MUST READ REVIEW SPECIALLY FOR MALE AUDIENCE IF YOU INTENT TO WATCH SCARLET HEART RYEO :

This drama is really great . It's a historical drama with the essence of love , hatred And the biggest of them all POWER AND REVENGE ! What extent people can get upto to attain Power ? The emotions in the layer stage could be hard to coupe with , they can be traumatising.

But it's a trap .
The initial target for scarlet heart is the female audience in every aspect . i.e It's a SHOUJO drama initially .
You could find this thing annoying as a male viewer though it may appeal to a female .
The initial direction is poor .
It's like watching Sakura throughout Naruto every 2 minutes ! Lol . . Yeah I said that it's horrible .
The start is not that great , it's below average I would say considering the plot they have decided i.e the historical saga .
The first 8 episodes are pathetic and aimless except some moments . 5/10
I could clearly see why this drama didn't do that good in Korea .
It's coz of the start . It's pathetic and you have to stick to this drama till the end to find it's interests .
Usually when the audience watches something weekly in TV , they want the start to be great .
The next 8 have a great comeback 7/10 It's like things take a total U turn
but the last 4 I swear make up for all the toying and reckless writing the writer has shown .
The last 4 are purely phenomenal , dumbfounding and outstanding to watch . 10/10
And ironically this is against K dramas as they start off great but turn pathetic at the end .
This one starts of pathetic and ends greatly .
Lee Joon Gi is steal the deal of this drama . His expressions , voice and firmness along with cruelty is mesmerizing .
As for soundtrack , it's again disastrous , totally off the track for how it should be in a historical drama except one song that I liked very much
Epik High (ft. Lee Hi)- 'Can You Hear My Heart'
This one song is really good .

Overall it's a great drama . I enjoyed it .
Could have gone better .

Overall
6.5/10
(Only coz of the last 4 episodes ).

Leia Mais

Best Drama of the Year 2023

This is the best Chinese drama I've come across and even as a whole any industry-wise.
A real Gem.
It is based on a novel.
The story goes into a bit of narration but with time lapses from 2008 to 2022.

The leads are 2 FML.
Both surprisingly share equal onscreen time.

Both are fresh law graduates and it shows their struggle in life.
How both of them make different choices and what leads to them where they end up at last.

This drama has quite a lot of ups and downs with the characters just like any real person would.
You rarely see such writing depth anywhere.
Each and every character stays true to what they could potentially evolve into, lose their path midway and then make strong comebacks.
Phenomenal writing I must say.
The novelist deserves an award, and I'm dead serious.

Also one of the unique parts of this drama is the involvement of side characters, each side character has their own personality, which they maintain throughout the drama.

We have a 3rd couple whose screenplay is considerably low but ironically they're the best couple in the drama.

~ What the writer does is, give two the perspective of the two FMLs, involve them in certain real-life situations according to their personality, and develop their characters throughout while comparing them to the 3rd couple which gives us a fair idea of how distinctive people can be.

And how we should appreciate the choices we make, but there are consequences to those choices and how the 3rd couple is what's required most of the time.
The hidden message after all.

The drama focuses on how we live our lives by trial and error method.

How the young period and your 20s are for you to explore the world and find what you really want and never settle for anything less.

How the things we're meant to pursue change with time.
How it affects our life overall
How in the end, the family becomes important despite the differences, the ego and the choices.
How marriage is a crucial part of your life.
And how dating affects you, how the way we select our partner develops us or stops our growth.
How the arguments could create differences but that's part and parcel of whatever you're trying to achieve.

How feminism destroys your thinking criteria when it really matters

How important it is to be kind and forgiving.
How the corporate work culture can be toxic and how to counter it, learn and grow from it.
How important it is to have a mentor in your life.

How you would end up making a perhaps wrong decision in love, or that your feet would get cold and why it shouldn't.

How you end up using some people and how the others end up using you,
There's balance in everything.
How necessary it is to be versatile.
How chasing money blindly won't give you the satisfaction you want.

How the meaning of life lies in experiencing rather than the focus on winning

How the world is filled with all kinds of people.
How Growing up means facing them with an open heart.
Fight with them if you want,
Get away if you don't.
Wave goodbye and walk freely.

By no means this drama is perfect.
The reason is, that this drama wasn't made to be perfect at all.
It was made to be realistic and fun while being inspirational
So that you feel that you're part of the journey, both the FMLs make.

Since I've mentioned all these appraisals, one of the most annoying or missed parts of this drama to me was, that they didn't focus on the ML as particularly as they should have with the character development.
Or you could say there was no ML but the brilliance of his acting and the impact he left onscreen, left us wanting for more.

You would have your likes and dislikings with certain traits in this drama but the best part is characters do evolve, and while some don't,
which makes you piqued.

~ Also, I really love the ending song of this drama.
Such beautiful lyrics and the voice of the singer.
Mesmerizing.

~ The cinematography is top-notch, not even a single scene felt rushed.
The direction was focused on the story as a whole and the episodes do end up abruptly but that's the new charm.
Rarely do you see such happening, since everything these days is to grasp your attention and bind you to look forward to the next episode.
This drama doesn't even try to fake end things on a cliffhanger.

~ The actors, gosh this has to be one of the greatest castings ever made.
Each and every actor played their role in the most significant and impactful manner they do.
You could feel connected to each and every one of them and their perspectives.

Even I as a viewer feel proud of them.

I can add a lot more.
This drama has so many things to give to a viewer that it can be rewatched multiple times...

But I'm just glad I somehow ended up watching it.
I don't remember how it came to my watch list but there was this sudden instinct after looking at the poster and the title that there's something special about this and Boi, it was the best decision I took to watch something this year.

Also, Don't let your quick evaluation of binge-watch destroy your expectations of this drama.

The plot changes a lot every 6-7 episodes and it's worth it.

I had a great time watching it and hope you do as well.
Till then.

Leia Mais

Sh88ty college community project

This ain't a movie, it's a college community project gone wrong.
Messy acting, messy characters, f88ked up cinematography.
Horrible direction and a Horrendous experience.
The director who's also the screenwriter should be fired.

They chose a half-baked script based on some toxic relationship, like those f99ls who f88k around and created a screenplay out of it .
One could accept that the concept was good enough to proceed but the writing in such a manner.
All hell should break loose with such sh88ty dialogues.
Acting talent of both the leads was wasted.

I'm seriously angry at this lady who made this movie.
She shouldn't be found near the director's chair or writer's den.
Go do some other work blondie.

Leia Mais

Let's come up with who can write the worst script for a divorced couple !! *DRUM ROLE*

(JUST WATCH THE FIRST 5 EPISODES AND LEAVE IT, YOU'LL BE HAPPY, THE DRAMA ENDS )




SPOILERS AHEAD :





Imagine as a writer who was struggling you come up with a VOILA idea of a divorced couple! And then suddenly you don't know what to do after the initial start and you fking struggle to finish the story.

Welcome to strangers again!

It's a flawed script at the end of the day, ex meets ex and separates again ??
What's the logic, to f88k up with viewers' minds?
With zero sense?
And they had the audacity to showcase romance in the middle of it which ends up pretty much null and void at the end.
It's a joke.
I have plenty of US and brits series If I wanna watch something so sloppy.


Too bad the acting was so good, even the direction was amazing but the script and the plot development were sh8t and for nothing.

And the side characters were clearly forced, zero chemistry!
Oh god! As much as I liked the MC and FMC's acting, I disliked pretty much everything else in the drama.
Kang So Ra and Jang Seung Jo's acting potential was wasted, everything from the classy direction, the cinematography and the BGM, all for nothing.
I feel like sl99ping this writer right now but anyway !

Leia Mais

Mostly Slow and Boring , Strange and Classic

You can't judge this.
It's peculiar in a way, it's distorted.
This drama has sociopathic and psychopathic traits.

It's like a classic.
The highlight is on the characters involved not the plot.
You take nothing away from this.

There are many things to observe but all of them are on the superficial side.
This drama feels like Abyss.
One can say it's a story bout a group of broken people, who were united to live together as it gave some insights to their lives.
People who were lost but found their way eventually.

The acting was spectacular.
Best part bout this drama is it's acting.
Nothing more to it.
A one time watch.
In a way, it felt hollow at times.
It's creepy but you watch it even then.
You're forced to think this was great but maybe it wasn't.
Which is why I used the term Abyss to describe this.

Leia Mais

Have you ever felt the urge to rate a drama or call it perfect with no If's in all categories ?
Then this is the drama I believe .
This is the best K Drama I have watched .
None of those compare to this one . You rarely come across content this great and miraculous as this .
This is the first time I have witnessed the whole cast give such a performance that I have no complaints about acting .
You will be surprised and baffled by how casually it starts and how dead serious it turns out .
Many of us can connect to this drama .
I learnt something from it and I'm sure you will do too .
All the characters have different traits . They all are important for this drama to stand out . And it rarely happens when you feel that there's no supporting cast at all .

The songs and the BGM are just phenomenal . Each and every song is melodious . I can go on and on humming those songs . They are very special .
The dialogues are witty and great .
The topics tackled , the taboo's tackled . Fears crossed .
The struggles we might have gone through once in a while . The courage mustered .
This drama gives you GOOSEBUMPS . Not once or twice but many atimes throughout .
Wish there were more of these .
This drama goes beyond perfection . Too good to be ignored .
I loved it .
^^
My fav character apart from the leads in this drama is of Sung Dong II ( Dong Min) . He's a masterclass actor . He nailed it in the supporting role .

P.S : Specially that Tomatina , I won't forget it . They made a quarrel therapy session out of it . xD

Leia Mais

Fun , Fast, Slow and Intriguing

Dramas with a bit of twisted romance including supernatural tricks always pique your mind.
And it's the same with this drama
The plot is fascinating.

The acting is outstanding, brilliant!
The plot starts fun and fast but then gets so slow, the plot revolves round and round the same lame thing which kills the curiosity, and it feels like a drag.
And by the time it comes to an end, you lose your patience with all the melodrama and the biggest plot twist one could expect.

This is where I feel this drama should've been 16-18 episodes only and then it would've been perfect.
This is one of those rare plots where you can experiment with pretty much anything.
I can insert tragedy , mystery , action , Noir , supernatural , historical and this script would work flawlessly.

Too bad this didn't live up to it's full potential , but then again this drama do has a special place for being spectacular.
If I had to redo the script , I would remove the Idol part and make it as an actor instead .
It will work better.

Leia Mais

Bland

Initially, the plot might seem catchy and something new.
But that's about it.
This drama is superficial to that context.
The cliche's work their way.
It's a messy rom-com.
Your typical you save me, I save you.
Develop affection, a bit of mystery drama.
Voila happy ending.

The hype dies quickly, and it's too long.
The actors are good, the chemistry works but the elegance is missing.
They couldn't even revive this drama despite so many kissing scenes.

12 episodes should've made this better.
An average drama at best.

PS: The unique thing that I liked was the memory palace visualization. But they failed to carry it forward as well .
Quite disappointing.

Leia Mais

When the writer sh!ts on the plot and the actors spray the perfume

My biggest mistake to watch this drama and believe the writer must've continued it better.
When I came across such a distinctive synopsis I was excited, even the start was good
But Boi I was wrong.

What a sh8tty writing to such a good plot that could've been.
It just keeps on dragging till episode 35 and after that doomsday.
The plot goes down the gutter.
You can't help but laugh like a villain in that moment.
You'll go insane with what the writer actually did to the script.

You'll wish you get a gun to the writer's head at point blank.
Grave Injustice to this idea actually.
The rationality of the characters is highly compromised.
The writer didn't have any idea at all on what to do with the plot, it's like they stole this idea and then struggled to continue for ages.

The chemistry was the only thing that was awesome in this drama.
The only thing that kept me going were the leads.
They did a terrific job with a weak script.

In the end, this drama is a disappointment, far-fetched from what it tried to be and what it ended up being .
What a waste of talented resources .

Believe me, 4.5 is a generous rating for this drama.
If you can do with the brilliant chemistry , you can give this a try .

Leia Mais

A cake missing strawberries on top

ONE OF THE BEST CHINESE PRODUCTIONS EVER.

This was such a unique drama, the poster didn't justify how it would turn out to be.
I was looking for a supernatural element and this popped up.
Whenever you start C dramas, you expect the same typical plot with cringe characters , the mary sue plot but this was so unique.

Every character in this drama had an almost equal screenplay, it's rare.
The chemistry b/w the leads was subtle and mesmerizing.

If you're looking for a drama that's all supernatural and includes intense scenes and fights, then this is not for you

Our expectations rise thinking this is supernatural, so it must involve powers, drama, and fights
But we forget the script is simple, and the execution is what matters.
The intention of the writer and director was to simplify the aspect of two clans and their co-existence, that's it .

It reminds me of ' Bride Of Habaek '
Similar theme, subtly executed, but this drama is a bit better than it.

This drama is insightful in every aspect, the plot progression is about relationships and psychology about them.
A subtle romance combined with a supernatural sense, but nothing more than that.

We've multiple couples involved, each being under unique circumstances.

I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Now if you ask what disappointed me?
It's the ending.
The writer and the director rushed it abruptly, it made absolutely no sense to culminate to that point with such an approach. It leaves a bitter taste at the end.
It's like a strawberry cake you look forward to each without a cherry on top.

TIP : You need to give this drama a stretch, it's meant to be watched slowly, and can't be just binged.


A MUST WATCH

Leia Mais

WHAT THE ' BEAUTY AND THE BEAST ' SHOULD'VE BEEN ABOUT :)

One of the funniest and weirdest plots.
This is the 3rd time I've come across such a movie, Taiwan really makes marvellous coming-of-age movies.
What an excellent movie it was.

With the bottom line message of :
You take your chances, and you pursue what you desire.
In dating, in life, in anything.

5 minutes is all you need, which turns to 5 days, to 5 years and so on. :)

Chen Bo Lin nailed his role.
Ivy Chen is one of my fav actresses of all time.
Her script selection is outstanding.
What a lovely movie, with a fantastic plot twist.
Although a bit overbroad,
This movie makes you realize how normal and mediocre each and every one of us is, in the race for standing out against each other.
The imperfections are what makes us, US.

Leia Mais

THE RIGHT EXPERIMENT WITH TIME TRAVEL

Where do I start?
This drama used its potential to the fullest and is definitely under rated.
By the name only you've come across what the plot is gonna be about exactly.

The only horrible thing about this drama is the starting 2-3 episodes.
It's f slow and has zero plot development which left me frustrated and I was about to drop it .

From EP 4-20 it's really good.
The hype kicks on, every possibility is tested, and the ending is open which is one of the best things about this drama .

The acting is amazing, none of the actors disappointed me , the direction could've been better but then again they really did wonder with the budget.
Go and watch it if you're in the mood for time travel.

And yeah you can fast forward or skip the first 2-3 episodes, they're a pain in the a88 to watch.
ENJOY! I won't reveal much as anything else would be a spoiler .^^

Leia Mais

THEY DON'T MAKE EM LIKE THIS ANYMORE !!

They don't make movies like this anymore.
This is a rare gem.
It appeals to you in every manner right from the get-go.
The story is simple, but the way it has been presented, acted and directed is mind-blowing.

The chemistry is too good to be true.
There's a breeze of authenticity to everything this movie has.
The casting was spot on.
Watching Cho Seung Woo as a young naive boy was so much fun.
Similar for Soo Ye Jin, she pulled it off amazingly.

Overall, I totally loved the first 100 mins of the movie but the last 20 mins are where the problem lies.
It was messy, not needed and could've been written in a much better way.
The last 20 mins disconnect from the whole idea and the smoothness with which the movie proceeded till that point.
It leaves us with a bitter taste in the mouth when it ends coz it's too far-fetched from what started as a simple story.
That is not to say it wasn't good, but when you've honey in your mouth, eating a spoon of sugared jam doesn't sit well with the taste.

The BGMs were effective, and the songs were miraculous especially the folk dance scene.
Aww, I just love this movie.

Truly a Classic.

While watching it, I pondered why it's named ' the classic ' , thinking it was a ridiculous name for such a movie.
But by the end, I realized why it was named so.






SPOILER AHEAD:

It's named the classic, coz it's a classic love/ romance story where the ML and FML try to fight against the moral and social odds, and still don't end up together.
Hence the name 'the classic'.
Kinda cool, right?

Leia Mais

When a once in a lifetime script meets an impeccable cast ( Except the FML Ji Soo) A gem is created!

Snowdrop has to be one of the best-casted dramas ever. Each and every actor was outstanding!
The story is based on the real-life diary of a north Korean defector as the synopsis says.

When you start this drama, it continues to grow on you.
Right from the first scene.
It's not easy to control, direct and provide with such an amazing screenplay with such a huge casting.
All of them had a role to play.

I hadn't read the synopsis and rather started this on a whim which made it much more wonderous to watch.
There are many reasons why some Koreans protested since this deals with the technical phase of their modern revolution in the government system.
They call it the '5th republic' which came in 1987 on which the current Korean society is based on.

~ The scripting is your normal government-spy linkage and espionage-involved thriller which some subtle romance.
Every character shines in this drama, they literally outgrow their characters through brilliant writing.

Overall, SnowDrop is a must-watch.
Truly a gem!

PS: Albeit, I do feel they stretched the plot at various junctions for absolutely no reason, it would've well off-settled with 12 episodes.

Leia Mais

ENTANGLED

Yes, this word describes this drama perfectly.
Firstly, I would like to ask if you've watched this writer's drama before?
If yes, you know how it's gonna be like which is just awesome.

If not, give this a try.
Also, the fact that this is a low budget drama, nothing fancy, it sticks to the basic script provided and the direction is good enough.

But More than half of the screenplay in this drama for the side family characters was a hassle, I skipped it.
But what kept me watching this was the quad couple.
This has to be one of the most fascinating drama's I've watched.
Brilliant chemistry, authentic dialogues, sensible and impeccable conversations.
You rarely come across all these.

As for the word entangled, this drama has every character entangled to each other, and as the episodes progress the web keeps on solving itself.
You realize how the characters you disliked initially had a pov that mattered.

Everything has a reason and subtle, honest conversations can have a calming effect on everything.
Issues can be resolved.
It's a lovely drama to have come across and be watched.

Also, this is the first drama where the 2nd couple almost threw away, more like overrode the 1st couple.
Their characterization and chemistry was damn brilliant.

Overall a must watch drama if you've patience and you love to learn the real progression.
Could it have been better? Yes certainly!
Is it the best out there? Nope.
But does it do its job? Yes, pretty much.
But that's the feeling you get with every drama .

Special mention to Park Hyung Shik, the guy has the talent to be a mega star.
Especially after watching his performance on Suits.
He literally stole the lime light from everybody in this drama , even Uee and Sung Joon.

Leia Mais