Reviews

un kdrama décalé et réjouissant

Contrairement à beaucoup, ne vous en déplaise, j'ai beaucoup aimé cette histoire de génie revisitée en mode décalé.
Les 2 acteurs principaux que j'ai adorés dans Uncontrollably Fond s'en donnent à coeur joie l'un par son comportement irrationnel, du moins au début, et l'autre par une approche déjantée par son absence d'émotions.
Bae Suzy excelle dans son personnage avec un visage inexpressif au possible. Kim Woobin se la joue plus façon guignol.
Les personnages sont à contre-pied des histoires habituelles tout en offrant des séquences comiques au plus haut point.
Bref c'est une série plaisante et divertissante.

Leggi di Più

This is the best drama of 2020. It's early but I'm calling it anyway. I doubt it can be topped. It's beautiful and bittersweet and profound and I doubt anybody can do better this year. Someday or One Day has barely made a misstep and feels both quintessentially Taiwanese while being completely fresh and brilliantly new.

A tight 13 episodes, intricately and perfectly plotted, the show has lovely performances by Alice Ke and Greg (Han) Hsu, a great soundtrack and a fascinating twisty-turny plotline. A love story between Huang Yu Xuan (Alice Ke) and Wang Quan Sheng (Greg Hsu) across space, time and reality, Someday or One Day might be a time travel drama or a parallel universe drama or a doppelganger drama (or possibly all three). For me to outline the plot would be for me to spoil the plot. And that says something about just how ambiguous and enigmatic the show is.

It’s rare for a show with a supernatural element to be so real, so emotional and so raw but Someday or One Day is as heartwrenching and bittersweet as it is intelligent and challenging. It will have you speculating wildly and attempting to puzzle out its mysteries, while agonising with its characters and feeling their every pang of love, pain, loss, grief, confusion and joy. Someday or One Day manages to be complex and intriguing while never compromising on the very real human emotions being experienced by the characters. Verisimilitude within the magical is almost impossible to adequately capture and yet these writers have done it.

In the midst of the unreal, these people feel real. And they feel real in a way that is truly raw and truly human.

While it's far too early to declare this the best show of 2020, I am anyway. It was almost perfect.

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Maybe it’s set a while after Untamed, but Wen Ning acts more mature in the movie than in Untamed. Watching him in the movie was almost like watching a different character. The fight scenes aren’t bad, but reminded me of a superhero action scene in the final. Plot is predictable, and a few things makes it feel as if the producers were just trying to fit everything into the movie. I loved Untamed and Wen Ning in the drama so this was a big disappointment. There was also a cameo that pulled me out of the story since it was obviously not the actual actor, on top of Wen Ning’s character feeling foreign already.

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Worth the wait!

I finished this a couple of weeks ago and I've been re-watching it just to see both Gao Shi De and Zhou Shu Yi. I will never get enough of these two and like I said in the first series, too damn short!

The story line was not as deep! I wish there was a more deeper reason as to why Gao Shi De was away for so long (clearly, I thrive on drama) and I feel Zhou Shu Yi forgave him too soon. I feel if the drama had a few extra episodes, it would have been different. The story would have been prolonged a bit and we would get to see the missing parts.

I also would have loved to see more of Shi Zhe Yu and Liu Bing Wei and how their love story came to be. Maybe there is a 3rd season that will give them more airplay, we can hope!

All in all, I would give it a 9 without question. The chemistry between the two main leads is great and Zhou Shu Yi's dad is funny, a cool dad … haha!

The music is beautiful. I actually had to download it.

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started well, went downhill at ep 6

Overall: somehow an awesome slice of life/cooking/comedy series devolved into cliched plot points. My advice is to watch episodes 1-5 and then episodes 11 & 12. 12 episodes about 20 minutes each, aired on GagaOOLala.

Content Warnings: past death not shown, non con kiss, slap

What I Liked
- funny moments (the undressing, the van driving off, that look and the crow sounds at the end)
- realistic reaction to an accidental fall and catch
- cooking/the food looked delicious
- Mahiro's friend/coworker (wish we had seen more of that love story in the present)
- the villagers (much rather have had more screentime with them)
- Mahiro supportive of the naked dining
- managed to subvert something in ep 11 but it was due to (yet another) miscommunication

Room For Improvement
- they used cliched plot points including poor communication in order to drive the plot (and how in the final episode do they still have terrible communication skills)
- I ended up disliking Mahiro, wish they showed more in the flashbacks so we'd understand Mahiro better because he seemed very selfish and immature
- Souta was too dumb, at first I thought it was a bit endearing but they pushed it into the unbelievable area
- the pacing could have been better, I think 8 or 10 episodes instead of 12, plot went in circles, why on earth did episode 12 start 1 week after episode 11
- the non con kiss and slap both felt dated and not needed
- comedy mostly vanished
- odd things: why is the house just sitting there for 6 months? why did he have that band aid, they could have easily shown him find it as he went through those boxes, the boss and wife took a train how far for dinner? that potential buyer was oversharing to fit the plot, what was with that thing with the grandma? at the end
- based on the title, I expected a certain scene and I'm disappointed we didn't get to see it
- so she's all good now with dating the boss???

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Lovesick is one of the many movies out there today who doesn't seem like anything special due to its common storyline. Once you actually watch the movie and get into the plot, You'll find yourself falling in love with the movie. What seemed like just another romantic comedy, Will in the end turn out to be a movie of a deeper meaning. With Ariel Lin in the role of Rou Qing falling for a young doctor, acted by Chen Berlin. I will write a spoilerless review.

Liang Ruo Qing was happily in love with her boyfriend, His lifelong dream was always to become famous and so After some chances trying he eventually got recruited as a singer. Due to the wrong timing she entered to see a missleading image of her boyfriend and his manager in a uncomfortable situation, This leading to her belief about her boyfriend cheating on her. Many tears were cried that night, But as time went by she decided she would stop trusting guys. 3 Years has passed since then, And Ruo Qing has grown cold towards men. At her place of working there is a new doctor working, Seemingly perfect. Without a flaw visually, And nice to everybody. Love at first sight makes the situation difficult for Ruo Qing, So she decides to prove to everybody that this doctor Zhe Han isn't anything close to how perfect he seems... However after many tries of finding something bad about him, She only seems to fall for him more and more.
A Story filled with romance you never would have expected. Its not just any story, Its by far worth the watch.

The soundtrack in the movie deserves bragging. The songs that are used are fitting into each of the situations they are used, And they are fittingly choosen for the main cast.

A Story about Love and Heartache, Aswell as the importance of life and happiness.. Recommended for all people who like movies with a message to be told. For everyone who loves a good romantic story.
If you are a fan of either of these, You will love Lovesick.

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Perfect comic timing and fantastic cast guaranteed to give you hearty laughs!

For me, Thai rom-com dramas have developed their own brand of slapstick antics that mesh well with the plot and character development. Mae Krua Kon Mai is a great example of this. The show provided a good amount of witty and lowbrow humor and physical comedy. It also used timing, rhythm, and music effects to keep things engaging and entertaining from start to finish. I was interested from the get-go, so much so that I watched it without subtitles, and then with subtitles the second time.

This is one rom-com that raised the irony level of life for me. I was not expecting Param, the ML, to fall in love with Dao, the FL, when she was in disguise as a less attractive person of a lower status. I know, it's superficial of me, but I have watched way too many dramas to expect otherwise. So it was a pleasant surprise when this show deviated from the usual clichés. Yes, Param knew about Faidam's true identity, and there were already sparks whenever he met Dao. However, almost all his flashbacks and sweet memories were about her as Faidam. The verbal sparring and the constant one-upping between our leading couple were so fun to watch. One could see Param's curiosity evolving into attraction and ultimately love, as mischievous Faidam constantly challenged him, frustrating him while piquing his interest more and more.

Every time these two were together, the screen lit up, whether they were squabbling, bantering, teasing, staring into each other's eyes, or glaring at each other. August Paisarnkulwong as Param and Namfah Phatrathinchaicherin as Dao/Faidam were amazing together, and they did an excellent job portraying their characters. Namfah can do comedy, and she was really good at playing the dual personalities. August was more subtle, but he emoted so well. He cried so prettily, and whenever he flirted, I had to grab at my chest to calm my heart. I didn't mind the slow burn romance, but I did wish that there were more kissing because they looked comfortable and natural together when they did.

For sure, there were moments where I wanted to yell at one or both of them for being prideful, and I was definitely annoyed at Param for being so ambiguous with Rika. True, he repeatedly reminded her that she was only his fake girlfriend and he could never love her, but man, letting her kiss you and be all touchy-feely was no way to draw the line! Dao can also be irritating as heck with her refusal to talk things through and clarify matters. Still, despite such moments of wanting to tear my hair out, I cannot help but immensely enjoy the show. The best part for me was that Rika, as the nang rai, did enough to bother but never really got away with things. I love the twist towards the end of the show where it was building up to another opportunity for Rika to stir up trouble, but it did not happen the way I had expected it to go down. Ahhh, it is just so satisfying seeing the villain fall flat!

It's funny, but this is the third drama that I've watched that had Ice Srisevok as the nang rai. It would be a shame if she was typecast.

The acting was great across the board, and there was just so much chemistry between the cast! Between the OTP, the secondary couple (Oab and Pon - absolutely adorable together!), between Faidam and Param's mother, between Faidam and Watsy (adore that guy!!!), Dao's family with each other, and between Buap, Taew, and Faidam. Everyone worked in tandem so well, and I just want to see the behind-the-scenes clips of everyone having fun making this drama. I find it very interesting that multiple actors played characters with hidden agendas or dual personalities. Dao as Faidam, Param with his fake girlfriend, Rika, who pretended to love Param but was actually a gold-digger, Param's mother who was miserly but had a generous heart with the people she loved, and even Max, Dao’s long-term boyfriend but I’ll leave it at that since it is a major spoiler.

There were many negative comments about Dao darkening her skin when she becomes Faidam, and coming from a society that judges by skin tone, I can understand the discontent. However, the show never implied that Faidam was ugly due to her darker skin tone. To me, it was more to ensure that she is even more disguised, although I don't know how she managed to get away with it for so long. To the show's credit, it did not treat us, the audience, as being stupid. At least Dao realized that she would be recognized by the people close to her, just like how Korn did almost instantly, so she did her best to avoid them. I also like that Param was quick on the uptake and found out fairly early on about Dao's disguise.

Music-wise, I liked the two songs that were featured but nothing memorable. Rewatch value is high; I've already watched it twice, but I am tempted to watch it again because I am curious to see when exactly did our OTP transition from hate to love.

Overall, do give this drama a try! The sweetness, the silliness, the laughter, the gorgeous leads, the terrific cast, the lovely ending - there's enough to keep you entertained!

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Great lines and life lessons

So there were definitely a lot of really beautiful life lessons in it; it was really relatable how the different characters were shown — especially how introverts were portrayed. This is a drama that will make you think about life, about how you measure happiness, about family, and more. The cinematography is also just beautiful and it really made me look around me and be more observant of my surroundings and my place in the world.

Out of everyone, the two main leads (Mijeong, Mr. Gu) were undoubtedly my favorite, even though I felt like I didn't exactly feel that romance was necessary.

I do admit that the drama started to drag in the middle; I stilled like Gu and Mijeong scenes, but started to care less about the other two siblings. Gijeong (the other sister) especially started to grate on my nerves from the middle all the way to the end; I felt like her plot was so heavily reliant on a romance that I didn't really like — either she was with the love interest or talking about him — and her character never really developed aside from it.

The ending is something I don't really have strong feelings about; it's not necessarily satisfying and there are some scenes I wish I saw, but for a drama like this I felt like it couldn't have ended any other way. It's just about a bunch of characters learning to be happy. Life goes on.

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I hate melodramas, and at first I only watched this for Ji Sung. I eventually became addicted. Bad things happen in this show, yes, but they work for the plot. I never got bored, although sometimes I was frustrated by the characters.

I was really confused by the reviewer who said the two leads didn't have chemistry. The scenes between them were hot! My love for Ji Sung has only gotten stronger. I know he's married, but let's be realistic, we were probably never going to hook up even if he was single. Okay, I've gotten off topic...



The music was great and the story was solid. One thing I loved was the little touched of comedy. I probably won't rewatch the jail episodes, but I'll revisit this series at some point. I found the first few episodes a little slow and Min Hyuk a little hard to deal with at first, which is why this doesn't get a perfect score.

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Mediocrity with so much potential

I just want to start this review by saying, i think i completed this drama wholly for what it could've been, instead what it actually was. So many of the plot points had good groundwork but they just executed everything in the most uninspiring way. The story had potential, pairing had potential, second leads were okay to a point and SML was wholly unnecessary inclusion with love triangle. I hope writers would actually do some thinking why some tropes work and try and make them work instead of just putting them in the stories without thought.

Inclusion of love triangle in first episodes and it lasted for almost full drama was so unnecessary, it really didn't bring anything to the drama and made SML so one dimensional that the actor was fully wasted. I don't know why kdrama writers need to include it just seemingly cause it has to have one instead of thinking does it actually need one.

Leads relationship started good, not counting the mentioned love triangle ruining it from the start, it moved kinda fast but that was okay, but at some point it started to feel like FL started to use ML for emotional support and latter part vice versa, it is kinda sad to make half of the drama kinda trauma train and it didn't really fit the sold image of the drama at all.

Secondary couple was so much better than leads but i think writers just didn't know what do with the couple latter episodes and made them go through every cliche known to man. Disappointing on that front too.

Acting was great from everyone, i loved how infuriating the villagers were. No complaints here at all.

Conclusion
Very mediocre drama which had potential if rightly done, but writers showed from the start that they just want to use tropes instead of actually thinking what would work. Acting was great and everyone really worked well together. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to anyone, it was lower end mediocre and i gave it 6/10. If you really like the actors, maybe for those i could recommend, everyone acted great, just the story left lot to be desired.

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Search is a quintessential OCN drama, which means that it's a fast-paced and slickly-edited action drama that pulls you in and keeps you interested - at least until the zombies show up and the bad guy starts smirking.

As far as the genre goes, Search is a pretty good example with excellent performances by the wonderful Jang Dong Yoon as the military dog handler Yong Dong Jin and a strangely (but welcomingly) sombre and cerebral Krystal as the military forensic scientist, Son Ye Rim.

The two used to date - a fact that is utterly superfluous to the plot and could have been jettisoned without us noticing - but end up in a joint operation in the demilitarized zone after there are reports of a disease spreading in the area. Jang Dong Yoon is an amazing up and coming actor who clearly wanted to branch out after his two previous roles (both performances of which were extraordinary) and does very well with the role. Krystal is also good in a natural and understated performance with none of the apparent "I am acting!" quirks and ticks that a lot of Idols seem to pick up.

While the show benefited both from being only 10 episodes and from good casting, direction and production, the script suffered from some usual OCN weaknesses. There was a lot of people in uniforms and identical haircuts running around shooting at each other in the dark and one day somebody will learn this is NOT good television. A lot of good character beats were introduced and then forgotten, like a Chekhov's gun that did not go off (why DID Ye Rim suddenly and unexpectedly break up with Dong Yoon a year ago? And if it's not important why dwell on it so much?). And some of the editing seemed more about fooling the audience or confusing them with time jumps than anything else.

The final episode was unfortunately utterly ridiculous. And while the show successfully walked that fine line between our suspension of disbelief and falling off a cliff for most of its run, it leapt into the chasm at a full jump in episode 10.

So while I enjoyed watching Search quite a lot, I can't declare it great television. But for a bit of mindless fun and quite a good example of a classic OCN drama, it's worth a binge.

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Boring plot yet charming to watch

What an odd series. It was as mundane as can be. I remember when I was watching the first episode and every scene felt so uneventful I was waiting when is something going to happen? And nothing really did. Yet, I wanted to watch more.

It's a story about a family, the parents and three adult siblings living together in the countryside and a new, kinda mysterous drunk neighbor. All of them feel like they are stuck in their life in a way, stuck in a routine or in an addiction or being a very shallow person. And all of them want some sort of change, but honestly? They feel just about the same at the end like the beginning, maybe taking a tiny half step forward throughout the whole time.

I suppose what I liked about it, is the relatability? Trying to fight the mundane everydays, trying to maintain a relationship, survive in a bad workplace, living in a toxic family, etc. Things that so many of average watchers can get behind, yet again, nothing seems to change really by the end. Is that sad? I don't know, it just feels I guess average, realistic. Bittersweet in a way, like what were we really expecting?

What I didn't like though that there was no one trying to stop the alcoholic guy from drinking... pff they actually bought alcohol for him as gifts and such. Like tf? It's something that can actually kill you, no kidding, even if you don't preach against it at least there is no need to support a bad behaviour.

Anyway, even though this whole series sounds kinda boring, it has such a unique charm to it that drew me in, it's interesting. I'd definitely recommend it to young adults.

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The second part of Along With the Gods is even better than the first.
Even though lots of things are happening the movie manages to give every aspects enough room and time to manifest in front of our eyes. The story cast light on the guardians and doesn't waste time on things that were already established in the first movie.
All the cast are skilled in their craft and manage to conveye the emotiongs to the audience. Their acting works both in the funny and sad moments of the movie.
The production value, the costumes and the sets are fitting and the CGI is great in creating the fantasy world. While I was at parts overwhelmed by some stylistic choices and the fast pace in the first movie, here I truly enjoyed them.
While I truly enjoyed the story and also the superb acting that made those character come to life, I wonder how this movie appears to people who haven't seen the first installment. Therefore my overall rating is 9.5.

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A beautiful story about a woman’s growth journey of love and life

This drama tells the story of a villainous type female lead who, due to her love obsession, ends up causing the death of her family. Before her seemingly final breath of life, she loses consciousness, only to suddenly wake up two years prior to all events that had happened. Convinced she is living a second life, she decides to do everything in her power to fix her mistakes and change her family’s fate.

The drama is not a love story but about the female lead’s growth journey as she learns valuable lessons about life and love. A strong message about unconditional love is shown in this drama as well as how every person could be good or bad, depending on the perspective. There are three love interests. No kiss scenes however the intense, fire chemistry between the main leads makes up for it.

POSITIVE:
- All characters are morally grey. No one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes and learns their lessons.
- Well written perspective for each character. At every moment the viewer clearly understands everyone’s motives (good or bad) which makes the drama very human and realistic.
- No predictable, draggy parts or cliche plot lines.
- No love triangles. Even though there are three love interests there is no typical love rivery and cliche jealousy shown.
- Conflicts are resolved quickly. Mystery aspects are done well and the audience learns everything alongside the female lead.
- All characters are well-developed and fleshed out, nobody does stupid things without a reason.
- Fantastic execution of seeing the flashbacks of the female lead’s first life that are parallel to the second life. We clearly get to see how she is acting differently and changing things in the second life.
- Beautiful message about unconditional love at the end of the drama.

NEGATIVE:
- I would have loved it if there were more romantic scenes between the male and female lead.
- Second male lead (who is the husband) does get quite a lot of screen time at the start compared to the male lead which can annoy some people.

LOVE INTERESTS:
- Male lead - a Lord, who secretly loves the female lead.
- Second male lead - female lead’s husband and the man she is obsessed with at the start of the drama.
- Third male lead - an orphan who the female lead helps and later becomes her loyal guard.

OVERALL:
If you are looking for a mature, slow paced, historical drama about a woman’s growth journey related to love, with morally grey characters (no one is just good or bad) and beautiful messages about all types of love (unconditional love, selfless love and self-love), this drama is for you.

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