Let's Fight Ghost Review

Title: Let’s Fight Ghost

AKA: Bring it on! Ghost

Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Romance

Episodes: 16

Broadcast Period: Jul-2016 to Aug-2016

Cast: Ok Taec Yeon, Kim So Hyun, Kwon Yool, Kim Sang Ho, Lee Do Yun, Kang Ki Young, Lee David, Baek Seo Yi

Park Bong Pal (Ok Taec Yeon) has grown up with the ability to see ghosts and uses it to work as an exorcist, banishing weak ghosts, in order to make enough money for an operation. Called to a haunted school he encounters Kim Hyun Ji (Kim So Hyun) a high school student who, because of a traffic accident, became a wandering spirit, on the day before her college entrance exams. Hyun Ji discovers that Bong Pal holds the secret as to why she is a spirit. In order to be freed from endlessly wandering the earth as a ghost and to ascend to the next life, Hyun Ji convinces Bong Pal to allow her to live with him, and the two become ghost fighting partners.

I loved this drama more than I thought I would, it was such a pleasant surprise!
While watching, it kept reminding me of "Oh My Ghost" and "The Master's Sun". However, don't worry, it's not meant in a negative way. It just has the same vibe. Also, so far Tvn's dramas have never disappointed me yet. So, neither has this one. The story went smoothly, and I liked the exorcism aspect of it, stuff like that scares me easily and this were no joke, but somehow they kept a light feeling over the drama, so it became very enjoyable. As for the acting Teac Yeon was solid, convincing and also charming at some points. The fights were really good, enjoyable and even funny. They did a pretty good job on those. The chemistry between the leads were suprisingly okay. Kim So Hyun is starting to make a really good actress, and I’m looking forward to see her next project. All in all, a recommendable drama. 

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ ½ / 3 ½ out of 5 hearts

Bunjis verdict

First of all, I am being VERY generous of the rating – just FYI.

This drama is cute, though I kind of felt the love story became unnecessary later on – as well as the entire ‘revelation’ about the lead actress: way too typical. When you watch a ghost story drama, you better have a good and firm story EXPECIALLY with love story, but this was like, I don’t know… neither. I can’t say I didn’t enjoy the drama, I just was left with yawn at the end – I mean, it WAS predictable.

Taec and Soo Hyun are an odd pair, even though they look okay together, and Taec looks a lot like a college student, I felt Soo Hyun was a bit off – maybe because I keep seeing her as a kid? She is one of those kid actresses that is in almost every drama, and suddenly she becomes an actress with her own drama – and you can’t shake that ‘kid persona’ off her. Well at least I can’t. So the romance was good, but sometimes just off.

Taec is quite good in this, though he is a better actor than this drama gives him credit for/lets him shine.

As a comedy the comic relief was with the two fellas from the supernatural club: they occasionally missed, but when they hit, I laughed quite a bit.

So all in all: a good drama, with a weak plot.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

Wonderful Nightmare Movie Review

Title: Wonderful Nightmare
AKA: Miss Wife
Genre: Drama, Family
Origin: South Korea
Release Date: August 13, 2015
Cast: Uhm Jung Hwa, Song Seung Heon, Seo Shin Ae, Jung Ji Hoon, Kim Sang Ho, Ra Mi Ran, Lee Joon Hyuk, Ko Su Hee

Yeon Woo (Uhm Jung Hwa) is a successful lawyer who is killed in an automobile accident. She wakes in heaven to find that her death was a clerical error and it was actually an old woman with the same name who was meant to die. To hide the mistake, she is asked to live as another woman – a housewife who was also killed by mistake – for just one month. Married to a very ordinary civil servant named Sung-hwan with a difficult teenage daughter and a precocious six-year-old, Yeon-woo finds herself changing in unexpected ways.

