First Glimpse: The Slave Hunters (ChuNo)

The Slave Hunters a.k.a. ChuNo [추노]

[From left: Gong Hyung Jin 공형진, Oh Ji Ho 오시호, Jang Hyuk 장혁, Lee Da Hae 이다해, Lee Jong Hyuk 이종혁]

Pre-Ramble: I first discovered the drama by watching the “Happy Together” 2010 New Year’s Special. The program’s main host, Yoo Jae Suk, is a personal favorite and so I will watch any program he hosts. The show basically just interviews celebrities while also entertaining us with various anecdotes and often useless/pointless quizzes. For the show, only Jang Hyuk, Oh Ji Ho, and Lee Da Hae were present so I had no idea who else was in the cast. I’m personally not a big fan of Gong Hyung Jin, but he doesn’t have enough of a role to have kept me away even if I knew before hand. The genre of this drama is known as “Fusion Sageuk,” where “sageuk” is the Korean term for olden-day dramas usually noted for their dialogue-heavy scenes were it’s less acting and more recitation of lines, incredibly convoluted and often times hard-to-follow plots, involving such an excess of characters and actors that even I can’t tell them apart after awhile. However, the “fusion” part simply refers to how it’s more contemporary and as Dramabeans so eloquently put it, removes all the complaints one might have of sageuk and leaves all the great parts: accurate costumes and set-pieces, breath-taking fight scenes, heavily decorated visuals, and scratching that itch for a period-drama.

First Glimpse:

Having seen Jang Hyuk in Family Outing multiple times and not being at all impressed, I wondered if his acting would suffer as well. However, the teaser clips that ran in Happy Together were enough to entice me to watch the first few episodes of the drama, if not for the story then certainly for the action scenes.

ChuNo is a portmanteau in Korean of basically “Chasing” and “Slaves.” Chu-gyuk-ha-da [추격하다] means to chase, and No-bi [노비] means slave. Thus, Chu-No. The three main characters are often called “ChuNo Ggun” [추노꾼], which just means men who chase slaves. For a more detailed explanation of plot and premise, I’d like to direct you to Soompi for general information and DramaBeans for a detailed, in-depth episode recap (definite spoilers, duh).

My policy of “four episodes before judgment” applies heavily here, not because one might watch the first episode and completely disdain it, but simply because the show doesn’t actually fully shine until the 3rd or 4th episode. Quite honestly, the start is explosive and flashy and not so much grabs your attention as throws a hood over your head, tosses you into an unmarked van, and drives you to a remote location where your eyes are forced open to watch. My blog-mate Without-Terebi (who has since transferred over to WordPress at my urging: GoSeeIt), remarks about how a movie can literally transport him a la the virtual reality of The Matrix. Turning on a film is, to him, akin to plugging into the Matrix and being utterly transported elsewhere. I experienced a similar sort of gripping interest with this drama – I was immediately hooked and couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. For me, watching an intensely interesting drama or film or anime completely shuts me up – I don’t stop to question “well, yes, but WHY are they fighting” or remark sarcastically that “yeah, yeah, that seems really likely.” I supposed my jadedness serves me well as a critical reviewer, but not so much as someone looking for entertainment.

Dramabeans recaps the episodes quite beautifully and I agree that if you can find excellent subs, you should wait. The script, unlike most sageuks, is not terribly convoluted and incomprehensible, but the language is archaic and the plot often relies on a passing understanding of Korea’s 5000 year old history – of which I do not possess in the slightest, having been raised in the US. Still, once you get past the first episode, even bad, babelfish-internet translations should suffice. The writing is solid, which we all know by now I treasure highly. Stretching the willing suspension of disbelief beyond reason infuriates me like nothing else in a film/drama/anime. Does the writer think we’re stupid enough to believe that? Or is he/she too lazy to bother thinking of a different explanation? Or worse, does he/she simply see no other way out of the corner he/she’s been painted into? Either way, it smacks of bad writing and a writer’s job, after all, is to WRITE. Fail at that, and perhaps a change in occupation is in order.

There are some tidbits here and there that absolutely break the immersion into the drama but rather than a fault of the writing, it’s mostly a fault of whoever is in charge of tiny details like make-up. I feel like it’s the director or one of the producers, but I have no clue. Either way, a slave with dirty, cold-burned hands would not have such a thick foundation of makeup and lip gloss. Where all the other slaves are dirt smeared and very obviously destitute, Lee Da Hae’s character Un-Nyeon is almost pristine, save for her dirty hands and very obviously man-made tattered clothing. It’s clear that it’s not worn out, it’s just someone ripped a few holes and tore some edges. Hell, I’VE done a better job than THAT for shits and giggles.

What strikes me most about the drama, however, is the very prominent high production values. Most sageuks take advantage of Korea’s natural beauty and the well-preserved palaces and other old buildings to boost the show, yet suffer heavily in terms of acting, story-telling, and generally have an amateur-ish feel to them. Even Jewel in the Palace, which is probably the foremost sageuk in Korea, had some rather awkward acting and extremely contrived circumstances. Things like fight choreography, blood, etc are usually very poorly depicted – yet, in ChuNo, there is an especially slick and well-thought-out feel to the drama. Cinematography is astounding, with very artsy and visually stunning scenes during fight scenes and even just after a dramatic line has been delivered.

There are, of course, times when it gets a little too artsy for me, but I see what the director is getting act. Much like the epically dramatic “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” or “House of Flying Daggers,” there is a desire here to flaunt all of Korea’s cinematic prowess. The locations are breathtaking in all of their natural glory and even a plain old chase-scene becomes a visual feast. There is a decidedly anime feel to some of the fight scenes, with the posturing and sometimes-unnecessary posing.

Jang Hyuk isn’t a swordsman in real life, so much of his swordplay can seem showboat-y, but he is far more at ease with the bare-handed fighting as he trains in real life. Oh Ji Ho’s acting is mostly about his good looks and buff arms and scruffy natural beard (most sageuk actors use fake beards because, well, Asians are simply not that hairy). Where Jang Hyuk is most comfortable in hand-to-hand combat, Oh Ji Ho by comparison pales with his swordplay (no innuendo here, folks). Still, his line delivery and short fight scenes are slowly improving so I guess I’ll let him slide.

Lee Da Hae is the quintessential useless woman you want to toss by the side of the road and have done with. In 6 episodes she has done nothing but cower behind a man and scream helplessly and run in her ridiculously unwieldy and extremely easy-to-spot-in-a-crowd hanbok [한복], or traditional Korean dress. It just seems to me that a chick wearing a bright white dress (the colors of mourning) running through the dusty streets in the midst of peasants wearing variations of dirt-colored/stained clothing is damn impractical. THAT, and regardless of the color of her clothes, the sheer volume makes them utterly untenable as “getaway clothes.” She’s constantly tripping over them to the point I just want to strangle her. STEAL SOME MAN CLOTHES, goddamn. Every other woman running away in any Asian film/drama/etc STEALS MAN CLOTHES. Take a cue from Mulan! I’m not saying wield a sword, but wearing your body weight in clothes as you tear across the countryside is a BAD IDEA, madam.

