The Imperial Doctress

                                 

Episodes: 50

Synopsis:

The Tan family spans many generations of doctors, with many past ancestors who were imperial physicians. But when powerful enemies frame their family, the royal court passes a ruling that future generations of the Tan family are forbidden from practicing medicine. Thus the Tan family are forced to change their last name to Hang. Hang Yunxian (Liu Shi Shi) secretly learns the art of traditional Chinese medicine from her grandmother and helps to cure plagues and illnesses among the common people. Yunxian overcomes many societal obstacles in her passion and pursuit of medicine. And when she meets Emperor Zhu Qizhen (Wallace Huo), he wields a great deal of influence in Yunxian fulfilling her destiny to become the first female physician of the Ming Dynasty. 

Review:

    I enjoyed this drama for a lot of reasons. I watched it primarily because some of my favorite actors feature in this drama. The main character, Liu Shi Shi, has been a personal favorite since I saw her in the drama Bubujingxin. In this drama, I saw that beauty and strength once again (especially at the end of the drama). At the same time, her character was also very different in this drama but I enjoyed how she gave this very comfortable/familiar vibe. The emperor, Wallace Huo, is also a favorite simply because I absolutely enjoy his acting, his piercing gaze, and everything about him. 

       I appreciate this drama so much in the fact that the characters have both the societal/traditional values of the time back then (as it is a historical drama) but also want the best for our main character with a more advanced kind of thinking. All of the male leads (love interests) have continuously pushed the main character forward in her desire to learn more about medicine and to work as a physician. All of them did have the whole “the man is the dominant one and you are the female” type mindset at one point but they also took pride in the main character’s skills and admired her and respected her. They also slowly started seeing her as their equal as her skills came to play more often. I wasn't surprised when I liked the emperor more than Prince Cheng because I had a lot of issues with the character Yun Xian (our main character) loved. But I was surprised when I began to start liking Ye Xian more (her love interest when the emperor and Yun Xian were captured by the Oirat clan). He wasn't the best at times and had these dominant tendencies in which he would try to force her to do things such as marry him or be with him (etc) but as he developed more feelings for her, I truly saw his respect for her and admiration for her grow more and more. It got to a point where he put her on a pedestal and chose her happiness over everything else. He let her go and never went to disturb the life that she chose for herself.
         The emperor was definitely an all-time favorite for me. During his reign and during his fall, he maintained a benevolent king (hot-headed, yes...but a good king nonetheless). Throughout the drama, he respected her feelings and did not force his or her emotions into doing anything that would make her unhappy. He helped her rise socially so that she had more freedom to practice medicine as a woman. He supported her even when he suffered when he lost his power. He protected her the best he could in all scenarios and despite almost being killed, he comforted her first. His kindness and the freedom he gave her were absolutely amazing. He was also a great husband to the empress. He respected her and was extremely loyal considering he had an entire harem to his disposal yet he only maintained his relationship with the empress. He also had similar thoughts as Yun Xian to not hurt the empress by getting together. It was very evident to a lot of viewers that they definitely had chemistry between one another (Yun Xian and the emperor) but they couldn't be together because of other people, their morals, the situations at hand, and so forth.

