Kate

Well, this was mildly interesting. A movie that leaves you with more questions than answers, but since I never took it seriously, I don’t even mind.

Mike Angelo’s face was the best part, not gonna lie. The whole cast did a decent job, the writing at times has been just too messy to follow. Who is related to whom? How do these people know each other? What are their goals? Why is it that no one uses their brain?

The biggest surprise for me was the good CGI. I have seen a fair share of monster flicks, and most are pitiful in that aspect. Seeing some decent effects and design for the creature was refreshing.

Overall, I was not bored, but I was not as entertained as I hoped I would be.

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Atmosphere that carried a vague plot.

Something we often get from Japanese horror - vague plot with good atmosphere, great music and sound effects and still images inducing panic response. That’s also what we’ve got from Pulse.

By the end of the movie we are offered little to no real explanations, and most are left to the viewers interpretation. Is this a commentary about the dangers of the internet? Is this a commentary about the human need for interactions and the terrifying portrayal of loneliness? It’s up to the viewer to decide.

The characters were rather bland. I kind of stopped paying attention to who is who at some point, and it did not really take away from the watching experience. I honestly believe them as individuals was not that important plot wise.

The thing I loved about Pulse was the atmosphere and built up tension. There are no cheap jump scares and all the horror is based on the fear of the unknown, perfect choice of music and the prolonged shots of uncanny images.

Overall, I would recommend it if you are in for a rather calm, but tense horror.

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Life so hard it feels like an endless night.

Stellar performance with a well executed story presented in three different timelines. While the show was not perfect with the execution, the strong points kept me interested enough to finish and give quite a high rating.

The Long Night has quite a number of positive aspects. Starting with a well written criminal case that does not lead to many unexplained events and plot holes. While the case was quite complex, as it connected many events throughout the years, it never felt ridiculously over the top. It was big enough it did not feel boring nor mundane, but realistic enough for me to believe it could happen in real life.

Then we have the amazing cast and the characters they portrayed. Not gonna lie, Bai Yu stole the show for me. The emotional impact his character had on me by the last episode was something I did not expect at all - especially since we know (to some extent) what kind of end he will face in episode 1. That one scene in the last episode literally made me hold my breath and I could not move a millimeter until it was over.

Jiang Yang, Chen Ming Zhang and Zhu Wei were the trio I especially enjoyed and their striving for justice and truth was both heartwarming and heartbreaking.

Another aspect that amazed me were well presented transitions between all the years and time lines. They clearly indicated what year specific scenes take place in and how they relate to the current situation. This type of plot could easily be confusing, but they managed to present it in an easy to follow manner. The transitions between two timelines with the use of voice recorded were ones that I especially enjoyed.

The issue I had with the drama was how they tried to evenly use the screen time for two timelines. As the result, for quite some time, I was not that invested in any. Logically speaking, I knew the case was extremely interesting, but I could not get myself to feel that much curiosity. For me, they should have established one (present) timeline first, and only after that slowly expanded on the past stories, but this mix and max as we progressed was a bit too much storytelling wise.

What’s more, the first few episodes led me to believe this will be a mystery driven show with unusual investigation that will have the intriguing cooperation between the police and journalist, to uncover the truth behind the murder case, that has it’s beginning years ago and involves far more people than anyone could have predicted. But shortly after it started to look like any other investigation show, and all the fun and refreshing additions were forgotten.

That said, you know how dramas usually have mediocre last episodes, when they had a good start? This ain’t that. Last 4 episodes were extremely thrilling and got me on the edge of my seat. Truth to be told, only then I started to feel the severity of what was going on and how it affected the characters. It was easier to tap into the emotional connection. The last episode was especially dark, and I had to take a few breaks while watching.

Overall, a solid watch. I feel like this is one of the rare cases in which the rewatch would actually improve the entertainment value. Knowing the whole picture would make me appreciate all the detailed connections between the cases and scenes.

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It's never too late to redefine yourself and start anew.

Dear My Room is a short and simple story that gives hope to all the young adults that are still searching for their purpose in life, feel like they are stuck in a grim reality, not finding happiness in any aspects of their lives. It questions what it truly means to be a responsible adult and how (un)important it is to follow other's expectations towards ourselves.

We follow the life of Eun Joo, who, after quitting her job, starts to explore her surroundings, relationships and finds her true passion. The drama shows how one small event in our life can be a start to self-improvement.

The show does a good job with not following the expectations of the viewers. Some plot lines went in a completely different direction that I thought, and I could not be more happy about it. We are also presented with truly wholesome and natural romance between main leads, with no painful Second Lead Syndrome (even though Jae Hyun was an extremely nice character, that quickly became my favorite).

Hye Jin was frustrating at times, but she plays an important role, showing us the contrast between her and Eun Joo. We can see how vital it is to have loyal friends, be true to yourself and your convictions and sometimes take a risk for the things you love and enjoy doing.

The production of the show just made me feel warm and happy. That's it. Each episode made me feel hopeful. People from their mid to late 20' could easily relate to the struggles of the characters and emotionally invest in the story.

The OST was perfect. It never felt out of place, had this sweet indie vibe. It perfectly matched the scenes, making them that much more enjoyable, and at times moving.

Overall, a perfect slice of life that tackles serious topics that young adults have to face, while not being depressing about them. The show truly motivates me to act on my ideas and hopes, instead of wanting to give up any plans I might have.

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“It’s the unwritten first page of my story.”

Our Unwritten Seoul is a story that will make you reflect on your complex past, face your everchanging present and hope for a beautiful future.

Different paths that present inspiring life lessons ⇢ the characters and their struggles.

As the Korean title states - it’s Miji’s story. Story of her lost dream, fear for the future and overwhelming present. It’s hard to describe in words how perfectly her character was written. How complex and realistic was that portrayal of her anxiety and depression, how longlasting the effects were. How one can look happy, but suffer inside. How healing is a process that at times might feel like it will never end.

I loved how Mi Ji was not this strong and confident woman with no fears. She bravely helped others, while also feeling deeply insecure about her own shortcomings. She stepped up for others, and backed down for herself. But she changed, at her own pace. What the character shows is that there is no time limit for growth, it’s never too late to start over. It’s never too late to start moving forward.

On the other hand Mi Rae was one that did not know how to stop, take a break, hit the pause. From a young age she felt responsible for acting as the backbone of the whole family - feeling the responsibility, not wanting to disappoint. I honestly loved the contrast between the two sisters - one did not know how to move forward to find herself, while the other could not find herself, because she did not know how to stop.

Then we have Ho Su with his fear of being a burden to others. But what interested me more was where it came from - his egocentric thinking that was at least partially caused by guilt. It’s so human to overestimate the effect we have on people, to see every situation from our point of view and not accept there might be different perspectives. With Ho Su everything started with “I” - I don’t want to burden others, without really thinking if he actually is the burden. What I also really liked is how he never truly grew out of that egocentrism, he just learned how to ask questions and listen to people around him instead of making his own theories and conclusions. I appreciate how the characters did not really get rid of their flaws, but rather learned how to cope and make them affect them less.

Sadly I would not say the writing for them was flawless, though the issue lies in the structure overall, and is a problem in all Korean dramas. Notice how I wrote nothing about Se Jin? That’s because he was painfully underdeveloped compared to other main characters. Why? Because by all means this show does not have four main characters. It has one - Mi Ji. Mi Ji who is the main hero. Then we have Mi Rae and Ho Su who are second lead characters and Se Jin who is just a supporting one. We need to move on from the idea that being a "love interest" to a main character makes you one too. It does not. That said, it’s not a unique issue for this drama - it’s more of a labeling problem. It might give viewers some false expectations though. It did for me. I kept wishing to see more of Se Jin’s story, to understand him as deeply as I did the other three. It never happened.

Hurt people hurt people ⇢ the relationships that highlighted larger issues, but also the glimpses of hope

Starting from Mi Ji and Mi Rae and how uneven parenting can cause trauma. Mi Ji felt ignored - the lack of expectations placed on her made her not even attempt to move forward. Mi Rae who had all the attention on her, feared disappointing others so she just pushed forward, bore the pain in silence. Often dynamics like that cause resentment between siblings (glad it was not a case here) - one being jealous of the love and attention, and the other being jealous of the freedom and what might seem like trust to always manage and take care of themselves.

On a larger scale, the parenting issue did not start with Ok Hui and how she raised Mi Ji and Mi Rae. Dynamics between her and her mother give a good representation of what generational trauma might look like. How can one become a good mother, when they did not experience what good parenting is as they were children? Where one learns from? How to not make the same mistakes our parents made? But also how not to overcompensate which leads to its own issues...

One relationship I wished to see more was Ho Su and Chung Gu - there was so much more meat here, potential, depth to be explored. The way the characters mirrored each other, but also were a complete contrast. Their interactions, but also the relationship between Mi Ji and Ho Su presented a clear lesson - take your own advice, care for yourself like you care for others, don’t see the traits you appreciate in other people as your flaws. The way we as humans often have way higher standards for ourselves than we have for others - instead of being our own best friends, we turn into our own enemies.

There are different types of love ⇢ romance driven dramas can be more.

Our Unwritten Seoul is for sure leaning more towards the Life over Romance genre. Don’t get me wrong - there is plenty of romance, but it’s never the core of the drama. Romance? No, but love for sure is: love between parents and their children, step parents and their step children, siblings, friends, colleagues. The variety of human interactions, how acts of kindness can change someone’s life.

I loved how they did not segregate the characters into pairings that should only interact with each other. I loved how Ho Su was an important part of Mi Rae’s life. I appreciate how Mi Ji interacted with Se Jin completely outside of his connection to Mi Rae. Everyone was one way or another connected to each other, it did not feel like different plotlines living their own lives never crossing the paths.

Personally, I like that some of my favorite relationships were not romantic ones. Friendship between Kim Ok Hui and Yeom Bun Hong? Amazing. Mentorship between Ho Su and Lee Chung Gu? Food for thought. Kim Ro Sa with Mi Ji and Ho Su - heartwarming. Even Mi Ji and Mi Rae’s interactions with Gyeong Gu and Park Ji Yun were interesting to watch.

What’s more, one has to appreciate the lgbtq representation Gyeong Gu as the clear one, and Ro Sa and Sang Wol a vague (not so vague) one. Personally I think it was clear they were in love with each other and were living as partners not "roommates"...

Bringing the character to life ⇢ acting that never disappoints.

Can Park Bo Young chill a bit? How is she so good? The way she portrayed two characters in a way I had no issue differentiating between them, without making them caricatures of contrasting traits? The way Mi Ji and Mi Rae were so different, yet so alike in many aspects. The way she presented complete heartbreak, but also silent pain. The way I could see the boldness, but also hesitation. The way each scene seemed so natural. I have to give props to the whole production team - be it writing, directing, acting or editing, they managed to bring these two characters to life on screen and it did feel like two real people interacting with each other.

Then we have Park Jin Young and I’m amazed with the level of vulnerability he was able to present as Lee Ho Su. Ryu Kyung Soo managed to bring comedy as Han Se Jin, without turning the character into just a comic relief - his character, as funny as he was, was also clearly one of the more mature and wise ones and it showed.

Beauty in simplicity ⇢ production value that compliments, but does not impress.

Here’s the thing - I’m not even mad this show does not stand out in terms of its aesthetics. It’s your typical high value production kdrama with some pretty shots, good lighting, great set design, clean camera work. It works, it compliments the story without being distracting. The writing was so strong you do not need some innovative and creative editing to make it better. Was I especially impressed by any shot? Not really. Sure, I did take a number of screenshots, I did whisper “that’s pretty” a few times as I watched the episodes, but if someone asks me in a month, or even in a week to describe any scene that visually sticked in my mind - I won’t be able to name any.

Perfection does not exists ⇢ what I did not like

I already wrote how unbalanced this drama felt in terms of development, depth and care put into presenting what they claimed were four main characters. It just made me want more and sadly feel a bit disappointed when I did not get it.

The “vague” bit of lgbtq representation. Personally, I do not understand why they could not be more straightforward with it.

The main romance between Mi Ji and Ho Su. Here’s the thing - I really liked their teen romance phase, and I like where they ended. They were losing me a bit during the “misunderstanding” phase of the plot when Mi Ji was pretending to be Mi Rae. On one hand I understand why it was important for them to go about it the way they did, on the other, it was frustrating to watch and a bit inconsistent with how Ho Su was written.

Justice for Se Jin. Did Park Bo Young have it in the contract that she can only kiss one male lead? Did they fear viewers might seem uncomfortable with her kissing both, even though she was playing two different characters? We've got an amazing hug, but damn I was waiting for that kiss in the last episode.

Random thoughts to close the review:
Ryu Kyung Soo looked especially hot in his “rich boy in suit doing business” takes.

Overall, what a journey. I feel like I honestly wrote down maybe 20% of my thoughts and feelings about the drama. What it teaches you is: it’s never too late to learn from your past. It’s never too late to improve in the present and it’s never too late to work on your future.

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The will to live is not always just our own.

What a pleasant surprise this show is. Though pleasant might not be the right word to describe it. Touching? Heartbreaking? Hopeful? Enlightening?

What started as a fun eerie monster flick, turned into a deep and enriching exploration of the meaning of life, will to survive, depth of connections and consequences of choices. In just 8 episodes the drama presented well structured, well paced stories of 12 unique and relatable characters. We’ve got the answers, but we are also left with questions that reach beyond just the plot - questions about our lives, experiences and ideas.

What’s even more surprising, how detailed the lore of the afterlife was. Light Shops being the borders between life and afterlife - shop keepers being the guides for souls. People who are still alive become a sort of ghost in the afterlife, seen only by people who are not willing to move on and accept their death. Delirium after near death experience is nothing else, but the memory of the life in the afterworld - memory that keeps you connected to the afterlife that will let you see the ghost in the “real world”.

The shopkeepers help the dead move on, or the alive to wake up. Those who decide to not forget their memories from near death experiences can become helpers in the living world - either dealing with ghosts like Yang Sung Sik or guiding the lost souls like Kwon Yeong Ji.

With all the vague clues and more questions, I was honestly doubtful they would be able to explain all the mysteries. What is this place? How do people get here? How can they leave? Where are they leaving? Who can live? What choices do they have? What are the consequences of said choices? I honestly feel like I’ve got a proper answer to all of these. But it also left me wondering about the actions of the characters, their choices and what I would do in their place.

❔How much we are willing to sacrifice to protect people we love.
Jung Won Yeong the shop keeper who was willing to give up the peace of afterlife to help his daughter survive. A character that seemed stoic to the point of feeling emotionless. Initially I did not know how I should feel about him. Ju Ji Hoon can deliver quite an emotionally rich performance so this role seemed to fit below his capabilities. Little did I know he would deliver scenes utterly devastating and heartbreaking. The way he broke down after finding out he died and his daughter is left alone. How desperate he got to help her. How he was willing to sacrifice himself to make sure she could make it.

❔How once being lost can lead to us finding the right path.
Kwon Yeong Ji found her calling after her near death experience. With her newly gained knowledge of the afterlife and the struggles one can face to find their way home, she put it on herself to become the guiding presence helping others find their light. Similarly Yang Sung Sik after losing everything, was able to gain new motivation. Combining his expertise as detective and the ability to see ghosts, he took the role of a guardian - keeping the balance between the world of living and dead.

❔How sometimes other’s will to keep us alive is more important than our own.
The question that kept coming back during the first half of the show is: what keeps them alive? The answer, as heartbreaking as it was, it also became one of the highlights and most touching aspects of the drama.
The visual presentation of Lee Ji Yeong sewing Kim Hyun Min back being compared to keeping his heartbeat, keeping him alive. The determination she went through to make sure he can survive. The hope that he will remember. Jung Yu Hui who kept sending her daughter for new light bulbs with hopes she will be able to find her one light in the process. How Park Hye Won tried to do her best to make Yun Seon Hae leave the house, because only if she leaves she can find the light shop. Seung Won carrying Heo Ji Ung on his back, Kim Sang Hun guiding Yang Sung Sik.

All these stories broke me to pieces. I cried with every new revelation. I cried with every new person waking up. I cried with every goodbye. Honestly, the whole second half was just a crying fest, and I’m happy I was able to experience it.

❔How not every situation can have a happy ending, and sometimes the negative consequences will haunt us forever.
Lee Ji Yeong at the end became a vengeful ghost. The sadness of being forgotten by the man she loved, by the man that she died for was too much to handle. When I watched where her and Kim Hyun Min ended, I kept thinking: maybe her determination to keep him alive was just a selfish act? Maybe he should have died? Maybe them staying together in the afterlife would be their happy ending? Now all that’s left is pain and regret.

Then we have Ju Hyun Ju - what seems like a good resolution, weirdly feels incomplete, without the closure for the teen. Being separated from her mother, when she desperately wanted to stay in the afterlife with her makes me question if she even can live a normal life. Not getting treated for delirium she lives in a constant state of confusion - what is real, what is not. She is in a daze, not being able to connect with the people around her, she refuses to connect. She lives in her past memories that block her from moving on. I sadly struggle to see how she can reach the point of living a normal life.

❔How sometimes the choice we make can seem like giving up, while for us it’s starting over.
Yun Seon Hae chose to die. She found the shop, she found her light and then she made the choice to destroy it. There was nothing waiting for her in the world of living and there was so much she would lose if she left. She decided to stay with her girlfriend Park Hye Won and somehow it felt like they truly started living only after their death.

At the end of the day, Light Shop is a tale of love, care, devotion, desperation, regret and choices. Brilliantly acted, stunningly shot, perfectly directed (cannot believe this is Kim Hee Won’s directorial debut) and carefully crafted in any and all areas. It’s a story with many twists and surprising cohesiveness. Giving you the sense of hope, dread, sadness and happiness. The true portrayal of what it means to live, to die, to survive and to give up.

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Lots of fun if you leave the brain out of it. Do not try to understand it or find a logic behind anything, coz it ain't there. The whole premise of the show is built on misconception about a certain topic.

That said, I had lots of fun for the majority of watch time. They committed to the gruesome and violent scenes and questionable/ evil characters. I watched it and asked - is this really Korean? Where they censor and blur knives from scenes?

Editing was spectacular, except for some special effects, but I'm picky about these. Most people would probably love them. The fighting scenes were well choreographed, but it was the editing that added that special and unique edge to them. And the violence was... well, violent. Ain't some random few punches here and there.

The acting was for sure the strongest aspect after the directing and editing. Kim Da Mi's performance truly amazed me, especially closer to the ending. She showed a lot of skills and duality in her acting. Truth to be told, the whole cast did an amazing job. I was frustrated with the random English lines here and there, especially since Netflix does not provide subs for them, and as a not native speaker, with the accent, I did have some problems with understanding some of them...

So what went wrong?
The reasoning, explanations and motivations of the characters were all over the place. I enjoyed the movie up till the moment they tried to explain what exactly is going on. Why? Coz the explanation was simply dumb. They gave the same excuse many low sci-fi movies give, which was proven false countless times. Still using it, in my eyes, means lazy and unoriginal writing.

Was it a good movie? Yes, just do NOT think as you watch.

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Writing style focusing mostly on muscles, with some heart to it, and little brain.

I had a lot of fun watching the drama, but I also honestly have little to say about the plot, premise, themes - all I remember and most I cared about were the exciting fighting scenes.

Honestly believe the plot was the weakest part of the whole show, because it lacked focus. Nothing truly felt connected in any meaningful manner. Ga Min wanted to protect his study group, Han Gyeong wanted to use the group to achieve her goals, everyone was pissed about the group existing for no real reason. The conflict between the good and the bad guys had close to nothing to do with Yun Ga Min. The past teacher’s death was there just for Han Gyeong's motivation, but I also question why it was more of her arc and not Park Geon Yeop. This is a typical case of entertaining moments happening for the sake of entertainment, with little cohesiveness. And while how they handled the plot disappointed me a lot, I actually enjoyed the characters themselves a lot.

Yun Ga Min is for sure the heart, but not the brain of the show. The poor baby truly barely has any working neurons in his brain. You know how there are people who are street smart, and some that are book smart? He is neither. He has awareness of ameba, but that is what makes him wholesome and adorable - he always sees the good in people, even if others already gave up on them.

While I enjoyed his presence on screen, and his fighting scenes were truly marvelous, overall I thought he was a rather flat character and I was not that invested in his development.

Similarly all the members of the Study Group did not have that much nuance to them. The one that truly seemed to be developed well and had a well structured plotline with proper set up, build up and conclusion was Kim Se Hyeon. All the rest was there to fill the quota. And they did it well. The chemistry between them all was truly perfect, the interactions were fun, the dynamics were refreshing. Whatever the combination of them on screen was presented, I knew I would be entertained. But entertained only. They tried to give a little bit more depth here and there, but it usually was too little too late.

Then we have the whole plot of teacher Lee Han Gyeong trying to get revenge/justice for the past events. Underwhelming in all areas. She was beefing with a group of mafia teens who were going around ready to kill people. And I understand they were related to real gangsters and all that, but the adults' influence and control was barely shown to justify their actions. Not enough world building to sell the story.

Which leads us to the villains - psychopathic teens. Sure they were entertaining, but they were so shallow and not compelling at all. I honestly do not have much to say. I wish the karma would hit them harder with how annoying they were.

I don’t even want to talk about Park Geon Yeop - why was he here? What was the point of his character? At first they seem to hint that he will have a major part in the plot and uncovering the truth about the post, and then he was written off the story completely without explanation.

That said, I do like the acting a lot. Even though the cast was rather young with not much credit behind their names, and almost none in terms of action heavy titles, they truly did ace all the fighting scenes - I was beyond impressed. That was the part I was the most excited for. No halfassing in that department - from acting, choreographies, performances, use of set and props, filming, editing and soundtrack - every element crafted truly amazing action sequences.

Overall, it was fun, exciting, making my cortisol and dopamine levels higher, as a story should. I just wish the writing was stronger.

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Wuxie meets Alien - discount edition.

I don't even know where to start. To say the movie felt disconnected feels like an understatement. We had Aliens that are not really Aliens, prehistorical "animals", discount version of Grave Robbers' Chronicles, biologist that was determined to die, bur failed even in that.

Why does this movie start mid scene. I've got whiplash from the opening scene, to only around half way through figured out the "opening scene" are just random scenes from various moments in the movie - and with that you kind of know how it ends.

As for the production - hard to tell if a lot of it was AI generated or just poorly done CGI. Or both. I'm leaning towards poorly done CGI, because I feel like AI generated models would look better. I'd take poor CGI done by person, over AI generated images any day though.

Overall, there truly is nothing to talk about. We had vague treasure, mid team trying to find it, no explanation, no exposition, no proper closure.

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Vast improvement from the first instalment.

I am positively surprised. While technically this movie presented the same issues I had with the previous one (weird mix of genres, slice of life drama and romance, too short of a screentime in the locations themselves), somehow the directing and storytelling is smoother and it made it all work out.

I think the poster actually quite well presents the ratio of the horror and the other elements in the movie - it's not that scary, there are not that many ghost scenes, any tensioned built is smoothed and mellowed by the more mundane plotlines, that are in fact also entertaining.

Initially I questioned the need of Karin as a main character, but soon the plot became more clear and her existence not only valid, but necessary for the story to unfold the way it did. While I do think some twists and turns were more obvious than they intended them to be, it was still a rather enjoyable watch.

Performances, directing, editing, sound design - all great. No major complaints. Male lead was way too chill about everything that was happening around and to him for most of the movie, but that’s more of the writing than acting issue. If a ghost had hots for me and started to make moves, I’d be gone not only from that house, but also from the country. Just to be sure.

Overall, I’d say watch this, skip the first one. They are not connected plot wise so they can be viewed as different stories in the same universe.

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It was not perfect, but it was perfectly entertaining.

Personally I like my zombie horrors with a dose of humor and I am a Hero delivers. I do think I might have laughed at some not exactly humorous moments too, but that's how you roll when you've seen so many horror movies in your life.

The best aspect of this movie is the fact it has personality. Having a normal guy be the real and grow to be a hero is a dynamic journey I love to see in movies. I do believe that he was too dumb and too naive for too long, but with how the story ended, I can somehow forgive it. What's more, I appreciated how the zombies had these specific behaviors connecting them to their past lives. Big shoutout to athlete, who from zombies' perspective must have been the MVP.

On the other hand, I wish they turned Hayakari Hiromi a bit later in the movie, or let her meet Suzuki Hideo faster. We did not really get to know her that well as full human before she turned, but after the change, she was not really much of a character to follow anyway.

The acting - good. I feel like the only person who truly had to show some skills was Oizumi Yo. The other characters were a bit too flat to requite a high level of performance.

Loved the design for the zombies. The eyes going sideways was creepy and the visible mutation was a great touch. They actually looked scary. Props for all the practical effects that made the movie that much more gruesome.

The action scenes were also great. Some more, some less believable, but I appreciate no one turned into a ninja or professional fighter. They all fought with all their strength and limited skills. That said, there was one scene closer to the end that did feel a bit long and I was really close to skipping few seconds.

Overall, this was such a fun ride. A lot of blood, a lot of killing zombies.

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Detailed presentation of a complex situation.

I’ll be honest with everyone - the only reason one should watch this over a director's cut (which for me is a 10/10), is to later watch the director's cut and appreciate it even more.

Memoir of a Murderer is a story about simple characters in a complex and convoluted situation - both internally and externally. The addition of dementia is such a fresh and fascinating take on the typical serial killer story. What happens when a “reformed” serial killer starts to lose himself in the past, regressing to immoral behavior and not being able to control his urges that were tamed for years? Add another layer of him trying to catch another serial killer while struggling to remember all the encounters and identities of people around him - what a horrifying, but also captivating scenario.

What the movie does perfectly well is confusing the audience - what is reality? What is just a fragment of imagination? What was a lie and what was a forgotten memory? No matter how much you might pay attention, you cannot differentiate between the real and the fake, unless the movie itself wants to tell you the truth. How did they achieve that? Smart directing, amazing editing, trusting the audience and one aspect that made the director's cut better - the conclusion that actually makes sense.

Sol Kyung Gu as Kim Byung Soo? Perfection. The range of emotions and expressions, the chilling narrations and that eye twitch… The performance that somehow made me sympathize with a serial killer, even feel bad for him. Disagreeing with his murderous nature was obvious, but the fear of losing your identity and years of life and memories is such a horrible vision, it was hard not to feel anything while watching the movie.

Overall, probably one of the best serial killer movies I have seen in years, easily top5 of all times. Personally preferred the director’s cut, so if one is not up to watching mostly the same movie twice, skip the theatrical release.

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10% of the writing and 90% of fluff.

It's the most digestible show I have ever seen with close to zero stakes, almost none evil or mean characters, no long term conflicts, every character starts more or less already good so you don't get stressed out by how bad they are and how much they have to improve and since their flaws are so inconsistent, they don’t create much tension either.

That said, it does have a lot of truly good elements. First of all, the relationship between the leads evolve in a really natural and entertaining manner. The bickering is always lighthearted and Lu Si Cheng is for sure not one of the mean main leads. The interactions between the team members are heartwarming at times, and even the relations between different teams made me smile more than once. I also loved the female friendship between Tong Yao and Jin Yang.

One of my favorite things about the show was how it truly did address the toxic fans culture - the idolizing people fans don’t know, seeing them as flawless, trying to control their private lives, living in a delulu land they created in their heads and then getting paranoid and angry when the unrealistic bubble shatters. But, and it’s a big but - I truly disliked how they did not present the same stance towards all public figures. Lines that went similar to: I’m not an idol, I can date, gave the message that idols do not deserve the same level of privacy and personal life as, in this case professional gamers do.

Another straightforward, but fairly well presented issue was the discrimination of women in certain jobs and social groups. They did not shy from showing the unfair treatment Tong Yao had to face especially in terms of the public's opinions and reactions.

Production value was great. The game scenes looked amazing and I loved the design for the in game characters. On a technical aspect, I think they did a perfect job with opening each new episode - added enough scenes from the previous one to make a proper set up, but not long enough that you want to just skip it all.

Performances were… questionable. I was slowly losing my mind with each and every Korean scene. The dubbing was so awful I wanted to cry. The fact that Chinese characters spoke better Korean than Korean characters was just the cherry on top. Cheng Xiao had a few glimpses of potential in a few scenes, but overall the whole performance was mostly a surprised hamster.
Xu Kai was honestly not much better and there was only one scene when I went: oh, acting! That said, I still enjoyed his handsome face in each and every scene.

Overall, the only thing this show had to offer was cute fluff, but sometimes this is all one needs to be happy.

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Logic left the room, but the friendship was nice.

This is such a feel good show, you will end up puking rainbow by the end. When they started to recycle all the trash, all the suspense and anticipation said its last goodbyes and died. They basically told you they are going for a Disney ending and nothing will stop them.

Is that a bad thing? Depends what are you expecting to get out of this drama. Anyone who thinks this drama has good writing, is lying to themselves, but at the same time, I honestly don’t think a good writing was their goal. This is a show that is supposed to have generic motivational messages, generic saint like leads, generic conflicts and generic resolutions and it all presented in a perfect, light, fun and addicting manner that invites you for the binge watch.

There is honestly close to nothing to say about the leads. Both Ji Xiang Kong and Qiu Ying are good, hardworking, friendly, honest, passionate - so perfect it’s boring. Luckily we get some amazing supporting characters to add spice to the mix: Pei Xi, who was the literal MVP of the drama for me. I adored his character and the surprised complexity he presented. Another character I appreciated a lot was Luo Tian - on a rather low key, but he stole every scene he was in.

Story wise, it’s the underdog fighting to get to the top for both leads. They follow exactly the same path - working hard and being passionate, but always facing issues because of the jealous rivals who play dirty. For some strange reason everyone was painfully informant about the dirty tricks and no one cared to actually run a business and bring profits. My favorite unrealistic part? The internal investigation lasted weeks, but consisting only of questioning 4 people, no one knows what tracking IP address is. What I am trying to say - to make the conflict last longer and feel that screen time, to make the leads journey more meaningful, as they have to face more hardship, all the characters in the show - be it good or the bad guys, had to stop using their brains and make all the dumb decisions possible.

As it’s always the case with shows like this, the best aspect was the friendships and partnerships. The number of fun and heartwarming interactions between various characters was a blast to watch. My favorite pairings were Pei Xi with everyone (but especially Qiu Ying and Ji Xiang Kong) and Qiu Ying and Luo Tian. Friendships and mentor-mentee relationships between female and male characters are so underrated in dramas.

The production value was fine. On one hand we had a great set design for different locations, on the other hand, unfitting styling for the characters. One thing I truly cannot stand in dramas is dolled up female characters even if the setting makes no sense for it. Why did both Qiu Ying and Lu Yi Yi look like idols ready to go on stage no matter the circumstances?

Acting wise, I don’t have massive complaints. Taking into consideration the writing, I don’t think anyone could give a better performance.

Overall, it’s a fast-food of dramaland - nice, addicting, something we crave from time to time, even though it’s not exactly good.

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Started as a full on alien sci-fi, 10 minutes later turned into a modern investigation and then Indiana Jones like adventure. When the male lead got on top of an alien and started punching it in the face I figured out the type of a movie I am watching. A mess.

Here’s the thing - I truly believe this could be a decent movie about the parallel universes collapsing into each other and male lead trying to figure out how to stop it. Edit out all the alien monster flick scenes and tweak the plot slightly, and you get a good sci-fi mystery with nice aesthetics.

Instead we’ve got cheap halloween costume type of aliens running around, barely developed plot and ridiculous out of the blue romance.

Overall, I kind of got what I expected looking at the poster, and yet cannot stop myself from feeling disappointed, because I saw glimpses of potential as I was watching.

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