REVIEW: The Time We Were Not in Love (SPOILERS)

Photo from asianwiki.com

This show had all the trimmings of one of the best dramas of 2015. I mean you can't really go wrong with Ha Ji Won as the lead actress, right? Unfortunately, for me, the show fell flat half way through and I had to make myself watch the remaining episodes. Overall, it was an entertaining show with a lot of cute moments but there was a lack of tension and chemistry for me.

In the beginning, since everything was new and I was just excited to see the show, it was a really great ride. L was stirring up emotions and Lee Jin Wook was the masculine and caring male lead that we all love to see. However, there was a major event that shook up not just the characters but the show in general.

So, as much as I love seeing up and coming actor Yoon Gyun Sang in anything, his character kind of ruined the show for me. This has nothing to really do with his acting it's just that his character was really wet blanket. The character of Cha Seo Hoo was supposed to have our male leads battling to the death and our female lead really torn over who to go to, right? Well, what we get is Oh Ha Na being dragged along (again) by Cha Seo Hoo and Choi Won (Lee Jin Wook) fighting a battle all by himself (sort of). It was seriously like one of the hardest things to watch. To me it would have been better if at least Oh Ha Na seemed like she was secretly pinning after Choi Won or something but it felt like her character gave up which basically left the male lead that we were all rooting for in limbo. Ugh!

After that everything seemed like a half baked attempt to patch the original premise of the series back together. I have not seen the Chinese original yet, but since it has gotten rave reviews I am assuming that things were handled much better. If that wasn't enough however when our OTP does finally get together there were no sparks at least not from Oh Ha Na. Like pretty much all the relationships in this show (except Dae Bok and Eun Jung, and Mi Hyang and Park Jong Hoon) seemed one sided. Seriously, like no one liked the person that liked them. It was weird. It was even more weird that our leads who've built up levels of love practically their whole lives had no real romantic moments. I mean I guess you can count the wedding, but what wedding isn't romantic?

Now, it is possible that I am being overly critical/cynical of the show since it just straight up bored me near the end, but I have to say that if you are thinking about watching this show I say don't worry about it. Unless you're a super huge fan of one of the main actors you can pretty much skip it.

Please let me know what you think. 

And please let me know if I missed something that actually made this show magical.

REVIEW: Ex-Girlfriend Club

Ex-Girlfriend Club was sadly cut by a whole four episodes, from 16 to 12. However, the sudden ending didn't seem empty and I got what a wanted, a happy but still funny ending.

I was really looking forward to this, mostly because of the cast. Song Ji Hyo seems to act in something like once a year these days so I really needed to see this show to support her. Also, this is Byun Yo Han's first leading role since enchanting us in Misaeng so I had to support him too. However, they were only two of the many acting jewels that were a part of this production.  For the full cast list CLICK HERE. Now let's get into the review.

Synopsis: A film producer, Kim Soo Jin, and a manhwa (comic) writer, Bang Myung Soo, who were once inseparable friends meet up again after a long break to make a movie based off of the comic. Everything seems to be pretty standard but Soo Jin's company is in danger of going under and if that wasn't enough Myung Soo's exes want a say in how the movie goes. Obviously this will result in some frustrating but also hilarious situations. 

Things I Liked:

1. The relationship between Kim Soo Jin and Bang Myung Soo. They're friends! I know it seems impossible but at the beginning of the show these two are adorable friends that reminisce about good times and fight like only real friends do. That adorable friendship or at least elements of their friendship remained to the very end and that made for a very enjoyable and realistic show.

2. The ex-girlfriends. As irritating as it would be for your exes to come out of no where and try to control you, your friend, and your project years after breaking up, these were not your usual exes. All three women were tough in their own right. The three exes had strong minds and strong opinions and they never missed a moment to share them. It was also really hilarious to see how three exes of the same man interacted with each other. There was a bit of cat fighting but also a bit of understanding and encouraging.

3. Kim Soo Jin. I don't think Song Ji Hyo plays weak characters. If she has I haven't seen it so it's no surprise that as cute as her character is she wasn't going down without a fight. Kim Soo Jin was the perfect example of what most women are like in real life. They can be sweet, but they also have their own standards and expect the people they hang out with to uphold those standards to a certain degree. Soo Jin was sweet most of the time but she definitely didn't stop herself from getting angry if need be. Toward the end of the show her character was mostly on the sweet side, but if things start to work out how you want in your life wouldn't you be on the sweet side too?

4. Bang Myung Soo. He wasn't the super mean jerk or the sweet pushover. He was a normal guy with normal feelings and it was great to see him get attention. Like Soo Jin, Myung Soo was like an actual human: he was sweet, he was outspoken, and he was hilarious. I guess it was the webtoon writer in him but he had a lot of comedic sense which also made the show very enjoyable to watch.

5. Understandable villian(s). There may have been more than one antagonist depending on how you look at the show. However, none of them were so bad that you were hoping someone would come out of no where and just kill them off. They were normal. They became mean because of understandable situations and they were a tolerable amount of mean. It all made sense!

6. The theme song. One of the best theme songs I have ever heard. It's a folk and synth mix that is bouncy and playful and perfect for the show as well as summer. Check out Variegated by Jannabi.

What I Didn't Like:
Basically my main complaint with the show it that it was cut short. I felt that the cut didn't completely harm the series overall but it did have some effect on it. The flow in the last few episodes became really weird. It wasn't a major problem nor was it super obvious but as a fan of the show I could see that some things were altered from the original plan. I really wish that the show could have kept its run despite the low ratings. It was such a great show and for it to be cut like that was really frustrating.

