Enjoyable. Hoping for S2

To be clear I watch variety shows to de-stress. I truly don't care who the guests are or even if there are guests as long as they're fun (or challenging in the case of the mystery/puzzle types) to watch. I found Whenever Possible to be a really fun watch. It reminded me of segments of Running Man before the current production team took over.

I won't say Yoo Jae Suk can't miss because he can, but usually for me when he swings he hits. YJS and Yoo Yeon Suk have good chemistry. They worked together on Busted! so they were familiar with each, therefore, there wasn't any awkward getting to know you moments. I know many have complaints about YYS, but I thought he was fine. He was quite likable. He was the straight man to comedians and the comedic actors who were guests. I think he was finding his footing as a main MC right when the extremely short 8 episode season ended. Almost all the guests for each episode were funny. The standouts for me were Lee Kwang Soo (ep. 1), Cho Jung Suk (ep. 2 - this brought the creation of the Suk Brothers or Suk Suk Suk), and Cha Tae Hyun (ep. 6).

Would I watch it again? The episodes that I found especially funny, yes, I would. To be honest there were 2 episodes that I didn't find funny at all. I may have smiled, but I never laughed. Of the 2. only 1 was a throwaway. The others are solid. The music was good. I was surprised to hear a song by LeeSSang. It gave me false hope that Gary or Gil would be a guest.

Usually I am not a fan of shows or episodes that deal with the public. I tend to find them very boring, but the concept of Whenever Possible made the concept interesting and fun watch. It was a great way to de-stress from work. My only gripe is that the season was too short.

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Yeeah .....naw!

Sisyphus started out strong and fizzled like firecrackers in a hurricane. I am so disappointed. It had everything going for it. A solid cast, a damn good story with imagination, MONEY!! They put some money into the Fx. It grabs you from the beginning with a interesting characters in an equally as interesting premise. Then it humpty dumptied itself. And for what reason? To satisfy needy romance holics? My one wish for SK drama makers is that they stop forcing romance between characters, especially when there is no chemistry. I mean zip, nada, zilch. The romance isn't the only thing that went wrong. It's not even the biggest, but it helped lead the story down the path of boringness. For an action there was no tension throughout and the urgency seemed to ebb and flow.

Visually, it's great. The cameraman, editors, and cg specialists did their thing. The directing and script? Well, if you like a timey whimey mess, then hey, you're in for a treat. But, if you're a fan of time travel stories and movies, you'll be thinking 'wtf are they doing.' Why did that person disappear and not that one? Why did time change for a and not b. How many timelines were created and screwed up?! Don't even get me started on the last scene in which we see our 2 leads. Can you say nonsensical? It doesn't feel like it belongs. It feels like a scene someone with power demanded be put into the show because concubine #2 or their mom didn't like something. Seriously, it was just unnecessary. There are so many unnecessary scenes and happenings. It's my opinion that Jo Seung Woo's Han Tae Sul and Park Shin Hye's Kang Seo Hae made a great team. They were good partners like cops. It's fine if they care for each other because they have each other's backs, but no romance. It just didn't work. They could've also spent a little more time in the dystopian future. It seemed interesting. Horrid, but interesting.

The cast from supports to the leads were great. Actually, I think Kim Byung Chul stole the entire show. He was great. I've never seen him smile so much. He's scary when he smiles. The child actor that played him as a boy was excellent as well. He's got a career in crazy if he wants it. I didn't realize Jo could be funny, but he had a few scenes and looks that made smile. I triple checked his filmography because he didn't seem like the same guy that plays Shi Mok in Stranger and Stranger 2. Han Tae Sul was a great character and he played him well. As for Park, she's really settling into her action star role. She was believable handling the handguns. The AKA's and rifles not so much. She runs well with them, but she's always been a good runner. She held her own in the fight scenes. I was impressed. If Kim stole the show, Sung Dong Il stole all of his scenes (as per usual). I really just enjoy watching him act. He always looks like he's enjoying himself even when he's yelling or killing someone.

The music was alright. It supported the scenes without being overpowering. The rewatch is my usual 0.

