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  • Last Online: 1 hour ago
  • Gender: Female
  • Location: Manyang Police Substation
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Ackery

Manyang Police Substation

Ackery

Manyang Police Substation
Completed
Captivating the King
19 people found this review helpful
by Ackery
24 days ago
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 6.5
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 2.0

The King carried the nation and the drama on his back

I will quickly mention the things that I liked and disliked about the series and then I will refer to my biggest problem about it that made it such a huge disappointment.

What I liked:
+ First four episodes (with pick being the fourth)
+ Jo Jung Suk as the King
+ Park Ye Young as Lady Dong
+ Most of the veteran actors performances (along with a few non-veteran ones)
+ The child actor that starred as Dae Gun
+ Politics based
+ Visuals
+ Non-puppet king
+ The dark atmosphere
+ Production quality


What I disliked or found mediocre:
- Script was mediocre -to be kind-
- Music: okayish individually, but nothing memorable and shouldn't have been used in some scenes
- Pacing: Each episode could easily be 15-20 minutes shorter
- Jang Young Nam tended to overact as Queen Park
- Cobweb-like beards
- The absence of tension in the majority of the show
- The romance aspect made me feel nothing most of the times
- Many clichés - Very underwhelming, especially towards the end
- Ending


Now, to the thing I was mostly disappointed about. Friendly reminder that this is my opinion.
Also, what will be mentioned does not contain spoilers, unless you have not read the synopsis, watched the trailer or seen the poster. So to anyone that wants to go into the series without any previous knowledge I suggest you to stop reading.

And here it is, my biggest problem with the series -> Shin Sae Kyeong and the female lead that she portrayed

1. Portrayal as a male baduk player
- Obviously no one in the crew wanted her to look like a male. The make-up department did their best to make her look like a woman.
- The makeup they used when she was actually dressed as a woman was either the same (as her male identity) or not as prominent...
- Someone must have told the actress to act like a woman at all times too, because everything, be it her mannerisms or voice, could never have anyone fooled that she is a man.

2. Everyone looked brainless
- Have I seen series where an actress that is impossible to look like a man pretends to be one and no one questions it? Yes, many!
But you know what those series weren't? Serious.
They were mostly focused, one way or another, on romance where anything was possible -and they were certainly not focused on politics-.

Captivating the King sets a very serious tone from the get go and the romance is not the center of the plot.
So it feels not only extremely unrealistic, but also a bit dumb.
We have a ton of people scheming and no one mentions that she looks and acts as a woman (not that they could, but at least try to make her look like a man, just try).

3. Every other man VS Her
- This is a series filled with veteran actors, most older in age. There are no idol looking characters and barely any very young men are starring.
The majority of the men are old or middle aged, the younger ones are tall and build and all of them have a beard. Of course even though all actors wear make-up it is not really that visible on the men. And what is the female lead as a male like? Petite, super young, glass skin, no beard - not to mention the absence of the adam's apple- and of course face full of make-up...
She feels so out of place between all these people, yet no one seems to notice.

4. Character
Her character is stupid, there I said it.
- Everything goes her way, because the script says so. She would be dead a long time ago if the series took itself seriously.
- She literally has no plans (she is just going with the flow, even though she wants revenge)
- The scriptwriter and director try very hard to convince the audience that she is a smart and capable character, but her plan makes 0 sense -because there isn't one-. And as we all know, it is very easy for someone to get revenge against powerful people when they have no plan. Let's not forget the thing that irritated me the most. She acts depending on her emotions.

5. Acting
- The female lead is supposed to be a desperate character that will do anything to bring justice about what happened to her and everyone around her. She is supposed to be smart and calculative.
And you know what she does? She is ready to bawl her eyes out every freaking scene!
She is having a serious conversation where she should look intimidating and she looks like she is about to cry! Am I -or any character- supposed to take her seriously?

- Shi Sae Kyung has a limited amount of expressions the entire series
1. She looks like she is about to cry (or cries)
2. She is expressionless with her mouth always open
3. She is moving her eyes around or semi closes them to look flustered/confused

6. She ends up being a vital part of the plot, even though she is unimportant
- The writer tends to involve her in situations out of nowhere just to include her in the plot. She is not really an important character, more like a guest role in her own show that they had to involve in the plot somehow to give her screentime. The whole drama could easily work without her character.

