Follow on Bloglovin

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

2011 M.A.M.A. Awards


Hey Everyone!

So, I just finished watching another awards show. I figured if any of you are interested, the performances can be found here: http://www.koreaboo.com/index.html/_/music-shows/watch-the-performances-from-the-2011-mnet-asian-r11815. Just a basic review of the performances. I found the opening to be nice, since I really like Moonlight Sonata. The performance from JS and HyunA was really sexy, because I loved the chemistry between them! I am looking foward to when Troublemaker's (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irfFOxYloSw) video comes out! I also really found miss A's performance really good, though a minor fan dropping mishap. Suzy's random appearance in during Kim Hyun Joong's performance was also a cute addition. It was also nice to see performances by Black Eyed Peas with CL and Snoop Dog with Dr. Dre, really interesting to see some Western presence! The only performance I was disappointed in was Girl's Generation's opening. There were a few mishaps including choreography flaws. I guess I just expected better from them. Anyways, here is a list of the winners:

Song of the Year - 2ne1 for "I am the Best"
Album of the Year - Super Junior for "Mr. Simple"
Artist of the Year - Girl's Generation (I disagree with this one. Just my opinion.)
Best New Male Artist - Huh Gak (once again, nice!)
Best New Female Artist - A Pink
Male Group Award - Super Junior
Female Group Award - Girl's Generation (meh...)
Male Singer Award - Kim Hyun Joong
Best Female Singer Award (solo) - Baek Ji Young
Best (solo) Dance Performance - HyunA for "Bubblepop!"
Best Male Dance Performance - B2ST for "Fiction"
Best Female Dance Performance - miss A for "Goodbye Baby" (about time!)
Best Vocal Performance (solo) - IU for "Good Day"
Best Vocal Performance (group) - 2ne1 for "Lonely"
Best Band Performance - CN Blue for "Intuition" (Yay!!)
Best Rap Performance - Leessang for "Turn Off the TV"
Best O.S.T. - Baek Ji Young for "That Woman" from Secret Garden (finally got that right!)
Best Music Video - Big Bang for "Love Song"
Best Artist (China) - Jane Zhang
Hottest Asian Artist - Koda Kumi
Best Asian Artist - Aziatix
Best Asian Artist (solo) - Wei Chen
Singapore's Choice (most popular kpop artist) - Super Junior
Best Style in Music - Seo In Young
Mnet Specialized Award - YB

I was relatively pleased with the winners this time around (compared to the Melon Music Awards). Let me know what you guys thought/think of the winners and performances. That's it from me for now.

I'm off,

- B

Monday, November 28, 2011

My Love by My Side


Hey Everyone!

I finally finished another drama! It took longer than usual because this one was one of those family dramas that are 50 episodes long. I even skimmed through a few episodes, but it still took me a while to finish. I will be honest, I did check out the last episode before I continued watching, because I wanted a certain couple to end up together. Anyways, the drama My Love by My Side, was mainly about three families: Do Mi Sol's family, Go Suk Bin's family, and Lee So Ryong's family, and the connections each has with one other. The drama started with a girl named Do Mi Sol and her journey after realizing she is pregnant (teen mother). She was impregnated by Go Suk Bin, a fellow classmate and childhood friend. SB's mother could not stand the thought of her smart and wonderful son, being involved in a teenage pregnancy, so she sent him away abroad. In the meantime, MS had to go through social scrutiny and even had to withdraw from high school to give birth. She and her (single parent) mother, had to move away from everyone they knew. 7 years later, SB returns to Korea with his wife, and has no idea about the child's birth. Meanwhile, MS had completed college and was studying to be in the broadcasting business (ideally a news anchor). By coincidence, MS meets Lee So Ryong due to some odd circumstances (really funny encounter!). Initially, the two start off as friends, but eventually SR falls for MS. In the meantime, SB realized his son's existence, and tried to get closer to MS. All the while, SB's wife was getting suspicious. The drama then proceeds into more serious matters. I won't go into any more detail than this, but the drama involved all sorts of issues such as teenage pregnancy, greed, and inheritance. I really liked it because the villian character actually made my blood boil (similar to how I felt with Shining Inheritance, yet funny enough, that same actress was in this drama as well, but as a good guy!). I liked this drama because it showed a topic that may even be taboo in Korea because no matter what, teenage pregnancy is not well-taken by society. It was nice seeing that MS did not just give up school, rather finished college and even went into a difficult field. I hope you will check this drama out because it is definitely worth a watch! I give this drama a 5 out of 5 stars.

Here are some hi-lights from the drama (SPOILER ALERT):

- SR was a very forward person especially when he confessed to MS (so cute!)
- the good luck watch necklace was sweet...
- kiss under the umbrella after being saved from a big splash was so romantic!
- 10 dates was such a good idea! (love it)... and double sided coin... classic!
- the uncle couple is too cute = comic relief
- SB's mother was pure evil... total denial!
- predictable plot (e.g. wife's revenge plot, giving up love since adopted)
- I understood wife's point of view too.. there were no explanations so obviously she assumed the worse!
- everyone kept spraying everyone with water when irritated... common theme =S
- wife with affair and sterile was predicatable
- SR's proposal was sooo sweet!
- Times I cried: car almost hitting SR, the break ups, when SR realized he celebrated his birthday with his mother, seeing SB after the accident
- SB's mother made my blood boil!!!

Well, that's it for now.

I'm off,

- B

Friday, November 25, 2011

Melon Music Awards


Hey Everyone!

So, I just finished watching the Melon Music Awards, and if you wish to watch it too, the link is here (no subs though and really long!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LY_0FC2n4M. I just thought I would mention a few hi-lights from the show. For the performances: The opening performance was really hot! It showed Park Shin Hye dancing to a Beyonce song. It was pretty cool. Then, there was IU's performance, which was cute and adorable as usual. f(x) had a pretty neat performance because they each performed one of their older songs, then performed one together. Huh Gak's performance of "Hello" was very touching. The Sistar vs. Secret battle was interesting as well, but at the same time, their music was totally different, so how can that be considered a battle? Sistar with more clubby, fast-paced music, whereas Secret had more quiet and cutesy songs. Though, I think Sistar won in the end. But, it was an odd battle. Baek Ji Young sang "That Man" so well. It brought back memories of Secret Garden again (goosebumps!).

Awards:

Artist of the Year - BEAST
Album of the Year - 2ne1 (well-deserved!)
Song of the Year - IU for "Good Day"
Global Artist Award - Girls Generation (SNSD)
Netizen Popularity Award - Super Junior (SuJu)
Top 10 Artists - BEAST, IU, Leessang, f(x), Lena Park, Secret, SISTAR, Big Bang, Super Junior and 2NE1 (though I feel C.N. Blue should have made the list!).
Must Style Best Rap/Hip-Hop award - G-Dragon and TOP’s “Oh Yeah” featuring 2NE1 member Park Bom
Best New Artist - Huh Gak
Music Style R&B Ballad Song - Kim Bumsoo for "Last Love"
MBC Music Star Award - Baek Jiyoung
Best Music Video Award - T-ara for "Roly Poly" directed by Cha Eun Taek
Music Style Best Rock AwardCNBlue for “Intuition” (YAY!)
2011 Hot Trend Award - Infinity Challenge
Performing Arts Award - Lee Seunghwan
Music Style Best OST SongSunny Hill for “Pit-A-Pat”, which was used in the official soundtrack of the drama The Greatest Love
Best Songwriter - Jeon Haesung

I liked that Huh Gak won the "Best New Artist" award, he was definitely deserving. He has a great voice for ballad type songs and the audience loved him! I am also glad that IU won, but poor girl, fell while trying to receive her award. Luckily she is really cute, so she just got back up and laughed it off. As for best music video (MV), I personally thought miss A should have won for "Goodbye baby Goodbye", but instead T-ara won for "Roly Poly", which I did not think was right. But, that is just my opinion. The rest of the awards were given as expected, though I think CN Blue deserved to be in the Top 10, but that is just my opinion because they are my fave K-pop band! Anyways, the show was good, but really long. After half of the second part, I kind of scanned through the rest of the show. Overall, it was a good awards show, and worth watching the performances at least. Anyways, that's it for now for me.

I'm off,

- B

Monday, November 21, 2011

A Princess for Christmas


Hey Everyone!

