No - but I liked it as a friend!

I started watching Was It Love? as a stopgap between Start-Up episodes and ended up binging it in a week.
Our lead is a single mother with a teenage daughter and the story revolves around her and 4 men who seek her affection. She lives with her lovely mum and has a great best friend who they rent their house from.
Let's start with the positives - our lead played by Song Ji Hyo (Noh Aee Jung) is a strong independent woman - she's raised her child and grown her career to be a film producer - she's a fighter. And so when these guys try to 'save' her she doesn't entertain it.
The male leads play their roles really well - especially Oh Dae Oh played by Son Ho Jun who has great heart and comedic timing. The competition to get our leads affection is funny in places but can get a bit annoying.
The negatives - the first 7 or so episodes drag on too long with the same issue being dragged out for far too long. Just to add a bit of heat they introduce the delightful Kim Da Som (from kpop group, Sistar) who adds another angle to this already convoluted story.
Overall this was an ok show - I think if the story in the first half was tighter, then it could be a good drama and had potential. Give it a go if you're bored.

Leia Mais

Perfect balance of comedy and seriousness - I want to rewatch it right now!

Another title that I was skeptical about - was the hype real and would I like it.
Short answer - I LOVED IT! So much so in fact that having finished it 3 hours ago - I want to rewatch it right away.

Don't get me wrong - this is not going to change the world in terms of cinematography or the uniqueness of its story.
Where it wins you over are the characters and their relationships - be they good or bad. It deals with bullying, the pressures of social media, abuse, and suicide - and it does all this with an element of truth and honestly - some of the bullying scenes are heart-wrenching for example.

It was the jokes though that took this drama to the next level - they were genuinely hilarious - brilliantly timed and delivered. The emotional scenes do what they need to - there was one episode where I found my bottom lip quivering before the tears came!

It's one of those rare occasions where you route for both parties equally as both are really decent guys. Who will get the girl? You'll just have to watch it to find out.

Negatives - as with most kdramas, the ending is a little rushed with a lot of story arcs being wrapped up but never the less it doesn't detract from the overall charm of this drama.
Go watch it now :). Should I rewatch it now? ?

Leia Mais

A K-Drama with real dialogue

Run-On is a bit of a mixed bag for me. I was drawn to it because of Shin Se Kyung ? but I couldn't get into it for the first few episodes. It didn't seam like a traditional KDrama and I just didn't get what all the fuss was about. I later realised that it was written as if they were real people and was a genuine love story between our two main leads (Im She Wan as Ki Seon Gyeom). I was frustrated as I felt the dialogue was too slow.
However come around episode 9 or 10 it suddenly came alive and went from good to great. A lot of this was that the second leads story line - that was teased in the first half of the season - came to life. For me this was a great arc and had so much potential. Also the leads were now interacting with each other which further enhanced the story.
If I have a negative it's that this should have happened sooner as there seamed to be a lot of key moments that happened in the last four episodes and maybe they deserved more time to develop if they had been fleshed out earlier on.
I also felt Seon Dan Ah's (Sooyoung) story arc has the most potential in her fight as a woman in a male dominated family business - this was teased but again never really featured much.
Having said that, this was a very satisfying drama. Easy to watch and had a lovely ending. I think if you're new to KDramas or still on the fence, Run On may be a good intro as it's so relatable. Enjoy

Leia Mais

The reason for this Drama love affair

UPDATE - just rewatched CLOY in honour of #JinBin. I forgot what a masterpiece this is. I watched it a year ago and it still had me on the edge of my seat, laughing out loud and sobbing my eyes out - the latter was embarrassing.
While the story is a little unrealistic, just cast your skepticism aside and enjoy what is a brilliant TV show - of any genre.
All the characters illicit the correct response - be it love or hate (the villain is truly exceptional). This is a beautifully contained series and it will leave you joy in your heart and satisfied.

