Monday, December 26, 2011

The Duo

Rating: (Not Rated - See below)


Genre: Period Drama
Episodes: 32
Cast: Chun Jung Myung, Han Ji Hye, Kang Ji Sub, Lee Moon Shik, Lee Sang Yoon


SYNOPSIS:
"The drama tells the story of two men who were switched at birth. Chun Dong, born of noble birth, lives his life as a slave while Gwi Dong lives Chun Dong's life as a nobleman. They both fall in love with the same girl, Dong Nyeo."



REVIEW:
Although I liked watching it, I don't think I would watch it again.  Truthfully, it wasn't as great as I thought it was going to be.  The acting and film production is top notch, but that doesn't stop the script from being sub par.  I know that many viewers will probably throw rotten tomatoes at me, but this is just my opinion.

Although it is a good character study, it doesn't have the makings of an addicting story.  When you are watching a good drama or reading a story, you always have a person to root for.  The audience of the story end up becoming one with the main character(s).  They laugh, cry, and root for the protagonist.  However, this story just makes the viewer lost.  What is the main plot?  Yes, they were switched right after birth, but that's not the main point to the story.  Without a main idea, it is not a story.  I mean, if this was a historical drama it wouldn't be so bad since they would be following the history of a certain person, but this is fiction.  You can't have a good fiction without having a goal being reached in the end.

P.S. Anyone else think that the ending was kind of unrealistic?


What did you think of this drama? Comment below!


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Monday, December 19, 2011

Jewel In The Palace

Rating: *****


Genre: Period Drama
Episodes: 54
Cast: Hong Ri Na, Im Ho, Ji Jin Hee, Lee Youn Ae, Yang Mi Kyung


SYNOPSIS:
"About 500 years ago during the time of Chosun Dynasty, Korea boasted a rigidly hierarchical and male dominated social structure. Set in this period, "Jewel in the Palace" is based on a true story about a legendary girl (Jang-Geum) who became the first woman to be the supreme royal physician of her times. Despite her poor condition as a low class girl in the male dominated society, Jang-Geum overcame a series of social discrimination and landed herself as a royal cook, later becoming the royal physician, then ultimately the physician in charge of the king. She was even given by the king the title "The Great Jang-Geum". The story of her checkered life on her success and breakdown as well as her love story beautifully unfold. "Jewel in the Palace" is sure to touch your heart."


REVIEW:
Jewel In The Palace, also named Dae Jang Geum, is a very popular drama series.  Truthfully, I wasn't really that interested in it.  However, since there were many viewers that recommended it, I decided to give it a chance.  Much of the cast I've seen in other dramas, and they did wonderful.  I very much enjoyed it, even though there were some scenes I just closed my eyes.  I can watch someone cutting up a fake body, or even effects that make it look like a head has been chopped off, but I can't stand to watch someone putting needles into someone else's body.

This drama will make you hungry by showing you people making food and then will make you want to puke by hearing about what they used to put in people's medicine.  That being said, your weight will eventually balance out by the end of this drama.

The only error I saw that was a big issue was the person who made the food for the drama.  Couldn't they have picked a thinner person to represent Jang Geum's hands?  It's like she suddenly gains 50+ pounds whenever she is making food.  I know I say that I gain weight just watching them cook, but that is just ridiculous.

P.S. Don't expect this to be in any way historical.  Although it's supposed to be about the first female physician, it doesn't seem to have any reference to actual historical documents.

What did you think of this drama? Comment below!


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Monday, December 12, 2011

Ballad of Suh Dong

Rating: ****


Genre: Drama, Period Drama, Historical
Episodes: 55
Cast: Han In Soo, Jo Hyun Jae, Koo Hye Sun, Lee Bo Young, Ryu Jin


SYNOPSIS:
""Sodongyo" is said to be one of Korea's oldest folk songs. According to Samgukyusa (The Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms) from the Silla Kingdom, the song was written by Sodong, a commoner from the Paekche Kingdom. Hearing that Princess Sonhwa, a daughter of King Chinpyong of the Silla Kingdom was beautiful, he writes a song saying that the princess visits Sodong's room every night and spreads the song around. When her father hears the song, he condemns the princess to exile. Sodong picks her up and takes her to Paekche, and they become the royal couple of the country."


REVIEW:
Just hearing the synopsis of this drama really made me want to watch it.  The thought of a guy spreading around that song made me laugh pretty hard.  However, a viewer should remember that the actual story isn't always as wonderful as the synopsis.  The synopsis kind of makes it seem more silly than the actual story, but you mustn't be disappointed.  Although 55 episodes is a bit of a hard watch, it's definitely worthwhile.

Again, this review has been on the back burner for about a month so I kind of forgot about it for a while.  That being said, I kind of forgot some of the details by now.  However, this post will be updated if I can remember what I was going to say about it. >.<

What did you think of this drama? Comment below!


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Monday, December 5, 2011

Legend

Rating: ****


Genre: Period Drama
Episodes: 24
Cast: Bae Yong Jun, Choi Min Soo, Lee Ji Ah, Moon So Ri, Oh Kwang Rok


SYNOPSIS:
"This drama portrays the life of the 19th king of Goguryeo, Hwanwoong, who was sent from the heavens to make the world a better place. He falls in love with Saeoh and gives her the joojak necklace; however, Kajin becomes jealous since Saeoh has given birth to Hwanwoong's son. She takes the baby and throws him off a cliff. Saeoh, thinking that her son had died, is overcome with grief and turns into the black joojak to destroy the world. Hwanwoong is the only one who could stop her. Afterwords, Hwanwoong returns to the Heavens and prophecizes that, 2,000 years later, the true Joo Shin king will come to Earth. With the help of the four gods, he will rebuild Joo Shin."


REVIEW:
I enjoyed this drama very much.  Although there were some errors in the special effects department, the show made me an addict for a few days.

Unfortunately, though, I kind of put off writing this review for a month. So, basically, I can't remember what I was going to write about.  My laziness is really getting out of control.  In any case, I hope you enjoy this series.  If I remember something else about this series, I'll update this post later on.

What did you think of this drama? Comment below!


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Monday, November 28, 2011

Kim So Roo

Rating: ***.5


Genre: Historical
Episodes: 32
Cast: Ji Sung, Seo Ji Hye, Bae Jong Ok, Yoo Oh Sung, Go Joo Won


SYNOPSIS:
"This drama charts the life of Kim Soo Ro, the legendary founder of the city-state of Geumgwan Gaya during the Three Kingdoms Period. He unified 12 small countries to create the state of Geumgwan Gaya in southeastern Korea during the Three Kingdoms Period in Korea."




REVIEW:
Although I enjoyed the series, I have to say that they should have been more realistic.  I mean, seriously?  Just watch the first episode and I think you'd know what I mean.  Just because it's mostly legend doesn't mean you should exaggerate the effects like that.  Also, I found the martial arts sequences to be kind of bad.  The swordsmanship looks more like a sword dance than fighting.  All the characters leave so many openings.  If this was a real fight, none of them would live after fighting like that.

I don't really have much to say other than that.  It was nice, but it could use a touch of reality.

What did you think of this drama? Comment below!


tubeobsessed.blogspot.com

Monday, November 21, 2011

The Kingdom Of The Winds

Rating: ****


Genre: Fantasy, Period Drama
Episodes: 36
Cast: Choi Jung Won, Kim Hye Sung, Jung Jin Young, Park Gun Hyung, Song Il Gook


SYNOPSIS:
"The drama about the life of Jumong's grandson, Moo Hyul, who later became Daemusin. it features Song Il-Guk as King Daemushin of the Goguryeo Kingdom (37 B.C.-A.D. 668).  Moo Hyul was born with a curse to kill his parent, siblings, son and destroy Goguryeo."



REVIEW:
Song Il Gook has once again made me addicted.  After playing Jumong in 2006, he came back to play Jumong's grandson Moo Hyul.  I love the fact that he plays Moo Hyul after playing Jumong because it makes it very easy to watch the Kingdom of the Winds right after watching Jumong.

Although addicting, I cannot say that there were no errors.  In fact, this had a lot more errors than the 81 episodes of Jumong.  I would list them, but I was too lazy to do so when I was watching.  I think that I'll let it go for now.

P.S. Did anyone else think that Kim Hye Sung (as Prince Yeo Jin) looked really feminine?  When I first saw him in the drama, I couldn't tell if he was a girl or a guy.

What did you think of this drama? Comment below!


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Monday, November 14, 2011

Jumong

Rating: *****


Genre: Historical, Period Drama
Episodes: 81
Cast: Kim Seung Soo, Han Hye Jin, Hu Joon Ho, Song Il Gook, Song Ji Hyo


SYNOPSIS:
"Meet a hero bigger than the myth.Alexander, Genghis Khan, we have the hero who overwhelmed his generation and changed history, Jumong! Up to now we have been used to dramas dealing with the history of kings and knights but now we are about to challenge in creating a drama with the birth of a true hero. A name only remembered as a myth. Get ready to meet Jumong, the hero who opened up the skies of the Old Joseon, which was once ours, by fighting thousands and thousands of armies.Meet the love even bigger than the history.‘Love’ seems to be the one common denominator across people of all generations and nations. ‘Love’ gets swept away with the waves of time and also gets hurt with biased views in societies, but it also creates a new kind of history by wrestling against adversity and the trials of time. True love, which is uncommonly seen in history, is re-drawn through the drama of our once forgotten history.Through the wisdom and courage of Korea’s first queen So Seo-no..."


REVIEW:
Completely addicting.  I mean, wow!  What could I possibly say about this drama?  Action, adventure, comedy, history, and myth are all fused into one amazing story.  Now, I cannot say (without a doubt) that there were no mistakes.  As I've said many times before, a long drama is like a marathon.  However, this drama won in the end.

I think the only problem with this drama is that there is a monopoly on it.  I couldn't find many episodes on any site other than crunchyroll.  Also, whoever did the subtitles (I think it was WITH S2) did not do a great job in QCing them.  There were times when you couldn't read the subtitles because they disappeared too fast, and Mr. Unavoidable continued to show up.  I think you will understand what I mean if you watch it, but don't worry if you have no idea what I'm talking about. 

As far as the storyline is concerned, my favorite couple was the slash couple.  Everytime I saw Bae Su-bin I started cracking up.  Bae Su-bin, saranghae~!  Daisuki~!  Wo ai ni~!  I've seen the actor before, and I'm still a big fan.  He definitely made Sa Yong my favorite character in the whole series.  Sorry, Song Il Gook.  Jumong may be the main character, but I still like Sa Yong better for some reason.

What did you think of this drama? Comment below!


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Monday, November 7, 2011

Romance Town

Rating:***.5


Genre: Comedy, Romance
Episodes: 20 
Cast: Jung Gyu Woon, Kim Min Joon, Lee Jae Yong, Min Hyo Rin, Sung Yu Ri


SYNOPSIS:
"The story of domestic help who work for rich households. No Soon Geum is one of these housekeepers; despite the master-maid heirarchy, she's bold, fearless, and unafraid of doing hard work in order to support herself. As a child, Soon Geum had dreamt of living a grand life in a Cinderella story, complete with her own white knight, but that dream had faded as reality took over. However, she reaches a turning point in her life when she is hired as a maid for the rich and handsome Kang Gun Woo."


REVIEW:
Although the show was worth watching, I have to say that this series has the worst title I have ever seen.  Originally, the title was going to be "maids," which was not that great.  However, there were many complaints about it because the word apparently isn't a great word in Korea.  Truthfully, I really don't know what the big deal is about the original title, as I know very little Korean or it's history.  Anyway, they decided to change it to "Romance Town" instead because of the complaints.  Let me just say that the title only got worse.  Seriously, it sounds like a soap opera.  Maybe this drama is actually supposed to be a soap?

Anyway, as far as comedy is concerned, I wouldn't get too excited.  Although the drama is worth watching, there is practically no comedy.  You're better off watching the news if you want comedy.

The thing I hated the most about it, though, is the end.  Can someone say "WTF?"  It's fine if a drama is a little unrealistic, but this one just takes the cake.

What did you think of this drama? Comment below!


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Monday, October 31, 2011

Miss Ripley

Rating: ****


Genre: Drama, Romance
Episodes: 16
Cast: Hwang Ji Hyun, Kang Hye Jung, Kim Seung woo, Lee Da Hae, Micky Yoochun


SYNOPSIS:
"Two men fall in love with a woman whose life is a complicated web of lies, propelled by her greedy desires that stem from an unfortunate childhood."





REVIEW:
Horrifyingly addicting.  That's really all I can say to describe this drama.  Unlike other dramas where you root for the main character, all I could do was watch in horror.  As the series continued, I felt more and more afraid for her.  I also felt more and more sad that the main character kept making excuses for everything that she did.  However, I could not help but watch.  Even though it was hard, I kept wanting to watch more.

"Miss Ripley is based on the real life case of Shin Jung Ah, a university professor and art curator at Dongguk University who was discovered to have forged her creditials in order to get hired, with the help of her boyfriend (then presidential secretary) Byun Yang Kyoon, and embezzled funds from the art gallery's corporate sponsorship." -- Dramabeans

What did you think of this drama? Comment below!


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Monday, October 24, 2011

Love Or Bread

Rating: ****

Genre: Comedy, Romance
Episodes: 12
Cast: Joe Cheng, Ariel Lin, Bryant Chang, Wu Jian Fei, Zhang Jia Hui


SYNOPSIS:
"Joe plays a person who looks rich and elegant on the outside but is in reality poor."






REVIEW:
What to do?  I thought I reviewed this drama months ago!  Why is it not in my review blog? 0,o  I mean, I remember watching it.  I'm so lost. T.T  See, this is what happens when you are lazy and don't review the drama right after you finish.  You just assume that you reviewed it already, so it never gets done.

This drama is wonderful.  I can't remember too many details, as it's been too long since I've seen it, but I enjoyed it.  I tried watching this several times, but it never really clicked.  I don't know why I didn't watch it before.  In any case, that's all I have to say about this drama.  Well, except for "Why does he have her pet in the last episode?" 0,o

P.S. Can you spot the "I <3 Ariel" hat in the last episode?

What did you think of this drama? Comment below!


tubeobsessed.blogspot.com

Monday, October 17, 2011

Heartstrings

Rating:****


Genre: Music, Romance
Episodes: 15
Cast: Lee Hyun Jin, Park Shin Hye, So Yi Hyun, Song Chang Ui, Jung Yong Hwa


SYNOPSIS:
"Lee Shin is a university student majoring in modern music. He is also the vocalist and guitarist of the band “The Stupid.” Shin is known for his good looks and strong passion for music, but in reality he is cold, lacks interest in anything unrelated to music and has neither dreams nor plans for the future. He initially likes Jung Yoon Soo, a dance professor at university, but this all changes when he meets Lee Kyu Won. Lee Kyu Won is a bright and outgoing student who was born into a prestigious family and is majoring in traditional Korean instruments, especially the gayageum. Kyu Won’s grandfather, Lee Dong Gun, is one of the top 3 traditional musicians of his age and his biggest wish is to see his granddaughter become a traditional music prodigy. Trying to live up to her grandfather’s expectations, Kyu Won immerses herself in training and becomes a university student who knows nothing outside of her studies. As her friends are fans of “The Stupid”, she was forced to go to the band’s concert with them. There she saw Lee Shin performing live, and is immediately captivated by him."


REVIEW:
So...  I've kind of avoided watching the last episode for a while now.  I don't know why, but I just didn't feel like watching the end.  Maybe it's because I didn't want it to end?  That being said, I've forgotten a lot of the details.  I'll come back and add more to this post if I remember something, but I kind of doubt it.

As some of you might know, I'm kind of biased when it comes to pretty boys.  If the drama is bad, I can sit through it if there is a pretty boy in it.  That being said, I don't know if there is bias in my evaluation.  After all, I'm kind of a fan of CN Blue.

Sorry, I haven't gotten to the point yet, have I?  The drama was  AWESOME!  I loved the music and the story wasn't bad either.  I'm even more of a fan of Kang Min Hyuk now.  He's like the little brother I never had.  I really just want to pinch his cheeks!  The ones on his face, you pervy ajummas! 

(Sorry, I couldn't help myself.  That joke was just too easy. lol)


What did you think of this drama? Comment below!


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Monday, October 10, 2011

Dong Yi

Rating: *****


Genre: Historical
Episodes: 60
Cast:Han Hyo Joo, Ji Jin Hee, Jung Jin Young, Lee So Yeon, Bae Soo Bin


SYNOPSIS:
"Set during the reign of King Sukjong in the Joseon dynasty, the story focuses on Dong Yi, a water maid who gains the trust of Queen Inhyeon and later the favour of the king when he is moved by her prayers for the health of the Queen during the court disputes caused by Jang Hee Bin. Dong Yi becomes a concubine with the rank of sook-bin and bears a son who will later become the 21st king of Joseon, Yeongjo."


REVIEW:
Ottoke?  I think this drama is the best historical drama that I've ever seen!  Okay, so that's not saying much.  The only other historical drama that I've watched was "Yi San."  However, I think this was much better than some of the completely fictional dramas that I've watched.

It starts off with one of the best sequences I've seen.  Who thought of this scene?  Whoever it is, I think that person is genius.  With that scene sequence, it really showed the many roles that her brother was in. Showing the change from a sword alliance member, to a normal citizen, and then to a royal musician really set up the whole show.  I know that most would prefer to have the beginning scene to start with the main character, but I think this supported the main characters past and set the stage for the events ahead.

As far as the history of the real "Dong Yi," I have no idea.  Truthfully, I don't exactly want to know the real details, as I might be disappointed in the differences in the series.

The drama made me roll on the floor laughing, it made me cry, and I was completely addicted.  I think my favorite character in the whole show, though, was the head eunuch.  He was always very blunt, but he always said aloud the things that the King was thinking.

Best conversation ever (Warning! Do not highlight if you don't want spoilers!):
"Bring Palace maid Chun."
"To your bed?"
"Yes.  What?"

