"So Damn Boring"
Just like everyone else I watched this because I really liked the first movie but this is such a big disappointment. They just put a lot of unnecessary things in the movie to make it 2 hours long when really it could have just been an hour. Also so little screen time for a the cast that I was looking forward to seeing and too much screen time for unnecessary people. I was also looking forward to the action scenes but there were no fighting just a lot of killing. Female lead was way too strong that all shedid was kill people, which made the action boring. There was nothing good about the movie. Oh gosh I really hated when a different race tries to speak in another language in movies because it really sucks, them trying to speak Chinese was so bad that I really wanted to smash my Tv in. Really bland and boring nothing impressive.
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Romantic comedy fitting XXI century standards.
Not having much inside on how sub-dom relationships work, I cannot comment on the accuracy of the depiction, but I can for sure say the movie does an amazing job in presenting it in a positive light. The word best describing the movie is: consent. Everything that happens is the result of mutual agreement that focuses on the preferences and needs of both sides.What’s more, while the movie presents Jung Ji Hoo as someone with, to call it broadly, issues, it flips the expectations the audience might have. It shows how the problems he faced were not the reason he sought that type of preference, but rather the judgment, he faced because of his preferences made him doubt himself. From the start, there was nothing wrong with him, but rather the society that puts unreasonable expectations and limits on everyone’s freedom of expression.
The thing that made me appreciate the movie more was the fact it never centered around sex itself. Focusing on other aspects of the relationship, with explanatory narration was a great choice.
Honestly speaking, the movie was just adorable. Watching Ji Woo and Ji Hoon try to figure out themselves, their preferences, but also work it out within their relationship was just an entertaining journey. I feel like there was a level of innocence presented on screen that will surprise many viewers.
The cast did an amazing job. There was only one scene that got me “this is just too scripted and unnatural for me to ignore” because of Lee Suk Hyeong’s delivery and the weird timing of the scene itself.
Production wise, I could not ask for more, though I might have asked for less. For me, some of the special effects were unnecessary. That said, they did not really lower my enjoyment of the movie.
Overall, it does a good job in presenting sub-dom relationship in a new light, that shows the more realistic and broad perception of it, without only focusing on the sexual aspects of it. It serves as a good criticism of the standards society creates, that serve no one and often hurt us. I would truly recommend it to all the 16+ audiences for sure.
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A murderer who escapes a brutal crime of 10 murders is free and famous. he writes a book admitting his crimes but there's someone else too who knows how the murders happened. So you keep clinging to your pillow till the end.
Park Shi Hoo.. there's something about his smile..it seemed so cocky and wicked.. loved him!!
Do watch!
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runs on vibes instead of plot
Overall: I really enjoyed the beginning with a unique premise and the color themes, but similar to other GMMTV productions, it runs on vibes and poor communication instead of plot or realistic character actions. If you aren't a vibes person, then I suggest watching the first two episodes then skip to episode 8 part 4 and watch from there. Watched on GMMTV's YouTube channel. Later re-released on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/39523c-vice-versaContent Warnings: beaten up, death (off screen), stalking, animal blood
What I Liked
- several cute and funny moments
- the color themes and prop integration
- supportive friend groups
- that this wasn't enemies to lovers but two guys figuring things out
- mentioning societal issues like marriage equality, expensive public transportation
'- several cameos/guest roles: Force, Book, Perth, Mix, Tay
- reference to 2gether/other BL series
- decent kissing in later episodes
- the two side characters and the vet stuff was cute (but they needed more time, had like a 5 second scene in the final episode)
- (neutral) comedy sound effects
Room For Improvement
- pacing was slow, characters went in circles (for 2 years!!!), I think they needed a fast burn side couple
- poor communication for grown men
- characters do not act realistically (the film crew in episode 11 was an example of this), characters do things because that's what the writer said not because it would make sense
- thin plot with a lot of product placement
- poor world building/plot holes
- that whole not name telling thing
- there were a few scenes that jumped a bit much, we were in one place and then suddenly somewhere else (the beach at the beginning was one)
- the cliche swimming issue in the beginning, wish they'd have come up with something else
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Perfect balance of ups and downs.
Honestly speaking, I’m not that into makjangs. A full on makjangs is a trip to ruined mood and constant annoyance. What I do enjoy is a "soft" makjang, where the shenanigans are still ridiculous and over the top, but there are some breathers incorporated to make you actually enjoy the plot. Perfect Marriage Revenge is like that - perfect balance of ups and downs.We get all the evil mothers and stepmothers, neglect, abuse, attempted murder, secrets and betrayal, cheating, crime - all the entertaining twists known. But we also have a healthy relationship of the leads, nice and smart supporting characters, some fluff and comedy. The leads are not exactly complete underdogs who are beaten to the ground to raise in the last episode and win the prize. It’s rather an even fight between them and the bad guys, and that’s what makes it fun to watch!
The show is beyond unrealistic, but if that’s anyone's complaint, you picked the wrong genre. Makjang is not supposed to be realistic. There were many scenes where I laughed out loud with how detached from reality they were - that’s the beauty of dramas like that.
For the romance - the chemistry was chemistrying. Sung Hoon ain’t a good actor, but he knows about romance, that’s for sure. What’s strange - his lack of skill was actually a perfect match for the drama. I honestly don’t think I would enjoy it as much with a “better” actor.
Jung Yoo Min won my heart with her performance as Yi Joo. I bought both the naive and good hearted, and cunning and strong. The emotional scenes tug at my heartstrings, the badass scenes made me clap like an excited kid.
Big props to Jin Ji Hee too. Han Yoo Ra might ended up as my favorite character. Amazing performance, and surprise nuance in how the character was written.
Overall, I binge watched it in 2 days. Once I started I could not stop. Addicting is a perfect word to describe it. I planned to just skip the scenes and watch the romance, but I ended up being glued to the screen and seated for 12 hours with hands away from that right arrow on the keyboard.
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The main couple was cute altho the main female character got on my nerves with her over the top silliness. I liked FSF character but he played him very straight and I would have liked to see a little more range of emotions.
All in all I made it thru the 32 episodes rather ok, and then wanted to kill every writer who worked on the show when I saw the ending - just ARGH.
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2-Storyline/Plot : The drama's background was one of the kind since I haven't seen any other dramas in a ranch before.
As for the story, I don't believe it was any special because there are tons of dramas and films about a former married couple. However, it was kind of cool to see how fate can mess with their hearts and bring them back together under hard circumstances .
Certainly, there were too many slow and boring moments in this drama (especially in the middle) so I had to skip many parts in order to make events go faster.
3-Acting/Cast : The lead male and the second lead female were the shallow reason that made me finish this drama. Lee Yeon Hee has always been a good actress for me but her character was really annoying to watch.
The supporting roles weren't that great plus the second lead female was the usual dumb character that we find in other Korean productions.
4-Music : It was a normal drama's music, I don't really remember it because it wasn't that special.
5-Rewatch value : No, I don't believe it's rewatchable.
6-The ending : Kind of cool, i was expecting more and i wished it lasted a little but anyway it was nicely done.
7-How did it affect me : No special feelings while i was watching this, i was just following the events. Even after it ended, i didn't have any kind of feelings for it but it wasn't that forgettable either.
8-Overall : This drama isn't brilliant or special in any aspect; only the ranch element was appealing.
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This review may contain spoilers
Started off well but.....
The first 15 episodes were mind-blowing. The plot twists, the story, EVERYTHING WAS SOO GOOD. I saw some people saying the story was very confusing and a mess. I’m sure they must have tried to watch the drama while it was still airing (2 eps per week). But trust me this story is FAR FROM BEING A MESS. My advice for you is: binge-watch the whole drama in 2-3 days.But I feel like they could and should have ended the show with 16 eps because after ep 15 the show took a down slope. Ep 16 to 20 were very slow. Nothing important happened and most of the plot twists they brought in in these eps, were stuff we already predicted in the beginning.
Eg: 1. We already knew JBR and SYH were ‘lab mice’
2. That JBR must be HSG’s real son and that the babies must have been switched
3. That the presidential secretary was involved in everything
But anyway I like how the drama ended. The last episode is about 1hr 40 mins and it takes it's time to finish off every main character’s story. I saw that some people were not happy about the ending Jang Ba Reum got, but let’s be honest. Even though he is the main character he IS a murderer and we already knew that he wont get a ‘happy ending’.
Lee Seung Gi does an amazing job portraying his character but who really caught my eye was our detective Go Moo Chi (not gonna elaborate cause you'll get it when you watch it).
Oh! and that scene after the credits in the last episode!!!!! Another brain surgery? So JBR and SYH were not the only lab mice? They were experimenting on other psychopaths too???
So here's the sum up:
If you're in to detective-psychological thrillers, Mouse is a definite must watch!
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This is one of those movies where you will say things like OMG, cute, I wish it was me. Because there is loads of eyecandy here. I liked the story, it is easy to follow and sometimes cheesy. But the cheesyness really belonged here in this movie so it is acceptable. I did had a hard time with the female lead because I wanted her to be a bit different than she had to portray in the movie.
The acting was really good, especially if the female lead got on my nerves for her acting here, she did her job wel. The male lead is easy to love and I thought his acting was great. Also the chemistry they have in this movie is incredible!
I would rewatch this movie because it is so darn cute and this movie just has something about it that I want to rewatch it.
Watch this movie if you like cheesy, cute and romantic movie.
Skip this if you don't like romance of much cheesyness.
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Thrilling drama
Must watch drama , the acting of the of actors are top notch , just by showing hesitation they make the screenplay best , they were showing excellent casting, director, storyline, the way the acted in the tense situation while showing inner feelings through eyes are indeed praiseworthy and supporting actors also did great job in portraying their charactersWas this review helpful to you?
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The bracelet that ruins it all
I have such a bitter aftertaste in my mouth after finishing it.This series doesn't bring anything new that hasn't been done before, or maybe it's just me because as an avid manga reader for many years series like Fushigi Yûgi or Inuyasha did a lot better work at both entering a book world thing on the first one and being a half demon in a world of folklore for the second one. I don't think the fact it wasn't super original in concept takes from the series by itself at all, but sadly it does when the plot and execution go out the window.
This series really grabbed my attention from the start for both being a type of fantastical storyline I like and because as someone that also plays videogames I found it very funny.
Where a lot of people thought the show slow I saw it as those side quests in videogames that you spend too much time for little reward and let you meet more of the characters or side characters, so I didn't have any complains about those parts of the series personally. I found myself grinning at the subtle references, even if maybe not even explicitly planned by the showrunners.
I've read also some people complain about the costumes but I personally really liked the colourful clothes although I do think the magical jewellery that both main leads wear could have been much better looking.
For me the plot started to go sour when the bracelet of doom appeared when FL is going to marry Ruo Shi. I could give it a pass before if there were some little inconsistencies here and there, or if the FL was over the top at times (because I've seen her in another one and she was so much worse in that one) or the fact that the other two main leads felt quite plain many times (but at times I thought it might be intentional). But the plot with the bracelet, how it starts and develops, and the subsequent lack of explanation is what triggered a spiral for me from that point onwards.
More specifically it's both ML not reacting quicker questioning things, the fact FL puts it on as soon as she receives it (why would she anyway?) and especially the fact that no one tells anything afterwards about what happened. FL doesn't tell ML (not sure if she even knows deep down), Ruo Shi doesn't tell anyone and just gives the bracelet "back" to ML, without even telling him what it does? He never either pays anything for what he's done, he doesn't even get an earful. I don't know, I feel there was a chunk of content missing there, and the problem is that those "missing" parts started to appear more often from that point onwards.
The editing was at times also very frustrating, especially that moment when Ziqi is being tortured and suspended from the threads by the aunt and we cut to the story of Mu Yao and Fu Yi again. The forced suspense made me lose interest in what was going to happen to Ziqi.
There are as said, many parts in the later half where it feels rushed or there is a lack of context, explanation or we're jumping from one thing to another without much direction. The ending is VERY rushed in my opinion, we go from one minute trying to kill the baddie to some tunnels of time or something to then learn in two seconds that everything that Ziqi is or has told is basically smoke and that he's also from the real world, or a copy of the real world him (we never get to know). I also still don't understand why they were walking the stairs that slow. I mean at the top I get it but they started going up in that speed already while all the people are being drained of energy😂
The worst of it though is the main leads relationship, how can you have so much build up to it and once they actually confess to one another they just back down to the point of being almost acquaintances at times. This was such a disappointment!!
And then it's almost brought at the end just because they needed it for the closure but that ending was also very disappointing and anticlimactic, and the drama surrounding the author was unnecessary and felt forced in a series that has been for the most part quite lighthearted with some more action/adventure parts in the mix. We don't even see that much of it to care and doesn't add anything to the ending. I also was very disappointed that they used the "dream" as plot device in the end, especially because it contradicts what happened in the beginning. I think there were many options of ending this in a good way but the way chosen is very unsatisfactory. Her not remembering anything is cliché and boring, the classic open ended with a phrase or the main character being called by someone has been overused already and I don't understand at all why the real Cui Cui and grandfather are there and shown but no one else is?😂
Anyway, I liked this series in general for the fantasy, the world building, the videogame elements and the funny bits it brought, and because I'm a sucker for grumpy MLs that are soft inside, but the plot after that bracelet part of the story just went downhill quite quickly and it got disappointing.
I don't know if I can recommend it, it's watchable but it leaves you with a bitter aftertaste. I sadly won't rewatch it as much as I enjoyed the first part, the relationship angst completely fizzling out after telling each other is such a let-down.
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I am too emotionally involved
In the beginning I was actually rooting for Hyungyu and Sohui since they are highly intelligent and had winner potential. But as the shower progressed, I found myself rooting more and more for the underdogs (Eunyu specifically and even 7high) and was getting so frustrated with the upstairs alliance and their hypocrisy.When the games began to favor those with more pieces, I knew their was no chance. Compared to S1, I think the games were still very fun and interesting. But everyone in S1 was at least likable and a good sport. I definitely had ups and downs of who I liked and didn’t have any particular favorite until we neared the end and I just wanted anyone BUT Hyungyu to win. It’s fine to scheme and strategize but the dirty plays and getting to just easily coast in the living room and never fight for yourself *cough Sohui cough* (like the prisoners have to continuously prove) just felt unfair and rigged even. I know that’s being emotional but so what, I’m like Hyunjoon.
Once again I think Hyungyu earned his win, but I can’t say he deserved it. It was just so predictable and disappointing and boring. I guess that’s real life for you. Love to Tinno, 7high, Eunyu, Justin, Jiyeong, etc.
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A Beautiful Story of Healing Hidden Beneath Revenge
Going into The First Jasmine, I expected a gentle healing drama with mature romance, quiet emotions, and soft aesthetics. It definitely delivered those vibes—but what surprised me was how psychologically rich the story turned out to be. Beneath its elegant cinematography and slow-burn romance lies a tale of trauma, revenge, healing, and emotional resilience.A'Li is one of the strongest female leads I've seen this year. Her painful past, fragile mental state, and gradual journey toward healing felt incredibly layered. Instead of magically recovering overnight, her wounds remained a part of her, making every small step forward feel meaningful. On the other hand, A'Yao wasn't just someone she healed physically by treating his injured leg—he became the person who quietly stayed by her side, offering patience, understanding, and unwavering companionship. Their relationship wasn't built on grand romantic gestures but on trust, mutual healing, and silent support, which made it even more beautiful.
A'Ying's story - She deserved so much better. I really wish she focused on her becoming independent rather than defining her happiness through mo jingli. She had so much potential to grow into her own person.
And then there's Mo Jingli. Oh, Mo Jingli... He gave me serious Qi Min vibes. Unlike Qi Min, though, he wasn't outright toxic. Yes, after marrying Ye Ying, he remained obsessed with Ye Li and neglected his wife, which was undeniably frustrating. But his character wasn't one-dimensional. His ambitions, regrets, and internal conflicts made him surprisingly compelling, even when I disagreed with his choices.
Princess Lingyun deserved a happier ending too. Her story was tragic in a way that lingered long after it ended. I can only hope that in another lifetime, she and Feng Zhiyao finally get the peaceful life they were denied.
Of course, I can't finish this review without mentioning Bai Lu and Cheng Li. Their chemistry never relied on excessive romance—it thrived through subtle glances, quiet conversations, and an unspoken understanding that made every shared scene feel intimate. The cinematography, costume design, and soundtrack elevated the emotional atmosphere, creating a drama that felt both visually stunning and emotionally immersive.
The First Jasmine isn't just a revenge story or a romance. It's a story about broken people finding reasons to keep living, choosing trust over isolation, and discovering that healing doesn't erase the past—it teaches you how to live with it.
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Disaster
Honestly, the only reason I stuck with the show was to see her finally face consequences in the end. The ending wasn’t that terrible, but definitely not what I wanted or expected. The start was strong, but I was least interested in her journey. Sure, her character was unique and acted well, but I kept hoping she’d finally fall into someone’s trap or get manipulated for once. I still don’t get why everyone keeps helping her and feeling sorry for her.Jun-seo’s character felt a bit underdeveloped. And the actor — whether it’s Penthouse, Shooting Stars, or this show — he just gives similar vibes every time. Even if the characters are written differently, his acting always feels the same.
Looks like there might be another season coming, but I’m not looking forward to it.
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