100 Favorite Drama Characters: 8th Character

Boys Over Flowers

Favorite Character: Yoon Ji Hoo

        I was never a huge fan of Rui from Hana Yori Dango in the manga, anime or any the other drama versions yet Ji Hoo completely enraptured my very being. He is basically the perfect male specimen-handsome, talented, smart, kind and sincere. He constantly put others before himself, ignoring his own desires and feelings.  I much preferred him with Jan Di over Goo Jun Pyo, I felt that Ji Hoo and Jan Di had great chemistry and a really close relationship.

“I don’t know when it started either. But now, I can’t be without you.” – Ji Hoo

Dramatards Triathlon: Movies-7/10

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

Score: 6/10

      After Jesse's high school graduation, unusual events start occurring and strange things began happening to Jesse which his friend Hector captures with his camera.

     I enjoyed the first Paranormal Activity movie but I've been less than impressed with the rest of the series. The first film was interesting but the overarching story continues to get messier and more confusing with each subsequent film release. The Marked Ones is billed as a spin-off of the series and I surprisingly enjoyed it. I felt that the film was pretty solid and only started to fall apart toward the end. The characters are interesting and the paranormal activity in the movie comes in a different form than what we've seen previously. There's also more of the familiar elements in the series-someone sensing an evil presence and trying to ward it off, common objects revealing the sinister force, pictures/markings being found that lead to an investigation, an appearance by Katie, and so on.). I would much more enjoy the series if it focused on different instances of paranormal activity that didn't all have to relate to a central story line.

Dramatards Triathlon: Dramas-2/40

Long Vacation

Score: 9/10

        Minami rushes to her fiance's apartment when he doesn't show up to their wedding only to find that her groom has skipped town, taking all her money with him. She meets Sena, who also lives in the apartment. Left with no money and no where to go Minami moves in with Sena. Minami is a model who struggles to find jobs at 31 and Sena is a 24 year old pianist who teaches piano but yearns to play professionally. 

     This is an extremely popular Japanese drama from 1996 that garnered some of the highest viewership ratings ever, mostly in part due to the famous idol star Kimura Takuya playing Sena. This is an older drama so the wardrobe is dated and the plot is somewhat slow paced but that doesn't distract from the overall charm of the characters and story. 

Boys Over Flowers Video Review

       My first Asian drama video review. Hopefully I will improve in future videos. Feel free to recommend Asian dramas and movies for me to review.

Dramatards Triathlon: Movie 6/100

GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling

Score: 7/10

     I am not a fan of wrestling, never have been and never will be. However, I am a huge fan of the 80's but I have never heard of GLOW (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling). This documentary profiles the formation, popularity and eventual cancellation of GLOW. It also features many of the GLOW female wrestlers discussing their career and characters. Many of these women had never wrestled before and used GLOW as a springboard for other careers. The two most interesting women were Matilda the Hun (Dee Booher) and Mountain Fiji (Emily Dole), both large and strong women. Dee was a wrestler but was not allowed to fight men. At one point, she even wrestled a bear in the ring. Emily had tried out for a female football that didn't come to fruition. Glow was a great fit for both women and allowed them to showcase their strength and talents. I really enjoyed hearing the stories of these women and the impact GLOW had on their lives. 

Dramatards Triathlon: Movie 5/100

ATM

Score: 4/10

     There are quite a few movies dealing with people being trapped-trapped on a ski lift, an elevator, a room,a car and so on. ATM deals with 3 co-workers trapped in an enclosed atm booth by a hooded assailant. This movie isn't painful but it's not very good either. The 3 main characters make a lot of stupid mistakes and stupidity in horror always annoys me (The Strangers automatically comes to mind). They spend the majority of the film panicking and talking about what they should do. Also, it never revealed what motivates the killer-why he picks random places, extensively researches them and murders random people. Sometimes I don't mind a bit of mystery but for the most part I like to know why the murderer commits his atrocities.

Dramatards Triathlon: Movie 4/100

House of Fears

Score: 5/10

       House of Fears is about a group of six teens that enter a haunted house after hours while unbeknownst to them an unboxed stone idol will make their fears a reality. The film is somewhat enjoyable while exploring the haunted house and discovering the characters' fears. This movie felt like a 90's film made in the 2000's-the clothes and dialogue seemed really outdated. 

Dramatards Triathlon: Movie 3/100

Grabbers

Score: 5/10

      A small Irish community is attached by monstrous sea creatures, whom the village discovers have an aversion to alcohol. This is a fun monster flick with decent acting. 

