Friday, April 1, 2016

Monthly Recap: March 2016


So I haven't been the best blogger once again but since my computer was broken for half of March I suppose that's a good enough reason for my absence? I have been watching some dramas last month, so worry not. I will rant away on this post. Full reviews of some of the finished dramas will come soon, as will several movie reviews since the Baeksang Awards are happening sooner or later and I'll be making a prediction post again like last year.




I finished two dramas last month and both are from tvN, officially the first 2016 dramas I finished. The first one is Cheese in the Trap which started off really well and then decided to head for the hills on a suicide mission. I actually had a post written before my laptop died on me. It wasn't much of a review as much as it was a rant post, so I'll have to rewrite that. It's unfortunate the drama ended the way it did because it could've been so many things. The most unfortunate is that it could've been the perfect launching pad for many of the unknown actors. But now it seems an association with that drama isn't something you'd like to attach to yourself. I wish the actors the best since they did a really good job in their work. It introduced me to the ever-charming Kim Go-eun who I'm excited to watch in the future. It did also made me appreciate Seo Kang-joon more than before, although the drama behind the drama left me a bitter taste for reasons that's probably not his fault. Time to move on.


The other drama I finished was Signal and boy oh boy was it not the best drama ever. Maybe not ever but very, very good in terms of quality all around. Director Kim Won-suk's collaboration with tvN has been a godsend. Many were worried he couldn't live up to the amazingness that is Misaeng but clearly he managed to live up to his potentials and maybe even bumped up the standard a little higher. The tricky thing about dramas like Signal is that it needs to keep its pace swift lest it loses momentum but amazingly enough Signal didn't let down not even one second. Also mad props to writer Kim Eun-hee who managed to squeeze in all those (based on true events) cold cases interweaving with the always complicated bending of the time continuum. And of course the cast of the show is nothing but pure awesomeness, from the commendable trio to the police force full of colorful personalities to the criminals and victims that fill in the spaces each week. At the moment Signal is the best drama of the year even though we're only a quarter in because it's going to take an incredible drama to outmatch this beast.


As for the ongoing dramas, I really haven't been watching a ton, or barely any actually. I've mostly been watching Descendants of the Sun which is, unlike Signal, not the best drama ever. I don't think it's even the best drama writer Kim Eun-sook has ever written, although I realize her writing style isn't my favorite. I just can't get into the story line despite by everlasting love for Song Joong-ki. He's getting a ton of love these days, what with the drama breaking 40% at some scenes. But I have to say I'm disappointed with his choice this time. Yoo Shi-jin is the most boring character I've watched him play. The only people I care about (and I think many people can agree with me) is the second couple Seo Dae-young (Jin Goo) and Yoon Myeong-joo (Kim Ji-won) as I predicted. Everything else I'm pretty indifferent about. I'm not too keen on stories that rely too much on external conflicts and the Descendants is holding on to it like it's going out of style.

The only other drama-type show I watched was drama special My Fantastic Funeral starring Choi Woo-shik and Kyung Soo-jin. These are two people I enjoy seeing on my screen and I'm glad to say the drama was sweet and heartwarming. I was happy I get to watch Kyung Soo-jin again because after Plus Nine Boys which I highly enjoyed, she was involved in the long drama House of Bluebird and a couple of horror movies which I don't plan to watch. Choi Woo-shik is also an actor I root on a lot since he clearly has a lot of potential. I just hope he'll be able to stretch his legs a bit beyond the bumbling hero. The drama itself left a good impression if not slightly bittersweet and I highly recommend it.

As for movies, I watched Mood of the Day which has me confused all over about what type of movie it wanted to be. A heartwarming character drama or a run of the mill romcom? It ended up being both somewhat which in this case isn't necessarily a good thing. The other, which I actually watched in February but for some reason forgot to mention, is Assassination which had a lot of really badass girls and guys. It was a well-made caper movie that ticked all the boxes, good for a weekend in I suppose.

That wraps it up for the month of March which didn't go the best. Hopefully April will be better, especially since I plan on watching a lot of movies for the upcoming Baeksang Awards which will happen in May probably. I just got my hands on Inside Men and you know there's going to be a lot of squeeing on my part.

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