#LawAndTheCity mini review

 ⚖️ I am an LA Law fan for many years (late 80s to early 90s), never mind if I had to wait once a week (Tuesdays) for a one-hour episode on free tv. And up to now, this is a genre that I totally enjoy, be it movies, tv,  or books.

Among popular K-legal dramas, I’ve seen Law School, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Divorce Attorney Shin, Vincenzo, Big Mouth...and there’s a whole lot more. There's also an ongoing drama, Beyond the Bar, in Netflix.

In his comeback drama, we see #LeeJongSuk (I Can Hear Your Voice, While You Were Sleeping, Romance is a Bonus Book) in #LawandTheCity. I waited for the series if only for him and #KangYouSeok (Black Knight, When Life Gives You Tangerines). After Big Mouth, LJS returns to a character who at first appears to be aloof, distant, but later, shows his compassionate and tender side. KYS plays a lawyer after being a doctor in Resident Playlist. Although I have seen #MoonKaYoung (MGY) in True Beauty and The Interest of Love, I find her somewhat cold on screen. Not sure if the holding back is intentional on her part, but she wasn’t really “chemistry-ing” with her male leads. And initially, I wasn’t shipping her character and that of Jong Suk. However, surprisingly I felt it on Episode 6, and there was no turning back. 

LATC is set in Seoul’s Seocho-dong Law Town, and we meet five lawyers and share their joys and sorrows as they navigate not only the demanding legal world, but also their personal struggles, friendship, and growth.

• LJS – Atty Ahn Ju Hyeong

• MGY – Atty Kang Huiji

• KYS - Cho Chang Won

• Ryoo Hye Young – Atty Bae Mun Jeong (Reply 1988, Law School, Gangnam B Side Nice Guy)

• Im Sung Jae – Atty Ha Sang Gi (who always plays villain roles Gangnam B Side, Worst of Evil)

And of course, when you see Yum Hye Ran (Glory, WLGYT), you know it can't go wrong.

What I like about LATC is it’s pure and simple - no need for complicated plots, disgusting bad guys or irritating love triangles (although we felt that Atty Cho seemed attracted to Atty Kang for a while, but gave it up when Ju Hyeong and Huiji admitted they were dating). Legal cases were nicely written and presented, and for someone who enjoys watching courtroom scenes, most were heartwarming, interesting and touching. As always, I would find myself tearful during emotional moments, with superb performances from the cast. I find the OBB so cool and one of my favorite scenes was when they were waiting for Huiji in the elevator as they leave for court to hear the decision on her father’s case. See last photo.

Watch out for their lunches-catch up meals, you will end up hungry and craving for Korean food. It’s illegal! And I object Your Honor!

All 12 episodes of LATC are streaming Disney+ PH 

tvN drama 

#BuhayKPam

#Trigger

 #TRIGGER WAS A BLAST 💥

I like them individually. But what do you do, how will you feel if there’s two of them?

Hands down, Kim Nam Gil (The Fiery Priest, Island, Karma) will always own the show. Even if he’s out there all alone, he will own it and his presence, strong as ever, is all over. 

But with Kim Young Kwang (Somebody, Call it Love, On Your Wedding Day)? This is pure riot. This is intensity on the highest level.

💥 And I am not bullet-proof.

#Trigger is NOT for you if you prefer light, slow burn healing dramas, relaxing or kilig rom coms. But if you like a fast-paced, gripping, action series, and blood does little to scare you, PLEASE DO NOT MISS THIS.

"Trigger" is an action thriller series set in a dystopian South Korea, where illegal firearms are suddenly being made available and accessible to ordinary citizens via parcels. We see Lee Do, a police officer and former military sniper, and Moon Baek, a two-faced Joker-like arms dealer, being entangled in a web of gun violence. Sort of a nonchalant and OA duo. 

Is it troubling? Of course. How can it not be? The series show what these weapons could do when people are triggered, and the chaos and crimes that these could bring to an unsuspecting gun-free country.

For me, we know that crimes and violence, especially with firearms, may never be completely gone in this world, so I wasn’t expecting issues to be resolved in the end, but we can hope. The two gentlemen together are enough for me, though. I will forever watch Nam Gil and Young Kwang wherever, whatever. 

Some complained of too many characters and multiple subplots just so they can extend up to ten episodes. It could have been a two-hour movie, too. But I didn’t mind, I was squealing with excitement each time a new episode comes. To those who have not watched k-dramas or are not familiar that South Korea has a strict gun control, you must explain to them why the police officers were not shooting those trigger-happy men who were deliberately violently killing people. "Bakit hindi barilin, bakit hindi pa barilin?"

