Good, but way overdramatized

To be fair, I have watched a documentary about Sichuan Flight 8633 before I have watched this movie.
This is why I'm not overly enthusiastic about this movie. It was overall okay, but too draggy and I can't oversee the scenes that look as if they were put into the movie in order to let the entire crew and staff shine. Maybe there is such "drill" on Chinese airports but still it leaves me with doubt as I'm also aware of Chinese propaganda and they wouldn't allow their people to appear less than perfect in a movie of this sort.

What truly irks me is the fact that they overdramatized things. Really unnecessary in my opinion, because let's be honest, a broken window in an airplane is dramatic enough.
The facts: The co-pilot really got sucked out of the window which first cracked, before it broke completely. The co-pilot was halfway outside the window, his legs got stuck under the control stick, pushing it forward which sent the airplane downwards. The captain couldn't draw him back in, he also had to stop the airplane from its "fall" and get out of the mountains quickly in order to get to a height that allows breathing without oxygen masks.
The co-pilot was too badly hurt to help with anything, it was the third pilot who took over for him.

In real life there was no storm though, turbulences yes, but nothing major and no storm they had to fly through in order to leave the mountain area. Also how on earth did people on ground knew in the movie, that Sichuan Flight 8633 was in trouble, like one minute after the incident happened? That's nonsense.

The movie overdid it with the drama which makes the captain and others look like some sort of superhuman. He's a hero (I will not deny that), but that was too much for me. I prefer the documentary over this or the movie "Sully" that is also based on the real life event of an airplane landing on the Hudson River but not overdramatic.

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Disappointing and giving questionable messages

When I completed the drama, I wasn't sure what to think of it at first. There are things I truly liked and some I really hated.

One thing I appreciate was how they showed the story from the wifes point of view. Each of them struggled in their marriage due to different reasons and it showed how many reasons can exist for two people in marriage to separate from each other.

The downside was that the drama failed in handling those situations the couples were in. In almost every episode I was thinking "why did they marry, they absolutely do NOT match" and it wasn't interesting to watch how remarkable the couples are in misunderstanding each other or lack a genuine talk on equal footing.
What I really hated though was how the FL Sakura was treated by many (especially women) like a bad person because she ran from her abusive husband and cheated on him. On a side note, she never intended to cheat on him, she just ran when he beat her brutally and he was the one who had repeatedly cheated on her already at this point and everyone except her seemed to be aware of that. It's easy to point fingers when you never listen to the other party and just jump to (wrong) conclusions. Sad truth is though that this moral condemnation shown is actually pretty accurate as society tends to blame/judge women harsher for infidelity than they do with men.

What really irks me (though also accurate) is the portrayal of how a woman who's being cheated on is looked at with pity for being too dumb to see what her husband does behind her back or laughed at for not being able to "please/satisfy" her husbands needs.
When she's the one who's cheating, she's the lowest kind of being and judged while a cheating man is desirable and attractive. This drama reminded me a lot that I do not condemn infidelity per se as many others do. I'm not saying nor thinking cheating is okay but I'm able to feel sympathy for the characters who cheated, yes even a tiny little bit for Takuya though I strongly despise his actions towards Sakura.
Still, I think the drama missed a big chance to not only display societies current reaction towards infidelity but also a try to make people question that judgement. Not to mention that infidelity is presented like the "solution" for each couple in the drama when in truth a honest talk would've prevented the worse and the separation of them in the first place.

Being already frustrated with the drama at this point, I binged the rest to see if the ending would make it slightly better only to find myself being utterly done with it. I hate the last events and the end as they are entirely contrary to what I hoped for or rather what I could relate to and on top of that the end is kinda open. It hints at something but for me that wasn't enough to make it "good" or satisfying. Overall I think Kingyo Tsuma is an okay watch. Not life changing and not really making a huge difference in portraying infidelity. The more I think of it, the lower I wanna rate it because I hoped it would give a fresh insight to maternal problems and portray infidelity as something else than "an easy way out of struggles in marriage". The drama might be good for a one-time watch but isn't a must watch in my opinion. Simply speaking, you miss out on beautiful shots of gold fish but that alone is not reason enough to watch it.

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Had higher expectations

I wish I could give this movie a higher rating but for me this story felt flat. Sure, the overall action is thrilling but at the same time so unrealistic for me that I couldn't help but wonder how it would work out in real life. I won't go into detail but some things the protagonists did seemed quite impossible.
Also the clichés:
- a powerful speech to let everyone know how grave the situation is, check
- heroic acts, check
- drama with lots of crying, check
I really love Zhu Yi Long's acting and he did well, same for the overall cast. It was the writing that just didn't work for me.
I almost liked the movie for one hour, then they ruined it with a foreseeable event that just left me disappointed.
If you don't care about the story though, go watch it for the landscape shots because those are really breathtakingly beautiful.

