Magically Dramatical Mistakes

Friday, March 15, 2013

Dr. Gang

Dr. Gang/ Dr. Kkang/ 닥터 깽/ Dokteo Kkaeng ** (Korean)
16 episodes

Yang Dong Geun as Kang Dal Go
Han Ga In as Dr. Kim Yoo Na

I enjoyed this drama. Romantic Comedy. I felt a little for the prosecutor.. seems like he was a bit too late in just about everything. I thought the director of the little hospital was a rather silly/senseless lush.. both his and Dal Go's 'lazy' walking style caused quite a few giggles in me. Fine acting and a somewhat slow but steadily moving plot with a lovely ending. Fav Scene(s): Hee Jung's befuddled backwards talk, Det. Kim's undaunted brotherly words and concern in the thick of things, Three's frustration at having to whine wheel and deal, and Dal Go's musical love notes.

A gangster, trying to get out, makes a deal with a prosecutor to blow the whistle on his former gang in exchange for protection when he is scape-goated into taking the rap for a detective's murder. He is given a new home and job in Seoul, sharing space with his mother, his love, her sister-in-law and child. But the true badguy manages to escape the prosecutor's hands once again, further complicating all of their lives and is gunning for Dal Go, whom the blame has been pinned.

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Flower Boy Next Door

Flower Boy Next Door/ My Neighbor Flower Boy/ The Pretty Boy Next Door/ My Flower Boy Neighbor/ 이웃집 꽃미남/ Yiootjib Kkotminam *** (Korean)
16 episodes

Yoon Shi Yoon as Enrique Geum

A fun-loving and enjoyable romantic comedy. Ahh, I want the hat!! Favorite characters: Enrique, hippo, and Watanabe. Favorite scenes: Watanabi's 'escalator' ride and Enrique's panda dash.

Dok Mi, having shut herself away in her apartment, spends an idle moment peeping at the neighbor across from her window, and sees her crush quickly prepping to leave, thinking the fellow's poor dog just got crowned with a hot tea kettle, she races over, only to be caught by the guy's friend and somewhat unexpected new roomy. Enrique, a gamer and game creator, is fresh from Brazil, and thinking to play cupid between a girl he liked and his friend. Realizing Dok Mi has been spying on the apartment, He rushes over to confront her, and gets into a bit of difficulty with the girl's neighbors who are curious as to why he is banging on her door. Then along comes pain from the past for the shut-in editor, in the form of a rather snooty 'high-class' girl who has an unrelenting crush on one of her neighbors, Jin Rak. The struggling webtooner, though, has a long-time crush on Dok Mi. With Enrique in the way of the status quo and destabilizing quiet lives with his exuberance (and stalking fans)... quite the upheaval is quickly underway for all concerned.

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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Love of South and North

Love of South and North/ Love Impossible/ 남남북녀/ Namnam buknyeo *\ (Korean)
Movie 108 mins

Zo In-Sung as Kim Chul-Soo
Kim Sa-Rang as Oh Young-Hee

A number of ehhs in this one. I guess it was alright for a basic plot n delivery.. all within a movie's too-short time limit. It wasn't horrible, nor was it memorable to any degree. There is a bit of hormonal vulgarity in this movie.

Son of a s.Korean bigwig is a dyed-in-the-wool playboy. One day, his teacher gives him an ultimatum, go on the excavation colab between north and south, or completely fail to graduate. Being as his dad is likely to moiderize him for failing, he chooses to take on the excavation. There he meets the girl of his dreams, daughter of a n.Korean bigwig.. and after quite a bit of pursuing and realization, love blossoms between them. But how can love in such a situation hope to survive?

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Thursday, January 31, 2013

Codename: Jackal

Codename: Jackal/ Jackals Are Coming/ 자칼이 온다 (Korean)
Movie 107 mins

Song Ji-Hyo as Killer Bong

There were a few.. umm.. rather suggestive scenes, yet I hesitate (a lot) to call it a romance. There were a number of rather ludicrous moments though so I'll just call it a comedy and let you rate for yourselves. Favorite scene(s): checking to see if he is her correct target or not, and.. rescue from a rescue.

A famed singer is abducted by a hired assassin in his own hotel room. When she would have killed him, as was her threat, the situation cascades into one thing and then another, First, the guy isn't about to willingly keel-over and swears he isn't her target, the police have arrived 'undercover' and are trying to find an infamous killer called the Jackal.. who has been said to be in the area, it seems the singer is being hunted by a crazed fan, and his manager shows up in a rather untimely fashion, as well as the wealthy married woman he was to seduce.. or was it that she was suppose to seduce him?

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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Atsui Kuuki

Atsui Kuuki/ 熱い空気/ Hot Air *\(Japanese)
1 episode

The boy's Grandmother

Reminds me vaguely of Mary Poppins, although certainly not for any magical overtones. This housekeeper's reasons for doing and being, was a bit more serious and personal, then were Mary's. Didn't mean a whole lot to me one way or another. a little boring, a little romantic, a little mystery, a little sadness. All in all, I guess it was ok... I guess.

Girl with an unbearably sad past, disguises her natural beauty, and takes on a job as a housekeeper for a high society family on the brink of collapse. She tries both to support the family as well as to expose their problems to the light of awareness. The father is having an affair, the wife might be as well. The oldest son is smoking, the youngest is 'Trouble' in the making... and somehow she quietly moves through the whole thing... even if it's having to weasel past or suddenly snarling her way through their objections and suspicions.

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Monday, January 28, 2013

Cheongdamdong Alice

Cheongdamdong Alice/ 청담동 앨리스/ Cheongdamdong Aelliseu ** (Korean)
16 episodes

Kim Ji Suk as Tommy Hong

Good comedic start and quickly gritting down into drama/romance. I Thought the 'innocent rich guy' was so fun-loving.. right up until he was forced out of the fun. Thought the girl was far too serious, the whole way through, even as I understood her anger. And for the matchmaker, the trophy wife, and the guy's father.. they get best growth of the drama, for their changing attitudes and eventual acceptance. Favorite scene: The soy sauce incident.

The guy, having gone through touchy mental issues, wants desperately to believe in the dream of love he never received from his folks. The girl, angry and weary of being poor and wanting desperately to believe in the dream of a better life, runs into an old school rival who tells her the secret to her success in rising out of the mire to become a trophy wife. The girl is determined to do the same.. and meeting the guy, she seizes opportunity and makes him her new white rabbit, leading into the land of the rich. (because the original rabbit, a matchmaker, quickly saw through the ruse and dropped out of the running). Unfortunately, a secret video drops into the hands of the originally intended (arranged) bride of the guy, who, angry at the thought of having gold diggers getting in the way of her and her family's future, shares it around.

"Every Single Day"
Shower

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

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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Reply 1997

Reply 1997/ Answer Me 1997/ 응답하라 1997 /Eungdabhara 1997 ** (Korean)
16 episodes

Seo In Guk as Yoon Yoon Jae

I liked it, funny,.. if an argumentative way to live. It did bounce back and forth in time a little much. I rather enjoyed the solemn narration in life-lesson that came with each bounce though. The baaing of sheep was over the top, and yet in total time with the pitiful moments which got a lot of laughter out of me. Favorite character(s): Joon Hee

A rather rough and tumble girl grows up/goes to school with 5 best friends, One day they reunite as grown adults at a pub. This is a story of their friendship and loves, as well as the lessons learned, to get to the moment of the reunion.

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Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Watashi to Kare to Oshaberi Kuruma

Watashi to Kare to Oshaberi Kuruma/ Me, Him and the Talkative Car/ 私と彼とおしゃべりクルマ ** (Japanese)
2 episodes

Girl, bored practically to tears with her life and job, gripes her way to the beach in her car to spend a lonely birthday. Mysteriously, there is a 'bolt out of the blue' that strikes the car she was driving and before she quite realizes what happened, her car is talking! Seems he was a gift from the future set to brighten her life and make it a bit more fun for her.

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Friday, January 11, 2013

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Time Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time/ 時をかける少女/ Toki o Kakeru Shojo ** (Japanese)
Movie 122 mins

Based off a manga story (and an anime by the same name - link). A show set to spark the imagination into circles of possibility. Favorite scene(s):The time travel dash, the eventual meeting with dad, and the realization of a swiftly upcoming danger to those dear.

A girl, whose mother was in an accident, takes the time experiment her mother had created, in an attempt to go back in time to meet her father and deliver a message. Problem is.. she miscalculates and arrives in a school lab 2 years after the time she was to arrive. There, she meets 2 film makers in the midst of an amateur movie who attempt to help her achieve her goals before she has to return.

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Thursday, January 10, 2013

Rurouni Kenshin

Rurouni Kenshin/ るろうに剣心 (Japanese)
movie 134 mins

Takeru Sato as Kenshin Himura

Lots of well done sword-fighting! Not much in the romance genre for this movie, unless you consider the slight glows of preference. Perhaps the story will be continued in a part 2? Here is to hoping. fav scene(s): Kaoru Kamiya's first how-do-you-do with the wanderer. bokken style.

A wandering samurai, having taken a vow of no-more-killing, discovers a new home when he protects a girl and her father's dojo from thugs. After which he makes the acquaintance of a new friend, the brawler, and takes on the local drug lord.

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Ma Boy

Ma Boy/ 마보이 ** (Korean)
3 episodes

Kim So Hyun as Jang Geu Rim

Cute light romantic comedy. Makes me wonder just how it was that Irene's secret had not been spotted right away.. especially once personally met. Fav scene(s): making friends with the idol of the school.

Guy unable to quite make the grade as a dancer.. gone undercover as a cover girl, and a country girl with a pop star dream, end up as roomies at an art/entertainment school.

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Monday, January 7, 2013

The King of Dramas

The King of Dramas/ Drama King/ The Lord of the Drama/ 드라마의 제왕 / Deuramaui Jewang **\ (Korean)

Choi Si Won as Kang Hyun Min

Good story. The shrewd seriousness of the representative, the idealistic feelings of the writer, and comic arrogance of the lead male of 'Kyungsung Morning' make for quite a team-up. Ohmygosh, Hyun Min's laughter had me in stiches every-time I heard it! So funny! Thankyou btw, to the translation team of the videos I watched for this drama. Very well done! :D Fav character(s): Talented writer Go Eun and Hyun Min -actor extraordinaire!

The straight-laced 'King of Dramas' falls mightily from production grace when a motorcycle accident becomes big news. In an attempt to regain what he lost so abruptly, he relies on an untried writer, an alcoholic director, and two somewhat problematic stars.. and starts pushing against odds for the success of a new drama.

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Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Zenkai Girl

Zenkai Girl/ 全開ガール/ full throttle girl **\ (Japanese)
11 episodes

Aragaki Yui as Ayukawa Wakaba

I liked this one, rather in spite of the bull-headed girl. Hat's off to the shop owner, well supported. fav character(s): little Emitaro for being the ray of light at his dad's feet.

A thickheaded woman wanna-be-famous lawyer, struggling for a job, gains employment babysitting for the president of the company. And through that little girl, meets a poor single dad and his son. One drunk evening, she tries to prove that a single kiss ment nothing, and ends up smooching the guy. Unfortunately, it was just the start of her heart's trouble... and his as well. This love hardly went in-line with her planned future!

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Thursday, December 27, 2012

Bad Girls

Bad Girls *\ (Taiwanese)
Not to be confused with the Korean Drama by the same name.
Movie 85 mins

Ella Chen as A-Dan

Well, it was rather cute, I suppose. The acting was so-so. There wasn't anything sparking between the two main characters at all, their kiss was a bit more like an awkward bumping of faces then it was an intended kiss. The storyline didn't hold much interest for me... maybe there wasn't enough time to get to know the characters or something, I'm not sure.. Well, I think the whole movie could have been better. and... as an aside,.. (roses are not eatable? says who? look up a recipe for 'candied rose petals' and consider rethinking those words. and yes, they can be good in bread as well.)

Tomboy a-dan is out for a little vengeance vs guys that pick on girls and stops only for the delicious taste of bread. Her little sister though, is a bit mischievous at times, and they end up crashing a filming going on at her school. After having inadvertently stepped on the leading lady, a-dan finds herself having to take leading place as compensation, opposite the handsome leading actor, Justin, in a romantic story of athletes falling in love.

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Saturday, December 22, 2012

My Dear Desperado

Gangster Lover/ My Dear Desperado/ 내 깡패 같은 애인/ Nae Kkangpae Kateun Aein ** (Korean)
Movie

Park Joong-Hoon as Oh Dong-Chul

A woman, loses her job to bankruptcy, and is forced to downsize her living, to raman and a tiny basement apartment. Then, amidst her struggle to win another worthy job, she meets her upstairs neighbor. The guy upstairs is a small-time aging gangster who is starting to realize his time spent behind bars was a waste. He begins to see others just starting down the path he knew all to well. As the girl tries for a worthy job interview, he helps out, hoping to push others onto a different road from the one he took.

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Friday, December 21, 2012

Our Slightly Risque Relationship

Our Slightly Risque Relationship/ 조금 야한 우리 연애 /Jogeum Yahan Woori Yeonae ** (Korean)
1 episode

Lee Sun Gyun as Ki Dong Chan

Trying to juggle work at a TV station, and quietly pining for a woman having her wedding day, earns Dong Chan a trip to the doctor's office for a soup-burned lap. He is then temporarily sent to a country station and has another run-in with the woman who caused his hospital stay. In spite of the growls and hisses between them, their mutual attraction is undeniable.

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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Sungkyunkwan Scandal

Sungkyunkwan Scandal/ 성균관 스캔들 *** (Korean)
20 episodes

Ahn Nae Sang as Jung Yak Yong

An adventuresome and romantic story with a few comedic scenes. The acting was well performed and the storyline moved right along. Even the cross-dressing Yoon Hee, was fairly believable, especially in the beginning, because of her 'no-nonsense' firm attitude causing a slight roughening her high voice.
Fav scene(s): Making the grade, unwillingly, The uncomfortable attraction of a gisaeng. A marketplace confession, man to man. A player's lime-lit 'pass or fail'.

A woman, dressed as man, while fighting to pay off her family's debts, and her brother's medicine before she is sold, agrees to 'stand in' for someone taking the university entrance exams.. There she meets a nobleman who takes it upon himself to see her into school and further hone her talent as a scholar. The king as well, further encourages the two of them to enroll and before long, she meets her new roomies.. in the form of the straight-laced noble, the rebel 'crazy horse' and his playboy follower. The four of them become close friends while trying to keep their dreams alive against the violable president of the student counsel, the politics of the crown, and the sad happenings of the past. Then one evening, the King presents them with a secret quest that might just have them pitted against their own families and the loyalty they have for one-other.

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Sunday, December 9, 2012

Arang and the Magistrate

Arang and the Magistrate/ Arang Magistrate Story/ 아랑사또전/ Arangsaddojeon **\ (Korean)
20 episodes + special

Han Jung Soo as Moo Young the ghost hunter

There were a lot of good elements to this drama. I greatly enjoyed it. Lots of adventure, romantic tension and comic moments throughout. Favorite character(s): The Magistrate, his father, and the Jade Emperor

When a wandering nobleman and his servant take refuge from the rain in an old building, the gentleman makes the uncomfortable acquaintance of a ghost looking for memories of who she is and how she came to be in her current state. In efforts to get her to leave him be, he agrees to help her.. under the unlikely condition that she makes him the town's magistrate. That evening, he is kidnapped, tied up, and set to stew in the magistrate's office. The next morning, those sure he was killed by the ghost, as had several potentials before, are surprised that not only is he still alive, he's piping angry about being held hostage by a ghost. Keeping to his agreement, he soon uncovers her remains and many more questions about her death and the village's greatest secrets.

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Thursday, December 6, 2012

The Wedding Scheme

The Wedding Scheme/ The Marriage Plot/ 결혼의 꼼수/ Gyeolhonui Kkomsoo ** (Korean)
16 episodes

Lee Min Woo as Seo Jang Won

The head of a hands-on Kimchee company and a mother of several daughters hatches a plan to marry off her daughters before she dies, by opening a boarding house for eligible bachelors. On the one side, it's effective in gaining the girl's attention. on the other, she discovers a 'spy' in their midst in the form of the son of the man who is responsible for her widowhood. The Spy though, has fallen head over mutual heels for his company 'boss' which is her ambitious 2nd eldest daughter.

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Tuesday, December 4, 2012

A man called god

A man called god/ 신이라 불리운 사나이 / Shinira Bulriwoon Sanai ** (Korean)
24 episodes

Han Chae Young as Jin Bo Bae

This drama might better have been called Rise of the Immortal Phoenix with the way peter pan kept 'resurrecting'. I know it was not a comedy, but some of the situations got fairly ludicrous after awhile. The 3 girls-in-love were nearly stereotypical and I was outright annoyed at their simpering overuse of his name. I consider this drama about as romanceful as an old James Bond movie and about as action-filled as well. Light on one and heavy on the other. There are a number of deaths in this drama. Fav scene(s): Grampa's 'sign' message for the son of the bad guy at the meeting.

A son, who is witness to the death of his parents by stabbing and house fire, vows vengeance on the people responsible. When the day finally arrives and his plan unfurls, he is given a few surprises.. in the form of a jealous betrayal from within and the news of his little sister's existence in the world.

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