Second chances, revenge and intrigue!

If you were given a second chance at life, what would you do differently?

Kim Hee Woo is a talented lawyer with an immense sense of justice working at the prosecution office. His desire to bring criminals to justice lands him in peril when he decides to take on a politician, Cho Tae Sab, who sends his personal hitman to end his life. As fate would have it, Hee Woo is brought back to life by a grim reaper for one purpose - take down Cho Tae Sab and make his life hell on Earth. This is where the real story begins.

A lot of people have given a lot of different takes on this show which can be confusing so let me share elements that might help you decide wherher to watch or skip.

What you can expect from the show:
- A methodical and driven main lead working his way to bringing down his target. The story is following him most of the time and his target as the contrast. These two are the main leads.
- Lots of plotting and how these play out.
- Fast pace. Even though the episodes are over an hour long, there is a lot happening and time flies.
- Endearing characters and positive moments.
- Time-jump. You'll also see some back and forth berween the old timeline and the new one. I like how it was done to make the story easier to follow along with.
- Action. The male lead was a boxer in his past life but still no match for his killer. You'll see a lot of martial arts training and fights throughout the show.
- Mild humour. As its mostly a revenge drama, there are not a lot of funny moments but you might still find yourself smiling.
- Lots of famous faces. And a lot of names to remember! From the good to the bad. It was a bit hard to follow since I was watching weekly but might be better if one watches at a stretch. Even when the names were hard to keep track of, enough evidence was given to help you recall or the person was shown in the next instance so one can keep following along.
- A certain amount of realism towards the end. I personally enjoyed it.

What the show lacks:
- Other than the way in which Hee Woo is brought back to life, there is no other fantasy element to the show.
- Romance. If this is important to you, you may not enjoy the show as it is mostly serious.
- Bromance. Though friendships are explored, this is not the focus of the show.
- For a law drama, you won't find moments in courts. It jumps from evidence finding to final result.
- Some prefer a picture perfect ending but that is never how real life works and neither will you find it in this show.

The reason I rated Again My Life a 9 is because every episode was enjoyable. I wanted to keep watching which is what every director aims for. It was interesting to see how the characters were working together as a team towards the same goal. Hee Woo had the advantage of his past life to know whom to bring on board to help him and the lives he can change. Not just his own. Thus making some powerful allies along the way.

There is not a lot that bothers me about the show. The things that do are major spoilers so I will skip them because they are fine within the realm of a show. It also shows that people can be unpredictable. There is some product placement which is a bit funny and awkward at times.

The ending was not disappointing, in my opinion. It was different. And I can appreciate it for what it is.

I hope people give it a shot.

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Unique Story Needed Better Execution

I enjoy stories related to mental health and the fantasy genre. This kind of combination was definitely unique. What it lacked was in execution because I seem to have missed the point it was making with their ending.

Though this series got a lot of flak, it isn't so bad. I'd say it's above average as I was curious enough to want to finish it. I just feel like the writers did Ak Hee dirty in the process and that didn't make sense to me.

I enjoyed the portrayal of the two personalities of the ML. The FL was all right. A bit stiff. I haven't seen her in other roles so I'm not sure if it's because of the character she was portraying or not. The supporting cast were all quite good.

The show is best watched at 1.5 - 2x as the pacing felt slow to me.

The biggest question I have is - How can one's illusion impact others? They messed it up with this aspect. Otherwise I didn't feel like dropping it at any point. Just feel a bit disappointed but other than that the ending was good. Even the way they wrapped up those creating trouble makers was fine.

It's okay for a one time watch.

The OST is quite nice and soothing.

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Slightly above average fantasy drama

The show started off interesting and it was good until the point when the ML gets his demon powers back. After that the story is the weakest with little happening. And quite a disappointing end.

