K-Drama Review

Review – Another Oh Hae Young

/ Lady Divine / 6 Comments

Review – Another Oh Hae Young

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Okay, so here’s the cool plot of this show.  A man gets stood up on his wedding day and his bride-to-be, Oh Hae Young, disappears without a trace and no explanation.  Embittered, a year or so later he hears Oh Hae Young is going to marry again and, encouraged by his best friend, he sets out on a scheme of revenge.  He sabotages the future husbands business, which results in the future husband landing in jail.  Embarrassed by his sudden turn of fortune, the future husband breaks off his wedding by dumping Oh Hae Young.  Revenge complete!  Except… it wasn’t the same Oh Hae Young who had stood up the other guy a year before.  It was a woman who had the same name… so, basically, the guy had just ruined the life of two complete strangers with his vendetta!  Oh, the cruel twists of fate!  Then, even crazier, he starts to fall in love with this new Oh Hae Young… right when the other Oh Hae Young shows back up and wants back in his life!  Whooohoo!  It’s a wild ride.  Apart from when it wasn’t… which was, unfortunately, quite a bit of the time.

There was so much I liked about this show, yet it often left me wanting… and, truth be told, quite bored.

Overall Rating – 6.5/10.  Hit Men Should Be Sure They Don’t Ring The Wrong Doorbell.

Spoilers & Discussion Follow Continue reading →

Review – Uncontrollably Fond (of Melodramas!)

/ Lady Divine / 6 Comments

Review – Uncontrollably Fond (of Melodramas!)

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In which a romantic melodrama causes me to become very philosophical about life and spend too much analyzing a show as a microcosm of the problems of the world.  But before we jump into that mess, let’s just say this was a cool melodrama with a bizarre plot line about justice and personal responsibility that I quite enjoyed.  We had the battle between the economic classes, the battle between lovers, the battle between exlovers, the battle between spouses and extended families, and the battle for your life.  Lots of little wars going on in this show with lots of little twists and turns to keep you entertained.

Do not be fooled by all the happy smiling faces in the promos and title images.  It’s a melodrama, not a romantic comedy. I get very frustrated with viewers who want to criticize a melodrama for being a melodrama, with comments like “it’s not realistic!” and “why does she keep apologizing!”  and “oh my god, I hate his hot and cold treatment of her!”  I mean… what?  What do you think a melodrama is?  They’re sensationalist madness.  They’re emotional rollercoasters.  They’re a giant trainwreck and when you bought the ticket to ride it said, “WARNING:  THIS TRAIN IS GOING TO EXPLODE, THEN IMPLODE, THEN PROBABLY RECONSIDER, HOLD ITSELF HOSTAGE WITH DYNAMITE STRAPPED TO ITS CHEST, CHICKEN OUT, START CRYING, AND FINALLY SETTLE FOR TURNING INTO A BLACK HOLE AND PULLING THE ENTIRE WORLD INTO ITS VOID.  We hope you enjoy the ride.”  Your ticket was very clear, my pretties.  Melodramas don’t mess around with your reasonable business, go elsewhere if you want a fair shake down and rational decisions.

I am a huge fan of melodramas; it’s exciting, perversely, to watch everyone’s lives crumble to pieces despite their best efforts to keep it together with lies and manipulations.  Oh, the drama!  The drama, the drama.  You will gasp and shake your head and bite your pillow and cry.  Even the most stoic of viewers will probably melt down in ep 19 about 38 minutes in… if you have dry cheeks after that scene then I fear for the state of your soul.  It would be stripped away of its melodrama title if it didn’t make you ugly cry at least once, though, so embrace the hard earned tears.

Overall Rating:  8/10.  Broken Hearts Are Easier To Mend Than Broken Families.

Now for lengthy philosophizing and ranting and raving….

spoilers ahead!

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Review – Signal

/ Lady Divine / 3 Comments

Review – Signal

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I heard everyone raving about this show but I thought, “Ugh, a cop show.  Ugh, sounds like Frequency.  Ugh, matching up an older woman with a younger man again.  Ugh Ugh.”  I should have slapped myself across the face.  And so should you, if you are entertaining such thoughts.  Snap out of it!  Signal is AWESOME.

