aimsat
It has proved my expectation completely wrong. Apparently many viewers would guess everything wrong from the very beginning and could base their judgement on mere heinous homicides committed by some callous serial murderers; however, it is beyond some grotesque serial murder cases.
The psychological aspect of the drama would hit anyone harder though there will be many questions which would be left unanswered as there are considerable number of loopholes in the story. Chill ran down my spine when the last scene was shown. Many things became clear like crystal.
This drama to my view is loosely based on the insecurity or complexities of a human mind depicted on the novel, The Metamorphosis written by Franz Kafka. After I studied a little about the pshycoanalysis of it many things got even clearer.
Firstly, a human behavior is largely dependent on their surroundings. Everyone has both sides - good and evil. Depending on the situation and the outside elements of the surrounding environment where a person constantly comes in contact, provokes him/her to act in a certain way which might lead to cognitive dissonance if being exposed to too much negativity for a longer time. In many cases they fail to understand why they are acting in a certain way they are acting or it ignites certain personalities in a human which was always hidden or his/her consciousness doesn’t allow them to express or reveal it. They cannot keep it hidden when faced with certain circumstances.
Secondly, different neurotic aspects such as anxiety, paranoia, schizophrenia which all sprouted from poverty, low income, low social status, unemployment and dissatisfactory life would also result a person become gradually hysteric or cynical. They would create a nuisance with simple issue which in the first place was never a grave issue to begin with. We all go through many phases in life where we think diabolically and imagine some gruesome thing to happen to the thing or person we abominate the most. Nevertheless we refrain from conducting such behavior due to our conscience. But what if we lose our self control or conscientiousness? Are we going to change into a devil then? “Strangers from Hell” is the literal portrayal of our intense inner negative thoughts.
The story might be unrealistic yet the caliginous psychological aspect is the reality within us which mostly goes unspoken. Human beings are the scariest – that was the main theme. Our mind always get stuck in the fact that some invisible being would scare the soul out of us but how dangerous human can be we forget many a times. No wonder the insanely eerie expressions and feeling every character of the studio exuded was utterly frightening.
The casts are in one word P H E N O M E N A L. Im Si Wan has done a tremendous job as if he has a Phd on acting. The way he walked, eat, breathe, his facial expression in every incident, in every encounter with his costars, his spooky laughter, each and every little act was beyond perfection. He deserves a best actor award in this year. His performance was above effortless and natural.
The OSTs are also excellent. All of them displayed the right mood set by the story.
I wanted to rate it 9.5 but I won’t because there are few terrible loopholes which weakens the story in certain part.
All in all it is spectacular. Watch till the end. You would not regret.
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I CAN SPEAK – this name is used symbolically, is what came into my mind while watching the movie. It is actually a pseudonym for the main story. Surprisingly viewers cannot speculate what kind of seriousness the story holds at the beginning of the movie. The starting is more or less about the introduction of the characters, their characteristics and their individual lifestyles. It was filled with joviality, frustration, lawlessness, boredom and grouch.
The character of Na Ok Boon aka Goblin Granny is dreaded by everyone. Her main task is to pinpoint her neighbours about the wrongdoings, seditious behavior and illegal practices which disrupt the smooth social order. She is nonchalant and valiant. No amount of scorn or condescend towards her can back her down. She would be always ready to file a complaint against any atom amount of illegal doings to the district office. Apart from this which is her regular work, she is highly eager to earnestly learn English for a special reason. Thus the revelation of her main reason for learning English Language on the second half of the film makes it simply wonderful.
Besides, Na Ok Boon another main character called Park Min Jae, a 33 year old civil servant, is a regular office worker. He had dreamt of being into another profession but somehow ended up as a govt. official for familial reason. Fortunately or unfortunately the fates of Ok Boon and Min Jae are intertwined and with much hesitation at first, eventually Min Jae gives up and starts to teach English to Goblin Granny. He becomes his English teacher and along with his younger brother becomes family of the granny.
As the story progressed, through dramatization of few incidents, it is gradually unraveled why the granny is so enthusiastic and adamant about learning the language. It becomes intelligible that why she wants her past predicaments to be hidden from everyone and what importance this language holds in her life.
The movie is made about a sensitive issue which is heart rendering and capable of making the viewers’ hearts warm with reverence.
Both Na Moon Hee and Lee Je Hoon portrayed exceptional performance of their character. Not even a single moment it feels like they are acting. Their performance was natural especially Na Moon Hee being a veteran actress knows the exact thing to do with her role. They were utterly impressive.
