Details

  • Last Online: 14 hours ago
  • Gender: Female
  • Location:
  • Contribution Points: 0 LV0
  • Roles:
  • Join Date: October 10, 2020
Completed
Castaway Diva
4 people found this review helpful
Dec 16, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 1.0

what did it want to be?

I'll preface my review by stating the obvious, in the hopes that no one gets hateful, this is just my personal opinion. Please take it or leave it alone, agree or disagree, but please respect the opinions of others (and I'm kind of irritated that I even have to say this).

There was a lot to like about this show:
Acting. Everyone was really good. Park Eun Bin as Mok Ha was wonderful. I think there were certain mannerisms that we saw that she displayed in Extraordinary Attorney Woo and I think are just part of her DNA, because I've seen them in other shows of hers. However, they absolutely worked here. She was charming and likeable, driven, yet devoted to those she loved. All of the other actors were excellent as well. I especially loved the younger actors, they were the standouts for me. Also, Kim Joo Heon playing a morally gray character, and both Lee Seung Joon as Ki Ho's father and Lee Yoo Joon as Mok Ha's father were surprising. We are so used to seeing them in the role of good guys, their transformations were amazing.

Music. As you'd expect, the OST was wonderful. Eun Bin's voice is sublime. I could literally listen to her all day.

My problem came in with the writing and the way the story was put together. On the surface, or maybe because of the trailers, this was an original premise, with strong possibilities of feeling all the feels. My struggle was this drama couldn't decide if it wanted to be a romance, a drama, a comedy, light or dark. For me, the extremes were too great. I wasn't expecting it to be fluffy, but the darkness was too dark for the rest of the drama, and the flipping back and forth wasn't allowing me to flow with the story. I didn't feel that there was enough of her on the island (a whole episode would have been nice) and the whole thing just seemed too implausible - she was that close to civilization all that time? Then, her reintegration was just too easy. First of all, the voice is a muscle. She would have needed to get used to using her voice again. Add to that, her early life was just trauma. So, she's traumatized as a child and then has the trauma of having been on an island by herself for 15 years, but she comes home and there appear to be no after-effects, just that she's glad to be back home and she immediately gets back on the track of wanting to meet her idol. It would have been so much better if we'd been able to see/feel her struggles with reassimilating into society -- that would have really improved the flow and made it more realistic.

I'd say, if you've actually read this far and are wondering whether to give this show a try, you should, definitely. Just because I'm one of the few outlier people that didn't fall in love with it, you may (and probably will) have a different reaction to it.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Bubblegum
4 people found this review helpful
Jun 18, 2023
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 3.0
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 1.5
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

Watching this, I was angry at almost everyone in it!

