Reviews

This is a good drama- based on a kind of forbidden romance, which is handled really well. The connection between Tae in and Na Bo Ri is where the drama shines. Their relationship evolves throughout, but always exudes a simple warmth and affection.
The drama has it's share of absurdities and annoying people. At times during the first half, you have to throw away logic and reason. At other times, you become intensely frustrated with some people. But,none of it is a reason to not like the drama. And those people do redeem themselves in the end.
Gong Yoo and Gong Hyo Jin are reason enough to enjoy this drama. And the ending makes it worth the while.

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The movie starts off slowly and progresses in much the same manner. Patience will be rewarded. The heartbreaking realization that life is repeating itself from mother (who is no more than a child herself) to son (who is forced to be more of an adult than he should be too soon) in an unbreakable cycle, is all too evident and all too depressing, particularly to those of us who see it in our daily lives in our own family, friends,or workplace. It's a theme pretty universal without much differentiation from country to country. It can make watching a movie like this even more difficult, but the performances, especially by Seo Young Joo, are their own reward.

There are many reviews online that are better than anything I could write. There are scenes which touched me...One: at night in the reformatory a boy asks to be told a funny story and another boy relates a short anecdote about fish cakes which sends them into fits of giggles. Young men who, in all likelihood, never had a parent or grandparent to read them bedtime stories. My heart clenched as I remember the joy of sharing those moments with my own son and the wonderful memories both he and I carry of those times. At all times while watching this movie I could not stop thinking how different could some of their lives have been if they had just one person who loved them unconditionally and completely. It's true there are those who are true sociopaths without empathy or any ability to understand right and wrong. But this movie shows the sad reality of societal and family breakdowns and the repercussions on the children as a result. It's a theme the director and writer portray beautifully.

There is also the scene by the river where the mom promises her son she will not abandon him again, and the heart wrenching look on his face as he listens. What is he thinking? That nothing she says can be believed because she is a chronic liar and user whose own life is completely out of control? The sad understanding that, no matter how much he is wishing for it, she will never, despite her fantasies, be a real mother to him and he will spend his entire life being either another caregiver to her or being betrayed? It's a look full of pain and disillusionment and hopelessness.

The ending pretty much matched the tone of the entire movie and is very fitting with the message the director and writer are trying to tell. No easy answers. Nothing tied up in a pretty pink bow. Is there any hope on the horizon for either of them or that poor little girlfriend of his? What happened to them? I think there are thousands and thousands of children out there you can ask that question about and it absolutely breaks my heart that, while there are lots of answers, there is never any real solution.

I paid no attention to the music. I would not rewatch it purely because my heart can only take so much angst. I HIGHLY recommend it. As a person who gets way too emotionally involved in her movies and dramas, you can tell I'm not very objective. If you can watch this from the perspective that it is a beautiful piece of work that succeeds mightily in telling its story, you will be glad you shared in the experience.

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A child without parents has no other choice but to become an adult. By doing so he misses a vital process of gradually releasing his childhood, locking it inside. A parent after losing his child can't help but to fill an empty space to keep his sanity.

How hard it is to forgive the one who lost you and filled your place with somebody else? How insecure one feels knowing that he fills somebody elses place receiving love ment for somebody else?

How grateful you can be to the one filling your empty space easing the pain of a person that lost you?

I saw this drama firstly not as a love story between a man and a woman. But a story about child's love for his parent.

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I like a lot the overall idea of the story; two characters who don't get along but find love later on. However, the princess drove me insane for the first half of the story. I felt her character was overly brash, unpleasant and rude. The entire first episode I was becoming extremely annoyed by her behavior towards the guy that it ruined most of the series for me. I don't mind strong women in historical dramas, I think they bring something new and I enjoy watching their interactions, but this princess I wouldn't say was strong but close-minded and unwilling to listen. The lead male I wouldn't even describe as being cold, he seemed pretty sweet for the most part; arrogant at times but not cold.

