Never Gone (Movie)

             Su Yunjin and Cheng Zheng are high school sweethearts. However, the socioeconomic difference between the two often make it difficult for them to be on the same page. Su Yunjin is a transfer student from a struggling family and Cheng Zheng is a popular, intelligent student and is a rich heir to his family's business. Cheng Zheng falls for Su Yunjin and pursues her despite their differences in economic status. Su Yunjin is much more concerned about it and often tries to distance herself from Cheng Zheng despite having feelings for him. She goes to study and live in a different city from Cheng Zheng after high school only to find him pursuing her again. After the two finally get together, they face more issues as Su Yunjin struggles financially to help support her family and her mother's hospital bills. Afraid of using Cheng Zheng for his money, she asks her ex-boyfriend for help causing the couple to fight and break up. Cheng Zheng eventually moves to America to help with his family's business showing Su Yunjin that she didn't know what she had until she lost it. Thus it begins her quest to find him again and get back together.
          This movie was very cute and romantic. It was also fairly realistic. However, I did not like the ending of this movie. It was unsatisfactory and it felt like I was left hanging. There were a lot of loose ends. It is supposedly a happy ending as there are deleted scenes of them reuniting in America but it just felt as though the movie was left unfinished with the way it ended. I felt like there was a lot of miscommunication between the couple as well and that was frustrating because everything could have been solved if they talked it out more.

Terrace House: Opening New Doors

Episodes: 16

Synopsis: 

Terrace House is a Japanese reality television show that brings together a group of strangers and watches them interact and attempt to create a romance between the characters. It is an extremely popular show in Japan and it portrays realistic scenes about love lives, friendships, careers, personal growth, and so forth. 

Reviews: 

       I really enjoyed this show and I loved how it portrayed the many problems we face in life whether it is how we grow into adults, how we figure out our careers, how we interact with people, and how we deal with the problems in our love lives, and so forth. I definitely had my favorites on this show and also people I did not necessarily understand or appreciate. 

          I personally thought Yuudai (the aspiring chef) was extremely immature. He failed to see that he would have to put in the work and effort toward his wanted goals. However, he constantly makes excuse and busies himself with work that is not helpful nor relevant toward his dream of being a chef. However, I feel like he is still young and his interactions with many often show it. I hope that he realizes and learns to make productive changes to himself. I also struggled to fully understand and relate to Ami. I felt like she had constant issues with people in the house, failed to express herself, and then felt as though others were obligated to understand her and read her well. She was awfully immature in my opinion as well making it hard for me to fully understand. 

          I liked all the other people on the show as they were mature, realistic, and also very supportive and understanding toward everyone in the house. 

Love Cells (Season 2)

Episodes: 12
Synopsis: 
In the season 2 of Love Cells, Nebi makes a return as the love cell of the Chef Park Tae Joon. Park Tae Joon removed his love cell surgically upon his breakup with his girlfriend and his life begins to get complicated when Nebi is released from the Love Cell Bank. Thus begins the story of learning to face emotions, heartbreak, and also people we have hurt along the way in our search for love.

Review: 
This was a lot better than the first season of Love Cells but opinion still stands about this series. I felt like season 2 is more believable but it was still not a satisfying watch. I did not enjoy the plot or the characters as much as I would have liked. I was also fairly disappointed to see one of my favorite child actresses grow up to still take on roles like this instead of focus on bigger, meaningful projects. These side projects seemed to not be up to par with her potential (which I know is great) and it was boring, childish, and not enjoyable to watch. I am fairly disappointed with this series and will not continue to watch any further seasons should they keep coming out with more.
First one was definitely not a good season.
Second one is significantly better--with more of a plot and a more realistic scenario.
However, it is not up my alley.

Love Cells (Season 1)

Episode: 15
Synopsis: 
Ma Dae Choong has failed in numerous love relationships and has become jaded toward women and romance. Giving up on himself and his love life, he has become an unmotivated, lazy, and messy person. One day a "love cell" called Nebi from his body comes out to try to get him to find a girlfriend and fall in love, otherwise the love cell would be dead forever and Ma Dae Choong would continue the current, unsatisfactory life he is living. However, the goal girlfriend Nebi decided for him to chase after is no other than Ma Dae Choong's favorite celebrity, Seo Rin. 

Review: 
The episodes were all very short to watch and it was quick watch. I personally did not enjoy this drama because it did not fit my preferences. It was an easy storyline but not very realistic as it was meant to be a romantic-fantasy/comedy. If you plan on watching this, do not take this drama seriously and go into it with the mindset that you will simply be entertained and possibly have your time wasted. I did not enjoy this drama and did not much have to think about it. However, I found some plot issues with this drama. The ending was confusing because did he lose his love cell? Would that mean he has no ability to love the landlord's daughter who looks like Nebi? Also, if he developed feelings for his love cell wouldn't that be contradictory because it would mean that he loves himself? The plot did not seem to make sense at all for this season and I did not enjoy it.

Black

                                                   

Episodes: 18

Synopsis:

This drama follows the story of a grim reaper who inhabits the human body of Han Moo Gang. As he tries to uncover the truth about a serial murder mystery, he begins to fall in love with a mortal woman named Kang Ha Ram and he also begins to learn about his life before he became a grim reaper. Kang Ha Ram has a unique ability to foresee when someone is about to die and constantly asks for the help of Han Moo Gang. As the two help one another uncover the murder mystery together, the two go through numerous trials and Han Moo Gang faces the possibility of facing a terrible fate as love is forbidden for grim reapers.

Review: 

I watched this drama on Netflix after it was recommended to me by a friend. This drama may remind viewers of other dramas that involve fantasy elements. For those who watched Master's Sun and/or Goblin, you may find that this drama is very similar. I personally found it very enjoyable and I loved the dark elements this drama had within. This drama definitely isn't filled with a lot of "happy" scenes. It is quite dark in it's own way. The characters all had dark secrets and all the characters had their lives intertwined with death, grim reapers, and the spirits of those who passed away. I thought the story line was fascinating as it dived into the lives of Kang Ha Ram, Han Moo Gang, the grim reaper, and the many characters who were fighting against the reveal of truth and justice. 

        I thought the whole concept was absolutely amazing. It was dark and imaginative. It swept me off my feet. The characters were twisted in their own way or suffered through great tragedies but it only made them more interesting to follow. The love line was complicated but a pleasure to watch. Overall, I did greatly this drama. It is not necessarily the drama I'd constantly watch over and over again as it is not completely up my alley. However, I would recommend to many others to watch this drama if they are into something dark or something filled with mystery.

Hwayugi aka The Korean Odyssey

Episode: 20

Synopsis:

This drama is based on the well-known Chinese novel written in the 16th century, The Journey To The West. However, all the spirits, demons, and gods are now living in modern day Korea. It is 2017 and Son Oh Gong and Ma Wang cohabit together and are often butting heads together. However, they work together to find the savior who will help save the world and defeat evil. Seon Mi was a young child when she encountered Son Oh Gong and Ma Wang and she made a contract with Son Oh Gong to have him protect her from evil spirits who constantly followed her. However, Son Oh Gong manages to find a loophole out of the contract and after 25 years later, they meet again and help one another in a world that is beginning to be shrouded with evil. As the two fight against the supernatural world, the two begin to fall in love with one another.

Review:
This drama was fairly enjoyable to me. I love fantasy genres and this was perfect as it was based off of the very old Chinese novel: The Journey to the West. I grew up watching The Journey to the West and fell in love with the beloved characters like Song Wu Kong, Zhu Ba Jie, and the many other demons and deities. It was absolutely fascinating to watch how these characters translated into Korean culture and how this story was portrayed through a modern-day Korean perspective. I loved the casting of all the characters and I enjoyed the drama greatly for the friendships and interesting characters and plots. The subplots, side characters, and friendships throughout the drama reminded me greatly of the drama Goblin. While this did not compare to Goblin in my opinion, it was still captivating, touching, and humorous.
       However, despite enjoying it for all these things and more, I also noted a few things I did not like about it. I did not like the lacking chemistry between the exceptional main leads. I was unsatisfied with the character development of Seon Mi as she started off strong and independent but ended up being dependent and weak. It made her strong character unbelievable in the beginning and it made it harder for me to believe she made it this far in life fighting off demons and ghosts by herself. I also felt that the plot between her and Son Oh Gong was being dragged out over time and the constant question of whether he truly loved her vs didn't love her became boring to watch.
       Overall, this drama was enjoyable for a light-hearted watch. At times, this drama did frustrate me but it still captivated me enough to keep watching.
          

Fight My Way

Episodes: 16

Synopsis:
This story follows a group of friends in their thirties. They are all not living the life they want to live and struggle with their less-than-satisfactory situations. They are underdogs with big dreams and passions but are unable to achieve them. Go Dong Man and Choi Ae Ra are childhood friends who grew up together. Their relationship dynamic hasn't changed since they were children-- they care for one another, they bully one another, and they often argue. However, as both begin to pursue their dreams one more time, romantic feelings begin to develop.  

Review:

This year I will be trying to watch wholesome, positive dramas more often. I ended the year with "Because This Is My First Life" and I felt like my life changed. It showed me the struggles of life and the obstacles we face as women in careers, families, and relationships. It also showed me that it was okay to not know what you're doing and that things will figure themselves out eventually. After this drama, I was kind of in a drama slump. I skimmed through other dramas and just didn't feel for any of them. It took a while to find another drama that made me feel the same way and I finally decided to watch this. This drama is basically a mixture of "Because This Is My First Life" and "Reply 1997". I really enjoyed "Fight My Way". The acting, the chemistry between actors, and the story line were all very enjoyable for me. This drama did have it's share of cliche moments but the actors were very charming and charismatic in their roles, making it much more easier to watch. I would recommend this drama because it is a good mixture of romance and comedy while still showing you a slice of reality.
       Choi Ae Ra and Go Dong Man had a very interesting relationship and I really liked watching them together. While I understood Ae Ra's reasoning for not wanting Dong Man to fight toward the end, it also threw me off. Dong Man's dream has always been to fight and to redeem himself. While he has always supported Ae Ra's dreams, I felt as though Ae Ra should have returned the favor and made him feel less alone. Ae Ra was scared of him hurting himself but by refusing to stand by him toward the end, it made her seem unreliable when Dong Man spends the entire drama being there for her to rely on. As for their friends who were dating one another, I have some more things to say. I love that Ae Ra's friend grew as a person and became more independent with what she experienced in her relationship. As for the man, I have a lot more to say. I noticed that many commentators pointed out that he didn't actually cheat and they questioned why he was being treated as a cheater. Emotionally cheating is just as severe as physically cheating. It is not the fact that he has a tendency to play white knight that is the issue. The issue was him swaying emotionally, disregarding the person is he dating to conflict over someone he isn't, and also hiding things from his significant other. Why hide if he has nothing to hide? He was unfaithful emotionally.
       The other aspects that I didn't enjoy in this drama as much was the whole story line with Ae Ra's mother and also with Dong Man's ex-girlfriend coming back to try to win him back. It just seemed a little unlikely to me. So as I mentioned before, it was sort of cliche for these story lines.