Reviews should be written with critical analyses of important scenes and about the story line by line. However, in MDL it is difficult because we need to maintain caution for not spoiling the story for other viewers. Therefore, I’m forced to keep it short otherwise I had galore of good things to write about this movie.
This is the kind of movie I’ll always cherish and would encourage others to watch. “I Can Speak” is a genuine representation of real cinema – a real art and a true masterpiece.
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The drama basically depicted the cluelessness and lost feelings during the twenties and gradually becoming more matured and composed while entering thirties. It is very practical, rational and logical. Nothing what was showed was unrealistic. Inevitably to exist in any sector is quite grappling more so in the entertainment industry. Our lead protagonists, facing various odds and adversities, tried to make their own names in the industry, making honesty, diligence, modesty, humanity and truthfulness their sole weapons. Pragmatically they tried to hold on to their dreams no matter what storms swept their steadfastness, persistence and self confidence. Realistically speaking that’s how it should be. Sometimes it is difficult to always remain hard-headed, afterall we all are human. The characters' vulnerability has been shown as well. At night, during their lone time, they bawled their eyes out when nothing seems their way. Nobody can deny we have never done it many a times.
Secondly Korean dramas are always one of the best to show some practical family issues. All the issues presented with each young person’s parents are undeniably genuine. I could relate to every single of the issues, either I face some or I have seen other people facing the same problems with their parents. Despite the fact they sometimes become the terrible judge of our lives or want everything to be perfect, at the end they are ones who by default stand by us and want the best for us. Every single aspect of the familial issues shown irrespective of rich, middle or poor class families are undoubtedly most credible.
Thirdly, the romance aspect between the leads is what can be normally seen in the entertainment industry. Often times the couples part their ways due to ridiculously overbearing work schedule; work comes first before romance. Deliriousness overpowers between choosing romance and work as both are imperative for existence. Also hackneyed topic but romance between people from completely different social strata is truly sort of impossible which is portrayed by another couple.
Moreover, another point is also worth mentioning which has gone a little unnoticed is the fact that age does not matter if anyone has the motivation and will power to commence something. The grandfather of this drama took initiative to do something for himself though much later but he never despair for his old age. This also gives an appropriate message to the elderly (in fact to all ages)- "better late than never", a person can do anything if they set their mind into it and should utilize their time in a best possible way before they die.
What should I say about the acting of the casts? They all made me cry, laugh, happy, sad and irritate all at the same time. One of the best ensemble casts selected who made their own individual character extremely convincing. Additionally, the main leads dialogues are full of eloquence, it has smooth texture which is unbeatable. Both of the protagonists have the best lines to say in any given situations resulting into breaking any sort of monotony one might develop while watching this drama. Admittedly, I have full admirations for such intelligently written dialogues. The soundtracks are also one of the best portraying the right kind of feel during many scenes.
This is overall an excellent drama to say the least I could relate to about youth, friendship, romance, familial chaos and unity, workplace scuffle and constant fight to better oneself. Yes it could have been better but I understand the writers did not want anything flashy to make it unrealistic. I thoroughly enjoyed more than sixteen hours of my wonderful journey.
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Keeping this the main theme, which I suppose the writer got inspired from the book Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, the dramatization took place with some usual dramatic formula. Although it ended with a little unexpected twist but still it maintained to retain its main essence till the end. As the very name of this drama, the makers also ended it in a positive note rather than making it into a heart wrenching one, signaled from the first episode. The story dynamics and the pace of progress per episode was interesting all through.
Also liked the little optimistic message it delivered in the end – to always keep our hopes up and only move forward in order to make everything beautiful around us.
Bullying is a sensitive topic and is a wide social problem in South Korea. No wonder they always try to highlight this issue through visual media to indirectly create awareness. The mood of this drama and story writing is commendable by Kim Ji Woo. She has a certain style of writing which I really love. It exudes somewhat similar feel like the drama Memory and later found out she is the screenwriter of both of them. I just did not like the camera work - the peeping style camera angle or the extreme close shot of every face - which actually gave me a headache. Directions, OSTs, acting by the ensembles all were praiseworthy. All the child actors were excellent, mainly Nam Da Reum and Seo Dong Hyun. Seo Dong Hyun was remarkable in playing the negative role. Unimaginable, how he could manage to pull the skill so maturely at such a young age. He was phenomenal in portraying the evil expressions. Nam Da Reum is always exceptional. They both have the brightest future ahead. The actors in their parents’ role all gave their best performance.
All in all it’s a well - written, directed and acted- drama no one should miss.
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This review may contain spoilers
Posing a trite question: Whether invention of new technology is a bliss or a curse of mankind? With the conjecture of an exclusive scientific research work started in 2017, which fortunately or unfortunately followed a trajectory of quandary took a proper shape in 2037. The whole concept of the story is extremely new where the dramatization involved a fraternal twin and all the incomprehensible incidents they were surrounded by. Like a web of mystery the more they were trying to solve it, the more they were getting tangled with mishaps. Gradually facing series of tribulations and by using their own intellect they tried to overcome their problems though not succeeded fully. According to my understanding (I can be wrong), this drama tried to portray that progressive technology is acceptable which should be free of manipulation, deceit and identity theft. In the process of gifting human race with something phenomenal, the human race by themselves subject to self-destruction. They fall prey to their own greed and take a wrong detour to satisfy their own selfishness. The whole story is like a big board of puzzle pieces cut randomly into different shapes without any connection but as the story development progresses bit by bit all the pieces have been fallen into their correct places. It exudes the suspenseful feel of American sci-fi genre series, nonetheless, the writers maintained originality which is beyond interesting.
From the very beginning till the end it was riveting, breathtaking and fast-paced. No amount of time is wasted on idiosyncratic character development. Each and every characters were necessary and sufficient; none seemed out of place or redundant for the development of the story. The writers tried their best to convincingly elucidate a completely new concept of a non-existent theory on which the pillar of the whole plot was standing. They expressed erudition through their meticulous writing ability. Hats off to the scriptwriters. It may seem frazzling to keep up with the pace since each episode shows two stories of two different years but it is highly engrossing and enjoyable. The ending of every episode left me at the edge of my sit. Thank goodness I binge watched it rather than waiting every week. I would have died out of anxiety and curiosity. The cliffhangers are deadly.
On another note, I never trusted Korean dramas of science fiction genre since never found any solid story so far. Either they make it extremely confusing and superfluous or greatly preposterous. However, Circle is an exception. Every occurrences are given a proper explanation. I feel a strange empathy towards the production team and feel like giving a deep bow for presenting us the show so intriguingly despite having minimal budget. It's perfectly fine of not using extraordinarily top-notch visual graphics as many were complaining, I could feel their urge of showing some CG effect which are common in any sci-fi movies/series but they couldn't and it's beyond ok. At the end of the day I count on story, if the story is good and acting is on par it's intensely satisfying for me.
Acting by the ensemble is praise worthy, especially performances given by Yeo Jin Goo and Kim Kang Woo are commendable as they always are. My words will fall short to describe their charisma. Lee Ki Kwang is also good but sometimes felt like he was forcing too much to draw out his emotions. I appreciate the girls as well. Gong Seung Yeon is one of a kind gorgeous actress, she looks serious with her character display and works hard. She surely has long way to go and I believe she would perform better and better in course of time. That day is not far away when Ahn Woo Yeon & Jung In Sun will be flooded with main roles in dramas/movies. Both of them has utmost potential of rising stars.
Background score is perfectly fitted with the thrilling feel of the drama. OSTs are ear-catching as well.
One thing I have noticed in all these currently airing dramas that female protagonists are given powerful roles rather than being treated as a mere trophy only there to depict love interest of the male protagonist. The roles which were normally given out to male protagonists are now given out to the females which is a very commendable new trend.
I would love to detail out my analysis on every scenes but I’m afraid I’m too conscious on giving out spoilers. Hence, I want to stop and request all the sci-fi/suspense genre lovers out there to watch Circle. You will definitely love it because of - a refreshingly new story, the group of beautiful young and energetic casts and their laudable acting skills.
On the other hand, fingers are crossed this ephemeral drama has left us uninformed ‘bout one thing at the last episode. So we can hope for a second season. ;) ;)
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Riveting in terms of story.
Grandiose in terms of cinematography.
Impeccable in terms of acting.
These three powerful features made Vanishing Time an absolute pleasure to watch. It’s in one word an ENIGMATIC JOURNEY.
The story was adapted from a book written by a child psychiatrist. Children are always imaginative and their mind is full of mischief, fantasy and limitless curiosity. The truism of Soo Rin’s story is questionable but even if it is purely based on her imagination, how amazing it is to see that her own world of fantasy is capable of creating such wonder. There was like a whole unknown planet inside her mind. When she interacted with another likeminded child of her age, Seong Min, both their imagination collided to create something magnificent.
Child psychology blended with fantasy is now my new penchant which I discovered after watching this movie. I have seen many fantasy movies but Vanishing time is just unparalleled with others. Getting confounded with the story is quite easy, nevertheless, the well maintained proper balance of quaint romantic emotions among the protagonists never let only the fantasy part fogging our brain. I could easily connect with their emotions. The magnanimity shown by the male protagonist till the end was simply endearing and the lapsed time would never allow their relationship to coincide which left a slight poignant feeling.
