spvz29

I have been trying to watch the Showtime drama "The Affair," but find that I keep comparing it to "Secret Love Affair." "The Affair" seems so 'empty' compared to this. I enjoy the acting, but the plot does not have nearly the substance of SLA. Most stories about affairs are salutes to a failure of honor and rejection of responsibility, but SLA traces a movement TOWARD those values. I have long felt that the disappointing rating is due to the failure of many reviewers to see past the word "Affair" in the title.

Good luck. :))

Before I discovered MDL, I used to rely only on tv ratings. If ratings rose during the length of the series, that was a good sign. If they dropped, that was bad. Think of the drama Lost. Many people here on MDL thought that it was great, yet the Nielsen ratings dropped almost every week. I found it to be a chore to watch. It currently has an MDL rating of 8.4 -- higher than SLA. When SLA was being broadcast, its rating rose most weeks. Point is, I plan to go back to watching the ratings trend.

Have you developed a simple way of filtering, or is it arduous?

I think that Jeon Do Yeon has been nude in a higher percent of her movies than any other major star in the world, with the possible exception of Kate Winslet. Starlets often do nudity to get work, but later refuse when they are established. Some seem to enjoy it, such as Jeon, Winslet, and Angelina Jolie (before her surgery). It is almost always unnecessary to the plot advancement, being simply 'eye-candy' for the men in the audience. To a small extent, it seems a sign of desperation. JMHO

Lee Elijah looks so much like Kim Tae-im. Has anyone ever seen them together? We have to coax Kim Tae-im out of retirement to find out if they are really the same person. :))

Do you remember in high school English, or English 101 in college, when the teacher tried to teach the importance of 'theme' in a book or movie -- the idea of "whats the point?" With that point of view, one can, for instance, better enjoy the importance of honor and responsibility in the Vorkosigan Saga of Lois McMaster Bujold, or the movies of Akira Kurosawa. One can perform some mental gymnastics and pretend to find a theme in almost anything, but it takes some serious effort to find one in this film. But that's just my humble opinion.

I am only two episodes in, but I am enjoying the acting of Jung So Min and Park Sung Woong. The review by Fangirl (https://thefangirlverdict.com/2019/05/28/flash-review-the-smile-has-left-your-eyes-hundred-million-stars-from-the-sky/) has me concerned about the last half of the drama, however.

Yes, this was really slow. After three episodes, I wanted to drop it, but with just one left, I saw it through. Definitely won't be doing a re-watch.

My apologies for not writing my own lengthy review for you. I felt that Fangirl's brilliant article would satisfy you. I am so ashamed.

"Different strokes for different folks." I think that SLA is the best of all the Korean dramas.

I humbly suggest that you read https://thefangirlverdict.com/2014/09/12/review-secret-love-affair/

It pains me to see Park Hoon in this. His part is way too small. For a long time I have felt that he should be an A-list star. He was great in Nobody Knows and Memories Of The Alhambra. Well, I have other problems to attend to.

Over the last two days I watch this and the Japanese version. I felt that the script and cinematography were better in the Japanese version, but the acting So Ji Sub and Han Hyo Jo was superior. I gave both less than 8.0.

Do you mean the drama with Park Shin Hye?

Sigh...There was really just an outline of a plot and hardly any dialogue. You have to wonder how she is mainstreamed in school if she truly has the disabilities shown. What are the redeeming qualities of anyone in the story? There are lots of unanswered questions about the parents. I could go on, but I want to look for better productions.

This was awful.

It makes one wonder what other great dramas are hidden under a 7.8 score. The problem is that most of them deserve it, so how much time do you want to spend searching? I admit that this is a high-class problem. We could all be living in Eritrea or someplace like that.

I have already tried re-watching, but found that I could not go past episode 11, except for the final match between Hee Do and Yu Rim.

Thank you.