This review may contain spoilers
So disappointing
Seriously what the hell happened? In a way it's better cause Teh doesn't cry that much and It was going so great but then they just ruinned the whole series with this indie thing of trying to be realistic and making Teh cheat on my baby Oh-aew and then just making them get back together like dude wtf I just wanted to be happy I don't want reality where people suck. ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Was this review helpful to you?
A HIDDEN GEM LIKE NO OTHER
This movie gave me what any other drama series couldn't. So pure, so innocent, delightful. This movie will remind you of your first love, your unrequited love, and your fantasy with them.A plot where you can help but feel wholesomeness and warm-hearted. A cast that can make you experience life, longing, fluster, love, regret, and sadness all in just 1 hour and 30 minutes. It would have been even better if this was a drama series. As a person who doesn't get emotional easily, tears started rolling down towards the end. It is indeed rare to see such movies nowadays. Two individuals unsure about each other feelings want no regrets but have to make sacrifices. There is no kissing scene but you would still feel chemistry burning and the romance thriving .
Was this review helpful to you?
Discovered by mere chance while following Takenouchi Yutaka's work, it soon proved to be one of my best drama findings. It wasn't even listed on MDL, nor have I ever read a review or a comment about it.
Rondo is a romance thriller. The two aspects are smoothly interwoven and so well balanced that I don't know if I should say it's a romance on the background of a major criminal plot, or a thriller with an undertone of romance.
But let me go in order.
Plot: 10.
Should you decide to watch this drama, don't be deterred by the complex police investigation at the beginning. Slowly but steadily, the jigsaw pieces find their right place and everything becomes clearer and more and more gripping. Never predictable though; on the contrary, there's a twist at every turn.
The love story is simply beautiful. I love the Japanese-Korean interaction between the main leads, it adds a lot of colour to the story and create some very sweet moments. The two characters are a beauty to watch together: both intense and believable, both incredibly good-looking.
Acting: 10.
Terrific performances by all. Takenouchi proved once again to be an outstanding, very expressive actor and, I can just as well admit it, sexy as hell. The only asian man beside Takeshi Kaneshiro who looks good with a moustache. Choi Ji Woo, whom I had never seen acting before, is wonderful. I loved their first encounter and, since I'm very partial to those, I can say it marked the moment I decided I liked this drama. On screen they share the kind of chemistry which is created by tension and suspicion.
I was impressed by Hayami Mokomichi's and Shin Hyun Joon's performances too.
Cinematography: 10.
This is a dark drama. So are the colours, the screenshots, the city views. Black and gray are the predominant hues. The overall photography and direction are spot-on and there were times when I thought I was watching a long movie, instead of a drama.
Music: 11.
Wait... the option is not available. Pity, since the music is a blast, at least for my taste. There's an awesome instrumental piece in between ethnic and trip-hop which is so well used I was always longing for it to play. The music plays a major role in connection with the shooting. Very well chosen.
Re-watch value is obviously a little lower, as it always is with suspense dramas. Once the twists are known, a little of the thrill is gone. Which doesn't mean I won't rewatch this drama when a reasonable time will have passed.
There is only one sad note about this show: the quality of the streaming videos available. Subs: an atrocity. Although I marathoned through the drama, I must say it was an odyssey. The first episode, which is 90 minutes long, is impossible to find whole and in the right order. It almost made me give up the drama entirely, until I decided to find an alternative way... I'm glad I did. The rest of the 10 episodes has to be scraped together here and there. But if you have the patience, you won't regret it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Whilst Joseon period drama have attempted to tackle crossovers of popular genres such as romance and action before with different results ( either for better or for worse), the more surreal take of horror/ fantasy in Joseon period dramas ( notably Scholar Who Walks The Night, Arang And The Magistrate and in flashbacks from the hit series Goblin), have very rarely depicted levels with historical realism or a grounded depiction ( I.e. in terms of cleanliness, monarchs or violence) of actual life during this period.
