Be Strong Geum Soon End of Eps 6

Now last night I read more of The Beautiful and Damned and it is becoming even better towards the middle.

And after falling asleep and waking up at 22:15 (I barely made it to the end of evening prayers) I was in a weird mood so I thought I'd give Geum Soon a try and it worked brilliantly. Her grandma forced her and Jung Wan to meet Jung Wan's parents and when they reached there, Jung Wan's family went into shock finding out the news. They treated grandma and Geum Soon badly when they politely told them to leave since they have to get over their shock. The mother especially doesn't like Geum Soon at all. But episode 6 has ended with Jung Wan announcing that they will keep the baby and will get married and his mother's shocked "says who?".  Wheeew these two are in for a rough ride. Meanwhile Geum Soon's mother (Geum Soon thinks she is dead btw) is just out of a serious, kidney related illness and now returning to rule the house. Her story is not what I think is sympathetic (well she left her child and I try but it is extremely hard not to judge) but I like the female actor and hope that it will reach somewhere. We also have the bank bro and her unrequited love but they didn't get anywhere in these episodes.

Centurion

Centurion This one was suprisingly good - to me. Loved the actors, loved the concise story, loved the whole trimmed effect this film has (especially in comparison to one long film after another that I have had)

Tonight I plan on watching the remaining episodes in the first Geum Soon disc (I like the story and the characters, it is just that the episodes are short and I have to watch the title sequence every half hour or something. But of course this may change since I have an Ozu box set on hand that I want to give a try. Never saw an Ozu film that I didn't like so it is probably one of those sure bets. And I don't remember Ozu films being so long.

This issue of length has nothing to do with my viewing preferences. I have difficulty in keeping both night and morning prayers. For some reason - some reason being truly a lazy bones- I can't muster the energy to get out of the bed to say the prayers after watching a film. Well as usual writing this I realised that it is not a matter of length, it is a matter of laziness :(

Meanwhile the book club at work told me to start Nana after Monday. To be honest I'm not that eager to start that one, especially since The Beautiful and Damned is going so well - it is not The Great Gatsby but definitely came like a saviour after the boredom of Fifty Shades.

Fifty Shades Darker - End, The Beautiful and Damned, Peppermint Candy, Merantau, Hollywood Homicide

This weekend was not very bad. I was not able to check out Geum Soon but otherwise everything worked out perfectly.

I have finally finished Fifty Shades of Darker and once again I felt happy that I didn't purchase the last book. My S&M fiction interest would have compelled me to read that one if it was under my hand. There are two people in the book club who have not finished The Black Tulip yet so I don't think I need to start our second book (Nana by Emile Zola, and for the sole reason that these two are under the same cover, some kind of cheap classics deal) soon. I'd rather wait until people read some chapters.

Meanwhile I have started The Beautiful and Damned by Scott Fitzgerald and it feels wonderful to read and enjoy such perfect prose. I was going to start Edith Wharton's The Reef but seeing my started purchased the Turkish translation of Tender is the Night made me start Fitzgerald and I'm seriously happy that I did. Perfect, simply perfect. God bless his soul for making me feel such joy. The joy of reading a good writer.

Now on to the films


Hollywood Homicide I can see how this one didn't have good box office despite the actors actually giving good performances (I always like Harrison Ford, a hottie and a good actor too), Josh Harnett is not as even in my eyes but he was good in this one. But the screenplay was not very interesting, nor fun. Everyjoke fell flat.

Peppermint Candy now this is a film I have been longing to watch during my Korean film craze. Unfortunately for some reason I couldn't get my hands on it and now that I finally saw it, not really impressed. I actually like the director Lee Chang Dong's films but Oasis and You Are My Sunshine are truly powerful and fare better in comparison to Pepperming Candy. Maybe if I was not that jaded a viewer...

Merantau Now this film made this jaded viewer very very happy. Not only the action scenes were very well done (where you can actually see what is going on) the drama of it all was also effective. To be honest I was never that into Tony Jaa and Ong Bak craze. I truly prefer films like this one. Never heard of Silat (Indonesian martial art) before this film but it definitely looks good on screen. I have also watched The Raid from the same director and he is two out of two as far as I'm concerned.

It is not only so very hot but humid too so the weekend pretty much was just lounging from one sofa on another.

Death Note, Black Tulip - End, Be Strong Geum Soon (BSGS)

Ok the night before last I was still on a Zeni Genba/Kenichi Matsuyama high and foolishly decided to rewatch Death Note (where Matsuyama shows up at the end) I would have watched the second one but couldn't find the dvd in the cupboard. Well as expected I fell asleep. I'm saying as expected since from Sunday I was never able to complete night prayers and morning prayers on time. Thank God last night I started Be Strong Geum Soon (BSGS) and I was able to complete the night prayers and managed to wake up for the morning prayers too. Success! BSGS is what is called a 'daily drama' I suppose. The episodes are shorter so it goes down really easy.

In the first three episodes we find that our heroine Geum Soon is a happy go lucky girl whose parents are dead. She is not very academic and trains to be Beautician (but so far failed the exam twice, not because she is incompetent but because she has a small bladder). She lives with her paternal grandmother and they are very close with her paternal uncle and his family. This uncle and his family rents room to students and Geum Soon managed to get pregnant from their current lodger (who is Bidam). She went to talk to him and his reaction after hearing the news was asking for more time to think about this. He is only a student (of computer sciences) and still has to go to army duty (for two years). Meanwhile at his house in Seoul his mother (after having met our lovely heroine) thinks that this girl likes her son but she is so much beneath her precious. She has two other sons, one works at a bank and the other is jobless and sits at the house all day reading manhwa and occasionally going out and charging large bills to his brothers credit card. Bank Bro likes a girl who is the interior designer for that bank's second floor and Bank Bro volunteers to help out during the weekends just because he likes her (she didn't even remember him when they first met years later from their uni days btw, and looks to be out of his league).

Black Tulip is finished and with a happy ending too. But the other members of the book club are not even halfway yet (and man, I took my time).

Also I'm reading the second book of Fifty Shades (thanking God that I didn't purchase the third) now this is a book I love to hate and there are lots of R rated scenes but nowhere a good prose.

White Night, Never Let Me Go, Zeni Geba, Fifty Shades Darker

I was away on a small break to Cappadocia with two of my close friends (and I'm very glad that I have visited the place earlier since my friends only wanted to sit somewhere and chat). This time I got to get into a baloon which was a bit of a let down - but to be fair everything is bound to be after sky diving.

Anyway that meant I have started to read Fifty Shades Darker along with Black Tulip. Fifty Shades is brain dead so was entirely suitable for the trip. I'm glad I didn't get Fifty Shades Freed because I just might have read it after all. I can stop eating junk food but I can't stop reading junk literature. 
The good news is that Black Tulip is even better than I remember it and yes, Turkish translation of a French novel is much better than the English one.

I have managed to catch

Never Let Me Go on the weekend and I have to say that I liked it a lot. Of course it cannot be compared to the novel but I liked how British the whole thing looked. Liked the actors and how dealt with the big issues in the story. It just is not a story fit for cinema I suppose. Anyway it reminded me of the book - with that certain Ishigiro mood. Cannot decide it was the low expectations, close up shots or me liking English scenery but I enjoyed it in the end.

White Night Korean adaptation of the novel where two children kill their parents and the cop who is after them. And despite the fact that Han Suk Gyu's story line had BS conflicts I liked it better than the Japanese series. Son Ye Jin is excellent and Goo Soo did very well. Han Suk Gyu is one of my faves so there was not a problem there also. The cinematography, the costumes and the music (Swan Lake, a fave of mine) were all good.

Zeni Geba (huge spoilers) This one I only purchased because I have a thing for Kenichi Matsuyama ever since I watched him in Death Note. He is a good actor- better than most - but I like his face. Anyway this one turned out to be a good purchase because it definitely made me think. The main lead of the film is a murderer who is not really a sociopath since the empatises with some things around her (like an alley cat) and has nightmares which indicate that on some level he feels about how things turn out. Kenichi Matsuyama was excellent in the role and I loved the child actor who played younger Futaro.
Now Futaro is not a good guy- at all but one can't help but feel some sympathy for him not only because his childhood was not a very good one but he simply could not find evidence against what he believes in - money trumps is all. There were only two people around his life who were not swayed by money. One his mother, who really was an angel and his father the good for nothing. After having lots of money he simply figured out that he is happier without it and he returned them all (of course it would have been so nice if he was a good father instead of a very lousy one but I'm glad that he has seen the light in the end). The other people who were so quick to judge Futaro (like the cop) or simply acted so nice (the restaurant family) changed their minds when difficulties occurred in their lives and they need money. The cop gave up his obssesive chase because his wife was in the hospital and would die if she couldn't get a heart transplant. Futaro offered him money to do just that and after some deliberation he took it and quit the force. So much for his high ideals and principles.

