The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop Review

Title: The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop

AKA: Laurel Tree Tailors / Bay Tree Tailors

Genre: Family, Comedy, Drama

Episodes: 54

Broadcast period: 2016-Aug to 2017-Feb

Cast: Lee Dong Gun, Jo Yoon Hee, Cha In Pyo, Choi Won Young, Hyun Woo, Shin Goo, Kim Young Ae and Oh Hyun Kyung.

This drama follows four men, who get affiliated with a small tailor shop called “Wolgyesu Tailor Shop”.

Lee Man Sool (Shin Goo) is the second-generation owner of the Wolgyesu Tailor Shop. After being unable to get anyone to take over the shop, he decides to leave his family, leaving them with a letter. His son Lee Dong Jin (Lee Dong Gun) is wealthy manager in a clothing company owned by his wife’s diseased father. Due to internal conflict he is outed of the company and returns home. Here he meets Na Yeon Sil (Jo Yoon Hee), a seamstress that was supposed to get married, but her fiancé was arrested on the wedding day.

Due to the vacancy of a tailor in the shop, Bae Sam Do (Cha In Pyo) a former pupil of Man Sool, finally manages to persuade his aggressive wife Bok Sun Nyeo (Ra Mi Ran) to close down their chicken shop, to start living in the Lee household. At the same time Lee Dong Sook (Oh Hyun Kyung), the daughter of Man Sool and sister of Dong Jin, persuades their mother to let her first crush and forgotten singer Sung Tae Young (Choi Won Young) live in the house, only to create even more havoc. Kang Tae Yang (Hyun Woo) is the youngest of four, who is the childhood friend of Yeon Sil. After getting dumped by his longtime girlfriend for a rich CEO, Tae Yang decides to join the company - which happens to be the company Dong Jin was fired from.

Soon enough the four create an alliance and together they fix the issues surrounding their family and new home…

I remember reading about this drama long before it came out, and I was more than excited to watch it because of two of the leads, Cha In Pyo and Lee Dong Gun. Besides the fact that they are great actors, I have never seen them act together in a movie or drama - which made it even more exciting. Unfortunately, I felt quite confused in the beginning, because of the huge number of plots entwined in the main plot - making me forget not only names, but also the relationships between the characters, both kinship and other. This made me forget about the two leads, as I tried to wrap my head around it, and when I finally figured it out, they all kind of became less ‘famous actors’, and more their characters. The story and screenplay were great, even though I felt the acting could’ve been a bit better, I was satisfied with the overall.

So, all in all, it is a good family drama that made me laugh, and happy.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 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

Doctors Crush Review

Title: Doctors Crush

AKA: Doctors

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama, Medical

Episodes: 20

Broadcast Period: Jun-2016 to Aug-2016

Cast: Kim Rae Won, Park Shin Hye, Yoon Kyun Sang, Lee Sung Kyung, Kim Young Ae, Jung Hae Kyun, Han Bo Bae

Yoo Hye Jung (Park Shin Hye) has had a tough childhood and difficult life. She has dealt with the life challenges by becoming emotionally guarded and acting like a tough bully at school. When Hong Ji Hong (Kim Rae Won) meets Hye Jung, he recognizes her intelligence behind her gangster facade. However revenge sets her on a path to become a doctor in a neurosurgery residency at a major hospital. Hye Jung works alongside fellow residents Jung Yoon Do (Yoon Kyun Sang) and Jin Seo Woo (Lee Sung Kyung). But when Seo Woo becomes Hye Jung’s biggest rival both professionally and personally, can Hye Jung overcome yet another major obstacle to her own personal happiness? 

