Korean Movie Night: 19 나의 19세 (2009) Korean

TOP, Seungri, Huh E Jae

Movie rating: 6/10     Neck rating: A-

We've been meaning to watch this show for ages because TOP and Seungri.  It's the typical coming of age movie with a twist, because it's about three 19 year old kids who are suspected of killing this girl.  They panic and run, and are naturally forced to come to terms with themselves and grow up.  TOP is a bit of a punk, who of course dreams of being a rapper, but is a loser in his family.  Seungri is a little rich boy who can't even talk to girls and is pushed around by his parents.  Huh E Jae was a poor girl whose mom was dying and so she dropped out if school.  They all had ties to the girl and had to come to terms with how they could have helped her, but didn't, so they weren't blameless.  It's got coming of age oozing out of it.  Seungri was so cute being an awkward kid.  Also, I loved how Big Bang promoting it is, and I could just watch TOP rapping all day, so I loved that it was super Big Bangy.  It was cheesy and dramatic, but pretty funny and fun to watch.  So good, if you like Big Bang.  PS, that minus is for TOP's bad hair.

200. Creating Destiny 인연 만들기 (2009) Korean

Eugene, Ki Tae Young, Kim Jung-Nan, Byeon Woo Min

Drama Rating: 4/10     Neck Score: B

Ugh, this show was so long and boring.  I only watched it because I wanted to see the drama where Eugene and Ki Tae Young fell in love.  This was spurred by Ki Tae Young playing that hot doctor in To the Beautiful You.  I loved the main couple in this.  The problem is that they only had 33% of the screen time... at the most.  I'm inclined to think that they didn't even get that at times.  The other third went to the older sister and her poo butt baby daddy.  I was most dissatisfied with that whole story.  Gyuhan!!!!!  He was the only character in this whole show who was smart and yet he was the only one who was unhappy at the end.  Talk about lame.  This show had the chance to talk about so many things that are issues, such as single moms and adoption, and it fell so short of its potential.  Disappointing.  I would get so bored having to sit through the poo butt drama, and then the other 33% which was just the busy body parents and grandparents messing everyone's lives up with their dramatic crap.  It also had all the tropes that could possibly happen (except, thank goodness, amnesia), forced relationships, evil bitcas who don't even have a chance, first loves (who are also bitcas) showing up right as things start to get good, birth secrets, cancer, evil chaebol parents, heart attack change of hearts... you name it, this show had it.  I loved the main couple, the cappuccino couple, and even bitca/baby poo butt (aka the 2nd leads) couple.  But I got so annoyed at everyone else.  Too much everyone else.  Too much slow moving crap.  Too much screen time on not my favorite couples.  Boo.  Well, at least I can say that I finished it.  Also, I ship that real life couple in real life, because they are great.  The end.

98. My Queen 敗犬女王 (2009) Taiwanese

Cheryl Yang, Ethan Ruan,  James Wen, Harry Zhang

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A

I think this drama was handled really well, in the fact that it never made me super angry and the random drama that was thrown in never got so bad that we crowed too loudly.  Also, the fantastic leads made it so worth it.  Ethan Ruan made me love him inspite of everything that happened in Fated to Love You, but he was like the perfect man in My Queen.  It's like the noona romance to end all, with an age gap of eight years.  Shan Wu Shuang is a successful editor for iWatch magazine, and Lucas is a "part time pro" who will do basically anything.  They meet on bad terms, but he soon discovers her true self hidden under that touch exterior.  Even when the other peeps come in and try to mess things up, this couple is solid in the fact that they're honest and frank and talk about things.  Even when they are fighting they are honest.  That's something we don't see enough of.  Maybe Shan Wu Shuang likes to hide her feelings a little more, but considering her hurt past, that's typical.  Also there are plenty of other cool peeps to just tell it like it is.  Also, love her mom.  She's the best.

86. Autumn's Concerto 下一站, 幸福 (2009) Taiwanese

Vanness Wu, Ady An, Tiffany Hsu, Chris Wu, Xiao Xiao Bin

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A

This show is like crack.  Beautiful, messed up, dramatic crack.  It was so flippin dramatic, but I couldn't stop watching.  Vanness Wu is so hot, and played it so well too.  That is a large portion of it.  Xiao Xiao Bin is the other part of it.  That kid is too cute.  Also super good at acting.  I've never seen a child actor that I believed so completely.  He sold it and stole the show.  The show's worst point is that it drags out the drama for a bit too long with not quite enough pay back at the end.  It needed to have a whole episode of them being happy together, not a half one.  So much romantic/sexual tension though.  Rawr.  They meet at college, where he saves her from her d-bag step-step dad who basically is sexually harassing her, and then they get torn apart by his sticky-outty eared mom, who thinks that she can lie and arrange his life to fit her ideals.  That involves sending the girl away and lying to him after he has brain surgery.  Then pops in Xiao Le, who just wants to find his "alien dad" and helps bring them back together again.  But lying always leads to more drama, and this show has plenty of it, but despite all that, it's a glorious wonderful show that I couldn't stop watching and love despite all the crap it gave me.  The OST is amazing, especially this song by Della Ding.  They also did a really good job of aging people.  College student to super successful lawyer, little "lunch box" girl to mom, etc.

47. High Kick Through the Roof^ 지붕뚫고 하이킥 (2009-2010) Korean

Lee Soon Jae, Kim Ja Ok, Choi Daniel, Yoon Si Yoon

Drama Rating: 7/10      Neck Score: A

This is a sit-com so there are like 126 episodes, but they are only like 20ish min.  That is why I haven't finished it yet.  Also, it is so so so so so funny.  Also I am now in love with Choi Daniel and Yoon Si Yoon even more.  However, this show has a really bad ending.  As in the last two episodes suck.  I had to get spoilers for this because I heard things and needed to know how bad it was before I went too far.  It's bad, so look it up before you start and then maybe just don't watch the last two episodes.  But it's a hilarious sit-com about a crazy family with a farting grandpa, a mom who high kicks, a dad who is hen pecked by the grandpa and mom because he's kind of silly, a younger brother who is a socially oblivious doctor, a son who has a crush on the young house keeper, the daughter who is spoiled and calls everyone farty-butthole (still one of the best insults of all time).  There is also the 20-something year old house keeper and her younger sister who were raised in the mountains and are clueless as to modern society and how things work.  There is also the vice-principle of the school the mom works out who is dating the grandpa, as well as the bunch of youngsters who live at her house which includes the son's tutor (who lied about what school she goes to in order to get the job and has a love/hate relationship with the younger brother) and Lee Kwang Soo and Yoo In Na (who are trying to become idols) and Julian Kang (who is a Canadian who is living in Korean to work and learn and is sometimes more Korean then the rest of them.)  I think I only watched up to episode 84 or something, and everything is great.  I hope it doesn't get too stupid before the last two episodes, which I just won't watch.  Also Choi Daniel and Yoon Si Yoon are the same age (born 1986) but Choi Daniel is the uncle and Yoonie is the nephew, obviously supposed to be at least 10 years apart... and it works.  The power of the baby face!

42. Shining Inheritance 찬란한 유산 (2009) Korean

Lee Seung Gi, Han Hyo Joo, Bae Soo Bin, Moon Chae Won

Drama Rating: 6/10     Neck Score: B

Note:  Please watch City Hunter first so you can like his mom.  She is cray cray evil in this one and it will sour you for a while.  Also, this show has crying in it like every episode, as my friend pointed out while I was watching it.  "Is she crying again?"  Well, yeah.  Wouldn't you when your step-mom is like the devil, your autistic little brother is lost and you have to work with a hot butt head?  I guess it's justifiable crying, but it's still a lot of crying.  But boy does Seung Gi manage to steal the show.  He does the butt head to sweetheart character development so good.  I actually thought the nice other dude was annoying and really just liked watching Seung Gi's character develop.  I thought granny was a little weird.  Ok, you can just do weird things with your inheritance to teach your family a lesson... I guess... you should have thought of teaching them better earlier, when they were still being raised and all.  Also, Moon Chae Won is annoying with her "Oppa.... whine whine whine" business all the time.  I love her as an actress, but her character sucked in this one.  She had a cray cray mom though, so I guess her being her own kind of cray cray makes sense.  Watch it for Seung Gi, if you can take a bit of crying and cray cray... and have already seen City Hunter.

