Drama Reviews - No. 8

It’s interesting what remains with you, what you remember of a show after some time when the sparkles and bubbles of it’s magic are gone. I remember more of One More Happy Ending and Ms. Temper and Nam Jung Gi than of Descendants of the Sun.

1. Twenty Again – It was annoying to watch. Not the directing, not the storytelling, not the cinematography, not the actors, but the story itself. It pained me to watch Ha No-Ra (Choi Ji-Woo). The two persons who she loved and cared for the most, her husband and her son, who should have been supporting her and cheering for her, were putting her down and were ashamed of her. It was a miracle that she found herself in the end. Well, with some help from Cha Hyun-Suk (Lee Sang-Yoon).

2. One More Happy Ending – This was one funny ride. Who wouldn’t want a neighbor like that? Han Mi-Mo (Jang Na-Ra) and Song Soo-Hyuk (Jung Kyoung-Ho) were just a little bit crazy, but that was like a pinch of salt that makes the meat tasty. They conveyed their emotions so heartfelt and with so much intensity that I rooted for them non stop through the end. But all the characters were relatable. It’s a feel good show, worthy for a rewatch.

3. Second Love (J-drama) – What comes to my mind is that there were lots of shades of greys and whites, cloudy days and blinding sun. I had a bit of a shock seeing those students being rude and insulting their teacher. It ruined the picture in my mind that all Japanese people are nice and well-behaved. The dancing scenes were gorgeous, emphasizing the well structured body of  Kazuya Kamenashi. The romance was sort of low key yet intense. It was a complex story about pursuing your dream with a realistic approach, and how success and distance can affect relationships. It tackled also the negative emotions of coping with failure, frustrations, fear of change and challenge.

4. Descendants of the Sun – I think the most memorable scene was the overused morning exercise of the troops. The scenery was beautiful, the actors are beautiful, but the story was thin. All things were resolved fast and too easy. I liked the bromance and the second lead couple. I guess I’m not alone with that. I think the bickering was he show’s strong point. Around the end I was a little afraid of how it will be, but I trusted the writer that she won’t kill her babies. Song Joong-Ki and Song Hye-Kyo were the show’s engines, they pulled the ratings up (and maybe Jin Goo, too).

5. Ms. Temper and Nam Jung Gi – At the beginning it was kind of weird, the role reversal was pushed to the extreme. Lee Yo-Won’s character is too bossy, fearless and cold, on the other hand Yoon Sang-Hyun’s Nam Jung Gi is a total pushover even if he is competent, he is so pitiful that makes you cry. It looked like all his family members were losers with a big heart. But after you get to know the characters better, it doesn’t feel that awkward. I liked how she gave him strength and make him more confident. It was also a David and Goliath fight between the companies, they shown us lots of unfair business practices and under the belt blows. I liked Nam Bong-Gi, he was so refreshing in his shamelessness.

6. Whirlwind Girl 2 (C-drama) – Let’s look at the bright side: you don’t really need subs for this one. The story is thin to non existent, the dialogue is so childish, that a 12 years old can do better. Anyway, you watch this either for Ji Chang Wook or the fight scenes.

 

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. 

 

Drama Reviews - No. 4

With time my taste has refined, so all dramas from this list is a good one. But it's also a bit of luck. And among them is my first j-drama.

Here it goes:

Empress Ki

1. I Hear Your Voice – Nice and funny interaction between the characters, but too much legal stuff to the point that bored me. Everything was predictable. Those speeches of the prosecutors and attorneys were so flat and childish, that I was shouting to my screen at the writer who didn’t bother to do some research and learn how to do it so that she could make acceptable lines. What cracked me up was that those lame speeches were admired in the drama. And a rare thing nowadays: all the main actors were brilliant in what they were doing, they deserved all the awards they got.

