Bali

This drama is the Thai version of the Korean drama "Secret Garden". This adaptation is poorly written and, even though this version shows more romantic scenes between the leading couple, they lack chemistry throughout the entire drama. There's also the omission of the two other romantic side stories that gave depth to the drama and the omission of the great comedic tone from the Korean version. This production also lacks character development and the intensity of the relationship that the leading couple developed through their many interactions. The writer omitted a lot of important details and the action scenes were poorly acted.

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This is a period web series that has action, comedy, and cute romance storylines. The drama is about county magistrate Tang Tian Yuan and the sassy daughter of a wealthy family, Tan Lingyin. They start working together solving different criminal cases, and falling in love along the way. Although the drama is about the romantic relationship of the main couple, the leading lady is portrayed within a duality of character contradiction (smart vs. really stupid) and quite fickle compared to the leading male’s character. Their romantic scenes are warm and sweet but they lack intimacy. A couple from the supporting cast, Ma Wen Yuan as Zheng Shao Feng and Baby Zhang as Zhou Zheng Dao/Ru Yi, had better chemistry on their romantic scenes, which is a disappointment since this is a drama focused on romance. Overall, the drama is nice, light hearted, and an easy watch while waiting for a great one to come. Enjoy it!

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This drama is a plethora of emotions that touches all the senses. The drama explores the theme of redemption and regrets that come with painful events in one’s life. Although the drama is slow sometimes and very philosophical, it is intelligently composed, thoughtfully written, and brilliantly performed. The leading couple will leave a lasting impression and, although both were impressive,
Kim Sun Ah as Ahn Soon Jin delivers a flawless performance. The story is a mix of genres; it has tragedy, mystery, drama, and realism combined with hints of comedic moments that lighten the plot. The drama is beautiful and the ending is promising as it shows how the leading couple find themselves loving each other more and more, one day at a time. Enjoy it!

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When the Camellia Blooms is a well written fantastic collage of mixed genre drama that connects the leading female character Dongbaek, a seemingly naïve single mother and owner of a restaurant/bar in the small town of Ongsan, with different town people and a serial murderer. The town characters add dimension to the fairly common life of a single mother who’s trying to make ends meet and gets entangled in a series of circumstances that threaten her life and livelihood. The melodrama can be classified as a bourgeois tragi-comedy with characters that range from the most simple with strong moral principles and core values (Kang Ha Neul as the main male lead policeman Hwang Yong Shik), comical and absurd characters like Dongbaek’s ex-boyfriend (Kim Ji Suk as Kang Jong Ryul) and Dong Baek's landlord (Oh Jung Se as Noh Gyu Tae), enigmatic and complex personas like Dong Baek's friend (Son Dam Bi as Choi Hyang Mi) and Dong Baek's mother (Lee Jung Eun as Jo Jung Sook), the sometimes absurd police chief (Jeon Bae Soo as Byun Bae Soo)and the neighborhood watch ladies, to the psychopathic murderer, and more. There is a romantic storyline between Dong Baek and Yong Shik and, although their romantic scenes are cute and light, their romance's heartfelt connection is beautiful. The drama is packed with great seasoned and younger actors that deliver their characters with a flawless performance. Enjoy it!

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This is fantastic period drama! The story line is well written and it leads to an array of twists and difficulties that lasts until the last episode. It is a fast paced drama that could’ve use a couple more episodes to let the leading couple enjoy more togetherness moments (LOVE, from the title) since the plot was full of conflicts (hence, WAR from the title), but the story regarding their love is really nice. The overall emotions in this drama are very well delivered and the cast has good chemistry. The actors did very well bringing their characters to life but, apart from the love between the leading couple, Wal (Lee Si Eon) and Eun Bo’s relationship was intense and wonderful as they truly loved each other as if they were real siblings, and their interactions were fantastic. Lee Si Eon excelled in his portrayal of Wal. Also, honorable mention to Go Yoon who did a wonderful job bringing the enigmatic antagonist Gae Pyong to life. Overall, this drama has action, a very nice romantic story, lots of dramatic moments, treachery, revenge, and a good dose of comedic moments. Enjoy it!

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“Perfume” is an excellent production! The drama, although not perfect, is fun, heart wrenching, heartwarming, innovative, surprising, and a real treat to all the senses. The cast was phenomenal bringing their characters to life. Even though Go Won Hee performed very well as Min Ye Rin, the character that rounded the drama and gave depth to the story is really Min Jae Hee, portrayed by the amazing Ha Jae Sook, which is a very talented actress and she gave a stellar performance. Last but not least, Shin Sung Rok. His portrayal of Seo Yi Do as a quirky, sometimes childish and other times a profound and intense man brought the drama to a full circle. The drama is not about fat shaming but it shows the pain and frustration that can potentially leads a person to his/her doom when the people that you love is ashamed of you simply because you’re overweight, and also the inner struggles of this particular person about not been able to come out of the shell that she created for herself to escape the harsh reality of been shunned by your love ones and society. The drama is really romantic but it lacks passion among Seo Yi Do and Min Ye Rin on their romantic scenes. It is all much better when Seo Yi Deo is with Min Jae Hee; there is a sparkle on his eyes and so much tenderness, if only they would have share a kiss, the drama would’ve been perfectly finished showing the real love between Seo Yi Do and Min Jae Hee. Still, a great drama, enjoy it!

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This drama is a fantastic production centered on the lives and character development of a group of students enlisted in the Arsenal Military Academy. The cast did an excellent job bringing their characters to life. There is a great dynamic among the cast and the themes of conspiracy, action, military strategies, great friendships, and a cute but endearing romance between the leading couple. The academy life and its mission is the center stage on this drama. Although there’s a romance theme included, there are no romantic scenes between the leading couple, but that doesn’t make their chemistry less effective. The acting is superb and the drama keeps the audience interested and emotionally invested through its entire duration. Enjoy it!

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This is a good romantic comedy period drama. It has some really good actors and it is entertaining but it feels as if, sometimes, the actors were not giving it all. Surely, it is not only the actors fault; the drama goes from dramatic moments to comedy with some really ridiculous moments of absurdity. The lead couple’s were so much in love that, at one moment, they were willing to die for one another but, at the same time, it was ridiculous how immature and flippant was their mutual trust. Although the drama is supposed to be about the “perfect couple”, it had too many insufferable moments which hinder the lead couple’s chemistry. Overall, it is a good watch and the main antagonist did a great job. Enjoy it!

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Although it is a good drama with enough tension and suspense, the development of the revenge plot was weak and the series' dramatic tone and mood was too somber with little changes on the main characters’ demeanor. Jung Yoo Mi as Chae Yeo Kyung and Chun Jung Myung as Moo Myung did not performed to the standard of main lead characters and their chemistry was way off. I must say that Park Tae Ha (Lee Sang Yeob) and Kim Da Hae (Gong Seung Yeon) really saved this drama. Also, Jo Hee Bong as Doggoo was great!SPOILER ALERT: Also, the poignant and unnecessary death of Kim Dae Hae ruined the drama for me!

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This is a great and brilliant intrigue drama that uses the paparazzi world as the backdrop to a very powerful story. Paparazzi are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile individual from all walks of life and sell them to the highest bidder from media outlets that focus on tabloid journalism and sensationalism. The drama poses the reality of how greed, power, money, and ambition lead people to manipulate social media to move the masses from left to right and vice versa while utilizing pictures taken by paparazzi to bribe and control powerful people. It will be safe to say that in this drama the idiom "A picture is worth a thousand words" describes perfectly the drive behind the drama’s plot. The cast did a fantastic job bringing these complex characters to life. The story is well written and the dialogue is smart and powerful. Although there is a strong attraction and complicated circumstances that bring the lead couple together, there is no romantic storyline, but the leading man’s persona holds the drama together. Enjoy it!

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This drama is pure perfection! What a rollercoaster full of the most painful, heartwarming, and beautiful emotions among the different characters. Kudos to the writer and to those who work so hard to bring to life the struggles, memories, and life stories that go untold about the survivors of catastrophic events. The cast did a splendid job bringing these characters to life to give us a glimpse into the different views, feelings, and perspectives of those that are left behind. Last, but not least, Junho gave a stellar performance as Lee Kang-Doo, and Won Jin-A, as Ha Moon-Soo, was not far behind. Also, what a great character delivery from Kim Kang Hyun as Sang Man. Enjoy this drama, it is really outstanding!

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This is an outstanding period drama! Everything in this drama is excellent; director, producer, writer, editor... the cinematography, customs, great OST, beautiful and precised choreography, locations, and above all, the performances. There are no disappointments in the selection of the cast; supporting actors were magnificent and the lead couple was stellar. Yang Mi’s rendition of the female heroine Meng Fuyao was delivered to perfection and Ethan Ruan, as Zhangsun Wuji, gave a very powerful depiction bringing to life a very complex character. The chemistry between the lead couple was perfect as they worked together to bring the immense array of emotions that stem from their love for each other and the circumstances that they encountered. Although the romance was full of tender and beautiful sentiment, there are two very powerful performances by both leads, episodes 34 and 66, what a great display of talent! Enjoy it!
Rewatched 11/2023: Still grandiose!

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This drama is a fantastic fantasy romance comedy set within a historical background. The actors did a superb job bringing their characters to life and it was thrilling to see how Shin Hye Su, as queen Kim So Yong and chef Jang Bong Hwan, embodied the duality of her character and gave the audience a well rounded character that will make the viewer laughed, surprised, and, at many times, heartbroken. Needless to say, there is also Kim Jung Hyun that gave a stellar performance as King Cheol Jong and had an electrifying chemistry with the leading lady; never a dull moment when they were together on screen. This drama was so well casted with leading and supporting characters that performed excellently to bring about a very interesting, funny, sometimes poignant, and memorable drama. Enjoy it!

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This drama has gotten bad reviews on MDL but the drama deserves better. It is not an epical drama but it delivers suitable performances on the thematic of historical, romance, and fantasy. The cast did a good job delivering their given characters as they were written so, if their acting is to be criticized, one must question why the writers and directors made such characterizations. This drama does not intend to bring era factual events; it is solely to satisfy fantasy historical drama followers with a nice romance. The romantic plot is not earth shattering, but it does give the loving and endearing feeling of a good romance that started with a cute but unforgettable encounter for the leading couple when they were children; and the leading couple has good chemistry. The OST is fantastic and there’s great cinematography. Overall, the drama is really entertaining!

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