420. Good Casting 굿캐스팅 (2020) Korean

Choi Gang Hee, Yoo In Young, Kim Ji Young, Lee Sang Yeob, Lee Jun Young, Lee Jong Hyuk

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A+

Good Casting was a good combination of awesome spy action, comedy, and romance. It is the girl power spy show that isn't afraid to just be silly. The best part is that while all the women are off being bad-A spies and getting things done, the dudes all think they are in some kind of romantic comedy. But even though the ladies are pretty awesome, they are also pretty flawed, which I know made some people struggle at the beginning. This isn't a show about perfect, top notch spies. It's about a bunch of misfit spies who were thrown together to not get the job done, but they get it done anyway, even with all the slapstick.

Baek Chan Mi (Choi Gang Hee) is a loose cannon who lets her temper get the best of her, making huge mistakes. She lost the target and endangered a team member last time, so is determined to not to lose him this time. Hwang Mi Soon (Kim Ji Young) is basically retired and living the life of an ahjumma. She is rusty at best, but is still crazy good at undercover, in spite of her being past her prime. Im Ye Eun (Yoo In Young) is a white agent (think completely green). She's been working for the NIS for a while, but has kept out of the field and worked support and tech. This is her first field assignment. She is also a single mom. They are all put on a team to catch Michael, an elusive international technology thief/dealer. Michael managed to escape and kill Chan Mi's teammate last time, and this team is the last resort.

Korean Movie Night: My Sister, the Pig Lady 돼지 같은 여자 (2015) Korean

Hwang Jung Eum, Lee Jong Hyuk, Choi Yeo Jin, Park Jin Ju

Movie rating: 6/10     Neck score: A

Maybe because I loved Go, Pig Lady so much, I was really interested in this one. Also, I love the entire cast, so I had high expectations. It is slated as a romantic comedy, and while it did have some comedic elements, I would not say that it is a comedy. Really most of the comedy was trying too hard, so it fell a bit flat, or it was the painful, black sort of comedy that you laugh, but also want to cry. Like the scene where the two drunk girls crash their scooter into the pig pen. Funny, but not. It's a tragedy, really. What it should be called is how an awesome girl's life was ruined by falling for the wrong man, or how three girls fighting over one douche-bag is always a bad idea. Sisters over misters, girls. Come on!

I guess you could say this show is painfully funny at times, because it really does capture what life in a small town is like. And this town is way too small. It's either on an island or a tiny coastal town (I don't remember), but it is even further shrinking because the main industry, silverfish fishing, is in decline because all the fish have disappeared. Along with them, all the young people. Especially the young men. This leaves the town with only one eligible bachelor and three girls to fight over him. That is just a recipe for disaster. On top of that, Jae Hwa (Hwang Jung Eum) has become the breadwinner of her falling apart family and she is putting her dreams on her pigs to save them.

150. Chuno 추노 (2010) Korean

Jang Hyuk, Oh Ji Ho, Lee Da Hae, Gong Hyung Jin, Lee Jong Hyuk

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A

I started out watching this with Curdy and Lizabreff, because Curdy loves Jang Hyuk and Lizabreff and I had been planning on watching it eventually anyway.  Well, that lasted about 8 episodes.  Then, after a long break, I had to continue on alone until the end.  Because the first eight episodes are basically the same thing over and over, with a lot of action and way too many near misses.  There are so many near misses that it is ridiculous.  I wanted to get violent with an ice pick, as tweeted by me: "The sheer # of near misses in #Chuno is making me want to stab things with an ice pick. You know, like ice and stuff."  But we literally stopped right as it got really good, instead of just actiony good.  Even though there were still so many more near misses and people drove me crazy with their stubborn nobility and pride (yeah, I'm talking about you, Arms).  And while they did kill like everyone off, they didn't kill off all my favorites, like I thought they did.  They literally make you think everyone will die, but it's not a completely sad ending... well... it kind of is, but it leaves you with hope and stuff.  It raises a lot of questions about equality and humanity, and also about life and death.  I have to admit that I never really paid attention during the politics talks by all the bad dudes, so I'm not 100% sure of the motivation behind some of the dastardly plots.  I really don't know why they did some of the lousy things they did.  I just know the outcomes and stuff.  I might need to read some recaps of some episodes, haha.  This is a bad habit of mine while watching sageuks.  I don't do those boring court and politics scenes well.  I do have to say that everyone did an amazing job acting and all the characters were good enough to deserve nicknames, so that is a mark of a good drama character-wise.  They made most of the main characters sympathetic at some point.  Even Basket Head (Lee Jong Hyuk), although that wasn't always the case.  I hated him a lot in certain scenes (leave Monkey and Secretary Ko alone!).  It was a good, but long and very involved show.  Very emotional in spots and very, very actiony in others.  Kind of a dude show like 95% of the time.  So... good overall, just a bit draggy about certain plots, and pretty predictable too, even though it is not stereotypical.  It is 24 episodes long.

