Reviews

The thing about Nodame Cantabile is the very different and creative way the story is told. It is a refreshing mix of comic book slap stick and lovely maturity with really solid and well written relationships underneath. I’ve never seen anything like it. Add to that the constant and beautiful music that is the focus of Nodame and Chiaki’s world.

This show and particularly the movie, are so much more than just your average drama. I have already reviewed the Jdrama Nodame Cantabile and I would only add one really important thing you should know. Nodame and Chiaki live in Paris and their journey is set in a much more adult world past college into apprenticeship and learning to become Pro. They have a new group of friends, harder challenges and also a deeper, more mature place in their relationship.

But trust me, it hasn’t lost all of its comic book slapstick and silliness. I think the way the writers made both Chiaki and Nodame grow up is very smart of them and cool for us viewers. This movie is a fun. Because Nodame is still sloppy and she still has all of her core craziness intact. Chiaki is still a stuffy, cranky commitment phobic but he is also still tender and kind of a sucker for Nodame. They have become in my mind eccentric because they are genius and geeky, not because they are comic manga characters with no depth. Again, the writers of this show/manga are smart.

Of course the cinematography is great. They are in Paris! Everything looks great, all the time. (Accept Nodame’s apartment.)

The music is a 10. It’s Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Revel and on and on.

If you haven’t watched the Nodame Series, you should give it a try but
I suggest definitely watching before you watch this movie. And when you do, you’ll think this movie is the best part of the series.

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This is indeed a sad movie. It has an unique story of multiple characters that face love life crisis. What I enjoy about the film is that it successfully introduces the characters and actually makes you sort of care about them in the short amount of time. I also like the fact that its unlike most dramas and movies where they have a happily ever after ending. It shows that life isn't always merry. The best thing about movies is its length. Because its so short (compared to dramas), you can always rewatch it without taking out so much time from your personal life. Overall you should give this movie a chance if you have 108 minutes to spare.

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Battle Royale is a must watch...Well may be should watch.Not because it is hillarious but because of its existence. The story is pretty harsh and bloody.It is almost insane, but I think it is knowingly done so, to be more impressive.If you are a little into J-drama you will probably recognize some of the actors and you will realise how much they have improved, and the movie will show you that they had the talent to begin with.The music unfortunately, is not remarkable at all.As about the cinematography I am a little confused. The murder and killing scenes were not convincing, but as I have mentinoed before I had the feeling it was knowingly done so.Well another reason may be because the movie is an early work (Today, 2000 can be called early I guess)On the other hand the scene where they explain the rules of the game did convince me that the director knew exactly what he was doing. So much for the analysis...What most impressed me in this movie is the idea...It really made me think about the japanese society...I think they are really concerned about their youth, to an extent of fear. Having such a movie in their media feels like that they have real fears for their future,that they are not happy about the growing youth and they are looking for some answers what to do with them. Well,what a little more scary and alarming is, the value of life.It looks like they are about to lose it.Or may be they are afraid to lose it? I don't know...I jumped to these conclusions /questions after I watched "The confessions" and "Ikigami,The Ultimate Limit" along with Battle Royale.
To sum up Battle Royale is a good movie for its period not because of its acting or any other cinematographic value, but because of the idea behind it.

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I have to say that Dream High surprised me. I did not think I would be watching a good drama like this. I honestly thought this drama would have no plot but lots of singing and dancing going on. It proved me wrong.

The one thing that makes Dream High great is the ability to keep you wanting more at the end of each episode. You really want to see these characters follow their dreams. You want to see who's going to debut and of course who's going to have the necklace next. Every episode had me wanting more.

The music is great and of course the dancing. It's fun to watch them sing especially since they all have so many great voices and talents.

The characters are all fun to watch and you have a great cast. Some of their acting skills are not the best but they still held their own. I loved Sam Dong. I was surprised by turns that some characters took (Pil Sook, Hye Mi, and Baek Hee) during the drama. I liked watching the change with these characters. Jason and Pil Sook are just adorable to watch on screen. They were both my favorite characters.

The story wasn't beyond but because of the cast and the music made the show good. They had some cheesy moments but this type inspirational drama needed just that.

