Arang and the Magistrate

Rating: *****


Genre: Fantasy, period, mystery, comedy, romance, action, melodrama
Episodes: 20
Cast: Shin Min Ah, Lee Jun Ki, Yun Woo Jin, Kwon Oh Joong


SYNOPSIS:
"The beautiful Arang, the daughter of a magistrate during the Chosun Dynasty, is brutally murdered. The woman returns from the dead as a ghost, still full of light-hearted mischief and spirited fun. When she meets a young magistrate, Eun Oh, she discovers that he has the unique ability to communicate with the dead. She convinces him to help her uncover her killer and bring the person to justice. Can a ghost and a magistrate team up to solve a murder mystery and punish the wrongdoer? --KimchiDrama"


REVIEW:
Simply "daebak."  Original plotline, great cast, and very humorous.  This drama was addicting from start to finish, and it left me wanting more.  I loved the secondary couple.  They are so funny together.  I seriously wouldn't mind a spin off of just those two characters.  As you know, I'm a big fan of this sort of period drama.  So, when a fantasy drama like this comes along, I don't know why I wouldn't recommend it.  It's a must see!


What did you think of this drama? Comment below!


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Bridal Mask

Rating: ***.5


Genre: Period, Action, Drama, Romance
Episodes: 28
Cast: Joo Won, Jin Se Yun, Park Ki Woong, Han Chae Ah


SYNOPSIS:
"Gaksital is a famous manhwa set in the 1930s, during the Japanese occupation. The hero, Lee Kang-to, is known as 'Gaksital' because he wears a mask to hide his face — one of those traditional play masks, specifically the rosy-cheeked one reserved for the female role, aka the bride. He's an unassuming young man in real life, but when he dons his superhero mask, he fights injustice and rights wrongs during one of the darkest periods of Korea's history… "


REVIEW:
When I first heard of this drama, I ran very quickly.  To be honest, the period this drama is in scared me pretty bad.  You see, the drama was in the 1930s, which was the time of the Japanese Occupation of Korea which lasted from 1910 to 1945.  This means that the drama would most likely have a bad ending.  Since the drama is supposed to be about ten years before the end of the occupation, that means that the Bridal Mask will not be able to really make much of a difference during the time that the drama shows.

Against my better judgement, I dove in and try it.  It was really addicting in the beginning.  The only problem is that I think they shouldn't have extended the drama to more episodes.  The drama kind of got a little boring toward the end because they extended it too much.  Bridal Mask is one of those dramas that you like, but probably wouldn't want to take the time to watch again.  Tread carefully~!

What did you think of this drama? Comment below!


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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!


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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.

Fugitive: Plan B

Rating: ***.5

Genre: Action, Melodrama , Romance
Episodes: 20
Cast: Bi, Daniel Henney, Lee Jung Jin, Lee Na Young, Uehara Takako

"During the Korean War, a vast amount of money disappeared. Now, some 60 years later, the money has reappeared, leading to a frantic chase across the globe. Jin Yi (Lee Na Young) is a seemingly innocent woman who has hidden motives for approaching Ji Woo (Bi). Her plans are complicated by an unexpected romance developing between them, as well as the numerous pursuers hot on their trail. Kieko (Uehara Takako) is a famous Japanese singer who also gets tangled up in a relationship with this man. Little do they know that her father Hiroki (Takenaka Naoto), apart from being a business man, is a powerful yakuza. In this love triangle, who will finally win the love of Ji Woo?"


 Although I enjoyed a lot of the drama, there were certain elements of it that kind of put me off.  I don't doubt that it was a decent television show, but it's not something I would re-watch over and over again.

In any case, I'm about to do a very long review of the good/bad stuff.  Some of this may contain spoilers, though, so don't read any further than this if you don't want to know.





The series starts out with the cheesiest....  opening....  ever...  Predictable, reckless, and nowhere near realistic.  It looks like they copied and pasted a scene from just about any action movie ever created, complete with walking away from an exploding car.  I really don't know what they were thinking when they shot that scene.  If you're going to shoot something that cheesy, at least make it look more realistic so that people actually watch the series.  I bet that's the reason why some viewers didn't even watch it past the first few minutes.


I also have to state that Rain's character, Ji Woo, is way over dramatic...  What happened to Rain's acting from Full House?  Did the director direct him to act like that?  The character just doesn't work very well.  Compared to how serious he was in the action scene, it doesn't make much sense.  It would have worked better if he got slightly distracted during the action scene by all the women.  It also would have been less predictable and show the character as serious about his work, but also a woman-lover.