What did you think of this drama? Comment below!


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Monday, October 3, 2011

Yi San


Rating:*****


Genre: Historical, Period Drama
Episodes: 77
Cast: Han Ji Min, Lee Jong Soo, Lee Seo Jin, Park Eun Hye, Sung Hyun Ah


SYNOPSIS:
"This drama is about the life of King Jeong-Jo, Joseon’s 22nd Monarch, who is remembered in Korean history as one of Korea’s greatest Kings who loved the people and reigned for the commoner."




REVIEW:
Wonderful! :)

Let me just say, before I continue in my review, that I really did not want to watch this drama.  Truthfully, the magnitude of the episodes pretty much freaked me out.  I mean, seventy-seven one hour long episodes is a very long drama.  I hate committing to things, so committing to such a long drama kind of freaked me out.  However, I have to say that it was worth it.  The story, characters, and the way it was shown was wonderful.  I also feel that it followed the history pretty well, even though many of the elements are most likely fictional.  The male lead, Lee Seo Jin, is wonderful.  Then again, I'm probably biased because I love his dimpled smile.  Kawaii~!

*CoughCough*  Anyway....  -.-"  Back to the review.

There were a few things that I didn't really think were that great, though.  The whole eunuch situation in the beginning kind of grossed me out a bit.  I know that they were trying to show the way someone becomes a eunuch, as well as Park Dae's background, but I found it a little....  Well...  I found it to be a little excessive.  I think there were a lot of scenes that didn't need to be that realistic, if you know what I'm saying.  There were also a few mistakes, such as lighting errors.  However, this wasn't a huge deal, so I won't make too much of it.  (By the way, I guess the Dae Su's uncle, the eunich, must have been related to the musical director in the drama Dong Yi lol.  They are played by the same person!)
 
P.S. Did anyone else mistake the dragon on the Crown Princes' headband to be the number 25?  At first glance, on episode five at 2:57, I thought that was a 25 on his headband.  I kept wondering why they would have numbers in a period drama before I realized it was supposed to be a dragon.

What did you think of this drama? Comment below!


tubeobsessed.blogspot.com

Friday, September 30, 2011

New Reviews Coming This Monday

Sorry.  죄송 í•´ìš” (Joesong haeyo.)  抱歉 (Baoqian.) Lo Siento.

Yeah, that's all the different ways I can say it.  I forgot how to say it in Japanese.  (I really need to study my languages more often.)

As you can see by the fact that I didn't post Monday, my laziness was at an all time high.  However, I finally finished most of my backed up reviews, so there should be a regular review each week like before.  Right now I have about five scheduled, so it should last until November.

However, I have to say that I was watching two very long dramas, so I should get some leeway.  I actually watched Yi San (77 episodes) and Dong Yi (60 episodes), so at least I wasn't being completely lazy.  When you are addicted to a long drama, it's kind of hard to get any time to actually review.

So, to make up for it, I will show you one of my favorite anime series.  I hated the actual series, but the abridged is really fun.  Enjoy!


Sunday, September 18, 2011

Break Time

Due to my 3 week vacation, the injury in my shoulder, and pure lazyness, I won't be posting tomorrow.  However, I plan to continue posting Monday September 26th, so don't worry. :)

To keep you entertained, though, here is a list of my top 10 favorite Korean dramas (in no particular order).

  • Personal Taste (Hilarious!)
  • Wonderful Life (Made me cry like a baby, but I couldn't help but watch)
  • You're Beautiful (I wouldn't have liked it if it weren't for Jeremy lol)
  • The Birth of the Rich (Beware! It's addicting!)
  • Road Number 1 (Bloody, realistic, and completely addicting.)
  • My Girlfriend is a Gumiho (Hoi Hoi :))
  • Bad Guy (Kim Nam Gil...  I'm at a loss for words.)
  • Baker King, Kim Tak Goo (Don't watch while hungry XD)
  • Oh My Lady (The little girl is adorable!  Siwon is hilarious.)
  • 49 Days (Scheduler, saranghae!)


I know I should create a list of my top dramas from all countries, but I'm too lazy.  I mean, I've seen like 200 series.  Trying to organize my favorites is kind of a hard task to do XD  I only made this list off of the ratings that I have recorded thus far.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Family's Honor

Rating:****.5


Genre: Family, Romance
Episodes: 54
Cast: Jun Noh Min, Kim Sung Min, Lee Hyun Jin, Park Shi Hoo, Yoo Jung Hee


SYNOPSIS:
"Ha Dan Ah (Yoon Jung Hee) is very dignified and beautiful yet she is also pitiful. Dan Ah was married in her 20's, but due to an unforeseen event her husband died in a car accident during their honeymoon. She will be pursued by two men, a man from a rich family, Lee Kang Suk (Park Shi Hoo) and a man who's younger than her, Jung Hyun Kyu (Lee Hyun Jin). The drama will be about the Ha Family and how they try to hold up the reputation of their family name."


REVIEW:
I liked this drama, but I don't really have much to say about it.  I mean, I liked it and all, but I still hate the amount of time you have to use in order to watch it.  It's like...  Well...  Yeah, I'm really just lost for words on how to describe the feeling that I get when I watch a long drama.  If a drama is an action series, the plot is usually so interesting and complicated that you can barely look away from the screen.  However, when it comes to family or romance dramas, it makes me impatient.  I feel like I need to go walk or something in the middle of an episode.  Maybe that's just me.

In any case, I enjoyed the plot and the way that it was produced.

P.S. Omo!  Do you recognize that painting in episode 3?  The artist of that painting is Shin Yoon Bok, which was depicted in the drama The Painter of the Wind.

What did you think of this drama? Comment below!


tubeobsessed.blogspot.com

Sunday, September 11, 2011

H&E NYC Meet

Saturday September 3rd, 2011

Saturday the power finally came back on where I was staying in Conneticut, and I headed to the Greyhound station in order to catch my bus to NYC. I was pretty excited to travel there again. If you know anything about me, then you will know that I love to travel. It's just about my favorite thing to do. So, when things worked out and there was a chance to travel to NYC to meet up with Zilly and PK, I jumped at the chance to meet them. Truthfully, I'm the kind of person that would leave tomorrow if someone invited me to travel somewhere.

Anyway, the bus ride was okay, except for this guy who took up more than half of the seat. He really pissed me off. He was thin, but he spread his legs so wide that his leg touched mine even though I was pressed against the side of the bus (I was sitting at a window seat). I really wish I was more outspoken instead of being so shy. If it wasn't for me having problems with speaking with strangers, I would have told him to find another seat or something.

I got off the bus and tried to find the restaurant. It was really scary to ride the subway, as I had never done so before, but I did pretty well. Unfortunately, the directions didn't really include the words "right" or "left," so I went down the wrong way on Bowery. I asked an old man who was sweeping the floor, and he said I had to go down this one road to get to the street I was looking for. Unfortunately, the directions I was previously given didn't mention that the two streets were parallel streets and that I'd have to go North a bit to get to the next street. Anyway, by the time I got to the restaurant I was probably looking like a dishevelled panda. I looked in the mirror later to find that my gel eyeliner that I had recently bought was not heat proof. The eyeliner had melted all over my face. I seriously looked like a panda lol.

(On a side note, I don't think I recommend Mac Fluidline Eye-Liner Gel for use in the summer.)


Anyway, I finally met Zilly and PK at:


Jing Fong Restaurant
20 Elizabeth Street
NY, NY 10013

Although I tried not to expect anything, Zilly and PK looked exactly what I had imagined. Haha, it was kind of weird that I was so accurate. Anyway, we ate and talked a bit as we ate dim sum. "Dim sum [...] typically refers to a style of Chinese food prepared as small bite-sized or individual portions of food, traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates."



Truthfully, I had no idea what the names of the dishes were. I was still a bit out of it after my little adventure through the streets of NYC. However, it seems that PK remembered some of the dishes.

According to PK, he had shrimp rice cakes, vegetables wrapped in tofu skin, fried shrimp balls, chicken over rice, and bok choy. And, of course, they served hot tea.  Obviously they didn't serve black tea like the one in the picture.  I really didn't care to ask what kind of tea it was.  Probably some sort of green tea.

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On a side note, the chopsticks were huge, bulky, and slippery!  I guess for average sized people, or large males, they wouldn't be too bad, but I'm very petite.  The chopstick was as thick as my pinky finger.  If you go to Jing Fong Restaurant and have kids, or are petite, it might be better to just ask for a fork.  Wow, it was embarrassing!

After our dinner, PK told us that he had to go meet his friends at Times Square, which kind of made me laugh. I kept thinking "Dude, is there really even anything to do there?" So, we parted ways and I spent the rest of the day with Zilly. :)


We walked along the streets just talking a bit and went into a few shops. Zilly seems to find things she needs for her apartment in every shop. XD I'm just teasing. I guess most tourists usually have in mind the things that they wish to do, but I really just wanted to get a feel for the real NYC as well as the real Zilly. I had been to NYC before and I did all the touristy things, so I really just wanted to walk around and see things that weren't really on the map. Zilly said something along the lines of "You can't really find a street in New York that isn't touristy." I kind of just laughed at that, as I slowly began to understand that some places can't escape people with "I <3 NYC" shirts.


