It's been awhile since I've laughed this hard!

I can't remember the last time I've laughed this hard watching a kdrama. And I have Shin Hye Sun to thank for that!

I'm just going to have to gush about her a bit as I just loved her exuberant and hilarious portrayal as Jang Bong-hwan trapped in the body of Queen Cheorin. She nailed this role. Not only was she funny, but she did it in a way that didn't feel like overkill. Every scene that she was in was just so much fun! She had great chemistry with everyone and I think she is one of the reasons why this drama was ranked 7th highest in cable viewership ratings.

Granted the director, writing, and editing also contributed to the success of this comedy. What was shocking to me was that the jokes actually surprised me. The editing was done well to accentuate the comedy, highlight the punchline. I've been stuck in such a kdrama rut because I've just watched too many and now everything is boring because it's too predictable, too much of the same story. This drama was such a nice REFRESHING change. There were so many memorable scenes from the dance scene in the rain to the the hot and heavy make out scene to the elaborate PDA show to squash rumors that still put a stupid grin on my face when I think about it.

The show has it's flaws, but because I viewed this more like a borderline screwball comedy with some drama mixed, I really didn't care about the historical inaccuracies, nonsensical situations, or the fact that we never get an answer as to why Jang Bong Hwan was teleported into the Queen's body (although it would have made the drama better if they could have tied up that loose end). I'm very curious to watch the original Chinese drama, but the fact that it's 35 eps has deterred me a bit.

Read More

DISGUSTING to think the real life perpetrator is free as of DEC 2020

This heartbreaking movie based on the true story of the Cho Doo -soon case in which a middle aged man raped, beat, and sodomized an 8 year old girl in South Korea will make you UGLY CRY and scream in fury at the perpetrator and the judicial system.
Why are there so many sick and twisted evil people out there and why is the judicial system so broken?! It's disgusting to think the real life habitual sex offender has gone free as of DEC 2020.
I thought the director did a good job showing the audience the emotional trauma that the victim's family goes through , the ugly part that media has in it, and the powerful message of love to heal. The actors all did a great job. The touching moments that show the parent's love for their child made me bawl.
I'm just a war of emotions right now. On one hand, the story needs to be told to spark outrage to inspire change, but on the other, you just wish people would just leave the girl and her family alone in peace.
This is a hard movie to watch because it's difficult to stomach the true events, but it's one that you should watch.

Read More

Bawled my eyes out

Heartwarming, touching, and also heartbreaking, this movie made me cry like a baby. Sung Dong II and Kim Hee Won play two debt collectors who take a little girl (So Yi) away from their mother as collateral until she pays back her debt. The growing bond that forms between the gruff Sung Dong II and the little girl is what the story is about. The acting was fantastic from the entire cast especially Sung Dong II and Park So Yi. I'm amazed how that little girl could act with that range of emotions. Ha Ji Won plays the older version of the girl and she also acted really well , often bringing me to tears.
Definitely check this out if you like sentimental stories.

Read More

Fun family friendly action comedy!

This is a silly family friendly action comedy that was exactly what I was in the mood for. Because this is geared towards families, you'll have to adjust your lens a bit as the characters come off a bit clownish and the tone a bit bouncy. If you don't, you'll most likely feel like this is stupid movie. There are some fun action scenes, but they do feature knives and guns so may not be appropriate for really little kids. I enjoyed the humor that Park Sung Woong brought to the table and found Uhm Jung Hwa likable and bright. Would def recommend if you are in the mood for silly and stupid with some action mixed in.

Read More

A compelling time travel love story mixed with a crime mystery

Likes: The complicated love story between Huang Yu Xuan and Li Zi Wei. It tugged at my heart.

Dislikes: The time traveling/soul switching/parallel lives aspect is INCREDIBLY confusing, but then again, every timetraveling drama often doesn't make sense to me.

I'm usually not into crime mysteries, but this one had me hooked by episode 3...yes, by ep 3. The first 2 were basically setting things up so it was boring to the point where I thought I would drop this, but by ep3, the fun begins to start. Ep 3 is where you start to see the romance develop between Huang Yu Xuan and Li Zi Wei and the fun chemi begins. But the romance is not the only thing that hooks you...the mystery also captures your attention because just like the leads, you want to understand what the heck is going on. This drama interweaves the romance and the mystery very well so that I was never bored. It kept me on my toes.

The main trio did a fantastic job playing their characters both in the past and future. There's a lot of emotion that was conveyed just through the eyes which I loved. I really felt the intense yearning between the FL and ML at various points along the timeline. Just note, this is not a feel good drama though. While the youthful romance is fun, there's a lot of depressing and sad elements that surround it.

