Reviews

A Revenge Saga With Fantasy Element

Adapted from the webtoon “The Essence of a Perfect Marriage” (완벽한 결혼의 정석) written by Young (영) and Lee Beom Bae (이범배), MBN’s latest makjang on the block is a revenge saga with a fantasy twist. Starring Sung Hoon and Jung Yoo Min in the lead roles alongside an ensemble casting that includes Jin Ji Hee, Kang Shin Hyo, Oh Seung Yun; the show uses the time-tested formula of “Contractual Marriage”. We have a conniving family scheming and plotting against their adopted daughter, a high-handed chaebol heir looking for an escape route from the arranged marriage scenario and a brother-in-law vying for his sister-in-law’s affections; seems like a perfect recipe for disaster, right? What makes this show exciting and spicy is obviously the revenge element; the natural chemistry between Sung Hoon & Jung Yoo Min is so flawless, you can’t help but root for them. Let’s talk about the first two episodes, so you can decide if you want to watch it!

Read the complete article here-

https://kcdramamusings.wordpress.com/2023/10/31/perfect-marriage-revenge-first-impressions/#more-260

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A series that caught my attention, mainly because of the choice of actors, the acting was really top notch (Wayne-Hao Ting was top class and Wilson-Bo Xiang was great in his youth). I also agree with Extasy that the Taiwanese series are different from the often "laced" Thai series, they are closer to the eye of the European viewer, more natural, the plot has a faster flow and does not drag on like a snot.
It took me a while to get used to the characters. The athletic, tall and fit Hao Ting and the skinny greeting from Dachau Xi Gu. The second couple was with me from the beginning without a problem (young Bo Xiang and bistro owner Zho Gang). The parents and sister were also very well chosen. Overall, I rate it highly, only the conclusion in the year when the marriage of same-sex couples was legalized in the country, they could forgive themselves. But even here Wayne showed himself and "transformed" with his excellent acting, perhaps we can look forward to the second one that is shown on MDL, which will hopefully be - HIStory4: Make Our Days Count 2 and Wayne should play the main role there again...


Seriál, který mě zaujal, a to především výběrem herců, herectvím, které bylo skutečně na výši (Wayne-Hao Ting extratřída a Wilson-Bo Xiang při svém mládí super). I já se shoduji s Extasy, že taiwanské seriály jsou jiné, než mnohdy "sešněrované" thajské, jsou blíže oku evropského diváka, přirozenější, děj má rychlejší spád a netáhne se jako sopel.
Než jsem si zvykl na postavy, chvíli mi to trvalo. Atletický, vysoký a vysportovaný Hao Ting a vyzáblý pozdrav z Dachau Xi Gu. Druhá dvojice byla u mě od začátku bez problému (mladý Bo Xiang a majitel bistra Zho Gang). Velmi dobře byli vybráni i rodiče a sestra. Celkově hodnotím vysoko, jen ten závěr zrovna v roce, kdy bylo v zemi uzákoněno manželství párů stejného pohlaví, si mohli odpustit. Ale i tady se Wayne projevil a "proměnil" svým výborným herectvím, snad se můžeme těšit na dvojku, která je uvedena na MDL, že snad bude - HIStory4: Make Our Days Count 2 a Wayne by tam měl hrát zase hlavní roli ...

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MOVIE SCREAMS COME HERE IF YOU HAVE WATCHED ORIGINAL VERSION

Having watched all the versions of unrequited love , I feel that I am qualified enough to talk about Blue Summer .
The story of unrequited love is really close to my heart because I can really relate to it .
My Blue Summer lacks in one of the major things its predecessors had , THE SENSE OF LONGING , yeah I get it that unrequited love is a slow burn feeling , that heartache , the pain comes gradually so those emotions are difficult to show in just two hour movie . The emotional connect of the viewers to this kind of feeling will also take time. But I have seen better movies on same theme which are able to convey the same thing very effectively .
the movie came out very bland , because I feel that they have really changed the feeling of the story all together . The male lead already knew about the FL 's love before they met in uni ?!!!!!!! What ?That just takes away the essence of the story , it takes away the essence of their relationship building from zero level .
Another thing I wanna point out is that this movie is very dark in its colours , VERY DARK . I get it you are trying to create some sort of sad backdrop but it overshadowed even the scenes which were meant to be happy . In this case the original 2019 version did a great job .(Ps on contrary 2021 just whitewashed everything which I didn't like either )
Next I really didn't like the way Male lead acted .I couldn't feel any chemistry whatsoever . In previous version SH gets infatuated by LZ somewhere because how well she knows him inside out but here , nope .
And and and the worst part is the raincoat scene which in previous ones was one of the actual cause of drama , here comes as a sweet moment between the leads . Many small details such as Baili crying only for 10 mins etc. are there to pay tribute to the og story but really couldn't do it right .
At last I wanna say you might find it really boring if you haven't watched the previous versions and feel no emotional connect and if you have watched the previous ones you might just get angry . YOU SHOULD JUST GO FOR 2019 ONE .

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I like Buddhism and its theory of reincarnation, reincarnation, and the bottom line, the story of this series is the most interesting for me. That's why the story is 10, even if it starts "terrifyingly tragically".
Otherwise, I evaluate the processing, prepare for an even slower pace than "normally" slow are Thai series of this type, sometimes stilted, weepy, but that's probably how it should be and it's actually a flowing drama, when in some parts there is a gradual uncovering and understanding who they really are in the thicket of Pharm and Dean's tangled family generations and sometimes those who "believe" get chills down their spines, others who mainly look for faults remain cold.

I don't have much to complain about the acting, I rate the level of acting not by Meryl Streep, but by these series, some of them shined (surprisingly for me, Manaow, Koi's grandmother, Wina's relaxed speech and some others.). I can't even condemn Dean and Korn as actors, whose characters were written this way and they were both damn hot.
The music is fine, because if you have a longer series, you simply get used to the central theme of the songs. I also see a positive in the fact that this project creates a positive, realistic relationship with gays, despite the fact that there will be a tragedy at the beginning - it is treated with respect throughout the series and not as a farce. I RECOMMEND it to all sensitive souls.


Mám rád buddhismus i s jeho teorií převtělování, reinkarnace a ta pointa, příběh tohoto seriálu je pro mě nejzajímavější. Proto ze příběh 10, i když začíná "hrůzostrašně tragicky".
Jinak hodnotím zpracování, připravte se na ještě pomalejší tempo, než "normálně" pomalé jsou thajské seriály tohoto typu, někdy ucajdané, plačtivé, ale tak to má asi být a vlastně se jedná o plynoucí drama, kdy v některých dílech dochází k postupnému odkrývání a pochopení, kdo vlastně jsou v houští spletitých rodinných pokolení Pharm a Dean a někdy těm, kteří "věří", přejede mráz po zádech, ostatní, co hledají hlavně chyby, zůstanou chladní.

K herectví nemám co moc vytknout, hodnotím úrovní herectví ne Meryl Streep, ale těchto seriálů, někteří se zablýskli (kupodivu pro mě Manaow, babička Koi, uvolněný projev Wina a někteří další.). Odsuzovat herecky nemohu ani Deana a Korna, jejichž postavy takto byly napsány a oba byli zatraceně sexy.
Hudba fajn, totiž pokud máte delší seriál, tak si prostě na ústřední motiv písní zvyknete. Pozitivum vidím i v tom, že tento projekt vytváří kladný, realistický vztah ke gayům, navzdory tomu, že zde na začátku proběhne i tragédie - zachází se s ní po celou dobu série s úctou a ne jakou s fraškou. DOPORUČUJI všem citlivým dušičkám.

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A pleasant, fresh piece, unencumbered by the heavy cloud of quantitative Pinoy production, which proved to us that even poop can be made into a whip. We could feel the ease with which the duo of creators approached us already with the series Gaya Sa Pelikula. In my opinion, the music was also not below average, on the contrary, from the beginning, when there was "massive" communication between the two main characters and the exchange of texts was constantly speeding up, I found Tchaikovsky's Flower Waltz very funny and imaginative, the processing was excellent.
"It's going to be a long journey. Are you ready???" An absolute delicacy.


Příjemné, svěží dílko, nezatížené těžkým mrakem množiny kvantitativní pinoy produkce, které nám dokázalo, že i z hovínka lze uplést bič. Bylo cítit tu lehkost, s jakou nás oslovilo duo tvůrců už se seriálem Gaya Sa Pelikula. Hudba dle mě také nebyla podprůměrná, naopak, zezačátku, kdy probíhala "masivní" komunikace mezi oběma hlavnímu postavami a neustále se výměna textů zrychlovala, tak mi přišel Čajkovského Květinový valčík jako velice vtipný a nápaditý, zpracování výborné.
"Bude to dlouhá cesta. Jsi připraven???" Naprostá chuťovka.

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The film follows the original series and is a fresh February novelty (thanks to karcikarl for the link). Xavier broke up with Mic and went back to his girlfriend. A whole bunch of friends go to a holiday resort for a literary retreat.

How the next relationship between Xavier (for me the irresistible Tony Labrusca) and Mica will turn out, you will find out in this film, which is not a typical BL. Acting at a high level, especially the main two characters. Predictable plot, it must be reckoned that it is an ASIAN movie. Those who know understand what I mean, Those who don't will spew venom and filth here.

The catchy theme song, which is sung by the actors Tony and JC themselves in slow motion towards the end (I added both clips to the Videos folder), I had to deduct a point because the guitar was out of tune in the last third (it's about the third Asian movie, do Asians have no musical ear at all?).
Some great shots of the Philippine seascape. Overall, a very nice lamp


Film navazuje na původní seriál a je to čerstvá únorová novinka (díky karcikarlovi za link). Xavier se rozešel s Micem a vrátil se ke své přítelkyni. Celá parta přátel odjíždí do prázdninového rezortu na literární soustředění.

Jak dopadne další vztah Xaviera (pro mě neodolatelný Tony Labrusca) a Mica se dozvíte z tohoto filmu, který není typickým BL. Herectví na vysoké úrovni, především hlavních dvou postav. Předvídatelný děj, je nutno počítat, že je to ASIJSKÝ film. Ti, kteří ví, chápou, co jsem tím chtěl říci, Ti, kteří ne, zde budou plivat jed a špínu.

Chytlavá ústřední píseň, kterou ke konci zpomalenou zpívají i samotní herci Tony a JC (oba klipy jsem přidal do složky Videa), bod jsem byl nucen ubrat za to, že v poslední třetině byla ta kytara rozladěná (je to už asi třetí asijský film, to nemají Asiaté vůbec žádný hudební sluch?).
Pár skvělých záběrů filipínské přímořské krajiny. Celkově moc fajn žážitek.

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When Japan had money

A reason why I mostly watch Japanese media (anime and J-Drama) from the 80s is thanks to their obscene amount of money at the time meaning they could literally make the most random of projects financially feasible instead of now where they gotta stick to the main pool of genres because those are what makes money (yes I know this is a phenomenon all over the world but idc), semi 4th wall breaking shows that serve no purpose but pure entertainment (with of course some story) like this can be made, what a simple time… But I’m digressing so I’ll shut up haha.

Anyways Mama wa Idol was a good, light hearted show with an obviously unique spin on things; it didn’t have any overarching message it was trying to push besides I guess the difficulty to having kids accept remarriage (though that was practically demoted to a character trait of one character after ~4 episodes) no it was just Nakayama Miho (google her, literally plays herself) becoming a housewife in secret and the comedy that ensued. Some minor development was present but never really directly mentioned like Miho’s cooking becoming better (and other housewife tasks) and Kenichirou getting more used to his new mum (which happened in the background, realistic for a 20 year old). Over the 10 episodes the only 2 reoccurring things I found annoying was that crazy nosy neighbour and Shuichi’s (dad) vein popping annoying inability to firmly turn down women (plus his occasional thoughts on how to parent but I’m 20 with no kids, so I see things like the naïve Miho does meaning I cannot comment) but both of these are easily overlooked and are funny in their own right (at times). Ending was very wholesome too, love that they directly called out the stigmas in the idol industry plus the real live performance Miho gave.

From a technical aspect everything was done at or above J-Drama standards: typically great 80s music, unique acting, etc. no complaints there. Overall a fun and relaxing show highly recommend this to other old J-Drama fanatics, I will be buying this on DVD for sure.

Also I should point out: yes Miho at the time was 17 (I think she was implied to be 19 in the show) but not only was it poked fun at in the show at times (Kenichirou is older than her in the show and real life) no lines were also crossed, it was kept at a convincing distance for any scenes that could have hinted at intimacy. Also Miho and Kunihiko literally play the lead roles in another drama the very next year so they’re obviously comfortable with each other lol.

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Underrated : a classic plotline including a refreshing level of emotional complexity

This is pretty much my first positive review of a romance-in-college c-drama, as I would usually rate those with a 7 or lower.
There's absolutely nothing interesting about the plot or the side characters. (Just like in almost every other similar c-drama out there).
The surprise of this c-drama rests entirely on the impressive range of emotions displayed by both leads and specifically by the ML, who originally plays a cold and smart "typical" c-drama ML.

The ML is only cold for about 4 episodes. Very far from the stoic face and arrogant demeanor of most emotionally impaired ML, he actually shows an impressive range of facial expressions and various shifts in moods. To the core, he's only scared and resentlful , and his defense mechanisms get in the way of honest communication but he is very aware of the issue and actually tries to solve it. I truly enjoyed the way the ML's internal struggle with his own feelings was depicted.
For both leads, scars from childhood play a role in their current behavior, which is a common plot line in many dramas (and in real life), but I found it subtly handled for once. The ML wasn't beaten to near death but experienced insecure attachement to a parent. The tension between parent and children is well articulated, the mother wasn't a horrible person and neither was the son, but scars remained and I liked that the ML was able to articulate his hurting.
Like a real human, he was sad, anxious, uncertain, joyful, coy , flirty, sulky and everything in between. But he struggled with means of expression.

This was a fairly well executed exemple of struggles between an avoidant attachment type of person (ML) and their partner.
The FL tries her best to understand him but gets confused and angry at the contradictory signals and all the pushing away, and rightfully so. She was patient but not in an overly naive way and was smart enough to also articulate some of that. Ultimately, each had understandable reasons to resent one another at times, and I'm fairly impressed that, for once, the misunderstandings weren't completely illogical.

There are still some parts of the plot that felt very forced for purposes of narration, the ML did play the super hero saving the damsel in distress a few unnecessary times. The other characters did not interest me at all, the university setting was almost irrelevant.

Ultimately, this drama doesn't get a lot of things right but doesn't get it wrong either and nails it on the emotional complexity (compared to other c-dramas of the same genre). For this reason, I would truly recommend to give it a go without expecting any anything.

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Don't Make her Angry

This story is very much in the vein of the American "Omen" franchise. A little girl with powers to get her way and no morals to constrain how far she will go to get it. He mother is weak and afraid of her child. Through a crazy chain of event a psyche patient wands up staying their home and of course no one believes her tales of the strange child.

Horror at its finest, and i wish someone would do an updated version with today's effects, lighting and CGI. It's old school creepy. Also if someone tells you that that cute girl next door killed her soon to be sister in law ...you might not want to dismiss the notion right away. : )

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The most surprisingly courtroom drama I've ever seen outhere

Honestly Im a bit shocked abt how good this actually was. I had just finished "Witchs Court" drama until i saw LS on netflix catalogue and i was like "yeah okay im feeling like i need more of courtroom and prosecutors right now" and then i was hit by this masterpiece.

I think i have the obligation of putting this on my top 5 kdrama list in this moment. The storytelling is amazong because you never know whats going to happen in the next episodes. It got to a point that i wasnt even questioning anymore because i would put my life into Prof. Yang Jong Hoon hands, really cuz everytime he was doing something suspicious i thought "no, this man KNOWS" its so out of the blue and plot twisted that you get really amazed by how freaking smart this is.

Also, the characters are soooo relatable. Kang Sol A is literally my living thoughts every moment. the drama was focuses on the plot but this dindnt hide the perfect chemistry between her and Han Joon Hwi, i got all the typed of butterflies when i saw the way that he lookes at her. Bcoz THAT MAN became my ideal type of boyfriend.

the way i almost screamed and woke up my entire house when i saw them shining after all the humiliation that the universuty put them through and wearing fancy law clothes and expansive watches. It got me with a feeling of proud, idk.

maybe im too emotional afterall and probably will get kinda embarrased abt how much i wrote hahaha hut i can put the blame on the heat of the moment.

if you ever get the chance, watch it. I bet you wont regret.

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Very disappointed: A waste of a talented cast.

I was so excited to watch this drama and the plot seemed great. I also like really Iwata as an actor ( so I was really looking forward to this) and this drama was at the top of my list of dramas I wanted to watch . It was so disappointing. The actors are great and I'm not blaming them at all. I've watched them in other Japanese dramas so this is not their fault. It is the way the story flowed, was told, was filmed. I don't know what the director was trying to accomplish here but I hated it. Even the dialogue felt contrived or badly presented so I'm blaming this on the scriptwriter as well. On the bright side, the cinematography was ok. I want to reiterate again that the actors are amazing. I've seen their works in other projects, everything else just fell off short. So annoyed. There's nothing like really looking forward to see something and you end up disappointed smh .

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War is Absurd

It has nakid children saving freshly sold-to-the-brothel girls while singing a jaunty tune.
Seriously it is a musical about early WWII Japan before the west got involved. It is so absurd in its portrayal of the ridiculousness of the war itself shown through child's play and the seriousness of reality.

The mostly child cast carries the movie through the harshness of resource poor Japan through symbolism and play. Mock wars to mimic the actual war that is waging at the time. Its kinda deep if you know history and its effects on societies. the thing that brought the rating down for me was the unneeded use of unclothed children.

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REVENGE!

REVENGE! that is the theme of this drama, so watch as karma removes bad people in the way of revenge, but do not look for a strong plot outside of REVENGE! cause there isn't any. Not super memorable out of any of the other female revenge killer movies. This is supposed to be the inspiration for the Kill Bill movies.

This is like a super hero origin story. "Born in dark prison, father unknown, her destiny to carry out her mothers revenge for the death of her husband and son" . (Make sure to say that previous line with movie trailer voice over). She is then sent to train with JiJi hard-ass, master of making little girls stay in moving barrels. The Deaths are super hilariously over acted. Like VERY BAD. The blood color and thickness off even for the 70's.

Watch it if you liked Kill Bill or you crave ladies with Katanas and lotsa fake blood.

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Sometimes Great, Sometimes Insufferable

So when I first signed up for this site about a month ago, I sat down and did reviews for all the dramas I could remember watching. Tonight something relating to Itaewon Class came up (a show I watched only a few months back) and I couldn't remember talking about my biggest issue with the show. Turns out I accidentally forgot to do a review for this one, so let's get into it.

Occasionally someone's character in a drama is so nasty, awful, cruel, idiotic, annoying, narcissistic, etc., that I will struggle to want to watch anything with that person again. Usually that's a nod to how great of an actor they are, but this is definitely not one of those cases, as everything I've seen written about the FL's character Oh Soo Ah (Kwon Nara) in this drama has been weirdly positive. Despite that, I thought she was vile. Them writing that she wasn't actually the one who turned him into police for the underage selling as if we're all supposed to go, "Omg... I was sooo wrong about her!" after EVERYTHING else she did from the time he met her until the end of the drama... give me a break.

After all Park Sae-Ro-Yi (Park Seo-Joon) did for her, after all Sae-Ro-Yi's father did for her, she behaved that way? Not just once either. It was one selfish, narcissistic, cold-blooded decision after another. All I kept thinking throughout this whole movie was that he was 100% correct about her from the first time they met, and the time as kids after that was fake af. She had always been fake, and he was always unable to see it.

You can say what you want about Jo Yi-Seo (Kim Da Mi), and sure there were times where she was definitely wayyyy out of line, but at least she was real. Brutally honest and real. And of course, that brings us to another example of Soo Ah's fakery; the introduction of a beautiful, strong, and determined female who knew she wanted Seo-Ro-Yi from the beginning. After years of treating him either like sh*t, like she was too good for him, or like he didn't exist at all, suddenly she's interested in him when she learns this girl is? Bffr

The rest of the cast was decent. I loved the transformation of Choi Seung-Gwon (Ryu Kyung-Soo) over time and I also really loved his relationship with Sae-Ro-Yi. I definitely feel like they shafted Kim To-Ni (Chris Lyon) at the end a bit. They definitely should've all been more involved and more together.

Also, the romance thing went on for too long because every time he didn't return feelings, I didn't really care except for the fact that he'd then go and do some stupid sh*t for Soo Ah. I also hated the trans thing. It added nothing to the story and was totally irrelevant. The actress, Lee Joo-Young looked the same in Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo so it feels like they were just like, "You have a boyish haircut, what if we make you a dude trying to be a woman for funsies!?" Like, instead of writing her as an interesting person, they just did this.

I was worried I'd feel the same about Chris Lyon being in it because Netflix tends to throw random diversity characters into shows so they give the appearance of virtue, when in reality there's just no good reason, and they can't be bothered to create one. I didn't dislike his placement at all though. They storyline with his dad and grandma and them hiring him to speak English because they assumed he could speak it... that all makes sense.

Anyways, I don't think I'd rewatch because it was too infuriating.

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