Reviews

oh man i have no idea what to say here

This drama is amazing.
before i continue just give me a moment to feel superior to all of you because i read the entire book (yes, all 700 ish chapters) so i know what's gonna happen haha
no dont worry i won't spoil it, i'm not a jerk
STORY
There are so many clever jokes to balance out the seriousness, there's a good love story, excellent characters that aren't transparent at ALL, and amazing arcs. I enjoyed basically every single moment of character interaction, and the plot moved super fast (which is really my thing).
ACTING/CAST
I'm no expert on acting and honestly I could only point out bad acting if it was on purpose :(
The only thing I have to say about the cast is that every character was super talented (at least as far as I could see), especially Fan Xian, Chen Ping Ping, and the emperor.
MUSIC
this music boosts my vibe but also kind of makes me sad
REWATCH VALUE
This has really high rewatch value because every time you watch it you realize something new about the story, and it's quite short honestly

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I don't know if my review will add much to the many written before me, but I cannot help but to wish to add my 2cents regarding this drama.
I absolutely loved it. It was a re-watch for me. I'm not much of a re-watch anything person, but this drama was totally worth it.

The first time I watched this drama I was too new to the Korean Drama world. Even though I liked it, I felt that there were too many things that I did not understand and did not allow me to enjoy it as much as I did this second time. This time, it has moved up to become one of my all time favorite.
I decided to re-watch it mostly because I felt that watching Gong Yoo in "Big" twice a week, was not enough. I needed a higher dose and more exposure to that face and talent and *cough body cough*. It was during this re-watch that I discovered why this drama is so popular, timeless and overall a star making drama.

This is what I would call an "slice of life" drama. Nothing big or major happens. There are no huge plot twists, evil second leads, plotters to set the main couple apart or anything like that. The story is very subtle and deep at times, poignant at others and over all very funny and heart warming. These characters really make you feel like they are so real you might see them walking down the street -or maybe working at their coffee shop.
The acting is SUPERB. Sometimes I wondered if they were adlibbing. The conversations, the reactions seemed so realistic and flowed so well, it gave it an extra layer of believability.
The main couple is of course one of the major reasons to watch this drama. Ah- to be loved that way. The way Gong Yoo portrays it and smiles....(I'm fanning myself already :). That is all great and all, but really, this drama is an ensemble drama. What gets you and sucks you are the interactions these characters have with each other. How they become better persons from when they met, thanks to knowing each other, working together and caring for their job and each other. Even the grandmother and relationship between the main characters and their respective families was awesome. There was character development all around. I liked that.
The music was awesome too. The whole drama and the music itself gave me a very Indie feel. It reminds me of Juno, 500 Days of Summer, or books such as "Whatever Happened to Goodbye" by Sarah Dessen. All of these stories get you so involved in the subtleties of these characters' daily life that you feel a bit of a voyeur, a friend or someone who comes to care so much about them, that you do not wish the story to end.

Lastly, as sweet and romantic, well acted, funny and great music as it had, I do not think that this drama should be taken lightly. As subtle as it was it did feel very adult like in it's themes. They touched upon sex before marriage, gay relationships, cheating and forgiving, etc. I did not know before how many of the topics dealt here are not ones that -at that time specially- were usually touched upon. If you want to, this drama makes you think and analyze it.

I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good story. Like stated before, don't expect a lot of action or plot twists, but this drama is really worth watching. This drama absolutely deserves the title of "all time classic".

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*spoiler free*
I truly enjoyed Gu Family Book .. it's the full package great acting , great directing and most importantly great storyline..
I'd say that characters are its strongest point .Kang chi is so kind, funny, pure and prince like. yeo wool isn't your everyday kdrama lead .. she's strong,confident and doesn't need the hero to defend her!! the supporting cast is so great as well especially females .. they're all strong welled and admirable .. Some people are bashing the show saying that "it didn't know what it wanted to be whether romance or fantasy .. etc ... others said that it went on circles and failed to accomplish its main purpose" I personally think that these people misinterpreted the show possibly because of the synopsis which said that the drama is about a gumiho trying to become a human using Gu Family Book .. which is not precise but true .. did you know that the initial name of the show was "Kang chi the beginning"? that is the core of the drama it's not about a guy becoming a superhero to protect his love ones and seek revenge . it's not about a gumiho wanting to become a human . it's not an epic love story between a supernatural creature and a human girl .. it's all of them .. it's simply a BIOGRAPHY!! even if you have everything planned out , you don't know what fate may throw at you .. life is full of variables and this drama is no different .. It was a great watch that I highly recommend simply because it has a thing for everyone..

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BREATH TAKING drama

If there are more than 10 stars, I will rate it 100+. This is the best drama I have encounter in my life. It taught me how loyal true love is, and taught me many mystery surprise things. Ever since episodes 1 & 2 were released, this drama kept me wondering more and it became more interesting as new episodes release. I'm beginning to be addicted. Their chemistry is so intense, the storyline and plot are amazing! The male lead acting is out of the world, he became my favorite actor. the female lead acting feels so real, her voice is so gentle. ? I would watch it 10x over and over again if they don't have season 2. Such a fascinating drama like this, It a waste if its only 16 episodes. But please give us a surprise and a happy ending! our Hyun soo deserve a happy ending after all he has been through. I will wait if there are 100 episodes. I am breathless every episode. This drama deserves more attention. I am sad to see this drama is not on Netflix but it's their loss. Thanks for releasing this AMAZING drama. They deserve an award. Fighting, flower team!!??
♡

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Disappointed. Even JunHo can't make up for the sloppy writing.

I'm sad that I didn't really enjoy King The Land. I've waited for weeks for it to finish airing so I could binge watch it, but after the first 6 or so episodes I was actually forcing my self to carry on.

THE GOOD:
- There is no doubt that Junho and Yoona are very pleasing to the eye, and put together they make the perfect eye candy. They've got good chemistry, and since the Red Sleeve Ive been ready to shout at the top of my lungs that Junho is a very good actor, he doesn't disappoint here either. Yoona was decent too, I have no complaints about the acting.

- The show has very nice aesthetic, it obviously had a very big budget and so it was very well shot.

- There were definitely many funny moments, I'll give the writers that.

THE BAD:
- The OST wasn't bad per day, but to me something was missing. I've seen clips of the show on Instagram with different music which just worked so much better with the show.

- JunHo's voice. There were times, were I could tell Junho was unnecessarily making his voice deeper, and adder this baritone to it. And it hit me so hard I could not ignore it, it was too distracting.

THE UGLY:
- The writing for King The Land was sloppy, it was even embarrassingly over the top at times, to the point where it had me cringing internally.

Now don't come at me, I love RomComs. I don't expect RomComs to have great plot points, but things didn't work out here. I've seen shows like Business Proposal, Romance is a bonus Book, Weightlifting Fairy, and more do these same tropes but do them well. Here it felt the writers threw a dart on a board of tropes and just depended on Junho's good looks to pull things off.

It hurts me to say this, but this just isn't that great of a show.

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It's been a long time since i watched this drama and to be honest i didn't have words to describe it so i couldn't write a review about it. and now that i see many have written reviews about this WONDERFUL drama i couldn't pass this opportunity b/c i have some free time on my hands i said why not write a review.

Reasons why i liked this drama:
This drama has many qualities i look for for one it has great actors whom i admire, park shi ho's performance is just captivating and moon chae wan fulfilled my every expectations of how a great actress must portray a rule.

Reason number two:
The story line was just amazing the director has so much potential i can tell that they put a lot thought and hard work towards this wonderful drama it was filled with emotions, both happiness and sadness ( although some say its more sadness but i did see happy moments) it really changed they way i look at drama's.

Reason three:
This drama is the most lovable and highly addictive drama i have ever seen and i mean ever, it is like a peace of art work it just sucks you in, this drama is hard to top. other dramas cant stand up to this drama.



In conclusion this drama has many good qualities doesn't have any flaw's except that it had to end.i cannot compare any drama to this it is unforgettable drama that leaves you wanting more. THIS IS A MUST WATCH.

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I probably never laughed this hard for a movie, especially if the movie was supposed to be horror.
The movie basically has the same good and bad points of the anime, but it adds a lot of trash here and there.

The story has an awesome background. The idea is something I really like about horror movies: a mix of urban legends, death, ghosts and school. The problem is that it just can't handle it and ends up being a weird wtf until the end. A lot of things remain unexplained, a lot of the explained things are non-sense and A LOT of what happens is just stupid, and that's a shame. For example, imagine that you're a detective in a detective novel and you have a superpower that allows you to find the culprit without any problem; then, why wouldn't you just use it to find the culprit? Why should you wait until he kills more just to let the novel be longer? That's the kind of non-sense that can be found in the movie.

The characters, just like in the anime, are the most anonymous thing I have ever seen. The acting was kinda bad overall, even though there were some secondary actors who splendidly did their job but they didn't appear in more than two or three scenes so they don't really make up for the general lack. In the second half, Misaki Mei's actress (one of the main characters) improved a little.
Another really bad thing about the characters is the lack of any emotion despite the fact that the characters are just students who began to see death in their everyday life. Their reactions are just so unnatural.

Surprisingly, the music was really good. The creepy soundtrack was really creepy. The ending song was good. Weird because it's dubstep/pop music, a genre that you don't really associate with the horror genre, but whatever.

So overall, I would recommend this movie only if you want some trash horror for fun or if you're a fan of the manga/anime. I don't really think that it would be easy to rewatch since it's basically just "emotionless character explaining things to emotionless character 2", "someone dies in a funny way", "emotionless character explaining things to emotionless character 2", someone dies in a funny way", etc. until the last section.

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I just finished this drama and it was alright overall, but near the end I got seriously annoyed by how cookie cutter an overly dramatic it got, to the point where I was just rolling my eyes and laughing at how ridiculous the plot was. I say people hyped this drama up, and although it was different than other dramas, it honestly is not as deserving of the hype, in my opinion. Many characters seemed like caricatures, the drama got ridiculous, it was quite unrealistic in terms of prison life, and slow at times with too many flashbacks. I just wanted to post this comment so those who are reading 10 star reviews don't go in with the unrealistic high expectations I did when I watched it.

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The Pretty Mess and False Advertisement

**there are plenty of reviews that say nice things about this drama. i even agree with some of it. this is not that review. **

Of all the things Dali and the Cocky Prince tries and fails to be about (which is a lot ) it fails the hardest at being about art. This is about Art the way any office drama is about the industry it takes place in. If I'm being honest I've seen office dramas do better in that regard. Any time one of the characters has to talk about art in a way that does not apply directly to their job they sound like 12 year olds being asked why art is important to them- in front of their art teacher. For a show that takes place largely in an art gallery there is very little attention paid to the art. This would not be a problem except the show sort of sold itself as being very much about art. if this was the biggest problem they may have been able to over come it but this is just the beginning.

Both the show and Dali were advertised and quirky and upbeat. For most of the show Dali is a wet rag of a person sullenly trudging through her problems, dragging the viewer along with her as we wait to see which male character is going to solve the thing for her this time. That's not fun. it's not quirky. it is NOT up beat. it's dull, repetitive and disappointing.

The plot is cluttered and groaning under the weight of so many characters it might even give a daily drama writer pause. the central conflict isnt really central, being itself about too many things and offering a patch work of villains. Because there are so many of none of these villains get enough development so their motivations stay shallow and often don't match the vitriol of their actions. A similar problem plagues some of our good guys too. Won Tak for example exists solely for plot convenience. his development is thin and his relationship with Dali is incredibly inconsistent with the development that they do have.

given these other issues weird editing might seem like a nit pick but i assure you it's not. there is at least one, often more, distractingly bad editing choice in every episode. We've got pointless and poorly executed spit screens, we've got flash backs the reek of ret con, we've got really weird effects and pacing that is constantly being wrecked by waaay too long close ups of the aforementioned sullen Dali. like, i get it, she's sad, her life sucks. but i got that three episodes and fifteen lingering close ups ago. stop. PLEASE. And for the love of all things holy step away from the photo shop painting texture brush or whatever that abomination is. If this show wasnt supposed to be about art it might not bother me as bad but simply applying that texture over scenes completely misses the point and the beauty of highly textured brush strokes.

the chemistry is good though...and the over all production design is spectacular. if only they had put as much effort into the substance as they did into the looks.

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I score this...100/10

I just finished watching this drama, and let me say, i don't think I've ever laughhed so hard in my life. This drama is so full of energy, and is so funny. It's hard not to laugh while watching. Having Lee Seunggi join the cast was really nice. The whole series there was twists and turns, and i just loved keeping up with the whole thing. Trying to find out the culprit is honestly so much fun!! And can i just say the twist at the end of the series shocked me so much!!! There needs to be a season 3 for this drama, like it can not just end like this. From episode 1 one there was so many twist, but the ending twist beat them all. Some of the new guests made me laugh so hard, i actually started crying. Honestly, this season was alot better than season 1. I mean i love season 1, it's funny and the guests are just wow. But this season everything was connected to one another, it made me think so many times, and over all it just seemed more planned and natural to be honest. Anyway i hope Busted! has a season 3!!

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Balancing Everything

Development has been long delayed in Munju located in the western part of the Gyeonggi Province due to blood-curdling incidents of the past; it is here the story of Beyond Evil has been set and the inhabitants have been close-knit community. Lee Dong Shik, once a victim to these incidents now works as sergeant at Manyang police substation of Munju police station. Despite his "crazy" work style, he is one of the well trusted persons of the community. Enters Han Joo Won, an elite officer, transferred as inspector who is diametrically opposite to LDS in character and work style. Upon his arrival, multiple events occur, people go missing, bodies are found, reminiscent of the past and reopening the scars of Munju.

HJW struggles with fitting in the community and workplace; some are hostile, some allege him to stop "acting up" and some make him accept their ways of doing things. This is a well-thought-out imagery as the viewer is also similarly taken through multitude of events and fitting into this drama feels a bit struggling. The reason for this being one might wonder what events to be taken seriously and what not; In retrospection, every minor event contributes to the big picture. It is truly mind-blowing to note how some random events tell something about the character and their way of thoughts, actions and reactions.

It is just fascinating that Beyond Evil has the perfect balance of smartly crafted characters and wittingly woven story which keeps the viewer on the edge of "What Next?" It is even more fascinating that "theme of two" contrasting and sometimes similar elements are constantly shown throughout the show, two contrasting characters -LDS and HJW- and their principles, their work styles, their past and present, their parental figures, their best friends, and much more; and how all these aspects contrive the story more complex and enticing to watch.

HJW X LDS: One is an elite who studied at the police academy and another is recruited by the local police station. One is stickler for following rules, principles and another gets work done by any means. One is calm externally but internally in chaos and one seems emotionally hyper but perfectly rational in mind. One makes elaborate plans and one makes plans on the go. One is affected by the scars inflicted by his parents and one has ill-fatedly affected and without intent, inflicted wounds on others.

At outset, these two bicker, banter, hector and coerce suspecting one another. This might induce either the viewer to laugh at the over-the-top actions of both or to pick a side. Honestly, both are sometimes right and wrong, they too realize their fallacies. Consequently, they finally come together for the common goal to know the real truth. This partnership takes a while to happen unlike mentioned in the summary but totally worth the wait. Their tongue-in-cheek work chemistry is hilarious to watch.

Not everything comes easy. At the cusp of rebooting of the development projects, the recent proceedings unleash the protective nature of the biggies. Do Hae Won, a congresswoman and aspiring mayor, and Lee Chang Jin, a hitman turned businessman, of the Munju who would go to any ends. Is it simply about money or genuine care for social development, one wonders? Along with them, is Han Ki Hwan, next police commissioner general of the country and father of HJW, who has "perfected" his life for this position of power and least afford to err. These characters stealthily direct the happenings to their advantage and hinder the police investigations. Aside from them, are many minor and well-defined characters, who pull and push the events of the Munju city.

Beyond Evil is well-paced story starts with a shower of events and slows down to give viewers half-time. This interval both serves as point to reorganize the thoughts and gives more team-bonding moments for the characters. Similar to how inhabitants warm up to HJW, metaphorically the viewers too warm up to the drama. Followed by, its pace quickens. In turn, BE gives a perfect and unpredictable closure to the story and characters provided that viewers too proactively catch up with its pace by observing and interpolating the events. At this juncture, the temptation to rewatch is high.

Shin Ha Kyun X Yeo Jin Goo: SHK's portrayal of LDS is on point and his countenance defines the idiosyncrasies of the character and deepens the character's appeal. Sometimes, it is hypnotizing to drown into fathomless depths of the character. Meanwhile, YJG's portrayal of HJW conceives the character's rigidity, and exudes cold-nature outlook. His expressions look like he is the naivest person but in reality, he is quite the opposite.

Other actors have made the characters stand out. Kang Min Ah's Kang Min Jung comes as the carefree hip person and parallelly manages to draw out our empathy. Chun Ho Jin's Nam Sang Bae treads the fine line making one wonder, if he is good or bad. Choi Dae Hoon's Park Jung Je makes us believe in his dreams, drawings and delusions. Every actor and their character have made fabulous job. Individually appreciating them would spoil the moment for future viewers.

The music is really good. It heightens the viewer's thrill, draws out empathy, and makes the experience more real and sometimes, surreal. Songs like Timeless, The Road, Empty makes the viewers feel virtually the inhabitants of Munju and invest ourselves in its predicaments. We too want the justice to serve in best possible way and closure to be given to the victims. The music makes final message resonate louder; the message being "any clue or info regarding missing person should be reported to police how so ever infinitesimal." The message creates awareness, feels affirmative and assuring.

Undeniably, Beyond Evil has best of everything.

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I think I am a bit of a rare bird when it comes to this drama because where so many people are swearing up and down by its excellence, I am just here looking around wondering “where”? I can’t deny that the premise of this show is quite exciting and the mystery-thrill aspect has been executed fairly well in most of the scenes. The show manages to maintain suspense, intrigue and make the viewers play the game of “who-dunnit” very nicely throughout the first half. But is that enough? For me? Not by a long shot.

The thing is, this is a remake so essentially it can’t really get the credit for the story and all those things that are the show’s saving grace. Because basically the creators were handed an already tried and tested recipe along with extensive steps of preparation. All they had to do was follow the steps and cook a dish putting their own flavor on it. Unfortunately, for this drama the materials used were not very fresh and so the resulting dish came out to be rather bland.

By materials used, I ofcourse mean the characters. If I were to say, that the people telling this story were more or less hollow with zero to very little development, I wouldn’t be really off the mark. The show centers on four best friends with “scandalous” lives (which in my opinion were less scandalous and more “pathetic” but we will come on to that later) who have a murder mystery on their hands. Despite there being four of them, it’s very clear that Jang Se Yeon- single mother/widower- was the main protagonist which in Mistress translates to being the main simpleton of the lot of them.

If we somehow ignore the fact, that for the most part she was a bumbling fumbling idiot who literally had her mouth parted open like a sputtering fish all the freaking time, we still won’t find her character likeable. See, here’s the thing if you are going to show me a mother who is dumb enough to leave her child in the care of a babysitter for more than 24 hours, repeatedly trusting said babysitter after she has been proven to be a shady ass a couple of times, leaving your child unattended in parks, hotels, shopping malls e.t.c, spending literally no time with your child to the extent that you’re unaware your child is freaking dying and then in the next second you’re going to feed me the “concerned mother who loves her child to no end” bullshit where I am supposed to sympathize with the “suffering” she has to go through in order to save her child from all those nasty villains- sorry, but I’m not buying it. And before you bring up the “oh but she is a single mother who has to work to pay the bills and that keeps her busy” shit with me- she works in a stupid ass cafe as a barista which is conveniently ALWAYS empty. For fuck’s sake, say no more.

I have to like my characters in order to feel for their ordeals and with these half-wits I was just like you all are so damn frustratingly dumb that if you insist on making your beds, I urge you to please lie in them and never get up. The other two in the brainless bunch consist of a therapist (who is like a walking talking cardboard because of how dull she is) and a supposedly tech savvy/law-savvy stalker -(?) somebody please tell me her damn profession- whose sole purpose in life is unsuccessfully tailing people and looking pretty. No depth to either of them, their career is used as plot devices and they are there just for the sake of being there.

The only redeemable out of the four is our resident school teacher and husband cheater. She is the one who grows the most, acts the best and has the most interesting personality. But ofcourse not enough screen-time to make a difference. There are some love interests who are meh. The antagonists are more or less meh, except one of them (the shady babysitter lol). And the show itself is also pretty much MEH.

The best thing about this was the sound-track. I loved some of the songs and the instrumentals. The drama is also pretty racy for South Korean standards what with all the random sex scenes which were just funny for me because they were there- like the characters- just for the sake of being there, contributing zero to the plot.

So in conclusion, if you haven’t watched a lot of crime/suspense/thrillers and just want a quick mindless fix, this will work for you but for someone like me who lives and breathes this stuff, not only was it not anything different it was also below standard compared to what’s already there.

Enjoy!

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I had been looking forward to watch this movie for ages. I am happy that I got to watch it finally today. Being a big SM fan, it was a pleasure watching most of my favorite idols get up-close and personal. I knew some of their stories, while some were totally new.

I don't know how to rate the story since the idols shared their real-life experiences. Everyone had a different thing to tell. Some interested me and some did not.

I love the music! SNSD, Super Junior, f(x), BoA, TVXQ and SHINee are all among my favorites. That's the reason I gave the music full score. Their tunes are all catchy and addictive.

At times their confessions got a bit boring and slow for my taste because it was totally scripted. I am sure what they said was the truth but trying to make me believe that they cried during the recording was something I couldn't buy. LOL. The thing is that these people are telling their stories to make money which may or may not be a bad thing.

Anyway, I'd say this documentry-concert is good as a one-time watch. Only for SM fans though. I'd recommend the rest to only look up clips of their favorite idols instead of watching the whole thing which could otherwise seem boring.

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