The restaurant family acted happy with themselves and love each other, a bit odd ball but not people whose sole aim is to make money. Of course this changed when their no good niece borrowed money from yakuza and they trashed their restaurant threatening to kill them. They even pulled a knife at Futaro just to get the money (in the end he gave it to them, they received it after he killed himself).

So the lesson I have learned from this short drama is that it is not good to judge and one shouldn't do so. No one knows what will happen in the future and what decisions one will come across along their lives.

And Kenichi Matsuyama, very good.
 

Spring Waltz - End, Black Tulip

Last night I have watched 5 episodes one after the other and completed Spring Waltz with happy tears in my eyes. Male lead was the human version of an anime character - seriously I wanted to take him home and put him on my dresser. He was so cute. The sexy one though was Daniel Henney. Anyway I would have been happy even if the drama starred Jon Il Woo (I can't like that guy ever) since the cinematography was so so good and I loved the soundtrack. It is worth the sleepless night and most definitely a keeper, also my fave amoung the season series.

Now this wet my apetite for Love Rain, a more recent drama by the same PD. As a bonus it stars Jang Geun Seuk :)

We also decided to establish a small book club at work. Currently it is four people and we have chosen Alexandre Dumas' The Black Tulip as our first book. Now I have read it years ago and remember loving it since Dad Dumas never dissapointed me but not much remained in my memory. So I have checked out the English translation but ended up getting it in Turkish (well one of our book club members gifted the book to us, furthermore it is a 'two in one' classic, the other book being Nana by Emile Zola (yet another book I have read as a teen and totally forgot but I do like Zola - now I happen to like a lot French novelists come to think of it) The first couple of chapters of Black Tulip are really good.

Also I'm really into The Devotion of Suspect X , it has the genius vs. genius theme which I got to love in Death Note and despite the fact that I'm rooting for the good genius (as always) the writer manages to feel sympathetic towards the bad genius too (well at least so far). I like it when a novelist is kind to his/her characters, way to go Higashino Keigo San. 

My Cousin Rachel - End, The Devotion of Suspect X, Spring Walts Eps 13-14-15

Last night I couldn't help but finish My Cousing Rachel and what can I say, Daphne Du Maurier I love you. Great book and I think it may just be my favorite among her novels.

I have started The Devotion of Suspect X and the only thing I know about the book is that it is best selling crime drama in Japan. It started of very very well. I also like the way Japanese is translated to English. It seems that I like almost all the Japanese novelists I have read and this is not really possible. So it has got to be the translation. Here I obviously exclude Haruki Murakami and Junichiro Tanizaki since I would have loved those two anyway.

And last night I was this close to marathoning Spring Waltz - and I would have done it too if only the time until to go to work would be enough to finish all the five episodes.

Jae Ha's secret is now known by Ina - who is understandably crushed to find out that her real true love has passed away and she has been showering her precious affections on a stranger. She also heard nothing but bad things about Soo Hoo from the woman in the island who just didn't know any better. Now Ina thinks that Soo Hoo was in on the money theft of his father. And the strange thing is that this is what Eun Young thinks too, even though she has strong feelings for Soo Hoo she just can't forget that she had to wake up alone after a big surgery (I wonder where the island woman was) and Soo Hoo didn't keep his promise to wait for her. Well he only agreed to act like the child of a not so sound in the head couple and those fake parents lied to him that you died Eun Young. That is why he never returned back to you. He was the sleeping beauty immersed in his music until you showed and woke him up. He was shocked to find out that Eun Young was indeed his Eun Yeung but the way Eun Young told him her story making Soo Hoo and his father the villains discouraged him to tell her the truth.
Phillip, who seems to be the only sane person around loves and supports Eun Young endlessly. I really would root for these two if only Soo Hoo was not so adorable. The guy looks like a cartoon character and I'm not even kidding. I just want to take him home and treat him as a cute toy. Daniel Henney on the other hand causes other types of fantasies. That man really looks good.
So what does mentally unstable Ina do? She starts to black mail Soo Hoo into giving Eun Young up and live as Jae Ha (who used to love her when they were children) Actually the poor thing went to the fake mother and tried to share her sorrow but fake mama - who maybe even crazier than Ina but the woman lost a child, who am I to judge?- acted like this weird switch never happened. This didn't go down well with Ina who is riding a not very pleasant emotional roller coaster. Her feelings for Soo Hoo dissapeared as soon as she figured out that he was not Jae Ha. And to give her some credit, she was aware that something was wrong with him. His artistic temperament was a convenient explanations to the oddities she has noticed.
After trying a few times Soo Hoo simply cannot avoid Eun Young and make her sad - to prevent her becoming sadder after finding out that he is actually Soo Hoo who she told Jae Ha has left her heart slashed with thorns and that she had a well in her heart filled with all the tears she shed over her mother who died because of Soo Hoo's dad and Soo Hoo.