In the few series I have seen Shin Sae Kyeong, I have never considered her a very good actress, but also not bad to a point that bothers me (plus I can’t avoid saying that she is super pretty).
Now, Shin Sae Kyeong was -as usual- not really great, but was basically ruined by a very badly written character -and an equally badly written script-. Also, having Jo Jung Suk as her co-star undermined her performance even more. He was the one that carried this show and he was the only thing that was worth it from beginning to end.

All in all? Unfortunately, despite its good start, this ended up being another series that did not need a female lead, but they decided to use one just to squeeze in the romance and because the scriptwriter apparently couldn't do anything better with the script -while also using the false ''strong woman'' armor-. Some good performances and the production quality weren’t enough to save a very badly written script that was also lacking greatly in terms of pacing. And yes, I will say it, this would work much better as a revenge based male VS male lead drama that focuses on politics and schemes inside the palace.

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Completed
A Bloody Lucky Day
4 people found this review helpful
by Ackery
Feb 11, 2024
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.5

LIVƎ

"Hell is empty and all the devils are here"

Dear lovers of the dark side,

This is a tale that not everyone can stomach.

Boody, disturbing and daring, this doesn’t follow the typical routes.

Don't spoil yourself (and don't rush to judge it), because you will miss the fun.

It may not be perfect, but you will enjoy the dark elements and the twists and turns.

Just be careful not to gaze too long into the abyss.

Don't miss it (if you can take it)

Sleep safe,
Dark Side Cult Member

P.S. You better be watching or I will be watching (you)

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Completed
Let's Talk About Chu
24 people found this review helpful
by Ackery
Feb 8, 2024
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.5

This was supposed to be a hard pass

Netflix decided to constantly remind me about the release of this series. After reading the synopsis and watching a bit of the trailer, I was sure that this would be something I wouldn't enjoy. I was way too bored to give this a chance, if I am being honest.

After its release and its very low rating here on MDL I was even more reluctant (even though I know that most of the times non-Korean series are rated lower).

One tiktok video later, I thought I could just watch the first five minutes and then just drop it or skip through it, mostly to indulge my curiosity. Those first five minutes turned into the first four episodes that I ended up watching till four in the morning...

I tried to think of something not to give this a perfect score, but in the end, I actually had no complains. This is the definition of a binge-worthy series with great acting, good plot and high entertainment value that doesn't fail to offer some emotional moments.

Noteworthy things:

=> No awkwardness detected
This is a series focused on (sexual) relationships. It has a lot of sex scenes and many references to sex from conversations to table lambs. That being said, all actors had great chemistry with one another and I didn't feel awkward at all when watching it. There was no stiffness. Everything felt very natural.

=> No romantic music playing in the background while the two leads first fish kiss
This series focuses on sex, lust (and love) while also giving us some swoon worthy moments, without it feeling like the ''too good to be true'' moments we usually watch in series where all the main characters are perfect in every way, shape or form and where holding hands is the peak of their relationship.

=> Educational
I will say that this actually had many interesting facts when it comes to sex with the videos during the credits (don't miss them) being a great example.

=> Everyone was interesting
I have this problem with series with multiple couples. Most of the times, the main one gets the most screen time and is boring as hell, while all the others are great with almost zero screen time. There was nothing like that here. Every couple and every character was interesting. Everyone had their story to tell. Everyone had their own difficulties and definition of a relationship. Everyone was there for a reason. For once, I didn't roll my eyes every time they showed the mains or generally any of the characters.

=> Nude scenes
Something that I found pretty interesting is the absence of nude scenes. Even though the series has lots of sex scenes, it doesn't really show that much nude.

=> Balance
This was the cherry on top. Everything felt ideal when it came to balance. There were the sad scenes, the funny scenes, the cute scenes, the ''oh my God I can't believe he did that'' scenes. I just felt very content watching this from beginning to end.

=> Different stages of life
We had like four main relationships, where the characters belonged in different age groups. Most of the times younger people are the focus on series about love/sex. Even though two of the mains belonged to younger age groups, we also had two other couples that were in a relationship for a very long time and belonged to different (and older) age groups. As a result we got insight in their life and how things can be after being with someone for a longer time.

=> This wasn't just a fun watch
The series deals with many issues without being over the top or too dramatic. Some of them involve homosexuality, loss of passion after marriage, love vs sex (and trauma), toxic relationships.

I am 100% sure this will be my answer at the end of the year in the ''which is the most underrated series of 2024'' question. This is a very well-made series that unfortunately doesn't get the attention it deserves and that is the main reason I am writing this review.

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Completed
Monster
65 people found this review helpful
by Ackery Flower Award1
Nov 19, 2023
Completed 2
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Is there really a monster or is it just us?

Μonster is being advertised as a Hirokazu Koreeda film and indeed it is directed -splendidly as always- by him. However, the man behind the script is Sakamoto Yuji, the person that wrote Soredemo, Ikite Yuku (Still, Life Goes On) and if you have seen that series, then you know that Monster is not going to be just a good film, but it will stay with you for a while.

I don't think I can explain how good this movie is and honestly I don't want to try nor I should. If you are by chance reading this, let me tell you that it is better to watch this film, without knowing anything about it. Don't watch the trailers, don't read the synopsis, don't even read what kind of awards it earned.

As stated before, directing is magnificent, acting is great from all of the cast involved, with two astounding performances by the two younger actors, portraying Yori and Minato. The music, composed by Sakamoto Ryuichi is heartbreakingly beautiful and it feels so sad and hopeful at the same time.

The plot is magnificently written from beginning to end. Even if at first you may feel that some scenes last too long, they are not just there for the atmosphere. They are important and that is the beauty of the film. Nothing is there just to exist, just to lengthen the movie, just to make the audience feel melancholic, just to make it feel more cinematic. It needs to be there, because it wouldn't work otherwise.

Without giving away anything of importance, I will just say that every detail matters, every character is vital and realistically written. Everyone is so flawedly human, you can't really hate or love them. They are just important, they matter, because they exist. They are so real it kind of makes you ache for the beauty, complexity and ugliness of human nature.

It is a film that is character-driven, slow paced and it truly shows the power of perspective. It deals with so many subjects in a very delicate manner that doesn't feel forced nor preachy. I can't thank myself enough for watching this on the big screen.

I understood how truly beautiful this movie was, when I couldn't stop thinking about it hours after watching it and when I ended up crying with all the little details that have such a huge impact and importance.

Many times, with all these critically acclaimed films, I feel like I am getting forced to like them, to overanalyse them, to convince myself that they are something better than what they actually are -or maybe I don't have the ability to fully understand them-. This is not the case here, though. This is truly an exquisite film. It is better than I ever expected. It is one of those movies that you get to discover something new with every watch. It needs to be watched, because at the end of the day we are all humans and this is a film about us.

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Completed
Race to Freedom: Um Bok Dong
1 people found this review helpful
by Ackery
Oct 29, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 6.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

I'm sorry, but this is definitely not one of the worst Korean movies out there

According to the know it all internet, this film is considered a huge failure, both commercial and critical, and generally one of the worst Korean films to ever be made. Now doesn't that make you more eager to watch it?

It is stated in the very beginning that the movie is a fictional dramatization inspired by true events and that's exactly what it is.

The story is taking place during the japanese occupation of Korea, when an idealist believes that it is vital for a Korean bicyclist to win in the races that take place in the capital. The reason? The morale of the Korean people should be raised to strengthen the cause of the resistance.

It is a -mostly- fictional film based on the barely known life of famed cyclist Um Bok Dong that raced against the Japanese.

Now is this a great movie? Not really. But is it extremely entertaining? Hell, yes!

This movie has everything that you will find in similar films. Fighting against the extremely evil Japanese (and the equally evil Koreans that have chosen to work for the enemy), having a hero that is a bit pure -that's how they like to call him- (or if we are being real a bit dumb with a big heart) and of course watching some things that are hard to believe and impossible to happen.

I won't lie. It looks very cheap at times with some awful CGI and some questionable acting performances. The plot is as simplistic as it could get and it definitely doesn't look like a 2019 film. However, it is so damn entertaining and it achieves its goal which is to make your heart feel for the Korean people and everything they went through.

It has some nice comedic elements and some heart racing parts and generally, if it was not evident from what I said before, it is an extremely easy and fun watch -with a pretty well edited trailer that makes you want to give it a chance even more-.

Should you expect something great? Not even close. Is it an amusing watch that is better than just staring at the wall after a difficult day at work? Absolutely!

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Completed
The Devil's Plan
5 people found this review helpful
by Ackery
Oct 13, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 4
Overall 7.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 4.5

Reality game shows shouldn't be fun just for the players

The Devil's Plan is a 12 episode reality game show, where 12 players must compete to gain the grand prize that can go up to 500.000.000 won (approximately 370.000 dollars). Being one of my most anticipated reality shows of 2023, I had certain expectations about it and after completing it, I'd generally say it was a decent watch that could be much better, if they handled some things properly.

Contestants: The 12 players taking part in the games seem to have different strengths and weaknesses.
The good:
+ All players are interesting to watch at first. Why? We don't know them, so like kids that get excited with their new toys, as viewers we are interested to learn more about their abilities, strategies and -of course- characters.

The bad:
- I am not sure what the production team thought when choosing some of the players. After the first 2-3 eps, some of them were literally invisible. They didn't know how to use any strategies and they offered nothing to the actual game. They just got to stay, because they were protected by the nature of the games.


The games: Here we go. The games are interesting and well-thought-out for the contestants that are taking part in them, but not as fun for the audience. There are two games in a day. I don't have any complains for the second one, since it was mostly suspensful, fast and fun to watch.

The first one is another case and here is why...
- Rules: Too many and complicated. In some games it is hard to understand, before they start playing. Why? The actual rules lasted up to 7 minutes. Am I supposed to stay focused, when someone with an awful mask is talking with an altered voice for 7 minutes straight?

- Time: The first games took too long. They could take an entire episode to finish and they got very boring.

- Revelations: Almost everything is secret about the identities or the advantages of the players in each round. As a result -the last 15 minutes aside where things got fun- it is not that easy for the viewer to immerse in the games.

- Advantages: The first few games are created in a way that even if you win and take an advantage, it's like you never got it. In other words, your previous win is worthless in the next game since you are in the same spot as all other players that could literally just have lost or done nothing.

- Pacing/Interaction with the audience: This is no Physical 100 where people fight and you have fun watching them trying to figure out who will win in one to one fights. This is a show about wits. If the audience can't somehow take part in the games, which is natural, they should at least be fast paced and fun to follow.
Even though I had fun watching the show and the time did pass relatively quick, it also felt like I was watching many people plotting and talking to each other about rules (that are hard to understand at first), while having secret roles they have revealed to one another (that I, as a viewer, don't know).

- Eliminations: They rarely happened in the first few eps. As a result, the games felt draggy and you didn't feel any suspense.


They could easily make this much more entertaining for the audience if they just changed some things.
1. This show needed more players. In that way, it would have more eliminations -so would be more entertaining to watch-, more capable contestants and most importantly it would be much more suspensful for the audience.
2. It needed one to one games. It had almost none and that made it hard to follow and it wasn't as investing as it could be.
3. Some players shouldn't have been chosen. They offered nothing but frustration and they are the main reason why this show wasn't as interesting as it could be.
4. Team games should have been less complicated. I am sorry, but I can't fully focus when someone is reciting rules for 10 minutes in a game that as a viewer, it is almost impossible to follow -at least in the first half- and I can't take any part in it.
5. Games should have been more entertaining for the audience. The games in the final are the perfect example of it. If they had decided to plan more games that the audience could follow from beggining to end and they didn't need huge teams to work, it would be an amazing game show.

All in all, the concept is interesting, the production quality is really good and many of the contestant choices were wise. I will also admit that the games are very well-thought-out and generally it is a very easy show to watch. However, it is a game show that it is much more interesting and fun for the contenstants than for the actual viewer that is watching it. It is a pity, because it could be a much better watching experience, if they had a different approach or at least a different editing team.


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Completed
Broker
3 people found this review helpful
by Ackery
Jun 4, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 7.0

Thank you for being born

I don't think there is anything more valuable for a person than to hear that someone else is thankful for their existence.
Life can be pretty rough at times, feelings of insecurity may fill our hearts more often than not. I would dare say that every human being on this planet has gone through a rough time, full of disappointments, failures, losses and has also believed that life can just be too hard. That no one can 100% understand them.

The problem is that people don't really tend to listen to themselves, a simple "you did good" doesn't have the same impact when someone tells it to oneself. So I don't think there is a more valuable thing someone can hear from another human than a a simple thank you; ''thank you for being born, for being here''.

I think this movie is just about that. The complexity of humans and that no matter how different we may be, there is an internal need of a person listening that someone is there for them, that someone truly cares, that there is a reason that they are here and that they are loved.
Even if they feel helpless, trivial or even if they are fully satisfied with their lives, listening to such emotionally impactful words can really bring tears to everyone's eyes or at least an emotional reaction.

