My Love from the Star (2013)

Watch Jun Ji Hyun and Kim Soo Hyun Shine!

The two leads (Jun Ji Hyun) and (Kim Soo Hyun) really keep this series afloat with their dynamic performances. There are a number of flaws and inconsistencies in the series, especially with the depictions of Do Min Joon as the alien who has been living in Korea for 400 years.

Do Min Joon seems to be a cross between E.T. and Superman in the sense that he seems to have been left behind and won’t be able to return home until our current time. He’s used a number of different identities, systematically “killing off” previous ones so as to not arouse suspicion that he’s an ageless alien living among humans. He’s also a bit like Superman in the sense that he has enhanced strength, speed, and hearing as well as the ability to stop time. With only three months left, he finds his abilities are becoming more unpredictable.

What is interesting about Do Min Joon, is that he appears to be a rather primitive alien in the sense that he’s not very long on wisdom. For a species that has mastered space travel as well as time manipulation, he doesn’t have much wisdom to share in how to live, thus demonstrating that his species is not very evolved. Do Min Joon is a bit temperamental, doesn’t like to be touched, and has some serious trust issues. In other words, he doesn’t trust anyone or find the need to do so.

Enter Cheon Song Yi, arguably the most popular actress in Korea, and she knows it. I lost count how many times she says to someone, “I’m Cheon Song Yi!” as if her very name demands attention, respect, and immediate capitulation to any request that she makes. She’s spoiled, conceited, immature, a bit dimwitted, and yet, she is also incredibly captivating and loves with all of her heart. It cannot be understated how well Jun Ji Hyun plays this part. To take a character with so many unappealing characteristics and to make that character so appealing and likable demonstrates Jun Ji Hyun’s mastery. Cheon Song Yi is also a horrendous tease! Lee Hui Kyung is the son of a powerfully rich family and a long childhood friend who’s had eyes for nobody by Cheon Song Yi. And yet, despite not having any feelings for him, she strings him along because she simply loves the attention. She also has a gold digger for a mother who mooches off her wealth, believing that her daughter owes her everything. I can’t imagine a worse person for a parent. Parents who treat their children like property and commodities aren’t parents at all. They’re parasites.

Most of the series is spent with Cheon Song Yi and Do Min Joon teasing and dancing around each other, obvious that they like each other. Do Min Joon acts as though he could care less and finds Cheon Song Yi annoying. They end up neighbors, each living in massive penthouses. Cheon Song Yi finds Do Min Joon cold and aloof, but as someone who demands and commands attention from everyone, she initially sets out to find a way to get Do Min Joon’s.
Now, Do Min Joon does have a viable reason for not getting romantically involved. Well, he has a couple of reasons. First, he’s leaving in three months, so what’s the point of getting into a relationship? And second, his body chemistry prevents him from prolonged physical touching, especially kissing which incapacitates him to the point of a high fever and requires long periods of time to recover. In that sense, they are incompatible.

The charm of the series is watching these two beloved characters figure out a way to acquire the courage to simply confess their feelings for each other before it’s too late. And the chemistry between Jun Ji Hyun and Kim Soo Hyun is undeniable as well as being the central reason why the series works.

On a less effective side story, we have the brother of Lee Hui Kyung as a very bland and uninteresting sociopath who has a long history of murdering anyone who stands in his way. Actor Shin Sung Rok was the least impressive to me of the mostly talented cast. His portrayal just as no flavor or uniqueness to it. He’s almost robotic and wooden that it nearly ruins the character. Seeing him and Do Min Joon has an ironic similarity to Superman and Lex Luthor. In fact, I wondered if they were the inspiration for this rivalry.

The series is heartwarming and has some very humorous moments. As with so many K-Dramas, it also has some tender moments that might tug at your heartstrings. Actress Jun Ji Hyun really sells us the last couple of episodes when Cheon Song Yi realizes that she’s likely to lose the love of her life, and how devastating that blow is to her, even when she knows it’s coming.

