I watch whatever bad drama they are in.  Seriously, they need to stop seducing us (and by that I mean mostly me) with their sexy voices.  Dude.


Sometimes it's only their voice I find attractive *cough cough Lee Sun Gyun cough cough* but really isn't that enough.  I mean... that sexy voice.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Operas are Just Classical Music Kdramas

Or maybe I should give credit where due (since Opera has been around long before Kdramas) and say that Kdramas are the same as operas.

I recently attended a performance of Marriage of Figaro, by Mozart, and was struck by the plot similarities of this opera to Kdramas.  This wasn't the first time that I've seen this opera, but the first time I've noticed the similarities.  That got me to comparing other opera plots to classic kdrama plots, and what do you know, they were exactly the same too!

Source: butleroperacenter.music.utexas.edu

I guess this is just proof that these plot devices have been around for hundreds of years and the reason they are still being used it that, as silly as they are, we love/hate them and it makes for a more dramatic story.  I mean, what is a kdrama without amnesia, love triangles, birth secrets, cross dressing, and rich chaebols?  Similarly, what is an opera without love triangles, rich peers, birth secrets, and girls playing boys (which is pretty much cross dressing, even if the plot of the opera says that is really just a boy who can sing really high... right...)

Friday, October 24, 2014

Taiwanese Dramas with some of the Best OSTs

Not to leave out the Taiwanese dramas from the previous list (Korean Dramas with some of the Best OSTs), but there were too many and that list was too long anyways, so I made a list of just Taiwanese dramas with some of the best OSTs.  Now obviously this list is shorter because I haven't watched nearly as many Tdramas as Kdramas, but they still have some spectacular OSTs.  Also some just not memorable ones.  So here are the best, get stuck in your head, drama OSTs of Taiwan.


Tuesday, October 21, 2014

The Epicness That Ended in What the Heckness: Lists of Night Watchman's Epic Fail

It's not often that a drama gets two posts dedicated to it, but I just have to say something about Night Watchman's Journal.  What.the.heck.

Even Sadam is laughing at this ridiculousness.

I mean seriously, what the heck happened?  The first two episodes were so epic, and then all the sudden it took a downward slope into the realms of cheesy lameness.  Did they forget how to create epic?

Saturday, October 18, 2014

With a Side of Second Male Lead Syndrome

As Love Myself or You comes to an end, I felt I just had to pay homage to one of my favorite second male leads of all time, Hao Wei.  There was a time (for like 2 seconds) that I hated him and wanted him to go away, because let's be honest I really want Kai Qi and Ah Jie to be together like 100%.  I love Ah Jie so much that there is no way I would want him to lose... but then Hao Wei just made me love him so much!  I really just want him for myself.  He's like the perfect man!  Hot and nerdy, just how I like them.  And the nicest guy on the planet... yep.


There are so many second male leads that are the same.  Usually I am not voting for them to get the girl necessarily (because I am usually on the side of the male lead in that respect) but I do end up loving the second male lead so much that I wish I could date him in real life.

We all know this is called second male lead syndrome, so in honor of Hao Wei, I have created my list of second male leads who need to be my boyfriend like right now.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Korean Dramas with some of the Best OSTs

I don't think I've ever seen an OST break a show, but they can sometimes make the show, or at least make the show that much better.  Whether the songs are simply just catchy and get stuck in our heads without any sort of permission (ALMOST PAAARADISE!!!!) or if they are super good songs that stick with you and end up in your playlists and purchased items, OSTs are a major part of a drama.  That kiss scene would just not be as good without the swelling love ballad in the background increasing the feels by at least 100%.

Or they can add an additional bit of humor when used at just the right moment:


Here are some of the Korean Drama OSTs that have moved me the most, that have definitely made it into my collection, and are constantly being sung and played by me all.the.time...

Monday, October 13, 2014

Fated to Love: Cun Xi vs. Lee Gun

This post had to be written for two men that I love for very different reasons.  Having recently finally finished watching the Korean version of Fated to Love You, I have to talk about it.  I think it's one of my favorite dramas, and might have one of the highest ratings on my drama review page.  Anyways... here it is Cun Xi vs. Lee Gun!


