Estrela Cadente (2022)

Last few episodes were full of cringe but I liked what the writer wanted to show us through this.

So, before the release of this drama, when I saw the teasers of it, I was really looking forward to watching it.
I enjoyed watching the first half of the drama.
"The story of all the people who clean up artists' messes, without getting tired/having any breaks/having any complaints, they think of nothing but their artists and try their best to protect them", all of them showed it in the show, well done for that .... Also, that rich lady worker (who represented sasaengs, if i am right) she was really scary...i mean her character scared me too much (i am watching her in. "the eve's scandal" currently) she is playing her character well :D
I had watched almost 8 episodes and then I regretted watching it at the end. It's obv not the fault of the cast 🙄 they did their best but after episode 7/8, almost everything was full of cringe especially Gong Tae Sung's lines, his lame expressions and the things he did to her before he used to date her...that was scary dayum...that was creepy and that was sexual assault:| and i hated it there...it became boring to me after episode 7...Hanbyul didn't stand out most of the times....and that's bcs of lazy script writing... I had really high expectations with her character and this one really disappointed me, I started watching the drama bcs of her, alas.

I predicted that Yu-sung and Hoyoung would end up together, that was okay though ,,(hashtagofficeromance), same with Gong's secratary jungyeol ....but what's with kippeum and the lawyer gosh!! Okay...they fell in love but what happened in the ending episode...what wasssss thaaaat omghawddd XD that almost made me want to puke...Imo, Jaehyun and Yuna were the only non-cringey couple in this show + Actor Yu-sung omg I hope he gets more and more and more + good roles in future, he's such a GREAT ACTOR....and i heard he's an idol too, he's handsome, has a great voice and acts really well.

I couldn't help but watch it (not bcs i was curious) but bcs I was halfway there and I have this habit of not leaving the drama once i have started watching it...I HAVE TO WATCH THEM UNTIL THE END...and despite of all that cringe, I kept watching (at 1.5x) to see if they show anything interesting but that didn't happen (the script of the 2nd half was lazily written) ...I definitely wouldn't recommend it to people who haven't watched it or are planning to watch it. I hope more shows like this are made (excluding all the cringe that i saw in this one)... I've been watching dramas for last 7 years now and I really don't want people to waste their time on this...just my opinion, it's upto y'all in the end. Do whatever you like besties . 💟

Leia Mais

Better than expected, but...

Rom-com was a genre that I tried to sway from for the longest time, but after seeing the two main leads and their history, I was quite curious about what the drama had installed for them. Whilst I am impressed with how the drama turned out and I enjoyed the majority of it - minus the cringey slow-mo's in some moments - this drama does remind me why rom-coms are not for me anymore.

The story was beautifully crafted and structured in a way that enables the plot to be developed without the romance overshadowing it. It starts off with a general insight into what entertainment agencies do in their day-to-day job of managing celebrities and how they mitigate problems that arise, such as: how they deal with rumoured dating scandals, affairs - literally anything that we, as KDrama/Kpop fans, see in the media on a daily basis. Sticking to that theme, the drama then delves deep into Gong Tae Young as a top actor, specifically tailing his past and personal background. His story slowly develops and it was interesting to see it unravel. Whilst quite insightful and fascinating as it is, the drama projects these incidences in a more light-hearted way that maintains its ability to be entertaining for the viewers. Thus the authenticity of these events can be questionable.

At first, the brewing romance was its typical frenemies to lovers concept with a cheesy young love going on, but midway through the show, it settled and was eventually replaced by a cute, affectionate, and non-problematic/mature romance. But there were still some cringey, yet cute moments that this show offered. The ending left a really strong impression and felt like I was watching two different dramas. I truly believe that if the writers could write the cringey moments towards the end differently, it would have been perfect
On the other hand, It is not a rom-com drama with a few love triangles thrown into the mix. I found the love triangle in this drama to be quite pointless, though I did find it bearably entertaining to watch out of all love triangles I have seen in the past; it also added an adequate amount of comedic value to the show with their humorous twist with the two guys involved. And lastly, I loved how natural the outcome was for the second-male lead .
Besides the main leads, the romance that was blossoming between the other characters was well developed and timed nicely.

