This short series seems to be more of a CF than an actual show and seriously makes me wonder if it wasn't bought and paid for by the alcohol industry. Not only is there constant in your face massive amounts of drinking in this, but the amount of product placement is WAY over the top! The drinking wouldn't be as disturbing to watch if it wasn't so pervasive...as in the fact it is in more than half the frames of every episode it seems. It's like the rest of the show is just filler to get to the part where they can start drinking...and it's not drinking for the pleasure of the drink. It's gulping it down in vast quantities as if your life depends on how fast you can inhale it. The only time I saw her actual take the time to appreciate what she was drinking and savor it, was the plum wine in the Chinese food segment. It's promoted as a foodie show, but the food, as glorious as it is, is a distant second in time spent on it compared to the alcohol consumption...which is a crying shame because the food in this is spectacular. 10 for the food. but I down graded it immensely for the constant advertising that alcohol is the panacea for all things in life: Happiness, sadness, pleasure, coping, escaping, etc. Quite a bit of bloat in that girl's face in the last few episodes. I don't mean to say it's not worth watching...I really really enjoyed the food part IMMENSELY! And to see more of Lee Jae Yoon, I'd watch it no matter what anyway! :) ;)
FOR ME.......they took a story with great potential as a forensic procedural and turned it into a makjang soap opera. Spent half my time rme at the horrible science, totally unbelievable murderers getting away with everything until, as usual, the last moment, and the incessant preaching. It wasn't all bad....the basic idea was terrific. I ended up ff through most of the last 10 episodes to get the gist of the stories. I can't help but wonder how the writer felt seeing such a great story turned into your basic melo. And yeah the ending was ridiculous and totally manipulative.
I've seen all of these but the Choi Min Sik drama. Great choices. Maundy Thursday/Our Happy Time will Always be my favorite KDW film. It made me THINK and that is one of the most remarkable gifts a good film can give...when they go beyond entertainment and into that realm where your mind engages and, as in the case of this film, your belief in something changes dramatically, or you finally face your belief and realize you can't justify it any longer.
This drama is so freakin good, best drama out there right now! After watching episode 4, I hate the fact that…
Since the person doing the ultrasound said THIS TIME the implantation is holding, I'm guessing she has had multiple miscarriages. So no way would the baby be Black's and No Way would Kdrama have him donating sperm and paying them to implant her.
Since Swan is probably the character comparable to Haydee, the servant who helps Dantes and falls in love with him, they should end up together. Also since she is the top billed star, it sorta stands to reason that's where they will go. ;) :P I think!!! :) :)
Just started today and marathoned the first 4. Exhausted! I love the cast, but Kim Kang Woo absolutely KILLS me with his rip-your-heart-out-good-guy-turning-bad characters. I'm anxious to see how this all pans out and how Count of Monte Cristo they will go. I want a redemptive curve for him, but fear he has gone too far and we are facing a death scene at the end...though I doubt they will have him suicide like Fernand Mondego did!
So I just finished and have been bawling like a baby... just like I have for the last 6 episodes! Loved this drama so much. Loved the concept, how they presented their ideas of who he was and why he did what he did. Loved the fact we did not have to put up with any one dimensional smirking bad guys who have to advertise they are bad by smirking and laughing through all their scenes. All the characters had to struggle with hard decisions and those were dealt with in such a realistic and relatable way so that even when the decisions were ones we couldn't agree with, we still understood them.
My heart feels like a stone in my chest right now. Yoo In Ah's portrayal of King Taejong came on like a tornado in these last episodes. It was a brilliant job of acting and he made me feel every emotion and agonize over every decision he made right along with him. He absolutely nailed the "lonely at the top" isolation of his character, and the pain of his lifelong, desperate need for love and support that he gave up to attain his dream. He is an absolutely amazing actor. His immersion into his characters is exceptional. This is my second time to be utterly in awe of him.
I hate long dramas, dislike sageuk. But I would willingly sit through another 50 or 100 episodes of this drama with this cast! Missing it desperately already.
I could copy and paste what I wrote half way through. I don't fault the acting in this. Everyone did great job as far as I could see. No overacting. And the bad guys were great! They weren't cartoon character baddies, twirling their imaginary mustaches and snickering evilly. They were more complex and had dark and light to their badness. The fight scenes, of which there are many, were excellent. Terrifically well choreographed and far more realistic in their viciousness that we are used to seeing in dramas. More like in the movies.
