Completed
Step by Step
12 people found this review helpful
Jul 24, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 3.5
Story 3.5
Acting/Cast 5.5
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 1.5

Why?

Tried so hard to like this but as it wore one long episode after episode I felt like I was in an endurance race of mediocrity.
Pat has three faces...open mouth breathing, grimacing and then my favorite...trying hard to act like he is thinking. He's a singer not an actor. Give it up kid. Or watch some GMM TV great actors for clues. Your director obviously doesn't have one. Or was saddled with you and tried to fix to no avail. Really the worst BL performance I have ever seen. And I wanted so much to like from previews.

Chot and Jeng are fine and fun to watch and good production values but so long and who cares. The lead actor is so out of his depth and even puffy lips cant save him. Jaab is stunningly handsome but a case of arrested development aided by rich spoiled kid syndrome. Think he read German philosophers to learn to act soulful and sad.

Sorry this is a waste of time. Sorry I did. You are warned.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Till We Meet Again
12 people found this review helpful
by adel
Sep 26, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 4.5
The beginning really confused me
Things happen here and there.
Some scenes scared me, there's a lot of jumpscare.

As the movie goes i started to understand what's going on. It was funny then scary then funny again then heartwarming. The plot twist were really unexpected!

The ost was really good! Especially the one playing at the end.

However the poster is misleading. It made me think that the pink hair girl is the FL, but she actually isn't.

This is a movie that needs to be watch few times so that i could understand. But i can't stand the scary scenes, i don't think i could ever rewatch it alone.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Blood
12 people found this review helpful
Dec 26, 2020
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 4.5
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 5.0

A “ Bloodcurdingly” Dire Drama...

Upon paper, Blood actually has quite a good plot premise; vampires created in a “ I am Legend” - style way by infection (rather than the traditional manner in most vampire shows) , a protagonist infected since birth who wants to defy his fate and help others by becoming a doctor , as well as a female lead who actually had the potential to be a strong and independent asset within the show rather than just a mere love interest .

Instead, there is a sense of discordance within the overall drama between Ahn Jae- Sung’s moping upon screen for nearly half the series around a hospital (which after the first few episodes no longer seem to have something called “ A and E” or a regular flow of surgery operations )and Gu Hye Seon raising her voice as she flouts about the hospital stalking Jae-Sung as Yoo Ri Ta, without a second glance at the fact she’s in a senior position and in reality would be inundated in a pool of work requests and submissions.

It isn’t that Jae-Sung is a bad actor as he’s proven his talents before in shows like The Beauty Inside (2018) as one of the suave Male leads who was comically charismatic . Yet there’s no sugarcoating that Jae-Sung ‘s performance as Park Ji Sang was not one of his best and for a major proportion of the show, Jae- Sung came off as rigid and tight. Similarly whilst Gu Hye Seon is renowned for her performance in Boys Over Flowers (2009), she channelled her character, Yoo Ri Ta through a mixture of a deliverance of yelling her lines and stoic expressions as well.
Admittedly this also a fault of the director, the story writing and characterisation of the overall drama as well. Rather than directors Lee Jae Hoon and Ki Min Soo pulling up Hye Seon and Jae- Sung’s performances over minor errors in earlier episodes to improve their performances and avoid later mistakes, they seemed to be too obsessed with the thought of trying to deliver a contemporary drama which they thought that Korean audiences would lap up after recent waves of western vampire franchises in Korea.

Yet the scriptwriters must also be put under the interrogation light here for their part as well in regards to the lack of characterisation and plot as well. Rather than Park Jae Bum actually allowing us to see Ji Sang’s own personal struggles as well as a sense of attachment towards Ri Ta’s own experiences as a development within their relationship, the scenes that viewers do see ‘ moments of the past’ are neither talked about or mentioned again leading to a very rigid “ romantic’’ ( if you can call it that ) relationship between both characters for a major proportion of the show. Perhaps the one saving performance of the show was Jin Hee who was actually fairly good within his performance, however, the same cannot be said for his character Lee Jae Wook who had the potentially to be possibly one of the most intriguing characters of the drama, yet typical to the cliches he was forced into a lacking sense of depth and purpose within the show.

