Details

  • Last Online: Feb 28, 2024
  • Gender: Female
  • Location: San Antonio, TX
  • Contribution Points: 32 LV1
  • Birthday: August 07
  • Roles:
  • Join Date: September 11, 2012

allyson

San Antonio, TX

allyson

San Antonio, TX
Completed
Fated to Love You
152 people found this review helpful
Sep 12, 2014
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 8
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
TL;DR? Just absolutely wonderful. Full of lots of tears and laughter and romance, this drama has something for any romance enthusiast.


I will admit something here. I dropped this drama three times! The first time, I barely lasted 20 seconds, so maybe that doesn't count. The second time I made it a whole 5 minutes, and the third time I made it to 10. I just could not stand the lead actor. He was weird, and that laugh was so awkward, but not quite in a good way like Dokko Jin from The Greatest Love. I thought there was no way I'd watch it.


But then something really awesome happened. One of my drama besties started texting me about how amazing her new drama was, and how much chemistry the lead couple had. I scoffed when she told me it was FTLY. So I decided it would get one more shot from me before being relegated to my growing dropped list.


And thank god for that! I started it up for the fourth time, and this time I made it to when the leads met. And then I was 6 episodes in before I even realized what was happening. This weird, annoying character had somehow managed to work his way into my heart, and I was absolutely hooked. That annoying laugh? I was now looking forward to it. His weird behavior? Suddenly romantic. It was like a switch had flipped, and there was no turning back.


I hope you forgive all of that insane rambling! I swear, I do have a point! Three of my other Kdrama friends had also started and dropped this drama after the first few minutes, thinking it wasn't going to be up their alley. That makes me think there might be even more of you out there who are hesitant about this drama, and I really, really want to encourage to give it a shot!


Lee Gun is a caustic, lovable jerk. He is the quintessential CEO character, a little brash with people outside of his circle and definitely a little self-serving. Kim Mi Young is the exact opposite, known as the post-it girl because she is easy to get rid of and she admittedly has no backbone or ability to say no. They are as different as night and day, and yet when they come together they are the absolute best versions of each other.


In terms of character growth, this show is the absolute best. I don't think a single character made it through this show without maturing and changing. This drama was sad at times, and I will admit to a couple scenes that had me bawling like a baby. But even through all of the tears, it is absolutely worth it.


If you've made it all the way to the end of this inane review, I hope that you will consider giving FTLY a shot. The romance, the story line, the characters, all of it combines to make an absolutely unforgettable story.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Faith
76 people found this review helpful
Nov 12, 2012
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0
To me, Faith felt like a wonderful combination of a great RPG video game and an old anime called Fushigi Yugi. There were times when the show dragged, as pointed out numerous times in other reviews, but for the most part, this drama was really great to watch.


This was my first "historical", and I use the word loosely because I understand that this is by no means a real historical, in that there is time travel and magic. The time travel aspect isn't really unique, especially with the recent crop of dramas this year utilizing it. However, the magic was a first for me, though I wish they had handled it better, or maybe utilized an explanation a little bit more. No one in the present seemed to be aware that magic ever existed, even when Eui Seon seemed to know a lot about Choi Young from her history books. You'd think that he could control lightning magic would have been a prominent focus.


The cast in this show was just amazing, seriously. Though, as it is my goal to someday have Lee Min Ho's babies, I may be a little biased. I had never even heard of Kim Hee Sun before this, and her acting in Faith has me interested in looking up her past dramas. I can't believe it's been 6 years since she has acted! The supporting cast was also a delight to watch, especially Dae Man, who I am glad we finally got a bit of his backstory later on in the drama. I kept wishing they'd tell us how he came to find Choi Young! I loved Lee Philip in Secret Garden, and I wish he had a bigger role in this drama, though I understand his eye surgery issues may have had a part in that. My main complaint on the cast probably lies more with the script than the actor himself. The King was just so whiny! I understand the idea that Kings are humans too, and I get how they tried to humanize him, but sometimes I just wanted to hit him over the head and tell him to man up already!


I make myself wait a day after finishing something before writing a review, because sometimes, you're just too close to it to accurately describe how you are feeling. And usually by that time, I have forgotten all about the music. But this show had such great music, it stuck with me. It really fit the tone of each scene remarkably well.


If you want something with lots of action, a sweet romance story (with next to zero PDA), and lots of kidnapping, murder, attempted murder, poisoning, subterfuge and court intrigue, then this is the drama for you! The romance remains the key plot point for the drama, so you have to like love stories or I think you might be rather bored by all of the posturing and pursuit of Eui Seon's heart.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
It's Okay, That's Love
31 people found this review helpful
Sep 12, 2014
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 3
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0
TL;DR? Bizarre, but in the best way. Without a doubt one of the best dramas of 2014 so far.

This drama is easily, without a doubt, the weirdest drama I have ever watched. From the very beginning and your first introduction to Soo Kwang, I could tell this drama was going to be different. It was amazing and so poignant, and I honestly believe that it might make some strides in reducing the fear and ignorance people have when it comes to mentally ill individuals.

First off, I want to say just how amazingly well suited the cast was to working with each other. Their chemistry was just phenomenal, and there was hardly a moment that went by that you weren't just so happy to see them all together. Soo Kwang and Dong Min's relationship was touching, and how much they fought for each other, and WITH each other, just felt so real and unique. They were a house of people that most other people would scoff at and call them all certifiably insane, but they also all loved each other unconditionally and that is rare.

As a Running Man fan, I was so excited to watch this for Lee Kwang Soo. I was a little worried when I heard his character, Soo Kwang, was going to have Tourette's, but Kwang Soo played it off absolutely brilliantly. This was my first Jo In Sung drama, but it will certainly not be my last. He was able to put on so many hats in this drama, from the romantic leading man, to the hurt little boy who has to face his childhood demons. I was seriously impressed with his range.

Story line wise, this drama always felt fresh and was almost never boring. There were a few times when I was irritated a little bit by how much the two main leads fought towards the middle of the drama, but it was definitely barely enough to knock it down half a point.

I really loved how this drama dealt with mentally ill individuals. It never made you feel like they were ridiculing them, and it really did its best to try and foster understanding that just because a person is sick, it doesn't make them any less deserving of love and happiness. I also loved how this drama really made you question who the bad guys were, and if sometimes you weren't your own biggest enemy.

The music in this drama was just phenomenal, as well. Almost all of it was English, but it was all so upbeat and perfect, it just completely enhanced every episode in every way.

So far, if I had to pick top 5 dramas of the year, this one would definitely win a spot!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Who Are You
32 people found this review helpful
Oct 14, 2013
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 4.0
TL;DR? If you don't have anything better to watch, give this a shot.

Not having been a huge fan of Taecyeon in Dream High, I watched this drama strictly for the plot. It sounds neat: A girl who discovers she can see ghosts after a 6 year coma and a guy who helps her solve her ghostly mysteries. I'm not saying the plot line should win a Pullitzer or anything, but it does sound entertaining! Unfortunately, this drama squandered all of that fun potential on pseudo plot twists and mediocre romance.

It's never a good sign when you root more for the lead character to be with a ghost than you do the actual male love interest. Surprisingly, this isn't even Taecyeon's fault! I was really impressed with how much he had improved from Dream High, and I really did love his character. Cha Gun Woo is an all-around good guy, willing to help out our heroine even when he isn't sure if he believes her. But even though he was doing all the right things, there was just no chemistry between him and Yang Shi On.

Yang Shi On's character was, for the most part, fairly likable. It was hard not to feel for her when she was so obviously lost and confused, trying to pick up the pieces after a 6 year absence from the world.

Kim Jae Wook was easily the star of the drama, which is interesting considering that for the majority of it, he didn't have any lines. But the way he watched over Shi On and loved her so much, even after so long was just heartrending.

The villains were disappointing, never evil enough to really be interesting, nor frightening. I can't even count the number of times that Gun Woo and Shi On were able to outmaneuver huge groups of men. If two people, with one of them having just come out of a coma, can beat 20+ gangsters, you are obviously not hiring gangsters from the right place.

Other than convoluted plot lines and a sad attempt at emotional terrorism in an effort to make you connect with the characters, this show isn't wholly irredeemable. It's short episodes ensure that you don't feel too bored throughout, and for the most part the ghost's problems were fairly interesting. All in all, not a complete waste of time.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Panda and Hedgehog
34 people found this review helpful
Oct 13, 2012
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
Of the few dramas I have watched, Panda and Hedgehog was easily the most disappointing. It had such a strong premise and beginning, such cute characters and a storyline that just made you smile with every episode. In fact the happy feeling from the first 5 episodes is fairly reminiscent of the way To The Beautiful You made me feel.

Then they turned Pan Da into this annoying caricature of a woman, and started trying to throw in twists that were obvious from a mile away. I know there is a Korean term for it, but for me, this show just kept jumping the shark!

But enough negativity, since there really are some good things about this show that make it worth watching. Firstly, Won Yi. She made this show worth watching, she was so ridiculously adorable and over the top, I swear I have a minor crush on her! Also, Hedgehog's character was so fun to watch, even when the crap hit the proverbial fan. He was like the Energizer Bunny, not stopping for anything. His "1, 2, 3 Go!" was just adorable and watching his feelings develop (very quickly, I might add) for Pan Da just made you love him all the more.

The cast of supporting characters also really helped in making this a fun drama to watch. I will admit, I cried pretty hard towards the end, and I wouldn't have if it weren't for the amazing job the cast did with a sometimes ridiculous script.

If you are looking for something cute, fluffy and no where near groundbreaking or deep, then this is what you want!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Romance Town
16 people found this review helpful
Jan 10, 2013
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 2.0
For a drama called Romance Town, I went in to this drama expecting a great deal more romance than what we are presented with. In fact, the biggest story point of this show isn't even mentioned in the synopsis, which is the lottery ticket and money. I almost regret that I stuck through to the end with this drama, but there are a couple of things that almost make it worth the 20+ hours I invested in it.

First, could Jung Gyu Woon be any more adorable? I mean, seriously, that is one good looking guy. Even Kim Min Joon (whose MDL picture just does NOT do him justice!) is ridiculously cute in this show. I felt like they could have done more with both characters, especially Kim Min Joon's. His character was just kind of thrown in whenever it was convenient for the writers, and his storyline felt incomplete.

I also did like the lead actress quite a bit too, though the script did not really do her justice. All in all, it was an interesting look into humanity, and how money can change a person's morality and make them do things they never would have before coming into a large sum of money. But what that has to do with a town of romance, I can't tell you. I did like the relationship between the maids, and how they were all so willing to fight for each other. Well, at least til the money got involved, in which case they just wanted to fight with each other.

When everything is said and done, this drama is not wholly irredeemable, but it definitely could have been cut in half and been a much more watchable experience. 20 episodes just seemed to drag on and on and on and on and...well you get the point.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Midnight FM
15 people found this review helpful
Apr 11, 2013
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
This movie was pretty much non-stop, on the edge of your seat thriller! I had the fortune to watch it with two amazing ladies, Akumi and Little-Dream, and all three of us seriously loved this movie. It was a dark, terrifying look at fame and the crazy people that are attracted to it.

From the getgo, this movie is dark, starting out with a murder, and quickly escalating into the kidnap/breaking in scene within the first 15 minutes, so it doesn't waste time on back story.

The characters in this movie are, for the most part, extremely intelligent. I usually hate watching thrillers, because you are always screaming at the dumb woman on the screen to stop being so stupid and getting everyone killed. And while the characters did make mistakes, and you did yell at the scream from time to time, I was really impressed with how well the characters handled the situation they were in, none moreso than Eun Soo.

Eun Soo has had surgeries and has some kind of affliction that has left her without a voice. The terror that this little child actress was able to emote without the use of a voice was just incredible. The terror on her face was enough to evoke terror in the viewers heart and feel so incredibly sad that she couldn't even scream or speak to alert anyone to the villain in their midst. It made the situation all the more terrifying.

The adult actors were equally impressive, Yoo Ji Tae in the role of the serial killer was absolutely amazing though. He played crazy perfectly! Soo Ae was really amazing as the mom, enough so that I am now looking through her filmography for more of her!

All in all, if you like thrillers then I seriously recommend this one! It wasn't so twisty that you couldn't follow along, but it was suspenseful enough to keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time! Definitely worth the hour and forty some odd minutes :)

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
7th Grade Civil Servant
47 people found this review helpful
Apr 13, 2013
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 4.0
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 4.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
TL;DR? If time machines existed, I'd go back and stop myself from wasting 20 hours on this.

In the early weeks of this drama, this drama had so many positive comments and episode reviews, and so many of my friends kept telling me how awesome it was. It got to the point where I was dying to watch it, but I refuse to watch airing shows, so I waited. The wait brought on quite a bit of negative comments about the show, and I was really not sure what to expect when I went into watching this drama. After having watched 20 episodes, I can safely say I wasted my time with this and I want that time back!

Potential would be the word I'd use to describe this show. This show had so much potential and it squandered it horribly. I think the problem is, the writers only knew one thing - comedy. I'm not saying they knew it well, since it wasn't all that funny, but they certainly didn't know anything else well either. Not women, not spy work, not friendship, not family. All of the elements that these ambitious writers tried to bring together failed on a spectacular level.

There was ZERO chemistry between the two leads. I wanted so much to like this drama just because I loved the lead girl in Protect The Boss. But she was so wooden, so poorly written that I never once found myself caring about her. Or about the lead male. Or the second lead male. Or the parents. Or the friends. Or their coworkers. The two shining bright spots in this show would be the two trainers, Young Soon and Won Suk. They had more chemistry (as in friendship, not romantic) than any of the other characters combined, and I found that their scenes were the only ones I truly enjoyed.

Do Ha was such a laughably ridiculous character, as was Sun Mi. Why spend time making either of them characters if you are just going to change their personalities with each episode? The first several episodes was devoted to showing how hard you have to work to become a civil servant, are we then supposed to believe that that hard work to become educated enough suddenly flew out the window, leaving all of the spies with the IQ of fourth graders? This show just kept coming to an impasse, and then repeatedly took the wrong turn trying to dig itself out of the mess it had made for itself. Nothing about this show made sense. The spy work was so ridiculously bad, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the actual Korean spy network was suing them for how dumb they made spies look. Or giving them an award for it, for making anyone who watched this believe their spies couldn't find their way out of a paper bag, much less into covert operations.

I'm at the point where if a review has been overly positive or negative, I try to bring it back around and point out some things that were good or bad, depending on the tone of the review. I'd love to say something here that would illustrate some redeeming qualities this show had. There are so many good reviews up here for it already, I am sure I am going to get so many not helpful votes for this. But there isn't anything I can say that would make these 20 hours worth it. If you don't have the patience of a saint, and you can't stand story lines that make zero sense in terms of characterization, don't watch this drama. I want my 20 hours back!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
The King of Dramas
16 people found this review helpful
Mar 10, 2014
18 of 18 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 9.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 7.0
TL;DR? For the love of all things good and holy, watch this drama! If only for the absolutely fascinating process of how they take a drama from an idea to a script and then to screen, any drama lover can enjoy this one. And there is so much more to it than that.


This drama, man. It's so hard to put into words what made it so compelling, so original. But I can assuredly say that in my fairly limited experience with dramas (KoD is only my 59th), I have not watched another drama that has made me feel the way this drama has.

I was very much against watching this drama. After my disappointment with Prime Minister and I, I didn't really want to watch another drama with such a huge gap in the leads. Not because I care about things like that, but because I have noticed that in dramas with older men/younger girls, the romance is very light on the skinship aspect. And I'm not gonna lie, KoD didn't have nearly enough intimate moments, but somehow that made it so much better. In addition to my hesitancy over the romance aspect, for some reason I got it into my head that this drama was set in the early 1900s, when it is just the drama they are working on that is set in that time period.

I am not the type of person who talks to the screen very much, but with King of Dramas, one second I was screaming in frustration at the characters and the next throwing my hands up and cheering for every good thing that happened to our team. And that is the brilliance of this drama. It draws you in and makes you feel like you are a part of the story.

Now because I feel like I could go on and on forever about this drama, I also would probably end up spoiling a couple things in my eagerness, so I am going to break the rest of this review down into the score areas. It's the only way I can manage an attempt at brevity.

Acting/Cast: BRILLIANT. Everyone was so uniquely suited to their roles, and they all had such amazing chemistry together! It really did feel like you were growing and maturing along with the characters, Anthony especially. Every positive move he made, you couldn't help but feeling proud of him. Siwon as Kang Hyun Min was adorable, it kind of reminded me of a younger version of Dokko Jin from The Greatest Love. The character of Lee Go Eun was a little hard to relate to at first, just because she was so wide-eyed and naive. Luckily, you start to identify with her more and more as the story progresses.

Music: I am not someone who pays attention to music much, but I did love Big Baby Driver's song, it really fit the theme of the drama really well.

Rewatch: While I think this drama was amazing, I think a lot of it is un-rewatchable. While it wasn't as emotionally exhausting as a melodrama or a tear-jerker drama, it certainly ran you through the ringer emotion wise. One second, you are so anxious you think you might jump out of your skin, and the next you are smiling stupidly over an act of loyalty, and back to being anxious the next. That's the only reason that I think it would be hard to rewatch a lot of it.

Story: Just amazing. Seriously. The pacing, the romance, the bad guys. It was all just so expertly blended together. I usually would change a lot about dramas if I had the chance, but with King of Dramas, even when it wasn't perfect, I didn't want to change it. It was the imperfections that somehow helped you grow along with the drama, if that even makes any sense.

Seriously, if you haven't watched this drama (and actually made it to the end of this rambling review), watch it right now! It's definitely something all of us drama lovers should watch. You won't regret it!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
You're All Surrounded
18 people found this review helpful
Sep 12, 2014
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
TL;DR? This drama is beyond amazing. It was so much fun with the right touch of mystery, sadness and action.

I was in the midst of a pretty intense Kdrama slump when I started this drama. I am a huge Lee Seung Gi fan, and Cha Seung Won as Dokko Jin in The Greatest Love is one of my all time favorite male characters ever. And they definitely do not disappoint in this drama!

I think what surprised me the most about this drama was just how easily it was able to blend all of the different aspects of the show together. It was sad, but also funny, and then there were plenty of action scenes that ramped up the anxiety from time to time. There were several episodes that would take you from crying to laughing to gripping the edge of your seat, only to start all the way back at the beginning again.

The characters in this were all brilliant. Dae Gu was a stuck up jerk, suffering from a tragic past with a giant chip on his shoulder. Seo Pan Suk was the grouchy leader, unwilling to take a bunch of newbies under his wing. They both suffered from scars of their own, and it was just amazing to watch their chemistry together on screen. Soo Sun was a clutzy ditz, absolutely brimming with sincerity. Park Tae Il was charming and Ji Kook was a dorky, sweet guy. You couldn't help but love all of them and want for all of them to succeed.

I don't usually pay much attention to music in dramas, but I can't even begin to say how happy I was at the end of episode 1 when My Chemical Romance's Welcome to the Black Parade came on. It was poignant commentary on the whole situation, and it really was the perfect ending note for the episode.

I will say that I don't watch cop dramas, so if you also don't watch cop dramas, I hope that that doesn't keep you from trying this one out. While there was quite a bit to do with illegal activity and stake outs and arrests, it was so much more than that.

Seriously, watch this drama!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Haeundae Lovers
15 people found this review helpful
Oct 18, 2012
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
I think the most important thing I could say in this review is that you just have to stick with it! I was wholly unimpressed for the first 5-6 episodes. It was nothing new, and I absolutely could not get used to the lead actress's accent. And for the most part, the comedy just wasn't funny for me. But something changed around episode 7, and I was just hooked!

Of course, that still doesn't mean there is anything exceptional about this drama. The storyline is unbelievable and the characters over the top. The twist are more like straight lines and the "villains" aren't really deserving of the title. A good punch in the face, maybe, but not really evil necessarily.

What makes this drama worth the 16+ hours is post-accident Nam Hae. His character is so...adorable? It's hard to find the right adjective! His feelings for So Ra were cute and it was fun to watch them try and sort stuff out. And her and her hands, always sticking them out to help a scared, lost man who has nothing was really touching. Their romance is worth the watch!

The uncles at times were both hilarious and aggravating. I loved how much they loved So Ra and her father, and I really loved So Ra's dad. His character probably had me bustin' out laughing the most.

I really liked most of the music, though the beach/ukulele/Hawaiian-esque instrumental that they played at the end of most episodes and during the "sexy" parts was a mood killer! Nothing worse than fangirling over a kiss to have that music bash you over the head.

If you want something fun, easy and non-life altering, give this a shot! Though, I wouldn't blame you if you fast forwarded through a lot of the first 5-6 episodes!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Missing You
28 people found this review helpful
Jan 19, 2013
21 of 21 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
I typically avoid Melodramas like the plague, I live in utter fear of their endings. I am a girl who likes nice pretty bows on her endings and lots of love and laughter along the way. All of that being said, Missing You completely blew me away. I started it two weeks ago, thinking it usually takes me a good week to finish a drama, so by the time I finished what had aired, the new episodes would be up. Of course, it was impossible to stop watching this show. I had all 17 aired episodes done in 2 days, and then they decided to extend the show and my torture for one more week. While I hated waiting, I am so glad they did! For me, this drama was just absolutely perfect.

That perfection lays heavily on all of the actors in it. There wasn't a single actor who wasn't phenomenal, the kid actors especially. And while I seriously worry about the hydration needs of the actors, their ability to have me crying right along with them every single time was just amazing. Even the supporting cast was superb, especially Jung Woo's partner/wife and Soo Yeon's mother. Her scenes were some of the most emotional and the actress deserves extreme props for pulling it off the way she did.

This story is definitely not all puppies and rainbows, it gets amazingly sad and intense and you will want to shake the characters back into their senses on more than one occasion. I wanted so much to hate Harry, especially after the incident with the can, but my heart just broke for him over and over again. As it did for so many of the other characters.

Your heart will feel like it's been put throug a wringer by the time you finish it, but it's an emotional roller coaster you seriously don't want to miss. And for all of the sadness and heartbreak, there is a lot of happy and cute moments. It's a group of people that you just want everything in the world to go right for them, but people and situations just keep getting in the way.

If you want something that will keep you on the edge of your seat and truly make you fall in love with fictional characters, then I definitely recommend you pick this one up ASAP. You won't regret it!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
My Secret Hotel
17 people found this review helpful
Oct 20, 2014
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 4.0
TL;DR? Definitely not a drama for everyone. If you are a patient drama watcher and don't mind repetitiveness, then by all means, give this one a shot!

I wanted so much to love this drama. I don't think I suffered from inflated expectations, even though Yoo In Na is one of my favorite actresses. This drama was just an absolute mess. The characters were mostly ridiculous. I think Yoo In Na cried in every single episode, sometimes several times an episode. Now, I don't mind a good damsel in distress every once in a while, I don't mind characters who have weaknesses. But that is all Yoo In Na's character was, weak. She was indecisive and allowed herself to be pulled in two different directions constantly. And I mean that quite literally. On more than one occasion, both boys each had a hand and was telling the other to let go. I was just hoping that she would tell them both to go take a flying leap since she wasn't a toy for them to argue over, but she never did.

That's not to say that I didn't pick sides. I was all for Goo Hae Young from the beginning. I know a lot of people love Nam Goong Min, but his character in this drama was absolutely insipid. He was a trope, and nothing more. Someone there to create friction and cause conflict, but not anyone who the writers care enough about to fully develop. Goo Hae Young, on the other hand, you understood what drove him. You understood his motives and the reasons why he wanted Sang Hyo so much. And more than anything, I think once you meet him, you just know they deserve to be together.

The other characters were all a joke. Used only for comic relief and as the impetus for Sang Hyo's interactions with either ends of the love triangle. It was a drama that was obsessed with love, but didn't really know how to piece it all together very well. They could have cut out 5 or 6 of the middle episodes and the drama would have been much better paced.

The murder, which could have been a really interesting focal point, was reduced to minor story points, usually used to just further the relationships. Did anyone really care who murdered those people? I certainly didn't, and the drama did a horrible job of trying to make me care about it.

All in all, it's hard to find something redeemable about this drama. But that's not to say that it isn't worth watching. There were times when it as genuinely fun, and Goo Hae Young and Nam Sang Hyo had some seriously sweet moments. Jin Yi Han is an amazing actor, and I am seriously looking forward to a more serious future role for him. While the surrounding characters were mostly shallow portrayals, they were still a lot of fun to watch their antics as they guess at the murderers and scheme to make romance happen. The love that Si Chan felt for hi boss and how much he wanted to help him be happy was adorable. And the competition for Sung Gyeum, Eun Joo, was a feisty, confident character that I legitimately liked.

If you aren't a fan of weak characters and weaker storylines, then I'd say avoid this. But if you are looking for fluff and fun, and a lot of crying (by the actors, that is), then I would say give this one a shot! It will require a lot of suspension of disbelief, but there is at least a thread of a story here that might be worth your time!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
School 2013
13 people found this review helpful
Apr 29, 2013
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
TL;DR? If you like cute boys and school dramas, then you should definitely not miss this one!

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, walking into this drama, other than that it supposedly had an amazing bromance storyline. As a huge lover of all things "bromantic", I was intrigued by the prospect, enough so that I put aside my qualms about there being zero non-bro romance. And let me tell you, I am so glad that I did!

I don't typically watch high school dramas, and have never watched one that was so school-centric. 90% of the storyline involved the school, and while some of you may scoff that that was surprising to me, given that the title of the show is, in fact, School, I do wish that they had delved a little more outside of the school interactions. If only to break up the slightly repetitious storyline.

This drama wasn't meant to be marathoned, I don't think. When watching your 10th episode in a single sitting, it's glaringly obvious how many times they reuse some of the same plot points and how the only characters who are given room to grow are the categorized "misfits". The other characters, who should have been the normal bunch, never are given that chance. They stay catty and arrogant throughout, and while we are given so much motivation for why the criminal element of the show acts the way they do, characters who should have been regular students seemed far more sociopathic in their actions than a character who beat a guy til his leg broke.

If you are going into this strictly for the bromance, much like I did, then be prepared to wait. And wait. And then wait just a little bit more. It took a really long time before it got to the bromance I had anticipated from the beginning. It was an arduous journey to get to that point, and I think even calling it a bromance might be a tad misleading. It runs deeper than that. It's two boys who only ever had each other and how one mistake utterly destroys them, and the story of School is how they tenuously try to pick up the pieces.

The brilliance of this show does lie in the growth, however unfairly they distribute it. If a show can take you from absolutely loathing a character in the beginning to really, really wanting them to succeed in life then you know it's doing something right. And despite it's flaws, School 2013 was brilliant in showcasing the shades of gray and how the way you look at and treat other people doesn't define them as much as it defines what kind of person you are.

All in all, this drama is well worth the time and I defy anyone to watch it and not seriously fall in love with Go Nam Soon. Never has there been a more seemingly-apathetic character who could make you feel so many different things. I promise, give this drama a shot, and you won't be disappointed!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Scent of a Woman
14 people found this review helpful
Feb 12, 2014
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
TL;DR? If you don't like sad dramas, you might not want to watch this. But it is seriously well done, and very life-affirming, so it's definitely worth a shot! Great acting and great chemistry, totally trumps all of the tears.

I only have myself to blame, but I hate to admit that I went into this drama expecting it to be a funny romantic comedy that just happened to involve a sad topic.

I have a good reason, though! There is an American movie called Last Holiday that deals with the same idea of a woman finding out that she has a brain tumor and is going to die. Then come to find out, it was all a big mistake and the CT Scan was broken. She has made all of these positive changes in her life and snagged the boy of her dreams and gets to live happily ever after. I legitimately though that this is what Scent of Woman was going to be. That the cancer was going to be a huge joke!

OK, I lied, it wasn't a GOOD reason, per se. But hey, we all make mistakes! You figure out pretty early on in the drama that the cancer was not a joke, that Yeon Jae is really sick. I could have turned it off at that point; in fact, I am shocked that I didn't. But that is the beauty of this drama. It draws you in. I could no sooner have turned away from Yeon Jae's story than I could have turned away from an actual friend with cancer. The actress did an amazing job of portraying someone with a short time live who has so many regrets in her life.

In fact, the entire cast was amazing! Yeon Jae's mom absolutely ripped my heart to shreds when she discovered her daughter's condition. I actually had to call my own mother after I pulled myself together, it affected me so much. The two male leads also were phenomenal, and you just wanted to hug them both throughout the whole thing and tell them it would all be OK.

So, if I liked all of these elements so much, why did I only rate it a 7? There was A LOT of extraneous stuff going on that I just didn't care about. Anything to do with Ji Wook's dad or the bratty girl he was engaged to was just mind numbingly awful. I understand that the writers wanted to give extra conflict to the story, but it was just too much. If they had cut out a lot of that aspect of the story, it would have been a solid 8 or 9, easy.

The music in this drama reminded me a lot of Shining Inheritance. In fact, there was a lot from Scent of a Woman that reminded me of Shining Inheritance. They both had the same feel to them.

All in all, I am not disappointed that I stuck with this drama in the least. The actors did an amazing job with their roles, and the chemistry between the two leads was palpable. There is a tango scene between Ji Wook and Yeon Jae that was one of the hottest scenes I've ever seen in a drama. The moment he takes his jacket off, I die! As for the ending, I don't want to spoil what happens of course, but I was surprised at just how much I liked the ending. While it wasn't as happy as I was anticipating, what with my whole expecting her to not really be sick, but it fit so well with the drama. There is nothing I would have changed about it!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?