Kate

RamKing is life and Thara is amazing.

Now that we have that behind us, let’s talk about the drama itself. It was a mess. They didn't try to be serious for sure, and some silly scenes were borderline dumb, but somehow it did not bother me. But then… My expectations were extremely low to begin with. There was an imbalance in the quality of writing between couples. Some were good and executed well with interesting characters, some were based fully on cliches and made me want to either sleep or smash my head on the wall.

Let’s talk about couples. The leading babies, Duen and Bohn, had a strong start. Their interactions were funny and cute, but then, it led to nowhere. About halfway through the show I was asking myself: what is happening with them, why does every episode have more or less exactly the same plot for them? There was not much creativity behind who they are, what they do and how they behave. They are basically every cute BL couple from every BL put together to create this monster. Not to mention how frustrating their dynamic was - Bohn always being jealous about the smallest and most random stuff and Duen apologizing and pleading.

King and Ram… how were they so good? How could the same person write them and Duen/Bohn? The quality is vastly different. There was something fresh and fun, yet cute and innocent behind their interaction. King was a perfect senior who, with his mature and bubbly personality, brought some peace and happiness to the soft boy Ram. Since season one focused on Ram's development, I can’t wait to see what will happen to them and King in the 2nd season.

I don’t have anything to say about Boss and Mek. Their story might have been amazing, but I did not witness it at all. Sadly, I could not look past Mek’s dubbing, and skipped all his scenes. I just could not focus on whatever was happening because of the poorly done dubbing.

I also have a complaint about Thara and Frong - there was not enough screen time for them! Another pairing that, to some extent, relied on the stereotypes, but brought a bit of a twist to it. The slow, but adorable change we saw in how Frong treated Thara made my heart melt a few times. Loved how they became so open and were able to communicate with each other, say sorry when it was required, and support each other when needed.

The acting would be fine if it was not for Poy. His crying scenes were some new level of comedy. The rest did well. I did feel a bit awkward with Talay's delivery at times too, but since his character was so nicely written, I could ignore it.
The editing, set design, directing - everything was meh. It was not bad, but it was not good either.

Overall, it’s a nice “I want to watch some sweet show that does not require a lot of brain power and I am willing to skip 50% of the scenes if needed”. There were some scenes more ridiculous than others (the fact Duen was hit by a car in episode one and it was never addressed still makes me laugh), but I guess the confusion it created in my brain was also its charm?

Would I recommend watching? Yes and no. Watch RamKing and TharaFrong, feel free to skip the rest.

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Perfect movie if you decide not to use your brain for two hours.

The Call has a lot of pros, not gonna lie. The acting is amazing, especially from Jeon Jong Seo. Her character is truly the best part of the whole production. You end up loving and hating her at the same time. Jong Seo's portrayal of the initial vulnerability that moves into the direction of desperation and then madness is an intriguing ride.

Park Shin Hye is good. As good as in any other production she was in the past few years, as she is playing exactly the same character. Kind of strong and driven to survive, but not really. Sometimes making smart choices, but that are built on a chain of dumbness. There isn't anything fresh or interesting about her.

The other characters are barely there, only serving the purpose of moving the plot forward or being an external motivation for the two main characters.

The visuals - truly stunning. That's the part of the production that shows a lot of work and planning. The moments when two worlds are colliding and affecting each other was done in an exciting and beautiful way.

So what is the problem?
I'm fairly certain that Lee Chung Hyun did not have a storyboard for this project and he could not decide what exactly are the rules of the time. He presents a linear concept of time (compared to "alternative universes"), when past events affect future events. One reality, but two different points in time. But the way the movie presented the concept was as if the two timelines were parallel and progressing the same way.

Currently happening event in the past affects the currently happening event in the present, but we don't see how the past plays and affects the present in between these events, as if the time between these two events does not exist. The past is the past. Seo Yeon should have access to all the information about the events that happened, not just the ones currently happening in the parallel timeline. Not to mention the fact Seo Yeon had no memories of the past events that affected her. Why?

All events in the movie happened in the linear way, except for the ending. Which was also not explained. The plot twist just opened the door to so many plot holes. If you could call the past at any given time on that timeline, why didn't Seo Yeon use it to her advantage?

The more I think about the way the plot was structured and the time connection explained, the more I get annoyed. It truly looks as if no time was put into making sure the events follow any line of logic. On the surface, it's the basic "action-reaction" deal. But when you start asking questions, you see that time travel/connection plot lines cannot follow this simple logic, because that's what makes them illogical. As time is not that simple...

Anyway, I can see why people enjoyed the movie. It was entertaining for most parts even though quite predictable. If you won't try to understand the logic behind the events or the rules of the time aspects, you will like it. So, the piece of advice: put your brain on the shelf before starting it.

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Was it scary? No. Was it innovative? No. Was it fun? HECK YEAH.

I truly do not have much to say. It was a series of short (most are around 5-6 minutes long) stories presented to us without much context. The urban legends they are based on are not explained, and I myself recognized only two from episode 3 (Special Guest) and episode 6 (Dimension). Did it bother me that I was dropped into the dark and by the end of each episode I was still in the dark? Not really.

I saw a lot of people commenting on the lack of the lore explanation before each episode, but most of the time there is nothing to explain. Urban Legends usually leave more questions than answers, as they are supposed to be simply entertaining and not complex masterpieces. For example, the Dimension is based on the elevator game. Follow the rules and you might end up in a different dimension. If you break any: you're dead. That's it. That's how creepy pastas and urban legends work: they have little content, no explanations and a lot of "plot holes", but they are fun to read (or watch, in this case).

The story that stood out the most to me was Dimension. It got me excited. The choice for the music was true perfection, I was smiling the whole time (damn... this makes me sound like a psychopath when you think about the content of the show and this episode). I also appreciated how the stories were all connected and clearly took place in the same area/universe, as they referred to each other.

The production value was inconsistent, that I must admit. The directing and editing itself was nice and the team did a good job with creating some interesting pictures, but at times, they tried to do more than they were capable of. The CGI was painful to watch in a few episodes. Thankfully, more often than not, they used practical effects, which saved it. Being perfectly honest with you guys, I enjoyed the bad CGI. The whole show was a fun, silly ride for me so the "creepy CGI baby" was just a cherry on top.

I would recommend it to anyone who likes silly creepy pastas and urban legends and does not expect any complex and interesting lore. It's fun and entertaining, and even though it's supposed to be a horror, it brought me more laughter than scares.

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I have the artistic sensibility of a raw potato…

and yet I still enjoyed the drama a lot. I can only imagine how much of a cinematic experience it would be for someone who deeply feels the arts and experiences it on a more spiritual level.

Jokes on me because I neither like the music style presented in the drama, nor this tortured obsessed artist persona Naoki had, and yet I loved every song here and even if I would avoid someone like Naoki in real life, I appreciated him a lot as a character. That’s this title's charm - it makes you feel emotionally involved and connected, even if usually you are more of a pop-girlie.

The music was the forefront of the show, the characters' motivations, the center of some of their existence. Can I relate? Hell no. Personally I find the ultimate obsession over your passion quite sad, hence it was at times painful to watch Naoki so deeply affected and connected to music. There was a level of selfishness under his love for music that I could not stomach. But that’s also what made him an interesting character and it gave me the ultimate question I had while watching Glass Heart - will he touch the grass or nah?

Personally I for sure gravitate towards more mundane and “normal” characters. While eccentric personas can be entertaining, it can also easily become exhausting. Luckily Glass Heart understood potential dangers that come with centering the show around “pure genius” and softened the dynamics with all the people surrounding Naoki.

Akane was not a ray of sunshine, she was the sun flare that demanded ultimate attention with her positive energy and determination that grounded Naoki and helped him get out of the artistic daze and focus. I loved this girl with all my heart and she was easily my favorite character.

Side note, but why was this girl so shippable? I shipped her with 4 different people and all of these seem legit and reasonable choices.

While Akane felt like the force that kept them going, Takaoka Sho was more of a pillar that made them stable during their journey. There is no denying he understood Naoki the best and had the patience of a saint. For all the bromance fans - this pairing will not disappoint you.

And then we have Kazushi who determined the structure and was the silent supporter willing to sacrifice his own goals and desires for people whom he cared about. As a soft potato myself I appreciated him a lot. He led me into the ghost ship that was destined to crush like titanic and I’m not even mad about it.

I have to mention Toya, because I need someone to explain to me why I even liked this rude ass? That styling was also a lot to take, and I did not even recognize Suda Masaki in episode one. Is this man for real? His ability to completely transform into various characters is honestly magical.

As much as I want to focus on the positive and uplifting aspects of the show like - chasing your dreams, found family trope, passion for music, caring for people around you, there was also some underlying sadness in it that drew me more.

The idea that your brilliance might be the downfall for people around you - whenever intentional or not. How deep insecurity and comparing yourself to others can kill whatever talent you have. How co-dependency in any form kills creativity and cages you with the thoughts of self-doubt. The hyperfocus on your passion that you are unable to see other aspects of life worth living for. The obsession is so deep you cannot even take a break - you rather risk dying with it, than live without it.

I truly appreciate how I was able to see the more dark and sad aspect of creative endeavors and how deep sensibility can create beauty while slowly ruining the creator himself. At the same time it highlights the importance of a support system and how slowing down, but being surrounded by like-minded people can be more rewarding than sprinting to your goal all alone.

Production wise this is beyond the typical high quality Netflix gives - here it felt far more intentional. It wasn’t pretty and flashy without restraints. They knew exactly what moments should be highlighted, what directing choices will make the viewers focus on the important aspects of the storytelling, characters dynamics and developments. And what’s most important - they knew how to use visuals to enhance the music. Also all, and I truly mean all producers and directors need to sit down and take notes on how to open a drama, because that drumming in the rain scene was a cinematic experience that perfectly set the tone for the whole show.

At the same time there were some choices I slightly questioned. All the guys saving Akane from trouble Boys Over Flower style. Or when Yukino started to sing at random moments - we get it, singing is your life, but you can in fact use spoken words to communicate too.

Now the music - slays. I love how much focus we had on drums here. Whenever the camera focused on Akane playing I wanted to jump from my seat - the excitement she experienced playing was perfectly translated to screen and infectious. It’s surprising how many dramas that focus on bands and music do not actually have good music in it. TENBLANK is basically a real band with real high quality music and I can 100% believe their songs would top charts.

I have zero notes on acting, because I feel like I’m not in the position to judge the perfection I witnessed. Name me one bad performance. You can’t.

Overall, this was an experience I did not fully relate to on a logical level, but connected on an emotional one.

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Feels like a fanfic written by an inexperienced teen.

And yet I enjoyed it so much. Let’s get real - the writing of everything except for the romance was laughable. When I found out that the actors actually had some training with the professionals, it made it even worse. Without it, I could excuse it on the lack of research, but there was some effort put into it, so why is the result so bad?

All that, it was pure entertainment. I must say, I actually enjoyed the villain the most. He had such a massive negative brain energy I could not stop laughing watching his shenanigans. Especially in the last episodes, everything was so dramatic, when realistically speaking nothing made much sense. It had its cons though - I felt nothing, no pain, no angst, no sadness - nothing. The lack of brains from the villain and the plot completely distracted me from actually connecting to the characters.

Then we have the medical aspect. It was so bad I honestly don’t even want to talk about it. The glorious closeups to the actors' faces as the medical procedures are happening, because the actor cannot deliver them in a realistic way - this tells you all you need to know.

Putting the villain and the medical aspects aside (which means just ignoring a massive portion of the plot lol), the romance itself was great. I liked how they emphasized that the characters make each other better, and how you need to put an actual effort in relationships - no first love type of a deal. The chemistry was great and very natural - no awkwardness, unless the scene literally demanded it.

I also had no issues with the performances. There were no groundbreaking deliveries, but everyone did a good job with their respective roles.

Overall, it was so dumb it ended up being great.

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Purest form of entertainment.

Realism does not exist in the dictionary of the creators, that’s for sure. And it goes beyond the usual fantasy/adventure elements in shows like that. Did it bother me? No. I laughed and joked about it, and moved on. The plot moves so fast, there is no time to think about all the ridiculous aspects.

Tomb of the Sea does a fairly good job establishing characters, their motivations and overall world buildup. You can watch it without any prior knowledge of the series and the prequels, and still enjoy and understand it. It follows quite a few plotlines - Gutong Jing adventure, Wang conspiracy, politics between Nine Clans, and all the small flirty romances. Sounds like a lot, but it's truly not hard to grasp when watching.

The large cast of the characters makes it easy to find someone to relate to, love and, if that's what you fancy, hate. Personally, I adopted Li Cu. At first, my attention was more on Wu Xie, but as the drama progressed, this slightly emo and over the top child stole my heart. Surprisingly, I had a soft spot for Liang Wan - quite flawed, but also a loveable and fun character, which brought a more realistic reaction to all the events unfolding.

One aspect I truly loved about the characters was the realistic portrayal of teenagers. The hero complex, the lack of situation analysis and getting yourself into danger without even taking a second to truly think about the consequences, the over the top and sometimes childish interactions - all of that made me think about the time I was their age and was just as stupid.

For a drama with 52 episodes, it’s surprisingly binge-watchable. The plot moves fast, even if the timeline makes little sense. Word of advice - don’t try to keep up with how much time passed for each side plot, you won’t be able to puzzle it out anyway. You might think just a week has passed, and they fit you with the revelation that it’s been a month or more. They cut off some plot lines to come back to the characters a few episodes later, with me having no idea what they were doing and what happened to them between the events I witnessed. Just go with the flow and don’t question it.

The soundtrack could not be more perfect. Chen Xue Ran’s Song of the Desert became one of my favorite songs in 2021. It was so good, I did not even skip ending credits scenes after each episode, just so I could listen to it.

Overall, it’s a flawed drama - weird plot pacing progression, makeup that can survive sandstorms, cutting plot lines and then coming back to them as if no time passed, and yet, I truly enjoyed it a lot. I also appreciate the death count - nothing more frustrating than when no one dies in a story like that. It would be too Disney for me.

If I had to name one thing that truly bothered me, it was the treatment towards the kids. At times it was simply physical and mental abuse, and it did make me feel uncomfortable at times, especially since the drama never explained why the characters had to be high schoolers. In my eyes, they could have been easily made into young adults, and not much would change plot wise.

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Rom-com turned psychological thriller

Imagine all the unhealthy relationships in dramas. Now, multiply that image by 100. And guess what, it still does not get close to the toxic ride I’ve got from this show.

Truth to be told, the first 10-11 episodes were a top grade hate watch. I had so much fun with how ridiculous the plot was, how toxic the ML was and yet no one saw any problems with it. After that though, it turned into a snooze fest. It was not even entertaining enough for a solid hate watch anymore.

Ling Yi Zhou is easily the worst main lead in the history of romance dramas, and yet, no one had much problems with his awful schemes, including the female lead.

I don’t even want to talk about Xia Lin. Girl needs some serious psychological help. Honestly don’t know who had more issues, her or ML.

Anything good about the show? Chu Yan, one of the semi realistic people. The chemistry between Xu Kai Cheng and Simona Wang was really good and natural. I almost enjoyed their domestic scenes when I was able to block the toxic parts out of my brain for a few seconds here and there.

Overall: I don’t know. I had fun at first because of the ridiculous writing - the plot twists were so over the top and gross (if we talk about real life) I was crying from laughing, but after some time it got boring… There are some makjang plot lines that cannot be topped. The show picked at episode 11, and went downhill from there.

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Seeking the chance without regret

Beautifully written and directed tale on chasing after your dreams and hopes regardless of external factors, whenever they are your age, family, social expectations or past demons keeping you away from taking that chance.

The true star of the show was Shim Deok Chul played by Park In Hwan. Both, how the character was written, and then portrayed on screen made me as a viewer relate to him, empathize with his journey and root for his success even though, practically speaking, we had close to nothing in common. The story was so touching and beautiful that it left me dehydrated because of all the crying (not all the tears were sad).

Acting wise, I had a small beef with Song Kang - his emotional scenes were just… not emotional. The sadness, fear, loss, frustration his character was supposed to feel, were not translated via his acting on screen.

Sadly, Shim Deok Chul arc was both the blessing and the curse of the drama. All the other plot lines felt flat when compared - there were just too many characters that at the end of the day, were relaying the same message. Dropping some characters from the script, and allowing the rest to present better structured and developed plot lines could have potentially elevated the quality of the overall storytelling.

The production quality was, dare I say, perfect. Props to Song Kang double and the director for filming the ballet scenes in a way that was consistent and it did not feel like I’m watching two completely different people doing completely separate takes of the same scene.

The OST is one big bop, having both slower and sentimental songs and faster tracks.

Overall, it was a ride that, at times, was tough to emotionally deal with, but still worth all the tears. It did not leave me completely depressed, as I was fearing, taking into consideration the used themes. What I’ve got was a beautiful conclusion to a beautiful story.

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Is society the problem, or was this man just a failure?

There was a specific vision and style to this movie, and even if it did not match my taste, I do appreciate it more than a movie that is made with no specific viewer in mind - for everyone and for no one.

Sadly even if I respect the distinctive style of directing, the movie with all the attempts at social commentary, felt rather empty. Capitalism - bad, pressure put by social norms - bad, greed for success with no actual values behind it - bad. No real nuance, no depth. I do like how No Other Choices focuses on the struggles of men and how, even if we slowly give up on outdated ideas, the thought of the man being the head of the family that has to provide no matter what, as if that was their only value, can still affect many people. I just wish they presented that in a less obvious and in your face manner. Making Yoo Man Su even a tiny bit likable would be great too.

I honestly think Yoo Man Su was the biggest issue I had with the movie. Because no one had it supposed to have a larger social commentary, but at the end of the day it’s a story about a man with low self esteem that acts like a permanent victim trying to justify every action he takes. I want to feel bad for him, but he was so dislikable I actually wished him failure. Making your main character both unlikable and morally corrupt is a risky business. For how long the movie is, I wish they spent more time establishing that Man Su is in fact just a normal man, and not a complete failure. And yet, I kept thinking - society sucks, true, but in this story this man is the problem, not the society.

That said, performances for sure carried the whole movie. Especially Son Ye Jin as Mi Ri.

I don’t really have many grand thoughts about this title. Went to the cinema, considered walking out maybe 2 times, finished watching and that’s it. I would not call it food for thoughts, it was decently entertaining.

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They were milking the denial so hard it became exhausting.

It started great, but then they could not handle their own conflict well enough. I am honestly not sure if the issue was the writing, directing or the delivery from actors themselves, but something did not work.

I loved it at first. I was ready for the soft angst and pinning, instead in the second half I got a lot of annoyance and running in a circles. This could work, but I don’t think Amemiya Kakeru as the skillset to deliver that internal conflict of wanting to be with Yokoi Minato and being scared it would ruin what they already had, while also somehow trying to gaslight himself into believing he does see Minato as just best friend. A lot to handle for a rookie actor. While I saw a lot of love in Minato’s eyes, I mostly saw hesitation in Wataru’s and I am not sure it’s because of the character’s feelings, and not just the actor being confused how to deliver a cohesive performance. Amemiya Kakeru was not bad, but rather than amazing performance I’ve got a good potential.

Supporting characters were all rather shallow, I remember not one of them. Maybe the photo studio boss and the little son.

Plotwise, they were milking the denial so hard it became exhausting. I usually have no problem with characters not allowing themselves to admit to their feelings, and even when they do, not acting on them. But I feel it should be built on some underlying angst and hesitation of what could be and what they can lose. But here the feelings felt quite shallow. I don’t think I was fully convinced by this romance. It felt more platonic on one side. While I understand they both have feelings for each other, after finishing the drama I keep having this feeling: Was Wataru afraid of getting into a relationship because it might ruin the friendship, or did he get into a relationship because he was afraid of losing his best friend? I know it’s not the case, but with the presentation I cannot stop thinking it’s too much of a fitting possibility.

Then we have the issue with the structure of the story, for example: there was one episode filled with flashbacks, usually used to sum up the whole show before the conclusion or provide additional perspective, but it gave me neither and did not do much to push the story forward or change the dynamics. Or when the majority of the episodes focus on the flashbacks of the past and conclude on confession in the present, but they did not establish at all what change in present timeline for the confession to happen - what pushed the character to do it.

Production wise, the drama was pretty, but there were some editing and lighting issues. Ending scene in episode 3? What exactly happened? It feels like they filmed during the day and then edited it to look like night post-production… but it didn’t quite work out.

It was a nice show, but being too long ruined the experience. Some dramas truly should stick to 6 episodes, if it’s all the plot can fill.

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Fast, fun, and already fading.

Almost worked, but not quite right. The characters were fun, the set up was interesting, the chemistry did sparkle a few times, but why do I feel so unsatisfied with what I’ve got?

What I enjoyed was the curse of extremes - I liked how they presented both bad luck and good fortune as potential sources of negativity and isolation. On one hand Fukuhara Kota kept to himself, because he was afraid of affecting others with misfortune. On the other hand Naoya struggled with creating deep connections with people after countless bad experiences of being exploited because of his good luck.

The grass is never greener on the other side, it’s green where it’s taken care of. It was great to witness how the characters slowly come to that conclusion. They learned how to change perspectives as a way of dealing with their circumstances. Instead of running away from potential issues, they focused on the positive outcomes they previously neglected.

When I think about the characters as individuals though, Fukuhara Kota was quite confusing. Technically they told me he built a fake personality as a way to protect himself, but I don’t think they were truly clear about what aspects of how he acts were fake and what was real. The drama opened with him approaching Naoya with the “fake”, but later when he shows his true self, it’s not really much different - he still is bubbly, overexcited about certain things… The only difference is how he lets himself explore and present frustration which he was more likely to conceal before. That said, I did adore the inside voice commentary Kota kept giving whenever something he disliked happened, but he still wanted to play fake nice about it.

Then we have Shinomiya Naoya lacking some depth. I wish they dived deeper into his insecurities concerning his good luck and how he kept being used by people around him. We did not really get much of it and he was a bit too perfect for me liking. Patient, caring, nice - I cannot even name any flaw in the character. And the flaws are what makes them feel real.

The romance was surprisingly the weakest part. Kota was so hyperactive and animated it was hard to truly get into his chemistry with more laid back Naoya - they did not keep the tension between the characters, always breaking it with some overexaggerated reactions from Kota. While I did enjoy the few looks of adoration Naoya delivered, overall there was something missing… I feel like many scenes did not use the full potential of the set up presented and it was always somehow half-baked.

I did like all the performances, be it from the main cast or the supporting one. Even with limited screentime and their stories not being shown, Naoya’s friends did feel like distinctive individuals.

Overall, this was an extremely fun and fast watch that I will equally extremely fast forget.

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Way more slice of life than I thought it would be.

Even though there is no comedy genre, I somehow went into it thinking it would be far more silly in terms of plot, characters and relationship. What I’ve got had far more depth and complexity and even if I disagreed with certain choices, I understood where they were coming from. Be it result of miscommunication, fear, insecurity, need for growth, care or love - nothing felt arbitrary.

But also, not this drama turning me into a redditor screaming “divorce!”, “break up!”, “move on!”. The conflicts were so annoyingly real it was impossible not to connect to the characters and experience what they are feeling. Be it fear of losing or starting a relationship, shame concerning their own desires and wants, incompatibility - whatever the core of the issue was, they managed to present it in an easy to understand and relatable manner.

Maybe because the characters and conflicts had so much depth I did not feel fully satisfied? These 8 episodes were enough to give me set up and proper closure, but not enough development.

As for the sex - yes, there is sex in the drama. Quite a lot of it. No, it’s not “artsy blurred make out scenes ending on hand holding”. The sex scenes are actually really… normal. Which is kind of the point of the show - sex is normal. What surprised me was the almost complete lack of nudity. Even during the scenes we know characters are naked, we don’t really see much thanks to the well planned camera work and use of props.

Acting wise - I dare anyone to have any complaints. No matter how normal or eccentric the characters might have been, how exciting, mundane, heartbreaking or uplifting were the moments in their lives, the actors delivered.

I saw many people describe this drama as educational, which I would for sure agree with, but I think it’s more about encouraging reflection about topics like sex, intimacy, honesty, communication, relationships, setbacks and traumas. It’s not just “sex lessons”, it’s life lessons and sex is just a part of it.

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What the author had in mind?

First thing first: trigger warning for real animal cruelty. Damn 2000's was a different time for this movie to be able to exist. It's mostly fish, but they are not that nice towards dog, bird and frog either...

This movie is kind of hypnotising - you cannot stop watching not matter how gross and weird it gets. You question everything and yet you don't hit that pause button. I think the depth of that movie is hidden deep down in the mind of the author. Is this deep symbolism, or is it a shallow pretentious symbolism? I don't know.

The movie has little to no dialogue and yet it was directed in a way I did understand easily what was going on and what the characters were thinking and feeling (it was all fucked up, but I could grasp it). It's a story of two broken people becoming more broken and more fucked up.

The acting was great, not gonna lie. Seo Jung as Hee Jin was simply disturbing.

Overall... that was quite an experience and I don't think I know even one person I would recommend this movie to.

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Who are you - the question we don’t have an answer to.

Realistically speaking, I understood around 80% of the movie. There are many things that are just hinted at, especially about the details of the resolutions/conclusions. Does it bother me? No. If anything, it makes me more interested in potential rewatch to see if I missed anything. The movie presents a lot of questions, but not all the answers.

How much do we change and curate ourselves to match social expectations and responsibilities set by the roles we decide to take? On the other hand, is following our desires the true freedom or just another cage? Driven by desires or led by society - where is the freedom in both, where is the place for personal choices?

These are the questions I kept thinking about while watching Cure. It also reminded me that we as humans love to simplify everything - binary thinking is easier. Extreme solution to mundane problems - that’s how I saw the freedom Mamiya was spreading. Momentary freedom that led to more restraints. Because living is not as simple as always doing what others expect you to do, nor is it simply following your current needs. Forcing others to adhere to your narrow definition of freedom is not setting them free, it’s just taking the leash in your own hands and controlling them by your own standards.

Cure is a great psychological mystery that masterfully crafts the tension. The longer I watched, the more I wanted to get the answers, but by the end, I was fine with still wondering. Strangely it felt as if I was given the freedom to find my own conclusion. It’s not a typical crime movie where we want to know who did it. Rather, we desperately try to figure out why it was done. It’s slow and atmospheric.

With a script like that you need charismatic actors to pull it off. And I was blessed with Yakusho Koji’s performance as Takabe Kenichi - a detective and husband, who struggles with maintaining these two roles, slowly cracking under the pressure. Hagiwara Masato as Mamiya Kunihiko was simply terrifying. Something about that detached, but piercing presence made me feel extremely uncomfortable.

Editing and production was truly perfect. From longer and uncut scenes that created the tension, or the quick cut flashes of moments and frames, that in addition to giving important clues, served as a good indicator of the shift of perspective and the connections the main lead made.

Overall, highly recommend to all the folks who liked to be asked questions and not get conclusive answers, making your own brain do the work. Less investigation, more philosophical. Slow pace might deter some people from watching - proper watching conditions might be the key to enjoyment.

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Going into this show one needs to understand this is not really a dating show. It definitely focuses on the hardships of existing couples and any “dates” seem more like a distraction from what’s going on. You won’t really get butterflies watching it, there is no “hot tea” of who likes whom and why. It’s more frustration, pain and a lot of sadness and this is kind of why I liked it.

Quite quickly you can figure out no new couples will form here. While the dates provide a new perspective for the couples to view their own relationship, it would be painfully ridiculous and unrealistic for any of these people to fall in love with a new person in just two weeks. And that’s one of the aspects I did not like - short duration. I honestly don’t think 2 weeks is enough of a time for a show with a premise like that. It probably would be better if the filming took a month - just keep them all in Seoul and let them go to work, so they don’t take a full 2 weeks off.

Because the duration was so short, a lot of things felt rushed and we kind of got bombarded with new developments, constant arguments and unresolved issues. I cannot even imagine how exhausting it must have been for the participants.

That said, it’s still a surprisingly great show. Somehow, no matter how flawed the relationships might have been, I rooted for most of them to stay together. It was nice to watch them learn how to communicate with each other and appreciate the bond they have.

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