I found this movie extremely well acted. I was beyond surprised at Yoon Kye Sang. Not because I thought he was a bad actor but rather that he was able to make a complete departure from the lighter, more comedic roles he has portrayed in the past. As I watch High Kick 3, Revenge of The Short Legged, I barely recognize him. And I respect the heck out of him for that ability.
After this movie was over I realized I was tense the whole time and as the credits rolled my body finally felt able to relax. It is dark, angsty and joyless but for some reason, I liked it anyway. It was interesting and I've never watched a movie with a plot like this.
If you are in the mood for a tense, intense ride, Phungsan Dog might be something you like. For the acting alone, I recommend this film.
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Acting/Cast: What can I say? I fell in love with Jang Hyuk through this drama. He bears the mark of a true actor in his role as the angst-revenge driven Dae Gil. His was a very challenging character and he pulled it off PERFECTLY! He spoke with his eyes, his expressions and his intonations had thoroughly pulled me into his world of slave hunters and his misery of loving and yet being unable to love. Oh Ji Hoo as Tae Ha (righteous, dutiful, loyal) and Lee Dae Hae as Hye Won (meek, fearful and a woman with a secret) were also perfect choices. Even the dudes who acted as slave hunters, mountain brigands, slave rebels and evil ministers were wonderful in their roles. I seriously could not find any fault in the acting and cast of this drama.
Music: I absolutely love the OSTs in this drama. I listen to them frequently in my walkman. I think this in itself tells you how wonderful I think of them. What I absolutely love was how each OSTs are perfectly coordinated with the scenes and feelings in the drama. Whenever I listen to the OSTs, they reminded me of the drama and the unforgettable scenes in the drama.
Rewatch value: I had rewatched parts of this drama twice. I am not a fan of rewatching dramas as I am a very time poor person but for this drama, I actually rewatched a number of parts that I absolutely love. I must admit that I had never rewatched any dramas entirely, not because they are not worth rewatching (how I wish I have the time and luxury to rewatch dramas!).
Overall: This is my advice to you who had not watched this drama..... go and get a bag of chips or popcorn, a box of tissue and maybe a pillow (because it is quite addictive and you might just decide to skip sleep to finish this drama in one go) and just WATCH THIS DRAMA. You'll never regret it! :)
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The story is great, you really have no way of imagining what's gonna happen next, but I won't anything more about it because otherwise I'd spoil it for those who haven't watched it yet.
The acting really blows my mind, I've always loved Tamaki, ever since I saw Nodame Cantabile, and he always plays his part perfectly wether it be here, in Nodame, in Love Shuffle or any of his other dramas and movies. The female lead, whose name I can't remember right now, also plays her part perfectly, her more than anybody because her role was really hard to play. I hate her in real life because she's one of Japan's biggest divas, in the BAD sense of the word, and that's why admire her even more in this movie-because I love her character.
The music always goes according to the scene, it makes you feel what the characters are feeling.
I've watched this movie several times with different people, and every time I watch it again I discover something new.
Overall this is one of the greatest japanese movies that I've ever seen because unlike must jap movies this one actually makes me feel something, this one gets to the heart instead of being overvdepressing, I recommend it for anyone who likes memorable love stories.
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Discovered by mere chance while following Takenouchi Yutaka's work, it soon proved to be one of my best drama findings. It wasn't even listed on MDL, nor have I ever read a review or a comment about it.
Rondo is a romance thriller. The two aspects are smoothly interwoven and so well balanced that I don't know if I should say it's a romance on the background of a major criminal plot, or a thriller with an undertone of romance.
But let me go in order.
Plot: 10.
Should you decide to watch this drama, don't be deterred by the complex police investigation at the beginning. Slowly but steadily, the jigsaw pieces find their right place and everything becomes clearer and more and more gripping. Never predictable though; on the contrary, there's a twist at every turn.
The love story is simply beautiful. I love the Japanese-Korean interaction between the main leads, it adds a lot of colour to the story and create some very sweet moments. The two characters are a beauty to watch together: both intense and believable, both incredibly good-looking.
Acting: 10.
Terrific performances by all. Takenouchi proved once again to be an outstanding, very expressive actor and, I can just as well admit it, sexy as hell. The only asian man beside Takeshi Kaneshiro who looks good with a moustache. Choi Ji Woo, whom I had never seen acting before, is wonderful. I loved their first encounter and, since I'm very partial to those, I can say it marked the moment I decided I liked this drama. On screen they share the kind of chemistry which is created by tension and suspicion.
I was impressed by Hayami Mokomichi's and Shin Hyun Joon's performances too.
Cinematography: 10.
This is a dark drama. So are the colours, the screenshots, the city views. Black and gray are the predominant hues. The overall photography and direction are spot-on and there were times when I thought I was watching a long movie, instead of a drama.
Music: 11.
Wait... the option is not available. Pity, since the music is a blast, at least for my taste. There's an awesome instrumental piece in between ethnic and trip-hop which is so well used I was always longing for it to play. The music plays a major role in connection with the shooting. Very well chosen.