Trigger is obviously because of the guns. But it could also refer to the trigger point one will reach, and how it will transform an otherwise meek person to a murderer once given the opportunity to hold a gun (except for the sex offender who had no excuse, he just wanted his probation officers out of his miserable life. He was plain evil). "A gun was the only option they had left. All those pent-up resentment and frustration had to have an outlet."

It could also be a cry for help, especially those whom we fail to listen to or constantly ignore. People with mental health issues, people whose feelings and thoughts are invalidated. People who are bullied but are not heard. People who are exhausted and pushed to their limits. Let’s all try to listen, to be kind, because we don’t know up to what extent they can hold on.

💥Trigger ends with a bang, and I am shot to the heart. 

Other members of the cast:  

• Park Hoon (Descendants of the Sun, Memories of Alhambra, The Nice Guy) as Gu Jeong-man

• Gil Hae Yeon (The Silent Sea, In Her Place) as Oh Kyung-sook

• Kim Won Hae (Revenant, Strong Girl: Bong-soon) as Cho Hyun-sik

• Kim Joong Hee (Marry My Husband, Squid Game) as Reporter Wang

• Lee Suk (Love to Hate You, Squid Game) as Jeon Won-Seong

All 10 episodes of Trigger are available for streaming Netflix

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The First Night with the Duke

 Feel ko lang #Taecyeon likes #Seohyun 😁 he is so comfortable with her on and off screen, although he said in an interview that he accepted this project because of his female lead. Kung hindi lang natin alam na may fiancee siya, mag-iisip ako ng masama 😁😁😁

The chemistry - another 2PM and SNSD/Girls' Generation pair, after YoonA and Lee JunHo in King The Land, in his come back after #Heartbeat (dito talaga, para silang magkuya ng FL, walang spark for me), Taec teams up with Seohyun in #TheFirstNightWithTheDuke 

Streaming Viu Philippines

#OhMyGhostClients mini review

 👻#OhMyGhostClients mini review 👻

Watched this first and foremost because of the cast. I like #JungKyungHo (Crash Course in Romance), #SeolInAh (Twinkling Watermelon), and #ChaHakYeon (Castaway Diva).

Lawyer No Mu Jin quit his job but lost his savings after entrusting it to a friend (played by Kim Dae Myung in a cameo role) who invested in cryptocurrency. He decided to become a licensed labor attorney per another friend’s suggestion, and opened a firm but struggled to sustain it with no clients coming in. He and his sister-in-law and secretary Hui Joo teamed up with content creator Gyeon Woo to promote his services. In one of their site inspections, a near-death experience caused him to start seeing ghosts whose passings are work-related and to continue to live, he signed a contract with spirit guide Bo Sal (played by Tang Soon Jang) to help these ghosts with their unfair deaths and unresolved labor issues, move on and finally rest in peace.

Because this drama has supernatural / fantasy elements, suspension of disbelief is necessary to enjoy the narrative. Reminiscent of dramas May I Help You and Light Shop which deal with life and life after death, OMGClients may seem silly, and trite in some scenes, but it hits you where it should. It’s sweet and serious and emotional and touching in more ways than one. 

We can see Mu Jin’s character development from a husband who, according to his wife Mi Joo (played by Kyung Soo Jin) is carefree, makes decisions on his own without consulting her and finds it hard to show his affections to his family as he hides what he truly feels; to someone who shows genuine care and concern to people, including those he has met only as ghosts, to the point of being physically hurt, sometimes a bit naïve or clueless on trends, but a real expert when it comes to labor law.

The plot twist with Mu Jin’s brother (played by Jin Sun Kyu) – I believe I saw it coming but I wanted to feel the ohhh moment just the same. And I did! I bet everyone who saw that scene went back to Episode 5 when he visited his parents’ house and saw his hyung. The dinner scene in the last episode really teared me up.

And then there are the real labor issues, politics and corruption, maybe not just in South Korea, but in other countries as well; and the correct use of social media to expose issues and concerns that are not being addressed.

The statue in the drama, as I have later learned, is supposed to be Jeon Tae il. Jeon Tae-il was a South Korean labor activist who, at the age of 22, died by setting himself on fire while shouting, "We are not machines!" to draw public attention to the labor conditions at that time. His death inspired a new wave of labor activism and civil rights awareness in South Korea, and it is said that his legacy continues to influence labor movements and social justice campaigns in Korea.

