Blkittykat

What-

If a drama was a question mark, this would be it.

I still don't quite comprehend what I just saw, a bunch of trainees who signed up to be actors, but are being trained to be idols instead, a lot of interpersonal drama, around five couples, a sabotage plot.. I haven't even covered half the things in the series.

Every storyline was started up, had minimal movement and didn't conclude. So many characters disappear for episodes on end and pop back up like nothing ever happened, but even then it was completely filled because there are 20+ characters who all have around the same screentime.

There was no investment in anything as far as I was concerned, from my side as well as theirs. The only couple I actually cared about didn't have much going on, and like all the other characters, had nothing going on as individuals. There was no distinction between who they wanted us to like and who they didn't, because not one of them had the depth to give us something to care about. It's all a blur in my mind, plots come and go, characters come and go and no one seems to bother.

Finally, let's talk about that finale-
Wow. I have never seen a worse one. I've seen shows worse than this, but even there, the finale was something that served as a tie up. This did nothing of the sort. Not one single arc was concluded. Not a single one.
They also chose the last episode to try and talk about something important and serious, and didn't. It was concluded in a horrible manner, might I add.
Everything was left up in the air, and I was left with my hands up in the air in frustration.

So save yourself the torment, this isn't it.

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Could have been better

The fact that every apocalypse/disaster series seems more and more similar to one previous is nothing new, it may as well be one of the reasons I'm quickly losing interest in the genre.

Surprisingly enough, they managed to keep it fresh while still maintaining the same formula. They accomplished this by incorporating small details, establishing the story and workings early on, and focusing on the subsequent aftermath.

But even subverting the usual "everything is going to hell" trope, the story is bogged down by clichés you would usually witness in the genre, from the act first, think later characteristic that runs amok amongst all the characters, to the one - dimensional characterisation. There's the usual "who's the real villain?", and the darkness of human nature, everything you would usually see in the genre.

What seemed to be innovative started to take the usual, cliched route the minute it hit the halfway mark and just like that I began losing what little interest I had.

I put this on my list for Koo Kyo Hwan but also because despite my recent disinterest in the genre, I wanted to give the drama a try, and while I can't say I'm dissapointed, I can't say I'm impressed either. The short duration meant a perfect binge watch, but ultimately I didn't rate it as high as I thought I would after the first couple of episodes.

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Two husbands, one mission, tons of chaos

Husbands in Action is the most random idea that came to you one random afternoon, and you decided to take it and run with it, because why not?! The setup is stupid and brilliant at the same time, and it should work.
(It most definitely does)

The premise is very new, Hwang Chun Shik and Lee Min Seok (played to perfection by Jin Sun Kyu and Gong Myung, by the way) don't like each other very much, considering they are the ex and current husband of Si Nae, and fathers to Yeon Ju. But they are suddenly pulled into action together when the two women are kidnapped by Hye Ran, the wife of Ma Do Jun, a gangster who was recently arrested by Chun Shik.

The plot goes exactly how you would expect it to - it's so hilariously predictable that it's actually charming. There's no out of character actions, no huge plot twists. It's supposed to be a funny buddy comedy, the writers knew that and the crew executed it exactly that way.

To that end, Jin Sun Kyu and Gong Myung carried this for me. Their chemistry and comedic timing was always perfect, and they played off each other incredibly well.

The rest of the characters were occasionally hilarious, sometimes not but because of how quickly the plot moved, it was very easy to just move along with it and ignore the punchlines and jokes that didn't land. That is a perfect summary - it's funny, but it's easy to ignore even when it's not.

Overall, it's a good movie to spend a lazy afternoon with, the kind of movie doesn't take itself way too seriously and doesn't really leave a huge impact, but worth a watch.

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The WONDERfulls? (Yes or no?)

If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
Me?
I'd pick the power to rewrite dramas that had so much potential but didn't really live up to them.
Not good?
Then I'll settle for my body turning into superglue every time I lie :(

I've actually been looking forward to The WONDERfools since it was announced, because read the synopsis and tell me it's not fun. I can't even say that after having watched it (we know it happens sometimes) it was super fun! And funny too, I'll admit it took a minute but once they were on a roll, they couldn't be stopped.
Watching three characters who inadvertently received superpowers try to manage it by following around another superhero they inadvertently found while an evil organisation plots the end of the world, set to the background of Y2K? That is fun.
The weird camaraderie between the four leads was a delight to watch, they may not be extremely expressive or outwardly affectionate, but those four cared for each and it was more than obvious.
And.. and..well, I still kind of wish some things were done differently.

To be clear, I am a huge fan of the "superhero saves the day" trope, I enjoy it no matter how outlandish it may be, and I wanted that here. Superhero with a side of relatability.
Even with the concept of superheroes whose powers are not really "super", Kdrama writers really do know only one way to execute, which is neither here nor there. If you're going to go for it, do it. Or don't do it at all! It's clear who the lead was even when there were four leads and I suppose it happens all the time but that's my point. It happens all the time, and why do the writers fear trying something new?
I guess that was my biggest problem - the Hero's Journey (which they clearly followed here) could only really be applied to Chae Ni's character. Un Jeong was the mentor, Son ahjussi and Robin her companions and that's nice, but I really wish the other characters had more depth. I will say they were headed there, and right then, the credits rolled.

Initially I was quite impressed with the balance between the mystery and the comedy, but the more I watched it was incredibly clear that this was a very tactfully marketed superhero series. Think about the story formula for any movie in the genre and it was it.
It is somehow both a Kdrama and a quintessential superhero story and I guess that's exactly.. that's exactly what it's supposed to be, but wait! Imagine the things that you would associate to any and every Kdrama or Marvel movie and they're ALL here lol.

I don't know. I'm just super confused about everything about The WONDERfools, even whether I like it or not and that counts for something, right? It's like for every positive I think, there's a negative I can think of, but right then there's another positive. I'd say the best option is to watch for yourself, pace yourself while you watch and yes, maybe you'll be just as confused as I am.. we can be confused together :)

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Secrets have never been more melodic

Melody of Secrets is good, trust me.

It started out vague and weird. Because you don't really recieve a diary you kept ten years ago from your ex-boyfriend, who suddenly wants to revisit your relationship. That ended ten years ago. I'm real life, this is the work of a serial killer and you should only go meet this person up of you are a police officer. But Botphleng is a journalist and he's curious, so he goes to the woods near his house (serial killer location by the way) and that's where he meets Tankhun. And because I'm always right, the two of them also find a dead body. Now this is where the plot starts up - but I'm not going to spoil anything for anybody. Except this one last thing. Botphleng lost all his memories ten years ago.

Now I won't spoil anything because the twists and turns in this series genuinely had me gagged. Some of them even earned an audible gasp from me and before you ask, yes. It will make you want to tear your hair out, but it's worth it (not literally, it's a figure of speech). The shocks keep coming, almost every episode and they keep you on your toes. You don't even have to pay attention to every single detail here! You can zone out for a minute and it wouldn't matter because the story is solid and it's not too complicated in a way that makes you want to drop the series. Just confusing.

And you will zone out too! They had a ton of filler scenes and pacing issues, one of the weak points of this series by the way, but who doesn't enjoy a series where you can take a tiny nap while an unnecessary second couple are forced to flirt with each other?

Because I won't complain about the lead pairing. Nope, one of the brightest spots in the series, especially considering how weirdly their relationship starts out, even without them being shared witnesses to a murder. It gets so weird until you actually feel creeped out because you're rooting for this weirdness?? But they're so cute and once everything is out in the open, you can actually see that they're perfect for each other. And no notes about Force and Book's chemistry either. Botphleng and Tankhun are the pair you get when you balance Top/Mew and Arc/Arm - perfect amounts of toxic cuteness.

It is strangely comforting, the whole vibe of it - with the dramatic OST, the gestures of grandeur, and the whispers and the secrets, it shouldn't be a weekly comfort watch by any means, but I'm weird and it worked.

And I do recommend this. I'm not sure how convincing my arguments are, and I may be led to believe that this is very much a watch down to people's preferences, but I will recommend. Melody of Secrets is good. Trust me.

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Someday I'll wish upon a star

I actually ended up enjoying this more than I thought I would, which is one of the best kind of surprises. I, for sure, thought this was going to falter halfway through (considering the number of episodes and the runtime of each) but for the most part, everything was as good as can get.

Think it reminded me a lot of Taiwanese BLs, circa 2020/2021? What with the very melancholic tone and all the cameos, it immediately felt like the dramas that were released then. For what it's worth, it did stay that way until the end.

The story was quite simple - He Xia Yong wishes upon a shooting star that no one know who he is, and his wish is granted - but it was the execution that felt very genuine. Watching him heal the broken part of himself while no one knows who he is but his best friend, and then learning to love his broken self as he heals, it was very nicely done. Because he is surrounded by people he left behind at one point or another, his best friend, his father, and the love of his life Chen Hao Wei. And he needs to figure out how to reconcile with himself before he ever gains closure to all the doors he left open.

The logic is as logical as can be, which is not a lot but this story had a lot of heart and because they did it so well, it doesn't matter that I didn't understand half of the shooting star's workings.

Great acting, great chemistry, I don't really have any complaints except for the fact that the pacing can be a little slow at times but I guess that's also part of the calm, seaside setting.

Overall, a pretty good watch in my opinion :)

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Why bother?

This was exactly like the Thai special, except - well no except, it was exactly the same.

A little cute, a lot cut out and extremely unnecessary.

Fuu is the one with a crush on Sara in this, and he's a creepy little stalker who is in love with an incredibly mean person. They go camping together because their respective friends believe they're perfect for each and that somehow works because they start dating? I think, it was pretty nonsensical.

Think I prefer the Thai version to this, atleast something happened there, this was an hour of nothing.

It's not really necessary to watch this special after the series (like I did), so save yourself some time and maybe make it a background watch.

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A sequel that messed up a non-existent story

I watched this literally immediately after watching the first movie, and if you've read my review for that one, you may recall that I'm watching them to scare myself more. And that I wasn't quite satisfied with the story aspect of the movie. Well let me pivot! Because I didn't know having a story could disappoint me this much.

As far as the scare factor goes - this was okay. A few good jumpscares, if you watch it with the volume up, definitely very scary. And once again, too much gore for me (why?), but not the scariest thing out there.

The story - too bad because there's too much and not enough at the same time! All I wanted was an ounce of explanation, but this was absolutely nothing. It was like watching two different movies and I only liked one.

The first half of the movie is a cross between horror and adventure with Yak venturing into a haunted forest to battle his ghosts, and I mean that literally. It felt like a way for them to just inflict a bunch of on-screen hauntings and killings for the sake of the shock factor but.. it didn't do the intended job. Because to be shocking, you need some emotional connection to the characters and all of the new characters were people who were on-screen for a combined screentime of maybe half an hour. This was the backstory that I so desperately wanted after the first movie, but it went off on an unknown tangent, introducing new characters and not providing context for old ones. And the worst part? It had almost no connection to the second half.

The second half was much better. I would've preferred this be the entire movie because it focused on the family and their struggle not only with the evil spirit but their past experience. It had great flow, the characterization actually felt on point, too bad it lasted around 45 minutes in total. Because again, I know this is based on a novel, based on real events, but I think when you're making a movie you can tell those events in a more coherent manner? It was such a strange and fragmented experience, going from a really almost unnecessary and boring first half to a good second half.

This was okay. I think the first one was much better and I don't know what the story will be in movie three, but this was just okay.

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The bet of healing

Therapy Game is what you get when you try to elevate a classic JBL plot and choose to give up halfway, and attempt to execute something else that only makes sense once you've finished the series. The show is so aptly titled that it took me nine episodes to actually understand the depth of it, and I am shook.

The episodes begin with Minato, a man with an extreme bro-complex (which in this context just meant he's someone who is very protective of his brother lol) meeting Shizuma, who's just been broken up with. They meet at Minato's regular bar and spend the night together, but in the morning Shizuma says he doesn't remember a thing.
After having his feelings hurt by this turn of events, Minato decides to get revenge by seducing Shizuma and breaking up with him once he confesses his love. He also makes a bet with his friends at the bar that he will make Shizuma fall in love with him, and that he will break his heart.

If we go based off of the usual formula, this is the point where things would either get super dark or super cute, and instead it just kind of meandered in between, never really going anywhere for a couple of episodes before going full throttle on the sweet and sunshine path.
Minato swears revenge, he vows to never fall in love, falls in love shortly after - and the big conflict which should be the fallout from the bet, comes as quickly as it goes.

We get a second couple, Itsuki ànd Shoheli, who's only purpose in the story is to be supportive siblings - because they are the elder brother and younger brother of Minato and Shizuma respectively. The big conflict is resolved by them, and while I'm all for swift resolution, I think I would've preferred a dragged out misunderstanding to having them talk it out in the park like two ten year olds who fought a couple of days ago about their legos.

Instead we got multiple other problems that were solved within the episode - like the ex-girlfriend, a childhood trauma, but all of them were unnecessary and underdeveloped.

That's when you need to ask yourself, what do you want to experience more? The intent behind the scenes or the execution of a scene? I'm a confused individual and could not decide, just like them - but my analysis is that focusing on the intent behind the story is bound to help you fall more in love with the series.

Because you get the point. It's easy to identify that the bet, the distance, the jealousy were all a bid to help Minato slowly heal from his trauma and discover what love is. That having their siblings and their friends to give advice did not only that, but showed them they had way more love than they thought they did.
That the conflicts up until the finale were leading up to them realising all that. And then it's easy to piece together that they had a great idea, but kind of messed up on the execution.

I did love the chemistry between the leads, they had the perfect amount of fiery passion and slow realisation, and honestly, their dynamic as a couple was really sweet. The way the conflicts were immediately de-escalated did one great thing, make their relationship seem more real and grounded. The adorable factor was also amazing, literally all of the characters were sweet and cute and wholesome.

I loved all the characters as well, for the reasons mentioned above, but also because all of them were so cool and charming and well written.

Overall, this was an enjoyable series. Just masquerading around as something toxic, so if you go into it expecting that? You may be a bit disappointed. But! I can say with some confidence that you'll keep watching because it's fun and cute. Atleast that's what happened to me lol

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I wish there was another path in the game

I probably shouldn't be laying into a mini-séries like I'm about to because I don't think it was ever intended to be a classical masterpiece, but it's kind of hilarious how quickly this fell into so many tropes without really needing to


➖ An MC who does not stand up for himself, has the personality of zero but has three men interested in him romantically at one point or another - check.
➖ A tsundere ML who's sole expression is displeased and also has the disposition of a moody piece of cardboard - check.
➖ A slimy ex who does nothing but complain and yell - check.
➖ An evil female character who only works to plot the downfall of the MC - check.

Off of the plot alone - where an electrocution caused by a computer lands one of the leads in an RPG type of situation - this had incredible potential but they messed up at the first instance by having the ML end up as the "player" instead of the MC.

Imagine, Yeong Won, our MC is a game developer in charge of writing the script for a new game his company is producing. He gets electrocuted accidentally and when he wakes up, he finds that he can see all the elements of the game in real life - including the dialogues he wrote. And his mission? Make sure his boss doesn't absolutely hate him like he does at the moment, before the game goes to market.

But instead, we got Tae In, our ML, being the one who was electrocuted, and the "player" - his mission? Make Yeong Won like him, and later fall in love with him.

I cannot explain the amount of HR violations either of these scenarios would entail, but we do love a good office romance.

But I'm going to continue to dwell on the way this could've actually been amazing - because it could! In my imagination, Yeong Won would've been the "player", which would've given him the chance to have a personality besides pretty. A comedy of errors would've worked so well here, even if it may be basic, Yeong Won trying so hard to make Tae In like him, but it's not the tricks that work, it's the genuine moments between them.
This way, Tae In also gets to have a personality while still being as stoic as the writers clearly wanted him to be. It's not new but it's fresh and funny and light hearted, everything I want it to be.

Instead we got a melodrama.
In trying to reverse the roles, the plot fell into so many traps it laid out for itself. The writers seemingly forgot that this started out with Tae In needing Yeong Won to like him, and the only way to do that is by saving him from his ex and himself. Obviously.
The ex and his new girlfriend were the worst additions to this series, I can forgive two leads who don't move their faces an inch in 59 episodes, but introducing trash to get them together - I cannot forgive.

Yeong Won is always sad and getting slapped, Tae In is a secret chaebol, there is an unnecessary amount of slow running shots, what more could you expect from a kdrama, really?

My imaginary plot and it's resolution can end with Yeong Won telling Tae In about the mission, or Tae In telling Yeong Won he also had a mission (it's not really fleshed out), but the actual ending sucked. Not because it's not what I wanted, because it made no sense. Like some last minute resolution for the sake of it.

This would not be the first mini-séries I would recommend, there are other better options but if you are looking for a short background watch, it's not the worst option.

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Very impressive, a little long

Now, I watched this a long time ago. A very long time ago. I still remember it clearly, I was in a terrible mood, decided to watch this on a whim because Netflix recommended it to me. But I remember it very clearly. I do, the kind of impact it left for me to remember the entire plot after so long.. some plots really do get better the more you let them sit, don't they?

This was genuinely very impressive, even when I watched it for the first time. It was thrilling, had the right amount of mystery without it feeling like they were trying too hard or making the audience extremely confused, and I was genuinely impressed.

The story follows eight former friends who were all part of the mountain climbing club when they were in school. They drift apart after a scandal and the events of the series take place when they are all invited to a mountain cabin by one of the members. They arrive, stuff goes down and big by bit, we discover that there was much more to their friendship than we or even they thought. You know, the classic slow reveals.

And they do them right. Not one of the reveals felt like they were out of left field, or just some random plot thrown in to create conflict, they were all extremely relevant to the plot and how it flowed. It was a scary at times, very mysterious and it keeps you invested.

I will admit, I don't remember much about the characters, but I do remember that I loved Jake Hsu's character, I remember rooting heavily for him and I think that may be because he had very little to do with the mess? He's an important character definitely, but I always find myself rooting for the characters who are unwillingly trapped in someone else's mess, because come on! It's not their mess!

The only thing that could have been better was the pace, sometimes it just dragged on for so long, I had to take frequent pauses because it did get a bit boring at times.

I will recommend this though, it is a solid murder mystery, and it's got so much else going on as well, and I hope this review convinced you to give it a try!

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A good sequel

This was.. this was good but I think I expected it to be a bit better.

The third movie in the franchise follows the characters from the second movie, First, Balloon, Min Jun, Novice Monk Noht, Aod and Kiddie, as they travel to the Mekong region along with new character Bam Bam to discover the reason for Aod's sudden illness and the history of a cursed anklet.

As far a world building goes, this movie did perfect. They had already established this storyline in the prequel and bit by bit, we see the continuation of that final scene from the second movie play out here. This movie was also very connected to the Naga mythology, more so than the first two I'd say, and they explained it much better as well.

The horror.. was actually not bad. Still not scary, but as far as the franchise goes, might be the best until now.

So why am I a bit disappointed? The comedy. I expected a bit more and better comedy after the first two movies, and with this good story, I think they could have definitely better on the humor front. It was still funny, but I didn't find myself laughing as much as I did during the other two. I still loved the chaotic and absurd comedy style though.

This was a good sequel, I do think watching the other parts would help, especially since they make a ton of references to them, the storylines and the characters, and it is quite literally a continuation of the second movie, so I would definitely recommend watching them all.

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A better executed sequel

I don't usually hold much expectations of sequels, because they either mess up the plot of the prequel or feel like an attempt to capitalize on a story that doesn't require a sequel. This was one of the instances where a sequel, although not really necessary, surpassed the quality in all aspects of the original.

The second movie in the Pee Nak franchise follows the leads from the prequel, Nong, First and Balloon, haunted by yet another spirit in the same temple they were all ordained, but this time, the spirit seems to be even more vengeful than the last, and seems to hold a special grudge towards First and Balloon. They are joined by K-Pop idol Min Jun, who is to be ordained at the temple, and several novice monks and people who live at the temple to solve the new mystery.

The story flowed much more seamlessly this time around, the plot was still rooted in mythology and could have been explained better because I had a hard time connecting it to the actual story, but the main narrative itself was written without being too fragmented.

The horror.. it was still not quite scary but I'll forgive them because I don't come for the scary, I'm not a huge fan of the scary.

What I do come for is the comedy, which was also better in this movie. The same absurdist, dark comedy, but a bit more well written and enhanced by the fact that we had some established characters and could read into how they would behave during certain situations.

The sequel does have connections to the first movie, so be sure to give that one a watch before this. It's actually alright if you don't as well, there a few details that may be confusing if you haven't watched the prequel, but this is a brand new plot and the biggest connections to the first movie are the characters. I would recommend this over the first one, but I would also recommend watching that one if you want continuity.

Overall, this was a decent horror comedy, nothing too brilliant but it gets the job done, much like Pee Nak.

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All for being the Sexiest Man

I do love that they've somehow managed to make an eleven episode plot out of probably the most insignificant award ever, and what I love even more is that fact that it worked.

It worked very well. Is the plot a thinly veiled excuse to have Boom cry almost every episode? SURE! But did I also eat it up like it was no one's business? You bet.
Because by all means the plot was the most scattered and random thing ever, the entire series was based on the fact that one lead absolutely loved and adored the other and thus decided to become exactly like him. What followed that was a bunch of unprompted jealousy, weird entertainment company politics and just a whole lot of crime. I don't even know what happened there, it was the most random stuff ever and that was the way you could always tell that this was actually based on a manga. None of it individually, or together for that fact, should make sense, but boy does it.
But the plot was absolutely the most random thing ever, no doubt about that.

The glue was Akin and Jun. Jin.
Their love story was the entire point of watching and making this series, it carries the plot and was actually very, very nice. They had a complicated dynamic right from the beginning, teetering between attraction and pure detest, but it worked. You never have to ask yourself why they're attracted to each other or like each other, I guarantee that.

And with the romance comes chemistry. SO MUCH CHEMISTRY.
Boom and Smart, I mean.
The honey scene?! Come on.
And they had all kinds of chemistry, not just the intense kind, they had cute chemistry, the 'I'm dating my best friend' kind of chemistry and of course, they had the 'I want to kiss you with the force of a thousand waterfalls' kind of chemistry in spades.
Just so good together.

But.. but.. this review would be amiss if I didn't mention one person..
BOOM
What-
Akin was written for him. I think that quite a bit about a lot of characters, but that statement has never held more true in any other case. The nuance with which Boom played Akin.. I mean.. it was perfect. No words would be enough to describe just how perfect he was, hats off. Just brilliant.

My only real complaint is the scattered plot, if it had been a bit more solid, would've been great but like I said, this worked, so I'm not complaining much.
Oh, I have one more complaint. The amount of times they made Akin cry. Why?

This is actually a very good series, it captured my attention and kept it until the very last scene, and might I say they set up a sequel? I don't know, if you know let me know.

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The clichéd art of subtlety

I want to say something about how they subverted the clichés of the romance genre by creating clever twists or by doing the unexpected, but let's get honest, this was as clichéd as clichés can get and I enjoyed every bit of it.

Let's clear one thing up, the lead is not an actor in the lakorn, he's actually the director who inadvertently has to direct something in the format he most detests after what happens at the beginning of the movie. And while having someone do something they both love and hate is not quite the revelation, the execution was actually genius. The leads usually try to fight it and do things their own way, but here, he has no choice but to do it like someone else wants.

Whether it's by force, or because the another lead, his girlfriend, absolutely loves lakorns or even because he's actually starting to fall in love with the job, the neverending clichés start presenting with some sort of charm, while usually this kind of barrage would feel outright like the writer hated writing the script. I know the last sentence is quite confusing but I'm not going to clarify anything on purpose because that aspect I'm keeping secretive was one of the best of the movie.

As you keep watching, you fall in love with the clichés, all of them, and whether you saw the twists coming or not, you've just thoroughly enjoyed an entire movie about something you usually scoff at after seeing too much on the screen.

It just works. You can tell everyone who worked on this had fun with it and to that effect, so did I. I was looking up movies on Netflix and randomly came across this one and just reading the synopsis, got myself prepared for either a lot of scoffing or a pleasant surprise. I'm glad it was the latter.

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