Tag: tv

Week in Review (Feb 21 – 27, 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

Into the Ring (2020) – Ep 1-8

I went into watching Into the Ring with next to no expectation and have found a beautiful gem of a  show. Writer Moon Hyun-kyeong has been slowly teasing out all the plot elements, and has a stellar cast to work with to pull off the complex characters and universe she’s building out. While the show does have its share of “drama”, it’s done for the most part in a believable manner. The friendships, the workplace relationships and the interactions between the townspeople feel grounded and realistic, as though you would find Mawon district tucked into a corner of Seoul.

I’m loving the visual style of the show too. While it did take me some time to adjust to the fisheye photography, I now find that it helps to draw the eye and direct focus in the right way. Director Hwang Seung-ki is trying almost every experimental style available to him, but does so in a manner that suits the storytelling, lending a visual exaggeration to the dramatic storytelling and keeping me engaged.

The show has also been a fascinating learning curve on how local politics work on a daily basis, dealing with passing bills, petty infighting and local elections all with the same level of gravitas as you might find on a national political scale. But due to the close-knit nature of the council, I feel like I’m also getting to know each of the council members in a way that often gets lost in big political shows. I know the Shim-Jang-Shi trio are inseparable, that Go Dong-chan (Oh Dong-min) has an ego bigger than the size of Jupiter and Yoon Hee-soo (Yoo Da-in) has a hero complex.

We also get to see that no character is infallible. Goo Se-ra (Nana) learnt that lesson the hard way this last episode when she overestimated her ability following her earlier win, and that overconfidence cost the jobs of 10 people. While she does experience a sense of regret over it, the people around her are quick to show her that it wasn’t entirely her fault, and more than that, everyone has failures in life, but one shouldn’t define themselves by those.

I like that she showed a sense of caution upon being elected as the Chairperson of the District Council, and I hope that she continues to evaluate her decision-making and not taking the Council members at their word. At least she has a shrewd ally in Seo Gong-myeong (Park Sung-hoon), who’s cool head and years of political experience gives him good judgement of how to navigate the cutthroat environment. 

As far as their personal relationship goes, I think that Gong-myeong still has a long way to go before he can be entirely open, but I feel that Se-ra’s pulling and prying will slowly start to get him to become a little more forthcoming (Although, I do find her to be a little too violent with him at times). It seems like there a long and difficult history with his father that is a direct result of his brother’s death, and that caused Gong-myeong to shut himself off to people to avoid betrayal in the future.

I don’t think Se-ra’s elections to Chairperson of the Council is going to be the fix-all cure that everyone around her thinks it will. If anything, she’s painting larger target on her back, and things will probably only get more difficult before they get easier. I do however have faith in her persisting through whatever trials life might throw at her, and I’m looking forward to how things turn out for our Goo Se-ra.

I Am Not a Robot (2017)

Continuing from last week’s theme, we have another show about an entitled chaebol who is struck with debilitating condition and has to rely on a down-on-her-luck woman who disguises herself to get back on her feet. I’m not sure why I picked this show up, other than something about Chae Soo-bin and Yoo Seung-ho appealed to me. Both give off an easy-going and approachable vibe, and despite being rather prickly on the outside, both their characters exhibit exactly these traits.

The show is light on story, focusing on three main components: Jo Ji-ah’s lifelong goal of becoming a successful inventor; Kim Min-gyu’s physiological condition that limits his human contact; and the space where these two components meet, when Ji-ah pretends to be a robot around Min-gyu, which helps her get a foot in the door to his company and him a way to alleviate his loneliness from isolation. Of course, there’s all the other components that help the show achieve peak drama, such as betrayal by a close friend, love triangles, and whacky scientists. But I never fully engaged with any of those storylines.

As preposterous as all this sounds, I can at least say that I enjoyed the show, because I went into it full expecting silly hijinks and I am Not a Robot delivered. The added bonus came from the two leads being exceedingly charming and compelling to watch. While I do have issues with the foundation of lies that the relationship was built on, Chae and Yoo are both very uplifting to watch over the course of the show. I was also happy to see Uhm Ki-joon as the peevish scientist, who I had previously seen in Dream High.

This is the kind of show I would put on when I want an easy watch, and I’m glad that I did exactly that, with low expectations and high returns as result.

