Reviews

A very sad movie

I'm just in love with this movie...
I love the actors and the story, I didn't expected that the King will make the Queen to do that but the story is perfect.

I expected that ending...

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A more realistic ending...

If you have watched the original ending and could look passed a bunch of stuff this ending may just ruin stuff for you as I would say this ending is more realistic . Or at least more human, real, less out there... ending as far as realistic endings can get. I am not really sure this ads much to the story.

However for those who have been there... or who have been trying to figure out the pros and cons to going a long with societies expectations, falling in love at first f*** or just trying to be true to ones self without hurting others. This ending could probably hit a spot or two...

Watching this is pretty much completely unnecessary, especially if you are satisfied with the first ending, but if you feel like you want to see more and want something that gives you a bit more food for thought this is not a total waste of time (and money)

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We want more than just "promising"!

Korean BL overall has the same 'flaw': Great story or concept, wickedly good acting some amazing chemistry, but they tend to disappoint every time when it comes to the actual romance part. This BL is no exception to that rule. I was fully engaged from ep 1 through 7 and ep. 8 was an enormous desillusion. Really?? Thats the way you kiss your re-kindled first love when you finally understand each other? Thats the way toddlers kiss when they play house, i'm not even kidding. It could have been so much better with just a few degrees more heat.

I would have liked more story from the side characters, an explanation on the sweater and the how and when they started liking each other, but I would have been so happy with just one real kiss.

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A MASTERPIECE!!!

This should be rated 8.8 at least!!! I truly recommend Wild Bloom. Beautiful story. Beautiful songs. Memorable. Inspiring. The love between Banxia and Zhaolei is truly is a true love.

I have watched so many Chinese dramas including historical and modern genres. My all time favourite are Nirvana In Fire (2015), You Are My Glory, The Long Ballad, The Story of Ming Lan, The Untamed, Glory of the Special Forces, Go Ahead, and a few more. Wild Bloom has the same quality as them and has became one of my all time favourite dramas. I came to write a review purely because I cannot accept the rate 8.1 for this drama and feel sorry for those who will miss this masterpiece, especially if you are a Zhao Liying's fan (like myself). I rarely write a review. I hope this review will help those who are hesitating. Watch it. Trust me.

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Not your average historical drama (no spoilers but maybe cw)

I do love sageuks. I hardly watch anything else. But I have this problem, see: there is a lot of classism. Their stories are always about princes and princesses and yangbans, and even if the main character is of a lower status they are almost always sure to be a child of a noble family that has been wrongly accused of treason etc etc etc. The actual low-status characters are often caricatures and comic relief. I find this problematic.

So dramas like Im Kkong Jung are a huge breath of fresh air to me.
This is as far from the silk-clothed, baby-faced, elegant jeune premiers as you can get. It's dusty, muddy, raw. There's straw and rags and unkempt hair and unwashed faces and people being horrible to each other. In fact, I don't think there's a worse drama to be a woman in, than this one (*).
The music is heavily based on Korean folk music, with folk singer Jang Sah Ik among others. It is very appropriate and enhances the watching experience.
... which is hard. I won't lie, this is at times a tough watch. Not only the material world is depicted with all its flaws and blemishes, but the humans in it as well. The heroes of this epic are horrible people. One of them literally murders babies. We certainly don't get a glamourized version of poverty. On the contrary, we get a naturalistic depiction of it.
A special mention to the direction. I adored the camera work. The angles, the movements, it was beautifully filmed.

I think I'll watch parts of it again. I can't watch all of it, mainly because of *see asterisk above. So much assault, rape, abuse, oh and that's just from the "good guys".

In short: if you want love stories with princes, this is not the one. If you want a good historical drama that is all about the Korean people who populated the history outside the palace and the fancy villas of the aristocracy, give this a go.

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One of the best gl I've watch

The plot is simple yet compelling. The CGI is not cringey as opposed to other chinese dramas. The actors portrayed their roles perfectly and they have this chemistry that I rarely see in other gl dramas. The development of the characters' relationship with each other is slow and subtle and I think that's what makes it unique from others. Unlike other gls which went from staring at each other's eyes to making love, it depicted how wlw would develop in real life. There is no overwhelming sexual tension, just slowburn romance. Every episode makes me root for the both them. I really love the drama and kudos to everyone behind it!

