NoobieFan
Dr Ye Ji Woo is our main representative for the doctors and President Go Seung Hyo is the representative for the business, mangerial side. President Go is a fascinating character. He has little medical experience, he doesn't believe Doctors deserve their god complex mindset and thus, he contrasts instantly with Dr Ye and his co-workers. At first look, President Go is our main villian but he is a very complex character who only wants to do the best he can for the job he was tasked to do. And that is to make money. His role is to make the hospital profitable. That rubs everyone the wrong way and he gets blamed for a lot of the darkside activities that take place throughout the series but as we get to know Go and how he truly interacts with the people around him, Dr Lee No Eul, we begin seeing that he's not a bad guy at all. President Go constantly walks that line, the shades of grey and it's so compelling to see that journey. Dr Ye just wants to care for his patiens and fights against the monetization, naturally, but there is a hidden surface with him as well. The relationship between the Ye brothers is a prevalent story throughout the series. Dr Ye's guilt for his brother's condition, Sun Woo's constant feeling that he's a burden on his brother. But their love for each other is one of the best things about the series. And that's just the tip of the iceburg, there is so much depth in the story of Life. All six of our main characters are just as important and pivitol to the plot and so much. Our side characters are just as rich and add a ton to the story. The mystery behind Director Lee's death, Dr Seon Woo Chang losing his will for the industry due to the harsh nature of his job (having to ask greving parents for organ donors), Reporter Choi's struggle against media suppression. There is huge amounts of plot. If you want detailed plot from start to finish, Life is perfect. You don't have to worry about lack of progression or filler episodes with this drama.
The acting more than matches the rich plot. Jo Seung Woo steals the show with his maginificent performance as President Go. The character is subtle and constantly toes the line between antagonist and most rootable character of the drama and that's thanks to Seung Woo. Honestly, he was sublime. This would be a career performance for 90% of the actors in the industry and it would be for Jo Seung Woo as well if not for Stranger (1 & 2). Lee Dong Wook is less strong on his own but his interactions with Lee Kyu Hyung, Won Jin Ah and Jo Seung Woo more than hold up its weight. He and Lee Kyu Hyung's character really felt like brothers to me and was a great emotional release outside of the tension in the rest of the series. Won Jin Ah and Jo Seung Woo have a low key romantic tension and while it's not the main story, you get invested in it just as much. Moon So Ri (as Dr Oh Se Hwa) and Yoo Jae Myung ( as Joo Kyung Moon) were brilliant with their veterean roles. They had lesser roles compared to the other four main leads but they were just as strong in their acting and performance. Moon So Ri is a big favourite of mine and I'm glad that she was able to shine in a larger project like this.
I've droaned on longer than I like so all I can say is just watch Life. It's an excellent series.
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Ahn Pan Seok has a certain way with his dramas. The themes may not always be the exact same but the atompshere and auras are instantly recognisable. There is a lot of secret, underwordly dealings regarding corruption and extortion. It's a battle for control. So when you have the young, pure hearted Sun Jae who just wants to play piano and be with Hye-won, there is a wide contrast. And that's what makes this such a good drama. The story is so compelling with its characters, how they react to each other and the constant changing in surroundings. Despite the age and class gap between our leads, there is undeniable chemistry between the two. Whether it's on the computer chatting under aliases or when playing music, especially when playing music, in fact. You are rooting for them from their first meeting. And while Sun Jae is also in a very ambigious relationship with his friend/girlfriend Da Mi, you can only root for Sun Jae's quest for Hye-won's heart. Although it's hard to tell who is the most passionately driven in the relationship. It's unbowing. Perhaps Hye-won's actions for the ending prove that she was indeed the most in love.
Yoo Ah In is the best actor that can get so much out of hardly any expressions. In the series, he comes off as so shy and withdrawn and yet we can feel his drive and love. Kim Hee Ae is tremendous as the classy, elite director. She is bold and calculating but under tempation, we see a whole other world of emotions. The chemistry between the two is quite high up for K-Drama couples as far as I'm concerned. It's quite amazing that they were able to take in their age gap and make that even better for their chemistry. Yoo Ah In's character calls Kim Hee Ae's character a goddess numerous times due to her age and it totally works and perfectly sums up their relationship. The younger character is so humble and naive that he would consider the older character like that. Just little things like this makes Secret Love Affair a wonderfully crafted drama.
