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One day following a tragic event he ended up being the subject of the “happiness” experiment of that research centre. Gradually he felt exuberance with his life where everything was picture perfect. There was no sorrow, no remorse, no regret and no despondency. He was living a perfect life with his parents and girlfriend. Eventually by some small incidents he started to realize he needs to exit from his so called reality.
It is a small drama depicted bit differently with a typical theme. We all seek happiness and we constantly wants to be happy which is actually impossible. Living and life as a whole is challenging. Being happy doesn’t necessarily mean living in a perfect world without agony and pain. Being content with whatever little, one has is all what matters at the end of the day. It takes effort to achieve something which ultimately brings happiness. Happiness is always lurking on our way, we just need little patience and hard work to achieve such pursuit.
Exit is an interesting drama with an old concept depicted in a new way. Entire two hours were engrossing for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Choi Tae Joon was natural, strong and intense in playing his role and the rest of the casts also did pretty good job.
Background score is quite good thought it has no OSTs.
Two hours is not much. If you want to pass some time and don't want to watch anything lengthy just give this drama a shot.
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Initially it started with planning inane revenge of three cosseted children, who had so much idle time that they couldn’t come up with anything better to do. When people are struggling with responsibilities and hardships in their lives, these people were feeding their inner frustrations with some childish game.
As they say, “An idle brain is the devil’s workshop”. People who have nothing worthwhile to think about will usually think of something bad to do. Apparently they got entangled in their own little play and everything comes as a real bash. Each of them started to realize their true feelings for one another, one of them fell in love with the person they tried to victimize which in turn tore apart the friendship among three mollycoddled rich brats.
This is the main theme along with some besmirched parental stories as a backup. Already disarrayed family life of these four young people exacerbated by one of the rich girl’s depraved mind.
Dwindling familial relationship, despicable friendship, betrayed romance and hence dismayed social life of all the characters depicted in this drama are apparently made it runty. What I thought would be a great drama which would show the web of complex emotions among human being ended up completely being meaningless commotion among pampered rich kids. Dealing with their own emotions, both interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships, interactions with their surroundings, apparently what I thought would be the main highlight. There’s no such thing and no character growth whatsoever.
Alas! Such high thought I had for this drama. Utter disappointment.
Well to be very honest, the only thing that keeps me going with this drama without dropping it midway is the four beautiful faces and their charming smiles, especially, Woo Do Hwan and Moon Ga Young. Woo Do Hwan’s sexy, alluring smile which makes his eyes crescent shaped, his handsomeness and his hypnotic husky voice are irresistible and Moon Ga Young’s gracefulness, elegance, beauty and ingenuous smile just took my breath away.
Thoughts on four actors who played main roles:
1. Woo Do Hwan – good actor, more suited or can show his skill more in negative roles. Any sort of intense role would suit him more.
2. Moon Ga Young – has good acting skill and will be grabbing more challenging roles in the future I hope. She has grace and pure beauty.
3. Kim Min Jae – very good actor and has promising future ahead. He already has many on his plates.
4. Joy – still needs to study a lot on acting. She has long way to go. Only the idol tag and pretty face won’t do much justice to her acting career in the long run. The competition is savage in the drama industry.
The veteran actors and the other young people on the supporting role displayed satisfactorily much better performances.
All said this drama like many other dramas had good potential but turned up to be a huge failure at least for me. Mainly the last four episodes were ultra disappointing.
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For the first time I have seen a neat comedy show without raunchiness. Creativity of the writers of this show is simply extraordinary. None can claim that their lives are free of trouble or they are living a life of constant happiness. These Waikiki people are no different. They are living an average regular life like most of us. They have dreams, aspiration and goals to achieve which is common for almost all of us. However, the only difference is how they handle the situations. As the genre is comedy, the humour is depicted through each character’s problem they face in their day to day life. Their troubles are unique and their technique to fight back or to solve a particular problem is also unique.
It is impossible to feel bored during watching this drama. Interestingly the whole drama is full of sarcasm within which there are mindboggling comic relief scenes enough to make viewers laugh their heart out. The story is typical yet could make a place in everyone’s heart due to its excellent unpredictable sense of humour ingrained in every dialogue and in every scene. Those were puckish but not obscene. Never for a second had it seemed that the humour was over the top or cringe worthy but rather capable of making viewers crave for more.
The story involves the struggle of three young men and three young women, who by the twist of fate somehow ended up living together at a guesthouse named Waikiki. Among three men: one was an aspiring actor, another aspiring director and another aspiring manga writer. Among three women: one was an aspiring pastry maker, another aspiring reporter and another fashion designer. We can all relate to their struggles and various difficulties they face everyday while making their dream come true. What they teach us is that it is extremely hard to live up to a particular target. We may fail repeatedly, our whole world may crumble after us but still to stand up and fight back with all honesty and sincerity is all what living means. Life is a bed of roses full of thorns. Nevertheless should we cry often getting pricked by the thorns or just pluck the thorns and keep on moving. The choice is all ours.
