I'll put this out there - this drama had SO much potential.

I started off on this one a little skeptical, because fantasy elements in Korean dramas always tend to be a little corny. I held that skepticism until about midway into the first episode, when the plot started to reveal itself, and things actually started to get really interesting.

While the genre of VR gaming has already been vastly explored, this was probably the first high production AR drama to hit the scene. Augmented Reality (AR), for those who are unfamiliar, is a technology which shows computer generated images projected into the real world. Think Pokemon GO. As you can imagine, this sets up some rather amusing scenarios where a person swings around randomly and everyone else gives you weird looks as they can't see what you're seeing. This drama starts off as just that - a rather light hearted take on VR, which not only tries to be funny, but looks silly in the process. As a result, I could not take the first episode seriously and almost dropped it as soon as I began, but things take a turn for the serious rather quickly.

And this is where the problems started arising. The drama, while it made some very interesting plot twists and smart little ideas, seemed like it had no direction. The plot twists, and smart ideas almost felt like the end goal of the writer, only put in there to entertain for the shock factor, just for the sake of it. There was no balance of light-heartedness and seriousness. This then gave rise to a bevy of problems including some major plot holes, pacing issues, and lack of character development - not to mention some ridiculous technologically impossible feats.

All in all, the plot started out a little silly, got really interesting, and ended up really silly because they couldn't fix their mess.

Don't want to talk too much about the other topics really - the actors are top grade, and the musical variety, while small, did the job. The production quality/value was superb - the fact that this was partly shot in Granada speaks volumes.

It's just a shame the plot completely lost itself. If it weren't for the rest of the factors, this would definitely have gotten a much lower score in my books.

I would say that if you like the genre to definitely give it a try as it still invokes interesting thoughts, but all in all it was a little disappointing.

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House of Bluebird is your typical morning Korean drama which follows a near perfect role model sort of protagonist. Kim Ji Wan is good looking, smart, and has a strong sense of justice. However, as usual, he is also poor, jobless, with no proper educational background. Simply put, he is a perfect human being except for his poor status.

On the other hand, Jang Hyeondo, his friend is the opposite, a not so perfect human being who comes from a rich household, and is the son of the president of a large company.

The story mainly revolves around these two households and the complex and hidden past history between them.

While the story is rather stereotypical, and is played out mainly for the shock factor as with most morning dramas, it is executed rather well, and this is testament to a very strong main cast. In fact, it was this main cast by which I first decided to watch this drama.

Lee Joon Hyuk, probably most well known for his appearance in Stranger, plays the protagonist, and while he doesn't have much wiggle room here as he plays a rather boring, dense, yet perfect human being, he has some noteworthy highlights in the drama.

Lee Sang Yeob, I only really remembered from Running Man, plays the typical spoilt rich kid, and acts as a great comedic relief in all situations. His character development throughout the story is a focus throughout, and is probably the highlight of the entire drama. His acting, while sometimes over the top, may just be a result of the role and genre he's been put in.

Kyung Soo Jin, who I briefly remembered from Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, plays the role of almost a support role, as her story barely has anything to do with the overarching plot. That said, her story, romance aside, was probably the most relatable and had the most tear jerking moments for me personally.

Chae Soo Bin, who I saw on I'm not a Robot and Where Stars Land was probably my biggest reason for starting this drama. She plays the role of a very cheerful and strong sort of character, who bottles up most of her sad feelings. She is probably the biggest victim and most affected character of the plot.

The best moments in my opinion were not in the main story, rather it was the cute interactions between these characters, and the funny moments unravelled as a result. Each character each has a loveable trait about them, despite how frustated I was at them as part of the overarching plot. I was especially surprised by how much I liked the character of Jeong Soo Kyung, Hyeondo's mother.

The story does suffer from a lot of pacing issues, and some plot holes, but this is what I expected from a morning drama. It didn't get too complex in my opinion, and I thought it was rather well executed throughout. What it was though was a nice, relaxing watch, with some enjoyable and funny scenes stacked throughout the middle of it to keep me interested enough to finish the series.

The music was great in my opinion, with some recycled one hit wonders, and a memorable main opening track (probably because I listened to it 50 times.) I found myself laughing out loud at the overexaggerated dramatical music on some scenes, but I didn't really think that was a bad thing. The OST in general is superb.

