Completed
Star and Sky: Star in My Mind
16 people found this review helpful
Sep 10, 2022
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 10

i finished this months ago but i have to say this

after seeing this series be hyped up like crazy on my tiktok fyp, i finally decided to watch it, and now i wish i didnt. i keep rewatching it like crazy. i have formed some sort of attachment to the characters idk how to deal with. i Never rewatch anything after in done with it bc i just dont have the patience for it. however i could watch this series 5 times back to back and i would still enjoy it like its my first time.
theres nothing showstopping about the plot, its a pretty common thai bl plot, idk what sets it apart from other bls but its just. Different.
i just had to write this review and get these words off of my chest because ive been thinking of writing this review since the morning, where i decided to rewatch it for the 6th time.

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Completed
Here Is My Exclusive Indulge
16 people found this review helpful
Oct 23, 2021
34 of 34 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 5.5

Could have been better if fleshed out

The editor literally put evythg at 1.5x speed

There are a lot of dramas with thin plots that are 25 to 40mins long, and 24episodes or more. Then heres one with a plot and two leads with gd visuals but on a 2-3min length for 34episodes. Do the math.

You hav a FL with a mom who has been duped and a horrible stepfather. But she doesnt cowers. Intelligent and courageous. Plus shes really pretty and cute and suited her role vy much. The ML lost quite a bit of weight aft recently watchin him in another drama. He has the chiseled good looks and suited the role with the cold aura. But surprise he can charm your socks off and becomes a natural flirt where the FL is concern. I thk you can count him on those that really put aside face to pursue what he wants.

Like i said someone came down with the decision for the length of this drama and hence some scenes are very choppy and skipped ahead a lil too much. It affected the continuity of it.

For what is worth it was enjoyable for a really quick watch.

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Completed
Slow Dance
16 people found this review helpful
Aug 7, 2011
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
I guess the title "Adults who cant express themselves well" was already taken. Lol.

Slow dance is really about a group of adults who are trying to find what they want in their love lives and in life in general. While they can't figure it out for themselves they ask their even more clueless friends, thus creating misunderstandings. I liked the acting all the lead characters were good; however some incidental characters weren't the best actors. I liked how the actors portrayed the confusion and pain of their characters in subtle ways. The script writer was clever and showed the character development/ character realizations clearly. The story was well planned and uncommon; however if you like "love shuffle" you would like this one. Although the progression seems to be slow there aren't many dull moments, I never fast forwarded out of boredom, only because I felt embarrassed for them.

The drama doesn't suck you in and make you want more, but you are totally interested and invested through each episode. Even though Isaki, the female lead can get annoying, I really enjoyed watching this drama .Of course the people I put together initially didn't get together but I still felt the ending was a happy and perfect one.

P.s. there are some really squeal-worthy confessions and proposals

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Completed
Chicken Nugget
16 people found this review helpful
by Cho Na
Mar 16, 2024
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

While You Are Still on the Earth, Watch a Chicken Nugget Gone Interstellar

The decision to release this drama on Friday is smart because, with only 10 episodes 32 minutes each (5 hours and 20 minutes total), you have a unique and unpredictable comedy fantasy to binge on weekends, or anytime when you just want to unwind without having to involve your brain and emotion but just laughing. The mystery and fantasy plot in this short drama is just bizarre and imaginative with a sci-fi touch.

Other than that, the comedic acting is just top-notch, specifically by the two leading actors Ryu Seung Ryong (as the dad and the owner of the company) and Ahn Jae Hong (his subordinate). I thought Ryu Seung Ryong mostly acted in serious dramas/movies, while Ahn Jae Hong more in dark comedies. I couldn't imagine they're so matched as clown duos and be serious during the filming. Unfortunately, Kim You Jung is more a supporting role, because most of the time her character is the chicken nugget, lol!

Speaking about the chicken nugget, this is when the title it's gone interstellar is. I won't spoil you, but the sci-fi part is just hilarious. We got to see aliens, as long as they're not banned coming into the earth IRL, lol. There are also social messages delivered in light ways.

Because it's comedy, the visuals are also not to be taken seriously: bad wigs, eccentric costumes, etc.

Just watch it. Don't worry about the rating. Because this is not a cookie-cutter drama, for some people that are so used to cliches and tropes, this drama seems ridiculous.

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Completed
The Sword and the Brocade
16 people found this review helpful
by Ed Saw
Apr 7, 2021
45 of 45 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 10

Best Cdrama in a long time, best acting by Seven todate

I was initially skeptical about this sort of costume dramas but as I watched the story line got better. I specially liked the acting capabilities of both the lead actor and actors. I feel that this is probably the best effort by Seven todate. She seem to have matured a lot in her acting abilities.

This is a serious and typical drama with not much comedy. I liked the twist and turns of the story line. Many a times the lead actress seemed caught in the many conspiracies but we get surprises at how smart both the leads were able to jointly overcome their enemies.

For once, we get a good and smart leading actress and it is portraited well here. The story just got better with the episodes and it is worth a rewatch.

I must also comment that the English subs were well done, generally good english used. Thanks to this, I was able to follow the story and enjoyed the show.

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Completed
New World
16 people found this review helpful
Apr 5, 2014
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
Korean cinema is famous for its excellent gangster movies. It became genre popular to the extent that directors have hard time to come up with something new, which can distinguish their creation from other movies. There have been so many different and excellent movies in this genre in recent years and I thought that not quickly will be created movie, which surpass, or at least live up to "classics" (Friend (2001), A Bittersweet Life (2005), Bloody Tie (2006), The Show Must Go On (2007), Rough Cut (2008), Nameless Gangster (2012)) of the genre. Director Park Hoon-Jung (responsible before for the screenplays for The Unjust (2010) and I Saw the Devil (2010)) showed that using familiar themes and patterns, you can create a very good movie. New World uses motifs known mainly from the Infernal Affairs (2002) trilogy and The Godfather (1972), and use them to create solid gangster movie that is not fresh and "new", but only solid craftsmen job, but you can see in it signs of something bigger.

The movie was seen by over 4.5 million viewers which resulted in a profit of nearly 35 billion won (~$33 million). In addition to an excellent scenario, the advantage of the movie is brilliant music composed by Jo Yeong-Wook, and is complemented by an excellent cast. In the main roles we see Lee Jung-Jae, Choi Min-Sik and Hwang Jung-Min, next to them are perfectly selected supporting actors (for example Park Sung-Woong, Song Ji-Hyo, Choi Il-Hwa and Kim Byung-Ok).

Lee Ja-Sung (Lee Jung-Jae) is a police officer who for 8 years works undercover as a gangster in Goldmoon group, the largest mafia syndicate in Korea. Over the years, he was promoted to the position of the right hand of Chung Jung (Hwang Jung-Min), who, in turn, is the number 3 in Goldmoon. After the sudden death of chairman Seok Dong-Chool (Lee Kyoung-Young), power struggle starts in the group. The main candidates are Jung Chung and number 4, Lee Joong-Goo (Park Sung-Woong), while Jang Sook-Ki (Choi Il-Hwa) who is number two, despite his high position, is excluded from combat, because he lacks the strength (his position is only symbolic). The police is trying to use all this confusion to subjugate the entire Goldmoon group. Lee Ja-Sungs handler, Captain Kang Hyung-Chul (Choi Min-Sik), decides to keep him longer as undercover cop, in order to be able to significantly influence the outcome of the power struggle. But Lee, after 8 years of service, with a baby on the way is not willing to cooperate, and tries by all means to withdraw from the entire project.

At first glance, this is a new incarnation of the working undercover cop with wobbling loyalty and sense of justice theme, known from Infernal Affairs (2002), but in fact the movie of Park Hoon-Jung has more in common with the saga The Godfather (1972). All of the focus is put rather on the structure of the organizations (the police and the mafia) and the struggle for power, rather than personal dilemmas of heroes. The director said that the movie is about "Gangsters playing politics" and this is probably the best way to describe this movie. The vast majority of gangster movie from Korea, has a lot of melodrama in it, because the viewer is encouraged to identify with the hero who becomes a victim of circumstances beyond his control. Park admittedly not escaped completely from this manner, because viewer is still encouraged to feel sympathy for Lee Ja-Sung, who loses control of his life and is at the mercy of the police and the mafia. But still the director focuses on this aspect, to a lesser extent than most of his colleagues, and instead, bearing the signs of genius, shows the structure and the mechanisms that controls the various factions.

In the first half of the movie, Park serves us a strong start and then begin to introduce the main characters, then he uses the long scenes filled with dialogue, to prepares the viewer for full-voltage second half. After a fairly predictable start and preparing the ground, Park starts to show his genius. All of the pieces, shown to us at the beginning, begin to combine into a single, perfectly thrilling, whole. We may not care much about the fate of characters, but it does not prevent us from waiting in suspense to see how the story will develop.

It is a movie with virtually no defects, which, despite the lack of originality, does not bore the viewer. This is no mean feat and I expect more creations at a similar level in the future from the Park Hoon-Jung. I have to admit that I hope for a sequel, which will allow the director to show a little more originality and passion. This is not an unfounded hope, because the original script contained a lot more than could fit in the movie, so we can in the next few years, expect the New World 2. Who knows, maybe this is a beginning of gangster saga which one day will be comparable with the The Godfather saga?

I can confidently recommend New World to any fan of good gangster cinema in noir style, but also to anyone who can appreciate a solid job inspired by other the great works. Although it have duration of more than two hours, the movie is not boring and always keeps you in suspense. It is in my eyes the beginning of a new era in Korean cinema.

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Completed
Kissable Lips
16 people found this review helpful
by MJ Koontz Flower Award1
Feb 27, 2022
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 5.0
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 5.0

The sucking here, isn't from drinking blood or that other thing. (Dirty thoughts much?!)

Kissable Lips is a an exercise of childish daydreams. The plot makes no sense. The characters are hardly sketched beyond their purpose (I Vampire you Pureblood Argh). The time-frame it all takes place is unknowable (It seemed maybe a week or two). And there is enough glossy over-lit melodrama to say, hey Hallmark Channel we coming for you.

The budget is small, but fine, the acting is the strongest aspect of the entire affair, not that it saves much. Some side characters over-act with the best of them. There is even a sequence that requires an actor to maniacally laugh because they are trying to be invited into the league of supervillains. (Illuminati...whaaat!) However, our two main actors do a decent enough job, though for the first few episodes are mostly flat and lifeless. (Ha ha, vampires...lifeless...ugh)

You will be treated to a dose of Romeo/Juliet style old school romance. Ya know, where two characters meet, have love at first sight, and within a week are ready to die for each other and want the other next to them for all eternity. That sort of romance. If you like that, then maybe go for this, maybe. The actors are cute, and you will get some good kissing (Which for a Korean BL is RARE so lap this shit up! But this year does seem to be the year of progress in that department.) But be prepared for everything and I do mean everything to be underdeveloped, unbelievable, and empty.

How much will it all just kinda happen and be ridiculous well, here is an imaginary conversation:

Me: Before, I can go any further, I just gotta ask what is a Pureblood?

The series: It is a person that can cure vampirism if a vampire drinks their blood.

Me again: Ok, so what distinguishes a Pureblood from a normal blooded? How do Purebloods come to be? Why do they exist to begin with? And why is our main character one, when even his own brother is not?

The series:Um, it's Pureblood...just ya know it's Pureblood.

Me: Is it Virgin Blood? (And his brother has already done the nasty?) Korean Blood only with no other bloods from the rest of the worlds races? (But then wouldn't his whole family be this? And hello racism!) Is it blood without something in it, like a hemophiliac or medichlorians (Looked that one up..I giggle). Or blood that has something in it...like mystic magic...yay (Or liquid sunshine!!!)

The Series: Look...it's just Pureblood kay. It is Pureblood. Just accept it.

Me: I think Hermione would have some issues here. Well lets switch and talk about the vampires.

The series: The vampires are sexy and non-threatening. If a vampire kills their snack, they too will die, just not right away, like over time, like a lot of time, until in like a matter of days they fade away sometime in the future.

Me: So like they are in agonizing pain until they die right?

The series: No, they just ya know take this long drawn-out march towards death, and in the meantime they still need to eat, and fall in love, have sex, and have a normal life knowing that eventually they will die.

ME (With side eye): Uuummmmm...isn't that called being human? I mean, isn't that what we call living life? So these are just humans with icky eating habits now?

The series: No, no, cause if they go and drink a Pureblood, killing that Pureblood, then they can become HUMAn. Just as long as it is before they ya know fade away.

Me: Wait, so if the vampires drink a person's blood and that person dies, then they too will die unless they go and...KILL...another person and become human which means they will eventually still die. Really....So kill 1 bad eww cursed with eventual death. Kill 2 good yay humanity and still death..as long as it is a Pureblood. (Which can't be defined, they just exist and this guy is just one). What if the first person they killed was already a Pureblood, then would it cancel out the original curse and it would be like nothing happened, just instant human?

The series: ...um....well...well...that isn't the point of the series. There are just ya know vampires and Purebloods and stuff. There are shirtless guys kissing too. Everyone likes that right? Oh and the vampires also have blue glowing eyes. So yay, that's fun right?

ME: Well that came out of left field and didn't answer any of my questions. But all the vampires have blue eyes that also glow?

The series: No, no, they have normal color eyes that just sometimes glow blue and well, not just blue, sometimes red too.

Me: Oh why red and blue when those aren't their eye colors?

The series: Well ya know the good ones glow blue...the bad ones glow red.

Me: Wait what, like Twilight's Golden eyes versus Red eyes? Are their "vegetarian" vampires that eat animals completely obliterating the term vegetarian and meaning they are on the side of humans?

The sereis: No ours just glow those colors they don't actually become those colors. They just glow Blue and Red depending on if the vampire is a good guy or bad guy, nothing else.

Me: Like light sabers? (2nd SW reference and I don't even like SW)

The series: That's green and red.

Me: No that is Christmas colors...Wait, the vampires are Christmas vampires, this takes place over Christmas?

The series: (Silence)

5.0 = D+, 2 1/2-Stars. Lacking and filled with flaws. Die Hards will likely still love it.

It is fun for a good laugh and a nice sexy scene and that is about it.

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Mar 7, 2014
1 of 1 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
so beautiful I cried a lot watching this ;;

I would totally recommend this, it's only an hour long but it's really really really beautiful and most of all it delivers a really meaningful message.

I love how the story mainly tell us about both friendship and romance, it's a really nice balance. the friendship shown in this special is really beautiful.

I think all actors and actress are doing a great job in portraying the role. I really love the main actress, she looks gorgeous. And I think Gikwang did really great, but I would say the guy who played as his best friend might be the best actor here :) But overall they're all really great !

Overall I would give this special a 10/10 cause I think this is perfect

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Completed
Audition
16 people found this review helpful
by tb_90
Jun 23, 2013
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
Takashi Miike's Audition (English translation) is easily one of the best horror films since Wes Craven's Scream. This is not just a horror movie though, it is part drama, part romance. It is a study of human emotions. Nothing horrific happens until the last 40 minutes (and let me say, it IS horrific when it comes). The first 90 minutes are slow, but extremely interesting.

The movie starts with Shigeharu Aoyama standing by his wife as she dies, his son, Shigehiko also witnesses. It's seven years later and Shigehiko recommends that Aoyama should get re-married. His friend suggests that he hold an audition. He agrees and meets Asami, a beautiful and seemingly normal woman, but she soon takes him into her world of sadistic torture and violence which he may never leave.....

Audition has a lot of positives going for it. All of the main actors give brilliant performances and Eihi Shiina, who plays Asami, is eerily good. The direction suits the movie, it is slow but assured, and Miike doesn't always show or explain everything, which gives the entire film an uneasy atmosphere. The score is brooding and haunting and although the pacing may seem slow Audition is never boring.

This movie won't appeal to all, however, while some hail it as a masterpiece, others say it is sadistic and boring. My advice would be not to tackle this as pure horror, more of a slow drama/romance with splashes of psychological and visceral horror (especially in the last 30 minutes). And for those curious about the gore, there is very little of it despite what some may say, but that little bit is still disturbing.

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Completed
Muean Khon La Fark Fah
16 people found this review helpful
Jun 6, 2017
13 of 13 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers
I have really conflicting feelings for Meuan Khon La Faak Fah. On one hand, I appreciated how it started, how the female lead is strong and cute, and how much chemistry our lead couple had. On the other hand, I thought the plot was weak, there wasn't enough emphasis on the main leads, and the ending seemed too hasty as well.

Where should I start? I think on the whole the acting was good. I found Andrew Gregson really awkward with his hand gestures, but I can totally see how that ties in to his character. It's just an unfamiliar sight for a male lead to be so... childishly adorable (...) . He's absolutely fantastic in the more emotional scenes though. Matt Peranee was really cute. I wonder if all the "oppa" references were actually ad-libs on her part. In any case, the female lead was an easy character to root for (at least at the start). They also had exceptional chemistry with each other. The lunch scenes were so heart-tingling! It's a pity that their scenes got lesser and lesser, and the drama went into a makjang spiral at the end [1].

It may be because I'm not that familiar with Thai dramas, but this is one of the rare instances where I found the youngsters acting better than the veterans (youngsters and veterans are relative really, but you get the idea). Midway through the drama I got this vibe from both the father and the housekeeper that they are actually villains, but they are obviously not. The aunt was overacting so much that it actually became sort of funny.

The plot was a little meh. For a drama about romance, they spent too much time on the angst. It'll be better if the angst gave the leads some screen time, but the angst gave the supporting characters too much screen time. By the end of the drama, I just skip-watched all those portions. Episode one was so-so, episode two and three dragged me in, but at the end I survived only by crumbs of the sweet OTP moments. I think the best thing that happened to the drama was possibly the editing of the preview. I swear in every episode I think the next is going to be better and full of cute scenes, but yeah. Also, I'm a little piffed at how they wrapped up everything so hastily. They got together in the end alright (this is totally not a spoiler), but it was a little underwhelming and the flashback was way way way too long. It's almost like they decided to re-edit the OTP scenes into a whole new MV for the opening theme.

Also, the kiss scenes. Wait, I mean the lack of kiss scenes. I know how Thai dramas are like with my few experiences. There's virtually no intimate scenes at all, not the lip-on-lip kisses anyway. Even if there is, it's just them manipulating angles. Usually, I don't really mind it. On second watch of the MKLFF episodes though, I realise that there wasn't even a peck anywhere. I'm completely fine with watching them on the same screen doing nothing except eating and talking (the lunch scenes were really the highlights of the drama), but if you are going to have a kiss scene do it properly. For the forehead "kiss" in the last episode, Andrew Gregson was just kissing air lol. Like whaaaat? It's just the forehead! I'll admit that I wasn't watching properly the first time and got tricked though.

All in all, despite my complaints, I actually think this is a decent drama. Perhaps it's because I just came from a horrible one [2]. I feel the start and the interactions between the leads were really refreshing, and even though it went downhill, it didn't erode my fondness for the drama. It's probably also because of my impression that Thai dramas are in general overly theatrical. This drama actually scores lower on the makjang scale compared to the others I've watched (and tried to watch). I also have a personal preference for dramas with stronger female leads as well so there's that.

- Footnotes -

[1] I wonder how much of this is due to the fact that this is actually a remake and they had to somehow follow the plot. From what I understand though, it's nothing like the original version. I think they probably should've done away with the not-so-great plot points and kept the better ones, but I really have no idea what the original was like.

[2] For those who are curious, that terrible drama is the Thai adaptation of Princess Hours.

EDIT: Grammar and spelling.

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Completed
Not One Less
16 people found this review helpful
Dec 6, 2013
Completed 3
Overall 10
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
This is a story about a 13 year old girl; a stubborn girl who shows true grit for searching a boy who left school. She shows compassion in a situation where adults would fail to show any hope.

Underlying message of the film Is importance of primary education. I was amazed by it's realism when I started the movie. Setup is genuine, no need to check I can tell by seeing it. Heartbreaking conditions, ruined building, no facilities, poverty. It's 100% authentic portrayal of rural schooling, sufferings of rural students and people. It demonstrates how hard life is in a developing country. Everything is almost the same like the place from where I come; from village life to school.

With this kind of storyline it's obvious that it's very moving. Story may look depressing but it's full of extremely happy moments throughout the movie. A little girl writing a diary and caring about her teacher's views, when they were trying to solve the bus problem and they actually applied education in practical use, when they were using chalks and writing characters on the board...many scenes that can easily make you cry!

I read on the web & IMDB boards...many people got the feelings of movie and many didn't. I won't say more about the real feelings of movie because it may spoil you. Over analysing a movie is never good so don't try to over analyse the story and character's actions. Just follow the lead girl and you'll get what she was feeling, what she was doing and why. If you're from a developing country and especially from rural area you'll probably catch it in an instant and won't question character's decisions. Note that I'm not saying others won't get it easily. Be patient and you'll get the meaning.

Most amazing fact about this movie is it's rookie cast. None of the actors are professional actors. They all are just ordinary civilians; and on top of that the role of everyone is same as what they do in real world!! Every character has same name of the actor playing respective character...Like Teacher Gao was really teacher Gao, Mayor Tian is really Mayor Tian, TV show host was actually TV show host, TV station manager was deputy manager of TV station...you can see each person's real world work and their role on Wikipedia page of the movie. Wei Meizhi...the lead girl of the movie, is a village girl of China. With help of her brilliant performance she became famous. It's sad that after such strong start of her career she left acting career because she doesn't have beautiful face and body.

I came across this movie after watching 'The Road Home'. I was amazed by the movie and it's soundtrack. So I picked this movie because of the composer and it was a great choice...music is just like I expected! However, it's not filled with music but whatever there is...it's top quality!

Who should avoid this?
-You felt "eeeww" while reading this. Even if you felt it once avoid movie...
-Impatient, who don't prefer slow movies
-People who want to only pass the time

Who should watch this?
-A cinephile
-Someone looking for a moving film
-Someone looking for realistic material
-If you're still reading this...

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Completed
The Great Passage
16 people found this review helpful
Jul 20, 2014
Completed 3
Overall 10
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
what is love??

An emotional state where you feel affection for someone and you can't get that person out of your mind, affecting your ability to focus on other things.

When fulfilled, feels like you're on top of the world.

This is the film's definition of the word love and I really love this film that I call this a masterpiece.

Word hunters that's how I described dictionary makers, this movie show their fun way of gathering words and how they decide for the accurate meaning of the word and how the people use that word. This movie will make you realize that making dictionary is one of the hardest jobs in the world. A movie about making dictionary seems boring but to me its different and this is why I love japanese movie they offer different story to movie lovers like me. Its a must see movie especially if you love words and your into japanese language one of the most informative movies i watched. I love how they compare a dictionary to a boat floating into a sea of words. At first I thought this movie will become artsy slow film but to me it was not a slow movie..I call it well executed. So many unexpected things in this movie, judging the poster and reading the synopsis who can tell this movie has the lamest love letter and the lamest proposal ever LMAO!!

The acting is great..I thought this is the first time I saw ryuhei matsuda but It happens that he is the japanese guy from the raid movie no way you can tell its the same person. You can tell matsuda really study his character and didnt just copy any nerdy character from other movies, his way of portraying a nerdy/serious guy who dont have social skills but ironically who loves words is really terrific..he really deserves the best actor award on this. Supporting character are great too like odagiri and miyazaki...no nonsense acting by miyazaki and this was the first time i saw odagiri portray this type of character, his chemistry to the main lead is great their personality is different but they form great moments on screen.
The music is great too totally sets the mood and fits the story and I love how the director capture the sounds from the background which adds to the ambiance.






This film lefts a question that I can't probably know the answer forever.

What is the true definition of the word right?



Check my Blog for other reviews & other JDramas stuffs. (。◕‿‿◕。)
https://thatjapanesedramaguy.blogspot.com/

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Completed
Hapimari: Happy Marriage!?
16 people found this review helpful
Sep 14, 2016
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 4
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 7.0
Another year, yet another manga adaptation. I have seriously waited for this for so long you can't even imagine. Since I loved the manga, I thought a live action would be great to make it even more famous, but there were some things I enjoyed and some I didn't in this drama.

Overall, if you've read the manga the story follows the most superficial part of it. Hokuto and Chiwa get into a contract relationship and live as a couple so you see their difficulties as they try to get by day after day. But if you've read the manga, you know this is not the only main story. Besides the R-Rated scenes that it contains (that of course they'd never do in a drama), there is also a story of revenge from Hokuto's part that here was put aside and they only showed a part of it and resolved it quickly. It was as if he was never fully convinced of what he was doing or perhaps it was the actor who didn't fully convince me as Hokuto. So while I appreciate they did some changes to fit the story into a drama line, I think they should have dug deeper and shown more character development. Hokuto should have issues, look complex. Here he looked like he had layers to his personality, but most of the time I couldn't see them, it was as if the actor who played him was static. Now I don't know his other works, but here he didn't make me feel a lot for his character because he seemed superficial and not mysterious like the manga!Hokuto. The same happened with Chiwa's character, but less. She was more like her manga counterpart, even if at times shallow. In general, if you're looking for a romantic story with not much drama to it but never read the manga, go for it. But don't expect a super masterpiece, just an enjoyable series with some over the top moments that honestly could have been avoided.

The music is pretty cool though.

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Completed
New Life Begins
16 people found this review helpful
Nov 26, 2022
40 of 40 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

Cup of flower tea

This is a drama you'll watch with special fondness. One I'll archive under watch again.

From the opening theme, it already hints of what comes next: calm, pleasant, ingenuous.

FL checks a lot of the neither box. Simple but not backwards. Innocent but not naive. Lively but not obnoxiois. Silly but not stupid. She treats people with a genuine heart and that attitude wins people over. Shes one that draws and keeps people around her. Its just one of her many charming qualities.

ML is sharp minded but not manipulative. Strategic but not greedy. Noble but not arrogant. A bit sickly but able to fight and defend. He lacked love and warmth from his parents. But theres not a bone of meanness on him. He mostly masked his ability to safeguard himself in a palace riffed with powerplay, particularly those in cahoots or bowed to the 2nd prince.

ML-FL had a genuinely believable, well-paced relationship. From minor misunderstanding develops to an understanding, forming a cordial employer-employee existence. But far from mundane their interaction and day to day lives are peppered with hilarity and warm moments. That reliable companionship is almost like a form of courtship unique to them. Textbook case of "Familiarity breeds fondness".

My greatest praise for him would be how respectful he is of her. He learn that her valies are different to what is typical of his country. He does not force her to follow in his ways, instead every step of the way he lets her choose, gives her as much freedom as possible and backs her up even as it goes against palace norms and rules.

My greatest praise for her is her genuine personality. Whether it is ML or others, she stays true to herself but also treats others fairly. She can answer ML honestly and he can count on her for being truthful. I love how to takes her time in considering the ML and their possibilities. Entrusting your heart and the rest of your life to another is not sth done at a whim.

My greatest praise for the drama is the entirety of the casts and the stories they rell together. Unlike other palace dramas that can be hair pulling or super angsty but this one is done jus right. FL has this huge gang of sisterhood that was so remarkable and heart warming. Sisters of no blood relation that supports and helps out one another. Than theres the prince brotherhood that reluctantly forms through the ladies. Not to forget the head butler and chef of the 6th Prince that provided a lot of comedy. So many of them had such great comedic timing.

If you've not watched cause of the tag 'slow-burn', dont be. Its like a cup of flower tea. Enjoy the steaming and beautiful fragrance. And when steep just nice, enjoy the sweet cleansing taste and lastly savor the aftertaste.

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Completed
The Untamed
16 people found this review helpful
Jul 6, 2023
50 of 50 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Never seen a story like this one!

This has got to be one of my favorite CDramas that I have ever watched. I’ve never quite come across a story as captivating as this one! I didn’t read the summary before going in so I had no clue what it was about. It kept popping up on my recommended shows. The plot definitely did not follow the path of a typical CDrama. Although there were misunderstandings between the 2 MLs, they did not drag it out as we see with most CDramas. The story progression was amazing along with the progression of the characters. It was very well thought out as there wasn’t a ton of plot holes or unanswered questions.

Every actor perfectly fit the character that they were cast to play. Wei Wuxian/Wei Ying is definitely an unforgettable character. He is very relatable as being kind can sometimes make you the target of hatred. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced as many emotions as I have watching this one. I found myself crying, laughing, angry, etc.

The soundtrack was also amazing and really nice to hear the two MLs singing on the OST. Even though some of the visuals were bad and you can tell it was a low budget show with some of the props and visuals looking too cheap and fake, it did not take away from the show. This is definitely a show that I can rewatch multiple times and never get tired of it.

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