Reviews

Cute Couple -- Wily and yet Charming FL + Multi-faceted ML

Having watched this drama, I must say that I enjoyed the ride! :)

What I liked:
- The leads are good-looking. Oh man, the two leads are gorgeous to look at and so cute together.
- I like a smart FL who can take good care of herself and Hua Liu Li (HLL) does just that. She can take good care of herself and others around her. I like her charms and her gift of the gab. She can be coquettish. She can be feisty. She is a capable person.
- I like a devoted ML who loves and protects his sweetheart. The ML is very handsome and very manly. I think he acts well too because in front of HLL, he is all puppy-eyes and wanting her attention. However, when it comes to being the Crown Prince and handling his duties, he is all intelligent, competent, courageous and a force to be reckoned with. He is THE MAN, for sure.
- Yuan Wei (YW), HLL's maid, is the best maid ever. HLL and YW are so cute together. She looks adorable and she is smart and capable too.
- Tian Jia Min (TJM) and her mother, Princess Shun An, are so cute. TJM is all bark and no bite. She became reluctant and yet, good friends with HLL after both girls were kidnapped and went through "thick and thin" together. TJM's mother is always fan-girling about HLL's mother. So cute.
- The king is a nice man and a good king/ father (on the whole).
- HLL's family members are nice. They support her and have her interests at heart.
- Yun Han understood the error of his ways and stopped betraying ML.
- I like that Ying Wang and the third prince are not out to usurp the Crown Prince's position. The brothers actually co-exist nicely despite the machinations of their scheming mothers.
- The "Easter egg" endings are funny.

What I didn't like that much:
- Psycho plotter/ mastermind who has a Jekyll and Hyde personality. Atrociously manipulative. I do understand that we need to have some tension and suspense and something happening in the plot but he was a pain to watch. So nasty and horrid.
- Song Shu dies in the end which made me cry too. He really held the fort and was a father/ brother figure for HLL.

Overall, the plot is engaging and riveting enough (IMO). I truly enjoyed watching both FL and ML. They are good-lookers who light up my screen. Their acting is also good. There is also a lot of heart in this drama. I highly recommend this drama! It is a pretty fun watch!

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not worth the watch

This drama had a promising start but it slowly got worse . The beginning was funny and sort of lighthearted and it was overall refreshing to watch in a thai lakorn since they are always very dramatic and serious. But this lighthearted-ness only lasted for about the first 6 episodes. As the story continued I got really angry at the ML he never thought about his wife just himself. After the FL got kidnapped and the video of her and the kidnapper got sent the ML changed. He rescued her but soon after in the hospital he couldnt even look at her while speaking saying he wasnt ready to talk about how she supposedly got raped and not even asking his own wife what happened. He then later on took the FL to the exact place she was kidnapped, that scene literally broke me she was crying cause she didnt want to go in and he kept trying to force her. And despite the FL literally yelling at him in tears about how she was pregnant with him and not the kidnapper the ML still denied it and thought that she only wanted his money. I wasnt even sure if I wanted to continue watching at this point but I was hoping that the ML would redeem himself but that never happened. He kept assuming that she had many lovers after seeing her with the doctor, banleng and sutee. He also kept saying how he only wanted the baby to be healthy which also got me annoyed. And after he did all of this he just apologized in the last episode and that was it, there was nothing more just an apology and saying that he wants the best for the baby and the mother. Overall this drama had potential but it was just ruined. If you personally prefer slap kiss lakorns you can avoid this one and watch dramas like kluen cheewit or hua jai sila that are also slap kiss lakorns but with a much better storyline and much better ML.

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Fast-Paced TRUE Enemies to Lovers

In a sea of boring visuals, and Enemies to Lovers tropes that fall flat; this show, while not perfect, is very striking and addicting.

Overview:
One of the shows positive qualities is that it takes each episode as a narrative and tailors it's run time towards the plot portion being told. If the obvious stopping point for a cliffhanger was to make the episode less than 9 minutes long, it was. Likewise, if the story needed more time to expand on the plot, the episode became longer.

What the show exceeds at is showcasing a captivation Enemies to Lovers trope in a "he's crazy but SHE'S crazier" style, providing a modern take on women's rights that, while still "shoved down your throat", manage to seem like they might "actually" happen in small conversations among families and confidants, and using over-the-top and bold cinematography to capture intense emotions.

Where the show lacks if honesty is to be blunt, is in the underlying conspiracy plot execution and character development of the main villian and the MLs family.

😅😅Weaknesses:😅😅

To address first the weaknesses:
The grandmother and SiL do a full 180 in the last few episodes. This is not explained and there is absolutely zero character hints prior to the episode the change occurs for the audience to follow along and believe the change when it occurs. Personally, when the change happened I thought the episode was going to end as a dream it was that sudden and unexpected.

The main villian was VERY one-dimensional. We have no back story to explain WHY they decide to take part in the conspiracy and they are let go and allowed to break free FAR too many times to be believable. There is "suspense your disbelief" and then there is "oh come on, REALLY, AGAIN!?!?" This is not to say that the interactions are not entertaining, but they are HIGHLY unbelievable and have the true air of a soap opera or cartoon weekly villian.

As for the conspiracy, if you blink you will miss the underlying intricacies that go in to the ML working on this case. In hindsight this makes sense as the conspiracy is tied to the plot of the death of his beloved, but most people don't watch these over-the-top soap opera type shows paying attention to EVERY word that gets said. What it comes down to, and some of this COULD be a translation issue despite the subtitles seeming to translate well enough, is that when the case is resolved with the Envoy and they had done their explanation I was personally still shaking my head in confusion about what that plot was about and what had happened to close it.

🎉🎉POSITIVES!🎉🎉

At it's CORE, this show is a romance. This is not always the case, despite many shows having the romance tag. For as much as it is a very over-the-top and dramatic depiction of two people falling in love, it is also a VERY real and complex depiction.

Our ML begins the story in a state of devastation and need of vengeance. He is crazy enough to break into the residence of a high ranking minister demanding the life of the one who killed his beloved (literally the first scene). He takes risks and is crazy enough to demand unconventional situations of the FL to achieve his goals.

Meanwhile, our FL is a two-sided coin. She is willing to put on the face of a proper lady one moment, and then tear it away the next to achieve her means of survival. She WILL survive through compromise, lies, trickery, seduction, or violence. Her battle cry is: "Between your life and mine, I'll ALWAYS choose mine".

With the show bringing them together due to her initial lie they begin to use eachother. The cinematography of their interactions together tell a tight story of reliance and distrust. They instantly play the opposite teams as a united front, hands clasped and smiles high; only for the camera to pan to them immediately dropping their hands or the FL glaring her eyes. One of the best showcases of their relationship is the red divider. Over the course of the show they have conversations around this piece of furniture, often with them on opposite sides. But this changes. The use of the divider in the last episode is honestly now one of my favorite scenes it was intricately done and the dialog was moving.


It was mentioned earlier about the very real and complex emotions of a relationship this show portrays. Without providing spoilers, the end of episode 20 could have very much been the end of the series and I personally would have accepted it as ending this way. When a person doesn't trust themselves to know WHAT love is, being able to provide seemingly empty platitudes and promises feels like a lie. If that person has previously thought they knew what love was but are now questioning themselves, it's even harder as they feel the need to make feelings fit into a box. In general, romance shows don't delve into this topic. The leads just KNOW instantly, it they deny "the truth" but know "secretly". But then, most romances feature pure and innocent characters who have never even thought of loving another person before so when they "FEEL" it, they know. Not everyone can recognize that they "feel" love. For that reason this is an excellent take on romance and love.

Additionally, there are other "hot-takes" in this series including a woman's reliance on being virgin to be "clean and worthy" and the dangers of childbirth and right for either partner to use contraception. The hypocrisy of a woman telling another that she is no more than a prostitute if she doesn't show proof of blood is thrown back with the harsh reality that "there's more than one reason for there to be no blood" and a harsh jab back at her new husband. While later, a discussion is had about waiting because of the risk of dystocia. While obvious for modern viewers, that they are presented in a way so as to still seem scandalous and unheard of was pleasant in opposition to recent "woman's rights" shows taking the "we can force modern values to be accepted to the entire population in a costume setting" approach.


CONCLUSION:

Ultimately, as long as you go in expecting a show that WILL have flaws but that has chemistry, pacing, and dramatic flare shots of an over-the-top makjang-type / soap opera, you'll have a LOT of fun eating your popcorn and clicking NEXT.

I watched as airing from first night watching the clock for the next episodes to drop on MangoTV.

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If you are looking for a drama that is just a fun and exciting ride, this is the drama for you!
If you are looking for a drama that has great acting, great chemistry between the characters and is a comedy...This is the drama for you!
If you want to be entertained and REALLY just enjoy a drama from episode 1 to the finale...This is the drama for you!

