20th Century Girl

Heartwarming yet heartbreaking

The actors did great, they made me hooked to the story pretty much from the start. There was some misunderstandings, but it get cleared soon, and the story progressed in the right way. They delivered what we are yearning for.
When Woon-ho was leaving, I was crying and waiting for a good ending, atleast a meet up.
And I was certainly not ready for a heart breaking death, that too with a beautiful clip in the end.

I watched a film yesterday and it too has a bad ending, but no one died in that, just the ML left for good, and I was tramatized by that ending for whole day.
I want to see some comforting story after that , but it turns out to be more heart wrenching, now I want to cry like shit. I am not watching anything for a while. This is so bad. 😞😞

Read More

A deeply romantic, atmospheric, nostalgic story packed into two hours . . .

In 2 hours, I loved and connected more with these characters than I do for dramas that are 16 hours in length.

It's a simple story just enough hurdles, love triangles and other dynamics to keep it interesting. But it isn't the plot points, it's the way the actors, writing, and director were able to build out full characters that grow to love each other on screen. It's also the way this is it shot with a poetic, dripping with golden nostalgia, millennial way.

By the end, this show hits on the high school dreams of many of us, to find love, unexpected, spontaneous and early with someone caring and mature and good looking. It's the thrill of realising that you can have a crush on someone and they can have a crush on you back. It's the knowledge that some of our best life moments are behind us, and there is no way to get them back.

For lovers of slice of life, love set in a short period of time, stories tinged with equal hope and sadness, this one is for you.

Read More

21th Century Girl

I don't know what to say, even though i watched this movie long time ago i decided to rewatch. I like giving myself pain, and i did a challange basically by rewatching this i believe.

At first it seems like a cute, highschool sweethearts rom-com movie but they had to put a damn plot twist, which in my opinion was unnecessary, we already had too much heartbreaks in the movie, all comfort we had was their cute moments.

It wasn't just the cute moments. It was all the second hand embarrasments, falling in love, time spent together, yet they all were rushed. Sometimes you think what would have happened if she never got the names wrong and if Bo-ra told woonho about her feelings.

Ending also leaves us with so many questions like:
"What happened to their friends after his death in the future?"
"Why did he act so cold at the start?" (I know about his POV, i just thought it was weird)
"How did she (Yeong-du) fall for him so easily? She only saw him for a second then fell in love"
"How did he die?"

They really wasted Kim Yoo Jung and Byeon woo seok's chemistry, i am still angry about this

Basically, this movie was "how to ruin a basic, cute and heartwarming romcom into a tradegy just to not have a cliché ending."

Cinematography was amazing, really makes you feel in 1900s, OST was cute too.

The way she never was able to read the letter and she thought he gosted her (well he technically did) were so annoying too. Netflix, when i catch you Netflix.

I loved seeing her in 21th century, but this movie broke me. They need to give me an explanation, just WHY?

Read More

Youth Romance set in 1999 : painful and healing

This movie could have been another classic romance between high schoolers but was much more than that thanks to the nostalgia throwback (as it is set in 1999) and its bright and pure atmosphere. In addition to be about romance, I appreciate a lot the friendship thematic underlying the whole plot.

The story (especially) in its first half did not surprise me at all, as I guessed from the start the "twist" but it did not bother me as the build up to get there was very sincere and satisfying. The second part of the film levelled up in a simple and beautiful way the stake of the love story. It was painful and healing at the same time and left a lasting impression on me as a viewer.

The cast was good, I was not very familiar with any of the actors and actresses playing the 4 main protagonists but they did very well. Kim Yoo Jung playing the heroine was particularly great in all the emotional and painful scenes. The two main males leads, in addition to be very pleasant to the eyes , really brought life and charisma to characters that could have felt otherwise very thin on paper.

The filmmaking was beautiful: it made very vivid the feel of the 1999 era with the big switch from the 20th century into the 21st century. I enjoyed the music as well, it was totally fitting the story narrated.

I would recommend this to people looking for a youth romance both painful and healing and that will for sure provide you a nostalgic throwback feeling. If you enjoyed movie such as the Japanese "Orange" or the Reply series (1997 / 1994 / 1988), you will likely appreciate a lot this film.

Read More

Rewatch value at its least

HAHA so here i am writing a review after watching it in 2022 and rewatching 2 months ago. I would say, although everyone seems iffy about the ending, i loved it (because it made me cry and i love shows that make me cry).

Beware tho, i wouldnt recommend rewatching. Im sure youve watched this and though 'oh rewatch value is def high' well sorry to break it to you, but not so much. I watched this over a year after i first did. Although my eyes did get teary, no single tear dropped. I wish i could go back to when i first watched it because it got me SOBBINGG. What im trying ti say is, if your watching this for the first time, SAVOUR the moment lmfao

Read More

I cried even when I already knew he would die ...

I already received a spoiler-packed review of this movie from my brother before watching it, so I knew Byeon Woo-seok’s character would die in the end. Still, somehow, I couldn't control my tears when the truth about his death unfolded in the film. Honestly, I don't know what was better—knowing about his death and getting a clear conclusion after 15 years, or just believing he was alive somewhere, living a selfish life after abandoning her. If I were in her place, I would have chosen the latter. I don’t need closure; I would have preferred to live in a bubble, thinking he was selfish, that he was a jerk... but at least he was still breathing. That would be enough for me.

After all, school romances rarely turn into something serious. So, this ending wasn’t my favorite. But we know that not all stories end in a “happily ever after,” right?

The cast was amazing—Woo-seok looked so charming, as always. The female lead (from My Demon) was beautiful; her character was cheerful and funny, totally endearing.

I felt the background music was a bit different from the usual—really not my taste. But since the cinematography and soundtrack were crafted to reflect the 1999 era, I suppose we can overlook that.

Overall, it’s a good movie for a one-time watch; you can definitely give it a try.

Read More

I won't lie, I expected more from this. But if we start on a positive note, I enjoyed the movie, otherwise I wouldn't have watched it xdd The plot itself was great too, but I expected a lot more (I'll admit that I didn't cry at the end^^ I was a little bit close to it when *SPOILER* friends had a fight. Either way, I think the movie is worth watching. A lot of people say that it's pretty depressing and that's how it is, but I'm surprised that it didn't make me cry (this time it was just shiny eyes..) As I said, I expected more from this and it could have been more thought out in my opinion, but I'm not complaining. (And of course, plus points for my fav actor there hahaha)

Read More

This was well done and acted. I'm not a big fan of rip out your heart dramas. I like things more uplifting, than bawling my eyes out. I cry too easily for heartbreak. That's just personal preference though and has no bearing on my rating. The only place I low rated is the rewatch because the ending was too sad to go through again. This story is really similar to the J drama Heavenly Forest. If you really liked this you will probably like that as well. This was well casted and acted. I loved the father's character. He was so warm and funny. My only complaint is I wish that we had some time of them really being together. It kept being almost... almost... oh now he has to leave.

Read More