why the low rating:Song Joong Ki is not the reason ! it's the cast of characters closest around him that foul up the drama. For the first half of the series it was unexpectedly fun -yet the gritty, cold violence increasingly escalates & is very disturbing. The females in this series are all crass, crude, irritating & unpleasant. The good guys are playing the same games as the bad guys, so "good" is a matter of perspective ( who has tortured & killed less ?). Hero's by my definition are not cruel, so this eye for eye vengeful plotline pushed my level of tolerance to it's limit. OK it's fun to have a cool guy going around righting wrongs, but where's the line you don't cross ? Even Vincenzo admits that there is a time when he becomes a monster in order to fulfill his agenda. And the sad thing is that he inspires ( infects is a better word) those around him, putting them all in danger by following his example as well as turning them into deviants.By Episode 14 I just wanted to enjoy watching Song Joong Ki do his snarky cool thing, but the irritating female lead is like fingernails on a chalkboard & you wish someone would "off" her. I have zero desire to see the lead's in a romantic relationship at this point (& that never changed) .I gave myself a week off from watching before finishing the drama- I didn't find the building occupants interesting or amusing & the violence had started to be too much. The rest of the drama was set on driving home the theme that the justice system doesn't work as it should & so vigilantism is the only solution.[wait, by being a torturer & a killer driven by your own moral compass, how are you better than the evil you are trying to eradicate-as you go about unchecked on your self declared righteous "crusade" ?] The last episodes are grim & a blood bath of Vincenzo getting his revenge. They throw a bit of romance in that doesn't go anywhere because he can't stay in Korea & then there is a year time skip with the teaser that there might be a season 2. The ending is unsatisfying & if you step back from the fact that the actor playing the lead is so great to watch do his James Bond sort of thing, then you realize that you don't like the dark character he's playing, who will always be a killer.
Was this review helpful to you?
All actors did a great job & I Would have rated it higher if it had end at the end of Episode 12 , hadn't been so intense with more heart palpitating action than I anticipated & had so many twists & turns that kept the storyline hard to keep track more often than not. The plot device that was both fun, yet also infuriating was that the characters could change the plot and the storyline retroactively. I was more than ready to be done by the end of episode 12....and if & when I rewatch this, I will stop at there as it's a happy enough ending place, because what follows, is clever, but overstuffed & unpleasantly gut wrenching. They cram in a dizzying amount of twists that really seemed unnecessary. Here's why stopping at episode 12 would have been a good option for me;How many times do the main characters have to end up in jail (doesn't once sound enough ? AND doesn't the amount of time there seem like it should be relatively short ? Apparently the writers though otherwise.How many times must characters die only to be revived ? Female lead's dad (the comic creator) is not really a good guy, but what happens to him & who decides what happens to him would have been better left not being so front & center. They created an impossible plot point.Bad guys who don't stay dead are a tired trope.Second villain's reason for wanting the male lead nihilated is weak at best.Rewrites that have the storyline ending the web series (the comic in the drama) ending it it's past (? yeah, what?)Episodes 1-12 have already given us quite a bit of gruesome violence as well as forced separation of the main couple. Episodes 13-16 just makes for a long drawn out messy (albeit happy) ending. Apparently, things can't end until the villain(s) are gone.The last episodes resulted in just being exhausting , but at least things are explained & some people may like being flung around plot wise yet again.
Was this review helpful to you?
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo Episode 16
0 people found this review helpful
16 episodes does not seem like all that long a series, but it felt like there was way too much dull filler so really this should have been a 10 or 12 episode series. First off, the main girl is NOT feminine like the description implies. She does have her girly moments, but for the most part she's in sweats or ugly shapeless clothes & is stuffing her face with food & acting like she has the brains of a mule that's been kicked in the head. The main guy was interesting UNTIL he suddenly turned from cool hunk into a constant Aegyo maniac who instantly became obsessed with the main girl. Why ? simply because he had fond memories of her when she was very very young. He goes so far as to treat her almost as if she were that same child, when it's obvious she's grown up. I didn't find their relationship really worked the way it was written. The filler I mentioned has to do with the weight lifters as friends and the lead guy's stalker ex-girl friend. The weight lifting friends were especially boring I made me really want to fast forward through them. The side story of a girl character having a crush on an older guy & he's oblivious to the point of absurdity makes you wonder if all the characters have mental issues! As for the main romance , it was too cutesy for me & the guy, though handsome, really had no reason to instantly completely change his personality & become smitten with the lead girl. The word idiotic comes to mind as a description for the series. Sometimes you can just suspend disbelief & enjoy the fantasy, as in Love O2O, but here, it's all so very juvenile you wonder if they had a good idea & just had a 3rd grader write the plotline for each episode. rewatch value :nonemusic: the OST had way too much American music, it was very distracting & didn't work(& my first language is English).
Was this review helpful to you?
What's Wrong with Secretary Kim Episode 16
0 people found this review helpful
First let me say that I love this series (AND it has a happy ending) BUT I had to put my review on hold for a couple of months while I cooled off from being angry at how they began to ruin the romance at the end of Episode 14 & proceeded to strip away all the "warm fuzzies" I had for the couple. I am baffled; Is there a cultural or generational thing that I'm missing or were the writers hot blooded males locked in a room too long & they wrote that frustration into the male lead, causing him to be super aggressive & uncontrolled during what should be a romantic consensual scene. The lead female character obviously felt the same because she acts like she's putting herself on the alter to sacrifice herself. Their having sex is like something she's Doing for him, or rather letting him Do to her. Appalling & unromanticEpisode 16 is totally necessary.I liked this series enough to buy the dvds but am putting a note it the case for next time I watch this :Spoilers:for a satisfying romance version I should end where the male lead goes to Paris & I should skip ahead & pick up after the kiss (when he proposes)definitely stop at ep 15 time stamp 49:55 when she gets in the taxi & drives away. Pick up at Ep 15 times stamp 50:21
Was this review helpful to you?
When I Fly Towards You Episode 24
0 people found this review helpful
Slow paced, easy going , low drama series that would have been better as a 16 episode drama . Issues get resolved quickly & I found myself smiling foolishly without realizing it. However, every time the female lead bared her teeth in her rabbity grimace of a smile, I wanted to look away. It was not endearing. I had hoped that it was affected and simply good acting, so the smile would evolve into a more mature lovely smile as the character aged; but, no it remained .There were some tedious episodes that I had no patience for. A hole episode about a sick grandmother. Touching, but boring. Episodes of college life with everyone fawning over leads, hoping to lure them away from each other were uninteresting for the most part.Life after college was not interesting either and they inserted a time skip of a year or more. I was wondering what the rating warning about sexual violence was about and it shows up around episode 22 , but it is a boss hitting on a female employee, which was creepy but not graphic. The second leads were very cute. The feel of the second half of the series was a bit bland, that it felt like they were rehashing things, replicating similar moments, just stretching the series out with mundane things that it was over without any wahoo. the proposal was bland & sedate, the wedding was a short montage , then there was there life after marriage. yawn. Cute is only cute for so long when it's in a fish bowl & the fish just go round & round !OST is something I don't usually rave about, but this soundtrack was spot on, it really matched well & I was impressed, especially with the Funky 60's beach boys-ish steel guitar song by Attic performance Paige Summer's 2021 . the first 1/2 of the drama has you feeling like you're dreamily floating down a lazy river on a sunny day, the second half looses the sweet buzz and is like standing in line at the fair, waiting for something to happen
Was this review helpful to you?
Where Stars Land Episode 32
0 people found this review helpful
My initial take was that the male lead was not that interesting so I was in no rush to watch this. Having watched it, I'm still on the fence about him !This series doesn't have a good balance of tension, violence & warm fuzzies. (simply too much cruelty & violence). One of the biggest plot points: the female lead having a "big" secret from her past, is never resolved ! All we are told is that she was bullied in highschool because of something her father did. Also, It was inconceivable that a character would rather have one month of normal & resign themselves to death than live in a lesser capacity but keep the relationship they are willing to die for. I never did figure out what happened to the fathers (are they dead or ?). The leads' relationship took a break with a "gap" year ( I HATE this trope !!!) And, WHO doesn't communicate in any way for a WHOLE year [even if they are away getting treatment ????]. Secondary couple was a complete nonstarter. A bit too much filler content towards the end and ridiculous circumstances where a guy is mostly dead BUT he manages to fight a whole bunch of guys AND lift a car, AND walk home before collapsing. In the end, though the couple are reunited there is No kiss, no glad faces, just thier backs. SO bland!
Was this review helpful to you?
While You Were Sleeping Episode 32
0 people found this review helpful
I liked that although there were tropes in this series, they were really done well. I'm not a fan of flashbacks, but the way they were done & used here won me over. Poor Lee Jong-suk did SO much crying, which was a bit much for me but I was impressed that he had the acting ability to pull it off well. I liked that the suspense and the heavy drama parts were quickly resolved for the most part. I liked that the resolution for the love triangle was so amicable and that the guy who didn't win the girl's heart was just as good a guy as the other guy, but there was not conflict of interests for the viewer. Leads were good but did not have over the top chemistry (blame it on the way the female lead was written I think) satisfying romance with Happy ending.The premise of the dreams being central & not just limited to one person & the specifics behind that plot devise was really well done. The lack of irritating parents in this series was a relief ! I will definitely rewatch. I prefer romantic dramas & even though there was plenty of satisfying romance so I gave this 1/2 star less for being a bit heavier :so some days I took a break from it as I needed something fluffier at the end of a long day!
Was this review helpful to you?
Who Rules the World Episode 40
0 people found this review helpful
the cast is great. It's only the leads that really get you through 40 episodes when it should have been done in 32 max. You can easily just quit at Ep 38 [time stamp 31:39] if you want to end on a romantic high note with a full warm fuzzy tank. To continue....be prepared for an immediate 5 year time skip. Ep 40 will end happily but the happiness is much more muted.The leads are great in pretty much anything that they are in & this is not a stretch for either of them. I was surprised that the Female lead did things normally reserved for the male lead- like killing people. She has righteous reasons to do so, but it is in contrast to the Male lead who is more forgiving {though he Totally sanctions the killings !} I felt like this is one of the most equal couples in a drama because they respect each other & they work well together in all areas . The sets were amazing. The romance is a sweet slow burn & misunderstandings are kept in proportion & dealt with quickly without the usual lame break up make up silliness that many drama couples go through. The length ruined this from being completely great. well, that & the Male lead having his hair too often in a tight knot instead around his face,as it should be !
Was this review helpful to you?
Wok of Love Episode 38
0 people found this review helpful
having started an affair with another man, a woman marries a long time friend she doesn't love, leaves him & aborts thier baby. That same guy is betrayed by selfish coworkers & looses his job & status because of his love & chef rivals. He decides he is in love with new woman because a fortune cookie tells him so. Problem is that a somewhat reformed gangster is also in love with the same woman. That woman's fiancé left her at the alter because her father is taken to jail. I dropped it 1/2 way through because it just doesn't work between leads.No chemistry, & you are rooting for the female lead to get together with the gangster. I can only imagine how it will end. the leads start out sympathetically but soon show themselves to be rather stupid, naïve & gluttons for punishment. Then it drags on with the mother interfering out of snobbery.Lastly the one guy you like (& who is worthy of the idiot girl he loves) sacrifices himself so that the 2 leads can have what they want.
Was this review helpful to you?
You Are My Spring Episode 16
0 people found this review helpful
this has a Slooooooow pace with a slow burn romance between 2 good looking but boring people .There is alot of filler -the story could have been finished in 10-12 episodes .As it is you feel pretty lethargy by the end. Speaking of the end; a contrived amount of people get coupled up, but there's no good soaring sense of happiness for them as it's presented blandly. The end spends alot of time with voice overs & sounds like one big long advertisement for mental health pitch,(I expected to see a suicide hotline # all throughout the series !). The creepy twin brothers story is depressing & there's WAY too much emphasis on it. The romance falls flat & there's no balance between the romance & suspense (the boringness of daily stuff was too predominant). The only thing interesting was how 4 characters met as children.
Was this review helpful to you?
You Are the Best! Episode 50
0 people found this review helpful
I was reluctant to watch this because it was 50 episodes, & I had a hard time finding it to be able to watch it, but I find both IU & Jo Jung-suk very appealing as actors so I slogged through this. Despite the cheerful perky intro, this is not light & fluffy. This is a heavy family drama & that where the focus of the story is, NOT on any romance. The romances in this are weighted down with obstacles & misunderstandings which drain the romances from being fun. It seemed like there were 2 episodes that gave warm fuzzies for the main couple & not even whole episodes ! This was a painful series with SO much crying & SO many characters that you wanted to slap. I frequently found myself narrowing my eyes & mentally calling the MANY female antagonists "__ __ __ __ __". To be fair, I loathe family dramas & this had at least 5 families going full drama all at once. I did not like most of the side characters & though this has a good theme & things are resolved for most characters with the focus on repentance & forgiveness, it's too emotionally heavy for me & I found it more annoying & painful than I like my entertainment-which I want to be escapism- not a reminder of how awful family can be. IU did a very good job here & Jo Jung-suk play the same character type as he did in Hospital playlist and Oh my ghostess character's personality but there isn't enough of screen time for them & they are not enough to save this from being drudgery to watch.
Was this review helpful to you?
You're Beautiful Episode 16
0 people found this review helpful
I've watched this 2 times & I liked it enough to buy it but end was very typical for K-dramas, but for me, not enough romance & concrete resolution as I would have liked. Music is great . Real reason to watch ? Jang Keun-suk ! His, facial expression are captivating.This was one of the first K-dramas I watched & what drew me into the genre. On second viewing I was disappointed that it wasn't as wonderful. Lead guy is really harsh (even though why he's like that is well explained) Lead girl is over the top clumsy & it grated on my nerves as I don't enjoy that kind of comedy in large doses. The sadness of the second lead (guy)pursuing & breaking & rebreaking & rebreaking his heart over lead girl was not great. The only consolation the viewer has is that he's available for the viewer to love without competition ! The music was good . Ending is SO typical for this genre & left me flat. Still, this series holds a special place in my heart because it was a first love when I was first introduced to K-dramas & really it's a classic, but I will wait another 5 years before watching.
Was this review helpful to you?
OST: so annoying they repeated the main song so often.Some one please fire the wardrobe person that dressed a main romantic lead guy in a shirt that said "sexual fantasies" (in English). One of the girls went about in a daze most the time with her mouth open like a fish & bangs that were a joke, (that none of her friends ever cared enough about her to tell her it made her look like an idiot).I found this series tedious. Soooo many back stories, SO much drama, SO much crying, like it's an automatic bonding thing ? By the end there wasn't one single character that I actually liked. The guys were idiots & were sidelined. All of them seemed un necessary to the girls, like an accessory, (like a purse or shoes.) All the characters were seriously messed up. The end was ridiculous. This was such a waste of time. I don't enjoy shows where it's all about the female friendships & the guys that like them are senselessly devoted. This really isn't deserving of the time it's taking me to write a review.
Was this review helpful to you?
Shopaholic Louis Episode 16
0 people found this review helpful
I have watched this 2 times, this is my first review 1/2020[update will follow this review]I watched this because I read reviews that said it was light on the drama & a relatively easy going "fluffy" escapism series. now that I've seen it I have to agree. I rank it up there with Love Cuisine in the light hearted category, but not as "fluffy" as Love O2O , which I consider to be the ultimate easy going, no stress drama series! There are 4 negative things about Shopping King Louis that keep it from being a 10. 1) music: English is my first language , so the English songs were really, REALLY cringey, annoying, & embarrassing . 2) main couple plot stalls completely somewhere after episode 13 & suddenly the plots of most all the side characters are focused on (but alot were un resolved!). This diverted the momentum & the last episodes seemed to drag on.3) unattractive eating: the characters stuffing their faces in messy way-disgusting, not cute.4) the plot points you are most interested in are not satisfactorily resolved.(specifically the ending)Rewatch value: I would/ will : & I bought it! read on if you want to read****Spoilers*****WHO hit the burglar over the head with the hammer? & the burglar was not trying to hurt Louis, he was (should have been) looking for Louis' treasure box. Also, Louis never really seems to become an adult . Instead he comes across as a bit mentally challenged, like he's seems stuck in 6 year old mode,(though his body IS very manly & he does want to be intimate.) .There is a happy ending as there is a proposal "of sorts", but there is no grand romantic gesture or soaring romantic ending, just a quiet ah, isn't that cute moment. 2025 Updated Review:Yes, the English songs DO still annoy me, especially when they are used at odd times for example: Sinatra's song My Way, was not appropriate for a memorandum montage for the character it was used . Louis hits his head an alarming number of times-it was like" ah let's have him hit his head & get back a few more memories ! [Yikes!] Yoon Sang Hyun, (the second male lead), starts out as the best second lead of any drama- recognizing that he is NOT "the One" before the leads figure out they are in love,& he seems to take it like a man & be on thier side until the writers decide they need more episodes, so they make him pathetic, goofy & hastily give him a female lead doppelganger for his very own at the end.[By the way, He CAN sing !!]The amount of flashbacks can be disorienting & sometimes I started an episode & wondered where it was in the time line as new episodes do not pick up where the last episode left off.The last few episodes try WAY too hard to make connections for the lead couple. i could have stopped happily when the whole group was in Busan at the dock where emotions are high as the end is sweet but doesn't leave you on an emotional high. Seo In Guk is brilliantly engaging , they just didn't let him "evolve" enough/ Regardless , the leads are a delight & a treat to watch. Seo In Guk especially expresses himself extremely well.
Was this review helpful to you?
