There are reasons I haven't reviewed City Hunter here. For instance I don't want the Lee Min Ho fangirls to downvote my review like crazy just for stating what I honestly felt about the drama. It's a fact that I rated it 7.5 stars while 'Faith' gets an 8 from me. Execution-wise, Faith may lack City Hunter's slickness or tempo or glamour but it makes up for everything with the inclusion of the sweetest romance ever. I have watched LMH with Goo Hye Sun and Park Min Young before this too but boy his chemistry with Kim Hee Sun in this one is totally off the charts. In every scene they appear together, they are virtually shooting sparks. And to think they have a 10-year wide age gap. This just goes to show that good acting trumps everything else.

Faith's other strong point is obviously Kim Hee Sun. In the first couple of episodes she may come off as slightly airhead-ish, babbling non-stop like a teenager but once you learn that under the facade of this relentless bubbliness, there is a headstrong, intelligent, sassy woman who takes no shit from anyone you will find yourself charmed by her antics. I came to this drama to verify whether Lee Min Ho can actually act or not and was pleasantly surprised. I think this is the only show in which LMH gets into a character rather than acting out the part of a rich, entitled brat/superhero-lite. Choi Young's vulnerability, his heroism in the face of defeat and danger, his emotional scars, his unwavering love for Eun Soo all come through quite wonderfully in Lee Min Ho's performance. And I think Kim Hee Sun's excellent excellent acting may have helped things along in this regard. Only she could have made Eun Soo so endearing, earnest and believable.

The direction is not the drama's strength. In fact it flounders so badly, that there is a constant discrepancy between a scene's emotional content and the actual screenplay. Badass fights look distinctly less impressive because of the choppy editing and shabby production values. There are so many plot loopholes in the drama that one can drive a truck through all of them put together. Several plot devices are rehashed time and again to advance the story and the fantasy bits are rather badly juxtaposed with the realistic bits. The X-Men-ish premise makes zero sense. One wonders if there were indeed X-Men like warriors in Goryeo, why the hell did they not organize themselves against Yuan? Also Young's superhuman powers were rarely used in the drama so I am not sure what was the point of giving him the ability to shoot lightning anyway. Excellency Deuk Heung made for a worthier villain than Gi Cheol who sort of degenerated into a caricature by the end methinks.

I would have liked the time-travelling bits to have been more fleshed out so that we could understand better the past and future Eun Soo's struggles to reach Young across the fabric of space-time. It was probably one of the only plot threads that could have made for interesting viewing but remained sadly underutilized.

Long story short, Faith isn't the best sageuk-fantasy out there (that honour goes to Arang and the Magistrate) and has a shitton of narrative flaws. But it has its heart in the right place. If for nothing else, watch this for Young and Eun Soo's impossible love that develops gradually and becomes the show's only lifeblood. In my opinion, this is one of the best romantic relationship portrayals in all of Kdrama history.

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Get this. I came to this drama after finishing with City Hunter which for some obscure reason I did not finish watching back when it was airing in 2011. And I have rated City Hunter 7.5 stars. So what makes me me rate a big budget blockbuster hit drama like City Hunter which has spawned remakes in other countries lower than a measly slice of life fare starring almost no young faces or A-listers?

Simple. The Story. If that title makes you think of a frothy rom com in which all conflicts will be easily resolved by the end to offer up only kisses and laughter, you are sorely mistaken. This is not a rom com. At all. It features 6 main characters, four of whom are already in the sunset of life, trying to find ways to make the remainder of their lives meaningful when they are mostly invisible and unimportant in the eyes of the people around them. So what is this show about then? It is about the capacity for love, it is about the courage to stay true to that love even when situations turn hostile. It is also about reclaiming one's dignity in an age when the world around you has mostly written you off as an unproductive member of society. It is about the heart-wrenching sacrifices parents make for their children to be able to lead peaceful and happy lives. Honestly, I have watched very few slice of life K dramas to make a comparative judgment, but this is easily one of the best ones I have watched in the genre since the last few episodes had me reaching for the tissue box more than once.

