Tag: tv

Week in Review (Dec 13 – 19, 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

Misaeng (2014)

I’ll be quite frank, Misaeng was a gruelling watch, but it was so worth it. There’s something innately relatable about how mundanely the show represents office life and I found myself rooting for these character to get their project proposals approved and their presentations to go well.

Jang Geu-rae (Im Si-wan) is the heart of the show, and is our guide through the crazy world of office politics as he learns to navigate it himself. He’s such an easygoing and good-natured young man that I almost wanted to see how he might react when pushed far enough. Lucky for him, he had a supportive group of fellow newbies and they all learnt to survive by learning and helping one another. All four of them have difficult upward climbs in their respective teams, whether it’s dealing with misogyny, realising that you aren’t as smart as you might think, constantly having the threat of being fired looming, or being belittled by your superiors at every turn.

As much as the newbies suffer, we also see the struggles of middle- and upper-management in the show. While there are clearly good and bad choice, the show doesn’t always paint the people who make them in such binary tones. Oh Sang-sik’s (Lee Sung-min) strong moral compass is what ultimately causes his team to suffer, and Director Choi (Lee Kyoung-young) shows remorse for his decisions knowing he deserved what he got in the end. 

The show was actually quite good about being true to life in that sense, and I liked that it didn’t take place over the course of a few short months as a lot of dramas tend to. We got to spend two years with these characters, seeing them growing and evolving as people, and the long-form storytelling fit well with the slow pace of the show. Han Seok-yul’s (Byun Yo-han) arc in particular was really well teased out, going from having a reputation of a lecherous dog to being genuinely loved by his colleagues. His lively personality was what won me over, as I’m sure it did the others, and Byun deserves a huge amount of credit for turning his character around like that.

Finally, I’m glad that the show didn’t give us neatly tied up storylines. Life is messy, and Misaeng shows us that grimness in all its glory, living up to its name. This life is incomplete, and therefore it has time to change and evolve into something beautiful and unique. The most we can do is try our damnedest to be better. YES? YES!

Graphic Novels

Paper Girls (Issue #6-10)

Wow, things really took a turn in these five issues. Erin encountered not one but two different versions of herself, and not only does she have to contend with the fact that the older version of her isn’t the ideal future she would have imagined for herself, but her clone also turned out to be evil! 

The girls were reunited at the end of Issue #10, but not after some major trials and Mac also learned a hard truth about her future. Mac in particular is a wild card, but all the girls seems to be showing the volatile traits that come with the territory of being a teenage girl; that strange combination of untrusting, overconfident, self-doubting – and it’s all amplified by the fantastical scenario they’re in.

The artwork continues to be a delight, the colour palette in particular setting the tone and complimenting the writing perfectly. Now that the papergirls have been reunited, I’m curious to see how things move forward. It’s most likely going to test loyalties, but I have faith that the girls will make it through to the other side intact.

Week in Review (Dec 6 – 12, 2020)

~ 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

Start-Up (2020)

Even just the opening title of Start-Up got me in the right mood to watch the show, old-school music mixing with modern imagery, and I loved that the show blended two dichotomies into one constantly, showing that even when things may clash, they eventually need to find a harmony with one another in order for true progress to happen. Nature and technology, tradition and innovation have to learn to occupy the same space, and that’s where Start-Up does its best.

Han Ji-pyeong (Kim Seon-ho) and Harmoni (Kim Hae-sook) highlight one of many such contrasting ideas that blended into one another. The letters were always a creation born of both Harmoni’s traditionalist views and Ji-pyeong modern sensibilities, and that was probably a large part of the appeal of the made up Do-San for Seo Dal-mi (Bae Suzy). Not only was this invented man chivalrous and old-fashioned in the best of ways, he was also forward thinking and had an unsurpassable drive for success and change. Of course no one else could hold a candle to him! 

When the real Nam Do-san (Nam Joo-hyuk) enters the scene, he’s such a change from the original that he has to reinvent himself entirely, but because he’s only receiving guidance from half of the original duo, his character seems incomplete. It’s only when moments of his true self are allowed to shine through that he became a fully realised entity, and it’s no wonder that it’s in these moments when the true magic between them happens. Even though Do-san is extremely insecure of himself, Dal-mi’s unconditional trust in him is what gives him the strength to push to his full potential. 

Another motif of the show is in finding one’s true place in the world, and not following what is expected or wanted of us. Where Do-san failed as CEO of Samsan Tech, having Dal-mi at the helm allowed the team to channel themselves where they would have the maximum impact. In-jae (Kang Han-na) also similarly realised that she would always be unappreciated at her step-father’s company and decided to unshackle herself from them and forge her own path instead.

