biniBningPunkista's Profile

Oct 25, 2012 20 of 20 episodes seen 6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Arang and the Magistrate

by biniBningPunkista
- Overall 8
- Story 8
- Acting/Cast 10
- Music 9
- Rewatch Value 8
Lee Jun-Ki. Shin Mina. What more can you ask for from the perfect face value cast?

Oh yes... the consistency of the story. Hence my self discussion of like and dislike from this drama.

First, why I like it is the mention from above. Eye candy couple always help bring in more viewers anyways. Then there's the team of solid characters. I believe these individual characters where built up in a really good way, even the flashbacks (which I personally dislike) were essential as a foreground. Not annoying but instead, needed. So I'm letting that one slide.

I love Arang. She's such a feisty ghost/woman. She talks brash, she's persistently cute and most of all she knows how to care. What I hated about her character is the inconsistency of her self-defense behavior. She's supposed to know how to defend herself by kicking ass of both human and ghost alike, but there were slips along the way which makes her such a damsel in distress and THAT is what I dislike about her character.

Sato Kim Eun Oh. *sigh* I want to look on forever at that face. I totally feel how Arang feels. *shakes head to come back to reality* Okay, back to what I like about him - it's the way how he progressed as a person. I love the fact that his personality evolved gradually after meeting Arang, PLUS the fact that he knows how to fight. (I am an action fan so learn to deal with it.) As a wishy-washy character, Sato is still influential and yes… yes… yes… we already know that he is good looking, but besides that he is a man with integrity. What I hate about his character is the fact that he gets all mopey when it comes to his mother. That part irritates me the most. If Arang feels annoyed by it, so do I, in triple folds.

As for the other characters like Dol Soe and the Shaman, the three other officers whom I get to call the three stooges because of the multiple mischief they try to conjure within Miryang and the Great King Jade (Oh man, oh man! My dear Seung Ho, how I adore thee!!!)is also one of the characters that's a dessert to look at. There's also the constant bickering of the King of the Underworld which by the way is cute, but let's not forget the insightful conversations regarding the humans and their hearts. The grim reaper has a good role in all of this as well, I like the fact that he's supposed to be a bad-guy-but-not-really-bad kind of character. The idea that he's also a confused soul but still has to harvest other confused souls feels rather eccentric yet interesting.

Then finally, we also have the REAL bad guys. Not much to say about them but they are very much helpful in building up the story to what it should be. Basically all in all - the mix of all these characters were simply great.

So what went wrong?

The characters were great, the MUSIC was a lovely mix of eeriness and sometimes soulful, the cinematography was love and then… the story line went bland. It was a Sageuk Fantasy fusion with a mix of Rom-Com Horror, it had a good premise but there was that feeling after episode 8 that the story began to drag on. Maybe it's just me, but it felt like there were moments in the series which could have been cut short to emphasize more on the main story and the fun sort of died out and became too serious for my liking. The ending wasn't my cup of tea as well, there was so much that could have been done with that. That's why I would give it an over all rating of 8.

I may not re-watch this drama, but I would recommend it to those who love the actors, good set of acting and well… a ghost filled episode per episode. read more
report I found this review Helpful Not Helpful
Oct 15, 2012 11 of 11 episodes seen 3 of 3 people found this review helpful

JIN 2

by biniBningPunkista
- Overall 8
- Story 8
- Acting/Cast 10
- Music 9
- Rewatch Value 7
Jin was a Jdrama I have been rooting for until the second season came out. I was slightly disappointed with how things ended, maybe it's me or rather the romantic side of me got ahead and decided this drama would not be listed as one of my favorite watch of all time.

Setting that aside though, I still enjoyed Jin 2 in all it's glorious details about the Tokugawa-Shogunate era in Edo. I loved the cinematography and the actors. These actors by the way aren't like the average newbies or jpop idols who could only pose on screen and look good. These actors are veterans who has a couple outstanding dramas and movies under their belts to boast of.

My favorite character would be Tachibana Saki acted by Ayase Haruka. What's so interesting about her character is the fact that she's the only female doctor who has chosen her own path, away from a samurai clan. This being said, women with strong aspirations in life gives lasting impressions.

