327. Where Stars Land 여우각시별 (Korean) 2018

Lee Je Hoon, Chae Soo Bin, Lee Dong Gun, Kim Ji Soo, Kim Kyung Nam, Lee Soo Kyung, Ro Woon

Drama Rating: 5/10     Neck Score: A+

Despite loving all of the actors in this show, it wasn't as good as could be hoped. It either didn't have a plot, or there were too many loose ends in whatever plot it was about. I thought it was about a bunch of people working at an airport who all had some kind of issues, but apparently the real plot was Lee Dong Gun and Lee Je Hoon's issues? Or is it? Was it just the techno arm/he doesn't want to be handicapped deal? Was it really just about the relationship? There were too many little plots to say which was the main plot, but the one that suddenly ended it all was the thrown in at the last minute: hyung's got issues with the mafia and you're broken, son. I guess that sums up the plot. Because that was the one that got the biggest resolution... except there were too many things not explained, so actually there was no real resolution. Did that make me hate the show? Not really. The ending wasn't so much the problem. It was the middle stuff.

To Philly, To Philly, to See Our Day6

I know it's been weeks and I'm only  just getting around to writing about our trip, but in my defense it was Thanksgiving right after we got back and things have only just settled down for me. I even got snowed in last weekend so I couldn't get home from my brother's house. But that's whatever, and I really just want to talk about the trip.

Philadelphia was a bucket list destination for me, so when we decided to go to that concert, I was super stoked. I was a huge American Revolution nerd in high school, so I was super excited to see "the birthplace of the nation" as we liked to say when anyone asked us why we were travelling across the country to see a Korean rock concert. But it really was also just to see a Korean rock concert. I like this destination K-Pop thing we've got going on. I'm seeing more cities than I ever would. It's a nice excuse to travel.

325. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes 하늘에서 내리는 1억 개의 별 (2018) Korean

Seo In Guk, Jung So Min, Park Sung Woong, Go Min Si, Yoo Jae Myung

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A+

I kind of loved the level of psychological thriller this had. With a mysterious man who is a sociopath or whatever, manipulating and not understanding emotions. Completely jaded to the good in the world because he can see human hypocrisy all too well. Seo In Guk did a great job being the "monster" in this one. You hated him and loved him all at once. He made you shiver all while being attracted to him. But then the developing relationship between him and Jung So Min was also really great. I loved her as well. Her innate ability to see through him, but still empathize. To see both the good and the bad and to call him out on his crap. It made the relationship worth watching, even though you had the sick feeling that everything was going to go wrong when we finally found out about the past that the oppa kept not telling everyone about, even when we were all sure that telling would save some mistakes from being made. Oh well.

328. Stranger 비밀의 숲 (2017) Korean

Cho Seung Woo, Bae Doo Na, Yoo Jae Myung, Lee Joon Hyuk, Shin Hye Sun, Lee Kyu Hyung, Park Sung Geun

Drama Rating: 9.5/10     Neck Score: A

This is another drama that I was really tempted to give a 10 to, because it is really, really good. It had me guessing the whole time. It was less predicable while still having a solid story. We just had to figure out things along with our little emotionally stunted hero. Ohmygersh! I loved Hwang Shi Mok!!! He was so perfect! So subtle and good, none of that stoic robot garbage we usually get with similar type characters. I loved the slow and subtle relationship between him and Han Yeo Jin. She was so understanding and they got along so well! I'm shipping them still, big time. Everytime he had that little tiny smile (eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!). That is a well written relationship.

324. Ghost Detective 오늘의 탐정 (2018) Korean

Choi Daniel, Park Eun Bin, Lee Ji Ah, Kim Won Hae, Lee Jae Kyoon, Lee Joo Young

Drama Rating: 6/10     Neck Score: A+

This one started out so good. It was actually creepy, it was intriguing, and then something happened that made it take a gradual nose dive. It never got horrible, but it did get way less good. The creepiness left and it became a normal paranormal crime show, and it got super draggy. You could save it lost its direction or drive. Which was sad. But, it did stay fairly consistent with some things.

Choi Daniel stayed looking fine the whole time. His look in this show really worked for him. Also, to make us less bored during the draggy times the dressed him in a suit without a tie and the collar unbuttoned. Um, yes please.

On Loving Bad Guys and Bad Boys

I haven't written a regular post in a while, mostly because I've been moving and starting a new job, and big life changes and all that. Also I'm lazy and hate taking screenshots, so a full post is sometimes intimidating to me. But the other day on the social media, a friend of mine shared this meme, and it immediately made me think of me, because if anyone loves the villains, it is me.

I used to struggle with Labyrinth because I don't particularly love Sarah, or any of her companions, but I super love Jareth, the Goblin King, aka David Bowie. It was actually my love of David Bowie and Queen and glam rock that got me into K-pop, because is there much of a difference between this and this?

via Hollywood Reporter

I think not.

Korean Movie Night: The Princess and the Matchmaker 궁합 (2018) Korean

Shim Eun Kyung, Lee Seung Gi, Kim Sang Kyung, Yeon Woo Jin, Kang Min Hyuk, Choi Woo Shik, Jo Bok Rae

Movie rating: 8/10     Neck score: A+

Lizabreff loves Seung Gi. Well, so do I. I also love Shim Eun Kyung and Choi Woo Shik. Really, the entire cast. So we were waiting for this one to become available so we could watch it. Then we waited to long to get it for free and had to rent it anyway, but whatever. It was worth it. Thanks, Google Play.

Anyway, this was a lot different then the previews led us to believe, and that is not a bad thing. It was just different. Maybe it is because we're so used to mischievous butt headed Seung Gi that we all love (think Son Oh Gong from Hwayugi, or his roles in Gumiho or King 2 Hearts). We were all assuming that he would be a mischievous matchmaker con-artist who was using the princess's marriage to make money or advance. We weren't expecting a straight-arrowed good boy Seung Gi who had a blind little Poo Butt to protect at home. It was interesting and nice.

Korean Movie Night: The Bros 부라더 (2017) Korean

Ma Dong Seok, Lee Dong Hwi, Lee Ha Nui

Movie rating: 7/10     Neck score: B

When this movie was being released, and I saw that some of my favorites were in it, I had to watch it. So I was really excited when I saw it was available on Netflix. What could be better than Ma Dong Seok and Lee Dong Hwi being brothers? Both comedians, but like polar opposite in physical build. But both really good at the physical comedy. I knew it was about them going to their father's funeral, and not getting a long, but in the way that brothers do, but I actually hadn't paid much attention to the plot and watched it solely for the cast. So I guess I was surprised about what it was actually about. But that was a good thing. So should I just not spoil it?

It's definitely about the two brothers not liking each other, or their family. They come back under protest almost, for their father's funeral and then do everything they can to not be the first grandson, because this family and village is very traditional. To the point that we get to see Ma Dong Seok looking like a fluffy teddy bear in the unbleached linen robes, looking like he came out of a sageuk, only he's not, so it's extra fluffy and hilarious. Then you add in Lee Ha Nui as the mysterious manic amnesia Seoul girl they met on the way, and it is just so much going on, but it's also so much fun.

Even the side characters and actors are the best. The cousin who is a cop (and Curdy's favorite Turtle) and his wife who wants nothing more than for him to NOT be the first grandson (and subsequently have to cook food for all those memorials), the old relative who speaks like a Confucian classic, Ma Dong Seok's two teacher friends at the or the monk who shows up and acts suspicious AF. It's all just a lot of fun. Confusing at first, all over the place, but then as the pieces start to slowly fit together, it just keeps getting better. It was a lot of fun, and like all good Korean movies, it also puts you through all the feels. It's good.

319. Still 17 서른이지만 열일곱입니다 (2018) Korean

Shin Hye Sun,Yang Se Jong, Ahn Hyo Seop, Ye Ji Won

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A+

We watched this a little slower pace, but that's just what happens when you are watching with a group and some of them have kids that we have to wait until they are in bed. This my sister and my first virtual KD night, meaning that we watched it together while on a google hangout. We're really good at going "one, two, three, click" and syncing up our videos. It was a worthy endeavor. Now we just need to finish Wok of Love that way.

Anyway, this show was well worth the effort. It was so cute! It left me with all the fluffy happy feelings! It was a very healing drama. It was all about the healing and getting rid of the "what ifs" and self blaming. I loved it. I also loved how everyone was a puppy or muffin. Our nicknames for everyone were puppy related. Happy Puppy/Puppy Chan, Wounded Puppy, Real Puppy, Dr. Muffin... wait that's a muffin not a puppy. But same difference. I love that it was about the healing that comes from being with family, and creating families to heal each other. It was really beautiful.

318. Your Honor 친애하는 판사님께 (2018) Korean

Yoon Si Yoon, Lee Yoo Young, Park Byung Eun, Kwon Nara

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A+

I'm not usually a huge fan of law dramas, mostly because of sensationalism during court scenes- so over dramatic and so much perjury- but I do like them better than medical dramas. But any drama starring Yoon Si Yoon is going to be on my watch list. He literally makes me watch him in every single thing he's ever been in. I'm still working on his movies, but I think I have most if not all his dramas down (barring a few shorts that aren't subbed or easy to find). I also am really fond of Lee Yoo Young and Park Byung Eun, so I really did have to watch this one. I'm not sorry at all either. It was really good and I got to see my Yoonie be not one but TWO different characters, and he did it well too. It wasn't hard at all to tell with brother he was being. I was impressed (but also not, because of course he's gonna be that good, wink).

321. My ID is Gangnam Beauty 내 아이디는 강남미인 (2018) Korean

Im Soo Hyang, Cha Eun Woo, Jo Woo Ri, Kwak Dong Yeon

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A+

I really had to steel myself up to watch this because you might know how I feel about surgery scenes and how it keeps me from watching medical dramas because boo surgery scenes every single episode. Well plastic surgery is worse I guess because it is on the face and makes me cringe. So I started this one, got to the scene where the scalpel was touching the face and I was like "nope!" and stopped. But I kept seeing cute spoilers and I wanted to watch it, so I tried again, and looked away at the scalpely parts. This show was much more about how beauty standards and bullying affect women than it was about plastic surgery. That was more the byproduct of how Korea views women and beauty. So that scene at the start was actually very well done and poignant. The montage between her childhood trauma from bullying and the surgery scenes was super well done. It hit me in the feels, and really told you what this show was going to be about.

Korean Movie Night: My Sister, the Pig Lady 돼지 같은 여자 (2015) Korean

Hwang Jung Eum, Lee Jong Hyuk, Choi Yeo Jin, Park Jin Ju

Movie rating: 6/10     Neck score: A

Maybe because I loved Go, Pig Lady so much, I was really interested in this one. Also, I love the entire cast, so I had high expectations. It is slated as a romantic comedy, and while it did have some comedic elements, I would not say that it is a comedy. Really most of the comedy was trying too hard, so it fell a bit flat, or it was the painful, black sort of comedy that you laugh, but also want to cry. Like the scene where the two drunk girls crash their scooter into the pig pen. Funny, but not. It's a tragedy, really. What it should be called is how an awesome girl's life was ruined by falling for the wrong man, or how three girls fighting over one douche-bag is always a bad idea. Sisters over misters, girls. Come on!

I guess you could say this show is painfully funny at times, because it really does capture what life in a small town is like. And this town is way too small. It's either on an island or a tiny coastal town (I don't remember), but it is even further shrinking because the main industry, silverfish fishing, is in decline because all the fish have disappeared. Along with them, all the young people. Especially the young men. This leaves the town with only one eligible bachelor and three girls to fight over him. That is just a recipe for disaster. On top of that, Jae Hwa (Hwang Jung Eum) has become the breadwinner of her falling apart family and she is putting her dreams on her pigs to save them.

317. Witch's Love 마녀의 사랑 (2018) Korean

Yoon So Hee, Hyun Woo, Lee Hong Bin, Kim Young Ok, Ko Su Hee

Drama Rating: 6/10     Neck Score: A+

Well, this was a short and cute little drama. I actually didn't know it was only going to be 12 episodes, so when it said finale, I was shocked. I thought they had more to wrap up, but I guess not. It might have been a good thing that it was short though, it didn't have any time to get terrible. It stayed short, a bit messy, but overall fun. It was definitely better than I thought, but then I was only watching it because I wanted a bit of fluff, and if Hyun Woo and Hong Bin were in it, that just made it better. I also like So Hee pretty good, so the cast sold me. Although I wonder how awesome veteran actresses like Kim Young Ok feel just being in whatever as the same grandma all the time. Anyway, it had some twists and turns that were interesting, but overall it didn't have time to explore all the things that could have made it more interesting, but then it never flopped either, so good.

309. Queen of Mystery 2 추리의 여왕 2 (2018) Korean

Kwon Sang Woo, Choi Gang Hee, Lee Da Hee, Park Byung Eun

Drama Rating: 6/10     Neck Score: B

This "season" left me liking it about as much as the first season did. I liked it while I was watching it, but got annoyed at all the lose ends it left. Because it keeps assuming that it's going to get another season, while I keep assuming that it won't. Also it annoys me how it spends so much time on other things instead of focusing on the main plot like it should. What does it think it is, an American TV show? But other than the ending and the lack of real progression, it was it's good old charming self. I love that we got to delve deeper into relationships and develop new ones. I missed some of the old characters and liked some of the new ones. It was one of the more decent second seasons.

315. The Legend of Fuyao 扶摇 (2018) Chinese

Yang Mi, Ethan Ruan, Gao Vengo, Liu Yi Jun, Zhang Ya Qin, Huang You Ming

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A+

As soon as I heard about this one, I had to watch it. With both Yang Mi and Ethan Ruan, I just had to. Plus it sounded good with a good, strong female lead. It was a plus that many of the Peach Blossom's actors were also in it. It's a good example of a good epic drama. Prophecies, political intrigue, evil sorcerers and sages, princes in disguise. Plus lots of good fighting with on the better side wire work and less digital blood (cough cough, Oh My General, cough cough). The best part is that there weren't very many hateful people in it, mostly just "I love to hate them" type villains. And if there was a hateful villain, they didn't last very long. There were a couple of bad news bitcas who were the wooooooooorst! but they literally didn't last very long, which is probably why they had to have multiple ones.

316. Sweet Dreams 一千零一夜 (2018) Chinese

Dilrumat Dilraba, Deng Lun, Chen Yi Long, Zhu Xu Dan, Wang Rui Zi, Liu Qiu Shi

Drama Rating: 4/10     Neck Score: A

The premise of this one had so much promise. But it sadly strayed way too far from the premise. I loved the dreams part, where she invaded his dreams and had control over them, saving him from the dragon as well as trying to get revenge on him for treating her like crap in the real world, but in the end it just became a overly dramatic corporate drama, which I tend to struggle with more when it comes to the Chinese dramas. They are just more horrible? I don't know, they're all bad. But the whole dreaming part ended way too quickly for the 48 episodes.

Korean Movie Night: Midnight Runners 청년경찰 (2017) Korean

Park Seo Joon, Kang Ha Neul, Park Ha Sun, Sung Dong Il

Movie rating: 8/10     Neck score: A

So amidst all the stress of moving and changing jobs, we found time to finally watch a movie we had wanted to see since it was first announced. Especially Lizabreff. These two might be some of her top boys. In fact, we were so close to seeing it in the theater when we went out for K-Con last year, but it wasn't out yet. It was the coming soon title. We even have pictures of us wishing it were out as well as the other two we went to see. So we had to have one last (easy) Korean Movie Night and watch this one. It was a good way to relieve my stress.

It was actually a lot different and better than we thought it would be. You know how they always grab all of the clever scenes to be in the trailer. Lizabreff especially was thinking it was going to be goofier and much more crass. I think they literally grabbed every swear and every middle finger for the trailer, because it wasn't nearly as crude or ridiculous as it was made to seem. It was actually more serious and had more heart. But I feel like that is the way most trailers vs movies go.

314. Oh My General 将军在上 (2017) Chinese

Ma Sichun, Sheng Yilun, Ding Chuan, Wang Churan

Drama Rating: 6/10     Neck Score: A+

Starting this one was another case of Curdy and I trying to find a drama to watch while Lizabreff was busy. Just like The Love Knot, we took three tries before we actually found the C-Drama we wanted to watch. It was also a random choice that we hadn't really ever considered, since it was older and looked silly if just scrolling passed. Now that I have seen the show though, I seriously love this poster. But after not being able to handle the first two,  at the though of a strong female general winning herself a trophy husband and then having to get them to fall in love, yeah. It sounded perfect. And it was.

313. What's Wrong with Secretary Kim? 김비서가 왜 그럴까 (2018) Korean

Park Seo Joon, Park Min Young, Lee Tae Hwan, Kim Byung Ok, Kim Hye Ok, Kang Ki Young

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A+++

The biggest thing wrong with this show is that even when Park Seo Joon is playing a narcissistic chaebol, he's still a muffin. A confirmed muffin. As soon as he starts the eye smile, all narcissism is over, he's just a muffin. But he did a good job of it inspite of that. This was a really fun show. I loved the dynamic between Park Min Young and Park Seo Joon. She was amazing, and her clothes were super amazing too. They inspired Lizabreff to buy a bunch of cute blouses, which sadly turned out to be cheap pieces of crap that were not what was expected. Haha, everyone's gotta have a story like that, right?

312. The Undateables 훈남정음 (2018) Korean

Namgoong Min, Hwang Jung Eum, Choi Tae Joon, Oh Yoon Ah, Jo Dal Hwan, Jung Moon Sung

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A+++

And another one where I wasn't sure how I felt about it and it exceeded my expectations. But maybe in reverse? I was excited about it, but then I kept hearing other people not being into it, but my love for both Namgoong Min and Hwang Jung Eum made me start it anyway, and it was just what I needed. Curdy and I watched it together and loved pretty much every minute of it. There were a couple of spots where we were worried, but it was never bad and had lots of great moments, and lots of couples to love.

311. Miss Hammurabi 미스 함무라비 (2018) Korean

Go Ara, L, Sung Dong Il, Ryu Deok Hwan, Lee Elijah

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A-

This was much better than I thought it would be. As much as I love L and Go Ara, they aren't strong actors. However, my love for Sung Dong Il is enough to surpass anything. Plus I had heard good things from people who had started it. So I caught up... super fast. It was one of the better legal dramas I have seen in a while. Those usually tend to be too much for me, too much court room sensation, drama, the works.

308. Lawless Lawyer 무법 변호사 (2018) Korean

Lee Joon Ki, Seo Ye Ji, Lee Hye Young, Choi Min Soo

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A+++

Maybe this doesn't deserve a 7, but the cast does. It's been a while since I've seen such a well casted show. Or maybe I should say, it's been a while since these cast members have been able to shine this well in their roles. I absolutely love Lee Joon Ki, but he has been in a lot of not my favorite dramas, and this was the role he was born to play. He still got to do all that angsty tragic backstory stuff, but he also got to be a goofy goober AND show off his beautiful, beautiful martial arts. Seriously, he's the sexiest thing alive when he fights (fans self). His chemistry with Seo Ye Ji was off the charts too. I love her as well, but she also sometimes stars in not my favorite dramas too (I'm looking at you, Boorim School), so to have her in a good, strong role, rocking the pants suits and as a part of a power couple. I love that.

And then we have the villains. Choi Min Soo. I'm in love with him, basically. But I couldn't bring myself to watch his last drama, because yeah.... not going there. But he shined like gold in this. He's always a delight, and his conflicted gangster was just the best. His role wasn't the best written... or was it? I don't know, I can't tell, he played it so well no matter what. And his dynamic with Lee Hye Young was just awesome. Their power struggles, her detailed controlling, his crazy wildcard, it was just great. She was so classy that even though she was just despicable you had to love her all the same. And hate her, just loving to hate her and love her. She was a worthy villain.

310. The Love Knot: His Excellency's First Love 结爱·千岁大人的初恋 (2018) Chinese

Victoria Song, Huang Jingyu, Li Shen, Li Jiaming, Jiang Qilin, Zhang Baijia, Xu Kaicheng

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A+++

I knew it was going to be bad news when we caught up and had to wait a whole week for just the last episode. Especially when the second to the last episode slowed the pace down a lot. It just made everything so very anti-climatic. Maybe if we had watched the last three or more in one shot it could have helped, but really, the ending was just anti-climatic.

This show was very watchable though. Curdy and I needed to start a show that we could watch while Lizabreff was super busy and couldn't hang out with us. So we would be less lonely. So we needed to pick a show she didn't mind missing as much. At first we started Rich Man Poor Woman, but we couldn't even get passed one episode. Yuck. Then we tried a Taiwanese drama that had looked interesting but proved boring- The Ex Man. Then, third times a charm, we randomly started this one because we had heard some people tweeting positively about it. I admit, the English name Moonshine and Valentine used in some places was stupid enough that I hadn't considered it before. But don't let bad English names fool you, sometimes the shows are still really good. In the first five minutes we were already hooked. It helped that it has several very nice looking young men.

303. Meet Me @ 1006 1006的房客 (2018) Taiwanese

Lego Lee, Hsieh Nikki, Xie Kun Da

Drama Rating: 9/10     Neck Score: A

This is the highest rating I've ever given a Taiwanese drama, and it 100% deserved it! (Well, my love for Lego Lee might have inflated it a tiny bit.... maybe...). It was a mystery crime fantasy drama that actually surprised me and had me guessing. There were plot twists that I couldn't foresee that were actually good. It was a bit mind boggling, and that was awesome. Plus all the actors were really good and had good chemistry, and there was a wonderfully progression of our OTP. It was a very fun and watchable show. I'm sad it's over, but also glad that it ended so well.


So, it is about a time and space merging that happens in this one apartment every night from 10:06-10:52. The tenant who lives in the apartment 4 months ago, a rookie reporter, and the just suspended lawyer who takes over the apartment 4 months later, suddenly find their two versions of the apartment united making them "roommates" for 46 min every night.

304. Tree in the River 动物系恋人啊 (2018) Taiwanese

Mike He, Gillian Chung, Ray Chang, Sonia Sui, Ken Hung, Lin Yu Pin

Drama Rating: 5/10     Neck Score: A++

I know that this show was going for a more realistic feel with all the relationships, and it might have started out that way, but I was soon just rolling my eyes at all the couples lack of communication and how contrived their resolutions were. Also how flip floppy they were. It was a bit too much for me. So while I never hated the show, it was never compelling for me. I just watched it because it wasn't annoying enough to stop, but I never looked forward to it every week or anything.

300. That Man Oh Soo aka Evergreen 그남자 오수 (2018) Korean

Lee Jong Hyun, Kim So Eun, Kang Tae Oh, Heo Jeong Min, Park Geun Hyung

Drama Rating: 2/10     Neck Score: B

When we finished Radio Romance and we only had this one left in terms of less good dramas, we all assured ourselves that this one would be much easier to finish... You might have then noticed that Radio Romance was scored a 3, while this one is merely a 2. That's right, this was awful. It was always a little bit off in the fact that while I'm a fan of Lee Jong Hyun, he's not a great actor, and this was definitely testing him too much. Because when you're not amazing, bad writing and directing will just do you in. In fact, I should say that all 2 of those points exist because of Beautiful Beautiful Man (Heo Jeong Min). He is the best person alive, and single-handly saved us from dying by his sheer presence in this drama. I hope they paid him well for wasting his talents so. Does OCN Romance own him and Choi Dae Chul? Why do they keep appearing in these not good OCN romance dramas???  Ahem.

302. Switch: Change the World 스위치 - 세상을 바꿔라 (2018) Korean

Jang Geun Suk, Han Ye Ri, Jung Woong In, Jo Hee Bong, Shin Do Hyun, An Seung Hwan

Drama Rating: 6/10     Neck Score: A

So, this started out really great and then kind of fell apart near the end, and maybe redeemed itself a bit, but not enough to be as amazing. The most amazing part is Jang Geun Suk playing two characters to the point that we believed he was two different people. Having tender moments with himself, aw. The worst part was that the subbers were extra slow and even when the episodes aired on Wednesday and Thursday, some weeks we didn't get to watch it until the following Monday, and even then that might be at the 94% (which means more like 76% for how relevant the information in the unsubbed scenes is).

So we have Sa Do Chan, the con artist, and then we have Baek Joon Soo, the prosecutor. Then we have a common enemy, Geum Tae Woong, and a balance between what the law can do and what a conman can. That premise alone was pretty good, and I was so excited to have Jang Geum Suk back on my screen that I was willing to watch pretty much anything for him. I had/have a serious love for him (as is shown in the fact that I watched Pretty Man, Mary Stayed Out All Night, and You're My Pet- twice- just for him).

301. My Husband, Oh Jak Doo 데릴남편 오작두 (2018) Korean

Uee, Kim Kang Woo, Jung Sang Hoon, Han Sun Hwa

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A+

I would say that this restored my faith in a good romantic comedy, but I can't say that without saying that it also has a murderer in it, so that's pretty consistent with the current romcom trends. However, it will restore your faith in good men who don't play stupid games and are super honest about their feelings. Jak Doo never messes with her feelings and is just the best man ever! He doesn't get bogged down with stupid first loves either, but it just so pure and perfect!

305. A Poem a Day 시를 잊은 그대에게 (2018) Korean

Lee Yoo Bi, Lee Joon Hyuk, Jang Dong Yoon, Seo Hyun Chul, Lee Chae Young

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A+

A beautiful slice of life drama that can make even this poetry hater appreciate the poems. Probably because each poem was so poignant and healing as it was read, at first by just Bo Young (Lee Yoo Bi) but then by each of the characters. Because while this was primarily about Woo Bo Young, each character mattered and it was about all of the health professionals as they went about their daily lives in the hospital, with their own set of worries and pains.

The fact that it was a medical drama held me back for a bit, because I have an aversion to hospital dramas, with their super high stakes, with the surgeries every episode, all life and death. It just doesn't appeal to me. I have a hard time caring about surgical dramas. But this one appealed to me a lot because it wasn't about the surgeries, it was about the recovery, as it focused on a team of physical therapists and a couple of radiologists. This fit in really well with the poetic theme of healing. It was all about the struggles and hardships of life, with all the deep emotional struggles as well. Looking at people who don't have hope because they may never walk again, or no matter what they do they can only barely pay the bills. It was heartwarming and you just end up loving everyone, because they were all relatable and beautifully human.

299. Radio Romance 라디오 로맨스 (2018) Korean

Yoon Doo Joon, Kim So Hyun, Yoon Park, Yura

Drama Rating: 3/10     Neck Score: A

Also known as Ladio Lowmance, aka Too Many Bitcas, aka She's Too Young/a minor. Honestly, I started this one against my better judgement. The age gap was squicky and the plot seemed cliche. However, Curdy had just finished watching Splash Splash Love, so she was on a Doo Joon high, and Lizabreff loves Yoon Park, so they were planning on it. I joined in because of fomo. By the end, I was forcing them to finish it, because I am a finisher, while they aren't necessarily. It was torture. We literally could only watch one at a time, and only if we had something else to watch to bring our spirits up, because it was so badly written. It was all over the place. It was super draggy too. The plot didn't actually start moving along until it was almost over. It was just the same nasty bitca fighting, hurting our main girl, and the two male leads having constant weenie wars EVERY SINGLE EPISODE. Seriously, dudes, put them away. No one cares about either of your feelings, just let the girl do what she wants!

Thanks for making this, Lizabreff, haha.

296. Grand Prince 대군 - 사랑을 그리다 (2018) Korean

Yoon Si Yoon, Jin Se Yun, Joo Sang Wook, Ryu Hyo Young, Son Ji Hyun

Drama Rating: 4/10     Neck Score: A+

I knew what it was going to be like when I started it. I saw all the warning signs that said: "this is not going to be a good sageuk" and yet I watched it anyway. Why? Because I will watch anything for Yoon Si Yoon. I know, that's not wise. But I've already done it for every other of his dramas, why stop now?

The acting wasn't really the issue. While I'm not a huge fan of Jin Se Yun, I'd say it was never her fault that she show sucked. It was 100% the writing and plot. It just kept getting more and more ridiculous. People fell for the stupidest traps, it was pretty bad. It was also that I hated Joo Sang Wook's smarmy character, Jin Yang, so much that I had to multitask every time his character got any screen time at all. Which meant that I couldn't watch it during my lunch break on my phone, but only at home where I could Duolingo or puzzle game it up, especially during Jin Yang's smarmy yucky pitty parties of nasty justification. He did too good a job being a yucky boy. He pissed me off all the time.

306. You Drive Me Crazy! 미치겠다, 너땜에! (2018) Korean

Lee Yoo Young, Kim Sun Ho, Sung Joo, Kwon Doh Woon, Ryoo Hye Rin, Park Hyo Joo

Drama Rating: 9/10     Neck Score: A+

I never know where to put these drama specials.  Are they mini dramas? Or are they TV movies? Oh well, I'll just make it number 304 and have done with it. I had been looking forward to watching this since it got announced because I love Maknae (Kim Sun Ho) and I love Lee Yoo Young. Although I have to admit that I didn't recognize her because her character was so polar opposite from her character in Tunnel. She was the impulsive, outspoken, feisty, and cheerful one. It was also interesting to see Maknae being more of the straight man to her craziness, which he also did superbly. He just has a way of making his characters so real and relatable. His expressions! Ack!

So it's about some best friends who "accidentally" slept together two months ago, and are still avoiding it and pretending it never happened. Basically it is the most angsty, chemistry filled show I've seen in a while. The tension between them was wow. Needing to talk about what happened, not wanting to. How do you cross that line from friend to lover without ruining the relationship? Now that they already have, how do the save their relationship and in what way should it be saved?

297. Prison Playbook 슬기로운 감빵생활 (2017) Korean

Park Hae Soo, Jung Kyoung Ho, Krystal Jung, Lim Hwa Young, Kim Kyung Nam

Drama Rating: 9.5     Neck Score: A

I started this much later than most people because I had to wait for it to come out on Netflix, and then by the time it did I had half forgotten it and was too busy. But everyone kept talking about it, and going on about how much the loved it, and could watch the antics of the Cell 2-6 boys for another season, so I kept it high on my list. I didn't 100% believe that I would fall in love with everyone to that extent. But how right everyone was. It maybe took me a couple of episodes, but especially by the end I was watching them with every minute I could space. It was hard, because the episodes are longer than an hour. Some being closer to 2 hours. But it is so worth it. I really could watch another season of my babies.

Omo! The feels! I have never cared so much about a cast of characters! My babies! No! Don't hurt my babies! They were all in prison for a reason, and yet I cared about them so much. Everyone was lovable. Even people you didn't think would be. From the prisoners to the guards to the family members. Everyone was just so lovable.

295. Laughter in Waikiki 으라차차 와이키키 (2018) Korean

Kim Jung Hyun, Lee Yi Kyung, Son Seung Won, Jung In Sun, Go Won Hee, Lee Joo Woo

Drama Rating: 9/10     Neck Score: A+

No! Waikiki is over! I miss it already! I haven't laughed that hard and that consistently for a long, long time. The show was the perfect combo of all the kinds of humor. Physical to situational. Even when you thought that you could predict what was coming, it still surprised with how funny they carried it out. They were all masters of comedic timing, physical comedy, and the awkward. It was the best.

298. You're My Pet きみはペット (2017) Japanese

Noriko Iriyama, Jun Shison, Terunosuke Takezai, Yurina Yanagi, Kayo Noro

Drama Rating: 6/10     Neck Score: A+++

I'm not quite sure how to start this. I watched the Korean movie version of this a while ago... twice... so obviously this adaptation made me super curious. It was much better, in fact. Partially because it has more time to develop the plot and characters, but also because that kid was just perfect for the role (although I have nothing against Jang Geun Suk). He made the perfect Momo. That perfect combo of cute puppy and suddenly sexy.

286. Witch's Court 마녀의 법정 (2017) Korean

Jung Ryeo Won, Yoon Hyun Min, Jeon Kwang Leol, Kim Yeo Jin

Drama Rating: 9/10     Neck Score: A+++

We finally watched it! And I'm so glad we did! We started watching it around the time it came out as our girls night with my sister, however the first two episodes proved more than we wanted her kids to see, so we had to choose a different one for that. (We ended up watching Two Cops). So as soon as we finished one of the other dramas we were already watching we started again, and it was amazing.

I love it because it is about her and it stayed about her. In fact while they had a good partnership, Fish Bangs (Yoon Hyun Min) had more of the role that the female leads usually get, the "Man Candy" if you will. I loved their relationship. They were so good for each other. The writing was so strong from start to finish. It was full of wonderful character development, especially for Ma Yi Deum, our wonderful leading lady. Jung Ryeo Won did amazing in it. She deserves all the awards!

290. Two Cops 투깝스 (2017) Korean

Jo Jung Suk, Hyeri, Kim Sun Ho

Drama Rating: 6/10     Neck Score: A+

I don't know how we were so talented at forgetting what was going on in this show every week. We didn't watch it while it was going, but we did watch it once a week on schedule for our girl's night with my sister, and it was surprisingly forgettable. I liked it when it was going, but it wasn't very compelling. The parts that gripped me the most were the bromance (naturally) and the second couple. I loved the second couple. They were my OTP... well, if the bromance wasn't the OTP for reals. We especially forgot that Hyeri was in it, because she really wasn't important to the plot at all. In the second half especially because that's when the true drama began. When it became about the bromance instead of the love triangle.

So the plot wasn't bad or anything, it was that the writing was pretty sloppy. Not super bad, just all over the place. This made it hard to follow, easy to forget, and not very compelling. They were too draggy with the whole partnership thing. It took them half the drama to figure out how the possessing part worked. They didn't trust each other for forever, and fought all the time. This just made it less watchable.

But I have to give mad props to Jo Jung Suk for pulling off both characters so well. You knew that it was Gong Soo Chang in Cha Dong Tak's body. It was beautiful. He was amazing. I really loved Maknae (Kim Sun Ho) as the spirit of Gong Soo Chang as well. All I wanted the whole time was for them to be partners and the bromance to be real. It took way too long, but when it happened, it was awesome. It kind of made up for everything else.

We also all struggled with the endless scenes of the bad guys talking in the sashimi restaurant. Literally every time the Blueberry Tart (my name for that pie faced villain) was on the screen I zoned out. It didn't help that my sister's kids were constantly distracting me, but it is much harder to want to pay attention if the bad guy gets too many boring sashimi restaurant scenes. It did spark a realization though. You know someone is the villain when they hold their meetings in the private room of a sashimi restaurant. Only villains and corrupt politicians eat there. Good guys all eat samgyeopsal at BBQ places (unless the boss is buying the beef).

You know who else stole the show? Lee Si Eon as Yong Pal the gangster. I never thought he was not good looking or anything but dang he was sexy as Yong Pal! The gangster style suited him with the bright colors and sexy slicked back hair. He rocked the thick fur collars like a boss! He and his boys were the highlight of the show at times. He's the best! Avengers for the win!

So maybe if you have more patience and focus this would be a better show, because like I said, our main two boys were amazing and it was good for the most part, it's just that the pacing and writing held them back for so long. It was a good halfway through the show before the actual plot happened. They became a team, they started focusing on the real case instead of a bunch of little ones like a serial would, and then magic happened. Bros before anything else!

The ending was almost lame. They did try to throw some mopiness in the last episode. No one wants that. But I would say that the very end was nice enough that I forgave the rest of it. It was never horrible, just hard to get into. I've never forgotten about a drama so much, and we faithfully watched like once a week. It was super strange. So a solid meh? A "shug it was okay?" I liked it, but it didn't love it. I guess I was just not that into it, it's fine. That bromance though.

Women Who Make Me Watch Dramas Against My Will: Ahjumma Edition

So, it was recently international women's day, and I was busy all day. Oh well. But I thought that I could at least celebrate it late with the next installment of Women Who Make Me Watch Dramas Against My Will, and no better edition than the one dedicated to the ahjumma.

Whether they play the moms (evil or good), the aunties, the neighborhood ahjumma, or the bad-a mentors, these ahjumma are like the backbone of the drama world. A show is always going to be better with a well placed ahjumma. I realized going into this that it is an infinite list, because there are so many wonderful ahjumma in the world. So I had to try really hard to narrow it down and put my personal top favorites. The cream of the crop in my opinion.

288. Hwayugi 화유기 (2018) Korean

Lee Seung Gi, Cha Seung Won, Oh Yeon Seo, Lee Hong Ki

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A+

Why does it have to be a thing when the Hong Sisters have a really great, funny drama that you're all invested in and then when it comes to the climax it's underwhelming and then takes a nosedive to mediocre in the last few episodes? Why does that have to be a consistent thing?! It's like they paint themselves into a corner they can't get out of without a bunch of crap happening. I hated the last few episodes of Master's Sun and Big. I think I may have even mentioned this in the review for The Greatest Love (which is one of the few that doesn't fall into that trap). Hwayugi is no exception. By the last episode we were not having it, it was boring and unnecessary, and we only made it through it through cracking jokes about how boring and lame it was. No one wants a series worth of mopiness shoved into the last episode. What makes it worse is that it was so good up until the last bit, where it fell flat on its face. So good that I probably would have given it an 8, but the ending knocked it down a whole point, and I had to think hard on the rest of the show to give it a 7. It almost went as low as a 6, that is how lame the ending was.

294. Doubtful Victory 의문의 일승 (2017) Korean

Yoon Gyun Sang, Jung Hye Sung, Kim Hee Won, Choi Won Young, Yoon Yoo Sun, Jang Hyun Sung

Drama Rating: 6/10     Neck Score: B

This one might be one of the better named dramas if it is the literal "beginning of doubt" or "doubtful victory" over the whatever translation "oh, the mysterious" in the fact that our leads are the underdogs the entire time. It's pretty doubtful that they are going to win the entire time, since they are constantly at a disadvantage and being played by everyone, and reacting instead of acting. It actually makes it pretty stressful. It's like constantly life or death and no one can break out of the manipulation and they just have to grit their teeth and try. Then there are so many bad guys, and the bad guys are all so tight knit that I wondered if they were ever going to turn on each other, and it was all pretty stressful. But at the same time I just enjoyed it, and maybe that was because I enjoyed almost all of the characters, bad and good.

Korean Movie Night: Collective Invention 돌연변이 (2015) Korean

Lee Kwang Soo, Park Bo Young, Lee Chun Hee, Jang Gwang, Lee Byung Joon, Kim Hee Won

Movie rating: 8/10     Neck score: ?? (A?)

I was both happy and sad to watch this because while Kwang Soo is an amazing actor who can emote even with a fish head on, it meant that I didn't get to see his face the entire time, and that always makes me sad. Plus, it is a show about a man who gets turned into a half fish man, so how happy could it be? It was definitely designed to get you in the feels. It brings up the dilemma of what is right, between the advancement of science and cultural economy and human rights. The whole time everyone is fighting over Park Goo (Lee Kwang Soo) and what should happen to him, Goo is just so humble and patient about it. It makes the heart bleed for him.

292. Money Flower 돈꽃 (2017) Korean

Jang Hyuk, Park Se Young, Jang Seung Jo, Lee Mi Sook, Lee Soon Jae

Drama Rating: 9/10     Neck Score: A+

I don't know if I've ever seen a more perfect revenge drama, or a more perfect makjang drama. This was thoroughly enjoyable all around. But then when you have someone like Jang Hyuk to pull off the subtle expression acting as he portrayed the icon of restraint and cold calculation, Kang Pil Joo, even the most ridiculous of makjang becomes wonderful. It really brings new life to that revenge being served cold business. He was the freaking puppet master king! No one suspected him, no one could stop him, he was just smarter and better than everyone, and it was so fun to watch. So many secret plots, so much manipulation, and so many secret DNA tests! Haha!

