a worthwhile slow-burn
A melodrama that uniquely dances within several genres (slice-of-life, corruption, school bullying, romance) while connecting its very essence with mathematics. Huge fan of both leads. Watched Lee Do Hyun last in Youth of May (one of my all-time favorite kdramas) and was not disappointed by his role here. OST was beautiful and well-placed.Well worth the watch. Some commentators here had a lot of prejudice toward the misconception that there would be a pedophilic or predatory student-teacher relationship, but it's nothing like that whatsoever. I've also seen many reviewers leave poor ratings because of their personal distaste for math. I also hate math, but I really appreciated the unique way it was implemented for this drama. All around solid cast with several worthy antagonists.
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So, the movie is about Miyavi playing soccer, guitar, meeting friends... If you like myv you have to watch it! If you don't, then I wouldn't recommend it.
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This review may contain spoilers
Picking up Vampire Host, I didn't have too much expectations about it. All I basically expected upon watching it was just to pass some time. What I didn't expect however, Was that already in the first episode I would be completely addicted to the drama. A drama based on the Bloodhound manga by the mangaka Yuki Kaori. I will be writing a spoilerless review.Rion Kanou is a 17 year old girl, And a great friend to her friend. One day she recieves a voice mail from her best friend who abrubtly got cut off. All she could hear from the voicemail was the sound of her friends really shaken up voice, And her saying that the person who has her captive is a real vampire. Not believing in vampires Rion's suspicions automatically leads her to a themed host club downtown, Where she meets the young Suou. Suou is refusing to have anything to do with her best friends dissapearance which makes Rion more sure that he is the person behind it. Leaving herself indebted by breaking a valueable wine bottle, She starts working in the host club and by a call of fate she finds out the truth of Suou. This fated encounter eventually leading her into a dangerous journey ahead filled with new encounters, Dangers, Sadness, Happiness, Laughter, Fear and some romance. It doesn't seem like something special when you first watch it, But when you've watched it for a bit things definately becomes more original aswell as entertaining.
The soundtrack isn't too special. Its fitting that of a short drama, But it doesn't stand out especially much to the point of needing to be bragged about.
Vampire Host is definately not a drama you should miss out on. If you like romance, comedy, vampires and ofcourse the supernatural-genre, this will be a mustlove for you. They have however decided to keep parts of this drama somewhat alike the vampire stereotype due to the manga. Allthough things might get exaggerated often in the series, Its a part of its charm..
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This drama was so much better than I ever expected it to be. It made me cry, angry and on rare occasions, laugh, and definitely had those "pull your hair out" and "bang my head against a concrete wall" moments, but to be honest it's all worth it in the end. Although I feel like since we were viewing the whole background story thing, almost every event that took place (like Da Hae threats, or even Ha Ryu's (I don't want to give specific details out without spoiling it, but those of you who watched it should know what I mean)) you sorta knew how they were going to turn out because of the beginning. How she had already gotten to that high place she hoped for, but Ha Ryu's story took a bit of a twist, so it wasn't all predictable. I hope some of you don't consider that a spoiler, I'm trying to be as discreet as possible...Like the others have stated before me, this was so hard to keep up with. I can't even tell you how many times I wanted to drop this drama because things were turning out so bad and it always felt like the good people were being wronged, but I think in the end that's what I loved most about this drama. It wasn't your typical "cookie-cutter" drama. Bad things WILL happen. Everyone doesn't just miraculously kiss and make-up, and go on with life. You will become so frustrated with this drama it's not even funny. But in my opinion, that's what make dramas so good to me.
And it possibly even showed some meaningful life lessons you can take with you into reality. How people can change, and betray you, and how some aren't all that they seem to be. It may even show the dirty side of our government, and how money is always involved to get one's way. But despite all that, I'll honestly probably never watch this again... Unless I want to cause myself more emotional trauma. The amount of tears that fell from my eyes.... Well, that's a different story. I hope you have a box of tissues lying around somewhere because *warning* you WILL use them.. all.
