"Laughing in the Wind" review

Synopsis:

Chivalrous young hero, Linghu Chong of Mount Hua Sect is suspected of stealing a coveted manual known as the "Evil-Warding Sword Manual" a legendary manual that holds powerful martial arts technique. Expelled by his master, Linghu seeks comfort in flight. Along the way he bumps into a myriad of oddball characters, learns martial arts skills and befriends a girl named Ying Ying. Together, they are caught in a power struggle in the martial arts world, and must fight together to restore peace.

My thoughts:

At first it was quite confusing since the story jumps from one thing to the next. The same for the innumerable fight scenes. I lost track of who was fighting who and why (it seems no reason was needed) but annoying at times, but the plot and the character development was interestingly good. The story itself is captivating, charming and addictive, regardless of the confusing scenarios. The female love interest was fascinating, thankfully the series toned down on the romantic melodrama. I caught a few funny moments here and there. Overall, this drama series is not too bad, its enjoyable and interesting to watch.

"Yacha" review

Yacha

Synopsis:

"Yacha" follows two brothers who end up on divergent paths - - Baek Rok is intensely loyal, protective older brother, and Baek Gyeol is the ambitious younger brother striving to move out of his older brothers shadow. Both brothers love the same woman, Jung Yeon and will do anything to protect her.

When a young king comes to power, he calls upon his childhood friend Baek Rok, to lead a secret military sect called "Black Cloud Swords". Baek Rok is faced to make a questionable, immoral decision as he carries out his king's orders. His actions bring him head-on against Baek Gyeol, who has risen to become an official and married to a powerful ministers daughter. A trap set by his brother forces Baek Rok to go on the run and once again be separated from his love. He becomes a slave and a warrior, but returns to Joseon seeking revenge against all those who wronged him.

My thoughts:

Another interesting and entertaining drama that is full of action and adventure with graphic display of violence. Most of the actors in this series are familiar faces with a mix of superb and amateurish acting (or over-acting). The story line is good but could've been better as well as the special effects. Overall, not a bad drama, just wish the ending came out differently.

Monday Movie Review

Hwang Jin Yi

Synopsis:

When Lady Jin Yi learns the secret to her birth, she willingly takes off her royal garb and chooses the path of a commoner.

My thoughts:

Great movie, beautifully filmed with an interesting story. Hwang Jin Yi, to me looks and feels like a tragic tale of lost love, similar to 'Titanic' and 'Memoirs of a Geisha'. My only complaint is that the length of the movie was too long and the story line seemed to drag on at one point afters succumbing to her fate as a commoner/gisaeng.

I found this fact to be quite interesting though I can't be certain, if you've seen the TV series you'd know that part of Hwang Jin Yi's story and timeline are quite different from the movie. And since this seems to be based on a true story, its hard to pin-point actual facts for those of us who're not familiar with Hwang Jin Yi's legend.

However, how her story is told through the eyes of the storyteller, its still an interesting and fascinating tale that's worth watching.

The Tower

Synopsis:

A luxury high-rise building in Seoul is hosting a fabulous Christmas party for its wealthy tenants and guests. But the soiree turns into a nightmare when two helicopters collide over the tower, starting a deadly fire.

My thoughts:

The slow-motion sequences are awe inspiring as explosions and shattered glass combined in a way only described as both spectacular and terrifying. The elevator sequences in the movie have become somewhat predictable, but the one in the "The Tower" is not only claustrophobic but extremely intense as well. 

"The Tower" manages to portray this unthinkable disaster full of destruction and mayhem that gives the viewer a sense of horror taking place without being overly graphic, even though there were plenty of people writhing in agony and fighting off against certain death while others who were engulfed in flames and hurdling out of windows before plummeting to the unforgiving asphalt below. Yet it never seemed gruesome, it has just the right amount of action and suspense to keep the viewer interested. The acting...eh. Oddly enough there was little bit of comedy that I wasn't expecting to see here. The plot itself was interesting but not bad either. Even with all its shortcomings, "The Tower" leaves you an abruptive impression. 



Masquerade


Synopsis:
In this stylish and operatic costume drama, Lee Byung Hun stars as a temperamental and aristocratic king and as an actor conscripted into replacing the ruler when he is seized by nightmares of assassination attempts and coups detat.



My thoughts:
This is an unbelievable tale of how an impostor turns out to be the true king of Korea. This movie is very moving and has a lot of heart in it as well as heart-racing action and nail-biting plot twists, beautiful sets and costumes that enhance the sensitive performances. 




Overall, this movie will have you laughing and crying and wanting to watch it all over again.



Killer Girl K

Synopsis:

A young woman inadvertently gets involved in an illegal arms trade that leads to the tragic murder of her mother. Blinded by rage, she joins S-1, a crime organization, and gets trained to become a professional killer.

My thoughts:
This TV/movie series was short and sweet. The action during the fight scenes was incredible and very well done. The story is simple and not too complicated. "Killer Girl K", is very entertaining, and quite funny for most part of it and the acting was superb. However, the ending could have been better. 

According to the TV/MA rating on this and the fact there is nudity and sex scenes, it really should be an R-rated. Other than that, "Killer Girl K", is a gritty, action/drama with interesting characters and story plot.

Iljimae review

Synopsis:

This historical drama set during the Joseon dynasty tells the story of a legend who rose from humble beginnings to become a hero who robbed from the rich and fought for the poor--a mysterious man known as Iljimae.

After he witnesses his father being killed during his childhood, Yong takes to the streets as a beggar, searching for what remains of his family. After watching his sister's execution shortly after finding her, Yong embarks on a mission of revenge. Tattooing himself with the black emblem he saw on a sword of his fathers murderer. When he stumbles across a conspiracy dealing with his father, Iljimae decides to use Eun Chae, the daughter of a government official, to get the information he needs. When he unexpectedly falls for her, he finds himself torn between his life-long mission for vengence, and his forbidden passion for a woman who only knows his as Iljimae.

My thoughts:

Very much like the tale of 'Robin Hood', "Iljimae" is full of twists and turns, love-triangles, action, vengeance, conspiracies and comedy. I, for one, loved it. Although a bit confusing here and there, but always interesting. The actors did well portraying their characters. The story line was not bad but very interesting. Though it was slow paced, there was comic relief to fill in the gaps that made it worthwhile and enjoyable. It seems at times the story took too long to progress or the relationships between characters took to long to develop. Often at times I was scratching my head, confused and frustrated, wondering to myself and saying; "what the hell" or "huh?" during the scenes development or at the end of the episode. "Iljimae" was so emotional, you could get a good sense of Yong's pain and suffering and what he went through as well as some of the other characters. All in all, it was not all that bad for what it was, I certainly enjoyed it and look forward to the sequels.

"Love Around" review

Synopsis:

Radio DJ, Liang Xiao Shu, an outgoing,straight-forward, optimistic and a little drama queen at heart. After finding out her boyfriend of 3 months is cheating on her, she is devastated. Later she happens to bump into Zhou Zhen, who comes from a former gangster family that has decided to keep their hands clean. Zhen is gentle, gracious and upright, he encourages Xiao Shu and helps her to move on with her life. Zhen becomes an employee at her radio station by mistake and goes to great lengths to hide his true identity by impersonating a salesperson.

My thoughts:

At first the drama started out strong and things started slowly coming together up until a sub-plot involving Xiao Shu's brothers death was surfaced than things took on a different path. I am finding it difficult to follow the story when its being pulled in so many directions. Too many things are happening all at once, new characters are introduced and or characters bios surfaces, taking away from the main characters, which the story is mainly based on.

Several times I thought about fast-forwarding or jumping episodes because of the slow-pace and that it was beginning to bore me out. The actors were great acting out their roles, especially Annie Chen and George Hu, who have such good chemistry on camera. Tan Ai Zhen, who played Zhou Zhen's grandmother was absolutely hilarious as always.

What was most annoying was the childish antics, the crying and the pouting by Ying Ying and Xiao Shu. Sometimes it was cute and other times irritating. It was refreshing to see Ying Ying come out of her shell and attempt to be more independent and not rely on her family so much. The whole family oriented thing is a nice touch. What I've learned from this is:

Forgive those who've caused you pain, cause it's the only way to move on.

Showing Compassion and Sincerity is the first step towards forgiveness.

Family and Friends will always be there to love and support you in good times or bad.

And Change. Whether you're striving to become a better person or becoming independent, it's the first sign of change.

So, overall, it's not so bad. I enjoyed some parts but not all of it. And learned some important values from watching this. I give this 4 stars.

"Love Now" review

Synopsis:

28-year-old Yi Ru is a workaholic with no personal life. Though her family and friends mean well, they scheme a terrible lie and end up convincing her that she's got cancer--with only 6 months to live. They then send Yi Ru off abroad on a vacation, where she soon breaks down and bemoans her life's regrets.

Later, she bumps into Lan Shi DE, who happens to be on a business trip. Overcome by Yu Ri's grief, he proposes to her. Unaware, Yu Ri discovers she's not really sick and Lan Shi De is no stranger, but in fact a former classmate from college. With a marriage built on a foundation of lies, causing friction between the two and a whole lot of misunderstandings.

My thoughts:

Overall this is a good drama. Some of the characters were somewhat annoying and a bit childish. I especially liked that there was no vindictive, crazy, hysterical women in this drama, so that was a nice change of pace. There were, however, I felt like fast-forwarding a few episodes because it got too slow-paced and boring. The story line was okay. It was a bit confusing towards the end though but for the most of it, I really enjoyed watching it.

"Secret Garden" review

Synopsis:

"Secret Garden", is a modern version of the Cinderella story with a hint of magic. The story begins with a wealthy young man who finds himself falling in love with a poor stunt woman. But things get complicated when their souls inexplicably switch bodies!

My thoughts:

"Secret Garden", has a blend of comedy, action, romance and drama, which is what attracted me to it and found myself really enjoying and appreciating the characters, the satire, the love/hate relationships and the story plot, even though the story was a bit on the predictable side.

The characterization is this k-drama's strongest point, followed by a solid but not perfect story line. This drama is best described as "realistic" and "balanced". I say "realistic" because, the actors did a superb job portraying their characters, no matter how things turned out in the story, it was completely believable.

There is a powerful sub-plot revolving around Gil Ra Im's dad which makes for a big impact towards the end. All-in-all, "Secret Garden" is a quirky, yet true-to-life romance dramedy that both enjoyable and worth watching.

"My Happy Home" review

Synopsis:

Kim Jin Seo and Mo Yoon Hee, two high school classmates who come from different family background drive them to different paths and become rivals later in life. Both women in love with the same man, Lee Sang Hyun, an extremely kind but indecisive man who used to date Yoon Hee but later married Jin Seo. When Yoon Hee's husband, Sung Eun Pil dies under suspicious circumstances, Jin Seo finds herself involved in the investigation. The process gets complicated when the young homicide detective, Kang Shin Woo becomes romantically interested in Jin Seo.

My thoughts:

"My Happy Home", has a nice blend of intrigue, romance, revenge and mystery, similar that of "Crazy Love" minus the length of episodes it took to watch it. I enjoyed most of it. The story line was decent, some of which I found interestingly enough to continue on with the remaining episodes. There is definitely good amount of mystery involving the unsolved death of Yoon Hee's husband  and other twists and turns throughout the 16 episodes. The actors did a good job portraying their characters, though there was some things left unexplained or unresolved, so the pacing wasn't all that bad and I can't say I agree or liked how the drama ended. Over all not a bad drama. 

Changes to blog

Hi there! 

It's good to be back. I realize I haven't posted anything here for a while, so I can't wait to get started. I've put together a list of k-dramas, movies, anime on my to watch, review and share list as well as My Top 10 and 20 k-dramas, anime and movies. This alone took up a lot of time, which was the reason I was gone for so long. Still, I have some work cut out for me and will be making improvements as well as updating my other pages too. 

NOTE: For those of you following or make frequent visits I'll be making a few more changes, you may have noticed the name of this blog has also changed. 

Why, you ask? Well, because I felt I needed to change it to something more accurate and related to what I post here. I have other things in the works that I've been working on for some time that I'll eventually add on later. So, for now sit tight, watch some dramas, and I'll check back later.