I’m still not quite sure whether to like and recommend this drama, or to dislike it. I don’t wanna sugarcoat it, so i’m just going to put it out there. I loved it at some points, but hated it towards the end. I fell for it’s charm in the beginning, the cute innocent love story, the attractive characters and especially Park Shin Hye. I’m amazed by her development from the childish actress she was in Beautiful You, till the confident her in both Pinocchio and this one. It showed us a different side of Park Shin Hye. The cast was strong and the story was very promising. So what went wrong? Well, first of all they could have made Ji Soos part bigger, I mean a hot delivery guy… Why not :b On a serious note though, the storyline got dragged, every episode had it’s own mini-stories, but the overall background story went so slow, and at times you even forgot it. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but there was too much romantic stuff between the lead couple, you kind of get wearied of it. In the end I started supporting the second lead, because I felt that would be more convincing! The first few episodes were probably the best part of the drama. I kept watching till the end though, because of the character developement in the beginning. The director did a good job with hooking us on the drama till the end, but he leaves you dissapointed! Overall this drama lacks a strong plot. This is not the drama for you if you're hoping for a complex plot.

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥½ / 2½ out of 5 hearts

Bunjis verdict

As a start I have to say this: my rating might be a bit ‘nicer’ than Kamjis, but that is not because I disagree with her. It is because I can bring myself to rate harshly – it is quite hard expecially since I enjoyed a bit of it.

Okay that said, I have to almost totally agree with Kamji. Though I already at the beginning knew this would be one of those dramas: weak. This drama has the thinnest plot every, and the weakest story EVER. I mean 20 episodes of doctors crushing at each other, and a bit of bickering here and there does not make a drama. This drama actually had potential; with some of the most amazing characters written – and with some of the wittiest dialogues ever made (in Korean drama world that is). But that is where it ends. As a medical drama there was a bit too little – or at least not enough – of medicine. Patient story were too short and few if you ask me… even if they were good, there weren’t enough. Then again that is MY opinion.

I enjoyed this drama mostly because of Kim Rae Won and some of the supporting characters – other than that I was bored. Like this drama is generally boring with a few laughs (because of the clever lines) here and there.

So all in all, a drama that will very soon be forgotten, even if it was hyped and had a lot of viewers.

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

Kill Me, Heal Me Review

Title: Kill Me, Heal Me
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Medical, Mystery
Episodes: 20
Broadcast Period: Jan-2015 to Mar-2015
Cast: Ji Sung, Hwang Jung Eum, Park Seo Joon, Oh Min Suk, Kim Yoo Ri, Kim Young Ae, Shim Hye Jin, Choi Won Young

Cha Do Hyun (Ji Sung) is a wealthy businessman with a warmhearted personality who loves to help others. However, 11 years ago, after he realized that he suffers from dissociative identity disorder, he has been desperately trying to hide it from his families and friends. He has six other identities: Shin Se Gi a vehement guy with a devil-may-care demeanor who appears when Do-hyun experiences violence. He may be violent, but he never hurts children and women. Perry Park is a 40 year-old man with an aficionado for fishing and building bombs. Ahn Yo-seob a suicidal, intelligent 17 year old boy and artist. Ahn Yo-na's twin brother, she is an extrovert and mischievous 17 year old girl who loves idols. Cha Do Hyun tries to regain control over his life with the help of Oh Ri Jin, a first-year psychiatry resident who tries hard to maintain her seemingly perfect image to cover for her real personality. At first glance she looks elegant and genteel, but she is actually messy and short-tempered. Ri-jin then becomes Do Hyun's secret psychiatrist, and slowly falls in love with him. Ri Jin’s twin brother, Oh Ri Ohn, often gets mistaken for a goofy simpleton, but he is actually a famous mystery novelist under the pseudonym Omega who investigates about Seung Jin Family.

Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. I knew this would happen. I tried to prepare my heart and mind for the ending since episode 1, but then the ending came and I’m left alone with thousands feeling I don’t know what to do with. How do I go back to living my life again?  Where do I start… That couple. What kind of chemistry is that! First they overwhelmed me in their previous work Secret, and know they do it again, just stronger! Although Ji Sung did a lot of the work this time, I mean he singlehanded made me fall in love with SEVEN amazing characters with the same face! Before he was on my favorite list of actors, but now he is THE TOP ONE! No.. He need another list only for him, this man need an award already! Also Hwang Jung Eum did a pretty good job, she just nails those feels, and throw them at us so we just end up sobbing like her. Throughout the drama what I liked the most about them where that they don’t seek recognition or validation from anyone but each other, that’s all they need… That’s all I need(hahah). The storyline, the journey they go through to put back together the broken puzzle was just a delight to watch, even the message of the show, leaves us with no less than satisfication, that it’s energetic to depend on our loved ones, and to seek out the truth despite our fears.
Okay, so just to be fair I want to pin out a little detail that might have been a little too much in the drama, and that was the flashbacks! There were too many and too much, but I didn't think it would reduce from my experience as an audience. *happy face*
This dramas soundtrack is also an example of how much impact a song has on the drama, I dare to go as far to say that if not for one specific song in the drama I don’t think it would have been able to deliver everything the way it did.
After a rather-dull 2014, I must say 2015 kicked off with a loud bang. With dramas like Pinocchio and Healer concluding in the first two months, setting solid standards, it was rather difficult to surpass them. But Kill Me Heal Me did exactly that. I wouldn't say it exactly 'surpassed' them. More like it carried on their legacy.

☆☆☆☆☆ / 5 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥♥ / 5 out of 5 hearts

Bunji's Verdict

Hmm, this drama was one of the few extremely popular ones of 2015, and yeah I was expectant. It is good, it just didn’t satisfy me. Actually I dislike dramas (and movies) where the lead actor/actress falls in love with a look-alike of the lead or a person reminding them of someone else (like someone falls in love with the lead that looks like his/hers first love, or like in this case: the same person but different personality). It just feels wrong, and already from episode 4 I was kind of annoyed - and that went on for another 16 episodes. And tbh I didn’t really feel the leads chemistry as I did in Secret, but I guess it’s kind of the idea - like so have her fall for both personalities. I dunno, I disliked it - Also I didn’t really fall (like most did) for the violent Se Gi like everyone else did, nor did I feel bad for him, which just shows that the director and screen writer didn’t do a good job.

Besides that the drama was okay. The psychological part was okay: quite reasonable actually, though I didn’t get why all personalities come out - only a few of them make sense, but then again it’s a drama.

I won’t spoil anymore, so a good and interesting drama - which you might like more than I did.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Medical Top Team Review

Title: Medical Top Team

Genre: Medical, Romance

Episodes: 20

Broadcast period: 2013-Oct to 2013-Dec

Cast: Kwon Sang Woo, Jung Ryu Won, Joo Ji Hoon, Oh Yeon Seo, Choi Min Ho, Oh Y and Kim Young Ae.

On the day of the announcement of the Top Team at Kwanghye University Hospital, Park Tae Shin (Kwon Sang Woo) happens to be in the same hotel, and notices a waitress limp on one of her legs. The cardiologist presenting the project Seo Ju Yeong (Jung Ryeo Won) an ambitious woman, also notices the waitress, but is pushes aside by Tae Shin who does an immediate emergency treatment and brings her to the hospital. Returning to his hospital one of his favorite patients, an 8 year old girl collapses and needs surgery. When taking her to Kwanghye University Hospital, he meets Ju Yeong again, who is to take care of the patient, but when a VIP patient collapses they refuse the little girl in order to prioritize. That is when Tae Shin asks to do it himself, and the director Han Seung Jae (Joo Ji Hoon) reluctantly agrees. After saving the girl Tae Shin runs to watch the other surgery, but when Ju Yeong isn’t able to move her arm as she likes because of the accident earlier that day, Tae Shin runs to aid her, and is noticed by Seung Jae, who now wants him in the Top Team…

Wow, I can’t believe I am going to say this but I was actually disappointed in this. Maybe my expectation in a drama with Sang Woo, Ji Hoon and Ryu Won was a bit high, and it being a medical drama might also have to do with it, but I seriously felt that it took a dumb turn right at the middle. I think the start was okay, even the lead’s past was interesting, but then it just became too much about the family fighting against each other. Not only that there simply was way too much going on, too many side story stories, and halfhearted love stories that the main story was just not that interesting. I barely managed to get through it. Acting wise everyone was amazing, even Min Ho who I am not a fan of.

I can’t even recommend it to people because I have no idea which kind of people would watch it. So I don’t know.

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts