He's such a wonderful, versatile actor - but I think his portrayal of the heartbroken, lonely and vulnerable Feng Jing in Revive was simply flawless. He literally made my heart hurt.
the same principles of the novel were applied to the movie Cruel Intentions and it was great.
You make very good points and it's true that South Korea is still a fairly conservative country - though, thankfully, not as closed or strict as China has now become. There's a LOT of the novel they would not tolerate at all.
Your point about the idols playing the main cast and not being able to follow the the subtext of the novel for fear it could jeopardise any future career is very true and I completely agree. - power through sex; overcoming the obstacles with manipulations rather than brute force, and the notion that even in such a vicious society as that in the book, there are limits that must not be overstepped or God help you as the hounds turn on you; all definitely not what conservative South Korea would like, especially in a teen aimed drama.
I liked WDH the most, personal choice though, and the other guy you mentioned (I can't remember his name either) was quite good too. Didn't think of much of the rest of the cast though. ALL of them, whether good actors or bad, were let down by the appalling script though. The writers should be ashamed of handing that mess in and calling it done.
Thank for the engaging discussion - I do love chatting to fellow drama fans; especially when novels/books, etc are involved and they know about those too. Thank you again. I hope we can chat again some time. :)
Oh I meant to say before - please excuse errors; I've had a couple of strokes a few years ago and, whilst I made a hugely better recovery than expected, the mild brain damage I've been left with means my command of my own language and all the grammar, punctuation and spelling that goes with it is sadly lacking now. Apologies again - I do check it, but my brain often skips bits and so I think it reads alright but....it doesn't.
the same principles of the novel were applied to the movie Cruel Intentions and it was great.
The novel was written for a different time and societal structure - trying to update it for today's much more inclusive and laidback society is a good idea, but then the story gets lost in doing so. Which is why Cruel Intentions never really worked either.
To me the ONLY true solid, excellent actor was Woo Do Hwan...literally just him. He gave a really good performance, as he always does, and mae his character believable - no mean feat considering the script for this was so dire and ridiculous.
I think your criticisms of his character's lack 'villainousness' and the side story you feel is pointless are purely down to the writers and no one else.
I also think their other serious issue was with trying make a book written in 1782 fit into 2018. It can't be done; sometimes the square peg cannot be forced into the round hole even with a a really big hammer - this drama, like Cruel Intentions before it, proves that.
Of course bad scripts can kill even the best performance and from there an actor's role in a drama; as so many actors have found out over the years - and with most of the cast in this drama. So the writers of this drama really have a lot to answer for.
I felt this was watchable with an agreeably different ending - which is still better than Cruel Intentions.
Omg MIK was honestly torture. I ended up fast forward watching the last couple of episodes. You should give yourself…
I had to watch the episodes from 10 to 35 in 15 minutes bursts of hell. By episode 30 I think I'd slipped to 5 minutes as I lost the will to live.. But at 36 they picked up a bit so I gritted my teeth, got a big bar of chocolate to keep me sane, learnt a few new swear words in a couple of languages (I can cuss in Italian, Japanese, Russian, Korean and Gaelic now) and just went for the burn. I have to say I felt almost euphoric when i realised i'd got through the very last one. Please GOD, they don't make a second series.
I don't understand it though; It Started With a Kiss and They Kissed Again wre so good in comparison....well, in comparison to MiK they were oscar worthy but that aside why reboot a solidly good series into utter drivelling (I don't even know if that's a word but it fits), badly acted rubbish? Mind you the Japanese movies aren't much better but at least each one's only just over an hour long and there's months between to recover and scrub our brains. Lol!
the same principles of the novel were applied to the movie Cruel Intentions and it was great.
I actually didn't like Cruel Intentions either. lol! But I did like the end of this because it didn't follow the usual trope of the novel. Overall though, apart from Woo Do Hwan who was excellent, I think the cast was quite weak and that didn't help it.
