michelleoc's Reviews- MyDramaList

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  • toetreden op: oktober 10, 2020
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Le Coup de Foudre
16 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
nov 24, 2020
35 van 35
Voltooid 5
Geheel 7.0
Verhaal 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Muziek 7.0
Rewatch Waarde 1.0

I realize I'm in the minority with this rating

After having good luck with my last couple of C-drama choices, I was hoping to keep that luck going with this drama that was recommended to me. Unfortunately, this show did not work for me, in so many ways. There was good, and then there was the not-so-good.
THE GOOD:
1) An Ge as Fei Da Chuan. To me, he was the highlight of the show. The tough guy was willing to put his heart out there. He really commanded every scene he was in. As an actor that is not the typical "pretty boy", he was just wonderful, and I felt that his character would be a terrific and trusted friend to have.
2) The second lead couple - Ma Li is just downright beautiful and Eden Zhao's character was immature and had some flaws, but you could understand once you knew the background of the family. Their love story was full of humor and longing. I loved that they were friends long before they were a couple.
3) The step-father. What a wonderful character! Typically in Asian dramas you have the standard evil parent that spends the entire show trying to keep the main couple apart. Seeing how he came into this family, and the role he happily took on as the kids' father was so special to watch. He was supportive and wanted what was best for them, always.
4) The friendships. The friendships and the family relationships in this show were stellar. The bond between the twins was never more evident than when he picked his sister over a girl he was interested in. His family would always come first. The friendship between the female leads was strong, and touching at times. There were a lot of different families and family dynamics portrayed in this show, and I felt that they were all realistic. Mistakes were made, people had to atone, scars developed from some things.
5) The music. I was so bored that I was spending an inordinate amount of time reading the subtitles to the songs, and when one of the songs said she was "marginally beautiful", I just had to crack up!
THE NOT-SO-GOOD:
1) There was a LOT of dead time in this show. There were full episodes that, I felt, could have been cut out. Slow! If the editing was tightened up and this series was shorter, it would have been a lot better.
2) QiaoYi - as an actress, Janice Wu must have done a good job, or they would have hired someone else. That leads me to think that the character was written the way she was for a reason. Unfortunately, I didn't care for her. I didn't connect with her being lazy/stupid in high school. She was weak in relation to YanMo - every time she talked to him her voice got all quiet and her chin sunk down to her chest and she couldn't look at him. This also happened when she became an adult. When she wasn't doing that, in the current time she was either trying to be "cute" or pouting. I found the adult QiaoYi to be very immature. I didn't find her character appealing.
3) YanMo - some of the problem with this character, in addition to the writers, must be attributed to Zhang Yu Jian. The character's mother said at one point in time that she had worried that he was autistic. He would probably be considered to be someplace on the spectrum - no social skills, doesn't make eye contact, no filter for what he says, can't read cues from people, extremely intelligent, etc. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that sort of character, except Zhang Yu Jian was not able to ever imbue any warmth into the character. His eyes always remained cold and distant.
4) Lack of chemistry between lead couple. They seemed more like brother and sister to me at times. There were a couple of times, when he was thinking about the past, or when he was speaking in voice-over, that were touching. For the most part, however, I wasn't buying them as a couple.
5) Cinematography - they used a filter whenever the female lead was on screen. The filtering process was very abrupt. The first couple of times when the screen got really hazy, I thought I might be having a stroke or something, but then I realized that the technique was being used to soften the female lead. I don't think the effect was necessary at all, there was no doubt that Janice Wu was beautiful anyway.
6) Overuse of flashbacks - they kept switching between three time periods and it got really irritating, not to mention, somewhat confusing.
7) Track suits - the high school kids wore track suits. The high school theme went on for many more episodes than I thought it would and let's be honest, no one looks good in a track suit.
8) Overuse of drunk scenes.

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Our Beloved Summer
23 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
jan 24, 2023
16 van 16
Voltooid 1
Geheel 4.0
Verhaal 4.5
Acting/Cast 5.0
Muziek 6.0
Rewatch Waarde 1.0

I'm sorry, but I need to like SOMEONE in the show

Maybe I was watching a different show than everyone else, maybe I was in a bad frame of mind, or maybe I just didn't get it, but this show irritated me no end. It was full of unlikeable characters, especially the FL. She was self-centered, self-absorbed, and every other "self" word that you could come up with. This is someone that wouldn't have any friends, because she can't think of anyone other than herself. There was a lot of name-calling, and overall, the relationship between the FL and ML was just toxic. Break up, make up, repeat ad nauseum. Then, at the end, when he is baring his soul to her, she continues to nag him. I just wanted to tell him to run away while he could.

I did like the music though.

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Like You
22 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
nov 1, 2020
24 van 24
Voltooid 3
Geheel 10
Verhaal 10
Acting/Cast 10
Muziek 10
Rewatch Waarde 10

Don't pass this show up!!

Oh my goodness gracious, I can't stop smiling! This was an absolutely wonderful show, with so much going for it, I almost can't figure out how to express why I loved it. But here goes...

Male lead - Lin Yu Shen (playing Lu Jin). Straight-laced, up-tight businessman. His entire life seems to be all about work. He tells someone that there is no room for emotions in work, but there wasn't room for emotions anywhere, until he met Gu Shengnan. He was able to convey so much emotion with just his facial expressions. One scene in the second to last episode almost broke my heart.

Female lead - Zhao Lu Si (playing Gu Shengnan). Perky, positive, self-taught chef. Her personality was effervescent. Her smile was so bright, she did this squeal/scream thing every so often that just made me laugh, and was anyone else obsessed with her hair? This character was someone you would want to be best friends with, knowing she would always cheer you up and cheer you on.

Lu Jin and Gu Shengnan as a couple - their chemistry was off-the-charts! For me, this was the crux and highlight of the show. There was an obvious age difference which, to me, made this even more cute. I felt like Lu Jin didn't know what life was about until he met Gu Shengnan. I have to give the writers kudos for such a marvelous script for these actors to work with. The dynamic between these two was special - they were both really good at the physical comedy, and the expressions on their faces? She was almost always full of joy, and there were so many times he had a look like he had no idea what to do with her, but was going along for the ride, and actually looking forward to it! Once they opened up to each other and expressed their feelings, each scene was heart-felt and romantic in so many ways.

The script wasn't overly drawn out, and I'm so thankful that the main couple got most of the screen time. It took me twice as long to watch this show, because I kept going back and replaying episodes. The scenarios for the most part seemed believable and I felt that the entire cast was good.

And can we talk about the food orgy?! Oh so many scenes of food preparation and presentation - the colors, the textures, oh my. Her food preparation played a big part in them getting together, and when she cooked for him in her apartment, each scene was funnier than the last.

I only rate a show 10 if it's rewatchable. I'd rate this one higher than 10 if I could. It's a slow (but not dragging), sweet show of discovery and love. If you are in the mood for lovely romance without too terribly much angst, I can't recommend this show highly enough.

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It's Okay to Not Be Okay
83 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
okt 10, 2020
16 van 16
Voltooid 5
Geheel 5.0
Verhaal 6.5
Acting/Cast 10
Muziek 8.0
Rewatch Waarde 1.0

A lot loved it, me, not so much

After all the hype, I thought I'd give this one a try. I'll be honest, I have difficulty watching shows about mental illness, but I especially have a hard time watching shows in which mental illness is not addressed. I felt that either the writers really dropped the ball on this, or just grabbed onto something that would further the storyline.

The cinematography was beautiful. I loved the different camera angles, looking up, looking down, etc. Costuming was lovely, especially for Seo Ye Ji (think IU in Hotel Del Luna).

Oh Jung Tae as Moon Sang Tae - his portrayal of autism was wonderful, even down to the smallest movements of his fingers. I don't follow Korean award shows, but he deserves an award for his performance.

Kim Soo Hyun as Moon Gang Tae - his performance was very understated and powerful. There were times that I could almost feel his exhaustion with his life. His love for his brother was lovely to watch. As an actor Kim Soo Hyun tends to always play parts where he doesn't have much facial expression, and this time it really worked for him. He was able to convey so much with just his eyes, and when he cries? My breaking heart!

Here's where my problem with the show came in: Seo Ye Ji as Ko Moon Young. They allude to antisocial personality disorder, but I didn't find anything redeeming about her character, and she wasn't able to bring anything to the table to make her likeable. She was displaying classic sociopathic tendencies ("I want that") that were very scary. I get that we are all broken in some way, but I didn't buy that he could love someone that messed up, especially with the all-consuming job of being responsible for his brother. When she got the haircut, I think that's when we were supposed to see a change in her, but by that point I wasn't able to get back from my dislike. What about counseling? What about medication?

The twist with the mom was interesting, but very implausible.

I did like the ending, and I liked how the autistic brother was able to bring so much to the table to build a family with the other two.

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DoDoSolSolLaLaSol
17 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
dec 5, 2020
16 van 16
Voltooid 1
Geheel 7.0
Verhaal 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Muziek 10
Rewatch Waarde 6.0

WORST ENDING EVER!!

Let me start with the reasons I loved this show, I'll save the spoilers until the end.
Go Ah Ra as Ra Ra. I saw her Miss Hammurabi and loved her. She has a fresh appeal about her. Though Ra Ra's life went south pretty suddenly, she was always optimistic. Though I often felt she was taking advantage of Joon, I couldn't be mad at her - she was always open and up-front about what she was doing. Ra Ra changed everyone that she came into contact with for the better. Her effervescent personality in the face of adversity was a joy to watch.
Lee Jae Wook as Sun Woo Joon - this is really his first leading-man role, and I must say he was made for it. His personality was the opposite of Ra Ra's, but there was a magnetic pull between them. His acting is understated and believable, and when he cried, oh my!
Ye Ji Won as Jin Sook Kyung - as the owner of the beauty salon, she was quirky and a little strange, but so fun to watch.
I felt that the entire cast was excellent.
OST - Oh wow!! How they wove "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" through the entire series was brilliant. Playful one minute, soulful the next, heartbreaking in the next minute.
STORY - here's where things get difficult. Up through about episode 11, I would have rated this as a strong 10. The writing was excellent for each of the characters. Their actions and their conversations were so fun and heart-felt. The salon ladies were a hoot. Though Dr. Cha was a little creepy to me, his character made sense the more you got to see him. The friendships/crushes of the teenagers were fun and not too terribly irritating. I loved watching everyone change through Ra Ra's influence, and the fact that she was acting in a completely natural manner without any artifice was lovely. The budding relationship between Joon and Ra Ra was so special - she'd ask him to do something for her, he'd say "no" but then do it. All the things he did for her - I really felt that he loved her. The beginning scenes of each episode and the epilogues provide some additional clues as to what was going on. I love a storyline where the main characters have met in different scenarios over the years.
After about episode 11, I was wondering if a different writer took over. This went from being a light, fluffy love story (with quite a few laugh out loud moments) to melodrama pretty quickly. Here is one of my issues, if I know it's going to be a melodrama going in, I can prepare myself for angst and stress. I was going along, really enjoying this show when BAM! His nightmare mom, his even more nightmarish dad, breakups for no reason, lots of time spent apart, everyone is miserable, clingy ex-girlfriend shows up, and toss in an illness that he doesn't tell anyone about and it's a big old mess. I do have to give the writer credit for the scenes making fun of the "water in the face, paying off the girlfriend to leave her son alone" trope. This couple was apart more than they were together.
SPOILERS - SPOILERS - SPOILERS - SPOILERS - SPOILERS - SPOILERS - SPOILERS - SPOILERS - SPOILERS!!!!
This is what is unforgivable for me - Joon goes to the US to "study", though he's really being treated for leukemia. Joon and Ra Ra still talk to one another on the phone. A few months go by and his mother shows up at Ra Ra's piano studio and tells her that Joon has died, and he left her a letter. So, we hear Joon's words to Ra Ra and go through her grief with her. FIVE YEAR TIME JUMP (I hate the time jumps in the best of times, but this was the worst!) Ra Ra is playing the song that she used to play to welcome him home and looks up, and there stands JOON. He says he didn't want to come back until he was well. She's a little bit mad but then forgives him pretty quickly. I had problems with this on many levels. First, what kind of mother would lie about her son being dead?!? And the fact that he left Ra Ra completely out of the loop, that's not love. All I could think of was, if I was Ra Ra, I'd be wishing that I'd been able to spend whatever time she had with him. When I got to the end of this show, I really felt like I'd been cheated, and I am NOT amused! So, strictly for this reason I had to lower my rating to a 7. I really wanted to go lower, I'm so mad, but the show was so good up to when it wasn't anymore.

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Untitled Park Ji Eun Project
16 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
mei 17, 2024
16 van 16
Voltooid 0
Geheel 4.0
Verhaal 4.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Muziek 6.0
Rewatch Waarde 1.0

Just my opinion...

Apparently, I watched a different show than everyone else. I'll put the sadly necessary disclaimer - this is my own personal opinion, so don't come after me.

For me, the show had a lot of style, and not much substance. Beautifully filmed and beautifully dressed beautiful people, so much of the time I felt like I was a spectator watching a fashion show runway catwalk. Lots of walking from here to there, "look at what I'm wearing now", models with no expression.

I just didn't like anyone in this show. For me, there has to be something likeable about someone to make me care about what happens to them. Both the ML and the FL had personality issues. FL in particular was unlikeable, she was such a cold person. Kim Ji Won tends to play the same type of character, and her lack of facial expressions just doesn't endear her to me. The ML's reaction when he found out she was sick was just wrong. And the sequence, with the overabundance of flashbacks, was out of synch and made it hard for me to like them. I didn't believe in their story and was never able to feel their love for one another, even at the end.

And can we talk about tropes? In this drama, the tropes were piled high, one after another. When they got to the amnesia part, I laughed out loud - my trope bingo card was complete!

Should you watch it? Don't go by me, because apparently, I'm an outlier. Give it a try and come to your own conclusion.

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Light Shop
34 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
21 dagen geleden
8 van 8
Voltooid 0
Geheel 8.0
Verhaal 10
Acting/Cast 10
Muziek 8.0
Rewatch Waarde 1.0
Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten

Be patient...

Wow! This isn't my usual genre (I don't like to be scared), but the list of excellent actors reeled me in. The writer took the subject matter and turned it on its ear. This show was like reading a novel from the back of the book to the front. The first few episodes make no sense. We get no back story or explanation, just a gripping storyline that keeps you coming back for more. It was amazing to me that I could care so much about these people and not have a clue why I was feeling like I did, especially considering that this was only eight episodes. Every second of every episode was well-crafted.

Light Shop is a mystery in the truest sense of the word. Props to the cinematographer - the use of black and white, muted colors, pops of bright light were very visually effective.

For me, this drama was also thought-provoking. Seeing the decisions made, would I have chosen the same way?

Because I'm a big chicken, it took a few days for me to finish this. I could only watch the episodes when it was light out. Turns out that heightened my enjoyment as well. It wasn't just a passive watch, each episode kept rolling around in my mind. I can highly recommend this drama and also suggest that you don't binge watch it.

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Bos
12 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
okt 11, 2020
32 van 32
Voltooid 1
Geheel 7.0
Verhaal 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Muziek 8.0
Rewatch Waarde 4.0

Beautifully filmed

I think the star of this show was the forest. It was beautifully filmed, and time seemed to shift whenever anyone was in the forest. I could feel myself relaxing along with the characters. And if I lived in that house in the middle of that forest, I would never leave.

I loved the story between the lead characters. Their relationship spoke to being stronger together, and power of love in the healing process. The symbolism of the healing power of the forest was apparent. Park Hae Jin and Jo Bo Ah did an excellent job. Both main characters were wound pretty tight, but spending time in the forest and with each other softened them, but ultimately made them stronger. They were so cute together, there were a couple of scenes with loving baby talk that I just had to watch multiple times! Seeing Park Hae Jin being playful was worth the price of admission! Their kisses were very lovely (especially the stethoscope kiss!).

Especially creepy bad guy - the actor did a wonderful job, he was really hard to watch and seriously gave me the heebie-jeebies!

However, I felt that this show suffered from too many episodes - it was so drawn out I fast forwarded through a lot of it toward the end, and the ending, as is unfortunately commonplace in Korean dramas, was too rushed.

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Een lente nacht
14 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
aug 8, 2021
32 van 32
Voltooid 3
Geheel 5.0
Verhaal 5.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Muziek 1.0
Rewatch Waarde 1.0
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Tedious

After not enjoying SITR (unlike everyone else in the world, apparently), I should have known better than to waste my time on this drama, considering it's the same writer, director, and main actor.

I'll start with the good - there was nothing wrong with the acting, everyone played their part well, I enjoyed the interactions between the sisters, but I think that's as far as I can take the compliments.

STORY: Oh my gosh, there were so many unlikable characters! The ex-boyfriend, both sets of parents and yes, the female lead. Female lead - I think she was supposed to be this outspoken woman, but apparently that only came out with the male lead. With him she was bossy, demanding, cranky and immature ("It must be nice to be able to eat, you must not be bothered by this at all.") She spent almost EVERY episode meeting up with the nightmare of an ex-boyfriend. She was a weakling where he was concerned, even though she knew she didn't love him. Was she trying to be nice? I couldn't quite get it. The ex-boyfriend trying to get her to marry him went on until the next to the last episode. He was just creepy. Give it a rest! Seriously, she should have gotten a restraining order or something. And then there were the parents - I know that it's important to respect your elders, but when your elders don't have any respect for you and won't listen when you say you don't want to marry someone, there's something wrong. Each episode seemed to be just a rehash of the previous one. Should she pursue this new relationship? Should she give the ex another try? The male lead was smitten with the female lead because she came in for hangover medicine? Why these two liked each other was never made clear. Almost all of the conversations revolved around how they were going to manage, because everyone was against them. I realize that Korean mores are different than American, but they made the male lead out to be a terrible person because he had a son. Then when the female lead APOLOGIZED to her mother because she was involved with a man with a child, that really irritated me.
CHEMISTRY: Kisses. I didn't feel chemistry between the leads at all. There were a couple of technically good kisses, but again, I didn't sense chemistry.
COSTUMES: She was a librarian. Was it absolutely necessary to make her dress in such a dowdy way? The clothes and shoes she wore made her look so much older than she was.
OST: Three-four songs on repeat throughout the whole drama. The songs were in English for no discernible reason and they were very distracting.
REWATCH VALUE: Not on a dare!

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Moving
11 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
jan 12, 2024
20 van 20
Voltooid 0
Geheel 7.0
Verhaal 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Muziek 7.0
Rewatch Waarde 1.0
Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten

Loved the relationships

It was like watching a Korean Marvel movie. Sure, there were some plot holes, but in general there was plenty of action and plenty of heart. For me, I liked the episodes with the adults the best. How their relationships began and progressed. I also liked the relationship between Joo Won and Doo Shik.

Off of the top of my head, I can't remember the last time I totally fell in love with a character like I did Bong Seok. Just a big teddy bear of a young man, with that intrinsic sweetness always on display. His relationship with Hee Soo was so cute! They seemed like a couple that, on the surface, would never work. But they both had secrets, were loners and I think they found their kindred spirit in the other.

I have already recommended this show to someone. The only reason it doesn't have a higher score from me:
- way too much blood, violence
- terrible language. Sometimes what they were saying was not a curse word, and when it was, why did they have to print it? This is something I feel very strongly about and am really bothered by.
- the setup for a season 2. Why? I'm not liking this current trend of dividing the show in half or having a season 2.
-I would have loved to see a bit of Bong Seok and Hee Soo together at the end.

So, I'd say give it a try. You'll probably like it.

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Crazy Love
11 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
feb 1, 2023
16 van 16
Voltooid 0
Geheel 9.0
Verhaal 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Muziek 9.0
Rewatch Waarde 3.0

Full of tropes, but in a good way!!

STORY: Seriously, if you want tropes, this has it in spades! Enemies to lovers, ex-girlfriend that comes back after years, expecting to pick up where she left off, amnesia, cold boss, illness, bullying, revenge - you name it, it's in here! The reason this show works so well is that it doesn't appear to take itself too seriously. It spends a lot of time being over-the-top and let me tell you, it's a blast! Physical comedy, revenge, strangely it all worked. Episodes 14-15 went a little awry, those episodes felt somewhat like they threw a bunch of stuff at the wall to see what would stick. Thankfully, it got back on track. I don't want to say anything else about the story, I think it's better if you don't know what to expect.

ACTING/CAST: Kim Jae Wook as Noh Go Jin (I loved him in Her Private Life and was glad to see him again.) - Straight-laced, bitter, mean and any other word you want to use for unlikeable, but you could sense his loneliness and sadness. His transition from the beginning to the end of the show was lovely, a person redeemed. Krystal Jung as Lee Shin A (I loved to hate her in Heirs) - she looks completely different, I originally only recognized her by her voice. Her character was wonderful (not a doormat and not a b**ch). She was strong when she needed to be, but she saw the good in people, which was a good foil for the ML. Hu Joon as Oh Se Gi - I don't believe I've ever seen him in anything before, and his character was very understated, so you never quite knew what his deal was. Im Won Hee as Park Yang Tae - his characters are always cartoon-like, which fit well in this drama. Go Gyu Pil as Joo Jun Pal/"John" - he had a relatively small part, but I love watching him act, he's got a great sweetness about him. I also liked the woman that played the cleaning woman at work, and how she went from hating the ML to being his staunchest supporter.

MUSIC: I'll be honest, nothing stuck out to me, but maybe that's a good thing. There was nothing to distract from the story.

CHEMISTRY: I loved this couple!! Their hatred was palpable, but the progression to liking one another made sense. Once they finally did get together, they had a healthy respect for one another, and their relationship was mature, without stupid misunderstandings or time jumps (hallelujah!). They were so cute together, I probably had a stupid grin on my face as I watched them. I think the supposed second couple (her brother and her roommate) were somewhat wasted, but I was glad that they didn't take time away from the main couple.

HAPPY ENDING and a peek into their future.

I am so glad I watched this (it was recommended by someone here on MDL, thank you very much!), it really worked my emotions, as well as giving me all the feels. Which was an absolute relief, as my recent luck with romance shows has been like a vast, desert wasteland.

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Alchemy of Souls: Part 2
15 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
mei 25, 2023
10 van 10
Voltooid 3
Geheel 5.0
Verhaal 4.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Muziek 10
Rewatch Waarde 1.0
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I'm angry that they made a second season!

I loved AOS #1 up through episode 19. Then they had to go the historic tragedy cliffhanger route to justify another season. So, I'll admit my review is based upon my feelings. PLUS, I felt the script really diminished Uk's love to "love the one you're with" and that irritated me no end.

As with #1, AOS#2 was well-filmed, though granted, a lot darker than the first one. Great CGI, beautiful music.

STORY: Repetitive, with more of the same from #1. How the evil guy, that everyone KNEW was evil, continued to get away with his evilness was just frustrating. My biggest beef was the way the romance was written. Uk fell in love with Cho Yeong before knowing that she was Naksu. That might have been fine if we had some sense that he was struggling with his feelings, considering that he was supposedly so in love with Naksu. I didn't get that impression at all, though. Also, I didn't particularly care for the way that Cho Yeong/Naksu was written. Her personality was just so completely different than Naksu, I didn't get a feeling for Naksu's strength at all. She just seemed clingy to me, coming up with excuses to be with and touch Uk.