Overall, this is actually a very good series that rests upon the strength of its two lead actors. The story, especially when Do Min Joon is suddenly “found out” borders on the ludicrous. Scientists from around the world would have converged on Korea in a heartbeat to find out more about him. Sometimes, the writers fail to fully consider the ramifications of such a ploy rather than simply find an easier out. But fortunately, this doesn’t do too much damage to the story. Sometimes, charm and sweetness can outweigh the rational and the obvious, which isn’t always a bad thing.

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Non mi è piaciuta, ma credo sia un mio problema

Partendo dall’ headline, mi spiego. La serie non mi è piaciuta per nulla (anche se devo dire che le premesse mi interessavano parecchio, diciamo la trama) e andando avanti con gli episodi ho fatto sempre più fatica fino a finirla con la forza. Insomma, questa serie non ha fatto per me, però credo che sia un mio problema. Credo di aver visto troppi Drama dove gli adulti suoi compartano da adulti e i bambini da bambini… infatti in questa serie mi sono piaciuti due personaggi: il cattivo (che con un cattivo non è mai difficile lavorare, basta sembrare cattivo) e l’avvocato/father figure del protagonista, perché gli unici che entro un certo limite si comportano come degli adulti invece che fare gli idioti. Tutti gli altri, dal primo all’ultimo, sono dei bambini nel corpo degli adulti: la protagonista è uno dei personaggi più irritanti e maleducati che io abbia mai avuto il piacere (o dispiacere) di incontrare, lui mi dava vibes scomode (come se fosse qui e non ci fosse), che hanno senso visto la storia, ma non mi ha mai dato altro, solo questa strana sensazione di vole prendere la prima astronave che passava e fare l’auto stop intergalattico fino al proprio pianeta (cosa che a posteriori avrei fatto subito e non dopo 400 dal mio arrivo sulla terra, anche lì, poi, mi vuoi dire che nessuno della gang di alieni che è venuta con lui sulla terra ha controllato se sull’’astronave ci fossero tutti?). Per non parlare dell’amico che non sa prendere un no come risposta e che spara cavolate (per non usare un termine un po’ più gergale) ogni volta che apre la bocca. Ah, per arrivare poi al personaggio più irritante di tutti, la migliore amica (che non è la migliore amica): una ***** (devo mettere degli asterischi perché l’unica parola che sta bene non la posso usare) che si lamenta di essere sempre nell’ombra di quell’altra, ma che non fa mai nulla per uscire dalla sua ombra, se non sperare che all’altra succeda qualcosa. E poi fa pure la vittima. Ecco in generale questi sono i personaggi che detesto di più nelle serie. Detto ciò vi auguro che vi possa piace, a me non è successo, ma credo di essere io il problema

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I was being recommended to watch this drama and got so bored in the first few episodes because it was Sci-Fri on 'aliens' with human being. However, I completed the whole drama and was surprised that the plot got so interesting and twisted in between. I was busy laughing, enjoying their acting and felt so touched at the end. Teared and hope that there's a sequel for this as I was expecting more endings from it. At first, I wasn't aware of Kim Soo Hyun and ...I was being attracted by his beauty when Cheong Songyi and Do Min Joon got closer with each other and each time they kissed each other, Do Min Joon will ill badly and bedridden. I got so surprised with his supernatural power! Especially when he get to stop the time and rescue Cheong Songyi umpteen times and show his inner feelings to her.

Hoping to catch his upcoming dramas too and will definitely re-watch this again in future! :D

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This series aged badly

I have sadly come to realise that some Korean women simply do not have an inside voice. They speak so loudly and for no good reason. Why? Even when whichever friend they're talking to is right in front of them, that's when they crank up the decibels. Is this supposed to make them seem lively? More fun? Or did the actress, Jun Ji Hyn, not know how to interpret Cheon Song Yi since all she did was scream-speak, simper or smirk? There was a lack of subtlety and authenticity in her acting. It could also just be the writers sucked and decided they'd compensate the viewers by casting attractive leads hoping we'll overlook their crappy plot. Despite being annoyed by the FL, I was really looking forward to sizzling chemistry between her and the ML, however, that never materialised. I dislike stupid scriptwriting and this one was a dud.

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Gente, que dorama! Amei. Eu não imaginava que ia gostar tanto assim dele pela sinopse, mas acontece tanta coisa além do romance entre um humano e um et. E eu achava que ele ia ser lento, por ter 21 episódios, mas desde o início ele prende a atenção, então você nem percebe quando chega no final.
Ele é muito engraçado, eu ri muito em alguns momentos e em outros morri de vergonha alheia. E é legal que ao mesmo tempo que ele é sério, por envolver crime e investigação (que eu amo), ele também é engraçado, então não é aquele dorama pesado.
E o casal é perfeito, eles tem muita química, apesar de serem completamente diferentes um do outro, o Min Jun é bem sério enquanto a Son Yi é doidinha.
O elenco num todo é muito bom, e eu adorei ver a atuação do Kim Soo Hyun, o papel deu certinho com ele, e da Jun Ji Hyun, que é uma super atriz.
Outra coisa que eu gostei foram aquelas cenas em que os protas falavam diretamente com a gente e explicavam algumas coisas, esse recurso é muito legal e foi importante pro desenrolar da história.
E, por último, o dorama é realista, apesar de o prota ser um et. Eu achei que ia ser mais fantasioso e não ia ser convincente como foi. Inclusive o final, que eu adorei, eu achei genial a forma como terminou, que era uma preocupação minha, eu achei que ia ser um dorama que não ia ter final feliz mas teve, e também não foi aquele final feliz mal feito, que fazem de qualquer jeito sem respeitar a história, só pra dizer que tem um final feliz.
Então eu super recomendo ele, tenho certeza que você vai gostar!

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Story and characters are adorable. Cinematography and music timing is also pretty impeccable. The sizzling chemistry between Kim Soo Hyun & Jun Ji Hyun propels the drama into another dimension, and arguably, there are no other actor/actress that could play these lead roles so well as they brought the quirkiness of the characters to life. Some loopholes/questions remain unsolved though. It seems like a hodgepodge of secondary characters and events skimming the surface with not enough backstory, thrown in for convenience sake. Not as airtight or compact as it could be and a little drawn out at the end. This is more of a drama that tugs at the heartstrings rather than cater to logical reasoning (even on the non-fantastical elements).

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They did this for all the loserwomen of the world

Chun Songyi is THE kdrama loserwoman of all time. Jun Jihyun does an incredible job at playing into the hammier aspects of Songyi's character while also making the audience root and sympathize with her despite her literally being a nightmare like she's got the range. Honestly Jun Jihyun is the best part of the show like her presence is the best on the show. And yeah, this is not the greatest show of all time. The second male and female leads are pretty weak characters and the villain is a very one dimensional run of the mill kdrama serial killer villain cause every kdrama needs one of those apparently. I still don't know how I feel about Do Minjoon but him laugh/sobbing while watching Songyi's video of her dancing to 'Marry Me' is perhaps one of my favorite scenes in any kdrama like it's absolutely hilarious while still being so poignant and it makes me feel for both of their characters. And honestly yeah if I was an alien who had been living for centuries I would also do anything to stay with Chun Songyi she's INSANE and gorgeous and its Jun Jihyun. Also I just think the leads are pretty cute together and there was a DalShabet cameo in one of the episodes so I kinda won. I am kind of biased as this was one of my first kdramas, but it was just such a 'turn your brain off and have a good time watching Songyi's antics' kind of watch and I do adore most of the humor.

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One of my all time favorites

I watched this series as it was airing and immediately fell in love! This was my first Korean drama and the first time I saw this actors performance. When I saw Jun Ji-hyun it was love at first sight. Her performance was completely captivating, playing a character who is a bit of a bully and giving her heart and making the audience like her and root for her is difficult, but she did it effortlessly. Kim Soo-hyun's charisma is magnetizing, this was one of the best couples I've seen, and in a way, two of the actors with the most chemistry on screen. The story was very beautiful but also realistic at the time. The entire supporting cast is exceptional, so much so that they have all become renowned actors since these roles.

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