SHORT REVIEW, NO SPOILERS

Don’t read the synopsis. Don't watch the trailer !!! I am so glad I didn’t. I was sold within the 1st few minutes of the 1st episode. And although in many ways this show is predictable, many effective romcom formulas being used (let’s be real, they’re still used because they work), in many ways you will be taken aback. You will be shocked by who is trustworthy and who is not, who is strong and who is weak. And you will also wonder if everything in life is or can actually be black and white. I don’t think anyone can guess what leads the lead roles to get closer and closer, unless they stumble across the “former titles” or read the synopsis before watching the show, which I suggest you AVOID doing at all costs. It will spoil it, and kill what could be an interesting twist in your eyes as a viewer. The fact that the official title doesn’t give a single hint about what is going on is perfect. It made me appreciate the show even more. Be ready to discover tons of secrets - some being legit and harmless, most having pretty devastating consequences due to lies to cover up others, or lies to truly hurt others. KYK was the only reason I gave the show a try, and I really really didn’t expect much, but this romcom is fun and fresh, with doses of thrill and drama added to it. The strong points of this show? Its consistency in terms of suspense, and the leads’ ability to emote. I can’t think of one boring episode. I found myself cracking up one minute and tearing up the next. It is surprisingly one of the best romcoms I have seen to date, I truly recommend it.

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SHORT REVIEW

Avengers Social Clubs is one of those tv shows to watch when you want to see women taking charge of their lives, and valuing their self-respect instead of  the stereotypical catfighting over a no-good man that is not worth the drama. The main themes are friendship (mostly female), justice,  different forms of abuse regardless of generations, corruption and bribery,  family secrets, amongst other things. Many touchy topics were addressed, which I found extremely refreshing and brave.

All the main characters were interesting and well played. My favorite were Jung Hye and Soo Gyum, who were not supposed to get along given the circumstances but actually grew to heart each other. My only regret is the lack of balance of "good" and "bad" people,  there is some sort of gendered greatness. 80% of the good people were female, 20% male. The vast majority of "trashy people" were males. I hope you girls won't dislike me for this, but although I am a woman who 100% support women, these dynamics didn't make the show realistic. However Soo Gyum almost made up for this imbalance, he was a pleasant surprise.

Either way, it was very enjoyable, and the humor was unexpected. I assumed it would be dark from beginning to end, but caught myself laughing out loud a lot of times.  Thank you tVN for yet another good production!

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VERY SHORT REVIEW

This movie was nothing short of amazing. The acting was on par, the storyline quality, the flow and character development extremely good. I was mostly impressed by actress Kim Hyang Gi that I didn't know at all until I saw her in this production. The entire cast was awesome, but my favorite character was the advocate Hae Won Maek played by Joo Ji Hoon. The movie addresses family matters, hardship of life, the notions of good and evil, the feelings of inadequation and guilt. It reveals our imperfect human nature, and makes us reflect on our own existence. This movie is so filled with emotions. I found the different hells very original visually, however the weakest point for me was the CGI at times, that looked rather cheap and messy. But it was overall very delightful and very well deserves its position as one of the biggest hits in Korea's film history.

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LONG REVIEW

I might as well start by stating the obvious : one of the top 3 shows of 2018 and we’re only in February. But this level of quality is hardly ever surpassed, kdramaland or not. Rarely has a show been able to keep me interested and on my toes, from beginning to end. Do NOT be fooled by the 1st and 2nd episodes, which absolutely don’t reflect the greatness of this masterpiece. You might be turned off by some of the “cheesiness” at the beginning, but past those two episodes, it’s a totally different show.

STRONG POINTS : Jang hyuk’s performance is phenomenal, the downside of this is that his skills are so superior that he tends to outshine everyone else. Jang Seung Jo is the 2nd best thing of the show. Dude, going from his performance in “I Order You” to this, was absolutely unbelievable, what a spectacular actor! The “makjangness” (I know that’s not a word lol), i.e. the unexpected directions that the story constantly took, was simply brilliant. Pretty much 70% of what you assume will happen won’t. Trust me, you don’t want to speculate. The cliffhangers at the end of every episode are frustratingly good. This drama is CRAZY. It’s a game of who’s who and who’s not who. Yeah I know the previous sentence doesn’t make much sense, but the drama is that cray cray lol. Money Flower also reveals the worst side of human nature when it comes to wealth. Greed is a serious issue that can affect even the most honest man, when put under certain circumstances. It made me question my own relationship with money. As for the OST, the music is perfect, the violins ? OMONA ! I can’t remember but one song with lyrics, everything else is a bunch of fantastic instrumentals. This is pretty rare in a drama (my 1st time seeing this) and it was a pleasure to hear all those well selected melodies.

WEAK POINTS : The female lead, Mo hyun’s character is subpar at best, and I won’t blame it on actress Park Se Young, she has talent. It’s the whole “seeing the world like a 5 year old” mindset that they gave this character that is annoying as heck. It’s like this girl saw this world through rose colored glasses her entire life and suddenly woke up by 30 years old. Even when reality hit her hard, I still found her too freaking sweet!

DEBATABLE : Sorry to the fans who loved the ending, but it seemed to be an open one. I’ve read two theories and both make sense. I just hate those because I can never choose. I prefer clear concrete endings. I’ll elaborate on it in the comment section (comment will be tagged as spoiler so no worries). That’s the only reason I didn’t give it a 10.

OVERALL : This drama is more than entertainment. It’s an experience. Jang Hyuk was already in my top 5, but he is officially my favorite actor since this one. His talent, his ability to carry a whole show, are undeniable. Everything was awesome from the pace, character development, story telling, OST and cinematography. I'm pretty sure this drama, being a local hit, will change the game in kdramaland.

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SHORT REVIEW, SPOILERS

The lack of love and harsh criticism of this drama made me think 20 times about watching it. But I’m so glad I gave it a chance. Sweet Stranger & Me is more dramatic than really rom-com. There is a little dose of cheesiness, but once you get to know the backstory of the leads it takes an entirely different turn. Could it be one of the reasons people disliked and dropped it ? Since it wasn’t what was expected. I thought I would laugh all throughout the show but it took a dark turn quite quickly. Ironically, this unexpected turn of events is what actually kept me interested.

STRONG POINTS : The plot itself. It is… a bit strange ? I’d even say a little controversial. The whole family situation made a few viewers uncomfortable, however once you understand the motives behind the choices of the characters, this situation makes perfect sense. The leads are good actors. In fact, all the actors of this drama are doing a great job. Ko Nan Gil pushed Hong Na Ri to stay true to herself. He's a very supportive guy.

WEAK POINTS : The love story evolves too rapidly. The female lead trusts too fast too soon, she seems wise on the surface but makes decisions like a kid. And towards the end the drama gets a bit draggy. The music is forgettable.

OVERALL : Not revolutionary but not bad or boring either. Of course it’s not phenomenal, but it’s just one of those shows to binge watch when you have time to kill at home on a stormy day, the kind that I typically rate “7 to 7.5”, as in entertaining enough.

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Unrealistic / Gradually Cringy / Not for the Old Schoolers

The concept of cells ? Awesome and original. The cartoon characters ? Super cool. I was a fan of the leads at first, but some things annoyed me so much that by the 11th episode, I couldn’t keep watching this show.

Let’s keep in mind that these two are in their 30s, just like me.

First it was the beach outfit on a first date, which means in real life « I don’t really care about anything, I’m sloppy », but I tolerated it.

Then when she insisted on paying for some dates, I started feeling weird. If you’re one of those 50/50 girls or boys good for you. This is a turn off for me personally. I’m attracted to leaders. This « girls paying for dates » concept is not happening among most Koreans, and definitely NOT millennials, considering that on average, women are raised to date men who make more money than them, to sustain a family. And that was the case for this couple, he OWNED a house, and had his own business while OWNING that house. If he could pay for an officetel apartment (some of the most expensive places, in Korea, that the middle class generally cannot afford), he earned way more than she did.

The last straw for me was when she insisted that he moves in with her after she found out he was sleeping at his office because he sold his place. And worse, he gave in. A capable, grown man, who sold his own house and therefore has more than enough money in the bank, and whose office is actually an apartment. The guy wasn’t wandering in the streets, give me a break. In real life, a man with pride would move back in with his parents as a LAST resort, before he would even allow himself to be housed by his girlfriend, especially as a former officetel apartment OWNER. Let the man figure it out, and bounce back, cheer him up, but don’t mommy him. Also, this whole forcing him to shave his beard was annoying. His beard was neat. Can you imagine a guy telling his girlfriend that he met with short hair (as that was the case for YuMi) to absolutely let her hair grow and insists, threatening to break up if she keeps her hair short ? Ummm it’s a no for me.

So I checked the ratings in Korea, less than 3%, even for tvN this is pretty low. It figures. This guy would be seen as irresponsible in his country at his age, and in most Traditional countries or circles.

I hope YuMi wrote and sold that book, because I was rooting for her. I hope Woong’s business took off because I was rooting for him too. But this childish, « can’t communicate like grown adults », « can’t stay with you if you don’t move in with me although you have the amount of the cost of a house in your account, and a big apartment as an office », « you’re a well-off man, but subway’s on me » type of script, is LITERALLY NOT MY CUP OF TEA. To each their own.

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LONG REVIEW

Now that I have watched the whole drama (because of  Ji Chang Wook, let’s be honest) I understand the complaints. I’ll start with the good, move to the bad, and finish with the ugly.

The Good : When I started watching the show, I expected mainly comedy, based on the 1st episode (didn’t remember the synopsis). While it was fun to watch, it dealt with dark issues, and revealed a lot about man’s fragility and his natural tendency to be selfish and do evil, including when it comes to love. As predictable as the romance was, the criminal cases weren’t. I thought that making a drama about serious murder cases so digestible was not an easy task, and very well done. I also appreciated the fact that the female lead was not as gorgeous as the male lead. It's usually the other way around. She was not Ms Perfect, but just an everyday girl, and very opiniated. Ji Wook was generous and transparent, in real life he would make an awesome partner.

The bad (actors) : Very few actors can mix deep emotions with comedy. Ji Chang Wook can do it easy, but Nam Ji Hyun is not as good. She’s awesome to make you laugh, but when it comes to moving you to tears or making you angry, I couldn’t take her seriously. She’s not good at conveying deep emotions. She can’t cry to save her life. Well, at least Ji Chang Wook and Dong Ha (who was terrific) made up for her average skills.

The ugly (plot) : Some things were too unrealistic. Now I know this is entertainment but this is not a fantasy or sci-fi drama, this is a legal one. No woman in her right mind would move in where Bong Hee lived so fast. There's more to say but then I would have to spoil a lot. As for the characters, Yoo Jung was a pretty blend and irrelevant one. Self-centered, childish, unable to self-reflect. I never liked the situation between Eun Hyuk and Yoo Jung, and until the end I never liked those two.

In conclusion I enjoyed the drama at first but it went south by the 30th episode, now I get why it gets so much bad rap. It was too long (32 episodes of 30 minutes would have been more than enough), some circumstances were too unrealistic and the ending was beyond lackluster. Where were the fireworks ??? Way to frustrate an audience after 40 freaking episodes!!!!

