Belleza interior (2018)

I didn't watch the movie before delving into this drama, and I was perfectly fine without doing so. The storyline stayed on track, so I was easily able to follow along. Overall, I enjoyed the concept and the writers did an excellent job of tying in overused tropes in a unique fashion. For example, in many dramas the men are the ones that throw around their money in drastic ways to get closer to their love interests. Though this trope was definitely presented by the man, it was also presented by a woman. It still is a commonly used trope, but having the same thing be done by a woman instead was refreshing in a way. (The script also blatantly points out the misogyny women in entertainment and business face!)

PREPARE TISSUES WHEN YOU WATCH. I don't cry easily when watching dramas, but along with the lovey dovey scenes, there was also raw emotion. I'm glad the writers and directors didn't just breeze past it for the sake of adding a tragic element to Hyun Jin's character. They dove fully into and gave those emotions the appropriate screen time they needed to be fully fleshed out. Do Jae's little sister (Lee Da Hee (actress)/Kang Se Ra) also stated something very true about the process of one recovering from sorrow.

I was truly awestruck by Seo Hyun Jin's acting. She made me feel her pain with her soft tears, happiness with her bright smile and continuously impressed me throughout my viewing of the drama. I'm sure a large reason for why I loved her acting so much was because of her character, who is an actress. Actors and actresses tend to be nouveau rich, and Hyun Jin did an excellent job of portraying a down to earth, yet wealthy and ambitious woman. Her leading half, Lee Min Ki also did a great job in his role as a conglomerate who came from an already wealthy family.

The only problem I had with Min Ki's character is that he was so expressionless. Even when smiling or laughing, it felt so artificial and I felt like I was watching a robot at times. What made this worse was when his character was joking around or crying. These scenes just fell flat for me because there didn't seem to be any authenticity to the character. This was a huge con for me personally. It also majorly affected their chemistry, especially in the first couple of episodes.

As well, as is with most dramas, the last few episodes were a bit laborious to get through. Most of the plot had been resolved and you already got a sense of how it was going to end. Still, it's always nice to see how it ends. I recommend skipping episode 14 however. An hour long episode felt like 5 hours; it. was. PAINFUL.

I'm always a sucker for side stories and friendships. I loved the friendship between Se Gye (Hyun Jin) and her two best friends. The bromance between Min Ki's character and his secretary was also incredible and you really got a sense that they have known each other for years. I also loved the romance between two of the secondary characters. At times (especially near the end), I wished they would show more scenes of those two getting closer. I was watching on Viki, and many people were commenting the same thing. This just serves as a reflection of how strong the cast is and the nuances in the story; it was more than just a sudden romance exclusively between an actress and rich boi. There was friendship, family, loss, discovery of love and self love.

Leer más

16 episodes were obviously too much to fit such a tiny plot. I enjoyed it enough to complete it but I was definitely bored at times. The cast did make it more enjoyable than it should and they are the reason I didn't give up on it (actually I did but I came back and finished it).

The leads and supporting characters were great. I really liked both couples.

Eun Ho and Sa Ra storyline was both weird (maybe because priests are the trend now in Korean dramaland but I don't get why this storyline was even written) and cute at the same time (what can I do?! They are both so adorable!) I just think it could've been better explored.

Han Se Gye's "illness" was really weird and at times I've found it could've been replaced by something else. Also that part of the plot was lazily done. Unnecessarily overdramatic and many times felt like filler. BUT Se Gye herself was really cute and I love her (and Seo Hyun Jin too.)

And of course Seo Do Jae. My favorite thing about this drama! I really love eccentric characters like him! And I'm glad Lee Min Ki likes playing them! Seo Do Jae and Han Se Gye were so lovely together!

The last two episodes were totally unnecessary. Some of those scenes could've been included but the whole thing was too much.

Leer más

For those who don’t know what the word hype means in simple terms hype= excitement.

I started watching the Beauty Inside (TBI) once it came out because of all the excitement over it, if you haven’t watched the TBI (drama series) before, it is a Remake of the Parent story Movie (2015) with the same name. The story focuses on the main character who has a disease that leads to them changing identities (face/body) on a daily basis…however the drama series added a twist by adding a male lead who has Prosopagnosia (the inability to recognise faces). The mix of both added a nice mash- up but no matter how much I tried to enjoy it I just couldn’t… And here is why.

1. Too slow

The plot lost me, it was as if the writers were stretching this drama to its optimum level, with no twists or actions. I would say that the first 7 episodes were good, but once the main characters became a couple, everything was just crumbling down. I am sure that whatever happened in the last 4 episodes could have been compressed into only 12 episodes rather than 16 episodes, because even the ending did not feel like a final episode to me.

2. Random events- SPOILER!!

Ok, how do I put this into simple words… when Han Se Gye’s mother passed away I was a bit shocked, not because she died BUT because it was such a random occurring event in the middle of the drama, for some reason I felt as if I was watching a different drama. And to be honest it was also unnecessary, I did say I wanted a twist but by twist I deffo did not mean this

3. Male lead character
The main reason I remember Lee Min Ki is because of his great acting in ‘This is my first Life’…BUT I just failed to connect with his character in TBI maybe because to me he resembles a ‘quirky, awkward, nerdy’ character. And seeing him in TBI as a rich chaebol didn’t do it for me.

4. Focus
Although the plot focused on two different disorders I felt as if the focus on ‘face blindness’ was greater than that of the main female character. To be honest I had no problem with that because to me this was waaaaayyy more interesting, therefore I would’ve loved to see more scenes showing what people with face blindness see.

Leer más

It started off good but about halfway through it was harder to see the chemistry between the leads. Similarly, for the second leads (don't get me wrong, i love kang sara) it felt like eunho was forcing himself into a relationship, but it got better over time. Around ep 13/14 they introduced a break arc which i found a bit annoying. i think focusing on dojae's face blindess or segye's body change would've made a more interesting conflict arc. then the time skip in ep 15 made it way too cliche. i also think the "i got surgery and i'm better so don't blame yourself, we can be together again" was a really flat, 'safe' ending. but, ep 16 was cute. more positives: the friendship trio was cute. i loved the family relationship development between sara, dojae, etc, lead and supporting character (pres and secretary w leads) interactions

Leer más

After a long time, a Korean drama with it's k-standards. One of the best dramas of 2018 that is meant to stay for a long time. Being a big fan of the movie The Beauty Inside, I was not sure if this drama will be as good as the movie. Turns out that the drama is much more engaging and beautiful! The feels this drama gives is definitely worth watching it again. The chemistry between the lead pair is amazing and one would definitely feel good watching them. The other pair is such an eye candy! Ahn Jae Hyun ages reversely for sure. Though the second leads come for a short span, they are such a sweetheart. The friendship between the three, the family bonding of both the leads with their families and friends, the boss secretary relationship and so on and on. It has everything. A must watch romantic comedy Korean series that will never disappoint you!

Leer más

Chemistry sparks, but plot fades. Watch for cast, skip for the slow.

Picture this: two seemingly perfect but kinda doomed characters, dealing with all that empathy and opposites-attract stuff we've seen before. But here's the kicker—the plot throws all the interesting bits at us upfront, leaving us waiting for more depth that never quite shows up.

Now, our main girl, Seo Hyun Jin's character was played great but it was a total mystery. The uniqueness of Seo Hyun Jin character remains unexplained throughout. The leads? Yeah, they've got some on-screen chemistry, but blame it on the writing—the overall experience is just missing that thing. Shoutout to the two couples, though—they're the real stars in this so-so story. And that fantasy angle they promised? Bit of a letdown.

Rewatching? No way. Sixteen episodes feel like a marathon for such a small story. But props to the cast—they're the reason I made it to the last episode . If you're thinking of a rewatch, you might as well be a scene-skipping ninja to get to the good parts.

Now, the finale? Ugh, unnecessary much? The last episodes drag, and honestly, you could sum up the whole drama with a highlight reel of flashbacks. The ending? Zilch closure, nada answers.

In a nutshell, it had its moments, but this drama felt like a bit of a letdown.

Leer más

I haven't watched the movie version, so i can't compare it to that.
Now the plot isn't extremely deep and intense so if thats what you're looking for, i suggest watching something else.
However, it's very entertaining. I enjoyed watching every moment of it. It's pretty light and fun.
The characters themselves are what kept me watching. Han Se Gye is one of the most admirable leads ive seen in a long time. She is strong and confident and honestly a breath of fresh air to the usual "needs a man to save her" or "tsundere" leads. Her acting is also amazing. The crying scenes felt so emotional and for once i wasn't annoyed by a characters tears. The trio friendgroup was also nice to see. There was no pettyness or pointless love triangle. I enjoyed the fact it showed a healthy male and female friendship.
Also the male leads chaebol family; i'm glad for once its not presented as a twisted family where they try to kill eachother for inheritance. That trope has been way overdone. For once we see a husband and wife actually love eachother. And a mother who genuinley cares for her sons well being and happiness.
The side love story is pretty predictable but sweet nonetheless. Again its a gender twist. As in this case its the rich female who holds the power and status, not the man.
This drama really gives a sense of female empowerment in a male-dominated society.
-Female lead makes the first move
-shows how little women are taken seriously in business
-Female lead reveals male harassment
-Female lead has a successful career and wealth made from her own efforts
At the beginning i thought the male lead was lacking, but he's grown on me a lot. His character has the typical cold and reserved exterior but it does soften throughout the series. Their relationship is very cute and heartwarming.
Overall, its not revolutionary in terms of plot, but the dialogue and characters make it worthwhile.

Leer más

It was almost satisfying!

This show had been on my list of - "Dramas I am looking forward to this year." Though I had a mixed feeling about it the first time I heard of the idea, I was gonna watch it anyway. I was wondering how are they gonna upsize a movie plot for a 16 episodes drama. And I fear my fear came true. It was a pretty unique idea for a movie. But forging it into a 16 episode drama was a masterful task which did not go that seamlessly. Mixing it up with a few other tropes was a smart attempt but didn't seem to be that effective. It was entertaining. But the trajectory was a bit inconsistent. The first few episodes were interesting then it got boring for few episodes then again it picked up, and so on. I fast-forwarded through the filler episodes. There were a lot of cute and funny moments that I loved, but sometimes it seemed slightly overdone like they are trying too hard at it. No fault of the actors, they were just doing what was told.

The great part about the show, besides the love-story, is the friendship. They made me wanna have friends like them.

Actors: They are all great at their craft. Everyone had the perfect chemistry with each other.

I just love to watch Seo Hyun Jin act. Whatever she does is delightful. Beauty with talent.

Lee Min Ki's face has been chiselled with extra attention. How can a face be that sexy! His eyes are so beautiful. They make it difficult to take my eyes off them. And that little smile... OMG! His deadpan delivery of the funny lines is the best.

I am glad to see Lee Dae Hee in a non-vampish role. She portrayed such a strong female character. She made the first move on a guy but didn't end up whining and clinging upon getting rejected. In a scene where she was expressing her disheartenment on Eun Ho's decision to following God, I was screaming at the screen like, "Follow her. She's is a Goddess too!" I wish she gets more lead roles from now on.

I like Ahn Jae Hyun. I didn't realise how good and versatile an actor he is until Cinderella and the four Knights. He is perfect as usual.

Moon Ji In is cute as a button. I really wanted to see Woo Mi's mysterious boyfriend though.

Lee Tae Ri (formerly, Lee Min Ho) is cute too. A very good actor. He was funny af, especially when he couldn't keep his teeth inside whenever a raise is promised to him.

I have a big complain though with Ryu Hwa Young's part in the Drama. Didn't she play a similar role in Come Back Ajjusshi! I thought after My Father is Strange and Mad Dog she'll get more lead roles. I don't mind a mean girl but the screen time and the importance of the role disappointed me. She was a tiny tool in the story that could've been easily played by someone who hasn't done any big role before. She is an amazing actress. Why isn't she getting lead roles yet!

But overall, I liked the Drama... just not to a T. I will definitely watch it again whenever I crave some gorgeous and talented actors with great chemistry and a story with a lot of fluff.

Leer más

I like the premise of the story. And it does help that the main lead is so handsome! Even though I watched the movie of this I enjoyed this show so much more. The different characters she turned into were great! Overall I enjoyed the whole story like, acting , and side characters.

Plot: as you can read from the synopsis it’s pretty self explanatory. So I won’t go too much into that.

The acting: I originally clicked on this show Ecuador of Lee Min Ki. I loved him is most of his shows so I figured this was was going to be on the same page. And boy was I right. I love his serious face and when he smiles , swoon. It was enjoyable seeing him paired with Seo Hyun Jin. I thought they were adorable.

The music: it fit well for the most part. I don’t remember anything sticking out as noteworthy though.

Rewatch value: eh I don’t tend to rewatch a lot of shows. It would be a possibility it I want to rewatch some of my favorite scenes.

If you are hesitant to watch this don’t be it was very cute!

Leer más