What I liked:
1)The actors playing the younger Ri Hwan and Haeng Ah. Their story lines were interesting, and they did a good job. Episode 11 was good, we got to see the leads as their younger selves.
2)I suppose all of the actors did a good job with what they had to work with. It wasn't the actors themselves, but the characters that I had a hard time with.
3)Episode 15. Nice tie up and it would have been a good ending here.
Things that made me want to scream:
Let's start with the characters.
1) Ri Hwan appears to have cared for Haeng Ah forever. He was always there to pick up the pieces when her life fell apart, but never put himself out there. Then there's the fact that he was TOO nice. There was a girl that liked him (why?), she was basically a stalker, she knew that he liked someone else, but he kept meeting her and then he apologized to her?!?!
2) Haeng Ah - puts up with (and lives with) a man that completely ignores her, shows no emotion toward her, and can't even really have any kind of a deep conversation with her. She decides that she's had enough, breaks up with him, yet keeps meeting with him. Apparently, I was so irritated I started micro-watching, because her rings were driving me up the wall. Why do you need one on every finger?
3) Seok Joon - aforementioned boyfriend of Haeng Ah. This character had no personality at all. Completely flat affect throughout the entire drama, until one slight movement toward a grin in the last episode. She breaks up with him, he knows why, you know he has no intention of changing, yet still keeps coming around. Stalker much? Watching him was creepy and depressing.
4) Ye Seul - the girl that likes Ri Hwan. Again, this character had no emotion, other than depression, throughout the entire show. She even says that people "say I'm like misery". True words. She knows he doesn't like her, that he likes someone else, yet uses emotional blackmail to be with him "I'll get the best care for your mom if you'll be with me."
5) Haeng Ah's mother - she was terrible at the beginning of the story line wanted us to feel bad for her, but in some ways, it was too little, too late.
Those were my main issues. Then, you add to the fact that there were entirely too many story lines going on. Multiple couples, used-to-be couples, almost couples. Not enough time was spent developing a really good story for any of them.
Story:
At about episode 5, Haen Ah and Ri Hwan finally admit their feeling for each other. But by episode 7 she is waffling. They break up in episode 8 and there is abject misery all around until the very end of episode 13. The reasons for the breakups are weak, and there are numerous opportunities for the 2ML and 2FL to try to inveigle their way into the leads' hearts/lives. It was so irritating and unnecessary. I really disliked both second leads, and the fact that the leads kept meeting up with them made me dislike the leads as well. So, the leads were actually apart more than they were together, and I didn't feel chemistry between any of the characters. Episode 16 was just filler.
Music:
There was some song that was repeated multiple times and the beginning of it sounds like Jingle Bells, which totally took me out of the story.

I know that a lot of people really liked this drama, lauding it as having an Indie feel about it. In layman's terms, that just means that the story was slow. Which isn't a bad thing in itself, provided the drama is well-written and that you like and root for the characters. I was just counting down the episodes until I could be finished.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Destined to Meet You
4 people found this review helpful
Apr 9, 2023
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers

Thank you writers!

Chinese dramas aren't usually my "go to" because of their length. For me, most of the 20-40 episode dramas are mostly filler. This one was right up my alley! It was the perfect length, and the story didn't suffer from the brevity at all. I'm not normally a fan of noona romance, but this one was cute, and there were some good comedic moments associated with it.

So much to like:
Destiny trope - I'm a sucker for it, I'll be honest. What he said about waiting five years, that really got to me.
No triangles.
No evil SFL (I've noticed it's almost always SFL as opposed to SML)
No evil parents trying to split them up (loved her dad!)
The dubbing was toned town and not nearly as irritating as usual.
Strong FL - Lu Yan Qi as Rong Rong was so refreshing. I'd say she was assertive rather than aggressive. She was a powerful business woman but not a b*tch. She displayed a lot of vulnerability. Yan Qi is seriously beautiful, and she has the perfect lips for all the times she's asking him to kiss her.
Wonderful ML - loved Yang Ze as Cong Bei. Handsome and youthful, which played into the noona aspect of the drama. He had a lot of good micro-expressions that displayed how he was feeling. I do, however, wonder what he was going to do with his life. That wasn't really addressed.
No big misunderstandings. There were a couple of places where things went awry in their lives, but they talked about things and resolved them. I really liked how they believed in one another, when others were feeding them lies.
2ML - normally I'm not a big fan of facial hair on Asian men, it can often look so sparse, like they are trying too hard for a beard. I loved his beard and his long hair. SPOILER!!!! This is the first time I think I've ever felt sympathetic toward an antagonist. I actually loved this character (especially with Jing Jing) and was so sorry that they couldn't make that guy that was hanging around him the villain so the 2ML could get a happy ending. END OF SPOILER.
2FL - Guo Jiu Yu as Jing Jing - here is where most of the comedy relief came in. She was such a sweet character but was an accident waiting to happen whenever she was in the 2ML's sphere. The two of them were cute together.
No time skip at the end!

My biggest hope, upon watching this drama, is that C-drama writers will start to see that the shows can deliver the same feels, yet be tighter and more concise, without all the unnecessary filler.

