Reviews

"As long as there are people, there will be grievances"

Swordsman 2 is a film I’ve wanted to watch for a while now. Jet Li and Brigitte Lin? Sign me up! Not quite so fast Butterfly. As someone who doesn’t like Hong Kong slapstick humor, I discovered I would have to sit through nearly 40 minutes of it before the fighting and story really kicked in. Once the story and fighting began in earnest, I was on board.

After the betrayal in the first film, Ling Woo Chung and his junior sister Ngok Leng Saan/ The Brat are headed to meet up with their brothers and leave the martial life behind. Along his drunken way, they find themselves in the middle of a skirmish. Ling takes note of a beautiful woman involved. They travel on to the village where Ling’s lover, Ying Ying, lives to meet up with the others but find bodies instead and Ying Ying gone. Fearing she’s been kidnapped just like her father who is the head of the sect, Ling realizes he’s going to have to take a detour away from retirement mountain.

The first forty minutes were needlessly confusing and painfully slap happy. Japanese ninjas were wedged into the story and never properly elaborated upon. By the time the story set in and the characters settled down, I was honestly ready to check out, but I’m glad I stuck around. Brigitte Lin’s Invincible Dawn/Dong Fang Bu Bai was the best part about the film. She gave a complex and compelling performance, giving dignity to a character that was spoken about derogatorily due to a physical and mystical sex change which to make matters worse, left her not only without a penis but as a (gasp!) woman. Any time Invincible Dawn was not on the screen, the film suffered for it.

Dawn wanted to rule the country and make her people powerful and respected. While she was a villain, the sect leader she’d imprisoned was equally as bat sh*t crazy. Ling may have wanted to get away from it all but trouble was going to come calling no matter where he went. Jet Li was at his best when Ling stopped pouting about not having enough wine and got serious about dealing with the baddies. I’m not sure I bought him as a romantic lead, fortunately Brigitte was more convincing and I could forgive anything for her.

The fights were mostly swords and creative uses of sewing needles. Mystical skills were also utilized. Spinning, jumping wire-fu, undercranking, and blurred camera work often shot in the dark was dizzying. Some of it worked for me, while other times it felt like overkill. Speaking of killing, the bodies stacked high, at least what was left of them. I don't know if it was the style or the film has degraded but it had that gauzy effect where I worried I needed to have my glasses prescription checked.

Other than the first 40 minutes and the homophobic and sexist jokes, I enjoyed the last hour of the film. Again, largely due to Brigitte Lin. Swordsman 2 is a popular film from 1992 and I’ve always been upfront with not caring for this brand of humor so I’m sure others will have a much better experience with it than I did. If you enjoy older martial arts fantasy films and/or the stars, this is one to try.

7 March 2026

Housekeeping note: My 1200th review!

Trigger warnings: SNAKES. So many snakes in so many gruesome ways. I had to FF in a few places. Decapitations, dismemberments, exploding bodies, bodies and horses cleaved in half. Eye injuries. Suicide. Buckets and buckets of blood splashed and sprayed. Rats. Sexual content but suggested more than shown.

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Park Shin Hye, The GOAT

I've become a fan of PSH ever since I watched her in The Judge from Hell. She really plays strong and badass characters the best so I ended up starting Undercover Miss Hong because of her.

I started watching this drama when the 4th episode came out and ever since then I could not wait for the next episode. I haven't watched a drama like this in quite a long time. The drama never went out of the main genre and I loved every part of it.
PSH really played her character the best and this is another drama that has PERFECT casting. I cannot imagine anyone else playing these characters. My personal favourite was KBH. Her character development really caught my eye.

But the part I liked the most was the bond everyone had and the pacing of the drama. Every character had their backstory shown which sparked a connection between us as viewers. The comedy parts were entertaining too and in these past weeks seeing the girls' bond as roommates and helping each other out really grew on me.

I also LOVED the fact that everyone teamed up in the end to bring down Hanmin. The teamwork they showcased in the last few episodes was really fun to watch. I don't usually go for such genres but I ended up starting this drama because of PSH and honestly I loved every part of it.

I can't believe today is the finale episode. I hope the finale gives us the exact thrill and satisfaction and finishes strong. Truly one of the best dramas of 2026!!

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Good if you watch 1/3 of it at 2x speed

There is a lot that works about this drama, even (in theory) the non-traditional format of multiple virtual "ML"s and a slower burn for the REAL ML. But it had a couple of weaknesses that made everything kinda unravel.

What works unconditionally:
- SIG. He is aging like a fine wine, and adds some really beautiful and subtle layers into a very understated character that weren't really in the writing, and he is without a doubt the best thing about this show. It's like a breath of fresh air once he's actually given room to fully embody his character, and those few episdoes after the mid point are the best of the show by far.
- The cameos and parody of romcoms and dating: The social commentary and poking fun at the romance genre in general provided a lot of laughs. And having a rotating cadre of famous MLs as the virtual boyfriends was delightful.

What sunk the show:
- The FL was too capricious. (I blame the writing as much as I blame Jisoo's performance). She vacillated between being oblivious of the ML or hating him up until she suddenly realized she liked him, then vacillated between wanting to be with him and wanting to never see him again up until pretty much the last moments of the show.

For the first half, if the underlying sexual tension beneath their "hate"had been played up and they'd gotten a lot more scenes together with those fun romcom "charged" moments, showing their growing attraction and conenction even while pretending to dislike each other, the virtual boyfriend format would have worked wonderfully, but little about their interactions were romantically compelling. We only see after the halfway point how absolutely smitten with the FL the ML has been this whole time, and I found myself screaming at my screen a little bit asking the show WHY they hadn't shown us more of this beforehand.

For the second half after they confess, the ML is super steadfast and consistent, but the FL refuses to learn despite making the same mistake over and over and over again and having terrible consequences. She keeps hiding things, lying to him, not facing her own feelings, and not just asking basic, easy questions or communicating. It just made their love seem childish rather than poignant by the end.

Another issue is the virtual bofyriends are given either too little or too much. Having one virtual boyfriend become almost a second lead, then another become an almost other second lead, while others are there for a half an ep, or for just one scene, made it all seem chaotic and uneven and made it hard to follow the threads of the themes or meaningful substance of the show. The boyfriends should have been more carefully paced and tied much better into the overall plot and FLs character arc than they were.

The final issue is that ALL of the IRL side charactesr are weak. They're just there to be people for the ML and FL to talk to. None of the other charactesr have character arcs or real goals or actually change by the end, or pull you in emotionally. you don't really care about any of them. Had some of them had interesting side stories to add, it would have helped keep the interest until the main story takes off.

Overall it was sometimes fun, funny, romantic, moving, and even poignant but I would not have gotten through it without heavy use of the 2x speed function.

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Storyline has this spark which makes you keep on watching, you slowly connects to the story!

Love how they’re pacing the storyline and I find the lead couple so adorable! Their dialogues feel relatable, nothing too much or over… you can easily connect with them and try to understand them on the deeper level! Sad part there’ll be only 10 episodes. Ideal for those who don’t like the story to be dragged much!

Would highly recommend it to those who have lost someone in their life or love watching Romantic and deep type love stories… where the couple share great bond and completes each-other with their presence in their life!

Why she left him? Did she got the trauma from her dad who was also facing depression into his life.. are the questions which keeps me thinking what gonna happen next..

Jinyoung & Kim Min-ju’s acting is like a breath of fresh air in summer days! <3

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Interesting storyline with suspense and a little funny.

This has a transmigration-into-a-novel storyline, which I’m not particularly fond of. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I did enjoy the leads. I thought it was good—it held my attention and moved along at a nice pace. The novel they entered could have been stronger. The cast was solid, and the side stories drew me in, though they could have been developed more. There’s court politics between princes and palace harem infighting, with well-acted drama that also includes some funny moments. Amid the leads trying to figure out how to survive the novel’s plot, there’s a bit of romance, which for me always makes a drama more enjoyable.
With this drama being fantasy it did blur the lines between what could be believable or not.
That being said the drama was carefree viewing. There were some hard choice tragic moments that will break your heart, but you move on quickly.
One thing that is unclear to me is how the antagonists knew so much about what the leads were dong.

All in all liked the leads and the drama and gave it a fair score.

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A very low stakes but surprisingly satisfying rom-com.

I'm generally not really a fan of idol-dramas. I understand that fandoms sell advertising $, but it so often reflects in the quality. I was definitely ready to have to put my judgement aside to enjoy this. But it has been utterly unnecessary. This is definirely NOT an idol drama, though it does feature a couple of actors who come from that realm.

This show is actually good. It is a great antidote in troubling times. Nothing is expected of you as a viewer except to turn off your brain and be entertained. Just go ahead and enjoy it!

I am convinced that troll factories (sometimes fandoms) have search terms set up, so they can target their toxic engagement. Or in fandom circumstances, gatekeep. Along with *female *gender *trans *race *misogyny *incel...you can insert any idol name and expect to get trolled. I apologise for not using the female actors' name but I'm wanting to stick with my experience of this show as light, funny, stomach fluttering cheese-charm. I will say, that this is by far her best performance. It has become embarrassingly apparent to me in recent years, that I find screeches and deep, belly-based shouts, in comedies, hilarious. I really don't know why. I suppose I must do the personal work and grow up as a human...but anyway, she does a fantastically funny screech. It is put to great use in this drama. I laughed out loud a lot! And Seo In Guk is as belly-butterflyingly great as ever. And the support cast, that amazing list of actors, is hilarious! I can definitely imagine myself rewatching this, when I'm in need of something low-demand, entertaining and PRETTY!

For those who still require some brain stimulation, I am intrigued by the BoD system. We know that personalised sex dolls exist. We know that people believe they are in relationships with AI boyfriends/girlfriends. Interestingly the uptake of these systems, is predominantly by cis-gender heterosexual men. I do wonder about how popular a BoD system would actually be amongst women. And I wonder, how potentially, socially catastrophic, in a culture like SK, with already very low birth rates and highly reported gender-inequality. That, for me, would be an interesting discussion.

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Best recent romcom drama for me!!

I finished watching the entire series in just one sitting, which already says a lot about how engaging it was. This is actually my first time writing a full review for any of Jisoo’s dramas. When this project was first announced, I was already very excited for it to come out, and after watching it, I can confidently say that it exceeded my expectations.

This series screams rom-com to its core. It fully embraces the genre and gives exactly what a romantic comedy should offer—heart, humor, and emotional moments—while still delivering something deeper. Throughout the series, you find yourself rooting for Mirae to finally open her heart again and allow herself to love and be happy.

The first few episodes were mainly dedicated to introducing the virtual boyfriends in the VR system. One thing I really loved was how Mirae had great chemistry with all of them. The concept of the virtual reality boyfriends was not only entertaining but also meaningful to Mirae’s character development.

Eunho, in particular, became my second favorite virtual boyfriend. He was essentially a replica of Mirae’s ex, but without the flaws that once hurt her. Through Eunho, Mirae was able to reflect on her past relationship and finally gain a sense of closure. He reminded her that what she had with her ex was once beautiful and genuine. Their relationship may have ended because of changes they could not accept, but that does not erase the fact that what they had was real and meaningful.

Mirae’s character perfectly represents someone who has developed a fear of change. She sees change as something negative and constantly worries that the happiness she has in the present will eventually disappear. Eunho helped her remember that even when things change, the past can still remain as a beautiful memory. Although Eunho did not completely solve her fear of change, he helped her finally let go of the emotional weight of her previous relationship. Some viewers might feel that Mirae should have had a final conversation with her ex for closure, but personally, I think the way the story handled it was already perfect. Mirae eventually realized that her struggle was not really with her ex—it was within herself.

Then there is Yeong-il, who plays an important role in helping Mirae realize her true feelings for Gyeongnam. Yeong-il represents the “perfect” virtual boyfriend, and I appreciated how the writers stayed faithful to the rom-com genre by making the virtual boyfriends likable and emotionally engaging. I’m also glad that the series did not turn them into villains, because the story could have easily gone in that direction.

At the same time, the Boyfriend on Demand app and device felt somewhat unsettling. It is scary in a way because it feeds people’s emotions with something artificial, yet it still leaves them wanting more. What I appreciated about the story is that it stayed grounded in reality. The technology was presented as just a tool—something that people should control, not something that should control them.

Mirae and Gyeongnam’s love story was truly beautiful. Their relationship follows the classic enemies-to-lovers trope, but it was executed very well. Both characters were written as imperfect yet relatable, which made their development feel natural and believable.

Gyeongnam is easily one of the best male leads I have seen in recent K-dramas, and Mirae is just as compelling as a female lead. This drama gave viewers characters that feel refreshing and sincere. In recent years, many K-dramas have been difficult to stay invested in, but this series managed to deliver a story that felt complete and satisfying.

From the story itself to the pacing, the OST, and the cinematography, everything worked together beautifully. And honestly, this drama proves that you can trust Jisoo when it comes to choosing her scripts.

Overall, Boyfriend on Demand delivered even better than expected. Those who refuse to watch it simply because of the actors involved are truly missing out on a fun, heartfelt story and the artistry that the series offers.

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Chaotic Comedy with Platonic Couple

I watched this on the day of the released. So it's kind of blind item box and i enjoy this drama while i was not knowing the leads when i watch this. It's like finding hidden gem and i am kind of miss this kind of feeling. The 10 episodes are quite violence for some people so viewer discretion is advised.

A new script for duanjus, the plot is rich, the pacing is tight, the progression is natural, the scenes are relatable, and there are frequent laughs. Almost every episode has a climax. The interactions between the ML and FL are natural, fun, warm, and sweet. The mutual redemption of these two "bitter people" is more like comrades-in-arms sharing hardships than lovers.

For the summary, FL is sent to a mental hospital by her wicked mother-in-law, where she meets ML, who has been framed by his stepmother and younger brother. The two work together to escape and seek revenge. During this process, they face numerous crises, and ultimately ML reclaims the Li Group. Their relationship also gradually warms up and the process is quite natural. The plus in here FL was quite romantic allergy person and she cannot be romantic for a second (Hello, other comrades) while ML was hopeless romantic person. Their dynamic relationship perfect for this chaotic comedy. There is few kisses scene but the actual strong point is not romance and i feel the relationship is more into platonic.

Overall atmosphere leans towards warmth and humor rather than revenge. FL's mother-in-law, though hateful, has a pitiable side; her later realization and lifelong remorse are a fitting punishment. ML's brother, though bad, is also innocently foolish—a truly tragic figure. The only dissatisfaction is that FLs mother's storyline wasn't fully developed before the ending. The cons is the episode is quite too few for the interesting premises they need to add 10 episode more.

Zhang Rui En and Zhang Yan Qing performances are incredibly natural; ML doesn't come across as stiff or pretentious, and FL's carefree and eccentric personality is truly exceptional. It's hard to find a better replacement. ML and FL are both handsome and beautiful, the dialogue is in their own voices, the filters are pleasing, and the overall viewing experience is excellent.

Recommended to Watch

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A Romance That Can't Compete With Its Own Fantasy

The series starts with a genuinely interesting idea: a virtual reality app where users can experience the perfect romantic partner. An algorithm creates the ideal man — attentive, attractive, always available, always saying exactly what you want to hear.

For a brief moment, the show even seems aware of the implications. It hints at something deeper: the illusion of algorithmic romance and the uncomfortable gap between artificial validation and real human relationships.

But that idea quickly disappears.

By the middle of the series, the AI concept is mostly abandoned and the story falls back into a very familiar K-drama formula. The heroine repeatedly rejects the real man in her life — not because she dislikes him, but because no human can realistically compete with a fantasy designed to be perfect.

Ironically, the show criticizes this exact problem within its own dialogue. In one scene a writer complains that people read her webtoon only because the male lead is handsome. In another, a character dismisses concerns about childish storytelling by pointing out that many successful webtoons are built on simple plots.

In the end, this drama becomes the very thing it quietly mocked.

When the protagonist finally chooses the real man, it doesn’t feel like a meaningful decision. It feels like resignation.

Almost as if the message were:
This is the best reality can offer.

Which leaves the audience with an unintended question:

Is a perfect illusion better than an imperfect reality?

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It's not bad....it's just not good.

I wouldn't say this is the most boring movie I've ever watch, because honestly it isn't. The story itself was entertaining enough.

The main plot I would describe it as mouse and cat chase between a demon and the demon hunters team. There is not backstory, or in-depth knowledge of characters. It's a simple story with three main characters trying to fight evil forces...with fists and exorcisms.

What I liked was that the minimum of exorcisms knowledge was used in the movie, so that made it a little bit credible. Other than that , it's fantasy. Good movie overall to watch it on a slow day.

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a beautiful and healing masterpiece

The growth. The realizations. The love. The sacrifices. The friendship. The brotherhood. The love for the sport. This series tackled so much and was able to give justice to everything.

From the love of the sport billiards. To the family and brotherhood/sisterhood built from the sport as well. The story perfectly woved all these together.

And can I just gush at the level of whipped the male main character is from the get go? The weekend 14hr commute just to spend a couple of moments with her- and this is just a couple of weeks after they’ve met. His love for food and his reasoning for it and why he sees that as a perfect way to bond. It’s just so heartwarming!

I also want to give props to the honest and reliable bond that both main characters have with each other. It isn’t flashy. BUT it is the kind that feels home. Their relationship feels like the warm cup you need during winter. The blanket you need at night. It honestly just feels like the perfect company you need on any season in your life- it feels like that because it’s exactly the way they also portrayed it!

The romance was alrady top notched. Definitely 100/100! Adding the brotherhood, the supportive and loving family, this just made this series a billion times better.

The brotherhood itself needs its own paragraph because his friends never gave up on him. Even when they are on opposing teams or cities represented they both still made a truce to make sure that their long time friend was/is okay. They made sure he goes back to where he truly belongs. I mean that kind of bond and love is just insanely heartwarming! His bestfriend even went and lived to a different country just to be with him- that kind of loyalty is on a different level! This series is just so beautiful! It makes me want to tear up nonstop!

Honestly, to anyone who’ll ever read this. Watch it. It’s such a healing show.

PS. The music is also so freaking fantastic I need it as my ringing tone!

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Good idea and message, awkward realisation

The idea of this drama was a good one... in short, showing what virtual reality can offer meanwhile, and showing, what it definitely can't offer.
While everything in a virtual reality is hyper-perfect, hyper-glaring, hyper-cheezy and hyper carefree, in the end, it's meaningless, hollow, empty and unfulfilling. Only the real deal is that - the real deal with real emotions, real joy, but also real danger of getting hurt. So far, so good.

The realisation of this drama did lack in several aspects though. Contrary to many others I do not think it was Jisoo's acting, I even think she did comparably good in this one (and don't really undertand why she gets bashed so much when there - at least in my opinion - are a ton of educated actresses who are acting way worse, but anyways)

What this one lacked is realistically showing that significant difference between virtual realities and real life emotions.
The whole relationship between the FL and the ML, which only started in episode 6, came totally out of nowhere. Full five episodes before there was not even a hint the ML had only remote interest in the FL - no, not even hidden, also not hidden in obvious bickering, it was just non-existent. So when the ML suddenly confesses to the FL, it seems (and that is the bad thing especially in that storyline) like another artificial, cheesy line, not fitting reality - just like in the virtual reality programes the FL visited before. Accordingly, the following interaction between the FL and ML feel - totally unreal, staged, like some lines learned before a play. Also Seo In-guk, (who in former dramas ('The smile has left your eyes'!!) proved he is a fantastic actor, especially if it comes to real life drama) couldn't safe this, the writing and directing was just not good enough.

So, unfortunately this did not deliver, while the idea and basic storyline where interesting and had a good message.

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