Through the depiction of these characters it is taught no matter how tough a situation is, at the end of the day it has to be taken lightly. Only then we can live life to the fullest. Being positive or always thinking positive is not the solution as a matter of fact. As a human being we are all fragile, we feel dejected, anxious, doubtful, tensed, emotional, resentful and so many other negative thoughts always dwell in our minds but to embrace these feelings and making them our strength can only make living possible. On top if we have supportive family or friends it s easier to relieve our stress. People of Waikiki though do not have any blood connection (except a pair of siblings) among them, had relationships much deeper and stronger. They stand strong for each other; give utmost support and assistance to each other. They fight and squabble with one another, abominate and reprimand each other yet confront crisis together. Their unity is lovable and deep down their affection for each other is commendable.
Having comedy as the main theme all through, though all the six main casts did justice to their individual roles, the show stealer was definitely Lee Ki Yung who played the role of ever unfortunate Lee Joon Ki. His dialogue delivery, acting, gesticulations, expressions and postures everything is tremendously funny. He is a well sorted, adept and a marvelous actor. Every single situation he faced in the drama was exceptionally hilarious and my heart seemed to explode while laughing. The second actor I personally feel did good job was Go Won Hee who played the character Kang Seo Jin. She also made me role on the floor literally. Except for professional comedienne, I don’t find any regular female actress funny. But this woman blew my conventional thought; she was on point with her role.
Oh how can I forget this tiny little character baby Sol played by Ah Reum. She was so adorable and one of the cutest creatures I have seen till date. I felt like biting that cutie pie every time she appeared on screen cackling with her chubby cheeks. She was out of this world adorable.
The background score composition was also intelligently done. Most of the sounds or music is blended comically regarding the scenes. Sometime it felt like rather than the dialogue or expressions of the ensemble these sounds made us laugh more or may be these sounds made the expressions even funnier.
The OSTs are also subtle and soothing.
All in all Waikiki is a riveting comedy show without a single profanity. I am not emphasizing that having profanity or raunchiness is outward wrong or unacceptable. Nonetheless, I could never imagine that a comedy can also be presented in such an aesthetically pleasing manner where a pure dose of laughter was only intended.
Hats off to the production team. My utmost respect for their hard work.
This is the best comedy Kdrama out there. So do not even give a second thought. Just watch it.
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The fact is people are weak and helpless towards some fatal diseases. If I am not wrong, this short film tried to portray the positive side of living with your shortcomings. Here none of the characters are shown in despair or none shown a bit frustrated with their situation. Such a biggest gift they are gradually losing but they have learnt to accept it wholeheartedly and living it through diligently. Although they are losing sight but they have found the means to artificially capture the real moments with beaming happiness which they can cherish all through their life.
Accepting darkness, they have been adapting positivity of life through embracing hope of light. The message is clear and simple: always be positive no matter what.
Beautiful, meaningful and wonderful short film with some wonderful casts.
It can be watched multiple times. So what are you waiting for? Give it a shot. You won’t regret.
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Buskin styled story of this drama has the vibe of subtle serenity along with exuding melancholy since each character presented here is deeply associated with the one catastrophe took place in their lives. The longing pain, despondency and deliriousness brought the protagonists of this drama closer and deeply fell in love with one another. They had a common ground to relate with each other immensely. Their gesticulation, their shrieking cry out of tremendous pain of losing someone dearer imbued through their profound acting skills. Both Lee Jun Ho and Won Jin Ah made perfect justice to their individual role by showing exact hurting spirit. Moreover their chemistry is gullible as a reality. They were the show stealer. It is difficult to focus on the side stories when they had their astoundingly beautiful romance to portray.
On the other hand, to be very frank, I personally found building one memorial for the entire sixteen episodes were just over the top mundane and exhaustingly boring. There was no development with this part of the story whatsoever. Only interesting part, apart from romance were Gang Doo’s intense friendship with the elderly lady and an autistic young man. Despite a significant age gap between Na Moon Hee and Jun Ho, their chemistry was enchanting and the playful brotherly relationship between Kang Hyun and Jun Ho was also enjoyable to watch.
I only have praises for Jun Ho and Jin Ah. Without them this drama wouldn’t have been so better. The story seemed quite flat otherwise. However, these two characters Gang Doo and Moon Soo pulled off the show with their melting romance which was utterly rejoicing to watch. The rest were distinctively overshadowed by these two. Nevertheless all the casts did good job in playing their roles. Their acting skills were natural and commendable.
I’m thankful that the main character did not met the tragic end. A particular scene at the end episode made my heart skipped million beats. Later I was relieved. For me I just continued and finished this drama just for Gang Doo and Moon Soo. They were the main gem.
Also the OSTs are in perfect cahoots with the mood of the drama.
Overall this is a good romantic drama if skipped the side stories.
If you want to enjoy a great romance with great acting skill from the protagonists then this is definitely for you.
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Magnanimous, undeterred baseball player Kim Je Hyuk, most trustworthy and loyal friend Lee Joon Ho, incredible buffoonery of Yoo Han Yang a.k.a Looney, composed and cultured Choi Moo Sung, lovable and sacrificing brothers Jung Moon Sung and Lee Soon Dol, most sweet-hearted and loving Lieutenant Paeng, confident and disciplined Captain Yoo, humorous Kang Chul Doo a.k.a KAIST, sycophantic Crony, ever supportive and unconditional lover Kim Ji Ho, ever faithful Kim Yeong Cheol, impulsive but tough and determined Lee Joo Hyung, authoritarian Captain Na, talkative Song Gi Dong and many other characters surmounted Prison Playbook in a different level. Excitement has been created gradually in a slower pace. Every episode has something different to present. The fondness of each character would eventually grow in a viewer as the episode progresses which imprints a deep mark in the mind. The main focus is the eclectic characters indicted for wrongdoings which are basically not wrong as a matter of fact and finally acquitted after much hardships.
It started with the high-flier baseball player Ki Je Hyuk getting arrested for defensing a crime took place against his younger sister. After being captivated in the penitentiary, the journey of his life while he was serving his terms was the main theme. He met with different inmates of various age, professions, habits and personalities and the relationship he established with each of them through interaction was most amusing, sometimes heart rendering and sometimes empathetic. Remaining within the confined boundary he tried to help his cellmates and other inmates as much as possible. Also he established excellent relationship with other wardens and correction officers as well.
What makes this drama different from rest of the prison dramas/movies is that there is no single protagonist fighting against all the diabolism or morbidity a prison life can offer or how the protagonist fight against all odds to finally get released. What makes it distinguishable is that each character has their own endearing story and background to share. Not necessary that just because they are prisoners they are all heinous criminals. The story emphasized more on the positivity of different characters. Within 16 episodes every story of every character were written and presented meticulously. Eventually enamoured the viewers with the wonderful story telling. This is not the single story. There are multiple stories brought under one place, i.e. prison. This is the story started with a one famous person but there were more than ten to twenty stories. No one is shown as pure evil rather shown their aspirations, dreams or the purpose of doing certain act or how they had fallen prey to a certain situation/incident. It is a character oriented drama. Even the wardens and correction officers have their own story to tell. Not all wardens and correction officers are brutal. Here they displayed the warm hearted and kind team of law enforcement people who were very understanding of the prisoners’ needs and wants. The wonderful affability among these people made the overall story spectacular. All were strangers to one another but ended up having compassion for one another. The stories were simple but the portrayal is elucidated sublimely.
Correspondingly, the sarcastic comedy depicted by all the characters is another charming strength. In a moment it would make one cry and in next would make one burst into laughter. None of the scenes can be said superfluous. When any scenes were important it was there precisely rather than in a prolonged version.
I would like to bow in front of the entire cast and crew for giving us such a joyful thing to watch. I have grown tremendous respect towards them. It was more like reading a wonderful book. The life of this drama were its casts. Each of them poured their heart and soul to perfect their characters given to depict. It is difficult to praise only one actor. All of them did utterly tremendous job. My personal favourites are the characters called Looney and Lieutenant Paeng. Looney’s character was ravishing. Needless to mention that ninety percent of the actors acted here are either struggling or aspiring actors. Hats off to the production company for giving them this lifetime opportunity. Many actors especially Park Hae Soo and Lee Kyu Hyung gave outstanding performances and would definitely leap to fame in the near future. Actually it is pretty difficult to praise a single actor and criticize others. They were all diligent in playing their role no matter how small it is.
Another interesting things are the OSTs and background scores. The intelligent incorporation of certain sounds in the background while showing a humorous scenes were extremely enjoyable. In fact the sounds itself brought laughter along with the blank expressions of the actors. The OSTs are pretty decent and ear catching as well.
I am always a penchant for “prison” related stories but this one by far the best one I have seen till date and definitely going to my most favourtie list. Prison Playbook is the best example of swashbuckling drama and a best example of aesthetically pleasing art piece. The writers and director should be applauded for their creativity and adept story writing and direction respectively. Good things come once in a while and leave everyone awestruck. This drama should be cherished till the end of the world.
Those who haven’t watched it should watch it immediately.
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Friendship between Ki Joon-Hee Yeol was the most interesting thing to enjoy in this movie. Undoubtedly Ha Neul and Seo Joon were two best choices for playing their designated roles. As per the interviews of these gorgeous young men, they were presented in their most natural look without any make up and sometimes they ended up adlibbing to make their characters more profound. Both of them did tremendous job. Highly commendable. They complemented each other pretty well.
