Reviews

The second movie follows the same example as the first one, recipes, nature and a few story lines here and there. Of course, the scenery was beautiful in here as well, with the green forest and the white snowy landscapes creating an idyllic atmosphere, making the movie look like a moving painting. In this movie, the recipes had more meaning behind them, as they were originated not from the girl's past with her mother but rather had been triggered by a story from the past that had shaped her character now. The plot thickens with the girl interacting more with friends, co workers and potential lovers. The mother daughter relationship is here as well, but it never gets deeper than a few hints here and there for the mother's character. Finally, the ending was a bit rushed, with the conclusion seeming like it was out of the blue. So, 5 out of 5.

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Interesting movie about an even more interesting and entertaining theme. Though, I couldn't help it but await for the guy's condition to eventually (miraculously) change. But, as the hero says (short of), love can change things but can make things difficult as well. The girl was amazing in her performance, as she displayed perfect chemistry with each actor that played her partner. Plus, some of the actors were really good (exapmle, the girl who performed the scene where the mother confesses her secret to her son). Still, however, it felt like it needed something more, maybe some twist or something more powerful. But all in all, a nice love story, so 7 out of 10.

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The only reason this movie gets 8 out of 10 from me is that, in the end, you just need more. The story had a feel of a Japanese manga high school movie with a touch of those back to the old good days movies. Unlike other young love Chinese movies I have watched that were like bad teen TV movies, this one was really good. The story is touching and it focuses less on developing a cliché love story and more on having the audience get to know the characters. Truelly, the only thing that this film got wrong was the ending. Even though everyone's' story was concluded, the main one was left open wide, and you just need a good conclusion on the love story.

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Refreshing story, but extremely boring. Okay, the plot was okay, with a girl who tries to play trumpet at her school club and a boy who wants to win the championship with the school baseball team. The film focused on their efforts to become the best in their field and to fulfil their dreams. With some ups and downs (which were the few only twists of the movie) they strive and overcome their difficulties. However, the movie never reaches that point where you can finally see that they had succeeded. Especially for the girl, we only see some scenes at the very end, when the movie has already finished. Good performances from the actors help a lot to make this movie better. However, the romance was extremely weak. So, 4 out of 10.

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This one wasn't a bad movie. Though the romance was not as powerful as it could have been, there was a tragic mood in it and eventually, you kind of feel sad for the character, even though you must root for the other guy. The whole idea of the agency and their projects is interesting, reminding me of the inception team that prepared for the big operation before entering the guy's dream. Sure, the projects are too few to get a good taste of what is happening, but still, it's interesting to see how they operated. After the first operation, the movie focuses more on two or three characters and leaves the other guys aside, as they only play side roles. Though the flashbacks aren't that confusing, and the performances were good, the big mystery behind the lead character's past relationship wasn't that big of a mystery after all, as it wasn't enough to create a thrill mood for the audience. All in all, not a bad movie, so 6 out of 10.

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My main problem with this movie was the love story. Though in the description, the whole background drama sounded intriguing, the final result was more like a girl is pushing the situation way too much as the boy clearly had some intimacy issues. I wish there was a better representation of how he felt and his actual character, but the movie focused on the girl and her feelings, as well as the minor love triangle. Other than that, the movie was okay. The first half was enjoyable, but the second half was kind of boring. The girl was lovable and the leading lady performed very well. I am not sure about the leading man's performance, maybe it was the script that didn't help him or his character was not easy to be presented. Finally, the ending was a bit to rough, as the way it is leading you to watch the second movie is a bit awkward. So, 4 out of 10.

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“Don’t forget that you will be happy tomorrow only if you are happy today.”

This line is for the perfectionist, workaholic kids out there, like me.
I was actually really impressed by the way this drama addressed not kicking people when they were down. And that that was the whole point about cheerleading. It’s not for those who are in their happy place or people who are necessarily good. It’s people who need cheering up. There is a lot of generosity in this show. It really hit home for me the importance of showing support for people even though it might not seem like much, even when it seems like words won't help the situation.

