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Disappointing
I had high expectations with the plot that a man who is depressed finally gets a second chance at life through the eraser of his bad memories. Even though the first episode wasn't great, I persevered but the series kept getting worse and had no business dragging on for as long as it did.At first I liked the female lead's character and it made sense why she was so formal with the male lead. It made sense that she wanted to keep things professional as a doctor patient relationship. But as the show went on, her behaviour made no sense. She lacked compassion. But it was not just her that frustrated me. Too many characters acted senselessly. The ML's mother who is a helicopter parent, his brother who comes across as a sociopath, the young doctor who also acted unethically in so many ways! And if that isn't enough, the ML feels like a useless character whose job is only to be miserable and obsessed with 1 thing.
I would suggest you watch the first 4 episodes and then the last 2 and it's all you'll need to understand the entire plot. Nothing else really matters. It is just dragging the story and turning it into a nonsensical one. There is barely any romance in the drama as well.
Perhaps the only highlight of this series is the OST. In particular, I enjoyed the song - grey.
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Imaculate Cast
Lee Je Hoon being one of my favourite actors, I simply could not resist watching this movie. I loved Koo Kyo Hwan in DP and this is similar role except on the North Korean side of the tale. There were also a few actors that have worked with LJH in Taxi Driver so that was a fun discovery! I was also surprised to see Song Kang. So the cast in this movie are another plus point.The plot is quite simple. It is about a man's planning involved in defecting to South Korea. The main thrill lies in how difficult that plan actually is to execute. There are some predictable moments and a few that feel unbelievable. But the movie is engrossing despite that. It does have some incredible moments and a few comical ones.
I also liked the message behind the movie about having the freedom to choose. That is something everyone can connect with.
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Not Impressed
When Moon in the Day started, it had potential to be really interesting. The whole past life connected to the present life could have been done well but the let down was the story itself.The major problems I had with the plot was that they really kept dragging what actually happened in the past. Everything was mysterious but not in a good way. Rather in a very slow and boring way. The reveal will only come in the last 3 episodes and you feel like, "is that it?". Also one thing I noticed is the FL in the past had struck the ML on the neck. But in the present, his scar is on his upper chest/shoulder. A very bizarre mistake when you keep repeating that scene and highlighting where the sword struck him. It simply does not match. They just wanted to be able to hide the scar without making the actor wear a turtle neck.
Another thing I disliked is the FL was a strong character. Both physically and mentally. She was capable of taking care of herself but shortly afterwards, she ends up being made to portray a helpless character. I wish they would have kept her character as a firefighter. She shouldn't have had to give up her job. Rather if the writers allowed us opportunity to see how much the ML actually cares for her even when he thinks he doesn't when he sees her endangering her life to save others. For the first half of the show, ML was trying to kill her and that suddenly changes without explaining how or why his anger subsided or why he thought he could move on if he was the one to kill her to begin with when he didn't do that in any of the previous lives. It also begs the question that if he was with her for 1500 years, how was he unable to protect her other times she dies but this time/life it was possible like saving her from drowning to the point that she believed she had a guardian angel.
There really isn't much happening in the first half. The historical scenes were good. They should have shown more moments in the present. This also needed more romance. The ML and FL were serious for the most part. Wish we could have seen their chemistry throughout even if was funny moments.
The brother's character was decent. The bad guy was okay. The other characters were mostly just there without much effect. The monk also spoke in unnecessary riddles so it was mostly a waste.
The ending is okay but I didn't really feel super delighted. Wish they had shown more. I guess you can call it a realistic ending. It's not a terrible show but nothing fantastic.
I thought the theme song and the design of it was beautiful. One of the few things that really stood out.
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Don't Fall For The Poster!
This is a cute drama but nothing like I imagined it would be. There isn't even enough romance for me to consider it a romance drama.It's more of a story about a 27 year old woman who works herself to the core in a job without so much as an appreciation for all her hard work. Eventually, she gets an interview offer from another company that has a better work environment and she finds inspiration to grow and be a better version of herself.
I feel really let down by this drama on the romance front. Though both male lead and second male lead are really nice, genuine characters, there is hardly any moment outside of casual interactions with them so the poster was a complete false advertisement and I doubt anyone picked this drama because they wanted to see an office work environment story.
I liked all the characters and the OST is cute.
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It will suck you in instantaneously
I mostly binged this part and it was probably the best decision since it's an easy watch. By that I mean, it is very easy to sink into the story. It captivates you. There is a lot happening constantly so you certainly won't be bored. It also has some very emotional moments. At least they were for me. I was on the verge of tears at least a couple of times so expect angst as it delivers it well.The war scenes were brutal without being too gorey. They left it to the audience's understanding of what might have happened/is happening and I am thankful to not have to seen some of those scenes. Else it would have required me to take a lot of breaks. It's nothing close to Game Of Thrones if you need an idea. There are some action scenes but not that much and nothing that blew me away. It's less skill and more about war tactics.
I enjoyed the character development of the female lead. How she changed from being self-obsessed and somewhat immature to having great strength, wonderful leadership qualities, being a quick learner and strong-willed. The male lead on the other hand gives off red flag vibes initially but falls hard for the female lead so there were several points where he won my heart. There's a lot of push and pull happening.
If you prefer quick resolutions, don't bother. It's a bit of a rollercoaster. The final episode may leave you feeling a tad annoyed. But nothing we didn't expect I suppose.
All actors were brilliant. The OST is beautiful. Hopefully part 2 will be satisfying.
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A Good Unique Take
I enjoy time loops dramas. This isn't the best but it's certainly an interesting one. Unlike most time loops shows and movies that I've watched, the thing that stood out the most is it is not one or two people that are stuck in an endless loop. It's the entire office. In the sense that one by one, all of the office members are working together to figure out what caused this them to end up in this predicament.Although there is no great murder mystery or life they need to save, it is still good enough to make you curious. And it's fun to see how each person goes around trying to convince the other about the time loop.
I was at a tad disadvantage as none of the text nor the scenes of the manga pages were translated. Although it was visually beautiful, I was watching quite cluelessly. If there are more complete subs in the near future, I'll attempt to rewatch the portions I missed out on and adjust my review as well.
It's not a long film and if you enjoy time loops, you can certainly give this one a try.
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Very Slow and Doesn't Achieve Its Goal
The first episode started off fine but in between Heartbeat started to drag a lot. I disliked watching the struggle of the teokbokki restaurant owning vampire and the tarot card reading vampire. Man Hwi and Rose were the most interesting support characters and I liked them the best. I enjoyed scenes with them in it the most as well.The show was about a vampire who wanted to experience his heart beating for love which is why he wanted to become human. I am not sure if we really got that. It seems the writers wrote themselves into a corner and decided the viewers will be satisfied with that. They could have done this same ending in fewer episodes and it would be less disappointing. It just made me glad that I binged a lot of the episodes together instead of watching weekly as it was not worth watching something this slow moving only for a semi-satisfying ending.
The main leads didn't even get enough romantic moments together. Too many distractions and running around. Second male lead and second female lead were also all right. I'd say most of the characters are very muted.
One can keep guessing if the ending was real or imagined. I thought it was just okay. Not what I had hoped for at least.
The comedy tag doesn't suit this show either. I can't remember one moment that I felt was funny.
If you like the leads, you might enjoy this series otherwise, it's best to pass. It's average.
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Slow-moving and sparse
Lies Hidden In My Garden started off on a strong note. It even had a good build-up when it came to the suspense and a couple of decent plot twists. But when you look at it by the end, you are left feeling underwhelmed.The story begins in a luxurious home where the husband is a doctor, the wife is a house-wife and they have a teenage son. They moved from the city into a suburb because the wife is unwell due to her dealing with her sister's untimely death. One day, the wife starts to smell a strange stench which her husband denies smelling.
On the flip side, there is another wife who lives in a shabby apartment with her abusive husband. She is pregnant. Her husband decides to take her to the doctor's house one day and meets with his wife. One the way to the house, she notices a phone in her husband's car with a bejeweled floral case that he attempts to hide. On arrival, from the car, she notices that both she and the doctor's wife wear the same scarf.
The issue with the plot began when it started to drag it's heels midway. There are literal moments of silence and slow responses and just staring. The reason being, there isn't much to the story. And despite that, questions were left unanswered such as the scarves both wives wore and the doctor's wife's sister's death. Why was she killed?
The ending was not amazing though the cinematography is. But visuals alone do not make for a great drama. I feel a bit misled. Still it has it's good moments and there is character development shown with the doctor's wife. I also enjoyed the mother and son's relationship even though it wasn't explored in great detail. I also appreciated the neighbour's character and the story behind her husband's death. All the actors also portrayed their characters well and created the much needed drama.
It's an intense series yet lacking. Good for a one time watch.
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Strong start, Powerful finish
I binged season 1 in preparation of season 2 but if you don't want to, story-wise you won't miss much as this was a completely new plot. But you will not feel the full effect of the backstory. Why is Lee Yeon depressed in season 2? Why does Lee Rang hate his brother. To get the full gist of it, you need season 1. But they have made it possible to watch Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 as a stand-alone show by highlighting some moments from season 1.Even though the plot involves time travel, most of the story is set in 1938 (as suggested by the title) so it covers a little bit of Joseon history. There is a lot happening in the series with loads of new characters and threats. Most of the stories are interesting although shortly past the halfway mark, the story dragged a bit. But the ending fully redeemed itself. Every hero was at their best and, though, I don't know about re-watching the entire show but the finale is worth watching multiple times!
Every actor did an outstanding job! I especially loved the continuation of the relationship between Lee Yeon and Lee Rang. Plus Lee Yeon's friendships with Ryu Hong Joo and Cheon Moo Young was explored well. The secondary characters also add their own lovely flavour to this season.
As for lovers of the first season, there is a bit of that romance too. :)
The finale was epic and it's what gives season 2 an edge over season 1. We are also teased with a possibility of season 3.
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There are shorter dramas with more romance
I was thoroughly enjoying the series initially especially the comedy and the romance was sweet too. I really liked the ML, Yuan Song, as he was a kind and caring boyfriend. Saving your girlfriend's fingerprint on your phone so that she knows you have nothing to hide is a huge gesture. In fact, he kept making huge gestures towards her and she kept wanting to hide the relationship. I never understood that. You only hide a relationship when you think you are doing something wrong. Instead she should have opened a dialogue with him as well as her family.The other thing that annoyed me is that the main couple spent more time broken up than they were together. That is not why I chose to watch this drama. If you are like me, it might be a good idea to skip the episodes after they are broken up until you get to the end. By the 28th episode, I started to get tired of the other plots. And by the 37th episode they were still not back together.
I wonder if the reason for keeping them apart this long is because of the real life age gap. Why not create dramas with actors that are older but have similar age gaps if you can't provide a genuine take on an older female younger male couple? Maybe one where the male is also established. I am yet to find a show that depicts how such couples deal with their relationship long term rather than running away from it.
I couldn't care for He CanYang and Cai MinMin's relationship either. In most cultures, men marrying girls 10 - 15 years younger is normal. No one really bats an eye. Meanwhile even marrying a woman few years older is looked down upon. Even in this series, CanYang is more worried because MinMin is his student. Luming is against it because CanYang is his girlfriend's brother. They are not dealing with an age issue at all. In fact, I liked the brother until he repeats the toxic misogynistic line that his relationship is normal because he is a man but his sister's would be shameful because she is a woman. What a fall from grace of a character that seemed open-minded.
I could only appreciate 2 side stories - the other designer male's office romance and the cheating husband. It would have been far better if this series was shorter instead of adding so many couple stories when the main couple is simply not progressing. I would have definitely liked to see more of Yuan Song but there are 2 episodes without him and in some he is just barely there. In fact, the second male lead has far more scenes. I really loved the ML's stepmom's character. It was nice to see their relationship.
The main couple's romance is honestly disappointing. If it weren't for the comedic moments, I would not even give this show a 7. In comparison, The Rational Life is a superior series.
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Poorly made
The biggest problem with this show is how confusing it is. Dr. Mo Ian is a psychiatrist who has lost his license to practice because a patient's case was made public. That is because his office is set up in an under construction building to unofficially see patients there where anyone can eavesdrop or steal a glimpse at his patient's files. That itself is bizarre.Secondly, the is no explanation why he follows the female lead or acts like he knows her or stalks her. It just doesn't make sense. I couldn't understand if he had seen her previously or not. At times I wondered if something got lost in translation.
There are a few interesting moments which involve him treating patients but they are rare. Even from a romantic genre point of view, I don't think it's worth watching. The acting is not really special. The dialogues aren't memorable which could have otherwise made up for the limited time. There was no opportunity to build up the characters which is the biggest flaw.
Furthermore the story is forgettable. I completed it only because of the length even though I considered dropping it after the 4th episode.
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Disappointment
I'll leave the spoilers for the end so let me begin with my overall impressions as I watched the show.When I first heard about Eve, I was excited. The plot summary also made it sound extremely intriguing as I do love my revenge plots but what unfolded gradually was nothing short of a disappointment. The only reason I put up with it is because I was waiting for the revenge part and what a long wait it was!
There were a couple of episodes that I fell asleep while watching and just continued with the next and it didn't make an ounce of difference. I could follow the story because nothing much was happening in the show. There was at least one completely filler episode.
I want to say I was impressed by the actors but I really can't for most of them. The male lead, CEO Kang Yoon, has no facial expressions besides serious. I did not see those muscles move throughout the show. Similarly for the second male lead, Seo Eun Pyung. I was rooting for him. But expression wise, he was in a perpetual state of concern. Nonetheless, he is a handsome guy so this role is almost tragic for him. And then coming to the female lead, Lee Ra El. She had the widest range of emotions on display so she certainly brought the most to the table considering the role is all about her. I also have to give it up for the wife's character, Han So Ra, who you almost pity at times. Then she reminds you exactly why she deserves to be disliked. A well portrayed character. Ra El's adoptive mother's role and portrayal is also interesting with interesting dynamics between the two.
My rating is entirely for the actors and not really for the plot.
Finally ***spoilers*** and this is going to ruin the show for you so beware:
The first two episodes were the highlight of the show. Lee Ra El seducing Kang Yoon Gyeom through her tango and then by letting him watch her with her husband. I wish they had maintained the shock value with every episode throughout the show but somewhere in between complacency set in and Ra El was just trying to fit in. When the big bad guys who just kill anyone that gets in the way, learn about Ra El, they do nothing. I wonder what Ra El's plan was without SEP's help because she could have very easily been eliminated very early on. Another point of irritation was that all of the evidence that Ra El was collecting was illegal and inadmissible in a court of law so I have no idea what the course of action was for her adoptive mother. There was no way they were winning the civil and criminal cases. If viewers are waiting for the actual revenge then you'll have to head straight for episode 15 and 16. Episodes 14 and 15 were still alright. But 16 was just utter nonsense. The wife So Ra who is depicted to be deathly afraid of her father, decides to confront him. Yoon Gyeom who loves his children and knows what it's like to be without a loving parent decides the only thing that matters is what Lee Ra El wants of him. And what of the 1.6 billion dollar divorce? The director seemed to acknowledge it as an after thought.
There are a whole lot of plot holes and actions of people that don't make sense eg. So Ra's bodyguard. I do want to list them all but that would essentially be ruining it for someone who still wants to give this show a shot.
It's possible that if I was watching this show after completion, I would have either sped through it or skipped to the end or just dropped it. I can't rate a show very high if I didn't enjoy it nor would I recommend it to others. But that's just me. :)
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Fun and mysterious but not enough magic
For a drama about a magician, there isn't much magic shown in this drama so if that's what is attracting you to it, then you might be disappointed. However, that is not to say that From Now On, Showtime isn't worth the watch. On the contrary, it's a lovely, fun and lighthearted drama. That is partly why I'm having a hard time picking an apt rating. 8 - 8.5 would be accurate.The reason for the less amount of magic is because Cha Cha Woong is not a real magician. His tricks are performed by 3 ghosts, Ma Dong Cheol, Nam Sang Gun and Kang Ah Reum, who are his employees. He still manages to perform some tricks as does his rival which I wish there was more of. He meets an officer Go Seul Hae one day and when his secret is revealed to her, she requests him to help her fight crime as her partner. Little do they know that their meeting is more than a coincidence.
From Now On, Showtime is such a mixed bag of genre that there is a chance you'll find something to enjoy. The characters are sweet. The 3 ghost employees are an oddity but they work well together. The humour of this show is light. The actors have done a pretty decent job and there are several emotional moments that catch you off-guard.
There are other characters as well that are sweet and add to the comedy in a positive way.
Let's get to the negatives. The story at one point slows down in order to explain some connections. And the ending was a little cheesy to say the least. I would say a character referred to as 'The General' was my least favourite. But all in all, the show is still a good watch.
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Binge-worthy and suspenseful
Reset is a time loop story of a college going girl, Li Shi Qing, who wakes up in a bus only for it to get into an accident and explode instantly killing her and all passengers. The only time she manages to get off the bus is when she drags a boy, Xiao He Yung, who is a game designer into her plan and both manage to get off together. But getting off the bus is not enough. They both find themselves stuck in the loop and realise that saving the passengers is their only escape.Positives:
1. The episodes are under 45 mins long and it's easy to binge watch because your curiosity wants to see the leads tackle the situation they've found themselves in.
2. The series also explores the stories of the passengers and some of the police officers involved in the investigation.
3. One of the drawbacks of time loop dramas can be the repetitive nature annoying audiences and Reset manages to avoid much of it with new directions being undertaken by the leads. Adding the mystery/suspence element to the story helped.
4. Multi-layered characters.
Negatives:
1. I have seen several types of time loop stories but I wouldn't rate this as high simply because the story telling process is quite slow. Around episode 3, I was feeling a bit annoyed by their actions and the actions of others.
2. Some of the questions were not answered as to why these two were the ones chosen to enter the time loop and not others.
3. Why the police were more cooperative in some loops and more suspicious in others.
4. What was happening to Xiao He Yung?
I have other grievances related to some of the important characters and their reactions that were not as natural as one would expect in certain situations especially towards the climax.
I would still recommend the series and found it fairly well thought out.
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Amazing but not for the faint-hearted
This was genuinely a tough watch because the subject matter revolves around school bullying and assault. There is also a lot of gore and violence depicted so it might be hard to watch the first 4 episodes of the series. It gets better after that as the bulk of the worst forms of violence is over.This is a revenge drama that follows a series of murders committed by a victim of school bullying, Hwang Kyung Min, as an adult shortly after he was suspected of killing his wife. Kyung Min, leaves messages for his school friend, now a police officer, Jung Jong Suk at his crime scenes inviting him to join him. Thus the detective becomes part of the investigation and provides insight into who the potential victims can be. With every episode we are taken to flash backs to experience the intense violence and humiliation that was faced by Hwang Kyung Min for being of lower social status than the rest of the class. At the time, he was befriended by Jung Jong Suk who eventually started to stand up to his friend's bullies and faced their wrath.
The story is intense and gripping. As a viewer, you will find yourself rooting for the main lead as he seeks his revenge. There is another mysterious character introduced and with each episode you understand their relevance to the story. The ending was incredible and unexpected! I hope people are not put off with the gore and make it through to the end. It'll be worth it.
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