So while Jae Ha is madly begging Ina to spare Eun Young (and Ina just doesn't know what to do, she actually started to pity Eun Young after making sure that she actually is clueless about everything) Eun Young asks Jae Ha why is he suddenly like this (cold and distant)? She knows that he still cares for her so what is it? Soo Hoo simply cannot find it in him to tell her the truth. I don't know exactly how many things he is afraid of but the most important reason is that he is scared to make Eun Young unhappy.

Also Jae Ha confronted his fake parents about their deception. They confessed with shame and told him that both were afraid that he would leave them if he found out the truth about Eun Young. This is so simple people: first meet Eun Young and explain the deal they made with Soo Hoo so she will know that Soo Hoo  sold himself for her surgery money. Then explain that you both lied to Soo Hoo telling him you are dead. Then welcome her to the family. Eun Young is actually very sweet and after a certain time I'm sure she'll find it in her to forgive them and after finding out the Soo Hoo actually always looked out for him, her feelings for both Soo Hoo and Jae Ha will merge - the way Soo Hoo's did when he found out she was his Eun Young.

As for Ina, I feel sorry for her but she should have kept in touch. 15 years is a long time not to be in touch with your first love. Well now that I feel sad for her I can be generous and wish that she'll get together with Phillip.

Aaaaaand there is the worst parent in this story who is trying to use his current little boy to get more money for himself - old but unchaged and unrepentant, he is trying to ruin another child's life. Well I do not like the boy who plays Kang Go (Soo Hoo's little bro) but no one deserves that evil a father. And it pains me to imagine who would Soo Hoo feel when he meets him (I think he will see him, both he and Eun Young). Stupid evil dad.

Episode 15 ended with Eun Young finding childhood pictures of Ina and real Jae Ha by accident and of course right at that moment Jae Ha/Soo Hop and Ina walk in the office to witness her shock.
It is weird that how Jae Ha and Soo Hoo are almost identical 12 year olds but they never put the long lost twin angle (which would have been the kitchen sink I suppose)

I simply can't wait!!!!!

Spring Waltz Eps 10-11-12

Spring Waltz entered the "OTP loving eachother and starting a relationship but everyone around them is against it" stage. Jae Ha announced that the girl he loves is Eun Young and Ina & Phillip seemed shocked by this. Ina stupid woman, you can't marry a guy just because you love him and his mother thinks you are the ideal mate for him.

Not to mention the fact that Jae Ha is actually Soo Ho and has met his brother without either knowing that they are brothers. Meanwhile the evil dad is alive and still makes his child work while he indulges in alchohol and gambling.

Somekind of Wonderful, The Skin I Live In, Meet The Parents 3, Sprin Waltz Eps 1-9

Somekind of Wonderful Of all the films written by John Hughes this is the one I liked best. I do like Eric Stolz and the other two female leads were very good in their parts. It is no wonder that I actually cried in this one.

The Skin I Live In This is one of those films I was glad that I stayed away from spoilers. It was so good the first time but as with almost all Almodovar films this one is a keeper anyway. And I usually do not care for soundtracks of the films but this one shot right at my heart. Full of strings and I plan on seeking it out.

Meet The Parents 3 The only parts that actually made me laugh were the ones with Owen Wilson.

Meanwhile My Cousin Rachel is simply excellent. I think I may even like it better than Rebecca. Daphe Du Maurier is great at conveying sinister in her prose.

The real viewing highlight of my weekend though is Spring Waltz, the last of the season series. And so far it is my favorite. God I forgot how the visual sensibilities of this PD appeal to me and how I do like a slow paced melodrama. This one is even better because the children version is usually integrated into the adult version episodes. The leads are all good. Now Daniel Henney is a fine looking man, not really a good actor but this role is tailor made (and I suspect it literally was) for him. The secondary girl is normal looking but suitably jelaous with a hint of mental. The main lead is broody and moody but with a smile that lights up the screen - I even like his hair do!. Main girl is the angel type who is innocent, good and kind also had a serious illness in the past. At the end of episode 9 they hint at future parental disappoval too. All the season clichés I know and love. And how I missed them! But more importantly the visuals are so so good. The best in the season series so far and the soundtrack is adorable (it helps if you like American folk song Clementine, I do). All in all this is like seeing a cherished friend who was away for a long time.

