Reviews

Not Perfect but Desperately Needed

I had to think about the finale a bit, before offering my review.

A 7.7 rating (as of 1/27/25) seems a bit low to me, but higher than what MDL scored the weekend predecessors (It's Beautiful Now, The Real Has Come, 3 Bold Siblings, Beauty & Mr Romantic, etc). I would score this series as an 8....here's why:

First off, as a prototype for the new 36 episode weekend format, this was a huge win. Can you imagine this story stretched out for 50 episodes? Haven't we suffered enough with draggy, filler-laden series? I hope KBS sticks with the 36 episode rule, unless it can find writers from the era when "Once Again", 'My father is strange', etc ruled. But I fear those days are long gone.

Secondly, lets think about what this series DIDN'T have....a ton of cliches. There was:
-No WTOD (although many of us would have cheered it on for a few characters)
-No Amnesia Arc
-No huge cancer scare (instead cancer that stalked the elders was dealt with as a part of life and kept in the background)
-Only ONE DNA test (take THAT, writers of 3 Bold Siblings)
-No Evil Mother-in-Law

So what DID this series have?
- A-list cast (elders, FL/ML, FL mom)
- A very different premise from prior weekend 'family dramas'
- quick pacing
- the ability to be sad, infuriating and funny all in one episode
- seamless time-jumps
- a satisfying ending that could have been better, but I get it...

And the big question is "What was this series about?" To me, it was all about the money. It was the real star of the show, and got in the last word (or wink). This show was about the corrosive effects upon a family that the money caused. Either because it originated as Ill-gotten-gains (a loan shark's endowment to his daughter) or just because it was such a huge amount of cash, everyone the money touched, changed for the worse: we saw this all happen in real-time: first the elders, then their DIL, their own daughter, their oldest granddaughter (who resisted temptation), their grandson who betrayed his police training and lost his career, and finally the 'rightful' owner of the money, the ML's mom. Although "Iron Family" was a cute play on words, the series should have been called 'The Root of all Evil" or something like that, to show how ordinary, law-abiding and moral people became something they were not, all because of 10-million Won.

So I appreciated how different this series was, with the only villains a bunch of incompetent loan sharks who were utilized sparingly. Yes, GangJu was the only likeable character and I'm happy that KJH got such a great role for prime-time. And the only real regret I have is that the main leads chemistry was under-utilized. They made a really great couple, and I would have liked to have seen more romance on their part, but this wasn't a rom-com, so it's OK. But casting directors note: they play off each other REALLY WELL.

Thanks everyone here for your comments, and the lively discussion. I did enjoy this series and will miss it. And that's a good thing for a fan to say about a series. Well-done KBS and production team.

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This is one of the best (if not the best) drama's I've ever seen.
The quality of acting is AMAZING. Every actor/actress was brilliant, but I must say the ones who absolutely blew me away were the ones who acted as Kang Chil, Gook Soo (Kim Bum) and the bad guy - i forgot his name :/
I was able to laugh, cry, smile, and I was able to relate to the story line.
There are some supernatural qualities to the story line, however it is incorporated so brilliantly that it just flowed smoothly with the drama.
This is definitely a MUST WATCH DRAMA.
If you are even second guessing on whether or not you should watch this... watch it. It is amazing and you will not regret it!!

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Two people who make pit stops, in this journey called life, right next to each other.

Josée is a mysterious, pretty woman who is helped up onto her wheelchair by an engineering student, Lee Young-seok. She offers him free meals every time he goes by their house and he helps her out, closing the distance between them little by little.

The movie is shot mostly from a third person's perspective thus lessening the probability of forming a real connection with the characters. Much like we're looking into their lives through the hole in the wall that Josée uses to look outside.

To be perfectly honest, I expected there to be waterworks because this pairing brought us one of the most heartbreaking dramas, Light in your eyes. But I gradually came to realise that this movie isn't supposed to make you cry. It is meant to bring you to tears, to leave them dangling for their lives right at the waterline. It needs you to think which then brings in this feeling of knowing, of understanding the characters and why they did what they did and why they brought in conflict when it didn't seem necessary. We don't really see how the characters feel but rather how they express it. The movie captures you not because of the characters individually but how they interact in a closed space. The feeling is so surreal and something I have never experienced before.