Week in Review (Feb 14 – 20, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ 1 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

The Secret Life of My Secretary (2019)

The Secret Life of My Secretary gets off to an explosive start, throwing us into the middle of the action and introducing all the key players. Jung Gal-hui (Jin Ki-joo) is a typical dramaland secretary: subservient and selfless in a way that is almost harmful. Her boss, Do Min-ik (Kim Young-kwang), is similarly typical being overbearing and ruthlessly calculating in the workplace. Each is a product of their circumstances, as Gal-hui can’t afford to lose her job being the breadwinner of her family, and Min-ik can’t trust those around him.

When an attack on his life causes Min-ik to lose his ability to recognise anyone except Gal-hui, he comes to rely on her to navigate the shark-infested waters of the office. Except that it isn’t quite so cut and dried. A case of mistaken identity has Min-ik believing that Gal-hui is the woman that he’s been set up with, while the actual woman, Veronica Park (Kim Jae-kyung) gets closer to Min-ik’s childhood friend Gi Dae-joo (Koo Ja-sung). What ensues is a very twisted set of hijinks where Gal-hui digs herself deeper into the mess she’s created, Min-ik falls for the fake version of her, and the company is in more jeopardy than ever as a result.

The murder plot and office politics was a little too two-dimensional for my liking, and the resolution of Min-ik’s condition left something to be desired. But I also like that the show took time to show the fallout from Gal-hui’s deception. While the show had a predictable outcome, the ride was fun and the characters fresh.

While the show isn’t groundbreaking in any way (and had several inconsistencies in the writing), Min-ik and and Gal-hui do have more heart and nuance to their characters than others I’ve seen before. Kim really delivers in his role, adding layers to his character in a way that feels subtle yet powerful. I loved watching his interactions with his doctor, where he allows the childhood relationship to show through by behaving more immaturely, or the laidback attitude he has with Dae-joo, making me believe these two have known each other forever. It’s these little things that make the character feel lived in as much as the bigger arcs of the writing do.

Jin similarly embraces the physicality of her character, lending just enough shyness or confidence as needed in the moment, and allowing us to follow her train of thought even as she makes one poor decision after another. It’s easy to believe that she might have gotten carried away when you see the joy she gets just from small acts of acceptance and recognition from her boss, something she wasn’t granted as merely his secretary.

Ultimately, that’s what the show is really about, receiving acknowledgement from your loved ones. Whether it was Dae-joo and Min-ik finally finding equal footing in their friendship, or Min-ik and Gal-hui realising the errors in their handling of each other’s hearts and making amends, the message I took away was that you shouldn’t define your worth on the basis of someone else’s opinion of you, but accepting the warmth they give you can be one of strongest driving forces to help propel you forward.

Mr. Queen (2020) – Ep 17-20

While not the most satisfactory of conclusions, I am glad to have watched to the end of this show. I think my main disappointment is that the show ended in a way that was different from what I wanted, but there were plenty of things to love about Mr. Queen too.

The first of these is of course, Shin Hye-sun. I can not sing enough praises in her favour, since she delivered an amazing performance on all fronts, bringing humour to the character that could have been slapstick if handled poorly, but in her hands felt like a finely honed craft. The duality of Bong-hwan and So-yong was brilliantly balanced, to the point where I forgot where Choi Jin-hyuk ended and Shin began.

Kim Jung-hyun was also amazing, although there were definitely moments where it felt a bit overacted. While this can be attributed to the eccentricities of the character rather than the actor, it did take me out of the show at times. However, his scenes with Shin were some of the best, each feeling charged in a way that always left me wanting more, whether it was the humour, the romance or the drama.

The three characters that I had hopes for that never quite reached their potential were Byeong-in (Na In-woo), Hwa-jin (Seol In-a) and Yeongpyeong (Yoo Min-gyu). Sadly, none were ever more than caricatures, and each ended their story not with a bang but a whimper. I never fully bought into Byeong-in’s devotion to So-yong and his alternating from one side to another felt disingenuous, and both Hwa-jin and Yeongpyeong motivations seemed weak.

What I did enjoy was the ensemble cast. So-yong’s court ladies and the kitchen crew were a constant source of delight, and the veteran members of the cast delivered strong consistent performances. The politics of the court were also interesting, drawing me in and leaving me with a sense of anticipation.

As I mentioned in my previous review, I had been hoping that Bong-hwan’s identity crisis being trapped in So-yong’s body and the handling of the body-swapping were done in a respectful manner. However, it was never really adressed. The conclusion of the arc was a little too easy, with So-yong’s mind/soul being restored, Cheoljong continuing to cherish her despite her being a different person to the one he fell in love with, and Bong-hwan returning to a conveniently altered present day.

Overall, I can say I enjoyed Mr. Queen despite my complaints of it. It had an extremely satisfying run, and I thoroughly appreciated the performances and the writing on the show. I’m a sucker for historical fiction with modern twists and this one delivered on so many levels. I’m looking forward to seeing what Writer Park Kye-ok will deliver next.

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 31 – Feb 6, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ 1 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

Shopping King Louis (2016)

My Precious!

Seo In-guk is so disarmingly charming as the eponymous Louis, that you can’t help but love him. While the character could have easily become annoying, what with being a rich entitled spoiled chaebol with a shopping addiction, Seo bring an ineffable charm to Louis, adding nuances to the wonderfully written character.

Nam Ji-hyun is similarly engaging, Bok-sil’s go-getter attitude and bright outlook being her biggest strengths. Even when forced into moving to a new city, searching for her lost brother and helping an amnesiac Louis against her will (side note: why does Nam Ji-hyun have a knack for getting shackled to amnesiac rich men?), she still manages to remain positive about her situation and eventually accomplish her goals. 

The cast is rounded out by a strong ensemble in both the home and office settings. While they did have extraneous storylines at times, they were usually quite delightful, quirks and all. From harmoni’s (Kim Young-ok) “My precious” to Joong-won’s (Yoon Sang-hyun) aggressive throat clearing, the show was packed with laughs.

In the end though, it’s the writing on the show that really appealed to me. They took the clichés and made them fresh, providing a new outlook on life and love and family. It’s the writing I wish I’d gotten to see from Oh Ji-young on Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol.

Overall, the show spreads a message of positivity and perseverance in the face of difficultly. Each character had their own journey to complete and they all came out the other end the better for it. Ultimately, Shopping King Louis leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

Mr. Queen (2020) – Ep 9-16

This show gets whackier the more I see of it. The humour and heart that comes from Shin Hye-sun is still ever-present and the King (Kim Jung-hyun) continues to be both exhilarated and exasperated by So-yong/Bong-hwan. While I do enjoy seeing the King and Queen’s interactions, I’m not sure why the show is pushing forward with the love-lines. I hope they address Bong-hwan’s internal dilemmas in a thoughtful manner, especially now that they appear to have dropped the baby bomb on us.

The politics continue to be interesting, although we seem to have learned that Cheoljong is not below playing dirty tricks in order to get rid of members of the Kim and Jo families. He has so far blown himself up in an effort to frame them, and pretended to poison a child for the sake of appeasing the court. I am concerned for how far he might be willing to go for his cause, as it might end up doing more damage than good in the long run.

As far as the Kims and Jos are concerned, they continue to be as rotten as expected, resorting to murder, blackmail and all sort of other other nefarious things, All that remains is some good moustache twirling and evil laughs. But somehow, I don’t find it nearly as annoying on the show, since the universe has been established to be filled with such extremes. I mean if the show is willing to do an entire banquet around some product placement (Mac-Du-Nal-Du, ha!), I’m willing to accept that these people would behave this way. 

What I’m hoping for as the show comes to a close is for a clean conclusion to the political plot lines, Bong-hwan returning to a modern Korea, and Cheoljeong ruling with a steady and righteous hand – hopefully after implementing some of the things from the ‘stories’ he’s been told by Bong-hwan. I’m not sure where this will leave So-yong, but I fear that her soul has long since departed this world. While it will undoubtedly be heartbreaking for Cheoljeong, who has come to truly care for ‘his Queen’, hopefully it will fuel him to build a better future for his nation knowing that Bong-hwan will eventually live in it.

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 17 – 23, 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

Jealousy Incarnate (2016)

This past week I decided to rewatch Jealousy Incarnate, featuring Jo Jeong-seok, one of my favourite actors, in a show that I remembered as being incredible when I first watched it. However, I felt like I didn’t have a chance to fully appreciate what the show was at the time, being a relative novice to k-dramas and Korean culture in general. Now, after having watched about 70 Korean titles from all sort of genres, I felt much better equipped to understand Jealousy Incarnate, and the pieces that went into making it.

On second watch, I found myself enjoying the cast just as much as I did the first time, if not more. Jo and Gong Hyo-jin complement each other so well, both having a natural realist style of acting. I remember being annoyed by that exact quality of Gong’s acting style in When the Camellia Blooms, perhaps because her partner there was too fantastical. But here she exudes charm and because of the way that Hwa-shin reacts to Na-ri, I found it that much more believable.

It’s this grounded approach that makes the more far-fetched elements of the show easier to accept, from the love triangles to the teenage (and sometime adult) hijinks. While I feel like the show could have done without the love line between the chef and SBC ladies (I found myself skipping through these scenes on rewatch), I do like how the show set up these kind of choices for our characters. Most of the conflict of the show is a direct result someone being pulled in two directions and being unable to make up their minds. Hwa-shin needed to make a choice between his friendship or his love, Ppal-gang (Moon Ga-young) needed to decide which of her mothers she wants to live with, Na-ri had to choose whether to hold on to the love she’s had for several years or leave it behind and start fresh. 

The writing was consistently strong, and themes of the show were well mapped out. The writer took the time to explore gender roles, both in the workplace and in society, using Hwa-shin’s breast cancer and Na-ri’s career path as prime examples of gender inequality for both men and women. But I like that just because there was cause to pity a character in one situation doesn’t mean that they didn’t get reprimanded for their other wrongdoings. Hwa-shin was a monumental ass to Na-ri on several occasions, but he didn’t get a pass just because he got sick. In fact, if anything, because he was so terrible, Go Jeong-won (Go Gyeong-pyo) comes up smelling like roses despite his own laundry list of flaws. He had to actively work towards getting Na-ri’s forgiveness for mistreating her. Similarly, Na-ri wasn’t let off the hook as easily by Jeong-won and Hwa-shin for stringing them along.

While the show did have its share of flaws, I enjoyed the show a lot. The highlights for me were the shows two leads. I also loved Doc (Bae Hae-Sun) and Nurse (Park Jin-Joo) for being a near constant source of both humour and heart, as well as Chief Oh’s (Kwon Hae-Hyo) bickering and snark. I feel like the second viewing of this show allowed me the chance to look deeper at the social commentary that the show was trying to make, and understand it in a broader cultural context that I didn’t quite get on first watching Jealousy Incarnate.

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 (Jan 3 – 9, 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

Mr. Queen (2020) – Ep 1-8

Mr. Queen is such a gem of a show, and these first few episodes has been an absolute delight to watch. I went into the show knowing very little of the premise, only that it was going to be a fusion sageuk with some sort of time-travel element. What I got is even better!

The casting on the show could not be better. I am absolutely loving Shin Hye-sun as Bong-hwan, trapped in the rather frail body of the queen he absolutely does not want to be in. However, he quickly comes to realise the benefits that come with being Queen So-yong, and is on a mission to become the greatest inventor of Joseon. Shin manages to capture the contrast between So-yong’s outwardly feminine features and Bong-hwan’s very masculine body language in the perfect way, to the point where you sometimes forget that you are watching her and see her future counterpart, Choi Jin-hyuk. Although the last episode did away with the final remnants of Choi’s cameo, I’m excited to see how Shin carries Bong-hwan/So-yong going forward.

Bong-hwan isn’t the only one trapped playing two parts, as it seems that the King (Kim Jung-hyun) is also leading a double life. The fool king by day, and vigilante by night, he seems to get more and more interesting as we peel back the layers of his personality, and the queen seems to know how to push all the right buttons to make him want to explode in a rage and reveal the latter. Although history remembers the real King Cheoljong as perhaps one of the most inefficient of the Joseon era, I like that the show tells us not to take everything at face value, and I’m hoping that our characters will also learn that lesson as they get to know one another.

We’re already seeing hints of that with the royal court members. Everyone from the Grand Dowager to Jo Hwa-jin seems to be hiding secrets and I’m looking forward to seeing how all the scheming ultimately turns out. The Kim and Jo Clans’ rivalry is one for the books, and I’m hoping that the excellent writing so far will do justice to them, rather than getting bogged down in the political intrigue that so many historical dramas are notorious for.

Mr. Queen is so laugh-out-loud funny, and hopefully it retains that momentum going forward. The drama’s strong story and good casting is working well in it’s favour and I’m looking forward to what the show has in store for us.

Movies

Soul (2020)

Soul marks my return to the cinema for the first time since late-February last year, and it was so refreshing to get to watch a movie on the big screen after almost a year. The cinema experience is an unbeatable one, and I’m glad I picked this film as my first foray back. Ultimately, Soul is about finding the joys of life, knowing that there will be downs, but that those are necessary for us to be able to appreciate the ups too. 

Jamie Foxx plays Joe Gardner, a middle-school band teacher who finally gets his big break playing a gig with a band he’s always wanted to. Only, he happen to accidentally fall down a manhole and end up in the afterlife on the day of the performance. As he tries to find a way back to his body on Earth, he encounters 22 (Tina Fey), a soul who’s never been to Earth because she’s never seen what all the fuss in living is about. What ensues is a series of wacky events that lead to 22 ending up on Earth in Joe’s body and Joe being her cat guide. While there, both Joe and 22 learn some valuable lessons about how to enjoy life to its fullest potential.

The movie has a beautiful uplifting message, and it uses the visual storytelling as a guide through the world, weaving music and delicious food and the wonder of nature to entice our senses. Soul was a lovely journey, and I’m glad that I got to go along for the ride.

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.

Week in Review (Dec 20 – 26, 2020)

~ 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

SKY Castle (2018) – Ep 1-5

SKY Castle is such a dynamic blend of political intrigue, sageuk hierarchies and makjang twists and turns. At yet, it falls into none of these genres. It is ultimately a drama set in an idyllic suburb – or so it seems. The universe that has been set up is so intricately laid out, and all the players are following their parts, but there is always a sense that something is brewing just below the surface. 

The Kang family started out in the best position when we were introduced to them. The patriarch of the family, Joon-sang (Jung Joon-ho) is a rising star at his hospital, his wife Seo-jin (Yum Jung-ah) is the ideal housewife and mother, and they have two bright children. But with the departure of the Park family, we see them slowly start falling apart, leaving a gaping hole in the community where Seo-jin thought her family should fill, but is now having doubts about.

The other contender for this spot is Cha Min-hyuk (Kim Byung-chul). He is the most involved of all the fathers in his children lives, and his methods leave a lot to be desired. However, he doesn’t seem to catch on that no-one in the community particularly likes him, his own family included, and just seems to charge ahead without any thought of the harm he’s doing. It was great to see his wife finally stand up to him in Episode 5, and I feel like Seung-hye (Yoon Se-ah) is on the path to reclaiming her place in both her children’s lives and her marriage. It was so satisfying seeing Min-hyuk knocked down a few pegs.

This was of course through the gentle prodding of the community’s newest resident, Lee Soo-im (Lee Tae-ran). Her childhood relationship with Seo-jin is still a bit of mystery, but she clearly isn’t as mild-mannered as she appears on the surface. She’s willing to stand up for herself, and it’s great to know that she gets all the support she needs from her family. I’m looking forward to see how her small actions continue to cause waves among the rest of the families.

It’s also due to her that we see the breakdown between Seo-jin and Jin-hee’s (Oh Na-ra) relationship starting. Because Seo-jin can’t reveal her true past to Jin-hee, she’s becoming more and more untrusting of her closest friend, and added to the tense relationship between their husbands, I feel like they’re on the path to becoming rivals more than friends.

The show has an over-the-top-ness that I’m finding very fun to watch, and I’m glad that the acting is supporting the intense storylines of the show. Kim Byung-chul in particular is a favourite of mine, and he’s getting such an interesting arc that I’m so excited for. All the families have so much invested in succeeding, and it seems like they are willing to go to any lengths to achieve it.

Graphic Novels

Paper Girls (Issue #11-15)

The girls go through some life changing events, as the things around them become more and more crazy. These five issues focused particularly on KJ, who was reunited with the other girls in prehistoric times. Not only does she experience a crisis of identity, she also has to now deal with the consequences of having killed someone in order to defend her companion. It seemed like everything was happening to her all at once. In Y: The Last Man, Vaughan usually managed to balance out the topic relating to women over all his female characters. However, in Paper Girls, even though he has a wealth of women to write for, it seems like one is getting the brunt of the social commentary in her story arc. 

We also encountered two new women, one from the time the girls got stranded in, and one who claims she invented time-travel. Wari, our prehistoric mother, seems to only have one thing on her mind: Keep her son safe from the mysterious three men. The other, Qanta, seems to be on a reconnaissance mission in the past, and accidentally gets herself into trouble with these same mystery men. Both end up being put in distress and have to fight their way out, with the help of our paper girls.

The visual style of the comic seems to getting more conventional as the story gets more fantastical; gone is the vibrant colour palette and everything seems to be in much more muted earth colours. The pacing also seems to be much slower, and I miss the action of the earlier issues that don’t seem to have followed the girls into the past. I hope the story returns to that original pacing of the earlier issues going forward.