shenxiaoting Reviews

THE Producers (2015)

Come for IU, stay for the story.

[8/10 · 28 February 2024]

I like a lot of people picked this drama up because It contains a favourite soloist of mine, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well put together it proved to be.

The characters are well written and interesting, and while the story is a little odd it's certainly a fun take on the standard romance genre.

The little dives into how broadcasting works in Korea also provided some good value and gave the show and even more unique feature.

Overall I quite enjoyed it; thus my rating of 8 stars out of 10, certainly a worthwhile drama if you are a fan of IU as-long as you don't mind a rather timid male lead (which lets be real you don't).

S. H.

CounterPunch (2017)

Insightful and interesting

[7/10 · 23 July 2023]

A story of three unique and skilled fighters, with various interesting other fighters adding to the story along the way, both old and new, competing and spectating they have their own little stories which add so much, our hero's face both adversity and triumph brought on both by themselves and by things outside their control.

It's striking and inspiring, interesting and powerful, simple and complex, it shines a light on the world of both amateurs and professionals, showing us what they want and what they do and the lives of those around them, it's shows us both how similar they really are to us and how very different they are in.

All in all a solid documentary about an interesting topic.

Tune in for Love (2019)

A great story about timing.

[7/10 · 18 July 2023]

This is substantially shorter then any drama I've seen yet it still manages to deliver a similar amount of romance and drama, the love scenes are passionate and fiery far more so then most, Hyun-woo and Mi-soo are awkward like teenagers often are at points and at others show a sense of unique maturity, the scene of them lying in bed is an excellent example, the realistic awkwardness of lying together in bed with Mi-soo's hair sprawled across her face lying away from Hyon-woo, resolved into a heartwarming adorable scene of Mi-soo pressed against him comforting both him and her and radiating of sweet love.

The music is great and the use of the radio show to mark both similarity and change is unique and striking, the movie is at times dizzyingly sweet and at others starkly real, their shared struggles and want for purpose feel real and relatable, their love is sweet, comfy and wildly desirable.

The performance given by Kim Go-eun and Jung Hae-in is excellent and convincing, they fit very well into their respective characters filling the made up identities with life.

King the Land (2023)

Better then you may expect.

[8/10 · 15 July 2023]

This like many a drama starts of slow, Gu-won and Sa-rang dance in and out of contact for the first few episodes, lightly interacting only when forced to (though Sa-rang stays prevalent in Gu won's mind) but once they get entangled with one another it becomes tight and true, their love blossoming beautifully and captivatingly, there is no wonderfully poetic writing or outstanding directing, but there is a solid script and workable directing, coupled with the great acting all around, it makes it feel almost real, you want to cheer for Gu when he wins, you feel for the girls when they get cheated out of their deserved rewards, and the kiss scene was one of the most beautiful, romantic and endearing kissing scenes I have ever watched, even past that it scales episode by episode, each one more heartfelt and sincere then the last, Lee Jun-ho and Im Yoon-ah have amazing chemistry and each corny line delivered feels sweet and beautiful instead of tacky and laughable (like many shows would have them be).

All around it is a well made show with some great parts to it, do not let the lazy reviews bashing this show put you off it, give it a go and you'll find yourself cheering along in no time.

S. H.