Yes, it’s a cops-solving-crimes show that jumps back and forth between the past and present, connecting cops and crimes across decades.  And yet I was riveted.  None of the cases ended like I thought they would.   None of the future’s interventions had the outcome I expected.  None of the usual cliches and tropes applied to this show.  There was no noona romance, for one thing.  Instead, a seasoned female cop works alongside a young cute rookie and NOTHING HAPPENS except for work.  Gasp!  I was sooo happy.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, men and women can be friends.  They can care about each other and not want to have sex.  It is, in fact, possible to live and work in a nonsexual way with half of humanities population.  Signal was a revelation!

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It was also very dark.  The crimes were horrible and gritty.  The justice system struggled, realistically.  Crimes were unsolved.  People died and their killers were never brought to justice, not in this past, not in the present.  It was hard to know what the right thing to do was.  People are so many shades of gray, after all.  The story lines were complicated and compelling and every single episode was gripping and intense.

I highly recommend not reading too much about it before starting it up.  It’s nothing like Frequency (the movie or the show).  It’s a mystery and all mysteries should remain vague and ponderous until you actually watch it unfold before your eyes.  I don’t like to do lengthy reviews on mysteries for that very reason.  So I leave you with this – just watch it.  When you’re done, you can pick at the little pieces and discuss characters and debate the ending all you want to.  Somewhere else.  This review is just to get you to bite and spend sixteen hours devouring this amazing show.

Overall Rating – 10/10.  Dark Crime and Magical Realism.

Review – Discovery of Romance

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Review – Discovery of Romance

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This romantic drama featured the reunion of actors Jung Yoo Mi with Eric Moon.  I love these two together.  They were fantastic in Que Sera Sera.  And they were good in this drama as well.  Sung Joon is also in this show, and he’s another of my favorites.  But I’m just gonna stop you now before you get excited by the quality line up of actors…

It just wasn’t that good.

Discovery of Romance is love triangle plotline, but with a bit more weight on each side for once.  Eric Moon’s character is the former lover of Jung Yoo Mi’s character.  They were together five long years before breaking up.  Now she’s with Sung Joon’s character, in a strong, healthy relationship.  That is… until her old lover turns up again and wants to try again.

Despite loving all the actors and the exploration of the complexity of relationships, I didn’t think too much of this drama.  I finished it, though I confess I started to skim towards the end.

Overall Rating – 5/10.  When The Heart Is Involved, Honestly Is Easier In Theory Than In Practice.

SPOILERS FOLLOW

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Review – You’re Beautiful (aka, You’re Beautiful, Jang Keun-Suk)

/ Lady Divine / 3 Comments

Review – You’re Beautiful (aka, You’re Beautiful, Jang Keun-Suk)

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You’re Beautiful was one of the first Korean Dramas I watched, many moons ago.  Around 2010, to be exact.  It was on Netflix and I had just finished watching Queen Seon Duk…. which actually shared two of the famous K-drama tropes, “cross-dressing” and “male harem.”  In other words, in both dramas there were women disguised as men surrounded by lots and lots of beautiful men.  I was still deeply, madly in love with the character Bidam (who remains one of my all time favorite characters in any show, worldwide – read about him in this review) and not sure anyone could distract me from daydreaming… and then Hwang Tae-Kyeong showed up with two ponytails and I was lost again.

The Plot, Short Version:  Young lady disguises herself as her twin brother and joins a famous rock band full of adorable, handsome boys.

You’re Beautiful – Overall Rating 9/10.  Being Jealous of Jang Keun-Suk’s Hair for Sixteen Hours.

Seriously, this show is all about Hwang Tae-Keyong’s gorgeous hair and awesome hair styles… that hairdresser deserves an Emmy.

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READ MORE….

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Review – Pinocchio

/ Lady Divine / 7 Comments

Review – Pinocchio

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Every once in a while a finely tuned drama like this comes along and grabs you unaware.  The premise seemed simple, almost silly.  I thought it was going to be another cheesy romance with some silly work comedy thrown in.  Oh how wrong I was.

This is one of those rare shows that just does everything right.  Every character is well developed.  They give you enough time to explore the world – the family and friends and dynamics of relationships.  No one feels plastic or cliche.  By the end of episode five, you have a deep commitment to all the players on the stage.  It isn’t just about a cute couple falling in love.  This is a drama about lots of people and how interpersonal relationships shape your life, for better and worse.

