Reviews

Meh

I feel like this is an example of producers stretching out a story for monetary value - but no artistic or creative value.

The entire series would've been better off ending at Season 3 but with the ending being an open one showing the FL meeting the modern world ML and hinting at romance. Instead they continue to drag on the story, making it lose the poignancy and depth of emotion that came from the first three seasons.

Also, when the FL's memory was erased, it inexplicably made her a ditz - she lost her sharpness and maturity, which made me like her so much in the first three seasons. What's up with that?

Based on reviews for Season 5, I'll be skipping it, unless I'm epically bored and have nothing else to watch.

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Charmless

This one was disappointing for me. It started off interesting. I like Book and Force. I saw them in Boss and Babe first and I enjoyed their chemistry. It was present here as well. It's not killer chemistry but it's solid and enjoyable to watch. But then they put them in this series and it almost drowned out any chemistry or energy they have.
The plot is lame for the get go. The whole secret admirer named enchante and the four people claiming to be him, was just boring. This despite having a cast of solidly good, and attractive actors including Fluke D. who could have chemistry with a statue. It flows from his pores and his eyes. They had an opportunity to have a second couple who would've been fire and did nothing with that. It was so pathetic.

Halfway through I realized I was bored and didn't particularly like Theo. I really liked Akk but his common sense and easygoing nature began to contrast too much with Theo. He had such potential to have a fun story but it was constantly thwarted by the grumpy as hell Theo! But, outside of skipping a little here and there, I stayed patient believing that Theo, and the show, would get better. How very wrong I was.

I'm not getting into any detail about the ending. I will say though, by the last episode I was wishing the show was more like real life and they Didn't end up together. By the end credits I felt disappointed and anti-climatic. I'm sure I will soon forget this one and I'm thankful for that. I'm also super glad that I watched a boss and a babe before this because I enjoyed them and that show so well. It was a nice introduction.

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The Best Time Travel Mini Mini Drama Love Story You Will Ever Watch

This is my first and possibly last review. The only reason I am writing this is to persuade more people to watch this, in spite of it's low rating of 8, it really deserves 9.5 as a minimum!

I caveat it as a mini mini drama because each episode is on average 3-6 minutes long. There's not even an opening or ending song just a couple of repeated tracks. So you are totally focussed on the drama.

I really like this premise - Zhong Xiao Xiao goes back in time and actually gets to know the guy she has a crush on. She had a longstanding crush on Xu Yang who never knew anything, and I don't think she really knew him either just thought he was cute. Left school, that was it, all left behind.

Won't spoil it except to say she gets to know him and she gets to know other people along the way.

What stands out for this series is they manage to fit in a cohesive time travel story, relationship developments, comedy golden moments and even angst all in a matter of minutes in an episode. No fillers involved, and you truthfully just want more of their story.

Fine nuanced acting is in every second (we only have minutes to play with) here for all the key actors in their stories - you will feel the sadness/elation with the characters for the 4 minutes that the drama is on. I highlight episodes 9, 20 and 24 as great examples of these.

Many seem to think this would make great movie but I beg to differ - the way this was edited and shot was just excellent, drama series style - designed to give you that lingering cliffhanger feeling and wanting more with each episode closure. IN 4 MINUTES! And they achieved it with every episode.

Please, please watch this and give these 2 lead actors and the production crew the credit they deserve. And watch it without spoilers - I mean the drama is pretty short, no need to make it shorter by spoiling it ? The surprises/plot twists uncovered were all pretty good/unexpected, rest assured.

GO WATCH IT!

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I loved the steady relationship

Simple & LOVABLE
I have rewatched this probably too many times and still can't get enough of it.
The story is simple enough with little drama enough to be enjoyable without being overbearing on the simplicity of the plot.
The FL actress is new from what i have read and could have done a better job but wasn't disappointing either, a little flat but it worked out fine due to her character.
I am not a gamer but it was simple and easily understandable, i did skip a few gaming scenes as they were a bit repetitive.
I LOVED that there was no breakup and though if could be called a slow burn of sort it really wasn't as even before the actual relationship the love was clear.