The other two ChuNo Ggun in Jang Hyuk’s crew have fairly important roles – General Choi (I don’t know the actor and I’m too lazy to look him up…he’s on Soompi and Dramabeans so don’t follow my lead by being lazy) is the calm center and rational thinker of the group, while Wang Sun (same here) is the playboy, youngest member who gets stuck doing all the chores. One of my favorite lines of his: “What the hell is the point of this thing dangling between my legs if I’m doing women’s work??” Comic relief and just another hardy fighter to round out the numbers.

There are the two women running the food/bar/hostel where the team stays, but they’re fairly unattractive uninteresting. Their infinite love for General Choi is a nice comic relief, especially as the disparity in food between him and the other members is made painfully clear.

Danny Ahn, former member of idol group G.O.D. has completely given up his singing career and decided to be an actor. He wasn’t that great of a singer anyway (he only had small parts and mostly rapped, which isn’t really impressive given that he didn’t write his own songs). His role is completely useless and most of the time he just stands there and cuts an impressive figure. By episode 6, though, he starts to shine and we can slowly see where he fits in the entire scheme of things. Still, not a big fan. Lrn 2 Fight plz, Danny Ahn.

Gong Hyung Jin is a slave with a grudge against Jang Hyuk. Blah blah, you may recognize him for his comedic roles in certain films. He’s one of those “movie actors” who isn’t really a movie actor but puffs himself up as a big  shot. Small fish in a large pond and not nearly enough acting talent to fill it. His role could honestly be played by anyone else, there is no stand-out scene and no empathy elicited by his performance. #fail

However, for me, the show-stealer is Kim Ha Eun, playing the role of Seol-Hwa. I won’t get into specifics, but her ridiculously cute acting has won me over. I’m normally 100% against the rather stereotypical “I’m cute as a button but get my way because of it so I’m a spoiled brat” characters because I thought I hated the concept. It turns out I simply haven’t seen a decent one in action. Her rather thoughtless manner of speech is constantly earning her scoldings, yet she persists in her behavior. Instead of the “I’m soooo cute” approach, she adopts more of a “this is just how I am, I’m a completely blank piece of paper” and it happens to be ridiculously cute. Her comic timing is great, she butts in with an attitude of a highly important and profound declaration, which turns out to be less than worthless. I’m totally sold on her character and no longer disdain the incredibly transparent attempt at comic relief via simple humor. It also helps that she’s not one of those very immediately cute girls – it’s her behavior more than anything that wins you over but she’s fairly easy on the eyes as well.

I suppose the main pull of the drama for me is that the complicated court politics which were the very downfall of Korea and plague every period piece are thankfully absent. Not entirely absent, there are still underhanded dealings and bastards who lie, cheat, betray and steal, but the focus is shifted so entirely away from them that it’s refreshing. You expect long, stilted monologue and instead are rewarded with flashy and impressive action scenes that seamlessly flow with the plot. Not only that, but a deep history is constantly hinted at with a complicated tapestry in which all the characters lives are entwined – yet we are given only the most fleeting of glimpses, just enough to push the plot forward, all the while keeping us thirsty for more.

The feel of the drama, and not just the general theme, is a masterpiece of a chase. Narrow escapes, chance encounters – the plot races along and the audience is swept away, continually kept guessing at what comes next. The characters are likable, although Lee Da Hae – I can’t tell if she’s acting her role admirably, or if she’s just a pretty face. I mean, the character seems to be just a pretty face…*sigh* Jang Hyuk seems to fit his swaggering, fast-talking, even-faster-hitting character, a mix between Johnny Depp’s rakish Jack Sparrow (CAPTAIN, Jack Sparrow, if you please) and a tortured swordsman straight out of anime who has hardened his heart to the world, all while he suffers inside, alone and vulnerable. He’s the bad boy you can’t help liking.

Musical Glimpse:

Yes I realize this is highly irregular, but I’m so thoroughly taken by this blend of the OST and the drama. The title song is by Im Jae Beom, “Stigma” (or “Brand” or “Mark”), referring to the brand slaves bore to distinguish them from nobles and freedmen. The song must have been written specifically for the drama, it’s as though Jang Hyuk’s character is singing to us from the depths of his tortured soul. The nostalgic beginning fits just so perfectly with the flashback/present-day feel of the drama, peppered as it is with glimpses of the past. The lyrics themselves most eloquently describe the anguish:

As though my heart were burned,

As though I lost to (gave in to) my tears,

These scars that won’t be erased are painful.

Am I alive (Is this living)?

Has this world forsaken me?

One day is as long as one year,

When will the morning come?

[Full Korean Lyrics and Romanized Lyrics here: http://charisnova.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/chuno-ost-romanized-lyrics/#more-81]

Pretty much Jang Hyuk’s character. In a nutshell. There are a few quite instances where this haunting melody sets the stage for such monumental scenes I get goosebumps. But that’s not all, the chase scenes employ a rather epic yet heart-pumping rock song that really pace the scene well. All in all, the OST is incredibly appropriate and definitely icing on this multi-tiered, delicious cake. Maybe it’s my new headphones that make me more conscious of sound as an element more than something to fill empty air, but I’ve never really felt such a connection to the music of a drama as I have here. Can’t wait to get my hands on the OST!

Final Glimpse:

I’m thoroughly impressed with the entire production of the drama as a whole – fight scenes are spectacular, the backdrop of wide-open forests and breathtaking mountain vistas never cease to amaze, while the lack of much of the formal stiffness of traditional sageuks makes the drama easier to like and invest time in. Cinematography is constantly seeking to thrill you, with slow motion grand gestures, speeding up the camera upon impact, a force you can feel in your bones. The writing pulls back on the curtain slightly, enough to catch a faint glimpse of the story, only to have the curtain pulled once again into place, leaving you left with more questions than answers. Just as the overall feel of the drama is of a never-ending chase scene, the action and plot ebbing and flowing, there is also a sense of a grander scheme in which the writer leads us forth with breadcrumbs of information, enough to nibble upon and desire more. Perhaps better than breadcrumbs might be the image of the entire truth of the story dashing through the twisted mountain paths, leaving behind a footprint here, a thread from a snagged piece of clothing there, always just out of reach, but tantalizingly close enough to be seen disappearing around the next bend. I’m always on the edge of my seat for each episode and rewatching is a pleasure, as I often miss some of the difficult language the first time around.

I am of course, still a stickler for rules – the frustrating breach in the willing suspension of disbelief irritates like a splinter underneath your nail. Just when you think you’ve forgotten it, you shift and the irritation begins anew. Once I’d gotten over Lee Da Hae’s PERFECT makeup despite working out in the cold and her stained hands, I’m again jarred out of the story with other stretches of the imagination, such as clumsy sword play. I won’t get too far into the specifics because I hate to spoil, but often there are small, little things that while they aren’t major or even necessary to the plot, a few seconds of care or thought would have eliminated them entirely. With such a large budget and amazing talent all around, why would they let such small details through? There seems to be a strong adherence to “working hard for the art” but then a complete 180 of doing things to suit themselves and their own convenience.

Even so, it’s not a major markdown, and thus I arrive at the conclusion: 9.5/10

I can’t imagine the drama taking a turn for the worse at this point. They’ve strongly established themselves, they’ve gathered their momentum. As with all Korean dramas/film/etc, I worry that the entire magnificent build-up will be too hastily resolved (or too drawn out in the resolution), leaving a distinct sense of dissatisfaction, as though a delicious meal had been cut short and while your belly may be full, you feel the lack ever so pressingly.

