Elle
Exploring Dramaland
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The character arcs are extremely well written and are backed by a strong cast. I empathized so much with Im Sang Mi throughout her struggles with Guseonwon. As well as the antagonists were so interesting with all of their different motives and power plays. Woo Do Hwan in his role of Seok Dong Cheul was transfixing. He really is everything you want in an underdog. This rookie performance will forever be a stand out for him. The only performance I was completely underwhelmed with was Ok Taec Yeon’s Han Sang Hwan. His character is pretty flat and lack luster.
I strongly recommend watching this drama. If you are looking for something different, a little spooky with good writing and story-telling, pick this ONE! Even if this doesn’t seem like your thing, still try this one on for size! It is quite a ride!!!
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Right out of the gate, this drama was pretty ambitious as a gritty fantasy crime drama. The lead protagonist ends up being the reluctant grim reaper 444. This drama pummels its audience with questions that will go completely unanswered and/or forgotten until the eleventh hour.
Revealing secrets and twists is an art form in timing and pacing. Black does not do this well. Rather than strategically presenting big reveals throughout, this writing team chose to keep all of these abreast until the last fourth of the drama. By then, most of my interest in finishing had greatly dwindled to nothingness. Some may appreciate this approach, I personally need more of a bone to keep me interested.
The delivery of this drama is extremely uneven. I faintly recall there being some moments that made my heart race, but most of this drama is watching 444 run around aimlessly trying to figure out his feelings and his past. Again and again, he gets diverted and waylaid. His experience is much like Black’s viewers. It gets quite tiring. Even the episodes that ended with an amazing cliffhanger would resolve in a disappointing opening in the next.
The biggest disappointment of this drama was its characters. Both 444 and Ha Ram were so flat. Ideally this drama is supposed to detail 444’s internal battle with his empathy for mankind. Yet portrayal was ineffective at keeping my interest. I was taken aback by how little screen-time 444 and Ha Ram shared. For the majority of the show, they are on their own separate journeys. This may have impacted the implausibly of their budding relationship and the lack of chemistry I felt for this duo. This drama was lost when I no longer cared about the characters.
All of the above doesn’t even touch on the gaping plot holes, the completely untapped supplementary characters and the problematic ending that negated everything that this drama was attempting to accomplish. This drama is being praised for its mystery, but for me that can’t make up for all the other drawbacks. If mystery is upmost in your book and you can overlook everything else, then maybe give it a try ... Otherwise, I would recommend giving this one a hard pass.
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This drama’s plot sometimes feels like it just prods along. The time it spends on the corporate battle between the two antagonists is painstakingly boring at times due to most of the episodes focusing on white collar crimes.
Though this drama tends to get lost in corporate politics, it is worth watching just to see the Mad Dog team interact with each other. Their bantering and heartfelt moments make for a good argument to watch this drama.
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Otherwise, the political conspiracy arc is okay, but nothing groundbreaking. The sexual offenders are very static and cliche. I was overall underwhelmed in the main antagonist. Each episode follows a pretty predictable setup week over week.
I want to recommend this because ama Yi Deum is a powerhouse of a character, but the story arc is rather disappointing ...
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Along with the development of the lead characters, the supporting characters have fairly unique and memorable character arcs. Aside from the contract relationship premise, Because This is My First Life also tries to tackle the three modern day females with different perspectives setup. This drama does this very well. The roles of Woo Su Ji and Yang Ho Rang are able to share in some very poignant moments throughout the drama. I enjoyed how the portrayal of these female characters provided a commentary of the modern day woman and the challenges that she faces from day to day.
Personally, this was one of my favorite dramas this year. It was just pure perfection from start to end. It astutely created characters that had special circumstances, but were still entirely relatable. A feat not many dramas can aptly pull-off. I can’t recommend this one enough!
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Where this drama missed the mark was in all the obstacles it threw at this precious lead couple. This just led to a lot of unnecessary mellodrama. There are issues with their friends, family, money and on and on. This setup got sooooo repetitive. I wish this drama had a way of focusing more on the couple. Overall, a sweet drama but your pretty standard fare.
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I also had a lot of trouble backing the lead couple in While You Were Sleeping. Even though Lee Jong Suk and Suzy did very well in their roles. I didn’t sense a whole lot of chemistry or any for that matter. Thinking back on the drama, I don’t even know when feelings started to form and the romance began.
Yet there are some points in this drama that just blew me away. The pilot for instance was a work of art. If only they were able to keep that going week over week. A handful of these episodes where so beautiful and breathtaking. The effects used to bridge reality and dream whisk you away to another world. The visual effects that this drama uses make a good argument to watch it.
Overall, I think While You Were Sleeping is an interesting enough drama to watch. Unfortunately, I don’t think it was able to deliver on the ultra-hype that proceeded it. If you are interested in the premise, watch this drama! Get swept away in this beautiful striking drama!
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I found this movie very poetic and subtle. I did enjoy watching it. It is a lovely human drama exploring how we impact each other. The tone is very subdued. I disagree that this drama is a romance. I found this movie pretty touching. Though I think it is worth the time to watch it, I don’t think it can compete with the more acclaimed movies in this category e.g. If Cats Disappeared from the World (2016), Departures (2008).