The halbaes and the halmaes steal the show here and Lee Soon Jae as the curmudgeonly, ill-tempered Gim Man Seok is at his best (when is he not?). I came to this drama for very shallow reasons...mainly to watch the SS501 maknae Kim Hyung Jun romance a lady again and hopefully get the girl this time (he does!!) but I stayed for the drama's real merits and its wonderful life-affirming message of the importance of the rights of the elderly. The drama exposes how cruelly complicit a society is in mistreating its older citizens and establishes how their trials and tribulations are every bit as worthy of being the core thematic essence in a drama as the romantic affairs and existential crises of the young.

Of course, the acting is not always at par. And much of the editing seem a little rough around the edges. For instance, the actress who plays an Alzheimer's patient often overacts while some of Gim Yeon Ah and Jeong Min Chae's co-workers are a bit OTT. But overall, the cast is more or less bearable.

It is sad that dramas like this go under the radar and candyflossy, high-budgeted dramas with little to no thematic merit, get rave reviews everywhere.

If your hunt for subs has been unsuccessful so far, go check the darksmurfsub page for this one. They have the auto-translated subs, translated from Chinese. They are nothing like fan-edited subs but they give you a gist of every conversation.

All in all, this is a drama I would recommend to those who do not mind a slow-paced tv show with its heart in the right place.

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Honestly, the only reason I picked this one up because I needed something light, frothy and candyflossy to de-stress at the end of the day. And it served its purpose well for about up to episode 4-5. Then all hell breaks loose and all the familiar, annoying K-drama cliches are paraded one by one in a measly effort to progress the plot - jealous interfering ex-wife, typical-nice-guy second male lead, makjang-y secrets from the past involving accidental death of mothers. You name it.

It's not like the drama had a lot of things going for it - Yun Ho is at best a mediocre actor who has finally managed to get rid of his onscreen stiffness while the whatshername actress doesn't fit the cutesy role because more often than not I found her irritating rather than innocent or naive. (Who the hell wears such adorkable dresses and rainbow-hued skirts to work?) And yet the writer went ahead and destroyed the one thing that the drama served up well - flirty banter, aegyo-filled scenes, hot kissing and skinship. Another thing which galled me to no end was how quickly the guy went from 0-interest to let's-kiss-like-we-want-to-screw-against-the-wall-level-interest. There was absolutely no build up to the romance. Further melodrama and an excess of glycerine in a rom com is a deal-breaker. Especially melodrama that makes no logical sense whatsoever. So long story short, if you are looking for straight out hearty fun, lots of laughs and rom-comy goodness, you are better off looking elsewhere.

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You know how pre-watch hype and the burden of expectations squashes enjoyment? Well that's what happened to me here. I had gone in anticipating edge-of-the-seat suspense moments and a genuinely thrilling storyline but what I got was an elementary school kid's idea of a half-baked murder mystery. Yoo Seung Ho (when was the guy not a great actor?) is great here as is Kang So Ra but what kills the movie is its wafer thin plot, abundance of character cliches and shoddy performances put in by the rest of the cast. The comic scenes come off as forced, the murder bits are mundane and bland and the end reveal of the killer absolutely bleh. If you, like me, are a veritable fan of crime thrillers then the murder and crime solving aspect of the movie will absolutely fail at garnering a reaction. The one redeeming aspect of the film is its short length and the two Yoo Seung Ho-Kang Sora kisses and their general chemistry. I mean the guy knew how to kiss at sixteen. Holy wow!

So watch this if you are into Seung Ho and So Ra. If you are looking for a genuinely intriguing murder mystery which gives rise to moments full of nail-biting tension or gets you to care about the crime and its resolution, you will probably be wasting your time watching this.

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How I loved this season of Let's Eat. For those of you uninitiated into the Let's Eat fandom, you can probably guess that there's foodporn involved here. Lots of it. And heartwarming drama, comedy and slice of life elements which made the first season so popular despite the fact that the makers had steered clear of any promotion blitzkrieg.
Season 2 takes us through the lives of residents in a Sejong villa away from the hustle and bustle of Seoul. So long story short, in thematic terms it utilizes the same elements from the first season - urban alienation and loneliness, the dangers faced by single women living all on their own, and the way food brings people closer together and forges relationships between the lonely and the lovelorn. But really, what makes Let's Eat 2 much more special is the relationship between the male and female leads. Because nowhere else in the broad spectrum of Kdramas have I seen such an authentic portrayal of friendship between a man and a woman. (Not even in 9 End 7 Outs was the friendship between Su Ae and Lee Jung Jin so wonderfully depicted)

Fat-shaming of women is another important issue which the writer has handled as realistically as possible without becoming overtly preachy about it. I was relieved to see Soo Ji coming to terms with her low self-esteem issues which eventually allowed her to see Dae Young and her own relationship in its true light.

