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.
Sensory Couple/ The Girl Who Sees Smells/ 냄새를 보는 소녀/ Naemsaereul Boneun Sonyeo **\ (Korean)
16 episodes
Park Yoo-Chun as Choi Moo-Gak
Shin Se Kyung as Oh Cho Rim
Fairly good story with a fairly unruffled badguy. They missed with the bonding of the leads, I think. Even as I really liked both of the character personalities. The kiss/closeness scenes were a total dud of an excuse for chemistry. Affectionate and sweet, sure, but with nothing serious behind it. Oh-my-goodness can Cho Rim deliver an intensely interested high-speed chatter! Wow!
Young girl is witness to her parents murder, gets into a car accident running from the murderer and loses her memory. The badguy goes to the hospital but silences the wrong witness, The younger sister of the eventual police detective, Choi Moo-Gak, who vows revenge. Time passes during which the girl realizes she has ability to see the smells around her. At first she hides it, then eventually, uses it to assist police in hunting down the expertly elusive barcode serial killer.
You can also find:
Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
Huo An, a Hun, is a commander of the protection squad. Their aim is to keep the silk road a peaceful coexistence in the midst of a whole lot of warring tribes. One day, he and those under him are accused of smuggling gold and are put to work reconstructing the wild geese gate. When a roman army, lead by Lucius, fleeing along with a sickly young royal, arrives at the gate. Hou An takes him on in a sword battle, only to have the winner be a fierce sandstorm from behind. After giving them shelter, food and help for the boy, Hou An asks his new friends for a hand in rebuilding the gate in the short time left. they accomplish this in exchange for a hopeful escort of messengers to the Parthian Empire, to tell of the ploys of the scheming older brother, Tiberius. Hou An heads off to find additional help but with a betrayal at hand, He finds himself a prisoner of Tiberius instead. One risky jailbreak later, He finds Lucius in a terminal state and the great roman legion of Tiberious cutting off their escape.
You can also find:
Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in...
this list is in no particular order nor is it likely complete.
(Huo An/commander of
Protection Squad) Jackie Chan
Bride of the Century/ Hundred Year Bride/ 백년의 신부/ Baeknyeon-ui Shinboo *** (Korean)
16 episodes
Another moment for me to stop ooo'ing and giggling over this drama. ahem.. ok. This is a really good story!
Where it fails just a little in the length of time to get to know one another, it more then makes up for it with the history tie-in. Check this one out if you enjoy the depth of bad-guy vs good guy stories with a supernatural twist of both revenge and humor. Favorite chatacter(s): The ghost and the fortune-teller.
A family with the rumor of a curse, a family willing to do just about anything to secure ties (but for self sacrifice) A small family struggling to make ends meet and a ghost playfully manipulating things to gain access to a bit of revenge for a long past grievance, fuel this tale of mystery, revenge, sun and starlight.
You can also find:
Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
Cunning Single Lady/ Sly and Single Again/ 앙큼한 돌싱녀/ Angkeumhan Dolshingnyeo ** (Korean)
18 episodes
Lee Min Jung as Na Ae Ra
Joo Sang Wook as Cha Jung Woo
Moderately fun drama. A little on the dopey-side for the bowl-haircut younger version of Jung woo.. and a little on the abusive-wife/never-learn-side for Ae Ra, which I didn't care much for. Favorite character(s): Gil Yo Han the secretary.
Ae Ra and Jung Woo are an unhappilly divorced couple. Created when the geek in the family was having a hard time getting his company idea underway, and the lady had to foot the bills by stressfully working her unborn to death, she spent the years fighting hand to mouth, and he made a success of his dream. Then they meet again... and discover, even through the feelings of revenge and defense, that they still have feelings for each-other.