STORY: This drama sure has a roller coaster of a ride for a story. Every episode has a cliffhanger which makes you want to click next episode as fast as possible. It is just a fun and wild ride. Basically the story is a group of people with different backgrounds and skills come to together to fight against corruption. It is so much more than that but you know...spoilers. The only downside of how this story structure turns out is that at the beginning of the drama, the action and story is like a 2 episode story arc and then moves onto the next mini story arc. I loved that but the further along you get into the drama, the less and less the writers told the story that way. I completely understand why and it didn't become distracting or hurt the story in any way, I just liked that the story was episodic BUT I usually like my crime dramas episodic.

ACTING/CAST: I thought the acting and choice of cast was PERFECT for this drama. Everyone played their role beautifully. It was like they were made for the role they were given in this drama. Also the cast had such great chemistry together too. Also anytime I see Kim Won Hae in a drama...It goes to the top of my list.

MUSIC: I usually don't notice the music all that much but this drama's music stood out. The OSTs for this drama are fantastic! I have been listening to them on repeat. I think the music that is played during the intense parts and the themes played with each character really added to the ambiance of the drama.

REWATCH VALUE: I will 100% rewatch this drama again...I WANT A SECOND SEASON OF THIS DRAMA!

OVERALL: I just loved that I chose to watch this drama. I kind of picked it up on a whim but NOW I am sad that it is over. I will miss the hodge podge group of ruffians that I was used to watching every week. WATCH THIS DRAMA! You won't regret it. It is just a fun time with great characters that are well rounded and have depth and flaws and a drama that has a good storyline (granted could have stuck with the episodic structure for a little longer).

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Could have been better.

This movie is being carried by its cast. Absolute standout in terms of acting and chemistry, which is to be expected because just look at who they cast. It is very obvious these two actors put in the work to embody their characters. I really, really wanted to love the movie, but I cannot overlook some aspects despite how much I did enjoy it.

Flaws: So many. I think it can be summarized as this movie felt like it did not know whether it wanted to be a Japanese movie or a Hollywood one, so what you get in terms of editing is a very strange mix that ends up appealing to neither audience sometimes.

- There were many times where weird editing choices brought me out of the story completely. One such example is the announcer at the 10Dance section in the end, where he both names the dance, and adds a very unnecessary quip afterwards. Another odd editing choice is to layer conflicting music on top of each other.

- The pacing at the end, absolutely rushed. This story would have benefitted from being a series. An extra 40-80 minutes of content would have fixed a lot.

- The English subtitles are also plain wrong occasionally.

- The music was either a full hit or a miss. Since this is a movie about dance, I would have hoped that they had a better selection for music choice and background tracks.

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This is for adult viewers or people who want more than just fantasy IN MEMORIAM for YML

This is a romance between races, but also tragic story of self-sacrifice. Most folks will hate the ending, but for me it was a world better than The Love Between Fairy and Devil!
From the first episode I was spell-bound. Considering I am not a big fan of fantasy this was one of the best I had seen in general and the best of 2024. Why? Consistent production. Great editing. Fun costumes, awesome color palette. Solid acting. Good story and interesting characters. Music and the lyrics! But what beats Burning Flames and Love Game for me was complex subtext of this story. The whole idea of animosity between two groups is nothing new but I have not seen anything like this before. I admit I only saw 350+ dramas, but this script was smart inside out. I was raised during the era of post-communist regime in the country where we could not openly speak of the tragedies and terror around us, so we developed an artistic, metaphoric way of communicating our observations, dissent and longings. I loved this drama because of how it spoke to that.
Now that we all know how much suffering YML had gone through in his career and how horribly he had died - being the hero of this drama is truly a memorial to his courage to persevere, love for who and what he loved and eternal sadness that he left us in. I never thought that this drama would be the last of his main roles released in his lifetime. I am going to look for Traditional Chinese Medicine that hopefully will be released soon just to see him again - as a healer.
If you are looking for an easy, HE romance, nah. Skip it. If you want a good story that is visually beautiful and filled with wisdom - give it a try. Or watch it just to honor the great person that Yu Meng Long was.

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P A I N O F M A Y Beautiful, Heartbreaking and Bittersweet

The Story is either too cliche for you or not. It depends on your taste..... Forbidden Love, Richman/Poorwoman is my cup of tea because I like how it makes me cried and this Drama have it. Didn't expect too much with this but Dammnnn it was so painful from the Start till the end. But it's not only that The Writers did an amazing job making it different from most of cliche K-dramas.

This Drama is set in May 1980 when Martial Law happened in the City of Gwangju, South Korea. And the Love Story that blooms from the Youth. I really like the idea and execution. We can see that they put a lot of effort to make it realistic as possible.

Hwang Hee Tae is not your typical Male Lead but his life is too cliche for a K-drama because of his cruel Father.
Lee Do Hyun is pretty hype actor. He is not bad but not Wow also maybe I should watch him in 18 Again. He is actually good and natural actor

Kim Myung Hee is your Strong and Weak Female Lead. I just can't describe her Characteristics but I like how she knows to stand on her own foot however sometimes it felt so cruel for her Father.
Go Min Si played her role Okay. I'm impressed with her in The Smile has left your eyes but she seems off in this one maybe because it's her first time playing FL but I swear she can do better.

Lee Soo Ryeon who despite being wealthy desperately fights for social justice and feels responsible. To be honest I didn't hate her like everyone do.
Geum Sae Rok is the weakest out of all the Cast. She needs a lot of improvement and so far I can only see her playing Second Lead Role.

I have Love at first heard with the music. Starry Night by Ryeowook is so good I even downloaded it on my phone. It's my type of Music and the melody is too I also love the lyrics. I'm quite disappointed that they didn't used it in other emotional scenes.

Things to prepared if you're going to watch it.
1. WIKIPEDIA
- You might search about Gwangju Uprising while watching it.
2. COFFEE
- There's so many parts that is boring and draggy so I think you need to prepare it.
3. TISSUE
- 50 meters of tissue will do but only if you are are easy crier.

Overall, Youth of May is really great and underrated but can't say it's a Masterpiece. I hate it and I love it but remember Love can overpower hate so Yeah, I love this Drama afterall. The Drama is good in many ways however it felt so repetitive
I like You
Let's Date
I don't like you anymore
I love you
I want to spend time with you
I don't love you anymore
I still love
I'm scared of you
Let's break
You are Back
After those scene it's like nothing happened. They're like strong couple lmao

English is my Third Language so Sorry if it's bad but I will try my Best to improve it.
Thank You for reading my Review^^ I hope you enjoyed the Drama. I'm very sad it ended :( It's the first K-drama I finished while airing.

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An Eternal Nightmare

After watching Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms when it first streamed, I was very excited to watch Eternal Love of Dream despite the change in story. However, I was very disappointed in it and found it hard to watch. It took me several months to get through it which rarely happens.

Pros:
- Bringing back Vengo Gao and Dilraba Dilmurat was the best part of the show and frankly the only reason I persisted through it till the end. Their chemistry, as before, was flawless and their acting was on point. No complaints there!
- The cinematography was lovely and I found the sets to overall be more realistic than in TMOPB.
- As always the OST was beautiful.
- Costuming, again, was perfect. I appreciated how each tribe had their own general but unique style without all looking the same.

Cons:
-This may seem minor or petty, but I was not fond of some of the recasts, Cheng Yu in particular. The new actress appears significantly younger and some of her scenes with Lian Song just didn't work for me with the obvious age difference, she just seems too young for him. The actress in TMOPB seemed to be a more comparable age and the two actors played off each other much better, in my opinion.
-The plot positively dragged for me. The constant misunderstandings between Feng Jiu and Dong Hua from the very beginning to quite literally the very end got exhausting after a while. The fact that neither seemed to learn from past mistakes was also frustrating and that more than a few of their misunderstandings seemed very forced, that if they had just used some common sense there wouldn't even be an issue, just compounded the issue. A'Lanruo's Dream was a particular challenge to get through. There were aspects that were not explained well and it got confusing at times with what was going on and who was who and what their relationships were. Most of it got ironed out in the end, but in the moment it was confusing and frustrating. I also never got a very clear picture of why A'Lanruo was hated so much by everyone or why she was abandoned as a child. There were hints, but nothing definitive so the blanks within her life were another source of frustration.
- I very much liked Feng Jiu in TMOPB, but I realized very soon after starting this drama that part of that was because she was seen in small doses overall. With her as the lead in this drama, I definitely found her to be a little more over the top and annoying at times. When she's a fox towards the beginning was particularly cringy and a challenge to watch. I would have really liked to see her character develop and mature and mellow from the childishness to a more measured level.
- The side characters were a mixed bunch. Ji Heng in particular annoyed the crap out of me. She was a basically pointless character whose only purpose was to sow discord between Feng Jiu and Dong Hua. Xiao Yan deserved so much better than her whininess. Xiao Yan on the other hand was a lot of fun and I enjoyed seeing Lian Song and Si Ming back. Chong Li was a welcome addition as was Qing Ti. As a side note, I found the dismissal of the deaths of Meng Shao and his family more than a little irritating. I came to really like Meng Shao and appreciate his character development so the fact that his death was barely mentioned and even then just in passing as part of the royal family was off-putting. He wasn't a main character, but he had enough of a part to deserve a little more recognition.
-The villains were okay but not particularly impressive. Miao Luo's obnoxious evil laugh got old real fast and I never found her to be particularly threatening or interesting. It could be that I'm just forgetting, but I didn't get a real sense for why she was evil or what her motivation was other than because of how she was created. At least with Nie Chuyin his motivation was clearly power and the desire to rule. I honestly would have found it more interesting to have him as the main villain as he was far more compelling and interesting to watch.
- As with pretty much every drama I've watched, the CGI definitely leaves more than a little to be desired. The episodes with Feng Jiu in her fox form were a bit painful to watch, in more ways than one. The bad effects and her behavior combined made those some tough episodes to get through.
-A relatively minor issue, but I always get frustrated with these fantasy dramas and how unclear they make the passage of time. You watch a few episodes and think a few days or months have gone by only to find out that nope, its been a few hundred years. I feel like they could make that a little more clear.

In the end, did I hate it? No. Did I love it? Also no. It wasn't a bad drama, but it wasn't a particularly good one either. It pales hugely in comparison to TMOPB in pretty much all aspects. It's certainly not one that I'll ever have the desire to rewatch but I also don't necessarily regret watching it either. It simply wasn't quite my cup of tea.

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It is hard for me to pinpoint how I feel about this drama. It had a lot going on for it but also had a lot of flaws. It had some of the most beautifully shot and memorable scenes, yet so much of the drama was filled with skippable fluff.

The setting of the drama is what initially attracted me. At the turn of the century, it is an important time for Joseon, where their fate for the next few decades, even up to our day and age, would be determined during that time. One of the themes that were emphasized in this drama is the injustices some Koreans went through at the hands of their people, especially due to hierarchy. This resulted in many people with a grudge against their own country, especially against the nobles.

Another very strong point about this drama is the character development. Other than the Japanese antagonistic, and the depiction of some traitors, many of the characters were given layers and layers, that you can't help but feel for. Of course, it all bloomed thanks to the talented actors behind it. Starting with Kim Tae Ri playing the character with a mission Go Ae Shin. This character could've easily become overbearing (think Gaksital FL), yet here she remains constant. As the story goes on, you can't help but be driven by her plight. And that is what happened with all 4 other leads. Eugene Choi on the other hand is the character I connected with the most. The feeling of not belonging to neither country can be lonely. You see him struggle daily trying to understand where he stands. I admired how he never felt ashamed of his origin and felt for his pain and grudge against those who caused it. Then you see his grudge falter as he is met with people that kept challenging the preconceived notion of his birthplace. Lee Byung Hun really gave his all for this character, especially towards the end.

Watching Yoo Yeon Seok after seeing him in "Hospital playlist" it is difficult to accept that is the same person. Looks aside, his character is the most pitiful and toxic. He has no problem slicing anyone in half if they got on his wrong side, yet he won't hesitate to protect them if he sees anyone being unfairly treated. The most tragic character is Kudo Hina / Lee Yang Hwa played by Kim Min Jung. Having been sold off previously like some commodity really shaped her personality. She is all about being in control, however, the one thing she could never control is the action of her parents. This breaks her time and again throughout the drama. You can also sense the sadness in her eyes. Finally, Kim Hui Sung played by Byun Yo Han was the main reason for me for starting this drama. He was the actual sunshine here. His smile lightened my day, even when you could feel the heavy burden behind it.

Of course, what made this drama memorable is a large number of supporting characters. Gunner Jang was a character I followed and rooted throughout. This story was as much his story, as it was Go Ae Sin's story of a man who rejected the leaders of his country but chose its people. He was the forever rebellious Jang. Another character that stood out is the king. He was frustrating for most of the drama, but as the story went on, you realize how helpless he felt, and how carefully he chose his actions to protect his people. Being in his place is the most crumbling experience. There were many more, too many interesting characters.

The horror of colonialism is really well exposed here. The actions the Japanese did makes you wonder if it was possible to lose one's humanity to this point. Now, I do not know if what was portrayed was exaggerated. Some instances couldn've been, while others not. However, I do know the dangers of collective brainwash. When being constantly fed on how those "other" people are less than you, your brain accepts it and you become desensitized. Seeing what my beloved Japanese people did was really conflicting. But that is the truth of becoming a colonizer. Though they suffer a lot later due to losing the war, I think that was a blessing in disguise. It helped them reflect on what they have become and change. That opportunity was never offered to those that never lost a war.

Action scenes were great overall, but especially the sword fights with Gu Dong Mae. The scenery was beautiful, and some scenes were haunting. The train scene will probably go down as one of the most beautiful scenes in my memory.

