Different kinds of love

I'm not sure if I can describe this as a romcom or comedy because there's not a lot of love here, but they are all in some kind of relationships.

The male lead is in a writing slump and meets a gay writer who is in love with him. The ML's second wife is abroad and he deals with his first wife regularly because their son is a trouble maker. The first wife is secretly dating the male lead's editor while the son strikes a friendship/falls in love with the neighbor lady who is married but husband is away.

It's too complicated and chaotic when the stories all come together. I didn't find the movie funny, except for the scene where the son finds his parents in bed together.

The other noteworthy thing is when the homophobic male lead ends up understanding and supporting the gay writer.

Rating: 8/10

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Watch the car chase scene

This movie is based on a true story when South and North Korea were fighting about UN membership. War broke out in Somalia and the two had to set aside their differences to escape from the war zone.

Loved the very slick Hollywood feel of this movie. The final car chase scene was nailbiting, even though I knew they were going to make it, I was sweating bullets watching the cars try to get past the Somalian police and rebels to get to the embassy.

What I felt this movie lacked was a resolution. For someone who didnt know the history, I wanted to know what happened after. Did SK get their UN membership or not? I think they forgot the plot in the end.

Rating: 8.5/10

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Generations

Likes
1. I didnt read the book yet, but i loved the story of Sunja's family, from the time she was born and how she got married, had family, and struggled for a better life. At first I didnt understand why guys were falling all over Sunja but watch the drama and you'll find out why (and the actress is amazing).
2. Surprisingly i find Koh Hansu interesting (not just because he is played by LMH) but because adding one episode about his life (which is not in the book) gave some perspective of who he is now.
3. I wanna know more about what happened to Noa and how Mozasu grows up to be who he is, and Kyunghee. I think i will read the book now coz i cant wait for 4 more seasons how the story ends.

Dislikes
1. I prefer watching young Sunja's journey and not really the present timeline. Mostly because i'm not sold on Solomon. Surprised to see him act like this considering his family's experience. But i think that's the point of the story and he will learn and mature because of this.
2. I dont like Hana so not sure why we had to see one episode about her.

I hope Apple will be able to film all 4 seasons!

Rating: 8.5/10

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Living in a Fishbowl

Likes
1. Not the usual wholesome jdrama because this is netflix produced so so many bed scenes. But i like that the scenes didnt look awkward but very natural.
2. I like the side stories of the other wives (more than the main fishbowl wife) and if i had to rate their stories i liked Lunchbox wife the most, then Outsourced wife, Renovation wife, Headache wife and Chaperone wife.
3. This drama didnt glorify affairs but shows us why women would have affairs. I wouldnt say i agree with them but I get where they are coming from. They're not happy with their husbands but they dont want to get divorced since that would disrupt their lives and they dont want to get together with the other guy. So they have an affair and still stay with their marriage. Weird but i'm sure these scenarios happen in real life. And i like that there was no preachy tone in the drama and one year later, the wives were definitely happier but still engaging in their affairs.
4. The main fishbowl wife was the only one who stood up against her abusive husband and walked away from a bad marriage. She was the strongest one and I hope she is happier now.

Dislikes
My main issue with this drama is the main wife's story was so boring and took up most of the time. It was obviously rebound and i feel bad for the younger guy. Also the younger guy is love with her after one incident years ago was unrealistic. I'm very happy they didn't end up together.

Rating: 8/10

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Justice served

"Justice has to be preserved by any means necessary."

This movie is about a prosecutor being sent to Shenyang to investigate the Korean team but he ends up in the middle of a war between Sokor, Nokor and Japanese spies.

Sol Kyung Gu is so cool in this movie while Haesu's straight laced character started off as clueless (how many times was he fooled throughout the movie?). But he later learns and joins hands with Yaksha to defeat the enemy. The story was confusing because we didnt exactly know what was happening but it all makes sense later on.

The betrayals were predictable, same with using chemical factory as the final scene so they can blow up the factory 😆. But still enjoyed watching.

