Bread, Love and Dreams

Try sitting through an episode of this series and it will make you run towards the nearest bakeshop after. I kid you not. Bread Talk became Disneyland in my eyes.

Part of Baker Kim Takgu's (a.k.a. Bread, Love and Dreams/The Baker King) appeal was the ability of its writer to integrate the baking industry into a melodrama. And she didn't just integrate, she sustained its importance to the plot until the very end. The plot is formulaic but the charisma of those who played the characters made it one of the top-rated k-dramas for 2010. It's not too dragging (30 episodes only) and the lead guys are such eye candies. Yes, I'm shallow. But don't we all initially gauge our interest on a drama depending on how attractive its leads are?

For those who follow its run on GMA-7, or if you had just started it on DVD, one of the most interesting characters to watch out for is Gu Majun (Matthew, to local viewers). Effortlessly played by newcomer Joo Won, his flawed nature makes him the perfect anti-hero to Takgu. A poor tortured soul eager to break free from psycho mommy's clutches. His brooding nature makes one take caution at his motives. But why is it so hard to hate him? Why do you secretly root for a brotherly relationship between him and Takgu?

Watch the series to find out!

Why no love for the Hong sisters?

Seriously… with the exception of My Girl and My Sassy Girl Chun-hyang, it seems that Pinoys have no love for the rom-com works of the Hong sisters. Why place them on afternoon timeslots when most people are either at work or in school? He’s Beautiful (a.k.a. You’re Beautiful) deserves a primetime audience. Never mind if the plot is quite superficial. The guys alone are eye-candy enough. I hate seeing it suffer the same fate that befell Fantasy Couple, a drama which happens to be one of my favorites. You gotta show the sisters some respect! They’re my writing gods after all. But like all writers, there’s a pattern in their works. Probably in a separate post I shall discuss more about “You know you’re watching a Hong sisters’ drama when…” ;)

Look, Ji-hoo’s back!

Just when you thought they'd stop at Meteor Garden, Group8 announces that they're currently working on the Korean-remake of the popular idol drama It Started with a Kiss. With their penchant for recycling actors from past productions, guess who got casted as the lead guy?

None other than Yoon Ji-hoo himself, Kim Hyun-joong. Notice the "Keanu-Reeves-school-of-acting" expression in the pic? Me and my sister aren't too fond of the actor. He managed to hog the spotlight in BoF, no thanks to a scriptwriter fangirl, ultimately sacrificing what could have been a potential backstory for another F4 member.

He's paired this time around with newbie actress, Jung So-min. Are they cute together or not?

I think I’ll go for My Girlfriend is a Gumiho instead. :)

Never expect...

... if you don't want to be disappointed, that is. I had set my thoughts hoping that Kim Joon would attend last night's KBS Drama Awards 2009 and I ended up jinxing it. Where the hell is T-Max, anyways? Would it be too much to ask that the guy do another drama again for 2010 just so he can show those who ignored Woo Bin in BoF that he deserves as much credit as the F3?

 

 

Now isn't this just cute? You can really tell these guys have become like family during those months that they were shooting The Sons of Sol Pharmacy House. I would've wanted the F4 to have attended and arrived together for last night's show but it never materialized since only one of them attended, another was over at SBS while the two were MIA.

For the BOF scriptwriter who clearly hates Song Woobin...

Funny thing is, I was just praising a development about this show in my previous post. Now it looks like we've been sucked into the same hell-hole again with the latest episode. This rant goes out to the PD and the writer behind the series who may have forgotten that Hana Yori Dango's charm isn't just about the "you-and-me-against-the-world" love story between the leads, but also about the friendship between four (get it? FOUR, not THREE) guys.

You know what's even more irritating? Rabid fangirls who adhere blindly to this reason:

Mimasaka Akira never really had that much of a role in the manga either.

This is a freakin' adaptation for chrissakes! Writers are given creative license to flesh out the characters to fit the nature of the story. One can wonder if they only had F3 in mind when BBF was conceptualized because there was never a blatant disregard for the character when I watched Meteor Garden and HYD Live. Vaness Wu and Abe Tsuyoshi were never made to feel like extras in a show that is supposed to be about the F4.

But props to Kim Joon for taking it like a true actor. Woo Bin shines even in the very little scenes he's given. There's nothing more appealing after all, than an air of mystery around a certain character. I am no longer keeping my hopes up that Woo Bin will get the storyline he's been long overdue for.

The damage has been done.

It pays to have canned scenes

The Macau scenes benefited the most from what was then a stress-free cast and crew of Boys Over Flowers. The editing, although still not seamless, seemed less rushed and the transition of scenes made sense. Finally, someone got their characterizations right concerning the remaining guys... with Yijung clocking Junpyo over his treatment of Jandi, Woobin trying to keep the peace with his happy disposition and Jihoo comfortably settling into his role as Jandi's guardian angel.

BTW, who finds JH's friend a bit odd though? I couldn't stop laughing over that photo of them together on the coffee mug.

Woo-bin Appreciation Post #123456789

Song Woo-bin, if a guy like you only existed in real life... I will stalk you for ages!

Okay, I was just kidding out of sheer happiness that the character was not snubbed in this week's episodes. What's even surprising is that I can now tolerate the Yi-Eul 'ship considering my sentiments in an earlier post. Perhaps it was just the fangirl in me feeling slighted over Kim Joon's non-appearance in Episode 10.

Here's hoping TPTB would continue throwing us a bone and show Woo-bin getting in touch with his dark gifts mafia roots.

Fandoms in photos…

The past week had been a busy one that I barely had time to blog about my fandoms.

Not really feeling the outfit. Really now, socks and open-toed shoes? But the thing about this girl is that what looks "baduy" in our eyes manages to look trendy on her. Or at least it gets easy on the eyes after several views. One thing I've realized after years of seeing Bonnie attend such events is that she never goes with the norm. She sets her own fashion.

Meet your Korean Dao Ming Si Goo Joon Pyo and Shan Cai Geum Jan Di. He looks cute hawt! The series premieres on January 5 in Korea and more likely will hit Philippine TV around six months later.

~

Oh, can I just say that Fully Booked-Ayala is my new Disneyland? Gaaahhhh, I can stay there for the whole day and never get bored. I love their extensive selection of books which includes titles I've never seen in NB before.

Deadringer

No, that is not Katrina Halili.

Korean actress Han Chae Young (Sassy Girl Chun Hyang, Only You) joins the cast of Boys over Flowers in the special role of Min Seo Hyun. I can't wait to see this since I loved Meteor Garden and HYD so much. Now Korea's joining the bandwagon with their own adaptation of the famous manga. Hmmm, this better be good.

So, will the Philippines follow suit? Gawd, I hope not!