The main charm of the movie is though it focused on one of today’s gruesome crime but it would not totally engross the viewers into its hideousness since the story is actually moulded with light-hearted comedy and fantastic friendship. There were hilarious moments which would make one crack up insanely time to time. Mainly the determination, devotion, diligence and sincerity of youth to move forward with full honesty no matter what hurdles block their path or whatever calamities befall on them was amplified through Ki Joon-He Yeol characters.
Not a single moment of boredom felt. All in all a swashbuckling movie.
For me it’s a relishing one.
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One thing I found interesting is that, each character was pretty aware about their individual attitude. None of them were obnoxious rather each of them knew about what they were doing right and when they are doing wrong. If they realized they were doing something wrong, they were immediately snapped out of it without being too selfish to satisfy their own greed. This fact is pretty likable about this drama.
The background score here is another exceptionally wonderful thing. All the phenomenal English pop songs of early 80s would produce a sensational nostalgia. Although I wasn’t born that time but I grew up listening to those songs on radio with my father. Brought back so many fond memories of my father and me dancing together. Moreover, the OSTs are also beautiful and soothing to listen to.
This drama has its own charm to revitalize ones mood. Fresh young actors playing their roles diligently adds another pleasure of watching. If critically judged, lots of flaws can be identified. However, sometimes no judgment is better. We can keep our life simple just by watching some simple, rejuvenating stuffs after a long day of boring work or in any lazy weekend evening, seeping through a cup of warm coffee.
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Basically I received two kinds of depiction from this drama. On the first half, it was portrayed (may be I’m wrong but it’s totally my perception) love is important but living life is far too important. Love comes gradually. Not necessarily it always have to be “love” at first then “marriage” between two persons, however, “marriage” can happen before as a natural response of fulfilling basic needs between two people and then love can be discovered in the process. Conversely, on the second half, it was portrayed, realizing a person is in love is most important and marriage will come naturally as a result. Love and marriage are two completely different subject. If love fails between a couple, marriages is not possible. Marriage comes with a huge baggage which is not a game, it needs sacrifice, commitment and perseverance. Two different arguable school of thoughts. Former quite old-fashioned and latter quite contemporary. What I think no matter which era we live in or what people say about living in 21st century, marriage-a holy institution- should not be abolished completely. It is imperative for any society and I’m happy at the end the drama focused on marriage.
The story was based on romantic relationship of three couples. Main highlight was three women characters. One was in a living relationship for seven years, who typically like many other girls wants a family of her own by getting married and having a kid. She was all into settled life. Another girl who was smart, beautiful and brave doesn’t believe in love or marriage rather believe more in casual physical relationship. She was audacious, careerist and hardheaded woman. And the third one is the struggling one who was in her 30s but was fighting to make her own way of becoming a screenwriter. She was never into dating or any relationship but falls victim of a contract marriage and ended up falling for the person she married. These were three individual romantic set up. Through the romantic lenses of these three different relationships, different contemporary societal facts and issues of modern world have been highlighted. A crude realistic vision of modern society was embedded in the dialogues and monologues.
Three couples had their own hardships both from personal level and also as a couple. Through the romance of Ho Rang-Won Seok couple a newfangled reality of romance has been executed. They were into living relation for more than seven years when they gradually realized they both are way different than each other. When it comes to marriage various issues forced them to part their ways. Through Sang Goo-Su Ji couple, a more independent and casual romance have been executed. The couple transitioned from friends-with-benefits to a more serious relationship. Su Ji was shown as the epitome of modern careerist women who in the journey of building her own place in the corporate world constantly faced despicable adversities. Where surviving in a harsh patriarchal society in itself difficult, love, marriage, relationship and a settled family were always secondary to her. The tensions created between these two couples, their falling apart from each other and coming back are quite evident in real life couples as well. Nonetheless, in reality not all couples goes back together.
The third and the main romantic couple of the drama was Ji Ho-Se Hee couple. They were due to some circumstances bounded by contract marriage. The concept of contract marriage can be unrealistic but the story depicted through their relationship by emphasizing on multifarious sides of a wedded life is simply marvelous. In love only two people are involved and in marriage number of people are involved. Responsibilities to run a family, responsibilities towards in-law family and to compromise in almost any situation despite against one’s will is what marriage is. The couple realized that they are not only entitled to solely think about their happiness and contentment. Instead they realized, it’s more about fulfilling other people’s (mainly in-laws) needs and wishes rather than their own. Mostly the sufferer is the bride. Ji Ho wanted to break the stereotype. Through her character it was portrayed, love is crucial than marriage. Being married not necessarily means to fulfill other people’s expectations. If they keep on doing that when will they be able to fulfill their own desire? To fall in love, to discover each other, to respect each other, to understand each other should be comprised 90% of marriage. Completing family rituals, doing regular household chores, giving birth, to maintain a good bond with the in-laws are not the essentials in a married life. Those are indeed good things which will come gradually along the course of running the family life. When these extraneous factors become more important, love dies between the couple which shouldn’t be the case.
I fell in love with the concept of the story. Marriage is a wonderful and a very strong institution which is not denied here. Preferably the foreground was to respect each other’s space, to respect each other’s dreams and aspiration and to help let each other’s other half grow as per their wish, as a result a jovial conjugal life is possible. Marriage shouldn’t be strangled with the wishes and dreams of the nearer ones but it should be more about substituting each other’s weakness with each other’s strength.
Acting by the casts were excellent. Decades later I could see Lee Min Ki on small screen which in itself pretty overwhelming. Jung So Min is one of my favourite actresses and my girl crush. She is beautiful and an utterly talented actress. I thoroughly enjoy all her work. The other actors did laudable job. Not even once I felt they were acting. They all felt real and natural.
The OSTs are really nice. With some scenes few OSTs are played accordingly which suited the mood of the scenes perfectly.
Few of the scenes are there in the drama which are my favourites. One was the conversation between Se Hee and his mother-in-law during Se Hee-Ji Ho’s wedding, another between Ji Ho and her mother during the very day and also at their house when they were conversing about Se Hee and some scenes from flashbacks of 80s which were consisted of only Ji Ho’s monologue. Also the comic reliefs of this drama are extraordinary. One moment it will engross you into something grave then immediately it will give you a good amount of laughter dose. Some of those comical moments are also my favourites.
On the whole, it is a great drama which executed the difficult, sensitive and complicated issues of relationship from various perspectives: relationship within marriage, relationship without marriage, living relationship and casual relationship. The concept was not an easy one to write. Full credit should go to the writers for their wonderful creativity of lucidly showing all kinds of romantic relations in one drama. Never seen such realistic and meaningful romcom ever before.
Guys go watch it. No regrets guaranteed.
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In human lifespan, the period of early adulthood considered to be the most crucial time in shaping up a person’s entire future. Either they can destroy it by their own hand or can flourish it with good deeds and extreme diligence. Choi Kang Soo was represented as a young adult who despite of having difficult familial and financial situation remained unfazed throughout. He had been shown as an epitome of magnanimity and a valiant character. No amount of pain or sufferings could reduce his self-respect, determination and devotion towards achieving his dreams. The character portrayed by him is simply a person with tenacity of doing well to others, spreading wellness and reciprocating them. As they say, what goes around comes around. This world always revolves with this simple logic. Kang Soo was a simple guy who firmly believed that if he helps people, if he wants the good in people or bring out the good characteristics from the people one day or the other he would definitely get the result. He neither fed his inner greed nor tried to meet his own selfish needs. Along with all his friends, he unitedly delved into an endeavor which faces turbulences though for a short moment of time he was frazzled of fighting with the imposters but he again rose and shone. He was always thoughtful of his nearer and dearer ones around him which subsequently brought glad tidings for all combined.
Secondly, Lee Dan Ah. Another strong character. A sagacious, salubrious and undaunted character. When she puts her heart and soul to something, she made sure to stick to it till the end. Her devotion towards achieving her dream was laudable.
Oh Jin Gyu and Lee Ji Yoon on the contrary are not the kids from humble background rather born with the silver spoon in their mouth. The former was being excruciatingly tortured and slandered by his own father tried to take his own life but was saved. He understood the worth of life, independence and standing on one’s own feet. He understood contentment lies when a person owns and earns all by himself. The starting can be insignificant but at the end of the day self-worth comes from one’s own hard work and sincerity. Besides Ji Yoon rebelled from being forced or directed her life by her mother. She broke free her comfortable shackle and fled from the castle to become independent and achieving her own dreams.
From another view point the story was also a sort of tribute to the delivery people who were in many ways or the other pretty much neglected by the society.
I like the perspective of the story tellers. They have shown young people from both affluent and destitute social strata. Having being born in a privilege class doesn’t necessarily bring happiness. The affluent young people can also fight for making a life of their own individual choices.
Keeping “delivery service” as a base two factors are highlighted: a) life of youth b) life of deliverymen. The integration or the interconnectedness of both the subject was intelligent. However, the dramatization was a lackluster.
Acting by the ensembles are absolutely remarkable. Go Kyung Pyu and Chae Soon Bin was perfect for their individual role. Nobody could have done better than them. Also Kim Sun Ho, though played his first main role but he did full justice to it. Lastly Go Won Hee was quite natural playing out Ji Yoon’s eccentricity. The group of young lads of the delivery team also gave excellent performance.
Having said so much, the main theme of the story is excellent but there was some problem with the portrayal. The first few episodes were riveting but gradually it was losing its luster and became boring. The story kind of revolved in one business idea, eventually, along the line losing the dynamic essence as the episodes progressed. Definitely this was a huge disappointment for me. With outstanding ensemble cast and such great story, it could have been marvelous. Something was lacking of great deal which I could not pinpoint perfectly.
In deduction a good story with an uninteresting dramatization resulting into my lower ratings.
My recommendation whether to watch it or not would be …..you can try it’s not that bad.
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Riveting in terms of story.
Grandiose in terms of cinematography.
Impeccable in terms of acting.
These three powerful features made Vanishing Time an absolute pleasure to watch. It’s in one word an ENIGMATIC JOURNEY.
The story was adapted from a book written by a child psychiatrist. Children are always imaginative and their mind is full of mischief, fantasy and limitless curiosity. The truism of Soo Rin’s story is questionable but even if it is purely based on her imagination, how amazing it is to see that her own world of fantasy is capable of creating such wonder. There was like a whole unknown planet inside her mind. When she interacted with another likeminded child of her age, Seong Min, both their imagination collided to create something magnificent.
Child psychology blended with fantasy is now my new penchant which I discovered after watching this movie. I have seen many fantasy movies but Vanishing time is just unparalleled with others. Getting confounded with the story is quite easy, nevertheless, the well maintained proper balance of quaint romantic emotions among the protagonists never let only the fantasy part fogging our brain. I could easily connect with their emotions. The magnanimity shown by the male protagonist till the end was simply endearing and the lapsed time would never allow their relationship to coincide which left a slight poignant feeling.
On another note, the cinematography of the movie is magical, dreamy and colourful suiting the tone of the movie. Acting was on par especially by the child actors. Always I prefer to see the children more than their adult version and what can I say ‘bout Kang Dong Wan. Any adjective to describe his acting ability would be an understatement. So I should refrain from that. I just want to say he’s a top notch classy actor. He knows what he’s doing and pour out his soul into his performance.
It is a well-directed, well scripted and well-acted movie though a bit equivocal in nature. I have few questions which are left unanswered. So instead of a full 10 I would give 9.
Don’t think twice about whether you should watch this movie or not. Just watch it if you’re a fantasy lover. Guaranteed you’ve never seen anything like this before.
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The main theme of the drama is identity theft on which the story is based. Byun/Lee family consists of four siblings and their parents. Each of them having different traits with different approach and attitude towards life makes it joyous to watch. Everyone had their share of stories to tell. The eldest son was perseverant towards achieving a secured career in the govt. department. He withstand self-inflicted mental humiliation when he saw his younger sisters are progressing faster in life whereas he being the eldest were just constantly failing. However, at the end “the slow and steady wins the race”. The eldest daughter of the family was a talented, smart, educated, elite and rebellious woman who knows how to deal with every situation in life with strong mind. She was a lawyer with strong determination to win in anything she puts are mind into. The third sister was an underdog who gradually shone with composed, patient and forgiving attitude towards life. And the youngest sister was extremely cute, witty, outspoken, boisterous, bubbly and the apple of the family’s eye. She was uncompromising when anything or anyone goes against her family. Lastly the parents what I can say about them, they sacrificed their entire life for the sake of raising their four amazing children. They have gone through a great deal of hardships but never forgot to keep their children’s need in the forefront. All these six people were tremendously affectionate towards each other.
Then comes the Na family. Na Yeong Shik was Na Yeong Shil’s younger brother. Their family comprised of four people-wife, mother, son and Mr. Na. I personally loved this family and the character Lee Bo Mi (wife). I could relate to their struggles with life in so many different levels. Their story seemed quite realistic. Hats off to the wife who was very supportive in whatever her husband did and her approach towards life was sarcastically optimistic. They were needy but never put their integrity at stake for the sake of money. Their constant fight to make their genius son’s life easy was sometimes heart wrenching.
Third comes the Cha family, the eldest daughter of Byun/Lee family married the only son of this family. I found the mother Cha’s character quite annoying. The father Cha’s character was somewhat enjoyable. He portrays the character who wants to gain deeper insight of life after retirement which was sometimes amusing to watch especially his interaction with his wife.
On the otherhand, the most interesting, most loveable and most adorable character was played by Lee Joon. He was all through eccentric, affectionate, understanding, righteous and sensitive. His portion of the story development and how his background is intertwined with the Byun/Lee family was the most interesting part of the 52 episodic journey. Lee Joon is always best in whatever role he plays. He puts his mind, body and soul into full action when it comes to acting. Very few have been seen with so much dedication and sincerity towards what they do. His stair of success will definitely keep on going sky high. He makes anyone cry or laugh easily and also make one fall in love with him so easily. He is the most formidable and versatile one among the entire ensemble of this drama. The chemistry both he and Jung So Min portrayed was utterly heart fluttering. They were my favourite couple among all the others.
Now about the overall view of the drama, I think it started off interestingly which can make an audience crave for more but as the episodes progressed, it gradually became draggy and the emotions seemed sometimes bit over the top. Without being a 52 episodic drama it can easily be a 30 episode drama which would help to keep its real essence. Nevertheless, still it is wonderful and to watch two episodes every week did not feel tiring rather after a long exhausting day, this drama always refreshed by mood. The last episode was overdramatic but still it is alright to me since it was a happy ending which can easily bring big smile in anyone’s face.
I will miss Father is Strange and all the amazing casts. It became very dearer to me which will take a while to get over with.
I know it’s hard to bear with so many episodes but if you like to see some reflection of your own family you can give it a try.
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Firstly, the prelude showed the glimpse of some ending scenes that in itself enough to grab attention of the viewers and enhance their curiosity upon what may happen leading to such odious fate of the beloved royal couple. Once one starts watching, certainly s/he would be pulled with the story since the initial episodes were truly marvelous. The teenage couple acted amazingly which can make anyone fall for their cute love-hatred realtionship portrayed so well that they might end up receiving awards for good performances. Their sweet gesture, arguments, fights, playfulness and amicability was capable of winning a lot of hearts and I’m sure many viewers loved them. However, once they started growing up and as everything was going against their relationship, the story seemed playing back and forth. Now an episode seemed gripping and the next episode turned out very monotonous. From 15-18 episodes it was extremely hard to go along with the story. The tragedy, the emotional outburst, the murders and the meaningless sacrifices everything to me seemed exaggerated to the point of annoyance. I just could not cry in few many scenes because I found few death totally out of nowhere unnecessary. The makers could have toned down the death parts of some important characters whose death was imposed forcefully. Many a times it felt like suddenly the writers couldn’t figure out what to do or how to extend a particular character’s story so the only supposed solution was to kill that character making a good story pretty shallow. The last two episodes were rather nicely closed. Though the plot itself was remorseful but the couple could make it through all odds and adversities was satisfying to watch.
Most interesting to watch was the despicable king who was submerged under innumerable complexities. He yearned for admiration, acknowledgement, recognition and love; at the same time, he was blinded by envy, mishandled his power and pushed his confidantes away from him. The pressure of ruling a nation who was constantly surrounded by imposters, deceitful people and shrewd opportunists; the poor judgment of making a clear distinction between his enemies and his dearer ones; the struggle to understand whom he loves doesn’t love him back was eventually crippling his fair mind, clouded his judgement and weakening his thoughts. Eventually he let his mind eaten by evil maggots. He was having an utter hard time which he expressed through brutality towards his innocent subjects. Ultimately he himself inflicted ruination upon himself, an obvious end result of any tyranny. Therefore, the king was the most powerful character in this drama exuding multiple personalities through one mind and soul was simply a pleasure to watch.
Secondly, as long as the acting comes into concern, I pretty much liked the ensembles. Nevertheless, the role of a despotic king played by Lee Dong Gun was to some extent aggrandized by him which appeared as if he was playing the character in a theatre drama rather than in a televised drama. Both platforms are different and the acting changes according to theatre, small screen and big screen but our dear Dong Gun relatively overdid his performance. The performances displayed by Park Min Young and Yeon Woo Jin was splendid to watch. Their depiction of romance was too heart fluttering and they have an endearing chemistry. The teenager kids did super exceptional job. I loved them so much I did not want to watch their adult version.
This is the first time I’ve seen Chungsung of 2 p.m. in any drama and his work was quite commendable. I wish he improvise his acting ability diligently for better and more important roles in the future.
The Osts are beautifully soothing to hear and I personally loved “Junggigo - Miss You In My Heart”. It’s on loop since I finished watching the drama for few hours. The singer sung this ost pouring out all his emotions. Simply wonderful.
In deduction, this drama again proved to be one of those dramas which started of exceptionally good then gradually not so good. This particular one has gone back and forth and I found the scriptwriter kind of lazy who applied their brain less in thinking about the story. Sometimes it was enthralling and then again it directly went down the hill again it picked and again it went down the hill which persisted till the last.
Few things I like about this drama and many things are there which I seriously disliked. Watch it of your own accord.
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The main theme of the story is thriller based on four to six different characters holding different occupation, came from different background who were vigilantes by heart and by action but were in disguise under protectors of law to avenge the injustice which had befallen on their beloved ones. In the process they tried to save some other innocent lives as well. Their fight was against the corrupt judicial system, depravity and avarices of the protectors of laws. All sounds clichéd which is right. It is clichéd. Overall plot looked promising but the scriptwriters failed to give each story shown, a concrete background. Most of the time I couldn’t feel attached to them because it seemed like just to show a man evil, they forcefully made him act like an evil and took all the cases to an extreme dramatic turn which was completely unnecessary. The reasons shown for the demises of individual protagonists’ dearer ones are quite baseless and fragile. The reasons for which the prosecutor convicted the innocents or tortured them were not at all intense or logical enough. Even the young teen kid’s character who played a monstrous role is somewhat obfuscated. Just for a mere thrill he was inclined to do such heinous crimes? It was understandable he lacked emotions however it was still full of ambiguity that why he particularly hated Jo Soo Ji? Therefore, in one word the antagonists’ roles are not written immaculately. Everyone’s story was relatable to one another yet there were some major loopholes which resulted into incoherence. The ending was unpredictable but was quite nonsensically exaggerated. As a result the actual essence of the drama had eventually lost.
