1
manicmuse
NYC!
I was really ready to hate this movie when it sucked me in.
I am not a fan of vague and abstract films so I was worried that this would be disappointing in spite of the great cast. The pace is super slow, and the story is vague in many ways, but it's also very interesting, and surprisingly suspenseful. I can definitely say I had no idea where the story was heading, and the ending definitely made me feel uncertain but satisfied. "Burning" is the kind of movie that will haunt you with questions, and performances that certainly are noteworthy.I decided to watch this after seeing Jeon Jong Seo in "The Call" and as Hae Mi I can definitely see how this performance would get her noticed. Hae Mi is an awkward free-spirit, seductive, eccentric, and needy... and she is on a quest to find some meaning and inspiration in her life. Jeon Jong Seo nails all of that in her performance, and I can now confidently add her to my list of favorite actors already. Another favorite actor of mine is Yoo Ah In, who is brilliant as usual as Lee Jong Soo. Jong Soo is pretty similar to other roles he has played (a loner with pent-up aggression is what he does so well), but that doesn't make his performance less memorable. I love how he conveys so much without relying on dialogue. The chemistry these two have may not be what is normally meant by chemistry but it's what carries the intensity of this whole movie. The trio is completed by Steven Yeun as Ben, who is great at being mysterious and charming and rounds out the main cast well. Maybe it's because I haven't seen him in Korean movies or shows before, but he seemed a little more out of place... but that may have been on purpose. His performance was definitely great as well, along with his nuanced smile, and the dynamic of three of them together was enough to keep me interested alone. The third wheel energy is strong, but think less love triangle and more "what in the world is going on and why is it making me so uncomfortable?".
The story however is what I struggled with, and not just because of the slow-burning pace, but more because certain moments felt tedious. Visually it's beautiful, but not much "happens" in many of the early scenes. There are also some very graphic, almost gratuitously graphic sexual and nude scenes, that seemed too much for me when I couldn't figure out what the story actually was. It's about an hour and a half into the film when things finally start to come together, and the real suspense kicked in for me. That may seem too long for a lot of people, but I think the payoff is worth it.
Would I watch this again? Absolutely, and I already did! This is the type of film where knowing the end changes how you see the rest of it completely! It's also the type of story that will keep you wondering. During the first viewing I could feel how long the film was, but the second viewing dragged much less, and I wanted to analyze every moment. The end is still somewhat open to interpretation, but not in a lazy way that sacrifices storytelling for a cool shot, which I hate. I saw it more as us "knowing" the end without it having to be said, but there still is room for doubt or different perspectives, and that's what makes the story so haunting. What the story does best is play with the theme that some things can be believed in without being seen or confirmed, and also how perspectives can be totally different using everything from pantomime, a well, a greenhouse, to a random cat, and letting that prime us for a very suspenseful premise.
Overall, this movie has an arthouse feel, but it really is a thoughtprovoking mystery. I can't say too much more without spoilers, but if you're patient, the story unfolds in a captivating way. Now I am even interested in reading the story it's based on, although I'm sure this stands more on its own. I never read any Haruki Murakami before, but this definitely made me curious to see what the original story is like. I also may watch more Lee Chang Dong films if they are this interesting. This film took me on an intensely interesting journey that will stay with me for a while. Still, with the great direction, great performances, and an intensely suspenseful plot, I can see "Burning" being too extreme for mass appeal. I was really ready to hate this movie right before it sucked me in, and I'm glad I gave it a chance. The more time passes the more I like it... I changed my rating multiple times... this is a slow burning that stayed with me, and I feel like the longer the emotional fire burns the higher a rating it deserves. The film may not be exactly perfect but the title is.
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I admit that I am already a huge fan of Park Min Young at this point (Sungkyunkwan Scandal, City Hunter, Healer, Queen for 7 Days, and especially What's Wrong With Secretary Kim), but I wasn't sold on the male lead who I only really liked in Coffee Prince back in his younger emo days. Together they have a grown and sexy chemistry that makes even the most mundane moments hotter than I expected, especially after the rather dull first episode. Sure, they are brought together by the usual clichés, but there's a reason why certain clichés continue to work, and they are what makes this drama work so well.
The rest of the cast is generally good, with a few favorites in minor roles (like hilarious Park Jin Joo, and
Kim Mi Kyung as another cool mom, but I also loved her in Healer too). There are also characters that I should have loved more but didn't. I thought Kim Bo Ra as Cindy was as annoying as she should have been, but too boring to really care about. I also found the object of all this fangirling, One as Cha Shi An, to also be boring. I guess his purpose was mainly to be cute anyway, which he was. I also think Kim Sun Young made the most out of her silly role and was definitely entertaining.
