Uselessly Pretty Screencaps

the shoes got paid back too late--I wasn't wise to the loving Doom Shot yet when I first saw this

Nakamura Hwang is awesomely ambiguous...and annoying.

this may be a rerun, but seriously. They should be smug about this shot.

See what I mean about the high-tech, cool blue of this show?

Takes Maturity to Play Immature Right

Lawks, this show is so cute.

SO CHILDISH

it’s great.

The hero keeps trying to be That Chaebol Leading Man:

But he’s NOT. When he get’s a shower scene, we watch him spazzing over “How much did she see?” Literal flailing.

…When he was in his cartoony boxers and a T-shirt. Embarrassing but really, not that disastrous. He’s not  mature, not because he’s willfully self-absorbed, because his life has been so limited. You know a girl has never seen him in his PJs before. And he hadn’t chosen her to be the one…

This is something superior with a mature actor. Ji Sung, who plays Cha Ji Heon, is 34, has done his military service. He reportedly dropped 30lbs. before filming, which gives him a boyish look. His ability to look completely uncool, unconscious of the camera, is one I haven’t really seen in younger thespians.

And he manages, that way, to be completely adorable.

Though I actually am more drawn to him in his “mid-thirties” glory:

courtesy hancinema.com

…he looks like he could carry the groceries, but would put his foot down at carrying a purse. But also pay for dinner, right?

This kiddo? Not so much.

PROTECT THE BOSS HAS SUBS

I will go knit sleeves on my sweet-loli-kodona sweater while I watch it

but first:

I did already see enough to screencap some truly awe-inspiring sets we’ll be spending time with…

it's perfect that they've decided he's the one chaebol to live at home. Esp. since he's so hen-pecked

I love how much space there is. This is a theme–in fact, this house Chaebollie resides in kind of reminds me of the Taiwanese drama concepts of rich-people-houses, which tends to involve lofted ceilings (the ultimate waste of space and antithesis to most Asian housing, not to be rude) and useless objects d’art.

this grand dame is someone's granny at least once every year, but I don't mind, because she is awesome.

The living trees are something I saw a bit of in Lie To Me, being used well, but here they’re on a completely different scale. I love the “eco-grandeur” of even the office. I don’t know what this company does, but it believes in SCALE

this is like a Belle's Library room, except without the books to make it friendly. What is this room for?

what IS that on that museum-wall? action figures? That would make sense and also, be hilarious.

The whole company building feels a bit more like a modern-architecture-showpiece museum than any kind of industry center. Which is really kind of neat.

Also, I think some of the set pieces are also from City Hunter, which makes me feel a bit at home…

Fugitive Plan B – a melding of HD pros and cons

I’ve been watching an older drama, while simmering along in wait for subtitles on the shows that are current, starring Rain, and a lot of fun fight-scenes.

Also known (on Hulu, where I watch it) as Runaway Plan B, this is a gorgeously shot show where they knew how awesome shots would look in HD on a big screen, and planned accordingly.

As another show, like City Hunter, with an action/intrigue focus, and a high-tech friendly subject, they work a lot in cool colors for the industrial settings.

They also used locations where the detail may have been too complex to look well in lower resolution, but is drop-dead-gorgeous as well as evocative with a good lens on it.

Funny thing, though, the makeup department didn’t seem to get the memo. I first noticed it on Daniel Henney:

Figured it was just a problem of him being half-white and not matching the toners they had. But when it started really bothering me, I noticed that all the guys seemed to have the same color, and it looked kind of bad on others, too. They just aren’t the eye-candy type so it would bother me.

Even the leading lady was a little too yellow, when she’s a fair, blue-toned Winter. The subtleties needed for makeup on these newfangled shows was missed somehow.

There will be no comments on wardrobing, because I’m guessing it’s pretty easy to make guys look good when you’ve got Rain, who MUST be in v-necks and leather coolguy jackets, Henney, who looks good in anything businessman-like or average-guy-casual

and the ladies looked good in their suits, but there was *nothing* stand out in their wardrobing. I liked the detail of Jin-Yi wearing flat sandals of the kind of hippie type, and carrying flats a lot, but then sometimes she wears the high-heels of a Heroine, too. So I feel like they missed an opportunity for characterization there.

In the end, who cares? The point of this show is the compelling plot (which dragged a bit toward the 5th or so episode, but picked up again when the secrets were mostly out (an effect I was not expecting) and watching Rain ham it up.

Right. And eye-candy locations. It’s a globe-trotting, high-rollers-in-crime show. Why skimp on that?

Blast from the Past: Playful Kiss

I was rewatching a bit of Playful Kiss, partly to review Hyun-Joong’s acting, and was reminded of how enchanting the first episode was.

The BFFs and their weird little phrases…the school that feels like an actual school, just a particularly clean and nicely landscaped one…the uniforms…

If you’ve ever picked one of the many manga featuring an elite school, or a school with some form of elite class, you’ll probably see some wish-fulfillment uniforms. Not even joking, that’s really one of the criteria Japanese girls thought about in choosing a high school…and I kind of understand now.

The Japanese middle school I attend for some time had very mundane, but at least not ugly, uniforms. Navy blazer with no sartorial embellishment, red clip-on ties, a houdstooth check skirt with a pattern so small it had no personality.

If you haven’t worn such a set of clothing for months on end, can you understand how beautiful these ones are?

Cute little cap sleeves, piping on the sleeves to contrast, a tailored vest, and the cutest elements of the sailor skirt, without being too flat.

Ribbon ties for the girls, btw, are definitely one of the cuteness factor Pros.

‘course, this won’t keep anyone from trashing them to look a little more independent…

…how hilarious is it that the placement chart is *everywhere* at this school? It’s so true-to-life. It is VERY hilarious.

Asian schooling, FTW!

Mr. President, We Have A Problem, Sir

You can tell you’re caught up in a show, when at the big Birth Secret reveal…

you think, “Yeah, he looks WAY more like him!”

Haha. Okay, so my actual thought was, “Right, that mom and that dad make more sense when it comes to creating a Lee Min Ho, though he’s a little tall for both of them.”

Still, they did a good job casting, right?

Something interesting I hadn’t thought of before: the fact that this father also makes more sense in the City Hunter that grew up than Jin-Pyo’s brother’s actual son probably would have. I did kind of wonder, what if this kid had been completely unadept at all this stuff? What if he’d grown up like the actual second-best dresser at the Blue House?

what if he didn't even have this guy's head for technology?!

But Jin-Pyo and the president are actual more similar to each other than any of the other men (except Yoon-Sung and Young-Joo, but in that generation). A man who can make hard decisions. A man whose emotions are actually quite vulnerable, but also support his moral code.

They haven’t gotten soft just because they’re in charge, behind the frontlines, either.

I mean, look at how hot this guy’s hands are…

Jin-Pyo and Yoon-Sung are both *way* too vain to ever wear a hat like that with complete unconcern for anything but comfort, but it’s actually quite cute. (Yoon-Sung *is* Jin-Pyo’s son by nurture…)

Anyway, it’s cool to think that Yoon-Sung could grow up like this–someone with regrets, sure, but able to live as a human despite it, not a one-dimensional passion for money, power, or…revenge.

while I’m waiting for Protect the Boss to be subtitled (hurry up, people!)

have a gratuitous art-shot from City Hunter, may it live forever:

someone was *really* pleased with themselves when they set this one up

This whole scene was about the unspoken, things we know and the characters don’t, and so the open-ended focus and back-profiles are just good cinematography as far as I can tell…

awwww, you GUYS. I'm so glad you get along!

The space is both obvious, but not awkward. And I notice, that the scenes of the president are all very uncluttered but not high-style, either. The only really exciting place in the Blue House is the security room, actually. This choice, to not glorify or stiltify the national headquarters, is one that both makes the tension not about lifestyle but moral code, and makes the accessibility of these places to our main characters much smoother.

And stuff. Probably.

Last: gratuitous art shot of Himself.

you're welcome.

Icon Watch: TOP of Big Bang

Here’s the face:

And here’s his crew:

TOP of Big Bang has held his own as a figure in K-Pop by no accident.

Think of the competition: he’s one of two rappers and five members in his boy-band. There are dozens of groups with some of the same song-writers, choreographers, and similar concepts out there.

Where does he stand out? Let’s look a bit at the roots here, and talk Big Bang.

Big Bang is actual sunbae to the last group I profiled, 2NE1. Both are under YG entertainment, and 2NE1 debuted under Big Bang’s aegis, alongside them for the “Lollipop” commercial song.

The house style is obvious both in the music (pop R&B that’s catchy but has body, too) and a style that would rather catch eyes than stay classy.

Kind of personifying this is the group leader G-Dragon*. He’s small with a loud personality, a signature kid-like voice as a rapper, and the ability to wear an exaggeration of rapper style that’s completely ridiculous. He actually makes an ideal counterpoint for TOP…

a little preppy layered with gangsta

Who actually does best when taking a classic and adding just a slight slant on it.

One of his solo pursuits has been acting, including a turn as an assassin on the extremely successful spy drama IRIS. This show (from the MV I’ve seen of his cuts, heh) plays up the slightly sinister charisma he has.

The promo posters have him looking a little weirdly sleek, but in the actual footage, the punk arrogance and chic style comes across much better…

All the agents wear black, as far as i can tell–that’s very much the aesthetic of this show–but he makes it seem a sexy fashion covenant, rather than a professionalism.

One of his recent stylings as a star (not a character) is to have silver or insanely blonde hair.

It’s something that instantly boots that classic look up to something a bit more edgy. It sometimes ventures into pastiche, but the boy works with G-Dragon. Give him a break.

What it really comes down to is that TOP is hot. But in a kind of unusual way, especially for K-Pop boys. Rather than charming, he’s a little stand-offish in image, which is only played up by the penchant for suit jackets and ice-queen hair. He has a voice with a rough edge, and of all the Big Bang members roughed up in the “Haru Haru” video sequences he’s the one who looks not damaged, just accessorized. Would he probably look decent in anything? Yeah. But his stylists do seem to get that it’s best if you keep it simple, with just a couple things to telegraph “rapper, K-pop phenom”

is that...a pink butterfly earring?

 

 

* G-Dragon is actually the one I came across first. He’s actually one of the insanely interesting to analyze dressers that I haven’t gotten to posting about yet, because where do you start?

Hello, Myung-Wol the Spy. Hello, my crack of the summer.

Zany, is the word for the set-up on this show.

(Isn’t it curious how many excellent words for varying shades of crazy we have in our language?)

JavaBeans and girlfriday of DramaBeans.com were discussing how it’s an unusual note for a K-Drama to strike, this intentional-camp-and-pastiche with over-the-top plot points being integrated into a coherent plot. The craziness they love of the Hong Sisters’ dramas is similar (You’re Beautiful, with it’s meta-awareness at points, was pretty fun) but not quite the same.

Does it make sense that the North Korean spy-girl, who is so conservative and military-issue she’s never had a crush before, wears the cutest shorts with her button-up shirts over tees, and schnazzy (but not stiletto-heeled) boots?

Not really. And yet…yes.

She’s so clueless, she’s cute in a way that can be conceived as accidental.

I’m pretty sure this is why “top star Kang-Woo” can’t get her off his mind.

He’s the one *I* can’t get off my mind. With half his clothes, I want to avert my eyes (it’s like seeing someone trying to mimic G-Dragon’s fashion sense without access to the actual designers)

courtesy DramaBeans

one begins to wonder why he doesn’t spend MORE than a quarter of the show in that classic jeans-and-wifebeater combo he works like a boss.

And then you remember it wouldn’t be so hot EVERY TIME, if absence didn’t make the heart grow fonder.

But really now.

This guy’s charm is not like Lee Min Ho, and suits may look cute on him, but they’re never going to fit his actual personality.

whereas this combo is SO him. a little childish, a little all about himself...

 

City Hunter OTP: not what you’d think it is

One of the things about City Hunter that I’m surprised to actually support is that while the love-line between Na-Na and Yoon-Sung took the fore in a mini-arc, once it was kind of settled, the actual mission came again to the front. Na-Na was still a major player, because she was set up as a character involved with the whole package, not just his solace in a nasty storm…

Doesn't the navy-with-red seem kind of child-like, more a little boy's suit, so he looks even MORE vulnerable here?

though very good at that, too.

The focus of the drama was all about relationshipS, a network of them, where no connection came without a couple of knots with others. Even though the action was hot, it was the pieces of this network falling together that was the primary suspense.

And so, what was the best love-line? All shades of love are involved in this drama…

..these guys are so cute with their buddy-connection...

appropriate since the denouement conflict is over choosing between the love of loyalty, blood, and altruism, too.

So then, we have  Jin-Pyo, who made him who he is, and who is his harshest enemy. His mom, who he has the sweetest, bitterest reunion with. Young-Ju, with whom he has a rivalry that pushes both of them to excellence…and the funniest dominance games.

But who brings out the best in him? The human flaws and virtues?

So this is the prettiest pairing, yes.

Not Na-Na, actually. She heightens his conflict as City Hunter, and throws him into the hyper-reality of romantic love. No, this honor goes to everyone’s favorite ajumma…

Shik-Joong Ajussi!

I mean, look at these guys.

they get the brightest backdrops, even!

They have the sweetest exchanges, in terms of every-day back and forth in a friendship. The credit-cards arguments?

BEST THING SINCE COCOA

Sweet nothings? More like gossip-swapping...

They’re the kind of besties that usually you only see in US chick-flicks. Lee Min Ho’s other best pairing notwithstanding…

courtesy DramaBeans.com

It’s so cute, because while Yoon-Sung still feels the emotional lack of a mother, and all the ugly pressure of a swarm of fathers, Ajussi is the one who makes sure he’s living well, who gives him someone to take care of (who’s not a burden emotionally, but a real motivator to stay alive) and also a buddy who can help with whatever he’s up to.

Na-Na can keep up with the action, but Shik-Joong can be talked into doing the grunt work…

How cute is it that he’s the opposite of Yoon-Sung’s suave, plausible con man, and yet, he ALWAYS succeeds, too?

Aw. I will miss you.