Koreeda, once again, deals with the theme of a found family, while also commenting on important and quite devastating social issues like human trafficking, abuse of underage children, adoptions, birth and of course with the Baby Box itself, an actual box that people abandon their children in for a variety of reasons.

This film is not perfect and I would dare say that it feels more like it has been inspired by Koreeda rather than being filmed by him, but nonetheless it is worth the watch. It is slow paced, character driven, symbolism heavy and as you have understood not for everyone, but I think it is worth a chance just for that one scene that was devastatingly beautiful.

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Completed
Lesson in Murder
7 people found this review helpful
by Ackery
May 16, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.5

What makes us human?

Nowadays, good psychological thrillers are like the money you have left at the end of the month; not enough.
And here we have Lesson in Murder that not only managed to be compelling from beginning to end, but also had the ideal dark atmosphere that a film in this genre must have.

As a fun of ''darker films'' (and as a way to defy my parents when I was young) I have watched my fair share of disturbing/bloody scenes and I no longer get shocked easily.
However, in some peculiar way this film managed to disturb me, even though it didn't have neither the most bloody nor the most disturbing scenes I have watched (especially make-up wise).

Is the blood and human despair enough to make a good psychological thriller though? Certainly not. There is also acting, directing and an actual -non bloody- plot. But let's start from the beginning.

Abe Sadawo that portrayed the serial killer Haimura was simply phenomenal. His facial expressions in combination with his emotionless eyes was just a disturbing image in itself. It literally felt like I was watching an emotionless shell trying to be compassionate. Mizukami Koshi also did a pretty good job in his role as well as (most of) the rest of the cast.

Plot wise the movie was complex and intriguing enough without being hard to understand. It managed to explore the darkest corners of the human mind, without trying too hard and it had a great balance between plot and characters. I would definitely recommend to anyone that may be reading this to not watch the trailer or read the whole synopsis before watching it.

And there is something else I personally loved and I know that most of the times it can end up being a disaster. I am talking about the so called ''filler scenes''. The movie had some scenes that seem unecessary at first, but as the film progressed everything ended up being equally important.

Last, but certainly not least, the directing and cinematography were great. They gave the film that last spice that was needed to make it better than your average psychological thriller. It was dark, but not too dark, disturbing without trying too hard, symbolic without being too on the nose.

Even though it is not flawless, mostly when it comes to the make up/hairstyling department and some deliberate misdirections, the film ticked all the right boxes -dark atmosphere, engaging plot, good acting- that definitely differentiates it from many movies in the same genre and personally speaking it has just been way too long since I watched something this satisfying.

P.S. To my fellow Through the Darkness and Beyond Evil lovers, you will enjoy this a lot!

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Completed
Hunger
7 people found this review helpful
by Ackery
Apr 10, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 8.0

Blood and Flesh

I have been trying to come up with a catchy first sentence to begin this review for the past hour, but I can't think of anything satisfying enough, so here we go.

Execution-wise the movie is splendid in all aspects from cinematography and directing to acting and music.
Unexpectedly it doesn't even feel draggy, even though it runs for two and a half hours.
However for some reason I don't feel like mentioning any of this is important, because it doesn't really matter comparing to the plot and what it felt like watching it.

Hunger deals with the theme of greed and the chasm between the poor and the rich. It doesn't romanticise anything and at some points it feels raw to a point that as a viewer I felt depressed, frustrated and angry but not in a way that it made it difficult to watch. It doesn't have any type of ''fairy-tale'' plot or the cliché of ''food made with love beats everything''.
It focuses on the importance of the choices that people make for themselves and how easy it is to turn into a person you hate.

Even though it doesn't feel preachy, I feel like they could tone it down a bit more to have a better balance.
I would definitely like a different ending, but it didn't degrade the rest of the film.

"The poor eat simply to satisfy their hunger, but when you have more than enough to eat your hunger doesn't end".

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Completed
Yurigokoro
0 people found this review helpful
by Ackery
Jan 27, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 4.5
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 2.0

A D(isappointing) A(bsurd) R(idiculous) K(lutzy) film

I was planning to watch this movie for a while, mostly because I heard many people saying that it is very dark and twisted - and I like my movies as dark as my soul-, but besides being dark and twisted it was also a disappointment.

