TheGrowlingStomach
think of a sad forlorn place. now imagine it without water or happiness in general. yes. im in texas
plot: So the plot was brilliant. I loved the whole revenge vendetta thing. It kept you glued to the screen waiting to see what big revelation would be unspun next or whose dirty secrets would be revealed. I especially loved the chemistry between the two leads. They made the cutest revenge duo ever. They had so many cute moments together I often found myself laughing out loud and simply grinning from ear to ear as I watched their ridiculous yet heart warming encounters. They made you really want to cheer them on as they struggled and overcame their obstacles together.
characters/actors: First of all, I just want to say, the female lead was gorgeous. I didn't find it hard to believe at all when everyone was calling her a beauty. I also found the female lead before she got plastic surgery adorable in her own way and thought she was a brilliant actress. I loved how the female lead was strong and could handle herself and that she even had the desire and ambition to grow strong and independent so that she could take on her challenges without having to burden anyone else. She wasn't whiny or needy which sometimes happens in dramas so I didn't find myself overly annoyed with her. As for the male lead, all I can say is he was amazing. I loved his and the female lead's adorable little conversations and found their witty banter charming. I especially loved the compliment game.
music: the music was really good. Nothing really caught my attention or stood out but it was appropriate and suited the drama very well. The instrumentals for the super intense/crap just got real scenes were amazing and really built up the intense mood.
overall, I'd say this drama is a must watch! Although i'm still kind of waiting for that very late apology from that grandma (you'll know it when you watch it and then you'll be waiting too) but other than that, it was a beautiful drama about finding yourself and overcoming your obstacles as well as delivering the much deserved justice to a bunch of douchehogs who need to take a few years off to rediscover their humanity.
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plot: the plot was incredible, it was thrilling, complex, and simple gorgeous. I loved how they made it really feel like you watched an entire life take places and watched as the character grew and matured with the difficulties life presented her with. some people may not watch it because its so ridiculously long, but trust me, when you start watching it, you'll want it to be longer. the plot threw quite a few twists and new developments so I never grew bored of it and I found myself cheering for the characters who stood for justice.
characters: loved the characters. they were all so brilliantly crafted with their own unique quirks and characteristics that I found it easy to remember even minor characters. Plus there is a certain richness in the characters and character relationships that only really long dramas can bring about so when tragedy strikes and someone dies, the tears just keep gushing out. I also loved how even the villians had depth to them so that you couldn't completely hate them and even felt pity for them. Even though I often cursed one of the characters in this and found myself wanting to rip her face off, I actually cried when she died. that's how awesome they developed their characters.
music: I really just want to hug whoever was responsible for the music in this drama. They did an AMAZING job. I loved all the soundtracks played in this, it was both haunting and beautiful. I would seriously rewatch this drama just to listen to the soundtrack. Towards the last few episodes, the soundtrack at the end was especially creepy and haunting which was fitting and just plain awesome.
In the end I would highly recommend people to watch and then re-watch this drama. A very heartwarming and at the same time heartbreaking tale of overcoming your obstacles and learning to forgive and value yourself. beautiful coming of age drama. its one of those that don't leave your mind for a while. Definitely going to watch this again.
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story: as far as the story goes it isn't terribly original but thats normal in dramaland. There were a lot of refreshing differences in the plot compared to other dramas however and it wasn't riddled with cliches. If there was a misunderstanding in the drama like we so often see, instead of dragging it out for 4 or 5 episodes, the misunderstanding usually got resolved within the episode and so I was never so frustrated I wanted to rip my hair out. The story progressed in a believable fashion and I felt everything was realistic.
characters: All the characters were nicely developed. I loved that the main girl didn't fall for the rich handsome successful guy and actually broke dramaland tradition and went for the poor and not so handsome guy. Their romance was beautifully done and their interactions were adorable. I loved that he wasn't a jerk to her and I loved that they were honest with eachother and their feelings.
music: the music in this was so-so. nothing stood out really.
over all I give this drama a 9 because it kept you watching and didn't lose your interest. I was rather really happy with this drama and I hope you consider watching it to.