The plot is fast-moving. As soon as someone says they’re going to do something, they do it, and it gets resolved pretty quick. So I like that we don’t have to wait or dread future happenings. I was warned that this was some serious content, but at least none of the kids are dealing with poverty, teenage pregnancy, jail, sexual assault, or homelessness. I’ve only ever watched two school dramas and that’s what was entailed so, in comparison this was pretty smooth sailing. For the record, this is my favourite school drama ever.

Kim Yeol
“Kim Yeol isn’t someone who you can mess with.”

Our rival leader has such a happy and empathetic face, it’s hard to dislike him. He also does this weird head dip that you might see on older actors. It’s a bit strange. He of course pulls off his menacing side very well too.
Kim Yeol is rather resigned to the system. He’ll protect himself but he’s rather bored with life.

“Geez...even when I lie, I’m practically bursting with sincerity.”

I couldn’t help but like him. There’s something about his expression and delivery of his lines that entertained me. Even in negative circumstances, there’s a non-sardonic smile that finds its way to his face. It’s a bit contrary to the usual image of a high school king.
He’s quite direct, I like that about him too. That he doesn’t beat around the bush.

“You wouldn’t talk to me, so I had no other way. So I prepared a time and place for us to talk.”

It’s also a really interesting concept to have characters acting so mean to people but then so freakin’ loyal to others. It’s such a clear theme in this story.

“Pride? That seems to be the most important thing to you. But for me, that friend is a lot more important.”

Right from the first episode, there is no room for judgment as we see the “bad guys” established. Everyone has their reasons or knows how to make up for their mistakes. I’m glad, because I didn’t want to watch a drama that made me really angry at a particular person. It was nice that I could root for everyone.

Another theme is trust. Kim Yeol always goes on about not trusting adults and people in general. But he started to change when people started putting their trust in him.

Yeon Doo
Eun Ji has the biggest brightest smile that wants to make me laugh every time I see it. She plays her character in such a fun and realistic way. I feel like her creativity for doing her own thing is really off the charts. I mean showing up to the preppy classroom in a sleeping bag? Gosh, I love this girl.
I can also understand why everyone looks to her for leadership. She has so much charisma and charm and ferocity.
If someone tries to physically intimidate her she just gives it right back to them.
It’s also so great how loyal her posse is and how they all care about her so much.
Her loyalty is what makes everyone love her.

Dong Jae
I usually see N so full of himself so it’s nice to see him as the innocent and quiet Dong Jae.
I love the friendship between Dong Jae and Yeon Doo. I love that even when she’s mad she remembers not to have physical contact and instead bashes him with a tissue box.
Dong Jae keeps such a calm expression on his face all the time. Even in tense situations his face never carries any malice. I really liked that about him. He’s very accepting of whatever happens.

Kim Yeol - “Dong Jae always gives you strawberry milk. I’ll make myself different by giving you vanilla milk.”

Ha Joon
“He learned how to love even if it hurts.”

Everything that comes out of Ji Soo’s mouth is gold.
Ji Soo is once again a hot-headed, angry and suicidal kid.

“I cut myself. Do you know why I did that? Every time you beat me up I also hated myself to death. I felt like I was useless. But I don’t feel that way anymore. I still get depressed at times, but...I will try to hold on to myself from now on.”

I liked how he totally didn’t mind that his best bud was falling for their arch enemy. I really liked how he became friends with Yeon Doo. That gummy bear scene is so cute.

At first Ha Joon is only loyal to Kim Yeol. But then he started expanding his friendship circle. And he really is so brave with the way he backs up the crazy Yeon Doo. Ha Joon is the one character that really has everything on the line.

Yeon Do to Ha Joon - “That’s why you get mad because you don’t know your own feelings.”

Kim Yeol - “Seo Ha Joon! You traitor! Choose between me and Kang Yeon Do.”
Ha Joon - “Of course I’d choose you.”
Yeon Do - “Yeah!”
Ha Joon - “But she’s so strong...”


Ha Joon jokingly says, “If he cheats come to me. I’m very faithful, you know.”


Ha Joon’s relationship with Yeon Doo is really interesting. He wouldn’t have liked her so much if it wasn’t for him opening up to her because of his best bud’s interest in her. And he also loves her because she is so concerned about Kim Yeol, just like he is. His like for her almost seems like an extension of his friendship with Kim Yeol. He even (only) gets jealous when Kim Yeol gets jealous of someone else. Ha Joon likes to see Yeon Doo happy with Kim Yeol. Kim Yeol, is a bit more territorial haha.


“Wait...why am I jealous of them getting punished?”

I kind of like how the perspective on punishment changed throughout the drama.
For the posh kids, it was like it was the end of the world. But they came to see that it’s just part of life and sometimes it’s worth it, or sometimes being punished with your mates isn’t so bad as long as you’re together.

Romance
“Now you kids are flirting by using pickled radish?”

Bahahhaha.
In the end Kim Yeol and Yeon Doo were like a married couple looking after the kids, and supporting each other like a well-oiled machine. They’re such mature teens.

“If I’m alone with you under an umbrella...I may get myself in trouble.”
I like the premise of the two opposing gang leaders. A bit of a Romeo and Juliet. Even right from the start, almost every time Kim Yeol looked at Yeon Doo when she wasn’t watching he smiled or looked completely fixed on what she would do next.
It’s also interesting to see that it’s a relationship that could only develop if one of them was defeated. One of the things that Korean dramas like to do is let a hero see the heroine’s raw pain, and that is what moves him. I guess it’s a passion thing, that he saw her heart, and realised what he’d done to wound her.
I kind of liked how easy going Yeon Doo is. She’s not too prideful or spiteful against Kim Yeol.
They let a lot of words fly, but I feel like there’s a grudging respect on both sides.

“Hey, you idiot!”
“I’m No. 1 in this school!”
“I know, you No. 1 idiot!”

I love how Kim Yeol knows he’s being unreasonably jealous towards the naive Dong Jae and how he tries to drop hints to make Dong Jae go.

“You should eat at home! Your mum will be disappointed!”

Dong Jae – “Yeon Doo. Let’s eat dinner at your place.”
Kim Yeol - “Hey! E-e-eat….at your own place.”

I also liked how the couple showed the parents that it wasn’t puppy love.

Yeon Doo - “I was a person who didn’t think much, but just did things. I’ve calmed down a bit now. I’ve also learned to protect myself thanks to Yeol. ”

Kim Yeol - “I am grateful and happy that she believes in me no matter what. Now that I’m with Yeon Doo who believes in me...I’m beginning to have the courage to believe in other people.”

I also noticed that when Koreans want to change the conversation to something more intimate, they thank the person.

Bromance
Hell. Yes.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen this.”
“Huh? What.”
“That kind of expression on your face and you laughing like that.”

I love how observant the friends are. And the way Ha Joon notices how happy Kim Yeol is.

Kim Yeol - “We should do nothing. We don’t smile or cry. Let’s stay quiet as if we were dead. The adults want us to do that.”
Ha Joon - “That’s why I’m trying my hardest to survive. It’s all for you.”

Ha Joon -“I’m on my knees now for what Ha Joon did yesterday. Please forgive him.”

Kim Yeol - “I don’t care.”
Ha Joon - “It doesn’t sound like that’s coming from someone who turned the classroom upside down for her.”

I thought it was interesting the way the boys each showed their true colours in protecting Yeon Doo. For example, Kim Yeol always approached in a very predictable, political way while Ha Joon stood up for her in rather dramatic and risky ways.

Yeon Doo’s mother is the best. “It’s ok if you’re not good at studying. It’s not like your grades could get any lower, anyway. And dancing...I’ll allow it since you love it so much. But I won’t be able to stand it if you’re ostracised or in pain alone, ok?”

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Let me start of by saying that historical dramas are NOT my cup of tea. It's a hit or miss for me and most of the times I end up dropping them. Why? Well, its filled with hanboks and same palace locations, except the scenery scenes it can become pretty dull in my eyes. So, I focus more on the story and acting in historical dramas and if that's not enough to captivate me nothing else will. I was glad rebel Hong was one of these exceptions.

