Revenge is a dish best served with green beans

Let's be real. Could I resist a series called " Until I Destroy my Husband's Family"? Nope, I couldn't.

Otto no Katei wo Kowasu made may have been a low budget series and may have gotten a bit draggy towards the end, but no one can deny that it was entertaining.

Matsumoto Marika is splendidly overacting from beginning to end, as many of the actors and actresses in the series. I may have not read the manga, but the drama definitely had the right vibes. The plot itself was entertaining for the most part, even though there were some predictable moments, especially if you have watched similar series in the past. The ending was not that great, writing-wise, but it was good enough. Lastly, thumbs up to the people responsible for the music (♪ Galileo Galileiii ♪)!

In simple words, Until I Destroy my Husband's Family is an entertaining revenge drama, that would definitely benefit from less episodes, a higher budget and a better written ending.

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4MINUTƎS

I have watched tons of bls the last few years and I know very well how they have evolved. When they first started, bls had very similar settings and plots. Most of them took place in universities or high schools, that's how the engineer faculty joke came to be.

At some point, bl series started gaining tons of viewers and attention and companies started -as expected- to invest more and more in this particular "genre". As a result, from characters that were usually high schoolers and university students, we started watching on our screen so many different main leads. From doctors and office workers to supernatural entities and mafia bosses.

The thing is that in the majority of these series, no matter how entertaining or well made they may be, the plot felt more like a background that was there just to envelop the main characters and their romance. It felt like the writers were not actually ready to create a well written and logical plot, since it was out of their comfort zone.

And here comes 4minutes. To get this out of the way, this series is not perfect, but I can clearly see it is an earnest effort to make a unique drama that deviates from the usual tropes.

4minutes has amazing directing and cinematography. In simple words, it is visually stunning. It has an immaculate dark atmosphere, good music and good acting. Of course, since this is the "sultrier" version there are quite a few explicit scenes that are also pretty well done -but not for the faint-hearted-. The chemistry between the characters is good and their love stories are also good (enough).

And here comes the usual black sheep; the plot. 4minutes has an actually well written, intricate and complicated plot. Or to be more precise, that's what they want the audience to believe. The plot itself is not that complicated and until the end it is easy to put all the pieces in the correct place. Things are getting clearer and clearer with each episode. But because the concept is special and because of some directing choices, the plot seems to be much more confusing and complex than it is in reality and I am saying this as positively as possible.

4minutes has a quite unique plot compared to many series (and not only bls). It has flawed characters that don't feel like the typical "toxic" ones we usually watch and enjoy (to hate). It is one of the few times that despite the love stories and the (many) gay main leads, I could feel that the plot was actually more important than the romance. That it was there to serve a purpose, something that is obvious from the viewers themselves. People were not talking that much of the romantic relationship between the mains and the good looking cast. They were making theories about the plot, they were trying to solve it like a riddle. And that is what makes 4minutes a great -pun intended- series, despite its flaws.

And what are those flaws? Some of the acting performances here and there could have been better and some plot points could have been developed in a different manner.
However, the thing that actually bothered me the most has to do with the emotional aspect of the series. I just didn't feel for the characters and their stories. I think that this is the biggest flaw of 4minutes. I could acknowledge that I was watching something well made, but emotionally wise, it didn't move me, it didn't make me gasp. I wanted that something more. I wanted to feel for the characters and for their relationships more than I did.

All in all, despite the negative aspects, 4minutes was definitely worth the watch and it felt like a huge breath of fresh air. It doesn't follow the formula we have seen again and again during the past few years and it was a memorable enough watch that differentiated itself from everything else, putting the plot, and not the romance, in the foreground.

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The American Dream but not really...

A decent chinese movie about family connections of two siblings from different mothers that takes place in the US.

The movie portrayed the multicultural identity of the States and the majority of the actors did a decent job, despite the fact that the sctipt was mainly in English, which wasn't their native language.

The character of the female lead was very well written and realistic, something that was also true for her little brother that acted exactly like kids do (annoying me at times).

The story had some emotional moments and touching elements and it did try to be realistic, however many times it failed, with things happening out of nowhere and people acting in a quite improbable way. Even the main reason why the little kid went to the US felt a bit far-fetched. Lastly, at times, it was like the movie was glamorizing -at least to a certain extent- the life in the States.

All in all, it is a decent film that is very easy to watch and it does have its moments.

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A D(isappointing) A(bsurd) R(idiculous) K(lutzy) film

I was planning to watch this movie for a while, mostly because I heard many people saying that it is very dark and twisted - and I like my movies as dark as my soul-, but besides being dark and twisted it was also a disappointment.

In terms of directing and cinematography, the movie has nothing to offer, besides some nice shots (that were no more than four). The lighting is very bad and the general atmosphere of the movie is pretty bland, not managing to achieve the dark atmosphere that it should have.

The production quality seems to be relatively low. Even though it does have some scenes that could look better, it generally didn't bother me.

Acting is good enough, but there is also your typical -bad- overacting here and there, mostly by Matsuzaka Tori.

And now, the plot...
It is so badly written, I wanted to cry at some point. Even though it did have a decent beginning, everything went downhill after that. There are way too many stuff that are making no sense and are over the top for the sake of being over the top. Even the disturbing scenes were not that disturbing, mainly because the characters were so bland that you would feel nothing about them, even if they died. Lastly, the movie had some tropes that reminded me more of a korean makjang than a mystery/psychological film.

All in all, the movie has a good concept that no one really cared to develop in a logical way -I am calling that lazy writing- and as a result it ends up being nonsensical with some badly written characters and some scenes that are there just for the shake of shock.

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Have you ever finished a series and you just felt like you won't find anything similar; that a particular drama has a special place in your heart? Well that is how I felt like, after finishing Tumbling.

I will start with my major complain saying that this series deserves much more viewers than it actually has. This is my plea to all of you to give this Japanese series a try.

Anyway, I don't know how to put my feelings into words with this Jdrama but I will give it a try, so bare with me.


Tumbling was about finding your dream in an unexpected situation. It was about chasing what you love no matter the sacrifices, because in the end you just found something that is worthy to fight for. Tumbling was about people with the same goal; individuals so different that found something to lean on. It was about working together. It was about the sadness that accompanies failure and the happiness when you finally succeed in what you love. It was about giving your best not just for you, but for others. Tumbling was about throwing away your selfishness and fighting for your team.


If I could describe Tumbling with just one word I would use 'friendship'. The series focuses on every character and it gives us a satisfying background about everyone. There is no hero as every single character has its flaws and that is why this series is special to me. Tumbling teaches you that you alone can't achieve everything and an individual doesn't just have to, but needs people who will be there in the happy moments and in any difficult situation. Moreover, judging people just from the way they act or look is something that has been told many times through series and movies, but tumbling does it in a different way. I loved how every character had its weak and strong points and that fights and disappointment sometimes can't be avoided in a friendship. Tumbling shows that friendship is about mutual support, that your friends also have feelings on their own that may be even more complicated that yours. Lastly, I was attached to every single character and I felt like I was fighting with them, I laughed and I cried with them. Maybe it was over the top at times, but it was also as humane as it could be.

Tumbling is not perfect, it definitely has its flaws, but it doesn't matter, because in the end it has so many things to offer.

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I don't get the hate (or maybe I do)

Well, I obviously can't defend this series cause objectively it is not a quality drama.

Production quality is very good, concept is interesting, acting definitely not oscar worthy but watchable and the plot well let's say it lacks in many aspects.
Why? Some of the characters tend to change personalities once in a while, some plot points make less sense than my math class and of course we also have a new "upgraded" level of "westernization".

Does this make it bad though? No, in my opinion no.

Now, when I watched the trailer -even though I didn't expect that much romance- I knew this was going to be mostly a messy, makjangish teen drama. And did I get it right? Yes.

And that's exactly the mentality I had when I started watching it. Like use 0 braincells, watch some pretty people doing questionable things and have fun. And I did have my fun, which is the main reason for the high rating.

Like at times this could get so ridiculous and it felt that even the scriptwriter wasn't sure what direction to take. Kudos though for having as an important plot point something that I don't think I have ever seen in a high budget Kdrama recently -or at all-.

Conclusion? I get why many hate it, I can myself point out many things that are very wrong with it, but I also don't get why this gets so much hate.

It is definitely not the worst Kdrama out there (with some popular ones being much worse than this at least in terms of entertainment) and it was a short fun watch. So no, it doesn't deserve such a low rating here on MDL in my opinion and yes you should give it a try if you are thinking of watching it, cause why not? Not everyone has the same taste, we all enjoy different things, so maybe this is your cup of tea.

P.S. Music slaps

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