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Bad Guy is probably one of the most beloved Korean Dramas, so I decided to write a review about why you may not like it...Well the basic reason for that is probably the story.It definitely has a catchy and confusing story but from some point on you keep thinking that it is too exaggerated. There is revenge,love, murder,sadness, passion, obsession,guilt,conceit,conspiracy etc. It's just too much, to that point that it loses its credibility. I had the feeling you can bring out 2 or 3 dramas from the story. As for acting, I think it was well executed.Kim Nam Gil will definietly charm you, but the acting of the Kim Hye Ok and Shim Eun Kyung will also catch your eye, well may also your ear :)The Ost was also good. It suited the drama, but I always had the feeling that it is a little similar to City Hunter's. It is definietly not the same, but you just get the feeling.The cinematography is avarege, it is neither good nor bad, but there were definetly,long and unnecessary scenes.I am a little angry to this drama, because I hoped it would be sentimental and thrilling, but somehow I was lost in the whole plot.
Still I watched all 17 episodes, and when you begin, probably you will too...Why? Because you probably like Kim Nam Gil and Kim Jae Wok, not only because they are handsome but also would be interested in their caracters...You will probably be curious about the reason of the revenge. Well I was more curious how much more the plot could be exaggareted. You also will probably like the OST. (no bad comments here)
Overall, when I finished the drama there was only one thing in my mind... I really hope they paid the actors well,because it must be very tiresome for them...

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This was good. It would have been good if the matches shown were a little bit longer.
Compared to the anime, this seems rushed. That maybe because its a movie. I liked the anime better. I liked how this was based on the anime.

I liked how the character has a lot of different moves. It reafreshed my memory from the anime.

I liked the ending music, the movie showed. Made me fel like the need to dance.
Some of the characters was complete reflections of the anime characters.

I expected too much from the movie because i really enjoyed the anime, but still i would stil recomend it to people. I still enjoyed this.

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---edited---
it's definitely a MUST SEE drama.
Seriously, probably the best one I've ever seen!


First of all, the story. I can't say that it's really unique or absolutely marvelous, but I think it's quite good. As it's about music, about school band and such, it's easy to like it, nice to watch it and, of course, enjoy. It's not the first and not the last drama about music, however, the story is one of the better ones. It's not too predictable, but still easy to follow. You get into it from the very first moment and you kind of experience everything together with the main characters.
Of course there were some things I didn't like (for example, Byung Hee's storyline) but, well, bad things make other ones seem good!

As for acting I can't say if it's absolutely perfect as I'm not a judge or something, but it definitely makes that "rock band" feeling. I like the cast even though I haven't seen these actors in other dramas or films. But perhaps it's for the best as I can't compare their acting and I don't think of them as characters from other dramas. Anyway, what is really strange it's Kim Myung Soo's role! He seemed so silent and, you know, cute, nice and shy guy. But in this drama... well, he really is something! And I really do like this change!
More or less all characters are really great as they're so different but similar at the same time. They make an amazing cast and definitely a wonderful band.

Music in this drama is pretty nice. I even started to listen to "Eye Candy" performed songs and I love them!

On the whole, I'm quite impressed by this drama and I like it much more than other Oh! Boy series drama (Flower Boy Ramyun Shop).
And they didn't ruin the ending.(I was so happy when there were no "after 2 years scene!)

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Secret Garden is one of my top 5 dramas I have watched. Although It has the cliche of a rich guy falling for a less fortunate girl, it dominates other dramas with it's story. Hyun Bin and Ha Ji Won acting was amazing and is showed in every episode. The ost for this drama was superior. I even downloaded it for my iPhone. I usually don't rewatch dramas unless I feel that it was that great. I would possibility rewatch some part of Secret Garden but not the entire thing. Overall I would totally recommend this to anyone, even if they don't usually watch dramas. Be careful, it is a tearjerker.

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This drama really should be called by it's alternate name: Kimchi Family. The word 'fermentation' doesn't quite encompass what this story is truly about.

Kimchi Family is a real family drama with an extremely well written mystery and lovely little romance wrapped up inside. Every episode highlights a recipe for a type of Kimchi or on some occasions, a traditional Korean dish. Every type of kimchi and how it is prepared is mixed with a lesson about family, forgiveness, friendship, love, trust and on and on. The writing and acting are extremely well done. The way the plot advances and moves toward its conclusion is not rushed and no story line is left hanging. The pacing is perfect. This is a rare thing, even for the best Kdrama.

The thing that struck me about this drama is it's mix of corny and wise, silly and serious, tender and real. The well played out mysteries are what ended up surprising me. There were actually two! Ki Ho Tae and his search for his roots and another, slightly darker mystery that I won't spoil here. The great thing about how they were written is the subtlety and rationale of the characters. Each actors' dialog and reactions weren't over melodramatic and maudlin and yet still emotional and moving. I was excited to see how they would be solved.

I also loved how every episode was all about food, it's preparation, it's healing qualities for body and soul and it's ability to bring family together; both blood family and the family you choose with your heart.

Song Il Gook and Park Jin Hee were great. Their romance was sweet and their chemistry was lovely. Every actor did a great job. I have not one complaint.

The cinematography and lighting, the set designs were all so well done. I'm almost sad it's over now because I'm going to miss Earth and Man Restaurant.

The music was great! There is one song in particular that I absolutely loved. I don't know the name but it was a mix of traditional Korean, modern pop and rap! It was so catchy that I was actually bummed when an episode passed and it wasn't played.

I gave the re-watch value a 10 because even though I might not watch this again, it certainly is as far from a 1 (pathetic) as you could get.

I recommend this highly for anyone who is looking for an original (yes, original!) story and one that is maturely written and very well told.

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Omg I really loved this movie! Not only was it super funny but the story was really good and it never got boring. Vic Zhou was amazing in this! I’ve never seen him act this good in anything I’ve seen him in. It was nice to see him smile a lot for a change. I really like how his character developed from pretty much a douchebag to this guy who completely falls hard for his opposite. Although I didn’t really care for the female actress I was surprised by how much chemistry she had with Vic. They made a very believable couple. Loved the ending so cute. I’ll be watching this over and over again=)

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Dong Yi is this long, epic drama. Admittedly most people feel a little scared to watch it because of its length but it's definitely worth the time spent to watch it.

The drama is definitely an eye opener. There are a lot of shocking moments in this drama where you go my dear god would people actually do that! They're appalling but it really gives you perspective on how seriously politics was taken back then. Also it gives great insight into the slave class and how they were treated in Korea. The drama does a great job of bringing light to that. On top of that the writers did an excellent job of weaving in romance where possible among the tragedies and mysteries of the palace.

Han Hyo Joo does an excellent job of portraying the righteous, just and beautiful Dong Yi who captures many a man's heart while she's on the quest for justice. Ji Jin Hee IS EXCELLENT. I don't know how else to say it. I'm actually a Bae Soo Bin fan so for Ji Jin Hee to steal the light from him in the drama was a pretty big deal for me. He's an excellent king! Very unlike the other kings I've seen in dramas who are portrayed very seriously and he makes it very easy to like him as a leader. Lee So Yeon is a scary woman...honestly her eyes scare me, she truly is the perfect choice for the seductress Lady Jang. Bae Soo Bin is sweet but not quite the main focus so I'll refrain from commenting on how awesome he looks with a beard.

The music behind the scenes is great and it suits the drama perfectly. Sometimes there's some pieces that when you know they come up something bad is going to happen and so I just started hating those ones but thats the only negative thing I can really say about that. Jang Nara is a great song.

And over all! It is honestly one of the best dramas I've ever seen.

Yes you should see it. Absolutely. You'd be a fool not to :) Even with it's 60 hour length!

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Meet the In-laws is a cute movie. It is super funny but the story kind of lacks. Nothing interesting happens out of the whole meeting the in laws. I kind of got bored by the middle and began to do other things while having the movie play. By the time the end came along I hadn’t missed much. The only reason to watch this is if you are a fan of Lee Shi Young. She really is a great actress and her character is just too cute. The main lead actor isn’t all that attractive so it was hard to appreciate his character. I didn’t like the supporting characters playing the families all that much. Overall this is a watchable movie if you have time but nothing to go out of your way to watch unless you are a fan of LSY which I am=)

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How shit was this movie. It was utterly disappointing and close to being a complete failure.

The acting was alright and the music I enjoyed to some extent.

The story is completely unoriginal but they could have totally owned it if it weren't for the person who edited/directed this movie. I mean it had so much potential to be a good movie but it failed to deliver at the end.

The biggest problem for me is that this movie did not FLOW. It was all over the place and I HATED IT. WHO THE HELL EDITED THIS MOVIE, they need a severe scolding.

And yes I did watch the Japanese drama of this movie and I recommend you. NO PLEAD YOU to watch this Jdrama of this instead of this movie.
What a waste of my 1:50:11 hours of my life.

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I was looking forward to watching this movie because I'm a fan of both leads...

The movie started off just being funny as the leads meet by "coincidence" and then start this weird partnership of doing all these odd jobs to make quick money. For a comedy I thought they wrote the story more realistic than I'm use to seeing with K romantic comedies. The story does get a bit dramatic towards the end due to some unforseen events, although I quite guessed what happened would happened. The romance in this was really light and we don't really see any payoffs till the end. I didn't really have a problem with this because although the leads had a good chemistry I didnt sense a romantic connection. It could be the fact that HYS looks 10 yrs older than SJK. Anyways the actors did a great job with thier characters and portrayed thier flaws perfectly. I'd watch this again but not right away because I wasn't in love with the story.

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