ChuNo will definitely be the Must-See drama of 2010 and certainly another feather in Korean cinema’s hat. If you hate entertainment and enjoying yourself, then this drama probably isn’t for you. But for all the NORMAL people, this one’s most certainly a keeper!

I'm quite certain that I'm actually getting steadily worse at this as I go on.

http://www.dramabeans.com/tag/chuno/

Random Rants by a Mad Man

I guess all my news posts will contain some form of “by a Mad Man.” It fits the decor, no? (I don’t really care, it suits me so it suits the site and you’ll have to live with it or find some other internet drivel to read. There’s plenty out there, really).

I said I’d do a review of Pandorum but I didn’t like it enough so I decided not to. Saw quite a few other films in the intervening period, some of which are actually worthy of mention. I’m seriously thinking of reviewing “The Messenger,” it was a great film and worth the time it took to watch (which is sadly more than I can say about most films).

I never got around to my Family Outing review, but it’s ok – They’re reformatting the show. Yoo Jae Suk (commonly referred to as “Grasshopper”) will be staying, but everyone else is outsies. A 9-member permanent cast IS a lot to keep up with, vs 1N2D’s cast of 6 (now  7 with Kim Jong Min, who recently got out of the army – but we’ll see how long he lasts, he wasn’t that great on the show before he went into the army and the show has since evolved past him, methinks) or A Man’s Responsibility’s cast of 7 or Only One Secret’s cast of 5. They’re getting rid of all the old “Family,” I think, only because you can’t cut a few people without someone saying “the formula doesn’t work anymore!” so you have to cut them all. Can’t cut Yoo Jae Suk because he’s the only reason the show’s lasted this long. In all honesty, though, he doesn’t seem to be working as hard or as smart for the money anymore. But let’s be honest – he probably makes more than Kang Ho Dong, he’s more likeable, his wife is way prettier (and smarter) than the wives of other comedians – What could possibly motivate him to blood, sweat, and tears in earning his cash? Hell, in his shoes, I’d be even lazier.

Other news, I added my Twitter feed to the site simply because I got bored. I toss up a lot of random links and semi twitty (twitter + witty) tweets, so if you’re that starved for attention, check it out.

I just started watching Slave Hunters [추노] because I saw the cast on the variety show “Happy Together.” It stars Jang Hyuk [장혁], Lee Da Hae [이다해], Oh Ji Ho [오지호] and other people, but those were the three on “Happy Together.” It’s old, old Korean with tons of archaic language and Chinese characters and phrases. The olden day dramas actually have subtitles for the Koreans that explain the language in modern terms – I’m still a little shaky on modern day language so it’s a bit tough. Still, dramas are fairly formulaic and for once that doesn’t bug me. I’ve seen 2 eps in the past two days (first two eps, of course, it just came out) and so far I’ve really enjoyed it. But just as you should give bad dramas a few eps before you cross them off the list, you should also give good ones a few eps before you put them on a pedestal. It’s got lots of hot, semi-nude guys (for all you who enjoy that sort of thing) and supposedly lots of female skin (at least according to Lee Da Hae in “Happy Together,” but it wasn’t anything I’d write home about. Or on my blog about. Wait I just did. Damnit.). Regardless, action scenes are pretty picturesque and there’s more of an attempt at art and form vs just beating us over the head with endless, archaic dialogue and petty political gesturing and complicated backstory. At least, from what I’ve seen.

I’ll get those few reviews out hopefully in the next few days. I realize I now post whenever the fancy strikes me – but I’m ok with that.

OH YES and I finally caved and got some Phonak Audeo PFEs. They are supposedly -THE- affordable luxury IEMs by far. To beat them, you’d actually have to shell out serious money and actually pay top dollar – whereas the Phonaks are far more quality for the amount of money paid. Breaking those in, haven’t quite hit 20 hours with them, but a review should be up soon – Which my Cowon S9 fans will enjoy, as my review is the most-clicked page on my blog, by like 100 clicks. I know, who knew it’d be that popular. Not me, that’s for sure, I thought everyone was a bunch of iPod-people. And nobody likes iPod-heads. iPod-bods. idiotPods. idiots.

If I ever meet Steve Jobs he'll probably punch me in my mp3 player. With his iPod(s).

First Glimpse: 500 Days of Summer

Went with my good friend Without Terebi to see this film, as it was playing again to promote it before the Golden Globe Awards [Not Grammys, as Without Terebi was so kind as to point out. GEEZ, what the hell is the matter with this reviewer??]. It was also recommended to me by another close friend, although she tossed in the caveat that it could lead to relationship turmoil. Thankfully for me as a reviewer (and womankind in general), I am single and thus, relationship turmoil probability = 0%

Promotional poster. Yeah, I’m too lazy to find a good picture. WHAT OF IT

Pre-Ramble:

There will be tons of

SPOILERS

because I really want to discuss this film. I can’t get the formatting to be pretty, so because a large “SPOILERS” sign is needed, we’re just all going to have to suffer. More you than me.

If you’re trying to decide whether or not to watch it, watch it. At worst, you’re out a few bucks and a little under 2 hours, with another view on relationships. At best, you get a deeper understanding of relationships and realize that all people suck. And not in the “happy ending” type of way. The “sad ending for you” type of way. Which is the opposite, and not really an optimal outcome.

I knew very little going into the film, other than that it severely changes the dynamic of relationships upon being watched. The Ring for relationships? If you watch that film, your relationship will die in 7 days? Well, nobody scary will crawl out of your TV, I guess. Unless you ALSO saw that video tape, in which case 1) you’re just plain screwed and 2) you had a very, very busy night and I sort of envy you. You know, minus the “the spectre of certain death looms heavily over you.” That, not so much.

First Glimpse:

The lack of prior knowledge led to almost no expectations. The only few expectations I had were that the film would last less than 2 hours (it certainly did) and that it wasn’t some typical romcom (romantic comedy for the slow ones among you) or a typical “Boy Meets Girl,” as the narrator is so kind to point out.

Zooey Deschanel is not my favorite actress. I have no strong dislike for her, I just don’t see that she’s a big deal. She’s very plain in terms of acting ability and seems to always be the quirky, strangely attractive girl. Yet, minus the “attractive” for me. That being said, I don’t really like Joey Gordon-Levitt, either. Yes, I know it’s now Joseph. But you know what? He was on friggen 3rd Rock From The Sun and that’s how the credits rolled him, ok? So, I’m dating myself (because nobody else will! Ba-dum CHHHH) but you know what? I don’t care, because I’m ok with how old/young I am.

Despite their lack of acting appeal, I found that JG-L wasn’t terrible in his role and Zooey wasn’t awful. I don’t know that she’s a perfect fit for the female protagonist, as say, Tobey Maguire was the perfect fit for Peter Parker in the first Spiderman. Still, she’s no Kirsten Dunst, so I’m happy (YES KIRSTEN DUMBST WAS A BAD MARY JANE).