Music wise, the drama had a good OST. The ballad on every dramatic scene was in perfect sync and feel. I also like the theme song Itoshiki Hibiyo by Hirai Ken, it felt like every time I would hear it, I would feel Minakata Jin's internal turmoil.

I may not watch this again, but I would highly recommend it to people who like Japanese History and is into sci-fi-medical drama and all the likes. read more
report I found this review Helpful Not Helpful
Oct 10, 2012 1 of 0 episodes seen 4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Jeonwoochi : The Taoist Wizard

by biniBningPunkista
- Overall 9
- Story 9
- Acting/Cast 10
- Music 8
- Rewatch Value 8
Aside from Rom-Com/Melodrama genre, I am also a martial-arts-fight-scene-fanatic and Woochi served up perfectly on my craving for one. Throw in fantasy along with it - I completely became hooked.

What's to like about this movie aside the fight scenes? Kang Dong Won.

I always have this image of him in my head flying around in his fight stance and martial art moves. I initially got that from the movie Duelist. And now, to see him once again just like before, minus that serious manner he sported in his previous film, I just had to see this movie.

Then comes in our pretty Seo In Kyung who was casted in "Finding Mr. Destiny" and "...ing", I have never realized how vital her character was until the very end. That doesn't go the same to the other supporting roles though, BUT they are still essential in this film. They made this film comedic, action packed and yet interesting all at the same time.

Woochi has a very interesting story line once you have immersed yourself into it. Hopefully you don't get distracted too much from the character's mischief and fight scenes because it has a really decent plot line to begin with.

There were two settings in this film, first from a sageuk setting and second on a post modern era which is our present date. Cinematography wise on both settings were awesome. You would know that most of it are CG effects but still, to conceptualize something like that takes a lot of creative thinking.

As for the OST, it is perky and quite catchy and if you listen up to the very end, the tune would probably still be in your head. Then you would revert on thinking back on specific scenes of the movie because of that.

I would recommend this to people who wants a feel-good-none-heavy-story-line completed with action and fantasy. read more
report I found this review Helpful Not Helpful
Oct 10, 2012 3 of 3 episodes seen 20 of 23 people found this review helpful

Ma Boy

by biniBningPunkista
- Overall 9
- Story 9
- Acting/Cast 10
- Music 8
- Rewatch Value 8
Watching this drama and rating it would depend on one's mood and/or liking.

In my case, I was in a mood for a low-key-rom-com drama which does not require me to think too much. Ta-da! Ma Boy was perfect. I couldn't help myself from smiling from one episode to another.

I may like the drama but of course it is far from being perfect. There are scenes that made me want to cringe and fast forward due to unnecessary airtime of mischief but since this is supposed to be a light story... I sucked it all in and enjoyed the whole show for what it could offer.

Be reminded that this is a high school gender bender story where Boy Dresses up as a Girl while Girl keeps his secret for him. It's light, funny and cute. Not to forget that the boy is really good looking and dances so well. Music wise, as per young k-pop idol themed drama - you already know what to expect... but wait! There's more.

The drama may be light but the characters has their own story to tell. Thus making this drama more interesting than what the plot line let's us perceive. I also like the fact that the young actors and actresses suits their role. Who wouldn't fall for the plain looking girl paired up to pretty boy scenario without the perfect casting? Even the mean trio of male/female fans for each idol was the right fit. I couldn't imagine anyone else being casted for the roles, including the main ones.

I am surely recommending this for those who's craving for something light, cute and funny to watch. read more
report I found this review Helpful Not Helpful
Sep 6, 2012 1 of 1 episodes seen 8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Antique Bakery

by biniBningPunkista
- Overall 10
- Story 10
- Acting/Cast 10
- Music 10
- Rewatch Value 10
The Kmovie would have been a good queer film if not for the plot. I watched the movie earlier with a friend and am not surprised as to why 1million viewers tried to watch this film within two weeks. How could four-hot-good-looking-irresistible stars not garner these amount of fans?

