Lawyers are humans, too.
''Innocent witness'' is unexpectedly a very heart-warming movie. The beginning was painfully slow, but the second half when the main characters finally started interacting, was much much better.The storyline was quite predictable, if I have to be frank. I won't spoil anything, but you'll probably guess what's gonna happen in the end.
I loved Soon Ho and Ji Woo's relationship. Soon Ho changed a lot throughout the movie and he changed in a good way. Ji Woo was my sunshine. My heart ached whenever someone laughed at her or made her feel bad (I swear, that friend of hers was horrible). The movie shows how awful people sometimes can be. It shows that, when we see someone different, we laugh at them. It's heartbraking because the movie shows the truth. It was very realistically written.
I also loved Soon Ho and Hee Jung scenes. They were actually pretty funny. Soon Ho and his father's relationship was also nice to watch. When his father told him that it's okay to bring a guy at home my heart melted. I mean, we don't often see such a nice parents, do we?
As for the acting, it was brilliant! Especially kudos to Kim Hyang Gi, she was amazing! The movie wouldn't have been such an enjoyable ride without her presence.
Overall, I do recommend ''Innocent Witness''. It's very slow at first, but the ending was amazing and it's worth seeing! The movie shows what is to be ''a good person'' and it tells an important message.
Enjoy!
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Warm human drama
I am very excited to watch this drama as this is the first lead drama for Machida Keita, and right after Cherry Magic where he is currently at the new height of popularity. The drama is very short, only 6 episodes 24 mins each so it is an easy watch. I like it quite a lot, the story is warm and light, the characters are well-acted and overall it is a well-made drama. I really couldn't find any fault in this show, except that it's rather short and I don't see enough Machida ^^STORY
The synopsis will remind you of Midnight Diner, where the episode focuses on the troubles of the customer who comes to the establishment. But due to the short duration, the story is not as deep as Midnight Diner and is not explored further. You also get glimpses of the background of the three main characters (Amamiya, Nakauchi and Kobayashi), even though at the end Amamiya's background is still relatively unknown. I think it is also because the original manga is still very new (only 1 vol released so far) therefore they can't really explore his background further. The possibility of any sequel is very much open at this moment.
I also really like the visual of this drama, it is dominated with yellow/brown color which exudes warm atmosphere.
ACTING
All the characters are very well acted, including the guest roles which include some famous figures such as Kaji Yuki and Nakayama Miho. Machida is great as beautiful bartender even though I wish he had more lines and more scenes to show more of his acting capabilities. Fujiwara and and Morisaki also did a great job portraying their characters and I find Kobayashi's character is very interesting.
MUSIC
I think this is one of the J-drama that has the best music imo (besides Cherry Magic). The OP (Entertainer by I Don't Like Monday) song is very catchy and addictive, and the ED (Tooi Hoshi wo Kazoete by Sard Underground) is the remake of song by one of my favorite singers, Zard. Definitely recommended!
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I've re-watched this movie several times. It goes from the coaches past to the present with all the players, mixing kung fu with soccer, buns, and everyday life. Even characters you see and would think are pointless extras (by standers) have their moments. Each member has their own special skill in kung fu, and each team stands out in an amusing way making the games very interesting. No boring scenes or pointless conversation. Random comedy bits. It's a good family movie also. I highly recommend it ^^
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You will love this series as much you love Steven Zhang. No regret!
I hardly watch this kind of genre. Usually, I will watch light drama to chill around the weekend. Honestly, I start watching this series because of Steven Zhang. I admired him through his previous drama (The day of becoming you). He is a talented and versatile actor. He nailed it in any role!My first impression: I will watch this because of Steven and drop the drama anytime if the storyline is so-so.
But Nah, my first impression of this series is "out of scope" (Sorry, I can't find a good word to describe this). THIS DRAMA HAS ADDED TO MY BEST DRAMA PLAYLIST! I will rewatch this drama again and again.
From the first episode, you will love the storyline, the characters, and the settings of the drama. I love how each character is developing from episode to episode. I love how beautifully everyone portrays their role. Each character is perfect for actors and actresses especially, both ML and FL.
ML is so lovable. I love his ambition and determination. At first, you will hate the FL, but along the process, you will love her. She is a smart and reliable person. They are destined for each other. All the supporting character has their own story, and you will love it.
The storyline and script have perfectly done by the production. Each scene relates to the other. There is narration behind the story, which helps in highlighting the characters' emotions and inner thoughts. But some is lacking in the story, which they never mention how many years fly from scene to scene. As an international viewer, I am not familiar with the history. But it doesn't ruin the series at all.
The previous episodes have many heartbreaking scenes. I can't take any heartbreak. This series will reach the end, and I was hoping the ending be great. I will take some time moving on from this series.
Please give a try to this drama! You will love it.
Edit: I wish it has an extra episode. I really can't over this series yet. Please, help me! I fall for all actors and actresses in this series. And I fall twice with Steven Zhang. This time even harder. Cheng Yizhi is the best character. Wu Lizi too. They already secured a place in my heart. It will take some time to recover from this.
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in my humble opinion, the beauty of this drama lies in its quiet storytelling. the dynamics of dysfunctional families and how they were able to resolve their conflicts were all told through honest, thorough conversations and quiet moments. no meanies or baddies here to mess up the lives of our families but just families in conflict within and by themselves.
compared to a lot of the family dramas that i've seen, this is by far very well-written and portrayed with aplomb especially by the oldest OTP i have ever shipped!
overall, i still give this an 8! i eagerly awaited each episode every week while it was airing. rewatch value is only a 6 because i seldom rewatch anything anyway due to the heavy load of dramas on my watch list. =)
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When Love and Revenge Intertwine.........
Damn! How can I move on from one series to another? This one is also impossible to ignore. :(I’m starting to get familiar with this theme now. I thought Ming (from My Stand-In) was already the most evil partner in BL history, but the things Fan Xiao did to You Shu Lang are on a level of evilness I couldn't even imagine coming from someone who supposedly loves you.
Remember my review for My Stand-In? I said, "Even if I loved someone deeply, I could never forgive them for doing that, not even if I came back to life a hundred times"
I don't even know what to say about this series. You Shu Lang is so much stronger than Joe, even though there are a million ways he could have taken revenge on Fan Xiao, the way he played his part in this toxic relationship is exactly what made me fall in love with the show.
Another thing I loved about this series was the way they wrapped up the entire season. It was so simple, that I didn't even want an after-story or another season to see their relationship continue.
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The plot is very interesting and it kept me at the edge of the seat most of the time. There were some parts, but I did not mind. I felt connected to the characters and the screen writer Im Sung Han had presented very interesting aspects in life, which I had never really thought about. As I was watching, I wrote down some aspects of the conversation because it was very well said. I think I was inspired to learn things that I have never learned before.
I found the couples have great chemistry. Even those who had been living together for more than 30 years. I was laughing and crying along with them. This is truly a TV show that would make you feel good on the inside. I did not think it to be a melodrama. Most of the aspects that the author had presented seemed real. I think this is what makes Korean dramas stand out and make us go out there and enjoy watching them because in the end I grew very attached to the characters. It felt sad that I have to find another great drama.
Overall, I believe that everyone would find something interesting as one would sit back and relax and start watching New Tales of Gisaeng. Let the drama take its course.
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This review may contain spoilers
Refreshing love story told - Inside Out style!
It's not every day that Korean dramas ever shown relationships so ordinary before - from the simple moments of coming home after buying groceries to going on their first trip together! Seriously, when have you ever watched a drama that has shown even a break-up before? I know I haven't! It's almost always been sunshines and rainbows for every typical K-drama couple once they get together. This drama gets down on all the little things a SO can do to the tick the other.It is absolutely refreshing seeing every little thing felt and portrayed by the cartoon cells. Through the cells and this drama, I realized how much communication is key. It takes two to tangle, and I love that both characters have their own flaws in contributing to the downfall of the relationship. So realistic, that I couldn't help but talk about every little scene throughout the drama with my friend and SO. But, I must admit some parts felt like fillers or moved too slow.
Overall, I definitely recommend Yumi's Cells for the most realistic and creative portrayal of relationships!
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All the characters in this drama is beautifully written and the actors are perfectly casted.
All characters have their own charm, and you will end up liking everyone of them and their stories. Even the kids character are funny to watch.
Kim Myung Min is funny in this drama and way different from his usual cool and arrogant character in White tower, king of drama, beethoven virus. He was able to show his funny side especially in his love story.
For the music, nothing much because there is not much song or music that are very addicted to be listened, but the drama itself is just funny enough.
This drama is recommended to those who like watching enjoyable drama about family and those who want to see Kim Myung Min in a funny character.
Those who want to watch sad love story or very serious drama should avoid this.!
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I'm so mad, I had to come here and write my first review ever.
I wouldn't be so mad if this series hadn't roped me in with a lovely concept. I love a capable modern girl being sucked into an ancient world and having to adapt. I love a found-family-style ragtag group of young people out here fighting crime and solving mysteries. I love that they're all fully fleshed out characters with their own talents and challenges and even backstories. This was all off to a great start, and I will say that in watching a 4 hour compilation video of the series, I was on board for the first 3 hours. It's that last hour that brings me here.Without giving any spoilers, I can tell you that last hour was truly unhinged. I'm a smart person, and I was more confused than a chameleon in a bag of skittles. The plotline diverges so intensely that it leaves plot twist territory altogether and goes into a full on plot tornado where nothing makes sense, no explanations are offered, and the audience is just sitting there for an hour questioning not only what in the world is going on in this story, but also our life choices in general.
Concept was great. Acting was great. I'm not a music person so I hold a neutral opinion of the soundtrack. I'm angry about the writing. If I could, I would press charges against whoever wrote the last quarter or so of the series.
I recommend the first three quarters of this series. After that, guys, you're on your own. Hope this helps.
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This review may contain spoilers
Excellent cast, fast-paced, and achingly sad...yet doesn't quite know what to sayDeok Im is a high spirited, clever girl who is firm in her values. She stands up for her friends, and she wants to live a simple life full of every day joy and helping those around her.
It's Deok Im's misfortune to be born into palace intrigue, and the nail in the coffin is catching the eye of the Crown Prince. As hard as she tries to break free, she keeps on being pulled in for the sake of her country, for the sake of her friends, and ultimately for the sake of the Crown Prince himself. She tries to resent him, she tries to demonize him, but the truth is he will be a great king, and is a decent man, and who is she to deny him?
It's an excellent premise, but it's clear the show wasn't sure which way to end it or what themes it is trying to promote. In the end, the show essentially shows 'multiple endings' in a string of could be final scenes. But unfortunately, in each and every end-ish scene, Deok Im's voice is muted, her feelings ambivalent, and in the very last scene, it's almost like she doesn't exist.
Also minor points off for not really knowing what to do with Hong Deok Ro.
The cast is superb, I really cared deeply for the two main characters and thought both the two main characters and all the side characters showed distinct personalities and a range of emotion. The music was moving but rather standard, scenes from the show will definitely linger on.
Themes: 6.5
The strongest theme is basically a warning "you wouldn't actually want to be a court lady centuries ago." Also 'lonely is the head that wears the crown.' Otherwise, the show is quite lost on whether it wanted to truly go with the feminist message lurking in the background, or whether it approves of Deok Im sacrificing herself to the Crown Prince.
Complex characters/character growth: 7.0
It's hard to not confuse the excellent acting, with character growth. I wish they had grown! Deok Im essentially gets quieter and more subdued as she feels the walls are closing in. The Crown Prince doesn't really waver in temperament or character until the tacked on last episode. They show lots of range of emotion, but no real transformation.
Complex women/interactions between women: 9.0
So great! Deok Im and her three friends stick together through thick and thin, and Deok Im recognizes and values how female companionship and community has made her life worth living. She also has great female mentors in the Queen/Queen Dowager and the senior ladies. One point off for the bizarre conspiracy of court lady spies. Instead of being an intriguing take on women coming together to defend themselves from powerful men, the whole thing is treated like a bunch of bitter, ridiculous women who would of course fail.
Cinematography/Production Values: 8.5
Production values are high, costumes and scenery are extremely pretty with a marked effort to change seasons and try different color combinations. It still stuck to somewhat standard scenes in terms of what the palace looks like, how the servants follow the important people around, how fight scenes are conducted etc.
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Well what a waste of almost 20 hours
Just finished watching this show. Take home message is that Thai producers have too much money to spend on ridiculous storylines that make little to no sense.For starters, there is only one character in the whole show that's somewhat sane, thinks a bit logically, which is Prang. The ML and FL are so unreal, I almost ragequit the show many times. FLs actions are very inconsistent and her acting skills are poor. Although I find her extremely pretty, it doesn't make up for the fact that she cannot act a dynamic role. She has a stoic face, a smile or a sneer pasted through most of the show. Her actions make no sense. For example, one minute she will be angry at the ML and suddenly she is no longer angry and smiling and talking to him as though nothing happened. On top of all that, the random dream sequences in the earlier episodes where she's going gaga over the ML are bizarre. I had no idea when/why she secretly fell in love with the ML? They met like three times and then, boom, she's secretly in love with him, even though they had little to no conversation happen those three times they meet. She's supposedly a world girl who knows her way around the block, but apparently falls in love with a random dude despite the fact that every male character in the show is in love/lust with her?
The ML on the other hand also has those random dream sequences. I really don't know what the director/writer was thinking when working on the script. It was all over the place, especially in the earlier episodes, the editing was totally off. Scenes that already took place had random cut parts pasted in other scenes. One minute the protagonists are in one scene, and then the scenes shifts to a totally new place with no rhyme or reason.
Overall, the show was very unpolished and 'logic' was a word that everyone in the show was allergic to. It seemed like the editing team rushed through the edits and cut and pasted scenes. The writing and directing of the show were also really pathetic, not to mention the poor acting.
P.S: Anyone else thinks that the random forest dude who works for the ML at the end of the show was super cute? I would have really enjoyed the show more if he was ML, at least I could look at a nice face when lambasting through this show.
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This review may contain spoilers
Good starts promise a good watch, and this enraptured me from the get-go. I am not big on watching or reading things surrounding school; however, what captured my attention was the highlighting of adults’ struggles when it comes to school violence. This was not about students alone, but teachers and parents too, and I appreciate those shifts in perspective. Furthermore, it did not brush over any harsh details while discussing bullying; neither was it afraid to delve into the cruelty of children, because, let’s face it, some children ARE cruel. But it also prevented painting every occurrence in a black and white stroke.The life of this drama lay within the situation it had created that allowed the writer to explore the helplessness that is integral to human nature. It discussed how environments shape people, how parents shape children, and how the basic instinct to protect your offspring can have far-reaching consequences. It did not limit itself to calling bullies the scum of the earth, and unfolded their domestic situations and personalities. It depicted many kinds of bullies: one doing it for pleasure, one doing it under pressure, one attacking what they cannot have, and one acting as a bystander. There were also those who redeemed themselves and those that went on with life. Moreover, the relationships the writer had drawn were really heartfelt. My favourite was Moo Jin and his student Dong Soo's consideration for each other. The side stories and characters had a purpose, either acting as an insight into the characters or served to help them grow. Not to mention, I became attached to them, and so will any viewer, I am sure, especially to Dong Hee and Dong Soo.
This drama happens to be one of the rare cases where flashbacks did not become an intrusion because the transitions from present to past and back again were edited nicely. The imagery was great as well, for example: Joon Seok lived in a glass-like house, very telling of the prison-like environment imposed upon him 24/7, and then there was the warmth of Seon Ho’s home. The reference to The Catcher in the Rye was befitting to the topic at hand.