I was very excited for this drama when I saw the trailers for it but after starting the drama I was just disappointed. I ended up skipping through the first 5 episodes because the princesses attitude was pissing me off so much that I couldn't enjoy the story.

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Only Friends continue, with familiar cast... Let's discuss drama...

This drama is a continuation of the previous story, set in the same universe but focusing on a new group of friends. The series centers on a group of fourth-year theater students at the Faculty of Fine Arts who are preparing to stage an ambitious queer adaptation of Shakespeare's classic tragedy, reimagined as Romeo and Romeo.

At the center of it all is Jack, a talented theater director who once again takes charge of the faculty production. While trying to lead the play to success, Jack also finds himself entangled between Dean, his ex-boyfriend—a gifted actor determined to prove himself both on stage and back in Jack's life—and Raffy, a fiercely competitive student determined to snatch the lead role and Jack's affections for himself.

Not wanting Raffy to get too close to Jack, Dean recruits Rome, a DJ and Jack's stepbrother, when the production needs a musician. But Rome isn't really there only for the music. He's caught feelings for Raffy after what was supposed to be a one-night stand, so when Dean asks him to keep Raffy distracted and away from Jack, he doesn't need much convincing.

Then there's Tua, part of the production crew, who's been quietly in love with his best friend Arnold for who knows how long. Hoping for an excuse to spend more time together, Tua talks Arnold into auditioning for the other Romeo role. Arnold, a dance major with zero interest in theater drama, reluctantly joins the play for the prize money promised by Tua.

To make the story even more interesting, enter Boston—the chaotic wildcard from the original series. Now working as a successful photographer, he joins the crew to shoot the production. It turns out he and Tua actually shared a one-night stand a while back. This time, however, Boston pushes himself back into Tua's life, hoping for more than just a fling. His persistence creates intense friction as Arnold tries to protect Tua while struggling to come to terms with his own growing feelings.

As the cast and crew work toward opening night, everyone's forced to face the things they've been avoiding—about love, ambition, and what they actually think they're worth. Old wounds get ripped back open, friendships get strained, and nobody's relationship comes out unscathed. By the final act, they all have to decide what they are truly willing to sacrifice for their dreams and for each other.

So, how does it all wrap up? Does the curtain close on a triumph, or does the whole thing fall apart before they even get there?

That's pretty much the story without giving anymore spoilers.

What I like:
+ Happy to see all the couples in this drama together.
+ Happy to see all the couples from the previous series insert themselves in this drama, even only for guest roles.
+ Really happy they don’t just close the curtain after the stage, but also a little preview of what happened 1 year after.
+ The way they made like breaking 4th wall, by having the cast talk to camera about their feelings.

What I’m not too fond:
- The ending & the promise of the continuation of the series…

Overall I’m really glad I can watch this drama…

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Even though the drama was short, I loved every minute of this drama. I was waiting for this before it aired and I was hyped.

I am glad that I ended up watching this drama. There were math problems that I have never heard of before & the cases kept you interested.

The thing is I love the leads! They so opposite of each other, but they make a great team. I haven't seen the female lead in anything before, but she was great. I think I have seen the male lead before, I don't remember which movie or drama that I have seen him in, but he is a great actor as well. He is also hot. . . I had to say it. . . The only problem with the drama is that we didn't get to learn much of their background at all. They have great chemistry despite the age difference. But don't let that turn you away from watching this drama.

The music fitted in the right spots, theme is catchy, but I don't remember much since it was a long time ago when I watched this drama last year(2013).

I would re-watch this again when I have time.

Overall, I definitely recommend this drama if you like crime genre, math, comedy & cases that keep you guessing, then you will like this one.

The only complaint besides the one I mentioned above, is that it should of been longer.

