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.

Korean Movie Night: The Grand Heist 바람과 함께 사라지다 (2012) Korean

Cha Tae Hyun, Oh Ji Ho, Min Hyo Rin, Lee Chae Young, Sung dong Il, Ko Chang Seok, Shin Jung Geun, Kim Gil Dong, Song Jong Ho, Chun Bo Geun, Kim Hyang Gi

Movie rating: 7/10     Neck score: A

Comedy + Cha Tae Hyun + Heist means it's going to be cheesy, yet great.  It was so campy, but it didn't take itself seriously, and just went with it.  So no, not historically accurate completely, but everything they did was possible with the current technology, such as phosphorous and tunnel digging, etc.  It was like Joseon Ocean's 11, literally.  It was such a formulaic and classic heist movie, from the set up to the introducing of all the specialists, to the drama of them working together and disagreeing, to the gotcha and double gotcha moments.  It was definitely a classic heist movie, which in general I like, even if it is formulaic and predictable.  You all know I would watch anything for Cha Tae Hyun, but him as the brain of the team, the Danny Ocean, while still being comedic was fun.  He was smart and also silly.  Love it.  Oh Ji Ho was naturally the stick-in-the-mud, righteous warrior (named Baek Dong Soo) who is heisting for righteous reasons, but that's fine.  If it means we can see him shirtless and doing martial arts, it's fine.  Very fine.  Then the collection of experts,  who were all very perfect for their roles.  I loved Hyung (Song Jong Ho) as the sneaky master of disguise.  His little smirk was just perfect for it.  The bomb ahjussi was my favorite.  He was practically deaf because, you know, explosions, etc.  They pulled every heisty stereotype with the characters, as the master of disguise was also an expert seducer and the transportation specialist had Mr. T written all over him (so A-Team right there).  They unabashedly whipped out the stereotypes, but it was super fun to watch.  We were just laughing the whole time.  It hit the spot, basically.  We wanted something hilarious, and this one definitely had us laughing like the whole time.  The cast was great, the humor was great, and the kitschy heist tropes were great.  I enjoyed it.  As long as you know what you are getting, it's a good, easy watch.