Reviews

A very retro drama with an identity crisis . . .

I don't mind an old Cinderella trope, as I am a big fan of rescue scenes and protectiveness from heros. This drama, however, sucks out any impact in favor of going light and absurd everytime. Just as there might be a touching moment, or a seething jaw clenching, hands fisting scene . . . it turns out there's no danger at all! The secondary romances are not the most inspiring.

Another reason to watch an old school Chaebol romance is for the clothes, style, cars etc. but we are robbed of that as well. The costumes and set design are all mediocre, and the choice of our main male lead characters suits and shirts can lean into the bizarre. Also the product placement at times was over the top.

I was really disappointed by this, but did keep watching hoping for a last minute dramatic moment, but it's featherlight all the way through. By the end, I was wondering if this was a really bad parody of a drama instead of just a bad drama. Skip!

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This my first movie korea i watched

This is my first film that made me love korea, especially korean wave, from this film I love the culture, kpop, the actors and actresses, the director, the scriptwriter, the film crew, the series, the TV broadcast, the songs, the AI, everything that I love about korea. about this film, the script is good, the director is the best, the actors and actresses are perfect, I love the sets, after watching this film, I feel like I'm being pulled in, until I finally sink into enjoying the good writing and direction of the filmmakers from Korea, and this film is on the list of the 3rd best film I've seen in my lifetime.

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WHAT A HIDDEN GEM!

I’ll start by saying that I think "The Ingenious One" is “criminally” underrated. Each episode is like a carefully crafted puzzle piece, fitting perfectly into the larger narrative and keeping you engrossed from start to finish.

I have to say that Chen Xiao’s performance in this drama is a true revelation. His ability to convey a wide range of emotions with just his eyes, facial expressions, and body is a testament to how remarkable his range is. While IO does not spend too much time on romance, it definitely incorporates romantic elements that are executed with finesse. Yun Xiang's relationship with Shu Yanan is depicted in such a genuine and touching way that you can't help but be drawn into their world. Their motivations, struggles, and heartaches feel palpable, making their journey all the more compelling.

In my view, this drama ranks among the finest dramas of 2023. A+

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One-Sided Chemistry

I thought the premise of the show was great. I loved that Kawi could not go back in time on subsequent trips to the same moments he'd already gone back to. He got one shot and had to live with whatever domino effect it caused.

Gawin did a great job as Pisaeng. It's so clear when his feelings for Kawi begin to develop. You watch him fall in love with Kawi so naturally. Never once did I doubt the feelings Pisaeng had for Kawi.

I'm not going to remark on Krist's acting because it's hard to determine how much is direction, writing and the actor's choices. What I will comment on is his character, Kawi. Kawi was, at times, very likable and easy to cheer on. However he was also so negative and self-defeating he often became exhausting to watch. Like Kawi, I frequently wondered why Pisaeng liked him. He could have done better, to be honest.

I wish Max got more screen time and more of a storyline of his own. I thought he was a really great character and at one point thought Pisaeng was going to end up dating him during one of the incarnations of the past. I liked that they talked about the political realities of being queer in Thailand with the current laws. My own teenage years in the US were similar to where Max was in the past timeline.

Pearmai was an interesting character. I think she could have been handled better in terms of her liking and sort of waiting for Pisaeng even though she knew he wasn't into her. It was also very poorly handled when she decided to give the guy she'd JUST rejected a shot once she was finally rejected herself. That didn't sit right with me. I really liked her development with her parents and the struggles she had going on there.

I really enjoyed the message of living in the present and choosing to live a life you don't wish to go back and "fix." Easier said than done off screen, of course. I really liked how the time jumps connected to the last moment Kawi was present in the past or future.

The thing that really brought down my rating was Kawi's side of the romance with Pisaeng. As I mentioned already, I never doubted for a moment that Pisaeng had fallen for Kawi. However, I never believed Kawi had genuinely fallen for Pisaeng, with the exception of the majority of the last episode. Instead of being together because he finally realizes he loves Pisaeng, to me it came off a lot more like Kawi had eliminated all the other options and what he was left with was a best friend who was indispensable but in love with him. So he decided to get into a relationship to keep this person in his life.

I know that's not the intent of the show but its how it came across to me. When they'd kiss Kawi didn't seem to want to be there or participating in it. He fell into a trope I hate in bl of the more passive partner dodging affection (what couple actively avoids kissing each other ALL the time even in private? this is the trope I'm referring to not specifically Kawi as he wasn't that bad but he had plenty of these moments). You wind up with Pisaeng basically begging for attention and affection and Kawi begrudgingly allowing it some of the time. This 100% came off as "I got the consolation prize but I really wanted the actual prize." (Pisaeng being the consolation for Kawi.)

I won't get into it too much, but the whole scene with Kawi being near-unconscious levels of drunk and kissing Pisaeng only for Pisaeng to continue while Kawi is unresponsive was incredibly unsettling. This felt very out of character for someone who had been very careful and considerate of Kawi during the rest of the series.

Gawin carried this show for me

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Refreshing!

If you want something chill and refreshing, this is the series for you! If you want some drama then I would advise you to come back to it another time.
By now, you've probably read many reviews saying how nice and wonderful this drama is and in all honesty I wholly agree! Now I would advise, don't go into this expecting something phenomenal. It's not something new and never been done before and it certainly won't be the last. People who've read all the reviews and started watching it while riding the hype train will certainly feel very underwhelmed. This series isn't doing anything out of this world. Just take it as it is with the only expectation being that it has 'little to no drama' kinda mindset.
Now my personal reason for liking this series so much. I've watched a lot of drama in my life, more than I can remember to list them all on here, but this series was just nice. While being so unproblematic unlike real life, it was still so realistic. The plot is pretty mundane in that it's a slice-of-life romance series of a group of friends in high school, following their journey as they grow up. That's it. Nothing crazy. But what I love so much about it is that they take certain scenarios that you've probably seen countless times in other romance series and, wait for it... have the couples communicate!! Wild. But no, seriously. Nothing in this series will make you feel frustrated and make you want to rip your hair out. You can enjoy it for being unrealistically realistic while feeling happy inside thinking that somewhere in the world, there is a couple out there who is as much of a green flag as the couple in this "drama". It's a slice-of-life so you should definitely be aware that this series is not a minute by minute take on the character's life but rather the most eventful. It's not a deep dive into every conversation that they ever had so having mainly chill moments is also plausible. From watching this I certainly found myself kicking my feet a little at cute moments between the characters and felt like I really missed out on certain aspects of my own personal life. If anyone else here reads mangas, it really reminds me of one of my fav. also similarly chill/fluffy manga "RERE Hello". I felt like the cast all acted their part well and the comedy was casual but still funny. Overall, I just liked it because they did an already done trope well. Also, one gripe that I have about many drama is that they usually don't know how to end a series, one issue that this series didn't have problem with. I felt like they ended it at the perfect time and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I would 100% recommend this to anyone who is tired of/or just wants a break from gut wrenching sad dramas. Take it as it is and just enjoy!

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It hurt so good until it didn't

This will be the first drama that I take time to review because it had the potential to be one of my favorites, yet ended up turning into one of my greatest disappointments.

What starts out as a tragic romance ends on an incredibly dry and bland note which I'll get into in the spoilers below. I still give this 8 stars because I enjoyed the overall story, and when I did enjoy it I had so much fun with it. The angst of the leads was addicting and left me anticipating new episodes every week since I watched it as it aired. Outside of the romance, the setting is interesting and allows for some heartbreaking but worthwhile storylines, and a lot of the characters that could have been very one-note were developed in interesting ways, especially the male lead's cousin.

I recommend if if you're ever feeling in a masochistic mood (look into trigger warnings first), but personally I was left feeling disappointed and betrayed by an underdeveloped relationship and unexplored plotlines.

Mild spoilers ahead:
One of my favorite aspects of the drama, as mentioned above, was the ANGST. There was so much longing and anticipation building up for their inevitable relationship, which at the time felt like it was leading up to a fantastic and passionate romance. I'm not typically into the childhood connection and shared trauma tropes but it worked so well here, and as they continued to face hardships it just felt like we were building and building before getting to a satisfying conclusion. I also usually hate when things keep going wrong for the leads, but again, it just worked here. I mean a surgeon who can't use his hands, and a chef who can't taste? CINEMA. I was hooked. And then...

And then they got together. Finally. And everything just. Fizzled. All this lead up and there was no passion. There wasn't much of anything. I'll be fair and note that I haven't watched this in four years, but I remember being so disappointed in their relationship once they were actually together. At one point he throws her a little birthday party, and it should have been so cute. But it just felt so awkward. Once they were together there just weren't any sparks left, and the female lead just seemed to lose all personality, just standing around blank-faced while he seemed happy enough. It never really felt like they connected. I ended up kind of hoping that things would pick up between the FL and the ML's cousin because at least they felt like they connected on a real level rather than just "Oh, we liked each other as kids." Even the tragedy of their careers (surgeon who can't use his hands/chef who can't taste) wasn't explored as deeply as I had been anticipating. I just wish they had taken more time to develop the relationship once they were actually together, as well as more development as they worked to overcome or accept their past and present trauma as a couple.

I still give it a high score because there is so much more to this drama outside of the romance, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't my main reason for me to watch it, as well as the main reason for my disappointment.

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What If love can transcend time

This was a solid series. It left a lot to be imagined in the end. However, it was interesting how science, fantasy and a little romance was weaved together. All in all, the cast was solid. The OST was okay. The chemistry between the leads was more endearing than swoon worthy. The storyline was interesting with different twists that were relatable. The love interests or challenges weren't draggy or dramatic. There wasn't much trauma hints throughout which was a relief. This was more so a 'What If' series that didn't take itself too seriously. If you want to watch a series with a push and pull for power with a fantasy element that leaves a romance connection hopeful this would be a good fit.

