CITY HUNTER OMG

With this post I declare City Hunter my favourite Korean drama so far and maybe, of all time. (I still have many to watch before I can confirm this he.) And I promise that only a small percentage has to do with the incredibly gorgeous, swoon-worthy Lee Min Ho. If not I wouldn't waste my precious time writing another blog post after I've just finished one just to write some sort of a review. My verdict - 9 out of 10 for this beautiful, heartfelt yet action-packed drama.

Summary (taken from Koreaboo and edited): 

After a group of elite soldiers are betrayed by their country, the sole survivor Lee Jinpyo (Kim Sangjoong) raises his best friend's son, Yoonsung (Lee Minho), in the drug-infested Golden Triangle and prepares him to take revenge on the Korean government. Years later, Yoonsung takes a job in the Blue House (the Korean president's residence) for a cover as he tracks down the five men that ordered the sweep mission. He's warned by his father to trust no one and love no one for the simple reason that he's only going to end up hurting the ones around him. So follows the epic story of revenge, love and sacrifice. (Maybe think Spider-man 2 minus the superpowers.)

I'm just going to put this short and sweet - I love everything about this drama. I love it so much that I finished all 20 episodes in 2 days. I love it so much that I'm dedicating a post to it. *Sniff* I don't think I've ever loved a drama this much. And I'm so glad I finally convinced myself to watch it. My 9 points comes mostly from brilliant script writing, solid characters accompanied with solid acting, sexy camera techniques and breathtaking action scenes. The sad 1 point comes from a few, very few though, cliched or unrealistic scenes and a slightly bad ending. But other than that it's just flawless. 

The script writing is beautiful I feel. I really admire the script writers. I really do. The story's very very thought provoking and makes me think a lot (yes just what I love!!!). It isn't just any story about pure, over the top, cold-blooded revenge. I see a very sincere side to it. And I love that the villains aren't your common, traditional, one-dimensional villains. Sometimes villains have reasons. And sometimes villains do care more about others than themselves. I also love that the heroes aren't your common, traditional one-dimensional heroes. Sometimes heroes aren't invincible. Sometimes they break down, sometimes they're weak. I also love that the "damsel in distress" is not exactly a "damsel in distress", but more like a "I can take care of myself" kind of girl. Everyone loves a girl that can kickass. All this, together with brilliant acting (especially from Lee Min Ho, Lee Jun Hyuk and Kim Sangjoong) makes the characters believable and relatable and I love it this way.

The good things: I loved the crazy nail-biting tension in the action scenes, which made these scenes an easy favourite. My 2 favourite action scenes have got to be when Yoonsung gets shot by Nana at the rooftop and when Yoonsung saves her from falling over at the railing edge. Seriously, my poor blood pressure. And of course the show offers us a fair share of fanservice. Therefore all the cute little romance scenes are my favourite too. Lee minho and his face will be the death of me. :( And of course, I have to praise Lee Min Ho's acting one more time. A notable scene was when Nana had that little incident and Yoonsung's great love for her came through. It was so convincing that I cried. To be honest I don't even know how many times I cried. Other good things are the cliffhanger endings, which keep me wanting more. Thank God I had the DVD. I cannot imagine if it was 2011 and had to wait one week all the time for the next episode. 

And of course, you can't just praise a drama fully (although I'd love to). The ending was so bittersweet, I loved yet hated it. But the more I thought about it, the more it didn't seem so bad. It was just so scary and a little too dark at times. And sometimes when things don't make sense I hate it. But anyway, there's really very little to criticize and the only thing I can think about right now is "MAKE A SEASON 2 DAMN IT".

City hunter, good job.    

People

are weird. I don't mean that in a mean way, I mean it in a curious way. I just think about people a lot sometimes and wonder about a lot of things. My revolutionary trip to Taiwan got me wondering even more. And I have to say I loved it because I absolutely love new experiences, I absolutely love doing thought-provoking things and most of all, I love meeting new people. The times when I meet new people are the times I wonder. Of course I love trying new food too, but that's besides the point.

Now what I absolutely hate is wasting free time. My definition of spending time well may not be burying myself in books, because sometimes I think it's a waste of time as well (Mom don't slam me please). I perceive spending time well as trying out new, fun things. This is something that really means a lot to me. And I realised this during the whole of November when I was still sitting around my house bored, desperate, but completely dry of ideas of what to do. I really, really, really, REALLY CANNOT stand being bored. I was miserable. And November was cruel.

Then December did some justice when my Taiwan trip began. As blogged about before, I wasn't particularly excited. But idiotic me was just having one of those I don't wanna go home moods on the way to the airport on the 22nd. Going to Taiwan was absolutely refreshing, fun and revolutionary. I doubted going to another Asian country would be the least bit refreshing, fun and/or revolutionary, since I doubted Asia had anymore to offer after what I've seen. Boy I was wrong. So I've since learnt the lesson that every speck and corner of Asia is. different. Taiwan changed my life and a lot of it has to do with people.

Refreshing came because of the delightful night markets they had to offer. I've been to night markets, I guess, but Taiwan's version of night markets is something you really can't miss out. Imagine the atmosphere - slightly smelly damp air, cluttered and messy, but ALL of that wiped out by the amazing scent of freshly cooked eats and buzzing fashion shops. After the first night market, I just couldn't get enough. So the knowledge of being able to go to more excited me. After visiting a total of 5 night markets I have to declare that Shilin night market is the best of all. It's so huge, so good, so yummy, you could cry. Oh and I have to take a moment to  thank the amazing Taiwanese people for wonderfully showcasing their culture, especially at the night markets. It's at Taiwan where I've met some of the friendliest people I've ever met.

Fun came because I tried new things. Yay! I tried me a gyro drop for the first time in my life. I hop into a seat a little too high for me, I pull down the over-sized chest protection thing, I buckle my seat belt, and then I find myself going up, up, up, up until I'm unable to even make out what's below me, and that's when I plunge. Fast. And the next thing I know I'm wobbling out of the ride. And I love it. Lol wow. I also tried driving a golf buggy for the first time in my life, which was so fun. Of course I did many other fun things, but it's the fun AND new things that I remember the most.

Revolutionary came when I met a taxi driver. I should have asked for his name. Tsk. But I did say something I'm happy about. Before I left his taxi I really wanted to thank him for an interesting ride, so I told him in Chinese, "Uncle you're very friendly, thank you." I hope it was a decent thank you, because he was really, very friendly. He was partially deaf and born in Singapore and very funny. Best taxi ride ever. It's things like that convince me finally that there are more good people than bad people out there.

Sigh. I could talk about Taiwan all day, week, month and year. But I have to end this blog post somehow. Again it all comes down to people when I enjoy something thoroughly. The taxi driver, the stall owners at the night markets and my tour mates! I have lovely tour mates and I'm sad I didn't thank them for letting me meet them. But I'm thankful. That's why I keep saying people are weird. They surprise you one moment, then they make you cry, laugh, feel angry and for my case, think, the next. People are really weird. But somehow I always find myself thanking them silently.

Now Imma throw in a random picture from my trip just so I can remember it forever.

Dad and I sitting on the steps of a little preserved temple

America obsessed

So, tomorrow I'm leaving for Taiwan.. it's gonna be a midnight flight. I gotta say I'm pretty excited for the trip, but to be honest I was dreading it at first. I thought I rather stay here, and like waste my holidays away.  At first I really wanted to go to west coast USA soooo badly but unfortunately things didn't work out. Guess it's not the right time yet. But until then, I would be praying every single day that one day I get to go there whether it's by my own means or my parents'.

I think west coast USA's seriously the place for me, I mean, it's beautiful. And it's also fun. You'll feel like partying every day when you're in Las Vegas, you'll feel like a princess when you're in Disneyland, you'll feel like a Sharmaine when you're in Universal Studios, you'll feel like a (bird?) when you're at the Grand Canyon... so on. I'll get to visit the MOST iconic places in America, those we see in movies wow. And I guess part of the reason why I'm America obsessed is because I'm movie obsessed.

And I'm American movie obsessed because of a bunch of great movies I've watched recently. After watching movies what normal girls do is usually fangirl over the cute actor. But for me, I do that too, but I also take the time to appreciate the outstanding work of the crew. How people can create like CGI tigers and jellyfish, special effects, animations with insane lifelike texture is really really beyond me. I'm obviously fascinated by what the film makers in Hollywood do, and I would be honoured if I ever get to see it for myself one day.

Sigh... ultimately when I think about America it just feels like one big dream. And yes I've dreamt about America many many many times before. Am I obsessed? Maybe.