Korean Movie Night: The Princess and the Matchmaker 궁합 (2018) Korean

Shim Eun Kyung, Lee Seung Gi, Kim Sang Kyung, Yeon Woo Jin, Kang Min Hyuk, Choi Woo Shik, Jo Bok Rae

Movie rating: 8/10     Neck score: A+

Lizabreff loves Seung Gi. Well, so do I. I also love Shim Eun Kyung and Choi Woo Shik. Really, the entire cast. So we were waiting for this one to become available so we could watch it. Then we waited to long to get it for free and had to rent it anyway, but whatever. It was worth it. Thanks, Google Play.

Anyway, this was a lot different then the previews led us to believe, and that is not a bad thing. It was just different. Maybe it is because we're so used to mischievous butt headed Seung Gi that we all love (think Son Oh Gong from Hwayugi, or his roles in Gumiho or King 2 Hearts). We were all assuming that he would be a mischievous matchmaker con-artist who was using the princess's marriage to make money or advance. We weren't expecting a straight-arrowed good boy Seung Gi who had a blind little Poo Butt to protect at home. It was interesting and nice.

277. Queen for Seven Days 일의 왕비 (2017) Korean

Park Min Young, Yeon Woo Jin, Lee Dong Gun, Jang Hyun Sung, Kang Shin Il

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A+

I don't remember why it took me forever to start this one.  But I do know why it took me forever to finish it, and neither reason was because it wasn't a great show.  I think I was swamped with dramas at the time and I had to put it in the queue, but as I had only heard good things about it, I knew I had to watch it.  I ended up just watching it alone, because we can't watch all the dramas together because then it would never happen, even though Curdy is totally in love Yeon Woo Jin.  But that didn't stop them from jumping in and watching the super dramatic parts.  They even got mad one time when I watched the next episode without them because it was the part where he was finally going to put everything on the line for her.  I think it had been too long since we'd watched a full blown romance.

So I struggled watching it in the middle probably because I was too into it and I couldn't handle it at the time.  I think I was too stressed and it was so hard at the time.  But that was why it was so good.  It was about a very controversial time in history, with another one of those brotherly struggles for the crown where no one really wins because they're family, but everyone has some reason for being sympathetic.  But those brothers were the worst as they caught our girl in the middle.  I couldn't handle that at the moment, so I had to take a really long break.  But then, as I had to take a picture for my Tiny Edition of Women Who Make Me Watch Dramas Against My Will, and it worked.  I love Park Min Young enough that I finished the drama.  I was also just ready again.  Ready for a good but hard to watch in parts drama.  I had watched enough fluff and was ready for some meat, because that is what this show is.  The real stuff.

242. Introverted Boss 내성적인 보스 (2017) Korean

Yeon Woo Jin, Park Hye Soo, Yoon Park, Kong Seung Yeon

Drama Rating: 4/10     Neck Score: A

Disappointing.  This had such a lovely premise,  I loved the first two episodes, but the whole misunderstanding about him and thinking he was a psycho was just going on for too long.  It was too relatable as an introvert, so it was frustrating as heck by the end of episode 4.  Then they were doing so poorly that they were forced to rewrite.  This saved the frustration at the moment, but actually ruined it in the long run by giving us crappy writing that didn't make sense.  It ruined the good things as well as getting rid of the bad things that we hated.  It made it much less believable, because it made the introverted transformation sloppy  It also had a lot more of those stereotypes.  It also ruined the ending, because it made it seem out of place, since it looks like they shoved everything they meant to do with it in the last two episodes. It was still enjoyable, because of Muffin (our new name for Yeon Woo Jin) and how adorable he was, but we had to roll our eyes and make fun of it because of how ridiculous it got.  They also had to redeem everyone at the end, which really cheapened it a lot and kind of trivialized some of the problems that people had.  Another good character who saved the show was Beautiful Beautiful Man (Heo Jung Min).  He is good in everything he's in.  He is gold.  I love my Beautiful Beautiful Man!  He and Muffin have such a cute bromance too.  Yes!  So I'm sad and disappointed at how it turned out, because it had potential, but it was a bit off right from the start, so that sucked and it just became cheesy and typical.  Oh well.

Still More Men Who Make Me Watch Dramas Against My Will: Sultry Voice Edition

Do I watch dramas just for the sultry voice of one of the male leads?  Why yes, yes I do.  Some men just have buttery, husky, velvety, and/or soothing voices that just make me what to listen to them while I watch whatever bad drama they are in.  Seriously, they need to stop seducing us (and by that I mean mostly me) with their sexy voices.  Dude.