Photobucket

We went to a shop that sold dishes, and I really have to remember to go back there next time I visit NYC. My sister would love the tea sets that they had. Before we left chinatown, we stopped by a shop for me to try some Bubble Tea, which I've heard so much about. Truthfully, I don't think I liked it. I mean, I liked the tea, but I'm not a fan of the "bubbles" as they call them. Seriously, someone could choke on these things! The bubbles don't even taste that wonderful anyway. The bubbles tasted like gum, except for that you could actually bite them. Why is this drink so popular?



We did some window shopping without the window at Banana Republic and enjoyed looking at all the new fashions. There was this one maroon dress that I loved. If only I wore dresses, I would have bought it right then and there. We ended up going to ground zero, which was pretty interesting. They have a new building halfway built and a memorial they are going to build as well for the people who died on September 11th. The memorial is like a big water fountain I guess.  "The 9/11 Memorial will be dedicated on September 11, 2011 in a special ceremony for victims’ families. The Memorial opens to the public on September 12, 2011 with the reservation of a visitor pass."  It was weird because I mentioned to Zilly that people should throw coins in the hole and wish that they would finish construction soon. Well, when the memorial is up, you can throw coins into the fountain. (If you get into trouble for doing that, then you didn't hear it from me.)



We were going to walk across the Brooklyn bridge, but there was construction, so we decided to take a ferry to IKEA instead. Truthfully, I'm kind of glad we didn't try walking across the bridge. I have a horrible fear of falling, so I probably wouldn't make it across the bridge anyway. I'd be like "ZOMG!" and hanging onto Zilly for dear life.

Anyway, we went on the Ferry (since it was a free boat ride) and went to IKEA. It was so nice to just sit on the boat and talk. We finally made it to the furniture store, and we took some time to look around at the furniture. Although I wouldn't know since I usually just get furniture used, Zilly kept saying that the prices were pretty good. She basically decided on all the furniture she needed for her apartment there. Zilly kept saying, throughout our visit, how she felt like she was the tourist and that I was just following her around. I enjoyed it, though.

So at the furniture store, we stopped to eat. It was pretty good food. She ate the salmon while I had the Chicken Caesar Salad. We also shared a vegetable souffle (or maybe it was called a quiche) which was pretty good. Queso Laughing Cow Cheese, which I had brought for the bus ride, was our appetizer. ^.^



In any case, it was getting late, so we decided to head to the port authority so that I could catch my bus. Unfortunately, we didn't realize how much time it would take us to get to the subway, so we ended up missing my bus. I don't think that us buying Thai tea helped our time either. Luckily, they let me board the next bus without having to buy another ticket.  So I said farewell to Zilly and went back to CT.

Although it was a hectic day, it was worth the ticket. It was wonderful meeting Zilly and PK. :)



This  is Part of my Conneticut Trip Diary 2011.  If you're bored and want to read about my vacation, feel free to click here and read my entire post :)

tubeobsessed.blogspot.com

Monday, September 5, 2011

Loving You A Thousand Times

Rating: Not Rated


Genre: Melodrama, Romance
Episodes: 55
Cast: Go Eun Mi, Jung Gyu Woon, Kim Hee Chul, Lee Soo Kyung Ryu Jin


SYNOPSIS:
"Eun-nim Ko (Lee Su-Kyeong) is a young woman preparing for her teacher certification test. She comes from a poor family with her father being chronically sick. Eun-nim then comes across a chance to make money for herself and her family. She opts to become a surrogate mother for a man named Se-hun Baek (Ryu Jin). Through fate and odd luck Eun-nim meets Se-hun's younger brother, Kang-ho Baek (Jeong Kyeo-Woon) and they fall in love."


REVIEW:
I wish I could say that I paid enough attention to it to see all the errors, but I really wasn't all that interested in it.  It was interesting, but I think I enjoyed playing Sudoku more than I did watching the show.  (Yes, I played a lot of Sudoku while watching this series.)  I know that if I'm going to be reviewing a drama, I should at least pay attention to the screen, but I haven't had much of an attention span this week.  I don't think it helped that I find most melodramas boring.

All in all, it's a nice series to watch if you have a lot of time on your hands, but it is just not for me.

What did you think of this drama? Comment below!


tubeobsessed.blogspot.com

Monday, August 29, 2011

City Hunter

Rating: ****.5


Genre: Action, Romance
Episodes: 20
Cast: Chun Ho Jin, Kim Sang Joong, Lee Min Ho, Park Min Young, Lee Joon Hyuk


SYNOPSIS:
"‘City Hunter’ is an original script based on the world-famous novel by Japan’s Tsukasa Hojo. Since it became public that Korea would be the first remake of this story into a drama, ‘City Hunter’ has been receiving worldwide attention. ‘City Hunter’ has switched the setting from Tokyo 1980 to Seoul 2011, and according to the original story structure, the protagonist becomes a city hunter and his character develops while resolving gratifying cases."


REVIEW:
I've been waiting for this series to start & finish since October 2010, and I was extremely excited to see such a drama.  Normally this type of patient waiting can end up leaving the viewer disappointed, but I think it was well worth the wait.  When I watched the first episode, I was completely confused on how this drama even remotely relates to the famous City Hunter manga, but I think I understand how it fits in with the series.  To understand this drama, I think you really have to view this series as "City Hunter: The beginning."  I'll explain in detail later on in this review as I may have to post a bit of a spoiler if I have to explain.

As far as errors go, there were a lot of little ones.

1.  I think that whoever was in charge of the blood affects did a horrid job.  Has this person even seen real blood up close before?  In some of the scenes it looks like someone just poured a glass of food coloring and corn syrup over the person's head and called it a day.  Also, unless I'm mistook this for another drama, they forgot to put blood on the guys' shirt in one of the cuts.  One moment he had an injury, and the next moment you cannot see it.

2. I think another error that is quite obvious, which I've seen in many dramas, is that you can tell when an actor is carrying an empty box around when (in the story) it is supposed to be filled.  If the actor cannot even act like a box is filled with something in it, they should put a few books in the box.  One character goes around whipping a box around that's supposed to be filled with files.

3. Ajusshi was supposed to be driving while the "City Hunter" was talking on the phone, but in the scene, the truck seemed to be moving without the driver XD

4. He was wet, then he was dry, and then he was wet again.

5. The last error that I saw on multiple occasions is the coffee cups.  Normal people don't drink hot coffee like there is only a drop left at the bottom of the cup.  I know I'm being a little strict, but can't they at least pretend that there is something in it?  And, by the way, what kind of store puts an iced coffee in a to go cup for hot coffee?  Most (if not all) coffee shops use clear plastic cups with lids and a straw.

SPOILER ALERT!  The following message may contain spoilers.  Please do not read beyond this point if you wish to watch the drama without them.  If you would like to read the rest of this post, please highlight the following paragraph(s).

As I mentioned earlier, this was supposed to be a "beginning" for the City Hunter.  I know people speculated that he died, but I refuse to believe that.  I believe that this drama is supposed to be what happened in order to make the City Hunter a city hunter (if you know what I mean).  Although I haven't read the whole manga, the original work doesn't really say how he came to be called the City Hunter, or how he even started doing that sort of thing.  However, if you take this drama as a prequel to the original work, it makes a lot more sense.  People tried to say that the character died at the ending because he was wearing black and she was wearing white, but I think that's kind of stupid.  The character is always wearing black, if you haven't noticed.  Also, why would she smile back at him if he was a ghost?  Also, since his dad died, it wouldn't be that unthinkable if he went around wearing all (or mostly) black for a while.

What did you think of this drama? Comment below!


tubeobsessed.blogspot.com

Monday, August 22, 2011

Can you hear my heart?

Rating: ****


Genre: Drama, Romance
Episodes: 30
Cast: Hwang Jung Eum, Go Joon Hee, Kim Jae Won, Kim Yeo Jin, Nam Goong Min


SYNOPSIS:
"The love story of Cha Dong Joo, man who's been rendered deaf after an accident but pretends he can hear, and Bong Woo Ri, a woman who's intelligent but pretends she's dim-witted to protect the dignity of her mentally handicapped father."




REVIEW:
In retrospect, I don't really have much to say about the drama in itself.  The drama was fun and enjoyable, with few (if any) errors.  The episodes were steady and it never really got boring.  Although this is definitely a drama that is worth watching, I don't really have anything too positive or too negative about this series.  Nothing really stood out to me too much.

I do think the biggest problem, though, was Kim Jae Won.  Jae Won is a decent actor, but he kept forgetting that he was playing a deaf character when he was acting. T.T  Did the director not notice that he wasn't even facing the female lead when she said some lines that the character was supposed to understand?  Although it wasn't very often, sometimes the storyline would obviously suggest that the character had seen the other character say something, yet in the actual film the character wasn't looking at the secondary character's lips or face.