        As for Prince Cheng...I did not mind him in the beginning. I was pretty open-minded to her liking him more and wanting to marry him. But I was already turned off in the beginning when he started to try to "temporarily" stop her from practicing medicine just to appease his power-hungry mother and to get married with her. When she chose not to, he would get upset or do something that made me annoyed. He continuously hurt her...on purpose or whatever. He got married to someone else to protect her but his wife would continuously threaten Yun Xian because she had the prince's favor.  When he later took over the throne when the emperor was captured by the Oirat, he became tyrannical over time. When the emperor and Yun Xian safely made it back home, he would get upset every time someone challenged his position as emperor. He would hit people. He would yell at people. He would say hurtful things. One thing that I refuse to forgive this prince for is that toward the very end of the drama, due to his jealousy, rage, and suspicion, he raped the main character (who was technically his consort but still she didn't consent) and afterward when she was evidently distraught he got annoyed that she wouldn't stop crying and defending the emperor. (So if you plan on watching this, I recommend being careful...I think around ep 45. They will have a scene before it warning about it happening so this is just a warning). He was a character I didn't like and afterward the screenwriters tried to redeem his character and make his apology seem sincere. But for me it was hard for me to view him as someone I would ever want our main lead to end up with ever.  However i did google the history in which this drama was based on and the screenwriters did try to keep it as close to history as possible from the emperor, the empress dowager, the kidnapping of the emperor and being held hostage by the Oirat, Yexian letting him go and Yexian's struggle over time, and the Prince becoming emperor and not giving up the throne, and his wives did include a woman with the last name Wang and a consort with the last name Hang (which was our main character's last name). Thankfully, the screenwriters hinted at a relationship forming between Yun Xian and the emperor at the very end of the drama because I wouldn't be happy that she lived her life being loyal to this emperor who was so emotionally abusive. 

          Also the OSTs of this drama were beautiful and befitting for a lot of scenes.
          I did have an issue in the beginning because Yun Xian's constant need to save people and against traditional/societal values that her family were trying to place importance on started to bug me. Her family wanted to make sure her reputation didn't go down the drain but she would constantly fight it. So I didn't like Yun Xian's relationship with her father in the beginning and I wished that she could have more balance since considering the time everything she was doing was unfitting for a woman. 

Madame Antoine

                                   

Episodes: 16 

Synopsis:  

Go Hye Rim uses her strong instincts and observational skills to run a Madame Antoine Cafe and play the role of a fortuneteller for her clients. Pretending that she can talk to the spirit of Marie Antoinette, Hye Rim is pretty successful in what she does. However, one day, a psychotherapy clinic opens right above her cafe. After constantly butting heads with the psychotherapist, Choi Soo Hyun, they come to an agreement in which she helps work as an adviser to him. 

    However, there is more to this plot when we find that Choi Soo Hyun is running a top secret experiment on her. He says that the experiment is about what one's ideal type is and its relation to one's immune system. Instead, it is an experiment on love in which he presents three different men to her who all treat her amazingly well. As she falls in love with one of them, she will go through certain phases of the experiment to show her love. The final part of the experiment includes tying ribbons around a tree and calling out "I love you!" 

     He decides to run this experiment on Go Hye Rim. However, Hye Rim is smarter than expected. Will she beat him at his own game or will she fall in love with him despite it all? 

Review: 

I really enjoyed this drama initially because it was quirky and cute. The characters were all very intelligent and unique. It was very nice to see a woman with so much experience, knowledge, and insight as Go Hye Rim did. She was also very smart as she doubted certain aspects of the characters, of the experiment, and she wasn't scared to take revenge when she needed to do so. Go Hye Rim is a divorcee and she has a daughter who soon went to go live with her father. Her ex-husband and daughter didn't play that big of a role throughout the drama and I think it was more to get a back story about her and how harsh love was to her. 

     I liked how both Choi Soo Hyun and Go Hye Rim involve themselves with psychology. This drama used a lot of psychology concepts in treating different clients and it greatly influenced the interactions between the characters. It was very interesting to see them come together because they both used psychology in a different way. One used in a very factual sense and based it all on science, anatomy, and chemistry. The other based it on emotions and noticed little details to get insight. It was very interesting to see how they both worked together to help out clients and how together they were able to help the people more than they would have on their own. 

      I liked how the main character wasn't fooled by the experiment and that she found out pretty early on. She was also very smart in how she cautiously tested waters and so far. However, I did start to get annoyed that she started disregard that fact and fall in love, hoping that Choi Soo Hyun would give up on the experiment. However, nonetheless, she was still a strong woman throughout the drama and managed herself pretty well despite being deceived and despite possibly being heartbroken. I didn't like how she treated her sister at times because she felt as though she was the center of attention. Her sister really was looking out for Hye Rim but Hye Rim was always pushing her down at times. I did like how the sister found love with someone who really saw her as beautiful and I loved how they shared a cute romance throughout the drama. 

      It was harder to get into the drama as it went on because it was hard to trust or enjoy the romance when I knew about the experiment and Choi Soo Hyun's intentions. Even though feelings were developing for both parties, I couldn't trust it. I also found it amazing how quickly the other two men who started developing feelings for her during the experiment immediately lost feelings soon after they decided to drop out of the experiment. At the end, they all had other people they interacted with more than they did with her. I didn't enjoy the romance as much because it was built on false pretenses and revenge. It was fun to watch but it was really hard to get into the drama. 

      I also felt bad for Doctor Bae Mi Ran as she suffered from thyroid cancer. But I didn't like how the drama kept constantly bringing Seungchan and her together and kind of forced this idea of how she just had an "innocent one-sided crush on him" and all that. She's fine to do that but I wish it wasn't forced and I wish the other characters didn't always mesh them together. I liked their friendship toward one another and all that. But it was weird every time the fact that she liked him in a romantic way came up considering they had a 36 year age difference. 

Chronicle of Life

Episodes: 37
Synopsis:
       The story starts off when our main characters are all children. The young emperor and his loyal subject Nalan Rong Ruo defeat subjects who are planning treason under the careful guidance of the Empress Dowager. Liang er is the daughter of one of the subjects tied to acts of treason. On the day of her tenth birthday, she witnesses the slaughter of her entire family. Her mother protects her from death and makes her promise to live on and to go to the Nalan Residence before passing away. Liang Er encounters numerous dangers and meets the young emperor. The two help each other and make the young emperor makes a promise to come back for her. Liang Er finally makes it to the Nalan Residence.
      After a series of traumatic events, Liang er hits her head and develops amnesia. For the next 8 years, the Nalan family mask her as a servant and rename her as Wei Ling Lang. Nalan Rong Ruo, having grown up with her, takes care ocf her and the two eventually fall in love. Their love is met with great opposition from the Nalan family as they know the truth behind Ling Lang's identity and so she gets sent to the palace as a maid to prevent the relationship from further continuing. This begins the friendship of the emperor as he meets her again after 8 years of seeing her.  The two end up developing romantic feelings for each other and must overcome the politics of the inner court and also the past resurfacing. At the same time, another survivor (Liang Er's brother) is in the palace as a eunuch to seek revenge on the emperor for his family. In this drama, love, family, friendship, sacrifices, and being torn between hate and love is all present.

Review: 
     I really enjoyed this drama. It gave me a lot of feels throughout the drama, especially at the end. The end basically makes you feel a nostalgic sadness that fills up your soul. The characters are all very fascinating, unique, and all have their own character. They all play a role throughout the entire drama. It was nice to see the changing relationships between the characters and to be a part of the internal struggle of continuing revenge and living a hate-filled life or choosing love and giving up on vengeance. The internal politics of the court played an important role throughout the drama. However, this drama definitely was extremely cute and endearing in the romantic aspect. I greatly enjoyed it.

Battle of Changsha

Episodes: 32 
Synopsis:
      This is the story about a family living in Changsha, Hunan Province, China. The story takes place during the Anti-Japanese war and reflected what their lives were like during that period. With air raids and student protests, their stories are all linked to one another and also to their changing surroundings. Characters grow and develop over the course of events both blissful and depressing.
       The main character is a girl named Hu Xiang Xiang. She is a spoiled, naive young girl who is running away from a blind date set up by her brother in law. Her brother in law was hoping to marry her off so that she could avoid the war in Changsha but her stubborn personality and reluctance causes her to run around town like a madman while being chased by her brother in law. All the while, her twin brother is trying to help her out. It's a very comedic scene. While running, she bumps into the very man that she was supposed to be going on a blind date with, Gu Qing Ming.
         They started off with bad terms and butted heads upon meeting one another causing the brother in law to have to find another blind date for her. Despite being innocent and ignorant to her surroundings, war soon reaches her family and forces her to grow up quickly. After a series of deaths and killings carried out by Japanese troops, her family gets involved with the war. Xiang Xiang becomes a nurse to help save lives. All the while, she constantly receives help from Gu Qing Ming whenever needed and the romance between them begins to develop in a time of chaos and war.

Review: 
      Wallace Huo was such brilliant eye candy. The relationship was absolutely endearing and mutually supportive of one another and very befitting considering the circumstances presented. The war, politics, and the different lifestyles as people accommodated to the times were all linked together and well executed. I enjoyed the comedic relief in the beginning and I loved how the drama had a change in tone as it got more serious and as the characters were growing up and learning more about their world. Really enjoyed it for the story, the relationships, the side-plots, and so forth. Highly recommend.

Oh My Venus

Episodes: 16
Synopsis: 
     Kang Joo Eun is known as the Daegu Venus back in her hey-day. With her beautiful looks and perfect figure, she was extremely popular with the boys and envied by the girls in her high school. Despite coming from a poor family, she is determined to go to law school and become an attorney. Im Woo Sik, a swimmer, professed his love for Kang Joo Eun and the two end up dating.
     Now, at age 33, she is a lawyer and have been dating Im Woo Sik for 15 years. Due to her hypothyroidism and not taking care of her body, she is now overweight and is constantly disregarded and overlooked by society and her coworkers. In a situation in which she had a life-threatening situation, Kim Yeong Ho aka John Kim, helps her. He is a celebrity personal trainer going by John Kim who was involved in a scandal in the United States so has come to Korea until things cool down. In Korea, Kim Yeong Ho is appointed by his grandmother as the new president of the family medical services company and prevents him from returning to the United States.
       Kang Joo Eun's life then changes when her boyfriend of 15 years breaks up with her and is involved with an old friend Oh Soo Jin. Eager to get her life back together, Kang Joo Eun ends up coming to Kim Yeong Ho to help her lose weight. With the help of his two side kicks, the tough coach, and her strong personality, she begins on this journey to lose weight and become healthy. She also learns to rediscover love and happiness of her own.  

Review:
     This drama was really motivating as I watched Kang Joo Eun work hard and also accomplish her goal in losing weight. Her optimism and perseverance is admirable. I couldn't hate on any of the characters in this drama, which I am grateful for. True, at some points, I felt upset. However, all the characters did things within reason and also weren't bad people at heart.
      I loved the side characters and the love lines of the minor characters. As for the main leads, I loved their romance. Their friends were extremely supportive of them and kind to them. At the same time, it was a mutually beneficial relationship. Kim Yeong Ho took care of her health and also helped her get her life back. He loved her regardless of what she does or what she is like. Kang Joo Eun adds color to Kim Yeong Ho's life and also offers her support during his time in need.
     One thing that I didn't like about this drama was the fact that they kept passing used band aids around. It wasn't exactly romantic for me but rather gross.

Highly recommend.

Sunny (Movie)

Synopsis: 
Im Na Mi is a wealthy housewife and mother. She has a daily routine of waking her family up, making breakfast, and then doing the daily tasks of a housewife. Her teenage daughter refuses to share anything to her about her life and her husband seems to be this bore who doesn't really interact with her much other than giving her money. She is wealthy and living a "perfect" life but she is actually depressed with how indifferent everyone around her is. She begins reminiscing about her teenage years and the group of friends she encountered and become a part of. Each had a unique personality and they all contributed to their little group in which they called Sunny. They bonded with one another, shared laughs together, fought in fights with other groups together. They were happy. Until one day, an incident occurs and their little band of friends disperse. Going back and forth from past to present, this movie shows their happy, heart-wrenching friendship and also their current states. Each of them are living a different life and going through a different ordeal. Brought together, they are able to experience the happiness they felt as teenagers and reconnect with one another to help each other. It was heartwarming, nostalgic, and one of the best movies I've watched in a while.

Review: 
    I really enjoyed this movie because it was so beautifully made. It's a story about a group of friends who were known as Sunny. After a series of events, the little band of friends separate. Years later, as adults, they begin to reconnect with one another and reminisce their years together when they were younger. It was a very nostalgic and heartwarming film. It had a lot of comedic moments in it as well. It felt very raw and realistic. The movie itself felt like it was that passage from childhood to adulthood as it shows the characters growing up and also the differences in their lives as adults compared to their lives as teenagers. I thought it was great how strong their friendship was and it was a really soul-searching journey for all the characters. My heart broke to see how they all had these dreams and aspirations as to what their future will be like that and yet their lives seem to be completely different from what they dreamed of. The young girl who wanted to be an author and used to always be eager to hit someone, is stuck at home tending to a nagging mother-in-law and unable to do anything to be happy. The main character, an aspiring artist, is living a monotonous life as a housewife. It was so sad and yet beautiful to see how they adapt to their current situations and try to help each other out. It was heartwarming, nostalgic, and one of the best movies I've watched in a while. Highly recommend.

200 Pounds of Beauty (Movie)

Synopsis and Review: 
     I really liked this movie because it had a really positive message about self-confidence and it also supports what you want as an individual for yourself. I thought it was comedic, sad, cute, and touching all at the same time as I watched this.
      Kang Han Na is an overweight woman who is unhappy with her career and life. She works as a lip sync vocalist for famous pop singer Ammy and also as a part-time phone sex operator. Her voice is beautiful and is praised despite her appearance. Thus, her life seems to be destined to be behind the stage or hidden from sight while her voice is the important thing above all.
      Working as Ammy's ghost singer, Kang Han Na develops a crush on her music company executive, Sang Jun. When Ammy embarasses Han Na in front of him at his birthday party on purpose, Han Na receives a serious blow to her self esteem and goes to the bathroom to cry. There, she heard Sang Jun tell Ammy that he has to be kind to Han Na because they need her for her voice and they don't want her to walk out on them.
       Realizing that she didn't mean much to them as a person and feeling hurt that her crush would say those things, Han Na attempts to commit suicide but is interrupted by a phone call from one of her phone sex regulars. This man is a plastic surgeon who can no longer touch his wife after performing a procedure on her and so he relieves his sexual frustration through phone sex. Han Na uses this to her advantage by threatening him to help her by giving her a full-body transformation through plastic surgery. The surgeon is moved by her reasons for wanting this and agrees to help her.
        Her transformation reveals an incredibly beautiful and slim woman. Everyone is stunned by her beauty and even her friend doesn't recognize her. With her friend's help, Han Na is able to create a new identity for herself as a Korean American named Jenny. Ammy's career is suffering as she is unable to produce any new songs with the disappearance of Han Na. So she auditions to be Ammy's secret vocalist again and instead earns her own recording contract with Sang Jun. She is promoted to be an "all natural beauty."
          Han Na is unable to return to her normal life and visit her father who suffers Alzheimer's due to her fear of being found out. She continues to work hard as Jenny and starts losing bits of herself in the past that even her friend ends up turning her back on her. As Sang Jun and Jenny fall in love, Han Na is constantly worried about her plastic body breaking when they do something together. Her confidence soars nonetheless because her crush fell in love with her. However, the truth comes tumbling out.
        At her concert, Jenny reveals her true self to her fans and everyone around her. She also apologizes to her friend and father who she had turned her back on to play the role of Jenny. She did get more haters but also more fans as well. And she stayed true to herself despite her appearance and was considered mostly beautiful because of her inner beauty. In the end, plastic surgery did boost her confidence and it was the choice Han Na made for herself. But most importantly, she didn't forget her past and she actually stayed true to herself which is an extremely positive message.