In terms of directing and cinematography, the movie has nothing to offer, besides some nice shots (that were no more than four). The lighting is very bad and the general atmosphere of the movie is pretty bland, not managing to achieve the dark atmosphere that it should have.

The production quality seems to be relatively low. Even though it does have some scenes that could look better, it generally didn't bother me.

Acting is good enough, but there is also your typical -bad- overacting here and there, mostly by Matsuzaka Tori.

And now, the plot...
It is so badly written, I wanted to cry at some point. Even though it did have a decent beginning, everything went downhill after that. There are way too many stuff that are making no sense and are over the top for the sake of being over the top. Even the disturbing scenes were not that disturbing, mainly because the characters were so bland that you would feel nothing about them, even if they died. Lastly, the movie had some tropes that reminded me more of a korean makjang than a mystery/psychological film.

All in all, the movie has a good concept that no one really cared to develop in a logical way -I am calling that lazy writing- and as a result it ends up being nonsensical with some badly written characters and some scenes that are there just for the shake of shock.

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Completed
Imawa no Kuni no Alice Season 2
5 people found this review helpful
by Ackery
Dec 25, 2022
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.5

Chishiya’s show

When I first watched season one I immediately rated it a nine. However a few weeks before the release of S2 I decided to give it a rewatch and honestly I would probably rate it a six now. It had many flaws that I didn't really care about in my first watch but when I rewatched it, it was almost painfully bad at times.
After rewatching S1 and reading some of the comments here on MDL about S2 my expectations were low.
That being said, this time, probably once again, I didn't really think it through when I rated it a nine, because I had fun and that is the most important thing in my mind. That doesn't mean that it deserves it or that I won't criticize it in what will follow, so here we go:

What I liked:
- Production quality: Everyone knows what a good production quality means and you can see it here. It is expensive and it shows.

- The games: If you ask me they were much better than in S1. First of all, the characters that appeared in the games were extremely interesting. Besides that, the games were much more suspenseful, difficult and not as predictable comparing with S1. Lastly they were much more violent.

- Chishiya: Okay, I will be honest. This guy should have been the main character and he is caring this show on his smart brain cells. He is so fun to watch and Murakami Nijiro's performance is on point. He is intelligent, flawed and has the best lines in the entire series. He is just a pleasure to watch and I believe that without him the series would be half as memorable.

- Manga feeling: First things first, I haven't actually read the manga, but the series does give you a manga-feeling. The action scenes, the way the characters act and look and some specific scenes are like they came out from manga pages, something that is probably one of the biggest advantages this drama has.

- New characters: Even though our old fav characters like Kuina and An are still there and they have kept their awesomeness, new interesting characters appeared like Kyuuma or Akane.

- Easy to watch: Look, some of the episodes were very long (with the longest being 1h and 20m), but generally the series was very easy to watch. Yes, there were some draggy scenes and some boring moments, but I didn’t feel the urge to see how long it is left from the episodes.

- The ending: As probably all sane people that were planning to watch season two, I was very concerned -and I mean very- about the ending. Will it be nonsensical? Will I want to break my screen?
The ending surpassed all of my expectations and it was the perfect way for the final episode to end. It was so mind-blowingly good that I had to rate the show a nine. It was also unexpected -at least comparing to what I had in mind-.


Things I found mediocre:
- Philosophical aspect: In this season there were many philosophical questions regarding the meaning of life, justice, the ''price'' of humans etc. Even though I liked that they added these existential questions, sometimes it felt a bit forced especially since it wasn't that evident in the first season.

- Main leads: I know, I will get killed for saying this, but the main leads were just boring to watch. They were so uninteresting comparing to the rest of the characters and their plot armour was so huge that even with a nuclear disaster they would survive.

- Nonsensical stuff: I know it is based on a manga and to be honest I didn't really care because I had fun watching, but the amount of disbelief I had to live through was just unimaginable. I think that they could have handled it a bit better to make it more suspenseful and ''realistic'' before the grand finale.

What I disliked:
- Acting of the two mains (and some other characters):
I had a huge problem with the acting of the two main leads, especially with Yamazaki Kento. He was overacting most of the times and no matter how much I tried to feel for his character his expressions were so ridiculous that I had the urge to laugh than actually care about him. Tsuchiya Tao also wasn't that great and her way of talking in some scenes felt like she was pressuring herself to sound in a specific way.
Let me be clear about something here. I know that in many Jdramas actors tend to overact, but there is a difference between good overacting and bad overacting.
Even though this is based on a manga (so I can get the need to overact) the only character that was overacting badly was Yamazaki Kento (and another character that barely appeared). Acting is acting and to be able to succeed in this type of acting you must know how to pull it off in moderation, something that our main lead obviously did not know.
They both had their good moments though (thankfully) and most of the times their acting was bearable.

