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Post by jewel on Jun 16, 2014 21:01:21 GMT -5
Okay, I finished episode 1. I don't know, it was pretty slow-going. I fell asleep about 20 minutes into the drama. This is a very bad sign. I rarely fall sleep during viewing of any kind. Granted I was very tired and went to bed very late last night but still... I woke up to find I had actually fallen asleep for like ten minutes and had to go back and play it again where I left off.
the lead guy i have no problem with. I think I can like him. Now the lead girl I think I'm gonna have problems with. First off, I don't find her even the slightest bit pretty or cute or attractive or appealing. Personality-wise I don't find her funny or annoying or anything. I have no feelings for her. Hopefully she'll start growing on me or otherwise this drama is going to be a long, painful experience for me.
i sort of did liked the way ep 1 ended, the way their hands touched. I think i like the lead guy quite a bit.
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Post by jewel on Jun 17, 2014 10:12:56 GMT -5
Watched episode 2.
I'm a bit confused on the use of the word "ghostwriting" in the drama. Doesn't it usually mean the author writes the book first and someone else re-writes it better? Or at LEAST the author supplies the idea and the outline and then the ghostwriter writes the book in the author's style? I mean, in the drama the supposed "author" didn't even know he was going to write "her" book. Then she says, "okay, go ahead and write the book." What the heck??? That's not ghostwriting, that's just defrauding the public, isn't it?? Well, ghostwriting is too but at least the author has SOME say in the book... am confused...
Good note: Ohmgosh, I was so thrilled when I saw Chul Soo reading Pride and Prejudice. That is one of my favorite books of all time. Jane Austen has been one of my fave authors ever since I was in 9th grade and discovered her. And the cover of the book Chul Soo is holding shows a picture from "P&P" movie starring Keira Knightly and Matthew Macfayden. Now let me tell you, ever since this movie came out MM has been one of my fave actors. His voice is to die for and he has these beautiful blue eyes... very cute. He is hysterically funny in "Death At a Funeral", the British version. That movie is so so funny!
So how can I resist a guy who reads P&P even though he's a ghostwriter? Well I can't. I like him very much.
And the lead girl is SORT of growing on me too. Very slowly but I think so. I hope so. I like the fact that she eats very daintily. I was getting a little tired of all the lead girls eating like a pig, food always smeared all around their mouths (hello! have you ever heard of NAPKINS?!) and stuffing their faces as if they hadn't eaten in a month. This girl Ma Ri ate with manners and actually used a napkin!! (Koreans eat the strangest things for breakfast over there. That's one thing I find unpleasant when I'm visiting my relatives in Korea - the smell of food being cooked early in the morning... and then I offend them by just having a cup of coffee. But then I make up for it at other meals believe me!)
What else... oh that's right, I like the way our lead guy says "yeh" or "neh" at the end of a sentence when he's talking. It's cute. And I really like his mannerism and his personality. He's honest and straightforward. I like the fact he's not in awe of her or flirts with her despite the fact that she's a famous star and an acclaimed beauty. Nothing about him is forced, he is just so natural. And he's handsome in a manly, masculine way.
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Post by jojo on Jun 17, 2014 12:41:33 GMT -5
Hi fiona! I watched this drama a while ago mainly because Choi Ji-woo is in it. I had a similar feeling about Ma Ri at the beginning, but was glad I continued watching. It’s one of my favorite dramas.
I think the term “ghostwriter” is being used very loosely. I thought it means someone wants to write a book but needs help from a ghostwriter to get it done. In the drama, Ma Ri’s boss wants a book completely free of anything Ma Ri might have to say, which seems highly fradulent. At least Chul Soo tries to get some material from her.
Also loved the performance by Yoo Ji-tae as Chul-soo. Hope you continue watching and enjoy!
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Post by TheBo on Jun 18, 2014 11:03:36 GMT -5
LOL fiona, if you hate it I won't be sad if you quit.
I can address the term ghostwriter, I am very familiar with this concept. All "ghostwriter" means is the actual writer does not get credit for writing the book, but voluntarily allows someone else to get the credit. The person who gets the credit can be real (like Mari) or fictional (like "Carolyn Keene," who supposedly "wrote" the Nancy Drew books but they were actually written and conceived by Mildred Wirt Bensen--whose writing credit was later stolen by the Stratmeyer Syndicate). A ghostwriter is a person who writes on behalf of another person. So in this case, Mari doesn't have to have a idea, or an experience, or anything. All she has to do, eventually, is take the credit for writing it. So the drama is correctly using the term. Yes, it's defrauding the public, and movie stars do it all the time and have done it forever and forever. Sometimes, people will get around this by saying, "as told to" so-and-so, or "with" another writer. In the first case, you might actually be getting a book of interviews, but in the second case ("with"), you probably are getting a ghostwritten book.
