Café Minamdang (2022)

One of the worst

This started off well. The concept is good but a lot of the acting is just plain awful. Too many corny/cheesy comedy, if you can call that comedy at all. Be honest people, Seo In Guk is not a good actor...objectively and subjectively. He's just popular for being popular. Oh Yeon-Seo's and Kang Mi-Na's presence is what makes the show watchable. Perhaps their acting isn't to their usual standards either, which can only mean the director didn't execute the assignment well. Kwon Soo-hyun is type cast in villainous roles so there's no point creating a major plot twist when the audience can guess who the main villain would be. Pointless. If I were a casting director, I would've cast someone who usually plays a protagonist with an innocent look, then BAM! The big reveal at the crucial moment. Otherwise it's just pointless. I wouldn't recommend this show at all. Not even to my worst enemy.

Read More

Comedy at its purest

The story revolves around an ex profiler turned shaman. His character is different and surely not something seen like yet. He is detailed in his investigation and is smart enough to get his way out of the problems. But at the same time he is naive and is not judgemental about people in general. His goals although are very clear to him and with the team of none other than his best friend and his sister, he is determined to solve the biggest mystery that one killer threw at him. But the interesting part is not just one, there seem to be many people involved. The comedy is true to its genre, slapstick humour. Every scene has some elements of it but the investigation never stops.

Read More

sadly a fail for me

I was really looking forward to this as I had watched a few really good dramas with Seo In-guk before, and was wondering about this new show.

Well, this one didn't work for me. The first two episodes had some funny elements although I started to find the side characters annoying because of the massive overacting.
I watched on and for my taste the elements that were meant to be comedy were just way over the top, be it facial expressions, verbal expressions, movements, it all sadly seemed to clowesc for my taste.

I also have to say I don't like the female lead in this role. ( I don't know her from any other shows yet though) She for a change has too few facial expressions and I can't really see her acting qualities in this show. I don't believe for a second that she is a police woman, especially in scenes where she gets hyper emotional, screams like a mad person or beats a man in the hospital bed who has just died and totally loses it, while doctors and colleagues are watching on. Someone with the police can't be that emotional and lose their countenance.

Also I don't buy the lovestory between the leads. It's one of the few shows where I really can't see any chemistry between them: I always felt like I see the actors 'acting while acting'. I'm constantly aware of it. Them just reproducing their lines they learned, I never believe they are really the characters they play or have real conversations.

That sadly goes for the side charcaters too, especially the other couple. Again, way too much overacting, especially the male side character with the way he speaks, when in some situations it's obvious that he can speak normally.
As I think Seo in -Guk was brilliant in other dramas, I can still see why he might have chosen this role now. In the past he was in several rather serious and even tragic roles, - but, and that is the point - in those he was really outstanding. I believed every single second that Kim Moo-young in '100 million stars...' existed, like that person existed for real for example. I still bet doing 'Minamdang' was a lot of fun for all the actors, as it was a funny show and the feeling gets through they might have laughed a lot on set.

I know 'Minamdang' is meant to be comedic but for my taste it it was just too much of these slaptstick elements, so many that I couldn't believe the serious story parts in the background anymore. You can do comedic K-drama and make the characters real and believable to a degree, like in 'suspicious partner' for example. But Cafe Minamdang' just couldn't convince me. At some point I was even fast forwarding and getting impatient for 'something to happen'.
I did enjoy many parts of the soundtrack though.

So, if you are really into slapstick/ hullabaloo shows, this one might be the right thing for you, otherwise, probably not.

Read More

Why?

Too much abuse for a show that wasn't even about abuse. So why did I hang on as long as I did? Because I liked the story and all the characters/actors, except the FL. I can't keep watching because of her. I'm soooo sick of TSTL female characters!! Why?! Oh, cuz we can't have two good, strong female characters in the same show. The sister is all we needed but we kept getting yelled at and punched in the face by the FL.

