Fridalee
Brazil
But there's always a "but". And here are mine.
When watching K-dramas, I have some basic rules (that are, of course, adaptable to the circumstances the series lay on me). Sometimes they are all broken right off the bat, sometimes I'm surprised with a writer's ability to not resort to cliches. It's always an adventure, and I love it.
Why I'm saying this? Cause, as I said, Doctor John started out strong. I was really pleased. I hadn't been that happy about a Korean drama story-line for I don't even know how long - which seemed to make sense, since it is based off a book, and these generally tend to be less conflict-for-ratings-driven and more thought out all the way through.
So there we were. Plot was making sense. Characters were being humanly imperfect, but still, coherent. There was our comic reliefs, which is always appreciated especially when dramas want to talk about serious (and controversial) topics, case in point, euthanasia - and those comedic moments didn't seem out of place. We were seeing our characters grow, bond, solve conflicts... and then the second to last episode happened, and I felt like something was about to go bad.
I ended up watching rules of mine being broken, and, as I said, it's an adventure, an emotional one, at that. Suddenly the series made an U-turn and I was like, ok, some experiences and life choices can do that to people. Then our lovely Si-young patched things up (and HOW GOOD it is to have a female lead character actually DO things, not just be thrown around). And then there was another U-turn and I realized how angry I had gotten.
It was like I was seeing in slow motion the impending downfall of a great plot. It seems like the writer got lazy and resorted to some ridiculousness, AND NOT ONLY THAT, but also forgot about some plot points here and there, so 32 half-hour long episodes weren't enough - and Doctor John didn't have the greatest ratings so we would never be gifted a couple more installments to actually close everything up. I don't know if the script writer is to blame, or if the book makes these same questionable choices; all I know is that some things I hoped wouldn't happen... kinda did. And I can't help but to feel bothered about it.
What I'm trying to say is: I'm writing this review 10 minutes after finishing the series. I'm pissed. This drama was climbing FAST towards the top of my favourites list, and I love Ji Sung, so I was VERY excited for his new drama, and we were doing so well... But Doctor John ended up being just "very good". Not "outstanding", not "amazing", but a very good drama. I still love it to pieces, hell, it is WHOLE LOT better than most K-dramas. I mean, "very good" isn't a bad thing at all (>>>very good<<< ya know) - but I'm thinking of what it could've been.
Now that I'm not gonna be surprised with a punch in my face, I would totally binge-watch it again (after my anger subsides). But if you're like me and some plot lines turn you off considerably, then just be warned it can happen to you, too.
All things considered, though, disappointment can hurt, but it can only totally ruin something if the starting point wasn't that good to begin with. Doctor John sets the bar high, and because of that, it is still a must-watch. Now I'm going to scream at my pillow again, and soon I'll be able to love this drama with all my might again.
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The thing is: a good drama for me doesn't need to be filled with moments that will make you suffer with the characters and it can't be that foreseeable. And You're Beautiful it's just this. You can fully understand the depth of the characters within some episodes, and if you try to take a guess on what they will do next, probably you'll be right.
There's no need to keep hammering a single point in the story, and still, they do this all the time. At one point, I got tired of gritting my teeth and screaming to the screen, cause I had already seen what was happening another billion times. It's repetitive, and even though I've kept rooting for one specific character, I knew since the beginning he wasn't going to get the ending I wanted, because, once again, the story is foreseeable.
The plot was a good one to work with - it never was supposed to be a deep story, but it could be better than what we had. The drama could be finished with only ten episodes, excluding unnecessary and dull interactions between the characters and mysteries that aren't really that mysterious. The music is ok, the few tracks we have are good, but I find myself really annoyed by the fact that, one, it seems like we only have five songs along the whole drama (and three of them are different versions of the same track), and two, why do they put such a tense instrumental in moments that doesn't have the need to it?
The best point for me is the acting - all the actors besides Park Shin Hye did a fairly good job. I kept wondering, why does she represents like this in this drama? I mean, Heartstrings was ok, Heirs too, and Pinocchio is her best drama without doubts, but her acting in You Are Beautiful annoys me so much. I don't find it cute, neither funny, nor girly. It's just annoying and the scenes I liked the most were the ones she wasn't trying so hard (episode 12, the greenhouse part, is one of my very few examples). Maybe she matured since then, and for me this one is her worst drama.
I can't say the drama isn't funny. It was one of the few things that saved it for me. I laughed so hard in some parts that it wasn't all lost. And if I ignored the existence of two of the three main male characters while Go Minam was interacting with one of them, I could go through the scene without any unneeded anger. It was silly, and sometimes fun, but not my piece of cake.
All in all, I would never rewatch it, but if you like silly thingies (and amorous triangles), if you're bored and want something to entertain yourself a little bit (only until the very first cringeworthy moment), you may want to give You Are Beautiful a try.