You can write a book, and have someone else edit the heck out of it, but they are not a ghostwriter, they are merely an editor. You still wrote the book.
I hope you get to like this drama. Mari is hard to get to know, I agree, but it's the drama overall that I liked.
Pay attention to the other characters, too, they're very interesting.
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Post by jewel on Jun 19, 2014 22:51:30 GMT -5
Thank you, Jojo and Bo, for clarifying the use of the word "ghostwriter". And like you said Jojo, in ep 3 Chul Soo was incorporating some of her ideas into the book. I'm trying to like this drama, though it's still a little rough-going right now. Thank you both for your kind words of encouragement. Birdy, where are you? Did you start? I watched ep 3 but won't post anything about it until you post about ep 1 and ep 2, okay? And I won't go onto ep 4 for now. am watching "Monstar" on the side and really enjoying it. It's strange but I find the lead guy ugly but at the same time strangely attractive. I'd be watching him and would catch myself being fascinated by his manner and personality and way of speaking. Then suddenly I'd look at his face and say, "Wait a minute! - he's quite ugly!!" But then two minutes later I'm fascinated by him again. Very strange. I don't love the lead girl though. She doesn't look Korean... when I watch K-dramas I'd like it if at least the main characters look Korean. I had the same problem with the lead guy of "To the Beautiful You." I could not go beyond ep 1 with that one. But "Monstar" I'm really liking. As I was saying I find the lead guy eerily charismatic... can't quite figure out why... Is he supposed to be attractive? I guess so since he's the main character... And I find the other characters fun too.
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Post by bird11 on Jun 20, 2014 22:47:55 GMT -5
I finally had some free time this evening and watched the first two episodes, and I agree that the story is a bit slow. The actress was in one of my all-time favorite dramas - Winter Sonata, great story, great OST. I think the reason she is a hard actress to like is that her face is so expressionless, I really like when the actors use their faces to show emotions-- she is like a blank page, so hard to tell what she is thinking/feeling. I liked the scenes in episode 2 when Ma Ri put the popcorn bag over Chul Soo's head with the popcorn still inside and when he wore it in front of the reporters. It was a bit creepy since the bag had a clown face on it....but overall funny. I worry about how much this drama might drag since it is supposed to be about someone being pursued by 4 men and here it is episode 2 and we have only really met one man, although there is someone in her past. I did feel sorry for Ma Ri at one point but as I am typing I totally lost my train of thought-- it might have something to do with the guy in her past, but I just can't remember -- boy do I hate when that happens !!!! Hey Fiona, let's hear more about what you think..... (Glad you are l liking Monstar)
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Post by jewel on Jun 22, 2014 21:42:51 GMT -5
Episode 3
I know what you mean about the popcorn bag, Birdy - I find all clowns very creepy!!
Anyway, I found ep 3 VERY slow-going. I think the main problem for me is that I JUST don't find Ma Ri pretty, yet everyone around her keep saying how pretty she is. And aside from beauty, I just don't particularly like her character or find her character believable.
I mean, if I sent my boyfriend to get vanilla ice cream and he doesn't come back in an hour I would go out to look for him. It's Korea so he probably went to a mom and pop store down the street so I would just trot down there to take a look-see. She just sits there until nightfall, waiting for him. Really??
Then when Chal Soo is playing the piano she asks what piece that was, that her father used to play for her all the time when she was growing up. Well if your father played that for you all the time you should know it's Chopin.
Another thing I really didn't like about her was the way I felt she was playing with Chul Soo, like she knew he had feelings for her and she was taunting him. Why did she ask if he was upset about driving her and her ex to a restaurant? Couldn't she guess that he was without asking? She should've just apologized instead. Then she accuses him of being a liar because he said he wasn't upset. Give me a break.
And another thing that really REALLY ticked me off was her lunging for his shopping bag when she meets him in the street. I really don't think their relationship was that further along that she was in the position to do something like that. I hate people like that, people who don't respect other people's privacy. If he didn't want to show her what he had bought she should've respected that.
