Hotel del Luna (2019)

Pros: IU and her character (including her backstory), the visual aspect (most of the time) and a few funny dialogue moments (the intelligent kind of funny what I appreciated).

Cons (for me): One of the most boring and cheesiest dramas I have ever watched.
Genres: Action? So little that I find it ridiculous that it is listed...
Suspense, Mystery? A little bit.. but not the thrilling, addicting or exciting kind (for me).
Horror? Yes but not really creepy (kdrama "horror" average). Not really a con for me though.
Romance? Yes but "a bit" boring (for me) - mostly there for comedy and the emotional weight of the drama.

The best things about it were IU`s character and the visual aspect. But they relied way to heavy on it. They overdid it sometimes with the colored lights, the fogg and the emotional "moments" (when the characters paused because they just thought of something (emotional) and on cue 3 seconds later a new soundtrack would begin (this felt like 80% of the drama).
Yes IU`s play of emotions on her face was good and because of that and because she is so beautiful it ALMOST didn't get boring. Even though the drama touched on the heaviest subjekts it stayed relatively shallow on them (which made it - yes BORING) while still trying to emotionally wring us out like a wet towel as often as possible. I guess my emotional well dried up too fast because I was often over it and started to get... Also not a big fan of long & frequent "staring at each other, frozen in the moment" moments...
I only watched this drama because of IU and because for ONCE I was actually okay with watching something slightly boring. Though I didn`t think it would be so unexciting. The plot has a nice sentiment but is really not impressive.
I also found ALL the characters except IU`s boring.

I am mainly just disappointed that they didn't have an exciting plot and intriguing characters to go along with the nice scenery. Because of the budget, IU in the cast and the genres I had hoped for something epic.
When will we ever get something like "You Who Came from the Stars" again (with a age gap in the romance under 20 years (at least of the actors) please!)?!

For further reference about my taste:
https://mydramalist.com/profile/LauraK98/lists

Leggi di Più

Hotel del Luna is one of my favorite k-dramas of 2019, and in my opinion, is not just a hyped up drama that doesn't meet it's expectations.

STORY:
I've seen many complaints of the fact that Hotel del Luna was heavily filled with filler arcs and did not focus on the main story enough. However, I disagree, the filler arcs were not pointless, in fact, without them the story wouldn't make sense. I thought that the filler arcs served the important purpose of showing the character growth of Man Weol as well as the side characters throughout the story. After each arc, Man Weol learned another lesson and changed to become the person she is by the end of the drama. And for someone who's not a fan of filler arcs I didn't feel bored by them at all. I thought that the story was well paced and not slow despite the filler arcs. There were suspenseful and unexpected moments that made the drama interesting watch, and there was a good balance between the horror, romance, and comedy aspects of the show.

ACTING/CAST:
Man Weol definitely was the star of the show with a refreshing personality and complex backstory that made her character so appealing. She was hilarious and badass, but still had flaws and scars like any normal person. However, the other characters were just as good. The employees of the hotel also had their own backstories and character growth. I enjoyed the banter and interactions between them, and they definitely added to the enjoyment of this drama. I thought that the chemistry between the entire cast was great.
There were also complaints that compared to Man Weol, Chan Seong's character was lackluster. To some extent I agree, his personality and traits were nothing unique, but he didn't need to be, I thought that his normalness compared to crazy ghost world was his charm that separated him and made him a lead character. He was a good balance to the extravagance of Man Weol, and his loyalty and ability to sacrifice for others was admirable.

MUSIC/CINEMATOGRAPHY/ETC:
The cinematography was beautiful and the music was just as amazing, but one random thing that just happened to catch my eye was the fact that Man Weol literally changed her outfit like 5 times in an episode. Her outfits has to be one of my favorite things because they were beautiful and just perfectly matched the extravagant nature of her character.

Leggi di Più

Disappointing

First time warching a Korean drama (I am in UK) but when you are under lockdown you have to take what you can.

Very different from English speaking shows, not really helped by some interesting sub-titles. The acting seems overly exagerated and dramatic at times, but that may just be how Korean drama is.

Sets and costumes extremely lavish and overall story good, but tries too hard to fill the time.

Ending was sad for me and not what I was expecting. Was Man-wol a ghost, how did she die?

I read they are making a US version so I expect the ending will be different.

Leggi di Più

Very hyped and very much of a let down.

Honestly for such built up hype, this drama seriously failed to deliver. I.U. was not the best actress to represent this role but that also is a conflicting aspect, as I.U. is honestly the best at representing a struggling character from a lower class. But her as a rich character just doesn't fit, although her feisty acting style was very endearing.

