A good try

I'll start by saying I thoroughly enjoyed this despite it's ever more obvious flaws.

The first few episodes work pretty well - it's a bit too quick in places and has some jarring switches in pace but the cast and the effort they put into the setting pull you through.
The initial foray into the Lunar complex and the rising tensions between the characters are probably some of the strongest and best parts of the whole drama. Aided by some strong performances and unique characters.
Unfortunately the 'homage' to Alien amongst others and the risible main elements of the plot don't mesh well. This some fairly pointless twists and revelations starts to chip away at the foundation that was laid so well. Some terrible CGI takes things down further and the Oh So Inevitable betrayals and bizarrely foolish decisions by characters really pull things down.
The ending is unfortunately muddled and rushed to the point of loosing a great deal of the dramatic tension it initially promised.
It could have been so much more, a more consistent first half, maybe even a longer wait for the 'why we are really here' reveal. A more convincing Alien Thing (sorry hard to say without spoilers) better cgi a decision to go with the slow dark tension or the action horror or rather than pay homage to Alien to learn how to mesh the two from it.


Still some fine actors and a whole hearted attempt to do Sci-Fi kept me watching. I appreciated the effort put in and the little things they attempted - no eye candy here - lots of space suits and lab coats though. enjoyable but probably not rewatchable. I should really rate it lower but I'm a sucker for Sci-Fi and I did watch it all.

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Right Ingredients Wrong Recipe

At first sight this looked like a sure fire win. A more thoughtful plot, plenty of violence, beautiful scenery and an interesting cast though the two leads are new to me. What went wrong with it is harder to pin down as it's all fairly typical.

They spend at least a little time setting the stage so you know what's going on. There's the usual woman in a fridge to provide impetus. There's some beautiful scenery, some great cinematography and some angst ridden protagonists. A star turn by Cha Seung Won channelling the Devil King is fun too.
But I found myself too easily distracted from the backstory and fluff making it harder to be pulled in by the set pieces.

The main fall down for me was a total lack of empathy for the main leads - I didn't really like them so I didn't really care what happened to them - it's a hard hurdle to get over. Neither came across as cool or relatable or even consistent. Every time I started to like them they did something to annoy me. Add in some really brain dead decisions especially later in the film and...meh.

Another pet hate of mine is torture porn I get an OOOH! I bet that hurt moment then I get bored and want some plot or action, the best torture scenes are marked by anticipation rather than special effects (cf. the hairdryer scene from Man from Nowhere). You guessed it torture porn rears it's head for too long and with totally unrealistic ability to still function thrown in.

On the plus side there a some excellent shootouts the finale being particularly fun, some comedy gold in places and some great acting. Would I watch it again? Nah! I don't think I'd even skip to the shootouts.

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Turn off Critical Faculties sit back and Enjoy!

This is an awkward one to rate, it's cheesy, has plot holes and little logic. Makjang enough that you know every episode will have a 'twist' and some tears.

And yet I thoroughly enjoyed it, the baddies were so bad the goodies were so good. I laughed at the humour both intentional and accidental, got angry where I should and teary where I should.

Still it isn't actually very good just... enjoyable. Props to Lee Yoo Ri for a large part of that enjoyment.

Well worth a look if you want something fun to watch. I skipped some of the first episode setup bits the broad picture was enough. The last couple of episodes are a bit the same skip the tying it up parts you guessed or don't really care about watch the bits you want.
The Music was what you would expect.
The cast are really what keeps you watching and they all do a solid job with what they are given. Go Na Hee is cute as a button which always helps.
I probably won't watch this again for years.

Edit: August 2021
So I lied!

I'm rewatching this at the mo' and revelling in it's trashy airport novel marvelousness! Such fun! I like the homage to Yoo Ri's Fun-staurant turn - he likes wine so...

I think part of the enjoyment for me is knowing Yoo Ri is as mad as toast IRL it lends a whole new shine to her character's vulnerable, Stepford Wife routine. When those big Puppy Dog eyes fill with tears or she does that blank eyed smile I'm totally convinced no matter how barmy the plot is.

The ML talking to everyone like they are moron's though is harder to handle. If I spoke to my 10yo like that I'd get short shrift.

Watch it - it's pants, but.. they are made of shiny purple velvet with yellow satin stars sewn on by hand.

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A Serviceable Thriller

I've skipped past this many times thinking the synopsis sounded unappealing, rich mommies mentally abusing their children - no thanks.
Yet in reality this is a perfectly serviceable Kdrama Thriller suffering from all the usual problems but with some great performances and a compelling enough story.

The story whilst interesting and (at least in the beginning) a little difficult to predict soon settles into something a bit more predictable. Fortunately the trip to the eventual dénouement has a plethora of twists and turns to keep you interested.
As usual for Kdrama thrillers the need to spin things out throws up situations where logic, police procedure, common sense and occasionally the space time continuum go out of the window. I never found it to be immersion breaking though and was dragged along with little effort.
The side characters stories I found to be less compelling at least after the first few episodes. The mystery vanished leaving fairly pedestrian relationship plots behind. Nothing you haven't seen before in some form or another though it was nice to see how supportive all of them turned out to be.

Acting: Some fine performances from Song Yoon Ah and Kim Tae Woo made up for a slightly less accomplished one from Kim So Yeon. Song Jae Rim I found disappointing. Everyone else did a good job with the parts they were given with a special mention for Kim Ye Joon.

Music: I actually enjoyed the music in this and whilst it was overplayed I never really tired of it.

Rewatch: Probably not at least not until I have forgotten all the twists.


TLDR: An enjoyable thriller with enough to lift it above the norm without it being a classic.

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So good you want to drag it out

Now this is an odd one to review because really it's a bit simple and twee but it still manages to pull you in and move you.

Watching Hotarugosu was a bit like watching the old black and white movies on a Saturday afternoon. Full of 'proper' values and pathos where the good guys eventually win with little gritty realism on show. And really that's why Hotarugosu works, everything is gentle and subdued yet the script and a fine set of actors mean you feel all the emotion you should and always root for the good guys.

For me they could have added a few more episodes very easily

If you want a bit of light costume drama with a serviceable story, good acting and a feel good factor then this is thoroughly recommended. If you are looking for blood, melodramatics, realism and moral ambiguity then go elsewhere.

The music was appropriate and nowhere jarring.

Kiyohara Kaya and Tanimura Mitsuki* had the acting chops for me building a believable relationship with seemingly little effort and the kids of course deserve a special mention for their performances. Otherwise everyone gave wholly reasonable performances leaving you in no doubt of what part they played.

All in all something I would watch again. When I do I'm sure I will smile and pretend not to get choked up at just the same places.

*I had just watched her in I am Ghost where she is a schoolgirl so I had a little trouble placing her as a mother of two at first.

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This is quite a difficult title to review. It sucked me in and pulled me along through it's twists and turns but I skipped a fair bit. So what did I like?

This isn't a typical Drama relying on the usual cliches, though of course it has familiar elements. Cinderella story? Heart warming family drama? Revenge story? Romance? Corruption? Seperation?
This ride takes you through many places and the fact you are never quite sure where it'll take you next is part of it's charm.

The humour is surprisingly good, I laughed out loud regularly and chortled more often. As others have said the humour can be a little dark and twisted at times leading you to curse and laugh at the same time in places.

The acting was exceptional all the characters coming to life with seemingly little effort. There are many faces you will recognise in this ensemble cast and a lot of talent on show. Yoo Joon Sang and Choi Yeon Hee were excellent, portraying the terrible In Laws that you should love to hate with enough humanity to make you never lose sight of them as people. They are the focus of the show and they carry it well.
Go Ah Sung was amazing as Seo Bom, following her journey and character growth was a joy.
There has to be a special mention for the baby as well, watching his interactions with the cast kept bringing a smile to my face, they obviously spent a fair bit of time together.
Only Lee Joon really disappointed just feeling substandard in comparison to everyone else.

