Reviews

A brilliant drama. I enjoyed every moment and second of it. Watched it without any breaks, in a flash, I just couldn't move my eyes away. It got deep into my heart, and is not going anywhere soon.

I laughed and cried with the characters all along. I watched the drama in 2 days, but came to dearly love the characters.

Though it did not end as I was expecting it to end... not gonna spoil that for you...again...enjoyed every moment of it.

The parallels between the 2 families with the same problem was brilliant...I fell in love with Haru's family, and came to deeply understand the despair Miwako's mother was in, though there moments I just wanted to punch her in her face...but who knows, how I would be in that situation...

This is a very deep human drama I think. The IS term is being used to explain people that they have learn to accept themselves as they are, and only then try to change themselves, or show themselves to others... If you don't know who you are, who does? Your parents? Your friends? Who knows? You are the one who decides.

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So... why do i write a review, when i havent seen the whole thing yet? I have to say the cruel true: cause i cant even finish it! Im gretting angry with every minute i watch.

Its kind of good in the beginning. I liked Yoo Hees character back then - she was pretty cool, funny, interesting. She had a spark in her. When did i start to NOT like her? After 3 episodes. Yeah baby, thats fast, right?

The problem is, that after she changed into lady, all her good sides started to fade away. From strong, interesting girl to boring, weak, STUPID, brainless idiot. Sorry, that im too harsh, but im so mad right now, that i cant control it.

But lets continue with the story - its still kind of good (a little) until eps 8 or 9. Until that part, it still has some charm and you can like it. But as the time past, you relize, that its getting worse and worse.

Side characters start to change from normal people to some crazy fellows who got addicted to the main guy/girl. Some stupid things start to happen and really stupid decissions. It just get sooo awkward, that you cant continue. At least, i can not O_o



So sorry to all fans of Yoo Hee. I dont understand your love for this stupid drama. I expected something good and got this crap?! Its like ALL the clichés of the K-drama world connected in this thing. UGH...



I dont want to stop you from watching this, cause it is just my opinion. There are manny people out there, who like it. I just want to warn you: dont have high expectations. You will get really dissapointed.

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(An overall review of the Liar Game series)



Liar Game is not only fantastic but awesome (they don't mean the same thing right?). Liar Game is a Japanese drama. As the name implies is a game based on lying. I actually watched this drama because of it's title. I have also read it's manga synopsis (it an adaptation from the manga) months ago. Okay, enough with the history.



Liar Game is a drama filled with mind reading, thinking far ahead of others, being smart, lying, deceit, trust.... to make the list short. It's filled with psychology and how good you can manipulate and trick people. Liar Game is divided into 3 parts (It has 2 seasons and a movie titled The final stage). The first season has 11 episodes, the second 9 episodes and the movie. For me this is one of the best Japanese dramas I have watched.



Storyline - The drama is about a stupidly honest girl (Nao) (as in she damn too honest for her own good, plus she trust people without any doubt). She got caught up in this liar game, due to her inability to play the game right she seeked the help of a guy called Akiyama Shin'chi. Things got pretty interesting as they try to survive through the game, by manipulating their opponents and saving every participants from falling into debt. They had to try to gain their opponnet's trust because that's Nao's motto.



Plot- The plot was basically playing various games, that includes deceiving, manipulating and the other stuffs. Among the games were, Russian Roulette, 17 Joker, Contraband, Gold rush.......



Acting - The naive and trusting girl was played by Erika Toda - she is really a good actress, she portrayed what it means to be naive, stupid if not dumb and also innocently stubborn. Akiyama-san was played by Matsuda Shota, he was just too smart and he really had the aura (I don't think anyone could have done a better job). There's the ever- betraying and weirdly dressed Fukunaga. Every actor really did a good job. They also had ridiculous way of laughing that would make you want to burst out into laughter just by hearing it.



Music - The music and beats was just too perfect (I'm not exaggerating, honestly). The music has a way of making one's heartbeat race.



I really didn't see anything wrong with the drama all in all. The drama was okay and I really enjoyed. The drama also made me love Matsuda Shota and I have also taken a liking to Erika Toda also.

I love this drama beacuse of the music and I also learnt a couple of things. We can all work together as one; to gain people's trust one must be a person of his/her words; there are ways of gaining people's trust (that sounds tricky right?); the world can be a better place if those that keep doing good keep up with it, not only keep up with it but believe in it; because when one does that, others will also believe in you and in it. I also love Matsuda Shota and Erika Toda (I almost forgot and Fukunaga also).



I sincerely hope you enjoy Liar Game!!!!

-AdeNike

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Down With Love is a Taiwan drama and I must confess that it's among one of the best Taiwan dramas I have watched plus one of the best that has been produced so far. It features 2 wonderful leads Ella Chen and Jerry Yan, and some couple of really good actors.



The storyline is really nothing new - a boss falling in love with a nanny he hired. The amazing thing with the plot is the twist. I will try to summarize without giving spoilers lol. A boss who already has a girlfriend (the gf is a big time actress) falls in love with a nanny he hired. This same boss has a best friend, while the nanny has a sister.



Things got complicated because they were all trying to save their friendships instead of their relationships. Jealousy, how it feels to be lonely, how it feels to miss an opportunity and strive to have another chance were all expressed in this drama.



The acting was superb. Ella Chen can sure make 1000 different face expressions. Jerry Yan also proved to be one hell of a boyfriend. There was chemistry between Ella and Jerry, there was also chemistry between Ella and the guy with the supporting male role (Michael Zhang). The character Hui Fan was well-shown, she really looked pathetic.



The OST was really good also. It also included songs from S.H.E



I tapped some stuffs from DWL. First is been truthful to yourself (you are in love with someone, just get down to it and don't beat around the bush), there some cases you have to let go and be happy for the other person (as in - Let a bird go, if it comes back to you, then it's yours), you can't find out the answer to something without giving it a try. Lastly, no matter the case, you've got to continue with life and be happy.



I sincerely hope you guys would enjoy Down With Love.

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Japanese detective dramas never fail to amaze me for the fascinating plot points, the great cinematic effects, great cameos (the villians) every episode and the wonderful acting put up by the actors. The first installment of Zettai Reido did not leave much of an impression on me, but when season 2 came out, I decided to give it a try. I am really glad I watched this as it was simply fantastic. The story was brilliant, if not for certain reused plot points in japanese detective dramas. Acting was totally great, Ueto Aya really pulls off the slow and childlike Sakuragi, who matures into a woman worthy of heading the Incident Response Team. Supporting characters impressed me greatly too, but expected that as they are veteran actors. Not too sure about music, but I like the OP! It would be rather dumb to rewatch detective dramas as you would know who is the villian, so I gave it a 6. Overall, this was an exceptional drama, and I expect more detective dramas from Japan of this calibre in the future.

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First I want to ask a question 'Why remake a great drama 4 years after it's production?' I still don't understand the reason.

Next, I would like to ask anybody who discovers in the drama an ikemen to let me know, cause I didn't find one, we~ll Nakatsu was a really cute guy (maybe I'm biased, as I'm crazy about his character), sometimes Sano's actor seemed OK, but...OMG... I didn't find anyone appealing enough to call them ikemen...whatever, that's not the problem.

If they were going to remake the great drama, I thought their goal was to make it closer to the manga, I'd be crazy about it and undoubtedly, they added some features that covered the manga, but...the characters just didn't fit, I still can't believe I was watching Hana Kimi, my favourite manga and drama... the feeling was whole another one... I didn't even feel serious about watching it, just curious...

The director polished Sano's character, which I actually liked, as in the earlier version Sano at first got on my nerves by his always moody expression and not taking part in school activities, this Sano was more sensual...I'm talking about the character, not the actor, as till the last moments I couldn't see him as my fvourite character ever. I just fell in love with him during the last scene with Mizuki, when he came to US to see her, he was gorgeous!

Mizuki... didn't like her... though she had some awesome lines throughout the drama, script writes, gambarimashita!

Nakatsu...great fella...liked his acting (then again, I might be biased :P)... His character was one the closest to the Nakatsu I remember from the last version, Toma Ikuta's genius! I really like this guy!

Whatever you decide 'watch' or 'not to watch', remember, this peace of work, I mean the story, is one of the greatest works in the manga history, please, spare some time, read the manga, you won't regret the time you spent, I promise! When you have read the manga, watch the original version, it has a whole another feeling about it, but it's gorgeous, funny and lovable...after you've done these, you can watch this version and judge for yourself.

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First of all, let's face it, nobody really expected this remake version to come even near to the original, right?

I enjoyed this drama on it's own way, though not the best drama I watched, as it is difficult not to compare to the original.

The story evolved mostly the same way as in the original, though there were some clever solutions not to copy the story (Geun-Suk's cameo... some funny moments).

The acting... The fist character I approved of was Ren, a cute guy, actually, I liked his acting throughout the series a lot, at first I was thinking 'God, he'll kill himself trying to look and sound like Tae-Kyoung' but then I discovered his own charm. I fell in love with his smile, actually.

