333. Touch Your Heart 진심이 닿다 (2019) Korean

Lee Dong Wook, Yoo In Na, Lee Sang Woo, Son Sung Yoon, Oh Jung Se

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A+

This isn't a law drama. It's not really a celebrity drama either. It's a romantic comedy that happens to be about a celebrity and a lawyer falling in love. The actual time taking place in the courtroom or on set is very limited. Which is fine with me. This is just pure cuteness and romance, fulfilling our eager wishes to see Reaper and Sunny get a happy ending. It's a shippers dream come true. It was clearly written to be that next chapter hinted at in the end of Goblin, and we're 100% okay with that.

Korean Movie Night: The Beauty Inside 뷰티 인사이드 (2015) Korean

Han Hyo Joo, Park Seo Joon, Juri Ueno, Lee Jin Wook, Lee Dong Wook, Go Ah Sung, Yoo Yeon Seok, Lee Dong Hwi 

Movie rating: 7/10     Neck score: A

It's hard to know who to put down as "starring" in this, besides Han Hyo Joo and Lee Dong Hwi, because there are tons of people who play Woo Jin, our main character, because this is a movie about a man who changes bodies every time he wakes up.  He doesn't just change his face, but who he is completely.  He can become a woman, a child, a grandmother, anyone, every time he wakes up.  So I've listed some of the people who played him during pivotal moments.  I didn't particularly like the actual love story plot as much as I loved the execution of the premise.  It was a very interesting concept in the fact that we never knew what Woo Jin used to look like, so everyone who played Woo Jin was Woo Jin.  So really there was no starring role beside Han Hyo Joo.  It was really good how each of them played him, because they were all him, but also had their own twist.  You could always tell it was Woo Jin, which was fantastic.  I also really liked how it dealt with the trauma it would have on the people around him.  He felt sorry for himself, but then he was forced to look at the effects it had on his mom, his friend, and his girlfriend.  It was very interesting, and also very awkward at times.  It just has some inherently awkward situations, like when he was a girl or a kid, or a grandma.  But I think even the awkwardness was handled well, so it became an interesting story, full of emotions and perspectives.  On the whole, it was good.

237. Goblin: the Great and Lonely God 쓸쓸하고 찬란하神-도깨비 (2016) Korean

Gong Yoo, Kim Go Eun, Lee Dong Wook, Yoo In Na, Yook Sung Jae

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A

As always with this writer, this show was as watchable a all get out, but of course wasn't actually a great drama.  It was just a good enough drama.  I usually like her characters, and this was no exception.  The characters were the best part.  Especially the grim reaper and the bromance between the reaper and the dokkaebi.  I have never been obsessed with Lee Dong Wook before.  I've always liked him ok, but I've never like fallen in love with him.  Until now.  He was literally the best.  The worst part of this show was probably how they really didn't give the Reaper and Sunny (Yoo In Ah) enough screen time.  We were always shouting out and chanting for more Reaper and Sunny.  I loved that couple to the point of wishing they would date in real life (or at least being happy if they did) and that is saying something because wishing that sort of thing is rather silly.  I at least want a drama starring those two, because seriously good chemistry and interactions.  Of course Gong Yoo was also good, and sexy.  I didn't hate Kim Go Eun's character like I though I would, but I did wish she wasn't a high school student all the time.  That kept me from loving the main couple.  I liked them, but didn't love them, because icky.  So the real worst part of this show was that it was mopey from like episode 1.  There was so much moping.  It got old really fast, but then they would have wonderful bromance scenes, or Secretary Kim (aka Turtle, aka Jo Woo Jin).  Also the dream team- reaper, dokkaebi, and Duk Hwa.  Really most of the relationships were just great.  So it was super watchable and fun, as long as you could make it through all the pretty moping and pretty (and ugly) crying.  Definitely a win for Lee Dong Wook, the depressive diva reaper, and petty childish dokkaebi Gong Yoo.  They really sold the whole show... especially the reaper.

187. My Girl 마이 걸 (2005) Korean

Lee Dong Wook, Lee Da Hae, Lee Joon Ki, Park Si Yeon

Drama Rating: 5/10 Neck Score: A-

I started this because I have a goal to watch all the Hong Sister's dramas eventually, but also because I needed more fluffy, trope romcoms in my life. You know the kind with forced living situations and ridiculous relationship deals, etc. I've been watching too many melodramas of late. Well, for the first half this really fit the bill, besides being highly laughable while looking at the early 2000s clothing styles and bad hair. I thought Lee Da Hee was Song Hye Kyo from Full House at first because their character styles are literally the same.  Awful.  The curly pigtails and mismatched quirky homespun look.  Shudder.  I'm glad she stopped the pigtails.  They turned a normally sexy woman into a nauseating aegyo fest.  I seriously thought Joon Ki was a girl at one point when I wasn't paying attention closely, because his hair was so bad. Ugh, the mullets. Yuck. That put a minus on the general A score of their necks.  It was fun at first, but super draggy to get to the main point, with them actually falling in love and wanting to get together, and then after they finally did (it took like 12 episodes) they were immediately ripped apart and the rest of the show became a mopey, draggy, mess of boring and overly dramatic. I was so bored trying to finish it.  And the 2nd leads hung on for way too long.  No, stop making my Joon Ki pathetic!  I only want happy Joon Ki and no drunk sad Joon Ki!  Boo.  I do have to say that minus the awful hair Lee Don Wook looks better in this one... tan and not overly pasty like recent dramas he's been in.  Why is he so white these days?  Well, it was fun in spots, but this drama was definitely meh at best.

175. Bubblegum 풍선껌 (2015) Korean

Lee Dong Wook, Jung Ryeo Won, Lee Jong Hyuk, Park Hee Bon, Bae Jong Ok

Drama Rating: 6.5/10     Neck Score: A

tvN needs to stop advertising shows as fluffy RomComs when they are emotional cry fests.  I had a feeling this one would be a cry fest, but I didn't expect it to be 75% crying.  All of the drama was literally family and disease related and the love triangles were not even existent.  You just felt sorry for the other peeps because they didn't really ever have a chance.  Like ever.  That's what you get when the lifelong BFFs finally realize that they should just date.  So, the mom drama was frustrating.  But that actress did a fairly good job with the Alzheimer's believability.  She was the nicest more innocent Alzheimer's patient, but whatever.  I was just glad that she wasn't putting a torn in the romance.  While I'm not like a huge fan of Lee Dong Wook, I do think he's a great actor.  I'm just not in love him with like Lizabreff and her mom are.  But, he and Jung Ryeo Won (who I am a big fan of) were literally one of the cutest couples ever.  They did the BFF/practically siblings turned lovers perfectly.  You knew how much they loved each other and how comfortable they felt with each other.  It was perfect.  However, them being torn apart for that many episodes was way too much crying.  Gosh, that needed to stop.  Then when it did, and it was all cute, suddenly it was over.  So it was a little draggy and anti-climatic?  I don't know.  It seemed like their break up was over nothing, because it was.  Whatever, I guess they learned from it and grew up a little.  Sweet and cry fest about sums it up.

More Men Who Make Me Watch Drama Against My Will: Hot Bods Edition

Smiles aren't the only thing that make me watch dramas.  Sometimes I'm a lot more superficial and I watch a show just because I know that there will probably be a shirtless or brooding shower scene, and that actor has a hot body.  This just might be the most shallow post I ever will write, but you all know you've got your own list of hot bods.  Also, who wouldn't appreciate this list, because... yes.

Sometimes those shows are awesome, and it's not a problem at all that I started it out just for that one actor and how well he takes care of his body.  But sometimes, pleasure is mixed with regret as I wonder if that one shower scene was worth the 16+ episodes of crap.  That's a slippery slope, we won't go there, we'll just remember the minutes of shirtlessness, flexed arm muscles, and chocolate abs.

Blade Man: I'm Thinking Wolverine Meets Bowser? Or Mega Man Villain?

 
What the heck is this show?  This plus the English title and premise makes me think of something along the lines of Wolverine, but the blades come out on the shoulders and back, so... like Bowser's koopa shell?  Also, he has the temper of the Hulk... so... yeah...

"Does it hurt when they come out?"  "Every time."

115. Blade Man 아이언맨 (2014) Korean

Lee Dong Wook, Shin Se Kyung, Han Jung Soo, Kim Gab Soo

Drama Rating: 4/10     Neck Score: B

Ok... that was... ok... um... not sure what else to say about it.  It had potential but then... it was all never fulfilled.  Even cruelly crushed under the oppressive weights of stereotypes.  They wanted something different and interesting?  Then why did they fall back on every trope ever?  Also it was horribly written.  Let's end every episode with a cliffhanger where something bad, usually revealing his Blade Man identity, happens, only to either just skip passed it without really explaining how he got out of the situation except some lame little "the sun blinded everyone" and move on.  Impossible.  "You wrote a bad drama, Pete." If they had just kept it to 16 episodes, without bringing already dead people back to turn it into a completely predictable makjang fest love triangle of mopey self-depressing crap, it might have been ok.  At least a 6/10, but this... I'm not even sure it deserves 4.  It was so bad.  It was boring and lame, and didn't use the blade thing enough... dumb.  At least we had Han Jung Soo playing Secretary Ko.  He was the only thing that saved this show at all.  The only reason to give it a 4.  He deserves a 10 alone (maybe along with Lee Joo Seung who played the little brother so well, even if his character was written so pitiably and with no real point except to be pitiable).  That was one huge problem.  Everyone was so two-dimensional, with no character depth or improvement, besides some sob story attached to their psychological problems. Total crap.

72. Scent of a Woman 여인의 향기 (2011) Korean

Kim Sun Ah, Lee Dong Wook, Uhm Ki Joon, Seo Hyo Rim

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A

I never thought I would love watching a show about cancer so much.  I watched this one with lizabreff (who loves Lee Dong Wook) and we had the best time of it.  I still occasionally break out into a chorus of "You are sooooo beautiful!" which was the awesome Junsu OST (yay JYJ!).  Junsu didn't just do the OST for this show, he had a cameo appearance too, which showed me to be much for of a fangirl for Junsu than I thought (I still love you Jaejoong!)  As silly as the plot is with a girl realizing she has terminal cancer and deciding to live her life instead of wasting it at the sucky job she has and so suddenly has a rich chaebol dude fall in love with her is, it was so much fun to watch.  Both men (named "Sad Puppy" and "Grumpy Cat" by us) were very loveable.  There really wasn't that huge love triangle type deal, because Grumpy Cat (Uhm Ki Joon) was just a friend who wanted the best for her, even if he unknowingly made Sad Puppy(Lee Dong Wook) jealous and thus take more action.  Even though the plot is sad, with her basically dying through the whole show, it was still hopeful and funny enough to make up for it.  However, this might just be the whole experience of watching with friends that made me like it more.  It's pretty silly really, and the other girl is a bitca who pulls lots of nasty tricks.  However, the chemistry between the main couple is off the charts, and that sexy tango scene... wow.  Sad Puppy makes it sexy (even when Grumpy Cat is a better dancer).  So even if the premise or actual show is still, grab a friend and watch it anyways, because it is compelling enough to keep you watching despite all else.