Stars do not shine at the top of the sky but have their own feet on the ground. Maybe I did not accurately quote the drama, but this saying plays a fundamental role in the message that the drama depicts. Celebrities are normal living beings at the end of the day who feel and react the same way as us. The drama is thought-provoking and enables us to think from their experience of that moment or a time when someone wrongly misjudged us.

Gong Tae Sung was your average male protagonist who was audacious towards those around him but settles once he got what he wanted, i.e the girl. Besides that, he is humble and thoughtful to those around him which is surprising to see for a change
His phenomenal chemistry with his managers and CEO were remarkable and endearing.
Also, mentioning his relationship with Oh Han Byeol. It was quite heartwarming to see their long-term friendship, but the flashbacks we see are confusing and provide little to no context. This makes things questionable as to how they were frenemies at uni, to best friends at work, to then playfully despising one another.

With Oh Han Byeol's competency and her quick-witted thinking, the charms of Gong Tae Sung, and the family-like bond with his managers like Kang Yu Sung, Jung Yeol, and his CEO Ji Hoon, this drama encapsulates the modern age of Korean entertainment and the everyday obstacles they face that push them into overdrive. This drama is another typical playful one. Whilst I enjoy how the story was structured and insightful, there are still a few things it lacks. For something to cheer you up, this drama gives you that, but for now, I am going on a rom-com hiatus again.

Leia Mais

Premise resolves quickly ...leaving a bizarre combination of plot elements

This felt like a bunch of rehashed Kdrama plots remixed. And, no, apparently there is no way to get away from the psycho killer/stalker plot lines that randomly pop up in K dramas, Worse once the premise is exhausted, the chemistry in the main romance absolutely fizzles.

If you like a lot of yearning, and are willing to overlook the thin plot featuring a bunch of adults who apparently have no parents, siblings or life outside their work and all have the immaturity of a 12 year old, well then maybe. This would work a lot better as a drama about teen idols than full grown adults.

Sets, costumes, cinematography are very average, The only real positives are everyone is very attractive, and there's a decent amount of scenes with women succeeding at their work.

Leia Mais

Cute and pretty okay drama.

A good smooth watch!

Love the casts! Plot is just okay. Cute drama. Typical rom-com office drama. Not bad!

I love the cameos of Penthouse casts.

Love all the couples and I love the friendship! Love the bromance too! 👌

There are minor roles that just disappeared without having the audience know what happened to them. Or I just didn't understand?

I just can't really understand why people would hate their idols/ the actors if they date someone. Kinda toxic trait of fans. I also hate the cancel culture when they cancel someone just because of a mere issue that is not even real. Not the writer or the director's fault as is it really happening in the real world. Fans need to know how to separate work and private life of idols/ actors. 🙃 Let them be happy the way they make us happy!!!

Overall, the drama is okay, cute and entertaining!

Leia Mais

Very entertaining across the board, especially the first 10 episodes..

This show is about the people that clean up after the messes of stars, so I guess what the title really is about can be put to rest.

The biggest criticism this show gets is about digging wells in "Africa". As stupid as that was, please bear in mind that Sh**ting Stars -first and foremost- has been made for domestic Korean audiences. The average Kim & Park won't be able to name more than two African countries & going with a specific one could have potentially ruffled even more feathers. From the slightly backward Korean perspective this was probably alright!? Personally what I find more intelligence insulting is the act of digging wells. Even the poorest African communities can manage digging wells at places where water can be actually found, the people there can certainly use shovels better than a random Hallyu star.
ML's interactions with that kid were beyond cringy, though admittedly I FF buttoned the *** out of it.


With that out of the way, as a fluffy a romcom this is pretty great across the board, sure it's overly cringy at times & the leads are just way too juvenile, but it's cute enough with acceptable chemistry. This is mostly what I was in the mood for. Triangle haters can safely watch this, it's fine. The side couples were also fun to watch, though everyone is way too two dimensional. This is the least complicated kdrama romcom you'll ever watch.

The plot outside of the romance -what little there is- is about the life at an entertainment agency. Mostly about solving scandals & the work of the PR department in general. As far as borderline procedural kdramas go, this is fairly good. Not awesome objectively, but considering how bad most K-entertainment industry related procedurals are, It's certainly above average in this regard.

The second biggest thing that can be criticized is that episodes 12 & 13 are quite boring. The plot in those is supposed to be the BIG crisis of the show, luckily this is way tamer than usual, but nonetheless it's boring. These crises have ruined dramas for me many times before, though I suppose boring is always better than horrible.

Perhaps rating this 8/10 is a bit too much, but the ending is nice & wholesome. I did not want any complications & the production team has delivered on that 100%. It was very entertaining across the board, especially the first 10 episodes.
A Business Proposal is a far better drama, but shows like these are few and far between...

-----
I have always liked Lee Song Gyong, but she should eat more, she looked borderline malnourished in this one.

Leia Mais

Unexpectedly liked it tbh

At first, after watching ep 1 and 2, I wasn't sure if I was gonna continue watching it because, despite it actually being good, for the very obvious controversies and uncomfort i kinda felt on the events in ep 2, I think the next episodes were really good and they wrapped it up well. Usually superstar kind of dramas usually aren't my cup of tea, but since this mostly showed the ones working behind the scenes, I think it's more interesting and fun to watch because of that. And if I can be honest, I'm not as interested with the main couple as much as the others. I especially really liked Kang Yuseong and Park Hoyoung's love story because they're just simply adorable. But overall, it's pretty good. There's a good chance I would want to rewatch it, but probably in clips instead of the full episodes.

Leia Mais

Supporting characters are the real stars

The wittiness of the title is the first thing that got my attention. It can be derived as ‘shooting’ or ‘shitting,’ both showcasing the real-life personality of the stars. It’s a great thing to highlight the people working from behind the scenes since they’re mostly the ones who work the hardest to help their stars to shine bright in the industry.

A star-studded cast. When they released the artist who’ll be portraying the roles, I became even more engrossed. It's been a while since I saw some of my favorite actors and actresses in one show. All of the characters fill the whole story. There are no hateable roles and each of them has something interesting to offer. This is probably my favorite part of the drama, giving us a variety of supporting characters that can take over the main leads. The side characters are the real gem here.

Salute to Kang Yoo Sung for being the best manager who will do anything to help his artist to be successful. His willingness to sacrifice something under his control is amazingly done. Byun Jung Yeol on the other hand is the most hilarious manager in the story. The bond he made with Tae Sung was both comedic and firm. Reporter Ki Ppeum and her professional ethical values are the main reason why she stands out more than the others. It’s a pity that the Happy Virus Girl was only a guest character, she had the potential and her attitude entertained me.

Shooting Stars serve us with a cast of sizzling beautiful men. The kind of plot twist I craved is for the bromance to turn into boy love. From the two rookie actors Kang Shi Deok and Yoon Jae Hyun to the neighborhood romance of Mr. Do and Gong Tae Sung. I felt more butterflies from them than from the main couples. But I can’t also ignore the incredible chemistry built up by Jae Hyun and Yuna, they’re so lovely. Additionally, the funny way of Han Dae Soo on calling “Yuuuuu-Naaaaa” in the calm yet stressful intonation was consistently entertaining.

Focusing on the story, given the light vibes it gives us, I can’t help but feel extreme tiredness during the middle part of the show. The moment that the main couple finally became official, I mostly fast forward their scenes. It isn’t as loveable as it was before. Thankfully, the sham ahjumma who was a crazy rich antagonist and a maniac about making herself special saves the show. Her weirdness was really something that lit up my interest, it was a glimpse of a unique characterization of a villain. The death of Lee Yoon Woo brought tears to my eyes. The ending lacks closure between his brother and the previous manager/bar owner.

