ArvisJaggamar
However, here on MDL, this drama officially goes by its best and most appropriate title "Doctors". If you're looking for a straightforward, romanticized show about what it really means to be a Doctor, this is the show. If you want lots of action, lots of drama, and lots of clichés, you're in the wrong place. While it starts very fast, this is ultimately a very dry, low-key show that bucks typical drama conventions in favor of telling a "more realistic" story. Does that make it less interesting than other popular dramas? Perhaps. But it doesn't make it valueless. There's a lot to like here.
STORY
You're not going to find a kdrama story quite like this one very easily. While it's a romance, they don't drag the will-they-or-won't-they all the way until end. While there's a love triangle, it's a very sharply angled isosceles: one of three arms of the triangle is really short and it's clear from the beginning that it has no chance. While it's a drama, it has no mustache-twirling villains, only complex characters that make serious mistakes and end up hurting others simply because they struggle to face the reality of their wrongdoing.
These things aren't necessarily going to work for everyone, but for this reviewer, they all combine into an enjoyable and, most of all, refreshing experience. The flip side of this is that often times the plot seems to lack teeth; it doesn't grab you and hold on, forcing your heart to come with it. While the first few episodes are action-packed and energetic, the show mellows out immensely toward the latter half, eventually getting to the point where the directing felt almost lazy. This show is largely a leisurely stroll, which can be very pleasant but simply is not the experience we're set up for in the first quarter.
The main romantic pairing quickly becomes the driving force of the show and remains such for the entire 20 episode run. However, it's not your typical kdrama relationship full of peaks and valleys and Noble Idiocy. It's clear the writers wanted to tell a more sensible and realistic romance story, for better or for worse. The combination of almost complete focus on this one relationship while simultaneously making that relationship feel very "normal" definitely results in an end product that lacks dramatic punch and hurts the secondary plot threads. Those secondary threads, however, are delivered with the same understated feeling as the main plot. If you want "larger than life" storytelling, you're not going to get it here at all.
On a random side note: at one point, about halfway through the story, we're teased with a possible side romance with one of the nurses, but that plotline goes literally nowhere and is completely dropped by the end of the show. This kind of sloppy handling of the material makes me wonder how much of the script was being rewritten during filming. It is possible, though, that it was simply a matter of a needed actor/actress suddenly becoming unavailable.
ACTING/CAST
Definitely the strong point of the show and possibly the only reason it's as popular as it is. The four leads all do a great job. PSH is as good as ever, which is kind of surprising since she's never done a role quite like this one. You'd think she'd have some yips or letdowns for her first time branching out into a new character type, but nope. She's lovely and wonderful, and her portrayal (like most of this show) is especially strong in the early episodes.
Kim Rae Won, who plays the first male lead Hong Ji Hong, is one of the most charming actors I've yet to discover in kdrama. A great voice, interesting face, and lovely smile, he performs the first lead here perfectly. I can't imagine another actor playing this odd and unique role, a character who values self-control and communication above all. Imagine that, in a kdrama! Compared to the usual selfish and emotionally infantile male leads we often get in typical romances, the Hong Ji Hong character is a most welcome change.
Yoon Gyun Sang seems to be very popular, even if he perpetually looks like he's had an allergic reaction to something. Although I didn't like him much at all, at first, he won me over by the end. A good performance to go with yet another unusual character. if you ever wanted to know what it's like to be on the losing end of a love triangle IN REAL LIFE, his story is basically that. It's worth seeing.
Last but not least, we have Lee Sung Kyung. Although her character is the trope-iest one (mostly just your typical Mean Girl trope, but with a more sympathetic twist), it really doesn't matter too much because.... well, I'll be honest, Ms. Lee is ridiculously attractive. Seriously. She's surrounded by beautiful women and even among them she stands out. I'd love to see her in a role where she can smile more.
All that being said, the supporting cast here is strong enough on their own to make the show worth trying. My two Honorable Mentions for the Supporting Cast go to:
1. Baek Sung Hyun as Yeong Kook, who I dubbed "Dr. Glasses". He starts as a very odd and (somewhat) forgettable character, but when the writers found an interesting hook for his character, Sung Hyun took it and ran with it. Sung Hyun seems to be particularly skilled at delivering subtext with his eyes.
2. Of course, I have to mention my new crush (I get one almost every show), Pyo Ye Jin, who plays a character I affectionately referred to as "Nurse Cutie Pie". Although her role is very minor, her portrayal was stellar. You'll never tire of her smile. The writers gave one big scene to her character early on and, after she utterly blew it away with her adorableness, they wisely gave her at least one speaking scene in every episode after that. Ye Jin is 24 years young and would be great in a starring role in the future. I may soon watch my first ever Family drama because of her.
MUSIC
Strong but standard kdrama fare here. Lots and lots of vocal themes, so there won't be too much repeating. In fact, they re-use themes here at just the right pace; enough to get the songs in your head, but not so much that they start to annoy you. Special mention to the tracks "It's Love" and "No Way", which are the best of the best here. If music is a deciding factor for you, just listen to those two tracks to get a good sense of the quality of "Doctors" in this category.
REWATCH VALUE
Unfortunately, there's no getting around the fact that there is absolutely very little RWV here, especially the closer you get to the climax. While most kdramas try and build toward a climax that is exciting and satisfying that you want to see over and over, this one does the opposite. Early episodes are full of exciting character moments, culminating in perhaps the most rewatchable scene of the whole show involving a rooftop, a helicopter, and the best romantic character reunion ever.
However, toward the latter quarter of the show, almost every episode can be described thusly: "two or more characters chat about plot with each other, then someone gets a phone call, they answer it, then it cuts to another scene where there is more chat about plot, and then someone gets a phone call, they answer it, and they cut to a new scene where they chat about plot, and then YOU GUESSED IT, someone gets another freaking phone call and the cycle starts over."
All of that does not make for a high RWV score, as it's bad enough to sit through the first time.
BOTTOM LINE
Despite being better than most kdrama in many areas, this only gets a solid 8/10 from me, and no more. It has too many issues to justify anything higher, despite how strong it is in other areas. However, on the flip side of that, it's way too good to be lower than 7.5. If you're looking for a solid 2016 drama with a great cast that delivers lessons about communication, professionalism, and relationships, you won't go wrong here. Just don't expect the plot to blow you away.
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While it's not without an issue or two, My Lawyer, Mr. Jo is both clean in content and high in entertainment value.
The plot centers around the titular character as he makes a transition from high-powered prosecutor to penniless lawyer. While there is a central conflict that progresses in each episode, the story is told through multiple court cases that connect to one another, which creates multiple emotional climaxes through the course of its 20 episodes. You'll rarely feel like you're just being teased, and the action never feels like it's being prolonged artificially.
There are villains aplenty here as well, and the story structure does a great job of keeping the audience wondering "Who is REALLY the Big Bad here?" Only one villain is a mustache-twirler, but even he has complex motivations and a true story arc.
While one or two of the early dramatic courtroom scenes come off as overdone due to some sloppy editing, you mostly won't see an issue with the storytelling at all. The endings of the episodes are also some of the best I've seen, not so much for their "cliffhanger" status as for their emotional impact and comedy. This is a very well put-together show. Many times, when the End-Of-Episode Musical Glitter thing happens, you'll be completely taken aback.
Unequivocally, though, the biggest strength of this drama is its cast. I can't even take the time to point out the stand-out actors, because they basically all stand out. Just go to the Cast page for this show and look at all the Main Roles and Supporting Roles: you're looking at the stand out actors. There's essentially no "soap opera acting" here. While larger than life, these characters are people, and the writing never leans on the crutch of Sudden And Inexplicable Stupidity in order to create drama, tension, or conflict.
The entire ensemble is a joy to watch, and I'd love to see it be nominated in the "Best Ensemble" category for any 2016 awards.