All she does is punch the ML. Now I know ppl sometimes don't press charges, and I also know that the violence was supposed to be funny, but dammit to hell...you're a friggin adult and a cop, you can't go around hitting this guy every time you see him just because he doesn't remember you or like you (can't imagine why), and because he's a waaaaaay better detective than you'll ever be. Once again, let's get some perspective here, if a guy was abusing a girl like this (and I mean seriously kicking and punching, enough that she could have broken bones and cracked her skull when she hits the ground), no one would laugh. No one should laugh now either. It's not funny. A judo match? Fine. Do that. Do that shit all day. What this character does is criminal assault. And other cops witness her doing this and just shrug it off. But when it's time to put those skills to use and beat up the bad guy, you can't. Da fuq?! Close the door and pretend he's that guy you've liked your whole life. Bwahahaha!! Really tho, you watched this dude murder the guy in the hospital bed, you didn't try to disconnect the IV, you get up to stop him but he easily thwarts you. Um, no, tv show, you will not do this to me! I saw her knock a guy off his motorcycle with her shoe, but this guy gets out of the room? I also saw her parkour her way up a building and run faster than the Flash, but this guy is faster and more nimble than her? Ok. Moving on.

This chick is the worst cop/detective ever! She's obsessed with the ML so she routinely and royally screws up the one case she works on for the whole season, and she enters ML's business/home unlawfully, which leads to another...wait for ittt....wait for ittttttt...assault on the ML. Good times. I quit watching when she arrested him...because he didn't like her, I guess. No other reason as it seemed like he'd already told her the story of her brother's death, so why was she still asking questions about that? Then she forced him into hypnosis (shouldn't she be in court-ordered therapy by now?) which lead to another...wait for ittt....wait for ittttttt...assault on the ML. And the hypnotist (I'm guessing he also works in law enforcement) saw nothing wrong with this. Of course not. That's some mighty fine police work right there.

I don't understand how things work in Korea, but she should have had her badge taken away in ep 2. A behavior shift and attempt at redemption while actually investigating, not obsessing over the ML and not having tunnel vision which makes her ignore tips/advice/leads/evidence/guidance from experienced seniors (the ML and her team) would've made for a much better character and a better show which I would've been able to finish. I'm just glad I didn't stick around for the forced romance with the abuser. And why more than one man liked her is the true mystery here. The FL should not have existed in this drama. The relationships of the ML and his awesome chosen family was more than enough to carry the show.

The stars are for the cast and characters I really did enjoy, they just weren't enough to undercome the horrible FL, both the character and the actress.

Read More

Good, but had to drop it

It is my first time writing a review because I feel I really have to.

I am a huge fan of Seo In Guk, and as in every Drama his acting is top and it looks like they had a lot of fun shooting this Drama. I also like all the other cast, especially the Cafe Minamdang Gang. The storyline and the comedy part were also on top. I really enjoyed watching, except for one part; the female lead.

I don't know where to start, but I can't stand her. I could bear it at the beginning, but after certain episodes, I had to skip the part where she appeared until it was unbearable and I had to drop it.
Let's start with the visual, her appearance doesn't fit the age gap that she and the ML should have. She looks like she is in her 40s, while the ML is in his 30s.
I am not sure, what she did with her lips or if she did plastic surgery, but her lips are irritating me as well.
Her acting was stubborn, overreacting, and narrow-minded, she disturbed or destroyed good investigation and in her world everything is the ML fault. And then like magic, she started liking him.
The chemistry between ML and FL felt so forced, so unnatural, and as a Watcher, I didn't have the feeling that romance fit in this Drama in general.

I think that a male detective, with a bromance comedy factor, would fit this drama much better, than a forced Romance.

Read More

Somehow manages to be boring. Lots of missed potential with this one.

The storyline centers around a rather uncreative and *serious* serial killer murder mystery. Personally, I was looking forward to a comedy-- not another police procedural about another serial killer killing young women and something something corrupt politicians.

The comedy seems to take second fiddle. This is actually the first Seo In Guk drama where I've been let down by the humour. The slapstick comedy style isn't for me. Everyone passing out from someone's stinky feet isn't funny to me... but that's just me, it doesn't make it bad-- just not my style of humour.

The romantic line between the leads is incredibly forced. Mind you, it's hard to generate chemistry when the FL is written/directed to be sullen and grumpy.

A sassy, funny, clever, over-the-top FL to face off in friendly competition against the ML would have generated so much more romantic tension, been so much more entertaining, and would have had so much more comedy potential.

As someone else said, I'd love someone to do a post mortem on this show and why it "doesn't work" because I can't quite put my finger on it. Overall, the show is kind of boring and I can see why a lot of people have dropped it already.

Read More

No I didn't come to watch this because of the 'drool' factor. I'm no longer a hopeless romantic teenager thank goodness. So I'm not basing my review off of looks. I came to watch this because of Jung Man Shik. I like this guy ever since I saw him in Man To Man. I will watch anything he's in. Same goes for Heo Jae Ho and Cha Tae Hyun-even though he's only in one episode. I like the main male lead but for some odd reason I'm not digging his character choice in this drama.

My goal was to watch this when it was completed but I jumped the gun and started watching before it's done. The worse thing was that I made it to episode 10 before I realized that was the last one until the others aired. Stopping the drama and going back to it made it worse.

The first few episodes almost made me drop this. Here's why: the comedic elements at times were just too over the top. When it tries too hard to be funny it's usually not.

The second ML. who played as the cop who got let go. He started off promising but ended up looking like a weak slow witted chicken. I don't care for characters like that.

The other supporting male lead who had the green hair...that is truly disturbing to look at because he don't look right.

Now to the main FL...O....M....G....I really hate ragging on female Korean actresses but it can't be helped. When she entered on to the scene they made her look bad a** and I was digging it. I was thinking finally another female Korean actress who can fight and is tough....Nope...she is turning out to be that love sick dimwitted female I've come to despise! The fact that she constantly bullies the main ML and is constantly arresting him for no reason makes my blood boil! If that's not police brutality I don't know what is. Plus I'm a bit confused...In a flashback she's younger than the main ML. Now all of a sudden they're like the same age but she looks way older than the main ML! Her annoying sense of duty makes me want to punch her in her botox looking lips!!!

When I went back to watching, episode 11, I can't decide if I want to watch the rest of this drama. I am curious as to who the guilty culprit is but all of the over the top comedic scenes and the annoying main FL is making it easier for me to skip the rest. I also can pretty much deduce the last episode will most likely be a let down anyway. Last episodes of Korean dramas usually are.

Read More

Can’t hook my interest

Tried really hard to give this series a chance but I eventually dropped it. Artists were all great. It might be the story just didn’t hook me at all.

It’s too far out there for me probably and sometimes the scenes didn’t make sense.

I might return to it in the future and change this rating if I have the incentive to try watching it again.

************************************************************************************************************************

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxccccccccccccccccccccvbnnkjdhdifjrnisnsbdjsjsbdjfjgnriod

Read More

Great Premise, Mediocre Execution

The premise of Café Minamdang caught my attention. A former criminal profiler is pretending to be a shaman with the help of his sister, a genius hacker, and brother, a private detective. This promised to be a lot of fun. However, the execution seems to have ruined whatever uniqueness there could have been in this story.

As soon as I started watching episode one, I felt a strong sense of déjà vu. I was introduced to a rich, eccentric, handsome, slightly narcissistic guy, a strong, independent woman, incompetent detectives, and a murder case. Sounds familiar? Well, this is essentially Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. Shaman Nam Han Joon gives the precise same vibes as CEO Ahn Min Hyuk – same exaggerated mannerisms, same ability to analyze people and figure things out quicker than the police, same tendency to fall in love at first with a woman who beat up several bad guys because she is strong and can protect him. The two main characters have, of course, also known each other when they were younger because K-drama scriptwriters consider it unthinkable that two people might have a romantic relationship without having a past together. I can go on pointing out similarities, but I think that you get my point.

Instead of centering the narrative around Nam Han Joon and his gang's scam, the production team went for what has been done many times: a murder investigation, which probably ends with an underwhelming revelation, and a little romance on the side. The comedy element is not funny in the slightest.

As if all of this was not enough, this series features the worst female lead that I have ever seen. I usually try to focus on the positive qualities of each character and do not judge them quickly, but I can confidently say that Han Jae Hee is a b*tch. Her character is an insult to women. She is the worst possible version of a Mary Sue, and this makes her not only uninteresting, but also incredibly annoying.
In a time when positive representation of women has become an important issue, it is discouraging to learn that women are still characterized like that. A woman who can stand up for herself and has proved to be a skilled professional in her field should not be depicted as rude, insensitive, and frustratingly narrow-minded. A woman detective should not be portrayed as someone who stalks and uses physical violence against civilians while claiming that the law must be followed. When Nam Han Joon told her that she was not cut out to be a detective, he was right. It is great that the story does not focus on their relationship because if I had to see more of her, I would have dropped this series.

Overall, scenes with Han Jae Hee aside, this series is sometimes entertaining, but it is nothing special. I keep watching for Nam Han Joon, who has become likeable despite being too much in episode one, and his gang. However, I will probably drop it and plead justice for Seo In Guk – he deserves to work with better scripts.

Edit: I dropped this series at episode seven.

Read More

Boring and too predictable

The only reason I watched this in entirity is because I am travelling and this is the only thing I downloaded on netflix.
Idk what the makers of this show were thinking. I suppose it went: what should we do? should we make a generic villain? should we make a cliche villain mindset? should we drag it out? should we make it as dramatic as possible even though it will make people loose interest in the show...........and someone went "YES".

It was so predictable that I had an idea from episode 3-4, who the villain would be. They tried really hard to convince the viewers but all they managed to do was make viewers go..."ah let me guess, it's him/her right? heh".
Also there are so many loopholes.

The only saving grace for this show is it's cast and music.

Read More

comedy, friendship

All of them can bring the happiness to who are watching this drama
The plot is you can't guess what is happening to them until the end
For me its new version
I enjoyed i hope for you all
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Read More

Chaotic plot that misses at everything (comedy, romance, thriller, mystery)

6.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2022 South Korean mystery romance drama with 18, 63 minute episodes.
First I will provide a synopsis then review.

Synopsis
Nam Han-joon (Seo In-guk) was a profiler but is now a faux shaman who always delivers results for his wealthy clients. While he pretends his knowledge is from Shamanistic ability it really stems from above average investigative work. Key to his success is his unhygienic sister who just so happens to be an expert hacker and was formerly a member of the national intelligence service. Gong Su-cheol (Kwak Si-yang) is also onboard with Han-joon’s schemes and helps in not only the investigative aspects but also uses strong arm techniques when the situation requires. The other swindler team member is Jo Na-dan (Baek Seo-hoo) who helps in a variety of capacities on the cases but primarily focuses on actual café operations. Han Jae-hui (Oh Yeon-Seo) who heads up the Dauen Police force is not amused by Han-joon’s antics. The police think the Shaman team’s ability to always be one step ahead is suspicious.
Review
The story was absolute chaos. One of the few I have experienced where there is all this action and things going on but it made me completely bored. They called Jae-hui ”the ghost” which would make you think she had supernatural powers but she did not. Han-joon plays at behind a shaman and I thought perhaps it would turn out he had some ability but he did not. The chemistry was off. I just could not see them together romantically. The killer was predictable. I would no watch this again and only recommend it to die hard In-guk fans as it is a unique role for him and he carries it off as good as anyone could have.
Spoilers*
I think this was a miss in everything it tried for. There was potential for a supernatural element in her name ”the ghost” and in his role as Shaman. Instead they would have these sort of fade to black moments when she was about to give bad guys a beat down but it really meant nothing and just made it silly. She was supposed to be some super detective but her and her team couldn’t solve their way out of a box. They were always a step behind Han-joon’s team whose plans seemed to fall apart and backfire as often as not. His shaman ability was all a sham and it turned out he was just very intuitive and had his people working behind the scenes and feeding him information. It was supposed to be funny when he went into shaman mode because you knew it was an act but I just founded it cringy. It made no sense that he was good enough at martial arts when he was an officer to train others but in most of the physical conflicts he was getting bested. It wanted to be a comedy but the situations were not very comedic and it wound up being over the top, three stooges like, cheesy. You don’t even find out who the killer is until the last few episodes and that is when he really goes on a spree. Would have been more interesting if those cases had occurred earlier. Jae-hui spent so much of the story being harsh to Han-joon because she blamed him for her brother’s death that it killed any chemistry as it was hard to envision him falling for someone that acted so hostile. They all were so inept and none of their plans worked out completely. His shamanic situations were meant to be comical but they fell short. Several of the characters are hit in the head so much you would expect serious head injury but it is shrugged off like no big deal. I like In-guk and think he is a talented actor and that is what kept me watching.

#CafeMinamdang
#SeoInGuk
#OhYeonSeo
#KwakSiYang
#KangMiNa
#KwonSooHyun

Read More