Review

Review: Dynamite Kiss

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Show works really well as an homage to the golden era rom-com; it’s got a light, frothy sort of vibe, where the main order of the day is joy in spite of the ridiculous, and logic is quite optional.

Modern tweaks like a male lead who only looks like a golden era tsundere but is really a very easily persuaded green flag, and OTP sizzle that’s allowed to be front-and-center, definitely add to the sense that the classic rom-com is getting an upgrade.

My favorite thing that Show does, though, is how it works to stay faithful to the emotional throughline of its characters; our OTP in particular.

Show does wobble in the final stretch, but not enough to be a deal-breaker, in my experience. Some lens adjustments definitely help – which I’ll talk more about, in a bit.

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Review: Typhoon Family

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

To my eyes, Show’s fatal flaw is that it worked hard — just not on the things that would’ve really made its story pop.

What we got: Show spending most of its time throwing obstacle after obstacle at our core underdogs (and those obstacles mostly coming from one single source — another fatal mistake, in my opinion), shoehorning in romantic beats so that the loveline often felt like some kind of non sequitur, and randomly showcasing Junho’s idol abilities.

What I would’ve liked: Show spending that time creating more meaningful character journeys, a deeper sense of found family, and giving the Typhoon team the chance to actually work together and grow together in the face of obstacles that felt organic to the times.

In the end, this was not the worst show ever — but it sure could’ve been better. SO, so much better. 😅

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Review: Would You Marry Me?

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

When Show is at its best, it’s easy, breezy, slurpy frothy fun, where I found it highly enjoyable to watch, even though it wasn’t doing anything spectacularly new.

Unfortunately, when Show isn’t at its best, it feels a lot more tired, like it’s just checking off boxes to get us to our requisite happy ending.

Your mileage may vary, of course, but either way, I think we’ll agree that Jung So Min and Choi Woo Sik as our OTP make up Show’s biggest bright spot.

Not bad, but could’ve been so much better.

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Review: Romantics Anonymous [Japan]

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

In my opinion, this little show manages to do a lot, despite its very short run-time.

As a rom-com, it’s familiar yet fresh, managing to weave rom-com tropes that we recognize, into a Japanese-quirky narrative that I found difficult to predict.

And then, concurrently, we’ve got healing journeys for our main characters, which, at their core, feel relatable and meaningful, because don’t we all have some healing to do, yes? 🥲

Add on the facts that: 1, we get both Han Hyo Joo and Oguri Shun playing our OTP, 2, the chocolates in this show are lovingly filmed and look absolutely delicious, and 3, this is only 8 short episodes, and I don’t see how you’d want to say “No” to this one. 😉🥰
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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. 🥲

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Review: Shin’s Project

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

If you’re looking for something that goes down quite light, but still has a bit of substance to it, this little show could be worth putting on your list.

In a nutshell, this is basically kinda-sorta like Dr. Romantic – just make it law, rather than medicine.

So if you loved Dr. Romantic and Han Seok Kyu in it (Open Threads for Season 1 here!), then this show is pretty likely one that you’d be able to enjoy, coz it’s basically like getting Kim Sabu back, just in a different area of expertise. 😁

No, this is not brilliant, but it does scratch that Dr. Romantic sort of itch quite nicely.

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Review: Legend of the Female General [China]

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Whether or not this show could work for you, really depends on your expectations.

If you’re looking for realism and logic, this show probably isn’t for you, because Show fundamentally expects you to be able to suspend disbelief – because in no world does Zhou Ye look like a tough fighter male general. 😁

However, if you’re able to roll with those logic stretches; if you enjoy stories about strong female characters; if you just like Cheng Lei’s scowling, smoldering intensity – then this one could be quite enjoyable for you.

Me? I was in it for Cheng Lei’s simmering smolder. 😁🔥

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Review: Tempest

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Big-budgeted, glossy and peppered with big-name stars, Tempest was poised to be Disney’s big kdrama hit of the year.

Unfortunately, it does feel like, whichever camp you’re in – whether you’re in this for the romance, or the politics, or the mystery-thriller aspect of things – you’d likely come away from this one feeling not completely satisfied.

Also, whichever camp you’re in, you’re also likely to agree that Show seems to have been rather too ambitious, resulting in a rather uneven watch experience.

Not terrible, overall, but still a regrettable waste of potential.

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Review: Bon Appetit, Your Majesty

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Show starts off very strong, with an opening that’s both comedic yet well thought-out, and follows up soon after, with glorious food scenes, which quickly become one of Show’s big anchors.

Unfortunately, I feel that Show kind of forgets to develop the other big anchor in this type of story, and that is, a believably strong love connection between our OTP. As a result, our OTP is very pretty, but their loveline lacks oomph.

Add on what I feel is a misguided amount of time spent on a cooking competition, that could have been spent on developing the OTP connection, and I can’t help but feel that there are too many missed opportunities in the making of this show.

Not bad, but could have been great. 🥲

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Review: Beyond The Bar

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

On the upside, the characters in this show grow on you, the cases are carefully chosen to bring interest to the story, while also giving us insight into our characters, and character relationships are carefully teased out.

On the not-so-upside, Show does employ a fair amount of coincidence to nudge its story forward, while also having its share of logic stretches. I also wasn’t super interested in the law firm politics, which were also inevitably present.

Overall, I did find this to be solidly engaging and watchable, which is saying a lot, since I don’t tend to gravitate towards legal dramas.

Worth a look, in my opinion.

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