Overall, Sisyphus isn't a bad drama (no where near it), but it wasn't what I was hoping for. It's not really binge or marathon worthy. You may marathon it to get it over and done with, but not because you just have to get to the next episode.

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Before I say anything I want to officially state that I took off 1 point for the sappy, unnecessary, inexplicable, and downright boring last approximate 30 minutes of Black.  It was like it was written by completely different writers, which, as we know, is not unheard of.   But that's the end.  Let's go to the beginning.

I waffled on whether or not to watch Black because I thought it would be a regurgitation of Goblin from the reaper's point of view.  It is not. Black's a completely different story and for my money one that is told, presented, and written much better.  Black is the story of Grim Reaper 444 nicknamed Black, as he attempts to circumnavigate humanity. While he tracks down an escaped reaper, he inadvertently becomes involved in a series of murders and cover-ups.   Take out the supernatural aspect and it's a really good cop drama.

For the most part the writing was excellent.  There's a quite a bit of dark humor and one liners.  The story is layered and twisty. Just when you think you know it all and that you've gotten to the  meat, there's another layer to peel back.  Situations and scenes that seem to be inconsequential come back right when you've forgotten all about it.  Black is pretty much finished mid-way episode 18.  Have you ever watched a great drama that is finished may 15-20 minutes into the last episode and wonder why they just didn't extend the episode before?  Black is one of those.   They finish it with sappy melodrama that didn't exist in any of the previous episodes.  I'm dying to ask a couple of "how did they expect/explain...," "why.....,"  but I have no way of wording them that wouldn't be spoilers.

The cast was great.  Hands down a talented cast.  It never felt like 1 member was being dragged along by his or her hair by better actors.   I adore character actors and you'd be hard pressed to find one better than Kim Won Hae.  Bless his scene stealin' heart. There's none better.  There's not many female Korean actresses that I like. There's Kim Mi Kyung, Sun Ah, Park Shin Hye, and Go Ah Ra (perhaps a few more but I can't think if their names). Granted she's typecast as the strong feisty type, but it fits her and she damn good.  She always manages to hold her own no matter who she is in a scene with.  This was my first time seeing Song Seung Heon and he was good.  He delivered the best one liners without cracking a smile.  He did a wonderful job displaying Black's journey from emotionless to emotion. The rest of the cast gave solid performances.  If I had any issue with the cast, it would be their ages. This is a problem I have far too often with Korean dramas. The apparent ages of the adult actors don't mesh with the story or the child characters.  An example would be a spoiler.  Seriously, this show is so layered almost everything is a spoiler.

The music..eh.  I've never been big on the Korean penchant on basically selling a song in their dramas.  Some producers/networks go overboard causing it to have the opposite effect on me.  I begin to loathe the song instead of like it.  Not so with Black. I didn't feel like I was being sledgehammered with 1 or 2 songs.  I have no interest in listening to the OST.   Honestly, my rewatch value is low because I almost never rewatch a drama.  However, if I were to want to rewatch a drama, Black has a higher chance than most.

Overall I give Black an 8.5-9.   I thoroughly enjoyed everything about it up until the later half of the final episode. Had the ending not been so sophomoric and poorly thought out, Black easily would have gotten a 9.5-10.

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I should probably preface this by saying I'm still a fangirl of Kame and YamaPi back from when they were teens. squeeee I've been waiting patiently for 12 years to see these 2 share a scene together (the idea of a full series was too much to hope for). They didn't disappoint. I don't know if they're friends (I don't even know if YamaPi is still a Johnny), but I do know their chemistry is unstoppable. YamaPi (Tomohisa Yamashita) plays a mysterious man that calls himself God. God is quirky and has his own way of speaking not unlike Akira from Nobuta wo Produce. Kame (Kazuya Kamenashi) plays Masaki Mokoto a somewhat uptight forthright guy. The female lead played by Fumino Kimura is a woman who has been hurt and has serious trust issues.