Throughout the film I didn’t really roll on the floor laughing. That’s ok, it’s not that kind of film. Maybe it was the setting, maybe it was the company, but I was ok with the rather artsy, indie-film type of feel. Normally artsy films make me uncomfortables and I don’t really “get” them. Or get them, either. But this one had more of a Juno-esque feel, a simple film with a powerful message for a golf-clapping audience interspersed with a few out-loud laugh moments.

Really, the film discusses the meaning of love and how people view love. Do I believe in love? All sarcasm and internet-persona aside, I truly do. I have seen too many variations of love to not believe in it. Like the flu, there are countless strains of love and even if you’ve toughened your body to the ravages of romance with a vaccine of “Never again” every year, somehow that bug sneaks back in and knocks you down flat.

Love between a parent and child – They say it’s unconditional but that’s abstract, intangible: how can you truly know the depths of such love? I’ve gotten a better idea by testing those limits and realizing that no matter what, my parents do love me.

Love between friends – There is a bond between people, no matter the relation. Between friends, that bond grows with every kind act and shared misery, maturing into a strong oak to lean one’s back against during the toughest of times. When friendships are tested, you’ll want a friend you can rely on, someone who helped plant that fine specimen of a tree. I’ve since seen the trees in that forest, as well as the insidious vines that trip you up, that grew in their place when my attention was elsewhere.

Love between lovers – no matter your orientation, love is love, separate from the platonic or familial sort. Love that exists in both this film and real life, when one human being loves another.

Is JG-L’s love any less real because he loves a woman who does not reciprocate? Does her inability to return his love in any way negate the love he feels? Before you launch into a rather dry and scientific discussion of hormones and emotion, let’s all understand that love is above all a feeling. A feeling that you can only feel in your body. Because outside of your body is air, and air can’t feel. So yes, hormones and emotions can combine to make up love. Just because your feelings are affected by the chemicals in your body, that doesn’t mean it isn’t real. Love isn’t a primary color, it’s a shifting, multi-color organism.

Zooey proclaims that she doesn’t believe in love, while JG-L is a firm believer in the existence of an all-powerful emotion that binds people together. At first, you think she’s afraid of being hurt, that she’s emotionally-scarred and that’s why she puts the distance between them. JG-L has never felt this magnitude of feeling for a woman before and is convinced of his love. He doesn’t have to fear being hurt because he knows it’s love; he recognizes that he loves her and thus opens his heart. Love can hurt, but because it’s love, because it’s so powerful and intoxicating, he knows he’ll be ok.

It isn’t until after the film, well after the film when you’ve sat down after packing all the rest of your things your friend was holding for you in his apartment, that the understanding of the film dawns on you. You see, Zooey was afraid, but not of being hurt by love. She was afraid that what she felt wasn’t love or that she simply was incapable. If what JG-L felt was real, if that was love, then how could she fail to feel it, too? How could love be one-sided and so uncertain?

Summer: I woke up one morning and I just knew.

Tom: Knew what?

Summer: What I was never sure of with you.

Probably the most epic and best line I’ve ever heard regarding love. Hands-down, a quality piece of writing. This line is the crux of the entire film, the lynchpin that holds this entire Memento-esque montage of relationship clips together. You understand here that Zooey wasn’t afraid of being hurt by love, but that she simply couldn’t feel love. She kept him at arm’s length, not because she was too weak to try loving him, but rather, because some small, minuscule part of her heart knew she didn’t love him. It’s like walking to an address you don’t know – If you don’t know the distance until your destination, your walk there seems longer than the walk back. Each step leaves you wondering if you’ve passed your mark or still have quite a ways to go. Once you’ve reached the end, you know the way back and it seems as if that distance is next to nothing. The length of it hasn’t shrunken any, only your perception’s changed.

With love, you don’t know it’s love until you’ve reached it. Every step along the way to love, you’re unsure – to date, this is the strongest you’ve felt. But as Zooey puts it, “what I wasn’t sure of with you.” What you weren’t sure of until you discover love, once you find it, you know unequivocally that it is true love because it’s so far beyond what you’ve experienced. All those uncertain steps where you wondered if you had come as far as you could go seem to vanish in the face of love and that certainty settles into your soul.

The other parts of the movie explore the relationship between JG-L and his sister, his friends, and the city he loves. Ironically, his firm belief in love inspires Zooey to hold out for love, true love. It’s her departure for those green pastures that disillusions JG-L, yet had he never believed in love so fervently, she would never have left and discovered love on her own. In the end, Zooey’s discovery of love shatters his own beliefs and then reassembles those beliefs into a stronger, more resilient shape. Those words she says in the end cut him deeply, yet if one such as she can find love and see it for what it is, then love must exist. And so, his heart heavy with regret and despair, he lets her go so that he can find his own love.

Final Glimpse:

Definitely an amazing movie and one of my new all-time favorites. It’s not overly pretentious and delivers on exactly what it claims it will deliver – rare in a movie, nowadays. The film doesn’t try to be bigger than it is, nor more profound, which I appreciate immensely. Unlike the complicated orchestral numbers that Hollywood so desperately puts out to fulfill quotas and squeeze money from unwilling movie-goer wallets, this film is a sweet, clear bell ringing out in the blazing cacaphony of modern cinema. Like a warm summer afternoon, the film’s heat falls onto the audience and soaks you to the core. Without the bluntness of most modern films, the soft, summer days of this film fill the air and pass the time.

Before you know it, it’s a change in seasons and the short but sweet story comes to an end. I’m left with a tender nostalgia for a love I never knew, with a woman I never met. (500) Days of Summer is really just a long set up for the final punchline, a witty, witty joke with just the right amount of cheese and the perfect amount of timing that all comedic geniuses know by heart.

Autumn. Her name is Autumn. God DAMN, but if I wasn’t completely blind-sided by that. I was the only one laughing hysterically like a maniac in that theater.

I have to give this film a 9.5/10. Just like in the movie, this film isn’t a true love (10/10) for me. But while I wait for the real thing, it’s both “interesting” and “fun to be with.” Sorry, Joey Gordon-Levitt, but it looks like you’re destined for second best. I’m taking off 0.5 because I think the casting wasn’t perfect. No, I don’t have better suggestions, but it’s a lot like a bad tan – something’s not quite right, but you haven’t got the foggiest clue how to fix it.

Still, this film was amazing and if you haven’t seen it, go see it. Even if you have…hell, go see it again. To steal a line from Without Terebi – “It’ll do you some good.”

First Glimpse – Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig

Another recommendation from my good friend WithoutTerebi. We have fairly similar anime-snob-tastes so it took very little convincing to get me to watch, despite jumping in at the second season. Even my OCD was won over by this anime #shock #awe #HoLeeShit

Not the best picture, I apologize. But honestly, you can find a hot shot of Motoko Kusanagi at your anime wallpaper site of choice, so there.

Pre-ramble:

As I stated, despite my OCD about seeing things from start to finish no matter how good or terrible the anime, I ended up just watching the second season. Very little background info was needed, although I did get a quick debrief on the Tachikomas. Other than that, I watched the entire season as a (pardon the pun) stand alone series. Details on characters, history, production, other boring stuff, etc can be found at wikipedia’s entry here.

I’ve always been a snob in the sense that I can’t stand much of the older, 90’s artwork of anime/manga. I stomached Rurouni Kenshin because it’s such a kickass anime and it was my first manga/anime I got into, thus holding a special place in my heart. However, that 90’s feel of artwork actually really turns me off to a series. 2nd Gig ran starting January 1st, 2004 but the artwork is top-notch, stellar stuff.