Her character was a little too inconsistent, it was almost as if she was suffering from hysteria or bipolar disorder throughout the entire drama.

The male lead on the other hand, had almost nothing special to offer, and his character was an infuriatingly excessive "good guy" character through and through. His cowardliness was a little excessive as well.

As always when a Korean drama or movie showcases Korean deities, it's just infuriating or extremely irritating. In attempts to be ambiguous they become redundant and self-contradictory and do things in roundabout ways, when far more efficient solutions exist.

Supporting characters had depth to them but at times ignored that for cheap drama intensification.

Cinematography was great, essentially very similar to goblin but the SFX were nowhere near up to scale and at times just horrendous. Music was okay.

Overall, a decent drama but nothing great.

Leggi di Più

Disappointing

If you like a good strong female lead then just watch the first 20 mins of ep1 then leave it at that. The rest is just a slow painful walk towards yet another strong female being walked all over due to "feelings" ( ffs shes been evil as hell for a 1000 years). It makes no sense, its patronising to see yet another korean woman (evil ghost, whatever) ruined by their inability to overcome love just because a guy "looks kinda cute" (1000 year!!!! Plenty of cute guys mustve come across her path!). I know IU isnt everyones favourite but i thought she did well given a terrible script so any points i gave above 0 for this mindless show were for her, male lead just looked a bit weird tbh ( im not into blokes but i can at least tell ugly from good looking and his acting was wooden at best).

Leggi di Più

Absolute candy for your eyes and ears!!!

One glance at the cast shows why Hotel del Luna is and will be one of the most talked about dramas of 2019. A second glance highlights an interesting premise, and more in-depth research reveals HDL’s insane ratings and chart-topping music. The only blemish is the screenwriters, the infamous Hong sisters, though many love their work. Unfortunately, HDL does not quite live up to the hype, and I find its substance a bit lacking, much like candy. Still, I’m sure HDL will be a must-watch for most viewers regardless of what I say, but maybe I can lower your expectations just a hair. Who knows - maybe you can better appreciate the show without such lofty expectations.

Story:
I am not purposefully trying to rain on the parade, but the story is the weakest aspect of Hotel del Luna. To HDL’s credit, fantasy is one of the most challenging genres to pull-off in kdramas (said another way, it’s easier to relate to human dramas). The other two Hong sister supernatural dramas I have seen are The Master’s Sun and My Girlfriend is a Gumiho. I am not a huge fan of The Master’s Sun, and I have a feeling that Gumiho has not aged well since its debut in 2010. The Hong sisters are a master of the romcom craft, and the overall story remains surprisingly coherent through its multiple time period settings.The balance of romance and comedy is also carefully weighed, and each piece of HDL’s episodic format adds to the main underlying plot and tension.

Many may think that HDL’s plot is incredible based on what I have said thus far. The true challenge that HDL does not quite surpass is a relatable and believable gravity within the main plotline. It is not enough to say the main character waited hundreds of years for this moment and expect all viewers to immediately empathize with her. HDL fails to adequately address some critical questions: Why wait hundreds of years? Is this really a problem/challenge? The Hong Sisters’ responses are sadly insufficient. Looking back, one of the root causes is that too many subplots, plots, characters are covered over 16 episodes, even if each episode is over one hour long. As a whole, the story, while intriguing, did not leave me thinking about it throughout the week like some of my favorite dramas.

Acting:
Hotel Del Luna boasts two of the hottest main leads of 2019, IU and Yeo Jin-goo. I had 2 thoughts before starting HDL: unsurety of IU’s shedding of the idol-actress image and the poor taste left after Absolute Boyfriend. Let me caveat that I did not finish the most recent dramas starring IU or YJG, My Mister and My Absolute Boyfriend, respectively. In HDL, both exceed my lowered expectations. In comparing the 2 leads, Goo Chan-Sung shows a narrower range of emotions and often plays the straight man, shutting down many of Jang Man-Wol’s anctics. YJG executes this role with precision and professionalism, plus he’s only 22! I look forward to his future performances as he continues to grow as an actor.

Jang Man-Wol experiences a much wider range of emotions and actions, and I cannot confidently say that IU is a bonafide top star (of acting) yet. The main reason is because the casting of IU is as much a part of her success as her acting chops. HDL jumps between romance, comedy, and drama frequently and sharply. IU’s execution, like YJG, is exceptional, but sometimes it looks more like IU playing multiple characters vs her portraying one consistent character. Furthermore, IU puts together a more convincing character in the “drama” scenes than the romance and comedy scenes, and the chemistry between the two leads is just short of electric. All around, I praise IU for committing to her acting career and participating in different genres of dramas/movies, and I fully expect her to become a topflight actress sooner or later.