CLOY was the first KDrama that I watch all the way through and it made me fall in love with this genre.
If you are new to KDrama, then I encourage you to at start with Crash Landing on You. If you've never watched one before then like me, you might find the first episode a bit over the top. On top of that, the episodes are long - between 70-90 minutes each.
If you get past the first episode, what you'll get is the most wonderful story, incredible cinematography, brilliant acting and a glorious soundtrack.
Our leads are amazing and work so well together with amazing chemistry - they are a real couple now :)
The second leads are equally brilliant and a good antagnonist to our leads.
The supporting cast are equally lovable - the captains team as well as the housewives living in the North Korean village.
I know a lot of that life is somewhat glorified, but does touch on what life is liked for those with and without money.
Please give this a watch - you won't regret it.

Leia Mais

Where can I find my Secretary Kim ?

Grown man blubbing like an idiot here ?
What a joyful and wonderful show - I didn't want it to end but it was so well contained. The premise reminded me of the film, Two Weeks Notice with Hugh Grant (Park Seo-Joon's character - Lee Young-Joon) and Sandra Bullock (Park Min-Young's character Kim Mi-So/Secretary Kim) as his loyal exec secretary of nine years.
What unfolds is a charming and heart-warming story and in the classic KDrama way, it has an intricate subplot.
It addition to that the supporting cast got a really decent amount of screen time and it allowed the viewer to both root for them as well and find out more about their story. I felt they did that really well. In fact (spoiler alert) one the couples that forms would make for a great spinoff or web drama.
My only negative is that it follows the cliched rich guy/poor girl love story, but look past that and you see a real journey for Mi-So in finding her path in life, learning to say no and be happy. Sometimes I felt that Mi-So bent over a bit too easily when I think she was actually in the right and Seojoon should have stopped whining and apologies.
Having said that, this could have been lost in translation as I was relying on captions.
Finally can we take a moment to appreciate all the Maserati's driven in this show :)
I'd happily watch this again - it filled me with warmth and joy. Now, where can I find my own Secretary Kim ?

Leia Mais

Fantastic Fantasy

I had some hesitation about watching this as wasn't sure I'd like I'd like the fantasy side of this. Boy was I wrong!
Goblin, or Guardian: The Lonely and Great God is a brilliant love story across the ages.
The all start cast are superb headed up by Gong Yoo (Train to Busan) and the delightful Kim Go Eun. Their dynamics are perfect. The second leads of Lee Dong Wook and Yoo In Na are brilliant as well.
If like me, you had reservations about a fantasy style drama, put them to one side and watch this drama. You won't regret it. My heart however, really does it - it actually ached in certain scenes/episodes but I think Goblin is a right of passage for a kdrama fan and especially like me, you're new to this genre.
It's not perfect however - for the reason given above re heart pain - I'v e marked it down on rewatchability but don't let that put you off. I'm a big softy.
Secondly, let's talk about product placement - it's hilarious but annoyed some people. I didn't mind but it's the most obvious I've seen in al the drama's I've watched.
All in all - watch and enjoy. With hindsight I shouldn't have binged it in a few days - no wonder my heart hurts!

Leia Mais

Could have been a Korean Sound of Music (minus the music) but too many characters who cant act!

Hmm... if this was a 12-16 episode drama that just focused on the story of the widower and his children, and the plucky young live-in tutor - of how she melted his hard heart and helped restore his relationship with his kids - this would have been a brilliant K-Sound of Music (without the music)
But sadly it's over 100 episodes, with a supporting cast who a) get almost equal screen time and b) are terrible actors that I found myself fast-forwarding their scenes. TERRIBLE ACTORS! But ! persevered through four and a bit episodes, only to find that in ep5, the production changed from the beautiful, glossy, well-produced practical sets that we know and love from good kdramas - to that of a daytime soap! #dropped
Such a shame as Lee Se Hee's character was adorable and that particular story arc had real potential.
What a shame!

Leia Mais