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It’s Got It All & It Achieves It All. Highly Recommend!
This was akin to the old epics. Magnificent and beautifully told in every possible way. I sobbed. Man, I sobbed. Not every drama conveys the depths of emotions so that you can feel it in a scene even when the characters themselves are not being emotional. Even more so, not every drama can convey the depths of sadness in someone’s soul, even as they are smiling. It’s a skill when a drama can get you to feel and not just feel, but REALLY feel. Feel it like it was your own. That they are you and you are them. It’s that sobering of emotion that you get in a once in a lifetime drama. It leaves something with you that you never ever forget. A profound feeling that will stay with you forever.The first time I watched this drama, I binged it in two days. All 50 episodes. And that surprised no one more than me. It’s like a good book you can’t put down. Can you imagine that? It’s such a long series and yet it never feels long. Although 40 minutes long, each episode is over in the blink of an eye. They are that gripping and entrancing. The story is told in such a way that all the right storytelling devices come at all the right times. Nothing overstays it’s welcome and everything is utilised in the most effective ways. Scenes flow expertly, one into the other and even the non-cliffhanger endings are as enticing as the cliffhanger ones. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next each time. So much so, I started at 11am on the first day and was surprised to see that it was 4am by the time I looked up again. After getting some rest, I resumed watching and again, did not stop until I completed the entire series at 1am that night.
My words can never do enough justice to convey just how good this truly is. They are not enough to paint the merits of the incredible feat of this drama. Some dramas are to be experienced and this is one of them. Some dramas are just special and you feel it as soon as you start watching. I will forever recommend this drama. Far and wide. I will shout it from the rooftops and never stop singing its praises.
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"When love is not madness, it is not love."
This became one of my favorite ongoing kdramas this month.It genuinely gets better once you start to get behind the mask of the ML., how he is and his past along with the FL.
I personally didn't find the side characters interesting in any way, the family or the people at their work place. Except the ML's ex who knew when to provoke at a right time.
The ML's and FL's interactions are extremely funny by episode 4 or so.
The story itself is standard with lots of madness from the couple by them being chaotic and quite insane with eachother.
I honestly wish they kept it that way even when they started dating and being all lovey-dovey but to each his own.
Overall, I still enjoyed it. Not too heavy or crazy.
This show kept getting funnier and funnier by each episode. Sure we’ve got a few tropes here and there but the entire drama was shown in fun and unexpected ways.
And I love that he and Krystal are clearly having a blast even behind the scenes.
As much as there were some boring and unnecessary scenes, I overall enjoyed the drama and loved it enough for it to become my favorite thing ever.
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I ‘m a HUGE Mei Nagano fan, and have been dying to watch this movie ever since it came out late last year. With the online release of it this past month, I was crossing my fingers that some blessed subtitling team would pick it up, and just today I was overjoyed to find that a translating team picked it up and released subs for it!!!
WELL, I wasted no time sitting down to watch it, and I say without reservation that I loved, loved, LOVED it!!! I had always known the briefest of plot details: That Satomi Ishihara played a mother with a young girl who hopped from husband to husband dragging her child along, but I had no idea that that would be only the mere tip of the iceberg of what a rich, detailed and lovingly crafted story Baton truly was!
I simply adored this movie and was kept quite intrigued throughout the show by its little twists and turns, surprises and reveals, and though perhaps the ending might be somewhat predictable, I found the entire story to be wonderfully wholesome and sweet as any I've seen in years!
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"One mistake can lead to irreversible regret"
The Pig, the Snake, and the Pigeon was a tough film to rate and harder to review. The film showed how different people react when death stares them in the eye. Do you attempt to mend your ways or seek a lasting legacy no matter how reprehensible?Chen Kui Lin aka the Kuilin Kid made a name for himself by taking out not one, but two mob bosses. While lying low he discovers from a pharmacist who treats gangsters that he has stage 4 lung cancer. She works to convince him to do the right thing and turn himself in. After praying to General Guan and tossing the divination sticks nine times he goes to the police station to do just that. Problem being that an armored car had turned over and people were lined up to turn in the money they’d pilfered. While waiting he sees a wanted poster with the top three fugitives. He was ranked #3. At that moment he determines to take out the top two to improve his legacy.
The first half of the film had numerous brutal, no holds barred fights between Kui Lin and the cop Chen Hui and between Kui Lin and Hongkie. Hongkie was vile, a rapist, and deadly. No tears shed for anything bad happening to him. The second half of the film delved into the spiritual side and repentance. Even a killer like Kui Lin could grasp at the thread of hope. At least before the violence erupted into new disturbing levels.
I’ve never been an Ethan Juan fan but I have to admit he did an admirable job as the killer who could murder people easily but could also be quite affable and charming. He rescued at least two people and tried to save a third. That didn’t mean he was a good guy and it would be wrong to idolize him. His last violent act disturbed me greatly and threw me into a moral quandary attempting to understand his reasoning.* The final twist wasn’t much of a twist and in the end, it didn’t matter, at least to Kui Lin.
The Pig, the Snake, and the Pigeon had high production values and well shot fight scenes. The acting was quite good and Ethan Juan made it hard to not feel some empathy for his character. The story could be uneven and the final third of the film took too long to resolve. Far from glorifying the gangster lifestyle, it showed that three evils no matter how fair or repugnant they might appear to be needed to be vanquished. Interestingly, only one facing death had the courage to do something unorthodox to rid society of the animalistic ills.
3 March 2024
***********Spoiler below**********
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The only way I could resolve the massacre at the cult was that after all the evil they had done including murder and destroying at least one child’s future, he thought they would continue their wicked ways . Many of the people in the cult who did not heed his warning knew it was a scam and were enforcers and the others who stayed behind were either in on it or so brainwashed that would continue to drive people to suicide or murder when ordered. The ambiguity of the ones left behind who were killed was very distressing to me and why I didn’t rate this film higher.
In the end, Kui Lin paid for his crimes and the pharmacist who got her three birds, actually a whole flock, with one stone was also facing a painful death herself.
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This review may contain spoilers
I've read the manhua (the English translations) and watched the anime multiple times so there will be some comparisons...STORY: For at least the first half of the movie, it moves through through the original source material quickly, as there is much to skim over and a short amount of time to do it. There are some obvious changes that fans may not enjoy. (Check out my comments in the comment section for some details and spoilers.) The second half of the movie deviates a lot from the source and that's understandable because I think they wanted a self-contained movie adaptation and the manhua and anime are still ongoing. Still, it was neat to see an adaptation of this.
ACTING/CAST: I quite enjoyed the cute actors they cast except for the grandmother of the house who they turned into a senile old woman for no reason whatsoever.
MUSIC: It was the standard sweeping epic type music you'd expect. Side note: I love the music for both the Chinese and Japanese versions of the anime openings, specially the Japanese version of Season 2.
REWATCH VALUE: Well, I dunno. I think I'd rather rewatch the anime or catch up on the translations. The Chinese is over 275 chapters and English is only around chapter 70 (as of this writing 4/2/18).
OVERALL: They did a decent job adapting open-ended source material while not being an exact copy of the anime. Cheesy special effects. :O)
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I personally don't have kids, but I've heard so many of the same lines used in this drama in real life that it was hard to not relate to this.
people live by other's expectations, they feel weak when they think they're not "following" the pattern, they have a hard time admitting that they are struggling and everyone just lacks empathy. they criticize what they don't personally feel.
there are so many rules of society. "you can't keep your kid happy/quite? you are a bad mom". "you don't cook for your family? you are a bad housewife". "you don't have kids? you've failed as a woman". and there are of course other examples, even directed at men "your wife makes more money than you? then you are not a man". "you want to see a therapist? you've failed as a human". "you want to quit your job and stay at home? that's not what men do"..
who made these rules? why should we force others to live by those rules? does putting others down make you a better person? would showing weakness mean you are not... what? grateful to your life?
everyone struggles with something, but again, you can't just look at people through your experiences.. don't judge people. it's also so easy to misjudge people, so everyone should just communicate more..
anyway this is making me emotional :) basically they did a great job convening the different struggles, the slow growth of the characters was also heartwarming and inspiring.
the ost was nice and I never rewatch stuff, but this does make me want to watch more jdramas ;)
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This review may contain spoilers
One Big Family (on a Town Scale) Thwarted by a One-Man Villain
Most of the Heir is a beautiful inky tale about the people who can hurt us the most and legacies fighting tooth and nail to have a future. If you're interested in that, welcome to the show.FL's Family: Li
The Li family feuds may be frustrating at first, but it would be strange to watch a series like this and not expect and want to see characters suffer and grow. Thankfully our female lead gets some punches in and rises through her skills, dedication and love for the art of ink making as well as her love for the family that stands by her.
Despite being one of Zhen's biggest naysayers, her uncle is one of the best side-characters with a great arc throughout the drama. In historical dramaland, disabilities often are either faked, miraculously cured or characters with disabilities are evil without reason. The Heir redeems Zhen's explosive disabled uncle well. Cured of his hatred rather than his disability, he remains himself and shows that his old injuries do not hold him back.
Her eight grandfather is the typical old man, who has seen too much and understands too much to go easy on his granddaughter. Nevertheless, their bond only strengthens throughout the drama. As seventh grandmother's favorite, Zhen interacts a lot with her too. It's interesting to see how one matriarch builds up another. Even though there are a lot of strong grandmothers in historical dramas (like in the recently released A Splendid Match), I wouldn't say other FL's are so explicitly taught.
Zhen's mother has a bittersweet backstory and always has her daughter's back. Zhen's friendship Hua was also very pleasing to watch.
ML's Family: Luo
Wenqian, the ML, is a very human character instead of standing above the FL. They both have setbacks throughout the story. The male lead appears more toward the middle and last half of the drama. His story starts as the classic revenge story, except things don't go as planned. Overall, the characters in The Heir are not as good at scheming as the usual leads, which was refreshing to see. They also don't need to be because unlike in other dramas, the characters here never aim to play their game in the capital (except for the villains).
While I'm not particular fond of the met-as-children-once trope for the main couple, it worked here. Zhen and Wenqian are so cute and awkward, they are simply endearing.
Wensong, the ML's older brother, is one of the best characters the drama has to offer because he cares about ink to an unnatural extend, and it is one of the few crimes this drama commits that he is the only character of his unhinged type. Though, Li Zhen and her uncle come close, it would have been nice to get more mad geniuses.
The elders of their family are an interesting bunch. I would have enjoyed some more time with the aunt.
Villain's Family: Tian
Let's get to the, imo, weakest part of the drama. Two of the Tian family members are almost comically evil and if this were another drama, they wouldn't stand out so much. Alas, in a world filled with characters who have business sense and their own levels of integrity, if of their time, they are a bit too on-the-nose. The main bad guy, Tian Benchang, was exhausting to watch almost immediately. Most times he is on screen, I hope he disappears again. At least he gets what is coming for him.
The Heir is best when it is about the ink, its process, its competition and its consequences. Sadly, the villain overshadows those challenges by being vicious on the personal level only. Despite his non-stop-scheming taking up time, he also suddenly always has the best ink there is in Huizhou. He was simply badly balanced, so the part in which he appears most - the penultimate arc - drags the drama down.
The only light in the dark for the Tian family is Ronghua, who gets dealt a bad hand by being tied to a family which could not appreciate her less. Apart from Zhen's uncle, Ronghua has the best arc in this drama. In fact, I would have liked to see more of her struggles as a nobel lady.
From Family to City to Country
That the nationalism might become strong in this one was to be expected, sadly I don't think the drama balances the story expanding from the family business to the city industry to national craftsmanship as well as it could. Through Wensong's involvement in the army, there are mentions of the national situation from the start, but they are made too unimportant when his punishment after failing to secure military funding is inconsequential. Tian Benchang also overstays his welcome as the big bad, so that ink as the national treasure is squeezed into the last four to three episodes.
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Enjoyable vertical drama, with class acting
I came across this program through social media recommendations, and after watching it, I can definitely see why it’s getting so much praise. The acting was outstanding, and the chemistry between the lead characters really stood out. The storyline kept me engaged from start to finish, with no dull moments whatsoever.The program runs just under three hours, but it flies by thanks to the compelling plot and performances.
The only downside for me was the vertical screen format, which I found a bit off putting . However, I understand it was designed with mobile viewing in mind, so I can overlook that.
Overall, it’s something I’d definitely consider rewatching in the future.
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This review may contain spoilers
Best acting in Japanese media but that's the only good thing about this movie
As I said, the acting is masterful. Easly the best of all Japanese dramas and movies I've seen. Maybe even one of top 10 of all media I've ever seen. The cast did amazing job, I didn't feel like they acted at all. It also wasn't anime-like or cartoonish at all which is unusal for Japanese media (that I've seen at least).The soundtrack was also nice, though there weren't a lot of music. Most of the time the background sound was silence. However, these are the only good things I can say about this movie. There will be spoilers.
The first thing I hated was Rei's "lesbianism". Sorry but no. I am a lesbian and it was very hard to watch. She was supposed to be out of closet but she had a voluntary sex with men. What lesbian does that? Was it suppoed to show her awful mental state? Was she trying to punish herself? It's just a very weird decision for me. Moreover, I feel like it only invalidated her sexual orientation. I can't believe she's lesbian because her actions towards men don't make sense to me. Also, it made me feel sick and disgusted. I wish they discarded all the sex scenes but especially those with Rei and men. Or at least didn't claim she's a lesbian.
The relationship between Rei and Nanae is toxic af. They are toxic people and they get worse when they're together. It made impossible for me to root for them. They were portrayed as bad people, not just lost or misunderstood, but I guess it's understandable as the movie starts with a murder. (Also I love how Rei made a disclaimer she's not a simp: "I did not murder a man to have sex with the woman I love". Beautiful.) Another point is I don't believe the love Rei had for Nanae. I don't believe it held for more than 10 years and was strong enough to make her kill for Nanae. I see it as just a cheap way to move plot forward. The actresses did what they could but it's just a big plothole for me.
As for the technical side of the movie. What the hell if wrong with the camera work? It was shaking so much, is the cameraman alright? It did get better further in the movie but it never really went away. It made me quesy watching it as if I had a motion sickness. The shots were also weird, sometimes too close, sometimes too far to the side so half of the screen if filled with irrevelant stuff and you can't see the important stuff happening.
I could write more points but I don't want to spoil it too much. Also, this is long enough. I wouldn't recommend this movie but if you want to risk it then expect a lot of nudity and sex scenes, crying and not much of logic.
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Takumi-kun Series 2: Rainbow Colored Glass
12 people found this review helpful
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Jeon So-min is a good actress. I've been watching her in Running Man and she's a good entertainer too. The character Oh Kang Soon really suited her, I can't think of any other actress that can pull this character off.
Kim Ji Suk is good as always, no doubt about that. I kind of have the second lead syndrome because of Lee Sang Yeob, maybe because of that RM episode wherein So Min was flirting with him. But well, they're family now. Lol.
The people in the island are funny too. Anyway, this drama is worth watching.
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„Do you think it’s a blessing that we get to know about our future?“
- „It would be terrifying not to know.“
„What if we’re destroying today for the sake of tomorrow? What if we’re complicating our fate in order to change the future?"
It took me a while to finish this drama because I was afraid of the ending. While time travel always leaves room for 'whys' and 'what ifs' and 'why didn't they' and 'shouldn't there be', I have to say, it is one of the better written time travel dramas, and it certainly helps that it was pre-produced. All the flashbacks and time jumps at least made sense and you can follow clearly if you pay attention. It will get confusing if you have a lot of time between the episodes, though, so I recommend you to not drag it.
Now, why I really loved this drama can be summarized in just a few words: Amazing chemistry, fantastic actors, beautiful scenography, moving music and subtle writing. As I said, time travel is a difficult topic, but what I loved most about the writing was not the plot in the first place, but how genuine all the conversations and interactions felt. In many other dramas I find myself thinking: 'Nobody would say that' 'Who does that?' 'why are they so stupid, that's nonsense'. However, in this drama, even though there are some actions that may be misunderstood, you can perfectly comprehend why they act the way they did, how they are driven by fear of irrecoverable loss...
Yes, the directing and filmography are beautiful, but the script makes it complete. I love how it falls together so perfectly.
„Do you love me?“
-„I think I will die if I don’t marry you.“
„Leave! It is hard to even look at you.“
„But what should I do? In my eyes, I see you telling me not to leave…“
Yoo So Joon in the beginning is selfish, and we all know it. Does he really love her? Is he just using her for his own benefits? Is there even an ounce of sincerity in his words?
These thoughts are repeated in an endless cycle in our brains from the moment he decides he must marry her in order to change their fate. I love how the writing uses lines that show us that although he knows he is deceiving her, he carefully chooses his words so as to not to lie too blatantly, like when we feel shame by lying and think it will be less of a sin if we keep as close to the truth as possible. And even more, you can nearly watch how their relationship slowly changes, until there is truly nothing left but genuine love.
For all those reasons and how much it made me smile, cry and feel, I will give it a score of 9.0. It was close to a 10, but near the end there were some things that couldn't quite keep up with the brilliant start. And of course, it leaves us with a very nice message as well:
- No matter what the future holds or what happens tomorrow… can’t we just live freely?
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1. The plot is so solid. This drama doesn't waste your time with over-crying, over-kissing, etc. It really provides you a pure story. Every episode WON'T let you get bored.
2. Every episode will make you laugh. Yes, although it's crime/thriller/action, but this drama is also a comedy. The director twists so many scenes that—I believe—will make you laugh.
3. NO shitty useless romance scene. Unlike other drama, this drama doesn't have 'romance' things. So, the 16 episodes really give you different feels. It's only between laugh or nerves, no lovey-dovey waiting for the actor & actress to kiss.
4. The acting of the actors and actresses are so damn good! The main actor really acts like a stupid guy, and he acts like a psychopath seamlessly. You know, it's so hard to play two roles in one character. The main actress shows her emotions very well. She doesn't need to over-cry to express her sadness. Instead, she shows her meaningful expression through her beautiful face.
5. Haven't come to my mind, I'll add them to here once I remember.
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This review may contain spoilers
And ending that will leave you in tears
WHAT AN ENDING!! HONESTLY I JUST CRIED. If that did not move you then you really have no feelings.SPOILER ALERT:
ML realize that he will never get justice for his family and he decided to do the only thing he could which was to kill the emperor. The emperor truly deserved to die for what he did. Like how can you sacrifice a whole village just for your own personal gain?
That being said, I would love to watch a historical drama with ML where he does not die... (ML also starred in one and only drama, where he died).
Overall great show. Not sure if I want to rewatch it cuz the ending is so sad but just great. And if you can honestly say that this was not a good show then you don't know what a good show is.
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