Rating: 8/10

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Friends or Lovers

Short and sweet

Likes
1. "Best friends turned lovers" is my second fave trope. I loved best friends Sunwoo and Eunsoo and their relationship. Han Sohee/Eunsoo is so pretty, I cant imagine how Sunwoo didnt do anything after being friends for 19 years. Likewise, I cant believe Eunsoo didnt see how great Sunwoo is to her or that he has been in love with her for years. I guess sometimes being friends for too long one can forget or dont realize what they have until it's gone.
2. 4 episodes at 45mins per episode made this easy to binge watch at one go.
3 i also loved the overall vibe, the clothes, the setting, the house, the colors.
4. Park Hyung Sik plays almost similar role to his role in Happiness, which is the best guy friend who pines for his pretty best friend for years.
5. My fave scenes are when they slept side by side, when Sunwoo left for the army and Eunsoo broke down in tears, when Sunwoo asked Wooil if Eunsoo enjoyed the wine, when Eunsoo cried after Sunwoo leaves on a bus, and the flower shop scene when they met again.

Dislikes
1. I loved the songs but I thought there were too many songs and not one made a huge impact. I also expected that we will get to hear Eunsoo's songs for Jayjun and Taeyoon but we didnt hear them at all.
2. The editing for some scenes are abrupt and the music gets cut off.
3. We spent 3 eps seeing Sunwoo in love with Eunsoo but only one with Eunsoo. Wished they added an extra 30 mins so we could have seen her side.

Rating: 8.5/10

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Taxi Driver

This movie is based on real events that happened during the Gwangju Uprising (if you watched Youth Of May you'll understand this). A German reporter and a taxi driver from Seoul was able to sneak into Gwangju, film what is really happening on the ground (vs being reported on news and tv) and broadcast it to the whole world.

I loved the transformation of the taxi driver from just in it for the money to helping the residents from the cruel shooting. The shooting scenes were horrifying, the residents and fellow taxi drivers were courageous. The taxi car chase scenes were exaggerated but was good climax. Too bad the real reporter and taxi driver never met again after this event as I read the taxi driver died 4 years later.

Rating: 8.5/10

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Teenage drama with zombies

All of Us Are Dead (2022)

Likes
1. Cheongsan and Suhyeok friendship. CS always leads and SH follows him. But Suhyeok didnt even cry when CS died but was willing to get bitten by Namra.
2. Joonyeong, Hyeongsu, Wujin who sacrificed themselves to save their friends. Even Isak's death was sad.
3. Onjo's dad who found a way to save his daughter.
4. I didnt like Onjo and Namra to end up with the two boys and they really didn't haha!
5. They tried to add depth to the story but hard when there's too many characters but at least they still tried, even for just the main team.

Dislikes
1. Gwinam won't die!! There's no explanation why he is super strong and recovers fast other than needing to have a villain in the school.
2. Namra was useless as a halfbie. She just served as their radar to detect other zombies. She is supposed to have special strength like Gwinam but during zombie attacks she hides behind and do nothing except in the end. Actually most of the girls were pretty much useless and let the boys do the fighting. Onjo as the lead was a damsel in distress.
3. Unnecessary deaths like Onjo's dad, Cheongsan, Wujin.
4. Unnecessary plot like the preggy girl, Jaeik, assemblywoman, youtuber, little girl.
5. Unresolved issues like Nayeon should have had a chance to ask forgiveness but got killed by Gwinam. Gwinam fighting with Cheongsan instead of Eunji getting her revenge. Aftermath of Hyosan bombing. How to stop the virus.

I still enjoyed this despite the dislikes. Better if they kept this at 8 or 10 eps. Not sure about the ending.

Rating: 8/10

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Beautiful Math

Melancholia (2021)

Likes
1. I loved the first 6 episodes when they were still in high school. But episodes 10-13 dragged. They could have cut some of the scenes and made the drama shorter.
2. Loved the relationahip between Seung Yoo and Yoonsu. You can really feel how much they love math. Too bad the present time was focused on the corruption/revenge and not a lot of math.
3. I liked Si-an. She may be an orphan but she grew up well, is smart, happy and is tough to stand against Jina and the bullies. I also liked Jina more than Yerin (she always had this sour face the entire time and was too stubborn and to admit her mistake).
4. Second time to see Jin Kyung play the baddie and i love it. She is so elegant but that maniacal laugh is scary (but not Cheon Seojin level). I also find the feud between the sisters interesting and i was actually rooting for Jungah not Yeonwoo.
5. I also liked Sungjae. I actually wished he and Yoonsu will get back together.

Dislikes
1. I never liked math so although this drama made math sound so beautiful and interesting, i still got lost with all the metaphors about math.
2. I felt that the romance wasn't needed. They could have ended as best friends or teacher-mentor and it still would have been a great ending.

