Ko Sung-Hee | subtitledreams

Review – While You Were Sleeping

A perfect 10. Same writer that gave us Pinocchio, also a perfect 10 show. This is drama that managed to mix comedy, romance, thrills, and fantasy into one episode after the other of pure entertainment and joy. Lee Jong-Suk plays a young prosecutor who is learning the trade, stumbling hysterically along the way but still admirable due to his strong sense of justice. It was so refreshing to see a young man play a young man for once – naive, goofy, lounging about in a messy home as he sorts out his feelings and career. Bae Suzy plays a reporter who has quit her job because of an ominous dream. She’s carefree and yet complicated, her constant dreams of the future have crippled her ability to bravely face a world she believes she can not change. When Lee Jong-Suk’s character causes one of her premonitions to alter, she realizes the future isn’t as concrete as her dreams might imply and begins to climb out of her shell.

The entire cast is a goldmine of lovable characters with unique personalities and back stories. Each of them gets their moment to shine as this drama unfolds, allowing them all a chance to win your heart. Even the antagonists, in typical K-Drama style, are oddly sympathetic and though you will be cheering for justice, you’ll also feel a little bad for them too. Touchingly sweet moments full of sentiment and genuine affection were sprinkled throughout the show, nicely balanced between the intrigue and humor.

This will probably be my new choice for “First K-Drama” recommendation. I can’t imagine anyone not being charmed and compelled by this amazing story. If you haven’t seen it yet – watch it immediately! It’s currently on Viki.

Overall Rating – 10/10. Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This.

Character Breakdown, Spoilers, Thoughts and More follow…

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Review – My Beautiful Bride

Basic Plot – a banker proposes to his pretty young girlfriend and a few days later, she disappears. As he tries to find her, everyone is dragged into the secret vortex of these people’s lives and the criminal underworld – including you, dear viewer.

I loved this show from the first episode. It had a strange vibe. A uniqueness. It reminded me, in a way, of Heartless City… which also lives by itself in a universe of its own genre. Not quite this, not quite that. Violent, bloody, scary, romantic, sentimental, intimate, intense… with action galore and these nice old school thriller shots (you know, the kind were you just follow someone down a dark alley and the tension just grows and grows until you’ve chewed your nails to bits and are jumping at every shadow wondering when something is going to happen). It jumps back and forth in time. It reveals the plot slowly, in layers. You think you know the show in episode two? Nope. Episode four? Nope. It just keeps changing, morphing, becoming more brilliant.

And then… mysteriously… horribly… I lost interest in it entirely around episode 9 and no longer cared what happened to anyone. I had to force myself to finish it – but I’m glad I did. Part 2 had an entirely different tone, but it was still interesting… just not in the same awesome way as Part 1. It’s like going on a date with someone who got up suddenly in the middle of dinner, went to the bathroom, put on a wig, changed clothes, and sat back down sporting a foreign accent. What? What’s happening?! This was not the show I asked out to dinner… but I still wanted to know what would happen. I can’t help but think this would have been a 10/10 drama if it were 10 episodes long instead of 16.

Overall Rating – 10/10 First Half, 6/10 Second Half…. so 8/10 Average. What Happens When Your Fiance Falls Into A Dark Rabbit Hole And You Go Chasing After.

Light spoilers follow…

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