Alaskan

I felt like this drama never became too predictable. I liked the fact that the villains were sympathetic (well, except for Hosung, whose pretty face I wanted to punch (haha) by the end). Yes, there were legal bloopers but they weren’t so distracting that I couldn’t shrug and get past them. Most of all, I liked the point counterpoint as everyone tried to manipulate and out-maneuver everyone else. I sometimes feel like I’m losing brain cells while watching some Korean romantic comedies. With Punch though, I think that I had a net gain in brain cells because I was also trying to figure out Jung Hwan’s next move.

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Is it just me or is there something unsettling about the whole setup? L (Kim Myung Soo) plays a character who alternates between being a cat, who lives with the female lead, including watching her dress and undress and sleeping beside her (ewwww) and a guy who falls in love with her and with whom she falls in love without knowing he’s a cat. I feel no chemistry between the two human leads so the romance seems strange rather than charming. Every character behaves irrationally. L’s acting leaves a lot to be desired. I know he’s supposed to be a cat-like human but the actual cat is a much much better actor. I preferred the second lead Jae Soon. And I don’t feel the secondary romance between the two co-workers at all.

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The long, drawn out romantic moments between the two leads are, well, too long and drawn out. Gah. If they show one more sweet moment between those two, I’m going to go into diabetic shock. They keep gazing at each other with such sappy puppy dog eyes that I can’t believe that the whole country, let alone the rather obtuse palace dwellers haven’t figured it out. You know it’s bad when you think that Kim Yoon Sung killing a bunch of people is much more romantic than the Crown Prince declaring undying love (over and over and over) for the I-can’t-believe-no one-has-figured-out-that-he-is-a-she leading lady.

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The lead couple has sizzling hot chemistry. You might enjoy this, especially if you like the combination of smirky teasing hero (there are times when I sympathize fully with the villain’s desire to throttle the hero) and fierce and fearless heroine. There are enough political machinations, elaborate fight scenes (oddly bloodless for the nameless hordes, only the main characters seem to bleed), and lavish spectacle to keep things interesting. I especially appreciate the touches of humor, which keep the story from bogging down under its own weight and seriousness. Both lead actors, Yang Mi and Ethan Juan, are killing it.

Sure, there are logical lapses and “wait, what?” moments. There are some fantasy elements that might remind you of Harry Potter. But I don’t recall any shirtless scenes in Harry Potter, particularly anything approaching the Ethan Juan shirtless scenes….

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I fast forwarded through this one a lot. Jung Kyung Ho is one of my favorite Korean actors but this drama is a mess. Is it a commentary about Korea’s class divides and rich parents and their precious children, with their associated pressures and competitiveness? a star teacher’s journey back from a stressful and isolated existence? a murder mystery? I wouldn’t have a problem with it being all of the above, if the writer had done a better job of pulling it all together or making many of the side characters more than one-note caricatures. I assume it’s also supposed to be a romance because, well, the word “Romance” is in the title, after all. But there is little romantic spark. Nam Haeng-seon comes across more like Chi-Yeol’s older sister than a possible object of his desire. Plus I really really hate how she treats her brother. Finally, why do many Korean romcoms have serial killers lurking in them? Is it an attempt to add dramatic tension to poorly written fluff?

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Look, I understand that K dramas manipulate viewers’ emotions and I’m fine with that. The dramas usually try to make you root for the desirable but flawed hero and the plucky heroine. I can also accept time travel, body switching, and girls passing themselves off as poorly-disguised boys. I can even enjoy dramas with lawyers doing things that would get most lawyers disbarred; medical dramas with doctors who should lose their medical licenses; teachers who would normally be fired, if not criminally charged for abuse; and police dramas with police officers who need good psychiatrists. Although there are moments in every drama where logic takes a leap, I can get past most of them.

Doctor Stranger, however, violated the most important canon of Korean drama law: Thou shalt not brazenly insult the intelligence of your viewers. The drama starts out okay, if a little over the top, what with evil plots and Magic Hands Doctor but it quickly devolves into a mess whose primary purpose seemed to be to jerk the viewer around. One big problem was the romance that drove the story. The actress who plays the grand romantic interest is more wooden than my dining room table and the male lead regresses into a pathetic puppy whenever he's around her (for little reason, since the actors seem to have little chemistry together). I began to hope that the female lead would be shot and really die. On the ground, instead of falling into the water, which, in this drama, seems to have life-regenerating powers. I don’t even know where to begin on the farcical who-is-the-better-doctor-competition. It is better to draw a sheet over it and send it to a well-deserved end. Plus the malpractice/revenge subplot is just … my god … no.

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Many things bothered me about this drama, not the least of which was the Jang Se Mi character, who came across as predatory and creepy. I’ve never liked the drama trope that indicates that it’s a sign of true love when someone ignores a person’s NO and instead aggressively pursues that person (e.g., Secret Garden). Jang Se Mi was particularly problematic because she got too close when the object of her affection was sleeping or impaired or physically weak. I did wonder at one point whether the writer was tryng to play to homophobic fears. In addition, all of the other love lines came off as more crude and tawdry and less romance and roses to me.

The writing seemed so off that I looked up the screenwriter Im Sung Han.

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If you’re looking for an epic, heart-wrenching Bromance, this is it. I’d go even further and say that this drama is primarily about loyalty and love between two very charismatic men. Although there are female characters and hints at possible romances, the women are secondary to the romance between the two main characters, as well as many of the other men.

There were a couple of times when I thought the drama dragged a bit and it could be a little confusing, especially when it jumped back and forth in time and when the characters discussed other people (hint: learn everyone’s name). The CGI was not great nor am I a big fan of zombie-type dramas so I did roll my eyes at some of the over-the-top fight scenes with the CGI creatures. And there was one scene near the end involving Dimples where Monty Python and the Holy Grail kept running through my head: “It's just a flesh wound.” But other scenes made me feel like crying into my coffee. And I thought that the ending was perfect.

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I wonder whether I would have been able to power through this drama had I waited and binged the whole thing. Instead, the plot and the acting are not interesting enough to sustain interest during the lengthy time between every episode's airing. I'm finally giving up and I feel that a weight has been lifted. Haha I'm free. At first the dogs were kind of cute and it was fun having a high school story revolve around the teachers rather than students. The drama was intermittently funny, especially the scenes with Yoon Hyun Soo. I also liked the actor Park Gyu-young in "Dali & the Cocky Prince" and "Romance Is a Bonus Book."

But Cha Eun-woo cannot act to save his life. Whenever he is on screen, I feel like I'm watching a brick wall, albeit a pretty and decorative brick wall with nice eyebrows. It doesn't matter whether he is running around with a sword slicing people up or putting on glasses and teaching, he looks like all he is thinking of is his skin care regime.

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I strongly recommend the Chinese drama this for those looking for a thoughtful, intelligent, beautifully acted drama. The main characters are too upper class for the drama to be considered slice of life but their struggles are very real and relatable. The male lead is flawed but at the same time admirable and swoon worthy. I started out heartily disliking the second male lead but grew to like him more and more as the story progressed. The two female leads may be my favorite female characters of all time. There is a lot of heartbreak in the drama but it is an ultimately uplifting story about friendship and love.

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An interesting watch, all in all. I think the writer left some logical gaps and the supposed romance never gelled for me, primarily because the female lead spent most of her time crying. But I also think that an actor better than Park Shin Hye could have done more with that role. Hyun Bin, on the other hand, did a good job.

My biggest complaint is the number of in-your-face and out-of-place product placements in the drama. There was one date scene that seemed to serve no purpose other than to advertise make-up and Swarovski crystals. Other scenes prominently featured Subway or instant coffee, together with the actors awkwardly commenting about how delicious the products were. And I think that the primary reason that the characters spent half their time driving around Grenada and Seoul was to advertise Lexus vehicles.

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The Legend of Zang Hai has a lot of wonderfully complex characters, including the brilliant and ruthless protagonist and his adversaries and enemies, especially the general. There are a lot of machinations, as well as many twists and turns (and a few loopholes), as the male lead seeks revenge for the death of his family and friends. It reminds me a little bit of the great classic Nirvana in Fire (still my favorite drama), in that the protagonist is believed to be dead but returns in unrecognizable form to exact revenge for the slaughter of his family and friends.

Unfortunately, I thought that the older actors far outshone the younger actors. Zhang Jingyi was particularly disappointing because I usually like her acting. But as she kept jutting out her chin and sparring with the male lead it became more and more annoying rather than charming. Xiao Zhan is more of a hit and miss with me and this time he was a near miss. He did a good job of projecting cold and calculating but his acting didn't truly evolve from that, nor did he seem to develop much connection with his romantic partner or with his masters. The actors who protrayed the general, the head eunuch, the emperor and the queen, on the other hand, made lasting impressions.

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