I expected to like this one more and it probably deserves a higher rating but it was just missing "something".

It was captivating early on and they paid attention to details with the environment which is key. The acting was fantastic for almost all of the actors, especially for Lee Dong Wook's character, as he was very believable in his charismatic role. And while it wasn't overly gory, let's just say munching on snacks was fine but I didn't choose to eat a hearty meal while watching this.

Although it was only ten episodes, it felt longer. Not because scenes were dragged on, but because some of the episodes just didn't add much depth. They did provide some background on the residents but not enough to empathize much with anyone. It barely touches the complexity of a human mind and it doesn't take you through the journey of how everyone became who they are. Because of this, the ending felt rushed and it didn't trigger much emotions.

Nevertheless, I still quite enjoyed it for its suspense and those strange residents no one should ever have to live with.

Read More

Who doesn't love a good reincarnation story or finding resolution/closure for wandering souls? However, the one word I can sum this up in is "long-winded". I watched the entire series through severe fast-forwarding and ended up with a pretty weak ending.

The positives to say is they did focus in on the backstory of your main leads and your main supporting characters. I found myself looking forward to unveiling of everyone's past that was presented in bits and pieces. The chemistry between all of them worked pretty well. The only major disappointment was our lonely firefly who was misunderstood for so long and then just pretty much kicked to the side. It really downplayed the strength of their long tragic love story and made it too real, where one easily replaces another these days. Why build up the lovely surreal to smack us with this coldness of reality? It would have been fine if it didn't feel so awkwardly done.

The cases where they assist souls in resolving issues was also a bit below average. It started off fairly interesting but just slowly descended into not much. If you're an absolute romantic, then you might enjoy this piece more than I did. As much as I appreciate a good love story, this one dragged on too much with each scene unnecessarily. It didn't help with the excess flashbacks that assumed the viewer didn't pay attention at all a couple of episodes ago. Overall, it wasn't great and it wasn't terrible but doable in higher-speed viewing.

Read More

We all know horror-related movies and series can easily turn tacky quickly. This one did a good job at maintaining balance between the horror elements and actually having a plot. If you've ever watched the Exorcist, it has that type of feel for obvious reasons.

I can understand why this series has the fairly high ratings it has, especially for this genre. The twisted connection between the three main actors and the development of their relationship was done well. I also very much appreciated how the supporting actors did incredibly well with their shifts from a normal human being to just plain creepy.

This isn't one of those "let me shock you into fear" or "let me disgust you so much that it will hopefully leave an impact" kind of show, which is nice. And although there were scattered moments of drag, there was enough depth to the story and characters where I still looked forward to the next episode. The ending felt a bit rushed and you'll have some unanswered questions or explanations but I was pleasantly surprised at the enjoyment factor.

Bonus points were given to the score because this genre is particularly difficult to do well.

Read More

Oh how I so wanted to give you a higher score because of so many things you did right.

This is one of my favorite types of crime dramas where it dives deeper into the belly of the underworld politics. Not portrayed as just a world of rotten villains, but realistically as those who have a different way of life, either by choice or just by rotten fate. And whether you're wearing a uniform or managing politics of the illegal, the concept of human bonds, greed, and selfishness are the same.

Let's start with the positives:

Clapping my hands to the many awesome characters and actors who've played their roles. Particularly our main lead, Jung Kyung Ho. Who knew I would develop yet another in-the-moment crush on you since I saw Prison Playbook?

You know the plot works when you find yourself falling in line with the lead's shoes, watching as he painfully peels away at layers and layers of betrayal, never knowing can be trusted and who can't.

Now the negatives:

I wish they had written out Yoon Soo Min completely. Her character was implanted into the plot poorly from the beginning all the way to the end. She was a bratty, confused, mental case who thought the world revolved around her and was seriously undeserving of the feelings she received. She wouldn't have been so detrimental to the series if she hadn't dragged down many of the strong players around her. I was slowly losing approval of my favorite characters because of how they were "impacted" by her. Ending up skipping the majority of her screen time unless it actually added to the story.

While the overall plot was well-done as mentioned above, it does start to get a bit messy towards the last few episodes and the ending was a bit of a disappointment. It was as if they lost their energy due to the earlier intensity and wrapped it up quickly so they can take a nap. Also, why do so many series make it so obvious that someone is about to die with misplaced build-ups of dramatics?

I would still recommend giving this a watch because the positives it does have, is done better than many. And if you aren't as bothered by Yoon Soo Min as I was, you'll enjoy it that much more.

