Not Good Enough

Korean Drama '' Captivating The King '' is a historical melodrama, heavy on the political thriller.

The drama has an interesting story in theory, alas, it is not handled well. In fact, the spy part was never developed, left only in theory. Also, the leading lady was annoying and her actions didn't make sense after a while. Not to mention the ending was lukewarm, rushed when it came to the twists, and unsatisfying.

However, there were some nice elements to the drama, though they weren't enough to make it enjoyable. The guessing game of when the King will find out who his playing mate really is was entertaining to follow. The performances were great as well.

So, overall, four out of ten.

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"Coffee and Vanilla" was just too vanilla.

The romance was too sudden and that's why the intensity of it was thrown out of the window. There was an implied love triangle that was easily swept under the carpet only to be mentioned towards the ending. The mature parts were okay, but it looked a bit robotic and forced, lacking any emotion and romance overall. So, the drama was just like this : boy falls in love with popular but childish and naive girl, they get together, many try to set them apart, boy comes to the rescue every single time, happy ending. There was no character development, no love story build up and no surprises. Plus, the leading lady was, as you can guess, the vanilla of the story, and rightly so. She had no personality, claimed to be immature, but she never actually changed, even though there were some scenes that had potential. Her love interest was a more complicated that was never explored.

So, four out of ten.

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" Moment at eighteen" had a really strong start. The drama was perfect, with the issues such as bullying and gap between the social classes were nicely presented.

However, as soon as the romance started progressing, the drama lost its character and became a weak teenage rom com. The main character's problems, like the death on his one and only friend, were put aside and left for good. Let alone all those side characters whose story was never concluded. The drama got boring and the ending was open and unsatisfying.

Other than that, the performances were good from all the actors and actresses in this drama.

So, overall, six out of ten.

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Romance is a bonus book uses books to paint the story of a woman who didn't give up and tries still to survive. The drama at first, was really sweet and "cozy", as we watched the leading lady strugle to get by after her life has turned upside down after her divorce. The friendship dynamics were top notch and the subtle romance was just enough to ignite one's imagination. Also, the office story was really good as well. So, if you like books, you'll probably love the first part. However, halfway through, it was clear that the drama didn't have anything else to say. You'll just watch the characters live their lives with nothing interesting happening to them. The small twists were blunt and the romance lacked intensity. Also, I really hated the fact that the leading lady was always thinking of her daughter at first, but she just forgot about her after a while and it was like she never existed. I mean, what happened to her? Why wasn't she part of the story anymore?
On a more positive note, the performances were good and the bookish refrences nicely done. The side characters' stories were interesting as well. So, 6 out of 10, because I loved the first part, but the second one was boring.

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Not Good Enough

" Sweet Munchies " was a frustrating drama.

And that is mainly due to the two main characters that were annoying, each one in their own way. For the girl, she was way too naive, forgiving, and positive to be even considered cute. She was beyond redemption, as it was proven in the last episode and her reaction to the whole revelation. But, the most irritating was the chef. Sure, he had his reasons in the beginning for doing what he did, but he just kept lying, and acting selfishly throughout the whole drama. He was just unlikeable and he didn't make it easy to root for him. The second lead, however, did have a solid character and story and the actor did an amazing job with his expressions and emotions. As for the rest of the cast, they were there when they were needed, but hardly explored.

And now, time for the story. The main idea was ridiculous to begin with. There was no real reason why the show had to have a gay chef other than prompt the story. The reactions and actions of the characters were ridiculous as well and unreasonable really.

And, finally, the ending. The drama kind of wrapped things up for the three main characters, but left the rest out. Not to mention that everyone suffered the consequences of the chef's decision expect from him.

So, overall, three out of ten.

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W had a great idea for a good story, but failed to make it till the very end. Somewhere between the second and the third episode, the drama reached its peak. The story is quite interesting and unique, so kudos for that. Plus the romance was okay, a little weak though, and the performances very good, as the actors had to work with the whole fantasy world, action scenes and of course the exchange of worlds. However what ruined the drama for me were the flash backs. There were so many!! Except from the first five minutes, that were a recap of the whole series so far, which is kind of understandable, the back and forth-s were too tiring. And they were repeated constantly, which was annoying. Finally, the twists were interesting and entertaining the first time around, but the drama seemed to have actually ended at the ninth episode, and so the rest of them were just repeating the same twists over and over. In addition, I would have liked for the whole two worlds universe to had been explained better. So 4 out of 10.

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" A piece of your mind " had two things nailed, the cinematography and the performances.

The game of light, colours, and nature was just brilliant, with a nostalgic note, beautiful sceneries from Norway, and melodic pieces of classical music and piano to paint the perfect picture of an idyllic and tranquil picture. The pace of the drama was equally perfect for the cinematography, as it was calm, with nice notes of drama here and there.

The performances were excellent from all the actors and actresses in the cast as well.

However, the story was messy and confusing. The script offered little to non information about the cryptic gadget that used a person's voice and character to communicate with the loved ones once that person has passed away. The characters were equally mysterious as well, with some background stories coming through from the flashbacks that the drama offered, but, overall, it was difficult to understand them, know them, and, thus, sympathize with them. The message that, I guess, the drama wanted to pass on, that there is some comfort after a loved one dies, was beautiful. However, the romance was boring, as the characters seemed wrapped up in their past and didn't really invest in the relationship.

So, overall, five out of ten.

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Abyss had so much potential with that all stars cast and the fantasy story. However, the drama got quickly boring and messy.

The drama had a nice dynamics between the two leads. They were funny and cute together. However, the romance took forever to progress and the ending was terrible. The mystery part was good at first as well, but it got complicated and messy. Plus, the fantasy part was not properly presented or explained.

At least, the performances were good, as expected, from everyone in the cast and the pacing interesting.

So, five out of ten.

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" Nee sensei, shiranai no ? " was super cute.

The story was adorable and the two main leads had chemistry. The drama of the love story was quickly resolved and it didn't get tiring, fortunately, because, overall, that twist was too cliche. The love story was a bit cheesy, but the drama was short and cute, so it was more of a fluff, easy drama to watch, so you can't really ask for more. Also, the manga plot was nice and the idea of how they presented the main story, with the two povs was interesting.

However, there were two things that kind of didn't work for it, though they weren't deal breakers. First of all, the two pov thing, although entertaining and original, it also meant that there were some scenes that you get to rewatch even though you have just finished watching them. Also, the drama was a bit too short, probably needed either longer episodes and more episodes.

But, the performances were good and the story was nicely paced. So, overall, seven out of ten.

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Another Lotte drama with an army of popular actors and idols, that serves mostly as a lengthy advertisment to promote the shopping department and the brands it merches. The story itself is just okay towards idiotic, focusing on a girl who's considered to be ugly, but the only thing she's missing is self confidence (even though the drama skips that and just tryies to transform her into a model or something). Some of the small cases, moreover, were entertaining, but others were not making sense. At least, this time we've gotten an ending, unlike seven kisses, lottes' previous drama. The performances, finally, were okay, but, as the drama was about six to ten minutes, they got like two lines each, so there was no way to say if they were good or not.
All in all, a light drama to watch if you have half an hour to spend.

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Good Enough

Japanese Drama "Rinko-san wa Shite Mitai" is an enjoyable drama. It has a predictable story, sure, but it's a fun ride with a couple that had enough chemistry to carry things through till the very finale.

Probably the only problem this drama had, other than some cheesy twists, was that it needed an episode or two to give the couple more time onscreen. But, other than that, the drama had a nice pace and the timeline was well handled. The romance was also pretty sweet and had a lot of lovable moments. But the best thing this series had was the leading lady. She was fun, energetic and she did a great job with her performance. The rest of the cast was pretty enjoyable as well, but she was the real star of the drama.

So, overall, 8 out of 10.

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The great seducer was one of those dramas that got everyone talking about. The posters and teasers were full of a dark spark, promising the best dark romance in the drama land. Seductive and aesthetical was the description as well. And then, Episode one was a dive in reality. It seemed more of an episode from gossip girl rather than what it was promised to be. The characters were rich, spoiled youngsters, playing drama with anyone. Plus, the "great seducer" had, like one (?) girl seduced and that was it. So, seducer was more like a title that everyone repeated rather than the real deal. So, one should expect that the big plot will play nice and with a slow built up so that the drama will keep up with appearances. Well, that wasn't the case either. The romance was developed so fast, that we spent the rest of the episodes lovey dovey or breaking up. Wasn't the girl supposed to be cold and not to believe in love? In addition, there were too many secondary characters, so many stories here and there, to, probably, distruct you from the main story that wasn't going as planned. But, they were boring too. Even the secondary love story didn't help. And there was the ending. I personally don't really like the "five years later" spin offs, but here we are, having one of those meaningless time skips, with no real ending.
Finally, the acting was okay, and it did got a bit better, though, I think that Joy didn't fit her character. Maybe I see her more of the younger girl characters, in a more happy concept drama. I really enjoyed Min jae at least. He was a nice delightful surprise.
So, 3 out of 10.

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Spring turns to spring is an unexpectedly good drama. It was funny, entertaining and witty. My only concern was that the two final episodes were just there to prolong the ending, as there was no point in repeating some scenes and trops. However, the rest of the drama was really good. The whole switching bodies, although kind of cliche at first, it really worked out here. And that's because of the two leading ladies. Never have I ever watched two people switching personalities so naturally. They changed their attituded, gestures, even way of speak to match the one the other girl would have and they were just amazing. I would suggest checking out this drama only to experiance it. Other than that, the story was nice, kind of funny, and overall entertaining.

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There are a few times when I rated a drama with 9. But this one really desrves it. The couple was adorable, and they had great chemistry which helped a lot with the progress of the story. Actually, the love story was really good, sweet and cute. I espicially loved the leading lady, who was fangirl goals. The addition of that in the plot mix was very clever. The plot, in addition, was well constructed and the story didn't get boring or frustrating. The events followed one another, even though the plot twist in the end was too cliche, as it has happen to too many dramas, but I will forgive them since the rest of the show was good. I also enjoyed the OST.
So, 9 out of 10.

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" Extracurricular " had an interesting story, but there were many flaws for this drama that lessen the enjoyment.

Though the issues that extracurricular is dealing with are not the typical korean school drama presents, even though the angst, drama and having the character hit a low point is part of the korean drama repertoire, the drama did a good job with dealing with them, keeping the pace fast and the cinematography dark and moody. So, the idea was there and so were the elements to make a good psychological thriller, however, the drama didn't succeed in doing so.

First of all, the characters, not all of them, but the main ones, were annoying. Actually, the leading lady was unlikable and not easy to root for, in a drama were you have to like the criminals. The main character was a bit too toned down, with the title of genius being only a tag that followed him, but in reality, or, at least as far as the drama showed us, he was just a boy with a good idea, but lonely and in a desperate situation. The characters overall were acting way too mature for their age and it was difficult to be believable.

Second of all, the drama had its boring moments. The whole action thing got tiring to watch after it followed one twist after the other and the frustrating moments were too much. And yet, somehow, they managed to get the interest hit low beats towards the end. However, the ending was nicely managed. The performances, also, were brilliant from everyone in the cast, even though most of them are young actors.

So, overall, six out of ten.

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