Screenwriter Kim Eun Hee ( Ghost, Signal) and director Kim Sung Hoon ( Tunnel-2016, Kidnapped- TBC) were paramount from the get-go to revolutionise this in their horror -period drama Kingdom . This creates a surprisingly brilliant fusion between the surrealism of violent zombies into a political and social critique of the bloodthirsty and ruthless Joseon period and hierarchy .( Although labelled as a “ zombie show”, realistically , the word “ zombie” isn’t used once by any of the characters, due to the concept itself coming from Haitian folklore and not even entering the English language until the 1800s.)
Set in the 1500s , Kingdom revolves around the estranged and traitorous Prince Lee Chang ( Ju Ji Hoon) , whose fate as the successor to the throne looks grim with the recent announcement of his stepmother and the young Queen Cho ( Kim Hye Joon) ‘s pregnancy. Chang, however, becomes suspicious when his father is suddenly ailing from a mysterious illness which nobody will elaborate about outside of the palace. After stumbling upon the truth that his father is a flesh -eating creature, he travels to the South in search of questions with his trusted guardsman Moo Young ( Kim Sang Ho). Naturally, however, they are not the first to stumble upon this truth as assistant physical Seo Bi ( Bae Doo Na) and the mysterious Young Shin ( Kim Sun Gyu) also come across this startling discovery, which will truly test alliances and friendships as a political bloodbath simultaneously corrupts even the heart of Hanyang ( now present- day Seoul)...
It is undeniable that the “ violent zombie” cliche isn’t anything new , nor exciting to television programmes . On the other hand, Kingdom’s strength lies in its focal point ( unlike many zombie programmes) not being on the undead, but the complexity and intricacy of humans.
From Lee Chang’s strong sense of morality towards his allies ( of all classes), Cho Beom-pal ( Jeon Seok- ho)’s gradual transition from one of the selfish members of the ruling-class to someone with a good heart , and the Queen’s ulterior motives against her father’s knowledge , it is notable that the majority of the characters in the show are fairly three-dimensional. Arguably, antagonist Cho Hak-Ju ( Ryu Seung Ryong) can often be written off as your typical moustache-twirling villain, however, there is still a notable level of depth to his character- a bereaving father who has lost his son and is out for revenge against Lee Chang , desperate to protect his family’s lineage and has many more secrets than first meet the eye.
Undeniably, the pacing of the show can be a little slow in the beginning, however, once the events of the show kick off, it is fair to say that time flies out of the window when watching Kingdom- the plot is engaging, the historical elements are surprisingly realistic, the characters are actually intriguing and the horror premises ( zombies, cannibalism and bloodshed etc.) are certainly not for the faint-hearted. Nevertheless, perhaps the one thing which should honestly be said about the show is that whilst the acting certainly wasn’t unwatchable and the actors undeniably had their moments of genuinely good performances , some acting in the show was often a little wooden and lacklustre.
Overall whilst Kingdom was undeniably slightly flawed by quality of acting and pacing at times, it was certainly a good show with an intriguing balance between history and horror as well as a deeper conceit towards a social critique contemporary of Korean society. Certainly worth a watch, if you’re looking for something to invest time and effort towards.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I ll start by saying this is a unique storyline to me and i found it captivating so i sat through the 16 episodes straight in one day. so its really a slice of life interesting drama.....with that being said i'll dive into an emotional rant of all the characters..... yes all of them in this drama were scum to varying degrees..... the lowest degree of scumness was dr kim and the highest degree of scumness was Lee tae oh...... as a matter of fact there is low, lower, Lee Tae Oh..... you get the point lol.1) Sun Woo- so in the first few episodes i could feel her pain, she had a perfect life and all of a sudden she realised her husband was cheating on her and stealing from her and her 'Friends' were in on it too........ i was pissed along with her raining curses of Lee Tae Oh. i was also proud of her strategy to divorce him without him knowing.... i was proud of her ability to stand up for herself every time.... then in much later episodes i began to doubt her aim of doing all she was doing, she literally lost it in my opinion because so many of her actions were so questionable to me. using her son as a bait too was low of her (although it was smart) but the boy didn't deserve to think his father was abusive to the mother just like that. The boy also deserved to see the father so that whole act in their welcome party was another low! and her betraying the bartender girl in order to protect herself and her love hate relationship was low! also its important to not that she was too stuck up on her work, too overconfident in thinking she knew her soon and had everything in control.... phewww she could have avoided a lot of things by moving out and starting afresh but i feel she was stuck up on proving points and never really got over her ex husband.