Re-watch value is obviously a little lower, as it always is with suspense dramas. Once the twists are known, a little of the thrill is gone. Which doesn't mean I won't rewatch this drama when a reasonable time will have passed.
There is only one sad note about this show: the quality of the streaming videos available. Subs: an atrocity. Although I marathoned through the drama, I must say it was an odyssey. The first episode, which is 90 minutes long, is impossible to find whole and in the right order. It almost made me give up the drama entirely, until I decided to find an alternative way... I'm glad I did. The rest of the 10 episodes has to be scraped together here and there. But if you have the patience, you won't regret it.
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The story is phenomenal, never once was I bored. The story has something for everyone, be it comedy, action, intrigue, romance. While, there were parts of the story, that bothered me, it was needed to make the drama flow better. This story was simple, yet at the same time complex, kind of paradoxical.
Acting:
Jang Hyuk as Lee Dae Gil was absolutely brilliant. At times I found myself crying with him, laughing with him, wanting to kick his behind. At the beginning he wasn't the character/actor who kept me coming back, because well I couldn't stand him, but the more I watched, perfect.
Oh Jo Ho as Song Tae Ha reminded me of what a man with honor is. While he could seriously put the hurt on someone, he wasn't greedy about having the power to hurt/control people.
Lee Da Hae as Hyewon, I can't really say anything because I don't like her, throughout the entire drama she annoyed me to no end, but the drama wouldn't have been complete without her.
Those were the "main" actors, but I feel one of the supporting actors deserves a mention...
Ahn Suk Hwan as artist Bang, he brought comic relief, that was much needed in this drama. No matter the role he plays, he performs perfectly.
The music was perfect, it wasn't all slow and boring. It mixed old music with newer styled music very well.
Overall, if period drama's are your thing, watch this drama. The only thing that kept me coming back in the beginning was all the muscle, but I am female, so that would attract me. I have a hard time picking period drama's, but once I pick one, I have to finish it, and am usually disappointed, but this one has by far surpassed any and all period drama's I have watched. So much so that I actually sat here and tried to formulate my impressions into words by typing this review.
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1it started out promising with a likeable cast and a fairly entertaining plot.i watched the first half with great enthusiasm.
some where around episode 7 or 8 it got very contrived, almost as if the writers just said "oh, screw it!"
on top of that i am OVER k-dramas where they take a perfectly attractive girl and through awful clothes and hair make her much less attractive. the female lead is a hot mess 90% of the time also, how did tha male lead walk? his pants were so tight i was amazed by his ability to breath in them, much less deliver lines with a straigh face.
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Hana Kimi was one of the first dramas that I've ever saw. I've watched it complete 2 times and my favourite parts at least 10 times. It's a really must see in the drama world. It's not the best drama with the best story and the best acting, but it's really entertaining and cute. If you are in your teens, then you'll definitely enjoy it. If you are older, you'll probably won't like it because you'll think that it's way too over-the-top.
The story is not really that original in the girl-dresses-as-boy thing, the original part is how develop it and why she does it. Also the side stories are pretty funny, like the competition between the rooms and all that.
The acting is pretty good, I love Maki, she's one of my favourite actresses. The whole cast is great, you can notice that there's chemistry between them, that they really bonded and friends throughout the filming of this.
The music was good, it was funny and according to the moments, also I love the theme song, I have it as ringtone on my cell.
On the rewatch value it is definitely a 10. I've watched 2 times and will probably watch it another 20. It is a funny light drama that cheers me up when I'm down.
Overall, although it isn't extraordinary, Hana Kimi is a classic and a must see for us drama fans, it really is something.
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It was pure comedy, with plenty of slapstick humor and situational irony. And what was up with the panda? Anyway, I'm sure if you're a SuJu fan, this movie will definitely be a win for you, but even if you aren't, I'm sure it'll be a fun watch anyway.
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The story was great, the cast too, although in some parts I regret to say that Kitagawa's acting wasn't so good. The music was very according to the movie. I'll definitely rewatch this movie sometime soon with a friend. Overall, a seven.
I enjoyed watching this movie so much that I'll watch the anime, because I've heard that the anime fans weren't happy with the outcome of the movie, so I'll watch to be able to make a good comparison
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I liked the story - a girl who doesn't even know who she is finds love in something she never thought about before. I loved the dresses and the the world of fashion that they introduced in this movie.
The cast was good - I can't compare it with the manga/anime but I thought that they played their parts well and the acting was done just fine.
I liked the music - from "Hello" by Yui to the songs by Sweetbox. I've been a fan of Sweetbox for the past few years and I loved actually hearing her in this movie!
I will definitely rewatch this movie again. I enjoyed it, plus since I downloaded it I've just decided to keep it on my computer so it'll be right there whenever I wanna watch it again (:
Overall - it's not the best movie out there, but I found it to be an enjoyable film with a nice story and a sweet love. I also loved how they didn't use any of those cheesy special effects I've seen in other Japanese movies based off a manga [High School Debut, Lovely Complex]. Sure there were cheesy parts in the story, but in a more believable way and not totally out there.
My personal opinion is I think it's worth watching (: It's a cute story!
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