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Epic

Amazing storyline and best in class acting from the leads and supporting cast. Cheng Yi’s acting has always been a different league , and he never fails with his micro expressions and emotional portrayals. What amazes me is his graceful swordplay which is entirely new to me. kudos to such great acting that brings out LLH and LXY quite distinctively.
First time watching Joseph Zheng, and he’s a talent to look out for. Memorable portrayal from him, as well as actor playing DFS.
A character that was not mentioned much , JLQ. I thought Rain’s portrayal of the lunatic saintess was so spot on and deserves praises of its own.

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Fantastic story with questionable subplots

Dnespite the obvious age difference, I though the FL and ML had great chemistry and hilarious moments with one another. Enemies to lovers is an overused trope for a reason, it’s amazing when it works well. Their reasons for interacting early dispite disliking each other fit perfectly with the tone and plot. Speaking of tone and plot…. I feel very conflicted about how some of the subplots were handled. Withiut spoiling much, let’s just say that people do very bad things without much punishment. The way that certain parents treated their kids was a massive contrast to how the main cast acted. I’m not saying that this portrayal is bad, but I felt someone of the darker subject matter clashed with the tone set very early on. This drama is not afraid to go to some interesting places with its story, I just don’t think it all fit together as well as it could have.

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A fluffy and soft slice of life

I started watching while assuming that this series would be some kind of silly comedy, and to some extent it is - there's a lot about it that is mostly for comical relief and it would be unfair to say otherwise. What I believe makes this series so intriguing is the way the writers managed to put in good balance comedy, introspection, and romance.

The plot of the story is pretty simple, and to be fair, at the beginning even the characters are. As the episodes go on, however, there's more and more that is revealed to the audience through dialogue and meaningful scenes about the characters and the relationships they have with each other. This method of unveiling the world of Cher and Gun was what caught my attention the most and made me want to watch more and more: I really felt like I was sinking deeper and deeper in the story. Multiple situations that seemed simple were revealed to be much more complicated than they might have looked at first, and the characters showed multiple facets of their personalities and lives little by little.
The romance between Cher and his Boss was truly sweet to watch as it developed. The two characters are very different, but it's also obvious how the two start growing fond of one another, and the way they seem to suit each other perfectly despite having very different lives was a huge satisfaction. The two actors have some solid chemistry and they are blatantly at ease and comfortable when they're together.

Something I didn't like as much about this series was the way some problems and situations were put aside without a proper conclusion (I don't want to spoil anything so I'll avoid mentioning anything in particular). I believe that leaving more room to show certain secondary characters and their lives better would have made the ending much more satisfying to me.

I can recommend this series to whoever is looking for something cute and sentimental, with themes that never get too stressful or heavy to watch.

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Not as entertaining as the original

Sanshiro Sugata Part II was a pale reflection of the original Sanshiro Sugata from 1943. While the original was fun and had a solid story arch, the sequel's story was thinner, more confusing, heavy on propaganda and not very entertaining.

Sugata has been away for two years but hasn't learned much. He helps a young rickshaw driver when a drunk American sailor beats the boy. A Japanese fight promoter hears about the incident and invites him to compete against "Lister the Killer," an American boxer, but he declines. Unfamiliar with boxing, Sugata decides to watch a match and is disgusted by the showy sport, alluding to it looking like dogs or roosters fighting. He returns to the dojo where Higaki Gennosuke's brothers show up looking for a battle with him. Sensei Yano sends the rude brothers away. "The man who knows not himself knows nothing." Later, Higaki Gennosuke whom Sugata defeated in the previous film, who is quite ill but healed in spirit pleads with Sugata to stay away from the unbalanced brothers. Sugata has been suffering from self-doubt wondering whether he should give up judo because of the harm that comes to his opponents but he also wants to fight whenever he can which leads to him not sleeping. He's also concerned about the survival of Japanese martial arts. The three laws of the dojo state that no one is to drink in the dojo, no fighting for money, and no fights without the sensei's permission. Suffice to say he breaks all three, fighting both the American and the crazy karate brother.

This sequel's fights weren't as well done or exciting. The final battle on the snowy mountain was hard to see as the bodies were dark silhouettes on the white background. In the first film, the contests furthered Sugata's growth, in this film, they all seem to be about promoting Japanese martial arts as superior to other forms.

Where Sugata traveled a spiritual path of self-discovery in the first film, he seemed completely confused and erratic in this one. The propaganda was heavy-handed, though it was understandable in the waning days of WWII when the writing was on the wall. While I could easily recommend the first film, this second one may be more for Kurosawa completionists.

8/11/23

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