A Tribute to David Bowie on this #MusicMonday

David Robert Jones
8 Jan, 47 – 10 Jan, 16
Known professionally as David Bowie

It is sometimes what we perceive to be the strangest of people who turn out to be the most well-balanced of them all, and none more so true than with this man.

I'll start by offering a link to his Proust Questionnaire answers, published in  Vanity Fair  back in August, 1998, which is both enlightening and a fun read.

David loved to read, so be sure and check out his list of 75 must-reads that follows the questionnaire.

Now, I'll be honest and admit that not only am I still on the fence about Mr. Bowie and his music, I'm also just as stunned by my reaction to the news of his passing.

He was never a favorite of mine, but I did enjoy some of his music, which doesn't seem like enough enthusiasm for the news of his death to have this strong of an impact on me.

Die-hard fans of punk will know that Punk began back in the 70's (not the 90's), and with guys like David and The Stooges (Iggy Pop).

They both appalled and kind of terrified me with their weird hair, the make-up, outlandish clothing, and David's acid-trippy Ziggy Stardust type of music.

It was weird. Not my cup of tea, thank you. I'll pass.

But, there was also this, from 1975:

Young Americans (RCA)

Now, this was what you could call my kind of David Bowie fandom music.

I was in middle school at the time and coming to terms with the death of Motown and the startling advent of disco while punk loomed gloomy in the background (underground, actually).

It also seemed that I would have to put up with Rock & Roll forever.

Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, Blue Öyster Cult, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and the like, they all filled the airwaves and my ears for as long as I could remember, and I never really cared for any of it.

In high school, it was pretty much the same thing, and everyone still roamed the hallways in iron-on's (t-shirts) that depicted their favorite band.

Some even went so far as to try and emulate their favorite member of Kiss, but most of the boys wore their hair like Rod Stewart -- the shag. A style that would later grow in length and volume as new, louder, and more angry bands hit the  slim pickins  airwaves.

Disco was big, and the impact it had on my generation was the stuff of black-eye legend.

You either loved it or loathed it, and those who loved it were teased mercilessly by anyone who loathed it.

I secretly loathed both.

I  felt like there was something missing in the world of music, and I kept lusting for something different -- until the late 70's, when jazz-infused R&B arrived on the FM dial in Detroit and I was saved.

That empty feeling rang true for more than just the music being played at that time, too.

Everything that I had ever admired as a child in the late 60's and early 70's and couldn't wait to try once I was old enough had suddenly become dated; replaced with new trends that left me yearning for 'the good, old days' in my early to late teens.

Bell bottom hip-huggers became high-waist, straight leg jeans, and colorful, flowery, bold-print materials on flouncy mini skirts and short dresses became bland, earthtone everything.

 Brown this, beige that, creme this, tan that, off-white this, and mud that.

Unless you enjoyed Disco, and then it was silky, shiny, satiny, glittery gaudy all the way.

Blue eye shadow, fake lashes, and glimmering pink lips had become Au Naturale (nude tones), and lipstick or fake anything was suddenly a thing of the past.

Unless you were into the Punk scene and then you walked around wearing black or blue make-up (pre Goth era) with safety pins stuck in your skin and dared anyone who gaped at you to say something about it.

Long, straight hairstyles became short, pixie-like do's, and the perm took center stage even if you were born with naturally curly hair!

The punker's used egg whites to make theirs stand on end in plain or painted rooster tail styles.

There just weren't any respectable, I-can-live-with-this in between's in the fashion-statement world for someone like me: always on the outside looking in.

Now, I never blamed David or Iggy for this debacle in my coming-of-age story gone wrong, and in the 80's, I changed right along with David when he paired with Queen in 1981 for the one-off single release, Under Pressure.




and THIS was something I could live with and even like!

It improved when, in 1983, this debuted

Let's Dance

It's almost impossible to hear or see this album and not immediately get the song going in your head.

But wait!

A year later, Bowie worked with  The Pat Metheny Group  to record

This Is Not America  ~  The Falcon and the Snowman soundtrack

A song that still gives me the chills and makes me move, it's that good.

In other words, David had transformed to become someone new and different; more mature and approachable, if you will.

He became someone I could like; someone who's music now entertained and enlightened as it continued to keep up with the demands of each era.

Or, maybe it was because I'd exited my teen years and had matured?

Anyway, I've spent the better part of today searching about and learning even more of this man's life, his work and accomplishments, and frankly, I am happy for him.

He led a full, industrious life and is well-read, so what more do I need to say?

To conclude, I leave you with my number-one pick in the David Bowie library of music: a set-to-loop tune from his Young Americans lp.





DramaFever created a post that includes reaction from some of the K-Pop community. You can check it out here:  http://www.dramafever.com/news/korean-stars-pay-tribute-to-david-bowie/

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Oh, My Venus!

Title: 오 마이 비너스 / O Mai Bineoseu
Former: Oh, My God!
Genre: Romantic, Comedy
Episodes: 16
Network: KBS2
Period: 2015, Nov to 2016, Jan

Cast

Synopsis

Kim Young ho is a personal trainer for Hollywood stars. Even though he comes from a wealthy background, he suffered a devastating injury during his childhood. Now, he overcomes his problems with patience and stubbornness.
Kang Joo eun is a thirty-three year old lawyer. She has struggled to support her family. Now, Kang Joo eun is overweight and not so attractive.  ~DramaWiki (with changes)

Review

What this is REALLY about is a beautiful, young woman named Joo eun, nickname: Daegu's Venus. (Min ah).

She had looks, personality, and popularity through college but remained level-headed.

She worked hard to become a support lawyer, but she also ended up becoming chubby, run-down, and complacent with the status quo.

Young ho (Ji sup), on the other hand, while being born into the lap of luxury, had a really tough life as a child who suffered with (what the subbers referred to as a type of) cancer that meant numerous operations on his right leg just above the knee.

Young ho spent much of that childhood in a wheelchair.

His mother is dead, his father (Il hwa) is emotionally remote, and his grandmother (Hyo jung) is busy building the family empire.

Young ho grows up lonely and in pain.

However, he manages to overcome that obstacle and become a world-class personal trainer with a bit of a one-track mind when it comes to the body and health.

When the story begins, he's leaving Migu due to some scandal (with a blond named Jennifer Anderson -- LOL --  you decide if it is Jennifer Aniston or Pamela Anderson) and returns to Seoul with his two, good buds -- a hotty MMA pro (Sung hoon) and a twitty young kid (Henry) who code-switches but mostly speaks phrasal English throughout the show.

I think they added Henry's character not just for filler, but as an attempt at bromance with the MMA dude -- which didn't quite work for me.

Anyway, while our sexy Young ho is embroiled in this scandal and attempting to avoid his family responsibility, our nerdy Joo eun is being harassed, teased, and even stalked.

She's working at a prestigious law firm and is determined to trial domestic abuse cases, but her chauvinistic boss (who magically vanished less than a quarter of the way through the show) keeps shoving cases at her that do not appeal or that go against her moral ethics code.

She's forced to fly to Migu for a weekend deposition, and on the return flight, she suffers a stomach ailment that lands her on the aisle floor writhing in pain.

Enter our hero, Young ho, who is not only a fitness specialist, he's also great with all types of medical conditions and performs unlicensed practice on the human body.

(Don't quote me on that, either. The subs were DIVINE, but they flashed by too fast to really be able to read and comprehend -- maybe he told us about his MD status, but I never saw it.  Seriously, the Dramafever subs were great but moved a bit too fast most of the time).

The airplane aisle emergency is the first of many bump-into encounters within the first two episodes.

The two leads meet, clash, meet, clash, meet, clash, and then end up working together after Young ho discovers that our Joo eun suffers from hypothyroidism and needs to start taking better care of herself.

He's saved her a few times from a stalker, and once from her ex boyfriend, but Young ho is in the habit of 'helping the weak'.

The romance that forms is plausible, and at no time in the sixteen episodes did I get the impression that our sexy Young ho was shallow when dealing with our pudgy Joo eun -- more kudo's to the script writers!

Joo eun is in a 15-year, go-nowhere relationship with her high school sweetheart (Gyu woon), who happens to work for Young ho's family Dynasty, which Young ho will eventually have to take the reigns of and run against his will.

Woo sik dumps Joo eun and not too long afterwards, she discovers that he's messing around with her new boss, Oh Soo jin (In young), who also happens to be Joo eun's ex-closest college friend from their law school days.

Back then, Soo jin was twice as fat as Joo eun became but a sweet, thoughtful young woman with a sharp brain and graduating first in her law class. Now, she's this svelte knock-out all tall, trim, and mod as Joo eun's overlord (so to speak).

We got to watch as Young ho reluctantly introduces Joo eun to his world while Joo eun had enough time to show him hers, and I think that helped to create the perfect blend instead of adapting to one over the other or making one sound better/worse than the other.

The intensity increased late in the story and climaxed in a startling and terrifying way.

Yet, there is a happy ending, and it's a funny one, too.

Technical Stuff

The  downward spiral  trope is expected in order for the story to have purpose, but the Cinderella aspect is so over-rated and over-used anymore, I've stopped complaining about it occurring in every, freaking K-do to come along.

Joo eun isn't destitute nor impoverished, but she does hail from humble beginnings while our dashing hero who rides up on his white steed is beyond wealthy and beyond HOT.

The twist comes in that our leading lady is pudgy as well as nerdy yet retains her old-school mentality and doesn't allow her unbecoming transformation to get her down. It actually annoys her that others judge her for what she's become rather than who she is and always has been, and I think that's pretty cool.

What was also obvious and unlikely with VENUS was that while our hero is and always will be hot personified, his character lived in the shadows of not only his fortune but his fame and his good looks. He never quite saw himself for what he'd really become and continued to cast doubt on himself because of what he used to be.

Nice plotting there, script writers!

Joo eun also had a realistic amount of screen time to ponder her fate, overcome her loss, and decide it's time to move on -- as opposed to the script writers forcing on her an unrealistic 180, an illogical epiphany, or the annoying tough-as-nails I'm Done, Bitches!

The romance was gradual, as was the pace of the story.

There were infrequent flash-backs, and not a whole lot in the way of dwelling scenes with overly melodramatic background music to accompany it -- although the OST left much to be desired.

Was not impressed with the soundtrack for this one.

Individual acting remained superb by all, but together sometimes, not so much. Min ah is a class act any time, being funny, serious, and even mysterious when it is called for or needed in a scene.

Sir So will remain the undisputed King of dramas.

For a long time, I worried that he'd fade into type-cast oblivion as a bad-ass bad guy with huge kahunas.

Here, and in the last five dramas that he's starred in, So has shown us his ultimate range and depth of development. It is never contrived or forced and always believable even when he does little to add emphasis to any scene or emotion.

The third-place romantic couple involved in this one was simplistic, concise, and not as invasive as it could have been.

Strangely enough, I started to want more of their story and less of the one involving the two leads (lol and mian hae, Sir So-fine).

The two young would-be lovers had the kind of magnetism I had hoped So and Mi na would evoke, but sadly, it just didn't work out that way.

Lastly, we have the title to deal with.

Technically, if you are comparing it to  Oh my God, then it requires the comma-interjection: Oh, My Venus!

For emphasis, like:  Oh My, Venus (taking a cue from George Takai's Oh My!).

I chose to title it as I see fit, that's all.

Some Thoughts

As much as I looked forward to seeing VENUS, and as much as I love, adore, cherish, admire, and WANT Mr. So in my life (even if it is on-screen and not real), this turned out to be a bit of a disappointment.

The plot was good and the story flowed well enough, but this was not an amazing drama.

I am also a bit confused about why I really, really like both leads in their other dramas, but together in VENUS, the chemistry just wasn't there.

I'll admit to their working well together and sharing a bit of the same comedic personality, but it just wasn't enough to make me believe in them or feel any connection.

They won a Best Couple Award at the 2015 KBS Drama Awards, so I must be alone in my decision.

