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This movie makes you question your own value: Do you prioritize money money money or health/humanity and common sense? In short, the plot was meaningful and brilliant.
The first part of the movie was excellent, not too slow not too fast paced. There were action, suspense, thriller, romance/drama, comedy, political stuff.
However, the last 30 minutes were way too slow, way too tragedic/melodramatic. I could not hold myself from skipping. Sure it can makes you cry a lot, but that was really too much. I would have shortened a solid 15 minutes who were unecessary because we get the message really well without all those extra dramatic scenes... But aside of that, everything was very well done and the message of the movie is well perceived and portrayed.
The actors and actresses did an excellent job!
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What I love the most about this drama is the main actor Park Solomon (aka "handsome shuai"/Kris) which portrayed the character perfectly since the begining until the end ! It is worth to watch it for this reason only I swear. His skills is no joke, he did an amazing job there.
The osts are splendid and it captured the feelings of the series very well. I particularly like the osts "Lookism" and "Touch".
The story, which is based on the webtoon of the same name, is overall good. Just like in the webtoon, it gets better and better episodes by episodes. The intensity increases episodes by episodes. It gets more and more serious and dark. It may looks "light hearted" but it is not. It is just like in the webtoon, there are fun, cool moments as well as "dark" and deeep moments. HOWEVER, there is one point that truly annoys me, but it is not necessarily a bad point, well let me explain : The ending is particularly annoying because it is HEARTBREAKING, I hate this ending as it literraly hurts my feeling, it is just too sad it is the reason why I did not give a 10/10 but a 9.5/10 because my heart is forever broken !
Overall, I recommand it, wether or not you are a fan of the webtoon, wether or not you are a reader of the webtoon. Yes the story does not follow exactly the webtoon but it is absolutely not necessarily a bad thing for so many reasons
1. The webtoon can explores others options to tell the story, it can focus on others things like "the two bodies". I know a lot of readers complains that the webtoon does not really focus on that recently, but they also complain that the webseries does not follow the webtoon, so I am like "WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
The webtoon does not focus on the two bodies anymore you complain and now that the webseries focus on the two bodies you can complain.... At least make some sense.
2. It is technically IMPOSSIBLE for a webseries with real actors and actresses to follow points by points every single episode of the webtoon
3. THE WEBSERIES IS OVERALL WORTH TO WATCH BECAUSE IT IS GOOD
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I think this movie is way too overrated. The cast is overall good, the story is well written since we can clearly see the difference between the rich and the poor, the movie draws a clear separation between the two and illustrates how difficult it is to cross that separation for both of them. For the music, I think it was too simple, it did not attract me.
I would not recommend this movie to be honest. It is a little bit too weird and the start is too slow which makes the movie a little bit too boring. I wanted to skip many parts because I felt it was too slow. In clear words, I was disappointed. The last 30 minutes were better.
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A season two would not be too much
The story is overall good. However, it may be too cliché and some scenes are not realistic but very much bearable and still very enjoyable. Furthermore, until the episode 12, the political aspect is boring (I've almost skipped them all). Aside of that (political aspect), everything is capticating in the story. Basically, the team of the hero is searching the truth despite of all the obstacles (manipulation, betrayal, corruption, fighting/killing) in their path. The last three episodes were the best because since the episode 13, even the political aspect becomes surprisingly interesting and entertaining. The twist is what I've also enjoyed a lot! A second season will be welcomed, without a doubt!The acting is great, they are doing a good job in their respective roles. The music is very good
Would I want to rewatch it again ? Certainly not the episodes in the middle of the drama but the firsts three episodes and the last three episodes yes I would.
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The action/fight scenes were impressive. And I like when fights are more realistic, if they completely exagerrate the fights I will loose interest but in this drama it is fine and I was very surprised Sehun truly were amazing at fighting scenes. The main character truly suits Sehun, cold, cool and warm at the same time. The cast honestly was very good, I like the skill of the "small" guy "Kim Jong Il" he became my favorite character of this drama alongside Hyuk (Sehun). The osts were good but I was expecting better osts but it was not bad. Also with this kind of drama, it is possible to re watch it without being bored. And that plot twist at the end I was absolutely not ready !
Overall it was a pleasant surprise, I hope a season 2 will come soon !
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One of my favorite drama of 2019 !
I highly recommend this drama. Overall, it is mesmerizing and perfect as expected from an OCN's drama. It's an all kill for me !It has everything. It truly illustrates the power of the south korean dramas and entertainment. I really like how it draws different genres and topics altogether : thriller, drama, justice, suspense, action, murders, bullying, harassment, investigation, corruption, politics, justice, school, workplace and so on. It highlithgts a lot of loopholes of the society. I enjoy the fact that this drama take risks in mixing many genres altogether. The results are absolutely perfect. It is like a mix of the drama "School 2013", "The guardiands/lookout" and "watcher". What I find very interesting is how the story highlithts the hierarchy of classes (the poor should serve the rich) and the existence of bullying in every strata of the society (school, workplace) ! I absolutely adore the story which is well written from the begining until the end. This drama is never boring, not a single second is boring. I could watch it again and again.
Also, the music/osts are absolutely fantastic and entertaining ! I also love the cast which I find particularly brilliant ! Every single actor and actress did so well, even the younger ones (the sudents) did such an amazing and entertaining job I was absolutely mesmerized ! The music is also one of the best point of the drama, every single ost of this drama is very good, it is very original yet it goes so well with the drama. It is very unique, and surprisingly captivating and suitable !
A MUST-SEE !
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The cast is absolutely great. The main actor Seo Kang Joon is absolutely good, his acting skill is very strong and solid. I am impressed. The music is georgous as well, I truly like the osts they are all so great they goes perfectly with the drama. I'm not surprised anymore with OCN they knows whats good for their drama when it comes to osts. I also like a lot the story, which involves corruption, politics as well as crimes. Furthermore I really like how the main character should seek truth and finally revenge, it is the kind of story that always work for me, there is no boring scenes at all. It is captivating from the begining until the end, as you are discovering things along with the main actor. Let's not talk about the numbers of twists... there are too many which makes you feel like you knew nothing after all.
I really recommend it !
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This review may contain spoilers
The plot is quite interesting, it is based on a revenge note. However as the story progress, the story does not explains or explores at least a little bit where this revenge note app come from, who created it, for which purpose. At the end, she decide to delete the revenge note app from her phone because she thinks she does not need it anymore but does really not give more details as to why now she does not need this. For the romance part, the end with the second main male lead was unsatisfying. From my opinion there were major loopholes regarding the revenge note application and the second male lead. I found Park Solomon was the best among the cast. I have watched this drama for him to be honest. And sorry but I think the main female is lacking acting skill. Eunwoo was overall good, but he did not appeared a lot in the drama so we cannot really 'judge'. And to be fair, I wanted him to appear more often in the drama, so I am a bit disappointed because of that. He is a good actor aside of that.
The music was good, I particularly like the rap ost.
Overall, it is funny, light and I suggest you to not have high expectations if you watch it.
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The story is not bad but not good either. It is quite common.
The female lead was not good but not bad either. Her fighting scenes were not convincing at all, I am sorry. It truly felt not natural. However, her acting when she is not fighting is decent. It is just her fighting scenes, the problem.
The positive note is Kim Young Kwang and Park Solomon who have done a splendid job in their respective role from the beginning until the end. If you are a fan of one of these two, or if you are a fan of both, then it is really worth to watch it.
The ost was quite good, If I am not wrong there is not a lot of osts.
Overall, it is not good but not bad either.
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STORYThe story is quite uncommon and unique, but most importantlty, interesting. In simple words, this drama was an interesting surprise. Three brothers were separated, then after years, reunited, not knowing each others they fought each others then reconcile and everything, and what is brilliant is the fact that three of them lived a diffrerent life.
One of them was struggling financially to survive, on his own, he had to beg for money all his life.
One of them was the son of a rich CEO but was still struggling mentally.
One of them was, I would say, in the middle, a cop/detective, also struggling.
We are able to witness their struggles, wether they are rich, poor, or in the middle, and most importantly their character's development which is particularly brilliant.
The lenght of the drama is quite long, 26 episodes, which is risky but it has worked. I was afraid about the lenght in the begining, because I thought it would be boring sometimes, but there is nothing to be afraid of.
Overall it was interesting and entertaining, really. Even the first four episodes were entertaining, although it might seems "boring" or it might seems there are some holes, it is normal since it set up the character's life in the begining and it is important to see where they were starting from so the end will be more enjoyable. I think the first four episodes are important and they are entertaining, mostly the scenes with Jaejoong.... However, the romance in this drama felt unecessary. Literrally, we could skip almost all of the few romance parts and still understand the story withouth prejudice. The romance did not add anything particular to the drama from my opinion. I even felt like the 'story' killed one of the brother because of the romance so the other brother can live with that romance, which is very saddening but mostly weird.
CAST
The cast is good, well chosen, really. The three main brothers were very good at portraying their respective role. More particularly, Jaejoon's acting is remarkable and beautiful. I am very impressed. I would have never though he would be that good. He clearly did a very good job, no complains at all. I clealy felt all the emotions he was playing and everything. He's not only "handsome" he is an actor for real.
MUSIC
Quite good. It build the atmosphere and the suspense quite well.
REWATCH VALUE
I am writting this review after I have just finished the last episode. I kind of want to rewatch the story, because of Jaejoong and the engaging, endearing and likeable character he is portraying which touched my heart.
OVERALL
It is worth to watch it, it is refreshing to see a quite unique story like that which is unfortunately rare to find. Also Jaejoong's acting is impressive and remarkable, honestly you will not be disappointed by his acting.
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-> The story a.k.a the strongest point of this serie from my opinion.
The story evolves around "poverty", "psychology", "money", "teenagers/minors", "trafficking, sextrafficking, gangs".
At first, it sounds old and common but, the way the story is told makes this drama unique in its genre. The story telling of this drama is a work of art. I am not exagerrating, it is brilliant. The episode 1 is echoing the last episode (ep 10). The first episode set the atmostphere since the first scene and that scene is directly connected to the last scene of the last episode which resumes everything. The introduction is also the conclusion. It is very brilliant. Also the sentences that the professor told him are all so important to understand the psychology of the main characters especially Jinsoo. For example in the first episode, he told him if he endure everything now he will face the consequences all at once at the end. The professor is such an important character. Also there are many details which are very important as well, they seems like "nothing" but they are crucial like the animal that Jinsoo take care of and the cap Minhee has brought.
I truly appreciate how unique this drama is, how uncommon it is, how unpredictable and predictable it is at the same time, how it makes sense but doesn't makes sense at the same as well.
The four main characters were to blame, they were not saint and not evil either, they have taken the wrong path to achieve their goals and the consequences were tragic (Even MrLee is to blame). The two main characters especially are to blame, they are anti heroes. The story tellins is great because the way it is told will makes you want to support them even if they are wrong.
In addition, I also like a lot the fact that they truly portrays two kind of trafficking : the "old" kind of making money through illegal trafficking and the "modern" way to make money through illegal trafficking with modern technologies (smartphones, by distance). With mordern techologies, a lot more people with different backgrounds can dive into this illegal world "more easily".
If you like the movie "Parasite" you will love this drama. "Extracurricular" truly follows the same "concept", the same unique, new genre. I was really not into "Parasite" but with "Extracurricular" it is different. So if you haven't enjoyed "Parasite", this drama "Extracurriclar" can reconcile you with the concept.
-> The cast
The cast is very good, the acting very great. I'll not say I was complety amazed by their acting to be very honest but they are very good especially the main actor who is portraying Jinsoo.
-> The music a.k.a the only weak point
From my opinion, my personal tastes, the choice of the osts were not always good but that's my personal tastes who is speaking because I am aware the choice of some songs for some scenes were intentional to makes this drama "unique". But imo it is was unecessary "unique". The osts are good to listen, but they doesn't fit with this drama particularly. I only like a lot the "opening theme", it was the only ost that fit the drama. The others musics doesn't fit.
-> The rewatch value
I found myself wanting to rewatch again this drama because the story telling once again is brilliant.
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A MUST-SEE !
The story is based on a real story which makes the story highly interesting. I really like the fact it was very realistic which is normal since it is based on a real story. It really is not boring at all. It is the type of story I truly enjoy because it is entertaining and educational at the same time. Frankly speaking, it is impossible to complain about the story !I also have no complain about the acting. The acting is superb, the main actor Lee Hyun Woo is such a good actor !
The music also goes well with the movie.
Overall, everything is good wich is why I recommend it, it is honestly a very good movie, a movie we should not miss!
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As expected from OCN, it is one of the best adaptation, from my opinion. Let's start with the story. It is very disturbing, creepy and scary (at least for me because I'm not used to this kind of story even if I like thriller drama) which makes this drama particular. The ending is even more disturbing, I felt very uncomfortable watching it but it is worth it. I mean, it is part of the story, and makes sense. I felt so sad for the main character and also for others but I do not want to spoil it so I will not give every details. The twist at the end was a very disturbing twist yet it was a good one. I also like the fact it portrays the loopholes of the system : the social loopholes which do not facilitates things for the poor class and shows the vicious circle that happens in general, the loopholes of the law enforcement; etc. One of the best point is that there was romance but there was no cringy/embarassing romance which I truly appreciate !
For the cast, I am so impressed about their profesionnalism and their quality. To be clear, each one of them did a perfect job, even the police woman, all of the residents of the appartment, and of the course the main actors. All of them did a great job, the roles were really not easy to do, but they did so well. Of course, Lee dong woo and Him Si wan were just so good, it is impossible to complain.
The osts were just so good, like, really. There again, it is impossible to complain about the osts.
I truly recommend this drama as it is a very good adaptation of the webtoon of the same name ! You just got to be prepared of the creepy side of the drama lol
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Although the story/plot is simple, basic, it managed to be entertaining in some way. The plot focus on the survival aspect, not the zombie aspect. To tell you, I am not into zoombie movies at all, in fact I avoid them. This movie was trending number 6 in my country so I ended up watching it without any expectation. As a result I was surprised by its quality. There were no meaningless and useless extended scenes of melodrama (with people crying thinking about their past for long time). There was a 'dramatic' scene where the main leads were started taking this path but they have stopped just right in the perfect moment. I was relieved you cannot even imagine it. That made the pace perfect, not too slow no too fast. Everything was well calculated which is such a pleasure!
The production, the paced & the acting are the strongest points of "#Alive", by far and it is worth watching for that.
ACTING/CAST.
As just stated above, the acting is among the best asset of the movie. The male lead more particularly did a flawless job. The female lead was also very great. Thus, there is no need to worry about the acting.
MUSIC.
Quite simple & kind of 'strange', the musics did not grabbed my attention. The OSTs sounds like "Extracurricular" OSTs, which really tend to annoy me. It sounds like it does not fit the show at all. But I guess they wanted to innovate and be unique which is a good intention.
REWATCH VALUE.
I will not rewatch it.
OVERALL.
I did not have expectation and I was surprised, I am myself not into Zoombies Movies/Dramas but I ended up watching the entire movie without skipping! Worth watching!
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The Best Survival Show I've watched Until Now
First of all, the production is absolutely spectacular and truly enhances the performances. I highly suggest you to see it by yourself if you haven't already. Please watch at least the episode 1. The contestants are Kpop groups, they are not trainees thus the quality of the performances are breathtaking and the way they interact with each other is more positive. The fact there were no crowds during their performances did not bother me at all. In contrary, I found it even more good that way because we can perfectly see their performances in a clearer way.The concept is also well though, they have to fulfill different missions and the winner(s) can go make it to another survival show "Kingdom" which is such a surprisingly good idea.
I am rewatching it now because I cannot get over TheBoyz performances in this one and how they nailed this competition program. Theboyz's performances were constantly innovative, a work of art, masterpieces, literally flawless. Indeed, they have taken the best advantage of the stage, the camera and they've always chosed a great song, a great concept, and they've delivered it all in a perfect way which is mind-blowing. I am really grateful to this shows because thanks to this show, I was able to discover another facet of theboyz that I was unaware of (their conceptual performance skill and their consistency). After watching the show, I have asked mysel: Why did I ignored them? What was I doing with my life? So, "Road to Kingdom" was a blessing for the groups,for the fans and the new fans.
Before watching this show, I already knew TheBoyz and Pentagon. Watching it made me stan Theboyz even more and discovers other groups. All the groups were touching, great and I wanted them all to succeed.
The thing that I liked was their interaction with each other. In the first episode, the phone call/text chat between different groups was very funny. During the collaboration mission, it also was a good experience to witness how they had to create a performance/chemistry in such a short amount of time. On the other hand, it was a bit sad because the reality is that they have to collaborate but compete against each other as well.
Overall, "Road to Kingdom" is a survival show that I will always recommend. It made me laugh, smile, and also cry. I've also truly appreciated the competitive yet at the same time friendly and positive energy of this show. For real, it was refreshing and healing to my soul. This shows holds a special in my little heart :)
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