Please Read!

First of all, I’d like to thank everyone who has taken the time to stop by this blog. It’s not a huge blog that gets thousands of comments a day, but I don’t do it for the comments. I do it because dramas are my way of breathing and feeling alive, and they make me happy. And I do it so that the people that do stop by, get a bit of a different flavour of review.

Anyway, I’ll cut straight to the chase: I will be taking a break from modern dramas.

I have been watching 미남이시네요/You’re Beautiful and have realized that my tendency to overthink things and make everything serious gets in the way of watching dramas like this. It’s supposed to be light and fun, but I find myself constantly raging about Hwang Tae Kyung’s verbal and emotional abuse. This drama is popular with middle school students, and it is teaching young men that this behaviour is perfectly acceptable. Meanwhile, young girls are being taught that they must endure such abuse instead of pursuing healthy, stable relationships. [I call this the "Twilight Effect."]

Once I have finished the show, I will only watch and review saeguk/historical dramas. As these dramas are very long (maybe around 50 episodes each), this blog will see fewer updates. However, I will be accepting guest reviews. If you wish to write a review for a drama, please use the following form:

Name/Alias:

Your website/blog (optional):

Drama Title:

Article Title (optional):

Send the above to tacti_sielu(at)yahoo.com or comment on the blog!

Movie reviews will continue as normal. Thanks guys!

♥ Tacti

Pick L20’s next drama!

As you can see, I tried to narrow it down to one choice for each language. But you are welcome to submit historical choices from any Asian country!  [If you can find me a drama from Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan, I may love you forever...] Ja Myung Go was selected as the Korean candidate solely because I’ve already started it before. I think I was around 4 episodes in.

Anyway, comments are appreciated!

Gong Yoo Released from Army!

You can read about it on Soompi. As my second favorite actor, I was really looking forward to him coming back. Though I’m taking a break from modern dramas, I would probably not be able to resist checking out his latest project. Are you guys excited? What sort of story would you like to see him in? He’s taking your call!

Note: You may have noticed a new tag. I have created this tag for news about actors & actresses that I think is important. As this is not a celebrity gossip blog, I recommend that you check out some of the blogs in my blogroll for that sort of thing.

Credits: Soompi

Boys Love

Contains homosexual situations and nudity

“This is not a tragedy. This is a story of love…”  -Mamiya Taishin0

Wiki | Yellow Cinema | Crunchyroll

Where to watch: Youtube

Starring: Kotani Yoshikazu,  Saito Takumi, Matsumoto Hiroya

Mamiya Taishin (Kotani) is a reporter who gets the chance to interview popular model Kisaragi Noeru (Saito). Kisaragi is a high school student with a bad attitude and bad habits – the worst of which is bedding a different man every night. A restaurant chat turns into a sexual encounter in the bathroom, and ends up with Mamiya alone and bewildered in his flat. Shortly after, Kisaragi’s modeling agency calls and complains about Mamiya’s arrogant behaviour during the interview, and demands that he make a personal apology. When the two start getting close, Chidori (Matsumoto), a childhood friend of Kisaragi, becomes jealous. Will he threaten the blossoming relationship between model and reporter?

Despite the quote at the top, this movie does have a tragic ending. However, it holds true in that it really is a story of love. Kotani portrays an arrogant reporter with rigid rules. He likes two things: being an amazing reporter, and boxing. However, he cannot swim at all. As an actor, I’d say that he is best at portraying pain through his eyes. While none of the actors in this movie could cry effectively, tears glistening in Kotani’s eyes were enough to speak volumes. Being rather tall, there were often scenes where his back is turned to the camera. I’m amazed at how he can express so much with body language, whether it be the way he stands or staggers away.

Saito seemed more like eye candy than anything else, spending most of the movie nearly or fully naked. His role is that of a high school student who pretends that he doesn’t care about anything when he was actually devastated at a young age. His only way of dealing with his sadness is through art. He is afraid to love again, because he fears that he will lose that person. But once he loves, he holds on tight. His crying scene was painful to watch, and he isn’t suited for very emotional scenes. I think Saito is more suited for more simple characters, as he expresses simple joy very well.

Matsumoto definitely gets the award for being best actor. He plays Chidori as the possessive childhood friend who has feelings for the other boy. He knows Kisaragi inside and out, and has seen him in every stage. His jealousy drives him to madness, and he decides that he won’t tolerate the changes that Mamiya has rendered in Kisaragi. Matsumoto was able to be both pathetic and chilling. The way he expresses love and anger feel very human to me. Of course, I always favour the psychotic ones…

Tragic or not, it’s worth checking out if you’re into the genre.

Rating: 3/5

April Snow

AKA: 외출/Outing

“Should we have an affair, too? That’d make them flip!” - Seo Young

Wiki | HanCinema | IMDb

Starring: Bae Young Joon, Son Ye Jin

In-su (Bae Young Joon) is a lighting director whose life completely changes with a single phone call. His wife has been involved in an accident, and is in a coma. In the hospital he meets Seo Young (Son Ye Jin), and they discover that their partners were having an affair. As they wait for their respective spouses to regain consciousness, the two gradually become closer and decide to have an affair of their own…

Tada, Kimi wo Aishiteru

[AKA: ただ、君を愛してる, Heavenly Forest]

I want to be fooled by your lies just a little while longer. -Makoto

Crunchyoll | IMDb

Starring: Miyazaki Aoi, Tamaki Hiroshi, Kuroki Meisa, Koide Keisuke, Uehara Misa, Munetaka Aoki, Oonishi Asae

Sagawa Makoto (Tamaki Hiroshi) has an inferiority complex due to the fact that he suffers from what seems to be a form of eczema. He chooses to skip his university entrance ceremony due to his fear of large crowds and meets the strange and childlike Satonaka Shizuru (Miyazaki Aoi). She manages to get him to open up to her, despite the fact that he’s secretly in love with his beautiful classmate Toyama Miyuki (Kuroki Meisa). Shizuru loves Makoto, and wants to love anybody that he loves and becomes friends with Miyuki. She develops a love of photography because of Makoto, and when he asks her what she wants for her birthday, she asks for a kiss. Shortly after, Shizuru completely disappears from Makoto’s life, leaving only letters and postcards from abroad as a trail for him to follow, only to discover tragedy.

Boo to you!

brought to you by Super Junior-M

It’s that time of the year, folks! Dress  up, eat lots of candy, and party! But even if you’re not into all that stuff, at least have a little fun this weekend!

From L20, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

He Who Can’t Get Married

Since childhood, I’ve been alone. I had my own way of doing things and didn’t experience things like loneliness. - Joo Jae Hee

DramaWiki

Starring: Ji Jin Hee, Uhm Jung Hwa, Kim So Eun, Yoo Ah In, Yang Jung Ah

Joo Jae Hee (Ji Jin Hee) is anarchitect in his 40s who hates people and marriage. Only two people outside of his family are able to put up with his insufferable personality: his colleague Yun Ki Ran (Yang Jung Ah), and Park Hyun Kyu (Yoo Ah In), the intern at his office. When he suddenly falls to the floor of his apartment, his pretty new neighbor Jung Yoo Jin (Kim So Eun) takes him to the hospital. There, he meets the docile Dr. Moon Jung Jang, also 40 and unwed. These 5 people are haphazardly thrown together for a hilarious adventure as quirky as Joo Jae Hee himself!

Spider Lilies

“These flowers are the gateway to hell.” – Takeko

IMDB | Wiki | Official site (EN)

Starring: Rainie Yang, Isabella Leong

Webcam girl Jade (Rainie Yang) lives with her grandmother, and is a free spirit at heart. Takeko (Isabella Leong) is a foreigner whose family was shattered when her father was killed in an earthquake, and her younger brother recognizes no one except for the tattoo that his father always wore. In hopes of bringing his memory back, Takeko gets that same design tattooed on herself. When Jade enters the shop, she is entranced by the design of spider lilies on the wall, and begs for the same. Takeko refuses, but Jade leaves her business card anyway. Takeko sees them as flowers of death, but to Jade they are reminders of her first love. Will the two be able to understand each others’ hearts?

Virgin Snow

A love surpassing culture, pure as untouched snow.

Wiki | IMDb | AsianMediaWiki

Starring: Lee Jun Ki, Aoi Miyazaki

Wait a second…Aoi Miyazaki is Japanese! Why is she listed after a Korean actor? And what’s up with those tags?