Dramatards Triathlon: Movie 2/100

Maniac

Score: 6/10

      Frank is a mannequin restorer and serial killer. He meets a photographer named Lucie that he begins to have feelings for. First of all, I have not seen the original film so I can't compare the remake to it. Elijah Wood was really good in this role, his face is hardly seen because the film is shot from his perspective yet he still is able to express his character quite well through speech. The way the movie is shot also really adds to atmosphere and makes the watcher feel very isolated and withdrawn from the world.

Dramatards Triathlon: Movie 1/100

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane

Score: 4/10

        More like all the boys want to sleep with Mandy Lane. This film focusing on a teenager named Mandy Lane who all the boys want and all the girls hate. Mandy gets invited to a weekend excursion by a group of popular students where they begin dying off one by one. The whole film is about how everyone is obsessed Mandy Lane which is a bit confusing. Yes, Mandy is attractive and her body is decent but she has the personality of a piece of cardboard. It didn't quite make sense why the boys were so enthralled except for the fact that she made herself unattainable.  The kills were decent but the ending left much to be desired.

A Friend Lost, A Lesson Learned

   

         I mostly write about Asian dramas and movies on this blog but today's post will be a bit more personal. I attempted to look up an old friend today that I haven't talked to for a few years. We met at technical college in history class, we quickly became friends and took several more classes together over the next few years. Then the unthinkable happened, my friend Amanda became very ill and had to be hospitalized. While she was in the hospital and very sick, she developed water on her brain. This caused her serious mental issues and she was never the same person again. She wasn't able to finish school, lost her job that she could no longer do and wasn't allowed to drive anymore due to her mental state. I went to another college in another city and we lost touch. While looking her up online I came across something that shocked me to the core, her obituary. She had died on March 9th of last year. I have never had someone I was close to die before and it hurts so much more than I could ever imagine. I was shaking and couldn't breathe as read obituary, then I searched to make sure that it was really her. I am so numb right now and  I can't stop crying. I am also experiencing another emotion more powerful than the grief, anger. I am so angry at myself. I'm angry because I feel like a terrible friend. I let those years go by thinking I would always have time to see her one day-there were so many other things going on and I pushed our friendship aside. Now it's too late, I let those precious years go by and now she's gone. I have a bad habit of doing that to friends, I'm not good at keeping in touch and I'm honestly not a super reliable person. I want to change that, I have to change that. I have friends that are amazing individuals and care about me. My friends have stuck by me through the roughest years of my life and I don't deserve them, not one bit. It's a new year and it's time for some drastic changes, I need to start living my life and be a better friend and person. I hate how you don't realize certain things until something monumental happens. 

       Amanda was a great person and a fantastic friend. She was beautiful inside and out, however cliche that sounds. She had one of the most amazing voices I have ever heard, she especially loved to sing Gospel music. She was funny and loved movies as much as I did. I miss her and I don't think I will ever meet anyone like her again. She was a Christian so I am comforted to know that she is in Heaven and no longer suffering. I will never forget her, nor will I ever forget any of the great friends that I've had in my life.

Amanda K. Powell

1984-2013

Dramatards Triathlon: Dramas-1/40

Cheongdamdong Alice

Score: 7/10

     Park Shi Hoo is fantastic in this drama and one of the main reasons to watch it. His character Cha Seung Jo was unique and quite fun, far different from the normal cold and arrogant rich male leads in dramaland. I found myself quite disappointed in the female lead character Han Se Kyung played by Moon Geun Young. Moon as an actress is fine but her character was not a good person. Han Se Kyung wants a life of wealth and luxury no matter what it takes. Also, So Yi Hyun is not a good actress and her performance here further proves that point. I also didn't really understand her character-she is supposed to be a cold and conniving gold digger but when a problem arises she completely falls apart. She literally spent the entire drama crying and having hysterical panic attacks. The annoying character and Yi Hyun's bad acting made her scenes almost unbearable. 

2014 Challenge: Dramatards Triathlon

Dramatards Triathlon

     New year, new Asian drama challenge. This challenge was created by The Dramatards blog. Basically you choose how many dramas, movies and anime shows you wish to complete for the year. You can also choose to just focus on one or two areas.

My Goal

Dramas: 40

Anime: 20

Movies: 100

     I decided to do this challenge in stead of the 52 Week Drama Challenge in order to catch up on anime and movies that I neglected last year. I will post for every entry like I do for my other challenges. 

Dramatards Triathlon http://ddramatards.wordpress.com/2014/01/01/its-so-dramatic-the-sequel-dramatards-triathlon/