Mixed feelings about that ending-- depending on the interpretation this was either peak satire of plain stereotyping-- but the humour was absolutely top notch!
HAHAHAHAHAH there is no way in hell this was meant to be taken seriously. This is peak satire. This feverdream of a movie is definitely the most insane and hilarious piece of work I've seen this year (or ever) and the utter disgust in comments makes everything 10 times better. I can't stop laughing! The director knew exactly what he was doing while creating this monstrosity. Still can't get over the fact that this dude actually sat down to write this script. I don't doubt he was having an absolute blast bringing to life some of his weirdest fetishes. I can totally envision him sitting there, gleefully explaining to everyone: "So I was thinking... goat?" What an experience, really.
Started watching this because this show has almost attained cult classic status but, dang, who has edited this mess? The transitions are so choppy it literally got me nauseous and the acting itself can be considered a crime against humanity. I'm not sure if this was just the acting style back then (Korean acting may just have evolved over the years) or whether this is the result of major miscasting, but it has been a hot minute since I've seen acting this stiff. I couldn't make it past the first episode, a real shame considering that I generally enjoy OCN dramas.
Commendable for its boldness and unconventionality but definitely too short to touch upon actual meaningful notions of masculinity, sexuality, and queerness in a military setting.
I did really enjoy the first half of the show: intriguing storyline and atmosphere, fascinating and mysterious characters, and an overall quality cast. Unfortunately the series went downhill from episode 4 onward. The plot required too much suspension of disbelief from its audience and I felt like the ending was a bit anticlimactic and cliché. The show probably could have been better if we would have gotten some subtle plot pointers in the first few episodes since most of its major plot reveals seem to have been made up on the spot. A bit unfortunate, considering that good storytelling means being able to tie all loose ends together rather than suddenly revealing completely new, relevant information in the last two episodes.
This might not technically be my first lakorn, but it's definitely the first lakorn where I don't feel the need…
The only thing that triggers me is the way the story deals with these freaking forced kisses and stalkerish behaviour. This is produced in 2019 and that is really no excuse to make light of sexual assault. Sure, Sila does have a motive for his behaviour (I suppose he wants to give the impression he is not the good guy that Mingta things he is) but that doesn't mean that these acts can be depicted without a critical voice from the characters themselves. Now this show just falls into this repetitive cycle of reproducing harmful tropes.
Edit: well, 11 episodes in and it's only getting worse. Sila has a god-complex and just REALLY needs to chill. This dude literally does not have the slightest clue about the concept of personal space and is incredibly manipulative. Who said this guy is set on getting his revenge? He seems more caught up in this one-sided love affair.
This might not technically be my first lakorn, but it's definitely the first lakorn where I don't feel the need to throw my hands up to the heavens and beg for supernatural patience every 5 minutes because of the main characters' stupidity (granted I'm only at episode 6).
It seems interesting but, to be very honest, I am kinda fed up with the whole 'beware of the dark sides of social media' trope that is popping everywhere at this moment. I do like me a good psychological thriller but only if it is not produced by yet another boomer criticizing the media-addicted state of humanity (how ironic that film ends up being the very medium meant to convey this very message after all).
I'm not so much bothered by the lack of overt BL representation as by the fact that the execution of the plot just needed more time. The themes like self-acceptance and the coming to terms with people's shadow-sides were interesting, and the director managed to explore them well with his cinematic use of colors. Unfortunately it seemed much of the budget went to making the movie 'artsy' rather than actually good. The fact that this movie was still so disappointing is because we didn't have much time to get invested in the characters (even tho there was ample sappy sad background material for it) and the fact that the bond between the two men was not believable. It was not the acting itself that was lacking (all gave a pretty solid performance) but the fact that the movie just tried to do too much at once: it tried to set up a pretty complex world with occult elements, explore childhood trauma, as well as try to develop a meaningful relationship between two men with vastly different personalities and concepts of morality. Because we continuously jump between these 3 goals we don't get enough time for relationships to form organically, and this is the reason why the gay subtext feels fake and forced. I was also not that fond of the fact that the female characters in this show only served to flesh out the male characters (especially Hiura Erika herself ends up playing a prominent role but we don't really get to know her apart from one simple flashback). I did really like the ending (and the moral question that it raised) but, apart from that, the movie's pacing and flow were just off. Interesting premise but I wanted more; the story would just have fared much better as a series.
I'm 5 episodes in and so far I've been liking it. It's not necessarily groundbreaking, especially since I was hoping there would be more focus on the suspense of the case rather than on the development of the romance, but the acting is good enough for me to see the potential. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the performance of Thanwa as he is proving himself to be quite versatile in switching between the typical exaggerated style of Thai theatrics and a more muted style of acting. He especially shines in the more serious scenes where he can pull of quite natural and realistic emotions. I'm still feeling a bit meh about the sergeant (whose character just seems flat) and the lieutenant (at this moment there is not much purpose for his character besides being a potential love rival) but there is still enough time for those characters to become more important for the plot.
For a story about literally nothing they sure as hell mastered the art of cutting off the fluff JUST a tad too soon so that you will find yourself watching the next episode anyway.
I concur on that aspect. But the most Sherlock-esque JP Sherlock is Dean Fujioka. He nailed everything right
Heck yes! Totally agree, his performance was solid and the storyline of the series itself also improved quite a bit towards the end. Can't wait for that movie to come out!
I'm at episode 9 now and I'd swear the cinematography looks different from previous episodes? Different angles, moving shots, and even the color scheme looks more vibrant. Did they change editors half way through the show or something?
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What an experience, really.
Edit: well, 11 episodes in and it's only getting worse. Sila has a god-complex and just REALLY needs to chill. This dude literally does not have the slightest clue about the concept of personal space and is incredibly manipulative. Who said this guy is set on getting his revenge? He seems more caught up in this one-sided love affair.