Lee Ji Hyun

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.

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Review: My Perfect Stranger

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

A surprisingly engaging, heartfelt time travel mystery that stays nicely consistent, from start to finish.

Yes, Show’s production values lean basic, and yes, the 80’s characters can sometimes be a bit too loud and theatrical, but once you adjust your viewing lens and expectations around these, this turns into a pretty strong watch.

Show more than makes up for its shortcomings with how much heart it has, and, importantly, manages to finish strong, instead of petering out at the end, as some time travel stories have been known to do.

Would recommend.

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Dropped: Love All Play

| kfangurl

I want to start off this post by saying that I really, really, really wanted to love this one.

As you might recall from my episode 1 notes, I liked this one right away, and had hopes that I would enjoy the rest of the show, as much as I enjoyed Show’s first episode, which I had found warm and charming in all the right ways.

Unfortunately, that was not to be. Sigh. 11 episodes into my watch, I’m calling it quits on this one. Sadness.

Still, I hope that you guys will find this post helpful, in figuring out whether this show could be for you, even though I’ve decided that it’s not for me after all.

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Dropped: Thirty-Nine

| kfangurl

So.. I’m making the decision to pull the plug on Thirty-Nine, you guys.

I’ve watched all the available episodes (6 at the time of this posting), and I’ve concluded that while I don’t hate it, I really don’t love it either. And more likely than anything, Show and I are just not that great of a match.

However, it’s not an objectively terrible show, so there’s a chance that you might like it?

In this dropped post, I’ll do my best to lay it all out, so that you can figure out whether this one’s for you or not.

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Review: She Would Never Know

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

You might need a tiny bit of patience with this one in its early episodes, but Show turns into such a thoughtful, sweet, sensitive love story, that it’s completely worth it. Our story leans restrained and slice-of-life in execution, so some viewers might find it too small of a story, but I love it.

Our central love story is teased out with a detailed, sensitive and tender touch, and the resulting feels are organically swoony and so satisfying.

Our leads are great together, and Ro Woon is especially wholesome and endearing as a young man smitten with his sunbae.

As a bonus, our supporting characters and their relationships also get a similarly thoughtful treatment, making for a very enjoyable watch overall.

Show remains consistent all the way through, and even manages an ending that feels earned and satisfying. Highly recommend. ❤️

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Review: Mystic Pop-up Bar

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

A warm, heartfelt little show, Mystic is sometimes a little (or a lot) sillier than I usually like, but is, on the whole, so sincere and full of heart, that I can’t quibble with it too much.

Hwang Jung Eum is quite wonderful as our protagonist Wol Joo, and importantly, displays zero screechy tendencies in this role.

Choi Won Young and Yook Sung Jae round out the little Mystic team really nicely, and these three make a surprisingly endearing trio, as they strive to help their customers resolve their grudges – for heavenly credit, of course.

The overarching backstory is bittersweet and poignant, and Show does a nice job tying it in with our grudges of the day, with an impressive degree of consistency.

Importantly, Show starts strong and manages to end strong as well, making for a solid and satisfying watch, overall.

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