One I found really scary was when the character Cha Dong Joo was driving while holding a conversation.  I seriously have to wonder how he didn't get into a car accident.  It's one thing to glance in the rear view mirror once in a while, but there was way too much time spent reading the passengers lips.


What did you think of this drama? Comment below!
tubeobsessed.blogspot.com

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Happy Birthday To... Me?

Hello, dear readers,

It's that time again.  That time that I go off ranting about things you don't care about.

Nah, I jest.  Truthfully, I just wanted to let you guys know that I will be gone from August 24 through Sept. 11th.  My blog posts will be automatically updated, but I won't be around to answer any emails at that time.  I'm going on vacation to Conneticut to see my sisters for my birthday present this year.  Thus, I will not be able to reply during that time if anyone needs me.  If you still need to contact me about something, feel free to do so and I will get back to you on Sept. 12th when I have finished unpacking.

By the way, it's my birthday.  (Wink wink nudge nudge.)
Hey, don't look at me like that.  You know you do it too lol.

xoxo
TubeObsessed

Saturday, August 20, 2011

People who try to judge foreign acting....

People who try to judge foreign acting (or writing) are one of my biggest pet peeve.

I know that, as a reviewer, I shouldn't be talking badly about my fellow "colleagues," but I really cannot stand it.  When you are watching a show from a foreign country, there are many things that you will not be able to understand.  There are many parts of acting that you have to be a native, or have a lot of experience living in that area, to really understand.  One of these things is the tone of voice.  All languages have their own common speech.  How you say a phrase can create multiple meanings depending on what words the actor chooses to emphasize.  I guess you could call it a "dialect."  A common language pattern can predict what phrase a person might say to express their feelings, as well as what words are emphasized.

As far as writing goes, you cannot fully review one's writing ability without complete knowledge of the language and culture.  In a Korean drama, a person put a flower in a woman's hair.  To an American, that might be romantic.  However, in Korea it is a common reference to crazy people.  Also, you cannot take translations at their word.  Translations are only as good as the subber.  Most of the time translations are not literal.  Most subtitlers try to convey the basic idea as a lot of phrases make no sense if spoken literally.  The words on the screen may not fully impact the same way as in the original translation.  (This has to do with religion as well.  You cannot treat a translated religious script as you would an original script that has not been translated from a foreign text.)

That being said, you really cannot completely judge a person's ability if you are a foreigner unless you are fluent in the language and culture.  People whose native tongue is different from the film they are reviewing will have a hard time noticing things.

Please, dear bloggers, do me a favor.  Please don't say that an actor is good if you do not have the experience.  You can judge if a person is a bad actor if their facial expressions are bad, but you cannot necessarily say that they are wonderful.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Painter of the Wind

Rating:****


Genre: Period Drama
Episodes: 20
Cast: Im Ji Eun, Moon Geun Young, Park Geun Young, Park Shin Yang, Bae Soo Bin, Moon Chae Won


SYNOPSIS:
"Shin Yoon Bok is a talented painter who disguises herself as a boy to search for her father’s murderer and meets a master painter who guides her into being a great painter. Kim Hong Do is the man who teaches Yoon Bok how to paint, and they develop a strong friendship of mentor and disciple."


REVIEW:
In all honesty, this drama just wasn't my style.  Although I enjoyed it because I enjoy painting, I didn't really like it as much as I could have if it had a bit of comedy in it.  The romance in it was...  Well...  The romance was a little uncomfortable to watch, to say the least.  The way she spoke and looked at women when she was dressed as a man was creepy.  I mean, I really didn't know how to react about that.  She really looked like a pretty boy that was in love with a woman.  What's just as uncomfortable is the romantic like relationship between the two main characters.  The characters are supposed to be like 13 years apart, but it looks more like 20.  It seems like they could be in another drama together as a father and daughter and no one would bat an eye.

I hope I'm not scaring you away from this drama, though.  Even though there were things I didn't enjoy, I think this is (overall) a good drama.  If you like painting or period dramas, you'll most likely enjoy this.

What did you think of this drama?  Comment below!
tubeobsessed.blogspot.com

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Back to Business

Have you noticed that the last few months I haven't updated my pages?  You may have been wondering why all the upcoming and now airing dramas that I listed were not upcoming or airing.

Well, I've finally updated my blog after a long break.

I've recently been keeping up with too many dramas, so I wasn't able to work on this blog properly.  However, things have been updated once again and I will be updating my pages monthly or bi-monthly (depending on my schedule).

How have you all been lately?  Have you watched anything interesting as of late?

Let me know by commenting below.

xoxo
Tube Obsessed

Monday, August 8, 2011

Lie To Me

Rating:****


Genre: Romance, Comedy
Episodes: 16
Cast: Hong Soo Hyun, Jo Yoon Hee, Kang Ji Hwan, Yoon Eun Hye, Sung Joon


SYNOPSIS:
"Gong Ah Jung, a level 5 Ministry of Culture official, gets entangled in a web of lies when she mistakenly lies that she's married to Hyun Ki Joon, a hotel manager from an affluent family. Their relationship is further complicated when Ki Joon's ex-fiancée and a close friend of his brother's, Oh Yoon Joo, reappears in his life."


REVIEW:
I really liked this drama.  I really do not know what more to say about it, though.  There's nothing overly unique about the storyline, but there's also no real errors in it's production.  The first ten episodes were addicting.  During that time, I was completely addicted to this show.  It's one of those shows that gets you hooked real quickly.  After the first ten episodes, though, there were a few episodes I contemplated just skipping altogether.  Truthfully, one episode was barely worth watching because I could tell exactly what was going to happen.  However, I did end up watching all the episodes, and I am glad to say that it was worth the time I spent to watch it.

What did you think of this drama?  Comment below!

tubeobsessed.blogspot.com

Monday, August 1, 2011

Queen Seon Deok

Rating: *****


Genre: Historical, Period Drama
Episodes: 62
Cast: Ho Hyun Jung, Kim Nam Gil, Lee Yo Won, Park Ye Jin, Uhm Tae Woong


SYNOPSIS:
"Dukman (lee yo won) was born a twin but was abandoned as a baby and sent to a place far away by her father, King Jinpyeong (park ye jin) in order to protect her from being killed by an influenced royal court lady, Mishil (ko hyeong jeong) who tries to snatch away the throne from the royal successor. Dukman was later brought back to the Silla palace, where she joined forces with her twin sister Princess Cheonmyong to oppose Mishil. However, Mishil devised sinister plans to have the two Silla princesses exiled from the kingdom, and in a secretive battle, Princess Cheonmyong was accidentally killed. But Princess Dukman shrewdly enlisted the help of General Kim Yusin (uhm tae woong) and eliminated her archenemy Mishil. She then became Queen Seon Duk, the first female ruler of the Silla kingdom. This drama is about a story of a beautiful queen, who has to give up her love to save the people and thus, leaving behind many brilliant achievements..."


REVIEW:
As you may already know, I've never been quite interested in long non-fiction based dramas.  Usually dramas that are based on actual history tend to be boring, but I found Queen Seon Deok very addicting.  Despite it being sixty two episodes, I was never bored throughout the sixty-two hours that I spent watching it.  It's quite surprising that I was able to sit through such a long drama without getting bored.  As far as the actual film goes, there were a few inconsistencies and errors.  However, considering how long this drama is, it would be a miracle if it didn't have errors.  After all, a long drama is a marathon and it takes a lot of time to make it to the finish line.  I think my favorite character in the whole drama was Bidam.  Kim Nam Gil never disappoints, and the character is not only funny, but grows into a character that the viewer loves even though he isn't a great person.  I also loved Ho Hyun Jung in her role as Mi Shil.  She has that aura that really takes over the screen.

P.S. Did anyone notice that straw hat that looked like it was taped over with duct tape?  Maybe I'm crazy, but I don't think they invented duct tape before that time period.

tubeobsessed.blogspot.com

Monday, July 25, 2011

The Greatest Love

Rating: *****


Genre: Comedy, Romance
Episodes: 16
Cast:  Cha Seung Won, Choi Sung Min, Gong Hyo Jin, Yoon Kye Sang, Yoo In Na


SYNOPSIS:
Ae Jung is a female band member who is already over the hill.  She ends up getting entangled in a long triangle with the top star Jin and her ex-bandmate Kang Se Ri.  In order to make money, Ae Jung joins a dating variety show and meets Yoon Pil Joon, a doctor of oriental medicine who has no interest in the entertainment industry.



REVIEW:
This drama didn't disappoint me in the least.  I found no errors, and every episode was funny and enjoyable.  I guess I'm a bit biased, though, as I am a fan of the writers of this drama.  The Hong Sisters (Hong Jung-eun and Hong Mi-ran) have never written a drama that I did not thoroughly enjoy.  Their previous works include:

Delightful Girl Chun-hyang, KBS 2005
My Girl, SBS 2005-2006
Fantasy Couple, MBC 2006
Hong Gil Dong, KBS 2008
You’re Beautiful, SBS 2009

I know that this review probably isn't of much help as I haven't said much about the drama, but I really have nothing to say except for praises.  I'm a really biased source when it comes to the Hong Sisters.

tubeobsessed.blogspot.com

Monday, July 18, 2011

Manny

Rating: Not Rated

Genre: Comedy, Romance
Episodes: 16
Cast:Byun Jung Soo, Choi Jung Yoon, Suh Ji Suk, Jung Da Bin, Goo Seung Hyun

"Tall, with a perfect figure and his qualifications as an Ivy League graduate, Kim Yi Han is Seoul's top male nanny. He is employed by Seo Do Young as a live-in nanny to look after her two young children, Eun Bi and Jung Min."

 I watched thirteen episodes, and I really wanted to enjoy it as the plotline had such a good appeal, but I just couldn't finish the last few episodes.  Who knows, maybe one day I'll finish it and write more to this review, but I just couldn't go through with it.  Truthfully, after the first ten episodes, it became kind of annoying.  I didn't like any of the characters (except for the children), and it kind of forgot about the comedy completely after a while.  Although it's supposed to be a romantic comedy about a Manny, it slowly became a show about Janice's workplace.  I mean, it is good to have rounded characters and all, but there is a limit to how much you can show about a character the viewer doesn't even like.

Monday, July 11, 2011

IRIS

Rating: Not Rated

Genre: Romance, Mystery, Action, Thriller
Episodes: 20
Cast: Jung Joon Ho, Kim So Yun, Kim Tae Hee, Lee Byun Hun, T.O.P.


"Two elite National Security System (NSS) agents, Hyeong-Jun (Lee Byung-Hun) and Sa-Woo (Jeong Jun-Ho), who were sworn blood brothers, both fall for fellow agent Seung-Hee (Kim Tae-Hee). Sa-Woo attempts to suppress his feelings for Seung-Hee and wishes the couple the best. Hyeon-Jun is then sent off on a solo mission to Hungary. In Hungary, Hyeon-jun accomplishes his mission and while in escape mode becomes wounded. Shortly later, Hyeon-jun finds out that he was betrayed by fellow agent Sa-woo. Seung-Hee attempts to help Hyeon-Jun escape, but a car explosion separates the two and both are misled to believe that the other person are dead. Hyeon-Jun is then saved by an unknown voice and learns of the secret society "IRIS". One year later, Hyeon-Jun returns to Korea to seek revenge. During this time, the two Koreas are set to reunify, while the group "IRIS" are intent on stopping the reunification."

I really wanted to watch this drama, but I just couldn't handle finishing it.  I always hear glowing praises for IRIS, so I really wanted to see what it was about, but this drama just isn't my style.  There's nothing really wrong with the drama, I just have a specific style of drama that I enjoy.  Personally, I cannot stomach an action or romance film without any sort of comedic relief. If there isn't proper comedic relief, the viewer becomes stressed while watching the drama (or, in some case, loose interest).  Although it is not realistic to have comedy in the midst of a shootout, all dramas should have nice little moments in between battles so as to lessen the severity of the action sequences that can cause stress.  After all, real people cannot function well without some time of peace.

Monday, July 4, 2011

I Am Legend

Rating: ****.5

Genre: Music, Romance, Law
Episodes: 20
Cast: Kim Seung Soo, Jang Young Nam, Kim Jung Eun, Lee Joon Hyuk, Jang Shin Young

"Jun Seol starts a band to get her life back on track. She recently divorced her husband after realizing that she deserved to be treated better by her husband's family. Her band mates are also 'ahjummas' who also have personal problems of their own."

I personally found this show very addicting, but I heard many people say that there were things in the show that were disappointing. Although many viewers didn't like the ending, I felt that the ending was realistic.  Truthfully, I kind of always knew it would end the way it did, so it doesn't surprise me.  The only problem with a realistic ending, though, is that viewers don't usually enjoy reality.  Most viewers disregard realistic stories in favor of a fairy tale, as fairy tales tend to end beautifully.  Sometimes, however, it is refreshing to watch something that is not sugarcoated.

The next thing that a potential viewer might want to know before hand is that there are a lot of episodes that deal with law since her ex-husband is a lawyer.  Don't be surprised if an episode minimizes the music aspect in order to show more of her personal life and what she is going through at the time.

Monday, June 27, 2011

49 Days

Rating: *****

Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Episodes: 20
Cast: Jo Hyun Jae, Jung Il Woo, Lee Yo Won, Nam Gyu Ri, Bae Soo Bin

"A young woman named Ji Hyun was enjoying absolute bliss as she was about to be married with her fiancé, but her perfect life is shattered in a car accident that left her in a coma. She is given a second chance at life by a reaper, but it comes with a condition: she has to find three people outside of her family who would cry genuine tears for her. In order to do this, she borrows the body of Yi Kyung, a part-time employee at a convenience store."



Wow!  All I can say is "Wow!"  If you have been following my drama blog here on blogspot, you would know that I'm not much for sad dramas. 

However, in spite of my lack of interest in melodramatic nonsense, I was interested in the plotline of this drama from the start.  I waited for the drama to finish airing to start watching it, but I couldn't stop watching.  I was completely addicted even though there were times that it made me cry like a baby.

If you like this kind of genre, I think that this drama would be perfect for you.  Even if you don't usually enjoy this type of drama, though, 49 days might very well make you want more.

Is it just me, or would anyone else welcome a spin off drama (a comedy) of life with the scheduler?  This character just makes me smile.

Monday, June 20, 2011

That Fool

Rating: *****

Genre: Romance, Comedy
Episodes: 16
Cast: Hwang Jung Min, Joo Sang Wook, Kim Ah Joong, Lee Chung Ah, Lee Soo Young

"A story about a postman, Goo Dong Baek (Hwang Jung Min) and a top actress, Han Ji Soo (Kim Ah Joong) where their relationship begins because of a marriage contract for 6 months"

There are many different types of dramas; there are dramas that start off hilarious and end in misery, there are the dramas that never really get off the ground, and then there are the dramas that are the whole way through.  However, the one kind of drama I like the most is the kind that is amusing even in the worst possible situations without ruining the realistic side of the story.  That is the kind of drama "That Fool" is.

When I first tried to watch this drama, I couldn't get through the first episode.  I think that the first episode was the drama's only real kryptonite.  After all, dramas without a good beginning tend to be unnoticed.  However, when I went back to watching it after almost a year of putting it on the back burner, I found myself strangely addicted to this cliche drama.

Let's be honest here and just say that this kind of drama is not a new idea.  In fact, contract marriages or relationships are one of the most common romantic comedy dramas that I've seen.  However, this particular drama did a wonderful job.  There's no hidden meaning behind the script that tries to tell the audience what to believe.  It's just simple and enjoyable.

The only thing I have to really pick on, though, is the secondary male character.  The male rival was not a round character.  Much like the "good vs. evil" mentality, the writer didn't think to include anything that would suggest that he had real feelings.  He had no struggle whatsoever.  Although the writing was good enough to make me want to hate the character, I found it bothersome that they didn't really develop the secondary characters.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Happy 1 Year Anniversary!

This blog has officially been up and running for 1 full year!

I've been wondering a lot about what I want for this blog.  I've seen a lot of bloggers who review dramas, but I don't want to be like that.  I could dish out funny anecdotes that have nothing to do with the topic, or trash the characters, but that's not the main point of the blog.  The majority of television viewers don't read reviews in order to find out whether a certain character is annoying in your opinion.  Readers simply want to know the answer to the question, "Is it worth watching?"

That is the whole point of my blog.  This blog isn't to entertain viewers, it is simply a tool to help viewers find dramas that are worth watching.  If you want to read a whole page that never gets to the simple question of "Is it worth watching?", then fine.  There are plenty of blogs that will do that.  In fact, I can name a few names that do exactly that if you are interested.

I know that this is a bit random of me, but I really must express that this is not an entertainment blog.  I'm not here to keep you interested.  I'm here to give a short paragraph or two that sums up the pros and cons of a certain drama (along with a rating and some information about the drama in question) so that you can quickly find something you might like.

When I first started this blog, it was simply because I wanted to record what dramas I watched.  I would frequently start watching a show only to find that I had watched it before. 

You may have noticed that my posts have been more regular as of late.  This is because I have been scheduling ahead of time.  New posts will be automatically added every Monday at 12:00 AM EST so I'm sure that you'll always have a happy Monday.  That is, if you follow my blog. ;)

You may have also noticed that there are English grammar mistakes in my work.  You are right!  Good going there, buddy!  Yes, I do not edit my blog posts for grammar issues.  I probably should, as it probably looks bad, but this blog is my "happy place."   The moment I start editing my own blogs is the moment that this blog becomes a job.  In all honesty, I'm not going to put that much effort into something I'm not getting paid for.



Thank you, dear viewers, for sticking with me through this year.  I am very happy to have met the friends and fans that I have.  I hope that we have another great year of obsessing over television shows and films.

