I adore Eugene. She is wonderful as Yoon Jung Wan with a great mix of strength and sweetness. I also love Kim Yoo Mi. If you haven't watched Cruel City, then I recommend it highly. She plays a more likable, strong character in that drama. In this one I loved to hate her. While understanding her character there were times when I would have loved to hit her. I was unfamiliar with Choi Jung Yoon, but she won me over totally as Kwon Ji Hyun. Her acting is stellar. The male leads are also great. Uhm Tae Woong is just too cute to me. I hope Park Min Woo does more because he is a really good actor.
I HATED Kwon Ji Hyun's appa and brother (can't remember if he was older or younger). They are some hateful people that treated her like a cash cow. Then blamed her for the consequences of their actions. I just wanted to kick their butts.
The music is nice.
I may rewatch this at some point.
If you like romance, family, angst dramas, then I recommend this drama.
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I won't say that this story is innovative but the drama was really heartwarming that's why I enjoyed it that much !
The main couple is so cute , it's a real pleasure to see them joking and smiling together and see their love growing and growing ! At first Feng Teng was very cold and distant but as he is in process to know and understand Shan Shan's feelings he started to open his heart little by little to her . be careful //// SPOILER///// About their couple I think there is only one thing missing , we did not get to see them doing activities together like the ones that a couple would do : going to cinema , on an amusement park , eating at a restaurant , travelling ... that kind of things so i'm a bit disappointed that I did not see them having more fun , they were only eating , eating and eating again or staying at home ! ///// END OF SPOILER/////
Now I'm gonna talk about the characters :
Shan Shan is an adorable and cheerful girl , as her friend Liu Liu said she never complains when she is facing some problems whether with Feng Teng or work and maybe that's what I love the most about her !
Feng Teng as I've already said he is a bit cold but he only needs to be loved , and when it's the case he is the most adorable guy in the world , he knows how to take care of his girlfriend and how to please her ! And I admit I'm guilty , I love when the guy is cold outside but just so sweet inside !
For the other characters I really appreciated Liu Liu who always gives precious advice to Shan Shan , Feng Yue who is an adorable sister to Feng Teng and still encouraging her Ge Ge and Shan Shan stay together , Zhenf Qi : the womanizer hehehe but actually it was only a facade to hide himself .
I really want to write a paragraph about Li shu , to be honest the first time I saw her ( she made her first appearance in ep 4 or 5 , don't remember well ) I found her very confident of herself & arrogant, so yes my first impression of her was good ; I mean that I was right about her true intentions ; I don't like people who backstab their -so called- friends however fortunately she evolves and learns from her mistakes !
About the Music : I really enjoy the opening but the ending did not catch my attention and truthfully I always skipped that song , as for the background music it was just so so !
So I recommend you this drama if you're looking for a good Chinese romantical drama and if you're in the mood for something light to relax a bit !
It's my fist time writing a rewiew for MDL so I'm sorry if I made mistakes .
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This review may contain spoilers
UNEXPECTED DRAMA! DON'T MISSED OUT!
So I'm here reviewing for a web drama which I've never done that previously but I got to be honest here because it's really a great drama to satisfy our guilty pleasure!Why I say this drama is good because it's story plot touches a lot on areas where mainstream dramas can never air on due to TV regulations. This is what I truly call a female centric story plot because the princess knows when to act "dumb" while waiting for her chance to bring the villain down. She doesn't rely on anyone and knows when to tease the ML and when to be serious. AND not to forget both the main leads' real good looks though the FL is kinda heavy on her makeup but it's fine with me!
But as it is a web drama, the quality of presentation is not as professionally done as compared to the mainstream ones and some of the supporting actors do need improvements on their acting as it is really awkward/unnatural.
Overall, a good drama that you shouldn't missed out on as it is really worth watching~ Definitely a big improvement for story quality in terms of details, line plots, scenery and decent outfits from past web dramas but not yet as professionally produced as mainstream idol dramas.
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However, while this is obviously a show about art, it is equally a show about sex. It uses its cross-dressing premise as a starting point to pose provocative questions about gender and sexuality, and unlike many other shows, it consistently refuses to default to safe, easy choices. It suggests that there is more than one way to read a painting or a relationship, and that societally sanctioned views that champion heterosexual male privilege will miss a great deal of meaning. Like Shin Yun Bok’s paintings, this is a daring, sexy show that is quite happy to reveal more about its world than its inhabitants may want to see.
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Silk Knives
A Splendid Match unexpectedly became one of those dramas where I kept waiting to be annoyed…and somehow ended up finishing.
This is a family drama wrapped in romance, household politics, complicated loyalties, unfortunate timing, and people repeatedly making painfully understandable mistakes. Less political chess, more emotional consequences.
Think family grievances, household loyalties, emotional debts, and people repeatedly trapped between duty and feeling.
This is also the kind of drama where soft words frequently hide sharp consequences.
The politics are not exactly:
“everyone gather around while I execute a 14-dimensional chess move.”
The writing frequently wanders into melodrama territory.
And there are frequent moments where the plot politely asks you to suspend disbelief and simply continue moving.
But somehow?
I minded it less here.
Because even when people behave dramatically, and occasionally irrationally, I could usually understand why.
Messy?
Absolutely.
Emotionally recognizable?
More often than not.
And perhaps most importantly:
these people occasionally look like they have lived through mild inconvenience before.
I know.
The standards are in hell.
But seeing actual skin texture, shadows, and lighting that occasionally remembered human faces are supposed to have dimension felt oddly refreshing. Nobody looks permanently trapped inside soft-focus perfection.
Thank you.
Beneath the drama, there is something slightly more mature than expected. Less interested in exaggerated romantic fantasy, more invested in complicated loyalties, family tensions, political obligations, and people making painful decisions for reasons that feel emotionally believable.
The Jinzhao / Chen Yanyun / Ye Xian situation worked better for me than expected too. Not because this becomes some dramatic “choose your favorite man” competition, but because each relationship quietly represents something different emotionally: longing, timing, emotional dependency, partnership, loss.
The romance itself works less through dramatic intensity and more through the quiet accumulation of trust, consistency, and emotional safety.
Meanwhile, the Fu Huailian political situation slowly collapsing into tragedy gave the later episodes more emotional weight. Watching loyalty gradually turn into collateral damage ended up more compelling than the drama gets credit for.
Does everything work?
No.
The scheming is far from brilliant.
The pacing stumbles.
Parts of the drama absolutely could have been stronger, especially toward the end.
But truthfully?
I still ended up enjoying it more than expected.
At this point, a costume idol romance where people mostly behave according to recognizable emotional logic already deserves partial credit. Add an atmosphere that feels appropriately grounded for the world these characters inhabit, without constantly exaggerating itself for dramatic effect, and I found myself appreciating the restraint.
Recommended for: viewers who enjoy slow-burn romance, complicated loyalties, emotionally messy relationships, unfortunate timing, and watching emotionally complicated people make painfully understandable mistakes.
Not recommended for: viewers expecting flawless plotting, high-level scheming, or enough emotional maturity to prevent half the problems in this drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
An original take on love in the time of pandemic
Each of the 10 episodes in this anthology series is its own original love story. You don't have to watch them all or in sequential order to enjoy them, but all the main characters make a cameo in ep 10 and we learn a bit more about what's happened to them.The approach to romance is unique in each episode. One couple meets on a reality tv show while another meets when their spouses are having an affair. There's an ep about a run-in with an ex and another about a playboy who inadvertently gets his comeuppance. In another ep, childhood lovers reunite, and in another, a working class man with a disability finds unexpected connection with a hard-working mom. There's even a psychedelic, out-of-this-world surrealist episode that I don't have words to describe (ep 4). In one of the most charming episodes, a man discovers he loves being a stay-at-home dad, but he and his wife have to negotiate what that means in light of gendered social expectations.
The episodes end with the suggestion of what's next rather than dramatic flash-forwards in time. In other words, the narratives focus on revealing what's going on "at the moment" rather than the details of what comes next.
Expect butterflies and sweetness but also angst and heartbreak in some of them. We see couples of different ages and at different stages of life. There's a sense of realism to the stories and their variety of representations of love. Although the episodes are set during the height of Covid, the pandemic is more of a backdrop than at the center of the narratives.
There are queer stories too. Episode 5 is in the vein of BL while episode 9 is a very touching GL.
The series brings together high production values with an all-star cast! If you’ve followed Taiwanese film and drama series, you will recognize some of your favorite actors and actresses here.
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A total waste of time
There's a caveat to the title above: if you like stories where nothing is ever explained and nobody's motivations make any sense, you will absoluetely LOVE this series.First of all, how is getting to live for 400 years as a beautiful 20-something a "curse"? That sounds pretty f@$&ing good to me. So if I witness a murder, I get to be young forever? Sign me up.
In the first episode, a lot of very intriguing plot threads are set up, centering on a mysterious director and his fascination for a new employee at his media firm. By the end of the episode, you're hooked and want more.
It's a trick.
You never find out anything. There's a curse, OK. But who cursed them, why, what the curse is, and how it's lifted are never revealed. Not even slightly. There is never an explanation for why the main pair were cursed. The only thing they did is fall in love with each other. Is the message of the story that God hates homosexuals? Because that's the only motivation you can get out of what we see. What is he purpose of Dennis other than as a plot device in the last episode? What did the director do to him? Why is he so f@$&ed up? Is he part of the curse? Who the f@$& is he?
A lot of the run time of the series has the characters running in circles in a repetitive and formulaic pattern of the uke resisting the seme, and in this case it's inexcusable, as instead of running the same tiresome plot point over and over the story could have been advanced and questions answered.
If felt like the writer came up with an idea, never bothered to flesh it out or think it through, then came up against needing an ending so just pushed the "reset" button, making the entire series totally pointless. The ending made no sense - so if they aren't around each other they'll die, and the only way to lift the curse is to die. OK. Great. If that's not the case, why doesn't Dong Baek get sick when he's away from the diretor after the reset? For that matter, how did Dong Baek get through his entire life before meeting the director without dying? Maybe there's a reason, but we sure as f@$& never get it.
The chemistry between the leads is fairly minimal and the kissing would be too chaste even if the characters were 6 years old. I've seen BLs where there's a meter between the pairs' bodies when they kiss, but the actor playing Dong Baek must have gymnastic experience because he manages TWO meters. This series represents everything that's wrong with KBL. A nonsensical story, way too much time wasted on the uke acting like a twelve-year-old Victorian-era virgin, too many cliches and tropes, bad writing, rubber kisses, and actors who obviously think it's icky to touch each other. (To be fair, that could be the directing.)
This is well-filmed, with shots that support the story - the edit when Dong Baek faints on the set and sees the director but it's actually Dennis is superbly done, and the music has it's moments - but the soundtrack indicating passion is not the same as the actors showing passion.
I liked this series a lot for the first couple of episodes, but unfortunately it devolved into a boring, pointless, lazy mess.
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Good but more soft pay gorn instead!
I've been watching this and it's great movie i can tell. The actor is giving me intense vibes that it's like a real. I barely understand what they talking about because the sub is unclear and probably kinda wrong tho but honestly is best soft pay gorn movie i ever watch. The tension, the feeling they gave, the expression between main lead is so generous and genuine, love it. I just think that this movie is so short so it cannot delivering meaning of this movie( especially they focused on s3x or intimate scene ). It's pretty good and i do enjoy it, the main lead also had nice body features and act like actual one when do intimate scene, so it's really interest me a lot. Hopefully they make the full series so that the story is clever and clear ...That's it, 9/10 from me!!
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a collection of distorted memories - painful, yet dazzling
(It's hard to believe the MDL ratings for this drama because it deserves so much love.)A friend recommended this to me and I immediately began watching it. At first, I thought of it as a slice of life, romedy - packed with a bunch of ridiculously funny moments. The first few episodes are definitely light, set with a good pace and a good amount of humor as well. The characters, especially Hyeja's brother had me rolling my eyes and facepalming at his antics (in a good way). The bond of friendship is cute, filled with some heartwarming moments. You'll never know what the story is about and what's the motive behind it all till you get to the last four episodes. At least that's what happened with me.
It is then when you realize that the story isn't coming to an end, it is, in fact, beginning to come around so well, that it leaves you in awe of the way it's so cleverly written and how beautiful it is. I felt the need to revisit all the previous episodes to see how the moments we saw have completely changed in their meaning. It flips the entire perspective around and suddenly things start to make a perfect sense.
(might contain some spoilers)
I will begin with the beautiful symbolism of the watch. How it is seen as some time-traveling device but actually turns out to be more meaningful and connects you with a painful memory. I never could have thought that a watch will make me cry so much. The moment you find out its significance, things become sadder. It's just like what Hyeja's son says - that she goes back and relives the happiest moments of her life. And now we know why she is seen traveling back in time and why the watch is shown as some time-traveling medium (cue tears).
The strongest point of this drama, for me, was its beautiful, larger than life moments. The cast is so brilliant, their acting is honest and heart touching. At times it even made me tear up. My friend discussed with me how there are some powerful scenes where there aren't any dialogues but the expressions convey their feelings so well and I'd agree with that.
Hyeja's character, despite all of her struggles, is so inspirational. I absolutely fell in love with Kim Hye Ja and how she beautifully portrayed her. A woman who is struggling to hold onto her memories and her memories resulting in that vague, distorted ones that we saw. And yet, she believes that all those memories, even though they were painful, were full of light. And I believe in her words. I believe that she cherishes them so much because it is visible in the way those moments shine and I loved how they managed to capture them so well.
I couldn't stop my tears for Joonha's character. He left such a deep impact that it wrecked me. Nam Joo Hyuk is a phenomenal actor; I always love watching him on-screen but this is his best acting till this date. He really shone as Joonha and was so radiant.
There is this scene where the old people look at the setting sun and seemingly reminisce about their youthful days. And it made me think of how the title "The Light In Your Eyes" is so apt. We often think of old age and relate it with death, but at that moment, their eyes shone so bright and they looked so alive.
The drunk conversations between Hye Ja and Joonha, the fun times with their friends, the old people making us laugh; I think 'The Light In Your Eyes' definitely had its bizarre moments, but despite all of that, what it really meant to me was this beautiful collection of distorted memories - painful, yet dazzling.
This drama will surely make you think about what is important and how to hold onto it forever.
I'd like to end this with this beautiful quote from the drama - "Even if you are struggling right now, everyone alive has the right to enjoy this every day. Even if one ordinary day is followed by another ordinary day, life is still worth living. Don't waste the present regretting the past and worrying about the future. Live this day beautifully, you deserve it. To all of you who was a mom, a sister, a daughter and yourself."
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This review may contain spoilers
Speaking through worldless music
How do I start. Well .... those who like pianos, violins,etc and classical music will like this drama.They really show some background story for the classical music (ie: Brahms of course).
Story line...well it was well made in my opinion.. the way the 2 main leads got close to each other and the process of it I'm enjoying it much. This drama kept me wanting monday & tuesday to come faster every week. Although I got frustrated towards the end (spoiler: as the 2 main leads broke up) but the ending is like icing on the cake.. very sweet yet warm.
Casts... the 2 main leads (Kim Min Jae & Park Eun Bin) were superb. Their chemistry is amazing. Almost wishing them to date for real :D.
Both of them portrayed their characters well.. the way they interpret the characters were amazing as well. I really like Song Ah's character here (similar to myself who always hold back and seldom express myself).
The rest of the casts were amazing. They portrayed their characters well.
Well they phrase "Let the music heals your soul"is true... in this drama let the classical pieces heals your heart.
I myself is a believer of talking through music is better than words.
I really like the piece Schumann - "Träumerei" where the character Kim Min Jae play every time. Hearing this piece of music really calms me.
Overall..its a good drama especially in this year 2020. Hope other can enjoy this drama like me.
I will surely re-watch this drama again later on.
"The person who spoke to me with music before words is right now speaking his heart to me with a wordless song." (this is my favorite phrase in the drama)
^^
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This review may contain spoilers
This drama is placed with 3 other historicals as my all time favorites. Dae Jang Geum, Dong Yi and Queen Seondeok. There are many other good historicals but these are my 11's on a 10 based scale. What is different about this drama vs those is that the main lead is actually a man instead of a woman. Dong Yi showed the life of musicians, Dae Jang Geum showed the life of a physician and a cook. Yi san shows a different profession in the joseon period which is equally as interesting. I have watched this drama several times (at LEAST 4x) and i will watch it again. A 77 hour epic. I have read that as this drama got extended and extended again due to its popularity during it's run.. the competitors to the network delayed their own new drama's premiers as to compete with Yi San would have been a ratings disaster. Lee Seo Jin is the best portray-er of a king i have ever seen. Every cast member did an outstanding job. I watch all my drama's as binge. So much i want to add to this review but it might be construed as a spoiler. Like who yi sans great great grandmother is. Why he cared about poor people, why some nobles were so opposed to his reign. Who his father was. But since they might be construed as spoilers you have to watch it yourself and see. If you liked those other drama's i mentioned, YI SAN fits right in. A true timeless classic with love, friendship, loyalty and perseverance. Just writing this review i want to watch all 4 of these again. These drama's are so good you will rejoice at having altzimers so you can watch them again and again as if it was the first time every time! One last comment, the child actors! Where does South Korea find these child actors! I have NEVER seen anything outside South Korea where child actors add to the magic instead of detracting from it. They do such a good job that they set the hook.. that snares me for the whole wild 77 hour ride into another time and place! Was this review helpful to you?
Full of plot twists!
Me gustó, aunque no siento que me haya impactado tanto como lo pintaba en un inicio. El principio parece una historia muy diferente a lo que termina siendo, eso me gustó, pero también me habría gustado saber qué habría pasado sin ese cambio en la historia.Las actuaciones son buenas, los screams también. Te mantiene con el corazón acelerado la mayor parte del tiempo y eso me encanta. Es una película entretenida, te hace saltar del susto y querer saber qué es lo que está pasando realmente.
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Fantastic Action, Meh Story
With Officer Black Belt, Jason Kim seeks to further cement his legacy as a master of the action drama, However, unlike previous works such as Midnight Runners, and Bloodhounds, Officer Black Belt is a movie that falls flat in really everything except action.Let me start by saying that the action in this movie is fantastic. The choreography is really impressive, well executed, and easy to follow. One thing I really loved about the fight scenes is that there is a dedication to truly incorporating the martial arts that Lee Jeong Do knows. I have been practicing Judo for a good portion of my life, and I watched this movie with a friend who does Taekwondo and another friend who does Judo. One thing we could all agree on about the action scenes is that there were a lot of clearly identifiable moves from both Judo and Taekwondo (I won't be able to speak on he Kendo sadly). You don't see that often in dramas, sometimes they'll use maybe a few moves and then it ends up just being a kinda flail of limbs. In this case there were a lot of moments where we could call out the techniques. The action really is impeccable in this movie, and a lot of work and love went into it. It's fun to watch and really exhilarating.
Unfortunately, the action is really the only thing this movie has going for it. The story can't exactly decide what it wants to be, somewhere in between being about following the law, but also about vigilantism. Many characters feel like caricatures of certain archetypes (like gamers, and nerds), and there are a lot of questionable moments logically. Why does no one call the cops early on? Why do people keep turning their backs in fights? Why do people not make sure weapons are out of reach? Why were there no repercussions from authorities? It feels like in an attempt to draw out the action and to have conflict, there are a lot of dumb moves done by characters. There are also a lot of unnecessary triggering scenes, particularly in implied rape and child sexual assault. Which don't really need to be there. We don't need to see a child in distress and about to get assaulted to understand what is happening. At some point it feels like too much, especially for a movie advertising itself as a comedy (the contrast between the trailers I saw and the actual movie tone/scenes really surprised me).
There are odd tone shifts, and the pacing in the movie suffers from a somewhat jilted story-line. The action really is the saving grace of this movie, its fun to watch which is what you want in an action movie. If I were to rewatch this I would probably just skip past all the non-action scenes and just watch the fight scenes. All in all, I think this is a movie you kinda need to turn your brain off for. If you are looking for action, this movie is great, but don't expect anything revolutionary in the way of story line or characters. It's good, not great, and the action really does the heavy lifting in stopping it from being worse.
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what happened in the last 2 episodes
it started out kind of predictable and I enjoyed the FL and ML first off but all of the off on off on between them got a bit tedious after a while. FL maintained a good acting style but the ML seemed to get faded out and by ep35 literally was gone. I enjoyed Zhan Yu Xi in South Wind Knows but the story line in this let her down. the other female lead and supporting actresses were all good as well....males were a bit wooden. The story line was quote disjointed, we never saw anything about the dance troop from when FL decided to save it from them winning the top awards???? also the annoying little brother, he added no value to any of the story lines at all. As I said the last 2 episodes seem to have just been a closeout as quickly as possible..with no story to it really other than at least 30 mins of dream sequences.Was this review helpful to you?
Refreshing, but not great
Overall impression: Rough start with the first two episodes but improves a little from episode 3 when plot starts to pick up. Ending is downhill again and disjointed writing. Seemed like it wanted to be poetic and "healing," but came across kind of awkward. Not the highest quality production, but still kind of cute and enjoyable if you're just looking for a short drama to waste some time.Pros:
- Acting is pretty good, not perfect but it's mostly the writing that's the problem
- Nice setting and cinematography for the ocean. It has a calm, soothing type atmosphere which fits the "healing" description
- Lead characters are good. Han Pada is quiet and serious, but doesn't seem like a cold, emotionless character. Just shy and awkward. Tommy's character is refreshing, cute with a little sass.
- OST is pretty good. I'm not usually a fan of Holland's music, but these songs were alright for me. If you're a fan, you'll probably like them a lot.
Cons:
- First two episodes seemed rushed and awkward, but pacing improved in episode 3
- Writing is a disjointed and awkward, but not so bad it's unwatchable
- Unlikeable female character (improves a little towards the end)
- Zombie makeup
- Sometimes seems overdramatic
- Feels like nothing has really happened in the plot. Biggest plot point was skipped over vaguely.
- Chemistry isn't really there from the writing
- I don't know what the heck happened for the last episode
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