BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

cremea Secret Garden is a 20 episode Korean TV show that aired from 2010-2011. It's another poor girl meets rich boy Korean melodrama. Korean television will tell this same story over and over again until the end of time, and, lord knows I've seen a crap ton of these shows to say the least. Summary Verdict: this one's not bad.SPOILERS AHEAD!Here's your story: Ha Ji-won plays Gil Ra-im; a poor & humble stunt woman trying to make ends meet working in the movie industry. Hyun Bin plays Kim Joo-won; a wealthy & arrogant heir to an upscale department store chain. Joo-won mistakes Ra-im as an actress his famous brother once dated, and as a result, they subsequently meet & spend some time together by accident. Need I even bother expounding?...comedy, romance, drama ensue. You know the format: she's the pretty but tough tomboyish type with no time for nonsense in her life, he's the straight laced rich guy who works hard but has plenty of time for whatever nonsense he wishes. The two meet and he begins to soon fall for her. She's less than impressed with him though, so he's got his work cut out for him. The tried and true staple of K-drama loves stories is on full display here; he's constantly presented with a series of arranged dates to meet a future wife from the same ilk as his own family, but he's not interested in this and wants to find his own love. His stature and eligibility means he pursued by an endless supply of suitable beauties, so his ego is a bit unchecked in regards to what a great catch he thinks he is. As such, he is somewhat baffled by the fact that this "lower class" girl doesn't jump at the chance to be with him, couldn't care less about his standing, and won't give him the time of day. He's also never met any woman quite like this before in his life, and she's pretty easy to look at, so he's more than intrigued/smitten/determined/etc…He therefore decides to use his power and wealth to intrude in her life in order to win her over, which initially backfires of course, until perhaps the 2 can eventually find some common ground to stand on if this relationship was "meant to be".We're rolling right along with the standard fare for this genre over the first half dozen episodes or so…it's workable and kept fairly tight for the most part as the two leads come together bit by bit. It's all pretty much par for the course, then, BAM (SPOILERS); on a mountain biking date one day, the 2 stray off course and stumble upon a strange old shop & restaurant in the middle of nowhere. While there, they imbibe a magical potion which causes their souls to switch bodies. As such, a whole new layer to the proceedings then comes into play in this series.While this wacky "out of nowhere" plot aspect of the show may seem absurd (and it is, of course), it does actually work, and, it works quite well. It both helps to break up the status quo for a typical K-drama, and, also serves to further benefit the story as well as a whole. These two characters were having a hard time developing a common ground & relationship the old fashioned way, so perhaps they will find love via this mystical method instead. Accordingly, the two opposites come to understand and appreciate each other more by spending time in each other's body/life.The twist provides for a great deal of comedy to be mined here, as the CEO dude now has to lead the life of the poor tough girl, and stunt woman girl has to run a company and be subjected to high society pressures. While they've switched bodies, they also each take the opportunity to investigate the other, turn away the other's potential love interests, see each other's friends and siblings half naked, etc…it's all pretty cute. This is not without problems though, as each time it rains, the bodies are switched back and forth; so, there's a chance he might get caught in her body while trying to perform a risky stunt that he's ill prepared for, or she does something unknowingly that puts him in danger due to his health problems, etc…Eventually, the two leads get down to the business of trying to figure out how to stop switching bodies all the time, so they can get back to their normal lives before somebody finds out or something goes horribly wrong. With some help from their friends and family, and with a little luck, perhaps all will work out in the end…and, maybe the two leads will be able to find love along the way. The cast all put in acceptable to solid work, and just about all characters are likable enough. Perhaps the best role is that of the CEO's brother; a K-pop star known as Oska, who leads a mostly carefree life of luxury when he's not lamenting the loss of his true love that got away. The stunt woman has a huge fan crush on him that comically belies her no nonsense tough girl persona, to the point of her being elated with scoring concert tickets, sleeping in Oska themed socks, etc…And, though Oska competes with his brother to some degree, he mostly serves as an intermediary for the two leads while they work on their budding romance.All in all, this show is pretty solid. It doesn't go on forever (though it could have been trimmed a little), and it's kept pretty light hearted for the most part; it's mostly a charming comedy-romance-drama, with little heavy handed "evil plot/villain schemes". Be prepared for a melodramatic final act though, as this is Korean melodrama after all.Bottom Line: 7-8 out of 10 stars. I'll give it an 8!