With much love,
Tube Obsessed   AKA  Maroon

Monday, June 13, 2011

She is Nineteen

Rating: ***.5

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Episodes: 16
Cast: Jung Da Bin, Kim Jae Won, Kim Min Hee, Seo Ji Hye, Yoo Kye Sang

"This series is about a 19 year old girl, Yoo Min who was being abandoned after the death of her mother. She lives alone with her adopted brother, Kang-Pyo. She accidentally meets Seung-Jae, the younger brother of Min-Jae. By chance, Yoo Min actually had a crush with Min-Jae, a doctor who treats her brother illness for a long time. To fight off his mother demand, Min Jae gets in an engagement contract with Yoo Min and they all end up living at Min-Jae's house. Unexpectedly, Yoo Min and Seung-Jae are going to the same high school. From there, Seung-Jae secretly loves Yoo Min. On the other hand, Yoo Min's father who got amnesia from a car accident is looking for her again after 15 years old she had been abandoned by her neighbors. The conflict comes when the people who living in Min Jae's house are actually related to Yoo Min's abandonment. They are the neighbors who stole the inheritance and abandoned her when she was four year old."

 This drama is one of those dramas that you watch when you're bored.  I mean, it's not bad, but it's not a drama that you'd watch over and over again.  The genre states that it's comedy, but I have to disagree.  Although it has a few cute moments, it is definitely a drama.  You might be asking why I look down on this drama.  Well, the fact is simple.  A television series is a marathon, not a sprint.  Writers that choose to use all their tricks in the first few episodes end up losing half of their viewership in the middle of the drama because it starts to lag.  When a drama starts out hilarious, viewers tend to think that the pattern will continue.  However, in this drama, the hilarity eventually disappears altogether and never comes back.  It's a fine drama for when you have nothing else to do, but it gets really slow toward the end.

The first thing I have to pick on is the music.  What in the world is up with the background music?  Can't they find anything else?  They'll show an extremely sad scene, yet they'll have upbeat classical music to it.  The classical music is that one song that dramas add to scenes were something just happened or something is in the works.  It's fine to use the music for most of the drama, but sometimes it just didn't work.  Also, they really only had two musical selections.  It got kind of annoying by the end of the series.











Although there's nothing wrong with the series itself, I have to pick on an actor.  It has nothing to do with the drama, but Kim Jae Won has the hugest smile I've ever seen.  It almost reminds me of Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece lol.  Whenever he smiles, his mouth takes up like a quarter of his face XD

Monday, June 6, 2011

Good Morning Shanghai

Rating: ****.5

Genre: Romance
Episodes: 24
Cast: Shawn Yue, Jang Na Ra, Yan Kuan, Yang Xue

"You Hao Yun is a Korean who lives in Shanghai with her family. Her biggest dream is to become a famous pianist. Wanting to move away from her family Hao Yun and her friend Xiao Mei rents an apartment, but later she finds out that there is no empty apartment and that the estate agent had run away with their money. Not having time to take care of his son, Wang Zhi Hao offers Hao Yun a job as a nanny and a place to stay. So Hao Yun who is too afraid to tell her parents about the incident agrees to take the job as a nanny. So they sign a 3-month-contract... This is also a story about following your dreams and confronting your fears."

I think this is one of my favorite romance dramas ever.  Normally I don't like romances unless they are funny, but this one was really enjoyable.  Unlike some cliche dramas where the guy doesn't believe the girl until he finds out he was wrong, this drama highlights the importance of trust in a relationship.  Although there will be misunderstandings in a relationship, sometimes you just have to trust that your friends or the person you love wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt you.  We live in a world in which we are guilty until proven innocent in the eyes of our most trusted friends.  Even though we should be giving the people we love the benefit of the doubt, we tend to think the worst in people.

Although this kind of plot has been used before, I find the story and characters quite unique.  The characters are round and the story is entertaining.  There are some things that aren't really realistic, but I can let it go since it's just a drama.

I do find it funny, though, that her family is supposed to be Korean yet none of the family members look Korean.  I don't know about other countries, but usually families speak their native language in their homes or a combination of their native language and the language of the country they are in.  I find it kind of odd that the family never really puts any Korean words or phrases into their every day language.  Even if families move to another country, they rarely let go of their native language completely in their own homes.  There was only two Korean phrases in the whole drama even though half of the characters were supposed to be Korean.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Demi God Semi Devil

Rating: ***.5

Genre: Wuxia, Fantasy, Adventure
Episodes: 40
Cast: Liu Yi Fei, Gao Hu, Hu Jun, Jimmy Lin, Liu Tao

"Tian Long Ba Bu is an adaption of a Jin Yong novel of the same name. The epic centers around the Beggar Leader Qiao Feng, the Dali Prince Duan Yu and the Shaolin Monk Xu Zhu. Each of their stories are interweaved throughout the show and finally clash and join at the climax of the story. Qiao Feng's story is his quest to find his real identity and the mystery surrounding an event that occured 30 years prior that left him as an orphan. Duan Yu's story covers his meetings with many of his half sisters that he did not know he had (thanks to his adventurous dad during his young days) and the battle with Duan Yuan Qing as the rightful ruler of Dali. Xu Zhu is a lowly Shaolin Monk who gets caught in the middle of an internal struggle of the Care Free Sect, one of the most powerful and secretative sects around. Their stories take place during the Northern Song Dynasty and across warring kingdoms of Song, Liao, Dali, and Western Xia."

I liked this drama, I really did.  However, I did not enjoy the beginning and end very much.  I have to agree that the beginning and end were a bit rushed.  Then again, I guess it's because in the original novel the story is also rushed.  In all honesty, I didn't really like Qiao Feng's story at all.  I loved Duan Yu and Xu Zhu's stories as they were funny and enjoyable, but Qiao Feng's story was just kind of annoying.  If it weren't for the two other main characters, I wouldn't have even watched it.

I kind of like the fact that they just switch actors when the characters are supposed to be in disguise.  It made it kind of funny and I bet it was a lot easier for the make up artists then to have to create a disguise for the actors.  As far as the acting goes, I didn't pay too much attention to it.  I'm kind of a sucker for Jimmy Lin just because he makes me laugh.  There are certain actors that can make people laugh just by their expressions, and Jimmy is one of them.

Funny Note: Guy gets hit in the face with a twig on Episode 11 around 12:23

Monday, May 23, 2011

Hello! Miss

Rating: *****

Genre: Comedy, Romance
Episodes: 16
Cast: Ha Suk Jin, Lee Da Hae, Lee Ji Hoon, Yun Mi Joo, Ryan

"Lee Soo Ha, 38th granddaughter of the Jae Ahn Lee clan and owner of the clan manor Hwa Ahn Dang, is trying to save the place from going bankrupt. Hwang Dong Gyu, oldest grandson of the president of TOP Group, is trying to buy Hwa Ahn Dang because his grandfather, who was once a servant at the manor, cannot rest in peace unless he spends his last days in Hwa Ahn Dang's master suite. Hwang Chan Min, Dong Gyu's playboy cousin, is his rival in business and love. Enter Seo Hwa Ran, a model who has a secret history with and a secret plan for Hwa Ahn Dang (and Chan Min), and Lee Joon Yong, Soo Ha's brother and Chan Min's friend who can't forget a girl from Hwa Ahn Dang he knew when he was a kid... This drama is adapted from the novel, "Kimchi Mandu."

I've tried to watch this drama several times, but the first episode was so boring that I could never get through it even though so many people have said what a wonderful drama this is.  I finally got around to watching this recently, though, and I have to say that I absolutely love it!  The female lead is hilarious as Lee Soo Ha.  The facial expressions she gives on camera are priceless.  I think I would watch this over and over again just to see her expressions.

I think the reason I like this the best, other than the comedy, is the simple fact that it isn't as cliche as most Korean dramas.  The lead male character isn't a cold rich guy who treats the main girl like dirt.  I can finally watch a drama without having to see a female character get continually spat on by the male lead.  I really hate it when they make the female take crap from the male and she still falls for him.  It makes me want to murder the writer.

All in all, this is a wonderful little drama to check out if you ever have time.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Only You

Rating: ***.5

Genre: Comedy, Romance
Episodes: 16
Cast: Han Chae Young, Hong Soo Hyun, Jo Hyun Jae, Jun Hye Bin, Lee Chun Hee

"Cha Eun-jae (Han Chae-young) decides to go to Italy to learn how to become a chef to attain her childhood dream of making Italian food. She adores spaghetti and all sorts of pasta ever since she was a little kid. In Italy, she meets Han Lee-jun (Cho Hyeon-jae), who is an heir to a family fortune and has come to Italy in search of his mother. They go out and get to know each other for only six day but she falls madly in love with him. Six years pass and in Korea, she meets Han Lee-jun once again... The drama takes place in Italy and is a story of how a young girl finds her way to the heart of a rich young man, who is obsessed with cleanliness."

