The first episode is honestly a hot mess. Watch it, but hold off on your judgment.

Once you get past the confusion of the beginning, this drama isn't too bad. I liked that the main character stood up for herself, and I liked the friendships with classmates. At the same time, however, it was hard to tell what the plot actually was, and the story kind of seemed like one cliche after another.

Having watched this after Put Your Head On My Shoulder, I definitely had trouble getting used to Xing Fei's dubbed voice; the voice they gave her was honestly a bit shrilly and annoying, but I got used to it.

My favorite character was probably Han Yu, and I wish he got more screentime.

Leer más

I watched this because it was iconic. And from the very second the FL started talking, I knew I'd hate her. I hated the main female lead from start to finish—I don't know if it was the acting or the actual character, but Geum Jan Di was pouty, whiny, and flat out annoying.

I never really cared for Jun Pyo either—and I definitely felt second lead syndrome, though at the same time my heart didn't care THAT much. The more I think about it the more problematic it seems, and Jun-Pyo simply seems violent and abusive.

The story is honestly hard to believe — it's the very cliche kind where literally EVERYTHING happens to the main leads and it's pretty nonsensical.

With that being said, all 5/10 of my rating is for THE SECOND SHIP. I SHIP THEM SO DAMN HARD AND I AM SO HAPPY WITH THE WAY THEY GOT TOGETHER. THIS 7/10 IS FOR THEM. The second reason is the OST, which I gotta say, is pretty damn good.

Leer más

This was super cute, fluffy, and I just loved everything about it at first. The ML and FL were likable, the relationship was hilarious, and just the cinematography and aesthetic of the entire drama was adorable.

The biggest problem I have is honestly the way mental health was addressed, which, no matter how I think about it, was really problematic especially in the later episodes. While I understand that the character struggling was the antagonist, it seemed like they were just a hindrance and talk about suicide/self-harm were never sufficiently addressed as an issue.

Leer más

When I first started watching this, I was honestly expecting a horror/thriller. And yes, there were a lot of moments that had me at the edge of my seat — who's going to make it and who's not? The stakes always felt so high.

They got me so invested in all the characters and fleshed out the character development for pretty much everyone, which is really hard to do in a simple two hour movie. I was really emotionally connected to all the characters and yes, there was a lot of crying.

Essentially, this is so much more than a zombie movie. Yes, there are zombies and they freaked me out, but the story was so much more about human nature. There's a lot of social commentary about how the homeless is treated, about selfishness, about how easily distrust is sewn between one another...I felt a lot of references to Macbeth and Lord of the Flies when I was watching this — but with ten times the emotional impact.

Leer más

A Painful Drag

I was really excited for this one and I know it had gotten huge but goddamn. This was insanely painful to watch.

The main plot of the story is comprised of characters never communicating with each other, whether it's between family members or between the main leads. The family members don't treat each other with respect or talk through arguments — it's just yelling.

As for the romance, I've seen my fair share of nosy second leads but good god, the main leads just made it so EASY. The second leads barely had to do anything before the leads made assumptions, got jealous, and stopped talking to each other. Even after they got together, the relationship was comprised of keeping secrets or "not having the chance to tell each other" things until they found out through other means. It just all got really repetitive and was even more annoying because everything felt self-inflicted.

I also just hate the way they wrote the female characters in this drama — it was like the writers kept forcing their male characters to "take care" of them by making them immensely illogical and childish. Whether it was just being angry at the idea that two people in a relationship need their own space, or just trying to play hard-to-get to the point of messing with the other person's feelings, I just really despised how the women were portrayed. The main lead was really childish and overreactive, and the side characters were the same. TLDR: Nobody communicated. Ever.

Overall, this was an irritating watch and it took a long time for me to get through it — I know Xiao Zhan and Yang Zi are A-Listers but the chemistry was mediocre and the plot really dragged everything else down.

Leer más

Nuance and Cinematography

This is hands down the most nuanced and most fleshed out version of Hana Yori Dango (that I've watched), and for a drama that seems so chock full of cliches and out-of-the-blue plot developments and cliches, it felt like F4 Thailand was the most cohesive of them all too — I never once felt like things were underdeveloped or came out of nowhere. Side character arcs were all given their time and space.

I really love how modernized this is in terms of all the tropes; HYD is basically a hodgepodge of all the tropes but F4 Thailand managed to pull them off without making them seem tired and annoying. The bullying, insecurity, economic class, familial pressure themes were kept really consistent throughout the entire show even as different characters come in and out.

I do think the vibe of the show was pretty modernized as well — older versions of HYD added a really dramatic layer to some of the scenes and I was glad that everything just felt a little more realistic (as realistic as HYD could be, at least). Gorya was a really likable protagonist who used her brain a lot and didn't rush into things without thinking. Thyme's character development was done really well. The downside, and I don't know if this has to do with the fact that I know the story, but it's that I never felt as though the stakes were very high.

I have to admit that HYD was never my favorite drama so there are some arcs that I wish weren't included but of course they were, and there were other arcs like Kavin/Kaning that I wish had gotten more time to be developed.

I also think that for the most part, the actors did a great job — but you could definitely tell who was experienced and who was a rookie; I felt as though I could feel Bright and Win's emotions with my entire soul, but when other characters were crying or breaking down, it sort of just felt like acting.

Overall, definitely the best version of HYD out there; I think a bigger HYD fan might enjoy it but I admit it was never one of my favorite stories anyways. Even then, I felt like cinematography throughout the entire show was beautiful and I really liked that there were even mini tropes that were gently subverted in small scenes. The OST is beautiful and these are pieces of artistry that anyone can enjoy.

Leer más

Thought-provoking and masterful storytelling

This is the type of movie that starts out quiet and funny, but spirals down into something more scary and dramatic, all without being jarring. The subtlety was one of Parasite's best traits, and it's why I couldn't stop thinking about the symbolism, the theories afterwards. I've found so many small hints that I missed while watching it and now it just blows my mind more

The cinematography was beautiful. My favorite was the montage of the family carrying out their grand plan for the housekeeper, but throughout the movie you could tell that every scene was thought-out and its message about the distribution of wealth and elitism was depicted brilliantly in the cinematography alone.

Overall, Parasite was so cleverly made, and all the characters were very realistic, and the movie sets up people on both sides without vilifying anyone. The music was also edited in really well — when things were about to happen, the music got sinister and I felt nervousness. In the moment, though, there was nothing that really made me feel surprised. The epilogue and ambiguity of many plot points are things that you grow to appreciate, but it's a movie that you have to think about afterwards.

Leer más

A slow burn

It took me a long time to get into this — I rarely watch historical dramas, much less something so heavy, so I had a lot of trouble with the character tree and not really understanding what the backstory was.

About 25 episodes in, however, I really started to hit my stride. I was really interested in how the different plots would unfold, and especially in the tension between the main characters Mei Changsu and Jingyan as we gradually got a few identity reveals — none of them disappointed.

Overall, I ended up really enjoying this one and would probably enjoy it a little more had it not been for the ending, which I understand thematically but still feels tacked on. It always feels kind of underwhelming when a drama adds a mini plot after the main one is over. It feels unexplained and rushed, and I really will just…pretend it doesn’t exist, to be honest.

Leer más

Inferior to the prequel

On a surface level, I don't think either this film nor the first film were that unique — the premise and plot development is all relatively expected. But while Part 1 had a really powerful screen presence from its main characters, Part 2 opts for a more cliche, unspeaking "fish-out-of-water" superpowered lead, who doesn't really stand out from the overwhelming number of side characters (there like like four different antagonist groups) who all have the same "badass bad guy" personality.

The plot itself does feel less directed. Whereas there was a clear goal in the first one, this one felt much more passive; we spent basically the entire movie waiting for the bad guys to catch up to where our main characters were, siting still.

With that being said, as someone who understands both English and Mandarin, I did not really enjoy either of those groups. The English sounded fine, but the acting was not good, and it was very annoying to hear "Chief! Chief!" every other line. The Mandarin just did not sound good.

I think the final thing that just made this film feel more unserious was the special effects. There was something very nerve-wracking about all the Part 1 fights being up close and personal, even though everyone had super strength. It made everything scarier and bloodier. In this one, they opt for something in the vein of what the kdramas Strong Woman Bong-soon and Strong Girl Nam-soon went for — people getting punched and flying back 500 feet. It feels more comedic and doesn't at all match the serious tone the film seems to want to go for.

While I didn't dislike the main character, she was just...fine, especially in contrast to the main character from Part 1. In fact, it was amazing how much screen presence Ko Ja-yoon had when she finally appeared, and I realized I'd rather have gotten a story about her journey to getting where she is now, rather than time jumping to her return.

Leer más

Interesting premise but...

I felt like the premise was really interesting and there was a lot of potential for this to become a really thrilling mystery, but it suffers from something that many mid-2010s dramas do, which is that the romance and the attempts to smush the leads together hinders the show's ability to be darker.

The romantic set-up is a very common kdrama one: childhoods connected by tragedy. I'm fine with this, but the ML's story was just so much more interesting and the chemistry with his brother and the serial killer so much more intriguing that all his scenes with the FL felt just so "blah," as if they were going through the motions.

With that being said, the trio — Lee Hyun, Min, and Lee Jun Young — were absolutely the best part of the show. Their performances were very convincing, and there was a lot of tension in all their shared scenes, and I was also really excited to how the story would play out.

On the other hand, I think the individual cases were fine, but didn't really grab me; in fact, they were a little vague at times, or it just didn't that high stakes. It didn't really help that the FL felt very reactive throughout, never really planning or investigating anything until it was right under her nose, both when it came to individual cases and with the overarching plot.

Now, the ending really does leave a lot to be desired. I felt like they rushed through it (which a lot of kdramas fall victim to) and it focused on giving us unnecessary closure for the romance instead of for the more interesting thriller plot.

Leer más

Captivating...but too much girl-on-girl hate

So I didn't realize, before going into this, that there was a supernatural element to it. It definitely added a lot to the show's intrigue and made Nanno a very (satisfyingly) overpowered character, though I found I had to suspend disbelief several times. The anthology aspect of the drama also added a lot to that, knowing that she would win and everything would start over in the next episode.

The downside of an anthology, however, is that there are always stronger and weaker episodes — and in this case I think the show front-loaded its stronger ones. My favorites were The Ugly Truth, and Social Love, with maybe Lost & Found as an honorable mention. The weaker ones were the three at the end before the finale: Trap, Thank You Teacher, and Rank.

I'm also a little mixed on the themes. While I enjoyed the variety in the stories and they do cover several different topics, from class/wealth disparities, to social media, to beauty standards, there's one running theme that's very frustrating to see, and that's girl-on-girl hate. 90% of the episodes have girls attempt murder to set up SA situations with either Nanno or other girls over a boy's affections, and it's a little frustrating that so many plots resorted to this instead of finding new character motivations and exploring other aspects of dark human nature — of which there is much to explore.

Leer más