As for the story, it starts off as really silly, which is why the addition of melodrama seemed out of place when it became the main focus. The story is full of repeat chance meetings, misunderstandings, a 2nd lead syndrome worthy bff, and the KDrama romcom staple... "The fake relationship", but the writing does tell a complete story, and everything does come together and makes sense in the end (even for minor characters), which I appreciated. However, I still found that there were too many times, especially in the final episodes, where I was completely bored. I also didn't feel any connection to most of the more emotional parts, which seemed to resolve too quickly and neatly to be engaging to me. The comedy parts were also too silly for me, and the Ryan = Lion jokes definitely got old quick! If it weren't for the romance, I would have dropped this one for sure.
Would I watch this again? Actually Maybe, although I'd be tempted to skip a lot of parts, and maybe skip the last few episodes completely. I am also not a fan of the soundtrack, which was sweet and cute which sometimes clashed with the maturity of the story, but I guess it goes with the sasaeng vibe. That "precious little girl" song was especially irritating to me though.
Overall, I understand the appeal of this drama. I think it's a hit for the two leads, although the story is pretty dull for a romcom in my opinion. I would still recommend it for romance fans especially since I think they are one of the best pairings I've seen this year so far. Also, it is a decent story if you give in to the tropes and predictability. Just know that it's not exactly as lighthearted as it seems initially, but it's also not too heavy with drama either. I'm definitely not fangirling over the writing, but maybe I am over
Park Min Young a little who's fast becoming my romcom queen.
Also, no matter how cute and relatable they tried to make them, sasaengs are still pretty creepy to me! o.O
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So yes, the title is literal. This is a lighthearted rom-com about a witch's love life. The lore surrounding the witch world is pretty interesting, and there is also a mystery element added to it, but the story is a basic cold rich guy meets a quirky girl cliché. Yoon So Hee is a very cute and likable witch, and Hyun Woo plays his stiff and repressed chaebol part pretty well too, but together they just missed the spark needed to make this drama good. Scenes that should have been hot, were just awkward. Moments that should have been emotional were bland. Still, it aims to deliver what romance fans will expect, including a cute second lead (Hong Bin), but as far as pairings go, this pair is very forgettable.
The main supporting cast is very cute, and mostly likable, with the grandmas often stealing the show. Comparisons to the show Bewitched are spot on because the style of this drama is that lighthearted and silly. Even the darker moments are very pretty lighthearted and more cartoony than scary. I do think the writer did a good job of keeping the story interesting enough to keep me watching, but don't expect an intricate or deep plot. I also think some of the resolutions were pretty cheesy, but they did match the tone of the show.
Would I watch this again? No. Unless I decide to watch it because I've forgotten that I already watched it. Yes, It's really that forgettable. I even forgot I was watching it while it was on the air. At least they didn't drag it out and make it way too long.
Overall this is definitely a drama you can skip, but if you're in the mood for something light this could be pretty entertaining. There are only 12 episodes, so It could be perfect to binge if you've run out of shows to watch and have a high threshold for cheesy romance. As for me, although I don't regret watching, this drama just never quite got me under its spell.
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The concept is simple. 2 neighbors who are complete opposites, one who avoids people, and one who is overly friendly and clingy, end up getting involved in each other's lives. The "Happy Loner" Ji Yeong, who I think Min Hyo Rin did an excellent job of playing, is often relatable in her extreme melancholy... I'm talking emo levels off the charts... but I have mixed feelings about the character's development. I initially liked her cold and abrasive style, and then seeing moments where she becomes more vulnerable, but by the end I felt like they just wanted a certain ending and made her fit accordingly. Gong Myung plays Byeok Soo, a character who should have annoyed me more, but he grew on me, and I ended up really liking him. What didn't grow on me was their romance, and that's probably the biggest problem. I did think they made a cute enough couple, but with not enough chemistry to justify where the story was heading and how quickly it got there. Instead of being moves, I rolled my eyes.
Now, If you have ever felt so depressed you wanted to be cut off from human contact, or if you have ever been in a relationship with an extremely guarded or emotionally unavailable person, there will probably be moments and words that resonate in this drama. However, the scenes themselves often felt kinda shallow, which didn't match with the depth I think a story like this deserves. More time was spent on their insignificant exes than on their backstories, which weren't made to be significant enough. Oh, and don't get me started on the unethical sharing of the psychiatrist, which was extremely annoying. And that reminds me to mention the supporting cast... almost every single one of them was completely forgettable. They were more like cardboard cutouts just there to move the story along.
The short story aspect makes it hard to mention much specifically without "spoilers", but I will just say that if I enjoyed this more my rewatch score would be much higher.
Overall, I wanted to like this more than I did. There is a hint of what could have been a much better drama, but since it's only 2 episodes it's still worth a watch if you're curious enough about the subject of dating when you have issues.
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It took a little while for Choi Jin Hyuk and Song Ji Hyo to grow on me, but once they did I loved their banter and chemistry. Like most divorce plots, there is a lot of pettiness, jealousy, and bickering, with some cute moments thrown in too. There's also a healthy dose of second lead syndrome thanks to Lee Pil Mo, who I totally empathized with and rooted for. Then Choi Yeo Jin adds to this great love triangle while not playing into the stereotypical role that's expected, and being the most likable of the four for me.