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.

166. One Sunny Day 좋은 날 (2014) Korean

So Ji Sub, Kim Ji Won, Lee Jong Hyuk, Im Joo Eun, Lee Jong Hyun

Drama Rating: 6/10     Neck Score: A

Emphasis on the ONE sunny day, because there was only one day in the whole show that was sunny.  It rained every other day.  Not just rain, but pouring.  I guess this is my first web drama.  With ten 15 minute episodes, it's basically the length of a movie.  It was about as exciting as most Korean romance movies I've seen.  Slow moving and low on the skinship.  However, that is not necessarily a bad thing.  This is a journey of healing.  Ji Ho (So Ji Sub) is super sad and trying to get over this girl.  He's also a shy quiet type anyways.  The relationship is more organic in that slow movingness.  Also, the situations they find themselves in, and how they act in those situation has a more for real feel to them.  Basically it's cute.  The end.  Although they could have given us an abs shot... just saying.

96. Dating Agency: Cyrano 연애조작단; 시라노 (2013) Korean

Lee Jong Hyuk, Choi Sooyoung, Lee Chun Hee, Hong Jong Hyun, Jo Yoon Woo

Drama Rating: 5/10     Neck Score: A

This is the last of the current Flower Boy series, and probably the lamest of all of them.  I still liked it, but as a Flower Boy drama it was a bit lame.  Both lead mens were on the older side, with Jong Hyuk being quite old, but he's still pretty enough to be a flower man at least.  It had a nice serial feel to it as the dating agency has a new case every few episodes.  I'll admit that the only reason I broke down and watched it was because Lee Kwang Soo was one of the clients.  I almost just watched episodes 6-8 for him, when I decided that I liked the main cast well enough to give it a chance.  It was ok good, it just wasn't as gripping as some of them.  I think the main story arc probably had the most holes and silly drama in it.  Also, Master gave most people the second lead syndrome.  I didn't love him as much as most people, but he was cooler than the main guy.  I have no idea why she didn't fall in love with him instead.  But he never had a chance, unlike some other peeps who have a chance and don't take it, or have a chance but don't deserve it.  I think he was probably friends zones from moment one.  Sad day.  It get cray cray at the ending, but ends ok.  My favorite episodes are 6-8.  I was actually excited about those episodes.  Other good cameos include Gong Yoo, Lee Chung Ah, and Choi Won Young.

71. A Gentleman's Dignity 신사의 품격 (2012) Korean

Jang Dong Gun, Kim Ha Neul, Kim Min Jong, Kim Soo Ro, Lee Jong Hyuk

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: B+

Probably one of my favorite dramas of all time... still.  That is saying something, and it's not just for the multiple G-Dragon references (though those don't hurt).  This show is hilarious.  The antics of the F40 are so great.  This is the story of a bunch of 40 year old men who have been best friends since high school.  The main point of this is that even though they are all 40, all of them well set in their careers and well established gentlemen, they are at heart still 18, especially when together.  Each episode begins with a scene that doesn't usually have anything to do with the current episode plot but gives us more background as to their characters and past history.  These scenes range from when they first meet to just random occurrences in their friendship (such as them watching the final episode of Sandglass together or meeting Sooyang from SNSD at a coffee shop).  Also, the cast is stellar, even though they are all definitely ahjussi, they are super sexy mens.  I never thought the drama was ridiculous or over the top, maybe because of the mature cast, the normal even mom drama wasn't going to be a part of this, since they are all old enough to be the parents.  Even as ridiculous as they are, all the characters seemed very realistic or at least relateable, and though I am nowhere near 40 yet, it was way easier to relate to the 35-40 year olds than the 24 year old girl (who was much closer to my own age at the time).  Go figure.  Other bonuses are Kim Woo Bin and Lee Jong Hyun playing high schoolers.