One thing I would like to mention before I go on is a warning for young children. I recommend that you get permission to watch this film as it is not for children and not really child friendly. I have a feeling that the Chinese one will be more family friendly then this one though. But, I have no real proof to back that up as of yet. Maybe it is the trailers or maybe it is because of the last Chinese remake I saw,''Back to 20'' a remake of ''Miss Granny''.
The ending took a twist I was not expecting. So, beware the ending, there is a chance that you will dislike it greatly. Also, this is not a romance movie, so, therefore do not expect any romance. The bromance in this movie is quite lacking as well.
But, I did like this movie and I did not mind the ending. I found the movie very nice for the most part and I think it is one of the better movies of South Korea.
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STORY: I liked the twist at the end. The two main couples didn't give me much feelings, I appreciated more Martin&Being and Tanguy&Dewey. Cho was probably my favorite character, since he was pretty funny and always teasing Yiwha, who I didn't like. She was my favorite character in TWM but I don't know... I was a bit disappointed. Also, Korn&Knock keeping on fighting and don't talk... Their story could have been developed better.
ACTING: well, the actors were amazing, I especially liked Simon (James), Max (Korn), Tul (Knock), Tomo (Cho) and Maengmum (Yiwha). Even though the plot was not that well developed on my opinion, they always managed to act it out well.
MUSIC: I have been and currently am OBSESSED over the theme song, it's just so wonderful.
REWATCH VALUE: probably won't watch it again, maybe just the sweet scenes.
OVERALL: it's not that bad, the thriller component made it a bit better than I expected. I recommend it if you want more KornKnock after seeing TWM.
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A refreshing heartwarming Family drama
Despite the "weirdness" you have to deconstruct yourself from notions (mostly western) that highly sexualizes everything, with an open mind and thinking about it from the standpoint of a pure story this is a story about grief, and how a family heals after losing a loved one. A miracle happens where the mom appears with her memories in a girl's body. It's wild and crazy on the surface but it's SO INCREDIBLY acted (even more than many adults actors) it's INSANE the range the child actress can pull off, you really get sucked into the story and believe her due to her actions, tone, micro-expressions etc. And along the way as you get to know each family member and their stories and flaws more you just love everyone. This one has some really heartwarming scenes that had me tearing up, but also some light-hearted comedy thrown in. A good balance if you ask me, give it a couple episodes and you'll be addicted. It's hard to explain until you click play, truly a wonderful drama that I'm sure is risky but the pay-off is worth it. As a long time drama watcher (12+) years this is definitely a hidden gem and a wonderful delight to see and to think the child actress is only BEGINNING her career. JUST WOW GIVE HER MULTIPLE OSCARS this is so impressive honestly! With an open mind you will see the beauty of this drama!P.S THAT OST is SO BEAUTIFUL
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This review may contain spoilers
BL? Maybe
Do I sincerely call this series BL? Not necessarily, but I won't say I didn't enjoy myself either. My initial reason for even tuning into this BL is because of how everyone told me not to watch it, and of course, I just had to after that. While it was very disturbing in a few spots, as well as being highly controversial, I still guiltily really liked it.Let's Dive In.
The controversy of this series is drawn from two aspects. One, Kim and Khett are brothers, and even though Pan is the one controlling Kim's body, the problem is still there. Initially, Pan wrote a story about Kim and Way, but when she was Pan, her and Khett had their little lovey-dovey thing going on so that basically transferred from Pan into Kim that stayed. I honestly liked how Khett could tell that something was up with Kim before I realized that they were falling in love. Ohm played Khett very well, but that's nothing new because I absolutely love Ohm and any series he's been in. The other controversial part is the girl becoming a boy in which I see the problem, but I don't necessarily mind it until I see signs of it becoming an issue. For the most part, Pan being Kim led to some pretty humorous moments of her freaking out over male body parts and trying to navigate her way into becoming Kim. I believe this was my first time seeing First in a series, and he did an excellent job. I loved how he played up Kim's personality after having transformed.
Some other small things to discuss, Jennie’s character carried this ENTIRE show. She was hilarious and is an incredible actress. I want to see her in more stuff. I really hated the whole fangirl aspect of this, but the series wouldn't be the series without it, but I don't like seeing the over-fascination that BL girls have for BL. It's weird, it fetishizing, and it's just downright embarrassing. There was a lot of that in this that made it a bit hard to watch.
Overall, I had fun watching this series. l wouldn't really recommend it for a BL series, but for anyone wanting to see more of Ohm or just an entertaining series, then I think I would recommend this.
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A subplot that involves a detective searching for the criminals doesn't impact the film in a meaningful way. All the subplot does is reinforce how intelligent the criminals are as a team and reiterate information characters already figured out on their own. After a series of twists and a couple dead bodies later it reaches a climax that overstays its welcome. It's subtext is underlying a nature vs. nurture view as the protagonist feelings are complex and to a degree no better than from those he wishes to avoid.
The five fathers quickly establish their respective characters right from their first appearance. As an innocent who's sheltered, duped and pushed over the edge, Yeo (Hwayi) sometimes overstates his character's pain and bafflement. Lim Ji-eun is pitiful as a woman confined in her hopeless position by her men and then by herself, Nam Ji-hyeon is a plucky high school girl who happens to begin a tentative relationship with Hwayi, and her scenes with Yeo jin-goo are a few precious warm spots in the movie.
Korean cinema is the go to for the thriller genre. As saturated as it might be no other film industry has quite nail the genre quite perfectly as Korea bringing in new twists on familiar setups and avoiding any unneeded melodrama among other reasons. Hwayi is another one of those stellar action/thriller that succeeds giving high focus on the human side of its story giving the old revenge set up a revitalizing fresh take.
Hwayi is a very unique action/thriller with an original and exciting take on the father and son dynamic. It's more than a film about revenge more so than it is the delicacy of parenthood and how damaging it can for both sides. Cold and gloomy as it might be it's also a great action/thriller that offers a unique story and good set pieces.
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This review may contain spoilers
Such a disappointment.
I watched this drama because of my love for the original.First episodes were good, the story of Namsoon and his mother was touching... then everything went down.
Namsoon was too infantilized, so much so she was annoying. Added to this, the main couple had little screen time and in my opinion lackluster chemistry, it was boring to watch them.
I stayed until the end just because of the only character that I still cared enough for, Ryu Shi Oh and his ending was an unfunny joke.
I only rescue from this drama the performance of Byeon Woo-seok and the cameo of Park Bo-young and Park Hyung-Sik.
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Its definitely no surprise that NIF is one of the best rated dramas worldwide. It is still highly regarded by a large majority of the drama audience to be one of THE BEST dramas ever produced. It completely deserves that rating.
STORY:
The ultimate revenge plot. The best scheming and plotting (but in a great way) written for TV. Oftentimes, you'll watch a drama with tons of manipulations and plotting, and they'll feel repetitive or basic. NIF is completely different. Every step, word, every breath that Mei Chang Su takes all has a greater purpose. It's the best bittersweet story as you find out who was behind everything that happens to the Chi Lin Army those years ago and what happens when you cross Mei Chang Su. Although I feel like most people have watched it by now, I definitely don't want to spoil it for people who haven't gotten to witness the majesty yet haha.
Be warned, yes it takes a few episodes to get super hooked. The first few episodes are a little slow, but few tv dramas aren't. I'm honestly ok with the slow start because when it gets going, it doesn't really stop. The relationships between the characters (both romantic, familial, and brotherhood) are so captivating. Every character has a purpose and no one really feels unnecessary to the overall plot.
This is definitely a show you have to pay attention to because even some of the smallest, seemingly meaningless details can have a big impact on the overall story. Everything was honestly so well weaved together and everything served a greater purpose.
ACTING:
Phenomenal. Amazing. Outstanding.
Hu Ge, Wang Kai, Liu Tao: They were household names after this (if they weren't already before). They were all amazing at their respective roles. Everyone felt real and well rounded. They all had their moments of being serious or being comedic or whatever it might be. Honestly you just have to watch the drama to understand.
Comedic Awards go out to Meng Zhi and Fei Liu because they (with sprinkles from the other actors) were the bright spots in a fairly serious and dramatic tv drama.
REWATCH VALUE:
I've only watched through twice, but I will definitely watch again and again. The drama gets a little hard to follow at times because of how intricate the plot can be sometimes, so the second rewatch brought everything together for me as I was able to pay closer attention to everything since I already knew the outcomes. 100% recommend for anyone because this drama has all of the good stuff you want in a drama and almost nothing bad.
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Light hearted entertainment
This drama is about how two lady cops worked together to look after a small rural town in Japan. The icy cold disciplined senior Fuji and the nervous rookie Kawai. On the surface, it appeared as a light hearted stab at policewomen. On a deeper level, it was about friendship, trust and finding happiness in the work they did together. I thought Kawai did a fantastic job from beginning to end. Her role managed to salvage some of the unnecessary jokes and follies which slowed the pace of the drama down. I almost gave up then. As the drama went on, one could genuinely felt the incredible bonding between them. One must stay to the end to appreciate what comradeship was all about. This was well acted out. Nevertheless, an enjoyable watch. The original sound track was good too. I don’t think I will watch it again.Was this review helpful to you?
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a memorable show with a great cast
I really liked this drama. I was very excited every time an episode came out, even with the first one, goeun's acting captivated me sm. The plot got even better as the time went by and the development of the characters as well. The only thing that I didnt like was that the In-hye sister was left(? idk, i feel it that way, I didnt saw too much participation from her in last eps more than a simple explanation at the end, but it is just a little detail, overall i would compleatly recommend this showWas this review helpful to you?
The best cdrama till date!
I dont remember when was the last time i wrote a review for any drama. Its been that long! But this deserves one!OMG guys OMG. This drama is everything and more. It has life it has love it has chemistry. Everything!
The story itself is beautifully written in the start you will not have much scenes of the leads but u can sense the chemistry there. But the supporting actors keep the drama so LIT that u wont get bored for even a single second.
The thing that i really like about this drama is the way all the issues are resolved they are not dragged through the whole season but are resolved in such a satisfying way that u will surely enjoy it .
The leads chemistry is amazing. Mind you they dont have a lot of scenes in part 1 but part 2 has alot of them. Im one of those people who likes a drama with lot of romantic scenes. This one doesn't have many but the story was so amazing that i was completely hooked to it and now i feel a void in my heart.
Apart from the leads the star of the show is the emperor! The best character in the whole series!
Now please don't waste your time on reading reviews and go watch the show otherwise i'll throw a bread at ya (emperor's style) you'll know the reference when you'll watch it.
Good bye love like the galaxy. You surely lived upto your name.
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A piece of art
I am speechless, I'm not trying to over-glorify it. I have watched tonnes of BL dramas and this series by far is the most exquisite. I found myself trying to give any of the rating less than perfection but I just couldn't, I would deem myself a liar if I did that. There were times that I had to pause the video while watching sinceI felt like sobbing. The cinematography is immaculate and beautiful, the colouring is so calming. Top notch acting, especially the two main characters, they made the whole thing so beautiful. I would say that the lines were minimal in this series but they never ran out of conversations. All the actors communicate with their facial expressions, body language, and their eyes pretty amazingly. The story flows like water, it was really like watching a piece of art coming together before your eyes. This series is a masterpiece, created by all the people involved in the making of the series. It was such a privilege to be able to witness it.Was this review helpful to you?
'Why didn't I know... How great it was... Why didn't I know then?'
My review will be split to 2 parts since there is two types of people will be reading this. Some didn't watch the movie yet so they are reading the reviews to find out if the movie worth there time or not, I'll give them the answer and why from my opinion of course, and the second type has already finished the movie and looking for words to express what they are feeling right now through other people reviews, I hope they'll find here what they're looking for.This is my second time watching this movie and my first review ever, I always get lazy and don't write a review no matter how good the movie/drama was, but since it's a movie that I rewatched and I feel like I need to express my feelings, so I think I'm obligated to give it justice. Excuse my English it’s not my first language but I’ll try my best.
PART 1: For those who didn't watch the movie yet. Does the movie worth watching? YES OF COURSE!!! Why? Let’s see why:
1-->If you like Kmovies/Kdramas that revolve around the period of Japanese occupation of South Korea then you must watch this movie because it transmits the vibe of that era very well: the costumes, the songs and traditions... BUT even if you don't like it, you will appreciate its beauty, because the movie is not about the war even though it's set in 1943-1945, no sword or gun fighting scenes as we usually see in this type of movies.
2-->If you like musical movies where the characters sing some beautiful songs during it, then watch this movie you’ll be satisfied, especially when you know that the ones who are singing the songs are the real cast and the piano too.
3-->If you like movies that focus more on the woman than the guy, this movie is for you
4-->If you’re bored from watching a weak, pure and innocent protagoniste as the FL who has received injustice from the world and still not doing anything about it but crying, then you came to the right place. Our FL fights back to destroy who destroyed her no matter what the cost is.
5-->If you are a fan of Han Hyo Joo, then you’re not a real fan until you watch this movie. I can say that this is one of her best performances if not the best one so far from all of her works (acting, speaking Japanese, singing and dancing) and this is coming from someone who has seen 6 movies and 4 Dramas of hers.
6--> The main trio cast has worked “together” before in another beautiful movie ‘the beauty inside’.
7-->If you like revenge movies then watch it.
8-->If you want to know more about gisaeng’s life since we only see usually a shallow view of them in historical Kdramas.
Some reasons why you may not like it or that movie is not for you:
1-->If you are looking for a movie that will shock you from beginning till end you may be disappointed, as the plot summary spoils a big part of it already. But that doesn’t take much from the movie (I don’t agree tho that jealousy is what consumed So Yul, it was basically because of a betray from her loved ones).
2-->If you hate sad movies you may find this movie too dark for you (I’m don’t like dark movies myself, I find them heart breaking but I still enjoyed this one a lot)
3-->If you are here to watch a platonic love story with romantic scenes then sorry we don’t do that here.
So over all I highly recommend this movie, so stop wasting time and go start watching NOW and don’t continue reading as from now on, the review will include spoilers and details that you can read after finishing the movie.
PART 2: For those who has already finished the movie
_STORY 9,5: Not the first time we see a story revolve around friendship, love, jealousy and betray as those words are the topic of many works that we’ve watched in Kdrama land BUT we usually see the story from the point of view of a character like Seo Yeon-Hee, the poor, innocent and talented protagoniste that couldn’t help but falling in love with her best friend’s lover who helped her break free from the gisaeng’s life to have a more meaningful life as a pop singer who sings to the hall country poor and reach ‘heart of Joseon’ and not just to who pay high, and the ML who falls in love with her as a songwriter/producer first and then as a man, and we follow the story of the two as they suffer from obstacles made by people who try to stood in the face of their love and dreams like So-Yool’s character that usually is an evil second FL who feels jealous from her best friend who’s getting everything she ever wanted (singing and love) and tries to ruin their love and life and so we end up sympathizing with the two protagonists and hating the antagoniste. NO NO THAT’S NOT OUR MOVIE, ‘Love, Lies’ gived us an antagoniste FL that we saw the movie by her eyes wish made it special, I couldn’t hate So-Yool for what she felt or did or even blame her, and I definitely couldn’t like or sympathize with the protagonists as they showed no expression of guilt toward So Yool, they only cared about themselves. I guess that’s what I didn’t like about the movie, So-Yool used to be Yeon-Hee’s best friend since they were children but Yeon-Hee still didn’t show any sort of guilt or hesitation when she fell in love with So-Yool’s lover, and the same goes for Yoon-Woo who claimed that his heart only belongs to So-Yool at the beginning, I feel like we needed more from Yeon-Hee’s character at least, plus some scenes felt rushed a little bit I guess that has something to do with the movie time so I think they couldn’t help it. But overall, the story is very well done, I like the fact that So-Yool and Yeon-Hee are two of the last gisaengs in Joseon which give us the chance to know more about Gisaeng, we don’t see that a lot.
_ACTING/CAST 10: All the cast was outstanding and did a great job from the main cast to the support one, I know it’s a good movie when I see Yoo Yeon-Seok in it, same goes for Han Hyo Joo. I only saw Chun Woo-Hee in the beauty inside and I didn’t even remember her until I saw her in the cast, she did a great job and she has a beautiful voice I hope I’ll see more of her in the future. Yoo Yeon-Seok is wonderful as usual, I loved him with the piano too, for Han Hyo Joo as I said before this maybe her best performance, she portrayed So-Yool’s change of character very well from that innocent kind child who started a friendship with a poor girl, then a beautiful woman who dreams of becoming a singer and a wife to the one she loves, and protect her honor as a Gisaeng, to the vengeance version that can sacrifice anything and sell even her body to take back what she believes belongs to her destroying her friend, lover and herself in the process even after more than 40 years she still tortures herself by taking the name of Chun Woo-Hee and her song, I don’t think that what changed her was jealousy because though she saw her friend achieving what she was dreaming of, she kept trying to support her and smile to her but it was the betray that she felt after seeing Woo-Hee and Yoon-Woo together that broke the last hope she had, she wished to be her so badly that she stole her name after all this years. My two favorite scenes of Han Hyo Joo in this movie were that scene when she was trying to sing Heart of Joseon like Woo-Hee while listening to the record and crying, the second is the scene at the end when she finally heard someone praises her song ‘love lies’ and said 'Why didn't I know... How great it was... Why didn't I know then?'.
_Music 10: Beautiful songs and I think what gave them more value is that they were singed by the cast Han Hyo Joo and Chun Woo Hee, I gived it 10 because I listened to ‘Heart of Joseon’ uncounted times.
_Rewatch value 9: This is my second time watching the movie after I forgot a lot of it over the years, I enjoyed it almost like the first time maybe even more.
_ Overall 10: It’s not easy for me to find a Korean movie that match my taste like that. A masterpiece.
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NOT extraordinary, not awful
I hesitated about watching this drama for a long time, in the end it was neither as good as I hoped it would be nor as bad as it could have been.One of the biggest problems I have with Extraordinary Attorney Woo is the way it infantilises and fantasises autism. I have no problem with the presentation of an autistic person who has an idiosyncratic speaking style, but the presentation of attorney Woo's speech is that it seems designed to be cutesy, and that was to be a problem with the entire presentation of her autism.
I cut the drama some slack for that because I know that Korea is an extremely ableist society. It demonises the different, and it may well be that the drama decided to present the attorney as a cute overgrown infant at least in part in order to overcome the deeply ingrained antipathy toward the different in Korea's extremely homogenous society. Nevertheless, it got very wearing. The intent may have been noble, but the effect it was, for me, counter-productive. Presenting her as “a genius fairy” was demeaning, and even her display of the characteristics of her autism was inconsistent.
Similarly I am fine with the idea that attorney Woo has cetaceans as her special interest. One of my best friends is on the spectrum and his special interest is Koine Greek grammar – his brother, further on the spectrum, has superhero comics as his special interest. Both display the same sort of devotion to their interest she does to cetaceans.
But again the presentation of her special interest was infantile and fantasised. Not in the fact that she always wanted to talk about them, that would be normal, but the whole fantasy element of her "Eureka!" Moments involving various cetaceans floating through a field of vision was disappointing for me. Disappointing because it suggested again that she somehow lived in a fantasy world , not like a normal human being .
That fantasy world was also evident in many of the cases. One of the worst examples was in episode nine, involving the "kidnapping" of the children from the Academy bus. Like the kidnapper, I find the whole concept of forcing children to effectively spend 16 to 18 hours a day in some form of schoolwork repugnant. Nevertheless, it is legal in Korea and the extent to which that episode relied on "jury nullification" and sheer feel good fantasy was disappointing.
The wide range of cases covered was a positive highlight, bringing attention to lots of serious issues that are seldom featured in K Dramas. Much of the dialogue when serious was also well thought out, and if it does anything at all to prompt some to consider neurodivergent people in a new light, that’s great. Park Eun Bin did a good job of portraying the character she was given, even if that character was in the end profoundly unsatisfying for me.
So in the end, I give this 6.5/10 – 0 points for its depiction of autism, 6.5 for its highlighting the issue OF autism, and for the often quite exceptionally relevant and well thought-out social issues covered in the cases of each episode
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