On another note, the cinematography of the movie is magical, dreamy and colourful suiting the tone of the movie. Acting was on par especially by the child actors. Always I prefer to see the children more than their adult version and what can I say ‘bout Kang Dong Wan. Any adjective to describe his acting ability would be an understatement. So I should refrain from that. I just want to say he’s a top notch classy actor. He knows what he’s doing and pour out his soul into his performance.
It is a well-directed, well scripted and well-acted movie though a bit equivocal in nature. I have few questions which are left unanswered. So instead of a full 10 I would give 9.
Don’t think twice about whether you should watch this movie or not. Just watch it if you’re a fantasy lover. Guaranteed you’ve never seen anything like this before.
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In human lifespan, the period of early adulthood considered to be the most crucial time in shaping up a person’s entire future. Either they can destroy it by their own hand or can flourish it with good deeds and extreme diligence. Choi Kang Soo was represented as a young adult who despite of having difficult familial and financial situation remained unfazed throughout. He had been shown as an epitome of magnanimity and a valiant character. No amount of pain or sufferings could reduce his self-respect, determination and devotion towards achieving his dreams. The character portrayed by him is simply a person with tenacity of doing well to others, spreading wellness and reciprocating them. As they say, what goes around comes around. This world always revolves with this simple logic. Kang Soo was a simple guy who firmly believed that if he helps people, if he wants the good in people or bring out the good characteristics from the people one day or the other he would definitely get the result. He neither fed his inner greed nor tried to meet his own selfish needs. Along with all his friends, he unitedly delved into an endeavor which faces turbulences though for a short moment of time he was frazzled of fighting with the imposters but he again rose and shone. He was always thoughtful of his nearer and dearer ones around him which subsequently brought glad tidings for all combined.
Secondly, Lee Dan Ah. Another strong character. A sagacious, salubrious and undaunted character. When she puts her heart and soul to something, she made sure to stick to it till the end. Her devotion towards achieving her dream was laudable.
Oh Jin Gyu and Lee Ji Yoon on the contrary are not the kids from humble background rather born with the silver spoon in their mouth. The former was being excruciatingly tortured and slandered by his own father tried to take his own life but was saved. He understood the worth of life, independence and standing on one’s own feet. He understood contentment lies when a person owns and earns all by himself. The starting can be insignificant but at the end of the day self-worth comes from one’s own hard work and sincerity. Besides Ji Yoon rebelled from being forced or directed her life by her mother. She broke free her comfortable shackle and fled from the castle to become independent and achieving her own dreams.
From another view point the story was also a sort of tribute to the delivery people who were in many ways or the other pretty much neglected by the society.
I like the perspective of the story tellers. They have shown young people from both affluent and destitute social strata. Having being born in a privilege class doesn’t necessarily bring happiness. The affluent young people can also fight for making a life of their own individual choices.
Keeping “delivery service” as a base two factors are highlighted: a) life of youth b) life of deliverymen. The integration or the interconnectedness of both the subject was intelligent. However, the dramatization was a lackluster.
Acting by the ensembles are absolutely remarkable. Go Kyung Pyu and Chae Soon Bin was perfect for their individual role. Nobody could have done better than them. Also Kim Sun Ho, though played his first main role but he did full justice to it. Lastly Go Won Hee was quite natural playing out Ji Yoon’s eccentricity. The group of young lads of the delivery team also gave excellent performance.
Having said so much, the main theme of the story is excellent but there was some problem with the portrayal. The first few episodes were riveting but gradually it was losing its luster and became boring. The story kind of revolved in one business idea, eventually, along the line losing the dynamic essence as the episodes progressed. Definitely this was a huge disappointment for me. With outstanding ensemble cast and such great story, it could have been marvelous. Something was lacking of great deal which I could not pinpoint perfectly.
In deduction a good story with an uninteresting dramatization resulting into my lower ratings.
My recommendation whether to watch it or not would be …..you can try it’s not that bad.
