Reviews

Perfect match <3

I love how Weir acts as a gentleman in this lakorn, it makes me fall for him even more <3 This is the first time Weir and Thisa act together, and I can say their chemistry is off the charts!! The last episode really shows it. Aside from the main characters, the side characters are also well portrayed.

I really love the pace of this lakorn...it's a slow-burn romance, and I enjoyed most of the romantic scenes. However, I do think their moments in the island are much stronger.

The musics are great, they have good melodies and I like them.

Overall, I think this is a great lakorn considering that I usually watch revenge/ slap and kiss lakorns. It has a good production value and fantastic island scenes as well.

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Better Sorry Than Safe

First of all, this season is a standalone without the need to watch the first one. The cast is completely different and any past references don't really affect the storyline in any way.

As for the series itself, it actually started on the right foot with an interesting setup. The writing was careful and the characters promising, but after a point the narrative wasn't handled well and felt inconsistent. Storylines were introduced to either not commit to them or get overlooked in favour of cute or hot moments between the established pairings, instead of exploring the inner conflicts of each character that would build the drama and flesh them out both individually and as couples, resulting to incomplete characterization and a lukewarm payoff. The sole exception was Dean, who was the most multilayered and authentic character. The show delved deep into both his good and bad traits, making him feel more human and ultimately the easiest to connect with.

Acting-wise, the series was very good. The cast was consisted of talented actors that delivered their roles as best as they could, but I will give a little more credit to Mix, who managed to shine in so many ways with his performance and delivered some really beautiful and demanding scenes throughout the series.

Musically, I generally liked the song choices, but they were either a hit or miss and that affected the vibe of some scenes in a negative way.

Overall, I recommend this series to those who weren't fans of the stressful aspect of the first season, since this one is much milder in comparison. I'd also recommend it to fans of the first season if they are interested in watching something different. This season follows a different writing logic and has its own style, but it's still enjoyable enough to be worth giving a chance.

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It's a shame that some people didn't pay attention

I actually put off watching this series for so long because I read countless reviews on how the story is overwhelming and confusing... To those people I have to say: did y'all pay attention? There are even multiple scenes where characters are going through the "heart stopper" moment (using this phrase to avoid too many spoilers, but you should understand if you've seen it) and the voice-over of the doctor explains that they are going through the "4 minutes" where they go back in their memories to correct or retry scenes of their lives... It all became clear to me in that one moment with the MC and his mom that we shouldn't trust what we saw in the episodes prior. Then what came after was the real deal, what our "4 minute version" saw flashes of each line a minute passed. It was all so well thought out and planned, I'm definitely going to rewatch to see what I might've missed the first time around.

Now, the concept itself wasn't confusing... But I think the pacing and amount of characters are a bit of an issue. I don't mind being tricked as an audience, I know that was a critic for some other people, but for 8 1-hour episodes, I think a smaller cast would've tightened up the plot. That or they could've given us a couple more episodes so we can fully sit with each person or side-plot. I say this because, personally, I hate when the whole plot unfolds at the end. There were so many characters that we didn't see that miraculously appear to explain the history of the company and other aspects... we could've at least met these folks (specifically the MAIN ANTAGONIST) briefly in the beginning or something if we didn't spend so much time with the brother who ends up being so irrelevant in the grande scheme of everything? Which I thought was hella strange??? Idk. The plot leaves a little to be desired, but idk why everyone hates the ending so much?

TL;DR Could've been better, but it's not a terrible series by any margin. Deserves everyone to give it a fair chance, you won't love all the decisions but it's still fun and interesting and made me pause to theorize many times! That's a good thing I think.

Those are my thoughts :)

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Oh, what can I say about this movie! It had so many elements to it that made it so wonderful. It was very heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. It really gives a nice view on what family can really mean and people who have hard lives. Even though some would say that the storyline is not something very possible, it is. I've had people in my lifetime that I know go through similar situations as Jae Soo and his Mom, so it really made me feel somewhat attached to this movie and imprinted it in my mind. Although... I would have loved for it to have a different ending... I think if the movie didn't have the ending it did, then the movie would not quite be what it is and it wouldn't have the same meaning.

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Be careful when you comment on the internet

In only five episodes, this series managed to touch upon cyber bullying, which is a very sensitive topic, in a very delicate and realistic way. The series focuses on Papang, a top student, who is famous in her school, especially through her social media account. One day Papang takes her own life and the series portrays the happenings that led her to that decision.
The Comments deal with the impact that social media have on our lives and how our false social media persona can devour our true selves. The series is a social commentary, about the things that people post online with the sole purpose of judging another human being, without thinking or caring about the consequences. It also deals with the hate comments that celebrities receive and how much they can affect them. The acting is really good throughout the series and I would recommend it to anyone interested in this subject. However, it is not that easy to watch, especially the last episode, so take this into consideration. I liked the fact that I was able to read the comments that the viewers made, while watching the series on YouTube. In that way it is even more impactful, because even though the characters are fictional, the situation was very realistic and the comments were concerning to say the least.
What I loved most about the series, is how the character of Papang is depicted. She is not just the victim of cyber bullying and she is not there to play that role. Papang made some selfish decisions, humiliated her friends and she definitely wasn't the most likable character ever. She was inconsiderate about her friends and maybe if she acted in another way, everything would have turned out differently. However, Papang was also a human being with her own feelings and she didn't deserve the hateful comments she got, no matter how she acted. She didn't deserve to lose her life like that and she definitely didn't deserve to feel that hopeless. This series is about the complexity of human emotions that can lead people to extreme actions. The moral is that social media can be used in a harmful, but also in a helpful way. There is always a choice and in the end it is our own decision if we will use them to hurt or help others.

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Don't give up after the first Eps, it gets better!

1. Story
First of all, I'm really into business dramas and I don't mind business talk at all - I have alredy read that there was going to be a whole lot of business in the storyline, yet I need to say that still I was surprised about how much it actually made up of the story. I almost dropped it after Ep.4 - but I didn't, which was definitely a good choice!!!
I really enjoyed the story behind though, but some cases were way too draggy, for example the very first one with Wan JiaHe, which didn't need to take up that many Eps as it did. But all in all, the storyline develops very well, expecially in the second half (!!).
I've read reviews where people found the love story between the first lead couple too much of "back and forth", but to me, honestly, it didn't feel that way. Yes, there COULD'VE been less of it, but nothing relly felt like it was forced to me, and regarding the fact that this drama has 40 Eps, the "back and forth"s were needed to keep the story going.

2. Characters
Well, finally a drama where I enjoyed every female character! No clumsy, childish characters - instead we got smart, strong and independent women - not only the first and second lead (Lin Wo & Alisa), but also Sun Miao and even Zheng WanYing (though she was indeed getting a lot on my nerves in the first half haha).
What also surprised me in a good way was the second lead couple: They were not "only" supporting roles, but each had their own stories - really nice to watch! And I loooved Su Yuan, he developed to such a nice character and became really enjoyable to watch :)
Also a big praise to the stylists! I loved the outfits, especially Lin Wo's business outfits, and needless to talk about Hu YiTian in suits.. ;)

3. Acting & Cast
To me, the first lead couple didn't miss any chemistry, besides they look really well together.
I am really impressed with Qiao Xin's (Lin Wo's) crying scenes, they looked very real to me - except some scenes around the end where it was a bit too much for me - but I could get the emotions she was trying to portray.

The music was nothing special to me, but it did what it should and matched the scenes very well.

All in all, a drama worth watching if you don't mind too much business! Personally, the second half was way better than the first, so I'd recommend everyone to just "bear" some scenes in order to get to the more interesting parts!
The story is indeed a more mature one, the drama contains some dark scenes, facing such topics like suicide and family problems; the love story of the first leads is also more mature (which was definitely pretty enjoyable to me!).
( Little plus: Lots of slap scenes of Gao Shan (Hu YiTian), really entertaining to watch.. I love him tho lol)

-- very small spoiler --
.. aaand last: Yes, I get why everyone is hating so hard on Bei XiaoRong, but honestly.. Wasn't it already pretty obvious that he is not gonna win over Gao Shan? :) So why not lean back and enjoy some more drama in the making..? ;))

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It was fun , emotional and I enjoyed it

OH MY SHAYLA !!! MOON YANG 🥀 ( movie leans more towards friendship than romance.)

Pretty Crazy is fun, lighthearted

-The focus wasn’t heavy on romance; it was more about the fun moments and the unique emotional connection with the demon side of Seon Ji.
-I felt he has a crush on seon ji but I don't think they really had many conversation that would lead to deep feelings,, It was more of an admiration towards each other
-If you’re expecting a deep romance, you won’t really find it here .. the story leans more on chaos and comedy.( emotional depth is also there )
- I did feel bad for the demon inside her,, she was so innocent ..
-Nevertheless That said, it isn’t flawless... Also, while I really enjoyed the first watch, I don’t think the rewatch value is very high once you know the secret and the ending, the charm doesn’t hit as hard ( but ofc people can have diff likings )

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This was so brilliant I wanted more

3 short stories, each tackling various different issues (which I won't disclose), each of which were brilliant. It was like art, you got to watch it to understand it and appreciate it.

What makes this a must watch:

- Brilliant acting
- Great use of music at high points (and lack of)
- Brilliant writing - both dialogue and script (it was both natural and yet at the same time, so intriguing.. like the ideas the show tackled blew my mind. How did the writer think of those and how they executed it.. so so brilliant)
- Great execution; this could not have been pulled off without great direction and screenplay. An example would be the way his supernatural power was depicted with the different sized books and detailing in the books

I love the little details like how the ML wore the same clothes throughout.. I don't know how to explain it but it gave this feel of intimacy - like how we were watching his world through his mind the way he read others' minds.

I wanted each story / concept to be explored more but I guess the shortness also added to the charm? It's like the show was teasing you with these concepts and giving you the bare minimum, then leaving that with you to ponder on...

The only thing I would say that this drama really lacked was exploring the ML's eccentricity. We got to know him through the stories but I wish we saw more of what made him the way he was, the kind of mangas he wrote, and why he was so recluse..

I hope we'll get a 2nd season? Or the writer deciding to make more of such short stories because the show definitely deserved more time and has so much more to tell.

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This actually started out amazing. The story was very interesting, though not scary, and it quickly became clear who the main characters were up against. By the time that Jin Hee was kidnapped, the drama went downhill really fast, to the point that I didn't want to watch the rest of the episodes and was not curious about the ending at all. Jin Hee and her husband don't act like a married couple, but more like distant acquaintances who just happen to share an apartment. He wasn't losing his mind when he heard that his wife was kidnapped.
The kidnappers had been doing this whole kidnap-beat-kill routine for a while, but they magically forgot to take away Jin Hee's bag which contained her cell-phone with the tracking app. That was so outrageous that it just put me off everything. The kidnappers kill everyone they kidnap but they let the private investigator go for some reason?? And didn't anticipate that he'd go and rat them out to the police?
Shaman Jin Kyung went down very easily, for a powerful shaman. The whole crumpled, twisted body thing was creepy the first time but it just made me bored the second time. Sung Dong Il did a good job in the first half of the show, but somehow I just couldn't continue to see him as an evil guy towards the end. And what is up with that end? All that So Jin can do is curse and kill folk, so how the heck did she manage to somehow unite the Inugami in her own body and drag it out of the Forest app? I don't even know what happened in the last episode and I am not the least bit curious.
I also wonder how Chairman could kill people after looking at their picture once, but he didn't do it immediately with So Jin? Why does he lose his energy when he does it? how come his power is different from So Jin's?
Too many potholes and such a lost potential. The acting was good though.

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Having been wow-ed by Ken Theeradeth in 'Neung Nai Suang (2005)' despite not liking the overall plot-premise of the show, I went on a Ken Theeradeth hunting spree and chose to settle for the non-slap/kiss romantic comedy that is 'Oum Rak'. Fantastic choice!

STORY (No spoilers)
In the 'Fated To Love You' style cliche of having main leads being thrown together through an intoxicated 'one-night-stand' which leads to pregnancy and all the resulting drama that comes with two unprepared parents-to-be, this show can be quite dramatically funny with occasional touches of poignancy.

There were comedic situations for our main leads but that was mainly during the first one-third of the show. The remaining two-thirds were surprisingly rather grounded and warmly heart-tugging as our main leads settled into an agreement to see through the pregnancy process together. This show is more involved in showing viewers the changes and stages a mother goes through during a pregnancy, more than any other show I've seen which involves this trope. I don't know about you, but this was really one of the best parts of the drama, for me.

I absolutely loved seeing how Rachen (Chen) quickly stuck right in and transformed from being an impulsive man-child into a dedicated, caring and responsible man through it all. He embodied your modern metrosexual man in that he not only didn't mind, but actually wanted to know all about what a woman goes through during pregnancy. He took pains to read, learn and get as involved in the process as he possibly could, and nothing was too squeamish or personal for him - from breast pains to morning sickness to foot massages and ante-natal classes. This guy is just such a precious sweetheart from start to finish!

On the other side though, you have the aggressive and hot-tempered Napat's detached and annoyed reaction at the whole pregnancy thing. She didn't want the baby, knew it would hamper her modelling and acting career, and she behaved exactly as someone who didn't want to get pregnant but had little choice but to suck it up and see the whole thing through - ill-tempered, quarrelsome, reckless and uncaring.

The difference in attitudes and in the characters between the would-be parents, and to have the male/ father being by far the more dedicated one of the pair, is a surprising but interesting twist to your average pregnancy trope. I liked this change in dynamic and I loved how this show so excellently depicts it. I'm glad to say that Napat eventually grows more emotionally engaged as her pregnancy advances, and with that comes another change in the relationship dynamic, which was another compelling watch.

What I thought was another good thing about this show is that a lot of the emotional heft and moments come from the agreement and arrangement which the main leads have settled amongst themselves. What was thought of as a good and suitable arrangement slowly grew fangs and they were gradually feeling the bite of it as time passed. For me, some of the best emotional moments in the show was when both leads were individually feeling that bite themselves. How nice is it that bulk of the conflict and issue within the drama was one of the main leads' own making, rather than a third-party interference?

And on that note, yes, of course this is a tv drama, so you will always have interfering third-parties, but for me, their interference was really of the pot-stirring kind, rather than the bomb-chucking sort. There were no real villains here - just interested parties trying to stir up an already rather finely-balanced situation. But those pot-stirrings didn't really last that long (another great thing about this show). The main leads generally know where their priorities should be and they are rather good at keeping their focus on the right ball. Seriously, how many shows are like this? Love it!

We do have a couple of other side stories running alongside the main couple. Both are secondary couples also trying to have a baby and finding it a lot harder than our main couple (who basically just hit the jackpot in one sitting). Both couples have very different dynamics in dealing with this, and I also liked seeing this difference. One is there for comic relief/ humour, while the other is more heart-wrenching. I thought both were lovely complements to the main coupling, even if the comedic couple were often a bit over-board in their characterisations.


ACTING/ CAST
The supporting cast and the secondary couplings were generally solid. Aside from the two second leads who were pretty one-note i.e. Mark (who is interested in Napat) and Jasmine (who is interested in Rachen), the other supporting characters and secondary couples had distinct personalities and motivations which made them more emotionally relatable, at least for me. I particularly liked Rachen's family unit and their portrayal through the show.

JAYME BOOHER as Anna, Napat's best friend (whom I also recognised as playing the rather annoying second lead female in 'Neung Nai Suang'), was great in her portrayal of Napat's BFF. She is what every BFF should be like - entirely supportive through thick and thin from buying pregnancy test kits to arranging doctor visits to lending a listening ear and offering sound advice. She was a huge advocate of Rachen having rights as the baby's father too, and made every effort to keep our main leads together - something I whole-heartedly supported. Her portrayal here is very different from that in 'Neung Nai Suang', but she pulls both off well.

ANNE THONGPRASOM as Napat (Pat). She did not impress me that much in the first few episodes - partially due to her character's arrogant and abrasive personality, and partially due to her looks which were not to my personal taste.
But she grew on me as an actress, especially when her character started to take her pregnancy more seriously and when she also started to reflect on her relationships and her future with her baby. Anne was able to show a lot more range and emotions when the show progressed, which was really wonderful to see. It is not an easy task to show conflicted internal turmoil (the hallmark of any good actor/ actress is whether they can pull this off well, for me), and Anne nailed her scenes here. She was able to show Napat slowly evolve and mature from your selfish and prideful woman into one who has learned to love and to seriously consider how to balance her future of career vs baby. She had her insecurities, hang-ups and doubts too which played a part in her making some of the decisions she chose to make, but there is no denying that her character had evolved through the show, and that Anne was able to show that progression all the way.

KEN THEERADETH as Rachen (Chen). What can I say? I was amazed and impressed by his portrayal of Anawat in 'Neung Nai Suang', and here he plays a very different character in Rachen and he nailed it once again. This guy has officially won me over for his stellar acting prowess and for his charming smile.
Rachen is a very different character from Anawat. While Anawat was in essence a gentleman of his time, Rachen is your modern day cocky and temperamental man. He is impulsive, loud and emotionally driven.
Unlike Anne's Napat, Rachen's emotional outbursts come across more childish than annoyingly offensive, and I think this is something only Ken can pull off. He can make a dislikable character, or dislikable character traits, less dislikable for some reason. I think it is a combination of his looks (yes, being that handsome helps a great deal), and his ability to imbue subtle nuances to his character's looks and actions.

Ken has great expressive ability and this show gives him lots of opportunity to showcase it. There is a lot of playfulness and cheekiness on show here (which is just great because Ken's smiles are so lovely, and his comic expressions hilarious), but there is also plenty of internal doubts and disappointments too. His character's earnestness in wanting to be involved in every aspect of the pregnancy process is also just too adorable and sweet for words.
Best of all, Rachen, like Napat, grows and matures throughout the series and from the man-child he was at the start, he slowly grows to be a man who takes his responsibilities seriously and carries them as best as he possibly can. This evolution was also wonderfully portrayed here.
In short, Ken plays every aspect of Rachen like a maestro and best of all, he makes it all look so effortless and natural.

This is my first time seeing Ken/Anne and I can't deny that Ken's chemistry here with Anne is a lot better than that with Janie in 'Neung Nai Suang'. Perhaps it is also Anne's acting ability (she is head and shoulders above Janie from what I've seen so far) because Anne is able to emote a lot better and so perhaps Ken is able to capitalise on that and also bring out more ability from his side. Or maybe they are really comfortable with each other from the start.
Whatever it is, I can see why they make a great on-screen couple. Their acting is very balanced between them - when one is being over-the-top, the other is equally over-the-top, but when one is being quietly emotional, the other can also be equally quietly emotional. There is a very good and equal balance when they both interact on-screen so both characters develop memorable and individual personalities that play off each other well and none are really completely overshadowed by the other.


MUSIC
I loved the background music and the sound effects on this show. I thought it really added to the tone and mood of each scene, and even though I don't understand Thai and the meaning behind the vocals of the songs, the melody is still a nice scene and mood setter.


RE-WATCH VALUE
Yes, definitely re-watchable, even if it is just for Ken's cute smiles and adorable sweetheart actions. A brilliant romantic comedy - it brings on the laughs but it also brings along the feels. Honestly, it has been a long time since my heart was so emotionally touched during some of the poignant and emotionally-driven scenes, and 'Oum Rak' has now become one of my favourite romantic-comedies.

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I've been watching SO MANY Chinese dramas and knowing the political circumstances they were released in, there's so MUCH political propaganda in them (show examples: Love O2O, GoGo Squid). It doesn't really take away from the watching, but if you don't like that sort of stuff, I don't recommend it. It's ignorable, but as soon as you notice it, it's ALWAYS there.
This show is overall amazing. Fantastic casting- the actors are amazing and I especially like Qu Man Ting. The characters are endearing and they're well developed; the plot was pretty good as well. It was amazing to see Gu Yan Zhen's character development and Li Wen Zhong's growth. Shen Ting Bai's devotion was sweet; this show was filled with amazing and flexible actors as well.
The reason there's a 9.0 on story is because sometimes the characters are so inexorably stupid. They could easily just shoot someone but they have to be a hero and fight them with their hands instead. That's the only problem I have with the show; otherwise, nothing's wrong.

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I don't hand out 10/10 very often. The movie or series I reward with such a high score, has to be a masterpiece in almost every single detail. To this drama I can't give anything but a 10.

The visual work wasn't outstanding in any way. There was no amazing costumes, makeup nor special effects. The musical score was very good, but not fantastic. There is no epic, earth shattering plot.
There was just the story of a guy, of a disease and of life. Just that simple. And just that amazing.

Carried by actors with talent, sincerity and emotional depth. Everyone in the cast made a good job,
even though some of the actors were shining just a little bit more than the others.
Tabe Mikako made a beautiful and tranquil portrait of a strong woman and good performances were given also by Asada Miyoko as her mother and Kazama Shunsuke as the likable Mamoru.
I liked Fukikoshi Mitsuru as the neurologist Dr Tanimoto and found Nomura Shuhei as Takuto's younger brother Rikuto, entertaining and endearing in his role as the socially awkward guy - who very clearly has Aspergers syndrome (even if it's never said outright.)
But the monster performance of tremendous impact was of course by Miura Haruma, who shines brighter than a star in the role as Takuto.
I believe there could not have been any better choice of actor for the role,
Miura nails it completely and absolutely CRUSHES any competition from Eddie Redmayne and &quot;The theory of Everything&quot;. Stephen Hawking is an inspirational person and that movie was rather good, but how I wish that this series would be the one praised and well known.
Sorry Stephen and Eddie, but Takuto and Miura Haruma kicks your asses big time regarding inspirational impact and acting. I have always liked Miura but now he leapt right up to the #1 spot in my &quot;Best asian actors&quot; list.

As for the emotional impact of the drama - wow.
I have personal experience of the disease. My father died of ALS some years back, only 58 years old, about 2,5 years after diagnosis (rather fast) and 3,5 years after onset of symtoms. I worked as caretaker for him and am very familiar with everything related to the disease, it's progress and the care given to the patient. And I am very impressed by how meticulously every little detail was worked out and how Miura acted his role physically - it was very realistic.
And the agony, the emotions... I was completely blown away. I believed his acting every single minute of the series, I never once thought of him as an actor, but only as Takuto. I still can't shake off the belief that Takuto very much exists, that's how good Miura was.

It's sad, very sad. And painful. And agonizing. It WILL make you cry. A lot. And I mean A LOT.
But it's also beautiful, humorous, heartwarming, insightful, thought provoking and inspiring.
But more than anything else - it's hopeful.
I honestly feel that this story changed my life in a way. It made me think. A lot.
About who I am, what I am, why I am like I am, how I want to be, what I wish for. What my goal is.
Like Takuto, I will try to find my goals.

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