Rudy Lopez

What looked like a possible good series took a dive for me. I could not get through the first episode and gave up watching because of....bad soundstrack. They played the same music, or same type of music over and over again, even if it didn't match the drama. Too bad.

I found myself actually liking this movie, seeing that I only watch K-dramas. This one wasn't cheezy or sleazy, or bound by certain restrictions or bad writing. The leads showed a whole lot more affection than a lot of K-dramas, which oftentimes have the leads act like getting ready for a first date, when, in fact, they just slept together.... This drama touched close to home in the subject of early onset dementia, and super real in it's portrayal of the fears it brings. So glad the writers depicted the supporting cast's understanding and pulling together for the couple. I've had firsthand experience...twice. For me, 5-stars.

I wish I hadn't watched so many series of Park Shin-hye in stronger roles, as this one totally frustrated me. I'm not a fan of totally defenseless women characters. I found myself cheering (a lot) for the villain Jeon Jong-seo. Jeon has become one of my faves, especially after Ballerina (yes, yes, I'm for tough women). That aside, great cgi, special effects, and supporting cast. Just overcrowding and confusion of an already tricky time theme, history-changing, moment by moment, real-time, etc. Didn't they do this in Frequency (Dennis Quaid)? A big BUT here. If you like edge-of-your-seat nail-biters, this is for you.

Warning: Possible spoilers ahead Sometimes it's a struggle not to nitpick. The storyline was ok, with much to be as expected. My nitpicks? Firstly, ML proposes to her with a huge rock on white gold, but throughout the series, she is wearing her yellow gold wedding band (possibly from her real-life husband, m. 2020?) Secondly, they never kiss (again, due to her real marriage status?) THAT is one of my peeves with married actors and actresses playing romantic leads. It's a hell-hole in Hollywood with marriages, divorces, unfaithfulness, etc. Yes, yes, one can say that "they're just acting..." Like turning a light on and off in a room? Even a well-known actress in Korea (see Familiar Wife) said that for every role she has, she has to develop a crush for her lead man. Maybe she can afford to do that as she's not married. But what about the rest? In all that I've written here, I sense that the these were not attended to as they should have been by the writers, producers, and director. My heroes in this series? The fathers. Good title for this one. I've told prospective wedding partners this: Plan to spend a hundred times more on your marriage than you do on your wedding. The wedding is the party.... The marriage is the investment. What's it worth for them?

(Warning: Spoilers ahead) Arasseo. My views only. The storyline seemed dynamic for the most part, and then dragged on a little later in the series. It was understandable for Baek Seung-yu (ML) to develop a crush for Ji Yoon-su (FL). Happens frequently: Male student needs assistance at his desk, attractive female teacher leans forward enough for her face to be close to his, her hair flows close to him, etc., etc. Interesting how the writers portrayed her: She was so naive and enamored by her love for math that when she finds a "Ramunadan" in her school, she trips over her tongue to get him re-interested in math, so much so that she forgets that she should pay attention to her other students as well. She stayed up with him all night in her classroom, working out a problem on the board together that seemed to give them an immense romantic release. She had no safety net, no boundaries, that we, as teachers, have to set for ourselves so this type of thing doesn't happen. She goes on a field trip with him alone, and even gives him, what, "encouraging" glances and stares that we might perceive is going to make his heart pound. She sits and loiters alone with him everywhere, giving him a kind of "I'm encouraging you/I'm into you" look; and when she, as the teacher, the advisor, the chaperone, falls asleep (which she should NEVER do) he takes the advantage of offering his shoulder for her tired head to sleep on... uh huh. To me, the accountability for the inappropriate teacher/student relationship was on her. Didn't matter if there was no sex. They were alone OFTEN in a city with a thousand eyes, and when exposed and accused, many don't care about the truth; they just want their ears tickled so they can do their thing on social media. This part was cringeworthy for me which I wish I did not Google: In real life, she is 16 years older than he is. SIXTEEN. Normally, this doesn't bother me if the ML is the elder. (In the series, I suppose they make the gap considerably less, but still). I think that's why that single kiss (nothing until the last 5 seconds) killed it all for me. I wish I didn't watch it. I just could not wrap my head around their relationship at the end. Sorry about the spoilers....

(Caution: Possible spoilers ahead) I began watching this drama because Han Ji Min is one of my faves (Familiar Wife, Our Blues, One Spring Night, etc) . However, somewhere along the way, I noticed that the producers, or whoever, wrote her character, YeBun as silly, naive and desperate. When young, good-looking Kim shows up, she immediately shrinks to drooling after him, pushing her hair behind her ear every time (what's up with that?). And when the worse happens, she SLAPS her main lead character, Yeol, for suspecting Kim as a murderer. Of course, she immediately apologizes because she suspected Kim as well. Huh. I don't know. Is it a Korean cultural thing to SLAP? I mean, in the western culture I was raised in, delivering a slap meant getting your teeth knocked in, for starters (and that's the women, after turning the other cheek, of course). And then there's the drinking til you drop, lying, and wrist-grabbing. I suppose there is no story without them. Just curious. So, other than Han Ji Min's mismatched character, others seemed true to form, and the storyline was novel and quite funny at times. But her character, hence the three stars....

(Beware: Spoiler Alert) For the most part, I enjoyed this series…for the most part. The cast was excellent, the storyline believable…leaning heavily on reincarnation. I've seen past works of Rowoon and Jo Bo-ah. Sadly, in this series, for me, they both were written short of their skills. Although Rowoon left his boyish characteristics behind, the writers kept pulling them back. And what's with the huge difference in the height gap between Shin-yu and the Hong Jo? I mean, he's two stories taller than she is! She almost has to jump up to hang on his neck. But thankfully, he plays Quasimodo and hunches his back for her (too many of those scenes). I know he has to have the looks, but must ALL the male leads be 24” taller? Producers/directors, is it a Korean drama thing? Why, oh why did the writers put Hong Jo as weak, passive, naive, and even stupid? The moment Na put his hand around her shoulder in the rain was worth ten red flags. But she STILL goes alone up the darkest alley in Korean dramas, goes alone in some mountain forest to handle a complaint (who does that?), and almost gets buried alive in the process. THEN she sends her two, NOT ONE, bodyguard to lunch while she goes alone to check on something with someone she “trusts” (and they complied! Again, who does that?) By then, I was crapping bullets…. I guess it's the culture, but they love slapping, drinking, grabbing arm, etc. Seems there is no k-drama without them. That part where Hong Jo stops Na-yeon from slapping her (Na-Yeon slapped her silly a few episodes back) while also having wine thrown on her, instead of slapping her back, she employs the noble (“I'm going to be better than you”) western tactic of “using her words.” I was on the floor. Before the half way mark, I knew Na-yeon and Na were going to save this series (for me). They were written true to form. The writers (even the producers), I feel, fell short, and didn't do justice for the protagonists of this series.

For the most part, I enjoyed this series. Really. Ahn Bo-Hyun and Han So-Hee played their parts superbly. Especially Han. The storyline went so well with her character: Her father, the reason for her road to revenge, the villain boss, her INCREDIBLE training and fight scenes. Great film work and OST. Going gangbusters for 7 episodes and finding that sometimes it became a bit much, for her to be beating that many bad guys in the hallways and warehouses. I mean, she was going full-on forward while everyone looked like they were in reverse. And then... and then... came the steamy bedroom scene at the beach. Totally UNNECESSARY. The series was only 8 episodes long. There wasn't enough of a buildup into any kind of emotional relationship. So what... They both had past issues, and she became a "monster," and for her to get back into a semblance of being human, or as one interview said, "humane," she had to have a booty call? So they inserted a snippet of, what is it, soft porn, to relieve some of that stress, before she finally kills the boss? Wow. What a simple solution for everyone. Yet even Rocky Balboa didn't want to have sex before going into the ring, cuz he wanted to stay "strong." But, I'll say it again, because it is what it is, and few people want to confront the elephant in the room: This porn scene didn't fit. Like stopping to pee near the finish line of a 100-meter dash. And it appears that she seems to be steering toward that soft porn genre, and pushing the envelope. And some Korean producers seem to use that move to compete with Hollywood and the American market. That's too bad. I moved away from the genres of the west as I found K-dramas to be unique. I hope they maintain that uniqueness. My rant only.

Wow. Absolutely. I've watched several K-dramas over the past few months, many being excellent, including Snowdrop, Crash Landing on You, etc. But My Mister blew me away. The cast of Lee Sun Gyun, IU, etal, drew me in so I was living the drama with them. The scriptwriting was superb, and the OST....just so hauntingly beautiful, I began playing along on my synthesizer. I'm somewhat glad they didn't play this up as another romance which would seem so typical of this genre. I don't have any issue with the difference in ages of the lead characters since they're adults, but the storyline seemed to warrant a certain space between them due to the nature of possible healing of the husband and wife, and consequences of dealing with their son. The ending was inspiring for me after what transpired throughout the series. To see Ji-An teaching sign language with lightheartedness, then joining co-workers in Seoul for lunch, and the heartwarming reunion with Dong-Hoon outside the cafe was VERY moving. One might wish for a warm embrace, but it is left to the imagination of the viewer, yet there is a glint of hope through the warm handshake, smile, and invitation for dinner, but most importantly, the evidence of healing and moving on. An EXCELLENT series, one of the best for me.

I noticed from reading many of the reviews that they have missed the core of the movie. They've focused on the psychological aspects of the relationships, hardships, cheating, blah, blah, blah, but not on who the characters really are. The writers show it near the end in the little twists in timeline, key words, and key instances. It made me SO happy to find out that I will definitely watch it again. And I know many will STILL not get it.... And by the way, I have seen MANY examples of the short, chubby, not-so-handsome guys make off with the gorgeous girls...IN REAL LIFE. Figure it out, people. In the long run, looks are not the glue.