This program also contains one of the best birth scenes I've watched, it got the point across without seeming too forced and unreal and I actually watched it all the way through, the humour helped.

The Music I really enjoyed, it had me bopping in my seat on a number of occasions I even liked the opening number enough to look it up. The spooky discordant music was a little overused but at least there weren't any dreadful ballads thrown in. Poongmoon Gypsy made me jig everytime it came on.

What I wasn't so keen on was the corruption and political stuff I skipped through plenty of that, occasionally missing plot points entirely - what happened to her leg? There were also a few episodes which seemed like filler with nothing much happening and not enough humour to pull you through.

As has been noted by others the ending is rushed with too many elements being resolved too quickly, apparently due to two episodes being knocked off the run at a late time. Which makes me regret the filler episodes even more.

I would watch various bits of this again, The headbutt! so unexpected but perfect, the duck and run, Hyun Soo telling it like it is and so on . Maybe in a year or two I'll settle down and watch it again.

TLDR: Worth a go if you fancy something different with laugh out loud moments but no need to force yourself to watch every second.

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I was really enjoying this up to the twist (please see other 1* reviews for Spoilers), the characters were well played and the relationship was quite 'cute'. Wasn't totally happy with the male lead but thought he would find redemption through the love of a good woman in traditional cliche style.

And then comes the 'twist'.

I kept going until the waking up in bed scene then skipped to the end to make sure that my growing unease about who ends up with whom was correct.
It was.
I stopped watching.

It's over a week later and I'm still feeling uncomfortable about watching as much as i did of this, uneasy about the fact I was enjoying the leads 'romance', truly upset that people are watching this and thinking it's cute etc.

I wish I had checked this one out on here before beginning to watch it. This sort of behaviour has no place as part of a Romance. It's abuse.
Don't watch it.

2020 now and I still get upset when I see someone calling this a cute romance...

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The first half of this worked quite well, nothing new in the plot but the characters were at least interesting. I liked Sam Soon, she had enough feistiness to make her interesting even though she still fell into the usual drama cliches. The fact she was plump (though still gorgeous!) was a really refreshing change. The initial squabbling between her and Jin Heon had chemistry, humour and timing, lifting the show above the relatively ordinary plot.

After a while though, the repetitive unpleasantness, wrist grabbing, shouting, arguing, cheating and so on just got wearing. The initial humour was transferred to other characters leaving the main leads looking a bit pathetic. It's really hard to care about the relationships of people you neither like nor respect.
By the time I dropped it I'd really had enough of Jin Heon, what a complete twat he turned out to be. I don't mind a lead who starts out as a pathetic man-child but grows and changes into something more...adult? Likeable? as the show progresses. Unfortunately JH just got worse and so by the time he at last started to come round a little bit I no longer cared. Which left Sam Soon with her repeated 'he's my last chance' as the only visible reason for sticking with him seem even more sad. Well he is rich I suppose...

The music has some gems thrown in to the mix and made me smile on a couple of occasions

Sam Soon I wish you could've found a nice guy or at least one that you could trust.

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Some films only Japan can make

I've just rewatched this and I came to up my score and even write a review.

I'm a Kdrama fan for all sorts of reasons - the production, the accessibility, the slightly more acceptable misogyny, the lack of reliance on sex. Yet there are some amazing dramas out there that only Japan can do! You find them slipped in between the slightly brutal, sexist, infantilised main stream fare but shining with a gritty, oh so strange yet oh so normal light.

This is one of those, not because of the subject matter but because of the way it is handled. Without the glam slick entertainment of Kdramas or the censorship and lightness of Cdrama or the terribly preachy brutality of a US drama this manages to put across it's message with a heartrendingly understated realism.

The story is well told, the casting and acting is superb, the music supports but never overpowers the emotion.

Kakihara Rinka deserves the honours but Ikuta Toma deserves your attention.

I thoroughly recommend it.

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If you've read one of my reviews before it was probably a rant about some horrible Jerk Lead being a twat, so for a change here's one I enjoyed and it's a Noona Romance, Whoopie!

We have all the usual ingredients here for a fine Romance drama:

Jerk Lead with a secret heart of gold? check!
Sweet put upon female lead who's actually much tougher than she first appears? check!
Enforced cohabitation? check!
Cute Kid? check!

So nothing new but as ever it's how it's baked that makes the difference.
This Jerk is a spoilt child with a cruel tongue but little violence in him, he's easy to see just as a child and therefore copable with. He also has character progression which again makes him easier to forgive.
The Female lead forges her way through, mothering all that come within her range with a slightly clumsy, gentle fierceness. Maternal sacrifice is far easier to watch than Noble Sacrifice.
The Romance is slow and barely acknowledged by either party but is sweet to watch.
The extra spice that Kim Yoo Bin's turn as Min Woo's daughter adds in is a joy, tugging at your heartstrings, making you smile giving the whole show a warm family feel. Even when she's just piggybacked to bed fast asleep it makes the scene feel different.

I didn't mind any of the support characters and though some were only sketched in mostly they played their parts well. Really apart from the president and his wife they were just a backdrop for the leads.
The reporter dude irritated me just as he should.

The music was fine though the show tunes, sorry numbers, weren't my bag.

It isn't perfect and occasional soggy writing or poor acting can pull you out of focus.
The FL is irritating in places with the odd hairstyle and fussy housewife chats but I found her easy to forgive.
On the whole though I found little to criticise. It isn't intense, it won't give you an emotional charge, it isn't thought provoking so it isn't up there in the 9/10 range but... it's great!

I've rewatched it already and thoroughly enjoyed it second time around

Recommended.

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So as one of the comments sort of says only in Dramaland does this count as a fluffy Romance. (@green_tokki)

There's nothing new about the story as you can tell by the synopsis but that's not a problem if the cast and writers put it all together well. Contract relationship, rich man poor woman etc. etc.

On the whole from the eight episodes I watched they didn't do too badly, nothing intense, nothing special it just concentrates on the Leads relationship. Which is touted as one of it's strengths but for me it's the fatal flaw. Without any background buzz to soften it the ML's abusive behaviour just becomes unavoidable.

She's supposedly strong but apart from a couple of kicks in the shin she just gives in to everything. Unsolicited and supposedly unwanted kisses? I'll stamp on your foot but still do what you want, let you drag me around by the wrist =, barge into my house, whatever. Creepily help me make something by awkwardly sitting behind me and putting your arms around me? Fine. Drag me into restaurants, cars whatever..

Friends brother you've known for years? You can't talk to him, drags her away from him; can't call him Oppa, I nearly gagged when she was being all apologetic about forgetting and saying Oppa in the car.

She gets a bunch of flowers from a student (admittedly a young idol) and is carrying them when she sees him- without knowing anything about who gave them, he throws them in the bin and drags her off.

She dresses up after overhearing him saying how dowdy she was and all he does is panic about other men finding her attractive. No compliment, no pride in having an attractive fiance, nope, covers her up with his coat and drags her off to get changed. Tells her friend off for lending her the clothes. He likes her dowdy and unattractive to other men.

Physically aggressive, controlling, manipulative, unpleasantly jealous...What a twat! Got to the point where I disliked him so much I didn't care if he changed and just hoped she got counselling to help her stop being a victim.

I feel ashamed it took me so long to drop it.

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I quite enjoyed the initial turn of things the Strong female lead etc. but basically this is just the same old poor nice girl sort of humanises the rich arrogant bloke trope. It has a bit of difference to it and the relationship is quite fun and cute yet it's not different enough or intense enough to lift it above the basic cliche. Which is a shame because it had the chance to be much more. I skipped through the last couple of episodes just to see what happened yet found I didn't really care about what happened after all as I didn't really like him enough to want him to get the girl.

I was a little uncomfortable with the age gap as well though they managed to make me not notice it for a goodly portion of the time. 16-26 is a lot different from 20 to 30.

The acting though over the top in places was OK to good, I especially liked the FL. I did feel the ML owed a lot to Fated to Love You. The OST was nothing special. I wouldn't watch it again.

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A funny thing happened on the way to the last episode

Not that funny unfortunately!
The first 12 or so half hour episodes of this totally sucked me in, thanks in a large part to Kim Jung Hyun. Anyone that has had the misfortune to wade through a few of my reviews will know I'm not fond of Jerk Leads who don't grow up but I am fond of Romance. And the first third of this drama promised a Jerk Lead with character development and a sweet though perhaps doomed Romance. Whoot!

As we entered the teens though this promise started to fail, the plot became a lot less convincing, an obviously ailing KJH had to pass the baton to a far less accomplished Seo Hyun and Romance took second place to REVENGE!!

I was left feeling bathetic...so much promise unfulfilled and at 22 episodes in boredom set in - This is not the Drama you were looking for!

Story: Begins well but loses it's way far too early, possibly due to panic over the impending departure of KJH.
Acting;/Cast: KJH is the real stand out here even I appreciated his turn as a Jerk. Kim Joon Han was a convincing villain with scraps of soul and there was haphazard support from Hwang Seong Eon.
Music: Had a couple of classics mixed in and never made me hit mute.
Rewatch: I didn't manage first watch! but if I did revisit it would be for KJH.

Overall it could have been great but it lost it around the half way mark.

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Tears and laughter with some genuinely moving moments.

I believe I've started this before but gave up in the first episode. Probably because of the ML being yet another wealthy, handsome manchild.
This time I hung on in there for just a little longer and whilst I did still find him infuriating at times his (eventual) character growth and the story were ultimately rewarding.
This isn't ground-breaking stuff but it is a good, wholesome weep fest.

The performances are pretty good though characters don't all have a lot of depth. The FL probably gets the prize from me.

The bromance and sismance are engaging and emotionally rewarding.
The only real flaw for me was the Baek Seol story line. The In-Laws were a bit too overdone and I found her acting unconvincing. The rather obvious duck lip probably didn't help. I didn't really feel her motorbike friendship came over as innocent either which rather spoilt it and the ensuing story line.

I have to admit to skipping through some of the longer emotionally manipulative moments.

Story: Good but not standout
Acting: Good with alright chemistry between many of the characters.
Music: Ok didn't really grab me but not mute button awful
Rewatch: Probably not - I enjoyed it but not to that great a degree.

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At first look this seemed like a winner - Jang Hyuk who might not always play characters I like but at least can act, an interesting premise and a good MDL score.

Unfortunately as I watched things started to go wrong. JH's sociopathic Dr? very interesting: I thought on the whole he played it well and it kept my interest. Unfortunately instead of sticking with a winning theme we have to have Hospital politics/corruption as an interminable backdrop. FF was my friend for this, though as ever when you end up skipping such large portions of episodes you miss pertinent plot points. I didn't care I was too bored by it
The whole father son stuff was all as seen before as well which was ok but not really worth sitting through.

The FL was the usual nice but gullible cliche which undermined a lot of the romance in the end, letting the chemistry flicker and fizzle rather than bloom. The end of her/their story arc was so mind numbingly unoriginal I skipped through most of that as well.

The bits that worked best are the actual patient/doctor the true medical drama stuff. Those parts brought out the best in JH's portrayal of Dr Lee and the best of the character itself.

So all in all if the romance grabs you, if you don't mind all the politics/corruption stuff, if you still find entertainment in uninspired cliches give this a go it's probably a lot better than I've made out.

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