Where this failed for me was the story and the writing. It tried too hard, too hard to be more than it was. And tried to be too many things too. If they had gotten away from the 007 wanna be stuff and just treated him like a disgraced cop, in a neighborhood bar frequented by retired cops and various oddball characters maybe, then the story would have felt more grounded in reality. Somehow this story never let us get really attached to these characters, for me anyway. It was all in all pretty disappointing. I should have been prepared, was prepared but still hopeful, when I saw who the writers were. Still I hoped! That it was on cable made me hope for a down and gritty action show with a tense revenge mystery to top it off(oh WHY could this not have been something brilliant like Signal?). But not even close.
I don't regret watching it. I just wanted so much more for Park Si Hoo's long awaited return drama. Still, he has his feet wet now. From the looks of him in this show, the strain and worry he must have been under definitely showed. He seemed very subdued or quiet in his portrayal...I missed the send of power or energy he is capable of projecting in his roles. I hope he will continue to fight on and bring us another brighter or stronger performance. I would love to see him with a strong co-star, or even as a second lead, in something dark like his movie Confessions maybe.
As entertainment, it doesn't get much better than this. Absolutely gorgeous to look at. Everything about it a delight to the eyes and the senses. The acting superb. I loved every minute. LBH was just stunningly sexy evil in this. He is looking very gaunt however...still, it was a perfect 'look' for this movie as it matched the character perfectly. The fight scenes were beautifully choreographed and, yes, it is very wuxia a la Crouching Tiger and I loved it doubly for that. My only problem? with the movie was the story...a mother, who seems to love her child, raises her to unknowingly kill her own parents? This is a departure from morality that is pretty hard to swallow. As a dramatic device, okay, I guess. Just not one I particularly was happy about. Still, not enough of a detriment to knock it down much!!! Still a 9/10 for me and I will definitely watch it again!!! Really. A feast to look at!
very good story and acting. Some procedural holes, but not horrible. Ending way too pat. I keep thinking how much…
yes it is. I've not been able to watch much. Only 3 episodes. Not impressed. Signal is FAR better, Ghost/Phantom was a step down from Signal, and this one is more like a typical kdrama. Not that that is necessarily bad...it's just no Signal!!! :)
My first 100 episode drama!!!!! I swore an OATH I would never ever watch one, but decided to just try it because of the cast and the early talk. I'm totally addicted. My heart was leaping out of my chest after every episode for the first 25!! I have tried several and they became so unbearable boring and repetitive! Seo Jun Yeong is killing it in his performance. I was left shaking purely because of him. Just amazing! (That mother of his is gonna kill me...but I'm killing her taking her with me if I die!!)
A few places have posted this synopsis which comes from KBS:
"As the proverb goes, "The apple does not fall far from the tree," the mother, who was unloved by her parents, sacrifices everything she has for the man she loved, but she gets betrayed. No matter how much she loved him, she ends up as a single mother just like her mother.
Her daughter, watching her mother's life closely, decides not to live like her. However, those who betrayed her trample the lives of the two women. The mother and daughter can do everything to achieve their goal even if they have to hurt other people. And, this is their greed. They should get paid enough for what they have done.
The daughter is so depressed that she has got nothing to lose, she has her last chance. Her twin sister, adopted by the rich family when she was a baby, passes away and she gets her place after that. She stays close to the mother and daughter and slowly she destroys their life. Yet, it is their matter of wanting to. The daughter gets hurt by her mother's trap. Watching her daughter bleed, the mother finally realizes what she has done.
This story is about the betrayal of the loved ones and the meaning of true love. And, while the saying, "What goes around comes around," is true, the main message of the story is that sincere love always wins."
--------It's confusing because who is her? Who is the mother? Who is the daughter? I think it keeps switching. After reading it a few times and switching who I was thinking it was, I think the mother daughter they are talking about in the 2nd paragraph are Se Jin and her mother. The 1st is about NaYeon. The beginning of the 3rd is NaYeon and the end about Se Jin and her mother again.
Whatever the story ends up being, I was actually happier with it being Do Hee that survived. I don't really like the door mat characters like Na Yeon. But, probably, if it is Na Yeon that survives, I'm betting she gets tough like Do Hee, so I'll be fine with that. I'm wondering if Tae Joon et all are going to know Na Yeon is "dead"? Or will that be hidden somehow? And she will be picking at them as Do Hee, saying stuff Do Hee should never know??? Whatever, it's going to be fun!
One thing though. I really really HOPE that little girl does not get drug into this mess...like Se Jin and Tae Joon getting custody and that little tyke being exposed to all kinds of crap from her and her mom. The whole scenario of NaYeon pretending to be dead and assuming DoHee's identity doesn't make much sense. As DoHee she would have no rights to custody of NaYeon's daughter so a dead NaYeon automatically means Tae Joon and Se Jin will get her. And Se Jin is not going to be happy about that. So, if NaYeon does assume Do Hee's ID, then I have to assume they have already taken custody away from her somehow. And that will be a stretch. Because even in Korea, unless the mom is a deadbeat mom, or unable to support her child, the mom's usually get custody. But I see no other reason why NaYeon would pretend to be dead. Because if she is alive and has custody of her daughter, why would she jeopardize that? Which then gets my mind going on another dozen scenarios explaining all that!!!! UGH. Wishing my days away. Better go check to see if the next episode is up. I'm watching on Dramanice.
very good story and acting. Some procedural holes, but not horrible. Ending way too pat. I keep thinking how much better done this would have been if it was done on cable. I'm eternally grateful that Signal, also by this author, jumped to cable for that brilliantly done drama. Now on to Sign, also by her...but also by SBS. Still a solid 8 for me.
It was a good story. Excellent production. large cast and realistic sets. Overly long at 2.25 hours!!!! Could have done with a bit of editing. Nice romance. WAY overly dramatic in places, in particular her 'confession' scene was a bit overdone. Watched it on Dramanice. A lot of the scenes were filmed in the dark/candlelight which made much of the film difficult if not impossible to see. The final battle was the highlight...looked like a Joseon era 300. Of course thousands of arrows falling and not a single horse drops. Pretty amazing how thousands also get blown up but the girl right in the middle of all that lives! But it was fun. Even more fun is the fact that the weapons and the time period are actually based on historical fact. I'm pretty sure none of this story is though, but who cares!
Highly predictable Romeo and Juliet movie with usual sad ending. But not all that sad since you know going in how it's going to go from the very first scene....and the synopsis is a dead giveaway. Pretty to look at, not a lot of depth, but entertaining enough.
For some this is a classic. For me, it's a poor B movie at best. Terrible script, virtually no story building. Just a bunch of set scenes piled one after the other about people who apparently don't like each other for no clearly defined reason as there's virtually no back story to any of it. A lot of fight scenes which, by today's standards, are pretty poorly done. Watching bodies hit 'barrels' that are obviously made of rubber, poorly concealed mats for the fighters to conveniently fall on, to the completely idiotic final fight...all of it just made my eyes roll. There wasn't a thing about this movie that was new or innovative or ground breaking or emotionally engaging. I had absolutely no reason to cheer for a man who was clearly completely out of his league in this fight and not smart enough to logically plan and execute a decent revenge scenario. I spent the entire final scene thinking this is the dumbest protagonist I have ever seen and the most embarrassingly bad scene writing for a final fight ever...a public 'fashion' show where he walks down the stage and attacks the bad guys?? not 17....like 71 of them!!! SMH That's all the bad. However, I absolutely LOVED the opportunity to see the young versions of this cast. All are actors we see everyday now in film and dramas and to see them so young and so handsome, it was just a joy. For that reason alone this movie is endurable. B movie it may be, but there's a ton of people who love old gangster movies like this...I just don't happen to be one!
The DVD with authorized English subs is due for release in April 2016. I'm guessing we will have to wait until someone pirates it onto their site to find decent subs.
Where is this movie? Last thing I can find is it was supposed to be released July 2016. I have read that, because of Chinese censorship, it can take 12-18 months after a film is completed before it is released. I wonder if the new censorship laws are affecting this?
the subs are messed up in many places, but didn't seem to affect my understanding of what what being said at all.
Since Swan is probably the character comparable to Haydee, the servant who helps Dantes and falls in love with him, they should end up together. Also since she is the top billed star, it sorta stands to reason that's where they will go. ;) :P I think!!! :) :)
My heart feels like a stone in my chest right now. Yoo In Ah's portrayal of King Taejong came on like a tornado in these last episodes. It was a brilliant job of acting and he made me feel every emotion and agonize over every decision he made right along with him. He absolutely nailed the "lonely at the top" isolation of his character, and the pain of his lifelong, desperate need for love and support that he gave up to attain his dream. He is an absolutely amazing actor. His immersion into his characters is exceptional. This is my second time to be utterly in awe of him.
I hate long dramas, dislike sageuk. But I would willingly sit through another 50 or 100 episodes of this drama with this cast! Missing it desperately already.
Where this failed for me was the story and the writing. It tried too hard, too hard to be more than it was. And tried to be too many things too. If they had gotten away from the 007 wanna be stuff and just treated him like a disgraced cop, in a neighborhood bar frequented by retired cops and various oddball characters maybe, then the story would have felt more grounded in reality. Somehow this story never let us get really attached to these characters, for me anyway. It was all in all pretty disappointing. I should have been prepared, was prepared but still hopeful, when I saw who the writers were. Still I hoped! That it was on cable made me hope for a down and gritty action show with a tense revenge mystery to top it off(oh WHY could this not have been something brilliant like Signal?). But not even close.
I don't regret watching it. I just wanted so much more for Park Si Hoo's long awaited return drama. Still, he has his feet wet now. From the looks of him in this show, the strain and worry he must have been under definitely showed. He seemed very subdued or quiet in his portrayal...I missed the send of power or energy he is capable of projecting in his roles. I hope he will continue to fight on and bring us another brighter or stronger performance. I would love to see him with a strong co-star, or even as a second lead, in something dark like his movie Confessions maybe.
A few places have posted this synopsis which comes from KBS:
"As the proverb goes, "The apple does not fall far from the tree," the mother, who was unloved by her parents, sacrifices everything she has for the man she loved, but she gets betrayed. No matter how much she loved him, she ends up as a single mother just like her mother.
Her daughter, watching her mother's life closely, decides not to live like her. However, those who betrayed her trample the lives of the two women. The mother and daughter can do everything to achieve their goal even if they have to hurt other people. And, this is their greed. They should get paid enough for what they have done.
The daughter is so depressed that she has got nothing to lose, she has her last chance. Her twin sister, adopted by the rich family when she was a baby, passes away and she gets her place after that. She stays close to the mother and daughter and slowly she destroys their life. Yet, it is their matter of wanting to. The daughter gets hurt by her mother's trap. Watching her daughter bleed, the mother finally realizes what she has done.
This story is about the betrayal of the loved ones and the meaning of true love. And, while the saying, "What goes around comes around," is true, the main message of the story is that sincere love always wins."
--------It's confusing because who is her? Who is the mother? Who is the daughter? I think it keeps switching. After reading it a few times and switching who I was thinking it was, I think the mother daughter they are talking about in the 2nd paragraph are Se Jin and her mother. The 1st is about NaYeon. The beginning of the 3rd is NaYeon and the end about Se Jin and her mother again.
Whatever the story ends up being, I was actually happier with it being Do Hee that survived. I don't really like the door mat characters like Na Yeon. But, probably, if it is Na Yeon that survives, I'm betting she gets tough like Do Hee, so I'll be fine with that. I'm wondering if Tae Joon et all are going to know Na Yeon is "dead"? Or will that be hidden somehow? And she will be picking at them as Do Hee, saying stuff Do Hee should never know??? Whatever, it's going to be fun!
One thing though. I really really HOPE that little girl does not get drug into this mess...like Se Jin and Tae Joon getting custody and that little tyke being exposed to all kinds of crap from her and her mom. The whole scenario of NaYeon pretending to be dead and assuming DoHee's identity doesn't make much sense. As DoHee she would have no rights to custody of NaYeon's daughter so a dead NaYeon automatically means Tae Joon and Se Jin will get her. And Se Jin is not going to be happy about that. So, if NaYeon does assume Do Hee's ID, then I have to assume they have already taken custody away from her somehow. And that will be a stretch. Because even in Korea, unless the mom is a deadbeat mom, or unable to support her child, the mom's usually get custody. But I see no other reason why NaYeon would pretend to be dead. Because if she is alive and has custody of her daughter, why would she jeopardize that? Which then gets my mind going on another dozen scenarios explaining all that!!!! UGH. Wishing my days away. Better go check to see if the next episode is up. I'm watching on Dramanice.
it says 0%, but if you go into the episodes, the subtitles are there.