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A melancholic road trip about abandonment.

In his first Korean-language film, Shoplifters director Hirokazu Kore Eda takes us on a rewarding road trip with an odd group of abandoned people. Think Little Miss Sunshine but instead of a beauty pageant, the group tries to sell a baby on the black market... Literally.

At one point, Sang Hyun and Dong Soo are described as child brokers, and considering the kind of business they run, that's probably an apt description.

In some countries, such as South Korea, there are so-called baby hatches where mothers can anonymously leave their babies behind (there are arguments for and against the system that will not be elaborated here). Dong Soo, a baby hatch worker, together with Sang Hyun, a laundry owner, decide to steal a baby to sell to rich and desperate couples who cannot cope with South Korea's complicated adoption laws.

So Young, the young mother who abandoned the baby, discovers them and decides to join them on a road trip to find the best candidates to adopt her child. Broker is about responsibility and forgiveness. It reflects on the family we find in the course of life, and the family we have to let go of along the way.

What Sang Hyun and Dong Soo do isn't very moral, it's a form of human trafficking after all, but the movie doesn't show them as bad people. At the same time, So Young is not a bad person either, even though she tried to abandon her child. The central characters in the story have all been abandoned in some way, be it a divorce or in an orphanage. They all want to give this child a good home with a financially secure family, and they know that won't happen through the legal system of their country.

It is a tragic but poetic coincidence that Broker was released at the same time as the news about abortion rights in the US. The film may feel a little different now because of that, but the focus here is on children who, due to circumstances beyond their control, feel they shouldn't have been born. In Broker there are no decisions that feel right. How can one even choose when it comes to possibly abandoning their child? The magic is how well Kore Eda maps that conflict.

With such broken characters, heavy themes, and dark thoughts about parenting and abandoning children, Broker could have resulted in a much more depressing film. It is thanks to how well Kore Eda is able to balance these ideas along with hope and humor that makes the result more uplifting. The deeper questions are there for anyone who wants to read into what the film has to say, but it's not a barrier to entry to a meaningful experience.

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Quirky fun

Ridiculous idea which could have turned out really badly...but it was funny, silly and sad. A homophobic cop (Greg Hsu) messes up again and again until he finds himself in the biggest mess he's made: somehow he ends up marrying a man (Austin Lin)...who happens to be dead!

It was inevitable that the cop would have an epiphany and become less (and eventually not) homophobic but the journey there was fun (and sometimes I just rolled my eyes).

What I liked: good looking male leads! There were some laugh out loud (and I did), verging on slapstick, scenes throughout the film and especially towards the end. I admit that the ambulance scene made me sad and then almost cheer.

What I didn't like: the reason the female character was looking for vengeance was too obvious for my liking, but I could see that it brought a major part of the story to its conclusion.

Overall, a fun film which is worth watching if you fancy trying something different.

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TEPID CHEMISTRY

An typical average K-drama. They have no chemistry, the guy wasn't great, they both had tepid eyes and smiles to each other, dialog was simple and petty, the supporting actors were even worst. The story was about a girl that could hear lies from people, she met this guy who couldn't tell lies. This guy was a famous composer, hide his face behind the mask and real identity. He supposed to be the main suspect of the murder of his ex-girlfriend 5 years earlier. He hide himself at the apartment next door to this girl, no personal connection whatsoever but eventually got to know each other over favorite British soccer teams, this girl helped him to open up to himself and took on challenges. If they've fallen in love, we wouldn't know, there wasn't any warms or sweetness on the relationship. Shy? that was not, it's more like lack of talent. It got worst when the plot started to focus on community approach in which supporting actors didn't do well (annoying acting) and investigation on murder accusation. It was interesting what lies the girl try to detect when many VIP clients hired her (she earned lots of money with this job) while not so when he went on for personal vendetta looking for the real murderer.

So, that wasn't only about Pretty Lies but fillers about combination of one sided 'gay love', vendor's community in area, famous singers and her fans, mysterious famous composer, his vindictive ambitious political mother, her greedy mother and reclusive father, victim's brother who went berserk every single scenes, involvement polices or reporters. Yeah too much mingled all over the plots, so it's forgotten the main (on the title) synopsis about 'HEARING PEOPLE LIES!'