291. Jugglers 저글러스 (2017) Korean

Baek Jin Hee, Daniel Choi, Kang Hye Jung, Lee Won Geun, Cha Joo Young

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A++

The problem with watching multiple dramas that aren't current at the same time is that one will always become the priority and you end up binge watching that one until it's done, and then the other gets neglected. That is kind of what happened to Jugglers. It's not that we didn't like it. We did. But Mad Dog got too compelling and dramatic and we needed to just finish it. Then we started Hwayugi and Laughter at Waikiki, and they were obviously the priority as current dramas, but as things came up, we just didn't have time. That in no way says anything about this drama. It was a lot of fun. Especially for me, as I am absolutely in love with Choi Daniel. He is one of my top obsessions. I just love him so much. I am also pretty obsessed with Sissy Cute Neck (Lee Won Geun) because he is just an adorable little puppy you can't hate even when he's playing bad guy hit men in Phantom. But this show is really about the girls, and so it's good that I like Baek Jin Hee and Kang Hye Jung a lot too.

283. Meloholic 멜로홀릭 (2017) Korean

Jung Yoon Ho, Kyung Soo Jin, Choi Dae Chul

Drama Rating: 4/10     Neck Score: A+

This is one of those dramas that I'm not sure why I actually watched, except for Yoon Ho. The things I do for my idol boys, tsk tsk tsk. This show was outright embarrassing to watch at times. Especially the first half of the show which was full of needless sexy time. I swear Choi Dae Chul's character was there just to hook up with women. That whole Clara the sexy lunch lady thing was ridiculous. It was like three different dramas rolled into one. One drama about the main couple, a boy with powers and a girl with a split personality, one was about a serial killer, and one was about Choi Dae Chul getting some. Yeah, pretty ridiculous. Then there were the college friends who were there for the first half of the drama, but we forgot they existed by the ending of it. Basically it was a mess and all over the place. Whew.

Some of those plots I listed above were fun. I actually really enjoyed watching Kyung Soo Jin play multiple personalities. She did it really well. I liked both of her characters, and I thought that they handled it very well. It was pretty refreshing to see the girl get to be the one with the DID. Of course Yoon Ho also had his powers which allowed him to read girl's minds. I did appreciate that that only gave him confidence, but that he was still a huge nerd on the inside. That was adorable. I loved that when it came right down to it, it was about a pair of nerds falling in love, who happened to have confident alter egos that came through special circumstances, such as a mental disorder or random powers.

The psychopath plot line was ridiculous. Especially the ending of it. It was all over the place and especially draggy at the ending. It also felt really slap dash, like they were just throwing everything together last minute. This is a prime example of all the currently popular tropes, as well as past tropes, thrown together into one ridiculous romcom, which has too much sexy time. I'm not sure who they were trying to appeal to there with all the boob shots. No more rice scooping demos, Clara, please! They had the DID, which was popular a couple years back, the psychopath in the romcom, which was last year's trope, and they even had to throw amnesia in there right at the end. Wonderful! Just what we always wanted (gagging noises)! So yeah, it was pretty dumb, and I'm embarrassed that Yoon Ho was able to make me watch it, but sometimes you gotta watch bad dramas and laugh, and even if it was cheesy beyond all reason, Yoon Ho was cute and Soo Jin was awesome. I liked that OTP. So the result is embarrassed but not regretful.

Korean Movie Night: One Line 원라인 (2017) Korean

Im Siwan, Jin Goo, Park Byung Eun, Lee Dong Hwi, Kim Sun Young

Movie rating: 7/10     Neck score: A

We had another Korean Movie Night this last weekend to, it was part of our end of the Olympics party. Since we had some new viewers who maybe had never seen much before, we tried to pick one for a more general audience, so we ended up with One Line, a classic conman heist type movie. It's very Italian Job in spots, but all heist movies are fundamentally the same. This one actually had a lot of differences plot-wise. At least at the start.

We have Jin Goo who is a conman who helps people get loans- loan fraud. However he has principles, and he stays away from "dirty loans." He runs into Siwan, a college student and raw conman talent. He gets scouted and quickly climbs up the ladder. However, there is no trust and loyalty among conmen, and things get a bit crazy in the back stabbing department.

Korean Movie Night: Friend 2 친구 2 (2013) Korean

Yu Oh Seong, Kim Woo Bin, Joo Jin Mo, Jung Ho Bin

Movie rating: 6/10     Neck score: A

The last movie during our marathon weekend was Chingu 2. Compared to Chingu, it was a lot easier to follow in the sense of it being more modern and closer to what we were used to, but Chingu was a much better movie. While Chingu 1 was about friendship, this one was just a gangster movie. It only had a few actor from the original, the gangster Joon Suk (Yu Oh Seong) and his gang member Eun Ki, who has progressed in the gang since getting out of prison, and everyone else was just added to this plot. This leaves it feeling a lot more shallow, since there is less depth of character and a lot less emotion to it. Also, we miss the rich character development. The story also jumps around a lot as it is telling not only the story of the present, but also a year or so ago, the original movie timeline, and the past of Joon Suk's father, who started the gang back in the 1960s. All that jumping around makes it a bit confusing at times.

Korean Movie Night: Friend 친구 (2001) Korean

Yu Oh Seong, Jang Dong Gun, Seo Tae Hwa, Jung Woon Taek

Movie rating: 7/10     Neck score: A

I don't really remember what sparked my desire to watch Chingu, but it was probably my obsession for Jang Dong Gun after watching A Gentleman's Dignity. But it became a thing where my brother and I would say that we were going to watch Chingu, and then put it off because we knew it had a sad ending where Jang Dong Gun dies. Spoilers! Well if you had heard anything at all about Chingu 2 you would just already know it. So we determined that this president's day weekend, we would have a Chingu Marathon. So we did. We went all out and ordered Korean food at this new place in our town that actually delivers and has the most delicious fried garlic chicken. It was so good! Then we watched and ate and it was fun.