I really enjoyed Destined to Meet You.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Poong, the Joseon Psychiatrist
4 people found this review helpful
Feb 8, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Hmmm, I thought it was a little all over the place

First, I'll say I'm not a big fan of historical dramas. Though the costuming is beautiful, I sometimes find it distracting. So many of the men look alike, between the hats and the facial man-pubes, just not attractive. Then there's always the typical palace intrigue -the same plot line dropped into every historical drama. It's superficial, I know, but there it is.

This is a difficult review for me to write, because my likes and dislikes seem to be so intertwined, but I'll do my best.

LIKES:
-Ahn Chang Hwan as Poong's servant/companion/champion/friend - This was a wonderful character. Used mostly for comedy relief, my interest was piqued each time he was on the screen.
-Some beautiful filming - especially the women's festival with the fireworks and the swing. It was used as a hook toward the very beginning, and I kept hoping for more. I had to be satisfied with the beautiful landscaping.
-Kim Min Jae as Poong and Kim Hyang Gi as Seo Eun Woo. They were marvelous together. There was mutual respect there.
-The people of the medical community/village - found family. The bonding between the characters, how they had each other's backs, how they talked through crimes together. A lot of comedy, but the love shone through.
-The music was used effectively.
-Solving multiple cases. I liked how it wasn't JUST palace intrigue, but they solved a new case every couple of episodes.
-I liked that the main characters called each other by name (she may not have, I can't remember), but he did. I realize it's a cultural thing, but it always bothers me when two characters get romantically involved and she still calls him Mr./Director, etc.

COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:
-I am NOT liking this trend of having multiple seasons. It makes the show seem draggy in a lot of ways, because they need to milk it for all it's worth just to continue in a new season.
-Hated the ending. Again, I know there's another season, but it was so lackluster.
-The show felt uneven to me. There were so many lighthearted moments, but then in the last three or four episodes it turned to full-on melodrama. I don't like melodrama, but that's just me. I fast forwarded though a lot of the last few episodes.
-Romance is listed way down on the tags, as it should be, but scenes that you see advertising the show focus on the romance, like they are trying to sell it as a romance. So, as a romance lover, I was disappointed in the storyline. I couldn't even call this a slow burn romance. Not only did romance take a backseat to all the intrigues, it wasn't even in the car!
-So many evil characters, and the main bad guy was so over-the-top he seemed like a caricature of a bad guy. I kept expecting him to twirl his moustache like cartoon bad guys do.
-An awful lot of abuse by parents to children. This is hard for me to watch.
-The name of this drama really bothered me for some reason. This was more like a CSI-type show. They did mention underlying reasons for what was going on with people (anger, despair, etc.), but then moved back into the acupuncture jargon.
-Overacting by the granny. I realize she was supposed to have dementia, but her constant yelling and dancing was very distracting.
-So, basically by working with Poong for a week or so, Eun Woo was a doctor?!?! I know that the standards were different back then, but sheesh!

So, I'd say give it a try, especially if you are a historical drama fan. It did have a lot going for it, but it definitely didn't leave me feeling satisfied, especially knowing now I have to watch the new season, just to see what happens.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Café Minamdang
4 people found this review helpful
Aug 31, 2022
18 of 18 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 1.0

Funny, until it's not

I came for Seo In Guk. He is a terrific actor, and this role let him use facial muscles that are normally reserved only for the strangest expressions. There was an abundance of quirkiness and fun in this show, especially with the Cafe Minamdang employees. I appreciated how the writers gave us insight to how the Cafe came into being. Watching him bounce and dance around, chanting nonsense chants, and then surprising everyone with him being spot on was fun to watch.

Where it kind of fell apart for me was the overabundant number of characters to keep straight. They threw names around right and left, so many of them like the others, I spent a lot of time wondering who the heck they were talking about. I was surprised at how quickly the show went from light and fun to dark and sordid. The seamy underbelly of the police force and government officials, that's a cliche that gets used too much for my taste.

