Reviews

First off, I decided to watch this movie because i've been studying Chinese history, as well as reading a biography of Mao Zedong which really pigued my interest. Seeing how this movie, had Mao Zedong in it, I decided to watch it. And this is what I thought...

Story 7/10: This entire movie is basically lifted off of the history books so it doesn't really have a "beginning or an end" since history never does. It starts off from the end of the Qing Dynasty and ends after the initial establishment of the Chinese Communist Party. The reason why I gave this a 7 and not a 10, was because while it was somewhat interesting in some parts it was slow.


Acting/Cast 10/10: They were all flawless. I enjoyed all the actors. I only found one thing funny and that was Mao's personality as well as him being portrayed as a innocent guy who wants only the best for his country. I'm not sure if that was really how his personality was or if it was just how they were portraying him.

Music 7/10: The music was fine and suited the movie just well. None of the songs were memorable though.

Rewatch Value 4/10: I'm not a rewatcher, and this movie isn't a movie I would rewatch.

Overall 8/10: This was a good movie that fans of Chinese history would most likely enjoy. Keep in mind, this was made for China, where the Chinese Communist Party is still in power, so nothing negative about the CCP was shown. Regardless though, I enjoyed watching it.

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I have mixed feelings about this drama. Maybe my expectations were too high, because of the great reviews, and because of how much I was pleasantly surprised by Sungkyunkwan Scandal (both were based off of books by the same novelist). Don't get me wrong, there are many great things about this drama, but towards the end I felt myself losing interest.

During the first half of the series I was extremely excited. The story of the royals plotting, and scheming, was great. I loved following their rivalries, obsessions, and ruthless ambitions. I thought it was even more impressive considering the fact that most of the main cast was so young. The performances by the teen actors were really great. I think Kim Yoo Jung, and Yeo Jin Goo could rival any adult couple with their performances. l loved watching all the relationships develop, and the fact that there were such strong backstories for the characters. I loved some characters, and loved to hate others. I was instantly hooked, but then all the characters grew up...

Once the characters matured, the show lost some of it's spark for me. I'm not sure if it was because of the pacing, or the constantly depressing tone. It was clear from the first episode that this story would be tragic, but many times in the 2nd half I was bored watching characters cry & scream over the same things. It also seemed irrational for so many characters to be so determined to be with people who didn't love them, so it was harder for me to sympathize with them. The story always managed to pull me back in however with new revelations, or a great scene, but there were still long periods that felt repetitive. This made it much harder to stay excited.

I can't really blame the adult cast, because many of the adult cast members matched their younger counterparts well. I thought Kim Soo Hyun did well as the king, and he really seemed like an older Yeo Jin Goo. Jung Il Woo didn't really look much like his younger version, but I knew to expect a great performance from him. The Queen, Seol, and Jan Shil were all great casting matches. I think the most flawless transition between the young and older version of the character was Jin Ji Hee and Nam Bo Ra. I also think that Nam Bo Ra had one of the most moving scenes in the entire series. On the other hand, one character that was a disappointment was Song Jae Hee as the older Heo Yeom. He just seemed so much older than the rest of the cast, and It was distracting hearing him described as being so handsome when, no offense but... he's one of the least attractive men in the cast.

I think one of the biggest character issues I had was with Wol/older Yeon Woo. I thought she visually matched Kim Yoo Jung, and gave some good emotional performances in some scenes, but she lost all of her charm. She transformed from a young but wise independent thinker, into a willing doormat with a blank wide eyed stare. I really had a hard time believing that such a well read young girl would be so self sacrificing towards the king. I think it also effected their romantic moments together. I think Han Ga In meant for her performance to be melancholy, and altruistic, but instead she often looked bored to me.

Even though all of the main characters had at least one epic crying scene, i barely teared up while watching this. Nam Bo Ra, and Yeo Jin Goo came the closest to making me cry, but I did not have an emotional reaction to many of the sadder parts, which is crazy since the 2nd half is mostly sad parts. Even when characters died my eyes were dry, and I am often a crybaby. I enjoyed watching the relationship between wol, the king, the prince, and the queen, but it lacked enough chemistry to get me emotionally invested in their stories. You still may want to keep tissues nearby just in case, a lot of them.

Speaking of story... The plot itself was a good one, but the pacing of the episodes got worse and worse. There were too many repetitive scenes ( i said this already didn't i. irony...), which fueled much of my boredom. There was also too much reliance on flashbacks, including a flashback of a scene that happened seconds earlier. I didn't lose interest in the story, I just lost patience with how it was being told. The last episode is a perfect example of that. They rushed through endings for major characters, some pretty tragic endings, then filled the time with a silly story about learning to play an instrument. I was satisfied with the ending, but not moved by it.

I would recommend this drama to people who like tragedies (like 49 days, or Sorry I love you). Those looking for more romance (like in Sungkyunkwan Scandal, or Goong) may be disappointed. Those looking for comedy will find some funny moments, but not enough to balance all the crying, sulking, and screaming. Overall I liked the story, but thought the drama was inconsistent. I doubt i would watch this again, but maybe I'd like it more the 2nd time since I now know what to expect.

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If you want to make a fool out of yourself i suggest you watch this crap. Why? well here it goes...

STORY - the story is more like of a combination of You're Beautiful with a touch of Dream High. It is not that interesting that makes you look forward into watching the next episode. To put it simply the story is shallow, what added to its shallowness is that they were a lot of missing loops on the story which i think was brought about by cutting of 2 of its episodes that's why they all rushed it over.

ACTING/CAST - the acting is pretty much ok, especially the main girl. Among all of those dramas where the 'girl pretend to be guy' thing, she nailed it! her performance as a 'guy' was convincing. But nonetheless, the acting of the cast was just dragged down by the poor story.

MUSIC - there's nothing to talk about the music, sadly, since the story is musically related, they should have taken advantage of it. I felt that most of the singing parts were dubbed since the actors playing the roles were not singers.

REWATCH VALUE - don't bother!

OVERALL - its such a waste! Pathetic! i hope Channel A - the broadcaster of the show will improve on their upcoming shows.

'Such a Disappointment' - sorry but its my opinion.

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!!!!!!!!!!This prolly count's as a spoiler, but I would just call it a warning!!!!!!!!!!!



OK very disappointed by the ending. It just like ended w/ way to much story left to tell. I loved it up to the end. The end was so abrupt and it literally sucked. I expected so MUCH more. I juat can't believe that such an awesome story ended like that. It had such potential. The last episode I watched b-4 it was subbed & I only understood like a quarter of it, but I knew that was the end & I just almost didn't go back and watch it the 2nd time subbed.

Now that my major disappointment has been shared I will tell u what I did like. I loved the combination of the You're Beautiful B & Hana Kimi type stories. I loved the leads. There was a rly good thing going on here. Go Eun Ah was amazing at her part. She did an excellent girl/boy reversal. Park Yoo Hwan he was amazing with his questioning of himself. "Y do I like a guy?" "How do I deal w/ this?" Loved it! Such a beautiful smile too. I rly hope that I see him in more drama's. Even though they were stuck w/ such a crappy ending. He did so well w/ his part.

I rly just couldn't stand the character played by Park Hyo Joo. I know there has to be that 1 person every1 hates. They had 2 of them in this drama. Ex-girlfriend & it's usually an evil mother thing, but no we got an overly sensitive, manipulating, "I'm only sry b/c I got caught" type person. I did not fell sry 4 her in the slightest. She deserved more karma.

The CEO, His story ended w/ absolutely nothing. The last u see of him is in his office on the phone. No1 finds out if the M2 Jr's got a spot. Nothing happened w/ the rival competition. OMG that just killed me, right there.

OK, I just don't think I could ever put myself through this ended again. So, I will not be watching this in the future. Watch it if u want to. U will fall in love w/ certain characters, but it just doesn't end well at all. The choice is up to you.

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I honestly don't know how I finished this series. I think I forced myself to watch it because it had good reviews. I was so bored.

I came to watch it with high expectations because it was considered a staple of the drama industry. I was utterly disappointed. I think the high reviews meant that it was a good drama for its TIME. Meaning that the industry has drastically evolved and improved since then.

I can see that it probably set the standards for future dramas. The typical setting of a nice house. Forcing the main leads to live together while they bicker and banter. One is poor and one is rich. Another side couple with issues. The unnecessary overacting. No passion or lack of any skinship. It has all the clichés of the drama industry and is probably the drama that started it all.

Now I respect those of the older generation who love it and thought it was great. But that is kind of my point - that it was a good drama of its time. Those like me who have watched better newer ones will probably agree that in today's time it lacks depth, characterization, passionate acting, and is riddled with clichés.

Rain's performance was definitely better (by not much) than Song's - whose only trait that I found entertaining was her beauty.

It had so much potential - I mean how many of you out there have fantasized about somehow living with a famous idol/singer?!?
Not my cup of tea.

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I can't nit pick anything about this drama that I don't like. And I've tried. Its beautifully directed, the actors are perfect for their parts (yoon eun hye is believable as a boy, not to mention awesome passionate acting from everyone), the sets and cinematography are wonderful (I swear it raised the tourism in Korea), the music is just great and unique (it doesn't reuse songs like the usual hyped up dramas), and it feels FRESH.

That's my word for it...FRESH. It feels GOOD to watch it and I can't really say that for any other drama other than It Started with a Kiss.

Coffee Prince is probably the best drama I've seen. Ever.

I've had the very unfortunate experience for it to be one of the first dramas I've ever watched, so since then all the ones I've watched after was crap. It seriously raised my standards.

The rewatch value is VERY high. I've seen it so many times now (this site should have a # times watched option!) maybe about 4 or 5. I will probably make it an every year or second year thing. Even my very white-washed brother and skeptical mother watched and enjoyed it. Yeah it can be a family thing too.

The storyline was great and I felt like every single scene was important. When you watch it its like you're so engrossed in what's happening you don't even notice that time is passing. The story was so good that I was surprised it wasn't a book to begin with. I think its best to watch in your late teen - 20s years, when you can really empathize with the characters after all the heart breaks. It helps you move on and has good morals.

If you want to watch something inspirational, creative, fresh, heart warming, heart wrenching, sometimes tear inducing, beautiful, hilariously funny, wholesome and passionate drama/comedy, then watch it. It makes you laugh, cry, sympathize, fall in love, be inspired, and just plain happy. Its a MUST SEE.

p.s.
If you're sick and tired of the lame "peck on the cheek" kiss scenes (usually at the end) that you see in soooo many dramas, then see this. Passionate acting and kissing. This drama satisfies everything that you don't get in all the other dramas.

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The story line was really great, a few things could have changed a bit but overall it was awesome. The acting was incredible, you get this bad boy vibe but still see that they are truly kind and great people. The bromance made me smile and feel warm inside (love how that's incorporated in the Oh Boy! series). This drama shows that no matter what you have to stick together and know that loyalty and friendship is a serious thing. The music was awesome too, I especially love their second song "Wake Up!", I have it on my ipod lol. I would watch this again and recommend others to watch it as well.

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I found the story line very unique, especially the part where she has to collect 3 tears that represent true love for her. With that, the drama shows how there are seriously alot of fake people around you, who may feel sad for different reasons, and not necessarily for you. Also make you wonder when you die, who truly loved you and will miss you.
The acting was incredibly, it felt very real and I cried so much. The lead actress Lee Yeo Won was awesome, I sometimes thought that she really was two different people in one! The music was great as well, very touching. I loved the Scheduler, and his ringtones always made me laugh. I would rewatch this but I would have to prepare myself mentally for the emotions I would have to experience again. I recommend the readers to watch this.

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I found this show really amazing! The story line was great and because the king and his deeds really did happen, it made it more real and interesting. The acting was phenomenal, when they act I felt it! I cried so much and when they were happy, I was truly happy with them. I experienced so much emotions while watching the drama. The music is great as well and VERY powerful, it makes you feel the scene even more and has your heart racing. This drama shows you what true love and loyalty is. I would watch it again, however, I would have to prepare myself mentally again to go through all the emotions I felt again. I recommend the readers to watch this, I am sure this will also become one of your favourites.

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1-The reason I watched this : I was looking for an idol film so I end up wayching this.

2-Storyline/Plot : Many would think that the story of an idol falling for a normal girl is so common and cheesy but this film story took a different level since it focused on finding a soulmate through music so the plot's setting was sort of unique. However, the romantic side wasn't satisfying since the story's development didn't focus on many important elements.
The music in here was amazing: a combination between classical Chinese music and the modern Chinese pop; I don't really focus on any film/drama's music while watching especially Chinese ones but the music felt like a deep core in this film. Great job!!

3-Acting/Cast : Wang Leehom has done everything here: playing the dorkey, the famous, the smart, the dumb; he did a great job indeed.
The lead actress succeeded in playing the innocent simple character; The cast was good enough and the acting was satisfying.

4-The ending : A typical rom-com ending; nothing special about it.

5-My Impression: Whan I started watching this film, I didn't have any expectations for it but later on I surprised myself by liking it plus I was literally blown by the music, I never thought that it could've been that great.

6-Overall : If you're rom-com lover then you would like this.
If you like idol shows then you need to watch this.
If you like classical or modern Chinese music then you would love this.
If you like Wang Leehom then you really need to watch this.

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1-The reason I watched this : I was about eleven years old and so fond of action-Wuxia martial arts films when i found this; I remember watching it on TV with my father and my brother.

2-Storyline/Plot : I never forgot this film even though it has been nine years since I first saw it simply because it had an unforgettable story; events were relly amazing to follow.
Action mixed with romance with a slight of mystery is one of my favorite types when it comes to Wuxia productions, I liked how they made the fighting scenes; they were captivating.

3-Acting/Cast : The best combination ever! there were chemistry between all of them. There were geat fighting scenes between the actors since they acted in total harmony plus they delivered great feelings when it comes to romance.
They were great cast even though I wasn't familiar with half of them back then.

4-The ending : Even though it wasn't what I wanted but it felt realistic on many levels.

5-My impression: I was so moved by this film; even when there were commercials I was anticipating what will happen next.
I even kept thinking about it even after it ended : It affected me in a great way .

6-Overall : If you like action-wuxia then you need to watch this.
If you like action combined with romance then you would like this.
If you like martial arts films then you you will like this.

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This is an excellent drama! Comedy/murder mystery is always a winning combination if done correctly, and Saengchori certainly was. The writing in this drama is fantastic -- there are typical K-drama over-the-top jokes, sure, but plenty of clever little bits and references to other dramas that make it an absolute joy to watch. The acting is quite good, and the cast works well off each other's reactions. This is the kind of drama where you will find all the characters interesting and worth paying attention to, not just the main characters. Not much to say about the music, but the scattered use of Phantom of the Opera themes was a joy to say the least.

Some people may have issues with the pacing, since even though it is a murder mystery suspense, the bulk of the drama is kind of slice-of-life office life. However, the show is so fun and well-done that this did not bother me, personally. The only thing that seemed a bit off was the inevitable romance arc, but it certainly wasn't the focus of the show.

If you are looking for an all around wonderful drama that is different from your usual drama fare, this would be the perfect one to add to your list!

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