While the drama had all those great things going for it, it still took me so long to finish. I lost my motivation to watch due to the lack of direction for the story to take. Each episode was between 75 - 80 minutes, with much of it had the characters walking around and eating dessert. The actual story starts at around episodes 19-20. Yes, it took THAT long for the story to take off. That is too much fat needed to shed. There is also the mix of history and myths that bothered me, and no reasoning given for actions that took so long to be taken. For example, the Mori character made no sense. They used it to turn the Japanese colonization of Korea to be some family centuries-old conspiracy when this had nothing to do with the truth, nor the overall story. Just added drama that didn't amount to anything. The portrayal of America is also in the same vein. On one hand, it's treated like this paradise, only to be brought down to reality by our Korea-American hero. One line said really stood out:

"America & Britain lent Japan a total of $410 million dollars, and 40% of it is being spent on the war. The two countries basically forced Japan into the war. Hence, America will never help Joseon. The Russo-Japanese war will result in a great deal of profit for America”

The music was overall negligible, but there was some sweet background that brought peace to the scenes.

It was overall a good drama to watch if it wasn't for the dragginess. I do recommend it to all.

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Very Brutal....

I think it's after Witch, i saw a Movie which has so many violence sequences. It's not a new thing in the k movie world. But it's been some time since a movie like this out from korean and don't think that it's an easy going film. It's very brutal after some point also disturbing.

The whole story is happening on a ship. A ship with a bunch of criminals who was transferring From Philippine to korea. Started slowly but after some time some unusual things will fall under the place, from thereon it's horrible.

No story or screenplay or even performance stand before the violence. The way they captured those bloody Brutal and bloodsheding violence is unbelievable to watch. Very creepy and definitely 18+. So watch it own your risk. Surely you will get a different experience just like Witch Part 1

#N45views

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Don't have high expectations; good but not the best

Sinkhole, as I had expected, is nothing sort of very wow. Sure, it's a decent one time watch that keeps you stick to it till the very end, I couldn't find a reason it broke records in South Korea.

The primary concept of the movie is nothing new, i.e. house ownership issues in modern Seoul days. The fact it being disaster survival movie plus a very powerful cast had interested me a lot but as I watched it, I ended up disappointed with it in overall.

I mean I also admit it's a decent movie but my disappointment arises from the news of its box-office records plus the cast but the movie not being anything very nice. There is a high standard of survival thrillers when we consider the Korean Entertainment Industry and their movie production quality. So I am simply saying that Sinkhole failed to meet that line. Also, it felt a lil short, as in, the movie ends even before you realize.

Different families move to a newly built five storey building with their hard earned money only to end up in a sinkhole which no one was aware of. After a few months the entire building falls into the sinkhole early morning which was very unexpected and the number of people fall into it along with the apartment are 9. So the story is how they survive the fall and get rescued in ghr end, accompanied by their back stories which are only narrated from the character.

The basic plot is short yet decent with many momentary peak points which are extremely enthralling, and somrtimes emotional. And as usual, this also has things to learn from and take a note about. Instances that makes you cry; either it touches your heart or stab it with knife, are suitably accommodated in the story. The movie starts on plenty of comedy that lasts for almost 20mins and in fact there were funny instances in between too but it's not a comedy movie, keep that in mind. The survival movie is a mixture of many emotions which were perfectly executed.

Storywriter successfully delivered an up to par work and the direction is reasonable as well; no complaints in that regard. The cinematography and VFX work definitely deserve brownie points. The setup inside the sinkhole is pretty much real to give the actual vibes and the camera plus editing work is intriguing enough to catch attention. The sound editing is somewhat dull, ngl. The screenplay is okay but screenediting is below average, like that of a pre 2010 movie.

Do I even bother talk about acting? Definitely, they are very excellent actors and justified their roles in here but given their skills and capabilities, this movie is a bad choice.

# Kim Sung Kyun as Park Dong Won, a hardworking section chief and a loving family man who saved for 11 years to buy a flat
# Cha Seung Won as Dong Man Soo, a single father of highschool teen, doing multiple part-time jobs to make the ends meet
# Lee Kwang Soo as Kim Seung Hyun, a nomad worker, always stressed about his financial and relationship status
# Kim Hye Jun as Eun Joo, a hardworking intern who gives her best but mad about the rude seniors and coworkers.
# Nam Da Reum as Jung Seung Tae, a student, not interested in schooling but cares a great deal about father
# Ko Chang Suk as the rescue team captain
# Kim Hong Pa as Department Head Seo

The ending of the movie was super overwhelming, I gotta admit. The way these people use their mind to rescue each other during extremely dangerous moments and also manage to get out of the sinkhole using their little intellect and comprehension was amazing and makes you tear up even. It ends with a mini reuinon of the survivors after years and that was a jolly closure to the misery.

FINE... SINKHOLE is definitely a good one time watch which is kinda refreshing too and best for a weekend movie slot. Don't expect too much from it but I'm sure it pleases you to some extent. Happy watching.

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From Manga to Live Adaption, What you need to know.

For those people who listed this jdrama as their first jdrama, this is what you need to put in mind when it comes in watching a jdrama especially in this kind of genre- the romance and was adapted in a josei manga. The pacing of jdramas can either be slow paced or fast paced but nevertheless they can still managed to deliver such a profound plot. So if you like fast paced story with tons of kissing scenes plus adult themed-age gap relationship, then this drama is for you. This jdrama was adapted in a josei manga with the same title and for those people who had read the manga before the drama aires were very much aware on how fast paced and how huge the age gap was between the characters. Furthermore, as one of those people who had read the manga, all I can say was that this drama stayed true to the manga and if there is one more thing that they have changed in the drama is that they toned down Hase Kei age from 40 to 38 years old and the manga is much more, let us say much more steamy compared to the drama. One thing that I liked about this drama is how our main couple communicates so well which lead their relationship to grew healthier regardless of how fast paced the story went and how steamy their kissing scenes was. Another thing that I liked is how they respect one another. I really liked how they were both mature on handling things and there is no contracdictive party between them. As per the characters, Hase Kei was such a loving, respecting, caring and a decent boyfriend. Plus he communicates so well and for Momoko, Hase-san didnt lie when he said that he will protect Momoko at all cost cause this girl is a gem! I loved how caring Momoko was and she noticed immediately what seems to be the problem and she is very kind. As per the actors, all I can say was that they were both perfectly casted on their roles. If you've seen Renn in a romance drama before, he was actually good in acting our romance scenes naturally and he is good in kissing scenes! And Sakurako who plays Momoko had done a mature scene in one of her movies before and their age in real life blends well in the drama so as per this drama, all I can say was that they both nailed their roles and it really seems they were both comfortable in acting out their kissing scenes lol. Also, I've heard that some people were complaining on Renn being casted on this drama because he was "too young" for this role. Let me remind you that he is 36 in real life and his character supposed to look younger than his actual age so for this set up, he is compatible. Other than that, the characters supposed to have 15 or 16 years age gap and Renn and Sakurako have 13 years age gap in real life so please put in mind that they cannot find an actors who have or close to their age and fake their ages in the drama. Furthermore, I hope you will give this drama a try since this drama was released in a legal platform worldwide and the cast were hoping (especially Renn) that you will enjoy this drama. BONUS: Both of the soundtrack are superb and I really liked how close the cast seems in real life.

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Self-righteous leads, mildly entertaining mysteries, better towards the end

To start, this female lead is too infallibly good at too many things. I’m not inherently opposed to an OP FL- it’s not realistic, but I’d still happily watch her kick butt as long as I like her.

The problem is, I like more down-to-earth characters, and she is not. She does a lot of moralizing. I don’t disagree with everything she says, but her self-assured, self-righteous tone as she goes on about justice bothered me, especially at the beginning.

I wouldn’t have minded so much if the show acknowledged how naive it all was, e.g. by throwing her a morally complex case that challenges her simplistic ideals. And the show actually does focus a lot on horribly wronged people who seek their own justice. What justice truly means seems to be a theme- but it’s not explored that deeply. Our FL never strays far from her convictions that righteousness will prevail and the law will make it happen. We’re not here to watch her grow, only to watch her kick butt.

While I’m rolling my eyes at her preaching, the ML is oozing in admiration. She smiles demurely in response. I think the FL is pretentious; the show thinks she’s noble. This is a fundamental disconnect that permeated the show and made it hard for me to enjoy it.

As for the ML himself, he seems tailor-made to be her perfect boyfriend. Super supportive, caring, everything good, etc. He’s also her perfect work partner, with a complementary approach and perspective. Overall I did not find him very interesting. Too artificial.

Their relationship starts early- he’s pretty much a sap for her right from the beginning. While this is unusual for dramas, I think it’s fairly realistic in the present scenario. Their relationship is refreshingly free of misunderstandings, develops at a normal pace, and is ideal in all ways.

Unfortunately, I just did not enjoy their sticky sweet romance. Watching two people you don’t care about be happily in love is boring at best; here, I found it downright cringe. Their romance is full of contrived, overly dramatic scenes. He saves her from every over-the-top situation you can think of (fire, water, assassins, etc). I fast forwarded through a lot of it.