Read More

An entire series on a single day. Not having ever watched 24 before or care to, I went into this one with some doubt but had to see why it was rated so high on so many sites. And I was not disappointed.

This one kept me on my toes right from the first episode and the production was beautiful. I hate watching many of the newer historical series sometimes due to the lack of attention in details to the costume/makeup/environment, etc. It feels less historical and more like a joke most of the time. However, they did such a fabulous job on this one. I truly appreciated the realism in the fight scenes as well, which is rarely done well in many series.

Lei Jia Yin and Zhou Yi Wei really made this series come to life for me. Then again, if I think about it, many of the actors also made it come to life. Those two just happened to be my favorites. Each episode with its intervals of the day were interesting by itself and the progression was done well. And really appreciated the focus on the "minor" characters and their sacrifices (they usually forget them and move on quickly).

The only real flaw for me was how it ended. They did so well with maintaining really great intensity for most of the episodes but the ending for both the plot and the characters didn't sit as nicely for me as I had hoped. Nevertheless, it is still very much worth the watch. The ending isn't as destructive to the series as it has been for others.

Read More

Wow, what a nice surprise. Needed a break from some of the more serious-toned series and decided to give this a shot with only a brief look at the summary. I had expected this to be one of those good corny and irrational shows that is meant for mainly laughs but it turned out to be a fantastic "humor with meaning" type of show.

The plot itself has been done many times over with underdogs looking to defeat those who are corrupted. But the way this was presented, it brought a nice fresh breath of air to it. This series is one of those who manages to toy with your emotions where one minute you find yourself laughing and the next minute, you're suddenly sober again. Another really great aspect where many comedy-drama fails at, is despite some of the exaggerated scenes/acting, this one feels believable. I loved the added subtle touches that humanize our actors like where our lead leaned against a radiator while having a conversation and jumped up because the heat was starting to burn. There was absolutely no value to the plot with these types of subtleties but trust me, it adds so much value toward drawing you closer to the characters.

The acting for the majority of the actors were on point. Many of them I've liked from other series and one of the female leads, Park Kyung Sun, is now seriously stepped up a notch in my book. The last series I've seen her in was Rebel and her contrasting role-play here was awesome. There's usually a couple of annoying or boring characters but all of them kept my interest in this one.

I'm not religious but have attended church as a kid. A much added bonus for me was the depiction of hypocrisy of those who rely or hide behind religion. But if these were the types of priests/nuns in real life, they would come close to converting me.

I can't find any glaring faults, never feel like fast-forwarding any parts of it, and it sure felt a lot less than 40-epsiodes. It was hilarious, it was touching, it was corny-good, it was intriguing, totally binge-worthy, and one of those rare ones where I think anyone would love no matter what genre they normally lean toward.

Read More

This series is a bit of a mix for me. While I did appreciate the story development and how it wraps up well, there wasn't enough explanation of the emotional growth of the main character. This I thought should have been much more focused on, which is what I had hoped for when choosing the series to watch. In addition, the crime aspect of the series also had noticeable fails. One example would be the disregard to the crime scenes such as picking up a false nail by hand, then taking a photograph of it after dropping it back on the ground. It could have maybe been shortened by a few episodes with a slightly less rushed ending.

However, if you can ignore the above as I did and just go with the story, it is still an enjoyable watch.

Read More

Unfortunately even with Ji Sung's usual on-screen charm, the series itself was just okay. The underlying focus revolves around a complex and heavily debated topic that impacts all of us and that aspect is appreciated. However, I wish they either focused more on cases within the prison, at the hospital, or just in general.

The initial few episodes started off great but unfortunately it didn't keep the same pace due to it leaning much too heavy towards romance. It didn't help that the two mains had zero chemistry with one another and her character felt more like an obsessed fan, rather than an effective partner. The supporting cast had much more character development than the female lead. She was consistently clingy and didn't seem to be a very competent doctor despite the excess praises she received. Overall, I managed to finish the series by skipping through large chunks of the scenes where the two leads were alone and being awkwardly sappy. This one had potential, but for an hour long episode with 16 episodes, they could have used that time to dive much more into the lives of the rest of the team or included more cases to add more substance. Even excluding the romance aspect, it felt like the plot was put together with pieces that don't quite fit together.

Really surprised this series had such high ratings and I wonder if it's due to the fact that there are some pretty great cast members in it.

