This review may contain spoilers
Typical lacorn-style over-acting bullshit story...
Again... a series which is bearably watchable... I don't find it cute, while the leads are not from a magazine which makes it marginally better their acting is nothing to write home about...Then we have the questionable plot with forced drama around every corner and too much lipstick which doesn't suit the leads, but that's only my opinion. And of course all characters are very one dimensional without any depth at all.
So, nothing much more to say, then this is the cliché trash I expected it to be. You can watch so many better shows than this.
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You Taught Me All the Precious Things
16 people found this review helpful
Though the story was serious and was kind of heavy, it was not dragging and it was presented in a way that viewers would want to continue watching it 'til the end. It gives great impact and a lot of lessons. One would also learn to love each characters as the drama goes on. Music was just right and goes well with the emotions the drama is trying to give to its viewers.
This is one of those dramas that after watching it, you would realize a lot of things. One of those dramas that as the characters in the story changes, you could also feel that something deep inside you has changed. You would also learn as the characters in the story are learning. A must watch drama. A drama worth remembering.
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Another overrated k drama
I think it's a very boring show and the chemistry between the male and female leads is zero. I watched the series until the finale there were a lot of unnecessary business scenes, corruption, drug cases, etc. A lot of ridiculous soap opera drama scenes that were extremely unnecessary. Especially the finale was very simple. I don't understand why this series is overrated and why it got 8.4 points, it doesn't deserve more than 7.5.Was this review helpful to you?
The story centers around 2 ill-fated loves. I thought both stories weaved together well, without feeling too cheesy, or forced. Gu Wol Ryung & Yoon Seo Hwa's tragic romance had me hooked from the very beginning. Choi Kang Chi & Dam Yeo-Wool's chemistry kept me excited about what would happen next. I'll admit that the story was a bit predictable at times, and there were a few frustrating questions left unanswered (specifically about the Gu Family Book), but the amazing cast made every episode enjoyable. At no point was I ever really bored.
Lee Seung Gi is one of my favorites. I've loved him in every drama I've seen him in, so it was great seeing him in a role where he gets to evolve into a true hero. He was perfectly complimented by Suzy, who plays a strong heroine, not just the pretty damsel in distress. They worked well with each other, and even made some of the cheesier love moments work.
I think the entire cast did a great job, so it's hard to single any actors out, even though I did have a few favorite characters. I hated who I was supposed to hate (Lee Sung-jae is such a good villain), and empathized with the entire colorful cast of characters. I also loved that many of the characters, weren't completely good or bad, which gave them more depth (Choi Jin Hyuk looked so good being bad, and Jo Jae Yun was hilarious). Though they played 'over the top' at times, I had to give the cast a 10.
The script I think was a bit too ambitious, which Is why I gave the story an 8. I don't think there were many plot holes, and I can forgive predictable stories if they are entertaining, which this was. There were actually a few moments that caught me completely off guard, and that kept the feeling of suspense going. I do think that some of the explanations were a little too far fetched, which made it hard for me to connect emotionally. I did not cry during the "sad" parts, because they were so melodramatic. Still, I was completely invested in the characters, which I think is a testament to the outstanding cast.
I did not love the music as much as others did, but it did compliment the mood well. I could see myself rewatching this, and still being entertained, but I wouldn't call this drama one of my favorites.
The ending does leave the door open for the possibility of a sequel, which is an exciting thought.
Overall, I would say this is worthy of any Sageuk to watch list. It was not perfect, but it was exciting, and enjoyable enough to get a "great" score from me. If you are willing to suspend your belief, I think you'll enjoy it too.
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1This review may contain spoilers
[spoilers]
i loved everything about this show except the ending..ok we all expected him to come back and not be dead but why couldnt it be 16 episodes with everything rather than probably waiting for season 2? everything else is amazing.
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-Wildness beyond imaginations.... check!
-Violence... check!
-Hopelessness...check!
-Spot on comedic scenes...check!
-Amazing performance from the whole cast...check!
-Magnificent use of flashbacks, colours, lighting and music... MAJOR Check!
