Men Who Make Me Watch Dramas Against My Will: Ahjussi Edition

It's been a while and I've realized that I need revisit this topic of actors who I love so much I watch pretty much anything for them.  I realized that I need to pay homage to the Ahjussi in my life, because as I grow older, the oppas I like are pretty much all really ahjussi.  Am I really that close in age to 40?  Eek!

Yeah, that's the definition I'm going to use for Ahjussi- 40 and up.  Omo, do I love the ahjussi these days.  I find myself way more attracted to them, and able to connect to them, then say, those puppies in the high school dramas.  Yeah, when I do watch the high school dramas I am checking out the teacher actors, like in School 2013 or Sassy Go Go, who have some of the oppas (or donggaps) that I love.  So here is a list of "Ahjussi" actors (some of who are just barely 40) who I would watch anything for, or have watched complete nonsense for, or would just love to see in everything.  Can't they just be in everything so the quality of everything goes up?

205. History of a Salaryman 샐러리맨 초한지 (2012) Korean

Lee Beom Soo, Jung Gyu Woon, Jung Ryeo Won, Hong Soo Hyun

Drama Rating: 9/10     Neck Score: B

I loved this show.  It was so well done.  Lizabreff hates corporate dramas, but she loved this one too.  It was gripping the whole time.  Probably because it was one part sageuk, one part corporate drama, and one part witty comedy (I mean, those hilarious bits at the end of each episode were pure gold).  Also it has three very strong women who kick butt in whatever way they have chosen.  I liked and admired every single one of them, even the evil lady who made me disgusted and full of hate.  She was still super strong and kicked butt (literally) as she rose to power and eventually went crazy with power.  If I have to say anything negative about this show it's that it was extended, which led to the last two episodes being ridiculous.  I mean, they went all sensational court room, which is literally my least favorite type of drama ever.  I pisses me off when people pull ridiculous shiz in a court of law and get away with it.  Maybe I should have been a lawyer.  I also feel like there could have been lots more Yoo Bang.  I can never get enough of Lee Beom Soo and while he was technically the lead in this, this show is pretty equally about all four of our leads, which is a good thing.  I just love Lee Beom Soo.  I think that was another reason the extended ending brought less to the table.  It was more of Wiener Thinker being and idiot (which is really wasn't that much of in the first half) and less of Yoo Bang dominating, since he had to wait two more episodes to do it.  But what character development.  When characters go from bums, country boys, spoiled rich girls, etc. to cool corporate generals, you know you have something good.  I loved Yeo Chi's (Jung Ryeo Won) development the most.  She was amazing.  She was unlikable at the beginning (to the lovable point) with her clueless, cussing, ridiculousness, and then she became a wonderful, strong, cussing wonder woman.  Woo Hee (Hong Soo Hyun) was literally one of the smartest people in the entire drama, and I loved how she used every tool she had, even if it was her sexuality to make that idiot know how big of an idiot he was.  I especially loved the two couples.  We had to extremes of cuteness.  The couple who hilariously fights and eats ice cream together, and the couple who are pushing and pulling too much, but are so adorably in love with each other that we can't wait for them to finally stop being idiots and just make out.  Then Kim Sung Oh had a cameo in the last 3 episodes and when I saw him in the preview I was so excited I screamed into a pillow.  His cameo was one of the most amazing cameos ever.  Because I absolutely love him?  No, it was also hilarious.  He did so good.  So I would like to have had the ending a little more tidy in the writing, but this show was good enough to make up for that.  It was amazing.  I needed something actually good right now, and it was perfect.  Best one I've chosen to watch in a while... well, one of them at least.

Please Teach Me English 영어완전정복 (2003) Korean

Lee Na Young, Jang Hyuk, Angela Kelly, Na Moon Hee

Movie rating: 7/10     Neck score: A

This movie was a lot more funny than I thought it would be.  I was expecting something super campy, and it kind of was, but as peeps with experience in teaching English, or as anyone who has taken any foreign language classes, it was much more hilarious.  Lee Na Young was amazing.  I loved her little cartoon character, inner thoughts, and especially their dreams.  Those language learner dreams were amazing.  Jang Hyuk was great as the "playboy" who was really just an awkward big talker.  Their relationship was funny, and like most movies developed quickly but a bit naturally.  Naturally there was plenty of misunderstandings.  I was worried about that English teacher at first.  She seemed like a bad teacher and a bit slutty at first.  But she became hilarious and a lovable character, especially when we learned more about her and her "type."  It is definitely 2003, but not in a bad way.  It's cute and hilarious.  I especially loved Lee Beom Soo's cameo.  We were watching for it and it was delightful.  The important thing to remember is that it is a bit campy and they are certainly not trying to take themselves serious.  It's supposed to be funny and ridiculous, and it is.  It is also sweet and relatable, especially for those language teachers and learners.

"Get Out" of the "Back Seat"

I was looking forward to the JYJ comeback.  Then I saw the MV for Back Seat:

"Iwannamutyouondabagsit"

164. Last 라스트 (2015) Korean

Yoon Kye Sang, Lee Beom Soo, Park Won Sang, Seo Ye Ji, Park Ye Jin 

Drama Rating: 9/10     Neck Score: A

Slow clap for this one, because I liked it.  All the characters were so complicated that you couldn't 100% like or hate anyone.  I would want to smack Tae Ho upside the head frequently, because he'd be an idiot.  I would also frequently feel sad or sorry or even want to side with Heung Sam, when he is 100% crazy.  That's the power of Lee Beom Soo.  Wow.  Even though I felt like the last two episodes were a bit rushed, it was a satisfying ending, as the fast pace seemed to work.  It was a good statement of greed, revenge, and obsession that the ending rush seemed to help more than hurt.  I also was impressed with Park Ye Jin.  I've seen her in less likable roles before which made me not care for her, but that is now a testament to her acting chops.  She took a character that could have easily been ruined and made it awesome.  So this drama gripped me from episode one, and kept me gripped to the end.  I laughed, cried (lots of times), felt super conflicted, angry, disgusted, bitter, and happy.  All of it.  It like put me through all the emotions.  And it had super awesome, incredibly violent fight scenes.  Like a ton of them.  Basically, it was about as good as this genre of drama can get.  I liked the dark, greedy, revenge, noir type drama.  Claps from me, I'm sad to see this one end.

95. Triangle 트라이앵글 (2014) Korean

Lee Beom Soo, Kim Jaejoong, Im Siwan

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A

This drama was WAY better than I expected... but then I had pretty low expectations and literally watched it because of Kitty.  He was probably the most impressive thing about this.  His hotness (already off the charts) increased ten fold at least in this drama.  His acting was always pretty decent, but he's gotten so good.  His performance as Young Dal was amazing.  The drama is a bit on the long side (with 26 episodes) and so gets a bit draggy in the middle when you just want the pudding faced bad dude to get his comeuppances, and they keep throwing even more bad dudes into the mix.  More thugs that are good with knives, more ambitious directors finally making moves.   I also really loved Lee Beom Soo as the bad-a, anger management needing, police detective (some times called patch beard by me).  He really brought his character together.  I think one of the most redeeming qualities of this show is the character development.  Kitty starts out as a street thug that, while he is sympathetic and loveable, is still a jerk and pathetic piece of trash and by the end he is successful and happy and everything is good.  I really wanted them to give me a reason to like the turd faced little bro (Im Siwan).  That dude has some acting chops because I hated his character so thoroughly that I literally just called him Turd Face the whole time.  I wanted him to start to hate his pudding faced adopted dad and do something that would make me like him more, but his character was consistent too.  That's good character development.  Even when the characters grow and change they are still obviously the same character and that is good.  Well played if not well written.  So yeah, it did get a bit cray cray, but since it was a psychological action revenge thriller and people were constantly almost dying, it's an easy step to take.  At times I was right there with Kitty, wanting to beat the crap out of the bad guys too, but sadly I was held back too, not by my buddies but by the fact that it was just a show I was watching.  But while it went a little too long in drawing out the bad guys managing to stay on top so as to wrap everything up in the last to episodes, I still think that they managed to keep the drama pretty solid. Also all the girls in it were pretty solid, awesome girls who could pull their own weight.  Yes!

77. The Prime Minister and I 총리와 나 (2013-2014) Korean

Lee Beom Soo, Im Yoona, Yoon Si Yoon, Chae Jung Ah

Drama Rating: 5/10     Neck Score: B

I watched this for Yoon Si Yoon.  I've basically watched every show he's been in, despite everything.  This one, however, wasn't so bad.  I was actually looking for something really lighthearted since I just went through a couple of heavy types.  This one certainly is that way... at first.  Also it helped recover my impression of Yoona after the Love Rain disaster to I'd be fine with her dating Lee Seung Gi.  She definitely had more chemistry with Lee Beom Soo than Jang Geun Suk, but still more with Yoon Si Yoon (after all, Lee Beom Soo is almost old enough to be her father... almost but not quite).  However, this show really isn't written that well.  The basic plot is silly at best.  Contract marriage to stop a scandal for a newly elected prime minister?  Please.  That's just dumb.  It's actually got a bit of a Sound of Music type deal going on with it, with the grumpy/stern prime minister being a Captain Von Trapp type deal and the reporter being our Maria.  There are three adorable kids and the mystery of the dead wife.  Yoon Si Yoon may or may not be a good guy, he seems to have his own agenda, but he's darn cute either way.  So it starts off good, but then gets a little lame and stupidly dramatic, and the ending was super lame.  Still, it wasn't the worst drama, and it did lead me to appreciate Lee Beom Soo.  Most of the stupid drama resolved itself well, so that is something.