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WE NEED MORE OF THIS
Light, heartwarming and entertaining, in times like we are in today, we need more dramas like this!Da Li and Moo Hak happened to meet by chance abroad, with DaLi saving Moo Hak in his predicament. They parted ways, but then circumstances where reversed and with a sprinkle of the typical telenovela coincidence scenes, fate has brought them back together in Korea, this time, it is Moo Hak that offered a helping hand. An overused sure-fire and tested "knight in shining armor save the damsel in distress" formula.
Kim Min Jae is back and played the cocky prince perfectly, and I must admit it is always a pleasure seeing him in a drama. The lovely Park Gyu Young, in her officially first main lead role as the Da Li is just as good and convincing - I would love to see more of her in the future. There is also a well rounded support cast, I especially loved Hwang Bo Ra, Kwon Yuul and the always amazing Hwang Hee.
Special mention should be given to the wonderful stylist and costume designers.
This drama stands out by the way they defined family and second chances - that family is not defined by blood relation and that no matter how many times you fall into bad situations, its your ability to get back up and fight that matters. There was a scene when Moo Hak was in confrontation with his father after a big incident that really touched me - that as a son, he is willing to sacrifice for his father's happiness.
If there is one thing that I wish to be changed is how they handled Jang Tae In, because he was likeable at the beginning and it felt that they made him do atrocious things just to make people like Moo Hak better.
Totally recommendable. 8 out of 10 stars.
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RAINED ON THEIR OWN PARADE
T'was actually good until they decided to rain on their own parade - and when it rained, it poured.Started out well. It wasnt perfect but lets say it was light and enjoyable and it was a breath of fresh air compared to the second-rate concurrently aired Thai BL (oh no I will not confirm or deny that I'm talking about Step by Step). The fantasy premise was intriguing and new.
The cast were all perfectly good looking. - i fell in like with Pee, its as if he was plucked from a Korean show and like he is always glowing, I already love Title in My Only 12% and im glad he finally got a starring role (also the main reason why i watched the show). Suar - i just love Suar, he is so lovable as Tian! I loved him im Youre My Sky but here he was even more adorable. Copter is gorgeous! I was also hoping to see more of Dream and although it was too short, her budding romance with Nara looked promising. ! I also appreaciate the fact that to some extent almost no one is made intetntionally annoying.
The pacing is alright, I was actually surprised when the main pairing happened quite quickly in the first few episodes without too much fuzz.
It was a perfect cap off to a busy week. I even considered it a must watch that I even subscribed to Iqiyi after watching the first episode just to see the episode earlier.
Leading to the 7th episode, I get the sense that the series was written a little blandly, and true enough that's when the series turned 180 degrees and decided to check all the tropes. Episode 8 and 9 were acceptable, and then the dreaded obligatory breakup episode 10 and 11 were things turned to crap.
First of all, both Pat and Sengtai's actions leading to the break-up scene were both very out of character, and I strongly feel that they were unnecessarily added just to make it more dramatic.
Second, I'd argue that there are still so many things to explore regarding their relationship and the phenomenon that they were in - I wanted to know more about them being soul mates - what was so special about Tai's family, and all the characters who were given this gift. That alone could be a throve of stories to explore. The makers are marketing it as an almost fantasy series so why didn't they sell us that mystery. And oh my, do I need to emphasize my jaw-dropping annoyance in one scene where one shout literally rid them of their connection to their soulmates.
I couldn't buy the soul-mate thing of Tai's parents. I just cant see the chemistry between them, and to be honest, the reason for their separation doesn't feel huge enough to break an enchanted love.
I am also sad that they ruined Lomfon.
Lastly, the last episode was so uneventful and uninspiring that I almost didn't finish it. I can't even fathom why they spent quite a long time with the new couple - what's the connection to the overall plot. They got more screen time than Patt in the finale, they even have their own flashback scene. And when the leads finally meet again, did you also notice how blank Patt's face is?
Against everything I hated, I also loved a lot of things. Overall its an uneventful 7 for me. Will I re-watch - not a chance.
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Typical ABSCBN
Its obvious that this is ABSCBN's attempt to ride the BL craze. A cross between Gameboys and Thailand's 2gether but falls flat with its thin story line.While i am thankful that the producers decided to show it in Youtube, i cant help but feel that the series was haphazardly put together just to be able to be one of the first to put out a real BL series in the Philippines. It just feels shallow with very little (to no) character development and it felt like nothing's really happening after every epispde. I can only imagine good things if they waited a little bit and did this post-COVID.
The 2 main cast are A+, this is where the series shined. JC is a revelation- this guy deserves better projects while Tony has perfected his GGSS acting style.
However, even with the good acting, the series still lacks depth. HS is a big BL CLICKBAIT series- stuck between wanting to make BL fans happy and at the same time not wanting to offend the generally christian conservative (and hypocrite) public.
What i hate even more is after showing 7 episodes regularly, they just decided to hold back the last episode for a few weeks. I dont know if they were hoping to generate excitement or for what other reason, but to.me.it just didnt work, especially since the finale just lacks the punch.
Overall, im giving the series a 6.5 (mostly because of JC). I wouldnt actually reccommend it, only when you are stucked and has nothing to do.
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Thrilling Ride, Flat Ending
Living in a flat in a city, experiencing an existential midlife crisis and realizing you bit more than you can chew and now neck deep in sh*t, this drama hits so close to home that at first it was so painful to watch.I can totally see myself in how the main character was written - at a time when you realized the life you dreamt of isnt exactly working out the way you planned and you're hanging on to dear life and barely moving forward using the faintest remains of fumes in the barrel that you can almost feel that all the walls are closing in (or have already). This is a very realistic portrayal of an insipid life played perfectly and strongly by Kang Ha Neul.