There are just a handful of characters and it is extremely aesthetic. While it seems like a vague and open ending to most, I really saw finality in it. There is great beauty in Josée and her white lies. A great beauty in their little world. A world built on loneliness and helplessness but one that blossomed into independence.

Do I recommend this movie? Yes but only in a specific kind of mood. Like I said it won't give you a good cry, you are just left sitting and staring at the void as the credits roll in and a beautiful song plays. However, it gives you an immense sense of empathy, of understanding without hearing. So, if you're in the mood for a slow-burning, introspective movie filled with beautiful cinematography and exceptionally acting especially from Nam Joo-hyuk, then yes.
I give Josée an 9/10.
(PS: I see so much of kind-hearted Nam Do-san in Young-seok. These two were also engineers, so it made me smile, all nostalgic. And Han Ji-min is just wow, but I don't think I've to say that specifically.)

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First things first: the synopsis to this isn't quite right. 2 guys do fall in love with her, but one becomes a complete ayouknowwhat.(sorry if this feels like a spoiler.)

Second, if you have heart problems, don't watch this. It will make you furious and cry alot. If you like dramas about revenge, this is perfect to watch.

Third, this is one of the best dramas I've ever watched, and i don't say that often. It has everything in it, melodrama, romance, comedy, suspense, and awesomeness!

You will not regret watching it, the first episode might make you have doubts, but stick with it!

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STORY: An actor gets in a car wreck due to foul play and wakes up to find that he was surgically altered using the face of the other driver who died. He now has to take on this other guy's identity in a quest for revenge. This is a very good story with a well-written script. There are few moments of levity and only some suggestive bromance. It ends with is a season-ending cliffhanger.

ACTING/CAST: Quite excellent. I think Ma Ke (Du Yun Xiu) did a great job and is much more capable and versatile of an actor than the part required, which was a shame; most of the series he was simply scripted to be broody.

MUSIC: The music was good. The main song was English subbed.

REWATCH VALUE: I probably won't, but I will recommend this to my friends.

OVERALL: A very intriguing show, kept me interested the whole way. The pace slows in later episodes. The English subtitles were adequate, but could have really used a fluent English editor.

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Not since "Nirvana in Fire" and "Ten Miles" have I seen such an amazingly written, acted (two leads made me feel their love was real and I LOVED their chemistry and facial expressions), and produced series. There's so much crap today that nothing's been catching my interest until I caught avenuex's youtube review of this. Boy, she sure wasn't kidding when she labelled it the best contemporary drama she's seen since starting her channel.

Finally, a romance with the most intriguing time travel mystery plot that's intricately written and doesn't fall apart. This is the time travel story I've always wanted to read or watch: Main girl time travels into the body of another girl and gets that girl's crush (male lead) to fall hard for her (he didn't like the original inhabitant). I've always wanted to read about a romance plot like that because it'll be such fun to watch the male lead slowly fall for someone he's never liked, but now is drawn towards only due to the main girl's soul inhabiting the body. It's like he truly falls for her soul/spirit and not the body. Sooo romantic!!! And the drama does such a good job at showcasing the male lead's "falling" process layer by layer and doesn't rush it. So delicious and swoonworthy!!!

No episodes feel like filler and such care is placed into the narrative and character development. This feels like a breath of fresh air! So many dramas these days waste screen time with bloat or scenes that add absolutely nothing to the narrative that I can hardly believe a drama like this can exist. Thank you Taiwan!!! This drama is on another level and I love the love story and overall plot!!!

The ending totally justified the means and resolved the narrative in the best way possible. It's both an incredible love story and a story about self-worth and the drama achieved both without seeming forced or preachy. Wow, can't believe how seamlessly the writers were able to intertwine both the love/self-worth plots without sacrificing either. Both heavily overlapped with the other, so it was impossible to become invested in one and not the other -I loved this as I hate too many plot threads that go absolutely nowhere.

Almost every plot thread in this drama was resolved in a satisfying manner, without leaving you feeling cheated. There was only one forced/conveniently written plot thread and even then, it made way for a good twist and didn't influence the most important aspects of the drama, so I was easily able to overlook it by the end. Overall, not only did this drama have my dream time travel plot , but also wrote it masterfully and had the best actors bringing it to life. Masterpiece through and through and will go down as one of my favorite dramas of all time along with "Nirvana in Fire" and "Ten Miles". Boy did this one steal my heart!!!

