Plushie
Candyland
Bias aside, Park Bo Young is excellent here. She managed to deliver two characters in one, and not she only did that, but she made me feel for those two characters. I could easily close my eyes and still know who was who. She's not the only one shining on this drama though, Kim Seul Gi was also very good, like she is most of times, it's so sad that she doesn't have more leading roles, she has more talent than many leading actresses nowadays.
Also I was surprised by Jo Jung Suk, I had only seem him as a guest role in another drama (Legend of The Blue Sea) and saddly his appearence was too small to have a solid impression at all, so I was happy to accompain him from the beginning to end. Made me want to watch Jealousy Incarnate ASAP. And last but not least, I really liked Im Joo Hwa as well. His villain wasn't unforgetable, but it was like his acting could break the fourth wall, you know. People on the drama could feel something odd about him, as well as the viewers.
The story was also pretty original as far I know. Obviously it still has some traits that kdramas can't seem to let go of like the uber talented jerk-ish male lead, the dirty poor yet golden hearted female lead, the nagging mother-in-law and obviously a love triangle. However, unlike many other kdramas, OMG masterfully descontructs and turn into new things these same clichés. Even the love triangle is something completely original and well played.
I don't have that many complains about the show, I guess it's only major flaw was that it sometimes became boring and too slow. Not the good kind of slow, but just plainly slow. Due to this I was slow to finish, that's why I didn't give it a 9 (10 is only for the dramas that manage to touch me deep and only one has done it so far). That and I also felt that some drama on the last episodes could be avoided, also some plot points were a bit loose, and the villains backstory could be more elaborated.
Haha I ended up complaining a lot, but oh well.
The music was good, nothing more or less. I can't even remember it that well if I'm going to be honest.
Overall Oh My Ghostess is an entertaining ride. Not the most fun, not the most heartbreaking, not the most romantic, but good enough to make you like and watch it until the end.
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This review may contain spoilers
A flawed but entertaining and emotional ride.Con man deceives blind girl into thinking he's her deceased brother. This premise just screams melodrama. And like many melodramas, it's full of ambiguous characters, tearjerking situations and unbreakable bonds. In my opinion, That Winter, The Wind Blows is not that original since it's based on an already established work, but among so many "Cinderella" dramas out there, it sure stands out as a demi-original but overly unlikely kind of drama.
I like to begin my reviews with positive things I have to say, so let's just start: The camera work, the scenarious and everything about the picture of this drama was plainly beautiful. The atmosphere becomes heavy when it needs to be heavy, and also light and endearing when need be. Amazing work of the director, also, the close ups on the right place just made me stare in awe at so much detail put on the scenario.
Also, I have to praise Jo In Sung and Song Hye Kyo for their amazing acting. In Sung not only gave Oh Soo all sides of his personality, but much more. The way he cockily smiles but then suddenly cracks down in tears is simply amazing. His chemistry with Hye Kyo was superb, and you can really believe that those two are pained, lost individuals that find comfort on each other. And Hye Kyo...oh, for a moment I thought she was really blind. Seriously, her interpretation is so perfect that if you don't know that she can see in real life, you would actually believe they hired a blind actress.
Kim Tae Woo was perfect as well. I began the drama really hating his character, but as episodes passed by I started to feel for him, and appreciate his inner turmoil. That's something only a good actor can do. And props to Bae Jong Ok, another ground breaking performance. However, I would've liked if her motives and backstory were better explained because the way they did just seemed all over the place.
Props for Kim Sang Beom as well, he made a cute pairing with Eun Ji. However, althought I really love Eun Ji, in this drama I didn't really feel her character. It was like she wasn't even that necessary to the plot except to have a third partner in crime who helped from time to time. Also, she was annoying at times and to be honest, althought she's a good actress, I would like to see Eun Ji playing another type of girl/personality.
Another thing I didn't quite like was how sometimes the drama was too self explicative. The audience is not dumb, we can clearly see what's happening so there's no need for overexposition. Mainly the way they did, turning the explanation very difficult and sometimes confusing. For example (SPOILER), when Oh Soo finds th room where Young makes her video diary all trashed, it was obvious that Young did all that since she was the last person on that room. It didn't take a genius to guess that, so the demi-flashback shown was unnecessary.
Other miss was how progressively draggy and, dare I say, boring the drama became. I have to give a little of slack since the plot doesn't give much to work with except interactions between characters, however I could picture this drama having 14 episodes and still being the same. Many conflicts were somewhat unecessary, and sometimes they threw characters we barely even knew that ended up changing the whole story, in a very confusing way.
If this is rewatchable? Yeah, but maybe after some time like six months or even a year, not something you would want to rewatch more than twice.
All in all it's far from perfect, but entertaining and emotional enough to keep you hooked. It's not an unforgetable drama even though sometimes it tries too hard to be, but also not quite forgetable because you can still rewatch and feel for the characters.
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The story is nothing original. Actually, sometimes it looks like the writers were really trying to mix all clichés of dramaland: amnesia, chaebols, poor female lead, lost brother, forgotten childhood encounter, evil relatives who want to steal the inheretance... Everything is just so cliché, but when put together somehow this drama made it work. Maybe it's because they wrapped everything in a nicely cute and light atmosphere, endearing characters and funny situations.
I know it might be my bias talking, but I really love Seo In Guk here. Unlike many others male leads, Louis is lazy, irresponsible, spoiled and dowringht annoying at times. He has the riches, that's right, but he lacks common sense and drive to spend money wisely. Actually, he pretty much lacks common sense in all matters of life. He's like an overgrow kid and, althought exaggerated sometimes, it's adorable how he slowly begins to learn how the real word works. Obviously that by the end of the show he's still got a long way to go, but it's so refreshing seeing such a different male lead.
I also have to praise Nam Ji Hyun for delivering Bok Shil, who begins as a cliché poor female lead but grows and grows, turning into a capable, independent woman who can take care of not only herself but others as well. She acomplishes all that but still keeping her sweet, sometimes naive personality. Also, kudos for Yoon Sang Hyun as well, I feel that he was more the type of the conventional perfect male lead but with quirks and flaws that made him humorous and cute at the same time. His chemistry with In Guk was astounding and I couldn't stop laughing every time.
I think the real strenght of this drama lies on it's characters and their interactions, because let's be honest and say that the plot was a bit of a mess. Like mentioned before, it has a lot of clichés, but I think what really stops it from being a flaw at all is because this drama, althought a trainwreck, is still perfectly aware of it's absurdity and sometimes seems to play on that.
Don't watch this thinking it will be a super serious, consistent drama.I think you already guessed by seeing it's poster.
However, even though the plot is not exact a flaw, I would've liked better if the lenght was shorter. It could've been 14 episodes long and still solve everything, leaving no holes. But it was cute the final additions of their past.
All in all it's a good drama. Not the best out there, far from that, but a good entertainment for pretty much anyone.
(Also, I'll never listen "A Whole New World" the same way again after watching this haha. Please somebody tell me I'm not the only one >.<)
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The story was nothing new at all: the same ol' rich boy-poor girl dynamic and all the elements it includes (a.k.a evil parent, snobby female rival etc). Maybe the only original thing was the addition of the USA first arc, but not even that was done well. Seriously, I cringed so hard everytime an american actor spoke. Also, it didn't add much to the narrative at all, they could've skipped the entire trip and still have the same product in the end.
Acting ranged from mediocre to very good. I have to voice my disappointment of what an incredible character the female lead, Eun Sang, could've been. Seriously, at first I liked her different attitude than most female leads, but then she started to become whiny, helpless and literally a cry baby with few moments of defiance that just couldn't save my impression of her anymore. I'm a bit confused on that, if it was Park Shin Hye's delivery or just a poorly written script. Maybe a bit of both, since aside from crying, I didn't feel much coming from PSH.
Tan was another lead that could've been good, but turned out bad. Really, he was one of the most annoying main leads ever. And I have to agree with many people that Lee Min Ho was too old to play a high schooler. Heck, I know they tried to conceal it with makeup, but in a few close ups you could clearly notice how he wasn't a young boy anymore.
I think this was one of the few dramas that I found the side characters and couples a lot more interesting than the main. Mainly the dynamic between the mothers of Eun Sang and Kim Tan. It was really delightful to see how their friendship developed, and I have to praise the actresses for deliverying such an incredible perfomance.
Continuing on the side characters, I also simply loved Bo Na and Chan Young's relationship. A million times better than the main couple. Props for Krystal as well, this drama made me like her very much. Another character that shined , even though some of her actions were petty and mean, was Rachel. Something about her seemed so real, and it would've been a lot better if the writers developed her more.
And last but certainly not least, I have to talk about Kim Woo Bin. Oh, Kim Woo Bin. He was the best, his character was the best. He made me loathe him in the beginning, understand and feel empathy for him in the middle and love him by the end. And that scene with Eun Sang's mother...damn, that was one of the most well done and emotional I've ever seen.
However, even if a few performances were good, the overall wasn't. I guess I could define this drama in one quote: What could've been. Everybody was so excited about it from the beginning and the story, although not original, could open space for so many conflicts and development. And not even the music was decent. Seriously, I wanted to rip my ears off everytime I heard the lyrics "Love is the moment..."!
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This review may contain spoilers
One of my favorite dramas of all time. This is an emotional, cute and at times heartbreaking ride. This review contains some spoilers
I've been following Kim So Hyun's works since I saw and loved her in Missing You. Really, she became one of my favorite korean actresses, everything about her is so natural and sincere, her acting really gets you on the character's skin and makes you laugh and cry whenever she does. One of the most promissing(if not the most) actresses out there. But the show doesn't resume on her acting, I also thought Yook Sung Jae did an excelent job as the problematic yet quirky Tae Gwang. Seriously, he and So Hyun had such chemistry...(I'm still butthurt because they didn't end together)
Gushing aside, the story was also pretty well executed, with just some flaws and plot holes here and there. I know that this amnesia plot is extremely overused, but instead of just being used as a plot device, the amnesia is well developed and it even helps on the development of Eun Bi. Seriously, she goes from a girl who lost her courage, to someone who could impersonate her twin's attitude and then changed (again) to someone who could fend for herself and face her problems instead of running away.
The love triangle was also well executed, but poorly solved. *SPOILER* Really, I can't believe that they built such a relationship between Eun Bi and Tae Gwang, only for her to end up with the guy that spent basically the entire drama longing for her sister. I'm still pissed at this.
Another thing that could be promissing but ended up poorly executed was Eun Byl's character. Really, the girl was like no other I've seen in dramas (at least so far) and I surelly wanted to see more of her, and therefore more a development for her character. It was like a breath of fresh air when she finally showed up and gave the bully girl what she deserved. I was the entire time cheering: "You go girl!" Also, kudos for Kim So Hyun for managing to deliver two completely different characters.
Also, apart from romance and characters, I really liked the way this series handled issues like bullying. It was very saddening to see how much one is willing to hurt the other only because of their own internal struggles. Even though I didn't like the character one bit, I have to congratulate Jo Soo Hyang's job, because it was so well done that she made me really hate her but at the same time sort of understanding where she came from.
All in all, it was a very good drama. I openly recommend you to watch and fall in love with this coming of age story.
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