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Great drama!

Script-wise, I must say that it kept me on my toes the whole time.

Many plot twists and some moments when you could tell what's gonna happen next but no, you really couldn't! Very unpredictable!

It's one of those series that make you doubt and become more suspicious of everything. On the other hand, it's a drama that makes you feel compassion for the villain through the words of Inspector Koo and also by the villain's actions when something terrible happens in her life and she tries to cope with it later in the series.

I would say that Inspector Koo is a very strong woman who needs to keep herself busy all the time so she doesn't recall her past. During the series, we will see how she tries to cope with the loss of a loved one and how that has affected her whole being, not just her personality.

Moreover, while watching the series I felt torn by the killer's actions because a question was raised: Should we take matters into our own hands or let justice be served (before it's too late)? To clarify, I don't condone any criminal acts.

Last but not least, the cast's delivery was spot on.

Lee Young Ae and Kim Hye Joon played their roles perfectly and I liked the chemistry between them. I also liked the chemistry between Lee Young Ae and her team, Baek Sung Chul, and Kwak Sun Young.

Another thing that I enjoyed is the OST. The songs fit like a glove and they're very catchy too.

Overall, it is a great drama to watch and its rewatch value is high.

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Great adaptation!

I just completed this drama and I must say, as a fan of xxxHOLIC, that it was a great adaptation.

The characters felt very close to the anime and the acting was really good.
I haven't read the manga so I am going to refer to the anime.

The acting was really good and I especially enjoyed Adachi Yumi's (Jorogumo) acting. She was enjoyably evil.
I also liked the fact that the actresses' makeup wasn't too much.

Furthermore, it was nice to see outdoor scenes.

I noticed that they made some changes to the script which I found unnecessary since the anime has a lot of material to cover.
In addition to that, the episodes are only 8 and rather short at that. For a series like that, you need more and longer episodes.

The opening and ending themes were good choices.

Overall, it is a good drama to watch, whether you're a fan of xxxHOLIC or not, and I must say that I would definitely rewatch it.

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OVERRATED - FRUSTRATING - ANNOYING

This should be the most overrated dramas of 2023. Really frustrating leads who is surprisingly annoying.
.
The story:
It's a dumbass story where it portrays a pathetic male lead who is really in love with the female from the very beginning but somehow when he had a chance to date her he was lost in this frikin' imagination/doubt which was really childish.
The female lead is just a b***ch. This frustrating human is really damaged. She has no clue what she wants & she keeps on playing mind games with people around her. Especially the two male leads. She knows that the male lead really loves her yet she petends like she doesn’t.
Both of these losers got someone who strongly loves them but these dumbs don't know who they should love. The second leads are really the ones that deserves love but they are kind of off also. Especially the male one.
Genre:
It's not a romance genre. It should be cheating genre. Everone is cheating with someone else. Everyone is hiding something. Literally everyone.
.
Rating: Frustrating/10

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The idea is good - the execution isn't

Having watched the source material, I was exciting for this series. I had watched F4 and was excited to see Tu in another main role, as I found her fascinating in the first show.

I have to be honest, I nearly dropped this series many times. While it is moving and beautiful, it is also severally lacking common sense. The plot starts out so gut-wrenching, but takes many inexplicable jumps and leaps of logic. Some characters are well fleshed out. Others don't have any motivation or thought-out personality. It's very distracting unfortunately.

Personally I was deeply disappointed by the ending and after the first six/seven episodes, it felt like the music (I agree it was way too loud in most scenes) was trying to force emotions that I personally wasn't feeling in that moment. I don't like when tv shows do that. I didn't like the constant crying, the zero-respite atmosphere, the fact that nobody took bigger, broader steps to remedy or get out of the situation. It felt suffocating to watch and simply not enjoyable. Personally I don't like watching 16 episodes of suffering and while I understand the ending was meant to be cathartic, after the revelations of the last few episodes, it felt cheap.

