"There's no way you can be lost if you don't set a destination"

Mr. Plankton told the story of three wounded people finding love and reconciliation down a messy, uneven path. Woo Do Hwan can make any role compelling and he had some heavy lifting to do in the early episodes of this drama, thankfully he’d been working out.

Hae Jo and Gi Ho run a boys for hire service, picking whatever jobs Hae Jo thinks will be fun. Hae Jo was emotionally abandoned as a child due to a mistake at an IVF facility and seems to have no love to give. The entrepreneurs take on a job of “kidnapping” a bride which goes south really quick and ends with Hae Jo discovering he has three months to live. He decides to search for his biological father to try and make some sense of his life and in the process kidnaps another bride for real. Soon he has the first bride’s villainous gangster groom after him as well as the second bride’s loving groom.

The first few episodes were difficult for me because I had real concerns about the lack of consent on Jae Mi’s part when Hae Jo kidnapped her. Despite having a past, it came across as problematic. Of course, eventually their shared loved and Woo Do Hwan’s gorgeous face and body convinced her to help him on his parental quest, but that doesn’t negate the kidnapping. Jae Mi’s fiancé, Heung, became hopelessly entangled in their lives. I actually liked Heung. While he had mommy issues due to an overbearing mother, he was a good man who genuinely loved Jae Mi and didn’t deserve to have a front row seat to Hae Jo and Jae Mi’s burgeoning love story. Gi Ho, who became embroiled with the gangsters searching for Hae Jo suffered greatly for his loyalty and friendship which went all but unacknowledged.

Now that I’ve stated the things that didn’t work for me, here’s what did. I’m a sucker for reconciliation stories and found families. Once everyone was mutually onboard the crazy train without a destination, the story worked better. Hae Jo discovered that his family was not the only one with problems. Heung began to develop enough confidence to defy his overbearing mother. Jae Mi came to understand that she had worth. And all three would have their eyes opened to the love all around them.

Woo Do Hwan’s performance was mesmerizing even when Hae Jo behaved liked a self-centered jerk. He has a way of making any character sympathetic and did the same here which was a momentous task as Hae Jo spent much of his time hurting others. Oh Jung Se had the difficult job of making a middle-aged man who could not stand up to his mother likeable. Heung was such a compassionate character that he could set aside his own feelings and respect Jae Mi’s choices. The character that downgraded this drama for me was Jae Mi. I found the writing for her and the acting grating. Jae Mi spent much of her time yelling or acting childlike which caused me to hit the mute button numerous times per episode. All three characters were complicated and flawed, having been wounded by their parents. All three were on a journey towards love, growth, and forgiveness. Though much of the growth was understandable, there was some that felt unearned.

Mr. Plankton was an uneven drama with moments of humor, sorrow, and love driven by Woo Do Hwan’s compelling performance. The specter of Death lingered in the shadows from beginning to end. Hae Jo’s vision of what was important cleared as his final days approached. Family isn’t always what we’re born into, sometimes it’s what we make it.

“Never set a destination. Just let your instincts take the lead for you. That way you’ll never lose your path.”

11 November 2024

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"One mistake can lead to irreversible regret"

The Pig, the Snake, and the Pigeon was a tough film to rate and harder to review. The film showed how different people react when death stares them in the eye. Do you attempt to mend your ways or seek a lasting legacy no matter how reprehensible?

Chen Kui Lin aka the Kuilin Kid made a name for himself by taking out not one, but two mob bosses. While lying low he discovers from a pharmacist who treats gangsters that he has stage 4 lung cancer. She works to convince him to do the right thing and turn himself in. After praying to General Guan and tossing the divination sticks nine times he goes to the police station to do just that. Problem being that an armored car had turned over and people were lined up to turn in the money they’d pilfered. While waiting he sees a wanted poster with the top three fugitives. He was ranked #3. At that moment he determines to take out the top two to improve his legacy.

The first half of the film had numerous brutal, no holds barred fights between Kui Lin and the cop Chen Hui and between Kui Lin and Hongkie. Hongkie was vile, a rapist, and deadly. No tears shed for anything bad happening to him. The second half of the film delved into the spiritual side and repentance. Even a killer like Kui Lin could grasp at the thread of hope. At least before the violence erupted into new disturbing levels.