So, I have been battling this terrible cold for almost a week now, and I finally got some antibiotics for it! Thank goodness! I have had a busy day today, being the first day I was really out and about. When I got home, I was home alone with Digi (my little kitty), so I thought I would watch a movie. The movie was called A Princess for Christmas. It was a typical chick flick (what can I say, I am a sucker for princess stories). It was mainly about a girl named Jules, who has to take care of her niece and nephew since her sister and brother-in-law passed away. Her nephew was letting out his anger towards his loss by stealing and fighting, whereas her niece was in a sense, binge eating (chips anyways). Not only that, but Jules recently lost her job too (and only a few weeks till Christmas). But, of course, there was a miracle, and that was the visit from Jules' brother-in-law's father, inviting them to his castle (wow, talk about cliché). Originally, Jules's brother-in-law was ostracized (became an outcast) since he chose a normal woman to be his wife. So, Jules and the kids decided to go to the castle for Christmas, since they deserved a chance to get to know their grandfather. There, she met Ashton. He was the second son to the Duke, and the two instantly hit it off. During Jules's stay, she made everyone realize the spirit of Christmas through her charismatic personality. Everyone in the castle fell for her, and eventually they held a Christmas ball. Anyways, I don't want to spoil the whole movie. I did not mention the ending, but you can probably figure it out. Either ways, it was a cute movie. I would give this movie a 3.5 out of 5 stars because it was just okay. The acting was not amazing, and the plot was predictable. However, it was definitely very light hearted, and worth a try if you are in the spirit of Christmas and want to watch a chick flick! That's it for now.

I'm off,

- B

Can You Hear My Heart


Hey Everyone!

So, I just finished another drama called Can You Hear My Heart. I have been putting this drama off for a while because I knew it would be a tear fest! Indeed it was, but the summary on dramawiki does not give it justice! This drama had everything in one - familial problems, disabilities, inheritance issues, sibling rivalry, manipulation, etc. I watched every minute of every episode this time. It is a bit longer than the usual drama that I mention, but it was worth every minute! So, before I get too excited and analyze the drama too much, here goes the plot. The drama mainly revolves around two families; the Bong family and the Cha family. The two interrelate through offspring I suppose. In the Bong family, originally existed the grandma, Bong Young Kyu, and Bong Ma Ru. YK is a mentally disabled person and is called a "fool" a lot in the drama. Yet, he was the most charismatic and lovable character in the drama! He fell in love with Mi Suk who was deaf and had a daughter named Bong Woo Ri (little Mi Suk at that time). MR always loathed being in that family because he could not understand why his father was such a "fool" and why he had to suffer so much. One day, MR met the Cha family because they were giving out scholarships. There he met Tae Yeon Suk, Choi Jin Chul, and their son, Cha Dong Joo. MR instantly fell for YS because she was such a loving mother to DJ. However, instantly disliked JC because he was such a jerk to him (disregarded MR because he was poor and "ill-bred"). That same day, DJ met WR and the two became instant friends. However, soon later, MR's mother came back, and it turned out that MR was not actually YK's son, rather his sister's (Kim Shin Ae) son. She had abandoned him when he was a baby so that she could go to America to make something of herself. But, she had returned for her son, and to make him the next inheritor of the Cha inheritance (that's right, MR is JC's biological son). Anyways, one night JC murdered DJ's grandfather and DJ witnessed the murder and fell off of a ladder and lost his hearing. Meanwhile, MS was working at one of the plants that JC owned, and died in a fire (because she was protecting something she bought for MR - to get his approval for the marriage). Somehow, JC instead framed YK and his family for causing the fire (when it was JC's fault), and forced MR to go to DJ's mother for help. At that time, YS already knew about MR's birth parents, and so, she took MR with her to get her revenge on JC in the future. 16 years later, DJ, MR, and YS returned to Korea from Saipan, and made everyone believe that DJ could hear (he could read lips really well). DJ and MR had become really close brothers, and MR was now a doctor (his childhood dream). Eitherways, YS showed MR off to JC without him even realizing that she had adopted his son (very dramatic!). Soon later, DJ comes into contact with WR again through company related business. The two did not hit it off initially, but eventually they did rekindle their old flame. WR was the only one (other than her father) that realized that DJ could not hear (well obviously, her mother was also deaf!). Anyways, all the drama began once MR realized who his real birth parents were and what YS had done (used him all these years). All the abandonment issues began, and all sorts of evil thoughts entered his head. Anyways, I will not spoil the ending, nor all the dramatic events that occur in the last third of the drama, but it is a relatively good ending.

