This movie was like watching a car crash in slow motion. You know it’s going to be bad, and yet you can’t seem to look away. It was one of those stories that there are no characters to route for, as everyone is horrible and severely flawed in their own way. Throughout, you keep hoping that someone will grow and develop but that never really happens. In the end you are left watching the credit screen think, “What the heck did I just watch?!?!?”
However, throughout, I must commend all the actors’ performances, which were extremely well done especially given such dark material. In addition, the soundtrack was fitting and enhanced the mood without detracting from the subtle and slow melodramatic pace and way of storytelling.
Overall, worth a watch if you want a more mature, VERY twisted melodrama. Or to see Lee Won Keun’s butt. Whichever.
Happy Drama Watching.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A story of what if, chance, hope, and belief
In this story there are nods to Shakeapeare and Greek tragedies - if you enjoy those types of plays then you'd enjoy this.There IS a romance here, but it's old school. Lingering glances, touches, unsaid words and comfort. Tons, and tons of it. The show is very ASMR-y with its presence. Up until the last 5 episodes. That's when everything has been building meets the peak and the outcome of actions comes back to haunt people.
One could say this is a tragedy, a tragedy of love, a tragedy of 'what if' 'should I have', 'did I love enough' etc. But, the beautiful thing is the woman who thought of others instead of herself, broken, but given a chance to heal and fall in love again. A man who also thought of others, worked eight years with nothing but hope in his heart and regret, fell in love with someone who gave him that hope learned to heal.
That to me is the purest kind of love.
Was this review helpful to you?
1The Yakuza was not mafiaing enough.
Instead of making the female lead less bland as the drama progressed, they decided to make the drama itself more bland to match her vibe. Why? No one knows.If you want to watch it for mafia romance? Don’t bother. Bad guy turned good for female lead? Don’t bother. High stakes and thrills? Don’t bother. I feel like what the show initially presents and what it actually delivers is completely different.
The mafia plot, even though central to the story, somehow barely exists and feels like it lacks impact. It’s the “good mafia” if you know what I mean. I did enjoy how puppy-like Odagiri Ren was towards the female lead, but when faced with danger and trash people, I wish he was more… mafia like. Otherwise, why is the yakuza even part of the plot?
I enjoyed Sugawara Makoto as a character at first, because I expected well delivered character development. And no, I don’t need her to become a confident extrovert, but girl needs to grow a backbone and learn some assertive skills. At the end of the day, she always had to be saved and could not deal with anything alone.
While the chemistry between them was great, it was the best when they were not kissing. Yet again - my man you are almost 40, playing a character who is probably in his mid 30’ - what is that fish kiss? What is this k-bl from the early 2010s? He is supposed to be madly in love with her, so why does it feel like they don’t really want to kiss each other?
Performances were decent. I think it’s hard for me to judge since for me the characters were weirdly written - a bit too juvenile for the age and circumstances they were in.
At the end of the day, the Yakuza aspect ruined the experience for me, because I kept expecting something else, something more. If it was just an office show with forced co-habitation, I’d probably rate it higher. Adjust your expectations and it might actually be a decent watch.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
'If you could freeze time and you weren't dying, what would you do?'This was a very subtle, yet, in my opinion, a most important central piece for this movie.
The story of the movie isn't innovative in any way, it has a predictable central plot, but it brings some unique surprises while it reaches its ending.
I wouldn't have loved it so much if the story didn't twist so interestingly towards the last half an hour. I would have just thought that the movie was nice, but yet another typical, self-sacrificing love from one of the leads towards the other's happiness. And if it were so, then Sweet November would have been the more plausible story for me... but it turned out that the story was beyond that and it made me give this movie a special place in my heart.
Now, what really made this movie such a big hit for me were the actors... I mean, oh my God, the acting was among the best I've experienced, I was absolutely sucked in and I absolutely lived their pain, love and happiness alongside the two. Seldom do I fall in love with both male and female leads in a movie, so allow me to be excited :).
Time to go deeper into the movie!
I have to say that I really enjoyed how the story had, along the line of the plot, scattered interesting visual images that would fixate into my mind and give new meaning to the movie:
The numbers that would suddenly appear before his eyes every time he would waver as to giving up his love, to further enforce that time was running out for him were very interesting, especially when his career goes on the line for him excessively playing Cat Girl's song and his boss threatening his job, the shirt with 88 written on it suddenly popped before his eyes in order to assure him he was doing the right thing.
Also, when she returns from her date a little drunk and she sneaks in his bed, he feels really comfortable, but he gets up an leaves her after he sees 20x on the little pin-board next to his bed, reminding him of his days left.
Another nice image was that of him letting time pass again in the photo studio, when he decides to start on of the clocks, that is the moment when he knows time cannot stop and his love won't find fulfillment.
The cactus he chose as a gift for her is quite unique in its symbolism also: that species of gymnocalicium is a hybrid cactus, the colored top has no chlorophyll, so it needs to be put on top of another cactus, a green one, in order to get food and survive. That is, for me, the nature of their relationship, a symbioses, where one cannot survive without the other, neither can it let any ham come to the other, as the pain would be felt by them both.
Shall I answer the question from the beginning of my review? It's not a spoiler per say, but it will reveal, if you think hard about it, the ending of the movie, so I'd advise you to stop reading, if you don't want to get a glimpse of how the story id finished.
*** When time freezes, they could reveal the storm of feelings that boils in their hearts... Only when time freezes and everyone around them stops, will they be free to love one another, just like to birds flying towards the sky ***
Hope you enjoyed my review, have a great time watching the movie !
P.S.: Did anyone else got creeped out by the doctor after you saw in the ending he was a bit of a stalker?
Was this review helpful to you?
Positive:
First of all I have to say that I never go over 25 episodes per drama, cause I get bored, however I saw the whole 62 episodes. If you love fantasy story lines this drama is for you, cause it has all kinds of fantastic creatures. The music was awesome, how they recreate the costumes is awesome, the guy that created the lord of the rings environmental houses and all is here so everything to the last plate is pretty and the colors of the drama are awesome. I have to say I like the first 45 episodes of the drama a lot..later well...then we go to the negatives.
Many love stories
Many fight scenes! I love fight scenes.
All the cast is amazingly pretty/handsome (shallow I know but very nice to see lol)
Neutral: some people say the effects look very fake, but if you grew up in the eighties like me, u will be just fine, I personally don't care for the effects if the rest is good, so in this aspect I have no good or bad reviews.
Negatives:
How can I say tell you the negatives without spoiling the drama...let me think. I will just say that this:
Don't get too attached to any of the characters or to any love story line. If you are going to watch it just because you wanna see your ships sailing, this is not the drama for you. It has romance, yes , a lot, but again don't get attached to any of them or the "couples".
I think for me is a negative thing that the drama followed the original book so well,because I didn't like the end.
Overall: I have a love-hate feelings about this drama, I love what I said in the positives and my numeric rating is base only in the positives because overall I think is a good drama if you love fantasy, fight scenes, kingdoms, pretty costumes elf looking and very, very pretty characters. But my hate feelings come when what I expected didn't happen and because of the end, that's all I can say without spoiling anything.
Was this review helpful to you?
But after a while the drama started to drag on. I dealt with it because it wasn't as bad as other dramas and continued to watch. And after a few episodes the cliffhangers started to repeat themselves and were very predictable.
The ending...oh god i don't know where to begin. This drama had the potential of having a very good ending, but obviously the Hong sisters didn't know what they were doing and I have never seen an ending so bad. i had big hopes for this drama and was let down big time.
Was this review helpful to you?
Unlike its counterparts in other countries, most of the Korean queer films, in my opinions, have always been dark and gloomy, but at the same time they try to reflect the reality of gays living in Korean society. This film is one of the greatest I ever watched in terms of queer films.
This film is not an exception. The overall mood is gloomy, dark, and painful. However, at the same time, Director Lee-Song Hee Il magically depicts passion and warm, heart-beating romance at the same time. I don't know why Director Lee-Song's films are mostly dark and gloomy. Maybe he thinks it is so in Korea, which I agree but don't like much.
This film is about a story that occurs in one night. But that occurrence leaves a deep impression and love in each other's heart. If you are meant to meet someone, when and how doesn't matter.
The story is so good, touching your heart soon and acting is great. The emotions of the actors are delicate and abundant. I watched this film in Korean version, so I dont know if the English translation is good or not. Maybe you cannot get the exact impression that I got if watching it with English subtitle.
I strongly recommend you to watch this film! You won't regret it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Very sweet, but too slow.
So, I loved the fact that couples were not messed with or manipulated by jealous, bitchy females. I hate that trope and it's far too common these days.This show is cute, sweet and fluffy but excessively slow. There are issues, but they resolve quickly. Most of the issues wouldn't even be blips on the radar of other characters in other shows, which just proves how desperate they were to keep this very soft.
There is minimal character development, growth or change but at least they are good at sharing emotions and hopefully the audience looks at their own lives to find happiness like the characters did.
I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. I did really enjoy certain parts and then was quite bored with others. It was a give and take in that regard. However, if you're looking for a fast, easy watch with little investment then this is perfect.
Was this review helpful to you?
Rin was a good female protagonist, had great sense and presence. From beginning to end I admired her and, to be sincere, if I ever come to marry I hope I'll be able to be at least 30% of the wife she was. Even when the female rival plotted against her and Saran's wedding, she always acted accordingly with elegance. It's hard to find a main character like her in dramaland in general, so I was really surprised to find one in a lakorn of all things.
I think some of that also applies to Saran. From the moment he started opening up to Rin (what happened really early, another good surprise) he was really sweet. The only thing about him that made me a little mad was that he was too gentle for his own good at times. His first love didn't deserve 1% of his consideration towards her... That bitch really irritated me.
Now, besides the usual bitch character that is always present in any romance drama there is, the only other thing that I must complain about was the "White Tiger" and his magic thing. For me, that part of the lakorn was totally unnecessary and what would cause me distress if I ever were to recommend this to someone who isn't really into dramas and lakorns in special. Watching that part made me extremely silly, I wasn't even believing what I was watching at times and every time someone would enter my room I would simply stop watching out of embarrassment. I mean, really... Magic powers and all that in that kind of setting was horrible. This wasn't supposed to be a fantasy drama!!
The OST didn't really stand out to me. I would rewatch this only to see Saran's and Rin's beautiful relationship develop again. I just wish there were more kisses on the mouth instead of kisses on the forehead (which was seriously over used... I mean, there was this one episode where I counted at least five of them!!!)
Was this review helpful to you?
The story was different than what I usually watched, so it grabbed my attention right away. The whole girl disguises herself as a guy has been done quite a few times, but I don't recall any where there are a bunch of flower boys painting nails for a living. However, the whole gumiho concept just didn't do it for me. It was introduced and carried along through the first like 3 episodes. After that, it just became irrelevant. And then out of no where, it shows up again in the very last episode. Not acceptable. Sorry, but NO. Also, I found myself drawing further and further away from the main couple. I found the love story between Jin and Ji Soo much more interesting and cute. I was more worried about them than I was for Bunny, Kay, and Alex. They are now officially my favorite side couple! (\(^-^)/) They are the only reason my rating is a 6. without them, it would've been a 4.
As for the acting, it wasn't horrible, but... it wasn't all that great either. I feel like there were only a few of the actors that portrayed their roles well. That would have to be (in my opinion. no hating) Kay, Jin, and Ji Soo. They may have not been excellent, but it was much better than the others. The others' acting was good at times, and was just a ship wreck the rest of the time. But they tried; I'll give them credit for that.
The music was nice. There was a song or two that I didn't really like and some that I thought were over played, but overall, the music was good.
I highly doubt I would re-watch this. Maybe if I was pointed a gun at my head or if I literally have nothing else to watch besides this (pretty much impossible).
All in all, it wasn't anything special like I expected it to be. If you want to watch a cross-dressing, fantasy, confusing, rushed ending, short drama, then maybe you'll like this. If not, then turn away and look for another drama. Hope I didn't spoil anything. If I did, I'm really sorry. Bye!
Was this review helpful to you?
Masterpiece
This drama is definitely a masterpiece..( I don't understand the excessive negativity surrounding this drama) . The story was amazing. It kept me on the edge throughout . The drama had a lot of suspense elements and heartwarming moments which the writer has portrayed beautifully.. The production and direction of this drama was perfect. The actors did such an amazing job. The duality of certain characters were beautifully portrayed by the actors.. You couldn't have asked for a better cast.. The effortless passionate chemistry between them was unbelievable.. Lee minho as the king was so on point. The poise and the grace with which he carried the role was such a treat to watch. Kim go eun was so natural .. She blended into her character so well (no wonder she is one of the best actresses)Woo Do hwan is such an underrated actor. His acting range never ceases to surprise me. Kim Kyung-nam is another such gem. His expressive eyes alone spoke volumes.. Jung Eun-chae and Lee Jung-jin were also great. Their mere presence in a scene itself would change the atmosphere. They definitely had the right vibe for this drama. Together the entire cast created a beautiful synergy.
The ost were so beautiful and emotive(Hwasa's voice was so powerful and perfect for this drama)
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This is one of my favorite dramas. This drama just my 2020-2021. I don't usually watch historical dramas and when I do it is usually something that has to do with present days like this drama. I really liked how the main character switched to the Josean which made it even more funnier. The characters where very funny and I loved all of them a lot. I didn't expect so much romance, but I love how the King started to like the Queen. My favorite parts were when the Queen just roasted everyone and proved to all of them that she is greater than them. I really liked the ending, which in some dramas I don't always like them. It would be pretty cool if they showed the baby at the end. I was happy that both Jang Bong Hwan and the queen had a good ending. It was so weird to see the present days because I was so used to seeing the palace. Was this review helpful to you?
A complicated poem saved by the bell
Choi Yu Jin fled to America after his slave parents were murdered. Due to the harsh treatment which he endured for being a slave in the Joseon period, Eugene feels no love or kinship towards Joseon. In America, he is known as Eugene Choi and has climbed his way up to be a distinguished figure by joining the American military. Several years later, he is stationed in Joseon during an American expedition. There he meets a noblewoman Ae Shin who by day seems to be a quiet lady but by night she's running across rooftops with her sniper rifle, secretly fighting for Joseon's independence. He falls for her but he isn't alone as she is also loved by her joyful quirky fiancee Hee Sung and a yakuza Dong Mae whose heart is a black box. Neither of them is really sure if the other is a friend or foe. This makes three relationships that look like they can never be: Ae Shin and Eugene, Ae Shin and Dong Mae, Ae Shin, and Hee Sung. This is not a love square but a love pentagram because there is also a mysterious hotel owner Kudo Hina who is also a fencing master. So there is lots of love but no one's really happy, yes it's very sad.A few things that draw me into this drama are first, I know this is a show of quality and I'm gonna enjoy it. There is an artistic flavor to how every scene is set up and shots from the color grading to the music to the overall backdrop are very breathtaking. However, it's not glamorizing life, for every gorgeous breathtaking sunset there's a brutal portrayal of war and violence and death and these scenes are visually engrossing. Second, it was deeply rooted in real important history and also it is set in the early 1900s which doesn't feel that long ago, there was real political scheming in this drama that still left an impact on today's society.
The five leads came from multiple cultures but don’t really belong anywhere, their stories are so full of heart and their arcs are so noble. I think a lot of diaspora like me can relate to Eugene as a character who doesn't belong to either Joseon or America, he's in this gray area. He is a very nuanced character and he holds the whole drama together. Even though he's happy being accepted by the American, as the show progresses he becomes more and more interested in the Korean culture and he wants to find his roots. I just love that his one bullet was used with such wisdom and just such grand effect. Ae Shin is a very compelling character, I love Kim Tae Ri played this role with such unbelievable complexity and nuance that I want to watch her and everything that she does: she gets a lot across with simple looks and she also has an extremely royal noble way about her presence. Kudo Hina, the hotel owner is truly one of the best most complicated female characters and the script took her exactly where I wanted it to.
I absolutely loved the iconic Dong Mae with the double swords at his hip and his sweaty hair, open chest, and half ponytail. Simply Yoo Yeon Seok acting was amazing as the dark and tragic Dong Mae. Hee Sung is such a man with tremendous growth, he goes from this total privilege boy to a guy running an underground newspaper to spurn on the resistance and I was so proud of him at the end. I really loved when he realizes his fiancee is not going to be with him and he respects it, he still loves her but he is respectful. His character was so well written and played so amazingly by Byun Yo Han.
However, I didn't enjoy a significant chunk of my watching experience as the story goes on because this show is very heavy with political maneuvering. It's really taking 20 episodes' time to set up and I got bored but I keep watching for the main characters. Also, there are a lot of different languages being spoken there's Korean, Japanese and then there's American English with a very weird accent. I'm very sensitive to dislike English-spoken very weirdly in Korean dramas. It feels like they're trying to over-pronounce things correctly. These elements dominate the screen time and are really too dry to watch. It is so unfortunate because there are a lot of actions with gunfights and fist fights within each episode and when they do action, these scenes are so well-choreograph almost perfection! I wish there had been a bit more action and bromance moments.
This drama has a fantastic and unlikely bromance between Eugene, Dong Mae, and Hee Sung at its core. Whenever they were on screen together, they made me so happy because they blurted out humor and heart to the drama. I was not expecting these three weird trio were going to be so beloved and it was definitely the highlight of the drama for me. Without giving any spoilers, the finale is an absolute masterpiece, which is really impactful! I dropped my heart because it just gave such cathartic blows. It feels like I was being rewarded for all the time I sit through and overcome the frustrations I had in the first 20 episodes. Thus, my overall impression is actually really positive as time goes by. I'm glad I watched it and the way it impacted me when it's done makes me feel like I came out a better person. If I can divide my enjoyment value, I would give up 1-20 a 7 and ep 21 - 24 a 10.
Was this review helpful to you?
Drama Special Series Season 1: White Christmas
25 people found this review helpful
White Christmas' main themes are very similar to the masterpiece by Agatha Christie that was written over seven decades ago. What happens to the people in extreme fear when they can trust no one but themselves and they can't escape the danger they are confronting? Each of them reacts to the situation in their own way and various different social bonds are formed. But while "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie is clearly a detective story where the reader is fooled until the very end, White Christmas offers us rather clear hints throughout the series. I would say that in the end White Christmas' best offering for the viewers was not the mysterious guessing game but the psychological themes it dealt with.
The characters of the story were very well written. They had realistic background stories, as well as the personalities they had formed until now. The most interesting was to watch how they all would develop in the journey of eight episodes. None of them was entirely good or bad, and everyone of them had to deal with their own problems, their own values and their own emotions, and to answer the main question of the drama: "Are monsters born or created?"
Besides the great plot and characters, the production of the drama was done very well. The drama was very artistry - but not in a way that it would look forced or unnatural. The set was very simple but in the same time even more stunning. In the end you don't need some fancy effects if you know how to film: the talented use of the angles, light etc. The silent scenes with stunning views and some well-thought music, and you have everything you need for a very emotional scene. And not only was it just nice to watch - the talented production made the atmosphere very eerie and stagnant, something to get you completely absorbed into the story. I also liked the fact how the characters' uniqueness was emphasized by the way they were filmed - all in their own way.
-------
The above was my main thoughts after watching the the whole drama in one day (night, woops :D) - I will discuss more of the cast, music, story etc. below! :)
Story - The story was in the end pretty unpredictable although that viewers were given pretty clear hints about the mysteries in the drama throughout the series. Altogether White Christmas is a fresh and unique drama among the sometimes very cliched dramaworld. The greatest pros in this drama were the deep, well-thought characters and the many thoughts it offered to the its viewers in every single episode. Some illogical gaps though made me reduce half of a point in this section.
Acting/Cast - I have nothing bad to say about the cast or the acting. Although there were many rookie actors (e.g. Kim Woo Bin, Sung Joon) I never felt that they were actually "acting" - was it then the direction of the drama or the well-written characters, I really got into it and felt more like they were real characters rather than just normal people behind the characters they were trying to create.
Music - This soundtrack didn't have songs of its own but it borrowed many famous and also not-so famous songs from around the world. Majority of the songs were Western songs, varying from pop to alternative rock and ballads. But who could have imagined that Vivaldi's Nisi Dominus would actually be so creepy?
Rewatch value - Although I love thrillers, the series always suffer from it as well. As you know what's going to happen in the second time when you're watching the series, it doesn't really feel exactly same anymore. That's why you should always cherish the moment when you watch a drama for the first time. (:D) But with great production quality and the many thoughts that the drama offered, I think that it would still be pretty enjoyable when it is watched for the second time! (And I'm sure that I'm going to watch it for the second time for sure! ^^)
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