And what's with the slow-motion effect when she was grabbing at the bag?? Isn't slow motion saved for really important scenes like some big revelation or a huge climax of a story?? Very strange...
I actually got some wake-up stimulation when Son Ha Young appeared. Ok, he was a jerk with his "It's okay" phrase for everything and slapping down the bouquet of wrong-colored roses, but he was really like a breath of fresh air with his brisk manners. It was like eating bowls and bowls of vanilla ice cream and all of a sudden getting a spoonful of Coffee Heath Bar Crunch. I like this actor who plays the ex.
It's gonna be a struggle for me with this one, it really is. Whether good or bad I'm really actor-driven when it comes to dramas and I just don't have any positive feelings for Ma Ri. I just don't find her likable. Can I really bear to watch her for... What, 16 more episodes???
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Post by jojo on Jun 23, 2014 16:05:40 GMT -5
Sorry if the quote thing got messed up. Please ignore!
I think MaRi's aloof personality is due to the classic celebrity dilemma of not being able to trust anyone you meet. People want to know you just because you're famous or rich or whatever. She has a very isolated personal life and is afraid to get close to others.
MaRi became an orphan at a young age.Maybe that is why she doesn't know the name of the Chopin piece.
Many parts of MaRi's past haven't been revealed yet. But if you're looking for a faster pace, this isn't the right drama!
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Post by jewel on Jun 23, 2014 19:21:39 GMT -5
Well, I was talking to my mom and she couldn't understand why/how i didn't find MaRi pretty. She thinks she is very pretty. And she loved her in "Winter Sonata" she told me (like you, Birdy). She asked me how I'm gonna watch "Stairway to Heaven" as she is the lead girl in that too. I was like oh dang! I have that drama queued because the lead guy is Kwon Sang Woo whom I find very cute. I've been waiting for the right time to watch it because I know it's sad.
Yes, Jojo, sadly I think this drama is too slow-paced for me. I'm a little disappointed in myself. Usually I'm great with slow-paced movies and books, but maybe with K-drama I'm different...? And when I wrote up that above post I was in a slightly foul mood, so please forgive me everyone. But the main problem for me is I just don't like the actress playing MaRi. If MaRi were played by... let's see... Gu HyeSun? or Park ShinHye? or Son YeJin? or Sung YuRi? (had to look up their names)... hee hee, then maybe I'd enjoy it better??? These actresses I find very cute and fun to watch. Or maybe I just don't like melodrama...
Birdy, I finished "Monstar" and I loved it. I wish we had watched it together. It was so much fun!! Just really liked the lead guy... so of course I had to look up the boy band Beast... and they did NOTHING for me, thank God. Don't need another obsession!! But loved the drama!! Share your thoughts on ep 3, please... (of "SL", I mean)
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Post by bird11 on Jun 24, 2014 20:13:34 GMT -5
I agree with so many of your points, I think alot of these types of dramas spend so much time developing the characters that they kinda forget the story line. I think JoJo hit the nail on the head, I think they are trying to show MaRi as this 'tortured soul' that has trouble connecting to people, but I think the writers could have gone about it in another way, MaRi just having a failed boyfriend/girlfriend relationship could have been enough to show her lack of trust in opening up to Chul Soo. I also did not like that scene when she was left waiting for her boyfriend to return from getting ice cream. When I am expecting someone and they don't turn up on time I'm already to jump to the worst conclusions-- like a car accident or something -- and yet she just sits there!??!??! I think I am having a hard time with this drama has a lot to do with MaRi-- her actions are so strange, like her lunging for the bag to see what he bought-- it was a small bag, it could have been a bottle of soju or something, she reaches for it like a kid expecting a bag of candy or something. Hopefully as the story goes on it will get more exciting. I like the ex-boyfriend and I like the Reporter who is friends with Chul Soo-- I am hopeful that the reporter will add some much needed comedy action to this drama....
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Post by jojo on Jun 25, 2014 8:30:12 GMT -5
Chul-soo is partially the opposite of MaRi: he's poor, has extended family, and is not at all interested in popular culture. But he is similar in loss of parents and is somewhat closed-off emotionally.
Another trait of K dramas: more is revealed as the episodes continue and the story will become more complicated.
So.... what will happen when the book is pubished?
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Post by TheBo on Jun 26, 2014 10:20:17 GMT -5
Tut tut. I'm glad jojo here is holding up the side. LOL. Mari is supposed to be difficult to get to like, otherwise why would there be any conflict between her and Chulsoo? As jojo says, Chulsoo is also closed off, but he's more appealing than Mari, which is good for the drama because it provides a contrast between them. Also, I'm not sure how far you've gotten, but Mari has a very complicated past as far as personal relationships are concerned, just as Chulsoo does.
I think Choi Jiwoo is perfect for this role, for the very reason put forth by fiona and for the very same reason she was perfect in WS. She's distant. She's cool. She's a porcelain doll. She's not quite real--which is very important IMHO. How could anyone love this girl? And yet, there's a dedicated coterie of people surrounding and protecting her. I will understand if you both decide to stop watching, but it is my opinion that the difficulty of the main characters is one of the main reasons for watching this drama. It's about their journey into becoming good people, because they are not really good people right away. I found that interesting.
BTW, if you manage to get all the way through, I'll post the review I wrote of this for a Korean (English-language) paper a couple of years ago. I don't know if that's an incentive or a disincentive. LOL...
ADDENDUM: jojo, I just deleted your mistaken post. You can remove a post you made, just click at the upper right of the post and look for "delete." I get a little drop-down menu when I click the gear box, I assume you have one of those too.
Also, one thing I don't like about Choi Jiwoo is that she's pretty clearly had a good dose of facial surgery in her time. I find this unfortunate, and I think so many young actresses have followed her lead (and others of course) but I think she was one of the first and I blame her for it. So I don't find her TOTALLY perfect LOL.
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Post by jewel on Jun 30, 2014 23:16:40 GMT -5
Well, I think we could go on and on about this actress but the simple fact of the matter is that I just don't like her. I didn't know it then that it was her but I gave up on two other dramas because of her. I started "Can't Lose" and had to stop cuz I didn't like the lead girl or the lead guy. I started to watch "The Suspicious Housekeeper" and the same thing happened with that too. BUT - I'll try to stick with this one. Haven't watched ep 4 yet but will soon.
Actually I sorta fell in crush with Ki Tae Young who plays Ma Ri's ex and am watching "Creating Destiny" right now. He's the lead guy in this drama and I'm absolutely loving it. It is so much fun!! He is soooo cute!! I found him extremely attractive in "Star's Lover" that I ended up looking him up and when I realized he was in "Creating Destiny," which I had sort of thought of watching before, I couldn't resist. It is sooo good!! And I love the lead girl in it too!
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Post by bird11 on Jul 1, 2014 7:22:13 GMT -5
BTW, Fiona, you can tell your mom that I watched "Winter Sonata" because Bae Young Jun starred in it, not because Choi Ji Woo is in it! Let me know what you think of Ep 4, I think it's a better episode, so maybe things will start moving along more
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Post by jewel on Jul 8, 2014 7:46:01 GMT -5
Okay, I haven't posted in a while because I was feeling guilty about "SL" but I have to just 'fess up - I couldn't get through ep 4. I have to bail on it, I'm really sorry. But Bo, can you still post your review? I'd really like to read it.
Birdy, are you watching it still? If you are, I'll wait till you finish so we can watch something else together. You know what I started and it was sooo good? - "King of High School". There were only 2 episodes out at the time so I mistakenly thought it was a movie and watched it. I realized half way through the second episode that it was a new drama and the rest just hadn't come out yet. Right now up to ep 6 are out. I don't watch dramas until all the episodes are out so I'm waiting for that. Do you wanna watch it with me then??? It is really good. It's about a high school guy who goes to work for his brother. His brother is indisposed so he poses as his brother to safe-keep his new job until his return (they look alike enough to be twins). It is hilarious!!
I finished "Creating Destiny." Omg, it was soooo good. Loved it!! Anytime you wanna watch it I'm definitely willing to watch it again. Right now am taking a break but am thinking of watching "Sly and Single Again." I've been wanting to watch it but have been hesitating because I don't like the lead girl. (She's the girl who tried to take Joon Pyo away from Jan Di in "Boys Over Flowers" and I've disliked her ever since.) But I adore Joo Sang Wook, the lead actor in "Sly and Single Again" - I think he is sooo beautiful. I first saw him in "Paradise Farm" and totally fell for him. Fell for him so hard that I had to stop watching the drama because i knew he was not going to get the girl and I couldn't bear to see him sad. If you wanna see this drama with me, let me know.
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