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SHORT REVIEW

I expected a very vain message about girls having to look and be perfect with little to no personality. Well well, what a pleasant surprise. I’m not a Robot has a great cast, amazing scenery, fun and light comedy. I'll seriously give much more credits to male writer-nims because many do deliver in terms of role distribution for women. In fact, impressive point ? The female roles. None of the girls are one-dimensional but all have a mind of their own and very distinct personalities and styles. I always appreciate when one girl doesn’t follow the norm in terms of image, here we have Sun Hye, a sexy, assertive and self-assured thick girl. Weakest points ? First, how long it took for the secret to be discovered. All this dragging made the whole situation look stupid. And second, Pi's evolution, I can't really say more otherwise I'd have to spoil.

Don’t expect 80% of the show to be funny, for all you comedy drama fans, expect quite a lot of drama too. Yoo Seung Ho confirmed his talent, Chae Soo Bin that I saw for the 1st time here totally impressed me, Kang Ki Young is now one of my current obsessions, not only because his acting is pretty good, but hey the icing on the cake is that he is attractive and that's one of the many reasons we watch dramas, right ? All in all, very enjoyable. How this production turned out to be flop in Korea is a mystery to me. I respect countries’ tastes but I really can’t fathom this one. I give it a 8.5/10!

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SHORT REVIEW

"Vivid Romance" is neither whack nor excellent. It is enjoyable though quite forgettable,  and short enough not to make you feel like you've wasted your time. It's actually the 2nd mini-series that I have been able to finish. The storyline was interesting, since it addressed the inferiority complex of those who are unlucky in terms of genetics and background. That would have been a good script for a standard drama.  All the actors were good, the male and female leads were excellent, especially actress Jo Soo Hyang who was the bad girl in "Who Are You : School 2015" and left a good impression on me at the time. But I watched this mini-series to see more of Kang Ki Young (after seeing him in "I'm Not A Robot"), who plays Jo Ji-Seob here. He did an awesome job, now I know he's also good at comedy!

All in all it was okay, nothing to write home about, but at the same time fun to watch to kill time. Will I watch it again ? No, like all mini-series everything happens way too fast, since there's not enough time for character development. Maybe this format is just not for me. Would I recommend it ? If your goal is to see more of a certain actor's skills or if you're a fan of one of them, definitely. If you're looking for something revolutionary or at least memorable, then move on to something else.

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VERY SHORT REVIEW

The thing that struck me most about this drama, and that I will always remember, was that it was the 1st one that I noticed had ALL women playing very important non-conventional roles, had multi-dimensional personalities and kicked ass in their own way.  For this alone I was thankful. It showed the often very undervalued progress of the korean industry (and society) when it comes to women, their roles and their worth.  Ji Chang Wook won my as a fan with this very drama, and actor Yoo Ji Tae was beyond phenomenal. Watch. Re-watch and Re-Re-watch!! Definitely recommend.

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The Title Of This Drama Says It All (SHORT REVIEW, SPOILERS)

Here, we have a different kind of family secret drama.

The secrets are dark, really darker than usual, in my opinion.

This show was nearly perfect, especially the performances. I was in awe of the child actress’ acting skills.

But one thing irritated me, and it’s the things Ji Eun Su resorted to do to get close to her daughter, rather than telling the truth. She literally endangered everyone, especially her beloved child. I cringed the entire time she conned Kang Ji Min. Real life doesn’t work that way, but I’m not here to lecture anyone. I’m glad that they at least showed through the child, that there were so many lies, that even she didn’t believe half of what the adults around her told her. You could see her confusion and disappointment.

This production was overall really well executed. And as much as I couldn’t stand Kim Ho Ran, her fashion sense was IMPECCABLE, down to the hairstyle, accessories and makeup.

If you’re highly sensitive / an empath, you should know that unless you’re willing to close your eyes a few times since a couple of scenes are quite gory (that’s what I did), you should really pass this one.

Lastly, I’d like to thank the team for the ENDING. I really thought it was going downhill in the last episode. After all, it’s a KOREAN melodrama, and they’re good at telling tragic stories. But it was pretty nice. A beautiful surprise. And for that alone, it was worth watching.