Plus this has the best use of music than any other musically themed drama I've seen. It brings to life the very meaning behind music. The music and the performances of Sun Jae perfectly tell us what he's feeling without words. That is music. Come for the great cast and acting but stay for the music.
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"You're Nice".
There was something profoundly heartfelt about My Mister. This is a drama - a true drama - about pitiful people for pitiful people. Our main characters are essentially losers, outcasts, jokes amongst their peers. However we learn vital lessons through their actions, we hear healing stories as well as heartbreaking ones.Park Dong Hoon is the man everyone wants to be while also being the man no one wants to be. No one is more genuine and honest than Dong Hoo, but that affects his life in a huge way. No set of brothers are so close to each other that when one is sad, they are all upset by proxy and feel guilt at any form of happiness. That bond is unbreakable. And thus, this affects his home life with his wife feeling isolated, lonely and, herself, an outcast. Of course, this leads to her being unfaithful with one of the few people Dong Hoon dislikes. But My Mister is so much more than a story about infidelity. It's about the hardships of life. Nothing is more evident than his relationship with a subordinate, Lee Ji-Ah. A broken person who is stuck in a life of debt, pain and frustration. Lee Ji-Ah spy's on Dong Hoon because of the affair under the orders of CEO Do Jun-Yeong, who is sleeping with Kang Yui-hi, Dong Hee’s wife however she develops love for Dong Hee in the process and begins to help him in this struggle. Is My Mister about romance? No, but there is a clear returned love between the two characters, as shown through dialogue and visual storytelling in Dong Hee’s case. But again, there is a maturity to the relationships as well. My Mister is so multi-layered in that regard. Outside of our main story of lust and politics, there is the comonardary with the brothers and the neighbours friends of Dong Hee. And the subsequent stories that are splintered off and are given just as much meaning and purpose to the story as Dong Hee’s climb to the top. There were so many characters, so many plots that were quite frankly perfectly executed and mapped out flawlessly.
Every episode felt like a movie in itself. There was a long run time with each episode which was risky because it can feel long winded. However the lengthy time run only made me feel more immersed in the story. It made me feel a part of everything. When it was sad, I felt it. When it was happy, I was happy. My Mister played with your emotions. And that was thanks to the immaculate performances from each character. IU and Lee Sun Kyun especially. Kim Young Min as Jun-Yeong as well. It's difficult to pick out certain people because this was truly a team effort.
My Mister was very sentimental, sad and euphoric at the same time.
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Something films leave you with lingering emotions as the credits roll. That has you slowly pondering about your own life or anything significant in general. Josée was a very calming movie about a tender loving relationship between a wheelchair bound and a poor college student. Josée is a bit of a wonder. We don't know her real name, only what she calls herself, why she is in the chair and her wild imagination leads her to tell different stories about her origins and what she has done. The film takes us on a journey seeing Josée take the steps to find joy and happiness outside of her lonely, isolated life through Young-seok. Our characters slowly drift apart towards the end, still loving each other but in a better, stable and healthy place in their lives, keeping our hearts at bay. The cinematography, whether it was the initial darkness of the surroundings that slowly turn bright as our characters grow, the background weather and various locations used was all great. It fit the subtle tone that the film is presented with. Han Ji Min and Nam Joo Hyuk are splendid as our respective roles. Heartfelt and sincere from the heart. They are the true reasons why this film was so touching in many ways. Was this review helpful to you?
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I liked watching it but I can't say that it's good
The story is good in theory. Clichéd? Yes. Unrealistic, even by K-Drama standards? Yes. But it's a fine story to have these characters interact with each other. However it's lacking substances and sense at times. Characters say things just because. Suggested feelings disappear suddenly (Hyun Min not being interesting in Ha Won suddenly was a total mind-f*ck for me. They set up another person to like, which is a mess of a plot by itself, but they have big relationship moments for the first quarter of the series before it's dropped). The title is misleading as there is no 4th Knight. None at all. It's a clever name but it makes no sense. It's not even hinted at as a possibility either. The family abuse plot is irritating for all the wrong reasons. I swear it was only there to draw further comparisons to the title name. One thing I do think is done well is Ji Woon's arc. Whether it be the main relationship with Ha Won or his struggle to accept that he is now apart of a rich family and has expecations to uphold, I thought that was something that you could bite on. The bastard child trying to reject his family instead of the opposite is an interesting plot. He and Ha Won work best out of the three potential guys too. Again, the Ha Won/Hyun Min plot is dropped in a jarring way to the point where the love triangle no longer exists past episode 5/6 but they went the right choice for who is more suitable. Seo Woo is a cool character. He's talented, smart, has good intentions but he does feel like a lost wheel and unnecessary as a whole. The plot is just riddled with problems. The characters are fine enough to keep you engaged for the whole runtime, even if they aren't given much depth. Oh well, at least we have Kim Yong Gun in his natural role as the malignant CEO Kang to keep some consistency.Was this review helpful to you?