Also that particular bit where Dae Young makes the grand declaration that Soo Ji is a kind and fun and pretty woman who deserves to be loved probably remains one of my favorite indirect confession scenes in all Kdrama history. Way to make a woman swoon and move her emotionally, Dae Young!

In terms of acting, Yoon Doo Joon did extremely well as the somewhat smarmy, somewhat sneaky and sharp but adorable and kind Dae Young. And Seo Hyun Jin brought Baek Soo Ji's earnestness and her naivete to life like nobody's business. Nowhere in the drama did her hysterics or anger seem out of place or unwarranted. The side characters' stories were a bit underplayed in this instalment but the fantastic chemistry between the leads made up for everything else. In fact I wouldn't mind watching this one again. My only complaint is that the angst was kind of drawn out in the last 5-6 episodes. DY and SJ could have gotten together much earlier and we would have been blessed with a few more romantic/cute scenes.

So those who are still hesitant about watching this because there's no Lee Soo Kyung here, no need to worry. Because romance and friendship-wise, this drama serves up a much more delicious offering than its predecessor.

Now for a season 3. Make it happen producers!

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Let's just say I was one of those people who actually wanted to root for this drama. I have never seen Ahn Jae Hyun in anything else but I liked him in the beginning. Playing a vampire does not require a huge acting range. You can act broody and intense without needing to have 10 years' worth of acting experience. The beginning too was good. Finally a take on vampirism where it is an actual medical condition instead of a myth. That was quite interesting, writer-nim. Brownie points to you for that. Ji Sang's youthful looks were because he stopped ageing at some point. And as for the villain, he wanted the whole world to benefit from a condition like vampirism instead of it being treated as some medical evil. I loved your use of rationale in certain cases. I even loved all the information on biochemistry that is relentlessly hurled at the viewer.

But seriously what happened to you after the first 5 episodes? The moment Ji Sang stopped performing surgeries all I saw was him taking leisurely strolls all around the damned hospital and meeting either the Director or Yoo Ri Ta or Min Ga Yeon or Dr Joo, talking about all kinds of useless stuff and nothing else. Hello PD-nim, instead of overloading my brain with information, just show me through actual action. Too much exposition ruins any narrative.
And the romance? Uh why did they fall in love again? I'm sorry I just don't understand. Am I supposed to swoon at them mouthing lines swearing undying love for each other with not an ounce of emotion in them? It seemed like Ri Ta kept throwing herself at Ji Sang who was not even interested. And then all of a sudden, he is interested for lord knows what reason. (Oh wait it's because of their cosmic connection..he saved her from all those bad CG, Twilight-rip-off wolves....oooooh shooo romantic!)
I did not even think their scenes cute.

And somewhere around episodes 8-9 it all went downhill. The same things kept happening on infinite loop. Let me list them -
1)Ji Sang and Director having some kind of confrontational conversation in which sometimes they attack and snarl at each other and sometimes they don't. YAWN!
2)Token romantic scenes between Yoo Ri Ta and Ji Sang which were anything but romantic (who the hell calls their girlfriend/boyfriend 'Doctor Yoo' and 'Chief'?)
3)Walking around the hospital
4)Conversation between Ji Sang and VTH-16 researcher doctor
5)Ji Sang fighting off vampires and mostly getting beaten
6)Chairman and Associate Director having boring passive-aggressive conversations
7)More walking around the hospital
8)Min Ga Yeon and Ji Sang scenes which were too few
9)Patients in ward 21A going bonkers
10)More walking

The only portions I looked forward to where the parts featuring Sister Sylvia, Hyun Woo and Min Ga Yeon and Ji Sang's interactions which were actually genuine and made me feel something for them. They did not come off as forced and contrived unlike the Yoo Ri Ta and Ji Sang scenes. Even Ji Jin Hee couldn't save this trainwreck and he tried his best to make Jae Wook memorable!

And don't even get me started on the ending. What the hell happened? It was like the writer picked out every nonsensical, irrational cliche from the dramaverse and crammed all of them into an hour's worth of time.