- "Romance": Once again it is ruining the show and it is just not there, I am sorry. I saw no chemistry between the mains even though it was obvious that their affection was building from season one.

- Emotional moments: this series is about death games and people will die, they will get hurt (physically or emotionally) and they will question their existense and values. Even though there were some scenes that made me emotional (which I won't mention because of spoilers) the majority of them didn't work. They even used sad music as background and managed to make it feel bland. The fact that some of these scenes lasted longer than what they should have, reduced the emotional impact to zero. Funny thing is that I felt so much more when it came to some new characters comparing to what I felt for the main leads.


All in all, I had fun watching this season and -even though this is an unpopular opinion- I believe it was much better than season one especially when it came to characters, pacing and games.

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Completed
Connect
38 people found this review helpful
by Ackery
Dec 7, 2022
6 of 6 episodes seen
Completed 11
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 4.5

Bloody mess

If you have watched some classic Takashi Miike films, you probably know what to expect. If you haven’t, I recommend you to check the tags and see for yourself if it is something that you can stomach or not.

What I liked:
- Opening credits: a gorgeously made animated intro.
- Cinematography and directing: nice camera angles, great color grading, some beautiful shots and well choreographed action scenes. Certainly a pleasure to the eye.
- CGI and gore: The CGI looks realistic enough and the gore scenes seem like they came out from a video game or a webtoon. As a result not only you can feel the influence from the source material, but at the same time the gory scenes are as bloody as they should be to not disturb the viewer. The gore and disturbing scenes are actually pretty mild comparing to some of his work (Audition, I am looking at you).
- Duration of the episodes: each episode lasts from around 37 minutes to 50, something that greatly helps with the pacing.
- Female lead: we finally have a strong morally grey female character.
- Easy and fun to watch: again, if you are not into violent and gory series, you will probably hate this, but if you like watching these type of shows, you will be entertained enough.
- Jung Hae In looking like an anime character: self explanatory. I am shallow, I know.

What I disliked:
- Lack of suspense: even though it is a fun ride, as a viewer I didn’t feel like I had to watch the next episode immediately.
- Plot holes and nonsensical scenes: unfortunately there are way too much nonsensical stuff (plainly speaking the characters' actions are dumb).
- One of the characters that appeared in the last episodes: I found that particular character very unrealistic (I know this is a sci-fi drama but still).
- Comedic relief: I felt like they added some elements as comedic relief and even though they didn’t focus on them, I found them unnecessary for a live action.
- Unnecessary actions between our two main characters.

What I found mediocre:
- ML’s character: this is just a personal thing, but I found the male lead to be a bit underwhelming at times. He is definitely not your typical hero, but his foolish actions and the fact that he could barely fight made some of the scenes a bit boring to watch.
- Plot: even though there were a lot of plot holes and nonsensical stuff happening, like I previously mentioned, the plot had potential and the concept was pretty good. I definitely had fun watching it, as I knew I had to think illogically to enjoy it.
- Acting: definitely more on the positive side, but certainly it didn’t have the great performances that I expected.

All in all, it was fun and easy watch that you can only enjoy if you know beforehand that you need to throw your brain out of the window.

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Completed
Narco-Saints
6 people found this review helpful
by Ackery
Sep 18, 2022
6 of 6 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 6.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 5.0

Was it worth the wait?

When Narco-Saints was announced it was immediately added to my plan to watch list, even though I am not a huge fun of series or movies with drugs as the main theme. Was it really worth it though? Let’s see every aspect individually.

Production Quality
From the first scene of the series, it was obvious that they invested tons of money to make it. Long story short, it looked realistic and expensive. However, for me at least, the production quality was the best thing this drama had to offer along with the acting of the two main leads.

Cinematography & Directing
As many other Korean series, this was another well done drama in the directing and cinematography department. The colour grading gave the same vibe as other series or movies that deal with drugs. It was well done and thankfully they didn’t overdo it with the darker tones.
Was it anything that I haven’t seen before? Definitely not. There was not even a single scene where I was like ‘’Wow, that looks so good’’. Even the action and fight scenes were not that well directed or choreographed. There were a few times that I shouted on my screen ‘’You could have killed him by now’’. To be honest, after My Name my expectations for fight scenes skyrocketed. This is just the typical directing that we have seen way too many times in the past.