One thing I've learned over the years about Kame is that he manages to have chemistry with everyone. I don't know if it's a Pisces ebb and flow thing, but there's never been a point in any of his dramas that I've thought 'ugh, why are they even in the same space?' He may prefer other roles (murderer, thief, alien, spy), but he excels at comedy and romance. In Boku Unmei he leads a great cast that work together like a well oiled machine. Aside from the 3 leads, the cast is peppered with great veteran actors. Their chemistry is fantastic. They truly work well together.

Boku Unmei's production is top notch. It's well written. The directing and editing are good and there are no glaring continuity issues. There are many humorous if not downright funny scenes. The funniest are, of course, the ones between Mokoto and God. So, yeah, the story is pretty damn good. It's fairly original. God comes and tells an ordinary salaryman that he has to romance and impregnate his destined woman within a few months in order to save the world in 30 years. No pressure.

The music is fine. There's a lot of classical including my favorite, Claire de Lune. The ending theme sung by Kame and YamaPi is fun only because of the ending scenes. Other than that it's pretty forgettable.

Boku Unmei no Hito is a thoroughly enjoyable romcom with a high rewatch value. The characters are oddballs and the cast is great. The story is solid and good. You don't have to be someone who has been waiting for a Nobuta reunion of sorts to enjoy it. If you've never seen any of these actors before or if you've never watched a Japanese drama (for some odd reason), this is the one to watch.

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I'm too tired to even put in words how disappointed in this movie that I am. It zapped all my strength. Stephen Chow can and has done better. China has and can do better. I still can not wrap my mind around how THIS is China's #1 grossing movie of all time? I'm just confused.

What was done well: The film is heavy on the environment as it should be considering we're talking a sea creature and what man is doing to the oceans. The cast is also good for their roles.

What was done not so well: The CGI was iffy. The story is shallow (a little water humor there).

The story isn't your typical The Little Mermaid. I won't spoil it for you, but let's just say Ariel isn't looking for her prince. Instead Chow did an interesting twist on the old Hans Christian Andersen story. A tycoon buys a gulf without any idea about the marine life. His partner (and crazed stalker) has a team of scientist using new tech to chase away protected marine life so the area can be developed. The mermaids aren't too happy about this. I think the idea is interesting and sound. I just wish it had been played out and developed more.

Like I said the cast was good for their roles. What I mean is they didn't have very much acting to do. It seems like the script was thin with very little meat on it's bones. Much of the cast was reduced to silly and primarily unfunny gags that Chow has done much better. That being said I enjoyed Deng Chao's performance. He was entertaining.

The music. OMG the music. Only if you are a lover of Chinese opera. I'm still trying to figure out how Chao was latin dancing to traditional Chinese music. The man has moves. It's weird, but it seemed like the music was mixed too loud. It was overpowering to me sometimes. It didn't really add to the story, help convey emotion, or push the story along.

I have no need to rewatch this movie. Admittedly, I wouldn't mind seeing the entire office scene including Chao's dancing again. They can keep the rest.

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Hands down Sign is one of the best tv shows I've seen from any country including the US. It's definitely the best Korean drama I've seen. I don't desire or need romance in everything I watch. It's fine in it's place like romcoms or melodramas, but not everything needs some deep romance. Sign has virtually no romance. It's the mystery/detective/thriller type not unlike old shows like Quincy or, more recently, Crossing Jordan where the medical examiner oversteps his/her bounds to get to the truth. Also like Crossing Jordan, Sign's lead has personal demons. Each episode has a new case, but there is a running theme and an old case from episode one. The cast led by Park Shin Yang is very good. Typically, I have a problem with Korean writing and production values, but not this time. Everything was on point. The writing made me a fan of the wife/husband team of Kim Eun Hee and Jang Hang Joen, who co-directed. Rarely, am I ever surprised or stumped. Sign did both. For anyone who is into detectives and mysteries, Sign is a MUST.

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Hot Garbage

I'm going to keep this review short and cut to the chase. L.U.C.A. is a train wreck. It's a fairly interesting and good idea that was poorly executed on every level except acting. The forced relationship between 2 unlikable characters was befuddling and unnecessary. What makes sci-fi work is that there is some believability about it. L.U.C.A. never makes you believe nor does it make you willing to go along a journey with it. It's more like being kidnapped by Jigsaw.