I think the keywords for this drama are normal, sensible, and funny. The drama wasn't an epic melodrama or anything but it had a lot of good moments and a good cast that made it enjoyable to watch. It was perfect for the sweet days of spring and the dog days of summer, and if you've been wanting to watch it fall isn't too late. 

If you're looking for a drama that you can just watch without aging or feeling exhausted after every episode then I recommend this show. The best part is that now that all the episodes are out, it can be marathon-ed. I think this is one of those underrated dramas that only people who don't fantasize about living in k-dramas can appreciate. If you're looking for a good show to marathon then I recommend this one. 

Monday Marathon: Be Arrogant (Dodohara)

This was one mini drama that I really wanted to see this year because it starred Kim Yura of Girl's Day. I don't follow Girl's Day very closely but I am familiar with the members and some of their songs so I wanted to check out how one of them would do as an actress. Spoiler: She did pretty well. 

Overview: Hong Ha Ra was left broke and alone by her boyfriend Noh Cheol (Yoo Min Kyu). Having to move out, she decides to move into the house of Do Ra Hee, Noh Cheol's older sister who Ha Ra finds out is actually his girlfriend of 6 years. Though Ra Hee and Ha Ra pretty much hate each other from the start they decide to start an online shopping mall together. They do pretty well and actually become sisters of sorts until Noh Cheol shows up again and shakes the relationship between the two women as well as his relationship with them.

Why It's Worth Marathon-ing:
1. ONE DAY DRAMA. With 10 episodes being between 20 and 25 minutes long it won't be hard to complete this drama. You would think that a complicated plot such as this one would fall short in this amount of time but it didn't.

2. REALISM. There are probably a few far-fetched concepts but they were written and executed in a believable way. It's probably weird that the girlfriends of one guy live together and decide to go into business together, but they never had any delusions about how they came to be business partners, nor did they try to hide it from anyone else. They maintained 100% honesty with each other and others they came in contact with.

3. LOVE TRIANGLE. *SPOILER ALERT* This was one of the weirdest love triangles ever. Why? Well, both girls were still in love with Noh Cheol, Noh Cheol likes both girls. So what did they do? They cried, and dated, and claimed to hate each other, and everything that just doesn't really happen in a normal love triangle. Because they became a little family they decided that they needed to sacrifice for each other even if it would hurt them. It was commendable and actually easy to watch. No second lead syndrome at all, at least not for me.

4. TWO TOUGH CHICKS. The female leads Hong Ha Ra played by Yura, and Do Ra Hee played by Shin So Yul were very strong female characters. They fought with each other, they fought with Noh Cheol, they fought the weirdness that was their relationship. Though fighting doesn't necessarily make one a tough girl it does show that the characters had no problem voicing their opinions rather then holding it all in and revealing their feelings when it was too late like some other characters we may know.

5. ENDING. I'm not going to say much about it, but I thought the last episode was funny and sweet. Somehow those three kept a healthy and sometimes loving relationship between them that was fun to watch.

Overall, I thought the acting was really good, the story line was well thought out, and that due to the short length it was worth watching. I was glad that the format of the show didn't affect the story or acting.  It didn't leave anything to be desired so I finished the show feeling very satisfied. 

If you're looking to get into a romantic comedy but don't want anything too sappy then I would highly recommend this mini-drama. 

Monday Marathon: Love Cells

You know that I only watched the drama because the name "Kim Woo Bin" popped up on the cast list. Even though I came for Kim Woo Bin I stayed for the adorable main cast and the fun story line. 

Overview: A young man is in danger of losing his love cells because he has yet to date anyone. One of his love cells escapes and takes over his cat and coaches him on how to get the girl of his dreams who just so happens to be an untouchable idol.

Why it's Worth Marathon-ing:
1. LENGTH
The length is really a key point. The writer(s) managed to fit everything you might love or hate from a full length drama in about 6 to 12 minutes. It'll only take about 2 hours to watch from beginning to end but you can also watch during your lunch or study breaks if you can't find the time. I watched it on DramaFever.

2. CAST
There is a cast of wacky characters including the main character's next door neighbor played by Jang Hyuk and Park Joon Hyung as an ad model for all the special tools Navi has. The main cast includes: Park Sun Ho as Ma Dae Choon, Kim Yoo Jung as Navi (love cell/cat), Nam Ji Hyun as Seo Rin, and Baek Sung Hyun as Chun Ji Woon. The short also features Kim Woo Bin as the Love Cell Hunter.

3. PLOT
The main story line is pretty original, and the show was sweet and funny. Though romantic comedies are a dime a dozen this one has a pretty original concept. The idea that one has love cells that die off if you live your life as a single person too long is an interesting idea and one that I was happy to see played out. It was sweet in the fact that the romance never felt overly forced. From the beginning the concept was to force the romance so that the main character's love cells wouldn't die but it never got to a point where I cringed at it. It was very hilarious too see some big name stars act pretty wacky and it was funny to see the main character Ma Dae Choon try to win over the affections of Seo Rin, the idol he had a crush on.

4. ENDING
The ending was pretty surprising. I don't want to spoil anything but I will say that there was quite the turn of events near the end. The very ending also seemed to be promising a sequel in which the Love Cell Hunter's story would be told. I finished the drama feeling satisfied even if the story didn't exactly go as I planned in my head I thought the writer(s) did a very good job. 

If you are currently looking for your next short, I definitely recommend this one. I am actually thinking of re-watching it just so I can see it from beginning to end without a whole week between some episodes. 

I know it's been a a while since I've done one of these, but a whole bunch of shorter drama are starting to be released so hopefully I'll be able to keep Marathon Monday alive for a while.