Came for Veronica Park, but ended up getting angry with the ML and dropped it.

I came to this drama due to Kim Jae Kyung having fallen in love with her as Veronica Park(eyay-oh) in The Secret Life of y Secretary.
The premise was good. A struggling vet saves the pompous CEO after he's stabbed. It had the makings of Kdrama gold.
Although it would have, were it not for Sung Hoon's one-dimensional character with zero character development - so much so that halfway through the penultimate episode (ep 6 out of 7) I couldn't take it any more. He was a toxic walking red flag and what made it worse was that Jae Kyung's character started to have feelings for him (they were in a contract relationship), despite him belittling her and controlling what she could and can't do, let alone who she could see. If her male friend spoke to her, he'd get mad. Like I said, walking red flag.
The hope I had of a redemption story just didn't come - I'm guessing I've missed on seeing this, but surely you'd want to see little signs of him changing, and her realising her self-worth.
So, to curb my frustration, I had to drop this as it stopped being enjoyable for me, which is a shame because of Kim Jae Kyung :(.
Thankfully there are only seven, 45-minute episodes on Viki if you want to try it. Other people rave about it.

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Wonderful old school style drama - excellent cast and acting. Could be a Christmas drama...

Why did I wait so long to watch Crazy Love? I'll tell you why - I couldn't warm to Kim Jae Wook in Her Private Live, and ended up dropping that one. However, was I wrong and I'll definitely go back and watch that one now.
Krystal was amazing - again, this was my first time seeing her in a drama and she was brilliant. Both carried this drama brilliantly.
I mean this as the ultimate praise here but, Crazy Love had the feel of a great Christmas movie where the protagonist learns the true meaning of Christmas ? Essentially, that classic Kdrama trope where the lead experiences a terrible trauma as a child and so becomes a horrible person. They then meet an amazing, fun girl, and learn the true meaning of Christmas!.. I mean learns to love again and be nice to people.
I'm simplifying this too much but that's how I felt. What sets Crazy Love apart is the underlying storyline. the twists and the drama. The comedy is top-notch notch too. I felt that Krystal should have been the main lead, but I get why Kim Jae Wook was as he has the strongest story arc, that works brilliantly with hers.
If I have to nitpick, there is an older character who is really annoying but thankfully a side role (throughout the show). Additionally my pet peeve of not paying to show the car logos! We all know it's an Audi R8!
Go watch this! It's full of charm and has an old-school quality to it. Very satisfying.

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Super satisfying office drama done right!

I hestitated watching this when it came out, but after seeing several TikToks with Naeun, I had to give it a go. Was hooked from the first episode and immediately rooting for the main lead as she goes about putting mysoganists in their place.
I main character Go A-In comes from a very poor background and has made her way up to the top, being the best advertising agency person (I don't know the roles name!). She's well respected in the industry but is royally stitched up by her then boss, who promoted her - for PR purposes.

What follows is her fight against them as well as dealing with her own demons. It's fast paced with a great supporting cast. Spoiler alert, there is no real romance although you're routing for two people in particular.
The main antagonist (Jo Sung Ha from K2) is truly annoying and as much as you want Go A-In to succeed, you equally want his demise.

It's not perfect, some plotlines are not fully explored, but all in all it's a great and very satisfying drama.

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So close to being a great RomCom but then suspense!!

Firstly, if you were like me, you would have been put of by the Kingsman parody Netflix trailer (an actual scene from the first episode) - thankfully I gave it a chance and was able to enjoy a truly lovely romance staring two A-star actors - especially Jeon Do Yeon in the role of Nam Haeng Seon.
The romance that starts to blossom is really lovely between Haeng Seon and the superstar tutor Choi Chi Yeol, all supported by a great supporting cast for the immediate family and friends.
I'll address the elephant in the room about Jeon Do Yeon's casting. A lot of people say she's too old at 50 to play that character. Technically they are correct - her character is supposed to be around 10 years older than Hae-yi as she's her aunt. Firstly she doesn't look 50 and she's Kdrama royalty and plays the roll so well. So, don't listen to all those haters.
The drama showcases the ultra competitive after school tutors/lessons that kid take to get into the best universities. Those students are 'supported' by a group of mothers that I've been calling the 'Housewives of Gangnam' - a group of gossiping busybodies who will throw anyone under the bus to ensure their precious baby will be top of the class. This group is headed up by Cho Soo Hee played by the delightful Kim Sun Young (who most of us met in CLOY). I loved her characters until this one - she is not a good person and doesn't see the stress she's causing her daughter Su-A, not the issues she has of her own. At times this group really annoyed me and their toxicity was tiresome in some episodes, especially as they would look down on our lead and cause troupe without thinking of the consequences they could cause. Sometimes I felt they got too much screen time
However, our love story is quite lovely and healing and so you'd think that would be the end of this review...
Sadly CCIR is not without its issues. As seems to be the norm in a lot of newer dramas in having unnecessary drama and this one is no exception but an underlying murder mystery which it really could do without. I'll leave that for you to judge if you feel the same.
The writers kept throwing new things into the mix right up until the final episode and while this didn't detract from the sweetness of the main romance (as well as some of the others - especially a couple of bromances) I don't think it was needed.
Did that spoil this drama form me? NO! I loved it. I had Hometown Cha Cha Cha vibes minus the seaside location and I;d recommend watching it. Thankfully the romance between the leads is a great constant throughout. Warning - the food will make you hungry.

