Cinderella and Four Knights Review

Title: Cinderella and Four Knights

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Episodes: 16

Broadcast Period: Aug-2016 to Oct-2016

Cast: Jung Il Woo, Park So Dam, Ahn Jae Hyun, Lee Jung Shin, Choi Min, Son Na Eun, Kim Yong Gun, Kim Hye Ri,

Eun Ha Won (Park So Dam) is in the third grade of high school. She hopes to become a teacher which her late mother always wished for. Ha Won has a bright personality and a strong set of morals, but she is unhappy at home. She's unattached from her father, step-mother and step-sister and also mistreated. Ha Won works various part-time jobs to pay for her upcoming university tuition fees. She knows she needs to make more money to pay for the storage of her mother's ashes at the cemetery. Meanwhile, Kang Ji Woon (Jung Il Woo), Kang Hyun Min (Ahn Jae Hyeon) and Kang Seo Woo (Lee Jung Shin) are spoiled cousins and live together in the mansion Sky House. With their different personalities. After various accidents Eun Ha Won ends up working part-time at the sky-house. 

Sorry for the dull plot description, but I felt like if I said more or left something else out, it wouldn’t make much sense. One of the reason are the writers, (yes I blame them), because what’s up with writers forgetting the plot halfway through the drama. This was a preproduction drama, so it can’t be the ratings that changed the scripts. I won’t say what it Is, because that would spoil the drama, but I tell you it’s annoying. Now the actors, Jung Il Woo, you are soon-to-be 30-ish, why play a 20-year-old? Some actors can pull it off, you were sadly not one of them. On the other hand, he had great chemistry with Park So Dam (and she did a great job herself), so let’s call it even! The whole cast were great EXCEPT one. The whole 16 episode drama, I kept wondering why, oh god why, cast Son Na Eun. She was so bad she hit a whole new record on bad acting. Maybe that’s the award she’s after. All in all, it’s a good drama, to use as a hangover cure after watching a really good drama. 

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥ 0.5 / 2.5 out of 5 hearts

Fashion King Movie Review

Title: Fashion King
Genre: School, Drama
Origin: South Korea
Release Date: November 6, 2014
Cast: Joo Won, Choi Sulli, Ahn Jae Hyun, Park Se Young, Kim Sung Oh, Lee Il Hwa, Han Hye Jin

Woo Ki Myung (Joo Won), a completely ordinary high school student, has a crush on Hye Jin (Park Se Young), the prettiest, most popular girl in class. So to win her heart, he decides to transform his image and become the coolest, best dressed person in the world. As his mentor Nam Jung (Kim Sung Oh) introduces him to the world of fashion, Woo Myung finds himself entering into a rivalry with Won Ho (Ahn Jae Hyun), the school's toughest fighter. Meanwhile, he doesn't notice Eun Jin (Choi Sulli), who harbors a secret crush on him.

I really liked the plot of this movie, but it didn't quite hit the right spots for me. The main reason why I watched this movie is for the casting mostly. I mean gaah Joo Won?!  As expected from Joo Won he also proves once again how good an actor he is, in a dorky and cute way this time. I'm not sure about Sulli since I haven't really seen her in much, but I thought she did OK. The universe here is fashion, school & rivalry. I must say that the combination of the three of them is rather great. I didn't laugh as much as I expected, but I felt very entertained. I definitely think this movie is worth watching, but comparatively it wasn't as great as other things I have watched.

☆☆☆☆½ / 4½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

You're Surrounded Review

Title: You’re surrounded
AKA: You are all Surrounded
Genre: Drama, Romance, crime
Episodes: 20
Broadcast period: May-2014 to Jul-2014
Cast: Lee Seung Ki, Go Ah Ra, Ahn Jae Hyun, Park Jung Min, Cha Seung Won, Seung Ji Roo, Oh Yoon Ah, Im Won Hee

Eun Dae Gu (Lee Seung Ki), Uh Soo Sun (Go Ah Ra), Park Tae Il (Ahn Jae Hyun) and Ji Gook (Park Jung Min), are the new recruits at Gangnam Plice Station, otherwise known as the P4. Only trained detectives get to work at the speciel violent crime unit at the station, but because of a new proposal, they want to train new rookies. These four rookies were chosen, despite their lack of enthusiast nor passionate of their job, they all joined the crime squad of various reasons. Eun Dae Gus one and solely reason to join the police force was to revenge his mother whom was killed right in front of his eyes. The target is the teams leader, the erratic and hot headed Seo Pan Suk (Cha Seung Won), who wants nothing more than to wash his hands off of the incompetent new recruits.

I’m so glad I finally watched this drama, it’s been on my To-Watch list since it came out, and it bugged me so much that I still haven’t watched it. You know, those kind of dramas when you missed the WATCH sign, they go back to your list and stay there foreeeever. So recently I saw a drama MV about it, and it was really cute and I already had it on my pc, so I just started it right away. Two days after I was done! It felt like a stone fell from my heart, although I definitely enjoyed the drama, but just the fact that I’m done with it was more overwhelming. Well, now to the drama itself, it was very entertaining, and the rookie foursome was so lovable and great together that I feel like the show sort of locked into that group chemistry. Ahn Jae-hyun had a great rapport with Park Jung-min and they had the most endearing bromance of the show. I love the kinds of roles Go Ara is taking on now, and she’s proving herself to be lively at comedy and drama alike. Although her  character Soo-sun didn’t get as much development as Dae-gu did, but their relationship was so sweetly giving and supportive. I loved that their relationship grew very naturally out of being partners, and that they were always equals who respected each other. Cha Seung-won and Lee Seung-gi had such great chemistry with each other and with the cast, that they made me keep watching despite a very obvious plot. Cha Seung-won is truly gifted at turning on a dime from comedy to heartfelt drama, and there’s so much emotion he plays in silent looks that goes beyond what’s written on the page. I don’t know how he does it, but he says nothing, and I can read regret and sorrow and longing and gratitude and pride in his eyes. All in all a drama that should be watched because of the actors, not the plot.

☆☆☆/ 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Bunji's Verdict

Like Kamji this drama was sitting on my computer for a very long time, after I had watched episode 1, and I had noticed that this drama was way too typical. After finally finishing it, it really is one of those typically long and quite dragged dramas, in which you do follow and understand most of it, but when thinking back you really don’t remember all the twist and turns. And the fact that there are about 2 lead stories following one another makes it complicated, but also the several sub stories that come along too.

The actors are quite good, even the newbie actors, but I have to be honest they were a bit lacking, though that might be because I was completely infatuated by Seung Wons acting, so the bar was kind of high.

The screen play was kind of dragged as said before, but a bit unnaturally since there were so many twists, and also the entire feud with the prosecutors made the story slow down to the point where I just felt I should stop right there. On the other hand everything else was okay, it was really an enjoyable story.

So do I recommend it? Yes, I do as it is a pretty nice police drama, even though it isn’t an OCN drama.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts