Kate

Confusing motivations…

I did not really understand any of the characters - the ghost included.
It does have a semi interesting start, that sets the tone for the rest of the movie - desperation and cheap jump scares. Sometimes this is all you need in a horror movie. Why was the female lead so invested in that uni movie was stupid though.

I get that she needed a horror story for her own movie, but with all the effort she put into the “investigation”, I’m sure she would be able to write something herself. Not to mention, was she both screenwriter and the director?

Then there is the ghost lady- why did she do all the shenanigans? They did not really explain if it was curse, vengeance… Sure, I can explain it myself with my little theories, but the movie did not, and that’s my point.

What I enjoyed - build up tension. Honestly believe cutting out all the jump scares would actually make the movie scarier. They ruined the atmosphere with how comedic they were… The pure investigation moments had me invested, but then a typical black hair lady jumped on the screen and I could not stop myself from laughing.

Performances were great. Loved how Seo Yae Ji’s character was so unaware how abnormal her behavior was, calling others crazy, when she herself acted in the most irrational way.

Overall, it was a decent watch. Would be better as an investigation horror game.

Read More

There is nothing truly wrong about it… but it’s not right either.

This should not have 24 episodes… but it also should have more. It makes sense in my brain, truly. On one hand, the show was simply boring because of the lackluster storytelling and constant time jumps - nothing was established well, which resulted in me not caring about anything, so why make it so long? On the other hand, giving it more episodes could potentially make the show better - making the pacing more even, not skipping a few years every 5 minutes of screen time.

What was that “each episode starts a few months later” deal. They literally kept starting from new moments in lives, with no closure to the previous ones. You will literally have to write 80% of the plot in your head yourself, fill all the gaps. It's literally like a YouTube compilation of the drama highlights... but it's actually the whole drama.

The thing is, I would rather watch 24 episodes of behind the scenes, than the show itself. Last few minutes of the last episode, showing some NGs, was truly the best part and I could not stop smiling and laughing.

The characters? I don’t even know. Heon was all over the place, but I blame it on Yo Han’s delivery. At the same time, there were few moments that truly made the character awful… But Sol-i? At some point she is 30 in the show, but acts like a middle schooler. There is no development nor maturing with her character. She acts exactly the same in the opening episode in high school, and fully grown up in the last episode.

Who I liked? Ha Young and Jin Hwan. They were so adorable and entertaining to watch. Seo Ji Soo also did not get enough screen time. I would not mind her becoming part of the friend’s group. She would fit perfectly.

Onto the acting. People think playing an emotionless, cold male lead is easy, but it’s not - it’s an art of its own, and sadly Yohan did not master it. I guess one could say the acting is actually quite balanced - So Ju Yeon was overacting…and Yohan was not acting at all, barely reading the script.

OST wise, except for the intro cover, which was loveable, great and always made me happy, I don't remember even one song.

Overall, it’s just painfully mediocre. It’s basically fast food entertainment.

Read More

When the villain is miles ahead of the heroes.

Saying it was not an exciting watch would be a lie. Saying it was more fun than frustrating and anxiety causing would also be a lie. It was a thrilling ride, but can I say it was enjoyable?

I honestly loved all the characters that were part of the Avalanche. Perfect mix of skills and personalities. Their interactions were genuine, emotional and fun. They were the driving force that made it possible for me to finish the show. What I also liked was how I honestly questioned some of the characters’ motivations and the possibility of them betraying the team. The storytelling was strong enough to make that a realistic twist that could have happened.

Avalanche had also one of the strongest villains I have seen in a show. Truly always a few steps ahead of the team. While it was a good point about the drama at the beginning, at some point I got exhausted with how weak the heroes seemed in comparison. “Can they even win?” was a legit question I was asking myself. The stakes kept rising, and the conclusion left much to desire.

Last two episodes had many turns and twists, for me, maybe a few too many. No denying it was exciting, but a bit more exploration of the aftermath would be appreciated.

The performances were phenomenal. Watabe Atsuro as Oyama Kengo? So evil and so punchable. Great actors know how to make the audience hate them.

Ayano Go and Kimura Yoshino aced the roles. Habu was a fascinating character with so much emotional baggage and how much it affected him was all slowly revealed through the acting. On the other hand Yamamori Michiyo was a character with just as much personal stakes, yet so much harder to read. Kimura Yoshino's portrayal of the head of Avalanche could not be better.

Production wise - great. It was visually pleasing, but not over the top, where the visuals become distracting. I appreciate rather realistic blood and injuries make up.

Overall, it was a tense and thrilling show, but the unbalanced fight between the good guys and the villain made it impossible to to enjoy it at times.

Read More

When the jokes land but the feelings don’t.

How Dare You was so high on the entertainment value side, it kind of lost me on the emotional impact it could have potentially have. The comedy was easily the highlight of the whole drama, they did pretty good job with the romance (be warned, it is rather slow burn in terms of developing feelings and figuring them out), but with how much the characters had to go through it felt somehow emotionally empty.

Out of the two leads, I do believe Wang Cui Hua’s story was better written and delivered, mostly because it was far more simple, less impactful and with that, blended better into the overall silliness of the tone. Not to say the whole drama was completely emotionally flat, because that’s not true. One of the aspects I loved about it was the internal conflict the female lead had between knowing she is in a fictional world and nothing is real, and feeling emotionally connected and caring for the characters she interacted with, since they did feel real to her. I appreciated how we slowly witnessed the shift in her thinking and how far she is willing to go and use “people” around her, the longer she stayed in that story.

With that, I feel like overall the women were treated better here in terms of writing and development. Xie Yong Er became my favorite character of them all. The best character development and surprisingly consistent writing (with one “small” hiccup). Not gonna lie, there were moments when I wished she was the lead and her story was the center of it all. Maybe because her stakes felt higher than Wang Cui Hua and her plotline had more ups and downs, I was more invested.

As for male lead - his set up would fit better into a show without the “comedy” genre. It was way too traumatic and tragic for the “entertaining idiocy” here, it actually made me feel uncomfortable a few times. Mostly because many things that were extremely serious were shown as a background drop never to be fully addressed nor explored. Maybe I’m just a watcher that focuses and connects to characters too much, sometimes it overshadows the plot for me, but the constant sadness behind his eyes and the lack of proper elaboration on the source of it took away from the fun and comedy that the drama centered around. Still, this is for sure the best role I have seen Cheng Lei in - sad, tragic, silly, fun, sexy, domineering, soft, caring, unhinged, the role truly expected him to deliver everything, and everything he delivered.

Then we have the menace in two personas - Xiahou Bo and Empress Dowager aka probably the weakest part of the writing. Did they feel like a threat? Not really. Rather than being scared for the leads life and well-being, I felt more annoyed with the background shenanigans. At least Mommy Dearest was consistently stupid, but Xiahou Bo was turning his brain on and off whenever the plot needed it.

What was good though, was the supporting cast. The small support system the leads had gave a good feeling of found family trope. While I did not find the stakes concerning leads high, the supporting cast for sure gave me more anxiety about their well-being.

Plot wise, big props for making me question everything in terms of “who is whom, how much they know, and what reality are they from”. It was well crafted confusion and I appreciate that.

Sadly, I struggle with deciding how much of a silliness and illogical things and lack of explanation, convenient twists I can excuse by the plot happening in the trash cheap poorly written novel (as stated by the leads themselves). This seems a bit too much like a cope for me. “This smart character acted dumb this one time, because the writer of the original novel is dumb” is not exactly an excuse I can just accept and move on.

The music was great, but sometimes the placement was questionable. Why are we getting badass fight music during sad and emotional scenes?

Production was great, though for once I wish it was more simple especially in the make up department. Wang Chu Ran’s face was whiter than my white walls.

Overall, it was a fun watch, but I just wish it was more emotionally impactful.
And that ending was awfully crafted.

Read More

A rare case where more jumpscares would benefit the movie.

It’s based on a really simple concept filled with really effective jumpscares, and then made it more complex and took away the majority of the potential jumpscares and I’m not sure how I feel about it.

I don’t think it gives me enough substance to see the potential depth and build that psychological horror of the situation and male lead’s real life circumstances, but since it also took away a lot of the typical horror elements, it also does not quite serve as a good horror movie. It balances between simple, but effective and complex and reflective and does not really hit a homerun in any direction.

If I had to guess? Analyze? I’d say the theme of the movie is dealing with regret and guilt. The loop is not just about checking for anomalies, but also about dealing with your inner struggles. Male lead regretted his hesitation after hearing the news from his ex-girlfriend, he regretted not helping the mother in the subway. He regretted his inaction. Hence the ending somehow makes sense for me. It’s left to various interpretations though, there is no clear cut idea what it means. And that’s kind of how the whole movie rolls - throwing stuff at you without explanation, things that feel related, but not quite. You kind of get the full picture, but not really.

Ninomiya Kazunari did a great job as Lost Man, but I have to say my favorite performance was Kochi Yamato as Walking Man. Be it for his creepy blank expression, or even creepier smile. Or his desperation and regret, fear, anger. Such a tiny bit of the plot, yet such an expressive performance.

To be honest I feel like the movie was both too annoying and not annoying enough. I should feel the frustration of the lead being stuck in the loop, but I don’t feel like he was stuck in it that long… The number of mistakes he made was minimal to what would be expected, knowing how minimal some anomalies are. At the same time I was so annoyed, because he kept lingering a bit too long in the corridor even after noticing the anomalies. What are you exactly waiting for? There is no new development going on - you see something off, you turn around right away. And yet this man was checking them all out as if he was in a haunted house in an amusement park.

It was a decent movie, maybe the issue were my expectations.

Read More

This is what happens when the side characters and the couple are more interesting than the leads.

Itt and Pai just acted like children, when whatever misunderstanding was going on, could have been solved with one conversation (which was also proven later in the series). Like, why is a university student acting like an elementary school kid bullying his crush? Their plotline was simply not interesting, especially if we compare it with Pure and Folk.

This could have been better if either we got Pure and Folk as main characters, or if they didn't give such an interesting backstory for Pure. But what we've got was a simple main plot that felt like filler, and a complex underdeveloped side story, which felt rushed because of the lack of screen time. I truly believe there was something interesting going on with Pure. It could easily be a series with the premise of "your past mistakes don't define who you are right now, as long as you learn from them". There was some depth in his character that could have been explored more.

One thing I for sure liked is the clear message about safe sex. I truly appreciated all the "sex talks" we've got and that the characters actually went to the hospital when they thought there might be a problem. This should not be a taboo and I loved how straightforward they were about it.

The acting was... meh? Again, I was not convinced by the main couple. At some point I was sitting in front of my laptop watching an episode and said "wow... They are about to kiss. They hadn’t kissed before... had they?". I literally did not remember a kissing scene in a romance driven show, which tells me I was not convinced by whatever was happening on the screen.

Truth to be told, I dropped the show, but after some time I saw a few screenshots of Pure and Folk and picked it up again for them. Do I regret it? Not really. Do I think I would miss something if I didn't watch it? Nope. Do with that information whatever you want :)

Read More

The good parts were truly good, but the bad parts were so awful I was annoyed more often than not.

Both the premise of the corruption and the way good guys dealt with it had a nice and refreshing twist to it, but how some extremely cliche and sometimes senseless plot points were introduced ruined the experience for me. Does it matter how good of an idea you have if you surround it with bullshit?

By episode 9 I suspected where the drama was going, but some scenes did not make any sense with my prediction. It would make the characters look too dumb, so I dropped that idea. Guess what... it did happen at the end. By episode 13 I figured out the biggest plot twist and it just got me angry, because it made no sense. And I'm not some genius for figuring it out. The writing was just predictable.

As for the characters, some were great, some were bad, some barely existed. I definitely enjoyed the detectives’ team, and the investigation aspect was my favorite part of the show. Jin Kyung and Ho Gyu stole my heart and became my favorites. Jo Tae Shik was your typical hero cop, and if it was not for Lee Min Ki's acting, I would not pay that much attention to him.

The biggest let down? Kim Seo Hui. She just never learned from any of her mistakes, jeopardizing the investigation too many times to count. For the majority of the show she had nothing to do. I am quite honestly convinced this drama could have been more or less the same even if we write her off completely. If you ask me, she should be relegated to supporting character and her image should have never been used in posters.

The big bad wolf was boring and obvious, but then it's not like they tried to hide it. I did enjoy Dong Gu quite a lot though. His desperation was interesting to watch and I wished we had seen more of him on the screen. Other shady characters were... there doing shady things? I don't know. I hated how there were excuses and explanations made for some bad characters, but not others, when they were all equal trash.

Overall, this could have been so good. There were some episodes I actually enjoyed a lot. The dynamics between detectives was gold, the rivalry between Dong Gu and Young Min was exciting, but then they ruined it all with some really cheap and lazy writing and directing choices that I just couldn't ignore.

Read More

Tragic tale disguised as a romance.

*The title is not a spoiler. The tragedy came from the journey the characters took, not necessarily the conclusion we as viewers received. To see the conclusion, you need to watch for yourself.

Visually stunning with mediocre main characters, a villain that stole the show and side characters that saved the production. That’s how I would sum up the whole experience.

Honestly speaking, the plot was truly interesting and investing. Every character was connected to the story and had an impact on it. There were many different motivations, expectations and goals the characters wanted to achieve. The lore was surprisingly rich and well explained, compared to other Korean fantasy romance dramas. And yet, Hwal and Sang Un were so boring and poorly written, they drained all the energy out of me, no matter how exciting the events themselves might have been.

On paper, it was a gripping revenge story, showing the dark and twisted sides of fate. How far can you go to avenge the death of people you love? What if the past you thought you knew was just a shred of the whole story? Sadly, thinking and discussing these topics was more interesting than watching it on screen, because the main characters just did not deliver the emotional impact the story carries. (On that note though, I want to thank Poia for the chats that made me appreciate that aspect of the plot more).

Dan Hwal started as an interesting gray character. Nothing outstanding, not too much depth, but I could easily see him lead the story and make it believable. Sadly, each “plot twist” and explanation of past events slowly stripped away all interesting aspects of his existence. Lee Jin Wook did what he could, but the character was just a walking stone with no emotional depth, so there was not much acting needed in the first place. The complexity we saw in the past storylines was completely lost in the present one.

Sang Un was simply a saint with Stockholm Syndrome. How to describe this character? Nice, good, protective, impossibly dumb? There is “being a good person” and there is “completely disregarding your own safety, because you see the good in a person who hunts you, kidnaps you and wants to kill you”. There was nothing novel about her. She was there to be good and pure. Her priorities were often misguided - while they were supposed to present her as a kind and empathetic person, often they revealed her total lack of comprehension of any given situation. Kwon Na Ra did well acting wise, but not even an Oscar worthy performance could have saved that character.

For the romance, there was close to no chemistry between the leads. The love story we’ve got just made no sense. Why did they like each other? I can rationalize it from Hwal’s perspective. He was desperately clinging to his humanity, so Sang Un being kind to him, not treating him as the monster he was, made him care for her. What did Sang Un like about him though? The girl has some massive issues, rock bottom standards for men, or both. While the love story might not be THE focus of the show, it was a leading story between the female and male lead, and for me, it was a waste of time. It was not enough for people who want an epic romance fantasy, and too much for people who wished to watch a revenge tale.

Then we get to Ok Eul Tae, who was the most vibrant and interesting character from the whole show. The only one whose motivations made sense from the beginning till the end. I want to congratulate the writers for writing such a compelling villain, I ended up actually rooting for him and not the main duo. Lee Joon was born to take this role. The emotional rage he showed was just amazing. Whenever it was confidence, anger, fear, disappointment, desperation or hesitation - I bought it and believed it all.

The whole cast did such a good job with portraying all the supporting characters. The duality they had to present between the past and present reincarnations was not an easy job. The reincarnations had to be different enough to incorporate the external circumstances that shaped them, but also similar to each other for viewers to believe these are in fact reincarnations of the same people.

The chemistry between the cast (with the exception of the romantic aspects between the main leads) made me truly invested in the found family trope this drama presents. Watching them slowly learn how to trust each other was truly the heart of the show. I’m a sucker for the found family trope, so this was a delight to witness.

The writing was sadly not daring enough for me. The show opened with an amazing conflict for the main couple and novel perspective for the villain, but with each new revelation, new flashbacks and plot twist, they removed every refreshing element of the story, making it into the tale we already heard many times in a similar fashion. Luckily, some revelations in the last episode saved the script for me at least a little bit.

While the conclusion was disappointing, the journey itself was quite enjoyable. The writers used the trope of reincarnation to the fullest potential, giving the story many layers that were slowly discovered and explored in the episodes. They were revealing enough information for the audience to build up their own theories, without exposing the whole plot from the start. It made me as a viewer engaged, trying to puzzle the background of the character together myself.

It’s not a show that serves all the answers on the plate. They don’t give you narration with heavy expositions and explanations. The characters don’t always say out loud why they do what they do, what motivated them to behave in such a manner. The storytelling is not linear. They show glimpses of what happened in different timelines, and we need to put the whole story together ourselves. For some it will be one of the strengths of the show, for some it will cause confusion and frustration.

That said, I wish we got to see more flashbacks of the past time lines and reincarnations. Cutting down the screen time of the different monsters and using it to explore the past a little bit more would not only make the plot more digestible, but also allowed me as a viewer to understand and empathize with the characters more. It would also enhance the emotional impact the story had.

There were a few plot lines that for me became either plot holes or dead ends, but that was the result of me usually overanalyzing the plots and dramas I watch. I’m confident in saying most viewers won’t be bothered by them, maybe won’t even notice them. While they caused me a little bit of frustration, overall, they don’t take away much from the quality of the show.

Bulgasal: Immortal Souls served me a visual feast. I have to admit, the first two episodes were a little bit too much though. Most scenes had this painting quality to them, but at the same time felt visually empty and too staged - often they lacked dynamics. They became beautiful screenshots, but they were less appealing in motion. The more modern approach in later episodes fits my taste better.

While the soundtrack was not memorable, all the songs did match the scenes they were played in, elevating the mood and creating the fitting atmosphere. 4MEN’ “Leave” became my favorite song from the show, thanks to the amazing vocals.

Overall, it’s a high quality production with decent writing and good acting. It could have been an amazing tale with truly interesting and tragic conflicts, but fell into the clichés and safe storytelling in the 2nd half, trying to bring all the novelty in the last episode. It’s a show that improves from discussions and chats with other viewers, as it introduces many interesting topics that are worth taking a deeper dive into.

Read More

One choice can define your future.

Lies, lack of accountability, denial, regret, shifting of blame, playing victim - the complexity of human experience, the cognitive biases we have that help us survive and deal with problematic aspects of our past, present and future. Rules for thee not for me.

While watching this drama it felt like the layers had more layers, the plot twists were just set up for more plot twists and I never knew what to expect in the best way possible. The thrilling aspects were accompanied by the presentation of flaws we all have to some extent, but would never admit to it.

With only 10 episodes and as many as 8 main characters, I do believe the writers and director managed to present a complex, detailed story with clear focus and ideas they wanted to showcase. It does not feel like a minute of a screen time was misused or wasted.

The acting, dare I say the best role from Jing Bo Ran? Yes. It felt like he was managing to do the job of 10 actors alone. He carried the show on his back. I do not want to take away from the hard work and clear talent of the other cast members, but it was truly Fei Ke’s story.

The production was great. I appreciate that the visual aspect was not neglected, which sometimes happens with more thriller and mystery shows. If I had to have any complaints, I;d say there were moments in the last episode so dark I truly barely saw anything on screen.

Overall, it’s hard to review the drama and show how great it is without giving any spoilers, but it is a show that is best watched knowing little to nothing about the plot. It’s a true pure mystery thriller with well timed plot twists, morally grey characters and a proper closure.

Read More

It’s not even fun bad… It's just bad.

How they got this cast to do this movie is beyond me. The best part were the bad subtitles that kept calling Hyeri “he” and later Yoon Gyeom “sis”. There were just so many writing and directing choices I did not understand…

First of all, there is no set up for anything. They don’t tell, they don’t show. Half way through the movie you will still not truly understand the past events, current characters; motivations, who is on whose side and why. Not explicitly telling every little detail about the plot is fine, most viewers can put two and two together. Here… they told me close to nothing. I feel like I had to basically write 50% of the plot in my head, to make any sense of it. The vague idea of the plot in Monstrum is interesting, but that’s it - just a vague idea, a first draft of the plot…

I can't really comment about the acting, because the characters were so painfully one-dimensional a brick wall could play them and the result would be similar.

The comedy was also misplaced and just in poor taste. This is not a slapstick sitcom, so why are we getting fart jokes?

Overall… It’s been a while since I watched something so bad I was actually annoyed watching.

Read More

"You know... I always keep to the side of the road as I walk and I sit at the back end every time I take a bus. And I always choose the corner table in a restaurant because I hate making contact with people. I'm afraid of being noticed. You wanna know why? Because I'm afraid that I'd die right after I open myself up to someone."

Honestly speaking, I knew exactly how the movie was going to end from the start. It’s a story that was told one way or another countless times. Does it take away from its quality? No. This is not a mystery thriller that relies on plot twists. It’s a story that serves as a reminder to cherish what we have, seek happiness, be open to others and fight our fears.

It’s a moving tale of a boy who was so scared of dying, he willfully gave up living and settled on just existing. Then Ma Xiao Yuan, one could say, forces herself into his little bubble, slowly making it bigger to the point when it bursts, letting him see all the things he was missing out on.

Is it a sad movie? To some extent. The topic is, what it is. Unless you want an unrealistic fairytale, it will have its ups and downs. Somehow, it was still able to end on the uplifting, yet realistic note. It helps you see all the little great things you have in your life.

The acting - amazing. Both Jackson Yee and Liu Hao Cun truly aced the delivery, with the depth and emotions that would touch any viewer.

The directing was truly great. I especially enjoyed the adventures montage - it brought a smile to my face and tears in my eyes at the same time. Such a moving and uplifting moment.

Overall, it’s for sure a watch I would recommend to everyone. It speaks of a tragic topic with such a delicacy and tact it does not leave you depressed by the end.

“Everyone in life experiences losses, which we’re all afraid of. Yet when it happens, the most powerful weapon we have against it is to live each moment to the fullest. Every second counts.”

Read More

Overcoming yourself, striving for improvement over glory.

A story worth checking by all young and older viewers, that shows the importance of striving for improvement, patience, healthy rivalry, friendship and many more life lessons that one is never too old to be confronted with.

The main plot lines of the show are Shi Guang slowly discovering his love for Go, his rivalry with Yu Liang and Chu Ying’s search for The Divine Move. The main stories are surrounded by countless amazing side plots that make the character grow, mature, learn and reflect on their actions. We witness many different hardships characters have at different points of their lives - each serving us important life lessons. I feel like I learned so much, not only from the main characters, but also all the supporting ones.

While I enjoyed most of the stories told, I could not help but feel disappointed with how The Divine Move story was concluded. Loved the message behind it, and it truly fits the show perfectly, but the execution seemed lacking - it did not impact me as much as I hoped it would.

All characters were unique and served a purpose in the story - it goes not only for main ones, but all the supporting, or at times even guest roles. Ones that showed up for two or three episodes had a visible impact on the main characters and the plot even long after they were gone.

Shi Guang was a hot tempered and impulsive child - this being both an advantage and a disadvantage of his, depending on the situation. Sometimes making decisions on the spot is the only way to move forward, but at times it might lead to severe consequences. Watching this kid mature, gain more grounded and reasonable confidence in his skill was an amazing journey, full of emotional scenes that made me cry my eyes out a few times.

On the other side, we had the complete opposite - calm, collected and reserved Yu Liang. Probably my favorite from the show. His character development was less extreme and, for lack of a better word, dramatic, but I admired his love for learning. Watching him put developing his skills over pride of winning matches was in some strange way touching, since many of us would not be able to do that.

Even though these two barely shared screen together, their chemistry as characters was undeniable. I am truly amazed how I could still see the massive influence they have on each other, on the decisions they are making and progress they are striving for, even when they did not really see each other that often.

Behind a lot of the developments was Chu Ying - true master of Go. His admiration for the game was inspiring. With his guidance, Shi Guang was able to improve, while he himself was able to rediscover the true joy and meaning behind the game of Go. That said, he was one of my least favorite characters. At times, his childish behavior was too much, especially since he was supposed to be older than the two main teenagers. I was also truly not on board with some decisions he made, as the consequences were mostly negative and could have been avoided.

Acting wise - truly phenomenal. Especially Hu Xian Xu. I was amazed by his performance. Not one scene, not one line, not one emotion was a misdelivery. The diversity in his acting and the natural way he presented the internal conflicts the character was facing just blew me away.

The whole cast did not disappoint. Even the supporting and guest cast presented the level of acting worthy of the main characters. Sure, the children acting as the young main cast could have been more natural here and there, but for such a young cast, I was still truly impressed with what they presented.

I have close to no complaints in terms of production and directing. Some CGI seemed excessive and the makeup on Zhang Chao was a bit distracting, but except for that - everything just clicked well together.

“Our Adventure” is such a bop, every time it played at the end of the episode I wanted to drop everything and go on an unknown journey. Just the initial tune had quite an impact on my mood, making me want to try a bit harder in whatever I was going to do - be it work related or even a simple hobby.

Overall, I would not say it’s a must watch for everyone, since there is no drama that fits all tastes, but it’s for sure a must try for everyone. Whenever you feel like it’s something you will enjoy or not, give it a shot - you might be surprised with the result.

Read More

Extremely simple idea with extremely high production value.

First, I like to warn anyone who might want to pick it up - it's graphic. If you have a weak stomach, move it straight to the "not interested" list. They delivered amazing, beautiful, but gruesome pictures that made me uncomfortable with the content, but also in awe with how beautifully shot they were. No doubt the production value was the best part of the drama. It's clear to me a lot of thought was put into directing and editing, as well as set and costume design. The zombies... ladies and gentlemen... These were some good zombies. I was extremely impressed by the actors portraying them. The movement they presented was true perfection.

The acting was amazing for some, good for others. At times it was hard to judge since some characters (The Queen B) were annoyingly boring and unnecessary. Overall: A+. Especially with such a large "supporting cast" of all the background people and zombies. At times, dramas cast average skilled people for these roles, with hopes no one will notice. Here, everyone did their part well.

As for the plot and characters. There truly is not that much to say. It's the old tale we all know: power struggle and fighting for the crown. There is nothing new nor innovative about it. That said, since it's executed so well, it was not boring. Not to mention the zombie apocalypse going on in the background to keep us invested and excited. I was a bit disappointed with how they slowly toned down the shocking scenes to just go with zombies running and killing, since the creepy scenes from the beginning were some of the most memorable moments.

There were some characters I loved more (Young Shin and Master Ahn Hyung), and some that seemed pointless and not interesting at all (Jo Bum Pal and the Queen), but knowing it's just the first season, I'm hopeful they will deliver more later.

Was I disappointed in anything? Yes. Last episode presented two plot twists that were simply dumb in my eyes, and the longer I think about them, the less sense I see in what was shown. One of them makes a character look too stupid for the position they hold, and the other, to some extent, contradicts everything that happened before it.

Can you watch it as a stand alone without diving into season two? Technically, yes, but it would not be a smart idea. Season one ends on a cliffhanger and more or less middle part of the whole plot (if not just the introduction).

Read More

Zombie movie with a heart and brains.

Truth to be told, it's hard to be original with a zombie movie. We have seen it all. So now it's not about how original the story is, but how well the tale is told. Here - it's close to perfection.

People who like horror movies often joke that if all the characters used their brain, the movie would end before it even begins. And yet, Train to Busan was able to give us smart characters and not bore us to death with easy ways out. There are no easy roads when you fight bloodthirsty zombies ;)

The biggest surprise for me was how much I cared about the characters. With zombie movies I try to not get attached since sooner or later, the majority of people have to go. It was impossible to do here. I cried with every death and goodbye. The movie kept me on the edge of my seat because I liked these characters, and I wanted them to survive.

The production value was extremely high. How the movie was shot, the costumes and make up. Everything was close to perfection. CGI zombies at times felt off in terms of their movements, but as far as I know, the majority of people did not notice it at all.

Overall, the right amount of action, thrills, emotional impact and character's development. Masterpiece of the ending. Definitely worth the high rating it has.

Read More

What an amazing story we’ve got… almost. This drama has as many beautiful characters and storylines as problems with writing and development. And by the end, it left me completely confused.