I also had a problem with the age difference between a few of the characters, only because it made absolutely no sense and wasn't believable.

Without giving anything away, there was one character that I was hoping beyond all hope that they wouldn't take him in a certain direction. When they did, though, I was glad because it made more sense. But it came so close to the end of the show it seemed like it was tacked on at the last minute.

I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but there should not have been a romance between the main couple. There was no chemistry, it wasn't believable, and I focused on the secondary couple.

The OST was wonderful.

I won't watch this again, because I didn't find it interesting enough, and the main couple was so bland.

I'm not going to say don't watch it. You'll be thoroughly entertained in the first few episodes, but as for the rest, I just really felt like there was something missing.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Begin Again
4 people found this review helpful
Jun 28, 2022
35 of 35 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 2.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

Where's the communication!?!?

So, Chinese dramas are notoriously long. They tend to spread out over many more episodes than they need to, with some episodes being no more than filler. That's a big complaint of mine. However, that said, if I have to fast forward through a lot of stuff to get to the meat of the story, I will do so. I might rate lower because of all my wasted time, but not always. There were a few things in this show that I found problematic and ultimately unforgivable.

Wasted time/scenes/episodes
No chemistry between leads
Leaving for no apparent reason for years. I find this trope so maddening, because in this day and age, with everyone walking around with a phone in their hand, that someone could leave for five years is just irritating. First, them not having contact with one another for years completely negates all the stuff we had to watch to get them together. If you can leave without a word, you aren't really in love.
But the biggest thing for me - you have a child with this man and don't tell him?!?! That is unforgivable! I'll admit that the prudish side of me started watching Asian dramas because they were more pure than American TV. I got tired of the going to bed with one another without a commitment. Sadly, so many Asian dramas are jumping on the premarital sex bandwagon. I can deal with that, but there is absolutely no excuse for keeping a child from his father and vice versa. That was the kiss of death for me, as far as this drama was concerned.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Professional Single
4 people found this review helpful
Feb 22, 2022
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

This had potential, but there were some real problems for me

First, what I liked - the roommates of both the ML and FL. They brought a lot of heart and humor to their roles. I also always like a large height difference between the leads. However, this led to one of my problems with this drama...

The ML was borderline abusive to the FL. The first time he grabbed her by the face and kissed her, it really was rough. Plus, he was always dragging her toward him roughly, or grabbing her by the arm in an overly firm manner. This really bothered me. I don't think that behavior is ever acceptable, but I might have been more tolerant if she wasn't so tiny.

