추노 / Chuno

Slave Hunters 2010 Korean drama (period piece) about slaves, slave hunters, and those caught in the middle of it all.

Jang Hyuk as Lee Dae gil, Han Jung soo as General Choi, and Kim Ji suk as Wang Son are slave hunters; paid by the government to track down and return runaway slaves to their wealthy owners.

Lee Dae gil came from a wealthy family and fell in love with a 'slave' working for his wealthy father's estate, but then things go terribly wrong, and suddenly Lee Dae gil's cherry lifestyle is at its bitter end.

He loses the girl, too.

I won't pretend to understand history and all it's peculiarities, but I will say that my confusion while watching this excellent nail-biter came in not understanding how 'fate' played a hand back in the Korean day.

Why were not ALL poor people slaves and just some?

Regardless, after Dae gil lost everything, he took up the unlikely career of bounty hunter, and after ten years, he went from being a refined pussy to a coarse bad-ass with spite to spare for the slaves he and his buddies made $ to round up.

General Choi (on the right - below) was a welcome but unnecessary surprise in this testosterone-laden, historical drama filled with half-naked men with plated chests, biceps bulging, and to-die-for looks; all topped off so sweetly with the long, sexy hair that is like 'cherry on top' goodness imo.





Then comes what I mistakenly presumed before watching to be the highlight of the show: Ajusshi Oh Ji ho as Song Tae ha; a soldier with soldier mentality through and through who forsakes his own whims (and life) to carry out his duties of state.




Yes ... my main attraction here has little to do with the storyline, the historical content, or even the popularity this thing generated from the onset (Average 31.7% - Nationwide, 32.0% - Seoul).

It's all about the dudes, their hunkiness, and especially about the heart palpitation factor for me when I choose to watch something from Asia - and Chuno fit that bill to the TIPPY top.





Lee Jong hyuk as Hwang Chul woong

Here's a video clip of him in action:



Him gots a sexy voice, too!
Okay, so Dae gil has this pretty humongous chip on his broad shoulders because of what happened to destroy his cushy lifestyle, his family, and the love he once had for 'the girl', so to say he's ruthless would be putting it mildly, and yet he continued to set free or help the slaves he first rounded up to have returned to their 'rightful' owners.

In the ten years since becoming a Chuno, he's carried a drawn image of his first love and asks everywhere he goes if anyone has seen her.

Early on, he's commissioned to find another, escaped slave who also happens to be a soldier loyal to a dead prince whose only, surviving son (age 3) the escaped slave/soldier plans to defend with his life.

That soldier is, of course, Song Tae ha; who has stumbled upon Dae gil's first love, and the two are running from the bounty hunters.

Oddity is - Dae gil's first love is no longer a slave but a freed woman who escaped a life of (ahem) misery by ditching her arranged groom at the altar.

So, Dae gil is after Tae ha, and the groom's rich family are after the girl.

Her older brother is what ruined everything for her and Dae gil, but that's saying too much for anyone who hasn't watched this one yet.

So, while on the run, Tae ha and the girl become closer while Dae gil's love (or burning hatred) for her increases with each, passing day.

In between all this madness is a lot of fun, intrigue, and hilarity that made Chuno that, much more enjoyable for thirty episodes - none of which seemed to lag, stutter, or even bore me enough to want to leave the screen to go potty or get something to drink until the episode was done and I could do so without fear of missing something exciting.

LIKE MORE, HALF-NAKED, SINEWY GOODNESS!

A dude who kept following our heroine around throughout the first half of this epic piece intrigued me as much as our dashing General Choi did, and when I finally took the time to find out who the hell it was driving me nuts and making me think nasty thoughts, I was left dumbstruck and in utter disbelief.

Danny Ahn as Baek Ho

See, before watching Chuno, I was enjoying a nightly episode of Let's Go Dream Team!, of which our young tyke Danny stars (on occasion).


Let's Go Dream Team! occasional cast members
Of course, the big draw (I think) for this, particular reality show is Choi Minho from SHINee (which I always presumed to be pronounced as shin-EE when it's actually pronounced SHINE-ee - go figure)


Minho from Let's Go Dream Team!
But, wait a minute fan-girlies ... while the dude got some mighty, fine hair goin on there, not to mention the height, and that 'oh, my, gawsh' freakin' cute smile of his ... someone ELSE managed to grab my attention (and my heart) and turn my head away quick enough to make my NECK snap:


Sangchu
But, he's not why I'm blogging right now, and this isn't about Let's Go Dream Team! either, only that Danny Ahn happens to be a semi-regular on that show, and then I was captivated by our mysterious-eyed Baek ho in Chuno, only to find out that Danny portrayed Baek ho!!!!


Sangchu and Danny on Let's Go Dream Team!
Fan girlie's wept to discover he was cacked in Chuno, and the way he went was a memorable moment, I must say - teary sadness event in the show.

Let's just say that Danny-kun will make a mighty, fine MAN some day and leave it at that, shall we?

Baek ho was this loyal 'something' to the man the girl Dae gil chased after was supposed to marry (I think), so after she booked, he was ordered to find her and drag her sorry ass back so the ceremony could commence.

One got the odd but unclear feeling that Baek ho had a 'thang' for our unlikely heroine, and yet, as many a Korean historical piece goes, the vagaries abounded and nothing was implied in this regard - even at his gruesome end, he remained a silent but hauntingly attractive figure in this show, which is odd in that it's also the way DANNY behaves in real life - silent, somewhat brooding, and as if in perpetual quandry about something that is bugging the crap out of him, yet he can't, quite figure it out.

"Do I really wanna be a rock star?" "Is this really what life is all about?" "I really, can't go after the chick of my dreams because it'll cause bad publicity?"

Poor, confused lad.

Right ...

So, for thirty episodes we watch as Dae gil, his handsome and hilarious sidekicks, and the various characters intertwined all converge at some point to either help or hinder Dae gil in his quest to find the girl and either make her pay, or lip-lock for an eternity ... I wasn't, quite sure what to think after awhile until I gave up trying and just sat back & enjoyed the rest of the show.

I learned a lot of terminology watching this show!

Here's a brief example:

INVEIGE (inveigle) me ... methinks ... mendacious ... spurious ... conjugalities ... NAVAL GRINDING!!! ... compeers ... becloud ... vulgar hangdog ... prattling ... clamor me ... importune ... engage in parley ... gravitas

Natch', the only one I got was the naval grinding reference, which is damn hilarious and one I hope not to forget the next time I ...

Still trying to figure out how vulgar and hangdog go together, too, since you're either vulgar or have a hangdog look about you (kind a like Danny!) ... so for the two to go together has me stumped, and 'conjugalities' makes it sound like 'sex things', which DOESN'T make sense.

Lastly, the folks at aznv.tv weren't, too pleased about the ending, and after all was said & done, I didn't know how I felt about it except to say it was probably the wrong thing to do.

I mean, you put us through so, much shit for that long a period of time, only to have us going 'huh?!' at the last, few frames never sits too well with an audience, and damn it, I want to know what happened FOR REAL to Tae ha!!

And now for my funny stuff (which is mostly comprised of bad grammar):

I almost want to believe he means 'meandering', but who knows

Okay - so the adj can turn into an adv in this case

gross, but still a sad moment in the show

bear the brunt, I believe

this is just a mouthful - and the word at the end is annoyingly cliche

they pixelated her cleavage!!!

speaking of a mouthful ...

Chuno was a blast to watch, filled with intrigue, historical references that might be true, and a great love story that ended on a rather flat note ~ but, what the heck!

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상두야,학교가자! / Sang Doo Ya, Hak Kyo Ka Ja!

Let's Go to School, Sang-doo!

SANG DOO YA!!!

This puppy goes ALL the way back to 2003, but who cares, and it stars Rain bi as Sang Doo, too.

I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this before, but my nick-name is Rain (Lorain), and my last name starts with a B - but since I'm older than the above-mentioned mega-star from Korea, it means I got there first, so I have no qualms about nor shame in using Rain B on profile pages and even at school - so THERE, Mr. Pop Idol, tight-bod name stealer.

Anyhow ~ we're supposed to be discussing Sang Doo Ya, Hak Kyo Ka Ja!, and so we shall.

At the aznv.tv website, not, too many folks viewed this, but an overwhelming majority of them gave it a 5 out of 5 rating despite the fact most everyone whined about the ending.

With regards to the ending ... I still can't figure out what the trouble was when it came to understanding just, what really happened ~ I mean, everyone argued that the couple simply walked away from their old lives to start anew somewhere else in Korea, and that is just, plain silly.

I'm never one to give away the plot or include spoilers in my blog, though, so let's just start from the beginning and see where it leads, shall we?

The story revolves around a young pair of misfits whose parents are the stereotypical assholes determined to corrupt or destroy their offspring by whatever means possible.

Despite that, boy and girl grow up to be respectable adults - and because Sang Doo is so, freakin' gorgeous, he's always surrounded by fan-girly sqeaky chicks all vying for his attention when he is truly in love with his childhood sweetheart, Chae Eun hwan (Gong Hyo jin).

Like most, every other Korean drama of this type, the misunderstandings, the innuendo that always goes over heads, and a general LACK of viable communication leads the two down separate paths that ominously predicts an inevitable, future meeting.

This occurs ten years later, with Sang Doo making a living as a gigilo and our mousy Eun hwan as a high school teacher.

Sang Doo first sits beside Eun hwan and starts talking about old times, and later on, she confesses to her new love about having suddenly met her old, first love again.

The new love, Kang Min-suk (Lee Dong gun), is a doctor who is treating a little girl with cancer, and she happens to be Sang Doo's child (or is she?) - so again, it's inevitable that the old sweethearts bump into each other again ... and again ... and yet, again throughout the sixteen episodes.

This is also another drama where two, relatively hunky dudes are vying for the attention of the same, frumpy woman who dresses like a 30-something old maid with zero sense of style or taste, and I never, quite understood that - but, at least I'm starting to get used to it at any rate.

And yeah, the little girl was on the kawaii side, but not completely - or, at least not enough for me to gush and coo every time I saw her.

Okay, so the jist of this one includes a lot of hedging, running in circles, and avoiding conflict by keeping quiet when reality dictates otherwise, but I guess that's why it's drama and not reality, eh?

Sang doo doesn't want Eun hwan to find out about his career, but he doesn't seem to mind elbowing his way back into her life, either.

He gets a job as a security guard at the school where she works, and he likes the idea of being that close to her again, but he tends to do everything wrong, and with gusto to boot, landing him in some hot water until he is eventually let go.

Not to be shaken off so easily, Sang Doo decides he'll just become a high school student in order to keep an eye on his gal.

See, back in the day, he never got the chance to graduate - but I can't tell you why, or what the circumstances were that prevented him from obtaining that goal.

NO SPOILERS

So, along with studying trig, economics, languages, and so-forth, Sang Doo maintains the gigilo lifestyle so he has the $ needed to cover his 'daughter's' medical expenses, and the wack chick who is the little girl's mother ALSO happens to be ...

NO SPOILERS

Okay-looking Doc, Min suk, is in love with our mousy Eun hwan, but that doesn't stop him from trying to get Sang Doo to change his mind about the way he lives so as not to disappoint, shock, or scare away the girl, NOR does he make much attempt to stop Eun hwan from reluctantly creeping back in Sang doo's direction, either.

Noble dude.

There is also the mid-point scenario where childhood sweethearts finally embrace, smile once more, and experience that blissful 'memory pleaser' kind of day ~ which ALWAYS signals that moment when we hear the needle scrape across the record and suddenly everything comes to a grinding halt ~ when our star-crossed duo are thrust into that inevitable yet unlikely twist of fate that tears them apart and keeps them that way until the very, last episode.

