Pardon My Dust - Some of the graphics are having issues and will be added later.
The Guide
♥ = Love it! Watch it!
♥ = So-so start. Might get better. Might get worse.
♥ = Bleh. Hate it!
♥ My Beautiful Bride
Tag Line: His bride went missing. He went crazy.
Thoughts: I am a little behind the eight ball on this one. I just sat down and watched the first handful of episodes this weekend because it was a series that didn't particularly appeal to me. But I am happy to report that this one is a winner. It bears the hallmark traits of an OCN drama - flawed characters trying to survive and do the right thing in a scary world. Kim Moo Yul leads the series as Kim Do Hyeong. He's a quiet and serious man that works as a manager at a bank. The one purpose of his life is the woman he loves, Yoon Joo Young (Ko Sung Hee). Shortly after he proposes, she disappears and his world collapses. Now, he is hell bent on finding the woman he loves and bringing her home, regardless of who he has to go through to get her back. This isn't an original idea as far as stories go but the writer and director have seamlessly crafted each episode in a way the builds on the concept and leaves the audience with more questions than answers. It's quite the cliffhanger. That doesn't make it immune to certain comparisons. It struck me as oddly similar to The Man from Nowhere, which I also enjoyed. This is a good summer action flick and I highly recommend it.
♥ Ex-Girlfriend's Club
Tag Line: Lioness, Cat, and Fox - Oh My!
Thoughts: Running Man fans can cheer for this one as Song Ji Hyo takes the lead in this humorous, and sometimes emotional, drama about relationships past and present. Bong Myeong Soo (Byun Yo Han) is a successful webtoon author/artist whose work chronicles his past relationships with three different women. When the rights to his work are purchased by a film production company, he re-connects with film producer Kim Soo Jin (Song Ji Hyo), a woman with whom he once shared a close friendship. The ex-girlfriends are informed of the impending film and each makes a dramatic return into Myeong Soo's life complicating both the film and his relationship with Soo Jin. This is a fun series full of great lighthearted comedy and moments of heartfelt emotion. Byun Yo Han makes a complete transformation into the cool-kid artist leaving behind the nosy not-so-cool co-worker persona we saw in Misaeng. And, Song Ji Hyo is delightful, as always. It's a thumbs up and a favorite amid the summer line-up of k-dramas.
♥ Hidden Identity
Tag Line: Undercover agency? No such agency exists.
Thoughts: This action heavy k-drama about an undercover investigation group is a fast paced adventure through the underbelly of Korean society. After the death of his partner, police officer Cha Gun Woo (Kim Beom) is suspended from the force for killing his partner's assailant. He's always been known as a quiet man with a difficult personality but that is just a cover for the emotional scars left by the death of his first love. When he learns that his friend's identity as an undercover agent has been compromised, Gun Woo must step in to save the mission and find his friend before it's too late. The pressure to succeed is even greater because the friend is the elder brother of his dead girlfriend. If you are a fan of police and crime dramas this is the one for you. Kim Beom sheds his flower boy looks for a gritty police officer and sports a goatee that is surprisingly flattering on the actor. Like abs? It has some of that, too. This one is a keeper.
♥ High Society
What would you do if you were the daughter of a wealthy family? If you are Uee, you would get a part-time job and plot your exit from the household. That is High Society. This k-drama explores the differences in social class through the relationships of two couples. One is a wealthy daughter (Uee) of a large multi-national company and she is dating an aspiring businessman (Sang Joon) that wants to climb the social/corporate ladder by dating her. The other is a chaebol (Park Hyung Shik) looking to beat his brother in the family business while dating a young woman (Lim Ji Yeon) of no fame or fortune on the side. There's a couple reasons why I won't green light this production. The first is the dialogue. It might be the translations but it often seems circular and contradicting. The other is the speed at which the relationships have developed, which can only be described as super sonic. That's not to say it won't play out just fine in the end but it's hard to call any of it "love" when they have all known each other for about...a week, maybe two. The only character with whom I empathized is now presumed to be dead and I am wondering if this is worth continuing. I guess I can take one of the team if Sang Joon is involved.
♥ Jeju Island Gatsby (aka Warm & Cozy)
Lee Jung Soo (Kim So Ra) and Baek Gun Woo (Yoo Yeon Seok) connect by chance when she shows up at his 18th birthday party believing they are twins, sharing the same mother. But when her claims are proven false, they part on good terms with a promise to reunite as adults. Years later, they reconnect by chance when circumstances send both of them down to Jeju Island to resolve family issues. When Baek Gun Woo is mistakenly lead to believe that Lee Jung Soo is dying of cancer, he feels he must personally ensure her final days are good ones. During a drunken conversation, the two strike up an agreement. He signs over the ownership of his Jeju Island restaurant to her until she dies for a small deposit. This Hong Sisters rom-com is a pleaser with a cast full of unique characters that keep the story fast paced and interesting. Yoo Yeon Seok has been given a tall order to portray Baek Gun Woo as something other than a self-centered womanizer, the script doesn't leave a lot of room for error. More often than not, I am rooting for the town mayor played by Kim Sung Oh. This is also proving to be a fantastic role for Kang So Ra, who looks amazing against the scenic backdrop of the island. Watch it and have fun!
