mya
my pc ♡
A good remake
This is a solid remake. I know it's originally based off of a Spanish movie, but I've only seen the Korean one. So, first things first, in terms of the two, I definitely recommend the Chinese version.This film felt purposeful. There is a motive to wanting to tell this story. If you wait until the end, there are some comments made about how women constantly feel unsafe living alone because of the possibility of bad things happening. And this film chose to help audiences understand this.
In terms of the plot, there was a lot. The Korean version felt a bit too obvious, But this version had quite a few red herrings, and there were so many people the main character (not the audience) could trust. The stakes were higher because of this.
Additionally, it was actually quite terrifying at times. Just thinking about the possibility of being in her position is enough to make anyone scared. And this film really captured that. At times, you see her do small things to make it seem like there's a man home because she already felt unsafe. And despite that, she is still targeted.
All in all, it achieved its goal and in my opinion, was a successful adaptation that didn't follow its Korean counterpart
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A comforting drama to watch if you're feeling burnt out!
I finished this drama a while back but realised today that there were no reviews and less than 350 watchers. So, I'm here to convince you to watch this drama.It's a drama focused on Jun Hee, a keyboardist, running away from her life (literally) when she becomes too overwhelmed with everything. Despite being stressed out and burnt out, she finds solace in a boarding house where she gets to know Ren. Through managaing the boarding house, they come together to help others, but also themselves.
It's a beautifully told story surrounding stimulation in today's society surrounding being successful and what goes into being successful, but also happy. And the importance of facing your problems rather than always running away from them. Just like other Japanese dramas, this does not force any sort of romance between the main characters. Instead, it portrays healthy friendships between everyone, along with communication. It also features some great songs :)
I watched this during a relatively stressed out week where I was trying to finish my many assignments for university and it provided the perfect break which reminded me to take it slow. It's definitely something to watch when you're feeling overwhelmed and just need a break from everything. I also want to run away to the boarding house sometimes!
ps. a song which encapsulates this drama is A Sweeter Place (Selena Gomez and Kid Cudi).
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The 5283 beginning service
It was great and that's all that matters lmaoIt was nice to be reunited with these characters again, despite feeling quite different from the first season to the point that they almost felt like different dramas.
I do think that the beginning two episodes weren't amazing at setting up the season because I did find myself a bit confused with what happened. But episode 4 was HILARIOUS.
I don't think the running storyline throughout wasn't really compelling enough for me at all times, and there were certain things that I was expecting that didn't end up happening which is ok. To be fair, it did feel slightly less dark and I doo feel like I've seen certain storylines in other kdramas specifically, e.g. the cult week episodes.
Still a solid season with characters I still love <3
ps don't take this review too seriously, I just want to make my mark to able to remember that I watched this as it aired.
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So, without being bias, I will say it's my favourite film out of all of them. Seeing all of Oya High together and friends was the best part for me. And of course, Kazuma's character (Fujio) is as friendly as ever which makes him endearing to watch.
I also think the character stories for Amagi and Suzaki was unique compared to other friends in this franchise. Suzaki especially because you can see in his actions and gaze that he's conflicted about a few things. And the overall message that is conveyed, mostly about friendship and unity adds to the story.
The directing and fight scenes have also gotten much better and it was really cool to see the transitions from one fight to another. And the OST was also so great, I really need to add all these songs to my playlist.
After months of anticipation and excitement, I can proudly say they they exceeded my expectations!
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You're pretty much just thrown into a world where there's gamblings and even weird murder games. The backstories are not particularly fleshed out, which is fine because it's a 2 hour film, but I would've liked to have seen more about Yokohama Ryusei's character's backstory.
One fault(?) I would like to point out is that it was too predictable. There wasn't much tension or suspense because of that. This film can be compared to many other dramas and films and those all have much higher stakes and had a much more interesting execution, for example, the card games played.
Not really sure how I feel about the acting to be honest. It was ok but sometimes felt like characters were doing too much to come across as cool. The blonde guy was cool though.
I have no recollection of there being any music but there might have been.
This might come across as a negative review but I still had a fun time watching the film regardless. The card games were fun, especially seeing Yokohama Ryusei's character calling other characters a liar. So, it's a fun time regardless!!
One last thing to add: I need more of Yokohama Ryusei with this hair style
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This review may contain spoilers
You know those dramas you love, but admit aren't perfect, but still give a good rating to?Yeah, this is one of those. I watched episodes 2-15 in these past 4 days and was so excited for today's last episode. And was I slightly disappointed? Yes. But do I still love this drama? Absolutely!!!
ps. This is not an actual though out review. I just want to make physical proof of my feelings after finishing this so that I can look back on this later. I may re-watch this in the future and write up an actual review in the future though
****WHY I LOVED IT***
- love being in prison. loved prison playbook and one ordinary day for that setting. and it was the same with this
- love seeing a married couple (that didn't involve infidelity). Flower of Evil showed that
- an amazing antagonist. Not the typical rich and powerful guy who is trying to cover up his scandals. It's a guy who wanted a revenge but became evil because of it. And he also used his connections to become powerful.
- lowkey loved gong jihoon. (I saw another person call him the only winner and they're so right lol). He got the happy ending he wanted and didn't have to kill someone to get there (i don't think...)
****Some things that have me slightly confused:****
- thinking back, changho could have been anyone, right? wasn't he chosen on a whim because he was "incompetent". Also, at the end of the 1st ep, they made it seem like he was going to have a really big shift in character. And when that didn't happen in ep 2, I thought he was going to get shot in prison in his head and then it would mess with his brain and then his personality would change (because that is possible and it has happened IRL). So essentially, changho just had really bad luck which causes him A LOT OF PAIN - including his freaking wife dying!! OMFG
- the blood tests. Miho gave the fakes to Jihoon, but for what? He gave them to the elder but I'm not sure what impact they had
- the real serial killer son. He was mentioned at the end in regards to the autopsy, but that's it. And how the tf did they just let a serial killer run around America without being worried he would repeat certain actions?? He was never shown either.
- also, Changho got the old man in the care home released, but where did he go?
- where tf was Miho's funeral?? They could have made it 10x sadder is they showed EVERYONE (including the gangsters and even Jihoon sad and grieving at her funeral). And then, they'd have even more resolve to defeat Doha. and it was a bit sudden. like. she only got exposed to it ONCE. she hardly lasted longer than the boy who has probably been exposed to it multiple times
- and they just resolved everything in black and white montage at the end?? are you kidding? where was the satisfaction? the vincenzo killings at the end were satisfying. This? not so much. I was watching the last ep and kept checking how long was left because it was so rushed all of a sudden
- oh, and something about the way they killed off the OG Big Mouse pisses me off. He was doing this to avenge his daughter, and I don't think he got the justice.
- same with he guy who died at the start who wrote the paper. and also, that guy who killed his wife...wtf? I was waiting for him to panic and tell everyone but he didn't. And they didn't even find out that Doha helped cover the murder
- I just think there was a lot of unnecessary deaths, or at least when they died
- not really important but I don't see why miho quit her job at the prison. she probably could have gotten more info from continuing to work there
***
despite there being so many confusing things (and I'm sure there's more), the bad DOES NOT outweigh the cons. Still loved this. It also became a bit of emotional support for me, so maybe that's why I love it so much. I might also keep adding to this as I think of more things
Overall: 9/10
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It's a pretty self-explanatory concept - a bunch of kids are locked in school where they must do their best to survive.
Yes, it's relatively predictable, and doesn't necessarily offer something new that hasn't already been done, but it's still interesting and a fun, mindless watch. Of course despite this, there is a lot of gore. So be mindful if it's not your thing. Especially since most of the deaths are by suicide.
The cast did a good job, with some actors playing roles I had never seen them do, which was refreshing to watch. You don't find out too much about the characters' backstory, but their individual personalities are made quite clear, and you find yourself aligning with certain characters and rooting for them.
Definitely something to give a try if you're interested in this trope/genre and like the actors.
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This review may contain spoilers
because this is my first life: Sexism, misogyny, and discrimination against women in the workplace
After completing BTIMFL for the second time, I became aware of the reoccurring theme of the treatment of women, especially within the workplace.The opening scene features a narration of the FL (Ji Ho, played by Jung So Min) explaining how she grew up in a patriarchal household, where she was pretty much ignored and disregarded. Her freedom never came to her until she was much older. In fact, her father only really shows an interest in her when she says she is getting married.
The FL has to go through various situations in which she is treated horribly by her male coworker, which leads to her other coworkers defending him and supporting him, rather than siding with the FL, the victim. This causes her to quit once she realises that they would have just continued to use her and discredit her. She has no voice within her workplace simply due to the fact that she is a woman.
The 2nd FL (Soo Ji), played by Esom, also has to experience similar discrimination with her being a female, along with the fact that she has a stigma around her for her personal choice to be sex-positive and not committed to relationships. The judgment she faces is addressed in a conversation with her romantic partner, in which she explains the hypocrisy of being a woman and the double-edged sword that is constantly pointed at her regardless of the choices she makes.
We also see their mothers who have sacrificed their own happiness for the sake of their daughters, and in turn, their daughters who have been able to have a better life. The FLs are able to realise how much their mothers have done for them, thus making them closer with them as they are able to appreciate them.
Admittedly, the other FL, Ho Rang (played by Kim Ga Eun, was quite annoying during my first watch due to some of her selfish choices. However, upon my rewatch, I can notice and understand her and her actions. To her, the traditional route of becoming a housewife is what she desires. In a scene after a school reunion, we see how she feels less than her school peers who are married with children. Struggling to get by with little money, she aspires to get married and settle down in order to not feel so inferior. Her pride holds onto the idea of one day being able to settle down, and constantly boasts about her long-time boyfriend, yet struggles to be upfront with him and tell him what she wants from their relationship. Hence why some of her decisions come across as selfish and ignorant. Additionally, there are a few scenes in which both she and a coworker are criticised by a male superior, further perpetuating the idea that she is less than and worthless even.
These characters all display how the patriarchy invites hypocrisy and condescending behaviour due to the choices made by women. Whilst these characters are able to be happy in the end, the sexism they face continues. Despite the 20th and 21st centuries showing the change with laws, enabling women to have a bigger presence within the public sphere, attitudes towards women remain the same from a macro perspective. BTIMFL is a great example of this, which is why I highly recommend this drama. The actors all showcase their characters uniquely, showing the different sides to adulthood, the workplace, and romance.
11 07 21
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A Quick and Refreshing Drama Incorporating Covid
Kitamura Takumi has once again delivered!!He plays a character who has hardly left home due to the pandemic, but somehow ends up trying to solve a missing person's case. It all starts with him being a typical (but quite creepy...) internet sleuth which many of us can probably relate to (albeit his determination is probably different from most of ours).
It's short and sweet and refreshing. A quick watch for anyone who likes a bit of a mystery and enjoys the technological element of it, especially since his character spends a majority of the time in his bedroom at home. In fact, a lot of his communication with other characters happens over video calls and messages which can be quite comedic at times.
Definitely give it a try if you want something short but interesting to fill your time.
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Eh...
The show actually started off pretty entertaining and it was fun. But then it fell short due to something a lot of Chinese dramas do - drag out the episodes. Over 30 episodes? It's too much. The first third was engaging. The middle was a letdown because of how boring and slow it got. The characters also became gradually more annoying and went through the opposite of character development. The endings of the episodes also became underwhelming and I had no desire to continue watching the next episode because of how dull they ended. The last third improved but still lacked the excitement I felt when I first started watching it.Apart from the pacing, my other criticism is the characters. Firstly, I just didn't care at all for the side characters. None of them were intriguing and they added no contribution. The ML became more annoying. His female friend would constantly bad mouth the FL in front of her and behind her back to him and he didn't defend her. the FL can obviously fight her own battles (which she did), but that was HIS friend. And she was always coming in between the two for petty reasons. The ML showed a lack of emotion when the girl he liked was being insulted and demeaned right in front of his face, but you best believe he got pissed when he saw her took to her male friend. This male friend was the only character I cared about but most of his scenes were dull, however. He did like the FL but he never acted on that or made her feel uncomfortable (unlike the female friend following the ML around).
Now, my problem with the FL. Why was she trying to act like a therapist? First, she and the model FL went out of their way to find out something personal about the ML. They went behind his back because he wouldn't tell them, most likely because he didn't trust them. So clearly finding something out about him that he didn't want them to know would only decrease the amount of trust he had for them. Then, she tried to tell the ML to move on from the trauma that's been following him for a decade. She's a fashion designer, not a therapist. And she also has no right to tell him when he should move on. If she genuinely cared about him, she should encourage him to seek professional help.
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Unfortunately, this did not deliver...
I'll do my best to break it down.CHARACTERS AND RELATIONSHIPS
For the ML, I was underwhelmed. I feel like I've seen Seo In Guk in this comedic role one too many times with litttle to no development. And the thing is, his character HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL!! He was a CRIMINAL PROFILER!! They could have done so much with that but the writers underperformed. He was funny but a bit dopey. Also, he was supposed to be able to fight but hardly ever did...? And was just a scaredy-cat most of the time instead. But he really pulled off the shamanism and took his job seriously and was quite funny at times.
And speaking of underperforming, the FL... What was going through the writers' minds? In recent years, there seems to be this conflation between strong female leads and annoying female leads. Because oh my god, was she the epitome of annoying for the first half of this drama. She constantly abused her position of power as a cop and was always hitting the ML. Physical abuse is not cute. And it doesn't make her cool or quirky. I will say that girlie is getting a lot of hate and they're dropping just because of her but I don't think she's the worst part of this drama (which I'll discuss later). But yes, I do agree she's been written poorly.
And the relationship between the two? Well, the first half consists of her abusing him and just being mean af to him. And then, we are expected to ship them. It felt so forced because they wasn't any chemistry between them. They were established as enemies (despite having the same goal)but they failed trying to do the enemies to lovers trope because she spent so much time doubting him and not believing him. Instead, they should have had more playful banter if they wanted us to be able to ship them despite being "enemies". But with me being me, of course I'm going to start rooting for them. I can't not root for them. It's instinctual.
And for the side characters, I didn't care much for the characters as much as I did for the way they interacted. The Café Minamdang crew were hilarious!! The really kept the drama going with their chemistry.
PLOT
I don't even know what happened. One minute I knew what was going on, then suddenly, it became like every murder plot. To be fair, it wasn't exactly like that and I'm definitely over exaggerating. But I felt like we (the audience and the characters) weren't really get anywhere as I watched each episode. I'm not even sure how the story progressed. And it felt a bit lacklustre because even though we were aware of certain things, there was still a lot not explained for most of the drama so I found it hard to stay connected and interested. It would have been much better if there was some dramatic irony where we knew something major that the characters didn't. It would have created so much more suspense and would have kept the drama engaging. For example, the victim was a bit mysterious. We know exactly who it is but there wasn't enough tension built around why. The motive was unexplained for the most part.
It did have a strong start. It was entertaining and fun despite the characters being annoying. The middle became lacklustre even though the characters finally became tolerable. I frequently found myself just waiting for the drama to be over. The last four episodes is where things picked up and I was genuinely having a good time. But I'm not going to be annoying and tell you to tick it out and watch it despite the negative comments. You can make the decision yourself based on whether you think it's worth it or not.
And the writers did try with the romance and I guess there was supposed to be comedic relief but I don't think it was timed well. I'm not sure how to word this part well to be honest. The best way I can explain is that the comedic scene would be in the same scene as a very serious topic. And even though they weren't making fun of it, it's obvious they were trying to relieve tension. But I just don't think it worked. It would have been better if they changed the scene and setting and then made a joke I think, because it sometimes felt ill-timed and even inappropriate. But for the most part, I did like the comedy.
This is definitely a show that could have done with just 12 episodes. Cutting out the middle fluff would have made it more exciting. For example, they tried to make it kind of deep towards the end (raising questions about morality, injustices within the police, etc but it felt out of the blue). If they had tried to do this early on, then it would have made sense and would have been more unique. Instead, we got an over the top plot at the start and an action packed end, and it didn't really balance out well.
OVERALL
Not the most unique drama. But what it does having going for it is the shamanism - the most funny scenes in my opinion. I'm sad to say that I do think that it underperformed in many aspects and was just very weak overall. Not sure I'd be able to recommend it to anyone unless. I personally only watched it for SIG. My rating comes to 7 right now only because of the lat four episodes, otherwise, it probably would have been a 6.5
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The concept was quite enticing, but completely predictable. I already knew what had happened and also how it was going to end quite early on. And it was quite on the shorter side. I do think they could've tried to expand it just a bit and made it slightly longer. And even though I saw a lot of it coming, I was still very interested to see whether it would end in the way I had predicted.
There was quite a bit of symbolism that I did not understand. There was a blue feather which the MC does explain, I just don't remember what he said about it. There's also a painting involved. And I'm sure if I knew the painting, I would understand the film much better. There was also some stuff around motherhood from two different perspectives - a mother, and someone who doesn't have a mother.
Some moments/things I want to mention:
- towards the beginning, the MC says something like, 'your otaku son is really weird yanno. He only ate curry. Who does he thing he is, an Indian?' It caught me off guard so I had to rewind it so I could laugh for a two minutes straight. (I am ethnically Indian btw)
- +1 for the otaku son having the same DS as me
- +1 again for the otaku son's mother crocheting in the film. I had my own project next to me so I picked it up so we could crochet together lmao, but we hold our hooks differently.
I found it quite uncomfortable at times, but I liked that. But it wasn't out there enough for me, personally, I enjoyed the process of watching it, but I don't have much to discuss beyond that.
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The antagonist's actions were also a lot more tame than I was expecting. Without spoiling it, I just think they could have done more crazy things once he had access to the main characters' devices.
I do like that there was a plot twist that wasn't related to the current stalking situation. It was pretty interesting, but I don't think there was enough build-up towards it to make me feel invested and interested in finding out the truth.
Truthfully, I was only interested in this because of the upcoming Korean adaptation , but once I saw the cast, I was a lot more excited to watch it, and I did think it fell flat, unfortunately.
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This review may contain spoilers
oh my god... the wait is finally over
I already know there's going to be a lot of reviews for this drama, so I want to focus on something a little different for mine.I don't think I need to convince anyone on this page to watch this drama, because assuming you've already seen season 1, you'll probably already want to continue and find out the answers to everything (which you'll get this season).
So, I want to focus on life and death. We already saw in season 1 Arisu's behaviour. He was introverted and a social outcast. And then, he's thrown into a game where you could literally lose his life, so he plays. But of course, not everything goes well, and we end up seeing Arisu's depressive behaviour, his hopelessness as he's giving up. But then, once again, he's determined to win, understand the game, and then make sure all his friends make it back with him.
Cue season 2, and we see a similar pattern where other characters start to question the meaning of life. They're sick of being in Borderland. But this time, it's Arisu who picks them to and gives them a shoulder to lean on. It's him who shows them they should try their hardest to keep living.
Seeing the backstories of the characters in season 1, and then finding out the backstories of season 2's new characters (along with Chishiya's finally), I've noticed a pattern which can link all these characters by a thread. They all question life. They wonder why the rich always succeed, whilst the weak and poor are made to suffer. This show is filled with characters who have all undergone loss in some form in their lives, and once in Borderland, it's what they choose to do with the lessons they've learnt that will ultimately help them survive. Or at least probably.
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A disappointing book-to-film adaptation
Unfortunately, I don't think I can recommend this film to anyone. For the people who have also read the book, you'll be disappointed in the execution. And for the people who haven't, you'll be confused with most of the scenes.It's a film following Toru, a reserved university student who finds himself liking two girls - Naoko, who is dealing with mental health issues; and Midori, a fellow student who is a bit of an enigma. Whilst in the book Toru is very introspective and is able to analyse the relationship dynamics he has with the other characters, film Toru is mostly just a bit contemplative. Clearly, it is very character driven.
Despite that, it seems as if some characters have been toned down a lot. So we end up with a bunch of characters that more or less feel the same in terms of tone, mannerisms, personality, etc. This makes quite a few of the interactions slightly bland at times. Toru, Natsumi, and Midori were probably the most true to the original source material, and were best cast in my opinion.
The problem with this film is that it is very disjointed. From the perspective of someone who has read the book, it feels as of I'm in a literature class and have been given a handful of extracts of the book and I've been made to try and decipher what is happening. It lacks I'm both cohesion, and coherence.
The problem with the lack of structure means that a lot of scenes don't make sense. Since some scenes are cut out to not be too long, we're left with shortened scenes which don't add anything to the plot. For example, a scene between Toru and Midori's father is cut. Instead, we're introduced to him, only for him to stop being mentioned after 3 or so minutes. This leads to a lack of development for many characters, including Naoko's friend, Reika, making their presence seem pointless. The lack of explanation for many scenes invoking certain characters just leads to confusion. And for the scenes included from the book, the dialogue is a carbon copy from the book, not adding anything new, once again, leading to many gaps which are not explained.
And despite leaving a lot out from the book, it is a painfully long film. Since not much happens in the book, the film wasn't able to capture enough of the characters' situations and feelings well enough in order for the film to be the least bit engaging. And mentioned before, some of the characters felt the same.
Although the music fit, it easily could have put me to sleep, especially during the scenes where the characters are having a quiet and slow conversation.
Another thing to note is that it's a particularly quiet film to the point that I can hear the wind and trees more than the characters' voices. However, there are few moments where suddenly, characters are shouting, which caught me off guard since I had turned up the volume quite a bit in order to hear them.
If this was remade today, I do think that it would be a lot better. The only problem is that the author has very sexist views which bleed into his work (including this one), so it would be interesting to see how those aspects (i.e. the male gaze) are improved upon or changed without taking from the overall meaning or plot. Also, as a heads up, Toru has sex with nearly every woman within a 5 mile radius of him, or at least thinks about it. The only exception is Natsumi, who in my opinion, is someone Toru respects and sees almost as a sister in my opinion (at least in the book).
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