Although the show is played largely as a traditional romance, it was in this aspect that I found the show to be most lacking. The primary triangle set up between Dal-mi, Do-san and Ji-pyeong never really held my attention, and Ji-pyeong never seemed like a true contender for Dal-mi’s affection. The irony of this is – of course – not lost on me, since in the beginning it is Ji-pyeon’s story that we follow, and it is he that gets the cliche childhood friendship and subsequent coincidental reunion, a trope that is commonly used in several drama pairings. There also seems to be a sense of completeness to the pairing of Do-san and Dal-mi, and a third party seems almost irrelevant (not that that has stopped writers before).

Ji-pyeong’s story feels much more complete alongside Harmoni. Both actors lend such a raw realness to their characters that they feel lived in and a true part of the universe. When Ji-pyeong has his heartbreaking epiphany and Harmoni holds him as he sobs in her arms was equal parts satisfying and tearjerking. The other storyline that left a strong emotional impact on me was that of Dal-mi’s father (played by the omnipresent Kim Joo-hun). Even in his brief appearance, I felt a strong connection to him, and understood his passion and drive. You feel a sense of him throughout the lives of the women he left behind, shaping and moulding the way they view the world in the same way that they made him the man he was.

Lastly, I do want to mention the actors that played the younger counterparts to our main trio. Ho Jung-eun in particular is always a delight to watch and the two boys knocked it out of the park. We can see how closely these younger selves shapes the older versions we eventually see. I also particularly liked our more underrated Sans. Yoo Soo-Bin has a comedic brilliance about him and was a delight to have on my screen. Kim Do-wan played the strong silent type, but when the team was looking for insight he was often there to provide it.

While Start-Up may not be the most groundbreaking show, it does have a sense of appeal in the story it was trying to tell. I particularly like the backdrop of the start-up world and although we didn’t get to fully explore it over the course of the show, it has peaked my interest enough for me to want to learn more about it independently. I’m glad I got to be along for the ride as these characters experienced ups and downs, rooting for them through their hardships and celebrating with them when they ultimately found their successes.

Graphic Novels

Paper Girls (Issue #1-5)

Brian K. Vaughan has been one of my favourite writers since I first read Y: The Last Man almost a decade ago. His latest series, Paper Girls, is just as thrilling and these first five issues have piqued my interest. The universe he has created, paired with the artwork by Cliff Chiang immerses you in the world inhabited by our four intrepid paper delivery girls as they try to uncover the mysteries of their town. 

So far, it’s mostly been about establishing the conditions that sets our characters off on their journey, but I’m looking forward to seeing where the time-travel adventures lead our gang and how this will help shape them in this formative time of their lives. Issue #6, here I come! 

Miscellaneous

Disney Investor Day 2020

It seems a bit strange to be reviewing what is essentially a financial statement, but Disney’s Investor Day of 2020 was a fascinating blend of corporate structure and creative output. The theme of the day was “storytelling” and I think I heard the word used at least a dozen times over the course of the 4-hour presentation. The launch of Disney+ has worked largely in their favour in the present times, and this is reflected right out of the gate with their subscription count. Both Disney+ and ESPN+ have reached their 2024 targets just within a single year with Hulu not far behind, and Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) business is striving under the current pandemic. Of the 105 titles announced during the Investor Day, 80% of them are planned for a DTC launch. This is extremely telling of Disney’s strategy with regards to their streaming services going forward. 

When it comes to those titles, the highlights for me were the Star Wars and the Marvel titles. Both seem to have shifted to more long-form storytelling and have an extensive slate of upcoming TV series, each of which tie in intricately within their respective universes. Disney and Pixar on the other hand seem to be sticking to their strength with their feature films. Raya and the Last Dragon and Soul are their next two releases. However, Disney will still be taking advantage of the Disney+ platform by having simultaneous release with Premium Access. 

It always surprises me how many companies fall under the Disney umbrella. With their recent acquisitions of STAR and 20th Century Fox, as well as their ownership of FX, it seems like Disney have a finger in every pie. However, it seems like Disney’s plan to roll out STAR is all over the place, sometimes quite literally. Every region seems to be getting its own version with some having it as an individual tile integrated into Disney+, while in others, it will be its own independent streaming service called STAR+. The biggest revolution that seems to have come out of this though, is in the way they are handling live sports. From the presentation, the UI seems to a very clean synergistic look to it with everything available at a glance or the touch of a button. 

Overall, I’m quite excited about the new titles that Disney announced. However, like most things that concern Disney, I will be taking it with a grain of salt, and will try to manage my expectations because you never know when something might look pretty on the surface, but turn out to be a massive disaster (I’m looking at you, Mulan!). 

Week in Review (Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2020)

~ 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

Reply 1994 (2013)

While not the final instalment of the Reply series, it is the final one for me, and in a way it’s probably best this way, since I don’t imagine I would have had the urge to watch Reply 1988 if I’d seen this first.

While the cast is excellent and the structure of the story holds promise, the execution often left me with a sense of frustration. The writer seems intent on prolonging the mystery and creating diversions rather than telling a story that serves the characters well. Even knowing how things would pan out before the show started, I was often annoyed at how the writer toyed with the romance mystery. I’m generally a very easy-going viewer, allowing the story to unfold and trusting that the writer is going to do justice to the narrative because they genuinely want to tell the best version of the story they can. But here, it felt a lot like they were just jerking me around. I can see why the writer might have taken this direction with the storytelling style. I mentioned in my review of Reply 1997 how the mystery didn’t really hold my attention because it never really seemed like a question how things would eventually turn out. But it seems like the writer went in the complete opposite direction here, and it just served to alienate me a little bit. 

That being said, there are still a lot of things to enjoy about the show. The boarding house is filled with a mishmash of characters, each with their own unique background. Seeing them interact with one another feels natural, whether it’s Haitai (Sohn Ho-joon) and Samcheonpo (Kim Sung-kyun) fighting over bedtime, Chilbong (Yoo Yeon-seok) finding family and becoming a fixture at the boarding house, Yoon-jin’s (Min Do-hee) rivalry-turned-romance with Samcheonpo, or Binguerre’s (Baro) hero worship of Sseureki (Jung Woo) as he tries to find his identity. In many ways the show is a love letter to the diversity to be found in the small peninsula, but at the same time, that sense of being an outsider is what connects all these characters together.

This writer’s strength lies in developing family relationships, and I find the family unit in this show to be cohesive, even if it isn’t as well developed as the others in the series. Go Ara’s Na-jung is a bright carefree character, and we see how her interaction with her parents (played brilliantly by Lee Il-hwa and Sung Dong-il) has a normality to it that you find in everyday life. They face their ups and downs together, and they rely on one another to get through the tough times as much as they celebrate they joy together.

In the end, I’m glad I watched the show, but I didn’t get the same joy out of it as I did from either the previous or the following instalments of the series. However, this show’s set-backs allowed the writer to deliver an even stronger follow-up, and for that I’m glad that it exists.

Movies

You’ve Got Mail (1998)

There seems to be a 90s theme to this weeks reviews, and this film manages to capture that unique time of the early days of the internet. You’ve Got Mail is a slice of the 90s, and although it is primarily remembered as a rom-com, it’s also equal parts about family, and justice and nostalgia. 

Both Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks deliver stellar performances. Hanks in particular seems to be playing two different characters, the rude and unapproachable corporate in person, which contrast with the kind and helpful online persona he’s cultivated. But over the course of the film we get to resolve these two personas into one, just as Kathleen has to. Kathleen Kelly on the other hand is shown to undergo the most change, and we get to enjoy watching her become more straightforward through the guidance of those around her. She also lets go of her prejudices against Joe Fox, realising that she can’t judge a book by its cover.

The quirky cast of characters helps to round out the universe, showing the great contrast between the commercial Fox Books and the independent The Shop Around the Corner and setting the stage for the majority of the conflict in the film. This conflict is what helps to drive our characters apart, but it is also eventually what helps bring them together, since they are constantly thrust into each other’s company. 

There’s a reason that this film has made it into the ranks of the classics. It has heart and true human emotion driving the characters. You understand where they are coming from and why they react the way they do. It’s fun being on the journey with them as they figure out the ups and downs of life, and you can’t help but root for them. 

Week in Review (Nov 22 – 28, 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

My Love From the Star (2013)

What a gem of a show! Jun Ji-hyun is by far one of my favourite actors and her performance alongside Kim Soo-hyun creates for one of the most memorable pair of leads. This show left a strong lasting impression, and barring a few minor missteps, My Love From the Star is beautifully made.

I’m no stranger to Writer Park Ji-eun’s work, and have watched both Legend of the Blue Sea and Crash Landing on You. As a viewer, it is easy to see a lot of the themes of this show reflected in these later works, and arguably done better there. The fish-out-of-water elements definitely work better in Blue Sea, and the antagonists are much more well realised in CLoY, but there are definitely components that she managed to capture beautifully in this show, that didn’t have quite the same magic in the follow-up projects. 

The mixing of two timelines into a single narrative is the first that comes to mind. Kim’s stranded alien forced to spend the last 400 years on Earth waiting for his spaceship back home is pitch-perfect, capturing the weariness of being among a people that you can’t understand and distancing yourself from them. But as we peel back the layers of his character, we find that he did once engage with them, and that the scars left from those interactions forced him to retreat rather than subject himself to more heartbreak. The Joseon storyline shows us just how much he was able to feel back then, and contrasts well with the cold professor we get in the modern day.

Cheon Song-i on the other hand, seems to wear her heart on her sleeve, and we see her start to break through the tough veneer that Do Min-joon has spent centuries perfecting. She’s so disarmingly charming that it’s difficult not to fall in love with her, and Jun is unafraid to be ridiculous in the role in service of the character. Whether it’s crying over her shoes, yelling about her anti-fans or posting on social media, Song-i is always larger than life, and she manages to creep into every corner of Min-joon’s life despite his efforts to push her away. 

Of course there was the fact that she looked like the woman he fell in love with when he first arrived on Earth, but that seemed like a convenient plot-element rather than having any actual place in the show. The other plotline that seemed like it was there just to be there was Song-i and her family being abandoned by her father. It was one part of the story that perhaps worked better on paper than in practice, because it was never really explored and resolved a little too easily for my liking.

Of the secondary characters, my favourite would have to be Lawyer Jang (Kim Chang-wan). His poignant friendship with Min-joon was just as lovely as his hilarious exasperation with him, and I loved the running gag of him speaking to Min-joon so formally despite the actor being decades older than Kim Soo-hyun. My other favourite was comic book store owner Hong Bok-ja (Hong Jin-kyung). She serves as an audience surrogate in many ways, getting to observe the shenanigans from afar, but she also grounds Song-i when she starts to get out of hand and supports her even if she might not agree with her. While everyone else in her life is a yes man, Song-i values her opinion because she knows she’ll tell it to her straight, even if it isn’t what she wants to hear.

Song-i thought this of Yoo Se-mi and Lee Whi-kyung too, but both ultimately had ulterior motives, and neither truly had her best interest at heart. These two characters were perhaps the most infuriating, because they could have been subversive of the typical second lead tropes that we usually see, but the writer falls back on those tried and tested cookie-cutter characters, and they feel flat and lifeless. Lee Jae-kyung also feels like a caricature villain, complete with ring-twisting, evil smirks and greasy-hair.

And that’s where the show felt most underdeveloped. The murder plot went on too long, without any real justification or clear reasoning behind it, and of course it spawned the completely unnecessary inconsistencies in Min-joon’s abilities (Why is going to die if he kills someone?). The external conflicts felt almost redundant when there was so much more meaningful storytelling to be hard from the internal conflicts.

But, of course, I am nitpicking a little bit. My Love From the Star deserves the critical acclaim and love that it gets because it truly does deliver a near-perfect show. And quite frankly, I could watch Jun Ji-hyun and Kim Soo-hyun on my screen any time.

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020) – Ep 15-16

?????? !!!!!! 😡 

Can that just be my review for the show? I’m so disappointed with how this show turned out, that it’s hard to write about it without getting a bit angry. While there were so many elements of this show to love when it began, the writer seemed to get more and more lost on what to do with her characters as the show progressed. It seemed like we covered practically every trope in the book: Runaway chaebol, clueless heiress, overbearing parents, stalkers, murder plot, dead friend, truck of doom, the list goes on and on. But the one that seemed to be dumbest in the long list of dumb was the writer’s most decent addition of the cancer storyline. WHAT?! And to make things worse, Joon lies to Ra-ra about his illness robbing her of being able to spend time with him, and then has his mother lie to her that he’s dead! For how long you ask? Maybe just a few weeks or at the worst a few months, right? Nope! Five freaking YEARS! There’s nothing noble about that, that’s just plain idiocy. I’m mad that the writer felt like it was okay to jerk us around like that. I wish Joon had stayed dead, to be honest.

This was a show that I decided to live watch, something I haven’t done in years, because I wanted to keep up with the community discussion and enjoy the show in the format that it was intended to be told. Sadly, it hasn’t been an enjoyable experience at all, and I’m wishing for that time back. I wish I’d waited till the show was done before deciding to watch it. That’s not to say I might not have watched it if I’d known it would end badly, but at least I would have had the choice. And that’s essentially what it comes down to. It isn’t that I’ve never watched a bad show, of course I have. But most of the time, I go in knowing it’s going to be bad, but want to watch in anyway. For the writer, the director, the cast or the story. I’ve mentally prepared myself for it being disappointing, so I can manage my expectations and enjoy it for the reasons that I chose it, rather than dwelling on the things that aren’t up to par.

All this waxing poetic to say that I feel cheated by DDSSLLS. Because it showed promise, because I kept giving the show the benefit of the doubt, and perhaps because I didn’t know to quit while I was ahead. But like I said, I liked so many things when this show began: The townspeople of Eunpo, the wonderful colour palette, the way that music was incorporated into the show, and the cuteness of Go Ara and Lee Jae-wook (even if their characters can be described as questionable at best, and that’s me being generous). So, I’m going to take that from the show and hope to forget the rest. Ugh. Whatever, it’s over. Finally. We now return to our regularly scheduled program…

Week in Review (Nov 15 – 21, 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

School 2013 (2012)

I’d been hearing about the School series, almost as much as I had heard about the Reply series in having a unique concept and a consistent style with a clear focus on what message it wants to convey.

The message in School 2013 seems to be that of the hardships of youth, how things that seem inconsequential to adults are world-shattering in the eyes of high-school kids. At times, the show takes itself so seriously that I couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous it was. But for the most part, there is a sincerity to the show that goes unmatched, in the way that it portrays that turbulent time in a teen’s life.