Moonlight Mile - End, You are My Pet, My Cousin Rachel

Moonlight Mile ended and I didn't feel like leaving the book yet. Dennis Lehane I love you.

I also love Daphne Du Maurier. Started My Cousin Rachel this morning at the staff shuttle bus and didn't want to drop it. Started so nicely and going on very very well so far.

I also watched You are My Pet last night and it was such a bad film that even I who tends to go easy on bad rom-coms regretted watching it. Well since I truly like Jang Geun Seuk and his speaking voice I have watched it till the end but it didn't get any better. It is a weird plot made worse by a truly bad script and silly direction. Seriously. Well I could have felt some satisfaction if only there was a modicum of chemistry between the lead but no. They looked and felt like brother and sister. Safely skip it even if you like any of the actors (and I like both), do not even come near this one, you may be contaminated.

Sitcoms and Moonlight Mile

The last two nights I was alone in the house (my mother and sister went to visit my aunt) so I had the sole control over what to watch. I ended up watching reruns of Big Bang Theory and new season of Happy Endings (which is not really that good but I kind of like watching it and thinking how not really good it is). Meanwhile Moonlight Mile is yet another excellent Dennis Lehane read. I'm most definitely impressed with this writer. Whatever he is telling comes alive with his prose and I do understand the eagerness of making films out of his novels and how these films pale in comparison (well I have only watched two). Mystic River - directed by one of my favorite directors Clint Eastwood - had some scenes exactly the same but the same magic is not there. Mr.Lehane's brilliant prose is missed. Even in Shutter Island (a more successful adaptation imho) - directed by another one of my favorite directors Martin Scorsese- still was nowhere near the tense suspensful feel of the novel.

Bedevilled, Fifty Shades of Grey - End, Moonlight Mile

Bedevilled is a film that would make it hard to watch again. Both emotionally and physically very violent. Koreans do not do classic horror well but they have a knack for this type of film (I Saw The Devil, The Chaser) and this one was no exception.

I have finally finished Fifty Shades of Grey and started reading Moonlight Mile written by Dennis Lehane. I like this writer, his novels are so good but they do not translate to film as well. Even Clint while making it exactly like the book, the way the characters talk and gestured etc. couldn't make it as good as the book. Anyway this one is a follow up to Gone Baby Gone (they made a film out of that one too) and even though I have not read GBG there is a decent little summary of the book and I don't feel like being left out. So far Moonlight Mile is reallly good.

Black & White - End

Black & White is completed on weekend and despite its numerous and obvious flaws I ended up liking this one - probably more than I should have. I even ended up crying hard in Episode 22. Also everything wrapped up nicely in the end. Vic Zhou is not bad and the other guy is also kind of good. I liked him here much much better than I liked him in Monga.

Now it is a high possibility that there will not be any withdrawal syndromes and I sort of feel lighter now that I have finished it. Like when one finishes up a homework or something like that. This is not the way I was supposed to feel no? Well that's it for Taiwanese dramas for me. It is not likely that I'll be eager to watch one soon. (I still like Meteor Garden better than Hana Yori Dango though).

And I'm very close to finishing Fifty Shades of Grey and I have realised that during a temporary insanity at the airport - that made me cause to purchase this stupid book- I had also purchased Fifty Shades Darker (well this sounds promising since maybe there will be some R rated scenes in that one) but I don't feel like reading about the stupid heroine of the novel. I need a break from all the shallowness and self love (she not only has an inner goddess but also a subconscious who pops up sometimes in reading glasses etc.).

No Black & White for the Past Two Days

The day before yesterday I took a day off from work and went to a shopping mall - I arrived there at 10:15 and it was past 19:30 when I left. Reached home at about 20:40 and after showing my family what I bought (a small haul, nothing really big) I went to bed. I was truly tired.

Yesterday a friend of mine visited me and stayed until 22:00 and again I went to bed right after because I knew that if I started watching I would have kept watching and be zombie again at work.

Now I'm not real keen on this drama but I also want to watch it soemtime and finish it!!!!