Reviews

Geometry, abs and lots and lots of people who need to learn about boundaries.

Watching this drama is like watching a collection of more or less every trope available for a c-drama but without the Rio and the cruel grown ups as I am sure you could fill a whole game brick of cliches and stuff you have seen before. The use of water in this show is as overwhelmingly beautiful as the use of abs as the show has a variety of umbrellas, drowning and people caught in the rain, the scenes themselves are not really special but the umbrellas are innovative, gorgeous and given the love they deserve, caught in slow mo and what not.

The male lead is more or less he typical god with a one track mind and complete lack of understanding of the word consent as he forces his kisses on the female lead more than once as well as pretty much stalkes her both online and IRL just to be near her (without the whole imagining stuff and violent tendencies) as this guy is very much aware of her not wanting him to get close to her. The guy does however do all from stalking her online, follow her from behind and go wherever she goes and collect mementoes of their interactions... Lovely to watch but so many red flags mayday in china seems flaggless... Still the guy does have a pure heart and good intentions that will make you forget all that... Oh and his voice sounds like a 45 year olds...

That and the second male lead is even worse when it comes to boundaries, respect and reading the room... it seems his job in this drama is to show off his abs (yes he shows them in about 80% of his scenes). And is there to annoy the audience and make us forget all the flags shown by the male lead, as chances of getting SLS in this show are slim to none. I am sure the writer loved abs as she wrote in a whole lot of scenes where the potential love threats, friends and whoever could got their abs shot from a bunch of angles and close up (including the male leads) . In short the writer seemed to love abs, geometry, and water...

The ML roommates are dumb and dumber, annoying most of the time and only there to prolong the show. The FL roommates are kind of meeh but the friendships over all in this are nice, especially the female friendships who have few traces of jealousy and seem more supportive than the typical C.

The female lead is mostly cool and pretty decent, she is not super stupid, and is rater a girl who with the right help from the ml can do anything,,, she does however seem a tad oblivious, defensive and while she keeps telling people she is not that vulnerable, people seem to treat her as someone in need of constant protection ... Which feels a bit (a lot) out dated.

The second couples female is called persistent... I would call her lacking boundaries, needs to learn about consent and how to take a no... The guy here is however pretty good looking, and the type who seemingly needs that type of girl... yes very out dated indeed...

Annoying characters: A lot
Consent:What is that?
Trust: What is that?
Communication: What is that?
Abs: 999999
Water:99999
Bingabilaty: 9

All this said, it was pretty entertaining most of the time so it gets 8 for entertainment and abs...

Leia Mais

Thrill ride

Truth be told, I don’t have extensive experience with this type of republican drama, which makes it difficult for me to draw comparisons with others in a similar genre. Nevertheless, I feel compelled to share more of my thoughts about this one.

From start to finish, the story was solid. There weren’t any unnecessary scenes or dialogue, and the pacing was just right—not too slow and not too fast. I initially watched this because of Zheyuan, and I was a bit worried about the potential political elements since they usually bore me to tears. Thankfully, this one steered clear of that.

The development of the characters was meticulously crafted, a step-by-step progression that led them to their current states, rather than experiencing sudden, overnight changes of heart. It was genuinely heartwarming to see Lin Shaobai evolve from a passionate (albeit a bit arrogant) young police officer into the reliable and thoughtful man he becomes in the second half of the story. At first, his bond with Lu Zhengyang was a bit frustrating since Lu Zhengyang was too stubborn to see things from Shaobai's perspective, but thankfully they manage to work through their issues. Given their age and generational gap, it made their differences a bit easier to handle.

Now, diving into the other characters, Shrike definitely deserved a more painful ending. He spent years torturing and ruining the lives of others, and it seemed far too easy for him to meet such a quick death; it felt almost merciful. As for his wife, she also deserved a more excruciating fate. While for Xu Wei, it seems they aimed to portray his death as heroic, but that approach didn’t resonate with me. While it’s true that Shaobai and Jin Yan wouldn’t have made it out alive without his assistance, he had several opportunities to redeem himself but chose not to. From the very beginning, he knew that his wife and child would remain in danger, regardless of how hard he worked for Shrike. Yet he was blinded by his pursuit of power and wealth. So, any so-called redemption arc or whatever they tried to push was total bullcrap. Xu Wei got no less than what he deserved, much like Jin Maochang. I could say I feel a bit sorry for him because the despicable deeds he committed weren’t for fun or simply for money and power, but rather out of love for his daughter. I dare say he’s better than Xu Wei, as he repeatedly tried to eliminate Shrike, even if it was also motivated by a desire to save himself. So, yeah, he better be dead.

As for the acting, bold italic and underline: top notch. And I can’t help but indulge myself by praising Zheyuan this time. Most of the cast consists of veteran actors and actresses, yet Zheyuan managed to hold his ground; there wasn’t a single moment in the entire 38 episodes where he seemed out of place. The scene where Shaobai and Jin Yan were crying in the car was absolutely off the charts; they needed no lines to convey their emotions. Jin Yan's crying scene after her father's death was also nothing short of terrific. Speaking of Shaobai and Jin Yan, I really don’t mind how their story unfolded. They might not be together (yet) by the end of the story, but it feels very fitting. If they had tossed in any hints of romance at the end, it would have felt way too sudden.

But, I have to say, I have a little complaint: the ending would’ve felt more realistic if Jin Yan wasn’t lying in the hospital bed. She only got stabbed once in the back, while Shaobai was shot multiple times, so how did she end up in worse condition than him? He even managed to go out and get a haircut. I really hope the reasoning behind this isn’t just because Shaobai is a man and Jin Yan is a woman.

Well overall, this drama was terrific. Amid all the seriousness and importance of their job, the comedic relief felt perfectly timed. Some scenes had me cracking up, and I loved every second of it. This whole viewing experience could very well be the catalyst that encourages me to explore more dramas in a similar genre in the future.

(Ps. Sending love and hugs to Huzi. In every drama, it feels like there’s always a need for a close friend or family member to be sacrificed toward the end. This time, it was Huzi who had the unfortunate honor of fulfilling that sentimental role.)

Leia Mais

Oh boy, here we go...well clearly an unpopular opinion, but I don't love this drama. :/

It was so thrilling and suspenseful at first and then all of a sudden it just felt like a romantic melodrama. It was honestly so thrilling to watch till episode 5 and even after that till episode 9 it was mostly good but then it started going downhill from that point onwards.

So yeah the reason why I don't love this drama is cause of the story. It started out well and then was getting progressively ridiculous and cheesy...and gosh there was just way too much going on. Too many coincidences and overly dramatic. And lol don't get me started on the last episode...gosh why did they have to add in that overly used trope?! It was too cliched and frankly painful to watch.

Buuuut I must say I really liked the cast in this drama. Every single actor was pretty good, especially Lee Joon Gi.❤
In fact, the best thing about this drama was LJG. Like holy cow can we talk about how brilliant his acting was?...honestly, despite all the problems I had with the story, the reason why I was able to watch it till the very end and actually even enjoy it somewhat overall was cause of his outstanding performance.❤❤ Moon Chae Won too was pretty good though at times her acting wasn't very convincing. However, the chemistry between her character and LJG's character was so good!♡
And I love love love the ending theme!!♡♡

I don't regret watching this cause I got to see an awesome performance by LJG but this drama is certainly overrated imo..

Leia Mais

a solid rom com

Overall: this was an enjoyable rom com and with a few changes I would have given it a 10/10. If Mek annoys you the first episode, please keep watching. Watched on YouTube.

Content Warnings: non con video recording/posting, non con/dub con kisses (sleeping), blackmail, punch

What I Liked
- Mek's parents are adorable and the discussion of blended families and marriage equality line were absolutely amazing
- funny moments
- sweet and caring moments
- managed to balance four couples pretty well but I think if they had cut it to three it would have been even better
- an established couple
- some character growth with Mek but I did still get annoyed at him a few times in the final episodes
- the ending was lovely
- realistic and continuous physical affection (instead of 1 kiss at the very end)
- Jeff Satur's OST/singing

Room For Improvement
- the chancellor was stupid/not funny, I wish it had been the guys' idea like in the original pilot and they removed the chancellor character entirely
- the cliche drama point at the end with Mek/Kim
- Kim didn't grow as much as I had wished
- the sisters were involved a bit too much at the beginning but then they oddly vanished at the end
- unknown time passed in the time jumps

Leia Mais

Watched it at the local cinema just now. I watched it because of Gong Yoo and Ma Dong Seuk so I don't really care about that zombie storyline.

Turned out the storyline was good. The movie will catch your attention right from the start. The pace was nice, there are no moments that I found boring. The storyline is clear, it tells you what it wanted to tell, nothing requires critical thinking. You just ponder on what should they do to survive that zombie attack. Yes, there will be some scenes that are going to disturb your emotions. Sometimes you feel like you want some characters to die fast because they are plain annoying, even at some points Gong Yoo will annoy you. He delivered the selfish role right. Kim Soo An also delivered her role well, I am impressed. Ma Dong Seok is a sweetheart, I really like his role here.

No songs whatsoever have been used as the background except Soo An's singing and the ringtone. But then the sound effect that they are using are appropriate at the correct time. Typical of zombies movies to have that sudden shock effect on the viewers, so be alert all the time. You will never know when a zombie will appear.

Tho personally I think they can give a better ending, this is a good movie indeed. Maybe I will rewatch it again 5 years later, it still leaves quite an impression to me. Go watch it, it's worth your time.

Leia Mais

This is one of the best dramas I have ever watched! I can say a thousand positives things about it and I find hard to found any negative.
Reasons to recommend this drama:
- An amazing touching and unforgivable love story with perfect chemistry between the couple and true hot kisses that would makes your heart flutter like crazy.
- The original and thrilling plot with endless twists and surprises that would make you wonder what is going to happen next (and hardly you would even guess it right).
- Excitement, suspense and insatiable hunger for keep watching without stop. Highly addictive once you start.
- There are 20 episodes and you don't have enough. After finished you still thinking "What happened?" "What was all this about?" "Did I really understand the whole thing?" ; and when you believe to have understood all, then you just start to feel confuse again. Definitely need to be rewatched to enjoy of this details you didn't know at the beginning were important.
- Despite of many time-travel theme dramas out there this one from my opinion is the best.

Weak points in the drama:
- Perhaps for more experts in time-travel theories the plot might have some holes or inaccuracies but as a general viewer I didn't find huge mistakes as in other dramas with similar plots.
- The music fitted well to create the adequate atmosphere according to the scenes filmed at the time. However a good original selection of romantic songs would have helped in the enhancement of the romance.

At last, I would like to mention that I enjoyed very much of the acting setting and conclusion in this drama. Again and again, Lee Jin Wook and Jo Yoon Hee were brilliant together, you really wish their love would survive after all eventualities. I hope to see more great moments with Lee Jin Wook in the new drama "The Three Musketeers".

Leia Mais

It only works because it's a "GL". If Pat were a man, it would be a horror series hahaha

In real life, Pat would be a stalker... but in the series, she is the GLs' most beloved red flag! Pat goes to great lengths to win Prem over, even though Prem claims she's straight! Of course, we have to keep in mind that this is a TV series, not real life, because if it were real life, Pat would already be arrested for numerous crimes, hahaha... It's unbelievable how she stops at nothing when it comes to winning over the love of her life. She's capable of anything, even if what she's doing is considered stalking... The fine line between romance and crime is definitely Pat, hahaha. Everyone is calling her a "red flag," but at the same time, they're IN LOVE with her because Pat has so much charisma, has the attitude of a villain, is elegant, beautiful, confident, courageous, and isn't afraid to show what she wants and go after it. But as soon as Prem gets sad, sick, or fragile, Pat will do anything to cheer her wife up and make her happy.

I need to praise Pam. What a great villain! For me, a good villain is one that makes you angry, that makes you hate her. A villain who doesn't make you feel anything is worthless. Pam made me so angry throughout the series that I suddenly found myself watching it while grinding my teeth. Pam is hateful and cunning, and the actress deserves high praise for that. Congratulations.

Leia Mais

Must watch.

This was surprisingly good. I really loved it. I was hesitant based on the synopsis but I’m glad that I watched it. It was very unique. The storyline was one that I’d never seen so I was definitely always wondering what would happen. I think the build up was good. There were few and short lived misunderstandings. Things were cleared up well and the ending was great.

Bold ML and a clever FL. The chemistry was one scene which made it even better.

You’ll get the obsessive person, the scheming person, the vengeful person, the deceiver, the lover, the chemistry, loyalty, brotherhood, good fight scenes and I do mean gooood. ML was a beast. Love, love, loved it.

Leia Mais

To see all without being seen.

Deep Lurk 深潜 is an intriguing and immersive Republican era spy thriller; one of the few that pulled me in from start to finish. It is set in 1939, at the prelude to the first Battle of Changsha. Changsha was a strategic city that the Japanese tried and failed to take four times from 1939-1944. As a result, they were never able to consolidate their territories in Southern China. At the time, the Republic of China's Nationalist Army had seriously considered abandoning the city but Xue Yue, the commander in charge of Changsha's defense refused to budge. As a result of terrain, Changsha could only be flanked from the east or the west, making it a difficult city to both attack and defend. In this kind of set up, intelligence and counter-intelligence can make a win-or-lose situation difference for both sides.

After a botched assassination attempt on Xue Yue, a traitor escapes to Shanghai with strategic Changsha defense intelligence. Multiple parties converge upon him in Shanghai to intercept the intelligence. The players include both the Changsha and Shanghai station of the KMT Military Intelligence (NBIS), the Wang Puppet Regime, the Japanese Military and hidden CPC operatives. Yun Hongshen, the idealistic young second master of the illustrious Yun family is sent by his father Yun Muzhi to observe. Predictably, this sharp but impetuous young man raring to make a difference does more than that and his path tangles with that off brave young NBIS agent Wen Yeming tasked to hunt down the traitor. An auction for stolen intelligence relating to the Japanese army's plan of attack for Changsha results in a deadly scramble to obtain or retrieve the intelligence. This coincides with the re-emergence of Kunwu, a long dormant Japanese spy and Muzhi's nemesis. Hongshen is lured back to Changsha, where he must crack the code to the intelligence and smoke out Kunwu in order to save his city from the encircling Japanese army. He reunites with Yeming at NBIS where they pit their wits against this master spy who seems to be able to see all without being seen.

The first three episodes are fast paced, exciting and littered with clues and character introductions and needs to be watched (and re-watched) carefully. But the setup and the storytelling is so intriguing I was compelled to re-watch; to make sure I didn't miss anything. It's been a long time since a drama pulled me in so deeply that I was literally unable to watch anything else at the same time. Even though there are some logic holes, the overall plot is tight and riveting. All the important characters are introduced early on and they are multi-faceted and grey with different loyalties and motives that reflect the clash of culture and ideology and the rival factions within the KMT during that pivotal era of change. The narrative brilliantly builds a credible case around several key characters with motive, means and opportunity to be Kunwu and maintains the suspense into the final episodes.

This drama has an all-round stellar cast anchored which by veteran actors including Wang Jingsong and Liu Huan and brilliant character acting by Hou Mengyao's disingenuous Milan, Han Chengyu's ruthless and competitive Ling Han and Zhang Tianyang's well-meaning Yun Hongqi. I really enjoyed watching Hongshen meticulously narrow down the suspect list and try to out-scheme the hidden master spy who eluded his father for years. The young Cheng Yi brilliantly captures how this character's intelligence and survival instinct makes up for his lack of experience and the shattering consequential mistakes he makes along the way. It is a shame that this drama has not enjoyed wider viewership. For this genre however, I don't need romance and I didn't enjoy Ying'er's acting or the couple's chemistry. I was far more invested in the Yun family's close bond and amused by how Hongqi and Hongshen are so different and resourceful in their own unique ways. Zhang Tianyang is a subtly hilarious actor and his brotherly scenes with Cheng Yi are among the drama's best moments for me.

Despite many cut scenes, the pacing, suspense and excitement holds up into a strong finale that delivers a good ending twist that deftly avoids one reversal too many. My only disappointment is that I had hoped for a more complex villain origin story. I won't say more to avoid spoiling the reveal. This is by far the best Republican spy drama I have watched since The Rebel (2021). I am happy to rate it the same at 8.5/10.0 despite its lower budget. It is a good watch if you are in the mood for some mental gymnastics but it can also be enjoyed simply as a fast paced spy thriller.

Leia Mais

Story: 7.5/10
I'm like a little obsessed with crime shows and stuff so I'm being a little harsh. Overall, if this was the first time I saw a crime show, this would blow my mind. But alas, I've seen a few good ones so this doesn't really compare that well.
The story was good in the sense that most questions got answered. You find out who almost everyone is at the end. But what bothered me was that the story wasn't really tightly connected. The overarching theme was really loose and it felt a little bit forced, like parts of it was inserted just because it'll add suspense but it didn't really relate to anything too significant.
The overarching plot was predictable and too typical. I mean it's still a decent drama, I would definitely recommend, but it was a *little* disappointing.
But the individual crimes and stuff, that was kinda neat. Props.
What I appreciated was the comedic relief, they were inserted a really good times so you're not psychologically stressed the entire show. And it really builds on character development.

Acting: 8/10
The main characters really worked well together, not to mention the male leads were definitely eye candy ^^ Character development only really happened for Dr. Qin, the rest kinda helped him a long with it. Which was cute. But development was pretty typical and expected. At least the acting was professional.

Music: 6.5/10
There were not really a lot of memorable OST parts that I could remember. I'm pretty good aurally so I would remember a song that relates a certain scene or whatever. The only vaguely good parts I remember is the quirky tune during comedic relief parts. When ever that music came on, I just felp more relaxed because nothing bad is happening.

Rewatch: 5/10
I don't typically rewatch dramas, but this was short and sweet enough to maybe go and pick out my favorite episodes. What I love about these dramas are that the beginnings are individual crimes and stories so you can watch it separately.

Overall: 7/10
It was a little disappointing that the overarching theme was too loose and typical. It was too predictable and thus a little anti-climatic. But the individual crimes were pretty decent and enjoyable.
If anyone is looking for a good crime show starter or just a laid back drama, this is definitely a good one.

Leia Mais

There are spoilers in this review.

Beautifully filmed and well written.

I was really surprised after watching this movie because I didn't expect much. I thought I would just skim through it and be like meh but ended up watching the whole thing and even liking it!

First of all, acting is pretty good, these people know what they are doing. All characters are well written, lovable and hateful in their own ways. But I am a little bit disappointed with the screenwriting in general. I didn't expect this movie to be so black and white about the moral codes.

One of the messages is that love is timeless. I like that message the most. An old man wishing he was young again so he could love freely. It's pretty sad if you ask me, that just because he is old it's wrong to have those beautiful feelings. So he pours those feelings into a beautiful poem which, unfortunately, gets stolen by his student. It's as if his feelings got stolen and sold, disgraced. And as if that wasn't enough the student also steals the purity of EunGyo. He pretty much tramples Juk Yo's heart, smashes it into a miserable paddle. I don't know, what he does is like peeing on his teacher's face after receiving all the teaching and then stealing the rest what he could. He gets totally swallowed by greed. No wonder Juk Yo retaliates in the end, I'm not sure if he really hoped for such a thing happen in the end or if he just wanted to scare Ji Woo a bit. I don't know, but I kind of feel for him. I mean he got old, lost his glory (to Ji Woo), lost everything and then he realized that he wasn't even allowed to love because that would be simply wrong. If I was him I would wonder about it too. I mean, it's love. And well, Juk Yo wasn't even asking for much, he just enjoyed her presence and the innocence. He was probably reminded of his own youth and all that...

I actually enjoyed Ji Woo's and EunGyo's interactions. I liked it how Ji Woo was annoyed by how easily EunGyo managed get on Juk Yo's good side. He constantly listened to her and allowed he to do whatever she wanted while being extremely strict with Ji Woo. As I watched Ji Woo and Eun Gyo together I was waiting for some kind of atonement for JI Woo's character. That maybe her innocence would touch his heart too and make him view things in different light. But instead, she only turned these two men against each other. Love can be ugly too. It was clear why Ji Woo couldn't write as beautifully as Juk Yo, because his spirit was confined within the society's norms and he wasn't able to break free. Too many superficial things mattered to him while Juk Yo, well he was just a poet who loved writing, that's all.

In a way, I think Ji Woo was a really sad character too, completely trapped. He struggled to get free but he was too petty and close-minded, ambitious without the talent. Juk Yo was trapped too but, at least, he had an open mind. I don't think Ji Woo cared about EunGyo on the emotional level, he might have been lonely, he definitely was and probably smitten by the poem too. He tried to live it but... how can you live the beauty of timeless love without feeling it? Maybe Juk Yo knew it, that what he write could never be lived because once the purity is lost it's lost forever.

Leia Mais

Binge it if you can

I’ve never read the webtoon so this is based off this show as a standalone drama and not as an adaptation. I started watching this 4 episodes were out because I saw that hair-tying scene on my Twitter/X timeline and it completely convinced me. And the show proved me right — I binged all the released and couldn’t wait for next week. The main leads had amazing chemistry, the antagonists felt like actual threats, and I couldn’t wait to see how the revenge would play out.

As the weeks came around, I still enjoyed the episodes, but I did feel like the show started losing steam.

First, the main leads’ screentime dwindled and we got more and more scenes of our antagonists (of which there were many). It added good tension to see things from their perspective, but it also added frustration. The leads had so much chemistry and tension and we only got to see a few minutes of that every week.

And as more episodes went on, we ran into a different issue: we did get screentime for our leads, but it didn’t necessarily feel like they were progressing. We’d get the same hugs and conversations where they talked about being there for each other and fighting together against the bad guys. These scenes were cute but it felt got sort of repetitive, especially now that we’d gotten all the tension-filled conversations out of the way earlier and it seemed like the next plot development wasn’t happening anytime soon. I still really enjoyed scenes where they cared for each other, but all the stakes felt a little lower by this point, and I started to feel like the revenge was almost too easy. Sides had been chosen, secrets were already revealed, and most importantly, the main antagonists had stayed quiet or had lost too many battles in a row.

Honestly, I was pretty lukewarm on the entire plot by then. Looking back, I don’t remember a singular satisfying moment where our main female lead got to face off against her mother in a moment where I felt like they were on equal footing, where the stakes were high and I truly didn’t know who was going to win. The revenge plot seemed to delve into smaller moments where they would address this one thing first and then that other thing, and I wasn’t sure there was a climax. Even the build-up to some other reveals and to the ML’s perspective felt overdue and a little underwhelming.

Episode 11 was a turning point. Things that needed to be revealed had been revealed, it felt like the revenge had been finished, and the antagonists had been out of the picture — most of which was off-screen, I might add, which made the story feel somewhat incomplete — long enough for The Time Jump to happen. Yes, the dreaded time jump. I’ve never been a fan of the time jump. It’s fine as an epilogue but I’ve never once enjoyed it done in the middle of the story and this was no different. It just felt kind of…weird. Like they didn’t know what to do after all the villains were put away, so they had to bring them back, but had to wait some time for them to be able to. Story-wise, it was a bit confusing to have it happen after everything was seemingly over, but ultimately I don’t think it was blown out of proportion, which was good.

I think part of the plot simmering down also had to do with the female lead, who was really proactive in the first half and then started being more aimless in the second half. Still, I liked the message the drama left us with — that the best revenge for her was having a happy marriage, a healthy family, and a good life. Despite the slowdown, I think this drama had a really good finale episode.

Overall, it was still a pretty good watch — this was my second favorite watch behind Castaway Diva during its runtime, but if I were to recommend it to someone I would suggest binging it rather than watching it slowly. You might be able to retain more momentum that way.

Leia Mais

*SCREAMS* A drama filled with action and suprises! I thought this drama was overrated at first since I found the begining of the drama really slow... But after watching 10 episodes I was hooked. Usually I loose intrest after watching 10 episodes since the story gets less intresting. However this story is delicous, so tempting, each episode they are feeding you piece after piece and suddenly you get hooked. It's amazing, one of the most amazing dramas I've ever watched, probably the most incredible story line to involving so many people but yet so intresting.The acting is no joke, I'm highly impressed! It's definitly worth watching over and over. If I had the chance I would buy Healer on a DVD.

Leia Mais