What I did like was the refreshing amount and continuity of believable romantic encounter scenes that this show offered -- for a freaking welcome change.

Hell, yeah!

Not a single eye-pop kiss scene and no coquettish virgin bullsh*t when it came to romance in general.

Well, there was that one instance when the hot MMA fighter finally revealed himself to the pesky model/actress who pursued his fine ass throughout the show, but . . . I think I was just as surprised as she was!

now that's a kiss, folks!

Speaking of the aside characters --

I liked Joon sung's having to deal with being adopted, searching for his birth mother, and discovering that she'd been in an abusive relationship that led to murder.

Joo eun's real purpose in becoming a lawyer had a lot to do with her wanting to champion just such causes, and they did touch upon them in the drama, but maybe not enough or with as much impact as I would have liked or at least expected.

They became a bit of an afterthought (filler) instead.

However!

I appreciate the simple fact that the story centered around the two leads and their eventual relationship instead of getting bogged down with a ton of needless fluff -- going into unnecessary detail with other issues surrounding the love story.

The two secondary leads and their on-again, off-again romance proved a bit stale after a few episodes. And they didn't offer any sparks, either.

Again, I was of the impression that the story would expound on the strained relationship between the two female attorney's when it didn't. They kind of left us hanging, and with areas of recap about the past vs. the present, and then at the very end the loose ends are neatly tied up and . . . all's well that ends well.

Disappointing, but not by much.

I also kind of thought that she presented much better as the timid fatty than as the reborn, slim version of herself.

Lastly, there was no Korean bitch-fest going on during any part of this drama, and I want to personally thank the writers for this bit of refreshing THANK YOU VERY MUCH in the welcome change department.

Even the anticipated Dynasty Dame's eventual meet & greet with her potential  oh, so beneath her family  future daughter-in-law wanna-be -- no claws revealed; no poison daggers aimed; no venomous slurs being spit out across an immaculately set table.

So, to wrap up, I liked it but not as much as I thought or hoped that I would, even if it did star Sir So Ji sub.

Screen Shots

nice crotch feels scene 

yeppeun

cool in a creepy sort of way

he finally smiled!

envy the stuffed bear

a recurring dream of mine

does he need something else?

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Sweden Laundry, a #review

Title: 스웨덴 세탁소 / Seuweden Setakso
Genre: Comedy, fantasy, romance, family
Broadcast network: MBC Every1, MBC Drama Net, MBC Music, MBC QueeN
Broadcast period: Nov-2014 to March -2015 Episodes: 16

A lot of new faces in this one, and with some stiff acting on a few parts, but overall, I gave this a high score because of the interesting story line.

Lee Yong Yi as the grandmother and Bom were like-able.

Hwang Young hee as the mother is too pretty to be a bitch omanee, but she still pulled it off in ostensible Korean-drama style.

Chang Jo as Yong Soo chul, the supposed love interest who ended up being more of a side-kick or extra than a real lead that could have resulted in this being a true romance . . . he was okay but could stand to gain a bit more skill/polish under his belt.

Sweden Laundry is about a young woman who doesn't seem to fit in right with her fatherless family.

The oldest brother is a bookworm who continues to fail the bar exam and the youngest is a stuck-up wonna-be actress in the making whom the mother dotes over and spoils.

Song Ha yoon as Bom is the monkey in the middle who gives the impression of going nowhere and doing nothing with her life yet is responsible for taking care of her siblings and bitchy mother.

At the start of the 16 episodes, she is planning a trip to Sweden when life gets in the way and she is forced to put that plan on hold.

Instead of traveling, she invests in a small building near her home and turns it into a laundromat, which she decorates in the Swedish flag colors and adds Swedish touches throughout to give the illusion of having traveled there.

The twist comes when she sees visions by touching her customer's garments.

It then becomes Bom's duty to try and help the clueless customer before the end of each episode.

The ability to foreshadow apparent disasters is a gift from her late grandmother, and the only person Bom ever felt truly loved her and whom she loved in return.

I think where Sweden Laundry went wrong (for me, at least) was that it started out one way and then evolved into something else.

It began as the girl with an odd ability who works hard to make a wrong right, and it turned into a stereotypical Korean family-affair type drama.

Hence the 4 out of 5 stars because despite that strange switch-a-roo, I still enjoyed watching every episode.

It wasn't a romance and there wasn't a whole lot of comedy involved, but at the very least, it was a refreshing change from the norm.

At least it was for the first half of the 16 episodes, anyway.

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Bachelor's Vegetable Store, a #review

Title: 총각네 야채가게 / Chonggakne Yachaegage
Genre: Melodrama, comedy, romance
Episodes: 24
Broadcast network: Channel A
Broadcast period: Dec-2011 to Mar-2012

Disappointing, really.

Still adore Ji Chang wook, though :D

He did a terrific job holding this one up despite its numerous flaws and fails.

It is supposed to be based (even loosely) on a real-life scenario about a man who ended up owning a chain of vegetable stores -- but that never turns out to be the case.

What it IS about is a young guy, his younger sister, and an orphan girl who befriend one another, and then the orphan girl befriends some snobby girl with a crazy omanee.

The crazy omanee is biding her time in a lesser-valued neighborhood until her Chaebol lover ditches his arranged-marriage wife and returns to her and their daughter.

The orphan girl is so desperate for 'family' that she allows herself to be degraded and cheapens herself by dissing her two good friends in order to be able to hang out with the rich girl.

And then one day something really awful happens to that wealthier girl with the crazy omanee, so for all of the episodes thereafter, it gets really Korean stupid.

The woman ends up passing off the orphan as her real daughter to the Chaebol dude who does, in fact, leave his arranged-marriage wife for her and his daughter.

This was far, too many episodes of we've seen this one before for my liking or taste.

The boy who is supposed to be the main character (the man who ends up owning a lot of vegetable stores) grows up with this sole purpose in life and runs into some guys who seem misplaced in society but who faithfully follow the leader throughout this 24-episode *sigh.

 Insurmountable odds, unbelievable twists, inevitable turns, and too much Korean-style angst tossed in the mix to make this an enjoyable or believable story about a real-life situation.

There was zero reality to this and zero reference to the man who seemingly made it all possible.

If you liked King of Baking, then you'll probably like Bachelor's Vegetable Store.

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Healer #Review

Title: 힐러 / Hilleo  
Genre: Romance, comedy, thriller, action  
Episodes: 20  
Broadcast network: KBS2  
Broadcast period: Dec, 2014 to Feb, 2015

 

 


Finished watching this afternoon, and like a terrific book you can't wait to finish in order to find out how it all works out, I felt the same way about Healer.  

Bad thing about that is, like a good book, when you do get to the end, you're sad to know it's over even if you were looking forward to the end!  

Man, was this good.  

The plot 

. . . I'll quote the KBS source first . . .
 

A mysterious messenger of the 22nd century, an online newspaper reporter who only concerns her own interests, a popular reporter who agonizes over the truth and reality. When these three people meet, a passionate romance starts and the truths from the past and present reveal themselves to the world. This drama features young people and how they grow into real reporters.

. . . and then say (like per usual) it doesn't make much sense and didn't help me to understand the story's premise.  

I don't know if Healer was a mysterious messenger from the 22nd century -- in fact, I don't recall anyone slipping through time to deliver anything throughout the 20 episodes.

What it did do was to keep going back in time, 1992 to be precise, and show us glimpses of why that story is relevant to the plot in the present.

Healer did deal with three separate types of news reporter, and they did uncover an awful secret from the PAST (not the future) that still needed explaining and exposure.

That much is true.

The girl, however, was hardly self-absorbed.

More clueless and suffering an identity crisis at the start of this show.

She had big dreams of a promising career in reporting, but there was something holding her back.

We discover what that something is later in the show.

Healer (Ji Chang Wook as Seo Jung Hoo / Bong seo) is a mystery right out of the gate and someone who remained elusive, sexy, and self-assured throughout . . . even when he eventually transformed into bookish Bong seo, the mild-mannered office gopher at the newly created Some Day News.

Both depictions of Healer and Bong seo made me love Chang wook.

Funny thing is, I couldn't get past the first episode of Bachelor's Vegetable Stand, in which he stars.

You can bet I'll be watching it next, though!

Long story short: these three reporters are connected by a thin thread from the past.

The eldest (Yoo Ji Tae as Kim Moon Ho) knows enough about what's going on to want to put an end to the madness, but there is something that prevents him from revealing everything all at once.

He hires Seo Jung Hoo to obtain a DNA sample of the female wanna-be reporter, Park Min Young as Chae Young Shin.

Jung hoo traps Young shin inside a public bathroom, clips her fingernail, and disappears, leaving Young shin to hyperventilate in his startling wake.

Once Moon ho knows she is who he always assumed she was, the real fun begins.

He hires Jung hoo to guard Young shin, protect her from harm, and be her friend.

So, naturally, a romance begins to bloom for the two of them.

Jung hoo is reluctant for obvious reasons and she is eager to find out more about the mysterious Healer while becoming good friends with his alter ego, Bong seo.

They had great onscreen chemistry.

GREAT onscreen chemistry.

I liked her start to finish, her acting is superb, and the two combined made for an enticing bit of sexual tension, comedic silliness, and then that heart palpitating moment when the truth is revealed (more times than just one, too).

Loved, loved, LOVED the OST!

I know the main tune (Eternal Love) by heart now :D

Although I kept thinking it was Peter Gabriel who was doing the singing.
 
Jung hoo is a bad-ass with some serious fight skills courtesy of one of the hippest, older Korean men (Oh Kwang Rok as Ki Young Jae) I've seen onscreen thus far.   Dude was pretty awesome, and he giggled his way through every one of his scenes while teaching Jung hoo those impressive skills.   Another bonus came courtesy of my all-time favorite female actress, Kim Mi Kyung as Jo Min Ja.   She plays a retired detective and works anonymously with Jung hoo to help undo injustices Min ja is capable of detecting through the use of some extremely advanced hacking devices and her own know-how.   Actually, everyone involved in this thriller of sorts did a great job. The goofy guy in the Some Day office always at his laptop, and his timid boss.   The young girl who lives in the streets, break-dances, and uses her gang mentality to help Min ja aid Jong hoo -- she was a scene-stealer.   I also kept wanting to believe that she is Kim Mi kyung's real-life daughter, too. Might just be me, but they look alike and even act/sound alike.   Healer was a wonderful 20-episodes that I was thrilled to bits to be able to watch as it rolled, and for which I'm sad now that it's over.   Encore!

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Discovery of Romance #Review

 

연애의 발견 / Yeonaeui Balgyeon

Genre: Romance, comedy
Episodes: 16  
Broadcast network: KBS2
Broadcast period: Aug to Oct, 2014

 

This was good.
Surprisingly good.

I didn't like the leading lady much, but she did an excellent job of portraying the character's messed up personality.  

I just wasn't all that convinced that she was deserving or attractive enough to have not one but two hot, successful men after her.

The chemistry wasn't there in either relationship, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

If you haven't seen it yet, this is a rom-com with more rom than com, but with enough com to make me laugh through at least the first half.

It's about a woman who experiences love at first sight and sticks with this guy (Eric) for over five years when things go south and they break up.

Three years later, she meets another hot guy (Seong jun) and the same thing happens again -- instant attraction, hook-up, and romance.

A little more than a year later, she finds out that Seong jun's Nam Ha jin is on a blind date and storms the hotel lobby to make an ass of herself.

She plunks down at a small seating arrangement directly in front of Han jin's cozy nook, hides behind a newspaper, and passes the guy already seated there a quick note to let him know why she's barged in on his privacy, and to please excuse her rude behavior just this once.

The guy turns out to be Eric's Kang Tae ha.

They're both stunned to see one another again, and she shouts at him about things from their past, but that Ha jin presumes have to do with his being there on a blind date.

The first half of this 16-episode melodrama with comedy tossed in for relief is about the first relationship and why they broke up and why she's clinging to Ha jin (the plastic surgeon with his own mixed up past).

