Sunnyelf's blog review of Asian Dramas and Movies.
This blog is a personal labor of love in a constant flux of improvement.
Please Note:
One * = Didn't like it, Don't recommend. Two ** = Typical. Worth seeing at least once. Three *** = I enjoyed it! Worth seeing more then once. Four **** = It's great! Add it to your all-time favorites list! Five ***** = Epic! Highly Recommended. A totally memorable drama/film.
Fukada Kyoko as Chiyomi
Ninomiya Kazunari as Minami
2nd version of an original idea, I believe. Not a bad tale really.. almost in spite of the issues. I was expecting the seductress girl to be a bit more ruthless then she turned out to be... not sure just why that was...almost a disappointment. Acting in general was so-so yet not horrible. Could have something to do with having to act through the camera trickery.
Fav scene(s): the implied, 'I'm not worried about you.. I'm worried about..' ... me.(?)
A guy and girl's mutual love is tested, stressed, and then changed.. when one is shrunken to a much smaller version of themselves.
You can also find:
Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
Doremifasolasido/ Do Re Mi Fa So La Si Do/ 도레미파솔라시도 *\ (Korean)
movie 105 mins
Cha Ye-Ryun as Yoon Jung-Won
A Romance of sorts. I wasn't terribly interested in the storyline, really. Found it fairly boring and a bit depressing. It was nice to see JGS again, looked good in the haircut, I thought. Fav character(s): Eun-Kyu for his sweet smile on an otherwise dreary day.
Girl and her brother meet their new rooftop vista neighbors as they are horsing around, trying to stay out of the way of their martial instructing father. As bro goes off in search of a cat, the girl gets a bit better acquainted with the guitar-playing Eun-Kyu. When he intro's her to the band he plays with, she is forced to let go of him out of guilt for the misfortunes of one of the member's she has a past with.
You can also find:
Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
Incarnation of Money/ Money Incarnation/ Money Demons/ The Embodiment of Money/ Money Incarnate/ 돈의 화신 / Donui Hwashin **\ (Korean)
24 episodes
Park Ji Bin as Kang Suk
A bit of comic relief, a bit of romance, all wrapped up in a heavily vengeful plan. Favorite character(s): the funny underling and secretary of Lee Cha Don and the loan shark 'gentleman' mother.
Favorite scene(s): messing with the cell-pal's food and.. spiriting away the money from before the oblivious faces of the watchful enemy.
A father who doted on his son, snarled at his wife, and kept a famous actress mistress, is set up for a fatal last day by two legal types, the mistress, and a reporter. Then, after framing the mother and trying to run over the boy, they take the inheritance and sell the property. Several years later, the amnesiac boy has grown under the patronage of a loan shark's money into a fine prosecutor. He attempts to free a suffering woman from a sanatorium and gains confidence and cash as an extortion artist. He suffers near complete loss for it when he comes up bad-side of the killer group. Discovering a possible way to gain ownership of a lot of money that was dug up from the ground, he goes under-cover to get back into contact with the woman he had tried to free. Under deplorable conditions he finds her and is shown a picture of his own youthful face with that of his mother, and his long dead father. From this point onward, he is determined to expose the ruthless murderers for the atrocities they had committed on his family.
"Up & Down"
by Exid
Is it a blank spot? Click to listen & then
mouseover to see player controls.
You can also find:
Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
Jin/ 仁 (Japanese)
11 episodes - season 1
11 episodes - season 2 Ayase Haruka as
Tachibana Saki
Osawa Takao as Minakata Jin
Time Slip Dr. Jin/ 닥터 진/ Dak-teo Jin/ Dr. Jin ** (Korean)
22 episodes Jin Yi Han as Hong Young Hwi
A medical time story, semi-romance based on Japanese manga story. The Korean version could have been a little less gross about the operations, I thought, without effecting the solidity of the storyline. Well I survived and hung on through the blood,guts,n gore clear to the end and, all in all, it wasn't that bad of a drama. Favorite character(s): the death defying brother.
A neurosurgeon removes a fetus from a mystery patient's brain, only to fall off a building and find himself many years in an alternate past. There, he meets and gets entangled in deadly political intrigue, as a relative of royalty covets the throne for his son, and the removal of an old ruling clan. The poor doc is in a race against time and the age, all while trying hard to keep the girl who looks exactly like his sick girlfriend, safe, keep history on its correct course as well as to follow his doctor's instincts to save life for those in need, no matter their rank or what side they might be on..
You can also find:
Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
(Jin Hyuk) Song Seung Hun -in- My Princess, Summer Scent, He Was Cool
(Yoo Mi Na/Hong Young Rae) Park Min Young -in- City Hunter, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, I'm Sam
(Kim Kyung Tak) Kim Jae Joong/Yeong Woong Jae Jung/Jejung -in- Protect the Boss, Codename: Jackal
(Prince/Lee Ha Eung) Lee Bum Soo -in- IRIS II, Project Makeover, 200 Pounds Beauty, She's on Duty, Please Teach Me English, Bunge Jumping of Their Own, The Romantic President
(Young Rae's brother/Hong Young Hwi) Jin Yi Han -in- Hooray for Love, Who Are You?, Love, So Divine
(Kyung Tak's father/Kim Byung Hee) Kim Eung Soo/キム・ウンス -in- Vampire Prosecutor, Fugitive: Plan B, Secret Investigation Record, Marrying the Mafia III, Art of Fighting, For the Sake of Son
(Young Rae's mother) Kim Hye Ok -in- Scent of a Woman, Baby-faced Beauty, It's Okay, Daddy's Girl, My Sweet City, Powerful Opponents, I Hate You, But It's Fine, I Really Really Like You, Wonderful Life, My Dear Enemy, My Little Bride, My Tutor Friend
(Yoo Hong Pil) Kim Il Woo -in- IRIS II, Sweet Spy
(doctor/Heo Gwang) Jung Eun Pyo -in- Paradise Ranch, Invincible Lee Pyung Kang, Le Grand Chef
(Kwon Ik Joo) Lee Seung Joon -in- Kiss Me, Kill Me
(loan shark/Joo Pal) Lee Won Jong -in- Vampire Prosecutor, Wild Romance, Scent of a Woman, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, A Man Called God, Gourmet, Iljimae, 200 Pounds Beauty
(Kkae Bok) Kim Kwang Sik -in- When It's At Night, Iljimae, My Tutor Friend 2
(Kim Byung Ok) Kim Byung Choon -in- City Hunter, Love Exposure, Jeon Woo-Chi, Tamra, the Island
(dowager/King's mother Jo) Jung Hye-Sun -in- Bread, Love and Dreams, Cinderella Man,
(Noble man Lee) Kim Myeong-Kuk -in- Romantic Debtors, Spy Girl, Ohlala Couple, A Man Called God, My Fair Lady
(linen shop owner) Jo Mi-Ryung -in- Love in Magic, Can't Live With Losing, Dr. Gang
(King Cheoljong) Kim Byeong-Se -in- A Millionaire's First Love, Full House Take 2, Color of Women, The Last Scandal of My Life
(Teacher Kang) Ha Soo-Ho -in- The Secret Reunion
(Noble woman Jo) Jang Yeong-Nam -in- Hello Ghost, Finding Mr. Destiny, My Girlfriend is an Agent, 7th Grade Civil Servant, I Love Lee Tae-Ri, Vampire Prosecutor, Three Fathers, One Mother, Dalja's Spring
(French Priest Liddell) Fabien Yoon -in- The King 2hearts
7th Grade Civil Servant/ 7th Level Civil Servant/ My Girlfriend is an Agent/ 7급 공무원 / 7 Geup Gongmoowon ** (Korean)
20 episodes
Ahn Nae Sang as Kim Won Suk
A bit of a silly romance with a fair bit of action. This drama follows the movie with a similar name, in a general style, Link, with the characters getting close and breaking apart, only to get close once again, wound around a story of intrigue and espionage. I nearly stopped watching after a favorite character was seriously wounded. Favorite characters(s): A loyal son of a badguy, and a discipline officer determined to right past wrongs.
A son of a hardnose company president joins training to become a spy like that of his inspiration, James bond. there he meets a farmers daughter, with a gift for a lie, and falls in love. Someone though, is out to kill secret agents and someone on the inside is working with them because it isn't terribly long before Gil Ro is ousted and the team is threatened with discontinuation. the guy's agency boss though, keeps him checking in under the assumption of undercover work and having him look after his dad. When Seo Won shows up at the company though, he sees through the plan and the little team is hot on trail of the badguys before more people die.
You can also find:
(Kim Kyung-Ja/Kim Seo-Won) Choi Kang Hee -in- Protect the Boss, My Sweet City, Sweet Buns
(Han Pil-Hoon/Han Gil-Ro) Joo Won/Moon Joon Won -in- King of Baking, Kim Tak Goo
(Kim Won-Seok) Ahn Nae Sang -in- Protect the Boss, My Princess, Sungkyunkwan Scandal
(Kong Do-Ha) Hwang Chan Sung/Chansung -in- Dream High
(Jang Young-Soon) Jang Young Nam -in- I Love Lee Tae Ri, Vampire Prosecutor, One Mom and Three Dads, Dal Ja's Spring, Hello Ghost, Finding Mr. Destiny, Dr. Jin
(Kim Poong-Un) Son Jin Young -in- Answer Me 1997
(Oh Gwang-Jae) Choi Jong Hwan -in- IRIS
(Shin Sun-Mi) Kim Min Seo -in- Baby-faced Beauty, It's Okay, Daddy's Girl, Sungkyunkwan Scandal
(Park Soo-Young) Lee El/Kim Ji Hyun -in- Wild Romance
(Mi-Rae) Kim Soo Hyun/Yoo Ri El -in- Romance Town, Fugitive: Plan B
(Ko Soo-Ja) Lim Ye Jin -in- Romance Town, My Princess, Boys Before Flowers, What's Up Fox?, Goong, Full House, Windstruck, My Mighty Princess
(Kim Pan-Seok) Lee Han Wie -in- Wild Romance, Athena: Goddess of War, King of Baking, Kim Tak Goo, Oh! My Lady, Tempted Again, Beethoven Virus, My Sweet City, The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince, Princess Lulu, Delightful Girl Choon Hyang, 200 Pounds Beauty, To The Beautiful You
(Oh Mak-Nae) Kim Mi Kyung -in- Faith, Baby-faced Beauty, Secret Garden, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Tempted Again, Who Are You?
(Kim Min-Ho) No Young Hak -in- Gourmet, Iljimae
(Kim Sung-Joon) Jung In Ki/Jeong In-Gi -in- The King of Dramas, Cheongdamdong Alice, Flower Boy Ramyun Shop, Secret Reunion, My Dear Desperado, The Perfect Couple
(Kim Won-Seok's wife) Lee Hye-Eun -in- Can't Live With Losing, Coffee House