29. My Fair Lady 아가씨를 부탁해 (2009) Korean

Yoon Eun Hye, Yoon Sang Hyun, Jung Il Woo, Moon Chae Won

Drama Rating: 5/10      Neck Score: B+

Probably the role that I liked Yoon Eun Hye best in, because she wasn't a "Spazcakes."  But I watched this one for Oska (Yoon Sang Hyun) who will forever be Oska to me.  This is also an interesting mix up from the traditional format as it's the girl who is the rich jerky chaebol and the dude who is poor.  That gives a totally different set of problems since it is a way bigger deal when it comes to a relationship.  Oska is Eun Hye's personal butler, since he is in deep debt and needs a job to keep the loan sharks off his tail.  He used to be a gigolo too, as he needed to pay his mother's hospital bills.  So he manages to get the butler job and keep it for way longer than anyone else, since Eun Hye's character is a jerk.  Moon Chae Won is the little sister type character (not related) who has a crush on her oppa.  I love her, she's one of my favorite actresses.  The part that worked for me least in this show what why Jung Il Woo's character ever liked Eun Hye's character.  I guess it was just a case of liking her against his better judgement, because he's a rich boy who cast off all to be a righteous lawyer and she represents everything he hates.  Oh well.  It is refreshingly different, especially with the role reversals, and pretty funny.  Oska's neck isn't as good in this one as in Secret Garden, but still good.  Also there are a bunch of random other butlers in their lovely butler suits to add to the nice neck count.

3. You Are Beautiful 미남이시네요 (2009) Korean

Park Shin Hye, Jang Geun Suk, Lee Hong Ki, Jang Yong Hwa

Drama Rating: 6/10     Neck Score: A

Hong Sisters save drama for me!  This one is delightful, ridiculous, but really fun to watch.  It also has lots of attractive boys in it, so it was just what I needed after the last drama I watched.  Nun dresses as her twin brother to join a kpop boy band?  Yes, please.  As girls dressed as guys go, this one is probably one of the funnier.  Also, super props go to both Jang Geun Suk and Lee Hong Ki for playing their parts so delightfully well.  This one is fluffy, but a good kinda fluffy.

2. Boys Over Flowers 꽃보다 남자 (2009) Korean

Lee Min Ho, Ku Hye Seon, Kim Hyun Joong, Kim Bum, Kim Joon

Drama Rating: 3/10     Neck Score: B+

Nearly killed dramas for me.  I guess when I was expecting 16 episodes and it wasn't... The only thing that saved me from a certain death was Kim Bum swooping in every episode to do something random with her friend.  Also there were 4+ really hot men with hot necks.  I guess the F4 is probably why everyone loves this show.  It's definitely something you need to experience if you want to understand all the references that will be made to it, since it's one of those classics.  Almost Paaaaaaradise!  I watched it a second time, only the good parts, and it took me 6 hours.  6 out of 25 is still decent, I 'spose. Having read the manga and watched the Japanese drama as well, there is not much I can really say against it, though.  The Korean version seems to miss the point a little more than the Japanese drama misses the point.  They make the girl too nice.  This is essentially a story about a girl, who is pretty much a bitca (Buffy the Vampire Slayer reference), who can't make up her mind who is being chased by a bad boy- a real jerk mind you- who will never change his mind.  They cute-ify it in the drama world, which makes the ridiculous mom drama parts seem more cruel than they would if they were all actually real jerks like they are in the manga, but maybe that's just me on my soap box.  But I could stand to see Geum Jan Di flip people off as many times as she did in the manga.  Just saying.