The supporting cast is great too. The emergency room staff was entertaining, and had interesting backstories and plots of their own. The patient stories also weren't too annoying, which it my pet peeve with these type of dramas. Some situations were a little over the top, but most were interesting, and I liked watching the characters work through solving the emergencies they were faced with, especially with their personal tension. However, even with all of this, the plot is super basic, and I just couldn't give it more than a mediocre score.
This drama is long, 21 episodes, and although I was never bored, the story didn't really justify that many episodes. One thing that I did hate was how things were so drawn out, and how many flashbacks happened in every single episode. A scene would end and then literally repeat, or the same scene would be repeated over and over again. It felt a little like deja vu while watching. Then literal actions would seem to happen in slow motion, and maybe that was a choice to add to the suspense of the moment, but it just felt like a way to waste time. Also beware of fantasy scenes, some were hilarious, but they also felt like time fillers.
The music was Ok, but I can barely remember any of the songs, which isn't a good sign.
Overall I'm glad I finally watched this drama, and it was an easy one to binge through while waiting for currently airing dramas to air new episode (watching took me about 4 days... so perfect!). The rewatch score is pretty high, because of the characters, but I doubt I would watch it so many times like others have claimed.
At the end I really felt like I went on a journey with these characters, and the ending was a nice way of implying what would happen in the future without feeling like a sequel was necessary, or that things were left unresolved.
I would definitely recommend this as a binge-worthy rom com, that exceeded my expectations. If it's been lingering on your plan to watch list too, maybe it's time to finally upgrade it to "currently watching".
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Love Rain is basically two typical romance dramas rolled into one. The first 4 episodes are dedicated to the first romance, which begins in the 70's. This couple frustratingly hides their feelings, and has to deal with rivals, which is nothing new in kdrama-land. The pace was slow, and the romance takes an innocent approach, but I was not bored. I was never tempted to skip ahead, and I think the 70's episodes set up the characters, and their conflicts, nicely. The general tone of these episodes was moody, so don't expect a lot of cute flirty scenes in the beginning. Episode 5 is the start of the 2nd romance (my favorite episode), and there is a dramatic change in tone. This romance is your typical bickering-opposites attract story, which includes the quintessential mean meddling mother. It supplies plenty of cute/flirty scenes to give viewers butterflies (epic kiss scene included). The way these two love stories were weaved together is what made this drama feel original. I was interested in watching how both romances would unfold.
the cast is great in the 70's, and in the present day. Im Yoon Ah, Jang Geun Seok, Kim Shi Hoo, and Seo In Guk really pulled off creating two distinct generations of characters. I was impressed with adorable Im Yoon Ah, and doubly impressed by Jang Geun Seok. I expected him to be good, but he really shined in every scene he was in. They also had really great chemistry together. I had no problem believing that Ha Na & Jun were completely different from their identical parents, and I didn't find the fact that they looked so much like them farfetched either, since I have often been called my mother's twin/clone. I thought that the older actors (Lee Mi Sook & Jeong Jin Yeong) were well matched as the older versions of Yoon Hee & In Ha, though their chemistry was much more subdued. I thought the entire cast was good, or at least entertaining (loved the assistant & the flaming gay dude), though I would give Jang Geun Seok his own "10" score if I could.
The direction was great, the cinematography was gorgeous, the music was catchy, and the story was mostly good. Around episode 16 things start to fall apart. It was obvious that the story was being stretched to fill another 4 episodes, so scenes moved incredibly slowly (including the dialogue), and the plot started to become repetitive. Many of these episodes are filled with people barely getting a sentence out, or saying "I'm sorry" over & over again. I kept watching because I still liked the characters, but I would understand if someone dropped this drama at that point. Combined, the last episodes have a few good moments that could have probably fit into one episode (maybe two, maybe...). The final episode tries to bring back some of the spark from earlier on, but by then it was too late for me. I thought the ending was a little too corny. Everything gets resolved, but I wasn't quite satisfied. I also think the older characters deserved an on screen resolution, especially after an epic 30+ year love story. The last moments felt ironically rushed, compared to the other episodes.
The homage Love Rain pays to the movie "Love Story" gives you some idea of what to expect. It's not exactly light hearted, but it's not just a tearjerker either. I never cried while watching, but there were moments that I thought were really touching. I did laugh, so there is enough comedy to balance out all the heartbreak. I don't see myself watching this again in it's entirety, but I already want to rewatch certain scenes. I think I could only recommend this drama to Jang Geun Seok fans, or die hard romance fans. I consider myself sorta both so I was not exactly disappointed. My only real disappointment is that a potentially great drama ended up being just ok.
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Melancholy Slice of Life
I'm not the biggest fan of slice of life dramas but there is something strangely satisfying and cathartic about this one. "My Liberation Notes" is more about the mood than a specific story, which usually feels too tedious for me to enjoy, but because the characters felt so vulnerable and relatable I ended up liking this drama way more than I expected to. This isn't your usual dose of escapism. The characters here are mostly solemn, depressed, and disappointed with the life they live. Still, there's something inspiring about the way their stories evolve and something honest about how imperfect they all were without being too sad.The leads in this story are 3 siblings who live with their parents in a rural small town despite working in the big city. The family is very close as far as working and surviving together, but not emotionally. One dreams of success, one dreams of true love, and the third attempts to be less apathetic about life in general by sparking a connection with an alcoholic stranger who works as a day worker for the family while barely saying a word. The alcoholic stranger is actually my favorite character and the mystery surrounding him was my favorite part of this drama. Son Seok Koo as Mr. Gu is just HOT. He has dysfunctional Bad Boy Swag that is somehow irresistable even when he's silent. I'd probably drop by with a few soju bottles if I were Mi Jung too! I'm also gonna steal her "worship me" line, but I don't want to spoil even a little bit about their chemistry by saying too much about them. I'll just mention that I liked Kim Ji Won way better in this than "Lovestruck in the City".
I also liked a lot of the supporting characters. The man of few words dad, the worried mom, the small town friends, the woman from HR, the single dad... every single character supported the main theme well while bringing their own unique perspectives to it. There are no throwaway or one dimensional characters.
Oh, so what are the actual liberation notes? Inspired by every introvert's nightmare, imagine your job forcing you to socialize with coworkers after work as a job requirement. 3 coworker holdouts (including younger sis Mi Jung) presured to join one of the offered after-work group activity "clubs", decide to form their own club that they name the Liberation Club. Although just reactionary at first it becomes a place where they can vent and reflect on what they want to be liberated from in life with the silent support of the other members. They write their thoughts in their own personal liberation journals which inspires the title. It's not the main focus of the plot by any means but it is a benchmark for being more proactive about the lives the characters want to live, which is what I think is the main theme.
This drama may seem boring if you are expecting something major to happen, and I can see being annoyed by hearing some characters constantly complain or being perpetually moody, but I think what this drama does well is making disappointment, loneliness, and depression palpable. Is a good life about changing your circumstances or your perspective? What does it really take to feel happy or satisfied? I think this drama may not have an exciting storyline but it offers up some interesting perspectives on life and life choices.
If I'm honest, I would not watch this drama again unless I was feeling really emo. This is a raincloud sky dressed in all black full Eeyore emo drama. I also wasn't completely satisfied with the ending, although it made sense to the storytelling style. Maybe part of me still wanted something less vague for closure.
Overall, this drama is a mood. If you can relate to feeling lost or unmotivated you may feel seen, or feel inspired to start journaling with no pressure to be profound. I did find out after finishing that the writer (Park Hae Young) wrote "Another Miss Oh" one of my favorite dramas ever, and "My Mister", and although this drama is completely different, the interesting character dynamics, family relationships, and honest to a fault perspectives is refreshing once again. I look forward to her next drama. I was caught off guard with moments of unexpected laughing, ugly crying, and seemingy mundane moments that had me truly intrigued. I recommend giving this drama a chance and you may be pleasantly surprised. Make peace with the slow pace, the unresolved relationships, and the full on sads and you may find yourself truly touched.
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At least it was short
"Mad for Each Other" is a classic-style romcom about 2 people with issues falling for each other. It's not hard for me to like a drama like this as long as there is great chemistry, but this drama was very hard for me to really like. Thankfully it was short, which made it much easier to watch even during its cringiest moments. There were many moments in this drama that made me cringe and made me frustrated instead of falling for and sympathizing with the main couple. I also think there may have been too many cultural differences for me (as an American) to consider a lot of this funny, or maybe it's just not my style of comedy. Do you find irrational misunderstandings hilarious? Then you will love this drama way more than I did. Irrational Misunderstandings would actually be a good alternative title for this drama!"Mad for Each Other" stars Jung Woo as Noh Hwi Oh, a suspended cop with lots of empathy and sensitivity and a quick temper. He is matched with Oh Yeon Seo as Lee Min Kyung, a woman whose trauma makes her extremely distrustful of... well... everyone. Both of these characters are way over the top on purpose but as much as I grew to love the male lead I honestly couldn't stand the female lead for most of this drama. Hwi Oh has big angry teddy bear energy which makes him easy to like. I also liked that he had average guy swag, which was nice to see for a change. Min Kyung on the other hand is a mess of a character. She wears a flower proudly in her hair so people know she's the kind of crazy you should probably avoid, but her baby-talk voice and constant accusations were honestly annoying enough on their own. I like weird female leads, but I lost patience watching her, and I think that was an issue with how she was written as well as the performance. Of course, the setup for the drama is that the caring mad dog will become a protector for the woman too scared to trust, but how do they get past their issues? That also means a lot of scenes with the female lead being selfish and irrational in THE MOST ridiculous ways...for the sake of comedy and drama... but it just wasn't funny to me.
The rest of the cast is hit or miss. There are annoying gossipy neighbors who were great, and old fellow cops who are fine, a forgettable therapist, a psycho, and two random characters that just felt like weird filler... a girl with too many part-time jobs and "Samantha" which I guess was an attempt at adding some LGBTQ "understanding" to the story... but those "comedic" scenes felt very dated. I think this drama tried to bring up some heavy topics like abuse, cyberbullying, transphobia but still keep the story super light and silly which made it hard to take seriously.
Would I watch this again. I doubt it, but it is short, and the cute moments between the leads when they are not screaming at each other or chasing each other are pretty good. I admit by episode 12 I disliked this drama A LOT (too much of the same frustrating tropes) but in the last episode, they did manage to cram everything in and make sure all was resolved, which gave me some peace. I mean the OST did imply that they would make the ending happy, I guess. lol.
Overall, other romance fans may be way more forgiving of this drama than I. There was a nice overarching theme about finding allies, but it didn't connect with me very deeply because of the style of the drama, or maybe the writing. If you like really silly comedy maybe you will find this funny and more endearing. I also hated "Love with Flaws", starring the same actress, for similar reasons. The more I think about it, what I disliked about that drama does overlap with this one except this drama has a much better male lead. Awkwardness, misunderstandings, LGBTQ awareness attempts, of course poop jokes, and wide-eyed Yeon Seo... once again, none of these things worked for me. It didn't make me emotional or make me laugh, but it did make me a little curious and a little invested in how their relationship would evolve, and it did obviously work enough for me to keep watching. The main thing I'd recommend about this drama is that it's the perfect binge length (13x30 min episodes), so I regret watching it while it was airing. I've just seen a similar dynamic in rom-coms done so much better so many times that this one felt like watching a placeholder until a better drama comes along. In the end, I'm not mad at or for this drama.
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First, allow me to express my love for Ji Chang Wook as Ji Wook. If you have ever been a fan of his at all (Healer & Empress Ki are both on my favorites list already) know that he does not disappoint, and this may even be his most charming performance yet! He is matched with Nam Ji Hyun as Bong Hee, who I have only seen in Shopping King Louis, but Bong Hee is a much more fun character, not at all passive or a damsel in distress, and really made me like her as an actress. Together these two have chemistry that is off the charts from the start. Both characters are stubborn, and headstrong, so there is plenty of banter, and there are a lot of hilariously cute moments between them from the beginning. The way he looks at her at times literally made my heart skip a beat. That smile... and the tongue thing was more than enough to make me fall for him! Even when the drama between them started to get repetitive, and moments towards the end got a little too corny, I still loved watching these two together on screen.
As for the rest of the cast, there are literally no weak links. I loved all of them. The team of lawyers were completely endearing. Choi Tae Joon is super adorbs. It was also great to see Lee Duk Hwa be so funny, and not pure evil - I LOLed every time he called Bong Hee "lack of evidence". I even loved the random kid. There are also A LOT of frenemies in this drama, almost an entire cast full, and the amount of shade they throw at each other is also hilarious. However, the true MVP of this drama is Dong Ha as Jung Hyun Soo. I honestly don't want to say anything about why he is so good, but he's definitely an actor I will watch out for from now on.
The writing in this one is a little all over the place, but I think it was strong where it really counted. I liked that even though this is a drama about Lawyers and Prosecutors, all of the court cases were somehow related to the main story, and not just emotional filler. There were definitely some major KDrama tropes in full effect, and a million unbelievable coincidences between the main couple, but I think they were executed well, so I won't complain about that. What I think makes this drama lose some of the excitement it had in the beginning is the repetitiveness, especially between the main couple. Bong Hee get particularly annoying at a certain point, but I do think it makes sense for her character, so I won't complain too much about that either. The only unforgivable annoyance I can think of is the amount of blatant product placement. Some scenes are literal Papa Johns commercials, so don't watch while you're hungry.
By the end of the drama, once all the major mysteries are pretty much solved, and major conflicts are peacefully resolved, the drama becomes much more corny, but since I already loved the characters it wasn't that bad for me still. It probably helped that the episodes are broken up to be shorter so they dragged less. I also really liked the soundtrack, which definitely doesn't hurt, even with the terrible english lyrics.
So, would I watch "Suspicious Partner" again? Definitely. Actually, I already am! We won't get another drama out of Ji Chang Wook for a while, since he's enlisting, and I went through too much withdrawal once it was over. It's already been fun rewatching certain moments now that I know the full story.