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This is a web-exclusive side story to Chen Si Cheng's Great Expectations, and was originally supposed to serve as a teaser for the third and final part of that drama by introducing a new pair of characters. Simultaneously, it can be seen as Chen Si Cheng's gift to Liu Hao Ran's fanbase, as well as a way to introduce two of the other actors in his agency - Chen Hao and Shang Yuxian (more the former than the latter). Despite the fact that it's a quick side story that was filmed in just a couple of weeks, it's clear that there was a lot of heart and effort put into this - and the result is that we get a quality, short, six episode mini-drama that has a cinematic quality to it and clocks in at just around 120 minutes in total.

Story:

Set in Tianjin in the mid to late 1920s (Republican era), we are introduced to Huo Zhen Xiao, who is the estranged son of legendary mob boss turned business tycoon Huo Tian Hong (a character in the main drama) - and his mom, who left his dad years ago and raised Huo Zhen Xiao on her own, is also descended from a long line of gangster bosses. As a result, nineteen year old Huo Zhen Xiao is a young man who grew up in wealth and was raised to fear nothing and no one - and to make things even more interesting, he happens to be enrolled in military school in a time when much of China was in turmoil due to the May Thirtieth Movement (wiki it if you want to learn more - it's an interesting part of Chinese history that isn't covered all that much in dramas or film). Huo Zhen Xiao and his three military school buddies don't actively participate in the anti-foreign demonstrations, but they make their stamp in the movement by using their fists to fight back against the foreign police and protect their fellow citizens from the terror.

As punishment for fighting back against the foreign power, Huo Zhen Xiao and his buddies are sentenced to Tianjin's most notorious prison for four months. And that's where the bulk of the story lies - Huo Zhen Xiao's adventures in TIanjin's cruelest prison, and his encounter and budding friendship with fellow prisoner Chen Zheng, who is an orphan and grew up on the streets.

If there's one thing Chen Si Cheng is really good at with his scripts, it's pacing - and while you can never say his storylines are original, he's able to inject something fresh and innovative to it. In the case of Twin Dragons, he took advantage of the fact that this is web-exclusive and isn't necessarily held to the same restrictions that dramas shown on satellite TV are held to - so he pushed the boundaries a bit both in terms of the storyline and the characters, which I really enjoyed. Not to say there aren't bugs or holes in logic - but the fast pace of the story and the interesting characters (and phenomenal acting) makes it easy to overlook the issues. Plus - it's a short, side story of a drama - we really don't need to think too much about logic here.

Huo Zhen Xiao was a fascinating character - he was the protagonist and had a patriotic bent due to his military school education, but at the same time there was a cruel streak in him that was the result of his background as the son of mob bosses. While I loved the heroic side of him - he's an awesome fighter, intelligent, and so, so fangirl worthy - I also loved that he saw the world differently from most of the Republican-era heroes we are used to due to his unique background. He very much follows the philosophy of an eye for an eye, and had some moments that just made your jaw drop because of how...mobster-like it was.

The character of Chen Zheng was also really interesting. Much like Chen Si Cheng's Hong San Yuan in the main drama, Chen Zheng's character is an ode to Wei Xiao Bao of Jin Yong's The Deer and the Cauldron. He's a ruffian with street smarts in spades, and probably has committed many petty crimes in his past - but he still has somewhat of a moral code. While he's at odds with Huo Zhen Xiao initially (mostly because he can't beat him), their budding friendship and respect is awesome to watch, and I really, really hope that Chen Si Cheng saw the praise that Twin Dragons got online and will allow us to see these two characters and their adventures again one day.

Also - can I just say I love the cinematography of this? I looked it up and apparently that's the director's specialty. The whole thing just felt very film-like.

Acting/Cast:

A thousand cheers for Liu Hao Ran, who basically elevated this short drama to another level with his potrayal of Huo Zhen Xiao. The storyline is interesting, but its various flaws and bugs would have been a lot more noticeable if it wasn't for the sheer magnetism of Liu Hao Ran's acting as the young mob boss prince who doesn't back down from anyone. This drama was filmed shortly after NiF2 wrapped up, and the progress that Liu Hao Ran has made as an actor is extremely noticeable here - and he has a presence and charisma that makes you forget he was only nineteen when he shot this. This is the performance that made me want to see him as an antagonist one day - because there are several moments when Huo Zhen Xiao's mean streak peeps through that makes me think Liu Hao Ran would be able to handle a character on the dark side.

Chen Hao is awesome as well - it's pretty much his first introduction to the industry as his other acting projects haven't come out yet, and he was absolutely fabulous as the wise-cracking Chen Zheng who has big dreams but feels dragged down by his reality. While Liu Hao Ran's Huo Zhen Xiao got the cool parts, Chen Hao was responsible for carrying the comedic element of the show and he was able to do it well without overacting.

Both young actors also definitely benefited from the fact that the screenwriter is their boss, haha, as he wrote the characters with both of them (and their acting abilities) in mind.

The other cast members were great as well - particularly the antagonists, who were so, so creepy and twisted - but man they carried it well. Also Huo Zhen Xiao's mom is all kinds of fantastic.

Music:

I'm impressed because despite the fact that this isn't an official drama, the music was great and matched the scenes perfectly (props to the editing team).

Overall:

I absolutely loved this - not just because of Liu Hao Ran, but because I really do think that you can see the effort (and budget) put into this reflected in the quality of the production. Using only six twenty-minute episodes, we got a pretty complete short story with characters that felt alive - and I walked away from this wanting to see more of Huo Zhen Xiao and Chen Zheng, and how they take on Shanghai. If you like the premise and are in the mood for something fun and intense in the early Republican-era, I absolutely recommend checking this out.

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Amazing korean indie film vibes, but it tried a little too hard at the end

This movie definitely has a lot of shortcomings, but it does one thing really right. Which is to capture the feeling of nostalgia and innocence. And this was definitely what made me give this movie a rather high rating still. It did not fail to convey the genuine feelings of youth... and personally, that was enough to make me fall in love with this movie. The wonderful emotional impact was largely due to the actors’ chemistry, the awesome soundtrack, the 35mm-Film colours and the 90’s -00’s fashion/set design... but it definitely wasn’t the plot.

The plot was a whole mess. It’s almost as if they spent the whole year paying attention to the details of the set design and the fashion and the cinematography and everything else *EXCEPT* for the plot. There was not enough depth in Mi-Soo’s character for us to sympathise with her...
And I totally get what they were trying to do with Hyun Woo’s character - mysterious, brooding, hesitant, and how like Mi-Soo wants to like him but she’s actually secretly scared of him and is sceptical about his criminal record... and how no one has ever trusted him bcs of his criminal record... I get that, but I could only get that in the second time watching and it wasn’t fleshed out very well either. It just felt kinda premature instead of real character growth. It’s a good point to explore though, just not executed well I guess- Since the audience did not have any trust issues with Hyun Woo and was expecting an “innocent cute love story” instead.

All in all, the feeling of nostalgia was so well developed that it will probably last you for the whole two hours. You won’t feel accomplished after watching it, nor would you feel like you’ve been enlightened about some higher level knowledge about life... instead it’s kinda like revisiting an old friend, or finding a dusty photo book with photos of your past... it’s that warm feeling that will be in a little corner of your heart for awhile 💛

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I enjoyed the series. There were many good elements to it. What I liked most is the family dynamic. They are fun, loving, supportive and honestly funny. Though they showed moments when they appeared afraid they were bold in it. The female lead was refreshing. She was smart, talented, brave, a great fighter, leader and funny. Male lead was very cute and supportive. The chemistry was fair and awesome in some moments.

The story was fair overall. The beginning was exciting, engaging and truthfully had me hooked. Once you get to the mid/end of the series; It was nothing to scream about but it was descent. Around ep 30 or so it just kind of ran off on it’s on. It wasn’t terrible but you know when something major happens and is resolved, you feel like it should be the end but in this case it wasn’t. They just kept the camera going.

The ending was good but after such a long awaited ending I would have preferred a bang.

Overall, I’d recommend it. It’s sweet and funny. Downside, the plot disappears in the later half.

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Despite being listed as a Comedy Detective Mystery Drama, it's really just a Comedy that happens to involve Detective work. As mentioned in the comments, there isn't really a plot besides the two main characters solving mysteries together (with Hiratsuka being the Sherlock-esque character and Saionji being his Watson), although we do learn a tiny bit about Saionji's background, mainly revolving around his adorable girlfriend, Emi-chan. Aside from that, however, it's basically just a stereotypical Detective drama involving random cases and tons of Comedy.

That doesn't mean the show isn't good, however. The acting in this is superb, and honestly something I did not expect from a Comedy-oriented drama. All of the characters are played extremely well and it's really hard not to like any of them. Since this isn't a super serious drama, you shouldn't expect tons of heavy stuff. It's very light-hearted and some bits are purposely over-exaggerated for the sake of the Comedy aspect, however it's all very well done so it's by no means annoying or anything like that.

All in all, if you like Crime-related Dramas and Comedy, then you'll thoroughly enjoy this. It's perfect for those looking for some good laughs or people who just want to break away from super-serious dramas for a little while.

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The way the story was told

It is very sad to known how much this kid has to deal with about his sexuality and then to get bullied by some bastards excuse my language but I hate that this is what happens in real life and it is really just sad and to not have support and have to face this yourself is so hard and the fact that it got to the point where he wanted to kill himself at least he didn't die because he life is worth it and he is worth it to or her what ever she/he prefers to be. the fact also that this is to show in memory of Yook Woo Dang and may he rest in peace he story was told in this film of how hard life hits you when you are seen as different and not normal sad to know this is the kind of world we live in. He deserved much better and hopefully he is glad to see some change in the world we live in today and that this is what he wanted.

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This is my first time writing a review (^-^)V
I noticed that nobody left a review so I did..

I actually wasn't sure at first if I should watch this since there's no one recommending it and it's not my usual cup of drama but since I've seen it I'm telling you guys DON'T SLEEP ON BOT.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Story/Plot: 9.5/10
This is set in a world where humans and transformers coexist. Transformers are humanlike species that can change into animals. For the leads, we have Hao Yun, a "human" veterinarian and Aiai, an eel transformer officer. The two ended up as partners in BOT after an incident in Mingde revealed that Hao Yun is a special human whose memory can't be erased...(quick explanation: after an operation, BOT officers erase the memories of humans in order to conceal the existence of transformers). Along with their other team members, they solve conflicts in the human world that concerns the activity of their kind. Each episode tackles the BOT officers solving cases and the backstory of transformer criminals (I've she'd a lot of tears almost every episode because of them T-T). ***My favorite episodes are the ones that involved the worm (a bit scary, dark-toned, and serious than others) and the love of Duan Weiran.***

Acting/Cast: 10/10
I can't say anything about the casting actually... I think they were perfectly selected and assigned to the characters. They suited their roles and they were able to convey and bring out the emotions enough to move viewers like me. I just want to add that Tan Quan (actor for bat) is hot and a total eye candy with his white hair, eye contacts, his attitude etc. I just fell in love with him and his story as well.

Cinematography and Production: 9.5/10
I am not a very good critique when it comes to cinematography so I'll just say it's good and bearable (but personally I think it was brilliant and exceptional). The costumes, lightings and props are definitely on point. They were put to good use... There weren't much of CGI used except for fire and transformers flying etc. I think it was not a low-budget drama.

Music: 9/10
The soundtrack really suit each scene but I can't remember a specific song that stood out.

Rewatch Value: 9.5/10
A big check✓ I'm rewatching it right now actually.

Note: This is more of a drama focused on action so don't expect for too much romantic scenes BUT of course there are scenes like that. The romance wasn't fast-paced but it's very cute and heart melting. It's very sweet of the ML to fight for their love amidst seemingly endless problems between him, the FL and the BOT (I won't completely spoil it but the major conflicts of the MC's love story are related to both their identities as transformers).

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