2)Tae oh---- deserves a whole rant epistle but in short he was just an entitled cheat who felt he should be forgiven for keeping a mistress ( who got pregnant) for two years while he had a wife and son.....whats worse.... he was stealing from his sons policy funds to take care of the mistress like really...! After the whole divorce he married his mistress and comes back rich and successful (or kinda not) and starts stalking and threatening his ex wife and trying to get her fired, trying to buy his son back.... girls this is the kind of man you really dont want to marry PERIODT!
7)sun woo's son----- while i feel bad for his situation which isnt his fault, he was a whole mess.... a spoilt brat literally! i mean his classmate's mum was also divorced but she still lived right. why he decided to use his dysfunctional parents as a reason to do clownery i will never understand. also i felt he was more forgiving of his father than his mother.... he was way to mean to her!
3)All the family friends---- how do you go on a vacation with you friends and one of you comes with a lady who isnt his wife..... and you do not tell the wife, as a matter of fact you help him deceive the wife (like what.... off with their heads lol) and let me not get started on seol myung the double spy..... i was happy Hyo jung got redemption at some point because she was the only one in their circle who had a bit of sense even though her husband holds the 3rd position on the scum list. i mean he was married but the whole time he was sleeping around and trying to woo his own friend's wife chile....
4)Mistress----- this clown was just so naive and stupid, a man leaves his family for you and somehow you think you acting right and being a supportive wife will make you better than his old wife and stop him from cheating on you like he did to his old wife ......... i mean people change but once a cheat, always a cheat i guess! the fact she was trying to buy everybody's love and loyalty in the city and make sun woo look like a bad person was low!
5)mistress father---- typical rich powerful man in kdramas that has power to do many things mostly bad things. him and his wife were too stuck up on themselves to correct their child for taking someones husband. they instead ran a campaign to get her support from the community with their money....
6) community peeps----- this ppl will just kiss a** of any influential person and gossip for a living...... i cant.....
the only somewhat decent people in this drama were min hyun (bartender girl), chairman choi's wife (woman association leader) , and dr kim..... every other person can be thrown away thanks!
Anyways watch the drama its emotionally investing but its captivating and interesting. And i hope they scoop a lot of awards because the acting was 100%
Was this review helpful to you?
Expected a lot more :(
Here comes my unpopular opinion, sorry.When I first heard about the storyline it really pulled me in and seemed super interesting and sweet with the "soulmate" plot. But it turned strange and unhealthy really fast. I wanted to give it a chance and keep an open mind, but the dark and obsessive "love" felt really disturbing. It puts the relationship in a really unrealistic and unhealthy light.
This is in my opinion not a good BL show and I don't like the way this show glorifies unhealthy relationships.
If you want to watch good BLs I recommend HIStory3: Trapped, 30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii or 2gether. Even the new show To My Star. All are healthy and you can see a relationship blossoming.
Was this review helpful to you?
Acting: It was great acting through and through. Enough said!
Music: Not annoying, suitable and there when needed.
Rewatch Value: I will definitely rewatch this at some point in time!
I really had to make myself watch the first 4 or 5 episodes as I didn't get hooked to it immediately. But once I got addicted I couldn't wait for the next episode to come. But, although of this "slow" start and the logical gap regarding Dong Man's ex (at least for me) this drama deserves a full 10 because it is quite realistic and therefore so different from a lot of other dramas!
Was this review helpful to you?
The beautiful story
A beautiful film about life as a refugee, about love, about humanity but also about the lack of humanity. A topic close to many people these days: showing the entire bureaucratic machinery. Soo Jong Ki is the best Korean actor. His acting skills are at the highest level. I really like all his films, but here he achieved acting mastery: he shows all the emotions... anxiety, fear, the will to survive, the desire to assimilate, the feeling that he can't go on, longing for his loved ones.Was this review helpful to you?
Good revenge drama with a sprinkle of fluidity.
The story goes like this : A woman who's family was annihilated because of a treasure map, seeks revenge. She decides to infiltrate the palace and becomes the crown prince's bodyguard.- Great plot with great fighting scenes.
- A sprinkle of fluidity, wich is rare and makes the drama stand out.
- Good acting.
- Good music.
- Great cinematography.
- Female lead has more chemistry with 2nd Female Lead than with Male Lead in my opinion.
Overall the drama is entertaining and kept me interested until the very end.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Ximen Lichen + Bo Wang = Ling Shi Jin
I’ve been waiting for this to be in MDL for F O R E V E R and it’s finally here! I’m currently in a Zhao Zhendong binge and when I saw him with Zhang Shan, I instantly looked for it (and boy it was so hard to find).LIKES:
1. ML - this is my kind of Zhao Zhendong roles. The flirty, shameless kind who will do anything for the person he loves. Like what I wrote in the headline, Ling Shi Jin has Ximen Lichen’s shamelessness when clinging onto the female lead and he also has Bo Wang ruthlessness when dealing punishments to others and even towards himself. You’ll see this when watch the scene of him dealing with the antagonist and when he was proving his love for FL.
What I also like about his character is even when he hated FL for leaving him, he never really hurt her. BUT FL did say that he was a controlling bastard when she and him used to be together so if that was shown then I wouldn’t have liked him as much. On the bright side, after FL came back to him, he learned to compromise and let FL be her own person so yay growth.
2. FL - I liked that even when Jian Cheng hated ML, she will side with him against others. Also, never really gave in to ML until he learned to compromise. She used to be ML’s canary/kept lover and when she ran away, she was forced to become independent since ML was hunting her. And when they reunited, you could still see the familiarity of two people growing up together even when they spent years apart. I also like that she’s not afraid of getting her hands dirty. Like the scene where ML’s assistant asked FL to persuade ML to hold back in dealing his revenge and she’s like “why should i?” Queen behavior. Zhang Shan’s pulled off the independent, playful and dark vibe which matched well with her character.
3. Chemistry - It’s not as spicy as his drama with Han Jia Hui BUT there’s something very natural about his chemistry with Zhang Shan. Like friends to lovers kind of chemistry and it just established more the idea of their characters growing up together that they know each other very well. There’s one scene where ML was punishing himself and FL immediately freed him even when ML is yelling at her to leave him alone. PLUS, I’ve read somewhere that some of the bts/bloopers were actually put in the drama. Off cam chemistry was so great it made into the final cut.
4. Story - I’ve always been a sucker for husband chasing wife trope. I was a bit worried since there’s usually abuse involved with the “i hate you for leaving me so this is my payback” but surprise surprise there’s none. Even ML found out the secret FL kept from him, it just showed that he was more hurt than angry. The plot itself was not unique but I like that their backstory was shown through dialogues. Like the grandpa dropping off the bomb that FL was taken in by their family and she even used to call ML “little uncle”. I was like “?? That trope is also included??” To be fair, I don’t think the age gap is too big but it wasn’t confirmed so just use your imagination.
5. Supporting characters - they also need recognition especially ML’s brother, assistant and the kid. ML’s brother was the villain. Characterization was average but his acting on the confrontation part was phenomenal. Him provoking Zhao Zhendong’s character and slowly realizing what ML would actually do was A M A Z I N G. He matched Zhao Zhendong’s energy so well. ML’s assistant was hilarious. He fits all the qualities of cdrama assistants. The long suffering yet still loyal and willing to serve ML. The kid was also great. I felt sad and proud for his character since he matured so quickly. Like kids shouldn’t be too understanding. It’s good that when ML and FL got together, he finally acted his age.
DISLIKE:
I wished they gave more details on how FL ended up in ML’s family. Or maybe it’s in the drama and the subs failed me.
FAVE SCENE (so many):
- confrontation between ML and brother
- FL protecting and comforting ML when he had a breakdown
- ML: I punished both his legs // FL: isn’t he lame on his right leg? // ML: baby, don’t you know men have three legs (LMAO)
Was this review helpful to you?
the good this is that it was short coz girl i dont think i could take anymore of the ridiculous journal. the other is that song jae rim mostly and the rest were a hot cast so kudos. one major thing that gave it a 5 instead of 2 is unlike other kdramas this has alot of kissing scenes so i liked it. there really was also some cute moments seriously. thunder actually did a good job for his first role, he was cute and funny but sometimes i could feel his nervousness.
the bad thing oh gosh its like 99 problems. park gyu ri, how did this girl get chosen for this role coz its definately not her acting. one of the baddest gender bender. this girl couldnt pretend to be a boy for the life of her. i watch shows for the actual acting and not the cuteness. she supposedly was writing a journal by pretending to be a boy and find out about this guy she fancied. everytime they re-enacted her stories is when i would want to throw this laptop. it was fake beyond fake including her fake wig, fake gumihos, fake hunters, fake guns and gunshots......i could go on to 99. some story lines were really great like the grandma/grandpa fiasco. its just the story lines kept getting plugged in where they shouldnt.
give it a try, u gonna like kay as he starts getting feelings for her/him and seeing the different styles of nail art.
how do u tell about someone by looking at their nails **smh**
Was this review helpful to you?
Really Enjoyable but Also Trope-y with a Side of Flaws
If I rated this purely on my emotional enjoyment, I would give it a 10 out of 10: this is a fun college drama chock full of romantic feelings and character-made drama. Its premise reminded me of a toned-down version of Gossip Girl: all the characters are initially connected by a mysterious blogger who falls in love at first sight and makes them all re-evaluate their own crushes, loves, and relationships as they speculate as to the identify of this person. I had known nothing about the parent story for which this show is based on, Love Playlist, but had been drawn to early descriptions of this drama and the trailer that eventually came out.That said, when I take emotion out of it, I find story and characters that are a bit limited by traditional romance story tropes that are unashamedly invoked: you have CLEAR "nice guys/good girls" and CLEAR "a-hole [male] players/manipulative [female] witches." Their backstories can get a little cliche too with clearly-sympathetic tragedies and traditional parental issues/ambitions to succeed. I would argue that seasoned romance series/Kdrama watchers will be able to completely predict almost all, if not all of the story progression, from beginning to end, just within the first few episodes. Is this necessarily a bad thing? No, I don't think so - enjoyable is enjoyable. However, I think if you are considering watching this, you should know exactly what it is and what it is not: it's a simple, cute story about college kids' falling in love and having challenges with their relationships while going through college. It's not a grandiose, unique story with fantastical mind-bending twists or deep meaning.
There are some clear continuity errors and contrived plot points in the story - they aren't horrendous, but they are very noticeable. For a non-spoiler example, at one point a character loses their phone. By the next episode, they mysteriously have recovered it/might have bought a new one - how exactly did they get this back/buy a new one and input all their old, same contacts in? As for the contrived plot points, I don't want to spoil anything for you, so I will vaguely say that sometimes, things that happen or motivations that the characters have are way too "on the nose" and I personally would have preferred that the show be a little more subtle about it.
The acting is sufficient for a Kdrama, but notably decreased a notch from other big budget performances: for example, I found some of the crying scenes so forced and unbelievable that those momentarily took me out of the drama. However, if you put those weaknesses aside, I think you find a cast that is very believable and does a good job: this is apparently Jeong Jae Hyun's acting debut, and I honestly never would have known that if I didn't read it in an article. I wasn't a Park Hye Soo fan to begin with, but her performance will make me check out some of other works, as I loved the sincerity with which she played Ma Joo Ah. For other characters, many will recognize Roh Jeong Eui from her prior performance as NJ in Our Beloved Summer and I think you will find her performance refreshing as she definitely sells her performance as a different type of person. I also found Lee Jin Hyuk particularly hilarious as the clearly-comic-relief character who gets crapped on just for our benefit, and particularly enjoyed the straight-forward, independent person played by Woo Da Vi. Hwang Bo Reum Byeol and Lee Jung Sic round out the rest of the notables by playing appropriately hateable characters. Overall, I really enjoyed the ensemble cast.
As of writing, the OST seems to be unreleased/still coming out, but I think they did a good job. Park Hye Soo originally wanted to be a singer (she is from Kpop star) and Jeong Jae Hyun is part of NCT, so they naturally do an excellent job with the song covers featured in this Kdrama. I don't think there are any bangers that will be sung for the ages, but don't let you stop enjoying the songs that do exist.
Overall, I think this is a light, easy watch to pick up. You won't find anything groundbreaking, but don't let that stop you from giving this a try - I can't say it's an absolute work of art, but I think if lighthearted romances are your cup of tea, you'll enjoy this.
Was this review helpful to you?
1Not your usual twisted thriller...
This is complete fantasy, not in the sense of a fantasy world, but fantasy as in phantasmagorical. It’s a sort of teenage dream sequence and I like it. (Thanks Skitc for the recommendation) It couples total teenage angst with savage violence. This isn’t about reality, but the balancing out of intense impulses, living at the extremes. An allegory for the raging torrent/torment of hormones that just about allows you to hang in there by your fingertips and survive, somehow appearing almost normal on the surface.Just don’t try and make rational sense of it. Don’t look for credible motives or realistic psychology, simply immerse yourself and enjoy the ride. There are lots of lol moments, gory moments, weird moments, surreal moments and, strangely, smile moments.
There are also clunky moments with the script and a few convenient tropes like the obligatory memory loss and some clumsy plot structure. It’s also pretty clear what’s going to happen in the end. But overall it holds up without being unnecessarily complicated, probably due to the short length.
I like the cinematography for the fight scenes, which is not coherent, but messy, just like the fights themselves. I also appreciated the soundtrack which doesn’t necessarily take the obvious path.
The best of it are the scenes between Park Se Won and Song Geon Hee as the central couple. They had a great dynamic and their relationship was the glue that held everything together. The other cast is quirky-weird with great performances by Yang Yang (Cha Joo Young ) and her sidekick Jang Hyeon Min (actor not listed on MDL, cast list needs filling out, sorry can’t do it don’t read hangul). Also in the mix is an OTT drug induced psychotic villain who twitches his way through the series and a creepy sadist who does, well, creepy sadist things. And yes, it’s pretty violent and twisted.
What my rating means: 8+ A great drama with interesting content and good writing, direction, acting, OST, cinematography. But didn’t quite have the requisite sparkle to bump it into my all-time fave list. Worth watching.
Was this review helpful to you?
The story is based off of her trying to making a name for herself after years of settling into her party girl life style, but the story is not as shallow as it may seem. The drama tackled issues of peer pressure, self worth, and self esteem.
There were memorable cute scenes from the main couples and just when it got too serious there was comedy relief from the side characters. Also there are strong women all through this drama. Some are accomplished and teach others or they have ambition to do great things; such a girl power feel to it.
The OST was amazing, Onew has a magical voice that made the main couple's song come to life. There was always good music playing in the bg; it helped with the story telling in each scene, i felt more in love, more nervous or mad because of the music. I loved the OST so much its going on a playlist.
Overall I would recommend this drama when you need a break from crying or being frustrated with the other hundreds of dramas we watch. If we had to label this drama it would be a "slice-of-life". There was comedy, romance, and a bit of angst but not enough to be the central theme.
Rewatch value went down just because i would go back only for specific scenes that i loved, and not the whole drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
this wasn't sweet at all. hella salty.
the title sounds cutesy so why? what was the point of this drama? why would you make me want to eject myself into the sun? i'm a masochist but gosh darn it this was so frustrating to watch.this is just another straight drama with frustrating main leads.
i don't see anything extraordinary about the fl and it honestly makes me question why she's the fl.... the scene of her not being able to back herself up when facing those homophobes demanding her program to be cancelled..... for once i wanted her to have some courage to stand up and tell them why she made her program and that there's absolutely no reason for her program to be cancelled
when things were going haywire with her program and her boss quit, she was asking "who will help me with this?" like ????
the ml was so annoying ohmygod... i get that at the beginning he was desperate for money because of his dad needing surgery but then he continued burying himself with lies after another which made him a very selfish character
a straight dude pretending to be gay then leading a gay dude???? and y'know who he thinks about? the fl !!!
this guy straight up talks to kang tae wan about how he might hurt ah jin if he told the truth but hasn't he thought about how it hurts kang tae wan? how he misled everyone to believe he's gay? how there are actual gay people having difficult time to come out???? he was receiving all sorts of support but he didn't do anything.... he waited for shit to hit the fan.... how irresponsible can one be???
kang tae wan is the only character that was decently written
it's honestly a shame that this character has limited screen time because i could care less about anyone else lol
in conclusion, i'm in the process of lowering my expectations
Was this review helpful to you?