Acting of the ensemble was good though not excellent. I always have high expectations from Kim Young Kwan. He could have done better. Few times his emotions seemed unnatural. It is again good to see two female characters playing strong roles which typically portrayed by men. Although Lee Shi Young pulled of the fervid and brave role as a detective, nonetheless, she should work on her facial expression as well. All through she mostly maintained a stoic expression which didn’t match with the courageous character portrayal. Key and Kim Seul Gi looked sweet as a couple and pulled their characters well. They showed reasonable amount of emotions through their good acting skills. I have to specially mention teenage actor Park Solomon who left me wowed with his negative performance. He truly is a gem who has extremely bright future ahead of him. He did a commendable job in this drama.
The background score was alright along with the OSTs. None of the songs are found to be exceptional.
In conclusion, there’s no harm in trying this drama. As many people already liked it, you may like it as well but Lookout has failed big time to keep me allured.
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This review may contain spoilers
Posing a trite question: Whether invention of new technology is a bliss or a curse of mankind? With the conjecture of an exclusive scientific research work started in 2017, which fortunately or unfortunately followed a trajectory of quandary took a proper shape in 2037. The whole concept of the story is extremely new where the dramatization involved a fraternal twin and all the incomprehensible incidents they were surrounded by. Like a web of mystery the more they were trying to solve it, the more they were getting tangled with mishaps. Gradually facing series of tribulations and by using their own intellect they tried to overcome their problems though not succeeded fully. According to my understanding (I can be wrong), this drama tried to portray that progressive technology is acceptable which should be free of manipulation, deceit and identity theft. In the process of gifting human race with something phenomenal, the human race by themselves subject to self-destruction. They fall prey to their own greed and take a wrong detour to satisfy their own selfishness. The whole story is like a big board of puzzle pieces cut randomly into different shapes without any connection but as the story development progresses bit by bit all the pieces have been fallen into their correct places. It exudes the suspenseful feel of American sci-fi genre series, nonetheless, the writers maintained originality which is beyond interesting.
From the very beginning till the end it was riveting, breathtaking and fast-paced. No amount of time is wasted on idiosyncratic character development. Each and every characters were necessary and sufficient; none seemed out of place or redundant for the development of the story. The writers tried their best to convincingly elucidate a completely new concept of a non-existent theory on which the pillar of the whole plot was standing. They expressed erudition through their meticulous writing ability. Hats off to the scriptwriters. It may seem frazzling to keep up with the pace since each episode shows two stories of two different years but it is highly engrossing and enjoyable. The ending of every episode left me at the edge of my sit. Thank goodness I binge watched it rather than waiting every week. I would have died out of anxiety and curiosity. The cliffhangers are deadly.
On another note, I never trusted Korean dramas of science fiction genre since never found any solid story so far. Either they make it extremely confusing and superfluous or greatly preposterous. However, Circle is an exception. Every occurrences are given a proper explanation. I feel a strange empathy towards the production team and feel like giving a deep bow for presenting us the show so intriguingly despite having minimal budget. It's perfectly fine of not using extraordinarily top-notch visual graphics as many were complaining, I could feel their urge of showing some CG effect which are common in any sci-fi movies/series but they couldn't and it's beyond ok. At the end of the day I count on story, if the story is good and acting is on par it's intensely satisfying for me.
Acting by the ensemble is praise worthy, especially performances given by Yeo Jin Goo and Kim Kang Woo are commendable as they always are. My words will fall short to describe their charisma. Lee Ki Kwang is also good but sometimes felt like he was forcing too much to draw out his emotions. I appreciate the girls as well. Gong Seung Yeon is one of a kind gorgeous actress, she looks serious with her character display and works hard. She surely has long way to go and I believe she would perform better and better in course of time. That day is not far away when Ahn Woo Yeon & Jung In Sun will be flooded with main roles in dramas/movies. Both of them has utmost potential of rising stars.
Background score is perfectly fitted with the thrilling feel of the drama. OSTs are ear-catching as well.
One thing I have noticed in all these currently airing dramas that female protagonists are given powerful roles rather than being treated as a mere trophy only there to depict love interest of the male protagonist. The roles which were normally given out to male protagonists are now given out to the females which is a very commendable new trend.
I would love to detail out my analysis on every scenes but I’m afraid I’m too conscious on giving out spoilers. Hence, I want to stop and request all the sci-fi/suspense genre lovers out there to watch Circle. You will definitely love it because of - a refreshingly new story, the group of beautiful young and energetic casts and their laudable acting skills.
On the other hand, fingers are crossed this ephemeral drama has left us uninformed ‘bout one thing at the last episode. So we can hope for a second season. ;) ;)
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