Korean Drama Review

Review – Protect the Boss

/ Lady Divine / Leave a comment

Review – Protect the Boss

Protect the boss is about a young woman who’s struggling to enter the business world even though her resume is as spotty as her past.  A teenage thug, a protestor in college and the daughter of a martial arts teacher – she’s a big ball of raw girl power but hardly the type most big businesses are looking to hire.  By a humorous turn of events, she gets hired as a secretary for a goofy, floundering young CEO.  Romantic shenanigans ensue.

MINOR IMPRESSIONISTIC SPOILERS & RATINGS FOLLOW

Continue reading →

Review – Nine Times Travel

/ Lady Divine / 1 Comment

Review – Nine Times Travel

Nine Times Travel.  Proving you don’t need incredible special effects or overly elaborate scientific explanations to master the art of time travel and exquisite television.  Keep it simple and it will grow exponentially on its own.  For what started as a rather simple drama with a “day time” television feeling, I was pleasantly surprised how quickly this show leveled up.  I had a full blown emotional heart attack during episode nine and was revived only to die of shock again a few episodes later.  The crash cart was brought out and “Clear!”  By the end of the show, I felt like I’d been dragged across twenty years and half the world.  And I wanted to do it again.  And possibly again… in twenty years.  Or an alternate time line.  Or, ya know, some conundrum worm-hole double-layered mess that gets Hawking hard and gives me headaches.

Overall Rating 9.5/10

SPOILERS and CONTINUED REVIEW

Continue reading →

Review – My Love From Another Star

/ Lady Divine / 1 Comment

Review – My Love From Another Star

I absolutely loved this show! The premise was cool:  a hip, uptight alien gets distracted by human business and looses his ride back to his home planet.  And for the record… what’s up with that?  They’re advanced enough for space travel but don’t bother with communication devices?  Did anyone ask him if he wanted to stay?  Nope.  Did any of his fellow aliens even bother to see what was going on with M.I.A. Alien?  Nope.  He was like the kid in Home Alone… maybe they realized he wasn’t there after the ship had already taken off.  Anyways, I digress.  Alien boy is stranded on earth in the Joseon Era and hangs around for 400 years, until present day.  He meets a wacky actress and romance and silliness follow.  Adorable rom-com.

And yet… somewhere around episode 17 or 18, I lost all interest in what was happening.

————— SPOILERS FOLLOW ——————-

Continue reading →

Review – Master’s Sun

/ Lady Divine / 4 Comments

Review – Master’s Sun

An overall enjoyable series starring Gong Hyo Jin as Tae Gong Shil, a young woman who is tormented by her ability to see ghosts and So Ji Sub as Joo Joong Won, your typical CEO who is impervious to human relationships after a tragic event in his past.  Commence romance and supernatural shenanigans.  The episodes are fast-paced, varied and largely compelling.  Lots of side-stories involving ghosts to keep up the speed when the main plot lags.  I believe everyone can find something to like about this show and highly recommend it for online streaming or download.

————- MASSIVE SPOILERS & RATINGS FOLLOW ————-

Continue reading →

Review – Lie To Me

/ Lady Divine / Leave a comment

Review – Lie to Me

Lie to Me is one of those dramas that once you accept the plot has about as much weight and logic as a toddler, you can just sit back and enjoy it scuffling around the carpet with wad of crayons in its hands.  There’s a lot to enjoy, too.  This drama offers us a glimpse at the rare bird of open-mouthed kissing.  As if aware of how spectacularly alien its presence is, it makes sure to show off all its feathers and give us some of the most memorable kissing scenes in drama-town.  The Karaoke Kiss.  The Cola Kiss.  If you’ve seen it, you know exactly what I’m talking about.  The fighting-then fake marriage-then real romance of the main couple is the main dish of the drama.  This dish may appear more appetizing than it is due to the above mentioned (and more) kissing scenes.

Everything else in the show is just colorful side-dishes.

MAY I TAKE YOUR ORDER PLEASE?  READ MORE….

Continue reading →

Review – God’s Gift: 14 Days

/ Lady Divine / 1 Comment

Review – God’s Gift: 14 Days

I don’t write lengthy reviews on mysteries… unless they suck and I feel like ruining it for everyone.  This mystery did not suck.  Au contraire!  It was very good indeed, so I shall keep this post short and sweet.  The plot of this series is as follows:  A serial killer kidnaps the daughter of a highly influential married couple.  They discover the child’s dead body shortly after.  Devastated by this loss, the mother proceeds to kill herself… only to find she has gone back in time two weeks and given a second chance to save her daughter.  She has not come back in time alone, however.  A two-bit gangster has also crossed time.  As the mother and gangster unite to solve the crime before it happens – they discover their own lives are interconnected through dark events of the past.  Murders, madhouses, pill popping pop icons, conspiracies, police corruption, adultery and more surface as the fate of the young daughter hangs in the balance.

This drama started out with a BANG and kept going strong for about 12 episodes before it started to taper off a bit, though not enough to warrant complaint.  The complicated web of deceit was nicely drawn out and slowly revealed, with the answer to one mystery posing a question for a new one.  There were some stellar performances from the large ensemble cast, with a special ticker-tape parade to Cho Seung Woo (who played the x-cop turned gangster) and Baro (who played the mentally handicapped adopted nephew of the gangster).  This drama was a tense and suspenseful thrill ride with excellent production value.  Most highly recommended thriller.  The only reason I do not give it a higher rating is that I don’t believe this drama has a high re-watch factor, which I believe is essential.

Overall Rating:  8/10

Review – Dr. Kkang (also known as Dr. Gang & Doctor Gangster)

/ Lady Divine / 1 Comment

Review – Dr. Kkang (also known as Dr. Gang & Doctor Gangster)

If Coffee Prince and Padam Padam got married… they’d produce Dr. Kkang.  Coffee Prince had more attention to detail in set design and better costuming. Padam Padam had superior cinematography and a phenomenal musical score.  But if you combine the charm and playful romance of Coffee Prince with the rough-around-the-edges-but-ultimately-lovable male lead of Padam Padam – you might create this remarkably enduring show.  What an unlikely surprise to come across a 10/10 show on a whim via dramafever.

If you like romance (epic), comedy (side splitting hysterical without reducing its characters to gimmicky comedy stereotypes) and a solid gangster-action gritty substructure (yikes) – you will like this show.  Actually, if you like quality Korean drama – you will love this show.  You’re not human if this one doesn’t chisel a crude drawing of a heart on your heart.

SPOILERS FOLLOW….

Continue reading →

Review – Cain & Abel

/ Lady Divine / 3 Comments

Review – Cain & Abel

I loved this drama!  It proved to be non-traditional and yet still remain firmly seated at the table of k-drama theatrics.  Stories about heated rivalry are some of my favorites – there is nothing better than watching two people duke it out for a prize.  This drama threw me for a loop, however, because for the majority of the show – one of the rivals didn’t even know he had a rival.  Relatively fast-paced, adorably romantic, a hearty mix of medical drama, mystery, North-Korean refugees, Chinese location shooting and even a very well done amnesia plot (memory loss is always fun, no matter how ridiculous – This show made good use of it).  From the dramatic opening sequence, I was hooked.

Overall Rating:  9/10

Spoilers Follow…

Continue reading →