Reviews

Perfect Movie To Start New Page

If you are looking for a simple romantic story, this is for you! The director behind this movie is famous for that genre and A Year End Medley won't disappoint you. In this cold weather, we get to watch 7 different heartwarming beautiful tales from 7 different couples on Christmas day setting.

Every character here are individually interesting and has a well written background to build their personality. I thought 2 hours movie wouldn't be enough to show every character's details, we don't have only 2-3 people to introduce, but a whole 14 characters! Despite the duration, they managed to show each of their layers, goals of the couple arc, and how they are linked to one and another.

I must mention out of all the couple, my favorite couple here goes to Yong Jin x Lee Young. Such a cute mature girl with supporting boyfriend! Beside fav couple, I love all the characters plot but if I have to choose, I will pick Kang Haneul's character as the best arc! From depression to comedy and move to breaking down, what a journey from his acting! Of course all the actor & actress also delivered the plot well, but Kang Haneul is just beyond.

I love the production team took care the clothing. They are all so pretty to look at. The cinematography in this movie also well taken. What I dislike from this movie might be the soundtrack only, they use a cliche classical music *cough* canon in d *cough* and that kinda ruin the flow for me, i just wanna laugh at that part.

Anyway, this is a nice movie to start the year, I wish there will be a sequel or maybe make it into drama series instead, all the stories are interesting to watch and they still have many to reveal.

Leia Mais

Gold

I love watching dramas with older cast, because they still gives me the same vibes of old romcoms I used to watch mid 00s, and I'm glad they still have the knack of it considering it's been a while since I've seen UJH and SSH in a drama.

That been said it's not a perfect drama and in some parts I got bored but I blame my busy schedule that made me watch each episode in parts, so even if I like it I definitely got distracted while watching which made me lose interest eventually ~
So this part is on me 🤦

Story is simple, young woman's mind in old woman's body all over again, but this is a case of memory loss so there is a twist to it, overall nicely done slightly illogical but good enough to entertain.

I would recommend it if you miss old 00s dramas, seeing those same old actors is a breath of fresh air now that most actors are Gen Z or younger watching some Gen X makes me reminiscence good old drama days when me and only five others in my country were watching kdramas and it wasn't as popular as now lol ~

Leia Mais

Before I get into my review, please keep in mind that my thoughts about this drama are based on what I understood from the raw episodes and my knowledge of the language itself is limited. Not zero, but limited. I had been waiting to watch this drama for a long time, but it was never subbed even up until now, so I ended up just watching it without them. If you're okay with that, then feel free to keep reading :)

STORY: The synopsis, although it is correct, had me confused while watching because the marriage to the leader of the rivaling country does not happen until the last portion of the drama. And I mean last. I literally watched 40 episodes and the marriage still hadn't happened yet. Everything seemed to get jumbled together in the final episodes which is something that I do not care for as a viewer, especially when I'm watching a drama that is 50 episodes long. When I read the synopsis, I was under the impression that the marriage was going to happen sometime in the beginning or the middle of the story, and maybe show how she managed to thrive as a chef and survive living amongst the enemy, all while watching her first love fight to save her, but I was very wrong (lol).

The story itself was familiar, with a royal having a birth secret and living as a commoner since childhood, as well as having a childhood sweetheart. The nice twist to this story is that Yu Die is a fantastic chef thanks to the talent of her adoptive mother and throughout the drama, she is cooking delicious food as she journeys through the country after an unfortunate event separates her from her adoptive family. Through her experiences and after spending time at the palace with the royal prince, whom she had met before, she eventually comes to learn her true identity as a royal princess. While I was interested in how/if her adoptive mother and her lover Li Ma would find her again, there was a lot of scheming both in the palace and at war between the rivaling countries that seemed to make up a good portion of the story. And of course a lot of cooking scenes which isn't helpful when you're hungry (lol). After so many episodes of the same thing, I started to lose interest and eventually stopped watching this drama for quite awhile before picking it up again. I really wanted to like this drama, especially since I loved the cast, but that was not enough to hold my interest. The way it ended was odd to me as well, I think they could've executed a better closing had they not crammed all the action to the final 10 episodes.

ACTING/CAST: I love both Zheng Shuang and Ma Tian Yu and was excited to see them together as main leads, but I can honestly say that this wasn't a stand-out drama for either of them. I believe they were in a previous drama together in the past as potential love interests, but I haven't watched it so I can't compare their performances. In this drama though, I wasn't able to get invested into the romantic relationship between their characters because most of the time they were separated. The characters would long for each other, but when they'd see each other, they would only hug and seemed a bit distant at times, which made me feel they had more a friend/sibling relationship rather than one of lovers. But they did look very cute together during their scenes. What I did like about Yu Die though is that she was persistent with her love for Li Ma, even after becoming royalty. Li Ma's character was different, in a sense that he seemed to feel unworthy of her love after learning about her birth secret even though he still loved her. Overall I did enjoy seeing how their love story played out. Steven Jiang played his part well as a royal and I liked how his character showed a different kind of love and affection for Yu Die. At times I felt like he had more chemistry with Zheng Shuang than Ma Tian Yu, but it might've also been because he had more screen time with her. This was my first time seeing him in a drama and his performance left a good impression.

MUSIC: There were only a few ost songs played and they were decent, but most of the time traditional instrumentals were used. Sometimes all you need are nice instrumentals to help carry the story of historical dramas and this was one of those cases.

REWATCH VALUE: I don't think I would sit down and watch this drama again even if it was fully subbed because I felt like it was too long . I don't think it needed to be 50 episodes, especially with the way they crammed everything together at the end. There are better historical dramas out there and I didn't feel there was anything that made this drama stand out on its own to set it apart from other dramas with similar themes. Fans of Zheng Shuang, Ma Tian Yu, and Steven Jiang might enjoy this, but they have other works that are more superior both story-wise and performance-wise. Nevertheless, it was still a decent watch and I'm still glad I decided to check it out.

Leia Mais

Renowned South Korean director, Kim Jee-woon returns after a 3-year hiatus in the country's Best Foreign Film entry, "The Age of Shadows". Like Woon's other films, (I Saw the Devil, A Bittersweet Life), Shadows is an action-packed cat-and-mouse thriller extravagant.

Shadows has an amazing line up: Sang Kang-ho (Memories of Murder, Thirst), Gong Yoo (Train to Busan, A Man and a Woman) and cameo appearance from Lee Byung-hun (A Bittersweet Life, Inside Men) whom Kim has worked previously and Um Tae-Goo (Coin Locker Girl, Veteran).

Pulled at the edge of your seat from start to finish, Kim doesn't disappoint tossing action sequences and twists that he carefully crafts and builds in suspense, only to laid them out with the greatest satisfaction, it leaves you hungry for more.

Just like "I Saw the Devil" and "A Bittersweet Life", Kim starts Shadows with little-to-nothing description of what's going out, only to follow it up with an action-filled chase scene, an amputated toe nail and blood splashed across the wall.

Shadows' 30 minutes train sequence is one of the best I've ever seen. This is the juice. It builds the plot as much as it shapes it and moves it, that includes the characters too. Accompanied by a more menacing version of Ravel's Bolero, the adrenaline just doesn't stop. I, for one, had to pause the film just so I could breathe. Kim brings us from compartment to compartment from character to character from discoveries to discoveries.

Cinematographer Kim Ji-Young does a fine job of transporting us to a 1920s setting of South Korea and Shanghai (the accuracy may be question but it looks beautiful nonetheless) with retro-like colors and saturated tones. Kim ravishes in extremism at times, with loud shoot outs, dialogues delivered in sinister whispers, loud slapping sounds, to torture scenes that likens to his other film, "I Saw the Devil".

Kim channels his narrative into powerful loyalty that seems like The Age of Shadows take a patriotic approach but ultimately, this thrill-filled film is entertaining as much as it is greatly crafted.

Leia Mais

Phenomenal

From the 7 years I have been on this site, I have written a total of 8 reviews. 8. Not that there was not other shows I absolutely enjoyed over the years...but nothing that made me stop and stare at my computer blankly after finishing just wondering what I was going to do next with my life. Trauma, death, friendship, betrayal. This contains all of it. Dreams, and growing up but never giving up. Action, brotherhood, teamwork, and discovering love. Working hard, becoming successful. Family. I don't really know what this show doesn't have. The cast was phenomenal, the soundtrack was amazing and the story was fresh. What really drew me in was the chemistry between the characters Xiao Feng and Lu Xiao Bei... Watching these characters together gave me the chills. There were things in this show I was unsatisfied with but not completely. Almost everything made up for the small things I disliked. This show is full of hope and working towards your dreams. I cried a lot of tears watching this because the emotions the characters showed were so real and raw. This show is a serious yet also feel good show that puts a huge focus on dreams, friendship and teamwork. I will be recommending this show to anyone and everyone!!

Leia Mais

It's a nice cliche Kdrama

It's a nice cliche kdrama.
The actor who plays Kang San Hyuk is very handsome and takes most of the attention, despite his acting skill which are not outstanding. I didn't like a lot of the directing. The effects were not well done, the medical stuff was poor, storyline at most medium. The forest was very beautiful, but from the tenth episode on, all the scenes seems to be recorded at the same spots. Sometimes it was necessary, because of the storyline, but it mostly wasn't.

Not sure if this is a SPOILER. Be aware.

It starts with a funny/curious begging. The two main characters start hating each other. Then they end up living together. More funny situations. Love happens. Dramatic stuff. Cute stuff. More dramatic stuff. Happy ending.

END SPOILER

Still I watched it all the way to the end. What can I say... I like forests. And the main actor. Definitely his face was a great incentive.

English is not my first language. Don't hate me.

Leia Mais

It deserves the hype

This was so good, the cast of this series is amazing... I missed Fluke Gawin a lot since Dark Blue Kiss, even though he appeared on Enchanté it wasn't enough, this brings him back from dead ahahha
Gumpa really was the man in this series... I think he was the only one who was always honest to himself and to the others, he always did everything he could for the gang and that makes him THE MAN.
Yok, Black and Todd I don't like them but I also do like them? I don't really know how to say it I just think Yok was kinda dumb, he's with no doubts an ENFP ahaa, Black and Todd I sort of hate them but they're so hot that I think I can't hate them
(especially Todd since is my boy Sing character).
Black really creep the sh*t out of me, he had a weird but amazing way of thinking, he was extremely smart and that's hot, we finally receive a short, bottom vibes, inteligent mafia, I've waited a while for this one but I got it.
Sean and White were cute, I really loved the character development that Sean did, how he started to act so cute when he was all over Black (White) but I think that this change of feelings happened to fast, one day they hate each other next day they're eating each other faces, but I'm not complaining ahahha
I loved the ending, this open but oriented ending, I loved the kiss scenes (all of them) and the fight scene were AMAZING.
Gun Atp slayed, as always, this man couldn't act bad even if he wanted to, he really is a freaking good actor.

Overall this sh*t is dope, if definitely deserves the hype... GMM I congratulate you, you finally did it-

Leia Mais

Intense games and mind-binders

Imawa no Kuni no Alice (i.e. Alice in Borderland) is a fast-paced show, perfect for those who enjoy escape room movies.

I loved the games and how each is classified by the suits on a deck of cards. Each game is so vastly different and the stakes get higher and higher. There's a twist in each one, and my heart was racing each episode. I was also impressed by the visual effects and the scenery (especially the beginning when we pan around an abandoned Tokyo).

One thing I thought the show could have done better was building an emotional link with the audience. Arisu's friendships are sweet, but the impact of his friends' deaths wasn't that emotionally jarring, because it felt like I didn't get to see the depth of their friendship before they died in the first few episodes. There are some flashbacks that build on their friendship, but it was done too late for it to have as strong an impact. Also, I didn't feel that much chemistry between Arisu and Usagi. They work well as teammates, but I don't feel anything stronger than that. Perhaps their relationship will develop in the next season?

Overall, an exciting, adrenaline-filled show. Definitely worth watching.

Leia Mais

Given the choices we have out so far for 2019, i would reckon princess silver is the one that i've enjoyed the most thus far! So it is definitely worthy to invest good time and effort to watch it.

The way this drama is shot, from the scenery, sets, soundtrack which were sung by the leads themselves, costumes and of course, the actors are stunningly beautiful. If you are looking for a good romance aspect to the drama, this one has it, but in terms of chemistry between the characters, it is a little more muted as compared to a good chemistry pair up between the leads like that in ashes of love.

If you like untouchable lovers, you'll be able to stomach princess silver. It has similar vibes except that this one has a more consistent flow to the narrative. There's a lot of background that comes in flashbacks for the lead, so you need to be patient for it to come to a rounded conclusion. I do think they did quite a good job of keeping the storyline as tightly knitted as it could get, and did not go off tangent very often, which tends to happen in long drawn dramas.

Overall, i would rate this as one of my top 3 favourite dramas i've managed to catch since 2018. Will surely miss having this drama keep my company on my chill nights and i'm looking forward to more like that for this year!

Leia Mais

The secondary cliche

There may be spoilers.

This is going to be a short review, I'm doing it, since I didn't see any here, I hope it helps you, if it didn't, I'm sorry, it's just my point of view, I hope nobody gets mad.

History:
Well, let's see, a drama with a marriage of convenience, it started out fun without so many forced scenes, but after chapter 6 or 7 the nosy sidekicks begin with their one-sided loves, chapter 7 was the worst filler, chapter 8 was also everything cliché. I do not understand in a short drama of 10 chapters that they go around adding useless characters such as the secondary character (veterinarian), that character was all the cliché that is seen all over the world.
But hey, it ended better than expected.

The performances were good.
Music was there, I didn't give it much importance.
I won't watch again as there are many more dramas like this to watch for sure. xDD
Overall, I gave him a good approval, I quite liked the chemistry between the protagonists, although they could have been better, especially him.

Good luck....

Leia Mais

Been a while since I've seen Jin Goo in dramas so it's a delight to see him in a new project. I haven't been watching anything with Jin Goo since Descendant of the Sun, so I might as well do it now.

The plot had the feel of Die Hard and 24 with a bit of a serial killer vibe on the side so I thought that this drama would be quite a thrill. Sadly though, the more I'm following each episode the more I feel that the drama was quite a letdown. Casting-wise I do still think that they were doing a good job within the scope of the drama though I have to say that I'm not quite impressed with the writing. In a way, the format of the drama being aired one episode per week may have an effect in lessening the suspense felt after each episode but the writing also did nothing much to improve the whole experience. I doubt even if one was to wait and marathon the episode at one go that it'd make any difference since the writing was THAT ridiculous. I feel sad for the cast since they do appear to be doing their best to act in this drama yet the writer just wasted their potential. I mean, you got Jin Goo and Ha Dokwon in this drama amongst others, but why did you make them be part of this shitshow?

It really felt as if the whole plot was written to be overly complicated unnecessarily just so that drama can have many ridiculous things happen within one whole day. But unfortunately, this was not the case for the drama. Arguably, some of the twists may be quite brilliant if executed properly. A lot of the time, many of the key scenes were poorly timed and choppily edited. And the whole 'superior' thing only really starts to crop up near the end as if the writer just remembered the title of the drama. I mean, as much as Penthouse's plot was ridiculous, it was at least fun compared to this brain-stunting drama.

Honestly, I'm just watching the drama because of Jin Goo and Ha Dokwon and also because I might as well finish watching the show till the end since I already reached the end. Unless you don't mind feeling frustrated for the entire duration of the drama, you may need to think twice about watching this drama. Unless your faves are in here... maybe.

Leia Mais