Snow days prevail and Miss Granny was the one of the best to bring a smile. This movie about the circle of life and the regrets accompany us along that path.

Story>> Granny story is not a new story. Its a realistic twist to a story done very well. Other age shifting stories are about youth, men, women, yet this is about a 70+ person reversing her age process whilst preparing for death and the impact it has on her family. The magic of the storyline is she never left being a granny in all her mannerisms, style, candor and wisdom which ends up being her most attractive characteristic. Enamoring her to many young & old in heart and soul.
Acting>> the cast & actors were so perfect portraying the aging & complex family dynamics. SDi was and remains one of my favorite actors with is accurate depiction of someone with depth and a fine sense of humor.
Music>> Was centerfold to the story of giving her a chance to live out a singing dream for once in her lifetime. Music was old school and extremely heartfelt (without any translation) Granny had some pipes!

Overall>> this story is solid family drama of common families coping to live under one roof while straddling the multi-generational dynamic and surviving. Granny will make you laugh, cry. smile and cause you to reflect on you & your family core strengths. Granny is must see for ALL ages & cultures...

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Where to start... Arikoto historical fiction of Japan shoguns 16-17thcentry. This 10eps drama is hands down one of the most touching, beautiful, and well performed dramas watched in a long time. The story is total reversal of roles: men as concubines, female shoguns, and women as men to survive the tragedy beset the nation. The lead who played Arikoto was graceful, masculine, and humble in his portrayal of complex priest turned shoguns conscience. The stand-out was the costumes and body language worn by all players - loved watching Arikotos sublime hands. Music was appropriate and synced with each episode. Just be prepared, for ep10 - get some tissues ready. Would I watch again? Maybe, only due to too many that I must watch...

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This well paced Jdrama is for anyone who loved/loves classic love stories, old movies, and memorable soundtracks. The storyline is not new, nor is the acting exceptional BUT what kept me coming back was the music and the pacing of this love story. DK has the essence of Sabrina, Sleep-Seattle, Affair to remember neatly retold in a modernized Japanese style & culture. If you watched King of Drama, Sabrina or just want a smooth drama like a decent Merlot (with a side of dark chocolate candy)give this a try. I'm sure you'll have a finish with a smile knowing the final coupling is pleasantly predictable just like your wine and dark chocolate sampler.

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Watched this after missing AoL from DF. This is way too sweet and void of anything serious to warrant deep discussion.
Storyline: strong girl protects - crazy female hating villain - crush /CEO love triangle. Two NON-related stories in one and never could figure out WHY and purpose of crazy hating villain - NO connection at ALL to story.
Cast: Leads were convincing and entertaining - nothing noteworthy
Music: never paid any attention
Overall: The lead female was far too silly and naive for ANY adulting nonetheless a HS relationship. This character showed no signs of development for 16 eps. The male leads displayed more development which is really rare in dramaworld. Watch knowing this is just mindless and rather blerg. Setting the bar fairly low.

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Drama was the perfect illustration of the many rules of power. The female lead was stunningly astute, agile and focused in attaining power. The side players fulfilled their roles as SIDE player YET integral to the power game played out. Really enjoyed this 8eps power packed drama. The female lead costuming was off the hook fabulous! Second season would be nice but happy endings are only found in drama world. Rec this drama for those who need a break from the standard fare & to see strong female lead. Remember: Dream big, go for it... be willing to pay, cause NOTHING is free!

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Finally finished this '14 hit series. Am I glad I did? Yes! Was heavily invested and or cared? Not Really.

Story: Combination of Cinderella, Pretty Woman and Taming of the Shrew. An outcast, Plus-Sized, loving and devoted woman marries a handsome gold-digging man who proceeds to cheat all the while his family is abusive - all while she smiles and keeps going. She has a one-sided belief in their marriage vows, while hubby is cheating and plundering all he can. Murder, attempted murder, betrayal, lies, plastic surgery and a lonely man, what a wonderful combo. The story held me up to about eps14-15 where she is discovering her old self, new self and deciding her future self. Then the story just gets needlessly cruel and draggy with revenge. We get it writers, you needed a series of lots of evil & low moral folks surrounding a good woman. This series should have been 16eps. The remaining 5eps are just aggravating and formulaic - even the fairy tale ending... *blerg*

Acting: Female lead was entertaining, juxtaposing new & old beauty eps 1-14. After awhile she was overly treacle playing the victim role. Male lead was solid and unwavering (much better actor). The host of evil folks - all seemed too easy for them to portray flawlessly and unforgiving.

Music: I liked and catchy opening OST
ReWatch: Once was enough.

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This Jdrama is about life, death, family and the connective thread which binds us all. All the actors were brilliant in their respective roles and the most impressive was the lead. Y is a handsome man who is easy to look even more so due to his solid portrayal of young man at lifes' cross-road running on emptiness. Each episode dealt with the tough issues of filling the voided space of the lost loved ones, loss & yearning for love/acceptance of self and others, underlined with tales of people trying to grapple with regret of death. Music? appropriately matched and not over the top or memorable (which is not a bad thing). Word of caution: A few tears could appear as each story unfolds and bids farewell to those who were loved. Would I watch again? Not a jdrama that requires rewatching YET maybe... If you are looking for a jdrama with solid acting, storyline and meaningfulness, check this out you will not be sorry!

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This drama was DAEBAK! If not for fellow MDL'ers comments/reviews I would have put this in the "bubble-gum" category - Thanks fellow MDL'ers!