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Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
The Con Artists/ The Technicians/ 기술자들/ Gisooljadeul/ Criminal Designer (Korean)
Movie 116 min
Kim Woo-Bin as Ji-Hyeok
Not a bad story. I rather enjoyed the confidence of the safe/lock picker, Ji-Hyeok, and how he managed to guide them around a tricky 'sting' vs a powerful man. Favorite character(s): Koo-In
Ji-Hyeok along with two others, get together and pull off a diamond job, only to be forced into service for an elite company owner with his eyes set on stealing money from the customs storage. Just how will the con artists manage to pull off the job, get their revenge, and keep their lives all at the same time?
You can also find:
Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
Marriage Not Dating/ Marriage Without Love/ Marriage Without Dating/ 연애 말고 결혼/ Yeonae Malgo Gyeolhon ** (Korean)
16 episodes
Gong Hyo Jin as Ji Hae Soo
It seemed a typical plot, but was, never-the-less, well worth watching. Favorite character(s): Ki Tae's Grandmother, for being a fairly light-hearted and eager grandmother most of the time. and Yeo Reum just for having a 'Gorgeous Grin'. Well, alright, Also for having a warm and caring personality. So sorry he had to be the odd-man-out in this drama.
Girl stalks ex-player boyfriend. A friend of the player, who wants only to be left alone by his family, convinces the girl to work with him in a fake relationship. During the resultant clutter and created mess, true feelings begin to emerge.
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Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
A psychiatrist with anxiety issues meets a well-known writer of mystery books on a tv program, with a hidden past. A secret of which his big brother has paid for with a lengthy prison stay. Big bro has sworn revenge on Jae Yul for being a traitor to him in court and is looking for an outing that would give him another opportunity to fulfil his threat. Not long after the interview, This Author moves into the shared housing with Hae Soo and two friends. A sort of bantering relationship is started and then complicated as its discovered the scarred results of the author's past in the form of Kang Woo, is set to have him admitted or dead before Jae-Beom is even released.
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Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
Surplus Princess/ 잉여공주/ Ingyeo Gongjoo/ The Idle Mermaid/ The Mermaid *** (Korean)
10 episodes
Jo Bo Ah as Kim Ha Ni
Ohn Joo Wan as Lee Hyun Myung
Funny take on a rather old plot, complete with playful pokes of seemingly random reference. This one had me giggling from the first to the last episode. The acting was superb, in expressive zanyness, the hated bad guy, or even in the dour straight man. Well done all around! Favorite character: The 2nd mermaid.
A teenage mermaid, with a crush on a human tv chef saves him from a slip, then goes about trying to wrest a stolen bottle of fins to legs potion from the 2nd mermaid. before hearing the rules, she downs the batch and makes like fireworks for shore to meet the man of her dreams. after a bit of re-grounding, her 'uncle' takes her to a shared housing for work potentials. There she attempts to make her way into a job at the building that her target heartthrob works at... a famous food corporation. the path is not without its speed bumps and distractions though, some of which just might leave her exposed and all wet on the ground before her time is up.
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Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
Mr. Baek/ 미스터 백/ Miseuteo Baek/Mr Back **\ (Korean)
16 episodes
Shin Ha Kyoon as Choi Go Bong
Good story!.. even if it did have a rather drawn out goodbye. Favorite character(s): Choi Dae Han for showing his more vulnerable side in adapting to his fathers changes.
A crazily rich old coot gets into an accident and finds himself with a new, if temporary, lease on life. He quickly adopts an identity and copes with the upheaval of his family and company, then he falls in love and learns more on the value of living in that short time then he had in his whole life. What to do when the time is up though?
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Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
Well.. whats to say,... the storyline start seemed a fairly good one. Here you have this rather unique vampire boy, on the run with his mother from the bad guys.. Cuz there's this one guy that wants to experiment, making more of them, so he can lord over them in blood-soaked power. The boy grows up to become a surgeon... and stops running. then he meets the bad guy again, who traps him and tries to get some use out of him. Our main lead falls for a girl, and the bad guy now has a bargaining tool... so the good guys all start falling into line to help the bad guy out, unwillingly, because the bad guy will kill their loved ones if they don't. ok, i got it up to this point.. then it turns out the good guy has to die in order to save others, and the bad guy gets shot and dies.. or do they? ...wait a minute...how did..The End.
Now I'm totally lost. What was with that surprisingly lame ending?! Gahh! Up to that point, I thought the show was worth seeing, at least the once but.. the ending dragged it into the 'less than' category. I blame the stinkin writers for this one, folks. Kick the rotten bums back to the drawing board already! boo! hiss! Growl!
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Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
Not a bad drama really. Not really that much of a cemedy, there were a few moments worth smiling over. A bit of romance. Liked the characters of Yoon Yoo Rae, Hwang Gyo Dong, and Dal-Po's brother. Wasn't too wild about the decision poor Grandfather and father had to deal with concerning their grown children's love. even as I recognize Dal-po's lack of blood relation, having raised them both together for such a long time.. seems somehow wrong.
When Ha-Myeong was yet a boy, his firefighting father died in a warehouse explosion, taking several of those under his command with him. Quickly after, the mother and boys were questioned by a hard-nose reporter, with a bent toward making the missing firefighter a criminal. This tore up the little family completely. Some number of years later, a little girl, suffering from the inability to lie, living now with her divorced father, move to their grandfather's island home. There they discover he has adopted a young boy, naming him after a lost son of his own.
Years later, the girl decides to follow in her estranged mother's journalist footsteps. Dal po follows this path as well, thinking it the best way to get revenge on the woman who tore his original family apart. Practically before he realized it, he discovers his brother who has done much wrong and he re-vows revenge on the woman reporter who left them in such tatters some 14 years before. But the story, it seems, goes deeper then that, and it will take near everything he and the other reporters and friends have to learn the truth behind the massive cover-up.
You can also find:
Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
Hyde, Jekyll, Me/ 하이드 지킬, 나 /Haideu Jikil Na ** (Korean)
20 episods
Lee Seung Joon as Secretary Kwon Young Chan
Good idea for a story. I can see the slogan now.. Even alt personalities deserve a chance at having their own life! Up to about episode 16, I happily splashed from one scene to the next, eagerly awaiting what should happen next. Then it all began to slow to an excruciating drag, bogging down in the tears of Robin's refusal to re-meld quietly. To give an actor's credit, The fireworks scene was.. an emotional aria! Pooor Robin was losing something most precious to him! oh goodness, that guy can bawl with the best of them. Someone give this guy a tear-jerk award please! ..and get me a tissue as well.
A cold corporate director, trying hard to follow his stuffy fathers wishes, tries to close down a local circus entertainment site. The new ringleader of the troupe bristles at the hard line and confronts the arrogant man, only to find he possess a softer side to him that none but the closest to him know about. Director Goo Seo Jin has a mental disorder, that has him giving over his evenings to the sweet Robin, master of a famous webcomic series and possessor of the heart of Jang Ha Na.
You can also find:
Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
The Heirs/ The Inheritors/ The One Trying to Wear the Crown/ Withstands the Weight-The Heirs/ 왕관을 쓰려는자, 그무게를 견뎌라 - 상속자들/Wangkwaneul Sseuryeoneunja, Geumoogereul Gyeondyeora-Sangsokjadeul ** (Korean)
20 episodes
Park Shin-Hye as
Cha Eun-Sang
Lee Min-Ho as
Kim Tan
Fairly good drama. two of my favorite actors playing main characters.. not too bad. even as the storyline seemed quite typical really. the second male lead looked great with his own sharp hairstyle, better then when he was trying to emulate Tan's. I rather liked the charm of the best friend.. even with the snotty jelous gf.. he was such a sweet forgiving personality.
girl, daughter of a deaf housemaid in a cold houshold, goes to America to see her sister. only to find herself in a bit of a spot. she is taken in by Tan, a young heir in exile. she returns to S.Korea and is unknowingly followed by Tan, who has grown weary of exile and returns home to confront his brother and father. the girl's mom though, having given her earnings to her other wayward daughter, cannot keep up the rent and moves into the house she serves. when the girl returns home she has no real choice but to move into her mother's closet bedroom. not yet realizing this would be the home of Tan.
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Short and not really sweet. light romance. Good acting. Made you feel just a bit for the guilty party after the fact. Slightly depressing. Favorite scene(s): mutual screaming.
Guy walks into a car accident and comes down with amnesia. As he tries to sort out the pieces of the life he doesn't remember, he encounters a ghost girl who wants him to remember who she was. With a bit of memory jogging, and some delivery jobs, he begins to remember how his involvement with her began... and ended.
You can also find:
Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
I Hear Your Voice/ I Can Hear Your Voice/ 너의 목소리가 들려/ Neoui Moksoriga Deulryeo **\ (Korean)
18 episodes
Kim So Hyun as a young Hye Sung
Kim Hae Sook as Hye Sung's mom
Before you think it, having read other drama reviews for this one, (if you have). It -is- a Courtroom drama type, and yes, the lawyers do take on cases that seem practically hopeless. But, that's not even half of what this drama is made of. All of the character's are well-rounded and expertly acted out, and the storyline/plot is well woven throughout the whole thing, including the many seemingly unrelated cases they take on.
Favorite scene(s): So Ha's determined love and all-encompassing desire to protect Hye Sung... Someone who stood with him when no other would, even under certain threat of death and.. the poop-on-the-car incident that had two lawyers dashing madly around a pub table and yelling.
Hye Sung, the daughter of a Judge's housekeeper, is accused of setting a firework off in the face of the lawyer's daughter. After school, she set to prove to Do Yun the error in accusing her, when they see a terrible car crash and murder. A frightened Hye Sung shows up in court as witness for the only surviving victim, a young boy claiming to be able to hear peoples thoughts just by looking at their eyes. Several years later, she has become a jaded defense lawyer, and is called on to defend against the murderer from the past.. but she is not alone this time. She has the help, and sometimes hindrance, of fellow lawyer and love interest, Kwan Woo and a set of cops looking to do right by keeping a watchful eye on them. There is also Soo Ha, now just out of high school, who has once more appeared on the scene and is quickly of invaluable help. Will Min Joon Gook, now free from prison, be returning to fulfill his words of revenge on them?
You can also find:
Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
Hear Me/ 听说/ Ting Shuo **\ (Taiwanese)
Movie 109mins
Eddie Peng as Tian-kuo
Nice movie. Loved the guy's perseverance, Loved his parent's acceptance. Favorite scene(s): Meeting the girl at her job.
Tian kuo, while delivering lunches to a swimming meet, falls for the younger sister of a deaf competitor called Yang yang. Her dedication and support of her older sister doesn't make getting to know her easy though. One evening, while they are off to the show, older sis, falls asleep at home, unaware the building has caught fire. Out of a sense of guilt, Yang yang breaks it off with Tian kuo.
You can also find:
Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
Ad Genius Lee Tae Baek/ 광고천재 이태백/ Gwanggocheonjae Lee Tae Baek ** (Korean)
16 episodes
Jang Yong as Chairman Baek
Not a bad tale.. for being heavy-handed with the ad spiel. For a romance, I was a little.. disappointed although.. Certainly the two leads made for terrific partners for putting their heads together.. but beyond that fondness.. I wasn't feeling it between them at all. Not that her pairing with Addie Kang was any better. Favorite character(s): Director Ma
A guy failed at making a name for himself, one day discovers the girl he was waiting for, has left him for loser and climbed the corporate ladder of her dreams without him. He meets an intern copywriter who helps him get acquainted with an ad genius who has seen better days. But a corp higher-up and his backer interfere with his climb into success and makes life difficult for all of them.
You can also find:
Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
The Grand Heist/ Gone With The Wind/ 바람과 함께 사라지다/
Baramgwa Hamjje Sarajida ** (Korean)
Movie 121 min
Cha Tae-Hyun as Duk-Moo
Rather funny movie, even if it did have a torturous tragedy involved. Favorite character(s): The demolitions expert
After some rather nasty events involving his noble father's losing position, and the death of a dear friend, a bookseller develops a plan and assembles various experts and specialists to steal the ice hoard of a local tyrant.
You can also find:
Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