I felt that this drama really showed a lot of important issues like, "be grateful for what you have", "listen to the people you love", and mainly "blood is not necessarily thicker than water". I really felt that this drama did justice to its title Can You Hear My Heart, because it was not only the people that could not hear, but really, the people that could hear, that were not listening! Also, it seemed that, sometimes you need tragedy to actually bring people together again (sigh).

I also really loved the character portrayals through the actors. They really did justice to their characters! I especially was fond of MR and YK. MR, mainly because he went through so much, but still managed to keep his cool. He was able to protect everyone he loved (or at least tried to). I felt that this drama emphasized his character to what was required. I did like the chemistry between DJ and WR, but I felt that romance was not the main theme, rather one's love for their family. WR and her family waited 16 years for MR, and sometimes you just need to open your eyes to see what you are missing out on. MR always wanted a family, but he did not realize till near the end, that he always had a great family, he just needed to open his eyes and see it! Regardless, it was an excellent drama, with a great plot and great characters! I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a meaningful drama. Definitely not light-hearted, but worth a watch. I am pretty sure you all can figure out that I give this drama a 5 out of 5 stars. It was just that good! Let me know if any of you watch it, and how you found it. That's it for now (and it is late, almost 2AM, need to sleep!).

I'm off,

- B

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Vineyard Man


Hey Everyone!

So, I finished another drama today called The Vineyard Man. It was a romantic comedy about a girl named Lee Ji Hyun and a guy named Jang Taek Gi. The main storyline revolves around JH finding out that she may inherit a vineyard from a distant grandfather if she farms for 1 year. She finally decides to go after getting fired from her company (since her manager stole her design, she made a commotion and got fired!). JH first met TG in Seoul, the day she lost her design, and TG was accused of being a rapist since JH mistook him for the police officer and tried to take his clothes. Eventually, TG was found innocent, but that same day JH lost her job. The two met again on the farm, since her grandfather took care of TG since he was a child (his parents passed away when he was younger). At first, the two could not stand each other, but eventually they developed feelings for each other. During their harvesting period, JH met her old sunbae from college days, and the two started dating (honestly, this guy was better looking). But, slowly, JH was falling for TG because of seeing him so often and realizing his real personality. Meanwhile, TG also fell for JH because of her determination and hard work. The two did get together finally, but I disliked the fact that JH's character was so annoying! First, she was very spoiled and disregarded the farm work (even though she could only gain from it). Second, she was so undecided. She could not pick between the two guys until the second last episode! Personally, the start of the show was slow (I think I fast-forwarded it a bit), but eventually it got better. I liked seeing the romantic development between the two. It was a happy ending, so I am happy none-the-less. A very light hearted drama and definitely worth a try if you want to see a classic drama. I give this drama a 4 out 5 stars because of JH's character. That's it for now.

I'm off,

- B

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Fireworks from the Heart


Hey Everyone!

So, I finished another Japanese movie today called Fireworks from the Heart. It was a really heart-warming movie. It was mainly about a girl named Hana, who comes out of the hospital from fighting Leukemia. When she returns home though, she realizes that her brother, Taro, has become a "social recluse" (only stays in his room). She decides to make her brother come out of there and become part of the family. He eventually comes out and gets a job. The village that they live in, has a fireworks festival every year, where the 20-year-olds and 60-year-olds create firework displays for everyone (some individual sponsors too). Initially, Hana tried to get Taro to join the 20-year-olds, but they did not accept him. But, when Hana has a relapse, he decides to be persistent with the 20-year-olds and gets permission to join. He continues to work his paper route and help with the fireworks. However, soon, before the new year, Hana passes away. At that point, Taro becomes secluded again, but then on the "day of age" (when you become 20), he received a video message from Hana, saying that she hopes to see his fireworks. So, he decides to quit from the 20-year-old group, and started to save money to make Hana a fireworks display on his own. Eventually, when the day does arrive, he joined the 20-year-olds, and in the end, his display was shown. He also received a gift from Hana, a framed picture of fireworks made by flower petals. It was really beautiful since earlier, she said that Taro represented the colour orange; someone warm and gentle. The colours of the petals were orange. It was a really touching scene. I would definitely recommend this movie, to anyone that is seeking a nice plot. I give this movie a 5 out of 5 stars. That's it for now.

I'm off,

- B