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story/plot: freakin amazing. I loved how there were so many other key elements in it besides romance like courage, loyalty, duty, justice and a little bit of good ol' vengeance. Everything in the story progressed nicely and tied into each other beautifully. And the characters changed with the dramatic life events that take place as well so they were very dynamic and awesome. it was very realistic in that sense. I also liked how there were a lot of surprises in the plot.
characters: okay don't get too attached to the characters because more than likely...they'll probably end up dying. seriously though, I felt like I was watching the game of thrones all over again with all the dramatic deaths in this. I really loved the main girl in this though. She is probably the biggest boss ass bitch I've ever seen. That girl knows how to get stuff done. She was a very powerful and enticing character that made the overall story rich. And unlike some other dramas, the girl in this one knows exactly how to exact vengeance. she don't mess around.
music: what is it with historical drama soundtracks?!? I have yet to come across one that wasn't freakishly amazing. The songs in this were amazing. I would buy this soundtrack no lie. they had perfectly epic music for the super intense moments that made you want cheer. Overall, I want to hug the music guy.
I would definitely say I would rewatch some of the episodes on this in the future, not all of them because that would take at least another month of my life I could be spending watching another epic historical drama, but at least a few of the more bad ass episodes. Forget the length guys, go for it! its so worth it.
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plot/story: while to me, the drama seemed to be lacking a plot, I could still appreciate the main theme being falling in love and have fate bring you together in an extremely interesting way. I really felt like the two in this drama were destined for eachother and the body switching made their love seem more like the love between destined soul mates then just a simple crush like I've seen in other dramas.
actors: the actors were incredible in this drama! Even when they switched bodies you could definitely tell who was who by their behaviors and mannerisms. I thought the actors did an excellent job in depicting the opposite gender while switched from the way they answered their cell phones to how they sat. That in itself showed some amazing acting skills. Plus I really felt like they were genuinely crying in the sob scenes. I'm serious though, they must have envisioned a mass murder of puppies or something in order to cry like that.
characters: I really enjoyed their characters. The main girl never became a 'flat' character, she remained with a lot of depth and the male lead was the perfect combination of playful and sexy. There were other characters I wished they would have developed more like the director at her stuntman place. I really wish he would have come forth with his feelings or something, instead he just kind of faded away and it would have been nice to have more of a love triangle. However, I can appreciate that maybe they decided against that because I could see how it would take some of the spot light off the main theme which was unconditional love so maybe a lack of love triangle was for the best.
music: the music was good, I liked it. Nothing that memorable and some of it sounded like it came off of other dramas ( I swear there was one song in it that sounded like the one used in Scent of a Woman) but they played the music at good times and the music always related to the scene which was nice.
Other: on another note, I really enjoyed the action too in this! they had some great excerpts from her role as a stuntwoman which were really entertaining to watch. I especially liked the motorcycle scene.
And the ending was definitely one of the best I've ever seen in a drama. Really, thought, absolutely perfect and beautiful ending.
over all, I thought this was a really touching and beautiful drama. I'll probably rewatch it again some time in the future.
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plot: The plot was fantastic. the scriptwriter obviously knew exactly where they wanted this to go and the plot was never lost. They did an amazing job at displaying how a person who has never been given love can become lost and unsure of whats right in their quest to find happiness.
characters/actors: the characters in this were brilliantly scripted. Each character had their own view of what is right and what is wrong, and don't even bother looking for someone to blame or hate, everyone in this is at fault while at the same time everyone in this is also a victim. In that aspect, this film really depicted human nature and life in general. The actors and actresses were extremely good at depicting their characters. I really felt their pain and desperation through every scene. With each episode you really start to feel the main characters world start to unravel. You kind of want to hate her for her lies and deception but then you can't help but feel sorry for her and want to love her for all the pain she's been through.
music: okay, the music guy needed to be fired. There were some points when I thought 'hey, this music fits this scene perfectly' because there were a couple of songs that were beautiful and really suited the main girl but then other times, it was a little awkward because here you have this sort of intense moment and all of a sudden a little bit of 80's like music comes on and sort of makes it feel like a bad lifetime movie. luckily, those didn't happen often and the 80's like music was just the intro to an okay song that ended up being suitable enough. so if you hear 80's music, just bear with it, it will end soon haha.
In the end I really enjoyed this drama. Someday I do plan on rewatching it when I want to feel particularly depressed about life. If you want something heartwarming then don't watch this. this is for when you have a box of tissues and you want to use it in one night.
