The Guest Review

Title: The Guest

AKA: Hand / Son

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Episodes: 16

Broadcast period: 2018-Sept to 2018-Nov

Cast: Kim Dong Wook, Kim Jae Wook and Jung Eun Chae.

When he was a child, Yoon Hwa Pyung (Kim Dong Wook) was possessed by a superior ghost. The possession led to the deaths of many people, accidently involving the brother of a priest who tried to exorcise him, Choi Yoon, and the daughter of a police woman who tried to help, Kang Gil Young.

As a grown up, Hwa Pyung is able to see ghosts, which he believes is because of the possession. He meets Priest Choi (Kim Jae Wook), while trying to find the superior ghost, Sohn, he believes is still out there creating havoc. And he meets police woman Kang Gil Young (Jung Eun Chae), who wants to find her mothers murderer. The three get involved in an exorcism, and soon they realize that they are all the children, victims of Sohn, the ghost that had possessed Hwa Pyung, repossessed Yoons brother, and killed Gil Youngs mother. At first, the three are at odds, but when they witness more than just one abnormal case of ghosts, they soon form an alliance…

Sorry for the weird summary, I recommend watching the trailer…

Dear lord! This is by far one of my favorite dramas, ever! I loved every single thing about this - maybe not the “Son” background story, but it was still pretty amazing. I loved the cast, their chemistry, and the entire build up. It had me guessing the entire time, and I loved every minute it. I can retell the entire drama, because I was taking every minute in. I was on the edge of my seat, and I enjoyed it. The plot was very intriguing, as in how and what, which has scary moments, but not the classic ones. It was very refreshing to see a different type of storyline - that wasn’t cliché. Likewise, the fact that there wasn’t a love story, made it so much better.

All in all, 100% recommend to people that like suspense, but also those who want to try a very different genre.

☆☆☆☆☆ / 5 out 5 stars

♥♥♥♥♥ / 5 out of 5 hearts

The Host Movie Review

Title: The Host

AKA: Monster

Genre: Thriller, Suspense

Origin: Korea

Release Date: July 27, 2006

Cast: Song Kang Ho, Byun Hee Bong, Park Hae Il, Bae Doo Na and Go Ah Sung.

Park Gang Doo (Song Kang Ho), a mentally slow man and father of Park Hyun Soo (Go Ah Sung), runs a street vendor with his father Park Hee Bong (Byun Hee Bong), right next to Han River. On the day of his sisters Park Nam Joo’s (Bae Doo Na) archery competition, tourists sight a weird creature near the river. The creature, swimming closer to land, gathers the attention of most people, and soon enough also Gang Doo. While everyone is intrigued, the creature jumps out of the water, and starts grabbing and killing people. In the confusion Hyun Soo runs out, and becomes pulled underwater by the monster.

The victims and survivors of the incident are evacuated, and the Park family, Gang Doo, Hee Bong, Nam Joo and the big brother Park Nam Il (Park Hae Il), gather to mourn Hyun Soo.

While the situation becomes noticed by media, and the government start covering it up, Gang Doo gets a call from Hyun Soo, giving him hope of her having survived, and the family decides to go and find Hyun Soo. The family manages to escape the military holding, but due to the cover-up, the entire family becomes wanted, and now must hide while trying to rescue Hyun Soo…

The summary might seem detailed, but I managed to only cover bit of the beginning.

If you are a variety or drama watcher, you will at some point get to hear about this movie, as it is referenced and mentioned a lot. So, I kind of needed to see what the hype was about.

When I began it, I expected it to be a horror movie, but was pleasantly surprised of the fact that it is a monster movie (like Godzilla or like that). It’s been ages since I’ve watched one, and I really didn’t feel like another ‘The Wailing’. Of course, it has horror elements, where you get freaked out, but it’s more of a rescue mission or/and “clear image of the enemy”-kind of movie. I like the cast, and I like that the movie didn’t succumb the “American/Hollywood”-hype, though I disliked the beginning - where an American is to blame for the creation of the monster (don’t worry the first 10min of the movie shows this, so not really a spoiler).

I don’t want to comment that much, as this is a movie classic, where my opinion can change your judgement. So, I’m leaving it with this: a good movie with deserved reputation, though a few dislikable situations and I have to admit, weird backstory - I felt like the director sometimes took a bit of the intelligence of the audience for granted.

But all in all, enjoyable.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ ½ / 3½ out 5 hearts

The Chaser Review

Title: The Chaser

Genre: Action, Thriller

Episodes: 16

Broadcast period: 2012-May to 2012-Jul

Cast: Son Hyun Joo, Kim Sang Joong, Kim Sung Ryung, Ko Joon Hee and Ryu Seung Soo.

Baek Hong Seok (Son Hyun Joo) is a senior cop, and devoted father and husband. His life takes a drastic turn when his daughter is killed in a hit-and-run accident. At first, he believes in the system, and helps the police find the murderer PK Jun, a famous idol, but soon enough the powerful start their play. After he reveals that the actual murderer is Seo Ji Soo (Kim Sung Ryung) daughter of a wealthy CEO, and wife of the famous politician Kang Dong Yoon (Kim Sang Joong), Hong Seok realizes that the system is rigged against him.

He decides to take law into his own hands, but unfortunately, he ends up killing PK Jun, and he now must run for his life, and at the same time prove who killed his daughter…

I’m not sure of you can guess from the review, but this is one of those about a fugitive trying to fight ‘the big guys’. I’m generally a fan of those, which you probably noticed in my previous reviews with the same genre. Compared to others this one is really sad, and quite realistic, but I got to say I was bored a lot - not because it lacks action and all that, but because of all the “planning” and (I guess you can call it) politics. I watched this a few weeks ago, but I can’t remember much, which means that it really didn’t leave much of an impact sadly. I tend to like those things, but somehow this just didn’t cut it. Besides the two leads, and some acting of the supporting cast, most of this drama is average - including some of the intense scenes.

Besides that, the drama is a good and very sad drama, about not only the realism of power and corruption, but also what actually happens if you decide to do what he did at the end… no spoilers haha!

All in all, a fine drama, but I guess I just wasn’t in the mood for…?

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Secret Forest Review

Title: Secret Forest

AKA: Forest of Secrets / Stranger

Genre: Drama, Legal, Law, Mystery, Thriller

Episodes: 16

Broadcast period: 2017-Jun to 2017-Jul

Cast: Cho Seung Woo, Bae Doo Na, Yoo Jae Myung and Lee Joon Hyuk.

Hwang Shi Mok (Cho Seung Woo) is prosecutor known for his cold and logical attitude. He is never fazed by anything, and has no greed for power or money. Unbeknown to everyone else, he had a brain surgery as a kid, which changed his emotional status, unable to show emotions and has a lack of them as well. As a grownup he has learned to use this logical mind for justice, as that is one thing he values. Though this value isn't appreciated by everyone.

One day everything is set into turmoil when a "sponsor" for the wealthy and powerful is murdered in his home, and Shi Mok is the first on sight. Trying to preserve the scene, he meets Han Yeo Jin (Bae Doo Na) a police officer as bent on justice as he is, but is more open to working with prosecutors than her co-workers.

After catching the suspect, and putting him behind bars, Yeo Jin finds some evidence that might just put everything back to square one. This also shakes thing up with the higher ups, so the duo starts to do their own investigations, and they find that they are each others’ counterparts, making them perfect partners to take down the corrupt...

This drama has two of my very favorite actors in the lead, which is why even though the storyline didn't speak to me at first, the two made me start it. As the drama progressed, the drama did also, and thankfully it just became better and better. I have to say though that the drama would not be as good if there were other actors in the leads, and to be fair it is very legal/investigatory, so it can be a bit boring for those that aren't into those things. It has quite a lot of talking, and not so much action when comparing, but I personally didn't feel any loss because of it. Another thing I really enjoyed was that there wasn't any love story - at least not a forced one, which makes it much more focused on the story.

So all in all, a great story and superb acting – but it is based on the legal part, so if that is not your thing, you might not agree with the rating.

☆☆☆☆½ / 4½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Defendant Review

Title: Defendant

AKA: Innocent Defendant

Genre: Legal, Thriller

Episodes: 18

Broadcast Period: Jan-2017 to Mar-2017

Cast: Ji Sung, Uhm Ki Joon, Kwon Yoo Ri, Oh Chang Sook, Uhm Hyun Kyung, Son Yeo Eun, Shin Rin Ah,

Park Jung Woo (Ji Sung) is a star prosecutor with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. His world turns upside down one day when he wakes up to find himself in a police station jail, accused of killing his wife, Yoon Ji Soo (Son Yeo Eun), while his daughter is missing. What roles do identical twins Cha Sun Ho and Cha Min Ho (both played by Uhm Ki Joon), successors to the mighty Chamyung Group, and Sun Ho’s wife, Na Yeon Hee (Uhm Hyun Kyung), play in Jung Woo’s current predicament? Jung Woo has temporary amnesia and has no recollection of what happened. But with the help of public defender Seo Eun Hye (Kwon Yoo Ri), can Jung Woo find a way to prove his innocence while tracking down the real murderer?

Ji Sung ♥ That drama had everything. Great script and directing, powerful acting, suspense, many twist and not even for a moment was it boring. Cha Min Ho and Park Jeong Woo were such a great duo, they had the most radiant chemistry for a villain-innocent relationship. The prisoners were definitely scene stealers, loved every moment with them, they were in charge of the humor in this really sad and frustrating drama. During the drama I wouldn’t be surprised if Ji Sung shed at least one liter of tears, you could literally see the passion he drew to his character. And that little girl? Damn. Give her an award already. However, not all of it was perfect. Now from a legal standpoint (I’m no expert, but I do know a little), but the system was one big mess, I would really not have anything to do with a legal system like this, a little turn off for this quality of drama. However, I enjoyed it for the acting and effort put into it. I give Ji Sung 10  ♥ from me, and for the drama:

☆☆☆☆ ½ / 4½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ ½ / 4½ out of 5 hearts

Bunjis Verdict

This drama is one of those that had hype, but this time I wasn’t aware of it. Which initially surprised me since the lead is Ji Sung, but later I was rather grateful since it didn’t cloud my judgment at all.

The idea of this drama and the casting is seriously on point, but I kind of felt that they dragged some things on for too long. I won’t tell which ones as it will spoil, but things that don’t directly involve the storyline. It didn’t necessarily ruin the story or drama, but it made it hard to take serious occasionally.  Fortunately, the story is intriguing and it is an interesting watch, so things like love story become unwanted - and thankfully it doesn’t really have that. I do have to say, at one point I felt bored - because of the ‘draggy’ parts, and I felt like this wasn’t my ‘type’ of drama at one point, but to sum up: this is a good drama with great acting, and I think no matter which type of drama you prefer, this will be a good watch

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Man to Man Review

Title: Man to Man

AKA: Man X Man

Genre: Action, Thriller, Romance, Comedy

Episodes: 16

Broadcast Period: Apr-2017 to Jun-2017

Cast: Park Hae Jin, Kim Min Jung, Park Sung Woong, Yun Jung Hoon, Chae Jung Ahn, Jung Man Shik,

A longtime celebrity Yeo Woon Gwang (Park Sung Woong) suddenly has a need for a bodyguard and hires Kim Seol Woo (Park Hae Jin), a man trained in special investigations and a mysterious man of many talents. In reality, Kim Seol Woo is a NIS black ghost agent who has his own agenda and the role of a bodyguard is only a cover to achieve his goals. The drama is about the twisty events they encounter and the budding bromance between the star and bodyguard. In addition, Kim Seol Woo gets romantically involved with Cha Do Ha (Kim Min Jung), the manager of Yeo Woon Gwang.

Yes! Park Hae Jin in a decent role that fits him so well, was so much more enjoyable than anything else in this drama. I was just really happy for him, that he got this opportunity, and I hope he will get better ones in the future. Storywise I liked, but I think it dwelled too much in the entertainment than the action and secrets society. I know that there should be two aspects to this, but personally I think they considered the one with the superstar actor and his people more than the ghost agent. And that is a little sad, since he should be the focus point. Nevertheless, I did enjoy this drama, and was looking forward to it every week. The romance part didn’t appeal to me, it felt forced somehow, maybe the focus wasn’t on the romance at all, definitely no chemistry. To sum it up, I really liked the drama and I do recommend it. You can find it on Netflix!

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3 ½ out of 5 hearts

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon Review

Title: Strong Woman Do Bong Soon

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Comedy, Thriller

Episodes: 16

Broadcast Period: Feb-2017 to April-2017

Cast: Park Bo Young, Park Hyung Shik, Ji Soo, Ahn Woo Yeon, Shim Hye Jin, Yoo Jae Myung, Jeon Seok Ho,

Do Bong-soon (Park Bo Young) was born with superhuman strength. Her strength is hereditary and passed along only to the women in her family. Her dream is to create a video game with herself as the main character. She desperately wants to become a willowy and elegant woman, which is the ideal type of her crush, In Guk Doo (Ji Soo), a police officer. Thanks to her strength, she gets the job of a bodyguard, to a rich heir Ahn Min Hyuk (Park Hyung Sik), the CEO of a gaming company, Ainsoft. Contrary to Guk Doo, Min Hyuk is an odd man who is playful, a little spoiled, and has no regard for rules, and dislikes policemen. He has recently received anonymous threats, blackmails, and has even been stalked at an occasion. One day, a series of kidnapping cases break in Dobong-dong, the district Bong Soon lives in, and she is determined to catch the culprit after her friend was targeted. Under the help and training from Min Hyuk, she manages to control her strength to use it for good causes.

A light drama with a lot of comedy. Although I started it being skeptic, it kind of grew on me. I loved the melo romance, and the funny background story. The new aspect about her being so strong actually worked out to be a really good idea. And of course Park Bo Young did a lovely job with this kind of carachter, it was a little bit similar to the one in Oh My Ghostess, but there is a fresh element. Although I looked forward to Ji Soo’s part, it didn’t appeal to me as much, he is a good actor and everything, but it was out of context. And of course Park Hyung Shik, he did a decent job, but I think what stood out the most here is how he carefully took the chemistry between the leads to another level. It felt like he did all the job. To sum it up, a very recommendable drama for this summer.

☆☆☆☆  / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥(1/2) / 3 (1/2) out of 5 hearts

Tunnel Review

Title: Tunnel

Genre: Crime, Thriller, Detective, Time Travel

Episodes: 16

Broadcast period: 2017-Mar to 2017-May

Cast: Choi Jin Hyuk, Yoon Hyun Min, Lee Yoo Young, Jo Hee Bong and Kim Min Sang.

In 1986 Park Gwang Ho (Choi Jin Hyuk), working as an experienced detective, is faced with a serial of killings. Back in the days the term ‘serial killer’ isn’t a popular used word, but Gwang Ho is one of few that notices a pattern. One evening while almost catching the serial killer, he is runs through a tunnel and is hit on the head. While regaining feet he walks back to his station, but is met with an empty station and an unfamiliar face, Kim Sun Jae (Yoon Hyun Min) at his desk. In the confusion he handcuffs Sun Jae, but soon notices that there is something wrong. He slowly realizes, with the help of his junior now team leader, that he isn’t in his own time. He has traveled 30 years into the future, and is unable to get back.

While trying to figure out how any of it is possible and how to get back, he notices that the serial killer from 30 years ago still is at large. But as older case files have been burned in a fire in the past, he is the only one remembering the case. So, he decides that in order to get back, he must solve the case. Unfortunately, there seems to be something else going on, when a person with the same name as Gwang Ho is supposed to show up at the very station, but has disappeared…

Sorry for the lacking summary, it’s hard not to spoil much of this great drama.

I really enjoyed watching this drama, even though for the first time ever I disliked both supporting actors. Their characters were unlikeable! I mean for the first 4 episodes I wasn’t interested in their screen time, but as time went by I guess they grew on me. Choi Jin Hyuk was great all the way through – I could totally see him as a man from 1986, by language and how he carried himself. The Yeon Suk and Gwang Ho coupling was so cute, made me not care about any other couples. Story and screenplay is great as well.

Unfortunately, I guessed 85% of the drama before the end of, so I was just expecting things to happen by the end of it. But that doesn’t mean everyone will feel that way! So, I would recommend this drama to anyone.

☆☆☆☆½ / 4½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Kamji’s Verdict

What a marathon! I Personally have a liking to all OCN’s crime/mstery themed dramas. Therefor of course Tunnel was a drama I looked very much forward to. It didn’t disappoint me. The acting was on point, the storyline and the cinematography between the 80’ and present day was really believable. The storyline throughout the drama was very predictable, but I gotta admit the particular cases and crimes throughout was not, at least for me. I liked the suspense a lot, and definitely the teamwork at that police department. Also I agree with Bunji, that Choi Jin Hyuk, was the perfect one for that role. Everything about him screamed the 80’. So to conclude I would say yet again, good job to OCN.  

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Line Walker Review

Title: Line Walker

AKA: The Apostle

Genre: Crime, Action, Thriller, Police, Undercover

Episodes: 31

Broadcast period: 2014-Aug to 2014-Oct

Cast: Michael Miu, Charmaine Sheh, Raymond Lam, Sharon Chan, Benz Hui, Sammy Sum, Elena Kong, Oscar Leung and Toby Leung.

Cheuk Hoi (Michael Miu) is the chief inspector of CIB and a handler for undercover cops. One evening he gets a call from his friend and the superintendent Hong Sir, to meet him at a rooftop in downtown Hong Kong, only to witness Hong falling of the building. In his last breath, Hong Sir utters that there is a corrupt cop in the police force and that Cheuk Hoi must save his five undercover agents – whom he was a handler for.

Back at the CIB Cheuk Hoi notices that the computers had been hacked, but fortunately the information of the undercover agents had been deleted by Hong Sir. Unfortunately, this makes Cheuk Hoi’s job even harder.

By luck he manages to find one: Ting Siu Ka “Ding Jie” (Charmaine Sheh), an undercover cop working as masseuse. She collects intel from the customers: some of them are the girlfriends of goons.

After noticing that she has weird friendship with a lowly goon, Sit Ka Keung “Bao Seed” (Raymond Lam), he puts her on the task to become his underling as Hong Sirs agenda for his five undercover cops is to catch the famous Chum Foon Fei ”Foon Hei Gor” (Benz Hui): a mafia boss owning most of underground Hong Kong.

Now Ding Jie must find out where her fellow UCs are, and together with Cheuk Sir keep her and the UCS from being exposed…

It’s been a while since I’ve watched Cantonese dramas. Generally, it is because I have low expectations in terms of quality, which in my experience I have seen several of. This drama however is so good and intriguing that I didn’t care. In the first 20 episodes, I really didn’t care if things were badly made, everything else was so good! The characters were well written, the storyline was thrilling and the entire screenplay was believable. Yes. there was bad acting here and there, weird “coincidences” and there were some stupid things I couldn’t get my head around, but that didn’t ruin the overall drama. After episode 20, the drama gets confusing a bit, yet you want to continues – kind of a charm if you will. So, it doesn’t necessarily get bad, just unnecessarily long or ‘extended'.

I think I will always remember Line Walker as a drama I really enjoyed, so yes, I think I would recommend it.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥½ / 4½ out of 5 hearts

Pandora Movie Review

Title: Pandora

Genre: Disaster, Thriller

Origin: Korea

Release date: December 7, 2016

Cast: Kim Nam Gil, Kim Joo Hyun, Jung Jin Young, Kim Young Ae, Moon Jung Hee and Kim Myung Min.

Kang Jae Hyuk (Kim Nam Gil) lives with his mother, sister-in-law and nephew in a small village in the outskirts of Daegu. The village has nuclear reactor next to the harbor, due to that no fish are in the water, hence no fishermen. The sole live hood of the workers in the village is power plant, which Jae Hyuk does as well and his girlfriend Yeon Joo (Kim Joo Hyun) who works at the power plant information center. He lost his father and older brother because of the plant, so he hates everything about it – including working there.

When an earthquake hits the village, everyone – including the president – is told that the quake didn’t affect the plant. But the reality of the consequence is much more severe and as Pyung Sub (Jung Jin Young) tries to warn everyone, unfortunately he is met by opposition.

Aware of what the nuclear plant is capable of Jae Hyuk wants to get home and save his family, but fate has different plans for him, as he is stuck with his fellow workers…

First of all I need to point out that I am a 'disaster movie'-fan, meaning I enjoy those adrenaline filled "gotta save everyone" thriller movies/dramas. There is just something about them that makes me ignore plot holes – so I sometimes rate them as great, but later realize how weak a plot or storylines they really have. Fortunately this movie had all: amazing storyline, great plot, loads of great screenplay and perfect acting. I don't think I have anything bad to day about this movie honestly. From the beginning to the very end it was perfectly paced and superbly executed. I think that due to the Fukushima incident this hits closer to home than older 'power plant situations' or stories, as they really are quite alike.

So do I recommend it? Yes! (Available on netflix 17^th of March)

☆☆☆☆☆ / 5 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥½ / 4½ out of 5 hearts

Wanted - The Reality Show Review

Title: Wanted – The Reality Show

Genre: Thriller, Crime, Action

Episodes: 16

Broadcast Period: Jun-2016 to Aug-2016

Cast: Kim Ah Jung, Ji Hyun Woo, Uhm Tae Woong, Park Hae Joon, Lee Moon Shik, Park Hyo Joo, Hun Hyo Sung, 

"Wanted" is a television program about a television program named "Wanted". In the course of this drama-within-a-drama, missions are assigned by some controlling intelligence, spawning an increasingly complex web of investigative reporting. In the course of these investigations, injustices are exposed. But the web of investigations is built upon "Wanted"'s purpose is the kidnapping and ransom of a child. Justice is embedded within a greater injustice. 

