Reading and Watching
In a little vacuum after Legend (and before it took over, as well), in-between watching the airbrushed angst of Beautiful Days (seriously, Hero. Just ditch the family and move to Canada, Australia, or Brazil. You’ll be much happier), I have also tried watching/reading various things that I haven’t posted about before, with various degrees of success.
WATCHING
1. Angel the Series: I did start AtS and watched the Pilot. While a little clunky, it was nonetheless quite fun, whether because David Boreanaz looked quite good, I was amused by Doyle, or because of coat-billowing scenes. I like Cordelia much better than I did when I was younger (she is amusing on my screen) but I’d still sic a pit bull on her if I had to deal with her in RL.
2. I have watched Tricky Master, a made in 2000 Stephen Chow movie. The plot made no sense and was there just for very very lowbrow gags. Regrettably for my claims to taste, I LOLed throughout.
3. Me and Romeo x Juliet anime just don’t gel. It’s beautifully animated, has a cool concept and nice enough characters, but I find it a struggle to get through more than one ep at a time. I think I’ll be waving it buh-bye.
4. I have tried Legend of Hyang Dan, a two-part ‘special’ (i.e. short) drama, which is yet another reinterpretation of the famous classic Chunhyang story (you know: she is virtuous courtesan, he high official/righter of wrongs, star-crossed love blah blah). In this two-parter, the take on the story is comic and light-hearted, and largely similar to the classic tale but also with a twist. Our hero, Mong-Ryong, is a useless upperclass lamo by day but a daring Robin Hood by night. Or something. One day, running away from the law, he crosses paths not with Chun-Hyang, but her practical, sweet servant Hyang Dan. And that is who he falls in love with, not Chun-Hyang. Ergo the twist.
It appears cute enough, but trying it after the Legend is about the worst timing for it. It’s like having chips after a fancy French meal. I like chips a lot, but you have to admit, this would really not work. It also suffers in comparison both with the amazing arthousy movie Chunhyang, that came out a few years back (and was a serious, classic treatment of the story) and the adorable and sharp Delightful Girl Chun-Hyang drama from two or so years back, with its modern twist on the story. Of course, comparing an enjoyable if unearthshaking special with an arthouse film and two of the best kdramas out there is a bit unfair. It does appear a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours and I will be finishing it soon. Still, when a character made a Hong Gil Dong reference, I caught myself checking for more subs of HGD instead :)
5. By far the best of the bunch of ‘new’ things checked out is the currently airing Robbers. Robbers is a drama which involves a character played by Jang Hyuk (mmm, quite hot!), a handsome, unscrupulous conman who makes his living by preying on women and getting their money, and his interaction with a clear-headed, adorable single mother, played by my kdrama favorite, Lee Da Hae. Something tells me he will fall for her instead.
I am only 15 or so minutes into it, but I loved it. LDH is, as usual, irresistible. Unlike in her previous drama Hello Miss, she also doesn’t have to play a high-strung character, which helps. Jang Hyuk is handsome and unrepentant and while his character is not nice by any stretch of the imagination, he is incredibly fun to watch. I can’t wait to see sparks fly. Plus, the colors are pretty and other characters appear cool too. First five eps have been subbed so I foresee a pleasant catching-up.
I have also fallen behind on 1 Pound No Fukuin (and need to catch up) and can’t wait for more Hong Gil Dong.
READING
1. Heyday by Kurt Andersen. Set in 1840s USA, it’s a good read, a sort of novel Dickens might have written if he was a contemporary author. The author is a bit too fond of ‘oddity’ but it’s a good book overall. There is a love story, adventure, and a murder or three.
2. A History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage. A fun and poppy (if too Eurocentric for my liking) read about the influence on human civilization of beer, wine, liquor, tea, coffee, and soda.
3. Cygnet by Patricia McKillip. Based on a post by queenofthorns. It’s a collection of two different fantasy novels. It seems good so far but I haven’t read enough to be sure.
WATCHING
1. Angel the Series: I did start AtS and watched the Pilot. While a little clunky, it was nonetheless quite fun, whether because David Boreanaz looked quite good, I was amused by Doyle, or because of coat-billowing scenes. I like Cordelia much better than I did when I was younger (she is amusing on my screen) but I’d still sic a pit bull on her if I had to deal with her in RL.
2. I have watched Tricky Master, a made in 2000 Stephen Chow movie. The plot made no sense and was there just for very very lowbrow gags. Regrettably for my claims to taste, I LOLed throughout.
3. Me and Romeo x Juliet anime just don’t gel. It’s beautifully animated, has a cool concept and nice enough characters, but I find it a struggle to get through more than one ep at a time. I think I’ll be waving it buh-bye.
4. I have tried Legend of Hyang Dan, a two-part ‘special’ (i.e. short) drama, which is yet another reinterpretation of the famous classic Chunhyang story (you know: she is virtuous courtesan, he high official/righter of wrongs, star-crossed love blah blah). In this two-parter, the take on the story is comic and light-hearted, and largely similar to the classic tale but also with a twist. Our hero, Mong-Ryong, is a useless upperclass lamo by day but a daring Robin Hood by night. Or something. One day, running away from the law, he crosses paths not with Chun-Hyang, but her practical, sweet servant Hyang Dan. And that is who he falls in love with, not Chun-Hyang. Ergo the twist.
It appears cute enough, but trying it after the Legend is about the worst timing for it. It’s like having chips after a fancy French meal. I like chips a lot, but you have to admit, this would really not work. It also suffers in comparison both with the amazing arthousy movie Chunhyang, that came out a few years back (and was a serious, classic treatment of the story) and the adorable and sharp Delightful Girl Chun-Hyang drama from two or so years back, with its modern twist on the story. Of course, comparing an enjoyable if unearthshaking special with an arthouse film and two of the best kdramas out there is a bit unfair. It does appear a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours and I will be finishing it soon. Still, when a character made a Hong Gil Dong reference, I caught myself checking for more subs of HGD instead :)
5. By far the best of the bunch of ‘new’ things checked out is the currently airing Robbers. Robbers is a drama which involves a character played by Jang Hyuk (mmm, quite hot!), a handsome, unscrupulous conman who makes his living by preying on women and getting their money, and his interaction with a clear-headed, adorable single mother, played by my kdrama favorite, Lee Da Hae. Something tells me he will fall for her instead.
I am only 15 or so minutes into it, but I loved it. LDH is, as usual, irresistible. Unlike in her previous drama Hello Miss, she also doesn’t have to play a high-strung character, which helps. Jang Hyuk is handsome and unrepentant and while his character is not nice by any stretch of the imagination, he is incredibly fun to watch. I can’t wait to see sparks fly. Plus, the colors are pretty and other characters appear cool too. First five eps have been subbed so I foresee a pleasant catching-up.
I have also fallen behind on 1 Pound No Fukuin (and need to catch up) and can’t wait for more Hong Gil Dong.
READING
1. Heyday by Kurt Andersen. Set in 1840s USA, it’s a good read, a sort of novel Dickens might have written if he was a contemporary author. The author is a bit too fond of ‘oddity’ but it’s a good book overall. There is a love story, adventure, and a murder or three.
2. A History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage. A fun and poppy (if too Eurocentric for my liking) read about the influence on human civilization of beer, wine, liquor, tea, coffee, and soda.
3. Cygnet by Patricia McKillip. Based on a post by queenofthorns. It’s a collection of two different fantasy novels. It seems good so far but I haven’t read enough to be sure.