For fans of Autumn Tale and Friends, you’ll be happy to here that the famous Won Bin is considering a return to the screen after his last drama production in 2004 Friends, a Japanese and Korean four episode drama.
Won Bin, after about four years, is considering to return to screen in a film and not a drama (sorry guys!) later this year. It’s not definite and chances are 50/50, but let’s keep our fingers crossed!
**credit to dramabeans.com for the information
Rating: 8.5/10
I want to take this opportunity to give a shout of thanks to dramabeans for uploading the episode summaries for Hong Gil Dong for the past three months and always having it out so fast. Applaud for dramabeans! As many of you know, Hong Gil Dong ended this week with a completed 24 episodes and coming up with a 1 hour special to fill up the extra slot.
I think that Jang Geun Suk (Chang Whe), Kang Ji Wan (Hong Gil Dong), and Sung Yu Ri (Enok) all deserve applause for outstanding acting in this drama. The acting was very convincing and even in the tense moments, you could feel the emotions and the chemistry between Enok and Gil Dong. Another plus was the sunglasses. May sound trivial, but I love those sunglasses! Just kidding. Another brownie point goes for the humor in this drama because there are actually some pretty fun moments, usually with Enok, that are funny and not corny. Not a shallow drama, because it does contain some depth in the storyline and there aren’t too many episodes that you feel like you’re just floating on water and not moving.
Some down points go for the chemistry of Enok and Gil Dong. The chemistry between was really nice and cute when was actually time for it and the couple looked really cute, but I felt that there were hardly any episodes that they were actually together. If you recall, there was time spent apart for the arrow incident around episode 7 and 8 and the disappearance which lasted for a couple of episodes. Then there were just some episodes that they really didn’t interact at all and then there the last separation after her grandfather was killed and Enok realized her true identidy which took off a couple more episodes. So… if you add them up, not too many episodes together, but I think that in this kind of plot, it didn’t make a super big blow.
The major boo-boo that I felt in this drama was in the ending and the last episode. It wasn’t bad… okay maybe a little, but it wasn’t terribly horrific like some ambigious endings. First, it didn’t really connect with the first episode that shows the entire drama as a flashback so the audience, at least me, felt - okay, this is going to be a happy ending so why not watch it – sort of feeling. But, no, let’s have everyone get married finally after episodes of torture and agony, and then die in a beautiful shower of …. arrows on fire! makes it so much the merrier. I love how the flying arrows were tried to be perceived as a shooting star kind of picture. Yah, we’re all happy so let’s just stand here hand and hand and wait to be stabbed by arrows and burn to death because that is always the prettiest picture. Although, I do like that no dying bodies were shown and the flower and the plant were still there, very symbolic that the Hwang Bil Dang group is still with us in our hearts. Also unhappy about Gom being picked as the next heir. What?! I love Gom and all but heck if you want a pair to live, like Gil Dong and Enok live, not the teenage boy. Way to go…. But I must agree with dramabeans that KING Chang Whe would have to kill Gil Dong and Enok in order for the protection of his people, not because he wanted to. I felt his pain too because he had to send people to kill one of his best friends and the love of his life. Feeling for Chang Whe….
But I must add as a side note that don’t just read the summary for this episode because watching it really makes a difference really really important for this episode. I think that the directors did an awesome job witht the mood in this last episode. There’s a difference because a mediocre ending and showing that it’s mediocre. I almost cried my eyes out becaues the dialogue between Gil Dong and Enok was so heart-warming it was amazing!
The very very end with all the abstract lecture to Gom and then Hong Gil Dong was standing on the roof of a building during the present time… that part was interesting, innovative I think. But I don’t think the stick would quite go with this time period, more like a gun or something, but it’s always nice to stick with the old.
I really recommend this drama even though I was shocked by the ending, but I think I’ll get over it… someday and beside the last episode, please do watch and support Hong Gil Dong!!! Excellent drama!
Just browing threw d-addicts to get ready for more dramas that will be coming up in the late spring and summer when I came across this one. Looks like sort of a Fahrenheit reunion with Jiro and Tang Yu Zhe coming out as cooks. I must say though, very attractive title….
Introduction to the cast first off. If you don’t know Jiro and Tang Yu Zhe aka Danson Tang, they’re from a Taiwanese band called Fahrenheit and I believe that Jiro was in It Started with A Kiss I and Tang Yu Zhe was in Hana Kimi and both are in It Started With A Kiss II. Genie Zhou from Engagement of Love and E Nu A Chu has returned to the screen along with newcomer Xiao Xun from Brown Sugar Macchiato who is interesting named Wasabi… Onto the plot, seems that Yu Zhe plays the silent lover from the sidelines, who is in love with Genie Zhou who has become a singing sensating. okay… and she randomly gets into an automobile accident and becomes blind, coincidentially right before Yu Zhe’s confession of love. He feels that he is responsible and wants to take care of Genie Zhou, but in order not to be a burden to him (how many times do we have to go over this, not going to be a burden! just try it for once, goodness.) she rejects him. (supposed to make him happier…) Meanwhile, Genie decides to suddenly eat fried rice and eggs which gives here the sensation of happiness and the cooker is Jiro (dubbed Michelin in the drama) who happens only to cook fried rice and cooks 100 plates a day for his town. So much for a totally realistic plot. Genie Zhou falls in love with Jiro (or just his fried rice) and vice versa which inspires Jiro to try for different dishes and tastes. Meanwhile, Yu Zhe looks on from the sidelines as his childhood love gets stolen by a guy named Michelin…. nice.
Well, sounds interesting and I’ll probably watch the first couple episodes and see if it’s not another mellow drama. With Jiro, it may be a comedy, so I look forward to it and hope that you guys do too.
(I know that I haven’t clarified this yet, but drama notes are just info. on dramas that will be coming up this year and are not targeted in particular. Just some background information for those who want to know whether or not to watch which dramas. I might just do it once a week on a Sunday or something…)
Rating: 7.5/10
This drama was the excitment for most Mike He fans in the beginning of the new year, especially for those who were disappointed with Why Why Love aka remake of Devil Beside You with a slight twist and change of names. Bull Fighting on the other hand started with a very intriguing plot, especially for a TW drama that usually use a classic plot line. Hebe, playing the strong-willed but soft-hearted girl who has always been protected and is bonded to a basketball court? A little wierd, but I liked the unique thought. Mike He, on the other hand, rich, handsome, and star basketball player, who is stubborn and waiting for someone to love him. Lee Wei, the man who is in a one-sided love interest affair with Hebe and to hide it, he decides to act as her bodyguard. Like I said, really love the originality in this drama, but Hebe and Mike He just didn’t click for me in the beginning. I felt that the drama was beginning to tread water towards the latter half of the drama with the “leaving you to benefit you” kind of thing and “I’m happy if I watch you from a distance” thing going on. Love it when I saw in an a drama once, but… kind of tired of it after seeing it about twenty times. Even though I didn’t really like the couple in the beginning, I started to see the chemistry in the end and really liked the ending. As for Lee Wei and his side of the love story, I felt for him after the realization of who his father was, but the leaving was kind of unecessary, but he came around, so it was a nice comeback. One of the bonuses about this drama was that not only did you figure out the ending of the main couple between Hebe and Mike, the directors also hinting Lee Wei’s ending with his lover. Very cute, very cute. As for Hebe’s other two bodyguards, I wouldn’t trust them guarding me, but very very cute, again, especially the outfits.
The music of course is also a very important factor that I consider when I rate dramas. A lot of people think that soundtracks are superficial and shouldn’t affect how a person watches or enjoys a drama. However, I really like to listen to how the background music stimulates the scene and good music always improves a scene. The theme song, by Tankm was very stimulating and meshed well with the opening scene. You can feel the rhythm and even though I’m not a huge fan of Tank’s music, it was one of his best songs that I have ever heard. The ending song itself was very nice and I give applause to the artists, but the ending scene…. well, very interesting. It was like basketball, matrix style. First, the dress and tux, creative and intuitive and the flowers (or whatever the white stuff was) were a bit heavy, but overall nice environment. It’s the acting that bothered me.
In conclusion, if you want to watch a persevering love couple going through a whole lot of hardship and if you think you can handle a couple of treading in water episodes give this a try. But in general, very nice drama and hope that you all enjoy!
I believe that dramas are meant ot bring suspension, happiness, sadness, relief, and romance into the minds of its viewers every time we watch a new drama. We see adn sometimes fall in love wiht a new couple that comes on the screen and applaud accomplishments and look down on foul plays and clickes. Prince Turns into Frog is one of my favorite dramas and probably will always be and I loved Ming Dao and CHen Chiao En together as a couple. The drama received high rating, but I always tell people that don’t ever base your own opinion on rating. What I dodn’t expect was Prince Turns into Frog II: Ying Ye 3 Jia 1. Same leading couple just a different setting and different supporting characterss. Not that I was dissapointed with this reuniting, just not in another drama. THe producers, directors, and writers thought that they could fool the public and predicted that Ying Ye 3 Jia 1 was be a hit just because of the couple. Wrong. But Ying Ye 3 JIa 1 wasn’t the only sequel that came out last year, Devil BEside You got an added attachment with Why Why Love. Mke He, Kingone, and Rainie back together again. Really, don’t get the wrong idea that I don’t love these couples, just not tactful to put them together in the same drama. Just seeing them in the same setting and drama seems to more like cast plagarism than a new drama.