The side characters are alright; I didn’t feel too strongly about anyone. For better or worse, their friends all pair up neatly. This means there are multiple sweet relationships for you to feel good about, though I found some of them a bit cheesy at times.

Looking at the characters and their relationships, this show is actually quite a treasure for female empowerment. There are strong female characters and good relationships between them. Even the ML feels secondary to the FL. It’s just a shame that they overdid the FL’s sainthood to the point where I couldn’t stand it.

Plot-wise, the first half or so of the show covers ~4.5 independent cases, one right after the other. These cases are methodically developed, spanning several episodes each. I like this slower pacing because it gives me time to consider the evidence.

But for some reason, I found these cases incredibly easy to guess. I would inadvertently figure out the culprit based on things like classic drama patterns (eg it’s usually some nice-seeming character that shows up fairly early in), and who’s facial expressions they keep zooming in on. I would then have to wait patiently while the leads continued to put together evidence and act lovey dovey with each other. Overall, the mysteries were still interesting enough, but I wish they had been a little less obvious.

As the plot progresses, the FL’s path is surprisingly smooth. She doesn’t make any real enemies; in fact, she is loved and admired by many powerful people. I don’t necessarily object to her lack of obstacles, since there is plenty of other intrigue. However, I found myself rolling my eyes at everyone doting on her.

The main plot is pretty much just classic palace power struggles, but I thought it was fairly well done. As a result, my rather low opinion of the show improved towards the end. I like the way our leads slowly uncover the backstory, the growing ambiguity, and the way everything falls into place with the final reveal. This last point is particularly fun to watch, and works out so well thanks to the show’s careful setup. If not for the last few episodes, I would have given this show an even lower score.

Acting wise, since I don’t like the FL, I’m tempted to blame the actress, but that might not be fair. I’ll refrain from commenting on acting since I watched a lot of this on 1.25X speed. I did find Ao Rui Peng’s martial arts technique to be surprisingly good- crisp, clean, and solid.

Other production-level stuff (music, settings, costumes, etc) were all decent. Cinematographically, they do some artistic things with camera perspective and reflections. I liked most of it, except for the views upward from inside a cadaver. As if bodies are just empty sacks.

The segways into my final rant. If you are going to pretend to be an expert in a field, you better show me that you’re serious. This girl does not even wear an apron to conduct an autopsy; she ties up her sleeves, but you can still see them dragging across the corpses. Even worse, her idea of an exam is to reach into a small incision and pull out an entire human organ. Uh, ever done a dissection? It’s nowhere that clean and easy.

These may seem like unimportant details. And I get it- “she fearlessly conducted an autopsy while everyone else puked at the side” is all we’re meant to take away. Still, representing a profession without properly doing research is somewhat offensive. Get it right or else don’t try. Personally, I think they should have kept it all off-screen, like Imperial Coroner.

Overall, I appreciate some parts of this show, but mostly I couldn’t stand it. If I’m honest, most of my complaints probably cascade out of not liking the FL- thus cringing at her romance, rolling my eyes at her popularity, picking on her dissection technique, etc. Perhaps if they had been more subtle about her sainthood, I might have enjoyed this show.

ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS





I consider this a happy ending. All the major protagonists make it through and are launched into happy futures. Not much time is devoted to showing where everyone goes, but it’s enough to give you an idea.

Still, I found the ending surprisingly dark. Not that the show was that light to begin with, but a lot more people died than I expected. It’s as if they decided the cleanest way to tie up loose ends was to kill off all these morally ambiguous characters. And some ending scenes were overly contrived and dramatic… this show really does have a thing for drama.

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Just finished watching this on Netflix.
I have to admit, I have scrolled past this one many times and never thought much of it, but today, having run out of dramas to watch, I finally pressed play.

I watched it all in one sitting and here's why:
*In the first episode it established the characters, and not only was the casting down right it paved the way to a really interesting body swapping story line. A teen girl & an arrogant top model.
*It addresses many of the issues if it was to really happen :) making it funny and not too outrageous in an already outrageous situation.
*The cast played their characters well, didn't have a moment where I thought "er.... really?" on top of that the humour was well written. Not too cheesy, just enough.
*I won't spoil the ending but I am so glad it ended how it did, no weird drag outs. It ended with full closure for us.

I only scored low for the music because in dramas the music is important to me, and in this one, I didn't really notice it, no memorable song, nothing. I may have to rewatch to listen out for it. For myself, I generally fall in love with the OST and go on to research the songs but not with this series.

It's a short series compare to what I normally watch, but I definitely will be recommending this to others, fun and humorous comedy before we sit through another drama.

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