ivybis
United States
Meh!
I watched this movie a few months ago and I what sticks out, to this day, is how strange that Daniel Henney stars in a Korean film without speaking a word of Korean? He speaks to the FL in English and she answers in Korean. WTH??? The film has some funny moments, but there was nothing memorable about it except the unconventional way the producers tried to work around the fact that our ML is a Korean American actor who can't speak a word of Korean. He certainly provides the eye candy, but darned if anyone can believe they can bring this guy home to meet the parents and communicate!The cliched plot of rich, handsome CEO starting an office romance with an underling is tiresome. Nothing noteworthy or memorable that makes it stick out.
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I will start with the relationship between the MLs which is the best part of the entire show. Two people come together during unconventional circumstances and manage to make their relationship work. The beauty in this is watching our hero accept his love for the object of his affection without reservation. He doesn't dwell on whether others will accept it, he doesn't shy away from it, just accepts it and follows his heart. He is mature about it. This earns the highest marks from me. It shows and usual amount of respect and integrity in the writing not often found in these types of comedies. The show was heartwarming and hilarious, there are plot holes but the airtight writing around the main characters allows you to overlook that.
The show is full of cliches and ridiculous behavior. It can be over the top and cheesy in a very funny way, supporting characters disappear for large lengths of time without explanation and some story lines did not have adequate wrap ups. I think the sub story lines were just not as important to the writers as the MLs were, so they didn't spend a lot of time on fleshing them out. In my opinion, they had some really good characters which I would have liked to have seen more of but, perhaps the focus remains where it should. Just watching the MLs flirt shamelessly with each other is a treat given their excellent chemistry, I wouldn't be surprised if these two wound up falling in love in real life because that's how good they were. (I was able to catch some of their behind-the-scenes banter and the chemistry and fun they had was present there as well. You could tell they were 150% comfortable with each other.) Our MLs are beautiful and I just want to run my fingers through Baron Chen's hair just once! His hair is amazing! Kudos to the costumers and makeup team who made them look cool and stylish.
I recommend this show for anyone who is tired of watching shows with immature, dysfunctional couples who behave like idiots. This show makes you breathe a sigh of relief that there are artists out there interested in actually writing something more realistic. It's funny, romantic, and rewatchable. The music is one of the best parts of this show. Bii's "Back In Time" is played often throughout the series. He has a nice singing voice and has a part as the secondary romantic couple opposite Katie Chen.
I will be adding this series to my rewatch list.
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Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings
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Love is just that: A celebration of love among a group of people loosely connected with each other. We don’t know how things are going to work out among our main leads, but we try our best to keep up with the numerous situations within the movie. It seems however that the plot involving the college student who finds herself in trouble to be the most engaging of all.
I found the music forgetful but that might not be a bad thing. I was too busy focusing on the story. It is the Asian version of Love Actually. It’s cute but not memorable.
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Our MLS are supposed to be in love and yet they are always finding ways to hurt one another under the guise of sacrifice. But I don’t buy it because none of it rang sincere. This was a shallow piece of fluff which wasted a the great talent of our leading lady.
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What I love about Bong Soon is that she is a down to earth super hero who, rather than flaunt her strength, tries her very best to hide it, preferring to be more of a guardian angel than donning a ridiculously tight spandex suit with the letter "B" affixed to her chest. She cares deeply for her friends and family and isn't afraid to take risks to save them. She is cute with a quirky sense of style, and can easily pass for the girl next door. No drop dead, gorgeous vixen here. Even so, she manages to catch the eye of two very handsome young men, who try their best to be her number one.
The supporting cast was equally strong, making her look even better. All cast members felt fleshed out and human, and you cared about them all. It was a well put together cast of very talented people. I was very pleased with this production. I like a comedy that can be funny without being ridiculous.
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I love films that make me care for the characters, even the not-so-good ones because the writers have taken the time to flesh them out and not make them one dimensional villains. The female characters are very strong. No Mary Janes here. The acting is out of this world, pleased that they were able to cast a very talented ensemble. This is a show that doesn't not leave you. The historical situations were fascinating. It has been a real pleasure waiting for new episodes to come out weekly. Watch this. You will not be disappointed
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This film tries to make us believe that theirs is a great love story worth fighting for, but it's not. Our hero is cold and looks stiff during those kissing scenes and our heroine really doesn't like him at all. He just doesn't get it. There was very little buildup to the romance. The added side plots don't really help the story. Both of them behave immaturely and the ambiguous ending was frustrating. I had to search for deleted scenes on YouTube that should have wrapped up the ending.
Disappointing.
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Repetitive Boring Plot
I am really getting tired of romantic fluff and this one is no exception. I really wanted to like this show and it started out very cute and light hearted, but the writing and the acting is so poor that I can't give it a pass. It is full of cliche plots that have been done elsewhere, and rife with brand pushing. How many times can the actors drink Rio without puking out their insides? Their refrigerators are completely stocked with Rio beverages, and NOTHING else. Is it any wonder they have to eat out?There doesn't seem to be any normal women in this show and, I am sad to say, they aren't depicted in a favorable light here. The women are either gullible, starry eyed, Mary-Sue types who are constantly being told they need to be protected, or are crazy, lunatics. When the guys aren't telling them what to do, the ladies are chasing down men or beating them up. If a woman is actually tough, she is depicted as having no feelings. Of course, the men don't fare any better. They are either plotting behind each others' backs, or throwing around their toxic masculinity. I just wanted for our FL to have at least one person who wanted what was best for her with no ulterior motive. Sadly, everyone wanted to run her life for her. It's disheartening.
I only watched this because I was fresh off The Long Ballad and was delighted there was another show with Lusi Zhao. She is a fine actress and so adorable. Unfortunately, this romance is so poorly written that I felt her talent was wasted. In fact, the plot is so sloppy that actors disappear, make choices that don't really fit their personality, and loose ends are not tied up. There is no wrap up of important plot details and, once again, the villains are given an arc of redemption instead of the well-deserved punishment for their depraved behavior. Plot is implausible, as is the norm in these types of fluffy romances and the acting is cringeworthy. I would rate this better than Meteor Garden but not by much.
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The show reminds me of Meteor Garden but with better acting. Cliches, shallow parents, bullying coworkers, stupid choices. It's all here. Because the first 20 episodes consisted of the ML treating our ingenue in such mean ways, I couldn't like him and didn't care if he met a horrible end. Though, I couldn't muster much sympathy for the girl either. She seems to make several idiotic choices, whines, acts like she is fifteen years old, has the IQ of a beetle, and eats like a pig. The music is horrific, repetitive bubble gum stuff that belongs in a preteen Disney show. Just what am I watching here?
The supporting characters are much more interesting and, because of that, I am wondering if that alone outweighs dropping the series all together? When I read that the end is hastily wrapped up and some characters do not get closure , I feel frustrated with the sloppiness of the writing. The viewers deserve better. This is what I get for watching a modern day C-drama. I guess I have to keep looking for something else or stick to the historical dramas.
Can someone take pity on me and just tell me what happens to Mo Nan?
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Messy, muddled plot
I really wanted to like this drama, but it was 40 episodes of case after case with little emphasis on the relationships between the main leads. I always like older woman, younger man dramas as long as the writing is engaging. This drama, however was too muddled with the minutiae of cases rather than develop a natural path between the main leads and their supporting characters. I should have dropped this early on, but I wanted to see it through because I respect the main leads and their talents. Unfortunately, the writing did not do them justice.Qin Shi (Yang Mi) is an ambitious young lawyer gunning for a promotion to partner in a competitive law firm. She is tough, smart and capable and has the respect of all her colleagues. The one thing she doesn't have to make it to the next level is a husband. She decides to foolishly make one up and steals a picture from the internet from a dating site. When she is required to attend an important work event with the spouse, she is forced to "hire" one for the role.
Yang Hua (Xu Kai) is the young man in question--a hermit with a past. He decides to accept Qin Shi's business proposition to get his overbearing mother off his back. Both parties feel this is a great solution to their mutual problems, but neither count on the possibility of falling in love with each other. Add an ex-fiance that never got closure, and his jealous new girlfriend, and we have an interesting plot for a good drama or rom-com. Alas, the opportunity was wasted in favor of in-depth cases that took the attention away from the romance building of the leads.
One would think that the plot would find a funny and romantic way to focus on these two individuals and their slow gravitation towards one another, and to an extent we do. However, it's boringly written and one has a difficult time believing in the plausibility of this odd couple's relationship. You wonder what such an overachieving young woman would see in such a hermit of a kid six years her junior. There are some sweet moments, but the kissing scenes are so poorly rehearsed, that it makes you uncomfortable.
I enjoyed the relationship between Qin Shi and her professional work rival, Li Dai, more than any other in this entire drama. They had really good chemistry and they brought out the best in each other professionally. I even liked Qin Shi's ex because he wasn't a jerk, but a victim of his own unwillingness to stand up to the women in his life. I imagined different ways his story could have gone, but again, the writers missed a great opportunity. He definitely didn't deserve the ending he got. I think the last episode was used to quickly wrap up the storylines they had abandoned earlier on. Characters central to the drama in the beginning tended to disappear by the end and some supporting cast were just nuisances.
The acting was good among the lead and seasoned cast. I liked Xu Kai's performance as the hermetic, oddball nerd and Yang Mi as the high-powered lawyer. The one dynamic that really worked among them was the house-husband/working woman roles. The themes of inequality and harassment are also taken on here.
To wrap up, I think this drama falls into the trap of not being able to decide what it is wants to be. I think one should first decide what kind of a story is central and write along those lines rather than have so many side plots and characters that don't do anything to further the drama's main theme. Otherwise a drama with a messy, muddled plot is the result.
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One of the better Rom-Coms
I was fresh from watching The Red Sleeve and needed something funny after that and My Dearest. I was also so impressed by Lee Jun Ho and needed to see him in something else, so I picked up King the Land. This rom-com was light-hearted and funny and I liked Jun Ho's performance as, Gu Won, the debonair chaebol with the heart of gold. When he meets a lovely staff member taking care of business in his hotel room, sparks fly even though they claim to dislike each other.The show is rife with silly moments, sound bites for gulping and eye batting, and over-the-top performances by Ahn Se Ha, Gu Won's trusty sidekick. While this can get old real quick, it manages to stay fun. The secondary main leads don't overtake the main leads and still manage to pull off an interesting to watch love story. I even like that there is a big age difference between one of the couples, which is never an issue between the two. I found myself rooting for them.
There were some cliches that would have been better left out, but the bigger disappointment was the rushed wrap up of the drama and the use of the redemption arc for the villains. Personally, I like to see villains get their just desserts, so the writing choices left me feeling a bit cheated there. Definitely, the best part was the romance between our main leads. The kisses were smoking hot! Lee Jun Ho is incredibly attractive and talented. I am looking forward to seeing him in more dramas.
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Well...I am conflicted
I loved this production and the efforts of the team, from the beautiful sets to the breathtaking costumes, special effects, OST, gravity defying martial arts and outstanding performances. As an American watching C-drama's since 2018, I am in awe of the time, labor, and passion for creating such awe inspiring dramas. I have been in love with Yang Mi's style and beauty since first seeing her in TLTWTMPB, renamed Eternal Love in the States. I have seen several of her films and TV dramas and can see what a fabulous actress she is. The thing is that great acting also requires great storytelling. This is where the drama suffers. It took all my energy to keep up with the many twists and turns in the storyline. I loved William Chan's performance as the debonair master of Jifeng Pavilion, never allowing his emotions to be expressed in court or at home among his pupils. Equally entertaining is his adolescent female student Haishi, who is played convincingly by Yang Mi. She has the most emotional growth in this drama from annoying teenager, to a powerfully clever leader. Yet, there is so much going on and so many characters to keep track of that the storyline sometimes gets muddled in the various plots.As much as I appreciated all the effort that went into creating this epic drama, the writing and the story arc are crucial to the success of a drama, and I think too much happens here that doesn't really need to. The story seemed to be coming to a natural end and yet, in the last episode, the writers contrived and ending that felt orchestrated for the sake of getting the ending they wanted rather than the one that was coming naturally. In doing so, I felt that previous plot lines were negated and rendered contradictory. I would mention examples but don't want to add spoilers, so you would have to watch to understand what I'm talking about.
I have seen over and over in my five years of watching C-dramas that the handsome, younger, emotionally guarded male is the epitome of sexiness, and favored in Chinese dramas. Some are done better than others depending on the acting abilities of the performer, while the leading lady is beautiful, sweet, sexy and less smarter than her leading man. Mmm...kay. Yet, here I am coming back to them over and over. What is it that makes them so appealing? Maybe its the costumes, the music, the gorgeous performers. Who knows? I guess I am hooked, but I am always looking for anything that will take me to the heights that Eternal Love has. This drama, with all its merits, unfortunately falls short.
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The Gory Drama with a Heart
This is one of the better apocalyptic dramas out there. This heart-in-your-throat horror drama full of blood, gore and action delivers in strong performances by a talented ensemble of actors and strong writing. Think the cast of LOST meets #Alive.Although the topic of humans turning into creatures/zombies has already been explored, this one is different, though the details of how this comes about is as murky as the bowels of the apartment complex, where much of the action takes place. What is not lost on the viewer, however, is the metaphor of humans treating each other like monsters when hurting each other due to hatred, envy, or a lack of empathy, and literally becoming the creatures of their deepest desires who feel the need to kill or save humans.
What I love the most about this drama are the strong female leads. No Mary Janes here. The women in this show young and old, kick butt. Not only are they caregivers, teachers, grocers, musicians, first responders, and moms, they are also extraordinarily fierce when pushed to the brink of danger. See Yi Kyung, played by the beautiful Lee Shi Young, could have easily been played by a man. The fact that they chose a female hero is a plus. She is strong, smart, and protective of the tenants in the apartment building. The audience is provided with backstories through flashbacks of the main characters to better understand their weaknesses, and how they overcome them through the ensuing action. Some strategically placed comedic elements serve to break up the tension when the drama becomes too intense to handle.
Now for the bad parts: It's over-the-top violent and gory. There is so much blood, body parts and dead people that I felt caught in a violent video game. If you can't stand blood and guts, this is not the show for you. Some story details were ambiguous. It's not exactly clear why humans are becoming the way they are. There are some clues that are not explained which leads me to believe there may be a second season, else these nuances would be considered plot holes. The cliffhanger ending? There has to be a second season or it would be the most ambiguous part of the drama after all that suffering.
Would I watch this again? Yes! I need to go back and catch the little things I missed due to the break-neck pace of the story. It is very thought-provoking drama because it makes you ponder the human psyche. The black on white line drawing of the eye at the opening credits along with the classical music is a stroke of genius. It draws you in and slams the door behind you,
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I will be honest. It took 20 episodes for me to decide whether to drop it or not. I am glad I didn't. The first 20 episodes were campy and since I like dramas, wasn't sure this would be my cup of tea. But that all got settled as the pace quickened and things started to move along.
Jinmi is the daughter of the great Floral Fairy goddess who passes away from lovesickness and giving birth. Before she passes, she gives her infant daughter an elixir to swallow which keeps her from falling in love. This impediment is the root cause of all Jinmi's troubles as they keep her from forming love attachments. Growing up thinking she is a grape elf and without a care in the world, her life is soon turned upside down when a great phoenix bird accidentally lands in the floral realm during rebirth. He is actually a prince from the Heavenly realm who befriends Jinmi after she saves his life.
This show was surprisingly good and even though it isn't as good as Eternal Love, it has enough twists and turns that I never saw coming. I like a show that surprises me. The performances were rock-solid. I love the beautiful actress who plays Jinmi and the actor who portrays Runyu, her fiance. For a young actor, he does a solid job of making you love and despise him all at once. He was the most interesting character of all. I felt like the show doesn't reveal anything before it´s time and when Jinmi finds out the truth about people, you find out right along with her.
Great love story, though the chemistry isn't as good between the main characters as in Eternal Love. But I chalk this up the the actors being slightly younger and less experienced with the love scenes. Another great C-drama top put on your to-watch list.
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