InFilm to Miss: Hum Tum (2004)

Hum Tum (2004) 

Womanizer Karan Kapoor runs into Rhea Prakash (Rani Mukerji) on an airplane. He annoys her, and they part ways but meet up again several times over the next decade. She marries someone else, but then the husband dies in an accident, and Karan eventually falls for her without realizing it. There were some animated clips, since Karan's character is a cartoonist, but they weren't very high quality, or all that funny. Rather sad and slow in parts. There is a scene where they wake up in bed together – very risque for an Indian film. Rani is a cute actress, but I can't stand her singing voice.

*It wasn't terrible, but definitely not my favorite Bollywood film. Probably won't watch again, and I wouldn't recommend it because there are better films out there. Even the title makes me think "ho-hum," as in mediocre.*

InFilm to Watch: Band Baaja Baaraat (2010)

Band Baaja Baaraat (2010)

 Shruti Kakkar wants nothing more than to be a wedding planner. Bittoo Sharma wants nothing more than to not work on his father's sugar cane farm, so after meeting Shruti he tells his father he is going to be a wedding planner. Then he has to convince Shruti to let him work with her. Shruti agrees on the condition Bittoo will not fall in love with her. Of course as time goes on there is a mutual attraction and there is a PG-13 scene. Bittoo thinks he's in trouble so pretends nothing happened, while Shruti also tries to pretend there was nothing between them. They end their business partnership but it's a disaster. In the end they have to work together by a rich person's request, and Bittoo realizes he didn't need to run from Shruti's affections after all.

*Very fun film, probably one of my favorites because they actually KISS on screen, plus the actor playing Bittoo is very handsome.Will watch again!*

KDrama to Watch: Boys Over Flowers (2009)

Boys Over Flowers (2009) 

Grade: B

25 Episodes, about 80 minutes each

A poor, unsophisticated daughter of a dry cleaner, Geum Jan Di saves a bullied boy at the elite Shinhwa High School when he tries to jump off the school roof to end his life. Jan Di is then enrolled in the high school, tuition free, and butts heads with the elite school's top four, the ones who bully for sheer entertainment. Eventually the top four leader, Goo Jun Pyo, falls for Jan Di, and the witch mother does everything in her power to tear them apart and destroy Jan Di. (Jun Pyo is the heir to the Shinhwa company fortune.)

*Good pace, liked the soundtrack, very well-done secondary character development, but the violent parts were too bloody for my taste. Not enough lighthearted moments. Might watch again. Top ten favorite because everything else was done well.*

UPDATE: (Viewed again Dec 2022) I have watched dozens of Kdramas since I first saw this one in 2014, and it is not as good as I originally thought. It's far too "soapy" for my taste, drawing out the miscommunications to a painful degree. The evil mother-in-law character never has to face justice for her outrageous behavior, and the writers use the "let's spend several years apart before we commit to each other" trope which I can't stand. Still, all that being said, this is an iconic Kdrama and it deserves at least one viewing.

KDrama to Watch: Lie to Me (2011)

Lie To Me (2011)  

Grade: A

16 Episodes

Gong Ah-jung tells a lie to her former friend about being married (the friend, Hong Soo-hyun, had married Ah-jung's love interest from college), and the lie escalates to include the wealthy and famous hotel president, Hyun Ki-joon. Ki-joon wants to sue Ah-jung for libel, but decides to perpetuate the fake marriage. His ex-fiancee then shows up, complicating things; he only broke it off because his younger brother had feelings for the ex.

*Possibly my favorite drama so far, (probably because of Kang Ji-hwan), but it was also very fun to watch, and I will watch it again!*