I'm sure there are a good portion of you that were drawn to this film because of its trailer, which does a good job in drawing you in without revealing any major plot points.

There are three stories that are interconnected, and you could say they also vary on emotional intensity; like you would expect from love stories in real life. Personally, I found one of the stories to be lacking, and was wondering why it was put in the same film as the other two when I perceived it to be "less than" the others. However, upon spending more time thinking about the film after I finished watching, I realised this story also plays a crucial role in showing us not only that we each experience different love and maybe heartaches, but also we each perceive love differently. So I think each of the three stories has something important to offer.


The film is shot beautifully. I've gotten really used to watching the cheesy Filipino romance films which tend to focus on bright colours and bright lights, but this film captures the beauty in darker scenes (there are a lot of night scenes), and uses colours very well to represent emotional highs and lows.

The music matched the mood(s) well, the acting/cast was good but nothing mind-blowing. Solid performances that you can appreciate.
They did well at creating real to life-esque feelings. I especially enjoyed the scenes of Jackie and Kath just talking to each other; they felt genuine.

My rewatch value is low only because I don't particularly enjoy feeling sad and so while cinematically this was better made, I would probably choose to re-watch a cheesy romcom any day because it's lighter and easier to digest.

Overall, I would say I would recommend this film to most people; it's a good plot with solid acting and nice music. Happy viewing!

Read More

Based on the manga of the same name by the amazing manga artist Saimon Fumi (who also wrote other classic dramatised mangas like "Asunaro Hakusho" and "Tokyo Love Story"), the writing for this show was brilliant.

Being a drama from before the turn of the century, it might be difficult to find online; but as a child I remember watching and rewatching this drama countless times.
In hindsight, this is such a star-studded drama and it is really amazing to see that even when they were younger, these now superstar actors had good, solid acting abilities. I always felt bad for Nakama Yukie because she plays her character so well that she really starts to annoy you.

I think what really makes this drama so enjoyable, and the rewatch value so high, is the fact that Shunpei (Domoto Koichi) and Momoko (Seto Asaka) are in a super relatable point of their lives. We see Shunpei go through a lot of emotional changes and growth which we too would experience at that age, and Momoko's forward and speaks-her-mind type character is so interesting balanced with Shunpei who is awkward, a push-over and struggling to share his true feelings.

The side characters and stories also are good, and bring a lot of balance to Shunpei and Momoko's turbulent relationship.

Read More

Just for originality alone, this film deserves top points.

While I was thoroughly confused the first time I watched it, "Cha no Aji" is one of those movies where the more you watch it, the more you understand the deeper meanings behind it; the fact that its not a "weird film" but actually something quite beautiful.

I think it is probably because the first time through, it takes a long time for you to process everything that happens.
So I ask all of you that didn't like it the first time, give it another go! You'll pick up on points you missed the first time, and hopefully you'll understand the true meaning behind all the weirdness.

If you still aren't feeling it, just watch it for Grandpa's songs. Seriously.

While I have rated this 8.5 on my personal page, that was off the first watch.
If I were to re-rate it now (after having seen it a total of 4 times), I would give it a solid 10.

If I were to pick my most favourite film that I watched in 2014, "Cha no Aji" would be the definite winner.

Happy viewing!

Read More

I thought the acting/casting choice was exceptional. Hyun Bin as always pulls off a cool but incredibly charming character (Much like in "Secret Garden" and "My Name is Kim Sam Soon") but I think the biggest applause should go to Son Ye Jin whose character is outwardly spoken and a "rich girl" which usually could annoy people, yet she portrayed her in such a way where we as viewers see her as honest and a go-getter and incredibly cool (have you ever seen an actress run that fast and look super cool at the same time?). Also big props should go to the supporting cast; the four squadron members (Yang Kyung Won and Yoo Su Bin had me in fits of laughter) as well as the women in the NK town; their scenes of comic relief as well as heart-warming parts are definitely what carries the story so well. Special shout out to Jeon Gook Hwan (Jung Hyuk's father) and Jang So Yeon (Myung Sook/Man Bok's wife) I think they were two supporting characters that I really really thought the actors did a great job with. From what I have read and seen online, the production did a very good job in keeping with accuracy of what life in NK is like (you can check out videos by defectors on YT!), obviously there will be parts that are heightened for dramatisation, but overall I think it was a great show. It's been a while since I've enjoyed a show so much! Going to have to look for something to fill the gap in my heart now haha. The overall isn't 10/10 only because the ending wasn't exactly what I would've gone for- but I suppose the trickiest part is ending a show well. Great show! Would recommend to everyone.

Read More

Unfortunately this is one of those shows that I just can't bring myself to rate highly, purely because it made me feel so helpless. While the acting in it is better than I expected (the last scene was done well, I thought), I agree with the other review in that it is far too rushed. It is so much information to take in over too little time. It has the dark tones expected of a Higashino Keigo adaptation and is an interesting (sad, but true) commentary on Japanese society. I would, however, definitely recommend following it with something lighter if you're not so keen on feeling a bit down afterwards.

Read More