Mother's Love Will Never Abandon You ♡ A Sad Show With A Bobbled Ending

This is a good drama, but it made me sad - and not a cathartic "sad," like a Chinese or Shakespearean tragedy that is somehow fulfilling. This show brings on an empty sadness.

In the +, the characters are all complex and thus, they remain interesting. I loved the cameo of Seobinggo and Shin Soon-ae from Oh My Ghost, which I consider to be one of the best romcoms ever made. OMG & HBM share a director, Yoo Je-Won. He has 10 works credited to him, all of which are rated 7 or higher. That's outstanding. So far I've seen Tomorrow With You(7-VG but major logical problems and a couple of crashes with consistency) The King: Eternal Monarch(7.9 it's different, and it's not perfect, but it's mostly excellent) and Abyss(4.7 Poor - it's awful, which hurts my feelings because I love Park Bo-young), and Oh My Ghost(10 - it's superb). His most popular shows are Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha & Crash Course in Romance, which are ones I haven't gotten to, yet.

This drama addresses weighty topics (death, loss, regret, guilt) and does it well. Yu-ri shows thoughtfulness and grace… and MOXIE. The best moments are when the ladies get together, especially when they don their sunglasses-of-doom.

There are shortcomings - too many for it to be considered a top-tier production. Some things that happen are unexpected, but the final outcome comes speeding down the road and arrives just as foreshadowed. There is poor resolution. We are treated to some final moments peeking a few years down the line, but it’s too brief and way too ill-defined, and we don't witness much of any healing. Not all the drinks that are poured are imbibed, meaning that many of the characters seem like they would get more of a story arc, but they just evaporated instead. The rules of the "game" are not laid out. Even when the reason Yu-ri came back is confirmed, it doesn't change any of the problems. It is actually a weak plot point: If that method works, we shouldn't need funeral directors or cemeteries as no one would ever stay dead. As lovely as that would be, it doesn't play well in this show.

Their effort to analyze the mother/daughter cycle is respectable. It seems the show's diffuse focus redirects the audience from an exploratory surgery that would provide a deeper analysis of the truth, to: "Take an aspirin and get some rest. It will all blow by "

In summary, this is not a feel-good drama. Don't look for that. It did not help me process my own recent loss: Don't look for that either.

IMHO...
Suggested Age 12& up.


Directing 6.7
Acting 8
Romance 3
Thought provocation 6

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Dimestore Harlequin Novel On Your TV ~ VG Lite-Snack Romcom

This is not an instant classic. Nor will it be studied in a film class. It is a classic, somewhat cheesy, romance without any major flaws. Classic, here, means it's akin to those cheap paperback novels that were written by the dozens a few decades ago, the biggest publisher being Harlequin. My sister would by the bagfuls.

Yumi is a girl who is trying to live a better life than her narcissistic ex-adult film star mother. She was teased relentlessly in school over her parentage, so she doesn't want to be equated with her mother anymore. Enough already. She needs distance. She wants to be a *whole world* away from her & her mother's pasts. To draw a solid line between her and Oma, Yumi keeps herself buttoned up and tries to stumble her way through life in the background.

She embarks on a weekend trip for mom's second (Wait. It was the 3rd, maybe?) marriage. For Yumi, the weekend is one fiasco followed by another, culminating in a one night stand. In a convertible. On the beach. With a dude so good looking, he's almost too pretty. None of this makes Yumi feel better about it. She's disgusted with herself. She doesn't even know his name! (But HER mother wouldn't be so ashamed). She wakes first in the morning, slinking off with some of dude's clothing, leaving him exposed to the elements... and gawkers- quite a crowd, actually. All ages. They loved the show. He received loads of fanfare, too.

Yumi, next, slinks back home to focus on putting her life in order. She graduates with a dietary sciences/nutrition degree and is thrilled to land a job at a large corporation that offers great benefits. She's thrilled /until/ she runs into HIM. She has to figure out how to best slice and dice this situation pronto.

That sets the table. You'll have to watch it to see what's on the menu.

MSR is not devoid of quality elements. "No matter how many bad things happen in a day, if one lucky thing happens, it's a lucky day," says Yum-i, while buddy-chugging wine from the bottle, in a convertible, surfside, under the magically lit sky… 15 min later they have a 1 night stand.

{Timeout: That's never a good idea. It's unacceptable risk to one's physical and emotional health, and one will win the lottery before it leads to committed love. That's one reason it's a fun thing to watch and wonder, and then walk away. }

This is a show to which lovers of romance, who need a mental vacation, can relax and enjoy some healthy snacks. Their little chess game, misunderstandings, series of non-communications, and many memorable meals, will make loveaholics smile. Cha Jin-hook (Played by the otherworldly gorgeous Sung Hoon) tells his father, who is pushing for his marriage: "My wife is right here," metaphorically meaning the business. However, his wife is literally #there, in the building. Nice morsel. I suspect that Yumi's name is a play on the English word "Yummy" - also a clever detail.

There are scattered problems: Some minor, some moderate, but they don't bring on indigestion. MSR is what it was designed to be, as a whole - simple escapism. However, it could be improved on. Starting in Ep11, there were too toooooo 2*2*2 many sappy flashback scenes, with sappy background music. They could have made it an episode shorter, or, better yet, make optimal use of that screen time with more content. Do yourself a favor, and FF thru them. When Yumi is singing Karaoke, be warned: They do the #whole song with flashbacks. Then Mr. Cha goes down memory lane. It gets ridiculous, but some quick remote control work takes care of it. Trust me on this one.

The actors are likable, and they did a great job. The secondary romances are brief pleasures. It's easy to root for them. The CEO's aid wears over-the-top-flowered-polka dot-paisley-anything-suits. He's amazing, and wears them proudly. He's one for the highlight reels.

This is a good enough aperitif between heavier shows. If you are at a loss as to what to watch next, but in the mood for a heroine-exits-cocoon style romance, this will do as nicely as an afternoon tea.

IMHO...

Age 16+ My reasoning: Her mom is an ex-porn star, which has been a lifetime vexation for Yumi. Also, they have a one-night-stand when they hardly know each other. There's so many other great Kdramas to watch, so there's no rush for teens to see this one.

Directing 7
Acting 7.4
Romance 8
Flutters 7
Warmth 7.7
Art 7.6
Laughs 6.6
Thought provocation 6
Ending 8

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Red Bun Coalition ♟️ The Means Rustify the Soul °8.4° °Excellent°

Corruption: the process by which something is changed from its original use to one that is erroneous or debased. A departure from what is pure or correct. Decay, decomposition, dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery.

"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it," said Mark Twain. Even if leaders want the right things, too often they are willing to do the wrong things to get them.

US is a historical political fiction thriller based on true events. Three characters are based on actual historical figures while everyone else seems to be an amalgam of other players that created the political debacle of 1959-60 in SK, Uncle Sam being the most amalgamous. Communism was spreading, the world was in chaos. World War II had rewritten the map of the world. The North and the South Koreans were at odds. SK was closely monitored by an on-site U.S. military. This is one of Director/writer Shin Youn-Shick (Cassiopeia) higher rated offerings. “I think Korea is the only country that asks if one has eaten as a greeting. (The series) portrays the difficult times right after the Korean War, when it was truly challenging to have even one meal a day,” Shin said. Yet it was politics as usual at the top. These back-room ghouls think nothing of the suffering masses.

Not interested? I gravitate to the imaginative side of entertainment myself - Sci-fi, thrillers, fantasy… romance. We have to make an effort to try new things to be more well rounded. As such, one could tag me a somewhat reluctant viewer. Around Ep5 it became clear that this is an excellent drama. US might not be my go-to genre, but it is an excellently created show. It starts like a tank. It grinds slowly but really cranks up towards the end. The acting and directing are sublime. What's most important is that it's a peek under the hood of politics, another reminder that politics is overrun by hoods. “This is what it means to be in politics,” muses Joo In-tae. His daughter had just asked him how he could work with a guy who had tortured him during the Japanese occupation. Many well meaning people do jump into the “public service” foray with the intent to ‘do-good’, but they slowly get absorbed by a system that pumps out ‘doo-doo’. Politics is one big manure spreader. As KS says, it's “Hypocrisy disguised as a dream.”

1960. The March15 Election Fraud is abt the rigged re-election of Syngman Rhee, in power since post WWII. That led to The April Revolution: A series of protests and demonstrations demanding reform that led to the removal of Rhee. We open in 1960, but the cars look older, indicating that money is scarce and they're getting by on older belongings and older technology. It is a dark, wet night and authorities are dragging away a man who is screaming that it's Samsik's fault. What is a Samsik? Well, he is a dude who made sure everyone in his circle had three meals a day. Even during the war. “Sam” means three. “Sik” means food. “Chingoo Chincha.” A true friend.

US is a 2024 release that is rated 86 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 16 42ish-minute eps that positively fly by in comparison to a typical Kdrama. Not only is US an excellent drama, but it's also a primer on politics and the slippery slope that topples the naive. The good they sincerely want to do is the carrot. Getting reelected is the stick. It helps me understand politicians more and it also makes me despise politics all the more. It's a filthy, slimy business. Cliches are always based on entrenched patterns. The cliche, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” still rings true. The human race hasn't outgrown that problem. Voters and the general public seem to have the attention span of a fruit fly and the memory of an ostrich. We neither know nor understand our history. Therefore we are doomed to suffer corrupt leadership. It just isn't wise to put too much trust or hope in political leaders.

After we hear what a nurturing guy US Is, we revert to 1959 for a closer peek. There's protesters in Seoul. I've not seen one political Kdrama where that isn't going on. It appears to be part of the fabric of Kcountry. The opening eps go back and forth between that point & MPs questioning suspects in 1960. Questions? In ‘59 these guys staged a coup.

Samsik appears to be more mobster than businessman. He's slowly built up enough to enable him to buy into a chaebol level company - he's about to become a business baron. “Do you know what pizza is?” He's in a great mood and jawwing to someone at the meal before his induction ceremony. “You probably don't even know what cheese is.” He tries to explain pizza to a traditional 1959 Korean. It might as well be explaining the 5th dimension. Try explaining soy sauce to someone who has never had Asian cuisine.

Later that night, he's at a political rally to raise trouble, and the meeting does break up in mayhem, but then Kim San takes the podium. To paraphrase, he says ~I just got back from the USA. No one is going hungary. Every building shines. They don't even eat all their food. I lived above a pizza shop. Do any of you know what Pizza is?~ He goes on to talk of a vision where Koreans aren't starving but, rather, where Korea is the center for commerce in the world. Uncle Samsik is listening. Attentively. The scene is quite powerful.

