2016

Flash Review: Train To Busan [Movie]

| kfangurl

I finally did it, you guys. I finally watched Train To Busan, after having skirted it for years.

I’ve been hearing great things about it, even from non-zombie flick fans, but had been reluctant to check it out, because I’ve always been a self-declared horror wuss. And a train full of zombies just felt like a bit much, to me. 😅

But today, I’ve finally decided to give it a try, since I’ve managed to enjoy some horror-themed shows like Happiness (zombies!) and Sweet Home (blood and monsters!), and whaddya know – this one’s not that hard to enjoy, after all!

I.. guess I’m less of a horror wuss than I’d thought, heh. 😁

Psst: Links to watch are at the end of the review!

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Flash Review: A Melody To Remember [Movie]

| kfangurl

Shout-out to Su San, who was the one who’d put this movie on my radar; I’m pretty sure that without her enthusiastic recommendation, I would’ve missed this one completely.

And that would’ve been a pity, because now that I’ve checked out the movie for myself, I must concur that this one is quite excellent indeed.

It wasn’t always an easy watch, but it was absolutely a worthwhile one.

Psst: Links to watch are at the end of the review!

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Flash Review: My Happy Home [Drama Special]

| kfangurl

If you’re on the market for something a little different on your drama plate, and you have a taste for cyborg stories (and if you happen to like Lee Sang Yeob too!), this little drama special might be worth a look.

At just 1 hour and 15 minutes, Show manages to pack quite a bit of story on its bones, and I found myself solidly engaged, all the way through.

Some lens adjustments are helpful, which I’ll talk about shortly.

Psst: Link to watch is at the end of the review!

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Flash Review: The Red Teacher [Drama Special]

| kfangurl

You guys. I really, really enjoyed this little show.

It’s only 1 hour and 16 minutes long, yet manages to feel like a full story. Plus, it manages to feel fresh and different from most other drama offerings as well. On top of this, I felt completely absorbed during my watch, too.

What more could one ask for, from a little drama special, right?

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Flash Review: Be Positive [Web Drama]

| kfangurl

After Prashil recommended this little web drama to me, I looked it up, and was surprised to find that this has one of the highest number of views ever, for a web drama.

We’re talking 50 million(!!!) views as of 30 December 2016. Considering that this drama aired on 31 October 2016, that’s mind-bogglingly impressive.

Those are some king-sized numbers, for a diminutive little show that clocks in at about an hour, with 6 episodes of approximately 10 minutes each.

The question is, did I like it – and would you?

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Flash Review: We Married As A Job [Japan]

| kfangurl

I was told that this drama is cute, but honestly, I really didn’t get why my Jdrama-watching friends were eagerly recommending this show to me.

I mean, yeah, I could tell from the title that this show was going to be about some kind of contract marriage, and I figured there’d be associated hijinks.. blah blah blah.

I was pretty sure it wouldn’t be anything too different from all the other contract relationship shows I’d seen before. (Heh. Can you tell that this happened in the thick of my drama rut?)

But y’know, it wasn’t until I finally got around to watching episode 1 that I finally saw the light.

Somehow, this show manages to be cute & quirky, and down-to-earth yet whimsical – and even thoughtful, all at the same time. Just, how remarkable is that? I was instantly smitten. So THIS was why my friends were so enthusiastic about recommending this show!

The very minute I was done watching episode 1, I was all, “Ahh! Cute~! And, sobs. Why are there only 11 episodes of this cuteness?? WHYYY??”

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Dropped: Love Me If You Dare [China]

| kfangurl

Let me apologize in advance to this show’s fans: I did not like Love Me If You Dare enough to finish it.

I’d heard good things about this show going in, so this turn of events does surprise me. I’m also surprised because for a nice stretch in the beginning, I’d actually found myself enjoying this show quite well.

But, 20 episodes later (well, 19.3 episodes, if we’re being exact), I find myself without the inclination nor interest to press on to the finish line.

I guess you could say that ultimately, Wallace Huo just wasn’t enough to pull me through, despite The Handsome.

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Flash Review: My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday [Japanese Movie]

| kfangurl

It looks like my in-flight entertainment adventures are becoming a bit of a series. (Does 2 posts in a row – written on 2 flights in a row – count as a series?)

Today, once again, I picked a movie on a whim (the food was a teensy bit better this flight than the last – emphasis on teensy), and liked it enough to write it a review right away while still in the air.

Ok, maybe that’s a bit of an understatement.

It’s more like I innocently signed up for what I thought would be a sweet, slice-of-life romance with a possible time-traveling twist, and ended up feeling like I was sucker-punched into serving up my heart to these characters on a plate. In a good way.

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Flash Review: Suddenly Seventeen [Chinese Movie]

| kfangurl

My adventures in in-flight entertainment can be pretty random.

After all, I’m a captive audience with a limited array of shows to choose from, and honestly, I just want something to watch while I eat my (usually unexciting) in-flight meal. This means that In-flight Me sometimes has a pretty different show selection process than Non In-flight Me.

Today, In-flight Me had a Single, Completely Frivolous reason for checking out this show. Simply, Wallace Huo is in it, and I’ve been told by people in the know, that I would absolutely fall in love with Wallace Huo once I saw him on my screen.

So did In-flight Me’s selection process pay off this time?

Well.. sorta. The in-flight meal was even more unappetizing than usual, but the movie was actually quite a bit more enjoyable than I’d expected.

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Flash Review: Something about 1% [1% of Anything]

| kfangurl

For the most part, I have trouble understanding dramaland’s penchant for remakes. I mean, if something’s that good, why mess with it? Conversely, if something’s not good, why remake it? Uh, right?

In this case, though, I’m very pleasantly surprised by how much more I enjoy the remake, versus the original.

I’d tried watching the original some years ago, because I’d seen enough affection for it as a classic kdrama, to be curious. BUT. I couldn’t make it through even episode 1, no exaggeration.

Mainly, I remember being bored by the slow pace, feeling somewhat thrown off by retro-everything (from styling, to production values, to storyline), and being shallowly unimpressed by Kang Dong Won’s rather gigantic eye bags.

Now fast-forward to the remake, which I inhaled in what can only be described as a giddy marathon. Woah. What a turnaround, right?

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