Kate

Karma is a b*tch, but I guess she is just.

Haunted Car
It’s more unnerving and uncomfortable than scary, especially with the close ups of the taxi driver’s face. It kind of tries to deliver a morality lesson and I would not even say they do a bad job, especially for a short story like this. It’s just a really basic one, nothing that will truly inspire you - we all heard it at least a few times in our lives.

Reborn
Really strong mystery/investigation ghost story. I like how the past is presented and the main character does a great job leading the story. It has an actually interesting plot with great performances and spooky atmosphere.

The Book of Truth
Probably the most complex plot wise, dealing with many elements that kind of fit nice together? Not gonna lie, I struggled to focus during the first half of this story, nothing truly grabbed my attention. It got better as they explained everything, but the not engaging beginning was a letdown.

Overall, all 3 stories dealt with topics of karma, afterlife, past life and all that spiritual stuff. All had more or less the same conclusion and message. Out of the 3, 2nd story - Reborn, was for sure the best.

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This was… well, I cannot say fun, since I had to pause it quite a few times from getting annoyed, but interesting? I knew mosquitos' flying sound can be frustrating, but not this level of infuriating.

The movie might be short and does not really present any plot, but it’s a good watch nonetheless. It’s weirdly tense for a short about mosquitoes and for some strange reason, it works.

The main character might take some drastic measures by the end, but honest? Can’t blame him. I was moving away from the laptop and being close to muting the tab because of the sound.

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This is one of the weirdest love stories I have ever seen…

And this is not a compliment. But I also cannot truly say it’s a bad thing. There is so much wrong with this romance, I could not stop laughing when I finished the movie.

Alice: Boy From Wonderland is quite an experience. First 50 minutes are a true snoozefest. Everything is confusing, but not in a good and interesting way, but more of a “nothing holds my attention”. I became so indifferent to what was happening on screen it was actually hard to follow the plot, because I could not force myself to pay much attention.

Then around half way through stuff starts to happen, and slowly (AND I MEAN SLOWLY) we start to get some puzzle pieces to get the full picture. And then the whole explanation happened and my brain just gave up. Plow wise, I feel like the answer to the majority of the question, but characters’ motivation wise, I am painfully confused.

I’m honestly not sure how I am supposed to feel about romance. The more explanations I’ve got, the more confused I’ve got. Am I supposed to ship it? Can I do it? I finished the movie and went “What now? You cannot leave me with conflicting emotions like that”...

It also had some weird genre mix ups. Especially with the presentation of the female shaman. I was supposed to both treat her seriously, as she knew the key to fixing the mystery and the nightmares, but also she had quite a few comedic moments that did not fit the mood of the movie at all.

Performance wise - decent. Honestly speaking, probably the weakest performance I have seen from Jung So Min. Hong Jong Hyun is not exactly known to be a good actor so that sums up his performance.

Production wise, at times it felt like it was made out of stock content, edited on a free software. Especially during the opening scene.

Overall… Once you start it, you have to finish it. I don’t know if it’s worth the watch, but that ending and explanation of the plot needs to be seen and experienced in its whole confusing glory.

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This being the 5th Whispering Corridors movie I have seen, I can confidently say, the storytelling in this “franchise” does not work for me. It always feels disjointed and at times extremely confusing with random flashbacks.

A Blood Pledge also has the weakest plot and motivations of the characters. I always felt like some of the Whispering Corridors movies at least try to tackle some more serious issues, but here the focus was on a random girl feeling insecure about the most unimportant issue, while the other characters truly have to deal with serious life problems.

Sure, the plot might have been a way to show how privileged the other girl was, and how blinded by her lack of real life experience she was, but it never felt this way.

The acting was one of the weakest from all Whispering Corridors movies. I guess Oh Yeon Seo did the best job, but even she was barely passable.

Overall, I honestly finished it only so I can move on to the newest installment.

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“People forget kindness easily, but they remember cruelty.”

The movie is basically 1 hour and 20 minutes of exposition that leads to the last 25 minutes of showdown that feel heartbreaking, but somehow cathartic. It’s really slow paced, until it’s not, but the wait is worth it.

Would I call it a horror movie? No. Sure, it does have horror elements, but it’s far more psychological thriller, or even dark psychological drama. Most of the movie has this borderline silly vibe, with underlying tension caused by the Head of the village - it’s hard to predict his nature. There are quite a few comedic elements, which for me make the dark ending that much darker.

It’s a story of a normal, rather good man Woo Ryong, and how external circumstances affected him. It’s hard to talk about the plot without giving away any spoilers. Most of the movie is just him and his son slowly integrating into a village, until someone sees it as a threat.

What I really enjoyed was how many small moments, lines and actions in the first half came back closer to the end - tying everything together.

The acting was great. Ryu Seung Ryong aced both the light and darker side of Woo Ryong. I honestly wish we had seen more of the unhinged one.

Production wise, the rats could have been better. There were moments when they looked beyond fake. That said, the rest of the movie was simply beautiful.

Overall, worth pushing through, even if you feel like nothing is really happening. For some, the sudden change of tone can seem abrupt, but for me it was slowly, but meticulously crafted with many details and hints of what’s to come.

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Could have been amazing, if kept on a smaller scale.

My biggest issue was how unrealistic this whole plot was, and how it forced too many characters to act painfully stupid - this stopped me from getting immersed into the story and caring for the characters.

The setting is truly interesting and allows you to slowly build the atmosphere. The dark tunnels, small spaces - all anxiety inducing. You could potentially feel the disorientation of the characters, when they are being chased by the killer. Sadly, I could not feel it. Why?

With the number of victims, the police reaction, or rather the lack of reaction, was quite ridiculous. It would be better to not involve the police at all, and make me wonder where they are when needed, than make me suffer watching this level of incompetence and lack of care.

I can deal with one stupid character… maybe two. But all of them? That’s just a pain for my brain. I get it, if everyone is smart, the movie ends before it starts. Just write a smart villain with a realistic setting that does not need characters with two brain cells to make it work.

Was the villain part of some supernatural evil gang? He was undestructable. I feel like one could cut his head off, and he would go: day like any other.

So, what’s good? Amazing performance. It’s Jung Kyung Ho we’re talking about. I am 100% certain he can sell literally any role and make it good. I also really liked Choi Deok Moon as Jong Ho, one of the victim’s father. Yun Seo had some clever tricks and moves, so it was truly entertaining to watch her navigate this deadly underground labyrinth.

Overall, good suspense, good visuals, great idea - if only they lowered the number of initial victims and kept the police away from it. Make it only a story of Yun Seo, Soo Jung and Jong Ho, and I would love it.

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Vibes and one clinically concerning finale.

Up till the last 5 minutes of the drama it’s just full of “nothing” and cliche, vibes and feelings with little substance. I’m not mad, the chemistry between Lee Sang Min and Jeong Jae Jong was good enough to actually carry the non-existing plot. The set up with the VR set was a bit awkward, but I can even turn a blind eye to that. They never truly explain what he is even testing and why, the boss/co-worker seems to not care what others do during working hours either. They don’t care, why should I?

But then the ending happens and I’m sitting in front of the laptop laughing like a maniac. So what you are saying is: Ha Yu Geon tried to magically manipulate Jeong Yeon into being completely in love with me with this magic experiment and Jeong Yeon was like: I'm okay with that. They need help. What an interesting twist that I truly did not expect at all. The longer I think about it, the more ridiculous it is. I want to send them into mandatory therapy.

And by dropping this unexpected revelation the drama ended. No time to adjust your thinking, understand what you just witnessed - just left in a state of shock. Pure form of entertainment. I mean, there is also the issue of Yu Geon conducting an experiment on Jeong Yeon when he was a minor without getting permission from him or his parents. The level of questionable ethics here is fascinating.

I’m not gonna pretend like the production or acting was masterclass quality. It was fine. Nothing stood out neither in a positive nor negative way. That said, they did a fairly good job with the placement of flashbacks and balancing them with the present timeline - it was easy to follow the story and how the character's feelings are changing. With extremely limited screentime and being able to show only snippets of interactions they made wise choices of what was important to highlight the story.

Overall, a decent watch with an amazing ending. The way that last episode changes everything. I expected questionable romance that might have started when one of the characters was still a minor, but what I’ve got was a whole ass manipulation and complicity that goes beyond what anyone would view as normal. What I mean is - fun!

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More individualistic than I thought it would be.

If it was up to me, I would probably remove the romance from the genre, since it never felt like the center or core of the drama. It was more of the background and set up for the personal internal and external struggles the leads had.

Far more slice of life with theatrical touch. It dives into themes of self doubt, insecurities, expectations we place on ourselves, hard choices between practically and what we desire, fear of disappointment. That said, I wish they dived deeper into all these internal conflicts. Somehow I was not quite satisfied with the complexity of the presentation.

Weirdly, I got really interested in the production of that fictional play, and I was mentally arguing with the director about his preferred interpretation of the main character.

Acting wise, we already knew the cast was great after season 1. There were moments I was not quite… vibing with Niihara Taisuke’s performance, not because of his skill, but rather the style that was chosen for this production - I am honestly not a theatre girlie.The performance was great, just not my preferred type.

Overall, it was for sure at least on the same level as season one, if not better. I guess it would depend on what you expect to get from it.

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Main story that feels like a side-plot.

I’m sad to say, but there was something strangely satisfying about this movie. It did not feel like the main story. It felt like one of the side plots in a drama. A bit wishy-washy.

Yes, the story was technically moving. Love how it showcases disability focused on the children and how it affects them and their guardians. I also truly appreciated the focus on communication and the patience needed to create a bond with a child who does not use the usual channels of communication we know.

The acting was amazing, especially from Jung Seo Yeon who was only 7 when she portrayed Eun Hye. And yet, while the movie made me smile from time to time and the interactions between Eun Hye and Jae Shik were adorable, I was never truly moved.

Maybe because there was just too much going on plot wise? MLs failed career, gangsters on his ass, hunting for the “aunt”, then side plots with the watermelons and that small family, his bond with Eun Hye. At the end everything felt underwhelming.

Overall, I liked it, but did not love it. Maybe it would work better in a longer format, or with some plots trimmed.

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Found family trope, but with real family…

Or rather reconnecting with your family while learning how to move forward - that’s what the drama is about.

To be honest, it was not easy for me to make up my mind about the show. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Was I excited to watch every episode? Not really. That’s the thing with a slice of life dramas - you either connect to the characters and enjoy the ride, or feel like a third wheel in a relationship. This time I felt more like a third wheel.

Here’s the thing though, the drama is good, really good. I guess it just was not for me. Kishibe Mitsuru felt like a plot device to motivate other characters and deliver some truly meaningful lines, while himself staying stagnant. I understand that it fits the theme, but I like my main characters to feel more like the main characters…

The aspect of the show I truly loved was the relationship between Akiba Koji, who also was my favorite character, and Akiba Harumi. The progression was shown in such a delicate and minimalistic way, but when comparing their interactions in first and last episodes, the progress is clear. One line here, one interaction there, but the end result made me cry.

Another thing I appreciated about the show was how mundane it was. Normal people with painfully normal issues and somehow it was refreshing. There is nothing worse than a show trying to seem relatable, but also adding stories 0.00001% of viewers could truly relate to. Here I could understand the struggles of all the characters, either because I faced them myself at some point of my life, or I saw people around me try to deal with similar situations.

The acting was obviously great. Ikuta Toma did a fantastic job with this role. He was truly subtle with some of the emotions, but they were still easily visible and understood.

Production wise, it’s kept in a rather simple style. Simplicity did fit this type of story rather well and both the writing and directing created a cohesive picture.

Overall, even though I did not fall in love with this drama, I would still recommend it. I can clearly see why people love it, and I’m a bit sad I was not able to connect to it as much as others did. It delivers some great life lessons supported by strong dialogues and moving lines.

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Welcome to the circus and the land of cult activity

…where brain cells die with every poor judgement the characters make. It’s an entertaining trainwreck you just cannot look away from.

Not one person was normal in this drama, and that’s surprisingly not the issue. The issue was how almost no one had a working brain. I can excuse villagers and the Gote family, because this is what happens when you don’t touch the grass enough, and by touch a grass I mean interact with normal people outside of your little cult circle. Male lead thought? No excuse. I was able to witness the negative black hole brain cell energy in its purest form. He truly did not know when to shut up - each and every time he just spilled all the tea explaining who he suspects, why, of what, and what he will do about it - straight to the suspects faces. Learn how to lie… But no, he had to verbalize every useless thought that showed up in his half empty brain. I had to pause the episodes because I was getting too much second hand embarrassment. And it was so much fun to see him keep getting into trouble, often of his own making.

What’s also annoying about his character was his obsession over being a detective and investigating - annoying, but well written. This is your typical man child with little self esteem who wants to feel important and powerful, and he mostly uses force and intimidation to get it. Zero planning, just straight to the action. Which then led to never ending conflicts with everyone in his surrounding. Not blaming him for being paranoid, but he could be smarter about it.

On the other side we had Agawa Yuki who went into the oblivious side of extreme. With the level of weirdness going on in the town, the fact she still claimed "Maybe we worry too much” was just amazing. The level of denial and wishful thinking is what gets many people dead. Her whole persona reminded me of a horror movie “Speak No Evil” - every time you accept weird behavior not to stir the pot, the boundary gets moved and at some point there are no boundaries left.

Even the innocent and pure kids did not escape the abnormal presentation. Agawa’s daughter was literally the worst judge of the characters, always wanting to befriend the criminals, murderers, and predators.

All that said, I think the scariest part of the whole show was not the Zombie Grandpa, nor the actual shenanigans happening in the village and Goto family, but how everyone tried to control, gaslight and force into obedience Agawa Daigo. The pressure put by the community, the shift of the quality of the interactions - going from attacking, shaming, isolating, to smiling and treating like a part of family. The gaslighting was so strong I also became paranoid and suspected everyone and their mother, cousin, kids and unborn babies of doing shady business and being part of the problem.

As for the Goto family, not stated in the drama, but there must be some inbreeding going on. They are way too closed of a community to have so many young people in the family without some Sweet Home Alabama vibes. Jokes aside, I actually loved watching their scenes. Figuring out their morals, laws, conflicts resolutions, hierarchy, culture and tradition was fascinating, even if scary. On one hand you can sense the ultimate loyalty they have for each other, on the other hand you can see that even considering any type of change would be viewed as betrayal.

I also love how this is basically a spider man meme of all these crazy folks pointing at each other claiming the other ones are the crazy ones. You are all part of the same circus, accept that. At first it was extremely frustrating to see all that happening and no one making rational decisions, even the police outside of the village. It didn't seem realistic, but the longer I thought about it, the more I started to accept it. This would not be so outside of the realm of possibility. I can totally see police just ignoring and not wanting to get involved in whatever is happening in a small village that is more or less isolated from the rest of the world, as long as the crazy does not start to leak into their own town and surrounding area.

On the technical side: really good transitions between shots - often focused on a specific item (apple in episode one) or movement - one character walking away, close up to their back, fade do black, camera moves away and we are following a different character. Small things that just work and make the shift between scenes more smooth. As psychotic as I might sound, I also think the drama was visually stunning. I love the realistic gore, the blood that looked like blood and not cheap Temu red paint, the costumes, set design - all great.

The music was just fire, amazing, perfect, both in timing and the choice. The end of the episode instrumental? Perfection. It’s literally a crime that it's not released anywhere. I am honestly mad.

As for the acting - where to even begin? Yagira Yuya aced the role of the hot-tempered detective with obvious internal issues. The way I wanted to both beat him up back into reality and witness him beating people up just shows the complexity of the character and the great portrayal - made me have conflicting feelings and it made sense. Kasamatsu Show was probably my favorite - up till now I am not fully sure how sane Goto Keisuke was, but I know creating that feeling in viewers was intentional.

From the supporting cast, the one that I want to praise the most was Yoshihara Mitsuo as Goto Iwao. I’d assume for most Mutsuo was more of a memorable character, but somehow for me the more calculative and methodological Iwao was more frightening - he almost seemed normal, and that underlying sense of danger that was less obvious, but ever-present could not be easy to deliver.

I know for many this drama was gruesome and uncomfortable to watch, but for me it was just a fun even if slightly frustrating watch. Maybe I am desensitized because of all the horror I saw, but I just kept laughing with every new pathological and shocking reveal happening on screen.

Can this drama be viewed as stand alone without watching part 2? No. It’s not the case of most of the plot getting semi-conclusion. You cannot treat it as a drama with an open ending, because it honestly presents no ending. The last scene is a cliffhanger that more or less forces you to watch more if you wish to get any conclusion. Will I watch season 2? For sure, but I need a short break first :)

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I’m not sure how I feel about this movie. First half could be easily taken as an audiobook - you don’t have to watch the movie, just listen. Even if you decide to actually commit to the viewing experience, you will not see much - small, dark, close space and constant close ups to characters faces hidden in the shadows. It was still fairly interesting, but just listening to it might actually give you a better experience, as you will have to imagine the place yourself, and it would make it easier to immerse yourself into the situation.

It’s a rather slow take on how regret and guilt can really mess you up and lead to unfortunate decisions… you will end up regretting yet again. The ending ties it all up quite well, explaining many details presented along the way.

The performances were great in terms of line delivery, but because of the set up, it was not always as easy to judge anything beyond that - I just simply could not see much.

And that’s the flaw of the production. I understand that the set up was intentional and the dark claustrophobic small space was part of the storytelling, yet I cannot stop myself from being disappointed with the result.

Overall, a decent watch. I feel like the ending might seem a bit confusing at first, but by the time credits roll in, it’s not hard to put the puzzles together.

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Engaging narrative that ties everything together.

Slow paced storytelling that trusts the viewers are smart enough to connect the dots themselves. Noroi opens with seemingly random plot lines that do not quite fit together, but as the story progresses, you start to notice the connections and by the end of the movie, everything falls into a perfect picture. Not a scene nor a frame seemed redundant.

I appreciated how Noroi: The Curse believed in my memory skills and brain power, and did not spam me with countless flashbacks that are supposed to help me connect the scenes and lore elements. It’s up to a viewer to either see the patterns and hints in the background that are dropped throughout the movie. With that, it presents itself as a perfect rewatch material - as a viewer, it’s entertaining to try to find things you might have missed on the first watch.

If you expect a lot of jump scares and a fast paced scary story - you won’t find it here. It relies on building the creepy and disturbing atmosphere framed into a realistic documentary style. It takes a while before anything truly happens, and yet the plot itself is interesting enough, so you won’t get bored waiting.

Overall, one of the best documentary-like horror movies I have seen in quite a while. The filming, editing, acting - all comes together to make it seem like a real story that truly happened. It requires you to pay attention to understand the it completely, but it’s worth it.

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Cute, extremely well produced BL, that almost got everything right, took a step in the right direction, but then countless steps back.

It presents two different love stories - one more lighthearted with lots of comedy, and the other showcasing the potential hardships that can hold someone back before they are able to accept the love. Pi's character for sure will become one of my favorite BL main leads. The writing did a good job in presenting someone who has low self-esteem and is aware of it. Some of his lines were truly hard-hitting and perfectly illustrated what he was dealing with.

Sadly, the characters' writing suffers from "2gether syndrome" when writers, for some strange reason, decide to ruin the writing for the sake of an artificial conflict and more "drama". With 2gether Sarawat was the victim in episode 11, here it's Mork with the painful writing in episode 8 and our poor girl Bam later on. It was truly hard for me to root for the main couple after a few questionable scenes and decisions that were made on Mork's side, but as it is with BLs - you learn how to ignore some mistakes for the sake of the overall enjoyment.

The thing that the show for sure needs to be prized for is the production and editing. As a viewer, I don't really expect much from BLs on that side - you get used to the fact a lot of BLs look cheaper compared to other dramas, and there is not much attention to detail. Not here though. I was truly amazed with the quality. I never take screenshots while watching BLs, because realistically speaking, rarely ever is there anything to screenshot. And yet, I have a full folder of pictures from Fish Upon The Sky. Hopefully this will become the standard in the production quality.

And here comes one flaw, that is a flaw no matter how you look at it: the shippers. What bothered me the most was not even their toxicity, but the fact the writer was not sure how they wanted to present them - as a toxic or comedic harmless duo. The powerful scene between them and Pi was completely disregarded in later episodes and I was truly confused. What exactly am I supposed to get from it? What is the message? Is there even any message?

Overall, it’s quite an enjoyable ride. There were bits that frustrated me to the core, but that's the beauty of watching any drama - they evoke emotions in us, whenever positive or negative. It's a show I would for sure recommend if someone asks for some BL suggestions. It's an easy watch with some good qualities that will keep you interested.

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Painful lack of balance.

Duel is an interesting tale that serves as a commentary on morality, what it means to be human and what one can do for survival. It mixes typical corruption and crime plot lines with underlying science fiction elements. Sadly, the lack of balance in terms of writing the characters and their backgrounds makes it hard to truly enjoy and appreciate it.

To keep it simple, this show kept making me feel angry, depressed and frustrated. This drama was determined to dump any possible bad event on one character, not letting him, nor me as a viewer, take even a small chill break. By the end of the show I couldn't care less about any other character except for Sung Hoon. While making me care so much about the "villain" - the angry, manipulative and selfish one of the Sungs could be considered excellent writing, the fact that it also makes me dislike Sung Joon says otherwise.

How many writing mistakes must you commit to make me dislike the good, loyal, selfless and cute character, while I wish to see the happiness of the evil, shady and selfish one? And that's where the lack of balance shows. The good guy was too good and didn't have an interesting backstory, while the bad guy had a compelling background and more complex personality.

The plot follows a rather typical structure of a crime show. The science fiction aspect has little if not no closure. All storylines for each character got a conclusion - some more, some less satisfying.

I have to applaud Yang Se Jong's performance. He aced both the goodness in Sung Joon and madness in Sung Hoon. Truly believable dual acting. I wasn't the biggest fan of Kim Jung Eun in here, but I'm honestly not sure if the problem was her acting, or how her character was written.

Overall, watch it if you like to suffer and be frustrated - for some people it makes them feel alive. For me, the drama could have dived deeper into how external circumstances can shape who we are and how we act, what it means to act morally and if it even matters when faced with a life or death situation.

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