The strength of the show lies in its relationships. The boys getting into fights because it’s easier to use their fists than their words. The girls falling out over misunderstandings, but then finding their way back to one another. And of course, the teachers, trying to navigate the scary water of the school administration, looking for the right balance between discipling their students and defending them.

In that sense, Ms. Jung (Jang Na-ra) and Mr. Kang (Daniel Choi) form the two ends of the disciplinary spectrum, Ms. Jung being the idealist to Mr. Kang’s cynic. Over the course of the show, they both end up somewhere in the middle, each learning from the other and growing together until their approaches eventually overlap. However, every step they take toward each other in wrought with emotional turmoil. When Ms. Jung eventually has had enough, you really understand the monumental effort it must have taken to crack her facade. Similarly, when Mr. Kang shares his previous hardships, you feel a sense of invasion, like you aren’t supposed to see this stoic, aloof man break down.

The show also explores the wide range and styles of friendship that this microcosm of Class 2-2 encompasses. There’s the loyalty of the bully trio that gets tested, the carefree dynamic between the boys, the caring-yet-competitive nature of the overachieving girl trio and the sweet devotion of Young-woo. The show took its time exploring all the different shapes and sizes friends come in, and even if they might have their disagreements, eventually these kids find their back to each other, because it’s with each other that they flourish.

But there are two friendships that stood out to me over the course of the show. The first is that between Ha-kyung (Park Se-young) and Gang-joo (Ryu Hyo-young). The show starts off by show these two merely as girls that sit next to each other and occasionally share some notes, but by the end they are so fiercely protective of one another that heaven help anyone that try to come between them.

The second, and obviously the central relationship of the show, is that between Nam-soom (Lee Jong-suk) and Heung-soo (Kim Woo-bin). I like that the show teased out the mystery of how these two knew each other and it pays off by the end of the show to know their history, because you understand what these boys have gone through before being able to make their peace with one another and re-forge their friendship. I like that Lee and Kim took the effort to really embody their characters, and they really do manage to capture the beauty to be had in an intimate friendship.

While the tone of the show could be overly melodramatic at times, I think that in some ways it suits the universe it lives in, that of a high school, because to these kids, everything is life-or-death. That said, the actors performances were usually understated, having a matter-of-factness to them that makes them feel lived in. Like if I was to visit Seungri High, I would find the students and teachers going about their day, dealing with the ups and downs like always.

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020) – Ep 12-14

What. Is. Happening! I’m not sure why, but the show has taken a sharp left into melodrama-land, and it doesn’t look ready to leave any time soon. DDSSLLS started off as such a light, funny and endearing show, so it upsets me to see it take such a sharp dip. The writer seems intent on throwing us one curveball after another.

Episode 12 ended with Joon (Lee Jae.wook) crashing Dr. Cha (Kim Joo-hun) and Ra-ra’s (Go Ara) wedding. Of course, we found out this week that the whole thing was just an elaborate set-up for Ha-young (Shin Eun-soo) and Seung-ki’s (Yoon Jong-bin) new business. Colour me unsurprised, because there’s was no way that those two would get married after their conversation last week. I did find the kids coaching them on how to pose for the photoshoot funny, though.

It’s also nice that we get to see these two kids find a passion and a career that doesn’t follow the conventional ‘graduate-from-high-school’, ‘graduate-from-college’, ‘get-a-job’ life path. Ha-young has had a rather lovely journey in the show so far, and it was heart-warming to see the TWD ajummas tell Sook-kyeong (Ye Ji-won) how much they wish they had daughters like her because of how fiercely she defends her mother.

The less appealing parts of the show this week were the flip-flopping in the Ra-ra/Joon relationship. The late-entry girlfriend seems like one more unnecessary obstacle in the what was already a mess of unnecessary obstacles. Quite frankly, at this point, I think Joon should just go to Stanford, and Ra-ra should ride off into the sunset with Mimi and Juju, as happy as when she first arrived in Eunpo.

Week in Review (Nov 8 – 14, 2020)

~ 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

Signal (2016)

Signal was one of those shows that on the surface seems like a police procedural, dark and gritty and all the things that encompass a detective show. However, I found the cases intriguing, and as I proceeded with the show, there were actually more links between the cases than seemed apparent at first.

Overall, I found the show extremely engaging, and our trio of detectives each brought their own unique take and style to the team. Detective Lee’s (Cho Jin-woong) cautious optimism for the future was balanced out well with Detective Park’s (Lee Jae-hoon) cynicism and Detective Cha (Kim Hye-soo) helps to bridge the two worlds between the past and the present, by providing helpful insights and a strong emotional thread to connect Lee and Park.

While both Cho and Kim delivered strong performances, at times Lee felt a bit forced in his role. When Lee was onscreen it didn’t feel like I was seeing the character, but rather watching an actor deliver lines, where the other two actors seemed to inhabit their characters like a second skin.

The visual styling of the show was also quite interesting, and I found the flashback in particular stood out. Having the compressed look to them immediately told you what timeline you were in, without the need for clunky exposition or date tags of any sort. It also put me a little off-kilter every time I saw that compressed view, skewing the universe and telling me that something isn’t quite right, as though I’m seeing something I shouldn’t be privy to, getting a peek through a crack I shouldn’t look through.

Ultimately, even though I enjoyed the show, the ending made me angry. Even though I like when an ending is left open with room for interpretation, I found myself yelling at my screen “Is that it?!” as everything went to black and the ending was left open. I think the reason for this was two-fold. First, in a show where the structure serves to provide clear-cut answers to cases, with clear perpetrators and victims, I found it counter-to-message to leave unanswered questions. Second was that I was waiting for some sort of explanation to all the time-related aspects of the show: Why did the radio choose Park? Did they create a paradox when Lee survived? Why did Cha only remember some of the changes to the timeline but not others if she was so closely linked to it? Perhaps I’m taking too much of a sci-fi approach to a cop show, but I think that this was where the show let me down the most, and while I can say that I enjoyed the show for what it was, I wish the writer’s had put a little more thought into the mechanics of the universe they set up.

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020) – Ep 11

I only managed to get through one of the two episodes this week, but it was one of my favourites. The kindly harabeoji Kim Man-bok (Lee Soon-jae) has been the silent helping hand throughout the show so far, so it was nice that we finally got some insight into his character this episode. And what a beautiful and poignant tale it is, one that serves as a lesson just as much as it shows the small opportunities and decisions that make up a lifetime. The flashbacks – featuring Go Ara and Lee Jae-wook as the younger counterparts – serve as a record that timing is an important factor in life, serving as the basis for luck and fate to do their work. My largest take-away from Man-bok’s telling of his story was that the separation from his then-future wife actually served to solidify his feelings for her even more, because they made him realise that much more how special she was to him.

Other than looking at his past, Man-bok got to pay homage to his wife in the present. Ra-ra suggested a recital to play his wife’s favourite song on the anniversary of her death, and while he may not be quite at the skill level that he wants to achieve yet, he played with such heart that the townspeople (and I) were moved to tears just to see the depth of emotion he poured into his performance. Whether intentional or not, this show has always seemed to be an advocate for doing the things you love, even when they don’t line up with what is expected of you, even if it isn’t the thing you are best at. Ra-ra played piano out of love for her father, Joon stood up to his parents out of love for his friend, and I suspect that a lot of the townspeople perform similar acts of kindness for one another because of their love for each other.

The other thing that stood out to me in this episode was the lack of all the usual sparkles and shine. There was much more muted tone to this episode to reflect the Ra-ra’s current temperament. I’d mentioned previously that the shows eccentric style seems to be a reflection of Ra-ra own world view, and as she’e faced more hardships, thing seem to have become more muted. I’m hoping that the show can return to its original vibrancy as Ra-ra begins to return to her original bubbly self.

Week in Review (Nov 1 – 7, 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

Splash Splash Love (2015)

Anyone who knows me probably knows my love for historical fiction. This cute little two part mini-series sageuk was the perfect pick-me-up. With its blending of modern and historical elements, it was a funny story about an underachieving girl, Dan-bi (Kim Seul-gi). who accidentally gets transported to the Joseon period. Her frame of reference is the sageuk dramas her mother always had on in the background, and her limited knowledge from her high-school history class, which she uses to embed herself in the royal court and avoid getting into trouble with King Lee Do (Yoon Doo-joon) as she tries to find her way back home. Hijinks ensue, and the 2-hour format perfectly suited the minimalist storytelling. It didn’t have all the issues that long-format dramas can often have, with extraneous plot elements and drawn out conflicts. Overall, a very fun watch with just the right balance of humour and heart.

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020) – Ep 9-10

Okay, I’m going to hunker down and power through this drama, because I am enjoying too many elements of this show to not at least give it a shot.

This week saw resolutions to some of the mysteries that have been plaguing our gang. Stalker Ahn Joong-ho (Kang Hyeong-suk) has finally been apprehended and his arrest also meant Joon’s mom (Seo Yi-.sook) has finally found him, and she will hopefully stop handing out all those white envelope (I laughed so hard that her minion actually saved her name as ‘White Envelope’ in his phone). There was actually some very clear communication, almost unheard of in dramas, and everything got cleared up in a matter of minutes once we actually got everyone in the same place. Of course, this means that Ra-ra (Go Ara) also found out about Joon (Lee Jae-wook), although she didn’t get to hear it from him. 

In what was actually a really heartbreaking scene, Joon and Ra-ra were separated, by her own doing no less. His dad has also finally found out that he ran away, which is what Joon had wanted in the first place as a form of protest. He seems to have gotten through to his mother to some extent and I think she may end up switching teams and go all out to help her son get out from under his father’s thumb. *fingers crossed*

The other characters were a little bit sidelined this week, and aside from Jae-min’s recital and celebration dinner, we didn’t get to see too much of them. Even those ended up being more about Ra-ra’s epiphany about her father and Joon’s sense of familial belonging, at the recital and the dinner respectively.

