Brilliant Legacy, 22 Episodes Later

I love this drama so much! Dvd has four episodes (instead of the usual three) last night and I stayed up probably later than 03:00 a:m and come to the office before 08:30 but I just couldn't leave it at the end of Episode 21, not when Hwan told Eun Seung that he likes her, that he wants her and when he kissed her.
I really like Eun Seung a lot. She is brave, smart and most importantly a good person. Her stepsis really put her into a very bad situation, lying outright just because she wanted to get Hwan for herself. And no matter what she does, Hwan loves Eun Seung, even after he has heard all the outrageous lies and they way they presented her as the worst kind of con artist. He believes in her but doesn't want to think her evil stepsis is a liar either. So he wants to believe that there is a misunderstanding.

And evil stepmom figured out that she cannot get rid of Eun Seung through lies and deception, so she now joined forces with Tae Soo's dad - she wants her daughter to marry Hwan and that Hwan will keep his shares. She promised to help Tae Soo's dad to make the company into what he likes (he wants to grow but since this will affect quality and will not be in line with Halmonim's ideals, he wasn't given permission to do it now).

These people are so evil. Poor Eun Seung doesn't even know that her father is alive. Stepmom and stepsis are try to keep them apart. And Hwan has found Eun Woo but he doesn't know Eun Woo's real identity (his bar owner friend wants to make a profit with Eun Woo's piano skills and tells everyone that Eun Woo is his cousin). Just when Hwan was about to introduce him to Eun Seung, there was a call from his Mom. Halmonim has been taken to hospital. Poor woman, I think she has Alzheimers.

I just hope that the OTP will reach a happy ending.

But today I need to sleep and not watch any other episodes. Seriously I must stop the madness. I can do it, I can stay away for one night (in fact I have to since I need to come to work tomorrow)

Meanwhile Beautiful People is entertaining but nothing special.

Antichrist, Election, Brilliant Legacy up to Episode 12, Third Girl - End, Beautiful Poeple

Antichrist (2009) Directed and written by Lars Von Trier.
This is a very disturbing film but undeniably a good one. I wouldn't want to watch it again though.

Election (1999) Directed by Alexander Payne, written by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, adapted from a book written by Tom Perrotta.
This second viewing made me appreciate the film even more, Matthew Broderick (an actor I don't particularly care for) and Reese Witherspoon (an actor I like a lot) were so good. I love the story and the script too.

Brilliant Legacy is going so good that I marathoned 6 episodes Saturday night. I don't really want to marathon but everytime I somehow end up doing so. The rest of the episodes will continue on a 3 a night basis insaallah. The drama is very very good. I love the lead characters and the romance dynamics. It is funny where it should be and melodramatic where it should be. The baddies are both scary and believable. I love this drama.

I have started Beautiful People by Wendy Holden, while she is not a writer I would seek, when I somehow got hold of her books (this one came from the library at work) I find that I enjoy reading them.

Brilliant Legacy Episodes IV - V- VI

Ok last night I was at my most indulgent self. Not only I started watching 2.5 episodes after midnight, but also I have eaten a huge plate of apple crumble with vanilla, hazelnut, raspberry and black mulberry ice cream. And I'm not even kidding. It is a miracle I'm so skinny :)

Anyway the episodes are getting better and better. I love a baddie I can dislike without feeling sorry for them and the evil stepmom is a good baddie indeed. I can't wait to see how the lies she is telling left and right blow up in her face. The step sister is one of those annoying baddies, she doesn't want to do bad stuff but goes with it when someone else does the dirty work - also doesn't forget to lecture them on how evil they are - but does she change her behaviour? Nope. She keeps doing bad things (now it is because she loves Hwan and thinks that he'll marry her).

Hwan obviously is not a baddie. He is one of those bratty kids with a trauma in the past (Hwan's dad died in front of his eyes) and he is insuffarable in the initial episodes but will be reformed by circumstances and the love of our adorable heroine.

Ok one of my most favorite character types in a S.Korean TV drama is the "angel". This character is good to the last breath. She is forgiving, helpful, thoughtful and always always simply 'good'. And Eun-Su is like that. She is also a strong woman who doesn't back down from a confrontation. And even though people may think me stupid for applauding her promise to hide from Hwan the horrible truth (evil stepmom and sis threw them out right after her father's funeral, they didn't even let her know about the insurance money - to be fair, I don't think evil sis know about it either-.

Anyway I decided to give this a break solely for the reason that I have to rest! But really eager to watch the rest.

Guddi, Brilliant Legacy I-II-III, Hold Tight - End, The Third Girl

Guddi (1971) Directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, written by Gulzar, dialogues by D.N Mukherjee
It was a nice film but I didn't like the lesson feel of it. The performances were all good though and I was not bored. I just didn't like it as much as I liked other films by this director.

I just gave in to the urge to give Brilliant Legacy a try and I'm so glad that I did. Wonderful 3 episodes so far and I see how this show got all the ratings etc.

Hold Tight was good till the end. I don't mind reading other books by Harlan Coben.
Currently reading, The Third Girl by Agatha Christie. It is entertaining and fun but not the best of her.

Just Cause

Just Cause (1995) Directed by Arne Glimcher, written by Jeb Stuart and Peter Stone, adapted from novel written by John Katzenbach.

I remember watching this film years ago but not much has stayed with me. And it was like watching it the first time and I enjoyed it.

Hold Tight

Last night there were guests in the house + I needed sleep so I didn't watch any films or shows.

I have started a new novel though written by Harlan Coben called Hold Tight, it is a thriller (a genre I like) and I haven't read anything from this writer. I'm enjoying it though. It is an easy prose and the characters are in my age group.

Que Sera Sera - End, Nocturnes - End

Yes, last night I have stayed up till 03:30 a:m and finished Que Sera Sera, and even though it was rather easily tidied up in the end, I'm very happy with it overall.

I have finished Nocturnes this morning in the shuttle to work and I love Kazuo Ishiguro.

Que Sera Sera Episodes 11-12

Ah this drama is keeping me on my toes all the time, even when it repeats itself. Eun Su found out that her sister's hospital bills were paid by Tae Jo (again he attempts to help her the same way he did in the earlier episodes and that time Eun Su took the money he wanted to give her incognito, and slapped the bills to his face in front of his fiancee Hye Rim - they were faking it then). Now she asked to speak to him and calmly explained how bad this sort of "helping" makes her feel. Of course Tae Jo implied that he still has feelings for her and that made her cry. Then she thought about it and decided to accept Jun Hyuk's marriage proposal. Meanwhile HyeRim is very annoying but Tae Joo sticks to his decision - it will be really hard for him to change his mind now even though he suffers, missing Eun So very much. They will have an engagement ceremony too.

Hye Rim is someone I can't understand, how can she be with someone knowing that he has feelings for another woman? On the other hand it seems that money and power are more important to Tae Jo than love. So maybe he doesn't love Eun Su "enough" (As Marianne said in Ang Lee's film Sense and Sensibility).

Still Que Sera Sera, Stone Kiss -End, Nocturnes

I'm very into this drama. So much so that even though I was really tired yesterday and it was past 23:30 at night, I decided to watch one episode (Episode 10) and it gets better and better. While this is fiction and obviously so, the situations and the dialogues are very real life. It is an interesting combination. Actors act like real people and the situations are beliveable. I love the four actors. I didn't like the actor playing Eun Su in the first episodes since she had a habit of sniffing her nose (having acted at a period of my life, I know that this is a valid method) that annoyed me but thankfully this has passed and I like her much better.

Now Tae Jo told Eun Su that he has to end their relationship and get married to Hye Rim (after the conversation with Hye rim's dad, he knows that he will have both wealth and power if he gets married to her). What we don't know is that is he doing this to finance Jin su's heart operation or the reason is simply because he got tired of being poor (as he said to Eun Su)? In a regular drama this wouldn't even be a question but here it is and I like this drama for it.

And the kissing scenes are very good.

Also I have finished Stone Kiss and it was not very good. Started reading Nocturnes, short stories by Kazuo Ishiguro and I'm loving it. Ishiguro has great prose and the little but important details make reading his books a joy.

Que Sera Sera Episodes I-II-III

I like it while not wanting to marathon it. The characters are nice and acted well. The only thing is that primary OTP's girl is not a character I like. She is very likable but also was somehow pushy to the secondary guy. Anyway the kiss scene was good and Eric Mun is good too. I don't think he is handsome but he is a good kisser. A good OTP should have a good kiss.

Also this drama is very real life like and the characters behave like normal people. I don't know if this is a good thing but so far, I'm enjoying it very much.

Hear Me

Hear Me (2009) Directed by Chen Feng Feng, there isn't any writing credit on imdb, where I get my information.

I liked it very much - I saw the twist right away, this is becoming quite a habit now, and I'm not entirely pleased about it- and it was great to watch a film where the two leads, and their co actor communicate with sign language. I cried a bit but it was a good cry.

Hum Kisise Kum Nahin

Hum Kisise Kum Nahin (2002) Directed by David Dhawan, written by Robin Bhatt, Rumi Jaffrey and Javed Siddiqui.

It was very entertaining. And that's about it except the hideous costumes Aishwarya Rai had to wear. Seriously that stylist should be send to training or something.

What's Your Rashee?, Ghajini, Starter for 10

What's Your Rashee? (2009)Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, written by Ashutosh Gowariker, Naushil Mehta, adopted from the novel titled "Kimbal Ravenswood" by Madhu Rye.

This is not a good rom com. It was insanely long and the rythm of the film was very heavy. I watched it till the end but was not entertained.

Ghajini (2008) Directed by A.R Murugadoss, written by A.R Murugadoss, dialogue by Piyush Mishra.

I still like the Southie original better but the ending of this is so romantic. The action is not as good though since Aamir looks like pocket monster.

Starter for 10 (2003) Directed by Tom Vaughan, written by David Nichols (from the novel he wrote)
This was not a bad film. I like James McAvoy and that girl from Barcelona, Barcelona.

Sense and Sensibility, Sarkar Raj, Stone Kiss, Catcher in The Rye - End

Sense and Sensibility (1995) Directed by Ang Lee, written by Emma Thompson adapted from the novel with the same title written by Jane Austen.
I like this film better with each viewing. Excellent.

Sarkar Raj (2008) Directed by Ram Gopal Varma, written by Sandeep Nath and Prashant Pandey
This is a second viewing and it was not as good as the first (unlike Sarkar which I have seen multiple times and enjoy very much each time)

I have finished Catcher in the Rye and enjoyed it but it is not my favorite novel or anything. Started reading Faye Kellerman's Stone Kiss. The only reason I like this novelist is that she has a good sense of religious belief. Not many novels are like that - but she is not really as successful (as her husband for instance) in the suspense parts. Also her lead male character has rust coloured hair peppered with gray and a rust coloured moustache. I get distracted everytime this is mentioned (but this is my fault not hers)

Mili

Mili (1975) Directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, written by Bimal Dutta, Dr.Rahi Masoom Reza, Mohini N.Sippy.
A delightful film (a sad story but it was heart warming with a dash of bitter sweet). Mr.Mukherjee is one of my favorite directors and this film is marked with his style.

My Name Is Khan, Magadheera, Murderer

My Name is Khan (2010) Directed by Karan Johar, written by Shibani Bathija and Niranjan Iyengar.
It is not a good film but the melodrama is solid and I cried buckets during.
Magadheera (2009) Directed by S.S Rajamouli, written by Vijayendra Prasad, S.S Rajamouli and M.Rathnam

This film was FUN FUN FUN. Very entertaining and great use of CGI. Good looking lead actor and nice songs with decent picturisations. Everyone in it did a good job.

Murderer (2009) Directed by Chow Hin Yeung Roy, written by Chow Hin Yeung Roy and To Chi-long
It was interesting but I understood who the real murderer was early on and then it was just how they were going make it stick. The way they did it was a total WTF and they even were prepared for a sequel. I would have liked this film a bit better if they ended it properly and if I were able to take Aaron Kwok seriously. He is good looking but unfortunately I have already seen Para Para Sakura and it had a bad effect.

I'm still reading Catcher in the Rye and liking it a bit better now.