Nova
Germany
an action-comedy at first glance - but a lot more!
To be honest, I was waiting to watch this movie since I saw the very first trailer, so my expectations for this one were really high. And I am not dissappointed!First of all, if you go into this movie expecting a love story, you will probably be dissappointed but still, I recommend giving this movie a try.
I expected to see a action-comedy with supernatural elements, without any deep meaning behind it ("just a good laugh") but this movie offers way more than that. All the different pieces of this movie are nicely put together, nothing feels out of place. The story focuses more on the relationships between the characters (not only the main characters) than it does on the action - still, the action scenes are done great! Additionally, there are twists in the story, making it unpredictable and never leaving the viewer bored. The pace of the story is perfect, making the ~2 hours a good frame to tell the whole story without feeling like pieces were left behind in the end. Also, the ending, in my opinion, is a perfect ending to such an unique story.
All the actors do a great job portraying their characters. The unique personalities of the characters are portrayed nicely and seem realistic, as well as their own character development throughout the story. Especially the main characters are lovable in their own way. Their relationship throughout the movie feels genuine and realistic.
Talking about the OST, I was already in love with "Come with me" (the soundtrack in the trailer) before I was able to watch the movie, so obviously I am giving the OST a high rating. At the same time, the other songs in this movie feel just as nice, which made me add every single one to my personal music library! The music is used nicely throughout the movie without feeling annoying or out of place.
Overall, this is a nice movie which offers a lot more than I expected and a movie that I will most likely rewatch a few (=many) times. Therefore, I recommend that you should give this movie a try, it's totally worth it!
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Now let's talk about Chu
"Let's Talk About Chu" follows the story of a family and their struggles, trying to find "their place in the world". There are several storylines being told at the same time; Chu Ai and Ping Ke - who are in a friendship plus; Chu Ais brother finding (true) love; The sister and her husband, as well as their parents struggling with their marriage.While I did enjoy most of the drama and I would recommend it to everyone in search of a more mature Asian drama, there still is some room for improvement. But first of all, let's start with everything this drama did right:
First, the drama feels like a cute mix of "Sex Education" and "The Warp Effect" at first but it soon becomes unique in it's own way! The drama does a great job of combining serious topics while mantaining the overall more light feel of the story. Talking about STDs or sexual desires never feels out of place, it's nicely put together, never feeling like it was just added to put it out there.
The characters feel well-built, having a real personality, their own problems and mistakes. Their relationships feel genuine (and certainly not picture book perfect) and I couldn't help but root for all the characters. The cinematography, the soundtrack and the acting are all good - helping the story come to life!
But now to the things that bothered me at times:
Sex scenes often times feel more like watching a sex comedy (especially the ones of the brother) which I personally find odd at times considering how good the drama handles talking about the topics. But considering that this drama isn't about these scenes most of the time; that's a point I can look over at any time.
The duration; with only 8 episodes (with about 40-45 minutes per episode), some storylines feel like they haven't been explored as much as they could have been, making them also feel a bit rushed at times.
Nevertheless, "Let's Talk About Chu" is a great choice when searching for a fun and enjoyable watch over the weekend!
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A different (but fun) kind of a Heist!
"Breaking and Re-Entering" tells a unique story; instead of a regular heist, the viewer follows a group of thieves trying to bring back the money they stole. This premise already promises a fun ride that the movie is able to fulfill from the beginning to the end. It's catchy, it's over-the-top (in the best way possible) and leaves the viewer interested througout the whole story.The movie uses many aspects of the typical "heist movie" formular, every character has their own set of skills and have to work together to get the money or - in this case - to bring it back. At the same time, it never feels like a story told a hundred times.
The characters don't have huge backstories but that isn't needed to like them all because they have their own unique touch. Still, the movie manages to show why this group works so well.
The cast contributes a lot to it, they did a great job at portraying their characters!
Honestly, I enjoyed the movie so much that 1 hour and 40 minutes felt like a moment. (I will certainly rewatch it one day!) There's nothing I can complain about because all the aspects work well together, making this movie one of my favourites this year! So, I highly recommend watching it if you want a fun movie!
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a high school rom-com done right
"My School President" tells the story of first love in the last year of high school.While the synopsis of this drama might sound like it's just the same high school rom-com all over again, "My School President" still manages to tell a unique story. Overall, the drama is light-hearted, funny and cute but is also able to show serious sides without destroying the flow of the story. There isn't any unnecessary conflict - every conflict has a reason for growth, it's not just there for the sake of a conflict.
The OST of "My School President" is probably one of the best OSTs you can find on GMMTV dramas. It's a mix of original songs and cover songs. Every song is chosen wisely to compliment the theme of each episode, which makes the experience of watching this drama even better than it already is.
The cast is a great choice. The interactions between (main as well as side) characters don't feel awkward at all. That's probably also thanks to the great acting of every actor working on this. They are able to deliver fun and cute scenes as well as serious and emotional scenes. Although, some aspects of the story are exaggerated for comedy purposes, it still feels realistic.
To sum up, if you want to watch a cute, fun high school rom-com that still manages to add seriousness and has great acting, then "My School President" will probably become one of your favourites.
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a cute and fun series
"Roommates of Poongduck 304" was a series I was really looking forward to for a while (though I didn't have time to watch it until now).With a duration of about 30 minutes per episode and 8 episodes in total, this is a rather short series. Because of the shortness of this drama, there were things that weren't really explored enough - for example, I would have loved to know more about the past of the characters. Despite that, the series did a good job with making the characters interesting and kinda lovely in their own way.
The chemistry between the main characters and the overall dynamic between all the characters was great. Personally, the acting was good - nothing special but not bad, just good. The story itself is simple (a typical enemy-to-lovers trope) but still tries to be original without being ridiculous. If you are in for a cute love story without a lot of drama, I would recommend this drama to you!
Overall, "Roommates of Poongduck 304" is a cute and fun drama with a high rewatch value.
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a unique and cute story
When I first started watching this series, I honestly didn't have very high expectations since the story sounded so unique that it could have gone terribly wrong.But it didn't. The way the story as well as the characters were portrayed was just right in my opinion. While there are questions that weren't really answered in the end, the series captures many important aspects to the characters despite being only a short web series.
The quality of the production was great and the actors did an even better job at portraying their characters!
Overall, this short series is an unique fantasy/romance that can be a bit flat at timesbut I would still recommend it to everyone who loves cute stories.
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an emotional rollercoaster portraying everyday lives
"Moonlight Chicken" is part of the "Midnight Series" alongside "Midnight Motel" and "Dirty Laundry". It is the third and last series released from these three. First of all, I have to agree with many other opinions; it is the best entry out of the three series. One of the reasons is probably the longer runtime which results in allowing to have more place to fully develop a background story and giving characters the ability to grow.The story tells a lot of different aspects of life; losing a loved one, falling in love, financial problems, the problems and prejudice towards deaf and hard-of-hearing people have to face... but these are only a few exampled of the many aspects it portrays. Especially the inclusion of a deaf character (Heart) as one of the more important characters gives this series a special place in my heart.
This is where I will have to talk about the acting. Heart (Gemini) is portrayed extremely well, without using much speech, only expressions and body language, he is able to show all his emotions without it feeling like too much or too little. Acting-wise, Heart (Gemini) and Li Ming (Fourth) probably steal the show. The actors are able portray the feelings that teenagers have while trying to find their own way, in a natural, convincing way, probably due to the fact that they are the same age as their characters. But every other actor (and actress) in this series does their role justice, making "Moonlight Chicken" a natural, convincing (and emotional) experience.
The soundtrack is beautiful. Starting with a great intro song, the series is able to use the soundtrack in a way that it completes every scene in perfectly, making the experience for the viewer even better.
Therefore, while I recommend watching all three series of the "Midnight Series", "Moonlight Chicken" is the one that will leave the biggest impact on the viewer.
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"Midnight Motel" does a great job at balancing comedy, fluff and seriousness. There was never a moment in which comedy seems forced. All the characters have great chemistry while mantaining their own personality in a charming way. I love every character, even the minor ones that do not get a lot of screentime.
The cast was chosen well, every actor/actress is able to bring life to a character, making them feel like real people. Every character has their own flaws without making these flaws the only trait they have. Even the "bad guys" are not written as only bad people. And this is something I personally really enjoy.
I like the soundtrack. It's not special but it fits the concept and "completes" the series in a good way.
If I had to recommend a short series with a good story and good comedy that doesn't feel out of place; I would probably recommend this series.
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an interesting story with good characters and a lot of violence
I will start off by saying that I haven't watched the original version of this drama (Korean, 2014), so I won't be able to compare the two versions. First of all, there is a lot of violence in it, so I don't recommend watching it if you feel uncomfortable to see blood and violence."Bad Guys" tells the story of a group of criminals that work together with a police officer in order to catch other criminals. Reason behind that is the murder of the son of one police officer. The story develops fast in the beginning but manages to slow down to tell an interesting story. Every main character has their own backstory which is told throughout the whole series without losing track of the original idea.
The acting is good, though I wouldn't say it was great. The characters are believable most of the time but especially villains seem to be acted "over the top" (they are still good villains).
The OST is good most of the time but the soundtrack seems a bit off sometimes. That's a personal preference, a lot of people enjoy the OST a lot.
In the end, "Bad Guys" is a good thriller with interesting, good characters and story. Though, it has some flaws, it is worth to try out.
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GG Precinct - more of a great comedy than a investigation drama!
First of all, I want to say that I watched "GG Precinct" because of my love for the movie (Marry My Dead Body). When writing this review I want to try to look at it from two perspectives: watching it as a stand-alone drama and watching it as a sequel/spin-off.It is certainly possible to watch GG Precinct without ever seeing a glimpse of the movie.
The story follows a the formula of typical investigation dramas: a team trying to solve murder mysteries. Therefore, this drama doesn't really set itself apart. If it wasn't for the amount of parody and comedy (which does bring a lot of fun while watching!), the mysterious series killer arc would probably be a lot more boring. The production itself is nice, though this isn't really surprising for a Netflix production.
The cast is a great choice! All of them bring their characters to life nicely while old characters stay true to their movie personality. But here's the catch; if you're a viewer who doesn't know about the movie, all characters will seem flat, without much substance to their personality despite being a bunch of funny idiots.
So, is it worth watching?
If you expect to get a good spin-off of a great movie, you will be disappointed for sure. The very little amount of references will make you feel like it's a totally different universe with the same characters - a missed oppurtunity in my opinion!
Without expecting a spin-off or maybe watching it on it's own, you will be in for a fun ride. GG Precinct doesn't seem to take itself seriously at any time, has a rather simple storyline, great production and lovely characters!
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a mini series full of comedy and chaos
"Dirty Laundry" is part of the "Midnight Series" alongside "Midnight Motel" and "Moonlight Chicken". It is the second series released from these three. While this series is good standing on it own feet, when comparing it to the other two, it falls flat and is probably the entry I liked the least - even though I was really excited about it when it was announced for the first time.First of all, I will start off by saying that the cast does an incredible job at portraying the characters. Since "Dirty Laundry" focuses on comedy rather than a deep storyline, comedic scenes are way more important than anything else. So, if you expect to see a lot of emotions - this series will disappoint you. But if you want to have a fun time with a lot of laughs, you will probably like it (but: you have to like the kind of humor used in this series).
The story is a big mess. Saying otherwise would probably be a lie. Still, it is a great mess. The kind of mess that is so absurd that you can't help but laugh about it. And that is what the "Dirty Laundry" is trying to do; it is not supposed to be deep but to make people laugh and have a good time. Therefore, this series fulfills it's purpose in a good way.
In conclusion, while this series might not be for everyone, most people will probably enjoy it and have a good laugh as long as you don't expect a serious story (but I guess, this is already clear from the trailer, right?).
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a relaxing story
I will start off by saying: I hate coffee. I really do but still, I wanted to watch a series about... well... coffee.But that's not everything this series is about; it does not tell the story of coffee but how a small act of kindness or even just a great cup of coffee can change a life. How every little decision can make your life a bit better, happier.
While I really enjoyed the series, I would say that you can appreciate it best if you watch one episode at a time. Because just like drinking too much coffee at once, it can become a bit boring to watch everything at once (but that's just a preference). Apart from that, the story is quite slow paced and doesn't really evolves; the episodes are more like little stories about the people who visit the café. The soundtrack is beautiful, I fell in love with every single bit of it.
Overall, this series is a great watch when you want to relax for a few minutes after a hard day but that might be too boring for some people.
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a crime series with a unique twist
The story is unique but there are flaws in the logic and some plot holes. There also aren't many (unique) plot twists. Despite that, "Bad and Crazy" is an interesting and enjoyable watch. The characters all have great background stories of their own (though side characters' stories are not as much explored). The writers did a great job at making the main characters relatable.All actors portray their characters perfectly, I really enjoyed the acting.
The music was good - it matches the "concept" of the series and I personally really enjoyed the intro on every episode.
To sum up, this is a well-acted crime series that I enjoyed and would recommend to everyone who likes comedy but still wants serious topics (e.g. drug dealing) to be talked about.
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A great zombie movie!
First of all, I will start to say that '#alive' is easily one of my favourite movies of 2020. (My high rating probably implies that already, huh?)While this movie might not be as thrilling (or creepy) as other zombie movies but that is what makes it way more enjoyable for me. Despite the topic being a zombie outbreak, the overall atmosphere is pretty calm since the viewer follows the daily life of the protagonist who's locked up in his own apartment because of... well, the zombies. In my opinion, the soundtrack is just great and a great fit for the movie (but I guess, that shouldn't be the most important part of a movie, right?).
If you expect a thrilling story with a lot of action, this movie will probably dissappoint you. If you want a story focusing on the feelings and thoughts of someone while trying to survive this living hell, then you should absolutely watch it!
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