If it wasn't for my love of those scene stealing Kims (Sang Ho and Sung Oh), I would have dropped it after episode 1 or 2. I have no love for Kim Rae Won, but he did his best with this jacked up story. Honestly, I think Lee Da Hee should stay on the variety circuit. The music was eh. The love theme was overused and annoying. I grew tired of hearing it. Re-watch is in the negative. I will never watch this again.

Overall, L.U.C.A. is poorly written, edited, and directed. It's a complete waste of time and energy. If you're watching, drop it. If you haven't started, don't.

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What A Waste

Welp, Peninsula won't be following Train To Busan to Cannes that's for sure. Aside from the zombies and taking place in South Korea, it has very little in common with TTB. The script has little to no heart. The acting was phoned in. The entire production was a dystopian mess. It was difficult to pay attention or even care about the main cast.

A military man played by Kang Dong Won returns to Seoul after escaping the zombie epidemic with a team of people to look for riches to sell on the Chinese black market. This idea doesn't sit well with the survivors who are still trapped in South Korea. The movie is about his 2nd escape out of South Korea. The script seems like it was barely passable. There's not much of an idea to work with. I think that's why the acting was subpar for the most part.

The music wasn't bad. It was better than the movie. The re-watch value on this is in the negative.

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A little bit comedy, a little bit film noir lite, The Scent is an entertaining murder mystery reminiscent of classic Hollywood. If you're like me the whodunnit will be quite easy to figure out, however, the writing makes it fun to watch the detective fumble his way through. He's somewhat bumbly, but mostly a sincere hardworking cop (and P.I.) who probably should listen to his sidekick, Pong, much more.

The acting was very good. The leads were engaging and charasmatic. The supporting cast lead by the scene stealing Lee Kwang Soo (Pong) was strong. The writing is fairly solid as is the production (no outstanding continuity issues). The Scent is worth a watch. (8.5)

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My hat is off to this adaption of The Brother's Karamazov. The writers did a great job. The cast was wonderful. I happen to be a fan of the Hollywood movie from the 50's (like most people I never finsihed the novel) and I'm pretty sure the J-drama did a much better job. The cast gives some good solid performances. Oh how you will love to hate Yoshida Kotaro. Yoshida's performance as Bunzo Kurosawa is so brillant you wonder why he lived as long as he did. He's 3D: deplorable, despicable, and disgusting. Yoshida usually steals scenes in everything he's in. My eyes go right to him so I have to tip my hat to Takumi Saito, who managed to steal his scenes right back. The main set was a Western style estate which was perfectly dark and worked well with not only the story, but the theme song, "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones.

There's not much more I can say. I really enjoyed KnK. I will admit there aren't many clues to point you in the right direction if you're new to the story. If you don't like a lot of red herrings in your mysteries, you might not like KnK. However, if you like the original Hollywood movie, the book (I applaud you), or figuring out 'whodunit,' check it out. You might just guess correctly.

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An Entertaining Fiasco: The Anime is Better, but...

(No spoilers about the Netflix version, but there may be some from the anime.)
It has taken me weeks to write this because I am torn. It wasn't until I watched a review on YT that my feelings about this entertaining fiasco congealed. The "live action" version of YuYu Hakusho, easily one of the best, most well written shonen anime/manga of all time is not a true adaptation. Rather, it's a re-telling of the story I've loved for almost 30 years. It has aspects of the anime and manga, but it's its own beast all together. Fans of the story may be torn. Those who have never seen the anime will probably really like it. I mean there's nothing to dislike. I can not see anyone hating it though. I have dubbed this retelling YuYu Hakusho: Netflix hen.

In case you don't know Yusuke Urameshi is a 14 year old yankee (Japanese term for teen thugs, gang members, etc.). He's an excellent fighter and e seems hard on the outside, but he really has a good heart. After an accident Yusuke undergoes trials assigned by, Koenma, the son of Enma, King of the Underworld, to become a spirit detective. He forms a team with once rival, Kuabara, and 2 demons (Kurama and Hiei) to rid the world of demons. That's Yu Yu in a nutshell. The only difference, which isn't much, is that Yusuke in the Netflix version is 17.