Park Doo Chil (Snowpiercer) plays ML Uncle SamSik with his coat swinging; part of Sam's signature swagger. It's been 35 years since he did TV. Coming into US, I could only see him as he was in Parasite-9, w/ the greasy face and that smell. (I KNOW one can't smell anything through the TV. That is partly why Parasite is so brilliant!) He made an impression. He's excellent in Taxi Driver-8.4 as well, which is also half-fictionalized events based in a true setting and, historically, serves as a bookend to US. In US, PDC is indefatigable. His character is so alive, so energetic, so garrulous, so thoroughly compelling that, for someone with chronic fatigue, it's actually exhausting. US is a man that has gotten used to exploiting opportunities; it's such a habit that he never questions it. He understands that when your stomach is full your mind tends to open. He won people over by feeding them. We're not that much different than stray cats and dogs in that way. He is portrayed as a split personality. Like the best criminals, he's a savant of human psychology. He grew up poor. Therefore he says things like: “Do you like people that are admired? They're the worst.” Yet he fully embraces the system. He is fundamentally decent to those around him and he's generally loyal, but he has no moral backbone whatsoever. He operates outside of the law entirely. US opens up in ep2: ‘I love red bean buns. I could never afford them, but I wanted them so badly I killed a man one day.’

Byun Yo Han, who is positively luminescent in Mr. Sunshine-9 & Misaeng-9.1, plays Kim San/KS, a man who has the best of intentions but gets marinated and stuck to the bottom by the political sauce. Mr. Byun shows that he can play a serious role. Other actors can as well, but what other actors can't do is capture the magic of the other characters BYH has portrayed. He conveys a nearly tangible sense of delight. That is rare magic, indeed. KS has a soft spot for people that recognize his worth. That only means that he's too self-focused, and his pride is too important to him. It's something that will trip us up. He is so determined to pass his economic reform pkg, (it would be wonderful for Kcountry) that he's willing to do anything. ANYTHING. He thinks he can wash away the stink later.

Lee Kyu Hyung (Doctor John) plays the spineless but powerful Kang Seong-Min. Even though he's a beautiful man, he's terrifying because he's completely self-focused, he has no empathy, and he's gutless. If someone makes him the slightest bit nervous, he orders a hit on them. Choo Sang-Rok is Park Ji-Wook. During the Japanese Occupation he was a quisling and worked as a police officer on behalf of the occupiers. In 1959 he’s a prominent politician. Tiffany Young (Reborn Rich) is marvelous as Rachel Jung. Jin Ki Joo (My Perfect Stranger) is Joo Yeo Jin, KS's fiance, as the show opens. Seo Hyun Woo (Flower of Evil-8.9) plays Jung Han Min.

Those based on true historical figures:

~Ryu Tae-ho as Choi Han-rim: a prestigious general who KS calls a 2nd father. WIKI - “Based on Lee Han-lim, he is known for his political neutrality and being the only commanding officer to declare public opposition to the May 16 coup. After graduating from Shinkyong Military Academy and studying at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, he served as an officer… was a classmate of Park Chung Hee,” part of the Imperial Japanese Arm & finally 1st Army CDR when the 5/16/60 coup occurred. “He opposed the military's intervention in politics and stood on the opposite line from those who led the military coup of Park Chung-hee. He had prepared to mobilize reserve forces to suppress the coup, but withdrew to prevent a civil war and potential North Korean invasion. Due to his opposition, he was arrested two days later and discharged along with the 5th District Commander and Army Major General Park Ki-byung.”

~Park Hyuk-kwon “as Choi Min-gyu: Minister of Home Affairs who collaborates with the Liberal Party government. Based on Choi In-gyu.”

~Oh Kwang-rok “as Joo In-tae: a politician who insists on national prosperity and peaceful coexistence. Loosely based on Cho Bong-am. …Three years after the election, Cho was charged with espionage and receiving funds from NK. His first trial resulted in an acquittal but he was convicted in a second trial and was executed on 31 July 1959. His death sentence was posthumously overturned in 2011 by the South Korean Supreme Court.”

The Albright Stonebridge Group is a real Foundation committed to economic growth in SK.

The slippery slope. KS is courted more than a duke's only daughter. How does Samsik seduce him? With intoxicating statements like this: “Nobody gets to fulfill more than 25% of their desires. Nobody gets 80 or 90% so what do you do? You increase your desires by 40-50-60%. Have ambition.” When KS finally succumbs, he has this conversation with the party chief: “I don't need nice guys. We are waging a war here. I won't tolerate any tears.” “I've already shed all my tears. I'm done with that.” By that time he had abandoned his fiance, ignored dozens of illegalities, and had started sewing the seeds of revolution. Samsik stays in the shadows. One might almost think he invented subversive triangulation, but apparently politics is the same at all times and in all places. It's a filthy business in which those in power take advantage of those in need. Catch rivals committing crimes? It's merely an invitation to control them. Turning them in is the last thing that US would do. Even so, Samsik and KS form an unbreakable bond. They have good goals that they intend to implement by any means possible. Following proper channels never even occurs to Samsik, and he manages to slowly and steadily bend KS to his will.

It's always the things that we think we know, our faulty presuppositions, that are going to bring us down. “There was an explosion of people that spilled onto the streets instantly. Ultimately, none of the promises or plans we made mattered at all… No one could have predicted the way the winds would take us, or or how the waves would crash.” The director is adept at building up tension throughout the show. It explodes into the protests. There's an aerial shot of marchers that pans several blocks. It's really spectacular. Next, he intersperses the filming with genuine newsreels from the time itself. It's quite emotional. Another nice touch is how KS is gifted a light grey suit. It stands out amongst the unified dark suit coalition. I think it represents how his white intentions became muddied and gray through his interactions with US. In the last ep KS wears a black suit. His eyeglasses are two tones of grey.

Uncle Sam knows things are going sideways in the last ep. He can sense it. He looks at the hotel lobby. People are chit-chatting, drinking and going on with their evening as if nothing's happening. They're completely unaware of the day, of the country, & of the rotation and revolution of the earth. Isn't that always the case? The soldiers enter. It's a profound scene.

US, himself, is often profound. We'll let him close this out: “Let me ask you about the principles that govern this world. Spring arrives, then summer. Flowers bloom, then wilt. They're what make the World Go Round And the sun rise and set. The Earth's rotation and revolution. Can you feel it right now? The rotation and revolution? That's precisely the kind of man I am. The Earth's rotation and revolution…” (looks like the earth still goes around without him). “Sometimes I feel… I feel tossed aside in the world, completely abandoned. I'm flooded with loneliness. It's in those times that I find what I fear most of all… is when that loneliness… becomes familiar.


(more) 〰️QUOTES〰️

So you think love is trivial? Guess you don't know much about love.

People think they're different from each other. Eventually, they figure out they're all the same. When they figure it out, it's too late.

You have a bad habit. You underestimate people who are younger than you. You need to fix that.

An honest politician is one who, when he is bought, will stay bought. ~Simon Cameron US financier & politician, 1799-1889~

✏〰 IMHO
Ratings
Directing 8.3
Writing 8.5
Acting 8.5
Romance 3
Flutters 4
Warmth 4.5
Art 8
Sound & music 7.5
Ending 9

Levels
Excitement 5.5
Laughs 2
Tears 6
Fright 3
Tension/anxiety 3.5
Gore 3
Thought provocation 7
Snores 0


?8.3 ?8.5 ?8.5 ?3 ?4 ?8 ?/?7.5 ?9 ▪ ?4.5 ⚡5.5 ?2 ?6 ?3 ?3.5 ?3 ?7 ?0

Age 14+
Language Rated-R Fbombs, some violence, gore, and scares, but the tradeoff is the primer on politics and human relationships. This is an educational jaunt as well as an excellent drama.

Rated TV-MA

Re-watch? Would

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It's All Good In The Hood❕️ °Excellent°

Is this a romance, or an exploration of parent child relationships?

It's both. It's actually more the latter. There's loss, longing, loneliness, laughter and love, with scary tension mixed in for good measure. The neighborhood is a character on its own. The place to which they've taken us is so charming. Good directing, good acting, good writing and a good soundtrack all come together beautifully, like Donbaek's pork stir-fry. The romance between the two leads is sweet. The mystery surrounding the murders is also handled very well. Most of the character arcs are satisfying.

Dongbaek is uncomfortably passive and within herself in the first few episodes. Watching her develop... and bloom... is a treat. I've become a big fan of Lee Jeong Eun, Dongbaek's mom. She's a stellar talent and currently my favorite actress. I first saw her in Oh My Ghost which is a romcom that's cooked up to perfection. She, along with the other 3 leads deliver magnificent performances in that show and I have had a love affair with all of them ever since. (The other three are Kim Seul-Gi, Jo Jung-Seok, and Park Bo-Young).

This show is 95% excellent. Here's a complimentary sample of unimportant nitpicks:

It doesn't quite make sense to open a restaurant/bar because you can make one good dish.... .

It would have been fun to see policeman Young Shik catch a few more criminals, but it is understandable that one case started to consume all of his time.

I wasn't pleased with the treatment of Jong Ryul, Pil-Gu's father. It seemed more severe than he deserved. He truly cares for Dongbaek. He never had a chance to know his son. He made mistakes when he was immature, and has since grown up. The reason for the break-up and her attitude toward him is less in focus than other plot lines. I'm glad they didn't make him a cartoonish bad guy, at least. That's a played out stereotype; he has more complexity.

The efforts to catch the Joker had some holes, or flaws. Obvious things that should have been done were not, mostly to maintain the plot.

Any criticisms are easily overlooked due to the overall excellence of the show. Hwang Yong-Sik's energy alone is worth the time spent. Kang Ha-Neul is really terrific as the ML. So grab the peanuts and Soju and enjoy your stay in Ongsan.

QUOTE〰

"I scratched on cement that hasn't hardened." (Meaning that since he's a kid it will mark him, hurt him, and stay with him for life).


〰IMHO

Directing 8
Acting 8
Romance 7
Flutters 5
Thought provocation 6

Suggested Age 14& up.

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Like Pizza Delivered Upside Down ~ Could Have Been ⤴️ But It's Just ⤵️ °4.6° °Poor°

I tried to roll along with BIOG, I really did. When watching fiction - especially fantasy - we must hold our suspension of disbelief in order to go along with the show and enjoy it. It's more relaxing to be on the generous side of the issue. Each time we have to dismiss inconsistencies, errors, a clumsy cadence, stupid dialogue or other disappointments, it's like a pinprick. At some point blood starts to gush and one can't let it go anymore. Then almost everything posi+ive drains dry, which is what happened here. This show just doesn't work; it's lifeless. Inconsistencies kept that "little ✒pinch" feeling going. For instance:

✒Can people see ghosts, or just evil spirits? It's unclear. We are told that seeing ghosts is something only a few people can do, but as the show goes on, more and more people are seeing ghosts. The viewer can make some guesses as to why this happens, but we shouldn't have to guess. The rules of this world should be explained and then adhered to. Or it hurts.

✒Hyun Ji's wardrobe, and how she is able to obtain, wear and change clothes is inconsistent. Her clothing is a plot driver in some episodes, yet rules about wardrobe laid out early on are bent, broken or tossed out altogether later. While I'm on the subject of costume, when Hyun Ji is wearing black she should have had spike-heeled boots on, not the frumpy-dumpies she wears. How kick@$$ing could she be when wearing them? They only could have helped.

✒She gets wet when it rains but her hair is dry when she comes out of the lake(?)

✒Why don't people see the forks and knives moving and the glasses being raised when ghosts are eating?

✒The police investigate a buried body in the woods and declare that it may not be a natural death? Possibly. What made them think that? Oh, right, the body was BURIED.

✒I'm almost shocked that the two seniors, In Rang and Cheon Sang, who only want to film ghosts in the beginning of the show, seem to forget all about it, and their youtube channel, as the episodes go on. The writer and director just let that aspect float out there and never used it. Letting something so important to the characters just fall away with no reason provided is downright lazy plot and character development.

✒We aren't told how technically skillful In Rang is, early on, so when he magically displays prowess later, it seems to sprout from nowhere.

✒Do we know the monk's actual relationship to Bong Pal? He seems to be an uncle, but if that was stated I missed it. We shouldn't be left to guess.

✒Do we know if Hyun Ji got all of her memories back from her time with Park Bong Pal?

✒What's going on in ep16 when they claim they don't need money and they have to be convinced to earn some? Bizarre.

It's as if they mixed scenes together like four and water. They don't have the sugar and the eggs, so no cake. It's gloop. Instead of a cohesive product that works, they just have a pile of separated scenes that don't combine for a better whole. On top of the inconsistencies and general sloppiness, the soundtrack and sound effects are lackluster.

The acting was fine. The actors suffer from bad directing. It doesn't seem like it's their fault. There appears to be a lack of chemistry, but it's probably a lack of good direction. Joon Hwa Park has a great lineup as a director. Hopefully this is an outlier. Conversely, one of the best things in the show is an incentive twist. That was a pleasant surprise. The villain is well done also, but none of that can bless this offering.

IMHO…

Directing 4
Acting 7
Romance 5
Flutters 4
Thought provocation 3

Age 13& up.

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W♡nder-Girl Meets Bad☆Boy☆Band! °8.3° °Excellent°

Wondering if this is worth your time?

If you love Kromcoms, this show is mandatory. If you think romcoms are Daebek, SK or otherwise, you will want to add this one to your list. Here's the test: If you aren't starstruck by ep2's conclusion, just move on; BOF is not for you.

Jun-Pyo may love viewing the skies through his telescope, but BOF isn't intended to be viewed through a high powered one. Lie back, look at the stars and dream a spell. Yes, there's consistency issues, and 2-2-Too much back and forth. Yet, I couldn't stop watching. 25 episodes is a LOT, and yes, it should have been trimmed back. The last vignette is best forgotten; it's that 5th season that never should have been made. Ask Jun-Pyo to hand over a towel in order to wipe that one away.

Additionally, it stretches credulity a tad far when we see these ruthless and cruel overlords of the school all (rather quickly) turn from black holes into North Stars. Actually, the 3 aren't necessarily cruel, but they are indifferent, which is just as bad. Since they were in playpens together, it seems that his 3 quasi underlings just let Jun-Pyo be Jun-Pyo. He is the sole instigator, the solar flare. Jan-di's parents are over the top of Namsam tower extra, but within the sphere of comedies at large. Jan-di has some strange moments in the first 3 or so episodes. She almost looks (clinically) spastic. Obviously, the director was going for laughs, but ultimately gets a "Huh?" None of that is important, though, because this is very Pride and Prejudice (especially if Darcy had an evil queen for a mother) with some Beauty and the Beast stardust thrown in.

Geum Jan-di is a beautiful soul, and Gu Jun-pyo loves her so completely, that I fell for them. Their relationship is lovable... when it's not WWIII, that is. The way they tit-for-tat fight, make up, and merely converse (always addressing each other using full names only, for example) is adorable. The leads did a bang-up job: The attachment feels authentic, and the sparks are visceral. While I haven't seen the lauded Japanese version, Koo Hye-sun is perfect - she's artsy, smart, and still forward-strong: She's a singer-songwriter, actress, director and artist now. I love her Jan-di, except for the loose handful of Red Cards. Lee Min-Ho - Don't dismiss him. He's not a heartthrob merely because he dropped from the sky that way. He built his image one work at a time, and BOF was his big launch to international stardom.

It does make sense that he falls for her, btw. "No" is something he'd never heard. Ever. He's no longer a lone star in upper space looking down on everything. Here comes a moon at his level, orbiting him. He loves the challenge. While engaging in the contest and in partial shock a girl exists that isn't interested in him, Gu Jun-Pyo concludes that Jan-di is the #only light in his sky. He's been denied love and family time, which is what his heart wants most. She blew his mind by standing up to him. He fixates on Jan-di as his panacea, his home. He boorishly pursues her, knowing nothing but bossing people around. He'll grab her arm to drag her somewhere, and she #lets him. She, likely, has no idea why(?!) she lets him. She certainly doesn't want to like him - given how much she °loathes° him. The human heart is a mystery, indeed. If you find his behavior offensive, you're right, but only for a twinkle. Gu Jun-Pyo is a quasar, Jan-di, the red giant. Once their paths collide, the quasar changes course, shooting down to earth. All those episodes find Jan-di schooling Gu Jun-Pyo. He accepts her tutoring and becomes a better, happier, more peaceful man. The opening of the show finds him a veritable toddler - le infantile terrible - throwing tantrums and money at everything that vexes him. Don't think for a moment that he's domineering, abusive, or controlling in the relationship; that ain't what's going down. Jan-di would kick him in the head if she didn't want his attentions. Anyone thinking Gu Jun-Pyo is in the lead is projecting. He enters HER world, and it's endearing. They travel light-years to bond, only to have that bond tested to the extreme. The gravitational pull between them only strengthens as they share any orbit to work through obstacles together.

BOF is an excellent choice for teens. Jan-di is a shining role model. Her beautiful smile elevates all who are in her proximity (except The Witch). She stands for what's right. She is courageous. She's a veritable Joan Of Arc in the battle for Shinwa High- Without the burned-at-the-stake thing. Yet, she can be as comforting as a plate of warm pancakes. The way Gu Jun-Pyo adores her, emitting rays of warmth in which she can bask, should resonate with teenage girls, and prod them to reflect on their standards when it comes to boyfriend material. If you can swim with it and overlook some of the goofy stuff, you will escape to the great beyond with this entire group of friends. You will also be treated to an epic kiss, mid thruway at rush hour, in the background is the sun dropping from the sky, igniting the space between them. Eat your hearts out Sunny, Ginger & Miranda.

The notoriety of the show, which includes its effect on popular culture, plus the fact that BOF boosted Kdramas' popularity globally, as well as the numerous nominations and awards bestowed all supply evidence that this series is WONDER-FUL.

IMHO~》》

Directing 7
Acting 8
Romance 9
Flutters 8
Warmth 7
Art 7
Action 5
Thought provocation 6
Ending 8

For Age 13+ with cautions: Jan-di gets duped into taking fetish photos. She's shown in a childlike skirt and wearing bunny ears. She holds up a revealing costume and refuses to put it on. There are two setups to look like two singles shared a bedroom (to get an enemy in trouble), and there was a lie about a pregnancy scare. These would all be good for generating worthy discussions regarding safety of person and reputation. Decide accordingly.

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Boy Wonder ✨️ Batman's Bratty Lil Bro °8.5° °Excellent°

“Everyone has their own task in their life. But I've never believed that.” It opens up dark and foggy. It's creepy. It looks more like a horror film. “Living with no purpose was not that bad. But now, a question was thrown into my life. Now I start my journey to find an answer.”

After that opening we jump back 2 mos. It's bright. It's colorful. Sparkly jazz is playing while bloody Marys are pouring. Su ditches the board meeting in the morning, telling his butler he needs to sleep more. He forces that butler to watch a clip of him swimming with the sharks. He looks like another worthless rich guy, a spoiled brat without a care in the world. Before he goes back to sleep, however, he gets a notification. There's been a kidnapping! The next thing we see is that he's on the SWAT team - Is he Batman? Is he a rich do-gooder, who appears aimless, but actually fights crime on the sly with the vast resources available at his fingertips? Nah, this is
the dress-up/role-play swat team. This guy doesn't work hard, but he plays hard. This isn't a spoiler ~ we're still under 10 minutes in.

Soon we cut to real cops (Violent Crimes Investigative Team 1) chasing a real criminal. In the vicinity, our ML, Jin I “Su”, has to defend himself against an assailant, but all Hy the cop sees, when she catches up to the action, is Su assaulting someone. He's arrested - Our leads meet that way. Su's chair-dad finds out about the arrest from a reporter. ~ At his press conference ~ He was attempting to announce his candidacy for Mayor of Seoul when he's blindsided by the news. He angrily vows to disown Su… Until the police realize during the course of their investigation that Su actually captured a murderer. He did not commit assault: It was self-defense. Su's father, the chairman, is furious once again, and the police are squirming because they're in a lot of trouble. They work out a win-all-around solution: the police will say that Su's been a cop for 2 months and worked with them to capture this murderer. Now, e’erbody happy. Everybody except Su's “co-workers” and the reporter that is now accused of making a false report, as he released the story that Sue had been arrested. So now….

Su's on the force. The cops are forced to work with him. But they're hoping he never actually shows up to work.

FXC is a 2024 release that is rated 90 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 16 70-minute episodes. It's plenty typical and formulaic, but if you go for cop shows that incorporate humor with a couple surprises, you'll likely enjoy this. I certainly did. The episode about hypnosis is a little bit weak, but all-in-all, one can't ask for more from a cop-edy drama. It's really good - They could turn this into a franchise. The cases are interesting and well conceived. Apparently, S2 has already been announced.

Ahn Bo Hyun (Kairos, See You in My 19th Life) plays the rich & spoiled Su. He's been shows that I loved: Her Private Life-8, My Only Love Song-8.7, & Descendants of the Sun-8.3. He was in a show that I liked: My Runway-7.5, and one that I hated: My Name-5.7. He's completely different in everything, so he's as versatile as he is good looking - and he is a specimen. Su inhabits a world that is entirely unfamiliar to the police. He has an advantage when it comes to investigating people of wealth and status as the son of the chairman - the /illegitimate/ son. Therefore, his stepmother despises him. Su might seem obnoxious at first, but he's a kind-hearted and delightful person. He's a touch carefree, even careless, but he doesn't have a mean bone in his body. His mother died when he was about 7. He has no memory of it, but he's told it was a car accident. His father is concerned that “he'll get his memories back”.

Park Ji Hyun (Love All Play, Reborn Rich) is Lee Gang Hyeon/”Hy”. She's not the most feminine female. Dad, also a decorated detective, is her drinking buddy. She's positively rough… and RUDE, and she despises Su. Her everyday look is so utilitarian that it was jolting to see her dressed up for a sting operation. She looks great. As mature as she seems, she's actually 6 years younger than her co-star. Ahn Bo Hyun must have some amazing genetics, because he looks like he could play a high school kid, still.

Kang Sang Jun (Marry My Husband, Doctor Slump) is hardboiled detective Park Jun Yeong, who has been alongside Hy since the academy. He seems overly interested in, and overprotective of her. He doesn't try to hide his disdain for Su. Kim Shin Bi (Journey to the Shore, Revenant) is the friendly junior detective and social media follower of Su, Choi Gyeong Jin. Jung Ga Hee (Longing for You,The Glory) plays medical examiner Yun Ji Won. I love this ME. She's got a dry wit, a great attitude, and she's funny. Jokes coming out of the autopsy room sort of write themselves. In one scene she puts a decayed rice cake that supposedly choked someone to death on the metal tray. She then takes a fresh one, bites it, and puts it on the tray next to the one she extracted from the deceased's throat, showing how the one from the dead body was obviously cut, not bitten. Point made, she picks up the one she had started eating off of the tray and pops it in her mouth. The delivery was perfect. I laughed out loud. Ms Jung has a short resume, and I look forward to seeing her more. Her credits are sure to accumulate as she is absolutely darling.

Director: Kim Jae Hong - He's a rock star. His most recent 4 efforts: FXC, Revenant, Through the Darkness, & Begins Youth are all rated 8.7 on MDL. He has 7 other credits; 3 in the 7.5-7.8 range and 4 in the 6.6-7.3 bracket. Not a dud in a bunch. Screenwriter: Kim Ba Da of A Man Who Was Superman & the popular My Name-5.7, which I didn't care for at all.

The cops do everything they can to keep Su on the sidelines, but he's just not the kind of guy to sit quietly in the corner. The next couple episodes deal with him proving himself. They're going to have to work with him, they realize. Money makes the day-to-day stuff easier (being a cop sure is costing Su a fortune), but it can really mess up relationships. That's the theme. Speaking of wealth, Su questions a wealthy person of interest at a tanning salon. Given that Kdramas are so pasty skinned my jaw dropped and I haven't found it yet. This is the first tanning bed I've seen in a Kdrama.

His stepmother is so abhorrent that he ends up moving back to the house where he lived with his mom, only to find out that Hy now lives across the street. This creates situations where he must interact with her parents. “For your information, this will be salty. I recommend not eating it.” So Hy advises when she delivers the kimchi that her mother forced her to bring over. (It took 3 days of nagging but she finally caved in). And that’s why Hy crossed the road ~ maybe the chicken was following her.

Will the seeds of romance bloom in S2? They aren't there yet, and they have more than one road to cross.

She's drab. Oh, how his presence must hurt her eyes! Lime. Plum. Lemon. Tangerine. Grape. His clothes are colorful, bright, expensive, and capital-F-Flashy. He's a peacock. Her car is really messy. She's more dude than chick. He comments on a sticky brown residue in the cup holder. “Oh, I spilled coffee yesterday.” Unsatisfied, he presses further: “Didn't you clean it up?” Her unfazed answer: “I did” Unconvinced, he responds: “Do you have a tissue or anything?” She looks around, “Use this.” She hands him a piece of /junk mail/. Only someone who's lived like a slob or has been around a slob would be able to write that. That's too authentic. It cracked me up.

Her Oma falls in love with Su first. Perhaps that's because she sees a potential mate for her rapidly aging daughter. There's nice juxtaposition when he's at his family's home for a press interview. Afterwards, dinner is being laid out, but stepwitch informs him that they are /not/ setting a place for him. When he gets home, Hy's mother insists that he come over and have dinner with them.

They have to do a stake-out which means spending even more time with eachother. That's followed up by an undercover operation where they are forced closer together. Su has things to work through before he can give all to a relationship. As we get to know Su, it becomes obvious that his cavalier attitude is the way he deals with pain. He's got some trauma that he's never dealt with. He's locked it away under the surface as evinced by his reoccurring dream about a painting of a woman submerged in water. Hy starts to hear from people (her father and a psychiatrist, for example) to be wary of Su: He's a ticking time bomb, she's warned. Halfway through the show, he gets his memory back.

Be that as it may, Hy will be the last one to deal with her own feelings. Most of S1 sees her on the fence as to whether she can tolerate Su at all. She wrote up a brutal recommendation to release him from the force, and it sits in her desk drawer. This mindset leads to amusing scenes, for example, when they're about to do a group arrest. She's handing out guns to everyone on the team. Su puts out his hand. Hy gives him handcuffs. There's NO WAY she's giving him a gun. Naturally, /he's/ the one that ends up saving the day and slapping the handcuffs on the perp. Later on, we see that he's had them gold-plated! You can't beat a guy with optimism (and resources) like that. You might as well tune in, then: You know if you can't beat ‘em, you might as well join ‘em!


〰QUOTE〰

There's no one who is strong enough to beat everything.


〰IMHO〰

RATINGS
Directing 8.5
Writing 8.3
Acting 8
Romance 5
Flutters 4
Art 7
Sound & music 7.4
Ending 8.5

LEVELS
Warmth 5.5
Action/ Excitement 6.5
Laughs 4.5
Tears 4.5
Fright 3
Tension/Anxiety 3
Gore 3
Thought provocation 3.5
Snores 0

Re-watch? Totally worth it


Age + Violence
Language: It's not in every episode, but there's R-rated Fbombs, @$$, $h!+, etc verbiage.

Rated TV-15

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Swoosh Flick & Flare °6.5° °has its moments°

They're messing with his mind. He arrives at his new school. A pretty girl greets him. He's happy… until he's carried off to the underground fights by buff boys in boxers. BTS is a 2017 release that is rated 89 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 8 30-minute groaners, I mean episodes. And boy are they idiotic. They're also pretty funny.

It is simple, childish, and arguably stooopid, but that's its charm. These transfer students each has special abilities. After the fight is sorted, they learn it was part of an evaluation. Their new school is a force for good! They've been selected to clean up schools in trouble. Almost immediately, they are placed on assignment as transfer students at schools in need of reform. They don't know how to use their abilities, however, so they generally get beat up in the field and luck into any successes.

The first mission is at an academy that has been feeding their charges a brain food supplement. The supplement has the unfortunate side effect of turning people into zombies. Another school is all girls; they've taken to kidnapping boys. Our heroes are so distracted by the girls during that one that they forget to rescue the kidnap victim. He had to escape on his own.

Shigeoka Daiki (Kore wa Keihi de Ochimasen!, Higuma) is Kakeru Shigeoka. He falls in love with Hikari at first sight. He is cute, but infinitely average. Kiriyama Akito (Asa ga Kita, Gekikaradou) is Kiriyama Kakeru. He is an old soul. Nakama Junta Ninjani (Calling on! Fight Towards the Future, Gokusen 3) is Kakeru Nakama. His glasses are smarter than he is. Kamiyama Tomohiro (Daibinbo, Switched) portrays Kakeru Kamiyama. He has a thing for moms. Fujii Ryusei (Yokoso Wagaya e, Rokuhodo Yotsuiro Biyori) is Kakeru Fujii. His flowing blonde hair is glorious. He knows that. Hamada Takahiro (Kazama Kimichika: Kyojo Zero, Shotai) plays Kakeru Hamada. He's a brawler. Kotaki Nozomu (Momikeshite Fuyu, Rokuhodo Yotsuiro Biyori) plays Kakeru Kotaki. He's also a brawler - right out of the 1950's. He would NEVER make a woman cry.

Yep, they're all named Kakeru. They're all weird in their own way. One likes mature women, though he dresses like a little boy. One has special glasses that can help him figure out anything. One dresses like a sushi chef at an Edo period themed restaurant. Two are brawlers, one of which has to doowap hairdo. And the last one does seem like a pretty average guy, and he's definitely NOT Hikari's brother.

Kawashima Idaten (Umika Ie, Tsuite Itte ii Desuka) is Hikari, the cutie that's also an aid to the principal. The director is Lee Toshio of When I Get Home, My Wife Always Pretends to Be Dead & Dad's Backdrop. The screenwriter is Kawabe Yuko, who brought us Koi no Yamai to Yarougumi, Koi no Yamai to Yarougumi, Toyama Erika Grandma no Yuutsu & BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita: Crank Up Hen.

The acting is actually quite good in that things seemed effortless. The directing is crisp, something necessary given that the show is just over 3hrs. Comedy is the least respected genre, yet it's also the most challenging. BTS passed the test in that it did make me laugh a few times. It's based on a manga. Manga and anime are all about a child-like sense of wonder and silliness. Viewers that have a silly side are likely to enjoy this. If you aren't the type to roll your eyes and grin at the same time, then enroll elsewhere.


QUOTES?

Narcissists are invincible.

Luck is a skill.


〰? IMHO
RATINGS
Directing 7
Writing 6
Acting 7,5
Art 6
Sound & music 6
Ending 6.5

LEVELS
Warmth 4
Action 6
Laughs 4
Tears 2
Fright 3
Tension / Anxiety 2
Gore 2
Thought provocation 2
Snores 1
?7 ?6 ?7.5 ?6?/?6 ?6.5 ▪ ?4⚡6 ?5 ?2 ?3 ?2 ?2 ?2 ?1

Age 15+
Language: R-rated F?s, sex & boob jokes, but not much

Rated TV-MA: Mature Audience Only.

Re-??
This one's in the good-to-pass-the-time category, but I may never pass this way again….

You may also like:

After the Rain 7.3,
Ao-chan Can't Study 7.8,
Beyond the Boundary 7.8,
Chaika The Coffin Princess 8.4,
Chihayafuru 8.5,
The Eminence in Shadow 8.8,
Flowers of Evil 7.7 (not dubbed),
Food Wars 8.2,
Girls Und Panzer 8,
Kokoro Connect 7.4,
Land Of The Lustrous 8.1,
Love Chunibyo And Other Delusions 8.4,
Made in Abyss 9,
Maid Sama 10,
Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun 7.7,
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU 8,
Parasyte the Maxim 8.9,
Pet Girl of Sakura Hall 7.3,
Real Girl 7.5,
Senryu Girl 7.5,
Special A Class 8.2,
You're Under Arrest 7.8

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Sin City, China °7.3° °weird & D.A.R.K. but good°

Female assassins! A whole city of them! And, boy, are they terrifying. Don't Let the word “Romance” misguide you. Sure, there's a love story in there, amongst the blood, guts, and cannibalism. The secondary romance is between the torture chamber master and the savage, megalomanical City Master. It ain't no feel good love story. It isn't the romance that's going to stick with you later, anyway; it's the horror. This show is every bit as macabre as Sin City. Judge whether you want to watch it through that lens. If romance is your thing, and you don't like frightening situations or gore, skip this one. BR is mostly a drama about power.

For those of you continuing on, the show is worth watching. While it is quite painful at times, it had the effect of making me feel better about the horrible circumstances I was in at the time I was watching. BR is gruesome, sad, ROUGH and, well, bloody. It isn't for the faint of heart, and it isn't for most romance fans, unless you're one like me, who also loves action and lots of killin, every now and then. If you've been wanting to get a dude in your life to watch a Cdrama, maybe this is the one. (I would recommend Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber-9 or Douluo continent-9.1 for that, btw).

BR has its slow moments, but somewhere around episodes 8/9/10 BR becomes captivating. The characters inhabit a secret world within our real world. It gets deeper and more layered as the episodes roll by. The best thing is that there are some road trips, or quests, rather. They never get old. There are consistent quality elements incorporated by the director. There's lovely segues, connections, and ironies tossed into the hotpot. One small example is in ep33, when Prince Ning comes to the Palace knowing that around 90% of his goals have been reached. He's in a resplendent green robe instead of the shadowy pale greys that he had been wearing. The Chinese know how to film flowing silk. The soundtrack is exceptionally good and Spotifiable. The musical theme for the primary duo is sad, but it's also downright sultry. Another of the songs for the romantic scenes is by Tia Ray. It's beautiful. Gary Chaw has a couple of excellent songs on the soundtrack as well. The fight scenes are clever with exciting acrobatics. The animation during the opening credits is gorgeous. Recollections, flashbacks, and dreams are done in the same style throughout the show. It's edgy, it's dark, and it's utterly beautiful. BR is almost mesmerizing at times.

Chinese villains are fun. One has to remind oneself that these are assassins. Several times it is noted that nobody cares if their targets deserve it or not. It's just their job. They're also under threat of death if they don't carry out their missions. Worse, before their death sentence is carried out it is preceded by horrendous torture. Prolonged, horrendous torture. Once people are desperate enough to take the vow and become assassins, they don't look back. Even among assassins, there's the regular bad guys and then the /really/ bad guys. Of course we want the really bad guys to be defeated, but we should feel conflicted about rooting for cold blooded killers… shouldn't we? Some of the bad guys are more complex than what seems at first glance. We learned that some of them have justifiable hate; their actions and attitudes aren't entirely unrelatable. One of the tragedies of human existence is that it's so rare for someone to break the cycle of evil. One character definitely is not a cold blooded assassin. This character has been trapped.

If the show is about nothing else, it's about our duty to get unpleasant jobs done, so let's get the bad news about BR out of the way. This isn't a cult classic like Sin City. Scenes are often a little too drawn out. There's plot holes, plot flops, and dead-ends in which forecasted actions were halted prior to completion - they didn't finish everything they started, just like a couple characters in the show. BR feels a little bit hollow. The ending accentuates that emptiness, so we are left with that sense. The torture chamber master is inconsistent. He sympathizes with others, at times, and he tries to stop the senseless killing and torture, yet he continues to perform torture and perpetuate cruelty. The ending is forecasted and the viewer should be cognizant of that. It reinforces the bleakness. Most weirdly, they set up some awesome possibilities and then just left them out there hanging. They opted for another direction that compares poorly to what was possible.

Forget the above, the biggest issue with this show is that it's dark. It's different from the dark things that Hollywood puts out, which appears to be an effort to titillate with violence and cruelty. There's a clear line between acts that are right and wrong in this show. Every character has legitimate motivations. They just act on them wrongly. The dark elements are meant to shock and horrify us, but not to come through the back door and titillate us. Kudos to the writer, who authentically shows bad guys with complex motivations. In fact, the bad guys themselves weren't born that way, but they were tortured into being that way. Conversely, the writer displays good people that do dark things. The complexity is admirable. BR flies around 10,000 feet in the air. It focuses on broad strokes issues as much or more than the individual characters and their arcs. The creators allow only limited emotional investment in these people. That's a positive: Otherwise, the plot turns would HURT. At least the cat gets a happy ending!

The FL is irritating. The suffering saint(ess). She suffers. She doesn't want to kill, which means she wants her shadow (aid) dead. Even for the dire circumstances, it's overly dramatic. Fine, it's understandable that she doesn't want to kill. Was it okay, in the show's beginning, for that assassin to kill the man that was about to kill her? If not, the world would be missing one person with a good conscience and keeping someone destructive. Wait. I should check myself for a moment. Maybe I have too much bloodlust. Her struggle with taking lives is appropriate, but the way she's willing to risk her Shadow’s life is not. Overall, they failed to sell all of their wares, when it comes to her character, so she's only partially completed. In a way, once again, that made watching the show a little easier. I didn't get emotionally invested to the point where their pain hurt me as much as some other shows have. It's nice to get a break from kind of upheaval, or it would be too much. For one example, Love and Redemption, which I consider a 10 among the 10's despite its clunky special effects, caused me sufficient emotional distress that I popped a Xanax (yet I still kept watching). I couldn't handle a constant stream of that wreckage.

Speaking of the characters, Li Yi Tong is FL, Wan Mei. She becomes more relatable as the episodes go on, but they fail to fully form her into a protagonist that the audience will connect with deeply. This is no fault of the actress - it's the writing and directing. It's obvious that she, the actor and the character, has done what they required her to. Tragically, her part is the least interesting one of the show. Qu Chu Xiao is ML Chang An. His voice is soothing. So many Asian actors barely look Asian to me. His looks aren't far removed from that of Eastern Europeans. It seems like the burden to make a romance work is always on the ML in a heterosexual love story. Perhaps that's because our perception is that men don't love as easily as women, so it's a greater change if a man falls in love? This particularly applies in a world of tough guys… powerful guys… dare I say /masculine/ guys? More likely, it's in my eye, the eye of the viewer, that the male lead is pulling extra weight in selling the love story, because I'm attracted to men(?). I'm honestly not sure… Attraction is an ephemeral mystery inside a conundrum, indeed. All I know is that my favorite romances are usually favs because of the performances of the male leads. Anyway, Mr. Li is particularly good. Wang Duo plays Gong Zi / Prince Ning. He is the most memorable character of the show, and perhaps the best reason to watch it. His story is riveting. He is as sincere as he had the ability to be. As with many characters, he's been pushed hard in many directions.

Everyone has their own agenda. Usually, it's revenge, and it's always futile. All these wants and appetites… The Pride, the revenge, the hostility, the cruelty & the striving - it's all futile in the end. Revenge is explored apart from society, laws, and justice. Otherwise decent people in BR kill wantonly for revenge. It isn't about the person that they're avenging. It's about oneself and satisfying one's own anger and bloodlust. To kill an innocent person for revenge is to be a murderer. To do it a second time, is to be a serial killer. To give in to anger and its outflow of unforgiveness, vengeance and bitterness, is always most hurtful to oneself more than anyone else. Is best to not let such dark indulgences and appetites, that can never be satisfied, consume us.

BR’s final words:
One glance decides your life. One stroke breaks the wine vessel. One man, one god. A broken scar. A dream intoxicating Heaven and Earth. To respect and pour. When you awake, there are 3 months of spring.

Spring brings baby mice, and our kitty will have to survive on something…


〰️QUOTES〰️

Sometimes, fathoming our own heart is more difficult than understanding another person's heart.

The only logic in this world is that there is no logic.

When we experience more things in life, our horizons will widen more.


✏〰 IMHO

Directing 7.4
Writing 6.8
Acting 7
Romance 6.5
Flutters 7
Art 7
Action 7.3
Sound & music 8.8
Ending 4

LEVELS
Laughs 1
Warmth 3
Tears 6
Fright 6
Gore 5.8
Thought provocation 5
Snores 3

? 7.4?〰 6.8 ? 7 ?6.5 ?7 ?3 ?7 ⚡7.3 ?/?8.8 ?1 ? 6 ?6 ?5.8 ?5 ?3 ?4


Age 16+ Scary images not suitable for kids under 13;Ep1 a father sells his daughter to a brothel. Violence against women depicted & worse is referred to. Cannibalism; Torture; Rape; Sex slaves; Stealing blood from virgins


Re-?watch? I don't think so, but if I'm in a dark, nihilistic and masochistic mood, mehbee?


In order of ~lite & trite~ to ~heavy & serious~ you may also like:

♥️ -
C: Well-Intended Love 7.5 Rom-porn - extra points for the dopamine but many won'tlike the unforgivablestunt the ML pulls;
A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5;
Find Yourself 8.9;
The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8;
The Sleepless Princess 9.1
K :
A Witch's Love 7.8;
Love To Hate You 8.9;
Touch Your Heart 8.2;
Crash Landing On You 9.1;
Oh My Ghost 10;
It's Okay Not to Be Okay 9;
Hospital Playlist 9;
My Mister 9.5;

Period -
C: Overlord 8.4,
Under the Power 8.6,
The Rebel Princess 9.1,
The Sword and the Brocade 8.6 (in ancient Chinese opera style),
The Rise of Phoenixes 9
K??:
My Only Love Song 8.7 excellent comedy;
Mr. Queen 8.5;
My Sassy Girl 8.5;
The King's Affection 8.3;
Mr. Sunshine 9

Fantasy
C: Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9;
Once upon a time in Linglian Mountain 7.5;
Douluo Continent 9.4;
Handsome Siblings 8.7;
Eternal Love 8.3,
Ancient Love Poetry 8.6;
Love and Redemption 10

Action -
C: Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber 9-Kung-fu!;
K:
K2 8;
Private Lives 8.1;
Sisyphus 8;
Tunnel 8.1;
Signal 8.6;
The Man From Nowhere 8.9
Black 9;
Squid Game 8.4;
Kingdom 8.3;
Sweet Home 8.4

Japanese lite romcoms: Maid Sama-10, Mischievous Kiss Love in Tokyo-7.8, Love, Chunibyo And Other Delusions-8.4, Toradora-8.5

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Tae-yo's Bunkhouse For Stowaways ¤ How They Rock The Boat Until They Float. °Excellent°

This breezy series is like riding a skiff, whisking along the ebb & flo. We all know it wouldn't be a Kdrama without some stormy moments, as well as a sad sense of loss for a 'sailor', or two. For all that, MFFL, like a summer shandy&soju, is lite and full of good cheer.

Tae-yo is from a (pause) comfortable family. As such, he gets to live alone at one of the family docks (a spare house) while bobbling through college.

In the span of a dozen bells or so, several of his mates suffer a boarding crisis and show up at Tae-yo's 'gangway.' This mishmash of stowaways all know Tae-yo, but none of them know each other. Aigoo, why did he answer the door? His one friend, Cho-hun, (Hun) played by the charming Kang Tae-oh, boards wearing a dress(⁉). The captain, his $father$, you see, had ordered him to jumpship and leave anything Hun hadn't bought with his own money. Iin other words, leave with nothing. Pushed out to sea on an iceberg, he has no lifeboat... or pants. Dangerously exposed to arrest, said dress, swiped from a clothesline, is what bare-ly spares him from the MP's and the brig.

All aboard! Tae-yo fails to take any prisoners or to make anyone walk the plank. He accepts that they'll be bunking with him for weeks out to sea. He must keep their enlistment at the quarters hidden from his father, The Logistic CDR, or lose his own cabin. Bon Voyage! Wave❕ MFFL pulls up anchor and begins merrily drifting with the tide.

In our spy glasses, we view Tae-yo's Crew adjusting to close quarters, while unavoidably forming a band-of-brothers and making allies with the broader circle of Tae-yo's friends, while at the same time keeping each other's secrets (mostly). These shipmates are like warm currents. It's cozy and cheery sailing with them. There's Song-i, Tae-yo's best friend, who's mom went awol, there's Gar-in, who ran away from her suffocating mother, (Gar-in's cuter than a Pekingese Dog Fish) and you've already met Hun. Hun's an out of work/never worked actor & singer (but not much of a dancer). He and Gar-in are the live entertainment. Hun also astutely marks the 5 stages of Tae-yo's breakup, in real time live feed. He's wrong about it all, and yet he's so right. Wrong or right, he's adorable.

In MFFL there's another of those ubiquitous Bermuda-love-triangles, but with its own twist. Predictable? Given that they meticulously forecast the weather, it's clear to see where things are headed. (Predictable is generally a tedious criticism of romances & feel-good jaunts. For a thriller or mystery - or an M. Night Shyamalan film - predictability is a shipwreck; but for works like MFFL, it's an empty net). The love triangle is integral to the plot in MFFL, so we shouldn't blame them that so many other productions forcibly wedge it into their scripts. Nevertheless, Kdramas are flooded over with unnecessary formulaic love triangles. While we're swabbing the deck, we can address one more overused device - MoMPs: Missing-or-Misplaced-Parent(s) show up too often as well. In MFFL this is not well used and is a plot weakness.

But MFFL doesn't take on water just because, in a house of 20 year olds, romantic pairs form and reform. Close quarters, particularly on this "Love Boat" lead to such. They're all looking for the perfect oar to go with their rigging, afterall. It's the journey, the swelling attraction, imbibing truth about one's feelings, and the GoPro filming keeping things afloat, along with the smiles and the warmth.

MFFL also dives into growing pains, especially adjusting from kiddie pool friendships to the wide open seas of adulthood. Tae-yo and Song-i have been inseparable since age 3. We watch them each drop anchor into a relationship. There's a big adjustment for all parties, given how close those two are.

When Song-i is first dating, she keeps the identity of her boyfriend classified, because he's Tae-yo's friend, and they aren't ready to go public. Tae-yo is thoroughly agitated over everything happening with this phantom bf of Song-i's. He says: 'This jerk let you walk home in the rain' (he had to work). Then Tae-yo comes out with: 'A decent guy would never let the woman he loves doubt herself'. Of course, right then he's causing her, his best friend, to doubt herself. 'She's got to break it off with that dude', He complains to his friend. Said friend and Song-i are each getting dating advice from Tae-yo, who doesn't connect that they are the two dating, even when he comments that their stories are similar. He loves to complain about the jerk Song-i is dating to that "jerk," who can only listen and take it. Cute.

Director Oh Jin-suk is 2-for-2 with me, as I love "My Sassy Girl," (2017). That show is also weatherproofed with straight feelgood joy, despite the usual impossible outlook in ep1.

Cruisin on this 'houseboat,' and with this blended crew, following them on their excursions to school, work, dates (why is that jerk keeping Song-i out so late! Grrr) and back home again, is what makes it skip like stones on a brook. MFFL is not trying to be a tempest. It gently flows, so these friends can coast near the shoreline and stargaze from the top deck. It's a swimmy recess, a winsome escape, and plain old smooth sailing.

In short, slipping away briefly with MFFL is just happy hangout time whilst catching the high tide with buoyant allies. If you hate smiling, just take the next charter.

Now pass that Soju shot!

IMHO...

Age 12+.

Directing 8
Writing 7
Acting 8
Romance 7
Flutters 6
Warmth 9
Art 7
Sound & music 8
Laughs 6
Ending 8

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Mars & Venus Go To Court °8.2° °Excellent°

TYK follows a TV personality who is out of work after a scandal. She would call herself an actress, but she's known for her good looks, not her good acting. She begs for a part in a new legal drama. She's told (with great reluctance) to research her role at a real law firm. Under that one condition she'll be offered the part. "On it!" Her manager calls his law-firm-owning cousin, whose immediate reply is: "There's no way - he won't do *this* favor - he will not have any actress come into his sacred company - it's WHO?!? (all without taking a breath) Turns out he's a BIG fan. She must be assigned to the most competent attorney in The Firm. He is all-business-no-warmth, and gives up on Prossy Missy the first day ("Just do what you want until quitting time"), because she can't work the copy machine. Heck, she can't even answer the phone.

If nothing else, watch it for the pickup skills. Exhibit A: "Ms Oh, this letter is for you. I, Kwon Jung-roc, saw you for the very first time on February 6th, 2019 at the secretary's office of Always Law Firm located in Seocho - gu, Seoul.

"As we interacted with each other many times through work, and had about six meals together, I realized that your feelings weren't fake. I realize that they were actually sincere. Therefore, I, Kwon Jung-roc, request you, Oh Jin-sim, to officially go out with me. And I hope you give me your approval."

How do you think our Glamours actress will respond to this plea deal?

Summary Judgment: TYK is the perfect holiday for Kromcom devotees. It frames itself as a descendant of the film Roman Holiday, in which a princess (Audrey Hepburn) trades her carriage for a motorcycle after Escaping The Palace. In heavy contrast to the starched isolation of court, she is propelled by a rumbling hot motor to experience life, citizen-style: Fun. Adventure, + a dear & sincere romance inside a brief run. TYK could be referred to as Legal Holiday… or Office Holiday? A Brief Holiday In Motion? Contempt Overturned In 3 Months?

Exhibit Z: The soundtrack is downright Spotifiable.

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A Delectable Mash Up Of Tim Burton Wes Anderson & Rainman °Flutters Superior°

Bring your own smores.

I won't try to describe this. Just get in the camper and journey with these characters.

This review, and the show itself is not about splitting hairs over the level of accuracy vis-a-vie certain mental ailments or whether the plot is plausible. Trust me, I understand the pain mental illness brings home. The show creators are giving us a little therapy and laughter in the hurt. It's entertaining enough to mute outside interference and provide a safe space for a little escape.

Every element is a win: Acting, costumes, characters, character arcs, sets, plot, dialogue, writing, directing, and soundtrack. (I want to jump in and have my own nice, long, cathartic, airing-out-my-lungs argument with this gang. What an emotional high-colonic that would be.)

It all comes together to make something that is truly stylish, sad, sagacious, sanguine, and... SUBLIME. It is way better than just okay.

IMHO〰

Directing 9
Acting 9
Romance 8
Flutters 6
Warmth 7
Art 9
Action 6
Thought provocation 7

Age 14+

Re-watch? Absolutely

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Little Chef in the Big City ♨️ Don't Watch This Hungry °7° °VG°

Food is good stuff - we all love to eat it. Why do we love to watch it being prepared on TV? One reason is that it's comforting. Another is that it brings people together.

Taew is a small town girl from rural Thailand. We meet her through the words of her son. In order to distract his angry girlfriend, Kelli, who is about to leave him, he tells the story of how his mother left the countryside, came to Bangkok, and became a wildly successful chef in the 70's. MC is a 2019 release that is rated 7.4 on MDL. It is 1 season consisting of 13 50-minute episodes. It feels like a true story but a quick goog didn't provide any intel, so it's hard to verify either way.

Taew's first gig is as a maid. Initially, her boss seems harsh, but as she gets to know and trust Taew, she teaches her how to cook. The woman soon recognizes Taew’s great potential. She pushes Taew out of the nest, telling her that she's FIRED. She gives Taew a letter E r of recommendation for a job at a friend's restaurant. That doesn't work out; when Taew gets there the place is closed. The next few episodes find Taew hustling. Wherever Taew works, she steals - she steals recipes, techniques, and secrets. Her first real break is as a prep cook at Samran Kitchen. There she becomes like family with the rest of the staff. Pol and Jom work there and they will factor heavily in her life. “Do you remember me?” Jom actually helped her catch a bus when she first arrived in town, but that was more than a couple years ago. The beautiful Taew doesn't recall him, but he's never forgotten her.

Gybzy Wanida Termthanaporn (Bumbat Ruk Bum Roong Sook, Mae Lueak Kerd Dai) plays Taew. Her earthy voice is a pleasure to listen to. Jason Young (The Crown Princess, Eng and Chang, The Deadline) is Pol. Handsome and tall, he's a bit of a womanizer - More distant. More condescending. More reserved. He would be the choice in a romance novel. Louis Thanawin Teeraphosukarn (The Eclipse, Only Boo!) plays Jom. He's like a puppy dog - always there, always pawing over her, always helping. Taew has friendly affection for him, but it's platonic. He has an uphill climb if he wants to cultivate her feelings to grow into something more. Jom makes mistakes by sometimes behaving clingy, paranoid, and demanding. They both had some growing up to do. Director E Suphakorn Riansuwan also brought us Win 21 Ded Jai Tur and Something Family.

MC is nicely done and a pleasant watch. Taew's journey to Bangkok is jazzed up with cut-outs and hand-drawn animation. The shots of food, the cooking, and the glorious entrees are seriously appetizing - don't watch this hungry, you'll just torture yourself. It is strange how relaxing it can be to watch food being prepared and cooked on TV. The characters are developed well and they maintain interest throughout each episode. Taew never gives up. She keeps going forward. She's inspiring.

Like mother, like son: Mom had trouble deciding between two men and the son seems to be having the same struggle in deciding between two women. The sexualized modern-day characters that are sharing the story don't add much seasoning to the main dish - I didn't like Shane, the narrator, much in the beginning. After the initial episodes they focus more on the story, which has worthy themes. Sometimes nice guys finish first. Persevering together is the primary theme. Survival is the sub-theme: “Women like us often have to do the opposite of what we actually want to do. Because we can't bear any more pain,” we hear. That's worth chewing on.


〰QUOTE〰

There are times in life when you come to a fork in the road. You know the New Path is better. However you're not ready to take it because you haven't come to the end of the old one.


〰IMHO〰

RATINGS
Directing 7
Writing 6.8
Acting 7.5
Romance 5
Flutters 4
Art 7
Sound & music 6
Ending 7.4

LEVELS
Warmth 4.5
Action/ Excitement 3
Laughs 2
Tears 3
Fright 1
Tension/Anxiety 3
Gore 2
Thought provocation 4
Snores 0

Re-watch? This one's in the good-to-pass-the-time category, but I may never pass this way again….


Age 14+
Language: pr!ck, $h!+ - maybe one or twice each

This is no chaste Kdrama or Cdrama.
The FL offers to do a strip tease for the gods if they grant her prayers. She tells her boss she wants to propose something. Next thing she knows, he's naked. The guys telling the story is a womanizer. Frequently, there's shirtless guys,

In order of ~lite & trite~ to ~heavy & serious~ you may also like:

♥️ -
C:
A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5;
Find Yourself 8.9;
The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8;
The Sleepless Princess 9.1;
Wait, My Youth-8.4

Romance junkies only
When I Fly Towards You-7.8,
You are my destiny-6.8 cute and sweet and 1/2 padding,
Meteor Garden-7.4 - 70% flowing 30% dragging and BOF is better,
Hidden Love-7.8

K:
A Witch's Love 7.8;
Love To Hate You 8.9;
Touch Your Heart 8.2; Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha-8.4,
Crash Landing On You 9.1;
Oh My Ghost 10; Love Struck in the City 7.3,
It's Okay Not to Be Okay 9; ♡When the Camellia Blooms-8,
Hospital Playlist 9;
My Mister 9.5;

Japanese lite romcoms: Maid Sama-10, Mischievous Kiss Love in Tokyo-7.8, Love, Chunibyo And Other Delusions-8.4, Toradora-8.5


Taiwan
Age of Rebellion-9.5
Autumn's Concerto-7.2
The Fierce Wife-8
Two Fathers-7.5

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Outfoxed ¤ A Better Marble Trap °7.8° °Excellent°

He /planted/ something in her!

Yeo and Dam don't actually meet as much as collide, which caused the marble he's been cultivating for over 900 years to jump into her bo from his. Whoops. Yeo needs to find a way to get it back from her. If it stays in Dam too long it will kill her. Besides, he's been feeding it energy for nearly a millennium. When he's done, he will no longer be a Gumiho, he will be human. He was nearly done - and he ain't starting over now! So they become roommates. That way, he can keep an eye on her condition until he figures out a way to retrieve his precious property. She declined, initially, until she realized she will feel deathly ill if he's not around to provide assistance.

What's a Gumiho?

It began in old Joseon.

Rumor has it, it's a fox demon that disguises itself as a beautiful human woman in order to devour the liver of its victim. Maybe that isn't /completely/ true. Maybe the Gumiho is only trying to cultivate itself into a human, and eating livers, though quicker, is not required. It takes a thousand years the slow way, which is stealing human energy in dribs and draws by way of physical contact. All animals, including Gumihos, want to be human. Only humans can decide their own destiny.

Living together is no small thing. Yeo lays down some rules: No chicken. Chicken blood will weaken both of them. No men, especially men born in the Year of the Tiger, which is every male in Dam's year at school. No alcohol. What!?! He's gone too far. No booze. No chicken. No men… What is there for her to live for? She hits him back with some rules of her own, like stop smoking. So what if it's a 400 year-old habit? He might like smoking, but chicken is /her/ favorite thing. Company misery doeth love.

The first third of the show is them getting used to eachother and us getting a peek at them and their daily lives. Yeo is in danger. If he doesn't become human by the 1000 year point he'll turn into an evil spirit and be targeted for elimination. Dam has a similar deadline. If they don't extract the marble from her inside of a year, she'll die. In ep7 we are introduced to a baddie that covets the marble, which puts Dam in more danger. This incident directly leads to a plot shift - a reset, if you will.

The second half of the show is them trying to make their relationship work. A Gumiho isn't supposed to be in a relationship with a human, so they have more to work out than the average couple. Like good foxes, they dig through it all. There are some physical incompatibility issues, the main one being that his desires get confused. He loves her. He wants to kiss and hold her, but he also has a primal desire to drain her energy. It sounds alot like Edward and Bella from Twilight along with any number of similar vampire love stories. In a moment of passion it could be rather dangerous. An ancient deity doesn't like what they're doing and throws a wrench into the works that becomes more fodder for relationship issues they must work out. It advances the plot well.

MRiaG is a 2021 release that is rated 91 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 16 65-minute delightful episodes. It's an excellent romcom - no more, no less, and that is good enough. My only complaint is that some of the drama was poorly manufactured since he can teleport. Any emergency can be instantly addressed so their consternation sometimes seems misplaced. Jang Ki Yong (Sweet & Sour-7, My Mister-9.5, The Atypical Family) plays ML Shin Woo “Yeo”. If you haven't seen him before, you would probably be surprised to hear that he can play a first-rate thug. It's nice to see him play a sweetheart here. He's not just a sweetheart. He's got to walk a fine line between stoicism and experiencing brand new emotions. “When you live for such a long time, everything feels like a season that will eventually pass. Everything feels meaningless. But you seem true to yourself every moment. I like your honesty.” So says Yeo to Lee Dam (Lee Hye Ri of May I Help You). Ms Lee is the central character of Reply 1988-8.6, a comfy show about friends, family, and neighbors. She has a genuine infectious exuberance that she brings to everything. Previously dubbed “The Nations Little Sister” after appearing on the show Real Men, SHE is the reason this show is as fun to watch as it is.

The secondary romances are also nice. Kang Han Na (Familiar Wife-8.5, Just Between Lovers, Start-up-8) is Yeo ‘s longtime (we're talking 700 years) friend, Yang Hye Sun. She was a Gumiho, but she recently became human. She has more to do in this series than most shows where she often plays an ice queen/human figurine. I like her in this. Kim Do Wan (Moment at Eighteen, Doona!) and Park Kyung Hye (Goblin, Destined with You, My Lovely Liar) are Dam's BFFs, Choi Soo Kyung and Do Jae Jin. Bae In Hyuk (Under the Queen's Umbrella, Why Her?-8, At a Distance, Spring Is Green) is Gye Sun Woo, a popular guy at school who first comes onto Dam as a farce but ends up developing a thing for her. As cute as this actor is, with double-deep-double-dimples, I've seen him twice and both times he plays second fiddle. Go Kyung Pyo (Chicago Typewriter, Private Lives-8.1) makes a surprise appearance mid-show. It's fun to see him across from Lee Hye Ri in an echo back to Reply 1988. They can't hide the warmth they have for eachother in their scenes. The screenwriters are Baek Sun Woo (What's Wrong with Secretary Kim-6.8, Doctor Slump) & Choi Bo Rim (Touch Your Heart-8.2). Director Nam Sung Woo also brought us the very popular Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, Because This Is My First Life-7.7, and 100 Days My Prince-5.5.

This is a cute couple. “This is our first date. You think I came unprepared? I've been keeping myself updated with the latest culture via news and books. And I've been watching romantic comedy dramas, so I'm very well aware of the latest dating trends. Plus, I can use magic. You won't be disappointed.” So says the 999 year old fox. What he thinks is current intel on dates is actually 20 years old. (For him, that IS current;). “I'm in love. I can't describe this feeling. It's soft and hot. I can't either swallow it or spit it out.” Dam is quite elegant in delivering these lines. “This doesn't mean anything. It's another meaningless relationship that will end soon.” That's what Yeo tells himself, until he can no longer deny it. They are mellow and comfy. Her joy is contagious, he caught it, the viewer catches it, and almost no one has any desire to turn back. They spent some time apart, but it didn't take.

“According to Mingxin Baojian, one's mouth and tongue are the door to anger and worries, and they are the axes that kill one's body,” we hear. Amen - preach it! While I've relegated this to simple romcom status, MRiaG is not low IQ. The writers show their depth-of-field in several places. The most popular boy at school supposedly is interested in Dam. Not believing that she can truly be attractive to him, Dam is skeptical of his motives. Yeo (already outfoxed by her himself) quotes poignantly from an old story: “To him, she seemed so beautiful, so seductive, so different from ordinary people, that he could not understand why no one was as disturbed as he by the clicking of her heels on the paving stones, why no one else's heart was wild with the breeze stirred by the sighs of her veils, why everyone did not go mad with the movements of her braid, the flight of her hands, the gold of her laughter. He could not understand why anyone wouldn't fall in love with her.” (Excuse me while I fan myself). ‘If you live long enough, you begin to become indifferent to everything,’ Yeo realizes. “Feigning love is not love. The more it's done, the emptier one feels.” Yeo had been posing and faking and acting for a millenia. Dam came to his house knowing his secret. He could be real in her presence. He became comfortable with her. That will make an average looking person a “10” to the beholder. “According to Sajasohak, one must be clean-cut and well-dressed. It means you should be neat and dressed nicely.” Dam is alittle casual about cleanliness. Instead of berating her, Yeo appeals to her best nature.

The entire show appeals to our best nature. Not much happens, yet every episode is a treat. It simply works. They also tie up the last episode very nicely. Not all shows do, so it's appreciated. Any romcom fan will find MRiaG to be their natural habitat.


〰QUOTES〰

There is always some madness in love, as Frederick Nietzsche wrote in "Thus Spoke Zarathustra”. That you like someone means that you are misunderstanding that person in your own way.

Dishonesty cannot beat honesty. Never.

The more you know the more you see.

〰IMHO〰

RATINGS
Directing 8
Writing 7
Acting 8
Romance 6
Flutters 5
Art 7.5
Sound & music 7.7 Best song - My All
Ending 8.3

LEVELS
Warmth 6
Action/ Excitement 3
Laughs 3
Tears 3.5
Fright 3
Tension/Anxiety 2
Gore 2
Thought provocation 3
Snores 0


Age 12+
Sime scary elements. A disturbing evil spiri

Rated TV-15

Re-watch? Sure would


Loving someone from “another world” - In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:

99 days with the Superstar-7,
The Legend of the Blue Sea-7.2
Live Up To Your Name-7.6;
My Secret Romance 7 (if you ff thru overdone flashbacks),
Boys Over Flowers 8 ~ melodrama to the max,
The Bride of Habaek 7,
Hotel del Luna-8.4,
A Korean Odyssey-7.2,
Romance is a bonus book-7.9;
Heirs 7.3,
That Winter, The Wind Blows 7,
Something in the Rain 9,
C: Well-Intended Love 7.5 Rom-porn - extra points for the dopamine,
You are my destiny 6.8 cute, sweet & 1/2 padding,
A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5,
Find Yourself 8.9

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Jack & the Hedgehog Take a Bite Outta the Hood °8.4° °Excellent°

Yoon Hye Jin (HJin) loses it one day. Total Mariah-moment. She quits. She drinks. She trashes her boss online. HJin is a skilled dentist with a conscience. This, invariably, put her at odds with her greedy boss who expected her to prescribe unnecessary, but expensive treatment for their unwitting patients. She couldn't take the pain anymore, and extraction was necessary. Now she's jobless and no one wants to hire a ‘poison pill’. Going keyboard commando on her employer put all her potential employers’ teeth on edge.

What does she do? She goes for a ride. Her wandering takes her to a quaint seaside town. Her love affair begins with the sign over one establishment: Coffee in the middle of the day. Beer in the moonlight… But she ends up having a fateful day: She loses her shoes. Then her phone dies. She can't find her money either. At every turn she received reluctant assistance from a local yocal, Hong Doo Shik (DShik).

HCCC is a 2021 release that is rated 90 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 16 70-minute episodes. Shin Ha Eun of Love Next Door and The Crowned Clown is the screenwriter who brings small town magic to life here. The deep-dimpled and lovely Shin Min Ah (Chief of Staff, Oh My Venus-7.4, My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho, Our Blues-8.5) is HJin. She's the hedgehog - get too close you'll get stuck. Kim Seon Ho (Welcome to Waikiki S2, 100 Days My Prince-5.5) is DShik, our Jack-of-all-trades. Since Start-up-8 and Strongest Delivery Man-6.6, I've been a fan. It's wonderful to see him play the romantic lead. Lee Sang Yi (Youth of May, When the Camellia Blooms-8, Han RiverPolice-7.4) once again shows his range as Ji Sung Hyun. The magnificent Lee Jung Eun has a guest appearance in ep1. The rest of the cast is wonderful, and the music might even be better. After Shazaming ‘Wish’ by Choi Yu Ree I pulled the entire playlist up on Spotify. All of the music is sensational. It compounds the delight factor. HCCC is excellent. There's a little bit of filler in double-digit episodes, but it doesn't suffer much from it.

I'm a fan of the director, Yoo Je Won. He's brought us Oh My Ghost-10, and the popular Love Next Door, & Crash Course in Romance. High School King of Savvy is his first effort and it's solidly rated. Oh My Ghost, as highly rated as it is, is still under-appreciated. Not only are the 4 leads (as well as supporting actor Lim Ju-hwan) absolute savants, but there is not one wasted line of dialogue. Everything points to something else. There's constant use of foreshadowing, metaphors, and other techniques that don't stop. Every viewing of the show reveals only more. Furthermore, it's a laugh-out-loud delight in the first half and then gets genuinely teary later on. I suspect it suffers because things don't get rolling until the very end of ep1, so a chunk of viewers probably didn't stick with it. Nevertheless, it is a masterpiece and catapulted this director and the lead actors to super-stardom. Tomorrow With You-7, which also stars Shin Min Ah, was next. I liked it very much, but some of the logic is deeply flawed - so much so that I cannot rate it above a 7. The positives outweigh the bad, but it should have been better. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes was well received and followed up by Abyss-4.7, which is a complete failure in every way possible. It is a debacle and there is almost nothing redeeming about it, other than the good looks of the ML. It is over-rated by kind viewers, many of which are likely reacting to a dearth of good romantic content from Hwood. Abyss is better than most Hwood gunk, but it is not worth watching once, given the many better features Asia has to offer. Hi Bye Mama!-6.5 has plenty of positives, but I wouldn't choose to watch it again. It was intended to be a ray of hope for people that have suffered loss, which was exactly what I was going through at the time, but it didn't do it for me. With HTCCC, CCiR, and LND he seems to have recaptured his magic. This Director exudes warmth, has an appreciation for good food, and really “gets” good music, particularly jazz. Like OMG, the soundtrack for HTCCC is stellar. Top tier. After some bold & underlined question marks, I am so happy that he's settled back into his own and is cranking out such amazing stuff, like I know that he can.

The main character in HCCC is the home town. HJin is from Seoul. She is used to high fashion and upscale amenities. The people that live in her new home lead different lives and rely on eachother heavily. We have the young, the old, the men, the women, the silly and the wise. There's a full cast and wide variety of well-developed characters that help push the plot. They also like to sink their teeth into some juicy gossip. After taking the plunge and opening a dental practice there, HJin offends everyone with her unconsciously elitist attitude, but with DShik's help from the shadows, she eventually settles into small town life. The next closest dentist is an hour away, so customers begin to wander in.

When HJin & DShik finally start dating, she wants to keep it a secret. The town is full of busybodies, afterall. Most of it isn't mean-spirited, but that's besides the point. Every time someone happens upon a sweet moment they are sharing, she turns around and slaps or kicks him. She even gives him a bloody nose in an effort to throw the dogs off. He almost doesn't survive their initial secretive phase. As it turns out, none of it was working anyway. Everyone saw through it.

They run into relationship static at one point. She knows he's keeping hurts from the past bottled up. She wants him to open up. She comes to the conclusion that she should wait for him. She tells him that if he promises to open up to her one day, then she'll wait until he's ready. He can take as long as he wants to “open wide”. I think that's the right answer instead of drilling him for what she wants, when she wants it.

HCCC digs into the root of things once or twice. One of the characters gets a beautiful speech followed up shortly by quite a beautiful death scene. Rather than the sequence feeling sad, it is a triumph of a simple life, lived well, to the fullest satisfaction. That is the theme of HCCC: A simple life and being content with just enough is the key to a happiness. We let our endless wants create discontent and dissatisfaction. Choosing simplicity and contentment is choosing joy and peace. Love will always follow Along those lines, HCCC is a pleasant trip to the seaside with nothing complicated or heavy. Qite the opposite.


〰 IMHO 〰

RATINGS
Directing 8.2
Writing 7.8
Acting 8
Romance 7.7
Flutters 5
Art 7
Sound & music 8.8
Ending 8

LEVELS
Warmth 6.5
Action/ Excitement 3
Laughs 4
Tears 3
Fright 2
Tension/Anxiety 2
Gore 1
Thought provocation 5
Snores 1

Re-watch? Likely

Age 12+
Language: PG-13, but there isn't much of that

Rated
TV-14: Parents Strongly Cautioned.

In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:

Fish out water tales:
Live Up To Your Name-7.6;
Mr. Queen 8.5,
The Legend of the Blue Sea-7.2 - It's exceptional except for 2 episodes,
Touch your heart 8.2,
Crash Landing On You 9.1,
Hotel del Luna-8.4,


Modern Day Kromcoms-
Mad For Each Other-7.7 ~silly fun;
Crazy Love-7.8,
My First First Love-8,
A Witch's Love 7.8,
Love to Hate You 8.9,
Her Private Life 8,
Romance is a bonus book-7.9;
Oh My Ghost 10,
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9,
Love Struck in the City 7.3,
Our Blues-8.7,
Descendants Of The Sun-8.3,
Familiar Wife-8.5,
Because This Is My First Life-7.7,
Hospital Playlist 9,
My Mister 9.5,
I'll See You When the Weather is Fine 9

Historical/Period -
My Only Love Song 8.7 ~ excellent comedy,
My Sassy Girl 8.5,
Saimdang 8.5,
The King's Affection 8.3,

Romance junkies only -
My Secret Romance 7 (if you ff thru overdone flashbacks),
99 days with the Superstar-7,
Boys Over Flowers 8 ~ melodrama to the max,
The Bride of Habaek 7,
A Korean Odyssey-7.2,
Heirs 7.3,
That Winter, The Wind Blows 7,
Something in the Rain 9,
C: Well-Intended Love 7.5 Rom-porn - extra points for the dopamine,
You are my destiny 6.8 cute, sweet & 1/2 padding, When I Fly Towards You-7.8, Find Yourself 8.9,
Hidden Love-7.8,
Wait, My Youth-8.4,
A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5,

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