Wang Lee Hom(王力宏) - A.I.(愛) Album Thoughts(Mandopop)

Track List:
01. 沒有眼淚的世界
02. A.I. 愛
03. 千秋萬代
04. 無聲感情
05. Tonight Forever (feat. TFBOYS)
06. 親愛的
07. 奇遇的起點
08. Why Don't You Just Love Me
09. 聽愛 (動畫電影《豆福傳》主題曲)
10. 緣分一道橋 (feat. 譚維維) (電影《長城》片尾曲)
11. 列王的紛爭 (遊戲《列王的紛爭》主題曲)
   


   This next singer has been one that made songs for our time. Different points in time highlighted by this singer's music. Being so that through his music you as the listener will never for get the precious times in your life. Wang Lee Hom's music has touched my life in that very way. I started listening to his music in middle school and kept up with his release up till now. He is a singer that come from a different background than other singers in Taiwan at the time. The New York born singer debuted singing songs in a standard New York accent that stunned peers. From that to the rumors of his sexual orientation,(Which isn't anyone's business. Plus he's married now.), to people insulting his craft, Lee Hom has continue to develop his art over the years. What began as "Chinked out" tunes steady turned into Lee becoming one of the best male singers that Taiwan has ever known. A.I. is his newest album after marriage and two children.

   I worried what A.I. could have Lee Hom bringing to the table next. He's constantly pulled out all the stops in the production of his albums. Your Love was an album that made a statement that Lee Hom still had greatness. A.I. defiantly comes as a bit of a more milder album than Your Love. Lee Hom is now a family man and he wants everyone to know it. While the album is more settle, There is strength in the ballads presented. Their production has a lot of creativity that pulls you into the flow of the music. I'm not a fan of all the ballads on the album because some of them feel drawn out to me.  Kinda of in a sense that the music isn't anything new for Lee. He taps into his greatness full force during  ballad tracks that contain pop music with traditional Chinese music added on top of that. He is the expert of getting the best qualities out of these two types of music. Lee also goes for a more dance pop style once again. If Eric Chou is the prince of this style in Taiwan right now, Lee Hom is the older brother that adds more maturity to the sound in tracks such as Why Don't You Just Love Me and A.I.. He made a more mild effort with A.I. but I noticed that all the qualities that make Lee Hom great are still in his music. He still plays the guitar and piano the same way he did in his early twenties. Its just that his lyrics have become more…… old fashioned. I was here for all of it though.

   Wang Lee Hom is known for his vocals about the same as his known for his musical production. This man can SANG(nope, not sing.) when he really gets into himself. You should know I only use SANG when I feel that the singer has powerhouse vocals. Gosh, that vocal quality he has too is one of a kind. He's molded his voice over the years to really be able to sing many kinds of music. I can tell he's had classical training at some point in his life also.

    It took me two listens to figure out what Wang Lee Hom was trying to say with A.I.. My second time listening allowed me to catch a lot in the music that I missed the first time. Lee Hom is getting older. His music changes depending on the events in his life. This goes back to what I was talking about in my intro dealing with life and certain times in that life.

Eric Chou(周兴哲) - The Chaos After You(如果雨之后) Album Thoughts(Mandopop)

1 Without Her   
2 易碎品 
3 Another You   
4 如果雨之后 
5 I See You Everywhere   
6 永不失联的爱 
7 快乐一次拥有 
8 同义词 
9 黏黏 
10 我知道要微笑 
 


   Mister boy wonder known as Eric Chou is back for his third full length album. I could have never imagined that Eric Chou would captivate people in Taiwan like he has with his first two albums. He hit the scene at just nineteen years old creating music that gave off the makings of having a young creator. It was his lyrics and musical composition however, that had the potential to be far beyond his years. The Chaos After You is Eric's third album to be released just for all his adoring fans who call him the prince of love ballads. He was born in Taiwan and was partly raised in Boston USA so that's the secret behind his English ability.

