when hurt people hurt and love each other (we need a season 2)
Overall: an angsty series with good tension, but a few too many unanswered questions for my taste. 5 episodes about 20 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI, first episode link https://www.iq.com/play/gray-shelter-episode-1-1yzhwhotbkc?lang=en_usNote: see a comment with spoiler for my thoughts on the ending
Content Warnings: parental abuse
Timeline Notes (the flashbacks weren't very clear)
- episode 1 starts in the present and then at 6:05 the rest is flash back
- episode 2 starts in flashback, goes to present at 10:30, flash back 19:25-20 and then returns to the present (the package is from his bio dad at the beginning, not step dad)
What I Liked
- a more serious vibe
- tension
- good for the girlfriend for not putting up with that
- acting
- production value
Room For Improvement
- there were 2 main issues that were alluded to but never directly explained that I wanted the answers
- that friend was a huge a**hole for ratting him out to his dad, can't believe the main character apologized to him
- could have shown things a bit more directly, I thought that beep was his phone going off, didn't realize someone was leaving the apartment which gave important context and showed 1 character was slightly less of a jerk than I thought he was
- they needed to make the flashbacks/present differ more, it made things needlessly confusing in the beginning
- pacing was slow at times and then the end felt rushed/incomplete
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SCIENCE NEVER LIES BUT HUMANS DO
Thailand never fails when it comes to Horror. Ghost lab is a simple story of two doctors trying to prove Ghosts exist. The visuals and horror scenes were scary :) THAI Horror is not just a genre, it's an emotion. There weren't many jumps scares but it was an epic thriller-horror and I enjoyed it so much. It was so nice seeing Nychaa, Ice Paris, and Tor together. The acting, cinematography, music, and direction were amazing. I loved it. The ending is so beautiful. The movie not only focuses on Ghosts but also on the human mind. The chemistry between Tor and Ice is raw and interesting. The movie is worth watching and I recommend it.Was this review helpful to you?
I have never seen a live action bl done so well and Tanaka Kei plays our awkward main character to perfection. I love the way he portrays this man suddenly being confessed to by his boss and his best friend. Sure he isn't married and has constantly been rejected by woman, but God (the director) has given him two potential love interests. It's a hilarious comedy and you will find yourself cringing at all the right times. The ending will leave you smitten and happy you watched it. I also find his honesty as a straight male Japanese man, finding out that too men like him refreshing because he's speaking out what society has made him believe male on male relationships are like. So it is even more refreshing when we see his perspective change and truly look at these men who are in love him at face value. But overall this is hilarious and a great watch, and if your'e bored and want to spend 48 minutes and 11 seconds of your life, laughing your heart out, watch it in the link below:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x59hsx0
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Perfection is rare
I started this because of liking both the leads, and they OWNED this. My eyes are still damp from the powerfully moving final few minutes.It might be a simple story, but it was well told and PERFECTLY acted by the two leads. The movie was FULL of surprises for me, from hearing a voice that "like Faye Wong, but not" and finding out it was Leah Dou :), to the way the story and the story-within-a-story messed with perception and reality, to such emotional effect at the very end.
Award ceremonies get A LOT of criticism for their decisions, and most of it is 100% justified. But sometimes, they get it just right, and these two outstanding actors being made joint winners for this film was not merely the RIGHT decision, it was the only possible one. When trying to decide whether to score this a 9 or to go higher, I realised that was no substantive reason to dock any points, and in terms of its overall impact, if I could score it higher than 10, I would.
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The setting of the drama is in Kure, a naval city in Hiroshima province. The story told about Suzu's and her new family life during the harsh time of WWII. (it touch a little bit about the Atomic bombing at Hiroshima). It was very interesting to see how the Japanese lived and what they felt during the war. Personally, I was born from a country which was used to be occupied by the Japanese. The textbook only taught about one side view of the war. Being the oppressed or the occupier. It was interesting to see it from the other side of the view and learn that no one wants to go to war and war really does not benefit anybody (the one who starts always is the person from the above not the people).
I'm not very familiar with the casts. But they sure did a wonderful job. The act feels really natural and the story is not being forced at all. I can say very confidently that even if you read the manga, you won't be disappointed or being bored with this drama.
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Mediocre Acting for a Tragic Drama
Summary: just watch the first few episodes bec of its original lines . This is not a romantic lovely story. More tragedy really.Pro:
- good casts but could be better
- many original plot . Watch till about 11th episode and enjoy.
Cons
- chemistry is just plain. The main actress is really cute and sweet but she lacks the toughness and can’t act on the most painful crying scenes. I wanna cry because she can’t cry well esp the last episode.
If you compare her with the actress in Princess Agents, you’ll get the feel why she’s not so great in this story. She doesn’t exude that tough persona. She’s great with the Pillow Book & ten miles of peach blossom kind of story. She’s not appropriate for tragedy
- the chemistry between main characters are so-so. Even with the rival is so-so.
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This review may contain spoilers
A fairy tale with a bit of confusion...
As usual the love-story started with a misunderstanding, which is of course nothing new. But how they went with it, was new for me... In the right circumstances a wish from a shooting star can become true. At least I did not expect going that way, because "He Xiangyong" wished to be forgotten. And that had massive consequences with his dad, friends and when he met his highschool sweet heart again. Only his childhood friend recognizes him and he fascilitates the second couple by kicking his friends butt, so to speak, something he could not manage in highschool himself.The scenery is quite rural and is supporting the story. We got quite some nice scenery, especially the underwater footage in the finale. All the actors did a good job, especially the young versions of the MLs. The second couple had a dead fish kiss in the finale which makes me wonder, if they filmed the finale first, because of course the dumb intro did spoil the end - which I hate.
In the middle of the second half of the show, it gets a bit confusing, because "He Xiangyong" wakes up and something changed. First I thought it's not only his wish, but many wishes intersecting from people around him. But that's not the case, it's just confusing. But at least the God and his helper turn up to save the day. The background music is often offputting and makes no sense, especially when it has a comedic touch but the scene is serious or when a song is playing while a serious conversation is taking place. Of course I understand why they only went with one actor playing "He Xiangyong" and "Zhong Xiaoyou" but for me it would have been better if he really looked different for more immersion and that "Chen Haowei" fall for the second version because of his soul and character. At least it would have been more impactful. Also the "art" was left something to be desired, not good enough to be believable that "He" choosed this as his profession.
So overall a taiwanese production which was good and had some depth and a wonderful story also about two childhood friends. Compared to all the thai crap now airing, this was a refreshing story. Even with all the downsides I mentioned, it is still a good series.
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It's one of writer Lee's great works "she also wrote Sorry I Love You, A Love To Kill, Thank You, Innocent Man..."
The plot for this show was really great and the acting was fabulous...
both Rain and Gong Hyo Jin played their roles perfectly but the big surprise was Lee Dong Gun...he was so great that you won't mind seeing him end up with Sang Doo (the male lead) instead of Eun Hwan...
for short this drama has it all from humor to drama to romance to school...For me it's Just a must watch ^^
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There is no first love and young romance, childhood friends, even no simple motive of revenge.
This is a political drama with strong characters who carry the entire show.
Motivations of people's acting, a desire of the power, dreams of perfect society and state are portrayed excellent.
The main question of this story is that: does the end justify the means? Is this a true what Machiavelli said that everyone is evil and you must do anything to gain a political power?
Surprisingly, although there are some corruption motives, this drama isn’t about corruption, but rather about what politics do and what it looks like.
Director’s job is splendid! The director (Kwak Jeong Hwan) is also an author of Miss Hammurabi, and if you like Miss Hammurabi, you will like Chief of staff too.
The acting is brilliant, because:
Kim Dong Jun acting is better and better.
Elliya Lee, after her odd and makjang appearance in The Last Empress, has a real character to play here and I like her.
Lee Jung Jae and Shin Min Ah (the leads) are amazing. They present serious relationship involved in job and moral dilemmas.
Kim Gab Soo (the true lead!) is AWESOME. Try this drama to watch his impressive performance! I hope he will receive an award.
We all know that dividing drama into two parts has no sense, but in this case it breaks in a perfect time.
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If you watched the drama you'il probably dislike this but as i said earlier seeing the old tricks worth wasting your time on it.
Yes it could have been better but the effort is granted.
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This review may contain spoilers
One of the best Kdrama
I rarely give any review to a drama but this one is one of the best! I love the push and pull moments where they break up and be back to one another. I love the characters and I am in love with the plot. It was a cliche story but the characters did justice to the plot that is why I really loved the whole drama.I love tragic ending but I rarely cry to it and youth of my had given me another night to remember. The whole scene of myeong hee lying on the ground while hee tae being pulled by the soldier was so heartbreaking yet a satisfying scene to watch. I cried the whole night thinking about how miserable the ending was but nevertheless it was an amazing journey to watch such a indescribable drama.
From myeong hee sacrificing her life for others to hee tae respecting myeong hee's decision. I bow down to their relationship. I learned so many things watching the youth of may. I will miss every minute of it.
I recommend to everyone to watch this. Its so worth it!!
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A beautiful memoir to the Gwangju uprising and a even more beautiful Love Story
I started this because I fell head over heels in love with Lee Do Hyun after watching 18 Again. So I anxiously counted down the days to its release and watched every episode while they were aring, waiting and checking for subs. Staying up late just so I could watch the next episode.AND. LET. ME. TELL. YOU!! THIS DRAMA!! Thiis FREAKING dramma!! Right heere is...everything.
There are so many things i absolutly adored about it. The music was perfectly chosen from the uplifting lighthearted tunes to the heartbreaking balades, it all fit the mood and the charachters so perfectly that it just completly melted into the story. You know the Ost is good when it just feels natrual for it to be there, almost as if its just backround noise.
Plus watchign Lee Do Hyun play the guitair is always a straight way into my heart.
The acting was "Chefs Kiss"
I already knew that Lee Do hyun is a great freaking actor. I stan him for a reason after all but Go Min Si really also positivly suprised me. The intimacy between them felt tangible and real. Every emotional scene, kiss and hug was just wow. Hands down has one of the best Kiss scenes i've seen in K-Dramaland. Not because it was dramatic but because you could really feel the emotions in they'r slow tentative actions. The kisses were always filled with love and you could feel it as a viewer.
This drma was just overflowing with emotions. When they cried you could feel the pain and desperation. And daaamn I just wanted to scream who hurt my babiiies.
Knowing the historic backround of the Gwangju uprising I was expecting angst but daaamn I was not prepared. All I will say is that I bawled my eyes out more than once watching this so be sure to keep tissues near.
I absolutly adoored the characters. All of them, even if they were anyoing at times (yes I mean Lee Soo Ryun) were lovable and human. They all had their own struggles and passions and developed throughout the story. Lee Soo Ryun, even if i wanted to hit her at times, i can also understand her. She had her reason for acting the way she did and you cant fault a girl for being passionate about the things important to her.
Hawn hee Tae was so freaking lovable and adorable and passioante like a puppy. I just want to hug him. And Kim Myung Hee my giirl. Ughh I just want to give them all a hug and keep them away from the big bad world.
One of the things i absolutly loved about this drama was the way the love story progressed. You dont see this kind of passionate but at the same time sweet and pure love often portrayed. Theyr love really felt like those once in a life time kind of loves that are larger than life. I loved that the characters were just head over heals for each other. No pretending not to like each other or acting coy. Oh noo boyy these two love each other deeply and they show it. Of course bad things happen, but the way to love was never a straight line. But through all the desicions they make I never doubted their love for each other. For my Romance loving heart I got everything I wanted in this. The Angst was delicious and I felt butterflies during the fluffy scenes. They had a really good balance between the fluff and angst. The story never gets stuck or stays rooted in a problem for too long. And when a problem gets solved it was always so freaking satisfying. Not to spoil but daaamnn so many good and satisfying scenes that just make the angst and heartache soo worth it!
And last but not least the Gwangju Uprising. I loved how at the start of the Drama its just about normal people living theyr lives. You get to know these characters and love them and then you see what happens with all these characters when tragedy strikes out of nowhere. Pesonaly I didnt know anything about the Gwangju uprising before watching this drama and I was even more schoked after looking it up. How such a thing could happen is beyond me. And my heart really ached when I imagined that this really happend. Real and inoccent people lost they'r lives and loved ones. And maybe this show didnt show everything that happend during the uprising but it did show the sheer violence and brutality used by the military and just how freaking unfair and unjustified it was. As a plus point you actually get a lot of different points of view throughout the story from characters in the military to characters who gave the orders. Even the smallest character got a full story and development. Which Kudos to that. It aint easy with little screentime but they even made me love the small side characters.
So do I need to count down anymore reasons to watch this? I dont think so. If you havent already, give this Beautiful Piece a try.
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The things that I liked about the drama:
-The storyline is unique. Not the one-person's-soul-entering-another-body thing. But the part that came after that.
- The acting is top notch. You can feel every emotion of Song Huun Chul, Hye Jin and Yun Hwa. Their struggle with this new reality that they face, that they never expected is portrayed wonderfully.
- The music is good. Specially the song 'Monochrome'. It fit the settings perfectly.
- The kid actors did a good job too.
- Not to sound like a fangirl or anything, but Kai is wonderfully and deliciously beautiful.
- The drama focused on human behavior. And the mesaage it send is a good one.
The things that I wasn't sure about:
- This was more of a slow paced drama. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But around the middle part, it did seem a bit draggy.
- A lot of moral dilemmas involved in the drama which I wasn't sure how to feel about. While the drama wasn't solely focused on romantic relationships, to the extent that they were present, they were quite...well, complicated. I, as a viewer, wasn't sure if what the male lead was doing could be considered "right". If, there could be a right and wrong in such exaggerated fantasical situation.
Overall, it's a drama that deserves a chance. And it's quite enjoyable. So, go ahead and give it a try.
Happy Watching!!
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I already watch the movie version, so i thought this drama would just be a draggy version of it.
But i was wrong! It got me hooked from the 1st episode.
The siblings fight, funny side kick, unique classmates, and the monologue at the end are the most memorable part for me.
Shi Fen and Shi Miao are the usual quarreling siblings. Meanwhile the Wan brothers are unrealistic dramatic siblings, but they're just refreshing to see.
Even though i dont really like dramas with school setting, this one is an exception. I love how the classmates and teachers weren't just one dimensional characters. They had their own story and good development.
Sun Qian and Joseph Zeng had great chemistry playing as siblings. The side characters did really well too. However Mark Ma, who portrayed Wan Xing stole my attention. It's amazing how well he play the character of a matured 12 years old.
The drama itself is full of hilarious scenes, but i find a lot of unnecessary fillers in it.
I would've give it a 10 if ending were much better. After 29 episodes of adventure, it ended rushed and bland when it could've been more impactful.
The intro song were funny, meanwhile the outro were more mellow which suits the mood
However this is truly my type of drama, no romance just siblings hood and friendship. They keeps the comedy coming and you'll laugh all the way from the beginning to the end. So for me I'd definitely be rewatching it
I recommend it to people who wants a light hearted comedy watch to pass the time
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It was a really tragic story but sometimes I like these type of ending... I loved how Hee Tae remember her and tried to found her alive.....
My mom used to tell me when you can't end up with your lover , there will be a pain inside of you forever ....this pain will give you a pleasure forever how you remember only good things about him .... Now I think my mom is right ... We saw how Hee Tae remembers about Myeong hee after so many years and think about only good things ... There wasn't a moment they hated each other for a second... Whatever today's youngsters should watch this drama to know history, to know they are leading a better life ....
this drama doesn't need so many words .. it's simply awesome and I really love this dramaaaaaa....😍😍🖤
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