Dear writer-nim, do us a favour and DO NOT EVER WRITE A DRAMA AGAIN. I feel like jumping off a bridge after watching that atrocious finale. I want those 20 hours of my life back! And this is coming from a busy person who no longer has sufficient time to watch all the K dramas she wants to watch.

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It's interesting how having lower expectations increases your ability to appreciate a drama better.
Despite its short length and the limited scope to prove its mettle, Unemployed Romance delivers and how.

In ordinary rom coms, we see that either the male lead is financially in the ruts or it is the heroine who scrounges for every penny and works a million part time jobs. Rarely do we see a rom com in which both the leads are going through financial troubles and have more or less achieved nothing in life and, quite possibly, never will. What do they do in such circumstances? Dare not have a romance because they're poor and unsuccessful?

Unemployed Romance is yet another example of the cliche of 'love conquers all' being stretched in to a realistic story. Jong Dae and Seung Hee overcome various odds from jealous new romantic interests, poverty, sick parents to unemployment and bitter memories of a break up, to finally get together in the end.

The drama has hilarious moments which arrive in the form of Jong Dae's hopelessly silly friends and Seung Hee's irresponsible boss. It also has its fair share of emotionally poignant scenes in terms of Jong Dae's conversations with his hapless, generous and amiable father. And this is not to mention the excellent chemistry between Nam Goong Min and Lee Young Ah - both of them should be applauded for their realistic portrayal of two individuals who have never had it easy in life.
Everything put together, 'Unemployed Romance' is a really cute, funny and heart-warming drama which does not veer off completely from reality at any point.

Definitely worth a watch.

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Possibly the most uninteresting sageuk I have ever watched. What could have been a most poignant, emotionally stirring story of forbidden love between the prince and princess of two enemy kingdoms, turns into a horribly messed up, half-hearted attempt at making a great historical drama! The plot progresses at a snail's pace and right after it advances 5 steps, it takes 10 steps back and this keeps on going till the last episode. Casting is shoddy and the acting is either over-the-top exaggerated or too mellow. Jo Hyun Jae as Seo Dong/Prince Mookang possibly features in his worst role ever. He doesn't act, emote, mouths dialogues like a robot and he has no chemistry at all with Lee Bo Young.
Worst part is, right when you reach the happy resolution of all conflicts, they ruin the ending by trying to make it tragic and serious. Sheesh! I cannot believe the writer of this drama is the same person who wrote Queen Seon Deok, which is near flawless in every aspect.

The saving grace of this drama are Lee Bo Young as Princess Seonhwa, Ryu Jin as Giroo and Heo Young Ran as Princess Wooyoung (she, specially, shows astonishing character growth and integrity towards the end and does a fine job) who instill some vigour into a lifeless drama with their nuanced performances.

Otherwise this is simply a terrible drama. I hope the folksong 'Ballad of Seo Dong' is dramatized again by a better production house with more talented writers who shun mindless cliches and actors who can translate this extremely powerful story of forbidden love into a worthwhile onscreen adaptation.

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You know when you have watched a handful of sageuks, you can't really make sweeping statements like 'This is the best sageuk ever' or, to go a step further, 'This is the best Korean drama ever'. And yet I am forced to utter a banality like 'It will be hard to find a historical drama as stylistically perfect, emotionally riveting and heart-wrenching as QSD'.
From the beginning till the harrowing end (which I agree could not have been done any better), you are experiencing an edge-of-the-seat suspense and the feeling never really goes away. The political machinations all the characters indulge in - from the deliciously evil Mishil and her gang to Princess Cheonmyeong and later on Queen Seon Deok and Bidam - are all par excellence and it's a pleasure to watch this drama of epic proportions unfold onscreen. There are mesmerizing sword fight scenes (which thanks to the genius of Kim Nam Gil look absolutely real-life) in which Bidam and Yushin will monopolize your attention.
And Ko Hyun Jung is beyond brilliant. A worthy villain - beautiful, conniving and yet regal in her own way. The only somewhat weak part of the drama is Lee Yo Won as QSD, who should have done a little better. But Kim Nam Gil and the rest of the cast have delivered a performance of a life time.
And the OST is gorgeous - Lee So Jung's 'Come, People of God' will give you goosebumps (it is Queen Seon Deok's theme mainly).
If you are still hesitating because of the 62-episode thing, trust all the reviews and the mad ravings all over the internet regarding QSD, and hop along for the ride of a life time.

You will not forget QSD once you are done with it. It will leave its indelible mark on your memory. And so will the angst-ridden, dark anti-hero Bidam.
Watch this for Kim Nam Gil if not for anything else.

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I will confess to watching quite a few kdramas and the fact that very few of them make my list of re-watchables or ultimate all-time favorites. And I'm happy to admit that I hear your voice makes that special list comprising very few names.
It has everything -
i)a recurring theme of justice, notions of culpability, a moving discourse on the thin line of difference between fair and unfair and the human desire for connection
ii)A solid ensemble cast who put up stellar performances (Lee Bo Young is outstanding as the prickly, smartass, intelligent, independent modern woman and so is Yoon Sang Hyun as the goofy but upright defense attorney. Lee Jong Suk is quite convincing in his difficult role as well)
iii)A well plotted story that makes sense and doesn't frustrate us with its lack of rationale.
iv)great music which goes with the overall tone of the story and adds to the many tender or suspenseful moments that the characters share with each other
AND last but not the least.....
v)a heart-melting noona-dongseng romance. If Soo Ha and Hye Seong's romance didn't move you or you are still cringing at the age difference thing then I'm sorry to say you're not a very sensitive human being.

So if you're still hesitating and wondering whether it's worth a shot to invest 18+ hours in this specific drama, do not worry and JUST GO RIGHT AHEAD AND WATCH IT. This drama gifts you with an amazing, amazing experience, teaches you lots about human empathy, nitty gritties of the law and the ultimate need to hear and respond to someone's voice (be it a stranger or someone you've known for ages) (Yeah sorry couldn't help but use that cliche)

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I have to admit that going in, I did not have high expectations from the second season of I Need Romance. The plot seemed to be like too much of a rehash of the first season with themes of a long time relationship and the boredom that may set in a relationship of that kind or how when it doesn't advance to the stage of marriage, it may signal an inevitable end. And the thrill of a new relation with someone.
But this instalment of the INR franchise surprised me with its in-depth deconstruction of romances - what we do and expect from the person we love and how often we are torn between our feelings for two people and the mistakes we make. What a mature way to resolve a triangular love.
Hats off to the makers and I think I prefer this season over the first one.

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The film which catapulted little known Lee Jun Ki into instant stardom all over Asia. Yes I admit quite candidly that I watched this movie for my recently found Jun Ki mania but I'm going to remember this movie for the masterpiece it is rather than just a random K-movie featuring LJK. The controversy regarding the racy humor used throughout the movie notwithstanding, the movie is a fine portrayal of love, friendship and betrayal. It is heart-warming to see the effeminate Gong Gil and the heroic Jang Seng's relationship, which was most certainly much more than just friendship. At the height of utter despair and chaos in their lives, when they flee from the countryside in the hopes of a better life in Seoul, the way they act out the parts of two blind men in the middle of nowhere is a treat to watch. That is perhaps the most poignant scene from the film barring the one at the very end. There's a puzzle in the title of the movie since it leaves you in doubt about who the real king is. In my opinion it's Jang Seng rather than the tyrannical, literal king since he desires to be a commoner even in his next life and chooses the right to live on his own terms rather than living a life of luxury whose terms will be dictated by others. He is the real king of the movie.
The actors have portrayed their parts to perfection. Jeong Jin Yeong has done especially well in conveying the inner turmoil the King suffered from, his eccentricities and frequent displays of mindless cruelty. Excellent acting by Kam Woo Sung as well. And last but not the least, LJK proves in this movie that he IS after all an actor and not just a great looker. I think it will be hard for even a straight guy to resist his charms after watching this movie.

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What a heart-warming and simple film with such a serious message for the viewers. At the same time as warning viewers not to make hurried decisions regarding losing one's virginity or sex in a relationship, the movie gives us such a wonderful love story. Reassuring to see the Shin Min Ah of 9 years ago who was a gifted actress even back then and Jo In Sung fits into his character of a shy, academically-inclined but considerate boy splendidly. Another remarkable feature of the movie is the music which strikes a chord with the viewers and is in harmony with the inherent theme. Definitely worth a watch and perhaps a re-watch.

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