Reviews

I needed a jolt of makjang after watching a couple of satisfying and heart-warming dramas (PRICELESS, for example). PINK LIPSTICK delivered: it was 149 (150?) episodes of pure 'makjanginess' - deceit, screaming, scheming, hair pulling, and one very vindictive mother-in-law. The length of the drama will definitely put many viewers off (each ep is only 30 minutes though). I started watching this as filler to my currently airing dramas. I was very quickly caught up in the plot and was soon watching just this drama. It was so over the top that I enjoyed it.

The romantic betrayal that formed the basis for revenge happened in episode 1. Once the betrayal was revealed, there was a very long flashback that lasted for quite a few episodes. I made sure I watched each flashback episode so that I could enjoy Ga-Eun's revenge. When the flashbacks ended, Ga-Eun was in revenge mode for basically the remainder of the drama.

Park Eun-Hye was well cast as Ga-Eun. Lee Joo-Hyeon's Jung Woo & Seo Yo-Jeong's Mi-Ran were the perfect villains. My favorite character was Park Kwang-Hyun's Ha Jae-Bum who was consistently a sensitive, caring and romantic person. Unfortunately, I didn't feel a real spark between Jae-Bum & Ga-Eun as they were portrayed by the two leads.

PINK LIPSTICK wasn't perfect: it dragged in spots, the revenge element fizzled (I say this because the intensity of the revenge wasn't there towards the end), and everything was resolved just a little too easily. However, PL worked for me despite its shortcomings. It stayed true to the "love-betrayal-revenge-love" theme. The music was well chosen for the scenes. A musical plus was Chopin's 'Tristesse'that was played (after watching AUTUMN TALE, I love this piece whenever it's included in a drama).

This was good as revenge dramas go. Even so, I wouldn't spend this much time to rewatch it.

Leia Mais

If you asked me to choose three words to describe "You're Beautiful", these would be it:
Light. Funny.
Pointless.
Don't get me wrong, I loved this drama as much as everyone else. It made me laugh and cry, but at the end of it I was left with one question: What was the point?
You're beautiful is a light, breezy watch. There's pretty much nothing in this drama that sends a message that we haven't heard before. It doesn't make you view life in a different way, or even impart some meaningful knowledge. Nope. Just 16 episodes full of craziness.
That doesn't necessarily make this drama bad, however. "You're Beautiful" is hardly forgettable. A nun-in-training winds up pretending to be a boy to sing in a pop group? Have you ever heard of something this crazy going on?
Acting: The acting here was sort of "meh". Park Shin Hye and Jang Geun Suk fit their roles well enough, but the rest of the cast was sort of borderline. They worked well enough with their roles, it's just that some actors left something to be desired. It's not a major thing- the acting is decent, just sort of... meh.
As for rewatching, I'd just watch it for the comedic moments. That's pretty much all there is to "You're Beautiful". Comedy with a few random shots at a more serious tone.
Overall, this drama was light, funny and adorable. It's the perfect drama to watch with family, but not my favorite. It's a nice watch to recover from heavier dramas.

Leia Mais

I'll start with the bottom line, which is that this is an absolute must-watch for any fan of historical dramas... or Lee Min Ho.
This is just one of those dramas where all of the pluses make up for the negatives and then some.

Story: I just loved the story; was it a flawless masterpiece? No, but but few things are. The twists and turns were excellent, and so many scenes get you right in the feelings.
The plot (especially in terms of relationships) didn't have too much of the one-step-forward-two-step-back that usually drives me up the wall with dramas; the conflicts and coming to terms with feelings felt relatively realistic and timely.

Acting/Cast: I thought the leads were phenomenal right from the start. I read a few other reviews that said Lee Min Ho should stick to contemporary roles, but I thought he was flawless in his role.
I wasn't too sure about the supporting characters in the first few episodes, but they seemed to gain confidence and really got into their roles. By the final episode I felt the vast majority of the cast was more on par with the leads.