All in all, this drama is probably not for someone who's expecting the next amazing concept or script. It is a generally light hearted, feel good, funny, over the top, and relaxing watch for people who need a break from the usual intense, or typical rom-com genre. Coupled with an amazing cast, I would definitely recommend this for people who want an intro to the morning drama genre.

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A nice little enjoyable adventure

The story doesn't do anything groundbreaking, but it felt fine because the movie never took itself seriously. Packed with a star studded cast, each role feels purposeful, even if a little cliche.

Just don't expect anything meaningful from the movie, and you'll leave the movie with a smile. There doesn't seem to be any specific moral or message that the authors wanted to convey - just some laughs, adventure, and a sprinkle of romance.

There aren't many family friendly movies in Korea, but I applaud the risk they took with this niche concept. I expect box office to do well at least.

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Before reading, please note that I am writing from the context of someone who has not watched the original Japanese adaptation.

The Smile Has Left Your Eyes (A Hundred Million Stars From The Sky) is a fascinating drama that questions one's sense of morals and beliefs.

"This isn't right... but why am I okay with this happening...?" - Was the question I asked myself constantly while watching the first couple of episodes.

At its core, it is a drama filled with drama, mystery, crime, and love.

Seo In Guk plays the focal point of the story, "Kim Moo Young", a seemingly simple employee of a beer company suspected for murder. He is cold and distant, and the drama pulls all manner of film techniques to get the point across - he is not a good guy. Yet he also displays child-like mannerisms, sometimes caring, plays around at the thought of women or money. Is he acting bad on purpose? And for what purposes? Seo In Guk plays this distinction quite well.

Jung So Min plays "Yoo Jin Kang", another seemingly simple employee of a product design company. She also seems to hide a deep secret, whether consciously or subconsciously, which leads to the development of a relationship with Kim Moo Young. As always, Jung So Min's acting is superb and compelling, making every one of her lines that much more heart wrenching.

Park Sung Woong plays "Yoo Jin Gook", a police detective who's priority is the happiness and well being of her younger sister, Yoo Jin Gang. Park Sung Woong's acting of Jin Gook is also nothing short of spectacular as seen in past roles - while normally he may appear to be a little simple-minded, when it comes to matters surrounding a crime or his sister, his attitude completely shifts into the role of an astute and top calibre detective. All while harbouring a seemingly dark secret of his own.

A special shout out to Seo Eun Soo - an up and coming actress who plays "Baek Seung Ah" who isn't necessarily a main character, but is probably next in line in terms character development. She plays the daughter of a rich family who doesn't seem comfortable being trapped in the expectations arisen from her wealth. Her story gets tangled in the above relationship.

The music isn't particularly memorable, yet it is used very well to get points across, albeit perhaps too blatantly obvious at times. Dark and suspenseful music every time Moo Young is shown can get a little old. It was weird seeing one time where lighter and fluffier music was played during a funny scene, even though before that point, the funnier scenes had no music at all (which I preferred), showing a lack of consistency.

The complexity of the relationship between the cast, and the slow yet satisfying fleshing out of their individual characters is what hooked me on from the first episode. That said, episode four felt a little rushed and took a little bit of a turn for me in terms of having to spell things out for me rather than allowing me to figure things out for myself, but this is more a personal taste and there may be a reason for this later on that I can't deduce from just having watched four episodes.

I always have a special place in my heart for TvN dramas because of its' production value, and it's also currently my favourite drama running so let's see where this one goes!

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The beauty, truthfulness and weakness of the human heart

As every episode goes by, the tone of this show drastically changes.

It starts off as any stereotypical romance drama would, but then when the wheels start turning the train falls completely off the tracks and into a roller coaster ride of emotions.

It begins slowly, but theres something special about the way the story is told, something captivating, that shows its hints in the opening sequences, but never fully reveals itself until about halfway through the drama.

Disguised cleverly at first as a typical rom com, what it is at its core, is a story about how social status, past events and experiences, can shape our lives; and the beauty, truthfulness, and weakness of the human heart.

The actual plot itself, begins light and slow - watching the first few episodes is not enough to see what the show is truly about. This is not a rom com, although it looks like it at first glance, and the show really starts making some interesting plot choices towards the middle of the show to really set the gears in. The more I watch the drama, the more I'm confused and left guessing at the directing, it is almost like a few different genres in one but each told at different points within the story, much like how a Shakespeare film may play out.

