Change Your Image
dmselove
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Back to 1989 (2016)
Good Story, Great Acting
If you aren't particularly interested in romance dramas, skip this one. If you are interested, you're in for a treat. I came to this drama because it featured Yu-Wei Shao whom I had just seen in "The Perfect Match", also on Netflix. Take Ms. Shao, mix in some good writing, direction and costars, and a form of alchemy takes place where you're transported to another world. The characters Ms. Shao has created in both these dramas are so real, so appealing, and the situations (which are eventually overcome) so heartbreaking. But a warning, the story is not for cynics. Ye Chen-Chen is incredibly innocent and good-hearted. This might sound corny, but the story makes you think about love.
The time travel theme and implications was handled in a reasonably logical and serious way, not cheesy. At 34 episodes, this was a bit long, a lot of it devoted to a less appealing secondary romance and story. As is usually the case in these romance dramas, there is a persistent and highly annoying competitor for Ye Chen-Chen's affections.
Watch it!
Ji pin jue pei (2017)
Emotional rollercoaster
Fen-Qing (Yu-Wei Shao) is smart, very pretty, and heartbreaking. Ting-En (Kang Ren Wu) is smart, handsome, and rational to a fault (i.e. Too rational). The chemistry between the two is really electric and so believable that I found myself thinking about the characters and looking forward to the opportunity to watch the next episode. I think a lot of care went into the character development for this story, and also the importance of family is a major theme that runs throughout. Fen-Qing, because of her humble background, missing father, and inexperience, places family including friends and acquaintances, as a high priority, higher than a romantic relationship. This, plus some labyrinthian family complications, plus Ting-En's rationality, leads to a heartbreaking situation.
In short, I do recommend this series if any of the above strikes a chord, or if you have any interest in the fine details of high cuisine. It is amazing to me that the two lead actors can make their relationship so real without it actually being so. I wish them and also Ting-En and Fen-Qing the best.
Jinsimi Dadda (2019)
Adorable and Heart-Warming
What can I say? Yun-seo (Yoo In-Na) may be the most adorable character ever besides being beautiful. Her innocent devotion and loyalty to Jung-rok, and the joy she experienced from the relationship was touching. In the real world we deal with cynicism, ambiguity, ambivalence, or downright deception. So seeing this drama where none of that applies was a welcome heart-warming respite. The whole cast was great, and the Law-firm workplace was quite interesting. I think Yoo In-Na may have a lock on depicting the cutest Kdrama female love interest.
Lizhi pai shenghuo (2021)
Thoughtful, touching story. Great cast.
Qin Lan alone is enough reason to watch this - at 41 she is very believable as an unusually beautiful 32-year-old, and I liked the calm, rational way she dispatched problems with patriarchal superiors at work, all with a smile on her face. The story does a nice job of discussing/portraying the issues of independence and obligations of marriage partners, and also "May-December" romances. Somewhere in there was the statement that the most important goals in life regardless of everything else were to be with someone you love, and to do work you love. The former relates to the May-December issue; if two people truly love each other, should they let societal views of age difference matter? One final comment: I thought the actress playing Xiao's mom was really great; her part was very touchingly written and very touchingly played. Kudos! Unfortunately I don't see her listed in the cast here.
Naui ajusshi (2018)
Watch this drama!
This is the best, wisest, most emotionally engaging, and super-good presentation of any type I've ever seen. At the same time, it is a realistic slice-of-life drama and won't appeal to everyone. There are many wonderful reviews here which I cant really add to, but I do wish IU could get an Oscar for this performance. And while I'm at it, the writers and director also.
Itaewon Keullasseu (2020)
Great writing, directing, and acting
This series deserves a higher rating. While some reviews mention cliche's, or unneeded filler material here or there I just don't view it that way. 16 hour+ episodes are bound to contain some basis for criticism, particularly for the hypercritical. I'm a relative newcomer to Korean dramas, but I was lucky enough to stumble across first My Mister (IMDB rating 9.1) and then in short order this Itaewon Class. My Mister was the best drama I've ever seen anywhere and Itaewon Class is just as good. Both were for me inspiring and very emotionally engaging, where the world and the characters depicted seemed real, and was sad to have to eventually leave it all behind. The writing and the acting In Itaewon Class is so good I find myself rewatching scenes and choking up. Take as an example a climactic scene involving a cooking contest. Ha-ha, doesn't sound like much? It was actually brilliant writing.
I particularly loved the female lead Jo Yi Seo (Kim Da-Mi, whose acting is so good I just can't do it justice here) - such an original, indomitable, smart and savvy character, and that's what made her sudden helpless attraction and devotion to Sae Ro Yi so touching and impressive. While it was a bit unbelievable how long it took Sae Ro Yi to reciprocate (16 episodes), it seemed believable that when it happened, it hit him like the proverbial ton of bricks. I loved that.
The writing, direction and the acting in this series are absolutely top notch. It's a bit disparaging to lump it into a "KDrama" category, as if it's all a bunch of predictable tropes, or derivative based on the real (Hollywood) thing. These dramas are originals, depicting the best and the worst within their own culture. Given the element of conservative Korean values that are typically depicted; family, hard work, loyalty, etc, these dramas have a definite resonance I can't find elsewhere.