Hard to Watch...but, it has its moments (strong cast)
The family of the lead girl borders on abusive. They constantly tell her she is ugly. They won't let her eat. The mother constantly praises the son and insults the daughter. They treat the daughter like a servant. The mother actually tells Gui Hui that her boyfriend is too good for her. It is just awful. They should have had the daughter tell the family off in the episode she "ran" away. No - instead - the writers continue to treat her like trash and have the family not even notice she was gone.On her birthday - they wait until the end of the day to even mention it. And, no real gifts. The worthless brother temps her with a gift and then, gives her nothing. But, all is right with the world if they give her a cake and sing...ugh.
I stuck with it because it has a good storyline and strong cast. If they could only get that Korean White Truck to run over the mother and brother - just to get them off screen for most of the episodes - it would have been a great series.
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Well done...Not sure why others didn't like it...
I am not going to go into spoiler territory or, retell the story...I just want to say that I really enjoyed this series. It was believable. It stayed in its lane and used every character. While we could see what may happen, the writers handled it well enough so, we weren't yelling at the screen when things went wrong for a character or, characters we cared about.Loved the grandmother. She had heart and watched everything unfold and only occasionally stepped in to guide it. The father didn't understand and gave up too early. But, with everyone else's help - found his way. You could see why people did what they did and where their mistakes were made - loved that we got to see them own it and learn from them.
This one will stay in my library so, I can go back to favorite episodes. It isn't easy to open yourself up when you have spent so long protecting yourself from hurt. Happy to see this one unfold in an acceptable timeline and while they may have gone too far in the current trend of let's everyone be gay by time the credits roll - it's forgivable since we end up liking everyone involved.
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This review may contain spoilers
Ehhh. This could have been so much better...
Since the writers felt a need for some comedy and the director is not the best - the first few episodes are pretty hard to watch. Have your fingers on the right keys and zip through all the overacting, bad dialogue and near afternoon soap opera writing. They used a teenage kpop storyline to set everything up but, it is a little weak. Lead female - public defender - not developed well as a character. I found her irritating most of the time. Then, the writers drop all of that and she suddenly becomes a normal person. There wasn't a believable transition from a pretty awful person to one we are supposed to care about and root for.As per usual, the first several episodes are disposable. I stuck with this all the way through because I KNOW Lee Jong Suk is an amazing actor. He didn't disappoint.
As for a "review" I am going to stop here. Why? It wouldn't be fair for me to go on. I expected a drama. Unfortunately, I realized this was a soap opera made to look like a drama. It tries to be too many things. Bad rom-com vibes that they drop and never bring up again. An irritating almost to the point of unredeemable main character where - again - all of that is dropped and forgotten and they are presented as normal - what you would expect characters. The villain is so lucky that the law is so inept - everywhere. Wanted posters, eye witnesses, etc. mean nothing - so, we get stuck with a villain who only shows up here and there to move the story along through all 18 episodes. Again, soap opera. Not a bad thing but, I wish I would have known going in.
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Hmmm...
I am going to take this one slowly. Right now I am two episodes in and while more than half the cast is already dead - I want to add the sound effects guy to the list but, not have him show up in the afterlife. He needs to go straight to sound effect Hell where every move anybody makes is accompanied by a soundtrack designed by a three year old.Like other reviews have stated - are the effects there to make this appear to be a horror-comedy? Is the pacing glacial because they didn't have enough material? When you have a good cast but, are missing some time filling material - that is when the ML needs to take a slo-motion shower or, greet someone at the door with hair still wet and wet towel still wrapped around him. Easy.
Anyway, not what I was looking for this evening so, I will park this one for a later viewing. Reviews show that this has promise. Maybe, the sound effects guy bites it by the end of episode 2 and makes the series instantly better...
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Not for everyone...
Very little chemistry. No real substance. There seems to be an issue with "buying" him.It is a difficult series to grasp. The story is there. They do their best to develop the characters but, something is missing. It is taking me ages just to get to episode 5. Some episodes are just plain boring. There is a love hate relationship with this series online and you will see why.
I do hope to finish it one day.
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I just don't get it...
What is it about certain Chinese shows that show the FL be in college yet have the intelligence of a rock? Sorry to all the rocks I just insulted. Clumsy, inept, near special needs, just awful.The blessing here is the fast forward button. I have been able to zip through whole episodes in a matter of minutes and see that I did not miss a single thing. Certain characters pop on screen? You know it has nothing to do with the main story - zipppp. Female lead interacting with classmates? Zipppp.
Being that this runs for over 30 episodes - there will be lots of repeating since the audience is expected to stick with this for over half the year - again - zippp.
I will take the time to come back to either drop the title or, finish the review. If the characters - as expected - gain brain cells and start acting like adults - I will give it a chance. We'll see...
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This review may contain spoilers
Great concept - Binged it - Rewatch? Yes.,..but,
Spoilers - but, maybe it will help you follow and figure it out.Binged this because there was enough detail to make this an interesting and compelling series. But, with the choices made by the writers/director - it created issues that will have you reaching for the fast forward button - often.
With any time travel story - you will have issues. People still argue the existence of the pocket watch in Somewhere In Time (a movie you see on the shelf at the DVD store in this series). Where did the watch come from - originally - if the person from the past gets it from the person from the future but, the person from the future got it from the person from the past - in the present? See what I mean?
We see the DVD store owner becomes integral to the story. He initiates the contact and allows it to unfold - each time (three times). He is always there for guidance - a wonderful mentor/guide. He even makes a decision when the characters finally get it right.
Here's the issue...because we have been fed so much information, when the story moves through the second phase - we already know the outcome - there are almost entire episodes that are a waste of your time. Does it really matter that we get to see their relationship develop when we know the outcome? And, while I understand a time traveler choosing a moment - why wait until a week before the event to make an appearance? Love and sacrifice are already established and understood.
I would have preferred to see where Ongsa went before Suansoon rejoins the present than to see the relationship develop - in detail - the second time (a given that could have been handled with references and a few flashbacks). Create a story where we want to follow what everyone is doing. Not waiting while they have their five minute stares at each other while the soundtrack plays.
Spend less time in phase two and expand phase three/the end. I loved how every character realized that they went through this before but, couldn't quite put their finger on it. Let's see more of that.
I really liked this series for going so deeply into a thought/story that others have not gone before. Would love to see this done by the Koreans with their larger budgets and stronger writers.
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This review may contain spoilers
Give this one a shot...
I ended up really liking this one - agreeing with others that there are parts and people you can fast forward through and not miss anything.This is a multi-episode commercial for 7-Eleven with a story thrown in. My biggest surprise was seeing 7-Eleven avoiding offering a full on espresso selection along with their smoothie bar. This would truly make them a one stop shopping for quick needs both going to and leaving work.
A little grating from the Thai group - why do you feel it necessary to always make all the sons in the family gay? Why can't one brother be straight and the other not - and, as in all these - have everyone be okay with it. Anywho - small complaint.
Love Venus. Strong character who understandably is very guarded. At the very least - he knows he is being taken advantage of - work wise - and leaves. Through his brother's 7-Eleven ownership - he meets Sky - three years after being rejected by him. Sky, trying so hard to get back together with him keeps whitewashing the past and that makes Venus bothered even more. This is the strongest storyline in the whole series. The secondary storyline with the brother is badly done and usually ignored by the director and writers - it shows. The third storyline could have been left out completely - busy people not connecting and drifting apart. Yawn. Cute characters though - nice eye candy. LOL
I grew to really like Sky and Venus and really LOVED the behind the scenes stuff we saw between the episodes. So nice to see such good hearted people get the work and appreciate being in the series.
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Frustrating
God I really hate how they portray the system in this series. True or, not - I cannot see how any of the bad characters can have any kind of redemption beyond having them jump off their famous suicide bridge you see in every other drama. I will stick with this all the way to the end and then, write of the overall feeling and such but, at the end of episode 5 - my only wish is to have all the bad guys go off a cliff in a bus together. LOLLet's kill all the good people and have anyone who has half a soul have a miserable life. Everyone else who has money and control - let them be happy and only worry about where they are going to spend their money. Jeez - you ended up having more compassion for the crazy rich girl in My Absolute Boyfriend than any of these villain losers. And, whether it happens or, not - if the villains are turned into good guys/people - I would just place that as lazy writing. In the real world that just doesn't happen.
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