Tuesday, October 7, 2014

My Secret Hotel Fashion Show

 
As much as I love the mystery, suspense and messy love triangle in My Secret Hotel, I think the thing that has me hooked every week is the clothing.  Most everyone in the show has fabulous fashion.  I mean:


Haha, this show is full of quirky characters who all dress so very well, and are pretty much involved with this murder case in one way or another.  At least they all get to look good while getting bumped off or bumping people off.  Let's see some examples.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

My Norebang: Singing Kpop in the Shower

I actually sing karaoke in my living room too, but my day wouldn't be complete without me singing in the shower at the top of my lungs.  The acoustics are great, and I think no one else can hear me because of the water and the fan and all that, but really I just know they can hear me and I just don't care.


Here are some of my top songs sung in the shower.  Or at random times during the day.  Those catchy songs that get stuck in my head and just have to be sung no matter how actually good they are or how well I actually know the words.  They're just the songs I love to sing...

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Some Kpop MVs that I Totally Know the Dance For

Sometimes you just watch a MV so many times that you can not only sing along with it, but dance along with it as well.  There are some that I literally have to jump up and dance if I can.  I guarantee I look nothing like them while doing their moves, but I totally have those moves down.


Monday, September 22, 2014

More Men Who Make Me Watch Drama Against My Will: Hot Bods Edition

Smiles aren't the only thing that make me watch dramas.  Sometimes I'm a lot more superficial and I watch a show just because I know that there will probably be a shirtless or brooding shower scene, and that actor has a hot body.  This just might be the most shallow post I ever will write, but you all know you've got your own list of hot bods.  Also, who wouldn't appreciate this list, because... yes.


Sometimes those shows are awesome, and it's not a problem at all that I started it out just for that one actor and how well he takes care of his body.  But sometimes, pleasure is mixed with regret as I wonder if that one shower scene was worth the 16+ episodes of crap.  That's a slippery slope, we won't go there, we'll just remember the minutes of shirtlessness, flexed arm muscles, and chocolate abs.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

This Post is Dedicated to Lee Kwang Soo... Just Cuz

It's not like it's his birthday or anything.  But I just feel the need to celebrate him, because he's just that awesome.


It might because It's Okay, That's Love is over now, and I miss it, and I absolutely loved him in it.  He was so good!  In way more reasons than one.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Not So Pleasantly Unsurprised at the Melo


Why, Taiwan, Why?  Your dramas don't have to be that long.  You really don't need to throw in random crap to inexplicably keep the main couple apart.  If they can make it through a misunderstanding in the course of two episodes then they obviously need to make huger mistakes so we can drag this out, right?  NO!!!!!

BABYMETAL: Good Luck Getting This Song Out Of Your Head

Seriously. It's stuck in my head. I can't stop singing...


It's amazing and addicting.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Blade Man: I'm Thinking Wolverine Meets Bowser? Or Mega Man Villain?

 
What the heck is this show?  This plus the English title and premise makes me think of something along the lines of Wolverine, but the blades come out on the shoulders and back, so... like Bowser's koopa shell?  Also, he has the temper of the Hulk... so... yeah...

"Does it hurt when they come out?"  "Every time."

Monday, September 8, 2014

Drama Picking Bias Syndrome

I've been called out on this before, and I probably won't stop doing it ever.  As much as I love Kpop, and I do at that, I have problems finding new bands or getting into their music, until I have a bias for that band.  I don't pick a bias until I have a reason to like them, and that reason usually comes from seeing them in a drama first.  I think it's possibly because I tend to just appreciate them as a collective until I know one of them enough to love him individually.

A prime example of this is my history of liking Super Junior.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

I think I Related With Every Character: Plus Nine Boys

I am super impressed with this show already.  It has that relate-able feel to it, kind of how I felt while watching Reply 97 or 94.  Four boys/men who have a butt load of crap hit them at once.  So relate-able.  Seriously.  It's like a painful comedy, but not the sort of painful that makes you want to stop watching, cringe, or anything like that.  It's the sort that makes you want to keep watching because you want the best for all the characters.

We have three brothers and an uncle, whose ages are 9, 19, 29, and 39.


Thursday, September 4, 2014

Throwback Thursday: 10 Kpop MVs With Super Sexy Necks

Let's throw it back a bit and explore some MVs that came out a while ago (like before I knew what kpop was) to the good old days when DBSK was still together and Big Bang looked like babies.  Well maybe these are not all that old... but...  It might be nostalgic for some, but for me it's more of a sign that I really love these peeps because I've pretty much watched every MV of theirs that I can get my hands on... or something like that. (In the case of SuJu, I am just getting started on that sort of thing, it took me a while, but I'm coming around).

