Reviews

A Fairy Tale Murder Mystery That Casts a Magical Spell

"Once Upon a Crime" is a delightful comedy-mystery movie that keeps you entertained from start to finish with its quirky charm. This inventive twist on the classic Cinderella story elevates it from a simple fantasy tale to a captivating murder mystery.

The film's narrative revolves around the familiar Cinderella, a young girl mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters. However, in this imaginative rendition, she encounters our protagonist, Little Red Riding Hood, who possesses a unique power of deduction. When Cinderella's carriage accidentally strikes the royal hairdresser, she, along with Red Riding Hood, conceals the body and continues on her way to the ball. At the royal event, where she catches the prince's eye, things take a dramatic turn when the dead body is discovered. This is where Red Riding Hood steps in as the detective to unravel the mystery behind the hairdresser's demise.

What truly sets this movie apart is its ingenious blend of a murder mystery with a beloved fairy tale. Amid the enchanting backdrop of Cinderella's story, we find another iconic fantasy character, Little Red Riding Hood, playing a Sherlock Holmes-like role. The seamless integration of the murder mystery into the well-known fairy tale is a commendable feat. It never detracts from the fantasy elements of Cinderella's world. The intricate plot surrounding the hairdresser's murder and the eventual revelation of the culprit are handled with finesse.

Hashimoto Kanna, portraying Little Red Riding Hood, steals the spotlight with her exceptional acting, while Araki Yuko, as Cinderella, breathes life into her character. Iwata Takanori, in the role of the Prince, delivers an outstanding performance, and Sato Jiro's presence never fails to entertain. I was surprised to see Inukai Atsuhiro as one of the guardsmen and was hoping he had more screentime.

In conclusion, "Once Upon a Crime" masterfully blends humor and mystery within the enchanting realms of fantasy and magic. This film offers a unique cinematic experience, where the age-old fairy tale takes an unexpected and thrilling turn. Whether you're a fan of mysteries or simply love imaginative storytelling, this movie is sure to cast a magical spell on you.

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Interesting, engaging, just beautiful

Taiwanese drama has gained international popularity over the years for its unique storytelling, diverse genres, and talented actors. They are so appealing to a wide range of audiences.
I like Taiwanese dramas for their novelty and dramatism, even thought i am more into fluffy romance, sometimes i end up watching this types of series.
Also i don't really like time travel, but i've got hooked with this from the 1st couple of minutes. The story is very interesting and engaging, i couldn't forward at all, not even one sec. I enjoyed the love, the drama, the crying, the laugh, the characters. What i love the most in taiwanese film industry, how the actors are getting into the character so well, that you believe the story as true fact. I believed so much in the emotions, tears, looks, feelings.
Greg Hsu - his wide smile got me completely and made me to look forward for his new works.
I will not get into the depth of the story as it was written a lot, but is a definite must watch.

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What's wrong with these Asian screenwriters??

I started watching this movie while I was ironing clothes and I didn't have any particular expectation. Halfway through the film I grabbed the iron backwards and burbed my hand so much I was captured by the plot, I was enjoying the funny scenes and the acting..and then it happened again..
Ok sending ML away and having him disappear at a certain point, it may happen, I can take it...but why did he have to die???
In Western films and series, the great problem would have been the reaction of the best friend when realizing that the boy she likes fell in love with FL and was reciprocated. Here she acts so mature (as they always do in kdramas) and friendship is saved, so why did it have to end like this???
I think I will watch this film over and over again, but alway stopping at the train station scene. A goodbye is always better than a farewell.

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Such a pity the story messed up halfway through the end.

Watching this reminded me of the drama “Immortal Samsara” which goes with the same storyline of choosing between love and responsibility in the heavenly realm but this one hurdles the romance by the odds of being sworn enemies. The ordeal was how can you possibly take the life of the one you love?

Story: The early stages of the drama from episodes 1 – 18 went smoothly. When the exposition of the back story of each character began, as the crises of the ML and FL were destined to clash with each other was revealed, it became dull and boring. The writer kept on creating new conflicts every time the ML and FL were starting to settle. It was annoying changing the mood of the drama again and killing the supporting characters one after another. In the end, you would be confused about what happened to the main leads. Was it a tragic finale or they were given a chance to go back in time to change their fate?

