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.
Was this review helpful to you?
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
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
Was this review helpful to you?
The casts fit their roles perfectly and did a very good job portraying it and I heard they really prepared and trained for this movie.
A fast-paced story that fit a 2 hour length movie. The setting went to other countries in Asia which we all looked forward into. So they really spent a lot for this movie and it's really worth it.
The music gives you a modern Lupin the 3rd feel and I think it's really cool and catchy~
A star-studded cast, impressive production and a really great live-action adaptation. It's definitely a must watch movie!! b^_^d
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I love this drama so much I don't even know where to start!I guess with the leads first. After watching them in The Legends I put them both on my watchlist because their chemistry is through the roof! Xu Kai expresses so much emotions through his eyes alone that I felt what he feels in scenes even when he's not saying anything.
Kudos to Bai Lu also for carrying her weight in this drama. It didn't feel like a woman pretending to be a man as it happens in most gender bender dramas. She really moved and acted like a man, with swagger and all that.
I loved the supporting cast as well, from the classmates to the faculty, and their friends outside the academy. Even the side stories and their missions were interesting!
The weakest link for me was the female antagonist. I felt her character portrayal a bit canned and 2 dimensional, no depth or layers to her personality. I didn't buy into her motivations for being the way she is.
Special mention to the styling - I loved the dresses, and especially loved the trench coats of both the males and females. Xu Kai's trench coats are to die for!
Lastly I would like to give a special mention to the opening OST. Most of the time when I watch dramas I skip the opening song and get straight to the drama, but here I find myself letting the song finish because I loved the beat so much.
A really enjoyable, well thought out production! Much recommended!
Was this review helpful to you?
This was one of the dramas I wasn't planning on watching, then started out of boredom but turned out to be a pleasant watch. Watching it made me forget all my problems and the things I stress about, and gave me a warm feeling. I enjoyed every second of it. I can't say they it has anything that stand out, but more of a number of things coming together in harmony and giving us this heartwarming fun dorama.
The drama is really about bringing people together. The title is about the ever changing form a family takes as time goes on and how we find ways to adapt at every upcoming change. I love that our hero Daisuke, played by Katori Shingo (my first time watching him - he did pretty well) is a typical introverted who treasures his time alone, only to have to deal with his extraverted father Yozo, played by Nishida Toshiyuki, who has no consideration for such issues. Another highlight is the growing relationship between Daisuke and his new ototo, and mostly the hearwarming relationship between Yozo-san and Kota. Then there's Ueno Juri playing lonely Hanako, with her lazy demeanor that takes out her boredom by complaining about anything, getting nicknamed *Complainer Hanako*. I enjoyed her bickering relationship with Daisuke, her mother, played by the lovely Fubuki Jun. Actually my favourite part of the drama was the relationship of Yozo and Ricchan and how they affected everyone around them with their warmth. Arakawa Yoshiyoshi as Daisuke's colleague doubled the fun, and the addition of Tanaka Kei was a great welcome. That guy needs to get a leading role next!
There were more. It's a huge cast and the drama gave the spotlight to most of them, and we saw both main and supporting characters grow throughout the drama.
Nishida Toshiyuki was at the center of it all. He brought lightheartedness to the drama, but can be a firm father figure when needed to, and when he gets emotional you can't help but get carried away by it. There were many instance I understood Daisuke's frustrations, and it would've drove me crazy if I was in his place, but the moment Yozo-san makes amend or explains himself, I just can't help feel for him and want him to be forgiven.
Anyways fun drama worth checking out ;)
Was this review helpful to you?
I was a bit surprised reading the reviews of the show here on MDL, but it might be because I interpreted it differently than some other viewers.
Was this review helpful to you?
Unlike the first season QOM 2 really leaned into the over-the-top comedy and all of the cases felt very disjointed. It was weird. Almost like from season 1 to season 2 there were different directors and production teams. There wasn't though, I checked. That seamless blend just wasn't there. Instead it felt more like the series was trying to tell everyone's story in a way that highlighted the individuals away from the rest of the cast rather than having a true feel of an ensemble cast which I loved from season 1. I mean, it's a mystery/police drama: it's all about the ensemble!
Not to mention the sudden appearance of Detective Ha's brother who was never mentioned in season 1, Profiler Woo seemed to become even more robotic in season 2, where he was actually a relatable character by the end of season 1 with a budding bromance between him and Detective Ha, and the most anticipated plot revolving around Hyun Soo was confusing and never really explained in any way to make her story relevant.
I know this might all sound critical but there were some positives: the comedy was good and the individual performances were stellar. If nothing else, anytime the medical examiner, Hwang Jae Min was in a scene I was laughing my head off.
The ending felt very much like they are expecting a season 3, which I'm against if season 2 is any indication. There were so many open ended questions left but I honestly don't care. I'll admit that I only finished the drama because I was hoping against hope that it would all come together in the end, but it never did. So all of the big reveals and whatever closure there was just didn't feel as gratifing as the 1st season. Too bad. for all intents and purposes everything was there, but it was put together in the wrong way.
Was this review helpful to you?
Cute, But Not Much Else
As far as GL miniseries go, this one was cute and fun to watch (with plenty of kisses to make my heart happy). The characters were sweet and there was very little conflict, which can be nice to see. I'm not always a fan of miniseries, but this one did a good job in my opinion.But honestly, there was no real substance here. The characters were all one-note, and I found it hard to care about the relationship when it a.) moved so fast, and b.) there was nothing else in the show at all. Nothing in the characters' lives outside their relationship, and an almost comical amount of people just appearing onscreen because there was no world outside whatever was on screen at a time.
I'm glad we got this show, and I would recommend it for anyone looking for a quick, cute show to watch-- but I'm hoping that one day we will have plenty of GLs that are better than this.
Was this review helpful to you?
Caution: I think this movie should be watch by people 16+ because I think it's a little bit in- appropriate for people less than that age!
And if you want to watch it you can find it in gooddrama.net
This movie was funny and cute its fun to watch and also help you to learn new things in relationship the ending was so romantic somehow and it wasn’t boring at all it have no twist but it was cool so I really do recommend it and if you are going to start it enjoy your watch ;)
Was this review helpful to you?
I loved the framework of having the parallel storylines telling Ji Woo and Dae Yeong's college and present day experiences. Given the way their relationship unfolded, it was clever and appropriate to put equal weight on both, and they managed to paint both pictures enjoyably at the same time. The supporting characters were great too, especially the hilarious group of friends from their college days.
The plot did seem to lose its way a little bit in the middle, and I imagine if the creative team knew that they'd be losing two episodes at the end, they may have tightened things up a bit. I wish they had, because as much as I enjoyed the characters, there were too many loose ends and unanswered questions at the end of it all.
That said, the actors did a good job of salvaging the characters despite the issues and surprises happening with the plot. I saw a lot of criticism online of Baek Jin Hee as the female lead, but I really don't understand why. She was adorable, and if I compare the three seasons of this show altogether, to me she was the most relatable so far. And Yoon Doo Joon was perfect as Goo Dae Yeong, as usual. The role seems basically designed for him. (Was it? Probably? I don't know.)
My favorite performance, though, was Lee Joo Woo as Ji Woo's sister, Seo Yeon. At first I was kind of turned off by how similar the character felt to her role in Waikiki previously, but she quickly grew on me as the writing revealed more nuances of the character. She seems well suited to both dramatic and comedic elements. I'm looking forward to what she'll do next.
Anyway, for fans of the Let's Eat series and for anyone who wants to watch a lighthearted drama with a sweet storyline and mouthwatering food scenes, I do recommend this one.
Was this review helpful to you?
A Surprise
There has been a slew of dramas which started out promisingly and only to end with great disappointment!BUT Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty does no such thing, its captivating, intriguing and exciting from the first episode! The character development of the character is great, especially LLF, the ML, from a hard and arrogant man to a mature and developed gentleman is quite pleasant. Though there are female interests in the drama, they never became a handicap to the drama's main storyline, which I am very grateful for, as the genre doesn't warrant romance in it. This drama is definitely about two men, the Male Leads and the strange cases they encounter. I am so looking forward to the Second Season! Meanwhile, I shall rewatch the drama this weekend.....Was this review helpful to you?
I gave the story a 10, because it's a true life story, everything shown were real events and happenings......there would be additions or subtractions somewhere. During the whole time I was watching, I was glued to my screen, when they started chanting ''fighting'', I was chanting along. Even though I knew it wasn't a live match, but I couldn't just help it.
The cast are simply awesome, one of the main reasons I watched this, is because of Ha Ji Won. She's an awesome actress. I also love the dialect and the way they were speaking. The various casts portrayed their roles well!!!!
This movie is WORTH it!!!! After watching As One, I really wish NK and SK find a way to unify permanently. A lot of people got and are still getting hurt through this separation.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
House of Boring
The trailer for House of Stars made me think it was going to be a dark, intriguing, sexy drama. I was sorely disappointed in every possible way. There is nothing sexy or intriguing about this drama and I'm already working to scrub the memory of it from my brain. It is just so poorly done from the acting to the writing and everything in between. The poor quality was compounded by the latter part of the drama feeling like a set up for a second season which is such a cop out. One way or another it's a terrible ending. It's not a cliffhanger per se, but nothing feels resolved. There was really no part of this drama that I enjoyed and it was simply a trial to get through.The plot is all over the place. I feel like this drama didn't know what it wanted to be. Did it want to be a snapshot of actors' lives and a behind the scenes look at the not so pretty parts of them? Did it want to be a romance? Did it want to be a murder mystery? Or perhaps a revenge story? The problem is that it tries to be all of the above and more and it simply doesn't work. There's simultaneously too much and not enough, too many stories trying to be told, but they're not told well and it becomes boring. I reached the halfway point and seriously considered just dropping it because it felt like nothing was really happening. It was all just incredibly tedious and frustrating. Things finally started picking up at Episode 10 with the murder, but at that point it was too little, too late and all I could think was, if they had put this closer to the beginning, it could have actually been an interesting and decent drama. As it is, there's far too much crammed into those last couple of episodes and large parts of it end up feeling rushed. The final episode felt unfinished. Again, I'm guessing they're gunning for a second season, which I would not watch because this was such a disaster, but considering the fact that a second season isn't always guaranteed, it seems foolish to end it the way that they did with so much unresolved. It was a disappointing conclusion to a disappointing series.
The pacing was far too slow for most of the drama. It feels like there's a lot of filler and a lot that goes on that doesn't really serve any kind of purpose. Most of the romantic relationships progressed at such glacial paces it was infuriating to watch. I got so frustrated with the love triangle between Pitch, Gun and Soh that by the end I didn't give a damn who ended up with who. Weyha and Wayu's relationship was slightly more bearable, but even it got frustrating to watch at times. And the love triangle between Korn, Mintra and Phawin was just a hot mess and not the good kind. Also frustrating was the lack of knowledge provided, particularly regarding the house rules. We know that dating within the house was not allowed aside from Korn and Mintra since it was written into their contract, but otherwise they were not elaborated on and it got very tiring to have everyone talking about the house rules and how they had to follow them and reminding people to follow them when we had no clue what all of them were. It wouldn't have been that hard to have the rules weaved into the narrative at different points, but I'm guessing the writers never thought beyond the no dating rule. I also questioned how Weyha was treated. He'd obviously been failing auditions for a while, his speech was a known issue, so why was that not addressed until he was at the point of being kicked out and Wayu voluntarily stepped in to help him? Same with Pitch but to a lesser extent. He seemed to struggle with connecting to his character's emotions and emoting, yet nothing was done about that until he asked to shadow Gun and basically fixed himself. It seems like since Miss Susie was investing in them and needed them to be cast, it would have been common sense to hire acting/dialect coaches to help her actors reach their full potential.
Having a big cast is always an issue, in Thai drama especially, because they never seem to know what to do with those large casts and how to divide the attention evenly enough for everyone to get established. The relatively short seasons don't help either. Chinese and Korean dramas can get away with larger casts because they're typically much longer either in terms of number of episodes or episode length and can thus delve into their characters more and stretch out their stories and allow the viewer to get to know them more gradually. Thai dramas don't generally have that luxury and large casts rarely work out well. Here there simply was not enough time to really get to know all the characters well enough to actually care about them and what was going on in their lives.
-Pitch felt like he was supposed to be one of the more main characters initially as there was a larger focus on him than some of the others. But oh my goodness was he dull as a bag of rocks. He just didn't seem to have much of a personality and the fact that he had both Gun and Soh pursuing him was baffling. Like why? What on earth do you both see in this guy? He's kind of cute, but that's about it. To give him some credit, he did seem like a genuinely decent guy for the most part, if incredibly dense. How he didn't click that Soh had feelings for him is beyond me since it was painfully obvious.
-Soh was a surprise, to say the least. I had inklings that maybe he wasn't who he appeared to be, but wasn't fully expecting how far his revenge would extend. I do wish more of that side of his character had been hinted at throughout as he only really became interesting in the last couple of episodes. I was also confused by his character in that I was left unsure if he actually had feelings for Pitch or if he just didn't want Gun to have anything positive in his life. Either way, I was left with mixed feelings regarding his character.
-Gun was so perfect that he was boring. His expression was generally so stoic and he was so unflappable that he simply wasn't all that interesting to watch. Even his history with being responsible for Sin's accident didn't really give him much more depth. His romance with Pitch was poorly portrayed. The buildup was so minimal and I just really didn't feel anything between them. I also found it disappointing that he's so apologetic to both Sin and Soh about being the cause of the accident and yet he apparently has no qualms about pursuing Pitch when he knows that Soh likes him too.
-Korn was a colossal ass and I think he got exactly what he deserved. He was an incredibly unlikeable character what with cheating on Mintra then gaslighting her and eventually trying to use both her and Phawin. His whole attitude too that he was almost owed bigger and better parts was off-putting. In general, he was an incredibly selfish person and aside from being attractive, I don't know what either Mintra or Phawin saw in him.
-Mintra was one of the few more interesting characters in that she had my opinion of her go up and down several times. I started out with mixed feelings for her. On the one hand, I liked her strength and the fact that she could be the voice of reason for Korn. On the other hand, her sniping with Phawin and possessiveness of Korn made her seem like a jerk, to put it mildly. Once Korn cheated on her, my opinion of her took a major downward turn. I felt bad for her, but her manipulation and antics were just overbearing and quickly became tedious. My opinion of her changed again though when she apologized to Korn and broke up with him and basically paired up with Phawin to screw him over. I liked that side of her and I liked that she and Phawin got to a point that they were basically frenemies.
-Phawin also gave me mixed feelings because of course it was absolutely not okay that he knowingly seduced Korn when he was already in a relationship with Mintra, but I also kind of admired him for the fact that he was upfront about everything. He made all the snide comments to Mintra and was openly antagonistic towards her, but aside from hinting to the police that they should look into her as a suspect, he never stooped to her level of manipulation. Also just loved his sassiness. I do wish we had seen a bit more of what went on in his head to make him decide to reject Korn. It felt sudden and unexplained, not that I'm really complaining since the important part is that Korn got called out for trying to use him. And, again, I liked that he and Mintra reached a truce of sorts.
-I'm going to put Weyha and Wayu together because their characters pretty much ended up revolving around each other. They were a generically cute couple. I ended up rooting for them more than any of the other couples mostly because they were at least moderately interesting to watch and had the healthiest and most wholesome relationship. I felt the pacing regarding their relationship was the most well done and the most natural. I didn't have much of an opinion regarding them as individuals. I think Weyha was a bit more interesting with being the rookie actor. It gave him more room to grow and develop. Wayu was a generally nice guy and that was about it.
-Lalit made no sense in any way, shape, or form. She's a literal stalker who is somehow able to enter the house as an actress, no idea how that happened since we never saw her working as an actress, so how exactly did they find her? And then when Miss Susie catches her red handed, she decides to use her as a spy of sorts. And so she ends up facing zero consequence for anything that she does and ends up as an assistant to Host. Like, what?
-Sun was an odd character in that I didn't really see the point in him. He obviously scared both Miss Susie and Host, but we never find out why or really anything about him other than he was in prison (?) in another country. He just didn't seem to serve any real purpose other than being dark and imposing and making a far too convenient a murder suspect.
-And Miss Susie? She was a bit of an enigma, and a creepy one at that. The way she watched everyone hooking up with each other but then rarely, if ever saying anything, was disconcerting. For all the talk about the rules, it wasn't like they were always enforced. She was given some background, but so much about who she was and her thought process was left unknown. She could have been a genuinely interesting character, but that lack of information just made her out to be more of a raging ass than anything.
One of the biggest flaws of this drama though were the actors. I don't know who approved the decision to select an almost entirely rookie cast, but it was an incredibly foolish decision because in no way were any of the actors believable as seasoned, highly sought after stars. Frankly the only two I can really give any kind of credit to are Heng as Weyha and Boss as Soh. Double was also pretty decent as Phawin. Heng though was believable as a rookie actor because he is a rookie actor, so it worked perfectly. Also kind of loved the scene of him and Wayu filming together. His deranged laugh was entertaining. Boss absolutely carried Leo through pretty much all their scenes. The difference between them was almost painful because Boss was able to emote and bring his character to life and Leo was just kind of there. I could at least feel the chemistry on his end even if Leo didn't contribute. Double is up there because while his expressions could be repetitive, he at least was expressive. The rest were all very blah. Leo frankly cannot act. I usually like to give newbie actors the benefit of the doubt, but it was almost physically painful watching him. He had zero chemistry with anyone and the idea of Pitch and Gun having feelings for each other was laughable. Pepo had two expressions and spent most of the drama looking aloof and vaguely irritated. Again zero chemistry between him and Leo. Namchok and New were fairly bland, though Namchok's chemistry with Heng was decent if not a full blaze. Oaey and Katang were slightly better, but their expressions were just repetitive.
House of Stars is quite simply, in my opinion, a drama to avoid. There is really nothing worth watching here, it's just a colossal disappointment. It joins a steadily growing list of dramas that could have been decent, maybe even great, but was crippled by subpar writing and acting. I like dark and gritty dramas, but they need to be well done and this is simply not it.
Was this review helpful to you?