The only major flaw with this drama is the time traveling/soul switching aspect...which I admit is a huge aspect of this story. Really confusing. I get why viewers may drop this because of that. I had to read the synopsis a few times to understand the gist of what's going on and even then it was sometimes hard to know which time and which soul I was watching. I felt like they could have made this clearer to the viewers. And don't even attempt to sound out the logic because with any time travel drama, trying to make sense of which came first? The chicken or the egg would make you go crazy.

This is a tricky one for recommendation because while I really liked this, if you can't ignore the flawed time traveling logic that makes no sense, then I think you will probably dislike this. But if you can overlook that, and want to watch something with emotional gravity, a mystery, and a timeless romance, then I would say give this a try.

Read More

Dark and poignant coming of age film

A lonely good girl who has the urge to be bad. A troubled boy who wants revenge. A lonely bad girl full of life. A popular boy who is self destructing, We follow their lives as they intertwine in high school until a tragedy strikes that changes some of them. It's a dark story with excellent acting especially from Sandra Ma as Li Bala and Oho Ou as Zhang Yang. Sandra Ma was very alluring as Li Bala and I could see why the characters gravitated towards her. I thought I'd be mesmerized by Yang Yang, but instead I was drawn to Oho. Even when he's a jerk, he has this certain something that makes him stand out.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend if you're looking for something different and dark and not too taxing on the brain cells. I don't know if I will remember this movie a month from now, but I definitely think it's worth checking out.

Read More

Quirky short 6 episode drama

Likes: Original story with quirky characters. The weirdness was refreshing. The acting was on point from the entire cast.

Dislikes: It may be a little "too" out there. I honestly don't really know what to make of this.

Strange, weird, quirky - definitely words that will come to mind when you watch this. I can't tell you how many times I'm like "What the...."? And yet I couldn't stop watching. The tone, acting, and editing were all done very well and in a way that captures your interest. I never had to skip anything. It was a nice break from the formulaic romcoms I usually watch.

Jung Yumi is fantastically weird as the high school nurse who can see monsters in the form of jellies and uses her trusty toy sword to go about protecting the students from harm. She really nailed this role. I've seen her previous works and I personally think she is one of the top actresses of Korea. I always believe whatever role she takes on.

Nam Joo Hyuk plays her counterpart, the crippled teacher with a special force field protecting him from the jellies. He also did a really great job acting because I only saw his character and not the celebrity NJH. He keeps getting better with more experience.

The students also did a great job acting. Why only 7 stars then? While the execution was done well, I couldn't help feeling like there was something missing....like maybe a point? I felt like there were too many questions left unanswered which I think is why so many people are like "what did i just watch?"

Read More

Cute lighthearted romcom

Likes: the buttoned up ML's chemistry with the adorable sweet FL. The FL's cute hairstyle. It's light and fluffy

Dislikes: There's a freaking talking turtle in this drama. Also, too many filler scenes that I wound up skipping cuz I just didn't care

I love me some love/hate romance as it creates that tension between the leads that I find so addicting. Here you have the uptight buttoned up ML who has a memory problem due to a trauma and the sweet adorable alien FL who winds up getting into his space. The two have some chemistry especially on the ML's side as his intensity is a bit hot.

I loved when the two were in the same scene and couldn't care less when they were not. I thought the progression was a bit frustrating as well. I felt like they tried to stretch out the tension between the two for too long that it kept going in circles that started to get a little boring. Also, I could have done without the talking turtle as well. Was a bit corny.

But the overall tone was light and fluffy and the chemistry had me hooked, so I found it an easy watch.

Read More

Campy & Comical! This mini romcom made me laugh!

Likes: Jung Il Woo, period! His flabbergasted expressions made me laugh, His acting and comic timing was excellent. Same goes for Lee Sieon who also made me laugh with his line deliveries

Dislikes: the IDOL acting, esp Bora...Ooof, very green, very very green

This mini romcom was exactly what I was looking for to beat the mediocrity of dramas as of late. I just didn't feel like investing time into another long drama that would probably only have small pockets of scenes that I would like. This hit the sweet spot for me at this period in time. It's silly, short (15min eps), funny, and lighthearted!

It's campy sure, but it works. Jung Il Woo shines in this drama. His portrayal of the narcissistic loony CEO of an entertainment company made me laugh. It's a predictable role, but he was able to interject some unexpected gestures, expressions, and lines that made me crack up. It's a hard tone to balance, and he did it well which makes me think he's very talented or had a good director.

Another person who shined was Lee Sieon. We expect Sieon to be funny, but again he somehow surprised me with the direction with some of his lines. I loved the antagonistic bromance between the two.

As for the FL, she was the straight character and served her purpose fine. I wouldn't say there were loads of chemistry ,but it worked. The only drawback of this mini drama was the IDOL acting, especially Bora who was too green and lacked the skills to be convincing. Also, I found her voice very annoying, but all in all, a minor flaw in an otherwise delightful romcom.

