kentv

Girl Power Done Well

Normally I am turned off by girl power scripts where the women are all winners and the men are all losers. Had I watched the finale first I might not have watched the series in the first place, as the girl power underpinnings (and gay rights) are finally laid bare in the last minutes of the series. Yet, having binged through the episodes, with frequent fast forwarding, I felt that these women had earned their results and weren't just given them capriciously. It was only after reading some reviews that I bothered to look up the director and writer and saw they were both female. There were a few hints along the way that it was a feminine hand on the tiller, but not those hands were not as heavy as I might find in an American production.

Sure, the male characters were killers, adulterers, and generally inept human beings. But I didn't feel that the women in charge of the production were bent on indicting ALL men, merely highlighting the foibles of THESE particular men. There really wasn't much to applaud in regards to the male characters. The Young Master was let off the hook a bit and given a participation trophy for rising above the barriers of tradition in order to date and marry a maid whom he barely knew and who certainly didn't seem as much fun as his arranged fiance. (Or maybe the writer was dissing him for his unwise decision. Hmm)

And I'm not sure I would have watched the series if Lee Bo-young wasn't so darn attractive. I guess that's why they cast pretty people. I enjoyed the over-the-top presentation of Grandma and can't remember another series where they purposely allowed a main character to have food on their face while eating or showing an open mouth full of food. My own mother was quite dramatic and given to outbursts at times, but the cultural behavioral expectations of Americans and Koreans are much different. How would a Korean view Grandma's (or her daughter's) bombastic episodes?

Fortunately the ending of this series broke the string of unsatisfactory ones that I've experienced recently. Though I wouldn't categorize the ending as great or romantic. I would have enjoyed an epilogue set several years in the future instead of just 6 months. Let's see how well the young couple is doing. Bring in some new romantic interests. Alas, not enough there for a second season, so I'll just have to make up my own story lines.

And as always, the product placements were blatant, which I find a bit humorous.

Read More

Well, What Do YOU Want From a KDrama?

I've watched enough of these series to have formed an idea of what I want to see and why. With that in mind Dynamite Kiss delivered, even if I had to fast forward through the unnecessary parts. I suspect there are many older male viewers who share my expectations / hopes for a series: Attractive women, reasonable romance, and not too many sublots. Standard romcom fare. Sure, the cliches are bound to be there...but I don't care. Whether I'm watching Lim Yoon A, IU, Jung So-min, Ahn Eun-jin or a dozen other lead actresses, the quality of the story doesn't matter as much as just enjoying their performances. I'm certainly not a qualified judge of their acting ability, the music, the plot (unless it's terrible to even a casual viewer like me) or any of the other critiques that reviewers on this site engage in. Almost all of the series include totally unbelievable plot elements that require suspending reason and common sense. But I'm not there to watch documentaries. Sure, in Dynamite Kiss the whole accident--memory lost--memory returned idea is hardly a new...but that didn't mean that that 45 minute detour was a total waste when we finally get the re-enactment of the original dynamite kiss. The vicariously enjoyment of those moments are worth the twists and turns and for me, at least, outweigh the flaws that seem to bother the experts. And I thought the "victory lap" / cast bows was done if a fun way. I'm not going to find that kind of romance (fictional as it may be) at my age but I certainly want to be hanging out with people who are having that much fun. (I should note that I'm writing this while listening to / watching KARA and MOMOLAND music videos and want to have the kind of fun they seem to having, too.)

Read More

This Series Ran Out Of Gas

Netflix started showing a bunch of older series and I watched bits of some of them but this is the only one so far that I finished. And it barely made it to the finish line, staggering and gasping for air. Not DOA but certainly not the promising show it started out as. It would probably make a better movie. Other reviewers have pointed out the obvious logical flaws and inconsistencies, so I won't list them. I liked the FL and would have liked to see her elevated in status, either in the office or her personal life. The younger sister role was fun and had more room for growth. The blind brother didn't really add much. Mildly entertaining when there isn't much else one wants to watch.

Read More

I Threw in the Towel after Episode 7

OK, well I did watch parts of episode 16 to see how they resolved things. I recently watched the FL in My Man Is Cupid and enjoyed her role, yet didn't like her character in this drama. I didn't see much chemistry between the leads and I guess I just got bored. Or, as I'm also watching episodes of When Life Gives You Tangerines and Potato Lab, it might be that this drama was just overshadowed by those. I didn't mind when the ML disappeared as by that time I had mostly disappeared myself. Normally I don't like these type of endings, but I was OK with it as IRL there are many folks who deeply love someone but due to circumstances are not able to live with them for years and years. When that relationship ends while both participants still love one another it can remain in one's memory as a beautiful chapter in life. Maybe that was the message that the writer was hoping to convey.

Read More

Redemption is slow in coming but does eventually arrive

It finally made sense in the last 10 minutes of the 16th episode, even if it meant enduring some slooooow moments. I would venture that this story was reverse-engineered from the ending. I thought the majority of the last episode was over the top and made me wonder if the writer had personal experience they were drawing upon. I didn't see much chemistry between the ML and FL, and the ML's uncle was particularly annoying. But not as hateable as the ML's ex or her mother. The priest might have been the most likeable person in the show. And the bad guy cries way too much. Regardless, there were enough entertaining moments to justify watching it...once.

Read More

What about Alice?

I'm sure that there are many folks that loved Season 2 of this series. I liked it and was mostly entertained. It had been a while since I watched season 1 and I likely missed some of the tie-ins from that series, but generally the show delivered what I expected. I felt it bogged down a bit in the last couple of episodes as it seemed to move away from what I felt was the more satisfying aspect of the show, that is, finding the bodies. And then there was poor Alice, and a bunch of other unanswered questions that would normally indicate a 3rd season was planned. I would have preferred things to be tidied up nicely. If I want reality I'll watch a documentary.

Read More

This was a hidden gem!

I don't usually venture into Jdramas as I am biased towards Kdramas, but I've seen most of the Kdramas that Netflix currently offers. The title of this one and the initial preview got me started on it yesterday. And as I have read in other reviews it was the same for me as I finished the 10 episodes (my preferred length) in just over a day's time. There weren't many distracting subplots and it was a small cast, so the storyline didn't wander too far afield. Many of the reviews I've read say "heartwarming" and for good reason. The characters are likeable and their sadness and happiness are well blended. The restaurant scene near the end of episode 10 was a nice way to bring the cast together and I would have ended it there. Candidly, much like the feeling of having dined on a great meal, this series left me with a similar well-fed reaction. Many people will be able to relate to some aspect of missing a loved one and the hope that this series exudes should gladden many hearts. Unless you're made of stone, expect to need something to wipe tears from your eyes on many occasions.

Read More

I didn't realize how old it was

I just clicked on it on netflix and settled in, watching at 1.5 speed with liberal fast forwarding. The intro music drove me up a wall. One of the standard elements to the kdramas I have watched is beautiful female leads and Song Hye-kyo certainly was good to look at! While watching it I was thinking about the fight scenes and how they were of lower quality and attributed that to an intended style when it probably was normal for 2013. It was a cold, windy, and sometime wet day today and I hustled through the last 8 episodes with just a few breaks. Nice and comfortable. Candidly, I didn't really like the male lead but then I don't think I was supposed to like him...at first. But we got a relatively happy ending amidst cherry or some kind of blossoms, so at least back in 2013 these writers were still formulaic and delivering what audiences want to see.

Read More

I was happy most of the time

A key to my watching Kdramas has been the 1.5 speed as it reduces the long staring shots into something a bit more enjoyable. The writer/director succeeded in painting the bad guys as such, but after a while it just got tiresome. Their ultimate comeuppance wasn't sufficient to atone for all the screen time spent depicting them as baddies. A consistent quirk in these shows is the inability for any of the characters to see more than 15 feet in any direction. They can't see eavesdroppers or people in their peripheral vision just a few feet away.

I was hoping that there would be a moment when the two leads talked about their time spent in the woods together (when they were both ten) after the tragedy. Nope, unless I missed it. I thought the whole "I wanna be a doctor" was out of character and thrown in to satisfy someone other than the audience. Perhaps I'm wrong on this point, but the Princess taking off to study medicine didn't seem to fit the timeline.

My brother had recommended this show to me a couple of years ago and he likes the romantic happy ending type of series. And there were enough romantic moments to keep me smiling in between clicking 10 seconds forward. I wouldn't watch the whole series again, but I could see popping in to see a few select scenes every once in a while.

I'm finally figuring out that some of my best liked series have a similar storyline: Awesome guy and a bratty girl who eventually realizes how awesome the guy really is.

Read More

Comfort Food

Maserati, Quiznos, Godiva. I'm starting with the product placements this time. Godiva I get, as Chocolate is the title and the unifying plot strand. And clearly the writer and director chose to use food preparation sequences to balance out the harsh realities of a hospice environment lest the series just become a tearfest. Upping the playback speed to 1.5 has been beneficial as it removes some on the intentional slowness of many scenes and I'm still able to read the subtitles. Again, I fast forward through much of the subplots / side characters. Except Iron Ranger III. I didn't enjoy the finale victory lap as much as usual, possibly due to how quickly I binged this series and also due to nature of the hospice. Would I recommend this series to someone new to Kdramas? Probably not. Yet for those who have already watched many Kdrama series this one has a place at the table. Not the entree, not a dessert, just a side dish.

Read More

Not Enough Of A Return On My Time Investment

The relationship between Hye Joon and Jung Ha was the central pillar of this series. I slogged through all the episodes (lots of fast-forwarding during the last couple) and felt robbed of a romantic ending, my expected reward. I have a hard time swallowing the "realism" of the ending when the entire story is a fantasy to begin with. Yes, there were a few foreshadowing moments and it was clear that Jung Ha wasn't really ready for a long-term relationship. I guess I don't take much joy from depictions of failed relationships.

Too many product placements! Hurrah for BMW and Subway, among others.

Read More

So Annoying

This series is not so bad that I want to stop watching, yet I'm really annoyed by a couple of things about it. First off, just how stupid is the ML that he can't put 2 and 2 together? How many episodes is it going to take before he can finally see what's right in front of his face? IMO it should have happened in episode 2 or 3 at most. And I refuse to believe that the FL can so easily control herself in difficult circumstances so as not to reveal her big secret. I find it easier to believe in zombies and I hate zombie series. Naturally, the 2 episodes a week format isn't as enjoyable as the binge-them-all-in-one-shot opportunities. Netflix arbitrarily skipping a week didn't help. As it is I have to watch everything at 1.5 speed due to the prolonged pauses inherent to a lot of Kdramas. Overall I just want this series to move faster. Hopefully it will ripen into a good romance, but it's just a bit too green for me right now.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just watched the finale and it was tot the ending I was hoping for:

The dramatic ending of episode 11 left us hanging (well, for a day) as to what Bad Guy (BG) said to his Uncle ML. I tried to think what new twist could have been so devious that ML would look so sad and made him disappear from FL? When I realized that BG was regularly calling FL "Sis" it occurred to me that maybe BG and FL WERE actual half-siblings! (Her mother would have some explaining to do.) I chuckled for at least a minute. That would have been so wrong! ML would be FL's uncle also and that would make their marriage a very bad idea.

Imagine my disappointment when finding out that ML went away because he felt bad. Yawn. And then there was the whole foreign war-torn adventure in the finale...all to set up some cozy time with a view of the sunset. Far too many footprints in that sand outside their window BTW. The rest of the victory lap episode was ok, not particularly earth-shattering.

Overall I felt that ML and FL didn't spend enough time smiling, or rather I should ask did they cast FL because she cries so well? And at the very end of the finale when 406 becomes a thing again, FL missed an opportunity to be more emphatic and demanding. "Get your a$$ back here right now or you'll be eating my cooking for the next two months!!!" Ah well.

Note: The preceding comments represent my opinions and are published as a personal record (and maybe for the entertainment of others.) Please write your own review about this show rather than critiquing mine.

Read More

I'm Enjoying This Show EDITED TO---->An Ending No One Wanted

The ending caused me to downgrade my rating on this series significantly. Not since Iris have I been so disappointed in the way a series ended. At least Iris had a bit of reality to the series, but this series demanded that we accept all sorts of fiction as truth along the way, with the final episode being something of pure fantasy. So why choose the ending that they did? We were in make-believe land anyway, so why not just put a pretty ribbon on it and let everyone live somewhat happily ever after? An image I've seen recently while watching an IU video on YouTube comes to mind: The crowd is smiling and singing along, all except this one woman who is just staring blank-faced. No smile, no joy. Yep, she's the one who might have enjoyed this ending. I suspect that the collage of newborns at the end was added to try and soften things a bit.

My advice: Stop watching before the finale and write your own ending. You will definitely like it better than what I just watched.

My original review after 12 Episodes is below:
Different strokes for different folks, I guess. So many haters writing reviews! On the other hand I don't think this show deserves 10s. I don't know that I have seen the ML in another series and definitely think he is kinda dorky and unattractive in this show. I suppose it comes down to expectations. I didn't have many going in, other than to be entertained, which I have been so far. It's ridiculous and stupid at times, but so are most people, myself included. Looking forward to the last 4 episodes!

Read More