In this movie, what was really interesting was how each character had their own story to tell. I'm also glad that the director and producer gave the chance for these characters to show their own side of the story. The movie is quite long, with bits of musical pieces in between that I almost thought it was going to be like a broadway musical show up to the end.

Joo Ji-hoon (from Goong and Mawang) who played as Kim Jin Hyeok, Antique's owner was the most complex character in the lot. He had this terrible past which he doesn't have closure with up until he made up the Bake shop. Jin Hyeok do not actually like sweets because of an incident 20 years ago. The only way he could move on from that was to catch the person who inflicted trauma in his past but the story does not only revolve around him. There's more...

Kim Jae-wook (from Coffee Prince) as Min Seon-woo, the gay Patisserie (my favorite character) was VERY queer, charming, hot and definitely devious when it comes to making men; straight or gay fall for him. Only Jin Hyeok is the exception for some certain reason related in the past (again). He is the only guy who is able to resist his charm thoroughly up to the present but there would be some side story between their friendship and how things work out in favor for both of them in the end.

I loved the way Jae-wook presented his character, it seemed so real and not icky to watch all. There were several kissing scenes with a guy in this movie to show how gay his character really was. What fascinated me more was that before I actually watched the movie, I have read several comments from him as to how he was able to portray the character in a realistic manner. During the filming sessions, he admitted that he was having a very hard time internalizing his gay character because in reality he wasn't gay. What's more interesting is how it seemed so natural on screen, you wouldn’t even think he was uncomfortable with the whole process. He was so darn convincing that I would think he was gay if I didn't know any better.

Yoo Ah-in (Sungkyunkwan Scandal) as Patisserie apprentice Yang Ki-beom, a punk kid who wanted to eat cakes and is running away from something. The kid is an insistent worker, stubborn but has a high respect for Seon-woo and would only acknowledge him as the best Patisserie in the whole world. He also has a sweet tooth that he became the official taster for the bake-shop.

Choi Ji-ho as Nam Soo-yeong, the guy who is unbelievably stuck with Jin-hyeok. He is the son of the Kim's house nanny and became Jin-hyeok's body guard in the process. He may be a bit slow, and could have been affected by the charms of Seon-woo but he has a great respect and kin-ship affection (not in a gay kind of way) towards Jin-hyeok. He always sees to it that he will be able to cater the needs of his young master.

There are other characters that have their own roles, but it would be too tedious to mention them one by one. Over all the movie's quirkiness is thanks to these four wonderful guys. They have brought the entire film to the best of its ability that even in its 109 minutes, did not once made me feel it was draggy or boring. The mixture of humor and suspense was perfect, even the soundtrack fit so well with the whole movie. There might be some several graphics that was a bit too exaggerated but the colorful atmosphere and acting took that tiny glitch away.

The movie may not show any love interest between a man and woman, but it would certainly show how people could connect deeply with each other no matter how one is scarred from the past or has a marred future. It only shows that in the end, everyone would be able to cope up with their own personal demons.

A must see movie for those who has a queer eye and a different perspective in life. read more
report I found this review Helpful Not Helpful
Sep 6, 2012 1 of 1 episodes seen 2 of 2 people found this review helpful

...Ing

by biniBningPunkista
- Overall 10
- Story 10
- Acting/Cast 10
- Music 10
- Rewatch Value 10
The movie starts off with Mina going to the motion of a normal high school student only to realize after a couple of minutes into the movie that she, does not interact at all with the people around her. She's indifferent from everyone.

Then all of a sudden her life is being infiltrated by an annoying man... she learns to adore. The amateur photographer was kind of a mystery as to why he was like that towards her but the story develops towards the end.

Not to forget that there is also that mother (a definitely cool one) who tries to help her daughter in every way she can. I definitely love the way she showed her affection towards Mina and her sacrifices for her. This movie was not just a story about love between a man and a woman but it also shows the love between a mother and daughter.

What I like most about this movie is its subtlety in the dialogues and the small clues as what could happen in the end. I had this small notion that something was up with the guy or the mom, only I can't pin-point what until the very end of the film.

...ing is a very heart warming, tear-jerker movie that I have sworn not to watch for the duration of 2009. I tried to stir away from sad movies as much as I could, but what can I do? I'm just an addict to good story line films and this is definitely one of them. How can anyone pass it up? This film is a 2003 production but I only got hold of it 6 years after. It actually came out way before Kim Rae Won's "My Little Bride" with Moon Geum-Young. Here in this film, the leading actress looked so familiar, so when I looked her up that's when it clicked as to where I have seen her first. It was in "I'm a cyborg, But that's ok." her co-star in it was Rain.

Kim Rae Won never seize to amaze me when it comes to acting. He could be cool, he could make you smile and most of all, his crying definitely gets on to you. A very effective actor, that I am very sure of.

To finish this off, the cinematography was perfect. The music vaguely reminded me of the sound track from the drama series coffee prince, and it worked perfectly well with the movie. The actors were an A plus for their acting and the story line... as I have already mentioned above was one of the best stories I've liked so far.

I'm definitely giving my two thumbs up for people to watch this. read more
report I found this review Helpful Not Helpful
Sep 6, 2012 1 of 1 episodes seen 2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do

by biniBningPunkista
- Overall 7
- Story 6
- Acting/Cast 9
- Music 8
- Rewatch Value 5
I watched this not knowing much about the main actors, believe it or not, I did not even know who Jang Geun Suk was - he wasn't that popular yet back in 2008. What made me pick this film, was the story line. It sounded all so interesting in it's synopsis. The acting was good too, for someone I wasn't really familiar with.

As for my verdict after finishing the movie, the first part was pretty much shady to watch and I noticed that some scenes were even rushed. The situations weren't explained well enough to understand what really happened in the past, up until everything was revealed at the latter part which is kind of awkward because it felt like there was an information overload when the movie could have explained it in the first hour or so to build up the story much better.

What exactly made me like this movie? It was actually near the ending part when everything FINALLY made sense, which by the way, I still felt that it was rushed. Setting that aside, I like the ending because it made me cry a bit. I liked the thought that they made this into a melodramatic movie with very touching scenes full of serendipity moments. Add up the back drop music, it could have been almost good enough to re-watch, if not for the story line. read more
report I found this review Helpful Not Helpful
Sep 6, 2012 1 of 1 episodes seen 2 of 4 people found this review helpful

The Perfect Couple

by biniBningPunkista
- Overall 6
- Story 6
- Acting/Cast 7
- Music 5
- Rewatch Value 5
The film started off as annoying and sort of ended in a blur. There's that nagging feeling that the movie wasn't able to satiate my Kmovie-comedy-genre-craving because I was expecting a really enjoyable film full with action and quirkiness. This was a total let down.

Dong Wook Lee's performance as the detective Jae Hyuk catching crooks was a plus point for the whole thing but I find Yeong Hyeon as Soo Jin, the journalist a pretty much annoying person with an equally irritating voice. I don't get why they wanted her to act so stupidly at all times and get into so much trouble to the extent that it wasn't funny anymore. There were several scenes which you would find funny, especially at the last part but aside that, there were so many broken moments and plots where things could have been cleared up easily if the main female protagonist wasn't too much of a ditz.

The flow of the story wasn't my thing, even the characters lacked their own substance or much more like it was TOO Exaggerated that it became irritating to watch. The sound track was quirky but it wasn't something I would get a hang over with.

I wouldn't recommend this movie, hence it shall end up too disappointing. read more
report I found this review Helpful Not Helpful
Sep 6, 2012 16 of 16 episodes seen 3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Mary Stayed Out All Night

by biniBningPunkista
- Overall 5
- Story 6
- Acting/Cast 9
- Music 4
- Rewatch Value 4
Ah… this drama started with a bam for me. All the cute, the hotness and the… music? Okay… not the music but it’s more of seeing Kim Jae Wook, Jang Geun Suk and Moon Geun Young in one show. My favorite kdrama actors/eye candy people in one SHOW??? How could I not look forward to it?

That’s until I’ve watched through 5 episodes.

This is the type of drama that just tells you, no matter how hot or how popular the actors are, if the story line is crappy, the drama ends up dead.

