Drama review: 恋恋不忘 (Loving, Never Forgetting)

It's been a long time since the last time I reviewed a drama and this time it's a cdrama. Actually sometimes I prefer cdrama to tdrama, mainly because they have a wide range of genres where tdrama is too typical and mostly have a similar storyline. Another thing is cdrama always gives a longer trailer, usually about 15 minutes which let us know more about the drama. Loving Never Forgetting has ended few months ago and starred Jerry Yan and Tong Liya as the main leads. Jerry as Li Zhong Mou, a successful businessman with a cold heart and has no father. Tong Liya as Wu Tong, an ordinary woman who has a child from Zhong Mou as a result of their one night stand 5 years ago but at that time she's just like another girl in his life and he didnt even recognise her. As if it's already fated, he met his child, Wu Tong Tong, in an accident without knowing the truth and Tong Tong needed a blood transfusion. After realising the truth, he requested for a custody to take care of Tong Tong since he didnt want Tong Tong to be like him, growing without a father's love. Besides, his mom kept persuading him to get married as soon as possible. Basically the story flows from the custody and some problems, until then he realised he has fallen for Wu Tong where actually Wu Tong still love him like how she used to be 5 years ago. I have put this drama on my list ever since I saw the news of it a few months ago and if you watch cdrama regularly you know that they usually air 2-3 episodes per day and the drama ends pretty fast unlike kdrama which only airs 2 episodes per week. Based on my search, they said this drama's genre is 孽恋 (nie lian) which means tortured love where it involves screaming, pulling, pushing, angry kissing, and something like that. Aside from that, Jerry Yan and Tong Liya are probably my main reason why I decided to watch this drama. Everybody knows Jerry because of his mega popular character Dao Ming Se in Meteor Garden, but he's not my favorite. I just dont like him, either his hairstyle or his character. Once I saw him in this poster, I know that I would like him and yes I did. He suits perfectly as Li Zhong Mou and everything about him here is soooooooo lovable. If you remember Tong Liya, she's Yang Mi bestfriend in Gong (Jade Palace Lock Heart) which shot Yang Mi to stardom. She is gorgeous, and together with Jerry they make a really cute couple with strong chemistry. Both of them drive my emotion up and down, at first they hate each other and then they are really sweet together. Too bad Tong Liya has married last year which make my OTP shipping fails TT I really recommended this one because you wont see the lovey dovey cute scenes, as from the beginning it has been tense and how he realised he loves her is very natural. It tells more about a family, not only about the couple. It's even better if you understand chinese because cdrama rarely get subbed where actually you can find the complete episodes in raw version in youtube.

Rating: 8.5/10

 Trailer (long version):

Waking up from hiatus.

Yeay it's officially my holiday! Just finished my exam a few hours ago and like finally this burden has been lifted up. Im going back to my hometown tomorrow and I just realised it's been a month I didnt do any updates. Currently I only watch Pinocchio, which I like but I cant say it's an awesome piece. Other dramas on my list are Healer and Love not Forgetting. I didnt plan to watch Healer before, but after reading the recaps it attracted me that much. Tomorrow is Christmas, and Im going to do review once I finish watching dramas/films on my list. Merry christmas!

Drama review: Marriage Not Dating

To be honest, I wasnt interested even a bit about this drama. The turning point is when I watched You From Another Star last week and I like Lee Han Kyung, Lee Hee Kyung's first brother, who turned out to be Yeon Woo Jin. I directly searched for him and saw this drama, decided to watch it without even searching for the teaser first like what I used to do. Surprisingly, I just knew that he was the love rival of Song Seung Hun in When A Man Loves and I hated him. Back to this drama. It was aired in tvN back in July-August and I've to say I like most of their dramas despite it is a cable network. Marriage Not Dating is a very very light drama; you dont even need to care about the melancholic thingy since there's nothing like that here. Yeon Woo Jin as Gong Ki Tae is a plastic surgeon who wishes to stay single and alone but his mom is the completely opposite; she wants him to get married that she always set a blind date for him. Han Groo is Joo jang Mi, a carefree girl who loves somebody wholeheartedly and desires to get married quickly. Problem starts when her boyfriend is Ki Tae's bestfriend. She proposed to him and that puts him in a shock because he is a player tipe and still hasnt thought about making a commitment. He asks Ki Tae to help him and push Jang Mi away; accidentally Ki Tae's mom saw them together and thought she was his girlfriend. Ki Tae then asked Jang Mi to be his fake girlfriend so that he didnt need to attend all blind dates set by his mom. This goes deeper as they lie and lie again. I like how this drama stays true to itself from the beginning till the end; not being a draggy one. Browsed for the reviews, I saw everybody was totally satisfied with this drama for being cute. Han Groo did a very good job in portraying Joo Jang Mi and she's really funny. Yeon Woo Jin completely steals my attention; this is his first leading role and he nails it. He is cool enough to be a plastic surgeon although sometimes I just hate his facial expression. The storyline goes with the flow and stays steady throughout the drama which gives another plus point for it. The loveline progression is a bit late; they confirmed their feelings toward each other in ep 13 or 14 but then everything is in fast pace and I love it. Their chemistry is especially great and lovable, makes the drama even funnier. The only thing I hate is both second leads, Jung Jin Woon and Han Sunhwa. Im not being judgemental just because they are idol turned actors, but they are totally bland. Jinwoon's smile is so annoying; everytime he smiles, he looks like a pervert. Sunhwa is even worse; her facial expression stays flat most of the time and I still dont understand how she can be nominated for an award through her character in this drama. Instead of this, I would like to see Yeon Woo Jin and Han Groo in leading roles again because they deserve another chance for it. Manse!

Rate: 8/10

Synopsis:
Wealthy plastic surgeon Gong Ki-tae has no interest in getting married; marriage is all shop girl Joo Jang-mi dreams about. In an effort to get his parents off his back about the constant string of blind dates and marriage prospects, Ki-tae purposely brings Jang-mi home to meet his parents posing as his girlfriend, certain that they'll never approve of her. (wiki)

they did lots of cute selfies in this drama xD

Official trailer:

Drama review: You From Another Star

Yes, I know. Im so outdated that I just finished watching this drama today. I've known this drama ever since it announced Kim Soo Hyun and Jeon Ji Hyun as the main lead. I was happy; I really like their chemistry in The Thieves but I dont know why I wasnt into this drama back then. Im not the type who watch a drama just because someone says it is good or recommend it to me. Only after I finished my exam few days ago and had some free time that I decided to try watching this drama and this is it. Im totally hooked. Previously this drama got the name changed a few times, from Man From Another Star to Lover From Another Star and then they finalised it as You From Another Star. Kim Soo Hyun is Do Min Joon, an alien who arrived on earth 400 years ago and has been living till now to wait for the time he can go back to his planet and Jeon Ji Hyun is Cheon Song Yi, an A-list actress which is the hot demand in Korea from CFs, movies, dramas, etc. She is a bit dumb but people still loves her; she always says mean words but actually she didnt mean it. Accidentally they are neighbour living in the same condominium and at the same time Min Joon is her professor at school. Then something happened where Song Yi was accused as the cause of Han Yoo Ra's suicide and that made her carreer fell off. Min Joon always helps her since at first he thought she was the reincarnation of a girl who helped him 400 years ago when he first arrived on earth. The girl died and he felt sorry because he couldnt protect her. As a romcom, I totally liked this drama like how Gong Hyo Jin said "딱 내스타일! (This is my style!)" Jeon Ji Hyun is finally coming back to drama world after 14 years and she hit the top with this project. Many people praise her because she portrays the character really well that you cant even imagine she will take this role. I always think Jeon Ji hyun as a feminine and elegant woman so I was quite surprised while watching this drama in the beginning because she was different. She acted ridiculously and comically at the same time that I keep laughing when she appeared on screen. The same thing goes to Kim Soo Hyun. Everybody knows he is one of the hottest male actors now and I've been following him ever since he acted in Will It Snow For Christmas. As an alien of course he has a cool personality but the good thing is he can balance Cheon Song Yi and I love it. Besides both leads, there are also Yoo In Na as Cheon Song Yi's bestfriend Yoo Se Mi, Park Hae Jin as Lee Hee Kyung, and Shin Seung Rok as Lee Jae Kyung, the psychotic brother of Lee Hee Kyung. I hate Shin Seung Rok's face; he's like the evil of evil lol. Like finally I found another great romcom after Rooftop Prince where sometimes the production stated a drama as romcom and turned out it wasnt. No wonder this drama is always first in rating while it was aired and managed to be a big winner in 50th Baeksang Arts Awards.

Rating: 9.5/10

The funniest out of all! I never imagine she would act like this lol

One of the most romantic kiss scene ever. Even Kim Soo Hyun said this scene was the most memorable one.

Official trailer:

Movie review: 那些年，我們一起追的女孩 (You Are The Apple Of My Eye)

Yes just finished watching another movie again. if you are wondering how I can watch drama and movie at the same time, no I didnt watch the drama at once but I follow each episode so I only watch an episode per week. This movie, literally translated as " Those years, the girl we chased together", is a big hit Taiwanese romance movie. Released in 2011, I've heard it from my friends since a few years ago but I wasn't interested in it. Now just because of some random interest I watch it and I regret why I didnt watch it earlier. Starring Kai Ko as Ko Ching Teng and Michelle Chen as Shen Chia Yi, YATAOME tells about a pure and light love story between two people in high school. Chia Yi is the most clever student in her high school in contrast to Ching Teng who is a troublemaker and lazy ass in studying. He keeps badmouthing about clever student and confuses why they are always studying. He and Chia Yi have been classmates since junior high school yet they didnt like each other. One day she forgot to bring her book but he lent her his book and instead took the punishment. She was touched and wanted to thank him; she decided to teach him even though he rejected at first but later on it became their habits. Through some time, their feeling develop towards each other. They didnt dare to know each other feelings and that's the bomb. They still keep in contact after entering the university in different city but then something happened and that makes them started to fall apart. Dont expect too much about this movie; this is a real story based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Taiwanese author Giddens Ko. It is made as real as possible and that's what makes me love this movie more. I never thought Kai Ko was this good since this was his debut movie and he was only 20 at that time. This movie shot him to stardom; he was an A-list actor before the drug scandal back in August happened. Luckily he was not jailed and he decided to go on rehabilitation by himself. Im happy and sad at the same time for him because he is still so young to have had a scandal in his early acting journey but it's better he was saved early. As for Michelle Chen, I never watch her movies or dramas before but she was great in this movie. She successfully portrayed the soft, kindhearted, and strong Shen Chia Yi. I even didnt noticed that she and Kai have 8 years gap! YATAOME worth all the awards and fame they've got. It tells what most of us have seen in the reality that sometimes when people have feeling towards each other, they just dont dare to confess and that can makes them lose the chance forever. Even though my preference is always a happy ending doesnt mean a sad ending can make a good story. To be honest I seldom watch a sad ending drama/movie but when I watch one, it should be a good one that I dont feel my time was wasted lol

Rate: 9/10

 Official trailer:

Drama review: 喜歡 · 一個人 (Pleasantly Surprised)

I really like this drama. Enough said. This satistfied my craving towards taiwanese drama after my shipping last year Puff Guo-Aaron Yan in Just You. At first, the tv station wanted to reunite Puff and Aaron pairing again in another drama called Fall In Love With Me but Puff turned down the role because she was busy filming for We Got Married Global Edition with Heechul and later it was taken by her groupmate, Tia Li. I didnt follow that drama; pretty much because Tia Li cant act (in my opinion). Then Puff confirmed for this drama with Liu Yi Hao as the male lead. This is a 22-episode drama; previously it was known as Love Myself or You. The title itself will be literally translated as "Like To Be Alone". It cant be considered as romcom because the female lead herself has a bad personality and she portrayed a strong woman but still has a little comedy in it. Puff acts as Du Kai Qi, a second chef, a manga lover who likes being alone. It was because of her dark past where his father was an alcoholic and even borrowed money from her friends without her acknowledge. She prefers to be alone; she feels that through that way, she doesnt need to think and care about other's feeling. Liu Yi Hao is Fu Zi Jie, called as A Jie, a top chef who came back from France but prefers to be anonymous due to his promise to his older brother in the past. He has a bright personality; he always helps and takes care of others. This time his parents beg him to stay for a while in Taiwan to work at their family restaurant because A Jie has been living abroad since high school. At the same time the restaurant, Figaro Cuisine, is also the place where Kai Qi works. Both Kai Qi and A Jie are childhood friends but she didnt recognise him and her current personality confuses him because he knows in the past she was a cheerful and kind person. A Jie then agrees to work at the restaurant as a new assistant; at the same time he wants to know why she has changed. The story goes on with the development of their feelings towards each other. Usually I like a drama because of good storyline and casts but this time, I just like everything about it. Literally everything. Not only the leads are great, but also the team in the kitchen is synchronised really well. Never have I seen in a drama where the second lead is very kind and even sacrifice his own love. Puff has always been one of my favorite taiwanese actress and this time she also didnt disappoint me. She changed her style from bubbly and cheerful personality in Just You to a dark and introvert one in Pleasantly Surprised. I was quite surprised at first because I thought she would be portraying a similar character again but turned out I was wrong. Her pairing with Liu Yi Hao exceeds my expectation, even now I like this pairing more than Puff-Aaron. Every time I see Liu Yi Hao, he has that charisma that can make people feel happy and calm at the same time. Ahead from that, actually I dont like his style in this drama where most of the time he wears anything floral from shirts, pants, and even ties; luckily he can pull it off. I cant imagine if there is another actor using the same style it was just a big NO. Besides I had my eyes on Jolin Chien as Cheng Hao Wei, the second male lead. At first he was annoying but then he turned to be the sweetest guy friend ever. I felt sad for him because he sacrificed his own feeling and pretended to be okay with it. The team in the kitchen is also great. Usually a drama will just focus on main leads and second leads; this one is an exception. The only thing I hate about this drama is that it was a bit draggy (yes, only a bit) in the middle but I can still tolerate it because of the sweetness and creativity. If you cant bear sweet things or cute romance, this is probably not your cup of tea. If you are, you must watch this!

Rate: 8.5/10

Synopsis:
Du Kai Qi is an aspiring young chef, her only interests are cooking and reading manga comics. She doesn't have many friends and don't want anymore. After enjoying her most delicious full course meal prepared by a chef named Louis, she snaps a picture of his signature from the plate and request to meet him. However a family emergency forces her to leave before meeting Louis. She looks to Louis's signature as strength and inspiration for her upcoming sous chef promotion test. On the day of her test the new restaurant intern Ah Jie, who has to decide the winner, chooses Kai Qi's rival dish over hers. Losing out on her promotion, Kai Qi makes instant enemies with Ah Jie. What she doesn't know is Ah Jie is her boss's son, her new next door neighbor, the chef Louis that she admires so much and her long lost childhood friend Fu Zi Jie who she had a close bond with.

full team!

Cheng Hao Wei - Cheng Le Xuan - Du Kai Qi - Fu Zi Jie

15-minute long preview: