Short hot diamond in the ruff.

Considering this is a short drama it has decent acting and likeable characters. As the story begins with a major tragedy that sets up the plot and intrigue for the show., Shao Yu Qi, who plays Li Cong Huanwho is a princess from a bordering small country set to marry a neighboring country. Thus the revenge plot begins in the first episode. The FL is beautiful and does a nice acting job. The ML, Li Dai Kun who plays, Mo Jin who is equally handsome and quite sexy. He also does a decent job of acting. I name him one of the top 10 kissers in drama land after this drama.

Begin that this is a short drama the back drop is simple along with the set and cinematography. So, for a log budget film they did well for what they had to work with, assuming it was a low budget. There are not many special affects so there is not much to note there. If you are looking for a drama with a big budget and big CGI this is not the one. ML and FL have most of the scenes trying to solve a mystery and misunderstandings.

This is what I call a short, sweet mini drama with a splash of romance. There are plenty of kissing scenes and romance that is hot and steamy. So my review is based on the mini drama scale which is a lot more lenient that the bigger dramas.

Read More

Interesting story not so much cast.

The story: This is the story of a girl (Cho Yeo Hwa) who was in an arranged marriage, and you could say a somewhat forced marriage as she did not have any family to support her. As luck would have it her husband to be dies on the wedding day before they even get a chance to meet. Thus, she becomes a virgin widow destined to a life of solitude and repentance with her not so nice in-laws ultimately leading to following her husband to the grave. (The entire time watching I just cannot believe that this type of thing would ever happen in the world. It made my heart hurt for her.) Her brother who is now missing taught her martial art skills at an early age so she is somewhat restless and does not sit still waiting to die. She becomes a masked vigilante at night helping the poor find what they need and during the day praying to a shrine of her late husband. During this time, she has a run in with a Captain of the Guard (Park Soo Ho) who is somewhat fascinated by the masked person.
This all happens early in the drama so it should not be a spoiler. I found this story interesting and different from other dramas of this nature. It has a comedic flare and will make you laugh out loud at some of the antics of the characters. This is where the charm starts to end because some of the things are somewhat hard to believe and the pace is a little choppy and slow.
The Acting: So, the acting is fairly good, with a host of characters which all play their part well. The exception to this is the casting. The cast of characters is a little off in my opinion. The FL (Honey Lee) which I do like seems too old for this part and throughout the entire drama I find the pairing with the ML weird. They have a chemistry of brother and sister more so than realistic couple. The older brother (Lee Ki Woo, 42) who is paired with her best friend (Park Se Hyun, 25) and the casting seems off there too. So, to me the characters never fit to make the drama more enjoyable.
If you can look past the obvious and not be bothered by the slow pace you may find this a good watch but not a re-watch.

Read More

2020 drama underdog that I surprisingly found entertaining!

I was surprised and actually delighted by this short C-drama. Eternal Love Rain is 24 episodes which move along really fast. With that being said, you will notice some editing problems that may seem like you missed something but if you have been watching c-dramas you can fill in the gaps. Of course, this drama has the usual romance drama with basic conflicts and villains for 2020.

This will be a pleasant break if you have binged any long complex and tragic c-dramas.
The actors seem underwhelming at first, but they start to grow on you, I mean really grow on you. I found myself getting into the characters after a few episodes.

What I really like!

There are some laugh out loud funny moments in this drama. Things that other expensive dramas seemed to miss. the FL is energetic and annoying in a good way. The ML is the typical young actor they do not give many lines to because of the inexperience but he gets better as time goes by and you start to genuinely like him. The second FL (side kick) Her character is sweet and likeable and is bad ass with a capital "A". Which brings me to the martial arts. I loved it! The martial art action scenes are done in a spectacular way within interesting spin and make the cinematography look great. The fight scenes are fast paced with some really unique moves that made me hit the replay button a few times. I have seen a lot of wuxia dramas and I was a little impressed. One "Con" to this is, you can tell there is a stunt double.

The second ML was so, so not impressive but he grows on you. Some of the other side characters are really funny and likeable they could have used more scenes. Probably budget problems but it does not get boring.
The special effects well for a low budget film they did an ok job. I have seen worse on bigger budget films. So the fighting and the dragons are not bad. The make-up for the dragon horns well, use your imagination it is fantasy after all.

This drama is simple and uncomplicated don't take it too seriously and I think you will like it. Some things are never explained, just go with it.

Read More

Woo Do Hwan, surprisingly makes this drama. Okay the most positive thing I can say is that there is some nice eye candy in this drama. However flat, the drama may be. I also like the main plot with the Parallel Universe for the most part. However, the delivery falls short in almost all other aspects.
The acting.
To start the beginning of story actually starts of well and explains a lot. But then it loses everything when the actors open their mouths. The acting is terrible (or should I say over acting). I have never been a fan of Lee Min Oh and I could not really figure out why. I mean he is good looking and everyone loved him in (legend of a deep blue see). Me not so much and it is because he cannot act, at least in my eyes. He never has any expressions on his face as if someone told him he should look subdued and stark or did he get Botox? He does not ever raise his eyebrows while delivering a scene, it is quite annoying to watch. His voice is completely monotone, no up down it makes it hard to believe his character.
So, Kim Go Eun, is not any better. One thing Go Eun is good at is her stares that is the positive. I have to say they put two of my least favorite dramas stars together. They are very handsome people but not much more in this drama. So, Kim Go Eun, overacts in almost every scene. Her expressions and body movements are all wrong. Her lines seem to be way ahead or too late. Probably because she cannot read Min Ho, expressions. The other distracting thing is she is constantly either flipping or tying her hair. Oh, this makes me not like her or her character at all. Doing this while trying to deliver her lines. So, I am not sure is this is the director, writer or actually part of the story or just her vanity. Whatever it is, it makes the drama look really cheap and low budget. Beautiful women don't have to constantly flip their hair. Then her wardrobe, not marketable at all. I never understand why in Chinese dramas the women dress to a "T" (American expression for Great) which I love, but in Korean dramas they tend to look homely with baggie clothes just unkempt not a good selling feature to me.
Woo Do Hwan, surprisingly makes this drama. His character is handsome, light, funny and a joy to watch. I think he would have been a better match for the female lead.
There are some gaps in the story line which may throw you off at times and it is a missed opportunity for the director to make an impact. The romantic moments are awkward and rushed. There is not reason why the should love each other the dots do not connect. The first kiss does not have an impact at all.
I am not a hater I have watched over 300 dramas from all genres and I am a fan. It just makes me mad when directors, writers, producers miss the mark and forget to entertain the fan.
Supporting Cast
So, on the up side of this movie the supporting cast is somewhat entertaining. There are some truly funny and light moments to this dramas. I found myself laughing out loud at times. This part has kept me watching.
Action
There is some action and fight scenes in this drama that are entertaining. There are some climatic moments that make you want to root but they do not quite connect the dots for a awesome moment. It is as if the editing was cut a few minutes too short.
Sound Track-
If there was a sound track or great music it went over my head and I missed it.

Read More

Great chemistry! Be prepared to read between the lines.

I was impressed in the first episode with the cinematography and how grand it all appears. Everything looked like the makings of a great drama and for the most part it was but it fell short by about 2.5 points. First, let me say the wardrobes were spot on beautiful and flowing for the women, strong and fierce for the men. The production was done well and made you feel as if you were somewhere real instead of a green screen. Thumbs up to the casting directors because they picked a great cast of actors. Each of the characters big and small does a great job of bringing you into their world. From Gu's father to the Goa's father. The only character I never connected with along with all of his scenes was Chi the gangster. I fast forward most of his scenes which were actually quite a few. They could have skipped those storylines and put back many of the ones they edited out.

The FL and ML have great chemistry and if you like romance there is a lot of it. Now this is also where they loose points with me for bad editing. It seems they edit out some key points in this drama. You will have to fill in the gaps, holes and even make up some episodes on your own. Don't bother going back to see if you missed something (You didn't). It was cut somewhere when back on the editing floor. Who ever the editing team were which would include the director they left out a left a lot of key elements on the editing floor. Which made me really angry. They spent too episodes trying a create love triangle that just fell flat, flat , flat. It was quite annoying.

Even at the last two episodes you may be confused because what could have been good for the drama and made it better got cut.

Read More

Lacking in most areas!

I just felt this story did not have a lot of substance to be worthy of a good score. The ML is handsome and his acting is getting better but far from there. The FL just fell flat acting wise. She has a very pretty smile and it lights up but that is all that saves her. FL's character was lacking the strong FL element she was not really good at much. This had editing issues in many of the episodes that just made you do a double take ask what happened, what did I miss. It was annoying. going back to see if I had missed something. Tried to mix in modern elements which felt awkward and they did not flow.

On an upside "Pinger" her maid was a highlight for me. The actress was cute as a button and played her part well. She and her friend played their part well. Another character that made the story better was the ML mother for her small part I felt she played her part nicely.

All in all it was what it was a small mini drama with a low budget.

Read More

Slow Torture!

To begin the pace of this drama was extremely slow almost as if it was purposely done to drag out 40 episodes. I did like the beginning plot and the way in which I felt the story might develop. It has a smart, pretty FL and a smart, handsome, dominant ML. These two although they start off at odds find a common element early on in their ability to solve cases. Each has a strong moral position and an unwavering penchant for justice. The FL is one of a few that will stand up to the ML and does not seem to fear much. The case-solving tends to move slowly to match the slow pace of the drama.

The set and costumes are done well for the most part you do feel you are a part of the room. However, they did over-decorate some scenes and the room is too congested. I am not Asian, but I notice that many Asian movies are done in the cold where you can see the breath of the actors as they speak, and in this drama, it happens often. This is distracting at times.

Another thing I liked was the fight scenes. They were quick and entertaining moving faster than the pace of the show. The actors handled the action well and did a good job.

There is an interesting cast of characters with political intrigue. With this being said the first two episodes had my interest but then it fell short due to the slow pace of the drama and the lack of connection between the leads. Ding Yu Xi, I felt played his part well as the domineering lead but I felt Ancy Deng could not match his presence. There is not a lot of time spent on the supporting cast. Just some flashbacks to get a sense of the characters. If they spent time on them it may have helped with the slow pace.

So I think I get it now, why I am not seeing any chemistry between the leads. There is a certain immaturity in the FL so when I looked her up I found there is a huge age gap of 10 years between them. Not that age matters but if you have ever seen Yang Mei Mei, who is 19 yrs., but she looks 15 yrs. and she can pull off the coy woman role like nobody's business. the FL in this case, her youth and immaturity strongly come across in this drama. I think that with some agencies popular actors are sometimes forced to act with newcomers to give them a leg up in the industry. What a shame they could have cast better.

I stayed until the end to give Ding Yu Xi the benefit of the doubt because I felt he did a good job. The ending was not unexpected but could have been better.

Read More

Face swap success!

Face swapping, changed identity, murder mystery, and a take on child abuse. This drama was interesting from the trailer. The actors were on point and intriguing. I thought the casing was very good and each one fit their part. Although I must admit the initial Yang Cai Wei (woman with the scar) was so good that I did not think the FL Shangguan Zhi would fit the role. I was wrong, she took over immediately and owned the FL role.

This drama had a lot of depth to it in that some of the focus seemed to be on abandonment and child abuse. It becomes sad at times. The detective cases were handled quickly so it was not boring.

I like the production the costumes were great, especially ML who wore something different every time you see him, and it looked good. FL's wardrobe was so, so. In all of the movies I have seen the FL she seems a little anorexic (IMO) so her clothes do not look great.

The soundtrack was good, nothing I remember.

The ending was a little underwhelming but still satisfying as it was a happy one. They left room for a 2nd season but not a watch for me.

Read More

Could be a little more realistic!

“Fighting For Love”,

So this a story of two people on merging paths to each other. I am only a few episodes in but the story is well written so far. Some of it is not so much words but the expressions and actions of the actors are so believable. The drama is well written I find myself listening to the dialog and not fast forwarding a lot. So, for me there is some intrigue about where it is going.
Acting:
Now that I am at end of this drama it has been fairly good. There is no shortage of plots and palace intrigue. There is a large cast and what seems like a big production. The story is not new with a strong woman pretending to be a man. The FL handles her part well and her played down looks helps with the part. In the beginning episodes the acting was really good, and I take my hat off to the emperor he is superb. The ML could have been a little better with the acting. He plays an aloof playboy prince that is not mature and does not know anything about responsibility. So, it is up to the FL to guide him. Their relationship does not take long to develop as they become friends first.
This drama has a lot a battle scene a little more than I like, because they lack that wuxia element, but they move quickly. The production of the battles are done well. I would not call this a wuxia it is just more of a drama.
I have binged most of the drama it does draw you in with the curiosity of who, what why and where is this going in he end.
Story:
The story is not original but is written well and does draw you in to watch. It has a lot of twist and turns. The last three episodes are rushed so much so I thought it would be a second season. I don’t know if everyone will stick around for the end or even appreciate the ending. I for one did not like the ending. I did not like the direction the story went in for the final episodes. This I more on a personal level and observation. I am all for the independence of women and that being able to forge your own path. I liked that the writers kept her personality of women in that she always knew she was a woman. She was forced by her circumstances to act as a man. I also liked that she was not portrayed as a woman that was physically stronger than men but she did work at being smarter.
Rewatch:
In conclusion I would not re-watch this. However, being that I binged most of it would suggest that I like the drama overall. It could have had a better ending, but I think that is how most people feel about endings these days. (They suck).

Read More

Do not waste your time

I thought this had an interesting plot, something uplifting about being thirty and it being a good thing, but it was just depressing. It was actually quite predictable nothing that comes out at you. Maybe the music was a bit somber that made it seem to drag on. I fast forwarded a lot. I did not feel any chemistry between any of the characters not even the FL's. I remember thirty and it was one of the best times of my life in spite of bad relationships and barely making ends meat. This should have been about the joy of surviving thirty but I could not find any joy in this drama. Glad it is over. I thought "WWW" had a better take on thirty.

Read More

Wow, such a lack of imagination!

The Atypical Family had so much potential but fell short of lack of imagination. I liked that the family had superpowers but the powers were somewhat obscure and had "no rhyme or reason". It would have been nice if the plot led to the family pulling their powers together nearing the end to solve the main dilemma. It would have been nice if there was some background on why they have powers. It would have been nice if they had explained why the ML can only go back in time to see moments with the FL after his powers mutate. It does explain why they have lost their powers.

Read More

Not quite there yet as a real Romcom.

If you look at the trailer or read the description you will immediately think this a great Romcom. However, this fell short in so many ways. Let me first say the highest rating I gave is for the story. The story had real potential to be a blockbuster hit. It had all the makings to start a good Romcom. It just never got there. If I had to sum it up it was just boring. It never had two parts that go together. You know, peanut butter but no jelly, bread but no butter. The title does not go with anything. So a great story but the leads were not enough to pull it off. Individually they were cute but together no chemistry. I tried to give it every chance I could. I watched objectively until the end. I gave up better dramas for this. But when you start fast-forwarding through most of the episodes, you know something is wrong.

Many of the comments ask why the ratings are so low. This has a slow pace and never really goes anywhere. It reminded me of those short dramas on YouTube that give you different versions of the same plot. I fault the director for not knowing where to go or lead this drama to make it more exciting and loveable. I fault the writers for giving the actors too much dialog that they could not pull off. Thus, making the actors look like bad actors.

On a positive note, it is a rom-com and there were some funny moments. There was a hint of romance but it was barely fulfilled because it took so long. It has a happy ending.

Read More

Will stir emotions!

This is a hard drama to rate. Call me crazy but I fell in love with the ML in this. I hated that he was so evil but I love that he had this pure love. The way he looks at her melts your heart and makes you want to root for him. I almost wanted to drop it because I could not stand him turning so bad. It did not hold much substance as far as dramas go but I wanted to find out what happened to his love in the end. If you have ever had someone close or family member do something questionable then you will realize how your emotions can get caught in the middle of forgiveness or hate.

I found the other characters annoying at times and this was hard to by pass because the writer never really developed or had any growth of these characters. For this reason I did fast forward a lot.

I am not sure how they actually develop Asian dramas whether they write as they go along or if the story is actually written episode by episode. It seems as if they write episode by episode and they change the story line to meet the audience approval. In the beginning I could not tell who was with who and why these older men and much younger females were going.

I would say it is a OK watch if you like your emotions being tapped into a little.

Try "When a Man Loves" 2013. I thought this was one of the most emotionally charged dramas I have seen in a while.

Read More

Left me empty!

I guess I needed to write a review for my low score. The drama never leaves the first page. (If you know what I mean) It does not build to anything in order to finish anything. It starts off slow and depressing and never goes anywhere from there, in my opinion.

To be honest this drama is about emotional baggage, everyone's emotional baggage and mental illness. Everyone is the drama is pretty much mentally ill. Or you can just say emotional baggage. Sure, we all carry some but there are still good days unlike this drama.

If you like the male and female actors they are nice to look at but that is about all they have to offer here.

I am not sure if there is more than one song in the sound track. I just kept hearing the some depressing song over and over and over.

I watch dramas to be entertained not to be depressed.

If you are already dealing with emotional baggage you might want to stay away from this one. Somehow I don't think this will make you feel better.

Read More

This was just too cute for words. I probably should not give it such a high rating but considering I am a romantic at heart it cannot be helped. It is cheesy, sappy, over blown romance. Be forewarned it obviously has had a lot of episodes cut out of it. Not sure why you can clearly see there are missing parts. But if you have seen a lot a Asian dramas you can fill in the blanks. There is not a lot of character development it seems they spent that part on developing the romance between characters. Which I did not mind it makes the re-watch factor more possible.

The FL and ML ooze chemistry with a refreshing take on who is in control of the romance. The ML is a wealthy and shy introvert very much caught up in his work dedicated to family. Where as the FL also comes from a affluent family is totally outgoing not afraid of a challenge. Both of their characters are totally likable and adorable the chemistry is great balancing "Yin and Yang" if you will.

The story line is simple and sweet. If you want a emotional waive of feelings this is not for you. I just found myself smiling most of the time at how cute their romance was so I took the drama for what is was. I would say that originally this may have been over 48 episodes because the editing is cut a little too deep. You will never really know who Mrs. Fang was just that everyone loved her. So don't try to take this seriously it is what it is.

One last point OST, it was hard to get with it because there were no subtitles but it was pretty on point with key moments.

Read More