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A Necessary Bridge
Season 2 scales the challenges of monsters and monsterization to a systems level: how do you identify and deal with threats when humans can become monsters at any time and when humans can behave monstrous even when they remain human? It also continues to explore the idea of what is human and humanity in various contexts--ideas begun in Season 1 and continue in Season 3. This is clearly a bridge season with little resolved and few to replace the fallen favorites.Was this review helpful to you?
A Fascinating Chew
I hate horror, monsters, and zombie films/series, but I LOVED Sweet Home because it wasn't really about the monsters. For those who read the webtoon, I understand that you may think differently, but having never read the webtoon, I took the series at face value.It was messy and brilliant. At first, it's hard to figure out who to care about—there are so many characters introduced—but in the end, you find out that most of the supporting characters in this richly drawn ensemble have real character. They're written (and well-acted) with motivation and genuine personality.
The different versions of the monsters, compared with the human versions of the characters, are fun to puzzle over in a rewatch, because the series is asking: What does it mean to be human? Who are the monsters? And what is our relationship to each other?
For those who like stories with simple answers, this series offers a simple plot but no easy answers. If watched as a single season, the threads are loose and the questions remain—a fascinating chew.
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Beautiful Vampire: missing a plot
When a Vampire/Make-up Artist with strong olfactory memory encounters a person who smells like a love from the past... a lot should happen. But the FL and ML don't have much to do—or much reason to interact—so a few things happen and, surprisingly, repeat. It all feels a bit forced and empty.Frankly, I watched it for Song Kang, but it was too early in his career and the complexity and layering of emotion were not yet present. The script was too thin for him to invent any depth.
For those who don't need much of a plot to stay engaged, this might work...but it didn't for me.
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Well executed, and Good, if you agree with the set-up
What do you do if tragedy is inevitable and any attempt to intervene comes at an extreme personal price? This film wrestles with this set-up and with a clear punishment for agency and ethical compassion. Plop a sweet love story into this fatalistic set-up and you get a well acted vehicle with clear plot points designed to tug at your emotions. For those who buy the premise, keep plenty of tissues nearby. For those who view agency and heroism through a different lens, the role of fate is moot.Was this review helpful to you?
Hand-In-Glove/ Phantom CEO:
Chaebol power struggle meets Shaman Detective, Spooky In Love is a light rom com with a rotating story engine that keeps the solidly performing cast busy in a generally unremarkable story. Costumes, settting, music and good actors are not enough to rescue audiences from frequent product placement and story developments that slide from genre to genre without sufficient detail or weight.Was this review helpful to you?
Surprisingly Deep and Genuine
In a low-ranking school with a particularly squirrely class of students, an idealistic young teacher brings sincerity and genuine concern to an ecosystem in which students and adults alike carry their own burdens. School 2013 explores the complicated relationships between people, the ways those relationships can hinder or enable change, and the limits of what any one person can control. Relationally rich and grounded in the reality that change is often partial and unresolved, the series treats adolescents and the adults around them with unusual depth and compassion. Lee Jong Suk, Kim Woo Bin, Jang Na Ra, and a terrific ensemble deliver nuanced performances that give their characters the weight of lives extending beyond the story. Due to mature subjects, this series is not for the faint-hearted, but it provides heart and a thoughtful chew. Enjoy.Was this review helpful to you?
Lively story, interesting history
A job gone wrong creates cascading events and relational entanglements for a gambler/thief with a traumatic past. Political chess and questionable alliances keep the shifting landscape alive as Bossam: Steal the Fate deftly situates a fictional tale in historical context. Action, adventure, social commentary, with a touch of romance. Family fun for the older kids with a thoughtful chew to boot. Enjoy!Was this review helpful to you?
Light Fun
Lee Hyeri is the doggedly determined yet ebullient motor of this nostalgic underdog tale. With high kicks and enthusiasm, Victory, dances and cheers past the obstacles of high school with connection and joy along the way. Predictable yet enjoyable--Come for the actress, stay for the feels and the infectious energy.Was this review helpful to you?
Swift, Delicious and fun
The Apartment Job is a money heist series that establishes the players and motivations with alacrity. The antagonist is deliciously focused and well resourced which keeps the well drawn supporting characters actively wondering how our flawed hero would respond. The opponents with their commensurate skills, connections and contrasting moral centers keep the twists and escalation lively and entertaining.Was this review helpful to you?
Formulaic Reprise
Season 2 of Pride of the Temp is a formulaic reprise without much of the charm that made the principle characters interesting. It is possible to watch this series without any prior knowledge. For those who already know the principle characters, the lapse of 13 years have had very little impact, though the business reason for crisis has changed.Was this review helpful to you?
Exaggerated and Drole with Depth
The Pride of the Temp is a deadpan comedy examining workplace norms and expectations using an ultra competent temp who chooses when to use her skills with surgical precision. Never prescriptive but demonstrating a range of answers to companies' answer to the financial crisis by using more temporary workers to replace their need for financial flexibility, the series provides a gentle "chew" as workers tackle issues and arrive at solutions in community. Well acted with delightful characters, this series delivers entertainment and social commentary with humor.Was this review helpful to you?
Watch it for Lee Joon Gi
A genuine historical inflection point provides the backdrop for this fictional swashbuckling tale, Gunman in Joseon, which explores romantic, political, and financial hopes and dreams. But how well-drawn characters respond to disappointment and frustration provides the substance of this melodramatic tale, with its large and well-supporting cast.Was this review helpful to you?
Light, Funny and Entertaining
Galileo is a light murder mystery of the week using the logical scientist and the intuitive detective format to solve apparently inexplicable phenomena. The characters are well drawn, and the banter is funny, clever and entertaining. The series touches on different approaches to puzzling over problems and how facts combined with understanding people complete the picture. Galileo is a great medium for light entertainment without heavy emotional commitment. Enjoy.Was this review helpful to you?
Solidly predictable but Delightful
With the stereotypes of Spoiled Chaebol Son vs. Detective Team Leader with a chip on her shoulder, Flex X Cop take delightful glee in the excesses of the trope, but doesn't hesitate to scratch the surface and explore the traumas underneath and lend humanity and depth to the action. Solid cast, well drawing characters, consequential action. Lots of fun!Was this review helpful to you?
Quirky, Funny and Serious:,Sci-Fi Japanese style
Just a Bit Esper presented more than a little quirkiness, as little acts of heroism are promoted through helping people with everyday activities. The team of self-described failures creates a loving and supportive community despite the interdiction against love. But the little missions belie a darker truth, and they must individually and collectively decide how to manage their lives in light of their newfound understanding. The cast is well acted, especially the ML, whose journey is portrayed with sincerity and depth.Was this review helpful to you?
