Magically Dramatical Mistakes

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Gumiho: Tale of the Fox's Child

Gumiho: Tale of the Fox's Child/ Grudge: The Revolt of Gumiho/ The Gumiho's Revenge/ 구미호: 여우누이뎐 / Gumiho: Yeowoonuidyun **\ (Korean)
16 episodes

Lee Min-Ho as Jo Jung-Kyu

The two little girls in this drama well deserve acting awards for this drama imo. Not to say the others weren't amazing as well, just that Yeon Yi stole the limelight every single time she appeared. Not really a romance.. although there was a fair bit of passion. There are also several tragic death's with a sad ending (along with an incredibly loong soliloquy) I soo felt for the ever-supporting mute guy. Favorite character(s): Yeon Yi, her boyfriend, and Chun Woo.

A Gumiho, trying for 10 years to reach humanity, misses the mark when her hubby spills the beans and she is forced cross-country with her just-shy of 10 year old daughter. After a run-in with a tiger, and then a persistant hunter, They are taken in by a 'benevolent' gentleman with a fairly hostile household. Still, they try to stick it out for a time... eventually getting wound up in a web of deceit, as a local shaman manipulates the family, who are desperate to find a cure for their sick daughter.

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Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Let's Go To The Beach

Let's Go To The Beach/ 해변으로 가요/ Hae Byun Eh Ro Gayo ** (Korean)
14 episodes

Jun Jin as Jang Tae-hyun

Girl escaped to the city, hoping to catch the next plane out to follow her dreams but Grandpa played a trick on her and she had to return to the little beach-side motel. Along the way she is introduced to 2 guys, not realizing that they are siblings. The younger brother has confidence above his proven ability, at least in his father's eyes. He takes on the duties of a lifeguard to which Yoon Sora is soon added to.
The older brother is known as the manager of the large hotel down the beach, Who quickly falls for her in the worst way.. even backing away from his betrothed and troubling everyone with his obsession to have her.

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Sunday, April 28, 2013

Minami-kun no Koibito

Minami-kun no Koibito 2004/ 南くんの恋人/ Minami's Girlfriend ** (Japanese)
11 episodes

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.

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Friday, April 26, 2013

Doremifasolasido

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.

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Monday, April 22, 2013

Incarnation of Money

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

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Friday, April 5, 2013

Time Slip Dr. Jin

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..

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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

7th Grade Civil Servant

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.

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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

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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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