Reviews

I wanted so much to love it but it fell short

Years ago I saw & loved the original Taiwanese version- & Highly anticipated a Korean version, especially with D.O. in a romantic role . As of this writing it is on Amazon Prime video [for purchase.] I dread saying it but to be brutally honest, [and honesty in this instance does feel brutal] It felt rushed , right from the start. The original version suffered from the same issue . There needed to be a sense that the leads were meeting over a few weeks , if not a few months to build a relationship. Another negative was that the camera gives you whiplash as it bounces back & forth around in different scenes (piano competition "duel" for instance) . Beautiful scenes lacked seamlessness making for a disjointed storyline. I blame the director & the editor for depriving us of perfection :P
That said; I will watch it again, good cast, lovely romance (even if it is too quickly started)

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One long joke . Stuffed with tropes, but Daniel Henney is in it

the only thing keeping this movie from a 1 star rating is Daniel Henney & the fact that they keep repeating Sweet Sorrow 's song "Tangdanghan Kunyoga Arumdada (Seducing Mr.Perfect OST)".
There is really too many of the typical tropes: getting drunk & doing karoke then mouthing off at the boss, the piggy back ride, the drunken kiss, the constant running into each other, the embarrassing moments. And though Henney really does his part, somehow the movie just doesn't work. It doesn't pull your heart strings or cause you to care.Maybe it's because the 2 leads don't have really any chemistry. But mostly I think alot of the fault lies in the way the characters are written.(& of course the tropes) The romantic happy ending is cut short & skips to a more modern one with Henney confessing to her family that he loves her, he just has no plans to marry her. Yeah, that pretty much puts him in the same category as all of June's former boyfriends...using her until they get tired of her. So everything she's learned about self respect is put aside

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unmemorable

it's one of the first Asian movies I watched, back when I did not know that mydramalist existed, so all I wrote for notes is the rating. I remember the premise (it's the same as the American remake ) but this a better movie. I found the story sad. I enjoyed the dancing & the music. I especially like how there is not alot of chatter for filler, but it lets the story have quiet reflective or other quiet but powerful moments, something American films rarely do. I'm not partial to sad stories, & this was a one sided romance that wasn't going to go anywhere, so it really didn't appeal to me

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back to gamble

i was so glad that i was able to watch it on japan airlines, on the way to japan.

this movie continues 2 years later from the drama, trillion game. if you are wondering if you should watch the drama before the movie, you have to or else you would be very confused.

haru and his company is so back with the dream of being the first company to open up a casino in japan... the start was never easy with the objections of the citizens... how would trillion game win the heart of the citizens?

after winning the heart of the citizen, trillion game casino is opened with gaku's top notch security. but no matter, how good the security is, there will always be a loophole which brings trouble to trillion game! did haru got shot? well, i shall not tell you about it

it is a happy ending with the possible of a second season! [i really wish they would have a second season!]

now to my favourite part of all, haru x kirika! they met after 2 years, once again as rivals- haru freaking introduced himself as her fiance in a joking manner and kirika who was being cool played along with his jokes! their relationship did developed a little from here! i shall not tell you it further and shall be a surprise for you to unbox!

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Surprisingly watchable — once you get past the rocky start.

I went into this movie not expecting much, and the beginning kind of confirmed that — chaotic monster fights, people shouting, no real context, and a truly terrible background score. But hey, the CGI? Surprisingly solid.

Then the story picks up. It gets intriguing, layered, and suddenly I cared.

Wang Duo, who was supposed to be a support character, totally stole the show. Not only was he in a main role, but he played two characters — and did it well. Honestly impressive.

Deng Lun’s character was emotionally complex, carrying a lot of emotional baggage, and his development was well-written.

The romance was tender, beautifully told, and thankfully no forced kiss scenes — which would’ve completely ruined the vibe.

On the flip side, I’ve never been a fan of Mark Chao, and unfortunately, I couldn’t connect with his character at all.

BUT… let’s be real. Half-naked Deng Lun and Wang Duo in a cat fight? Absolute gold. 🐍🔥 That alone made it worth the watch.

Oh, and the BGM? Still not great, but it graduated from “painful” to “passable.”

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lead characters delightful, but the secret destroys that so things don't end well

I was really disappointed that while both main characters were delightful, the ending was not. It may be a culture difference.. My world view is that, hope is central to life and lying is selfish & wrong. Hence the reason why this is a bomb.
In a nutshell: girl has secret that will destroy the boy, and it pretty much does.
to explain I have to use spoilers
Guy does not want to fall in love & tried hard not to admit he has. He even tries to not encourage the girl. His father left he & his mother when he was a toddler & his mother had a nervous breakdown & now he has to take care of her.(They show him washing his naked mother!! EU!!! just wrong!!) He lives on a tiny island where people visit or come to train in the military, but no one stays as there is no real economy or much to do (that's modern). He does NOT want to be left again. Along comes a real nice girl, who takes a fancy to him & pursues his affections, knowing that he does not want to set himself up to get hurt (left). She convinces him to enter into a relationship with her by telling him that she is not unfaithful & will never be. Problem: she has lupus & is dying. She does not tell him ! That's selfish !! She is not supposed to go out in the sun as it makes her sicker, but she wants to be with him so much that she spends days out in the sun with him (she could have told him). SO eventually she gets worse, flies off without saying goodbye in person & then dies. Except her twin sister returns to the island pretending to be her dead sister, until he figures it out. She is no substitute for her sister to him, so he becomes a broken hearted faithful visitor to his dead girlfriend's grave. happy ending ? NO !

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Insane

This movie had me itching my chin out of confusion the whole time, there were so many freaking plot twists and things happening that it just made it so confusing. But it was sooo good, the suspense and feeling of dread that get for the main character is honestly insane, plus the acting of Jong seo (yeongsook) she plays the psycho part so well its insane. The fact that seoyeon is now most likely stuck in a never ending loop of switching between realities is honestly so scary, and I feel bad for her. She got terrorized and tortured for just trying to help out someone else, which to some extent I feel bad for yeongsook since she was emotionally abused but nonetheless that isn't an excuse for her psychotic behavior. To end this off I wanna say that this was such an amazing and entertaining movie, I wanna give it 100/100 but i was chin itching too much

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Hijack 1971: Not Just the Plane, My Sanity Got Hijacked Too

Missed it in theaters and honestly? Biggest regret 😭 The tension was SO REAL bro I was literally yelling at the hijacker like “CAN YOU NOT?!?” Yeo Jin Goo as the villain?? Slayed. I hated him… but also cried for him. Complex king behavior 😭

Story’s tight, fast-paced, no boring bits. Sung Dong Il = pilot dad of the year. Chae Soobin… love u but STOP ASKING QUESTIONS IN EMERGENCIES 😭 You did help tho so forgiven 💅

Flight attendants? Slay. Passengers? Surprisingly not annoying (thank god). BUT THE COPILOT — Ha Jung Woo, sir, you EAT every role. Zero flop era. Acting? On another planet. I clapped. I cried. I saluted ✈️

Also based on a true story?! I was not ready for the feels. RIP real-life copilot 🕊️💔

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Some movies are made with Heart.... and "The Way Home" belongs to that category

Some movies make you speechless, the beauty and soul of the movie can't be described in words. This particular movie belongs to that kind. You can't forget the one who played the role of grandmother.

I truly regret that i could only had the privilege to watch just 3 movies of this film maker Lee Jeong Hyang. Don't know why she didn't making movies anymore after 2011, also there is no more new informations available about her in the internet. Anyway I truly hope, if she could see this review. I truly thankful to you for giving this kind of a movie as a viewer. Truly it's a big shame for us to not got much movies from you though u will always remembered and loved for your movies. A fan from India

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intense ethnic barriers & commonalities is not for the faint hearted

D.O. is incredible & the whole movies is Brilliantly done; great dancing, well acted, But no happy ending. The fault is not in the movie, but in that it was not a movie for me. I am the wrong audience for this very serious story . The trauma that the characters faced will haunt me & perhaps it is meant to be that way, but I am unable to be pragmatic about such things. I would have passed on this important but searing raw portrayal of ethnic barriers & commonalities. I can only imagine how meaningful this is to Koreans, for whom this is recent past for . While I loved the dancing & grew fond of the characters, the intensity of the drama was too much for me....if I had known I would not have watched it because once seen, such things can not be forgotten.(will give me nightmares)

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Not light hearted. Has a good bit of melodrama

(has same actress as my girlfriend is a 9 tailed fox, which is why I watched it)
Though Shin Min-a steals every scene she is in. This is not a light hearted film, but a drama where Shin Min-a does a good bit of agonizing , waiting & crying. Having said
that, it's Still, very enjoyable. It's hard to grasp why Seun-beom Ryu is so insecure about his looks (scar is not disfiguring) & so the premise is kind of ridiculous. I was not impressed with his selfishness in his self sacrificing. Has a happy ending

Spoiler

but incongruously, he has both his eyebrow and his scar back at the end

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