A Race, from the drama’s OST, was sung by In Ah and Hak Yeon whose chemistry on screen is evident. You can hear the song in the background as Mu Jin brings young friend Yoon Jae on a road trip in Episode 7, to make him realize that life is still worth living. Watch the MV here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PvcPrEGORg... Incidentally, Hak Yeon is aka N, a former idol, a member of the boy band VIXX.

Great cast, good storyline and storytelling, and a heartbreaking finale that ties up loose ends perfectly.  All episodes with the ghosts left me teary-eyed, as we are reminded once again of our temporary existence in this world. And that we should take advantage of every chance that we get to tell our loved ones that we love them, apologize to those whom we have wronged or hurt, be kind, and live life right and to the fullest as much as possible. OMGClients is “ghosting” us, but in a good way.

OMGClients is streaming Netflix and Viu Philippines

#BuhayKPam

#NinePuzzles Mini Review Part 2

• At some point, it dragged, it could have been shorter than 11 episodes. And they didn’t show in flashbacks how each murder was done. For some oohs and aahs moments. But I guess, the focus was more on why and who.

• I liked that they didn’t add a romantic angle. Some dramas should be left like that, please don’t force something that shouldn’t be there. True, Han Saem changed her mind about Ena, and he started to be concerned with her and her safety. He even brought her back to his mom’s place. But that’s it. She’s more like a younger sister to him and a colleague whom he started to respect.

• I loved the ending scene, though. Spoiler alert: Looks like Ms Yoon will re-join the force. 

Some would say that the series ended "flat, weak and rushed" and that it was "underwhelming." That the twist wasn’t that mind-blowing. Ah ok, is that it? In the Phils, we'd say: Yun na yun? 

Well, a little, maybe. But Suk Ku’s smile made it all worthwhile. And these eccentric and cop roles really do suit him to a nine (pun intended).

Nine Puzzles is streaming at Disney+ PH 

#BuhayKPam

#NinePuzzles Mini Review Part 1

Synopsis: 

Ten years ago, Ena (#KimDaMi) was a suspect in the murder of her uncle, a high-ranking police officer. Now a profiler, she was forced to collaborate with the same detective Han Saem (#SonSukKu) to piece together the truth, one puzzle piece at a time. 

For someone who has anxiety and panic disorder, it’s a puzzle why I love this genre – suspense/thriller/mystery/crime. Even the books I’m reading and love to read tell the same thing. Maybe I was a cop or a detective, or a forensic science expert in some other life, or in a multiverse. 

I am not exactly a fan of Da Mi (#ItaewonClass #OurBelovedSummer) but I am of Suk Ku (#MyLiberationNotes #AKillerParadox). I find him charming. He has this strange appeal and quirkiness, and he seems to hide a soft and tender side under that stoic stance. Suk Ku, incidentally, speaks good English having studied abroad and initially wanted to be a basketball player but eventually fell in love with acting. His years in the US and Canada, he said, enabled him to outgrow his shyness, in fact, his MBTI is ENFP.

What I like about the drama:

• Stellar cast / star-studded. I love the familiar faces. Some behind the scenes photos of the cast in their Instagram accounts show that they had their bonding moments during the filming and even gorgeous handsome #LeeJunHyuk who is Suk Ku’s friend IRL visited them on the set.

• Looked forward to the brief reunion between Itaewon’s Da Mi and #LeeJooYoung (who plays patrol officer Nam Na Ri).

• Han Saem’s signature move - when he takes off his beanie and reveals his messy hair – means he’s mad and exasperated.

• Please take note that I’m not a female lead hater, but not a fan either of #ParkGyuYoung (#SquidGame #AGoodDayToBeADog) who plays Dr. Lee Seung Joo

• Intricate plot – the kind that you like to untangle, every detail should be noted and remembered because you want to find out for yourself who the killer is. Usually, I have my own theories, and I can name the culprit even before the lead characters do. Here, the “killer” was one of my guesses, but I wasn’t giving much attention to the character. It was in plain sight. But I chose to look the other way (which was what the writer wanted) and there were a lot to choose from, until they die one by one 😅😅😅

To be continued >>>Part 2

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Mercy for None

Power, ambition, revenge.

After his brother's murder, a former gangster returns to the underworld - ready to settle every score, by any means necessary.

#MercyForNone

#SoJiSub

#LeeJunHyuk

Limited Series | All 7 episodes streaming Netflix