It was a little disconcerting to have her mother, some guy, and her assistant showing up every now & then since it didn't seem (to me) like it had anything to do with the plot.

 And then to be just as confused with Han Yeo reum (Jung Yoo mi as the female love interest) living with a guy and a girl (friends) whom I was first led to believe were brother/sister, but then it turns out they're not, she's Yeo reum's sister and then no, she's not.

He is Yeo reum's brother.

No, wait. None of them are actually related. They just all live together. (scratches head)

The second plot was about Ha jin's past, his being an orphan who did something he felt was pretty mean to a little girl he once cared deeply for at the orphanage.

Those two end up meeting, and for the rest of the episodes, the secret remains just that -- because of his guilt.

Around episode 13-14, I got bummed thinking she would end up with the wrong guy.

By the start of episode 15, I was like, I hope neither guy is stupid enough to continue to want to stick it out with her.

It had a happy ending, and I was pleased with the final choice between the two leading men, but I'm still not sure how I feel about the relationship in general or its chances for survival.

Unless she makes some major personality changes.

The show flowed well, the music wasn't invasive, and there wasn't too much repetitious rehash of previous scenes & you-just-said-that dialogue, no 10-minute long dwelling instances of someone walking aimlessly while thinking, or a lot of weepy angst & brutality in the form of verbal & physical abuse like you get with most KDo's, which annoy and distract from the story.

If I recall correctly, there was only one instance of someone doing something that the camera needed to show in triple-effect, too.

I got the slightest hint of old 90's and 00's dramas -- like What Happened in Bali -- but nowhere near those dark and dismal melodramas from back in the day.

I said hint

 

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Hotel King #Review

I finally finished the 32-episode Korean drama Hotel King today.

That's right, I typed 32-episodes.

It was another of their drawn-out-deliberately dramas based entirely on ratings and not because the story needed that much time to be told.

Still, it wasn't so bad, or at least not so bad or tiring that I even once felt compelled to skip episodes just to get the thing over & done with, which says something, I think.

 

It was about a guy who started out in a rough situation after being adopted by Americans and then left on the 'mean streets' to fend for himself (LOL).

By age 11, he is picked up by a Korean man who claims to know the boy's background, and that it is the boy's duty to get revenge against the father who abandoned him.

The father in question is heir to a hotel with world-class accommodations and a higher than usual 7-star rating. The man who found the boy is cruel, vindictive, and heartless -- especially to the boy who later becomes General Manager of this hotel. 

The handsome GM believes he is the son of the hotelier and sets out to destroy him when he meets his supposed 'sister', the real heiress to this 7-star, world-class hotel.  

Lee Da hae as Ah Mo ne falls instantly for our charmer with a troubled past while he continues to ignore, resist, and finally self-abuse the budding feelings he's having for what he believes to be his own sister.

Lee Da hae is beautiful. Stuning, even. Great face, hair, eyes, and body. Amazing, really, and a good actress as well.

Long story short, a third of this story had bits of purpose, but it was still a drawn-out Korean affair filled with too much unnecessary angst, pregnant pauses, and recap to truly satisfy my need to know or want of more.

All of the cast gave stellar performances, and while I appreciate the need for levity in a 32-episode nail-biter, sometimes it came at the cost of that tension build-up while at other times it was just inappropriate or misplaced within a scene.

The main reason I chose to watch this drama was because I came from having watched the first season of Roommate in which our handsome hero, Lee Dong wook as Cha Jae wan, stars as well.

During the first Roommate season, Dong wook was filming Hotel King, which worked to intrigue me about him and the drama.

I gave this one 4 out of 5 stars at aznv.tv, where the use of Crunchyroll subs made it nearly impossible to understand what was going on due to an illegible font.

I'm unable to duplicate the issue here, but it went something like this . . .  "I&*%ll have to see if it*(^s okay to go into detail*&%s about the problem%$#s we*%@re having with the font."

Dramafever has yet to upload any episodes, which makes me think they are reworking the Crunchyroll subs so that they are perfect and legible prior to being uploaded to their superior yet expensive website.

 

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