I normally don't bother with adultery dramas because my father is a serial womaniser who cheated on my beloved late mum from when they were dating to the day she died, so I admit I have issues with cheaters......BUT the soulmate aspect of this does appeal as I am married to mine and I'm not sure that I would be able to resist him if I wasn't. So this once I will put my opinions to one side and just enjoy the drama. :)
Well, that's probably the first time I read an entire article without skipping a word. It's well written and ofcourse,…
Likewise - I love him. I like that he's quirky, true to himself and only does projects that interest him. Saito Takumi is another actor I admire for the same reasons.
I got - J's = 5 (so mostly Loyal Sidekick) and E's = 4 (so also part Lovable Second Lead). I can live with both of those. :D Finally I was G/K/B and F = All 1 each. So not much of the Cinderella element but also not many evils of anything here, which was a nice surprise as I've always accepted I have a dark side.
DIDN'T get ANY - A/C/D/H/I or Ls,......so apparently I'm not a strong female lead, arrogant rich or cool guy nor am an alien - my family will be as surprised as I was about that last one. LOL!
Woo Do Hwan was amazing in this - the ONLY reason I stuck with it. The rest of the cast was a bit m'eh in comparison. I reall hope Woo does a LOT more now - he's a brilliant actor. I did like that it was a slightly different ending to the original novel (not that you could've had a duel in this obviously, but you get my drift) - I know a lot of purists hate it, but I liked it.
I think the trouble is it's based on a Frnech novelL by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos called Les Liaisons Dangereuses. It was first published in 1782 and so is more than a few centuries out of date!
I do wonder how many other dramas are just going to do the rounds! lol! It's amusing to see different East Asian countries take on a theme allowing for their own customs, traditions and tastes. :)
They are PERMANENTLY banned from from being seen together jn public, Athena. I thought it was being together at…
Athena -- I actually do know of some. So I can find out the info and write it below. It's no problem at all; I love those guys and thought their stance on the Addicted project was incredibly brave considering their government's attitude to LGBT even then; and would always support them in future.
XU WEI ZHOU - this drama (Main Role - Drama) and My Girlfriend (also due out this year - Drama). here's the link to the MDL Page - https://mydramalist.com/28597-my-girlfriend
Looking at the cover, I almost mistook it to be a BL story :|
It's because the main male lead is the guy from the BL webdramas Like Love 1&2. I thought the same as you when I saw him as the mai lead and had to read the synopsis twice! Lol!
Well I'm not sure what you're expecting but what I think you're calling a "cliche" is about to happen...Ae is…
YuzuJavi -- Actually Korn WAS gay. He had a previous boyfriend who was in TWM....he was called Mew and even fought Knock over Korn. At no point has Korn ever said he dated or liked girls - but he DID tell Knock that he'd dated Mew since they met in High School and Mew was the reason he was at that University (which was another reason the their break up had so badly affected him - he felt he'd been a fool to follow Mew).
From things he said to Mew about their break up, to Knock about his feelings and to his sister and friends about his and Knock's on and off relationship, it was clear he'd long since realised he was gay. The ONLY one he'd ever told, because he knew she was his friend regardless, was Yihwa. Yihwa made it clear to Knock and others that she'd known Korn was gay for a VERY long time, not by guessing, but because he'd told her. It was one of the reasons she was so very protective of Korn; she knew how fragile his feelings really were - how easily he could be hurt.
When you see Korn's sister's nasty reaction, you can understand why he hadn't really told anyone else the truth.
Your point about the idols playing the main cast and not being able to follow the the subtext of the novel for fear it could jeopardise any future career is very true and I completely agree.
- power through sex; overcoming the obstacles with manipulations rather than brute force, and the notion that even in such a vicious society as that in the book, there are limits that must not be overstepped or God help you as the hounds turn on you; all definitely not what conservative South Korea would like, especially in a teen aimed drama.
