This review may contain spoilers
THIS DRAMA IS NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED
I decided to write a review because I have noticed a lot of comments about this drama and that the rating is low probably because of what was presumed to be understood.I have watched 12 subbed episodes and 4 unsubbed ones. I am currently learning thai and I understand little by little of the language, the rest I just use google translate and base it on the scenes and how it was executed.
I will try to stay away from spoilers as much as possible.
I got curious with this drama because I wanted to know how Ben will fall in love with Fah despite the complicated relationship chart. After watching the first episode I got hooked mainly because of the actors.
PLOT: the main plot of this drama is revenge over revenge. The cheating was a product of the revenge scheme by Vichuda. We have the first generation love triangle (Orn-Tharn-Vichuda) and the second generation; their children with their romantic feelings and complicated side characters. Aek loves Fah not as a sister but I am not sure if Fah feels the same. PP has romantic feelings for Aek (or she thinks she has). This is already complicated and then comes into the picture the other characters.
This is not for the faint hearted because we do not normally see a mother who sleeps with her daughter's husband. That is just top notch immoral but at least in this drama the mother and the daughter are not biologically related. (doesn't really lessen the disgust).
This drama has emotional and mental abuse from parents. Vichuda emotionally abuses PP whilst Orn emotionally, mentally and physically abuses Fah.
This has attempted suicide, drugs and alcohol.
This has a lot of cheating in it.
The men in this drama are actually useless and to be honest. I am waiting for character development from them.
As seen from the trailer and relationship chart the characters are entangled in a very complicated manner with their feelings making it worse.
This is usually not my cup of tea as I know that this drama will give me stress. WHY do I still watch it? Despite the drama basically full of negative things it is still so juicy that it makes it really addicting to watch. Even with the lack of morals obviously, I still watch this drama because I wanted to know how the writers will wrap this up. The drama is fast paced, almost each secret gets revealed each episode so you really wonder, what is then left and how will it end after all is revealed?
What I also liked in this drama is dialogues, even with subtitles, some dialogues have double meanings. It is like mind games, you dont know what's next.
ACTORS: The main reason this drama is as it is is because of the actors.
ORN ( The mum): Ive seen her in some dramas as supporting roles and I must say she acts the crazy mentally unstable mum perfectly well. You just love to hate her because she portrays her character without conscience so good. She can haunt you in her nightmares. I compare her character similar to the Grimm's brother fairytale version of the evil witch step mother who is jealous to snow white as well as the witch who kept Rapunzel captive all her life. That is how evil her character is.
VICHUDA (the older sister): from the ones that I have seen, you can clearly see and feel the change in emotion when she is hot and cold with her daughter.
THARN: This character, aside from being the father... He has no balls from the start, not sure if he will grow some as the series will progress
FAH (FAH also in real life) : This young newbie actress can act. I love how she portrays from being hurt to scared to conflicted in just few seconds. Her subtle smirks, grin and eyebrow movements can convey disgust, sarcasm and provocation all at the same time. She portrays the character of a woman with strong will despite the abuse. You understand her character and why she endures with the situation and tries to live well for what is in front of her.
I actually love how she is indifferent but polite at the same time. With her and Ben, it is believable that she portrays annoyance with him but at the same time respect him as a husband. She is so pretty even without make up, very fitting for like snow white or rapunzel trope haha.
BEN (BIE THASSAPAK): this is my first time seeing this actor and I have to say that he really plays his part well. I believe that if he is not the actor the story might not be as interesting because he made his character not a one dimensional playboy. You as a viewer gets curious with his motives and see how he will deal once he finds out that he bit more than he can chew with the mother.
AEK (JOSS): Joss fans might hate me but the actor is weak here. I dont see any chemistry with Fah, or as a brother in love with his sister. Alongside Ben, you cant feel the tension. I only felt his character and was able to finally see that tension on episode 9. I know that he has Fon as a love interest here but his portrayal of Aek is weak that I dont want him to be with Fah. The character of Aek is careless and rash and does more harm to Fah than good. If he would portray his character better despite those characteristics I would probably really root for him. I have other actors in mind, if they were Aek, tension would be greater and that you will really do not know who Fah will end up with. As for now he is just giving me nothing.That aside he does have chemistry with Fon.
Thinking other things, Lee Thanat could be Aek because he also has chemistry with Fon.
PIPI (PLOY)- she plays the part of a rebellious teenager well for me despite her being actually older in real life than FAH. Suicidal and depressive teen, with her mood instability, I think she did it well portraying where her behavious is rooting from. Good chemistry with her love interest.
OFF (RON)- being a supporting and side character, as usual OFF is good at whatever is given to him. Ive seen some of his works but not BL. I dont watch BL
FON (NARIN): Ive seen her in some dramas and she has been stereotyped into cute roles. At least in here she is believable as a serious teacher and her character is at least different from her usual cute characters. (she is still cute here though)
AUNTIE: haha whoever she is I am rooting for her. She is basically the conscience of this drama. Does she not fear being fired with the things she does haha...spoiler that surprise menu served to Orn haha.
MUSIC: othe music is melodramatic full of pain and hurt with love trying to emerge.
that other song though the one played when one is in pain is just emotionally great
That is just a short review Ill come back again when this drama is finished
Okay Ive finished this drama for quite some time. After episode 14 it went downhill from there. Few scenes for the main characters and more on Pipi and Ron which I hated.
The talent of Faye and Bue got wasted when their storyline was set aside.
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Then a recommendation came from a friend and the intense need to watch it, and... the rest is history.
Now, for my review:
Story: No one could contest that this was a beautifully written drama. I appreciate that they modified the themes to suit that of the modern generation, having bullying as the universal issue these days. I'm sure that at some point of the story we were able to relate to the characters' plights and mirror ourselves to them. I personally did.
Acting/Cast: This department was almost perfect, except for some side characters that felt stiff at some scenes, but the main characters, especially Shinichi and Yoshimoto-sensei, were practically having an acting talent showdown. Everyone in the family were superbly cast.
Music: I'm not a fan of somewhat cheerful music, but I like the satire in every note of the music to the scenes in this drama, thus still the high score. Endless Game's catchy tune got into me after a few episodes, and it was basically Yoshimoto-sensei's character song.
Rewatch Value: Since this is mystery, the enjoyment value goes down since you already know what happens after you've finished watching it for the first time. But watching it with friends, it was very fun observing how they react at the scenes in the drama (and being blown away with it).
Overall: This is a drama that will be etched to my memory for a very long time, and unless I encounter another drama as intense as this (or more than that), this will stay at my favorite drama list's top 1 spot for a while.
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From the first Episode to the last one I had a smile on my face.
Seeing how Asuka is trying to hide his true self is somehow exciting.
I liked how his arch rival Tonomine turns every woman into a butterfly.
How Tachibana stalks Asuka and Ryo tries to protect Asuka.
Every character has its own cuteness they are the reason this drama should be watched.
Its not one of the super great manga adaptions like Hana Yori Dango or others, but its a drama I´m happy I watched.
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The acting is more than good with great chemistry from the whole cast...
The music was OK fitting but not much to make me excited...
I'll sure watch this when I need some laughs mixed with lots of cuteness :D
I loved this drama...I know the plot was simple but that gives it more points for me...no stupid drama staffed in the plot & unjustified misunderstandings...
They broke up & get back together in 2 min.s...because they love each other...
This is how characters should be...there wasn't any annoying characters & amazing finale...this how a drama should be...relaxing & yet not boring at all...
I had a good time & I couldn't get mad at my couple because together they were so good.
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I'm aware that it's probably cliche at this point to have romance-driven revenge and undercover Chinese shows are certainly not new. However, I can say that there's 0 romance in terms of development. The show is as simple as it comes (drugs, boss, undercover agent, police, gangs) but it is also neither black nor white in its portrayal of the main characters. You'll fall in love with some you shouldn't be and you'll hate some that you shouldn't be. Personally, I'm very attached to the characters, and knowing them, I fear the ending as soon as I grew attached.
The most important aspect of this show, to me, is the relationship between the two male leads. There're lies, truths, deceptions, covers, and twist and turns that you might never see coming. But through it all, it only melds the two together. Their relationship is more or less build on lies, as expected between a drug leader and an undercover police officer, but it's exactly that that makes the whole story satisfying yet difficult to watch at times.
So if you're looking for some thriller/crime/action without it being entirely romance-driven, or having the main character be pulled astray by a female character, or losing excitement, or lacking 'human' characters, then this show is definitely perfect to add to your watched show collection.
also the male lead is perfectly competent without being naive like some random rookie officers. (MILD SPOILER) Honestly, gwad, no wonder all the drug dealers want him to work for them.
Edit: While the ending does fall a little flat, I'm still very pleased by the drama and the whole ride it took me on. It's not a bad ending, don't get me wrong, it just is flat compared to how amazing the other episodes were.
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A cheesy well produced GL historical drama, an hour well spent!
I am always searching for good GL shows to watch because as much as like BL shows, as a lesbian I want more content that caters to me. A lot of the dramas with lesbian/sapphic characters and relationships is awfully serious and/or tragic which is fine, but sometimes I just want something that is cheesy and ridiculous. Let me tell you that this was exactly that! And it feels really, really nice to find that content.With a runtime of about 1h, this drama won't take too long to watch, but manages to create a story that got me emotional in the last few episodes because I had started to care about the characters.
The first few episodes of the show are quite humorous and full of clichés of the genre with a character (Xiaoqian), very excitable and decidedly cute, travelling to the past and meeting Muyun, the stern and serious character, and then said character travelling to the modern world and discovering said modern world with every moment that you would expect (special mention for her meeting Xiaoqian's cat). The story then starts to become stronger and denser with the introduction of the character of Hongyan. I don't want to reveal too much, but this arc which culminates in the last few episodes is what made the drama go from a cheesy romcom to a feeling of "dang, this is actually quite good".
They manage to pack enough backstory and background world information in an hour to make a somewhat coherent story and world that works within the limited time.
The actresses do a good job at portraying their characters and the archetype they each represent whether the peppy happy Xiaoqian, the serious Muyun whose shell was broken by Xiaoqian, or the broken Hongyan. They managed to sell me those characters which I wasn't convinced would happen when I first started watching the show. Wang Laoji (Muyun) and Peng Jingxian (Hongyan) in particular do a good job. Wang Xiaoyu manages to sell the character of Xiaoqian well enough, which can be hard (it's like being able to sell the character of the Prince in Cinderella without making it too cheesy or a caricature).
There is clearly 0 budget, but with that limited budget, they got some nice costumes, some nice music, and created a coherent whole in terms of photography and cinematography. It is very in line with this type of historical Chinese drama from what I am picking up from my watching (the slow motion in fights, the close-ups, the looks, etc.) and it works well. The editing isn't done really well, but the story flows well enough that it is not too much of a bother. If you don't have too high of expectations for it, you'll be fine.
I don't know that I would necessarily rewatch it on my own, but if a friend wanted to watch it and asked me to watch it with them, I would for sure rewatch it without an issue.
In conclusion, it delivers on what it promises and gives me exactly what I wanted. A cheesy and slightly ridiculous, but well produced within a limited budget show with a nice story and pretty girls who fall in love. What more could I ask? (A lot more, but for tonight, this is just right.)
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Tissues
Be in the right mood to watch this drama, it’s a sad one. As I was watching it, I realized it was a different storyline than what I thought it was going to be. Halfway through, I knew it was going to be more than just a breakup with a sad ending. As you watch it, you will realize that it could only end one way. I knew it was going to be a love story, but I didn’t quite expect the plot to turn suddenly into a break up for the reason that it did. It had happy times in the beginning, but mid point turned really sad. It is definitely worth the watch, but be in the right mood, it’s a downer.Was this review helpful to you?
Love Letter was a beautiful film in a wonderful setting and great plot lines. Though it was confusing at first, it still gives you a slight thinking that it has a reason for being like that. Then once you get to understand what in the world is happening, you’ll get to unfold what it was all about and why.
The film was very simple, not too dramatic or mind boggling. It didn’t even have any CG effects in it but it will show you extremely good actors, great story in the back ground and a really nice soundtrack to come along with everything. It also has this softness that has melancholy written all over the story but the sweetness seeps in with everything until it’s late to realize that you’re caught up with the story and would want more.
This left me weeping at the end but made me feel good at the same time. It surely made me want to recommend it everyone.
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Highest selling point of the drama? Its plot. I was expecting kids running a good grades related business, instead I got a high school outcast who could give any gangster/killer/healer dramas a run for their money. You would think this is not very realistic and yet through the screenwriting, acting and directing they effortlessly make you believe it's real.
More impressively they make you root for our main character regardless of how immoral or unethical are the things he does.
Extracurricular offers a refreshing take on the high school genre far away from cheesy and innocent first loves and yet much closer to today's reality of high school (to a certain extent). I'm glad this is a Netflix production, in fact had it been picked up by any other channel I doubt they would have shown such mature and triggering subjects at least not at a high school level.
TL;DR: Must watch drama! Probably one of the best dramas this year.
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This review may contain spoilers
It may have some minor subplot issues, but is still an utterly underrated Kdrama
Go Ah-in (Lee Bu-young) is a no nonsense woman whose only purpose is to do her job as a creative director in an advertising agency in the most perfect and flawless possible. At first glance, she was able to finally achieve her ultimate career goal when she was promoted as the first woman to be an executive director (Chief Creative Officer/CCO) at her company. However, Choi Chang-soo (Jo Sung-ha), Go Ah-in's superior had another plan in mind.At first glance, 대행사 (Agency) is an office drama comparable to Misaeng, but given with a company director's POV instead of an employee's. Both are great in their respective stories, and just love them both.
But for this show specifically, I love that it has a fast-paced flow and deals with the intricate office politics and complex world of the creative industry well, especially for people without creative industry background like me. Each episode increases tension between the main characters, and their rivalry really makes the plot interesting. One may think that this "rivalry" may be tiring for the remaining episodes, but with the addition of new stories and characters along the way, the story just keeps more interesting as more layers are being uncovered.
It's also great to know their respective characteristics and alliances on each factions in the office politics drawn early on. It may be seen as boring as we already know which side a side character is, but it didn't bothered me as much.
Jo Eun-jung (Jeon Hye-jin) is the most "fleshed out" character other than Go Ah-in in terms of her background story. It's quite remarkable to see how she is able to balance out her duties in the office, despite her son's disapproval for his mother to work and resign instead. Also, it's great to show that despite her dilemma, she is fully backed with support by her husband and mother-in-law. With this stigma against working mothers in a conservative yet competitive Korean society, it's quite good, if not refreshing, to know how this show addresses this issue. But then again, I didn't like that the MIL and the father wasn't that helpful to Eun-jung in convincing the son for her to work.
Personally, I knew what the outcomes would be, but would is still gagged with how each outcome are shown. It's like knowing that there would be a plot twist, but doesn't know what that plot twist would be. This is true most particularly with the presentation cliffhanger at episode 8.
The only production lapse that I noticed was during a throwback scene on the second ep where the creative office used modern-type computer monitors when it was set in 2004.
After the 1st half, this show now focused to complex corporate drama and chaebol problems care of Kang Han-na (Son Na-eun). She has an eccentric character and seems reckless on the outside, but is actually smart, if not cunning on the inside.
One complaint is that it would have been better pacing-wise had Han-na be developed into someone who can stand on her own despite facing failures, rejection, despair and loneliness. The romance subplot was just too transactional and there were virtually no chemistry between her and Park 부장. But if the writers really decided to insert this storyline, it would have made more sense had it was inserted towards the end (at least the last 2 episodes). I would have no complaints even if it was rushed since then again, I can't see the chemistry of said romance.
Being nit-picky as well, there were some things that this show failed to explained more. First, is Ah-in and her mother's story. After the episode 12 confrontation, I really hoped that there is more to be discussed and more emotions be shown to really have a a fulfilling closure on their issue. It ended even only through a text, which was appalling since it was built-up very well on the earlier episodes. Second, Ah-in and the budding romance with the CEO of a gaming company. The spark was already there and Ah-in could've enjoyed said romance, but it was just forgotten midway. What happened?
The ending was satisfying in a way that it wrapped the main stories very well, in a compelling but not overdramatic fashion. Yes, it was expected, but then again it was executed perfectly in such that it was not boring. The last episode was very engaging in terms of portraying the cooperation of Ah-in and Han-na for their "common enemies". It was the definition of women empowerment in a society where men are still dominant in many corporate aspects.
Still, every episode ended with a bang. I think the reason why it has a lower MDL rating is due to its delayed subbing. It's very surprising how this is not picked up yet by major international streaming platforms given its high ratings in Korea. It may have minor subplot issues, but is still an utterly underrated Kdrama.
SIDE NOTE:
It will be an unforgettable watching experience for the last 2 episodes. At times, I was reading English subtitles, and at others, it was Indonesian. I was really able to maximize my Korean and Indonesian skills just to get the gist of what they were saying. Still, it is a very rewatchable Kdrama and I enjoyed watching it despite some minor subplot issues.
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There really is no true plot to this movie. It takes place in the span of a few weeks and encapsulates a time period in this man's life. Unabashed and raw; showing all the nonsensical violence of the world he lives in whether it be by himself, those he keeps company with, his enemies and just about everyone in his sphere.
When I was finished watching the movie it took me some moments to think of what to say here in this review. This is a violent and dark movie and I came away from it having almost no sympathy for any of the characters save one. And it wasn't Gu. I suppose I had a sliver of sympathy for him in certain moments because Shota has impressive acting skill but ultimately the character was undeserving of very much. That said; overall, the acting in this was really great and as unsettling as the film is, the story is well told. They certainly were convincing but it is more than disturbing to think that this kind of world actually exists. Most of the characters showed almost no caring or sympathy toward one another. So harsh.
There are some movies out there where you can watch, appreciate the quality of writing and acting but yet have no desire to ever watch that film again. Hard Romanticker is one of those movies for me.
I gave the re-watch value a 'fair' (6) because even though I might not watch this again for the subject matter I don't want to lower the score unfairly and have people mistake it for bad quality.
The music was fitting. I am not sure what to say about it other than I don't believe this movie is the kind you walk away from even wanting or needing an OST. But the score was right for the film; sometimes comical and sometimes dark.
If you appreciate darker (and I DO mean darker) fare and don't mind intense subject matter than this is the film for you. But you have been cautioned here...it is graphic. And fangirl moment...even at his darkest, Shota impresses me with his ability to absorb into a character for good or ill.
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This review may contain spoilers
Honestly I really wanted to like this movie. I really loved Yashiro's character, I just wanted to hug him and tell him he was beautiful and didn't do anything wrong. He definitely deserved someone better than Momose. He made me cringe and want to strangle him every time he interacted with Yashiro. I really tried to give Momose the benefit of the doubt and say he was just naive, but he crossed so many lines in this short movie idk how anyone can call him endearing or loving. He's creepy as hell. "So what should I do??" How about deal with your own desires and stop trying to manipulate Yashiro? I know Yashiro needed encouragement to feel more confident but Momose was way out of line. The attempted rape scene really made my heart break because Yashiro should not have been apologising and asking for forgiveness for changing his mind. Was this review helpful to you?
You've been warned.
Such a movie is impossible to rate. It's really hard to make the difference between the true story that captivates and shocks us, and the form, the way it is told, the movie. Personnally, on my MDL list, it is still rated N/A.
Story...well there is no story, those are facts. Those facts are, of course, adapted and the way this movie deliver that adaptation to us is outstanding. The dark atmosphere, the suspens that keeps us on edge, and the flashbacks system that makes things so vivid, everything is done to captivate the audience.
Thanks to all the members of the cast (who did an amazing job portraying their characters, especially the children and Gong Yoo...well Gong Yoo was simply exceptional) you will be trapped into this movie from its very first minute to the last. You will feel horror and despair as well little pieces of moved joy as you see the events happening as if you were there.
The music isn't a beautiful melody designed to make you cry every times you hear it, but it will make you feel calm, tense, or angry. It's really a part of the movie.
Rewatch value...honestly, it would be torture to me to rewatch this, but I'll still do it, because this movie is amazing and the acting astonishing. But I won't say it was beautiful. Although this movie is a piece of art, I'd feel sick to call it beautiful.
Since he got the main part, let's talk about Gong Yoo in this movie. His Kang In Ho is true, sincere, so kind and pure in front of all the horror happening before his eyes that it is impossible not to be moved by him. Gong Woo is definitly a top actor and I can't wait to see what he will do next.
But there is something bothering me about this movie, like all movies involving young actors.Even though this is all acting, I wonder how those children felt, when they were shooting some scenes...sometimes, I felt this movie was going too far...but this is only my point of view...
I know that my review is a little dark, but I just saw Crucible, and this movie is dark.
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Cinéphile:
Firstly, it's a "silent" movie, so they never talk to each other, you only hear their sounds or the noise of the surrounding. Just this fact alone makes it thrilling and entertaining to watch.
Secondly the acting was splendid. Seriously. Since the movie is a "silent" movie, you can only focus on their faces, sounds and body language. And they really can pull it off. There are so many moments you wish you could find a bit of akwardness, a hint that reminds you that they are only acting, which would make it so much easier to watch the movie. But even in the most dreadful moments they will go all out.
Thirdly: The whole storyline and the metaphors. If you like cryptic movies that give you a lot to think about and to deciffer, this one is perfect. There are so many hidden symbols, repitions and insinuations, that you have to watch it at least two times to grasp it all. The storyline my not be new but it's a the hell of tragic comedy. One second you stare at the screen in disbelief and disgust and the other one you start to laugh insainly, astonished that you are even able to laugh in this situation.
Fourth the movie lives from it's great shots, those pictures from which you can't look away, the colours and the composing of every scene. You may not like the picture but it comes with a pretty picture frame.
The "sain" me:
The first time I watched it I was hiding behind a chair, plugging my ears not being able to watch some of the scenes. It was the first time in my life that I nearly threw up because of a scene in a movie. And I had a glass of soju after watching it.
So yes, it is an heavy one. If you can't stand violance or drastic pictures or even just a hint of it, you really shouldn't watch it. But, from an artistic point of view it's a fantastic movie. All those pictures say more then any word could ever say.
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