Story: The flow of this drama is just perfectly right. Not slow-paced not fast-paced. It's enough to make you sympathize with the characters root for them, understand them, hate them, love them. It allows you to feel all these spectrum of emotions: sad, laugh, getting angry, excited, smile, tear up, cry, make your heart tighten and all with the right speed.

Acting: I will mention a few actors here but almost everyone delivered and made their character feel alive. Yoon Gyun Sang our protagonist, knew him from playing the older brother in pinocchio, I'm happy he got this role he did amazing! I must admit his height made some of the fighting scenes seem a bit awkward : he really seems like a big bear compare to everyone else xD But at the same time I think his height fitted his role perfectly. Kim Ji Suk aka the king, oh man you could just tell from his eyes if he felt disgusted, twisted, betrayed, satisfied and his voice was such a king's voice; deep and trembling. I recognized that he played a funny comical character in 'Another miss oh' after a few episodes that's how good his transforming was. Kim Sang Joong our hero's dad: if you've ever watched a drama casting this actor it's hard to forget his presence or character. He's captivating and roots in your soul in everything that he does simply breathtaking acting abilities. Chae Soo Bin our female protagonist, she was good, her character wasn't that special at the beginning but she made me like her and not find her annoying (I usually find female leads annoying they cry and whine a lot, I'm happy she had a strong vibe and wasn't a weakling). A small mention to the bad old lady, a character whom I despised the moment she appeared on screen. I wanted to get inside my monitor and kill, she made me hate her so much I cant even begin to describe, good job there xD

OST: Havent heard such music before. It felt like traditional korean songs travelling from a thousand years ago. And that's how it should be right? A historical drama needs historical music not sounds that feel out of the ordinary or their surroundings. Meaningful music, it was like this show was created for this music and not the other way around.

This show is not a masterpiece, which drama is? But has a solid story with great actors that will draw you in. Give it a chance^^

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This is my first time reviewing a drama.. and this drama was really good

Story: The story was good ,I would give it an 8 ,it had a lot of twist and turns.The story was fun to watch

Acting/Cast: The acting and the cast was really good. They gave equal parts to all the main characters. And as expected from the WGM couple.. Their skinship was amazing .The romance didn't look forced
and the kissing scenes were a must rewatch.

Music: It was a good , but not a memorable one

Rewatch: i just finished the drama and i really want to rewatch some scenes , For the rewatch level I give it an 8

Overall: i felt this drama is fun to watch , and a good drama for time pass..

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The story is a ten because it is a remake. The cast .....as the series progressed I thought to myself, others could have done better. The music was so - and -so doesn't give you LSS feels and the rewatch- nope I am not gonna watch this, I would rather watch the lengthy Goong than this.

This had a promising start but this drama turned out to be a disappointment. It was such a waste because it was obvious that they had spent a great deal of money for the production. I managed to watch the first few episodes with much expectation but as the series progressed I couldn't watch any further. At times I did try to pick it up but it just got too stale for my taste. As a remake it was a complete disappointment. Most of the weight of its failure went to the actors and how the plot was executed. The original Korean showed character depth and development, but here the series is almost done but still they act like a bunch of elementary kids. I am also uncertain if there was a non kissing clause in the main female lead's contract but if it turns out to be true then it is a disappointment. There are some drama that have no kissing scenes but still managed to deliver but this one just went around the bush, it is not even a push and pull. This drama failed me so much, It failed as a romance genre because the main leads are just too cringy to watch with all those fake kisses. The villains are just plainly annoying. This drama will go into the archives that I assure you. Hey it is just my opinion.