I’ve never been an Ethan Juan fan but I have to admit he did an admirable job as the killer who could murder people easily but could also be quite affable and charming. He rescued at least two people and tried to save a third. That didn’t mean he was a good guy and it would be wrong to idolize him. His last violent act disturbed me greatly and threw me into a moral quandary attempting to understand his reasoning.* The final twist wasn’t much of a twist and in the end, it didn’t matter, at least to Kui Lin.

The Pig, the Snake, and the Pigeon had high production values and well shot fight scenes. The acting was quite good and Ethan Juan made it hard to not feel some empathy for his character. The story could be uneven and the final third of the film took too long to resolve. Far from glorifying the gangster lifestyle, it showed that three evils no matter how fair or repugnant they might appear to be needed to be vanquished. Interestingly, only one facing death had the courage to do something unorthodox to rid society of the animalistic ills.

3 March 2024


***********Spoiler below**********
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The only way I could resolve the massacre at the cult was that after all the evil they had done including murder and destroying at least one child’s future, he thought they would continue their wicked ways . Many of the people in the cult who did not heed his warning knew it was a scam and were enforcers and the others who stayed behind were either in on it or so brainwashed that would continue to drive people to suicide or murder when ordered. The ambiguity of the ones left behind who were killed was very distressing to me and why I didn’t rate this film higher.
In the end, Kui Lin paid for his crimes and the pharmacist who got her three birds, actually a whole flock, with one stone was also facing a painful death herself.

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"I'll take you along to hell"

The Whirlwind was a high stakes political drama that pitted two formidable players against each other. Lies, corruption, bribery, murder, there was nothing off the table in this deadly game for power. In the end, the winner would be the one who was willing to place all their chips on the table in a daring bet, risking everything.

“Just when you think you have it under control, you find that you don’t.”
When there is an assassination attempt on the President, Prime Minister Park Dong Ho becomes the acting president. Only problem is, he’s being investigated for bribery. Dong Ho plans to use the office to rid the government of corruption and exonerate his friend who was also framed for bribery and died. Deputy Prime Minister Jung Soo Jin is determined to bring down Dong Ho due to his investigations into the Daejin Group and its control of various judges, prosecutors, and politicians such as herself. The two play a relentless game of cat and mouse always trying to stay one step of the other, never worrying about getting their hands dirty…or bloody.

“At your age, courage can be dangerous”
Just like a twister churning up everything in its path, Dong Ho and Soo Jin were willing to destroy anything and anyone in their way. Dong Ho’s powerful mesocyclone was fueled by his burning desire for justice. Soo Jin’s corrupt cloud of energy came from the need for power and influence. Dong Ho found that in order to achieve his goals, he would have to borrow the playbook of his enemies all while trying to not become what he hated. Soo Jin and the comatose president both started out fighting the dictatorship in the past but had transformed into the very things they’d fought. Political alliances changed rapidly and both manipulated the media. No one was safe with a crooked prosecutorial system and judges for hire.

“Only a greater lie beats a lie”
While The Whirlwind was intriguing it could also be exhausting. There was no room to catch a breath from the oppressive atmosphere. The whirlwind of plot twists turned and flipped in every episode. The characters’ emotions and relationships had little nuance. Everyone was taciturn and calculating with little to offer to those closest to them, even their children. Park Kyung Soo’s script never slowed down even when bouncing over enormous plot holes. Kim Hee Ae played the duplicitous Soo Jin well with one exception. I don’t know if she kept her mouth open to make it look as if she was feral and always baring her teeth or has a breathing problem but I found it distracting when she was onscreen. Sul Kyung Gu was given little emotional depth to explore and often wore the same expression from scene to scene. Kim Mi Sook as Dong Ho's Chief of Staff was the MVP for me as the person who knew who, how, and when to attack. Numerous veteran actors played unscrupulous politicians on both sides of the aisle.

“There’s only one cross”
An old saying goes, “A lie travels halfway around the world before the truth puts on its shoes. By the time the truth catches up, it’s too late.” Dong Ho quoted a variation of this and sadly it is all too true. Once a lie becomes embedded, especially a lie people want to hear, truth becomes overshadowed. Many of the things that occurred in this drama have correlations in real life around the world. A powerful corrupt leader manipulating his followers to overturn the government, manipulation of and by the media, judges taking bribes, and powerful corporations buying support for the changes they want enacted, happen all the time. In this drama, one man was willing to sacrifice everything to wipe the slate clean like a whirlwind. But how long before new players move into the void to once again purchase favors? How long before those longing for power and influence sell themselves to the highest bidder at the cost of justice? Despite its flaws, The Whirlwind was an infuriatingly compelling drama.