   The Chaos After You introduces a electro dance pop style that seems like Eric was dying to whip out on fans for the last few years. Both albums before explored this genre before but only as an after thought to the boyish ballads presented. The album before this one had a more pop sound. Its just that to me the songs didn't sound like Eric Chou songs to me. Instead the track list was a bunch of songs that could have been recycled from popular American artists. Not saying that Chaos doesn't have some of this same feel because it does. What's different is that Eric took the dynamics that made his first album come alive and added that to his third album effort. He uses bilingual lyrics that go back and forth between English and Mandarin. The transition of languages brings the upmost stress on the lyrical content about experiencing loss in love. Then from the lyrics, the album is pretty much dance pop for the lonely hearted. Many of the tracks are similar to remixes of Eric's ballad tracks if he would ever do pop remixes of them. They focus on getting out of your chair and on your feet as the tracks contain many dance breaks after Eric sings the choruses. There's still a place made for ballads on The Chaos After You too.  I See You Everywhere uses the same theme of dance break sequence only without the actually beat. Listeners are given acoustic and electric guitar playing mixed with the tune of a classical guitar in place of the tired pop beat. Some people will like this album while others won't. Reasons probably being that the album might be a far departure from what some of his fans expect from him. A huge appearance of maturity is very present in this album compared to the "wet behind the ears" vibe his debut had.

   Eric still has a voice that can go as high as ever in his falsetto range. I sat down and while listening to this album waited for him to give me that high range again. He held out on me expect on a few tracks. When he got to those notes, It was so beautiful that I was given constant life instantly. You have to love this guy for having a voice that can put millions of people under his spell at a young age.

   Eric Chou made improvements in all the right places. The Chaos After You was an improvement from his sophomore release in my opinion. I would like to hear him sing a rock/classical track for his next album. That would be awesome…. Just the murmurs of a foreign fan.
 

The Villainess(악녀) Korean film Thoughts

   

   The Villainess is a 2017 South Korean film that stars Kim Ok Bin(Thirst), Shin Ha Kyun(Thirst, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), and, Sung Joon(White Christmas). The film was directed and Written by Jung Byung Gil. I was a little surprised this film didn't do as well as I thought it would at the South Korean box-office. It did however get raving reviews from the Cannes Film Festival and other film festivals outside of Korea.


  A women lived with the stem of hatred in her heart all her life. She is taken in by an agency that raises females up to be assassins. The agency promised her that she will be freed after ten years but the demons of her past come back to haunt her. Making this women take a path of revenge once again.

   The Villainess had a trailer created for it that is based mainly on action. So most people that decide to watch this film do so because of the visuals. I wanted the film to have a good storyline that matched side by side with the action sequences that would be shown. What the biggest problem was that stopped everything about this film from being a masterpiece was too much of an over progressive storyline. I can't really believe that I'm saying this but sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. We as the audience are pushed into an already created world. Then left to wonder what's going on. Pieces of the answers are given to the viewer slowly. Leaving you still a bit confused for a clear destination of where the plot is going. By the time you find all that you need to know, You don't really  care anymore. Problems with the plot's pacing and presentation of certain events makes the viewer more starved for the action than the actually essence of the story. Jung might have been doing the most when writing the script instead of making a simple revenge story. I could have been alright with a simple "girl kills her father's killer "story minus all the extra layers that the script contained. Only good that came out of the extra unneeded parts of the story was more character to see killed off. I feel like the script didn't utilize all the different layers in an effective way to create a solid story. Toward the middle up till the end of the film was where the plot should have been the whole entire film. All aspects of the story are laid out on the table here for an all out rampage for revenge. My attention was grabbed during the action scenes and the later half of the film the most.


   Where the story lacks in being a masterpiece, the action scenes are truly masterpiece material. The way they are shot just takes all the energy out of your body. Every last breath slowly leaves your body as you watch this female take on hordes and hordes of men. One scene has the camera take the form of her eyes, making the audience see everything through her eyes. Think, the video game 0007 set on the big screen.. Another scene feels like the action could fall out of the screen right into your lap. The camera of choice must have been a light camcorder because of all the high flying stuns that the shot caught close up precisely.

  The performances by the cast were good. Not award winning though. Ok Bin continues to shine as that actress that can do roles that many other South Korean actresses would never attempt. They're too afraid that their plastic surgery might get messed up doing all those stuns….. I'm joking. Or am I? Actually, There are too many actresses in South Korea that rather look pretty than act. Ok Bin does break that mold since she's naturally pretty and can act well though. No shade. All Tea. Same could be said about some actresses any where in the world really.

   I want to watch The Villainess again. I feel like I would have more reasons to like this film if I watch it again. Defiantly check this out if your an action buff. A little romance is in there for the ladies too. Just be ready for the graphic violence. If the American film, Atomic Blond had an Korean version, The Villainess would be it.