2. Who Are You (2013) <3 – Despite it’s flaws I liked this drama. I liked that they mixed genres, the horror scenes from the beginning were a little too much for my taste, but I understood the purpose of that. I enjoyed the goofing of the side characters, and even Taecyeon’s acting was believable and serviceable. The story was nothing new just the approach, and they handled it quite well in my opinion. And I’m not pissed with the ending, I saw that coming, and actually it makes sense for me. But I would’ve liked to see more of Kim Jae Wook.

3. The Suspicious Housekeeper (2013) <3 – I was captivated by it from the first episode. It’s not a funny, light or romantic drama, it’s some sort of melodrama but without crying your eyes out. Makes you think about things that you otherwise wouldn’t want. It’s about how to cope with loss, face the problems like a man and find a way to solve them properly. I didn’t mind that it turned into a thriller towards the end. Translating it is quite draining emotionally.

4. Last Cinderella <3 <3 – That was just wow. The things in it happened with such a speed, one had to put in some effort to keep the pace. The dialogue was witty and funny, and I didn’t know up to the end which guy will end up with the heroine, and I liked that. It’s something I’ve never seen in k-dramas. And the two leading men were smoking hot.

5. My Love From Another Star – I watched the first two episodes just because I wanted to see what’s the hype about, and it only got me from ep. 3. All in all it was a good drama, was fun, but kind of brainless fun. I liked how bad the baddy was, he took being bad to a next level and I liked how spoiled and bratty Jun Ji Hyun was as Cheon Song Yi (sometimes I would’ve liked to slap her), but I wasn’t so amazed by Kim Soo Hyun.

6. Queen’s Classroom – Liked it. It tackled the subject why we are going to school, what we learn in it, and what for. The depiction of bullying shocked me, even though I was aware of the phenomenon. Watching the struggle of the children was very hard. In that class were all kind of children, with all kind of family backgrounds, but I still felt that they were too idealized. And another thing I can’t let slide: those teachers were terrible in teaching subjects. What kind of teaching is that when you write like a robot on the blackboard without a word, without explaining what you do and why when you solve a math or science problem, or just put the pupils read from the textbook?

7. Empress Ki – I enjoyed it, but it was very long for my taste. That’s why I seldom watch saeguks. Ha Ji Won was great, this role really fits her, but Joo Jin Mo was washed out, I never felt the sparks between the two of them. So I was cheering for Ji Chan Wook, he was a breath of fresh air, has a strong screen presence, and had a good chemistry with Ha Ji Won. I didn’t care about historical accuracy, I just went where the story took me. And there were a bunch of fantastic side characters. But the last third of the show was out of fuel.

8. History of the Salaryman – Not bad, all the actors were good, it was packed with action and scheming but they dragged it for too long. Would’ve been enough 16 episodes. That workplace fighting for power is not my thing, and I couldn’t care much for the characters however righteous they be.

9. Secret Love Affair – To sum it up: good music and good leads. Contrary what one may think reading the plot, the story was written quite realistic. It wasn’t flawless but this drama handled well the emotions. It’s a quite and subtle love story that’s growing on you. The only problem I had with this drama is that the bad guys got away without any punishment. That’s too realistic even for me.

10. Capital Scandal – A period drama which is a fairytale is a rare thing. The serious stuff is just for decorum. It has over the top characters. Even the bad guys turn out to be good. It’s all funny coincidences, I would call it a classical comedy. I liked how badass Cha Song Joo, the famous giseng was. But watching this drama I couldn’t not compare it with Gaksital, and I was somewhat frustrated how light this is.

11. Sungkyungkwan Scandal <3 – I loved that ravishing quartet and every second of this drama. Yoochun and Park Min Young together were fun watching, but Song Joong Ki and Yoo Ah In stole the scene every time they appeared on the screen. Speaking of the latter, his miraculous healing ability made me laugh, and interestingly Cho Sun, the famous giseng had also martial arts skills. So can we conclude that being a fantastic giseng requires to be an assassin/fighter with black belt? Anyway, this drama is a gemstone.

Sungkyungkwan Scandal