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.
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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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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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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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
A fairly mellow drama, Slow yet constant. The storyline had a good start but seemed somehow cut-short toward the end and left far to many questions unanswered. The main female character kept weebling between 'this subject' and 'that guy' so much I started to wonder if she'd end up with either of them, hidden Gumiho or no. The boyfriend, was a sissy/toughguy to the point of urgish annoyance and the original love was a serious wuss. He gave up waay to easily and put little feeling into even a possibility that they might have a chance together. Even the third wheel was a kind of ehhish character and had to have his perspective changed by being verbally chewed on by his rival for being a selfish nitwit to the girl he liked. This story could have been a whole lot more interesting then it ended up being.
Girl looking for a muse of inspiration for an original story, sees a guy helping someone out and follows him to a nail salon. Since the shop boasted an all-male cast of artists, she dresses down, cuts her hair, and is hired on as the cutesy guy, Bunny. While the guys deal with several hearthurt customers, she becomes more curious about the woman owner (thinking her perhaps a gumiho she once met when young.) and her daily updates on her web-story closely reflect the people she has met, casting herself as a half-gumiho half-human and two of the guys in the shop as hunter and helper.
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Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
Gu Family Book/Ancient Medical Book/ The Writings of Nine Houses/ Book of the House of Gu/ Kang Chi, the Beginning/ 구가의 서/ Gugauiseo ***\ (Korean)
24 episodes
Yoo Dong Geun as Admiral Lee Soon Shin
Terrific watch. Amazing storyline, and great acting all around! I consider this one something of a must watch. What a Wonderful tangle of adventure and romance! Favorite character(s): old master/cook/medic and the girl's 'bodyguard'.
An immortal mountain spirit falls in love with a human woman in trouble from a cruel cold-hearted man. Their time together is shortened by feelings of betrayal and she returns to the human lands. Just after this time, a baby is found floating down the river, and is given into the family of an innkeeper. The child, Kang Chi, grows up without care until the day the cruel man returns once more to the area and changes the lives of the people at the inn. The half Human young man is then given sanctuary at the academy nearby, under the protection of of an admiral who plans to repel the cruel man's plans of dominance. Just as lines are drawn, a foreign merchant group with mysterious illusion abilities enters the fray and the mountain spirit's anger reawakens.
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Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
Children.../Ahyideul.../ 아이들... (Korean)
Movie 132mins
Don't let them fool ya. This Korean film is nowhere close to being in a fantasy romance genre. No real favorite scenes or characters for this one. Just really felt for the children and parents... And a fair bit of understanding for the frustration of the local law as well. Horrible tragedy involved.
5 Young children are out for a day of doing what kids love best.. playing. While they are at it, the township is having an election so it is a bit of time before anyone -really- notices the children have not returned from the nearby mountain. From there it turns to panic, then desperation, then bitter tears as days slowly turn into months then years. Then along comes a prize-winning producer hoping to get back on top of his game with a new sensational story. Along with a conspiratorially-minded professor, The two work up quite a furor in town.
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Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
Spring Bears Love/ Do You Like Spring Bear?/ 봄날의 곰을 좋아하세요?/ Bomnalui Gomeul Johahaseyo *\ (Korean)
Movie 98mins
Oh Gwang-Rok as Hyun-Jae's dad
Kind of melancholy I thought. Just another girl who can't see the trees for the forest. yep, that's right. The trees being whats up close and most important.. and the forest being ideals, or.. what/who else could, however remote the possibility, still be out there. Made me want to shout her down from her stary-eyed surveyance of the too-slight possibility that its all about her, in favor for the fellow who dearly loves her, right in her very face! Thankfully, he was still there when she finally floated back down to terra-firma. Favorite Character(s): Her suffering boyfriend! I know you were mentally dumpt on, guy, I apologize for her. Wasn't really your fault.. she was just being overly dense.
Girl fetching a library book for her dad, sees mystery writing of someone desperately looking to meet his unrequited love at last. Thinking it's herself, she dreams of the writer and follows his writing through several art books in the library. As she does so, the guy who knows her best and loves her most tries his best to gain her attention, even going so far as to check out the art books with the writing in them.. all while she goes about trying to figure out who it could be.
You can also find:
Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
High School debut/ 高校デビュー/ Koko Debut **\ (Japanese)
Movie 98mins
Junpei Mizobata as You Komiyama
Ito Ono as Haruna Nagashima
Sweet and silly movie. I liked the brand of humor in this one. Not the crazed over-the-top stuff that passes for funny like many Japanese shows seem to show, but a simple clumsy and slap-at-the-forehead humour for being a bit behind in 'normal' life, mixed with some easy mind-reading laughs. Favorite character(s): I liked them all really, well.. except perhaps, for the freakish dog/person statue in front of the school. It was quite the character though.
A girl, having spent most of her previous school years embroiled in baseball, makes the decision, at last, to concentrate on getting a boyfriend before Christmas. If efforts to gain control of her woahfully out of date wardrobe and dating skills, she begs a more popular guy to help her out. He reluctantly agrees, with the condition that she not fall for him.
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Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
Substitute Princess/ Jin Da Hua De Hua Li Mao Xian/ 金大花的華麗冒險/ The Adventure of King Flower ** (Taiwanese)
20 episodes
Nikki Hsieh as Jin Da Hua
A market girl look-a-like, is asked to sub, in secret, for a rich guy's girlfriend, who was in a hiking accident. This comes at a time when Da Hua's father is horribly in debt due to gambling. As Da Hua undergoes transformation in secret, Her 'adopted' brother and love, Guan Jun, makes a deal with the shark holding the notes... and takes on a job as realtor and 'date' for the shark's daughter. Then, just as things seemed to be smoothing out a bit, Ouyang Tai's gf.. dies.
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Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
The Worst Guy Ever/ 내 생애 최악의 남자/ Nae Sangae Choiakeui Namja ** (Korean)
Movie 94mins
Shin Sung-Rok as Kwon Jae-Hoon
A quarrelsome duo wake up after a night of drinking with friends, in eachothers arms. The second time it occurs, they decide to marry, but it isn't long before rivals show on the scene to tempt them away from the marital knot.
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Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
