This review may contain spoilers
Dumpster Fire that Sank Faster than the Titanic
The first absolute flop of 2024. This is what happens when great source material is essentially thrown out the window and absolute garbage is written instead with maybe 3%-5% of the book like the names of the characters and a few of the similarities but that's it. I only wanted to watch it for WRC who played SML and the great story of the female general. Instead what the audience got was a dumpster fire that sank faster than the Titanic.Pros: Give all of the actors their dues; even with this hot mess of a script, they all did a great job as their respective characters. The costumes, OSTs, scenery, and the 10 minutes of screen time that WRC (CYQ) got in 36 episodes along with the FL (AM); their chemistry was really great as microscopically as it was shown. The fight scenes in the beginning were very well done. More of that was needed. Since the ending was so ambiguous; even though AM turned CYQ down in front of like everyone (which otherwise would have looked like she was "colluding" with the enemy again) at the end and rode off into the sunset supposedly alone, I do believe that this time she rode towards him as the rest of the time he was pursuing her. Who could resist that kind of proposal? A Marquis with an entire army just to ask her again to be his wife. What bolsters this opinion is that for the first time ever she wore pure white, had her hair down just like CYQ did and she crossed the river heading north. So I will take it as her understanding who really had her best interest all this time at heart and would let her be free. Also they shot a second ending where supposedly she meets him in a forest after she leaves and they set off traveling Jianghu together. I would have preferred this ending but according to the leads apparently even they didn't know which one would be used.
Cons: Dear lord, where do I begin? Literally everything that wasn't mentioned above. How can someone take such a fantastic story and turn into a mess of epic proportions? What was wrong with the first female general being the story? Why force the rather ridiculous romance of ML and FL on us when there was literally nothing between them? She and Xiu'er had a greater connection ~insert massive eye roll here~! Why did it turn into ML's story? He was a joke, a fool of a playboy that by the mid-end turned into no less villain than the first emperor. He had no contemplation of taking of human life; only his own mattered, everyone else be damned. This wasn't "Fighting for Love", it was "Fighting Bullshit on Screen."
The crappy palace politics and the twists with Mu Bai or whatever his real name was and the empress who apparently grew a heart and brain overnight. So unnecessary and just dragged this already giant mess into an even bigger abyss. Why kill Tang Ge? And the anticlimactic end to CQ. I can't form sentences on this absolute scale of destruction of a solid story. I hope Beimo returns and conquers Nanxia so their people would live in peace and away from the royal madness as it seems Beimo has it more together and their people aren't subjected to the crap Nanxia does.
The amount of loose ends is staggering. I stopped trying to figure them out halfway through because they legitimately gave me a headache. Very few were actually tied. This macaroni art Frankenstein project wrapped filming in December of 2021 and people were waiting only to be sorely disappointed a little over 3 years later. I truly hope WRC gets better scripts and projects in the future; he deserves it. This was a great injustice to him and his character because essentially everyone but the ML were relegated to support cast even the FL and it was her story!
Would I recommend it? Absolutely not. It'll piss you off especially if you read the book or know anything about the original IP or if you're watching for some semblance of integrity or intelligence, none of which exists here. The entire production team screwed up on a stratospheric level. Just run!
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This review may contain spoilers
biggest disappointment of this year
I started this drama loving it because the plot was interesting enough and the casts were amazing, most especially the chemistry between the main leads.Look at where we're at now... the title of my review says it all.
It was going pretty good till Ep.8 and I KNEW it was just the calm before a fukken storm, scratch that, a fukken apocalypse! Why'd they have to ruin it like that?? What were the writers thinking??!! Forget the whole story, what was that ENDING?????!!!
Zi-O was labelled a "monster" cause if were to look at this in the perspective of a mere mortal, he was indeed one. He was a "monster" 'cause he was not "normal". He had superpowers and was made up of all sorts of things and animals. He just wasn't human. Thus, he was a monster. He kept to himself after he ran away from the organization, and one way or the other tried to blend in and live on as normally as he possibly could. But there's only so much he could pretend when the moment his emotions get affected, blue lightning-like powers zap from his fingers? Normal is hard, normal is impossible. He realized so when the organization tracked him down and began chasing after him, creating chaos in the midst. He's a monster, through and through.
But then comes in the female main lead with the most unique name I've ever seen or heard; Ha Neul Ae Gu Reum. When I saw her for the first time, I though she'd be different. Far from the normal portrayal of female leads. Isn't that what we hope for getting into a new drama? A female lead against the stereotypes. She seemed so to me, but then she kept getting knocked out... and I'm confused. Is she also not a human being? Does she has superpowers too? How is it that she keeps losing consciousness every time there's a fight? She's a god-dang cop, no less! None of the other police officers fall as badly as her, let alone pass out! There was just too many too count. And the last fall she took, it was really the last one. She never woke up... And that's why I despise this drama so much!
Ep 1 to Ep 8, they got our hopes high, they got us feeling good, like the world has finally been set right. But come Ep 9 and onwards, it's simply hell. Zi-O became corrupted, he became the villain, ha! What a joke... so he really took his role as a "monster" so dang seriously.. And Gu Reum was just heartless. So different from how she was in the beginning of the show. I now people tend to change, but for a person like Gu Reum, I didn't think she'd forget her true self so easily... She was just cold, especially to her "husband" Zi-O (yeah they got married can you believe) I saw no love, no emotions, no chemistry after Ep 8. It was all gone.
The biggest peeve I had was the in the last episode. Gu Reum begged (some emotions finally cracked) for Zi-O to stop his horrendous plans and to "please come back" but he refused. And then she got shot and her final words to him were still "come back" and you'd think he'd AT LEAST try to see what wrong he's done and to finally COME BACK to who he was when she fell in love with him... BUT NOOOOO he goes ahead with his plans and creates a gazillion copies of his "baby monsters"... wtf.
And that's how the drama ends.
Disappointment is an understatement.
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A remarkable take on exploring a wife's identity, morals, desires, and romance.
I love how this film tackles infidelity in a different light. It isn't simply about wanting the forbidden fruit solely because of selfish desires, but it goes to tell viewers that a married woman may possibly be more than just a man's personal trophy, a mother to her children, and a figure who stays at home to solely do household work, to want nothing more in life than all of that.Putting into mind Japan's collective perspective on such an identity, this film goes to break such a concept by telling its audience that a housewife isn't simply a robot to be told what to do; they are living, breathing creatures who also have their own wants and passions.
In the film, one of the things I enjoyed was the transition between the scenes, i.e. going from Point A to B, then going back to A to continue it. While at first it may confuse you - as to whether what's happening takes place in the current timeline or not - you'll later understand its flow and be captured by its charm.
This film isn't fast-paced nor is it too slow - it's just right. Imagine yourself riding waves of the sea, not knowing where you are going exactly at that moment, but nonetheless enjoying the journey.
I also absolutely loved the chemistry between both leads and the atmosphere the cast gave off in general. Toko (Kaho) and Kurata's (Tsumabuki) sex scenes were breathtaking. I loved how they weren't put in the film solely for the sex; the emotions, the silent exchanges, the build-up. They were scenes that would linger on one's thoughts even after the film ends. In general, this film does that - it makes you think, reflect, and understand.
The music was also a huge plus. None of the tracks or bgms stood out in the wrong way. They all added to the atmosphere of the scenes they were in, adding beauty and life to those moments.
I would recommend this if you're looking for a film showing a different perspective on infidelity and how blaming the one who cheated in black or white reasoning isn't as simple as it is. There's always a gray area to explore in relationships and putting a ring on it shouldn't eradicate that at all. It is meant to be explored rather than caged and hidden within. I will definitely give this another rewatch just to pick on the little details and to think twice of various lines mentioned in the film.
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99 years of love (Japanese-Americans) is a story about a man who migrated long ago to the land of opportunities and peace and love (America) where he finds love and a steady job, everyone's dream.
There you see the bigotry and injustice he faces in a land not his own BEFORE the world war 2 and as soon as the war starts, the Japanese Americans are sent to isolation camps (dark part of American history that no one even talks about for some reason).
A good educational drama with a lot of heart, but still makes you feel very uneasy, how Americans of Japanese descents were treated, before the war it was not good, but after the war started it became pure oppression, this drama is an eye opener on this subject.
Cons: the story is told only from the Japanese people point of view, I would have liked more on the Americans point of view. I wouldn't say this drama is epic or perfect but it's damnnnn good.
This is one of the family human dramas that have to be seen by many people.
Shampoo gives 8.8/10
http://gooddrama.to/japanese-drama/99-nen-no-ai-japanese-americans
JUST FIVE EPISODES GO FOR IT
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Other than that, the acting, music, production, and direction are all fantastic. I was in awe of all actors! Kim Dong Hee really proved himself to be a versatile actor! I was especially surprised to see Nam Yoon Soo's role! In Temperature of Love, he completely made me fall in love with him, yet in this show, the mere sight of him annoyed me. Park Joo Hyun and Jung Da Bin also did a phenomenal job!
The show is a little exhausting to binge since it is very dark. However, it is a very thought-provoking show written in an excellent manner. There are many twists and great character development. If you are a fan of psychological thrillers, then this one is definitely made for you!!
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I don’t usually drop dramas but…
The premise of Doona! is very intriguing and attention catching. But upon actually watching it, the acting was stale and none of the characters were likeable. I got to episode 5 and it felt like the main leads had zero personality and even less chemistry. The two leads meet by chance and at their first meeting they have conflict which is never brought up again or moved on from. After that conflict Bae Suzy’s character becomes sort of a “pick me” following around the male lead. I wish her character had more of a personality because the story set the two up so well. by the time i reached episode five, I wasn’t rooting for a single character and I found myself bored trying to complete it.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I hardly write reviews but I think this drama needs a chance. Some reviews and many comments don't do justice to this drama.
I'm sure most of you read the comments and think this will be a waste of time but if you overlook the regular drama lines you will find something different, something fresh. Actually I wanted to watch the drama to see why it had all these bad reviews and comments and understood something. People expectation where off and didn't understood what the drama is really about. I believed people are caught up on the comedy, romance and forgot the melodrama part of it. There is no fluffy or extremely cute scenes. There is no evil mastermind. There are no evil parents/family in the way. There is just people learning to love and surviving while they grow old. It is a simple drama about LIFE & LOVE. Yes there is a lot of emotional baggage and pain but that is what makes it more believable for me.
The Third Charm is an excellent drama about relationships and love. The main couple start their love relationship when they are 20, then they meet again at age 27 and finally at 32. During this 12yrs they try to understand what is love and what really means to love somebody. A lot of things happen to all the characters and this dramas shows how those moments affect their lives and they way they choose to express their love.
The writers did an excellent job showing us that love can be painful, destructive but also be beautiful and give you hope. They stripped the blindfold that KDramaland has established for romantic dramas where couples always find happiness and everything has a solution. No. That is not real life and the writers made sure to show that in this drama. They set up a psychological challenge to the viewer to expand and change our perspective and ask us.. What would you do? How do you feel about this? I wonder if the actors have been through such emotional moments cause they did wonderfully portraying their characters. I applaud the main leads for choosing this complicated characters. To love somebody it takes understanding, empathy and willingness. You can't force it.
Even thou I loved and enjoyed the drama way too much I wouldn't watch it again cause it was emotionally draining for me on a very personal level. I felt very connected with the main characters at many times mostly with Joon Young. I remember feeling like them sometimes at those ages. Love in real life hurts and makes us do things that others don't understand... some call that childish. While watching I looked back into my life and saw so many flaws and mistakes I made at those ages and yeah... I laughed, got hurt, felt pain but I remembered that even with all the "bad things" I got good memories and I learned and I'm still learning to love.
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Fast Food entertainment with a secret ingredient - crack.
This show took me to the times when I was a young teen reading Harlequin Romance and being obsessed over the domineering, rude, but deep DEEP down inside actually good and caring male leads. The best type of trash entertainment anyone can offer.This is just that, but on screen format. Fang Tian Yi is hot and that’s the main trait this man possesses. That and good kissing skills. Saying Dong Ting Yao is brainless would be an understatement. Girl got so easily manipulated and used - customers at McDonalds have more respect for the workers than the majority of the characters had towards hers. The rest of the characters were just place holding NPCs.
The plot? Nothing made sense - her falling in love, him being surprised she does not trust him, the conspiracy and the barely existing investigation. The level of abuse she faced and always being completely fine the next day.
So how come I binge watch it all in one sitting? Because it’s a good type of trash tv. One that does not pretend to be more. One that is here for your entertainment and your eyes, giving your brain a moment of relaxation since you shouldn’t use it watching it. It’s a makjang, but with more shirtless scenes and abs and less kimchi slaps (but overall slaps it delivers). It’s so dramatic you end up having fun even during the intentionally sad scenes. You are here for chemistry and abs only!
Why does it also work? Because it actually has good acting and production. As cheap and ridiculous the plot is, it’s actually packed in a nice to look at box with pretty costumes, pretty faces, pretty make up, pretty set and pretty abs.
Overall, I think it should have been shorter, but it’s still highly enjoyable. I guess even with my brain off, at some point I just could not take how stupid female lead is. Enough is enough.
Now I regret my choices as I drink my coffee trying to wake up. I’m too old to stay till 3am to watch dramas.
Side note - that one guitar string they kept using, am I the only one who got Chuck Norris vibes from it?
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This review may contain spoilers
This felt like watching a shortened family drama. Most of the side couple content has been removed & they focused on the family conflict and the main couple, but it still had that family drama presentation. I think this could have worked better in the 50 episode format as well. Not because I would have wanted more of the same, but rather had the side couples each gotten a couple episode's worth of screen time I think the annoying things could have been far less pronounced and we had so many sidelined characters with immense rom-comedy potential, or I don't know we could have watched the younger sister training as a haenyo..The biggest problems I've had with this drama are the absurdity of the old breakup & the absurdity of the decade long unrequited loves. Of course I found the toxic dad extremely annoying & his sudden change of heart ridiculous as well, but that is ultimately just one bad episode of 16, so that would not have been a deal breaker.
Overall I would say that this drama has been a bit sloppily executed. The cast is absolutely amazing, but many of the actors did not take this very seriously & immersion breaking performances were not corrected. In case there is a problem, it's the director's job to call out the ng, in this drama they settled for "barely acceptable" way too many times. This is very common with family dramas, but those are typically far lower budget, so the lower production values are to be expected.
The writing is all over the place & there are countless problems with character motivations, personality adjustments and just nonsensical stuff, even for this genre.
Can Triangle haters watch this drama? Well, I'm not sure. The second ML does not really do anything, there are no three way handgrabs and whatnot, but I found his character to be extremely annoying. (It's a poorly written character, doubt any of the triangle lovers would be able to feel SLS for him)
To say something good as well, I found the non-gloomy parts of the drama quite funny & it's nice how it's relatively low on product placements. Jeju Island is the product placement, but this is the best kind there can be :-)
Ah, I almost forgot. While this drama is not very tropy, it's really annoying how 30 somethings who have dated in the past for many years acted like preteens in love & we have even gotten two typical sleep together, but do nothing scenes.
--
Based on this review it may not seem like it, but there really was a lot of wasted potential here. They had most of the ingredients to cook a great meal, but unfortunately the cooks were drunk.
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It is always nice to find a drama with almost zero antagonist. All the conflict are self inflicted by the leads mostly by the female lead. I love that the show focus on everyone on the show and seeing everyone grow.
There are any cute scenes in the show that would make you smile. the leads are just too cute together.
You would see how they fall for each other with their every encounter... How Khun Tam slowly fall in love for Cha aim while she try her best to hide her real identity. The way he looks at her such swoon worthy.
The Music is really entertaining and fun. The characters are not just one color. They are young and impulsive especially Ameeka (Cha aim). They may not be easily understand their logic but she's just too lovable and funny so you'll end up letting it go.
I would love to rewatch this show if want just to be giddy and just need a fluffy cute couple and a good laugh. Definitely Recommended. A MUST WATCH!!!
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This review may contain spoilers
Cute Moments Between Team & Win
Overall: Cute, short episodes (between 4-6 minutes) with two or three skits per episode.Content Warnings: body shaming, kicking a person off of a bed
What I Liked:
- the "warning" is really funny at the beginning of each episode
- many of the skits are cute
- the product placements were pretty well done (that baby powder one lol)
- the second skit of the 5th episode was awesome
Room For Improvement: (minor spoilers)
- even those these aren't meant to have a continuous plot, if they had put the last skit in the first episode as the first one, it would have made more sense
- I really disliked the 1st skit in the 3rd episode, Win continues to poke at Team's belly after Team asks him to stop multiple times. This skit was major cringe in a bad way, leave Team and his belly alone!
- disliked Win kicking Team off of the bed
- the comedic song for the final skit in the fourth episode didn't fit the vibe of that skit
- I wish Team was more into things, didn't like him wiping off the kiss in ep 5
- it is definitely lower budget camera/camerawork, I'm sure it was done with a very small crew
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The first reason why people would actually get interested in this movie must be that beautiful poster. Hands down, they did a great job with that. But don't get your hopes up if you expect something epic.
The story is quite simple. A business man is developing a new area and in the process is killing mermaids whose existence he of course doesn't know of. Therefore the mermaids send their most beautiful girl to kill him. That doesn't go so well because she falls in love with him - and he with her. Of course.
Well, storytelling is as fast as a high-speed train (write off authentic feelings). The scenes are completely exaggerated and (in the beginning) went over the top. After a while though it achieves a balance and holds its ground to a point where the jokes are getting quite funny. There are some hilarious moments that really stuck in my mind. And suddenly the story turns from comical to sober within seconds. The movie takes on a new perspective and shows some really nice action scenes and drama. Adding some beautiful sceneries and sometimes well done CGI and it was easy to go on with the film and finish it.
Like this the movie managed to keep me watching till the end despite all the flaws, and the leads were also kinda charming.
To summon it up:
I went from "Oh sh**, what's that?!" to "Oh well, it's nice and sweet and stupid but enjoyable."
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SLICE OF LIFE
I love this genre of cdrama; it's quite slice of life, and ml talk about movies and books every night, The acting is better than a lot of recent dramas, and I really miss this kind of drama. The before sunset reference made me tear up, I love when dramas talk about movies and books. When the weather is fine kind of drama. Yanyue and his headphones for escaping from his traumas... This drama deserves a try!Was this review helpful to you?
I dont recognised the actors well. I never knew Ma Tian Yu and Wan Qian before.
So, they arent my bias
I came to watch because they deserve to be watched!
First drama that i never skip even one single scene.
Love the leading couple and love the antagonist cast, too.
Everything went as purposely.
No dragging story eventhough it has 54 episodes. Love the plot and its pace.
Love the opening and the ending music plus song. They dont put any scene for opening instead of picture with black and white colour. So does for ending. They put picture of the cast. And it made the drama looked elegant.
This is drama that i watch raw and subs and rewatch before it come to an end.
Drama that will be kept in my memory.
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The pace is a bit slow and story is told in a very leisurely way.
The plus side and take aways from the drama would be
1. No really horrible villains / evil mother in law trying to separate the lead couple- even the girl Yuri pursuing Zheng Lan and the guy protecting Shui Guang are shown with lot of character and fair spirit
2. The CEOs character is mature and he handles issues both at work and personal life with great amount of perseverance. I like to learn such things that a good leader cannot be impulsive and have lot of ego but must treat his employees with trust and kindness. I liked how the writer /director portrayed that this character accepts that their mother leaves him and young brother to go abroad (the reason is explained in later episodes and how she redeems herself by helping her sons boyfriend to overcome her own tendency to escape from reality) and despite this comes across as a sane and balanced guy.
3. All the characters redeem themselves in the end. They prove that love, understanding and patience/ kindness help in bringing back people together
(I believe we all become what we constantly watch so watching good things will influence us to make us better people- as watching hatred revenge etc make for interesting watch but they do not make us better human beings- sorry for the preachy tone...this is a reminder to myself)
4. The guy never gives up on the girl or his love - he makes up his mind and does not let others influence him unlike other dramas which create stupid misunderstandings. And the way Yuri accepts that she is rejected is nice and refreshing. She is very cute and along with Luo Zhi make a nice pair
The negatives the lead actress's acting is a bit wooden - yes her character is supposed to be that way but the liveliness and expressions after she falls in love could have been portrayed much better. The main reason why the lead girl is blamed for her ex-boyfriends death is too thin and doesnot warrant such a heavy reaction. The accident is nothing so ghastly as they make it out to be and the scenes are repeated a lot
The episodes from 32+ etc is a bit draggy and i ran through them as it was just fluff - could have ended by 30 i think. Some characters such as the policeman and his girl in coma are shown with lot of promise but end very thinly.
But overall go for it if you are in a mood (and a lot of time 45 mins of 40 episodes) for a light romantic flick with some techie background.
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