A 2 minutes Jollibee ad - too short for me to care

Full disclosure, I watched this as part of the MDL 2024 Challenge, otherwise it would probably never caught my eyes.

There is not a lot to say : it is a Jollibee ad with an attempt at doing an emotional story set on Valentine day. I see what they tried to do but the over-the-top and thick product placement (which is the point of course as it is an ad) prevented me to connect emotionally to the story. But I must admit the ad team had the merit to try some storytelling instead of just putting up a fluffy ad. It is just I did not connect to it.

The cast did not do a bad job but it is very neutral and average overall.

I would not recommend this to people, I did not get a lot from it. Unless you are looking at it for completing a challenge, then it is just 2 minutes of your time...

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I did not exactly like it "per se" but I found it interesting

This movie is foremost a dark comedy about marriage as the main male lead Doo Hyun cannot stand living with his wife anymore but do not know how to face the situation other than being conflict avoidant. I found this premise very interesting but at the same time some of the over-the-top comedic moments mixed with some really dramatic moments did not work well with me. I did not enjoy the way the humor was set, it was a bit too absurd while trying to make it as what felt like a life lesson on marriage and relationship overall.

Except the "Casanova" character that I found properly repugnant all along, the main characters (Doo Hyun, the husband and Jung In, the wife) who were really not likeable at first to me, grow on me as their story unfolded.
Despite me liking the cast (- with Lee Sun Kyun, Ryu Seung Ryong and Lee Kwang Soo being actors that I enjoy), I found the acting was bad in the most absurd and comedic scenes (especially on the side of Ryu Seung Ryong but maybe it is because I disliked strongly his "Casanova" character). Lim Soo Jung was probably the best in terms of acting and with the evolution of her character.

I found the production value pretty good, there are a couple of scenes with mouth-watering food which is always a nice bonus in my book. However, I'm not a huge fan of the soundtrack tough it clearly fulfilled its purpose at creating a certain ambiance fitting the plot of the story.

I would recommend this to people looking for a dark comedy. It is for sure not a fluffy romance and there are a lot of absurd moments that are a bit strange because of the shift in tones given the intention of the story. Despite its flaws, it has an interesting premise, so I think it is worth a watch.

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Heartbreaking and painful watch

This short movie of about 31 min. was quite heartbreaking and painful to watch. It was not bad for sure and it made me emotional in a kind of angsty and melancholic way. The "what could have been" thought and "timing is everything" life lesson are the key points of the story.

It is very unlikely that I will rewatch it as it was not that enjoyable "per se" but it was evocative and thought provocative while depicting a somewhat very classical melodramatic and romantic story. The ending scene was brutal and gut wrenching.

The cast did an overall good job. Nothing really outstanding, as there were almost no dialog, I wish they had pushed even more the gazes and silent acting work. But it was suitable enough to get the feelings across.

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a short movie featuring a rather melodramatic story in a library setting. Personally I found it quite painful to watch but well done for what it is trying to say.

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Hyung concept brought up a very savory flavor to the romance and made my heart flutters

This BL series of 6 episodes (which has also been released under a full length movie format) features a gripping story between two childhood friends. The "Hyung" cultural aspect gave to the drama a very savory flavor that I particularly enjoyed. I would have loved for the epilogue to be a bit longer but was overall happy with the poetry of the conclusion.

I really enjoyed and believed in the chemistry between the two main actors: more specifically, I was fascinated by the infirmary scene. It was beautiful and made my heart flutters. There might be room of improvement for some of the most serious scenes but they were credible together.

The budget felt relatively low but in a quite expected way I feel for this type of production. Filmmaking was efficient in conveying the story, but not really outstanding and the overall soundtrack was quite forgettable as well.

I would recommend this to people that are looking for BL with a well executed childhood friends-to-lovers trope. Chemistry and story was good and overall 6 episodes are highly bingeable (which is expected with the original format being a movie).

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Enchanting tale, beautifully filmed and acted with a strong message despite some flaws in writing

I truly enjoyed the thematic of the series and the atypical mix of the genres the writer and director went for. I like the message of the series and the take it took regarding some of the more fantastical elements. Pacing could maybe have been a bit better and I wish the heroine would have had some stronger moments to shine like it was the case for the two other main male roles. The mystery side was pretty easy to figure out but its resolution was also satisfying.

The main cast was really key in insufflating life and feelings to the story. With less talented main actors and actress, what was a magical tale could have felt very bland or at the least relatively not as fresh and original as it was. Indeed some of the storylines were pretty common for the fiction school genre and still they managed to get me invested in what was happening to the characters. In particular, Ji Chang Wook and Hwang In Youp are both excellent and took my breath away several time with gut-wrenching emotional moments. Choi Sung Eun did a good job as well but her character was less interesting to me and did not evolve enough throughout the series for me to be totally satisfied.

In addition to the acting, the overall making and soundtrack are the most impactful part of the series. There are numerous beautifully filmed and directed scenes, it is a feast for the eyes in addition to be very symbolic and elaborated tableaus. There are a couple of very memorable musical numbers and I was impressed by the singing voices of the main cast. The quality of the production is impressive, up to part with some high budget movies.

I would recommend this to people that are looking for magical tale with a tad of mystery. If you enjoy Disney animated movie, musicals pieces of cinema such as La La Land or The Greatest Showman, or even if you have some affinity for the Peter Pan fairytale, I would strongly advice you give a shot to this atypical drama.

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Dramatic & angsty romance with fantastical twist that got me hooked despite filmmaking limitation

This drama features an intricate romance intertwined with a well conceived time slip concept. I was properly captivated by the story of Huang Yu Xuan and Li Zi Wei : it was pretty dramatic, with a lot of angst and high stakes which made it an intoxicating and enchanting cocktail. The nostalgia factor was also a key aspect that got me hooked.

The series is not without flaws. First, I think that even if I found the ending in overall satisfying, I wish the landing would have been smoother and better paced. I also would have appreciated a longer epilogue so that the writers get to the bottom of the time slip gap between their main characters. Second, I truly wished that the budget limitation will have felt less strong. There were quite a few time when I could not help myself to think that a better budget and filmmaking would have elevated some of the scenes to give them an even more fairytale and nostalgic vibe.

Regarding the main cast, I found them pretty good overall. I was completely under the charm of Greg Hsu (not sure if it is character or actor related but for sure he had me swooning during the whole duration of the series). The main actress had what I felt was the most complex part and she did a good job handling the various layers of the role. I honestly wish sometimes that she would have upped her acting game even more for some of the most emotional scenes but it was certainly not a deterrent to the story. I also felt that having the female lead and male lead playing high schoolers was unrealistic but at the same time, I understand that this choice was necessary for the sake of clarity in very entangled storylines.

I would recommend this to people looking for a captivating and quite dramatic romance with a fantastical twist. There is some minor writing points that I would love to be improved and I also wish they had a bigger budget for some of the sequences. But despite these few nitpicking points, it is really worth your time and will take you on an emotional and mysterious journey. I will be curious to give a shot to the other remakes of the story at some point.

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One of the best watch of the year: dark, gripping in the best way

I love a lot this truly thrilling dark movie. It was torturous and violent, gripping and fascinating in the best way. The pyschological aspects coupled with impressive action scenes really got to me. I was on my toes during the full duration of the movie. It does not feel outdated at all (minus maybe the special effect and again it was still quite good to express what needed to be expressed).

The cast is amazing. I love Yeo Jin Goo (since he was acting as a kid in Iljimae) and I have seen quite a bit of his work. He was probably about 15 years old maximum when he filmed this movie and his performance was astounishing. There are many very well-known faces in this movie, actors that I really enjoy and who also delivers strong performances. It felt like a real feast to see actors that I knew from other works: Yeo Jin Goo but also amazing Jo Jin Woong, incredible Kim Sung Kyun, great Yoo Yeon Seok, as well as to discover very talented (and new to me) people: Kim Yoon Seok, Park Hae Joon,...and more.

I truly recommend this to people that are looking for a dark action movie that will take you on a thrilling journey with its main character. The psychological elements behind the characters actions and bonds between them are disturbingly captivating and pretty memorable. It is very violent and dark, so if you have any triggers, of course proceed with caution.

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Not my type of show but I learnt interesting stuff, pace of stories could have been better

It took me almost 7 months to complete this variety show. I must preface this review by admiting first that "Mystery concept" variety show are not necessarily the ones I gravitate towards the most. I always have trouble to get into the reenactement of crime/mystery because even if the stories are interesting, cast reactions (or rather over-reactions) often leave me with an uncanny feeling. It is also quite odd when they play games right in the middle of it.

Indeed, the viewer knows that everything is fake, so it is a bit cringe or strange to see over-the-top acting by members of the show. The idea might be to immerse the spectators as if they were watching a theatre piece, but unfortunately it often produces the opposite effect as I feel quite distached. The rythm of the show was super strange: each episode felt king of sluggish, especially in the middle. However, they often managed to have good endings with some rush and thrills at the end of a lot of the episodes but not enough to make me anticipate the next one.

That's said, and despite all the flaws that I perceive and point out, there are positive aspects as well. First of all, I especially liked the fact that I learnt quite a bit regarding contemporary history and various South Korea news items from different period of time. There is an inherent repetive aspect to the mecanics of the show but I also found that they managed to bring enough variety in the stories to not feel too monotonous. Guest cast members (to be fair mainly Choi Yeon Jun who I like a lot) were also a good way to change a bit and renew the dynamic of the episodes.

I enjoyed the main cast: they had a good chemistry together but it somewhat lacked in terms of balance. I started this show for Lee Jung Ha but honestly the whole actors gang ( Lee Jung Ha, Cha Tae Hyun and Oh Na Ra) were my favorites. The others members Yoo Jae Suk, Yang Se Chan and Jennie do the job properly as well. It is clearly more a colleagues relationship and felt not as genuine as some other shows I have seen.

I would recommend this to people that enjoy Mystery Variety show concept. If you are fan from one of the member of the cast or if you are interested by miscalleneous news items you might also want to give it a shot despite its shortcomings (repetitive mecanics as well as relatively bad pacing of the episodes).

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How is it possible for an horror movie to feel so boring ? Cast could not save it

This horror movie about a MMA fighter confronted to evil had too many flaws to entice me. Its main qualities reside in its cast as well as in its filmmaking. Indeed, the esthetics was quite good as well as the special effects, you can feel there was quite a big budget.

However, the scenario in itself felt poor and repetitive. The editing could have been better to amp the angst as well. The villain is quite a blank canvas and the introduction of the hero to position him in the action takes up almost half of the movie. The pacing of the film is sluggish at best, which is kind of a big issue for a movie belonging to thriller/action/horror genres...

It is my first time seeing Woo Do Hwan and even though I found the character clearly lacking in terms of motivation and background, I'm curious to see what he can do with a better script. I am quite biased toward Park Seo Joon, so he was the saving grace for this movie to me. He is always good and believable in action scenes, and here again he brings the charisma up. Unfortunately, as for the antagonist, there is not a lot offered by the scenario for him to do much acting-wise with his character.

I would not recommend this movie to people unlike you are really a big fan of one of the main actors. If you are an avid fan of horror movie, you might like it but honestly because of its very generic story and strange pacing, I don't think it is worth the watch.

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Frightening chase, Wi Ha Joon amazing performance shook me

I truly enjoyed this action movie. It has a really simple but efficient concept, focusing on a frightening cat-and-mouse chase between a serial-killer and a deaf woman. With very few characters and plot points, the film manages to keep the viewer on its toes during the dark pursuit.

The scenario relies a lot on people making not so smart decisions as well as a lot of police incompetence which might make your blood boils...There are a lot of successful jump scares and action sequences are really well-done. As one of the character is deaf, the surrounding noises and sounds carry a particular importance on the story. It amps the viewer's anxiety as the filmmaking manage to make the watcher understand how it is to be in the shoes of the victim.

The casting was really good, especially Wi Ha Joon who delivers a shockingly horrifying performance. I only saw him in two other roles playing overall good characters so the shift here truly astonished me. Jin Ki Joo acting as his main counterpart was also very solid in her role.

I would recommend this to people looking for a thriller that will brought you all the feels in a very short time. It is very dark and efficient in providing thrills with some good jump scares and action sequences. It might require some suspension of disbelief given the reaction of some characters that might seem completely stupid. But, honestly that did not bother me because I found the story gripping enough to not care about the script flaws. I just went on a scary ride and enjoyed it for what it was.

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Angsty and fun in an over-the-top way, I wanted more regarding the characters storylines

The context of the drama is pretty entertaining and angsty. Indeed, in Hyakkaou Private Academy, students climbs or fall down the social ladder by playing various gambling games against each other. The unlucky ones are becoming "slaves" of the victorious ones.

I have not read the manga and not watched the anime, so I am not sure how close the drama is from those. For sure, I found the series very Shonen-like in its approach. All the characters are crazy, the focus is clearly on the various games rather than any characters / relationships developments. The games are fun and for most part are easy to understand, I did not find them too repetitive even if the mechanics are quite the same every time.

The actors and actresses go all in on the overacting...I is clearly a directing / stylistic choice as apparently all the gambling made the characters feel very stimulated. Women are hyper-sexualized but I feel it is probably totally in line with the type of story the manga and anime wanted to convey. The main male protagonist is used as the narrator of the series. It seems very theatrical with all the aside he does, while shouting out / reacting to the situation. .Over-the-top and caricatural is not my favorite style of acting but here it fits very well the drama.

Production wise there is not a lot to see. The wardrobe / styling of the characters is really what make them and there is nothing outstanding relatively to the games directing and filmmaking. It feels small, especially when comparing to other shows featuring big games with money at stake. You can feel the limitations in the budget but at the same time I must admit it is enough to convey properly the story. I liked the opening song with its rocky vibe.

I will recommend this to people that enjoy mind games stories. If you do not mind some overacting and just want a short and entertaining series featuring in a very Shonen-way gambling matches between highschoolers, you will enjoy this. This first season is clearly just an adaptation of an arc of a manga. I will probably be watching the sequels to get to a more conclusive ending...But not immediately as I am satisfied where we left of. I just regret that there are not much in terms of characters relationships evolution and that it is quite predictable.

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It will not replace His Man S2 in my heart but honestly truly enjoyed the wild ride and messiness

I binge-watched the show in 2 days, which proves how good TV it was for me. It was such a wild (and dramatic) ride and I was super invested in the storylines (especially the most messy one). I enjoyed the summery vibes, it is a nice contrast to the two previous seasons. There were some really cute and fun location / activities proposed during the dates, it was pretty entertaining with a nice soundtrack.

The main flaw of this season relies on its ending which was painful to me as I felt my favorites participants had quite the short end of the stick. I do not understand why the epilogue did not feature all the protagonists to keep us posted on where they are now...Especially as the show has been filmed about one year ago, there was for sure some better way to close it. I simply cannot understand the editing and storytelling choices that were made at the end.

Despite the fact that none of the relationships that made it through the end were entirely satisfying to me, I loved the ensemble cast as well as the dramatic tensions that were interwoven into the story because of some of the contestants. It was messy and really entertaining for sure. All the contenders were likeable in their own ways.

I would recommend this to people that love dating shows. If you enjoyed the previous seasons of His Man, you will probably enjoy it. The mechanics stays the same (with minor changes: some exciting, some useless) with also a bit more of production / editing choices to keep things interesting. The main failure of the season relies in the questionable decision the production team made regarding the epilogue of the series. My advice: watch episode 1 to 13 which takes you on a highly bingeable and messy journey, providing a fluffy and sometimes dramatic story; and don't watch the episode 14 which does not bring any value to the series and can lead to some unnecessary frustration.

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Lovable rookie pre-debut reality show ~ Super fun & cute, with some emotional moments !

This reality show features NEXZ (the new JYP Boy group formed through the Nizi Project Season 2 survival show) before their official debut on the 20th May 2024.

As auditions for the survival program started in first quarter of 2022, and that some of the members (Tomoya, Haru, Seita and Hyui) even trained prior to that together at JYP, they have all know each other and worked together since quite a bit of time. You really feel they are close and that they love their team members.

I wish that in addition of the snippet of "Miracle" (NEXZ's predebut song) in the generic, we had more music challenges incorporated into the show. But as the aim was focusing on developing the variety skills (and also seemingly the Korean language skills) of the group members (who are all Japanese), I understand this writing choice. Overall, the soundtrack of the show and sound effects were nice in hyping the boys.

I strongly recommend this to people that enjoy idol programs. It is super fun to follow and even if you have not watched their survival program, it is very good at introducing the boys and their dynamics. The editing and production are really good, you feel they had some budget to film the various missions which are all very different. It is on par with similar experienced idol groups shows (such as SKZ code with Stray Kids, To Do with TXT, En-O'clock with Enhypen to name a few). If you have enjoyed any of those, I am pretty sure you will enjoy Club NEXZ. My only regret is that it is too short and I would have loved to have more episodes.

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Not surprised by the end result & satisfied! Impressed by growth spurt & evolution of some trainees

After a month break in terms of release schedule with Part 1, the second Part of the Nizi Project Season 2 was published on YouTube. We find back our 12 candidates selected during Japan audition process through various challenges but this time they are sent to Seoul for the 2nd part of the show aiming finalizing the building of the new JYP Boy Group.

I enjoyed even better this Part 2 than Part 1. Now that we know the contestants and that there is only 12 of them left, you feel very attached to them...There is clearly some time that went through between the filming of the two parts and some participants have clearly had a growth spurt and a glow up. I love how as a viewer we see them grow. They have also clearly received more training and practiced a lot before entering this last round of the program. Their progress in skills is really a testimony of their will to succeed and debut together. The bounds between them are stronger as they become closer through the show.

There was a bit more variety from the songs choices vs. the audition: you still got a lot of JYP staples but there were some others artists featured as well as a couple of original songs which were overall nice and at least offering something new the table. The challenges and structure of the program was a bit repetitive but that is bound to happen in survival shows.

There were no overdramatic storylines and it was full of good vibes. No fight, no rivalry...Which can feel a bit flat and leading to a very expected result...But I appreciate the fact that there was no artificial moments of tension. The relationships felt true and not manufactured which is a good sign for the newly debuting group. They faced challenges together and were truly a unified bunch sharing a common mindset. The end result did not surprised me at all : my pick one as well as other favorites all made it through and I felt pretty confident that it will be the case. Even if it is a bit of a loss in terms of angst and thrills on the program, it is better for the members. I will take good vibes over suspense in this case, for the long term pf the group.

I will recommend this to people that have seen Part 1 of course. It is better than Part 1 on many aspects as you focus on a smaller set of individuals and get to know them better. Their growth in terms of skills is truly impressive, there are very likeable. The angst is overall low, with no evil editing. It can feel a bit repetitive at time in the way they build stories around the challenges...I still found it entertaining and I will be for sure following the group that came out from the show as I found their dynamic refreshing and want to keep following their evolution.

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Well-acted & filmed, interesting story twist but wished for more in terms of relationships

I enjoyed the nostalgia throwback of this movie. The bound between past and present as well as the different timelines is interesting but I think the romances fell a bit flat. It was cute but no as heart-fluttering and gut-wrenching that I would have wanted.

I still fell a punch in my gut as the events unfold but it is more due to the fact that I loved the main character played by Yeo Jin Goo rather than because I was totally convinced by the romance from the past. The characters from the present had a better romantic storyline. Still, I found the pacing adequate, they spend enough time at the beginning for the viewer to be invested in the stakes...I would have loved to be even more immersed in the romance and to see even more of the friendship that develop across time.

In terms of acting, I think it was solid overall. Especially Yeo Jin Goo who is carrying most of the movie. I am not sure that I would have enjoyed as much the movie with a less talented actor in the role. I also enjoyed Na In Woo in his role, such a dream boat <3. Cho Yi Hyun and Kim Hye Yoon were also quite good in their respective roles. I think Kim Hye Yoon had a not easy role to play as the character on paper can feel a bit flat and relegated to a love interest without a lot of agency. Overall, I will keep an eye out for other works from this quartet of actors/actresses that I enjoyed.

The filmmaking is youthful and bright in both timelines, fitting the atmosphere of the movie. I enjoyed the OST, there were some sweet and soft songs but not very memorable as well.

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a youthful romantic movie mixing different timelines, with a nice 1999 nostalgia throwback. The acting and filmmaking is pretty great and even if I have some details that could have been better regarding the story (or at least the development of some of the relationship), I still found it to be a lovely watch with a nice twist.

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