Yes, it took me 4 years to finish The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop. Have you ever gotten bored with a drama, especially one in the 55 episode range, and decided to take a break for whatever reason? That's what I did. I kept telling myself, I'll get back to it. If you were to ask me, I'd say it's been a year to 18 months. I had no clue it's been 4 years!

I started Wolgyesu because the idea of a tailor shop interested me. "Every girl's crazy about a sharp dressed man." I was praying for wonderfully tailored looks and some fashion hijinks & espionage as opposed to the forced relationship between boring and uncharasmatic characters that I received. There was hijinks & espionage, but very little in tailored looks imo. Don't even get me started on the women of the main family (the Lees). Your husband is a master tailor, but you look like you pick cabbage for a living. Huh? The support family (the Mins), had great clothing perhaps a little wacky, but great overall.

Wolgyesu started out interesting enough. The story seemed interesting. Lee Man Sool, the Master Tailor of Wolgyesu and the patriarch of a hodgepodge familial unit, disappears one day. He basically goes on a walkabout without any notice. His biological son (the man seems to acquire children), Lee Don Jin, divorced from his wife. the eldest daughter of the Min family, and forced out of his job at Meesa Apparel by his ex-mother in law (who once worked for his father) and brother-in-law, decides to take over the operations of Wolgyesu. The problem is he can't sew, let alone tailor. That's where Bae Sam Do, a master tailor trained by Lee Man Sool, comes in. Bae is like a son to the Lees so he and his wife, Bok Sun Nyeo, move into an apartment the Lees have on their property. The apartment has 2 bedrooms and the 2nd room houses a down on his luck singer named Tae Pyung Sung. He is wooed by the Lees black widow daughter, Dong Sok. Na Yun Shil, a sad pathetic excuse of a character, is an employee and eventual love interest for Dong Jin. Let me just say for the record that they bored the heck out of me and are the main reason why I stopped watching. I just couldn't take them any more. Na's story line is as idiotic as she is pathetic. I despise pathetic female characters that can't do anything for themselves but run and cry. The other couples are fun to watch, but the lead couple, not so much. The cast is rounded out by the Mins and Kang Tae Yang. The Mins are rich and own clothing line, Meesa Apparel. The youngest Min is naive and somewhat annoying. She falls in love instantly with Kang Tae Yang, who is the childhood friend of Wolgyesu's Na Yun Shil. He's a very honest, caring, and likable character. He was deeply hurt by his ex and has no interest in romance.

The Wolgyesu cast is very strong, especially the supporting cast. Choi Won Young was fantastic as Tae Pyung. He looked great in his clothing and totally embodied his character. Choi and Park Joon Geum (Ko Eun Sook, Min family matriarch) were the highlights of every episode. Both, Tae Pyung & Eun Sook, were quirky and entertaining. I also really enjoyed Cha In Pyo as Sam Do & Ma Mi Ran as Sun Nyeo. Both characters were interesting and entertaining. Since the first time I saw Lee Dong Gun in When It's At Night, I thought he was a D-lister with little acting ability that was forced into lead male roles simply because of his height and looks. Wolgyesu didn't do much to change my mind, but I did come to find his acting passable mostly when he shared scenes with Choi, Cha, and Hyun Woo, who played Kang Tae Yang. The 4 of them plus Shin Goo, Lee patriarch, are considered the gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop.

The music was passable. There was nothing great about it. Wolgyesu has absolutely 0 rewatch value. Overall, I'm giving it a 6 because I truly did enjoy most of the cast and characters. Without them I'd give the drama a 4.5 - 5 at best. The big problem is the storyline(s) I disliked happen to be the one(s) that were at the forefront of the drama.

Lire davantage

A Hideous Waste of Time

One of the oddest and rarest things for me to do is to drop a drama. Even when I am thoroughly bored and annoyed, I keep plugging along. Almost, if not all of the drops in my stats are because the fansubber or streamer was a failure. This year has brought so many firsts and it includes the first time I just gave up. Honestly, I couldn't take it any more. I told myself at ep 5 to just get to 8. At 8 I said 'you're halfway there.' At 10 I thought I was close. But I just can't do it any longer. You may think it's only 4 episodes, but to many it's my precious time. Plus, I fast forwarded through most of the last 3 episodes and I simply refuse to go back.

This is one of the worst pieces of hot steamy garbage I've ever seen. It's poorly written and the directing is amateurish at best. The main story is too idiotic for words and the production isn't good enough to make me want to believe it. The journey isn't one I wish to go on. There's a disturbing age difference in my opinion. The lead couple is being shoved down your throat like a bitter pill. The ML is highly unlikable. He's selfish. He's a consummate liar. He's arrogant. And, sorry but in my opinion, he's unattractive. It's not a face I really want to look at. Go Ara's character is just stupid. I mean she is STUPID! If this was from Hollywood, she'd be blonde with big breasts, the stereotypical airhead.

