262. Baek Hee is Back 백희가 돌아왔다 (2016) Korean

Kang Ye Won, Jin Ji Hee, Kim Sung Oh, Choi Dae Chul, In Gyo Jin, Choi Philip

Drama Rating: 9/10     Neck Score: A+

I've been waiting for this to be subbed for forever!  Ever since I heard about it coming.  But, since it was a drama special, it took a little while.  I'm not sure when it actually got subbed, but as soon as I saw that it was, I had to binge watch the whole thing.  It's only 4 episodes, so that is not a huge deal, but I was going to do it no matter what.  Because I love Kim Sung Oh.  So.  Much.

It has kind of a Mama Mia theme, as we have the mom and daughter and then three potential fathers.  The daughter, naturally, decides to figure out which one was her father, since they were all obviously acting so obvious.

It's about that, of course, but it really is about the mother and daughter's relationship.  When it starts out, with the family moving back to the island after so many years, they have a really bad relationship.  The daughter is in full rebellion, and the mom is fed up.  She is also hiding what she considers her dark past, so that she seems refined and proper.  The daughter thinks she is the worst, not knowing that they are really, really similar.  From the streaks in the hair to being little thugs.  The mom even changed her name, going by So Hee, so that when the daughter, Ok Hee, hears all about the legendary Baek Hee, she has no idea it's her mom.

Then she gets annoyed/amused when all the ajhussi in the town start being too nosy and kind to her, and she decides to get the most out of it.  It also is good for her, because she is starved for that kind of fatherly love, that she was never able to have growing up.  But it also helps her to learn more about her mother, now that the past gets revealed.  As if she could hide anything on an island that size.

I loved everything about this show.  From the plot, to the three stooges/fathers, to the lovely 90s past scenes, to the small town island feel.  I especially loved Kim Sung Oh.  He was so attractive in those plaid button ups over the tees with the sleeves rolled up, and his captain hat and aviators, and especially as he was such a cute, protective, nice guy.  Totally my style.

It's short.  It's cute.  It's funny.  It's heartwarming.  It gave me all the feels and I was giggling happily by the end.  Also, my phone is now full of Kim Sung Oh screenshots, so I could die happy now...

K-Drama Cameos FTW!

I recently started watching Squad 38, and to my delight, Kim Sung Oh made a cameo appearance in episode 2.  This got me thinking of how much I love cameos.  This stems all the way back to when I was a kid and watching the Muppet Movie and the Great Muppet Caper, etc, which are full of wonderful cameos.  This probably makes me appreciate all the lovely cameos in K-dramas as well.

So I made a list of all the cameos that I especially loved, and some that even made me watch the drama just so I could see the cameo, which is pretty much the most ridiculous thing ever.

The Epicness That Ended in What the Heckness: Lists of Night Watchman's Epic Fail

It's not often that a drama gets two posts dedicated to it, but I just have to say something about Night Watchman's Journal.  What.the.heck.

Even Sadam is laughing at this ridiculousness.

I mean seriously, what the heck happened?  The first two episodes were so epic, and then all the sudden it took a downward slope into the realms of cheesy lameness.  Did they forget how to create epic?

153. Warm and Cozy (aka Jeju Island Gatsby) 맨도롱 또똣 (2015) Korean

Yoo Yeon Seok, Kang So Ra, Lee Sung Jae, Kim Sung Oh

Drama Rating: 5/10     Neck Score: A

I was super disappointed in this drama.  I have raved about the Hong Sisters' dramas in the past, but really they aren't perfect and this might have been one of their worst written dramas.  They are good at the campy humor (such as the imaginations, etc.), the bathroom humor, and side couples, but plots are not their strong point and this show's plot was all over the place and sucky.  The male lead was all over the place and sucky too.  He couldn't be nice, consistent, honest or make up his mind for more than two seconds.  We wanted to like him, but all he did was frustrate us.  Like always, however, the side couples and characters were so much better.  I loved the black pearl couple.  I also loved the mayor.  He might be the best second male lead ever.  Kim Sung Oh is just an amazing actor and brought so much cute sincerity to the role.  Kang So Ra completely rocked the lead as well.  She is just great and I loved her, even when she was dumb and frustrating.  Yoo Yeon Seok actually did a great job with the stupid character he was given.  I think it would have been worse if it had been someone else who couldn't have brought that childishness to the role that made it slightly more forgivable.  As for the ending, this tweet just says it all:

MarlubsGD ‏@MarlubsGD  Jul 2
And then it ended in a gag fest. What the he-ack, cheesiness. Gaaaaag. #WarmAndCozy

109. Night Watchman's Journal 야경꾼일지 (2014) Korean

Jung Il Woo, Go Sung Hee, Yunho, Seo Ye Ji, Kim Sung Oh

Drama Rating: 4/10     Neck Score: A

What the heck.  That is about all I can say about this show.  What the heck!  What happened?  The first two episodes were so promising and got us hooked, and then it steadily got worse and worse.  Lamer and lamer, dumber and dumber.  It started so epic, but by the end was so lame and boring that we couldn't even bother to make fun of it anymore.  That was sad.  Making fun of it was the only think that got us through it.  My little brother is super funny, especially when imitating the prime minister, so after he went completely crazy it was really boring.  And the last episode was so preachy.  Not as bad as Fall in Love With Me, but it was all idealistic in the punishment of the bad guys, all like "this is what you get for being so obsessed and greedy."  Balony.  Bologna. What a load of crap.  I actually wrote a bunch about the wonderful things we did when we were enjoying making fun of it.  It was so sad when it got so lame that it wasn't even fun to do that any more.  It was just boring, and we suffered through to the end.  So, no one could act... at least most of the leads couldn't, besides Jung Il Woo and Kim Sung Oh.  Yunho and that girl were just awful.  I liked all the bad guys way better than the good guys, so it was lame and boring when they lost.  Sadam (aka David Bowie's) death scene was the lames load of crap ever.  Such a disappointment.  Boo hiss hiss.

Ahjussi 아저씨 (aka Man from Nowhere) (2010) Korean

Won Bin, Kim Sea Ron, Kim Hee Won, Kim Sung Oh

Movie rating: 9/10     Neck score: A

This movie is awesome!  Also super violent, but so good.  There are plenty of cringe worthy violent parts, but it's not glorying in the violence, with the whole violence for violence sake, but it is more of showing the horribleness of that situation and the crime organizations.  It's about a mysterious man (Won Bin) who runs a pawn shop in this grungy apartment complex.  This little girl named So Mi befriends him, as her mother is like a prostitute or something and definitely a drug addict, and she feels more comfortable with "Ahjussi" than at home sometimes.  When her mother gets involved with stolen drugs belonging to a group of powerful drug lords, her daughter ends up getting kidnapped, and Ahjussi has to come out of his voluntary retirement to track the bad dudes down and get the girl back before she is sold or her organs are harvested.  Since it deals with really gross subjects, such as drugs, human trafficking, and organ harvesting, it's not going to be a pretty movie, but it is so very well made.  The fight scene at the end... wow.  It leaves you like blank stare overwhelmed.  Also, since it's like a little 8 year old girl, you get pretty anxious for her safety, so it's also an super intense movie that way too.  But so good!  Also, Won Bin.  He's so hot, even when he's all gruff with the long hair.  But boy, when he cuts his hair... whew!