Reviews

Quickreview:

What Is there to say,After ive seen the series "Ghost" i gave this one a chance where i would think nothing could be as strong as ghost,This series is TOTALLY OUTSTANDING GOOD!.

From episode 1 till 20 you are sitting on the edge of your seat in this series looking forward "OMG" Whats goin to happen next.Full with emotions i watched these series in 2 LONG nights.The actin/music is really well done and deserve awards.I doubt any North american series can come even close to the emotional "roller-ride"you get from this show.The love and romance is there abit where its needed but this is the ind of series where it doesnt matter at all,words and feelings are enough to tell whats goin on.The ending was really well done and they took there time to conclude the ending which is rare these days normally they RUSH last 5 minutes but here you get atleast a full 40m of a conclusion about what should happen in the future and leaves you with a smile in the end.

For me this is one of best series ive ever seen and the only thing what could miss is re-watch value bcuz i doubt you ever gonna forget this masterpiece :).

DONT ONLY READ THIS! WATCH IT!!!

Leia Mais

I had mixed feelings once I finished this drama....first I felt very very sad. Then I felt relieved that I finished this drama and now could be able to do my homework in peace. Overall I was just feeling a whole mess of emotions.

Ok I'm going to try to make this short...

So plot wise this story was a very heavy melodrama but for me it wasn't overpowering like most melodramas. It had a different feeling to me. A bittersweet feeling. It always felt as though even during the happy moments there were hard ones.

Yes this drama is painful to watch. It's a story of a forbidden love filled with heartbreak. What can you expect? I loved every single second of it though.

All of the cast gave of this real and raw energy. The emotions that they expressed just felt so real...
Park Shin Hye was only 16 at the time when she filmed this drama but she was able to portray a adult and someone who was being abused with ease. I was impressed not very many 16 year olds would be able to do what she did.

Lee Wan who I had never heard of before was great. He didn't speak for a large part of the drama but was able to express himself without talking. That's when you know their good actors.

I tried listening to the OST after finishing the drama but I kept on visualizing what had happened. The OST was astounding but I recommend waiting a few days before you start listening to it again.

I gave this a low re-watch value because for me it would be to hard watching this drama again..while knowing what happens.

I would say to everyone go and watch this drama! I highly recommend but do it when you are feeling happy and are in a good place.

Leia Mais

In Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None", ten strangers gather to an isolated island where they will have to witness a murder - just to become hunted themselves. It's a psychological thriller where we get to see, not only the people's deepest thoughts but also the group dynamic in a very extreme, absurd situation that you can only create in fantasies.

White Christmas' main themes are very similar to the masterpiece by Agatha Christie that was written over seven decades ago. What happens to the people in extreme fear when they can trust no one but themselves and they can't escape the danger they are confronting? Each of them reacts to the situation in their own way and various different social bonds are formed. But while "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie is clearly a detective story where the reader is fooled until the very end, White Christmas offers us rather clear hints throughout the series. I would say that in the end White Christmas' best offering for the viewers was not the mysterious guessing game but the psychological themes it dealt with.

The characters of the story were very well written. They had realistic background stories, as well as the personalities they had formed until now. The most interesting was to watch how they all would develop in the journey of eight episodes. None of them was entirely good or bad, and everyone of them had to deal with their own problems, their own values and their own emotions, and to answer the main question of the drama: "Are monsters born or created?"

Besides the great plot and characters, the production of the drama was done very well. The drama was very artistry - but not in a way that it would look forced or unnatural. The set was very simple but in the same time even more stunning. In the end you don't need some fancy effects if you know how to film: the talented use of the angles, light etc. The silent scenes with stunning views and some well-thought music, and you have everything you need for a very emotional scene. And not only was it just nice to watch - the talented production made the atmosphere very eerie and stagnant, something to get you completely absorbed into the story. I also liked the fact how the characters' uniqueness was emphasized by the way they were filmed - all in their own way.

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The above was my main thoughts after watching the the whole drama in one day (night, woops :D) - I will discuss more of the cast, music, story etc. below! :)


Story - The story was in the end pretty unpredictable although that viewers were given pretty clear hints about the mysteries in the drama throughout the series. Altogether White Christmas is a fresh and unique drama among the sometimes very cliched dramaworld. The greatest pros in this drama were the deep, well-thought characters and the many thoughts it offered to the its viewers in every single episode. Some illogical gaps though made me reduce half of a point in this section.