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Dont think. Feel!!!!!

A truly wonderful drama. It has the perfect balance of comedy and emotions and further proves my case that pre-2019 KDrama's are the gold standard.
So rare to watch a drama with so many green-flag characters with no toxic traits.
This is only my second Shin Hye Sun drama following Mr Queen, and she is so endearing and brilliantly plays the role of a 17-year-old who wakes up from coma 13 years later.
Yang Se Jong plays his role brilliantly and he deals with a trauma he's been carrying for so long. A very young Ahn Hyo Seop is the glue that holds the group together.
The supporting cast are great too.
There are some very minor plot holes and the OST is good but not amazing - although it fits perfectly to the story.
Thirty But Seventeen (or Still 17 as it's called on Netflix) is one of those gold standard dramas that you don't want to tend! Remember - don't think - feel! Go watch it now!

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Healing

I have to say - the oldies are the best. Really enjoyable thriller/romcom that falls into the classic Kdrama format that we all fell in love with. Great cast and quite possibly the most enjoyable Park Min Young drama I've watched - even more than Secretary Kim as she's just so real and adorable. Ji Chang Wook is great in his role as 'Healer'.
Took me a while to warm to Yoo Ji Ta's character (Kim Moon Ho) but you learn what he all about after a couple of episodes. Kim Mi Kyung is brilliant as always and plays a super hacker who supports Healer.

Some of the production is not as good as what we see in today's dramas - eg everyone is so evenly lit and the soundtrack is good to average - but don't let it put you off. This is a great drama and very satisfying to watch. Also did I mention how cute PMY is in this?..

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Made my heart flutter

Wow! Either I'm getting old or this is one of the most beautiful dramas I've seen to date! It's become a frequent occurrence that since getting into Kdramas I've missed my late father so much - none more than while watching this Encounter. I can just hear him say with a tear in his eye "she suffers so much for other people" ?

Please go watch this beautiful wholesome love story - stellar performances from Song Hye Kyo and Park Bo Gum - their love for each other is so genuine and the journey that Song Hye Kyo's character goes on is truly heartwarming. When she smiled, my heart fluttered! Park Bo Gum plays to his strengths and is great.

The supporting cast are great, and the wicked mother-in-law is suitably evil. There are very few plotholes and if I have to pick a negative then I would have loved a few more episodes, but only because I didn't want it to end and would be nice to see a bit more of the relationships of the supporting cast develop.

Once my heart recovers, I will be rewatching this several times! GO WATCH IT!!!

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TRULY WONDERFUL! Watch it now!

This was my first taste of CDramas and wow the bar has been set extremely high.
It took me a while to get used to the pace, and at 40 episodes long it's much longer than the usual Kdrama. PLEASE stick with it though and you'll be rewarded with a truly wholesome, healing, wonderful story all wrapped up in the most beautiful scenery and people. Oh, and the food is incredible!
The cinematography and soundtrack are stunning as well.
Liu Yi Fei was a brilliant lead as was Li Xian. The supporting cast was great too. Some subplots felt like they dragged on, but I think, due to the length of the show, they paid off in the end.
So sit back, relax and enjoy this 40-episode therapy session!
I'm going to try Go Ahead next.

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It is enough!