Read More

I have re-watched this version of Justice Bao at least three times already as an adult by choice. Yes, all 236 episodes. At some point in the future, I'm probably going to re-watch it again. Another one I really wish someone would make subtitles for but will likely never happen.

Although the three main actors here reunited in later years to re-make a small portion of the series, it just doesn't have the same feel. One of the main differences is that this series maintains a relatively short amount of episodes per story so there isn't much room for drag. And because of this, they incorporated many more "cases" into this one.

I have spent a significant amount of time trying to find other series that capture the essence of Justice Bao and still have yet to find one. But it should be said that I haven't seen any other versions of the series as these three main leads together are hard-coded for me.

The series had a bit of everything and revolves around a righteous and compassionate magistrate/judge who helps people find justice. Most of the cases are very emotionally intense as those who come to him are usually turned away by other magistrates, wrongly charged, or they simply don't have evidence. There is also plenty of humor in some of them as well as a bit of the supernatural.

This is one where the plots supersedes its age. If you speak Mandarin and decide to check it out, keep in mind that some of the actors outside of our leads have repeat roles in different cases.

It should also be noted that Justice Bao is a real historical figure.

Read More

I imagine there hasn't been many reviews for this series because there is lack of sites to watch this with subtitles. Although I don't really need them for this series, there is a subtitled version on iQIY (English site version) as of this review if anyone is interested.

Had really high hopes for this one because there are so many really good Chinese series that are better than a lot of the mainstream ones, just unfortunately without subtitles.

While this series started off pretty well, the quality was a seesaw. It tries to incorporate too many mythical, folklore, legends, etc. influences into the modern world and it ends up just feeling corny, but not the good kind of corny. The main trio includes a male who can see ghosts, a non-human ferryman, and a very annoying female who hangs around but can't see ghosts. Their main base is a convenience store numbered "444" (the number 4 means death in Chinese). Although the trio is amusing at times, their relationships with one another wasn't built naturally and doesn't have much depth.

Despite it's negatives however, I was still compelled to complete the series just out of curiosity. It's like not being able to divert the eyes from a car accident in progress. Almost every episode comprises of a different encounter with either a ghost or supernatural being, all with a different story that is usually "resolved" within one episode. Not all of them are interesting but because one is so different the other, this in itself keeps it intriguing. In one story, you are watching high school girls calling upon a spirit and in the next, you are watching a demon in a painting drawn by the bones of a human. Since the stories cross over various eras, the production set/costumes for them were done pretty well.

So strangely, despite its many flaws, I still might consider taking a look at the sequels and/or the prequel movie. It's hard to categorize a series that is cringy but you still finding yourself clicking on to the next episode. There is still some creativity in this and it is still entertaining if you don't take it too seriously. And if you ignore the terrible "I will be back" statement that occurs in many of the episode endings.

It helps that each episode averages only half an hour so it moves along pretty quickly.

Read More

After having watched numerous medical series, I quite enjoyed this one. Most of the actors did a great job and there was great chemistry between them. However, this is really one of the main reasons why I gave it the higher score that I would have.

Although the concept of the autistic doctor is great and the main actor does a good job at this role, I could have done without the cringe plot of the girl who was raised with dogs. This really threw me off of the realism of the overall story. I should say however, she did a great job at her role as well. Then there is a bit of inconsistency with his "genius". It doesn't make sense for him to suddenly be aloof with the meaning of certain words or phrases, especially when he was raised lovingly by the director who one would think would have taught him these concepts over so many years. It would have made more sense for him to become more aware of it emotionally through multiple encounters with others but not play the fool to the actual definitions. The last downside for me was the screen time with the main character's love life was a bit too heavy-handed.

Despite the negatives listed above, it is still worth the watch. The great acting still pulls it altogether quite well.

Read More

This is pretty much what you would expect out of a mainly action-filled series and that's meant as a compliment. Don't try to pick apart the details or contemplate whether it's realistic or not. Just by reading the plot summary, you know you're not watching it for deep thoughts but for pure entertainment, and this does hit the spot for it.

While our main actors may not be at their best acting abilities here, it really doesn't matter much for the roles they play. You have your charismatic con man, a typical hacker, a man hulk, and a thief/racer on a team that is out to take down corruption outside the legal limitations. I've quite enjoyed their chemistry and interaction with one another and very much appreciated that the only female lead is actually likeable. If you've read most of my reviews, I have pet peeves with female lead characters that don't add much value. Although they are supposed to be your super team, there are enough hiccups that get them down to earth a bit, unlike your 007s.

