Reviews

A Cute and Funny Rom-Com That You Can Watch Under 2 Hrs!

STORY-8.0
Based on the Webtoon of the same name, which I have not watched, Uncle Cool tells the love story between a cheerful high school girl and a cold but caring doctor. Besides these tropes, we have some others: Height Difference, Older Man/Younger Woman, School Bullying, Neighbors. The rather big age gap (seems to be 10 years at most) may be a bit bothersome for some, but as someone who usually doesn't mind these kinds of age gaps, I was perfectly fine with this couple. They are cute, and awkward in a good way! There were also quite a few comedic moments where I was laughing quite fiercely, a nice cherry on the top!

As this drama was only about 80 minutes, there wasn't a very deep and long story, but it managed to pack in the details very nicely. There are two rather touchy topics- School bullying, and child abuse. They played a crucial part in the drama and we watched the female lead become more confident and stronger as she overcame these problems.

There were also some heartwarming places in this drama. I particularly loved Na Na’s ‘enemy-to-friends’ relationship with a girl in school. Shows how much friendship is important to us and can help us get through hard times.

ACTING-8.5
The actors are all at the novice level-they haven’t acted in many dramas, but I loved their characters and they were not awkward or strange as their characters at all. I felt that the main leads had reasonable chemistry; Of course, there wasn’t enough time for more cute interactions that would have left me fawning over them.

There weren’t many actors either, but they all did reasonably well, expressing their emotions very realistically and touchingly.

OVERALL-8.0
If you just want some relaxation with some fluff and a few laughs, I would immediately recommend Uncle Cool. There were no annoying details or characters with numerous heartwarming and cute scenes. Awesome character development as well!

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Shameless ML + Smart FL = My Instant Favorite of the Year

This series was already on my watchlist because it’s exactly the kind of drama I love. Having Meng Ziyi as the female lead made it even more interesting, since she often plays revenge-type roles that suit her so well. Some people might say it’s repetitive, but I personally love her in these kinds of characters. One of my all-time favorite series of hers is Bossom, where she played the female lead, so my expectations for this one were high. After watching it, this has become one of the best series of the year for me.

I love dramas where the male lead is highly skilled but hides his true abilities and pretends to be weak. The male lead in this series, Xiao Huayong, is exactly that. He’s an excellent fighter with brilliant schemes—someone great and powerful whom other capable people respect and obey. He controls everything from behind the scenes. He’s a shameless ML who’s clingy and loves the female lead deeply; every action he takes always considers her. The female lead, Shen Xihe, is intelligent, careful, and sharp. Both lead actors, Meng Ziyi and He Yu, performed excellently, and their chemistry is outstanding. The secondary couple, Bu Shulin and Cui Jinbai, felt average to me—just a bit funny. The supporting cast did a good job overall. The people around the leads—Zhen Zhu, Mo Yu, and Tian Yuan—were great and very funny whenever they were with the main couple. Among the princes, besides the Fifth Prince, the others didn’t have much screen time but still did well. The Fifth Prince was especially annoying in a good way. The scenes looked realistic and grand, the costumes were beautiful, the music was good, the palace politics were entertaining, and the story progressed well and stayed interesting every episode. The later episodes might have felt a bit rushed, and the male lead’s return wasn’t explained very clearly. Even in the special episode it wasn’t clarified—I can only guess it had something to do with the male lead’s personal physician because he aged a lot—but none of that affected the main enjoyment of the story.

Overall, this is one of the best series of the year for me. Meng Ziyi and He Yu acted wonderfully, and their chemistry is perfect. Meng Ziyi looks elegant and majestic in this role—the costumes make her look even more powerful. He Yu is handsome and cunning in this character, and he’s probably the most shameless ML ever. The supporting actors also did well. I don’t usually rewatch dramas much—I only rewatch ones I really love after a long time—but this is one I want to rewatch. As I said, if you like a highly skilled male lead who hides his true power and pretends to be weak, a smart and unyielding female lead, and a couple who love each other deeply, then you’ll like Blossoms of Power. It’s definitely worth watching.

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Tokyo Tribe is an imperfectly perfect chaos. It’s one heck of a crazy bizarre Japanese Musical. And that’s exactly where its charm lies in. I completely loved it.

I have a confession to make; I always had a serious love-hate relationship with Sion Sono. It’s not because of his over the top style. Takashi Miike‘s more sadistic but he’s still one of my top favourite directors. However, all of my feelings toward Sion’s filmmaking changed to the positive side after this. He definitely amazed me.

The story was unusually chaotic. Tokyo Tribe is a Hip-Hop musical and I don’t even like Hip-Hop but man did it sound completely right! The plot centre on Tokyo’s different gangs that are continually at war with each other until a trigger sets them all off. 95% of the dialogues were rapped out. Sion made almost all of his characters rap their parts in a charming street symphony.

I would agree with you if you said this film was over the top, entirely sexist, brutally violent and edgy. However, those facts don’t deny that Tokyo Tribe is one of the best finely made films of 2014. The action sequences and characters’ interactions were eye-catching and marvellously made.

Sion’s explosive style was fast-paced –as always– which gave the film extra entertaining value. I didn’t like the CGI and some fallen parts here and there but I was certainly impressed to know that he actually cast real-life street tattooed members for his picture. They were undeniably fit and perfect for their roles.

Other actors, namely the veteran Yakuza star Takeuchi Riki, Sometani Shota, Suzuki Ryohei, Young Dais and Kubozuka Yosuke were strongly fit for their roles. I certainly didn’t think I would come to love their characters like that. The solid portrayal of bizarre and weird personas isn’t an easy job to do and this film’s cast brought it to perfection.

Tokyo Tribe was a throughout pleasurable mess of comedy –even parodies– action and some lessons. It’s not up to everyone’s taste but those who appreciate Japan’s weird filmmaking are in for an exciting treat.

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I'm gonna start with the good, and then go to the bad and the ugly, especially because I don't want anyone to consider NOT watching Doctor John. It's great, you guys. Acting? Amazing, all of the important characters are GREAT, I'm so gonna look every one of them up and watch more things with them. Soundtrack? I'm addicted to every single one of the songs. And, most importantly, I always salute series that discuss serious topics in a coherent and respectful manner. Doctor John has (almost) it all; it made me cry my eyes out, it made me laugh, it made me squeal with joy. I fell in love with every single one of the likeable characters, I rolled my eyes very hard at the annoying ones, and I changed my opinion about some of them along the way - like I think every good drama has to do. I thought things would go one way, and then they went on another direction, which is always good, because it means the plot isn't that predictable. I was so excited.
But there's always a "but". And here are mine.
When watching K-dramas, I have some basic rules (that are, of course, adaptable to the circumstances the series lay on me). Sometimes they are all broken right off the bat, sometimes I'm surprised with a writer's ability to not resort to cliches. It's always an adventure, and I love it.
Why I'm saying this? Cause, as I said, Doctor John started out strong. I was really pleased. I hadn't been that happy about a Korean drama story-line for I don't even know how long - which seemed to make sense, since it is based off a book, and these generally tend to be less conflict-for-ratings-driven and more thought out all the way through.
So there we were. Plot was making sense. Characters were being humanly imperfect, but still, coherent. There was our comic reliefs, which is always appreciated especially when dramas want to talk about serious (and controversial) topics, case in point, euthanasia - and those comedic moments didn't seem out of place. We were seeing our characters grow, bond, solve conflicts... and then the second to last episode happened, and I felt like something was about to go bad.
I ended up watching rules of mine being broken, and, as I said, it's an adventure, an emotional one, at that. Suddenly the series made an U-turn and I was like, ok, some experiences and life choices can do that to people. Then our lovely Si-young patched things up (and HOW GOOD it is to have a female lead character actually DO things, not just be thrown around). And then there was another U-turn and I realized how angry I had gotten.
It was like I was seeing in slow motion the impending downfall of a great plot. It seems like the writer got lazy and resorted to some ridiculousness, AND NOT ONLY THAT, but also forgot about some plot points here and there, so 32 half-hour long episodes weren't enough - and Doctor John didn't have the greatest ratings so we would never be gifted a couple more installments to actually close everything up. I don't know if the script writer is to blame, or if the book makes these same questionable choices; all I know is that some things I hoped wouldn't happen... kinda did. And I can't help but to feel bothered about it.
What I'm trying to say is: I'm writing this review 10 minutes after finishing the series. I'm pissed. This drama was climbing FAST towards the top of my favourites list, and I love Ji Sung, so I was VERY excited for his new drama, and we were doing so well... But Doctor John ended up being just "very good". Not "outstanding", not "amazing", but a very good drama. I still love it to pieces, hell, it is WHOLE LOT better than most K-dramas. I mean, "very good" isn't a bad thing at all (>>>very good<<< ya know) - but I'm thinking of what it could've been.
Now that I'm not gonna be surprised with a punch in my face, I would totally binge-watch it again (after my anger subsides). But if you're like me and some plot lines turn you off considerably, then just be warned it can happen to you, too.
All things considered, though, disappointment can hurt, but it can only totally ruin something if the starting point wasn't that good to begin with. Doctor John sets the bar high, and because of that, it is still a must-watch. Now I'm going to scream at my pillow again, and soon I'll be able to love this drama with all my might again.

