BIGBANGWORLD: [NEWS] T.O.P in ‘Good example vs. Bad example’

Idols’ use of the big screen, ‘Good example vs. Bad example’

August 5, 2010
Idols’ advancement into acting is becoming increasingly more active. The transformation in and of itself of idols, who had been performing on stage, into actors is becoming a hot issue. In particular, acting on the big screen requires star qualities that are above and beyond in comparison to acting on television. As these idols are putting forth their best effort to take on acting, we investigated good and bad examples of their recent advancements onto the big screen.

Good example - TOP (Into the Gunfire)TOP (Choi Seung Hyun) is an actor who broke the idea that idols must also be idols on screen. It can be said that TOP demonstrates a good example of recent idols taking to the big screen.
TOP, who took on the challenge of playing the lead that pulls the entire film together, delivered a fresh impact to the audience with an energy that was entirely different from the charisma that he usually shows on stage as a member of Big Bang.
More than anything, the fact that he was embarking on a war movie, rather than a relatively easy romance or romantic comedy as idols usually do, put more pressure on him to make the transformation. His ability to stand his ground even while working with outstanding seniors, how he had created a character that people were drawn to, these amongst other reasons make TOP an actor whose future endeavors we look forward to with expectation. The film and, of course, TOP reaped the benefits of the support of teenage fans. It was a ‘win-win’ situation for the movie and for the actor.

Bad example - Jiyeon (Death Bell 2)
Just because it’s a movie that is using an idol doesn’t mean it should be left with nothing much to watch if you take that idol out, but unfortunately, that is exactly the case for the horror movie Death Bell 2.
Unlike the appearance of ‘actress,’ not singer, Nam Gyu Ri in the first movie, which had success in the entertainment industry, not one of the actors appearing in the present film is able to receive any particular attention. Jiyeon of T-ara was given the lead, Yoon Si Yoon, Hwan Jung Eum and other hot stars were cast, and veteran actor Kim Su Ro also appeared in the movie, but none were able to make any significant impressions.
The story itself was not strong as a horror movie, looking just like a field trip of pretty students, with the characters not being well played out. And so, horror queen Jiyeon, the lead in the movie, simply looked weak and fragile, rather than portraying a sorrowful character with a painful past. Jiyeon, who did a good job with her acting in KBS 2TV drama ‘God of Study,’ was unable to show her charm.
Of course, we are not trying to encourage the coercive misunderstanding that all movies that cast idols as a strategy to drawn in teenage viewers should receive such critique. We are not saying that the characters and actors became stale because the movie itself was not strong.
But the movie Attack on the Pin-Up Boys, which was released in 2007 starring the group Super Junior, showed off a fresh wittiness as a movie based on a fight amongst these pin-up boys, and even Brown Eyed Girls’ Ga In’s short appearance in My Love Beside Me left a throbbing impression.
Having surpassed 600 thousand viewers, the movie is doing relatively well in ticket sales. But if it weren’t for its spot as this year’s first major horror flick and its cast made up of Jiyeon and other popular stars, it may have gone unnoticed.