Now that's a lie. Sort of.. I just finished watching '
I'm Sorry, I Love You' and '
My Girl' and I promised to myself not to watch another K-drama for the next six months (at least). I think I'm going to have a K-withdrawal here. LOL. I remembered I said "I usually don't watch Koreanovelas" in one of my posts here. Haha, that's another lie. Well again..sort of. Because it's true. I didn't watch ALL K-dramas shown on TV. From 'Endless Love' and 'Lovers in Paris' to 'My Girl' and 'A Love to Kill', there are already about 20 (or more.. I'm not sure) K-dramas shown on Philippine TV. I've only watched four of them. And yeah, I have religiously watched all four of them. Haha! Am I too defensive? Hee! But then, watching two 16-episode K-dramas consecutively is no joke. It is pretty...stressful. Does that already qualify me as a K-fanatic? Not yet I guess. Btw btw btw, before I finally say buhbye to these two dramas, I'll write brief reviews (echos!).
I'm not that good (organized and detailed) in making reviews. But I'm trying. Hehe! I am extremely biased (just like everyone else I guess) and sometimes inconsistent. My theme in this post is... lying! Joo Yoo-Rin is such an inspiring character I tell you. (Got me? Good! No? Nevermind! )
I'm Sorry, I Hate You!
So Ji Sup (SJS) - Moo-hyuk
Im Soo Jung (ISJ) - Eun-chae
Synopsis and Review
I was really disappointed with the ending of this drama. The last two episodes were pretty dragging (I remembered fast-forwarding some very slow scenes) and most of all, I was stunned with the craziness of Eun-chae. Self-sacrificial love? Sorry, but I don't buy it. I thought it was rather pathetic (And I'm referring to the very last scene here). Life is so beautiful. Why waste it?! Okay, Eun-chae loved Moo-hyuk sooo much and she probably found her life meaningless when he died. But she has a supportive and loving family. And Yune and the mom loved her too. Her family may not be rich but she seemed to have had a decent living. And why kill yourself one or two years after Moo-hyuk's death?! Did it take her that long to realize her life was worthless? I'm sorry but I just hated it how it ended. I can take "sad/bad endings" as long as it's justified. This isn't even the worst of them. I loved almost everything about
Lovers in Paris except the ending. I felt like I was cheated. Lol. And of course, who could beat
Memories of Bali? Want tragic ending? No other series, as far as I know, was brave enough to kill its three main leads. In the case of Bali, I thought it was justified. I understood Jae-min's (or Paolo) hopelessness and extreme jealousy. His family wasn't supportive and he seemed to have no one in this world to count on. His is crazy (and I mean super-crazy!) in love with Soo-jung (Erika) and the latter did not even show some love to him (Well, she did say "Sarangeo" at the end but it was too damn late!). In short, he felt so unloved in this world and he thought he has to die and worse, kill the only woman he loved and the other guy he had just found she had sex with! I still did not like that ending. I mean, I wished the directors could have ended it in a nicer way. But at least, it was justified. With Eun-chae, although she has shown some "loca loca" symptoms (lol) at the end part of the series, I'm still not convinced with that suicide thing she did. It's like..we knew from the beginning that Moo-hyuk was going to die. The directors may have dedided to kill Eun-chae's character as well to add the element of surprise or to do away with the usual feel-good or happy or bittersweet ending.
To judge a drama by its ending is totally unfair. I know I sounded like I was ranting but I wasn't really
that disappointed with it..just the ending. In fact, I think this is one of the most beautifully-acted dramas I've seen. SJS was very effective with his character. And oh my effing gosh.. his stares, his looks, his eyes.. really mysterious but expressive. I know I have this little temporary obsession with Lee Dong Wook right now (read more of him in my review of My Girl below) but he is no match to SJS and JIS when it comes to acting. I also love the mom (geez forget her name!). She is very convincing. I love the cute boy (Moo-hyuk's nephew), the twin sister (she's really good), Eun-chae's funny sisters especially the younger one, Yune! (I can never consider him as "cute" but he's adorable!) and of course ISJ. She looked so innocent. She just fits the character so well.
The story, theme and scenes weren't exactly new but somehow they still managed it to present it in a unique way. There are basically two "love" stories here. The first one was that of Moo-hyuk and Eun-chae. I'm not a fan, sorry. I admit I was carried away with Yune's sweetness to Eun-chae but I knew from the start, they'll never end up together. The other love story pertains to the mother's love towards his son (vice versa). I've seen a lot of this kind of theme (especially in Philippine local dramas) but this one really moved me. It's so honest, sincere and realistic. There is no evil contrabida here. Just humans who tend to love so much and who are willing to do everything (even to commit sin or mistake) just to save their love ones. (Naks!)
I can always forgive faulty endings. I have read some reviews and comments and
everyone seemed satifisfied with how it ended. Lol. Although I never cried in any of the scenes and I ended watching it with rolled eyes (the
haller ending you know), I still say that this is a very touching drama. I didn't regret making
puyat just to finish it. It was worth it!
My Grrrrrrrrrrrrrl!!
Lee Dong Wook (LDW) - Seol Gong Chan
Lee Da Hae (LDH) - Joo Yoo-rin
Synopsis and Review
I usually start my review in a negative tone. I'm going to do it again this time. Hehe. Don't worry babawi ako.
What I did not like about 'My Girl'... Hmmn.. actually a lot. Almost everything! Lol! Just kidding! I mean the story here is definitely NOT new! If you've seen Lovers in Paris and Full House, you would see a lot of similarities when it comes to scenes, dialogue, characters, etc. I was actually hesitant at first whether or not to watch it because I thought Yoo-rin was a bit trying-hard and exaggerated. And some scenes (the petty quarrels and the comical scenes) were unoriginal and dang! the cliches. I can enumerate some of them: poor girl and rich guy fall in love; family business-setting; the girl is a travel guide (and so as Erika of Bali and San Cai right?.. of Meteor Garden); love-triangle or cube? (the lead man is torn between two girls and the lead girl is torn between two men); etcetera! (Am I too mean?? Teehee!) Well.. I really don't mind! Nevertheless, My Girl is amusing and addictive! I'll give you two reasons: Lee Dong Wook and Lee Da Hae!!
Although I think that
Jo In-sung and
Ha Ji-won are still my most favorite on-screen couple (the chemistry is sizzling!), LDW and LDH are not far behind. I wub them! Pwamis! Yay!
Lee Dong Wookieeeeeeeeee!!!My mother, while watching this show on TV, said that you don't need to analyze to conclude that LDW is handsome (as compared to Dao Ming Si raw). Hehe. LDW is cute. No. I mean he's very cute! I find his acting a bit "unnatural" though. Seol Gong Chan reminds me of Carlo of LIP - rich, stiff but adorable! There were some scenes when I thought LDW was just acting, you know. It didn't look that easy and natural. But overall, he still was effective playing his character. I love his reactions when he gets "kilig". I love it when he is fooled by Yoo-rin. And I love it when he stares at Yoo-rin. In short, I love him. Haha! I mean how can you not like
this guy ? Admit it! (Wala nang plastikan...LOL!)
Lee Da Haaaaaaaaay!LDH is
uber pretty.. definitely one of the prettiest Korean actresses. I didn't watch Green Rose that much but I thought she was prettier there. But in My Girl, she was so amusing and so cute! Contrary to my first impression that she did look trying-hard, I now find her so good after finishing the drama. I love her "Tangguen" (or "Absolute") song. Cute cute cute!
You need not dig deeper into story to enjoy this drama. Cutesy? Yes. But I told you, I really don't mind. LDW is drool-worthy and his chemistry with LDH is amazing. I want to see more of them. I mean, moooore!!
Btw, I saw these scans umm...somewhere. Just wow!
Isn't she gorgeous ?