For most of Blood, Jae Bum seems obsessed with trying to cram in a myriad of useless plot points amongst only a couple of useful ones before rushing to the action and ending by the finale. Rather than building or progressing the show over a course of sixteen episodes, there’s little explanation or reasoning behind a lot of the events of Blood; presumably Ji- sang not ageing at the same rate of humans ( and if this applies to all vampires in the show), the actual motives behind our antagonist and of course what was up with the ending as well.

It is wrong to say that Blood is entirely unwatchable as it did actually have some good points such as Kwon Hyung Sang as the much needed comical relief of the series ( for most of it at least) and an intriguing plot premise, yet rather than Blood being one of the best cult classic Korean dramas of all time, it’s a farce of itself with dire acting, directing and writing. Overall it’s fair to say that Blood is a perfect drama to binge watch if you’re bored and looking for something to watch, but it is certainly not worth investing time and effort towards.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Majisuka Gakuen
12 people found this review helpful
May 3, 2011
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
Who doesnt love a group of bad a** girls taking over? Majisuka is all about a famed yankee (Maeda) resisting the urge to fight because of her feelings for one of her friends who died in a fight. When Maeda goes to her new school (chuck full of yankees) she is forced to proved that she is "serious" and time again. I loved all the girls from AKB 48 and how they interacted with each other. The acting was poor and the story line was weak and predictable but it was fun. A group of girls known for being pretty, beating eath other sensless for ridiculous reasons is priceless. I didnt take this drama serious, because if you do you wont have fun with it.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Ticket to Heaven
12 people found this review helpful
Jul 11, 2026
6 of 6 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

Good! Brevity Killed It Though

I hate that this did not resonate with me like I see that it has with so many other people. Ticket To Heaven was my most anticipated GMMTV BL of 2025 out of 18 (?) BL series announced. I think I'm more upset by my expectations than the actual series.

Let's Dive In.

Ticket To Heaven is no means a bad series. It is a great series, Gemini and Fourth have a powerhouse chemistry that is just as fervent here as it was in their past series. The cinematography is gorgeous, with a subtle grain and muted gray color palette that perfectly complements the story's tone. I also appreciated the lack of heavy beauty filters. Being able to see the actors' natural skin and facial details made everything feel much more grounded. The performances across the board are stellar, and the central question the series poses, "Can I love God and men too?" is both poignant and painfully too-real. Where the series loses me, unfortunately, is its brevity.

I genuinely think this story could have benefited from at least 4 more episodes. There were several plotlines that felt like they were only scratching the surface, but the biggest one was Barth and Tanrak's relationship. I love yearning. I love watching two people desperately want each other while circumstances keep them apart, and for the first three episodes, the series delivered exactly that. The final three episodes didn't have the same effect. I wanted more time with the slow burn. After the almost-kiss in the wash room, I would have loved to see Tanrak continue wrestling with his feelings while still pushing Barth away. Let that longing build even more before finally giving us the kiss in maybe episode 5, or even the finale. I think my expectations were shaped by the idea that this would be a slow romance, and honestly, I believe it could have been if the series had been given more room to breathe.

This is mostly me being nitpicky. Overall, Ticket To Heaven succeeds in many ways. It tells a compelling love story about two people trying to find each other while navigating the restrictions and expectations of religion. Even if it didn't completely land for me, I can absolutely understand why it has resonated so deeply with so many others.

Story: 7.5/10 - Good parts, parts that could've been better. Good though.

Acting: 9/10 - Good! Gemini definitely surprised me!

Music: 6/10 - Didn't pay much attention to it. Definitely did not care for the title sequence song.

