A-Z: Videogame reviews
More like A to Y, actually. 😂
Category: Reviews
“Boys Over Flowers” (꽃보다 남자)
I had a difficult time reconciling myself with the fact that I enjoyed “Boys Over Flowers,” while being disgusted that the showrunners never addressed how cruel the main characters were to kids outside of their circle.
Game Zone: Blast from the Past
I’m not sure what happened, but this latest entry in 989 Sports’ football (as the rest of the world calls it) franchise kicks major butt over the previous installment.
“Big” (빅)
Let’s cut to the chase: the plot revolves around a high school student and a doctor who switch bodies after an accident. Yoon-Jae, the 30something doctor is in a vegetative state in the body of 17-year-old Kyung-Joon. Meanwhile, the teenager is alive and well, but he is trapped in the buff body belonging to Gong Yoo, er, I mean Yoon-Jae. Caught between these two is Gil Da-Ran, a wet dishrag of a woman, who (despite her beauty) has absolutely no confidence in herself. When she realizes that Yoon-Jae really isn’t Yoon-Jae and that it may take a while for the two to switch bodies again, she plays along with the charade.
“Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo” (역도요정 김복주)
If I were to rate this series, I would give it a 👎 for the first half. But the second half … wow. It was worth sitting through eight hours of meh to get to the satisfying ending. Bok-Joo is the top female wrestler at her school. In order to give the other women on her team a chance of medaling, her coach asks her to go up a weight class. The 5-foot-9 athlete weights roughly 127 pounds and must go up by about 10 pounds. Bear in mind that by U.S. standards, she would be considered thin. But much is made of the fact that she’s a big, overweight girl.
“Goblin: The Lonely and Great God” (쓸쓸하고 찬란하신 도깨비)
There are few things in life that would be more difficult than to watch generations of loved ones grow old and die, while you live on for centuries without them. Such is the case with Kim Shin, a dokkaebi (goblin). For more than 900 years, he has been cursed to live a life of loneliness as atonement for all the enemies he killed during his days as an unbeatable general. Yes, his victims would’ve slain him if they had the opportunity. But, as God says in the narration, they were all precious creations, as well.
“Cinderella and Four Knights” (신데렐라와 네 명의 기사)
There are a some really great moments in “Cinderella and Four Knights.” But there was an element that made me uncomfortable. When we meet the female lead, she is not yet 18 and is a few months away from her high school graduation. It’s vague how old the Knights are, but since they are all clearly out of college, I’d guesstimate that they range from mid to late 20’s. Ten years isn’t a big difference when you’re a 30-year-old dating a 40something. But when one half of the duo is 17 … I don’t know. It just detracted from my enjoyment of the series.
“The Heirs” (왕관을 쓰려는자, 그무게를 견뎌라-상속자들)
I always viewed “The Heirs” as a much-better followup to “Boys Over Flowers.” Park Shin-Hye and Lee Min-Ho share amazing chemistry as the lead couple.
“Uncontrollably Fond” (함부로 애틋하게)
What would you do if you knew that you had three months left to live? Would you spend it with the ones you love, or would you try to right the wrongs in which you played a part? That’s the dilemma for Korea’s top Hallyu star Joon-Young, who is dying. I don’t feel bad about revealing this bit of information, because it’s revealed early on in this series.
“Ode to My Father” (국제시장)
In a review that ran in the New York Times, film critic Jeannette Catsoulis gave “Ode to My Father” a big thumbs down for being “syrupy” and for having “packaged pain … likely to leave Western audiences cold.” While there is no doubt that director Yoo Je-Kyoon would’ve loved for American audiences to embrace his movie, it’s also undeniable that this film was not made with Western moviegoers in mind. It was made for Koreans.
“Running Man (런닝맨)”
The combination of slapstick humor and witty banter makes “Running Man” a fun viewing experience, even for those who don’t understand Korean. For instance, there is a recurring game where participants will stand in front of mike stands that are rigged to blast air in their faces if they answer incorrectly. My son, now 8, has no comprehension of what’s being asked, but he will search these episodes out to laugh at the slo-motion expressions on the cast members faces when they are “punished.”
“Doctor Crush” (닥터스)
“Doctor Crush” is full of bad characters full of bad intentions: the money-hungry father-son duo trying to take over the hospital; Ji-Hong’s uncle, who steals his inheritance and then dumps him off at an orphanage; Hye-Jung’s father, who abandons her; and even Hye-Jung’s raison d’etre for much of the series: revenge.
“Sungkyunkwan Scandal” (성균관 스캔들)
If you commit a crime against a system that is gender biased, is it really a crime? And, just as importantly, should you be punished?
“Descendants of the Sun” (태양의 후예)
Production on “Descendants of the Sun” began just three months after Song Joong-Ki finished his mandatory two-year military duty in Korea. He displays an easygoing flair in the role of the charismatic leader of the Alpha Team. Even bulked up (for him), Song is slight of build and baby faced. At times, I wondered whether someone like So Ji-Sub would’ve been better cast in the role. But, what he lacks in brawn, Song makes up with magnetism. He has one of those faces that the camera loves.
“She was Pretty” (그녀는 예뻤다)
If you were given the opportunity to be reunited with your childhood love, would you do it? Hye-Jin jumps at the chance, because she has nothing but good memories of Sung-Joon.
“Cheese in the Trap” (치즈 인 더 트랩)
“Cheese in the Trap” is a love story disguised as a psychological drama. Or, vice versa. The core of the story is about a group of damaged people who are struggling to survive.
“The Moon that Embraces the Sun” (해를 품은 달)
A sweeping dramatic series set in Korea’s Joseon era, the “Moon That Embraces the Sun” is a love story that at times is painfully heartbreaking. But, it’s also filled with hope and humor. That combination makes for an addictive series that will leave viewers hungering for more.
“Secretly, Greatly” (은밀하게 위대하게)
“Secretly, Greatly” starts off as a comedy and veers off into a drama with a graphic, violent ending. Had the film stuck to one genre, the result would’ve been more cohesive and effective. Still, it’s a worthwhile film that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Kim Soo-Hyun shows impressive range in his dual portrayal of a North Korean spy and the dimwitted village idiot that’s his cover.
“The Thieves” (도둑들)
A blockbuster hit in Korea, “Thieves” features an all-star cast that includes Jun Ji-Hyun and Lee Jung-Jae. (The duo shared the big screen in the 2000 film “Il Mare” — the film that was later remade as “The Lake House” with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock.)