Thursday 30 August 2012

Review/Short Recap: Episode 1: When love walked in

This drama really reminded me of ''Romantic Princess'' which has a similar storyline, but nevertheless- ''when love walked in'' had a good opening and kept me interested all the way.
Honestly, I only began to watch this drama for the cast. Since a very young age, I have been watching Fahrenheit's Calvin and have found him to be very charming and entertaining to watch. In addition, being a kpopper, f(x)'s victoria- whom I absolutely love, took the main female role. This made me want to watch the drama so I gave it a try and I'm happy I did.
So at the beginning, we are told how the two main characters ''ya yin'' played by victoria song, and ''yu jiang'' played by calvin chen met. Even though this sort of theme ''childhood lovers'' is overused in the drama world, I think that it sort of works for this drama. I think that the fact that the main two characters were childhood lovers is going to allow them to get on better and have a sort of connection which allows the love story between them to evolve later on. I like looking for aspects of the drama like this- it allows me to predict the future storyline for this drama.
And of course- the two children at the beginning of the drama HAVE to be seperated in order for there to be some plot movement- and yes, there it is- the screenwriter has laid it out perfectly for me on the table.
And then some years later, probably into the present (it doesn't say, but we can assume from the landscape of electrical overuse from modern buildings)- we see ya yin first. She's running around, doing her job as a postwoman- sending packages to companies. The first impression we get of her: she's friendly, down to earth and approachable. She seems to be friends with all the people she delivers to. Obviously, she's a very likeable character.
P.s. have you realised that the main girl is always the cheery one and that the main guy is always the moody one? Well, not always but you know what I mean.
And then they're sat in the car and we meet her friend, who's informing ya yin of the CEO of ''yuan group'', yuan hao tian, is on the search of his lost granddaughter (and guess who that is?) to be the heir of the group. But obviously, ya yin isn't interested and she's scorning at her friend who is in her own world- all dreamy. She's obsessed with the 3 talents of the company. And behind every success, there's a man/woman- and in this case, a man- and this drama illustrates this perfectly. I love how there's always a nut in every friendship group.
And then we move onto the scene were there are 3 employees of the CEO, who are sat down receiving video calls from women all over the world, claiming to be this granddaughter. But obviously- every single video call is outrageous- women who are willing to cut like 5 inches of their hair for a DNA test, women who dress like 4 year olds and claim to have never lied in their lives (i'm loving this drama world).
And finally a few scenes after, we see the 3 talents. The splitting of the screens increases the tension of the build up to see who these 3 men could possibly be or look like. And they're all riding seperately on different vehicles which show that they have different personalities. It also adds to their ''coolness' or ''manliness''.
And obviously, in every F4 ('Boys over flowers' reference), or flower group (for those of you who don't know what I mean by 'F4', there's an arrogant one- but astonishingly, this isn't yu jiang- it's his friend, Lu shang lin- played by zhoumi from super junior M (is that fangirling I hear across the world?). They're absorbed in their own lives, and shang lin states that if it wasn't for the search of the granddaughter - then they wouldn't be able to have this exhibition that they've set up between the three.
And that's that with their stories. But the main bombing is when they meet up. I find this scene to be very ''Boys over flowers'' like, or scripted. It always so happens that the girl makes a huge impression on them- her calling them something negative- and I'm beginning to wonder whether this sort of accountant is losing its effect now. But to the 3 men, it doesn't seem like it has, and they're starstruck by her knowledge of Bauhaus.
And in every drama, there's a snow queen -and this snow queen happens to live close by to cinderella. She's ya yin's ''sister''- there's not much said about their relationship, but ya yin lives with her- i'm guessing they took her in for adoption or they're cousins. Somehow, ya yin's ''stepsister/cousin'' knows about ya yin's connection with the CEO- and she's planning to take on fraud of her position with her mum. They have a photo, and are planning to take a strand of ya yin's hair for the DNA results and have ya yin's sister/cousin claim that as her own hair.
We learn that ya yin is actually a fan of design, as she communicates to this ''chuan'' person about the 3 talent's exhibition. She's editing her own design, and manages to please chuan, whom then in turns asks her if she's interested in a job as an assistant. Obviously she is and she stands up in excitement, knocking her chair over (she's so cute).
The scene next shows the CEO who's received the news of ya yin's cousin/sister and sends the 3 talents to their home to look up everything they need to know about the girl. So we're taken into the house and the episode ends around here

I'm excited to know what happens when ya yin walks into the scene in the house. Hopefully, that'll set off suspicions that perhaps ya yin might be the actual granddaughter (but we won't know until next week when it's subbed). I hope there'll be more interaction between ya yin and yu jiang in the next episode- cause the little encounter at the exhibition didn't really fill my apetite.
I think the actress who plays the role of ya yin's cousin/stepsister portrays her character really well. The way her eyes look like they're completely focused, and the way she speaks to her mum really shows her cold heartedness that we're eager to see in every snow queen.
I also hope from episode 2- we see a little more of yu jiang's past- how he got to where he is, what happened to him when he was taken away. All these parts of the story are missing and I think that the drama is going to slowly give us information by information like a piece of puzzle fitted together.
Having read the synopsis from dramawiki, I know that yu jiang is not going to realise that ya yin is his childhood lover straight away- and I'm glad that is the way it is- because it allows time for the two to develop feelings for each other in adulthood as well, and then later realise that they're closer than they already are. I hope that the way that the two find out about each other's connection is going to be interesting too.

Sunday 26 August 2012

Update: Review: Opening of 'Faith' & 'Five fingers'

Hey guys!
So i know it's been a while since i did a post but i promise you that i am absolutely still watching dramas but just been busy and not yet reviewed much.
So to update you, yes i am watching lee min ho's new drama ''faith''. (spoilers ahead) Watched the first two episodes and thought that lee min ho once again portrays his character very well though he could work on his expressions more. I know the whole point of his character is to be ''cool'' but i think that this can be portrayed easily by not only walking around grumpily (haha).
Kim hee sun deserves praise for portraying her character also- especially since she
has to play the role of a surgeon and watch those bloody scenes which i turn away from the screen during.
Secondally, i have many things to rant about this drama. Yes, i know dramas arent perfect- but when they are supposed to portray real life or situations within real life... Its kinda hard to not notice when there are many imperfections.
First of all- we are told that only one person can enter the time warp door... And we go through the whole chaos with the men deciding on who should go in- and yet, lee min ho comes out with another person- thats two of them?! confused
Also, the story at the beginning of hwa ta tells us that he walked into the time warp- so...does that mean hwa ta is in the present? Or has he died since the myth was already a long time ago.
Oh yeah- and when kim hee sun went through the time warp- did she not feel anything? Cause when lee min ho came to the present- the energy from the time warp came as a shock to him. But kim hee sun didnt seem to take anything from the shock when she switched periods and spent the whole last 2 episodes questionning the location and whether the were ''filming''
And lastly- lee min ho is supposed to be immortal with his magic powers- so when he got stabbed- why did he have to get her to help him in order for him to live?
I know i've referred to the characters as the actual actors, but please dont worry about that. I havent become familiar with their names yet- so i'll deffo use their names in the future.
And also- i know i shouldnt take the drama storyplotting way too seriously- but i cant help questionning the ambiguity and the incompletion.
But the drama does seem interesting and im interested to see how lee min ho is going to keep his promiose regarding sending kim hee sun back to the present since the time warp door only opens every 300 years.
The second drama that i've been watching is ''five fingers'. I've only managed to watch one episode of this- and currently the second episode has just been released. However- judging by the first episode- this drama has already swept me off my feet completely.
I love dramas that have a good opening and this definitely defines what one of these are. I love how it opens up on the main characters from their young kid ages. It gives me this sort of ''kim tak gu baking king'' and ''can you hear my heart'' feel to it- and I have a feeling that this is going to be just as good as both.
The beginning opens up on the older them however- and leaves behind a cliffhanger and this clever trick by the screenwriter keeps us intrigued in the drama. For those of you who've watched the first episode will know what I'm talking about. I think how they used the flames and the whole screaming really created tension and drama and this memorable scene catches our attention by the necks.
It's been a while since I've seen a music related drama (dream high was the last one). The only difference between dream high and Five fingers is how dream high focuses on modern music, and performance art whereas five fingers focuses on classical music and orchestral performance.
I'm absolutely a huge fan of classical music and have been hungry for something like this. A movie I've seen that focuses on classical music and orchestral performance is ''secret''- a taiwanese movie directed by the famous Jay Chou. Even though the music played sounds rigid rather than full of improvisation and free flowing like ''secret'' was- I'm still willing to give the music a chance since it's only been 1 episode and i'm sure more can follow on from chopin's etude (which is an all time favourite piece of mine).

But yeah- so tell me what you think. I'm sorry this review isn't as detailed as I would prefer it to be, but I started this post late at night and I was tired haha.

Sunday 12 August 2012

Insight into Reply 1997

My personal comments about the drama
OMFG. OMFG. Where to start off with this sitcom?
I love it SOOOO MUCH. It's been ages since an amazing drama was aired and this is it. Well, it's more of a sitcom then a drama- but i don't know the difference. But yeah- if you haven't seen it- WATCH IT. 

What is this drama about? 
Absolutely stunning teen sitcom. I would suggest this drama for teens because a lot of us teens can sympathize with main character, shi won (played by A pink's Eunji). Set in 1997- the story begins with shi won, a complete fan girl of H.O.T and it's member, tony. 
At the beginning you may think she's over obsessive and maybe even a sasaeng- but you can't help giving into her adorable charms. She's with her best friend, yoo jung (shin so yool) who's also a H.O.T fan- but then we discover something shocking about who she also likes...actually...two people she likes... 
And let's not forget my favourite character of the show, yong jae (played by superstar's winner, seo in guk). This guy certainly knows how to steal girls' hearts. Well, he's certainly got a strong hold of mine and it doesn't seem like he's going to let go of it any soon! 
Oh- and for you infinite fan girls out there, Hoya stars as Joon hee, who is secretly in love with Yong jae. This exciting twist is definitely going to bring another element into the sitcom which i am really excited about! 

Why is this sitcom worth watching?
Because it's different. It's unique. The plot's original and you won't find something similar (well, at the moment anyway). I love how the period of the drama flicks between 1997 and 2012. Going to the 1990's brings me back to my childhood, and not remembering much of it- I like watching this, seeing how life was back then...and here I am getting the impression that it was full of fangirling, bad hair cuts and bad students. 
The chemistry (or not much, you can argue) between yong jae and shi won is just SO CUTE. I wanna pinch their cheeks! And lets not forget the recent TVN Taxi episode where seo in guk confessed that he had feelings for eunji. Maybe his one sided love can be reflected in this drama very well. Well, I certainly think that it does. 


(Sorry that this post is really short- but I don't have anything much to say apart from WATCH IT!)
I'm going to end this post with pictures :D