Jang Hye Jin

Review: You and Everything Else

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

The most important thing I feel I could say about this show, is, don’t let its somber premise put you off.

Show is thoughtfully written, tenderly directed and wonderfully delivered, so much so that I found myself feeling fully engaged, from beginning to end.

Our entire cast is excellent, but the standouts are our leads, Kim Go Eun and Park Ji Hyun, who both give us performances that feel wonderfully raw and real, so much so that I could fully buy that they just simply were these people.

An underrated gem that’s absolutely worth the investment of your drama hours – and your heart. 🥲

Continue reading →

Review: When Life Gives You Tangerines

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

This is a case of Show living up to the hype.

Everything about this show, from the writing, to the direction, to the delivery, speaks so deeply, of genuine tenderness, and I just love how it all comes together, to become something that’s even greater than the sum of its (already impressive) parts.

Our story is simple and approachable, yet so profound in its humanity and compassion, that one cannot help but find it affecting.

Our entire cast is fantastic, but in my opinion, our core cast, IU, Park Bo Gum, Moon So Ri and Park Hae Joon truly stand out, playing our OTP in different timelines. They deserve all of the awards, and then some. 🥲

A masterpiece that’s well worth your time.

Continue reading →

Dropped: The Witch

| kfangurl

This is one of those times when my goodwill just isn’t enough, my friends 😅 – I’m tapping out of this one, 5 episodes into Show’s total of 10.

Originally, I’d had every intention of finishing this show, if only out of curiosity, but.. it didn’t end up working that way, as they often say, in kdrama. 😁

Still, I’ll do my best to lay out the pros and cons that I personally found, while watching, and hopefully that will help you figure out which camp you belong to, because, for the most part, folks seem to either love this one, or hate it. 😁

Continue reading →

Review: Doctor Slump

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

I’d have to say that this worked out to be a pretty uneven watch for me.

On the upside, there are spots of genuine Cute that I found very endearing, and Show does take a gentle approach to the topic of mental health. Both good things.

On the downside, however, I felt that Show started to meander quite a bit in its second half, and along with that meandering came (in my view, anyway) quite a lot of filler, where it felt like Show was doing its best to distract me from the fact that it was cycling in place. 😅

Would have been much tighter and more coherent, as an 8-episode mini series.

Continue reading →

Reaction Post: Radio Star E756 [The Red Sleeve Special Part 2]

| kfangurl

As promised, here I am with my Reaction Post to Part 2 of the Radio Star special episode on The Red Sleeve. (Spoiler: I liked it as much as I liked Part 1. 😉)

If you haven’t checked out my Reaction Post to Part 1 of the special, you can find that here!

PS: Link to watch is at the end of the post!

PPS: I also have a Reaction Post to The Red Sleeve Talk Show Special, which you can check out here. And if you haven’t yet checked out my monster review of The Red Sleeve, you can find that here.

Continue reading →

Reaction Post: The Red Sleeve Talk Show Special

| kfangurl

So I’m trying something new today, you guys (yay..?).

Now that I’ve finally finished watching The Red Sleeve, and have written an appropriately  hearts-in-eyes monstrous review for it, I am finally in a position to watch the various spoilery specials that are out there, in its honor.

I mean, I’ve seen lots of snippets floating about, to be sure (you just can’t avoid them completely, can you?), but it just makes me happy that I’m now able to watch the special in full.

And I thought, why not make a post out of it – just because I can? 😁

Continue reading →

Review: The Red Sleeve

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

The biggest compliment I can give Show, is that it knows what it wants to be, and accomplishes its core purpose with finesse and aplomb.

Sure, there are some narrative decisions I didn’t prefer, but Show demonstrates such a profound understanding of its key characters, and teases out the finer points of each of these characters so very well, that I’m more than willing to look past any dissatisfaction I might have with these other details.

Lee Junho and Lee Se Young are wonderful in this, both individually and together. It’s no exaggeration to say that these two had my heart, unequivocally.

Beautiful, poignant and completely worth it.

Continue reading →

Review: Into The Ring [Memorials]

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Fresh, different and quirky, Into The Ring is much more than its premise might suggest.

Rather than a pedestrian look at politics at the municipal level, it’s more of an underdog story with a dash of superhero flair, and a good dollop of awkward, adorkable romance.

Nana and Park Sung Hoon are great in this, particularly together, and they were the bright spots that I consistently looked forward to, during my watch.

I do have some quibbles with Show’s general handling, but this is, overall, a solid watch that rocks its own brand of weirdness and kookiness, and is, in the end, a pretty unique breath of fresh air, in Dramaland.

Continue reading →

Review: Crash Landing On You

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Show really is everything that many of us have come to love in kdrama.

It’s gorgeous to look at, our actors are pretty darn capable all-around, our characters are mostly endearing, there’s amped-up, epic romance to be had between an OTP that shares solid, sparky chemistry, and, well, Hyun Bin is appealing in this, to a rather staggering degree. Flail.

As a bonus, Show possesses a cheeky sense of humor around drama tropes, even as it revels in them. In addition, the glimpse into North Korean life feels fresh and novel as well, and is a major highlight.

On the downside, there’s a bit of drag in the mid-to-late episodes, which is compounded by rather heavy-handed narrative angst, and Show’s long episodes. That can feel a bit or a lot hard-going, depending on your appetite for angst.

Overall, though, Show does a great job bringing the feels, and is well worth the watch.

Continue reading →