Man this is gonna hurt. Oh Yeon Seo is my favorite, the only reason I watch this show. I am downgrading from 8.5 to 8. Like this: (imo and unverified percentages) 1. ML Seo - 50% just goofy, 40% working the job (good) 10% poor drama. He gets a big dose of bad directing. 2. FL Oh - 30% not there, 15% screen filler/background, 25% dazed and confused, 15% working the job (good), 10% super cop, 5% as love interest (okay). Her on screen role is random. I didn't get a sense of who she really was. Her part is completely throttled. Bad directing/writing going around. 3. FL Kang - Straight forward, solid role. Kang delivers a consistent character and is credible. 4. ML Kwak - he is not this bad of an actor. I like him in other shows. He is given a really bad script and it feels like a heavy dose of directing. Kwak is not allowed to just act. Of the 4 leads - Kang gets my vote for most credible performance. Without Oh in this show I would not have watched it a second time. Oh and her mom (rl) have consulted with shaman about life issues. So that is a fit. Concept seems good. I give credit to sad writing and heavy-handed directing for my disappoint.
Zhang Hui Wen is a support role. Disappointed. I stopped skipping scenes after the priest was gone. Production is the best part of this show. Wu Hao Chen delivers the best performance. Wu delivers the conflicted role of Xioa thru the entire series. Most of the cast and the performances are good. Some the episodes get stuck in mini loops. Kinda draggy. The series really comes together around ep. 30 to about 38, then some of that draggy stuff. Ep. 42-50 is when the show is at its best. Last ep. just kinda lays on the floor. Overall worth a watch. However, I disagree with the rating. 8.6 too high. Maybe an 8, but I am coming in at 7.5. I also have complete opposite opinion of music. Opening music and background music alright. Nothing special. The song used to close out episodes is horrifying. Loney cat meets dying, screaming cat.
The circumstances of the corruption in any gambling sport don't surprise me. Who is involved in the corruption from top to bottom don't surprise me. What does surprise me is how Thai people respond to how the corruption effects the country. This series holds nothing back. Bad guys are bad guys and so many others knowingly just have to survive around the corruption. There are no heroes here. The cast is great, and I really poured out empathy for the characters portrayed in the dramatizations. This show has a very, very sad twist for an ending. The production value, directing, and the acting are top notch. Using just 4 episodes was a perfect count. The facts of the events that inspired this show (wait for the credits) are sad also. I am at a solid 8.5. Highly recommend.
Oh, I'm here to cry foul. Show is good enough to watch. Good production. I started this to watch Zhang Hui Wen. Episode 20. She is not a main. Minor support role. 5 mins here, 5 mins there. One-line scenes, no line scenes. And a couple of actual conversations for a couple minutes. False advertising on a criminal level. I am skipping the scenes with the "priest". Don't like the character, the looks, nor the performance. Otherwise, I'll finish it. Mostly because of the production value, really good.
Oh! Underrated. I have seen Lee Sang Hee in many shows as support role. Always liked her acting so I just wanted to watch her as a main. She nailed it. Great job. The story is really good. All about a shy love, that just happens to be between two ladies. Lee as Yoon Joo really captured the fear of commitment. When she finally embraces her feelings, the fear of rejection builds. I was tense from the moment of the first night Yoon Joo and Ji Soo stayed together to the very last second of the movie. Lee really drew me into her character. The ending is hmmm, not quite done yet? You'll have to decide. For me I wanted a little more... Otherwise good movie. Solid 8. Recommend
Underrated. It is a heartfelt, sad, happy ending movie. It does have a little bit of Christmas as background (Good value added). Trees and a touch of traditional Christmas music in a couple scenes. I'd liken it to a Hallmark type movie. With that as the benchmark, this movie is really on target. Lee Min Jung and Lee Jung Jin are both outstanding. The other Lee, Kwang Soo, gives the style of performance he has mastered and shown thru his career. No down time, all is value added. I am a firm 8.5. Recommend.
Wow. Good show. I got fully vested in the mains coming straight out of ep 1. Didn't need 6 ep. to develop characters. The entire cast hit the mark. Good directing/writing and great acting makes this series a must see. The pace is perfect. None of that random filler, everything is value added. I did have to get my bearings a couple times for the timeline switching back a time or two. Zhang Nan and Annie Sun have uber chemistry. So wanted them to be a couple. And the ending. Nooooooooooo! I want to kill it with a sniper shot. Best ending for me would be when Xu You Yi, Yan Wei, and the giant baby get their picture taken. 12 episodes all it need for a great story. Rate it the big 8.5 for me.
Too much sit and talk. Talking out of fights. Mains fight, talk, then walk away. Even during massive fights, stop in the middle of the fight and walk away. Mains are loooow energy. Zhou as Li Yan brings the energy and fun, does it great. Xie Yun contributes energy and fun to. Dong Xuan as Madam Duan has the most on-screen presence. The best love story and her love interest is dead. Wuxia light. Special effects are just a quick in-passing thought. I understand I don't see what you 7.5+ raters see. So you have a different opinion. My guess; it is wuxia tagged, costumes are historical (not fancy or pretty). I however want compelling storyline and characters. Even the CGI is so bad it's a 10 yo design implemented by a first time try 12 yo. So, at 28 eps, Ima drop. Still rating 7 cause cast is okay, it's their roles that are not compelling.
Story is good. Acting is good. This aint a high tension show. Perfect speed for 15yo. No blood, no death, simple not violent violence. Dare say kids would probably relate more direct than I did. My gdaughter loves the 2 fl. She is a hair stylist and is all over NC.A hair and costumes. 7.3 rating is low. It hits its target niche just right. Gdaughter says 8, I agree.
Nice break from complicated super twisty shows. A bad guy, just normal hi-end drug gang, boss. One really determined cop. Cop chase boss - that describes the police side of things. Throw in the comic relief/drama queen reporter and now it's good enough to watch. Yoo Hyun Yung as Choi brings all the romance and high energy drama. She is really good being Choi. Lee is good as Kang, but the role is super low energy, so it's slow. Rating 7.1 seems fair. However, I do recommend it for watching.
Better than Pt 1. Finally feel the Professor got in the grove. The romance even finally showed with Woo Jin. In this season, the drama just came across thicker. Denver and Stockholm still my favorite. Nairobi earned some serious dramacred, she shined. I like Kim Sung Ho and he got to spread his wings this season, in his role as Cha. Good show. Even though I ff many scenes, 8.5 fair rating. Recommend.
Okay. Done with Pt 1. Many of the cast and characters are good, a couple really good, and a couple really bad. Denver and Yun only drama chemistry I am getting. The Professor is a real turn off, needs to stay in the storage room. Some of the camera work is annoying. Pretty good show, 7.5 - 8.0 seems about right. I think Park (Berlin) is right on the money, crushing his part.
Acting kept me watching. Most of the cast handled their characters really well. The nutjob guy was not good. The story plot is ancient, way back to b&w movies, but making it full of ambushed kids is different. Remembering it is a 2000 movie, produced and directed by Japanese talent, I think it 's worth the watch. How to survive has little at all to do with the drama, bursts of death are just to build the drama. The thru line is how amplified the relationships from school (youth) become when there is a true price to pay for behaviors normalized in school environments. Maybe generate food for thought and some reflection. This movie has little to do with real life, we don't die for calling a school mate ugly. I see the word "manga" used below. Don't have a clue why. This may also have spawned other like movies, in direct reference it's much better than Hunger Games (zero drama crap acting) and Squid Games, horrible show (dropped). Recommend.
Good show. Connected with many of the characters. Writing/directing value added. Special guests gave each episode it's own personality, kinda nice. 12 episodes is all this is worth. I like the show, solid 7.5. Did not like how it closed out. Either stuck with, wonder what happens to... or season 2. So I get wonder what happened, ain't into another season.
Just didn't hit the mark for me. 50%er. 50% of the cast doing good, the rest meh. 50% of the storyline really good, the rest meh. The music is really good. The intrigue with Soek Hee is engaging. Im Soo Hyang hits it on the head for a character in Soek Hee's position and attitude. Much of the surrounding characters seem shallow even forced at times. Heo Yoon Do does not fit in. Thought the foundation was being put together in the first couple episodes, then it gets kicked aside for a totally different base line. Dropped, and credit goes tooo, the writers.
When Woo came out, I watched it on air. Each new episode made me emotional, but I got breaks. I binged it just now. I cried all the time - happy, sad, angry. I got permanent streaks down my cheeks for all the tears I shed. Once a special needs educator, I had the opportunity to interact daily with various levels of the spectrum. Woo's naive journey into a foreign environment, full of risks, brings back the memories of my students. The writing, theme music (for emotional capture) and directing are as good as you can get. The details of the micro behaviors are impressive. The entire cast deserve honors. If I could MDL rate 10.5 I would. Park over her career developed into this persona bit by bit. She made Woo real to me. I shared many of her experiences and moments with my students, their parents and classmates, and the full chorus of supporters. Congrats to all that contributed to this show. Years of my memories captured in 16 hours. Thank you.
1. ML Seo - 50% just goofy, 40% working the job (good) 10% poor drama. He gets a big dose of bad directing.
2. FL Oh - 30% not there, 15% screen filler/background, 25% dazed and confused, 15% working the job (good), 10% super cop, 5% as love interest (okay). Her on screen role is random. I didn't get a sense of who she really was. Her part is completely throttled. Bad directing/writing going around.
3. FL Kang - Straight forward, solid role. Kang delivers a consistent character and is credible.
4. ML Kwak - he is not this bad of an actor. I like him in other shows. He is given a really bad script and it feels like a heavy dose of directing. Kwak is not allowed to just act.
Of the 4 leads - Kang gets my vote for most credible performance.
Without Oh in this show I would not have watched it a second time. Oh and her mom (rl) have consulted with shaman about life issues. So that is a fit. Concept seems good. I give credit to sad writing and heavy-handed directing for my disappoint.