This review may contain spoilers
Came for Veronica Park, but ended up getting angry with the ML and dropped it.
I came to this drama due to Kim Jae Kyung having fallen in love with her as Veronica Park(eyay-oh) in The Secret Life of y Secretary.The premise was good. A struggling vet saves the pompous CEO after he's stabbed. It had the makings of Kdrama gold.
Although it would have, were it not for Sung Hoon's one-dimensional character with zero character development - so much so that halfway through the penultimate episode (ep 6 out of 7) I couldn't take it any more. He was a toxic walking red flag and what made it worse was that Jae Kyung's character started to have feelings for him (they were in a contract relationship), despite him belittling her and controlling what she could and can't do, let alone who she could see. If her male friend spoke to her, he'd get mad. Like I said, walking red flag.
The hope I had of a redemption story just didn't come - I'm guessing I've missed on seeing this, but surely you'd want to see little signs of him changing, and her realising her self-worth.
So, to curb my frustration, I had to drop this as it stopped being enjoyable for me, which is a shame because of Kim Jae Kyung :(.
Thankfully there are only seven, 45-minute episodes on Viki if you want to try it. Other people rave about it.
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Deserves to be on the big screen!
Was so excited for this due to Kim Tae-Ri's breathtaking performance on the iconic KDrama series, Mr Sunshine and she didn't disappoint. If anything deserved to be on the big screen, it was this - shows what $24million can actually get you in terms of effects. The VFX is stunning! It draws you in during the first five minutes and it's so good to see something of this scale after so long. In Hollywood, $24million would get you the first 15 minutes of an MCU film - not a whole film! There are bits that are a little patchy but it doesn't detract from the story.The character development can be a bit slow if you're not used to it, but as is the way with a kdrama or korean film, the character development is a bit of a rollercoaster ride - but if drags you and in and you become so invested in their journey.
Kim Tae-Ri is her classic brilliance and while I've not seen Decendants of the Sun yet, but Song Joong Ki is a great lead. The rest of the cast of the main team is great too, each with a story and you see them all band together in classic style - a bit like Guardians of the Galaxy but in Earths orbit haha.
If there is a negative, then it's the Western cast and/or dialogue. It just gets a bit diluted in translation - but then that seems to be the norm in KDrama's so makes sense to see it here too. It's a shame as the villain (Sillivan) was one of the main actors in the Hobbit!
Please give it a watch on the largest screen you can!
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Fantastic Fantasy
I had some hesitation about watching this as wasn't sure I'd like I'd like the fantasy side of this. Boy was I wrong!Goblin, or Guardian: The Lonely and Great God is a brilliant love story across the ages.
The all start cast are superb headed up by Gong Yoo (Train to Busan) and the delightful Kim Go Eun. Their dynamics are perfect. The second leads of Lee Dong Wook and Yoo In Na are brilliant as well.
If like me, you had reservations about a fantasy style drama, put them to one side and watch this drama. You won't regret it. My heart however, really does it - it actually ached in certain scenes/episodes but I think Goblin is a right of passage for a kdrama fan and especially like me, you're new to this genre.
It's not perfect however - for the reason given above re heart pain - I'v e marked it down on rewatchability but don't let that put you off. I'm a big softy.
Secondly, let's talk about product placement - it's hilarious but annoyed some people. I didn't mind but it's the most obvious I've seen in al the drama's I've watched.
All in all - watch and enjoy. With hindsight I shouldn't have binged it in a few days - no wonder my heart hurts!
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If you love travel and food - you'll love Battle Trip!
This is one of my all time favourite shows. Full episodes are available on the KBS World TV YouTube channels.The original set up (which was the best) pitted two teams - usually pairs made up of Kpop idols, kdrama actors or comedians who go to two different destinations, sometimes with a budget and the audience then votes for the best trip.
It's truly joyful.
They originally focused on asian countries as well as areas in S.Korea but as the show progressed they ventured out to the UAE, Europe and the USA/Canada.
I love how it was educational for the viewers, showing different cultures in a respectful way. It's my go to show if I want to have a laugh, and to live vicariously through the show during lockdown.