Let’s start with the perfection that was the female lead. Dare I say one of the best I have ever seen in a drama? Yes. She was so strong and so amazingly flawed, it was hard not to love her, even when, at times, her decisions made my blood boil. She was fanatically loyal to people she cared about, even when faced with a moral dilemma. At times she ignored the wrongdoings of people around her, finding excuses for them and trying to justify their actions. When Yuan Song told Xing Er he cannot look at her confident and self righteous face, I couldn't agree more. At that moment I agreed with him and his reaction made perfect sense. But that’s the charm of Xing Er. She is just a human. She makes mistakes, her convictions are not always good and her decisions are not always correct.

Another character that caught my attention was Yuan Chun. The transformation she went through was amazing, yet so tragic. How she was driven into madness and self destructing. She was the true victim of the whole scenario presented to us. She was so innocent, and how these pure intentions she had were used by all the people she trusted and loved, broke her.

I must say, I quite enjoy the whole cast. Some characters deserving a bit of attention were: Xiao Ce - the charming prince with a good heart, Yuan Song - the cute prince with a bright smile, Yue Qi - the loyal bodyguard and the true MVP, He Xiao - the only one that truly deserves Yanbei.

That said, I was quite disappointed with both male lead characters. While Yu Wen Yue was painfully, boringly perfect, Yun Xun by the end of the drama was a dumb, easily manipulated villain without any true plan nor motivation behind his actions. Pushing him towards the dark side was a good idea and it worked for the most part, but the closer to the end we’ve got, the less sense I saw in anything and everything he was doing. I had no sympathy for him even though his character build up was based on the idea that we are supposed to feel empathy towards him, taking into consideration his past. For me, he could burn in hell and I couldn't care less.

And here we have the problems with the plot. For the most part it was perfect. I was truly amazed with the pacing. I was never bored, the plotlines were nicely entangled as we smoothly moved from one story to another. The problem is, at times we did not come back to some plotlines, and they were left unsolved. What happened to Xing Er’s sisters? We saw them meet when she was rescued, and then they were gone. Not even one line telling us where they are and what happened to them.

And it happened to the majority of the characters. We’ve got amazing setups, promising us more than we’ve got. The payoffs were simply weak. Xing Er’s core ability… nothing. It was mentioned here and there, the dramatic opening eyes and awaking her true potential at the end… and what next?

We know Xiao Ce is not just this dumb, playboy prince and he has so much more going on for him, why not show that? Why not show more of his duality? Cheng Yuan’s motivations were far better and deeper than we were led to believe for the majority of the run time. He wasn’t just a cruel and evil person. His decisions could have been logically explained as any other character. His ways of dealing with the problems were wrong, but it was not any worse from what we have seen from the majority of the other characters.

The romance… oh boi the romance. From day one we knew who the end game was, and I did not mind that. I wasn’t expecting some deep love triangles since the drama did not need it. Not even for a moment I thought Xing Er might romantically love Yan Xun. As much as he was obsessed with her, she was obsessed with the dream he created for her. For me it was just an unhealthy obsession she had for the better future and, later on, the need to save him from his own demons. Her heart was always with Yu Wen Yue. I loved their chemistry, their fighting scenes were beautiful and I've rewatched many of them quite a few times. I didn’t need more from it, just the longing, stolen glances, the lovers that should never happen. So why did we get that accidental kiss I am asking? Why did this happen when it was one of the most ridiculous and out of place scenes I have ever seen. The hug that followed a few episodes later had far more impact and conveyed greater emotions than any kiss they ever had. They were simply unnecessary.

The overall production value was beautiful yet questionable. The set design, costumes - perfection. The tragic CGI - painful. The scenes that made me laugh the most were the horse riding close ups when many times it did not look like people riding horses, the movement was wrong. What's more, often the sounds did not match the movement. For the OST though, I could not ask for more.

Truth to be told, I am surprised that with that ending (I don’t even want to talk about it) and the problems I had with the drama, I’m giving it 8/10 rating, but at the same time it makes perfect sense to rate it so high. The outstanding acting we’ve got probably helped a lot, so the frustrating parts of the plot were easily covered by the brilliant performance of the cast. I enjoyed it quite a lot, and watched it in 3 and half days. That's how invested in the plot I was. The ending ruined me. I needed a drink.

Read More