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An interesting movie about multiple themes such as gried, loss, disenfranchisement with patrioitism. Our male lead, Choi Hyeon, is a Korean who has been living in China as a professor, back in Korea for a funeral and finds himself different. He is totally unsure how to handle himself when faced with seemingly normal south korean customers. The "Century" scene lends credence to how out of the box he is compared to his fellow Koreans. Uncaring about the potential outbreak of war, serious about an impractical life expectency for the North Korean Supreme Leader (which lends credence to the theories that Choi is actually a North Korean spy/defactor). The dealing with loss and pain aspects are done really well. Shin Min-ah as Gong Yun-hee, a tea-house owner that Choi meets while venturing around Gyeongju, puts in a great subtle performance fitting of the independent style film Zhang likes to do. Was this review helpful to you?
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Naturally, this will draw comparisons to Something In The Rain. Similar backroom staff, same male lead, similar vibe in the story but this plays out much smoothly and has a way more satifying ending. The love story is heartfelt and relatable even if you're not in the same situations. The ordeal with the parents and side characters is more bearable and fleshed out. I like that there was no real villain. Ki Seok's character is bullish and arrogant but in some way, he's still down to earth and you can feel for him at times despite the character's stalkerish tendencies. The marriage proposal was wonderfully laid out. It was so casual yet loving and perfect. Getting the kid to do it for you - a magical moment. The acting was super strong and nuanced. I can't rag on any of the cast for their performances. Whether it was the leads or the side characters, everyone had a distinct, interesting character. Everything seemed to natural and seemless. I had no probably parashuting into this world and accepting the characters for their choices.
The soundtrack might cause a few debates. The song list is limited but the songs are memerable and add to the scenes they are used for. That's all that's required.
I think the re-watch value is in the Jung Hae-In and Han Ji Min chemistry and on-screen relationship. Every scene is worth watching with them in, from the beginning of a reluctant friendship to a blossoming relationship.
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Side note: I love seeing these old dramas with plots and elements that still heavily influence the modern day dramas. The use of amnesia is an integral part of the story of Spring Day. But the plot felt truly earned and it never once felt like a lazy plot device as it had a real impact on how the rest of the show was mapped out and was concluded throughout the show rather than it being done in a few episodes, quickly forgotten about. It’s nice. The synopsis is vague and misleading, although it’s true in some ways. While Seo Jung Eun has a relationship with the brothers, there is more nuence to the story. Spring Day goes deep into portraying the many different types of love that one could have, and the ways of showing that love. And it's not just the triangle with Jung Eun, Eun Sub, Eun Ho. The way Kim Kyung Ah and Kim Min Jung show it is unique to them. Eun Sub claims many times that he doesn’t love Kyung Ah but the way he worked to get her out of debt (and danger) shows that he did to an extent. She thought so too. Even Eun Sub and dad had their own ways of expressing it. This had many interesting thoughts on the subject. The love triangle was somewhat complex and nuanced with each step carefully taken to set each option up and end it in a way where we come satisfied, which is difficult. Here’s my take on it: Jung Eun appericed what Eun Ho did for her, bringing her out of her shell and giving her reason to live on but she didn’t truly love him. She never once said that she was and whenever the topic came up, she’d brush it off or it’d feel forced. Sme with
Eun Ho to her. He liked what she represented, being similar to his long lost mother but not her. However Jung Eun and Eun Sub were truly in love. Their first interaction was a special one where they bonded together even while one was sleeping. The attraction was instant. They only developed it more and more as they spent time with each other, which Jung Eun & Eun Ho didn’t do. One was a pipe dream, one was more rooted in reality.
