By The End You Will Feel Like You Wasted Your Time

I preface this by saying the only reason I wanted to watch and started to watch was because of Lee Min Ho.

That being said I was really enjoying this action drama in the beginning even with the ridiculous plot holes. I even liked the romance part of it at first. The show really started to go down hill for me when the fake father could never see the forest for the trees. His self-righteous and arrogant attitude just left much to be desired considering he stole a new born baby from it's mother just to take revenge. Starting with episodes 9 thru 15 it was just me wishing the fake father would die. I also hated when the FL wanted to be apart of the City Hunter's agenda. That was just too much. Plus it just slowed the show down and really didn't add much value to the plot as a whole. I started to hate watch. I kept wondering if the show could just go back to being an action drama instead of a damn melodrama!

This show could have ended at 16 but the show is 20 long drawn out eps and in episode 17 there was yet another plot twist and in episode 19 SPOILER ALERT the Prosecutor is murdered and I was not "here" for it!! It was completely gratuitous and unnecessary.

I could never rewatch this drama.

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Tennis Anyone?

I love the Prince of Tennis anime and even though in the US I have only been able to watch the first 50 episodes I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is the Japanese movie version from 2005 and I would have liked it more had I not seen the animation or the 2019 Chinese remake on Netflix. As others have stated it was just too much information to cram into 2 hours . Plus I didn't like that some characters had to be combined or left out all together. I missed the guy bonding and friendships of the team and I missed the line-ups of the other school teams.

The thing I loved about the movie is that Konata Hongo as Ryoma was perfectly cast; as was Yu Shirota as Kunimitsu; he also looked a lot like the anime character which I totally dug!

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A Fun Romance to Watch

So this is the first KDrama and Asian drama I ever watched and it started me on all the others I have since watched over the last few months.

I liked it. I thought it was paced just right and liked most of the characters. Ha Won is the heroine working hard to get enough money to pay for college and trying to be a good person. Going to live with 3 rich , spoiled heirs seemed like the easy way to make the money she so desperately needs. First is the arrogant Hyun Min who has always been the favored hei; then there is the youngest heir, Seo Woo who is also a music star; next is outcast heir, Ji Woon (my favorite - girls love a bad boy!).

This is another one of those stories where you know 2 people are going to fall in love but there will be obstacles to keep them apart and them fighting to stay apart all the while pining for each other. But who cares? I watch because I love romance and the fantasy of it all.

I loved Secretary Lee and he was so damn cute . The cast is really good looking but that's also part of the fantasy.

I loved the soundtrack. It's really good. I would rewatch for certain scenes like the first time Hyun Min sees Ha Won, the wedding scene and the time they all went on vacation. I also really loved most scenes with Ha Won and Ji Woon.

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Drama and Romance

I love Lee Min-Ho; so I was down with watching this.

What I liked the most is that even though there was a lot of the back and forth BS that I don't like, Cha Eun-sang didn't try to act like she wasn't in love with him. I'd watch again for certain scenes and skip all the USA scenes LOL!!! I also loved the fact that Cha Eun-sang and Yoon Chan Young continued to be best friends even though Yoon Chan's girlfriend was sometimes jealous. Also glad that they didn't hook up. Had this been an American show that most certainly would have happened!!!

I also liked the character of Choi Young-do. You really get to see his breakthrough from villain to good guy. he initially got on my nerves but I started to root for him! Not for him to be with Cha Eun-Sang but for him to continue to be a good person.

My favorite character hands down though was Park Hui Nam; Cha Eun-sang's mother. She was so awesome.

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Classic K Drama

I loved almost everything about this KDrama especially Lee Min-ho. I liked most of the cast. I loved the clothes on Lee Min-Ho and locations were awesome. This has the best soundtrack of all the Asian dramas I have watched over the last few months. I have become obsessed with the Hana Yori Dango series after watching and am currently reading the manga. I watch every now and again for certain scenes. My biggest gripe of the series is that Ku Hye-sun's acting was so over the top and obnoxious in all her eating scenes. I also hate that she never tells him she loves him in this version.

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Unexpected

Before I started watching I had no idea the plot. From the trailers I was looking to watch an all-out mafia war series. However, this was not that and after the first couple of episodes and I wrapped my head around the fact that it was a comedy of errors and absurdity with the brutality of mob justice I just went with it.

Things I loved:

Song Joon Ki - Didn't who he was and this was the first thing I've seen him in. Excellent as Vincenzo. By now anyone whose read my reviews know I love a pretty man and he is gorgeous but it wasn't just his looks he really did pull off the oh so cool mafia consigliere type.

Ok Taec Yoen - Didn't know who he was either and this is the first thing I saw him in. Really good as the psycho villain and his cruelty knew no bounds. I was impressed.

Kwak Dong Yeon - Very good young actor. You really did start to feel for him.