Although the remaining of the series is probably going to focus largely on reuniting Joon and Ra-ra, I’m looking forward to seeing how things shake out with Ra-ra’s mysterious benefactor. I’m also excited for Ra-ra to set down roots, and hopefully we’ll find out what actually happened with her dad’s company (don’t think I forgot about the shady secretary, Show!). Now that we’re past the halfway point, I’m hoping the pace will pick up a little. And I wouldn’t mind a bit of a time jump at this stage, at least for Joon’s sake.

Week in Review (Oct 25 – 31, 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

The School Nurse Files (2020)

The School Nurse Files was a fast, fun, and memorable watch, quite possibly one of the strangest I’ve had in the kdrama world to date. The tone of the show felt a bit off-kilter the entire time I was watching, and I kept being surprised at the stylistic choices the director made. It has the feel of a highly polished Hollywood movie while still retaining an independent film vibe when it came to the writing and characters. 

As far as those characters are concerned, I felt like I never truly got the sense of their motivations or backgrounds, though. How or why did Ahn Eun-young (Jung Yu-mi) end up with her abilities? What made Hong In-pyo (Nam Joo-hyuk) able to recharge her abilities? Why was everyone and their mother after him? I felt like I came away from the show with a lot of questions and not as many answers as I would have liked. And no clear impression if this is it for the show or not. Do we get more, Netflix?

There was generally a tongue-in-cheek style of humour in the show, almost veering on black comedy, but never quite fully immersing itself in that territory. I think that was the biggest draw for me initially, that the show seemed like it would try different things, but then it was also where I found myself always wanting more and hoping that the writing would be bolder and take more risks. Sadly, I was never quite satisfied.

At this point, it seems to be more a matter of knowing if there will be more of The School Nurse Files. If not, then I find myself a little disappointed for getting so little pay-off for the scale of things that were established. But if there is more, then there is potential for a massive universe and a lot of room for exploration considering the richness of the environment that they have set-up and the avenues that they have for the characters to go down. I’m hoping for the latter.

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020) – Ep 7-8

*sigh* I was holding off on really making any comments about last week’s big reveal until some some light was shed by the writer, but the time has come to take a much more critical approach to the writing than I ever thought I might need to for a light-hearted romantic comedy.

For some reason that has yet to be clarified, Writer Oh Ji-young has chosen to make Joon (Lee Jae-wook) a high school senior. It automatically adds several problematic elements to his relationship with Ra-ra (Go Ara), considering the age difference, the creditor-debtor dynamic they already have, and their growing romantic feelings for one another.

While a five year age difference in and of itself isn’t a problem, the question of age of majority does come into play now. However, the writer has somehow managed to create a situation where the characters manage to remain guilt-free and unaware of anything being amiss, while also making the viewer extremely aware of them. By having Joon be the one who’s keeping his age from Ra-ra, it absolves her of any sin until she finds out. However, I feel that by having them confess feelings for one another and initiate a tentative relationship following their kiss at the end of the last episode, when the truth is finally revealed it’s only going to exacerbate the situation that much more.

It also brings into question Joon’s approach to life. He posed an interesting question of Seung-ki (Yoon Jong-bin) in Episode 8: “ If you have feelings to confess and a secret to tell, which should you do first?” I suspect that he got the answer he wanted, that you should confess first, be sure of the girl’s feelings for you and then let her know your secret once you feel she won’t flee. Which is a rather round-about and manipulative approach if you look at it too closely. From his point of view, he doesn’t want to reveal a secret to someone unless he’s sure they’re going to keep it. But by taking the approach that he did, he’s also denying Ra-ra of knowing an essential part of him, thereby denying her the choice to make an informed decision. It’s extremely messy as it stands right now, and I’m not sure how it can be fixed – that is, if the writer even thinks of it as a problem to begin with (signs point to ‘no’). 

At this point, as a viewer, there’s a choice that I need to make: Do I continue to watch the show in hopes of a magical resolution that absolves everyone? Or do I shelve the show and hope that in the event that I ever return to it, I come back to a show that has a clear message at the end of its run? It really is a shame, because I am enjoying the other aspects of the show, namely the townspeople, the visual style, the music and the even the aspects of Ra-ra and Joon’s relationship outside of the romance. Maybe there’s an option number 3 then: That I can watch the show and simply ignore the icky romance?