The good
Netflix's version is fast paced and action packed. If that's all you're looking for, you won't be disappointed. The CGI was a little ify here and there, but forgivable. The cast is good. I only recognized Takito Kenichi, who was perfectly creepy as the Elder Togoro brother, but for the most part the cast is solid. There's no mistaking who is who. While I didn't like the portrayal of Yusuke at first, he did grow on. The actor that played Kubara, however, was fantastic. He didn't necessarily look like Kuabara (his size and hair color being notable), but he embodied the spirit of Kuabara down to the walk. He was truly perfect.

The bad
Why was Koenma an adult from jump? Why didn't they explain the pacifier? They made him look like a damn perv sucking on binky for no reason. What they did to Kurama was a travesty. The cutting of Hiei's story and introduction was equally as sad. That brings me to what is really sad..the rush job. Why did they try to put 1/2 the story into 5 hours? They tried to cram over 60 anime episodes (approximately 30 hours of content) into 5- 1 hour episodes. Who does that? Why? Where's the fire? Why the rush? All questions I asked myself when I realized there was no episode 6. My only hope is that there is a 2nd season and they will have managed to work in some significant arcs and characters they omitted, especially the Dark Tournament. You guys don't know how badass any of them are with seeing the tournament.

The music was good at least I think it was. To be 100% I don't remember it. Re-watch? Hmm I'll probably re-watch it. I mean why not? It's only 5 episodes!

Fans of the anime: Netflix hen is decent. It's not the story you know, but it's not not the story either. It's a solid 6.
New YuYu fans: it's good. If you like fight scenes and action, you'll probably enjoy it enough to give it 7.5-8. However, you do yourself a huge disservice by not watching the anime.

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It's Chaotic Alright

Let me state first that Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos has nothing to do with the horrid sequel to the Bad Guys drama. This movie takes place as if that sequel never existed...thank God!

The Mad Dogs are unleashed again. The only returnees from the drama are the captain and the "gangster"/muscle. The fighter/assassin and the brain are no shows. However, Jo Dong Hyuk does make a cameo appearance explaining why his character does not join the fight. Two new characters are added, but they in no way make up for the 2 that we lost. Jang Ki Young's new character seemed to be the new fighter. The problem is he kept getting beat up. The character of Jessica is supposed to be analytical ... I think. She falls short.

The movie is all brawn and no muscle. There is little to no actual story development. Don Lee's Woong Chul wants to solve the murder of an old friend. While he has a 2 day pass from prison the Mad Dogs are called out to investigate something else. Of course everything connects in a nice little bow. There is little to no investigation and no suspense. It's really action scene, a little talking, action scene. There is no character development for our new players. The script and directing should have been better. The fight choreo was fantastic though. Basically, the movie hinges on Lee's face punching, wrist breaking, man throwing, door smashing prowess. He's the Hulk in black clothing.

The movie has a very good cast that is totally wasted. Don Lee can do much more than punch stuff. Truly, he can. I've seen him do it. I'm not sure why Jang's and Kim Ah Joong's new characters were there. They didn't do all that much. Actually, I liked Kim's character, Jessica, before she joined the team.

If I get into a mood where I just want the good guys to win and beat the heck out of a bunch of baddies, then I'd re-watch not because it's a great movie. The music was good and an asset. If you saw the original, you might as well watch this movie, especially if there are more planned.

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More Of a Warning Than Review

This warning is for my fellow English speakers/readers. If English is not the primary language you use while viewing subs, then you probably should go read one of the other reviews.