First Impressions:

Mecha, fighting, hot-hot-hottie female protagonist, and special ops? Sign me up twice. I’m such a shounen fanboy it’s not even funny. Yeah, I’m the type of guy who likes gratuitous violence and explosions and cool-as-hell hardware in his action movies. Why does an action movie need plot? Good guys, bad guys, super cool weapons, GOOD GUYS WIN! BIG FIREWORKS! Write that down, Hollywood. Write. That. Down.

Public Security Section 9 is the official name of their group and basically they are self-described as an “offensive counter-terrorist organization.” Preemptively removing that terrorist element before it can get dangerous. I didn’t see the first season, as I stated, but there are only a few references to it that it was fine. The setting is post-war Japan and the situation is tense between the citizens of Japan and Asian refugees. I don’t know what kind of Asian because that’s all they’re ever referred to as. Southeast Asian? Northeast Asian? Cauc-Asian? Who knows? All I know is that China, in this anime, rejects all Asians. That’s a paraphrase of a line. Yeah, I know.

Still, the artwork is phenomenal throughout, with crisp, clear lines and sharp movements. Sometimes animators get lazy and just draw stills while zooming in to simulate movement. However, here, the action scenes are intense and well-played out. The extreme attention to detail is remarkable and always welcomed by this OCD anime-fan. I suppose I feel that if I’m bothering to notice all the little stuff, the least they could do is draw it satisfactorily.

There’s a lot of politics and philosophy that can sometimes drag the anime along. One of my only gripes with Japanese anime is that often their long talks and philosophical discussions build up and build up and make you think it’ll be something really profound and poignant at the end but the conclusion turns out to be appallingly simplistic and borderline irrelevant. It’s like they haven’t mastered deep dialogue and conversation and are just filling the space with words to convey the feeling “shit got discussed and RESOLVED here.” I’d liken this bad habit to early “Hacker” films tossing out lingo they didn’t know in a way that made no sense to convey “HEY HE IS HACKING NOW!” to the then-ignorant audience – “He’s uploading through the hyperlink! Shut down his transfer protocols! We can’t? He must be locking us out manually from a control terminal. Switch to our back ups and secure the firewall!”

Ok that actually sounded halfway decent. But my point is that they threw around a lot of philosophical terms such as their “stand alone complex” and “individualist  ideology” to basically say that some guy was going to overthrow a corrupt government and bring power back to the masses. Except it took about 20 minutes and 10,000 panels of artwork to say that. *sigh*

There is an interesting story-telling process where they jump from incident to incident in the tangled web of lies and political intrigue, yet still taking the time to expose the backstory of Section 9’s members and how they all trace back to the lynch pin of the organization – Motoko Kusanagi.

As a character, she’s the Mary Sue of anime, she’s voluptuous, unrestrained, powerful, independent, yet the soft caramel center of her femininity is locked away, waiting for someone to open her heart. Such a woman probably doesn’t exist in real life, but she draws in the otakus and certainly is easy on the eyes. However, she’s rather 2-dimensional throughout most of the 2nd season and as a protagonist she doesn’t seem to really effect change or be affected by externalities such as refugee uprisings, etc. Granted, her character seems to slip into thoughtful mode a bit after a certain event, but I just don’t really buy the change given what we’re shown of her character.

Still, I believe having a main character who doesn’t change overmuch and who maintains a consistent personality helps to ground the show. The plot is a well-written, tight story that succeeds in building up events to a dramatic climax; I sincerely adore good writing in a series without the “oh where will we take this awesome anime we’ve created? I know, tournament-style build-up of power! YES!”

Final Glimpse:

Having finished the series and itching for more, I have to say that’s a whopping success. There’s a Korean saying that means “Leave while people are clapping for you,” meaning git while the gittin’s good. Leave people wanting more rather than feeling they’ve been over-exposed to the same drivel. Unfortunately anime is an industry and businesses work by earning money. Thankfully, I feel that this series is a true work of art, in the sense that it was created for art’s sake and not to squeeze every last dime out of a plot. It’s based on the original manga “Ghost in the Shell” but not having read it, I couldn’t tell you if it’s a knock-off or a genuine “stand alone” series (I couldn’t resist).

I give this series a 9.5/10 because it’s just about damn near perfect. The earlier defects I pointed out still stand – the politics and philosophy can get preachy and they really beat you over the head with the dialogue. A few events were so stereotypical and predictable that it really turned me off, set out in such stark contrast to the rest of the series, which is so unpredictable and original. Still, artwork, characters, plot, and overall production were excellent and did not disappoint. I found myself looped in and couldn’t help but watch each episode, disc after disc. I wouldn’t recommend starting this without the entire collection at your fingertips, as the series feels very much like one long episode occasionally broken up. You lose track of the passage of time and just want more and more.

I’m super excited to get my hands on the first season so I’ll be looking for it. Of all the anime I’ve seen, I have to give this one the highest rating thus far. Overall as a piece of art, it is highly representative of the flexibility and creativity of the genre. Will make watching OTHER anime difficult, but alas, such is the fate of those who watch tons and tons of anime.

I'm an anime snob because it makes me feel superior. And because I'm just better than you.

This ISN’T Sparta. That Leaves….

MADNESS.

Following the cue of a friend from Twitter (EvilChristina), I went ahead and made a formspring.me account. Basically you can ask me all sorts of questions and I’ll answer them! Really??? No, I’m just picking the ones I want to answer and answering them. Of course, it just so happens I want to answer all of them at the moment so I’ve cranked out 4 answers. I’m so popular that for a period of 24 hours I’ve generated 4 random/anonymous questions. 2 were from the same person.

Regardless, I’m putting my formspring.me site up here and if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Pick my brain, but don’t blame me for what you find.

Saw that the site “The Best Shows You’re Not Watching” had posted a comment about using my review. Went to the site, they did NOT use my review. That or it’s buried so deeply into the HTML code that none of the browsers I know of can find it. Ah well. I don’t care if people use my reviews so long as they credit me and toss up a link back.

Played some Left 4 Dead with some friends. Man I really friggen hate Dead Air as a campaign. HATE. Once we switched back to old school No Mercy, we were triumphant conquerors once again. OWNED.

Still haven’t tossed up my movie reviews, been a bit of a hectic week.

Sometimes I'm so clever it hurts. Because people hit me. For being so goshdarned clever.

Insane Is As Insane Does

Late post today. I should probably post earlier in the day so that when people are all over the ‘net trawling for interesting things to read….they will be able to pass over this blog much earlier in the day. Best to get that done and over with as early as possible, imho.

Today was a bit wonky, had to go to an outlet mall and do some shopping. I usually only shop once a year and yes, there are holiday decorations up every time. That being said, I made a killing off of 3 sweaters from Banana Republic, total running at $64 and some change after tax. That’s ~$20/sweater and thus is a reasonable price. Love the clothes from BR but I always feel they’re way overpriced and then when I see the price drops, it’s usually reasonable.

Also got a nice Kenneth Cole Reaction light jacket for $30 after tax. I’ve got a weak spot for nice jackets. So if I’m ever storming the gates of Troy with a large assembled force of Greek nations, shoot me with nice jackets. In the heel. WIN.