Music: I usually don't notice music much, but I loved the OST for Faith. Any issues I have with it is more editing related. I thought it matched the feeling and mood of the drama perfectly and only added to many of the scenes. (I typically consider a soundtrack decent if it doesn't detract from a show, so being able to add to the value is a big plus.)

Rewatch Value: I'm personally really not big on rewatching anything; if I watched Faith again it would be to get more Lee Min Ho in my life. I do feel that, because such a big part of this show is the shock of the twists, that it has a lesser rewatch value. You may forget small details of a show, but you typically don't forget gigantic plot twists.

Other Comments: Most of the "problems" I had with Faith had more to do with directing and editing than with the actual elements. Faith is phenomenal, but I think it's just like any drama in that if you don't like the genre there's a good chance you won't enjoy it.

Leia Mais

Hello,
I found this drama as I was looking for a teacher-student love story. I quite liked it. The beginning was very funny and romantic, and as usual in this kind of plot the middle part was really heart-breaking. (I'll let you discover the end by yourself :p) I would have rated it higher than that (maybe even 9/10) if their teacher-student relationship was their only obstacle. In my opinion, adding family issues was a mistake as it could have been a plot for an altogether different drama about impossible love. Nonetheless, it's still a pretty good show and I enjoyed it.

Edit : I rased my rating to 8 in my personal watch-list (7 before) since this drama grew onto me after a few rewatches, mainly the beginning of the drama.

Leia Mais

"This drama is nothing new. This drama is nothing revolutionary." I tend to write that a lot in my reviews, and I think that's probably because I have a niche and I don't venture out of it. Cheongdamdong Alice is not a drama I can say that for. This was a twist on the Cinderella story, in that Cinderella isn't really all that likable half the time. I want to try and objectively review this before I get into personal reasons why I wasn't fond of this.

The acting was pretty amazing, especially by Park Shi Hoo. He was just a delight to watch for the majority of the show. Moon Geun Young was not bad either, and the supporting cast did a fairly good job as well. This isn't your average boy meets girl story, and it will have you questioning what makes a good person and what it means to love someone. Storyline wise, there were some stumbles and the pacing was a little funny at times. But all in all, it was a good drama, and I don't feel like I wasted my time watching it.

Now, for the subjective part. I HATE books, stories, movies,dramas that involve a major lie. They make me extremely uncomfortable, like I am just constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. The synopsis I read forever ago when they had first announced the drama made no mention that it was about a girl lying her way into the upperclass or I don't think I'd have started it.

If I were to break down the thought process I had for the episodes:
1 and 2 - Why is everyone crying all of the time? Is this a romcom or melodrama?
3 - So it IS a romcom. Park Shi Hoo, I need to have your babies.
4 through 7 - Seriously, Park Shi hoo, can I have your babies?? Also, Han Se Kyung stop being such a b***h.
8 through 13 - Why does everyone make such bad choices???
14 through 16 - I am ready for this drama to be done already.

I think the problem was that I hated Se Kyung too much to really get into this drama. Seung Jo was like a lost little puppy, and all along I felt like she was just kicking him over and over again, even if he didn't know about it yet. I understand her motives, I cann appreciate her gumption. But Seung Jo was such a good-hearted guy, I hated her.

All in all, it is definitely a watchable drama, just be prepared for a crap ton of lying and worrying about when the truth will finally come out. And if nothing else, at least watch this drama for Seung Jo's dance scene in episode 3 :p

Side note: Not that this drama had a love triangle in it at all, but will Kim Ji Suk ever get a drama where he gets the girl in the end??

Leia Mais

I'd read about Proposal Daisakusen on MDL before and the storyline intrigued me but I'd never found the time to watch it. However when a Japanese exchange student came to stay at my house and I found him on the couch absolutely cracking up while watching this I decided I had to give it a go asap and I am SO GLAD I did :)

Proposal Daisakusen was definitely one of my all-time favorite dramas. I loved how the storyline was very unique and something we can all relate to. Who wouldn't jump at the opportunity to be able to go back and time and fix your mistakes and regrets? Needless to say, I very much enjoyed the storyline and it was great to watch a drama which didn't have the same predictable-ness as many others out there.