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It's like a talented writer wrote the first 24 episodes and then some little kid without any knowledge of writing did the final episodes.It should have been the historical of the year with such a refreshing heroine, and I had been waiting for a Jeremy Tsui led drama since Dugu. But the last ten or so episodes were so bizarre with characters doing weird things you would never expect them to do. The most irritating of the villains, for me it was Qiu Min and Yuan Lang, just get what they wanted without any redemption whatsoever. Introducing unnecessary twists simply for the sake of it at the last thirty minutes just pushed it further into the pit of 7 or below.

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This drama was an amazing piece! This was my first historical drama ever and I must say, a great choice.
There is a movie with the same title from 2010, but the story of this drama is taking place some hundread years earlier, so don't be confused.I haven't see the movie, so I won't compare them.

This drama is an amazing mixture of love, historical events and friendship. I was amazed by the actors how they could portray their characters so well especially Tabe Mikako, who did a great job. She is playing the strong and wild-tempered Iemitsuko with such great feelings. She is portraying the opposite of Arikoto really great. But I can't forget to mention Sakai Masato who is playing Arikoto with such a stone face that it sometimes made me shiver. But what was even more amazing was his other side which was seen only by Iemitsuko.
Tanaka Koki as Gyokuei was quite a strange choice, because he is playing an 18 years old, so I was at the beginning quite wavering, but later on he showed me, he can pull this role off.
My favourite character Masakatsu played by Hirayama Hiroyuki is also very otstanding. I think I will watch more of his works, he needs more spotlight!

I recommend this drama to everyone. You will cry, you will smile, you will want to watch it again like me!
I can't resist to give this drama 10 points for everything including Misia's Deepness as ending song!

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Emotionally exhausting and gave me more stress than my final exams

This drama is complete dog water. To be frank, I didn't even fully watch every episode of the series, I would skip huge segments until I got to see He Ping and Qiao Man interact. If you're seeing this, I'm assuming you've watched the trailer before watching the series, and the trailer lives up to the annoying and messy plotline of the story.

The acting is quite bad, especially the first few eps that took place in Barcelona, where we had to see a horrendous amount of Mandarin and English being mixed. The dub is horrible (especially the English dubbing during Barcelona), and I don't see why they need to to use such unnatural dub for this drama, the actors voices are completely fine. I like SWL and Jelly Lin as actors, and I love them together, but this drama does not do either of their acting justice. During the few scenes where they need to cry, they both lack a lot of emotion (esp my boy Weilong). This is ironic because this is supposed to be a melodrama, emotions should be exaggerated, and He Ping almost has the same looks/ facial expressions on his face the entirety of the season.

