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Review: Be Melodramatic [Melo Suits Me]

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Be Melodramatic feels like a more grown-up version of Age Of Youth, in the best way.

Here are Show’s pros, in a nutshell. First of all, Show’s got a slice-of-life, quirky, imperfect feel, and possesses an off-the-wall sense of humor to go with.

Secondly, Show boasts an ensemble cast of characters where everyone feels real and three-dimensional in all of their flawed, idiosyncratic glory.

Third and best of all, the writing feels deft and insightful, as Show takes us on a journey with our characters, and at the same time, gives us a multi-lensed look at this unpredictable, tiring, messy yet hopeful thing that we call Life.

A refreshing, underrated gem of a show that’s funny and quirky, yet real and relatable, that often hits you with the feels when you least expect it.

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Review: Beauty Inside

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Beauty Inside basically takes Dramaland’s recent-ish penchant for rom-coms with a distinct fantasy twist, deftly mashes it with a well-rounded, well-executed collection of classic rom-com tropes, casts two very capable and very attractive actors as our leads, and then scores it all with a very enjoyable OST sprinkled with everything from cheery-breezy tracks, to wistful-plaintive ballads, to big love anthems.

When Show is cute, it’s very cute, and when it’s angsty, happily, the angst doesn’t actually last very long. Seo Hyun Jin and Lee Min Ki are very good separately and together, and they bring enough goodies to the table that I feel content not to be too nitpicky about Show’s flaws.

Just know that Show doesn’t try to be something deeper, and also, sometimes logic is a bit of a.. stretch. But hey, fantasy romance after all, right?

A good pick for when you’re in the mood to switch off the ol’ brain and sink into a good ol’ kdrama rom-com.

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Dropped: Bad Guys 2 – City Of Evil

| kfangurl

I’m bailing early, again. Hmm.

The thing is, I’d liked Bad Guys quite a bit, and was genuinely curious to see what this spin-off would bring to the table, with its similar premise and different cast of characters.

Would it be just as cool and gritty as Season 1, while being similar-but-different, and would the bad guys be as interesting, I wondered.

Just one episode in, and I just don’t think this one is for me, y’all. I mean, I barely made it through the episode. Eek.

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Flash Review: Because This Is My First Life

| kfangurl

The experience of watching this show is similar to what I imagine it would be like, to be on an exceptional winning streak in your favorite computer game: you are in disbelief as you clear round after round, trouncing the system in ways that you didn’t think possible.

You start to wonder if you will – gasp! – actually be able to pull off a perfect game – a feat that is only rumored to be possible. You make it to the final rounds – OMG am I almost there?! – ..only for the system to beat you in the end, after all. *sadface*

And then you console yourself that, yes, you didn’t make it all the way through this time, but you still did really well – and maybe, just maybe, you’ll make it next time.

Sigh. That’s how I feel about this show, you guys. There was so much to love in this one, and it felt so surprisingly fresh in so many ways, that I thought we might actually have a thoroughly amazing drama on our hands.

Alas, Show wobbled a fair bit in its final episodes, to my eyes. I’m disappointed about that, but just like in the analogy of the computer game, I’m consoling myself that being awesome for 14 episodes is still head and shoulders above most other dramas. Right?

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Flash Review: Bring It On, Ghost [Let’s Fight, Ghost]

| kfangurl

In a drama landscape where big budgets and loud buzz grab most of the spotlight, Bring It On, Ghost is, quite literally, the little drama that could.

Nestled in the midst of other dramas boasting bigger names, bigger budgets and bigger hype, it’s easy to overlook this show – everyone’s got limited drama hours to spend, after all, and isn’t it natural to gravitate towards the dramas with bigger names, bigger budgets and bigger hype?

If you’ve ever been bitten by a show that starts out fabulous but then crushes your drama hopes to smithereens by derailing partway through, though, you might just appreciate Ghost.

It’s got its flaws – minor inconsistencies and some pacing issues – but it just chugs along in its understated way, and is relatively consistent from start to finish. Which, if you’ve been hurt by a drama before, is a pretty solid achievement not to be sniffed at.

As a bonus, Taecyeon and Kim So Hyun are surprisingly cute together, too.

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Dropped: Beautiful Gong Shim

| kfangurl

Sometimes being a curious cat and following the buzz of a show pays off, and you end up finding – and loving – a gem of a show that you might not have bothered to check out otherwise.

And sometimes, being a curious cat.. well, doesn’t pay off.

I know lots of folks loved this show right from the start, and I even saw enthusiastic endorsements of it from some of my most trusted drama friends.

Sadly, try as I might, I never managed to really love this one.

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Flash Review: Bromance [TW Drama]

| kfangurl

Have you ever loved a drama in spite of its multitude of shortcomings? Like, it’s got so many flaws that you can’t help but roll your eyes sometimes (or maybe more like a lot of the time).

And yet, it’s got That One Thing going for it, that’s so awesome that it makes the watch completely cracktastic.

Which is how you end up watching an entire Very Flawed Drama, for the sake of that One Thing?

Yep. Exactly what happened here, you guys. I was literally hooked on Bromance for a good part of its run, so much so that it was the show that I looked forward to the most, each week.

This, when I usually have a ridiculous amount of trouble getting into Taiwanese dramas as a general rule, and therefore typically don’t even bother checking them out anymore.

Woah, right?

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Flash Review: Beauty Inside [Movie]

| kfangurl

It’s funny how I sometimes stumble on a movie that I wouldn’t otherwise have checked out on my own, simply because it’s available on in-flight entertainment and I’m something of a captive audience with limited options to choose from.

Beauty Inside was the movie whose trailer appealed to me the most today, out of the k-trailers that I checked out while on the plane, and I hafta say, it turned out to be a more thought-provoking watch than I’d originally expected.

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Flash Review: Because It’s The First Time

| kfangurl

I really liked this, guys. Like, in a I’m-sorry-to-see-it-end, I’d-love-to-catch-up-with-these-characters-again sort of way.

In a drama landscape where a lot of the lighter fare can feel tropey and sort of tired (from overuse of all the predictable tropes), Because It’s The First Time manages to achieve a lovely balance between showcasing a more realistic take on the growing up experience, while maintaining a sense of lightness and fun, through it all.

At just 8 episodes, this turned out to be quite the charming little drama snack. Yum.

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Review: Bad Guys

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Slick, dark, and appropriately fierce, Bad Guys is a short little series that packs a pretty big punch.

Everything is carefully and beautifully filmed, and for the most part, Bad Guys manages to hit that sweet spot where the writing is complex enough to be interesting, yet simple enough to be accessible to the average viewer.

Add a pretty excellent cast to flesh out the interesting premise, and Show is a winner in almost every checkbox.

My beef with the show is that it gets too melodramatic at parts, which detracts from its unique brand of cool, and instead places it closer to standard kdrama fare than it needs to be. The cinematography also feels less deliberate as we get into the later episodes.

Despite its shortcomings, though, Show remains an interesting and engaging watch.

Gritty and disturbing at times, yet heartening and uplifting at others, Bad Guys manages to be badass with heart.

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