Story: Well written, and directed. Story dealing with being alive and living - Regrets & passion - Defining learning how to love! Loved the surrounding cast and all the realistic quirkiness of their lives & loves. Well written + stellar camera/sound work. My only issue from a full 10, the last couple eps felt like they pull the story along unnecessarily, the story was gripping enough.
Acting/Cast: An entire cast of REAL actors. People with skills and chemistry. The two leads were simply magnetic, drawing in each other and us! The lawyer & noona couple were simply delightful and magical to watch their story & iteration of love bloom. Well done selection of actors to carry off this this twisted storyline.
Music: Rather "wormy" & well done!
ReW: Yes - after some time to digest all the content of this drama.
Final Note: Do not be fooled by some of the bubble-gummy looking posters. Read some of the reviews, trust the fellow MDL'er whose reviews you can believe. Learned my lesson -

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H:H was a well told story of how family secrets crush the soul of any family, and how the closest circle of people are damaged by the selfish decision of keeping a secret.
Story: Not new just better told of an introvert-social phobia meets psychologist who is need of psychologist quickly realizing they are match. What made this story right was the pacing, great dialog and overall tightness of script. Not any storyline stray, simply watching these three characters develop within the 16eps was GREAT!
Acting: the onscreen chemistry & acting of the two leads was "spot-on" and totally believable. Their growing relationship was like watching a tadpoles grow into frogs. The actress who could not act (sister) was cast perfectly, she could not act - thus totally believable.
Music: Done well and matched the mood and feel of the actions on screen. Well done!
Would I watch again? Yes
H:H was a surprise hit for me in this land of dramas this season. Mostly all dramas have family secrets, but this story dealt with the severe emotional toll secrets have on all involved - voluntarily or NOT. Rec. this for those wanting something light BUT with a heavy undertone message and solid acting.

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Had all the earmarks for a great drama, what happened?

Story: Not sure who this story was about. MY, SJ, MW, SH? What the heck. False identities, lying, cheat, murder all dangled though-out yet nothing tied together. All these characters were complex and deserved better back stories to pull this story together and allow us to care about them.

Acting: The actress who played duel roles was great. To the extent you really thought they were two different people. This level of acting was felt and executed seamlessly. The other person you got drawn to was the villain-husband-pyscho man. The actor performed this with the most taut mask, you grew to like him because he was so convincing and hated. Both of these roles deserve recognition.

Music: OK - nothing that makes me remember this drama

Overall: this drama was about the lies, complex -troubled people, deception and betrayal, all great characteristics of drama. Now all it needed was better writing to make us care about all those folks wearing masks.

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Summary of story-line: A long story of delayed revenge. Sound familiar? Setting in the medical ivory towers in China, but could be anywhere. Procedural and light on romance that could have been much more smoldering.
Acting: The real standout were the leads - they had chemistry. The surrounding cast and stories were credible and supported the main story-line of revenge-love.
Music: no real winner for me. It did not get in the way.
RW: Not for a while - too many eps.
Overall: Good story that seemed rushed at the end, felt like the writers were told end here and they just scrambled to tie up. It ended the way it started with the OTP bickering. Wish the writers would have ended it with Xi bickering with Zhang, and he just walk over and kissed the hell out of her. This move would have startled her immensely and given the viewers a bit more of his smexy stares manifested into something besides a hug. Cdrama is getting better.

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Story: not new story-line. Rich-arrogant man falls for poor girl who wears the heaviest coat of guilt-Cdrama style. Hidden message of solid great friends can stand the test of time and not be a crutch. This drama was STRETCHED out way beyond its limits with 36. A healthy 18-24 drama would have been ample.
Acting: This was rated as such all do to the male lead, son and her BFF- Fei. Female lead was a sad sack of a woman, we can only hope she does not possess any of these characteristics in real world.
Music: nothing memorable and a bit of irritating.
RW value: Only to see a couple scenes of the male lead. He was stunningly handsome and suave.

Final Note: Cdrama has a tendency to follow a formulaic pattern with a bit of cheesy. Several eps fast forward since the silly girl just irritated or felt repetitious. Was looking a drama with folks who are NOT wearing HS uniforms or body swapped with adult situations. This was OK and just needed to finish -

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Finally found & finished this engsub series! This Jdrama is one of the underrated and under-viewed series for 2k13. The three leads carried this unique storyline about people who loose their footings in life who are accidentally-cosmically attracted to each other and live under the leaves of a glamorous tree house,topped with one of the leads claiming to be an alien. Quirky, intelligent, entertaining series for those looking for something well done and more adult-based and only 9eps. You will find yourself liking all the main&support; characters and rooting for the alien. Would I rewatch:Yes

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Phantasm, supernatural & darkness were my reasons for looking at this series, along with the succinct episodes offered (short & sweet). This manga adaptation is just odd & dark enough to get & hold your attention with solid story-lines. Story about youths who have gifts and not know what to do with them(shunned by society)ultimately taught & led by an off-beat dimensional witch who is highly believable in her role. If you like horror & a notch above creepy, a witch/temptress, and stray odd youths looking for their place in the world give this look, its short with limited episodes, it inevitable you will get hooked. Now as for watch another time? Maybe not... so many to get through.

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Mature viewers only! This is thinly veiled erotica wrapped around a blase storyline. Storyline is simple, mature adults who are thinking they are past their prime(work & play) are awakened-jolted by younger adults who are also stuck in ruts. The standout was the acting in these scenes of giving and taking pleasures - the cast was convincing without just gratuitous effects. Music was not the focal point thus I cannot remember it at all.
Watch again - no. Not due to content, blase storyline, or music, just once was enough.

Final thought. This drama focused on the arts (food & film) and how crossing preconceived lines is needed to spark that creativity regardless of age. After viewing you might think different about soy sauce & movie theater seats... Oh how we love the arts!

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