The thing I am most thankful about this show is from introducing me to Lee Seung Hyub. The moment his character Kang Shi Deok appeared, I fell in love. His sharp good-looking face, husky voice with a local accent, and the way he wore his tee when he was working in the gimbap restaurant were so fine and hot. Our underwear commercial model who steals the hearts of the netizens from his drunk cute habit, sexy muscles, and manly body. He is so adorable!

A joyful K-Drama that enlightens the public on how stressful the life of an employee working in the entertainment industry is. Yet, Oh Han Byul and the rest of Starforce agents prove that as long as you find joy in your workplace, you can continue working from it. Shooting Star is a fun and cute drama worthy to binge-watch.

Leia Mais

Shooting Stars--don't trust ratings. AT ALL

There's nothing too big to spoil nor is there any unexpected plot twists that make you go, "OH SHIT". Shooting stars has its premise: the love story between a pr team manager and a top actor. True to its premise, Shooting Stars aligns right with it from the first episode.

Which isn't the best choice, tbh. The first three episodes, don't really give you intrigue or any sort of interest piquing content. All we get is banter(not a spoiler)...which imo could've been even funnier if it was balanced with some mystery...or some sort of intrigue to the problems that our mcs will get into. And KYD's acting didn't help this drag either.

Following the humour, we finally delve into the plot that I was looking forward too. There's enough characters , just the right amount for you to catch up with. All of them have interesting storylines and I feel, pretty accurate. I, personally, loved the way they balanced the screen time and it made viewing quite enjoyable.

Pros of this drama? It gets better each episode. There's romance for all types. There's issues, but it doesn't drag for long. Its realistic, to a good extent. KYD's acting improves, the acting is done to the t for every role that every actor plays and i'm all here for it. The story is neat, predictable but not boring, and leaves you satisfied with a nice message. For the days you want to escape reality: Shooting Stars is your medicine.

Cons? As a writer, the lack of details bothered me. SO many opportunities to make the characters more nuanced. Storing pacing could've improved and the cheap shots of the first ep bothered me greatly. it was diff'cult to get into, but i don't regret continuing cause i was pleasantly surprised.

tldr: need a good romcom to get you off your stress? This one's actually good.

Leia Mais

cute little rom-com

Using my personal rating system of "loved," "liked," "meh," & "nah," this rates a "liked" but I'm unlikely to rewatch.

Things I liked:
This was a cute, funny drama. It was pretty harmless in that (once the leads got together), their relationship was good. I enjoyed the fact that the side characters, including our SML, all wound up with someone worthy (except for Kang Yoo Sung the Second, but he also seemed to get over his crush by the end...?). I thought this was an interesting storyline--and I wonder what it was like for the actors to play the people whose job it is to manage their lives. (Did they develop more empathy as a result? Was it an accurate portrayal? ) I enjoyed the fact that there were no true villains, just some deeply unhappy people that made mistakes. There was no heinously jealous, one-dimensional female antagonist.

Thinks I did not like:
I did not entirely understand the point of this drama. I guess it was "slice of life"? There was no real climax, no real conflict that was not cleared up within a short period of time, no theme or mystery carrying us through the show, the individual episodes fed into each other (versus each one being an individual 'adventure') yet at the same time did not seem to be taking us anywhere. I also do not like plots where the ML treats the FL like crap and then all of a sudden she forgives him and they get together. Granted, they did a slightly better job of this than usual where she gradually realizes that he's done all this stuff for her behind the scenes (and he's totally sweet to her once he does confess instead of remaining a total jerk like in other dramas)--and she even confronts him about how he used to treat her, but since his behavior went on for years, I find her ready forgiveness and falling for him to be a little rapid after years of bullying.

Random question: Does anyone know how Korean law works around free speech and freedom of the press? It seems that you can say whatever you want, but you'll be sued right away if any of it is false. Is there censorship? Or just a highly litigious system? Just curious. :)

Leia Mais