A snoozefest about a Mary Sue and her two wet blanket suitors.

This was a chore to get through. I'll list this as the worst drama of 2022. It felt more like a bad kdrama. All the unique creative dialogue/storylines usually found in jdramas were replaced with gloss and superficiality in Animals. I was nodding off at times out of boredom. Aside from the promising first episode, nothing interesting or engaging happens. Minute by minute details about developing projects within a cheesy beauty company is not what I would consider entertainment.

Some things I hated:

One dimensional characters:
They were happy and smiling all the time to the point that I was surprised they didn't break out in song. Female lead is the quintessential Mary Sue character where she is always nice, always pleasant, good at everything except keeping herself upright and walking in a straight line, average in the looks department but men flock to her anyway. She annoyed the hell out of me! The two male leads that vie for her attention are no better. Both have zero personality and could literally be replaced with cardboard cut outs and none would be the wiser. And how creepy was it that the fl leaves one company where her boss overworked her to the point of collapse and then gets hired by another company where the boss is hitting on her and trying to get a date. Eww. It's seen in this show as romantic when it is anything but..

Also, the styling in this drama is some of the worst I've seen. It's ironic when this show is made out to be hip, sleek, and cool. Women and men look like they haven't washed their hair in weeks due to too many products weighing it down. As a result, every character had greasy lifeless styled hair. Make up was nothing to write home about either and often characters looked sickly and washed out. Wardrobe was atrocious as well especially the clothes for the female lead. She rather as well had been in a potato sack and high heels.

Lastly, the cover poster for this drama is misleading as all get out. Anyone looking at it would think this will be a spicy enjoyable romp of a show for mature audiences and not another run of the mill saccharine sweet office drama. I feel like I've been punked lol.

I rate this a 1.5.

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A Slice of Life done right!

If you're like me, you think the slice of life genre is generally overrated and boring. However, there is something very special about this drama that sets it apart from the others. It has become one of my favorites and I can see myself re-watching this gem and never growing tired of it. In two words: It's real. From the natural dialogue to the way romance is portrayed, everything in this drama feels real. You feel like an additional friend sitting with this diverse group of characters in the back yard of a dying sweets shop. It doesn't feel like the actors are acting. It's that natural! I've never seen a drama encapsulate "life" so well...all the ups and downs, joy and pain. This show has zero melodrama or pretentiousness, just the way I like it. The ending song is amazing too and perfectly fits. As a fan of Odagiri Joe, I decided to check this drama out and I'm so glad I did.

Rating:
10/10

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More mature and darker than show..

I just finished Cheese in the Trap the series a day ago, and I wrote a very positive review (please check it out lol) and now I'm back with the movie version. You could say I'm hooked with this story. Cheese in the Trap the Movie is more dark, disturbing, and violent than it's predecessor. It focuses on the psychological side of the story and the crimes against women by men, such as stalking and assault. Like I warned with my review of the series, if you are looking for a fluffy cotton candy romance, Cheese in the trap is probably not for you. There is however far more cute romantic scenes in the series than in the movie. In fact, there is hardly any romantic scenes in the film. I recall only one kiss scene between the two leads and it was filmed from a distance.

Park Hae Jin reprises his role as the deceptively charming sociopath, Yoo Jung. This time around he plays Jung creepier with more edge. He gives a bone chilling performance and there were times I was actually scared. Was I watching a horror? There were two scenes that were my favorite in the whole movie. The first scene is when Yoo Jung is walking Seol back to her dorm. He smiles as she turns and walks into her building. When she is out of view, Jung's whole face changes and his mask comes off to reveal the eerie apathetic person he really is. It's all in the eyes with this scene. Park's eyes go from warm and loving to soulless like a shark, equal parts calculating, and cold. It's amazing acting. The other part of the film that was my favorite was when Jung was at a shooting range and another scene is shown simultaneously of one of his cat and mouse revenge games being played out as he had planned. His victim doesn't know what hit them and when Jung gets his target back at the shooting range it shows that every gunshot he made was a bulleye to the chest. This was an artful clever way to show Jung's brutality and that he never loses. He shoots to kill and never waivers. This scene was brilliantly accompanied by classical music. So it is safe to say Park Hae Jin nailed this character yet again. This is what you call perfect casting. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for any of the other characters in this film including the actress that played the female lead Hong Seol. She gives a very weak performance and I partially blame the script. It doesn't even seem like the same Seol from the series. Weak, pathetic, and not all there. It was like the lights were on but no one was home. Absolutely awful. I also really hated how they styled the female lead's hair. Seol is called "dog fur" by In Ho (2nd ml) because she's supposed to have wild frizzy curly red hair. This movie version Seol basically has straight hair with a slight wave at the ends so In Ho's endearing nickname doesn't even make sense here. Anyway, there are way too many issues I have with this movie to list them all, but I'll name a few...too many characters and not enough time to flesh them out, a non cohesive storyline, poor casting, rushed underdeveloped romantic relationship with the two leads etc.

