Reviews

This was a pretty alright drama. The story is cute, though rather predictable. There were sweet moments as well as very emotional scenes. While overall I liked the drama, though, there were a few times I felt it was boring and dragged. There were also a couple of times that I couldn't understand the logic behind a character's decisions or actions, especially in the last episode, but nothing annoyed me that much, hence the 8 rating.

The music was great, though I do not know why it kept being referred to as rock. It is not rock! :p It is very catchy pop. Nirvana's Nevermind album was featured and I think it was supposed to be an influence, but has absolutely nothing in common with Entertainer Band's music. That was probably a peeve of mine worth mentioning. :p

The acting was decent but nothing extremely special. Ji Sung, whom I think is an amazing actor btw, was great as usual, but he has played much more interesting characters in other dramas. I was very disappointed by Hyeri's acting in this. After her performance in Reply 1988, I had high hopes. I think she was extremely under par in this. Of course it didn't help that her character was written to be naive and rather foolish. I also thought that she had absolutely zero chemistry with Ji Sung. Not because of the RL age gap either, but because she just seemed so awkward and out of place alongside him.

In conclusion, if you are looking for a light rom com without all the stress and like good music, it's a good choice. (*^_^*)

Leia Mais

I was really hoping to have a nice review to write for this title, but alas, it's just not going to happen...

Story (6.5/10):
Once the reviews start coming in I'm sure one thing that they'll mostly have in common is how well this drama started. It may not have necessarily been reinventing the drama wheel, but it did stand out. The latter half of the show was when everything went downhill...which is punny and makes me giggle thinking of a particularly awfully choreographed fight scene during the last 10 minutes of the show #spoilernotspoilerIregretNothing!

I thought it was interesting that both of our mains were interpreters which isn't something I've seen in a series before. They also went on location which was refreshing. I also liked this dramas take on the "other guy" (second male lead). In most dramas he seems almost perfect in comparison to the male lead, everything the male lead isn't in the most positive way. The other guy in this story was far from perfect and kind of a d-bag, but I feel it's mainly due to how annoying the "other chick" (second female lead) was. I think it was definitely interesting seeing how the main leads lives were entwined all of their chance encounters. It really felt so sophisticated and well written in the beginning, but then all of the ad naseum of standard dramas began and that made me sad. It makes me wonder if there was a writer change. Things just stopped making sense character wise, especially for such intelligent people.

I also was very dissatisfied with the ending for many reasons though I can unfortunately not share without spoilers. I think some people will disagree with me, but it felt rushed and disingenuous to be honest.


Acting/Cast (6.5/10):
The acting was pretty hit or miss for me. Huang Xuan and Cheng Jia Yang was the best actor by far and probably the only actor who I felt didn't have one bad moment of acting. I haven't seen him in anything else, but I'm certainly looking forward to those dramas now.

Yang Mi as Qiao Fei... This one is a toughy, I don't think she's bad, but I think my dislike was more so for her character which made me a bit biased. It's a bit disappointing since I first saw her in the historical drama "Palace", though I guess that's considered more of a contemporary historical as her characters travels back in time, so it's a great sort of fish out of water story. At any rate, I enjoyed her acting in that, just not so much in this.

Li Xi Rui as Wu Jia Yi - My favorite female character from beginning to end. I loved her expressions and I think her sassy attitude endeared her to me. I'd really love to see Xi Rui in another drama and hopefully as the female lead, so I'll have to check out her details page. Anyhow, she was perfect opposite Zhang Leon! Speaking of which...

Zhang Leon as Wong Xu Dong - He is so friggin' adorable! His character and of course that boyish grin of his, make me fall in love why don't you?! This is my first time see Zhang Leon in a drama, and while I don't think his character allowed for too much in the way of deep acting, I still felt like he added a nice light touch especially for the latter half of the show. I found myself skipping scenes, but not his.

The rest of the cast was just ok for me and I feel like they could've really been filled by just about any decent actor. Not that any I didn't list were terrible by any means, but just didn't stand out to me. Though I may be booed for saying this, but the actor that plays He Zhe totally looks like Asian Butthead, I just can't unsee it...

Music (7.0/10):
I really like the "Mon Cheri" opening song and the soundtrack was really nice and fitting for the show. I think it was probably the nicest and most consistent part of this drama to be honest.

Rewatch Value (1.0/10):
This is not a terrible drama and I don't regret watching it, but I skipped through it too much and there really wasn't anything about it I'd care to see again. Maybe some of the cute scenes between Jia Yi and Xu Dong, but honestly not much else. I would definitely tell others to give it a watch, I just don't think I could sit through it again.

Overall (6.0/10):
Even though I feel this drama started out really strong, it just fell apart halfway through and lost me. While it started off really good, it just wasn't good enough for me to feel it was much more than an average drama which again isn't bad, but I just don't think overall it was great. While it doesn't ruin the entire series, there was some seriously bad acting at times and some things that I felt they were trying to convey seriously and I either rolled my eyes or laughed out loud. It's a real shame that the ending especially felt so rushed and anti-climatic considering how well it started out the gate.

Leia Mais

The 1st half was overly dramatic and the 2nd half was a snooze fest. Park Hae-jin's character Li Ang and his love interest Li Ren were supposed to be the main pair but they threw in 3 other couples that had the same amount if not more time given to them, especially Li Ren's cousin, Tian Na. Towards the middle it seemed SHE was the lead.

When time was actually given to the OTP, it fell flat. I did not feel their chemistry at all. It was odd, they had scenes that should have been romantic and sweet but it felt like they were just checking off a to do list. Definitely not building a close and connected relationship with each other. Such a disappointment.

If a viewer is into crazy and sometimes nonsensical kinds of relationship shenanigans they may like it. Lots of breakups, lots of ex's, meddling elders and a bunch of grown ups who don't know what they want. Personalities seemed to change on a whim. Several scenarios happen over and over. What was the worst for me was I didn't particularly LIKE most of the characters. Even the ones that weren't bad weren't that exciting either.

***Possibly Spoiler-ish***
One love story fights against age and social status differences and has a jealous ex-girlfriend which was as cliché as possible. The jealous ex-girlfriend is especially grating. There is also an extra-martial affair relationship, a crazy psycho girl in love with a creepy magician and one other relationship that was actually normal but just seemed to be there to fill up screen time. One character that I did warm up to was Li Ren's cousin, Tian Na. In the beginning I couldn't stand her but by the end she won me over with her exuberant and quirky personality.

Leia Mais

The Interpreters is a gem of a drama in the myriad of dramas currently on screen to begin with. Addictive, like Swiss chocolate it has been captivating audiences and critics alike since debut. The story’s focal point is red string of fate that connects Cheng Jia Yang and Qiao Fei within the interpreting environment, and the medley of characters circulating in and around them.

The first half of the drama is interesting and university students/recent graduates/young female professionals might agree that is fairly accurate and relatable. The hard work, the expectations, the dreams, the senior nasty supervisor/colleague that seems to exist with the sole purpose of making life a living hell professionally. The second half is a pastiche of attitudes, nastiness and backstabbing, which while indispensable in some dramas, in the Interpreters was unnecessary.

Cheng Jia Yang is a successful Chinese/French interpreter with high work standards, a strong code of conduct and sense of decorum. Outwardly he appears inflexible and strict, a man not to be trifled with but inside is warm and caring. He falls madly in love with Qiao Fei becoming her knight in shining armour with a black car in place of the white horse.Qiao Fei is an honest, hardworking, independent cinderella esque woman that wants to become a Chinese/French interpreter. She falls in love with Cheng Jia Yang. Both Huang Xuan and Yang Mi perform their roles beautifully. They have great chemistry on screen and bring so much energy and so much life to the characters, to the point where one nearly forgets that the Interpreters is a drama and not a slice of real life minus the hyperbolic idiosyncrasies.

The supporting characters are an attention-grabbing mix. The ‘the golden couple’ shippers, their best friends: Wong Xu Dong and Wu Jia Yi against the destroyers, Cheng Jia Yang’s evil mother, Qiao Fei ‘s jealous former colleague and Wen Xiao Hua meet neutral Gao Jia Ming, Cheng Jia Yang’s brother, father and co-workers. The shippers are two fun, young and joyful characters overall with Wong Xu Dong being mature and responsible and Wu Jia Yi being literally the opposite. Together the contrasting personalities are cute on screen. The destroyers always have a bone to pick with; the evil mother with Qiao Fei, the former colleague with Cheng Jia Yang’s. Their characters are so utterly demented they ought to be institutionalized in the countryside or in a fishing village to develop their humanity. Gao Jia Ming starts the story as a lunatic man/doctor but evolves into a brilliant caring surgeon. Like his mother, he’s one of the Interpreters biggest catalysts.

Song wise, Mon Chéri, The Interpreters’ main ballad exquisitely reflects largely storyline catharsis in all its different edges.

Overall the Interpreters is a fantastic story, that despite being told beautifully in the first half and train wrecked in the second remained addictive to watch every day and highlighted great performances from Huang Xuan and Gao Vengo, without whom Cheng Jia Yang and Gao Jia Ming’s characters might have been just another script writer’s creation instead of men with interesting lives to watch developing on screen across 42 episodes. Should the Interpreters have had a lesser number of episodes and refrained from the common, clichéd shenanigans the drama would have been top notched with an overall rating of 10 out of 10.

Leia Mais

I'll just be as straightforward as I can be right at the beginning of this review: Jang Na Ra and Daniel Choi are the only two reasons you need to watch this. Yes, there are other things you can enjoy about Baby-Faced Beauty, but those two are going to be what keeps you watching until the end.


STORY
Easily the weakest aspect of this show, the plot revolves around a perfect and adorable angel named Lee So Young, played by Jang Na Ra, and a sweet-but-dorky man named Choi Jin Wook, played by Daniel Choi, as they attempt to be normal nice people in a sea of selfish morons in the fashion industry. While these two start off their relationship like a cat and dog, they eventually grow closer to each other through your typical dramatic happenstance. While there are a handful of other likable and interesting characters, where the Story really struggles is with its villains, their motivations, the pacing, and the supporting characters.

The villains here are horrible, and not really in a good way. There's no dancing around it. They are evil just to be evil. If they had mustaches, they would twirl them in every single scene they're in. There's no deep exploration of the villain's motivations. In fact, the following is a paraphrase of a conversation with the villain toward the end of the show:

Good guy: "Why did you do all those horrible things?"
Villain: "I wanted to."
Good guy: "That's it?"
Villain: "Yep."

So expect to be furious and frustrated with all of the scheming going on in this story, especially when it's directed toward Lee So Young. While shallow villains can work, there need to be truly good characters there to balance it out and give the audience a break from the villainy. Unfortunately, this show's truly good and unselfish characters can be counted on one hand. Almost everyone does something stupid and/or mean at some point. And to make things worse, Lee So Young is constantly scolded, humiliated, and punished at every turn while the villains simply do not face any consequences for their actions whatsoever. While I can tell you that the payoff is nice, getting there is an exercise in self-control.

But the Story isn't all bad. Far from it. Enter: Ji Seung Il, played by Ryu Jin. His character absolutely shines here, and you could argue that his is the most interesting character to follow, since he exhibits some of the most growth. His character becomes embroiled in one of the most effective and interesting love triangles I have seen in kdrama. Even though you'll root for the OTP, you WILL be conflicted every time Ryu Jin is onscreen.
Cliché-wise, you'll also have a little bit of Noble Idiocy to torture you toward the climax of the show, but it won't come in a way you would expect. It's interesting and will keep you hooked.

But really what the story comes down to is two insanely adorable people growing into one of the most insanely adorable couples you're likely to see on television. If you like cute romance, ignore everything I typed above and make this your next drama.


ACTING/CAST
Believe all of the comments you've read about this show being worth watching just because of Jang Na Ra and Daniel Choi. Believe all of the hype. These two are not only precious together, they're hilarious. Daniel Choi brings a sense of humor and a childlike charm to the leading man role that I have never seen in a drama before. He is legitimately funny. Jang Na Ra, of course, exhibits everything that has made her famous: those emotional eyes, that sense of vulnerability, that unique face. You'll get all of it in spades. No Jang Na Ra fan should miss her performance here.

The rest of the cast works, although I insist that Kim Min Seo simply gets repeatedly miscast, as she is here. Ryu Jin is awesome, despite not needing to do much with the role. Ahn Seo Hyun will grow on you quickly. Kim Mi Kyung is a gravitational force all her own. And you'll really enjoy Hyeon Yong and Yoo Tae Woong, too.


MUSIC
Really, the music here is largely good enough to receive at least a 9/10. As with any good vocal tracks, you'll find yourself humming along to a lot of the songs, or singing them out loud to yourself at times while inventing your own lyrics. They're quite good. Not only that, but the incidental music stood out as well. Rather than being "mood noise", the incidental music had distinction and personality.

Special credit goes to Jang Na Ra for singing more than one of the songs on this OST. She actually sings a song in character in Episode 8 and it's one of the best scenes in the show. Obviously Na Ra herself has a lot to do with that, but the song stands on it's own merits. It's lovely and adorable and you'll want to hear it again and again. Although I can't link you to any of the exceptional incidental themes, a few of them will have you bobbing your head and feeling warm just at the sound of them.

However, I ended up docking BFB a half point here because some of the incidental music was misused. There were a handful of scenes where basically nothing of consequence happened, but the music was overly dramatic. Took me out of the moment. This was rare, though.


REWATCH VALUE
This is definitely the kind of drama that bears rewatching. When all you want to do is feel warm and fuzzy and see cuteness again, Baby-Faced Beauty has you covered. Whether it's going back to an early episode and seeing So Young and Jin Wook fighting comically or rewatching how they slowly become close, none of it is boring. The terrible villains and wildly overdone plot devices hurt it here, but ultimately there's going to be plenty here that you wouldn't mind seeing twice.


BOTTOM LINE
Baby-Faced Beauty gets an 8/10 from me, and 6 of those 8 points are for Jang Na Ra and Daniel Choi. For any fan of either, this is a must watch. For rom-com fans, this is a must watch. For anyone else, there's honestly not a lot here for you.

Leia Mais

This series is a masterpiece. Though it only has 8 episode, it'll still keep you on edge until the very end. This is a must watch for those who seek for a hardcore psychological drama series.

When I started the series, I actually got bored a little since the suspense was a bit slow, but as I continue watching it I just simply got hook since the development of the charas were drastically amazing, especially that they were all student.

I've been watching a lot of crime mystery series now a days, and I'm not quite satisfied with the ending like on Gapdong and Hello Monster, but this series is one of the exception since its ending was terrific. I love how the writer twisted the story like that, and though it was a bit tragic, somehow it was still a happy ending with a really big bang on your consciousness and brain.

So to finalize this review, I do hope that many people would watch this since it is also an eye opener not only to teenage, but also to the parents who raised them. :)

Leia Mais

This is not your average boys' love drama. It becomes more than that. Yes, it does revolve around the main gay couple, but it does offer more conflict than that. There are outside forces and many other things that make this series unique. The plot may sound goofy at first but once you get to the second episode, you are hooked on the story. The series also ventures into other storylines such as one of the main character's sister and her trouble with fitting in. It has a lot of comic relief and will make you laugh and cry. If you are new to Thai dramas or just Asian dramas in general, I highly recommend that you start here.

Leia Mais

It's not your usual suspense ,mystery or love affair drama!

If you say this drama is rip-off version of gone girl, its only episode 1-2 and the rest... leave it with your imagination lol.

I cant predict the story like another suspense drama. I was ready for sad ending but the ending is quity satisyfying and make your mind blown. The pace are quite fast but acceptable . The police not too dumb like another mystery drama.Kuddos to the scripwriter.

The cast are veteran when come to the acting even there still minor turn-off that you can forgive. Ito Hideaki executed the role of husband very well. Kimura Yoshino as the 'yabai tsuma' is quite fabulous as the princess-like wife. The supporting cast are have important roles to the story.

I enjoy the drama to the fullest!

At least this drama can be the best drama of year...for me.

Leia Mais

This drama is absolutely engrossing. It is well made and the acting are solid from the main to the supporting actors. From start to finish I am amazed how the plot and storyline weave into one big picture seamlesssly and how it manage to tug at the emotions of the viewer. I am not a sentimental person, but. I cannot help myself being drawn into the emotional turmoil of the characters and ended up sort of feeling empty after I have finished the show. I hope there is a sequel, but, I am equally complacent with the ending if there is none.

I strongly recommend this series to all.

Leia Mais