The subs are poor. Forget for a minute about the poor grammar, incorrect pronouns (often males are called she and females, he..confused the heck out of me at first), incorrect or odd words that spring up randomly (the Guavaberry Forrest, 'let's guavaberry,' the guavaberry,' '..enough circumcision.' Is guava berry the Indonesian equivalent of thingamajig?), etc. I just mentioned Indonesia. Let me explain why. Every so often a word would come up that isn't translated and it's not a proper noun. At first I thought it was supposed some afterlife language, then jibberish because I knew it wasn't Korean. I started to believe that the fansubber was not fluent in neither Korean nor English. Then it hit me. They translated the subs that were in a different language (still doesn't explain the poor English but it was something). I tested my theory when I had had enough of not quite knowing what was being said. A full untranslated sentence came on screen. Using a free service, I typed it in and it came up as Indonesian. et viola! Like I said it doesn't explain the poor English, but at least I know I'm not nuts. Most Indonesians I know speak English much better than the subs read. I'm inclined to believe the person who did the subs doesn't speak either language or is at least illiterate in one. 99% of the subs are in English, but you will find yourself needing to decipher the meaning. So, consider yourself warned. And should you decide to watch the movie may you be blessed with better subs. Good luck.

Now, a quick review. The CGI, makeup, costumes, and sets are ridiculously good. The acting is what you would expect from a cast that boast names like Don Lee (Ma Dong Suk), Lee Jung Jae, and Sung Dong Il. The only thing that could have used some work is probably the writing. As a continuation of Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds, the story seems repetitive mostly. There are big reveals as one would expect in a sequel, but not enough meat on it's bones to fill the almost 2.5 hours film length. Even with the crappy subs, I did enjoy watching The Last 49 Days just not as much as the original.

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Yowamushi Pedal (Yowapeda) is one of my favorite (if not my #1) sports anime. I find it completely engrossing and many of the characters are endearing. I'm always hesitant to look at live actions not based on a slice of life because I think they tend to be awful This was not the case with Yowapeda. I really enjoyed it. So much so that I finished the all too short drama in 1 sitting.

The story revolves around Onoda Sakamichi, a freshman at Sohoku High School, who in his quest to revive the anime club and make friends realizes the joy of cycling and road racing. The one thing the Japanese excel at is storytelling. What other countries take 16-25+ episodes to tell, the Japanese tell in less than 12. It's no different here. The anime sometimes draws out some of the competition. The drama does not. It is very succinct. Yes, there are things missing, but you really don't need them. The story is very well told. Obviously, and I don't think this is a spoiler, they could not have covered the Inter High in 7 episodes. That's for season 2 (cross fingers).

The cast is good. Many of the characters never looked like high schoolers so it's no surprise that the majority of the actors look like HS is a decade or 2 (maybe 3) behind them. One thing that infuriates me with live actions is when the actors don't look like the characters they're playing. The character's hair is blonde or pink but the actor's hair is jet black. Huh? Not so with Yowapeda. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Makashima even had green hair with highlights. Naruko's hair is really red. Not only did they get the looks right, the voices were eerily like the seiyuu's for many of the characters, especially Naruko. I even compared the cast list to see if any of the actors were the same. That being said the acting itself was solid. No one will win an award but you know who they're playing and they do a good job.

The music is forgettable. I was really saddened that the "Hime" song Onoda sings is not in the live action for some reason. He has a song but it doesn't resonate or embarrass like Hime. If there is a second season, I would probably rewatch this season and go straight into the new one.

Overally the live action of Yowapeda is solid. It's fun to watch and slightly addictive.

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All The Feels

I really didn't know what to expect when I started Ame no Yume to Ato ni. I just found the description interesting so I checked it out. What I got was a well acted, different, slice of life drama that just jumps into you. It's difficult to find subs for Ikki Sawamura's dramas unless he's the support, which is a shame because he's wonderful (and not bad to look at it). In Ame he plays a single father who tries to support and raise daughter the best he can without her being disturbed by anything unfortunate. There are some fantastic scenes one of which is imprinted on my brain and goes down as one of the most emotional scenes ever filmed between 2 male actors (Sawamura & Borther Tom). It's been a few years since I first watched it (and rewatched it), and I can see the scene like it's running now. Just have your tissues ready for it. The cast is a fantastic ensemble that have chemistry that works well.

Production wise it's eh, but it's comparatively old. The film quality is obviously different like it is between daytime and nightime programming. That is quite probably it's biggest flaw. The editing could have been better as well. Yeah it's a bit kitchy, uneven, and at times slow, but the heart thatnpours out of it makes up for it's flaws.

I have watched a few older J-dramas, but none stand out as much as this one. It's a classic and a favorite.

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