PHope

Demekin reminded me of High and Low series, and not because Yamada Yuki was the lead of the movie. The story was packed with action scenes, fighing and blood. The vibe was a bit strange at first, but you get used to it. The plot begins with the two boys playing around and then it just narrates the journey of the main character and how he became the leader of a gang. So, for a gang-action-fighting movie, this one was good. However, the story itself was just okay. I guess the visuals and the performances were those that supported this movie rather than the plot line. So seven out of ten.

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"Caseworker's Diary" is a slice of life drama to the core. It is concisted by small cases from a social worker's daily life. The cases themselves were okay, some of them kind of boring, but others very interesting. So, when it came to human touch and heart warming stories, this drama did it right. However, the main plot was just missing. There was a leading lady who narrated the story, and we followed her and her colleagues while they were facing those small cases, but we never got to know her, other than some ghost of a personality that she had, by enjoying old american movies. Finally, the performances were good from everyone and the conclusion of the drama was satisfying enough.
Final Note: it was fun to watch Murayama Yoshiki from High&Low being a social worker!! The bad boy from the school gang grew up to be a good boy after all.

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A short movie about a vmapire and a mortal, this one had an interesting concept at least. Though it didn't have much time to progress, the romance seemed to have potential. However, it was rushed. The story overall was fast paced, as they tried to pack too many elements in one plot. The atmosphere, however, was nicely presented and the performances were good from every actor and actress and, especially, from the leading lady, who was adorable overall and her acting was just what this character needed, as she could have easily went overboard. So, my final rating is four out of ten.

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This drama has a cute concept about friendship and romance. Four different women with different lives and different personalities face the same problems when it comes to love. The stories were cute, but they lacked depth. The romance, moreover, wasn't as intense as it should have been, though some stories were more realistic than the others. The plot, in addition, was predictable, but it had a nice pace and it was fun. The characters, as well, were presented nicely and the performances were pretty good from all the cast too. Finally, the ending was okay and heartwarming.

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Good Morning Call season two was definately not as good as the first season. The first one was funny, interesting and entertaining. However, the sequel was mainly based on the success of the first one, with the couple hardly having any romantic moment in the drama. Actually, their chemistry that was so well established in their high school years seemed to have vanished in their campus days. The second lead syndrome, was here as well, with a new boy this time around. He was actually quite good and the only thing interesting about this drama, if you don't take the performances that were pretty neat into account. Overall, Good Morning call 2 doesn't live up to it's prequels expectations and falls flat. So, 3 out of 10.

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There are few movies adapted by manga that can pull of the whole action thrill. And this one nails it. The game, probably a bit odd for those of us who don't know it, doesn't appeal much at first. But, somehow, the movie manages to present it as thrilling as any other sports game. The action is packed and the team dynamics perfect. However, the movie centres around the game, which means that its sole focus is that and other parts of the movie, such as the romance and the friendship that faced some hardships, were overlooked. There were some hints here and there, but they are not sufficient enough to complete the picture of what happened in the past. That said, in addition, the film doesn't really present its characters personalities and unique colours in depth. Finally, the performances were good and the movie, overall, enjoyable.

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Okay, it wasn't THAT bad, but it still was too mainstream for me. Sure, I love a good romance, but even so the story had so many potentials to develop and get a good twist here and there, however that never happened. Maybe the fact that the love story was a bit weak or that the chemistry between the couple was so-so, bored me. I mean, when did the teacher fell for her? Shouldn't they have shown us at least that? He can't just steal her away and propose to her out of the blue! Anyway, like I said, the story had potential. Clearly the girl had some issues, as she kept touching her ear every time she talked to someone or she feasted her hand when she was nervous (or ate donuts when she was sad). If only the film had made the effort to explore the girl's mental world better and not focus only on the relationship, maybe then the movie would have some depth and would have been more interesting. Finally, what I liked about this movie: the performances were okay and the way her cousin handled things were interesting. So, 3 out of 10.

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I was looking forward to this drama, as it is based on a good manga and the lead actor is one of my favourites. However, it didn't progress as good as expected. The first episodes were really good, with the romance developing in slow tempo and the drama being highlighted with the struggles of the inspiring students who want to debut as a band. However, the drama started falling apart after the first half. The romance was not as strong, as the guy constantly made the girl cry, and the girl simply and very idiotically, for me at least, kept coming back. There as a nice love triangle, that, again, couldn't be developed because clearly the girl was obsessed over her first love interest. The performances were okay, but not as good as they could have been, and the songs were nice. So, 4 out of 10.

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I was really looking forward for another drama with Kyungsoo, who was really good in his other works. Plus, Bo Gum was an additional bonus, as he can really adapt to his role and he plays the childish roles really well. However, the drama felt a little stiff, as it got stuck into boring plot twists. The background story was interesting; a guy returns to Korea in order to find his brother, who had been kidnapped by their father's killer. However, the drama was almost like a medley of Dexter and the mentalist, with a genius man who ends up working with the police tries to find the serial killer that harmed his family. The killer's shots in the prison were annoyingly repeated over and over in each episode. In addition, the drama was tiring and boring, and the romance was really weak. So, 4 out of 10, only for the good performances of the two actors mentioned.

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Maybe I'm being too generous towards this drama and I'm giving it a 3.5 out of 10. Because there were too many down sides about this drama. First of all, the story: a girl, who's a vampire, tries to hide her true identity in her high school. That's season 1. Season 2 is about the same characters, only they are now living in the past. After that, we move on to the last season (each season is about four episodes or so, as the drama has only 12 episodes!). In the 3rd season, we are back in the modern world. Okay, the concept was good. I particularly liked the second and the third season (well, half of it), as they were quite interesting. The first season felt too rushed, and, as I was ignorant to the fact that the drama was divided into three seasons, I was surprised that the story was concluded in episode 3! An other thing that didn't work for me, was the band concept. I thought it was childish and too unrealistic, not that they weren't talented, but to get to be idols?? In addition, the performances were so so. The female lead wasn't good, especially in the first season, but got a little better towards the end. The second male lead was surprisingly good, and I liked his story and his whole appearance of this bad boy vampire. The male lead was good as well, but that was expected. The costumes were really nice, and, surprisingly, the special effects were realistic enough. So, 3.5 out of 10.

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Not Good Enough

Korean Drama " King The Land " is a romantic comedy with two strong leads.

The drama has a smooth start, with a story that brings back nostalgic feelings for the old Korean romantic comedies that ruled the last decade and even before that. The romance is sweet and the banter between the leads is adorable and entertaining. The friendship was also an enjoyable factor.

However, everything went downhill when the two leads got together, which happened early on. Thus, the drama was left to deal with romantic dates, traveling abroad, and some family drama, which at least kept things interesting here and there but was too predictable to be able to save the drama.

Other than the boring plot, however, the performances kept being strong, and the main couple had chemistry.

So, overall, two and a half out of ten.

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