Meant to do a review but I never got the chance, what with all the shopping. I did manage to recently catch the first episode of “Men of a Certain Age” which I’ll be doing a review of soon. Other than that, I’ve broken down the walls of my online identities and combined my twitter and blog personas. For completely random and useless links, follow me on twitter here: http://www.twitter.com/frequentlee. Yes, the “L” stands for Lee. WHAT A SHOCKER.

Pandorum review and “Mother” review also to follow…Pandorum will likely come first, what with me having actually seen that flick, vs. “Mother,” which I have yet to see :-/

Yes, I like and buy/wear clothes. This ain't no WoW-Adrian-Curry-Playing-Naked blog!

First Glimpse: Only One Secret

South Korean variety programs fight an all-out war on Sunday night, the most coveted evening of the week. MBC (one of the largest broadcasting companies in Korea, along with SBS and KBS) has been lagging behind in the race but have recently entered their newest contender, Only One Secret [단하나의 비밀]

The team, from left to right, is Yoon Doo-Joon [윤두준] of the boyband Beast, Kim Yong-Man [김용만] who is a comedian and MC, Tak Jae-Hoon [탁재훈] a comedian, actor, and MC, Kim Hyun-Chul [김현철] a comedian and first time MC, and Ahn Young-Mi [안영미] a comedian and first time MC.

Pre-Ramble:

With the stiff competition of 1Night2Days (1N2D, 1박2일), Family Outing (패밀리가 떴다), and The Qualities of a Man (남자의 자격), Sunday Night has become a warzone. There aren’t commercials every 5 minutes like American TV so you can channel flip and watch 2 shows at once. Unfortunately for channel surfers, commercials show up for a 5 minute spot in the middle or at the very end of a program. So an hour show is literally an hour which is good if the show is good, but sucks if there are 2 other shows on you want to watch.

This show seems to hop on the bandwagon of “Real Variety” which is Konglish for a reality show version of their variety programs. Most “reality” shows are scripted, nonetheless and variety shows more so. 1N2D has gained notoriety because of the constant punishment the cast members suffer, having to play games to get ingredients to make dinner and often losing the best ones, or getting stuck sleeping outside because they lost the game. It’s still fairly scripted but the punishment and suffering is all real, so Koreans have gone crazy over it. Family Outing used to be sort of the more luxury show where yes, they did suffer enough to say it’s “real” but not enough that people were getting sick and actually unable to work at times.

Introduction:

There’s not much out there on the show simply because the first episode aired this past Sunday. I had a chance to catch it and I wasn’t completely bored. I used to absolutely hate Kim Hyun-Chul because he’s annoying, stutters (in real life, but he does make fun of it a lot), and rarely funny. He’s one of those guys in real life that you avoid because he not only screws up, but brings you down with him.

However, shows like World-Changing Quiz (세박퀴) have changed my mind on him and also, I was bored. It seems the permanent cast members are the above-mentioned 5, which is a GOOD number to me. Family Outing is suffering from too many cooks in the kitchen, there are 8 permanent members and usually 1 or sometimes 2 guests. That’s 9-10 people vying for the spotlight in a 1-hour show…

Their “guest” (I’m assuming, since she’s not mentioned as a permanent member) is Han Ji-Min [한지민]. If she looks familiar it’s because almost all the Korean actresses now look the same. It’s not racism, they all get plastic surgery and look similar. I don’t know for a fact that Han Ji-Min did, I’m just saying in the past week while glancing at some recent K-Dramas I’ve seen her face at least 3-4 times and I know she’s not in any dramas right now.

The mission is to go and build wells. I at first thought it was to go out and just do missionary-esque work and this week’s just happened to be wells. But no, it’s all wells. I think that will probably change soon, as Korean programs switch formats like celebrities change phones. Yes, building a well is HUGE and such a big help, as clean water is such a basic yet difficult-to-obtain resource. However, Korean viewers get tired of the same thing and honestly, well-building is too specific and really really not that interesting.

First Impressions:

Koreans going abroad make me cringe and wince all at the same time. Their English is terrible (speaking, I’m sure reading and writing they excel at) and mostly they just kind of toss out one word in English, then babble on in Korean at the person. It’s not racist, it’s true, I’ve seen it so many times and yeah, I cringed on the inside.

However, this episode they went to Zambia in Southern Africa (which Kim Hyun Chul confidently declared to be in Central Africa…sigh) and brought a guide, a young man named Kent who grew up in Zambia but somehow came to Korea in a study-abroad program and got into Seoul University, Korea’s top university. 25 hours of air travel (having done a similar trip to South Africa, then returning to the US and immediately the next day flying out to South Korea, I’m underwhelmed, but that’s just my snobby self looking down my nose at people) and Kim Hyun Chul trying to open a locked briefcase with the mission and he STILL failed. He went from 001 and got to 989, but when he asked the producer and writers right before they revealed the code, they told him it was 987. Boy was his face red X-D

I feel like Tak Jae-Hoon and Kim Yong-Man are going to be the lead men, as they’ve both had years and years of experience being lead MCs. Tak Jae-Hoon currently hosts a number of other shows, while Kim Yong-Man’s nickname is a clever pun on eating that also can mean to end. He apparently works on a lot of programs that go belly-up.

Ahn Young-Mi isn’t new to variety television and I’m not sure if she’s new to reality television, but I’m fairly certain this is her first big reality/variety show. It’s a big deal to be cast as a permanent member, especially with such a small cast and I have high hopes for her. She does a fair bit of unflattering skits, such as Gollum from Lord of the Rings, but one of her most famous skits involves being in school. She does her famous catchphrase which roughly translates into “You should be honored, b!tches!” while they’re in Zambia.

I have no idea about Yoon Doo-Joon. He’s a boybander and had very little camera presence. Another bad habit of Korean TV is to copy format (in case you couldn’t tell, HA), so they took a cue from 1N2D and Family Outing and found a nice, young, pretty-boy singer as eye candy and to attract the younger fanbase. However, probably due to budget constraints and the savage ratings war, they couldn’t get someone well-known.

As for the show itself, we saw the conditions of the village where they are going to help – people are drinking water that is murkier than a Florida beach. Worse, it’s not flowing water, it’s a bit of a pond that caught rainwater and thus, lots of people end up sick and dying. They show people just drinking directly from it and of course none of the Koreans take a sip. I’m not saying they should – I’m saying it’s a statement of how different their lives are. The Zambians drink the water to live and that’s why they need this well.

The first episode is just introductions, getting the audience familiar with the show and mostly travel – first by plane and then by car to the village. There is literally nothing there – we see the tiny huts they build on their own and it’s a bed and that’s it. We see that one young woman, 17, with a baby, shovels dirt to fill a truck and gets paid about ~$2.50 for that one day’s worth of work. They said it’s about 3,000 KRW, roughly the price of a good cup of coffee. With all 5 (Kim Yong Man had another show to tape and thus comes a day later with a separate mission) cast members shoveling, they get the job done for her in a couple of hours.

Kent, the Zambian who came to Korea, is their guide and translates for them. Kim Yong Man, coming a day later, takes a side trip to find Kent’s sister and mother, whom he assumes he won’t be able to see even though he came back to Zambia, due to time constraints and distance. That will probably be touching when we see it but for now Kim Yong Man’s role in the show (straight man, bossy type, lead MC, etc) is still unclear.

