This review may contain spoilers
Not that great
The drama has definitely surprised me by turning out rather average. It is not a bad one to be sure but it is not great, nor mind blowing nor even that intense. It is mainly quite mellow for a thriller and way too melodramatic. The plot is not original, full of inconsistances and uses the same old cliches like coma, amnesia, bad guy is actually an angel inside and so on. But more then that the script is poorly thought out, not enough attention given to details and too many times the scripwriter takes the easiest way to create conflicts and not even tries to give any sort of explanation. For example the story behind the serial murders happened in the past is very sketchy and for the most part ridiculously unbelieveble. Like the story about humantraffikers or a person kept in an asylum for 15 years without any purpose whatsoever except to serve as a poorly made plot twist. Or the MLs parents' motivation to conceal the truth about the ML is what exactly?The leads are both missed opportunities. The ML is first shown cold and calculating and having problems with emoting. However it lasts for like 2-3 episodes and the other 13 episodes he spends being a big crybaby and getting beaten, tortured and framed by everyone. The FL, in theory the most conflicted charater of the drama, is actually the most bland one. She is defined only by her love for her husband and her unending cycles of trusting-not trusting him. Perhaps if more time and effort was put into her being thorn between her duty as a police officer and her feelings for the husband she would have been interesting. But alas she is a total letdown
The melodramatic part about the main couple's struggles is problematic for me as well. It is so syropy and forced. The beginning of their relationship shown in flashback gives weird vibes as the FL comes across a classic stalker who is forcing herself on the ML while he clearly and vehemently says he is not interested. She insists because (in her own words) she sees in his eyes that he loves her. Not very romantic really. Again it could have been a touching story if given more details and shown more subtly.
Now to the good part.
Lee Joon Gi 's acting is great (no surprise here).
Also I liked a lot the reporter friend of the ML. The most believable and realistic character. Sometimes weak and full of fear, sometimes brave, trying to do his best but still commiting mistakes and feeling guilt, passionate about his profession. And what a great portrayal by the actor, especially the way he shows love for the ML sister. So very sweet.
The serial killer is also great. Very scary indeed.
They should have made him appear earlier in the drama, because the evil doers in the first half are somewhat boring.
The little girl is adorable.
Nice OST. Sinister background music is especially good.
Rewatch value is zero for me
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This review may contain spoilers
I just finished the drama and needed a few hours to collect my thoughts. My review is going to be pretty unpopular as i did not love the drama. This is extremely weird for me as i adore the cast ( especially the 2 leads, In Guk and So Min) but the story overall is just okay. The plot left me feeling shortchanged at the end of it. This review contains spoilers so please stop reading if you have yet to watch the drama.**SPOILER ALERT**
Jin Gook is the saving grace for this drama. He has so much empathy and depth. Sung Woong did such an outstanding job bringing him to life. I could feel his despair, frustration and helplessness towards the whole situation. I didn't cry at the end when the leads died but cried terribly when Jin Gook ran into the house. Poor guy gonna live with even more guilt for the rest of his life...
Despite liking the core of Jin Gook's character, i couldn't get over the following inconsistencies to the story.
The stabbing scene... There was hardly any reaction nor consequences to it. Everyone just went about their lives as though it never happened soon after. Jin Kang just treated her brother as per normal. Like i can't fathom how could one stand being in the same room as someone who just stabbed your boyfriend? And also his colleagues just kept him in the team and rejected his resignation despite his shocking confession ... I really don't get it.
The way the team treated Jin Gook was so uncalled for. It was as though Jin Gook set out to kill with ill intentions but it was never the case. Yes. He shot someone and that person died. But it was all out of self-defence and it's nothing out of the ordinary for a policeman. I hated the fact that the writers built up so much suspense for this and at the end of it, I was left thinking "wait...That's it?".
Let's talk also about poor Seung Ah. She was totally dispensable to the story. Her whole life was pretty much a joke. For her to die off "in the name of love" with someone who didn't care one bit for her, to having her"bf" and bestfriend falling in love immediately after the accident, how much more pathetic can her character get? Soon after she died, they basically erased her from the story. No traces of Seung Ah whatsoever until that one scene where Moo Young breaks up with Jin Kang . I just wish they did more with her character (the same can be said about Cho Rong). I can't understand how Jin Kang is such BFF with her (Crying that hard at the funeral) and yet do such a thing to her.
And oh yes, don't get me started on the ending as well. How abrupt was that? ! Also, lack of chemistry between the leads is a little painful at times. There's way more i could say but i shall stop myself here.
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This review may contain spoilers
Let me start off by saying that you're either going to love or hate this drama. There's not really an in-between feeling with this one. The good stuff:
Casting - I feel the casting team did a great job. I actually started watching because of Shen Yue but found that casting of Darren Chen, Caesar Wu and of course Dylan Wang pretty much nailed it in terms of outer appearances.
Soundtrack - I actually really enjoyed the music that was played throughout that drama. I think they choose the right songs for the right moments and I loved how they subtly used the original songs in some scenes.
Original tropes - Aside from the obvious fact that Daoming Zhuang is played by Barbie Hsu's real life sister, there are many more tropes, linking it to the original that is super cute.
Chemistry - Again chemistry between leads were on point. The only reason why I made it to the finish line was actually the chemistry. Not just the main lead couple but all of them as a whole. I usually don't have second lead syndrome but I was rooting for Hua Ze Lei more than Daoming Si in this version. The main lead still had a lot of chemistry but I enjoyed the screen time between Shen Yue and Darren more for some reason.
Emotional Scenes - Shen Yue cries like an absolute angel. It's super natural and i'm a sucker for emotional scenes. In particular, the hot pot break up scene and their last date in London still lingers in my heart even now. Both main leads nailed the crying scene there. The scene where Shancai walks to Daoming Si's room after standing in the rain and collapsing due to exhaustion was a killer one as well although I wish it was a little more extended.
The bad stuff:
Acting - To be honest there were some scenes that really highlighted the young cast's acting ability but overall i'm sorry to say, their acting was pretty bad. I am no acting expert and yes it's harder than it looks and these guys are all mostly rookies but if no one is going to speak up about this, how are they all meant to get better? I'm sorry to say that the acting was very stiff and sometimes you could actually see them glimpsing directly at the camera.
Story - I appreciated the fact that they toned down the bullying and adapted into a way that is more relevant to today's generation which is centered around the internet. What I did not enjoy was the fact that the story moved rapidly at the start and became stagnant in the middle. Obviously the story is nothing new and we all kinda knew where the train was heading but there were parts that really had no relevance to the original story or adding depth to the current one. For example Mei Zuo's strange love triangle. Like WTF? I can understand that they wanted to give this character more screen time as he hasn't received that in any of the other previous versions but that stupid love triangle was the biggest wast of time.
Dubbing: Why? Just WHY? I understand when period drama's need dubbing to be more accurate to the time and place but modern drama? Really? Shancai's voice was soo annoying that it actually still irks me now. Shen Yue's voice is actually quite nice as it is and it was not dubbed in A Love So Beautiful so I don't really understand why they had to use dubbing here.
Setting - Considering that it is set in university, the whole drama feel was VERY childish. They either should have used the same cast in a high school setting or a more mature cast in the uni setting and made it a tiny bit more mature while staying true to the original story line.
The downright ugly:
Product placement - Okay so at some points I actually had to check to see if I was still watching the drama or was I watching a commercial? Absolutely absurd the way products were shot and used in this drama like how clear do you want to make it that these brands are sponsoring you? Product placements here is the worst I have ever seen in any drama to date.
Ending episodes - Just WTF? The final episodes were the most ridiculous, laughable and down right stupid scenes I have ever had the misfortune of seeing on any drama. His mum conceding because of a video he made detailing how he's grown up but does piece signs and checks his hair at the end? The weird as fuck wedding with no parents and the worst ever dance from his sister? Their weird star gazing in London where Hua Ze Lei is hard core third wheeling? I could literally go on for hours about how the ending was a disgrace but I think you get the gist of it.
So on that note, it concludes my review. All I can really say is that i've seen it, it was below average but with good chemistry and a terrible, terrible end.
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A magnificent rollercoaster of multiple and tridimentional emotions
I couldn't believe my eyes when this masterpiece came out, out of a blue, when everybody had stop believing it will ever aired !And, let me tell you : it didn't disapointed :
The actors were so wonderful in it ; it felt like I was absord in the screen, in the beautiful and profound world of the unknown. I thought before such beauty existed only in my mind but it turned my calm word in a full rainbow of hope, with a glimpse of faith in God.
The frame were exquisite, the special effect wonderful, the eyelashes of Chu Wanning stunning and even my cat was watching for two days in silence.
I was very surprise to see the mature scene between the two leads ; it was really moving considering the censorship...I guess the censors were amazed too by the accuracy of the adaptation and the perfect longing in the lovers eyes.
I was so pleased I force my 100 years old homophobic grandma to watch ; she didn't hear all the dialogue or could read the subtitles but she couldn't turn her eyes. It even cure her depression ; she is so energetic now that when she goes out for jogging, I can't follow her (I have two Olympic games gold medals in athletism)
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This review may contain spoilers
Massive Potential, Yet Poor Closure
Come on, who doesn't like this type of K-Drama/Series?The thrills, the tension, the hype every episode - discussing and debating theories, It was everything.
A classic whodunnit.
A Series where everyone is trapped in a kind of mysterious events and they're working together to figure out the truth lies behind. Similar to spirit to the like of AOUAD, DAS, and Alice in Borderland.
The concept of the series is fresh, The Werewolf/Mafia game, the excitement is simple: Citizens vs Mafia, every episode we will be greeted by new things while slowly finding the Mafia and uncovering the truth behind everything.
That's the core concept of the entire series and IT'S PERFECT with the fresh casting, dynamic characters, and every other the potential that it had.
Every watchers was engaged and onboard for the tension and cliffhanger every episode - a perfect K-Drama was created.
Until the actual plot arrived...
Lee Yoon Seo, the girl who is the center of everything. There's always a lead in every K-Drama, right?
She seems to be haunted by a mysterious girl from the beginning of the series and we are all wondering:
- Who is she?
- What is her connection to the game?
- Is she a past player of the game? or the game creator?
But then...
Who would've thought that those exciting mystery plot will eventually taint the entire goodness of the series?
Well, not a single person before the whole Park Se Eun story comes to light... everything was falling down afterwards - I don't even need to recite what happened at the ending.
We all expected everything was a game or some sort, just that there's no point of a never-ending revenge done by Se Eun's parents as the watchers are not even emotionally engaged with her story that much, it was just an icing on the cake - unfortunately a bland one.
Season 2? would love to see how it goes, though it will be very difficult to make up the disappointment.
---
I wish they could create a better closure, this K-Drama was great and fresh, nothing could satisfy me more than this type of theme/genre. It is very unfortunate that such brilliant idea and massive potential the series had - tainted by the pointless closure.
Props to all the cast, regardless some of their annoying characters - they're the MVP of the series, especially:
- Cha Woo Min as Go Kyung Jun - scene stealer for the earlier episodes of the series
- Ahn Ji Ho as Jin Da Beom - scene stealer for the last episodes of the series
Was it worth the watch? absolutely, wished the mafia game could stay longer - it was fun and totally enjoyable - a total 10/10 minus some flaws in the rules here and there.
Was it satisfying? not at all - at least not for everyone.
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Love love this !!!
I got hooked to this drama instantly after reading synopsis . It has interesting premise & lots of potential.I’m so glad I din’t get dissapointed ..it’s reached beyond my expectations. The lead actors are sooo beautiful . The sweets they make looks exquisite..make me want to go Japan to taste them . Supporting cast has done well too.
This drama hold the suspense & keeps u guessing . It’s a blend of many good things .
Highly recommend this !!! For leads , sweets & suspense!!
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Once you start you can't stop watching - A Quality thriller drama with WELL-WRITTEN & ACTING !
Connection - The breakdown of my thriller slump.Short synopsis :- There were three best friends In college days - Jun So, Yoo Jin, and Jang Jae Kyung. ( but time separated them.) Now that Jun So has passed away in mysterious way. Yoo Jin and Joon Jae Kyung will work together to uncover the truth behind their friend's death. One is a detective, and the other one is a reporter - a great combination !! Meeting after 20 years after their seperation, they have to work together to uncover the truth behind the mysterious death of their friend. this duo is quite funny when they're working together.
BEST THRILLER WITH UNIQUE AND FRESH PLOT
Connection is a detective crime investigation thriller that adopts a unique story point from the classic thriller genre. The story is set in the Narcotic Control Unit, where our main protagonist, Jang Jae Kyung, is working. This is not a simple thriller, as we watched before, because the main element in this drama is that our main protagonist is a drug-addicted Narcotics Detective; this is what made Connection a unique thriller drama from the other thrillers.
It’s not my first time to see the main protagonist as a question between the system of law and society. The theme is complex because the line of drug addicts will raise questions about the duty of morality and the responsibility of Jang Jae Kyung’s investigation. Because the person who has the responsibility to catch drugs and keep the city clean becomes drug addicted, when we hear this point, it's very normal to expect him to step down from his position and go to rehabilitation, but Jang Jae Kyung chose not to step down from his job in order to uncover mystery and truth of his friend’s death.
MY RATING || 9.5 - 10 || SUSPENSE/STORY DEVELOPMENT & NARRATION.
The story-telling is exceptional. Every episode is well crafted; the story narration is excellent, like using the past events connecting to the present ongoing events to form a well-structured story without creating the space for confusion in the ongoing story, even though multiple new characters will be introduced and every character has clear writing.
The plot keeps you hooked till the end, and as the investigation progresses, every clue leads to the burning question: What happened 20 years ago? Who is the doctor? Who killed Jun Seo? What does the mastermind of the game want? Because as we learn about the past friendship of Jun Seo, we discover that Tae Jin, Chi Hyun, and Wong Soo are the main suspects, and everyone has a motive to kill Jun Seo or want Jun Seo dead. And the events led to Jun Seo's death. Here are two different people that we have to guess: 1) Who is the killer? 2) Who is the doctor? At some point, we thought we knew who they were, but next, the EP gives the answer, “Our guess is wrong.”. I think some of us will guess who the doctor is after some episodes, but until then, the suspense around the doctor's character keeps us hooked on the ongoing story. And a very small comdey plot that helps to laugh even in the serious mode. This trio Jang Jae Kyung, Yoon Jin, Heo Joo Song is quite funny when they're working together.
FAST PACED PACKED THRILLER - BONUS POINTS
The Gossamer Suspense around every character makes us suspect every character except Jung Jae Kyung; it feels like this person is behind everything. Because every character had their own motive to be involved in the crime or somehow related to Jun Seo’s death. When the main and sub-characters are driven by the motive, it’s a good sign to expect more suspense and thrilling moments from thriller dramas, and “Connection” is the same drama. The plot twists and character motivations in this drama keep you on the edge of your seat. The more episodes we complete, the more suspense we will get from the drama. This is how the pacing continues till the end.
What I loved from the plot development
1) Solid Start and Good Pacing: From the start, by establishing the core story and the introduction of characters, Connection will catch the attention of us and challenges to complete every episode without skipping.
2) Engaging Characters: The creation of interesting and multidimensional characters, their motives and actions in the forming of suspense around those characters.
3) The suspenseful momentum in every episode.
4) Good storytelling and screenplay.
5) I disliked some characters and their motives at first, but as the story progressed, each of those characters became likable—good character development.
6) The dark atmosphere in this drama gives the absolute best thriller-dramatic experience.
(I don't no disappointments, where everything is just a perfect picture )
ACTING - 10/10
JI SUNG
Ji Sung is always an exceptional actor. I’m watching Ji Sung dramas from The Devil Judge, and after watching the TDJ drama, I became his fan. For kdrama fans, he is well known for his script selection; he had fans for his script selection too. After TDJ, he came with the ADAMAS drama, which is also a thriller, but I was disappointed with the drama, but his acting was outstanding like always, even in a dual role. After almost 2 years, he is back again with CONNECTION, this time again with a new combo of writer Lee Hyun and director Kim Moon Kyo, who have experience with 2 projects. In this drama, Ji Sung played the multi-dimensional character Jang Jae Kyung. This is not his first time acting in complex roles; he has to portray two different kinds of emotions in his two-faced character role as a detective and drug addict. It’s not as simple as watching him in a drug-addictive role; without a proper way of portraying these types of complex roles, they will be written off soon in any drama. Throughout his character, we feel sad for him, we cry for him, and we start rooting for him. The emotional weight is less, and it is suitable for JJK characters. This is one of my favorite acting roles in 2024.
JEON MIDO
This is my first drama with Jeon Mido, and I don’t know about her acting that much. But Yoon Jin's character is really fitting for her, although sometimes it feels like an anti-main role. Her acting makes it even brighter in her role. I'm going to check her other works now, thanks to Connection.
KWON YOOL
This actor, Kwon Yool I was watching him in the Voice drama; he is one of the best actors in antagonist roles. The way he portrays his roles in every drama makes it even more fascinating; the cool and coldness in his acting is just a delicacy to watch. Actors like Kwon Yool or his anti-character roles are always challenging for the main characters in every drama or movie; this is the specialty of Kwon Yeol's presence in a work. I am always looking forward to the projects that make him the main protagonist in a drama. In this drama, Park Tae Jin is a pure evil character, and we hate him till the end. But what made him evil is not himself, so somewhere I hope for his good side, but once the twist blows, I just hope for his ending. Pure acting brilliance from Kwon Yeol.
SUPPORTING CAST
The other actors, Kim Kyung Nam, Jung Soon Won, Yoon Na Mo, Cha Yeob, Jeong Jae Kwang, Jung Yoo Min, Lee Kang Wook, and Park Keun Rok—each of their characters and acting are noteworthy performances. I enjoyed every minute of their screen presence. Also, the teenage actors who acted in the main lead roles—Cho Han Gyeol, Kim Min Ju, and Lee Hyun Soo—are just simply benchmarks for future potential actors; decent performances from these three I’m rooting for them to watch more dramas.
WRITTING, DIRECTION AND SOUNDTRACK DEPARTMENTS.
I’m honest here; somewhere I was not fully confident in writer Lee Hyun and director Kim Moon Kyo’s this new typical thriller. The subject/plot of their drama is quite hard to deal with, and without proper execution, it may turn into a messy plot. But I was wrong about them; their perfection shows how carefully they took every step forward to deliver a good thriller for us. It starts with formation. Casting like Ji Sung, Kwon Yeol, Jeon Mido, and Kim Kyung Nam as the main leads and supporting cast is a mix of well-known actors and establishing actors. Each character's role is well written. A good screenplay leaves no scope for confusion. The soundtrack is pretty good—not that much space for song tracks, but the background music tracks are amazing and enough to carry the whole drama without song tracks, especially the ending theme music track of eps, which is one of my favorite thriller music tracks.
ROM LINE BETWEEN MAIN LEADS :-
For those who are expecting Rom between main leads; At first, I had some doubts after watching the first episode, like the female lead (Jeon Mi Do) got married so, how the makers going to convince us with this element relationship between Jae Kyung & Yoon Jin. But after watching the second episode, I'm convinced with the story about their relationship. It’s a thriller so expecting the Rom line between main leads is nearly impossible but we will except sometimes when it depends on the story demand but not in this type of thrillers, if anyone curious about Rom line in this drama – I say No.
STORY/PLOT DEPTH :-
This drama is not just a simple thriller; it also explores the theme of friendship, which also adds more depth to the drama. Ignoring a friend is not a crime, but it depends on how we are convinced that we are not ignoring them but just making new progress in our lives. Use the friendship to improve ourselves as well as others, but avoid getting greedy with them or influencing them to make mistakes to make yourself a profitable person. Even though life is hard, never touch the dirty money because it will hunt all your life. Forgive the friend who resented himself for his previous actions, because we never know why they acted like that at that time. Forgiveness is part of life, so give it to them when they are still here (sorry, I think I wrote quotes on friendship). This complex friendship between the main characters is the crucial element in this drama, which keeps the plot running forward and leads to various crimes, from small to large, taking the lives of people in order to protect themselves.
ENDING - Ending is quite emotional and heartwarming - A Perfect Ending, we get answers for all questions. And I don't want to talk much about ending.
Finally:-
A Good thriller, and Yes, I enjoyed the pace of the drama and everything ! Too often, all thrillers start strong in the first half but lose their maintaining same momentum as first half in the second half, leaving me with some disappointment, like getting bogged down with unnecessary side plots and losing their momentum in the story or in creating the suspense (I experienced it with Adamas). The writer Lee Hyun and director Kim Moon Kyo succeeded in carrying the same momentum of the drama till the very end and delivered one of the best thrillers. This one of my best Investigation Thriller and placed in my 10 list.
If anyone wants a perfect binge thriller to watch, I recommend this drama. Highlights of this drama for you
Fast-paced, well-written, great acting, no slow episodes, well-maintained suspense.
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Such a cheesy disaster that it's endearing
In totality, it was okay. Definitely loved Duean and Meen more than anything else. It was cheesy full of stupid plot devices that you learn to deal with it1. Mork was a stalker. A glamorized one, but a stalker nonetheless
2. The whole Bam plot twist is such a classic GMMTV thing to do. A FEMALE has to come out from NOWHERE to produce conflict. Of freaking course
3. Instead of the ep 11 curse, GMMTV decided to be edgy and made the conflict in ep 12. It made everything feel rushed when literally they had 11 episodes of nothingness
4. I hate how manipulative Mork was to Pi in terms of forcing Pi to come out with their relationship.
All of these things are so cliche and are so bad, but I guess I'm so used to dramaland that at this point, the predictability is what sold it for me.
Also, Pond is so freaking gorgeous.
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Then they turned Pan Da into this annoying caricature of a woman, and started trying to throw in twists that were obvious from a mile away. I know there is a Korean term for it, but for me, this show just kept jumping the shark!
But enough negativity, since there really are some good things about this show that make it worth watching. Firstly, Won Yi. She made this show worth watching, she was so ridiculously adorable and over the top, I swear I have a minor crush on her! Also, Hedgehog's character was so fun to watch, even when the crap hit the proverbial fan. He was like the Energizer Bunny, not stopping for anything. His "1, 2, 3 Go!" was just adorable and watching his feelings develop (very quickly, I might add) for Pan Da just made you love him all the more.
The cast of supporting characters also really helped in making this a fun drama to watch. I will admit, I cried pretty hard towards the end, and I wouldn't have if it weren't for the amazing job the cast did with a sometimes ridiculous script.
If you are looking for something cute, fluffy and no where near groundbreaking or deep, then this is what you want!
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Kim Soo-Hyun’s Sublime Return To Thrillers…
Remake dramas can often go down two selective routes; diverging from the originality of its predecessor, or offering viewers a production en par with the original. Thankfully Coupang Play’s first series led by director
Lee Myung-woo, ‘ One Ordinary Day ‘ ( a remake of the original BBC series ‘ Criminal Justice’), offered viewers a fairly knockout adaptation with arguably darker explorations of the criminal judicial system, an intriguing setup as well as a brilliant cast lineup ( most notably A-list actor Kim Soo-Hyun as the main lead).
The series focuses upon seemingly “ model student” college-student Kim Hyeon-soo (Kim Soo-hyun). In an effort to apparently gain popularity Hyeon-Soo decided to hook up one night with Hong Kook-Hwa ( Hwang Se-on); a mysterious yet beguiling troublemaker. However Hyeon-Su’s fantastical night is cut short as he wakes up to a horrifying sight. Seemingly framed for a crime he didn’t commit, few seem to believe his plea for innocence- apart from gruff lawyer Shin Joon-Han ( Cha Seung-won). Alongside soft-spoken novice lawyer Seo Soo Jin ( Lee Seol), Joon-Han is determined to prove Hyeon-Su’s innocence yet as further problems arise in the case, the true question of justice begins to become more clouded along the way…
‘ One Ordinary Day’ delivers anything but mundanity for viewers - its heavy-going and macabre themes upon murder, crime, prison, corruption and injustice will likely not appeal to everyone. Whilst the first episode admittedly offers viewers a fast-paced and adrenal-infused episode, the latter episodes do hit a slight rut at times of struggling to maintain the same alacrity. ( Admittedly whilst some of these scenes were necessary for slowing down and building -up setups and characters, they’d sometimes disengage episodes from keeping viewers captivated by moving at a quicker pace.)
Casting top-actors in a lesser-known and more mature production can always be a gamble for both the actor as well as the company. However Kim Soo Hyun does not disappoint bringing forth a gut-wrenching performance as the main lead . Hyun-Soo is the ultimate enigma for viewers- a bright student and seemingly a kindhearted son, but his myriad of reckless decision-making causes him to start his hellish journey throughout the series. Naturally whilst the storyline never wanted to give too much away about Hyun-Soo’s ultimate final verdict , there were admittedly moments in the series surrounding Hyun-Soo which felt as though they could’ve been shown in more intrinsic depth. ( Including further insight into his relationship with his parents , his experiences with peers during his younger years ,Hyun-Soo’s college life as well as about his fight for survival in prison.)Even if the drama had offered these some of these moments as merely “Red Herrings” it could’ve allowed for more opportunities to have seen a multilayered onset for Hyun Soo as a character.
Alongside Kim Soo Hyun is costar Cha Seung Won who played the role of the unkempt lawyer with an air of rugged charm. Yet admittedly whilst there were intriguing elements to Seung Won as a written-character, the deuteragonist could often lack some greater and definitive focus on his backstory. Of course this isn’t to say that Shin Joong Han is a poorly-written character by any stretch of the imagination; the male lead is far from being a perceived as an impeccable guardian angel and instead nearly plays devil’s advocate in the courtroom - he has his own demons to deal with, personal motives for taking on his clientele for and is widely dismissed by the inner-circle of judges and prosecutor as being “ third-rate”. However the storyline could’ve admittedly been smoothed down more if the drama had given opportunities to understand more about his past.
Combined together with the vivid cinematographer of Lee Myung-Woo of vivid neon night shots against the mundanity of the court room , ‘ One Ordinary Day’ becomes a suspenseful reverse-psychology series where versatile themes surrounding corruption, drugs and abuse were played carefully with the murky lightning of flashbacks presented a moody and unsettling atmosphere against the lucid mundanity of tension. Inter played when necessary with the spine-tingling OST, ‘ One Ordinary Day’ was surprisingly masterful when it came to delivering some of its impactful scenes for viewers.
Naturally this brings us onto one of the greatest downfalls for ‘ One Ordinary Day’; the ending. Naturally the ending wasn’t inherently rushed with a notably slow-paced speed weighing down a major proportion of the final episodes in order to build-up towards the finale. On the other hand whilst the ending is certainly surprising for viewers and did seem to present a powerful statement message towards the unstable corruption of the judicial system in South-Korea, it did admittedly feel slightly anticlimactic for viewers with certain original links and questions remaining unanswered even by the final episode.
Nevertheless whilst the series could sometimes struggle with attaining constant and steady pacing as well as shaping out certain subplots, ‘ One Ordinary Day’ was a fairly thrilling and gripping series which offered brilliant performances by our cast and especially Kim Soo-Hyun as well as Cha Seung Won. The ending was admittedly slightly unexpected and failed to wrap up some more quintessential loose ends for viewers, but did undeniably deliver the reminder for audiences that ‘ One Ordinary Day’ was harrowing within its portrayal of the judicial system.
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Ok, Let’s see, why did I like it :
A – Actors: I DO LIKE how fresh and dare the roles is for both main Leads, sure I am a fan for them together and separately and I do believe they are very good actors, However , to accept a role that you might be judged upon from viewers as unfaithful husband and a cold hearted home wrecker women, this is intimidating ..
B – Storyline : The fact that there is no Black and White zones, it’s not villains and angels show, so if you are looking for a show like this, most properly you wouldn’t like this one , However this show beautifully mirrored how a human can change , grow to love, grow to hate , grow to be insecure even in the strongest relationships..
C – Most viewers who started the show , completed it even though they didn’t like it , sure for different reasons, but I would put this kind of drama on my drama list for sure , it got the factors that builds every good drama , good storyline with slow paced development..
D – The soundtracks , I needn’t say more, it’s purely addictive :) and well played..
Finally , the ending seemed realistic , reflecting hope , although I was quite sure the last 5 episodes could have been more invested and more detailed to enrich the ending more .. it left me feeling that may be 2 more episodes are needed.
Go ahead and watch the drama if you want a mature realistic romance
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A lesson for everyone
In many countries, the issue of sex is not taught probably and Japan is no exception. Many people believe that only heterosexual is normal yet they are actually wrong, the world is a lot more diversified than these people expect.In this drama, it covers 9 different issues related to sex including asexual, sex before marriage etc, which I believe everyone will be learnt a lot and be benefited after watching it.
It would be great if this is made compulsory for everyone to watch so fewer people will have those misconceptions about sex.
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This review may contain spoilers
Better off as a non fantasy family makjang
Before saying I hated the reborn part -which technically should be reawaken cuz he was 10 :) - I'll mention the good partsI love love love sungminie ahjussi's acting, and I loved his character. Maybe he looked like a villain, but he was just a business man starting from scratch and also a head of a kiss*ss family. The poor guy had to deal with new business ideas in a time it was thought crazy and risky while also having money hungry family that only wanted to please him for his inheritance.
But, lol that was a long introduction, but he once he found his "reawakened" grandson, he found his match, his partner in crazy ideas and that was the most beautiful part for me
Also sungminie ahjussi's acting was 100000000x on point
That elevator scene and his fully devastated face will hunt me forever ♡
From what I gathered, he didn't have dementia in the novel, and this is the 3rd time sungminie ahjussi does it, so I think they hit the jackpot cuz each time is different yet still heartbreaking
Another good thing for me was the 80s/90s business vibe, everyone looked great but also the theme and history really enhanced the story rather than say, him awaking as a 10 year old in 2000 and being becomong an adult in 2010s and fighting his family in 2020s
I also actually really loved Sung joon and hyun min's toxic angsty relationship and I'd have loved this more from their POV, a bit like Secret makjang which is one of my favs (tho don't make me watch it with 2020s eyes)
Anyway the bad. I hated the rebornness, cuz as I said it was more like being possessed, then made complicated by double songs cuz it didn't make sense unless both hyunwoo and dojoon switched places, which might've become even more like golden spoon
I also hated the flat romance. Cuz technically reawakened dude is 30+19(?) When they 1st met and so he's a 50/60 year old going after a 20/30 year old no matter their past connection. I actually hate going back to change the past romances for this reason
The ending.. "it was all a dream" is such a old time cliche, I always remember twilight breaking dawn saying the fight between the oldie vamps and collin family was filmed and my 1st thought was ofc it's all a vision..
It's basically a cheap bow out from cleaning up the mess one makes. Ie making two Songs and making one come after the other (which were said to not be in the novel) then not having the courage to continue...
One could say he projected himself trying to remember, analyze and amend. But would one really dream of 20 years of life, remember every single detail and basically playing SIMS with a stranger? Atleast they could've hinted it with weird time skips or foggy memories xD
So basically, a normal family makjang where he would've wanted revenge for how his grandparents disowned his parents would've been enough. Like sure we needed him to know certain time stamps and events but he could've still been like his grandpa good at and even bad at business and we could've had stronger bonds between them
Also this drama got real boring once grandpa died Y_T
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Wish You: Your Melody From My Heart (Movie)
35 people found this review helpful
This review may contain spoilers
I prefer this over the "series" version
I watched the series version of this as it released but never left a review for it because I only recently added all the Asian shows/movies I've watched to MDL - and rated them - very recently. And when I say recently, I mean a week ago haha. However, the movie cut for WISH YOU was released onto viki and now all the English subs are loaded now, so I just watched it. I wasn't going to rewatch this until I heard there was an extra twenty minutes added that wasn't in the original series cut. That definitely interested me since I only scored the series a 7/10 due to the flow not being quite right and the story not making complete sense.With that, I'll start my review.
Story: Honestly, a solid 8/10 from me. This type of story and the amount of development in it really fits a movie format more than a series. One of my biggest gripes with all of the Korean BLs is that they release them in 8-10 ten minute episodes instead of just releasing it as a film in the first place. But also, I'm not going to complain that much because at least South Korea are making BLs in the first place, ya know? (ones that aren't tragedies or sad haha.) Anyway, I only gave a 8 because I still feel as though the characters are a little under developed. In the end, we still don't know all that much about either of them except that Kang In Soo's dad is a CEO who doesn't want him pursuing a music career. The writing is great, the cinematography is great and so is the aesthetic. Great quality all around. What I'm really happy about is that the story MAKES MORE SENSE in the movie cut and it FLOWS NICELY (woo!) and it's all because of that extra 20 minutes. Even though the added scenes may not seem important, they are. For example, in the series I'm pretty sure they didn't show that Sang Yi was in a band early on like they did in the movie, so that scene where Kang In Soo sees him playing the keyboard makes way more sense lol. Plus, we got to see Kang In Soo hear the arrangement he doesn't like and them eating after he walks out while he avoids the topic with Sang Yi - which is why he says "Say it" to him when Sang Yi won't drop it after lunch/dinner. There argument makes more sense that way. Another example is when we see Kang In Soo after the kiss as he plays the guitar and thinks about Sang Yi, I think this was an important scene to include rather than the story skipping straight to the next day when everything happens like it does in the series. And even the scene later in the movie when we see Sang Yi go to Min Sung (In Soo's friend/manager). That whole searching scene adds a lot honestly. All of the added scenes that they originally cut out of the series are subtle moments, but they make the story flow way better and helps with the logic of the story as a whole. Thank God I wasn't left feeling confused by the end this time.
Acting/Cast: Not much to say but the cast did a great job and I think everyone was casted perfectly. I especially loved Sang Yi's acting. They had great chemistry too which is always important.
Music: The OST for this WISH YOU is amazing. I really love all the songs but Wish For You is definitely my favourite. I listen to it a lot. I even learned it on ukulele and learnt all the words despite being a native English speaker. Both Kang In Soo and Sang Yi are great musicians.
Rewatch Value: I feel like this is strictly personal preference so take my opinion with a grain of salt here. However, I only gave the rewatch value of this movie a 7/10 because I'm not a rewatcher in general. I only rewatch shows or movies that really stick with me or that I become obsessed over. This movie is super cute and maybe somethings others would love to rewatch, but it's not obsess-worthy for me. Again, that's just my personal opinion! Although, technically I did rewatch this since I watched the original series and then this movie cut of it.
Overall: I highly recommend this! It's cute, revolved around music, and it's only 1hr 42mins of your time! (:
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