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Rebel was right where it needed to be in story and plot, but it absolutely excelled in characters, acting, and OST.
To establish the perspective of this review, I'm a complete sageuk/historical junkie (scarlet heart, orange marmalade, queen inhyuns man, rooftop prince, splash splash love, the moon that embraces the sun, the princess weiyoung(c), saimdang, rebel, nirvana in fire, to name quite a few in my list) and will review this show both standalone and within the context of this genre.
The story isn't especially surprising, but that's what I liked about it. Modern television has been pushed to an almost ridiculous level of pursuing thrill factor that other aspects of shows lose their luster. Rebel isn't overly ambitious in its writing, but that allows it to shine as a whole. Of course, it is indeed gripping and refreshing, but that is due to the attention to detail and fleshed out characters. Rather than seeking originality through complete innovation of this genre, it finds originality in the writer's care for the story rather than pandering to an audience. Weaker points of the story would get into spoilers, but let's just say that there could have been more episodes (surprising because I usually call for less) and that while the antagonists were good, they weren't my favorite.
Now the acting- this was just phenomenal. Kim Sang Joon's Ah Mo Gae is arguably my most favorite portrayal in a historical drama. Ever. His irresistible charm pulls in viewers and his control of emotion makes him like the most human character. I'll cut the character/acting section short because I'll sound repetitive but tldr every character was unique, properly developed, and absolutely charming in their own ways.
The music. Oh my god. I just found out the OST was on spotify and have had it on repeat since. Before we start, I must say that I take OST very seriously- it's just as important as cinematography, casting, everything. Rebel has a distinct and unified sound that matches its story. It ranges from your typical heart-wrenching ballad and love song that every kdrama has, to the intriguing music of the palace. But what really takes the cake is the section of the OST that has the traditional sound more akin to what common people actually sang and still do sing. Fiery tracks like If Spring Comes are what get me excited and even sing along while watching. Definitely 10/10
Overall this drama is absolutely my top sageuk because it deals in complexity with great care. I live for nuance, and most of my favorite media involves ambiguity. No plot spoilers, but I'm going to say that Rebel somehow pulls off complexity without ambiguity and excessive nuance, which made it work as a sageuk really well. Definitely recommend, and I will be posting a spoiler-included review later on my blog!

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Worth a watch.

I've been a fan of Gu Man adaptations but what really pushed me to watch this was Yang Mi. Fresh off Eternal Love I've been looking for something to sate my appetite for both Yang Mi and Mark Chao and this didn't disappoint. HXM was also a bonus (as I did find him quite dreamy in Cruel Romance...which is quite strange for a self proclaimed feminist, he was quite overpowering in CR tbh but I couldn't resist) This review is purely for the film as I've not actually seen the drama

In terms of the story, this is quite fateful to the source (I'm reliably informed) so I have no complaints there. Kept me glued despite the frequent choppy editing (whoever they hired to edit this need to seriously up their skills as despite beautiful cinematography and framework, the way the scene's were cut and transitioned felt jarring) Despite that little gripe this second-chance -at-love story really resonated and made me ache for both the main characters. I really hope we get more Gu Man adaptations as I'm absolutely in love with her stories.

Acting was great...Yang Mi can really deliver, I love that she's beautiful AND can act, no wonder she's so in demand. I'm looking forward to seeing more from her. You can feel her character's emotions and her chemistry with HXM was spot on. HXM surprised me by his performance, man can emote well. Gone was the sometimes wooden acting from CR. I love him even more now.

Music was beautiful, I loved the main song (the one in the hospital and shower scene) anyone please put me out of my misery as I really want to know the name of this song. If I had to say anything negative, it was that the upload I watched had a weird carnival music playing in the background? It was disconcerting...

I would definitely want to watch this again, not for a while but yes worth a watch now and will be again I'm sure.

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I feel like this drama doesn't get recognize that much. It's actually really good combining romance and sports was well written. Love triangles are so hard to watch for me. Not going to spoil anything but I hated Hikari how she had a boyfriend already but sometimes just didn't care about him and cared more about Hiro. Let's just say the romance couple ended how I wanted it to end. I loved watching the baseball games. The drama was about achieving your dreams and achieving others dreams along with yours.

Any drama with Satomi Ishihara in it I'll surely watch. I really liked Yamada Takayuki in this drama just seeing how different he was back then. The actors I think really were playing baseball good. There's just no character you can hate in this drama pretty much based on how it was written.

Soundtrack brilliant it's on YouTube by the way unless your reading this then that video might of gotten removed. I love K-Over back then when dramas had much better songs in them.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7DnKG7mc0gk (H2 OST)

It's a nice heartwarming drama and I loved it. It's up there on one of my favorites.

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