The Plot, Short Version:  After inaccurate news coverage leads to tragedy, a young man grows up and tackles the enemy from the inside by becoming a reporter.

Overall Rating – 10/10.  Do Reporters Go To Heaven or Hell?

SPOILERS AHEAD!

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Review – She Was Pretty

/ Lady Divine / 1 Comment

Review – She Was Pretty

This show had one of the best first episodes I have ever seen.  I was immediately drawn in by the story and quirky characters, the tight friendships, the lost loves, the struggle to find gainful employment, the insecurities and the humor.  And all these things stayed pretty steady on throughout the duration of the show.  Yet somehow I failed to love it.  I was definitely entertained.  But I just left it feeling so-so.

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And from this poster, I thought the male lead was going to be more silly and fun.  That role went to the second male lead though… so… yet another poster fail.

The Plot, Short Version:  An unattractive girl gets her pretty friend to pose as her when meeting her childhood sweetheart.  Basically its Cyrano de Bergerac.

Mild spoilers follow… but not really… just musings on the obvious.

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Review – Sensory Couple

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Review – Sensory Couple

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First of all… very misleading title image!  This is not a fairy tale romance and neither character runs around in beautiful clothes throughout the show.  This picture is more accurate of what to expect:

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The show about a girl who sees smells (by the seashore) and a guy who feels no pain.  Throw in a serial killer and you’ve got an unusual, yet surprisingly cute drama.

READ MORE…

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Review – Mask

/ Lady Divine / 1 Comment

Review – Mask

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A delicious melodrama full of betrayal, secrets, and pain!  I loved it.  Soo-Ae looks beautiful when she cries.  Ju Ji-Hoon is marvelous as the mentally unstable heir.  And Yeon Jeong-Hun has NEVER LOOKED BETTER.  Oh my gosh, no one plays devious quite like this guy… and no one has ever looked so hot when they’re being so evil.

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The story is relatively simple.  There are two women who have the same face, doppelgangers.  One is wealthy and the other lives in poverty and debt.  When the wealthy woman drowns, a sinister man sees an opportunity and puts the poor woman in her place.  The poor woman goes along with it because Mr. Sinister says he will settle her families debts.  Suddenly the poor woman finds herself getting married to a stranger and caught in a web of lies.

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I loved it!  This is pure melodrama.  If you’re feeling rational, don’t watch it.  If you’re one of those people who screams at the television “Why doesn’t she just tell him!?” or “Why does she keep trusting him?!” then don’t watch it.  These people are going to make the same mistakes several times before seeing the error of their ways.  There are lies on top of lies on top of lies.  People are out for blood.  There is distrust and suspicion everywhere.  No one has the common sense to plant an audio recorder somewhere or actually accumulate evidence of any kind.  Oh no.  These are fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, emotional decision making types.  And it’s 20 long episodes of this… so if you’re not in the mood to soak in some moody, irrational stew, then do yourself a favor and steer clear.

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If, however, you are in the mood for deception and dark desire and, honestly, ridiculousness… then get comfortable on the couch and clear your calendar.  There will be tears!  There will gnashing of teeth!  There will be anguish and blood and fear and chaos!  There will be desperate kisses followed by mistrust and confusion!  There will be backflashes to something that happened only ten minutes ago!  The house is on fire and no one can see the exits through the smoke… we’re all going down in flames together.  And it’s so much fun!

Overall Rating – 9/10.  Mr. Sinister Serves Up Some Moody, Broody Blackmail to a Doppelganger.

SPOILERS AND UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

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There’s Something About Mary… Review – Mary Stayed Out All Night

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There’s Something About Mary… Review – Mary Stayed Out All Night

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This drama has a lot going for it.  Two incredibly attractive men vying for the affection of one ridiculous girl.  Check!  Indie rock music.  Check!  Behind the scenes of the business end of making dramas.  Check!  A hysterical disaster-inducing father.  Check! Funny friends.  Check, Check!  Lots of piggy back rides and wrist grabbing… just tick off every box for “YES.”  It has all the basics.

And basic is what you get.

A mildly enjoyable romantic drama.

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