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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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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An anthology like no other

Many times, I tend to say that some series are not for everyone and you should like specific elements to enjoy them. However, I don’t think I have truly meant that, until now.

This is a series that is difficult to describe in words or to be more precise, you can describe it well enough, but you will never truly prepare the viewer of what they will experience, because Isu is an experience in itself.

It is an anthology consisting of eight episodes about the stories of different women and their precious chairs. It is a dialogue-based series that relies heavily on visual storytelling and it is, as it should, visually stunning. The acting is phenomenal and it has elements that personally reminded me of a theatrical play.

You can find a bit of everything in this peculiar series, that, frankly, only the Japanese could make. There are some surreal stories that use symbolism, some melancholic tales, some interesting and though provoking stories and some that are a bit underwhelming to watch.

Like the opening of every episode says, if you imagine a world with chairs, it will become a story.

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Femme fatale, where?

While I was watching this series many "what if" questions came to my mind. What if the editing was good? What if Park Hee Soon was the male lead? What if the make-up artists could do make-up? But let’s see every aspect separately.

Plot
The plot was obviously full of plot holes, as expected from the genre. The problem is that the series took itself way too seriously to a point that me, as a viewer, expected something better writing-wise. At some points, it was plain stupid.
Let’s take the kids for example that were basically there for décor. When the scriptwriter needed them, she added all those scenes with them, when she didn’t, it was like they didn’t even exist.
When it comes to these series, entertainment is a must. Even though the first half of the series was entertaining to watch, the second half was boring for the most part and all the excitement disappeared.


Directing, Cinematography & Editing
First of all, if someone asked me, when was this series released, I would be confused. The majority of the series looked like a 2016 or a 2015 production, but there were some scenes -not many- that looked visually pleasing, like they were part of a 2021 production. Generally though, it felt cheap.

The lighting was bad, especially in some scenes, like the tango scene in the first episode. I only liked the close-ups in the first few episodes that added to the atmosphere they were trying to create.

The editing was also pretty bad. In one scene the character looks to the right in the other scene, he looks straight ahead.

And then, we have everyone looking fake. Someone told me how it is called, but since I don’t remember it and I can’t find it, I will just use my own words. Everyone’s skin looks fake. It is flawless and not in a "the make-up is great" kind of way. In some scenes, it felt like some characters didn’t have a nose, that’s how bad it was. And to be honest, just why? I had a huge problem with that, especially regarding Seo Yea Ji. She is stunning the way she is, why would you make her look like that? That must be an achievement.


Acting
Oh, Lord. Generally speaking, the acting was mediocre, if I want to be generous, with Yoo Sun as Han So Ra being the only one that I loved watching on screen. She did a great job, portraying her character and I dare say that I would compare her performance with Kim Seo Yeon’s in the Penthouse. Good overacting is not easy to find and she did a magnificent job. Lee Sang Yeob and Park Myung Hoon, Kang Yoon Gyeom's brother, also did a very good job.

Now to the rest of the cast. Seo Yea Ji did an okay job as Lee Ra El. I would say that she needs a bit more work in the sentimental-scenes department. Besides that, at some point, I felt like she gave up. It was like she was trying so hard to make Ra El seem like a good person, to a point that she even made her voice sound thinner.

Now to the actual problems. One of those problems is Park Byung Eun. Even though I didn’t find him as bad as everyone else did, another actor would bring the eroticism and chemistry that it was needed. My biggest problem with his acting was the inconsistency. In a close-up shot he looked shocked, eyes red etc and in the full shot of the same scene he looked like he was just staring at some flowers in the park.

I also didn’t like the acting of Jeon Gook Hwan, the actor that portrayed Han Pan Ro, Han So Ra’s father. I get that he is a veteran, but for me he was ridiculous and I am saying that in the least good way possible. I felt like his acting would suit a series from five years ago. Same with his right hand Kim Jung Cheol, portrayed by Jung Hae Kyun.

Don’t even get me started on the foreign actors and how bad they were. Seo Yea Ji spoke better Spanish than the people that were supposed to be from Argentina.


OST
I like the original soundtrack of the series, with Hold Me Tight by Kim Ye Ji being my favourite. The version of Libertango by Astor Piazzolla with the bandoneon in the tango scene was also fantastic.


Femme Fatal
Undoubtedly, Seo Yea Ji is the perfect actress for these types of roles. Besides her beauty that I personally find quite unique in the Korean industry and her deep voice, she can pull of characters like Lee Ra El. However, no matter how good and gorgeous she is, her character was downgraded by everything else.

Firstly, she is supposed to be mesmerizing when dancing tango and she is just not. The way she dances feels amateurish, cringe to watch and it is definitely not as erotic as they want us to believe. Plus the choreography they created didn’t help at all. It made me laugh at times. That’s where the director should enter and actually do a good job alongside the make-up artists and stylists which gets me to my next point.

As everyone noticed, Seo Yea Ji has lost a lot of weight. Even though we can’t know if it was for the role or because of the scandal, the people responsible for her outfits should be fired. Many of the things that she wore didn’t fit her body type. Not only that, but some of the clothing choices were just bad. Same goes with the makeup.

No, the bad make-up wasn’t intentional, as I have heard many people say. Besides the fact that it felt like they were amateurs and had the same three things to work with -colors, eye-shadows etc-, the majority of their work was awful and I am being very kind. The make-up they used in most scenes looked awful on her, it didn’t fit her outfits nor it was nicely applied. The glittery make-up was just offensive to my eyes. It was bad even in her dreams! Plus, in some shots it looked different than in others and in some scenes they made her look like a ghost.

The same problem occurs with the hairstyles. They weren’t too bad, but when you have Seo Yea Ji you must make her look even more beautiful and not degrade her beauty.

Once again, think of the tango scene. I can’t believe they made her wear that awful dress with that awful make up, when they could have dressed her with a blood red colour dress to make her look like a woman you would give up everything for.


Kang Yoon Gyeom VS Seo Eun Pyung
If you were watching this series, while it was airing, then you know that everyone was arguing about who Ra El should end up with, who is better blah blah blah.

This is my unpopular opinion. First of all, for me, Ra El should end up with no one. Confucius had said "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves" and that would be the most fitting ending for this type of series.
Now, if I had to choose one, that would be Kang Yoon Gyeom. First of all, I can see why he would love her or obsess over her, take your pick. Also, people seem to forget that Lee Ra El is not a saint. She may have been through a very difficult time, but she is manipulative and uses everyone to achieve her goals, including the kids. So no, I don’t think she would make a good couple with Mr. Perfect Seo Eun Pyung. Her toxic relationship with Kang Yoon Gyeom and their similarities make them the ideal endgame, because that is what fits a series full of morally grey characters.

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Two years ago, this would be ground-breaking

Like many people, I have been waiting for this series to air for way too long. I have been through all the airing dates, the delays, the rumoured cancellations, the teasers, the trailers, everything. Even though, it’s been a few days since KinnPorsche finished airing, I wanted to write this review, because I waited way too long to watch this series. I will try to make it as less tiring as possible.

I haven’t read the book, so my thoughts are solely based on what I watched, how I experienced it and my expectations. So excluding the first two episodes that were worse that my physics teacher in high school, below are my thoughts for the rest of the series.

Directing & Cinematography
With a few exceptions, I would say that there were quite a few visually pleasing scenes and for the most part the directing was very well done. I liked the lighting they used and the framing.

Fight scenes
The fight scenes were a huge problem for me. Some were good enough to entertain me and others were ridiculous. Besides the sounds that sounded fake most of the times, but well they were much better that some other Thai series I have watched, there were other problems.
One of those problems was the camera movements. I get why some directors like shaking the camera to create tension, even though I don’t agree, but you need to know how to do that. Showing me a wall when there is a fight scene is not the right way to do it! Making me dizzy and confused about what is happening is also a huge miss. Plus, when the fighting scenes are not well choreographed, don’t use full shots! How am I supposed to get into the fight scenes, when I see people standing there pretending to fight the air, because the protagonist must win, even though they could have easily killed him like nine times?

OST
For me, "Why Don’t You Stay" by Jeff Satur was definitely the highlight of the original soundtrack. No lies, I am basically obsessed with this song. The instrumental and the opening song were also quite nice to hear.

Product Placement
It’s a Thai series, I don’t know why I expected something better…


Plot
So, here lies the biggest problem. I haven’t read the book, so after watching the trailer, I had certain expectations. I was waiting for a plot driven series with a sprinkle of same-sex relationships. What I got was romance with a sprinkle of nonsensical wattpad-like plot.
Ok, let’s be honest, the plot makes no sense. Like at all. Porsche is acting like a three-year-old, being irresponsible af and the mafia is being way too cool about it. There are way too many things that don’t make sense, but I will not mention them, because of spoilers.

