And in the end when you reach its final piece, you start to really appreciate every single item. Although each of them has their own shape and characteristics, you notice that special bond that connects every part, smoothly like a cogwheel. And when you put it back together afterwards, it matches perfectly again.
That's how I experienced Chicago Typewriter. I was sold from the first minute. The start was slow and the show takes its time to tell its story. But I never even once complained about the pace. I enjoyed every second of it. Why? Because I simply savored every interaction with the characters. It felt like they took me along on their journey.
The people in this drama - and yes, I call them people because they felt real to me, no matter how estranged they appeared sometimes - will grow on you, especially the female lead. She's one wonderful fangirl many of us can relate to. Being obsessed with her crush in a totally unharmful and charming way, you can't help yourself but root for her. And who wouldn't take the chance and meet his/her crush when an opportunity arises out of the blue? Even if that means to maybe get disappointed by that one person you dedicated your life to. Even if that means you maybe should decide about ending that long-lasting one-sided relationship. So, hands down for the first honorable mention in this cast: Im Soo Jung. An endearing actress who not only impersonates our everyday fangirl but also a devoted freedom fighter per se.
And who is the counterpart to every fan? Of course, the star. That ray of light we see whenever we feel down. Those people who have all the rumors floating around them. Charming on the outside and... either exactly the way we imagine them to be or shockingly different. Being a nationwide renowned bestseller author in the present (and a seemingly resigned writer in his past life), Han Se Ju is certainly one interesting figure. Reserved towards strangers, with a proud and confident demeanor, he might appear paranoid, rude and self-centered. But he learns to change his ways and views, and certainly grows with time. Yoo Ah In is one brilliant actor whose magnificent performance impressed me deeply.
Finally, the third to be in league and a must to be mentioned here. Go Gyeong Pyo. He plays the handsome and classy Yoo Jin Oh who stirs up the daily lives of our other two leads. His appearance triggers a chain of unforeseen events that will certainly change everyone's path. Without telling too much, Go Gyeong Pyo clearly nailed this role.
These three are telling a story about fateful friendship and love in desperate times, that will eventually engrave its signature into your heart. Their tale has "passion" written all over its face. Passionate love, passionate friendship and the passionate desire for your people's freedom. It's captivating in every point, once you let your guard down and allow yourself to be swallowed by its mysteries. Emotions are raw and daring, and an important pillar for its partakers. It's like fire, burning hot and dangerous. And the leads are doing a phenomenal job on conveying that driving emotion.
The mystery surrounding this drama may not be completely new, but still be a rare kind in its execution through neat hints that will be revealed step by step. Starting with visually beautiful scenes, the drama takes a constant pace with a fluent transition between the past and present story. This helps building up the layer-by-layer suspense which ultimately vents into a poignant finale. On a side note, you have of course your usual suspects as well, your lovely sidekicks who add some fun and comedy to the story. And you have that villain that you will hate with utter disgust.
And before I will conclude my review, let me tell you that once you got to listen to Chicago Typewriter's haunting soundtrack, you won't be able to turn back. It's like the icing on the cake and you'll be lost for good.
Don't hesitate to watch this mesmerizing gem. Let yourself be swayed, and take on this incredible journey with an exceptional love for details in every aspect. Even though you might not end up with a 10 like me, because you perhaps find some things only normal or average along the road, it's worth the watch nonetheless. In the end, I might sound a little biased but this one just hit all the right spots for me. It never let me or down or disappointed me.
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You have got to be kidding me!
Warning: Don’t watch it while eating or drinking, you might get choked by laughing.Curious about the heading of review? Let's discuss it later.
Very cliche story with many tropes, no brainer as you just have to turn off your brain and not use logic, there are many moments I was having second-hand embarrassment, and drama failed miserably in the portrayal of the lead’s professionalism. But at the end of the day, it is just a rom-com that only focuses on the romantic relationship between leads. It doesn’t mean it’s not entertaining coz it’s super fun and extremely hilarious. I guarantee that you won't get bored even for a single episode.
The acting is the best thing, it's phenomenal. Steven Zhang and Liang Je nailed it, I mean it feels so real that body swap happened, as change is visible.. from facial expression, body language, the way of talking, and even very small gestures. Here Steven Zhang stands out as his character after the body swap is more colorful, energetic. But Liang Je did great too. It's not easy to play a stone-faced, aloof character. Plus leads have great chemistry, not just that, they look very good as a pair it's easy to imagine them as a couple as their visuals match with each other very well.
With being so funny, it's written very well and not draggy. Another thing I would like to point out as the whole story only revolves around leads they don't even try to focus on anything other. Especially like the story execution and its development that feels so natural. How leads start with bickering but with time they find trust, found comfort, and start to like each other... It is realistic and pleasing to see, not an abrupt change in the whole process, with lots of little details.
Not in just story-execution-acting vise, it's good, technically too! It has really good cinematography, particularly liked the choice of the color palette. It's not super bright but good for the eyes haha, definitely it's a good quality production. It's my first time giving re-watch this much score, but let me tell you it's a rewatchable drama lol.. perfect when you are feeling down to refresh the mood... Actually, I've already re-watched some initial episodes with my mom coz I wanted her to watch the drama :')
Soundtrack and effects
It's a rare thing for me to mention sound effects in review, but it is so necessary here because they have a really big role. I mean without all those sound effects I couldn't have enjoyed it this much, for some, they might be annoying but for me the reason to laugh more. So there's one scene where we think it's going to be a confession so kinda romantic BGM starts to play.. but that seemed to be a confession that turns out to be different and how they literally made it off tune and it's sooo funny, I died laughing there. It has many wonderful OSTs. They are refreshing, and soothing at the same time.