The performances were very mixed too. Some of the parents delivered spectacular performances. Others didn't. I know the comments about Tu's performance are harsh, but as someone who watched this specifically for her, I can't help but agree with the dismay. She was not good in this. There were moments where in scenes with her where it looked like a High School play honestly. The fact that Kongkwang as a character has such strong moments at first and is then delegated to a shy, crying wallflower is excrutiating and didn't do Tu's acting skills any justice. Especially next to other actresses and their powerful performances, it felt like Tu was either handed the short and of the stick or she genuinely didn't know what to do with the role. I've seen Ohm in a few things and he genuinely has quite a natural, easy chemistry with his co-starts, however I genuinely felt he had more chemistry with View's character here than he did with his supposed love interest. That speaks to the love story itself as well, which was the heart of the series and a little hard to swallow.

I could add more but I'm just very disappointed that they didn't stick to the plot of the original series more.

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Sweet fairytale fantasy romcom

I think Hyo Seop did a great job as the HaRam in this drama! his character is a sensual hero who, despite the fact that he is blind, is trying to take revenge on those who made him like that and also takes care of Cheonggi .. there is no great ostentatious passion, but only sensual tenderness and love ..
inexpressible pain in the eyes of the Haram .. such a huge heartless pain ( u can feel it ) (due to the lenses, yes aha ) but nevertheless, the image perfectly conveys what the character feels because of the inability to see, live fully, be more open in his actions .. Hey Seop did an excellent job !
very sexy (this is all Hyo Seop ahha) turned out to be the image of a demon performed by him lol so much passion! straight wow ahha his make up looked like Johnny Depp's makeup from the movie Lone Ranger*
it was a pity for the prince YangMeon, a rather interesting character who, despite his love for Chungi, nevertheless let her go( from his heart and no lol ) and helped her and Il Wolseong, in their plan , although I’m sure he loved her throughout the drama, even after she and the HaRam got married)
it turned out to be such a sweet fairy tale, but in the last episodes the events unfolded rather quickly, as it seemed to me, probably due to season 2, ( if he will ) , but the drama is not finished, this is unambiguous.so I hope will 2 season )
this drama very interesting and topic about the demon , and into what these cases turned then , so I advice to watch it and rewatch also coz drama easy going , no are boring moments )

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STRONG start, BORING ass middle and LAME ending

I loved the first episodes; they provided a great set up for a very promising ride. The office setting, the jerks, the gossipy tellers, the asshole boss with a double life, the intricate main characters, and above all the social class and status being a very important aspect, it almost felt like another character in itself. In short, this series had everything going for it, especially the angst.

So what happend? Shallow writing that's my guess.
Midway I realized that the writer decided not to dig deep into the characters’ lives and just stay on the surface. What was interesting about the main characters at first became irritating.

If you want the viewers to do the work please give us a bigger taste of the meat, just like in LOST, it challenged the viewer in a very powerful way, by not shying away from very profound emotions, difficult situation and ultimate despair. That series was slow and silence was a big part of the whole, but it never felt like the characters stared at each other endlessly or spoke in an unnatural slow speed just because.

In TIOL silence was just empty, we as viewers weren´t challenged instead we were asked to be patient and imagine a whole world just by looking at the main characters face, especially the FL´s wide eyed face. In the early episodes her face was intriguing, but at some point I didn´t know what to do with it. Was she being surprised, annoyed, embarrassed, worried, grateful, flirtatious, sad, happy…? I asked myself what does it mean, what is she thinking... Soon after a few episodes I gave up… when i realized that perhaps there was nothing there. I felt tricked into believing that there was more than meets the eye.

So, what am i left with? The one-sided love story of our ML which was done masterfully by the actor? If so, is not enough for a 16 episode series, if that´s all there is. This series in my opinion lacks content, lots of it to put it blunty. I haven´t seen the final episode, but I doubt that I´ll get all what it is missing in that one last episode. I hope I´m wrong and if I am, I´ll come back and update my review.

I still recommend this series, the production value is high, the acting is excellent, the directing choices not so much, the writing is lacking especially midway onwards.

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Bittersweet-romance type (tissues!)

'On Your Wedding Day', 'Classic Again', and a little bit of 'Twenty-five, Twenty-one'. This film gave me all of that. It has that same bittersweet taste of love that just lingers around as we hope and pray for a happy end.

STORY: The writing was great. I was expecting a lot of clichés and twists, but instead, the movie felt like a pure piece, like it was written off experience. The realism in how the story developed felt oddly satisfying and simply left me awestruck. Of course, I know for a fact that tons of people head to watch movies and shows for comfort (and not to be disappointed) and I, too, watched this for that. Instead, it left me hanging. Watching Zhou Can text Jiaoyang he was getting married felt like a blow to the face. Until the end I wanted to deny it, hope it wasn't real and that they were going to end up together. After so many years? I wanted to get angry, cry, and protest but then realized that Jiaoyang must have felt the same inside. But that's life. And it just goes on. Wanting to stay frozen in sadness will only make you lag behind, and before you know it, you'll be left alone.

>>(SPOILER ALERT!! EDIT: I personally think the ending wasn't Can's choice. During the wedding, we could see both his parents at the front seats, and his mom cheering for them excitedly while Can doesn't look as happy as he would if it was with Jiaoyang. From the beginning, Can's mom didn't approve of Jiaoyang, even just as Can's friend, so what more could it have been when they were dating? I don't know, it just feels unreal that Can would have moved on so quickly in a span of two years after what happened last with them. And the fact that he let her know about it low-key gave me a feeling that he was hesitant. From the get-go, I think the wedding was his mother's decision. Just my opinion though, or I could still be in denial of the sad ending. 🥹💔)

ACTING/CAST: Prior to watching this, I've never seen a film or show with neither of the leads, so this is a first for me. At the beginning of the film, I thought that the acting performance would just be so-so, but as the story progressed, the chemistry grew to be something I admire them for (it actually felt like it was THEIR story, not them ACTING a random story). The casting was just superb -- sometimes it's obvious and clear that the actors are 'acting', but this is one of the rare ones where the actors are 'living and embodying' their characters. Both of them, especially as they processed Jiaoyang's grandmother's passing, showed emotions that were so real and hurting. Props to them, really.

MUSIC: Hands down, the music was unbelievably made the scenes come to life. Especially the scene where Jiaoyang and Can meet again after Jiaoyang moved away, when she ran to hug him in the middle of the highway overpass -- that scene was heart-shattering. The music just made it worse (in a good way).

REWATCH VALUE: Personally, I wouldn't want to watch this film again because of its ending. But truthfully, I would, for how their relationship went before they decided to give it up. But I wouldn't want to get hurt again by watching it, so I guess I'll watch it every year on Valentines. (😭💀)

OVERALL: It's a wonderful film. Some people say its similar to 20th Century Girl, but I think this is quite different, on its own. None of the leads passed away mysteriously, nor did they disappear without saying. Instead they were there, but denied their feelings and gave in to their pent-up emotions instead of dealing with it -- leading to their fall. Ugh, I should watch this movie again right now 🥹!

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Messy at first but ended solidly

Tears were running down my face as I finished this series.

My mind can't process the abnormal conversations and behavioral responses of the characters. The awkward comedy executions, the exaggerated acting and overlength shallow scenes left me thin-lipped while watching the initial episodes. Unnecessary scenes allotted too much time and wasted the earlier episodes. The sick dance moves of Thi are the only interesting and memorable scene. My mother woke up at 11PM last night because I laughed so hard while watching him.

I kept on watching with a frown face until I reached episode 6 and that's when the real show began. I really appreciate the main characters' fluffy relationship. Most of all, I applaud everyone who gave one of the greatest and most solid character developments (Noey's) of all time. I almost cried when I am watching him to be the best version of himself. The other characters, who actually stay the same and have no improvement until the end, become the polishing tools to make him the shiniest diamond. His character matched with remarkable acting brings out the potential of this series. The incorporation of the 50's-90's vibes to Noey's personality really gives off a pleasant retro vibe. I really like the use of old songs and instruments as background music.

Upon checking the main leads' background details, I was quite surprised by the age gap they have which is almost 10 years. Nonetheless, they have great chemistry. Hope to see them again together in the next-coming dramas. Disregarding the messy gang scenes (which could've been better if they really acted like a proper gang, not a bunch of clowns), this series is a must-watch.

Watchable and 80% well-executed.

(PS: I don't like the title. )

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