But despite the knowledge that there are the same cast and characters, it’s always the best to give an open mind to every new drama that comes in your way. I wouldn’t have been so disappointed in both of the dramas if they weren’t both clickes and what I call “classical plot dramas”. The plot was, in short, two people meeting each other and originally hating each other, then falling in love with each other, and then being together in the end. Well, almost all the dramas are structured this way, so what is the problem with both of these dramas. Both started treading water towards the middle-end sections when both of the male actors get some miraculous disease (that are usually really random) and then they try to fend off the girl with some idiotic reason and always ” I’m leaving you because I love you.” I don’t know how many times I have to say this but, that’s sweeet and all, but don’t go breaking some girl’s heart because YOU think it’s the best for everyone because it usually turs out not being the best. Where has the originality gone?
I know this is late news, but just throwing it out there for those of you who haven’t been updated. As most of you know, Bull FIghting ended last week and its replacement is a new drama called Fated to Love, starring Ethan Ruan and Chen Chiao En. Very interesting.
This will be Ethan Ruan’s return to the drama screen after completing Wayward Kenting that finished at the end of February. Personally I haven’t watch one of Ethan Ruan’s drama since Green Forest My Home, so I am interested to see him in this drama. Apparently, Ethan Ruan plays an heir to a rich family business and has a one-sided love affair with his friend, played by actress Bianca Bai. Chen Chiao En plays a desperate girl who wants to tie herself to her boyfriend.
Literally. According to the preview summaries, Chen Chiao En get disoriented and mistakenly has a one night stand with Ethan. She gets pregnant and Ethan’s grandmother forces the two to get married. The drama apparently foues on a forced marriage as a result of a one night stand.
Chen Chiao En, pregnant and raising a child. Wow, got to see that one and in the meanwhile try to picture it because I dont think that I can. Ever since Prince Turns into Frog and Ying Ye 3 Jia 1, I haven’t seen Chen Chiao En, and to imagine her as a responsible mom mothering a childen with a husbadn is king of out of my imagination… On the other hand Ethan as a million dollar heir is hard on my mind too, but it I’ll give it a try. And finally, Bianca Bai. Since her acting debut in It Started With A Kiss and her follwoing drama with MIng Dao, Angel Lover, I’m really curious to see her act out her part as the other end of Ethan’s one sided love affair. Willing to give this drama a try….
This isn’t an episode summary on New Heart (sorry for the disappointment) just an overall review of what I thought of this 2008 medical drama.
Rating: 9/10
I must say, that I had really high expectations for this drama because of Ji Sung’s final return after leaving for the army after Save the Last Dance For Me in 2005. Overall, I really think medical dramas tend to really reach out to audiences because of the constant tension and real life experiences. And just for the note of confusion, I will probably be using the actors/actresses name instead of the characters’ names.
First off, I think that the acting was superb. Lead actor and actress were awesome of course, but I really like the effort put in by the rest of crew, including the other doctors and nurses to make the environment more realistic. Ji Sung, with his curly hair which I’m wishy washy on, was the perfect actor for his character. Optimistic all the time, but everytime a patient was in danger, he was always the one trying to keep them alive to the last minute. He always went the extra mile to make the patients happy. Really love him here and when he hurt his right arm, I was going to throw my PC at the director. Like how could you do this? Why? Glad Ji Sung was able to get back on track and become a surgeon again. Kim Min Jung was very impressive in this drama. Having never seen her acting before, except for a few clips of Stranger than Paradise, I was really interested to see how she was going to play as Ji Sung’s opposite as the lead role. In the beginning, her very…. anal behavior was really starting to tick me off, but as she changed, I realized her potential as an actress. Really very impressive and I hope to see one of her new dramas coming up soon. Lee Ji Hoon. Love him, but why the heck was he in this drama. I didn’t watch like every single minute, but he was a goner by I think around episodes 15-18. Rarely seeing him much in this drama was a kind of dissapointment, and really kind of a detour, but still lovely all the same. As for the love story between the two…. The kiss at the beginning of episode 11 was actually kind of interesting because of the way it was acted out. How was the director going to make the entry fresh and not one of the classic: run, hug, gazing into the eyes, and then in the silhoutte of a sunset, gentle smooch. Come on, I was looking for more originality. In the context of a medical drama, the contaminated blood during the surgery was a very innovated and interesting lighter for the love story between the two characters.
And of course, the best scene awards goes to the Tell Me dance. I have heard the song sung over and over again by the Wonder Girls and I love this new twist. Gave the audience a break from all the tension in the drama and allowed for a couple chuckles. Really love the doctors in girl’s clothing and Kim Min Jung gorgeous in that finally femine outfit that is usually covered up by the doctor’s jacket. The ending, like a mentioned before, not entirely romantic, but clean and cute. I really recommend this drama and I hope that you watch it soon!
