Year in Review 2014: A Year of Non-Completions

With the new year almost upon us, it's time to look back over all the dramas I partook in for 2014. This year resulted in the most non-completions of dramas yet. I feel like I watched a bajillion shows, but when I actually try to think of what was finished, I have trouble recalling. Turns out, that's because there were only three of those! This was the year of drama-dropping, where cute stories eventually resorted to cliches and needless angst while initially intriguing plots grew weary and repetitive.

But despite that, I had a fun time sampling the year's offerings and remain continually hopeful of finding the next satisfying watch to rave and rant over on this blog. Unfortunately (or perhaps happily?) my "To-Watch" list is growing impossibly massive due to the sheer volume of dramas that came out this year. I expect to be doing lots of catch-up watching well into 2015, but for now, let's discuss the many shows I did get to.

Healer: Episodes 1-6 Thoughts

Healer is another of those shows that falls in the enjoyable middle of the road for me. I can see why there's so much buzz (plenty of prettiness, slick action, and an intriguing backstory), and while I appreciate all of these elements, I'm still short of being completely enamored with the show. This is the first Ji Chang Wook drama I've seen, and I find him a doable young talent, though without quite enough gravitas for me to take him completely seriously. Similarly, I like Park Min Young here, but am not finding anything particularly exciting or unique about her portrayal of Young Shin. It's almost a formula by now for her to play an idealistic female character surrounded by political corruption and more compelling male leads, and while I can see improvements in her acting, I'm still not convinced by her characters.

Miss Granny: Movie Review

Miss Granny took me by surprise, and is the first Korean movie I've fully enjoyed since Hello Ghost. There was so much heart and plenty of humor wrapped into the fantastical premise of a woman in her 70s returning to her 20-year-old body. I do feel like the film fell just short of being great, in that there were still plenty of cliches and the story didn't quite push as far as I think it could of on its premise, but the highlights definitely overcame the shortcomings. And while the ending is along the lines of what you'd expect, there was a wonderful cameo / twist that managed to make me laugh and feel satisfied.