Fun fact: Two OSTs are sung by our Liang Je (Whisper) and Steven Zhang (My Soul), to be honest, I had no idea they can sing very well. So it was a pleasant surprise to me.
Now here comes the conclusion of the title, WHAT? they did, the story was consistently good. I mean let us live in the fantasy, I don't want something real to happen. They messed up so hard.. initially, it was the best rating possible from me 9.5 but as you can see it's not anymore. I wish the writer didn't try to become super creative in the end and let us have what we really wanted.
Though one thing really bothered me, I can of course let it slide by the fun I had with watching it I'm being so generous about the rating (that rarely happens). So watch it and have a good laugh ;D
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Nirvana in Fire 2: The Wind Blows in Chang Lin
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I binge watched this drama in 2 days after finally deciding I was going to give it a shot. Updated edit after a rewatch: I'm hesitant to compare this against NiF 1 anymore (even though I still do think it was better produced, I'm more emotionally attached to the characters in NiF2) because I think they're such great companion stories for each other. While 2 is a sequel (it takes place about 50 years later after the first), it's an entirely different story with a different premise. Prepare for an emotional rollercoaster - this show will earn your tears and your emotional investment. Story
The story focuses on the family of the general of the Changlin Army (the army that was created in Mei Changsu's memory). Ting Sheng, the head of the family and of the army, was one of the slave boys that Mei Changsu had saved in the original, and was later adopted by Prince Xiao Jingyan. Ting Sheng's oldest son, Xiao Pingzhang, is his right hand man and the named heir, while his younger son has lived a spoiled and sheltered life (in the sense that his family lets him have a lot of freedom and not have to worry about the responsibilites of being in a military family) and spends most of his time on Langya Mountain. Both sons are supremely talented - Ping Zhang is an incredible military strategist and represents his family in court with the Emperor to navigate the political waters. Ping Jing, while young and a bit brash, has had his sharp instincts honed by his father and brother and has street smarts in spades. While very different, the two brothers are very close, and much of the first half focuses on their family's bond.
While the original story focused on one central storyline, the sequel follows the ups and downs of the Changlin family - because of this, the plot isn't as tight as the original as it is much more complex. The political stuff was a bit too much at times (and infuriating), but the reasons behind most of the conflicts were logically sound.
One of the pluses of the drama was that there was a strong focus on relationships - be it family (THE CHANGLIN FAMILY - ugh, I'm still recovering from all of the feelings), romance, friendship, the bond between a person in power and those who serve him, or the relationship between the past and future (sooo many name drops - it was kind of fun to figure out who was related to a character in the original story). The original had elements of this of course, but due to the story being about the Changlin family (who are also a military family), the emphasis on interpersonal relationships is much greater. The romance was also much better in this one than the first, in my opinion - Ping Zhang and his wife have such a great, healthy relationship and the mutual respect (and love) that they have for one another is wonderful to see. The younger couple was cute as well - and I liked the fact that while both could lead very independent lives, it was the times that they were together that made them the happiest.
Probably one of the biggest criticisms of the show is that it is centered around a boy/man who is barely 20 when the story begins - but to me, this is one of the best selling points of the shows. Perhaps younger viewers may not appreciate this, but the freshness and youthful enthusiasm of Pingjing was an absolute delight (more so because is he is played by someone who is right at that age), and watching him grow up and mature was both bittersweet and awesome. There are times where you wish he was more self-aware, but he's not a stupid character - just a very young one, and that's part of the charm. I can honestly say Pingjing is probably my favorite drama protagonist in the last...I don't even know how many years.
There's also this bittersweet satisfaction knowing that we are, in a way, watching what the 19 year old Lin Shu would have been like, because we never got see him go through that growing up process - we went straight to adulthood. It's noted by several characters that both Lin Chen and Xiao Jingyan, who were probably Lin Shu's best friends, were both incredibly fond of Ping Jing and spoiled him accordingly - in part because they are very similar in personalities, though obviously the roads they walked were very different. It's a subtle reference that I really enjoyed - they are not the same people at all, but the spirit of Lin Shu/Mei Changsu lives on through Pingjing.
I found in particular the discussion of nature vs nurture to be pretty interesting - this is a topic that is pushed pretty hard in the drama, as the debate follows multiple characters who walk on different paths. The idea of fate is also nicely interwoven in - no matter how much effort we put in, no matter what choices we make, are we always going to end up at the same destination?
(Edited after rewatch): This isn't the same story as Nirvana in Fire and if you're expecting that, you're already going to be disappointed. NiF was a story of triumph, of redemption (more so than revenge, in my opinion), mingled with bittersweet elements. Mei Chang Su set out with a specific goal in mind so he had everything planned out and the climax was when he obtained that goal at the very end of the series.
NiF2 is very different - it's more like a chronicle of the Changlin family, with a specific focus on Pingjing and the people around him. For some people, the climax of the story probably happened around episode 36, and I agree, to a certain extent. I think the point of the story isn't about the fall and redemption of the Changlin family - it's about family and bloodlines; it's about growing up and living with yourself and the choices that you make. I understand what people mean by the anticlimatic ending and the final arc (and I do agree that the writing was a bit poor towards the end), but to me, it felt right and matched everything we had learned about all the characters up to that point.
