July Drama Reviews 2016 July 8, 2016

It felt like a long spring/summer for dramas so far and I finally finished the last batch of dramas to review. The first one that I have finished was Goodbye Mr. Black. This was a long drama or at least it felt really long. I have to tell you it was nothing like the movie the Count of Monte Cristo which made me quite disappointed. I wanted an awesome revenge plot and all I got was a lackluster slightly revenge plot. The romance in the drama was also not that touching or interesting to me. I started shipping the minor characters which I thought was a bit sad. I mean I don’t need romance to enjoy a drama but the other story line of the drawn out revenge plot was too long. I really had hoped for more in this drama but it wasn’t the worst but it wasn’t the great either, it was just kinda meh!

The second drama I watched was Jackpot which I have to say I really did enjoy. If you have been reading my blog you will notice I haven’t really ever done historical dramas so this was really the first one that I tried out. I have to see this was a legitimate historical drama, you feel like you got a history lesson while watching this drama. It is based on historical facts but obviously there are parts to it that are not historically correct. At first I was a little bit like what does gambling have to do with anything seems like a pointless story line but when I really thought about it, in the political sense and in the palace, everything is a gamble. You are gambling on people all the time with you put your trust in. You need to know who is manipulating the game and see through everyone’s intentions which is true in politics and gambling. I have to say I really decided to watch this drama because Jang Keun-Suk was in it and I really just missed his face, lol but he did an awesome job and the drama obviously pushed his acting skills and I was impressed with him. I also really loved the first king who was just awesome! All the actors were great in this drama and I actually really enjoyed this drama. If you are looking for a good love line you will be disappointed. There is really little focus on love in this drama I mean at one point I didn’t even realize that the older son was married! Women are not a huge part of this story line. I enjoyed this drama and I would recommend it to anyone who love the historical dramas especially!!

The third drama I have finished is Refresh Man! Sigh! there were some problems with this drama. First of all a character did a blackface and pretended to be black and go into a store and make it seem like he wanted a product as a way to boost sales. In one way he wasn’t doing it to make it seem like black people were bad but it was a racist thing to do. I really think that was a bad move and the character in the  drama is told by his boss that he shouldn’t have done that but because it got popular on youtube then it was okay. So I definitely think there has been outrage because of this and this contributed to the drama being cut down in episodes, also the low ratings contributed. I have to say I got tired of this drama, it just was lacking in story line or maybe I am tired of Aaron Yan playing a boss and then being tsundrere to the girl he likes. I enjoyed Just You and everything else seems like a cheap copy. I also found all the characters cheesy but not really endearing either. I wouldn’t really recommend this drama.

The fourth drama I finished was Entertainer. It is about  Suk-Ho(Ji-Sung) a manager who loses everything including the famous boy group he wanted to take with him when he wants to start his own entrainment company.  He recruits Ha-Neul who (Min-Hyuk) who is good at singing but was accused of sexual harassment and is placed on probation. His sister Geu-Rin (Hyeri) is trying to take care of him and eventually becomes the manager to the band. This drama has a lot of big names in there Ji-Sung who’s last drama was Kill Me, Heal Me which was impressive.  Min-Hyuk from Heirs. Hyeri who was last in Reply 1988 which I absolutely loved. I expected quite a bit from this drama with all the great actors but sadly it seemed like it was missing something. I found the characters lacking something I didn’t really love any of them. I didn’t really love Hyeri, she played the kinda ditzy girl but I didn’t really find it endearing.  The lovelines in this drama were completely bizarre and from what it seemed most people were not happy with that. I kept waiting for this drama to pick up and it kinda did but the second half was really sad and it will make you cry for a couple of episodes! The ending wasn’t horrible it was okay and maybe a bit predictable but it was satisfying enough for me. It was a disappointing drama but it wasn’t horrible or anything, I think I just had larger expectations.

The first drama that I am watching is Uncontrollably Fond which is a bit different because this drama was full produced before airing which is different from the live-shoot production that most Korean dramas follow. The writers won’t be able to change anything depending on the audience which is why some dramas get a bit off script. This drama stars Joong Young(Woo Bin) and Noh Eul (Suzy) which I think is just a good match of actors. It is about a couple who got separated from childhood due to a bad relationship. They are able to meet again later in life when Joon Young is a top actor and Suzy is a documentary producer. She has to convince Joong Young to do the documentary. I have only watched the first episode so far and it wasn’t the most exciting first episode of a drama but I am hoping that it will pick up. I think it has the potential of being a depressing drama but I hope that it won’t have to go to that story line.

 

The second drama for Summer I am watching is Doctors. This story is about Hye-Jung(Shin Hye) a highschool student who was tough bully and only got into trouble with a troubled past. She meets her mentor Ji Hong (Rae Won) who plays a role in transforming her life from being troubled to becoming a great doctor. Again I chose this drama because I missed Shin-Hye in dramas and I also love medical dramas, not sure why though! So far after a couple of episodes it is really interesting and of course it has a bit of forbidden relationship vibe going on in this drama which is always fun. Of course there will be a love triangle which may be slightly predictable but oh well! I am finding this drama fun so far.

The third drama that I going to watch is W-Two Worlds. It will only start July 20th but I plan to watch it. It is about a couple who live in the same era but in different worlds. Oh Yun Joo (Han Hyo Joo) is a surgeon whose father is a famous comic book creator and he goes missing one day and as she goes to find him she finds Kang Chul( (Lee Jong Suk) bathed in blood. She is kidnapped by him and taken to a different dimension. I love sci-fi genres and this seems like it will be really interesting. The idea seems really cool and I hope they will be able to execute this drama properly.

What dramas are you planning to watch this summer? Or what were your opinions on these dramas if you have watched them?