Tag: Korean drama

Doom At Your Service

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https://www.netflix.com/

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring: Park Bo-young, Seo In-guk, Lee Soo-hyuk, Kang Tae-oh, Shin Do-Hyun
Where to watch: Netflix
To watch or not to watch: It is one of the best Kdramas out there. It shows the maturity in storylines and side character development we have been asking to see

Tak Dong-kyung (Park Bo-young) lost her parents when she was very young, and had taken the responsibility for her younger brother early, with the help of her aunt. Currently, she is working as an editor for a web novel publishing company. One fateful day, on the anniversary of her parents’ passing incidentally, she discovers that the man she was in a relationship with is married and is expecting a child, and that she has glioblastoma and has about 100 days to live. She goes back to her home all alone, gets drunk and in anger wishes upon a shooting star for the world to end (understandably). As fate would have it, Doom (Seo In-guk) is actually listening, and decides to meet her to fulfil her wish. He introduces himself as Myul Mang, and Dong-kyung makes a deal with him that gives her pain-free 100 days to live as she wants, in exchange for the world to end or someone she loves will die. The rest of the movie is about how she navigates her fate, ironically finds love in Myul Mang and wants to live. In turn Myul Mang starts appreciating humans and their emotions, realises the worth of a life and looks for redemption for himself. The supporting cast in Lee Soo-hyuk as Cha Ju-ik, Dong-kyung’s boss is heart-warming without the drama and his relationship with Na Ji-na (Shin Do-hyun) is also relatable.

This drama defies the standard love triangle which are the norm in Kdramas and by that alone this series sets itself apart. It is also low on comedy and high on emotional drama, making it not similar to the popular Bo-young’s work, Strong Woman. There are some genuine themes touched in this one, like mortality, the futility of life, hope or lack thereof, and world’s fate. In between this, we humans need to find our purpose in life and do everything to achieve it, no matter the grief it brings. It is profound.

Bo-young and In-guk had a good chemistry in the series, and though Bo-young’s screen presence is difficult to equal, In-guk does stand on his own, even though in the story he exists because of and for Bo-young. This is not a typical love story of boy-meets-girl or enemies-to-lovers trope. It is a story of growth, of reliving, of suffering but smiling through it. The side characters are kind of annoying in this set-up, as their story is not as deep or holistic and that is kind of a bummer, but it still offers a relief from the heavy topic of our main characters. Watch this to appreciate the growth we are seeing in Kdramas, let them know that their efforts are seen. It is actually a good story.

Kill Boksoon

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https://decider.com/

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring: Jeon Do-yeon, Esom, Sol Kyung-gu, Koo Kyo-hwan, Kim si-a
Where to watch: Netflix
To watch or not to watch: A highly recommended watch for all the action lovers and thrill seekers

Gill Boksoon (Jeon Do-yeon) has been rechristened Kill Boksoon by her peers, as she has the most and the best kills within the contract killer agency, MK Entertainment. She is a single mother who participates in PTA, has lunches with other mothers, drives a G-wagon, can also drive a beat-up van to a secluded spot to fight to death against a Yakuza. She has a clairvoyance-like ability to sense the victim’s next possible move, clout within the contract killer community, respect of fellow PTA mothers, a ton of money as evidenced by the high ceiling flat, the ultra premium school she is sending her daughter to, and a boss who is slightly in love with her. What she doesn’t have is a close relationship with her daughter, which she desperately wants, even though she is a “cool mom” and has kept her personal and professional life totally separate. Now, as in any good story, comes a conflict which challenges this precarious balance. Her agency has asked her to kill a minor, something that is not aligned with her principles. This gets the ire of her boss, fueled and fanned by his jealous sister (Esom), a betrayal by her booty call, and a run for her life. All this culminates in one of the most visually appealing and well choreographed fight scenes.

The movie does well what it sets out to do – give a thrilling and chilling action movie with right emotions dotted along the way in the relationships between Boksoon, her boss, her daughter and the boss’ twisted sister. It is centered around the titular character Boksoon. All the other things are mere decors. It doesn’t pull punches when describing Boksoon’s life, but even better is that it doesn’t overdo it either (of which a lot of Korean action movies I have seen are guilty). Boksoon is flawed, she doesn’t always treat people well, her position in her work community has led to conceit, not to mention what she does for a living. But in conjunction with this is also her irresolute principles even within the contract killing, her motherhood, which is reflected in the guidance she gives to the trainee under her and the way she handles the problems her daughter faces in her school. And, as already mentioned, the choreography and direction of the action sequences make up for all the other flaws which the movie has.

Why do we watch movies? To get entertained, to be taken on an emotional roller-coaster, to see experiences we may or may not have experiences ourselves depicted through other people. This one is surely entertaining, and that should be enough to make for the reason to watch it. It also does one thing which is commendable – it portrays, single-motherhood and unconventional relationships which come along with it as part of course. It is much needed to normalise this also-reality, specially coming from Korean cinema which is has been rather binary in this (Oldboy, Handmaiden vs K-dramas). It is a small step in the right direction.

All this rant just to say that it is a good movie to watch after a tiring day, just to get that adrenaline pumping, the heart beating and to feel good. Watch it with popcorn for sure.

Sh**ting Stars

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https://www.koreaboo.com/

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Lee Sung-kyung, Kim Young-dae, Yoon Jong-hoon, Kim Yoon-hye, Lee Jung-shin, Park So-jin
Where to watch: Netflix
Seasons and episodes: 1 season with 16 episodes and around 1 hour per episode
To watch or not to watch: It delivers the promise of K-dramas – it is light-hearted, sweet, and gives hope of finding love to all the singles

Oh Han Byeol (Lee Sung Kyung) is a kick-a** PR manager for Star Entertainment and is usually kept busy handling the escapades of their biggest star Gong Tae Sung (Kim Young Dae). The both of them were friends in college and took separate paths after graduation. Tae Sung resents Han Byeol for a mistake she made which affected his reputation. And Han Byeol doesn’t trust/like Tae Sung as he is notorious and has decided to make her life a living hell. Eventually Tae Sung realises his feelings for Han Byeol and tries to win her over. In the parallel, there are people around the lead actors who have their own paths to finding their respective romance.

The above written synopsis is just about everything in the story. There is little to no depth to the characters or the story built up. But then Kdramas don’t promise anything earth shattering – they are to take your mind off real life, without adding intensity. There is a slight emotional drama related to the male lead’s apparent difficult childhood, but that’s easy to skip.

While this series does some things right, it does lose points on somethings which are touched upon but are not explored, namely the challenges in a celebrity’s life. This can be due to difficult relationships, adopting an untrue persona, etc. Tae Sung had a tough childhood, it is shown that it has impact in his adult life, but how, what and why are still unanswered. The jobs of a PR person and celebrity manager are have a certain set of challenges and are used as a comic relief. It feels hollow and unsatisfactory. The leads are all good actors. The choice of casting Lee Sung Kyung was a good one, as she fits this character and her expressions add to the humour. All in all, do watch it for a nice and breezy break from reality.