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  • Last Online: Jan 19, 2023
  • Location: Singapore
  • Contribution Points: 88 LV2
  • Birthday: September 22
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  • Join Date: August 4, 2011

rachel

Singapore

rachel

Singapore
Completed
Bad Guys
1 people found this review helpful
by rachel
Apr 10, 2020
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
Bad Guys seems to be one of those cult favourites that has a fervent but small fan base. So there was quite a bit of anticipation on my part to watch this drama.

The Koreans love their gritty and violent crime dramas and this show is firmly in that category. There is plenty of dark humour which is befitting of the themes in this show and brought some much needed comic relief to the heavy subject matter.

Kim Sang Joong does a tremendous job. Although Park Hae Jin does appear to be in the spotlight of the story for a good chunk of the show, i do believe Kim Sang Joong’s detective character is the true lead of the show.

The 11 episodes were definitely not enough to delve into all the backgrounds and backstories of the three ‘bad guys’, but there was enough story to pique a viewer’s interest in seeing these characters onscreen again. If the writers were gunning for a sequel for this show they definitely made sure they had plenty of material to write one.

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Lucid Dream
1 people found this review helpful
by rachel
Sep 22, 2019
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 5.5
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 6.0
The synopsis of the show sounds like a rip-off of the lucid dream concept in Inception. Unfortunately it is a poor attempt to replicate the success of Inception.

In terms of the story, on one hand the pacing feels rushed. On the other hand, I understand the need to dive straight in to the main crux of the storyline - the lucid dreams and follow-up detective work. There is a twist towards the end of the movie that honestly is not all that surprising.

Go Soo does a decent job and most of the other characters are quite ancillary to his character. But honestly, 'rubbish in rubbish out'. A good actor can only do so much with mediocre material.

A slightly entertaining watch.

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Completed
Player
1 people found this review helpful
by rachel
May 5, 2019
14 of 14 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 6.5
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
The first motley-crew heist drama I watched was Squad 38. That story really had quit a number of twists and turns, coupled with some good chemistry amongst the cast. There are probably earlier ones in the Korean drama world but Squad 38 is the first one that comes to mind when comparing Player with other heist dramas.

To me there are 2 important factors to make this show enjoyable - solid plot twists that will take the viewer by surprise and great cast chemistry. In terms of the cast, they're alright. Song Seung Heon is polished and sleek, Krystal does a decent job, and Lee Shi Eon serves his purpose as comic relief in the team. But in terms of storyline and plot, this show was somewhat lacking. At several pivotal moments in the show, I could predict what would happen next in the story. Plus some of the cons pulled off by the characters were almost too smooth and easy to be believable or true. Of course, this is a drama so it requires some suspension of belief. But still, I was not that impressed.

Still, for all its predictability, it was an enjoyable show.

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Man to Man
1 people found this review helpful
by rachel
Mar 16, 2019
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 6.5
The biggest issues I had with this show were with the storyline. The spy storyline moved pretty quickly in the first three quarters of the show, and it left me wondering how else the writer would fill out the remaining 4 episodes of the show. This resulted in the storyline slowing significantly in the final quarter of the show, and I even felt bored towards the end of the show. It also felt like the show didn't quite know what to do with the romance storyline in the show. There wasn't enough build-up in the romance to keep me invested in the relationship between the 2 main characters.

Ironically, it was the relationship between Park Sung-woong's and Park Hae-jin's character that felt the most rewarding and kept me the most invested.

This was a great cast and they acted the heck out of the script. It was so pleasant to watch Park Sung-woong act as a goofball, since he can most often be seen acting in serious roles (both good guys and villains). Kim Min-jung and Park Hae-jin are drama veterans so they definitely did a great job.

Still an entertaining watch overall.

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Yong Pal
0 people found this review helpful
by rachel
Oct 28, 2018
18 of 18 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 4.0
The drama started out strong; it was suspenseful, exciting, and made you root for Tae-hyun and Yeo-jin, the two lead characters. However, as the drama went on, the show became less medical drama and more of a drama about corporate antics/manipulation and companies trying to out-manoeveur each other. To be very frank, I started to become pretty bored of the show at the halfway point and I had to drag myself through to the very end. To make things worse, the Tae-hyun character seemed to be become quite useless and toothless, compared to his gung-ho stunts and cockiness (in a good way) at the start of the show.

The love story was really not very convincing, but OK, I rolled with it anyway.

The ending felt like the writers had run out of ideas and just decided to write a WTF-worthy ending for us.

On the technical and behind-the-scenes aspects of the show, the first episode featured a few really bad editing screw-ups, including terrible, terrible CGI. Joo Won also looked extremely exhausted by the end of the drama. Very obvious that the live-shoot system caught up with the show by the end of it.

A plus point is that this show features strong female characters, who aren't simply helpless damsels-in-distress crying out for the male characters to rescue them.

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Radiant Office
1 people found this review helpful
by rachel
Apr 28, 2018
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
The show started off with an interesting premise, and a focus on what is probably a society-wide trend in Korea of youth unemployment. It was very much focused on the plight of our 3 main characters. However, as the characters settled into their roles in the office and the show reached the halfway mark, the story began to be bogged down by petty and sometimes frustrating office politics. When I reached the end of one episode, I found myself not looking forward to continuing onto the next episode.

Before watching this I had never seen Go Ah Sung in any show before. She did well with the character and the material she had. I had only ever seen Lee Dong Hwi in a comical role in Reply 1988 so it was nice to see him show off his dramatic chops in this show. Hoya's acting felt a little bit stiff. I am a huge fan of Ha Seok Jin so I really have no complaints about him in this show.

Overall, an okay watch which was enjoyable at times but a bit draggy in the second half of the show.

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The Prison
2 people found this review helpful
by rachel
Jan 7, 2018
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
Another Korean crime movie, another story about corrupt government officials. It always makes me wonder if I'm just watching the same story in a slightly different form.

EVEN so, the story was well-executed and acted that I was glued to my screen throughout the movie.

Kim Rae-won and Han Seok Kyu, the two main leads, are both fantastic. Kim Rae-won's grit, perseverance, and desperation to avenge his brother is clear and wins you over quickly at the start of the show. Han Seok Kyu, despite playing an evil character, commands the screen every time he is in a scene and makes you root for him even though he is truly a despicable character. There are a few other actors who would hold top billing in their own right but played supporting characters in this movie, to add to the star quality already leading the movie.

The story escalates quickly to a thrilling end, and I was pretty satisfied with the way the story was resolved and how it ended.

As for music, the use of instrumental music to build up the suspense of certain scenes is one of the better ones I've seen amongst other Korean action movies.

A very entertaining watch with some great performances from the leads.

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Mood of the Day
3 people found this review helpful
by rachel
Dec 31, 2017
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 5.0
I didn't really go into this movie expecting a lot; but it was still disappointing. Korea seems to be good at churning out romantic comedies, but not many of them would make the cut as a 'good' romantic comedy.

I only watched this because I like Moon Chae Won and Yoo Yeon Seok. I guess that's how other viewers would have been hooked into watching the movie. The premise of it taking place on a KTX train was interesting too.

The premise of the show was slightly misleading - I thought the whole movie would take place on a KTX train, but really, it was just the start of the movie. From then, many of the usual rom-com cliches kicked in. A girl struggling in her high heels, taken for granted by, plus a playboy who likes to sleep around, but who is actually, deep down inside, a romantic and sincere man at heart. I just felt like I've seen all this before.

The addition of the subplot of trying to locate a up-and-coming basketball player really did not serve much purpose or give more meaning or depth to the movie. Jo Jae Yoon was as usual, some small comic relief, but not enough to excite me about the movie on the whole.

Overall, if you're looking for some light comic relief and need something to pass your weekend afternoon, you could watch it. But I won't promise that it will be the best use of your time.

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Completed
Luck-Key
6 people found this review helpful
by rachel
Dec 28, 2017
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
As promised, this show certainly delivered many laughs. Yoo Hae-jin's character was put in so many fish-out-of-water situations, there was bound to be laughter.

Without a doubt, Yoo Hae-Jin is the star of the show and that was the biggest plus of the show for me. Without him, the show would probably have looked like a typical rom-com. YHJ played the assassin character with such gusto, enthusiasm, and earnestness, that I was absolutely won over by him by the halfway point of the show, despite his gruff outward appearance.

Lee Joon is good as usual. To be honest, even though his character had swapped lives with YHJ's character, his character development was quite different from that of YHJ's character, so it was not as enjoyable for me.

Jo Yoon-hee does an alright job as the kindly paramedic who gives him shelter and helps him to navigate through his new life.

Overall, a good watch for some light entertainment.

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Drinking Solo
0 people found this review helpful
by rachel
Jul 1, 2017
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 5.5
This drama focused on their characters, which was pleasing as a viewer and really kept me engaged and interested in the drama throughout.

My main gripe were with the two main characters. Jung Seok the male lead was played well by Ha Suk Jin. But he was pompous and quite a jerk throughout the show, and I wasn't sure by the end of the drama whether there was real evolution and development of his character for the better.

The lead female character, Hana, frustrated me a majority of the drama. She was the polar opposite of the lead male character, Jung Seok, but not in a good way. She is sweet, sincere, earnest, but too much of a doormat, allowing Jung Seok to tread all over her in the workplace and all over her ego. I got pretty frustrated with her throughout the drama.

What I enjoyed most about the show were the trio of students, Dongyoung, Kibum, and Gong Myung. They are the real heart of the show and it seemed that most of the plot centered on their highs and lows of student life. Their storylines were equally amusing and moving and seemed very relatable for the youth of today.

While this is show is supposedly in the same vein as the Let's Eat series, which centered on single working adults living alone, I appreciated the decision to take a slightly different direction for this show, to focus on the civil service exam study-cram community, which hasn't had its time in the K-drama spotlight yet.

Overall it is worth a watch for some light and fairly breezy entertainment.

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My Annoying Brother
3 people found this review helpful
by rachel
Jun 8, 2017
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers
Going into this movie my initial impression was that it would be a comedy with some heartwarming moments, but boy I was not expecting being taken on an emotional roller-coaster ride.

I watched this movie for Jo Jung Suk and it was totally worth it. He is entertaining as always. D.O. is also a good actor and this is not my first time watching him act. (No I am not an EXO fan.) Jo Jung Suk and D.O. have great chemistry which is essential to the success of the movie. Park Shin Hye did a decent job; frankly she didn’t have much to do in the movie anyway. Initially I felt she was miscast, but upon reflection, I think she was suitable for the role.

Without giving away any spoilers, I must say there’s a big twist in the movie that I did not expect at all and I applaud the cast and marketing team 2 times over for NOT giving it away while the movie was being promoted. Unfortunately this twist seems to have been revealed by other reviews of this movie on this site.

I wish I could say more about the movie but there would be major spoilers. I highly recommend this movie.

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Completed
Slow Video
0 people found this review helpful
by rachel
Jun 5, 2017
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
The movie is a heartwarming tale about a man with a strange yet powerful ability. It leaves him isolated, until his job leads him to make an unlikely group of friends.

There were funny moments in this movie, though my enjoyment of the movie was marred by some really substandard English subtitles online. In terms of story, it isn’t terribly predictable, but the turns in the narrative arc are rather obvious and quite disjointed, so there’s a minus point in my books there. The movie has some pretty visuals in some scenes.

Cha Tae-hyun is comfortable playing a character who is lonely and eccentric, but does not lack emotional depth. Nam Sang Mi was just okay.

This isn’t a movie that made a deep impression on me, nor is it one that I would rewatch. But it’s not a bad way to entertain yourself on a boring weekend.

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Completed
Another Miss Oh
0 people found this review helpful
by rachel
Jun 1, 2017
18 of 18 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 6.0
The story of this drama from the outset isn't really a typical romcom, though it is certainly a romcom by genre. The story first and foremost is about being the best version of yourself, living the best life you can live, and loving yourself. It's a character-centric drama and that's what I love about it.

This show features one of the hottest makeout sessions you will ever see in a Korean drama. But that really wasn't the selling point of the show for me. It was the characters.

I just love the character of Normal Oh Hae Young. Precisely because, as her nickname indicates, she is so normal. And for lack of a better word, relatable. She is such an atypical Korean drama heroine, and I feel that this is one of the few truly female-centric K-dramas out there (just because a drama has a female lead character doesn't mean it's female-centric). I mean, even the drama title has her name in it!

Eric's character, Do-kyung, is very much a typical male K-drama lead, but in this show, you can observe real growth and progression in his character, which is pleasing. The supernatural element in his character's storyline is intriguing and definitely an important part of his character and his growth, but it isn't the thing that will stay with me from this drama.

Even then, this show like any other K-drama is definitely not free from angst. After the midpoint of the show, the angst kicks in fast and really hard, and made me wonder, oh man when will the . I do wonder though, if there wasn't a 2-episode extension, whether the story would have been slightly better. The extension was certainly felt, but it wasn't painfully obvious as it usually is in many dramas. But as I always say, the angst usually has a great payoff.

Seo Hyun Jin and Eric have sizzling chemistry, which is not surprising as they're known to have good chemistry with their co-leads in other dramas as well.

Seo Hyun-jin breathed so much life into the Normal Oh Hae Young character and you can just see how much love she had for Normal Oh Hae Young. I first watched her in Let's Eat 2 and I've loved her ever since. Eric is hot, what more can I say. Good actor too.

As for the supporting cast and characters, Jeon Hye-bin was alright; I believe she infused her Pretty Oh Hae Young character with compassion, to win the viewers over from what would have started as a very hostile position against her character, to one of empathy and love. Lee Jae Yoon honestly wasn't given that much material to work with, so it's hard to give a firm comment on his character as well.

Some of the other more 'miscellaneous' characters really steal the show - Normal Oh Hae Young's parents, Soo-kyung and Jin Sang (love Kim Ji-suk so much and wish there was more love for him) with their own little cute but in no way insignificant loveline,

Ben is killing it with these soundtracks; I previously heard her sing on the Oh My Ghostess soundtrack, and she had a great song on that show. She sings the theme song on this show too, and it's fantastic; it's catchy and meaningful too.

After completing the show I wondered to myself why it took me so long to watch this show. So please don't be like me and regret not watching it sooner!

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38 Task Force
2 people found this review helpful
by rachel
May 28, 2017
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 5.5
Heist/scam artist shows aren't unique to Korean dramas/movies, what really made this show enjoyable was the ensemble of characters, especially the partnership between a bumbling upright civil servant and a sleek smooth talking scam artist, which was the beating heart of the show. Ma Dong Seok and Seo In Guk had great chemistry and partnership.

At the start, the heists and scams were impressive, logistically and also psychologically. However, with the inevitable escalation of the stakes of the heists, my expectations were raised again and again for what the final heist/scam would be. I feel a little sad to say that I was somewhat disappointed by what was meant to be the final plot or climax of the show.

However, even if the snazzy heist plotlines were taken away, the show would still be buoyed by the chemistry amongst the ensemble of characters, which were lovingly written and assembled, and gave the show a lot of heart.

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Splash Splash LOVE
2 people found this review helpful
by rachel
May 27, 2017
2 of 2 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 6.0
The thing about Korean dramas is, sometimes there's not enough story to fill the number of scheduled episodes, and other times there's too much story and not enough episodes to cover all the stories. Thank goodness for this show, which shows that when a story and its characters are plotted properly, a simple drama can start off on the right foot and be wrapped up neatly at the end of it.

This is not the first drama I have seen Kim Seul Gi and Doojoon in. They are both actors and seem to be good at getting the right chemistry with their fellow actors. They are really cute together in this show.

The concept of this drama is not 100% unique. There are a few drama tropes like time travel, cross-dressing, and high school pressures. But we all know that when the tropes are used in the right way in a drama, it can still be a very enjoyable watch. Although the female lead character is a high school student, the themes of wanting to escape a miserable reality and realising your true potential are relatable on all levels.

I think this show will be a great watch and source of respite for hardened Korean drama viewers who are tired of watching the same tropes being used in the same way again in drama after drama, or of episode extensions with too much filler and no storyline progress. A short but refreshing watch!

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