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Like a puzzle...

That was my first thought after completing the movie because in the end all three storylines connect to each other and make the movie whole despite an open for interpretation ending which I find quite fitting actually.
This is why I think this is a good movie, despite the negative reviews. It's not something you can watch while focusing on other things though. It needs your full attention, otherwise you'll get lost as the movie does not follow a consistent line but jumps between the three different storylines of the three main characters.
Only in the end will you see how these puzzle pieces connect. To some it will feel chopped, I find this sort of storytelling interesting. I also loved the color design of the movie with lots of warm colors in contrast with grey or black just like in the cover.
The acting was great. I watched it for Ma Si Chun, Vivienne Tien and Xin Peng which I've seen before in other dramas but Elaine Zhong and Johnny Huang also caught my eyes.
Plus, the OST was totally my cup of tea. Not sure if it's because I'm a 90's child or it just happened to get straight into my ear but I immediately went on a search for it.
I'm not sure if I'll rewatch it someday but I definitely recommend it for a one-time watch.

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I really wanted to like this drama and went in with positive expectations after reading the praises of it. Too bad it did not really capture me and left me rather disappointed in the end. Let me explain why. (On a side note, this review is based on my feelings and enjoyment I felt while I watched the drama.)

The beginning was promising and I liked the first two episodes but that changed when the story progressed and things between Teh and Oh Aew got (even more) complicated.
I tried hard to understand the characters, their motives, feelings and actions. I can imagine how confusing it must be for Teh to being sure he's straight but getting confronted with growing feelings towards his friend Oh Aew, but for me that does not justify his actions especially when he saw how much he hurt Oh Aew with them.
As for Oh Aew I wondered why he stayed close to Teh when he got repeatedly hurt because Teh was unable to be true to himself and others and actually speak out about that. When you care for someone no matter if it's out of love or friendship or any other reason wouldn't it be only natural to talk to them honestly when you see they get hurt by your silence or actions?
Sorry, but I could absolutely not relate to that and many other things Teh did. A lot of his actions seemed selfish to me and at some point I just lost all sympathy for him. To be honest, I didn't want him to end up happily ever after with Oh Aew. Oh Aew surely deserved better.
I'm not saying the entire story was bad, actually the general plot is really good. I just think they overdid it a bit with the drama and heartache. To me that didn't look realistic anymore but rather self-produced by the characters due to lack of honest conversations paired with dumb decisions.

Another issue I have is actually the acting of Billkin as Teh and his facial expressions, especially the crying. The scenes when he cried made me cringe really badly. Those scenes should be emotional, captivate the viewer and make them feel sympathy for the character yet I just wanted to fast forward or skip those scenes completely as they looked too extreme and I could not relate nor connect to it because in my opinion someone other than Teh had way more reason to cry their eyes out.
I think PP did better acting-wise, at least his portrayal of his character looked more authentic to me and actually made me feel sympathy for him. Well, except for one scene that gave me strange vibes because Oh Aew is questioning himself as a male and what he does is really exaggerating. Why did he even have that in his wardrobe? A bit too far fetched and just added to other scenes that failed in trying to show emotions because they went overboard by trying too hard.
Together Billkin and PP/Teh and Oh Aew lacked chemistry in my opinion. For me Oh Aew was a better match with Bas and that's not just based on the fact that Bas is a true friend to Oh Aew.

The music did not stick to my memory, sorry. It wasn't annoying because that would be something I would certainly not forget but that also means it wasn't outstanding nor memorable.

Rewatch value is non-existent for me. Teh as a character was too annoying for me and that's exactly why I decided not to watch IPYTM (season 2 of ITSAY). I read enough about it to know that I would only end up disliking Teh even more. In my opinion Teh's behavior in ITSAY was toxic enough for the relationship between him and Oh Aew.
Overall ITSAY did address some serious topics and I think it's good and important to do that because real life isn't a fluffy rom-com, but the way they did it might not work for everyone or even put some people off.

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Wrap up of the entire series

First of all, I highly recommend watching Code Blue in the right order. From season 1 to the movie which is the official end, this series has a red thread going through.

The order of watching is:
Code Blue Season 1 (2008)
Code Blue Special (Farewell Facing Tomorrow) (2009) (connects Season 1 and 2)
Code Blue Season 2 (2010)
Code Blue Season 3 (2017)
Code Blue: Another Everyday (Spin-Off) (2018)
Code Blue Mou Hitotsu No Senjou Special (2018) (Sequel and bridge to movie)
Code Blue: The Movie (2018)

The Movie is the last adaption and tells the story of the flight doctors until their future paths.
Maybe the story is a bit dramatic but it's not getting to a point of being ridiculous or unrealistic for me. Also from scriptwriters/production point of view it's understandable they want to fill in action and some "blasts" before the end.
I can hardly even think of anything negative because I liked the series from the beginning and the script convinced me.

The drama has a good balance between personal life (and struggles) of the characters and the medical part (which is well written). Not to mention, that the medical accuracy is given here, which I appreciate a lot because I can't stand when even basic things like CPR are portrayed wrong in dramas. Doctors are not "gods in white" in this but they have insecurities, private matters and other problems they have to deal with. Code Blue managed to show the progress of the main characters and how they grow from the fresh trainees to full-fledged doctors that people and fellow trainees now depend on. This depth is a bit shortcut in the movie (due to it's limited runtime) but it's there if you followed the series.

The cast is mostly the same minus some faces we have seen in Season 3. The focus of this movie is on the "main 5" (Shiraishi, Aizawa, Hiyama, Fujikawa and Saejima). All did a wonderful job in portraying their character.

As for the music, you either grew tired of the same tunes by now or they've grown to you. For me it's the second and whenever I hear the melodies, I think of Code Blue.

The movie as the entire series have a high rewatch value. I loved to watch the development of the characters. The medical part is good, the characters likeable, there's a bit of humor and romance. Overall a nice package that will entertain you.

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Great miniseries

The story might not be new with two main leads competing in sports but that's absolutely okay because the drama is entertaining. I laughed a lot in the first episode, the humor was exactly my cup of tea.

For those looking for bromance, well, I see why it's tagged as such because there are scenes of three boys sleeping in one room and accidentally end up cuddling but calling it a bromance is misinterpreting. This drama has no bromance like you see in Goblin or other dramas. It's more like a friendship and sharing the same passion, short track speed skating. That's not a minus though.

The story is perfectly paced in the four episodes. I was a bit sad when it was over, in length it's more like a movie than a drama.
With a bit more focus and backstory on side characters and more scenes of their competitions and trainings it could totally be a longer drama.

The characters are well written and likeable. We even get bits of character development which I don't take for granted in a short drama with only four episodes, even though the shortness makes this development seem a bit abrupt.

In my opinion the cast did a great job. I didn't see any flaws or bad acting.

As for the music, the main theme got into my ears rather fast because the tune is catchy. So definitely another plus.

Would rewatch this drama anytime when I'm in need of something entertaining and light.
Overall a really good watch that I wholeheartedly recommend to check out.

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The story lacked and left me disappointed

Story: The story starts with a bang and picked my interest right away. Within a couple episodes I had my hands full with some characters I got attached to already. I feel grateful that the viewer gets a strong female character with Chu Ran that doesn't act silly or jealous even though she has feelings for one of the male leads.
What I disliked was the story development. There's a lot of dead ends because people who have information on the bad organisation repeatedly die without revealing anything. At some point it's getting predictable and frustrating. Also because the "good side" suffers setbacks often, maybe even too often to still look realistic.
Closer to the end the cat and mouse play between the evil mastermind and Jiang Yuelou gets overwhelming and by that point I could already predict with 100% accuracy what will happen next which left a real bitter taste.
Also, the story does not do the characters justice, the least for the main leads. In the end it leaves you disappointed or even enraged, depending on how much you rooted for certain characters. Personally, I think this drama should come with a disclaimer to not get emotionally attached to ANY character in the drama unless you like to see your favorite character suffer.

Characters: This drama has lots of interesting characters. It starts with Jiang Yuelou who's a character with a backstory that shaped him to the person we see in the drama. (I have to say though, I don't buy the psychic component of Jiang Yuelou's character development. His past is affecting him a lot, so his psychic condition in the end leaves quite some doubts to me.)
In the beginning it's like black n' white to see Yuelou with Chen Yuzhi, a kind and dedicated doctor who does not differ between good or evil when it comes to his patients. Their relationship progress and forming bond of brothers/soulmates becomes a joy to watch throughout the drama. I mentioned Chu Ran before, she's a smart, mature character.
Jin Dacheng comes off as arrogant and shady at first but he was the one responsible for the funniest moments in the drama.
To avoid spoilers I won't mention names. Let's just say that the villain was indeed a twisted/complex character and one you could actually feel sympathy for because there's no clear black or white.

Acting/Cast: The cast did a good job and I think the actors/actresses where well-chosen for their roles. I just wish the script would give them justice because to me it seems like great talent being wasted to a storyline that could've been so much better.

Music: One of my favorites in the drama. It has really beautiful background music and melodic theme songs. Definitely an OST I will keep listen to.

Rewatch Value: Really low because once you know who's the villain the fun of guessing and combining clues is gone. Since the drama contains lots of (emotional) suffering for the characters and the audience I'm not really fond of repeating that.

Overall: 7/10 This could've been such a great drama if it wasn't for the lack of story progress and logic here and there and the disappointing plot in general that lead to an unsatisfying end. Without this flaws I could've easily given the drama a higher rating because I liked the characters, the setting in Republican Era (the costumes), the OST, the acting.

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Cold War is a good crime, thriller movie with an excellent cast. Something I appreciate is that Cold War does not include one action scene after the other, yes we do get explosions and action but they are not dominating the whole movie to cover a mediocre story underneath. Instead the focus is more on the hostage situation and the lingering danger of dealing with a criminal who knows about intern police procedures. This makes the movie one full of suspense and worth listening to the actual dialogues and pay attention to the story. Personally I would have preferred a different end though. I would recommend it to fans of thrillers with a good story and cast.

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The Horrors of War with Flowers in the Midst

Usually I don't watch anything with the topic war because I know I struggle to stomach it and will not be able to get over it anytime soon. What made me go for this movie was the hope it might not end with tragedy after reading some comments outside of MDL about it. (No spoilers about it here)

I recommend this movie with caution because it's not for everyone. If you're sensitive to war topics, cruelty, rape and violence you might be better off by skipping this or watch it in two sessions instead of all at once. (I fast forwarded a few of the gun shooting and pursuit scenes.)

This movie does not cover up the ugly, but shows with very distressful images the characters fear and feel of hopelessness. For example the young girls running from a superiority of Japanese soldiers who wanna catch them alive, you may guess why. In chaos of war not everyone comes out unscathed.

The message of the movie is worth it though as it not only shows the worst in war but also the good. How people gather to help each other, take risks and grow with the challenge.

I liked the movie. I can't say I enjoyed it, because I do not "enjoy" watching violent topics but the movie is well-written and produced. Give it a chance if you consider watching it.

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Unpopular opinion ahead

I watched this movie on local TV (meaning it was dubbed) and thought I share my (unpopular) opinion about it.
While I agree with the majority saying it's a good movie I can't say I enjoyed it much.
Maybe because the style of the director is not my cup of tea. Maybe because I find the things that happened throughout the movie a little bit too much on the disturbing side. I know what I signed up for but the overall feeling of the movie is tense and there is no happiness at all. It does contain a deeper meaning though so the violence comes with a plot. Otherwise I would not have watched it.

The story is focused on the main protagonist Gang Do who visits debtors to collect the money and if they don't pay, beats them up, threatens them or even goes beyond that. Mi Sun, the mysterious woman who claims to be his mother seems to be calm and gentle and despite his aggression and violent behavior stays by his side. The whole story has a plot twist though because Mi Sun carries a dark secret.
The cast does a good job. For me Jo Min Soo stood out the most as Mi Sun but Lee Jung Jin could also portray Gang Do believable.

I didn't pay attention to the music so I can't say anything about it.

Rewatch value is low. I do recommend watching the movie once, for the messages it contains and because it makes you think but one watch is enough for me.

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One of the best dramas of 2020

I chose to watch this because it looked pleasantly different from "mainstream" dramas and fulfilled that expectation.
Birthcare Center is indeed a breath of fresh air and stands out with an extremely talented cast and good production.
This drama manages to tell an interesting story full of humor, moral and doubts with eclectic characters in just 8 episodes. Best is, you can relate to the characters even when you're not a mother yourself.

The story is what draw me in. I found it intriguing to watch a drama about a first-time mother who has no clue about childcare and seems lost in this new world. The first episode is about the pregnancy and birth (non-graphic) and was filled with such great humor that I ended up laughing so hard at most of it and was immediately hooked. Later there were also touching moments that made me cry because I felt for the characters and I was fully into the story by episode 3 and just binge watching it to the end. Definitely worth watching.

The cast is well chosen. Each actress or actor nails the performance of their character and I wouldn't dare to say one stood out. They are equally talented and it's one of those dramas where you have so many interesting characters with so many layers that you just wanna know more about them. Even though this drama is rather short with only 8 episodes, each main character got the chance to shine and shine they did.

I like the OST a lot. It has quite catchy melodies such as SAAY with the song "Hey Mama" and more calming tones in "Beautiful Destiny" by Sohyang and "Revive My Time" by Jayins. Worth listening to on its own.

Birthcare Center has many reasons for rewatching:
- Storyline that does not get boring because it has so many facets (aka amazing script)
- Characters that grow to you
- Outstanding females (characters and actresses)
- Some of the funniest scenes I have ever seen
- Character growth and healing
- Melodrama that is comprehensible and well written
- length of drama is pretty convenient for rewatching

My advise: Give this drama a try. It's a gem!

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A great special episode

This Code Blue Special connects the first Season of Code Blue with Season 2.

It tells the story of the first Season further so I highly recommend to watch Season 1 first as this is not a stand-alone movie.
After the happenings of Season 1 the four interns return to the hospital and are called to a derailed train with lots of injured. There's one scene with a young boy that even I (who is used to watching medical dramas/movies) find quite intense.
I won't give away anything else but I enjoyed this story very much because we get to see a character growth of the interns if you compare the early episodes of Season 1 with this Special.

The cast is the same as in Season 1 and does a really good job.
The music is not changed in this Special which I personally appreciate as I find the OST totally fitting.

Rewatch value is high because I like the cast and story a lot.

Overall I enjoy this series a lot and recommend it to anyone who's looking for a good medical drama. With 3 Seasons and Specials there's a lot of things to keep you entertained.

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Expected more of it

This drama is short and okay. It gave me similar vibes as I'm a Pet at Dali Temple because both female leads turn into a cat and go on a search for magical jade pieces.

The story is good but I wonder why the scriptwriters found it necessary to have a character like Chu Chu.
Her background might be interesting in the future but in the first season she's just an annoyance.
Chu's the stereotype of a female who can't accept that the guy is not returning her love and acts immature and sulky every time she gets turned down. One might think that being rejected multiple times would finally make it go "click" in that nice head of hers but no, she just keeps humiliating herself and throwing away her pride by chasing the male like she's in heat. I mean no offense just that I prefer female characters who are strong and independent, but she's everything but that and I can't identify with this.
The female lead is better but the constant misunderstandings and lack of honest communication or replying at all (isn't it great when party 1 asks for an explanation before jumping to conclusions and party 2 just stubbornly stays silent and let the misunderstanding even arise in the first place?) is frustrating.
I admit the way they make up is cute but I think a bit less "hot then cold and yes then no" would do the drama good.

Acting is good, maybe a tiny bit overacted at some parts but overall okay and bearable.
I like the cast and chemistry that you can see by the little extra scenes after each episode.

The music fits the drama and is nice. Not a symphonic masterpiece of art but right for the drama with an upbeat tune in the opening for example.

Rewatch value is pretty low because I find nothing that would make me interested enough to go for a rewatch. Watching this once is enough for me. Overall I think the drama is okay, not comparable to high budget productions but doing good enough for a drama to introduce actors and make audience interesting in watching more of them. I'll watch season 2 and see if the story and character develop.

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I'm gonna miss this cast

That was my first thought after finishing this season.

I liked the previous casts and adaptions, but to be honest I think I liked this cast the most.
In my opinion the drama picked up pace in the second season and we get to see a nice additional character (I fell for the sassy Dao Fu).
Previously supporting characters become main characters which I appreciated a lot as I love this drama for its characters and the teamwork.

The second season continues the story where Season 1 left it. Wu Xie prepares to go search for Thunder City and gathers people to build a team. Now I mentioned in the last review for the previous season that the drama is one of the victims of Chinese censorship and this applies also to this season but overall I think it did get out of it better.
There's one plot hole that is quite obvious and also a bit annoying when you tend to dwell on stuff like that but it does not lead to any lasting consequences which is good enough for me.

The Horror genre misses here for a good reason. Aside from some flashbacks to season 1 in the first three episodes we rarely get to see something scary and the few things are easy to deal with even when you're not into stuff like this.
I liked how the story progressed and I think it wrapped up in a satisfying way. The end is not rushed and well chosen.

The cast stays mostly the same, a few characters go and a few become more important in this season. The acting is good, no complains on my side.

The OST is the same as in the previous season which is totally okay as I really like the songs a lot.

Rewatch value is middle to high. The mystery part is solved once the drama is completed but I would rewatch for the interactions of characters anyway so it would not spoil the fun in a rewatch.

For me this drama was a solid production, not entirely flawless (hence not a 10 rating) but well written and produced with a well-chosen cast. Can definitely recommend.

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