allyson
San Antonio, TX
Logically, there were a lot of flaws and inconsistencies in the storyline. There was stuff that didn't make sense and stuff that was too ludicrous to believe, even accepting that it's a fantasy world. And sometimes the characters were just so dumb, you just wanted to shake them! But even with all of that, this drama was still amazing.
In a vague way, this drama reminded me a lot of Queen In Hyun's Man. The plot lines aren't really similar, but the feeling of love you got from Dae Woong is really similar to what I get from Boong Du.
The cast just did an amazing job, even the supporting roles. I adore the grandfather to pieces, he was just so adorable, always trying to do what's right for this daughter and grandson. And though the relationship with the director and Min Sook was absolutely ridiculous, it was fun as heck to watch.
I will admit, I did get bored towards the end of the drama, episode 15 being a completely waste of time. I mean, I understand why it was necessary, I just didn't enjoy it. And then episode 16 came along and I cried buckets.
In all seriousness, if you haven't added this drama to your list already, it needs to happen ASAP. This is not a drama that any person who loves love stories should miss.
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My addiction and love of this show does not mean that it is perfect, though I did give it a 10. This is one of those dramas where I think the cute will have to wear out before I bump it down to its more rightful 9 rating.
The story was different in some ways, but really just more of the same drama tropes and characters. The more dramas I watch, the more confident I am in what I will like, and Flower Boy Next Door completely hit that for me. First, you have the eye candy. All of the main characters in this drama were beyond beautiful to look at. Second, you have a damsel in distress, and I am a SUCKER for a good damsel in distress. Not a whiny, can't do anything for herself kind of damsel, but the kind with a past who just needs a little nudge in the right direction kind of damsel. Third, a knight in shining armor to come in and rescue the day and realize he needed just as much rescuing himself.
That's what made this drama shine so much. It wasn't just Dok Mi who was in need of help, but all of the characters started this drama looking for something, and even better all of them found it! this is just one serious feel-good drama, if you're tired of all of the melodramas and angst in the world, pick this one up. I promise it will make you smile like crazy.
Now because I feel like I might be too adamant with my love for this show, I do want to mention a couple of things that irked me just a bit. First off, Seo Young was such an irritating character. She was so selfish and brash, it left me wondering what Enrique ever could have seen in her. Also, I never really fully understood her relationship with Enrique's cousin, or really even Enrique's relationship with him. It was all just so weird, and quickly gotten rid of with little to no explanation. I mean, it is a little nice to not have prior love interests hanging around messing things up, but it was so abrupt how they dropped that storyline. Also, I feel like they didn't really go into Jin Rak's relationship with his family as much as I would have liked. I am sitting here trying to think of other things that bugged me, but that's all I've got! I guess I did love this one a little too much.
TL;DR? Watch this drama ASAP. You need Enrique in your life. Promise!
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Honestly, I had no idea what to expect when going into this drama. No one I know had watched it, so I hadn't really heard much about it and I was unsure of whether I wanted to start it or not at first. I didn't know anyone from the cast except some minor players and the whole 1997 aspect of it was throwing me off. Despite all of this, I was desperate for a new drama so I gave it a shot. And I am exceedingly glad that I did.
Before I get into anything else about the drama, I want to dispel any hesitation you might have about the 1997 aspect. One of my friends says she refuses to watch it because it was set in the past, and another one was also hesitant because they didn't like Reply 1997. Other than some minor points, like Kim Hyung Joon using a beeper and there being an abundance of payphones and some other out of date technology, it is almost impossible to differentiate between this drama and a drama set in the present. So if that is one of the reasons that you haven't watched this drama, at least give the first episode a shot and see if it's something you can get over.
It's hard to really pinpoint just what exactly makes this drama so amazing. The actors were brilliant, and the characters were so well-written and nuanced, that it was always interesting to watch them come together to face their challenges. I think my favorite character would have to be Jung Teacher, hands down. He was a crass, boorish thug and in the beginning, you just want to punch him in the face a couple times til he gets his act together. But then this amazing thing happens, and we are treated some pretty amazing character growth along the way.
The two bumbling, maladroit buddies on Team Oh Ji Young were adorable for the most part, even if they didn't have much of an impact on the story line over all. Our male lead, Kim Hyung Joon was so many things; pathetic, conniving, hardworking, desperate, selfless, sweet, understanding, difficult. His character runs the gambit of personality traits, but in a way that doesn't seem schizophrenic in the least. Along with Jung Teacher, he does a lot of growing up an maturing along the way as well.
The women in this drama were just incredible, absolutely so. Oh Ji Young knows how to take care of herself, even if she doesn't have the best qualifications or background. She is a fighter and she doesn't put up with other people treating her or her loved one's poorly. This is probably due to the fact that she grew up surrounded by four men (who were adorable and so funny!). Hwa Jung was also a very strong female character. She fought so hard to help Hyun Joong save the company, and she had no problem letting them know when she disagreed with something they wanted to do.
And if two strong main female characters wasn't enough, we also have the President of Queen Salon, Ma Ae Ri. She was the epitome of strength and class. It's interesting, because most dramas would have done something entirely different with her character, made her into an evil villain who would stab everyone in the back so that she could win. But she was so kind, even if she didn't show it, and she loved her girls so much. I especially loved her relationship with Choon Ja, and even Choon Ja herself. She was more of a caricature than a real character, but that is what made her so great.
Character-wise, my only complaint would have to be Yoon. His character made absolutely zero sense. I never once understood him, or his motivations. His feelings for Oh Ji Young never once felt genuine, and his plans regarding Vivi were just nonsensical and contrary to what his endgame was. I was extremely disappointed that they wasted Lee Ki Woo on that role.
The story line was just flawless. It was neither extremely predictable nor too unpredictable. It managed to walk the fine line between the two with ease. I will admit that it did drag a little in the beginning, but once we get our team established and we have something root for, this drama really shines. The heart of this drama, I think, is that when people come together, there is nothing they can't achieve.
The music in this drama was really great! Though, there were songs in there that were done by the same band who did some of the songs from I Hear Your Voice, and they sounded very similar. So every time a song came on, I would have to war with myself to not stop and watch I Hear Your Voice for the 100th time.
I do want to mention, I had really expected this drama to be written by the same person who wrote King of Dramas. I was shocked when I saw that it was the same writer for Romance Town, a drama I really didn't enjoy. Thematically, the stories in MK and The King of Dramas were very similar. A boy who has wronged a girl in the past now needs her help to save himself and his dreams, while also trying to help her fulfill her own dreams. Trust issues abound, but they both pull you into their struggles and have you cheering at the TV for every win they get.
All in all, this is one of the better dramas of 2014, in my opinion. Maybe not the absolute best, but certainly in the top 10.
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That being said, I know a lot of people say this pales in comparison to its Japanese forefather. Maybe that's true, but for me that's pretty hard to believe. I had said that You're Beautiful is as close to perfect as Kdramas get, and I think this one falls right in that same category.
Tae Joon and Jae Hee were just adorable characters. I love how Tae Joon starts out as a bit hapless, always falling behind everyone else in doing sweet things for Jae Hee. In that aspect, it was nice to see him grow and start to take control and realize how much Jae Hee meant to him. As for Jae Hee, her character was almost a little too good, always wanting to do what's right for other people to the extent that you just wanted to shake her sometimes!
But for me, the real star of the show was Eun Gyul! He was goofy, ridiculous, and handsome and his smile was addictive. His inner turmoil over liking what he thought was a man was very well done and extremely believable, moreso than I feel K-Pop TUA did with Woo Hyun. I think this show would have failed horribly if it weren't for Eun Gyul, and more specifically Lee Hyun Woo who played him. He is definitely someone I will keep a close eye on from now on :)
To The Beautiful You makes my drama list up to 24 dramas since November 2011 and I am fairly good now at picking out dramas that I personally will adore. That being said, I could not have anticipated how happy this drama would make me feel. Every single episode was just a smile-fest for me, and the characters seriously brightened up the room when they were on my TV. I found myself stopping mid-episode, trying to prolong my enjoyment of the show and I NEVER do that!
All of that being said, I will admit there were faults in the show. The situation with Tae Joon's dad seemed a little forced, and the ending really made me mad. Not because of how it ended, but because it was so rushed! I felt like they could have taken the last 10 minutes and made it in to two more episodes, or one more at the very least.
Long story short, if you are looking for something fun to watch, something that will make you laugh out loud and cringe in embarrassment for the characters at time, definitely watch this! Hilarious, touching, sad, amazing, maddening, romantic, cute. Pick an adjective and chances are it will fit this show :)
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Writing reviews for movies seems to be a tad harder than writing reviews for dramas. With dramas, you have invested 16+ hours of your life, there is always more to be said about them than people actually want to read. I Am A King was a pretty funny movie, though, it is really kind of gross humor for the most part. Every time they congratulated the prince for something every person does, I laughed more because of the shock value than anything else!
For the most part, the version I watched had extremely bad subtitles, so there was quite a few times that I just had to guess what was going on. But even so, the movie wasn't hard to follow, and Joo Ji Hoon really showed a side of him I hadn't seen in any of his dramas or movies before. The difference between the slave and the prince were stark, it was easy to tell them apart, so I was pretty impressed with how he did.
As I am a self-professed lover of all things even slightly romantic in nature, maybe that might be why I didn't like the drama more than I did. It did not have any romance in it at all, which is fine. If there had been, the drama would have been all over the place. As it was, it was a fine way to waste some time, and if you like Joo Ji Hoon, then it's a must watch :)
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It's hard to figure out what I didn't like about the show. It simultaneously moved way too fast, and way too slow in varying aspects to where the timing felt messy. And the music was horrible. I understand that Bong Sun was suffering from a deep depression and Jae Hee's life wasn't a walk in the park. Happy, carefree music would have been inappropriate. But the music they used went back and forth between sounding like the background music to an erotic film, and something out of Deep Space 9. I was not a fan.
I was a fan, however, of Bong Sun and Dr. Park's interactions. I really liked how he just understood her, and tried to guide her through the tough time she was having without pushing her too hard for the most part. And his dealings with Jae Hee also showed a level of understanding on Dr. Park's part that made me wish they hadn't given him a sad backstory as well. Though, to be fair, if he hadn't gone through his own demons, he would probably not be capable of helping others with theirs.
I think that was the main reason I ended up not loving this drama. Every character had a sad or dark backstory, and happiness for each character was so hard won. Any time something good happened, I had this dread in my stomach that something or someone (namely, Hwa Young) was going to come along and ruin it.
This is definitely not a bad drama. If you are looking for a romance that isn't as bright and cheery as a romcom, but still manages to throw in a couple laughs every now and then along with all of the drama, then this is what you should watch! The acting is extremely well done, and Lee Ki Kwang, the chef from My Princess was adorable to watch. He was the shining light in all of the darkness.
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Can I just say, the chemistry between Ra Im and Joo Won was absolutely insane. Joo Won was a total jerk (and if you were hoping for a reformed bad boy by the end, you might not want to hold your breath!). Some of the things he said to her, if I were in her place, he'd have been missing a few teeth by the end of the show. All of that being said, Gil Ra Im completely holds her own against him, and it ends up being a lot of fun to watch them bicker.
I think this show made me cry the most times out of all of the dramas I have seen, and definitely laugh the most times. It knows how to burrow itself deep down and tug those heartstrings at the drop of a hat, so definitely be prepared with a box of tissues! If you are looking for a really, really good romance with a heavy dose of comedy thrown in, and some dramatic roadblocks thrown in the way of the couple along the way, then this is what you want to watch. Seriously. Go watch it right now!
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I'll admit to dropping this drama during the first episode several months back, right after it finished airing. I didn't care for Han Groo's character, and to be honest, I didn't find Yeon Woo Jin that appealing. The only reason this drama was saved from my drop pile is because one of my friends picked it up and kept texting me that I needed to watch it. And as with most dramas that make it to my reviewed list, I am happy that she convinced me that this drama was worth it.
Though I have a relatively low score for this drama, it is still such a cute little story. Joo Jang Mi is a strong character with a big heart, who has a hard time saying no to the people she cares about. She has a slightly dysfunctional relationship with her parents, who have spent her whole life fighting and now don't even speak to each other. Gong Gi Tae is a stubborn jerk of a character in the beginning, who cares more about his own wants than anyone else. He also has a dysfunctional relationship with his parents, in particular his mother. At its heart, this is a drama about relationships, and how letting someone into your life can completely change your entire world.
The romance in this drama was enjoyable, even though it had the dreaded love triangle. Han Yeo Reum, the third point of this drama's triangle, was ridiculously adorable. While his character was not very well-written or fleshed out, Jin Woon did an adorable job playing him. He had this smile that could completely melt your heart. And abs that could make you weak in the knees.
The story kept moving along at a good pace throughout, and I never felt bored throughout any of it, even when it kept repeating some of the same themes and tropes. It was fun to see what new disaster the families would create for our fake couple, and even more fun to watch them realize that maybe they weren't so fake after all. When the story got heavier though is when it started to fall apart. While I genuinely came to love Jang Mi and Gi Tae, I was completely pulled out of the story when either of them would cry or yell or get upset. It was just awkward and kind of wooden to watch them do anything other than comedy.
Overall, this drama is something I could definitely recommend to anyone who loves romcoms. It was fresh enough that you didn't get bored, and cute enough that it just left you feeling great after the end. And a special shout out to Heo Jeong Min. I hated his Hoon Dong at first, but after the first few episodes, I really looked forward to his scenes. He was legitimately more and more hilarious as the story progressed.
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This movie was pretty funny, the lead guy made me laugh quite a few times. There were a lot of familiar faces in this drama, too. The lead from Vineyard Man, the president from City Hunter, the lawyer ex from Lie To Me. It was fun waiting to see who would pop up next.
Storyline-wise, this movie was slow and a little dull. I really didn't care about the lead actress's first love at all, and they spent way, way too much time on it, instead of developing the relationship between the two leads. I get that it was about her trying to find her first love, but for some reason it felt like they spent too much time on it, since the guy gets only 30 seconds of screen time. It was neat how they used the lead guy to stand in his as the first love in all of the memory sequences, I will admit.
All in all, this movie wasn't horrible, had some laughable moments and a cute kiss scene. But it lacked chemistry so it wasn't really serviceable as a romance, and wasn't really all that funny enough to be considered a comedy. If it were a book, I'd call it general fiction. If you are just looking for something to kill some time and only have Netflix as an option, I would recommend it. If you have other options, you might take a pass.
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I went into this drama with very low expectations, even though I loved the whole cast prior to this drama. Something about the storyline just wasn't intriguing to me, and I was worried it was just going to be a 2014 Boys Over Flowers. Oh, how wrong I was.
There were certainly elements of the stories that rang similar; the social castes as dictated by financial worth, the spoiled rich delinquents who thought they could get away with anything because of who their parents were. But Lee Min Ho's character was so divergent from his role as Jun Pyo, it was like night and day. Furthermore, the characters of Jan Di and Eun Sang were as separate as could be as well.
The acting in this drama was definitely a pleasant surprise. There are a lot of young actors in this drama, and honestly I think that every one did a rather remarkable job, considering. The villains were all exceedingly nuanced, so it was hard to hate any of them for any long period of time, because you ended up just feeling so sorry for them the next moment.
I am not a person who typically goes for the bad boy, but I found myself irrevocably fallen for Young Do, and I spent the entire drama wincing at his pain and his inability to just accept the emotions he was feeling. It was wonderful watching him grow from this hurt little boy who only knew how to inflict pain on others to someone who actually wanted to try and protect something.
There wasn't much that I would change about this drama if I could, while it wasn't perfect, it still was enjoyable and a lot of fun to grow up with the characters. The romance was incredible, and most of the kiss scenes were fairly phenomenal. I was worried that Park Shin Hye's fairly wall-like kissing would claim the kiss scenes this drama, but that was not the case for the most part.
All in all, a more than decent drama and well worth the hours to put into it. Extremely satisfying for romance and high school drama fans alike.
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I will say why Flower Boy failed in trying to emulate Secret Garden. One reason being, the love triangle. Of course in Secret Garden there is the hint of a love triangle. No one more than I wanted the director and Ra I'm to lock lips at least once! I felt the same way in this show about and Eun Bin and one of her suitors. But for entirely different reasons. He and Eun Bi had a pretty hot connection! Where I just felt bad that the director had this unrequited love, Eun Bi's secondary suitor was smoking hot and definitely deserving of a good make out scene. They also dragged the love triangle out way, way too long. In SG, a love triangle was so minor, it's laughable, but it mainly focused on a different external obstacle towards their love. Flower Boy tried to work the love triangle til the end, and then, as an afterthought, throw in some obstacles once the decision was made. It was totally jumping the shark.
The cast was pretty well done, I thought. Especially the sidekicks, they were adorable most of the time. I thought Kang Hyuk was remarkably well acted, the best of the three leads. I just wanted to hug him all of the time! If I ha met Cha Chi Soo in real life though, much like The lead in SG, he'd have been missing some teeth by the time I was done with him.
All in all, it's not a bad drama, but definitely nothing to go out of your way to watch. The romance was mediocre, the comedy amusing, so if you have time to kill you might pick this up. But honestly, if you haven't watched Secret Garden yet, I'd watch that before spending time on this one!
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This is seriously not my style of drama. The setting, the synopsis, the writing. There is nothing about this drama that screams Allyson. However, I really did enjoy this one a lot. That’s not to say it didn’t have its flaws, cause it definitely did. But even with those flaws, I don’t regret spending time with these characters.
Because that’s the best thing about this drama, the characters. They are so vivid and bright and it’s really just fun to watch them fumble their way through these complicated situations and try and take care of the people around them. The romances were sweet, of a little lacking pda from anyone but the main couple. But I defy you to watch this show and not fall in love with at least one character.
As to the story, it was a mess. There were a lot of abandoned plot points, and a lot of plot points that dragged on way, way too long. And a lot of things were not brought to a satisfying resolution. But I’m sure you’ve seen the comments! Luckily, I did too. I think going into it, knowing that the ending is going to be rushed and a little off-kilter really did help mitigate my expectations. Going in prepared for the flaws makes it a little easier to ignore them, I think.
The actors, for me, did an amazing job in their roles. After I Am Not A Robot, I knew I could expect good things from Chae Soo Bin, and she really didn’t disappoint. Similarly, I fell for Lee Je Hoon’s character pretty hard! And the two security guards were just beyond adorable. Really, everyone just did a great job here.
All in all, I think this drama is worth a shot, if you are looking for something to just enjoy and not put much thought or effort into. If you’re looking for phenomenal story writing, you’re in the wrong place.
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It's been so long since I have written a review, I barely know where to begin! This show has quite a mixed bag of ratings. It seems as if people either loved it or really hated it. I definitely think this isn't a drama for everyone, but you might be surprised at how much you end up liking it. Buckle up, I think this is going to be a long ride. I have a lot of feelings :p
Things you have to love in order to give this drama a chance:
Long, tense silences full of longing gazes.
Lack of clear motivations for bad guys.
Very little character growth.
A lot of crying. And I mean A LOT.
That all sounds pretty critical, huh? But it's really not! I enjoyed this drama a lot, but that doesn't absolve it from its drama sins. I think it's important to be forewarned so that your expectations aren't shattered.
This story is sad. But, unless you just went in completely blind to the synopsis, I don't think that would be a surprise to anyone. This is some heavy stuff right here, so of course it is going to be sad. However, there are dramas that deal with similarly sad, heartbreaking stuff, and they manage to find a good balance between melodrama and levity. And while there are quite a few cute, happy moments in Come and Hug Me, the majority of it was just silent longing.
The real problem with this regards depth and character growth. There just really isn't any. Well, one or two characters might have developed and grown throughout the show, but for the most part, everyone is pretty stagnant. This really hurt the drama, because it meant that it was harder to connect with the characters.
But it's not just the heroes and their lack of character development that makes it hard to connect with them. The villains have their fair share of stagnancy, in terms of motivation. There are so many characters doing bad things without really explaining to us why they were doing them. For example, the reporter. Why on earth was she so hell bent on destroying lives? And the lady toward the second half of the show, why the heck was she so hell bent on watching the world burn?
Alright, alright. That is a whole lot of negative for a show I legitimately enjoyed. The acting in this drama was just absolutely top notch. Just about everyone really blew me away with how much they were putting into their roles. You know how sometimes when you watch a drama and you can see the script in your head, cause the actors are just following directions, not really connecting. This was so not the case with CAHM. I never once was pulled out from the drama by thinking about the script.
The music was really good, too! It really fit the tone of the drama really well. This drama reminded me a lot of Missing You, so if you like that drama, you might want to give this one a try. And there is a scene, of which I am not going to mention specifically here that felt like it was pulled from I Hear Your Voice.
The last 10 or so episodes is what really made this drama great. Earlier episodes were just fraught with so much guilt and anxiety. And the last 10 episodes are, as well. However, you have so much more cuteness and levity at this point that the drama was sorely lacking.
All in all, I really did like this drama. It kept me interested throughout, and I am really glad that I gave it a shot in spite of some of the comments I read about it. Seriously, if you like sad dramas with lots of crying and some murdering, this is the drama for you!
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