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SHORT REVIEW : They could have titled it « Patterns »

I detest dramas centered around extramarital affairs. I’ve always avoided them. As a viewer who doesn’t read synopses or watch trailers, I tend to drop them the moment I figure out this is the main theme. But what is a girl to do when the main characters are two of her all time favorite actors ? I got sucked into this dirty world, and although I predictably ranted a lot, cried a lot, cursed at Mr Park and his mistress a lot, there was an undeniable truth being taught behind the over dramatized « makjang-esque » plot :

We recreate family patterns when we don’t deal with our traumas and sense of worthlessness.

Mr Park, ended up having a mistress just like his father used his mother as a mistress.
Ms Na was abandoned by her spouse, just like her father was abandoned by his spouse.
Ms On reduced herself to a mere temporary « option », just like her mother was to her father.

Most of us recreate family patterns, good or bad, and it’s not that a toxic pattern is an inevitable vicious cycle, but these subconsciously taught behaviors and mindset follow us unless we intentionally choose to be honest about and heal from our traumas. You see, all of them had to eventually face their unresolved issues.

The ending was satisfying enough. I feared a tragedy, but it was better than expected. This drama was overall well executed. Do I recommend it ? Only if you don’t get too emotionally involved when it comes to this theme. I had to binge watch it (which I may have done 5 times at best in 10+ years) to be done with it quick. It gave me a headache to be honest. I made my choice and delt with it, no regrets, but no re-watch. Now you decide.

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VERY SHORT REVIEW

What would you do if you were faced with a robot who showed some humanity ? Would he be just a block of metal to you or would you start seeing him differently? What if he showed more humanity than you? I won't give any detail about the story, I'll just say, this drama was RIDICULOUS! Rarely, rarely has a sci-fi production moved me but this one is so creative, different and bold. Seo Kang Joon is my new hero. It takes a special artist to give life to such paradoxical characters. I really really didn't expect much from this show but I was blown away from start to finish. The cliffhangers are insane, everyone's performance is on point, the story is impressive and besides a couple of cliche elements (which I absolutely don't complain about - all genres have their formulas), it was unpredictable. Gong Seung Yeon is a very talented actress, and did an excellent job here. The only reason I'm not writing much is because, I have so much to say that I know somehow I would end up spoiling. Jo Jung-joo writer-nim? I don't follow writers, but I'll be stalking this one. All I can say is : WATCH IT, Re-WATCH IT, buy the DVDs if you can support it, wear the T-Shirt, buy the MUGS, tell your neighbors about it! Definitely one of the BEST dramas I've seen to date, and one of the top 3 dramas of 2018.

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What is a strong woman ?

I started watching this drama because of JJH the male lead. The strong points ? The performances are quality, both leads being excellent actors. The pace of the drama and cinematography, as well as the fashion sense of both characters. Love it when women can switch it up from being tomboyish to extremely girly. Highly appreciated.

The bad ? Well I’m not gonna list everything. I’ll just talk about one thing : I started losing respect for the female lead the moment she did everything to lure an emotionally broken woman back into an abusive relationship, in the name of money and competition. My question now is, what is a strong woman ? A highly deceitful one, who lacks so much empathy that she’ll use fear to trap a fellow woman in the arms of a drunkard and addict, when said client has enough money to move abroad ? Or should we start with the fact that her love story with the male lead began with her completely manipulating him for data ? How would that be received had it been the other way around, and in the end the deceived girl STILL tried to figure it out and asked the guy « did you at least love me a little » ? And manipulative guy found himself everywhere deceived girl was ? Yeah I can hear it. Jerk. Loser. Crazy STALKER. Etc. But this Jung Eumja chick is a bad @zz right ? Not to me guys, not to me.

As pro-woman as I am, I can’t get over the fact that this show is not helping us. All I saw was a weak woman so desperate for recognition and money, that she had zero work ethics. Um, no. I’ll gladly pass this one.

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