Overall I would recommend this drama for sure, but I realize not everyone shares my strange biases. Still the good parts definitely outweigh any of this dramas flaws. If you love great villains, I would recommend this for that reason alone, but don't be scared off by the thriller aspect, because it surprisingly still is a relatively light drama. If you like cute bickering couples, and comedic banter in general, then there is plenty of that. If you love Chang Wook, of course this is a must see. If you love good ensemble cast chemistry, this cast delivers. If you don't mind cute romantic scenes interrupted by chilling suspense scenes, then I would say definitely add this to your list. I know this is definitely getting added to my favorites list!
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The story is pretty standard for a Zombie film. There's not too much originality, as far as innovating the genre. If you have ever seen a Zombie movie, this follows the usually story structure. What makes this movie work so well is the focus on the characters. Many of the characters are a little stereotypical, but getting to know them is what drives the story. The story is less about the Zombies, and where they came from, and more about wanting to see the characters survive. Being invested in the characters is what makes the action so intense. It also helps that the zombies look cool... really cool!
The cast does a great job! Gong Yoo did not disappoint me. He manages to have charm, even when he's a jerk. Kim Soo An really looks like she could be his daughter, and also did a great job. Even with the extra cheesy moments, the characters felt real to me. I loved Ma Dong Seok, and Jung Yu Mi. Choi Woo Shik had some really good moments too. So Hee was my least favorite in the main cast, and sometimes a little too overdramatic for me, but still mostly good. I forgave a lot of the overacting because it fit the genre.
The MVP of this cast is Kim Eui Seong, who I also think was the MVP in "W". I wish I could say more about how much I loved his character, but instead I will say that I can't wait to see what he does next!
I think the rewatch value for this is pretty high, especially if you like horror movies. The suspense of what will happen next will be gone, but it's still an entertaining story, and the zombies in action are really awesome!
I did tear up at the end, and thought it was extremely well done, and better than most zombie film endings. The ending definitely falls under the category of haunting, and will stay with me for a long time.
Overall I think this is a must see movie, even if you are not a horror fan! In the pantheon of zombie movies, and there are so many great ones, this one definitely holds it's own.
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Yoo Seung Ho is so charming that the role of Kang Bok Soo is perfect for him. He plays a warmhearted jock who has more common sense than book smarts. Throughout the show, he becomes the unexpected "Hero" in various situations, and he returns to HS as an adult to finally graduate and get "revenge" on those who ruined his life as a student. He is matched romantically with Jo Bo Ah as Son Soo Jung who's character annoyed me at first, but they had extremely cute chemistry and I grew to like their romantic storyline a lot, even during it's corniest moments. Who interested me even more than the female lead is Kwak Dong Yeon as Oh Se Ho. He was such an interesting rival for Kang Bok Soo, and so sympathetic, that I almost couldn't dislike him, even when he was at his creepiest. These three characters are what got me hooked on the show initially. I found their backstory interesting, and their reuniting intriguing. It's when the story focused less on their dynamic and more on the school that I lost some interest.
Don't get me wrong, I liked the student characters too, and even liked the sometimes heavyhanded lessons and themes in some of the school storylines (suicide & performance pressure specifically). The underdog students in the Wildflower class were cute, and I liked rooting for them, but the whole save our corrupted school storyline was just too corny for me. I also liked Chun Ho Jin as teacher Park Dong Jun and was very entertained by Kim Yeo Jin as Im Se Kyung (one of the worst Kdrama mom's ever), but their roles started to feel redundant after a while, which made the short episodes feel much longer than they were. I actually have no complaints about any of the supporting cast and liked them all. Most of the characters are written to be pretty one-note, and the actors managed to still make them feel real.
Would I watch this again? No. As cute as it was at moments, I could not see myself watching the whole story again now that I know how things end. However, I did love the ending, even if it was pretty predictable.
Overall, this is a cute feel-good drama, that's never too serious, despite a few serious subjects, with an inspiring message about not letting labels or the past define your future. Maybe a bigger fan of school themed dramas would like this more than I did. Romance may not always be the main focus, but it drives the story enough to appeal to romance fans, and the two leads really deliver on the romantic feels. Yoo Seung Ho fans shouldn't miss this one for sure (definitely include me as a member of his fan club, especially after "I am not a robot"). It also certainly has moments that are full of awkwardly cheesy smiles, corny jokes, and predictable clichés, but somehow still had enough charm to keep me from dropping it. So I would definitely give this drama a passing grade, and recommend it, though I wouldn't add it to the honor roll. One thing the drama teaches is that having the best grades isn't everything, and having a lower grade doesn't mean you lack worth, and this drama is a great example of that!
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I watched it because a friend of mine kept recommending it. She is a Geun Suk fan, so I should have known that she is super biased. Still, it took me a long time to finally watch it, because it just seemed like a dumb concept... I should have trusted my instincts.
I gave the story an official 1, because it was too ridiculous for me. The reason why the parents wanted her to get married, her plan to get out of it, their 100 day resolution... all of it was dumb to me. The only slightly interesting part was the dramaception (drama within a drama) concept, but that wasn't done well either. Most of the episodes are Mary trying not to get caught, which gets old quick. Instead the show relies heavily on the cast, which is decent, but I still didn't like them enough.
First, Moon Geun Young as Mae Ri is super annoying. I honestly didn't get her appeal, nor did I find her cute. I know she represents late blooomer/socially awkward girls, but she was often so selfish that I could not stand her. Her acting was good though, not amazing, but believable. I'm only realizing now that I've not only seen her before in The Village: Achiara's Secret, but she's also in one my of my favorite movies "A Tale of Two Sisters". I guess I didn't recognize her because of her epic hair. Speaking of hair..
Hair is clearly the star of this drama!
The hair MVP in this drama is Geun Suk. I could tell he's in his element in this role. He looked good, he was charming, his outfits were killer... he loses some appeal towards the end, but his performance was solid. He's also the main reason why the love story works at all. I assuming many fans of this show are imagining themselves as his "Merry Christmas". His music performances however start to get super annoying. you have to be a true fangirl to tolerate the amount of times "my preeeeeeecious..." is sung.
Kim Jae Wook's hair is less impressive, and so is his performance. I still empathized with his character the most. He was just so chillaxed all the time that he was borderline boring. I thought there were many cute moments between Mae Ri & Moo Kyul , and a few between Mae Ri & Jung In, but I will admit that there were many times when I thought Jung In had better chemistry with Moo Kyul. There are definitely some ambiguously gay moments, that could have made the story MUCH more interesting, but I doubt a KDrama is going to go there... especially in 2010.
The rest of the cast is pretty cheesy. Kim Hyo Jin was great, and the crew of bffs were great, but they just didn't have enough interesting things to do besides meddle, and sulk, and drink a lot. The Hallyu star and the manager were pretty useless. Then there are the parents... *deep sigh* This show has the most irresponsible, irrational, dysfunctional, abusive, unfit parents ever. Jung In's dad is a psychopath. I wanted to strangle Moo Kyul's mom. I also could not stand Mae Ri's dad, even though he was the only one who's motivation made even the slightest bit of sense.
Rewatch value? Never. I still really don't understand why I didn't drop it.
The OST? Well, music is a huge theme of this show, so there's a lot of it, it's repeated often, and it's still haunting my nightmares. The smeagol ballad "my precious" is probably the most annoying. The "hello" song was cute the first few times, and then it started driving me slowly insane. If you are a Geun Suk fan girl I could totally see this OSTs appeal. The OST is just a method for you to love him more.
Overall, this drama taught me a valuable lesson about needing to drop dramas I don't like. The ending did resolve things, but it didn't bring me any sense of relief. I was so frustrated that I stopped caring anyway, so what's the point? One of the themes the characters keep referring to is loyalty, and maybe that made me feel guilty about dropping it. Who knows. After forcing myself through this process I can only recommend that you not do the same, unless you really REALLY love Jang Geun Suk. Even then, maybe just look at a slide show of stills from the show while playing the OST instead. I would have probably found that much more entertaining.
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This is indeed another rich guy with issues falls for a poor no-nonsense girl drama. It has all the elements you should expect in this kind of kdrama, including greedy family members, a rival "hot" guy, and a jealous female rival. Even though the story is basically unoriginal, the way the characters act/react is often refreshing, and not so typical. There is also a pretty standard subplot about business corruption, betrayals, and greed, which eventually took too much focus in my opinion.
The supporting cast is made up mostly of fully developed characters, not just people meant to keep the main couple apart. Wang Ji Hye was really a stand out among the supporting cast. I initially liked Hero Jaejoong, though his coolness/aloofness started to bore me towards the end. I would have personally liked less time spent on the secondary couple who's scenes started to feel too repetitive. I also liked Ha Jae Sook, and I loved the female friendship displayed on the show.
The music fit the show well, though none of the songs were particularly memorable. Both male leads have more than one moment where they sing, which i thought was pretty cute.
I agree that this drama goes on too long. Compared to the pacing of the earlier episodes, the last episodes really started to drag the story out, and lost too much of the humor. The last scenes were underwhelming, and felt rushed. This is one of those kdramas that start with a bang and ends with a shrug. I still think this drama has more good going for it than bad, and would definitely recommend it.
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First, I have very mixed feeling about the lead. I actually liked her in the beginning, but slowly she started to annoy me, and then her character stopped making sense at all. IU was great when if came to flirting with and challenging all the Princes, but once the role became more serious, her acting seemed more and more lacking. Then add to that the fact that the character's actions made no sense, and I could no longer stand her, or her visions. She was a very frustrating character to try to root for.
To me, the real stars are two of the Princes, Prince Hottie (#8) Kang Ha Neul, and Prince Bad@ss (#4) Lee Joon Gi. They are the ones who kept me watching. They were definitely the most complicated of all the characters, and they both had great chemistry with IU in the beginning. Unfortunately, as the story progressed they both went from being complicated characters I could empathize with, to characters that were very hard to defend or like. I know in some ways that this is a tragedy, but leaving me with only characters I don't like left to root for makes it hard to want to keep watching.
There were also some good villain characters, which I can appreciate. One of the worst mom's in the history of dramas, the worst sister, the worst father, and of course the worst brother (or two, or three...), but once almost everyone left seemed to be evil, the villains were a lot less fun to hate. I just started to dislike everyone instead.
That brings me to the story. There were so many characters, and some really great dramatic stories to follow, with a great supporting cast to make it all work. The problem is that after building up each story, where it eventually all lead to was very disappointing. The way characters suddenly completely switched personalities made no sense. The main romances started to feel forced and fake. The tragedy aspect of the story started to get extreme, almost like they threw every terrible thing they could think of in... with even the cute romantic scenes starting to seem rapey. Still I was more frustrated than sad, and also totally confused. The conclusion, and why she was there in the first place seemed thrown together, and I felt cheated. Many of the supporting characters had better plots, and stronger performances, than the lead. It almost seems like a waste of a great ensemble cast.
One good thing was that the soundtrack was good, with a few songs being worthy of my KDrama OST playlist.
Would I watch this again? Probably not, but part of me still remembers what I loved in the beginning, which may be worth revisiting. However, 20 episodes did feel way too long once the story started to fall apart. If I could go back in time I would probably tell myself to watch it again, but with lower expectations, and maybe skipping through most of the last few episodes.
Overall, this is a hard one to recommend unless you are a true sageuk fan, or a fangirl for any of the Princes. Part of me is curious to see what the Chinese version is like, but I doubt I will ever watch it. This was my first time watching 2 on air sageuks, and If I had to choose the best one with "moon" in the title, this one wouldn't be it.
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I will start with the "delightful" girl herself. I put delightful in quotes because using that to describe Choon Hyang seems almost sarcastic. Instead she is stubborn, has a bad temper, and usually keeps her true feelings hidden. It would make more sense calling her frustrating b#y@tch Choon Hyang, or by the alternative "Sassy" title, but I guess that can too easily be confused with the movie. I think Han Chae Young did a good job with the character, and made her likable in spite of her flaws. I did think some of the more emotional, and romantic parts fell flat because of her, and though her character is meant to be cold at times, I think it had more to do with her limitations as an actress.
Then there's Jae Hee who plays the rebel she's forced to marry, Lee Mong Ryong. I was not very impressed by Jae Hee's latest drama (Color of Woman), but I really liked him in this. I thought he was extremely charming, and I felt like I was really watching his character mature. He definitely makes a lot of animated faces, but I never found it distracting... ok, maybe it was a little distracting since In my head I couldn't stop referring to him as "Johnny Depp face" (which is definitely a compliment). As a main couple they were cute together, constantly teasing and arguing with each other, but they didn't really have an exciting chemistry. There were a few good romantic moments, but nothing kills the romance for me quicker than a bad onscreen kiss. The way they kissed was as if they were asked to freeze just as their lips touched, and they just held that awkward pose waiting for someone to finally yell "cut". Their emotional moments also often felt forced, so I didn't cry once, which says a lot since I can be a crybaby.
Speaking of nicknames, I kept using a bunch while watching this drama like "psycho-noona", "creepy dirty old man", and "the worst best friend on earth". The supporting cast is filled with extreme characters meant to keep the main couple apart. Their actions were often hard to believe, and aggravatingly annoying. Some of these characters made me angry enough to want to throw things at the screen, which means they did a pretty good job. I thought too many of the supporting characters played one note for too long, and didn't have much depth. I think the Hong Sisters were a little lazy when it came down to the supporting cast as a whole. Maybe the actors should share the blame since I found Uhm Tae Woong to be extremely creepy from the start, even when he was being kind. I thought the one exception was Ahn Suk-hwan, who played Mong Ryong's father, and was my favorite of the bunch. Speaking of parents, what in the world happened with Choon Hyang's mother????!!!
Viewers should expect some signature Hong sisters fantasy, and parody moments. My favorite parts were actually the interludes which refer to the original legend. They were clever, and offered a nice balance to the main story. Towards the end the mood shifts dramatically, as they try really hard (unsuccessfully in my case) to pull at the audiences heart strings. The time line for the story is also pretty ambitious, but I think they made it work. Still, not every episode is created equal, and I definitely prefer the earlier fun ones to the later ones. I did think the ending episode was well done, and was not as predictable as I expected it to be.
Maybe if I saw this first, or closer to when it first came out, I would have liked it more, but honestly I don't think so. I didn't exactly hate it, there are just so many other dramas that I would recommend before this one. The only way I could see myself rewatching this is with friends as we yelled at the screen, & heckled the characters. I can see why those who liked this early on would defend it, but I wanted to give another opinion for latecomers to kdrama like me who are just getting around to watching some of the older dramas. I guess I would recommend this to big fans of the Hong sisters, just so they can see how far they've come.
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