I hope all of you take a chance with this. This drama won't make you happy whatsoever, but it's so beautifully written you really have to see it for yourself.
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I have seen the male lead in Beauty Maker (find him cute and a looker there, just dislike the female lead :p) however, thik he put on a lot of weight since beauty maker ??!! (or is it becos he needs to put on weight for this role?? (cute, bubbly, rich son)
Story:
the plot was good. Interesting story line.BUT the 3rd part of the memory lost and found is kind of dragggggy liao...... You have to watch to know what I meant
Nonetheless, I still enjoy this drama and story line ^_^
Cast:
The Cast was good... I like the male lead in his previous drama which i mentioned above but he is still cute here which I find both of the lead have chemistry here and they are both cute to look out for
I cried abit here and there, not sad though, just touching on their love story. :P
Music:
Music was ok but
nothing special caught my ears ....
Rewatch Value:
I will cos the funny parts between the 2 leads are really cute and teasing each other ^_^
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The tone here is warm, quiet and down to earth and the story itself is not very grand, as it would not fit the story that this drama is trying to say, and yet it truly grabbed me right away. There is a certain softness and wholesomeness that this story just exudes. It radiates warmth and kindness. There was always something so pleasant and comforting about tuning into this show every week and the message of chasing your dreams no matter where you are in life, and it’s never to late to try is beautiful.
Navillera is a really character-driven and character-focus story as we just follow these people throughout their daily-lives and their interactions with each other. There’s really nothing I’ve not seen before here. It’s a simple setup; Two very different individuals need to work together and somehow they were just what the other one needed. One character is cold and closed-off, the other is not. You’ve seen it before so many times, but it works, and the drama never seems boring despite the fact that you sort of know the story that’s being told because it has so much heart and tells the story well.
Chae Rok’s relationship with this grandfather that he has been tasked to teaches ballet is so wonderful and pulls at your heart every step of the way. Deok Chool is one of most adorable and wholesome character I’ve ever watched. He’s the heart of the show and wow what a big heart it is. Their relationship and Deok Chool’s determination to chase his dreams is going to make you get misty-eyed every episode of this show.
Song Kang and Park In Hwan do such a good job in these roles, although it is the latter who really carries the show on his shoulders, as his character is the heart of the show. They are both so sincere here though and that really shines through. All of the actors on this show do an amazing job to bring these fully fleshed characters to life. I felt like I understood everyone, why they did what they did and their attitude towards life, whether I liked them or not.
Often I feel like these types of dramas tend to drag on for a bit or the story isn’t big enough for the drama itself, not enough history to be to fill in all the episodes but Navillera uses it’s time really well and never really drags on. It rather chugs steadily on while focusing on the character and their relationship in a really sincere way. And it certainly helps that Navillera is only 12 episodes, but not the usual 16, like kdramas tend to be.
There are certain things that I found predictable within the story, especially as it descends into the latter half and the stakes rise a little bit, but it never got on my nerves and I never found it too bleak. It sometimes filled me up melancholy but because the drama set all of these things up really well these things never came out of nowhere. I was prepared. And there is a certain string of hope that persists within the story despite the lingering sadness that was present within the story. Hope always seems to shine through.
The story may be a little standard, a bit after the book at times, but I can not fault the drama because of it because it set everything up very well, it builds up to things, it lays all the groundwork, the character were good, everything that happened seemed earned and not just randomly thrown into the story. It was the story it wanted to be. Plus, the story has a huge heart. So even though I always sort of knew where it was heading. Everything somehow came together really nicely. I got pretty much everything I wanted and expected from this, which was satisfying. It’s like a good home-cooked meal that your mom makes. You get what you expected, but it’s nice.
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ACTING/CAST: Only reason I wanted to see this was because ?Gun? is in it. Don't much care about anyone else in this.
MUSIC: Um, there's a song at the end that sounds kinda cool.
REWATCH VALUE: Bathtub scene only, hehehe.
OVERALL: Pointlessly slow. Go watch the bathtub scene cut on YouTube. It's the only part of this movie that was interesting. I hope the sequel is better...
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This review may contain spoilers
Nothing much is new
The Romance of Hua Rong 2 is just the continuation of the season 1 but let me clear it up that season 1 has a happy ending and not a hanging one, so here in season 2 they picked the story up from where they have ended it…As for the question if season 1 needs to be watched before season 2 I think it could be watched without season 2 but then I recommend that you watch season 1 first before proceeding to season 2 to have a better understanding of the story and to get to know more the characters, since the beginning of FL and ML’s love story are all on season 1.
*What’s new in season 2:
-Season 2 is supposedly that Huarong and Qin Shangcheng’s wedding but then another problem occur.
-The real birth of Qin Shang Chen will be revealed here.
-There were additional characters that lead to having additional side couples.
*What I did not like:
-Main couple are tested again and again in here I’ve had enough in season 1 already, they would be separated then get back then again ohh I think its too much.. I expected that there would be a more interesting story in season 2.
-I did not find that FL had a character development she always sulk at ML and ML is always the one apologizing.
-FL does not trust the ML fully, but ML trust her fully.
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Erm where to start ?
What a waste 🫣 this has to be one of the worse bls ive ever seen tbh,Dino was kinder creepy verging on controlling and i felt abit sick watching the way he was literally sucking off raks face 🤢come on could've done better,saw more of his tongue than most characters 😏.Rak was beyond naive he was just plain dumb i was kinda at a loss as to what guys saw in him he was just not all there at all what the hells he doing in uni he barely has the sense to be out of middle school,wow 😕 just wow.
His ex cant remember his name or be bothered to look it up but could u be any more in denial blaming everyone for his loser streak but himself plus ewww with the rapist vibe dick no means no about its ok to try rape rak coz he aint slept with dino,the omelette guy hmmmm no comment.
That creepy weird guy Tart wtf 😳.
Everything was just one big mess to me some didn't even make sense 🤔all in all i thought it was rubbish 😕 weren't really disappointed as never really expected much anyway weren't a bl i planned to watch it was just there as i was flicking through.
Wont watch again ever,good luck to all actors hope they manage to find better and more convincing projects.
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I liked it wayyy more than i expected!!
Okay so, i was in denial for this one. I wasn’t sure how it worked and that took me a bit back from watching it. I was confused why there were 2 stories but after watching this one I think I know what’s gonna be different. But aside from that I wasn’t super excited to watch this, it looked boring. But after watching it IM IN LOVE. This serie was small, cutesy and not very confusing. It was so adorable… I don’t regret forcing myself to watch this anymore!Also just so you know, if you're as confused as me, this is basically the first part, the other star and sky is about the brother, but the events of this show have already mostly happened!
Deffo a reccomend!!
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Superior As A Film, Still Wanted To See More
I continue to have a bone to pick with Korean BL's or LGBTQ content. IT'S NOT LONG ENOUGH!!! Why dude, why you gotta dangle this stuff in front of our faces for literally 15 minute episodes!? That's not okay and it needs to change. These series are worth it! However, a slight solution to this is that they also released it in this film version. Which is 2 hours long all together, so it actually works better as the film! Totally recommend watching it this way instead of being broken up. Better flow, better overall experience.Moving on. This didn't feel cheaply done at all. Sometimes you can tell BL's or lgbtq stories aren't done with much of a budget. This was shot nicely and has a lot of scenic shots of Seoul. The couple we get is a case of opposites attract, which is funny to watch and interesting. I liked their back and forth a lot! We see them start to bond more, where Ji Woo even starts to get protective over Seo Joon. I find it funny too that both these actors were in "Tale of the Nine Tailed", one as a supporting role and the other occasional cameo.
I liked seeing Seo Joon's struggle with losing fame. You can tell he's kinda lost, but still trying to keep up the luxurious happy persona. I wish we would've gotten even more of that to be fleshed out, because you can go so far with that alone. We got some of the drawbacks on screen of fame, but not enough! I also appreciated his characters confidence in himself. There's no question whom he's attracted to and he's not afraid of showing it. Though he will protect Ji Woo's privacy if needed, which I also appreciated seeing. Ji Woo was an interesting character. He's actually quite cruel with his words at certain parts of this series/film. To where you really feel bad for Seo Joon! However, he does it because he's so walled up emotionally and used to being alone. Literally doesn't know how to communicate with people very well, its totally understandable and he grows so much! Seeing him at the end, I felt so proud of him and happy that he finally had things to smile about in his life.
The whole plot with the controversy (like I briefly mentioned) was so Korea. Meaning that Korea specifically tends to take controversies (big or small) and run with them, potentially ruining reputations. It was done really well and when you find out the cafe owner was also a betrayer, it hurts! The price of fame is very large. I liked watching it all play out. Finally, hello last episode/end scene chemistry! Like dang lol but I wish it wasn't held off until literally the last part of this and especially during the last like 5 minutes! That whole couple exchange was so good and I was holding my breath. I think that might be the most I've seen from a Korean drama series thus far, let alone a BL concerning real sexual intimacy ("You Make Me Dance" was another one that showed more). Even if it was just some rolling around and flirtatious discussion about things. I know this probably won't get another season...but please give it another season/film! XD
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Nevertheless, she is still well liked enough to get fairly steady work for national advertising campaigns and has launched a music career as a singer/song-writer and guitarist. And, obviously, someone liked her enough to invest in her for this movie for YouTube Originals that she wrote, directed, starred in, did the costumes for, art directed and edited. That someone also paid for an accompanying documentary series on the making of the movie called "I AM NON".
And so what we have here is, essentially, a student film shot on a thirteen day shooting schedule with a professional crew led by a wildly creative young woman who has, apparently, never heard of these strange things called film schools. Given all of the above saying anything bad about this film would be like punching a kitten.
It is a fairly simple story of a high school senior trying to understand why her grandmother has left the household and also trying to figure out what to do with her life while being tempted by and distracted by the forest spirits (yokai) around her. There are no real surprises here, and the editing would probably be tighter in more experienced hands. However, Non does have a strong visual sense as a director and is a charming actress. The story has Ghibli-esque aspirations and largely succeeds at evoking the wonder of a young woman discovering her power as an artist (both within the story and outside via the making of the film).
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Early on, there are two scenes that portend what’s to come. One is when Sungjin’s chairman apologizes for involving his daughter in the family business and its innate “dirtiness,” which he had hoped to shield her from; and the other is a noodle peddler’s son, now a high-stakes broker, proclaiming that business is “war.” From then on, moral scruples are subordinated to vindictiveness and revenge, putting everything, including blackmail and the covering up of a murder, on the table, as viable options.
With no heroes per se, I found myself pulling for the three characters who want nothing more to do with power and prestige (to the extent they try to sabotage their nearest and dearest who are busy selling their souls for the sake of the “Golden Empire”) to be the ones who resolve the drama’s ending. It was wishful thinking, as there has to be a winner and a loser(s), and as it would’ve been implausible for a truce to be called and the winner declared in the spirit of fair play after all the no-holds-barred beat-down of one another. And the writers don’t disappoint. To quote Adam von Librikov “Death is a matter of style.” And death, stylish death, is the note which the drama’s most heroic character goes out on while its most attractive is left to ponder the unbearable cost of winning.
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The only minor reason I didn't give this a full 10/10 rating was because I wasn't a huge fan of the way the antagonist was dealt with. While I liked the attempt to give them a backstory and have it be in line with the message of the drama, it was basically all crammed into the last few episodes.
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