There is a bit of a drag during the middle with the hurdles they continuously encounter but it picks up again near the end. Some of the video shots, particularly during fight scenes, are a bit shaky. Not sure if this was intentional but it was distracting at times.

Overall, it's not a unique plot by all means and every so often you do wonder how either side went from being intelligently detailed to somewhat sloppy. But it is pretty well done and straight-forward with respect to how they laid it out and heart-warming when you see the team bonding. So just kick back and enjoy it the way you should with these types of genres.

Read More

Indeed a very satisfying series. I went into this one with minimal expectations. Figured it was going to be similar to some of the other j-dramas in this genre where there was going to be the over-acting backed by gloom. Although there still was some of that, this one was tightly put together.

Although I typically don't lean toward the staccato flow of story lines (which has been my experience so far with j-dramas), it worked really well here. Sure, you won't be hand-held with details or be fed with long emotional scenes and some character introductions may seem abrupt. But it gets to the point and gives you just that right amount where you as the viewer will actually be able to use your imagination to fill in the blanks. Seriously, I have a newfound appreciation for this type of directing.

Highlights:

- Most episodes are somewhat episodic while still connected to the underlying arc.
- The juxtaposition of our four leads' characters between fulfilling their contracts and just living normal live.
- The number of times I've smiled. Who knew there would be any smiling with such a dark atmosphere?
- There is much more action than just flaying tattooed skin and it took away from the initial dread of repetitiveness.

This isn't one you watch if you're looking for an in-depth, psychological theme. There really isn't much camera panning on the actual gory actions, but there is just enough imagery with good sound effects. However, this isn't just a shallow slash and hack either. Nicely well-rounded for such a "rapid" series.

Read More

A Worthwhile Journey

Foremost, this series had my heart fluttering with excitement within the first two episodes with the individual introductions of the FL and ML. Finally -true- representations of badass females and males. I've avoided this series because based on the title and synopsis, it felt like another romance-heavy trope. But very glad I gave it a try because while it is romance-heavy, it definitely does not present itself as typical.

The overall plot isn't perfect but the cast and characters were near perfect. This is a group that will draw you in heavily and not just with any particular character or two, but with everyone. There is such fantastic chemistry between the main crew that you almost look forward to seeing them on screen more than your main FL and ML. You will laugh with them, cry with them, root for them, and fall for them. The action and fight scenes were done well and it's balanced nicely with the politics and romance. In fact, there are so many great focuses on character developments in this one that I really don't even know how to provide an overall summary.

One of the main flaw is that the underlying political plot is a little wonky with some plot holes and pacing issues. The second is that while I thoroughly enjoy the FL and ML scenes and their romantic developments, there's some repetitiveness in their conversations that gave it some drag. However, the positives with this series really outshines any of its shortfalls. It's one that will take you through multiple emotions and it also isn't just a tearjerker... it's an ugly-crier.

Read More

A Good Casual Watch

After several starts and drops of various historical dramas, this one was finally able to keep my attention long enough to become invested. The first couple of episodes may be slightly off-putting but it does evolve well and the layer of corniness is part of its charm.

Positives:
- There's a good blend of serious moments and light-heartedness/comedy.
- Most of the actors did a good job with their roles.
- The mystery aspect was decent as well as the action scenes but nothing to write home about.
- Almost no romance.
- A good series if you need a break from heavy politics and melodrama.

Negatives:
- The biggest negative for me was the ML (Ding Yu Xi). His acting became increasingly not believable and he only seemed to utilize 3-4 different facial expressions throughout the series. Unfortunate because this really brought the series down a few notches. (And this is already overlooking the extreme corniness to his cat-human form).
- The story takes a somewhat convoluted turn somewhere in the middle, and the flow became messier. It's as if they spend the first half working on the build-up and then just decided to throw everything that was necessary for the plot all in at once, just to be able to complete it.
- While I may able to overlook things like poor villagers suddenly being able to build a hot air balloon in almost no time at all, it was difficult to overlook the reactions to character deaths. There is almost a zero grieving period or any needed emphasis on the deaths of even relevant support characters. Providing flashbacks that doesn't trigger any emotes doesn't cut it, and the almost instantaneous leap to laughing and having a good time shortly thereafter was just not okay.

However, it is a good series that one doesn't need to take seriously and is good for a casual watch. Despite some significant negatives, it still did provide some actual laugh out loud moments.

Read More