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Story: I felt the drama had no defined, real story. I also felt it was all over the place since it didn't feel consistent. I actually skipped a bit towards the later episodes.

Acting: It was just OK (though some were less than OK), but to be honest I had hoped that Kang Sora would do a better job since she was one the actresses in the group. I did like JinWoon, he did better than I had thought he would and I, also, liked Jung Yeon Joo's character and her portrayal of it.

Music: The music was great. For me, it was the best part of the drama. I loved the performances and the preparation scenes which took place before them. I also liked the "non-competition" music scenes.

Re-watch: I do no plan to re-watch this drama since I found it lacked a lot and I can just search for the clips involving the music parts, which is the reason why I even rated it a 5.

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Good Doctor     
 
The story line of this drama is quite peculiar – the fact that an autistic person could adapt fully and work in a hospital nonetheless is quite impressive because in reality it is unheard of.
 
The pilot episode had given me the impression that it was going to be a very promising drama, then by the end of the whole series I proved myself right. Although like any drama, Good Doctor has it high and low points along with loop holes. Due to the unbelievable premise, I say the writer was very much imaginative although farfetched for having such a plot. An autistic person basically has a lot of limitation but given the patience and perseverance to the people surrounding the person with a disability, it could be managed. Setting those thoughts aside, I love this drama because of the story and characters. It was like watching the movie Forrest Gump only in a clinical setting.
 
The main character Park Shi-on (acted by Joo Won) was such a lovable character. During the first few episodes, he may be an annoying autistic man who knows everything but after awhile his character grows on to you even his mannerisms become endearing… or maybe it’s just me because I find him really cute and funny? Anyyyywaaay… not to get side tracked, Cha Yeon-so (acted by Moon Chae-Won) is a woman with a strong personality. She has this tough exterior but deep inside she has a really fluffy heart which has a soft spot for our main lead.

I am not going to elaborate on that or else I might post unwanted spoilers. As for the supporting cast, they are essential in the series because they provide the substantial element of acceptance depending on the character's relationship with Shi-on.

Music wise their is nothing really memorable about it except that it adds to the drama.

Good Doctor may not be in my rewatchable list but it is very much in my recommended one. You don't have to be a medical literate to appreciate this drama because there are notes which would explain the terms & procedures. Over all it is a wonderful drama and it has exceeded my expectations.

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Okay so Pretty Boy was really intersting at first. I can give that to the show, despite the ridiculously shalLow obsession of Bo Tong ( IU's character ) over Ma Te ( Geun Suk's character). It started of with a really interesting concept of the Pretty Man conquering 10 succesful women while learning something with them. But while the story developed itself the hole concept was completly lost and it got to a point where it seemed the writers were only throwing some random women to complete the total number of people they needed. Needles to say, this show had no logic, with really obvious dramatic plot twists. Overall Bel Ami was quite a disapointment and a waste of great actors, that, even with such a poor script, could make the hole chemestry thing between the main leads amazing.

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Takuya, masato and manachan in a drama, what could go wrong? Absolutely nothing.
With perfect acting, most beautiful scenery and one of the best piano OSTs this drama is one the best I've seen through the years. While I was messing around on drama streaming sites searching through tags, I choose (animals) tag and this had a good rating so I watching first episode, then onto the second and I finished 10 in less that 16 hours. Next thing you know I'm a crying shampoo full of tears.
The story about a man who tries to give Japan after the Second World War some hope, by going to Antarctica, the government and everyone laughed at him, but he managed to assemble the crew and go to Antarctica , kimura always dreamed of going there just like his father did, the first episode was 2 hours while the starting was slow for me because I didn't know anything about this movie but once the boys gathered and found the cute huskies to follow them I was all excited. It was inspirational what the crew went through, but due to bad weather they had to abandon the dogs in Antarctica leaving them for what can be sure death ( cried a lot ).
This drama is not only about the HUMAN crew but the loyalty first coming from dogs and then the boys returned their love back and it had a lot of comrade sense.
The drama covered beautifully how Japan was not all about war but there are good people who wanted to give people some hope, achieve the impossible back then.
Keep an eye on takuya and masato, hands down of the best performances I've seen.
10/10 for epic journey adventure and love (shampoo approve)
Favorite ost
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5koZHzvWbtk
Semi-good quality stream
http://www.gooddrama.to/japanese-drama/nankyoku-tairiku

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It's difficult determining how to go about reviewing this but from my score, it easily goes down as the best comedy I've watched in a very long time. Heck, I can't even think of a comedy that has not only been consistent but made me laugh so hard from the first episode. However, amidst the outrageous comedy is actually a very well written script. How the writers manage to play with both serious and light hearted topics, mystified me through this whole journey. I kept marvelling at how well crafted it was. For one, the law is far better done than some of the higher rated and serious dramas. *Cough* Won't VOICE out any names *cough* It creatively tackles topics with two very different characters as they both utilize their own philosophy to explore issues.

Legal High focuses on Komikado Keisuke who is a genius of a lawyer who has yet to lose a case. He picks cases driven solely boy one thing,money. He is over the top, hilarious and an absolutely captivating character. He's a blend of immaturity, charisma and at times raw and powerful emotions. His partner is the naive and innocent Mayuzumi Machiko who is surprisingly not irritating. Normally, this is the type of character that I absolutely despise. The self-righteous preachy type who wants the world to be butterflies and rainbows- however, she is very charming in her own way. She for one sticks to her philosophy but also acknowledges its flaws. This partnership makes for some of the most "laugh out loud" moments I have ever had in a drama.

Overall, this is a hilarious yet very well done script. The writers did a phenomenal job not only developing the characters but giving them distinct and memorable personalities. The humor does not get in the way of plot progression or even distract from the issue. It serves as a good compliment to the overall plot and by the end of this season, I was more than thrilled to hear there was a second which I have also finished. I rarely ever seek out second seasons in dramas. Heck, it's an incredibly difficult challenge for me to ever finish a drama much less get passed the fourth episode. I jot this down as an over the top yet highly recommended comedy. Do not pass this up.

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Smiling over a meal

Our lovely ladies returned in this second season to grace our screens with the sweet development of their relationship, their own personal challenges and moments of growth, the meeting of new supportive and heart-warming friends, and even more delicious meals.

I know last season I begged for a second season but, now, I'm begging for a third. Pleeeeeeeeease!

If you're not watching this, what are you doing?! Do you not like JOY?!

. . .

Did I mention there's rare Ace rep?

Just go watch it, you fool! I will be over here, crying over my coffee, blessing Furritsubs for allowing me to watch this with subs.

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Overrated work of art?

I guess it was my high expectations because of the praise that this show has got so far but when I watched it I couldn't really connect with it the way I wished to...
First of all the editing was weird in some cases, I was just left confused on the overall pacing of the story and the decisions made on continuation of it. Even if it was intentional it just didn't help what felt like a very lackluster story.
By the end I expected to learn more specially about Jae Won to really know his back story and the way he acted, and while I did understand his actions it felt overall lacking and like they could've explored more but decided to leave it vague, which just by the end made me not connect with him as I would've liked to.
A great portion of the characters (specially the ones in the club) were unlikeable, and were mostly forgiven or left without consequence in the end, which just made it harder to keep watching.
The music was alright and story could've been better, just the execution felt weird and even if experimental or different to what's out there in terms of BL it felt too cliche and weirdly paced in a lot of the cases, like if it wanted to focus more on the psyche of the characters why not show more of the therapy sessions of Jae Won for example instead of only snippets in some episodes for example.
I've been enjoying the last K-BL releases but this one just isn't up there for me, which makes me disappointed and makes it feel overrated in the end.

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Best Thai Drama

For me hands down this is the best version of hana yori dango(Boys over flowers) !
The casting is so on point really impressed with all the cast their acting is commendable and to know for ren and gorya it was their first project…they really did a good job
Bright as Thyme is perfection he delivered what was required as a F4 leader and also a little kid madly in love
Win as kavin is just adorable he acting completely different from his last project shows his versatility
In conclusion to miss out on this drama would be a very big loss for all drama lovers !

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