As far as the show goes, it wasn’t a terrible 1 hour, then again it wasn’t really an eye-catching, WHOA first hour. Most Korean reality/variety shows head in this direction, the first few episodes of Qualities of a Man were quite boring, but now I find myself really enjoying them.

My expectations are cautious – depending on the production team, this show could be really impressive and noteworthy, but sometimes Korean shows that “help” tend to cater more to the audience than the people in need and that’s frustrating. It’d be like if Extreme Home Makeover spent more time interviewing the families and wringing tears out of the sad stories than actually building those people a house. Not good television, imho.

Tentative Rating:

From what I’ve seen and from what I expect, I’ll give this show a 6.5/10. It’s in that middling range where it could be great, it could be bad – Only time will tell. The cast is rather eclectic, I know Tak Jae-Hoon and Kim Hyun-Chul already look like they could kill each other. Stressful environments with little sleep and less to eat will not improve that relationship. Kim Yong Man looks like he wouldn’t do any hard work and just kind of watch from afar. I feel like a lot of the burden will fall on Ahn Young-Mi to be funny and keep the group together. No hopes whatsoever for boybander.

I’ll keep watching and updating as the show progresses.

I have to watch a lot of TV because I don't have any friends.

[탁http://cphoto.asiae.co.kr/listimglink/6/200911252032087393610A_6.jpg

Madmen Talk Crazy

Tossed up a review of a few shows, added a (temporary) page for my TV reviews, reorganized, edited, etc. You can check out my TV reviews (and the BANG up job I did on that page, which is fantastically spectacular IMHO) here.

I’ve been going off recommendations from friends and there have been some disappointments but also some nice gems. Not like Diablo 2 gems, but like “oohhhh, nice show” type of gems. You know what I mean. Or you don’t.

Friends usually have a hard time recommending shows/manga/anime/whatever to me as I have such eclectic and inconsistent tastes. I listen to a premise, if it doesn’t strike my fancy then I move on. Rarely do I change my mind unless certain people insist incessantly (trying saying that three times fast….thatthatthat HEY IT’S PRETTY EASY).

Lots of weird stuff in the news, my favorite is “Tiger Woods? More like Cheetah.” Golf is a game about putting a ball in a hole. GOTTA be a joke in there somewhere.

I just finished watching Pandorum, not a terrible flick but nothing to write home about. SO OF COURSE I’LL WRITE ABOUT IT HERE since nobody from home knows about this blog (thankfully). Another friend recommended “Mother” a Korean flick, so we’ll see.

More reviews to come but my schedule is getting wonky. Oh n0es!

First Glimpse: Modern Family

At the urging of my fellow reviewer Without Terebi, I decided to pick up “Modern Family” despite my misgivings about Al Bundy (played by Ed O’Neill, who I never really was a big fan of). Spoiler: No regrets about watching it!

Pre-ramble:

As I noted, the presence of Al Bundy was a big deal breaker for me. I don’t have anything against Ed O’Neill personally (not like he’s racist or something…that I know of, anyway) but I just didn’t feel his comedic presence in Married…With Children was something spectacular. That show itself wasn’t all that great, either. I’ve seen him in other, small roles and it seems like he’s always a jerk, but not even a funny jerk, just one of those jerks you wouldn’t mind bumping with your car, going a good 40 mph or so. Just sayin’

However, Without Terebi insisted and since I’ve yet to be steered wrong by him (that and he’s even more sensitive about unlikeable characters ruining a show for him than I am!) I went with his recommendation. Let me tell you, no regrets!

As of this writing I’ve seen 9 episodes and thoroughly enjoyed each one. Sometimes a new show’s first season is inconsistent with the writing as the staff tries to get the show’s rhythm down and feel out which characters/situations/combos thereof are the driving points of the show. However, I was pleasantly surprised to note that the show is like giving a sports car some gas on the highway – a smooth, exciting ride, pushing the needle ever further over the speed limit but at the same time, not exactly trying to break landspeed records.

First Glimpse:

At first glance, you’re kind of left wondering “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” (wtf for you slow folks). Is this one of those fake documentary type shows with different families and the comparisons thereof? Do these people know each other? Are we going to follow their separate stories and be beaten to death with chance happenings that seem to continue to pull them together? My first impression was that there was a series of families that the “show” would follow and draw comparisons about what families are in this modern day and age. It seemed to be too contrived and actually got my hackles up; despite the show being more of a comedic drama than a situational comedy (sitcom, duh), it bugs me when the first thing the audience is forced to do is to push the limits of the willing suspension of disbelief.

However, I was dead wrong and thank god the writers in this bad economy are smarter than yours truly. It’s both good and a bit sad that the writers have to be that much more on the ball than other shows before them. If you watch early eps of the “classics” like Friends and what have you, they’re not nearly as interesting. It seems almost unfair that newer shows have to try harder with less impressive results. Then again, it means that we, the consumers and audience, get treated to higher quality from the get-go. So who cares about escalation and the inevitable inability to keep up consistently increasing quality? Let’s enjoy the here and now.

As for the here and now, we find out the different families are all connected and THAT’S what makes this a modern family. There’s the classic white-picket fence family of 5 in the suburbs with 2 girls and one slightly off son, rounded out by the do-everything mother who (apparently) had a wild childhood and refuses to let her own children follow in her footsteps, followed by the “cool” dad who makes you cringe a la The Office because honestly, it’d be less embarrassing if he knew nothing. Then we have the gay couple with the Vietnamese baby who are just a disaster waiting to happen. And yet, it seems as though they’re one of the more normal set of characters (which is pretty crazy given how outlandish a large, gay clown with an Asian baby looks). The last family is the older man with the younger Colombian woman who has a son by another father. Gold digger, much? Actually, not so much. Man, these writers keep me on my toes! (no sarcasm…even though this sounds like sarcasm…and this…damnit!)

I would have to say that the show does a fantastic job of balancing the humor with the serious drama. Comedic dramas, after all, do not come with laugh tracks and thus, need to have some drama. The interaction of the family is both loving and strained due to a (very) common tendency to sweep things under the rug. “But then you get a lumpy rug and you could trip!” Yes, and therein lies the comedy. There’s a very organic flow from one character set to the next and just as you’re getting curious what the other family is up to, we return to their interesting little arc, at least until the next plot twist.

I don’t really want to get into specific instances, but I’m currently enjoying the false-reality show-esque feel to the show. It’s very reminiscent of The Office, with some rather awkward situations and over-the-top-self-unaware characters, but not quite so awkward I actually have to skip that part. That’s actually why I stopped watching The Office, it got wayyyyy too awkward to stomach.

I can’t stress enough how solid the writing feels, there is a very professional and polished feel to the show despite being in the early fledgling stages. Character interactions and conflicts don’t feel at all contrived and there isn’t an over-exaggeration in the situations – It very well could have gone the other way, where the writers pick the most extreme-case scenarios and hope to con the audience into believing that such a family is a “modern” family. Yes, the circus-performer-turned-Air-Force-pilot mother WOULD create more situational comedy, but does anyone believe that? Even in comedy TV land? No, no they don’t. So GTFO.

The characters are all so easy to relate to that you truly get the feeling this is a modern family, rather than “well that only happens on TV.” Who doesn’t have a gay friend and hears second-hand the kind of discrimination they come up against? It’s a short hop, skip and a jump away to imagine a gay friend starting a family by adopting an Asian child. Who doesn’t have a family that meets the US Census Bureau’s criteria for normal, and yet, in person they are anything but?

The winning combination of after-school-special-feel-goods and sharp-tongued humor along with “oh GAWD let it be over” awkwardness seems to really tickle my funny bone. I was won over by the first episode and we all know how quickly a bad first impression can sour me to a show. Great first impression followed by impressive follow-up = gold in my book.

Final Glimpse:

I have to say that I really like all of the characters and how they interact. Yes, I dislike Luke but as a cog in the machine of Modern Family, he really keeps the other gears turning. What’s important is that the show doesn’t lose sight of showing how a family in this day and age copes with the problems of, well, this day and age. Families these days simply don’t have to worry about their kids running into trouble at the malt shop (I really don’t even know wtf malt is exactly). But they do have to worry about discrimination against their Asian baby because they (the parents) are gay. Or the “gold digger” vibe people will get from the hot Colombian lady with the pudgy, old-looking dude with lots of money. Or that someone’s 15-year-old daughter is hanging out with a senior in high school, because he only has one thing on his mind. And it’s not hand-holding.

I give the show an 8.5 out of 10. I have to deduct 0.5 because awkward humor and reality-show format are less original than I would have liked. That being said, I don’t see how the show could work without it, but given that I stopped watching The Office because they took the awkward over-the-top, I worry the same could happen here. Another 0.5 deducted because there were a few instances where my suspension of disbelief was less willing than I would have liked – they stand out all the more so because of the effort the writers had put to avoid such contrivance for all the other instances. For example, Manny talks to his step sister and is surprisingly insightful and she finds it all too easy to confide in him. It’s been over-done (holy jeez, this kid is wise beyond his years! What a turn of events that is both refreshing and hilarious!) and it was poorly done, I think. Final 0.5 are taken off because some of the writing gets sloppy, they have certain conflicts that they bring up simply to fill some dead air and then next thing you know they’re gone, with no resolution or hint of whether or not they will recur.

I highly recommend this show, however, as it seems brimming with comedic potential and packed with tight, well-woven writing. It’s rare to find in a type of show that focuses on the comedy – all too easy to make up situations on the fly, squeeze the humor out of them as if from some ripe fruit, and then cast aside the husk, never to be resolved. I sincerely appreciate clean writing when I see it and there’s plenty to be seen here.

I'm not such a dick of a reviewer as you might think.

First Glimpse: Glee

I’ve recently hit an American TV show kick, so here come a slew of reviews….HAHA, nah, you know me, I’m too lazy to keep it up. Also, I’m too lazy to continue with my reviews, M I RITE? Little crude humor for you, there. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Hmmm, there are no good images online. I’m sure that will change, as the show is in the middle of the first season. For now, you’re stuck with Wikipedia’s image.

Pre-ramble:

A friend recommended that I watch this show, and as she was the very same friend who recommended Community to another friend who recommended it to me, I was inclined to follow her advice. I mean, Community freaking ROCKS! So much so that I’ll probably have to do a review soon. But it seems I don’t like doing reviews of shows I really like. Probably because it involves a ton of work to get it to my exact standards and I’m just not committed enough. Anyway, it’s some show about a Glee club, a term which I honestly haven’t heard in quite a few years. I was told it was freaking hilarious. It’s surely not.

Characters:

Wikipedia or what have you will have a much more concise description of each of them. Honestly, I don’t find any of the characters immensely likable or all that sympathetic, for that matter. To describe Rachel (as she is described multiple times on the show), one of the more main characters, “She makes me want to light myself on fire.” Not even light her on fire, light yourSELF on fire. Seriously, let me find my lighter fluid and lighter because that girls annoys the ever-loving $#!+ outta me.

Plot:

My biggest problem is that the characters don’t drive the plot. I suppose it’s a personal preference but I find that a character-driven plot is intensely more intriguing than an event-driven plot. An example is House – no matter what disease someone is dying of this week (that, conveniently enough for House, nobody else can solve), the show revolves around House and his interactions. Many people find that boring and repetitive. I find it hilarious and entertaining. The characters and their interactions make a weak attempt at being significant, but the real reason I watch Glee is for the musical numbers.

Call me a closet homosexual (I’m not, but it’s the internet and so it’s inevitable) but I sincerely enjoy the musical numbers. I feel like that’s when the actors truly come alive and it’s almost like someone hits a switch and we go from low power mode on a laptop to plugged-in-with-the-AC-adapter mode. They’re all mostly unknowns so I suppose it’s no surprise that the show suffers from weak acting but I also think the writers are at fault. They rely too heavily on the song and dance to carry the episode when I think the interactions between the characters should serve as more than an intermission between numbers.

There’s a whole high-school-with-a-super-charged-caste-system cliche, where the football players and their cheerleaders rule the hallways. Ok, my high school football team sucked and the quarterback ended up with concussions because there was no blocking. So there’s that. Honestly, the rich kids who all knew each other since birth because their families only interacted in the creme-de-la-creme social circles ruled my school. Then again, these people could afford to fly to the Bahamas for the WEEKEND so it comes as no surprise that they would win out over the mouth-breathers.

I wish that Glee had taken a less trite approach to high school – drinks thrown in the face of unpopular people, rumors spread about a girl’s integrity simply because she’s unlikable (really, don’t watch this show with anything flammable or a lighter nearby). Yes, high school is hell, but there are so many other sources of conflict than simply popularity. But I guess they wanted to convey that Glee breaks social barriers and brings all groups of people together. I guess it’s so cheesy it’s supposed to work with Glee’s jazz-hands song and dance routine?

That being said, there are some rather poignant moments aside from the singing. It’s not a total fail as a show, but I still can’t quite get over waiting each episode for the two or three grand musical numbers. I mean, that’s what a musical is about, not a TV show. The writing’s rather weak, but as a first season that’s to be expected. I feel like there’s only a vague idea of where the show should go and that’s what leaves the viewer with a strong sense of an unfocused show. Rather than a “will they? Won’t they?” feel of a show’s ups and downs, it’s more a of “damnit all, get it over with already!” during the conflicts.

Predictable plot twists don’t help my already soured vision of the show and after 9 episodes in, I’m not sure I’ll come back. It’s trying too hard in many places, unfortunately none of them are the places that could use the effort.

Final Glimpse:

I’ll give the show a 6.5/10 – 1 point off because the characters are so damn unlikable I could care less if they hit that high F, 1 point off for such a loose plot that feels like it ping-pongs between branches for no discernible reason other than to artificially heighten the tension of the show. 1 point off because I found too many stereotypes fit poorly into this attempt to appeal to everyone that ends up just alienating people. 0.5 of a point off because sometimes I feel like they burst into song when they know they’re losing our interest and a show’s writing should hold up under pressure better than that. “Hey, my ability to convey plot sucks, everyone break out into a Broadway number!”

I’ll take my half-hour of Community any day.

I'm following Joel McHale on Twitter! He hasn't tweeted since I started following him, do you think that's a bad sign?