kingsqueen
USA
That was the one part of this show that I really did enjoy - seeing Soo Ho blossom and become his true self under the care of Geu Rim. I like that Geu Rim was the mature and stable person in this show. She didn't have really any character growth because she didn't need any. She was calm and forth-right. She always had the perfect response to Soo Ho's (and PD Lee's) childishness. There were no huge conflicts and no noble idiocy, just a pure and sweet romance (the radio part of the show was almost an after-thought after the first half of the show and seemed to take a backseat instead of being anything major to the story.) Soo Ho could be very possessive and jealous, but because he was so child-like, cute and innocent about it, I really couldn't muster up any indignation over it. I was happy that Geu Rim was a woman that didn't let the men (Soo Ho and PD Lee) get away with bad behavior without calling them out on it.
Here is where the not so great part comes in. The story-line was problematic. The side characters really didn't have much to do, and their parts in the story were too shallowly developed to bear any weight in the story. While that made things very comfortable and easy for our lead couple, it also didn't give them any true conflict to resolve, which bored many viewers. I was ok with riding along this easy river of romance because I liked the leads honesty with each other and their resolute determination that they wouldn't let things come between them. The 'villains' that the show set up just sort of petered out about 3/4 through. Towards the end, they decided to make these thorns more sympathetic and less troublesome. Most things were resolved in neat little bows for us, very tidily and quickly. And the rest was sort of just let go. If the pacing had been better, I think they could have written a stronger story that would have been more compelling for us as viewers. Instead, they weakened out their own plot and it was already thin to begin with.
I wasn't bothered by the age difference between the actors as some people were. I am well aware that an actor doesn't have to be the same age as the character she plays. I had no issues at all with the leads that they cast for this. Now, I do have to say that the first several episodes, I wasn't thrilled with the styling choices they made for Soo Ho and Geu Rim. Soo Ho had some horrendous red hair - and red eyes to match. However, with his transformation, I could kind of see that maybe they were making an allusion to him becoming more of his 'real' self. Geu Rim also had hideously poufy curly hair and this served to make Kim So Hyun actually appear younger than her actual age rather than older, as her character was. Thankfully, they also toned down this style and she became more believable as a woman in her early 20's vs. a high school girl.
For what it's worth, if you are just looking for something light and don't mind an extremely shallow plot that just serves as a backdrop for a comfortable easy romance, then I would say this is what you are looking for in a rom-com. It's nothing ground breaking or 'never been done before', and it can be pretty cliché, so know that going in. If you are a jaded viewer who hates that sort of thing and/or needs something faster paced and a more solid plot, then you are going to want to take a hard pass on this one - it won't be for you.
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My "10" is solely based on the fact that I loved the lead romance, I loved the music, and overall was just
genuinely happy while watching it.
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While the story sort of floundered mid-way, I can't say enough about the cast - the acting was on point. Jang Ki Yong and Nam Da Reum were kings of facial expression. Heo Joon Ho was appropriately terrifying. Kim Kyung Nam elicited unexpected feelings towards his character as well. Seo Jung Yeon was perfect as the selfless mother to sons that weren't even hers. And Kim Seo Hyung, the reporter, was even more hated than the villain of the story. I had no complaints about the acting.
I doubt I will ever rewatch this, and honestly if I had just known the ending for our star-crossed lovers, I would have been happy to have skipped out on the last episode altogether.
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(I don't usually review movies, but wanted to add this one since no one had reviewed it yet.)
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The actors did a fabulous job in their roles, and the main leads were on fire with the chemistry. There are lots of great kisses too! I found myself smiling a lot while watching this.
If I had one complaint - it's a really minor one - I would say that the last episode wrapped up a lot of story almost too quickly, but it was still very satisfying. But this is not even enough for me to knock my rating down.
This drama is going on my list of favorites just because I love it for what it is - cotton candy sweetness. I will definitely re-watch this just to see all the cute moments again.
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I enjoyed the acting from all the main characters, save maybe the "villain" character. The music wasn't stand out, but it must not have been bad either. I probably won't re-watch this, but I could see the re-watch value in it.
This worked well for a slightly longer than movie length show, and I think it would be a great weekend watch.
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Again, PSJ can pretty much do no wrong in my eyes right now. He's pretty to look at, has good comedic timing, and his romance scenes were believable and tingle-inducing. Who else could make such an arrogant guy lovable and sweet? Park Min Young - started out really well. She looked sharp, had pretty smiles, and great bantering. And my goodness- THAT PONYTAIL!! Props to the ponytail! :) But I wasn't always fully convinced of Mi So's affections towards Young Joon because of how PMY acted. I've not read the webcomic that this is based on, so I don't know how true the adaptation is to the source material. In the last two episodes, her passiveness toward Young Joon was awkward and lacked any of the passion that had been building from the rest of the story. Pyo Ye Jin as Ji Ah, was super cute, but she seems to have been typecast into similar roles now. I did enjoy her in this and hope to see her in more roles soon. Hwang Bo Ra as Bong Se Ra was a bit over the top in her comedy like she was trying way too hard. But both Ji Ah and Se Ra's office romances were very cute and fun to watch. Kang Ki Young did a great job in his role, playing Young Joon's employee and friend....but mostly his advice coach. Lee Tae Hwan, playing Young Joon's brother, was such a mild character that he was virtuously unnoticeable and fairly useless except as a plot device.
The story was thin and didn't fill out the available time for the story, but because I was enjoying the romance it didn't become super obvious until the last couple of episodes. I enjoyed the banter and the comedy between the co-workers and the romance between Young Joon and Mi So. I found the sound effects hilarious and Mi So's side eye made me laugh every time. Although the secondary romances were fairly cute, there is little substance to this show, if I'm being perfectly honest. I am all up for fluffy and light when it comes to romantic comedies- so this fits that perfectly for that. If you expect a rom-com to be anything other than this, you will be disappointed and I wouldn't recommend it. I was happily entertained for the majority of the show, though, regardless of the plot. (I'm not difficult to please when it comes to rom-coms.)
I could see myself re-watching parts of this show one day when I want something light and cute.
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Intense show
I didn't watch this when it originally aired because I didn't think I would enjoy it. It's not my usual genre, and the plot didn't interest me that much. I've branched out quite a bit since it's release and then I enjoyed Seo Ye Ji so much in It's Okay to Not Be Okay that I decided to try this on a whim. And then I accidentally got my husband sucked into it as well.This show is intense. We were both riding an anxiety rollercoaster while watching this show and practically biting our nails wanting to rescue Sang Mi ourselves. LOL!
The acting from most of the main cast was really good. Seo Ye Ji is a master at acting. Her micro-expressions are on point, and she carries this fierceness about her that is just intoxicating. Ok Taecyeon was decent, but as the main lead (Han Sang Hwan), I though he could have done better. Woo Do Hwan is another star on the rise. He's been amazing in everything I've watched him in so far, including this. Jo Jae Yoon was terrifying as Jo Wan Tae and Jo Sung Ha as the 'pastor' was not only terrifying but did crazed zealot very well also.
I think the most terrifying thing about this show was that this sort of thing can and does happen to people. To watch the cult leaders twist the Bible and use it to control, abuse, and extort from their congregants twisted my insides. To see that Sang Mi had no escape and no voice - that even her own parents who loved her were brainwashed and useless to her worked me up.
I'm glad I watched it in the end. It was very well-done and a much better drama than I was expecting. The ending was mostly satisfying, but will still give you a chill. I don't think I'd watch it again, but just because that sort of genre doesn't watch the same way after knowing the outcome. If you have trauma triggers, I'd probably avoid it, but if you enjoy dark and intense shows, this should be on your list!
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The cast was well chosen, and as the story flowed, we got to see a glimpse into each tourist in the Package Vacation. They started the trip as strangers, and somehow became friends. The relationships between the couples on the trip are highlighted in different episodes, showing why they took the vacation and a bit about their lives back home in Korea. They have some good adventures and grow closer in their travels.
The music was pretty and appropriate for our French vacationers.
I wouldn't mind watching this again one day.
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Jian Yao started off as a smart, independent female that was in control of her life. Bo Jin Yan was this enigmatic man whose cold exterior was gradually warming up to Jian Yao and drawing closer to her. I enjoyed the episodic cases they solved together and the growth of Jian Yao as Bo Jin Yan's protégé in criminal profiling, not to mention the blossoming of their feelings toward one another. There was some quiet humor in there as well that I enjoyed immensely. But in the end Jian Yao was just a damsel in distress, and Bo Jin Yan was running away to "catch the bad guy" immediately after telling her he'd be with her "24/7" -- more than once. She was left out of the loop completely.
So....why the 6.5 rating you say? Well, that's because the last 1/4 of the show, the story, once it moved from China to America, went downhill in flames for me. I raced to the finish of this show expecting things to get back on track, but they never did. It was almost as if they changed writers because the whole tone of the show changed completely. Jian Yao and Bo Jin Yan were hardly in a scene together afterwards, and their dynamic changed as well. The chemistry and romance was lost as they pursued "one" big bad villain. The plot got too twisted and convoluted. The actors playing the Americans were atrocious. The stilted speech was one thing, but there were several goofs as well. One text was sent out - with a misspelling of "steel" instead of the word "steal" that was meant....but on the receiving end, the text was completely different than what was sent out. The actors playing the Americans had a few flubs in their delivery of lines, as well as changing the names of the other characters a few times. There were a few that also could not hold their American accents. It was horribly distracting. Also, the Americans would speak in English, and the Chinese would reply in Chinese. This seemed very unrealistic, as how many Americans are fluent in Mandarin? And apparently New York police officers really need to wear their bulletproof vests. Yikes!
The 7.5 score for acting goes entirely to the Chinese cast in this case, points deducted for the "Americans". (Edited to add: Although, I do realize that English speakers are NOT the target audience, I hope that this information is helpful for those that it would make a difference to.)
Poor Jian Yao and Bo Jin Yan were almost completely different characters by the end of this show. Not the same one I was captivated by in the beginning. That disappointed me a lot and the only reason this is getting a 6.5 is for all the scenes in China. I feel bad hating on a show that most seemed to really love, but there it is. They could have fleshed out the story and the characters better if they had stayed put and continued in the direction they started. The switchover to New York also had the undesired outcome of not completing the setup they started in China. Many things were dropped and not explained.
Despite my utter letdown in the ending of this show, Huo Wallace has gained a new fan in me. I hope to one day see him act in something that will "wow" me like the start of this did.
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Note - I didn't give high marks to the music, because honestly, I don't really remember the music in this at all, but the system wouldn't allow me not to rate it.
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The office hijinks played a large part in this show, as the description indicates. However, the office stuff was also kind of where its weak point lay as well. I enjoyed the burgeoning relationship between our leads, Chi Won and Yoon Yi, and the antics of their office department. They had a great supporting cast there. Lee Won Keun as Hwangbo Yul, although mostly a character I sympathized with, also had quite silly and annoying moments of aegyo because he's basically a man-child. Kang Hye Jung as his assistant Wang Jung Ae was just the mothering, loyal assistant he needed. I think they did a pretty decent job with the comedy parts of the show as well as the romance parts. There were lots of laughs and a few swoon-y moments as well. :)
The theme song was catchy - I caught myself singing it a few times.
I would say that this is a fairly decent romantic comedy as long as you don't set your expectations too high. It's cute and fun as long as that's all you are asking from it because the plot is a bit thin. I was just able to overlook that until it got down to the final episodes, and I realized that I wasn't going to get all the answers I was looking for. I would still recommend this to rom-com fans.
As far as re-watches go...I'd say there are several episodes and scenes that I'd watch again, but I don't know if I would do a complete run through again.
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surprisingly good
I was worried after the first episode that it was going to be too over the top with the yelling and the pettiness. But it soon settled and I enjoyed the way they developed the characters, and we got to know them and what drives them, how they ended up in the situation they are in. This drama flowed pretty fast with only 13 half hour episodes, so it didn't get bogged down by a lot of useless stuff. But the ending did wrap up abruptly and very tidily, which I was both annoyed with and somehow was ok with - one more episode might have rounded it out to fill out the ending more properly. I'm not mad at it though.I have waited so long for Jung Woo to be a romantic lead again after Reply 1994 - and I was not disappointed! Oh Yeon Seo, who I've only enjoyed watching in Korean Odyssey, did a really good job in this. She nailed this role. I enjoyed the side characters - especially 'Samantha'. The neighborhood busy-bodies were nosy and jumped to conclusions, but I liked that they apologized when they knew they were wrong and tried to make things right. That made them endearing rather than irritating.
This was just a nice healing type of drama and would be great for a quick watch some rainy weekend!
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This was a very fast paced comedy with non-stop action. It really seemed like the movie just flew by. There was lots of physical and verbal comedy and it was nice to see an action movie with female leads. They both kicked butt in this movie! The plot isn't too "deep" even though the case is pretty serious (and very relevant considering the high profile cases that have occurred in SK in this past year). If you like buddy action comedies, I think you would enjoy this one.
RMR and LSK are both at the top of their game, eliciting many laughs and "OH DANG!" moments. Yoon Sang Hyun had a smaller, but no less comedic role as the husband/brother of the main pair. He had the knack for being totally useless to his family, but still essentially helpful at the same time.
This movie has some hilarious (and often very inappropriate! LOL) lines, and we just had a fun time watching it!
I will have to say that this movie deals with a pretty serious subject in reference to the case they are trying to solve, and it did invoke the feeling that women's issues aren't taken that serious in SK. Although, this movie shows that the heroines overcome this obstacle spectacularly. I would like to hope that the way they portray the treatment of women is just the stuff of movies, but I have a feeling it's got more than a little basis in fact. Regardless, it was great entertainment, and therefore I will give it a good recommendation! It's even better with a friend. :)
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