7
46
2
Heracin
Felt like the trailer for a cute GL Chinese historical and fantasy drama - they should make it
It is a super short movie (3 minutes !) that almost feel like a trailer for a cute GL Chinese historical and fantasy drama. Of course, given the short length, it felt a bit disjointed, but the compilation of scenes was enough to give a very good idea of relationship arc between a Fox demon and a Priestess and what could be a series around them.I would recommend this to people that are looking for a cute short (very short - 3 minutes) bite of GL Chinese historical and fantasy drama. I'm left to wish they would make it into a full length series because there is a lot of potential in the relationship featured between a Fox demon and a Priestess.
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A short queer story : interesting point of view but too short to really leave a memorable impression
This very short movie (a bit more of 15 minutes excluding the outro generic) is centered around a delivery guy from a Chinese restaurant who has a crush on one of his customer.The story shows in snippets of life experience of the main character how difficult it is to be gay and accepted in South Korea. The intentions are good but it is too short to really get deep into the discrimination details and it remains at a quite superficial level. Similarly to the story, the characters are very simply brushed up, not for lack of care but rather because of lack of time to deepen them more.
I don't think the cast did a bad job but neither is it very memorable. I found the camera work quite sluggish and maybe a bit too slow, which dragged the storytelling.
I would not recommend this to people because I have seen other short films that impacted me more around similar thematic. I feel here it remains at a relatively superficial level which prevented me to really connect with the story.
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Not enjoyable, I could not get behind the rationale of the story and the unconvincing acting
It might be a case of "it's me, not you", but I did not enjoy my time watching this movie. The overall moral remains blurry, as well as the reasoning behind the action of the main villain which is a surface level antagonist. The heroine was such a let down, instead of a badass and resolute cop, she felt not in charge and completely manipulated by the bad guy from beginning to end.The cast really did not satisfy me more than the story. No idea if it is directing related, the fault of the script or simply the actors/actresses performances being average, but the acting certainly did not convince me. None of the characters were very likeable and most of the lines sounded fake and maybe it is because I was not onboarded with the plot.
The ending song was pretty good with its rock vibe but I really disliked all the church choral going on during the movie. I'm assuming it was supposed to instore a mystic aura around the main villain, but I found it super artificial and distracting. Similarly, the visual effects were really over-the-top and rather than being frightening, it gave an unrealistic feeling to the movie.
I would not recommend this to people unless you like the actors/actresses and/or the manga (which I did not read). I found the motivations behind the crimes sometimes really "light" (wanting to murder somebody because of jealousy seems a bit a strong choice) and overall the police felt completely incompetent in their job. The ending was also a let down with an unsatisfactory statu quo.
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I wanted to like it but unfortunately, it is a miss for me...
I like the premise of the series: a revenge storyline with a travel back to time to make things better is a set up I find particularly enjoyable. Overall, it is the revenge part of the drama that I liked the most, with all the manipulation of the villains. However, the romance could have been better.I also feel that the pace was not good. There were too much storylines that I did not care at all about. It could have been much tighter with less episodes. I would have liked less office-heavy storylines. The ending felt dragging with a lot of repetition. I know that the script is doing a mirror between some situations and put in parallel past events, but I would have preferred the story to really be more tight. There were some entertaining moments when the heroine is super badass but it is in between a lot of filler, even more so towards the end.
I have mixed feelings regarding the cast performance. I think Lee Yi Kyung and Song Ha Yoon had the best performances in the drama but their characters were also the most interesting (and with potentially as much screen time than the main leads). Sadly, I never got onboard on the main romance. I found Nam In Woo a bit too stern and bland in the role, lacking emotions...He has some swoony lines but I did not feel it. Not sure if it is the script, a directing choice, or simply the acting. I usually like Park Min Young and here she had some badass and emotional moments, but on the chemistry side for the romance, it also felt lacking. Other than them, the support cast did an okay job but no side characters felt really interesting to me.
Regarding production, I did find it pretty standard for nowadays South Korean dramas. I did not find any scenes particularly striking and the OST is for me forgettable as well. I also must acknowledge an obvious challenge in the directing / filming of the interactions between the leads. Na In Woo and Park Min Young huge height difference, which I found cute, did prevent sometimes camera work to film them on the same frame (and when it was the case, I felt it was a bit strange at point).
I would not recommend this to people as at the end it took me so much time to complete it because of the draggy pacing. There are for sure some elements of the story I found exciting regarding the overall revenge plot but the romance did not really work for me unfortunately. I'm left to ponder if I would have enjoyed more the series if it had been shorter (and therefore with less repetition on the storylines and the office/corporation hijinks).
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A very sweet story between an introverted guy and cheerful girl: not revolutionary but heartfelt !
I truly enjoyed this very healing drama about the blossoming romance of Zhang Lu Rang and Su Zai Zai who met in high school. There were a lot of sincerity in the love and friendship displayed on screen and I really appreciated following the journey of the main couple (as well as their friends). The latest arc of the drama was not my favorite, it was good for rounding up the story but I'm not sure why it grabbed less my attention.The acting was satisfying. The female lead (played by Zhang Miao Yi) was such a cutie and bubbly girl that you immediately understood why the male lead (played by Zhou Yi Ran) was drawn to her. Zhou Yi Ran's character was such a green flag, he had a lot of kind attention for the heroine that really gave me butterflies in the stomach. He is really charming with his dimples and I'm looking forward to see him in other shows.
The production value was pretty nice. I loved the fact that the heroine was filming the hero and doing her own commentary on her life. It was such a nice and realistic touch which came into play several times in an interesting way. The soundtrack was good, nothing really outstanding but fitting the romantic and healing vibe of the series.
I would recommend this to people looking for a really beautiful high school romance and featuring wholesome friendships. The last arc was a bit less exciting to me but concluded properly the story. If you are looking for a romance without angst, full of green flags and little butterflies inducing moments, this is a really good drama for you !
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A 2 minutes Jollibee ad - too short for me to care
Full disclosure, I watched this as part of the MDL 2024 Challenge, otherwise it would probably never caught my eyes.There is not a lot to say : it is a Jollibee ad with an attempt at doing an emotional story set on Valentine day. I see what they tried to do but the over-the-top and thick product placement (which is the point of course as it is an ad) prevented me to connect emotionally to the story. But I must admit the ad team had the merit to try some storytelling instead of just putting up a fluffy ad. It is just I did not connect to it.
The cast did not do a bad job but it is very neutral and average overall.
I would not recommend this to people, I did not get a lot from it. Unless you are looking at it for completing a challenge, then it is just 2 minutes of your time...
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I did not exactly like it "per se" but I found it interesting
This movie is foremost a dark comedy about marriage as the main male lead Doo Hyun cannot stand living with his wife anymore but do not know how to face the situation other than being conflict avoidant. I found this premise very interesting but at the same time some of the over-the-top comedic moments mixed with some really dramatic moments did not work well with me. I did not enjoy the way the humor was set, it was a bit too absurd while trying to make it as what felt like a life lesson on marriage and relationship overall.Except the "Casanova" character that I found properly repugnant all along, the main characters (Doo Hyun, the husband and Jung In, the wife) who were really not likeable at first to me, grow on me as their story unfolded.
Despite me liking the cast (- with Lee Sun Kyun, Ryu Seung Ryong and Lee Kwang Soo being actors that I enjoy), I found the acting was bad in the most absurd and comedic scenes (especially on the side of Ryu Seung Ryong but maybe it is because I disliked strongly his "Casanova" character). Lim Soo Jung was probably the best in terms of acting and with the evolution of her character.
I found the production value pretty good, there are a couple of scenes with mouth-watering food which is always a nice bonus in my book. However, I'm not a huge fan of the soundtrack tough it clearly fulfilled its purpose at creating a certain ambiance fitting the plot of the story.
I would recommend this to people looking for a dark comedy. It is for sure not a fluffy romance and there are a lot of absurd moments that are a bit strange because of the shift in tones given the intention of the story. Despite its flaws, it has an interesting premise, so I think it is worth a watch.
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Heartbreaking and painful watch
This short movie of about 31 min. was quite heartbreaking and painful to watch. It was not bad for sure and it made me emotional in a kind of angsty and melancholic way. The "what could have been" thought and "timing is everything" life lesson are the key points of the story.It is very unlikely that I will rewatch it as it was not that enjoyable "per se" but it was evocative and thought provocative while depicting a somewhat very classical melodramatic and romantic story. The ending scene was brutal and gut wrenching.
The cast did an overall good job. Nothing really outstanding, as there were almost no dialog, I wish they had pushed even more the gazes and silent acting work. But it was suitable enough to get the feelings across.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a short movie featuring a rather melodramatic story in a library setting. Personally I found it quite painful to watch but well done for what it is trying to say.
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Hyung concept brought up a very savory flavor to the romance and made my heart flutters
This BL series of 6 episodes (which has also been released under a full length movie format) features a gripping story between two childhood friends. The "Hyung" cultural aspect gave to the drama a very savory flavor that I particularly enjoyed. I would have loved for the epilogue to be a bit longer but was overall happy with the poetry of the conclusion.I really enjoyed and believed in the chemistry between the two main actors: more specifically, I was fascinated by the infirmary scene. It was beautiful and made my heart flutters. There might be room of improvement for some of the most serious scenes but they were credible together.
The budget felt relatively low but in a quite expected way I feel for this type of production. Filmmaking was efficient in conveying the story, but not really outstanding and the overall soundtrack was quite forgettable as well.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for BL with a well executed childhood friends-to-lovers trope. Chemistry and story was good and overall 6 episodes are highly bingeable (which is expected with the original format being a movie).
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Enchanting tale, beautifully filmed and acted with a strong message despite some flaws in writing
I truly enjoyed the thematic of the series and the atypical mix of the genres the writer and director went for. I like the message of the series and the take it took regarding some of the more fantastical elements. Pacing could maybe have been a bit better and I wish the heroine would have had some stronger moments to shine like it was the case for the two other main male roles. The mystery side was pretty easy to figure out but its resolution was also satisfying.The main cast was really key in insufflating life and feelings to the story. With less talented main actors and actress, what was a magical tale could have felt very bland or at the least relatively not as fresh and original as it was. Indeed some of the storylines were pretty common for the fiction school genre and still they managed to get me invested in what was happening to the characters. In particular, Ji Chang Wook and Hwang In Youp are both excellent and took my breath away several time with gut-wrenching emotional moments. Choi Sung Eun did a good job as well but her character was less interesting to me and did not evolve enough throughout the series for me to be totally satisfied.
In addition to the acting, the overall making and soundtrack are the most impactful part of the series. There are numerous beautifully filmed and directed scenes, it is a feast for the eyes in addition to be very symbolic and elaborated tableaus. There are a couple of very memorable musical numbers and I was impressed by the singing voices of the main cast. The quality of the production is impressive, up to part with some high budget movies.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for magical tale with a tad of mystery. If you enjoy Disney animated movie, musicals pieces of cinema such as La La Land or The Greatest Showman, or even if you have some affinity for the Peter Pan fairytale, I would strongly advice you give a shot to this atypical drama.
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Dramatic & angsty romance with fantastical twist that got me hooked despite filmmaking limitation
This drama features an intricate romance intertwined with a well conceived time slip concept. I was properly captivated by the story of Huang Yu Xuan and Li Zi Wei : it was pretty dramatic, with a lot of angst and high stakes which made it an intoxicating and enchanting cocktail. The nostalgia factor was also a key aspect that got me hooked.The series is not without flaws. First, I think that even if I found the ending in overall satisfying, I wish the landing would have been smoother and better paced. I also would have appreciated a longer epilogue so that the writers get to the bottom of the time slip gap between their main characters. Second, I truly wished that the budget limitation will have felt less strong. There were quite a few time when I could not help myself to think that a better budget and filmmaking would have elevated some of the scenes to give them an even more fairytale and nostalgic vibe.
Regarding the main cast, I found them pretty good overall. I was completely under the charm of Greg Hsu (not sure if it is character or actor related but for sure he had me swooning during the whole duration of the series). The main actress had what I felt was the most complex part and she did a good job handling the various layers of the role. I honestly wish sometimes that she would have upped her acting game even more for some of the most emotional scenes but it was certainly not a deterrent to the story. I also felt that having the female lead and male lead playing high schoolers was unrealistic but at the same time, I understand that this choice was necessary for the sake of clarity in very entangled storylines.
I would recommend this to people looking for a captivating and quite dramatic romance with a fantastical twist. There is some minor writing points that I would love to be improved and I also wish they had a bigger budget for some of the sequences. But despite these few nitpicking points, it is really worth your time and will take you on an emotional and mysterious journey. I will be curious to give a shot to the other remakes of the story at some point.
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One of the best watch of the year: dark, gripping in the best way
I love a lot this truly thrilling dark movie. It was torturous and violent, gripping and fascinating in the best way. The pyschological aspects coupled with impressive action scenes really got to me. I was on my toes during the full duration of the movie. It does not feel outdated at all (minus maybe the special effect and again it was still quite good to express what needed to be expressed).The cast is amazing. I love Yeo Jin Goo (since he was acting as a kid in Iljimae) and I have seen quite a bit of his work. He was probably about 15 years old maximum when he filmed this movie and his performance was astounishing. There are many very well-known faces in this movie, actors that I really enjoy and who also delivers strong performances. It felt like a real feast to see actors that I knew from other works: Yeo Jin Goo but also amazing Jo Jin Woong, incredible Kim Sung Kyun, great Yoo Yeon Seok, as well as to discover very talented (and new to me) people: Kim Yoon Seok, Park Hae Joon,...and more.
I truly recommend this to people that are looking for a dark action movie that will take you on a thrilling journey with its main character. The psychological elements behind the characters actions and bonds between them are disturbingly captivating and pretty memorable. It is very violent and dark, so if you have any triggers, of course proceed with caution.
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Not my type of show but I learnt interesting stuff, pace of stories could have been better
It took me almost 7 months to complete this variety show. I must preface this review by admiting first that "Mystery concept" variety show are not necessarily the ones I gravitate towards the most. I always have trouble to get into the reenactement of crime/mystery because even if the stories are interesting, cast reactions (or rather over-reactions) often leave me with an uncanny feeling. It is also quite odd when they play games right in the middle of it.Indeed, the viewer knows that everything is fake, so it is a bit cringe or strange to see over-the-top acting by members of the show. The idea might be to immerse the spectators as if they were watching a theatre piece, but unfortunately it often produces the opposite effect as I feel quite distached. The rythm of the show was super strange: each episode felt king of sluggish, especially in the middle. However, they often managed to have good endings with some rush and thrills at the end of a lot of the episodes but not enough to make me anticipate the next one.
That's said, and despite all the flaws that I perceive and point out, there are positive aspects as well. First of all, I especially liked the fact that I learnt quite a bit regarding contemporary history and various South Korea news items from different period of time. There is an inherent repetive aspect to the mecanics of the show but I also found that they managed to bring enough variety in the stories to not feel too monotonous. Guest cast members (to be fair mainly Choi Yeon Jun who I like a lot) were also a good way to change a bit and renew the dynamic of the episodes.
I enjoyed the main cast: they had a good chemistry together but it somewhat lacked in terms of balance. I started this show for Lee Jung Ha but honestly the whole actors gang ( Lee Jung Ha, Cha Tae Hyun and Oh Na Ra) were my favorites. The others members Yoo Jae Suk, Yang Se Chan and Jennie do the job properly as well. It is clearly more a colleagues relationship and felt not as genuine as some other shows I have seen.
I would recommend this to people that enjoy Mystery Variety show concept. If you are fan from one of the member of the cast or if you are interested by miscalleneous news items you might also want to give it a shot despite its shortcomings (repetitive mecanics as well as relatively bad pacing of the episodes).
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How is it possible for an horror movie to feel so boring ? Cast could not save it
This horror movie about a MMA fighter confronted to evil had too many flaws to entice me. Its main qualities reside in its cast as well as in its filmmaking. Indeed, the esthetics was quite good as well as the special effects, you can feel there was quite a big budget.However, the scenario in itself felt poor and repetitive. The editing could have been better to amp the angst as well. The villain is quite a blank canvas and the introduction of the hero to position him in the action takes up almost half of the movie. The pacing of the film is sluggish at best, which is kind of a big issue for a movie belonging to thriller/action/horror genres...
It is my first time seeing Woo Do Hwan and even though I found the character clearly lacking in terms of motivation and background, I'm curious to see what he can do with a better script. I am quite biased toward Park Seo Joon, so he was the saving grace for this movie to me. He is always good and believable in action scenes, and here again he brings the charisma up. Unfortunately, as for the antagonist, there is not a lot offered by the scenario for him to do much acting-wise with his character.
I would not recommend this movie to people unlike you are really a big fan of one of the main actors. If you are an avid fan of horror movie, you might like it but honestly because of its very generic story and strange pacing, I don't think it is worth the watch.
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Frightening chase, Wi Ha Joon amazing performance shook me
I truly enjoyed this action movie. It has a really simple but efficient concept, focusing on a frightening cat-and-mouse chase between a serial-killer and a deaf woman. With very few characters and plot points, the film manages to keep the viewer on its toes during the dark pursuit.The scenario relies a lot on people making not so smart decisions as well as a lot of police incompetence which might make your blood boils...There are a lot of successful jump scares and action sequences are really well-done. As one of the character is deaf, the surrounding noises and sounds carry a particular importance on the story. It amps the viewer's anxiety as the filmmaking manage to make the watcher understand how it is to be in the shoes of the victim.
The casting was really good, especially Wi Ha Joon who delivers a shockingly horrifying performance. I only saw him in two other roles playing overall good characters so the shift here truly astonished me. Jin Ki Joo acting as his main counterpart was also very solid in her role.
I would recommend this to people looking for a thriller that will brought you all the feels in a very short time. It is very dark and efficient in providing thrills with some good jump scares and action sequences. It might require some suspension of disbelief given the reaction of some characters that might seem completely stupid. But, honestly that did not bother me because I found the story gripping enough to not care about the script flaws. I just went on a scary ride and enjoyed it for what it was.
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