A nice, heartwarming, encouraging movie, perfect for a nice sunday evening. Personally I didn’t expect anything, but I hoped that I wouldn’t waste time on this movie. Turned out when I realized the movie was over, I wanted even more, I just couldn’t accept where it finished. I wanted to see more of what happens to the family. True, the beginning was slow, but that’s typical for all movies, because you need time to get to know the characters and the situation. However this movie before you know it you are just drawn to the story, and the family members. I loved them all, from the harsh ‘mum’ (well-played Uhm Jung Hwa), and the easy-going dad to the very typical but irresistible kids. It was a little typical plot-wise, since it’s not the first time the ‘back-to-earth-after-dying’-theme is presented in a movie. There was a moment where the movie gets so emotional, it made me shed some tears, but it handled it so realistically (except for the part where she is given a second chance in life), it was not exaggerated in any way. Totally recommendable movie!

☆☆☆☆½ / 4½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥½ / 4½ out of 5 hearts

Special Affairs Team TEN 2 Review

Title: Special Affairs Team TEN 2

AKA: TEN 2/ Special Crimes Force TEN 2

Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller

Episodes: 12

Broadcast period: 2013-Apr to 2013-Jun

Cast: Joo Sang Wook, Jo An, Kim Sang Ho and Choi Woo Shik.

The second season continues with the search for the Tape Bound Killer, and the search for their Team Leader Yeo Ji Hoon (Joo Sang Wook) who disappeared when the killer had re-appeared. The team now disbanded due to the warrant search of Ji Hoon, secretly decide to find the team leader who has been accused of being the Tape Bound Killer. When they find the evidence left by Ji Hoon they all realize that all of it points at him being the killer - even when re-investigating the case. Confident in his innocence they continue to search desperately, but no matter what they do every piece they find points directly at him. And when they find out that Ji Hoon had been in the victim’s house few hours before her death, they become more and more suspicious…

I can’t say it’s bad, but I wasn’t exactly what I expected. I know this drama being amazing to begin with, having to compete with that and making it more; I have to say they didn’t really manage. It is very much like season one with the sad stories and all, but they really try to make the killer either so sad or pathetic that you immediately know who the killer is. Though the pace and the strong acting is the same, the overall just seems like a repeat. The only thing that saves this drama is the beginning, and the ending.

But I do recommend for those who have watched season one, just because of the last two episodes.. Much worth all the episodes..

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

Special Affairs Team TEN Review

Title: Special Affairs Team TEN

AKA: TEN / Special Crimes Force TEN

Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller

Episodes: 9

Broadcast period: 2011-Nov to 2012-Jan

Cast: Joo Sang Wook, Jo An, Kim Sang Ho and Choi Woo Shik.

Baek Do Shik (Kim Sang Ho), better known as “Baek Dok Sa” (White Venomous Snake) for his clean cut cases, is a man with sharp eyes and a great instinct for finding evidence and clues. As he is called on a case to investigate a suicide, he immediately notices that it isn’t the case, and finds out that he is a big gambler. That habit leads him to a near casino, where he finds out the victim has a sister, no one knows about.

Nam Ye Ri (Jo An) is Phycology graduate from Seoul University, and works in the Crime Victim Support Center. Though she has a great sense of noticing when people are lying or hiding something, she tries hard to pretend she doesn’t know most. When a known police officer tells her boss to make Ye Ri find a missing person, even though she isn’t qualified she takes it, and her traces take her to a house which seems as an empty house.

When a hostess is found dead in her apartment, taped up and with fingers cut, the Korean Police Force is called into a meeting due to the suspicion that the murder is the famous Tape Bound Killing which happened years ago. The person introducing the case is Yeo Ji Hoon (Joo Sang Wook), known by “A monster hunting monsters”, who once before had encountered these killings. He is informed that he will be the Team Leader of the new unit called Special Investigation Team, a group with aces with the goal to find the serial killer.

Joining him is young blooded Park Min Ho (Choi Woo Shik), and by a twist of fate both Ye Ri and Do Shik appears at the crime scene as their cases are somehow strangely connected…

 Okay so out of all the crime dramas out there this one most defiantly is the best ever made, and is so believable it gave me chills. And damn it’s both creepy and scary. When you have spent a lot of time seeing fake blood and badly made wounds, this one is groundbreaking, mainly because is so greatly made. Also the stories are so sad oh my God, like many of them are so upsetting. And realistic.

I have only seen Joo Sang Wook and Kim Sang Ho before, and I have to admit I really like them for those roles. Somehow the cast seem to fit every character well, even though I had my doubts along the line.

So do I recommend it? Well I don’t hate it, but I am not sure if everyone would like it, since it’s not that pretty classical Korean romanticized drama style, but a more honest realistic story. That means, you decide.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Running Man Movie Review

Title: Running Man
Genre: action, comedy
Origin: South Korea
Release date: April 14, 2013
Cast: Shin Ha Kyun, Lee Min Ho, Kim Sang Ho, Jo Eun Ji, Oh Jung Se, Joo Hyun, Jung Suk Yong, Kim Eui Sung, Park Sang Wook . . .

 Cha Jong Woo (Shin Ha Kyun) is a former criminal, a pretty small criminal, who got a son as an 18 year old. Now his son, Cha Gi Hyuk (Lee Min Ho), is a high schooler and Jong Woo works as both a cab driver and a mechanic at an auto repair garage, to supply for them. One night while driving cab a costumer jumps into his cab and offers him great money. Jong Woo blinded by easy money offers to be the costumer's driver and gives him his number. They make a stop at a place and while the costumer is out to ship something, Jong Woo goes to the bathroom. He returns to the cab and the costumer is in the car waiting. So they head on to the next destination. They arrive at a parking lot and Joong Won notices that the costumer is not awake, so he gets out to help him thinking he is drunk or so. But then he suddenly sees that the costumer is dead. Right at that moment a security guard passes by and sees that something is wrong. This whole thing even got filmed by the CCTV and Jong Woo is now the prime suspect. He starts running away and soon recieves a weird message, from the dead costumer's phone, the picture of the Eiffel Tower. This picture is worth more than he thinks and he is now chased by both the police and a group of men trying to get his phone.

I reeeallly enjoyed this movie. It is so much fun while still having that thrill. It is sad, serious, thrilling and fun all at once. This movie didn't get very good rating (3 out of 10 by Film Business Asia) which I in one hand understand and in other dont. I think maybe the movie is not on the same level as, let's say Thieves, but it is definetely better than many asian action movies Ive seen! It was exciting and funny the whole time. I really do recommend this movie if you like action, thrill and comedy. Its a movie you would enjoy on a weekend evening. It might not be for those that arent too crazy about the genre. But it worked for me. And the action scenes were quite alright. There was quite a lot of falling and you start thinking shouldnt there be some broken arms/legs by now hahah but there isn't and flying (Thank God!).

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Jeon Woo Chi Movie Review

Title: Jeon Woo Chi

AKA: The Taoist Wizard

Genre: Fantasy, Action, Period, Comedy, Romance

Origin: Korea

Release date: 23 December 2009

Cast: Kang Dong Won, Baek Yoon Sik, Kim Yoon Seok, Im Soo Jung, Yoo Hae Jin, Kim Sang Ho, Joo Jin Mo and Song Young Chang

Being a cocky yet talented magician, Jeon Woo Chi (Kang Dong Won) tries with all means to become the most famous person in the Joseon Dynasty. Though he can’t really use magic without his talismans, his Master (Baek Yoon Sik) believes he has some potential. When the flute, that summons goblins and shows humans their true faces, happens to fall into Woo Chi’s hands, the great Hwadam (Kim Yoon Seok) hears about it, and together with the three gods, finds the hiding place. As the wizard master and Hwadam try to decide who shall keep the flute, it breaks into two, and both leave their separate ways.

Later that same evening Hwadam returns and kills the Master, blaming it on Woo Chi, and with the help of the three gods, sealing him in a painting.

500 years later, in modern days Seoul, goblins have been trying to find out what has happened to the flute, even holding a god and subduing him, but when the two other find out, they aid to rescue, only to be attacked by them. Unable to fight back, they re-summon Woo Chi, in order to have him destroy the goblins, which he does, but he has his own agenda: finding the great bronze sword that has been said to have amazing powers.

This is nice movie for fantasy lovers, even though it is ‘Asian’ fantasy, but till pretty good. It has some period elements, without being confusing. I love and have always loved Kang Dong Won, here he doesn’t disappoint me and does a neat job, really entertaining. Im So Jung is one of my favorite actresses, has been since Sorry I Love You, and still is. I am not sure whether I recommend it, unless you like this Wuxia stuff, I usually don’t but here it’s okay.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts