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This review may contain spoilers
I was quite amazed how well all 3 main relationships worked and how I was almost never angry or annoyed by some ridiculous, easily explained drama.Phana will come down in history as the best boyfriend. Find me another guy in BLs who asks for permission before he kisses, says they will wait until their partner is ready and then lets them decide when they will take the relationship further (if you know what I mean ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), wants to talk and communicate with their partner about any situation that may cause misunderstandings, easily forgives mistakes, but first explain how they did hurt him, is not obsessed and possessive by not letting his partner hang out with other boys, understands that friends are as important to their partner as he is. The amount of times I screamed: YES MA MAN YOU DO IT RIGHT!
Not to mention Ben's acting, damn he good. He truly did look like he was deeply in love with his boi. I've got butterflies in my stomach just watching him look at Wayo.
Then we have the imperfect character of Wayo which makes the drama that much better. With how insecure he is, he creates the necessary tension and conflict that make the watching experience more entertaining. I wasn't sold on Earth acting tho. It wasn’t always natural and at times, his facial expressions felt exaggerated and over the top.
Ming and Kit... Another interesting dynamic - shy boy and a playboy. We saw it many times, but here it was a perfection. Ming was not portrayed as an asshole who cheats on his partners and parties all the time. He stays honest to his feelings and tries his best to not hurt others in the process of figuring stuff out. Kit needed someone persistent enough not to give up on him, because it took him some time to open up. I loved how they both learned how to accept each other.
Forth and Beam, my babies. They are the most different from all the previous couples. Their relationship literally sparks in one evening and then they have to figure out how to deal with what happened. Yet again, the key was communication. They were both honest about how they felt, even though they were not on the same page at first. But it helped them navigate and decide what kind of approach would be the best (or rather, it helped Forth decide how to go after Beam).
Can we talk about Park tho, because damn boi got me shook. He was literally just lurking in the shadows, showing up every few episodes causing just slight mayhem up until it all went to hell in the last episode. He was so hard to figure out and gave such an amazing creepy vibe.
Honorable mentions to: Cake for being the best girl ever. She was so amazingly relatable with her funny remarks (how she tried to hint to Ming's ex that he liked boys now, or how she reacted to guys being cute together and trying to cover it up in a natural way). Pretty gang too, such supportive friends! Willing to protect their boi Wayo from all the creeps around.
While some may say this drama was quite cringe, I'd say: that's what I love about it. Some lines were so ridiculous I started to anticipate more of them. It was simply fun and entertaining to watch. In my eyes, all BLs are more or less cringy and that's their charm.
Overall, I finished the whole show in one day/night. Was impressed how reasonable the majority of the characters were. The jokes were over the top, but somehow fitted perfectly into the type of storytelling presented.
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The strongest points of this show are definitely the characters, filming sequences and the lack of CGI and the payoff we get in the last episode. I was amazed with how smart this drama was filmed. Instead of using mediocre special effects, they focused on conveying the special powers and how they work/manifest with creative angles, camera movements and lighting. They worked their magic and it truly enriched the viewing experience . This drama shows that sometimes “less is more” as long as you are smart and creative in your work.
I also appreciated the sci-fi vibe this drama had, from the design of specific scenes, grounding the special powers in the scientific biological changes and even the background music. It all made a coherent picture surrounded by a fitting atmosphere.
The pacing and the structure of the episode made it easy to get to know, relate and understand the characters themselves, but also slowly realize the bigger picture gradually presented. A good portion of the episodes was dedicated to exploring the stories of each specific member of The Gifted program, which made me think of a procedural crime show: one case (character) per episode with an overlying bigger plotline being entwined between them. This format definitely worked for the plot, sub-plots and characters' background, making it easy for me to immerse myself in the story.
The last episode was amazing. It had more plot twists than all the dramas I have ever watched combined. It made me cry from frustration and I did feel exhausted by the end of it, but it was all worth it.
Overall, it was an awesomely done drama with interesting characters and logical storyline. I did not have high expectations when I started watching it, but even if I did, I feel like this would exceed them anyway.
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The premise of the plot is quite simple: a group of young adults goes to a haunted location to film some spooky stuff and things go wrong. To sell such a story and make it believable you need few elements.
REASON
Why these people and that specific location? Here we have Ha Joon being the "captain" of the ghost hunting team bringing a group of selected people into one of the top 7 scariest places. It's not hard to believe that a group of haunted houses and ghost enthusiasts would sign up to go to such a location, especially since money was also involved. This setting makes it easier for us to believe this story could happen. There are plenty of youtubers doing just that.
CAST
The chemistry between the characters was amazing. While some people might say that the beginning part was boring and a bit too long, I'd like to say it was necessary. We got to know what are the dynamics between different characters, their motivation and style of acting and communicating. All the characters were relatable and easy to like which made the stakes much higher. I wanted them to survive.
That said, making a horror movie believable in the style of Blair Witch Project and using actors' names for the characters works only if the actors are not well known. Here it did not make much sense. I see no reasons why the fictional characters did not get original names since it's not like the writing, nor a production team really wanted to play on that "believability" aspect like it happened with BWP.
ENDING
Why no one searched for the kids? Why no one was concerned with what was going on? Why did none of the viewers call the police as they were watching? All of those questions have been answered in a simple yet quite clever way in one of the last scenes in the tent. Since they used a "live broadcast" as a way to showcase the found footage trope, I was afraid it would be hard to give it a reasonable ending, yet the writer and director made it work.
Overall, it was a nice horror movie. There were quite a few moments that made me scared. It wasn't heavy on cheap jump-scares, but instead they created a nice atmosphere and did a good job of playing with the different lights and shadows to make a viewer question if they saw something or not. While some scenes at the ending were unnecessary for me, and cheapened the movie a bit, I still believe it was a watch worth my time.
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It's 2007 giving 1997 vibes.
If this script was created in 2025 I'd guess it was ChatGPT generated - it's the most copy paste typical Japanese ghost horror you can imagine, with typical AI generated mistakes.Ghost in the background, ghost in the photo, ghost in the corner of the screen. Killing black hair, creepy kid,unresolved grudge and medicare investigation from the female lead. That's the whole movie. You had your mandatory plot twists at the end, one that was obvious from the start. You have that "open ending" vibe that is supposed to make the movie more "eerie" since no closure always gives the feeling of discomfort, but somehow it just made me roll my eyes.
The acting was fine? With a plot like that I don't think the actors even had a space to flex their skills.
Overall, just rewatch Ring or Ju-on.
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Having a social life and friends can save your life.
And with that I am convinced leads from this movie had none. I cannot believe they’ve been gone for days without anyone having any contact with them. Not one person who was concerned? All it would take was one person, it’s not like they were on some secret mission. People knew where they were seen the last time. They would be found on day 3 if just one person cared.Putting the mindless set up aside, it was both decent and bad at the same time. I actually really like the idea of a person being trapped in a place with no contact and no way out. If just the execution was better. It would make the movie more tense and less frustrating.
The performances were fine. The production was fine. The pacing was fine. Nothing really stood out, be it positively nor negatively. The beast was not beating a lot, mostly chilling in the corner. I don’t think the “no animal was hurt during filming” note at the beginning was necessary, since it was clearly visible when the dog was fake and when it was real.
Overall, I’m not mad about how bad it was, I was more bored. When I think about the plot of this movie, it is scary. But when I actually watched it, I felt nothing but mild frustration.
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Minimalistic atmosphere building the tension.
Nothing happens, but somehow the tension is high. Everything is vague, but you kind of understand what is going on. Rather than scary, it’s more eerie - driven by the atmosphere, not the plot. There is a lot of talking, still camera shots, pauses in dialogues. And with all that you will either enjoy it, or find it painfully boring.I want to start with the fact the synopsis is a bit misleading. It makes it seem like the plot truly starts when they head to the woods, but that’s not the case - this ain’t Blair Witch Project. The majority of this movie seems like the exposition of the past, the lore for the mountain, the incident involving the child.
I would not fight anyone who would say they fell asleep watching this movie - I totally get it. Nothing happens for a good 80% of the runtime. They do not try to fill the gaps with fancy editing. Many dialogue heavy scenes are still cameras, the whole conversations shown from one angle with no cuts. And I think this is why it worked for me. At times it felt like you were there with the characters in the room. It gave the whole story quite a found footage vibe even though this is not exactly a found footage horror movie.
The performances were good. I don’t think the movie had enough depth to require groundbreaking acting, but for what was supposed to be presented, I have no complaints.
Overall, this will be either hit or miss. You will either buy the atmosphere they tried to create or not. Personally, I like these vague, nothing really is happening, but also everything feels wrong and creepy horror movies. For others it might be a snoozefest.
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How to be a bad parent - simple guide.
The way all the adults in this movie were truly awful and selfish - I failed to feel touched by any scenes, I was just fueled with frustration. No, I did not get out of this movie with a thought how vulnerable deaf people are in society and how they need assistance (which alone is honestly borderline offensive), but rather - deaf people can be selfish and dumb too.By all means Xiao Ma was a victim of his own demise. How many times can a person make the same extremely bad choice before we can stop feeling bad for them and accept they failed themselves? It's one thing when you once get scammed after trusting wrong people. But to willingly do it over and over again, put yourself and your child in dangers? Wild. He was just a bad parent. Not one choice he made was done for his daughter, but for his own selfish need to keep her next to him, not caring if it's beneficial for her or not.
The mother is not better. I do not care what was decided when the child was born - yeeting yourself out of their existence to randomly come back is never right. The way she did not try to slowly build a relationship with her daughter, gain her trust. Poor Mu Mu was forced into extremely bad situation by both of her parents.
This movie left me with exactly zero positive emotions and thoughts. Every new development made me more angry.
That said, one thing Mumu delivers is the acting. What a performance from both Lay and Li Luo An. I am not going to pretend like I know sign language, but just from a visual standpoint, they characters did feel natural and fluent while using it - it never felt awkward. the emotions felt real and raw. If only the plot was better and the characters sucked less, I would probably cry alone just because of the emotional performances.
Visually speaking also no complains. It's not outstanding, I cannot think of any memorable scene in terms of shots and aesthetics, but I also cannot think of any bad aspect in that area of production. Directing and editing wise, I truly loved the "fighting, but pretending to party" scene in the beginning of the movie. It was adorable and it made me smile a little bit.
Overall, I'm just disappointed. The whole movie gives you the idea that deaf people are inherently a victims to be made, naive and vulnerable and they need protection and support. when the true fact is majority of the issues male lead faced had nothing to do with him being deaf, but with him being dumb and selfish.
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The CGI, still a bit awkward at some places, was still a huge improvement from the drama. What's more, I actually did like the last fighting scene. I would remove the "transformer spirits" from the equation though. There was not that much acting to be done, even though the movie was over an hour long, it felt more like 30 minutes - with that I don't think any performance had a chance to shine.
The best aspects of the Fatal Journey was the last shot of Nie Huai Sang that could be described as "ah yes, this is his origin story". Knowing what's coming next, that shot was truly impactful.
Overall, it's clearly movie that targets TU fans only. It's rather meaningless for anyone who does not have prior knowledge of the overall story.
Ps. Adding black eyes for 2 scenes is not enough to call movie a horror.
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How can a slice of life feel so empty?
Things happened but everything was meaningless, because nothing was established. There were so many things that did not work out.They tried to tell us the main characters are struggling. With what? What was the focus of the story? Honestly, I don't know. Was it striving to achieve your dream no matter what? Was it changing your dream after finding out who you truly are? Was there something going on between the leads or not? Did any of the characters have any depth, personality, personal story? Everyone was so one dimensional, defined by one personality trait or personal story, it was hard to care for any of them…
It’s hard for me to comment about the acting, since the characters were rather shallow. There were few highlights from Shin Seung Ho and Irene did fine - the character had just nothing to offer, so she had nothing to show.
What’s good? The movie is rather pretty.
Overall, it’s not like there was something wrong with this movie… but there was not anything right about it either.
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What went well? Most of the characters are likable, even if they lacked depth. Bora was your typical energetic and bubbly girl, Woon Ho was a perfect first love material with his warm demeanor, and Hyun Jin was the most fun and entertaining of the group. Sadly, the writer did Kim Yeon Doo dirty presenting her in rather unflattering light - clueless about the situation she was in, not getting a hint about the relations people around her have, defined by her circumstances and the illness - little to no info about her as a person.
Surprisingly, I adored all the piling misunderstandings. All of them presented in a light and heartwarming way, showing the mistakes most of us made when we were teens facing our first love.
What’s more - 20th Century Girl is simply beautiful. The use of light and shadows gave me goosebumps more than once. I am a sucker for good dim aesthetics.
So what went wrong? For a movie that is 2 hours long, we truly did not know much about the characters. Halfway through the movie I started to question, how there is still an hour to go and why are we not exploring any of the circumstances the characters are in?
The acting was also not mind blowing. Maybe I expected too much from this cast, but with a plot so simple and full of well known cliches, the performances are what carry it. Here, while everyone did a great job, none of the portrayals of the characters was truly unforgettable. My biggest issues were the more emotional scenes - they did not resonate at all. Maybe because Kim Yoo Jung tried to tap deep into the overly emotional teen, but her crying was more annoying and less moving than I would like.
By now, everyone knows the ending is just disappointing. I honestly don’t have an issue with the idea the writer had for it, but the execution was simply bad - no set up, no explanation, no message to tie it all together, no nothing.
Overall, it’s a decent movie, bringing back many memories of my teen romances and for that I am grateful. It’s not exactly memorable, nor innovative, nor a simple feel good watch. Tries to stand out in the sea of teen rom-coms with the ending, but fails to truly deliver a cohesive narrative that leads to this conclusion.
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The story itself was surprisingly solid. Silly, leading more to comedy than horror, but still decent in both writing and presentation. It’s also refreshing to see a morally questionable character in the main role. The acting was also fine, no major complaints.
The concept itself was great and personally, I think it’s worth a full length movie. There is so much that can be done with it with more screen time, good script writer and decent budget.
Overall, for an ad, really good.
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Mindless mediocracy with great friendship.
I'm not gonna lie. There were some scenes so dumb I had to pause the episode in the middle of them and stare at the wall in my room trying to prevent the neurons leaking from my brain. The show is made with the idea of kids as the target audience. Lack of realism was not even the worst part, it’s the complete disregard of logic and continuity.Yes, the writing of the main plot was a pile of trash. It made so little sense and it was presented in such a bad manner, I found it amusing. The villain was a poorly written joke, the twists and the character’s reactions to them were comical and the conclusion to the story was all over the place. Not to mention the last minute redemption arc for one of the bad guys.
That said, the show shined when it focused on more mundane aspects of the police academy and the growing friendship and bond between the main characters. We’ve got a variety of different characters which led to many funny and heartwarming moments when they started to open up to each other more. Learning how to lean on others and ask for help, how to trust your friends, how to communicate with people with different outlooks in life and previous experiences. That was the best part of the show.
The fair share of romance was fine. Personally, I couldn't care less about the main couple and a lot of it had to do with the performance. Thankfully, we’ve got more than enough screen time for the second couple that was far more natural and adorable. I also got a massive second lead syndrome from the female lead’s senior.
As for the performance - I have never seen a more obvious case of someone getting cast for their name and not their skill. I adore Kang Daniel, I do. He is an extremely talented performer and entertainer, but he just cannot act at all. He literally made me cry from laughing from his bad performance. His face was just white wall of emotions and the line delivery was less expressive than Alexa or Siri. He did fine with the scenes showcasing more daily stuff, but any moment that needed to tap into these more raw emotions, he failed miserably.
Others did a lot better. Granted, most characters lacked depth, so these performances were not exactly that demanding, but the cast did their best to deliver a good performance and chemistry. Especially impressed with Park Sung Joon in the last few episodes.
Production value was great, but that’s exactly what one can expect. There were a few editing mistakes and a lack of continuity between shots, but these were small details that are hard to avoid in any drama.
Overall, I had fun for both good and bad reasons. Enjoyed the friendship and characters a lot, and laughed about the poorly written plot and the whole investigation aspect of it.
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You can still have a fun horror movie even with a basic story, sadly the writing here was just not that strong. They did not really establish anything. One hour into the film I still did not get all the characters' motivations. Why was the female lead even assuming there were any issues with the paintings? Why did she think from the start they were haunted? It’s not like they can give me exciting plot twists with such a basic set up, so why not just explain it from the start?
Thing that frustrated me the most about Cracked was how they played ominous music for random and normal moments. A woman is standing in the background? Cue the scary sounds… She did nothing. There was no real foreshadowing. Nothing.
Also, that ending? I don’t know how I feel about it. Kind of makes me annoyed knowing the full story.
Not all was bad. It had quite a few fun visual moments. They even used the kid to deliver some eerie body horror. Last 30 minutes were just comedy. There was one scene that almost made me cry from laughing. I just did not see that coming at all. Acting was also good. Compliments go to Nina - with kid actors it's either hit or miss, and I think she did quite a good job here.
Overall, decent. It made me question “why” a lot of things were happening a few too many times, but overall, even if I was not that satisfied with the ending, it did give a closure to more or less everything they introduced.
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Back at it again with building the atmosphere…
And not relying solely on jump scares. While it did not have a well structured plot nor interesting characters, it still managed to present an interesting style of filming with ambiguous and distorted visuals.That said, I did enjoy it more for the “vibe” and not the plot itself. I don’t think the story had much to offer. The mystery and the past was presented in an unnecessarily confusing way and some bits of it were added just for the shock value, as they made little sense in the context of the plot itself.
They spent quite some time building up the female lead and her ability to see ghosts, while it had little to no impact on the story itself. And there were quite a few random plot points that were there just to fill the screen time. Since they took their sweet time with that first act and second act, the ending seemed rushed making the pacing of the whole movie seem a bit off.
Acting wise I don’t have any complaints. Big props to Miyano Hina who played Maya - the girl had some moves. Miyoshi Ayaka as the lead felt flat. With that type of story and with how much her character was involved in it, the emotions seemed just too diluted.
The visuals though were truly nice. There were a number of scenes I thought were cleverly shot and presented.
Overall, a nice watch, but there are other movies I would recommend before this one.
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This is not tomb raiding, it’s politics.
Sue me, but I skipped 1/5th of the show. I truly could not stand Hendry’s dubbing. I was not interested in the whole political ploy for power. Not gonna lie, I struggled with the rating a lot. It's not like I think the series is bad, I was just painfully uninterested in the plot and came into it with different expectations.Mystic Nine is nothing like your typical The Lost Tomb Series. It focuses far more on the politics and power struggle between the Nine Clans (more like 4 families, the others just being mentioned by name every now and then) with additions to awfully generic white man Hendry and awfully generic power hungry Lu Jian Xun. Also, claiming Yin Xin Yue and Ya Tou are main characters is a fat lie. One shows up every few episodes to look pretty and worried about Zhang Qi Shan and the other mostly exists in the same five flashbacks that are played every time Er Ye needs his emo time.
The best part of the whole show was literally the ending scene. That type of badassery is what I want from the Tomb Series. So why did it feel like Lu Jian Xun was the main character and the center of this boring political story?
Acting was objectively good, but I was not once moved by any performance since I simply did not care about any of the characters. Production value was more or less the same as any of the first Tomb Raiders shows. The few CGI scenes were awful and I loved them.
Overall, if you go into it knowing it will be mostly politics and a lot of talking, and that’s what you want - you will enjoy it a lot. If you want a more typical Tomb Raiding adventure (like I did), I’d recommend picking something else.
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