I have two negatives however. For 2019 they changed the format half way through, eliminating the live audience and I feel it lost something as a result. The second was that the show was later cancelled in 2020 :(
I love it though and so happy it's all on YouTube.
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This made me feel warm and cozy!
Wow! That made me feel warm and cosy! First drama with Kang Sora, for me, and I fell in love with her character. Lovely drama, but not without its faults.The bickering between the main leads was tiring and Yoo Yeon Seok was immature for most of the drama by not being honest with Jung Joo. It ended up being a bit hot and cold with their relationship and a bit of a let-down as one scene you'd think they'd be progressing in falling for each other, and then they have a childing outburst. As a result, we were denied a little growth when they finally got together. Similarly, the mayor's love for Jung Joo got a bit tiring as well, as was Jiwoo's manipulation of the leads. Btw, how much did Seo Yi Ahn remind you of Kim Ji Eun? The mannerisms were identical.
It may sound like I'm being negative about it, and my 7.5 score may confirm that, but I still really loved it. Old-school dramas have a charm that is missing in a lot of recent dramas, and Kang Sora was just adorable as Jung Joo. The real star was the backdrop of Jeju Island.
Watch it as a lovable filler drama to watch in between the latest dramas.
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Super satisfying office drama done right!
I hestitated watching this when it came out, but after seeing several TikToks with Naeun, I had to give it a go. Was hooked from the first episode and immediately rooting for the main lead as she goes about putting mysoganists in their place.I main character Go A-In comes from a very poor background and has made her way up to the top, being the best advertising agency person (I don't know the roles name!). She's well respected in the industry but is royally stitched up by her then boss, who promoted her - for PR purposes.
What follows is her fight against them as well as dealing with her own demons. It's fast paced with a great supporting cast. Spoiler alert, there is no real romance although you're routing for two people in particular.
The main antagonist (Jo Sung Ha from K2) is truly annoying and as much as you want Go A-In to succeed, you equally want his demise.
It's not perfect, some plotlines are not fully explored, but all in all it's a great and very satisfying drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
So close to being a great RomCom but then suspense!!
Firstly, if you were like me, you would have been put of by the Kingsman parody Netflix trailer (an actual scene from the first episode) - thankfully I gave it a chance and was able to enjoy a truly lovely romance staring two A-star actors - especially Jeon Do Yeon in the role of Nam Haeng Seon.The romance that starts to blossom is really lovely between Haeng Seon and the superstar tutor Choi Chi Yeol, all supported by a great supporting cast for the immediate family and friends.
I'll address the elephant in the room about Jeon Do Yeon's casting. A lot of people say she's too old at 50 to play that character. Technically they are correct - her character is supposed to be around 10 years older than Hae-yi as she's her aunt. Firstly she doesn't look 50 and she's Kdrama royalty and plays the roll so well. So, don't listen to all those haters.
The drama showcases the ultra competitive after school tutors/lessons that kid take to get into the best universities. Those students are 'supported' by a group of mothers that I've been calling the 'Housewives of Gangnam' - a group of gossiping busybodies who will throw anyone under the bus to ensure their precious baby will be top of the class. This group is headed up by Cho Soo Hee played by the delightful Kim Sun Young (who most of us met in CLOY). I loved her characters until this one - she is not a good person and doesn't see the stress she's causing her daughter Su-A, not the issues she has of her own. At times this group really annoyed me and their toxicity was tiresome in some episodes, especially as they would look down on our lead and cause troupe without thinking of the consequences they could cause. Sometimes I felt they got too much screen time
However, our love story is quite lovely and healing and so you'd think that would be the end of this review...
Sadly CCIR is not without its issues. As seems to be the norm in a lot of newer dramas in having unnecessary drama and this one is no exception but an underlying murder mystery which it really could do without. I'll leave that for you to judge if you feel the same.
The writers kept throwing new things into the mix right up until the final episode and while this didn't detract from the sweetness of the main romance (as well as some of the others - especially a couple of bromances) I don't think it was needed.
Did that spoil this drama form me? NO! I loved it. I had Hometown Cha Cha Cha vibes minus the seaside location and I;d recommend watching it. Thankfully the romance between the leads is a great constant throughout. Warning - the food will make you hungry.
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Dont think. Feel!!!!!
A truly wonderful drama. It has the perfect balance of comedy and emotions and further proves my case that pre-2019 KDrama's are the gold standard.So rare to watch a drama with so many green-flag characters with no toxic traits.
This is only my second Shin Hye Sun drama following Mr Queen, and she is so endearing and brilliantly plays the role of a 17-year-old who wakes up from coma 13 years later.
Yang Se Jong plays his role brilliantly and he deals with a trauma he's been carrying for so long. A very young Ahn Hyo Seop is the glue that holds the group together.
The supporting cast are great too.
There are some very minor plot holes and the OST is good but not amazing - although it fits perfectly to the story.
Thirty But Seventeen (or Still 17 as it's called on Netflix) is one of those gold standard dramas that you don't want to tend! Remember - don't think - feel! Go watch it now!
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Hyper futuristic tech wrapped in a sweet story
Started watching this drama after being introduced to Go Sung Hee in Gaus Electronics (go watch that if you're not already - so funny). She plays a really sweet character called Han Soyeon who suffers from face blindness. She crosses paths with an AI character called Holo, created by an aloof genius character called Go Nando.It's a sweet story with tech that is probably from 20 years in the future but ignore that and enjoy it for being a nice filler drama - maybe while you're waiting for new episodes of Gaus Electronics :)
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Brilliantly satisfying drama
Don't get mad... get even.Taxi Driver (or Deluxe Taxi to give it it's proper name) is an action-packed drama based around righteous revenge under the cover of an innocent taxi service. When our protagonists are at the end of the road (no pun intended...) due to horrible and painful circumstances, they find solace in the offer of getting revenge. In turn, they help other people who are in despair due to the actions of some very horrible people and act on their behalf to bring these people to justice.
Meanwhile, a tough prosecutor, played by Esom, is suspicious of these activities.
Taxi Driver has an 80's/90's feel to it which I loved - a bit like Knight Rider or The A-Team and so has a little bit of cheesiness to it - but that's needed to balance out the more gruesome aspects of it.
Well worth a watch and while I don't condone violence or revenge it's really satisfying to see it play out. Watch now before the second season comes out.
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Wonderful!!
it's one of those dramas that you just don't want to end. A sweet story about love, uni, friendship, and lots of food.I couldn't get into this last year when I tried watching Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo right after finishing Start-Up! I really didn't like Nam Joo Hyuk character in that show and so didn't gel with this one.
Thankfully, however, Twenty-Five, Twenty-One changed all that and I'm so glad I revisited this show.
Firstly, our protagonist (Kim Bok Joo) played by the wonderful Lee Sung Kyung is so adorable that you can't not fall in love with her. Her story was lovely - finding out that she's a woman and not just a weightlifter, will resonate with a lot of people.
Joon Hyeong's character works so well with her too and you get why Nam Joo Hyuk is such a good actor.
I don't want to spoil it for you but will say to just go and watch it. Enjoy its purity and have fun!
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This review may contain spoilers
Hit and a sort of miss - play the long game and you'll be rewarded.
SPOILER WARNING:OK - here we go. Having jumped into this having just finished the wondered Welcome to Waikiki, expectations were high,
Maybe too high...
A few things really irritated me.
1. Lee Yi-Kyung's character, Lee Joon-ki had become overly slapstick compared to S1 and dare I say it, quite annoying. Which is a shame as we know him to be a joker with a heart of gold.
2. In fact, there seemed to be too much slapstick comedy/mayhem in the first few episodes - something seemed to go wrong in each scene, let alone each episode.
3. Shin Hyun-soo's character, Gook Ki-bong wast written as a lovable idiot - with too much on the idiot. For example, there is an episode where after a lot of failures for the character, he tries to assemble an Ikea desk for his girlfriend, Yuri. This could have been a great example to show that he's not just a one-trick pony but had this hidden talent. Sadly that was not the case.
4. This was the most important irritation though - the story took five episodes to really get going. Ordinarily not an issue as it;s supposed to be a goofy comedy - however, the second half of the story had so much heart that it needed a couple of extra episodes to do it justice.
OK, that's the negatives out of the way - if you've got this far then thanks.
Waikiki 2 is a hilarious comedy though - not as good as the first one and some of the jokes are rehashed from the first series as well as separate episodes from Friends!! But if you want a good laugh (and I mean belly laughs) then this is an easy watch.
The main love story is nice between Moon Ga-young (Su-yeon) 💜 and Kim Seon-ho (Woo-sik) is nice but for me it the one with Woo-sik's older sister Yoo-ri (played by Kim Ye-won) - she had a great character arc, starting out as this manipulative annoying person to someone who was really caring and quite lovely and a story arc that I wanted to know more about.
Similarly, we see a side of Joon-ki's character that shows real class in his behaviour that deserved more screen time.
All in all, it's a great watch. Like I said in my review of the first one, it really is K.F.R.I.E.N.D.S. but it didn't bother me at al. Go watch it.
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K.F.R.I.E.N.D.S
Just finished Welcome to Waikiki (Eulachacha Waikiki). What a wonderful show - haven't laughed so much during a Kdrama as I have in this one.It reminded me a lot of Friends - six friends in their late 20's/early 30's and their adventures - some of the episodes seem to have taken some stories from Friends too. But... they seem to do it better.
It's a little silly in places but in this day and age, a little silly is no bad thing. All the characters are brilliant and the chemistry is brilliant. If I'm nit-picking then the third act should have started earlier as they had a lot of time with it being a 20 episode series. Also - and I haven't started it yet - but it's a shame that only one of the original cast is in the sequet. Hope it lives up to the high standards this one has set.
So give it a go - have fun and I guarantee you'll laugh your socks off!
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WONDERFUL!!!! It's the TV version of a hug!
Just finished the series and I want to watch it all over again! Truly brilliant show. It took me a while to get into HP1 as I'd just finished Vincenzo (which ruined Kdrama's for me due to it's brilliance), however with the second season of Hospital playlist impending, I binged the first season.WOW! What a show.
Season two doesn't disappoint - in fact, it does that rare thing where it's on par, and sometimes better than the original. We see plot lines continue to develop, as do the wonderful friendships and relationships.
That's even before we talk about the OST - wonderful.
Can you tell I love this show? Haha! It's relatable, brilliantly acted, excellent hospital scenes, and all wrapped in this beautiful friendship that would make anyone long for but also feel like we're part of the pack!.
Give your heart a treat and watch this wonderful drama! It really is TV perfection!
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This review may contain spoilers
Ignore the plot holes and enjoy the (AR) ride
verall, this was an enjoyable ride but only after I started questioning what was going on. We'll come to that later...Let's start with the positives: the cinematography, locations, and CGI are all beautiful. The first half of the drama is shot in Alhambra in Spain which looks stunning. Park Shin-Hye's Spanish is also fluent and really helps the integration of her family into their Spanish home.
The CGI is also really well done and well-integrated into the surroundings and with the characters.
You can check out the synopsis elsewhere but there are issues over how the AR tech works (SPOILER ALERT) - like how do they physically feel the effects of the AR weapons; how do they feel pain, how is powered - you know, the logical things.
But... ignore that and it becomes an enjoyable rollercoaster of a who-done-it adventure, and you end up forgiving it a lot of things. The acting is good - if you've only seen Hyun Bin in CLOY then it's weird seeing him be such a jerk at the start but his character develops due to the wonderful Park Shin-Hye and her family. The supporting cast is good too - with the evil Professor Cha (you'll remember him from Mr Sunshine - has he ever played a nice character?) and Hee Ju's little sister who is a great actress. EXO stans will love seeing ChanYeol as Se-Ju as the mysterious creator of the game.
All in all, I like it in spite of the plot holes. Give it a go.
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