Humour
Oh God, I hated it. To be honest, it is a hit or miss, I personally didn’t like it at all, with that fish scene being quite disturbing (still hoping that those fish were fake). Imagine my shock, when I was expecting to watch a serious mafia-based plot and the first four episodes -at least- had so many comedic scenes that felt like they were there just to make the episodes longer.

Acting
Before talking about the actual acting, where the hell did they even find so many good looking people? WHERE? All of them were like they walked out from a fashion show or something; Vegas and Tay (Kinn’s friend) obviously forgot to change their model-like clothes.

And now to the acting. I would dare say that it was much better than I expected, especially taking into consideration that many of the actors don’t have that much experience. I enjoyed the majority of their performances and most importantly I didn’t feel like they forced themselves to act. People that have been watching BLs for a while, know what I mean.
With the exception of some scenes that felt a bit cringe (mostly the ‘’I am speaking another language’’ ones), I was very satisfied with the acting. The chemistry between the actors was also very good and to be honest, I feel like all the cancellations and delays helped them get more acquainted with each other and this is the result.

Romance & Intimate scenes
Like I previously mentioned, I liked the chemistry between the characters and I think they did a pretty good job, making their relationships seem real. At some point though, the main couple became a bit boring to watch and I would like to see more of the other couples, especially the relationship between Vegas and Pete that felt like it started way later that it should have. Even the relationship between Kinn’s friends was much more interesting and I am mad we didn’t get more of them.
KinnPorsche offered some very steamy scenes that you have probably not seen before in a popular BL series. And once again, everything felt quite natural to watch which is a huge plus!



All in all, KinnPorsche was an entertaining-enough series, thus the rating, that should not be taken seriously. I enjoyed it much more, when I accepted that this is not the serious mafia-based series that I was expecting (since they had advertised it as such) and the mafia-plot was basically the background that just didn’t have to make much sense.

The thing is, that five years ago, when the BL series that got produced every year could be counted in one hand, people didn’t have high expectations. This would be phenomenal back then. Why? Good budget, good actors, fun to watch.
Nowadays, there are so many BL series and people have the option to choose what to watch, picking what they think as best from a variety of dramas. At this point, the majority has started looking for well-written stories and not just for a portrayal of a same-sex relationship on screen. This series is definitely something relatively new, but certainly not ground-breaking.

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This series should have never been created

I intended to write a typical review with the aspects of the drama that I enjoyed and the parts I disliked, but then I realised that there was not even one positive thing I could say about this series, not even one. If you enjoyed this drama, please don't read further.

This is probably one of the worst series I have watched in my life and in the thriller-mystery genre it may actually be the worst.

I will get straight to the point which is the plot. Imagine a chessboard where the players can move their pawns however they like, without considering the rules. That’s how this series is like. The writer uses the characters, which are equally badly written, however she likes without taking into consideration that there is something called logic. The genre of this series does not allow plot holes. It is not a drama where a pigeon and his friends can appear to save the day and you are fine with it, because the genre allows it. They are not even the types of plot holes that you can dismiss, because you are having a good time.

We all have watched kdramas where the police officers are portrayed as idiots and they don’t use their brain to think. Well, comparing to the characters in this series where everyone acts like they have only one brain cell left, those police officers should have won some medals for their exemplary behaviour.

The actors were mediocre, but to tell the truth, I am not sure if it is because they are not good actors or it’s because their characters were so badly written that they couldn’t do anything better than that. Even the OST has nothing to offer and it was one of the few times that the music felt so out of place.

This may have sounded a bit offensive, but since I felt like this series insulted my intelligence, I couldn’t write what I felt in a more positive way.

Do yourself a favour and forget about the existence of this series, because it shouldn’t have been made to begin with.

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TVING is the new -more violent- OCN

After the King of Pigs, TVING released another dark-themed series with a star-studded cast and even though it didn’t disappoint, it wasn’t as thrilling as one would expect either.

From a technical aspect Monstrous is quite well done. It has a believable (enough) atmosphere, some nicely shot scenes and a dark colour palette. As a result it is better to watch it with all the lights off to be fully immersed. The CGI is not exactly the greatest CGI you will see and it does seem pretty fake at times, but at the same time it is not too bad to take you out of the story. Furthermore, the make-up wasn’t really good, especially in some horror-like scenes of the drama. Lastly, even though I do believe that the lack of censorship can make a series feel much more realistic, in this case they overdid it with the violent scenes. Sometimes it felt like they used them just for show and to fill some time.