And yet I rate this a 7.5. With all its faults, I still think Cheese in the Trap (movie) is worth watching. It's missing a lot and might be hard to follow if one hasn't watched the series first though. It has glimpses of genius and is a notable addition to the original webtoon story.

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Honestly, the best things about this movie was Suda's hair and the undeniable chemistry him and Nana have. This was written and directed by the same person that did that travesty Netflix film Hot Gimmick. It has the similar weird artsy fartsy style of Hot Gimmick sprinkled with cut and paste dialogue and scenes that make little sense. It reeks of trying too hard. However, the immaturity found in adolescent relationships is the one thing done right in this movie, where characters make grand gestures and absolutes of loving someone forever or dying together in the process.

Drowning Love is pretentious (geez, even the title is) yet has a beauty to it. The cinematography and tone will take your breath away. Very dreamy and atmospheric. If a teen girl's Pinterest board could be captured on film this would be it, with a hodge podge of moody dreamscape palletes to feast the eyes on. Suda and Nana have never looked better than they do here, equal parts alluring and mysterious. I'd say Drowning Love is the more palpable version of Hot Gimmick. It's a hot mess and trash but beautiful trash.

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Other reviews have already covered how great the cinematography is in All about Lily Chou Chou and how the music ties the story together so I won't go into depth about that. I just thought the movie was a masterpiece. I had never seen a film like this that had flawlessly interwoven all the things that makes life so beautiful and yet ugly. And the timeline wasn't confusing at all like I've seen people say. The years were told on screen and I knew the story went into the past around the middle of the movie because Hoshino had changed so much. Also, there were hints early on that Hasumi (philia) was talking to Hoshino (bluecat) online. We the audience knew that Hoshino was a Lily Chou-chou fan first and was the one that introduced Hasumi to the artist. Hoshino in the flashback scene had a Lily Chou-chou poster in his room and Hasumi asked who it was when he stayed over. It was interesting that in the present day timeline the person that caused Hasumi the most pain and was destroying his life in the real world was also the one that was giving him comfort online. It really goes to show that you don't know who you're speaking to in this internet universe. And the scene towards the end of the movie where the two worlds (cyber and real) collide at the Lily Chou-chou concert left a deep impression on me.

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A cliche soap opera.

This drama reminded me of those cliched American night time soaps from the 80s, think Dynasty.
*scheming male lead's ex lover that tries to destroy the marriage and get back together with him.
Check!
*Backstabbing very wealthy tycoon family
Check!
*gaudy wardrobe and bad wigs (fl I'm looking at you)
Check!
*unsolved murder
Check!
*illegitimate child
Check!
*Knife wielding grandma
Check, check,check!
And you get the picture. This drama has marriage in the title but there is little to no romance. Too bad because the little we see of the main actors together shows they have good chemistry. There are far too many scenes where the leads aren't even in the same room. There's just a lot of family drama and it gets tedious and boring at times. The female lead's grandpa will piss you off too I'm sure. Grandpa spends all of the money his daughter makes on gambling to the point where she has to work two jobs, one of them as a hostess at a club. Yikes!
Also, the 2nd male lead is the biggest tool. He forcefully tries to kiss the married female lead not once but twice! The 2nd time while he knows she's pregnant. Double yikes! To make it even weirder, he at one point asks to punch the male lead...like why? Because he couldn't finish making advances on his wife??
He also says to the fml that she can't sleep around him because he won't be able to control his urges. They both then laugh it off...that was a wtf moment for sure.
A few more things I didn't like:
*I thought it was odd that they made it out like the female lead was leading the 2nd male lead on and she even apologized. She had nothing to be sorry for.
*I hate when dramas have 2nd lead female psycho b*tch syndrome. This one has it bad!
*The last thing that bugged me was how the family issues including MURDER were just swept under the rug in the final episode and they're all just one big happy family now. Ugh!