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Firstly, the prelude showed the glimpse of some ending scenes that in itself enough to grab attention of the viewers and enhance their curiosity upon what may happen leading to such odious fate of the beloved royal couple. Once one starts watching, certainly s/he would be pulled with the story since the initial episodes were truly marvelous. The teenage couple acted amazingly which can make anyone fall for their cute love-hatred realtionship portrayed so well that they might end up receiving awards for good performances. Their sweet gesture, arguments, fights, playfulness and amicability was capable of winning a lot of hearts and I’m sure many viewers loved them. However, once they started growing up and as everything was going against their relationship, the story seemed playing back and forth. Now an episode seemed gripping and the next episode turned out very monotonous. From 15-18 episodes it was extremely hard to go along with the story. The tragedy, the emotional outburst, the murders and the meaningless sacrifices everything to me seemed exaggerated to the point of annoyance. I just could not cry in few many scenes because I found few death totally out of nowhere unnecessary. The makers could have toned down the death parts of some important characters whose death was imposed forcefully. Many a times it felt like suddenly the writers couldn’t figure out what to do or how to extend a particular character’s story so the only supposed solution was to kill that character making a good story pretty shallow. The last two episodes were rather nicely closed. Though the plot itself was remorseful but the couple could make it through all odds and adversities was satisfying to watch.
Most interesting to watch was the despicable king who was submerged under innumerable complexities. He yearned for admiration, acknowledgement, recognition and love; at the same time, he was blinded by envy, mishandled his power and pushed his confidantes away from him. The pressure of ruling a nation who was constantly surrounded by imposters, deceitful people and shrewd opportunists; the poor judgment of making a clear distinction between his enemies and his dearer ones; the struggle to understand whom he loves doesn’t love him back was eventually crippling his fair mind, clouded his judgement and weakening his thoughts. Eventually he let his mind eaten by evil maggots. He was having an utter hard time which he expressed through brutality towards his innocent subjects. Ultimately he himself inflicted ruination upon himself, an obvious end result of any tyranny. Therefore, the king was the most powerful character in this drama exuding multiple personalities through one mind and soul was simply a pleasure to watch.
Secondly, as long as the acting comes into concern, I pretty much liked the ensembles. Nevertheless, the role of a despotic king played by Lee Dong Gun was to some extent aggrandized by him which appeared as if he was playing the character in a theatre drama rather than in a televised drama. Both platforms are different and the acting changes according to theatre, small screen and big screen but our dear Dong Gun relatively overdid his performance. The performances displayed by Park Min Young and Yeon Woo Jin was splendid to watch. Their depiction of romance was too heart fluttering and they have an endearing chemistry. The teenager kids did super exceptional job. I loved them so much I did not want to watch their adult version.
This is the first time I’ve seen Chungsung of 2 p.m. in any drama and his work was quite commendable. I wish he improvise his acting ability diligently for better and more important roles in the future.
The Osts are beautifully soothing to hear and I personally loved “Junggigo - Miss You In My Heart”. It’s on loop since I finished watching the drama for few hours. The singer sung this ost pouring out all his emotions. Simply wonderful.
In deduction, this drama again proved to be one of those dramas which started of exceptionally good then gradually not so good. This particular one has gone back and forth and I found the scriptwriter kind of lazy who applied their brain less in thinking about the story. Sometimes it was enthralling and then again it directly went down the hill again it picked and again it went down the hill which persisted till the last.
Few things I like about this drama and many things are there which I seriously disliked. Watch it of your own accord.
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Buskin styled story of this drama has the vibe of subtle serenity along with exuding melancholy since each character presented here is deeply associated with the one catastrophe took place in their lives. The longing pain, despondency and deliriousness brought the protagonists of this drama closer and deeply fell in love with one another. They had a common ground to relate with each other immensely. Their gesticulation, their shrieking cry out of tremendous pain of losing someone dearer imbued through their profound acting skills. Both Lee Jun Ho and Won Jin Ah made perfect justice to their individual role by showing exact hurting spirit. Moreover their chemistry is gullible as a reality. They were the show stealer. It is difficult to focus on the side stories when they had their astoundingly beautiful romance to portray.
On the other hand, to be very frank, I personally found building one memorial for the entire sixteen episodes were just over the top mundane and exhaustingly boring. There was no development with this part of the story whatsoever. Only interesting part, apart from romance were Gang Doo’s intense friendship with the elderly lady and an autistic young man. Despite a significant age gap between Na Moon Hee and Jun Ho, their chemistry was enchanting and the playful brotherly relationship between Kang Hyun and Jun Ho was also enjoyable to watch.
I only have praises for Jun Ho and Jin Ah. Without them this drama wouldn’t have been so better. The story seemed quite flat otherwise. However, these two characters Gang Doo and Moon Soo pulled off the show with their melting romance which was utterly rejoicing to watch. The rest were distinctively overshadowed by these two. Nevertheless all the casts did good job in playing their roles. Their acting skills were natural and commendable.