My Lawyer, Mr. Jo is one of the most fun watches of the year, free from the usual kdrama trappings of either "too serious" or "too silly". It's a clean drama with a ton of heart, energy, and positivity. One of the overlooked gems of 2016.
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The cast is brilliant here as well. Basically everyone is amazing. Lee Min Ho seems like he has a lot of experience working out the 'likable jerk' archetype, because he nails it here. I called him a moron so many times during the watch and yet found myself loving him and rooting for him all the same.
Park Min Young is divine perfection as always and continues her place in my Top 5 Kdrama Actresses list. Lee Joon Hyuk is probably the best raw actor in this show, and Kim Sang Joon has the sort of charisma you want in a good villain, despite having literally one facial expression for the entire 20-episode run. But even the Supporting characters shone here, foremost among them being Kang Jin Sung, whose voice is like the most beautiful music, and Kim Sang Ho, who proved here that ugly can still be oddly attractive.
Honorable Cast Mentions:
- Chun Ho Jin and his 'intense eyes' should always be in every drama.
- Hwang Sun Hee can't really act well, but she's extremely good at being more beautiful than everyone, so props to her.
- Gu Ha Ra was born to her role here. I never got tired of her immature antics and that bouncy, youthful movement that always sent her too-perfect hair flapping this way and that. Simultaneously annoying and endearing, I always smiled when she was on camera.
- Choi Jung Woo embodies his characters better than most Korean actors. He has more range than you would you think at first glance.
Now, all that being said, unfortunately, despite its amazing cast, the story of City Hunter is ultimately a letdown and makes it a candidate for my Most Overrated Drama.
From a writing standpoint, the first half of the show is a paradise of interesting character moments and interactions. The characters grow, you fall in love with them, you root for them, you laugh and cry along with them, the way every good drama does. In particular, there is one scene where Park Min Young starts crying in the middle of a sentence without showing any other facial indications of sadness. She is fighting to be reasonable, dispassionate, selfless, and brave. Her voice is clear and strong and nary a quiver is to be found in her lips. And yet the tears betray her. It's a powerfully acted sequence that takes you by the heart and screams 'LOVE ME!'
However, the further you get into the back half of this drama, the more disconnected it becomes from anything relatable. All the character build-up you were invested in? Almost completely gone. The intriguing hero? A veritable wellspring of idiotic and inexplicable decisions, especially in connection with the heroine. The likable side characters? Either disappeared or killed off for no reason. The heroine? Used almost exclusively for reaction shots. All of this culminating into one of the most lackluster endings I've yet to experience in a drama. It did a couple interesting things, for sure, but for the most part the final episode just felt like a normal episode and the resolutions were either rushed into unimportance or simply nonexistent. So many story threads simply left dangling. And for what? Longer and more numerous reaction shots, yelling of character names, and oft-repeated plot points. The main plot of the show is well-written and compelling, but the characters are all but abandoned towards the end, which is inexcusable.
Basically, if you want some great action, awesome acting, and a handful of laughs and warm fuzzies, you'll get them from this show. If you want satisfying resolution and characters that do stuff that makes sense, you'll be disappointed. It's a show everyone should see, but not a show that everyone will love.
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STORY
While I do feel the need to point out that it's this category that keeps this from being a 10/10 (there are a few glaring plot holes), it is also this category that is going to get people into this drama. Besides the few plot holes, the concept of this show is brilliant: a rich young man with an allergy to humans is interested in investing in a robotics lab that has a working android, thinking that android companionship could be the solution to his isolation. Too bad the people who run the lab don't know about his allergy. Their android breaks and they send a lookalike human in its place for him to "test"! What could possibly go wrong, as these two attractive young people spend all their time together?
While you can tell just from that premise that this will be a show full of cuteness and hilarity (and it is), you will never imagine the emotional heights that this drama is able to achieve just from that simple plot. I won't even try to describe it here, you just need to see it for yourself. Kim Min Kyu and Jo Ji Ah are two of the best lead characters I have ever seen in any piece of fiction; a loneliness as deep as the ocean finally meets an incredible selflessness that might be able to fill it. You will weep with Kim Min Kyu as he rails against his isolation and desperately searches for a glimmer of light in his life. Your heart will shatter every time Jo Ji Ah denies herself happiness and chokes back her words and tears in order to protect the people that matter to her. And when the two of them are together, you'll never want to see them apart.
ACTING/CAST
I'm going to actively try to avoid hyperbole here. Suffice to say, I had real feelings for the characters. And I don't mean just feelings. I mean that I really felt like they were real people and I needed to be with them and help them. That never happens to me. Ever. When I say I "fell in love" with Jo Ji Ah, that's honestly not too far from being literal. Fortunately, I haven't completely gone off the deep end, but the point is that this cast brought these characters to life in the most beautiful and vibrant way.
First, relative newcomer Park Se Wan. She is the definition of adorable. Infinitely watchable, she's going on my list of actresses to follow across genres.
My boy, Kang Ki Young! From his first moments onscreen in High School King of Savvy, I've loved this guy and am so happy to see his career continuing to gain traction. He's never played a role quite like this one before but seems to have taken to it naturally. There wasn't quite enough for his character to do, but KKY himself killed it, being able express a broad range in his role here.
Definitely want to mention brand new actress Yoon So Mi in her first ever Drama role as Jo Ji Ah's sister in law. A lovely woman who comes out as a natural on screen. Even my wife couldn't resist her charms, remarking multiple times how cute she was.
And of course, a young lady who has been hard at work in some truly excellent dramas in 2017: Lee Han Seo! Little Han Seo knocks it out of the park here. She steals every scene she's in and you'll only wish that she had even more lines by the time it's all over.
Now, our male lead, Yoo Seung Ho. What a gravitational charisma. He can literally make "annyeong" sound like it's full of meaning and emotion. I admit he sometimes struggles a bit with some melo scenes, but only because of the impossible tightrope he's having to walk in many of them: balancing true, raw emotion with total awareness of the absurdity of his situation. Despite this, during the melo climax at the halfway point of the show, expect YSH to completely destroy you.
And finally..... what can I say about Chae Soo Bin? She has charms that can't quite be put into words. The same way that a person just has to *see* Lee Min Jung to understand her beauty, and a person has to actually *watch* Jang Na Ra act to understand why she's quite as lovable as she is, Chae Soo Bin has to be experienced for yourself. I will admit, on a personal note, when she has long straight brown hair and bangs, she may be the most beautiful woman in the world. That's impactful enough on its own (in fact, distractingly so, since everyone around her should really always be tripping over her beauty, but aren't because it's fiction), but it goes far beyond just her looks. Her tender depiction of a feisty but pure young woman who never loses her spark in the face of adversity is one of the most touching and impressive performances you're likely to see in this genre. You owe it to yourself to watch CSB work, and to see her build Jo Ji Ah into a person we would all do well to emulate.
MUSIC
It doesn't disappoint! While it lacks one huge standout track that acts as a hook, and maybe a theme or two is forgettable, in an OST of about 7 vocal tracks, I came away from it saving 4 of them to my Kdrama Playlist. I can't say any other drama has hit that kind of success rate.
Additionally, a lot of the incidental and mood music is pretty well composed to; not exactly beautiful, but catchy and evocative, quirky and winsome. No flies on this drama in the Music category.
REWATCH VALUE
This is the first 10 I've given in this category in any of my reviews. The mind-bogglingly huge amount of amazing character moments, hearty laughs, and tender romance means that I'm Not A Robot can be watched, watched, and rewatched many times over and never get old. Heck, if you're trying to convert anyone to kdrama, add this to the list of potential shows that can suck in someone who's never seen a kdrama in his or her life. It's that good. It really is that good. It's never too melo, so no FFing needed there. The villains are never too annoying, nor are there stupid love triangles to skip through. There's no filler at all and never any wasted scenes. In fact, if anything, this show needed more episodes, because there were definitely parts of the story that got cut in order to keep up with the blistering pace, to its detriment. There's literally not one minute of these 16 hours that anyone should ever need to FF through. Not only WILL I watch this one again someday, I am EAGER to do so.
FINAL SCORE - 9.5/10
While a few unforgivable plot holes, a too-quick resolution, and not enough falling action (along with some rather lazy production work in the penultimate episode, randomly) prevent this from being a perfect 10, please please please do not sleep on I'm Not A Robot. Easily a Top 5 All Time Drama, in my book, and perhaps my sentimental second-favorite, this will be 16 hours WELL spent for any drama lover. Just sit back and let it shatter you, because when it pieces you all back together, you'll feel like you're better off for the experience.
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Overall, this is probably the best drama I have seen since Healer. It is beautifully written, evocative, touching, and hilarious. It's really everything you would want from kdrama. It's got a fantastic ensemble that are all fun and lovable. Every episode brings something special. A very, very addictive and binge-able watch.
Jang Na Ra is as perfect as ever. Seriously. There's honestly no better drama actress in the entire country. She believably plays both a 20-year-old and a 38-year-old. She can and will make you laugh and cry like crazy.
This is the first time I have seen Son Ho Jun in anything and he was impressive. His melo scenes felt a bit off, but I think that was more to do with the nature of his character than his acting ability. One of his melo scenes is probably my favorite scene in the whole drama.
The two "second leads" (in quotes because they get less screen time than a couple of the other Supporting cast) succeeding excellently in doing what they were supposed to do: be ridiculously attractive. Jang Ki Yong just looks like Korean Benedict Cumberbatch, which, of course, is awesome. And although she really just looked like little kid most of the time, I couldn't deny that Go Bo Gyeol was hyper-cute. Their characters didn't get as much development as you might expect, but they were still a lot of fun to watch and were utilized well by the writers as tools for the development of our hero and heroine.
Two Supporting Cast shout-outs I simply MUST give are for Kim Mi Kyung, who I think should be tagged with a Main Role here, simply because she was the 3rd-most important character in the show. I have said it before and I'll say it again: Kim Mi Kyung is her own gravitational force. What an incredibly watchable, dynamic, compelling actress. Every time she and Jang Na Ra shared the screen, it was amazing and wonderful.
The second shout out goes to Han Bo Reum, who is just plain gorgeous and a lot of fun to look at. Very funny, great smile, excellent hair. I never got tired of her or her character (and the hilarious yet oddly fetching late-90s outfits they always made her wear). She was excellent and, at age 30, will hopefully get some good lead roles under her belt soon.
If you're looking for a quick rollercoaster of emotion with some ridiculously amazing acting, just stop what you're doing and start this drama right away. A low-risk/high-reward prospect at just 12 episodes, there will be nothing to regret once you're done.
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STORY
While it started out as a fun rom-com with a campy mystery B-plot, it eventually bought into that campy B-plot completely, abandoning the rom-com aspects that were so strong in the beginning and trying (and mostly failing) to sell itself as a serious thriller drama.
While comparisons can be made to The Count of Monte Cristo, the show itself was more Jekyll and Hyde than anything. This irritating misdirection and mishandling of characters was punctuated by possibly the worst and most unnecessary Noble Idiocy I have yet come across in all of drama. While it's not as insulting as something like Angel Eyes, Birth of a Beauty is still guilty of turning its lead female into a bonehead in order to drum up cheap conflict without having to write something original.
That being said, the premise of the show itself is still not without merit. If you enjoyed The Count of Monte Cristo, you'll enjoy aspects of this as well. A normal, everyday woman is mistreated and, eventually, murdered by those she trusts. Except she survives, transforms herself, and returns to exact retribution on those who did her wrong. However, don't expect it to be as satisfying as Monte Cristo; while that classic slowly seeds his revenge over time and then reveals it mostly in the climax, Birth of a Beauty belabors the revenge plot early on and offers very little satisfying resolution over the course of time. By the time some of the villains have actually tasted justice, I barely noticed, since it was often handled with little dramatic impact and usually the effects of it were only temporary, seeing the villains shortly back to their misdeeds with almost no consequence. Expect to see lots of mustache-twirling here from the innumerable villains and, especially in the back half, multiple minutes per episode of people just looking dramatically at each other after nothing of consequence was said.
You're probably thinking "This sounds worse than a 7/10", but the reason it scored that high is because the romance plot was far superior to the revenge plot. While that, too, was mishandled (badly) in the back half, it was still good enough to keep my wife and I interested throughout. Most viewers will have little trouble buying into the romance here, as JSW and HYS have some SERIOUS chemistry with each other. Not only that, but despite how poorly written the back half is, the resolution and payoff is actually pretty good. While I would have preferred at least an entire episode dedicated to falling action and character send-offs, what you get is good enough.
If, however, you're someone who simply cannot tolerate main characters behaving stupidly, Han Ye Seul's character here will almost certainly have you dropping this before you reach Episode 15.
ACTING/CAST
I never thought I'd see the day where I give a Joo Sang Wook drama less than 8 in this category, but here we are. Not MUCH less than 8, of course, but still. Han Ye Seul is charming and fun, but from what I could see, comedy is her strength. She wasn't bad at all with the dramatic stuff, but I wouldn't say she was good either. Her face seems custom built to smile (literally, perhaps?), and when she is smiling, you could almost really believe that men would follow her around Korea like sheep with a shepherd. However, in her one melo scene, her face contorted so unnaturally that it took both me and my wife right out of the moment. Would definitely love to see more of her in a strictly comedic role. While the aforementioned JSW was, of course, great, even he started dripping into "dry" territory in the back half here. Not his fault; he really just didn't have much to work with in the script. That being said, he is at his comedic BEST in the front half. Many many hilarious moments, the absolute best being when he dresses up as a mariachi with a big fake handlebar mustache and sings (you just have to see it for yourself).
All of this, of course, leads me to our second leads. Wang Ji Hye was probably the second best actor in the show, talent-wise. She handled the subtleties of her character with ease. Again, though, she wasn't given a wide variety of things to do. On the other hand, this is the second drama with Jung Gyu Woon I've seen, and I don't think I've seen his facial expression change once in either drama. He's better here than in Oh My Venus, but only because his character is comically evil. Even with such an extreme character to play, don't expect much from him here.
As for the Supporting Cast, exactly two actors are worth mentioning:
Han Jin Hee plays a stern, loud buffoon for 19 and a half episodes. In his final scene, he is given a touching moment with one of the main characters and he ABSOLUTELY KILLS IT. His character is one of the more interesting and dynamic throughout the plot, despite having very little of consequence to do.
Kang Kyung Hun has the most honest acting moment in the whole show, a throwaway moment barely given time to shine and yet it drew a teardrop or two from both me and my wife.
MUSIC
Weird that I gave this highest marks, but really Wife and I were singing and humming so many different songs from this one. While the incidental music is forgettable, the vocal themes are consistently strong and memorable, especially the opening credits theme, "She" by SHINee. Very catchy.
REWATCH VALUE
The first half is immensely rewatchable, honestly. So many cute and fun moments. High-energy, lots of comedy, lots of intrigue. And the very first episode, particularly, is superbly shot and edited. But that back half of this drama.... ouch. It was hard to get through it once, so I can't imagine trying to watch it again. I remember laughing out loud once because there was one particular reaction shot that I think had to be over 60 seconds long. I'm not exaggerating. The camera just stayed on JSW for forever while he looked serious. I imagined JSW in his head thinking "Uh.... is someone gonna say 'cut'.... sometime?" And that right there is par for the course for the second half of Birth of a Beauty. Lots of reaction shots, lots of people staring at each other, lots of villains twirling their mustaches. Not a lot worth seeing beyond a few decent plot points and, of course, the resolution, which really does manage to satisfy and is worth watching a few times.
All in all, if you're in the mood for a good rom-com, exhaust your other options first. If you're in the mood for a thriller, look elsewhere. If you're in the mood for Joo Sang Wook and you've seen his other dramas, dive right in to this one! Despite my serious complaints, there is still an odd charm to the show; an intangible factor that can still hook a viewer. My wife complained about a lot of it, but at the end said "You know, I still liked this." I can't say I disagree. You may have the same reaction, so don't be afraid to give it a shot.
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While you'll come to love that catchphrase if you watch Liar Game, it wouldn't surprise me if it were actually spoken by the producer who first pitched the idea of a Korean version of this classic Japanese manga story. If so, they were right: from the beginning of this fast-paced drama, all the way to its closing minutes, it gets its hooks in the viewer and never lets go. There are twists and surprises in every episode and you won't be able to resist the urge to predict what's going to happen next.
Although Liar Game is held back slightly by the clichés it employs (causing some of the twists to be too predictable), it is ultimately a satisfying ride for any fan of intrigue.
STORY
It takes about an episode and half or so for this story's manga roots to show. If you have any experience with Japanese manga/anime like Yu-Gi-Oh, Hikaru no Go, or even ones themed around sports, you'll immediately recognize the format of this show. Main Character is tasked with winning a complicated game against challenging opposition > Main Character uses math/numbers/cleverness to win said game > plot twist creates problem > Main Character uses quick thinking to overcome the problem and win the game at the last second in dramatic fashion. While Liar Game deviates from this formula slightly at times, you can still expect to see those steps play out for each major chapter of the plot. The major twist of the plot, too, is painfully cliché, especially if you're familiar with popular Japanese storytelling.
However, despite Liar Game's plot being rather formulaic, the twists and the games are consistently interesting, and the characters involved have all the charisma anyone could ask for from this premise. And clichés aren't bad if they're executed well, which Liar Game does with aplomb.
For more details on the story itself, just analyze the promo poster for this show that's probably in the upper right hand corner of your screen right now. That one picture basically explains the entire premise perfectly.
ACTING/CAST
If you start Liar Game, this category will likely be the reason you stick with it. Most of the Supporting Roles here will be in almost every episode, and they'll be important. So with an Ensemble Cast this big, each actor needs to bring something to the table that will grab the attention of the audience. They succeed. Choi Jin Ho, Park Jae Hoon, and Jo Jae Yun are the best of the supporting cast, but the top spot really goes to Lee El, who gives maybe the second-best performance in the show. How Lee El finds herself stuck in Supporting Roles after this performance makes no sense to me. She's unbelievably watchable and gorgeous to boot. She deserves bigger roles.
Of course, with any good drama, the Main Roles absolutely shine. Lee Sang Yoon is his usual self: very watchable and good-looking. Really, his only job is to step in front of a camera, look "less Korean" with that face of his, and not ruin the scene. And he does that perfectly. The guy is great. The female Lead, Kim So Eun, was essentially born to roles like this one: a perfect, sweet, naive angel. She just has the face for it, and like many of her peers, her eyes project an earnestness that befits the character. She's easy to like, easy to fall for; a good "helpless damsel" character, but with enough of a spin that she's not boring. Watching her in this is like watching a puppy: it never gets boring and you can't help but go "awwww" every few moments.
But the actor that really bumped the score here from an 8.5 to a 9.5 all on his own was, without a doubt, Shin Sung Rok. When I first saw him in You Who Came From The Star, I thought "Yikes... that face...!" But when I saw that he was in this, I thought "Oh good, that face!" Never has anyone in the world had such a perfect villain's face, and you will want to see him on screen more and more the more you see him. Beyond that, though, the way SSR *uses* his face in his role here is what will blow your mind. If you love villains, Liar Game has the perfect one for you.
MUSIC
Liar Game's vocal songs are unremarkable and forgettable. However, the incidental music is actually quite good. Music is critical in building tension in shows like this one, and the job is done well here. It's unlikely that the Liar Game soundtrack is going to sell a ton of copies or pull in more viewers, but it does what it needs to do and does it well.
REWATCH VALUE
Sadly, with shows that center on intrigue and mystery, you can't expect a ton of rewatchability. What keeps you hooked is not knowing what's coming next, so in general these sorts of shows will score low here. What helps Liar Game to achieve an 8/10 in this category is the cast. There are several performances that would be worth watching multiple times. However, the RV could have been even higher had they seeded a few more major plot mystery hints throughout the earlier episodes. Still, Liar Game doesn't hurt in this area if Rewatching dramas is your thing.
OVERALL
Liar Game is a thrilling, if familiar, mystery show with a stellar ensemble cast that will keep you guessing until the very end. If you enjoy Japanese manga/anime stories and have somehow never been exposed to Liar Game until now, this one should not be missed. If you're just looking for a fun, quick kdrama, Liar Game is perfect for you, too. Watch it for the story, stay for Shin Sung Rok. You won't regret it.
Or maybe you will? Maybe this was all an elaborate ruse. Maybe I am Shin Sung Rok. But as they say in Liar Game...
"If you want to know the truth, you have to play the game."
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The above was spoken by my wife, less than halfway through this drama. I wondered, at the time, if Oh My Venus would continue to live up to that endorsement. As you can tell from the scores I gave it, the fun never stopped until the final ending credits rolled (and even then, the fun kept going for a little longer).
STORY
Scarcely have I seen a better story in a rom-com. It's not a wholly original premise, of course, but the themes of Beauty, Weight, and Health and how those themes work together are still somewhat unfamiliar ground for Korean entertainment.
The main romantic pairing of Oh My Venus is, of course, the biggest attraction, as the story of how they meet and fall in love never fails to be gripping. There's really no end to the amount of "cute" moments that these two have on screen together. However, from a story perspective, the secondary romance is also intriguing, albeit without the cuteness. The secondary couple is comprised of the main character's ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend, a pairing that most audience members would be predisposed to hate. But the writers knew that would be the case and and built a rather interesting and sensitive arc around the two characters. In general, though, that subplot lacks importance in the main narrative, so even though it's handled cleverly, it can feel somewhat like a digression far too often. Oftentimes, when one of the second leads was on screen, I found myself thinking "Hey, remember THIS person?" Again, though, the fascinating love story of the main pairing of Kang Joo Eun and Kim Young Ho should keep any rom-com fan happy for 16 episodes, without fail.
One of the best things this drama does in the Story department is dedicate the last two episodes almost entirely to resolution. Too many dramas just end right at the climax, with no room to celebrate the ending or spend more time with the characters you've grown to love. Not so with Oh My Venus, as you'll get a very satisfying 2 hours to say goodbye. Going forward, I'd like to see more dramas adopt this approach.
Were it not for a small bit out-of-character writing for some major characters, which culminated in a tenuously-motivated cliché in Episode 13, and also the secondary romance, this Story would be a 10.
ACTING/CAST
I can't even begin to describe how much I love this cast. Were it not for Jung Gyu Woon (who has literally one facial expression for the entire show) it would be a perfect 10.
I honestly don't want to write too much here, because the overall chemistry of the entire ensemble cast is something that needs to be experienced. But I would be remiss to not specifically point out Shin Min Ah and So Ji Sub. Min Ah outshines absolutely everyone here, superbly handling both comedy and melodrama and doing so in heavy effects makeup for much of the show (a talent that would not be appreciated by your average audience member). There's very little chance of a a viewer failing to be completely in love with Min Ah's character by at least Episode 8. So Ji Sub, on the other hand, is a special case: he doesn't exactly pop off the screen the way Min Ah does, but his subtle mastery of comic timing heightens all of the jokes, his easy dignity and strength give extra weight to his every action, and he saves his really brilliant acting for the little bit of melodrama that he gets to do.
Honorable mention goes to Yoo In Young, who's really good at being horrible jerk that for some reason you still sympathize with.
MUSIC
A lot of the incidental music here was lovely-but-forgettable, which is par for the course with kdrama. However, the vocal themes were great, with "Beautiful Lady" being perhaps the catchiest and most danceable vocal theme I've ever heard in any drama. Seriously, that song completely rocks and you'll want to move to it every time it comes on. My wife and I both found ourselves singing and humming some of the other songs as well, so if Music is a critical part of dramas for you, Oh My Venus will not let you down.
REWATCH VALUE
If I had to guess, I would say that every single one of the 16 episodes of this show has at least one scene worth rewatching. There is always something fun, hilarious, or emotional to go back to. Not only that, but the rewatch value is heightened by the main plot hook: going back and seeing the difference between how Kang Joo Eun looks in Episode 1 compared to how she looks at the end can be quite shocking! Some of the subplots hurt Oh My Venus in this category, but only just barely. When the final credits roll on this one, you'll definitely want to go back and see some of this again.
OVERALL
This is tied (with You Who Came From The Star) for the second best kdrama rom-com I have ever seen, and is officially one of my all-time favorite dramas ever. Even if you don't like rom-com, there's still enough of an interesting hook and story here that it's at least worth giving it a try. If you hate fun, then stay away, but if, like me, you enjoy having fun, start Oh My Venus tonight.
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STORY
It's a mess and makes no sense at all, but I can say that the concept of it is quite good. If you're of a certain age, you've probably looked back on your high school self and thought "What an idiot. Wish I could fix some things." Well, that's the story here. There's a time slip and the MC meets his younger self and very aggressively meddles in his life, leading to the majority of the comedy here. It's fun and cute! However, their are never really any "rules" established for the time slip, which is bad form, nor is there even a hint of an explanation. So don't think too hard about what's going on or you'll get really annoyed. As the show progresses, it becomes less and less funny. And since that's the real strength of the show, that means it gets worse and worse. But once you get to Episode 10, it will all start to come together, so stick with it.
ACTING/CAST
This is where the majority of this show's dullness comes from. Not only is it poorly directed, leading to otherwise-talented actors to completely ruin some scenes, but there is a severe lack of chemistry among the entire cast. There are several romantic pairings here and absolutely none of them resonate, not even the OTP. We get one kissing scene and it's incredibly forced, maybe the worst I have seen in 70+ dramas. One of the only characters that really grabbed my attention was Jo Seung Hee's character. She plays a teacher who has some truly hilarious scenes with the MC. Her bold flirting and adorable mannerisms made her a joy to watch, and Seung Hee carried it off with a ton of natural charm. However, she is barely used at all, and her romance arc is absolutely atrocious and lacking even a single redeeming merit. She and the actor they paired her with had absolutely no chemistry whatsoever. Additionally, her being the brightest and best of the characters was ruined by her being paired off with a guy who was, by far, the worst character in the entire show. It was hard to watch.
Do Hee is pretty good, as usual, but even her character is misused. And probably the best pure actor in the show was Kim Sun Young, who really really stood out here. She nailed every scene she had. But yet again, we don't get very much of her. Song Ji Hyun was cute and good at being quirky and moody, but it should be noted that melo is not her strength. Still it was cool seeing a Korean Emily Blunt lookalike. Her distinct look is quite attractive and I'd like to see her start getting a few more roles. My wife also really enjoyed Seo Ji Hoon (but I have no idea why, since to me he was completely unremarkable). The rest of the cast was truly disappointing. Lee Yeol Eum, so good in High School King of Savvy, flops hard here. She needs a better director or a better character to play. She had basically no personality. Lee Jung Shin was charming and funny, but overacted hard at times. Lee Joo Hyung was aggressively unlikable. The rest were totally forgettable.
TBH, the pace of the drama probably hurts this category more than the actual actors. Not only is it short, but a lot of time is wasted. So we don't get to really linger with the characters and get to know them. So the actors, by default then, have a lot less to work with when trying to build their characters.
MUSIC here is decent, with at least one pretty good vocal theme, and the REWATCH VALUE is pretty low, being saved only by the early comedy and the final episode.
OVERALL
Believe everyone who says that Longing Heart could have been even shorter than it already is and not have lost anything. While the show is sweet and simple, it's also mostly dull and really spends an awful lot of time in flashbacks of things we've seen, sometimes as recently as 60 seconds prior. This, though, is balanced by some really good humor and a few nice plot twists and surprises, making it a quick watch that shouldn't bring too much regret with it.
FINAL SCORE: 7/10
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STORY
Yes, I gave it a 10 in the Story category. And no, that isn't post-romance butterflies dancing in my heart (although I do have those). I tried really hard to find something in the story I didn't like, but there just wasn't anything. There wasn't a bad episode, a slow start, or a poorly handled cliché. There were clichés of course, but they were done so well that I couldn't justify docking points in this category.
There really aren't any weak moments in the show. It never becomes too tragic, too sappy, too silly, or too dramatic. While the portrayal of Korean politics feels absurd throughout, the characters feel exactly real enough to sell the whole thing. All About My Romance gives audiences a beautiful, classic story of love blooming despite social boundaries: boundaries of family, past, and ideology.
First, you have the two leads. I can't explain the chemistry between the two of them in text. You just have to see it for yourselves. Even before they realize how they feel about each other, I was already telling my wife "I want to see SO MUCH MORE of the two of them together". The second lead characters are particularly well-written, too, though. Although they both could easily have fit the role of "Uninspired Villain", the writers avoided using that easy crutch and instead gave us two great, likable, and sympathetic second leads. As good as the OTP is, the second leads here add just as much to this story.
On top of all of this, halfway through the drama, they bluntly and suddenly drop a massive plot twist on you that completely changes the interpersonal landscape of the plot. It turns out that one of the Supporting characters, who acts quite suspiciously throughout, is not at all who the audience is led to believe he/she is. This twist transforms a potential villain into a sympathetic character in one fell swoop, and it's not until the twist that you're likely to understand this character's actions. The seeds of this twist are sewn throughout the plot perfectly, and once it lands you'll think back to several scenes and go "Oh, THAT'S what that was all about!"
Lastly, the cinematography here is much more creative and beautiful than you usually get from a drama, too. You'll see a lot of great shots and some fantastic framing that really adds dramatic punch to several story moments.
ACTING/CAST
The four Lead Roles are so stellar here that I really wanted to give another 10. I can't imagine anyone ever tiring of their character portrayals here. All 4 get to flex their substantial acting muscles across the kdrama spectrum: comedy, melodrama, physical humor and stunts, romance, and even some worthwhile reaction shots. It's a drama tour de force among these 4.
Shin Ha Kyun is utterly hilarious, and manly enough to turn even my wife's head (not easy to do). I really doubt anyone could watch this and not fall for his performance here. In fact, he has one of the all-time greatest acting moments I have ever seen in about Episode 3 (iirc), where his character realizes, undeniably, in the middle of a political meeting, that he has fallen in love. It's a moment I would love to see again and again. Major kudos to Shin Ha Kyun for it, and the entirety of his work in All About My romance.
Lee Min Jung is... well, I'll get to her later.
Park Hee Soon plays a role that's a bit unusual for him but he absolutely knocks it out of the park. When I first saw his character, I thought "Why did they get someone so ugly to play a romantic second lead?" And yet, his ugliness became part of his charm as the show marched on. I don't know how else to explain it.
And I loved Han Chae Ah the first moment I saw her. In fact, she was the first thing that I laughed my head off at in Episode 1. She was funny and attractive and her portrayal of a beautiful woman who loved to be hated by the men in her life really resonated with me.
The only reason I didn't give it a 10 is because the Supporting cast, while very good, is not quite as strong as it could be. And, to be fair, Han Chae Ah loses a tiny bit of her spark toward the end when she isn't allowed to do as much comedy as I would have liked. Still, there's only nitpicks that can be leveled at this. It's a fantastic cast. I give Supporting Cast Honorable Mention here to Kim Hye Ok. For an "old ahjumma", she's quite charming here, and utterly hilarious.
Before I move on, though, here is where I simply have to say a special word about Lee Min Jung. First of all, she may have the most beautiful face in the world. I don't feel like I'm exaggerating much there. She's at least in the running for that award. But beyond that, she was born to play a role like this. Why? Her eyes. In All About My Romance, LMJ plays a tough and independent politician who, while still making a modest effort to be attractive, actively avoids romantic entanglements. But when confronted with somebody who cares about her unconditionally, despite the million reasons he has not to, she exhibits a vulnerability underneath all that bluster that reaches levels of charm that defy description. And it's her exceptional eyes that really pull off that combo. She is able to switch from "defiant" to "scared", or "angry" to "thrilled", in just a flicker of her eyes. And if you're a sucker like me, your heart will be pulled helplessly along. It has been a good long while since I have pined for an actress as much as I have for Lee Min Jung in this role.
MUSIC
First of all, listen to the main theme "I Love You" by Akdong Musician: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvQu63cMQ0w
Have you listened to it? Wasn't it cute? That's as cute as this whole show is. This song will get you bobbing your head every time, and you'll smile every time you hear the adorable "I love you!" that the female singer blurts out at the end.
Beyond that one song, though, the incidental music here is better than you'll get in most dramas. There's actual style to the background music, with various European instrumentations, instead of your usual Korean Drama Synth Philharmonic that comes standard on 80% of kdrama. I love it.
REWATCH VALUE
I don't normally score shows this high, but the sheer amount of adorable scenes, hilarious moments, romantic mishaps, and plot twist hints all through the drama make it very rewatchable. If I were ever to go back and rewatch EVERY episode of a drama, it would be this one, simply to see everything again with a fresh perspective, knowing how it all ends and what twists are coming.
BOTTOM LINE
As near to being a perfect drama as you can get without actually being Healer, All About My Romance joins Fated To Love You and Oh My Venus on my Top 3 Romantic Comedies list. It has everything anyone would ever want from this genre, and more. If you're a rom-com fan and you haven't seen this one, there is literally (LITERALLY) no reason whatsoever for you to pass this one up.
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STORY
Easily the weakest aspect of this show, the plot revolves around a perfect and adorable angel named Lee So Young, played by Jang Na Ra, and a sweet-but-dorky man named Choi Jin Wook, played by Daniel Choi, as they attempt to be normal nice people in a sea of selfish morons in the fashion industry. While these two start off their relationship like a cat and dog, they eventually grow closer to each other through your typical dramatic happenstance. While there are a handful of other likable and interesting characters, where the Story really struggles is with its villains, their motivations, the pacing, and the supporting characters.
The villains here are horrible, and not really in a good way. There's no dancing around it. They are evil just to be evil. If they had mustaches, they would twirl them in every single scene they're in. There's no deep exploration of the villain's motivations. In fact, the following is a paraphrase of a conversation with the villain toward the end of the show:
Good guy: "Why did you do all those horrible things?"
Villain: "I wanted to."
Good guy: "That's it?"
Villain: "Yep."
So expect to be furious and frustrated with all of the scheming going on in this story, especially when it's directed toward Lee So Young. While shallow villains can work, there need to be truly good characters there to balance it out and give the audience a break from the villainy. Unfortunately, this show's truly good and unselfish characters can be counted on one hand. Almost everyone does something stupid and/or mean at some point. And to make things worse, Lee So Young is constantly scolded, humiliated, and punished at every turn while the villains simply do not face any consequences for their actions whatsoever. While I can tell you that the payoff is nice, getting there is an exercise in self-control.
But the Story isn't all bad. Far from it. Enter: Ji Seung Il, played by Ryu Jin. His character absolutely shines here, and you could argue that his is the most interesting character to follow, since he exhibits some of the most growth. His character becomes embroiled in one of the most effective and interesting love triangles I have seen in kdrama. Even though you'll root for the OTP, you WILL be conflicted every time Ryu Jin is onscreen.
Cliché-wise, you'll also have a little bit of Noble Idiocy to torture you toward the climax of the show, but it won't come in a way you would expect. It's interesting and will keep you hooked.
But really what the story comes down to is two insanely adorable people growing into one of the most insanely adorable couples you're likely to see on television. If you like cute romance, ignore everything I typed above and make this your next drama.
ACTING/CAST
Believe all of the comments you've read about this show being worth watching just because of Jang Na Ra and Daniel Choi. Believe all of the hype. These two are not only precious together, they're hilarious. Daniel Choi brings a sense of humor and a childlike charm to the leading man role that I have never seen in a drama before. He is legitimately funny. Jang Na Ra, of course, exhibits everything that has made her famous: those emotional eyes, that sense of vulnerability, that unique face. You'll get all of it in spades. No Jang Na Ra fan should miss her performance here.
The rest of the cast works, although I insist that Kim Min Seo simply gets repeatedly miscast, as she is here. Ryu Jin is awesome, despite not needing to do much with the role. Ahn Seo Hyun will grow on you quickly. Kim Mi Kyung is a gravitational force all her own. And you'll really enjoy Hyeon Yong and Yoo Tae Woong, too.
MUSIC
Really, the music here is largely good enough to receive at least a 9/10. As with any good vocal tracks, you'll find yourself humming along to a lot of the songs, or singing them out loud to yourself at times while inventing your own lyrics. They're quite good. Not only that, but the incidental music stood out as well. Rather than being "mood noise", the incidental music had distinction and personality.
Special credit goes to Jang Na Ra for singing more than one of the songs on this OST. She actually sings a song in character in Episode 8 and it's one of the best scenes in the show. Obviously Na Ra herself has a lot to do with that, but the song stands on it's own merits. It's lovely and adorable and you'll want to hear it again and again. Although I can't link you to any of the exceptional incidental themes, a few of them will have you bobbing your head and feeling warm just at the sound of them.
However, I ended up docking BFB a half point here because some of the incidental music was misused. There were a handful of scenes where basically nothing of consequence happened, but the music was overly dramatic. Took me out of the moment. This was rare, though.
REWATCH VALUE
This is definitely the kind of drama that bears rewatching. When all you want to do is feel warm and fuzzy and see cuteness again, Baby-Faced Beauty has you covered. Whether it's going back to an early episode and seeing So Young and Jin Wook fighting comically or rewatching how they slowly become close, none of it is boring. The terrible villains and wildly overdone plot devices hurt it here, but ultimately there's going to be plenty here that you wouldn't mind seeing twice.
BOTTOM LINE
Baby-Faced Beauty gets an 8/10 from me, and 6 of those 8 points are for Jang Na Ra and Daniel Choi. For any fan of either, this is a must watch. For rom-com fans, this is a must watch. For anyone else, there's honestly not a lot here for you.
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Story:
The entire premise is lovely, and definitely works as a rom-com. However, there are a few small problems here. There are hilarious misunderstandings everywhere, yes, but also a few very frustrating ones. Some serious writing sins are committed here as well. For example, for the cliffhanger ending for one particular episode, one of the myriad misunderstandings between two of the main characters gets cleared up, which will change the nature of the relationship between the two. As a result, at the episode cliffhanger, one of the characters makes what amounts to a heavily-implied confession, speaking a couple of the most overtly romantic and affectionate lines in the entire script. At the start of the next episode, the two characters are nonchalantly acting like it never happened, with no explanation, and no in-dialogue reference back to it is ever made ever again. Unforgivable. However, this is really the only "unforgivable" sin the show makes, which means it comes off cleaner than most dramas in the Story department.
There is at least one big Impossible Coincidence cliché. Also, don't let this show's promotional pictures fool you: there's almost none of that kind of sweet relationship stuff in this show, so don't go in expecting it. In the romance department, this is a massive 16-hour tease. But as teases go, this one is a lot of fun. The romantic tension between the two main characters never really gets old or stale, despite the constant teasing, misunderstanding, and generally idiotic behavior. And to add to that, there's a secondary romance plot here that is one of the sweetest and cutest romance stories in all of drama. So if you love cute romance, you won't want to miss that.
The comedy here is gold, as well. It's probably the most legitimately funny drama I have seen since You Who Came From The Star or Fated To Love You. While most of the laughs predictably come from misunderstandings, the showrunners here got creative with some comedy, using some special effects and some parody at random times that send the show into the realm of the "absurd". None of these moments feel gratuitous or cheap, though, and the touches of silliness keep everything fun.
Acting/Cast:
Is there anyone more beautiful in all of Korea than Kang So Ra? I have no shame admitting that I came to this drama just for her, but I fell in love with the rest of the cast as well. Kang So Ra and Yoo Yoon Seok are really quite adorable together. So Ra's heartfelt earnestness will command your attention here and she continues to be perhaps THE most believable actress in drama. She can act the most absurd and unrealistic scenes and still come out feeling genuinely human. This believability works to greatest effect when she's crying. I first fell in love with her in Doctor Stranger when she cried, and her tears in this role destroyed my heart as well. She's the best part of any drama she's in.
Yoo Yoon Seok is kind of a "love or hate" actor, but his unique looks work perfectly for this role. The puppy eyes and pouty lips are used to maximum effect, so if that's your thing, prepare to get wrecked. If you find that annoying, he may still win you over in the end, as he did me. He plays a character that is oddly easy to root for.
Jung Jin Young is adorable as heck here. Dude's face is irritatingly perfect and his character here is one of the best. Written as kind of a "stand in" for the audience, you'll always love everything his character does. If you're a fan of Jin Young, Warm and Cozy is a must-watch.
Seo Yi Ahn has quite a talent for playing a villainess. She is the most "hateable" person I have ever seen in any drama. She is seriously awful here, which is perfect. Props to her for acting the crap out of this role.
Kim Sung Oh is an absolute revelation in his role as Town Mayor. The first time you see his character, you won't think anything of him. His quick transformation from "random weird-looking dude" to "wow I really like this guy" is one of the best parts of this drama. I first saw Sung Oh in Midas (which I dropped) and didn't even recognize him here. Based on Midas, I would never have guessed he had this kind of memorable performance in him. I defy anyone to watch this and not totally embrace his character by the end.
You'll also want to get to know Kim Hee Jung and Lee Sung Jae. Together, they're maybe the best and most memorable part of the show. Hee Jung may be well into her 40s, but she could almost rival So Ra in beauty. Ignore her terrible MDL headshot, she's seriously attractive in this drama. As for Lee Sung Jae, his character's looks and mannerisms are so cool and awesome he can even make a confident and secure guy like myself feel inadequate. You'll want to see these two act together as often as possible.
Music:
I'm hardly a music expert, but I know what sounds good and I know what's memorable. The vocal themes in Warm and Cozy are quite strong, particularly "A Little Closer" and "Butterfly". However, the non-vocal music was even more memorable, in my book. They got truly creative with a few of the themes, particularly with "(Lala Theme)" and the Mayor's Theme, both of which I found myself humming every time they came on. Also, if you love acoustic guitar and you want a treat, check out "Funning Guitar" and "I Missing You" from this soundtrack.
NOTE: A few months after I originally wrote this review, I went back and bumped the score on the Music category from a 9.5 to a 10. Amongst its kdrama peers, this show simply soars above them in this category. No other drama I have ever seen uses Music as effectively as Warm & Cozy to get across mood and emotion. I originally left it at a 9.5 because I am always hesitant to give out 10s, but over time it has become apparent to me that if this show isn't worthy of a 10 in Music, no show is.
Rewatch Value:
While not exactly chock full of amazing sequences that you just have to go back and see, this drama still has rewatch value for the mood it sets. If you want something simple and heartwarming, any random episode of this show will achieve that feeling for you. Not only that, but a lot of the humor is worth seeing multiple times. Especially do sequences like "the arm wrestling competition" and "the Mayor's identical siblings" stand out in my mind as things I'd like to go back and see. However, the constant teasing of the main pairing here hurts the rewatch value, as the two characters too often act like morons, which is frustrating enough to see just the once.
To wrap-up, this a sweet and cute rom-com that has plenty of value to make it worth watching. If you don't like rom-com, this won't convert you, but if you do, then you have no reason whatsoever to skip this one. Grab some hot tea or a snack and start the first episode. You won't regret it.
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Please do not watch this drama.
Watching "The Light in Your Eyes" is like settling down in front of a campfire, ready for the storyteller to begin his story, but instead, he starts spitting in your face and laughing at you while shouting "That's life, SUCKER!!" That's not storytelling, that's assault. And that's what you're basically signing up for by watching this drama.
You'll spend hours and hours watching characters be miserable, slowly start to grow and learn lessons, only for the writers to throw in a twist at the 11th hour that renders meaningless every single episode that came before. This drama takes great pains to establish rules, characters, and moments for you to become invested in, and then completely throws all of them away, amounting to nothing but wasted hours of your life. The sudden shift in the drama's direction is so jarring that I wouldn't be surprised if the writing team was completely changed halfway through. A perfect example of what I'm talking about: they literally change the main character of the show in the last episode. The first male lead actually disappears; no resolution, no ending, no future. He finishes the show as an unimportant side character who we barely know. Important plot elements set up at the beginning are, by the end, either 1) completely ignored and given no resolution/explanation, or 2) handwaved away with the laziest and most trite writing cliches in existence. It's so bad that I can't read the MDL synopsis of this show without feeling like it's nothing but a collection of lies.
I'm baffled that anything this inexcusably poor, this aggressively disrespectful to its audience, could ever make it to the airwaves. What's worse is that there are aspects of the production that are high quality. 77-year-old actress Kim Hye Ja is amazing, bringing energy and believability to her role, despite her age and the demands of a full drama shooting schedule. Kim Ga Eun portrayed a character who was rather like an island in the storm for me in this terrible drama, as almost every scene with her was great, even though most of them were completely pointless, just like every other scene in this show. Episodes 10 and 12 were fairly well done, and Ahn Nae Sang absolutely hit it out of the park in 12.
Other than those things, positive aspects to this show are very few and far between.
So again, I beg you: please, please do not watch this drama. Show yourself a little love, put it on "Not Interested", and never think about it again.
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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny
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The next most important part: if you really loved the original movie, you should probably stay away from this. They're nothing alike.
The original Crouching Tiger was an absolutely beautiful and sincere film, a movie that had important things to say while the action choreography was simply the dessert course of the experience. On top of that, everything about it worked: the performances of the actors, the script, the music, the cinematography, the costumes, the locations, and of course the action choreography were all unimpeachable. One of the cinematic masterpieces of our time.
Unfortunately, as you might have guessed, none of that can be said about the sequel. What's really sad was that it had potential, and you can see it during the first third of the film. Some of the character and plot ideas they have, specifically in building Yeoh's legendary Shu Lien and using the Green Destiny sword as the center of the conflict, are actually good. And the execution is there for the first 30 or 40 minutes. But after that, the film completely loses the plot (literally). It just devolves into a bunch of meaningless nonsense, filled with mediocre-to-good martial arts choreography (punctuated by one truly impressive battle on a frozen lake) and some pointless and emotionless character deaths. The villains are almost nonexistent. One of them (who kills like half of the film's main characters) has no introduction or story at all. And the other, the film's main villain, has the most tenuous motivations, making it difficult to really care about who he is or why the heroes should defeat him. Another villain uses magic for no reason. This is sort of like what you would get if they made an action-movie sequel to Pride & Prejudice or something (I joke, but something close to that was actually made).
STORY: 4/10
- The script is terrible. Starts off with promise, but then just decides to skip the plot and jump right to the fight scenes. There's no satisfying character growth or resolution. The last line of spoken narration falls so flat it's almost like the film is making sure that you know that it had nothing to say.
ACTING/CAST: 8/10
- The acting is bland. 7 of the 8 points I gave this are entirely because of Michelle Yeoh and Donnie Yen. But honestly, Yeoh is not nearly her best here and needs a director like Ang Lee to really shine. Yuen Wo-Ping (the director here in the sequel) does a fine job with the camera work, but doesn't know how to get the best out of his cast. Besides Yeoh, Donnie Yen is his usual watchable self, but doesn't get enough to work with. The rest of the cast is serviceable. They (mostly) know how to act and do stunts, but that's about all you can say about them.
MUSIC: 7.5/10
- The music is actually quite good, if not nearly as memorable as the original's.
REWATCH VALUE: 3/10
- 3 points in case you want to see any of the fight scenes again. 0 Rewatch Value in the story.
MISCELLANIOUS:
- The costuming and sets were fine and it all looked good on film, but it lacked the believability of the first film, and everything felt very small-scale.
- The cinematography was probably the best part of the movie. Very nice camera work here.
- The action choreography is bordering on "vanilla" for this genre. They get creative in a few places, but most of the major battles lack a satisfying climax.
OVERALL: 6/10
- Don't watch this directly after watching the original if you want to enjoy this movie. Otherwise, there's a little fun to be had here as long as you're not expecting anything grand.
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Thank You, But No, Thank You
When it's 2021 and you decide to watch a drama from 14 years ago, you really have to go into it with an open mind. Unfortunately, not even the most open mind can save Thank You, which, despite having some value, is almost entirely a dismal, dull, and directionless experience with only sparse amounts of real entertainment value to be found throughout its 16 episodes.STORY
The concept of the story here is a good one: writing around an adorable little girl living with AIDS (Lee Bom, played by Seo Shin Ae) is a brave premise, and using it tackle head-on the overwhelming fear and superstition surrounding AIDS that the Korean population at large struggled with at the time is very interesting. As if that wasn't enough, Thank You also tries to take on dementia/aging as main themes as well, so you get a cornucopia of uncomfortable subjects to chew on here.
The problem is that the show doesn't surround these themes with enough heart, and the entire plot is told with all the joy of a funeral service. Make no mistake: this is 16 hours of miserable people being miserable. Every time you think they will break the agony up with some joy, they ruin it in short order, usually with one or more characters behaving idiotically with zero justification.
Another huge problem is the problematic portrayal of paternity and the rights of fathers presented here. One of the characters in the show is, in fact, the biological father of the Lee Bom character, but at no point does the show address or explore his rights as her father. Indeed, it seems that the audience is meant to view it as *a matter of course* that he has no rights at all. This is not exactly a balanced view of the subject, and an omission in the writing made all the more glaring by the fact that much of the rest of the drama does actually achieve a level of nuance and thoughtfulness in some of the themes.
Overall, though, there is a LOT of wasted time in this drama: characters behaving like idiots for no reason, characters who don't matter *at all* and have nothing of interest to contribute getting entirely too much screen time, and of course lots and lots and lots of the main characters just staring at each other endlessly.
The best part of the story is Lee Bom, not just because she is achingly precious and easy to love with your whole heart, but because she is the most genuine and straightforward character in the show. She is almost an audience surrogate, saying and doing the things we all wish everyone else was saying and doing but aren't because they are deeply stupid (and/or poorly-written). Lee Bom is an excellent communicator in a drama full of some of the worst communicators in the medium.
And the stupidest and most infuriating character of all? The female first lead, Lee Young Shin, played by the wonderful Gong Hyo Jin. This character takes the "woebegone doormat" trope of first-leads and cranks it all the way to 11: she consistently takes every possible abuse with head bowed and a "thank you" on her lips (the title of the drama is literally a reference to this), and yet whenever literally anyone even attempts to offer her some actual support and love, she responds with anger and rejection. And what is her justification for this? There is none, and she makes no attempt to have one. She is just painfully, terminally stupid. That's it.
While the story does indeed build to a few moments of beauty and emotional payoff, it is on the whole a letdown and a test of patience to get through.
ACTING/CAST
The one "saving grace" of this show, if you can call it that. The four lead characters are all perfectly cast and they all do their best, but even though three of them are absolute legends, even they don't quite live up to their potential. Or rather, perhaps they have not yet fully mastered their craft. I will say that Gong Hyo Jin is pretty much exactly as good as you'll ever see her, but both Jang Hyuk and Shin Sung Rok haven't fully captured their famous magnetism and charisma just yet. Jang Hyuk is very far along in his maturation by this point, but Shin Sung Rok was exceptionally poor here. He honestly barely acts at all, and the few times he pulls something real out on camera, the poor directing and editing nearly ruin it. It should be pointed out, though, that he doesn't have a lot to work with in the script.
Of course, the real shining star of this drama and the one thing that kept me watching until the end is Seo Shin Ae as Lee Bom. At the tender age of 8 years old, it's absurd how engaging and genuine her performance is. Consistently funny, consistently heartbreaking, and believable throughout, Seo Shin Ae brought to life the most perfect little angel, and if you decide to watch this (don't) despite reading my review (don't watch it, really), I can at least guarantee that you will love and adore and want to protect little Lee Bom every time she is on screen (but don't bother watching this unless you hate yourself). Despite being an 8-year-old, she does the fewest stupid things out of everyone in the show, so very little gets in the way of fully and deeply adoring her, like I did.
MUSIC
Even the music in this show was annoying! There's a song that plays for basically *every* "sad scene" and it is incredibly obnoxious. It's just a man humming something that is supposed to sound mournful, but it's annoying the first time you hear it and then so overused that it actually made Wife and I *laugh* during sad scenes. I imitate the song at home now whenever I want to get a reaction from Wife. It's literally become a meme in our home.
The rest of the OST here is.... forgettable, and far too many sequences go by with no music at all. Overall, not great efforts here.
REWATCH VALUE
Why in the name of all that is good would anyone watch this a SECOND TIME??? I know the answer to that: Seo Shin Ae is stupidly adorable and could merit going back to gawk at how good she is here (hence, all 5 points of the 5/10 score I gave this here). There is also a scene where Jang Hyuk chops firewood where he is clearly doing a lot of ad-libbing and it's pretty great. But that's about it for memorably good scenes.
But seriously, this drama was painful enough the first time, I cannot imagine having such a small amount of respect for your own limited lifespan as to waste finite hours on REWATCHING this deeply flawed, largely boring, and ultimately miserable show. I'm annoyed enough at myself for not only finishing it, but taking the time to even review it. Ugh.
OVERALL
Thank You can really be summed up in one of its final scenes: the two lead characters, still not having communicated anything of importance to one another at any point, stare at each other for what feels like a solid two minutes. And they say nothing. And nothing is resolved. It is the final infuriating missed opportunity that this show lets go whooshing by without utilizing.
Do not watch Thank You. Don't. Just don't. Unless you want to hate watch, or you just *really* want to see some of your favorite actors doing their thing except 14 years younger. If that describes you... fine, give it a shot. But if you want good kdrama? Skip this, forget it exists, and watch these amazing actors in literally anything else.
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