Madame Antoine Review

Title: Madame Antoine
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Episodes: 16
Broadcast Period: Jan-2016 to Mar-2016
Cast: Han Ye Seul, Sung Joon, Jung Jin Woon, Lee Joo Hyung, Hwang Seung Eun, Jang Mi Hee, Byun Hee Bong, Moon Ji In

Go Hye Rim (Han Ye Seul) is a fortuneteller known as “Madame Antoine” due to her supposed spiritually connection to Marie Antoinette. She uses her intelligence and keen sense to read her clientele. When Choi Soo Hyun (Sung Joon), an expert psychologist, opens his clinic upstairs, they clash instantly. Partially out of petty revenge, he chooses to enlist her in his psychological experiment to prove that love does not exist. As part of the experiment, he and two other men will woo Hye Rim. However, what will happen as he begins to fall in love for real? And will she ever be able to believe in him again when the truth of this experiment is revealed?

I can’t believe I finished this one. This drama is SO weird. It started off as a really strange and peculiar drama, fortunately it picked up later. Can’t hide I was SO close to just drop it. Firstly, it’s because of the bizarre ‘experiment’ we get introduced to. Fool a woman into falling in love just to test how much she would sacrifice for that person. All that to prove that love doesn’t exist, and that it’s just some drug infused by the brain. What the heck? That made the whole thing so predictable! HOWEVER, it doesn’t go as you expect, maybe that’s why I finished it. It was hard to continue in the beginning when I kept feeling the need to punch Sung Joon in his handsome, smirking face. After all, he doesn't deserve that pain for being an excellent actor. And trust me, any guy who gets me from 0 to "gosh, you are a JERK" within the first five minutes of a drama is an excellent actor, bizarre storyline and complete spectacular of psychological ethics aside.  In the description, they had put ‘psychology’, so I did expect a lot more of that in the drama. I loved the small cases they had in between, but I just wasn’t satisfied with it. Overall, a weird drama with a smooth save in the middle.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

Birth of a Beauty Review

Title: Birth of a Beauty
AKA: Minyeoui Tansaeng
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Episode: 21
Broadcast Period: Nov-2014 to Jan-2015
Cast: Joo Sang Wook, Han Ye Seul, Ha Jae Sook, Jung Gyu Woon, Wang Ji Hye, Han Sang Jin, In Gyo Jin, Han Jin Hee

Sa Geum Ran (Ha Jae Sook) is an ordinary ahjumma, an overweight woman who married a handsome man Lee Kang Joon (Jung Gyu Woon). They have been married for 8 years, he studies abroad while she is supporting him and his family, one day she discovers through a program Change, that her husband is actually in Korea and became a successful businessman and most importantly, he had an affair with a beautiful woman (Wang Ji Hye). When she decides to go to press with this information, she gets into an accident which she survives. That was the turning point in her life, she then decides to go under the knife and change her whole appearance and her identity. The one person that will help her is the mysterious man with a heartbroken syndrome, Han Tae Hee (Joo Sang Wook).

Okay, an interesting story, I admit. It was really good, I liked the comedy and the easygoing plot I even started rooting for the main couple. That lasted for the first 10 episodes… then it started to go downhill. I don’t know what happened; did someone take over for the writers work? Did the production team change? The concept of the drama was okay, shallow, but fine. I personally loved 200 Pounds of Beauty, and the concept is kinda similar. But the drama was such a mess, it preached and tried to show a lot of messages, like “be yourself” and stuff like that, and in the other hand it showed plastic surgery is the cure for all your problems, lol, talk about double standards. Now for the couple, as I said I loved this couple for the first 14-ish episodes, no joke, these two carried the show with a pleasant blend of chemistry and wit. Remember when I said I loved the first 10-ish episodes. All of that was true - until the writers realized that they were dealing with 20 episodes instead of 16, and then they got an episode extension on top of it, and they just threw in the towel. I won’t spoil anything, but let’s say it was like they all got amnesia (no one got amnesia), they freakin all forgot their characters, somehow they all changed for the super typical Korean draggy characters. Thanks for nothing. I’m giving this drama 2½ stars and hearts, because it really started out good, but sadly it left the audience feeling like idiots (for watching it).

☆☆½ / 2½ out of 5 stars

♥♥ ½/ 2½ out of 5 hearts

Spy Myung Wol Review

Title:  Spy Myung Wol

AKA: Myung Wol the Spy

Genre: Romance, comedy

Episodes: 18

Broadcast period: 2011-Jul to 2011-Sep

Cast: Han Ye Seul and Eric

After failing her test to qualify for the Special Operations Unit, North Korean Hallyu Squad Sergeant Han Myung Wol (Han Ye Seul) is asked to go on a special mission that involves taking the daughter of her captain to the Philippines so that she can see her favorite idol, Kang Woo (Eric), perform, which she feels obligated to do. After a great deal of events, Ye Seul screws up an mission for another unit, and is forced to go on leave, but as stubborn as she is she decides to make up for her mistake. She finds out that the idol, Kang Woo, got a scroll of some kind, which was supposed to be in the hands of the North Korean. She decides to go to the South and get it from him. In South Korea she is mistaken for a fan by Kang Woo, as she saves his life; which ultimately is heard by the North, and they decide on her execution. In order to save herself, she tells the messenger that she wants to assassinate Kang Woo in order to save the North from the bad influence the Hallyu wave has. This is misunderstood by the North as: her wanting to get his sign. This creates panic in the captain, who knows it’s his fault, so they decide to give her 3 months to get married to him, and take him to the North…

Okay the review sounds weird, even for me who has watched it, but it can give you an idea somehow right? It’s a push-and-pull drama, but still sweet, and pretty funny.  I love the entanglement, and the mix with the north. I have to admit it is pretty sad, even though it should have been funny? I don’t know, somehow the north ended up being really mean :( Lol, anyhow, besides a couple of bad stunts, it’s really entertaining, and pretty creative honestly; with the entire North Korean spy falling for South Korean Hallyu star, I kind a fell for it hihi. Even though my rating is 3½ stars, I would recommend it, if you don’t have anything else to do.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Penny Pinchers Movie Revew

Title: Penny Pinchers
AKA: Love and Cash
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Origin: Korea
Release date: 10 November 2011
Cast: Song Joong Ki and Han Ye Seul.

Ji Woong (Song Joong Ki) is somewhat a bum; can’t get a job and uses all his money for useless things. When his tenant throws him out, he is left now without house and money. His neighbor Hong Sil (Han Ye Seul) lives life squeezing every single penny out of everything; collects empty bottles, sells trash, saves coupons, eats once a day etc. When she finds a way to make lots of money, she takes the opportunity and it ends with Ji Woong losing his home. When her crush (a guy working in a bank or something like that) gives her an idea to open another account and make someone earn it, then later take the money, she instantly thinks of Ji Woong. She tricks him by telling him that she’ll help him and lets him stay on her property in a tent.
The two eventually become closer and start to have a mutual understanding..

This movie showed me that Joong Ki is a real actor, and not the typical ‘prince feel’. God he was gross, like seriously. His character was like THE bum of all bums, and such an lazy ass! BUT, that only shows how great of an actor he is! :) Ye Seul I only know from her drama, and I gotta say, she was ok. Nothing huge: her character is very typical, so nothing much to say…
The movie is a bit boring, not really that interesting. If you want to watch it, watch it because of Joong Ki (BEWARE: surprising scenes – adult kind). On the other hand, not so romantic, BUT its crying out loud funny! Omg, real funny!!

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥ / 2 out of 5 hearts

Jenji's verdict 
What the heck.. I mean.. where is Joong ki the prince, the flower boy..? what is going on? omg eww! oh no! what? seriously? ... my thoughts through the movie. Like I was so disgusted and a whole lot of things.. I really couldnt get it because I'm seriously not used to seeing him like this. I mean the movie itself is really not bad, I wasnt that bored, it was a bit interesting.. but only if I leave out some scenes.. It's actually a really adult movie. Which I didnt expect. I didnt like it THAT much, I wont recommend it to just anybody.. Actually I dont know who to recommend it to. What kind of types really like this kind of movie.. Not even Joong ki's fans might actually really like it. Okay it might sound like Im hating on this movie. I'm not.. rreally. I just cant decide whether to like it or not. I liked the story, the concept. But then again I didnt completely like the movie. So really unless you wanna see Joong ki's great weird acting, it might not be your cup of tea.

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥½ / 2½ out of 5 hearts