TheJ
Earth
One of my biggest issues with this show was the product placement that was going on. This show felt more like a 20 episode ad for Samsung electronics than an action show. So many unnecessary close-up shots that, for me, it really took away some of the enjoyment of watching.
Another big issue with me was the love story being told. While there was definitely one in Iris, it was nowhere near as prevalent as the one in this. Characters would be idiotic about things and make bad judgments because of some significant other. It was tiresome.
Speaking of tiresome, if you can manage to never get tired of the flashbacks in this show, I applaud you. One of my biggest complaints about Iris was the insane amount of flashbacks they threw in. One of my biggest complaints about Iris 2 will have to be the same thing. A few here and there is okay, but when you start tossing in multiple ones that last for a good 2-5 minutes each time, you just need to stop.
While I liked a lot of the acting in Iris 2, I wasn't really fond of the chemistry with the cast. This was my first time watching Jang Hyuk in something, and I can safely say that I'm now a fan. He had a way of just keeping me glued to the screen when he was on it. While Lee Da Hae herself didn't bug me, the lack of chemistry I was feeling between the two actors did. I simply wasn't feeling it.
I was absolutely loving the rest of the cast though. Whether they were playing a good character, a bad character, or even a neutral character, I loved them.
The OST was boring for me unless it was an instrumental being playing during an action scene. Very repetitive. A couple songs I didn't even like from Iris I ended up having to deal with here as well.
Overall, I gave this a 7 simply because I liked the cast and the action scenes.
Was this review helpful to you?
I can't really compliment or complain about the acting in this. Much like the movie itself, nothing about the acting stood out either. My favorite person had to be the one in the black rat mask. To me, one of the top ways to make a movie killer scary is to make it seem like they're thoroughly enjoying what they do, and they did that flawlessly. Skipping and jumping around while tossing in cute squeaks of enjoyment every now and then.
Aside from the end credits and a song that somewhat plays an important role in the movie, I don't remember anything about the music here. As for rewatching it, I really don't know. It wasn't amazing, but it was short, so I could see myself watching it again if I ever needed a way to fill time.
Overall, the movie was too confusing to make much sense, so I can't score it high. It just seemed to jump from one scene to the next sometimes. I feel like adding another 20-30 minutes to this would've really helped.
Was this review helpful to you?
Jang Geun Suk was awesome in his role as the teenager who suddenly has to take care of a kid he never wanted. I was originally hesitant to watch this movie because I wasn't a fan of 'You're Beautiful' at all, but I'm glad that I watched this anyway.
Moon Mason was absolutely adorable. Park Myung Soo as his voice was equally amazing.
The music was enjoyable. Thinking about it now, nothing sticks out, but I remember enjoying it while I was watching.
Whether or not I'd rewatch this, I'm still unsure about. If I did, I'd have to just go up until the last 20 minutes or so and then stop, but what fun is that when watching something? I loved the comedic parts of this movie though. There were a few times I was laughing so hard that I ended up in tears.
Overall, I enjoyed it. I went into this expecting comedy at the beginning and that abruptly turning into a romance story in the middle. I was, fortunately, incorrect. As much as I loved that though, I could only give this a 6.
Was this review helpful to you?
One thing I can say about this show is that it was amazing at making me emotional. I don't cry often when watching dramas unless I'm really touched, but I found myself in tears often while watching this show. Future shows like this need to pay attention to this show. Hiring actors instead of idols makes a world of difference.
That being said, while I enjoyed most of this, there were some things that bugged me constantly. The one thing that never sat right with me about this show was how the class was portrayed. When you listen to K-Pop for a long time, one thing you notice a lot is that music videos about school get banned instantly the second someone thinks they see even a hint of violence. I'm not a fan of hypocrites, so to see a show aired where school violence is such a major event (even though I understand this is how schools are there), it's incredibly irritating.
Another thing that bugged me a lot was the way the writers went about making certain things happen. In order to make sure misunderstandings would occur, they'd always set it up in a way that was horrible to watch because it made absolutely no sense. Somebody would suddenly do something they would never do otherwise, and you just know that it's happening for the sole reason of making the misunderstanding seem true.
Now then, as much as I disliked all of that (and some other things that I feel are too small to be mentioned), I was absolutely in love with this cast. Their chemistry and the ways they interacted with each other were a joy to watch. I had absolutely no trouble believing any of it. It really helped that almost the entire cast was given a backstory of their own. When you give an actor a reason to act like they do, it lets you connect with them and that, in turn, makes their acting believable.
The music for this show was okay. I wasn't blown away by anything, but it wasn't horrible either.
If I were going to rewatch this, it would be in the distant future, and I'd be doing a lot of skipping. Especially the ending. The ending for this drama was, by far, one of the least satisfying endings I have ever seen. That alone almost had me giving this drama a score of 7 instead of the 8 I gave it.
Overall, the drama wasn't as mind-blowing as people were making it out to be. There were a lot of times during the first 2-4 episodes where I was seriously considering dropping it. If I had watched this as it was airing instead of waiting as long as I had to start it, I can almost guarantee that I wouldn't have finished.
Was this review helpful to you?
Before I even started watching this, I started its story score with a 10 because it isn't a common type of drama (at least not that I see). No clichés tossed into each episode, no rich mothers who hate the one you're dating, nobody having to dump you because it looks bad for their family's company, etc. That will always get you a good score from me.
As for how the story was told, it was enjoyable. It wasn't going by so fast that I couldn't keep up, and it wasn't moving at a pace that had me wanting to abuse the skip button. Every now and then, they would toss in a twist; sometimes they were predictable, and sometimes I found myself actually being surprised. The action scenes would keep me on the edge of my seat almost every time, wondering what might happen next. 'Iris' has, without a doubt, my favorite fight between two females as of right now. And one of my favorite kisses in a drama as well.
The acting/cast for this show was amazing. Absolutely amazing. The chemistry was working in all the right places for me. Friendships being made, enemies being discovered, people falling love, etc. were all great to watch in action.
This was the first time I had seen Lee Byung Hun in anything (but can I just say that I had a serious fanboy moment when I saw that we shared the same birthday?), but I found myself loving him instantly. He makes these facial expressions sometimes that just make you melt. When it came to his acting in emotional scenes, it would just tear me apart. If that man would be crying, you could assume I'd be crying as well. And his English! Oh jesus, his English is perfect. I would rewind a scene and rewatch it over and over when he would speak English.
Kim So Yeon has slowly been making her way up my list of favorite Korean actors/actresses, and this role totally pushed her into my top five. With her, I can't really explain what I was crazy about while watching her. She just had this way with her acting that constantly had me wishing I could just hop over to North Korea and befriend her.
Jung Joon Ho has apparently had a guest role in a show I watched before, but since I don't remember that at all, I'm thinking of this as his debut performance for me, and I loved it. He actually looked like he was struggling with trying to be the bad guy while still being good, which I don't often see. Usually people just start off bad or we never really see any kind of transition from good to bad.
The only acting I was really unsure of here was T.O.P's. The only time I really seemed to enjoy his acting was when he wasn't speaking. When he was, it seemed, to me, like he was trying too hard to sound evil, and it just wasn't doing anything for me.
I was 50/50 when it came to the music. I really enjoyed the music during action scenes, while the songs during every other part just didn't sound good to me.
Overall, I started this score off at 10 and took it down two points. While I loved basically all of this, some things just bugged me the whole time. One of the things I couldn't get over was how often they used flashbacks. Even starting from the first few episodes, they happened often, and they were long.
Another thing that really bugged me (and bugs me about most action-y shows) is when main characters (and some side characters) use guns. They can hit absolutely anything or anyone, still or moving, when they're just grunts of a more important person, yet they seem to waste clip after clip shooting an important person without ever hitting them once, and it's incredibly irritating.
Was this review helpful to you?
One thing I really enjoyed about this movie was the twists. Some were incredibly predictable, and some were actually kind of surprising. It was a nice switch to watch something that wasn't totally predictable for once.
Acting/Cast: As I said, I recently discovered how much I love Kim Myung Min's acting, and this movie was no different. He didn't really have as much screen time as I was expecting since he was the male lead, but when he was on screen, he was impressive.
I'd seen Son Ye Jin in a couple of things before this, and while I wasn't really enjoying her acting in those, I loved her acting in this. She had this constant air of mystery and sexiness, and it was amazing.
As for the cast as a whole, I loved it. I really enjoyed the chemistry going on between them.
Music: I don't remember any music from this movie. I'm not sure if music would've made it better or if the lack of music was nicer, so I just scored it in the middle.
Rewatch Value: I could definitely see myself watching this movie again.
Overall: Overall, even though it wasn't totally fantastic, I really liked the movie. If there's one thing South Korea is good at, it's making me bawl while watching a movie about gangs.
Was this review helpful to you?
It moved along at a nice speed for me. It seemed to slow up a little bit when they got their extension from 16 to 18 episodes, and all of the added flashbacks made it a tad boring at times, but nothing that I couldn't ignore.
Acting/Cast: Loved them. Loved all of them. This would definitely be one of my favorite casts in a drama.
I'd never seen anything with Kim Myung Min before, and this drama definitely made me regret it. He played his bad-boy-the-gets-nicer role perfectly. He always had this air of total confidence, and it was just really awesome to watch in action.
This was the second time I'd watched anything with Jung Ryeo Won in it, and while I wasn't really a fan of her in that, I loved her in this.
Siwon though. That man just made this drama for me. Whenever he was on the screen, I could always count on laughing. Always. He was hilarious, he was adorable, and he was hilarious (yep, I'm saying that twice). And he had this laugh that was completely infectious. If you could watch this, listen to him laugh, and not find yourself smiling, I'd be shocked.
This was also a first for Oh Ji Eun for me. She didn't make her entrance into the show until almost the halfway mark, but that didn't stop me from loving her all the same.
When they were all together, for me, the chemistry was undeniable. Even the actors in the smaller roles of this show were amazing for me.
Music: I loved the OST for this show. That's really all I can say about that.
Rewatch Value: With the cast and the story being different than a lot of other dramas out there, I could definitely see myself watching this more than once in the future. Hell, I could see myself rewatching it multiple times just for Siwon's laugh.
Overall: Overall, I gave the show a 10. Like I said, it had some cliche obstacles, but it was fun (for me) to watch the main characters trample over them when they happened.
Was this review helpful to you?
The story itself isn't something I really recall seeing before in dramas that I've watched, so I did like that. The length of which it was told though; that needed a change. It was basically 12 episodes or so of the same thing. The show was literally pretty much nothing but "I hate you; I love you; I'm leaving; I'm moving back in." As much as I liked the cast, I almost couldn't make it all the way through this.
Add onto that the fact that the main female lead seemed to switch from a strong lead to a weak lead, and it wasn't really all that people make it out to be.
Acting/Cast: Definitely the best part about this drama, without a doubt.
I absolutely loved Rain in this role. He was, I suppose, the typical bad boy. Movie star, rich, bad attitude; you know how it is. And while those characters are usually the kinds of characters I dislike, I was pretty much crazy about Rain. He had a lot of moments where he'd pout, and it would give you the impression of a hurt puppy, and you couldn't help but love him.
Song Hye Kyo. Loved her. Totally loved her. Her character though, like I stated above, not so much. She seemed to start the show off as a really strong character who didn't take crap from anybody. And as the show went on, she ended up being the typical drama female lead that lets the whole world walk over her all the time. Song Hye Kyo was adorable though.
Kim Sung Soo. In all honesty, it was incredibly hard to focus on the show when he was on the screen. He's just insanely good looking, and it was hard to pay attention to anything but his face. It definitely made his role of "player" believable though.
