YesunimSarang
Makaha, Hawaii
First off, the story progression was absolutely great. It was nicely paced without giving everything away too quickly. A lot of things could have gone wrong with its progression but the writers avoided all my concernsl. If they changed the focus of the plot to tackle some of the slightest story lines that they left untouched, it would have hurt the overall plot progression, but whomever wrote the script is a genius.
Secondly, the cast was great. With each drama I watch, I keep saying "oh God this cast is great," but end up somewhat feeling like I forced myself to say that. However, with this cast, I instantly saw the chemistry and knew that they were having fun with it. They weren't forcing themselves to play the role. Instead, it came naturally and that's the beauty of this cast. Also, the love between all the couples was refreshing. As a dude, I would normally cringe at this stuff, but the more K-Dramas I watch, the more I become inclined to smile at a good K-Drama couple when I see one and this drama was no exception. Love was all throughout the air, and I need to kindly ask to borrow some of it (and So Nyeo if that's alright).
Music wise, K-Dramas never tend to fully grip me with their soundtrack choices, but damn, this one made all the right choices. For the first ten episodes, the dramas usage of music was flawless. The songs put at each scene were cleverly chosen, and I applaud the PDs for that because some dramas choose pretty good songs, but either use them at the weirdest spots or over use them. As the show progressed, especially in the last four episodes, certain songs were being over used, but they were still being utilized well. The OST was ridiculously good and that goes for the BGM all throughout the show, too.
Lastly, for re-watch value, I give this one a 9, but honestly I never re-watch a drama, but this one is probably going to change that. I might re-watch this bad boy during Christmas time or something, but I never thought I would ever find myself saying "oh I'm going to re-watch this drama."
Overall, ridiculously good drama. Execution, writing, camaraderie, this show has it all. If you ever are contemplating whether to watch this, stop because It's Okay, That's Love is a worthy sixteen-hour long ride,
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On the other hand, the cast was great. While the supporting cast did as the script demanded fairly well, the show excels primarily because the leading cast members were strong actors. From Jang Tae San all the way to Soo Jin, everyone's acting was superb. What makes it even better is that the supporting cast knew their job and didn't clash with the leads in terms of standing out.
Music wise, BGM was awesome. It changed the atmosphere and brought emotion to already emotion-filled scenes. My biggest complaint about the music is that one track in the OST stood out the most to me and that was the song by Nell played at the end of every episode though even that isn't that much of a big deal because it's a great song.
As we get to the topic of Re-watch Value, I must say that despite how great this show was, it doesn't have much Re-watch Value. My reason for this is because of the narrow-mindedness. It was overwhelmingly frustrating as a viewer (even though that's the whole point). Ironically though, it's funny that such intelligent people could be so blind about something.
Overall, Two Weeks is great. I was definitely in love with its pacing because sometimes I can't stand shows that fluctuate in terms of momentum, but this one kept it going at a nice pace. Even more so, the lead female was beautiful and her in-show daughter was absolutely adorable, and for that, I felt more compelled to get to the end game of the story in hopes that everything will end up okay for all of them. With that being said, my biggest problem with the show is that it's a watch-it-once kind of show but that shouldn't stop anyone from watching this great drama (at least once, haha).
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As for acting and cast, Surplus Princess is a perfect example of a drama that has great casting. Upon starting the drama, I knew none of the actors/actresses (except for the one playing Shi Kyung because I finished Two Weeks as Surplus Princess was airing). But regardless, they drew me in with their individual charms and how well they all portrayed various emotions. While I found the drama hilarious, when tense scenes came, each character's emotions were portrayed beyond my expectation and they were believable and natural. Not to mention, all the love floating around is just absolutely adorable.
Thinking back to the soundtrack and BGM used throughout the series, there wasn't much that stood out, but everything fit in. The music felt well-placed and repetition of tracks was kept to a minimal. A couple of songs grabbed my attention, and I give the PD's props for using music sparingly.
As for the re-watch value, there isn't much to be found in this drama, but it doesn't mean that the ride wasn't worth it. The re-watch value for Surplus Princess depends on how attached the viewer is to the cast and the chemistry between them.
Overall, Surplus Princess stood its ground exceptionally well. The writers understood how the episode cut changed pacing and most importantly, they loopholes were irrelevant and the primary plot was executed nicely. Furthermore, the cast is lovable. The relationships that blossom throughout the series are cute and gave me more than enough reason to finish the series (as if ten episodes were a lot, hah). I recommend this drama for anyone looking for something light-hearted and easy to watch.
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What stood out to me was each couple's chemistry. Each couple was cute in their own way and the entire cast seemed to click. Everyone looked like they were having genuine fun with their roles. I originally thought I would end up watching this drama only for my darling Chorong, but I was proven wrong within the first couple episodes. I found myself picking my biases and obsessing over certain character's appearances. Not only that, but the men in the drama have dynamic personalities and are also all good-looking lads.
As for the music, I fell in love with Standing Egg because of this drama, and I found myself downloading dozens of their songs. As a matter of fact, I frequently paused episodes in order to Shazam a lot of songs or try to search for them. The soundtrack and BGM were pleasant to my ears, and I must say that I favor this drama's soundtrack second only to 'It's Okay, That's Love' and that soundtrack was a masterpiece (in terms of K-Drama OSTs).
In terms of re-watch value, I normally give low scores for this part since I never think to re-watch dramas, but I'm thinking of adding this to an eventual re-watch list because I always looked forward to weekly releases, and I was a wreck waiting for them.
Overall, what sells this drama is its amazing cast and chemistry. Each viewer will have their bias couple, but that doesn't mean the others are lacking in any way. With that being said, I must emphasize that if you love the cast, you'll definitely love this drama. However, if you aren't fully convinced by the cast and are expecting an innovative, extraordinary plot, you might be a tad disappointed. The momentum of this drama is carried depending on how one feels about the cast. In other words, if you love the cast, episodes will fly by but feel draggy if you don't. In the end, I recommend this drama for anyone needing something light and easy-going.
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In terms of acting and cast, I knew no one coming into the drama, but I managed to connect myself with the cast. Casting, in my opinion, was good, but acting consistency severely hurt this crew. Each cast member had long strides of weak performances, from not believable expressions to lack of enthusiasm, but then they had nice spurts of above average acting. This acting/cast portion of rating is sort of a mixed bag of emotions for me, but it definitely isn't as bad as I've seen a lot of people saying it is (nor is it as great as others have said, either).
Music throughout the drama was standard. I heard tracks replayed often and that goes for the BGM as well. While the OST was standard and not much stood out to me, the BGM was very fitting, just overly used, so it lost its sparkle as the drama progressed.
As for re-watch value, I know for a fact that I won't be The Night Watchman. After a while, I felt like I was forcing myself to watch it because I already invested a lot of time into its weekly releases, so I figured I would finish all 24 episodes.
Overall, my stance toward this drama is neutral. I don't regret finishing it since the finale week was that great, but at the same time, the journey to reach this awesome ending was somewhat hellish. I completely understand why watchers dropped this drama by the mass, but I feel if you as a viewer have a stronger tolerance for slow-paced dramas, you might be pleasantly surprised by what The Night Watchman can give you.
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While it didn't do anything innovative in terms of plot line, it didn't necessarily do anything bad, so I can't really say it was a huge deal. Additionally, because this film is a martial arts movie, the story is primarily driven through its action sequences. The audience is drawn closer to the protagonist through emotions expressed in skirmishes and his brutality toward his opposition. And in that perspective, this movie excelled, tremendously. On the contrary, because I was overly compelled to attach myself to our protagonist, I felt that it left a gap between myself and the supporting cast.
In other words, I couldn't help but feel that the cast were small in comparison to Tony Jaa. If that was the producer's intention, then they totally nailed it, but if not, it is somewhat of a set back. In addition, Tony Jaa didn't do much acting in this movie. Instead, he acted through his fists and was great in doing so. His natural intensity and charisma in fights helped me to fall in love with his character's drive, especially in the closing scenes.
The music in this movie revolved around BGM, and the selections definitely fit the scenes. The sound helped me to feel what Tony was feeling, but again, nothing really stood out. I couldn't help but think that the sound was just there. Simply put, it was nothing special but nothing bad.
The re-watch value for this movie depends all on the person. If you're a fan of martial arts movies, then this one will not disappoint, even the second time around. Its choreography is where the movie shines and where it draws its re-watch value from. However, if one is depending on the story or even a blend of story and action, then this film might be a one-time sort of film.
Overall, if you're any interested in martial arts flicks, The Protector is a great place to start. While it isn't the best of the best, it'll definitely make eye brows raise, especially during the first watch. A lot of the film was filmed with Mr. Jaa's raw athletic ability, and for that, I commend him and admire him. However, if you're looking for an all-around film, this may or may not hit the mark.
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