2020

Flash Review: Dr. Romantic 2

| kfangurl

Just three years ago, if you’d told me that I’d be spending precious drama hours binging a medical show – for fun – I wouldn’t have believed you.

Medical shows have just never been my thing, y’know? 😅

But then, a couple of years back, you guys voted for Dr. Romantic as a group watch (Open Threads listed here), and that’s how I ended up watching – and very much enjoying – Season 1 of this show.

Some of you guys then told me that Season 2 was arguably more enjoyable than Season 1, and so I had vague good intentions of checking out Season 2, but that never happened, because of all the other shows always clamoring for my attention – until now.

Why now, you may ask? Well, it’s because Season 3 is finally here, I want to check out Season 3, along with everyone else.

(And once again, this means that it’s basically FOMO to the rescue, ha. 😅)

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Flash Review: Okay! Madam [Movie]

| kfangurl

To be honest, this movie wasn’t even on my radar, even though it’s already been out for more than a year.

When I saw the cast list on this, though – Park Sung Woong! Uhm Jung Hwa! Lee Sang Yoon! 🤩 – I knew I wanted to check it out, even though plane hijackings aren’t my usual kind of thing.

And whaddya know, this one turned out to be a pretty fun ride – with the right lens, which I’ll talk about in just a bit.

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

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Flash Review: The Swordsman [Movie]

| kfangurl

If you’ve been around the blog for a while, you’d know that I get reflexive stars in my eyes, whenever Jang Hyuk gets to put his Fantastic Fight Skillz on display.

Which is why I knew I definitely wanted to check out this movie, once I discovered that it had become available.

All in all, it’s a pretty enjoyable watch – with some lens adjustments, which I’ll talk about shortly.

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

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Flash Review: Kiss Goblin [Web Drama]

| kfangurl

My Roommate is a Gumiho managed to endear Bae In Hyuk’s lovelorn second male lead to me enough, that I found myself actually wanting to see more of Bae In Hyuk on my screen.

Therefore, when I saw that Bae In Hyuk’s starring in this little web drama as our titular Kiss Goblin, who’s on a quest to become human – via kissing! HA! – I just had to check it out.

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Flash Review: The Reason Why I Can’t Tell You [Drama Special]

| kfangurl

If you’re on the market for a small, sweet little romance, and you aren’t intimidated by the idea of it being a slow burn, this little drama special is, in my opinion, worth an hour of your time.

Ah, this is especially true, if you happen to be a fan of Go Min Si, who is our female lead.

I ended up enjoying this one really nicely, and I hope you guys will like it too.

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Flash Review: Josée [Korea] [Movie]

| kfangurl

I’d wanted to check out this movie for several reasons.

1, I’d really enjoyed Nam Joo Hyuk and Han Ji Min together in 2019’s The Light In Your Eyes (which I think is a truly special drama), and welcomed the chance to see them share the screen again. 2, I was intrigued by the fact that our female lead is a woman with a disability, because it’s really not that common for a romance to feature a lead with a disability.

I liked the inclusiveness of the concept, and I was also curious to see how Show would treat this aspect of the story. (Full disclosure: this movie is based on a Japanese short story, which also spawned a Japanese movie. I’m not familiar with either of those works, and this is my first exposure to the story.)

Now that I’ve watched it, I’m gonna hafta say that I don’t think this movie is for everyone. I mean, I don’t even think it’s for me, heh. I just don’t think I managed to connect with this one the way this movie’s fans are able to.

Still, I thought I’d write this quick review, so that you can figure out whether this one would work for you? Because those who find themselves on the same wavelength as this show, really do love it a lot.

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Flash Review: Zombie Detective

| kfangurl

Sometimes, it does pay to step out of one’s drama comfort zone, after all.

When this show first came out, I’d had no intention of checking it out, because, 1, I’m not into zombies, 2, I’m not much into crime, and the word detective in the title implies there’s crime in this, and 3, I’ve never been a huge Choi Jin Hyuk fan.

HOWEVER. Enough of you spoke of this show enthusiastically – saying that it’s so much wholesome fun – that I just had to give it a look.

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Flash Review: Modern Girl [Drama Special]

| kfangurl

I don’t know what it is, but lately, it feels like I’ve had more drama specials set in the 1920s appearing on my radar, than ever before.

First, there was Let Us Meet, and then there was Kang Deoksun’s Love History, and now, we have Modern Girl.

The funny thing is, I’ve never thought of myself as being particularly drawn to stories set in this era, and yet, I’ve enjoyed all three of these stories. Maybe I’m discovering something new about myself..? 😅

Shout-out to blablah, for pointing me in the direction of this little drama special. Without her nudge, I might’ve never gotten around to checking this one out – and I did end up enjoying it nicely. Thank you~ ❤️

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Flash Review: Sweet Home

| kfangurl

I did it, you guys. I, the self-proclaimed horror wuss, have finished watching Sweet Home. Achievement unlocked, officially, ha. 🥳

For the record, the reason I decided to try this one out, despite my general aversion to horror, monsters and gore, is because of my recent love for Lee Do Hyun, thanks to the very wonderful 18 Again (go watch it, if you haven’t!).

That, plus the fact that everyone who’s seen it, has been saying such good things about it; mainly, that apart from the blood and gore, it’s very meaty, and there’s a lot to unpack with regards to the psychology of our characters.

That all sounded pretty compelling to me.

Now that I’ve emerged on the other side, I think it’s safe to say that I don’t think I loved it as much as some of you, but I did enjoy it a lot more than I thought I would.

Considering my horror-wussness, I’d count that a win, yes?

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Review: Lie After Lie

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

A makjang-laced story that leans rather old-school in its storytelling sensibility and melodramatic flair, Lie After Lie works out to be a pretty good time.

When Show is at its best, it’s cracky and delicious, and I felt like I could slurp up all that heightened dramatic tension with a spoon.

This is just the kind of underdog story to get my blood pumping, and I was very quickly sucked into rooting for our protagonist Eun Soo.

When Show isn’t at its best, however, there are logic lapses, weak plot progression and a resulting loss in dramatic tension. Boo. I was sad when Show wasn’t great, because when it was good, it was really quite excellent.

Show is admittedly stronger in its first three-quarters and weaker in its final stretch, but overall, I’d still call this a solid watch.

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