Rain(비) - MY LIFE愛 Mini Album Thoughts(K-pop)

Track List:
01. 오늘 헤어져 (Feat. 조현아 of 어반자카파)
02. 입에 달아
03. 다시
04. Sunshine
05. 깡 
06. 다시 (Inst.)
07. 깡 (Inst.)
08. Sunshine (Inst.)

   Rain is a solo singer that made his debut in the early 2000s. At a time that Kpop was really taking off and I was a super mega Kpop fanboy. He is hugely popular in Korea and China with a fifteen year long career under his belt. Many people including Koreans see Rain as Korea's version of Usher. No, not Chris Brown because he wasn't thought about during Rain's fame days. Also, the Korean version of Chris Brown is Taeyang…. Only Taeyang didn't beat the hell out of his superstar girlfriend…. Not that anyone knows of anyway[COVERS FACE WITH HANDS.]. This comparison come from Rain's skilled vocal and dance performances. His husky tenor vocals has turned a few heads in his day. My Life is the singer's second mini album to be released since Back To The Basics.

    Lets not forget that Rain is also an actor. He has been an actor for awhile but I feel like as he gets older, that's where his heart truly is. My Life contains mostly slow ballads which is very very very strange for Rain. Did I just use three "Verys" in the same sentence? I really had to in order to explain my feelings on this new softer style of his. The duet with Hyuna of Urban Zakapa takes getting familiar with especially if you have similar reasons as me. One of the biggest reasons without going into extreme detail was the drastic gap in the two singers's vocal ability. Rain always knocks my socks off with his voice depending on what type of song he is singing but Hyuna is a powerhouse vocalist. This girl can sing till the damn flood gates of heaven open while "Rain" really does become the background noise of raindrops hitting the pavement. She overpowered him so much vocally that I covered my eyes multiple times while listening to that duet. Their vocals aren't  a good mach at all. Saving grace of the song is that relatable meaning along with how connect to the lyrics the both of them were. My Life continues on like a slow walking in the park on a summer day. He try to get stripped down and raw by singing to instrumentals that only use an acoustic guitar and a hand drum. This is a good experience if you want love songs that will send you to a realm of relaxation. However, it took a couple of listens for me to get into the notion of a lot of Rain's new musical vision. 다시 was one of the better ballad tracks that more suited my taste. Focusing more on Rain's vocal range, the composition of the music with it's guitars, mid tempo pop beat, and violins center around his progression. The track could be a remix of his older RnB ballad hits. Just excluding the beats that made Rain's songs…… feel right. Sunshine has that sixties flare coming from the beat used so I noticed that immediately. The chorus isn't flashy enough to make an impact. Causing the track to fall into the album filler category for me. I don't know why the title track is the last song on the album honestly. It's the most up tempo track(besides Sunshine) that you will get from Rain this time around too. Honestly, the whole album sounds like he was a little tired while recording this. He added a bit of what fans love this man for. Hip rap lines for example. The track was downright ordinary though. It took me a few listens to even call the song hit worthy because the track lacks one special message that spells"RAIN IS BACK BITCHES!". We instead get Rain returning in an decent fashion. He's not showing up the new generation of acts anytime soon with this album. My Life was a release that was begging people not to forget about him. True to reality, listeners are going to move on. He's not on the market anymore as a single man and the new music isn't popping like I believe it could be. I'm not even insulting his decision to go all old man in the Karaoke bar after work ballad on us. He could have done all slow songs and still had a comeback that made the new acts out there scared. That didn't happen. Maybe focusing on acting isn't a bad move after all.



    Rain's husky vocals were the best thing that happened to most of the slow tracks. I had not problem listening to ballads sung by Rain if we are solely discussing vocal quality. He still has that voice that can give e goose bumps. Now, if mister Bi would stop releasing sleeper hits. At least he killed the live performances of the album's songs on Music Bank.

   My Life was ok. I can't even say the album was alright. "Ok" is a step below "alright" in my book. I was all hyped for his comeback only to be disappointed. I'm never opening up my heart to another singer again![INSERT MY LAUGHING.]

Your Name(君の名は。) Japanese anime Film Thoughts

   I could have spoken about Your Name in a post a few months ago but I wanted to wait until I got my hands on a physical copy. Everyone has been raving about this film since the summer. I saw all the hype from Japanese audiences but I figured that I would have to wait awhile until I got a chance to see the film. Thankfully, an opportunity came for me to view the film. The film was created by Shinkai Makoto and is considered one of the most popular animated films of 2016 in Japan. It also gained quite a following worldwide. Japanese rock band, Radwimps also gained fame in Japan after doing the soundtrack for the film.

   Two high school students lives become connected suddenly. One student lives in the countryside of Japan and the other lives in the big city of Tokyo. What is this relationship?

   My experience watching Your Name in the theater was a good one. I went into the theater not knowing the plot of this film at all. All the hype around the film basically got me curious to see what Your Name was all about. Then I watched the film again after I purchased a copy of the film. My first time watching the film was in Japanese. Later I watched with the English overdub just for personal preference. Third time I watched to show the film to my family. Each time I watched, I noticed the the film hows me a detail that I didn't see the first two times I watched. Shinkai wrote a plot that presents a little bit of information at a time. Viewers start watching without knowing much about whats unfolding in this new world. The window opened up to show the lives of the two main characters is big but narrow at the same time. More questions arise as you watch because you ask yourself how what you saw at the very beginning of the film relates to the events that happen afterwards. Things settle a little around explaining the world of the two lead characters. It could have gotten pretty slow moving here but the story uses enough humor and drama to make you feel at home in each character's everyday activities. After you find out how the characters are intertwine with each other, the film steps into a fantasy element that takes the film to it's conclusion. A bit of drama mixed with comedy is still presence here and there. Your Name just truly shines after the audience watching is given a solid base for the questions of Who? What? When and Why? Because the flow of time plays a huge part in the film's presentation as well, many details pointing to the truth might be missed the the viewer the first time you watch. I recommend watching Your Name several times in order to find the full picture. Shankai is one of the few anime creators that I know who can insert a short musical clip randomly into his films without turning the film awkward. He's done this for many of his other films that I'm actually a fan of. Even if some of them sometimes kind of drag on. What's very apparent is how he grows as he creates each film. He stated himself that he wanted to expand on Your Name but he didn't have the funds to. Dang, I can only image how this film would have been even better than it already is if he had those funds. The best quality about Your Name is the emotional impact the characters's relationship has on the viewer. Their relationship really withstands tons of problems a normal relationship would never last through. This makes the lasting presence of the relationship hit each viewer's heart emotionally.

   Radwimps's music was the magic support behind Shankai's drawings. He drew Your Name like he had taken a picture of Tokyo and places in the Japanese countryside. He's take on the scenery seems to be locations that were always there in Japan. Scenery that Japanese people see everyday. Only Shinkai uses different select details to bring a youthfulness to the scenes shown. Sometimes he will use light colors in his drawings to represent the sunlight that bounces off the buildings as it shines on them. I really loved how the scenes involving the comet were so high definition and the colors used to draw the comet shattered the sense of realism while also still fitting well in the story's image. Meanwhile Radwimps are preforming songs that bring more life to these scenes in motion. The film also has to thank it's strong cast of characters. Not just the two leads but the whole cast that added more excitement to the plot. Character designs remind me of anime from the early 2000s. Maybe more advance on detail though.

   I don't feel comfortable calling Shinkai Makoto the next Miyazaki. He's very good at putting his visions into compelling animations but he doesn't put me in mind of the animation legend when I think of him. Instead I put him in his own category because his style is all his own. Also, to be honest, Your Name is a good film. Calling it a masterpiece that can match Miyazaki's works might be a stretch for me. Spirited Away can still top this film for many reasons based on both films plot dynamics. I still love Your Name overall however. Can't wait to see how the live action version turns out.

