Drama Reviews - No. 5

There are still many dramas I watched. I want to publish all my already written reviews, so that I can get closer to those that I watch or I have watched recently.

These dramas are from the second half of 2014 to early 2015.

1. Witch’s Romance – (Noble idiocy is a disease that both sexes can develop, induced by the approaching end of a drama, and causes temporary brain demage. It seams like there’s no pill for it, and it takes a few episodes to heal by itself.) – Hilarious, lighthearted, illusional and a little dellusional. I loved the chemistry between Uhm Jung Hwa and Park Seo Joon, both had wonderful friends, and the supporting actors were all great. The age difference was played out well. Nothing to complain for except the noble idiocy part. Worth watching.

2. Nemureru Mori no Jukujo – It’s a starting a new life drama. If I have to make a comparition, I would say it resembles of european films (but not mediterranian!). It is quiet, no shouting, no romance, the characters slowly muster up their courage and find their path in life. It has an optimistic and uplifting end.

3. Bad Guys – Well executed, not too dark, with some violence and tomato juice, but that wasn’t much disturbing. The connections were slowly revealed, which was good, because I wouldn’t like a solve-a-case-and-move-to-the-next type of drama. It was interesting to see how the bond started to develop between the convicts almost against their will. On a shellow note: with this haicut Jo Dong Hyuk looks mighty fine.

But this drama didn’t make me bite my nails, sometimes it was hard to remember what happened last week.

4. Tomorrow Cantabile – It was silly not funny, the characters were idiotic and over the top. I understand that the concept was to present a bunch of genious weirdoes, but still. I was afraid that the actors will look fake while playing those instruments, but for the drama’s credit, they weren’t. But I’m not an expert. Joo Won’s conducting was convincing, and he’s really made for wearing suits. What I can’t forgive is the famous conductor’s horrible German pronunciation who supposedly lived most of his life in Gemany (or Austria? I don’t want to look it up). It hurt my ears. For Pit’s sake, producers, directors, managers, find someone to teach these actors to pronunce those few words, sentences in that foreign language correctly! If you have to, force them to learn. I refuse to believe that they couldn’t find a decent German teacher. They could even go to the German ambassy or consulate, I’m sure there’s a secretary or an office worker who would’ve happily taught that ’Franz Stresemann’, who by the way was called the whole drama Pranz. On this note, I have to praise Joo Won for his good English pronunciation. The music was good though. And before you ask, I didn’t see the Japonese version.

5. Healer <3 <3 – I was under it’s spell for a lot of time. It was painful to wait till the next Monday and I had withdrawal symptoms after it ended. I knew that Ji Chang Wook was a good actor, but he made me fell for him as Seo Jeong Ho and Pak Bong Su. From the comments I saw, this drama was a hit or miss. For me was a hit. I’m a sucker for not-in-all-aspects-great heroes. And I can’t understand the rather low domestic ratings. Seems like the international audiance appreciated it more. It’s a nice mix of genres, it has a little of everything. My favorite parts were the comedy and romance, the action scenes were not that thrilling and well done. I have a feeling, that this drama will make a new trend in kdramas with more ordinary and down to earth characters and fewer clichés.

6. Discovery of Romance (Discovery of Love) – The drama is mediocre, light, but it’s good for numbing your brain. It has petty characters, lots of bickering, misunderstanding, making jelous and bravados. Eric and Yung Yu Mi made a believable ex-couple, they had sparkles, but Sung Joon was unfit for the role. I can’t understand why they cast him lately as a much older guy. He’s still green, even if he has lots of dramas under his belt. Yoon Hyun Min was ridiculous in his role not funny, and I don’t know who’s fault is it. His or the writer’s.

7. A Gentleman’s Dignity <3 – In short: four infantile men in their forties acting like hormone driven teenagers. Their friendship is ’all for one, one for all’ of a kind. They even think of themselves as the four musketeers. They have complicated love lives and are pressured by the thought of ageing. The heroine is an ethics teacher and a baseball umpire. The latter is so and so, but the teacher part... Pffff. I’m ashamed for her. I don’t know how she got her degree. (This comment was made in the drama, but in a later episode then the one I was watching when this came to my mind. :D) She’s a caricature. Well, all the characters are. And she causes the others’ growing up process, although she’s immature, too. In the beginning I wanted to slap her to come to her sences. Anyway, this combination makes for a hell of a comedy. I loughed out loud. It’s a must watch.

8. Kill Me, Heal Me <3 – I’ve never thought that someone with a mental disorder can be cool, but Ji Sung made it look that way. (In real life it would be really scary.) The most cooler of his personalities, for me, was the fearless Se Gi, who didn’t look girlish even with tons of guyliner on (and some lipstick at times). But, boy, they were crying a lot, and seeing that running snot in high definition was disgusting. They never ever used a hanky. Park Seo Joon just broke my heart with his sweet fake twin brother act, and his on-screen parents were a nice match. I really appreciate kindhearted parents in kdramas, because they are so rare. The mistery lasted until the very end, which was nice, and I’m not unhappy with the threads not being all neatly tied in a bow.