Friday, March 23, 2012

12 Men in a Drama


   I'm a bit snarky today. A lot happened this week, and in the end it left me both depressed and infuriated. To lighten my mood a bit, I started to watch 12 Men in a Year again, since there are subs already, and I'm not that self-conceited to say I don't need subs, because I'm so damn special I learned Korean while watching few dramas and through song lyrics. I need subs to get the jokes, just to name only one reason. D-A had couple of morons' invasions as well, no less destructive that Mongol invasion of Goryeo. 



   People Morons are complaining that 12 Men in a Year doesn't have a pretty/cute actress, and it's not 'flower boy/chaebol saves damsel in distress' formula. Some compare it to Sweet November... Only because reading "this drama is based on Zwölf Männer hat das Jahr by Martina Paura" is so damn hard to understand. That's an adaptation, for saying out loud, and whether the book was made into movie/series/napkin pattern earlier doesn't matter.
It's tvN drama, very close to I Need Romance in terms of the flow, narration and directing. The assembly of music pieces is also worth mentioning, they fit the scenes perfectly. But I guess it will have a different ending than the aforementioned drama. Let's hope so.
You can expect lot of talk about sex, sleeping together, G-spot, singles, and all those things that normal women talk about when they are not 30-yo virgins with a chastity belt on.
It flows nice, maybe for some people a bit slow, but you know, life is also slow. Plus, I like slow dramas too.
One narration struck me especially and left me depressed. Main character, Na Miru, was talking about the stars, and she said that some stars have names and are known by everyone, and some are born and die unknown, and this is her case. 
Some sentences like that hit very hard. But I guess it's a bit too complex for usual fangirls' brains.
So, do I enjoy this drama? Yes I am.
Another quote: "sex is like meat, you're not in love with it, but you still can enjoy it."


   Now, I did try King 2 Hearts (gods, who came up with this ridiculous title?) in a mission not to leave (some) dramas untouched.
The fantasizing about monarchy in Korea sits fine with me, I do like some alternative stories, but the main problem lies with two main leads. I'm not a fan of either of them, and Ha Jiwon since Damo plays one type of character. Her North Korean accent is so fake it hurts my ears, she delivers the lines as if reading the script from behind the camera. Actors work on their accent, Na Munhee was speaking naturally with Gyeongsang dialect in Padam Padam, Kim Ji-yeong was speaking with Busan accent in Too Beautiful to Lie. Meaning? Yes, you can learn to speak well with other accent.
Not even the kid that played young Un (from Idiot Dongsu) helped me to enjoy the first episode. On the other hand, why I remember all talented kids from Korea? They have tons, and soon I will lose the count probably.
Don't even let me start on Lee Seunggi. The guy is no actor and he mostly plays with his open mouth. I see no improvement since Shitting Inheritance whatsoever.
Oh yes, plus the ill-fated romance. Don't get me wrong, the series has potential, has good settings and has really good laughing moments, and maybe it was not the right moment to start this for me at all. I did find it funny how Ha Jiwon's character reacted when she came to Seoul and she saw huge billboards with Hyeon Bin, Jo Inseong and Kang Dongwon (some metatextual, errm... metadrama narrative), but in overall, the first episode tired me.
No, I will not watch it even for Jo Jeongseok, although his character is the most intriguing one.