15 September 2024

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"If you call me sister you have to be worthy of it"

I set the bar pretty low for these ultra short dramas, but Revenge of Royal Princess taxed my patience all while getting me to click on the next episode to see how the writers would dig themselves out of the hole they put themselves in. I’m still not sure that they did. There were a number of “what the what?” moments or times I thought I must have accidentally skipped some episodes.

Li Yan Chu is the fierce princess who helped her hapless brother become emperor and fend off a coup. She saves the hostage Han Shu from execution and trains him to be her brother’s sharpest blade. Knowing she’s dying she plans her assassination to tie Han Shu tighter to the emperor. Instead of just becoming a bodyguard, somehow Han Shu is made a Regent and has a complete personality change. The deceased Li Yan Chu has her own transformation when magically her spirit inhabits the body of a murdered warrior who looks like her. Uh, what? She goes back seeking revenge and keeps her true identity a secret from both Han Shu and her brother.

Yan Chu was ruthless and treated Han Shu like a trained pet. Even as Xie Yu Gui, she offered him no kind words. All of her kindness was saved for her worthless brother. Han Shu’s temperament could cause whiplash with how quickly it could change. Aside from Yan Chu and Han Shu, there was also the Prime Minister seeking power and his conniving daughter with the most annoying voice seeking to be Han Shu’s wife. The acting ranged from adequate to please stop you are making my ears bleed. The story had a tendency to skip forward and around without any warning or logical consistency, even for a short drama trying to wedge as much story in as possible. There were many times I checked the episode number when my brain went, “Wait, what just happened?”

If you can handle the jumps in story and lapses in logic, there is entertainment to be had. This was a tale of ruthless people trying to outsmart and outruthless the others. If you are looking for romance or a sweet story, this ain’t it.

5 April 2024

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"Even before we entered the world we were marked by karma."

Lady Snowblood is the film that inspired Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films. Yuki's blood spewing revenge is a cautionary tale of feminine vengeance. Splendidly filmed with an impassioned OST, the unique style based on a manga, and the excellent acting make this film one worth seeking out if you enjoy this genre.

Born to a dying mother in a prison on a snowy day, Yuki was charged with her family's vendetta against the villains who murdered her father and brother and viciously raped her mother. She grew up trained by a ruthless master to become the hand of death to the group that had decimated her family. One by one she hunts the villains down, in her lovely kimonos with a deadly umbrella to gracefully slash her way through the people who had inspired this life she'd never asked for. Beneath her beautiful veneer lay a dark and fiery need for payback for her dead family, one she had never known. Tasked with never feeling emotion, Yuki retains shreds of compassion as she interacts with those she comes across in her rampage. Ironically, she opens another cycle of vengeance by her actions.

The film lays the blood spewing on thick, every slash sends the gooey red paint flying everywhere. Puddles of blood enough for a slain army float around the unlucky bodies. As the story begins on a snowy day with a child born pure but commissioned with her first breaths with the bloody job of vengeance, so the ending scene leaves the beautiful assassin with her butterfly kimono covered in blood in the snow wondering if there is life after revenge.

There were some subtle and not so subtle political messages about corruption in the upper echelons of the military and government. And though the plight of the poor was pointed out, it dispelled the myth that the poor are always good hearted. I wish there had been more of an attempt to understand what a woman must feel growing up with brutal training and an unbreakable oath for people she had never met.

As many older martial arts films with swordplay tended to do, this one used the almost dance and slash technique. Best to not think too hard about the fight choreography from a realistic stance but to admire it for the stylistic forms.

Lady Snowblood was in many ways similar to other revenge fueled martial arts movies but elevated by the haunting music, colorful cinematography, and the stellar acting of Kaji Meiko. If eyes were knives, her targets would already be dead with the cold steely glare she honed in on them with. Kaji's expressive face and graceful moves enhanced the tension filled moments of her hunting her prey even when she had to settle for satisfaction instead of revenge.

If you are looking for a modern movie you may be disappointed. This is a film rich in character with old style effects. Revenge is a dish best served cold and Lady Snowblood served it on a silver blade.

"Forgive me! Spare me!"
"I shall do neither."

3/2/23

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Microhabitat reveals the choices, sacrifices and comprises people make as they become adults.

Miso, the title character, makes a living cleaning houses and lives on the edge of homelessness. Her joys in life consist of cigarettes, a glass of Glenfiddich whiskey, and her poverty stricken boyfriend. When her rent increases and the price of cigarettes doubles she makes the decision to move out of her unfurnished room.

Miso then begins the adventure of visiting her old band mates who have moved on and become more of what society expected of them. It’s a movie divided into chapters, each with a different friend she encounters with her meager belongings on her back.

Each of her friends have changed so much she barely recognizes them. They are all tethered to their own suffering—a stressful job, a loveless marriage, unwanted motherhood, divorce, etc. Despite her situation she brings understanding and kindness to each doorstep even when she is met with a lack of understanding from her former friends.

Like a warm breeze blowing through their lives, each person’s quiet desperation is revealed and Miso’s contented nonconformist life doesn’t seem quite so absurd.

Microhabitat is more observation than strict storytelling. Esom brings a serene almost ethereal quality to the screen as she shows Miso’s quiet determination. Her friends’ “normal” lives seem almost manic in contrast.

Microhabitat touches on what we value, the compromises people make, the economic fragility of people’s situations, and the depth of friendships. It’s a slow film with moments of humor, tenderness, and biting revelation. Miso’s choices may not sit well with everyone but they raise questions about what brings us joy, what we are willing to sacrifice, and the need for safety nets we all need whether emotional or financial.

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I looked forward to watching this drama because I liked the actors, writer, and singer-song writer. Unfortunately, I wanted to like it more than I did.

Story-The Good
A lot of US shows I’ve watched have a 6 to 2 or 7 to 2 ratio of male to female characters unlike real life. Strong female relationships are often sorely lacking. The writer of OSN has about a 50/50 ratio of male to female characters. The FL has close relationships with her sisters and friends! And surprisingly the mothers aren’t harpies. I found this encouraging and refreshing. I will seek out future dramas by this writer.

The Bad
I have no problem with slow burn romances but someone forgot to turn the crockpot on for this one. As of episode 18 the story was still trying to find traction. I struggled to connect with the FL’s motivation, the ML’s and her ex’s.

The Ugly
The FL had the characteristics of MLs I dislike. She was domineering, selfish, and unsympathetic. Just when she seemed to have some character growth she would revert back. The one time the ML showed vulnerability she pulled back instead of reassuring him and later punished him in a humiliating way. I couldn’t figure out what he saw in her and why he fell so hard when he had been burned badly before. I wanted to feel caught up in their romance but it felt flat to me.

Acting
I was underwhelmed by Han Ji Min and I loved her in Hyde,Jekyll, and Me. And who took the light out of Jung Hae In’s smile and the salt out of his tears? The baddies seemed tired and toothless as if they couldn’t figure out why they were doing what they were doing. Overall the acting wasn’t terrible but I’ve seen several of these actors do a much better job.

OST
As always, I love Rachael Yamagata’s music. However, the music clips often didn’t match the mood of the scene.

Rewatch Value
Not likely. Or maybe one day I’ll try again when I’m in a different mood and it will speak to me. Sadly I don’t think that it will as much as I will want it to.

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An affair tells the story of a married woman in her late thirties drowning in a gray world of mediocrity and what happens when she is confronted by passion and desire.

Seo Hyeon’s reserved life is comfortable but devoid of color and dreams. She is married to a man she has never been in love with. Her uninspired life is reflected by the traffic report station her car radio is set on.

U-in returns to Korea to start a new job and prepare for his marriage to Seo Hyeon’s sister. He is a young man bound by his father’s expectations. He falls in love with Seo Hyeon at first sight despite their age difference. Slowly and deliberately he pursues her. She tries to take refuge in familial duty but succumbs to his advances.

Seo Hyeon’s time with him is awash in colors, feelings, and dreams. He exchanges her traffic station for romantic guitar music and her predictable existence for one of excitement. For the first time in her life she falls deeply in love.

Ultimately she has three choices:
Choose to destroy her family and leave for a new life with U-in.
Maintain her duty to her family and stay with a man she has never loved.
Take a chance on herself and leave the gray world that has enveloped her.

Each choice has consequences involving loss. The question is which choice can she best live with?

The loves scenes are sensual in this movie and a bit of a shock after watching the guppy kisses of Kdramas. There is a sense of intimacy even in the scenes where they don’t touch as well.

The movie never seeks to excuse their relationship, more to understand her need for a lifeline out of the dark ok-ness she has settled for.

Lee Mi Sook and Lee Jung Jae bring these characters to life, their passion, love, and guilt.

The musical was okay, but not particularly memorable.

As far as rewatch value goes-just like U-in’s love for Seo Hyeon, An Affair is highly addictive.

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"This is not the place for you to seek the truth!"

Under the Microscope was an interesting title/translation for this drama focusing on a math obsessed male lead who used zero microscopes. Why not “You Can Count on Me!” or “Who Is Plotting Something Evil?” lol I may not have understood a “fraction” of the math involved but the story was “greater than” the “average” drama.

“Arithmetic is the most honest thing in the world”
Jia Mo and his buddy Bao Yu make extra cash at gambling dens by utilizing Jia Mo’s savant-like math skills. They run afoul of new casino boss Lu with Bao Yu’s sister Bi Yu coming to their rescue. Having helped with surveying property, Jia Mo can’t figure out how his calculations for property lines aren’t adding up. He has Bao Yu gain him entrance to the official archives to check the records. While he’s researching the books he finds the number 3530 that his deceased father had told him to remember. He discovers it’s in conjunction with a Silk Poll Tax that appears to be in error. When the friends bring this up to the local authorities, instead of being pleased that their tax bill should be shared with 7 other counties reducing the amount the people pay, the 8 county magistrates close ranks casting aspersions on them. “If someone is diligent for no reason, he must be up to no good.” Jail and floggings can’t deter them. Jia Mo and Bao Yu move forward to try and find someone to hear their case.

“The silk is only a cover. The thing wrapped inside is the most valuable.”
The government bureaucracy was the least of Jia Mo and Bao Yu’s “problems”. When the “count(y)” magistrates were “irrational” and refused to listen to “empirical” evidence, it was a “sine” that the 3530 taels of silver held less “value” than what they were hiding. The “algebros” were often in “real” danger from the enemies who grew “exponentially.” Every time Jia Mo was on the “cusp” of success, the people in “power” would try to “point” out flaws in his equations. They were “mean” and seemed to “derive” great pleasure from the “inequality” they had created in their “operations.” Jia Mo also had flashbacks of his parents that he wasn’t sure were “real” or “imaginary”. Bao Yu was a “positive” and “constant” companion on their journey though he had a tendency to fall into “trap-azoids.” As the two “squared” off with their “calculating” enemies,
other players with their own “angles” joined to help “solve” their “prime” issues. Though the “probability” of success was a low “percentage”, the new allies stayed strong in the face of greedy men on a “tangent.”

“If the numbers are wrong, they should be corrected”
Under the Microscope was engaging and though the math wasn’t as easy as “pi,” the “sum” “total” of its parts “added up” to a drama that wasn’t “perfect” but “finite” entertainment with characters you could “root” for. The “common denominators” being strong performances, realistic “sets”, and a story “integral” to the real world where “negative” and “obtuse” people think money “equals” righteousness and honor. Fortunately, every once in a while, “ordinary”, but “significant” people step up and “point” out “solutions” to “problems” that will help society to “function” better.

18 September 2024

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The Goddess is a superb example of what storytelling can be through the medium of the silent picture.

Ruan Ling Yu who played the mother driven to prostitution to feed her child gave an emotionally compelling performance. It was one of the best performances I've seen from any era, and she does it without the audience hearing one sound from her. Her performance alone is a convincing reason for movie lovers to watch this story of love, shame, and prejudice.

The mother runs afoul of a gangster known as "The Boss" one evening and he lays claim to her as his property. She takes her child and runs but he finds her. She manages to hide enough money from him through the years to send her child to grade school. Her desire is that her child have a better chance to find his way out of poverty with an education. Not only does "The Boss" create problems for her but parents in the school have learned what she does for a living and are determined to have her child removed from the school so that he's not a bad influence on their kids. The school's principal sees her love for her son and tries to stand up for her, but his integrity goes unrewarded.

Depending on the version you watch, there may be no music, only piano, or orchestral music playing during the scenes. I saw the latter and thought the music fit perfectly.

The Goddess is a movie showing social realism. Subjects that are still relevant today like prejudice and tolerance were on full display. The story was timely when it was filmed. It is estimated because of the poverty and political conflicts in the country that up to 1 out of 13 women in Shanghai had committed prostitution during this turbulent period.

The story and performances were heartrending. My heart clenched when the little boy sang about a child working and his parents not knowing if they could buy food. I couldn't hear a word he sang but it was moving. This mother showed the most physical affection for her child that I've seen in any Asian movie, the love tactile and palpable. Ruan displayed a wide array of emotions without delving into sentimentality and overacting.

The Goddess requires a high level of attention to follow the silent story and to immerse yourself into the facial and body expressions of the actors. The reward is an engrossing story of a mother's love and sacrifice for her child and the need for tolerance and open-mindedness. I highly recommend it.

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Godzilla (1954) is the original and definitive Godzilla movie. Made less than 10 years after the end of WWII, it carries a heavier emotional weight than the Godzilla movies that would follow. Before the high-fiving, boxing anti-hero and sometimes protector of Japan came this vengeful terror. This Godzilla was a fearsome indictment of man’s lack of humanity.

The miniatures were more intricate and had more detail than other Godzilla movies. This movie did a good job of interspersing people with the miniatures to give us a vested interest in their lives and sorrow when an unforgiving monster sent them to their doom. When Godzilla unleashed his atomic breath, the results were tragic and all too real whether it be on humans or property. As the citizens and military waited for Godzilla’s arrival, the tension was palpable. The carnage was unflinchingly shown as Godzilla cut through the city with his slow, unmerciful gait.

Dr. Serizawa, played by Hirata Akihiko, had developed his own terrifying weapon and refused to use it for fear it would fall into the wrong hands. Ultimately, he had to decide whether to deploy his weapon to stop the immediate destruction being rained down on his country or to withhold it for fear of unimaginable destruction that could take place if people were to use it as a weapon against other people.

The movie is not perfect, there is a love triangle even in Godzilla. The story can bounce around. The acting style is dated, but didn’t distract from the actors expressing the emotions the characters were feeling. The special effects were exemplary for 1954, viewers expecting spectacular CGI will be disappointed.

Whether conveying the urgency of people fleeing or ominously announcing the arrival of Godzilla, Ifukube Akira’s score was spot on.

My rating reflects how I rate movies and dramas. Only my first love in a particular genre receives a 10, the one that all other movies in that genre will be judged against. Godzilla who meshes the prehistoric with the modern and forces us to look back on the consequences of society’s actions is far deeper than a giant lizard destroying a city. Thus far, no other Kaiju has measured up to the original Godzilla’s standard.

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"Humans don't recognize an opportunity even when it's handed to them"

Death’s Game Part 2 came out of the gate strong, stronger than part one. The question continued to be whether Choi Yi Jae would win the game and what did that really mean?

Starting the second part with Kim Jae Wook playing an evil artist is never a bad place to begin. He has a dangerous intensity hiding behind that chiseled beauty. Once again Choi Yi Jae is thrown into seemingly disparate lives with the orders that he cannot kill-others or himself. This ultimatum becomes more difficult with each life he leaps into. As he discovers the deadly tentacles of Taekang Group’s Park Tae Woo and how it has affected his life and of those he loves, he ventures near the precipice of hell.

The guest stars in Part 2 were even stronger than Part 1. Kim Mi Kyung finally had a chance to shine in the drama as Choi’s mother. The strong older actors threatened to outshine Seo In Guk as the lives he was reincarnated in. The production values were once again high as well.

I was completely absorbed in this tale of what seemed like revenge more than a journey into the soul. The elements of the revenge story were tied together nicely as Choi used what he learned in each life to bring down Park. Ultimately, the game was about Choi Yi Jae’s life. With the pieces finally in place to end a murderer’s reign of terror I still wondered if Choi had learned anything about himself and what the point of the reincarnations was. He was a difficult character to like. Self-absorbed, self-pitying, and arrogant he took a long time to understand that his actions had consequences for others.

***Spoilerish comments below***

Finally, the story took a turn into a path toward enlightenment. He hadn’t learned much in 11 of his lives, only in the last one did he understand what true pain was. I was actually quite disappointed in the final minutes of the drama that undid everything prior to it. And I’m not sure about the message on suicide. Torture people into understanding how their actions have effects on others and that some people have it worse than them? When a person is seriously depressed and suicidal, they may not be able to see that. Therapy and medications, interventions and social/financial assistance may be more helpful than the threat of a worse hell than the one they are in.

The ahjussis and ahjummas did an amazing job bringing their characters to life as well as Kim Jae Wook. The story brought all the revenge pieces together in a satisfying manner although they never did answer who the woman was that died at the bottom of the building with Choi which was disappointing. I honestly thought her death was one of the reasons he was being punished. The last episode was deeply moving in regards to a mother’s enduring love and sacrifice. Having learned how to live his life without being in constant fear of failure and rejection, I only hope Choi Yi Jae took what he learned about the people with their lives in the balance and reached out to help at least a few of them or else it feels like everything he went through was for nothing, to say nothing of the murderous Park Tae Woo being on the loose again. Death’s Game P2 progressed in a strong, emotional gait to the end and then left me disillusioned with the final outcome.

5 Jan 2024

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"Our mouths can tell lies, but our hearts don't believe it"

Analog Squad was a heartwarming made family and biological family drama that reached inside and touched me. Execution can make or break a story that’s been told before in different ways and this story nailed it. Without becoming maudlin the characters all faced secrets that they were keeping or were being kept from them.

“We lie to make other people happy”
Pond is a mysterious character when we meet him. He’s hired his ex-girlfriend to play his wife, a guy who works at a pager company to play his son, and a young woman whose family owns a video rental store to play his daughter. They head south to visit his dying father whom he hasn’t seen in over a decade. When his father makes a miraculous recovery the fake family has some tap dancing to do to keep the charade up.

“Everyone lies for their own sake”
Each of the family members is hiding a secret or several. Pond keeps secret why he left home, why his wife and children left him, and a host of other problems. Lilly/Mam is hiding a health problem. Keg/Mon hides the fact that his mom whom he adores is a nude model and that he’s going to the United States. His mom is hiding a whopper of a secret from him. Bung/Mag is hiding the fact that she’s a lesbian from her family, plus a family member is hiding a devastating secret from her. Pond’s biological daughter discovers a secret as she’s preparing to be married.

“Because when you compare it to death, anger is literally nothing”
The secrets could be overwhelming at times but most of them were dealt with a loving and forgiving hand as the characters worked through their complex feelings. This made family became deeply entwined with Pond’s parents and with each other. Just as real families struggle to communicate and confront complicated problems, the fake family found themselves dealing with many of the same issues. As they worked together and spent time with the “grandparents” they began to untangle some of the knotted challenges in their own lives.

“You have to accept that mistakes are a part of life and you deal with them”
The made family began to develop deep feelings for each other and the couple they were lying to, including love and guilt. The journey that took the longest to traverse was the one that had started the convoluted mess everyone found themselves in-Pond’s. Running away from the truth had caused him to make decisions that went from bad to worse over three decades and brought him to a place where he was ready to take his own life.

“Sometimes waiting is its own form of happiness”
For those of us old enough to remember the 1990’s and Y2K, this will bring back some memories. People were afraid that computers would stop working and planes would fall out of the sky. The fear was that it would be similar to an EMP blast that would cause technology to cease. Some of the technology on display included portable CD players (the darn skipping!), videos and video stores, and ancient looking computers that held less than your cell phone and were slow. Then there was the now almost obsolete technology of pagers and phone booths. Pond’s dad owned a photography studio and used cameras with film. They did a good job of taking us back to 1999 after the financial collapse and the devastation it caused people. By setting most of the story in a small village it was believable that it was 24 years ago. The best part of the cinematography were the shots of the gorgeous Thai scenery. The forests, water, and islands were stunning.

“There are no real or fake bonds. If we feel it, we feel it.”
This story of healing, reconciliation, forgiveness, and growth both in the family and made family was satisfying on several levels. Not every problem was neatly tied up in a bow, but most were resolved satisfactorily. Each member of the newly expanded family discovered something that filled an empty place in their heart. The family might have been fake but the love was real.

9 Dec 2023

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Ditto

Somewhere a screenwriter was watching the movie Ghost for the fifth time and decided it would make a great drama. Just trade out a police officer who can see ghosts for the clairvoyant Whoopi Goldberg and Satoh Takeru for Patrick Swayze. The title I Should Have Told You a Million Times was even reflected in the 1990 movie. If you've seen the movie, nothing in this drama will come as a surprise. Having said that, the characters were all likeable enough to keep my interest throughout the drama.

The story opens with a Sixth Sense beginning, but if you've read the synopsis, the suspense fell flat. Thankfully, they didn't drag it out. Yui and Naoki were childhood friends who reconnected and began dating. On her birthday, he disappears. Along comes Detective Uozumi whose latent spiritual sight evolves just in time to see Naoki. Uozumi works to figure out what happened to Naoki while he's embroiled in another murder investigation. The three become friends as they dig through the past to see how old relationships and old crimes are playing havoc with the present. There were also some Ghost Whisperer moments where they helped a couple of wandering ghosts with their regrets.

