unconventional love story

main line; it's an awkward rom-com. I liked the way the FML's story just chew every conventional love story's feature and just hang it upside down in a freaky show manner. nothing will go smoothly in this drama, but in the end everything will fall into place. that's this unbelievable balance that gives the show it's taste.

if you are a girl you'll definitely have SML syndrome. I loved the story, but never understood why she fell for the MML. the SML is soo better! he is cuter, kinder, more respectful and tender. even if nothing is said on his background, there is no way his family is worse than the MML's one. but, what can you do if the FML's heart chose wrong...?

the general atmosphere is a comic show. even if some difficult things happen, everything is handled in a funny/awkward way, and you will laugh a lot.

when to watch: it's suitable for everyone, watch it if you need to relax.

Leggi di Più

this is not a war story

when I saw the previews and the posters of this show I thought it was about love on a battlefield (private ryan like). I hate violence, so I refused to watch it. until someone recommended it for the romantic part.

the truth is, this drama is about love and nothing else. the only hell you will encounter here, is the hell of cheese. of course there is military stuffs, fight scenes (beautiful ones if you ask me), friendship and violence (I skipped some scenes (because me, right?) but it is bearable), and all the war non-sens we know, but in the far background actually. all the spots are on human relationships and love stories. that's definitely a heartwarming drama. if you like love stories, you MUST watch this one.

the analysis part: the music is beautiful and goes very well with the story. the actors made a wonderful job! especially song joon ki (MML). I fall in love with his character, which means the show nailed it. the script is very sharp and nicely done for the love and relationship part of the show (that makes sens, right?) but the background story was messed up. really, there is no script, no overall story, the characters just fall into weird or dangerous situations one after an other, as if the writer played with dices. this feels very annoying around episode 10, so you'll need to let go.

when to watch? when your mood needs some uplift or if you share some time with your lover. it is even better for a re-watch because you can focus on your favorites love scenes without the stress of not knowing what is going to happen next.

Leggi di Più

so much lies and hiding!

10 years ago, 20 yo segye woke up in an old woman's body. her body changed during the night. she panicked and went outside not knowing what to do, where to go. during this run she went into an accident, and the man who tried to help her ended up badly hurt, perhaps dead. she fainted and woke up in hospital always in that new body, escaped again to find her friends... today, 30 yo segye is the most followed actress of korea, and every month during 1 week her body changes. she can be anyone, male, female, young or old. this happens any where at unexpected moments, even when she is about to receive an award. she therefor gain the reputation to always run away...

I dropped this drama in episode 3, I watched it again because I wanted to know the end, and I didn’t like it. there are so many lies and secrets! so many running, so many non sens! so many manipulations! Even though things are improving in the end, it’s still not ideal. Bad guys get off the ground in one go, so easy you wonder why they put up with them for so long... it’s just a boring drama. it could have turned so well if the writer had done a better job! the casting was pretty good though and the MFL did a wonderful job.

when to watch: just don't.

Leggi di Più

beautiful

this movie is one of those you will never forget. it's one of a kind and it is really difficult to explain how you are going to experience it as there are no comparison. more than a story what this is all about is beauty. beautiful faces, beautiful personalities, beautiful martial art, beautiful dances, beautiful costumes, beautiful landscapes, beautiful poems, beautiful spiritual evolution. the closest I can think about is that day I walked to the beach, and on my way back I came across wild strawberries in the fields. I just sat there on the side of the path and ate as much strawberries as I could and just forgot about my way home. this movie is very alike: I came for the story and forgot all about it while being amazed by the beauty of each scene.

use big screen and switch off the light.
not suitable for under 18 person (violence and sex).

when watch this? a day of blissful laziness. for example this first day you realize that spring is back because the sun shined all day, and girls were wearing skirts again, and bright colors, and flowers were blooming all your way. this kind of light and peaceful days: don't ruin your mood with something less than this. open a bottle of champagne or lemonade and enjoy the beauty!

Leggi di Più

if never ending arguments doesn't bother you

my feelings after watching this are sadness and a great feeling of loss. let's find out why:

I love slice of life's stories, and this one is kind of one, except this is a big chunk of slice. you'll get to know approximately all about the life of sanok, mother of 3, wife and daughter. but you'll get to know her trough the eyes of every one around her, from family to neighbors. the main contributor to this testimony is her daughter jinae.
the problem is that this family's greater dynamic is the fight. this show begins with 3 first episodes having an incredible content of fights. it's almost unbearable (it will get better afterwards, be patient). they say harsh words so slightly to each other that it puzzled me! the second dynamic of this family is the lie. they lie to each other all the time! all this stress ends up making sanok ill and die. the entire family got their dynamic changed through this process. the writer managed anyhow to add a happy ending feeling on that, so the sadness experienced through the show isn't crushing.

why I didn't like it and why you shouldn't watch it: as I said, 1- there is too much arguments, words' violence, and lies which shows no human respect. also 2- the story is about a parent dying from illness, and if you experienced it in real life maybe you will not appreciate being remembered of it. I usually don't add spoilers in my reviews but this warning must definitely be given. 3- the feeling of loss about how happier (and healthier) they all would have been if they just watched their mouth in the first place is sometimes overwhelming.

why I liked it and why you should watch it: 1- the actors' performances were really great. 2- even if I don't like arguing people, people are all different and this kind of family does exist. 3- people can change and it's always interesting to witness this transformation. 4- if you feel like you need to cry and your tears need some help. 5- the balance between what I liked and disliked is positive.

when watch this: when you have some time ahead because this 54 episodes' show is addictive and you'll have hard time pausing it. have fun!

Leggi di Più

you will not remember this drama

my feelings after watching this are boredom and frustration.

I didn’t remember ever watching this drama, so I went through some parts of episode 1 and some parts of episode 16 to make sure I watched it all the way through. and all feelings of boredom and frustration have returned! I had a hard time remembering what was so boring, but I finally understood: too much is happening here! Then you don’t know what you just watched. Was it a comedy? A love story? A revenge story? you can’t dive into it because once you’re in the world of haute couture (international designer), then the world of great cooking (international chef), then the world of corporate's intrigue, then you change your life to go to the countryside, and then you face revenge! double revenge! with a love story and adoption of a child. and this is exactly why you will not remember this! there is too much main lines in this drama. you can easily write a 16 episodes' story with the half of it.

is this worth your time? no... and yes. for the same reason as before, a lot of things are going on, some very interesting, all under-exploited, and here comes the frustration! my last word would be no. there are many interesting dramas out there, don't waste your time.

when watch this? if you have nothing else to watch, if your cinema's teacher asked for a list of "does and don't", if you plan to be a drama writer and need an example of blurpy story.

Leggi di Più

a litle bit bland for a deity's love story

my feelings after finishing this drama is a little disappointment.
the story is great and have a lot of potentialities which were not exploited. there is too much non-sens about relationship's issues, arguments (for no reason), and childish tantrums. that's absolutely not what you can expect from a deity and a match-maker. of course it's funny, for 10 episodes at least. after this time the waste become just too obvious.
this love story is fine if you need to entertain children, teenagers or immature adults, or if you like immature relationships' stories.
that's definitely a light and cheerful story which can sweeten your evenings, but don't expect more than the obvious.

Leggi di Più

learn to laugh while crying

the story is about a group of north korean spies who are given a mission in south korea. my feelings after this show are sadness, anger and despair. but in the meanwhile I laughed a lot. perhaps do you need to understand why: the story is very funny, the situations are so awkward that you cannot help but laugh. but at the same time, being human and understanding the world as it is, you very much know that these kind of dramas does happens. it does. using humans as tools, it does happens. and it is very disturbing, and sad and infuriating.
it is easy to guess then that the movie was very well done. the cast is so good that you dive into the story at once.

I highly recommend even though I hate violence. I came to watch it after the drama "crash landing on you" and didn't regret the journey. watch it with friends as it is too sad and violent for a lovers or family gathering. have fun!

Leggi di Più

a warmharted love story

what happens when a south korean woman meets a north korean man? there are beautiful landscapes to walk in, red leaves falling from the trees, romantic view on the first snowfall, endless evenings on candle light...

Se Ri is a successful south korean woman who gets accidentally blown by the wind to north korea while paragliding. she is discovered by Jung Hyuk, a north korean soldier who decides to hide her and try to send her safely to south korea. that's the plan. but things won't go smoothly.

this is truly one of the best dramas I watched. the story will keep you hooked. the OST is simply enchanting, even now (2 years later) these songs just bring out so many emotions! the cast was so well done that the main actors ended up married the next year. you can actually feel the chemistry between Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin and I feel blessed being able to witness the beginning of their love.

this drama is also a good way to discover how north korean citizens live, how the 2 countries manage their relation, and what south koreans think about north korean's citizens. the show has a pretty good re-watch value which is a good quality sign.

watch this with your lover or your crush, and enjoy having each other's company.
one last thing: you should watch the k-movie "Secretly Greatly" before this drama. not mandatory, but you'll thank me later... enjoy!

Leggi di Più

a criminal enquiry that will keep you hooked

the story is about the life and experience of a military prosecutor in the korean's army. the thing is I am not interested in army's stuffs and one of the things I love the most in korean's dramas is the absence of weapons (especially fire arms) and the controlled violence. but it won't be the case here. it's bearable but it's definitely here. you'll also get to see uniforms all the time, and all their rank's stuffs.

despite all this, the story is really captivating. they managed to take unexpected turns many times, a lot of characters have unusual relations, or change their relations. you won't be able to wait to know what happens next. I also got to learn a lot about korean's military system, wich you hear a lot about in many dramas because they have two years of mandatory military service between their 18 and their 30. I wasn't aware that south koreans feel like they ARE in war with north korea, or that they could be anytime.

I didn't like the (none) chemistry between the 2 main characters, and their love story just felt odd. if the villains personality was well documented, it wasn't the case for the support roles. nonetheless I watched this drama in 4 days and enjoyed it. if you love weapons, action, a sprinkle of violence and army's stuffs, this will definitely make your day!

enjoy this with friends and beer after work. have fun!

Leggi di Più

being not normal is difficult

a 30 yo university professor lives alone with his housekeeper, a middle-aged woman very skilled in cooking. he is a very spontaneous person and doesn't know how to lie. he seems to do everything he want in life without bothering about social limitations. and that's the problem, especially in japan where normality is a way of life. because of that, he has a very lonely life. people usually think he doesn't think right when meeting him. but as time goes on you understand that he was right from the beginning. he will learn to get along with his students, his colleagues and even his dentist.

the story is catching, it's entertaining and funny. in order to understand how unusual this character is, you need to understand that in japan nobody is supposed to stand out, so the social pressure is overwhelming. it is very well explained through the story, but I think western people need this clarified. I have loved everything except the end: they did too much or not enough. the end doesn't have this closure feeling.

you can watch this when you need some peaceful story to soothe your day. it's relaxing and easy to share with friends and family. I would recommend this as a daily gathering during a stressful period.

Leggi di Più

not as good as expected

I am very surprised reading other reviews that so many people were so touched they cried their eyes out.... it wasn't my case. the story is interesting, unique. I love the way the autistic person is described. I like the complicated story the uncle had. it was dense and emotional, but some way I managed to stay out of reach. I think there were too many little odd details that kept me from diving all in. maybe is it because this show is like an advertiser about dysfunctional families. and I think the uncle is too extreme.

when to watch? I don't even know if I would recommend. if I could go back in time and give myself the advise to watch the show or not, I would advise myself to not watch it. there are so many other shows out there, and a lot of them better than this one. it took me almost a whole month to watch the 10 episodes. and the only reason why I didn't drop it is because there was only 10 episodes. a few days after I came across the story of yanxi palace, and watched the 70 episodes in 10 days. there is no comparison between these 2 shows. this one is just bland.

Leggi di Più

this drama will haunt you forever

this show was one of the first I watched when k-dramas became something for me. the most thrilling thing is that I just came across it and watched it by chance. and it was like being shot in the chest. I was used to japanese anime, japanese dramas, and if I am now fallen into k-dramas it's because this one weighted heavily in my heart. I have already rewatched it 2 times (total of 3) and all the feelings were the same.

the story: a modern girl travels to goryo because of a moon eclipse. she discovers the life of the first king of korea, and the palace's intrigues.
my feelings after watching this were nostalgia and sadness. mostly because of the music, the drama has this bitter-sweet taste that lasted for months!!! it's not a crushing feeling because I understood why things turned out like they did, that nothing more could be done, and everything turned good enough, but my heart just kept mourning in a quiet way.

there is so much good things in this drama, I just don't know what to begin with! the costumes are breath taking! I fall in love with hanbok while watching this show. before it was just this weird thing they used to wear in ancient korea, but after this drama I wanted to have one and to wear it - in france - on big occasions. the music is the main thing that makes this drama haunting. I sang these songs years after watching it! they are still on my favorites songs' list on youtube. the actors' performances are just incredible. all the characters are very dense and yet the funny and smiling ones managed to perform with so much light!

about IU's performance, as I said, I knew nothing about korea before watching this show, and I didn't notice any obvious flaw or lacking. I discovered months after watching the drama that IU was a star, that she was the singer of the drama's OST, and that people were disappointed with her. and all of this surprised me. the last thing is, I sometimes find the asian dramas' pace too slow, but this was never the case with this one.

I can talk about this drama for years. I am well aware that the story is difficult, there is some violence, and the bitter taste is definitely there, so it doesn't suit a whole category of people. and that's ok. give it try, and if you are not hooked after the 1st episode, that's ok, you tried. because on the other hand, you could miss something huge.

when watch this: with friends and family but not under 16 yo. there is some violence and relations issues (not sex but human's complexities) that are not suitable for young people. watch it on holidays or on week-end because you will need some time to process your feelings. watch it with people who share mainly the same ideas as yours, so you can share, process, and support each other.
if you fall in love with this drama too, come thank me later! have fun!

Leggi di Più

annoying

dropped on episode 6. like a lot of viewers as I read later. it was difficult to continue watching, and after episode 4 I just watched in order to finish it, but it was too annoying. it's very frustrating because the synopsis was good and the ideas were so unique. but, they failed to deliver to same level of content after episode 4.

I realized watching this that I really appreciate story about people who can see (guess) the future. it could have been a very good drama, but they just stick to one scenario: she is kind and naive, and the bad guys are powerful and heartless, and the poor little thing just get out of this mess by the grace of gods (and a little bit with her ability).

for the story to exist she must lie and conceal everything she knows, and this is more and more artificial over time.

when to watch? if you have nothing more interesting to watch
audience: family friendly

Leggi di Più

ennoying

I didn't like it and had to pause a few times while watching. I began the drama in october 22 and finished it in january 23, this means all. the stories are hard (after all these are suicide stories) but that wasn't the problem. there is too much cliches and all the things that happen to the characters aren't well bound together. it lacks this little something that makes you want to watch the next episode right away. I finished it just because I wanted to know how the story ends.

not for children or sensitive people because there is a lot of violence, sex, drug and so on.
when to watch: I wouldn't recommend

Leggi di Più