Drama review: Reply 1988

 

I.LOVE.THIS.DRAMA.SO.MUCH. I should say this is the best drama of the year (2015-2016), more than Oh My Ghostess and Healer. I have zero expectation when I started watching this series. This is the third one, preceeded by Reply 1997 and Reply 1994. R1997 was an awesome piece. Eunji and Seo In Guk were so good in portraying the characters; the drama did bring them to another level of stardom. I skipped R1994; the casts were not my favorite and people said it's the weakest one compared to R1997 and R1988. R1998 focus more in family story, mix with romance and comedy. The story is about five families living in Ssangmundong. The first is Sung family with the children Sung Bora, Sung Deoksun, and Sung Noeul. The second is Kim family and the children are Kim Jungbong and Kim Junghwan. The third is Sunwoo and Jinjoo's family. The fourth is Choi family with the only child Choi Taek. The last is Ryu family with the child Ryu Dongryong. Deoksun (Girls Day Hyeri), Junghwan (Ryu Junyeol), Sunwoo (Go Kyungpyo), Taek (Park Bogum), and Dongryong (Lee Donghwi) are childhood friends and they are really, really close. The only girl in the gang, Deoksun, is the second daughter; she is a bubbly personality and always makes people around her happy. Junghwan is also called as Jungpal; he stays cool most of the time but actually he's very warm inside. He and Sunwoo are the smartest students in the class. Sunwoo is an FM (Field Manual), the one who always stick to the principle and studies all the time. His father died two years ago so he's the only guy of the family. Very obedient to his mother, he is a loving family guy and never complains anything to her. Taek is a 18yo genius baduk player; he quits school and his world is only about baduk. Has a puppy like personality, Taek is very happy whenever his gang gathers in his house after he comes back from the international competition. The last, Dongryong, is the moodmaker of the group; he never study even though his father is the school's principal and dances all the time. This time the story involves not only the main leads and the friends but also everyone in Ssangmundong. There are the father group and mother group and each has his/her own story. I cried a lot this time like almost every episode; Im a sucker for a touching story. Watching R1988 makes me realise how people have changed over time; in the past everyone is close to each other including their neighbours and they can survive without any internet or electronic. People talk and communicate when they meet, not like now where people meet and then focus on their cellphones rather than talking to each other. I also envy Deoksun for having such a great childhood friends like the gang; they are probably the squad goals of life. 

For the romance, it will be about Deoksun-Taek-Jungpal. Jungpal is so frustating. He likes her but why doesnt he have the courage to confess and always miss the timing? If you are not confessing even though you like the girl and she likes you back, she may end up with another guy. Poor him :( There are two group of shippers, #TeamTaek and #TeamJunghwan. Im in #TeamTaek! Taek is an innocent and lovely guy; he may be clueless about life but when he has a goal, he will go for it. That's why I love Taek. I dont know what spell Park Bogum has put on me, but now Im totally fangirling over him. Everytime he smiles, Im done (he smiles A LOT in the drama). At first people also hesitated when Hyeri was announced as the main lead; I read in some news that she wasnt a really good actress. But in Reply series you cant predict anything. Now everyone is praising Hyeri for doing such a great job portraying Sung Deoksun. Park Bogum and Ryu Junyeol are definitely the biggest stars of the series; they are extremely famous right now. If I have to choose which Reply series is the best, it will be R1997 and R1988. Dont tell me to choose between two of them because I cant. It's true they say original is the best but R1988 has all the best things a drama could ever had. Not forget to mention how awesome the ending is. The drama also had the highest rating ever for cable drama viewership, achieving 18.8% for the finale. They also have the husband hunting mystery as usual! Who do you think the husband will be? Im happy that I make the right choice to watch R1988 after it ended and I finished it in 3 days *proud* The only thing I regret is that I watch the ending first when I havent decided if Im going to watch the drama. That doesnt decrease my love for this drama anyway; I already rewatched my favorite scenes like for the nth times. I just love this drama to the bits.

Note: If you are bored that I always say recommended to most of the dramas I reviewed, it's because when I watch a drama and lose interest in the middle of it I will stop watching right away. Dont even bother to make a review about it.

Rate: 9.5/10

 

 

 

I will miss all of you a lot ㅠㅠ

 Official trailer:

Below is my most favorite OST in R1988. I cried twice listening to this because I remembered the scenes. Yes it's shameful I know. Whatever lol

Movie review: 杜拉拉追婚记 (Go Lala Go 2)

 

This is the second installment of Go Lala Go and I didnt even watch the first one, simply because I wasnt interested with the story and the casts. When the news came out that Ariel Lin, Vic Zhou, and Chen Bolin would collaborate in this movie, my inner fangirl soul screamed happily! I had put this movie in my list after Our Times since the main leads were all my favorite actors. I like Ariel Lin a lot from They Kiss Again days and shipped her even harder with Chen Bolin after watching them in In Time With You. Vic was and is still my most favorite one of F4. A few years ago he ever worked with Ariel where she starred in his MV Make A Wish. So basically this is a reunion for everyone either for Ariel and Vic or Ariel and Chen Bolin. Having three of them in one frame means total eyecandy throughout the movie. Ariel is Du Lala, a 33yo career woman with a stable job and is highly competitive. She's the opposite of her photographer boyfriend, Vic as David Wei, who views the world differently. He thinks that one should enjoy his/her life with the money they earned. Lala doesnt think that way; she works hard to earn money so she could have a better life. She started to doubt her boyfriend's seriousness when he still doesnt propose to her even after 5 years being together. There comes Chen Bolin as Stanley Chen, a manager (Im not sure about his job) from another company that everyone's has been dying for to work with. The same goes to Lala's company; they tell her to pose as a vice manager to attract him so that he want to collaborate with them. Another character is Nana from After School as Sha Dangdang, Lala's assistant manager as well as a freelance model. She ever worked with David and is interested with him. Lala feels insecure with everything; her biological clock starts ticking but her boyfriend hasnt proposed to her, a younger girl wants to woo her boyfriend, and a financially stable guy wants to woo her. I really like the story because it portrays exactly the bitter reality in our life. For 30s unmarried woman like Lala, people keeps asking when she will get married. David feels inferior to her because she has a promising career and earns more money than him; he is a newbie photographer who has just had his own studio and wants to get married when he is ready. As for Stanley, I think he is just the right man in the wrong time. He appeared in her life when she is doubting her boyfriend and with his great qualification, no wonder she wavers easily. Im quite annoyed at Lala because she keeps on giving pressure to David, yelling here and there saying he isnt serious with her. How can she waver that easy when they have been together for 5 years? Anyway their acting are so good that I can stay to finish the movie. Nana leaves only slight impression to me; her acting is still too weak compared to theirs'. The plot itself is interesting for me since this kind of story may happen in real life. Im also satisfied because finally I can see my most favorite actors all in a movie and I hope they can work together again in the future. 

Rate: 8/10

AAAAA MY FAVORITE

Official trailer:

First.

Hello it's me~ lol The first two weeks of January have been a hectic one for me. We have practical exams (OSCE) to decide when we will do the clinical rotation. I finished mine on last Wednesday and felt like I didnt do well. Whatever it is, for now I will just enjoy my holiday. Im still here till next week since we will have an inauguration night for my batch this Sunday. So happy that everything has over; having an exam when everyone has gone back home for their holiday was never a good idea. I spent my New Year's Eve with my friends and we had a little celebration or else I would just stuck in my room watching another drama. I've experienced this kind of thing twice; the first one was on my second year when we had the final exam a few days after New Year. Anyway Chinese New Year is coming really soon in less than a month. How can Im not excited?!?! Chinese New Year has always been my favorite one because we can gather with family and relatives. I miss my family so much; four years staying here doesnt mean my homesick will get any better. Luckily I can meet my brother first before he leaves but too bad he wont celebrate Chinese New Year with us this time T^T