So here are some of my pre-kpop-discovery discoveries that happen to also show how incredibly sexy these boys' necks are too.  Woo woo!

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

New Drama (and old neck crush) Alert: Love Cheque Charge AKA Happiness Voucher

My baby faced manly man is back, aka George Hu, in a new drama that is coming out soon called Love Cheque Charge... um ok... or Happiness Voucher.  Always excited for a George Hu drama... not that I've watched every drama he's been in yet (there is no way I am going to sit through 13ish episodes of Park Shin Hye dubbed over into Chinese.  No way!) but I've loved him in every drama I've seen him in, and have watched some just for him (like all 72 episodes of Love, Now just for him) so this is exciting.

 

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Bromances Continued: 6 More Recent Drama Enhancing Men Relationships

If you're anything like me, you can't get enough of bromances, so here is a list of more bromances that have warmed my little heart and caused me delight recently.  Some of these are just recent for me (as I am currently watching them) but some are current dramas that just keep getting better as the bros keep loving (whether they want to or not) each other.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Rediscovering a Neck Crush: My Unexpected Obsession With Alien Huang

After getting sick of lame dramatic crap where romantic comedy was supposed to be, I returned to watching the Taiwanese drama Sweet Sweet Bodyguard, which I absolutely love (despite the horribly lame title), but have to wait painfully long periods for each episode to get subbed.  I think I discovered it because of the instant play on the Viki app, which will play a random show after you finished the last episode uploaded in a series.  It was probably played after I had watched the most current episode of Prince William or something.  I was feeling lazy and really didn't want to go be social at whatever function was going on, so I just let it play.  It was so cheesy, but strangely funny and different.

A female bodyguard wants to get out of the business so she makes a deal with her boss/father that the next job will be her last, if she can complete it, as the person she would have to protect is the guy that she hates the most because of a misunderstanding when she thought she was saving him from being kidnapped.

Monday, August 25, 2014

A Perfect Couple of Episodes, Until it Suddenly Undergoes a Genre Change

So we start watching a Romantic Comedy Korean Drama, and we all know now that after episode 12ish that all the sudden the crap will hit the fan and no matter how funny the drama started out, it will suddenly be a melodrama (just think how Emergency Couple was supposed to be a RomCom, but the whole second half was complete melodrama... which was actually so much better than the comedy was).  I don't know if this is a case of the dramas being "Anthony'd" (King of Dramas reference) or if the basic plot has to do that to complete itself, but seriously.  When I start a RomCom, I'm looking for comedy and romance, not melodrama.  Not sad stuff.  Funny.  With kissing and couple cuteness.  Fluffiness.

I don't know what it is about Chinese/Taiwanese Dramas, but they seem to take the genre changing even more extreme than is typical for Korean Dramas. It's not even funny how all romantic comedies start out cute and funny and by the second half of the show they are suddenly melodramatic.  I've come to just accept that fact, but recently, there has been too many over the top genre changes for my taste.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

In 3.5 Min, More Chemistry Than the 23 Hours of Fall in Love With Me


So, Aaron just came out with a new dance version MV for his song No Cut, this time featuring Puff Guo.  No Cut is not my favorite song of his, mostly because of the rapping part in the middle which is just no.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Fall in Love and Then Get Forced Onto the Crazy Train for an Epic Crash You Can't Look Away From

I take it back.  Just You should never be compared to Fall In Love With Me, because that one was actually consistently good, while Fall In Love With Me turned into one of the worst most badly written dramas I have ever seen.  It couldn't even decide what the plot was, it changed so many times.  It was like... so bad.

What started out so good has become something so incomprehensibly bad that it became unrecognizable.  Seriously, the only way for us to get through it was to tweet to each other while watching it, sitting next to each other, mind you.


Thursday, August 14, 2014

Night Watchman of Epic Cliffhangers

I was excited to watch Night Watchman's Journal because Jung Il Woo and fantasy sageuk, but a little less excited cause Yunho... I have a completely irrational dislike for Yunho.  I'm sure deep down there is a reason, but I don't know what it is.  But there you have it.  Also... he's not the best actor, although I'm sure he's getting better since he keeps doing it.

However, the first couple episodes can only be described as epic.  Seriously, in one episode alone you have like evil ghosts, assassination attempts, giant skeleton warriors, a serpent dragon thing and then this:


Saturday, August 9, 2014

The Power of the Baseball Tee

I don't know about you, but one of the sexiest, most flattering shirt for a man to wear is the raglan sleeved baseball tee.  It just flatters all around, and most especially the neck.  If the guy is skinny, it makes their neck and shoulders look bigger, if the guy is muscular it makes those arms, chest, back and shoulders (and neck) look so good.  It just makes a man look so sexy.


Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Bromances that Saved the Drama

After finally finishing Doctor Stranger, after falling so far behind while on vacation, I felt the need to appreciate bromances.  Mostly because that was by far my favorite part of the drama.  Sure I liked the love story, and wanted there to be two couples rather than a love triangle, but mostly I just wanted North Koran and Revenge Boy to love each other like I knew they really did.  I wanted them to just break down all that crap and just be besties for forever.  Seriously.

Monday, August 4, 2014

It's Okay, It's Just a Bunch of Crazy People Living Together

I don't know if it's because of the popularity of shows like Roommate, but the saving point of this show seems to be the grab bag of random crazies all living together.  Well, the saving point for me is Lee Kwang Soo.  Yep, once again I am watching a show just for Kwang Soo Oppa.  Seriously, he needs bigger roles so that I can appreciate him more... but then I always have Running Man, which was featured in like ep 2, so that is a bonus.  This is an SBS show.


Thursday, July 31, 2014

Messing with the Moto Chinese Input: Chinese Auto Correct Fail

So, after really getting into Taiwanese dramas, Lizabreff and I decided to play with the Moto Chinese Input on our phones.  This allows you to draw the characters and it will recognize what you are writing and give suggestions.

We would send random Chinese characters to each other, use Google translate, and then laugh at what random crap we said.

This is fun... but it's also a bit dangerous I guess.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

"Get Out" of the "Back Seat"

I was looking forward to the JYJ comeback.  Then I saw the MV for Back Seat:


"Iwannamutyouondabagsit"

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Men That Make Me Watch Dramas Against My Will: Smile Edition



Some actors just have that amazing power of making me watch a drama in spite of my better judgement.  I know the show will be crap/lame/bad/cray cray/super dramatic and so on, but I still watch them because of that one actor.

Sometimes it's to the extent that I've watched every show they've been in, and some of them were so bad (I'm talking to you, Yoon Si Yoon!)

Sometimes it's because of their smiles.  Those smiles that can make me watch even the dumbest of dramas.  Stop killing me with those smiles, you... super attractive and beautifully smiling men.


Sometimes watching that show ends up to be not that bad of a deal, but sometimes you finish and say to yourself "why the heck did I just watch that?" and then you see that man's smile again and you know why and feel no shame.  In fact, you hop online to look up another show he's been in, because you just can't get enough of that smile (or that neck and the rest of the face/body too).

Those are the some of the ones that I'm talking about here.  Bad or good, these dramas were watch purely for that man and his amazing smile.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

10 Neck No-No's

Vivi asked me, for the purpose of science, to make a list of the 10 worst necks.  I found that hard to do at first, since I tend to try and forget yucky necks and it's mean to pick on people for their necks.  Not much you can do... nope I guess there is a lot you can do.

So, instead I composed this list of 10 neck no-nos.  Here are things that should never happen so that even if the neck is not on the level of my top 10 necks, at least it will never be on the list of 10 worst necks that must exist somewhere in my brain.

In Flight Films Fail... or Win?

I recently went on a trip to Northern Europe and flew with SAS Scandinavian Airlines.  It was a 9 hour flight from Chicago to Copenhagen on the way up and an 8.5 hour flight from Stockholm to Chicago on the way back.  Besides the long cramped flight time (and weird beans they made me eat for dinner on the way up- they put them in the salad and the main dish!  I think they were Lima Beans...) there was the problem with their movie selection.  I'm there for 9 hours, at least they should give me something good to watch!

Ok, I did enjoy watching Captain America 2 on the way up, but other than that the movie options were weird and the same both times.  You'd think that after two weeks they would have some new movie selections.  Nope, same weird collection of foreign films, including less than exciting American films that I had either no desire to see or had already seen.  Result: I ended up watching every Asian film on those flights.  Also, don't try to watch Grand Budapest Hotel on a flight, it just doesn't work even if you are interested in watching it.  Wes Anderson on a plane just isn't compelling enough.

Summary:  Chinese comedies which were hilarious with plenty eye rolling moments of ridiculousness and Japanese dramas that left me thinking either "wut?" or "hmmmmmmm.... k"  So here we go.  They were actually pretty good, not the worst thing that I watched, and some I would actually recommend.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Lucas, the "Candy" Star Wars Prince

 
I know many of you have watched and loved Witch's Romance, the Korean remake of My Queen, but we decided to watch My Queen first, to compare.  From what I heard they are very similar, so many of you will still be able to relate to this.  My Queen (and probably Witch's Romance) is a role reversal story.

Friday, June 27, 2014

New Neck Crush: King of High School (2014)

You probably know how much I love Seo In Guk, from my reviews on Love Rain, Answer Me 1997, and Master's Sun, but his new drama King of High School proves that he is just getting better with age... which is funny to say since he is still playing a high school student, which he still pulls off, but boy is he getting hotter.


You know who else is getting hotter?  Lee Soo Hyuk.


Man.  Rawr.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Angel Eyes and Heavenly Bodies

This show was designed to make us cry.  I didn't use to be a crier, but Bollywood and old age has changed that.  Now shows like Angel Eyes are sending me off every episode.  Seriously, stop messing with the moms.  They aren't allowed to die and stuff, man!  If there ever was a plot so highly based on the bad fate between a group of people, then this is it.  It was handled as well as a fateful plot can be, but the drama was very extreme.

However, at least this gave us other things as well.  Lots of mens with heavenly, heavenly bodies.

Kim Ji Suk.  Rawr.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Just You vs. Fall In Love With Me- two chances to see the same hot neck

It seems like everyone in my drama circle is watching Fall In Love With Me, which they probably should, because Aaron Yan.  Yep, that's the number one reason.  Jack Li is probably reason number 2, if that wasn't already the Aaron Yan OST.  I guess you could shove that into reason number 1, but I'd prefer to make it number 2 and Jack Li number 3.

Aaron Yan and Jack Li both have amazing necks.  In fact, Jack's neck bumps him up from a cute guy to a hot guy.


Thursday, April 17, 2014

You're My Pet 너는 펫 (2011) Korean

Kim Ha Neul, Jang Geun Suk

Movie rating: 5/10     Neck score: A

What the... hahaha, this movie.  It was hilariously stupid, but I loved it and watched it twice (within one week no less.  I think I was sad that week so I needed something completely stupid to cheer me up).  This successful business lady is trying to not feel lonely, so she decides maybe to get a dog, but when her little brother asks her to let his dancer friend stay at her place for a while, she ends up letting him stay on as her "pet."  It gets really weird as she even treats him as a dog, buying him a collar and such.  He gets into it as well, and they both draw up a contract as to the rules of pet and master.  But then when she starts dating her old college crush, her "pet" starts to get jealous.  But she also gets weird problems when she doesn't know whether she sees him as a dog or a man... it's just over-the-top silliness, but I loved it.  It was the right kind of silly for that time, I guess.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Ong Bak 2 องค์บาก 2 (2008) Thai

Tony Jaa, Nirut Sirichanya, Sorapong Chatree, Sarunyoo Wongkrachang 

Movie rating: 7/10     Neck score: A

Muay Thai and Kung Fu equals awesome.  While it's a little hard to follow, maybe because I was attempting to multitask at the time because I was so busy, if you pay attention it's not too bad.  Also it has a cliff hanger ending that makes you think that he dies, but there is an Ong Bak 3, which I haven't gotten around to yet, so you just need to watch both.  But the fights are so good in this one.  He wrestles a crocodile at one point, which is scary and cool.  And Tony Jaa just knows so many different styles of martial arts.  Also, he's not bad to look at at all.  So the hardest parts to understand are the weird parts with like magic or something creepy that I just don't get yet.  But, like I said, I had to multitask, which doesn't really work with shows that have subtitles, so I will probably watch this again before I watch the sequel, because it's worth it.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