I’m thankful that the main character did not met the tragic end. A particular scene at the end episode made my heart skipped million beats. Later I was relieved. For me I just continued and finished this drama just for Gang Doo and Moon Soo. They were the main gem.
Also the OSTs are in perfect cahoots with the mood of the drama.
Overall this is a good romantic drama if skipped the side stories.
If you want to enjoy a great romance with great acting skill from the protagonists then this is definitely for you.
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Given its factual back story, the entire dramatization was elegantly made without incorporating exaggeration of any sort. For the whole three hours my heart was drenched with intense emotions, establishing deeper connections with the main protagonists. The screen writers and directors basically ameliorated the somber mood of the drama including various features such as correctly choosing the filter, season, particular day for every scene, especially when both the protagonists meet which enunciated the feel accentuated from the story profoundly.
The scintillating sound of raindrops when Kim Woo Jin was immersed into his melancholic thoughts, the rustling sound of leaves into the bamboo forest while the lovers were gradually approaching towards each other are some extraordinary effects combined with perfect acting skills of the ensembles.
Although a forbidden love but the aestheticism of the romance between the couple was pure resplendence to enjoy. Both of them from different social status and having different occupation and dreams were gradually becoming susceptible due to their finicky surroundings. Inured by their circumstances, the misfortune was creeping in where they left with an only indelible option.
Exudation of such poignancy through a dramatization of a saturnine historical fact takes a lot of creative intelligence. The makers should be lauded and awarded for this. Both Lee Jong Suk and Shin Hye Sun left us with no tears in our tear gland with their riveting chemistry and effusive emotional interaction. Their gesture, posture, every facial expressions and dialogue delivery were unbearably doleful yet enamoured and submerged me deeper into their romance.
Moreover, the wonderful piano and flute music as background score aligned with right kind of OSTs seeped out all the pain I could possible feel from my heart and mind. I was enchanted and fell in love with such grandeur; even their chic style and appearance drawn out the sufficient essence of the romance. This is the perfect depiction of a tragic romance.
In one word this drama is ethereal. I am still at awe. I can’t do justice eulogizing this paean of death.
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Basically I received two kinds of depiction from this drama. On the first half, it was portrayed (may be I’m wrong but it’s totally my perception) love is important but living life is far too important. Love comes gradually. Not necessarily it always have to be “love” at first then “marriage” between two persons, however, “marriage” can happen before as a natural response of fulfilling basic needs between two people and then love can be discovered in the process. Conversely, on the second half, it was portrayed, realizing a person is in love is most important and marriage will come naturally as a result. Love and marriage are two completely different subject. If love fails between a couple, marriages is not possible. Marriage comes with a huge baggage which is not a game, it needs sacrifice, commitment and perseverance. Two different arguable school of thoughts. Former quite old-fashioned and latter quite contemporary. What I think no matter which era we live in or what people say about living in 21st century, marriage-a holy institution- should not be abolished completely. It is imperative for any society and I’m happy at the end the drama focused on marriage.
The story was based on romantic relationship of three couples. Main highlight was three women characters. One was in a living relationship for seven years, who typically like many other girls wants a family of her own by getting married and having a kid. She was all into settled life. Another girl who was smart, beautiful and brave doesn’t believe in love or marriage rather believe more in casual physical relationship. She was audacious, careerist and hardheaded woman. And the third one is the struggling one who was in her 30s but was fighting to make her own way of becoming a screenwriter. She was never into dating or any relationship but falls victim of a contract marriage and ended up falling for the person she married. These were three individual romantic set up. Through the romantic lenses of these three different relationships, different contemporary societal facts and issues of modern world have been highlighted. A crude realistic vision of modern society was embedded in the dialogues and monologues.
Three couples had their own hardships both from personal level and also as a couple. Through the romance of Ho Rang-Won Seok couple a newfangled reality of romance has been executed. They were into living relation for more than seven years when they gradually realized they both are way different than each other. When it comes to marriage various issues forced them to part their ways. Through Sang Goo-Su Ji couple, a more independent and casual romance have been executed. The couple transitioned from friends-with-benefits to a more serious relationship. Su Ji was shown as the epitome of modern careerist women who in the journey of building her own place in the corporate world constantly faced despicable adversities. Where surviving in a harsh patriarchal society in itself difficult, love, marriage, relationship and a settled family were always secondary to her. The tensions created between these two couples, their falling apart from each other and coming back are quite evident in real life couples as well. Nonetheless, in reality not all couples goes back together.