Eun Sub is such a fascinating character. He is emotionally driven, he cries a lot, screams in anguish when he’s unhappy or sad. There is a lot of hidden trauma to his character, same with Jung Eun which is why they work better. There were many subtleties to the relationship and its characters that can only be captured with incredible performances which this had in abundance. He, like the rest, was highly flawed but he wasn't a bad person. He is such an interesting character and one of the reasons why I liked Spring Day so much. Eun Ho was less flawed but there wasn't the same depth to him unlike Eun Sub. Once his arc with the amnesia storyline concluded, his character got somewhat dull and lame to me. I wonder if that was done purposely but the 3rd act for him isn't a compelling one. I do think the 3rd act did drag as well. Some of the most captivating parts of the show were the setup and character building which makes sense given how character driven this is. Spring Day is out the people involved and the cting, rather than the story which was effectively done, too.
I’d recommend this to anyone. It had a lot of things to say and interesting ways to present that.
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There is something about Eric Mun making douchebags likeable and endearing.
Que Sera, Sera was an interesting drama. It tended to show the dark fringe side of someone's character. Even someone as innocent and naive as Eun-soo got darker and more stubborn as the series progressed. It’s something one should expect in a drama about jealousy-fueled emotional abuse, the hard part of love and money. That’s something that’s consistent throughout the series. It can be off putting to some viewers who may have expected more straight-foward romantic melodrama. And sometimes the story does tend to get wishy-washy at times which didn’t help things, but this was a well made - excellently directed - drama headlined by 4 actors who held up their weight to carry the story along. Kang Tae-joo is the main character we follow, eventually turning to Eun-soo as the series progresses, and quite frankly, he’s not a great person. Tae-joo is belligerent, rude and arrogant. He’s not nice to the lovely Eun-soon and messes around with her several times, and he's only really driven by having a nice, money-filled life but he's also someone who learned from his actions, has deep regrets and thoughts and becomes a better person despite his actions saying the opposite. The story of Shin Joon-hyuk is acinating. He is quite clearly the better person over Tae-Joo but due to his insecurity and jealousy towards Eun-soo and Tae-joo’s past relationship, he is just as manipulative and spiteful as the bastard Tae-joo. Cha Hye-rin is an odd duck. She is initially interesting with her unique ways of living her life but she is prolly the weakest out of the four. There isn’t a lot of character depth compared to the others. The acting was strong with Jung Yu-mi standing out to me. She had to portray a seemingly simple character that changes naturally due to her environment. She turns from someone who’s innocent, as Tae-Joo calls her, to someone who’s more knowledgeable about life, responsibility, pessimistic about love and more nihilistic in general. There are a lot of nuances that need to make this work naturally.The story wasn’t perfect. There are some moments that are awkward and doesn’t really make a ton of sense - like Tae-joo and Eun-soo’s reunion before they spit again - but it's a show with a lot of twist and turns that are compelling, mostly.
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First, let me talk about this cast. Lee Byung-hun (JSA, Iris), Song Seung-heon (You & I, East of Eden), Kim Ha-neul (Piano) and Jun Ji-hyun (My Sassy Girl, My Love from the Star). All big stars, or were at one point. And the supporting cast for this has Cha Tae-hyun and Cho Jae-hyun. Korean dramas weren;t at their peak of the ‘Korean Wave’ but for well known actors starring in the small screen, this is a pretty top period. Most of these names are still fairly big, due to movies or later dramas. Some have simmered down from their earlier status but still retain a respectable career. Either way, it’s a privilege to have a show in this era, in wide circulation.Happy Together is about 5 people who are related in some way, through marriage or blood, that find themselves at odds with each other. The leading man is Lee Byung-hun, as Seo Tae-poong, an ageing underachiever in Baseball, who longs to bring his siblings back together after he got separated from them following the death of his parents. 3 of the siblings still live together but lead different lives and barely co-exists, Tae-poong is considered an outcast, hardly a brother and there is a younger sister that they both think is lost to them forever. And while Tae-poong’s attempts to bring the family back together aren’t appreciated, the family goes through a tremendous growth, not only as individuals but as a family. It’s a simple premise and a plot. There are added themes about prostitution and gang life through some of the main characters, such as Seo Moon-joo (Kang Sung-yeon) and Jo Pil-doo (Cho Jae-hyun), but the family is the true crux of the story. Even the love triangle is an extension of the story between the two brothers of the family (Lee Byung-hun & Song Seung-heon) The whole trope of an illness for one of the characters isn’t terribly overused by this point and is used to bring the family closer, opposed to Beautiful Days (2001) or Stairway to Heaven (2003). It’s a concise drama that doesn’t go too bold with its storytelling while retaining heart and a good earnest message about family.
Don’t expect a big revenge or love story but expect to be pleasantly surprised by this drama. 16 episodes long and it went by like *clicks fingers*.
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