What a beautiful and relatable show. It's one of those dramas where nothing appears to happen, but everything is happening. It's so wholesome and joyful. There is sadness, but that's life and it's so important to the development of some characters - then the finale becomes so satisfying. Safe to say it didn't suffer from the 12-episode Kdrama curse that I initially feared. Seolhyun was a revelation to me - having never seen any of her dramas - great acting. I didn't warm to Si-Wan in Run On but he was a great character in this with superb acting. The stand out however is Shin Eun-Soo - give that girl a main lead role in a big drama!
This is a healing drama.

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Tell your heart to buckle up for this one!

Started watching Marriage Contract as a filler in between Reborn Rich and Summer Strike episodes.
I'll start with the negatives!
1. Lee Seo Jin's character's family on his father's side are THE WORST!! I just wanted someone to kick the dad and brother in the nuts!
2. BMW badges are missing for half the series. Nitpicking here, but it's probably the easiest car brand to identify.

OK, now that's out of the way - on to the positives. This was a rollercoaster of emotions and if you like that kind of thing, then please watch it. I does have a bit of a daytime soap feel but unlike something like Young Lady and Gentleman, it's only 16 episodes and the production value stays consistent throughout.
The real stand out was the girl who plays the daughter, Eun Sung - an incredible actor. I was really impressed with Uee and having not watched anything with her or Lee Seo Jin before, I'd be tempted to watch some of their other work following this.
The main characters have a real developmental arc which makes you get sucked into the emotions and really feel for our leed, Uee. Like I said if you like that (and getting your heart ripped out and put back again) then watch this drama. I stuck it on 1.5x speed and binged it in a few days.

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Could have been a Korean Sound of Music (minus the music) but too many characters who cant act!

Hmm... if this was a 12-16 episode drama that just focused on the story of the widower and his children, and the plucky young live-in tutor - of how she melted his hard heart and helped restore his relationship with his kids - this would have been a brilliant K-Sound of Music (without the music)
But sadly it's over 100 episodes, with a supporting cast who a) get almost equal screen time and b) are terrible actors that I found myself fast-forwarding their scenes. TERRIBLE ACTORS! But ! persevered through four and a bit episodes, only to find that in ep5, the production changed from the beautiful, glossy, well-produced practical sets that we know and love from good kdramas - to that of a daytime soap! #dropped
Such a shame as Lee Se Hee's character was adorable and that particular story arc had real potential.
What a shame!

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Wholesome and JOYful in spades

This is such a sweet drama which is welcome in a time when everything is getting more and more serious/realistic in the world of Kdrama.
Once Upon a Small Town is not going to change the world but it was a joy to watch. The story goes at a pace befitting of the small town it's set in - which looks stunning - but it's just a sweet 30-minute escape to enjoy Joy and all the cute animals that feature heavily throughout. Joy's acting is good and carries the show well. The male leads are ok too, although the second lead is annoying for most of the series in the classic second lead style.
It's a nice filler drama.- I used to it to detox in between Little Women episodes. It's a must-watch if you're Reveluv!

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Bittersweet Symphony

Started watching in between Extraordinary Attorney Woo episodes and it started really strong for the first third. The pace then really slowed down - so much so that I watched it at 1.5x speed. It's a lovely drama with great acting from the leads, and great music but I think they missed a trick with the slow pace. Park Eun-Bin is delightful!

Our protagonist is not good at playing the violin (sounded amazing to me) but she loves it and perseveres - much to the lack of support from her family (not her dad) and her teachers.
Coupled with her struggles, there is a love triangle that drags out too long which takes away some of the joy - it would have been nicer to have Sun Ah prove people wrong and for the final act to show the storylines resolved nicely to end on a happier tone. There was too much sadness for me but then maybe I'm a romantic!

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Brilliantly satisfying drama

Don't get mad... get even.

Taxi Driver (or Deluxe Taxi to give it it's proper name) is an action-packed drama based around righteous revenge under the cover of an innocent taxi service. When our protagonists are at the end of the road (no pun intended...) due to horrible and painful circumstances, they find solace in the offer of getting revenge. In turn, they help other people who are in despair due to the actions of some very horrible people and act on their behalf to bring these people to justice.

Meanwhile, a tough prosecutor, played by Esom, is suspicious of these activities.

Taxi Driver has an 80's/90's feel to it which I loved - a bit like Knight Rider or The A-Team and so has a little bit of cheesiness to it - but that's needed to balance out the more gruesome aspects of it.

Well worth a watch and while I don't condone violence or revenge it's really satisfying to see it play out. Watch now before the second season comes out.

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