Let's Eat 3 review

 

Drama name: Let's Eat 3

Country: South Korea

Year: July- Aug 2018

I heard of this third installment during the time of airing, but didn't watch it then. I have watched Season 1 & 2 respectively so I was on the fence whether to watch this or not. Asked an online friend what was the storyline about, she told me that it will tell you how he became a food blogger and why he takes photos of empty bowls. I just kept it in mind and finally watched it recently. 

So,what's this drama about?

It picks up after Season 2 of this series where Goo Dae Young moves to another place outside Seoul to restart his life. He seems to be having a quarter life crisis, where he doesn't fill any motivation for his job or even food. 

One day, he bumps into his old neighbour during university times, Lee Ji Woo while returning a lost dog. Ji Woo was the food expert back then and that's how he learnt a lot about food from her. He was excited to meet her again, as she brought back happy memories from his university times. However, she has lost her zeal for food and works long hours as a nurse. He moves in next door to her and the rest of the story goes on with flashbacks to the past during university times and current timeline where he begins a new career path. 

Overall thoughts

For me, this is probably the worst of all three seasons of this franchise. Sorry not sorry! Season 2 was so draggy and it focused so much on the love story. In Season 3, the writer decides to kill off the girlfriend to write in a new one which is supposed to be the first love instead. Seems like every season Dae Young has a new girlfriend! 

There is no proper storyline even, apart from flashbacks of his university times. However, the food this time is much better than the previous season. 

Best parts of the drama

Definitely the food. Dae Young still has the usual exclamation and explanation before each meal... 

More seafood this season as well... and some yummy desserts too! 

Dae Young's university friends... their friendship is really nice... 

Some bromance with the second male lead, similar to Season 2 but on a lighter scale... 

If you are familiar with the series, there is always a dog involved. In this season, there is a sweet Golden Retriever named Peanut... 

And Dae Young will always be the neighbour to his love interest... Ji Woo's house is quite interesting as it is above a cafe... 

For the hopeless romantics, there isn't any real romance here. Just some sweet moments between the leads... 

Conclusion

The drama was cut short because Doo Joon had to enlist for military service. The story ends with Ji Woo confessing her long crush on Dae Young. Dae Young didn't reject her entirely but asked for time as he is still trying to move on from his previous girlfriend. Dae Young is focusing his energy on his new business of semi- prepared food delivery for single persons. 

The ending scene just shows the four leads having a meal together... 

As mentioned above, I feel this is the worst installment of the series. I didn't enjoy the flashbacks of Dae Young's college/ university days. I guess it is meant for the younger audience who are currently students so they can relate to that. 

I also disliked the second female lead's character so much. Don't understand why the writer gave her so much screen time. I read a comment somewhere, the person said if the writer kept the second male lead's interest in the female lead it would have been better. I agree, it would have taken the story on a different direction where Dae Young rediscover his first love for Ji Woo. 

There was so much focus on the second female and flashbacks that we didn't even get to know what happened to the rest of the guys from university. The only one featured was the one who got married. Lots of unanswered questions regarding how Dae Young and Ji Woo lost touch with each other... all because of the death of the stepfather? 

It just doesn't add up. She could have at least wrote him a letter informing him that she will be moving or something, since she was so in love with Dae Young back then... Plus I also got irritated with Ji Woo's accent during the flashbacks... I know it's supposed to be a Busan dialect, satoori or something... just that it irritated me I don't know why... 

Very disappointed with this season. Perhaps the military enlistment was good thing, it saved us from a worse ending by the writer... 

Alright, that's about it. Thanks for reading. Here's wishing everyone a Happy New Year. Take care. Will leave you with the cute doggo... 

*Image credits: dramabeans, own screenshots & Google image search*

Memorials/ Into the Ring review

 

Drama name: Memorials/ Into the Ring/ The Ballot 

Country: South Korea

Year: July- Aug 2020

Saw the advertisement trailer on KBS Asia during the time it was aired, but didn't manage to watch it. Just kept it in mind but I forgot the drama title. ^_^V Had to ask for help from a kdrama expert in the Discord server that I am in, haha.. she gave me the answer right away after I described the trailer. Many thanks! 

So,what's this drama about?

Goo Se Ra is a late twenties early thirties woman who is still struggling to find and hold a job. She has been job hopping for almost a decade and it shows on her resume. She has a fiery personality and that always lands her into trouble with the working culture in South Korea. Apart from that, she is also known as "Garden Tiger Moth" online, who is infamous for her numerous complaints to the local municipal council to fix or repair stuff on the streets. 

Meanwhile, Seo Gong Myung is a strict no nonsense kind of guy who used to work in the local district finance budget department. Because he spoke up against the budget, he was demoted to the municipal council office instead. There he was given the task to settle "Garden Tiger Moth" 's complaints. One night he finally meets her in person while checking out her complaint. 

The rest of the story goes on with Se Ra running for the district representative post with all the obstacles she has to overcome together with Gong Myung by her side. 

Overall thoughts

It is a light hearted rom-com that skims the surface of politics. The female lead character is very much like Fight for my way female lead, which I don't really like because she seems to be screaming a lot in the show. The male lead is a quiet strong type so it sort of strikes a balance. (The saying goes opposites attract!) It was an alright watch, nothing heavy or any evil villain in this drama. 

Best parts of the drama

The bookshop cafe which was Goo Se Ra's campaign base. The cinematography of this drama is quite artistic, with low angles and wide lens. It's either you love it or hate it, I remember reading some commenters who disliked it. For me, it works while filming the exterior of the building as it gives a dynamic view... 

Se Ra's secret place to hide and re-collect her thoughts... Sunset Land or something... I wonder if the neon signage is on all the time?! :D 

Se Ra's family residence, again you can see here the low angle wide view works... 

The childhood best friends become lovers relationship between Se Ra and Gong Myung... Lots of sweet moments and kisses for the hopeless romantics... 

The friendship between Se Ra and her two besties... They stuck with her through thick and thin... 

This weird scene where small kids were driving cars at night... I was like what is this... and then realised it was a park where kids can learn how to drive... Haha! Lots of other comedic scenes as well in this drama... 

Some yummy food for the foodies... 

Special mention

Haha, this trio from the district representatives members... They always work together as a team. Kinda like the three stooges! 

Conclusion

The biggest bad guy in this story is Gong Myung's father. Gong Myung decides to spill the beans about everything and that totally destroyed his father's reputation and ambition to be the Chief of Mawon. Se Ra manages to keep her job as the district representative until the end of term. 

Lots of different endings for the various district reps... one was banished to the rural area, one of the three stooges finally decides to step out on his own and the best part was one of Se Ra's friends will be running for the district position the following year. Haha, yes it's another round of campaigning! 

Meanwhile Se Ra herself was no longer allowed to be involved in politics...Gong Myung made her sign a cheesy declaration in her notebook...But it doesn't end there, she finds herself being recruited to fight the cause of polar bears! 

Like I mentioned earlier, this is a light hearted rom-com... The issues they tackled regarding urban development and environmental damage was good. However, the political part of this drama is merely on the surface only. In real life politics, there will be lots more bribery, slander, accusations, murder and the like. I did enjoy this drama as it resembles our own political scene here, with the district representatives. I guess it is the same for almost every country... corrupt politicians that squander the taxpayers' money. 

Thanks for reading this and stopping by! Will leave you with Se Ra and Gong Myung... 

*Image credits Dramabeans, own screenshots and Google search* 

Mask Korean drama review

 

Drama name: Mask 

Country: South Korea

Year: May- July 2015

This drama was aired on my local TV channel during the lockdown earlier this year. They were showing Terrius before that, and I was happily enjoying the rerun until it ended. It was replaced by this drama but the subs on the first episode were all messed up! I watched it trying to figure out what was happening and gave up the next day by not watching episode 2. Lucky I came back to watch episode 3 and the subs were alright after that. Due to the slow pace of the drama (and also the network seem to repeat the half of the episode on the next day... it was really annoying!) I continued the rest of the show online. 

So,what's this drama about?

Byun Ji-Sook comes from a working class family who runs a small restaurant. She works as a salesgirl in a department store selling handbags. However, her life is like hell because she is constantly being chased by loan sharks due to the loan which her father took. 

One day she had a shock of her life when she saw a rich woman named Seo Eun Ha who looks exactly like her while she was working at the department store. She helped the Eun Ha pick up a wedding ring. Unbeknown to her, her life was about to be transformed by meeting her. 

Ji-Sook was approached by a strange man who offered her money to take on the identity of Seo Eun Ha but she refused at first. Unfortunately, she was caught by the loan sharks who wanted to get rid of her because she had witnessed an accidental murder of another man by them. With her last desperate attempt to live, she called the strange man and accepted his offer. 

The rest of the story goes on with how Ji-Sook takes on the identity of Seo Eun Ha, which requires her to marry a rich guy named Choi Min Woo. She struggles to keep her identity a secret and also battling internal forces from within the rich family. 

Overall thoughts

It is quite a nice drama to watch. The episodes keep you hooked on for more. However I must say the female lead was annoying to some point because of her weak character. But luckily she transformed almost past midway and finally redeemed herself somewhat. 

Best parts of the drama

The interior of Min Woo's bedroom and Eun Ha's house... 

The main house and even the cafe is also nice... 

The relationship between Ji-Sook and Min Woo... From an arranged contractual marriage to one of real love and trust.... 

I must say the villain guy is really handsome and scary at the same time! Haha... hard to believe he is the nice guy in 2 days 1 night! 

The second lead female, she is so pretty and evil too.... 

Not much of yummy food for the foodies but still looks delicious... 

Special mention

The villain's right hand man... I don't even know his name in the show! The silent loyal bodyguard who does all the dirty job for his boss. No explanation on why he is so loyal even to the very end... 

Conclusion

There was some separation time between the main couple when Min Woo found out the truth about Ji-Sook's identity. However they managed to overcome it and the final showdown was the press conference where they exposed the villain to the media... 

The most heartbreaking scene between the villain and his wife, Mi-Yeon... and the real reason for all his evil doings is for revenge... 

Lots of onions for that scene.... Mi-Yeon commits suicide while allowing her hubby to escape. He realised that she killed herself and turned himself in. Some closure scenes where Ji-Sook went to jail and the villain feeling remorse and realised that he does love Mi-Yeon in the end... There is a hint that he will be joining her soon, meaning he will kill himself I guess... :(( 

Happy ending for the main couple! After Ji-Sook was released from prison, she rejoins her family and Min Woo. One of the rare kdramas that show the couple get married and have a child together... 

I did enjoy the drama despite it being draggy at some point... I watched it at first because it is the same Coffee Prince girl, it's weird seeing her with long hair here but she really blossomed into a pretty lady. Didn't like the male lead at first, but fell in love with him later hahaha!! 

Only drawback is that there was no explanation on how Ji-Sook and Eun ha could look exactly the same. I thought there might just be a short by-story when they showed Ji-Sook's family tree planting part... perhaps Eun Ha could have been her identical older sister. Just a shame the writer didn't try to connect that part for just a bit. 

Alright, that's all for now. Thanks for stopping by! I will leave you with Ji-Sook and Min Woo walking down a lovely road together... 

*Image credits Dramabeans, Google image search and own screenshots*

Extreme Job review

 

Movie name: Extreme Job

Country: South Korea

Year: Jan 2019

Someone recommended this k-movie in the kdrama Discord server that I am in. Made a bookmark to watch it and finally gotten around to it earlier this year. 

So,what's this movie about?

A team of five detectives who has a very poor performance in bringing in the crooks are at the risk of being disbanded. In order to save his team, the leader Chief Go decides to tackle a drug lord named Mubae whose right hand man had been released from jail recently. If they manage to bust the gang they would be promoted and not lose their jobs. 

The story goes on with how Chief Go and team tries to infiltrate the gang by doing a stakeout at a nearby fried chicken restaurant. However, the restaurant is not doing well at all and the owner is about to sell it. The team decides to take over the restaurant to continue with their mission to nab the drug lord. 

Overall thoughts

It is a really funny action movie. Although some may not like the slapstick comedy and overly dramatic action fight scenes (somewhat reminiscent of Hong Kong action movies!) I still think it is an entertaining watch. 

Best parts of the movie

Definitely the stakeout and take over part... haha, they were eating fried chicken and the original owner thought they were a bunch of jobless losers... The part where they were defining their relationship to each other while trying to get the restaurant ownership deal... 

After acquiring the restaurant, their struggle to maintain the fried chicken business and continuing their mission on Mubae... The part when they finally got an order from the drug den, they were dismayed as the place had been vacated already... alas! 

Story goes on

Their fried chicken business went too well and caught the attention of a local TV producer. The team offended the producer by denying him an interview. They couldn't get caught on TV with their superiors seeing them! Unfortunately for them, the producer decided take revenge by smearing their shop saying that their fried chicken is fake, being bought from other shops and served to customers instead. The news went viral and Chief Go's superiors came to know about it. All of them were fired from their police jobs. So sad! 

However, the team had some sort of dumb luck... haha, their restaurant's popularity caught the attention of Mubae's right hand man. He came up with the proposal to use the restaurant delivery service to deliver drugs to customers. It was like the drug guys came to Chief Go in the end! Chief Go didn't know anything about it and proceed to sign with them since they lost their jobs as policemen. 

It was not until one of them realised that their restaurant food chain is not doing well but still there seem to be many deliveries. The team went to investigate and found out that Mubae had been using it for his drug activities. 

Conclusion

Rescue mission time! Detective Ma was missing and the rest of the team had to go rescue him. Meanwhile, the drug lord Mubae was having his own business deal with another drug guy. This is the final showdown when Chief Go and team versus the bad guys. 

Lots of kick ass fights later, the team finally defeated all the bad guys. Haha!! Love the scene where all of them sitting on the couch waiting for the police to arrive. It's a happy ending, all of them got their jobs back and promoted... 

It is a light hearted comedy movie that you could watch. Was a good recommendation indeed. Haha, I really laughed a lot! And the fried chicken does look delicious. Will leave you with Chief Go... 

*Image credits own screenshots and Google search*