The third and the main romantic couple of the drama was Ji Ho-Se Hee couple. They were due to some circumstances bounded by contract marriage. The concept of contract marriage can be unrealistic but the story depicted through their relationship by emphasizing on multifarious sides of a wedded life is simply marvelous. In love only two people are involved and in marriage number of people are involved. Responsibilities to run a family, responsibilities towards in-law family and to compromise in almost any situation despite against one’s will is what marriage is. The couple realized that they are not only entitled to solely think about their happiness and contentment. Instead they realized, it’s more about fulfilling other people’s (mainly in-laws) needs and wishes rather than their own. Mostly the sufferer is the bride. Ji Ho wanted to break the stereotype. Through her character it was portrayed, love is crucial than marriage. Being married not necessarily means to fulfill other people’s expectations. If they keep on doing that when will they be able to fulfill their own desire? To fall in love, to discover each other, to respect each other, to understand each other should be comprised 90% of marriage. Completing family rituals, doing regular household chores, giving birth, to maintain a good bond with the in-laws are not the essentials in a married life. Those are indeed good things which will come gradually along the course of running the family life. When these extraneous factors become more important, love dies between the couple which shouldn’t be the case.
I fell in love with the concept of the story. Marriage is a wonderful and a very strong institution which is not denied here. Preferably the foreground was to respect each other’s space, to respect each other’s dreams and aspiration and to help let each other’s other half grow as per their wish, as a result a jovial conjugal life is possible. Marriage shouldn’t be strangled with the wishes and dreams of the nearer ones but it should be more about substituting each other’s weakness with each other’s strength.
Acting by the casts were excellent. Decades later I could see Lee Min Ki on small screen which in itself pretty overwhelming. Jung So Min is one of my favourite actresses and my girl crush. She is beautiful and an utterly talented actress. I thoroughly enjoy all her work. The other actors did laudable job. Not even once I felt they were acting. They all felt real and natural.
The OSTs are really nice. With some scenes few OSTs are played accordingly which suited the mood of the scenes perfectly.
Few of the scenes are there in the drama which are my favourites. One was the conversation between Se Hee and his mother-in-law during Se Hee-Ji Ho’s wedding, another between Ji Ho and her mother during the very day and also at their house when they were conversing about Se Hee and some scenes from flashbacks of 80s which were consisted of only Ji Ho’s monologue. Also the comic reliefs of this drama are extraordinary. One moment it will engross you into something grave then immediately it will give you a good amount of laughter dose. Some of those comical moments are also my favourites.
On the whole, it is a great drama which executed the difficult, sensitive and complicated issues of relationship from various perspectives: relationship within marriage, relationship without marriage, living relationship and casual relationship. The concept was not an easy one to write. Full credit should go to the writers for their wonderful creativity of lucidly showing all kinds of romantic relations in one drama. Never seen such realistic and meaningful romcom ever before.
Guys go watch it. No regrets guaranteed.
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I'm left with few questions. Definitely romance is the main basis but this time traveling fact hasn't been elucidated which is sort of baffling. The protagonist's froze for some significant number of years but why it happened and why he has to meet a girl in the future for whom his heart never pounded in the past? How come he suddenly become so healthy? Why he has to vanish while hanging out with the girl? Nothing has been explained.
The romance between the leads are even inadequate. They have interesting chemistry, if exuded sufficiently, it would have been exceptionally gorgeous but it was also a failure. I was eagerly waiting for more romance to take place and suddenly it ended. For sure I loved the couple since there are very few couple who can exhibit profound chemistry.
About the pace of the drama, well, it was alright yet not necessary. Although all actors displayed good acting skill, none of them got the chance to show their best because all through it felt like different branches of the story was about to get elongated but was trimmed immediately due to shortage of time.
Had great expectations but turned out to be a disappointment. There were few dynamics of the story if well portrayed or explained then it would have been quite enjoyable to watch.
Watch it at your own risk.
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Initially it started with planning inane revenge of three cosseted children, who had so much idle time that they couldn’t come up with anything better to do. When people are struggling with responsibilities and hardships in their lives, these people were feeding their inner frustrations with some childish game.
As they say, “An idle brain is the devil’s workshop”. People who have nothing worthwhile to think about will usually think of something bad to do. Apparently they got entangled in their own little play and everything comes as a real bash. Each of them started to realize their true feelings for one another, one of them fell in love with the person they tried to victimize which in turn tore apart the friendship among three mollycoddled rich brats.
This is the main theme along with some besmirched parental stories as a backup. Already disarrayed family life of these four young people exacerbated by one of the rich girl’s depraved mind.