ACTING: Ireine Song - I've only seen her in one other thing, and her character was pretty much the same, so it's hard to judge her acting prowess. Aaron Deng as Qin Shen - wooden and expressionless throughout. I've not seen him in anything else, so I'll reserve judgment on whether it was acting or the script. Which brings me to -
WRITING: I didn't care for the way the main characters were written. Qin Shen was a total Tsundere, but we never got to see the soft side of him. On the rare occasions that he smiled, it seemed somewhat forced. It would have been so nice to see him develop some warmth, especially as it related to his roommates. It always seemed there was only tolerance, I would have liked to see sincere friendships develop. The FL even used the statement about him not using his words. Throughout the drama, it was grunts or one-word answers. He was overbearing physically to the FL as mentioned before, as well as being possessive and jealous, and not in a cute way, telling her she couldn't talk to guys, following her around to monitor who she was talking to. This could have been portrayed in a way that was sweet and showed how he cared for her, but it didn't get portrayed that way. The FL character of Yuan Qian - when she stood up to the bully, I had high hopes for her, but she seemed like a "taker/user" to me, always asking others to do things/get things for her. She was also eavesdropping on every conversation he had with anyone. In every Asian drama, there always seems to be falling/tripping as it relates to the FL. This show took it to the extreme. She was ALWAYS falling, stumbling, tripping, or walking into things. I also didn't care for her attempts to be "cute". She was never willing to tell him how she felt, but was constantly asking him, "Isn't there something you want to say to me?" Each episode seemed to be a repeat of the previous episode, misunderstandings, him being mean, her trying to get him to tell her he liked her, and the friends giving both of them a hard time. As for the character of Ling Wei as the girl that liked Qin Shen - she seriously needed therapy! The writers also never really delved into why he was so mean to her, what had happened in their past, or anything like that.
RELATIONSHIP OF LEADS/CHEMISTRY: He was silent, bossy, possessive. She pouted, stomped around, was mad or employing the silent treatment A LOT. They spent a lot of time staring at each other, and not much time having actual mature conversations that would develop a relationship. This didn't feel like a healthy relationship to me at all. Granted, one of the reasons I enjoy romances is because it's not real life, but for me, this relationship never felt lovely, or something I wanted to see more of. Chemistry between them was severely lacking. In general, the relationship felt toxic.
MUSIC: I don't remember it.
REWATCH: There weren't even any scenes that I think I'd want to rewatch.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Melting Me Softly
4 people found this review helpful
Aug 17, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
I love Ji Chang Wook, but this show was very disappointing. It couldn't seem to decide what it wanted to be- a comedy, a mystery, a romance. Sadly, I didn't find it funny, mysterious or romantic. I didn't feel too terribly much chemistry between the two main people (except the shower scene in episode 10 which was hawt!), but I don't think it was due to them, it was the way the script was written. It didn't really give too much time for romance with everything else that was going on. There were too many characters for them to be able to develop good stories for each of them.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Forever Love
4 people found this review helpful
Jan 25, 2021
28 of 28 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 7.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 4.0
This review may contain spoilers

Such a cute couple, but...

The main couple was wonderful. Theirs was a healthy, loving and supportive relationship. Things got a little hazy midway through - she got an apartment for him, was she staying there too? (after saying she wasn't ready to be with him in a physical way). I really loved the progression of the relationship and some of the friendships.

I have to say that her cousin needed to be run over by a truck or something. He was beyond irritating throughout most of the show and a girl blindly liking a total mean guy just never makes any sense to me. There was also the obligatory "you're not good enough for him" wanna be girlfriend as well as "I can take care of her better than you" wanna be boyfriend. That cliche gets really tiresome. And some of the secondary characters were seriously overacting. And the dubbing was somewhat problematic - most of the girls sounded the same.

I had to rate down based on the other cliches of the evil mother and the two year separation. This story arc really bothered me on so many levels. She stood by her man up until this point and then was leaving without letting him know?!?! So immature and it wasn't true to their relationship up to that point. It would have been so much better had the mom said at the airport that she had changed her mind and the daughter didn't have to go. And why leave for two years to "study" when you are part owner of a company?!

All that said, the ML and FL were both wonderful, him especially. When he looked at her...oh my. And can I just say a big THANK YOU for giving us a wedding at the end?

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Lost Romance
4 people found this review helpful
Dec 8, 2020
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

A purposely cliche-ridden show! Such a fun watch.

The only reason this show isn't a 10 is because the "real world" was so drawn out, everyone in the real world was toxic, and the heroine became kind of spineless at the end. That said, I still highly recommend this drama, because it is just so much fun!

