A Promising Cast, but a Miscast Lead
As a big fan of Choi Hyun-wook and his previous dramas, I had high hopes for this series. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a real disappointment.The drama follows classic, overused patterns, which isn’t necessarily a flaw, but when the story lacks credibility, it becomes a serious problem. And here, that’s exactly what happens.
Overall, the casting is decent. But why cast Choi Hyun-wook as a company CEO? From the start, it just doesn’t feel right. Some might say you eventually get used to it… I didn’t. He still looks like a high school student; seeing him as the head of a company simply isn’t believable. As a regular employee, maybe, but not as a boss.
On top of that, the soundtrack and the story are quite bland. Nothing really stands out. The "geek" side of the main character, which he awkwardly tries to hide, felt more cringey than endearing. There were so many better and deeper themes they could have explored.
In the end, I couldn’t even finish the series. And those are the reasons why.
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A gloomy, purplish masterpiece
Call it love. As the title suggests, we are invited to watch another drama revolving around LOVE. But what kind of love?This Drama is so typical; it is a melodramatic, slow-burn, revenge type of drama. If you have seen such a genre, then you won't be surprised, but this drama in essence is quite different from the rest.
Plot Summary:
Revenge, adultery, drama, and romance, all depict this drama. A very average, yet very vengeful girl is set out to avenge their shattered family after their father cheats on their mom and makes them homeless after 13 years. But who does she go after? The mistress's son who happens to be a CEO living a somewhat OK life. but that's the just surface. There is more to it. As the story goes, the leads get to know each other and yes Fall in love. The Love is slow-burn, with long gazes, and minimum physical contact, the type that makes you crave more. The leads are both very hurt and depressed, and you will get to see them crying a lot, but the romance is so deep that keeps you going.
Acting:
Both leads delivered a wonderful job. You get to feel their pain and growth as the series goes. Definitely one of those dramas that need an appraisal for the leads. Just look at their direct gazes and long silent walks. even their very short intimate scene was beautiful.
Even the villain exhibited proper character development and other actors/actresses delivered their respective roles decently.
Writing:
I'm not familiar with the writing team, but this drama is not without fault, however, most of the questions are answered in the end. There are no loopholes or over-complicated plots, yet the drama became slow in the last few episodes. Plus, the leads needed to have more skinship/intimate scenes for the audience to enjoy their relationship better, but that's how Kdramas are. Always trying to be artistic and different.
Production and cinematography:
One thing i heard a lot before starting this drama was that many said the drama has a purple theme. That's true and it can be annoying to some, yet i personally enjoyed it. Why? because the color itself could depict how the leads were in pain and how the story wasn't happy. it's actually a psychological effect and the writers used this deliberately to play with our minds. it can be irritating at first, but as the story continued, i felt more and more in sync with the color.
The locations used in this drama are SUPERB. Beautiful sceneries and aesthetics. are one of the great aspects of this drama, Again in sync with the characters and the story's gloomy theme.
Soundtrack:
Beautiful choice of songs. All convey the feelings of pain and love at the same time. Wish i could find the background music pieces by the composer, yet we only got the original songs so far. No theme songs.
Overall, it's a 10/10 for me personally, yet had i to deduct a point for the fact that the leads had very little skinship and in my honest opinion, romantic dramas need intimacy on-screen.
Highly recommended to those who want LOVE and ANGST at the same time. and the ending doesn't disappoint too :)
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This was one of my first doramas, and I remember being very indecisive about watching it, but I'm so glad I did. A year and so later, this is still the best dorama I've ever watched, and my absolute favourite. It's not even the plot per se, which could very well be seen as nothing special. It's... the characters? The friendship? The emotions? The stories? I wouldn't know.
I mean, if I think about it... Love Shuffle is not that special. It has characters who fall in love, get heartbroken, fall in love again, maybe even find a happy ending. And yet it's more than that. I came for the romance, but stayed for... anything but.
Yes, this has romance in it, the whole plot is driven by it. But. Is it your standard rom-com? Not a chance.
Admittedly, every pairing could actually work - with a couple of exceptions. You do figure out who's gonna end up with whom by the second round of shuffling (mid-way), but personally... I didn't care.
I mean, if you ever feel in doubt whether you should watch this dorama, just watch the first episode and then decide. The first 15 minutes are an absolute delight, and, looking back, I realise that's the moment I was hooked.
I am, of course, talking about the most amazing piece of television ever written: the elevator scene. How in the world can you take four characters who don't know each others, and of which the viewer doesn't know anything about and doesn't care for (yet), put them in an elevator, and still make the scene work and not feel unnecessarily long? I don't even know. If you figure out the answer, please leave a comment to let me know.
You can really rewatch this dorama as much as you like without getting bored: beware though, it's so good you'll wish you could rewatch it again the moment it ends.
The cast is phenomenal, with one exception - I didn't like Yukki (Daigo) very much, but I guess it's his voice. It's just so annoying. Uzze.
Shoutout to my Ojiro's (Matsuda Shota's) hair. Man, he can really rock that hairstyle.
The music is great! I still, to this day, adore the instrumental theme and listen to it very often. The main theme is Fantasy by Earth, Wind and Fire, so prepare yourself because it'll get stuck in your head. That, and Eternal Flame by Bangles. Seriously, it's a curse.
I have yet to find a dorama as good as this one, but in my heart I know that nothing can ever be like the gem that is Love Shuffle. Yay, Panda!
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I really want to continue already we are in 2018 cheering a lot for them to do. Incredible actors are to be congratulated.
Twisting here for everything to come back, I completely addicted myself to this cute, cute dorama.
As for Ryuji is beautiful as always has never failed to show his beauty and as a fan admire his work I make it a point to follow him on twitter,
the family has a wonderful man and a lovely voice as well.
I love you so much Ryuji <3
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Story: It is a simple story. Boy and girl grew up together. They are as close as close can be - BUT, they never fell for each other. Girl turn 30 and starts to mourn the lost of her youth. Suddenly, she realised what a waste her life had been - living with her mum and sister and writing stories that never get to see the light of the day. So, she made a life changing decision. She decided to move out of her home, but hold on..! She is too broke to afford a place of her own. At times like these, can't we all rely on our BFF for help? Likewise, she turned to her best bud - who happens to be a man with commitment issues. Due to a bad first relationship, the bloke lost faith in love. So, he spend his days flirting with women. When she approached him for help, he refused but later, due to some 'monetary issues', he allowed her to move in and live with him. Surely, there will be no harm - despite societal perception of a single man and a single woman living together.. right??? After all, in his eyes, she is a 'man' and she never regarded him as a man. How wrong!!! They fast learn that being BFF and knowing everything about each other does not equate to harmony in a live-in situation. Suddenly, there are things about each other they never knew - like what a pedantic clean freak he is and what a irresponsible sloth she is! Oh, sure... they knew about that long ago... but to live together and to endure such traits...God help us all! Soon, BFFs are turning against each other!
You may ask - how is it that this is a romance drama? This is for me to know and you to find out. *wink*
This drama reminds me a lot of the TDrama "In Time With You" and since this drama came out first, I am not surprised if In Time With You got its aspirations from this drama. The difference? In Time With You has a much serious tone to it while this one, despite its mature storyline, does contain some funny moments.
This is a very realistic drama and even the funny moments are realistic/natural. If you are tired of "highly processed and manufactured" idol-infested dramas with unrealistic storylines, this one will provide the relief needed and bring you back to what a solid romance drama should be like. Watch it and find out!
Acting/Cast: No complains. It is not an idol drama, hence no great lookers. Acting is top-notch!
Music: Not a highlight here. Appropriate music for appropriate moments.
Rewatch value: I do not usually rewatch dramas, so a 8/10 from me means this is a keeper for the times when the offerrings are meagre and you just want to indulge in dramas. Rewatch and re-live real love.
Even my husband likes it - him, a non-drama person. We will re-watch this together for a quiet evening with wine together. :)
Overall: Go watch it! A good one to teach youngsters what real relationships are like least they forget; what with all those highly 'manufactured' romance dramas out there nowadays!
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KBS Drama Special 2011: Princess Hwapyung's Weight Loss
10 people found this review helpful
I learned in this movie that, no one is a winner in getting revenge and so it's true about "If you plan to have a revenge, make two graves." And forgiveness is still the best thing to do.
I like this movie, it is very entertaining, especially the "rap song", those wacky acting of the female lead. I cried too at the climax of the movie where the princess confronted her estranged husband.
All in all, you can learn something from this. Some may not approve on the ending but, in real life, some are just forgiving and loving their someone significant that way.
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If you like artsy, slow paced movies that are open ended, this may be a good fit for you. I also recommend this movie for any Jang Hyuk fan.
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1Dark, Darker, Darkest...
This is the type of drama that will make you (or me) feel a lot of rage and kind of loose all hope for humanity... It is dark, bloody as... making me want to cover my eyes...The first couple of episodes had me feeling completely lost not knowing where this was going at all but as the plot unraveled, the twists became easier and easier to guess, it was still interesting well done and had me yelling what the ***** + why would you do such a thing!
It has some pretty interesting symbolism and bible references here and there, and does teach the audience a lesson or ten about all kinds of stuff that would be considered spoilers so I will let you figure those out on your own. This is not for the faint hearted but definitely worth a watch.
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Youth isn't always joyful
I usually barely write reviews, but this drama moved me so much I just had to express my thoughts here. This drama had a light typical romance in the beginning, and as the 1980 tragic events started occurring the drama became too sad. I cried so much and this drama showed a message that the tragic events of the Uprising must have scarred others just as painfully as Myeong Hee, and Hee Tae. The couple went through a lot together as the drama started getting into plot, and there were many traumatic events for what happened to the male lead, but a thing I liked about the male lead was that he was strong and was always there for others. His love for the female lead was undeniable, just as the female lead's love for his. So yes, the drama doesn't have the joyful satisfactory ending, but it was realistic and would be as what was expected in the Uprising in 1980. I cried a lot during this drama, and my mondays and tuesdays will feel empty now. So if you are considering a drama about hardships, youth, and love this may be one you should start considering.Was this review helpful to you?
I can understand why this series has the fairly high ratings it has, especially for this genre. The twisted connection between the three main actors and the development of their relationship was done well. I also very much appreciated how the supporting actors did incredibly well with their shifts from a normal human being to just plain creepy.
This isn't one of those "let me shock you into fear" or "let me disgust you so much that it will hopefully leave an impact" kind of show, which is nice. And although there were scattered moments of drag, there was enough depth to the story and characters where I still looked forward to the next episode. The ending felt a bit rushed and you'll have some unanswered questions or explanations but I was pleasantly surprised at the enjoyment factor.
Bonus points were given to the score because this genre is particularly difficult to do well.
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Hedonistic and Not For Everyone
Look, this is NOT a short film for everyone. It is a bl (boy lust) series rather than a BL. It is for adults. No romance here just pure animalistic lust. It is very well acted and has the classic 'bad boy' feel about it. We all like to pretend that this type of fantasy would never happen to us as we are sensible, have a moral compass, and have some boundaries. But this short film shows otherwise how easy it might be to succumb to a more lustful nature if the circumstances were right. Seemed almost too easy.Was this review helpful to you?
The Crucified Lovers tells the story of an unfortunate love affair between a servant and his master's wife. The film is quite simple and slow placed but therein lies it's beauty. The lack of action and multiple side stories forces you to solely focus on the couple and their plight. The movie itself is beautiful-I always find these classic Japanese films to have a serene and majestic quality to them. A simple movie with a simple message: a life with love, however brief, is much preferred to living 100 years without it.
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I was amazed how they acted! They were really good and I can't wait for more of some of these actors!
They picked the right music, sometimes it wasn't my taste but that is personal.
I would rewatch this movie and I would recommend it to anyone who like some action, a good story and some suspense!
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This review may contain spoilers
The 1st half was overly dramatic and the 2nd half was a snooze fest. Park Hae-jin's character Li Ang and his love interest Li Ren were supposed to be the main pair but they threw in 3 other couples that had the same amount if not more time given to them, especially Li Ren's cousin, Tian Na. Towards the middle it seemed SHE was the lead. When time was actually given to the OTP, it fell flat. I did not feel their chemistry at all. It was odd, they had scenes that should have been romantic and sweet but it felt like they were just checking off a to do list. Definitely not building a close and connected relationship with each other. Such a disappointment.
If a viewer is into crazy and sometimes nonsensical kinds of relationship shenanigans they may like it. Lots of breakups, lots of ex's, meddling elders and a bunch of grown ups who don't know what they want. Personalities seemed to change on a whim. Several scenarios happen over and over. What was the worst for me was I didn't particularly LIKE most of the characters. Even the ones that weren't bad weren't that exciting either.
***Possibly Spoiler-ish***
One love story fights against age and social status differences and has a jealous ex-girlfriend which was as cliché as possible. The jealous ex-girlfriend is especially grating. There is also an extra-martial affair relationship, a crazy psycho girl in love with a creepy magician and one other relationship that was actually normal but just seemed to be there to fill up screen time. One character that I did warm up to was Li Ren's cousin, Tian Na. In the beginning I couldn't stand her but by the end she won me over with her exuberant and quirky personality.
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Shen Yue you done well...?
i liked the acting of SHEN YUE, she done well. And all the casts as well. Although it is remake but it differ in version. I like the chinese version not because of the Shen Yue, but the story as well. The music, OMG i like their OST "Pure Love" very romantic and its fits very well the concept. I keep on watching it 2x already and still counting because i love the chemistry of Shen Yue and Jasper.kudos UFMT production team. Hope there will be UFMT part 2 with thier kid/s 😅 Jasper and Shen Yue, hope you have more project again. And what i had observed to Shen Yue, she is improving her acting.Was this review helpful to you?
