Trauma =/= good drama
I've watched a couple a k-dramas over the last weeks and apparently I've forgot to say something about them.So, about this one. I've watched this drama 7 days ago I think and I've already forgot a lot about it but here it goes.
One of the few dramas with a consistent plot. Usually you get a story that can happen no matter the background story. Here, it kinda needs this particular one, so that's a big plus. For the most part, obviously. A couple of things don't make sense and exist only to add drama and such.
Next, the acting. Amazing acting for the Male Lead. At the opposite pole, Female Lead sucks big time. Thinking a bit more, almost any other actress did a decent to phenomenal job, except the Lead one. The fact that she got maybe 2 scenes done ok, doesn't mean she's good. Yeah, sometimes (only sometimes) she looks kinda cute, but I prefer acting over looks.
Lets see, what next? Soundtrack. I don't remember exactly but I think it was something lousy/annoying.
I don't know what more to say. This drama will try and hit you at the feels. Its about trauma, how someone is affected and how they deal with it. Some reviewers think that trauma = carte blanche and they praise it and gave it top notes. I don't do that. I'm interested in the story and the acting, as one should be, no matter the subject. But I will say that you can go for this one. Mostly because the main Lead Actor carries this whose drama by itself as he's charismatic and his acting skills are quite good. Plus the second lead and a couple of supporting ones. Next to them, some of the ladies. Except for the Main Lead Actress.
I guess thats it. Have a lovely evening.
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It was a hoax all along
On theme with its theme (haha, I'm so funny *sigh*), from the start this drama manipulates its viewers. From the official promoters of the drama and the so-called "media influencers", to the vast majority of easily swayed users on websites such as this. Users that think that just because they can, they SHOULD post their thoughts about how they feel, but nothing about a media's quality. And I must address this again and again, because those are NOT the same. You can enjoy bad media, and thats ok (aka "my guilty pleasure"). Just make sure you know it is bad.For those who don't wanna read it all: this drama is sht. Full of plot devices, plot holes and plot contrivances, to make the story move forward. People might say that some aspects are interesting, but don't bother. EVEN if you like a certain actor/actress, you're better off watching some of their other works. Also no, there was no wasted potential from the start. Even the acting was done wrong.
I'll try to keep it short, and this time I might even succeed, because I won't even bother with my usual format, taking apart every aspect every piece of what goes into making a piece of media.
Here I go. Visuals. This is the part where I talk about colour grading, cinematography and such. Well, even though this drama actually deserves praises in this particular section, I won't go out of my way, and I'll explain later why. Yes, some extremely nice cinematography. I was really impressed with some shots. Moving on.
Next I'd usually talk about audio, the pacing, world-building, acting, character development, fight choreography (when there is one), production value and so on and so forth. This time, I wont, I'll go directly at its core problem. The script is sht. Period. Every aspect of it.
I'll start with its most basic aspects. A psychopath kid is first and foremost exactly that: a kid. You can't write him/her with traits of an adult when they have no life experience. Being cold, calculated and such, has nothing to do with knowing what piece of information is important, and why that is, to use for leverage. And from that "simple" aspect, everything goes downhill. Why? Because the rest of the story follows the same flawed logic, the scenes happening in the only way to make the story happen, dismissing logic or probability.
And this is mostly in regards of the "moving parts". Add to that the sht dialogue, with half sentences, not talking like a normal human being, to incur misunderstandings (so the usual dialogue in a k-drama :)) )...
Also, manipulating people happens all around, not just regarding males. You might say she was alluring them with her body, except, no she wasn't. Most of the times it was emotional manipulation, playing on aspects regarding her or her "victim", what was working best, case by case. "I suffered great wrongdoings. Your parent hates you. You and I are the same". Stuff like that. Anything that would help bewitch the victim. Even changing tactics mid-way if needed. (she hugs him, to stop him from talking because the verbal aspect was not working). So, this aspect was also wrong.
And on top of allllll of that, the acting wasn't great either. The viewers are easily swayed, I know, mostly so when its about these dramas, but thats not good acting. Or maybe its the directing... Well, I'll gladly compromise and say "it might be both". And I will give an example. Anthony Hopkins in "The Silence of the Lambs". When you threaten someone or you let them take a peak behind your mask, what they see must be reflected in their fear, their realisation that they are prey. You know, inner alarms going off, dry mouth, the fly instinct kicking off... Because thats the main hype for a psychopath, isn't it? Showing your full might and make the victim know its "insect value" while they draw their last breath. Or something like that, I don't know, I'm not one *sweats nervously*...
What we got here is the usual portraying of a deranged individual in a k-drama. Over-the-top, of even cringe, acting that consists in extreme smiling with a blank face, void looks, like thats supposed to show a "cold/no emotions" aspect.
So, using fewer words: this drama felt fake from the start because of the script and acting. Simple as that. I never understood the hype and I hope this drama will get buried fast.
And now, to sum it up. Is it good? Hell, no. You might enjoy it? No. Not even to pass time? Nope. The only praise I can address is about some visuals and some acting of the supporting cast. Watching it just for SOME nice scenes, sounds insane, especially because you don't know then there will be one. The same for the acting. If you like someone from the cast, watch them in something else. Or, you might watch this drama in the future, when you'll see the child actor in a different drama and check previous works. "Wait, it played in that drama? Hmm, bad reviews. But I like this person so I'll give it a go". Something like that, I don't know. (Yes, the child was good btw).
When a movie has good writing, people will like it even 50 years later (I won't even bother with an example, there are lots). People enjoy "bad" media because of certain aspects, even if the writing is not that good. You might like it for the visuals (the first Avatar), or the IP (the first Mortal Kombat). Or, it is so sht that you actually start having fun watching the low bar (Madame Web, Gal Gadot acting/singing in Snow White). Well, this drama is not it. It has none of those.
It gets a rating of 2 (I've already mentioned its good parts). Enjoyment factor? Re-watching value? LOL.
Have a lovely day.
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Bad. Just bad.
Keeping it mostly spoiler free, this drama is a sht show.I don't understand how this drama has such a high score. I know people usually are rating kdramas based on actors' beauty, but that shouldn't work here.
So: the plot is dumb and full of holes, the acting is meh at best, the directing and the cinematography are boring, the soundtrack is annoying, the production value seems cheap.
Since the first episode I was annoyed by how the events proceeded. And I mean that in the sense of "FFS!! How much longer until it ends??" But I did went for the second episode, trying to give it a chance. It never got better. The ML is supposed to be the cutest thing ever and he isn't. But thats subjective so I'll let it pass. Unfortunately, the chemistry between our leads is missing.
Then the so called plot. This revolves around an "alien marble" that can resurrect people and transform their appearance based on their soul's "beauty". That gets out the window when a "evil person" is not revived like a thing from a horror movie. In the same episode (2nd), the marble revives some flowers, by itself. Seeing that, shouldn't the marble keep reviving things? Chicken in stores/ in restaurants for example? I have nothing against introducing a lousy plot device (this said marble), but the writer should've made sure to address all these problems.
The characters seem retarded, then they are not, then go retarded again, and so on. To push the story in the needed direction, he author kept making coincidences happen. Or the characters go the "lets keep this info for myself, wouldn't want to end this story too soon" route. In short, the story must go from A to B and the author keeps changing how a character is supposed to act, based solely on "moving forward the plot". Even the "comedy" part is meh.
So: do you like a specific actor/actress? Check out some of their other works. Their potential was better used there (it can't be worse than here)....
PS: I got a headache thinking about what stuff happened in this drama for this review :)))
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It could've been better. But its not
It started somewhat ok. The premise is not great, but done correctly, you might enjoy it at least. And so, I gave it a go. I liked the way they felt like real people, not just actors. But it got bad pretty fast.Visuals. Meh. Maybe 2-3 decent stuff in regards of the cinematography (and a couple more of some nice landscapes), but nothing stands out really. In fact I could even say that has a lot of sh**y shots. Ok-ish effects ( but not always the same) for the ghosts appearing/disappearing.
Audio. Again, meh sound design. A couple of decent songs here and there, but overall it is full with sh***y "quirky" sound effects because "comedy". Same for the OP. Because ghostly/spooky/comedy. Uuuuuu...
The editing is all over the place, a lot of "dead" moments, or fast jumping from one scene to the next, so the pacing also keeps changing. The soft magic system (at least thats how I call it), or in this case, the supernatural one, is meh at best with its arbitrary rules. I can accept it, sure, but those rules were sht. Overall, I'd say mid production value.
Now the good parts. The casting is meh. Weirdly, great chemistry between ML and his colleagues, not so great with the FL. Its not bad, but it really doesn't feel natural, just two people doing their jobs. In terms of acting, the most noticeable (/amazing) is the FL. Here and there, some good acting from the rest of the cast. But it doesn't really matter how good or not an actor is, if his/her lines are not good.
So... Lets see. Not even 5 minutes in and it is already bringing up a lot of questions. From the dumb introduction, to her "disappearing" in no way possible and then made into another "comedic" moment. So, we can get a taste of the sh**y writing pretty early on. Lucky us. The dialogue is boring and/or sometimes, expository. Next, the story. Sometimes it is ok-ish and you can enjoy it at least. But most of the times, oh boy. And now I'm talking about the logic behind their actions. Having ghosts in it, that doesn't matter. Hypothetical, something happens. The rest of the cast starts acting in ways that are not normal, or logical. They act only how the writer (and the director) wishes them to, so that the plot moves forward. "Events" are created purely for the drama that should make us wonder whats going to happen next. Or how I like to call this, "cheap tricks". Smoke and mirrors. You get the idea.
** For example. I'm sure you came across at least one movie when there's a piece of dialogue such as "Let me get it straight: you think person X is/does this and that, and you wanna blackmail him/her? Wow... Good luck". While not the same, something like that happens in this k-drama. A so-called proof about a secret is made to be a big deal and used as leverage. You must understand, it is treated like something big, lots of stuff happening, the episode even ends with a cliffhanger. Not even a good one, because what happens next it is exactly what I was thinking it should happen (to be fair, that actress plays the role of a person not exactly bright, but thats the problem, the fault still remains in the sht writing). All for some time padding. Because stuff is needed to happen until the drama has left an X number of episodes and the ending can be set in motion. Anyway **
The story is full of cliche events, plot devices and plot contrivances. There might even be some plot holes, I remember there were some issues at some point, but I won't bother watching it again. So, stuff "just" happens and this moves the plot forward. The cast "just" happens to react in a certain way that moves the plot forward. Cheap tricks that bind with the plot. Like I said, sht writing. Based on the usual tropes and cliches, I figured out/guessed the plot-twists happening in ep 10/11/12/whatever (like I said, sht pacing, so I can't remember in which episodes the events took place) from the "beginning". The writer: "Oh, yeah! In the end, it all comes together perfectly". Me: "You're joking, right?"
Character development. Pfff.. Hahahahaha. Funny. Oh, right, before I forget this part again. The romance is ok. Enjoyable, if you will. Even without charisma, it is still enjoyable (but not good), yes. Comedy. That part is sht. And because it is mostly interwoven with the other aspects of the drama (like the romance), it muddles those aspects too. Its not "ghostbusters 2016" levels of cringe, but it definitely isn't ok. There were maybe only 5 good scenes (for example they carrying him drunk, with the car and the grandma stuff), the rest just meh.
I'll end it here. So, a mid-tier story at most, that functions mostly on "it just so happens that..." premises. Full of cliche stuff and so very predictable. The romance can be enjoyable at times, the comedy is meh at best. The FL does a lot of heavy-lifting, the ML is meh, but I'm sure other people will think he was fantastic. I guess I just don't get that way of acting he and one of his colleagues displayed. The other cast did more or less (maybe less) a decent job. The "bad person's" role and acting were low tier (I really don't get it why the writer did it like that). The production elements were meh. The supernatural thing was more like a crutch, used only for the sake of creating drama. And not even efficiently or constantly. In the first episodes it is over-saturated, then it happens only when the plot needs a push forward (and not as a logical action/response), then it goes on pause until the characters need it again. From all of these, you can see where this is going.
It gets a rating of meh. Sorry, a ...5 (question mark?). Barely. Yeah, no, fk it. It gets a rating of 4 (barely). Some good acting (or fantastic), some romance (but not the "wow" kind), some meh production elements. Pathetic plot-twists, not really good "villains". Oh, and the 10-20 min ending was also meh (deff not satisfying). No rewatch value. If you like someone from the cast, watch some of their other (and better) works instead.
Have a lovely evening.
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Don't bother
Ok, this is an easy one. Based on the synopsis, I was reluctant to watch it. And I had the "great" idea to check the reviews.Well, the movie is meh at best. Lots of plotholes. I can't say much 'cause I don't wanna spoil anything, but when the movie ends you will (or should) start asking questions as to why the events happened that way because, knowing what we know about her, she could've taken more easier and more logical moves.
Besides that, the acting is mostly meh, with some cringe moments when they are trying to portray "madness". Besides the "Bond villain" exposition dump, the script was barely ok (plus those plotholes, so maybe not that ok), and by that I mean not so broken as the usual k-drama. The pacing is ok, the slow pacing is needed to build stuff. Character development, no. You get the characters, they do stuff, thats it. Low/medium production value. Not that great vfx for the impact scenes, but the fighting ones are ok. The soundtrack is ok, I guess. It tries a couple of times to guide you in believing some scenes will happen, but mostly you won't be bothered by it. The cinematography is boring, nothing interesting.
Oh, don't believe the other reviewers. Unless you have a medical problem about seeing blood, its safe to watch. No gore involved, the bloody scenes look cheap. On this movie's page, between the "Cast" and the "Reviews" sections you can see the "Photos" one. The bloody shots appearing there? Thats what you'll get. The usual amount. So if you don't get sick from seeing a paper cut, you'll be fine.
It gets a 6 (barely) from me. Nothing special to hook you in. Definitely, no return value. Have a lovely evening.
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OMFG... horrendous beyond mere words
I'm not a fan of the chinese dramas. Their style is too different, it is mostly based on.. nothing really, just using idols, whereas I prefer a good story, script, character development, dialogue, world-building, or something. I don't even know why I started watching it, but I did. So, here it goes.Visuals. Meh at best. I haven't seen anything good. OH, sorry. There were a few (very few) decent/nice shots. And thats it. The dance choreography was meh.
Sound design was horrible. They tried too much and they destroyed it. Ok, one good song (just one in a drama where they start singing every 10 minutes...). The rest of the tracks and the volume of the dialogue was all over the place.
Editing, pacing, world-building., production value. You're joking, right?
Now, the good parts. Everything is sht. Horrendous acting (because 2-3 moments of decent acting is the same as null). The script, dialogue, story... Everything is bad. Very theatrical, but in the bad way. Some character development for the supporting cast (?), not the main couple. What else? I don't even know how to describe what I've seen, I'm feeling exhausted....
Oh, not even the synopsis is quite correct. From the way it is said, I'd think its him against the world, when in fact there are only two people that make his life "harder". And by that I mean a tiny bit, and for silly reasons, really. But mostly people adore him, and thats even before the mid of the story.
What else? The comedy was sht. Maybe 1-2 decent scenes, but I don't even remember those. The romance is meh, the chemistry is missing.
It gets a rating of 2 (for some character work, acting, visuals, one song!). Waste of time. So far, I've seen a couple of chinese drama (from "silly" ones with some gamers, to ones with one playing the role of an actresses, to something "serious", something with clouds in the title? About a war photographer and a bomb squad soldier? ), this one has by far worse visuals, is worse as a story, as acting, as anything. And the pacing is soooo bad, that it will make it feel even longer. No re-watch value, obviously.
Have a lovely evening.
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Decent first half (or a bit more) and definitely enjoyable, then it goes off-road
I'm late to the party, I know. (Maybe you're also here because season 2 is on and you wanna know if its ok to start it or not). Because of "See you at work tomorrow", and because its season 2 was about to start, I thought I'd give it a shot. And, well... oh, boy. Also, I finished it a few days ago and already I'm having problems remembering some parts in regards of the technical aspects. But I'll try. Also, apparently this is the remake of some russian show. Never seen it, I won't talk about it, I don't care about that aspect.Visuals. Everything about it is pretty good. There were a few meh moments, but overall it looks great. The fight choreography has some amazing moments, but it will drop in quality.
Sound design. Same as for the visuals, it is great, apart some scenes what were horrendous. As in, the boards shows some victim pictures but the track used is for something upbeat and quirky. Unless they think dead bodies is something funny and I'm missing something... But overall, it is good.
The editing is meh, mostly because sometimes the plot relies on manipulative editing. because, you know, detectives, mystery, big reveals about criminals or techniques.. It has stuff like that so that later in the game they'll give you some flashbacks revealing "more" about that previous scene. Overall, the pacing was ok. Decent world building. Btw, all of this was about the first part of the show, the rest will come on later.
On to the main parts. Good casting. Good acting. Sorry, very good acting. Some good chemistry. High levels of charisma. Now, you'd think that with such a team it will be a banger. Well, yes, from an enjoyment standpoint, thats true. And the ML carries the show. Not solo, there are a couple of very good actors around him, yet the main actor and his role plays definitely carries the show. But (because there's always a "but") enjoyment and good are not always the same. "My guilty pleasure" refers to liking/enjoying something thats not good. And thats ok, no need to see it as something "oh, no". But it is very important that you know that it is bad. And so, the next topic will cover that.
I'll talk about the script. This drama has an episodic format generally. That means, a new episode means a new case (most of the time, because its not a "must be like this"). And thats a great idea for a drama with this premise, because you can go crazy and do whatever you want. And they did. Right until the last 5 or so episodes. Before that part, like I said, it was ok-ish. I mean at least it was goofy and entertaining. The script was sht, full of plot devices, plot contrivances and such, but at least you could enjoy it. Yes, they had no idea how to investigate the crimes, yes, they were useless in thinking logic, yes, they conveniently "forgot" about certain clues right until it was time to end the episode, yes, they figured out the answer only because the cast read the script and not because they were smart enough to figure it out from the clues, yes this and yes that, but you could enjoy it. Well, starting with episode 11, the show tries to become serious, with a serious subject. You can still enjoy it, because of some stuff happening, but you'll also roll your eyes a lot. And then, starting with episode 13, it goes all to sht. Four episodes of dumbest and craziest plotline. When it all started, when I saw what crazy ideas they had, I almost dropped it. I only kept watching just because I was hoping for some kind of a romance going, because the script so far would've gone that route and I was curious if they will do it. Anyway, back to it. I guessed the ending just by saying "let me guess: you'll try the most mega fantastical plot twist, so you'll do the most dumbest 'no reason, no way in hell' route, right?" *a few hours later* "Oh, wow. You really did... Wow...".
Honorable mention: The first 10 min or so are also weird. It all felt fake, here you have that part with quirky music while photos of victims on display, that I mentioned earlier.
Some very good character development for more than a few, blah blah blah. It doesn't matter anymore. I mainly wanted to talk about that stupid ending.
It gets a rating of 6,5 (barely). Enjoyable only until to a certain point. And maybe even rewatchable, only for the cast, and only until the same certain point.
Have a lovely day.
PS: I also watched the first 2 episodes from the new season. Its quality dropped even more, almost to half. The FL is no more (timing conflict or so they say, and they couldn't wait I guess), the new one is a plank of wood. She has no charisma, the acting is horrendous, her role is sht. I also don't like what they intend to do with ML's mentor/helper/adjutant/"butler-like" (whatever that elegant guy was). So, if you really really wanna watch it, stay strong and good luck!
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Decent start (3-4 episodes maybe), then it becomes the usual slop
Maybe this is going to be a short review, mostly because I forgot how it all started. The specifics I mean. Yeah, it was THAT "amazing".Visuals. It looks good. Even a couple of some very, very nice shots.
Audio. The usual sound design, but with more soundtracks and less silly sfx. And that was good. Or maybe it would be fair to say that the sound design was better than the usual k-drama thing we get nowadays.
Decent editing, for the most part, because we have a lot of manipulative editing too. The pacing is ok, I guess, the usual stuff. The world-building is meh.
Good casting, they feel like "real people", not just "actors playing a role". For the most part, obviously. Because there are some wood planks too, for example that purple-haired surfer.
The story is meh. Decent premise, but with the same trope of over-qualified people.
As usual, the biggest problem lies within the script. For the first few episodes, the characters feel real. Then it starts to go crazy with over-the-top drama. Oh, sorry. With "real life problems that people MIGHT stumble upon". Very forced problems that serve as plot dragging, to fill the airing time. Every time there might be some progress, a NPC will say (or write) something that'll make the FL have crazy ideas, and crazy monologues too, obviously. Or she'll avoid a direct, normal conversation, just because. Same for the other one. Basically, lots and lots of nonsense meant to create drama, aka plot contrivances. By ep 8-9 it goes completely off-trail. Secrets spilled and weird reactions to it; in regards to the second couple, the characters react in a way that its not real if we consider what we find out (the "truth") later, but when we see it for the first time, they all act in theme with whats happening, when the correct way (knowing what we know later) should've been "wtf its wrong with you? what are you talking about?"; FL goes from chill & cool vibe in the first episodes to "I know I'm not making any sense even to myself, but thats how I feel now" vibes. You know, that red flag for which a gf becomes an ex-gf (or should). Again, all just for fake drama. FL acts like a 16 yo and goes "I feel one way one second, another way the next. Even I can't keep up with my own feelings" (yes, again, I'm not repeating myself; its a different scene.. great writing as you can see), and the scrip supposedly makes ML (and us) sympathetic (or should I say simp-athetic) and bear with it, "I'll keep waiting", while our obvious reaction should be "No, bro! Run from crazy! Consider yourself lucky to have found out so soon! Run and don't look back!" *sigh* And, as usual, the ending was boring and dragging. Or maybe it just felt like that because of the script. Anyway.
The romance, the main selling point, is just a forced drama roller coaster. Maybe some kind of chemistry between those two, sure. No chemistry for the 2nd couple (mostly because of his bad acting). The comedy is meh, sometimes it works, sometimes is just fake stuff, to force something in regards to the couple (like her praising him, but then getting shy and bad-mouthing him just as he appears behind, so a "misunderstanding" occurs).
Anyway, you get the gist. It gets a rating of 5. Before writing this review I had the idea that it was somewhat better but remembering all its flaws just now, it made me drop some points. Whatever good stuff was happening in the first 3-4 episodes, it all becomes null later. No re-watch value.
Have a lovely evening.
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No US show, but it has decent cast chemistry
Wow, coming back to kdrama after a while it really its really something. I had to remember myself that they are special... So, a very short review.Nice visuals. Mostly good sound design ( I was pleasantly surprised by a lot of things un multiple occasions). Mostly, because a lot of times it is also used as means to induce a "fast-pacing scene on screen, feel the tension, pls" feeling. So, the usual boring dragging kdrama pacing, but also having fast-pacing stuff, reserved for when they wanna give you the "something serious happening now" feel. The fight choreography and the technical aspects were the usual. Good casting. Well, mostly. We also have stuff like: an actress thats supposedly 12yo in the flashbacks, 19 yo present time, but she looks like shes 25ish... At first I thought the character was supposed to have certain health issues, but in later episodes I realised she's trying to act being 12yo. Unless the translation was bad and she wasn't really 12 then, dunno.
And now the good stuff. For those of you that watched the US procedural TV shows, don't expect the same level of competency. No CSI something, no LAPD something, no nothing. Anyone who loves those kind of shows should move to Korea and get a job. Its like those people in some anime, that transmigrate to a new world and they have prior knowledge, and BAM, insta OP. If reality is any as in the dramas, no matter how low/common your levels are, in Korea you'd be considered a genius :)))) Any time there was some sort of conundrum on screen, I was "talking" to them: "why aren't you doing this? Why aren't doing that? Wait, what? Whats that logic? Thats not how it works. Why the fk are you looking at him?" etc. It will really test your nerves :)))
If this is not your first kdrama, you should know my now how the things are done there. But now, the main attraction point would be the chemistry between cast. Oh, and the fact that the MC (the detective), its not some super mega genius, or rich, or any of the usual sort of gimmicks. He's smart enough, and works hard, and tests a lot of his new ideas, some produce result, some are not. That really makes him endearing. That is, most of the times, when the script is ok and the story is not some plot device for fueling drama. The rest of the main cast, also good. Since I started with this section, I have a tiny question. Why would the writer make the Police feel incompetent? I mean, when you hear " its not the hour that we were interested in, why should we bother checking anyway?" sort of thing, you start wondering how does one pass the exams and enter the PD. There's one character that does that a lot, but I've noticed it even from the "section head" or whatever his title was, someone thats supposed to be wiser... The acting was decent enough, again, apart from those typical kdrama scenes when they try to be "look, a deranged person", or angry etc.
As I was hinting earlier, the writing is not that great. A lot of plot devices and plot contrivances going on, mixed with a lot of drama for no real reason but to fake some sort of high stakes. The main storyline was a mess, they had no idea what direction they wanted to follow. So, they gave us a mix... Some sort of a main, but also stuff that might or might not be related. With comically evilmen. Yes, completely with "pls narrate your motives at the end, so the viewers will understand why". Oh, and the last 2,5 episodes were really bad. Geez...
To sum it up, A decent enough drama. If nothing else, the cast had chemistry all around. Don't bother with the heavily-induced "serious" subjects, I'm sure those were specifically selected just to create sensation and people to give them high ratings. "The themes, the themes", I know. So, basically, a drama for those who don't like to think. If you have any tiny bit of US procedural TV shows knowledge, its gonna be a hard watch. Maybe.
I gets a rating of 7, barely. But you might enjoy it. Like I said, the characters have charisma. As resembling real people, not the "omg, I love that actor/actress, I watch all of their work, they so pretty" crap that people usually use to rate something... And yes, I will now watch the second season. And no, not because of the cliffhanger (that was crap, and I was kinda expecting something like that when they give you flags all-around), but merely because I'm curious if the show will now have a better direction.
Have a lovely evening.
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Entertaining if nothing else...
I'm a little late to the party, but here's my 2 cents. To skip reading it all: it works, especially if you're watching dramas for romance and stuff, and not caring for logic or the art of making movies.Basically, all the weak parts are exactly the parts that supposedly is the hook: the dreams. Also, the dreams are the plot devices. SO, putting it all together, that means that the whole show is screwed if the dreams aspect is sht. And it is. Giving an example from a movie: imagine if a energy-bar wrapper got dropped on the floor of a high-tech, very sterile, experimental, scientific building, and that said wrapper gets sucked in the suction mechanism of a door (why even having one??), that produces a short-circuit, that gives a computer error, that makes the system reboot, that has the DEFAULT setting of opening all doors and release all the dangerous, genetically modified creatures you've been experimenting with (and you know they are dangerous), thus the whole movie can be made possible.... In lesser words, if your whole movie happens because you're giving a sht motive, that also means that the movie is going to be sht.
Back to our drama. Like mentioned before, is not all bad. The visuals are good, lots of good cinematography, the colour palette is in tone with the scene, very nice, inventive shots while the "dreams" occur.
Audio. Good I guess. The tracks are on par with the scene, the mixing is done ok. I don't remember the OP theme, but thats ok.
The pacing is ok-ish for this kind of drama. The world-building is a bit clunky, but its ok for this kind of drama. The acting is mostly good (apart the usual cringe acting when "bad guys are trying to sound evil"), if not amazing, with excellent chemistry all around. Also, very important, while weak for the main people, amazing character development with the supporting cast. If I keep singing its praises, Very good moral subjects.
And now the meh parts. The dialogue is meh. Mostly ok-ish, but dumb when the plot requires it. Evidently so when the scene is supposed to be "tense", the character suddenly becoming re****ed and incapable of saying in a normal way things to save a person's life, using the cliches of babbling and half sentences, because speaking like a normal human being would resolve the plot part and we can't have that yet....
The judicial aspect is a joke. The characters are made to be dumb or smart, or introducing some weird plot device, depending on the scene. I know I know,its because they need to drag the story. But thats the main problem, isn't it? If you can't make the story flow naturally, then you're ot doing a good job.
If I'm talking about bad logic, the dreams. Precognition, supernatural, blah blah. Yeah, Yeah, I don't care about that, as in I'm ok with those. The bad part comes from not being explained well enough. The rules are not applied equally, thus: plot contrivances and plot holes. How the fk can you make "dreams" that contradict one another, but also the "real-time" goes in a whole new direction, but not always... Why having them at all if can get the options: A, or B, or C, or all the above. How the tf does that even work? If you wanna go that route, why not introduce some "punishment" aspect? Having powers with just positive aspects and no drawbacks, thats boring. And if you're saying that its supposed to be like that, then the story becomes sht. Why? Because then every fking problem the characters are in can, and should, be resolved "because it can" and, again, that makes for a boring story if no stakes are offered.
So, it gets a rating of 7. It should be lower, because the whole drama is based on the broken "dreams" aspect, but the show was entertaining enough, the acting and character development did all the heavy-lifting. Re-watching value? Hmm, I don't know... I guess, if you're the kind that likes to watch dramas mainly for the "cute people on screen" aspect.
Have a lovely day.
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Low IQ mystery thriller drama about how useless the Korean NIS is
For those who don't wanna read it all and just wanna know: don't bother with this drama. Unless you were dropped on your head as a kid. Then, you might enjoy it. How much? It depends on how many times you were dropped.It has a feel of a nowadays tv show. They are assuming people are watching it on a 2nd monitor, or playing on their phone so the characters must tell you what happens and why. You will get flashbacks over flashbacks, meant as "remember this scene? See? Its about that thing. See, it all makes sense". Basically, they also assume you were dropped on your head...
Everything is full of plot devices. I'm not trying to make it bigger than it is. Every fking action is: people staring at each other instead of moving, ducking, doing something, anything; low IQ special agents; plot devices, it just so happens that people do this or that, it just so happens that events take place just at the right moment, it just so happens that a new piece of the puzzle drops from the sky; and so on and so on. Basically, you must ask yourself "what it'd be the worst possible action to take?" and thats exactly what it is going to happen. Why? because any other way would mean the drama would've ended. And we can't have that now, right?
The acting is sht. Or more exactly, there is no acting going on. People yelling, people dropping exposition dialogue, people trying to look smart, people trying to look evil? Sure. Acting? No. Ok, there are a couple (maybe 5, mostly involving the kid or about him) of scenes when acting does take place, but that a drop of water into the sea, so its easier to say there isn't.
Next. The cinematography is meh. Apart from a couple of super good shots, everything else is meh. The fight-choreography is bad. In a drama where ML knows taekwondo.... He mostly spins and he pushes his opponents. Oh, opponents with guns that miss him btw... Any "action" scene is filmed as "shaky cam" scene. Also, a lot of deceiving film editing, trying to make you believe one thing, only to reveal the "truth" in a flashback. So, visually nothing is good.
Audio. Decent enough. The mixing and selection of tracks is made accordingly to the scene occurring. The OST is ok, might even say thats on theme with this drama.
And now the "good" parts. Everything is sht. As mentioned earlier, plot devices everywhere. You need something to happen so that the next scene can occur? Don't worry, it will, no matter how dumb or unbelievable it should be. The ML will deduce things he's not supposed to, based on one general thing, "I've saved your like then". How? Why? Which time? *insert flashback of a specific scene, the character had no idea of, because he wasn't there yet, but the viewers know it* Now, the ML also knows. How? Don't know, don't care. Then red herring all around. Characters talking by themselves, aloud, so other people can hear their "thoughts". Then, "every" piece of dialogue is mostly a expo dump for the viewers. "So we can't do X cause Y will happens? Ah, I see." Even though all the people involved in said discussion already know (or should know) all of that. Also, the "evil guy speech"... Geez...
What else? Character development. Yeah, right... World-building, pff. Oh, the pacing. Right, right, the pacing. Well, the pacing is... Just is. I mean the drama is supposed to be a non-stop action thing, so it is supposed to have a high pacing. But nothing important happens, also its empty calories, so basically it just makes you dizzy.
Yeah, I should stop here. I can't say more without spoilers and I don't wanna. Maybe someone really really wants to see it. Why? Don't know. I wanted to binge it and quickly be done with it, but I started a game of taking a shot for every right guessing of "the bad person escapes now, this person is evil, he'll foil their plans, this is a red herring, she'll turn around, they'll talk nonsense for 3 minutes, its a trap" etc. Needless to say, I got hammered pretty quickly. Also, the next day I had to rewatch it..... *Sigh*
Its a weak drama, with low IQ events. From the synopsis we learn that an accident happens, blah blah. Well, I was bored when watching said accident. And after, too. I know it was supposed to be sad, but after all that bad acting and dialogue I was just bored and waiting for it to end already. A feeling that was applied to every following episode.
So, it gets a rating of 3. Mostly for the audio and some tiny bits and pieces of other good/meh stuff. No rewatch value, obviously. If you're here for the actors, watch some of their other work. Luckily I've watched this drama later than when it aired, so I can say it never got a second season. Btw the 1st season ends in whats supposed to be a cliffhanger. They hoped this sht would get a new season :)))))
Have a lovely evening.
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Don't bother
Wow, this is even worse than the first part... Its a spin-off or something. Or you could say its a sequel but the main character is someone else. Don't know, don't care. I tried watching it sober, I tried while buzzed, nothing worked. Barely 30 minutes in and I felt like hitting people.So: sht script, sht dialogue, no cinematography, bad acting, cringe, plot-driven everything, low production value, cheap vfx, bad fight choreography, sht action taking decisions, sht physics, no soundtrack (i've noticed it for the 1st time 30 min in, it was trying to convey something), one-dimensional characters (and no real development, obviously), the pacing is all over the place. Maybe the only thing ok is the fact that they've used decent cameras and lens, it is filmed at a good quality (weird flex, I know). Oh, and some (very few) good tactical decisions while fighting, from trained special ops kinda guys.
Zero re-watching value. I wouldn't do it even if the chicks were naked. If someone tells you nice things about this one, they are trolling you or they have sht taste in movies. Don't bother. Watch or re-watch something else.
Have a lovely day.
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Keep clear
I'll keep it very short. This drama is sht. I don't know why it has such a high score....Plot-driven story. Everything happens because the writer intended for it to go exactly that way. And in order for it to happen, the characters do dumb things, act in strange way, otherwise the next step in the story wouldn't be possible. And even more weird, new plot elements are introduced and dropped later without any real reason. So basically the story is dumb and it gets cluttered with extra stuff, for no real reason. Beside that, cringefest. Lots and lots of cringe moments. Probably that was supposed to be comedy. Well, it missed.
Next, character development. Too few and not where it should've been. The chemistry is ok, mostly because of the ML. The FL tries too hard. Even her acting is a little bit off (and the "sexy" scenes are cringe and used only to boost the viewing numbers). I've seen her in other series and she wasn't this "bad". Of course, a lot of it can be blamed on the script and maybe even the director, but still.
What else? Annoying soundtrack. The production value is decent. The pacing is awful. Well, you get the idea. Give it a wide pass. The ML made all the heavy-lifting ( I even suspect some improvs from him, to make the scenes a little bit sweeter), coupled with some of the supporting cast. But not even the cast should make you curious about this one. Clearly the people who gave this drama a high rating did it only because "Omg I like X actor/actress. I'm so happy I got to see them again" or something like that.
Have a lovely evening.
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Try to avoid
After watching this, I came here to see what others think. And after reading some reviews I felt the need to write something. And yes, I know this drama is old and Im late to the party. And yet....From the start: this drama is sh*t. The writing is really horrible, full of plot holes, with things happening the way they do because it was needed to push the "story". There is nothing resembling logic. Next, the acting. Omg! It gives you headaches. The directing, lousy. The cinematography, really bad. From the bad mixing (there is one scene where someone is turning and leaving, they change the angle and he's still sitting face to face, only to turn and leave in the next second) and the bad soundtrack trying to "tell" you how to feel ("look, its a funny scene, you need to laugh. Now its a sad scene, you need to feel for the character"), to the bad way it looks visually. And I mean it really looks like a soap opera. The lighting, the angles, the low quality of the filming... It looks and feels like something from the '80s, maybe '90s.
And now lets start digging. I don't know why I wanted to watch this... this "drama". Might have read somewhere, on some other drama, that its amazing, that the chemistry of that main couple was on par with the ones from here. And I dont know how, but I managed to find this and I've remembered that comment. So lets start full power, shall we? The film synopsis at the top is wrong. The thing with "the grandson is put in charge with educating" starts from ep 6 (or is it 7) and lasts until ep 10 I think. From a total of 16 episodes.... I've paused in the 1st 15 min, i guess, and I thought "Wtf is this?!?! Am I being trolled?" And to fast-forward this review a bit, I've paused and paused all 16 episodes. It took me 6 days to finish it. I've watched 2 episodes first day and the next day another 2, and then I kinda wished to just get over with it and forced myself to keep watching. But I still paused and sighted pretty often.
i dont know who the screenwriter is but she shouldnt be allowed to write ever again. And Im assuming its a "she" because the whole story is about a princess. A dumb and stupid princess who has moments of clarity and wittiness (is that a real word). And that you wont see in real life and it is clearly a projection of the writer's frustrations. I'll continue. The FL cant act. And thats not the worst of it. I dont know how or why ppl think shes a beauty. To me she looks like a frog. The shape of the mouth, always with the corners down, the neck, the eyes... Always yelling, looking sideways, the mouth semi opened... Thats no beauty. And the acting is one emotion. The kid playing her younger version is a better actress. Im sorry, I should phrase it better: its not fair to compare these two, because the kid is a really good actress. Lets make it even more obvious why the FL is bad. You want beauty and acting skills? Then I'll say watch "Crash Landing On You". Saying both are actresses is like you're making fun of that one (I dont know her name, sorry).
Next, the ML. A bit better. Not much, just a bit. And the chemistry is not there. Or not the chemistry that ppl think about when using that word. And if we're here, a good actor, looks and charisma: the professor. Ofc I cant say if he's a really good actor or his skills were displayed more obviously by being next to his colleagues on set. And along the way the "story" makes him a loser, cause things need to happen. But for the few first episodes (at least), it was a joy when he was in the scene. The other female actress, the Museum Director, another lousy one. She has only one face in all the scenes: constipated, mouth tight shut, teary eyes and a lil bit looking cross. She looks like a chimp. Even if the acting wasnt that much better, at least the support actresses were better looking.
So, in short, terrible story, bad acting (apart from the professor and the young princess, where again I must say "wow"), no chemistry, bad directing (oh yes, I'll get back to that), bad soundtrack (the theme might've been good but I dont remember it , so that good huh), terrible story ( yes, I had to say it twice). Then why do some ppl say its a good drama? Who tf knows. Im assuming those persons have no idea what makes or breaks a good film. And if you still need more proof....
A dumb and always yelling stupid girl is told that she's a princess. You'd expect her to be a little clumsy, to make some mistakes, to have some hidden talents, some sparks with the ML and in the end, happy happy joy joy. A pretty simple, straightforward story. Right? He he heh, you little innocent one... Ofc not! The "writer" went for the snooze fest story. Things happening because it needed to happen that way. The MF (the frog face one) taking all the wrong decisions because she's a simple common girl and a orphan (im not joking they use that motive. a lot). Both ML trying to help her, while both of them letting the other FL, Museum Director, (the chimp face one, come on, keep up) doing all sorts of bad sht until the end. Thats the main road, if you will. I wont delve on questions like "why the fk would the Chairman (grandpa) keep a wimp and incompetent such as the Museum Director's father as his right hand?". And ofc the story is full of things from Korean culture: reporters, badmouthing, sheep-like mentality etc. I mean if you are watching k-drama you know that and you will not be bothered by it. What can I say? I just hope this writer wont work again.
And now, before I forget again, the director. Even if the script isnt stellar (yeah, im trying to be funny), a decent director should at least be decent at directing. Hence the name. Actors who cant act for sht? Make them do something that at least lessens the blows. Change the angles. Try a different look. Use the lighting, the decors... Something. Anything. Or while mixing, try doing a decent job. And Im talking about the flow. Putting in the same scene, shots from two different cameras without some kind of flawless transition (and by that I mean not repeating itself) should be basic stuff. How hard can it be? You put two cuts together, you hit play and you see that second cut starts with the last 2 seconds of the previous cut. You hit pause and you crop more from one segment, the end of 1st or the beginning of the second one. That simple. I mean it feels like basic stuff. But then again, we also have scenes ending with headshots of all the chars, no one talks, the camera changes every second from one to the next, three times. 15 seconds of nothing. No one talks, all looking "intense", 2-3 times on a loop. Thats the director trying to tell you that something important is happening. I guess I should also mention the flashbacks. Especially the one where something happens in a scene with the princess, the next scene is with someone else and it goes for one minute maybe, then the next scene is with the princess who is having a flashback of what happened 1 minute ago. I kid you not!
So: bad directing and mixing, bad story, 98% bad acting. Forgettable soundtrack. And yet some ppl gave this drama a 10..... I guess my recommendation would be to watch the 1st episode (if you really want to try it). You will get an idea about how bad it is really quick. Just dont get hooked in by the professor. And forget about "maybe later it will...". Nope. It wont get better. But hey, if you like it, what can I say? Im so sorry for you. The life is long. Im sure one day you will learn what good cinema is. Eventually. Maybe. And even if you do like it, pls dont compare it with some other works. Even if you cant judge it correctly, by saying it reminds you of x and y, you're just making fun of an supposedly good drama. Its like saying Hitler and Mother Teresa are both good ppl. Do you get it now? Thats the simplest way I can put it for you. So, pls dont.
Re-watching value? Oh please... Only if the definition of that is fast-forwarding through the scenes and finishing all the drama in one hour. And not even then.
Thank you for reading this.
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Decent at best and not for their reasons
I'll try and keep it short. A barely decent k-drama (without the last episodes), but not for the reasons they wanted it to be.The story is a bit Korean-like, aka everything is related, aka fate. It doesn't make it bad but it does make you roll your eyes, cause you can predict some plot points. The script is decent, or mostly not bad. Yet, weird. Some cringe moments. I wont talk about the last episodes, those are pure sht. They wanted something to happen so the writing was done poorly and forced things to go how they wanted, no matter if it made sense or not.
The production wants to make the headhunting a legit, good-hearted business and you can see it in every episode. If you agree or not with it, thats a subjective matter. So I wont mention it again.
The acting is decent. Nothing mind-blowing, but still very enjoyable. The chemistry between leads is not there. Not in the conventional way. The FL is not the greatest actress or charming, but I'd say she was good for this role. The script made all the heavy-lifting. Also, the script has a lot of plotholes exactly because of that. Although its not that bad as per the usual k-drama, the script for this one is plain, linear, and because of that all the bad stuff tends to be noticed more easily. Lots of questions or weird decisions. A simple example, what about his ex-wife? I wont spoil more, but if you'll watch this drama, you'll understand what I mean.
Anyway, back to the main stuff. The chemistry is not there. ML and FL make it work, barely, but there's no chemistry. I'll even say that the second FL has more chemistry with everyone around, or the chemistry (not romantic) between colleagues, or the kids. Anyone but those two :))) The character development is ok for some of the cast and very non-existent. yet heavy-pushed forward for others. And by that I mean they tell/show us: "look, she got better, don't ask, get over it". The story presses a lot of "social injustice" (dunno how else to name it) upon us, a cheap trick to make the viewer sympathetic. yet, I've felt more in some other scenes. Like I said, a weird script. Good, but not for their reasons. The supporting cast did ok. The soundtrack is meh at best. Forgettable. Lots and lots of whispered, soft-breath mumbling. Sorry, I meant singing. The production value is mid. The cinematography is mid, with some few moments of "good". And lastly, dunno about the pacing. A bit slower, sure, but thats the right way for this script. It helps with the development. And yet, it goes too slow sometimes, and next it gets to a normal (our normal) pacing for no real reason. And yes, every episode will feel like it took forever, so be patient.
And I guess I'll stop here. You could give it a try, but don't mind the synopsis, because what makes it decent is not it. It gets a rating of 6, barely. Mostly because some character arcs, some nice acting from the supporting cast and things like that. Return value? No, not really.
PS: Oh, I just remembered another thing that makes no sense. I'll write it here. In the first episodes she is shown like a "klutz", always bumping into stuff, forgetting stuff. Guess what? She gets magically cured. Nice char development. Yeey. *sigh* Yeah, definitely not a 10 rating :)))
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