Reviews

A Punk Rock Band Saves the World!

"Fish Story" is about a punk rock band who unwittingly wrote a song that would save the world decades after they split up -- and split up because that very song, and the album on which it appeared, were utter flops. Hence, it's not merely a movie about a punk rock band who saved the world, but a FAILED punk rock band who saved the world! And the movie is just as clever, witty, and fun as that premise would lead you to expect. Hell, there's a reason this movie lands on so many different critics' lists for, "The 100 Best Japanese Movies of All Time." The reason is that it is perfection.

Consider the opening scene, which depicts a meteor on its way to destroy the earth in a couple of hours. Corporate buildings are deserted; cars abandoned in the middle of the street; and litter strewn everywhere in the wake of a public panic. It's an apocalyptic scene of the sort we got in Stephen King's horror-fantasy, "The Stand." Only we quickly learn that unlike "The Stand," this apocalyptic plot is comedic.

Because there, in a vintage record store, two dudes are blithely unconcerned with the comet hurtling toward planet earth preferring, instead, to discuss why a particular band qualifies as authentic punk rock. It's funny as hell because it evokes how society ridicules certain communities with the aphorism: "Those people think such-and-such is more important than the end of the world!" Well, music nerds truly do think a precise distinction between "rock" and "punk rock" is more important than the end of the world. And so it is that with this we have a perfect opening scene that aptly sets the tone for what continues to be a perfect movie every second of its duration.

Now, one must be patient, because it's one of those movies wherein multiple narrative threads with multiple sets of characters from different eras are being woven together as we go; and you won't recognize just how intricately they'd been woven until the very end. But you'll have fun with the characters and the dialogue even when you don't know how the hell these various narrative threads can possibly come together. Then, man-oh-man, when they do come together you'll find it was well worth the wait. Indeed, it was spectacular!

Read More

Not bad. Heartless City is pretty violent but there is also some unintentional hilarity. I always wonder, for example, why much of the fighting in these crime dramas is done with sticks and knives. I would have thought that a crime organization capable of running a major drug ring and co-opting any number of people in the police and prosecutor’s office could manage to acquire a few guns. Instead, their shiny batons and Brooks Brothers suits made the “thugs” look like, well, like conductors in search of an orchestra. That, plus their tendency to wait their turn politely before attacking one by one make them insufficiently terrifying. It’s no wonder that they seldom managed to assassinate the person that the drug kingpin of the moment had selected, despite the fact that the intended victim would be wandering all over town. That aside, Heartless City is a fun stylish noir guilty pleasure.

Although Lee Jae Yoon probably is the designated hunk in this drama (but Dude, seriously, you should go up a size in T-Shirts, at least around the office!), I declare Jung Kyung Ho the winner of the Hottest Guy contest here.

Read More

This drama leaves me in a state of euphoria each episode<3<3:))

OMG!!! The drama itself is incredible with the perfect story line and the behind the scenes which shows an excellent chemistry between the actors, are also very fun and sweet to watch. Song Kang( Jeong Gu Won ) and Kim Yoo Jung ( Do Do Hee) are such professionals and they execute each and every episode spectacularly! I must also mention the directors , screen writers and the rest of the staff for making it possible for us to watch this so addicting visual drama which is full of emotional, funny, happy, romantic and scary scenes. All the actors did such a good job from the grandmother to the staffs in the office to make this drama a hit for the year 2023! Hwaiting!! I have only good things to say and write about this drama. Hope all of you who are reading this enjoy the drama and for those who have not yet watched the drama, i tell you its not going to be a waste of your time!!! And d for those who have already begun, i think you can relate with me. Let us give lots of love and support !!<3:))

Read More

I fast forwarded through this one a lot. Jung Kyung Ho is one of my favorite Korean actors but this drama is a mess. Is it a commentary about Korea’s class divides and rich parents and their precious children, with their associated pressures and competitiveness? a star teacher’s journey back from a stressful and isolated existence? a murder mystery? I wouldn’t have a problem with it being all of the above, if the writer had done a better job of pulling it all together or making many of the side characters more than one-note caricatures. I assume it’s also supposed to be a romance because, well, the word “Romance” is in the title, after all. But there is little romantic spark. Nam Haeng-seon comes across more like Chi-Yeol’s older sister than a possible object of his desire. Plus I really really hate how she treats her brother. Finally, why do many Korean romcoms have serial killers lurking in them? Is it an attempt to add dramatic tension to poorly written fluff?

Read More

ML and FL doesn't belong together

I didn't like that ML is still chasing after the FL at the end of series. They should have gone their own way separate from each other. ML is stalking her after putting her and her family through so much pain. ML is poorly written character.
This is the one drama where i disliked the ML so much that i wanted him out of FL's life. In the end, he even colludes with FL's friend to make the FL think it is a coincidence/fate. Regarding other storylines, it was good pace and better ending for all of them. If only FL found another man who loves her and ML just remains as a brother, the drama would have been much better. Just because he was ML, they tried to link him with FL even with all the pain between them. The ML seems like an idiot who can only focus on one thing at a time - either the corporation, or love or his company or his lifestyle or family. He can never balance these things. He gives up everything else for one. And late feels sad and apologizes over that fact but never learns. He never thinks things through and just apologizes when the damage is done. And when the apology is accepted, he gets back doing stupid things that can cause more pain. Follows a selfish lifestyle and apology cycle.

Read More

Sorry. I'm not against dramas poking fun at serious issues and if this one had done it with more cleverness and less ham-handed cheap laughs, it might have worked. I truly felt like IQ points were screaming and dying in my brain as I watched this.

For example, I can’t stand the mother pimping out her daughter, even though it’s clearly being played for laughs, and the whole gay-not gay thing seems tonally off to me. (I’ve never been a big fan of the Coffee Prince/You’re Beautiful approach to homosexuality where the writer uses it as a device to advance conventional, heterosexual love. The underlying message seems to be that True Love can override sexual preference, as if homosexuality is a choice and all you need is to meet that one special person. And I disliked Personal Taste because of the male lead coyly pretending to be gay in order to advance his agenda.) Except for Do Bong-Soon and her grandmother, the women are weak and Do Bong-Soon herself isn’t very bright. Those things, added to the sadistic kidnap/murder theme, make me feel that there is a misogynistic streak running through this drama.

ETA: Another thing that bothered me is that stock value in the male lead’s company dives after news reports surface that he is gay. It’s played as if that’s funny. It’s not.

Read More

This drama is rather lurid and violent. The violence includes not only far too many people turned into pincushions but also sexual assaults, which are only alluded to, not depicted, but, I think, is handled poorly, particularly the aftermath. I also found the various storylines to be confusing and inconsistent. Sometimes one side complains about the lack of troops but the next minute they have enough to attack. Other times one side has a CGI army of thousands, only to withdraw for flimsy reasons, followed by scenes of only a few dozen fighting on each side or galloping all over the place (distances seemed to magically expand and contract, too). People sneak in and out of each other’s territories or houses or super-secret sect tunnels too easily or fail to notice somebody hiding in plain sight. The politics seem to consist mostly of everybody screaming revenge. As for the heroine, although she kicks butt, she's a little too sanctimonious for me. The hero is supposed to be the strong, silent type but he seems wooden, blank and awkward instead. I winced more from the shots of all of the horses falling down on their heads (does anybody know whether horses are trained to do that for movies?) than the hero getting attacked. I kept hoping that the heroine would ditch him and go for his bodyguard, who had much more presence. Or the second lead, who had a lot more charisma, especially after he discovered eyeliner and went bad.

Read More

I enjoyed the humor but not the romance. I don’t know whether it’s because Oh Yeon-Seo has the unenviable role of playing straight man (woman) to everybody else’s over-the-top comical characters or because her acting just seems rather flat, regardless of her character. The scenes with Monkey, Cow, Dog, or Pig sparkle so much that I feel like everything deflates when it’s just Jin Sun-Mi, even when she’s battling monsters.

And is anybody else being driven a little mad by the OST “always behind of you?” I want to write a letter begging them to re-record the song to “always behind you” or “always in back of you.”

Read More

Our Blooming Youth is a strange title for a clunky drama. The purpose of this drama, despite ghostly flourishes and dramatic Dum Dum DUM music, seems to be to throw two people together and make it look like an epic love story. So we have the crown prince meeting the FL, a suspected murderer, who appears to have shot an arrow at him. He ends up dragging her to his tent for questioning. By the wrist, naturally. That’s after she performs the usual fall off a cliff into water trope and sneaking into town disguised as one of a group-of-(VERY unobservant) soldiers thing. Sigh. When the Female Lead later pulls out a big dagger, cuts herself free of her bonds, and attacks a guard I think we’re supposed to be impressed by how badass she is. But all I could think of was that the guard must have flunked Introduction to Bodyguarding where they teach you to search somebody for weapons BEFORE you tie them up. It all feels contrived and formulaic and Park Hyung Sik seems to be sleepwalking through his role looking as bored as I feel. There are the usual scheming old ministers, including Jung Woon-In playing the baddie as always. Nothing new to see here.

Read More

Nothing special

Let's face it... I'm sure most people who have watched this series saw it for the cast and ofc I'm one of them.
I had no expectations, also because I mainly watch bl but no, I didn't like it very much...
In my opinion there were too many stories, some of which were not necessary at all.
The only thing I would have expected is that a strong bond could be created over time between the guys in the club, from perfect strangers to best friends, but this was only seen at the end of the last episode, and it seemed very forced for me.
I honestly don't recommend it but if you are a fan of the cast, it's fine but don't expect who knows what.

Read More

Look, I understand that K dramas manipulate viewers’ emotions and I’m fine with that. The dramas usually try to make you root for the desirable but flawed hero and the plucky heroine. I can also accept time travel, body switching, and girls passing themselves off as poorly-disguised boys. I can even enjoy dramas with lawyers doing things that would get most lawyers disbarred; medical dramas with doctors who should lose their medical licenses; teachers who would normally be fired, if not criminally charged for abuse; and police dramas with police officers who need good psychiatrists. Although there are moments in every drama where logic takes a leap, I can get past most of them.

Doctor Stranger, however, violated the most important canon of Korean drama law: Thou shalt not brazenly insult the intelligence of your viewers. The drama starts out okay, if a little over the top, what with evil plots and Magic Hands Doctor but it quickly devolves into a mess whose primary purpose seemed to be to jerk the viewer around. One big problem was the romance that drove the story. The actress who plays the grand romantic interest is more wooden than my dining room table and the male lead regresses into a pathetic puppy whenever he's around her (for little reason, since the actors seem to have little chemistry together). I began to hope that the female lead would be shot and really die. On the ground, instead of falling into the water, which, in this drama, seems to have life-regenerating powers. I don’t even know where to begin on the farcical who-is-the-better-doctor-competition. It is better to draw a sheet over it and send it to a well-deserved end. Plus the malpractice/revenge subplot is just … my god … no.

Read More

Mind you, this is just the first part!

Death's Game is a mind-bending show that had me hooked from the start.

So, Choi Yi Jae's life is in shambles, and just when he thinks it can't get worse, Death herself shows up with a twisted game. As Choi faces death repeatedly in 12 different lives, the storyline takes unexpected turns, making you question the value of life itself. In just 4 episodes the series brilliantly explores the ripple effect of one person's choices on the lives of others.

Of course, the top-notch cast delivers performances that keep you glued to the screen,
and the cameos are a delightful addition, giving their best performances.

Death's Game is not just about survival; it's a poignant reflection on the impact we have on those around us, making it a must-watch for anyone looking for a unique blend of suspense, drama, and a touch of existential questioning.

Now Im so ready for the second part.

I might need a box of tissue.

Read More