Here are a couple thoughts on the supporting cast. Overall, the supporting cast is as wonderful as the leads, but they lose major screen time to not only the main leads but also to the guests who fill out the episodic format of HDL (again, a criticism more of the story than acting). Of course, there are weaker areas, one being Kang Mi-Na. Her character is convoluted and a difficult challenge for the young actress. Hopefully, she grows and follows/exceeds IU’s acting career trajectory. To end on a sweet note, I am a huge fan of Kang Hong-Suk and would love to see more screen time from him in the future.

Music:
The backing cast of artists for Hotel del Luna is incredible, especially for kpop fans. Even the non-”pop” singers are well-respected veterans of kballad. So, I won’t get into every single song and artist from the OST. I will mention Song Ha-ye because she is relatively “new” (5+ year vet) and may be lesser known. Her track, “Say Goodbye”, fits great with the drama, and her latest hit, “Your Regards”, is definitely worth a listen. My favorite track from the OST is Heize’s “Can You See My Heart”. It didn’t top the music charts like Taeyeon’s or Gummy’s, but I still listen to it on repeat! Also, nearly an hour of original music for a cable network drama?! HDL shines bright in countless ways.

Rewatch Value:
Writing this review made me reconsider my thoughts on Hotel del Luna as a whole. I would enjoy HDL more had I binged the drama instead of following the weekly releases. Since I found the main storyline slightly unconvincing, my interest in HDL wavered while waiting for a new episode. It is entirely possible that I bump up the overall rating by half a point after a binge rewatch. However, I do not have any plans to rewatch HDL at the moment.

Leggi di Più

It’s a k show not a kdrama

My transition from cdrama to kdrama wasn’t the smoothest but let me just say this is probably one of the decent one I have watched. Still boring and predictable with every situation being the same and barely any chemistry improvement. No kisses no hugs at their most vulnerable side just aloofness. At this point, we can just called it a show rather than a drama.

Story: omg. Seriously, every situation was almost the same the only difference is the character, the setting, the idea, more involvement of different rule to this concept, and the event that’s it. This is literally a show not a drama; every situation only impacted the male lead, and the female lead is acting like a support giving guidance to him that’s it. This is literally just show about different ghosts impacting the male lead that’s it; it didn’t improve their relationship for the worst or for the best, and their relationship remains the same after the situation about the ghost: it didn’t contribute anything to the growth of the female lead and the build up want even there. The perception of the male lead is impacted that’s it. The female led is still arrogant and aloof with her coworkers on the outside: she probably already has the kindness in her heart, but it’s just never expressed and the male lead was only there to express it. Literally so boring and predictable. I could literally be watching another episode of criminal minds but with ghost smh.

Character:
Male lead definitely has improved in terms of his PERCEPTION of the idea but the chemistry hasn’t and so is his personality, which isn’t entirely a bad thing but still.
Female lead is just another freaking supporting character there to protect the male lead without any chemistry. The one dynamic change you can say is her loneliness and her sober heart that’s it and anything else? That’s it
She liked the male lead and the male lead likes her back but there chemistry wasn’t literally non existence I swear. There are just there to say it but has there been anytime where they would actually demonstrate it through something like a hug or a kiss? She only demonstrated her caring and arrogant side of her when disputing about the chemistry but that’s it. The male lead’s character just feels like he wants to care for everyone so I can’t really tell if that’s love for her
The “breakup” was so dumb; it didn’t change anything about their individualities or anything their perception of each other is still the same, which is they care for each other and can’t live without each other: it didn’t improve the character or anything they just have the same relationship as a boss and employee

OST
Omg every time any ost plays it was so beautiful-especially Taeyon’s singing . I enjoy all of the ost, and this is the few drama that has all of the good ost.

Acting and visuals
Omgg iu is so pretty like literally iU queen; I would literally be excited to see her every she appears on screen. One of the few times I have actually liked the female lead more than the male lead. The visuals are on peakkk

Leggi di Più

Hello my first review. As a super casual k drama fan ( seen less than 5) I am extremely conflicted on this show.

Let’s keep the good good. The cast is fantastic and the production and music was so special that I was convinced during the shows run that this was a once in a lifetime classic.

But without writing an essay I can just say that the bad is bad. The storyline was a fantastic procedural... new cop solving ghost cases with his immortal goddess. I like a lot of the twists and cases.

The problem is that they turned it mid way through to a central storyline and went halve ass on everything. Sanchez girlfriend... main leads mom... even the bartender stories. No substance at all

Than the love story was non committal. I can’t for the life of me convince my wife the main character even likes IU. He made no effort except acceptance. If this was a show about accepting death... I seen many people tell their sick love ones they love them. They don’t just eat meals and wait for a cry scene.

Also laziness at end. They introduce time travel... Childhood connection... IU not losing memories on bridge.... reincarnation... multiple gods with conflicting goals.... but nothing explored just a quick give up and painting fantasy.

I can tell from the show that the main lead is smarter than me. And I can easily see a path to save her. He even bought her to the past to see snow.... (freakin send her to the bridge in the past!)

Anywho. Lack of effort and interest after the past life means that the writers thought episode 14 was the ending. Shame they didn’t end there

Leggi di Più

Likes: A strong heroine. IU’s fab wardrobe & timeless beauty. Yeo Jin Goo’s gazes. The beautiful set design. The banter. The slow burn.

Dislikes: Kang Mina’s superfluous storyline with P.O. Some of the subplots.

Written by the Hong Sisters, I was excited to watch this fantasy series as I generally like their dramas because they know how to pull the heartstrings and they do the enemies to lovers theme well. And it didn’t disappoint!

Let me just say that IU looks stunning in this drama. Her wardrobe was beautiful and theatrical. They did a great job with the hotel design as well, creating this hauntingly beautiful environment. IU did a fantastic job portraying the dark and world weary owner of the mysterious Hotel Del Luna, a hotel for the dead. I just loved the fact that the female in this story is the strong one, the protector. So many dramas portray the guy saving the girl a bunch of times, but here, it’s the opposite. Jang Man Wol is one cool character.

Yeo Jin Goo plays the upright assertive hotelier who’s at odds with IU’s money hungry ways. Yeo Jin Goo pretty much can do no wrong in my eyes in terms of acting. The dude is just a phenomenal actor. Every expression looks natural and real. He had me laughing at so many parts.

And when you pair him up with IU’s opposite personality, the scenes just light up. The banter made me laugh, the yearning made me sad. The slow burn is what I live for. I definitely think they could have trimmed some of the sub plots and I wasn’t a fan of the P.O/Mina love line or even Mina’s character, but overall I really enjoyed this drama

Leggi di Più

So basically I started to watch this drama because of Yeo Jin Goo and IU. Had pretty good hopes. This drama gave me more than what I expected. Oh Choong Hwan and Hong Sisters have certainly given what we wanted.
The CG was damn cool and amazing. The story keeps you stuck to the screen and makes you watch the episode again to get hold of the mysteries going around (I almost watched each episode twice :P).
Talking about OSTs, they are seriously worth listening to. According to me, they have a major role in making the audience love the drama along with the amazing story.
About the actors: The cast has been chosen quite well, where you will love each and every character of the drama. The writers have given each and every character its own importance. IU, yes she is really beautiful and has done justice to her character and so has Yeo Jin Goo.
We cry with the characters, laugh with them and feel what they feel at the same time. The drama has also focused on some social issues which are a great way to reach people and make them aware.
If you are a fan of fantasy, comedy, and romance then this drama is certainly for you. For me, this has been the best drama of 2k19. Loved it to the core!!

Leggi di Più

I do not know why some are having such a low review of this drama. Below is my thoughts and no spoilers. You are going to have to watch it :)



Where does one begin..I have seen many K-Dramas over the last 6 years but only a few have I set to memory and will watch over and over again. Hotel Del Luna will be one of them. The drama was marvelous from the beginning. The chemistry that the cast had was amazing. The story line kept me coming back for more every weekend. If I was to compare this drama with any other dramas it would be Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo and Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, because they all had chemistry, amazing casting and story line. All three tugged at my heart strings.

Let's not forget the music..awesome just awesome..I will not say more because I do not want to spoil this drama for anyone..

Just have a box of kleenex you going to need one.

Leggi di Più

Story: Very similar with their Hong Sisters) previous ghost story, though I'm not telling the Drama titles. But what do we expect? It seems that this is their favorite genre. I like IU's past life story but the present one is dull for me. It seems that the male lead is always relying on the female lead. Subplots are unclear too, specialy the male leads' mother, why the hell she left her kid behind and why is she hiding him? No explanation for this.

Acting: The only reason I finished watching it is because of IU. Period. I was really bored with other characters, even the male lead.

Music: OK

Rewatch Value: NO. There are no special scenes for me to be rewatched, All I do was cry on the last episode. I hate that. This kind of drama is not comforting. Not emmitting good vibes. All I can feel while watching is the approaching sad ending. Although there are so many good moral values that the drama can impart, it seems that the story just wants us to be slapped with reality that there's no happy ending on earth and everyone just dies. Why so cynical? It's a drama, they should atleast comfort the viewers.

Overall: My 5.5 is purely because of IU , her performance and her outfit.

Leggi di Più