STORY - I'm not going to repeat the synopsis, but let me just say, if you have been a fan of Asian dramas for awhile, you will love this show. I think it has pretty much every cliche we've learned to love/hate. There are multiple Hyun Bin references, homages to Goblin, DOTS, Kill Me Heal Me, and a couple of others that I didn't recognize. You've got the scrappy heroine/female lead that, once she goes into the novel, realizes that she's not the lead, which makes for very entertaining dilemmas. Overbearing CEO (yes, he's actually called that), second male lead which caused me serious second lead syndrome, the arm grabs, the shower scenes (they really played these up!) the comas, the evil family, the childhood traumas, etc. I loved all the lines relating to the FL in the novel "why does she trip every time she gets near the CEO? Doesn't this company make you pass a physical?" The writer did an excellent job of making fun of all these things, saying exactly what I'm sure all of us have said at one time or another. I did feel that the writing was more stilted at the end in the real world, it was bordering on cliche, unfortunately. I absolutely hated the FL in the novel - so vapid, with a whispery voice, wide eyes, and I was surprised she was able to breathe on her own without assistance. I didn't get why Xiao En was in love with the CEO/Ao Ran, other than that's what the FL is supposed to do. It made sense once they got to know each other, but it felt backward to me - just being in love with a pretty face, I guess. I loved the FL and her best friend - the kind of friendship that we all want to have in our lives.

CAST - Vivian Sung was good as Xiao En, though her hair hanging in her face was about to drive me crazy - give that girl a barrette, for heaven's sake! Marcus Chang as He Tian Hang/Ao Ran - let's be honest, this guy is serious eye candy. I think his acting tends to be a little flat and one note, which was perfect for this show. He did an admirable job of playing two different sides to the same person. Simon Lian as Qing Feng - he was my favorite person in the show. The strong, silent type, he really took the time to get to know Xiao En - I was shipping them for the longest time, even though I knew it could never be. I loved his relationship with Ao Ran as well. I was actually very sad that He Tian Hang didn't have his counterpart in the real world.

COSTUMING - Why they put the FL in huge, hanging, oversized, blousy, not attractive outfits through the whole thing, I have no idea. The clothes that the men wore were nice.

OST - beautiful. Marcus Chang did a few of the songs.

So, even though I felt like there was a lot of boring stuff, it was so fun to watch a show give voice to questions that I always have while watching these shows. Kissing first thing in the morning? Don't they need to brush their teeth?

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Record of Youth
4 people found this review helpful
Nov 30, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Talent wasted on a mediocre script

Park So Dam - she has a great voice. I loved her in Cinderella and the Four Knights, and heard she was exceptional in Parasite, which I did not see. I'll be honest, I think any actress could have been dropped into this part and they would have been okay.

Park Bo Gum - he is a wonderful actor. He is able to portray a full range of emotions with nothing more than his eyes. For anyone that has not seen I Remember You (also known as Hello Monster), he is EXCEPTIONAL in that! There is something very charismatic about Bo Gum, and the more of his works I watch, the most impressed I am.

This show started out well. I loved the background look into the career of modeling and the concept of two good friends being on opposite ends of the economic as well as career scales. The main characters started out being very up-front with one another, verbalizing their likes, dislikes, etc. However, once they actually got involved with one another, the communication stopped. In Asian dramas, I often wonder why the characters don't just talk to each other, it was such a disappointment that this was a problem here as well.

I loved the woman that played his agent, she brought some good comedic talent to the table. However, there were so many story lines going on at once, some of which were never fully fleshed out, some of which were pointless, some of which were just downright irritating. There seemed to be more happening with other people in the show than the main three characters. This made the show seem needlessly long.

If I'm honest, the thing that kept me coming back was Bo Gum's acting. That and the hopes of a good ending. On that score I was very disappointed. The ending was so lackluster and open-ended, it felt like there should have been a concluding episode following the last episode. This is another thing that I notice about Asian dramas, they tend to use a lot of filler to make more episodes and then wrap everything up in the last five minutes. Writers could definitely take a cue from the writers of Legend of the Blue Sea, which has the best ending of any Asian drama that I've ever seen.

So, my long-winded evaluation of Record of Youth, see it for Park Bo Gum, but don't expect much otherwise.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Falling for Innocence
4 people found this review helpful
Oct 27, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

What a treat!