ACTING: So good.
Lee Jae Wook as Uk. I was believing his mourning until he met Cho Yeong and then that went out the window. I don't know if he lost weight since the first season or if it was makeup, but his jawline was so sharp it could have cut glass. It was a good look for him. I also liked him wearing black throughout the drama. It was like he had "graduated" from colors to being serious in black.
Go Youn Jung as Naksu/Cho Yeong. She did a good job with the writing that she was given. She is absolutely gorgeous. I've not seen her in anything else I don't think, I'm going to need to check her filmography and watch her in something else.
Hwang Min as Seol Yul. He, again, was my favorite character in this show. He figured out she was Naksu pretty early on, and you really got the sense that he could just FEEL that it was her. He did such a wonderful job with his longing for her.
Shin Seung Ho as Go Won. We got to see a little more understated comedy from him this time around.

CHEMISTRY: The kisses were so good, but I didn't feel the chemistry between them. How is that possible?

I have to say, I'm not particularly caring for the current trend of making multiple seasons of a show, unless it's an exceptional show like Hospital Playlist. Otherwise, it feels like they are just milking the drama, causing a lot of draggy parts to extend the drama length.

Bottom line: If you like darkly filmed dramas with multiple good fight scenes, good CGI, and you really don't care about the romance anyway, give it a try.

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Idol Doctor
10 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
jan 27, 2022
12 van 12
Voltooid 2
Geheel 7.0
Verhaal 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Muziek 9.5
Rewatch Waarde 1.5

The ending ruined the rest for me

First, they should have used the title Let Me Be Your Night, as it was referenced in the drama. Knight does not make sense in any way!

As I was watching this show, I found it to be a fun watch, fluffy and light. There were quite a few amusing moments, and I didn't feel the need to fast forward through scenes (the advantage of fewer episodes). It addressed numerous issues that idols must endure, and I found that interesting as well. It was a very cute concept for a show, and if you just want an easy watch and don't expect too much you won't be disappointed.

What I liked: Jang Dong Joo as 2ML Seo Woo Yeon. He's got a lovely, deep voice and I really liked the way his character was written. Admittedly, I had some SLS going on here, especially since the ML was not a nice person. The music was catchy. The LUNA actors all did an okay job, and I liked how each of them had their own style sense. The story didn't focus on just one or two main characters. That said, there were things that missed the mark...

What I didn't like: Though I love Jung in Sun as an actress and she did an okay job here, I felt that she was entirely too old for this part. I didn't feel any chemistry between the leads in the romantic sense. They were fun to watch when they were antagonistic toward one another, but the romance fell flat. There was an absolutely terrible, cringe-worthy kiss that looked like their lips were barely in contact with one another and her eyes were open the whole time. Though I liked the fact that there were multiple story lines, I felt there were so many missed opportunities to delve deeper into the characters, especially the LUNA members. I would have liked to have seen more of their interactions with one another. The interactions they did have made me think that they didn't care much for one another. The ML character was stoic and cold throughout and I never did become truly attached to him. With the FL being the "live-in doctor", I would have loved to have seen more of her helping the other members of LUNA, not just the ML. A secondary romance took up a lot of screen time and ultimately went nowhere.

WHAT I HATED: Misunderstandings are resolved, someone saves the other, feelings are verbalized, and then one of them leaves the country for an indeterminate period of time after saying "have a good life". WHAT THE HECK!!?!?! That made me mad enough, but the ending was just horrible - short, abrupt, no physical contact (almost like they were just meeting again!), and then just OVER! The last half hour of this show made me so angry I had to drop points. All that time wasted just to be disappointed. Why is it so hard to have a decent ending in so many K-dramas!?!

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Welcome to Samdal-ri
12 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
feb 3, 2024
16 van 16
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Geheel 7.0
Verhaal 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Muziek 8.0
Rewatch Waarde 1.0
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Give it a try

Mostly all reviews praise this show, with a lot of comparisons with Hometown Cha Cha Cha (and rightfully so). There was a lot to like about it, but there were numerous things that really bothered me, hence my lower score.

What I liked:
-The acting by all was very good, but I did find Shin Hye Sun's constant pursed lip/pout talking very irritating after a while. I have loved her in other things she's done and never noticed her doing it before. I loved the friends, the families, the townspeople, and Samdal-Ri's little niece was just precious.
-Jeju. The cinematography was just stunning, and if this doesn't increase tourism, I don't know what will.
-I really like the idea of friends that have known each other for years, supportive of one another when apart, and then coming back together like no times has passed.
-2ML. I may have seen this actor in another role at some point in time, but I really liked him here. He had that almost palpable sadness surrounding him. Though it's not really realistic for someone to have one-sided love for that many years, the romantic in me just loved it. I also like how he was at odds with himself as to whether he should tell her or not. On top of that, he was just such a good friend to both the ML and FL.
-The sisters' storylines were well-developed and didn't feel wasted.
-Happy, though lackluster, ending.
-The friendship between the ML and FL. Which brings me to...

What I didn't like:
-For me, there was no chemistry between the leads. I loved them as friends but didn't buy them as a couple at all. Add to that that he thought she broke up with him, she thought he broke up with her, and all I could think was "how hard is it to just talk to each other?"
-So much drinking
-Drunk confessions
-The way the FL was written was problematic for me. She was portrayed as this strong, independent woman, but yet she slinks quietly away when the woman made up lies about her? She doesn't stand up for herself. She attended a long pity party for herself. I realize that the lie was pretty much the whole premise for the show, but it could have been written much better.
-Working with your ex? Nah.
-There needed to be a more satisfactory ending for the evil girl, she just kind of went away. I'm not a big revenge person but come on!
-After the 8-year (I think that was the amount of time it was supposed to be) time skip, we get another two-year time skip at the end. And that one made no sense. Suddenly he's going away to "realize his dream". Throughout the first part of the show, I really got the feeling that he NEVER wanted to leave Jeju.
-The ML's father's story line. It was immature and went on too long. If he was that troubled by Samdal-Ri's family, I'd think he would have moved away or something.

If you are still reading, I'd say give it a try, you might love it. I'm definitely in the minority.

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Boss & Me
12 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
jul 25, 2021
34 van 34
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Geheel 4.0
Verhaal 5.0
Acting/Cast 4.0
Muziek 3.0
Rewatch Waarde 1.0

Time I will never get back

I'll start by saying that since this was from 2014, the production value was grainy and the dubbing (why do they insist upon doing that? These actors can't possibly have worse voices than the people dubbing!) was truly awful in some places.
WRITING: So many people said they found this fun and funny. I didn't find it to be either of those things. Full of stereotypes (which I can't lower the rating on, because they are in every Asian show), so many of the characters were unlikable and/or irritating. I'll address the main two: I found the character of Shan Shan to be the epitome of a silly, not-too-bright, ditzy woman, and she didn't seem to improve over the life of the show. The writers had her having internal dialog through the whole thing, which was very irritating, and I never could understand why Feng Teng liked her. Which brings me to Feng Teng: this character, for me, was completely one-note. I didn't necessarily have problems with his "stalker-ish" tendencies as others did, (I have to admit, I thought that him having lunch "with" her on both sides of the window was sweet), but he was not very nice to anyone, and the way he talked to his employees would have the human resources department very busy fending off lawsuits. Part of it, I think, was I didn't find him physically attractive, but since I tend to find attractiveness even more in a person's actions, I REALLY didn't find him attractive. All the women were fawning all over him, but it must have just been because he was rich. All of the scenes of the workplace made every female employee look like she was only working to 1) meet a man; or 2) gossip. And there were a LOT of scenes at work. This show would have benefitted from a good editor and half as many episodes.
ACTING: A lot of overacting was being done by people (perhaps trying to make the show seem amusing) and in the case of the male lead, a lot of under-acting - he had one expression and was not able to generate anything using his face/eyes/body. He was very wooden. There were numerous scenes where it felt like there were pauses waiting for someone to remember what their lines were.
MUSIC: I don't remember it.
RE-WATCH: Are you kidding me?!

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