Plot
Narco-Saints has nothing new to offer to the genre. I personally expected something better, after a very well-executed pilot episode. However the plot was a bit boring and draggy. Some things were happening over and over again. I think it would be wiser to make this a two hour movie or a series with three episodes. There were also some matters that stayed unresolved. Even the last few episodes that were more action-packed didn’t feel that suspenseful.

Acting
Well, well, I will probably get killed for this, but I definitely expected something better. The thing is that the actors themselves are fantastic. Taking a look at the cast is enough to understand what I mean. Ha Jung Woo and especially Hwang Jung Min were fantastic and it is worth a try just for these two. However I have two main complains.

The first one is the believability. We have Yoo Yeon Seok portraying David Park. He is supposed to be fluent in English and he is script-wise. It is his comfort language. He prefers speaking in English and he uses the language, when he is angry or emotional. Nevertheless, the way Yoo Yeon Seok speaks English makes me believe that someone is forcing him to do it.

My second problem is the fact that the main language of communication is, obviously, English. It is given that the pronunciation of the majority of the actors won’t be great. After all, it is not their mother tongue. The problem is that in some scenes specifically, it feels like the actors don’t know what their lines mean. They are awkward to hear and sometimes it is pretty cringe to watch. It feels like they just memorized them and forgot to act. On the other hand, when they are speaking in their native language they are fantastic.
The foreign actors were not bad and that’s a first. Okay, honestly, they were not fantastic either, but they were decent enough.


All in all, Suriname was a decent watch that had nothing new to offer to the genre and in my opinion, it would work better as a movie. On the other hand, if you are a huge fan of the main theme, you may enjoy the series much more than I did, even though it has its downsides.

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Completed
Special Delivery
7 people found this review helpful
by Ackery
Aug 25, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 5.5
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 6.5

A fun ride, but...

Special Delivery is an action movie that is certainly not ground-breaking in any way. When I am watching action movies, my goal is to be entertained and throw my logic out of the car window. However, in this case, the movie did not offer the kind of entertainment that would make me turn away from all the ridiculous things that were happening at times.

The plot was structured like many films of the same genre, and the action sequences were definitely fun to watch and very well-made. In other words, if you are looking for some nicely shot and fun to watch action scenes, you will surely be entertained.

What ruined it for me the most was the acting. The female lead is a badass protagonist, and Park So Dam definitely didn't have a hard job, when it comes to the acting department. Her character was mostly expressionless, but in my opinion, she didn't deliver even in the scenes that she was supposed to show the slightest bit of emotion. She was very wooden. The main antagonists mostly overacted and to be frank, I couldn't take them seriously. Generally, the majority of the cast was mediocre.

It was obvious that the scriptwriter tried to make this an action film with some kind of emotional impact, taking into consideration the way the plot progressed. However, the characters were poorly developed and the acting was lacking. As a result I didn’t feel anything for any of them.

All in all, even though there are some aspects that are there in almost all action films, like people not dying, unless the script says so or individuals suddenly turning into super humans with great abilities, the acting and the way the plot was structured didn't make it entertaining enough to make me feel for the characters or ignore some of the absurd things that were happening on screen. Don't get me wrong though. This is an entertaining ride and an ideal movie to watch, when you are looking for some fun after a long and difficult day.

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Completed
The Nokdu Flower
4 people found this review helpful
by Ackery
Aug 12, 2022
48 of 48 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0

The complexity of human nature

I will keep this short.

Even though this series is not perfect in any way, it has something that I rarely see in other historical dramas. The core of it is the people. Not the palace, not the romance, not the schemes, just the people.

It is about ordinary, every day people fighting for their rights to live decently as human beings and not just survive. It is about the beauty and the cynicism of human nature. It is about change, about hardships, about love, about identity and so many other things.

It is a story about people like us, people that were full of strength and dreams, but also full of fear for tomorrow, people with their own weaknesses.

It is an important story that everyone should watch.

Even though the series is based on historical events, the liberties that the writer has taken are integrated into the main story in a great way.

Like it is mentioned in the series, "It's always been the weak who changed the world", and that is something that we all should remember.

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