Acting/Cast: Fairly enough all the cast sustained their own characters despite a setback in the story structure. Guo Hun Chen and Ju Jing Yi are indeed perfect for the roles. They were well-matched visually with so much resemblance to each other.

This drama could still be an option to watch but just some run-of-the-mill.

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Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022) - I like this one as I was waiting for it every week. The drama is also engaging that the main lead is projected as a really nice ‘perfect’ kind of guy. The story development is good for me, and as it nears the end of every one or two episodes there are lessons that the drama wants to impart to me as a viewer. I love that the drama doesn’t really have a “villain” (*except with Attorney Jang – whom I’m just really pissed off). I love the ending as to what I was expecting and it’s nice that it’s not stressful because usually if there is a second season there is to be something “to look forward to” ending. Still the drama has more to show which I think has not been seen yet, revelations and all and there are also deleted scenes which they may incorporate in the next season. Looking forward to season 2.

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Alchemy of Souls (2022) - finished this after waiting every week for a new episode. This drama is good overall for me and the build up of the storyline with the revelations in between is also good. There are quite a large number of characters but its fine with me since I can still identify them. One thing that made me disappointed with the drama is the last parts. I think they drag the story to have a season 2. I can’t help but compare the ending of the drama to attorney woo as they are the ones I am watching together as they aired at almost the same time, and I prefer the ending of attorney woo than this one. I’m still gonna watch the season 2 since there are a lot of revelations and secrets that needs to be uncovered, but the excitement is not the same.

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Tomorrow (2022) - it has its ups and downs. The start off of the drama is really strong and I really like it a lot but I think my momentum was lost. I drop this about 6 episodes, I don’t know the reason behind the drop but I think I just lost interest with the drama. Eventually picked it up again and I literally bawled my eyes out by the start of episode 14 up until the end. It’s heartwarming but heart wrenching at the same time. It’s a good drama but I think I was not fully engaged with the totality since I stopped watching this. It’s still worth the watch and worth my time.

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Their Love is True but Their Fate is So Painful

I really love this drama even the ending is not very satisfying but the storyline is very interesting. At least in the end Shi ying still kept her promise to Zhu yan. Slow-burn Romance between Shi ying and Zhu yan is very good as a master and disciple. It is very sad to love someone we cannot love. Shi ying is a very good character because he still believe that destiny can be changed with effort, with the power of love even though it can't be changed even Shi ying doesn't waste the time to be together with the person who he love.

It's been a long time since I finished this drama but until now I still can't move on. I think maybe because their story is so tragic, too sad and so many challenges happened that it is still scarred in my heart. All actors did a very good job. The chemistry between Xiao Zhan and Ren Min is undeniable. They really did a good job. They are so cute together. I hope there will be another project for them. 🤍

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Little Women (2022) - watched this series ongoing. This drama is fully packed with thrill, crime and tense. It isn’t really believable in my perspective but it’s a really nice watch. I was waiting for the next revelations every weekend and see the chaos unfold. There were some unanswered questions for me in the ending but I like the ending. I don’t think a second season is necessary for this. The siblings love for each other is remarkable but what I love the most in the drama is the friendship between Hwa Young and In Joo, it’s really beyond my understanding of friendship and I love them both as characters.

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A Model Family (2022) - It’s been so long since I felt the thrill of watching crime dramas such as this one. When watching thid drama, one should have the attention, focus/concentration to fully understand the whole scenario because it was hard for me to see this drama as a whole. This korean drama shows that drug cases are really complicated in many ways. The actors and actresses really delivered; their acting skills are just wow. The seriousness of the drama keeps me watching it like an episode or two episodes per day only since I'm scared of what's gonna happen next. The story just flows and the ending is open ended so I’m hoping for a second season. Overall good watch this year.

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The Glory Part 1 (2022) - I didn’t expect it to be this good. It was a really disturbing drama for me and heartbreaking as well. I could really feel the pain and the determination of the main lead to have the revenge. It was well thought of and I have some questions left for it to be solved maybe in the next season that is why I want a next season to be done soonest as possible. The pacing and the back and forth of the present and past is well executed throughout the drama. The characters especially the villains are also great in their respective roles, but the younger main lead Moon Dong-Eun is the best among them. A good drama of 2022.

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