Despite some repetitious scenes and obvious borrowing from other sources, I enjoyed the story as it unfolded. The bromance that developed between Naoki and Uozumi helped cover over some of the weaker writing. The suave Satoh Takeru and nerdy Matsuyama Kenichi had a nice chemistry. Inoue Mao showed how hard it is to let go as Yui held on tight to a man she couldn't see. With all the extra time they were given and a translator as well, it was frustrating that Yui and Naoki didn't work through their emotions and regrets. In some ways, their relationship came across as fairly shallow instead of an intimate love---words matter.

The supernatural murder mystery came to its natural ending in episode 9, but then they decided to tack on a wish fulfillment ending for the last episode that almost completely ruined this drama for me. With one little tweak they had the opportunity to showcase the perfect ending for a tearjerker drama but by dragging it out, took all of the emotional punch from the previous episode. In time, I will block out the last episode, grind through the five stages of grief and remember the other episodes and engaging characters fondly.

7/5/23

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Kill me, love me, just don't bore me

I knew nothing about Kill Me Love Me when I started it. The beginning intrigued me with a black-hearted prince and a tough as nails female assassin. It didn’t take long to figure out that they were both working on the same side in the first episode. If you are a fan of red flag male leads, you’ll be disappointed. If you are a fan of badass assassin female leads you’ll be even more disappointed. Honestly, this is the type of drama that I normally wouldn’t write a review for, but I promised myself this year I’d review everything I watched, so here goes.

What I liked/disliked:

I’ve liked Liu Xue Yi since Ancient Love Poetry and Wu Jin Yan since The Story of Yanxi Palace. The two had a nice chemistry whether adversaries or lovers. I’m not a fan of red flag leads, but have seen that most of the time they are a bait and switch and rarely stay villainous so I expected him to lose his fangs. I’m also used to badass female leads being defanged but was still disappointed when Mei Lin became pretty window dressing.

Baron Chen is a fave and even with his chocolate cupcake frosting hair, he was still handsome. The Crown Prince came across more whiny than menacing though.

I’m a sucker for bodyguards and Qing Yan was the pretty, loyal bodyguard I’ve come to expect. He proved his loyalty in an explosive manner moving him closer to the front of the line of dutiful bodyguards. No notes on him.

Speaking of baddass females, I had high hopes for General Yin, but found her to lack the gravitas and stage presence such a role required. Her one facial expression regardless of the situation began to wear thin. Also, her 180 on her love interest defied logic as well as her devotion to him. Apparently, getting laid made her lose not only her sense of independence but also her reason-at least for a time.

I didn’t mind the romping through the countryside for Jing He and Mei Lin but when the badly dubbed side characters later started taking center stage, my fast forward button or mute button came into frequent use.

The Xiyan characters were mostly useless. Prince Yue Qin could not have been more bland. The kooky Xiyan royal family and retainers were mind numbingly boring to me. Zi Gu looked and acted very, very young which made her relationship with grandpa Yan Emperor creepier than sweetly romantic.

The story went off the rails with the detour through Xiyan when the characters became bogged down in border trade talks after the natural ending to the drama. The writers vastly overestimated my attention span for ancient economics.

In the end, I did find around two-thirds of this drama entertaining, mainly because I enjoyed the performances of LXY and WJY. Despite the red flag transforming into a white flag and the assassin turning into a baker. 7.25 rounded up to 7.50

14 November 2024
SPOILER NOTES:



The most disappointing part to me was Mei Lin. She suffered and trained for 10 years to have her revenge. When the time came, she was shuttled off screen. This happens too many times in dramas. If anyone deserved to deal the final blow, it was her. Also, “If this is the price I have to pay for meeting you, I have no regrets.” Really?? Jing He poisoned Mei Lin with a poison that had no antidote. Who does that? Everyone knows the Puppet Master for assassins holds the antidote for compliancy. Especially a guy trying to prove he’s not a monster. So, she’s dying, suffered brutality for 10 years, didn’t get to take part in bringing down the Big Bad, and she has no regrets. Girl, no matter how rich or good looking he is, I’d have a list of regrets. When they took away her martial arts ability, I just rolled my eyes. Why can’t badass female leads stay badass to the end? And apply their lipstick only to their lips and not in the dip above them? If she was reduced to baking cakes and offering moral support she should have had time to check her lipstick in a mirror. But I’m not bitter. lol

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