So why did I still give this show a 7/10? Well honestly, because for what is, it was still quite enjoyable. I actually like soap operas so I'm very much used to the crazy drama and highly unrealistic plot lines. Dramas like these are trashy but can be good haha.

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An autumn romance

You know when the seasons change from summer to fall, the air is crisp, and the color of the leaves on the trees are just about to change? It's perfect but fleeting. Well that's what this drama reminds me of. It's very cozy like a cup of coffee in your favorite cafe on a perfect autumn day..from the music, to the sephia tones, close up/long shots, smart wardrobe, and it's overall classy mature aesthetic. This drama is visually a masterpiece, a work of art.

The writing is equally as impressive. In the brief time alloted, the male leads love story is told. And what a romantic beautiful story it is.
Old fashion cupcake never feels rushed and somehow takes it's time with development. The acting is some of the best I've seen in a drama. Both leads had such amazing chemistry. The tension, the emotion, and flirtation between the two felt believable and real from start to finish. I loved everything about this drama and give it a solid 10/10.

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Another Kdrama grossly overrated on this site. As I write this, it is 8.6/10 with over 1000 people accumulated. Like really??! Male lead actor looks like Cha Eun Woo's 2nd cousin and the girlies fall like a puddle on the floor. I don't get it!

No one notices how sub-par the writing is? No one notice how confusing and similar the fl lie/truth bells are? No one noticed all the chance meetings that take place to a ridiculous degree? Leads end up in the same apartment building (apartment b. Is huge with an elevator for several floors, but ml moves right next door to fl. What are the odds? Plus their balconies happen to be side by side). Fl wishes to see ml and magically he happens to be walking right in front of her store. Ml gets out of car at the exact moment fl is leaving apartment building. Fl happens to stop by at a jazz club ml regularly plays the piano at and of course this is the night he's there. No one in a city would run into each other like this. Heck they wouldn't even run into each other like this in a small village. Leads have been in Seoul for 5 years and managed just fine to never cross paths. But suddenly to drive the plot forward in this story they by chance come across each other daily?? Wtf? Also, the cliche Kdramas refuse to let go of where ml and fl know each other in the past is beyond over the hill. This is just lazy writing plain and simple. You have to turn your brain off with a lot of these shows I swear...I mean you know it's bad when you got the female lead legit hopping like a bunny in front of the male lead.

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The Unwatchable

If you were on social media in 2019 then undoubtedly you came across fans raving about the Untamed. Seriously you would have thought it was the 2nd coming of Christ with the way some were acting. I've never seen anything like it then or even till this day. I heard praise such as "this is the best Asian drama ever!!!" Of course being a drama lover I was interested. So color me surprised when I sat down to watch this show back in 2019 and couldn't understand a damned thing. It was messy, it was campy, and oh so childish. It started with an ending scene with ZERO explanation and went straight into a mind numbingly boring flashback that lasts apparently 30+ episodes. WTF??! Plot, what's that? Character development?..the untamed does not know her. CGI?? Complete sh!t. Acting? Abysmal and amateurish. Sluggish pace with 100s of characters introduced as their names briefly flashes on the screen making the viewer, or I should say me, even more confused. I gave up and dropped the Untamed.

What was going on? Was I in some polar universe? Why couldn't I see what it seemed everyone else sees in this show? I had these questions as I over the years tried to find any criticism about this show on the internet. Anyone that felt the same way that I did. And you know what, I found none. The untamed had broke another record of being the only drama that gets perfect praises no matter where you look. It has no "one star" reviews on imdb, which is unheard of. Almost all 10 star reviews on this website and is still ranked as one or the highest scored dramas on mdl. Quite a feat. And I know what this drama and it's fans reminded me of...it is comparable to a really crappy Kpop song, where the fans are so ardent and forceful with their beliefs that the song is amazing, it inevitably scares anyone from speaking their mind and giving criticism to a mediocre product. It unfortunately happens all the time in fandoms, and the untamed is no different. What I learned was that this show starred two famous pretty boys that were already idols. The untamed show comes from a massively popular spicy bl webstory. And speaking of bl, we outside the bl fandom know how gung ho followers of that genre can be. With all mentioned, it starts to make sense to me why this below average drama is so popular and overrated!

Just look at the positive reviews fans give of this show. A popular mention is how pretty the two leads are. The leads eye staring contest had their heart in a flutter. How cute one of the leads are with rabbits?? Tell me this doesn't sound like a vapid teenager talking about her fav boyband. I'm too old for that sh!t. "Cute" boys glancing at each other does not a good drama make lol. And after three attempts of trying to give the untamed a chance, I'm done. No more. I've been told to hold on and that it gets really good at episode 33. Episode 33!!!? B!tch I could have watched 3 masterpiece jdramas in that time and had room to spare. If a show takes 33/50 episodes to get interesting then maybe just maybe the show is hot garbage. Just a thought...

Rating: 1/10

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Kdrama stans on this site get your pitchforks ready, because I'm going to have to rip "Extraordinary attorney Woo" a new one with this negative review.

This show was really cheesy and corny, which a lot of Kdramas are unfortunately guilty of. Always trying too hard to pull at the viewers heartstrings and be funny. Very low brow. I said what I said!

Attorney Woo is an unrealistic portrayal of autism. With horribly exaggerated stereotypes and you could feel the main lead actress struggle to portray this character, with her forced looks and cutesy quirks. Fl seemed more slow and child-like than an actual genius. One wonders how on earth did she graduate from a top law school if she can't even walk through a revolving door smdh. Utterly ridiculous! I have noticed this same ignorant portrayal of autism in other Korean dramas. "It's okay to not be okay" anyone?? But the difference is this drama has this "autistic" character as the main lead and not a background character. And in Kdrama land that means a cringy potrayal of an over grown person acting like a 5 year old that just dropped their lolly pop for 16 excruciating episodes. Some are stronger than I, because I could not do it, and dropped this drama.

I did however skim future episodes and it looks like this show is your typical procedural law show with new cases and clients each episode. Boring! I get enough of that at home with American dramas lol. And you can tell the creators of Attorney Woo thought they were doing something different and groundbreaking. I imagine the writers meeting going something like this.
Writer A: "Let's do a procedural law show "
Writer B: "But that's typical and been done to death!"
Writer A: "But this would be a procedural with a twist. The main character is a young female lawyer, but...dunn..dunn...dunn..she's autistic!"
Writer C: "My God man, you're a genius!"
Writer A: "hehe I know." *devilish grin*

Oh and we all know a Kdrama wouldn't be a Kdrama without you guessed it ROMaNcE!! Who cares if it's thrown in as an afterthought, adding nothing to the plot. It will be forced down the viewers throat every damn time whether they like it or not, and Att. Woo is no exception. I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a second couple that no one gives 2 fcks about included in this show too. But alas, I will never know...

Dropped
Rating: 1/10.

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Barbie and Ken dolls on a beach zzz....

What is this show and why did it get a 2nd season? Why the too high rating? I just finished the 1st episode and the numerous colorist remarks left a bad taste in my mouth. One dude said something to the effect that he liked one of the girls because she had white skin that made her seem pure as the driven snow. Ick! Everybody is dolled up to the max just sitting pretty in Chanel wearing cc cream 10 shades lighter than their natural skin tone. Major pass. This was worse than Love Island U.S.A. and that's saying something! Fake plastic people trying to look pretty for the camera, that's it. Imagine the most interesting thing contestants have to say about themselves is that they workout. You can't get more superficial than this!

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