 Although this drama is nice, it's kind of annoying in my honest opinion.  There's nothing wrong with the drama or anything, I just didn't enjoy the story all that much.  I guess that's my own personal opinion though.  The genre says it's comedy, but I didn't really find it that funny.  For those of you that like Romance and Drama genres, I recommend this drama.  However, if the main reason that you watch drama is for the comedy, I would say that there are better comedies out there than this one.  It's a great drama to watch if you're bored, though.  It's short and sweet with a decent plotline, even though it's a little bit predictable.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Fairy From Wonderland

Rating: ****

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Comedy
Episodes: 39
Cast: Ariel Lin, Hu Ge, TAE, Dou Zhi Kong, Lv Yi

"This drama is a retelling of the well-known love story between a goddess and a mortal.
Goddess Xiao Qi commits a major crime. She is punished by having her powers stripped away and is banished to the mortal realm. She can only regain her goddess status by accomplishing 100 charitable acts. Dong Yong rescues her and teaches her what it's like to be a mortal. However, she also learns how to love even though love is forbidden between goddesses and mortals. When their love affair is discovered, heavenly guards descend onto the mortal realm to separate the two lovers. However, they are willing to do anything to stay together."

As someone who has never heard or watched the story before, this drama is entirely new to me.  That being said, I cannot say whether or not the drama stuck with the story or not.  The main problem with this series, though, is there are two versions.  The one I watched wasn't the 39 episode series, but the shorter one.  That being said, I think you should be careful when finding the episodes.  Although the scenes that were cut were virtually meaningless, they forgot to remove flashbacks that contained deleted scenes.  That really irked me.

Although Ariel Lin and Hu Ge seem to match their characters pretty well, I have to wonder if they ever think of acting as other types of characters.  Ariel always plays a spunky girl and Hu Ge always plays a nice (but a little naive) guy.  Does anyone know of a drama or movie that they have done that wasn't the same type of character that they always play?  It really kind of bothers me when I see an actor stuck in the same role time and time again.  For me it says that they have no desire to improve upon their acting.  Although I like the main actors, I feel that they could grow as actors if they just stepped out of their comfort zone.

 As far as the actual drama was concerned, I liked it.  There's this one point about love that I really liked from this drama.  The drama basically says that you can still love someone even if you say you don't.  You see, no matter what we say, it won't change our feelings for other people.  We can deny love a million times, but that love will not change.  True love stays the same whether you want to love that someone or not.  Even if loving someone is tough and gives you great pain, feelings don't easily change.  Just because you decide not to be with someone doesn't mean you stopped loving them.  I think the only thing I can't really decide on is the ending.  I'm not sure how I feel about the ending, or if I like it at all.  On one hand it's sad, but on the other hand it's kind of happy.  It kind of made me want to know what happened next in the story.

Question: Didn't they say he could be reincarnated into a god?  What happened with that?  Is that just a translation error?

Funny Note: Something is missing on Episode 11 at 7:01

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Upcoming and Now Airing Dramas (05/01/11)

Country
Network
Airing Date
Days
Synopsis
Drunken to Love You

Taiwan
SETTV
Airing

Sun.
When Lin Xiao Ru (Rainie Yang) meets Song Jie Xiu (Joseph Chang) in a bar one night, they both proceed to drown their sorrows, only to discover the next morning that they got married.  This drama is another version of Fated to Love You.
Muscle Girl

Japan
MBS, TBS
Airing

Tues.
24:55
Ichikawa plays the part of Azusa, the only Child of the owner of a small female pro wrestling organization.  After her father dies of illness, she has to take over the business, which is already losing money and is on the verge of shutting down.  To make things worse, their referee suddenly disappears on the day of one of their shows, leaving behind only a resignation letter.  The desperate Azusa then runs into a young Korean man (Lee).  She persuades him to serve as a referee just for that day, though she doesn’t realize he is actually a popular star in Korea.
Manny

Korea
TVN
Airing

Wed. & Thursday
21:00
Tall, with the perfect figure and his qualifications as an Ivy League graduate, Lee Han is Seoul’s top male nanny.  He is employed by Seo Do Young as a live-in nanny to look after her two young children, Eun Bi and Jung Min.
Rebound

Japan
NTV
Airing

Wed.
22:00
Ohba Nobuko (Aibu Saki) was born the daughter of a tonkatsu shop owner in Matsuyama City.  Because she grew up on tonkatsu and cake, she weighed 60 kg when she was 20, but she was dumped by her boyfriend because she was fat.  She resolved to abstain from cakes and succeeded in losing 37 kig, and even became the editor of a fashion magazine.  However, after interviewing the “Prince of Sweets,” Imai Taiichi (Hayami Mokomichi), the son of a patissier whose strawberry shortcakes she used to adore, she ends up breaking her ban on cakes and single mindedly eats away.
Who’s the One

Taiwan
TTV
Airing

Fri.
22:00
Tie Nan was abandoned at the altar by his fiancée.  Reeling from his bitter experience, he turned to plastic surgeon Ruo Wei, hoping to transform into a new and handsome man.  Apart from having a new look and image, he wants to regain some of his self esteem and also find out what women really want.
Can You Hear My Heart

Korea
MBC
Airing

Sat. & Sun.
21:45
Cha Dong Joo (Kim Jae-Won) comes from a Chaebol family, but he loses his hearing in a accident. The drama is a love story depicting how someone overcomes acquired auditory difficulty.
I Heart You Dude

Phillipines
GMA
Airing

Mon. – Fri.
21:30
This romantic comedy, based on the movie "Connie & Carla", stars Regine Velasquez as Tonya, a woman trying to get away from cops by disguising herself as a gay entertainer. While working at the club, she meets Kenneth, played by DingDong Dantes, who is also trying to evade something in his life. Tonya falls for Kenneth, but he believes Tonya is a gay guy and refuses to reciprocate her feelings. What will happen to our couple, especially when there are 3 other guys waiting in the wings?
Baby Faced Beauty

Korea
KBS2
05/02/11

Mon. & Tues.
21:55
A drama about a woman in her 30s getting a job in a clothing company as her 7 years younger sister and the events that follow.    A romantic comedy about the ever so young looking lead character who overcomes her handicap of being a credit delinquent and having only a high school diploma, fulfilling her dreams and love.
The Greatest Love

Korea
MBC
05/04/09

Wed. & Thurs.
21:55
As a rising top star, Dok Go Jin (Cha Seung Won) and Gu Ae Jung (Gong Hyo Jin), who is an ex-top celebrity from most popular has-been girl group "Treasure Girls," enters a fake marriage for variety show. Will this fake marriage lead to something more?
Lie to Me

Korea
SBS
05/09/11

Mon. & Tues.
21:55
Gong ah Jung, a Ministry of Culture official, gets entangled in a web of lies when she mistakenly lies that she’s married to Hyun Gi Jun, a noble hotel manager from an affluent family.  Their relationship is further complicated when Gi Jun’s ex-fiance and a close friend of his brother’s reappear in his live.
Romance Town
Korea
KBS2
05/11/11

Wed. & Thurs.
21:55
Sung Yu-ri is a housekeeper who was influenced by her mom to think this is the vocation for her.  Then one day she won the LOTTO, hence the turning point in her life.  Set in the household of a top upper-crust family.  The story unfolds as romance develops between the employer and his live-in maid, who also faces off in a battle over money.
Sunshine Angel

Taiwan
GTV
05/22/11

TBA
Wu Chun’s character is an enteprenuer who ended up living on the streets after going bankrupt.  Rainie will be a maid, and the angel helping Wu Chun during these hard times.
City Hunter

Korea
SBS
05/25/11

Wed. & Thurs.
21:55
Based off of the manga by the same name.  Lee Min Ho will play a character of Lee yung Jong.  He’s a complete womanizer who doesn’t know what to do at the sight of a beautiful woman, yet secretly, he is also a hero who saves citizens tired and hurt from harsh city life.  In solving these cases, he himself slowly begins to heal his own emotional injuries, and understands more fully about love and family.
Cinderella

Korea
TBA
May 2011
TBA
"Cinderella" is about a woman whos already 30 years old really love money. She starts to have feeling with a man who first came to Korea for a trip. This man known as a in-heir to tons of money.
Material Queen

Taiwan
TBA
06/17/11
TBA
They meet in the romantic city of Paris and fall in love…  A one night stand…  A woman’s ambition to climb on top, her love of money is extreme, will she risk it all?  A man’s innocent love, his talent of music, will he get the girl?  Will their love blossom?
Mei Le, Go

Taiwan
GTV
June 2011

TBA
Cha Mei Le is an ordinary Hakka girl who believes that, if she works hard, good things will happen.  As she loves Han Yi feng so much, she leaves her career and helps her boyfriend open a bakery.  After discovering that he is cheating on her, she is comforted by Yi Feng’s younger brother, Han Yi Lie, who is very hostile and hard to interact with, but his eccentric personality has bowed to Mei Le’s toasts and he becomes softened because he sees Mei Le’s sincerity.  The weird thing is that Yi Lie can’t compose before he ate her toasts.  Unfortunately, Mei Le disappeared when he realized that he had already fell in love with her.
Extravagant Challenge

Taiwan
TBA
TBA
Sun.
22:00
Sixteen year old Mogami Kyoko sacrificed her life to support her boyfriend, Sho, so he could become a successful singer. One day, Sho suddenly breaks up with Kyoko, leaving her with nothing, and Kyoko vows revenge. She decides to delve into the entertainment world and become even more successful than Sho to get back at him. Kyoko therein meets Ren, another actor in her agency, who helps motivate her to become a top entertainer.

TBA = To Be Announced