This was a well-written, and wonderfully acted story. Yoon Hyun Min's character (2nd male lead) progressed in an alarming way, showing what avarice and want of power can do. Kim So Yeon was terrific as the ever-efficient and loyal secretary. She was so mature that she seemed much older than everyone else. She has a honey-sweet voice that would calm the most agitated person. That said, Jung Kyung Ho ran away with this show. His character had been driven by revenge for years, and that was his entire focus. He was all hard edges and unforgiveness. Once he has a "change of heart" (which I think should have been the movie's title, by the way!), watching him come to terms with making some decisions that might actually benefit someone else was a joy to watch. This was a man not used to feeling anything other than anger, now suddenly he was starting to feel love. At times he did not take it well, which brought on some extremely funny scenes. Him getting dating advice from his trusty male secretary was a hoot. He didn't actually know how to have interpersonal relationships, so he kept yelling at people, and he said some really funny things to others. The two leads had a wonderful chemistry together. They were playful at times (I dare you not to crack a smile while watching this!), soulful at other times. Good kisses. It was a happy ending, though it was a letdown, kind of emotionless after everything the couple went through to be together. They should change the poster for this show. I didn't watch it for the longest time, thinking it was going to be too slapstick, but this was an intelligent show, with elements of drama, comedy, crime, mystery, all rolled up in one package.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
XX
4 people found this review helpful
Oct 11, 2020
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 7.0

Take the time to watch this.

It’s a feast for the eyes - it has a film noir feel to it. Filmed a lot in shadow, with brown/dark tones. Everything has been well thought out, the rooms, the clothes and the makeup all flow seamlessly together, with nothing out of place. The use of closeups was very well done, especially when the bartenders were mixing drinks. The two female leads work like yin and yang, one extremely overtly classy, selfish and insecure, the other more understated and comfortable with herself. The entire cast was very good, and they were working from a great script - a lot packed into five episodes, with no wasted scenes. The music added to the overall feel, from the pounding techno, to the use of a single, droning beat whenever someone entered the bar. This show was a joy to watch!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Love Your Enemy
7 people found this review helpful
Jan 11, 2025
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

Positives and negatives

- The teens and their storyline were the standouts for me. I would have rated higher if they were in it more.
-Loved Ju Ji Hoon as Seok Ji Won. He used his facial expressions to full advantage in this. His aegyo was right on and made me laugh out loud on multiple occasions.
-The music was very good.
-The main couple were cute when they were actually together.
-Lee Gi Ha as Seok Ji Won's secretary was one of the highlights of this show.

Didn't love so much:
-Yumi. I didn't find her believable in this part.
-The wardrobe person that dressed Yumi. Her clothes were terrible.
-The actor playing the ML's father was overacting.
-Once again, a show that throws too many storylines in. I didn't care about the golf course story, and the sexual harassment storyline was completely unnecessary. It felt to me like they just had some extra time for fill and added it at the last minute.

Bottom Line?
There were a lot of cute scenes in Love Your Enemy, but it just felt too fragmented to me, jumping from one story to another.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Gaus Electronics
6 people found this review helpful
Jan 22, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 6.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 3.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Watch this if...

Watch this show if you want a very funny show that is full of slapstick comedy, over-the-top characters, bad language, and an overabundance of fart jokes. My overall rating is lower strictly because of the fact that those are not things I enjoy.

The acting of everyone was good and the cast had good chemistry together. I'll bet they had fun making this! The SML had some weird hair thing going on that was really bothering me, get that man a comb!

Each character was likeable in their own unique way. I liked how the SML (chaebol) and his family were played - it's like they purposely made them caricatures of the chaebol families we normally see in Korean dramas.

The show moves at a good pace and there always seems to be something going on. I also liked the progression of the characters in the department. At the beginning everyone hated them, and it seemed that they didn't like themselves or each other very much either, but relationships were developed.

This is DEFINITELY a show to watch if you need some relief from heavier dramas.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?