I really do not understand why this drama had such low ratings. Amazing drama. Very complex and suspenseful. An adult drama for adults who don't mind having to work a little to understand or figure out what is going on. The script  was very well done! There are of course some minor oversights, but don't really matter. The cast was amazing, everybody fits perfectly in the role. It is a smart drama, no unnecessary things included. It was really well prepared. So far I haven’t seen Kim Ah Joong in a drama, but she didn’t dissappoint, I liked the fresh aura from her.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Bunji's Verdict

Okay, so this is such a weird drama, I don't even know where to start. These actors are amazing actors, but unfortunately, they were given such lacking characters and stupid dialogues, that the delivery becomes half assed. I don't understand why it had to be 16 episodes, and I don't understand what this director and writer were thinking while doing this. I bet even the actors were confused at some point, because hell, I was. The beginning is really good, and the storyline unfolds slowly, but at some point, it just became too much, and I felt like they had to add stuff in order to make it more interesting. It took me forever to finish, and if I wasn't as stubborn as I am while watching dramas, I don't believe I would have finished it.

To be fair, as I said before, the actors are really trying, but it just ends up seeming like average acting. I felt that a lot of characters were unnecessary, and their involvement with each other completely dumb. But the intensity is one of the few things that does make the drama watchable – also the hope of a sudden betterment in dialogue and story...

So: under average acting, with a somewhat okay story, but unless you are hooked, you might get bored. I know I wouldn't recommend it.

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥½ / 2½ out of 5 hearts

Train to Busan Movie Review

Title: Train to Busan
AKA: Train for Busan
Genre: Action / Suspense / Thriller / Zombie
Origin: Korea
Release date: July 20, 2016
Cast: Gong Yoo, Jung Yoo Mi, Ma Dong Suk, Choi Woo Sik and Kim Soo Ah.

Seok Woo (Gong Yoo) is a divorcee, working as a fund manager. After getting divorced, he and his ex-wife share custody of their daughter Soo An (Kim Su An). Being a workaholic, Seok Woo usually leaves Soo An with his mother, and rarely has time for his daughter. When Soo An wants to go to Busan to celebrate her birthday at her mothers, Seok Woo has no other choice but go with her as he is afraid to let her take to train alone. At the same time, Seoul is havocked by mass riots, which the NEWS keep repeating.
After arriving on the KTX a woman collapses in front of the train attendant, who while trying to help her gets attacked by the woman, by getting her throat slit. Soon havoc begins on the train as the train attendant, who was presumed dead, gets up and starts attacking other passengers.
The noise wakes up the dazed off Seok Woo, noticing that Soo An is missing from her seat. While going towards the hall he notices people running and screaming, and soon realizes that people who get attacked and die, wake up as zombies. Now the remaining passengers can’t get out as the train runs on full speed, and are headed towards Busan…

I do apologize of the summary looks bleak at the end, I tried not spoil anything.
How on earth do I even explain this movie? I mean I had my fair share of Zombie movies AND TV Shows, but this one left me shocked and amazed. Though there are several moment I could complain about, I‘ve decided not to, because they don’t really ruin your overall experience of the movie. And honestly, I can pretend to know what I would do in those situations, but I bet I would be the first one to die anyways, so I am not going to act like a know-it-all. All actors involved are just perfect for each given role, though some annoyed me occasionally, I didn’t have time to dwell on it, since the pace is out of this world.
So, I recommend this 100%, as this is one of the best Korean movies ever, AND one of the great zombie movies of all time.

☆☆☆☆☆ / 5 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥♥ / 5 out of 5 hearts

Kamji’s Verdict:
Yes! Wow! What?
That’s how this movie left me. I can’t describe what this movie did to me. I’m not a big fan of zombie/ disaster movies, but this was more than that. I understand all the hype there was about it. The story, the acting (ALL of them!) and the details were so on point, I got shivers down my spine several times! Applause to all the zombie actors, damn they left me speechless. Gong Yoo definitely was the right pick, and that little girl playing his daughter needs an award right now!
I sincerely hated some of the characters and loved the others, but that just shows the quality of this drama. I don’t think I need to say more than, go watch it, if you’re one of the few that haven’t yet ;)

☆☆☆☆☆ / 5 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥♥ / 5 out of 5 hearts

Library Wars 2 Movie Review

Title: Library Wars: The Last Mission

AKA: Library Wars 2

Genre: Action, Romance, Thriller

Origin: Japanese

Release date: October 10, 2015

Cast: Okada Junichi, Eikura Nana, Tanaka Kei, Fukushi Sota, Matsuzaka Tori and Kuriyama Chiaki.

“Media Betterment announces new controls on media. A bright future for our society a sound upbringing for our children. Eliminate harmful books, media, and thought. Juvenile of fences are down 2.3 percent since the Betterment Act was passed. We must eradicate harmful books and harmful thought. The burning of books is suppression of thought! This country now exists under a reign of terror!” (intro of movie)

The sequel continues after the special. Kasahara Iku (Eikura Nana) has figured out that Dojo Atsushi (Okada Junichi) is the man who saved her favorite book and her first love. Unable to confess her love, she tries not to act different around him; but when one of her coworkers decides to burn some confiscated book she is framed for it, and in order to save Dojos reputation she takes the blame.

On the opposition - the Media Betterment Committee – someone is feeding hate toward the Library Defense Force. While the LDF is out on a mission helping a fellow Library set up a confiscated book drop off, the MBC decides to go all out and remove the task force once and for all…

Compared to the first one I liked this one a bit better, but it was no less to the first one. For some reason when you watch it you don’t think about how absurd the ‘wars’ are, and yet when you have to explain it; you kind of face palm yourself. The movie is so great, and I love that it isn’t a movie about people hating other people, rather it focuses on the issue such a free will and thought. Though there is the usual villain, and the ‘us’ against ‘them’ vibe flowing around. As the climax goes this movie nails it, as even I was pretty shocked when I understood what was happening – so that is quite the achievement.

I absolutely adore the lead couple: the fact that she is taller than him, and that he has to look up to meet her eyes *amazed* And for some reason you don’t really feel the age gap at all… so great acting! To be fair the movie has a lot of thin layer of missing substance, but they actually make up for it by giving the characters such great chemistry and personalities.

So would I recommend this movie? Yes, I would. But I believe people should watch the first one – just to get the entire picture, and be a bit loose on the entire ‘war’ thing.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥½ / 4½ out of 5 hearts

The Wailing Movie Review

Title: The Wailing

AKA: Gokseong

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Origin: Korea

Release date: May 12, 2016

Cast: Kwak Do Won, Hwang Jung Min, Kunimura Jun, Chun Woo Hee and Kim Hwan Hee.

Jong Goo (Kwak Do Won) is small time police officer in the rural village Goksung. He lives there with his wife, mother-in-law and daughter Hyo Jin (Kim Hwan Hee). One morning he gets a phone call about a murder that has happened in that same village, and when arriving at the scene, he is met with the horrific sight of an entire family slaughtered. The killer, the father and head of the family, is sitting shaking and covered in burned spots all around his body. Soon another murder of the same type happens in the village, and it is said to be an outbreak of some sort.

Jong Goo starts hearing rumors around the village, about the ‘Japanese man’ who happened to come to the village when it all started. After checking out his house, Jong Goo and his partner are shocked to find Hyo Jin’s shoe in the house. And when he questions Hyo Jin, he noticed that the once shy and smiley girl is now swearing and threatening to murder everyone. The scared mother-in-law calls in a shaman to cure the daughter, but the paranoid Jong Goo believes the Japanese man has something to do with it and decides to take care of it…

I have a hard time deciding whether I like this movie or not. It has so much Asia in this that it became another one of those movies which I have no idea what happened. I mean it’s not hard to follow, they do keep you in the loop, but I don’t understand it. You would usually get a sense of what the meaning of a 2+ hours long movie is about, but at the end I felt empty. I wasn’t scared or shocked. I was a bit sad, but I have no idea what the movie theme is. Like if it was a scare movie, it was too well written, and if it was moral-type movie, I didn’t catch it. I don’t understand what I was watching. Maybe I am too thick? Considering people were talking so positively about it, I really don’t understand it.

The movie as a general is well-written, well-dialogued, and really beautifully made. The cast was great, and even the twist was good. Besides that, I have nothing. I really felt like a blob.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Beautiful Mind Review

Title: Beautiful Mind

AKA: Dr. Frankenstein

Genre: Medical, Thriller, Romance

Episodes: 14

Broadcast period: 2016-Jun to 2016-Aug

Cast: Jang Hyuk, Park So Dam, Yoon Hyun Min, Heo Joon Ho and Park Se Young.

This drama tells about Lee Young Oh (Jang Hyuk); a genius neurosurgeon with a brain injury to his frontal lobe, making him unable to show or feel sympathy and empathy. As a very young boy his father had intensively taught him how to read facial expressions, as he was afraid his son would be labeled a psychopath due to people with the same condition being known as either sociopaths or psychopaths. This results in Young Oh being able to hide his real nature even from his girlfriend Kim Min Jae (Park Se Young) and his fellow co-workers.

Everything changes when he's one day involved in a range of deaths at the hospital, with patients dying with no reasonable cause. This leads to policewoman Gye Jin Sung (Park So Dam) suspecting Young Oh after being involved with one of the patients right before they went to surgery. Soon after everything around him starts to crumble as the people he thought he had trusted, suddenly work against him...

Okay, so I am aware this drama isn't as famous as many other Korean medical dramas, but compared to all other medical drama I have watched, this is probably one of my favorite. You might find this one to serious and quite confusing, but I enjoyed it a lot. I am not a fan of Jang Hyuk, but I really didn't mind him here. Sometimes I would think his acting was off, but it didn't bother me at all. Maybe because of the storyline or the dialogues, but it was quite good to be fair. Park So Dam I am seeing for the first time, and I loved her. I think she made me a fan. There was something tomboyish yet very feminine about her – like a young and less experienced Gong Hyo Jin. And I am a huge GHJ fan :)

Besides that, I found the pace great, like it made me tune in every single week, and I was always excited for the next episode. But on the other hand I understand why people would dislike it – as the subject is something not everyone is fond of. Also the idiot who cut this 2 episode short should die. Seriously. There was WAY too much happening in the last 2 episodes - because it was cut.

To sum up: a great drama, but not for everyone's taste.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Mrs Cop 2 Review

Title: Mrs. Cop 2

Genre: Crime, Thriller

Episodes: 20

Broadcast period: 2016-Mar to 2016-May

Cast: Kim Sung Ryung, Kim Bum, Kim Min Jong, Im Seul Ong, Son Dam Bi and Kim Hee Chan.

This drama is the sequel of the 2014 drama, though with a completely new cast.

Go Hyun Jung (Kim Sung Ryung) is recently divorcee who returned from her sabbatical in US with her son. She lives with her father who runs his own cooking blog and is a former cop. Wanting to return to work, she is introduced to Park Jong Ho (Kim Min Jung), the Team leader of the former group Team 1, in order to take up Choi Young Jin’s (Kim Hee Ae) former job. She encounters hostility and dissaprovement by the male dominant workspace, and when she is told to recruit the rest of the team or else she will be fired, she is desperate to find her team. At the same time, a young CEO Lee Ro Joon (Kim Bum) uses his power and wealth in order to maintain his position…

Okay so I know compared to the first season this review is bit duller, and to tell the truth everything except Kim Bum is dull. Yeah the stories are good, just not memorable. Yes, the cast are well written, just boring. And, agreed it has a bit more consistency compared to season 1, but I really felt they dragged the storyline on. I personally enjoyed every episode of the first season, but season 2 only had me excited for one thing: Kim Bum. At first, I disliked having him as the bad guy, because smiling pretty boy boys who are evil freak me out, but after a while I really felt like he stole the show. And considering his last drama of his that I watched was Hidden Identity, this one really took it up a notch. You’ll understand once you see it for yourself...

Other than that I felt everyone was rather mediocre, then again the first season really set the bar high.

To sum up: a lesser sequel yet watchable with mediocre performance, except for the main bad boy :D

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

Signal Review

Title: Signal
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Romance
Episodes: 16
Broadcast Period: Jan-2016 to Mar-2016
Cast: Lee Je Hoon, Kim Hye Soon, Cho Jin Woong, Jang Hyun Sung, Jung Hae Kyun, Kim Won Hae, Lee Yoo Joon, Jung Han Bi

Park Hae Young (Lee Je Hoon) works as a criminal profiler and is also a police lieutenant. Even though he is a cop, he doesn't trust cops due to his own past experience. Hae Young meets a reporter at a cafe to reveal bombshells about a celebrity scandal. Meanwhile, veteran detective Soo Hyun (Kim Hye Soon) is at the cafe staking out the meeting, unaware that Hae Young is a cop, she arrests him for stalking celebrities. While leaving the police station (the same police station he went to as a kid), Hae Young hears someone talking to him. He looks around to find a walkie-talkie. The man who is talking to Hae Young is Detective Lee Jae Han (Cho Jin Woong). The detective though is from the year 2000 and he is investigating the disappearance of Hae Young's elementary school classmate. Hae Young and Detective Jae Han begin to communicate via the walkie-talkie to solve past cold cases.

I don’t think I have much to say about this drama besides that it’s amazingly good. The story was never boring, never died down, never got tiring but was only getting more and more thrilling as the episodes went by. It’s beyond obvious to say that I absolutely loved Park Hae Young. He was courageous, brave and right and didn’t feel like that typical k-drama male lead who is so passionate on everything, that turns to be tiring and frustrating. Cha Soo Hyun was also an amazing character. I gotta say I loved the 3 main characters almost equally. She was very strong and well-mannered for a female lead, although sometimes she did feel kind of awkward. They did a great job with the editing and pacing and it’s really powerful. A lot of the time with murder shows you don’t get affected by them, but I can see this one sticking to me for a while for some reason. As good as this drama is though, it couldn’t escape the messy ending that most past-changing-themes has. I just couldn’t follow it in the end, it’s hard to explain without spoiling anything, but for me it left me with many unanswered questions. But who knows, maybe season 2 will answer them :b
To sum it up, I highly recommend it to anyone who’s interested in some suspense and up for the thrill ride.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥½ / 4½ out of 5 hearts

Bunjis Verdict

As far as a great drama goes this one is defiantly up there. It is intriguing and fun, and even relatable. But to be fair I felt that the drama became too confusing and long at the end. I was also very annoyed at the sudden character change in the female lead, which I couldn’t comprehend at all. Which is unfortunate because I loved the fact that there finally was a decent and strong female lead. But somehow, they managed to make her girly and weak. You might disagree, but if you’re making her tough at the beginning don’t go changing her character that fast. It just seems un-cohesive. I loved that there were two male leads, and that they showed to different versions of detectives: smoking-era and smartphone era (how I differentiate them).

As the story goes, it doesn’t add up, but stays honest to the idea, which is a plus. If you don’t care about time-travelling logic, you wouldn’t mind this one. I can’t say I wouldn’t recommend this as it is very entertaining, but as far as a season 2, I felt that the drama ended as it started – very confusing. So a good ending honestly.

☆☆☆☆½ / 4½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Hidden Identity Review

Title: Hidden Identity

Genre: Crime, Thriller

Episodes: 16

Broadcast period: 2015-Jun to 2015-Aug

Cast: Kim Bum, Park Sung Woong, Yoon So Yi and Lee Won Jong.

Cha Gun Woo (Kim Bum) is a former SWAT member who left it and became a police detective. When his partner dies in front of him while on a stakeout, Gun Woo becomes depressed and reminded of the past where his girlfriend was killed by a criminal, right in front of him. The brother of his dead girlfriend, also a cop, Kim Tae In (Kim Tae Hoon) works with a small crew of detectives for the police unit that deals undercover operations.

When Tae In goes missing whilst on a undercover job, they recruit Gun Woo, as he is the most fit for the job, but also has something that might interest him. At first Gun Woo is very reluctant, but when they tell him about the case and the parts involved he suddenly gets very interested and agrees…

This drama has by far one of the most interesting storylines ever made, but has one of the most typical ending and climax. Meaning I was so bored with the “sad” ending that I was counting seconds for it to end, as it was too common. Though I was keen to watch the story and to know about the backstory, I was yawning a lot the time, which when I think back was because of mediocre acting from the cast. The ones playing the ‘baddies’ or the antagonists, were doing a great job – had me buy it completely. But the main cast somehow were very dull. Including Kim Bum. After watching this I am quite sure he doesn’t know how to act. Or at least in this drama he really was bad at acting this character because I got nothing good from him – except for him reminding me of Lee Seo Eun and Lee Seo Jun (the twins from Superman Returns) – which doesn’t fit this apparent “badass” character. To be completely honest I don’t remember all the other actors – that is how dull of an impression they left me.

I think I would recommend this for the story, but not if you are a fan of Kim Bum. He disappoints.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

Mrs. Cop Review

Title: Mrs. Cop

Genre: Crime, Thriller

Episodes: 18

Broadcast period: 2015-Aug to 2015-Sep

Cast: Kim Hee Ae, Kim Min Jong, Lee Da Hee, Son Ho Joon and Lee Ki Kwang.

Choi Young Jin (Kim Hee Ae) is the squad head of her police squad, and close friend to the captain Park Jong Ho (Kim Min Jong). She is good at her job, and deals with some of the most brutal cases in the police station, but is also a single mother to her 6-year-old daughter, who is being taken care of by her aunt; Young Jin’s younger sister.

When her chief and even higher ‘higher-ups’ want to make an innocent man go to jail, so the story about the actual murder can be hushed down, as it involves some politicians, Young Jin becomes furious and wants to fix I, but the entire situation, as well as her job, gets complicated, and she resigns.

Two years later, Young Jin now has much more free time and spends much of her time with her daughter. Though she misses her work, she is unable to tell her sister and daughter. That is until Jong Ho asks her to return: she is made the head of a special task force that is to uncover the murder of a young girl. And she is joined with 5 other members, whom all are a tad more different than the usual detectives…

Hmm, I am not content with my summary, but I think I covered most of it.

This drama is one of the funniest and coolest police dramas I have seen, and it’s not all that amazingly made. On a Korean crime/police/action rate, this one is up there with IRIS (the first one) and Phantom. I enjoyed almost every single bit of it, and the couple in the drama were one of my favorites in the year of 2015. Even though they had little romance, their chemistry was incredible – and funny! Or rather my type of funny… Just enough without being ridiculous (I’ve heard complaints about my humor… So you might not agree on it being a comedy). I liked all characters to be honest and I found the storyline good to. So hell year recommendable!

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥½ / 4½ out of 5 hearts

My Beautiful Bride Review

Title: My Beautiful Bride

AKA: Areumdawoon Naeui Shinboo

Genre: Thriller, Romance, Melodrama

Episodes: 16

Broadcast Period: Jun-2015 to Aug-2015

Cast: Kim Moo Yul, Lee Shi Young, Go Sung Hee, Ryu Seung Soo, Park Hae Joon, Son Jong Hak, Lee Jae Yung

The storyline is about Kim Do Hyung (Kim Moo Yul) whose fiance, Yoon Joo Young (Ko Sung Hee), vanished from the surface of the earth and he found himself in an everlasting journey between the past and the present in order to find her. There’s a violence and power hierarchy when it comes to the world of the underground. The first step are the loan sharks and if they can’t get the amount of money the debtor owes them the Shadows take charge of the overall situation. Everything started three years ago when the leader of Shadows, Song Hak Soo (Lee Jae Yong), was caught by the police force after a massive operation under the command of Cha Yoon Mi (Lee Si Young) and Park Hyung Sik (Park Hae Joon). While searching for his fiancee, Kim Do Hyung quickly finds himself against the Shadows.

OCN indeed! Cruel City style indeed. Bloody, intense, heavy, noir till the end. It's exactly what I adore and love. I decided to watch it impulsively and just fell in love with it. It gives you this happiness and a thought that I did well watching it.  Oh boy what a surprise it was, reading that it was the same director as the one behind Cruel City that directed this drama. It made me draw parallels between those two. The dark world there is deep in society, a man fighting for what he believes and a woman that is desperately entangled in that world. Damn was I impressed and freaking hyperventilating half the time? YES, because of all the fighting and racing. I didn’t know how cool a man in a suit riding a mountain bike after a car before I watched Kim Moo Yul in action. At first I was not sure why they picked this actor, I mean, I don’t know him (and that’s very rare!!! Unless he was a rookie/newbie), when I looked him up, he had a lot of work and apparently a well-known person (shock). Although he was kind of a stranger for me at first, I slowly fell for his acting! He is not that handsome when you see him at first, but he becomes more and more charming and real throughout the drama. The girl and the rest of the cast were amazingly good too, I don’t think there were one single person that didn’t give it their all because you could even feel threatened by the gangsters behind, so definitely thumbs up to them. One thing that bothered me was how they tried to prolong the drama, before I started I really wondered how they were going to fill up 16 episodes, with him trying to rescue the girl. And as expected it did feel stretched out in the end, but somehow you kinda overlook it because of all the action. All in all, great OCN.

☆☆☆☆½ / 4½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥½ / 4½ out of 5 hearts

Bunjis Verdict

Hmm, OCN keeps disappointing me. This is yet another one that I could have avoided watching.

As far as police and thriller dramas go, this one had a good starting plot, and then suddenly ended becoming a mafia/gangster/wanna-be-underground’ish war. It started very intriguing where any person watching would become very confused and even doubt your own eyes and yourself. I thought it was well-thought, until episode 4 (or somewhere after that). It just goes downhill, and ends with something as ridiculous as all-on war between gang mobsters. I know it was a sub-plot to begin with, but it ended by becoming the main plot? Also, I understand if you must do that, but it just feels like a desperate attempt to make it scary.

BUT! Besides that, I gotta say the acting was on point, so was the dialogue. So, if you like mobster movies, and like thrillers, this is a definite pick. Plus, it has a bit of mystery which makes it watchable.

To sum up: an interesting and intense police action drama, with a “bit” of gangster in it.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts