My Love From Another Star

Plot: My Love From Another Star is a 2014 South Korean drama produced for SBS. The main character is Do Min Joon (Kim Soo Hyun), an alien that arrived on planet Earth 400 years ago. But, after staying behind to help a young window, he lost his chance to return to his home planet. It is now the year 2014 and he has an opportunity to return home in 3 months when a meteor shower passes by Earth. All he has to do is bide his time and wrap up his affairs quietly. His plans, though, are laid to waste when he crosses paths with actress Cheon Song Yi (Jun Ji Hyun), who bears a striking resemblance to the widow he met 400 years earlier. As the pair develop feelings for each other, Do Min Joon is forced to come to terms with the meaning of life and the importance of love.

-1/2 heart because I don't like giving away all my hearts

Recommendation: This is a must watch and will probably top my list for the "best of" 2014 k-dramas. It really is the total package for a drama fanatic. There is plenty of romance, suspense, plot twists, and a very good looking cast of characters. It pushes the "supernatural" k-drama trend in a great direction with a well developed plot that doesn't rely on special effects and gimmicks. The cast as a whole is strong without any weak links. I really loved the contrast between the level headed Do Min Joon and the fiery actress Choi Song Yi - they struck a perfect balance together. The ending is also well rounded and thoughtful. The writers took it in a direction that I didn't anticipate so that was a nice surprise.

You're the Best, Lee Soon Shin

Rating: 4 out of 5

A few weeks ago, I finished watching the k-drama series "You're the Best, Lee Soon Shin" starring IU and Cho Jung-Seok The cast is rounded out by a talented group of actors and actresses that bring life and familiarity to the story being told and play a huge role in the success of this drama.

The plot of this particular drama was not necessarily something new or exciting. A seemingly happy family struggling with everyday issues is struck by tragedy when the patriarch dies in a hit and run accident. This triggers a series of events and revelations that the Lee family must deal with and rise above in order to survive and find peace. At the same time, each member of the family is dealing with his or her personal issues - finding love, losing love, chasing after a dream, career vs. marriage, familial duty vs. happiness, etc...

Given the 50 episode run, the writer(s) had plenty of opportunity to really develop each character, evolve the relationships, and establish clear justifications for the choices each would make from start to finish. The following are character resolutions that made me giddy with joy:

• Lee Soon Shin doesn't give up acting!
• Lee Soon Shin and Shin Joon Ho end up together and he's going to propose!
• Lee Hye Shin realizes that she likes Seo Jin Wook!
• Kim Jung Ae learns that her husband wasn't a philandering fool!
• Lee Yoon Shin and Park Chan Woo are having a baby!
• The police catch the guy who hit Mr. Lee with his car and then ran away!

I'm sure there are more but those are the highlights.

So, why 4 out of 5 soju bottles? The pace of the show needed some tweaking. There were a string of episodes where I kept asking myself, "Is there anything else that could possibly go wrong? Where are the happy moments? The comic relief? Why is everyone so sad?!"

I took a break in the middle of the series and then had a marathon viewing session to catch up - forcing myself to get through it. I'm glad that I did because it paid off in the end.

P.S - I completely missed the fact that the actress playing Soon Shin is also the same actress from "Dream High" (the first one) that played the chubby (read: fat suit) vocalist. No wonder Soon Shin suddenly developed the ability to sing for her first major audition!