Dramas I Watched - Take 1.

I started to watch k-dramas back in 2009 and since then I never stopped. The fever has calmed down but I still enjoy them and never got bored of them. They always have something new, something that touches me, they focus on feelings rather than action, and this is what makes them different from American series.   

This is the first batch of my very short reviews:

Queen Seon Deok

1. Queen Seon Deok – This show was that got me hooked on k-dramas. It was thrilling, never bored me even with all that politics. The villains were great, and Kim Nam Gil stole the show. And those fights and battles were brilliantly filmed and choreographed.
2. Dae Jang Geum – Lots of food, cooking and intrigue. Good show but too long, I wouldn’t rewatch it.
3. The 1^st Shop of Coffee Prince – Not that bad, but I cared more for the side characters. I couldn’t buy that the male lead (Gong Yoo’s character) didn’t know that Yoon Eun Hye’s character was a girl.
4. The Woman Who Still Wants To Merry – Strange but Kim Bum managed to sell me that romance despite the age difference. On the other hand Uhm Ji Won’s character was so annoying, made me roll my eyes, I couldn’t empathize with her at all.
5. Boys Over Flowers – It was so bad that it was good. There were so many bad actors in it, it pained me to watch them. I sit it through just for Lee Min Ho. Yes, I’m that shallow. And there are a few actors who can do that to me. I just can’t resist them. But in time I became very picky.
6. You’re Beautiful – Forgettable, at times hilarious, but very childish. You have to throw out your brain through the window to watch it. I did that.
7. My Girlfriend Is A Gumiho – The first half was really fun to watch, but then all that bean symbolism was too much for me. I liked that hot veterinarian more than the male lead, and I wasn’t alone with that (see the comments on viki).
8. Gumiho: Tale of a Fox Child <3 – That drama was very intense. If you overlooked that awkward ‘flying’ attempts and special effects at the beginning the rest was very good. The child actresses were brilliant, and the story was chilling and heartbreaking in the good way.
9. Personal Taste – I liked it despite all its flaws. I loved almost all the characters, the leads had a good chemistry and those two friends of the leads were even better, they were so funny that almost steel de show. Who wouldn’t like to have friends like that?
10. Bad Guy – It started well, it was twisted, but the end was botched. And the leads (Kim Nam Gil and Han Ga In) who supposedly loved each other had zero chemistry, like they were brothers.
11. City Hall – The show was pretty good, but the stubbornness and the determination of Kim Sun Ah’s character annoyed me a little. I discovered that the machinations in politics are the same in all countries.
12. Midas – It was a drama that challenged one’s intellect. I actually enjoyed watching all those tricks made by the brokers on the stock market. I didn’t care about the romance – it wasn’t much of it anyway – and Jang Hyuk and Lee Min Jung had less chemistry than two stones. But I liked the character development of Kim Do-Hyun.
13. Mary Stayed Out All Night – That was a waste of time, money and talent. I don’t know what made me sit through it. I watched it while it was airing and I hoped it will improve. This show was a turning point in my dramawatching. I vowed that I’ll be very selective in the future regarding what I’ll watch, and I’ll drop any drama regardless what actor is in it if it gets this bad.
14. 49 Days <3 – Loved it. Very-very much. Made you think of things that normally wouldn’t occur to you. I cared and empathized with the characters, I felt their pain. And I liked the reaper, of course. And I’m okay with the ending, this way the story had a meaning. The cinematography wasn’t pretty, I hated those blinding lights and washed out colors, but they were fitting for this story.
15. The Greatest Love – There was a hype about this drama, but it didn’t do anything for me. I enjoyed the first half, the wacky and funny moments, but then it became flat, the symbols were overused, and I hardly managed to watch the last two episodes.
16. Lie To Me – Another train wrack. But I liked the chemistry between the leads, I watched it just for them. It was endearing how they tried to lift this drama and make it float.
17. City Hunter – I liked the action and the part of the story about the dads, their reason and the revenge. Even the stuff about corruption. But the romance was lukewarm. And those scenes where Park Min Young flipped guys twice her size over her shoulder made me laugh in disbelief.
18. Flower Boy Ramyun Shop – Those school scenes at the beginning made me cringe and shout to the monitor that ‘As a teacher you can’t to that!’ But afterwards when she wasn’t a teacher anymore it was funny. And there were so many eye candies… And it helped that the real age difference between Jung Il Woo and Lee Chung Ah wasn’t that much. At the end I felt so bad for the Pillar.
19. A Tree With Deep Roots – As you can see, I didn’t watched many sageuks ‘cause I didn’t care much about history, kings and queens. But this one is my favorite. It’s a drama for the brain and the heart. And I kind of expected that ending so I didn’t feel sad about it.
20. Killer Girl K – Pure action with lots of blood and cruelty, but fun to watch. Didn’t move me.

The 1^st Shop of Coffee Prince