Dwindling familial relationship, despicable friendship, betrayed romance and hence dismayed social life of all the characters depicted in this drama are apparently made it runty. What I thought would be a great drama which would show the web of complex emotions among human being ended up completely being meaningless commotion among pampered rich kids. Dealing with their own emotions, both interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships, interactions with their surroundings, apparently what I thought would be the main highlight. There’s no such thing and no character growth whatsoever.
Alas! Such high thought I had for this drama. Utter disappointment.
Well to be very honest, the only thing that keeps me going with this drama without dropping it midway is the four beautiful faces and their charming smiles, especially, Woo Do Hwan and Moon Ga Young. Woo Do Hwan’s sexy, alluring smile which makes his eyes crescent shaped, his handsomeness and his hypnotic husky voice are irresistible and Moon Ga Young’s gracefulness, elegance, beauty and ingenuous smile just took my breath away.
Thoughts on four actors who played main roles:
1. Woo Do Hwan – good actor, more suited or can show his skill more in negative roles. Any sort of intense role would suit him more.
2. Moon Ga Young – has good acting skill and will be grabbing more challenging roles in the future I hope. She has grace and pure beauty.
3. Kim Min Jae – very good actor and has promising future ahead. He already has many on his plates.
4. Joy – still needs to study a lot on acting. She has long way to go. Only the idol tag and pretty face won’t do much justice to her acting career in the long run. The competition is savage in the drama industry.
The veteran actors and the other young people on the supporting role displayed satisfactorily much better performances.
All said this drama like many other dramas had good potential but turned up to be a huge failure at least for me. Mainly the last four episodes were ultra disappointing.
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Friendship between Ki Joon-Hee Yeol was the most interesting thing to enjoy in this movie. Undoubtedly Ha Neul and Seo Joon were two best choices for playing their designated roles. As per the interviews of these gorgeous young men, they were presented in their most natural look without any make up and sometimes they ended up adlibbing to make their characters more profound. Both of them did tremendous job. Highly commendable. They complemented each other pretty well.
The main charm of the movie is though it focused on one of today’s gruesome crime but it would not totally engross the viewers into its hideousness since the story is actually moulded with light-hearted comedy and fantastic friendship. There were hilarious moments which would make one crack up insanely time to time. Mainly the determination, devotion, diligence and sincerity of youth to move forward with full honesty no matter what hurdles block their path or whatever calamities befall on them was amplified through Ki Joon-He Yeol characters.
Not a single moment of boredom felt. All in all a swashbuckling movie.
For me it’s a relishing one.
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The main theme of the story is thriller based on four to six different characters holding different occupation, came from different background who were vigilantes by heart and by action but were in disguise under protectors of law to avenge the injustice which had befallen on their beloved ones. In the process they tried to save some other innocent lives as well. Their fight was against the corrupt judicial system, depravity and avarices of the protectors of laws. All sounds clichéd which is right. It is clichéd. Overall plot looked promising but the scriptwriters failed to give each story shown, a concrete background. Most of the time I couldn’t feel attached to them because it seemed like just to show a man evil, they forcefully made him act like an evil and took all the cases to an extreme dramatic turn which was completely unnecessary. The reasons shown for the demises of individual protagonists’ dearer ones are quite baseless and fragile. The reasons for which the prosecutor convicted the innocents or tortured them were not at all intense or logical enough. Even the young teen kid’s character who played a monstrous role is somewhat obfuscated. Just for a mere thrill he was inclined to do such heinous crimes? It was understandable he lacked emotions however it was still full of ambiguity that why he particularly hated Jo Soo Ji? Therefore, in one word the antagonists’ roles are not written immaculately. Everyone’s story was relatable to one another yet there were some major loopholes which resulted into incoherence. The ending was unpredictable but was quite nonsensically exaggerated. As a result the actual essence of the drama had eventually lost.
Acting of the ensemble was good though not excellent. I always have high expectations from Kim Young Kwan. He could have done better. Few times his emotions seemed unnatural. It is again good to see two female characters playing strong roles which typically portrayed by men. Although Lee Shi Young pulled of the fervid and brave role as a detective, nonetheless, she should work on her facial expression as well. All through she mostly maintained a stoic expression which didn’t match with the courageous character portrayal. Key and Kim Seul Gi looked sweet as a couple and pulled their characters well. They showed reasonable amount of emotions through their good acting skills. I have to specially mention teenage actor Park Solomon who left me wowed with his negative performance. He truly is a gem who has extremely bright future ahead of him. He did a commendable job in this drama.
The background score was alright along with the OSTs. None of the songs are found to be exceptional.
In conclusion, there’s no harm in trying this drama. As many people already liked it, you may like it as well but Lookout has failed big time to keep me allured.
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