It was cute, yes. I would have to be honest with that. Seeing Wi Mae Ri strut in her fake voluptuous hair emphasizing her eyes, it was enough for me to go on and watch it. Then throw in the musician Moo Kyul with his long hair, pale skin and shiny shiny smile! Oh wait… not to forget the rich daddy’s boy Jung In, the angsty big boy with daddy issues and melancholic aura. Yes. I’d say they were quite good characters! The show could have been better but it just died with the plot line.

The story revolved in a never ending mess about being in debt, going broke, living a hobo life, making lies which made no actual sense, being employed, being engaged, being dragged around… it was going nowhere. The story went round and round with little bits of cuteness that couldn't save the drama. It was sad because the production had big name actors thrown together and yet they were not able to utilize them to their highest potential.

I won’t be recommending Mary Stayed Out All Night/Mary Me Marry, but if you like to get all gooey eyed to these eye candies… be my guest, just don’t tell me I didn’t warn you. read more
report I found this review Helpful Not Helpful
Sep 6, 2012 1 of 1 episodes seen 1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Nodame Cantabile: The Final Score - Part I

by biniBningPunkista
- Overall 9
- Story 9
- Acting/Cast 10
- Music 10
- Rewatch Value 8
Seeing the first part of the Final Movement of Nodame Cantabile brought nostalgia. It was like hearing, breathing, feeling and seeing classical music all together again. Though the first movie was full of flashbacks, which disappointingly filled up most of the whole film, nonetheless it was still enjoyable. To be able to see Chiaki sama (Tamaki Hiroshi) and Nodame (Juri Ueno) together for the first time after 2 years in the waiting... it was pure bliss.

Listening to the sound of orchestra and classical music was refreshing to the ear. As if I cleaned my ears after a long time of listening to the same type of music again and again. Ok, that was a side track comment... now back to the story.

Part one of the movie left me this feeling of wanting to watch the second part instantly but I had to squirm at home and wait for it to be subbed.

There was this hanging feeling when the movie ended, which by the way is what everyone is supposed to feel since the producers intend the viewers to watch the sequel. As much as I enjoyed this first part, it is still a cliff hanger. We all know what cliff hangers do to our brain. Adding more, the movie was also redundant. Unlike Nodame’s arc, Chiaki’s story always... always starts with a problematic orchestra, fails on the first try then ends up with a fantastic cantabile on the later part thus making the story line so predictable when it comes to Chiaki's arc. Whereas Nodame’s arc is the distorted one since her main goal in life is only about Chiaki but not herself thus leaving the character UNSURE of herself with no exact future laid out for her. Yet this type of character leaves a great impression and a big blank for the writers to fill in for the next movie sequel.

Nodame’s character is simple yet complex at the same time. Not to forget the wacky part on how she clings on Chiaki as much as she could and yet kills herself with insecurity every time Chiaki does something marvelous and out of her league but that’s the part that makes Nodame Cantabile fun... the Nodame/Chiaki saga that could never be understood in terms of simplicity.

Watching this film was an introduction for the next one or a teaser as most would say because it didn’t contain what most of the watchers were probably waiting for and that is Nodame’s success.

For the story plot, it was really tiring to watch the flashbacks but at the same time enjoyable because I could once again enjoy Mozzart and Bach through Chiaki’s point of view. As I have previously mentioned, it gave me a sense of nostalgia and for that I am thankful.

Character wise, there weren’t any major characters involved unlike in the special maybe they are going to add someone in the sequel. I still enjoyed the main cast’s acting and it gave me so much joy that Ueno Juri still haven’t changed after all those years when she first started as Nodame!

Cinematography, the setting is in Paris! What more can I ask for? No matter what angle they use for the video, they just capture that feeling of being in the city where art and music lived for centuries. I have nothing more to comment on it because it is simply loved.

Soundtrack, need I say more about this? IT IS CLASSICAL! And the background music for certain scenes brought more hilarity into it than intended to. So yes... the soundtrack added more for the enjoyment of the viewer. read more
report I found this review Helpful Not Helpful

Error

Favorite Dramas

Favorite Movies

Favorite Actors

Friends