Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
A fast-moving action film, “Yaksha: Ruthless Operations” is a spy thriller full of special ops, backstabbing and political intrigue. Last year, I stopped watching about 20 minutes into the movie, because it didn’t hold my interest. But when I went back to it this year, I found it to be thoroughly entertaining. Is this a prestige film? Absolutely not. But it was a fun ride with a (straight-laced) fish-out-of-water concept.
“XO, Kitty” tackles adoption, diaspora and maintaining Korean ties. But is it any good? Not really.
A psychological thriller that sounded much better than it actually is, “Somebody” revolves a serial killer (Kim Young-kwang) who uses a dating app to find his victims — and the app developer (Kang Hae-lim) who identifies with him, even after finding out his true identity.
One of the best K-dramas of the year, “Queenmaker” is the latest female-centric series led by women in their 40s (and older) that in nail-bitingly good. A political thriller with twists and turns, two foes unite to take down a corrupt chaebol family that will stop at nothing to protect their financial and familial interests.
“Physical: 100” is riding high on the assumption that this athletic reality series is the real-life version of “Squid Game.” But as everyone knows by now, reality is a concept used to sell unscripted shows that are at least partially scripted to tell a certain story. Is this series fun to watch? At times. Is it novel? Not really. Anyone who remembers “American Gladiators” will recognize the cheese factor that drives these programs.
답답해. That’s the first feeling that comes to mind when I think of the K-drama “The Interest of Love.” The entire series is about a group of broken people who can’t articulate how they feel and are in a constant state of unhappiness because of this.
“The Glory” had so much promise — a strong leading lady (Song Hye-kyo), a skilled screenwriter (Kim Eun-sook), the backing of Netflix’s money, and the promise of a scintillating revenge thriller. And yet at the end of the eight-episode first season — stop doing this, Netflix! — I found myself underwhelmed.
“Remarriage & Desires” is a revenge drama that focuses on a woman whose husband is cheating on her. After he asks her for a divorce, he learns that his mistress embezzled money and set him up as the fall guy — and falsely accused him of sexual assault to further incriminate him.
Two Korean men move to Suriname in the hopes of making some fast money. Their goal is to buy skate, which Surinamese don’t want, for pennies and resell them in South Korea at an inflated price. But when cocaine is found in one of their shipments, both men are arrested and jailed.
I loved “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.” The storylines were compelling and the actors did a fine job in bringing their characters to life. Park Eun-bin has been singled out for her extraordinary portrayal of a highly-functioning autistic attorney. But that’s where my conflict lies. As many autistic people have already pointed out, as good as Park was in her role, it is unsettling to watch a non-disabled actor portray a character who is on the spectrum. Most of my friends and acquaintances who have autistic children said they couldn’t force themselves to watch beyond the first episode, because her portrayal felt like a mockery of what they live through.