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The story is well built, the characters are well articulated and portrayed - every single one of them, even the supporting roles, the music goes along with the scene, just adding more emotion to it, and the way the episodes were developed was magnificent! I don't find myself so amazed by a drama since Reply 1997!
Generally k-dramas have this thing for making you scream of anger while watching them, but in this one, the screeches were of agony, because the feelings - especially pain, of course - were being so nicely portrayed that it wasn't possible to not feel along with the characters.
I like how the characters are human. I mean, none of them are completely perfect or completely awful, all of them have good and bad feelings - the want to do the good and the bad thing. Even the villains - you can't call them that, seriously, but let's go with it - have genuine emotions and actions, and everything is substantial and explicable.
Things in this drama happen like you would see happening in real life, the plot twists aren't something you would laugh about because they are so ridiculous (seriously, some dramas are impossible to be serious about). And for me, it's so good to see believable acts and events, especially because the plot is all about something that is inherently present in our everyday lives. There was only this or that scenes that probably wouldn't be possible to see (hello, Yoon Yu Rae, I'm talking to you), but they were made for the comic relief, so I just laughed and moved on.
Overall, Pinocchio is a great choice if you want to see a realistic drama. Kudos for Park Shin Hye for not making me want to kill her because of her acting and character - the first one is her fault, but the second I know it's not, I'm just glad she finally chose a character that wasn't developed by the screenwriters so... ugh. (Go Minam... Eun Sang... just no.)
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I guess Blood is one of the dramas you either like it, get really addicted and watch earnestly until the end, or you hate it and drop it by episode 3. I'm part of the first team, and I'll explain why.Like a lot of vampire stories nowadays, there's nothing really special about this one. One vampire is evil, he thinks his species is superior and wants to do bad things with his knowledge; the other one is good and is fighting against his own nature through his whole existence, then he meets the love of his life and the villain and find a purpose to his life. Well, in this case, the good vampire already had a purpose, which was finding the cure to the virus that causes the vampirism.
The plot is simple, yes, but how it was developed made me like the drama. Blood is my first medical drama, and I loved the way they mixed medicine and the supernatural stuff; it had lots of wholes in the explanations, yes, hell yes, but it was mainly good.
Now, let's talk about the acting, because of course I need to. Starting with Ahn Jae Hyun, I personally think people are being unfair with him. He did well, seriously. He's only done a few dramas and Park Ji Sang being his first lead role, we can't expect him to be as good as Ji Jin Hee - and I won't even talk much about this guy; it was simply amazing, there's nothing else to say. It's hard to find an actor who won't make the villain in a vampire story seem silly. I don't agree with people who say supernatural stories aren't that big of a deal, I think it's really hard to act like all the unreal things you're saying are true, imagine doing it and still not sounding artificial (Blood had this problem sometimes, though).
My main complaints regarding the acting are Gu Hye Sun (wow, what a surprise) and Son Soo Hyun. Because when they were doing fine, it was great to watch, but when they acted badly, it just ruined the scene. I had some problems, even though I tried to not be distracted by these incidents.
The other supporting characters did fine, some better than others, so yeah, no problems here. (Hyun Woo, LUUVY and Sister Sylvia for the win!)
The soundtrack isn't extensive, I guess it only has four parts. While part one and two (Only One, by Tiffany from SNSD, and Be Alright by Song Haye) are incredible songs, part three and four (I Can't Stop Loving You by Ha Hyeon Woo and Cell by MC Meta) are kinda meh. What I liked the most, though, were the instrumental scores, specially the one that was played in lots of episode endings, mainly the ones filled with action or tension (I can't say in which part of the drama you can find this song because it would be posting a spoiler he he).
Overall, Blood's a good drama. It's fun, really. It made me cry and laugh and want to punch the wall because I got so angry. I understand why some people didn't liked and droped it, but it's always valid to give it a try. It depends on your taste, a lot, but if you start watching with no prejudices, you can have a good surprise. (And please give Ahn Jae Hyun a break, people. I won't let anyone who didn't watch the last episode tell me he's not a good actor.)
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Considering most of the main characters in this short series are mainly singers and dancers, I didn't expect overwhelming acting, but they did actually pretty well. A little above than just fine, I would say. The lead female, JB, Jackson, Mark and Youngjae actually made me tear up a little bit, which is something few actors and stories can do, so kudos to them. I was sincerely touched by the ending, although I didn't liked it for the same reason I didn't liked the ending of the drama special Pianist (my most recent review after this).
The soundtrack for this drama is composed of just JYPE artists songs, and I like all of them, so there's nothing to complain but nothing special about it either.
Although I don't usually re-watch stuff, I would definitely re-watch Dream Knight because it was cute. It was a little dose of a light story (even with the sad moments). There were obviously some things I would rather they were made in a different way, but overall I can't complain (too much). For a short drama special, it was really good and I really enjoyed it.