 The one thing I enjoyed was the range of languages showcased in this show.  Korean (obviously), Chinese (Mandarin), Japanese, and I believe there was even a bit of Thai in there. Also, the English was usually pretty clean and I didn't need subtitles in order to figure out what they were saying. (One of the many advantages of having the amazing Daniel Henney in the cast)  In fact, I understood a lot of the Japanese in there as well as I'm familiar with the languages. (That's one of the advantages of being a tube obsessed person.  By watching films from all over the world, you pick up languages quite easily.)

Over all, I thought the first episode was comic-like.  I think it would have been better to play on the comic style of the drama a bit more.  I thought it was fun though.

A few other notes:

1. A police officer gets shot while wearing a bulletproof vest.  The next scene, though, he has no holes in his shirt.
2. Whether they get shot at, get into a car reck, or jump out of a window, they don't get even a cut on them.
3. What's with the "Gloria in Excelsis Deo" music?  It's a bit of a strange selection, don't you think?

Inception

Rating: *****
MOVIE!

Genre: Action, Crime, Mystery
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe

"In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption which involves executing his toughest job till date, Inception."

This is one of those movies that you just have to see. Very original story, great special effects, and good acting make this a movie worth watching.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

(Not reviewed. See reasons below)

MOVIE

Genre: Drama, Action & Adventure, Kids & Family, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer

"Balthazar Blake is a sorcerer in modern-day Manhattan fighting against the forces of evil, in particular his arch-nemesis, Maxim Horvath, while searching for the person who will inherit powers. This turns out to be Dave Stutler , a physics student at New York University, whom Balthazar takes as a reluctant protégé. The sorcerer gives his unwilling apprentice a crash course in the art and science of magic and sorcery, in order to stop Horvath and Morgana le Fay from destroying the world."

I really wanted to review a movie this week, as I haven't reviewed a movie in months. However, I watched about twenty-seven minutes of this movie and I had enough. According to some people's opinions of this movie, the reason this movie isn't very interesting is because of the action. However, that's not why I couldn't watch it. I'm fine with non-stop action when it's considered an action movie. However, with so many inconsistencies in the first half hour of the movie, I couldn't bare to watch. In my opinion, the script was horrible. The characters aren't rounded, the beginning is way too quick, the dialogue is dry, and the plot was kind of, well, "Disney-like". From the get-go, the script was barely working, and was hidden by the special effects and fight scenes. Truthfully, if it wasn't for the special effects I would have stopped watching it at ten minutes. The acting wasn't that impressive either.

In conclusion, if I were able to finish the movie without gaining a concussion by repeatedly banging my head against my wall and if the movie didn't get any better, I would have rated it one star. However, since I could only get through 1/4th of the movie, I don't feel it's right to put any rating at all. So if you want to watch The Sorcerer's Apprentice, be prepared to turn off your television.

Gumiho / Nine Tailed Fox

Rating: ****

Genre: Romance, Action, Fantasy, Horror, Drama
Episodes: 16
Cast: Han Ye Seul, Jo Hyun Jae, Jun Jin, Kim Tae Hee, Park Joon Suk

"Shi Yeon is a Nine-Tailed Fox living undercover in the human world. By day, Shi Yeon is an employee at a natural history museum. By night, she's a top-ranking woman warrior in the Nine-Tailed Fox clan, charged with preserving the delicate balance between man and fox. But her world is sent spinning when an atrocious serial murder - where the victims have had their internal organs gouged out - is uncovered. Detective Min Woo believes the murders may relate to the organ trafficking trade, and goes undercover in a seedy organ smuggling ring. But Min Woo's cover is blown, and it's only through the intervention Nine-Tailed Fox warrior Mu Young and Shi Yeon that he's able to survive! But he's seen their true identities as Nine-Tailed Foxes…can he be allowed to live?"

This bittersweet drama is a big hit in my book. However, there are a few unrealistic parts in this story. For instance, Shi Yeon (a Gumiho) was supposed to have grown up thinking she was human. However, Gumiho's are supposed to eat human liver, right? How could she have zero inkling that something was off when she was supposed to eat human liver? Another thing I thought was kind of off is that when the Gumiho's die they turn into ash. Gumiho's aren't supposed to be some mystical creature exactly, they are supposed to be the next step in evolution (basically). Unlike vampires, who are dead but continue "living" for thousands or so years, Gumiho's have a more normal life span. Why would they turn into ash after they die? It makes no logical sense at all.. Anyway, other than that it was a good drama.

