Terry Tsurugi

An awesome, awesome movie

This is my favorite movie by one of my favorite Korean directors, Hur Jin Ho. It's also perhaps my favorite Korean movie in the love story/romance genre (although there's some stiff competition).

But beware, it's not for the typical MDL user. It's a slow, serious, realistic movie that doesn't try to manipulate your emotions and make you feel good. Because it's so realistic and truthful, I can really relate to this. If you've ever fallen head over heels in love with someone who had any kind of independent spirit or whose goal in life wasn't exactly to be your perfect love slave, then I bet you would be able to relate to this too. If that sounds good to you, then this gets my highest recommendation.

Also, I generally pay no attention to soundtracks for Korean movies and dramas, but the end credits song in this movie--A Spring Day Is Gone by Kim Yuna (no, not that Kim Yuna)--is my very favorite of any Korean movie or TV show. It actually isn't a perfect fit for the mood of this movie, but it's such a beautiful song, I don't care.

Read More

Don't watch this if you have heart problems.

This show blew me away with its intense melodrama and emotion. Not only were the emotions overwhelming, they were really poignant. For example, this tragic relationship between Do Hoon and his sister/mother Do Kyung was really touching but had weird hints of incest and regret, as well as the strongest of maternal/filial bonds. It was really haunting. Same thing with the heartbreaking relationship between Soo Jung and Ha Ryu, in which you feel so sad for this innocent, good-hearted girl who's in love with a dead man. The way this drama was able to manipulate your emotions was at the highest level of skill.

Unfortunately, the plot was completely ludicrous and made no sense whatsoever. For instance, Ha Ryu was able to easily take over his brother's complicated life and difficult job with no problems at all, while spending all his time hounding Da Hae. Didn't Jae Woong have ongoing cases and projects that needed expert attention? Also, doesn't Jae Woong have any friends or colleagues who would have noticed that he suddenly didn't know anything? But clearly, a logical and believable plot was the lowest priority for the writer and director, and they knew that the audience would just get too swept up in the emotions and melodrama to care about plot holes.

As for the all-important role of Da Hae, I think Park Soo Ae did an excellent job, but maybe her casting wasn't perfect. She seems too cold and refined and upper-class to have been an orphan girl who grew up in poverty. I can imagine an actress with a little bit more earthiness fitting the role a little better.

Another minor complaint is that I wish they didn't preview the ending of the show at the very beginning. I know they do this to try to capture the audience's attention, but it gives away too much. It would have been amazing to have watched this totally cold from the chronological beginning of the story and be shocked at the twists and turns and the ludicrous heights that the situation eventually reaches.

Despite these little quibbles, I couldn't stop watching this, and it pushed all my buttons. Also, I thought this was very similar to another 2013 drama, Secret. That one was also an intense, emotional rollercoaster full of angst, and the key event there again was a murder in which the protagonist makes the huge mistake of taking the blame for a lover who turns evil and betrays the person who made a huge sacrifice for his/her sake. It also featured the main couple's child dying (supposedly), an attempt to murder a beloved father with health problems, a prison friendship that start on the wrong foot, obsessive longing for a dead loved one, chaebol boardroom intrigue, people from humble backgrounds using their ruthlessness and hard work to rise up in society, etc. I didn't notice any staff members in common, so I wonder which one copied the other. Or maybe they both copied some older drama that I haven't watched yet. Anyway, I thought Secret was a little more believable and realistic and more competently put together, but Queen of Ambition maybe had slightly more emotional depth. But they were equally entertaining and worth watching.

Read More

Really puts you through the wringer

After watching more than 50 Kdramas over the last couple years, this one for me tops them all for the amount of angst, emotional turmoil, and tears. That's saying a lot. But I can't think of another lead character who goes through as much tragedy and suffering as Yoo Jeong. She has to put up with everyone unjustly thinking she's a murderer, and she has to go through the humiliating and scarring experience of being imprisoned. And on top of that, her beloved dad is murdered by her traitorous boyfriend. Her baby is stolen from her and turned into a stranger by her evil stepmother. Her fiance, for whom she sacrificed her life basically, turns into her worst enemy. And then this crazy rich guy chokes her and constantly tortures her because he mistakenly believes she's a murderer. No wonder she cried so much throughout this whole show.

But it's frustrating because much of this is her own damn fault. One thing that Kdramas have taught me is that honesty is the best policy. I get frustrated at how much the main characters in Kdramas lie or refuse to reveal important information out of some self-destructive and idiotic sense of duty or twisted sense of morality. But of course, this deceptiveness and secrecy almost always hurts not only them but the people they're trying to protect. So imagine if Yoo Jeong had simply told the truth at the beginning and admitted that Do Hoon was driving the damn car. She would have avoided jail, her dad would still be alive, and she would still have her baby. Do Hoon would have gone to jail, but he was going to jail anyway, except she would have spared him his complete descent into pure evil, so he would only have to feel guilt about the hit and run, which was nothing compared to the horrible stuff he ended up doing to Yoo Jeong. He would have been released in a couple of years, and actually, Yoo Jeong would have probably waited for him, and they would have probably become married. Maybe as an ex-con, Do Hoon would have had to change careers, but he and Yoo Jeong would have been much happier, even if he ended up doing something less prestigious than being a prosecutor.

Now of course, in this alternate universe, Do Hoon would have had to face Min Heok's obsessive hatred at the beginning, rather than at the end. So maybe Min Heok would have tried to take Yoo Jeong and the baby away from Do Hoon as his revenge. Maybe Min Heok would have seduced Yoo Jeong while Do Hoon was in jail as his revenge. So then the final results would have been similar, except that Yoo Jeong would still have her dad and the baby.

The point of all this rambling is just to express how frustrated and angry I was at the stupid or despicable actions of all the characters. If you want to watch this show, you have to be ready to go through an emotional rollercoaster, and you'll probably end up crying, groaning, yelling, and possibly throwing things at the screen. So this drama really did a great job of pushing my buttons and getting me hooked. I was staying up late every night watching it, even while I was often disgusted by the improbabilities of the plot and the stupid behavior of the characters.

One last flaw I want to mention is that after taking you through so much tragedy and sadness, the show suddenly gives you a happy ending at the very end that's so abrupt that I found it a little confusing and unsatisfying. So Min Heok and Yoo Jeong had to give each other up for the sake of Min Heok's father and the company. But then after he goes away for a few years to Armenia and comes back, the father is now OK with Yoo Jeong? I'm not totally sure what really happened at the end with Min Heok, his father, and the business. But beyond that, when a show gives you lots and lots of darkness and tragedy, I think they need to give you at least a full hour or more of happiness and joy at the end to help balance things out, rather than just the last few minutes, otherwise it could leave you unsatisfied.

But I'll remember this show and the character of Yoo Jeong for a long time, because of the huge emotional impact it made on me. And that's one of the main reasons why I watch TV shows and movies and read novels, so despite its flaws, I'm glad I watched it.

Read More

Fun and engaging but has no connection to reality whatsoever

I enjoyed this show. It's full of twists and turns to keep you interested, and you care about the characters because they're well-acted and charismatic. The plot, which was the primary focus of the show, had its good points and bad points. It was good at keeping you guessing and taking unexpected turns. I was never able to predict the clever ways in which the heroes were able to solve every problem, because their plans always encountered big obstacles, like the villains finding out about their plans, etc. However, this repeated pattern ended up being predictable because it happened again and again. And the plot was totally unbelievable. Why would a bunch of grifters and criminals suddenly decide to work so hard and risk so much to help the government collect taxes? There was a little bit of talk at the beginning about them getting a small cut of the collections, but that fell by the wayside, and it seems like they were getting nothing out of it at all. If they were such idealistic and altruistic Robin Hood types, why didn't they feel guilty about all the money they stole from innocent people as career criminals up to this point? And I never totally believed the bromance between Seong Il and Jeong Do. It happened too quickly. Actually, none of the relationships were satisfying. But the actors did a great job fleshing out underwritten characters. So overall, it was entertaining, but it could have been much better if the script was a more grounded in reality and paid more attention to characters' motives and relationships.

Read More

This was addictively entertaining, but I was groaning at the plot, especially during the last couple of episodes.

Even though the Min Jun Gook storyline is central to the whole show and ties the main characters together, this plot was so ridiculous that I wish it could be somehow removed. His motivations and actions, as well as the way the other characters react to him, are so hard to believe that it drags down the whole show.

Lee Bo Young was so charming and fun to watch, that she made up for all the flaws. I would be happy to have a nuna like her. Also, Lee Jong Suk's acting was much better than usual for these typical skinny K-pop pretty boy type roles. He showed a lot of range and sensitivity.

But beyond the deeply flawed Min Jun Gook plot, I wish they had taken more care to portray the workings of the law a little more realistically. So I guess in Korea they don't recuse prosecutors, attorneys, and judges from cases even though they're closely related to the accused or the victims?

Also, I kind of feel sorry for Do Yeon’s birth mom, since she was basically just thrown away like a piece of garbage by the show. Sure, what she did to her husband was terrible, but she did it to give her daughter a better life. It seems like Do Yeon has no interest in her whatsoever even though she’s her real mom. Oh well, maybe she’ll end up hooking up with Do Yeon’s dad, who was also treated poorly by the show at the end, since his marriage seems to be over. Admittedly, both these characters were bad people, but a psycho murderer like Min is treated more sympathetically at the end than these side characters.

Cha Kwan Hoo is a good guy, so hopefully he ends up with Seo Do Yeon or that happy assistant guy in the public defender's office if he decides to swing that way.

If a career in law enforcement doesn’t work out for Soo Ha, he can always become a professional poker player and make billions of won.

Read More

I forced myself to watch almost 7 episodes, which greatly tested my will power

I regret to say that I dropped this in the middle of the 7th episode. I just couldn't stand it any more. The only reasons why I made it this far are that I love Jeon Do Yeon, who I consider Korea's greatest actress, I liked Ryu Joon Yeol in the few things I've seen him in, and I greatly admire Hur Jin Ho, who I think is one of Korea's greatest film directors. However, directing movies for an arthouse/festival audience decades ago and directing a TV drama (his first I believe) are two totally different things that require different skills. His early movies were very tasteful and restrained, included very little dialogue and verbiage, very little if any music, and were almost underacted. This drama was almost the opposite, in that it overwhelmed you with unnecessary voiceovers and dialogue, non-stop sappy music (I'm sorry, I'm not a Jeff Buckley fan - I greatly prefer his dad Tim, and the instrumental background music was even worse), and tons of crying and overacting. The only thing that this drama has in common with Hur's early movies that I loved are the very slow pace. So this makes me suspect that Hur either has changed as an artist or has tried to change his style to adapt to the different pressures of a TV drama. Also, I'm probably lacking in compassion and empathy, but I just can't stand being around people who mope all the time and feel sorry for themselves, either in real life or in fiction. Of course, I've been through lots of hardship myself, but I hate wallowing in my misery and crying for sympathy. I just try to fix my problems as quickly as I can move on and not dwell on the past. This is certainly not the first Kdrama I've seen that had too much trauma and characters stuck in depressive, self-destructive ruts for my taste and it won't be the last.

Read More

Better than first season

I see a lot of complaints about this season, but I thought that overall it was better than Season 1. But thankfully in both seasons, the best player won.

I think there were 2 main things they could tweak to improve the show for next season: 1) Don't include any games that can end up in a repetitive stalemate (like the last game and the game in which 7high quit on Eun-yu and Hyun-joon), 2) And avoid games in which team-work and sharing info gives you an overwhelming advantage that smaller numbers can't beat.

My favorite things about the show were the cast and the production/directing/editing. I thought the cast was not only very diverse, with a lot more talented women than you usually see in these shows, but also very smart and interesting and fun to watch. And there weren't any real villains, which is very rare. I thought everyone was likable, except for the young kid from KAIST (he boasts that he has a 95% chance of winning at the beginning?), and 7high often got on my nerves, although he had some good moments too.

And I find it interesting that Tinno is a Korean guy, but he fits a certain type that you often see in Italy, the US, Greece, etc. You could photoshop his picture in with a British or Japanese rock band in the 70s and he would fit right in.

My favorite player was Ha-rin, and I thought she had potential to reach the final 3, but too bad she was eliminated basically through bad luck. I'd love to see her again in another show, if her busy life as a plastic surgeon gives her the time.

And I was rooting for So-hui at the end, but I have to admit that even though she matches or even exceeds Hyun-kyu in game intelligence, she comes short of him in competitiveness and gutsiness.

Read More

High quality production reminiscent of a Kurosawa Kiyoshi film

This is one of the most well-crafted Japanese TV shows I've ever seen, in a completely different world from the tear-jerking sentimentality, cliched plots, cartoonish overacting, and kitchen-sink production quality that we know and love. This seemed more like a high-quality, award-winning independent movie by Kurosawa Kiyoshi. Not only did you get the same sense of cosmic evil lurking in the mundane lives of regular people, the slowness and whispery quietness, the refined photography and sound design, but you also got the familiar actor Kagawa, who is creepiness personified, both in his acting and in his real life.

The first three episodes were fantastic. You really get to know the characters and empathize with their problems thanks to the excellent acting, writing, and directing. So when tragedy strikes, it hits you hard. However, the last three episodes had weaker characterization and less engaging situations.

The ending also reminds me of a trademark ambiguous Kurosawa ending. It's philosophical and thought-provoking, but emotionally unsatisfying. I think they could have made better use of the airtime by cutting some of the later victims and instead developing the main ideas a little further. Or it could have been re-edited into a tighter movie.

Read More

Back on track

It's been quite a journey for me watching this series over the last 10 days, and I still have one last 2-part special left to go. For me, Jidai was by far the best of the specials so far. The original 1981 series blew me away, but the specials that followed disappointed me. They dwelled too much on tragedy, bad decisions, separation, and disappointments.

I mean, poor Goro, the log cabin that he builds himself and with the help of his friends is burned down by his own son, then the old house he moves back into collapses from the snow, and worst of all, he has to sell off all the lumber he bought for his new log cabin to make amends for his son's dishonorable behavior with the poor girl Tamoko. With that kind of record, I was worried about his stone house, but thankfully it's still standing by the end of this special.

What's even worse than the setbacks faced by poor Goro is the cowardly, creepy, disgusting behavior of Jun throughout these specials. Not only does he burn down his father's precious house, but he lies and blames it on his best friend, then he rapes at least 2 of the sweetest, nicest girls you can ever imagine, impregnating one of them and forcing her into a painful abortion and causing his father to be absolutely humiliated in front of his old yakuza nemesis Hirono Shozo. Then he treats his second rape victim like absolute shit, tormenting her for a past mistake in the most hypocritical way, even though he's made way worse mistakes in his past. (Interesting how the plot is making reference to the huge controversy stirred up by the real-life actress Miyazawa Rie's notorious nude photo book, an unexpectedly meta, breaking-the-third-wall gesture in an otherwise very old-fashioned series.)

I'm so thankful that Jun acts like a decent human being for a change through most of Jidai, with the exception of still being too cold and proud towards Shu. Come on man, he should be treating her like a queen and begging her to marry him. But he's at least matured to some extent.

Actually, over the last few specials, his sister Hotaru overtook him in bad behavior. Her idiotic, family-destroying affairs with married men and her coldness towards her dad and refusal to see him are not only sad to witness, but as far as I can tell, have no motivation or explanation whatsoever. Why the hell did she act like this? So I'm really glad that during Jidai, Hotaru comes back to the fold, ends up with the good guy Shokichi (who, unlike Jun and Hotaru, became a better person when he grew up), moves back to Furano, and warms up to her dad and family again.

Also, it's nice to see Yukiko back. She was always one of my favorite characters, even though I feel the story often neglects her. It's a shame about Sota though.

But the anchor throughout this entire epic series is Tanaka Kunie and his amazing acting. The scene at the end of part 1 when Hotaru and Shokichi tell him that they're getting married and Hotaru is pregnant is one that I want to watch again and again. The emotions that wash over Tanaka's face are just incredible. This is a true master class in acting by this veteran actor. What an incredibly moving scene delivered by one of Japan's greatest actors, may he RIP.

I really hope that the last special matches the quality of this one and ends the series on a positive note.

Read More