Cinderella Man Review

Title: Cinderella Man

Genre: Romance, Chaebol, Melodrama

Episodes: 16

Broadcast period: 2009-Apr to 2009-Jun

Cast: Kwon Sang Woo, Yoona, Song Chang Eui and Han Eun Jung.

Oh Dae San (Kwon Sang Woo) sells clothes at a market, and dreams of turning his little store in to a big clothing line. He is smart and talkative which helps him when he need to butter up to customers and other salespeople. When a fellow store keeper, from the same market, falls ill, the daughter Seo Yoo Jin (Yoona) of the store keeper returns from Paris, only to have him pass away shortly. Due to the financial issues, and partly to blame for the financial issues, Dae San decides to help Yoo Jin and her mother get on their feet again. This leads Yoo Jin and Dae San to become close.

At the same time Dae San meets Lee Joon Hee (Kwon Sang Woo), a rich chaebol of a fashion empire, who looks exactly alike him. Joon Hee asks Dae San to impersonate him for a week, so he can leave the business without having to worry about his competitor and cousin Lee Jae Min taking his place.

Due to his natural ability to do business, Dae San becomes a bother to Jae Min. And when Jae Min befriends Yoo Jin, the empire doesn’t become the only thing they each fight for…

This drama was one of those I downloaded ages ago, but never really got around to watch. Besides it being almost 10 years old, I gotta say it’s alright. Though I felt it was very cliché and had the unnecessary jealousy. I mean most of the dramas that are like this one, are so male dominant. The lead actress only serves as the love interest for the two male characters, and to be honest both are boring love stories.  And the fact that it was Yoona, didn’t make the character better. The casting was also mediocre, mainly because the characters were 2 dimensional - even the male lead who did try but failed.

Besides that, I kind of enjoyed the storyline, though it was very cliché. I do like a badass revenge plot, but it must be well crafted - and this one is alright.

So, all in all an alright drama, to watch because of the story and not romance.

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Whisper Review

Title: Whisper

Genre: Legal, Chaebol, Melodrama

Episodes: 17

Broadcast period: 2017-Mar t 2017-May

Cast: Lee Bo Young, Lee Sang Yoon, Kwon Yeol, Park Se Young and Kim Kap Soo.

After covering a case with one of South Koreas biggest law firms Taebak, Detective Shin Young Joos (Lee Bo Young) father gets caught up in a murder trial. He is accused of killing one of his friends, and due to the overwhelming evidence against him, he is sure to get convicted. Refusing to believe her father could do so and confident that he is set up, Young Joo decides to investigate the case herself, and decides to meet up with the judge of the trial, as she is afraid Taebak might cover the whole thing. Lee Dong Joon (Lee Sang Yoon) is the judge on the case, and as fate has it, he is known to be honest and fair in his judging.

The two meet, and Young Joo finally sees hope, deciding to trust her most important evidence to Dong Joon. But soon enough Taebak begins to bother and threaten Dong Joon, and is unable to judge fairly. This infuriates Young Joo, and she decides to take revenge on Dong Joo and Taebak with all means possible…

So apparently this drama was hyped because of the lead couple - they acted in another drama together, and it was very popular. Considering the supposed chemistry, it wasn’t that great. As a whole the story is weak and so is the overall backdrop, even though the idea is good, but with such a weak story I wasn’t really satisfied. I think I was expecting much more than this offered, but once I got over that it was okay to watch. I still felt that those “oh yeah!” moments were either forced or just simply blown out of proportion. If you think about how ‘easy’ the last few episodes were, with the evidence piling up against the antagonist, the beginning seemed a bit dull. Luckily the chemistry was good, and it was interesting to watch, so it didn’t feel like a complete waste.

All in all an okay drama to watch, but has a bit too much seriousness for a casual watch.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Secret Review

Title: Secret
AKA: Secret Love
Genre: melodrama / romance / suspense / mystery
Episodes: 16
Broadcast period: 2013-Sep-25 to 2013-Nov-14
Cast: Ji Sung, Hwang Jung Eum, Bae Soo Bin, Lee Da Hee, Lee Duk Hwa, Jo Mi Ryung, Song Min Kyang, Yang Jin Sung, Kang Nam Gil, Ahn Ji Hyun, Joo Soo Young, Moon Ji In, Hwang Suk Jung, Yang Hee Kyung, Kang Shin Il, Kim Hyun Kyoon . . .

Kang Yoo Jung (Hwang Jung Eum) is the kind of girl who dedicates her everything to her boyfriend, Ahn Do Hoon (Bae Soo Bin). They have been together for several years and Yoo Jung is supporting him in becoming a prosecuter, something which isn't easy considering their circumstances, all while waiting for him to propose to her. Then one evening it happens. Do Hoon takes her out to the café they usually go when celebrating occasions. He finally proposes to her and Yoo Jung's world is all bliss. They head back home with the car, Yoo Jung is all smiles and is living the fairytale of her life. However there is an uneasy feeling over the night. A heavy rain starts to fall and they can barely see anything. Suddenly an accident happens. The car starts slipping and Do Hoon loses control and hits something. He goes out to check and Yoo Jung shortly follows, however he says there is nothing and they get back in the car. A few days later, cops arrive at Yoo Jung's place. She gets arrested for a hit and run. What even worse, the victim is dead and it was the girlfriend of a man she had accountered before, a young heir chaebol, Jo Min Hyuk (Ji Sung). This is the start of a story of revenge, where love is a test.

This drama is one of those you don't watch while it's airing. Because it drives you absolutely crazy. The first couple of episodes it isn't that bad and you just go with the flow. However then all the tragedy starts. If you aren't into heartpaining dramas then this really isn't for you. You just keep wondering, how many bad things can happen to one person. Of course we've had the story of a chaebol and a poor girl before, and yes typical korean, they do this a lot, but I liked this one. Not to mention Ji Sung. His acting is so crazy, all you see are his eyes and all the feeeels. When he is sad you are sad, when he hurts you hurt. He just conveys alll the feelings to you. Hwang Jung Eum as well did a great job again. Not much to say. I recommend this drama. Even though we've seen it before again it's in a new way, new actors bring new kinds of feelings. Definitely a great drama to watch if you feel for being all emotional :P I almost thing 16 episodes is abit short. They should have made it 20 episodes. But still alright ending and all, not gonna spoil anything :D

☆☆☆☆☆ / 5 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥♥ / 5 out of 5 stars

Bunji's verdict
Holy… Wow, this is one heck of a ride. I think I yelled most of the time while watching this since I was so shocked. I mean the twists and the turns makes you stare confused, and made me seriously think too much. I could not imagine the ending unless they all die, which usually happens in these dramas. The main leads were wow, no more said. I couldn’t take my eyes off so that says it all. And besides the two annoying clichés at the ending I have to admit it mostly is a great drama. In order not to spoil I am going to stop here and say watch it. No matter what kind of drama you like, watch it.

☆☆☆☆½ / 4½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts