106
203
82
Kate
hell
This review may contain spoilers
Can’t help, but have mixed feelings about it. I feel like some of the meaning behind the movie got lost, or it’s my lack of faith in real life that prevents me from seeing it. I truly loved the dive into human weaknesses and doubts, lack of assuredness, prejudice that comes from fear and to what length one is willing to go to protect what’s dear to him. Then there is the supernatural element that speaks about faith, and I just don’t buy any of it. The movie just reminded me why I don’t believe in the first place - highly doubt this was the goal.
I feel like the movie tries to present that Jong Goo’s closure could have been different if he made a different choice at the end, but would it? And why would he make a different choice, when the whole situation was basically set as a pure luck scenario. I ended the movie with the thought - humans are powerless in the presence of the supernatural, with no evidence of truth, one can only rely on luck, that they trusted the right side.
That said, I still believe the movie was great. As someone who is not the biggest fan of long films, this one was an enjoyable ride from the beginning till the end, and it did not drag at all.
The performance of the whole cast was stellar, especially Kim Hwan Hee, whose acting gave me chills more than once and Kunimura Jun who convinced me to both pity and fear him depending on the scene.
Overall, I would highly recommend it. The story is excellently paced, the hints and explanations of the events keep making you guess about everyone’s motives and the source of the true evil. The cinematography will awe you. It does not rely on cheap jump scares, rather building the atmosphere that allows you to explore human’s nature and the horror that might be hidden.
Was this review helpful to you?
Whispering Corridors 3: Wishing Stairs
1 people found this review helpful
Wishing Stairs tells a story of two best friends, Jin Sung and So Hee, and the rivalry born between them because of the upcoming competition. The movie effectively made me question if the events presented to me have any supernatural origin or are the result of the feelings of guilt in Jin Sung and obsession Hye ju displayed towards So Hee. Sadly, the director and writer straightforwardly answered said question by the end of the movie, instead of leaving me, as a viewer, with the possibility of self interpretation.
The structure of the story is simple and extremely easy to follow. The linear storytelling without countless flashbacks to the past events makes it a good, digestible horror flick that does not require much brain power to understand.
The performance from the main cast and the production value were truly good. The director knew the limits of what she could achieve in that time, and did not overuse cheap and not well made CGI or special effects for jump scares.
Overall, I would recommend it if someone wants to watch a fun, simple story that answers all the questions and truly guides you through the plot and events happening.
Was this review helpful to you?
The purest form of crime drama.
Burning Ice is not exactly a show that will get you hooked on from episode 1, but by the end, you will be invested and dying to know how it will all conclude.While from the synopsis it might seem like a typical action thriller with an innocent good guy trying to prove he is not the culprit the police are looking for, it could not be further from the truth. Close to none of the characters are just good/moral or bad/evil. Most of them exist somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, and depending on the circumstances and potential consequences of their actions, they might sway further into either of the extremes.
It’s more of a character driven drama, than an action driven crime thriller. The investigation and the crimes are the frame in which the characters operate, but the core of the show are their interactions and desperate attempts to either uncover or hide the truth.
While I enjoyed most of the cast performances, I feel like some were a little bit diluted and not expressive enough. Zhu Hui Ru was a character that seemed the least consistent in writing, which made me care about her the least (that said, Deng Jia Jia’s performance closer to the end of the show was truly stellar and the character was the most enjoyable at the end of the journey).
Yan Liang, Wen Luo, Li Feng Tian - all with personal motivations and grudges that pushed them to take action. It was fascinating to watch how different people might act and how far they are willing to go when faced with tragedy and injustice.
The only thing I have to say about Guo Yu is the fact, he was perfect to hate - great portrayal from Dai Xu.
Visually speaking, the drama has this cold and dim atmosphere that perfectly fitted the grim reality these characters were dealing with. Any other setting and the show would not be as effective in creating the suspense.
Overall, a great story with complex characters and interesting dynamics between them.
Was this review helpful to you?
Starting this movie, I did not expect much, but right from the beginning I was in awe at how aesthetically pleasing the movie was. The opening scene was a great introduction to one of the main characters. While I am not the biggest fan of overusing slow motion in fighting scenes, here it fits perfectly, making it even more enjoyable.
Out of all plot lines that were introduced, I do believe the romance was quite underdeveloped, and while I understand it was never the main point of the movie, it should have been explored a bit more. That said, the solo stories for main characters were well written and believable. I could understand the motivation of all the characters, even if I did not agree with them.
Truth to be told, this movie is pure entertainment, without any deeper value. We got to see some nice fighting scenes, situation based comedy and interesting characters. I got excited when I was supposed to, sad when it was appropriate, angry at how evil the bad guys were. It's a perfect movie for an evening break from overwhelming and grim reality, since it's as unrealistic as it can be.
The only true problem I had was quite obvious copies of certain scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean. I usually don't mind taking inspiration and paying homage to well respected and loved titles, but here it felt more like a lack of creativity on the writer's and director's side.
Overall, it was a rather enjoyable adventure movie. We got to see some strong female characters, with Son Ye Jin acing her role as a captain of the pirates. I never thought a CGI whale could make me cry, and yet I did cry watching this movie, laughing at myself at how easily I can shed some tears.
Was this review helpful to you?
Better love story than Twilight?
I’m not sure what I was expecting when I started watching, but whatever it was, I ended up with the complete opposite - not complaining though.Honestly speaking, the romance genre needs at least an additional 3 years of a break from vampires. We truly saw it all. That said, I have to appreciate the supernatural/fantasy elements in k-bls, which are usually focused on the more realistic, often high school scenarios. As much as the vampires are cliche in romance, they are something fresh and fun in BLs.
Don’t let the synopsis fool you, it’s more angsty than sweet, and hardly enough blood was spilled to call it “bloody”. Still, the stakes were rather high and they made me curious about the ending of the show.
Not gonna lie, I did not like either of the main characters. Choi Min Hyun was too much of a lost puppy and Kim Jun Ho did not stand out at all. Lucky they both grew on me with each episode I have seen. Min Hyun still had that innocent feel to him, but he grew a backbone, while Jun Ho grew a whole personality sprinkled with angst.
The chemistry between the male leads was decent. I did not really feel many sparks, but the tone down feeling actually fits the story more.
Strangely, acting wise, I was far more convinced during the emotional scenes, compared with the daily, less demanding ones. The whole cast seemed a bit stiff at the beginning, but the acting got better with every episode. I especially liked Moon Ji Hoo. We don’t get villains in k-bls often, and for sure not the ones who deliver good performance.
Can’t talk about the production without talking about the glowing eyes - please stop. Giving him blue lenses and slightly enhancing the color post-production would be enough. His eyes were glowing so bright he could use them as a flashlight.
That said, except for that small detail I did not have any complaints. It wasn't a groundbreaking production, but nothing stood out in a negative way either.
While the songs are nice, they do fit the “generic k-bl” category. I feel like most soundtracks could be easily mixed between them and no one would notice or mind. The best title was for sure Sway’s Dream - amazing vocals, great melody, nice lyrics.
Overall, good for a binge watch. Kept me interested enough to finish, but did not exactly evoke any intense emotions.
Was this review helpful to you?
There is close to no plot here. The female lead motivation to do anything revolves around getting the male lead. The male lead is just a confused puppy with a little backbone. This can either bore or frustrate a lot of people. For me, it was a nice, chill and relaxing watch when I could just giggle about how cute, awkward and ridiculously childish some of the characters are. If you are like me, and you enjoy the drama simply because you like the characters a lot, maybe give it a go.
Closer to the end, we start to get more information about the characters as individuals, what their goals and dreams are and how they chase them. Bit too late if you ask me, but it was still fun to watch them deal with whatever came their way.
Xiong Yi Fan is a fun, honest and relatable girl. Yan Ke is so amazingly clueless it’s actually funny. Bai Yu Ze is a painful playboy that you just cannot hate and Ding Ming is a friend most of us would like to have. I even started adoring Tang Tang by the end.
That said, two aspects of the show disappointed me. First, I wished we could see more of Yu Ze and Ming. They had awesome energy together and their bickering was gold. Another thing, I was not a fan of the “trans” rumor sub-plot. I think they handled the topic in a poor manner.
Overall, everyone was beautiful, fun, entertaining and cute. I had a good time watching. Small things like the “interviews” at the end of some episodes were like cherries on top, that made this sweet cake even more delicious.
Was this review helpful to you?
[ Cliff - Jeolbyuk ]
The premise of this story is simply unbelievable. It looks more like an ad for Snickers rather than a horror movie. 4 days without water in these conditions would make them so tired I refuse to believe they would have the power or strength to fight for that chocolate bar. Especially since eating it would make them even more thirsty. Since the setting is this unrealistic, the whole mood of the story falls short.
[ Accident - Sago ]
It's fair to say this one was the most boring and predictable of all the stories. The set up was unoriginal, the characters were not captivating and the horror element was almost nonexistent.
[ Escape - Talchool ]
This was the story I was most excited about. Jung Bum Sik also directed the Haewa Dal story in the Horror Movies and it was for sure the best out of the 4 presented. Surprisingly, I also loved Escape, but for a vastly different reason. The comedy was over the top, the scares were ridiculous. Even though it did not fit the overall mood of the other parts of Horror Stories II at all, I still enjoyed it the most. I'm not gonna lie, I did crack a smile and laugh a few times.
Overall, it was worse than the Horror Stories. It had less of the plot, less interesting characters and less scares.
Was this review helpful to you?
Childish and empty of content.
Level Up tried to have this quirky family drama vibe to it, with some over the top plot points and comedy taken from sitcoms, sprinkled with office romance, and it all just did not work out at all.The drama is full of childish conflict that would not happen in real life in that compaction. There is a difference between there being one egocentric and emotionally immature person, and the majority of the characters failing to act like grown up adults. This led to ridiculous conflicts that should have never happened, or at worst, been resolved during one scene. There was simply not enough content for 12 episodes, so every plot line seemed stretched, slow and meaningless.
I would be extremely cautious to call it office romance, because there was barely any romance and truly no chemistry between the main leads. We get the usual main couple, and both male and female lead having their own sidekick that is in one sided love with them. How cliché is that?
Do you want a well written and gradual character development? Not here. Level Up gives us the 3x speed last minute growth for the main cast, and we are supposed to just accept that after good 10 episodes of them acting like kids.
The acting ranged from good to mediocre (and I’m being nice here). Han Bo Reum, Kang Byul and Jung Soo Kyo served the best performances for sure. Sadly, with how Han Chul was written, Baro could barely show any skills. And Sung Hoon simply failed in the role. I don’t think his skills are good enough to pull off that awkward acting in his character portrayal. What they tried to achieve was something like Go Tae Rim in Legal High, but it ended up just looking like bad acting.
That said, the drama does look nice. The set designs were truly good. I see no flaws in the production value in terms of filming and the technical aspects. It all came down to poor writing, and no directing could fix that.
Overall, Level Up truly does not deliver in any aspect. It’s a show with a level of complexity and writing that would fit children's taste. Small problems exaggerated to ridiculous levels, while complex problems shown in a too simplistic way with miraculous resolution.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
It’s not a drama, it’s more of a life lesson.
Honestly speaking, I was not as charmed by it as many people, but I still see the value this show has and its perfect execution. It was not an exciting roller coaster that made you want more. It reminded me more of a cup of hot tea that you crave after an exhausting day.There is no real plot, and the whole show focused on the characters and their daily lives. One could assume it’s boring, but the realistic problems they are facing, the true emotions shown through the acting, and the inspiring dialogues serves all that one could ask for.
Turning on the episodes just felt like hanging out with friends - I laughed with them, cried with them, was frustrated and happy when they were. The show had this magical quality that made you feel part of it, included in whatever was happening on screen.
Realistically speaking, romance was the weakest part of the show. With Hye Ri and Joon Yeol dating in real life, their on screen chemistry has been just too strong. Personally, I was team Taek, with how the characters and the story was written, they just made more sense. That said, I could clearly see why so many people suffered from Second Lead Syndrome.
On the other hand, Reply 1988 gave me one of the realest representations of teenage crushes. The intense emotions, lack of maturity that goes into it. How one day you might like one person, to fall for someone else the next day. It all reminded me of my first crushes and how ridiculously over the top it all was back in the days.
My favorite stories did not even include the main teens. I was in love with all the ajummas and their husbands. Even the possibility of any of them getting hurt made me cry.
One complaint I would have - the episodes were too long. I’d rather have 24 episodes and none of them being longer than 1 hour and 30 minutes, than having some of the last episodes almost 2 hours long. Especially since it was a show I enjoyed watching before sleep, and sometimes I truly struggled to finish the episode without falling asleep.
Overall, I enjoyed it a lot. It’s hard for me to describe why. It’s just dear to my heart without me being able to verbalize why.
Was this review helpful to you?
Jokes aside, it was not an easy watch. The show is filled with workplace abuse and unfairness, with little happy moments. If you want an underdog winning at the end against all the odds, this ain’t that. Even the positive moments, mostly led to misfortune.
And yet I did not drop it, and it’s all thanks to the characters and their relationships. I guess there is something heartwarming seeing people suffering together and trying to survive the nasty environment. The writer made sure we knew the characters, they seemed real - someone we actually could meet in the office. This helped me relate to them and care for their journeys.
The relationship that interested me the most and slowly I started to pay a lot of attention to was Young Yi and Sung Joon. They had a really interesting dynamic and it was amazing to see the differences between their interactions depending on the situation.
What’s most important - the drama never felt preachy. It shows you various characters with different takes on life, different priorities and ways of dealing with problems and tasks. It highlights how the same trait can be both an asset and a setback, depending on the situation and people you interact with.
The acting left nothing to desire. I felt physically and emotionally exhausted just looking at Lee Sung Min - his performance being one of my favorites. I could just feel the frustration leaking through my screen while I was watching the show. I also enjoyed Kim Dae Myung’s portrayal of a slightly passive, but ready to give a logical and more objective advice Kim Dong Shik.
The whole OST is a masterpiece. While these are not songs I would put on my playlist and listen to, they all matched the tone of the show perfectly.
Overall, I suffered a lot while watching, no idea how I finished the show, and yet I could not rate it lower than 8. That’s the charm - you are grateful for the frustration it caused.
Was this review helpful to you?
The plot is rather mediocre - it’s the same old hunting story we have seen thousands of times. What makes the movie great is how it presents, the overall tone and great pacing. While you know where the plot goes early on, you might still be interested in how it will be shown.
Bea Alonzo acts as a driven counselor, who makes her mission to help students in any way she is capable of. The mix of fear and concern she presented in many scenes was done in a believable way. Overall, the acting of the whole cast ranged from good to great, and I had no major issues with it.
Sadly, the movie loses some points from the over the top jump scares that they drop left and right, whenever they are needed or not. The movie would be far more frightening without them. Rather than flashing scary faces on screen, holding the shot still with eerie background elements would elevate the suspense and anticipation, in the process giving a better payoff.
Overall, goodish horror. Nothing outstanding, but for sure enjoyable.
Was this review helpful to you?
The Rope Curse 2 for sure had a bigger budget than the first movie, but it also had worse scriptwriting and directing. Nothing felt connected, the big reveal about the evil being at the end was not set up properly through the film either. For me, it was just hard to care about anything happening on the screen, because I was not entertained or engaged.
The acting was passable. I have not seen Lee Kang Sheng in any other movie or show, so his questionable performance and somewhat weak line delivery might have been the result of poorly written script.
It honestly felt more like a US remake and not an Asian horror movie. It was filled with cheap jump scares, shallow characters, loosely connected plot points and lack of overall depth.
Was this review helpful to you?
I appreciated how often the trainees shown in Backstage were the ones who might have gotten less screen time during the episodes themselves.
Is it worth buying VIP just to watch it? No. But taking into consideration all the other additional materials linked to YWY Season 3 like Youth Party which are available for VIP users, all in all, it's worth the money - IF you like the program and the trainees themselves.
Was this review helpful to you?
Compared to other body swap comedies, The Dude in Me focuses mostly on Pan Soo’s story and his problems after he travels into Dong Hyun’s body. Even the stories that at first concern Dong Hyun, at the end were connected to Pan Soo himself through his relationship with other characters. It’s a one man story, sadly I was hoping for more of a duet, showing more evenly both sides of the swap.
Jung Jin Young did an amazing job portraying the characters, overshadowing even Park Sung Woong (let’s remember though, that he was far less involved in the story). He delivered with both comedy and action scenes, giving a well balanced performance.
One thing that I must complain about is the lack of redemption arc for Pan Soo. Everything just happens, without much of a reflection on his side. The opening scenes depicted him as too much of a villain, and later not enough work has been done to show him in a better light. The negative relationship between him and Dong Hyun’s dad was also brushed over and forgotten.
Overall: It’s, at times, a senseless comedy, but it will make you entertained. It works thanks to the good performance from the cast and reasonable duration - the movie does not drag.
Was this review helpful to you?
Ignoring the unnecessary supernatural aspect of the movie, it's quite an interesting portray of the struggles and hardships of a gay people in Korea in 1990', especially among teens.
The way the story is presented is simply confusing, though not impossible to follow. The timeline keeps changing, the flashbacks and current events are, at times, hard to distinguish from each other. Min Ah's deep involvement with the couple is also quite weakly explained.
The worst part of the show is the ending act. That's when the heavy supernatural element is introduced and takes over the story. And it makes the story feel so cheap. This movie would have worked so much better as a teen melodrama or coming of age story.
I liked the acting in Whispering Corridors 2 way more than the first movie. It's more modern in style, and because of that, feels more natural.
Overall, I did enjoy it more than the first movie, simply because the topics discussed in here were more serious. I wouldn't call it an amazing movie, but I don't regret picking it up.
Was this review helpful to you?
