Magically Dramatical Mistakes: March 2012

Thursday, March 29, 2012

My Wife is 18

My Wife is 18/ Ngo liu poh lut gau ching ** (Hong Kong)
Movie

Ekin Cheng as Cheung

funny story, reminiscent of My Little Bride. On the whole though, I thought it was better. I really enjoyed the fun-loving-meets set-in-ways personalities of the two main characters.

Guy is under pressure from his grandmother to marry, and also by the university who will not pass his thesis, allowing him the degree he desires. He meets the 18 year old that grandma set him up with, outside, and at first it was a simple 'no-way'.. but they do marry, agreeing to divorce one year later. Trying to be careful lest they are discovered together, the tribulation of living together, and trying to be of help with one-another's love interests. eventually leads to discovering a mutual attraction between them.

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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The Art Of Seduction

The Art Of Seduction/ Yuhokui Gisul ** (Korean)
movie 100mins

Park Soo Jin as Hee Jin

Funny movie. Fav scene(s): Guy pouncing on the girl to keep her from thrashing while getting a shot at the hospital.

Guy and girl players attract and try to play one another.

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A Millionaire's First Love

A Millionaire's First Love/ 백만장자의 첫사랑/ Baekmanjangjaui Cheotsarang * (Korean)
movie 116mins

Lee Yeon-Hee as Choi Eun-hwan

Sad and tragic movie. Glad it was short.

Rich snobby grandson is forced via his grandfather's will, to transfer to a rural high school for several months before graduation. There, he meets a hard-working stoic girl with health issues and falls in love. he also experiences the retrieval of several long buried memories, all of which changes his demeanor.

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Monday, March 26, 2012

Great Inheritance

Great Inheritance/Kindergarten Love/Great Expectations ** (Korean)
17 episodes

Good storyline, good acting. difficult to find in one piece online. Wonderful to see the killer smile in another drama...even if it was barely worth the trouble in translation efforts. This drama is often and easily confused with a K-movie by the name of The Greatest Expectation. fav character(s): su bong the sidekick.

A back-office gangster inherits a kindergarten, which becomes prized property to the plans of a large gangster corp and that of his own like-a-father boss. In order to gain the property though, he must work as a teacher's assistant for 100 days and there he meets the lovely Mi Rae.

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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

My Sassy Girl

My Sassy Girl/ 엽기적인 그녀/ Yeopgijeogin Geunyeo **\ (Korean)
Movie

Gianna Jun as The Girl
Cha Tae-Hyun as Gyun-woo

Ryoki teki na kanojo/ 猟奇的な彼女 ** (Japanese)
11 episodes

Rena Tanaka as Riko Takami
Tsuyoshi Kusanagi as Saburo Masaki

Good romance storyline and good acting for both versions. The Japanese version dragged quite a bit more then did the Korean version, it was expected though. I understand there might be a Korean remake at some point this year or next. fav scene(s): The 'arranged' reunion in the Korean version and the surprise dolphin party hanging from the ceiling in the Japanese version.

Guy meets and saves drunk girl from a subway accident and takes her to a love motel, for lack of a better spot. This causes a fair bit of misunderstanding the next day. The girl forces cheerfulness even through a suffering and broken heart due to her last bf who, as it turned out was near death's door. In spite of the abuse she pours over him, the guy falls in love and finds himself in a willing step-n-fetch.

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Monday, March 19, 2012

Hello Ghost

Hello Ghost (Korean)
movie

Jang Yeong-Nam as crying ghost
Lee Moon-Su as perverted ghost
Ko Chang-Seok as cigarette smoking ghost
Cha Tae-Hyun as Sang-Man
Cheon Bo-Keun as elementary school student ghost

I was idly reminded of a movie called '6th Sense' as I watched this. It the Translation was so bad as to practically be unneeded. started out a little boring/depressing, and got little better as it went along, but it ended really well. Fav scenes(s): The long walk home and the ending realization.

Guy attempts to kill himself, first by pills, then by jumping off a bridge and fails.. While in the hospital, he becomes aware of seeing ghosts gathered around him and makes the acquaintance of a compassionate nurse. After speaking with a shaman, he resolves to help the ghosts with their final wishes, so they might then be able to move on and leave him alone.

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My Fair Lady

My Fair Lady/ The Perfect Girl/ Yojo Lady ** (Korean)
24 episodes

Kim Hee Sun as Ha Min Kyung

Some of the online episodes were practically impossible to find for this drama.. and it was often found confused with another drama by the same nickname. but if you can find it, It's rather nice 'older' romance. Fav scene(s): Instructed to 'get close' to the AGM, the guy wraps his hands around the guy's arm.

A girl, born and raised in poverty, runs away to the city and becomes a flight attendant in her quest to find a rich man to marry.
An astronomer obligated to help his mother pay of some heavy debts, sells his time and abilities to the miser, who is a rich partner in a gaming company.
They meet at a group date with the guys claiming to be doctors. The girl mistakes the guy as a member of an elite boating member and quickly singles him out. the guy, meanwhile, is simply dumfounded that this lady looks exactly like his deceased gf.
Problems arise when the girls find out the truth about the guys story. especially hit, is the gold-digging girl, who immediately flies back into the arms of a rich man wanting to marry her, thinking she was from a well-to-do family.

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Friday, March 16, 2012

Shining Inheritance

Shining Inheritance/ Brilliant Legacy ** (Korean)
28 episodes

Bae Soo Bin as Park Joon Sae

A little long but a very interesting story. It seemed a bit like a Cinderella story, complete with an evil stepmother and 'fairy god-'grandmother. lol!
Fav character(s): The restaurant owner torn between the demands of a desperate father and what he knew was right in his heart. and Go Eun Woo, a piano savant.

Go Eun Sung's father is involved in an accident and mistaken for dead. The stepmom takes his life insurance for herself and daughter, and kicks Eun sung and her brother, Eun Woo, out of the house. In her struggle to survive, she takes on a nightclub job and runs into Hwan, her step-sister's boyfriend.
While this is going on, stepmom discovers Eun Woo and, upon learning his good memory for her phone and address, she taks him out of Seoul to a country compassionate household and tells him not to call.
Hwan's Grandmother, horribly disappointed that her grandchildren does not share her company vision and values, goes on walk-a-bout in rags, and meets Eun Sung, as she peddles rice dumplings on the streetcorner while looking for her missing brother.
Grandmother, impressed with the girl's compassion, makes a deal with her to live at her estate, Telling her step-daughter and grandkids that grandmother is changing her will to give everything to Eun Sung Then the grandmother will use her considerable resources to help to look for the missing brother.
The family is not happy about this news, none more-so then Hwan.

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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The Perfect Couple

The Perfect Couple/ 최강 로맨스/ Choegangromaenseu ** (Korean)
Movie 109 mins

Kim Sung Kyum as Tae Bong's grandfather

A handsome young police officer with a fear of knives and a high-pitched lady journalist reluctantly team up to film a local reality cop show.. while in the middle of a drug case. Several mistakes occur, which puts the cop's partner in the hospital and has the ditzy girl reflecting how to best be of actual help to the fellow she owes so much to.

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Monday, March 12, 2012

Cinderella Man +

Cinderella Man ** (Korean)
16 episodes

Ahn Suk Hwan as Joon Hee's secretary

Good story. The main actor playing two parts.. was awesome. really though, I thought he looked better with the glasses. He gains Best Seeing-Double' Prize! I felt soo badly for the 'rich' brother.. not only did he have issues with his current family's business, brother and mystery involving his birth mother, not to mention serious health issues, but then he loses the only opportunity he has to really meet and get to know his twin brother. Fav scene(s): The start of something, in the middle of battle and reunited with an old (dubious) friend, on opposite sides.

An opportunist orphan, trying to make it big in a fashion market, is given the gift of a store to help him with debts, meets the daughter of his benefactor, and loses the store..along with the girl's father. Trying to regain the store, lends him trouble with a loan shark and has him face-to-face with himself.. or so it seems.
This Twin, has issues of his own, and asks Daesan to play as him for a time.. in return, he could earn what he needs to regain the store, pay off his debts, and perhaps assist his love with her sudden housing loss.

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Saturday, March 10, 2012

Shut Up Flower Boy Band

Shut Up Flower Boy Band ** (Korean)
16 episodes

Lee Min Ki as Joo Byung Hee

Not sure quite what to think of this drama. Just get to know the band members, and the leader's finding a new muse, and his life abruptly ends in tragedy. bleh. Good enough story, I suppose. Fav character(s): Eye candy.. yepyep, all of them.

After a Band's leader is tragically killed, the group elects a new leader, and under his direction, they continue to attend the new upper-class school, in spite of the presence of the rival band, who has involvement with the tragedy.. They then look for a place to practice for the upcoming contest... to fulfill their beloved leader's last wish.

"Wake Up"
by lee jae hak

Is it a blank spot? Click to listen & then
mouseover to see player controls.

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Hungry!

Hungry! ** (Japanese)
11 episodes

Takimoto Miori as Okusu Chie

More about the guy and his efforts to pick up where his mother left off in French cuisine then it is about romance or comedy. Fav character: Okusu Chie

A guy, having promised his late mother that he would return home to take our the restaurant when he turned 30, if he didn't make it as a rock star, does return, but his dad sold the restaurant to a rival. So he sets up in a garage, with a couple of his band-mates for help.

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Dekichatta Kekkon

Dekichatta Kekkon/shotgun wedding ** (Japanese)
11 episodes

Yutaka Takenouchi as Ryunosuke Hirao

It took me a false start or two to get into this drama, but once I did, it was worth watching imo. In line with what a 'shotgun wedding' means, I kept expecting dad to get his 'arms' up and enforce the marriage... but it wasn't to be.. still, the actors were engaging and I enjoyed it. Fav character(s): The father/husband-to-be.

Guy and girl meet on the pier on a romantic moonlight evening. Soon after the party-for-friends is over, The girl realizes she is pregnant and tells the guy. They decide to marry but her dad refuses to accept it, and the guy comes down with a bit of confusion, involving another girl. Meanwhile, the guy's 'brother' is having issues of his own, concerning the girl's sister, who, having been in a relationship with him for 10 years, wants to marry, and is willing to do that with someone else if the bro isn't up to the asking.

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Wild Romance

Wild Romance *** (Korean)
16 episodes

Kang Dong Ho as Kim Tae Han
Lee Dong Wook as Park Moo Yul

Fun drama! love the comedy, the romance, and the mystery/adventure as well. I really enjoyed this one. fav scene(s): family cheers, bestfriend/manager combo, and a bemused knockout!

An altercation turned opportunity, makes a rival baseball fan the bodyguard of an infamous player when a dangerous stalker's existence becomes known. Trouble is, the protector and the protected don't get along.

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Bungee Jumping of Their Own

Bungee Jumping of Their Own/ 번지점프를 하다/ Beonjijeompeureul hada ** (Korean)
Movie 99mins

Yeo Hyeon-Soo
as Lim Hyeon-bin

Lee Byung-hun
as Seo In-woo

Not really much of an average romance.. it does have couple of tragic scenes in it. It is a topic I have mused about before. Even though the film has a tragic ending, it made me wonder about possibilities. which makes it worthy to see, imo.

One rainy evening, In-woo instantly falls in love with the girl sharing his umbrella. It doesn't take long before they begin to date. The girl then meets with an accident and he is left alone. Some time later, he is grown, with a wife and child.. and a new job as a homeroom teacher. There, in the class, is a young man who In-woo solidly recognizes as his soulmate in reincarnated form.

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My Boyfriend is Type B

My Boyfriend Is Type-B ** (Korean)
Movie 96 min.

Han Ji-hye as Ha-Mi
Lee Dong-gun as Yeong-Bin

The start of the movie wasn't all that great really. didn't do a very good job intro-ing the characters..other then, the girl was looking for a boyfriend.. and the guy was an arrogant user. But I guess that was really all that was needed for this story. Fav scene(s): when the guy 'realizes' the mistake he made and stepping onto the bus to prove his feelings to her.

Introverted shy Girl, looking for a boyfriend, runs into an in debt charmer who takes advantage of the hearts in her eyes. Her roommate attempts to dissuade her but the guy has her steppin' and fetchin' for him.. cooking meals for him and his visiting father, giving up her room for his stay, losing out on a college test because of having spent too much time working for him when she might have been sleeping, eating or studying and running up a bill on a card he had tricked off of her. Was he really serious about her.. or just playing?

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Marrying the Mafia

Marrying the Mafia 1/ 가문의 영광/ Gamunui Youngkwang ** (Korean)
movie + II + III + IV

Kim Jeong-eun as Jang, Jin-kyeong
Jung Joon-ho as Park, Dae-seo

Thus far, as I can tell there are 4 movies by this same title, but the content doesn't involve the same characters...unless the gang names and bosses are the same from 2 to 4.. not sure. The first one was amusing though. fav scene(s) the start, waking up baffled, and the end, the explanation of how they got there.

Educated Guy and the only daughter of a mafia boss wake up in their underwear in the same bed. The guy is then pressured by the girl's brothers to 'do the right thing' even though a doctor's note is hot in hand.

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II

III

IV - Unstoppable Family

Magic To Win

Magic To Win (Chinese)
movie

Wu Chun as Ling Feng

Not a romance or a comedy, but quite a bit of magical fantasy. Fav character(s): the white-haired stage magician

A volleyball player in a school familiar with magic, accidentally receives power from one of the professors at the school and so she sets out to make a little cash from the suddenly powerful ability. Unbeknownst to her, there is a fire mage out to open the portal of time and is waging magical battles on the other 3 masters in an effort to accumulate their powers.

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For the Sake of the Son

For the Sake of the Son ** (Korean)
4 episodes

We Hyun-Tae as Sang-Hwan

Short yet well put together action romance story. Seemed kind of bittersweet that the detective should fall so hopelessly in love only after 10 years of celibacy. Talk about playing the cards you are dealt, eh?

A woman from north Korea, comes to the south to kill her south spy hubby, for the sake of her son's life. A detective and his son hire her as a house-cleaner and the detective falls in love. Ji-Sook's soft heart though, makes something of a fumble of the task, and the detective's son is kidnapped in an effort to make her finish the execution.

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She's On Duty

She's On Duty/ 잠복근무/ Jambokgeunmu ** (Korean)
movie

Gong Yoo as Kang No-Young
Kim Sun-A as Chun Jae-In

Undercover as a high schooler, Ja-in, seeks to gain a friendship with a certain girl in efforts to find her father, a man with damaging information about a dangerous gang.. along the way, she has battles for power with the high school tough girl.. and guy, gets interrupted by another agent on the case, fails a math exam..for cheating, and falls in love with a fellow high school student.

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Couple or Trouble

Couple or Trouble/ Fantasy Couple ** (Korean)
16 episodes

Oh Ji Ho as Jang Chul Soo

I guess this drama was sort of a take on an American film called overboard. Well, at least It wasn't a take on an American sit-com. heh. I was oddly pleased to see the girl who was wishing for snow all through the drama, finally get her cool date. lol!
Fav character(s): "Doggy"

Rich, married, snotty, picky, and ill-tempered, the girl get drunk, falls overboard and suffers amnesia. Determined to get his money out of her, for the clock across the skull and several other costs, the handyman tells her she is his live-in gf and takes her home with him to get her to clean and nephew-sit for him, for a month. Meanwhile, the hubby is going through fits to make sure he doesn't wind up in the poorhouse the moment someone realizes she isn't actually dead.

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My Tutor Friend

My Tutor Friend 1 ** (Korean)
movie + TF Lesson 2 *

Kim Ha-Neul as Su-Wan

Kind of a fun little movie.. a bit of offhand humor with some light romance. The second movie was far too fragmented to even comment on, that and I couldn't locate a single video source to watch after about the 3rd episode. Fav scene(s): A new father with a shiner and the tutor's revenge.

Girl is forced into tutoring by her mother as a means of paying her tuition and meets her 2 hour a day charge.. a rich guy who is better with his fists then he is at books.. who has been held back two grades in high-school.

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Proposal Daisakusen

Proposal Daisakusen/
Operation Love ** (Japanese)
11 episodes

The important(weird) second button

Operation Proposal/ 프로포즈 대작전/
Peu-ro-po-jeu Dae-jak-jeon/ Operation Love **(Korean)
16 episodes

Worth the effort of getting past the opening scenes. Even as the teacher wasn't to blame, one couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the best friend. Fav Character(s): The picturesque fairy of second chances.
The Korean version was just as interesting, I thought. Even as it diverged just a bit from the original storyline, it kept close enough parallels to be called essentially the same story, even down to the precious 2nd button. good job! Favorite character(s): Jin-Joo and Baek-Ho

A guy, who has been the girl's best friend since grade school, regrets seeing her marry someone else. At the reception, he meets up with a fellow claiming to be a fairy living in the church, who offers him a second chance to go back, in time with the pictures of a slide show, to perhaps change the eventual outcome.
The Korean version has the male lead meeting a 'time conductor' who gives him a vial of liquid to drink, while he takes the signed and collected baseballs as payment. Baek-Ho is then mostly going off of old pictures of his own and trying to 'fix' the reasons for the frowns in them.

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Thirty Thousand Miles in Search of My Son

30,000 miles in search for my son ** (Korean)
21 episodes

Jung Wook as Jo Sung Tae

This drama was quite difficult to locate entirety online.. But once past the ehh translation, the missing scenes, and the choppy editing? I thought that the series was quite good. not cheesy bleh like many of the older drama's are. Fav character(s): the playboy, the wushu artist, and little sis.

Girl, while in a relationship with a guy having a serious affair with another girl has her young child stolen.. for which she is blamed and spends the next 5 years looking for her son. One day, the thief responsible in a moment of guilt, tells her the license plate of the car he stashed the baby in and she runs off to learn her boy has been taken in by one of two sons of a business president. It seems, in efforts to remain unmarried with someone he was badly frightened of, he claimed the child was his, and the mother abandoned. desperate to keep the truth hidden, the fellow get her to promise in exchange for letting her become a temporary babysitter for the child. The president is..impressed, and hires her as his errant son's secretary. But her presence causes upheaval all around. and in the middle of it all? hearts are moved, rivals are born, and an old trusted flame reappears and wrecks havoc.

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Daring Women

Daring Women ** (Korean)
105 episodes x.x; !!!

Lee Chang Hoon as Han Kyu Jin
Lee Yoo Ri as Ji Soon Young

A soapy romance with a little bit of comedy tossed in once in awhile to keep some kind of levity. Some bits didn't seem quite connected really. Like, why was there a claim of trying for a baby in the nights but in the day it was a complete seething hate on the faces and demeanor of the involved parties? It's not so easy, in my mind, to hate/be hurt by someone to such a horrific degree without it effecting the nighttime bunny hop. And the girl went on something of a magical quick-change from struggling repressed single Cinderella living on a shoestring, to a high-class benevolent mamma in the span of a night of moving in. Also.. what solid claim did the in-laws have on the child.. enough to give them ability to take her away from the mother who legally adopted her? Where's a restraining order when you need one? One nasty accidental death scene (With very nearly a second one later on with the little girl) with a floating/flying victim in slo-mo.. and one really sad death, and very nearly two) followed by an amazing amount of tears, accusations, and grief. I do rather wish the in-laws father thought to leave his wife earlier, and pulled it off. Certainly he deserved better for himself and his children then the horrid unforgiving biddy he was with.
Fav scene(s): After a second night of drinking, Hwang Mo Ran wakes up in her bedroom with the hunky male hair stylist her mother hired.

A girl's chemist hubby dies in an accident just after they legally adopted a 'related' infant. After several years of playing the slave game for her in-laws, she is asked to move out.. with no resources for survival. She then gets a job at the very company that was involved in the accident on her husband, unknown by all but the son of the company president and the motorcycle dude who hit the husband. Her sis-in-law, ever the advantage-taker, steals the 'son' by taking credit for a life-save she wasn't there for. Eventually, the company boss and the girl fall in love, and against the mighty waves of anger and vengeance they marry, making her the mother-in-law of her old sister-in-law. But lies have a tendency of growing ans over time, they are bound to reveal themselves for what they are, instantly tearing down whatever may have since been built upon them....even family.

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Don't Ask About The Past

Don't Ask Me About the Past/ Please Don't Bury the Past/과거를 묻지 마세요/ Kwageoreul Mutji Maseyo ** (Korean)
16 episodes

Kim Won Hee as Kwak Sun Young

Comedy, romance and a fair bit of action as well, in a detective style. The separate cases and reasons got quite a bit tangled up together and made for a well moving story. Although... could have done just a bit more with the relationship between the 'detective' and the cop. I did like how it was all wrapped up. There are several deaths involved and implied in this drama. Fav Character(s): The Bartender

Girl gets into a bit of a car accident/trip on her wedding day. that evening, she discovers a special ability to 'smell' a man's love history... and shortly thereafter, divorces and moves on. With her best friend, they open a business together, intent on helping other women (as well as the police) to discover the truth behind spun stories.

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The Naked Kitchen

The Naked Kitchen ** (Korean)
Movie

Joo Ji-Hoon as Park Du-Re

Even as short as it was.. it was a good romance. I didn't fully understand the very ending but from a glance at the reviews, very few did. Suggestive scenes. Fav scene(s); An artistic encounter.

On her wedding anniversary, Mo-Rae, has a very-close encounter of the standing-room-only variety with a fellow in back of an art display. Feeling rather guilty, she makes the attempt to tell her spouse, who had his own news to share, he had quit his job and invited a famed chef to teach him the finer points of french cooking, in time for a chef review.. and gave him temporary stay at their place. As it turns out, its the very same fellow from the art gallery... making things a little awkward between them.

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Finding Mr. Destiny

Finding Mr. Destiny ** (Korean)
Movie

Gong Yoo as Han Gi-Joon

light romance and comedy. Not much really in the way of character development. The very ending of the film seemed a bit disconnected, even though I watched it twice, I didn't get the connection. *shrug* I was pleased the girl got the opportunity to sing in the stage production though.

Guy seeking a living after leaving a travel agency job, creates his own business as a sort of detective, specializing in finding one's first love. His first client, is a theatre director, looking for her first love, left in India some 10 years before. They set off, with little information, and along the way, fall in love with each-other.

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