Acting wise, people familiar with Korean series will recognize the majority of the main cast, including Koo Kyo Hwan (D.P.), Shin Hyun Bin (Hospital Playlist), Kwak Dong Yeon (Vincenzo), Park Ho San (Prison Playbook, My Mister), Nam Da Reum (Six Flying Dragons, The 8th night) and Kim Ji Young (Graceful Friends). Needless to say that the majority of the cast did a pretty good job with the roles they were assigned with. My favourite performances were undoubtedly those of Koo Kyo Hwan and Shin Hyun Bin, two of our main leads.
On the other hand, I wasn’t entirely convinced with Kwak Dong Yeon’s acting in some scenes, even though he did a pretty good job with his role. My biggest problem acting-wise was probably Park Ho San (the annoying governor). Even though I am never too bothered by his acting, almost every time I watch him on screen I feel like he is overdoing it with his expressions to a point that he seems a bit ridiculous.

The plot of the series was good enough to keep the viewer interested. There were some scenes that didn’t make sense, or to be more precise there were things that conveniently happened so that the plot could move forward. I didn’t mind it that much though, since what matters the most to me is having fun and I was pretty entertained throughout the drama. What I loved the most about the series were the backstories of the characters that I would like to watch more of.
The series was very easy to watch and I would suggest binge-watching it not only because it consists of six thirty-minute episodes, but also because it would probably feel very underwhelming otherwise.

Having said that, the characters, even though interesting, were pretty underdeveloped. Also, at some points, the series felt a bit like your typical zombie/monster drama and we have been seeing a lot of those nowadays, with All of Us Are Dead being the most recent one. There were also some particular scenes that felt a bit out of place, like those with the monks in the first three episodes. If I could point out the biggest problem of Monstrous, then it would be that I didn’t really feel for the characters. Even though we were presented with some suspenseful and sorrowful moments, most of the times I wasn’t really on the edge of my sit, neither did I feel emotionally invested.

All in all, it is obvious that TVING is trying to bring something new to the table; something more violent and raw and they pulled it off to some extent. Nevertheless, it seems like they need to do a bit more work to make some other aspects of series like this one work. Looking forward to their next project, Rose Mansion.

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‘’Pigs are born to be torn into pieces’’

The King of Pigs is a 2022 korean series based on the animated film with the same name that got released in 2011. I think the best way to write this review is by dividing it into three parts, taking into consideration the three different stories that get interconnected throughout the series.

The past: A part of the series takes place during the school years of our protagonists, showing the difficulties they had to endure. From a technical aspect, the directing, colour grading and cinematography are phenomenal. Acting-wise, it was a very good call to not choose older actors to portray the characters and personally I ended up being fascinated with the performances of all the young actors, without a single exception. I would dare say that their performances were haunting, in a way that it was sometimes a bit disturbing to watch. However, if I had to pick the best performance, then it would be that of Choi Hyun Jin who portrayed Kim Chul, the mysterious third friend of our main protagonists. Plot wise, this is the most interesting part of the series, since it is veiled with mystery and it is focusing on the darkness of human nature in a very raw manner. It reminded me of the saying that "the school is a miniature society".

The Present: The present story changes between the serial killings that are being orchestrated by Hwang Kyung Min and the investigation from the police done by Jung Jong Suk, an old friend of the killer.

The killings: From a technical point of view this part is also quite well done, with some very good editing and a darker colour palette. The acting is excellent, especially Kim Dong Wook’s performance as the bullied child that decides to take revenge from his bullies. The other actors also did a very good job, with two of them standing out the most; Oh Min-Suk portraying the adult Kang Min and Bae Yoo-Ram portraying the adult version of Park Chan-Young. Plot wise, this part of The King of Pigs is quite well-written, keeping the viewer on the edge of their sit with all the brutality and the darkness of the human nature that is being showcased. It also raises some dilemmas regarding justice and what it really is.

The investigation: Unfortunately, all good things come to an end with the investigation being the weakest part of the drama. From a technical aspect, the directing and cinematography are pretty lacklustre. There are some scenes that are way too bright or don’t fit with the atmosphere they have created. There are also scenes were the colours are way too bold, like the parts with the coroner where the blue colour looks unnatural. Many times it felt like they were trying too hard to create an atmosphere to fit the dark aura of the series, but since they didn’t manage to do it, it ended up feeling artificial. Acting wise it is not anything extraordinary with the performance of Kim Sung-Kyu (Jung Jong-Suk) being the only noteworthy one.

Chae Jung-An starring as Kang Jin Ah ruins this series the most for me. Her performance is pretty bad, since she is having only two expressions in the entire show no matter what is happening. Every time she was on screen I got reminded that this is a series and she is an actress trying to portray her character and failing. Plot wise, the investigation is also the weakest part. There are things happening way too conveniently to make the story move forward and once again the character of the female police officer that is being portrayed by Kang Jin Ah has no reason of existence. She is being used time and time again from the writer to make the plot move forward and as a result her actions are nonsensical.

One last thing I want to mention is the lack of censorship. The King of Pigs deals with many triggering topics involving murder, bullying, sexual harassment, suicide, animal cruelty and yet it is not your typical kdrama where everything is blurred. With the exception of one scene, where censorship was necessary, everything else is being shown in its most violent form. The fact that the series doesn’t shy away from brutal and bloody scenes is a huge plus, taking into consideration the topics in discussion.

All in all, the king of pigs could have been a phenomenal series with fantastic performances, if they focused on the past and the serial killings and not on the police investigation, a weakly executed part in almost all aspects.

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High expectations are the key to disappointment

This is going to be a rant/review with the length of an essay, so friendly reminder that this is my personal opinion. I intended to make this spoiler-free, but I just had to mention a few scenes that made me roll my eyes in the plot/characters and directing part of my review.

Remember 15 was one of my most anticipated series of the year and it did disappoint me in almost all aspects possible. Before ranting, I want to mention the two things that I liked about it.

Promotion: I want to applaud the team that was responsible for the promotion of this series. The posters, especially the first one, were some of the best I have ever seen. The official teaser prepared the viewer for a suspenseful, gory series that would also focus on the characters and their stories and it was very well edited.

Acting: The portrayal of the characters from their respective actors was probably the best thing this series had to offer. They all did a decent job, taking into consideration the fact that the characters were not that well-written.

Now to the rant:

Directing: I usually don't pay that much attention to the directing, since in most series it is neither praise-worthy nor rant-worthy. However, in this case things are different. If someone told me, they changed the director after the first two-three episodes I would probably believe them. Even though it felt like it got improved in some way (not that it was good, but not as bad) the way they shot the first few episodes was amateurish at best. There were some shaky camera movements, even in scenes that there was no reason for the camera to be shaky (basically scenes where they were just standing and not running). Some unneeded (and shaky) close-ups, that not only did not create the atmosphere they aimed for, but also made the scene look even more ridiculous. Some outrageous shots that were filmed badly - worse than when I was filming a commercial for school-. There is this one scene where two characters are face to face and it is supposed to be intense, but the camera angle allows the viewer to see half of the face of one of the characters and not even that well, because her hair was getting in the way. And let’s not forget the scene when Fone lost her eye from the branch of a tree. That branch went so deep that it should have destroyed her eye completely, yet someone thought ‘’let’s make the screen red, to show that Fone is seeing red from the blood that she lost'', when she is not supposed to see anything, because her eye is gone!

Make-up: After watching the teaser of the series, I expected a decent amount of gory scenes and there were some, but the way they did the make-up was pretty bad in many of the cases. As a result it felt fake and it ruined the gore aspect that was supposed to be one of the main themes of Remember 15. Frankly, there are many times that I, and probably many other viewers, have seen some pretty bad CGI or some pretty bad make-up scenes (with a very recent example being Under the Skin). However, unlike those dramas, Remember 15 should have some realistic gory scenes to make the plot and the atmosphere work.

Plot/Characters: I wouldn’t mind that much if the plot was perfect and all the other aspects were lacking, but even the script was not well-written. The series has basically two timelines, one happening in the past and one taking place in the island. As a viewer, I anticipated some suspenseful scenes in the events happening in the island, but unexpectedly, the past of the characters was much more interesting to watch. Generally, the majority of the plot and the actions of the characters made no sense. I know I should throw my brain out of the window, when I have to, so I can enjoy a series, but this one was so outrageously stupid at some points that it was hilarious and a bit insulting to watch. The characters' reactions made no sense. Everything worked as a plot tool to make the story develop -if I can call that development-.
Everyone is so emotionless and their reactions (or to be more precise the lack of them) make no sense. People are dying and everyone is so calm! In one of the scenes Bozo (or another male character, I don’t remember) finds Bew with blood on his hands and with a dead body near him (that probably has no head left, because Bew smashed it with a rock) and he looks calmer than when I am having a walk in the park. People get severely injured, but they survive and can function properly, when the script says so, but others with less serious injuries can’t even walk straight. The characters' reactions are very fake and the way they act changes so drastically, in a way that it feels like they change their whole personalities. Therefore no matter what they do, you don't really feel anything about them. Some of them are okay, but the majority is just bland, the kind of 'I don't care even if they die' kind of bland.

The pace: Unfortunately the pacing of the series was another huge problem. I could call the first half of the series a guilty pleasure, but after some point it became very draggy. The thing is, that when you are making a slow paced series, you must know how to handle everything to make the viewer interested in what is taking place on the small screen. In this one, they apparently didn’t know how to do that. There are many scenes that last minutes, even though they don’t add anything to the atmosphere or to the plot and the sole purpose of their existence is to make the episode last longer.
Remember 15 could easily be a movie or a short five-episode series. I felt like they wanted to make this deep, emotional and at the same time engaging and suspenseful, but it ended up being extremely boring. As a result I watched the second part of the series in double speed and I felt like I was watching it in its regular pace.

This is trying to be a character-driven horror series with some social commentaries here and there, but it is failing miserably in all aspects. After having watched the WeTV Thai original series After Dark, I expected a similar atmosphere as that one. If you have watched that series, you will know what a disturbing atmosphere really means. It managed to balance good acting, chilling atmosphere and also make some social commentary, while this one just wanted to do so and never achieved it. Is this horror? No and I don’t know If they really aimed for it.

All in all, Remember 15 had an interesting concept, but the execution lacked in almost all aspects and for me, it does not deserve your time, especially if you are looking for a horror series. Try After Dark or some other Thai series with a similar theme, like The stranded.

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Snow during spring

"A masterpiece may be in someone's possession for a while, but once its purpose is done, it goes to the next person."

Sometimes when you are looking at a work of art, many different emotions overcome you and iribito is exactly like a work of art. It can't be really explained with words. It is like a painting with vivid and dark colors that makes you feel the complexity of human nature and the beauty of human creations. Its atmosphere is unsettling and suffocating, but at the same time liberating and cruelly beautiful. Takamura Naho is mesmerizing, assertive and infatuated with art, while Shirane Tatsuru is ethereal, passionate and unbelievably creative. They complement each other in a way that resembles human creations. Those creations are made by human beings and can only be appreciated by other human beings.

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Life is a difficult equation

Melancholia comes from the ancient Greek medical term μελαγχολία that has two compounds; μέλας (melas) that means black and χολή (kholḗ) that means bile. Basically, it is used to describe someone that feels deep sadness. One of the first appearances of the term "melancholia" is found in a Hippocrates work called "Περί νούσων" (About deceases). The word captures the idea that some ancient Greeks believed (mostly Hippocrates) that the character and the mood of a person depends on the blending degree of several bodily fluids.

I have mixed feelings about this series. It kept me company and I got used to watching it almost every night. Nevertheless, even though I enjoyed it, it also had many flaws that I need to mention. Starting from the technical aspects, the directing is quite good, but at the same time not that good to make you eager to congratulate the director. Let’s be honest, good directing is something that many Korean series have, especially when the budget is decent, so this is just another one of those. The cinematography of the series is very eye-catching and I personally think it is one of the best things this drama has to offer. The original soundtrack was decent, but, in my opinion, nothing worth remembering.

Plot-wise, melancholia is nothing groundbreaking or to be more precise it could have been groundbreaking, if some things were handled differently. As the synopsis suggests, the series is divided into two parts. The first one is taking place in Aseong high school with our two protagonists being the positive Ji Yoon Soo, the math teacher, and Baek Seung Yoo, her brilliant student. The second part of the series takes place four years later, with our two main characters trying to get revenge after a sexual scandal that involved them destroyed their lives.

Unfortunately, the drama does a very poor job at mixing the light-hearted and romantic aspects of the series -that are barely there and mostly one-sided, since we all know it couldn’t have been portrayed otherwise- with the more serious subject of school corruption. Especially in the first few episodes, it feels like you are watching two different series. The second part focuses much more on the corruption plot, but was also poorly handled. It felt unnecessarily long and it wasn’t exciting to watch or suspenseful. Generally, the series is quite slow paced and it could have easily been reduced down to twelve episodes making the script much more interesting to watch. Making a slow paced series doesn't mean that it will be draggy or that it will need less episodes. In this particular case though, I felt that the scriptwriter tried too much to make this impactful by making things move slower and as a result we had many unnecessary scenes.

There were some aspects in the story that I enjoyed, even though I wish that all of them were much more developed. The love for math and how you can find them in the simplest of things was one of the best parts of the series. Even though we have seen many series about students and corrupted schools, what I enjoyed about Melancholia is that it portrayed a genius student and how a person that has such talent can also have many problems that we can’t really imagine. Lastly, there were some interesting characters, like Jin Hyeon Uk (Yoon Soo’s father) and Ryu Sung Jae. Even though I would like to see more of their story, they were still a delight to watch.

The acting in the series is nothing phenomenal, but all of the actors did a fairly good job at portraying their roles. If there was one actor that fascinated me with his performance once again, then that would be Choi Dae Hoon. I realized his potential in Beyond Evil and he had another quite interesting character to portray here (in comparison to his usual bland support roles). I truly wish he gets to showcase his talent more in the future. There is also some overacting here and there, especially from Jin Kyung that portrays Noh Jung Ah, the director of Aseong high school. It seemed, at times, like she was trying to be another Cheon Seo Jin from Penthouse, something that could never work, because this type of acting is not appropriate for this series.

Perhaps I shouldn’t mention this in the review, but I have seen many people using the word "pedophilia" to talk about this series and I feel the need to say that this a very wrong term to use. Please, don’t use such a term without first searching what it actually means, because there are certain requirements for someone to be considered a pedophile. However, if you find the theme even a little uncomfortable, it is better to avoid it.

All in all, melancholia is a visually pleasing series, with some interesting characters and good acting that has a very promising start, with one of the best first episodes I have seen in a while. However, unfortunately, it seems like they were unable to make the different parts of the plot connect in a balanced way and halfway through the series lost its spark and it became quite uneventful and bland.

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''Freedom within limits''

''Home should be a shelter that can protect us''

Let me start off by stating that this movie has almost nothing in common with Parasite (since I saw many people wondering), besides the fact that it is not for everyone. It is the definition of a visually stunning film that heavily relies on the atmosphere to convey different types of -mostly- negative emotions. The movie gives out a disturbing feeling and it makes the viewers sense that something is very wrong with the family. That feeling is enhanced by the dark color pallet that is used, to make the audience feel even more trapped and suffocated. The acting is great not only from the veterans, but also from the young actors and actresses, that manage to give off a touch of desperation and melancholy to the film. The instrumental is beautiful and the plot is mostly well written, with some twists and turns, especially near the ending. The only reason that this is not rated higher, is because of the way that all the revelations were handled. It felt like they tried to make the viewer understand what happened in a very rushed manner, revealing everything in the end in a way that could be seen as confusing by many. All in all though, it definitely deserves the watch.

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"On the backside of the moon, there was not even a single ray of light."

"I have someone that I want to make happy, but if that person really finds happiness then I won’t be needed by anyone in this world."

Human darkness was always something that fascinated people and Byakuyako portrays two of the most interesting and complicated characters I have ever watched, that have fallen into the abyss. It focuses on two pathetic human beings, Yukiho and Ryoji that are trapped in their past and guilt. Their relationship can’t be defined with a simple word. It is not love, nor friendship. It is a complicated connection between two scarred humans that found someone to rely on. Like the sun and the moon, Yukiho and Ryoji are meant to exist in the same universe and offer comfort and rest to one another, but without being able to truly exist at the same time.

"After that, I told lies upon lies. This way, I lost every bit of the truth."

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Be careful when you comment on the internet

In only five episodes, this series managed to touch upon cyber bullying, which is a very sensitive topic, in a very delicate and realistic way. The series focuses on Papang, a top student, who is famous in her school, especially through her social media account. One day Papang takes her own life and the series portrays the happenings that led her to that decision.
The Comments deal with the impact that social media have on our lives and how our false social media persona can devour our true selves. The series is a social commentary, about the things that people post online with the sole purpose of judging another human being, without thinking or caring about the consequences. It also deals with the hate comments that celebrities receive and how much they can affect them. The acting is really good throughout the series and I would recommend it to anyone interested in this subject. However, it is not that easy to watch, especially the last episode, so take this into consideration. I liked the fact that I was able to read the comments that the viewers made, while watching the series on YouTube. In that way it is even more impactful, because even though the characters are fictional, the situation was very realistic and the comments were concerning to say the least.
What I loved most about the series, is how the character of Papang is depicted. She is not just the victim of cyber bullying and she is not there to play that role. Papang made some selfish decisions, humiliated her friends and she definitely wasn't the most likable character ever. She was inconsiderate about her friends and maybe if she acted in another way, everything would have turned out differently. However, Papang was also a human being with her own feelings and she didn't deserve the hateful comments she got, no matter how she acted. She didn't deserve to lose her life like that and she definitely didn't deserve to feel that hopeless. This series is about the complexity of human emotions that can lead people to extreme actions. The moral is that social media can be used in a harmful, but also in a helpful way. There is always a choice and in the end it is our own decision if we will use them to hurt or help others.

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Missing Person: Nanno

SPOILER FREE

I don't want this to be too long so I will get to the point. Even though it was quite an easy watch with some interesting elements here and there, there were three main problems in this season. One was that the writers and the team tried to have a more ''sophisticated directing'' that was decent, but at the same time tiring and didn't evoke the unsettling felling that season one gave off. The second problem was that I felt like they were out of ideas. Most of the episodes had very similar elements to episodes from season one and felt repetitive and sometimes even draggy or unnecessary. The biggest problem in this season though, was Nanno herself. She was barely there in some of the episodes and the drastic change of her character, even though there were clues that it was going to happen, felt hasty and abrupt.

I saw many people wanting to find out Nanno's backstory, who or what she is, but I personally don't. One of the best parts of this series is the fact that we don't know anything about her. She is ''The girl from nowhere'' and I want her to stay that way or at least if we were to find out what she is I would prefer it to be in the last episodes of the series. The unknown is much more horrifying than the known.

Episodes ranking:
8 -> 6 ->7 -> 5 -> 4 -> 1 -> 3 -> 2

SPOILERS
My personal ranking of the episodes from best to worst:

Episode 8: This episode was a breath of fresh air comparing to the rest and it was imo by far the best. It was bloody, had a plot twist that was rapidly revealed and an unsettling atmosphere. It was also the episode that made me realize that in the modern world, most people would prefer revenge and not karma.

Episode 6: Easily the most visually pleasing episode of the whole season. Nanno gave a speech about rules in the beginning of it, but it was much more than that. It was about cutting off whatever is different. It was about strict regulations and societal rules that make people unable to breath and how difficult it is to get them out of your life, without becoming a monster. It was about a dark and white world that doesn't want any colors and doesn't need anyone to be unique. I also liked the Junji Ito vibes that this had regarding Nanno.

Episode 7: Sarcasm about social media, how they work and that sometimes we are able to do awful things for some views from people that we may not even know. Also about appreciating our life no matter how it is.

Episode 5: Easily the most fucked up episode of the season. It was certainly intriguing, but also unsettling. I liked the fact that it was basically a social commentary about the principle of "respecting people older than you", that doesn't only apply in school, but also in every part of people's life and it is fundamental in many Asian countries. One of the main reasons this is in the top four is because of Aim, that played Kaye. He was phenomenal and he portrayed every single emotion with just a look.

Episode 4: Interesting episode and the main introduction of Yuri. Frankly, they could have handled it way better, so that her appearance would be more mysterious, but they didn't.

Episode 1: First half of the episode was great. James is an amazing actor and he was really good in this role. Unfortunately second half felt draggy and repetitive and it reminded me of the first episode of the first season. It became a little ridiculous after a bit, like a badly written wattpad fan-fiction.

Episode 3: One of the most interesting concepts in this season. Unfortunately I didn't really like the execution nor the acting, but the idea was really good and it reminded me of season 1. This could be way higher in my ranking, but when a good concept is not handled correctly, it is even worse than a bad concept being handled in a bad way.

Episode 2: I liked the message of the episode, that love is love no matter what, but that's the only thing I enjoyed. This was the equivalent of the TK episode in season 1. It felt draggy and the main reason was not just the story, but the fact that it felt out of place. In the TK episode Nanno played a fundamental role and she did try to destroy TK, but since he was a good person she couldn't. In this one, it felt like she didn't have any bad intentions from the beginning and that could be explained by the change of her character, but if that is the case then it shouldn't have been the second episode of the series. However, since Yuri was introduced there wasn't a choice for this episode to be the 4th or the 5th of the season. If this episode didn't exist at all I would prefer it, since in only 8 episodes, I expected to see Nanno acting like herself.

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