I liked WDH the most, personal choice though, and the other guy you mentioned (I can't remember his name either) was quite good too. Didn't think of much of the rest of the cast though. ALL of them, whether good actors or bad, were let down by the appalling script though. The writers should be ashamed of handing that mess in and calling it done.
Thank for the engaging discussion - I do love chatting to fellow drama fans; especially when novels/books, etc are involved and they know about those too. Thank you again. I hope we can chat again some time. :)
Oh I meant to say before - please excuse errors; I've had a couple of strokes a few years ago and, whilst I made a hugely better recovery than expected, the mild brain damage I've been left with means my command of my own language and all the grammar, punctuation and spelling that goes with it is sadly lacking now. Apologies again - I do check it, but my brain often skips bits and so I think it reads alright but....it doesn't.
To me the ONLY true solid, excellent actor was Woo Do Hwan...literally just him. He gave a really good performance, as he always does, and mae his character believable - no mean feat considering the script for this was so dire and ridiculous.
I think your criticisms of his character's lack 'villainousness' and the side story you feel is pointless are purely down to the writers and no one else.
I also think their other serious issue was with trying make a book written in 1782 fit into 2018. It can't be done; sometimes the square peg cannot be forced into the round hole even with a a really big hammer - this drama, like Cruel Intentions before it, proves that.
Of course bad scripts can kill even the best performance and from there an actor's role in a drama; as so many actors have found out over the years - and with most of the cast in this drama. So the writers of this drama really have a lot to answer for.
I felt this was watchable with an agreeably different ending - which is still better than Cruel Intentions.
I don't understand it though; It Started With a Kiss and They Kissed Again wre so good in comparison....well, in comparison to MiK they were oscar worthy but that aside why reboot a solidly good series into utter drivelling (I don't even know if that's a word but it fits), badly acted rubbish? Mind you the Japanese movies aren't much better but at least each one's only just over an hour long and there's months between to recover and scrub our brains. Lol!
J's = 5 (so mostly Loyal Sidekick) and
E's = 4 (so also part Lovable Second Lead). I can live with both of those. :D
Finally I was
G/K/B and F = All 1 each. So not much of the Cinderella element but also not many evils of anything here, which was a nice surprise as I've always accepted I have a dark side.
DIDN'T get ANY - A/C/D/H/I or Ls,......so apparently I'm not a strong female lead, arrogant rich or cool guy nor am an alien - my family will be as surprised as I was about that last one. LOL!
XU WEI ZHOU -
this drama (Main Role - Drama)
and
My Girlfriend (also due out this year - Drama). here's the link to the MDL Page -
https://mydramalist.com/28597-my-girlfriend
HUANG JOHNNY -
Demon Girl 2 (Support Role - Drama/ 2016)).
https://mydramalist.com/21901-demon-girl-2 (drama)
Guns and Kidneys (Main Role - Movie/ 2017)
https://mydramalist.com/22358-guns-and-kidneys
His Excellency's First Love (Main Role - Drama) - released this year
https://mydramalist.com/25154-the-first-love-of-the-man-who-was-thousand-years-old (looks REALLY good!)
My Story For You - (says Main Role, but I think he might be the Second Lead - Drama)
https://mydramalist.com/22830-my-story-for-you
Operation Red Sea (Main Role - Movie/ released this year) -
https://mydramalist.com/22829-operation-red-sea
Hope this helps. I'm most looking forward to His Excellency's First Love and The Evolution of Our Love. :)
From things he said to Mew about their break up, to Knock about his feelings and to his sister and friends about his and Knock's on and off relationship, it was clear he'd long since realised he was gay. The ONLY one he'd ever told, because he knew she was his friend regardless, was Yihwa. Yihwa made it clear to Knock and others that she'd known Korn was gay for a VERY long time, not by guessing, but because he'd told her. It was one of the reasons she was so very protective of Korn; she knew how fragile his feelings really were - how easily he could be hurt.
When you see Korn's sister's nasty reaction, you can understand why he hadn't really told anyone else the truth.