Love, Rosie vs Love Forecast

As much as I love opposite attracts (translation: cold, rude, chaebol/billionaire heroes and dirt poor, kind hearted but rather stupid heroines), the theme that I love the most for my romance is childhood friends/best friends turn into lovers.

This theme excels in what is most important in any relationship: trust.

If we are being asked how much we trust our best friends most of us would say a lot. And some might say they trust their best friends even more than their own lovers.

Sometimes some people can't be themselves when they are in a relationship. They strive to be what they think their lovers want them to be, which could be tiring both physically and mentally. The best thing about friendship is we could be ourselves.

We know that our friends would still feel the same about us either when we are at our best or at our worst. We have the luxury of having an unshakable belief that they will always be there for us no matter what.

We feel secure in our relationship with them while some of us would never feel secure in our relationship with our lovers.

In friends turn into lovers theme we don't need to be convinced that the male and female leads love each other.

The issues which have to be addressed by the films are firstly, whether their love could endure the presence of 'Ms/Mr Right or to be precise Mr/Ms Wrong, secondly when/what is the moment when they realize that they love each other more than they love this other person and lastly what's next?

I watched Love, Rosie and Love Forecast (오늘의 연애) last month and realize one thing, it's hard to find love. No, I'm no talking about their loves, I'm talking about the fact that I don't fall in love with either. I like both movies alright just not as much as I want to like them.

If I have to choose the one I like better, I'll say I love Rosie. I love everything about the friendship between Rosie (Lilly Collins) and Alex (Sam Clafflin). They share and discuss everything from dating to the planning of their future.

The only thing that Rosie keeps to herself from Alex (besides the fact that she loves him) is her pregnancy. Not because she doesn't trust him, but because she doesn't want to stop him from going to the US and clouding his happiness with her downfall.

The friendship's part in Love, Rosie and the deep love between the leads are the best parts about it. However, that's also why I find the movie frustrating.

Alex is in love with Rosie, Rosie is in love with Alex so what's the problem? I could accept the first time Alex goes to other girl because Rosie is the one who urges him to.

I can understand he chooses other girl because he thinks Rosie's love for him is just a love between friends. I can understand he doesn't want to lose their friendship. But seeing him keep getting new girlfriends  when he is in love with Rosie really irks me.

He is saved and finally has a chance to set things right when his drop dead gorgeous pregnant girlfriend turns out to be impregnated by other guy. This time there's no excuse that he doesn't know how Rosie feels about him.

But what does he do? He makes the same mistake again by marrying his ex girlfriend and that is right after he finally tells Rosie how he feels about her!

I'm so upset by then that I don't even care if the movie is going to end right then and there. In kdramas we are used to noble idiots but what we have here are simply idiots.

I can't understand why someone who is in love with someone else is having a relationship with somebody else or worse marrying that person. It is almost equal to lying and cheating.

For the shake of  happy ending Alex dumps his wife and chases Rosie back to England. It's time for me to be happy, but the final scene doesn't deliver roses and rainbow for me. I feel rather sorry for Alex's wife, she doesn't deserve this.

As much as I like Love, Rosie the movie leaves a bitter after taste with its happy ending. It is not what I want from my romcom. I keep thinking about what ifs and whys.

In case of Love Forecast, I have a bigger beef.

The movie is funny and entertaining and if Lee Seun Gi/이승기 or Moon Chae Won/문채원 are your bias you'll love it. My problem is I don't love the friendship between Joon Soo (Lee Seung Gi) and Hyun Woo (Moon Chae Won) that much.

Their friendship feels unbalanced because it's Joon Soo who is doing everything for Hyun Woo. Oh, I forget she does come to the police station to bail him out but that seems insignificant compare to how she treats him the rest of the time.

On the issue of love, Joon Soo is the one doing all the loving. Either for Hyun Woo or other girls he tries to love.

I don't think there is a scene where I see Hyun Woo feels anything remotely similar to love towards Joon Soo let alone a scene where she finally realizes that she loves him more than her lover. She ends up with Joon So because her lover ends their affair and the whole thing blows up in her face.

If I don't understand why someone who is in love is having a relationship with somebody else, I find it even harder to understand why a single woman who could choose any man she wants is having a relationship with a married man.

It's hard for me to shake off  the feeling that only evil women steal other women's men. No good woman wants to be a home wrecker. Or course if that man is Lee Soe Jin one might be tempted, but that's really beside the point.

I find it hard to ship Joon Soo and Hyun Woo because I feel nothing for Hyun Woo. I don't connect with how she treats Joon Soo and how she conducts her love life. But most importantly I don't feel the romance.

Love Forecast spend its time to show us how Joon Soo tries to date other girls and Hyun Woo loves another woman's husband but almost nothing in trying to show us the love between the two leads.

Yes, I said that in this genre we don't need to be convinced that the leads love each other, I stand corrected. There's always an exception. It's one sided love in Love Forecast until almost the last moment.

When I watch a romantic comedy I want to see a love story between the leads. I want to ship them because I know they are in love with each other. How would I do that if the story is about their love stories with others?

Hyun Woo does end up with Joon Soo in the end but that's because she can't have her man. What would happen if he decides to divorce his wife and chooses her instead? From what the movie has shown us she would throw a party and expect Joo Soo to arrange it.

I don't hate these two movies, I'm just disappointed because they could be two of my favourite romcom if only.

Freedom of Hate

Today is the birthday of my beloved. But instead of writing love letter to Jo Hyun Jae wishing him all the best on his birthday I’m writing about hate instead. It shows how we never know what will happen ahead of us.

The Garland’s shooting yesterday compels me to write about those lovers of total freedom (which I’d rather call The Haters) aka the organizer and supporters of the so called ‘Art Contest’ in Texas.

They can deny it and lie all they like that they don’t hate Islam/Muslims. But actions speak louder than words. With the kind of actions they do I could only imagine what’s really in their hearts.

Centuries have passed and we’re supposed to be in a civilized world today where people accept and respect other people for what they are, however there are things that never change. There will always be some people with hatred in their hearts perhaps until the end of time.

Some will hate other people because of their colours, believes or ethnicities. Some will hate whoever is not in agreement with them or those who seem to be happier than them. Some will hate because they rejoice in their ability to be hateful.

As if being hateful is something to be proud of.

Someone needs to teach them how to watch kdramas. Someone needs to let them know that almost no body likes hateful characters. Almost no body enjoys a hateful drama. Most audience prefers dramas fill with love, warmth and laughter.

No body loves people who love to throw insults and promote hate. Not in the movie and certainly not in the real life. Hatred is as dangerous as a cancer that destroys the person who has it. 

You can’t be happy as long as you have hatred in your heart. You can never have peace as long as you keep hate and not love in your heart. To those people who hate Prophet Muhammad with all their hearts and do everything in their power to incite hate I have these to say: 

 - Be thankful that yesterday plot was not successful (not that it had any chance to be anyway).

 - Don’t take this incident as a brand new ammunition to renew your fight against Islam. But use it to reflect. To think whether your hatred towards Islam and Prophet Muhammad is more precious than your lives. Your faces are being seen by millions of Muslims around the world, most might think you are beneath them to even give you a second look but some might take too much interest.
- Hating Islam, being an anti Muslim will do you no good and it will not affect Islam or Prophet Muhammad in the least. As a matter of fact it will only increase our love for our religion and beloved Prophet.

 - I’ll share what this incident does to me.

I normally find no difficulty in condemning violent actions and atrocities conducted by criminals/terrorists. But not this time.

I find myself sympathizing with what I think drove them. I also find myself worrying about their fate. I’m afraid that instead of a reward, they will find punishment  waiting for them.

Yes, in case you don’t know if those gunmen slaughter you right there there is a chance that they might go to hell instead of paradise for killing unarmed people. Even when those unarmed people are the enemies of Islam like yourselves.

My consolation is that Allah killed them before they had a chance to take other people’s lives. It gives me hope that Allah might be merciful towards them. I ended up praying so that Allah may forgive any bad intentions that might be had by those gunmen.

I prayed to the Most Merciful to count their love for Prophet Muhammad in their favour and if it pleases Him to receive them as suhada, for only Allah knows what motivated them and what their real intentions were and Allah is the Best of Judge.

Last but not least, if you insist on your freedom to hate just be prepared to receive the results of the freedom of others to hate you back.

If you have enough courage to express your hatred through words and pictures under heavy guards, those who hate you back have enough courage to die to express their hatred towards you.

You see hatred brings nothing but hatred.

I never find it necessary to notice or address people who when they open their mouths (use their fingers) deliver nothing but unpleasantness. My policy towards these people is: just ignore them. Let them be. Stay away from them. Let their darkness swallows none but themselves.

American Idol 14: Jax

Obviously every single person on the top 4 deserves to be there. But Jax often makes me cry with her achingly beautiful voice. I even like her versions better than the original singers'.

Wish her all the best.