Ying Ye 3+1

Rating: ***.5

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Action, School
Episodes: 16
Cast: Chen Qiao En, Jerry Huang, Jason Hsu, Ming Dao, Viter Fan

"Xia Tian, Jia Jiang, Fang Wei, Bulu all four grew up on Westside Street together and currently study in Ying Ye School. One month away from graduation. Xia Tian's dad is a police officer in Westside Street and is retiring tomorrow. But just on that day, they all had a fight with the Dinosaur gang in the school and were almost expelled by the principal. Officer Xia went to settle the conflict and not only did it not get settled, his gun got misplaced by the principal too. Everyone thus discussed things over and decided that AJ they all will remain in the school and they must find the gun within the one month of graduation to let Officer Xia retire peacefully and happily. Jia Jiang, Fang Wei and Bulu then can successfully graduate. While finding the missing gun, they discovered that a ex-convict Grey Wolf who escaped from prison is possibly connected with the missing gun and even more surprisingly, the Grey Wolf is actually having close communication and contact with students in Ying Ye."

Anything with Ming Dao and Chen Qiao En in it is a good drama. However, I'm not too interested in the way the fight scenes and such were made.. Anyway, it is something to check out.

Kurosagi

Rating: ***

Genre: Action, Crime, Romance
Episodes: 11
Cast: Horikita Maki, Ichikawa Yui, Kato Koji, Reina, Yamashita Tomohisa

"Kurosaki is a young man whose family was destroyed by swindlers. Despite that, Kurosaki grows up to become a con artist known as Kurosagi. As Kurosagi, he swindles other con artists and returns the money to the original victim. He works with the master swindler Katsuragi Toshio even though Toshio had a hand in the destruction of Kurosaki’s family. Kurosaki's life begins to change when he meets Yoshikawa Tsurara, a young law student who disapproves of his disrespect of the law. Can she persuade Kurosaki to give up swindling and his quest for revenge? "

The plotline was good and most of the script was great. However, however, however... I really don't know.. Something made me get easily distracted. The acting was great. Horikita Maki always is a natural in front of the camera. The opening credits were very unique. The costumes were wonderful. However, it wasn't something that I couldn't look away from. Still, it was a good drama to watch if you're bored.

P.S. WTF is with the bare chest and suspenders in the opening titles??? Is that supposed to be fan service? Idk, it was just random haha.

Fanservice:

Hong Gil Dong

Rating: ****

Genre: Action, Adventure, Period Drama, Historical
Episodes: 24
Cast: Kang Ji Hwan, Sung Yu Ri, Jang Geun Suk, Kim Ri Na

"Based on a fictional book about a Robin Hood in Korea, Hong Gildong, this drama is very loosely based off of that book and the time it was set in.

Hong Gil Dong was the illegitimate son of a high ranked minister. A local monk took him under his wing and taught him martial arts. Hong Gil Dong was inspired to fight for the injustice in this society that divided people into nobles and ordinary citizens whereby the former enjoyed all the privileges due solely to their birth.

The heroine, Heo Yi Nok, had just returned to Korea from China with her grandfather. They made their living by putting on shows and selling their special brand of medicine in the marketplace.

Lee Chang Hwi had been told since he was young that he was the rightful heir to the throne which had been usurped by his half brother. He had also returned from his exile in China and was plotting to overthrow the emperor.

The three got entangled in love, hate, loyalty and betrayal and only one side can win."

This particular drama got one star removed because of the way it was produced. The script was wonderful. It is funny, has some modern puns, great dialogue, and wonderful character evolution. The acting was good too. The two main men (Kang Ji Hwan and Jang Geun Suk) were absolutely fantastic in their roles. The only problem was that it was made a little too unrealistic at times. The dancing sequences were way too modern and some of the fighting scenes weren't all that great. Other than that, though, I give this drama a big thumbs up. This is definitely a drama that made my jaw hurt from laughing so much and I loved the overall storyline. Kim Ri Na also did quite well in her role. She really made me despise her character haha...

