A sugary romcom with a simple story, a lot of overacting, a very naive -borderline simpleton- FL and a too good to be true but charming ML. It had its fun and cute moments but, overall, nothing memorable. The only saving graces of this drama were its short duration and the ML!
A great continuation of an intriguing, gritty noir story, beautifully written and directed, with a tight and detailed plot, and well-developed characters with solid background stories and compelling dynamics. My only complains are 1. the fact that there were way too many characters and names to follow, 2. the fact that this part was more focused on the politics than the police and 3. the unnecessary long break between the two parts/seasons of this story - was it really needed? Once again Lee Sung Min gave a fantastic performance, making this drama a compelling one-man show.
A strangely gripping omnibus miniseries about dreams and regrets. In each story we watch the six protagonists fighting for, abandoning, discovering, fulfilling or not their dreams, trying to do the best they can with their ordinary lives. Mundane, melancholic aesthetics with a longing vibe, uniquely creative arthouse cinematography, exemplary editing and impressive music.
An interesting makjang/revenge jdrama, not too heavy, not too dark, not too consistent either. Though there were many awkward moments, some overacting and some far-fetched and/or too convenient situations and a rather subpar closure, overall it was an entertaining watch, mainly due to its two talented and charismatic FLs, who stole the spotlights every time they were on screen. But, admittedly, the drama's highlights were Kiichi's long awaited haircut and Osamu being the worst dad ever!
Much better and engaging than the first season, though there were still some serious issues with its messy writing and reasoning, plot holes and predictability. Not perfect, but an enjoyable and bingeable watch.
A short jdrama split in two short seasons with unique and refreshing premise, an intriguing theme and some well-built mystery around it. With a talented young cast, and a surprisingly competent police force, this was definitely nothing groundbreaking, but still an enjoyable watch, in spite the lack of character depth and an acceptable reasoning for some actions, some plot holes that couldn't be ignored and the lukewarm, unnecessary romance.
A wonderful watching experience, a bittersweet road trip in a red S800 Honda beauty. Though slow-paced and mellow, it was an intriguing and very emotionally charged story, beautifully filmed and superbly acted by Ono Machiko, Takito Kenichi and a great supporting cast. A journey of loss, grief, reconciliation, revelations and life lessons, but most of all a sad but wholesome, heartbreakingly affectionate story of love and devotion. A highly recommended hidden gem.
Hachiko tells an emotional, wonderful story of loyalty and bonding between a man and his dog. In this chinese adaptation Batong (instead of Hachiko) is still a fluffy, cute and most lovable puppy/dog and his relationship with his owner very endearing, but some of the original elements of the plot are missing, the pacing is a bit repetitive and the duration feels too long. It may not be on par with the original japanese movie, but it still is a very emotional watch based on a heart-warming and heart-breaking real life story.
Darker but less intense in tone, more focused on politics and corruption but less cohesive in storytelling, this second season was not as impactful as its prequel, but the bromance and camaraderie were enough reasons to make this an entertaining watch. Special kudos to scene-stealler Bae Na Ra and his fantastic performance as Nina, whose story was the best part of the whole drama!
Wild, wacky, whimsical. An absurd multi-genre musical comedic thriller, with some cleverly embedded social commentaries (such as domestic violence, toxic and manipulative relationships, entertainment industry) served in a silly, mocking and extravaganza way. Lee Ha Nee was a pleasure to watch balancing between being gorgeous and adorably silly, Lee Sun Kyun and Gong Myung definitely had a lot of fun playing their ridiculously caricature characters, but I have to admit that a certain ostrich was the star of this unique, without any sense of logic, movie.
How come I've never heard about this hidden gem all these years? A criminally underrated drama about found family, friendship and bonding, coming of age, sports and many heartwarming life lessons. A simple yet touching story, smoothly written and beautifully acted. Kimura Takuya was as fine and charming as always -with his youthful naughtiness, his funny and serious side- while all the child actors (many familiar faces among them) were adorably natural. Highly recommended!
An indie, slow-paced film, with a very distinguished Japanese-style, about an elderly man and his ascetic, lonely life in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture, which mainly revolves around reading and writing, passing of the micro-seasons and making seasonal food. With a serene and exquisite cinematography of the process of gardening, farming, harvesting, washing and preparing the ingredients and cooking some simple but rewarding meals, a meticulous filming and editing and a contemplative script, this was a soothing, almost healing watching experience.
A simple but very heartwarming story, with a funny and cute friendship and some adorable canines. With a warm and vivid cinematography, a script without the typical forced emotional manipulations and two MLs with a great chemistry between them and their four-legged friends, this was a charming, feel-good watch.
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It had its fun and cute moments but, overall, nothing memorable.
The only saving graces of this drama were its short duration and the ML!
My only complains are 1. the fact that there were way too many characters and names to follow, 2. the fact that this part was more focused on the politics than the police and 3. the unnecessary long break between the two parts/seasons of this story - was it really needed?
Once again Lee Sung Min gave a fantastic performance, making this drama a compelling one-man show.
In each story we watch the six protagonists fighting for, abandoning, discovering, fulfilling or not their dreams, trying to do the best they can with their ordinary lives.
Mundane, melancholic aesthetics with a longing vibe, uniquely creative arthouse cinematography, exemplary editing and impressive music.
Though there were many awkward moments, some overacting and some far-fetched and/or too convenient situations and a rather subpar closure, overall it was an entertaining watch, mainly due to its two talented and charismatic FLs, who stole the spotlights every time they were on screen.
But, admittedly, the drama's highlights were Kiichi's long awaited haircut and Osamu being the worst dad ever!
Not perfect, but an enjoyable and bingeable watch.
With a talented young cast, and a surprisingly competent police force, this was definitely nothing groundbreaking, but still an enjoyable watch, in spite the lack of character depth and an acceptable reasoning for some actions, some plot holes that couldn't be ignored and the lukewarm, unnecessary romance.
Though slow-paced and mellow, it was an intriguing and very emotionally charged story, beautifully filmed and superbly acted by Ono Machiko, Takito Kenichi and a great supporting cast.
A journey of loss, grief, reconciliation, revelations and life lessons, but most of all a sad but wholesome, heartbreakingly affectionate story of love and devotion.
A highly recommended hidden gem.
In this chinese adaptation Batong (instead of Hachiko) is still a fluffy, cute and most lovable puppy/dog and his relationship with his owner very endearing, but some of the original elements of the plot are missing, the pacing is a bit repetitive and the duration feels too long.
It may not be on par with the original japanese movie, but it still is a very emotional watch based on a heart-warming and heart-breaking real life story.
Special kudos to scene-stealler Bae Na Ra and his fantastic performance as Nina, whose story was the best part of the whole drama!
An absurd multi-genre musical comedic thriller, with some cleverly embedded social commentaries (such as domestic violence, toxic and manipulative relationships, entertainment industry) served in a silly, mocking and extravaganza way.
Lee Ha Nee was a pleasure to watch balancing between being gorgeous and adorably silly, Lee Sun Kyun and Gong Myung definitely had a lot of fun playing their ridiculously caricature characters, but I have to admit that a certain ostrich was the star of this unique, without any sense of logic, movie.
Nostalgic and melo
When I see this request from some sites I run away and never look back
A criminally underrated drama about found family, friendship and bonding, coming of age, sports and many heartwarming life lessons.
A simple yet touching story, smoothly written and beautifully acted.
Kimura Takuya was as fine and charming as always -with his youthful naughtiness, his funny and serious side- while all the child actors (many familiar faces among them) were adorably natural.
Highly recommended!
With a serene and exquisite cinematography of the process of gardening, farming, harvesting, washing and preparing the ingredients and cooking some simple but rewarding meals, a meticulous filming and editing and a contemplative script, this was a soothing, almost healing watching experience.
With a warm and vivid cinematography, a script without the typical forced emotional manipulations and two MLs with a great chemistry between them and their four-legged friends, this was a charming, feel-good watch.