♥ Mask
This k-drama opens with one of the most spectacular scenes that I have ever seen in a drama. Needless to say, the first episode is a whirlwind of action and melodrama that leaves the audience with many more questions than answers. Soo Ae leads this thriller with two roles as Byun Ji Sook and Seo Eun Ha, two women that are exact opposites in everything except their appearance. They look like identical twins. But as the series foreshadows - whoever sees her doppelganger first will die. Just as Seo Eun Ha is set to wed Choi Min Woo (Ju Ji Hoon) to solidify a political and corporate alliance, she has an accident. Naturally, Byun Ji Sook is the only one that can stand in her place to ensure the plan moves forward. This mesmerizing story is grand on a number of scales and supported by a cast that knows how to command the screen - particularly, Yeon Jung Hun and Yu In Young. It's worth watching and will keep you on the edge of your seat.
♥ Masked Prosecutor (aka The Man in the Mask)
Admittedly, I was super excited about this k-drama because it stars two my favorite actors: Joo Sang Wook and Kim Sun A. The premise is interesting albeit not original. A young man, Ha Dae Cheol (Joo Sang Wook), is tasked with becoming a prosecutor by his father in order to get revenge on the people that ruined their lives. He successfully completes college and finds himself as a prosecutor but has neither the wealth nor background to rise through the ranks quickly. So, he dons a mask in order to find the leads he needs to ensure his cases are wins. Just as he's promoted and close to his goal... things start to go wrong. Now, there have been countless movies and television shows about men donning a mask in order to promote justice and seek revenge when the system fails. This one doesn't stray too far from the mold, either. I'm several episodes into it and just a little bored. It's predictable and only saved by the chemistry between the members of the cast. If a less charismatic actor than Joo Sang Wook had been cast in the role of Ha Dae Cheol this would have been a total bust. Give it a shot, though. You might like it more than I do.
♥ My Love, Eun Dong
Tag Line: Boy loses girl. Boy finds girl. Boy loses girl, again. And, so on...
Thoughts: I'll start off by saying that I enjoyed the first few episodes even if there were some cringe worthy moments. The story starts with a press conference for Ji Eun Ho (Joo Jin Mo), a popular actor, who is announcing his plans to write an auto-biography. His goal by writing the book is to find his first and only love, Eun Dong (Kim Sa Rang). The episode then segues into a series of flashbacks showing how he first met her and how they parted ways. He was a freshman in high school and she was... not in high school. I'll be generous and describe her as a middle school student. They form a connection that is something more than friendship but not quite mature enough to be called attraction. The direction in these scenes is awkward and occasionally feels a little inappropriate. But once the story moves on to the college and military years that hurdle is jumped and all is right with the world again. Joo Jin Mo has a strong presence on screen and strikes an impressive figure. Kim Sa Rang is a much less commanding presence with some room to grow. The story moves fast, is engaging, and the characters are interesting. This k-drama is probably not for everyone but if you need a daily dose of melo-d, this will do it.
♥ Orange Marmalade
Coming Soon
♥ The Producers
Being one of the most star studded and highly anticipated dramas of the summer, The Producers started with some big expectations to live up to right out of the gate. Baek Seung Chan (Kim Soo Hyun) is a newly minted employee at KBS working in the Variety Department. The series starts with his first day at work, which is captured by a production team making a documentary about new employees. Of course, things go horribly wrong from the moment he arrives. Producer Tak Ye Jin (Kong Hyo Jin) damages his father's car in the parking lot and is hell bent on discovering to whom the car belongs. Then, he finds himself assigned under Producer Ra Joon Mo (Cha Tae Hyun), who is dating the woman Seung Chan likes. Can his day get any worse? It does. He overhears a conversation between Tak Ye Jin and Ra Joon Mo declaring him useless and needing to be fired...quickly. The mockumentary style of storytelling is refreshing and adds the element of "reality" to a show that is about the behind-the-scene politics of reality television. But by episode three, the mockumentary has morphed into a weird hybrid of styles and loses it's focus. I want to love this series because I find the topic interesting, the concept is good, and the cast is talented. But it falls flat and leaves a lot to be desired. It's a veritable snooze fest. It could get better. Maybe.