One key point I liked was when some key morally controversial actions were taken, the music or film techniques didn't really lead us to feel a certain way, but rather the focus was on why this specific action was taken by the character and I was left empathizing and understanding a character did what they did.

The acting is once again, hard to judge by the first few episodes. I thought Moon Ga Youn's acting was limited by her role, but the more I watched the more I understood and became immersed and captivated by her acting. What seemed lifeless and hollow at the start felt like it had purpose later on.

Same with the music. It almost felt too diverse with a bevy of feel good love songs at the start, but the key memorable pieces showed themselves later on.

Will continue to watch and see where this takes us.

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Chocolate follows the story of Lee Kang, brought up by a country side chef mother, who becomes a doctor because he vows to not be powerless before his hospital owning paternal grandmother, who believes her son died because of an inadequate daughter-in-law.

Sound like a mess yet?

The romantic interest in Moon Cha Young, who falls in love with Lee Kang because he made her food once in their childhood.

In essence, it is the typical story of a male lead with a complex background who is otherwise saved by the love of the great character of a normal female lead.

That said, the way the drama executes this mess is actually quite well done, at least for the first few episodes. Enough so that it makes me want to keep watching.

Production quality is also top notch, some beautiful cuts of food being made and some parts being filmed in Greece.

However, at its core, I believe the episode structure, where it opts more for a TV series (to meet Netflix standards?) is flawed for a drama where the main premise is centred around love.

Even more so because I believe the writers made the mistake of being too experimental and the drama can't figure out whether it is supposed to be about food, hospital drama, or love, and it just becomes painfully slow to the point where the story or characters just do not progress.

To reiterate, the main story in itself is interesting enough to watch, but I simply do not care enough to hear the story of a random grandpa, boy, or long lost love that finishes in the span of one episode. One drama that executed this well is "Suits" where it actually feels like each story is utilised to develop the character of the main leads. Here.... they're just filler episodes.

I'll leave it at that for now and come back to update when, and if, I finish the drama...

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The Great Seducer reminds me of the old school family morning dramas that highlight twist after twist in the strings of fate. If you watch it for what its worth, it's a fun little past time.

And what it is, is a great concept that is poorly executed.

The story revolves around a tightly knit group of 3 friends, made stronger by the problems and corruption surrounding their wealthy families. When Soo Ji, the lone girl in this group, finds out her boyfriend only dated her because of her family, she seeks to destroy his first love by asking his good looking, charming friend Shi Hyun to seduce her, and then ultimately dump her to make her experience the heart break she felt.

It starts off light, and bubbly, attempting to justify the actions of the group, which I thought was perfect, but often tips the balance from light to ominous/serious and vice versa too far that the audience does not understand the mood or urgency in certain moments. While the twists are interesting, the reveals are done horribly, with no proper build up, and them ultimately just being read out in script. Yet they were so bad that I sort of just laughed them off. Again, if you watch the drama for what it is worth, it's quite fine.

The backstory with the company politics, and the side story with tutoring the girl, was almost completely unnecessary, that I'll only just mention them here. Unfortunately, it wastes a good chunk of the drama. Feel free to skip these bits.

But it did have its moments. This drama does the light, romantic bubbly bits quite well, with some moments that really do have you touched at the main characters' gestures of love.

Joy's acting, which people absolutely butchered, was, for the most part, fine. She actually did the lighter, romantic parts well, but she did noticeably have some problems with the more serious lines towards the end of the drama where it seemed like she was just reading a script. That comes with experience, not sure what people expected from an idol actress.

Everyone else was good, not great, but I'm not sure how much of the deficiencies in acting were just a product of bad direction. For the role he was given, I thought Woo Do Hwan was great, considering all the emotions he needed to convey. His emotion changes were a little erratic at times, but all in all, he was pretty good.

Music was not memorable, but was fine throughout the drama.

Funnily enough, despite its glaring deficiences, I think this is a drama with some rewatch value just given its concept. That might more be a personal thing, but I watch dramas for concept more than anything. Execution is a big bonus on top, which unfortunately this product lacked.

I'd still give this one watch, especially given you can watch it on Netflix now.

Cheers!

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If you can get past the first 30 minutes...

Wow. What a journey.

This won't be a proper review per say, but more just a quick recollection of thoughts.

My Country is probably the best sageuk historical Korean drama in recent memory.

The story mainly revolves around the disparity in between the lower class and the royals and upper class which makes for intriguing story about power, status, and revenge, and how past relationships, friendship and love affect each individual character's goal throughout the story.

It is also, in essence, a slight fantasy, with characters able to accurately shoot arrows from hundreds of yards away, and being so strong they can easily defeat multiple enemies i.e. plot armour. But it's not over the top, (like for instance in "The Great Battle").

That said, I have to say that I was extremely skeptical for the first half of episode 1, about not just the story but the characters as well. But I can say with extreme certainty that it gets a lot better if you can persevere a little.

Shout out to Seolhyun, who I thought didn't suit her character and wouldn't have the acting skill required to digest such a role, but she did a stellar job, with, from what I could remember, not a single awkward acting scene (at least past episode 1).

The bromance which I thought was also a little weird at the start grew on me quick, and is absolutely a focal point throughout the drama.

Watch this drama - you will not regret it.

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A realistic look into the human heart

This movie sort of reminded me of an old fairytale/fable, with a godfather, moral of the story etc. Romance comes second to what is ultimately a slice of life movie.

I feel like the biggest reason it is getting such negative critique is because the whole concept of cheating doesn't align with peoples' moral compasses and then everything else they watch is automatically seen with a more judging eye.

To be honest, I felt that the movie did a great job aligning to everyones' moral compass.

It showed that a lot of factors can come into the swaying of the human heart (the desire to take care of someone, location and just being present, workplace commitment, timing conflicts etc).

It showed that we can often be blind, irrational, and take for granted what has already been obtained.

It showed that there are many reasons one enters into a relationship. It showed that love... can be fleeting.

However, it also provided a glimpse of hope that there may be some good people, who can love someone irrationally, who can show good gestures from the heart, and that those who perservere in this way will, quote on quote, "get the girl".

But ultimately, this was a movie that really captured the weakest parts of the human heart, made vulnerable for the world to see.

It wasn't an extravagant and mind blowing movie, but it accomplished what it had set out to do. A light-hearted movie with some thought provoking moments that I would recommend to anyone that just wants a nice and relaxing watch.

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I don't normally watch historical/sageuk dramas, but this one intrigued me for its supernatural elements, but man does it go so much deeper than that.

On surface level, it is a rather simple story of the lowest of the lowest overcoming their masters and ultimately the king with a typical "everyone is equal" sort of message.

But it's really about how each plot point is solved and overcome that's both intriguing and clever. The way that it captures the back stories of every single character really shows that everyone is really just a slave of the system.

The acting is superb on all accounts with my opinionated stand out performances being that of Kim Sang Jung and Yoon Gyun Sang. Without spoiling anything, their acting within the acting in the drama were the highlights for me, although this is partly due to their roles as well.

The music also really captures both the silly and quirky aspects of the drama, as well as the serious elements very well. Ahn Ye Eun's voice and music is absolutely made for historical dramas.

Not sure if I would watch it again (mainly because it is quite long, and does start to drag a little nearer to the end), but all in all this was a fantastic drama on all accounts.

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A feel good slice of life masked as a sports drama (at least so far)

EDIT/REVISED

So much potential in this one has been relegated to a cliche drama.

Like mentioned before, this drama is less of a sports drama than it is just a slice of life drama. And that is what made it great for the first couple of episodes, however, the moment it started to get serious about the sports aspect, it has completely fallen off the rails.

That's because it practically tells us nothing about the sport of badmington, except that some players are
good" and that some players are bad. Unless it fixes itself soon, I'm afraid I'm going to have to drop this.

___

Previous review 4 episodes watched

Racket Boys has so far been nothing short of amazing.

It tells the story of a student who loves baseball and is their top player at his school, who due to having a poor family and other factors, can not continue to play the sport he loves to play. The family moves to a country side school when the father is asked to coach their badminton team. The story follows the family and the badminton team.

By reading the synopsis, you may not think that there is anything particularly new, or innovative. Low class kid enters a badminton team and probably goes on to love and win in a heart felt sports drama right?

But the way the drama fleshes out each character introduced, the way the drama tells engaging stories that shines a light onto hidden emotions behind the rough exterior that the characters' have built up over time. It all just feels so... human.

And its all expertly done by a great balance between humour and emotion.

Don't get me wrong, its not perfect. It still has a few corny sports moments, but because they are so few and far between, and because it is not the focus of the show, I still find it a perfect example of how a drama like this should be executed. Every moment of the show just feels like it has purpose.

Give this one a try, you will not be disappointed.

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How much time do you have left?

Time is a drama that deals heavily with the weight and importance of time, and really questions one's own use of time itself.

Spoken through a gripping story filled with love, betrayal, and death - the story deals with 4 characters, who's own unique stories intertwines in unfortunate fate.

While it appears as if the antagonist is clear from the get go, the audience is given a chance to sympathise with each character, and it seems as if goes much deeper than just what appears on surface level. The flow of time, individual circumstances, and events, things that are for the most part, uncontrollable, appears to be the ultimate culprit at the end of the day.

The acting is, for the most part, spectacular.

Kim Jung Hyun has capitalised on this chance as main lead, and has absolutely hushed critics since his little fiasco at the presscon. He portrays his loud, obnoxious, persona perfectly while also managing to capture the most tiniest details of warming up to his kinder self.

Seohyun was a pleasant surprise for me. Critiqued negatively since day one of acting, I honestly didn't expect much from her, but she captured her role quite well. There were obviously a few kinks here and there, and some scenes that could definitely be improved (especially one particular scene in episode 6...), but for the most part, she pulled it off okay in my opinion.

The side roles in Kim Joon Han and Hwang Seung Un are stellar as seen in past roles, and they capture their more darker parts well. Both filled with guilt and faced with dire choices to make, their struggle to fight their inner conflicts are highlights within the drama.

Music is generally quite good. Unfortunately, it's not quite memorable - which was why I gave it the score that I did.

Definitely flying under the radar at the moment as dramas like Mr Sunshine and Life have stolen the spotlight - but this drama is on equal footing to the two at the very least. The actors while good, are newer and not well known, but don't let the lack in popularity dissuade you from giving this one a try. They are shorter episodes, and may be a little different from what we are used to, but it is definitely worth the watch.

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Painfully slow

A quick overview of what I thought about the first few episodes.

I tried with this drama. I really did.

First of all, if you're expecting a romantic comedy, this aint for you.

A Piece of Your Mind is a melancholic/romantic drama that mixes in cheesy dialogue with a relaxed sort of vibe. And while I do appreciate what it was trying to achieve, and acknowledge that there may be a select audience that appreciates this sort of drama, I just thought that overall the drama was not executed well.

First of all, as shown in the headline, the show is painfully slow. And the show gave me no reason to stick through the plot.

The main characters are first drawn together by music, which was just about the only thing I really enjoyed about the drama along with its presentation/camera work.

Jung Hae In once again in the same role that limits any acting capabilities able to be shown. The same old serious, smiling, love chasing dude with no other emotions.

Chae Soo Bin in a slightly different artsier role, but once again, limited by the role she's in.

Then they try to make the drama all mystical like, with multiple flash backs, they strip it of all technical aspects involved due to the genre choice and it messes with the whole plot.

I assume it was trying to achieve something similar to "Her" but the connection just wasn't there. Like why do I care when a A.I suddenly is able to express their thoughts and emotions when I know nothing about anyone involved? They shroud everything in mystery without even giving me a taste of wanting to know more. I'm not given any reason to care.

We'll see how it goes, but based on what I've seen so far, my interest is dwindling.

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The typical story of a poor main lead who defies all odds to battle a bad, rich antagonist.

There are a few key differences though:

1. The character of the male main lead - a very morally upright person that "does what he believes in". This may lead to socially indifferent situations, some logically questionable decisions, and also some superbly heroic ones, and while it isn't necessary different from a lot of main chacters in dramas today, the intricacies in his character development, and the way its acted out is superb to say the least.
2. The character of the female main lead - a exceptionally smart and good looking girl who may seem socially cold, her character is not something you would often see, especially in Korean dramas where they would simply be there just for emotional support.

The first half of the drama was exceptional, beautifully directed and shot. The pacing was on point, along with the character development of the team, but then, as with a lot of successful Korean dramas, it got popular, started getting littered with product placement, and the effort, character development, and everything that made it great got lost with it.

TLDR: The writing and key plot points were very clever and well thought out, and I'll be sure to give the webtoon and any of his future works a look. But the lack of execution from direction and production towards the second half of the drama was disappointing to say the least.

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