Review – Goong / Princess Hours

Review – Goong / Princess Hours

I would have loved this ten years ago.  The premise is pretty cute, though a little weak threaded.   Modern monarchy in South Korea, arranged marriages between a charming, oddball “commoner” and the aloof, jerky prince, some inner palace strife over who gets the throne, yada yada.  It got ridiculously convoluted at the end… but then again, with the foreshadowing in the first episode, it fit right in.  I mean… the prince’s portrait showed him standing in front of a burning building.  Either that artist had an agenda, or that is some heavy handed foreshadowing thrown in for no reason other than to make viewers go, “Why is he standing in front of a burning building in his official royal portrait?  What’s the story there?  Did the artist read the drama script?”

Yoon Eun-Hye is adorable and I love her just about everything.  I loved her in this – and she was the only reason I kept watching, even when it dragged its feet and I wondered if there would be some, uhm… conflict?  Or… romance?  Or… interesting plotlines?  Eh, so so.  It’s a rather deliciously shallow gem from 2006.  As for Cinderella stories, they never get old… though I believe you’ll find better options.  Shining Inheritance came out a few years later and I thought it was much cuter, personally.  Anyways, Goong is a classic and I always felt a little bad for not watching it… so I sat down and let it roll.  I am glad I stuck it out, cause… even though a bit of a bore, seeing our prince and princess finally come together was cuter than a basket of puppies.

Overall Rating 6.5/10.  The Monarchy… When Living Is What You Do For A Living.

Review – Secret Love Affair (a PG Rated Erotic Tale)

Review – Secret Love Affair (a PG Rated Erotic Tale)

I avoided this show for a long time due to the “noona romance” but finally gave in when I saw it pop up on Netflix.  I’ve read a ton of reviews on it, raving about how sexy it was, how divine, how romantic and beautiful and so on.   And it is all of those things.  But it’s also incredibly demure.  This show is such a tease!

I enjoyed Secret Love Affair.  But I didn’t love it.  I loved the music.  I loved the cinematography.  I loved the writer’s for leaving a great deal of the performances “unspoken” and giving the actors a chance to emote with their facial expressions.  The husband, in particular, became more interesting due to his actions and reactions of the affair.  What a complicated man.  And yet I found most of the characters very unlikable.  And tedious.  And boring.  And though our lead couple shared a connection through music, I couldn’t really understand what either of them saw in each other… except for the obvious cliches associated with a relationship with such a vast age difference.

Plot:  Unhappily married woman in crappy job finds solace and escape in the arms of a struggling young piano prodigy.  Both their lives become more complicated because of it.  Subplot and perhaps moral of the story:  Rich people are mostly jerks, but since a lot of people will do unethical and crappy things to get money, can we really throw stones in our glass houses?  And do you even like your glass houses or have you just bought the lie?

Overall Rating – 8/10.  A Major Musical Seduction and a Minor Romance in B Flat.

Full titillating review follows (including spoilers and X-Rated commentary)

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Review – Strong Woman Do Bong Soon

Review – Strong Woman Do Bong Soon

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon reminds me a lot of iZombie.  It has a playful “comic book” style that knows how to have fun.  Zap, Boom, Shabang!  Those over the top, tongue-in-cheek comics where though good guys fought off villains, no one was injured beyond repair and good humor ruled over seriousness.   Think… the bright friendly, child-saving Superman of the 1900’s… not the monotone angsty Superman of the 2000’s.  Do Bong Soon is here to save the day, damn it!  And you’re going to feel great about it.

 <-This NOT That-> 

I adored this show!  It had so much going for it… which I will be discussing with massive spoilers below… but above all else, it was romantic.  So, so soooo romantic.  Cute romantic.  First love romantic.  Original Superman romantic.  You remember… the big-grin fly me over the city romance of a hunky guy smitten with a feisty girl.

Overall Rating – 10/10.  Saved The Day.

Spoilers and Fangirling with Much Discussion Ahead!

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