Watching stuff
Watched:
Antique (thanks to margueritem!), the Korean movie version of Fumi Yoshinaga's manga, Antique Bakery. Highly recommend this. It was funny, sweet, enjoyable, a little surreal, and pretty close to the manga, though condensed for movie-length. Closer to the manga, imo, than the Japanese TV series version (though that had its own charm).
Sort of watching:
Police Women of Broward County. Only because the strangely compelling Wife Swap ("Mom Swap" would be a more accurate title, imo) was starting to depress me for the number of women -- younger than I am -- who think a woman's role is to serve and be subservient to men. One day when I switched channels I stumbled across Police Women of Broward County and there was something satisfying about these women not taking any shit. However, it's a law enforcement reality show, so it's (a) unevenly interesting, and (b) its own kind of depressing (poverty, ignorance, greed, prejudice, obstinance). Not something I have on season pass.
Watching:
Leverage. Still loving it!
Legend of the Seeker. Ditto. I really enjoy this show, and it makes me happy every weekend when I see it pop up on my TiVo.
The City Hall. Korean comedy-drama series about a hot-shot ambitious politician, Jo Guk, sent to a provincial city to set up a puppet mayor, only to find himself increasingly entangled with coarse, uncouth, lowly civil servant Shin Mi-Rae.
After steadily hitting my embarrassment squick for the first 4 episodes, the series slowly became more serious and by then I was hooked. I have to chalk up most of my initial perseverence to the two leads: Kim Sun Ah as Mi-Rae, balancing comedic oafishness with glimpses of hidden practical smarts and inner strength -- enough that Mi-Rae's progress isn't entirely unbelievable; and Cha Seung Won as Jo Guk, whose cynicism and heartless exterior are obvious defenses around his emotional vulnerability. If there's one fault with Kim Sun Ah, it's that she's clearly not as homely as Mi-Rae is supposed to be. Although she consistently plays it as if she is.
Cha Seung Won as Jo Guk.
The relationship between Mi-Rae and Jo Guk is interesting because in their own ways they're both oddballs, and most of the time their worst enemies are themselves.
Edit: corrections.
Antique (thanks to margueritem!), the Korean movie version of Fumi Yoshinaga's manga, Antique Bakery. Highly recommend this. It was funny, sweet, enjoyable, a little surreal, and pretty close to the manga, though condensed for movie-length. Closer to the manga, imo, than the Japanese TV series version (though that had its own charm).
Sort of watching:
Police Women of Broward County. Only because the strangely compelling Wife Swap ("Mom Swap" would be a more accurate title, imo) was starting to depress me for the number of women -- younger than I am -- who think a woman's role is to serve and be subservient to men. One day when I switched channels I stumbled across Police Women of Broward County and there was something satisfying about these women not taking any shit. However, it's a law enforcement reality show, so it's (a) unevenly interesting, and (b) its own kind of depressing (poverty, ignorance, greed, prejudice, obstinance). Not something I have on season pass.
Watching:
Leverage. Still loving it!
Legend of the Seeker. Ditto. I really enjoy this show, and it makes me happy every weekend when I see it pop up on my TiVo.
The City Hall. Korean comedy-drama series about a hot-shot ambitious politician, Jo Guk, sent to a provincial city to set up a puppet mayor, only to find himself increasingly entangled with coarse, uncouth, lowly civil servant Shin Mi-Rae.
After steadily hitting my embarrassment squick for the first 4 episodes, the series slowly became more serious and by then I was hooked. I have to chalk up most of my initial perseverence to the two leads: Kim Sun Ah as Mi-Rae, balancing comedic oafishness with glimpses of hidden practical smarts and inner strength -- enough that Mi-Rae's progress isn't entirely unbelievable; and Cha Seung Won as Jo Guk, whose cynicism and heartless exterior are obvious defenses around his emotional vulnerability. If there's one fault with Kim Sun Ah, it's that she's clearly not as homely as Mi-Rae is supposed to be. Although she consistently plays it as if she is.
Cha Seung Won as Jo Guk.
The relationship between Mi-Rae and Jo Guk is interesting because in their own ways they're both oddballs, and most of the time their worst enemies are themselves.
Edit: corrections.