Tag: lovestruck in the city

Week in Review (Feb 7 – 13, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Lovestruck in the City (2020) – Ep 13-16

I was a bit torn about whether or not I should review the episodes this week or if I should just save it for next week since there is only one more left to go. Episode 16 really did feel like a finale. It saw some resolutions, it saw some partings, and overall it left me feeling , if not satisfied, at least with a sense of closure.

The pacing of the show was definitely something that I had issues with. The beginning was a whole lot of nothing, and then all of a sudden these last few episodes felt like everything had been crammed into them. Especially this last week, Jae-won (Ji Chang-wook) and Eun-oh (Kim Ji-won) met again. They got angry, the talked through things and they even finally seem to be on the mend. But it feels unearned in many ways. 

Rin-i (So Ju-yeon) and Kyeong-jun (Kim Min-suk) finally had their big conversation, where he confronts her about the way that she lives her life, since it’s embarrassing him, and she decides that she doesn’t want to conform to either his or societies expectations of her. She’d already experienced it at her mother’s hand once and had been extremely hurt by it, so she can’t continue her relationship with him if that’s his opinion of her. It was quite satisfying to see her stand up for herself that way, but I also wanted maybe a bit more lead-up to it, since it seemed to come out of nowhere.

And finally Geon (Ryu Gyeong-su) and Seon-yeong (Han Ji-eun), not only reconciled but then they amicably parted ways again, which I thought was a bit odd, since they both seemed reluctant, and only seemed to be doing it for the sake of the other person. But they also seemed like they might find a way back to each other once they are both in better places. In that sense, their relationship was quite hopeful.

However, it did seem like a strange mix of relationships in the show. We saw some bizarre dynamics between the three couples that were covered, but none felt entirely developed and I never fully invested in any of them. I’m not sure what message the writer was going for, but overall, it didn’t really seem like it had much direction. It felt like a slice-of-life kind of show, where you’ve placed a camera in this universe and some things just happened in front of it.

The one thing that I wish had been more consistent was the placement of said camera, the mockumentary style that they’d set up. As I’d predicted, the mockumentary style did eventually go away, except for the occasional reminder that yes! there was an interviewer, and the characters *do* need to talk about their feelings in an organic way rather than just rambling like madmen in the streets. But eventually that was done pretty much done away with and there really wasn’t any motivation for where the camera was. There were so many times when they would show situations where the characters would definitely not have allowed them or they would have been unable to access. How did we get flashbacks or how did they get into their houses during intimate moments like the candle lighting or when they’d already gone to sleep? Of course the PPL jokes were funny, but other than that, they didn’t really make full use of the format, rather just planting a foot in both camps and hoping no one really noticed. It probably seemed like a cool idea when they started, but then they wanted to show more that the limitation of the genre allows, and they decided that they don’t need to follow it fully. I wish the director had made the decision earlier on that they didn’t need this arbitrary stylistic choice since it doesn’t compliment the writing.

The biggest takeaway from the show for me (even though there is still one more episode that may change my mind) was that the show was just fine. That seems quite negative, but I actually like that the show didn’t actively annoy me, save for some of the characters making dumb choices, but even that at least made me engage with the show. It was fun, it was cute, it was frustrating at times and overall there was just enough to grab my attention to bring me back each week. I’m going to call that a success.

Week in Review (Jan 24 – 30, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Lovestruck in the City (2020) – Ep 9-12

I think the past couple of weeks helped to solidify the emotional threads of the show for me. I felt like the show was meandering a bit in the first few episodes, but now that it’s mostly focused on the present day, I’m finding it a little easier to connect with the characters. 

That’s not to say that I actually understand why Jae-won (Ji Chang-wook) and Eun-oh (Kim Ji-won) were together or how she could go from one extreme to another like that then just return to her old life like nothing ever happened. I think she might be a sociopath. I want to know how her mind works. Is this the sign of good writing, feeling such a level of frustration towards a character that you want to break them down to their bare components and see what makes them tick?

Jae-won seem just as bizarre, throwing himself one pity party after another. I’m honestly glad that the confrontation happened in the rooftop apartment and then he left, with the intent of not seeing her again, but then the closing of the last episode suggests that she found him. These two are really bad for each other, and I just want them to spend some time apart and resolve their problems in healthy ways.

The gang continues to be revealed in bite-size components too, from Rin-i’s (So Ju-yeon) reluctance to marry to Seon-young’s (Han Ji-eun) unsupportive father. This is the component of the show that feels the most planned out to me, but it’s still moving at a snail’s pace. I sound like a broken record, but I really do just want things to move faster.

One thing I haven’t really talked about yet is the visual style of the show. I like the little captions, and the interviewer suggesting a theme for each week. The show does feel much more character-driven because of the style, and it also isn’t afraid of unconventional framing if it means getting the mental or emotional state of the characters across, whether it’s getting on the ground with them when they feel low, or giving them their space when they feel alone or isolated. And I think that’s what keeps bringing me back. I want to know what tricks the director is going to pull out of his hat to guide us along the journey with the characters even when it’s difficult to empathise with them.

Week in Review (Jan 10 – 16, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Lovestruck in the City (2020) – Ep 5-8

We seem to have gotten more insight into Jae-won (Ji Chang-wook) the past couple of weeks, while Lee Eun-oh (Kim Ji-won) continues to be a mystery. While I do believe that she was being genuine while she was with him, there’s so much about her motivations that is still unclear. We don’t know why she left the city two years ago, we don’t know why she adopted a different personality and didn’t tell anyone from her life about it, and we don’t know why she came back either. Hopefully now that the two have finally met in the present, we can start getting some insight into Eun-oh’s thought process. But honestly, I’m not holding my breath, considering the pace that things have been moving at. 

The other characters have started to get fleshed out a fair bit too, although some of them would have been fine without some of the stranger quirks – like Seon-yeong’s (Han Ji-eun) bizarre need to reclaim all the things she gave her boyfriends when they break up, and Jae-won’s alcoholism. They seem like plot devices more than character development.

While I’m enjoying the snappy editing and crisp dialogue, I am still a bit confused by the framing device of the mockumentary format. While we have seen the occasional camera or other characters filming in the background, there seems to be a disparity in those moments where characters are clearly by themselves, or during events that happened in the past. My current theory is that this is some kind of reenactment, but that seems a little too farfetched even for this writer’s style.

Graphic Novels

Paper Girls (Issue #21-25)

As things start to get wrapped up, all the disparate narrative threads are slowly coming together, and we’re starting to see the bigger picture. The girls landed in the future, and as they try to figure out how to get home they are also each on their own personal missions. Mac’s seems the most pressing, as she thinks the cure to her future illness can be found in the future, only to learn the hard truth that the reason she’ll even become sick is because of the time-travelling in the first place. Mac also helps KJ come to terms with her own internal struggles. As her prophetic visions come to a head, and she finds it difficult to open up to Mac, not sure if she can trust her to be understanding and accepting of her. Ultimately, their friendship wins out, and the girls not only reconcile but also take their relationship to a romantic place.

The other half of the group have similar levels of success and failure. When Erin finally realises that the Old-Timers are being headed by the very same prehistoric people they helped rescue, she and the Tiffanies immediately make their way to find Wari, who somehow managed to survive and travel to the future with Jahpo and Dr. Qanta. What ensues is a mess of trying to decipher Wari’s amnesia-riddled memories, and consequently trying to return to their own time. Ultimately, the older Tiffany has to sacrifice herself so that the girls can return, which comes as a shock to all the girls. They barely have time to recover from all this before they are once again faced with their final difficulty, Erin’s clone, who ends up scattering the girls through time so that they won’t be able to cause any more havoc.

As all this happens, I really do wonder why all these events have been taking place. We still don’t fully know the reason for Stony Stream’s or the girls’ importance to the time stream, and I hope that we get answers in the final stretch of the comic. Every time I think I’ve figured out people’s motivations, new things are added to the mix just to muddy everything up again. Can we please get some answers, Mr. Vaughan?

Week in Review (Dec 27, 2020 – Jan 2, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ 1 Comment

Happy New Year! This past year has been an eventful year filled with lots of new show, movies and books. I’m hoping to be able to have just as much fun this year with lots of new media and hopefully some good insights, too.

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Lovestruck in the City (2020) – Ep 1-4

Lovestruck in the City is a strange take on the mockumentary format, blending interview footage with flashbacks and cutting clips in a way that makes it seem like the characters are having conversations with one another despite being in different locations and perhaps shooting at different times. It also seems like at moments we get to see the characters inner thoughts, and it seems unlikely that there would be a camera around in those situations. I feel like the show is going to slowly diverge away from having the mockumentary style, and eventually we’re only going to be left with a few remnants of interview footage.

As far as the characters are concerned, I’m finding it a bit difficult to connect to them. I picked this show up as a fan of Kim Ji-won, who I loved in The Heirs and was fascinated with in Decendants of the Sun. However, Lee Eun-oh doesn’t seem to have been written with as much depth. Her leading man Jae-won (Ji Chang-wook), isn’t much different. I’d been hearing people rave about Ji as an actor, but his performance here is a little underwhelming. I’m not sure if it’s an issue with the portrayal or the writing, but as things stand, I don’t understand the appeal.

To be fair, the story is only now starting to find its feet, in Episode 4, and I hope we’re going to start to see the it develop more clearly now that the set-up is done – and hopefully pick up the pace too. I’m curious how everyone is going to come together, and what the previous connection between all the character will mean for them going forward.

Graphic Novels

Paper Girls (Issue #16-20)

It’s exposition time! We got a lot of dialogue in these five issues, and the motivations of both sides are becoming clearer, if not more logical. Y2K madness was sweeping the town of Stony Stream, as they arrive on New Year’s Day 2000. Not only are the local citizens panicking, but this is also the time where the Old-timers and the Teenagers have decided to have a robot death-battle. The girls get caught in the cross-fire and as usual have to navigate through the danger until they can find a way out; either to the future, or back home to the past.

I was rather surprised to find out that the Grand Father that seems to be running the show was Jahpo, the child that the girls ended up saving in prehistoric times, and I’m looking forward to his story unfolding as we understand the circumstances that led him to where he is now. I’m also curious how Future Tiffany is going to tie into the group, now that they’ve brought her along for the ride, and if that’s going to affect her timeline as a child.

There are a lot of question that still remain unanswered, and I’m hoping that we’ll see them covered in the final third of the series.