Dream High, Starring Suzy Bae and Kim Soo Hyun

I really loved this show. The music was awesome, the characters well-rounded, the plot well-told. It didn't end the way I thought it would, which is good, because I like to be surprised. I even enjoyed the adults' stories.

I liked the fact that the main character was a girl jerk and the two boys nice guys, different from the usual nice girl falls for the jerk guy. So you don't know who she's going to end up with.

The joy and passion these young people have for their music is inspiring. Dream High is not only for young people, but for old people with dreams too.

Linsanity the Movie--An Inspiring Asian American Success Story about Jeremy Lin



A week and a half ago, I watched Linsanity the Movie about NBA basketball player Jeremy Lin. In February of 2012, he shocked the sports world with a five-game winning streak for the New York Knicks.

More shocking was the fact that he seemed to come out of nowhere. Undrafted and unwanted by the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets, he ended up with the Knicks and fully expected to be sent home. Then several New York players became injured or sick and Lin got his last chance to show what he could do. He amazed his teammates, opponents, fans, and the sports world by sinking baskets left and right, tearing up the court.

Sports commentators didn't know how to describe him. Unfortunately, some ugly racial stereotypes came out that actually started a dialogue on how Asians have been ignored or misrepresented. But the movie doesn't dwell on this. Lin credits his parents and his Christian faith for seeing him through good times and bad. His God gave him strength to do what he needed to when he needed to.

This inspiring movie gives hope to anyone the world has written off. No matter what your skin color or others' perception of you is, your dreams still can come true.

Creating Destiny, Starring Yoo-Jin and Tae-young Ki

This drama was hard to get into. It seemed to move slow and some parts were hard to understand the logic. Why would the protagonist agree to travel to Korea to become betrothed when she already had a boyfriend? The bloodline excuse the mom gave was not fully explained. Was she afraid of hereditary diseases, unwanted character traits passed down the family line, inherited debt? And Sang Eun's biological mother's name was never mentioned. Nobody in either family bothered to ask her it or what she or her family did for a living.

I did enjoy seeing the romance grow between the two main characters. The second storyline with Yeo Joon's sister was interesting, yet in the end, we still don't know if she was really in love with the father of her child. The other romances were kind of unbelievable. And why was Yeo Joon's uncle even in the drama? He didn't really contribute much.

Maybe some things were lost in the translation. In fact, whole lines were missing from some scenes. Maybe because the drama was translated by volunteers.

I really wanted to like this drama more. I like the actors and actresses. I wish more of the scenes could have been shot outdoors or in places other than restaurants and coffee shops.

Shining Inheritance, Starring Han Hyo Joo and Lee Seung Ki

After the first episode, I had decided not to finish it because when they introduced all the characters at once, it was very confusing. I finally took it up again after watching several more other dramas. The first half went by slowly and I wasn't that excited. But after about halfway, the plot sped up and I began really enjoying it. The characters were well-developed. The jerk gradually changed his attitude in a natural way. The heroine had her faults and wasn't all goody-two-shoes. The antagonist was definitely shrewd and calculating and really made it difficult for the heroine. But she was motivated by love for her daughter as well as her love of money and was a complex character. The heroine had many helpers including the nice guy, whom I felt sorry for because (spoiler alert) the heroine rejected him. Even the secondary characters had complete arcs that resolved in the last episode.

All in all, I really liked this drama, despite it's confusing and slow beginning. I felt for the characters and really wanted the good guys to win.

The Great Queen Seondeok, Starring Yo Won Lee, Ko Hyeon-jeong, Park Ye-Jin, Uhm Tae Woong, and Nam-kil Kang

This very long, intricate story is worth seeing to the end. At first, they introduced so many characters, it was confusing. And when some of the characters aged, others didn't, which also led to confusion. But don't let that stop you. I really enjoyed the setting, costumes and pageantry of the begin...read morening. The character arcs and plot were so interesting, one weekend, I watched ten episodes! The last third of the series I didn't enjoy as much as the first two-thirds, but it was still engrossing. This makes me want to find out the real story of Queen Seondeok.

Spring Waltz, Starring Do Young Suh, So-yeon Lee, Daniel Henney, and Bo-ra Geum

I liked this series, but thought it spent too much time on the backstory as children. If you only saw Episodes 2 and 3, you'd think the story was about the kids. However, I got back into it when the adults arrived full force. Phillip was so handsome and nice, of course I would have liked to see him and Eun-Young get together, but it's always the jerk who gets the girl. Even though I have these criticisms, I give it 4 stars for the emotional rollercoaster it puts you on. The last episode was kind of anti-climactic. SPOILER ALERT! It would have been better to see Song Ina let go of Jae Ha instead of her telling Eun-Young about it. All in all, I thought it was a great k-drama and would recommend it.

My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, Starring Lee Seung Ki and Min-a Shin

I really really really really like this kdrama. Mi Ho was so pretty and adorable. At first I thought Dae-Woong looked goofy, but as the series moved on, I realized he really has a nice smile. The fact that they both were willing to give up their lives for each other was so touching. I'm not sure if ...read moresomething got lost in the translation, but I didn't understand where Park what's-his-name came from. I also thought he had ulterior motives and wanted Mi Ho for himself. This drama made me laugh and cry, especially the last two episodes. The grandma showing up in the last episode was kind of deus ex machina to make everything all right, but I would have been disappointed if Mi Ho didn't come back. Did anyone besides me catch Go Mi Nyu and Jeremy from You Are Beautiful? Even some of the music was familiar from either that drama or Heartstrings. I would highly recommend this show, especially if you liked Secret Garden or 49 days.

You Are Beautiful Starring Jang Keun Suk and Shin-Hye Park

I have watched three kdramas and they all had musical settings: Heartstrings, You are Beautiful, and The Musical. You are Beautiful was my favorite. I liked how the mean character changed by the end. It was the only one in which I felt physically sick before the last two episodes wanting to know wha...read moret happens, but not wanting the series to end. Yikes, does that mean I'm addicted?