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story: the story line and plot is the main reason I'm showering some much needed shade at this drama. Its like the writer kept forgetting where they were going with the plot and kept changing their mind about what they wanted the main story to be. If the writer would have kept to the original plot of a chef time traveling back into ancient china who searches for a way to time travel back and just left it at that, I believe the drama would have turned out much better. However, the writer kept adding all these side plots that weren't really complex and just made the story line choppy, inconsistent, and confusing. Then towards the middle the story line grew rather dark for the romcom/comedy I was hoping for.
characters: So the characters got on my nerves a little bit too. Our main heroine was a little difficult to understand perhaps in the way that her character was written. She was often inconsistent, indecisive, and fickle. There were times when I got confused about what her goals, ambitions, and feelings were. She would say one thing, but then do another that contradicted her statement making it hard for the viewer to connect with her or her situation. I felt like she was unfamiliar the entire series because she was so inconsistent.
The male lead in this was also a little bit poorly written. I just feel like for a 56 episode drama the character development could have been so much more. The characters did not really grow, mature, or change during the entire course of this series making me cringe at all the wasted character potential.
Chemistry: So the couple chemistry was okay. Probably the best part of the series to be honest. The couple moments were cute (when they weren't crying or whining about each other and their circumstances). The only thing I hated was how few there were. A majority of the series was spent with the main couple breaking up, getting back together (for a very short time) and then quickly breaking up again. All they seemed to do was whine and cry about how much they missed the other but then they kept falling for misunderstandings. The main couple had a horrible habit of stubbornly remaining sulky and miserable for dumb reasons for a majority of the time.
music: the music was only so-so. I don't remember any particularly gripping song or soundtrack.
acting: the acting itself wasn't bad. The actors and actresses could only do so much with what they were given, however, they did an excellent job with what they had.
rewatch value: over all, I would definitely not rewatch this or waste my time on this drama again. There wasn't even a single episode I would go back to visit because there wasn't a scene in the entire series that connected to me or pulled me in enough to want to rewatch it again.
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storyline/plot: one of the best storylines I've seen so far in a drama. It was extremely unique and refreshing. I especially liked that it had a happy ending, although I had to relook a few times on the tags to see if was a tragedy because at some points in the drama it appeared like that was where it was headed. It was a perfect combination of comedy (definitely has some laugh out loud moments that were both endearing and hilarious) seriousness, and true love. there were a few times when I was really confused in the drama though. I feel that some of the stuff going on could have been explained a lot better and it got a little difficult to distinguish what was the truth and what was a lie fabricated to suite someone else's agenda.
Actors/characters: as for the acting I thought they did an amazing job depicting their characters. The girl they chose to play the Gumiho did a fantastic job at portraying fox like animal behaviors. A perfect blend of mischievousness and sincerity. She was an extremely likable character, I couldn't help but find her absolutely adorable. I liked how all the characters stood out in their own way had their own unique personalities, they didn't blend together like some do in other dramas. I also thought the male lead for this was perfect, there was great chemistry between him and the gumiho. They did an amazing job of making you feel like the two leads were really in love with each other, I haven't seen such great chemistry since the two leads in '49 days'
music: lets just say that its some of the best music I've heard in a drama. I'm now officially obsessed with their song 'fox rain' absolutely beautiful and a little haunting at the same time. Great choice in music.
overall, I really enjoyed this drama, I think they should do more romantic/comedies about inhuman leads. If you're undecided on watching this you're missing out on an incredible drama.
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story/plot line: I absolutely loved the plot, it was excellent and I didn't feel like the writer lost interest. It was all beautifully organized and over all brilliantly touching.
characters/ actors: Ok the acting in this was superb. You really felt the emotions each character was feeling and they had some of the best crying scenes I've ever seen in a drama. The crying was so realistic and heartbreaking it made me cry. I really enjoyed that the main characters had ambition and willpower and that there was really no clear line about who was good or bad. There were times where you pitied and felt bad for the enemies and to me, that's realistic. No body is completely bad. Except maybe for her 'friend' in this. She was just evil. I've seen a lot of dramas where the main lead is hungry for revenge and sets out to destroy those who did them wrong but after watching this, it was refreshing because FINALLY we have a female lead who knows how to take revenge. After watching her exact her vengeance I was like 'and that ladies and gentlemen is how its done.' I wanted to see a little more romance in it but I loved and hated how they ended it. It was beautifully sad and realistic but at the same time infuriating to the point where I wanted to rip my eyeballs out. If you are a stoic person and don't cry through the whole series, be prepared for the last 3 episodes because I never once stopped crying through them.
music: everyone knows music makes the drama (that and the sexy lead actors of course haha) but while I still love and think the music Jewel in the Palace is unbeatable, this drama came pretty close. The person who did the music was never confused about what music was good for what scene and the music was so beautifully done it made every scene that much intense.
overall, i'd say watch this drama. You'll kind of hate yourself for watching because once again those last 3 episodes were killer but you won't regret it.
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story: While the story was interesting and unique, I felt like it was ultimately directionless. I loved the supernatural theme, and I believe that is what initially piqued everyone's interest in the beginning. Well, that and Lee Jong Suk of course ;) However, the more the story drug on, the more I felt like the supernatural unique aspects of the drama began to disappear and lose it's "magic" and appeal. It just became redundant and somewhat lackluster. In the end, the story tied up nice enough but I'm still left a little deflated with a lingering feeling that it could have potentially been more.
characters: In the end, the characters and character development, or lack of I should say, was what disappointed me the most. Lee Jong Suk did a marvelous job with his character. I could see his growth from an immature troubled youth still struggling with deciding between right and wrong and later watched him grow into a young man who stood firm in his beliefs. It was a seamless transition and I enjoyed the progress. In comparison, Suzy's character barely had any character growth. Her character was one dimensional at most. It was flat and a little boring to be honest. I don't know why, but something about her acting never communicated to me or pulled me into the story. I had the same problem with our second male lead in question, Han Woo Tak. While a handsome specimen and a potentially intriguing character, I felt like he was even more tasteless and boring than even Suzy. Even worse, I was left hanging till the very end wondering what dirty little secrets he was hiding or quietly pondering the possibility that Woo Tak might be more sinister then he let on as some of the directing of this series seemed to insinuate. I was sorely disappointed however when his character and role in general just fell flat resulting in a character I strongly felt was ultimately pointless and boring with no real character development either. I sometimes felt the side characters at the law firm had more interesting interactions and character growth to be honest.
music: The music in this was superb. It fit the scenes perfectly and was able to pull the perfect emotion for every scene. It was as beautiful as the cinematography which I also happened to find beautiful and breathtaking.
Chemistry: The couple chemistry was only so-so. I didn't really feel much of a connection between the two actors and I continue to feel like their relationship bordered on closer to friendship then it ever did to an actual intimate relationship.
Antagonist: And finally, the biggest problem I had with this entire drama was the antagonist. It was almost comical how the painted a big red villain sign on Lee Yu Beom. Sure the dude was crooked and manipulative but as the series drew on, I expected a little bit of insight into his sinister mask. What made him tick? What was his backstory? Why was he so twisted inside? They had so many opportunities to draw forth various complicated emotions from the viewers with a more complicated and complex antagonist so I was sorely disappointed when they decided to paint everything black and white and simply made Lee Yu Beom into the typical "Born to be the bad guy" lead in which every action he has ever taken was meant to cause distress to our main heros. The struggle between the antagonist and the protagonist was much too disney version for my liking. Character depth is more realistic and has the potential to leave a more lasting impression on the audience.
With that in mind, I over all rather enjoyed this series. I'm not dissuading anyone from watching this, if you are considering watching it then by all means go ahead. It was an enjoyable ride and I don't regret watching it. I would say it was worth the watch. If you are looking for something rich in supernatural mystery or character depth then I would advise against it. This drama was more focused on things like standing firm in your beliefs, distinguishing between right and wrong, human connections, and how we are all ultimately tied together somehow in an intricate and dynamic web of fate.
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'Beautiful Days' really should have been renamed as either 'miserable days.' or 'the worst days of our lives.' because really that's all it focused on was tears....heartache.... and oh wait more tears.
plot: to be completely honest the plot wasn't that original or even engaging. although I will say a couple of characters circumstances were unique and towards the end, the main male lead's life completely turns around which I haven't seen happen in a lot of dramas. Beautiful Days was very refreshing in that aspect.
characters/ acting: I had no problem with the acting in this. The actors and actress could only do so much with their characters. and speaking of characters I completely fell in love with Sena. She stole the show for me because her spitfire attitude at everything was hilarious and in the beginning I only watched it for her absurd and rash scenes. As for the main female lead well...she was a dull as a doorpost that one. In the beginning she was just a really flat character that had the charisma and personality similar to that of what I'd imagine a dead slug to have. Luckily towards the last few episode she seemed to gain a little bit more of a personality though but I found it disappointing that all the side female leads seemed to outshine the main female lead hands down in terms of interesting quirks.
ok now lets move on to the main male lead of this drama. .......to be completely honest I found him a little creepy. He was good looking but somehow, perhaps by fault of the way they directed it, he came off a little....well creepy. I wasn't a large fan of the whole 'here, let me just....reach out and attempt to intimately touch your face....hahaha just kidding I was totally just reaching for the post card behind you because I get off on making you feel overly awkward and uncomfortable' scenes. Then there was that fond habit he had of just randomly popping up when you least expected him to in a very uncomfortable kind of way. For example, here's the main female lead having this nice little conversation with said second lead with some uplifting music going on in the background so i'm like I can roll with this when all of a sudden, with no warning from the director or easing into the scene BAM, the main male leads creepy leering face peering through a crack in the door. I don't know why but every time that happened (happened more than once i'm afraid) I jumped and got chills in a bad way. it gave me the feel of a horror movie. I really half expected there to be some scary music in the background during those parts.
chemistry: I don't really think there was that much chemistry between the two leads either. really just nothing. There were hardly any couple or heartwarming couple moments and more than half the drama he was too busy being a jerk or a terrible boyfriend to take her out on dates and really accumulate happy memories for those lovely flashback barrages we all love to see every three episodes. I could count on one hand how many times he was actually nice to her. All in all, kind of wish they didn't spend 19 episodes doing nothing but making each other miserable and then crying about making each other miserable. oh well, at least there wasn't a crazed jealous second female lead out to ruin their lives and suck the main male leads soul out of his body.
music: music was so so but Ididn't really expect anything awesome from such an old drama. there was one piece that I rather liked though which was the ending music. I could roll with it.
overall, I'd say this was an ok drama. don't think i'll ever rewatch it but it was a nice experience. You should watch it for Sena since she was hilarious and if you're curious about those dramatic almost horror movie type moments then give it a try. Also, if you're expecting a sad and tragic ending i'm pleased to say that you won't be crying you're weight in tears by the end of it either. Thank you director for that much at least.
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plot: while the story line and plot were really good and unique, I found it to drag on for a long time in the beginning. The first 12 episodes was really just about the two main leads whining about not being together and then even when they were together they were still whining about other things. The length of this drama definitely should have been shorter say around 14 or 16 episodes.
characters/actors: the acting was really good but I found them lacking in character depth. The main female lead for example didn't really seem to have much of a personality which I was disappointed in. all the characters showed great chemistry however and the two main leads were excellent in depicting two star struck lovers.
music: The music was okay, nothing outstanding but it wasn't too terrible though
overall it was an okay drama, not something I'd rewatch but there were some things in it that were worth watching.
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This review may contain spoilers
Had Potential but was Disappointing
As a hardcore fan of historical dramas and time travel I had high expectations with this drama, however I was severely disappointed. It had the potential to be a great drama, all the elements were there, romance that transcended time and space, drama, emotional turmoil, and the promise of an incredible adventure. Did they fully utilize all of these elements? No. That they did not which is why it left a bad taste in my mouth. Here is why:Plot: so the plot line in the beginning was actually fairly unique as far as time travel plot lines go. It was unusual for the leads to meet in the modern world first even if it was because of overlapping time periods and mostly during the dream state of the other party. That was as creative as it got I'm afraid as there wasn't much anything else unique or interesting from there on. The plot left a lot to be questioned with no answers, there were multiple plot holes and it left me with more questions than answers. I felt like the original plot line sort of got lost somewhere in the middle.
Characters: so the characters were okay. I liked the female lead in the fact that she was wise and not too annoying like some historical drama female leads typically are. The male lead was okay enough, nothing too memorable about him though. I actually thought the 14th prince married to the female antagonist was more charismatic and memorable than he was. I couldn't help but wish he were the male lead instead to be honest.
music: to be honest, the music was probably the best part in this entire series. They had some really beautiful and moving instrumentals that made me feel kind of sorry that it didn't have a better plot line to accompany it. The music was far too good for this drama. This drama did not deserve its magnificence.
Overall I was pretty disappointed that the chemistry between leads wasn't stronger considering how their love transcended time and space and their relationship felt rushed. There were also a lot of conversation holes that confused me like when she was openly talking about being from the future with 13th prince when it never showed their first conversation about this. he went from not knowing or having any idea to just suddenly being on board with it and knowing everything about her with no conversations leading up to it or any BIG revelation scene where she tells him. It was just like suddenly 'oh yeah somewhere during the time they knew each other they must have had this conversation. we just didn't feel the need to share it with the audience.' overall it made me pretty confused and then cheated like I got cheated out of some potentially good scenes they felt weren't important enough to include. If they had, I feel like the chemistry and relationship building between the leads could have been better. But they didn't and so I'm disappointed. Probably not ever going to rewatch.
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