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Even through its dark and moody tone, the drama is surprisingly melancholy and understated. It strikingly fits the persona of the lead protagonist Michima Shin, a struggling novelist played by Noda Yojiro.
The characters are deep, and their character arcs are well developed considering that this drama is only 12, 25 minute episodes. Due to the run time, the story is very tightly written. Each episode beautifully plays into unraveling more of the mystery.
Million Yen Women has a bit of an off tempo. It is leisurely paced over 12 short episodes. I would highly recommend giving this drama a chance. I found that I was quickly pulled into the storyline. I will restrain myself from saying more so I won’t give too much away.
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The story itself is a bit scattered. It may be that it was trying to accomplish too much at once and wasn't able to execute on anything very well. I had a very hard time keeping engaged with the story and the lore of the Immortal Realm in particular. The original work would certainly fall into the mellow drama category. This drama is more of a romantic comedy. The constant pull between mellow drama and comedy is very distracting to the overall telling of the story.
Unfortunately, casting Nam Joo Hyuk as the lead character Habaek turned out to be a poor decision. Nam Joo Hyuk proved to be much too green to pull off the 3000 year old Habaek. Though he is cute and charming in parts ... other moments seem down right cringeworthy. Even though Habaek is supposed to be a bit of a man child, the childish demeanor washes away most of the sex appeal of the original Water God. Out of all the things I've seen Nam Joo Hyuk in, this is probably easily his weakest performance. I feel like he never really gets used to acting the part of Habaek.
Actually the character story that I was most intrigued with was Shin Hoo Ye played by Im Joo Hwan. I feel like Im always is cast as deep, complex characters. I loved CEO Shin story arc. His backstory and character development was so compelling, it ultimately distracted from the lead couple. Still rooting for a Happy Ending for Hoo Ye!
Though this drama was far from perfect, there were some charmingly touching parts. I did enjoy watching it. I just probably won't be revisiting it anytime soon.
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Chicago Typewriter is a love story, but it is also a beautiful story about friendship. Often, its themes on friendship are much more provocative and moving than its love story. Its discussion on loyalty, betrayal, forgiveness and redemption is so beautiful and poetic. The drama collects a strange ensemble as its cast: the snob of a writer, his number one fan turned anti-fan and a mysterious ghostwriter. These three leads have such interesting character arcs.
Intertwined with the main present day timeline is a parallel story about an Independence Fighter Group during the Japanese Occupation in the 1930s. This story is just as intriguing if not more than the main arc. The 1930's story adds depth and a poetic tone throughout Chicago Typewriter. Through the drama, the characters in the 1930s showed amazing strength and restraint which was often palpable. In contrast, sometimes the modern day story was not always able to deliver on the character depth to the same extent. Again and again, the 1930s storyline kept me hungry for more.
Chicago Typewriter is certainly one of the best dramas this year. In all honesty, what are you waiting for?! You should start this drama now!! No time to lose!
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This review may contain spoilers
Honestly, when I started watching Tunnel, I had no idea what to expect. I knew it had a pretty loyal following, but I had no idea how this show would take me captive. Thus far, I haven't been very impressed with dramas this year. Tunnel is a great crime and mystery drama, but its best asset is its characters. This drama features rich characters with thoughtful story arcs and amazing chemistry. Choi Jin Hyuk who is cast as the main protagonist delivers a great performance. I was really able to follow all his ups and downs as he tries to figure out life in 2017. Again and again, I am so drawn to Yoon Hyun Min. He is by far my favorite actor to provide as second for any bromance. His role as the young, misunderstood Sun Jae is something of legend. When I first saw Lee Yoo Young's character, she honestly freaked me out a little. The slow burn romance between these two is absolutely delicious. Their subtle advances are soooo deeply satisfying, and I felt this greatly complimented the show.
Tunnel features great story telling. Throughout the drama it unravels a well thought out and intertwined plot. This story had me clinging to my chair the entire time. I felt like every episode revealed another layer to the story. While some have stated that it was too predictable, I pretty much equated the predictability to all the spoilers I accidentally saw when it aired.
I strongly recommend watching Tunnel. It really takes you on an amazing ride. My only regret is that I wasn't able to watch it when it aired.
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Park Seo Joon and Kim Ji Won make such adorable leads. Both of them do a very good job playing out their roles where love lies right below the surface.
I feel that this drama focused way too much on the secondary leads story. I really felt little love for both Ahn Jae Hong and Song Ha Yoon's characters. I found their story detracting time from the lead couple.
This drama has such a fresh start when it focuses on the leads and their struggles in finding their way in the world. As the show continues, it starts to settle into a more traditional love story. As well toward the end of the drama, it throws in a lot more angst. While I found the disagreement about Seo Joon's character's career path, the birth mystery was really evocative and touching ...
Fight My Way was a good watch. The fresh start is a must watch. I did notice that as the drama started to settle into the typical tropes, I found that it got a little bogged down.
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