164. Last 라스트 (2015) Korean

Yoon Kye Sang, Lee Beom Soo, Park Won Sang, Seo Ye Ji, Park Ye Jin 

Drama Rating: 9/10     Neck Score: A

Slow clap for this one, because I liked it.  All the characters were so complicated that you couldn't 100% like or hate anyone.  I would want to smack Tae Ho upside the head frequently, because he'd be an idiot.  I would also frequently feel sad or sorry or even want to side with Heung Sam, when he is 100% crazy.  That's the power of Lee Beom Soo.  Wow.  Even though I felt like the last two episodes were a bit rushed, it was a satisfying ending, as the fast pace seemed to work.  It was a good statement of greed, revenge, and obsession that the ending rush seemed to help more than hurt.  I also was impressed with Park Ye Jin.  I've seen her in less likable roles before which made me not care for her, but that is now a testament to her acting chops.  She took a character that could have easily been ruined and made it awesome.  So this drama gripped me from episode one, and kept me gripped to the end.  I laughed, cried (lots of times), felt super conflicted, angry, disgusted, bitter, and happy.  All of it.  It like put me through all the emotions.  And it had super awesome, incredibly violent fight scenes.  Like a ton of them.  Basically, it was about as good as this genre of drama can get.  I liked the dark, greedy, revenge, noir type drama.  Claps from me, I'm sad to see this one end.

163. Scholar Who Walks The Night 밤을 걷는 선비 (2015) Korean

Lee Joon Ki, Lee Yoo Bi, Shim Chang Min, Lee Soo Hyuk, Kim So Eun

Drama Rating: 6/10     Neck Score: A+++

So many beautiful vampires.  That's about all there was to this show.  It's plot was okay, but kind of draggy, as in they could have solved it sooner but they didn't.  They literally just ended up doing what they could have done so many episodes ago.  Sigh.  It was clearly about how hot Lee Joon Ki and Kim Soo Hyuk were.  It totally emphasized the sexuality of vampires.  They made scenes needlessly sexy, which was funny...well I rolled my eyes at the fan servicey sexiness of the scenes anyways.  It wasn't as bad as The Night Watchmen, but I did accidentally call it Night Watchmen all the time.  It has some similarities in the cheesiness department.  The biggest difference is that everyone in this one was a good actor, even Changmin, who I had my doubts about.  Sadly Changmin's character was a little sissy poo who caused a lot of the dragginess.  There was also everyone trying to sacrifice themselves for everyone else, blah blah blah.  I think by the end what saved it for me was how sympathetic they managed to make the villain while still making him an evil vampire.  Calling the Chief Minister out on his crap, "Are you even human after all of this?" and going on a rampage out of guilt when he killed someone he didn't mean to.  His conflict about emotions he didn't understand and dealing with hypocritical humans was nice.  The parts with him were about the only thing I liked about the ending, which was just weird.  I didn't get the need for a year gap or whatever it was they did to try and make the ending happy or whatever.  Also, props to Joon Ki for playing a human, a vampire, and a mix of the two so well, and looking so darn pretty as he did it too.  So it was okay, but super draggy/silly too.  But as a historical drama portraying vampires, it was decent.  It was one of the better vampire dramas I've seen (but is that really saying anything?)

160. My Beautiful Bride 아름다운 나의 신부 (2015) Korean

Kim Moo Yul, Lee Si Young, Go Sung Hee, Ryu Seung Soo, Park Hae Joon

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A+++

I honestly can't call this show anything but My beautiful Banker, because that was what it was about.  That man is beautiful and bad-a.  Swoon.  The only bad part about this show was the fact that Go Sung Hee still can't act.  Dumb Do Ha ruined the ending scene with her bad acting, but whatever.  She wasn't in it that much.  I was also a bit upset with all the nothing that Lee Si Young's character did.  Detective Cha had the ability to be so bad-a cool, but after the awesome fight in the first fifteen minutes, she just sits there and does nothing, or just tries to convince the bank guy to not become a revenge vigilante but to work with the police.  So much wasted potential.  Also, I wanted somehow for the bride to die and bank guy to end up with police girl.  They could have consoled each other for their dead dumb significant others and been bad-a together, but of course that would never happen because stubborn loyalty and awesome faithfulness was at the very center of the back guy's being.  Really good action scenes, lots of interesting plot twists, nice snarky evil bad guys, realistic blood, a little rushed at the end (but after you kill off the only bad guy who really mattered, the rest was going to be lack luster) and some of the death scenes were just weird.  Slow mo car crash?  No, please.  Slow mo knife/metal pipe battles?  Acceptable, but does it have to be slow mo all the time?  So many hot necks in this.  Bank Guy = A+++  Scumbag Detective Boyfriend = A+++  That loan shark guy was an A even.  Rawr.  Lot of awesome fights, chase scenes, and gratuitous work out scenes.  My beautiful banker must be one of the most bestest men ever... except that his bride can't act, but no one is perfect.