And, alas, in that last part of the show, when your muscles are now aching after having spent the past, fifteen episodes gripping the arms of your chair each time you THINK someone is going to 'get busy' so-to-speak, or at least KISS for crying out loud, only to have it NOT happen - so you can pretty much GUESS what is going to occur during the '...at an intersection' moment in the drama.

Sigh ... NO SPOILERS.

Regardless of the outcome, and I must say, the writers did something quite unexpected this time around, but still, in a far-fetched and 'excuse me?' kind of way - I didn't think that the ending was all, that horrible, and, I'm sorry, but I don't see how it is possible to misconstrue what occurred AFTER the '...at that intersection' moment.

You go, RAIN BI ~ it's a far cry from Full House, and a lot, less mellow dramatic than A Love to Kill ~ so here's hoping to see you on the big screen again soon ................................

!THE FUGITIVE!

That actually is released today, isn't it?

Not that it matters, since it'll be awhile before 'I' get to see it - so I'm looking forward to it - especially since it ALSO stars Daniel Henney!

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야수와 미녀 / Ya-soo-wa Mi-nyeo

Beast and the Beauty



2006 Korean movie about a guy not so gorgeous who semi-stalks and then ends up befriending a blind girl who just happens to be really pretty.

It's a funny movie as Korean standards dictate, but it also had a few moments that lagged, which in no way detracted from this film.

While she's still unable to see, Shin Mi na's character falls in love with the homely but doting man who first pretended to be a taxi driver until she figured it out, but by then she liked him and expected that he continue with the charade.

Ryu Seung beom plays the doting man with less-than-average (by Korean cinema standards) looks who first freaks out and then becomes manic once he realizes the girl is about to gain back her sight through a cornea transplant.

He contemplates plastic surgery, and the visit to the doc is hilariously memorable.

He begs for help from a friend and co-worker, who doles out optimistic advice that falls on deaf ears.

Then, our newly sighted heroine sees (blurrily) a man standing across the street in front of a car, and he's waving frantically, so she runs toward him, thinking it is her boyfriend whom she hasn't seen yet but is anxious to finally come face-to-face with now that she has new eyes.

The man she 'thinks' is her love is actually Kim Kang woo starring as a police detective waving down his comrades so that they can pursue a gang of thugs.

Seated on the passenger side, Shin Mi na is taken on a fast-pace ride through the city streets while the cop and his backseat comrades are trying to figure out what she is doing there.

Turns out Kang woo's character was 'Mr. Popular' back in high school, and that Seung beom tried but failed to compete with the charismatic charmer who always stole his thunder.

Being who he is, Seung beom's character almost immediately concedes defeat, but not quite - and a member of the gang the cops rounded up who managed to escape is always behind our unlikely hero offering useless advice, too.

Korean's have a terrific sense of humor, and this movie proved that point on a number of occasions, but I can't say it was the most hilarious thing I've seen from them - and I won't say it was the worst, either.

Give it a go if you have the time, and I think you'll see what I mean.

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아빠가 여자를 좋아해 / Abbaga Yeojareul Jongahhae

Lady Daddy



January, 2010, Korean movie about a young boy searching for his real father, who turns out to be a woman (now).

Lee Pil mo stars in this one as an uppity reconstructive surgeon who once mentally and physically tortured the lead actress, (Lee Na yong as Ji hyeon) when he was a guy studying to become a physician but who ends up changing professions as well as his gender.




Pil mo's Min kyu eventually marries the woman Ji hyeon had a one-night stand with, and he treats the little boy like his own child.

No one from the past (save Ji hyeon's best friend) knows about the sex-change operation, and for at least ten years, Ji hyeon makes it on 'her' own as a photographer - but then the little boy sneaks away from a school camping trip and sets out to find his real father and all that begins to unravel.

This wasn't a particularly funny, outrageous, controversial, or even predictable movie, but it was worth watching imho - especially since Lee Pil mo was involved.

I thought that the story had meaning, and that the touchy topic was handled with enough finesse to keep those snooty enough to 'tsk' in disdain from even doing that much.

Only drawback for me was that Lee Na young didn't pass off the 'man' aspect of her role as well as expected, but she did a nice job trying at any rate.

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