Master’s Sun

Review: Hotel Del Luna

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Show is easy on the eyes, with high production values that bring a creatively conceptualized fantasy world to life, a fabulously rich wardrobe for female lead IU, and several handsome leading men to top it all off.

IU delivers a strong performance, and her character’s personal journey fittingly forms the backbone of this story.

On the downside, I did not enjoy the OTP connection between her and Yeo Jin Goo, and I also felt the writing weaknesses quite keenly. ‘Twas still worth the while, though, for various endearing characters whom I became quite fond of.

A pleasant enough watch, if you’re able to look past Show’s shortcomings.

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Review: Marriage Contract

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

A fairly typical contract-marriage-meets-terminal-illness sort of melodrama that doesn’t pack many narrative surprises.

The surprises mostly come in the form of the fantastic deliveries by the main cast. Namely, UEE is flat-out fantastic in this. So is Lee Seo Jin, and so is little munchkin Shin Rin Ah. The chemistry between these three, any which way you slice it, is golden, and alone is worth the watch.

Heartfelt, heartwarming, and solidly engaging.

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Review: Oh My Venus

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Bursting at the seams with Pretty and Cute, Oh My Venus could’ve been a no-brainer shoo-in for cracky rom-com of the year. Especially since leads So Ji Sub and Shin Min Ah have been proven to possess a combined chemistry of the electrifyingly sparky sort.

Unfortunately, the writing derails the drama (in so, so many ways), and Show turns out to be more Underwhelming Mess than Intoxicating Brew.

Still cute, but far from satisfying.

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Are kdramas getting worse / “dumbed down”?

| kfangurl

So recently, a couple of comments on the blog have combined to give me pause for thought.

And instead of just answering the latest question in the comments section, I thought it was interesting enough, and thought-provoking enough, to put it all in a new post, and see what you guys think.

Well ok, that, and the fact that as I chewed on my answer to the latest comment, I realized that there were just too many facets to the answer than I felt could fit reasonably into a simple comment.

Basically, the question is, have kdramas gotten worse / more “dumbed down” in recent years?

Let’s dive in together to take a look, shall we?

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Flash Review: The Final Match [Last Match]

| kfangurl

I put The Final Match on my watch list mainly because it’s one of the classic grandaddies of Hallyu.

Not only did it take audiences – fangirls, in particular – by storm when it aired in 1994, its presence can still be felt in dramaland nowadays, when, every so often, it gets referenced in dramas.

Case in point: Answer Me, 1994, which not only played the famous rousing riff from The Final Match’s OST, but also mentioned characters from the drama by name.

I knew I had to watch this show, if only to acquaint myself with the drama that created the waves that it did, way back in the day.

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Dear kfangurl: My ship has sunk. How does a fangirl cope?

| kfangurl
Shipwrecked. Oh dear.

Today’s question is brought to us by Jo (the very same Jo who helped to spark off the Dear kfangurl series, no less!), who asks:

Dear kfangurl,

My ship has sunk (will not name which though I think it’s fairly obvious which one it is since all of k-drama news mentions it at least daily).

I was able to get out of it in time – not abandoning ship per se (yes, pun very much intended), but rather, RL took over and I had little time to squee on the forums.

It was my very first ship and I would daresay, my very last. When I was at the height of shipping I was swept up in the highs and lows of it, analyzing outfits and accessories, stalking social media, hanging on to every word said in interviews, the works.

I fiercely believed in the possibility of them. Even wrote a fanfic (yes, that bad). But thank goodness work picked up and other real life duties kicked in that, by the time one of them was confirmed to be dating, I had about 2-3 days to accept it.

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Review: Heart To Heart

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

An understated, quiet little drama that started as a slow burn for me, but eventually got under my skin.

The writing’s a little patchy in spots, but the immersive, indie-flavored atmosphere, together with well-delivered characters, more than make up for weaknesses in the writing. Leads Choi Kang Hee and Chun Jung Myung both turn in excellent performances, and second leads Lee Jae Yoon and Ahn So Hee are nothing to sniff at either.

A warm and ultimately enjoyable watch.

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Dropped: My Secret Hotel

| kfangurl

Thanks to everyone who voted when I asked if you guys would be interested in new sections for Flash Reviews and Dropped Dramas.

Even though you guys have been the sweetest readers, it still blew me away a little, at just how many of you are in favor of these short little blurb types of posts (more than 90% of the votes, y’all. Thank you!).

It’s a new lesson I’m learning, that even though wordiness is one of my hard-to-shake-off traits, that I don’t have to be wordy for you guys to be interested in what I have to say. Thanks y’all, for makin’ me feel all important and stuff. 😉

And now, here’s the first drama to grace the Dropped Dramas section: My Secret Hotel.

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Dear kfangurl: Is shipping kdrama co-stars normal?

| kfangurl

You know, one of the things that I really enjoy about this blog, is how you guys inspire new types of posts, often when I least expect it. With your suggestions, this blog has taken on more breadth than I ever intended, and I think that’s cool.

First, it was the Dream Dramas post inspired by Lady G, and then it was the Pure Pretty series inspired by asotss.

Today, I’m kicking off yet another type of post on the blog, and it’s the Dear kfangurl.. post? Series? I don’t really know yet whether this will turn into an actual series, since that really depends on whether people have questions that they’d like to ask.

Basically, it’s sorta like an agony aunt sort of thing, except it’s more specific to dramas and fangirling (it’s my screen-name, isn’t it? It makes me seem like a fangirling expert, eh?).

I do have a nephew, so I’m technically an aunt, but I prefer to think of this as an agony unni column instead of an agony aunt one, heh.

I may not have all the answers that you’re looking for, but I can promise a listening ear and sharing of my thoughts and experiences, much like how a friend might listen and chat with you over tea.

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Review: Two Weeks

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

A stage swiftly set with strong stakes; a capable cast; deft execution. Two Weeks has all three and is one tense rollercoaster ride from start to finish.

Two Weeks has quite a few narrative pieces to juggle, what with life-and-death literally hanging in the balance, emotional baggage the size of a small country along for the ride, and a poignant, heartwrenching-heartwarming father-daughter relationship blossoming at its core through it all.

Admirably, the show manages to deliver it all in a way that feels satisfying, well-paced and coherent through the very end.

The entire cast is pretty excellent, but the stand-out is Lee Jun Ki, who truly is mesmerizing as our resident fugitive daddy on the run, finally faced with a reason to live that is bigger than himself: his little girl.

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