KDramaCritic

  Familiar Wife (2018) Where to Watch:  Netflix Number of Episodes: 16 Netflix Summary: "After receiving a bizarre chance to go back in time, a man wakes up to find that his whole life - including the person he married - is different." Starring: Ji Sung, Han Ji-min, Kang Han-na Creators: Lee Sang-yeop, Yang Hee-seung KDramaCritic Rating: Meh KDramaCritic Short Review:  I stopped watching Familiar Wife (2018) after three episodes.  The humor used in this romantic comedy is mostly cringe or awkward situations and I was not finding it to be funny.   In addition, the marriage between Seo Woo-jin and Cha Joo-hyuk was clearly not in a healthy state.  In addition to the lack of communication, Seo Woo-jin throws items and yells at Cha Joo-hyuk.  In turn, Cha Joo-hyuk hides purchases and tries to avoid home (and by extension his children).  When Cha Joo-hyuk wakes up to his new life with Lee Hye-won as his wife and she shows him basic affection, I dec...

  Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021) Where to Watch:  Netflix Number of Episodes: 16 Netflix Summary: "A big-city dentist opens up a practice in a close-knit seaside village, home to a charming jack-of-all-trades who is her polar opposite in every way." Starring: Shin Min-a, Kim Seon-ho, Lee Sang-yi Creators: Yu Je-won, Shin Ha-eun KDramaCritic Rating: Meh KDramaCritic Review: I tried to give Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021) a fair chance.  I watched about ten episodes before abandoning the effort.  I have never had the desire to finish watching the series. The premise works well for a romantic comedy movie, but not as well for a full-length romantic comedy show.  About half way through the show, I felt like the writers were scrambling for ways to keep the main characters apart and to add drama. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021) could have been wrapped up in about eight episodes and been a cute story.  Sadly, I am rating it Meh since half the show was filler content. 

Squid Game (2021) Where to Watch:  Netflix Number of Episodes: 9 Netflix Description: "Hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a strange invitation to compete in children's games. Inside, a tempting price awaits - with deadly high stakes." Starring: Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Wi Ha-jun Creators: Hwang Dong-hyuk KDramaCritic Rating: Meh KDramaCritic Short Review: Squid Game started off as a super promising and unique show for the first five episodes.  The questions of what was going on out weighed the answers and the idea that children's games could be life-or-death situations crossed into surreal territory. Then the quality of writing crumbled dramatically.  The mystery was stripped away and the ending became an obvious second season set up. If Squid Game's popularity hadn't exploded, I would recommend skipping the show all together.  However, the cultural references to the show make it a relevant watch.