This review may contain spoilers
Who allowed someone to make this? And who allowed me to watch it?
Non Spoiler Part -STORY: This had a lot of potential, but in the end became really disappointing. The writing was kinda bad. It didn't portray any emotion. As I am writing this there is no synopsis available (I’ll add one after I write this), so I went into this completely blind. And I immediately became confused. It was like the writer’s expected you to know what was going on. It took me like 30 minutes to figure what this story was about. FUCK SAKE I AM SIMPLE MINDED HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO KNOW? Also, sometimes it felt like you accidentally missed an entire scene. It was really jumpy. The plot itself was good enough, but it was just poorly written. Pff, overall meh.
DIRECTING/EDITING: BASIC BASIC BASIC. I swear if I have to look at another shot reverse shot I might puke. It wasn’t enticing but bearable. It just became continuous. Some transitions were really awkward as well.The special effects were okay-ish for a small budget movie.
ACTING/CASTING: Some acting was okay-ish. Bearable. Some of it was really bad (like in the fight scenes). Emotion wasn’t displayed well enough. A lot could have been improved on but whatever. The guy who played Ouyang Zhou was probably the best.
MUSIC: I didn’t really care about the music. I was to focused on the movie's shittiness . But I’m guessing the music was average.
REWATCH VALUE: I will probably never watch this movie again. Because there is nothing to rewatch. No special scene that made my heart flutter. NONE.
OVERALL: Disappointing. Nothing that memorable. However, it was a good enough to pass time. Watch it if you want, I don’t really give a shit.
MY THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING (kinda a spoiler):
I know China likes it’s sad endings with these types of movies. But normally after those endings I cry or feel empty inside. HOWEVER I FELT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. I just stared at the screen like, "the fuck?" And I believe there to be three reasons to why that is~
First reason: The acting. I felt nothing when it came to the acting. No special place in my heart. They portrayed emotions quite badly. The characters didn’t really appeal to me. There was no connections or chemistry. The skin ship (aka shoulder touching) felt forced and faked. The scene where Mige was crying and punching the punching bag should be a very emotional scene. But it wasn’t. He should be displaying all his anger, sadness and frustration on this punching bag. But instead I was laughing.
Second Reason: The writing. They did terrible at expressing the character’s emotion. I feel like this was my level of writing. And I am absolutely shit at writing (if you couldn’t tell by this review). They had so many opportunities to make me cry, to make me feel something, ANYTHING but instead I was blank. Probably worse than the acting.
Third Reason: The clothing. I know this probably isn’t a big deal. But to me it is. Mige looked like he was in pyjama pants half the time. Also, this links back to the scene where Mige was crying and hitting a punching a bag to let out his frustrations; BUT HOW THE ACTUAL HELL DO YOU EXPECT ME TO FEEL EMPATHETIC TOWARDS HIM WHEN HE IS WEARING A GREEN MESH SHIRT WITH A FORMAL WHITE BLAZER WITH SOME CHEAP ASS GOLD ON HIS NECK THAT I KNOW IS FAKE? Ahhh, who dressed these people?
Due to that I was unable to feel unhappy by that ending and also thanks for wasting for your time reading this shit review. YAYYYYYY.
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This review may contain spoilers
Let debunk slowly what happen actually.
Since there's lot of reviews but not all of it understanding. So here why, let see the first scene.This movie the character is purely psychopath who just killing person right. The character shows he have kind of hunting the victim for fun, laughing and like mouse and cat.
I found a comment say ' why didn't the mother end the everything in Police Station? '. Yeah, that's right they can end everything on the spot. But not so fast 'he' know what is happening and try to control the situation. Even how much smart her mother is, she can't exposes that easily. Cause why? she doesn't want her daughter in danger. Her daughter is her priority.
'It doesn't make sense you can't realize there someone on your back'. Actually it possible you didn't realize, I didn't just talk. I can stand behind someone without they realize, breathing slowly and didn't make a big move. But you need to remember she deaf her world is quiet. It can possible when you to focus on phone you can't even realize your friend beside you.
'Why he run to the deaf woman house without calling a police first? '. In that situation you usually have two choices but the reflex usually kick first. He want find that bu*ted first, cause why? He think about her sister safety first that's why be became stupid to safe her with eagerly. He scared if he gonna lose her forever.
About the police, I just to frustrating to see them. So bad.
And at the street you can see Kyeong Mi eagerly need help, but no one is helping right. First you need to see the situation, all of the people there didn't understand what is happening. They make they own assumption by thought that girl might be crazy or something. Since you can just only see she holding knife and her shirt have a blood stain. They feel pity to her, that's why the 3 soldiers help Do Shik, without even realize they help the psychopath. Do Shik know how to act innocently in front of people, how can you know he psychopath when he can act that perfectly fine.
At the end you can see Kyeong Mi decided to act reverse, instead stab him she stab herself. Nothing can defeated him if you still act like naive to him. Cause he can flip that image easily.
I ready to talk if you want more explanation
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This review may contain spoilers
C U R EC—URE
C—YOU'RE
SEE, YOU'RE
SEE, YOU ARE...
"Who are you? Tell me about yourself."
Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Cure is first, a procedural crime thriller, but foremost, a philosophical and psychological rumination of the societal condition. It is more arthouse and atmospheric than the usual sort of procedural thriller in mainstream cinema. It does not serve a complete and absolute answer. Rather, it gives you questions and clues which lets you think and connect the puzzle, yourself.
In the film, we comprehend that the killer perceives the detective as someone who is not cured.
"The detective or the husband? Which is the real you? Neither one is the real you. There is no real you."
The detective is filled with frustration due to his societal responsibilities. This is his prison since his choices are bounded by societal expectations and not because it completely reflects his own authentic decisions. This prison is what created and worsened the disease in his humanity. He cannot be his real self. He is not cured.
"You’ll be born again, just like me."
Perhaps, the killer wants to free the people from society by letting them truly know and express their profound fears and desires. This is how he will cure them and just like that, they will all be reborn.
It might be true that knowledge is power and to completely know ourselves can be the utmost cure to the disease of humanity and society. Though, does letting our desires and fears own us creates the perfectly authentic self? Or are we just letting ourselves be a slave to them?
In the end, the detective has become the "cured", himself. He didn't repress his fears and desires anymore, but he has become mesmerized by them. Indeed, they have become himself, completely dictating his decisions which also led him to dictate others.
Ironically, the detective has become the society that imprisoned and frustrated him for so long; thinking about what solely makes sense to him and imposing it to others believing that it's the true and ultimate way to be freed and cured.
Just like the long-time, lingering question whether hypnosis is a true science or a pseudoscience: is it really a means to cure or control? Is the detective cured or controlled? Is he curing them or controlling them?
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This review may contain spoilers
Young Jessica Fletcher meets Dick Tracey in a Shanghai Chicago
FINALLY! I got a chance to watch this series. I was quite upset when it first came out and didn't have English subtitles anywhere on any site legal or otherwise. This was my very first Republican Era drama so I wasn't sure what to expect but wanted to watch it because I follow Vengo Gao. It definitely didn't disappoint; quite the opposite and if it wasn't for parts of the very last episode, I would have given it a perfect score which for me is very rare.Pros: Everything was exquisitely beautiful; from the sets to the costumes, the makeup. Su Wenli was like the epitome of what a modern day woman of even today acts like (she took the initiative to kiss Qiuheng first). Clothing on her looked like she should have been a model. Just about everything in this series was absolutely stunning. The music, OSTs, not a single stitch was out of place.
Both of the leads acting and chemistry was on point from the very beginning. As older actors then the 20 somethings you see in most of their dramas, here the experience and the understanding of both actors was visible. All of the support cast were there for as long as they were needed. The story flowed seamlessly from one murder investigation to another. It really was like a young Jessica Fletcher (from Murder, She Wrote) met Dick Tracey and they added a Chicago (the Musical) flair.
Su Wenli and Luo Qiuheng started off on a bickering note which was absolutely hysterical; as he tried in a lot of vain to prevent her from entering various crime scenes only for her to find a back door. Since every case took up two episodes, they would just about always have someone Su Wenli knew either asking for help or being the victim. With the two SLs Taozi and Xiao'an to add to the hilarity, made each investigation even more interesting.
Su Wenli had a superb eye for detail that helped each investigation. Many people she met from the first episode ended up becoming a part of her extended family; from the two random cab drivers (Tong and San) at the pier that took her home, to Taozi (a maid of family friend's) in the very first murder case who became her assistant and a younger sister and the orphan (Suyun) she adopted after the homage to "Murder on the Orient Express" episode. She had inherited a huge mansion and massive property from her grandmother and her gaggle rag-tag family lived there.
Luo Qiuheng played by the very handsome Vengo Gao was a wonderful, caring, yet upright investigator who took each case seriously no matter who the victims were. We never knew much about his past (other then his ex-gf was the daughter of his mentor) or where he even lived, but his character in no way played second fiddle to Wenli. Both were equals. I have until this drama not seen Vengo in something non-costume but feel he needs more of these kinds of dramas.
It was very funny how the crime busting duo was always bickering or betting on information and yet still ending up solving each case together. Their chemistry even in those most funniest of moments was palpable. It amused me to no end how Wenli would always find a way to go undercover in any situation with just a pretty dress and the power of persuasion; everyone opened up to her without fear.
I loved and was actually quite surprised by just how much made it past censorship; a gay couple was shown in photographs holding hands and being really close as well as the topic of homosexuality was discussed openly without issue. Small amounts of nudity was allowed as well. A mentally disabled boy was involved in 2 episodes towards the end and related to Wenli and he wasn't treated as some freak but with respect and love; usually none of these would be able to get anywhere near one of their dramas, so it makes me wonder if the requirements for Republican era dramas are different then the other genres.
Cons: The biggest reason I couldn't give this series a full score was because almost the entire last episode was screwed up pretty badly and it was the pivotal case. The biggest mystery of the series was that of Wenli's kidnapped and long thought to be murdered younger sister, Wenfei. Though this fact and the man responsible were sparsely spread through many episodes, it wasn't until about the last 6 that that case started to take shape. Ding Rushan was jailed for 10 years on suspicion of kidnapping and murder but escaped.
In the last episode, they turned Wenli into this hysterical, unhinged, crazy woman who goes to rescue Suyun and Qiuheng alone while locking a few officers in a jail cell. It absolutely made no sense, though I understand her being distraught when she came home to find practically everyone drugged and Suyun missing, she knew it was the work of Ding Rushan but then she goes off to the police station and when Qiuheng tells her to stay put she starts acting a plum fool causing him to go alone without backup because someone has to watch her.
For 33 episodes even if she was in grave danger, she always kept a level head and found ways to get out of the situation and always asked for backup from the police or Tong and San or the combination of the two. Here she takes her little gold pistol like a one woman army to go after the most dangerous man in the entire series who's essentially a crazed serial killer. It was ridiculous; what made it even more so was that said serial killer was a nutcase who wanted to sacrifice women to bring his own daughter back from the dead in some twisted "The Mummy Returns" scenario which absolutely made no sense in this very progressive drama.
Of course Wenli was captured and though she retained some of her old characteristics, much of her acting until she was rescued was like some completely different person. It felt like for a solid half hour I was watching a totally different show. There was also a huge inconsistency, in the second to last episode where Ding Rushan had come into their home and cut the phone cord so no one could call, yet in that last episode when Taozi tried calling home to warn Wenli, the phone rang like the line was never cut. Another minor inconsistency was that Wenli was filthy rich but would wear a lot of the same clothing over and over again, even though she had a massive walk-in closet with racks of clothing. It didn't make sense for her to wear the same outfit 2 or even 3 times.
This pivotal point when Wenli finds out where the body of her sister is and the entire mystery is finally solved, the gravitas is completely lost because of this completely out of character and off topic scenario and it makes me sad because it should have been so much stronger than that. It lost its humor, quality, and any actual logic. Thankfully afterwards it regained its previous momentum to be able to finish the last 25 minutes in the same style as what got me hooked to it in the first place.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely. That one portion of the very last episode doesn't drown out the rest of this aesthetically pleasing and truly remarkable series that will have you rolling around laughing at the absurd situations, subtle yet very obvious flirting and romance of our leads, jealous and chivalrous moments of Qiuheng, and just fall in love with this bunch of people who, though not blood, are truly a family in the best sense of the word.
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The story starts with a bunch of students that couldn't be any more normal who greet a mysterious transfer student. Afterwards, bit by bit things start getting weirder with people who associated with him. One thing we know, this tenkousei (transfer student) is on a mission. Things get a bit complicated, but the style the direction used made it easier to absorb throughout each episode. There were many interesting characters which could've been nice to explore more. Some of them were pushed to the side to give screen time to additional characters, which was unfortunate but understandable given the time constraint. I love science fiction when sets it's own rules and logic, and operate within those guidelines which was what I found in this drama.
What I liked most in here was the directing. It managed to bring in all those elements that I enjoy watching in my shows and placed them together in such a fitting smooth laid-back manner that made such a complex story easy to digest. I also love the way they filmed the whole show, as if it was back in the 70s which brought this nostalgic feeling to it. Other than the use of cellphones, this dorama could've easily been mistaken for a sci-fi from that time. Whether it's a good or a bad thing is subjective. For me it felt like it came perfectly with the other elements of the show.
As for the acting and performances, there were countless really good ones but of course the one that stood out, and was the heart and soul of the dorama was Hongo Kanata. I cannot begin to describe how awesome he is here. Keeps you puzzled such a long time wondering if he's a human, an alien, a cyborg or some other sort of being. His gestures were flawless and the emotions he releases through his face were heart-rending. Other than him, the ever glowing Sugisaki Hana has been growing on me in every role I see her. She's particularly endearing here, her character being a bit different from previous role I've seen her in. Even with those two performances, Nakamura Aoi wasn't over shadowed for me. The reason isn't because of a bias but more since his character is one I connected the most with. I liked his laid back lazy, sometimes awkward personality. He was a natural in it. I felt Sakurai Minami was the most overshadowed since neither her character nor her performance stood out in any at all. There were many other great performances but it'll be too long to talk about it ;)
The ending they chose wasn't the best in my view but it doesn't bother me either. I think this dorama could've been perfect if given more time (more episodes or even seasons) to be fully explored, but the story needed to come to an end
As for the music it was great. The opening song and the video with it were awesome. I love the ending song. It really is uplifting and cheerful. Even if you don't watch the show, believe me it's worth checking out the song ;)
So to conclude and summarize the whole thing, if you like a laid-back drama who contains interesting elements such as coming of age with sci-fi twist, then that's exactly what you need to watch. If you're a fan of Hongo Kanata, it's also woth checking out ;)
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What happened to hello!
Be prepared for raw scenes. Thats basically corn. If it was longer, had more eps and the plot didnt end so quickly it could be more interesting. The potential is there. I feel like they could turn it into a small drama. But no! They just basically served us everything into one go. I was shocked in how quickly they have us everything in just 12 mins, which was basically one scene, and then ended it.Was this review helpful to you?
Sweet & Adorable Romance
This is a short and sweet romantic drama. After watching it, I’m also craving for a dramatic love affair like this, be it a short one. The love and longing for one another is so beautiful and amazing. For me, this is enough to live for and to have meaning in life.This drama is simple without too many twists and turns. It’s heart warming to see things one does for one another, the friendship, love and care.
All the actors and actresses in this drama are so amazingly beautiful, even the antagonists. Their acting is good too. Their fashion is top notch, everyone looks so good every day, every minute, even in bed.
I really love Xu Lu who plays Wen Su Xi who is so beautiful and bossy but honorable and kind. I also love Chi Yu played by Zhang Ming En, so good looking and adorable, funny and romantic. I wish in real life, there really exists such a man! With him, one can feel safe and loved.
I love the sound tracks, so beautiful, meaningful, poetic and romantic.
The ending is kind of, open ended. So you’d need to watch it to find out and it’s all up to your imagination and interpretation of how it ends.
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Not only were the children heart-warming; seeing them develop, learn new things and enjoy their time with the Uncles and Aunts was simply amazing. You develop a kind of special connection to the kids because you feel as if you were their parent watching how they are growing. Of course, I was brought to inevitable tears in the last episode when they left and when Park Na Rae and Jung So Min also started crying.
I don't think the hosts could have been better. Lee SeunGi and his passion for making people enjoy and his skills when building things; Park Na Rae with the inner child in her and being able to not only make the kids feel loved but the crew and the audience too; Jung So Min being the adorable women that she is herself and being able to understand and be so delicate with the kids; and last but not least Lee So Jin, everyone doubted whether he would be able to get comfortable around the kids but oh was he heartwarming with the strong affection he developed for some of the kids (and of course the delicious dishes he cooked that made me want to reach through the screen and eat them myself).
Would 100% recommend this show if you love kids and even if you don't so much, because you will end up loving every single aspect of this show.
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All the romantic save the damsel-in-distress scenes by the lead actor did not work as it should. Strangely the crippled prince in the story seemed to have more chemistry with the actress instead. The chemistry between the lead actor and actress often play a major part in the success of the drama and this had fallen through miserably. Some parts where the lead actor tried to flirt with the lead actress were quite cheesy.
The ending is rather poorly developed and explained. Mysteriously the hero of the story returned with the heroine waiting for him in this place of a different time dimension.
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This review may contain spoilers
I assumed, most people found this kind of drama boring, not interesting, scary, confusing. But, not for me. I took virology class, and this drama helped me to reviewed my lessons, as well as comparing it with what I learned (errr, sorry for sounded like a freak)..Anyway, I started watching first, because it's from OCN. I admire OCN's drama. I mean, it's not mainstream. I really love Vampire Prosecutor (and now dying to watch the 3rd season), and finally I found another drama. And I was interested when I watch its trailer, and so, here I am.
Story: as I said before, it's unique. The virus idea is not-so-original though, since I've watched "L Change The World" which made me fell in love pretty hard. And since, the virus used is kinda look a like, I kinda disappointed actually. But I decided to focus at the story line. And indeed, the story line is interesting. Not only medical, but it involved political issues (which I assumed, also happens in reality as well). Not only that, I spotted a classic scientist's issue - ethics. I'm aware, that ethics always been a sensitive, but important issues. I'm glad that the scriptwriter actually included ethics issues in it - may take that as a moral of this drama. The details also pretty great and realistically made.
Acting: Uhm Ki Joon, no need to be questioned. His acting is terrific, he portrays smart and persistent Lee Myeong Hyeon really well. As for Hyun Woo, even though he only appeared in the first half of the drama, he left a pretty deep impression on his acting for me. Yubin, I'm kinda surprised to see her here. But her acting is pretty good (and I kinda startled to see that she........ *I'm not posting spoilers here. LOL*). Other casts are also great.
Music: nothing notably, really. There are barely any music throughout this dramas. Only opening and closing sequence (same song), and barely noticed instruments as insert songs. Nothing remarkable.
Rewatch Value: basically because I didn't rewatch my dramas. But in my opinion people wouldn't watch this show twice.
Overall, this drama is basically a medical, thriller, a bit gore (a few scenes containing bloods). In my personal opinion, this is a good way to test your knowledge about virus. The story is FAR from romance (moreover comedy). It's serious, dark, unexpected, but pretty realistic. But I do recommend this for those who interested in medical drama.
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Park Jung Min is seriously adorable in this, so if you are a fan, you will enjoy him in Korean (for parts) and in Taiwanese (dubbed). He brings so much to the character of Han Ji/Pu Xi Huan. Even though this is a comedy, he brings a lot of cute expressions that make him that much funnier.
The music for this drama is fairly well done. The opening theme is very cute, and on film, the opening theme is probably one of the most creative and bright in dramaland. The dramatic moment song is also beautiful. Both songs will stick with you.
The story itself is rather light hearted, although there are elements of melo laced within. Like any rich boy/ not as well-off girl drama with brothers, there is also family drama. Those parts are harder to get through, particularly in the earlier episodes. The drama as a whole doesn't really pick up, in my opinion, until episode 5, but the first four episodes are important for story development (so don't skip them.)
Overall, I found in Fondant Garden a much better drama than I expected from the outset. For a pick up drama (not one I wanted to watch initially), I rank it up there. It certainly is one of my favorite Taiwanese dramas, at any rate.
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If you're like me and you've watched your fair share of crime dramas you won't find the premise of this show exactly unique. You'll be able to guess most of the plot twists (if not all) and see a lot of things coming beforehand. Defendant comes with it's flaws. There are a lot of convenient coincidences that aid both our good guys and the baddies. Sharp tools just happen to be lying around jail cells just waiting to be used by the inmates, a circuit somehow just happens to break resulting in a power black out whenever it is needed, a very useful recording device disguised as a pen just happens to travel around wringing confessions from the evil doers left and right and our antagonist somehow conveniently transforms from an up to no good loser to an identity stealing mastermind overnight.
How very interesting.
However, with its slightly rocky plot comes a masterful execution. Even though you know what's going to happen, when it actually happens it feels like a completely new and exciting experience. Our good guys seem to be trapped in their own version of real life flappy bird. It's one step forward from the abyss of doom and twenty steps backwards. So when convenient coincidences happen to rule things in their favor, I'd be damned if I have a problem with it.
This is the kind of show that banks on the watcher's heart rather than the mind. It will make you blinded with emotion and leave all logic behind. But the real reason this show is a hit is the excellent acting put out by all the actors.
Ji Sung as always is phenomenal. From Secret to Kill Me Heal Me and finally to Defendant, you can see his acting evolve and grow more powerful. He's an extremely skilled performer and many a times I suffered through a serious case of gooseflesh while watching him. By the middle of this show I was completely invested, horribly torn apart and crossing my fingers for him to turn the tables on all the assholes that had done him wrong.
Usually in melodramas, when you see the main character go through tragedy after tragedy, it turns from heartbreaking to frustrating real quick. Soon you go from wanting to wipe the hero's tears to slapping his mouth shut and putting an end to the sob fest. However, Ji Sung got me every time. His pain, helplessness and tears always made me wail like a baby. I didn't realize I was rocking so much H2O in my body until it came out gushing from my peepers. I think I felt quite a lot dehydrated after finishing this show.
Uhm Ki-Joon with his Cha Min Ho put out the acting of his life. He's heartless, ruthless, evil without a cause and at last, pitiful. He's probably one of the best antagonists of Dramaland and undoubtedly one of the most hated characters. His impulsive acts of violence leave you shaking with fury and you'll find yourself thirsty for his demise.
A lot of people thought that his situation was a little unrealistic but as a daughter of a detective, I can say that I've seen many real life cases where the criminals start with seemingly minor and thoughtless crimes and commit far worse atrocities to cover it up. In Cha Min Ho's case, he sticks to it to the very end. His bag of tricks is endless and you never find a peaceful moment with him.
Even though this show truly focuses on the two main men, some other characters will weasel their way in your heart and take permanent residence. These were the characters that I wanted to hide in my back pocket and protect from all the cruelty of the world. And even though my wishful thinking did not save all of them, I treasured every moment they were on-screen.
My precious and loyal Seong Kyu, my shady but hilarious Optimus Shin Cheol Sik, Prosecuter Choi Tae Hong who never once lost faith, Jeong Woo's merry band of prison inmates and the resilient Seo Eun Hye all brought their own flavor to the show.
This drama has a deep underlying message about how family makes or breaks you. How people are willing to go to every length to save their loved ones and how it's never too late for justice. With an extremely satisfying ending; giving closure to all the characters and answer to your every question, Defendant takes a spot among dramas that are consistently amazing from start to finish.
A dark and gritty suspense drama that comes with its share of heartbreak.
An absolute must-watch
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