There was some really great lines uttered by Vincenzo and there were some really great scenes.

The OST was excellent. One of the best I've heard and listened too in a long time.

Things I hated:

Jeon Yeo Bin - The character just really got on my nerves. Super annoying FL and all the bouncing around and jerky actions too much!! I never wanted her with Vincenzo even though that's were the series was going.

Kim Yeo Jin - I don't know if this woman was suited for the role but I hated her face, her eating scenes and never hated a character so much. Never wished for someone's death as much as I wished for her characters death. It was very satisfying in the end.

I don't really hate the tenants of Guegma Plaza but they really were extremely annoying. Way too many side characters and I did not find them endearing. I also hated the fact that knew too much and were in on a lot the plans. I did however enjoy episode 19 when they explained each tenants past life. It was just a great scene for what its worth.

Overall: I gave the show an 8. It was almost a 10 b/c I was really enjoying the emotional roller coaster and the out right ridiculousness of it all but the last 2 episodes left much to be desired.

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This was a weird and wild ride. I didn't really like the series. I guess it was just too weird for me. Too many scenes were disgusting too; very graphic.

The cast and acting is great but there is something left to be desired in the writing. Some of the actions by the ML defy logic and I get that he's supposed to he a hothead who acts before he thinks. What foolishness in a new town? Even him and his wife staying in town for their daughter was dumb.

Excellent casting re the young Keiske. I may not watch a 2nd season but the last episode damn sure makes me want to. I'm very confused about the villager's role in the drama as well.

6/19/23

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Epic Last 4 Episodes

Overall this is a really good show and very enjoyable. The reason I am not giving it a 10 is b/c for me there was just way too many flashback episodes. I get that they wanted to give every main characters back story but it it just dragged on too long. It is an actioin drama with deptrh though. The other reason it's not getting a 10 is b/c sometimes this show did the stupidest things. In episode 14 they could have got the little boy out of the sewer by having Jaemin rip the grate out of the wall but no they had to show them punching through a wall. They also did this when Juwon was trying to get to Ji hee in the prior episode.

There were some genuinely sad and emotional scenes and for me the one at the beginning of the last episode just had me bawling. When Jaeseok the NK guy with the earthquake/sonic boom powers dies. In that moment when he told Yongdeuk to go and live like a human the tears just started falling!! That shit broke me.

What the writer(s) did very well is giving us these not so easy, black and white issues of who is wrong and who is right. I mean I felt just as empathetic to the North Koreans as I did to our heroes or "the good guys". It was bad situation for everyone all around.

This is an excellent ensemble drama and the cast is amazing.

12/29/23

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Sadly, The Fantasy Wore Off

I was genuinely enjoying this. Specifically for the romantic fanstasy. Park Bo Gum being the perfect guy who says and does eveything perfectly. Park Bo Gum and Song Hye Kyo also, had really good chemistry and it made for a great love story.

But alas, even Park Bo Gum's character, Jin Hyoek started to get on my nerves and the story of the younger man and older, divorcee just didn't do it for me anymore. Way too many filler episodes and scenes. Way too many people in the way and all the mothers are terrible. Can I please just have a romantic fantasy where there are no obstacles the leads have to face to be together and don't drag out over 16 epiosdes???

I will say that they did a good job with Woo Seok, Soo Hyeon's ex-husband. Who knew that I could ever feel sympathy for the rich, chaebol she divorced. I mean yes his actions and not protecting her were terrible when they were married but I felt like he was genuinely, trying to make up for that with his actions throughout the series. The road to hell though is paved with good intentions. He definitely should have done better when they were married.

Overall I give the show a 6/10 b/c I actually loved it up until FL ends the relationship. Plus the cast/supporting characters are joy to watch.

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Absolutely Ridiculous

This movie is terrible. That's it. That's all!

The Mimic has a good concept but the the execution of the movie is just dumb. The FL/mother's actions throughout the film were nonsensical and yes I understand she's mentally unstable and that she is grieving the loss of a child. She is warned mutiple times not to trust the apparition and time and again she chose the opposite! MADE NO SENSE. I felt like she didn't even care for her daughter who was alive and well (well maybe I'm really not sure she survived the night!). She totally abandoned her in the end.

The only positive thing I have to say is that the young actress Shin Rin Ah, was fantatsic.

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I thought the story was very interesting. A King grooming young men to serve him while he falls in love with one of those young men which ultimately leads to his downfall and both of their deaths.

This is the first thing I've watched with the main cast and Joo Jin Mo was fantastic as the King. He offereed his favorite general and lover to his Queen so that she would produce an heir and this sets in motion the tragic Shakespearean aftermath that follows.

Hong Lim, the King's favorite beds the Queen at the King's request. He does so reluctantly at first but then he starts to have feeling for the Queen, be its lust or love (bad idea). The Queen being touched by a man for the first time experiences that euphoria you get from sex and intimacy which she wasn't getting from her husband falls for Hong Lim. Everyone behaves poorly and the King's jealously is his ultimate undoing.

Overall, a good movie. I gave 7/10. It was almost an 8 but while I thought the first 80 minutes were well done, the last half of the movie was a bit too sloppy.

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Too Serious & Not Enough Fun

I was super excited to watch this after I saw the trailer but I wanted to watch the anime first. I should not have watched the anime first! I mean I just binged watch the first 3 seasons of one of the best animes I have ever watched and thoroughy enjoyed it. Like EVERYTHING about it! and here in lies the reason this movie is just average.

Unfortunately, it was just too much to cram into an 1 hour and 45 minutes. I did not like the changes to the storyline at all. Plus the movie just lost the levity of the anime which is one of the main reasons the anime for me is so good.

However, what the movie did extremely well was was casting. I loved the actors playing, Ichigo, Byakuya, Renji, Ishida, Chad and Tatsuki. I loved the costumes too except Ishida's. Where was the white Quincy outfit?? Too bad Inoue and Rukia didn't match what I was looking for. It sucks too that side character storylines were left out all together.

At any rate, I will say if you've never seen the anime this is an ok movie and worth at least one viewing and the CGI wasn't terrible either.

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Shin Ha Kyun is Excellent is all you need to know!

This is my 1st Korean crime drama, and it did not disappoint. Excellent cast, especially Shin Ha Kyun, playing Lee Dong Sik. really good plot It has me by the seat of my pants most episodes. It reminded me of all the British crime dramas I love. The tension I felt watching was palpable. Each episode my adrenaline was high, well up to the point when they catch the serial killer.

The reason I'm giving the series an 8 even though I thoroughly enjoyed it is because once the serial killer is caught; the series lost some of the energy it had reeling me in and impressing me with the plot machinations and all the potential suspects.

I mean it's a really good whodunit however, in the end it was more the good guys trying to bring to justice the actual murderer of one of the serial killer's 1st victims. Not that it was bad, and we wouldn't get the excellent acting from Shin Ha Kyun without this secondary plot, I just think it was a lot of deaths and cover up that seemed unimportant. Obviously, Dong Sik needed to find out who killed his sister, but I don't know if I cared enough about that part.

I can't wait to see more show with Shin Ha Kyun and watch another crime drama.

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Smile ear to ear while watching

I thoroughly enjoyed this series.

Yeong Joon's arrogance is masterclass!! Park Seo Joon pulls it off rather well!! I was enamored with PSJ before but his turn as the Vice Chairman made me love him all the more. The Vice Chairman is so obnoxious but it's hilarious. His antics would normally get on my nerves but PSJ is so likeable all you can do is fall in love with him.

Park Min Young as Secreatry Kim Mi So was such a breezy, beautiful woman. I loved her too. I usually can't stand the FL is series like this but this show really surpassed my expectations. She was compentent and gave as good as the Vice Chairman gave. I really found the 2 of them charming, likeable and loveable. The chemistry was off the charts!

The supporting cast at the office was so funny but President Park takes the cake. So funny and tried his best to help the Vice Charmain through his predicaments. The dialogue between President Park and the Vice Chairman had me on the floor most episodes.

The reason this series is not getting a 10 overall is b/c there was a small makjang plot in re the Vice Chairman's brother and a kidnapping that happened when they were children that also involved Secretary Kim.....WHAT????? Anyway, in my mind that part didn't happen!!

The Vice Chairman has some great one liners; wish I had kept more of them but these are 2 of my favorites:

When Mi So talks about ordinary he says "I've lived my whole life extraordinarily. I don't know what ordinary is like."

His friend tells him his face is full of love and he says "It used to be full of deadly attractiveness, and now love as well?"

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What is Happening in this movie??

The best thing about this movie is actor Fhi Fan who plays Soichi. If it wasn't for him I don't think I would like much about this movie. Hatsune Eriko who plays Kirie and Soichi's longtime friend (girlfriend) is quite good acting wise but I found her character to be too stupid for word sometimes. I also loved the muted tones used to film this movie. It harkens back to old late 70's and early 80's horror films.

The movie is about a town that becomes obsessed with Spirals or Uzumaki. There is some brief explanation about witchcraft and I wish they would have explored that more so that things made more sense but maybe the point wasn't for things to make sense. It was just a bunch of random weird things happening b/c of the spirals all over the place. Soichi was trying his best to convince our so called heroine, Kirie to leave but she was too stupid to listen.

There is only once song I remember gearing in the entire film and it was played while the credits rolled by Raven called Do As infinity and it was a really good song.

This is based on Junji Ito's manga of the same name and I would like to read that and maybe I should have read it before I watched this movie.

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