One of the things that stood out for me in this drama was the fact the characters were all very realistic. In this drama Ken (Yamashita Tomohisa) is at the wedding of his childhood friend, Rei (Nagasawa Masami), but not as her groom like he wishes he could be. Instead she is getting married to one of their old teachers, Tetsuya (Fujiki Naohito). Now, I have watched enough dramas to expect that Tetsuya would be a horrible man so we are rooting for Ken to go back in time and win over Rei. However, Tetsuya was actually a lovely man and I found this a refreshing change from the typical love triangle as we are conflicted inside just like Rei. Does Ken really deserve to take Rei away from Tetsuya? This felt a lot more realistic to me instead of the typical love triangle and was one of the stand out reasons I enjoyed this drama.

The acting in this drama was a definite 10 for me as all the characters were convincing and I really felt connected to them. I also gave the music a 10 as I really enjoyed the soundtrack. :) As for re-watch value I give this drama an 8. It's the type of drama you could easily just watch your favorite episodes again and skip the ones you didn't like so much as it's a tad repetitive after a while.

After watching this drama you will feel like you've been through a huge big journey with Ken and his friends and you will have learnt many lessons. I know that after I'd finished this journey I definitely felt a sense of life live without regrets :) We're all not as lucky as Ken to be able to relive our past!

Leia Mais

Story:
I immensely enjoyed the story. It gave me a view of what school life is in Korea. There is so much different between Korean & Australian high school that I was actually surprised. In Australia our grades are not just based on our results from exams but also through participation & co-operation in class.

What I found really amusing was that teachers & student could contact each other through personal mobile. That kind of communication is not allowed here, if the teacher wanted to contact us they have to go through the school and do it. That was kind of a cultural shock for me.

There is no doubt stereotypes of bullies played out in this drama. Not all bullies come from a poor family or have problems at home. I hate to admit it, some bullies don't change even as an adult. Despite that fact, the drama does show that bullies can change bit by bit. It's a good thing but it doesn't necessarily reflect real life.

Even though I enjoyed the story, I don't like how fast it went on the last episode. I feel like this drama should have been extended, it needed to be extended! It felt so rushed.

Acting/Cast:
How good was the cast! Everyone played their role so damn well! The bromance between Nam Soon & Heung Soon just highlighted this drama for me.

Music:
I wasn't really paying attention to the music until the last episode.

Rewatch Value:
I would want to watch it again a second time. There might be things that I missed!

Overall:
This drama is different from a lot of dramas I've watched. It feels like a Japanese drama because its based ons school life and deals with real issues facing teens today. I'm like a romance junkie and for me to watch this type of dramas is rare. Even though there is no romance, there are inklings of romance starting to bloom (Nam Soon & Ha Kyung; Teacher Chan & Jang) which will satisfy you. It's a drama that deals with issues faced in society today. It makes you question yourself (if you attend school), Why do you go to school?

Leia Mais

Happy Michelin Kitchen is a story about a girl who is mistaken as a boy, has an intense drama filled past and come out of it all on top to be very happy and successful.
I wanted to love this drama- allegedly its part of a Happy T-drama series (Happy and Love Forever, Sunny Happiness (which was good) , and this one) that reused the same actors and built upon each other. I really loved Sunny Happiness because although it wasn’t original it was realistic and the “co-incidences” were low. Fresh off the drama high from Sunny Happiness I dove into Happy Michelin Kitchen ready for an intense drama marathon. I was sorely disappointed. Happy Michelin Kitchen also looks to be a knockoff of “Coffee Shop Prince” but there is a reason why it is always better to get the real thing.
The Good. A few handsome guys and interesting cuisine are the best points of this drama. I like strong female leads and this drama has one. There was also some really nice scenery shots and the flashbacks were at a minimum until the last few episodes.
The Bad. Its an awesome concept to reuse characters and actors from previous dramas- that way the dramas have a common thread. HMK re used characters but changed the personalities making it sooo confusing and difficult to accept and care about the new character being portrayed with the same actor, same name, same title, different personality. Speaking of characters, never have I been introduced to so many characters with back stories that I just didn’t care about. There was an overabundance of side stories and side situations that made my head spin- I could keep up but I just didn’t care. I like strong female characters, but for every strong female character there is generally one weak female character; I am okay with that – this is drama land after all. In HMK for every strong female character there is one weak female, one sick female, and one evil female (there are a lot of characters) clearly out numbering the men, and antagonizing the leads.
The one thing I dislike about most T-dramas is the tendency to go overboard. In MHK, there are accidental deaths, accidental pregnancies, secret births, miraculous healings, business take overs, plotting, a bunch of near death experiences, and heir issues. Way too much drama going on! The story line is polluted with all of the side-drama causing it to be forgettable, but it probably couldn’t stand alone anyway.
The Ugly. This drama is fashioned to initially resemble “Coffee Prince” DO NOT BE DECEIVED! I wrote this review so no more of my drama friends would be caught by this evil trick. This drama is nothing like Coffee Prince. Cheryl looks awful as a tomboy and to be honest I kept looking at her and saying “these people do not see her boobs?!”in disbelief. The costuming department should have been fired, because 80% of the actors looked like they shopped at a thrift store for people bigger than them. The hair/ makeup department should have been fired because not only was Cheryl’s wig an awful mess but too many characters looked old, shiny, or like their hair had never seen conditioner. And i saw Texas hair!! (big poofy kind of hair)
In short unless you love whiny, angry, creepy looking characters in situations where everyone is unknowingly really close, don’t watch this drama. Save yourself some anguish and time and just watch Coffee Shop Prince- or anything else. God Bless the subbers because I would have quit subbing around episode 5.

Leia Mais

Well... this drama is a bit different. The story is an interesting one, with a lot of potential. I feel like in this aspect, the writers really didn't disappoint- they milked it for as much as they could. But looking at this drama as a whole, it wasn't amazing. In the beginning (VERY beginning) of the drama, I wrote an episode review saying that this drama wouldn't be anything special. But after the first episode, it starts to get really good- quite addictive actually. And funny! It's quite funny. The romance was cute, the characters weren't complete morons, the story was constructed quite well, and all was good in the world. BUT THEN THE LAST TWO EPISODES CAME. Honestly, it was such a disappointment, those last two episodes. The way the drama ended was so boring. It was really an un-creative, un-special end to an otherwise fun, breezy drama.
The cast.... I don't know. I think most of the characters filled their role quite well. (Mostly the side characters.) To be honest, the main characters were cast reasonably well, but they were so awkward. SO awkward. More so in the last quarter of the drama, but they didn't really portray much chemistry in the entire drama. They played their characters well, but not together.
The music was really good. Very stereotypical drama OST-y, but that isn't a bad thing. I enjoyed it.
I put the rewatch value as higher than I would have with the ending (4-ish) just because of how funny and fresh the beginning of the drama is.
So overall, I give this drama a 7. Nothing stupendous, nothing completely terrible. Worth watching, at least.

Leia Mais

I was really looking forward to this drama because of the high ratings and reviews. It started with a great mixture of lighthearted, enjoyable characters, and the ever charming and enigmatic male trio of friends. The story revolves around this group of friends who, despite feuding parents, have determined to maintain integrity in business and loyalty in friendship. The development in the first half of this drama was positive and interesting, leaving one hoping for more.

As the drama progressed, however, I found myself wanting to skip through some of the repetitive dialogues in hope of moving through the storyline faster. About 1/2 way through, I really began getting annoyed with the lack of creative dialogue and storyline, combined with the stereotypical characters and their nonsensical actions. A lot of the drama and emotional turmoil seemed insubstantial and unrealistic, while many of the characters lacked clear and positive development. The antagonists in this drama lacked any humanity to the point of fixated insanity, while the protagonists who started out dynamic and proactive became apathetic, compliant and indecisive to the point of aggravation.

All in all, if this drama had ended at 16-20 episodes, it would have more than sufficed, as it is more or less a pretty stereotypical plot, storyline, and characters.

Leia Mais