Whenever I watch something amazing by an actor I start looking for more of their works to find out how good they are or if an excellent script and stellar cast have caused them to shine. Two years ago I was at my aunt's house spending time with my cousin. She wasn't into kdramas at that point and I decided that there were two options: Leave the house and go explore the outside world, or convince force her into dramaland. I want for options two and since that point she has become almost as much of a drama addict as I am. One of the last dramas we watched together that summer was Signal, and from that point on I was certain that Lee Je Hoon is a stellar actor.
Signal:
Where to watch: Viki or Netflix My Score: A- The first Lee Je Hoon drama I watched was Tomorrow with You, but I technically didn't even watch that one because I quit after twenty minutes of being bored to death, and my cousin falling asleep. Then after watching the masterpiece that is Tunnel (you should watch that if you haven't it's amazing) I looked for similar dramas and found Signal. Signal is a crime drama that, similarly to Tunnel, has some form of "time-traveling" mixed with solving cold cases with the assistance of the past and present working together. I loved watching Park Hae Young's profiling and persistence in finding the truth. I also felt that he did a marvelous job of making his character's personality properly reflect the results of his childhood. Sometimes actors (and writers) can get very caught up in the character of a 30-year-old adult that they forget all the pain and conflict experienced as a child. In Signal there are many references to Park Hae Yoon's childhood, but not so abundantly that the viewers are drowning in past recollections.
Spoiler: When we're first introduced to Park Hae Yoon he's a delinquent police officer using his profiling skills to oust dating celebrities. He has an air of superiority which at first resembles extreme arrogance but later develops into something well deserved and at times comical. The ironic part of it all is his burning hatred of cops. He believes they're liars, scum, and nothing more than undeserving time-wasters who can never catch the right culprit. This strong emotion comes from a place of childhood pain when his older brother was wrongly accused of murder and later killed to cover up the lies of the corrupt police.
The most memorable part of this whole drama would have to be Lee Je Hoon's acting. I know that there were many other A list actors involved with this production, but whenever I think of signal Lee Je Hoon's passionate and emotional acting always comes to mind. Phantom detective:
Where to watch: ?, I first watched it on dramafever :( My score: A++++ This movie has to be my favorite one on the list. I loved his bad boy character and I happen to be a vintage fashion enthusiast so that part was a plus as well. This movie will have you confused and in love all at the same time. There were times when I thought the plot was heading in one direction but within five seconds my expectations were subverted and replaced with something even better.
Spoiler: The main reason the girls stick with Lee Je Hoon's character is to find their grandfather and bring him back home. So you can imagine my surprise when Detective Hong Gil Dong kills their grandfather.
The child actresses did quite well in this, and I especially applaud them for their crying scenes. A lot of times even adult actresses have a hard time differentiating crying from throwing a tantrum and the scene can look uncomfortable, but with these child actresses I got emotional myself. I also really loved the sassy younger sister, Mal Soon. Unlike her her older sister she doesn't believe a word Hong Gil Dong says, and she makes sure to question him on all of the decisions he's making in a very comical way.
This was the second time I had seen Lee Jae hoon act in a crime piece, and my main worry going into this movie was character differentiation. Sometimes actors that play similar roles can make two characters seem like the same one, but I didn't feel that way about signal and Phantom Detective. I thought that both characters were unique and interesting in their own ways. I've already watched this movie at least three times and I would gladly watch it again. Architecture 101:
My Score: C- This movie has to be my least favorite of Lee Je Hoon's works on the list. I hesitated to watch Architecture 101 several times because I do not like the first love plotline. I just can't understand how having a one-sided CRUSH on someone can linger for 10+ years! For that reason alone the plot needed to be convincing for me to enjoy it and move past the cultural difference. For example, the lead couple meets later on in life and they develop real sincere feelings for one another. Coincidently the male lead eventually tells the female lead, "oh, by the way. You were my first love back in high school." In other words, I needed both people to get to know each other again because people change after 10 years. Then, the leads can fall in love for real and have a deep meaningful connection. None of what I just described happened in this drama. The leads meet each other again as adults and the female lead is quite pitiful because her marital life didn't work out. The male lead is preparing to get married to someone else, and he has a successful career as an architect. At this moment the female lead shows back up in his life and I just about lost it because I hate women that try to wreck a relationship intentionally. After this, but for a few comedic moments from Jo Jung Suk I fell out of love with this movie.
Anarchist from Colony:
Where to watch: Viki My Score: B+ I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to experience a little bit of Korean history without having to open a book or look up the encyclopedia. For those looking for a romance or high action two-hour movie, this isn't for you. The style of this film is slow, deliberate, and informative. The directors and actors were trying to make sure all of the events were played out in an informative and inciteful. I often thought to myself that the movie was quite long, but as soon as that thought came something else happened to capture my attention and the dragging feeling disappeared. Even if Lee Je Hoon is the main character in this movie we don't necessarily see him for the whole movie. In fact in certain parts I began to wonder if the Japanese officials or his wife were the lead, but that was another part of the charm of this movie. The male lead in this movie is nothing like the typical sexy, intelligent, heroic, funny, or just flat out swoon-worthy men we're used to. He's blunt and at times absurd. Typical historical dramas and movies are romanticized this movie is most certainly not. The writers just focused on recounting a story from the past in a raw way and they were very successful in doing just that. Lee Je Hoon as a movie actor: I'm not saying this as a way of discrediting his dramas, but some actors were made for movies. This is in no way a negative thing at all. Movies, unlike dramas, are only one to three hours long, meaning the cast has to captivate and hold your attention from start to finish. Actors have to correctly develop the characters, apply the right amount of emotion, and at the same time tell a story from start to finish. Many actors in 16 to 25 episode dramas can't even accomplish this, but Lee Je Hoon does can every time in every movie. He has many more dramas and movies to watch and I hope to see as many as I can. Which one do you all think I should watch next? Who are some other actors with great dramas and movies? Have you seen any of these works and did you like them as much as I did?
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