porkman

While this film is more subtle and perhaps the plot is less impactful compared to some of Park's past films, I found this quite thought provoking and appreciated the extra touches of elegance. Both leads are very convincing, with Tang showcasing many of her strengths. The shortcoming was that the second half felt slightly scattered, and (for me) required a bit of rewatching to fully understand. There are a lot of points for discussion, mainly regarding the title..

I think it depends, there's no guarantee that anything sci-fi will appeal to the international audience. Apparently the humour and personality in Choi Dong Hoon's films are very "Korean" and hard to translate.
I know the main cast are already established and well-known in their generation, but they're not veteran household names like Lee Jungjae and Kim Hyesoo. While JJH headlined assassination, she was the youngest in the main cast iirc. To some extent, CDH has relied on star casting to guarantee box office success in the past. For instance, the biggest draw for The Thieves was its lineup.
To give part 2 the push it needs, they have to establish an audience for part 1 first perhaps by releasing it on OTT. Or part 2 might be straight to netflix.

I love this webtoon! I'm curious to see how they will recreate the "horror" in the webtoon that comes mostly from imagery of the main character's paranoia and hallucinations. Hope this comes to Netflix.

This is definitely the biggest risk Choi has taken on yet, sci-fi has never been well received in SK and the main cast are relatively younger and less influential compared to his previous films.
I read that the production cost for both parts are astronomical, so I really hope the situation improves. If this incurs a huge loss, who knows if the second part can get a theatre release. It might also have a severe impact on future investments for projects from Choi or blockbusters in the same genre.

I heard this film is underperforming and getting mixed reviews. It's a shame but not really surprising considering SK is still new and inexperienced in sci-fi. From the trailer, it seems quite extravagant and childish, but it looks entertaining. Will probably still see it for myself since I'm a fan of some of the director's previous works.

Binged this within 2 days, I will say it's solid. Even though they left several things unexplained, it kept my attention quite early on and the 2 leads were smart enough to keep things fast paced. I think the transition phase where they started becoming emotionally drained was well done and they became more intuitive partners over time, which I liked.

My biggest complaint is the usual, completely unnecessary romance which halted the flow of the story. I did not sign up for that. Oh well, still giving this a solid 8/10. I think younger audiences will like this more.

This kind of show isn't my thing but checked out part of the first episode for Kim Taeri, she has that sort of old-school Hong Kong actress vibe but with a baby face. She is childish and adorable but yeah, still isn't really my thing lol. I can't help but feel the color scheme is too 'modern' for that era. Might come back after more episodes air.

Finally watched this after seeing all the mixed reviews and yeah, they're understandable lol.
Based on my understanding, it's basically a social commentary on religion and power structures in society, and the teddy bears are an allegory that signifies death. The first 3 episodes were great and kept me hooked, but the show went downhill in the middle. The lack of government response and just unrealistic events in general made me suspend my belief too many times. I get that it's on the "abstract" side but I still expected a certain level of realism here. Even looking past those, it failed to keep my attention after the revelations were over and the most charismatic character (Yoo Ah In) died. Not to mention, the series is incomplete. I really liked the whole concept but because of these flaws I felt that the whole social message failed to be delivered effectively.

The show just turned into straight up fantasy at some point. For a moment during the ending, it looked like a live-action The Little Prince, except it's a princess lol.

Surprisingly, this felt a bit… dry (pun unintended). The premise is interesting enough, but the big reveal failed to impress me, in fact I enjoyed the earlier episodes more. The acting is solid but the character writing was lacking. Sorry but Gong Yoo’s character feels a bit like a rehash of his char in train to busan. The only one I could kinda connect with was Dr Song, because they showed her backstory the most and… she’s Bae Doona. So overall it failed to evoke much emotion in me.

Still have to give props, the suspense and unfolding of the mystery was well done. Actors could convince me whenever they were struggling and low on oxygen. The water duplicating is pretty interesting and I appreciate the attempt to show the contrast between the desire for water and literally drowning in pursuit of water. But tbh, still not a very good attempt at sci-fi.

I think it's to keep her character secretive. Very talented child actress.

Kim Si Ah, she was also young Ashin in Kingdom ashin of the north.

Looking past the absurdities in the finale, I think this show is still worth watching. I really don't know how I should rate this. I had certain expectations going into this due to the writer, but I soon realised this was going to be something different so I just continued to see where it would go. My opinion of this show constantly alternated between "what the hell did I just watch" and "wow, I have never seen this before" and different episodes sometimes felt like they belonged to different genres.

I feel like the mystery of making various characters a suspect is an insertion so that viewers won't find it too out of the ordinary. What I hoped this show had done, was just to go all the way in what they were really trying to say. I wouldn't mind the whole drama being completely abstract and making zero scientific sense, as long as it was consistent. I guess they couldn't since they need to keep it public friendly due to the huge investments.

It feels slightly jarring when the supernatural and realistic elements coexist. It does feel like they make one overpower the other whenever they feel is convenient. But I appreciate the attempt of showing the limitations of human ability, in the face of the unpredictability and ruthlessness of nature. How even in that circumstance, some people are willing to go all the way to save others. Even in real life, when such tragedy happens, there is no explanation and there's no one to blame. The only thing we could do is to remember.

Ok I correct myself. If you consider very subtle flirting to be romance, then maybe yes lol.

No.

I'm just sitting here after the finale, thinking... Wtf did I just watch. Ngl, I really burst out laughing a few times.

Just curious, in what way do you feel her acting is off?

I'm convinced that everyone's gonna die and be happy mountain ghosts together in the last episode. They're such dedicated rangers that they spend their whole life on Jirisan, even in death they shall roam (haunt) Jirisan lmfao

Main criticisms are 1) the CGI in the first few episodes, 2) the back-and-forth storytelling, 3) the plot just doesn't click with them, 4) the slow pace.
For (1) the reaction was overblown and the CGI was hardly used after the first ~3 eps.
(2) is the biggest problem which made some confused but as long as you don't fast-forward many scenes you should be able to keep up.
(3) is just up to your personal taste. Some scenes are dedicated to showing how rangers rescue people and confront natural disasters etc. which are what some people find boring. However those were well-executed and are connected to the main plot.
(4) also up to your taste. The mystery is a slow burn.

Reasons to watch: Imo it gets better as it goes on. Also it doesn't follow a particular formula and can be pretty unpredictable. Despite the flaws, it also has some genuinely good/moving moments. Mostly, the setting and premise is unique, it deals with political ecology and the power of nature.
Tl;dr, just watch it and see if you like it lol.

Yeah it did not fit in with today's scenes. Or the show in general tbh. Not that it's a bad song, but it sounds like a modern romance song that belongs in a romance drama. It's actually the sigur ros soundtrack that triggers emotions and fits the mountain theme the best.