Review: The Backlight of Love

It's been 5 months since my last posting because I had too many things going on and wasn't able to religiously follow any drama in particular so most of the ones that I started, I still haven't finished. As a drama blogger, confessing this feels like I just committed a crime.

I opted to be a complete couch potato this weekend and after powering through numerous trailers on Youtube, I feel like I'm behind the times. I had no idea there were that many dramas available nowadays, Chinese dramas are definitely gaining traction and slowly catching up with the k-wave even though there's quite a ways to go. Have you ever experienced watching too much that you don't even remember half the stuff?

I usually throw in many shows in one blog posting but this time around, I decided to feature a web series called The Backlight of Love. Anyone reading might assume that I am going to talk about something amazing that I can't wait to share but on the contrary, it was actually just average in my opinion yet fresh enough to elicit a reaction.

Is it a must-watch, pretty good, just another drama, tolerable or downright boring?

My Ratings: Just Another Drama (3/5)

Title：The Backlight of Love / Backlight Lovers / 逆光之恋
Episodes and Genre: 11, Mystery / Fantasy
Broadcast Period: Feb 2015
Starring:
Di Li Re Ba as Jiang Li 

Synopsis:
A drama about angels and ghosts and a murder mystery.

Comments:

I was enticed to watch because there's an angel in the opening sequence. I won't say much since it's a simple enough story with fantasy elements. It seems to be one of those straight to internet type dramas, which probably explains why each episode was so unusually short. Again, nothing spectacular but if you are bored...

I didn't understand at first why it was so hard to root for the characters especially the main guy. In fact, there was a scene where he even slaps the girl but watch till the end and it will all make sense.

I like Dilraba Dilmurat who is an up-and-coming actress and increasingly becoming a familiar face in wuxia dramas. Her breakout role would have to be in the Sword of Legends where she played the charming youngest student pining for the affections of William Chan. Honestly, I think she is mostly known for her unique beauty since she looks mixed but I think she has good charisma onscreen.

China is a vast country, I know. But not a lot of people know that it can be quite diverse in the sense that the Western region has a lot of Uyghurs, an ethnic group mainly in the Xinjiang Province. I was lucky enough to have been to Urumqi in Xinjiang and I was surprised to meet people who spoke perfect Chinese but could easily have hailed from Europe. Is it a surprise that Di Li Re Ba is from Urumqi?

2015 Korean Drama Recommendations

I'm an aspiring drama blogger but a month ago I made a conscious decision to quit watching any television. The process required an absurd amount of self-control yet it was a good time for me to focus on other more productive endeavors. Now that the deal is off, I'm on a roll by starting a very ambitious marathon to watch all the new k-dramas in 2015. 

Added a ratings widget so you can now rate your favorite dramas below.

For my list of best Korean dramas from 2000 to 2004, click here.
Historical K-dramas, click here.

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Oh My Venus

Is it a must-watch, pretty good, just another drama, tolerable or downright boring?

My Rating: Must Watch (5/5)

Episodes and Genre: 16, Romantic Comedy

Air Date: Nov 2015 KBS2 Mon & Tues 22:00

Starring:
So Ji Sub as Kim Young Ho

Shin Min Ah as Kang Joo Eun

Synopsis:

In her high school days, Kang Joo Eun was the "it" girl who had the looks, intelligence and personality to boot but her path to become a lawyer led to a lot of stress eating and she's now an overweight spinster. 

What's more is her old classmate turned rival has gone from being an outcast to a beautiful accomplished lawyer hell-bent on making Joo Eun miserable. Down in the dumps, she lucks out and meets John Kim, a world class trainer who helps in her battle to lose weight.

Comments:

The premise sounds bland because how interesting could a weight loss drama be, but it is so much more. It's a quirky rom-com and easily turning into one of my favorite k-dramas. The main characters are likable, their struggles relatable and overall, it's a drama with a lot of heart and hilarious hijinx especially when you put the 3 guys together.

Most of you are probably waiting for the next episode. I'm going against the grain when I say I'm thankful for the wait because otherwise I would be ignoring all the work I have to do and just watching non-stop. At least I found the Oh My Venus mp3 download as a quick fix. The drama is nearing the mid-way point where it's about time for sh** to hit the fan. Sure hope the it doesn't lose the cute.

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Oh My Ghost

Is it a must-watch, pretty good, just another drama, tolerable or downright boring?
My Rating: TBD

Episodes and Genre: 16, Fantasy Rom-Com
Air Date: Jul 2015 TVN
Starring:
Park Bo Young as Na Bong Sun
Jo Jung Suk as Choi Joon Ki

Synopsis:
I came across this while watching a 6 minute highlight posted by a fan. Based on my first impressions alone, it's about a ghost, a female lead who works as a waitress and her seemingly mean boss that's bound to mellow down and become the sweetest guy once he falls for the girl.

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High Society

Is it a must-watch, pretty good, just another drama, tolerable or downright boring?
My Rating: Pretty Good (4/5)

Episodes and Genre: 16, Romance Drama
Air Date: Jun 2015 SBS
Starring:
UEE as Jang Yoon Ha
Sung Joon as Choi Joon Ki

Synopsis:
Jang Yoon Ha comes from an elite prominent Korean family. She meets Choi Joon Ki a man so focused on attaining wealth that he will do so by dating rich women. 

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Producer

Is it a must-watch, pretty good, just another drama, tolerable or downright boring?

My Rating: Must Watch (5/5)

Episodes: 12
Air Date and Genre: May 2015 KBS2 Fri & Sat, Romance Comedy
Starring:
Cha Tae Hyun as Ra Joon Mo
Kim Soo Hyun as Baek Seung Chan
Gong Hyo Jin as Tak Ye Jin
IU as Cindy

Comments:
The concept draws attention in the sense that most k-drama fans would probably be interested to see what goes on behind the scenes. It is a rom-com about PDs and actors and parallel universe for the Korean entertainment industry where pop star IU pretty much plays a stereotypical version of herself. 

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Mask

Is it a must-watch, pretty good, just another drama, tolerable or downright boring?

My Rating: Pretty Good (4/5)

Episodes and Genre: 20, Romance Drama
Air Date: May 2015 SBS
Starring:
Soo Ae as Byun Ji Suk / Seo Eun Ha
Joo Ji Hoon as Choi Min Woo

Synopsis:
Between two doppelgangers, one will die. Due to a series of mishaps, Ji Sook who is constantly in debt was forced to take over wealthy Eun Ha's identity after her death. Can Ji Sook come out of this unscathed?

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Blood

Is it a must-watch, pretty good, just another drama, tolerable or downright boring?

My Rating: Just Another Drama (3/5)

Episodes and Genre: 20, Medical / Fantasy
Air Date: Feb 2015 KBS2 Mon & Tues 22:00
Starring:
Ahn Jae Hyun as Park Ji Sang
Goo Hye Sun as Yoo Ri Ta


Synopsis:
A vampire who works in a hospital. A reference to Carlyle from Twilight?

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Hyde Jekyll Me

Is it a must-watch, pretty good, just another drama, tolerable or downright boring?

My Rating: Just Another Drama (3/5)

Episodes and Genre: 20, Romance Comedy
Air Date: Jan - Mar 2015 SBS Wed & Thurs 21:55
Starring:
Hyun Bin as Goo Seo Jin
Han Ji Min as Jang Ha Na

Synopsis:
A representation of Jekyll and Hyde in k-drama land where Goo Seo Jin is a man with two very different personas due to a personality disorder. He utterly confuses Jang Ha Na as she meets Seo Jin as a cold and calculating man and in the blink of an eye, turns into the sweetest guy on the planet.

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Kill Me, Heal Me

Is it a must-watch, pretty good, just another drama, tolerable or downright boring?

My Rating: Just Another Drama (3/5)

Episodes and Genre: 20, Medical Rom-Com
Air Date: Jan - Mar 2015 MBC Wed & Thurs 22:00
Starring:
Ji Sung as Cha Do Hyun
Hwang Jung Eum as Oh Ri Jin

Synopsis:
Again with the similarly-themed dramas, Kill Me Heal Me is about a man who suffered immense trauma and has psychologically developed 7 distinct identities.

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Healer

Is it a must-watch, pretty good, just another drama, tolerable or downright boring?

My Rating: Just Another Drama (3/5)

Episodes and Genre: 20, Action Thriller
Air Date: Dec - Feb 2015 KBS2 Mon & Tues 22:00
Starring:
Ji Chang Wook as Seo Jung Hoo
Park Min Young as Chae Young Shin

Synopsis:
Some kind of spy drama? I'll have a better idea soon.

For more, see 2016 kdramas.

Asian Celebrity Look Alikes and Some Hollywood

Below are my top celebrity look-a-like choices from Korea, Taiwan, China and all over the world where I see a resemblance or downright confusion cause I can't tell them apart! Please contribute, curious to see the list grow.

Kim Tae Hee and T-ara Jiyeon

 Joo Won and Kang Dong Won

Katy Perry and Zooey Daschanel 

Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley 

Liu Jia Ling and Na Ying 

Mike He and Roy Qiu

HK Movies: Police vs Triads

Infernal Affairs (2002) 無間道 

I was watching the live telecast of the Oscars with a group of friends back in 2007 to see whether the critically-acclaimed Departed, which was adapted from a Hong Kong movie called Infernal Affairs, would dominate the awards show as predicted. Imagine our surprise when the announcer mistakenly dubbed Infernal Affairs as a Japanese film, when it was and remains to be one of Hong Kong's finest.

I'm a fan of both the Departed and Infernal Affairs but the latter wins hands down if not for originality. Infernal Affairs includes Hong Kong's biggest names Andy Lau and Tony Leung as undercover agents sent by the police and the triad in a dangerous battle of wits. Having a major bias towards Tony Leung, I'd have to say his portrayal as the conflicted protagonist of the film was so believable that I was constantly at the edge of my seat.

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Hard Boiled (1992) 辣手神探

Police versus triad stories are quite commonplace in Hong Kong cinema. I see stark similarities between Infernal Affairs and Hard Boiled, another one of my favorites. Hard Boiled is a police action flick starring Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung. I don't want to give anything else away other than to say that it was directed by renowned action filmmaker John Woo.

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The Police Story 警察故事系列

The Police Story franchise is top-billed by none other than Jackie Chan. Of the many films in this franchise, I was first introduced to the New Police Story (2004), which started out with drunkard Inspector Chan and a flashback to his tramatic encounter with a group of masked lunatics who succeed in breaking him mentally and emotionally. Years later, Inspector Chan is partnered with trusty sidekick Frank Cheng where he little by little, he learns to pick up the pieces to become a cop again.

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Emergency Unit (E.U.) and Laughing Gor 學警狙擊

Taking a step back from movies, we venture into TVB police action series Emergency Unit. The series begins with the Academy (2005) and On the First Beat (2007) about bright young individuals who aspire to become police officers. 

The 3rd sequel EU (2009) is a much more serious version where the main characters Lap Man and Pak Kiu get involved in a police effort to bring down the triads. This is also the series where the character Laughing Gor portrayed by Michael Tse became an icon, inspiring numerous movies and a TV series spin-off.

Lives of Omission (2011) provides an alternate reality for Laughing Gor devoid of the happenings in EU. While to me, it's not ideal given that everything that I have seen so far is essentially nullified, this final addition to the franchise still did well ratings-wise.

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Young and Dangerous 古惑仔

Last but not the least, Young and Dangerous is a series of movies that spun even more sequels and spin-offs. The movie revolves around Ekin Cheng as Chan Ho Nam who is a member of the triad Hung Hing. We are shown a different side of Hong Kong where triads rule the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui so I half-expected to see gangs running around with knives when I visited Hong Kong, thankfully, there were none. 

Even though the main lead are all part of the triad, we come to love these characters who are willing to fight for what they believe in.

All Kang Dong Won Movies

It was simply by chance that I came across Jeon Woochi, which prompted a movie marathon about all things Kang Dong Won (swoon).  I may be susceptible to being biased for very obvious reasons but there's no denying most of the movies below are major box office hits.

Jeon Woo Chi 2009

Jeon Woo Chi, my favorite Korean movie of all time, is about a Taoist wizard wrongfully imprisoned in a painting and finally released in modern day Korea to help retrieve the magical flute. Sounds outlandish I know but it's this quirkiness wholesomely portrayed by Kang Dong Won that really makes the movie.

Temptation of Wolves 2004 Watching this left me feeling melancholic.

Too Beautiful to Lie 2004Reminds me of romantic comedy While You Were Sleeping

Voice of a Murderer 2007 We barely see Kang Dong Won's face but this is a blockbuster movie is about a kidnap for ransom case loosely based on a true story. Watch here.

Secret Reunion 2010
Another favorite of mine that's set in a completely different genre from Jeon Woo Chi. This movie is about a touching story between Song Ji Won, a North Korean spy and Lee Han Gyu, a NIS agent as they forge an unlikely friendship.  Watch here.

Duelist 2005
Despite being a fan of historical movies, Duelist was too theatrical such that the execution of each scene will literally leave you in awe of its aesthetic appeal yet somehow lacking in substance. It's Kang Dong Won though so I ended up liking it just the same. Watch here.

Maundy Thursday 2006A man on death row who finds hope when he falls in love. Watch here.

Psychic 2010
A movie about a man driven mad by his fearsome ability to control people with his mind and the one man in this world that he cannot control. Simple plot yet quite thrilling to watch Kang Dong Won and Go Soo fight it out till the very end. Watch here.

Kundo: Age of the Rampant 2014 

My Palpitating Life 2014 
If you know where I can watch the 2014 movies, I will be so grateful T.T Last but not the least, Kang Dong Won was in a short film called the X in 2013. The trailer looks very cool but I don't have much information other than that.