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All we need is love

Romance drama with capital R. The story is a little complicated, time shifts make it sometimes hard to follow, but if you are looking for romance you absolutely cannot miss it!
The chemistry between ML and FL is awsome and their acting is sooo good. I could feel every single feeling they were representing.
Also the theme of the outcast is well portrayed and describes in a very realistic way how too many teenagers, but also adults, feel about themselves and the people around them. Maybe this aspect was solved in a too simplistic and rushed way, but this because the focus of the drama was mainly love and predestination I think.

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A SLAP OF REALITY

Discovery of Romance depicted a more accurate relationship about closure, communications, lying, trauma and everything else in between. I honestly think the actors portrayed the story very well, I resonate with the female lead, her angst, anger, regret and longing to the Male lead is outstanding ( love Janice Wu's acting) her moral fortitude is being challenge on a daily basis and she fought so hard to always do the right thing.

Male Lead : amazing chemistry and his acting is outstanding. I can feel his pain and regret.

Second Male Lead: is okay, i wish they could have pick a better actor. I don't even feel bad for him.

This is show is on a mature level of romance, so if you need to escape your reality and need a perfect loving couple then this drama is not for you.

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Well…

Okay I have to admit, I did watch this movie solely because people on tiktok always called it ‘the best korean movie’. I wanted to see for myself what the hype was all about..but honestly, I don’t really see what makes it so special?

The plot is completely incestuous and once that was revealed everything became uncomfortable. You can spare the whole ‘deep meaning’ behind it. I still think it’s a nasty movie lol…

Other than the plot, the acting was truly amazing though! You can tell these are veteran actors. I’m always in awe at how great actors could play such a terrible character.

Though Daesu didn’t know it was his daughter, I still think it was wrong of him to just continue the relationship blissfully.

I don’t know…i’ve got mixed feelings about this movie. I’m just left with a nasty feeling honestly.

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I have NO WORDS

I literally am speechless...What should I write? Masterpiece? THE BEST DRAMA OF 2023? PERFECTION? These mere words are NOT enough for me to pour in my true emotions for this drama rn......THE WAY IT WAS WRITTEN, directed and ACTED on.....PURE PERFECTION.....♡♡♡♡♡♡
I would happily get hit on my head, lose my memories just to rewatch JO INSUNG being KIM DOSHIK again....
I would cherish the memories of this drama for a long time...♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡



Pleaseeeeeeeeeee, I need another season...ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

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In a Bored day

This mini drama is binged in a day, if you need to travel or pass the time stuck somewhere.

It started off well, but then kinda got boring and so predictable.

The FL dressing was a little over the top for me, and she alway seemed so well made up in heels and all, who really runs around in heels to save the man you love.

The Ml was definitely good eye candy and he came off with a bit hardcore but in the end he went a little sappy on us.

The best friend holy man was totally wicked but she learnt her lesson.

Overall a time pass drama, episodes are short.

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Great last 2023 summer series from iQIYI

Dark and mysterious Wuxia costume series.
Very interesting and will keep you glued til the end. Best choreographed martial arts fight I have ever watched. Awesome wardrobe line-up and location.
The director for this series is same one who directed Wuliang and Painted Skin which are both excellent dark costume series.
I am surprise that he added a humorous character in this series. He balanced it out perfectly this time.

Highly recommended to watch.
Is it worth the subscription fee? A big YES.

Tho it almost didn't air due to the a criminal charge of one of the minor artist playing a support role, it still ended up being one of the top favorite release for this summer entertainment of C-drama. Quite a few disappointed viewers as to the ending. It wasn't as bad I think, it's more like being left open for possible season 2. Sadly, the new Chinese entertainment law will not approve release of sequels within12 (or is it 24?) months of airing.

Note:
As to which artist was charged, according to news release, it is the artist who played the role of Xue GongZi, the friend companion to the young child Xue TongZi, in the back hill who aided the first real trial/test of the Sword Wielder.
Xue Gong Zi [Xue Tong Zi's servant & aide]

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