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Drama Special Season 1: Pianist
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It's not exceptional, of course. If you're going to watch it thinking that oh my god it will be a piece of art, you are definitely not going to like it. You'll spend a nice hour and you can either hate it because is too shallow or love it because it's simple and cute. Also, I think the idea of these drama specials is incredible, cause they tell stories that are simple but still meaningful.
There's a thing about Minho's acting, though, that I don't think I really get it. I don't know if his acting style in this is because he was too inexperienced or it was just the way he built his character. Oh Je Ro is a cute person, a little silly and really, really naive. Somewhat the genius style, indeed. So if this was Minho's intention, he did it wonderfully. If not, at least I prefer to keep on thinking it was. Also, another point, it was nice to see his mannerisms while playing the piano changing between the beginning and the end of the show. I don't know if it was supposed to be a thing, but I liked it.
Ji Hye's acting was overall just average. Not overwhelming neither awful. Just plain simple. The other guy acting, though, really annoyed me. It was... I don't know, weird.
The music, obviously, is great. Classical music has always a great way of telling a story, or going along with it.
Everybody talks about the ending, and I got annoyed by it too, but not for the same reasons everyone else did. So just go for it and don't mind the finale. The show still is really cute. It gives you a nice and inspiring feeling - or at least it gave me.
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We all know how melodramas work and Uncontrollably Fond doesn't go astray from it - a lot of sadness and angst and some comic relief here and there. The drama doesn't give you anything you haven't seen before - but at least it doesn't make you frustrated, which is a really positive point for me.
I know a lot of people have been bashing Suzy for her acting, but I don't think she did bad. If you compare her to many of the supporting roles, she was actually great - but since the supporting characters are the comic relief, I'll just let the cringeworthiness of their acting aside.
Kim Woo Bin actually surprised me - I had only seen him in Heirs, and wow, with Uncontrollably Fond he actually made me cry. My favourite moments were his character's interactions with his mother.
All of the other leads did well. I was touched by their stories and I think that's enough.
What I really liked in Uncontrollably Fond is that the characters are real. Even though most of them are cliches we already know (and sometimes, hate - I'm looking at you, evil mother-in-law), they weren't completely good neither completely bad, all of them had their motivations and I appreciate that.
Also, the carefully placed flashbacks were amazing. The quick snipped from the previous episode every drama has before actually jumping to new developments of the story always had something to add, and I loved it.
Finally, for all these weeks I've been on this drama's protection squad. "You should watch it"; "it's not bad"; "you'll like it". And these aren't lies, at all. I can't say I didn't enjoy myself, it was a good drama; not exceptional, but good. I had fun, I rooted for the characters and felt the story with them. But, unfortunately, the last episode just killed it for me. All of the feelings and motivations and any curiosity you could gather from it just fell flat - I liked almost everything throughout the ride, but the end of it was disappointing. Everything was tied loosely, like the writer was in a hurry to finish it. It felt rushed and incomplete.
All in all, my point of view of the drama is currently being tarnished by the fact that I didn't like the last episode, but it may be worth a shot. I only warn you to prepare yourself for the feels, because it's everything really sad; Uncontrollably Fond lets you forget it is a melodrama just for a few moments before throwing you a bomb of emotions.
P.S.: I must say I'm completely in love with the soundtrack. It was carefully placed and A Little Braver is currently my new favourite song.
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As someone said in a review, too, the story is the same, but different. And even though in the first five episodes I was just watching because I needed to see what they would do with it, after episode six I couldn't stop watching. After watching (and loving) it, I think I can say I like the drama version more. Yeah, I feel kinda bad for saying it, but it's specially because we can identify ourselves with the main characters, more than we could with a psycopath Gasai Yuno (even though I FREAKING LOVE HER) and a boring Amano Yukiteru.
It takes you sometime to fully understand what's really going on, but I've experienced a mental breakdown starting from the second half of the story. I think it was terribly well done and it surpassed my expectations. Actually, when I was starting episode 6, I was thinking about what score I should give to this drama: "Well... I think I can give it the same as Boys Over Flowers... it's entertaining" AND THEN, oh my, I so regretted it.
My main problem with Mirai Nikki, though, was the acting. I mean, they ARE good actors (specially Deus, LIKE, SERIOUSLY), but the emotional and touching scenes would've been more intense if the acting was better. It annoyed me a little bit, yeah, but I don't dislike the drama because of it.
The music is, well, we only have two, three songs? They're great, but after some time it got a little bit repetitive.
All in all, I completely loved it - it may disappoint you if you're a fan of the original manga and anime, but I think I liked it so much because it surprised me. I won't say it's not good just because the story is not that alike to the original - also, I think the drama is less confusing, so that's a plus.
I only had a personal problem with the ending, but that's a pet peeve of mine. Don't mind me, just watch it. :D
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