-Memorable... We'll see about that ;)
-Story... I don't usually watch anything where there is no one to root for, much less enjoy it, but somehow this story was engaging so...check! But it was mostly because of it's characters rather than the story itself.
This is definitely a director piece. What I love about this movie is exactly what I loved about Confession. The not so linear timeline, the constant use of flashbacks, seeing only part of the picture piece by piece until it makes all sense, the effective use of music to indicate the absurdity of the situation, the colours used show the madness in the world. The movie doesn't shy away from anything, and the story is told by one hell of a messed up dirty old ojisan. Under a lesser director, this movie would've been like any other, average, forgettable. Nakashima has a way of mastering the image he's showing. A true artist who manages to connect with the audience through images.
Yakusho Koji's genius was beyond my imagination (currently checking out his movie list ;)) Tsumabuki was adorably delightful. I smile on every scene he's in. Sometimes I burst out laughing. Specially in his last scene in the movies. Hilarious! It just caught me by surprise. Odagiri, oh Odagiri, he may not appeared long in the movie, but it was long enough to captivate me. To the point that I didn't realize I was missing my chance to get some great screencaps of him XD. What a scene that way. Words cannot describe it. It was so effortless on his part. Playing crazy characters for him is like a kid getting his favourite toy on christmas!
That young cast! No fear for the future of the Japanese cinema as long as they're around. It's my first time seeing Komatsu Nana so can't judge much but she has the perfect demonic beauty that she uses effectively here. Hashimoto Ai always knows the best thing to say at the right moment. Hiroya Shimizu was also perfect his the use of his character is interesting.
It wasn't an easy watch but totally worth watching. If you're a fan of Nakashima movies, especially Confessions, you'll definitely like it. If you are a fan of any of the cast, they make such a spectacular job it's worth venturing into this movie!
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There is one word that sums up this whole drama; contrivance
What people like or dislike, might not be what you like or dislike so I do suggest to ignore any type of feedbacks and give this drama a try. When you start having mixed feelings about it, my review is here to help.I think this series have an appeal. It got a innovative concept, an endearing FL, ML, side characters, and a mystery to unravel. I got to this far because I thought this show had potential to be even greater. But instead, it only went downfall when "minor" flaws kept stacking up one on top of the other to the point it fell flat. The writers message was to tell you that true events happen the same way but HOW (keyword) they decided to show it disconnected some viewers from the plot. It suffers from poor execution. I like the message but I dislike the way this drama handled it.
One of the two plotlines this series rely on is the mystery. It carries the show so the writers made the characters superficial. If you watch carefully, you will realize these two writer aren't writing "characters" anymore. They are writing plot points to push their story forward otherwise they won't have a story to tell (with the exception of ML. The FL as well except she loses her way here and there).
Like one of our anatognist here whose whole purpose is just to come in and out to create fake suspense and tension. He does that for 5 episode straight. His whole personality revolves around FL for no reason. Remember what I said? They are not writing characters. They are writing plot points. Ironically, he is the only one who knew what happened 18 years ago and.... drum roll please!
He wants to tell them. Yes, you read this right. He WANTS to tell them.
But they don't want to hear from him. Why? Because the story will conclude at episode 9-10. When a series does that but waits until the very end to "reveal" it, it just lack creativity to tackle it any other way. You already know the writers will come up with different "coincidence" or "reasons" to prevent this guy from talking. Like I said, they aren't writing characters. They are writing plot points.
They would do these type of plot points in other areas. I can mention over 10 instances. You don't not realize at first because you think it's relevant or might be explained later on but then you finished the drama and you look back and realize, they added nothing of value. They tied most of the loose ends like some PowerPoint presentations at the last episode. They expect you to fill the blanks. They expect you to come up with your own interpretation and justif, in your head, why it happened like that. I'm not a fan of those plots because it's pretentious. If the message was so "real" the male and female lead would have both died to reinforced its message.
As for the romance, it's the only redeeming quality this series have. This is where the writers strength are. The dialogue and interaction are pretty good. It handles trauma well. The male lead development is well written. He enhanced the story to another level. The romance though have a minor flaw where the characters are suffering from a "special" version of the break up trope. They are NOT breaking up because it's not "official", they are just constantly separating and distancing themselves from each other and finding their way back to each other. And it repeats for over five times. If this doesn't bother you, you will enjoy the chemistry. The link was also inconsistent. Just used for crying and fear most of the time. Any other emotions became pointless.
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At the beginning I wondered if they would be able to portrait the character of Jang Ok Jeong, probably the most well known villain of Joseon, as a good person.. but on the contrary they have not changed her character.. they have shown what was behind her behavior, behind her ambition and coldness: first of all the desire to rebel from the injustices suffered because of her humble origins, but also her deep love for the king and for her son Yoon ..
This is a truly tragic and romantic love story in which they both were willing to lose everything for each other..
I especially loved the character of the king .. wise and fair, with the courage to reform the government several times, able to counter the political opposition particularly alive at that time, but also willing to give up the throne for his love..
A fantastic romance with great characters analyzed in every facet and an excellent cast.. I've always loved Kim Tae Hee and Yoo Ah In both, but in this project they have outdone themselves, the chemistry between the two has always been perfect, the acting was impeccable.. and let's face it.. they are both really beautiful.. and.. I'd stay hours listening to Yoo Ah In's voice * ^ *
The OST was astonishing, in particular "Sorrow Song" by Yim Jae Bu.. it was of great impact..
Highly recommended!
Ps: Sorry for my English ^^
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Not the best, but not the worst
Honestly, there is just so many bad reviews out there for this drama. "My Strange Friend" did not make it to my list of favourite C-Dramas, that's true, but it's far from the worst.I can understand that the bar is higher for a series with the ML of Yibo's caliber, but one must admit that good plot is not among the strongest points of most C-Dramas. Given the budget, I think the production already did the best they could with what they had, and I was quite surprise that they managed to pull off this much out of the limited resources that they had.
There were lots of plot holes and the series was dubbed over in the original Chinese version to make up for the inconsistency, but some part of the story and dialogue were still very interesting. I especially liked the first few episodes, the following not so much, but still passable. My favourite character in the entire series was Afu. I think he got the best story line, and the actor really nailed it portraying his character.
To summarize, do not expect another "Untamed", but "My Strange Friend" is not so bad as a story.
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I Can Still Hear Ai going... P'YUUU...
Peoples, we got a rapping confession, followed by a guitar scene confession. It was a two-in-one double kill. I almost didn't make it out alive. It was brutal. Also, did anyone want to reach into the screen and shake P-Yu when he was treating his ex-girlfriend like precious cargo right in front of Ai's salad?Well, that ending was super anticlimactic, after all that dreaming that was it? A pull out knife, and a neck brace? Arite then. It was also very criminal how we didn't get a last moment between Yo and Ing, we were robbed and I wanna have words with whoever was in charge of the script.
Anyway, can we talk about how dirty they did Wan. Sure, the dude just couldn't take a hint that Ai wasn't interested, and Yo misguided way to help backfired, but damn, did they have to do my man like that? Screaming on top of your lungs that you don't like him was just wild. Poor dude, he better than me though, still helping Ai, me, I'd have never shown my face to him again.
This show is one of those that grows on you. When it started I was like, meh, really? But along the way it became my comfort show, it was wholesome and I enjoyed watching it. The two pairs had good chemistry, the plot, when the writers remembers their main objective wasn't bad, and I had a few chuckles. Oh, and the parents were really kind, which was refreshing to see.
Listen, the writers had a good plot, however, they did not execute it to its full potential. At some point it felt like they forgot the main plot-line, so they had all those floating dreams to fill the gap. They even forgot how Ai was playing some investigator or another with that closet wall full of drawings and stuff. They could have done so much more with this plot, instead they tiptoed around it to show us a whole episode with Yu's ex, Pan.
No, cuz what in the random arse was them dedicating a whole episode to Yu's ex for? When she returned I was like, 'oh, you still in this show?' then they gave her a whole episode as a result of things that didn't happen on screen. Who even cared about that character? Sure they needed that side-story for that Ice fellow to play a part in the finale, but a whole arse episode for characters no one cares about is wild.
And she only added to my anger. Yes, I felt bad for her, was even rolling my eyes at that annoying Ice and going 'how about you go melt somewhere creep.' but at the same time, let's be honest, she put herself in that situation. She had a good boyfriend, living in a big arse mansion (how they pay for that house? or did their parents leave them stack of paper in the bank?) who loved her, and she broke up with him, so she could go fake date someone and became famous. I felt bad for her, but the whole time when she was there and Yu was treating her like a newborn baby, feeding her and making my blood pressure go up, I was like, yeah, Sharon, you walked into that one yourself.
YU AND AI
These two were cute when they were bickering in the beginning of the show. And their little church scenes. P'Yu always somehow managed to make Ai angry. I did like their friendship, and when they got together as well. I assumed Ai was gonna be passive in the relationship, but he wasn't, episode 10 ending had me going... ooo... so this is where we are at? okaii. I liked how protective of each other they were. I also really love how it seemed like they lived in two houses, just going from one to the other, and the parents were so chill about the whole thing.
However, these two needed to communicate. Ai putting himself in constant danger was not it, all of those could have been avoided if he'd communicated with Yu. Sure he didn't want him to worry by keeping his dreams a secret, still, feels like trusting the one you love is better than keeping secrets that are putting you in harms way.
Yu had me until he decided to be a good guy and help his ex-girlfriend. Yes, yes, I understand, and in reality if an ex needed help, I'd have done the same, but damnnnn that episode made me glare at him over my popcorn and wine. Another place I was glaring was when Ai took all those pills. Child, you cannot be this stupid, sure your friend gave you a bad advice, but surely, Ai knew how dangerous it was, no? And to think nothing happened to him. They shook him a bit and he woke up. #facepalm.
But all in all, cute couple, wholesome-ish, it was nice seeing their friendship grow into love. They did well as leads and had me invested in their story. I really liked how they felt like a happy family with the rest of the cast, all those eating together scene was very heart-warming.
YO AND ING
Now, we were all rooting for them, seeing as anyone with eyes could see that Yo liked Ing back. What I didn't like was Ing's attitude when he confessed and more-or-less got rejected. Yes, it was frustrating to see Yo pretend, but when all was said and done, it felt like Ing somehow forced Yo to accept his feelings? I don't know, he deserved to be angry, but stopping to be his friend, and all that anger was not it. Still I was happy when Yo finally accepted his feelings and they got together. I cringed so hard during that rapping scene, was it cute, perhaps, but I watched it between my fingers out of secondhand embarrassment so...but anyway, glad they figured out their stuff and got together. Cute and whatnot.
All-in-all a nice show. It wasn't the greatest, but it grew on me, and it had its moment. I'll recommend it to anyone looking for something a bit different other than school setting as a main focus. I'll definitely be checking out the future work of the cast.
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The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity
17 people found this review helpful
Watch for special effect
Wow wow wow just watched the movie in theatre and must say worth all the time and money I had no expectations just wanted to watch Mark chao and Deng Lan didn’t knew Wang Dou is in thisI am surprise they have written him as supporting role but he is the main character he looks so handsome and his acting is good too
All actors are good Good looking and fitting to the role
Cinematography is just awesome you can just watch it for that
Only one complaint there is no element of mystery some questions are raised but immediately answer is displayed
Go and watch in theatre
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Story is about choices we need to made in our life to be truly to ourselves. Just like Sang-ina decides to become chef and leaves corporation office to start everything anew. Like Mo-rae needs to decide is she ready to leave her safe place and stop being little girl all the time. She meets Him and every touch is natural and passionate. Young stranger brigs with him salvation and degradation to both Sang-ina and Mo-rae.
Joo Ji Hoon acting is adorable, he seduces Mo-rae in most delicate way. But in every step his closer to Mo-rae and further form Sang-ina. I enjoyed Shin Min Ah acting, maybe she was a little to greedy and that made both men miserable but in the end she was fair.
Sometimes movie was a little unclear, ending was good I like unsaid and open endings. Music just great, all instrumental parts of the Ost were so warm and calm. Joo Ji Hoon even sings in french ^^
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