The story line is very cliche. I could've sworn I've seen a similar teleserye (Filipino drama) similar to that of Beautiful Reborn Flower. The "losing your memory" and falling in love again plot, the "jealous mfs who want to prevent the main character's relationships", the "workplace environment interfering with love" its all the same to me. Everything went downhill when they left Barcelona to go back to China. This is supposed to be romance, yet where is Qiao Man and He Ping together? No real first kiss (I am not counting when He Ping "kisses" Qiao Man after eating spicy food, or when he kisses Qiao Man's hand in ep 24), not even pg 13 sex, this is the equivalent to a middle school relationship almost. It also doesn't make sense that all of a sudden Qiao Man regains her memories in the very last episode. Too many plot holes, and none of it ever adds up.

The music is quite nice, I only rlly like the op and thats it. No need for further discussion.

Rewatch value= never. Please do not waste your time. I don't even think this drama has enough promotion, which such a shame because they shot in Barcelona and also SWL and Jelly Lin are very marketable together. I try to look for interviewers of them together on this drama and its almost nonexistent. In short, save yourself from the stress and go watch some of SWL's and Jelly's dramas.

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Worth a watch.

I've been a fan of Gu Man adaptations but what really pushed me to watch this was Yang Mi. Fresh off Eternal Love I've been looking for something to sate my appetite for both Yang Mi and Mark Chao and this didn't disappoint. HXM was also a bonus (as I did find him quite dreamy in Cruel Romance...which is quite strange for a self proclaimed feminist, he was quite overpowering in CR tbh but I couldn't resist) This review is purely for the film as I've not actually seen the drama

In terms of the story, this is quite fateful to the source (I'm reliably informed) so I have no complaints there. Kept me glued despite the frequent choppy editing (whoever they hired to edit this need to seriously up their skills as despite beautiful cinematography and framework, the way the scene's were cut and transitioned felt jarring) Despite that little gripe this second-chance -at-love story really resonated and made me ache for both the main characters. I really hope we get more Gu Man adaptations as I'm absolutely in love with her stories.

Acting was great...Yang Mi can really deliver, I love that she's beautiful AND can act, no wonder she's so in demand. I'm looking forward to seeing more from her. You can feel her character's emotions and her chemistry with HXM was spot on. HXM surprised me by his performance, man can emote well. Gone was the sometimes wooden acting from CR. I love him even more now.

Music was beautiful, I loved the main song (the one in the hospital and shower scene) anyone please put me out of my misery as I really want to know the name of this song. If I had to say anything negative, it was that the upload I watched had a weird carnival music playing in the background? It was disconcerting...

I would definitely want to watch this again, not for a while but yes worth a watch now and will be again I'm sure.

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This show had so much potential, but the organization was terrible. The general story is amazing! However, the explanation was poorly done and everything was mixed up. That being said, this show still passes as one of my favourites. Please read this all before deciding if you should watch it :)

Plot:
Like I mentioned above, the story was amazing, unpredictable, and requires a lot of thinking. I loved the story and everything about it was so well thought out. For that reason, the writer did a great job. However, the directors mixed it up way too much and that made it very confusing and difficult to understand. There were many unnecessary details to the show that I feel would've been better off eliminated. They tried to squeeze so much into a short plot and didn't give the reader the chance to understand a topic before moving on to the next. This sounds really confusing, so I'll give you a real life example. Let's say a really old person is asking you how to call someone on their phone. You write a list for them with the steps 1. turn on the phone, 2. Click on the phone app, ect. After you hand them the notes, the first thing they ask you is, "how do I turn it on?". To you this is common sense, but they don't know since they weren't exposed to it beforehand. This is kinda how this plot was. We were given a sequence of events, but with many of them, they almost assumed that we already knew of figured out the basics of when we really didn't. That being said, the most important parts of the story were understood and explained by the end, so even with the confusing parts, you still are able to understand the plot and story on a more general level and love it.

Characters:
Honestly, in my opinion, this is the part that kept me watching. I fell in love with the characters and their personalities. They chose the perfect actors for each character and the acting was on point. Even the cast for the villains was absolutely amazing and did an outstanding job performing their roles. Each character had something special about them and ughhh I just love and miss them all.

Camera/editing/visuals:
This was also very well done. The camera angles, the colours, costumes, setting, props, aesthetics, and editing were stunning! Visuals in general were just wow. It's difficult to find a drama that has such amazing visuals and this gets a 10/10 for that. This was also a major reason for me to not drop this drama.

Music:
It was absolutely perfect for the plot and I fell in love with the music. Overall, the music was amazing and well chosen for each scene. Loved it!

Rewatch value:
This is probably the highest rewatch value I've ever given. I'm the type that doesn't like rewatching anything since it feels like a waste of time. However, the confusing parts and very cute scenes are the reason why I will be rewatching this drama. I want to focus on the details this time and really think about everything and understand. There were also way too many cute scenes that I want to watch again.

Overall:
This drama is one of those that you either love or hate (or both like me). It kinda reminds me of The Heirs and how some loved it and others hated it. You really have to try this for yourself to know and don't trust all the reviews. It's also a drama that is really really confusing and you have to watch a few episodes to start to understand. The first episode was the most confusing, but it does get better. The ending was also very cute and I couldn't think of a better one for this plot, however, I wish they explained a couple things with a bit more detail. I feel that apart from the confusion, this story was amazing and the characters, music, and visuals balanced it out. I'd totally recommend this drama. You might not like it, but it deserves a chance.

Thanks for reading :)

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Amazing story with lots of valuable insights into humanity

STORY
The story is excellent. It explores some complex questions that once faces in life. How do you identify good vs evil? How do you balance between different principles and values? etc. This movie is rich in meanings which are easy to identify but invites the viewer to think deeper.

In terms of scripting, the story develops relatively quickly. The plot elements fit together very well. The characters' actions are well explained by the storytelling. There is also a proper balance between action, computer graphics and storytelling.

ACTING
The main actress definitely did a great job in her role, showing the grace of a princess and emotions of true love. The main actor however, feel a bit uncomfortable at times. I say this because even the supporting characters fit well into their roles and feel very normal, leaving the main actor as the weakest link in the whole cast.

MUSIC
Music was reasonable. They seamlessly fit in the theme songs into the plot, which is very nice. The theme songs however, are not the most memorable.

REWATCH VALUE
Re-watch value is high because some of the details are easily missed. And more importantly, the underlying message of the movie might require a re-watch to truly appreciate its depth and meanings.

OVERALL
This is a great movie for viewers who enjoy a good story.

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I'll start by saying this movie is not for everyone. It has a lot of sexual content, some very violent scenes and can be quite disturbing. The story is very interesting.

What's so great about this movie is you feel like you are watching it through the eyes of Hyun Woo, the schizophrenic. Hyun Woo is searching for inner peace, but he has a beautiful heart. Because of this, your not sure if what you're seeing is really happening or not. There is definitely a message in this movie, but you may need to watch it a few times to fully understand what it's about. Also, there may be many different interpretations of the meaning, and I think they are all valid. I missed a lot the first time I watched this, and appreciated more when I re-watched it. The acting is outstanding. I applaud Jang Hyuk with a standing ovation.

I hesitate recommending this movie because it's so disturbing in parts, I really feel some people with very much dislike it. Because it's confusing and somewhat open ended, some people may not feel satisfied. It really depends on what kind of tolerance you have for oddities.

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CAUTION CAUTION
this movie has strong depressing themes and a lot of brutality, rape, war, self-harm even human humiliation, so if you want to watch it, you need to know.
a movie about a girl who is 15 years old that gets taked by the japanese army in occupied korea in 1943.
along with many other girls who are her age and younger, they get raped, tortured and killed by the japanese troops, while most of her friends died, she survives and manages to escape, While in present day 2015, she is a halmoni now and she meets a young shaman 16 years old who suffered a similar fate of getting raped and later starts living with a shaman, the young girl helps the halmoni to go on a journey to send the lost souls of her old friends ( who got raped/killed in 1943) to a better place.
the movie did an excellent job in being both gloomy, dark and melancholic from minute 1 to the end of the 2 hours. I was in fear and agony all the movie. the writing, the cast and the entire production is damn marvelous. ill never rewatch this. but its a MUST watch even though its gruesome and just depressing.
Based on similar real case called the Nanking rape.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanking_Massacre
No shampoo will save you. you'll cry blood, I did.
movie quotes.
"the women are menstruating and the soldiers just kept on abusing then nonstop"
"If you keep your head and don't lose your wits... you'll survive through anything"
"you should have stayed strong"
"If we go separate ways, i think ill regret being mean to you"
"its like soldiers haunting butterflies"
Stream 720p HD
http://kissasian.com/Drama/Spirits-Homecoming/Movie?id=29308

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PLOT: Superficial and light-hearted
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The story is simple, straightforward and pretty light-hearted. Which means the narrative barely touches the surface of the problems the protagonists are presented with. A few plot points even got abandoned with no explanation; a staple of lazy writing coupled with unmet ambition and an unclear story structure.

However, every now and then we need a drama that doesn't ask anything from us. A drama we can binge watch when we're tired and just want to have a good time. So if you're in the mood for a short and simple drama, this is a decent enough choice.

MAIN CHARACTERS: Fun but shallow
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The three leads are and remain two-dimensional. Though some characters (essentially Ma Sung Tae, the male lead) earn some growth, it's really not enough to add real complexity. However, the lack of character depth fits the lighthearted tone of the show. Keep in mind that, precisely because the characters are shallow, the acting (or lack thereof) won't really leave much of an impression.

Kang Cho Hong (female lead played by Yoon So Hee): She's cute, has power-infused charm, physical strength (provided by magic) and a generous heart. She's also naïve and immature, with the rules of her powers forcing her to be dependant on "finding love". Thankfully, her charms supersede her immaturity, leaning her towards a likable --albeit very flawed lead.

Ma Sung Tae (male lead played by Hyun Woo): Though he's an interesting character, it does take a while to get used to the actor. Take that with a grain of salt since whether you enjoy his acting depends on your personal taste. While some of us found his acting wooden and awkward, others loved him and swooned at his scenes. That said, Sung Tae is a chaebol whose secretly craving love. He's logical, gentle and, most importantly, willing to learn, adapt and change his views. He's also stubborn, arrogant and short-tempered.

Hwang Jae Wook (second male lead played by Hong Bin): He's a kind, selfless and handsome artist who's stuck in the underdog position when it comes to courting Cho Hong. Of course, he's also shown to be childish, irresponsible and immature. Out of the three leads, he's the most undeveloped and, perhaps because of that, he comes across as generic. He's a character that you can't really hate nor love and who's ultimately unmemorable.

SUPPORT CHARACTERS: Comic relief
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They were incredibly shallow but they did add some needed flavor to the overall story.

PORTRAYAL OF ROMANCE: Realistically immature
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Despite the urban fantasy setting, the romance was portrayed realistically. Which means the leads had to deal with misunderstandings, many of which were caused by poor communication. Thankfully, the misunderstandings got resolved fast in large part due to Ma Sung Tae's earnestness to make things work. He was habitually the one pushing Cho Hong to explain "what he did wrong" so he could "set things right".

If you're looking for a romance where both characters are active (and invested) in developing their relationship, then you'll enjoy this one. Even if it's not memorable, their relationship is fun and nurturing, with both characters putting their hearts on the line to make things work.

And if you're hesitating due to the love triangle, then be at ease. Kang Cho Hong is very assertive, so she doesn't flip-flop between the men.

OVERALL: Recommended as an absurdly light drama
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This isn't a unique or memorable drama. It's not even well structured. It has flaws in logic and, sadly, the main conflict gets resolved in a very absurd way (possibly due to the writers running out of time or ideas).

Nonetheless, for the most part, the drama is entertaining. A key to enjoying the show is to lower your expectations to avoid disappointments. So if you're tired and are looking for something very light to kill time, you might want to check this one out.

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A beautiful well written story with a twist.

Just when you think you know the whole story it morphs in front of your eyes. A twist you will never expect. This story shows us that every encounter we have in life can be a temptation that will change the course of our journey. Relationships can be fragile, only trust and a strong bond can hold them together. Add love to the mix and you have something special. When infidelity intervenes can the normal reaction be overwhelmed by a woman’s instinct to protect her unborn child when she is also abandoned? Watch this entertaining story and find out.

I loved Chae Soo Bin’s portrayal of Jeong Da Eun. She never disappoints. She showed so many different emotions in this movie that were critical to the making of this unique story. The other two leads were also great. Jang Ki Yong nailed his performance of Yang Hyuk, a young man climbing the ladder of success and facing all the things that can happen along the way. Krystal was also amazing in her portrayal of Han Bo Yeong a quirky co-worker who is also the other woman. If you want a happy ending then be prepared to understand the nuances of this movie. If you give this movie the attention it deserves it will show you a perfect ending that will leave you with a satisfying feeling. Not many movies with this type of twist at the end can do that.

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Their mouths were filled with words, but their souls were clothed with the unsaid.

The very first week of February, I have realized that I have always desired to live between the borders of the city and the countryside. I both want the busyness of the city and the passive greenery of the countryside; just like how I always found Iceland fascinating with its crisp weather spring and cold, wrathful volcanoes and glaciers.

As I watched Drive My Car, it seemed like I was able to dwell between such paradoxical parallels. I, myself, was in that red Saab 900 having a trip around all my own melancholia, detachment, joy, death, transformation, grace, and, perhaps, hoping that my final destination would be life, itself.

We, the audience, are actually the red Saab 900. As the car took its ride everywhere, it saw the sunny cities only to be blocked by hard, metal and concrete buildings. It hears of the city's sweet promises of opportunities, only to be disturbed by the rushing expressways. Then, it goes a little further from the city only to witness that the natured trees and floras were cold with thick snows. This was also how we perceive the characters in the film: there was beauty and brokenness within them.

Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya was featured in the film in which the main protagonist was working to direct an adaptation of the play using multiple languages: Filipino, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Malay, and even sign language. In spite of its multilingual feature, there is a certain silence or repression imprisoning the film. Their mouths were filled with words, but their souls are clothed with the unsaid.

The silence embracing the film, though, was greatly rich. There were some parts that I was close to shedding a tear even though there were no exaggeratedly loud neither emotively suggestive background music and acting performances. It was not emotionally manipulative and it truly was its genuine intentions and authenticity that moved me.

Drive My Car truly moved me that I didn't even realize that it could be slow. That slowness, though, was very purposive. For that's how it is to go through grief and to wait for life. It can be slow, as if you are being sucked out of life and light. How could you expect a film about grief and healing to move so fast and quick?

Towards the epilogue, Misaki was seen buying her groceries and driving the red Saab 900 with her new friend, a dog (which made me squirm a little for how adorable it was). At that moment, I understood that life is not the final destination. Life, itself, is the journey. For life does not stop, but it keeps going on. The dead has reached their destination already, but, we, the living, must keep going on with the journey. Keep driving your car, humans.

†† † † † ‡

"What can we do? We must live our lives. Yes, we shall live, Uncle Vanya.

We shall live through the long procession of days before us, and through the long evenings; we shall patiently bear the trials that fate imposes on us; we shall work for others without rest, both now and when we are old;

and when our last hour comes we shall meet it humbly, and there, beyond the grave, we shall say that we have suffered and wept, that our life was bitter, and God will have pity on us.

Ah, then dear, dear Uncle, you and I shall see that bright and beautiful life; we shall rejoice and look back upon our sorrow here; a tender smile -- and -- we shall rest.

I have faith, Uncle, fervent, passionate faith."

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