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AudienceofOne
Park Hae Jin in workplace thriller romance, Ji Chang Wook in an action spy film and Taecyeon in a truly-hilarious Makjang were just three of the seven. And while the latter may not be able to act, he's certainly not afraid to poke fun at himself and the genre.
If you don't expect much, you may not be disappointed by the ending but I personally was. As I said, you shouldn't expect much from an advertisement but this really does go nowhere and leaves you wondering what happened in the end. But if you go in with low expectations and don't expect any actual kisses and you'll be fine.
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Park Seo Joon and Kim Ji Won play average late-20s friends who have given up on pursuing their dreams because of the cost of living and the need for money. After a number of false starts and embarrassing failure, they finally find the strength to choose passion and happiness over drudgery. These two are fun and loveable leads whose strong friendship and love helps support each other through life. They're a delight to watch.
Kim Ji Won, in particular, gives Ae Ra a perfect mix of vulnerability and badass; combining hilarious aegyo and no-nonsense protectiveness to create one of the most compelling kdrama leads to date. Park Seo Joon is always a nuanced actor to watch and his brainless, hot-tempered but warm-hearted Dong Man will make you fall in love with him.
The second couple in this story are less interesting and, while their plotlines are no-less thematically important, I often lost interest when the attention switched to them. The plotting isn't perfect: there are number of disappearing characters, dropped plot lines and narrative digressions. And the show briefly falls flat when the couple first get together because of the dictates of the kdrama OTP tropes.
But none of this detracts from the enjoyment of the show. More importantly, this show ends well and doesn't suffer from the episode 14 kdrama slump. It maintains its pace to the end.
I could give this a lower rating for a number of reasons but it's such a satisfying watch that it deserves the 9/10.
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Joo Ji Hoon and Kim Jae Wook gave great performances in the leads but Yoo Ah In shows why he ended up being one of Korea's most-respected and versatile actors.
But beyond the lovely acting and the sense of magical realism, this film is underpinned by strong friendships and the power of human connection. Everyone who walks into the Antique Bakery is damaged in some way but is slowly healed and not just by the really great cake.
I highly recommend this film.
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Derivative with a cinematography that borders on pretentious, this id one of the few Korean procedurals I've seen. This has some positives as each episode brings a new case but it also has some negatives, especially around the lack of establishing mythology and a weak overarching plotline. At its best, it's campy noir fun. At its worst, it's confusing and a bit silly.
One of the biggest draws is the smart, capable, badass female lead, a fellow prosecutor. She may have very bad hair but she's a total boss and that alone deserves an extra rating point. Romance is not a big part of the show but the two prosecutors have a nice dynamic of attraction and mutual respect that hints at more.
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The plot becomes increasingly ridiculous to the point of makjang.. The directing, in particular the blocking, was noticeably bad on more than one occasion.
For those looking for romance, this is not your drama. Having said that, there was something compelling about the Adventures of Scrappy and the Giant that I tuned in for each week. No matter how silly it got, the actors really sold it and that carried me through to the end. I won't be rewatching it though
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A modern re-interpretaion of Snow White, this show could have been so amazing with some tight editing and a female lead chosen for her acting rather than her fan base. Yoona was terrible, the action was too emphasised, the real female lead was sidelined in lieu of an awful romance cliche and in the end it was a giant mess.
The biggest positive was the acting of some of the cast, especially Ji Chang Wook (the Huntsmen) and Song Yun Ah (the Evil Queen). Their performances were exceptional and their chemistry was off the charts. If the show had concentrated on that dynamic rather than shoehorning in the world's most boring romance with Snow White, this show would have been significantly better. The action scenes were brilliantly choreographed but in the end too pervasive.
Basically, when this show was channelling its fairy tale source material it was borderline genius. The rest of the time it was just terrible - nothing borderline about it.
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I don't know.
Overall Story - 9
Acting/Cast - 10
Music - 10
Ending - Minus 17,000
Rewatch Value - 0 to the power of 0, which is exactly the one time you should watch it. I may cancel my Netflix subscription just so I don't have to see its name mentioned again in passing as I'm scrolling through.
Puzzle that one out.
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The acting, writing, direction and cinematography are top notch. Its use in particular of visual metaphor is beautiful. One the surface, this is a delightful rom-com with one of dramaland's best OTPs. But underneath that, it is an intelligent and thoughtful discussion of the commodification and treatment of women in society and four women's attempts to attain self-determination. All of the female characters are intelligent, three-dimensional women (although one of them is a robot).
It's not new to have a kdrama examine our need for human connections but I feel like this is the quintessential show for exploring that theme.
I can't remember another show that I enjoyed so much on so many levels and that gave me so much joy while it was on.
I have quibbles but for the purposes of recommending a show they don't really matter. There's a perfect version of this show with a slightly-stronger final two episodes but it's rare to find perfection on television. 99% of it was perfect and that's what's important.
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