Rating: 8/10

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Innocent until proven guilty

One Ordinary Day (2021)

Likes
1. I loved the transformation of Hyunsoo from being a naive college student to a man forced to grow up fast in order to survive. Hyunsoo didnt say much throughout the drama but you can feel his desperation and loneliness though his eyes and his tears (although sometimes the crying was OA).
2. I love Shin Joong Han. He really tried his best to defend Hyunsoo, it's just that police and prosecution already made up their minds and it's hard to investigate all the possible suspects alone In just a short time. Still he was able to do it.
3. Ugh! I hated the prosecutor and chief of police! I know they really thought they had the right person and I'm glad they still had a conscience and let Hyunsoo go. What I didn't like was they made it seem like they were the one to investigated and found the killer and didn't even apologize to Hyunsoo. One got promoted, the other got an honorary retirement. How about Hyunsoo and his family? How can they move on after this?
4. Do Ji Tae was such a memorable character! He was so hot lol and was almost like a mentor to Hyunsoo. The ongoing fight with Dooshik was repetitive but was shocked with what happened!! I almost thought that Hyunsoo might takeover from Do Ji Tae and be the new lion of northern prison.

Dislikes
I didn't watch the BBC drama so I don't know how closely they followed it and if the ending the same. I don't think he jumped, I think he spent the day thinking about his life and what to do now. Can he resume being a normal college student? Did Do Ji Tae's death left a big impression on him? Will he follow Joong Han and become a lawyer defending innocent people like him? The possibilities are endless. Again he didn't speak much so we don't really know what he's thinking.

I saw that BBC had two seasons. Hope there will be S2 with Kim Yoo Jung!

Rating: 9/10

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Too many unanswered questions

Hellbound (2021)

Likes
1. Great acting from the cast. It makes me think what will I do if i receive a decree? Do i spend my last remaining hours hiding in fear or do i spend it saying goodbye to people? I know everyone eventually dies, it's just that here, the way you die is too scary and merciless. The decree also doesn't say the reason why you're going to hell. And how come Jinsu got the decree 20 years ago but others only had a few days to live?
2. The kind of religious fanaticism is happening right now and everywhere in the world. Not just religion, even in politics and social media we have this scary cancel culture. Some people are so righteous thinking their way is the right way and bullies everyone else who does not conform to their truth. And if their truth is wrong, instead of correcting them, they hide the truth and call the others as fake news. I wish everyone would ve more compassionate towards each other and less self serving.

Dislikes
Since there are only 6 episodes, there are too many unanswered questions thus it's hard to feel satisfied with the ending. Hoping for a season 2 to explain not only the last scene but also the overall phenomenon.

Rating: 8/10

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Namgoong Min sizzles

The Veil (2021)

The drama's plot felt so familiar. Like a mishmash of western spy action movies like Bourne identity, Die hard, Jack Reacher etc but still so uniquely Kdrama.

Likes
1. I waited for this the whole year and was not disappointed! Very thrilling, with action and lots of guessing of whodunit, but you almost need to watch closely because it can get confusing with so many characters.
2. Hands down Namgoong Min carried the show coz he was just amazing in this role as Han Ji Hyuk. I think he didnt need to bulk up that much since there were very few shirtless scenes but he looked so good in suits and his face is fuller. 😍
2. Very early on they introduced "Baek Mosa" so i thought he must be the main villain, but then the next 6 episodes went around in circles trying to implicate the other baddies in the NIS. I guess with the amount of villanous actors they casted, they wanted to complicate things and make people guess who is the worst of them. But i like that they finally teamed up to defeat the main baddie.
3. I love the partnership between Han Ji Hyuk and Yoo Je Yi. At first i thought Jeyi was too bland and green for Jihyuk but she proved to be very smart and complemented well with Jihyuk.
4. I loved the slow reveal of what really happened that night in Shenyang. There were so many twists and turns to get to that point when Jihyuk finally remembers everything. The reveal who killed his colleagues was something i expected since they kept hinting at it. The face off between Jihyuk and Mosa was typical Kdramatic with the daughter pleading to his father.

Dislikes
1. As mentioned above, the story went around in circles and overcomplicated a lot of things. But maybe if they sropped some of the twists we will not have material for 12 episodes so not a big deal.
2. Son Su Yeon was odd. She always felt out of place and they killed her off so early!!

Rating: 8.5/10

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Ryu Jun Yeol's the star

Hit and Run Squad (2019)

This movie is about a police team in-charge of hit and run accidents. One of the cases involves an arrogant race car driver avoiding arrest and lying about the hit and run incident a few months ago which later turns out to be much more - bribery, death, betrayal. But our squad is staking their lives to catch him before he flees the country.