Read More

What an endearing coming of age family drama!

Likes: All the different layers/dynamics that comes from being in a non traditional family. The acting was great from everyone from the younger versions to the old. Song Wei Long was incredibly handsome.

Dislikes: The chances the 2 MLs return on the same exact day is a bit of a stretch. The 2nd half had more draggy parts and I didn't like how they wrapped up the drama at the end. Also the eng subs weren't the greatest so sometimes I was confused during some of the conversations.

Let me preface to say, I normally don't enjoy family dramas that much, but this one was done really well esp during the first half. I went in for Song Wei Long, but wound up really enjoying the story. It's endearing. You watch the 3 friends grow from kids to adults and watch how their relationships and personalities form from all the love, hurt, and trauma that's happened to them. What really stood out to me were the multiple layers that every character had that made them relatable and actually interesting to watch. The dynamic between the parents and their kids was also interesting to see play out. This drama handled the complexity that comes with family really well. Sometimes the people who love you the most can cause you the most damage.

I did think there were too many side characters however and I wished there was a bit more romance, but overall it was a great watch and would recommend it!

Read More

Similar to ALSB & ISWAK, but more boring and chaste

Likes: Lu ZHao Hua looked good doing the action scenes. The chemistry was sweet between the OTP

Dislikes: The WAY too slow romantic progression between the leads. If you had a race between the leads confessing against a snail moving across your room...the snail would win. The slow pace made the drama way too long. Also, I think this is more for a tween audience as the buildup leads to basically hand holding and kiss fake outs.

This story is one that's been used over and over with a few modifications: Not so smart FL who can't stand injustice follows her crush the quiet studious handsome ML to medical school. The modifications: The FL happens to excel at fighting. The ML has liked the FL since they were young. Instead of a love triangle, you have a love diamond.

I thought the chemistry was good between the OTP and I actually liked some of the side characters, but the pace was just too frustratingly slow that I kept hitting the FF button. I liked that they sort of showed the honeymoon phase of the relationship because too many dramas end right when the OTP finally get together, but it was too innocent for me.

Read More

Adorable mini romcom!

Likes: No matter how many times I've watched this (which is an embarrassing amount), it continues to make me laugh. It's utterly adorable due to Kim Seulgi and swoony due to Yoon Doo Joon's gazes.

Dislikes: None

This 2 episode mini romcom is fun, funny, and so cute! Whenever I'm not in the mood to get invested in a new long drama and I just want something that's lighthearted, funny, and mindless entertainment, I turn to this mini kdrama. Kim Seulgi plays a high school senior who time travels back to the Joseon era and becomes a cross dressing eunuch to survive and Yoon Doo Joon plays the King who gradually falls for her.

KSG is such an underrated actress that deserves leading roles like this. She's great at acting, is so funny, and has this quality that makes you root for her right off the bat. She's adorable. Yoon Doo Joon is charismatic as the King and sometimes his gazes would just make me melt. The two together create many comical and fun situations where the chemistry is just awesome. This drama is silly so you can't watch it with a serious heart so if you are just looking for something short and sweet with logic thrown away, then I highly recommend checking this out!

Read More

Good chemistry but acting could have been better

Likes: Xing Zhao Lin + Liang Jie being paired up together again. The heart fluttering kisses

Dislikes: Zhao Lin's acting could have been a lot better in the emotional scenes. The last 4 or 5 episodes felt out of place...they should have wrapped things up earlier.

This is a remake of Fated to Love You. I've only seen the Korean version prior so it differs a bit story wise but the premise is the same. This is probably the ultimate OTP as this will be the 3rd out of the 4 times they've paired up for a drama. They have loads of chemistry together so I can't help but ship these two for eternity!

The main let down though was the acting, particularly Zhao Lin. While I think he's super cute, looks like a great kisser, and liked him in other dramas, in this particular one I could feel the limitations in his acting. The emotional scenes felt so forced that it was almost painful to watch. Good thing there weren't too many.

I also thought this drama was too long. They should have wrapped things up earlier instead of dragging it out in the last 4 or 5 episodes, but overall I enjoyed the drama.

Read More

Too Corny

Likes: Ooooo, the flirty seduction scenes were fun. Derek Chang is cute.

Dislikes: Besides the above, everything else was too corny. Tiny fashion malfunction warrants a grandiose rescue ? PUH-lease! A small rip in the clothing is not a trauma, people!

This drama just didn't work for me. I tried to stick with it for the OTP because the tension between the two was great, but the script was just too corny. I just found my self so bored when the OTP weren't flirting with each other which lead to more skipping than watching so then I eventually dropped it at episode 12.

Even though the chemistry was good between the leads, it just wasn't enough to sustain my interest.

Read More