Hey everyone!
We have a special surprise treat today: a mini dream drama, thanks to (drrrrumroll please..).. j3ffc! 🥳
This is what happens when serendipity meets inspiration meets a burgeoning drama education.
Let me explain. 😁
Jo Jae Yoon
Review: Alchemy Of Souls
THE SHORT VERDICT:
Show works out to be a solid homage to the xianxia genre, while still managing to be its own thing.
And, as its own thing, Show manages to stick to its internal mythology, while mixing its more dramatic arcs with spots of comedy and levity, and remains interesting and engaging, all through its 20 episodes. That in itself feels like a writing coup, credit to the Hong sisters.
Our cast is generally strong and varied, and I especially enjoyed the performances by Lee Jae Wook and Jung So Min, which I thought worked to ground the emotional beats in particular.
A very enjoyable ride from start to finish, and here’s hoping that Part 2 (review here!) will remain just as good.
Review: SKY Castle
THE SHORT VERDICT:
An excellent ensemble cast made up of skilled industry sunbaes; faceted, detailed deliveries that feel convincing and engaging; a tightly written narrative that delivers some surprising twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Thoughtful directing and execution; an expertly applied OST that can be hauntingly ethereal one minute and then pulsing with tension the next; SKY Castle has it all, and it all comes together in one polished, dysfunctional package.
This drama is a very solid, compelling social satire that manages to make its characters come alive, even as it makes its social commentary.
On the downside, Show suffers from an ending that feels like a tacked-on epilogue written by a different team altogether.
Happily, that’s easily fixed by thinking of the last episode as just that, because Show manages to tell a story in its first 19 episodes that feels reasonably complete even before it presents its finale.
Worth the hype – and the monster ratings.
Dropped: Greasy Melo [Wok Of Love]
Many moons ago, when I was in college, I picked as many film courses as I was allowed, coz they were the coolest, and also, the funnest, and therefore, I got to watch a whole lot of movies as part of my curriculum.
(See? Film really was the coolest and the funnest, heh. Especially when we got to the part on animation and sat around watching cartoons together.)
To tell you the honest truth, though, I never was a great film student, and I often didn’t see the genius in certain films, unless it was pointed out to me.
I mean, while most of my classmates were blown away by the brilliance of Prospero’s Books, a strongly avant-garde adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, I was sitting in my seat, trying to digest – what was to me, anyway – a very, very weird film. I didn’t naturally geddit, y’know?
Kinda the same thing with this show, for me, methinks. I know there are folks who love this one, and some who even revel in its reportedly clever use of metaphors and imagery, but I think it’s time for me to admit that I just don’t geddit, with this one.