This film made me rethink all my previous rating decisions. I don't know what it is but the kind of projects Suho picks are the kind of stuff I live for. If you know me even a little you'll hear me raving about One Fine Day which is a literary masterpiece and now this, another soulful, profound story that just grabs you and you find yourself helpless. Yes, it's a hard watch because there are no guns blazing, no chaebols, and the story is about real people. The cinematography is beautiful and every single scene is choreographed to tell a story so you don't just experience the plot through spoken dialog. This movie made me extremely sad and just as happy. I don't know what I'll be able to watch after this one. Anyway I fell in love with Kim Hwan Hee's acting who played the role of Jang Mi Rae so well you couldn't see the actor but a sad, lonely girl who just wants to find her place in life. Absolute masterpiece.

Read More

I know I'm in the minority here and you don't have to agree with my opinion but for me the biggest let down of this drama was Shi Yoon. And honestly nothing against the guy I just think this role just wasn't for him. Honestly that hoodie and hair style made him look like a Yang Se Jong reject. It's like someone told him to channel the actor and somehow he'd get it right? And when he did finally did start having his own personality toward ep 10 ish it was all still pretty disastrous. But I will say this, the reason I kept watching was definitely Sung Hoon and also the writing, while nothing special, provides for an entertaining watch at least. And the violence is done rather well but while the idea itself of a psychopath dairy was intriguing enough, the rest of the story was a very typical plot -- main lead gets framed for crimes he didn't do and then the villain is found guilty and gets his comeuppance blah blah.

Read More

So, I'm RUINED by this show. Been hours since I watched it last night but I still haven't gotten over it. I don't think it's possible. Because Duel is the kind of show that takes your heart, kicks it hard, keeps kicking, and just when you think you can't take it anymore it grabs it and smashes it on the floor, starts stomping on it repeatedly. You think I’m exaggerating? I'm not. This is one of those shows that get under your skin, you know? Change you. You'll never be the same person. What I loved about this one was that no one sat around drinking soju and eating pork chops ???? (nothing wrong with that, just making a joke) every scene was integral to the story. No filler content. Just sixteen hours of fast paced action, chase, and mystery. Naturally, this is officially going on the list of my top rated shows with I Remember you and White Christmas. I'm in awe of Yang Se Jong who played both characters so well, they felt like two distinct people. A lot of times, I see actors relying on props and make up to play different parts and it comes off as kind of gimmicky. But Se Jong does it all in a subtle way, there's nothing loud or gimmicky about his acting. Of course, he's a great looking kid, with real acting chops. Everything from his body language, to his facial expressions morphs, you start to worry if he has multiple personalities inside his head. His eyes are so expressive, you'll be able to differentiate between the villain's stare and the male protagonist's stare. Se Jong is an amazing actor. The way his whole face, his body reacts to the things and the people around him, it's just mind blowing to watch. So much maturity for such a young age. I don't usually like 'double role' shows where the same actor plays two roles, usually they're not convincing, and like I said end up being corny, but this show is believable. I know I'm going to watch it a million times.

Read More

Okay here's my thoughts about the show. I'm sure there will be people not okay with a lot of stuff, and without giving out any spoilers I'm just going to say it's just fantasy. Gu Hai was OBSESSED with him. There are so many things I would never think of doing in real life that I totally enjoy seeing in fiction! Like the bad boy trope. Or stalker love. Or the bad guys getting it in the end. So yes to me his obsession made the fantasy even more exciting. Personally, I loved the really hardcore make out and sex. Skinship wise, I'd say it's sufficient. Kind of a slow burn but when it does happen it's so satisfying.

The story made me feel every possible emotion. I knew the finale was coming and felt like I was going to miss these characters. I love the very raw, powerful kind of portrayal. Something that begins from basically bullying each other in stupid ways to growing into a deep love. Just wow. Just one thing, if you get offended easily this is not the show for you. If like me you prefer flawed characters who make blunders because of what they're going through and you can suspend disbelief then you'll love it. The unfortunate reality of the majority of the Asian world is their lack of understanding for same sex couples. I realize that the entire team and actors were threatened and basically they were unable to make a second season. There's nothing you can do about that. But you know what, just forget that last scene of her appearance and it finished off perfectly at the parking lot car scene. That's it. Let's show our support for these shows so people can understand same sex stories are marketable and people love them, so love can win over hate. Again, thanks to the creators for being brave enough.

As for the two main leads both Timmy Xu and Johnny Huang are gorgeous (though I have a shameless preference for Huang).

Xu plays the role of Bai Luo Yin who was abandoned by his birth mother and has been living with his father for most of his life in a financially tough situation because of his father's meagre earnings.

Huang plays Gu Hai, who is extremely rich, but his birth mother died in mysterious circumstances and since then he's always held his father and his step mother responsible. Even though the step mom tries hard to get along with him, Gu Hai never listens to her or his father.

Basically when they interact at school neither Luo Yin nor Gu Hai realize that they both share a person-- Luo Yin's birth mother is actually Gu Hai's step mom who is about to marry his father.

But Gu Hai and his father have a falling out and Gu Hai leaves home to live in the same neighborhood as Bai Luo Yin. He hides the fact that he's rich from everyone. And the first time Bai Luo Yin encounters Gu Hai it's not pleasant.

They both end up not getting along and literally bully and tease each other to hilarious lengths. But one day when Luo Yin's complaining to a friend about Gu Hai, the friend tells Bai Luo Yin he believes Gu Hai doesn't hate Luo Yin at all in fact he explains why he believes Gu Hai actually likes him. Bai Luo Yin finds it strange that a person who bullied him that way could like him.

Anyway from here on out you are taken on a somewhat strange journey. As Luo Yin goes from extreme annoyance with the new guy who refuses to sit anywhere else but behind Luo Yin in class, to a weird kind of friendship to love and plain obsession from Gu Hai's end.

But man what a journey! I couldn't get over it for months.

Read More

I was trying to figure out why this drama feels different than any other tragedy and why it just rubbed me the wrong way. And I'm going to try and explain my low rating. The thing is when you are rating a piece you rate not only based on your overall experience but also on how it works as the genre it claims to be.

This one started out so well I had such high hopes and all the cast did their job perfectly, so why doesn't it stand out as something that I'd recommend? It is a melodrama after all, it's supposed to be sad, so what went wrong?

Okay, first off I love tragedies and melodrama. If you don't already know. So I'm not rating low because it made me sad. I'm rating low because it made me sad FOR NO REASON.

I'll try to explain.
Yes this drama is sad in the worst way and the it's realistic and reality can be ugly.

There were things that bothered me at first, especially the BLATANT misogyny. The daughter was supposed to cook and do the house work that sort of thing while Minho could sleep all day and drink and no one told him to do the laundry, WHY? But I wanted to give the writers the benefit of the doubt I figured it would be part of the story. So, despite being aggravated I stuck to it and watched the whole thing. And guess what? The misogyny was NEVER CORRECTED. Even the daughter who's supposed to be this progressive chick who's having an affair with a married man didn't ONCE mention it! No! Nor did her brother ever step up like Dad we're millennials we don't do that or never once helped with the housework. He just was this super sweet guy with issues but not a bad person so why couldn't he do the damn laundry once in a while to help his mom or sister when he wasn't studying and didn't have a job?

Look, I get it. I still was on board like maybe even despite the misogyny something about the plot will make sense at some point. Let's overlook the misogyny for a good story and good content.

Now here's the thing.

My favorite stories are the ones where people choose love over everything else meaning they chose to be with family and correct their toxic behaviors if given a second chance. They work on the relationship.

But this was a story where those toxic behaviors were SO EASILY FORGIVEN, it made the entire experience feel like grueling torture. You sit through all that and you're left feeling cheated. Like, you promised me something heartfelt and deep and instead handed me turds. Hyperbole? Um, sit down through the grueling torture and then get back to me.

So the problem with the characters is they don't really understand their toxic behaviors are anything to fix! They're like oh so we all like to be jerks to each other because we had a terrible life but we're living the rest of it together because WE LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH. Which is clearly what the writers believe. They don't see these behaviors as toxic and something to work on they act like they just have to deal with it if they love each other.

So yes, it's a realistic account of a family's struggle with their own toxic behaviors but there's no correction of the behavior at all. Which again I realize that it's the reality for a lot of people because fixing toxic behaviors is not for everyone and not everyone can do it. But this family didn't feel like love felt more like codependency when the guy clearly said this one time his wife is dying and he doesn't feel sad but regret, WHAT?

Anyway so while I absolutely admire the actors this didn't work for me. There's no real point to the misery they put you through. And if you're watching it for Minho well he wasn't a major character in the sense he barely had a few scenes but he did such a great job so I feel bad for rating it lower because of the actors but it is what it is.

Read More

I love the new Minki! I thought this is an excellent crime drama that was always entertaining and kept me watching. The characters were likeable and they had their own strengths and weaknesses which made them relatable. I adore Joon Hyuk and I wish to see more of him with hopefully way more screen time. I just love everything about him. But okay Lee Yoo Young has become a constant in a lot of good crime drama like Tunnel and Your Honor and her acting is always good and her characters become memorable. And really Minki has really grown as an actor and you can tell he's trying hard to not be typecast as the hot evil guy lol I mean I'm not complaining, I love hot evil men on TV but I admire what he's tried to do in Lies Within and I love it.

Read More

So Bros before hoes lol Ah I kid.
Seriously, the only word to describe this show would be EPIC.
Because of the sheer number of episodes you feel like you've taken a long journey but because every single episode is so packed with action and intrigue, you can watch five episodes in a row and not get tired.
There's always so much happening and it's super addictive.
I seriously fell in love with Amy Chen, the way she played her character was so nuanced and her acting is top notch and her bad bitch persona just couldn’t get enough of her.
Tbh I wasn't a big fan of Yu Ran but she did grow on me. But till the end, I found her character motivations a little frustrating. Her and the Iron Warrior or whatever his name was, he was so random and the decisions he kept making just screwed everything up and I honestly to the end could not sympathize with him when I was able to sympathize even with most of the antagonists and villains.
That's the kind of show this is, you even cry for most of the villains and the supporting characters.
And of course, the highlight of the series was Asule (Turbo Liu) and Ji Ye's (Chen Ruo Xuan)  bromance and it doesn't disappoint, not to mention they're both gorgeous.
And the writing is excellent!

Read More

In the beginning this didn't look like my kind of movie it looked a bit childish but then I really got into the story and characters. Entertaining and the graphics are done well. It's basically about people dealing with their guilt and how the past continues to haunt them. Death is used as a metaphor for a life that's devoid of family and loved ones because of some mistake you made when you were young. I personally liked all the guardian reapers and the dark humor was nicely done. What I didn't like was that they basically used DO for clout, he's not even on the poster. I just noticed. I honestly watched it to support him. But clout or not he did his character well and it was important no doubt his character. And the second season teaser in the end I liked it, will definitely try the next one. So in short entertaining watch.

Read More

"You had a happy dream but you don't remember it at all. Or you had a nightmare and it felt so real as if it was a reality. Or the reality was just so harsh that you just kept on sleeping." This is a story about two people dealing with the grief of losing someone. Poignant, heartfelt, intense. Great performances and meaningful, insightful writing. wo people dealing with the grief of losing someone. Poignant, heartfelt, intense. Great performances and meaningful, insightful writing. Like Black Mirror it has a timeless, spaceless feel. That period of grief that makes you feel dazed and sleep becomes the only respite from the harsh reality.

Read More

An excellent portrayal of the hedonistic appetite of a King who veers from being a man full of heart to being a tyrant who is still plagued by the loss of his mother. The way his childlike nature comes out in front of the minstrels is both unnerving and makes you giggle. Seriously, this movie is the definition of dark humor. But the raw story of a messed up love triangle will leave you heartbroken. You don’t even have to be a Lee Joon gi fan to enjoy this one but please keep in mind this is very much an adult themed movie. It broaches a lot of subjects that are for mature audiences. Even the jokes and language is very much 'foul' if you don't get offended easily though and don't mind the darkness, please watch it. The acting overall was just amazing. Everyone is doing a remarkable job portraying their characters. It leaves you wanting more when the movie ends. But good God Lee Joon Gi lol I'm still up awe of this guy! He played the role so naturally and he's beautiful BEYOND WORDS like I have seen flower boys, I love flower boys, I saw Hwarang, okay? Minho, V, Hyungsik? It's my favorite drama, so I'm no newb to flower boys, but this guy lol um I don't have words to describe his ethereal, androgynous beauty other than that it broke my heart just looking at him. That's the beauty of this film. It's dark, and grotesquely evil, and ridiculously, unnervingly BEAUTIFUL.

Read More

This was an outstanding film. It's dark and painful and bleak and the acting is so powerful you'll be going through everything that happens to Minho. I've seen it multiple times and I stand by my review, and even after several rewatches I still went through the same emotional attachment I felt the first time.

Choi Minho plays the role of a young man surviving on the streets with three others, including the girl he's in love with. They commit crimes to keep themselves fed and don't even have a bed to sleep on. The painful reality of people surviving in the underbelly of a big city will make you feel all kinds of emotion.

The things throwaway abandoned kids have to go through to survive each day, it's downright brutal. The whole thing is extremely realistic so it breaks your heart and you can't help being thrilled for them when they get away with some minor crime.

One night, in dire straits, the girlfriend suggests they do a sex scam. She claims they won't actually have to do anything, just scam the guy. Minho refuses and after a bit of an argument he shuts her down. The next day, the girl, in an attempt to fix their money situation, decides to do the sex scam without telling her boyfriend and with the help of the friend they find someone.

But things don't go as planned.

What I loved about the movie was the strength of their love and how passionate they were. There was no selfishness there, it really gets to you when things go awry.

Just in love with this one.

Read More

They started with a bang but despite the fact that I preferred Lee Jin wook to Jang Hyuk in the Detective role, I wasn't exactly wowed tbh. For one there was no real resolution, so it's pointless to comment on the overall story arc. I also don't want to give out any spoilers but the ending cliffhanger I'm okay with that. Its just the overall story was pretty mediocre and personally for me Kim Jae wook made it worth sitting down for the last part in the last season and no doubt the last half of Voice was mind blowing. Voice 2 though the stories are interesting I feel casting choices were not great. People ended up being villainous who basically I felt nothing for so there was no real sense of loss and I do find the main female lead bearable at best so it's impossible to relate to her. Just like last season, Yesung played the role of the computer hacker on their team and I could connect to him and the other supporting characters more, this time around it was officer Jin. Even in the finale I was able to get some entertainment because he was involved. But the thing is how he reacts to what happened to him wasn't realistic at all. He was basically just fine and talking to people, has anyone on the show ever been through actual trauma? So even in that they were lacking. Overall, just an average show. Not terrible but nothing memorable either. I did like the Detectives storyline. Even darkness wise it was pretty mild compared to last season.

Read More