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But before I digress further, I must say that this drama grew on me. I wasn't really expecting much from a cast mainly comprised of K-pop idols, but they are decent and you can see they are trying their best portraying their roles that are not too far from their profession. I enjoyed the parts where they were being idols: the practicing, the dancing, the music, the on-stage presence is as expected but nothing further given that they don't have much to work with.
A drama that tries to expose the dark side of the K-pop industry seemed good on paper but how it was executed was not. It is like the drama is trying to do so many things at once that it failed to excel in any one area. It is also trying to do a David vs Goliath story with a small entertainment company going against a conglomerate, but the end fell flat as nothing much was done except an article by a lone journalist that will most likely be forgotten by the next juicy gossip.
The plot suffered from the uneven, choppy writing as it tries its damned hardest to pair off couples that have no chemistry except for convenience's sake. But if you are willing to overlook all these weak points, and just focus on the feel good story of people reaching their dreams in spite of obstacles, then "Imitation" is not so bad as it seems.
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There was no character that really stood out for me as they each had their own strengths and weaknesses, but I have to admit that Xiao Wu became annoying after causing Tang San so much trouble because of her insistence to tag along wherever he goes. I was cringing every time she flutters her eyelashes at the oblivious Tang San. Surprisingly, I liked Lan De and Xiao Gang as the Founder and Grandmaster of Shrek Academy, how their teachings greatly influenced the "Seven Devils" in their quest for knowledge. Doulou Continent is not just a fantasy drama about spirit cultivation, but about found family and lasting friendships.
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Aside from the FL, ML, and the eye-candy Ci Sha as Mei Xing, the rest of the characters were pretty bland to me, if not ingratiating. The ML's mother was spineless against her ambitious son Wen Chuan, coddling him even when does despicable things. For her part Qin Wan treats Shi Yi like she's a nobody and a fly who hovers around her step-son. But it is actually Tong Jia Ren who buzzes around Sheng Chen despite being married to his brother, who is in turn chasing his ex-girlfriend around. There are too many family entanglements in this drama for me to keep the relations straight. There are some funny moments, a lot of sad moments, but this drama lasted forever and ever that I couldn't wait for it to finish.
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There is Shun who lived minimally after a set-back, despite aspiring to have his own restaurant. Then there's Ryuhei who gives advice to everyone but does not do well managing his own love life. There's Ayaka, the dream chaser, who does not know that it's okay if things don't turn out as they planned. Then there's Sachi the boss, who realizes too late, that somebody who is always at his side, does not mean she will be there forever. There's also the landlady, Kuoko, who does not cater to traditional views and become complacent in her situation when the absentee husband is nowhere to be found until after their marriage dissolved.
This drama turned out to be much more meaningful than just a light-hearted rom-com. It imparted life lessons on how we should live our life to the fullest, but also learn how to stop and smell the roses.
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Acting/Cast: Nothing remarkable to note.
Music: Nothing remarkable to note.
Rewatch Value: Maybe if only to clarify some of the scenes that suffered from poor editing or script writing.
Overall: The short film attempts to deconstruct gender stereotypes, by imagining a world where we can choose our gender as a part of a standard program, where identifying with another gender that you are born with, will be the norm, but the execution falls short of its aim.
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Acting/Cast: Surprisingly good acting coming from the titular character, naturally-talented kid.
Music: Somber and soulful and yet not overpowering.
Rewatch Value: Highly recommended.
Overall: Nothing remarkable if you only go by the premise of the story, especially for a short film, but the combination of all above elements makes it worthwhile.
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This review may contain spoilers
Story: Seems simple enough. Ex-lovers reunite in this short film. One has a family and the other getting married. Both men who I presume were torn apart due familial or societal expectations or maybe some other reason we will never know. Acting/Cast: Surprisingly not bad, but not great either.
Music: White noise.
Rewatch Value: You get the moral lesson of the story, is that you cannot regret or reverse the decisions that you made in the past and you have to live with that said decision.
Overall: This short film is trying its best to be poignant but falls a lot short from the goal. My only question is why would you invite your ex-lover to eat with your family, when you are so clearly afraid that your wife may find out what you were to each other before?
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What a disappointment! The trailer looked promising but the drama did not do it justice. The use of fake-marriage slash noona romance trope was wasted on this one. There a very few things I liked - and they mostly involved the lawyer-y stuff, but the rest is abysmal. What I liked: Though Yang Hua's mother is meddlesome, her uncanny ways of trying to outwit his son I find quite funny. And even more funny is how Qin Shi manages to foil the traps laid out by Mrs. Yang. I also liked the friendship between Yang Hua and Cai Liang, how odd their dynamic is, especially when Cai Liang tries to give the emotionally-stunted Yang Hua some relationship advice. How the rivalry between Li Dai and Qin Shi turned out to be a mutual understanding of each other's ambitious dreams. And there are the things that I didn't like: How Mei Mei is such a pushover to keep going back to her cheating scumbag of a husband. How annoying Wu Fei turned out to be. How Tang Yi manipulates Qin Shi despite being her employer/friend, just so Qin Shi could be her little lap dog. How the drama throws in so many conflicts that are conveniently resolved. Or unresolved. How the show tried to solve all life's philosophical questions by jamming in so much rhetoric about inequality, fairness, justice, relationship, you name it, they talked about it enough to fill up a year's worth of Sunday sermons. How incredulous that a top law agency would solicit somebody's husband as an expert without vetting his credentials, and as if Yang Hua was the only available source for financial advice. How Qin Shi's lies about her marital status weren't exposed sooner, even with such glaring inconsistencies. How the drama had so many filler scenes and dragged so long that I am glad that they invented the Fast Forward button on the remote, which I certainly put to good use while watching this trainwreck.
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Drama-wise, I must say that I liked the mystery-solving here so much better than the forced romance. Although there's a lot of skinship between the ML & FL, I didn't feel their chemistry. It looks like they are just going through the motions (especially on the FL's part). The secondary couple was worse and their acting quite atrocious. But aside from this, the plot isn't that convoluted and easy to follow (so easy in fact to guess who the suspects are right from the get-go).
The drama also tries to convince you that the evidence they produce aren't purposefully planted that only their merry band of investigators could find them. You would have to suspend your disbelief as well that the Prince walking around as freely as he pleases without much anyone recognizing him is possible. Aside from these convenient loop holes, this drama was a decent watch.
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THIS REVIEW IS FOR BOTH PART 1&2.I almost passed on this drama because I thought it would be gory and senseless like "My Name," which I dropped, but I'm glad I didn't. Although I did not find this "super amazing" like most people, The Glory, as a story of revenge and redemption, was quite good. I had trouble stomaching the violence that was shown in the first few episodes, and the scenes where Moon Dong Eun was subjected to a curling iron, but this made me so angry that I really wanted to see the comeuppance due to the perpetrators.
Song Hye Kyo is great as the long-suffering victim who is intent on bringing hell on Park Yeon In and her band of bullies. It was oddly satisfying to see how the FL calculates through her revenge plot, not by directly going after the bullies, but by infiltrating those who are around them for years. We see Dong Eun's practiced patience as she waits for opportunities like she does in the game of Go. But sometimes, this waiting gives way to frustration, especially when her plans are thwarted by the very people who are supposed to have your back (ahem, your mother-phuker).
As a thriller, melodrama, The Glory delivers, but if you are expecting romance, it falls flat. Despite the presence of Lee Do Hyun as a romantic partner for Song Hye Kyo's character, Joo Yeo Jung is at most a love-sick puppy following after the woman of his dreams. They are only lumped together for convenience's sake and their kiss was underwhelming. Moon Dong Eun had better chemistry with Yeon Jin's husband, Ha Do Young, but of course, the plotline won't allow such a scandalous pairing. In the end, the perpetrators' supposedly got their just deserts, but I can't help feeling that somewhere down the line, the vicious cycle of revenge will continue again.
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I loved the unraveling of intricate plots and unsolved mysteries as deciphered by Zhang Ping despite some inconsistencies. In some instances, I was amazed how easily a commoner can obtain access to the Empress, and how fast the higher ranking officials believed Zhang Ping's explanations. But if I overlook some of the loopholes, I find this drama entertaining to watch.
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What a fun drama this is. In the beginning, I was not really sold on the lukewarm, almost non-existent chemistry between the male and female leads, but the main father-son tandem more than made up for it. If you are expecting romance, this is not the drama, but if you are fond of intricate schemes and a hodge-podge of quirky characters, this is the show for you. I loved seeing Zhang Ruo Yun portray the cunning heir to the Northern region, who uses his dumb, playboy persona as a cover, but he is really a thoughtful person who values friendship, family and loyalty. Hu Jun as Xu Xiao is so freaking adorable as Feng Nian's loving father who, out of good intentions, plans his son's path to the throne, but does so with more shrewdness and usually at other people's expense. Feng Nian tries to outwit his father's well-intended machinations while his merry band of martial artists travel across mountains and seas to meet his brother and sisters. On the way, Feng Nian meets more allies and enemies while on his quest to fight for peace and justice.
Side characters are very well-fleshed out and memorable. I especially loved Lao Huang and Li Chun Gang who are Feng Nian's mentors/companions. The fight scenes can sometimes be over the top some times but are quite entertaining to watch. Can't wait for Season 2.
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Aside from the MC's visuals and flirting though, what makes this drama so good is the wealth of multi-dimensional characters, dramatic intrigue, political twists and turns that kept me on my toes. The cinematography is also something to be admired, especially the seamless battle scenes. What I also liked about this drama is that there are no overtly annoying secondary characters that I want to wring their necks or slap them across the face. Yes, there are pretentious villains, there are ambitious eggheads, and murderous mistresses but what historical Chinese drama does not? At least, in this drama, they were more than just stick-figures. I also liked how compact this drama is, that they managed to condense this story in 40 episodes with hardly any fillers.
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