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Unbelievable but super adorable
Objectively, this is pretty much the perfect rom-com formula. It had a lot of hilarious scenes, the chemistry and acting of the two leads was amazing, an I also liked that the business and antagonist plotlines weren't taken too seriously — there was a lot of comic relief in their scenes and the entire tone of the story was really consistent. This drama was like the perfect mix of every possible good coincidence and trope you could think of, but it was smart enough to call itself out on it in a really witty and humorous way.However, I did find myself unable to completely immerse myself in the drama throughout it; the plot points were sometimes just so outlandish that even I couldn't suspend my disbelief or overlook the plot holes, such as when it came to the human allergy premise.
Even with that, I thought the acting of the two leads was undoubtedly the best part of this drama — they really brought the story to life, had great comedic timing, and just were so adorable together in all of their fluffy scenes.
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Did I watch the same movie as everyone else?
I'm seeing reviews about people crying at the second half of this movie and I'm just a little lost for words because the movie I watched was just so...mediocre? It was certainly a nostalgic and light-hearted rom-com, but overall the plot points and the characters are just really cookie-cutter and cliche. The two second leads are also considered main roles but were not really given adequate personality or character development.I also could not handle how many times the main female lead had to trip over her own feet — I understand the clumsy aspect of her personality, but there are different ways to do it. Seeing the exact same thing happen so many times grew old very fast.
With that being said, there are more quiet, thoughtful moments in this movie that really stood out to me, and I wish the movie let those moments shine through more.
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A tearjerker
This is a movie about silver linings. I really did not expect myself to shed so many tears over this movie — but I sobbed throughout it, especially the second half.I was expecting a really depressing movie where it was just one tragedy and no good parts one after another, but there was a surprising amount of hope and friendship in this that made it really beautiful to watch. The two leads had amazing chemistry and really heart-warming dialogue and it felt like the main focus of the movie, as opposed to the bullying moments. I actually felt like the bullying situation at school and beyond wasn't fleshed out very much, but I think this actually worked in the movie's favor for the most part.
Overall, a really really beautiful movie that will make you ugly cry :)
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Had its good moments
I did enjoy watching this so don't let the average review fool you — my only gripe with it is that it just kind of focused on the wrong thing.I could have done without a lot of the North Korean military commander scenes, and I wanted to see more of the different characters interacting with each other in domestic settings. I loved the ML's scenes with the different people in the community but never got that with the other MLs, who felt very randomly inserted into the community with nobody asking any questions.
Essentially, I feel like overall this movie could have been better served going the Miracle in Cell No. 7 route and being more subtle and heart-warming with the comedy than also trying to be an action flick, even though KSH is absolutely amazing at those.
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Wholesome and subtle
From the cover and the blurb of this movie, I really thought it would be one of those really dark and quiet movies where it was just one tragedy after another and no one ever communicating with each other. But this wasn't the case at all.This movie was surprisingly wholesome and realistic. None of the conflicts felt out-of-the-blue, dramatic, or blown out of proportion, and the characters also reacted in the same way. They felt like real people and the relationship between the sisters was undoubtedly the best part of the movie.
My only gripe with this might be the ML. While I do love a beta male lead and he had some good moments, some of the things he did and said were just really cringy and he was persistent to the point of annoyance sometimes; he had good conversations with his parents but other than that it was almost as if he didn't have his own personality or life outside of the female lead. I almost would have preferred it too if the FL's character development of living her own life wasn't shown only through whether or not she let herself date this guy.
Other than that, this was actually pretty light-hearted and I loved how it depicted the hearing impaired community. This movie is representation done right.
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Wholesome
This was actually a really fun Princess and the Pauper kind of story — overall really wholesome, though also really cliche. I really liked the relationship dynamic between all of the characters, but I do think that maybe more time would have allowed the drama to go more into depth on a lot of interesting topics that they kind of only scratched the surface of (saesang culture, idol pressure, etc.)I wasn't a huge fan of the ML; though he had a subplot and background it felt like actual character development was a bit thin. Other than that, this was still a pretty lighthearted watch and I'll still tune into the second season!
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Nonsensical and over-the-top
I get the appeal of an alpha FL/beta ML dynamic but this was not the way I wanted it to be done; the power dynamic was just way too one-sided and it made the relationship seem more physically and emotionally abusive than funny. Despite the ending (which was a nice touch) I felt like the female lead's personality was air-headed and high-maintenance to the point of being just downright unlikeable and annoying.The plot was actually quite fun for most of it (especially the way they met) but as the plot progressed it kind of lost me; it felt like there was no plot, and sometimes things happened that felt either nonsensical or unnecessary.
This is a light-hearted watch for sure but I'm not sure it aged well.
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Beautiful cinematography and great message, but a little overdramatic
This was almost the perfect melodrama. I really loved the way they portrayed differing worldviews between different characters based on different upbringings.The relationship between the FL and SML were undoubtedly the best part of this movie; I kind of wish they'd have gone more into that because it was short-lived and kind of one-sided. Other than that, the SFL also was a really great character and I also wish she got more screentime. The pacing overall was okay, but plot points aren't really explained much. This movie is more about the feeling.
The anti-bullying message was really powerful, but I kind of wish it didn't get so explicitly didactic near the end of the movie with all the political and legal references.
With that being said, I think sometimes the way the movie was filmed really felt just a tad bit over-the-top, with monologues that were beautiful but so literary sometimes it kind of took me out of the movie because "who talks like that?" Other than that, the filmography is pretty great; there's a lot of time dedicated to montages and stuff though, so if you like a more in-the-scene sort of movie, this isn't it.
I really liked the ending (unfortunately I didn't really cry at all) but overall this was a decent watch.
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A little endearing but mostly cringy and over-the-top
This is pretty much what I expected from a 2011 Taiwanese rom-com; it's a lot of ridiculousness and slapstick humor, and a lot of the main female lead just bumbling around, being clumsy, overreacting, and making questionable decisions.Something about this is a little endearing — I appreciate the absolute mundaneness of the male lead, and of the entire situation, despite many of the plot points being common tropes.
However, the weakness of this movie is really with its characters; the male lead is mundane but uninspiring, the female lead is dramatic to the point of being cookie-cutter. It's pretty unclear why they fell for each other, and the addition of a mean female second lead felt pretty unnecessary. The positives were the aunties, who were pretty much there for comedic relief and succeeded at doing exactly that.
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Cringe and cliche
There were some parts that were actually laugh out loud funny, and that was pleasantly surprising. Overall, however, this went exactly how I expected a 2004 movie to go — chock full of the worst cliches, cringy, and a lot of creepy and problematic scenes turned into humor. A lot of this just didn't sit right with me, including a lot of decisions made by the characters that just did not make much sense to me and felt very cookie-cutter and taken from common movie and tv show tropes. I didn't feel much chemistry between the main characters, partly because of that.Was this review helpful to you?
Fun and endearing
This was a really nice no-brain watch; there were moments that were quite endearing and yet had harsh and realistic implications for the larger policing system. At the same time, because of the humor, I found it hard to feel invested because there never felt like there were high stakes. You always knew things would work out in the end, and even at the most harrowing parts the movie never felt serious.Even so, this movie worked well as a comedy — KHN and PSJ have really great chemistry together and the bromance scenes in this have become so iconic it was fun to see.
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Slow burn, different
So this one was so different from the rest of the other Rurouni Kenshin movies; it was much more of a slow burn and less of an action flick, but it still fit perfectly into the franchise.It was kind of odd watching this and already knowing everything because I had watched The Final before, but that didn't stop this from being any less enjoyable. I'm a sucker for these sort of tragic origin story romances, and this movie was no different.
I loved the chemistry between the two leads, and I loved how the plot played out with its small nuances and future references. There were a little less action scenes than I had wished for (the first two movies had the best fight scenes I'd ever scene) but I understand that that wasn't the focus of the movie.
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Endearing sometimes
There were some parts of this that were endearing and funny; something about how old it is filled me with nostalgia.That's not to say that this movie was perfect by any means — it was really really cringey and overall I wish it had gone in more deeply on the plastic surgery/kpop industry instead of just sort of treating it like a plot device. The romance was something I could have done without as well, although I do have a soft spot for the Secret Identity trope.
Another plus for this movie is that the songs are genuinely catchy — I wish they dived more into that as well, you could sort of tell some of it was just included in order to show the actress' singing chops.
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Slapstick but actually funny
The vibe of this movie was so weird when I first started watching; it felt like one of those Taiwanese or Japanese ads that are just purposely really weird and over-the-top. It was a little offputting at first, but once I got past this initial hump, I actually started to really appreciate how committed the movie was to that tone, and how it actually meant that scenes were genuinely funny, even though I was never a huge fan of slapstick humor.All that aside, this movie doesn't introduce much new content than what is already in the original (for the record, I've only watched the k-drama adaption Playful Kiss). I enjoyed this movie a lot more than Playful Kiss actually — the main female lead felt a lot less pathetic even though I still didn't love the aspect of her continually chasing after the main male lead and having her life revolve around him.
Unsurprisingly, a movie isn't able to spend that much time with the development, and there were definitely parts that I thought were a little jumpy. I did, however, think this was actually better than Playful Kiss in that aspect as well.
There were definitely other characters and subplots that I wish the movie could have dedicated more time to, still. Although I think a full drama is unnecessary, I think maybe a mini series with five-ish episodes would have worked.
Great OST.
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Beautiful backstory
I've said this in every one of my other Rurouni Kenshin reviews so far but I have to say it again: even though I didn't love the fight scenes in this movie as much as in the previous ones, this series still has the best combat scenes I've ever seen, in everything including cinematography, choreography, sounds, etc.The best part of this was undoubtedly Himura Kenshin's backstory and how it tied into the flashbacks we got in previous movies. I was so intrigued by the new pieces of the story we got and it also meant that we got a really good antagonist — one that had personal stakes. I did think the antagonist wasn't as strong as Shishio and it kind of wish this movie had the grandeur of the previous movies while keeping the emotional depth we got in this one.
I also really liked the scenes of our gang being together and as always, I wish we had more of that and of character growth in the side characters, especially Kaoru, who had the most personality during Part I: Origins and seemed to only get more bland and weak with every subsequent movie.
Apart from that, however, I think this movie was perfectly cast and it really makes me look forward to watching The Beginning!
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