Namie Amuro(安室奈美恵) - Finally Album Thoughts(J-pop)

CD Tracklist

• Disc 1

1. ミスターU.S.A.
2. 愛してマスカット
3. PARADISE TRAIN
4. TRY ME～私を信じて～
5. 太陽のSEASON
6. Body Feels EXIT
7. Chase the Chance
8. Don't wanna cry
9. You're my sunshine
10. SWEET 19 BLUES
11. a walk in the park
12. CAN YOU CELEBRATE?
13. How to be a Girl
14. I HAVE NEVER SEEN
15. RESPECT the POWER OF LOVE
16. NEVER END

• Disc 2

1. Say the word
2. I WILL
3. SO CRAZY
4. GIRL TALK
5. WANT ME, WANT ME
6. CAN'T SLEEP, CAN'T EAT, I'M SICK
7. Baby Don't Cry
8. FUNKY TOWN
9. NEW LOOK
10. ROCK STEADY
11. WHAT A FEELING
12. Dr.
13. Break It
14. Get Myself Back
15. Fight Together
16. Tempest
17. Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!
18. Love Story

• Disc 3

1. arigatou
2. Damage
3. Big Boys Cry
4. Contrail
5. TSUKI
6. Red Carpet
7. Mint
8. Hero
9. Dear Diary
10. Fighter
11. Christmas Wish
12. Just You and I
13. Hope
14. In Two
15. How do you feel now?
16. Showtime
17. Do It For Love
18. Finally

   I hadn't planned to listen to Finally at all. This would be Miss Amuro's sixth Best album that she has released. Its pretty much a cash cow for her and her record label after she announced her retirement from music early this year. As a long time fan of Namie, I was sadden by the new but strangely wasn't surprised to say the least. Japan is coming up on a new generation of music that's making Amuro's spot among all the new singers smaller and smaller. Her sales have been in a constant up and down slope of decline(Most of her releases still at least managed to get top ten spot on the charts.). Prime example would be that Finally is Amuro's first album to sell over a million copies in it's first week since her album SWEET NINETEEN BLUES back in 1996. Only reason the album sold that much was because she announced her plan to retire. Otherwise she probably could have released a new album that would have been met with good sales. Just not over a million copies worth of sales like this album made. Finally comes with re-recordings of most of her old hits and six new tracks.

   I'm not going to sit here acting like I listened to all three discs worth of Namie Amuro's classic hits. I honestly didn't. My main goal was to listen to the six new songs that she so gracefully added at the end of disc three. The bottomline here is that NAMIE AMURO DID NOT DECIDE TO LEAVE QUIETLY! Nope. She instead gathered all the energy she had left and put it into making some good ass tracks. These tracks will catch you off guard a bit. Especially if you stepped back from her music after hearing Just You & I like I did. All six tracks reminded me why I stuck around with Namie Amuro for so long. The women knows how to get the party started by riding that beat. Give her a dance pop song and she will work the stage, snatching people bald as she goes along. Her new material fits at home in her old album PAST < FUTURE like an extended repackaged version of the album. However, PAST< FUTURE to me was truly one of Amuro's best albums if not her best. Everything feels like it's in full spring with her music right now even though I wish that she had this flame before she decided to retire. Her music was starting to sound like she was getting tired to me. Just You & I as well as Red Carpet were some of her worse releases that made me distance myself from her music. Boy, did she do a 180 degree turn around on my ass.

   Respect will always be given from me to Amuro for taking the time to re-record her old hits for her compilation albums. Well, she's had a big enough career that her record label must not have minded spending money on all that extra studio time. I didn't listen to the new recordings on this album but I did listen to some on her past compilation albums. You can hear the growth she had as a vocalist and even her new songs find Amuro challenging herself to sing better. Amuro hasn't sang any vocally challenging songs in a while. She hits more impressive notes in tracks like Finally and Do it for love. Pretty much close to the same range she hit when she sang ballad Wishing on The Same Star. I also enjoyed listening to the fast paced vocalization presented in Hope. Namie Amuro still has talent in her folks.

  Finally isn't an album that I would tell anyone to go out and buy unless they REALLY wanted to. The hardcore fans didn't waste any time shelling out the money obviously based on the sales but I will say that the new material on Finally is worth the money. Problem is that it might not be enough music to convince everyone to buy the compilation. Let's wish Namie Amuro all the best in whatever she decides to do with that hill of money she made off this album.

Age of Youth 2(청춘시대 2) Korean Drama Thoughts

 

       Age of Youth lives on once more in it's much anticipated sequel. I'm not sure who was anticipating this show's return more, The foreign fans of the show or the Korean viewers who really matter the most when it comes to ratings. Netizens constantly raved about how they didn't care for season one but I guess the haters who tuned in turned into numbers in the long run. Seeing as the show got a second season. Something many K dramas don't get. Lee Tae Goon returns to direct while Park Yeon Sun takes the up the pen again to write the script for this season. Han Ye Re, Han Seung Yeon, and Park Eun Bin reprise their roles from season one. Ji Woo and Choi A- Ra join the cast as new faces along with a group of potential love interests, Including Shin Hyun Soo from season one.

    The second season of this show starts about one year after the first season. Please be forewarned, there's a lot to get use to before you can truly enjoy this season. One big change is the character switches that come and go so fast that it will make your head spin. I do digress through, My heart was willing to open up to the new characters as long as they mended well with the unfolding story. Which in a certain way they did. I had no problem with the new actors after awhile of getting to know them. What bothered me the most was the inconsistent storytelling. The script was written like there was a solution for all the problems that was going on with the production of the drama. When there honestly wasn't. Obviously some actors and actresses either didn't want to do the second season or didn't have time to be fully involved. Two of the most beloved couples from season one were written off to introduce two new characters. Viewers are next left with a big act of trolling for a good duration of the drama. You end up becoming a little confused because these are relationships established pretty strong foundations in the first season only to be reduced problematic issues. For example, one boyfriend from season one was MIA the whole damn drama until the last episode….. WHAT THE HELL??  Some of the issues that the roommates have to deal with still makes for very good screen time and the core of the story contains a strong sense of feminism. This does at least tie into the same in your face type of storytelling that made season one so great. It's not the gushy romance that brings out Age of youth's charm but instead the seasons direct take addressing issues that effect women in the world as well as South Korea. Issues that South Korea didn't feel comfortable discussing until more recently thanks to the ever so growing open minded Korean youth population. I loved the dramas scenes about the aftermath of relationship abuse and child molestation because these issues are very real in today's world. South Korea needs to start facing these issues in the face without shying away from them. Not to say that this age of youth plays out with no happy moments. The girls have more than their share of fun interacting together. This is another huge highlight of watching this drama. Everyone's trying to figure out how to live day by day in the best way possible. Meaning they all waste no time coming to together to laugh, cry, or just play tricks on one another. I was always a bit on edge watching them as the writer seemed to like putting them in situations of being held hostage by some random man.

   I'm going to lay this out on the table right now. I had no problem with Ji Woo's acting as the new Eun Jae. True, she was not as cute as the other actress but her acting was doable. She even developed her own rhythm for acting with the other girls. She fits right in after a few episodes to me. What I hated about her was Eun Jae's character herself. The character was EXTREMELY selfish during this season. I felt a little bad for Shin Hyun Soo having to develop a whole new chemistry with a new actress after spending so much time with the other. His character doesn't have the same feelings that he had during the first season so having new actress might have helped him act better. Choi A-ra is the new roommate that's a tomboy. Her character got neutral feelings from me. I didn't like her nor did I dislike her. She surprising fills Yi-Na's space quite well. Park Eun Bin's character is the jokester of the group. Her background gets much more exposed this season leading to a sad side to the show. My heart hurt for her a lot since her character is always the one trying to put smiles on her roommate's faces. Han Ye Ri's character counts as the mother of the group of girls. Her acting is cold as ice. Her face rarely ever shows emotion and when it does it's for a big reason. I didn't like the confusing way her character is written to have a love interest while still technically having a boyfriend. Han Seung Yeon's character is another look down the path to depression. The character is a product of relationship abuse from a year ago. Gosh, her character was an emotional wreck the first half of the drama. The girl had me hooked every time she was on screen though. Research of the topic of abuse you can tell really got her into that role. It's a complete opposite mood from the cute girl she was from season one. Let me tell you. I felt every fear she had through her performance. Talented actresses do that to me. All the new male leads added a new depth to the girls as motivations  to get their lives back on track. Each relationship was cute like in season one…… Well expect for Eun Jae's.

   Like in my post about season one, The opening sequences for the introduction for each episode pulls me in every time I tuned in to watch Age of Youth 2. All the different footage of people from all over the world and the scenery makes you remember that there's a big world outside of yourself.

    Age of Youth 2 was alright….. I don't really know what I wanted from the second season but there was plenty that I liked and some aspects that I didn't like. The writer needs to stop commenting about Beyonce's legs in her scripts before the beehive drags her ass.[INSERT ME LAUGHING!]

Women With A Suitcase(캐리어를 끄는 여자) Korean Drama Thoughts(2016)

 

   Directed by Kwon Seok Jang and written by Kwon Eum Mi, Women With a Suitcase is a 2016 drama Starring veteran South Korean actress Cho Ji Woo and actor Joo Jin Mo while costarring Idol singer Lee Joon along side Jeon Hye Bin. The drama lasted for 16 episodes.



   A women was originally studying to be an Attorney but events occurred sending her to jail for a set time. She then became the manager of an Attorney office. Together with other lawyers, she must help solve many court cases and even find the strength to restart her goal of becoming an Attorney herself again.

  This drama was surprisingly one of the better written ones of 2016-2017. Nothing in the summery of this show gives the viewer a hint of how good this drama will be. What can be said as you watch Women With a Suitcase is that the script was written to keep the story at an interesting pace. You first check for all the normal key elements that are suppose to be in a Korean drama such as, romance, comedy, mystery, or of course, DRAMA(WELL, DUH!). All of these key elements are there but the script lets you have a fair experience of all of them. It's kind of like you are given a choice of what you want to see. Romance and Comedy play a huge role in filling up screen time when court cases are not the topic of conversation. The script writer doesn't try to force the love aspect on you though. He instead lets the viewers have enough headway to seen love grow between the characters. I enjoyed the fact that the show never ran out of cases for the characters to work on. Even allowing the cases to hit close to home making the story progress more in an interesting direction. You're really given a story that's not too focused on one fraction of events in hope that the plot will be pushed along. Enough content was written to push the story forward on all accounts. Now, my problems with this drama comes from the way the time gaps were chosen to be presented. I look up and all of a sudden it's "one year later" or "two years later". What the hell is this? Can't I get at least one scene showing what happened to the main character during that time period so the whole thing doesn't feel cheap? I have a problem with any drama that uses the time jump before setting the story up for that leap properly. I was left feeling cheated every time this drama did it. That was about two or three times.

   The casting for Women With a Suitcase is the reason why I'm even here. Choi Ji Woo is my childhood Korean actress that got me into the game of watching Korean drama. She chose a better role here than her last drama called Twenty Again(See My Post.). She needed a role that would allow her to spread her wings and be a bit more youthful. There's serious case of good times then bad times that her character is involved in. Her character waits for her time to step up to the plate which was what I liked about her. She knew when the time was right to act and when it wasn't. The character had a lot more common sense than the lawyers that were handling the cases sometimes. Choi ji Woo isn't getting any younger but she has a strong youthfulness at heart. You can see it come out when she plays certain roles and she is the only Korean actress that I think can get away with acting younger than her age without making her scenes turn awkward. Her whining and pouting about comes off more natural on her than others I have seen. Joo Ji Mo was that puzzle piece that was meant to be connected to Choi Ji Woo's character if she were a puzzle piece missing that one piece to complete the puzzle. His character is the calm, cool, and collected type. Maybe a little too cocky at times too. It was funny watching his cool guy demeanor crack when dealing with Choi Ji Woo's character. He has an unwavering faith in her character during the drama that makes you go "Aww"! They're chemistry is one quality that makes this drama fun to watch. Lee Joon is on of the few Idol actors that has gained my respect over the years. His character here is so different from the scary characters that he is known for portraying. I rooted for him quite a bit without meaning too…. The character kinda of seems like the underdog in a lot of the situations. Then on the other hand, he remains a very cheery character. Choi ji Woo and Lee Joon's characters are reflections of each other to me. Both had that underdog complex in common with each other. Both characters grew tremendously as people too. The age difference for the love interest was new for Choi Ji Woo and wondered how the drama would address it. Writers address the issue straight  on to my joy. Jeon Hye Bin's character went from being meek girl to THAT BAD BITCH. She got on my last nerve to the end. However, she in such a clear way that I wouldn't have pick any other actress to play her role. I felt all her character's emotions from the bitterness to the terror of her sister's movements. She was that thorn in my side that wouldn't go away. That itch that you want to scratch but can't…

  I absolutely loved the opening sequence of this drama. The effects and camera angles make everything look so fresh and clean. Alex was perfect for singing the theme song as well. Watching the opening gets me in a happy mood somehow.

  Women With a Suitcase is one of Choi ji Woo's better dramas. Watch this Over Twenty Again if you want a drama that has a more solid storytelling. You will most likely find someone to relate to while watching this drama also since it touches on a range of topics.