The story and the character may be boring on paper but the execution sure isnt. One by one the plot thickens with every character introduced and keeps you guessing about their motives. The whole first part I was even thinking that No U Sung is just going through a breakdown and is the real person causing the disturbance in the building. Just when he was pushed to his limit and ready to give up, thats when the real plot started to reveal itself.
For me the only weak part of this drama is that the ending is just as insignificant as No U Sung's life. I would have appreciated it more if they at least tied it with a yellow ribbon in the end just to give us a light feeling after watching it.
Also, Ive got to say that this is the reason why I keep Netflix subscription - because of their widest collection of content and the constant new releases every week. Some of them maybe worthless, but some like this onecan surprise you - new movies and series with 0 extra cost.
Overall, for me its an 8.
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UNHOOKED
Preachy and inconsistent. It is a low budget series - and it was pretty obvious.The bad:
1. The writer thinks he created intelligent characters and an intelligent banter but what we actually have are long, boring, unnatural and preachy conversations. The flow of thought from all the characters are way too similar that it feels like a single person talking to his split personality.
2. The story. You met up on a dating app, met and hooked up once and next thing you were already 'inlove'? Really?
2. Camera work and editing. Lets forgive them for poor camera quality, but the editing is just horrendous, you dont even feel like they are really talking to each other (but it can also attributed to the bad script).
If there is any good, it is the fact that they tried to cover a lot of current gay issues. Also, i would credit it as positive that the 2 leads didnt necessarily end up togehter.
I do appreciate companies still trying to produce content during the pandemic, however, the big question is, is it worth it? Did they succeed? I dont know how you'd feel about it but for me, for a series called Hook Up i am always unhooked, what i know is i hated myself for wasting my time watching this series.
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THIS IS NOT A TYPHOON, ITS NOT EVEN A DRIZZLE
A show trying too hard at becoming a heartwarming series that falls short on tugging your emotions.Lee Jun Ho has proven himself as an actor, here he does so much of the heavy lifting. Unfortunately, he can only do so much as this show is just lacking. I didnt feel any empathy for his character, i didnt even feel his chemistry with the FL. Definitely not his best work.
Its pretty obvious that the show relied so heavily with LJH. In fact, there were parts when the series wanted to s how how charming he is and you'll notice the cinematography changes and the screen is filled with this glowy sunshine-y filter common with Korean romcoms - the difference in tone is so jarring and just doesnt work with the 90's vibe.
Episodes are long, and sad to say, boring. They want you to feel sorry and relate to the plights of the characters but almost everyone is just so bland and unlikeable. There is no real character development and no transformation for everyone except maybe for Tae Pung's mother. The story arcs and the challenges are so staged and are mostly resolved so conveniently and unrealistically.
To create depth and layers to a family drama there are 2 ways a series can go - First is the no-villain route (a la the Reply Series), create "natural" , emotional, interesting scenarios for the characters to go through and overcome, and the second route is to create a villain so strong, disgusting, scary and/or powerful that youd be afraid for the protagonist. The problem with this series is the annoying villains totally ruined this show. I didnt say effective, i said annoying. Probably one of the worst written villains in a Korean drama. Pyo Hyeon Jun's endless obsession with Tae Pung, his character was a joke and is shallow, repetitive and so uverused during the entire series, -he is not scary, not even entertaining, just annoying.
Will i recommend? Im honestly not sure, maybe if you are a LJH fan. Will i rewatch? Are you kidding me, big NO.
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COULD'VE BEEN PERFECT
I was onboard the moment it was announced that Song Joong Ki will star, I was expecting a big serious action drama but i was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually lighter in tone - something i didnt know I needed.ACTING. 9.5. Song Joong Ki as Vincenzo was just phenomenal here. Oh Taecyeon as Jang Jung Woo was so terrifying and was a revelation. Jeon Yeo Been's quirky and smart Hong Cha Young was just the right amount. The pool of amazing support cast - Kwak Dong Yeon, Kim Yeo Jin, Jo Han Chul, Yoo Jae Myung, and all the Geumga Plaza residents were all top notch.
STORY and EXECUTION. 8.5. The premise is interesting - and the overarching idea of good vs evil or evil versus lesser evil is not original but executed well. The shift in tone when Vincenzo arrived in Korea and the touch of comedy was also somehow welcoming.
However, in the middle of the series I got tired of the chess-like moves each camp is making, that it became a little hard to take things seriously. I questioned whether Vincenzo was really a scary mafia that we were constantly reminded of, and whether Jang Jung Woo was really a baddy or just a a spoiled little twat. It didnt help that the main characters, despite being constantly faced with danger or threat remained alive, almost till the end. Somehow it felt like the story and the lifespan of the characters were extended because the number of episodes were extended. Also, the fact that everyone in the Geumga Plaza building were somehow hiding a secret identity just made the story telling convenient but not necessarily engaging.
The special effects were also amazing.
REWATCHEABILITY. 8.5. Id argue that you can watch it and mute the sounds and the show will still be watchable thanks to the visuals of Joong-Ki - this guy age so well. Okay in all seriousness, although there are some weak moments, the light tones sprinkled within the series made it easy to watch and re-watch. The characters are easy to love and the villains are so hateable that overall it is still entertaining.
OVERALL im giving this show a 9 out of 10.
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