The strong point of My Demon is it's OST and opening theme. The cinematography is good but not really used. They didn't try to showcase much of the Demon's powers except for comedic purposes. A lot of recent fantasy drama tropes have been repeated in this one so it felt boring. Still, among the recently airing/aired fantasy dramas, this was one of the better choices.

Repeated tropes included:
1. Chaebol parent forcing their child to get married where they end up in a contract marriage in order to make sure their parent does a health check up (similar to The Story of Park's Marriage Contract).
2. Past life connection - also in The Story of Park's Marriage Contract, My Man Is Cupid.
3. Mystery of a murder(s) - same as above
4. One lead realizing they have a past life connection and other lead slowly getting their past life memory back close to finale and - My Man Is Cupid
5. Cold ML, Warm FL - TSOPMC and My Man Is Cupid
6. A Superior being who is the boss of the supernatural lead - My Man Is Cupid
7. A SML that makes you wonder if they are playing a negative or a useless positive character - My Man Is Cupid, TSOPMC

There isn't much to the story that is new except that they added an element of religion more heavily than other dramas. It just felt a bit cheesy by the end because of it.

The couple make a really cute pair but at times their cuteness gave me sibling vibes rather than a hot couple. For the most part I wasn't bored and I'm giving it a 7 because I enjoyed the first half. Just wish it had more of a wow factor. The ending left a lot to be desired with the villain just turning out to be crazy for no good reason. Many of his actions didn't make sense. Like stealing the demon's book and not really ending up doing anything with it. And sacrificing his son. His end goal wasn't clear at all.

It's okay for a one time watch.

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Started great then got annoying

A lot of people rave about Moon Lovers Scarlet Heart Ryeo so I had wanted to watch it since a long time. But after having seen it, I find it a bit overrated. I had an idea what kind of drama ending this was and this isn't about the ending but rather the turns the plot took that got too frustrating after a very interesting start.

Present day Hae Soo is a woman who had a series of unfortunate events happen to her and as she's sitting by a lake drinking her woes away, she notices a child floundering in the water about to drown. She decides to jump in to rescue him and instead finds herself 1000 years in the past. Now this was certainly an innovative way of time travel but by the end of it all, I began to wonder what was the point? It was only at the very end that it was explained but I was beginning to lose hope of getting an answer.

Initially, I loved every episode. I enjoyed Hae Soo's relationship with all the different princes. I loved her personality and teaching them modern vocabulary. The comedy was great with lots of cute scenes. The action was decent too as was the suspense. Then it started getting darker, Hae Soo was losing her spirit and there were a lot of time skips. The thing I found odd is, at one point someone refers to Hae Soo as being 29 years old and even after multi-year time jumps, she still refers to herself as being in her 20s.

It's understandable that life was difficult during that period with several discriminatory norms like "the king cannot marry a woman with scars on her body" and a lot of blood shed and politics trying to unseat the king. But that aspect of the show got really tiresome after watching 3 rounds of politics. At one point, the episode could no longer hold my attention and I just wanted to speed through to the end. I just about kept myself from skipping.

The actors all did a nice job. I liked the various personalities of the multiple male leads. Enjoyed their bonding and the changes they went through. Couldn't stand Queen Yoo and Princess Yun Hwa

My mental rating of the show went from 9 to 9.5 to 8 and finally 8.5 at the end. Though there were some emotional moments, I didn't really feel much for the most part of the series. The ending was decent but still left a lot to be desired. I wanted just a little bit more towards the very end since they seemed to have teased that there is something more but there hasn't been any talk of new seasons.

The OST is nice. A couple of songs stood out the most.

It's a good show to binge, but I don't see myself rewatching it.

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Disappointing

I watched both parts back to back and when you compare this movie to the former, that seems tremendously better. No doubt, the first part was a good movie so I don't understand how they could drop the ball so badly with this one. It only gets better in the second half.

My main issues with The Witch Part 2:
1. Confusing start. We are not given any kind of explanation on the timelines of when exactly this movie takes place or what exactly is happening so I was completely lost for most of the movie.
2. Unnecessary characters. Some of the roles were probably filled just to attract the audience perhaps but there is no meaning behind those characters. There are also two groups fighting and there is no explanation as to who they are and what is going on with them. Or where/how did they get their abilities. But it doesn't matter I guess because they'll be dead anyway.
3. Poor translation. That added to the confusion though it would have not made too much of a difference since the story was so ambiguous from the start.

Somewhat entertaining:
1. The fight sequences. There are only 2 fight sequences that I really enjoyed and both involved "the girl". It's nice to see some incredible superpowers in action. The one in the van looked like terrible CGI and almost cartoonish. Plus we don't see anything happening inside.
2. The girl and the son bonding. It was cute and the floating animals was funny. Also, the part where she discovers food in the supermarket. Too bad there weren't more of such moments.
3. The ending. That's when you finally understand what is happening. It still doesn't explain who most of the characters are or who they are working for. But at least you finally understand how this movie ties in with the first.

I'll probably watch part 3 because I am curious about the third character introduced. Hopefully the directors can fix the mistakes they made with this one. I just hope it doesn't take another 3 years to release.

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A bit of a Drag

The only reason I wanted to watch The Law Cafe was because of Lee Seung Gi. I loved his work in Mouse and Vagabond. But The Law Cafe is a total let down.

Although I can feel what message the story writers wanted to send and that the intention was good, the execution was pretty poor. To the point that I took 3 months just to finish the drama. It was hard to get through even when it got interesting. The final take down was not the least bit exciting. If anything, it was quite non-sensical.

As for the romance, I didn't get into the chemistry of the leads to begin with or rather, I felt that they had no chemistry. If you enjoy bickering couples then this might be a show you could enjoy. What I did appreciate is the talk of consent and that the female lead was strong and motivated. Male lead was kind and supportive. I also liked the secondary couple - the policewoman and her husband but not much of their story is explored.

The cases were okay but mostly the plot was forgettable.

I feel bad for rating this low because the actors all worked hard but I had to speed up the last 3 episodes just to finish the drama. The show was decent around episode 8 but I just could not connect deeply with any of the characters. It will be a bit more appealing if you love slice of life or melodramas but not as a romance or law drama.

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Sweet Sweet Revenge!

One woman's revenge against her high school bullies. Every time she took one of them down, it was entertaining.

I loved it! A good show connects you to the cause of the victim and that's exactly what The Glory did. The show also evokes a lot of emotions. Anger, tears, joy, delight, shock, fear, and more. It has everything you can ask for in a revenge thriller! Just one warning - part 2 contains frontal female nudity. It's brief but was unexpected.

I have to say, that when I first saw the trailer for part 2, I was worried that this will be a torturous journey for the female lead but for the most part, things panned out pretty well. I loved the variety in the revenge for each of them as well. And for some it was unexpected but a well-deserved fate.

Moon Dong Eun emoted so well especially the moments when you see her in her raw/weak moments. I felt the same way in the first season. Again her younger counterpart portrayed her helplessness beautifully. I just wanted to hug her in some of those moments. I felt her anguish. And I was happy she formed alliances who were there to support her now.

Lee De Hyun as Joo Yeo Jung was a delight. I smiled every time he was on screen. Who wouldn't want someone like him as their supporter/executioner. I enjoyed his chemistry with Doon Eun and do wish there was a bit more. But then this isn't a romance drama so I'll take what I can get.

Kang Hyun Nam is another delightful character. Her situation is like that of many women in domestic abuse cases who have no option and stay for the safety of their children. I especially loved it when she finally cussed him out at the end as well as her last interaction with Yeon Jin when she gave her a taste of her own medicine. I laughed out loud.

Park Yeon Jin was definitely the crazy character that made this show worth it. Yet again I have to give it to Shin Ye Eun's scarier performance as the bully. Im Ji Yeon did well too but at times she felt weak. Considering everything, she seemed to get the lightest punishment as she still had zero regrets.

The show was a fantastic binge watch. Perhaps the only thing that could have been better was if Dong Eun physically beat them up. She didn't have to. I just like female characters who can fight well and I love action scenes.

The ending may seem like an open-ending but it's just left some things to the imagination. Though I wouldn't mind another season focused on that.

I would definitely recommend both parts to be seen in sequence as that's how it was originally meant to be. The second part definitely has the meat of the revenge plot.

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Educational to a degree

Before you begin watching this series, you must know that it is rated 18+ for a reason. The first episode bares all quite literally. However, the rest of the episodes are somewhat milder with some explicit scenes in between.

The two main female leads host a podcast that deals with talking about sex from the female perspective. It also includes discussion on periods and premenstrual syndrome. Some of the information discussed in the show is good but I didn't find it exceptionally new. There was potential but it missed covering aspects like those who have never had sex to begin with. Most of it is related to those who have been having sex for a long time and issues they have faced. The series also tries to deal with healthy attitudes towards the discussion of sex with partners. Again it seemed to miss the opportunity to teach men explicitly to listen to their female partners which a lot of men don't seem to grasp very well or don't think they need to. They do cover healthy partnerships but they could have driven the point across further.

It's a good show to watch for conservative audiences that don't have much access to information related to sex. But it cannot be considered an all inclusive show about sex education. It's better to pick sex ed websites/videos and not entirely depend on such a show. It just discusses a range of topics that one can then further research into.

Although the plot is good, the characters are good, there were at least two scenarios presented without any real advice given. A lot of the advice seekers were left on read. I'm not sure why. In any case, it's not a boring show. Pacing is good. Good for a one time watch. I watched it hoping to learn some new information and have rated it accordingly.

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Mostly fun with an absurd ending

When You Be Me is quite a light drama with some funny moments, plenty of sweet instances but does take a dramatic turn towards the middle and completely flips the script at the end.

The plot revolves around a quiet (practically invisible) girl who is poor yet studious (cliche) who saves the life of a popular, rebellious Taekwondo black belt boy from a rich family. The very same night, both of them swap souls. At first, both are awkward and then frustrated and start causing trouble for each other but eventually learn to hold back and try to live each other's lives to the best of their abilities. This duration of the plot is mostly entertaining and it's nice to see them experiencing each other's lives and trying to make it better in their own style. The show introduces their families and both have a unique family dynamic.

The male lead is spectacular as he portrays the female lead through his mannerisms and subtle expressions. The female lead does a good job as well however, the male lead truly shines in this series. Most of the drama revolves around their school and families.

What was mostly a fun series, suddenly turns very dark and melodramatic towards the 15th, 16th episode and I sped through it because it was getting a bit too much. Luckily by the 18th episode, this side track of a plot is dropped and everything returns "back to normal" which was a bit bizarre.

I also enjoyed the roles of the parents. The male lead's brother stood out. They explore the relationship the brothers shares and the current strain on their relationship. However, for whatever reason the series decides to briefly show a very dark side to the loving older brother and there was no redemption from that character for me after that. They killed my love for their relationship.

This is probably where the show becomes a bit of a drag. But the final disappointment was the ending. It would be best to completely skip the final episode. Yes, it was somewhat of a happy ending but it still manages to annoy you.

If you were hoping for romance then you won't really find anything. It's left up to the imagination of what will happen in the future.

It's a fine show to binge if you don't have big expectations. Mostly the series was entertaining. I've just highlighted some of the bigger moments that I disliked.

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Meaningful and misunderstood

The criticisms of this series are quite harsh. I, however, quite liked it towards the end. I found some aspects relatable and it even made me emotional.

The story revolves around a girl who has grown up feeling unloved. She dreams of a love story out of kdramas. One day she discovers a magical notebook that seems to make her desires of love come true. And anyone she writes about in it, magically fall in love with her. However, the magic does not last beyond a month. But even when her best friend protests her actions, she can't help herself as this is the only way she can feel loved. What she doesn't know is that he is actually in love with her.

This series isn't actually about romance. It's about a girl and her desperation to feel loved. There are moments that touch your heart like points where she thinks her father wishes she was never born and that she is actually undeserving of love. Although people have criticised her for misunderstanding the situation, the reality is, her father never actually treated her with warmth. Since her mother passed away when she was very young, she doesn't remember her relationship with her mother either. She is also scared of losing her only friend. The show is still quite light and didn't go too dark with a terrible past which can make her problems come across as superficial.

Though the story is presented under the context of a fantasy element, a lot of people with low self esteem end up with partners who don't actually care for them and in certain cases it can lead to abuse. This is also why she has a hard time saying no even when she knows she should. She is afraid of losing the person. Yes, such people can come across as frustrating at times which is why many dislike the female lead. However, the reality is that it is not easy to change without help.

Though the ending is simplified, the series tries to explain that the female lead was in fact loved. She just couldn't understand acts of care as a love language and was slowly starting to understand it. The series ended the way it did is because finally she had to learn to love herself first before she can accept someone else's love completely. Similarly, the male lead recognised that he was overly dependent on the female lead because of his anxiety. Would I have preferred some kind of closure? Yes. But that doesn't mean the show was bad. I would say it is rather misunderstood.

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So convoluted

When I began W, I found it extremely exciting and fast paced and I loved that. After completing it, I feel like the writer/director decided to keep adding twists and turns and the sheer number of complicated storylines is what brought my rating of this show from a 9 down to a 7. W is certainly impressive but I also have to agree with those that say that episode 12 could have easily been the finale. I do see the effort behind the writing but I just got a little tired of it by the end to the point that I didn't care if the ending was a happy or sad one. I just felt exhausted for the poor protagonist. Any normal human being would need lifelong therapy after just half of that.

For those that enjoy romance, you will get plenty pretty early on. The action scenes were at times just average. However, I loved the animations and the blending of reality and the webtoon visually beautiful. The cast did a good job portraying their respected characters. However, the actors playing the male lead, Kang Chul's friends got a raw end of the deal. Their characters are not particularly deep or impressive. At times I wondered if Kang Chul really did consider them friends or not.

There also seems to be a missing element to this plot. Neither the creators nor the characters were truly in control. Then what made this webtoon special that brought life to these characters and what made Kang Chul resist the edits. Why was a window between the two worlds created in the first place? I would have loved to understand that and how the window was closed by Kang Chul.

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Directionless towards the end

Leaving the spoilers for later, this series has a bit of something for everyone in a progressive sense but leaves you to fill the gaps at the end. I would love for a show to pick up from where this one left off as the show didn't resolve the issues it presented.

Spoilers:
This series reminded me a lot of the Korean drama 'Because This Is My First Life' in the first episode. However, Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu created its challenges and failed to address them by the end leaving it open-ended and that left me disappointed. It was a unique opportunity to show how couples can balance work and home if they are supportive of each other. Though the show presented the value of a housewife's role, the couple in the end seemed to reach an impasse and left the solution up to the audience to decide.

Another progressive aspect of the show was the second couple of the older woman (49) and younger man (32). However, it seemed like the director only liked to play with the idea but preferred to leave the actual romance and relationship to the audience's imagination as well. When I had lost all interest in the main couple, I was hoping something would come of the second couple but alas. A missed opportunity to tackle society's perceptions of such pairings despite both being adults.

The positives:
The main couple is cute. It is nice to see a male lead that is polite, gentle and well mannered. Just when I started feeling like wives being solely responsible for housework and cooking and should enjoy it was being shoved down my throat, the female lead proclaims that she was only dedicated to those tasks when she was being paid to do them. There was a good explanation of how women are exploited because of their love for their families and expected to give their all without any pay or appreciation of all that they do. The actors played their parts well and the chemistry was palpable and many characters were relatable.

