Perfect chemistry
Song Wei Long and Zhao Jian Mai have perfect chemistry! Every time they are on screen together, you literally get sweetness overload. There were so many sweet moments and scenes that made me swoon and kick my feet. I totally loved their love story. There is something to be said about being with somebody who always chooses you and shows you they love you in so many ways. That is top tier love.Now, let me be honest in saying there are some parts of this show that were a little off-putting, like the background effects in some scenes. Like who are they kidding with those green screen scenes? I am sure they have a better budget and tech than that?! That was just poorly done IMO. Some plots were drawn out and unnecessary too and I thought didn't really contribute or felt like was completely addressed.
But I would still recommend this for the love story, the OST, and just the over all vibes and visual of the main leads.
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The plot line, on the surface, deals with a young woman coming in to nanny for a rich family. Naturally, as you would expect from a movie like this, she gets in way to deep and begins an affair with the attractive, domineering husband. The story line then develops further from there and we are thrown into what we can only imagine is the shallow end of the lengths these people will go to to protect their image, their wealth, and their family.
The movie very intelligently weaves a cast of characters and a story that gives us an intriguing look into the world of the wealthy and the privileged. They get what they want, when they want it, and will stop at nothing for it.
The acting was superb. There was not a single actor/actress that I didn't believe in their portrayal of the character--even in the case of the child, and I have a hard time with child actors usually.
The cinematography and editing were wonderful. The director really knew how to play with angles and to give the viewer just enough to immerse us in the story but not so much that it overwhelmed our senses. The lighting perfectly suited the moods and the choices made for scenes were very smart.
Only one small thing bothered me at the climax, but mostly on the basis of physics and I didn't find it entirely necessary, but you can be the judge when you get there. This movie is also not suited for anyone who is sensitive when it comes to nudity and sex. There is definitely some of that in there.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I went in knowing that it was a movie I would need to think about and pay attention to--much like American Psycho, which seems superfluous if you don't get all the connotations behind it.
Go in with an open mind, and a thirst for intrigue, sex, and drama and you won't be disappointed.
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We are together in happiness and sorrow.
What I liked about this drama was that the entire family stayed united from start to finish, without any rifts between them. All the sisters ended up with partners who were perfectly suited to them, and unnecessary characters exited the story once their roles were fulfilled. Additionally, subplots were not stretched beyond two episodes, which kept the drama from becoming boring.what i disliked about Some parts were boring, and certain aspects of the plot felt repetitive. main Characters disappearing when another main character's story was in focus made it seem like five different series were running simultaneously instead of one. Additionally, the sudden jumps between scenes made it feel like parts of the story were missing in terms of visualization, highlighting the drama's shortcomings. Despite these issues, I’m giving it a 10 because, in the end, it entertained me thoroughly and is definitely worth watching.
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Now, if you've EVER read a review I've written, You would know that Kim Soo Hyun can literally do no wrong when it comes to dramas. Jeon Ji Hyun is also another actress I really respect. With the two of them together, I already knew I was going to love this drama. (& I was right!)
The story is indefinitely original. Sure, there are the /typical/ melodrama aspects of it, but as for the story in it's entirety, this one takes the cake. The writing was on point, and the suspense was seriously killing by the end of each episode. I marathoned this in a total of what, 3 days? I just could. not. get. enough!
The 'love-triangle' was laughable, but enjoyable as well. The supporting cast was just as adorable. Yoo In Na makes a good baddie, and I was STILL rooting for her!
The soundtrack is, amazing to say the least. They did an excellent job selecting the songs and it really fit the mood the drama had going for it.
All in all, I'd watch this drama a million times if I could. I'm almost ready to go back and it watch it again, right now, but I'll hold back. Watch this drama. You will love it. Trust me!
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The story starts out with two brothers, Prince Jin Yang and Prince Eun Sung. One very much wants to sit on the throne, while the other one would rather dedicate his life to the fine arts. Prince Eun Sung is a sensitive artist trapped in the snake nest that is the royal court, forced to fight in a war and act in a way that belies his gentle nature. Prince Jin Yang is the power hungry snake who wants to the throne to make up for the trauma of having to grow up outside the palace without the love of his mother. He takes revenge upon his family like a vicious child, hating his own brother and destroying everyone in his path.
Sung Ja Hyun is a noble man's daughter who wants ~more~ than an arranged marriage and kids, dabbling in painting, which is how she meets Eun Sung. They bond over their love of the fine arts and plan to marry, when their dreams are shattered by court politics.
After Prince Eun Sung is whisked away to a war, Prince Jin Yang, like a child tries to take Ja Hyun as his concubine to take revenge upon his brother. Setting forth some kind of love triangle, but what was refreshing was that it was always clear that he never loved her. It's not played off as some tragic love story, but always portrayed as what it is: him wanting what his brother had. Just like as a child, when his brother had that love of his mother. I think one of the most compelling parts of the drama was the psychology of Prince Jin Yang. Even if you didn't agree, you understood why he did what he did. It made him human, even if there is a lack of humanity in the things he does.
It doesn't quite have the magic and the complexity of the Princess' Man and it sure doesn't have supporting characters quite as strong. It doesn't have that grandness and the feel of epicness either. Many scenes are very similar and seem a bit copy cat in a distracting way, it's not surprising that they were made by the same director. It's been compared a lot to the Seven Day Queen because of the power struggle, but I think that Grand Prince is actually better plotted and executed.
When it comes to the comparisons with those two dramas I would say that they're cousins, similar but also distinct with their owns unique merits. If you have already seen Princess' Man I would skip the drama, as the similarities are a bit too much.
They were only minor characters, but I enjoyed what Ja Hyun's parents brought to the story, supporting their daughter in everything. I also liked Roo Shi Gae, who could have just been a comic relief character, but managed to worm herself into my heart with her charm and steadfast support of her Eun Sung, knowing and accepting that he only loves Ja Hyun.
I didn't feel like acting in this was especially good, neither of the leading trio have been known as great actors, but I think they all did a serviable albeit a bit bland job. Jin Se Yeon improved quite a bit from her previous roles and doesn't stick out like a sore thumb or anything. She isn't exactly great, but not too shabby either. Yoon Shi Yoon was perfectly cast with his boyish charm and twinkle in his eye at the start, he managed to portray the hardening of his character well. Joo Sang Wook while competent was a bit too wooden and he could have added some more flourish to his character, I didn't feel like he portrayed his character to his full potential. One of the weak points of the drama was Na-Gyeom, Prince Jin Yang wife. It was never believable that her and Ja Hyun were ever friends and the evilness of her seemed to be more to move the plot forward, she just wasn't a well developed character.
The drama suffered a bit from a retread of the plot in the middle, but it picked up again when it came to the third act, where it all payed off and came to a satisfying conclusion. The episodes really got better and better towards the end, the tension reaching a boiling point and it all paid off in the very end.
Recommended for saeguk fans who like their saeguks to lean heavily onto the romantic side. It doesn't reinvent the wheel and some parts are a bit too familiar, but it's certainly a 20 hour well spent and entertained.
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62 days in - no signs of true romantic affection.
If you saw the show, you know what I mean. If you did not see, you can vaguely get what I mean. Can’t believe I’m saying it, but it would be so much better if it was not a BL.Let’s start with some positives. I truly loved how everything here was rather selfish, even when they tried to do things for the other person. Good intentions are not always enough, and expecting gratitude just for the effort, when the result is not preferable is again - egocentric. And I loved it.
While the story might have been lackluster, the characters were actually well written and really consistent. No weird change of behaviors because the scene needed it, no quick character development that removed all the flaws and made the leads saints. Both the leads were frustrating (one more than the other), but they also made sense in their behavior - I might have been mad, but I understood where their behavior came from.
Sadly, the plot did not present the same level of cohesiveness. The first two episodes were great in terms of pacing - proper set up and characters’ introduction. Nothing felt rushed, and that’s what killed the show. Taking the sweet time in the first half forced the director to cram all the important plotlines in the last two episodes - just the highlights of a story, nothing gets truly resolved nor developed.
I don’t want to talk about chemistry. It was great when they were friends, but it stayed “friendly” till the end of the show. 2gether hi5 had more romance behind it, than whatever they tried to do there. I loved the low-key angst and the confusion that came from not realized jealousy, but all that buildup led to nothing.
The acting was decent, but got worse the closer to each other the characters got. The editing was fine, but got worse the closer to the end we’ve got. The directing was nice, but got worse each episode. You get what I mean - all went downhill real fast.
Overall, as much as I enjoyed the first 4 episodes, I truly disliked the next 4. Last two? I was just laughing. Conflicts came out of nowhere, none of the characters actually talked about the events and issues, as if they did not exist. We skipped through so much, it was all meaningless by the end.
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Sweet Enough To Give You A Tooth Cavity…
If there’s one thing South-Korean mini dramas absolutely love with romantic-setups it is the “reverse-harem” trope. Unsurprisingly ‘ Peng’( 팽) is no exception and offers viewers the typical cutesy sweet “ potential love interests” for the seemingly “ average” and “ older noona” ( who in reality is only supposed to be thirty) female lead.
Of course it is wrong to entirely critique ‘ Peng’ as “ unwatchable”. Go Sa Ri ( Yoon So Hee) is a 30 year old woman who finds herself rethinking her life decisions after she parted ways with her former boyfriend.Soon she finds herself in a sticky situation as she finds several potential love interests entering her life with complicated feelings evidently growing for them.
The acting is a mixed-bag admittedly. It is hardly Oscar-winning and there are certainly moments where you might question certain line deliverances, but it is certainly passable to watch . Main actress Yoon So Hee has starred in many guest roles over the years but likely is more recognised by K-pop fans for her starring roles in music videos for boyband EXO, an uncredited role in a music video for SHINEE and in one of Super Junior’s concert tours. The actress certainly was decent enough as our female lead and did add her own sweet charm to her role. However the biggest problem with the casting choice for So Hee as Go Sa Ri was that it was hard to truly believe she was the authentic age of her character.
Of course this isn’t to critique the actress or her character Sa Ri entirely. She’s a fairly hardworking heroine. However to explain this point about age further it is important to establish that a younger actor/ actress being cast to play an older (or even vid verse ) isn’t always necessarily a bad move by the casting crew. Often it can work to a drama/ storyline’s advantage by interpolating both with the necessity of their character’s looks, personality or context within the storyline . On the other hand what makes us feel as though a character is truly the age that the writer has mind doesn’t just come down to physical appearance but very subtle touches such as emotions, maturity, popular culture references, generation gaps or social interactions. In ‘Peng ‘ whilst we did see Sa Ri mope about her age at times and show a more mature side also, these key plot touches rarely had more of a quintessential role within shaping Sa Ri’s identity or authenticity as our female lead .
In fact when it boils down to it Sa Ri rarely felt as though she had a more of a realistic edge. She rarely felt flawed or would be allowed to repent for her actions, by often taking central state as the “ victim” or “ pitiful” and even when we did get glances into her life sans romantic relationships, her “ friends” would rarely interact upon a basis which didn’t involve relationships or romance. Even more in-depth glances into her past as well as her familial environment we’re fairly in- existent throughout the drama rarely giving Sa Ri to feel like a well-written female lead.
Naturally the major driving factor of the cutesy pastel-infused romantic setup of ‘ Peng’ boils down to Sa Ri’s “ potential love interests”. ( Unsubtly hinted by one of Sa Ri’s male colleagues that Sa Ri should get married as “she’s getting older”.)Typical of this genre the male leads are mostly used as the “ shiny boy toy” trope with being either fairly good looking, fashionable or a trope archetype in themselves but are mainly used as plot devices to keep the plot moving rather than to have more evident character depth and growth.
Sa Ri’s first “ potential love interest” is Pi Jung Won ( Choi Won Myung). Pi Jung Won is the classic “ childhood friend” trope. Knowing Sa Ri the longest , Jung Won arguably knew the most about Sa Ri out of all the other suitors. The biggest problem with Jung Won as the “ childhood friend” is that whilst he unsurprisingly has “ liked Sa Ri since forever” he never really addresses what initially attracted him to her, his own complicated feelings with Sa Ri viewing him as a fraternal figure as well as meekly remaining in the corner with his hidden feelings until “ necessary plot” drives him out.
Sa Ri’s next potential romantic partner is Yeon Ha Rim ( Kim Hyun Jin). The biggest thing to address about actor Kim Hyun Jin is that in real life he is closer in age to So Hee than his younger onscreen counterpart. His onscreen persona being the embodiment of the “ younger guy”, there’s undeniably mixed feelings for viewers towards this onscreen potential chemistry between their characters ( especially as he does begin to dominate a lot of screen time by the halfway mark). Whilst undeniably Sa Ri does not hide her initial awkward feelings and there are some evident “age appearance” issue addressed , it may raise more questions for viewers by the more sugarcoated approach to realistic factors such as cultural norms, controversy and perceptions towards age gap relationships in South Korea.
Then there’s Sa Ri’s potential suitor through Ki Sun Jae ( Joo Woo Jae)- . Sun Jae embodies the classic “ he’s my boss” and the “ CEO” trope. His potential chemistry with Sa Ri has its strengths and weaknesses. On one side he’s arguably the most mature, decisive and affluent out of the other love interests. On the other hand Sa Ri’s evident discomfort towards pursuing a romantic relationship with her boss does put some strain on their relationship as employer and employee.
Then finally there’s Jeon Woo Sang ( Lee Seung II). Sa Ri’s ex, Jeon Woo spends his time pining over Sa Ri. Whilst some viewers may see this as “sweet”, others will likely see Jeon Woo’s actions as verging upon being a stalker and megalomaniacal from wanting to know about Sa Ri’s love life following her and waiting outside of her house on several occasions.
The final decision by Sa Ri was beyond anti climatic. It was not necessarily bad per say that Sa Ri made this choice as it was upon her own grounds, however, rather than providing this choice with more explanation or build-up, Sa Ri’s decision truly gave the series a poorly-inserted deus ex machina ending; added for the “ unexpected”, yet lacking in more coherent character direction or growth in the process.
So what is left to say about ‘ Peng’? As a miniseries ‘ Peng’ is pretty much what it said it would be on the tin; a romantic show reverse- harem about an older woman choosing her potential romantic love interests. Whilst the show was lighthearted, it often seemed to struggle with conveying more depth to the characters, plot drive ( aside from romantic misunderstandings and lacklustre tropes) and a decisive ending with many profound themes often feeling sugarcoated. Whilst not unwatchable per say ‘ Peng’ lacked that specific zest of being an engaging , memorable or well-written storyline with an ending that will make even the most patient of viewers towards what on earth you just wasted your time upon.
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That being said, this drama does a pretty good job of representing the entertainment industry including the good and the bad. You have the female lead who just happens to get lucky over and over again making her way to the top while her friend has to claw her way up to the top doing a lot of shady things. Some actresses have to fight their way through and continue to fight to maintain their position, while others just genuinely get lucky and their talent is recognized. I also loved how they depicted the complicated relationship of frenemies and business rivals. Another cool thing is that it has some pretty epic celebrity cameos of actors appearing as themselves, including Orlando Bloom. At times, especially in the beginning, it felt like this drama was being used as an outlet for Tencent to advertise/promote its other projects / movies...especially with its star studded celebrity cameos. However, it was still fun to watch because you never knew who would show up.
Another thing I liked is that the male lead is "allergic" to females due to some traumatic past. While I have seen this plot multiple times in other dramas, I liked how the female lead is no exception to the rule. He is allergic to her as well and that is one of the complications of their romance that he has to overcome. The chemistry between the two leads is pretty good and it's fun seeing them go from enemies to lovers. Scenes between these two characters are more romantic comedy, whereas the rest of the drama is more of a melodrama with the female lead pursuing her dreams of becoming a recognized actress.
One of things that hurt the drama is that it is pretty lengthy and the last 10 episodes or so dragged. At the end of the day, I did enjoy this drama and felt like it was worth watching once (especially for Push). I don't plan to rewatch it though.
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At the beginning this drama seemed to be a light and silly romance but soon became all pain, tragedy and suffering. Even the happy end doesn't feel so happy. The prodution is low budget, the action scenes are most laughable and the acting is not very good. The protagonists were ok, Ireine Song was the best for me, the poor girl had to cry many liters, I bet she had to drink much water to rehydrate. The ML made a good job as the fool but when he was "normal" he was just like a store mannequin that cries, but he is very beautiful and this compensates any flaws LOL.7/10 for me.
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gave me video game vibes
I was just looking for something new to watch when I stumbled upon this series. I got curious because the plot literally made me say 'what' because it is confusing.The story was actually nice. It may make you question things especially how fast the progress is and the camera setting. The actors are really good and my favorite is Chang Ryul. His character might come out crazy but he is just desperate to save his father and to get the kidney lol.
They made the ending looked like there is a possibility of season 2 so I am looking out for that. Overall a nice series to watch. 6 eps of about 35 mins each
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My Heroic Husband Season 1
I just completed Season 1 of My Heroic Husband.The beginning of the story ties into the ending. Ning Yi's journey from becoming a Matrilocal husband to really falling in love with Tan Er is a sound love story. The importance of brotherhood and have one's back is shown throughout the story. If you understand Sun Tze's Art of War, you know all the tactics are deployed not only as a cloth merchant but also as a conquering Jing strategy. The weak crown Prince of Wu and his weak personality are shown. His Ministers and Generals' disrespect is why the previous Emperor doubts before he died to plan a Secret division and gave a secret eredict to Minister Qin.
Although the bandit arc is long and tedious, there's a great significance as to why it went that way. Corruption, disloyalty and even cunningness have always been in ancient Chinese literature. If you can understand this, you know why the bandit arc is of great significance to Ning Yi's story. He had to make a hard decision; let Lin'an fall or be killed for trying knowing that he at least tried. Xi Gua (watermelon) will be a significant support cast for Season 2, and I can see that she will either join Ning Yi or be killed off in Season 2.
The end is a cliffhanger and explained what happened to the person who betrayed Ning Yi initially. The ending is left with Ning Yi in Season 2 to be near the end for him, and it'll be interesting what his tactics are of conquering Jing.
I can't wait for Season 2.
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It's always easy to kill off one of the main characters the viewer likes and affect his emotions in such a way. On the other hand, making a beautiful love story with a happy ending, THAT I consider art.
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1I love all the shows done by the director and the writer of Reply 1988: from Reply 1997, Reply 1994, Prison Playbook and Hospital Playlist but Reply 1988 is not only my favorite work of the combo Shin Won Ho/Lee Woo Jung (director-writer) but also my favorite Kdrama of all time.
After watching this for 3 times, the show still has the same impact every time i watch it. You will laugh and cry, laugh some more, and cry some more. This is not just a mystery love story, but it's more about family & friendship. The story sounds simple but you will be amazed how the show was perfectly directed and written. You will finish this series and you will feel that you are part of their story.. that they are your friends and you are their family as if you know all of them. I tell you this show has many characters but you will know each and every character in the series. That's how brilliant the writer is.
You might not be hooked right away just by watching 1 episode. When i recommend this show to my friends, i always tell them to at least watch 5 episodes before deciding to stop or continue. I know a lot of us has this tendency to just watch the pilot episode and decide if we will continue to watch or not. Reply 1988 is a slow paced drama. It is slow but a lot of things are happening in all of the characters. You will not be bored in every episode. There are so much funny and heartwarming scenes. And the more you finish each episode, the more you will get hooked and won't realize that you already finish the entire 20 episodes (some of the episodes even last for 2 hours).
If you want a feel good drama, i strongly recommend this. It is very nostalgic, realistic, heartwarming, funny and romantic. The show does not need major twist and unrealistic villains. It is as real as it gets. It is definitely a CLASSIC and truly a MASTERPIECE.
"A time so warm and pure, that it was painful. Can you hear me? If you can hear me, answer me, my 1988, the days of my youth." – Sung Deok Sun
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