This marked the first time I anticipated a Go Ara drama. Usually, I stumble upon her and enjoy her performances, so I was excited. I will not anticipate her work ever again. I imagine the director just told her to go stand and make her eyes as big as possible while either pouting or smiling. The scenes where she ate were supposed to be funny, but I found them disgusting. Her jaws poked out with food to show she's hungry. Really?! The rest of this talented cast isn't used much better. They were all wasted except for maybe the lead actor (I'm not even interested enough to look up his name) who was sub-par. It almost seemed as if everyone was brought down to his level instead of he rising to meet theirs. The one shining spot was Lee Soon Jae, but, um.... HE'S LEE SOON JAE! That's like saying the only good actor in the cast of an American tv show is Morgan Freeman. You don't have to direct that type of experience. They already know.

There's way too much music. A sign of a really bad director and editor is to overuse music even if the entertainment company is pushing a song. Go's character is a pianist. There's a lot of music being played. The last thing you need after a terrifically long scene of Brahms and Mozart is more freaking music and, yet, that's what happens. In one episode I swear there was a song every 2 minutes It was maddening.

I would require payment and copious amounts of wine to even think about finishing this craptastic piece of dung. There's no way I'd ever re-watch it.

I don't care about this drama. I don't care about the characters. I was actually routing for the death of at least one character. When I say I truly hate this drama, I am not exaggerating.

Lire davantage

An Unnecessary Prequel

Wandering Earth 2 does not pick up at the end of the first movie or even some time later. Instead, it opts to go a couple decades earlier before the lead character of WE2, Liu Pei Qiang, met the mother of the lead character of WE, Liu Qi. WE2 shows us what happened on Earth prior to movie 1 and how the plan to move the planet was initiated and accomplished. The problem with that is that I don't think anyone was really asking.

The story drags, especially around Andy Lau's character, Tu Heng Yu, who perfects the A.I. program. The end of WE2 connects us to the beginning of the first movie and to a comment made by Pei Qiang toward the end of WE. It gave 2001: A Space Odyssey vibes. The movie has excellent graphics. Honestly, my favorite parts of the movie came from the suppporting and guest roles. The Chinese excel at making side conversations interesting (or funny) as opposed to mummbles when you know people are speaking you just don't know what they're saying as with most movies. It's an anime trope that works very well in a scifi movie where there is a lot of action and movements going on simultaneously.

The cast is good. There are little scenes that stand out and gestures by some actors. Li Xue Jian plays a politician and his facial expressions and small gestures gave life to every scene he was in. There's a scene where he is just clapping, but the way he claps & his facial expression speaks volumes. That's an actor! When you can command a scene and get your point across without opening your mouth. You're a master. Kawawa Kadichi plays South African astronaut, Herbert Copley, who goes through training with Liu and has a running gag of Pei Qiang not understanding him. Another character (either his name is Chief Wang or I have 2 characters mixed up) was great. The scenes between the Chief and Liu were touching. Wu Jing as Liu Pei Qiang and Andy Lau as Tu Heng Yu were good. Nothing really stellar to write about except for Yu's creep factor. He was a creepy grieving scientist on the verge of maybe becoming the quintessential mad scientist.

The music partly made the music. It set the tone and provided suspense in scenes that wouldn't have had any otherwise. Re-watch is low, but I can see myself re-watching scenes.

Over all, it's entertaining... enough. It's not a movie that I would tell people they had to see even if they saw the first one. If I heard someone saying they were going to watch the WE series, I'd advise them to watch chronologically and watch 2 before 1, especially since 2 is more story driven while 1 is almost non-stop action.

Lire davantage

Enjoyable Shorts

Cool Doji Danshi: Bokura no Koibana is less of a spinoff and more of a special. They're 4 shorts (about 10 minutes or less once you take out the themes and preview) of new content. It's almost like a set up for season 2. Wishful thinking? Maybe, but I have hope.

Motoharu-sensei has a 30 second love encounter that makes him decide to write a love story. Just one problem, he needs to gather research. What better way to gather research than to interview his 4 closest male friends. You see where this is going right? Through these mock interviews Moto starts to realize (as if he hadn't already) that his 4 friends are pretty clueless when it comes to the ladies. Though it's not said it appears to me that he decides to switch gears on the subject matter of his next book. This is why it seems like a setup for season 2.

The acting and cast are all good just as they were in Cool Doji Danji (feel free to see my review on that page). There are no changes in music and the re-watch is nil.

I would advise anyone who enjoyed the 12 episodes of the series to find these 4 because they CCD to a nice end.

Lire davantage

The Worst Drama I Have EVER SUFFERED THROUGH

Like one of the other reviewers I watched this drama some time ago, so I do not remember any details. I'm only writing a review because I don't see how anyone could rate it any higher than a 1. I don't care if you're a fan of one of the actors or not. I watched this because at the time I was really into Ella. I had just finished re-watching Hana Kimi and Down With Love. A friend and I thought we'd watch another one of Ella's dramas and she picked The Rose. That was over 10 years ago and I have never let her pick again.

While the story is interesting, it is poorly executed and the acting, especially that done by Joe Cheng was horrid. Absolutely horrid. It don't remember anything about the music. All I truly know is that I loathed it. It took me the better part of a year to finish this drama. That's how bad it was. A year to watch 26 episodes. In contrast I just finished a 100 episode drama in a week. I wanted to make it the first drama I ever dropped, but my friend kept begging me to stay with it. In the end she blamed me for letting her choose such a horrible drama. This drama is just...I just... Seriously, it's bad y'all. Really Really Bad! Suffer at your own risk. If I could score it in the negative, I would.

Lire davantage

Boku dake ga Inai Machi aka Erased is a fantastic story.  I adored the anime (not a manga reader) and this live action adaptation is equally as entertaining.  Satoru Fujinuma is your basic loner.  He pretty much disconnects from everyone around him and yet he wants to be a manga author. He has a secret power he calls Revival that allows him to relive a life threatening moment and stop it.  During a visit from his mother he is reminded of incidents that happened in his hometown. Incidents that come to the present and cause the death of his mother. Satoru's Revival sends him back, but instead of it being a moment in time, it sends him back to 1988 when he was in 5th grade.  It's up to young Satoru and his trusted friends to stop a serial killer.

This adaptation is well done.  The 30 minute episodes are intriguing and lend to the urgency Satoru feels as he attempts to save his friends.  The production value for this drama was set high.  Perhaps it was because of the popularity of the manga, anime, and full length movie.  This leads me to the wonderful cast.  The adult leads and supports were very good, and the child actors equally so (perhaps better), especially Reo Uchikaawa (young Satoru).  They also did a great job matching the actors.  It wasn't a stretch to believe that kid grew to look like that adult.  Side note: How good looking is Jin Shirasu?  The photo on here does him 0 justice.  

The music was good. It wasn't overpowering nor was it annoying.  Music placement or lack thereof is something the Japanese  excel at.  I can't stand music videos in the middle of show. If you love them, then you will be disappointed.   My rewatch disclaimer: I don't re-watch drama.  It's rare.  I would easily say yesto re-watching Boku Inai, which is why my rewatch value is high.  

Fantastic drama. Period.  Great writing.  Great cast.  High production value. Never boring.  WATCH THE ANIME! ;)

Lire davantage

Truly, I loved 11 3/4 of this 12 episode series. I was angry at the end because I'm a person that desires closure and it was leaving me hanging. However, at the very end it tells you that season 2 is next year. I may change my review title after the anger subsides. :) I finished episode 12 a few minutes ago so it's still raw. Would I recommend you watch it? YES, and here's why.

In case you don't know Hospital Playlist is about a 5, 30-something doctors who have been close friends since college. The 5 of them let off steam by forming a garage (well basement) band. Hence the playlist part of the title. There are several stories woven into the fabric of HP. There are the patients, the hospital staff and their interactions with the core 5, and the core 5 themselves. The 5 have separate side stories that cris cross nicely. The same way all of our stories intersect with friends and family I would assume. Screenwriter Lee Woo Jung did a very good job juggling the stories, the sweet and bittersweet. The director, Shin Won Ho, did an excellent job as did his editors.

The cast is what truly made the drama special. Each lead actor brought something unique and different to the screen. The character's personalities were unfolded wonderfully. They were fantastic. Not just the lead and supporting actors, but the guest stars were wonderful. The guests I'm referring to mostly played the patients. From the children to the elderly, they were brillant. I caught myself wanting to console so many patients. It was ridiculous how many times I wanted to cry; how many times I was happy; how many times I wanted to kick them and yell snap out of it. OK I did the yelling part. My family just looked at with raised eyebrows. There really was no stand out acting among the 5. They were a true ensemble amongst themselves. I will admit Jo Jung Suk's Dr. Lee Ik Jun was my favorite from his first to last scene. If I had to pick one thing I didn't like, it was seeing the band in almost every episode. Thankfully, their stories moved along during the singing, but oft times I could have done without. But, honestly, it wasn't that bad.

The music was good. I usually don't pay much attention to it, but as I stated the 5 form a band and sing in every episode. All 4 of the men have great voices, especially experienced stage/musical actor, Jo and Yoo Yeon Suk. I don't know if Jeon Mi Do can sing, but her character most definitely can not! I have to say I did like the songs they sang. They seemed to convey the mood of each episode. I just wish it weren't each episode.

I'm not big on rewatching, but I can see Hospital Playlist having a large rewatch value for those that do, especially since season 2 will be out next year. Rewatch or not, it's definitely worth a first watch. It's emotional. It's funny. It's uplifting. It can be sad, but not depressing. It's addictive. Mostly, it's enjoyable.

Lire davantage

Absolutely Loved It!

I haven't liked a female driven (investigative) Korean drama this much since Mrs. Cop. Inspector Koo is an ex-police officer turned insurance investigator that no one really wants to work with. The thing is, she's the best, and if you want results, you need her. She's sees things others don't and can connect the dots like no one else. As a person she's slovenly and plagued by her past, but her mind sharp. Along with 2 insurance investigators and her favorite fellow gamer, she uncovers and solves crimes. At issue isn't the who, it's the why and how.

The story sounds absurd. In fact it is, but it is well crafted and written. The crew including the director were very good. The action and fight sequences have great choreography. Our two female leads, Lee Young Ae (Inspector Koo) and Kim Hye Joon, were excellent. They had great chemistry with each other and the rest of the cast. Actually, the entire cast worked well, which is rare. I think it's probably because there was no forced romance, which I liked. There is a romance between an atypical K-drama couple that was handled very well.

The music was really good. I especially enjoyed the theme along with the animated credits. The re-watch value is high for those that re-watch dramas, I don't, but I can see this one being on one's list. And I can also see me re-watching if there is a season 2 that comes out years later.

Overall, Inspector Koo is fantastic. I wish there had been a little bit more background on our major characters and that certain things (ok 2) were handled differently, but it's one of the best I've seen in a long time.

Lire davantage

Wu Xie Belongs In Slytherin

I loved it. It scratched all my archaeologist Indian Jones wannabe itches. I love adventure, thrills & chills, mixed with a little bit of mystery and murder. Tomb of the Sand Sea has it all. The only reason I'm not giving it a 10 is because the end seemed rushed and there are unanswered plot holes that will probably go unanswered unless I find a translated version of the book series or they make a prequel or a 2nd season of Mystic Nine. Although they have MN listed as a side story, you will probably want to watch it first just to know some of the background of the 9 families.

Let's get the issues out of the way. I thought I was watching the Tomb releases in order, but turns out I watched Tomb 2 too early. That's where part of my personal confusion came in. (1) There is an actor in both series but he's not playing the same character. (2) Wu Xie is much older. He is not the 20 something naive kid from Lost Tomb or Lost Tomb 2. And that's fine. What's a little off is that he's some kind of mystic able to accurately predict people's actions 5 moves ahead in order for his crazy elaborate plan(s) to work. He's a master manipulator, hence the Slytherin reference. (3) Lt. Zhang Ri Shan from MN is also in Sea with no explanation as to how. I thought they were using him to replace Zhang Qi Ling (and in very many aspects they did), but Qi Ling makes appearances, too. (4) The families have apparently intermarried and there are last names that are unfamiliar. They really needed to include a family tree instead of the outtakes. (4a) Where are the Hongs? There are no Hongs in Sand Sea, which leads me to (5) Lay Zhang. Lay plays a main character in MN and a minor supporting one in Sand Sea. The issue I'm having is who was he really. Is he Er Ye from MN, a reincarnation, or just a look alike? I just couldn't figure him out. The issues I've listed may seem like a big deal, but really they're not. They easily become unimportant.

The story is about a kid trying to pass his college entrance exam that is attacked, kidnapped, and forced on a whirlwind adventure. It's kind of a coming of age story with a few masterminds and a lot of guns. The production is fantastic. The stunts and fights are well done. The script and direction were pretty solid. At times I did feel that the editing was a little off.

The cast is great!! I'm not much for romance, but even my heart was fluttering in the last few episodes thanks to Lt. Zhang's actor, Zhang Ming En and his sexy self. woo * clutch the pearls * He's not just a pretty face either. There were tell tale signs of his age in his mannerisms, the way he stood and walked, and sometimes in how he spoke. He had on one outfit that looked like they stole off an old man in the park doing Tai Chi. The entire cast has a lot of chemistry.

The music was good. I don't tend to rewatch things, but I can see myself rewatching this to find clues I may have missed.

Overall, it's a really fun watch. Does it have some problems? Yah, sure you betcha! But they're minor. You just need to tell your left brain to shut up and go for the ride.

Lire davantage