Reviews

In a world full of Jenny's and WeiWei's be an An DuoDuo

This short but sweet show was a total ride! After watching a few years of Chinese dramas I became accustomed to seeing the typical FL silently accepting adversity, and allowing herself to be bullied because she's too "nice" to retaliate and stand up for herself. I understand cultural norms, but eventually the wilting flower FL becomes overdone and repetitive. This FL was absolutely not willing to let others push her around, threw some of her own punches, and didn't allow anyone to mistreat her without retaliation. It was an absolute breath of fresh air and I NEED more FL's like this in my life.

An even better aspect was the ML. He adored her just as she was, no judgement. He even stood back and watched her with a smirk on his face while she was being a total badass. He was right there with her, helping her solve her problems and get her revenge, and enjoyed himself thoroughly through it all. He made no offhand comments or judgmental remarks about her decisions, and didn't try to change her strong sense of self. I also NEED more ML's like this in my life.

The over-wrought drama of the plot was a bit campy, but seemed intentionally so. The evil mistress-turned-wife and ex-almost-mother-in-law were worthy opponents for the FL, and their over the top antics added just the right amount of crazy to the plot. Even the FL's interactions with her ex-fiancée were extremely satisfying because of how decisive she was after his infidelity.

This drama was well worth the short amount of time it took to watch it. It's a quick binge to cleanse your palette of those flavorless boring FL's and controlling ML's.

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Masterpiece, award winning worth drama

Masterpiece, the best chinese drama for me so far, even better than similar theme kdramas (start up, maybe?) in terms of closeness to reality, the chemistry of the casts, life lesson and the struggle. I dont watch many chinese dramas nowadays, i watch a lot k dramas and some lakorns, but since i watched cdramas, taiwanese drama since 1990-2000an era (F4 era), i can say that this is the best chinese drama ever. The c dramas i watched before has a lot of fillers boring scene, uncontinuity storyline, unrealistic story, but this one change my mindset of how a good chinese drama can also be made.

Finished watching it and i wish i could erase my memory just to rewatch it over and over again!
Plus points:
- amazing cinematography, aesthetic sceneries, how they shoot the camera angle are at the top notch level
- beautiful soundtracks
- engaging storyline, minimal filler scenes, even almost every little thing means something later
- success story always encourage us and motivating, how our FL never give up
- plot twists, and many of it, story telling runs smoothly consistent
- chemistry between the lead, the flirting, both of ML and FL are bad ass in nature
- ML and FL visuals....clothes..who would argue with this?
- character developments, they all learning to become better person in the end, nobody's perfect
- side characters such as aunt Yue, workers like uncle Zhang, who stays beside and help Jianghu during her lowest time - very touching
- smart ML and FL
What i don't like
- last episode is not enough for us - can we get extension episode please

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I came into this drama with the lowest of expectations. Having been burned by other lame weekend dramas, I wasn't optimistic but the poster looked interesting so I gave it a go. Booooooy did I make the right decision.

This show has it all: family drama, birth secrets galore, business makjang, murder, White Trucks Of Doom™ which may all seem cliche and typical but you know what it also has? A bad-ass, strong, don't-need-no-man female lead who gets whatever she wants done through her intelligence and diligence. Her only flaw? The desire to be loved by her adopted family. While the first few episodes may just seem like her suffering, believe me when I say it gets better.

Like I said, it's a sleeper hit. A lot of people either dropped it too early or they just skipped it all together (hence the comments) but THIS. SHOW. IS. GOLD.

The OST is amazing (please do your ears a favour and listen to You Are by KLANG), Lee Yoo Ri and Song Chang Eui kill it as the leads and the bad guys are so bad, you want to hurl things at the screen. However this show gave me so much adrenaline and the ending was just PERFECTION.

Please don't just take my word for it, watch it yourself and get to at the very least half of it before judging it. A lot of people are missing out and I really hope people see this show for what it really is, an amazing story about a badass woman who finds people who truly love her and discovers her self worth instead of letting her status as an orphan get in the way.

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Not Very Shadowy but Loved the Case Solving w/the Majority bringing it Back to the Main one.

I wanted to see WXY in something that wasn't a costume drama. This was republican era so I knew it would be beautiful with costumes and sets. He absolutely handled it very well. I wish more versatile roles for him. The rest of the cast handled themselves well too.

Pros: It all begins with a case from 20 something years ago where the ML's sister and the FL are involved in a kidnapping and child trafficking operation. ML's sister is missing and possibly presumed dead but we don't find out until the very end. The FL ends up having amnesia but ML knows who she is. The initial big case is the one that they are looking to solve as it's a big cold case and yet many of the other cases within the series tieback to this original case as unfortunately, the child trafficking and other horrible things are happening to young women and girls. There are other cases that have nothing to do with the big case which I like the fact that they added sprinkled into the series and that it's not just about this main case. There are a lot of middle villains and many villains that do their part.

When meeting again as adults the ML and FL at first get off on the wrong foot because the ML uses her as bait to lure out the killer(s)/person (people) responsible for his sister's disappearance. After a period of another two years, the FL joins the police force where the ML is an inspector and at first, though not too fond of each other, they do grow to trust each other with the help of an intelligence dude Mr. Du who has a thing for the FL but once he realizes and it takes a while and quite a few people to try to get him to understand that she has no feelings for him and he sees that the ML and the FL have grown to care about each other, he does the gentlemanly thing and gives up. Instead, he and the medical examiner aka Dr. Ding get together.

I guess you can call them the four amigos as they go around trying to solve each case that either rolls back to the main one or find the murderers respectively. Other actors in the support section do a great job too. I have to say that the psycho serial killer with a grin was an awesome antagonist. When someone is so creepy with the way they kill that it makes you think of Silence of the Lambs and Buffalo Bill's line, "it rubs the lotion on its skin", you know that's someone believable.

I like that there was romance in it, but it didn't overpower the main theme. I also like the fact that the flashbacks were necessary, but also didn't overpower the episodes or were repetitive but instead they moved the story along. We got our HE with the ML proposing to the FL and he found his sister alive which is great for them both and the ending was very satisfactory.

Cons: Many people didn't see this as an issue, but it did kind of make me feel strange when the actress who played the FL for the most part, walked around with a frown on her face and didn't properly react to emotions unless it was happiness or love. I have seen this actress before and I do not recall the same. That and she, for some reason would always walk into danger alone. It was like she was a magnet to somehow end up by herself and at the mercy of some thug or killer, though she was always either rescued by the ML or was able to take care of herself; slightly. There had to be a lot of suspended disbelief, especially for the other main antagonist because of how quickly everybody figured out who he was, even though they tried so hard to hide his face in the shadows or behind poles it was quite obvious who he was, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out either.

Another thing that was very strange and unnecessary was to portray both leads as superhuman because they would get shot and bounce back like nothing happened, going after whoever shot them in most cases the creepy serial killer guy. And lastly, how his sister actually survived living in some random village for 20 years vaguely remembering her brother or at least the embroidery that he did for her while other children that were trafficked were killed or harmed, so it didn't really make sense for her to survive unless she was bought by a couple that needed kids. Only rational explanation I have.

Would I recommend it? Despite a lot of inconsistencies and strange things; the series was actually a great watch, even though it only lasted four days. Watch for the cases, for the actors, and of course, the beautiful costumes and scenery that always adorn the Republican era.

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too many characters/couples and an unfinished finale (watch the 1 couple cut)

Overall: there were 9 actors listed as main roles and 14 listed as support roles, they needed to cut the characters by half and then focus on the fewer characters/couples. I took a full point off for that finale which was one of the worst finales I have ever seen in anything, they dropped several plot threads/had no resolution for several characters/couples. 8 episodes about 40 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI and MFlow Entertainment's YouTube Channel (not in the U.S.). Produced by MFlow Entertainment which also made Tin Tem Jai, Ai Long Nhai, Coffee Melody Second Chance and With Love.

After airing they made a special cut of just the established couple which I'd suggest watching instead of the series https://www.iq.com/play/beyond-the-star-nnkh0lxm1c?lang=en_us Just wish they would have had a better ending for them than a pinky promise promising not to cheat...

What Suggestions if you watch the whole thing (prioritizing the established couple and intimate scenes)
episode 1 - 14 minutes established couple sniff kisses
episode 2 - 32 minutes established couple in a window seat having fun
episode 3 - 5 minutes established couple in a tub having fun
episode 4 - 4 minutes glasses & friend dream kissing, 22 minutes established couple flirting & 33 minutes shopping
episode 5 - 16 minutes established couple on a couch having fun, 33 minutes established couple brief kisses
episode 6 - 36 minutes foot injured couple confession, sniff kiss and bed scene
episode 7 - 24 minutes (NSFW with foot injured couple) to 33 minutes and just pretend that's the end (episode 8 does have a meh NSFW scene with that guy wearing glasses 31-37 minutes)

Content Warnings: non con video recording/sharing, slap, manhandling, attempted suicide

What I Liked
- an established couple, they had some nice kisses/scenes
- cafe worker's dimples (though not sure why he lied about his part time job when the other character specifically said he didn't have to lie about it???)
- some decently done NSFW scenes (the established couple)
- (neutral) there were a few comedy sound effects, they weren't overwhelming

Room For Improvement
- there were a ton of characters introduced in episode 1 and I didn't care about any of them, I did eventually figure most of them out but then characters would vanish for an episode or more
- nonsense writing, a character said that they were waiting for another character to practice when we clearly saw them all practicing...
- slow pacing, I watched at 3x speed, didn't care about the rival company stuff or dance practices
- slap was not needed and not funny
- kind of hinted at a love triangle was annoying
- that final episode was absolutely terrible, barely anything was resolved, they also threw in a very serious thing in episode 8 with no discussion of counseling/medication/help

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Slow Start, Good Finish

I always loved QL's shows and she doesn't disappoint yet again! (Her little reactions/expressions are so on point)

Not gon deny this show started off really slow, and a little boring but it eventually gets to you. Three good friends with totally different lifestyles but yet being tight as a group absolutely resonates. ML and FL (Wang Yang + Qinlan)'s arc started off primarily in office (although they did have a history as teens) but once they realised their affection for each other was always there, they got so direct with their love, it became really comfortable to watch. They supported each other in their own ways and bantered as adults (unlike other shows with push-and-pull between leads lol). Super clear and clean.

SML and SFL (Liu Yun's arc) was the most difficult to watch until she saw through her cheating husband's disgusting behaviour and never looked back. The story showed how she could be submissive for her husband because of how much she loved him, only for him to treat her reliance as weakness. She could be a total hopeless romantic but once she saw his true colours, she cut all ties almost immediately and that was really strong.

The other SML and SFL (Alina Zhang's arc) was really, really healthy. Both husband and wife loves each other deeply and never got affected by their surrounding and environment, regardless of who tried to step in. They did have a small conflict in between but it was quickly resolved.

Overall all three arcs showed the different kinds of romance there are - hopeless, healthy, growing, while not neglecting the office politics side of things. I'd say it balanced out really well, and it really gets you following as the story progresses. Now all you'd need is just to sit through the first two eps, and... you may eventually like it as well.

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I’m not going to lie – I decided to watch this movie only because of the cast. I’ve loved Ahn Jae Hong in “Be Melodramatic”, I’ve loved Choi Woo Shik in “The Witch”, I’ve loved Park Hae Soo in “Prison Playbook”. The fact that it was supposed to be released on Netflix internationally had been another advantage. Unfortunately, the release was postponed because of some legal issues but finally since 23rd of April we can without any problems watch the piece of decent work that is “Time to Hunt”.

First of all, the story. Plot was quite simple, and the execution was decent. The first half was – at least for me – a little bit draggy. The second one on the other hand was really exciting. It keeps you on the edge and makes you feel anxious. Nevertheless, I think ending could be better – it left me just really frustrated.

If it comes to music and directing - those two aspects are the strong points of “Time to Hunt”. Soundtrack suits this movie perfectly. Directing is great and very artistic. In general, cinematography is extremely well made – the dystopian city is impressive and the colors! Amazing!

The acting was great, especially Park Hae Soo. He didn’t even talk much but still made the biggest impression on me. Pure gold!

Overall, it’s an okay movie. Not a masterpiece but still a really nice and thrilling watch for a night with friends or a can of beer.

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One of the most underrated drama's i've watched. I was looking for a (good) war drama after I watched a war movie and I found Road Number One. And one of my fav actors (So Ji Sub) was in it so I decided to give it a try...

Story 10
You can read the Synophis :), I'm just a sucker at unreachable love stories and this is one of them.

Acting/Cast 10
I found the cast very suiting and especially So Ji Sub and Yoon Kye Sang stood out the most. Everyone's favourite is I'm sorry I love you with So Ji Sub but mine is Road Number One, his acting was superb fear, laughter, love, joy, cold, warm, friendly, hostile even insane and crazy he had too act all of these emotions in this drama and he did it in perfection!

Music 10
The music in the drama is touching when it needs to, gripping when it needs to, romantic when it needs to and so much more. The soundtrack of this drama shows its a 5 star drama, I occasionally rewatch parts of the drama back from time to time just to listen to the soundtrack (because part of the soundtrack is untraceable at youtube :()

Rewatch Value 6
I wouldn't re watch the whole drama again just because of the fact that its too gripping and emotional. People die or loose parts of their body's. I would re watching it with someone else so I wouldn't look weak because I cried like a baby the first time :)

Overall 10
Really watch this drama if you're like a good love story, or a drama about brotherhood, the cruelness of a war that never ended in Korea. This drama really shows why should never have wars and it was stated as one of the most warm wars before the cold war.

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A lot of wisdom, interesting characters

I joined MyDramaList so that I could write this review. I have been watching KDramas on Netflix for a few years now and love so many of them. I thought I was going to love this one, too, but I felt really exasperated with how this one ended and I'm not sure I would ever want to watch it again (I've watched Chocolate twice, and there are many others I would definitely watch again). I liked the whole idea of the Liberation Club, and loved it when it gained a new member, and I feel like a lot more could have been written for the club characters interacting with each other, and about the two who were not main characters - I would have liked to know more about them. Although I liked Mi-Jung in the beginning, I liked her less and less as the show went on. The glum look on her face most of the time was maybe interesting at first, but it became really annoying after a while, and I also I think she was really stupid to think that Mr. Gu was an okay person who might ever be rehabilitated. I liked him, too, at first, but really disliked him by the end. What surprised me the most is that the two characters I disliked the most initially, Chang-He and Ki-Jung, became my favorite ones, especially Chang-He. I loved the weird accident at the end where he ends up in the wrong/right place. I love how sincerely sweet Ki-Jung turned out to be. There is a lot of wisdom in this drama - a lot to learn about relationships and feelings and interactions between people - and some funny moments along the way, where I laughed out loud. I don't know, maybe I could watch it again some day in the far future. It is worth watching at least once.

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Imma give you straight away two reasons that should sell this drama to you:
1. Netflix production = Quality television
2. Kim Eun-hee (Signal writer) = Quality writing

I’ve been out of the kdrama scene for… personal reasons, for a year and a half now and this drama was announced all the way back when my life was heavily drama-driven. Imagine my excitement when my beloved Netflix actually released this.

Long story short, Kingdom = Zombies in Joseon era. And… lemme stop you there. Zombies is in no way a new concept. In fact we’ve been living in the decade of zombie and post-apocalyptic future TV craze with most shows ending up being a shadow of themselves in later seasons. What’s more zombies have been done by Koreans too, in infamous movies and… mediocre – at best – dramas. However, Kingdom was all but done before. As a fan of post-apocalyptic TV shows and zombies themselves, this drama felt like a complete breath of fresh air. Not only was it a post-apocalyptic historical drama but also it felt exceptionally original.

So what made this – in just 6 episodes – so good?
- Incorporation of classic kdrama troops in an original form.
You got your average, classic historical drama backstory: political conspiracies, throne successors, political struggles to stay in power, corrupted nobles, evil queens ect, implicated with an overall story of a peculiar disease that “make the dead rise and seek for human blood and flesh”.

Which brings me forward to the second original factor:
- Actual explanation of how this shit came to exist
Zombie apocalypse is classic in 2019, we love it, we do. Name a show that actually took the time to explain how this shit happened. Nope! No writer actually went out of his way to try and explain how this happened. It always gets overlooked. But all hail writing Queen Kim Eun-Hee because this bitch gave us a reason. It is nothing groundbreaking and there is no need for it to be, but it is there and it makes as much sense as it needs to please the viewer. This is what i call brave writing, and i commend her on this.

- Plotwists and creativeness
Imma not spoil anything, I’ll just say: episode 6! This was an 8.5 until the last 10 minutes of the season finale. Kim Eun-Hee took an already existing idea and made it hers. Super mini spoiler-alert – zombies run now and that’s not the only new thing about this. At first the zombie classic lore changes felt foreign but there is nothing wrong with experimenting when it actually works!

- *tear* NO ROMANCE
Lemme hear you say YAAAAAAAS and a HALLELUJAH! I’ve been out of the kdrama world for a while now, but from my experience there is no non-OCN drama that won’t shove a romance down our beautiful throats and sorry but I like other things shoved down there (I mean food you freaking pervert!)

- Pacing and Cinematography
Kim Eun-Hee and Netflix makes a good combo cause, bitch that went by FAST and it was the most beautiful thing I’ve seen! Ok that was a stretch but appreciate my enthusiasm. I could easily call the cinematography the best thing about this. Hell each episode cost 1.78 million $ so yes. Netflix went all in, and considering this was renewed in a week, it paid back. The pacing is fast and it makes sense and it introduces new stuff and it has your something new and your something old and honestly, it’s great!

The only reason this doesn’t get anything more from me is because I’d have liked to see more of the characters backstories. Don’t get me wrong, they are well fleshed and super SUPER likeable. But there is somuch content you can add in just 6 episodes and I just missed that. Thankfully the show got renewed, and we got a tiny glimpse of their stories, which felt more like teasing to be honest, so here’s to looking forward to something in the next season.

Last but not least, I enjoyed the splashed comic relief In the episodes. It was there, it felt good, it was small but impactful and did not ridicule any of what was happening. Good writing again Kim Eun-Hee. All hail ect ect….

As far as acting is concerned, lemme be my usual sour self and say: I read that Song Joong Ki was cornered for the lead role but he declined. You know what guys? Some dramas are destined for greatness and… ALL HAIL THE DRAMA GODS FOR LETTING THIS DRAMA BE GREAT!

Phew, it felt good saying that – no offence to his fangirls but I’d like to take my dramas with as little boy-fanservice as possible.

That being said, I think I’ve never seen Ju Ji-hoon before. He was a noble hero, maybe a bit too cliché but it was necessary for the show to continue. I liked him a lot as the lead. And would love to see more of him

Bae Doona. Netflix likes Bae Doona and why wouldn’t they. She rocks, she’s the best *incert fanboying comment here*. I would have liked her to be a little bit more badass, but there was enough badassery here brought by other characters so it’s alright. Let’s make Doona a global star now Netflix ok?

Kim Sung Kyu. Do I know him? I certainly don’t remember him, but boy was he badass? Every character fulfill a purpose and made a flawless zombie-killing squad. The-walking-dead who?

Which brings me to the my fan favourite Kim Sang Ho. We have seen him in tons of dramas. Usually he’s the comic relief right? Correct me if I’m wrong, but he was amazing here, part of the main cast for me. He was the glue that made it work.

Overall, don’t be whiny bitches. This is 6 episodes long, of course it is worth it. Dive in already you won’t stop watching. Can’t wait for the 2nd season.

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OMG!!!! I just finished watching Daisy (and it's like 4am now, yes I know I'm mad) I have only one thing to say about this movie. IT'S AWESOME!!!

The beginning started of sooo beautifully it was just unbelievable with the dream-like setting. It portrayed the beauty of the Netherlands sooo well, it was just wonderful to see all that nature scenes. And I'm not just saying that because it's my birth country no, I really mean it!

The actors were too good, every one of them played their characters sooo well!!! I fell in love with both the male leads! I couldn't choose who I liked more: Lee Sung Jae who played the role of officer Jeong Woo, or Jung Woo Sung who played the role of assassin Park Yi! and of course i can't forget Jun Ji Hyun, who played the female lead Hye Young. She was just wonderful, she was able to portray the sadness and pain so well. None of the actors exaggerated their characters. It was just perfect!

I totally love the music used in the movie, maybe that's because they used classical/ballads. It was totally in synch with the plot of the movie. I think because of that I ended up enjoying it even more xD

Daisy is now on my list of all time favourite movies

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I'm sorry, but everything I've seen in China before and after in terms of acting and cinematography just pales in comparison to Rise of the Phoenixes. The series is embedded with layers and layers of pathos, and the characters seemed so real and well-fleshed out that the lines between fiction and fact blurred. The pacing may seem tonally slow, but I was completely invested. Why? Because the character interactions were often raw, cathartic and deeply affecting, and the issues brought forth and questions asked were often times painfully real and humanely complicated to answer. It also helped that they had a budget and production values fit for a king. The series is truly a sumptuous feast for the eyes. The music? Puts my emotions through the wringer. Oh my poor heart!

Do I wish it could have ended better? Yes. But I think it has more to do with the fact that I bought so much into Ning Yi and Zhiwei's romance that I just wanted them to be happy together no matter what it cost. Reflecting on how it could have ended better, I realized that it is a difficult task. The ending felt rushed and disjointed. But if it was 100 episodes instead of 70, would I have been satisfied? Probably not. I would want to see my Phoenix couple together for 100 more.

Initially, I knocked off a star for the rushed pacing towards the end and the lazy use of flashbacks in some parts, and another for some really messy writing towards the end. But I asked myself, would I watch it again? If so, I would restore one star for replay value. The answer was a loud and resounding yes.

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You definately gotta give it a try!

If you liked season 1 and wanted to see how this story ends, you should definitely see this season!

New characters are added to the story, new plots, some well-known characters have important changes both in personality and in the plot. You must pay attention to all the characters, because each one, in one way or another, is important to resolve this conflict. This series excellently completes a story that left us waiting to see how they could destroy the educational system in that universe.

By the way, this is my first review. I really liked this series, so i trully recommend it!

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Me too, Flower certainly isnt going to make you ponder the meaning of life or reveal to you what love truely is, but that's not what it's trying to do.

what it is trying to do, and does very well, is tell a fun and interesting story. there is a lot more of what americans might expect when they think romance than you usually see in k-drama. the four leads all nail thier characters and evoke in you exactly what they are supposed to when they are supposed to. it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out what happens next, but you like the characters so much that you want to watch it happen, even if you know you arent going to be shocked.

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