Sometimes it's only their voice I find attractive *cough cough Lee Sun Gyun cough cough* but really isn't that enough.  I mean... that sexy voice.

151. Divorce Lawyer in Love 이혼변호사는 연애중 (2015) Korean

Jo Yeo Jeong, Yeon Woo Jin, Shim Hyung Tak, Wang Ji Won

Drama Rating: 3/10     Neck Score: A

All I can say is that I am glad it's over.  The show started out meh and ended blech.  A classic example of why shows should never be extended.  The only thing that kept if going was Yeon Woo Jin and Shim Hyung Tak, because they were both amazing.  Yeon Woo Jin just knows how do do cute, and Shim Hyung Tak is sexy and hilarious.  I could never connect with Cheok Hee (Jo Yeo Jong) and only came to tolerate her.  I think that was 50% writing and 50% that actress not being amazing.  The writing was what really bothered me.  If she's going to be a crazy bitca lawyer main lead, cool, but she was just a crazy, inconsistent, random, weird, and frustrating main lead.  Even by the end I didn't know who she was or had any way to connect with her as a character.  The writing was that bad.  The show was super draggy and absolutely stupid in both the subplots as well as the main plot.  Also, the love/hate relationship was probably the worst I've ever seen.  It made no sense.  In fact the entire show made no sense.  To the end I think I still like Wang Ji Won's second female lead, Soo Ah, better and that's saying a lot because she was lame at times too.  But really as a bitca she wasn't even anything at all.  All she did was lie once, feel super guilty about it, and then cry because it wasn't fair that she couldn't win him.  The mom was a bigger bitca than she was, with her manipulative ways.  Anyways, our male leads were amazing enough to keep some interest there, but really the show was so bad at the end that we were constantly just playing with our phones instead of paying attention.  The last episode seemed like it would never end, so... yay!  It's over!

111. Marriage, Not Dating 연애 말고 결혼 (2014) Korean

Han Groo, Yeon Woo Jin, Jinwoon, Han Sun Hwa, Heo Jeong Min, Yoon So Hee

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A

Finally, a cute little drama that stays consistently awesome the whole time. I don't know if it was better that I waited to start it until it was almost over or not.  On one hand it's so awesome I wished I had learned that sooner, on the other hand waiting meant that I could marathon it... which I did, but that is not the best thing health wise to do.  Seriously, once I started watching it I couldn't stop, until I had watched it all.  What's better than a contract marriage?  A contract engagement with the purpose of getting the family to object and refuse the marriage.  Apart from the obvious hating of the other girl, who was weird, I loved everyone in it (well the cheating dad is obviously not included as well).  The main couple has to be one of the cutest and funniest couples ever.  I also like how its somewhat realistic, as in the pace and the problems as things that might actually need to be dealt with and not completely over the top.  Naturally it still is, but this is a drama.  Even when things were bad it stayed cute and funny and it was never draggy and lame.  Seriously, it was a romcom that stayed a romcom the entire time.  How often does that happen?  It usually is good until episode 12/13 and then all the sudden it's a melodrama.  Nope.  This was romcom gold the entire time.  Loved it.

59. Arang and the Magistrate 아랑사또전 (2012) Korean

Lee Joon Ki, Shin Min Ah, Yeon Woo Jin

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A+

I really liked this one.  It is a fantasy/horror sageuk.  Mostly fantasy though.  Shin Min Ah is a ghost with no memory and Lee Joon Ki can see ghosts.  He looking for his mom, she might know because of a hair pin, so he becomes the magistrate to help her figure out who she is so he can find his mom.  Then you have lots of other mystery that is tied up in it, and the Jade Emperor and Yama (king of the underworld) pulling strings here and there to have the mystery (and their problems) solved.  There is fighting (yay to Joon Ki's sexy fighting skills) and mystery, romance of course, and plenty of funny.  It is very compelling, especially as the mystery unfolds and the plot thickens, etc.  It's got lots of buddhist things in it, obviously with the Jade Emperor, so you have to be ok with that kind of stuff.  These ghosts are also not scary, but there are scary or rather intense or suspenseful parts.  I mean, Arang was murdered and there are several more attempted murders so yeah.  Lots of good characters too, to love and hate and love.  So, good one.  Liked it.  One of the best parts is the servant friend dude flipping his wet hair.  Animal magnetism.  Love it.