Reviews

Cinematographic masterpiece full of emotions

This drama is artistic, like a theatre piece (only 3 characters)

Brilliant acting of only **two** (three) actors in story which happens in only few days. The drama is heavy on emotions, hidden or open. The scriptwriter wrote amazing lines, every sentence has more meaning and you have to think while watching this. There is lot of symbolism too. The story is slowly opening till it explodes with every episodes until the climax at the end. The development of the characters, the acting itself, amazing. These characters will be forever engraved in my heart.

The cinematography has pulled me in from the first trailer, wonderful quality, coloring, shots. The location is architecture house in the tropical Thai forest, which also supports the story and the characters. The OST and accompanying music fit the mood greatly.

Some of many quotes I loved:
Quote: "Some ppl will never see us as their equals."
Quote: "It's just tolerance, not acceptance."
Quote: "People may live in the same world, but people experience it differently. "
Quote: "Sometimes we can't change people, because some people just don't change. "
Quote: "You shouldn't force your views and think for others."

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Perfect 10

That was truly a work of art! I'm left with completely different feelings from my usual shows, but I'm accepting that this is a good thing. I tend to latch onto the same vibes, rely on a comfortable ending and the expectation is often "at least a kiss".

This show reminded me that I have serious appreciation for world class acting, writing and dialogue. Not to say many of my top favorites don't have those things, but this show really just knocked it out of the park. It's easily some of the best chemistry I've ever seen and that statement extends well behind "bl" or the like.

It's hard to understand it, but Wang put it pretty well. There is seemingly going to be a happy ending for two of them, but not all three; In unfortunately is that character. I won't pretend I didn't wish for the Mom to be the one to get the short end of the stick, as she was heavily manipulative. selfish and from the storyline it seems like she's been getting her way in all aspects. The only time she didn't get her way was when her husband tried to pursue his own happiness and we all saw how that turned out.

I don't regret watching this and I hope there continues to be a large variety of options in media. I typically rely on the shows that "don't change" to protect my little heart from endings like this one, but I think if I keep doing that I will miss out on some absolute gems.

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Want to see men humiliated? This drama is exactly what you are looking for.

Initially when I first approached this drama and saw the beginning of the first episode, I dropped it immediately. However, since I like Zhao Lusi, I gave it a second chance and it actually began to be pretty fun.


Plot: 8,5
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★★★★★ Main idea:
--> Very strong, intriguing and well thought out. Except for the main plot, there is a very interesting world created within the script, where two cities are coexisting in absolute separation because of their opposite laws – one is absolutely domineered by females, the other by males. In the city ruled by females - important positions belong to women, women are making money, going hunting, spending time and money for entertainment and carrying out all decisions. Men are the source of entertainment, they have to be obedient to their wives, and are killed if they don't know their place. Oh man, this drama is really sticking it to all men for the humiliation women usually have to bear!
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★★★★☆ Logic:
--> Plot makes sense, there are a few dumb twists, but it can be easily forgiven.
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★★★★★ Pace:
--> It was interesting till the end.
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★★★★☆ Impression:
--> Impressed.
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★★★★☆ Skip rate:
--> I skipped some of the side plots, but not much.
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★★★★☆ Annoying factors:
--> Sometimes annoying, but nothing serious.


Characters: 8,5
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★★★★★ First leads - Prince Han Shuo and third princess Chen Qian Qian:
--> Loved those characters. I was really enjoying the whole kill-dodge bickering.
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★★★★☆ Other leads - Second princes Chen Chu Chu and Pei Heng:
--> The other leads were I bit uninteresting. But I loved the way second princess character changed because the story diverged from the original script.
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★★★☆☆ Overacting:
--> There were certain characters who overreacted to the turn of events without trying to think too much and this kind of behavior is not much to my taste, but it was bearable.
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★★★★☆ Acting:
--> Liked the acting.
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★★★★★ Annoyance level:
--> Not annoyed at all.


Background: 4,5
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★★☆☆☆ Soundtrack:
--> Didn't notice any particular song, it was decent and neutral.
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★☆☆☆☆ Visuals (camera, scenery, visual effects, ...):
--> I didn’t much appreciate the visual. I actually initially nearly dropped the drama because of that, when both leads started to flying around like two pieces of cotton candy. It was really disturbing.
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★★★☆☆ Wardrobe (costumes, hairstyles, makeup, ...):
--> Average.


Rewatch value: 7,5
I assess this value based on impression, skip rate, annoyance level and overall preference.


Final verdict: 8
What I love about this drama is the way it deals with the problem of two opposite worlds, searching for some kind of balance working for both sides. The second strong message from this drama is, what can happen to a person, who loses his purpose in life. This drama made me burst out laughing, but also impressed me with the behind-story thoughts.