Acting/Cast:
Huang Xiaoming and Liu Haoran as the two Changlin brothers exceeded expectations for me. This was also a heavily criticized decision when the production first started, because Huang Xiaoming is known as an idol actor, but like Hu Ge before him, he turned in a strong performance - if HXM doesn't overact, he has this natural warmth that comes from his real life personality and it worked so well for his big brother role. Seriously, never doubt these directors - they know what they're doing when they cast people (well, for the most part - see below for what I didn't like about the casting choices).
Pingjing was a really tricky role to play (and to cast for) and I feel like it has to be acknowledged - you're talking about a story that spans about three or four years and the character goes from a carefree, sheltered prince to a solemn, matured young general (this isn't a spoiler - it's in the synopsis). So basically your casting options would be: 1) Pick an older actor (early to mid 20s) - a la Hu Ge in The Disguiser - which...wasn't great. They would be able to handle the second half well, but you would cringe your way through the first half. If people already think (then) 19 year old LHR was a bit hard to watch acting as a 20 year old, I have no idea how they'd tolerate this.
2) Pick a younger actor (late teens, presumably) and hope that they don't look like a child pretending to be an adult when they reach the second half. In the Chinese market, there just simply aren't a lot of candidates that would fit all the criteria (age, looks, height, acting talent, public recognition, temperament, demeanor, and ability to pull off both arcs). As great as Daylight Entertainment's reputation is, they also have to have someone who has some degree of popularity as the main role. The word that is most associated with Liu Hao Ran on Chinese media is "youth" (even before NiF) - it's not his age, necessarily, but a spirit that he has in spades - and it served him so, so well in this role. He was able to rely on it to carry him through the first half, and then the natural contrast between his youthful demeanor and the burden on his shoulders really tugged at the heartstrings in the second half. I cried when he cried, I laughed when he laughed - he embodied the character perfectly for me. He's not a polished actor by any means - but he's got a good foundation and definitely grew as an actor throughout the drama. Again, he just turned 19 when he filmed this - 19!
The shining star in terms of acting though, definitely goes to Sun Chun, who plays the brothers' father. What a masterful performance by a veteran actor.The character felt 100% real and he really fleshed out every aspect of Changlin Wang - as a father, as a friend, as a brother, as a general, and as a loyal servant of the Emperor. The way he delivered his lines - oh man. If China actually did legit drama awards, he deserves one.
Sun Chun, Huang Xiaoming, and Liu Haoran also had phenomenal chemistry as father and sons which made some of the later scenes all that more emotional for me. (If you want something cute, go look at their weibo comments and posts to each other throughout the drama - it's like if the family lived in the modern age and could access social media, ha. Some of the other cast members also occasionally pitch in their opinions on where the story is at).
Squeals for Zhang Bo, who was great as the head of the Imperial Guard - I will never ever forget his performance as Sun Quan in Three Kingdoms about seven years ago and he was just as awesome in this role. He just has this natural charisma and gravitas that works so well on screen (and gets better as he ages). Why is he not more popular?! Tong Liya and Zhang Huiwen turned in decent performances as the main two female leads (though of course like the first one this is a very male-dominated cast) - Tong Liya in particular had some great scenes. I liked Zhang Huiwen's Lin Xi, but wish she was used more, particularly in the second half. Guo Jingfei probably had a blast in his role and I was torn between laughing because I knew he probably enjoyed the performance and also superbly creeped out because he turned in a very good acting performance.
I am conflicted on how i feel about Wu Haochen, who plays a pretty important role. I think his acting was solid (especially in the final arc - he was phenomenal), but somehow he just never visually fit into the part and it became distracting to a certain degree. I know that there's been a lot of comments about his appearance and I've never really been all that concerned about looks when it comes to acting, but the visual presentation took me out of his scenes more often than not. I had no issues with him in Ode to Joy, so I wonder if it's because he doesn't quite fit the "gu zhuang" look. I also just never cared about him - especially in the second half - I just wanted to see more of Pingjing - and I think that's because while Wu Haochen did a good job acting, he never made me feel anything about the character. In the original NiF, Prince Yu (played by Victor Huang) was definitely not a protagonist but I really felt for him (and part of that has to do with charismatic Victor was in the role).
If there is one criticism that I have of this production team, it's their tendency to reuse actors that they've casted in previous shows - sometimes I like it as it's kind of like spotting Easter eggs, but sometimes it can also be very trying. I wasn't fond of the casting choice of Qiao Xin (she was already in the original as the oh-so-memorable-for-bad-acting Nian Nian!!). It'd be one thing if they reused an actor with great acting talent, but Qiao Xin is definitely...not that. Also, you could have done away with her character completely and it would probably been fine - I just found all of her scenes completely unneccessary.
The cast overall (especially the veterans) weren't as phenomenal as the supporting cast in the original, but the main cast really carried the show well, so it was okay.
Music
I love how the music is the same, yet just a tiny bit different. It brought back just the right amount of feels. The theme song has two different versions and has a much more stronger tone than Hu Ge's song in the original - probably due to the more military, war-bent nature of this one.
Rewatch Value
I took one star off because there were about ten episodes straight where I was just crying nonstop and I don't know if I can handle that again. But the emotional roller coaster is worth it, and I think I will definitely be rewatching very soon.
Overall
This is very different story than from the original Nirvana In Fire. As I mentioned previously, I think the first was a better production overall, but the second one has me invested way more in the characters, and if you don't mind a younger main character (and are interested in watching a growth arc), i think you may find the show a blast to watch.