Recommendation Value 8/10: Sure, if religious torture is your thing? But overall, it's honestly pretty light on what you'd think it'd be pretty tough on. Also, Gemini is so hot in this, so yes, go for it!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Best Time
12 people found this review helpful
Aug 18, 2014
47 of 47 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers
"Best Time" is a drama with many good points that deserved my score of 9, but some downsides that refrained me to give it a perfect score 10.
The storyline I think, was wisely drew on a mixture of a workplace setting with a very complicated and melodramatic romance that keep you hooked in your seat despite of the 47 episodes length. At the contrary of other business related dramas this one never was boring neither disappointing but catches your interest and make you enjoy of the competition and challenges that comes up. In reference to the romance has something really good and that is the unexpected outcomes. It seems for a moment that the plot is so evident and is leading you to believe that the female lead would tilted to love a one person in particular but later you realise that maybe you were wrong. So you keep waiting for what would happen next. I must say that this drama is based on the novel "The most beautiful time" by Tong Hua.
The acting was generally good. Although, I didn't like much the character of Su Man's best friend. I was so please to see Chang Janine here (who has a main role in the new Chinese drama "You light up my star", starring with Cheng Joe). I think she is very good at melodramatic roles. Plus she has a good chemistry with Chung Wallace in this drama.
I liked the music, about all the opening song that repeats throughout the drama.
I gave a reasonable rewatch value because there are some episodes really touching that you wouldn't mind to watch again although maybe 47 episodes would be more difficult to digest twice.
I don't like to disclose the ending but I think there is something that has to be said as it is important to understand for what the sequel " Best Time Special" stand for. At the same time, is a fact already known by fans who have read articles about this drama, so it cannot be considered as a spoiler itself, neither rest any attractiveness to watch the drama...
...This drama has an open ending, this means that there are some loose ends. I believe the intention was to leave the viewers to get their own conclusions about how the romance should ends. So when you finish to watch the last episode you are given the chance to conclude the story there or if you feel disappointed or are really willing to see what happens next, then you might opt to watch the sequel, a 2 episodes specials in which you get a recollection of the whole story with two different endings.

This extension with alternative endings I think was a fans service for those who were hooked with the emotions and heartbreaking fates of the characters and unhappy with not knowing what happened to them. However, I particularly found this ambiguous conclusion and added endings quite a negative downside. My reasons are that the drama does not give you all what you want when they already spent 47 episodes for that; in addition, the special doesn't get under your skin as it did the whole story, maybe because it felt to forced or just as a thriller that in its more tense scene takes a break for some adds and then ruins the suspense. I would rather preferred they finished the story in one or other way at once without need to make the specials,

Anyway, I enjoyed much of this drama and I definitely recommend to watch it if you like romantic stories. The good think is that you can choose what ending you prefer and even see what would could happened otherwise.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
You Are My Spring
12 people found this review helpful
by SKITC
Aug 25, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 9.0

Novel formula boosted by some flawless contributions

"You Are My Spring" attempts to combine a rather grim murder mystery with a lighter romantic drama and it in large succeeds, though it is more due to how well some of the foundational components are executed than due to the freshness of the concept.

First, the photography is stunning. The composition of the shots and the editing in this production are as good as any video since "Parasite". It's that good.

Second, the cast as an ensemble is without a weakness. From Seo Hyun Jin to the major supporting actors (Kim Ye Won, Kim Seo Kyung and Baek Hyun Joo are especially strong), to the brief appearances, there is not a single below the bar performance. But special commendation must go to Kim Dong Wook who simply astonishes as Joo Young Do. It is almost certainly the finest acting performance of 2021 and should be a case study in how to use subtlety and silence in creating a compelling character

And the writing is excellent as well. All of the main characters are complex and original and genuine. The dialogue is smart. There's very little of the standard cliches and when one big one appears, it's done so well that it can be forgiven. Particularly well done is the character of Ahn Ga Young played by Nam Gyu Ri. What at first appears to be a stock self-centered celebrity type is surprisingly comical and sympathetic and bright.

It's not without shortcomings. The dual storyline concept works well when the main duo are closely intertwined in the plot with Yoon Park and the police detectives. But as the romance drama coalesces, the crime drama dissipates and when it inevitably reappaers in the later episodes, it blends in awkwardly and the storyline gets incomplete closure so that a late blooming side couple can have a share of the spotlight. There's also a minor subplot that appears regularly before vanishing and leaving the involved cast members either relegated to props or eliminated altogether.

Any criticism of "You Are My Spring" for trying to do too much with two very differently toned storylines is legitimate. The show cannot keep the threads wound tightly together for the full sixteen episodes. However, the stretch of "You Are My Spring" from episode seven through thirteen is wonderful. This drama should be on any list of the finest productions of 2021 and most strongly recommended.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
You Raise Me Up
12 people found this review helpful
Oct 3, 2021
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.5

A clean simple beautiful heart warming drama to watch

It's been a while since i watched a beautiful slice of life romantic drama like this. The best part is that it only have 8 episodes. Very light with simple and clean narration makes you feel very heart warming every single bit of it. Plot is also looks refreshing and the duration of Episodes is around 45 min.

I don't want to enter into the plot or synopsis which you can simply read on MDL website, i prefer not to read anything before you watch, its better to kept that curiosity with you while watching.. so many good things were there, it deserves much more attention. May be subbing is from viki they delayed too much. But thank god they bought the right if not then we could have miss this beautiful drama.

The mood which the ost create was so magical to see and every time we watch a slice of life drama you will learn something from it, here also nothing changes, the hardships of life they showed was very intense. Also the relationship goals and the friendship everything was fantastic.

Highly recommended to watch.. its very heart warming drama❤️

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Cityboy_Log
12 people found this review helpful
Jun 9, 2024
35 of 35 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.5
This review may contain spoilers

Volume 5: A new strategy

I've been enjoying this volume a lot. I think it's a step in the right direction.

First of all, they expanded what I thought was possible in this vlog format. Previously, I assume they'd stick to "realistic" plots that at least have a semblance of real-life feasibility. But the whole Jihan VS his manager is anything but; not only that you wouldn't record a vlog of your secret relationship, the manager is an "evil parent"-esque villain... in a vlog! Well, any semblance of realism is out the window now. In exchange, I welcome the additional possibilities this approach allows (like the HongGyu kiss dream sequence).

Second of all, I appreciate them keeping this volume in Seoul. It allows them to focus on the plot, without the pressure of having to change scenery every episode the way a travel vlog does. Plus, this kind of fiscal responsibility is important if this project is to be long-lived.

It's not all good, of course. I don't understand why they reconciled Hyunki and Dongseop so quickly, for example. I think their conflict has potential, and I'd much rather if they foster it for a bit. At the very least, they should conclude the conflict properly, perhaps by replacing the running scene with a reconciliation scene.

On that note, I think I can confidently say that people don't really care for the platonic (I'm referring to scenes like Yunje's video editing or HongGyu+Dongseop's running). They're fillers, and that's something vlogs can do without, what with the fast-forward and skip ahead that are standard practices. So it'd be good if they keep it tight and make every scene ties up to the grand romance, or at least have a flirty undertone.

One last thing. About the HongGyu focus in the second part of this volume, I can understand. I know people must've been missing 2J, but Jaejun's time here is hard-capped by his mandatory military service (in less than a year, I think?). So I get the need to slowly shift the spotlight to the other boys.

And that's about everything. Looking forward to the next volume and their further growth.




Below is my previous review for vol 4:
First of all, I'd like to acknowledge how difficult this format actually is. It brings a lot of freedom, and there's no comparison point. So different people will end up forming many different kind of expectations. Heck, I'm pretty sure some people don't even know what to expect. Like, they can tell whether they like this volume or not, but if you ask them to describe in detail what they want to see, many would probably come up blank. Exactly because there aren't much reference point to compare this work to.

With that said, I like this volume. Mostly because, to me, they're returning to the essence of this vlog format. In a typical series, the storytelling is akin to watching a CCTV recording; we get to see any relevant information, whether the characters "wanted" to be seen or not. But in a vlog, the storytelling is more like reading a diary; we only get to see what the characters have curated for us to see (in-universe).

And so that's why I think volume 3 was so janky. It was a vlog trying to be a typical series, and so it couldn't decide on a consistent mode of storytelling (as evidenced by the plenty use of "external" camera in that volume, i.e. "omniscient" camera that's not hold by the characters). Volume 4, meanwhile, is a vlog through and through, just one where the characters happen to kiss. Now, there might be many different reasons why someone likes or dislikes vlogs, but the identity is clear. This is a vlog, it's not trying to move beyond the realm of vlogs, and if you show it to a naive viewer, they might not even realise that it's "not just a typical vlog".

So yeah, I enjoyed this. Yes, there's basically no plot, but vlogs don't typically have a plot. Do I want a plot? Of course, but only if it fits the vlog format. Otherwise, they shouldn't force one in.

P.S. for the next volume: more kisses, more stares, more privacy, more intimacy. We don't exactly need fraternal bonding moments (notice that volume 1 & 2 didn't really have those, and they did just fine). After all, no one watch a dating show for the friendship.




Below is my previous review for volume 3:

Needless to say, everyone is giving them a lot of "strong feedbacks" after volume 3. But I don't want them to take the wrong message. Instead of jumping to thinking about "what BL fans like/dislike", I think there are some fundamental storytelling and character building issues that they need to sort out first. Hence, I wrote this review to rant and list out my grievances about volume 3.

1. The lack of explanations. They could get away with not explaining the bathroom thing back then because, in the grand scheme of things, it was just a small part of volume 1&2. But here, Jaejun-Yunje relationship is THE plot. Not explaining it is like a detective story that doesn't explain how the murder was done.

2. Related but slightly different to point #1. Jaejun's behaviors, frankly speaking, don't make sense. And in order to make sense of it, we need him to explain what he's thinking. But he doesn't. We know very little about his intention. Is he willfully cheating, or is he just that naive/dumb? Who knows?

Even if he's conflicted about his own thoughts, he could've said something like, "I know I love Jihan, but then, why does my heart skip a beat when Yunje got close?". See, that'd be an understandable confusion for someone new to love (though not necessarily justify what he did). When he did and said all that contradictory things, we need to know his state-of-mind, so that at least we could understand his humanness. Right now, all we could do is make assumptions about his character, without learning his perspective.

This is probably the biggest problem in this volume, and the one that makes me wonder whether the writer actually understood the characters, or just made them do whatever the drama needed them to do regardless of common sense.

3. Looking back, that forest not-kiss was... "clickbait-y", for a lack of better word. Not only unexplained, it was unnecessary too. We could tell that Yunje is attracted to Jaejun even without that. So what was that for?

4. Pacing issue. Things escalated and de-escalated way too quickly. Though I think that forest not-kiss shares the most blame for the quick escalation. That's the moment everyone went on high alert, and by then it was still episode 2. If Jaejun had just fallen asleep on Yunje's shoulder, for example, it would've been a smoother escalation toward the ice cream almost-kiss. As for the quick de-escalation, the not explaining things is to blame for that.

5. And finally, all that just to end up where they started. We don't know if Jaejun actually learned anything, because, again, he didn't explain anything. Some people think/wish that they would continue this storyline in vol 4, but I'm skeptical. It seems that Jaejun has moved on completely, and if he hasn't, it'd make his refusal to explain things even worse.


That's about everything. On the bright side, the sweet scenes are as good as ever. If you can ignore the newly-founded suspicion on Jaejun's state-of-mind, that is.

I still root for them and hope that the next volume will be better. I really want this project to be successful and long-lasting.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Love With Benefits
12 people found this review helpful
Nov 18, 2021
5 of 5 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 5.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 3.0

Love With... painfully slow pacing

Overall: If you are into love triangles and a really slow moving plot, then you might like this. I would have dropped it if it was longer than 5 episodes. Watched on YouTube.

Content Warnings: non con kiss and touching (character was asleep)

What I Liked:
- I think the three protagonists and the acting coach did well with the script that they had (I quite liked Gameplay portraying a moody/prickly character)
- the production value was decent for what I'm assuming was a smaller budget

Room For Improvement:
- the main problem was the pacing was too bit slow. If they had cut this from 45 minutes to 20-30 minutes, then I would have enjoyed it more. Everything was just too draggy and boring.
- also I didn't really see the motivation for changing feelings, it felt like the viewer was supposed to connect too many missing dots
- another stupid love triangle
- the acting coach being harassed, that whole bubble tea scene was not funny. I'm done with the stereotypical trans woman as comedy thing.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Queen of the Night
12 people found this review helpful
May 4, 2014
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 5.0
If you're looking for something quick, quirky and a little bit random, then definitely give this a go. I watched this just after I finished You Who Came From the Stars and it's humour and weridness definitely lifted me up from my end-of-amazing-drama-withdrawal.

It's not a wonderful storyline but for some strange reason it's not boring either and in fact it got me quite hooked. It also wins some great gold stars for making me laugh after a bawling session from the final episode of YWCFTS.

The characters in this movie were all really cute and the cast did a great job.

If you're stuck for what to watch, or you're just feeling like a happy movie then give this a go! :)

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Love Village
12 people found this review helpful
by Kate
May 30, 2023
18 of 18 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.0

“I didn’t come to Love Village to find romance. I came to find the final partner of my life”

And that quote presents both the best and the worst aspect of the show.

I found it interesting how vastly different were the motivations of contestants in this show compared to all the dating shows with young people. Romance and thrills were almost never the priority. With how almost all dating shows are focused on the initial attraction, Love Village shines with something different.

At the same time, the production team was not quite on the same page. From participants' side we saw how they were looking for someone to be their partner, but not necessarily lover. Which is fine, but there was a disconnect on how the production team was presenting it. They kept making it seem as if these people had true romantic feelings for each other, when their interactions and conversations painted a different picture.

Some other flaws were how little interactions we actually saw - the real time progression completely did not match the episode's pacing, so when a couple started to have feelings for each other, I often questioned when they even got close to each other, when we saw them talk maybe three times. What’s more - adding contestants close to the end was questionable at best. It was obvious they won’t have a chance to even get to know others, not to mention find a partner, so what’s the point?

On the other hand, I loved Anchovy. This guy is an unintentional comedic genius. He lived in delulu land, misunderstanding every interaction he had with any women. Gold quality of content.

Also, Minane is such a kind and thoughtful woman. I do think she should start thinking about herself more, but I’m also truly impressed how she can see different situations from different perspectives. I have a lot of respect for her and how she presented herself in the show.

Overall, the show was a bit too condensed for my liking. I would love to see more meaningful interactions - slower pacing by either adding more episodes or making them longer.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Ultimate Note
12 people found this review helpful
Nov 18, 2021
37 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.5
This review may contain spoilers

When Indiana Jones meets Harry Potter and Lara Croft--Great as A Stand Alone

When Indiana Jones meets Harry Potter and Lara Croft. This is a very good stand alone action show. Yes a lot of questions left unanswered as well as a bit of a cliffhanger but there is hope to return Zhang Qi Ling and the team because Wu Xie would never just let his soul-brother perish. I am not interested in any of its prequels or sequels unless the cast was exactly the same plus I noticed that some of the sequels were aired before this which doesn't make much sense. I do wish that for this last expedition, Wu Xie and Zhang Qi Ling weren't split up. I don't think there could have been a cliffhanger otherwise. The con aspects were that there were characters that made an appearance and then disappeared without rhyme or reason that didn't pertain to the show.

Though I started watching for LYN and his character Shades or Mr. Black didn't disappoint as an opportunistic dork, it was the actor that played Zhang Qi Ling that got my attention. He did a fantastic job as a monosyllabic Kung fu master because of the way he was able to emote with his eyes be it annoyance, fear for his friends, or any other emotion. That's very hard to do in acting when there aren't a lot of lines. The young man (Xiao Yu Liang) playing this role is a novice to acting as he's part of some boy band but he was very convincing. I wish there were more scenes of him and Wu Xie and they left Fatty somewhere behind. That dude just had way too many lines and got annoying quickly. I saw some ppl complaining about too many episodes. Actually, I wanted more. Joseph Zeng also was able to do a great job as the inquisitive nerd with a knack for solving riddles and getting ppl out of hairy situations. It was great to see him in this role aside from the one he's currently in that's not doing him any justice. I really like all of the special effects in this drama and the martial aspects as well.

I also liked the friendship between Shades and Xie Hua. Though in the beginning it seemed very annoying, it grew and developed into respect even when you wanted to smack Shades upside the head, he was still quite dorky. These actors do a great job portraying their characters and making each scene believable no matter what. I wish they continued this series with the same main actors because their chemistry was undeniable. I know I want to see more dramas with Xiao Yu Liang as he has a future in the industry.

I would highly recommend this as a stand alone drama even though it has a cliffhanger ending; it's one with hope.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Mar 23, 2012
1 of 1 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 5.0
The only reason that the rating is so low is because I was unhappy with the way the movie ended. Other than that it was a pretty good movie, similar to 200 Pound Beauty, but personally I think that 200 Pounds was better. The music in this movie was good and I really enjoyed all of the actors in this movie, there wasn't much to act upon though so that's why my rating for the acting is a little low. Hope this helps!
Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Jazz for Two
12 people found this review helpful
Mar 31, 2024
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 6.5
This review may contain spoilers

It wasn't bad but that doesn't mean it was good

Let me start this off with the two actual good things about this show: the casting and the cinematography . The cast was great and they did so well with they had to work. The cinematography was sooo nice, the scenes were shot really well, which usually is a big pet peeve of mine. These two factors made the show seem waaaay better than it actually was and on the surface it really seems like a good show. However, looking behind the pretty surface shows lack of care in character and plot development.

I went into watching this with little to no expectations, so at first glance it seemed like a good drama. I watched it in a day (4 episodes in the morning and 4 at night) and it was a smooth watch, something easy and kind of simple. Which is exactly where the problem lies in my opinion. I loooove a good easy show, something not too taxing to watch and that gives me a chance to enjoy a silly little watch. And Jazz for two could've done just that but they didn't and that was unsettling. I am no fan of big conflicts in shows but I do appreciate that when it happens there's room to solve the conflict and work it out. In the case of this show nothing like that ever happens. Be it the absolute toxicity of the side-couple's relationship or the SA that just gets sweeped under the rug. I get that with the running time being this short there's not enough room for big conflicts to get solved extensively, however, as a director there should be a certain awareness around what you can and can't do with your resources. If there's not enough time to properly discuss heavy themes then for the love of god do not introduce them?

Taeyis reaction to the kiss was absolutely vile and not justified no matter how internalized his homophobia is. For someone that had such a violent reaction to a kiss from another guy he got over it pretty fast, which is just poor character planning on the showrunners side. The inconsistency in the character development is baffling to me. Let's not get into how Seheon didn't even get a real apology, he just suddenly got kissed and a little "sorry" and all was well.

Doyoon and Jooha are problematic on a similar level but even having less screentime than the maincouple they somehow managed to make that relationship seem more controlled and plausible. The intense homophobia coming from every single couple, even the brothers (what even was that, introduced solely to serve as a poor reason for the maincouple to break up for like? 2 minutes?), is just too much to solve with that kind of running time when you're already trying to get two strangers to establish some sort of bond, then to fall in love and then to overcome a heavy topic like suicide within their relationship. All the while they're dealing with school work, a controlling dad that just suddenly disappears (seriously where did he go?) after he served as a plot drive to get the main couple to become closer and writing a song/winning at a festival. There's so much going on that you don't even have time to process everything that's going wrong cause they keep piling up new plot points for the watcher to digest.

So, as the title suggests, overall it wasn't that bad, it's just that it wasn't good either.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?