The pacing could be painstakingly slow at times, but it’s a melodrama, so it is a given. I think the writer could have stretched the show to two more episodes to cover the aftermath in a better way, or the given time should have been used more efficiently by cutting out repeated moments and adding in those worthy of being shown. I think Joon Seok’s redemption and new-found friendship with Dong Soo had great power and should have been explored further. Had Seon Ho gained consciousness earlier, the writer could have effectively handled this and could have made it a better story. Aside from that, there were a few questions they never answered, like Seon Ho’s password. I also noticed how the police felt a tad unprofessional with the way they treated the case earlier on.
Joon Seok was one of the most complex characters in the whole show, and I applaud the actor for bringing him to life; I went from hating him to feeling sorry for him till finally wanting a better life for him. The child actors did a brilliant job at their roles, and so did the adults.
The OSTs were soft and very pleasant to the ears, despite the tears they resulted in. I think they will go to my playlist. One of them, however, was a hip-hop sound and would have felt out of place had they used it as BGM, which they thankfully did not. Overall, a sensible choice of background score.
I don’t think this will be one in my rewatch list, mostly because it is a melo and I get impatient easily. However, a few moments tugged at my heartstrings and had great power in their subtlety so I might return to them.
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Will ‘ Shoplifters’ Steal Your Heart?
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s films have long been held as masterful arts of work in themselves; profound, complex and subtly crafted-something that ‘ Shoplifters’ presented beautifully throughout its storyline.
Lily Franky takes on the role of Osamu; the head of the band-wagon group of rouges seemingly appear as a middle-aged husband alongside his middle-aged wife Shibata Nobuyu ( Ando Sakura), their two children teenager Shibata Aki ( Matsuoka Mayu) and their young son Shibata Shiota ( Jyutu Kairi) and granny Shibata Hatsue ( Kiki Kirin). However the house is filled with untold truths and secrets; Osamu gaining most of his profit from shoplifting by enlisting the help of Shiota, Nobuyu stealing things from clothes’ pockets during her laundry job, Aki being part of a peep show in order to make ends meet and Hatsue’s seperate past life and gambling addiction at the local pachinko machines in secret. Yet the family find themselves ineffably stuck in a rut when they come across Juri ( Sasaki Miyu); an abandoned and abused little girl who is quick to warm their hearts but with undeniable consequences towards their future.
The casting choices of the move were undeniably brilliant with each actor feeling masterfully placed like pieces on a chessboard by Kore-eda. Yet admittedly one of the most dynamic of the movie came through Kiki Kirin’s role as Shibata Hatsue; sadly her last role before her passing shortly afterwards.
It should come as no surprise rust Kore-da’s unlikely Palmes D’Or winner offered viewers a sociopolitical depiction upon the deep-rooted trauma of a family united under one roof, alongside the fear of poverty. The narrative of the film took no wasted-time with subtly painting the dysfunctions of modern Japanese society and hypocrisies as well as the audacious details of characters and how they’d e linked together.
Yet against the beauty of the film’s narrative there was an admitted flaw with ‘ Shoplifters’ and that came through the initial problem of pacing. The film is admittedly slow-burn and whilst necessary for building up the storyline as well as delivering its twist-ending, lacked a greater sense of momentum towards the plot and attention of viewers.
Nevertheless Ryûto Kondô’s cinematography highlights a stark depiction of more grounded issues of the film such as child abduction, abuse and abandonment against the surrealist fantasy -world of Kore-eda’s microcosm of a seemingly mysterious family. The OST is admittedly less memorable than other parts of the film but Kore-eda’s placed emphasis on visual aesthetics other auditory became evident in the final act of the film beautifully encased in snow; a final flurried blur between the fairytale and childlike world of the family’s insular bubble and the cold and harsh reality of the events that are unfolding also.
Kore-eda’s ‘ Shoplifters’ is undeniably a heartwarming, bittersweet and audacious film about family. The subtle narrative and character-build was masterfully depicted alongside the strong performances by the cast. Admittedly whilst the film could sometimes hit a rut with pacing, the movie’s themes and finale offered viewers with a deeply thoughtful and contemplative film.
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