Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Coffee Prince - What's Your Flava?

The Cast

I’m giving full credit for the casting department of Coffee Prince drama, and also the great director who made the whole show amazing. Now it’s unlike me to comment so much on a TV drama, but this time I just couldn’t help it. What makes me love this drama so much is not
just because the cast are gorgeous (remember that I am a big fan of Korean celebs), but more because the high quality of the actors’ skill to build the characters and develop it into a very natural scenes. These people are the power of Coffee Prince.
Now, as a ceffee lover, I made some descriptions about the casts and the matched coffee for them. Well, hopefully you can bump into them at the nearest Starbucks XD Pick your favorite!

Go Eun Chan (cast : Yoon Eun Hye)

She is the star here, no doubt. I’m so impressed by her skill that developed so much, First time I knew her was when she was wiggling her tail in BabyVOX music video XDD She was nothing more than a cute sexy girl who barely can sing, but just nice to look at. Hahaha. But then she caught my attention in X-Men game show (Korean variety show), which showed me that she is really cute. And nice! She gave caramel candy to Eric and I didn’t hate her, LOL. In Princess Hours (Goong) she was all pretty and adorable, and everyone just loved her. Now in Coffee Prince, she turned into none other than Go Eun Chan. After watching her acting here, I just couldn’t imagine her as a girlband member. And extra applause for her, that she worked hard for her acting that she lost weight – which made her even more awesome.
For a cup of coffee, she is an iced cappuccino. Sweet, bold, creamy and refreshing :)

Choi Han Kyul (cast : Gong Yoo)

So he’s the prince charming. Everybody loves Gong Yoo! Hahaha. Typically, everyone who watched this drama would soon fall in love with this guy. Well, uhm, except me. First time I notice him in the Coffee Prince poster, I was thinking “Isn’t this the guy who got beaten up by Kwon Sang Woo in My Tutor Friend movie?” XD And yes he is. He was so dorky in that movie, so when I watched him in Coffee Prince, well, I must admit that this guy developed so much. Not just the acting, but also the hair, the muscles, with nice butt, nice arms, combines that with nice clothes. Turning from a loser to a hot hunk, what else can I say. Thumbs up!
For a cup of coffee, he is an espresso. Hot, strong and tasty :P

Choi Han Seong (cast : Lee Seon Gyun)

Attention : I am so in love with this guy.
Really. I’m falling in love since the first time he appeared in Coffee Prince. Was it the hair? The glasses? The t-shirts he wore? The dorky face? The cool smile? Name it, I love it! And his acting skill, I was speechless. The way he built emotion between him and the girlfriend, I felt like watching a reality show. Everything was so natural. From the way he kiss, play with the feet, even when he got mad, boy I wish I was the girlfriend XD Everyone who startled by the charming Gong Yoo might not realize that this guy also do jogging (with the dog!), and he has great body too :P And plus, he was acting as a music director. No wonder he’s my favorite character, huh? XD I would kill to have a music director boyfriend like him. And he sings! I notice that in the Coffee Prince OST tracklist! Now I’m gonna find the CD and stop talking about him – because I turn into a fangirl now :P
For a cup of coffee, he is a warm coffee latte. Humble, bold, but smooth and addictive.

Han Yoo Joo (Chae Jung Ahn)

I wonder if she and Lee Seon Gyun are really a couple in real life. Because the emotion between these two people are so frikin’ deep! All the romantic scenes were real! She’s so good because I start to hate her, LOL. One thing I notice is that she’s so skinny. Gosh, are all Korean actress always hunger themselves? XD But I like her because she’s unlike those cheesy teeny weenie skinny girl. She could act real good, and even though it would break my heart, but I think she could be a perfect girlfriend for Lee Seon Gyun *sobs* Really, are you guys dating? XD
For a cup of coffee, she is a warm vanilla latte. Sleek, sweet, and tasteful.

Jin Ha Rim

He is such a dork, but also entertaining. LOL. He has a lot of expression and his role in Coffee Prince was like a bridge to every emotion.
For a cup of coffee, he is a caramel frappuccino. Sweet, creamy and just fun XD

Hwang Min Yeop

I wonder if anyone noticed that this guy is the same guy who appeared on Slow Jam (Jung Yunjoon & Ann) music video, Dagawa. In that video, he was the guy who lost the girlfriend and made love with the tattoo maker girl! He was quite sexy in that video, but in Coffee Prince, he turned into such a dumb bulky boy, LOL. He impressed me so much. His dorky expression is so different from the one in music video XD
For a cup of coffee, he is an iced coffee. Bold but refreshing :)

No Sun Ki

From the first time he appeared in Coffee Prince, no doubt that he’s gorgeous. With his cool attitude and the hair, he made a perfect cast as the Japanese waffle maker. His painted nails and big sunglasses under the wide hat, he’s so Harajuku! I always sighed whenever he appeared up close, 'kakkoi…'
For a cup of coffee, he is a tall iced decaf. Enjoy it without guilt. LOL.

{posted by Chibi on 10:09 PM} +

Coffee Prince

Korean drama review

It's been a while since I watched a full Korean drama - some of you might know that I'm not a drama lover, because I dislike long stories and often slept during the episodes - but since my last time watching Princess Hours (Goong), I was interested in Yoon Eun Hye's new drama.

Alright, I admit, the main reason I watched this drama is because it's a romantic comedy and Yoon Eun Hye as the main cast.
I fancy BabyVOX and was amazed by Eun Hye - from X-Men TV show to her role as the princess in Goong. And so when I saw the Coffee Prince poster with Eun Hye's short hair picture, I was thinking that this one might be as good as Goong. And plus, I recalled one time Mon read the storyline in the tabloid in my office and she said that this drama is kinda interesting. Interesting in a drama means something big for Mon, LOL. Because that dax is more drama-hater than me XD So if even Mon was interested in a drama, why wouldn't I XD

As I predict, Eun Hye rocks all the way. From the sexy BabyVOX chick, to a sassy princess in Goong, now she turns into an astonishing boyish girl in Coffee Prince. I give her 10 thumbs up for her performance and acting skill. When you see her in Coffee Prince, you won't see Yoon Eun Hye as a sexy singer, or a cute X-Men player, or even Kim Jong Kook's girlfriend (or ex?). Or even a sassy princess. You will see a boyish girl named Go Eun Chan as if she really is a boy. She is so not Yoon Eun Hye!

The Story
The main storyline is about a boyish girl named Go Eun Chan (Yoon Eun Hye) who had to hide her true identity so she could work in a coffee shop. Eun Chan was a head of a family, so she worked her butt off to feed her mother and sister. From milk delivery, Chinese food delivery, sticking doll's eyes, to teaching taekwondo for kids - she done it all. And then she met a handsome arrogant rich hunk named Choi Han Kyul (Gong Yoo) – who thought Eun Chan was a boy – and he paid Eun Chan to pretend to be his 'gay lover', in order to help him avoiding arranged marriage. The plan worked well, and Eun Chan became friends with Han Kyul (who still didn't have a clue that Eun Chan is a girl! Gosh!) So then Han Kyul opened a coffee shop and Eun Chan became his employee. Eun Chan's feeling towards Han Kyul grew into love, and Han Kyul became highly interested in Eun Chan. But Eun Chan could not confess to him because she could not reveal her true gender, and Han Kyul did not want to admit that he liked Eun Chan, because he thought Eun Chan is a man - and Han Kyul was frustrated thinking that he became a gay. LOL.
See, the storyline itself was hilarious XDDD

What makes this drama more interesting is not just Yoon Eun Hye of course, but the storyline which not just giving a flick between two dorky main casts - Eun Chan and Han Kyul - but also the other love story between Han Kyul's cousin, Choi Han Seong (Lee Seon Gyun) and Han Kyul's first love, Han Yoo Joo (Chae Jung Ahn). I must say that these two characters are bold and it's what makes this drama awesome.
People would not see just a romantic comedy between Eun Chan and Han Kyul, but also a deep feeling between Han Seong and Yoo Joo. And how the four of them tangled to each other, it's just smooth and as good as a cup of coffee :)

This 17 episodes drama was said to be very popular in Korea, well, I can see why. The casts are excellent – the casting department must have worked hard to find such good actors & actresses who can build emotions between each character. The drama brings out the modern life style, the kind that we wouldn’t find it in (most) previous other dramas. This included sex, gay issue (well, even though this is mot a gay story but it reflected the open-minded point of view about love), living together, and pre-marital pregnancy. But it didn’t mean that the drama left the basic traditional culture, because it also showed the merger between different generations and the family customs. How can I not love this thing?!
The sense of fashion was nice, no wonder Gong Yoo became such a fashion icon for young men. And the ladies’ attires also very chic and casual – the kind of Banana Republic and Marks & Spencer style. Well, and lots and lots of t-shirts that Eun Hye and Lee Seon Gyun wore all the time XD

Generally, I rank 9/10 for this drama. It’s a really must see, and even though I had to stay awake ‘till 3 a.m to watch this thing, well, I think it’s worth it :)

{posted by Chibi on 9:36 PM} +

Monday, October 01, 2007

MISUH, MISUH.

Namanya bulan puasa, berarti bulan dimana umat muslim (terutama) musti menahan segala hawa nafsu. Nggak cuma nafsu makan dan minum, tapi juga nafsu-nafsu yang lain... nafsu syahwat, misalnya, dan yang paling penting, nafsu amarah.
Nah ini nih, yang terakhir ini nih yang paliiiinggg susah. Yang namanya manusia ya, pasti lah ada saat-saat emosi tuh naik turun. Dan walopun sekuat tenaga diri sendiri berusaha menahannya, tapi suka adaaaa aja dari lingkungan sekitar yang justru jadi pemicu. Hahaha.

Gue sendiri, ikut menjalankan puasa bulan ini. Oke, gue akuin, gue bukan muslim yang taat. Dan puasa gue juga banyak bolongnya, karena, yah itu dia. Gue seringkali ga bisa melawan hawa nafsu. Nafsu lapar dan haus, godaannya banyak banget di kantor gue (secaraaa ya sebelah ruangan gue RESTORAN, gituuuw) XDD Belum lagi penghuni kantor gue yang babi semua - maksut gue, tukang makan semua dan selain ber-shio babi, juga pemakan daging babi. Hehehe. Eh tapi nggak semua babi ding ya, ada yang ayam, kebo, juga walrus :P Ya gitu deh XDD

Kalo nafsu makan dan minum, okelah... gue (sometimes) masih bisa nahan... Tapi yang paling susah, ya itu sepeeti yang gue sebutin tadi. Nahan nafsu amarah - termasuk di dalamnya nafsu untuk ngata-ngatain, misuh, menggaplok muka orang, dan (apalagi) mencabik-cabik isi perut seseorang dan mengunyah otaknya.

Believe me, it's soooo hard to not doing those things. Selain karena banyak hal di keseharian gue yang memicu emosi gue, mungkin juga karena gue memang masih gampang tergoda bisikan setan (atau kalo di kasus gue sih, setannya ga bisik-bisik, tapi tereak-tereak menawarkan bakmi babi, bebek goreng, atau bakpao medan - selain itu juga setan sekarang kan canggih-canggih, cukup lewat henpon dan orang yang ditelepon bisa langsung tergoda untuk mengeluarkan kata-kata seperti "nge** lu" atau "ta* lu" dengan penuh perasaan. Yah, anyway, setan sekarang sih ga pake bisik-bisik. Semua transparan kok).

Tapi semua itu emang kembali ke diri masing-masing, ya. Ada orang yang bisa dengan taat menjalankan puasa dengan menahan semua hawa nafsunya, dan berhasil. Yang jelas, itu bukan gue :P Gue masih dalam tahap belajar; belajar menjadi orang yang baik, belajar jujur - ke orang lain juga ke diri sendiri, dan belajar bertoleransi dengan lingkungan(termasuk orang-orang sekitar).
Mungkin beberapa hal nggak berjalan seperti yang gue mau, tapi gue musti bisa nerima semuanya dengan lapang dada. Yang penting, gue usaha.
Kalau gagal, ya usaha lagi. Pake misuh emang, tapi paling nggak terus usaha lagi.
Berusaha untuk nggak misuh.
Walpon pada akhirnya - gue yakin - PASTI bakalan misuh, tapi kalau berhasil kan, paling nggak gue misuhnya puas. Hahaha.

{posted by Chibi on 9:50 PM} +

Song:'80s-'90s songs; Matt Hires; some rocks
Obsession: Publishing my book
Reading: Horrible Histories
Movie: Clueless
Addiction: Books & Mp3
Project: Reviews and Translations