If you're expectations are not too high and don't mind leaving things to the imagination, you might enjoy the show more than I did.

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A mix of a strong plot, characters and acting.

When I watched the trailer, all I could think of was this is another Boys Over Flowers and Meteor Garden with the Male lead being a member of a group (Alpha 3 instead of F4) and he ends up bullying the poor but brave female lead eventually falling for her. But it's not quite the same. And that's probably why I liked it.

Although both shows do have their similarities, this male lead, Deib, does have his humane side which they reveal early on. That's why it was easier to believe he was not a bad guy. His first intro was more normal. There are definitely clashes between the pair leading up to the bullying that are again insights into the type of person the male lead is. He is not an angry spoilt brat even though he can be. But you find yourself understanding where he's coming from pretty quickly.

The female lead, Maxpein, doesn't just stand up for herself but also others. Her family situation is dire but they are not over the top characters desperate to push her onto a rich guy like in F4:Thailand or BOF. Her family inspires her to show vulnerability but keep going despite hardships. "The brave cry but don't give up" is her motto during her weakest moments. At no point is she forced to overwork herself. Though I do wonder when she and the other students studied.

It's easy to see why the leads can connect and relate to each other. Even though the bullying is pretty nasty, it felt less intense except at one point when it gets serious and this is where the story takes a turn. Luckily it does not involve sexual harassment of any sort.

For 10 episodes and 45 min episodes, the story is conveyed well and there are many different aspects to the story that you don't see coming. Season 1 ends on a cliff hanger but even as a standalone season, it does well to take you on an emotional and fairly relatable journey. This is the first Filipino drama that I have watched and I am quite impressed by it. As far as the support cast is concerned, I quite liked Maxpien's father, Elle, and the headmaster did a wonderful job portraying their characters.

The show is not heavy on the romance which is nice but may not be everyone's cup of tea. I recommend giving this a go for the story and the acting/cast.

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Not scary.

The movie is supposed to be of horror genre so I've rated it on that basis.

For a movie shot entirely on a phone, it was very well done. The set designs were amazing. Good VFX (final scene). The story plot was interesting. The events however were comical. They seemed to have paid homage to 'The Shining'. I wont spoil the reasons for that. I am not sure if I understood the final scenario or I might have rated it higher even if it was not scary. It could have been the translation gap but they didn't explain the ending properly and it might leave audiences guessing what was really going on.

Nevertheless, I was amused and it's only 25 mins long so it's good for a one time watch.

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Slow moving

I'll keep it as brief and to the point as possible. The story definitely had potential but it didn't hold my interest for very long. It starts off well but around episode 9 and 10, I started to feel bored. By the end, the pace picks up again but I wasn't as vested in the plot.

I really enjoyed the dynamics between Lee Ahn and his brother Seong Mo. And they were the highlights of the show more than anything. It also added some humour.

It wasn't really explained how Lee Ahn's powers develop in the presence of Jae In. Or how those books he read helped. They could have exploded that a bit more instead of some of the romance scenes which weren't all that romantic. Although the ending was satisfactory, I didn't feel quite satisfied. It felt almost underwhelming. It could have used a bit of drama. Instead, everyone's emotions were flat.

I've also minused 0.5 for the poor budgie. They paid attention to the dog but not a single scene with them interacting with that bird. It looked beyond lonely. When Ahn gives Jae In his dog because he's too busy, I don't understand why he doesn't do the same for the bird as his brother seems to be home even less. I'm sure the animals were looked after by the crew but as part of the story, it made me feel bad for it.

I wouldn't really recommend this particular series. It isn't bad but there are better ones out there. I'd say Park Jin Young was far better in The Devil Judge and that is a far more intriguing series. Hence why I don't rate He Is Psychometric highly as a rewatch either.

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