Review: Love Is For Suckers

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Show manages a reasonably strong start, in the way it sets the scene for a fun friends-to-lovers story, with a show-within-the-show to spice things up.

Once Show got into its groove, for a good stretch, I was lapping this one up with relish, and was convinced that Show would stay solid until the very end.

Unfortunately, Show seems to get kind of lost, by the middle stretch, and spends its screen time in bemusing places, instead of dealing more meaningfully, with our central characters and relationships (more on that in a bit).

However, Show manages to find a heartfelt note on which to end its story, and while it’s very different from the note on which it begins, this does help, because you come away with a bit of a sweet aftertaste.

A good chunk of wasted potential, but it’s not terrible?

Continue reading

Review: The Tale Of Nokdu

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Show starts off fresh and cute with an emphasis on hilarious cross-dressing hijinks, but changes gears abruptly in its second half with an amped up focus on birth secrets and political machinations. Viewers set on a fizzy rom-com might be turned off by this.

On the upside, Show manages to retain its emotional core and heartfelt tone through to the end, and it’s not too hard to stay engaged with our main characters, even in the heavier stretches. And as a silver lining, the feel-good cute makes a comeback by Show’s end.

Jang Dong Yoon shines extra in the midst of a solid cast, and is break-out fantastic in his role as the titular Nokdu. His cross-dressing turn as a timid widow is so memorable, that it’s worth tuning in for his performance alone.

Show has its flaws, but is pretty solid, overall.

Continue reading

Flash Review: Romance Full Of Life [Three Colors Of Fantasies: Green]

Real Life’s been pretty hectic for me lately, and I find that with so many things competing for my attention, I have less time for dramas than ever before. I also find that when I do have the time, I often don’t have the mental bandwidth for full hour-plus episodes.

(Don’t panic; I’m still watching regular dramas. Just.. much slower than usual.)

This little show fit in nicely with my current challenged drama capacity. Not only were the half-hour episodes easy to make time for, the light tone and uncomplicated treatment of the subject matter made this one easy to digest as well.

Sure, it wasn’t as good as I thought it could’ve been, but it was still a pleasant and easy drama fix.

Since some of you guys might be similarly drama-challenged right now, I thought that I’d share this one with you too.

Continue reading

Review: Who Are You – School 2015

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Youthful, fresh, and with just the right amount of angst, Who Are You – School 2015 is an engaging watch for most of its run, and even manages to feel cracky in parts.

On top of the typical teen problems, Show layers a missing-twin-swopped-lives arc that amps up the dramatic tension. Add on a confusing love triangle which ups the crack factor, and I was a eager happy camper through much of the show.

Despite some of the acting falling on the stiff side and an ending that loses steam, Show manages to remain a fun watch overall.

Continue reading