hyunha007 The title head pretty much described it all, with such unique story line of modern fairy tale and the harsh reality, it was sure hardcore for everyone who watched the whole series. They have deviated from the usual KDrama style, plot and conflicts. It is fantasy by the way, but the great thing is that it was not greatly emphasized in the early episodes (the switching part). They did not spend most of the time in different bodies, in contrast to what others would have expected. Sure it was fun to watch the actors played so well but in the latter part it played a big role in story development and made the story what it is: destiny, love, magic and everything else in between.More on the deviating from usual KDrama trend, let's go to love triangles. Pretty much empty, for the first part again I expected Oska and Yoon Seul to be big third parties in the rel. of the main characters (just like in Full House) but again wasn't interesting anymore. Another thing is the conflict between Joo Won's mother. I thought it would be another main conflict but the theme of the story prevailed : Love conquers all! I would also like to commend the writer for such great plot. I love that she did not revealed everything in the first parts, opposed to many KDramas that tells the social status of both protagonists, family background and conflicts at the start of the story. If it had been like that, it would not make the story interesting (I was really guessing what could have happened to Ra Im's father, or Joo Won's life-changing accident, nor how the Oska-Yoon Seul bitterly ended) .It was obviously not a character-driven plot, it was more on what's going to happen to Gil Ra Im and Joo Won next that would help clarify the past.There were many metaphors, symbols and recurring themes (eg little mermaid) and if you had not appreciated this series, I say you missed it. Clearly, it was a work of a genius to think of such great script and plot.Another common mistakes of Kdramas is that you would end up loving the actors because of empty reasons. Secret Garden got me so hooked up to Gil Ra Im and Joo Won that i did not bother searching their names in Google when i was watching the series (I only did that after finishing the series). Their undeniable chemistry would sure fire up the intensity of the key plots, making them effective actors. BOTTOMLINE: I fell in love with the characters! Not with the actors !The ending was absolutely perfect. It wasn't a fairy tale like ending. Ra Im did not turn into Cinderella, nor Joo Won into Prince Charming. In the end, it was their love that prevailed amidst imperfections in their relationship and differences. Finishing the story with the lines, "We still don't have a single wedding picture, but we fall in love every single day, like living a magical life". That's what I true magic brings into our lives: blissful love beyond imperfectionsThe story itself was well-written, plot was well-thought, the casting and the chemistry of the actors have pretty much set the tone for the success of the series. This may sound biased but overall i say this is the BEST KOREAN Drama i have seen in years, and I would be sure there won't be any KDRAMAS that will be as good as this in the coming years.

shanatalks I waited for the series to end in GMA 7 before making this review. I watched the original Korean series with English subtitle but I didn't enjoy it. I don't know if it was the actor's or actress's voice or the subtitle but I really didn't find the series appealing. So when I saw the teaser from GMA 7 a few months back, I decided to give it another try. I watched Hyun Bin from the series My Name is Kim Sam Soon and I love him ever since. That's why watching it twice was not a bad idea.I wasn't disappointed. I liked the way the Filipinos dubbed the series. The "kalye" language they used was very appropriate for our culture and made the series more natural. I definitely love the "saltik" term Jamie used to call Owen. It became an endearment. (How was that possible? You should watch the tagalized series.)Secret Garden was one of the most popular drama series to hit mainstream Korea. It has high ratings and continued to be on top of the charts till the last episode. I won't argue with that. It was really funny. I understand why the Koreans loved it because after watching the tagalized version, I fell in love with it too. I thought that the series was like a Korean remake of the movie It's a Boy Girl Thing (2006). I'm not saying it was the same but I think the concept was derived from this movie. The Koreans just expanded the concept and made the story suitable for Asian audiences.Hyun Bin's portrayal of Owen's character was very smooth but I was more amazed with Hyun Bin's acting when the swapping of bodies occurred. He has to act as Jamie and that basically requires him to act like a girl— he was very effective. The change in characters was drastic but Hyun Bin pulled it off. It was not awkward. The acting was very natural. And as a viewer, I believed that Jamie's soul was in Owen's body.On the other hand, Hai Ji Won's acting may not be impressive but she improved very well since she started in the business. I first had a glimpse of her acting prowess in the movie 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant and she was not good. I found her acting in that movie very novice but that would be in another review. I don't think there's much difference from her Jamie-self and Owen-acting when the switched occurred. She already has as strong, tomboyish character at the beginning of the series, so I didn't find it exceptional.The series in general was slow-paced. I understand that they wanted to build the characters in the first ten episodes to make the viewers acquainted with their attitudes so by the time the swap happens, the viewers will easily see the changes. However, I was bored to death waiting for the swap to happen. This was supposedly the core of the series. Why haven't they shown it yet? When it finally did, instead of feeling ecstatic, I was relieved. At long last, the moment I've been waiting for took place.Hey, wait up! It's not all negative. There are a couple of things I love from the series.First, Owen's trademark track suit. That sequenced blue track suit was probably the most popular item ever copied and mass-produced in Korea. It looks funny in Owen but it looks adorable in Hyun Bin. (The analogy is difficult to explain. Ha-ha)Second, the unexpected kiss between Owen (with Jamie's soul) and his cousin Oska (Yoon Sang Hyun). I find that scene remarkable! I can't forget it. I know Hyun Bin was acting Jamie's character but still in reality he is who he is and Oksa is Yoon Sang Hyun and they shared a kiss?! I can't take that off my mind for a few days.And last of all, Owen's attitude with love. If there's a guy out there like him, pwede akin ka na lang? (Can you please be mine?) He fought for what he wanted. He didn't give up on love. Even if Jamie threw him out, physically and emotionally hurt him—he stayed. He showed the cold, afraid and aloof Jamie what it means to love and be loved.

funhan I am so happy to come across this show. I was so bored of sex, violence and drama and then, I found Secret Garden. This show gives you love in its purest form as possible. When I watch it, I can feel butterflies flying in my stomach one minute , then the tears roll down on my cheeks and a broad smile occupy my face at the end of each show. Characters are well put, funny and deep. You can feel and understand what they are going through. Story line is enhanced with side stories and never boring. The cinematography is breath taking, like most of far eastern movies the scenery brings forth the emotions. To sum up, please give this show a try, I am sure you ll be hooked :)