Chuno

Rating: ****

Genre: Action, Adventure, Romance, Period Drama, Historical
Episodes: 24
Cast: Jang Hyuk, Lee Da Hae, Lee Jong Hyuk, Oh Ji Ho, Gong Hyung Jin

"Set during the Joseon Dynasty, "Chuno" revolves around the world of slave hunters (known as "Chuno Ggun") and slaves (known as "Nobi"). The slaves were sometimes born into the system of servitude and other times became slaves as a punishment for a crime. In the drama series "Chuno," a slave hunter (played by Jang Hyuk) attempts to track down one such runaway slave (playd by Oh Ji-Ho). The runaway slave became a nobi after being falsely accused of a crime he did not commit. While the slave hunter tracks down the runaway slave, he also seeks out the woman he loves (played by Lee Da-Hae)."

I personally really enjoyed this drama.. It is nonstop action with bits of comic relief that kept me coming back for more. I know some were disappointed at it's ending, but I liked it regardless. I won't spoil the drama for you, but I hope you'll give it a chance.. Who knows, you might enjoy it as much as I have.

The Return of Iljimae

Rating: ***.5

Genre: Historical, Romance, Action, Adventure
Episodes: 24
Cast: Jung Hye Young, Jung Il Woo, Kim Min Jong, Yoon Jin Seo, Sandara Park

"The story is about a man fighting against the selfish and corrupt government to save the ordinary peasants. Iljimae was abandoned by his birth father and adopted by a Chinese couple. He returns to Korea to find his birth family and realizes how unjust the world really is. He watched as his first love, Dal Yi, was wrongfully put to death. Iljimae then vows to help the commoners from the corrupt government officials. "

I very much enjoyed this series. The only problem I found was the first three episodes. Actually, it's mainly the first episode. If you skipped first episode you probably wouldn't have had any trouble watching the rest of the series. The first episode was boring and the narration just killed it. The drama wasn't interesting at all until the fourth episode. Even though I love the story, they didn't do a wonderful job in the beginning. I personally think they could have done a lot better. Still, it is definitely something you should check out.

Iljimae

Rating: ****

Genre: Action, Adventure, Historical, Period Drama
Episodes: 20
Cast: Han Hyo Joo, Kim Chang Wan, Lee Jun Ki, Lee Young Ah, Park Shi Hoo

"Set during the Joseon Dynasty, Yong acted as a hooligan in the marketplace by day but at night he was a thief who robbed corrupted government officials to give to the poor. After each robbery he left behind a painting depicting a plum tree branch to make his mark and was thus named Iljimae. His main purpose was not so much to rob but to search for the owner of a specially designed sword which he saw as a child was used to kill his father, a loyal subject of the emperor. Eun Chae is a government official's daughter who despite her upbringing has a lot of empathy towards the poor. She met Iljimae by chance and couldn't help admiring him for what he stood for even though she had never seen his face."

For the most part, I usually just stick to the heartfelt comedies. However, I somehow found myself watching this show and got hooked. Although the first episode isn't the most interesting thing in the world, the story really sucks you in. Lee Jun Ki did a wonderful job of playing the smexy Iljimae. Although I'm not completely sure about the ending, I completely and utterly loved this series and would gladly watch it again.

Elfen Lied

Rating: ***.5
Anime!

Genre: Action, Drama, Ecchi, Horror, Romance, Psychological
Episodes: 13 + 1 OVA

"The Diclonius, a mutated homosapien that is said to be selected by God and will eventually become the destruction of mankind, possess two horns on their heads and have a "sixth sense" which gives them telekinetic abilities. Due to this dangerous power, they have been captured and isolated in laboratories by the government. Lucy, a young and psychotic Diclonius, manages to break free of her confines and brutally murders most of the guards in the laboratory where she is being held, only to be shot in the head as she makes her escape. She survives, falling off a cliff into the ocean and manages to drift along to a beach where two teenagers, Kouta and Yuka, discover her. Having lost her memories, she was named after the only thing that she can now say, "Nyuu," and the two allow her to stay at Kouta"

Although I'm sure that this anime is probably supposed to be for guys to watch (As it has mainly female characters and has a lot of nudity and gore) I actually really like it. As a gore enthusiast I can't help but want to watch it over and over again. Truthfully, though, the opening song brought me to tears a few times after watching the anime. When you first watch the opening credits, it's just a song, but as you watch the anime, you'll see how well the song fits the anime. The reason it is only 3.5 stars is because: (1) there were too many unneeded nude scenes -.-" (2) some of the storyline is just plain bad.