Movies

Back to the Future (1985)

Back to the Future is one of my favourite movies of all time. Crazy characters, whacky science and an even stranger plot, everything about this movie cracks me up. I wanted to do a rewatch to introduce my sister to this movie, and from the opening scene, I got sucked into the story, seeing that impressive set-up that Doctor Brown (Christopher Lloyd) has. You know right away that something isn’t right, from the burning toast to the days-old dog food that’s been heaping up. And that’s the most normal thing that could go wrong in the film. From that point on Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) runs into one problem after another, from not having enough fuel to get himself back the his own time after he transports himself into the past by mistake, to having his mom accidentally fall in love with him after he interrupts his parents’ first meeting, which means that his siblings and him start to fade from existence. 

As dire as those situations sound the film is played with humour and heart, the sci-fi elements taking a backseat in favour of character development and story. This movie is such a fun watch and you come away from it feeling like you watched something really strange but enjoyed it nonetheless.

Week in Review (Oct 18 – 24, 2020)

~ 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:

TV

100 Days My Prince (2018)

100 Days at face value seems like it would be a complete cliche, and in a lot of respects it is. But because it doesn’t have any grand illusions about what it wants to accomplish, the show just is and it’s perfectly content in that. 

The shows strength lies in its characters, and the actors really put the nuance into their performances, making the townspeople seem like they’ve been living there all their lives, going in and out of each others houses, exchanging greetings and sharing their lives together.

This isn’t to say that the show doesn’t have flaws, as the story got off to a very slow start and never seemed to find the right pace. But from my perspective, getting to watch the show in one go, it didn’t really bother me as much because I was setting my own viewing pace as well.

The palace stuff was the other thing that never really seemed to find the right balance, at times seeming almost unnecessary to the overall arc of the show. In fact, one could argue that if the palace storyline had been taken out entirely, the show would still have felt complete in its village setting, as a story about a man who loses his memory and a woman who helps him become a kinder person.

This show is more or less exactly what I expected it to be, and I suspect the writers went into it knowing they were going to lean into all the tropes they set up. But I find that I finished the show feeling satisfied, perhaps because I went in not expecting it to be much and just enjoyed going along for the ride.

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020) – Ep 5-6

While last week’s episodes focused largely on building out the universe and establishing the town of Eunpo and its inhabitants, this week focused much more on our main pair. We got more information about Joon’s past (Lee Jae-wook) and his reasons for being on the run (side note: why are dramas always giving characters dead friends and shitty parents to angst over?) and we also got to see Ra-ra (Go Ara) settling into her current life, as the veneer comes off and a lot the gang start to see that she’s even stranger than she appears on first glance. I’m enjoying watching Go Ara find the physicality of the character and slowly flesh her out each week.

The show also continues to engage my senses (and make me hungry, is it really necessary to film the food this way?) and play with visual elements, making me want to go back to rewatch all the little sparkles they add to the show. With the music coming to the forefront, I’m sure it will continue to do that, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the show ties it in with the emotional threads.

Week in Review (Oct 11 – 17, 2020)

~ 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:

TV

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020) – Ep 3-4

So many mysteries were set up this week, and things are getting creepier. Stalkers, murder and fraud have all become part of the mix and the show seems to be throwing the characters and us a lot of red herrings as to who these people may end up being. My guess on the body that was found is that it’s going to be the same man from the picture Joon (Lee Jae-wook) was looking at since we got a couple of shots of that watch, and the man in the picture also had a distinct-looking watch. Could it possibly be Joon’s friend and also the reason that he felt the need to run away from home?

As for the stalker, I highly doubt that it’s going to be Eun-seok (Kim Joo-hun), but it does bother me that he keeps showing up and that he lives in the same building as the ladies. Add to that the uncomfortable feeling that Ra-ra (Go Ara) has around him, and he just gets even more mysterious.

But the bright centre of this show is still Ra-ra as she continues to navigate her way through her hardships. I’m curious if she is genuinely as nice as she seems or if she’s just really good at subtly manipulating the people around her, having grown up in the cutthroat world of high-society. She was absolutely masterful in getting the mother-daughter duo to do what she wanted just by putting on a bright smile and throwing some compliments their way. We seemed to get glimpses of Ra-ra being extremely aware of her surroundings, although she still seems to be rather naive in a lot of other respects.

The visuals of this show are the strongest of the show so far. That scene where Sook-kyeong (Ye Ji-won) was making the sandwiches made my mouth water. The show is actually quite good at linking the sense, adding visuals elements to allow us to follow sounds and smells and tastes, as well as linking them to emotions. We also got our first few looks at how the director will incorporate music into the show, and so far I like it. The scene where the old man (Lee Soon-jae) asks her to play had me tearing up, and the animation of her talking to the stars had a soft dreamy quality to it.

The show does have some over-the-top tendencies, but I’m willing to forgive them for the moment because I feel like that’s part of the storytelling, trying to show us the world not as it is, but as Ra-ra sees it. Everything in Eunpo has a shiny glow over to it, and when contrasted with the cooler tones of the Seoul scenes, it seems even more vibrant. I’m sure that as Ra-ra embeds herself further into life in Eunpo and becomes closer to its residents, that will only become more pronounced.