The next character I came to like was Mio/Miko (don't make me compare her to Minam/Shin-Hye, ok? just please). I'm just saying, she got into the role very well, and she did great job on her own. The next character I like is the president, he had a lot of funny moments, I enjoyed his scenes, especially his last scene with Miko.

Now to the bad part... I didn't like all other characters... Shu... boring, not deep enough, I couldn't see or sense his love and loss every time (again I compared, but I can't help remembering Sin Woo's face and my breaking heart for him, though at that time Yong-Hwa wasn't even acting that good). Yuuki... overcuteness made him not cute at all, honestly, when I try to remember any scenes with him, he just disappears from the scene, when others are around (and remember Jeremy, and his acting, he was a total scene stealer!)NaNa...oh, come on, her voice just got on my nerves...and her friend/make-up artist, he was just gross (I'm sorry to say this, every scene with that guy, I just closed my eyes/ears, couldn't hear his screeply voice and see his overly thin face).

Back to good things :) I loved the piano score very-very much! It fit the drama perfectly!

Once again, not the best drama I watched, but it had its own good moments.

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Capital Scandal is a fun period piece drama set in the 30's during the Japanese occupation of Joseon. In this mix are the rebels who wish to free Joseon from Japanese oppression and immersion, The Japanese police and their ilk and the middle grounders (I made that term up), the people who just want to live under the radar, embrace the fun of the times and the modernization of Seoul. It is at its core, the story of a playboy who has run from all forms of obligation for most of his life and how the love of a woman changes him. And while this may be an archetype that Kang Ji Hwan has played before, I found myself loving his character anyway. I've seen him step away from this type in movies and I hope he does continue to stretch himself in the future.

I liked how deep this story became as the episodes moved along. There are nuanced and complex relationships that flesh themselves out completely and are not left hanging. While not every character gets a picture perfect conclusion, you do get the satisfaction of ends tied up nicely. There is a lot of fun, smart and snappy dialog in this drama that I don't feel was lost in the translation of the subs. The love story between the two leads was very sweet. I liked their antagonistic start, middle and end. They had a kind of old Hollywood Hepburn/Tracy feel to them.

The cinematography, color palette, clothing and music were all added delights of enhancing the feel of the time period. The Concubine Cha Song Joo had so many costume changes my head was spinning; but it was wonderful!

It struck me as I was watching Capital Scandal that even as it must have completely stretched the truth of the Japanese occupation of Joseon, (it was much worse, of course) if not over westernizing the time period; this drama speaks to the sense of pride Koreans have of their long, ancient history as a people. They deserve to feel that pride. When I think about all the ancient civilizations that remain intact, I hazard to say that Asian cultures seemed to have remembered if not kept their traditions better than most. As an American mutt, I envy the purity of that tradition and the ability to go back thousands of years tracing your family and owning your people's history. After I watched this drama I dug a little and found out just how close Korea came to being lost by that occupation. God Love Ya Japan...but I'm so glad you lost that war.

Capital Scandal is not perfect but it is a fun show. Lots of intrigue, funny situations, intense drama and a lovely little romance wrapped up in Kang Ji Hwan's special brand of bad boy comedy.

Give it a try!

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This was directed by Yimou Zhang (Hero, House of Flying Daggers), but is a very different film from the previous ones I saw. I really wasn't sure about the story as I'm not hugely into father-son heart-tugging stories. Also, I really wasn't as huge a fan of Yimou Zhang as others are. But it was highly recommended, so I tried. And I loved.



Truly brilliant across the board. As the special feature said, since he'd made these world-renowned blockbuster films, he could pretty much do what he wanted with what cast he wanted. The big names were mostly from the Japanese side of the cast, but the Chinese used virtually all amateurs. Even actual tour guides. And it was incredible. Yimou Zhang is officially a genius, in my mind. It made for a very natural and beautiful feeling. I really can't even describe how moved I was by this film.



Takakura Ken was absolutely incredibly. He reminds me of a couple of older men I know, and probably will you too. Those rough, silent men that struggle to express themselves. And the quietly powerful emotion this actor gets across is simply mind-blowing. Not to mention the great acting from the little boy.



I also was able to see parts of China that I didn't realize existed. Very rough country that reminds me a lot of different places I've visited in western U.S, but unique at the same time.



I would describe this as a quiet film but with so, so much depth. This is not a movie I will easily forget and will end up purchasing before too long. Don't miss this one!

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