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Relationships

While this drama came out in 2017, I have seen it for the 4th time. I love Yeo Gin Goo's work and always watch his dramas/movies more than once. I am so glad that this is still available for viewing. Yes, it is quite sad but the relationships of the siblings and their struggles, the love between Yeo Gin Goo's and Lee Jun Hee's character was very touching. I am a big sucker for positive endings. While it is a movie, since I have lost 4 loved ones in the last 2 years, I contemplated the idea of "what if". When someone dies there is always regret, I should have done this, I should have said this. Yes, I cried my eyes out. All of the main characters did an amazing job. Thank you for the hard work. A new fan of Kdramas.

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Extremely entertaining, but an ending that might ruin it for you

I was pretty skeptical about this drama when I started it, but once I figured out what type of lens to watch it through I had a great time with Big Mouth! First off you have to throw away what you may know about the prison system or legal system and just go with the flow this drama introduces as the writers are not overly concerned with realism (I saw someone mention to think of the city in this drama like Gotham and that helped me get in the right mind set) . I also didn't get too caught up in trying to figure out who Big Mouth was, I was simply along for the entertaining ride. Therefore I wasn't super disappointed when Big Mouth was finally revealed like I know some viewers were since I hadn't really been endlessly speculating on the topic.

Story
The writers of this drama certainly know how to keep the audience engaged! Plot twists and red herrings galore will keep the audience glued to the screen. Without getting into the spoilers, there are some really clever plot points and clues placed throughout the drama that I believe will stick out more upon a rewatch. I did find that I some points I was a bit confused as to what was going on but that never really kept me from being engaged. The big problem with this drama is the ending, where the writers undermined what they had been building for the previous 14 episodes. Some will feel this ruins the whole drama, but for myself those last two episodes can't take away all the fun I had watching up until that point.

Acting/Characters
This is a very well acted drama; certain actors play it straight while others go full camp with their characters but somehow it all worked!

This is Lee Jong Suk's first drama back from the military and it was a great one to remind everyone that he's an amazing actor, though he definitely shines more in the earlier episodes when Park Chang Ho first goes to prison. The character of Park Chang Ho and subsequently Lee Jong Suk's acting unfortunately fall victim to the writing in the final few episodes. Although on the plus side Chang Ho's suits when he wasn't in prison looked great!

I know some people really don't like Yoona as an actress but I thought she did a really good job playing Go Mi Ho. Go Mi Ho made some questionable decisions throughout the drama (especially near the end), but I thought Yoona portrayed her in a way that made the audience sympathetic to her. Also no character fell harder in those final two episodes than Go Mi Ho, it was almost unbelievable to watch. I felt bad that was the script Yoona was handed after doing so well for the rest of the drama.

The supporting characters all did a great job. Yang Kyung Won in particular was a highlight any time he was on screen. I found it hard to believe he's the same actor who played the guy who was always wearing a beanie in Vincenzo. Also, GIVE KWAK DONG YEON MORE TO DO! The character of Jerry felt a little wasted and almost pointless to me, especially because I know KDY is a great actor and could have handled more.

Music
I don't really remember any of the OSTs, but I do remember the opening and the score. Both were pretty dramatic and matched the vibe of the drama. I did find some music cues to be kind of abrupt and funny, like a character turns their head and all of a sudden you hear someone slamming the piano keys.

Rewatch
I think a rewatch could be fun to see the clues that were missed on the first watch through, but I have a feeling the ending probably will feel worse with a rewatch.

I do think this show fares better when it's watched week to week as anticipation and speculation enhance the mystery (this is how I watched it). I think it could be a little much as a binge. Overall Big Mouth is a really entertaining drama whose last two episode will bring the drama down for many viewers but for me were simply 2 bad episodes in an otherwise great drama.

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Weirdly a master piece

This is a master piece, its not a series, its not a movie, its a screen play and a life lesson.


SPOILER AHEAD





Wang needed to understand his father without his mother view and he did, he has his father inside of him. He is the most brutally honest person in this whole play, but he does not understand the pain of love and when he understood, he knew that overall his mother loved him.

In, he needed a bridge, he needed to heal and overcome himself. He did but didn't at the same time, the most meaningful thing Wang did for In is giving him the globe. in loves Wang but he can never change his decision to stay hidden, lonely. I believe he thinks he deserves it for being 'different'. When he says in the end that he is a coward and selfish it is true, he knows what he wants and knows what he can live without. He needs to first forgive and love himself before giving love.

Mol, oh God, Mol. This is a complex, annoying, selfish and a narcissist person. Mol never forgot and never forgave. She never changed, since her youth, she controlled and manipulated everything she wanted, until her husband couldn't do it anymore and divorced her, until she hurt someone she had once trusted. She is the kind of person who thinks that if she can't have it then nobody else can.

Overall, Wang had a great character development, In had a little by opening and starting to heal himself., Mol had absolutely none, she stayed the same closed-mind, non-forgiving, talkative person who doesn't care about others but her own pain (don't tell me she showed her son love because she only did hug him after she saw how broken he was, which is also kinda her fault).

I loved the ending, was expecting it, wish it could be an open ending and not a sad one, but well I expected it would be like that since the first episode. I do not recommend binge watch this tho.

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One of the best sci-fi cdrama I've seen

I've got to say this is my 4th time watching this drama and I just can't get over the excitement and the 10 different emotions that run through me when I'm watching.

First let's start with casting/acting
In my opinion the cast of this show if just MAGNIFICENT, every character had their own style and the main casts really brings out characters. The female lead keeps me humorous throughout the entire show and I think Janice Wu did a fabulous job. I didn't expect to have a Korean male lead act in a cdrama and he did a good job bringing out Xue Lingqiao. Although he is serious throughout the story but at times I feel like the character was brought to life with his acting. The only thing that was off was the dubbing in the drama. I'm not super annoyed but it's something I can pick out and clearly visible. Otherwise the entire cast did a beautiful job of bringing their characters to life and nowadays it's kind of hard to find a drama with good acting and beautiful looking faces.

Storyline - spoilers
OMG!!! I never thought I would like watching sci fi dramas but this drama changed it. The storyline of this drama is very interesting and keeps me at hook, I love the interactions between the 2 main leads and especially the interactions the female lead has with the supports roles Feng Dongdong (assistant) and Zhang Xuanxuan (her best friend/a list celeb) since the female lead acts as a female star herself. Xue Lingqiao's story is enriching and it makes since as long as you don't skip through the episodes. One of my favorite part is when Xue Lingqiao explains how he "flies" in the air. The ending of the story was expected but I didn't want it to be ended that way and of course there is a season 2 but I don't know how to feel about it. I dropped it at ep 3 but I did see a clip of season 2's last episode and I do know that the main leads end up together and even have a son. Puts me at ease to know that they do end up together.

OST/Music
The beginning music of the episodes is very catchy and has a up beat rhythm to it. I could listen to the song on replay for hours. I also really like the MV to the songs so go check it out if you'd like.

Rewatch Value
Considering this is my 4th time rewatching, it's worth my time! Only 28 episodes which is pretty short inside of those long cdramas that have 50-60 episodes and a lot of the times there are some scenes that aren't necessary for those long dramas.

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A Festival of Plot Twists!

This is a 2-part series that chronicles the story of young Max who finds himself dealt an unkind blow by life. The story itself is not new, but this is a subject we have not seen a lot of in the BL space and that was refreshing, but especially innovative was the filming and storytelling. Shot in documentary style and the cast being interviewed by behind the scene producers was different and this made it captivating. The story was told from ‘first hand experience’ and made it super real. For some, it may even be confusing; is this real or is this a fictional drama?!?

For me, however what blew my mind was how unpredictable the story way and just a myriad of plot twists that came our way in the second part. Proof that you don’t need 16 episodes to captivate an audience or tell a full story that makes total sense.

Would I recommend this series? A resounding yes. Just bring along some Kleenex if you are an empath or prone to tears as this may leave you a little wrecked, but you will not regret watching.

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Fluff with Supernatural Elements

I loved this series! For the kiddos, there's no SA, there is consent, healthy communication, legal marriage, what is there to hate? The actors because people wanted Ohm and Nanon and got Sea and Jimmy. Then viewers spent the next 12 weeks pining for Ohm and Nanon. My theory is, if Ohm and Nanon starred in this series, people would have gone nuts over it. Rant over.

Jimmy and Sea did very well in this series. The acting was very good, and the parallels between the two universes are well done. The beauty of this story is, that Talay and Puen fell in love without even knowing the true face of their beloved. Talay could have been a 300 pound guy with pimples for all Puen knew. He didn't realize until after he loved Talay, that Talay was the person who gave him the bucket hat.

Another great part about this series were the friendships in this series. Even after Tess screwed up Talay's friendships, they still forgave him and moved forward. That's true friendship.

This is a great series if the viewer can not keep wishing for Ohm and Nanon. Jimmy and Sea were excellent in this series, and it's worth watching.

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Funny and Silly

Another time travel love drama which is really overdone these days in CDramas and KDramas. However, the acting especially from the FL is funny and comedic. She suits the part very well and is cute as a button. She does a much better job in this than Meteor Garden. Forget about the plot, story, the predictability of it, or any of it making sense. Stick your brain in a box and leave it there while you watch this.

I did an initial eye roll when the GF wanted to start this as she was anticipating it for a while. The first episode wasn't that great, it started to get pretty good between the second and third one. The chemistry between the FL and ML is pretty good, lots of banter and ML is of course Mr. Bad or more like Mr. Egotistical. Haven't really seen the ML before this, his acting is funny and expressive. I would consider him one of the better CDrama actors so far in the romcom category. The chemistry between the leads is one of the main selling points of this series. I snorted multiple times when the ML kept asking her what she really wished for at the fountain. At one point, the ML comes up with a plan to fulfill her wish and the scenes that ensue were enjoyable and hilarious. The ML eventually falls for the FL first, of course she is clueless to all his shenanigans to draw her in.

The SML and FML characters were not engaging and their scenes were boring, there was a fair amount of fast forwarding through those parts.

I'm watching it for the acting, laughs, chemistry, and banter between the leads. A good light hearted youth comedy.

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I do want to kill you very, very much, cut your limbs to feed the crocodiles. But I can’t do that.

Welcome to the hilarious plot about almighty and powerful devil being bound with a weak and dim-witted fairy, whom he wishes to kill very much, but can’t since her pain equals his pain – quite literally.


Plot: 8
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★★★★★ Main idea:
--> Intriguing, pretty original and hilariously funny. I found hilarious the contrast of a powerful devil being grounded by a little fairy and his frustration over this turn of events.
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★★★★☆ Logic:
--> Plot makes sense, there are a few dumb twists, but it can be easily forgiven.
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★★★★☆ Pace:
--> I started to get bored in the third quarter of the story. It was simply dragged for a bit too long by the end and the story lost the continuity, but it can be easily forgiven.
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★★★★☆ Impression:
--> Impressed.
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★★★★☆ Skip rate:
--> I skipped some of the side plots, but not much.
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★★★☆☆ Annoying factors:
--> I hated the love triangle with the war god – for the love triangle to work, the opponents should have at least equally strong personalities. But god of war is weak, backing down from his brother and has a mouthful of bullshit, instead of admitting, he maybe should have taken a strong stand before he had lost what he loved.


Characters: 9,5
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★★★★★ Lead 1 - Dongfang Qing Cang:
--> Loved this character. Although it’s a typical prototype of a strong male lead, who has to give up a lot of humanity to become a strong leader, I like the way he is gradually learning to love and to allow himself being loved.
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★★★★★ Lead 2 - Orchid:
--> Loved this character. She is naïve and child-like, but loyal and strong minded. She is unable of treason and once she makes a decision, she stays strong in her opinion.
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★★★★★ Overacting:
--> Kind of cute.
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★★★★★ Acting:
--> Actors are great, very talented. I particularly loved the job Dylan Wang made in playing the naïve Orchid in the body-swap parts.
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★★★★☆ Annoyance level:
--> Annoyed by some side characters, particularly the heavenly lord and his brother god of war. The heavenly lord should have been a strong and wise leader, but he has zero personality, just forcing his narrow-minded opinions on others.


Background: 10
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★★★★★ Soundtrack:
--> Absolutely loved it.
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★★★★☆ Visuals (camera, scenery, visual effects, ...):
--> Really liked it.
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★★★★★ Wardrobe (costumes, hairstyles, makeup, ...):
--> Absolutely loved it.


Rewatch value: 7,5
I assess this value based on impression, skip rate, annoyance level and overall preference.


Final verdict: 8,5
I really liked the chemistry between the leads. I loved their evolvement and the funny little plots between them. Some of the episodes by the end were a bit boring, since there was an uninteresting plot dragged for too long and the ending was a bit sheepish, but it’s still definitely a drama worth watching.

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If you’re going to read the spoilers, you might as well not watch the series. The best thing about “Flower of Evil” is not knowing what will happen next. Suspense builds with each episode as they slowly peel away at the plot, layer by layer. For every question answered, a new one pops up to keep you hanging on tenterhooks.

The series is most notable for the creative shots and camera angles. With competent acting and a fantastic soundtrack, it will keep you on the edge of your seat. I will admit the plot is not so airtight and there is an overreliance on coincidences, but don’t overthink it. Just enjoy the ride.

The one thing I can’t enjoy is the last episode, which is bad on an epic level. It feels like I’m watching an entirely different show, one full of clichés and hammy acting that is the plague of Asian dramas these days. If they could just end it at episode 15 and leave the rest to our imagination, this would’ve made my short list of all-time favorites.

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