I think the real star of this movie is Ryu Jun Ryeol's character Minjae who at first looked like a weird cop with good instincts but once we find out more about his past, we realize he isnt as dumb as he seems. I love his relationship with his dad and the ambulance scene was 😭😭😭.

I'm not used to seeing Jo Jung Suk as the bad guy but he kind of has that scary look on his face when he tries to threaten Siyeon or Minjae. There were two scenes which I think were inspired by fast and the furious when Jaecheol was running after Minjae and Siyeon.

I was expecting more of Gong Hyojin's character Siyeon but she didnt do much. I liked her with Taeho, i'm happy he didn't die. That twist with her boss was unexpected but was so sudden it didnt really had much impact.

The ending also felt incomplete. So what happened to the boss? Is there a sequel? Kim Go Eun's character is only a cameo? The police commissioner's accident is he dead?

Rating: 8/10

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Interesting start, Messy ending

Lovers of the Red Sky (2021)

Likes
1. I didnt realize when I started watching that this is a fantasy drama but episodes 1 and 2 were interesting and I loved the actors who played the younger versions of Haram and Cheon Gi, the background story was enough to get invested in the couple.
2. I loved the paintings, it was so amazing that simple brushes can make these fantastic masterpieces. The best episodes were the painting competition, although it was still unbelievable that a young inexperienced painter can win against everyone else. And her butterfly painting was not that great tbh.
3. I loved the Baekyu Painters Society and how they always had Cheongi's back, esp her two painter friends. And the friendship between Haram, Prince Yang Myeong and Cheon Gi.
4. The ending kind of redeemed the entire story since they get their happy ever after, but still dont understand why they decided to live in an area so faraway from the city. The last scene between the two princes, at first I though the story is incomplete, now thinking back i guess just shows life goes on.

Dislikes
1. The story got messy and a lot of things were unexplained. More than halfway and I still didn't get the reason for the ring, or why they need to seal the devil inside the painting (because the drama said so), how Cheon Gi is the divine painter (when it turns out without Hwacha's power her painting was useless so what was the point?), why Joohyang was still alive when his body is supposedly rotting away, the king knew all about Haram's plan and never told him the truth (rendering his whole life's revenge plot unnecessary). And the whole nonsense about Haram's grandfather. And what about Maehyang?
2. Haram was blind for 20 years but he is extraordinarily aware of his surroundings that he doesnt look blind at all! He looks straight at the person he is talking to, he fights against the soldiers when blind, he can interpret the stars without seeing them.

Rating: 7/10 (i should give a lower rating but the four leads were so pretty)

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Two less lonely people in the world

Hometown Cha Cha Cha (2021)

Likes
1. Loved watching the villagers live a simple life in Gongjin with the beautiful scenery and yummy food.
2. Hyejin and Dusik's rollercoaster romance, and how they supported and healed each other, although their sweet moments were OTP cringey.
3. Euncheol and Misun's relationship was low key and adorable, i loved them (sometimes more than the main couple). And i got it right, Euncheol was the mystery lotto winner 😄
4. Another fave character is Hwajeong. I cried for her when we found out why she divorced her husband. I'm happy they got back together, just wished they showed more sweetness and more groveling from the husband to make up for the 15 years he treated her bad.
5. Of course Hyejin and Misun's friendship, Misun following her friend to the seaside, though still cant get over Hyejin leaving Misun in Seoul after planning an overnight girls night out to go back to Dusik!!
6. Seunghyun is another fave character, though I didnt think he really had to end up with his writer - they could have continued being partners producing great shows without the romance (or maybe they could have gotten someone prettier to match him *sorry*)
7. Gamri 😢 whenever i see this actress, im scared that she will die by the end of the show or not.
8. Lalalalalalalalala...romantic sunday 🎶🎶🎶 will forever be embedded in everyone's minds

Dislikes
1. I didn't like the first few episodes because I thought the villagers were all rude (esp Dusik) and always made Hyejin feel like she was a horrible person. And the nosy Namsook. There's no excuse for gossiping about other people.
2. The middle part felt too long and boring, i was sometimes half watching half using twitter. But i didnt fast forward any scenes.
3. The too many coincidences. From Hyejin and Dusik meeting 4x, Dusik's trauma is connected to Seunghyun and his assistant's family all felt convenient.

Rating: 8.5/10 (because i liked the ending despite the flaws and this was the perfect weekend watch)

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