Han Eun Jung was probably, surprisingly, one of the best acts in the show. You loved to hate her, and hated to love her; but you did both anyway. She took that role and made it hers.
Music: Right now, I can only really remember two songs from the show, and I hated one of them. Wanted to rip my ears off every time it was played.
Rewatch Value: Like I said at the beginning, this show is extremely repetitive. 80% of this drama is nothing but the same thing. It's like they just tossed in some different situations in hopes that you wouldn't notice it.
Overall: Overall, the cast is pretty much the only reason this got an 8 from me. The first and last episodes played a part in that score as well.
Aside from the repetitiveness of the main story, there were less important parts that really bugged me about this show. The main one, without a doubt, was the female lead's best friend. We go through this whole show hearing about her being pregnant (seriously, they talk about her being pregnant almost every time she's there), and even show us a baby at the end, but at no point in this show is she showing. She's stick thin the whole time, and it's really...just blah.
Was this review helpful to you?
Story: The story, sadly true, is about deaf and mute children who suffer constant sexual abuse from the people paid to protect them.
The movie is a lot more graphic than I would have originally imagined it being, and in the end, that's what makes this movie so amazing. It seems so incredibly real the whole time you're watching it that it just breaks your heart. Every scream, every tear, and every bit of abuse you witness on screen just tears you up inside.
I really enjoy the pace of the movie. We get some time to see the main characters, build a connection with them, and see how affected they are by the abuse, and this movie leaves a huge impact on you because of that.
Acting/Cast: Gong Yoo has been my favorite actor from the second I started watching Korean dramas/movies. Given the storyline and his ability to always grab me with his acting, I knew I wouldn't regret my choice to watch this movie. I was definitely not disappointed by this man. His ability to just jump into any role and play it perfectly is fantastic.
Baek Seung Hwan, Kim Hyun Soo, and Jung In Seo all deserve praise for their acting in this movie. They all managed to portray abused children so perfectly that you believe every single second of it. When they cry, you cry; when you have to sit there and watch them get sexually molested, you cry.
If you're anything like me though, even though each of their stories breaks your heart, Baek Seung Hwan's acting/character will just kill you.
Jang Gwang also did a fantastic job in his role. Not only did he have to play twins; he had to play twins that both sexually molested students.
Music: I only remember two songs from this movie, and that's only because they play a pretty vital role. Normally I would score low for that, but the lack of music playing in the movie really helped. Instead of distracting you with music, it lets you focus on everything that's happening.
Rewatch Value: So far, I've watched this twice. I'm sure I'll watch it many more times in the future.
Overall: Overall, this movie is sheer perfection. It's brilliantly told, the acting is spectacular, and it manages to just make you sit there and think long after you've finished it.
Was this review helpful to you?
As for the story, it really wasn't bad. It showed the relationship between two people who are incredible friends. The friendship between those two is what makes this movie good. The shows that the jesters put on had me laughing each time. Those are really the only two things I enjoyed about the movie.
The last half hour or so had me wondering how much longer it would be until it was finished. It just seemed to really be dragging.
Acting/Cast: Without a doubt, the saving grace of this movie.
The chemistry between Lee Jun Ki and Kam Woo Sung was fantastic. I had absolutely no trouble believing they were best friends.
When Yu Hae Jin, Jung Suk Yong, and Lee Seung Hun come in later, they're another trio of people I could easily believe were best friends.
All five of them together was endearing to watch.
Jung Jin Young is what I loved about this movie though. I've seen quite a few historical Korean dramas/movies, and he was, by far, my favorite king. He was eccentric, and it was awesome. He always seemed to be having such a great time, and it was adorable.
Music: I don't remember a single piece of music from this movie. There was the beating of drums during skits from the jesters, but that's all I remember hearing.
Rewatch Value: The cast alone, unfortunately, is not enough to make me want to ever watch this again.
Overall: Taking into account my love of the friendship storyline, the chemistry between the five main jesters, and Jung Jin Young as the king, that's what gets this movie an 8 from me.
Was this review helpful to you?
The pace of the story flowed really nicely for me. It didn't jump right into the main plot. It gives you a little while to get used to the characters and sort of get a feel for how they are with each other, which makes it a lot more enjoyable to watch in the end.
I think my only complaint (or at least the only one I can think of right now) would be the sex. There was a lot more than I was originally expecting. The first hour or so is like watching softcore porn. I'm so glad I was watching it by myself, because that would've been incredibly awkward if anybody else had been around.
Acting/Cast: I really liked this cast. A lot. Their chemistry together was amazing.
I'd seen Joo Jin Mo in a couple of things before watching this, and I liked him in those. I absolutely loved him in his role as the king in this though. He's what really made this movie for me. He had me smiling whenever he was happy about something, and when someone would hurt him, it would just break my heart because he looked absolutely crushed. This movie really shot him up on my list of actors to watch.
It's the first time I'd watched Zo In Sung and the second time for Song Ji Hyo, and I was definitely impressed. Zo In Sung looked so torn between his loyalties and his feelings that you just wanted to reach out and hug him at times.
Shim Ji Ho's part was definitely not as big as some of the other actors, but I'd be lying if I said he wasn't one of my favorite characters.
Music: I don't remember much of the music. I did enjoy the music that I do remember though.
Rewatch Value: It's over two hours long and, like I said, a bit on the pornographic side for the first hour or so. I'd need to be in the mood for a Joo Jin Mo movie if I ever wanted to watch this again.
Overall: Overall, it wasn't too bad. There was a bit at the end that they could've done without, and there was a bit of stuff in the middle I didn't really think was necessary, but I don't feel like it took away from the film.
Was this review helpful to you?
Now then, on to the review.
Story: The story...was incredibly confusing for the first half hour or so. I was just not sure what was going on. One thing would happen, and that would lead to a flashback, and then we'd be back to the present, but we aren't even sure if it's actually the present or what; seriously, it was confusing.
The speed with which it was told wasn't too horrible. It let's you kind of get used to what's happening before time jumping a few years and leaving you a little confused again.
The story itself isn't really much. Two friends like the same girl and that causes a rift between them that goes on for years. Nothing new.
Acting: The acting wasn't too bad. It was probably the best part of the movie, even if it wasn't that spectacular.
Kim Da Hyun, I feel, did an awesome job in his role. The same goes for Shin Sung Rok. The rest of the cast didn't really do much for me.
Music: Other than one song that seems to get played/sung a lot, I don't remember a single song or any of the music. As for the one song I do remember, I definitely disliked it.
Rewatch Value: I'm not really sure if I'd ever want to watch it again, but I figure I probably wouldn't say no if anybody ever asked me to watch it with them or something.
Overall: Unfortunately, I don't really have much to say about this movie. It didn't really leave a huge impact on me or anything. If you can get over the confusing parts of the movie though, I think you could probably enjoy this a lot more than I did.
Was this review helpful to you?
The speed with which it was told wasn't too bad. The first 20 minutes or so feels a bit slow at times, and their final goodbye was really drawn out. I would've liked it if that had been shorter. Everything else in between felt like it was sailing along smoothly though.
Acting/Cast: It's hard to comment on the chemistry between everybody. A lot of the scenes had Matsushima Nanako in them, and since she's supposed to be dead throughout most of the film, it's difficult to critique that part. As a whole though, it didn't feel too bad. I did enjoy their interactions while watching.
Song Seung Hun. Anybody who knows me knows that I'm pretty much in love with this man and that he can do absolutely no wrong in my eyes. Now then, bias aside, I did like his acting. He had me shedding a few tears at times, and that's always a good quality to have. I loved listening to him speak Japanese as well. I'm so used to hearing him speak Korean that it was a nice switch.
Matsushima Nanako. Other than this, I've only ever seen her in 'Hana Yori Dango.' I loved her in that show, and I loved her in this movie. She's definitely high up on my list of Japanese actresses right now.
Kiki Kirin. It was hard for me to watch this and not compare her to Whoopi Goldberg. Whoopi was what made the whole movie for me in the 1990 film, so it was hard to live up to the standards she had set for me. That said, I did love Kiki in this movie. She was hilarious.
Music: I've never liked 'Unchained Melody.' Since this is Ghost, it's obviously going to be played more than once throughout. If it wasn't for Ken Hirai's 'Aishiteru,' I'd probably score this category a lot lower.
Other than those two songs, I don't remember any of the music if there was any.
Rewatch Value: I wouldn't be against watching this a second time.
Overall: Overall, it wasn't a horrible movie, but it wasn't a gem of a movie either. It was stuck somewhere in the middle. Like I said earlier, the beginning seemed slow at parts, and the end kind of dragged. I feel like if it weren't for the actors that played the lead characters in this movie, I would've had a hard time finishing it.
Was this review helpful to you?
While the main guy of this, much like the lead in BOF, is rich, snobby, and completely unaware of anything other than himself, watching him change is what made his character bearable. It doesn't happen with a simple snap of the fingers, and it doesn't take the whole show for it to finally come about, and that was nice.
I see people comparing this to 'Secret Garden' a lot of the time, and I don't really understand it. Granted, I haven't seen that drama in a while, but what I do remember from that I don't recall ever seeing in FBRS. So, if you love SG, and the comments about that have turned you off from this, don't let it.
Acting/Cast: This was, without a doubt, the best part of the show.
Jung Il Woo was fantastic as Cha Chi Soo, Lee Ki Woo was the perfect choice for his role, and even though Lee Chung Ah wasn't really impressing me for the first half of the show, she impressed me during the last half.
Park Min Woo and Jo Yoon Woo were by far my favoring two members of this cast. They had this amazing chemistry together, and it made watching them interact my favorite thing to do. The relationship between those two completely surpassed the relationship between the main characters for me. Park Min Woo had this one moment during the last episode that just killed me. If I was giving out awards for the best cast choice, he would get it.
Music: A couple of the songs weren't really to my liking, but the music wasn't bad. Jung Il Woo's song got played kind of often the last 1/4 of the show or so, but his voice is really soothing, so I never got tired of hearing it.
Rewatch Value: I've now watched this twice if that says anything.
Overall: Overall, it was an enjoyable drama to watch. It had funny moments, it had happy moments, and it had sad moments. The only two things I could think to complain about would be the ending and the male lead's father.
The last 1-2 episodes felt incredibly rushed. Like they just wanted to toss in everything they could before it was over, and I was definitely not liking that.
As for the father, the actor was good; it was the character that needed to be fixed. He started off nice and adorable, and then turned into the typical rich father of these shows, and I hated it; especially since they waited to long to do it. If it had been right at the beginning, it would've been a lot better.
Was this review helpful to you?
Acting/Cast: I said in the last one that I loved Fujiwara Tatsuya and Matsuyama Kenichi as Light and L, and that definitely didn't change while watching this movie.
Toda Erika got more time in this one, as was expected, and I liked her in her role as Misa as well. In the manga/anime, my opinion on Misa always varied. I'd love her one second and then really dislike her the next. Toda Erika managed to make it so I was a Misa fan from start to finish.
Music: Again, I don't remember much of the music in this movie. The only song I can remember, other than the suspenseful music they sometimes tossed in, was a RHCP song.
Rewatch Value: I scored it one higher than the first movie because, like I said, I definitely enjoyed this one more.
Overall: Overall, I loved it. The ending in the manga had me kind of sad. The ending in the anime had me crying. The ending of the movie actually had me bawling.
My only complaint with this movie, other than that damn RHCP song, is that it seemed a little anticlimactic. The ending felt like it was too fast at times, and then too slow at times, but in the end, it was still anticlimactic.
Was this review helpful to you?