Sequels are probably never going to live up to the original, but I love that they changed almost everything (the story, the cast) and still maintained that definite "Nirvana In Fire" vibe - it is definitely worthy of being considered a quality stand-alone show.
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NOT WHAT YOU'LL EXPECT!
Hear me out. This series actually blew my mind. Contrary to the negative backlash that colored it when it first premiered, Earth , Mix, & Jan did a great job in my opinion. So glad that I took a leap over many negative opinions to see the series for myself. Body swapping is not my thing but it is so nicely done and certainly addressed in the series that I ended up enjoying the story line. Earth plays himself throughout and Jan was shown periodically so that we the audience do not forget that Win (Mix) is now in Lin's (Jan) body. If the body swap happened in a manner Lin's face was used to act as Win, I would have found that problematic. Or, if Korn (Earth) continually addressed Win as Lin, it would have been bad. But we can see that Korn is constantly aware that Win is the person he is on a journey with. Win even questions who Korn loves. Him or his sister. I am glad they made it clear that bodies had been swapped. Now, lets talk about the chemistry between Korn and Win. SHEEESH!!!!!!!!!!! They came in hot with the chemistry. I was so impressed. Their chemistry on ATOTS has NOTHING on this series. I want to attribute the ease with which they connect to the fact that Earth and Mix have spent a lot of time together since ATOTS. The stares, kisses, touches, my goodness, so so good. Mix has such a great way of expressing different emotions that just draws you in. Earth's acting was certainly better than I have ever seen it. I guess that goes to show the importance of partner pairing. I think some of the racist issues were cut out because I did not see any scenes with them. This series has made me more excited for Moonlight Chicken because I think that if Earth and Mix delivered such acting under a director everyone claims is very problematic, I cannot wait to see the art P'Aof wrings out of them. I will certainly be rewatching on GMMTV once it is released on YouTube. Earth Mix is certainly a new favorite after this series. I personally do not pay attention to anything other than the acting and storyline of a series. This way, I can support the actors based on what is within their power to influence. I do not think anyone asked Earth and Mix what they felt about the color grading. So, I am not going to use that to rate the show when I know it may affect their ability to secure other works in the future.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
The casting was exellent, as well as the acting, can't complain about it. The music played during th emovie was very moving and really enhances the feeling you get from watching a particular scene.
The story line is great, even though we all know it, however, having watched the Disney movie, I anticipated a happier ending than that, and was slightly disapointed, screaming in my head "It's NOT FAIR", but anyway, that would be the only thing I don't like about it.
Overall, the movie was fantastic and a must watch in my opinion, and I would easily re-watch this, to pay more attention on the details the second time around.
GREAT MOVIE!!
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What really got to me in this drama was the realism of it. There are people that go through these types of issues in real life, and they don't always have someone by their side to help them get back on their feet. In the drama you find out more about each person as the story progresses, it made me think a lot about the people in my own life, everyone struggles with something, some people have deep dark secrets their embarrassed to talk about or afraid to talk about.
The acting was done really well! Exceptional! I haven't seen any of the other actors act in anything else, except for Nishikido Ryo, I've seen him in 1 Litre Of Tears. Needless to say, seeing him go from his character there to this one proves how much of a good actor he is. Sosuke was dark, his character was scary in ways because of the things he did. Nagasawa Masami as Michiru did a really good job, you saw her character getting stronger as the drama progressed. Ueno Juri as Ruka did an excellent job, her character had a lot of internal suffering going on as you find out more as each episode ends. I loved Eita's character, Takeru, even with all the things he's gone through he's an upbeat guy, admirable. The rest of the cast was really good, as well.
The music was good, the theme song, "Prisoner Of Love" by Utada Hikaru was perfect for the drama. The lyrics really matched with what the characters felt. The instrumental to it was really nice as well. The rest of the instrumentals fit the drama as well.
Will I rewatch this again? Someday. Serious dramas like this I love and enjoy for their realism, but I'm not sure when I'll rewatch this, if I do it won't be for a while.
Overall: It's a really good drama, I'd recommend it to everyone. It deals with a lot of issues. I found myself needing to watch each episode, like I mentioned above - I wasn't bored with any of this drama. There was always something going on to keep me intrigued and wanting to see what happens next.
The impact of their friendship, how each of them were willing to do anything to protect each other, that's the most important part of this drama I feel.
I wished they'd of gone a little more into detail about a few things, but overall it was done really well, I can't say it enough!
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Does it Lack Anything????? Definitely No!!!!
I just came across this drama through an edit on YouTube. That edit itself made me watch the whole drama. Well, now you can imagine how much impact this drama had on me. Every minute and every second of this drama kept on delivering. Kudos to the Team and the actors for creating such a wonderful Masterpiece.STORY + ACTING + VISUAL EFFECTS + EFFORTLESSLY FUNNY + SUSPENSE = "I am Nobody"
[What more do you want???]
The story is definitely one the unique stories I have ever seen. Especially from the first episode to the last episode it just maintained the pace. Not a single moment where I felt bored and not a single scene where I wanted to skip it or fast forward it. Mostly these days I have been skipping few scenes if the drama gets boring, but this is not that kind of drama. It helped me understand how much I can enjoy even while watching a drama!!!
Oh what do I say about the acting, I can sense(I am manifesting) that the actors in this drama are going to get really famous and receive more projects from now on. Special mention to Wang Ying Lu(Bao Bao) and Peng Yu Chang(Chu Lan) for their amazing performance during the entire show. Especially Wang Ying Lu, she is so funny and fierce at the same time.
Now comes the main part, MARTIAL ARTS and VISUAL EFFECTS are the heart of the drama. They did not compromise on anything!! Maybe there is no science in the story but who cares when it is not boring and makes you wonder what is going to happen next and gives you goosebumps in few scenes. Maybe I am over hyping it........but this drama deserves all the attention & appreciation.
Also, this drama focuses on each and every detail of the martial art or the superpower they posses, just like explaining it to people like us, who doesn't have any knowledge about those. This is what makes you more interested in the drama. You may not understand few terms at first but while the episodes keep progressing you will understand everything.
I really liked how they explain the evil outsiders get punished, even though they do not show how they get punished, that explanation itself is quite content enough. This drama also tries to make you laugh even though the situation is filled with suspense and fierceness. And the whole credit goes to Zhang Chu Lan and Feng Bao Bao along with the production team. It is really not so easy to pull out a funny scene when the whole scenario is supposed to be a part of the main part of the story. Double thumps up to them for not making it awkward and making us be at ease and enjoy even the most serious parts of the story.
This is one of the dramas where I watched it for the unique story(one of it is "Forbidden Flower"), generally I watch dramas with my favourite actors or just because the trailer is good. Prior to watching the drama I don't really know any of the cast except for Neo Hu & Bi Wen Jun. I am utterly surprised why this is not getting all the hype it required(or maybe the hype is not enough).
If only they showed who Zhang Chulan's father is and what happened to them along with Feng Baobao's father and the origin of baobao's parents, I would feel that this season would be complete by itself. I hope these minute details will be revealed in season 2. Which is also the reason why I gave it a 9.5 other than this the drama is a 10 for me.
Well, maybe I can guess that this is not everyone's cup of tea but irrespective of the genre you like everyone must and should watch this drama. C-dramas are definitely delivering this 2023. Can't wait to watch more stories like this. So, I suggest everyone to go watch this!!
My suggestion to the people binge watching it is - just keep watching the drama, you might or might not understand it at first, but you will understand everything when you are halfway through it.
One last thing I would want to say is "There is romance but there is no romance". Figure it out after you watch the drama LOL.
PS - Just Two Words........."Speechlessly Amazing"!!!!! Just give this drama a fair chance :)
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Simplicity Still Wins
In a time of explicit scenes, and uncut episodes ( which isn't a bad thing ) This series showed us that simple sweet moments can still make a story feels real and so enjoyable to watch. Moments that we rarely see in bls anymore. Communication, Cheek kisses, Holding hands, The excitement of saying each other's name, Sharing hopes and dreams, and talking about your flaws. This is what falling in love is all about. It's realistic, mature and relatable. It's impossible to watch it without feeling their love and having a big smile on your face. This series is easily became one of my top favorite that I'll enjoy watching again for years to come. The acting and chemistry were great. They chose the perfect actors for their roles. I'm very excited about the director I think he'll give us amazing bls in the future.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
If there is only one word that could describe this drama perfectly. That is 'Awesomazing'. From the A to the Z it is the most funny, dramatic and almost realistic drama I saw.
The most funniest drama I had seen ever. Ever.
Don't believe me? Let me tell you why you should.
The cast is Perfect. I don't think anyone could had done those characters more justice then people who played them. Though I am not familiar with any of the cast members but I am glad that I still tried it. Because they were perfect.
Nam Gung Min is the funniest actor, I know. Then there is Lee Jun Ho with him. And it's just perfection on it's own.
There are lot's of other people too. And You are going to like each of them for their characters. You just have to.
The story is amazing. I'm not going to say anything about it, except that you will love every single second of it. You will love, scream and cry (for all the good reason). In the end you will just wish if there was more, more and more.
Funny & crazy lead. Smart women characters. An antagonist that you will love. A corruption story told with the right balance of comedy. And with a few lessons for life (Don't do corruption!).
There isn't a bucket load of romance in it. But there is this one couple that you will be shipping from the first episode. *hint* hint* And if you are me, then there will be two or more.
The bromance...
You are probably hearing a lot about the Chief Kim & Director Seo's bromance. And none of the things you heard is a lie. If you thought Goblin & Grim Reaper's (From "Goblin" ) bromance was epic. Then this one is just a step farther. It is funnier, cuter and seriously has that felling that just makes you go 'aww' at them. TQ's Psycho & Gluttonous Sociopath, they are just to CUTE to resist.
Every time they were together, there was Bang bang bang. Every line, every scene, every time their eyes meet...there was Bang.
This is the most romance I have ever seen in a bromance. And there are kisses. Yes, kiss but in plural!
The music. The songs are amazing. Beautiful and light goes perfectly with the story and the scenes. You will be humming them all the time.
Rewatch - 10/10. I am so going to re-watch this. Actually I'm already re-watching it now.
So if you think 'Ah, it doesn't has romance in it. It probably isn't good.' Then I will like to tell you, "You are so wrong. It does has romance in it. Just not a bucket full of it. The story, cast, music, the bromance, comedy everything else makes up for it. When you reach the end of the first episode you won't even care about the romance anymore"
It's an amazing drama not to mention a hilarious one. One of the best of 2017.
I'm hoping for a 2nd season.
For all of you my advice is, "Watch it! Watch it! Watch it!"
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Esta resenha pode conter spoilers
More interesting than it seems
At first episodes seem to have no connection at all, but if you follow with attention you see they are actually CONNECTED.The catch here is that the episodes are in reverse order. There are hints here and there to this. But if we watch from Episode 8 back to Episode 1 it makes more sense.
Also Episode 8 is the longest and provides the story, and the others are shorter and no story is explictly told, but they build up on each other.
Taking into account the details I will point out bellow, I think Goedam is a work of a GENIUS, and that is why I liked it so much.
Made me curious enough to see if my theories are right.
But in order to point out those awesome details I need to explain what happens in each episode.
** SPOILERS **
Episode 8: Birth
It starts with the tale of Yeommae hex. We find out that shamans abduct children, starve them and kill them to capture and use their spirit.
We can see then how the shaman kills a child.
Afterwards we see a customer whose husbands has and affair, and she wants him dead so they won't divorce. The shaman gives her a talisman to be put in the pillow case.
- Director spends here a lot of time focusing on her jewelries, especially on her ring, showing her (or her husband's) wealth. This is strongly connected to Episode 7.
Then we see a mother asking the shaman to find her child. Her child must be the one that shaman killed at the beginning of the episode and whose feet were buried near a tree, as in the end we see the mother hanged above her child's feet.
But before that, we see the birth of a monster baby.
The talisman plays important role both in Episode 8 and Episode 7.
Episode 7: Threshold
It starts with a boy tripping. He is going with his mother to visit his grandmother.
The woman tells her husband not to take off the talisman from bedroom wall because it brings bad luck. Also informs him a boy and a cop went missing.
While being home alone the man steps on hair, and after pulling the hair out he hears a scream.
After he comes back home he takes down the talisman and a monster appears while he sleeps.
The monster looks like being made from cut pieces (like the feet from Episode 8), and also looks like a grown up version of the child born in Episode 8.
Some important details here are:
- The monster was there even though the house was "protected" by talismans (at least 2 shown, one above each door) .
- In the house you can see the child's and wife's items, like toys and make-up, but no items belonging to the man. There are also no wedding photos. It gives a feeling that he doesn't belong there.
- There is also only one bedroom and only one bed.
- The woman has a cross, a gold necklace, showing man is wealthy enough, but no other jewelries, not even a wedding ring. Why would she wear the cross, but not the wedding ring? Also if her faith in Christianity is so strong, why would she need talismans?
Maybe the reason for all these is that the man is the husband of the woman from Episode 8. We know for sure the woman from Episode 8 wants him dead, before they divorce, but what if the apparent wife from Episode 7 works with her to kill the man? A talisman like the one from Episode 8 might be hidden in the house.
Episode 6: Dimension
We see a video from an elevator where a boy lies down scared by something. However, the police found a dead body that is too deteriorated to belong to the boy and also the clothes are different.
Then, the detective in charge finds that the boy posted online about interdimensional travel.
While going up and down according to the list posted by the boy, the detective sees himself and then a woman appears out of nowhere.
The woman asks him to press number 1, but the elevator goes down without stopping. Afterwards, she kills him. However, she does not appear on camera.
When the police finds the body again it looks much worse, but they can conclude that the clothes look identical to the detective's clothes.
At the end we see 2 girls getting in the elevator. But if you pay attention you notice that the 2 girls are actually the girls from Episode 4, Min-yeong and Se-hui.
Here, Se-hui is scared something might go wrong, while Min-yeong is the more curious one, mocking her friend for being so scared.
Episode 5: Red Shoes
In the classroom 3-2 students talk about Jin-gyeong that jumped in front of a truck, having her lower body crushed.
The teacher then comes in and tell them not to tell anything to police and not feel guilty (because they bullied her). She also wants o make sure everyone deleted the evidence of bullying.
The teacher asks then for class rep to draw attention of her colleagues. The class rep is Ji-ye KIM that appears in Episode 1.
The one but last that leaves the classroom is Seo-hui PARK that also appears in Episode 1.
We can see that at this point in time both Seo-hui and Ji-ye are alive and well.
The only one left in classroom is Hye-su SHIN.
At 9 PM the teacher receives a messages from Hye-su asking her to come to classroom to talk something about Jin-gyeong. (75% battery left)
When the teacher gets in class she finds Jin-gyeong upper body that complains that Hye-su lower body didn't fit and asks the teacher to borrow her legs.
Episode 4: Curiosity
We see the 2 friends, Min-yeong and Se-hui, that got in elevator in Episode 6 watching a video from CAM 6 (this is a REFERENCE to Episode 6) in which a monster appears.
Se-hui is sure the video is a hoax, while Min-yeong gets scared and wants to go after their books.
Knowing Min-yeong gets easily scared, Se-hui already prepared a prank on her and stops between floors 2 and 3. On wall it appears at 3/2. Remember about classroom 3-2? And she asks Min-yeong to bring her books too.
In her friend's cabinet Min-yeong sees the scary doll.
After getting out of her classroom Min-yeong sees a scary woman from which something is getting out, similar to the birth from Episode 8.
Min-yeong runs down the stairs, but she is in an infinite loop between floors 3 and 2. But she never meets Se-hui which we can see waiting between floors 3 and 2.
Min-yeong trips and sees the 3/2 sign and realises something is wrong.
The monster aproaches and we see the eye division.
Seeing Min-yeong is not coming back, Se-hui goes to look for her. And we can see monster coming down.
The difference from Episode 6 is that now Min-yeong is the one that gets easily scared.
This might be a sign that Dimension changed (in Episode 6).
Episode 3: Special Guest
This episode is about Sae-rom's virtual housewarming.
She is doing a live vlog and wants to trick viewers into thinking that house is haunted by letting a plush toy fall.
Santokki donates 30,000 balloons.
Then the book is moving and falls off the shelf.
Some of the viewers worry for her, while others think it is just a hoax.
She wants to end the live but she leaves it going on by mistake and everyone finds out she faked everything.
While she wants to take the thumbnail for her video, she notices that phone sees more persons in her room.
She then gets smashed by someone looking identical to her.
The way of killing is very similar to the one in Episode 6.
The one killing Sae-rom replaces her.
Episode 2: Destination
In the intro we can hear the news that tell that a shaman was found in a shrine in Gyeonggi. The victim is SHIN, a shaman in her 50s. The shaman must be the shaman from Episode 8.
The news are heard at 2:20.
Now if we go back to Episode 8 and check minute 2:20 we can see something similar to a voodoo doll with a nail sticked in it. And this means death.
Being tired the taxi driver stops.
We see again the clock turning from 3:29 to 3:30.
If we check again the Episode 8 at that minute we see the shaman killing the child.
This is clearly a sign of what is going to happen to the taxi driver.
He wakes from sleep when a woman dressed in white gets in taxi and asks to go to Samjeong Motel in Ilsan. However, GPS show no result for Samjeong Motel.
She asks many times to turn right, but there is road to turn onto.
Next frames show that the taxi has no passanger.
He feels her fingers on his neck, looks back and does not see her, then she appears in front of his car.
He stops, but when he looks again the road is empty. He looks back, she in his car, but her eyes are missing. He gets scared, and she shows him her eyes.
Next frame shows the radio: FM 6.4.24.
Then we can see she took out his eyes, probably to replace her eyes, similarly to how Jin-gyeong replaced her legs in Episode 5.
Another theory about 3:29 is that it is a reference to class 3-2 and hour 9 at which the teacher received the text message in Episode 5. It also the thumbnail of the Episode 2.
Episode 1: Crack
In intro we see Seo-hui PARK, that also appeared in Episode 5. She is anxious and is biting her nails.
On the desk in front of her is a white flower.
She asks the teacher for permission to go to bathroom.
On the walls we see is no. 2 in her school, while Ji-ye KIM is no. 1. We can see that Ji-ye's moving in her photo. This is a hint something is wrong with Ji-ye. The pictures also appeared in Episode 5, since it is the same classroom, but there the pictures are just normal ones, because back then nothing wrong happened to Ji-ye and Seo-hui, being also shown alive and well.
On her way to bathroom Seo-hui notice the lights turning on and off repeatedly.
After she gets in bathroom, we can see in background a presence disappearing on doors.
In the bathroom she heard strange noises and when she looks she sees hair getting in toilet. Then she is pulled by dead Ji-ye only her legs being left in bathroom.
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Another sweet romcom falling prey to the sweetest Censorship
so basically when their romance started, this drama has already ended *side eyes*ELM is a decent romantic story which has a subtly good amount of bicker and banter of our leads Gu Xun and Qianling... their dual relationship of online gaming friendship versus their real life attempts to pursue each other were all fun to watch... but when they really got together at last, wait, our sweetest devil censorship enters the chat ;)
Lin Yi and Zhou Ye are pretty actors who have undeniably great chemistry but it leaves you disappointed when some scenes are absurdly removed from the drama... forget triple A games that they're trying to create in this drama, the real gamer is CENSORSHIP :(
ngl I'm being too nice with my 7⛧ rating cuz there were so many "nay moments"
◆ first few eps were hard to digest with ml being such a jerk, good that he got his karma tho
◆ sloppy editing increased the irk-factor
◆ seconds leads could've been a cute pair if they got enough time, I still don't know when Jiang Junnan fell for Xinyi
◆ survived last few eps with 2x speed
◆ and fresh graduates leading a whole unit haha, I'll let this joke pass
◆ ost was nothing special too
Then what saved the day?
◇ lightness. Its an easy no brainer watch.
◇ acting and visuals. If it was not Zhou Ye here, I would really cringe to death at some scenes. her face saved me. Lin Yi was also great. Boy looks good even when he cries.
◇ chemistry. the way she comforted him with a hug in emotional scenes was so precious! I wish they get a better script someday
◇ the slightest love triangle we get for a couple eps was not annoying at all.
◇ so what if those scenes were cut? We've some behind the scenes at least lol
◇ for an airing drama, it still kept me hooked somehow
◇ they dragged? yes. but still ended it at 24 eps... otherwise we know they're capable of dragging it upto 32 or 36 eps format lol.
I've listed the pros and cons, now its upto you if you wanna watch this light gaming business plus romance drama.
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Watch this ALONE & WITH HEADPHONES
HONESTLY, WHAT IN THE BDSM did I just watch.There were some really harsh moments - actually the entire movie was extremely HARDCORE. I had to pause it many times just to ask myself "Really What are you watching", but obviously I kept watching to finish.
The story started off very weird and gave no insight into what was actually taking place, but as the story progressed some pieces were put together and it made a little bit more sense. They tackled a lot of demons one battle in life, especially when they lose a loved one. The psychosis and trauma that occurs during this movie are eye-opening.
The acting is superb, I will give them that! They really get into their roles, but again WHAT AM I WATCHING. I was still confused even after watching the entire movie.
******disclaimer - I gave it such a low rating because:**********
1. I would never watch it again
2. there really wasn't an OST
3. It was very raw... a little too hardcore for me in the beginning
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2This couple killed it
This drama is about a whole lot more than romance, but I will start by showing some love in honor of the lead couple, Gu Yanxi and Hua Zhi. They were classy in their cuteness and made our hearts flutter with every interaction. The chemistry was undeniable; whether they were adorably close or longingly apart, they were always in tune with each other. They understood each other, supported one another, and sacrificed for the other. From potential enemies to friends to lovers, they became each other's greatest allies. What I appreciate the most though, is the strong communication and the unbreakable trust between them. This delightful duo embodied how love can endure, even in the face of conflict and circumstance.Apart from our leads, the other couples have also left a memorable impression on me, and I truly enjoyed watching how the relationships developed and blossomed. Even when romance did not always lead to the happiest of endings, the stories were touching and, at times, really tugged at my heartstrings.
When Blossoms in Adversity started airing, I had high expectations because of the director, Chu Yui Bun, and the cast. The show delivered even more than I expected. There was a strong theme of female empowerment, and a quote by Goethe came to mind, "The Eternal-Feminine draws us upward". Almost all the women characters had character development for the better, but sadly, most of the male characters did not. Save for a handful, most of the male characters were a disappointing lot.
Zhang Jing Yi's Hua Zhi was solid, and she proved again to be an excellent actress. ZJY portrayed an FL who was plucky, intelligent, precocious, quick-witted, but also very human. With her entire family thrown into chaos when a power-tripping Emperor exiled all their family men, HZ had to grow up quickly. Through HZ's struggles and triumphs, the show provided a lesson: in times of need, we can step up and be the kind of person others need us to be.
I threw shade at Hu Yi Tian in the beginning saying that ZJY was carrying the show, but in the end, I was won over yet again by our handsome ML. He shone in his fight scenes, and his usual stoic expression fit his role as Gu Yan Xi. This ML was also brilliant and was a skilled fighter. As the Commander of the Security Bureau, he was savage with everyone who deserved it but so gentle with the FL and the ones important to him. GYX started out conflicted, torn between gratitude to his uncle and his affection for Hua Zhi. Ultimately, he became a source of strength for HZ as he gradually determined that any amount of gratitude did not warrant the blind loyalty demanded of him.
GYX had background music dedicated to him, one that played whenever he turned up, ready to take the bad guys down, and it was just so bad-ass enjoyable. HYT should consider more historical dramas since this role is my favorite of his to date.
The supporting cast was terrific too, notably Lu Yu Xiao, who showed off how versatile she was. While Caesar Wu did not appear as often as I would like, he nailed his character as the overly earnest, idealistic Shen Qi. Bian Cheng as Shen Huan is someone to watch out for, and as the Emperor who demanded nothing less than everything, Hai Yi Tian delivered a great performance that had all of us wanting to see a painful death for him.
Apart from being amazingly acted, this drama was well-written and nicely executed. I applaud the show for keeping most of us engaged until the very end, throwing in something unpredictable just when I thought I figured out what would happen next. That said, the show didn't fall into the trap of using plot twists for the sake of creating last-minute melodrama.
The pacing was interesting to me in a good way. The plot went through the ups and downs of the characters lives so smoothly and quickly that angsty moments were not that dramatic and happy moments were more like normal events. No one really has an opportunity to dwell on the good or bad. Even with 40 episodes, the show never felt draggy, and best of all, it stuck its landing. I for one, am satisfied with how the show ended. It wrapped up the characters' journeys nicely and sent them off in such a way that left me feeling that this drama was well worth the watch.
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The mystery kept me on my edge till the end and the performances of the actors felt fitted to their roles. Kim Dong Wook proved himself as a good actor in other works before and his and the other's acting felt good and compelling. It's not easy to act something that doesn't have a real reference in life.
Those characters were humans with all their flaws and mistake and while one might judge some of their choices, this makes the characters feel more human in the end. The budding friendship and the bond of the three main characters was nice to watch and I'm so glad they drama stayed true to the characters by not forcing a conventional drama love line into it.
One of the reason that made this drama so good is also the music that contributed to the eery atmosphere and also gave a conflicted feeling of desperate and also hope at the same time. The songs were not overused and I never got tired of hearing them.
The drama was great and I would consider rewatching it in the future to let the story unfold in front of my eyes once again.
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Keep in mind, "The Man From Nowhere" has considerably more blood, gore, and violence than most movies. It didn't bother me, but if you have a weak tolerance to these things, then this movie may not be very pleasant for you.
Originally, I was looking for a movie to watch to kill some time.
I kept scrolling down and down but nothing really caught my eye. "Sunny" sounded ok, and "The Man From Nowhere" was even better; still not quite what I wanted, but the options were starting to get pretty slim; and since it was ranked #2, I decided to trust the statistics.
Now I feel EXTREMELY guilty that I was so hesitant to watch this movie. I should not have taken it so lightly.
In the beginning I kept thinking how this movie reminded me of the Hollywood movie "Taken". They both have a lot of fast-paced action, a sense of justice, a feeling of wanting to protect something important, and a seriously kick-ass hero to dish it out. :)
(though in my personal interest, Won Bin is quite a bit more attractive than Liam Neeson;))
I loved the little girl~! I couldn't help it. She was adorable ^^
More than that, this movie would be nothing without her.
Won Bin did an incredible job. I haven't seen very many Korean movies, but I honestly believe he could be the best actor in Korea, and one of the best in the world.
Amazing, I'm telling you, amazing.
This movie made me laugh, and made me cry. That's not something you can do easily in action movies:)
Now, I think I'm going to go watch it again :D
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