2
6
This review may contain spoilers
objectively, this isn't a masterpiece... but the chemistry, editing and direction would make you fall in love with it!Story :
the movie is cut down in various time leaps where you get to see these two characters meet and depart numerous times, because of unavoidable circumstances. even though this could have gotten repetitive and tiring, it doesn't. it's quite believable and it really rises your anticipation for them to finally get together for good. except for the last time they "broke up" but i'll get to it later in the spoilers section.
however, it isn't a unique story. this isn't something that has never been done before, especially in korean cinema. we have seen multiple such stories where a couple makes up and breaks up in span of years. so that's why i wouldn't rate it very high on story.
Acting/Cast :
This. This is what made the movie special. at least, for me. The cast is wonderful. The chemistry between the leads is so amazing you'll giggle along with their cute moments, their shy glances and their subtle and slow advances. It's so beautiful to watch and it's so well done. They feel so natural that you wouldn't for a second think you're watching two actors act.
shout out to their first kiss (if you can even call it that lmao) — it was SOOO PRECIOUS!
jung hae in is such a comfort for eyes. and, no i'm not talking about his visuals. any drama, any scene, any character he is in, you just get enchanted by his performance. and i believe he has literally mastered the art of the sub-genre that is 'slow burns'. his performance was beautiful, but then i expect nothing less from him.
kim go eun was a SURPRISE! i have only watched her in Goblin and then now in The King : Eternal Monarch. both shows that i don't really like, in fact i dropped the latter. so to see her here was refreshing. she was very natural and believable in her performance.
Also, special mention to the direction and editing of this movie. the way it was done, this felt so much more personal instead of watching a movie. it felt like i'm taking a small dive into the personal lives of these two characters and i'm there with them, seeing them experience these emotions and conflicts. so kudos to that!
Issues (spoilers) :
Now to the negatives. I'll just point them out in a list, cuz i'm tired of typing and this already feels TOOOOOOO long!
— the last break up felt so unnecessary. there was no reason why the FL would leave him out of the blue when literally a scene ago she wanted him to stay with her and not visit that family anymore. it felt like this was done just to create drama for the final climax.
— the villainization in the last twenty minutes felt really out of the blue. served literally zero purpose to the story and also ruined the beautiful friendship the FL had with him.
— i wished they had explained more about what the friend meant when he said "only the ML was forgiven" for the mistake.
so, all in all, i am giving it a nine, even after all these issues, because this really was my cup of tea. i loved it bc i'm a very character-driven stories lover. it had the characters, it had the chemistry. i was sold!
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You want to see a drama with complex characters? Gray storylines? Uncomfortable themes? This is the drama for you.
Apart from Naomi (and Mayuko's mother i guess), not a single character in this show is white or black. EVERY ONE IS GRAY. I didn't want to root for anyone. It was a mess. A chaotic mess. I loved it!
The downfall was that with this amount of grayness, complexity and the amaaing pilot episode, I was expecting something to shock me. Some twist that I didn't see coming, or some character back story that catches me off-guard. That, however, didn't happen.
But, I'd still recommend it for the characters (and it's only four episodes, so you're not wasting too many hours).
Oh, also. The music. A-MAH-ZING! The background score was absolutely beautiful, worked so well with the scenes. Since I'm not the technical person for it, I can't put it into words, but the music enhanced the experience so much!!
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This review may contain spoilers
I loved it thoroughly! They perfectly balanced interesting challenges, their variety sense, and their talent. and, with that they made the members empathic towards farmers and other professions to. AND brought them together, made them work together, truly building a family...From picking out fruits, to spreading manure, to herding goats... to hosting a party, cooking & singing & dancing, for the village... to facing their fears, and helping each other during them, to having roaches and what not as dinner... to performing their first concert... they really came together as one!
i'm so glad that all these members got so close and call wayv their home :')
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but here's a tip. watch it with your friends. this would make a great movie night. it's only like 80 mins long!
have fun, lmao!
ah what more do i say to complete 500 characters?
stan pentagon, a.c.e, n,flying, the rose, onewe and iz. is it 500 characters yet?
okay it's not. so i recently found about dreamcatcher. man, their music is soooo good. why was i sleeping on them?? so i'm currently working on stanning them. you should stan them too. is it 500 now?
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This line in the synopsis of the drama's page was what got me interested. It suggested that the drama was going to be about the struggles of being in an older woman/younger man relationship with a huge age gap, the differences in the maturities of the couple, the prejudices from the society, and the different takes on the concept of marriage, dating, kids and what exactly is the happy ending?
The drama fails, not because it was yet another love triangle or because the second male lead was as annoying and cunning as a human could be (though, yes those were the issues too), but because it tried to sell a very different product than the one it promised and advertised.
Hence, the show became quickly disappointing for me.
The story of the main couple is a complete no-no for me. At 32, been in a relationship or not, you'd expect the character to act as a mature person. However, her decisions are justified if they had been from a teenage girl, not someone this old. She acted immature, was too naive and wanted to take no responsibility for her actions. She chose to run away from her problems and before society could, she judged herself for her relationship. Personally, yes, I wanted to see that struggle of accepting yourself; of realising you're not in the wrong and it's the world who's a hypocrite. But I didn't want to see that struggle 39 episodes long.
The second main lead : I don't think I've hated a SML as passionately as I hated him. I don't even want to write about him.
Bottom line, I only felt for Yuan Song. I loved him, and Fanxing's brother. The stories of the side characters are far too interesting, and if you want to watch this show, I'd recommend you to watch it for them.
P.S.! Also brownie points for the character of Cai Minmin. Her growth from a spoiled brat to a loving and responsible human was so nice to watch. She and her boyfriend (not telling who, cuz spoilers) were a wayyyy better example on how to handle a age-gap relationship.
Overall, not the worst of the lot, especially considering the side stories, but it's too many episodes, just to watch it for them.
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Meh (?)
our beloved summer, to me, was one of those dramas - that check off all the boxes of what you wish in a drama, and somehow you still don't TRULY connect with. another such drama for me was Be Melodramatic - it had all the right stances of female friendship and relationships but somehow, to me, it still wasn't memorable. tdlr; would rate it high, but personally wouldnt feel the need to rewatch or recommend.also, idk but their chemistry wasnt convincing to me i truly dont know why. and, since i know wooshik is a chamelion of an actor, i think the director didnt direct him well - because there were many instances where i couldnt tell his emotions/thoughts from his acting - idk how else to word it but it wasn't his best imho.
tdlr; wasnt boring/bad to make me put it off - but i also wasnt excited/curious about it.
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A Guide on How to Ruin a Fascinating Premise
This could be so much if it was written by a different writer, and potrayed by a different cast (supporting cast and the antagonist did their best with the material they were given).My Thoughts:
plot? what plot?
character development? what character?
blindness? what blindness - the man can fight, ride horses, you name it he can do it.
character motivation? all contradictory, and the remaining went down the drain after ep15
twists? or just convenience?
dialogue writing? what writing? i firmly believe FL was given a script with only three words written on it: sunbaenim, aabeoji, and haram-ah.
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How does one even objectively review such a movie?
We are dropped into mid-conversation an injured high school student is having with a christian father about his “love quarrel”. And yet that conversation isn’t just between these two characters; that conversation, playing out throughout this movie, is between this movie and the audience.“Why is it a sin to love someone?”
“So you can like girls, but I can't like boys? Is your love bigger than the love I give? Tell me. What's the difference between your love and mine? Tell me the difference!”
“Help me go to hell then. I'd rather go to hell now. Don't all homosexuals deserve to go to hell? Maybe more people would understand me in hell.”
With this conversation alone, the movie critiques society, religion, and our heteronormative understanding of “love”.
Set in the 80s, every time Birdy and JiaHan are alone, you too start worrying for their safety, hoping for their happiness, and mourning their love. Just like they don’t dare say their feelings out loud, the movie too, for quite a while, doesn’t explicity announce them as more than friends. But you, as a viewer, notice it so easily.
“When I looked at her (him), she (he) was already looking at me too.”
“If what you give me is the same as what you give to others, then I don't want it.”
You notice, as they themselves come to terms with their feelings, and then decide to hurt each other in order to protect each other. And oh, it is devestating.
And then, you smile as you hear them tell each other “wanan” at the very end of the movie, again and again, because “good night” (晚安/wanan) would never mean the same again.
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This review may contain spoilers
East Asia yearns for their own Kal Ho Naa Ho
How much is a fictional tragedy, tragedy, before it starts becoming miseryporn?I guess I shouldn’t question that for a series named “a story sadder than sadness” but regardless of the praise for its “heartbreaking” nature, I didn’t feel sad for the two main leads. I think when you overdo the melo, it just starts losing its impact. To further, the dullness of the emotion, all characters, their backstories, their journeys, and identities are presented as bullet pointers rather than being explored. Was it because the show is just 10 episodes long? I don’t know, for I definitely couldn’t take any more of it - especially if it keeps its focus on K & Cream.
K & Cream, meeting through the most unfortunate of fates, bond together as family and more. Only for K to find out that he inhereted his father’s cancer and decides to find a “better man” for Cream to have as family, once he is gone.
(spoilers start here)
And that’s exactly why I found K thoroughly unlikeable. People kept calling his actions the “biggest sacrifice”. I beg to differ. I agree with Cindy’s original arguments, though I lost her too, to writer’s reasoning of a love too big. First, K doesn’t treat Cream like a grownup who can decide for herself — he breaks Cindy and YouXian so he can set him up with Cream (and it is all okay because he is dying). That’s not love, that’s ownership and no, you don’t get excused just because you are dying.
Also s/n: His condition for a man who deserves Cream was "healthy and lives long"... so he set her up with the smoker. I snickered.
But then again, I didn’t care for Cream much either. Her character in the first few episodes was so well done, only for her to become a manic pixie girl just existing to support K’s story. I do not care whether YouXian knew or not, she still approached an engaged man, tried flirting with him, and kept persistantly at it; all so he marries her — to make K happy. YouXian is the biggest victim in this entire story. Everyone else who did him wrong are forgiven with zero character development on their end; somehow, he’s the one who has to understand.
The only characters that I truly cared for were the ‘family’ of three - Ke Le, Yi Chi and Po Han. I wished the show had given them more time and explored their story more, I would have loved that.
Surprisingly, my thoughts are mirrored when it comes to the cast's acting too; the 2nd and 3rd leads were better actors. Cream had this weird head bob as her personality trait that irritated me personally, and K’s constant crying was just… “okay sure” to me. They were still decent though, not bad actors, but not as natural as the rest of the main cast.
Since I have expressed my disappointments so in-depth-ly so far, I should point out here few things I liked… hmm, let me see, oh yes! PoHan and KeLe’s bond. I am a *sucker* for non-biological parent-child relationship, and I was so happy everytime they interacted - their banter and shared love for Yi Chi. The **best** part of the whole show!
Overall the drama feels too dated with its approach to the tricky genre that melodrama is. I wouldn’t be rewatching and neither would I recommend it.
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A somewhat original take to the usual zom-dramas.
1. Originality: I would say this quite original in its concept, the stakes are raised by having them getting quarantined in their apartment complex with no real help in sight. This is similar to how Train to Busan raised the stakes, by getting the characters stuck in, well, a train. Like the movie, it also deals with human nature, prejudices and divides coming into play it apocalyptic situations, however unlike Train to Busan though it also branches out to the politics of creating a cure and the greyness at play within relief efforts. I also loved the concept of the "disease" happening in episodes, so the patient comes back to their "self" and have to accept and go through their guilt. I felt it was a great way to comment on the COVID epidemic too.2. Setting: The setting while done well, felt too easy. Like, none of the characters tried making a run for it, even with zombies all around them?
3. Characterization: I do not always feel the need to agree with the main characters to like a fiction. That being said, there were quite a few moments where I felt the main characters could have solved miscommunications within the people with just more and clear communication. They were very rigid with having things go their ways, even when a patient was visibly a threat. I agree with humanising a patient but that shouldn't be done with clear threat to others. Also, I guess since it was a series instead of a movie, too many decisions felt naive, a little too many times.
4. Conflict and Plot: Again this critique comes from this being a show but almost all apart from a few handful characters were just frustrating to watch. I understand the politics, and I understand that every human is grey. But these people were way too dark of a shade for me to tolerate them.
5. 5. Emotional/intellectual payoff: I only have three things to say: a. guy falls first and harder, look! a loser in love b. best friends to spouses to lovers c. couples who are violent together, stay together! 100/10 i will be binging edits for the next several days they are my parents.
6. Theme: As covered in Originality, the overall theme of critiquing our humanity, or lack thereof, in wake of any crisis is very intriguing subject - I always love stories exploring it.
7. Treatment: Given my critiques, it does feel stretchy in the middle. It could have been a 8 or 10 eps drama and would have told us the exact same story.
You would think I hated this series, but honestly despite all my above complaints I still binged the series and was obsessed w the main couple -- so make of that what you would.
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It's addictive, I'll give it that.
When you are going to watch a drama that deals with living the same day again and again, I feel like you should go in without knowing anything. So, I will be very vague with my review.I watched it at around 2 a.m., telling myself I'll watch one episode and then go to bed. But, nope, it kept my attention even though I was tired like anything, and I watched it all in one go. But that could also be because I just love the stories based on the idea of living the same day again and again.
Having said that, four episodes are just too less. The pacing for the last episode was so abrupt and rushed, that it single-handedly brought down the rating for me.
Open threads were knotted messily. A sub-plot they hinted on wasnt explored and people were not shocked or confused by the big reveal. It was a mess and left me feeling unsatisfied. Not in a good way AT ALL.
Would I still recommend it? Sure, it's only like an hour long, and it is attention-grabbing.
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This review may contain spoilers
This review/opinion may have no structure, as I'm writing this on the emotional high of having completed it. Furthermore, this may contain minor spoilers. .
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The story isn't something epic. we've all seen it. the revenge plot, the greed plot, the "bad guy" who doesn't believe in love turning good after falling for the innocent, pure, slightly awkward girl. all these concepts and themes are cliches. what wins here is the storytelling. the JAPANESE STORYTELLING.
Even though I knew Eight will fall for Saiko, even though I knew that they, together, have god-like power to 'turn back time', still each episode had so many twists and turns, they kept me on edge of my seat.
I couldn't drop the drama until I completed from the very first episode. It's VERY gripping. and that too goes to the power of storytelling.
I believe that cliches can never be avoided. they are part of stories, and they'll forever remain so. what makes an okay story, great is HOW you tell those cliches to your audience. I think this show did a pretty decent job at it.
Though, I do have criticism. I didn't like how Namaki was just the love (or precisely 10B) interest. She had no depth to her character and was at times very dumb, just casually revealing every important information to her adopted brother. it really became irritating after a certain point.
Also, the ending episode was underwhelming. They wasted too much time and then tied all the loose threads very conveniently and quickly.
I wanted Kento's character to go through more emotional scenes and actually become a nice guy totally, but i think writers wanted to show that humans cant change that quickly, so i wont complain.
In all, I think it was a great watch for just 10 episodes. Would recommend!
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It'll make you uncomfortable. Rightly so.
in actual shock because of d.p. it made me so uncomfortable, for all the right reasons. i want more of it, because of how honest and real it was... but i dont think i can see more of it, because of how honest and real it was. it made me feel so helpless. what a show.also, very out of character for me, but i really appreciated how all the background stories of our main characters were just hinted and never truly, fully explored. in most cases, i'd think of it as wasted potential. but here, i liked it. the little they gave us showed us why the characters were the way they were, and why they behaved in certain situations the way they did. but they never took the focus away from what the show was truly about - the reality of a broken, and violence-driven system.
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This review may contain spoilers
Things I appreciated in the drama :
- interesting plot/concept
- cute couple
- consent, consent, consent (quite rare in BLs sometimes)
- mature handling of sexuality ; supportive friends and mother
- no "i dont like men, i like you" thank GOD for that
- good suspense plot (even though i guessed it)
- the main couple, mother, prince, plai, her grandpa and aunt are all nice actors and did a great job for their parts
Things that irked me :
- constant loud and slapstick sounds to guide you on where to laugh. like it became ANNOYING i'm sorry
- the overacting and non-funny jokes/scenes of the ghost friends and golf (?) [istg all i did was roll eyes]
- kind of pedophilia ... cuz he didnt physically age, but he existed so he was aging... and then Than teasing him that he'd be an old man, his uncle etc... didnt sit well with me
- also the mother accepting that her son is in love with a ghost was far too unrealistic for me. sorry.
still a wholesome drama, would recommend!~
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a knife, straight to my heart.
oh why would you break me apart like that, drama? why would you take my fragile heart and tear it to pieces?i admit i shed tears easily as i watch emotional shows. but man, idk when was the last time i had to pause a show because i was actually crying out loud, sobbing like i'm the one, losing someone. easy 9.5, but very harsh on my heart.
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