Acting/Cast - I have nothing bad to say about the cast or the acting. Although there were many rookie actors (e.g. Kim Woo Bin, Sung Joon) I never felt that they were actually "acting" - was it then the direction of the drama or the well-written characters, I really got into it and felt more like they were real characters rather than just normal people behind the characters they were trying to create.

Music - This soundtrack didn't have songs of its own but it borrowed many famous and also not-so famous songs from around the world. Majority of the songs were Western songs, varying from pop to alternative rock and ballads. But who could have imagined that Vivaldi's Nisi Dominus would actually be so creepy?

Rewatch value - Although I love thrillers, the series always suffer from it as well. As you know what's going to happen in the second time when you're watching the series, it doesn't really feel exactly same anymore. That's why you should always cherish the moment when you watch a drama for the first time. (:D) But with great production quality and the many thoughts that the drama offered, I think that it would still be pretty enjoyable when it is watched for the second time! (And I'm sure that I'm going to watch it for the second time for sure! ^^)

Leia Mais

This was way over-hyped for me. That comes as part of the problem with waiting to watch it until it was over with. Seeing the numerous articles that sites put out about it, and the nonsense about how no one really knew who the husband would be till the last episode.
Most Kdramas have the two leads in which you already know from the beginning that they will end up together. With this one I didn't know who the male lead was going in, and maybe as per the drama there wasn't supposed to be one, as it's more about the ensemble. I've watched enough Kdramas though, to know that from the very beginning they skew it toward one relationship and thats how it would end up. The hype and the whole thing of keeping the husband a mystery really does piss me off when it turns out as predictable as every other Kdrama. I guess it was the hype that made me hope it would do something different, as I didn't have a problem with who it ended up being, but it was just super annoying in the way it played out. Reply 1997 wasn't much different, but maybe I didn't have a problem with that one because I already knew that Seo In Guk was the male lead, and it didn't prance around the idea of trying to fool us as much.

This drama was way over long too. It's a cable show, aren't they supposed to stick to the 45 minute or less format? I guess not. Many scenes went over far too long, with no added substance, including a final episode that felt nothing but that.

The acting was great though. Go Ara kind of bugged me at first, but she really settled into the role and owned it as did everyone else. The set of characters and their friendship is really the strongest thing the show had going for it, as well as the humor provided with those secondary characters.

What's up with forgetting about the son? The parents have a baby some episodes in. And some of the episodes and scenes were as if they forgot he even existed. Like all the times they eat at the table and he isn't even there. WTF? Seriously strange.

My recommendation going into this show is to spoil it for yourself. You might enjoy it more that way actually. Because like most Kdramas, its not as if you don't know who is going to end up together in the end anyways, right?

Leia Mais

After episode 10 rolled around it hit me: I did not want to suffer another episode. Maybe if I didn't know how this series ended I'd have enjoyed it more? No. Even if I hadn't known what the ending would be it never would have interested me. I should have loved myself more that to make myself suffer further.

This series no matter if it's this original live action adaptation of the anime Itazura na Kiss (AKA Mischievous Kiss), the Korean or Japanese. This story is well loved. As an anime fan it's outrageous popularity normally would have forced my hand into watching it. However, I read the synopsis and some of the gushing comments about it and I knew I would loath it. After many drama fans told me that I would adore the Taiwanese live action and that it was the "version to make any grumpy viewer like it" I went for it. Which is the only reason I pushed myself past episode 1. 5 episodes in was pushing it.

The main character Xiang Qin is everything I hate to see in a lead, especially when it all piles up. She's stupid, pretty much begs the jerk of a lead to keep abusing her, clumsy, is laughed and put down by everyone who knows her, and she's down right stupid. (Yeah, I know I said stupid already but it really needs to be said.) She's like this sad little puppy who keeps getting abused but still loves it master. The male lead is the worst of the awful and disdainfully rude male leads that over populate the Asian media market. If anyone has ever read Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling books, he is basically a Psy. But unlike those books he doesn't redeem himself. The problem is this is the series that Jiang Zhi Shu--the male lead--is more humanized! The relationship is mentally and verbally abusive.

On the positive side Xiang Qin is a good example of how you stick out, you'll get what you want in the end. The actors all do a pretty decent job in their roles. Even if I thought the story should have been about Xiang Qin smartening up and finding a wonderful guy--NOT THE MALE LEAD--and finding herself worth. I had hoped that it would happen in the 10 episodes that I forced myself to watch(the self worth part). But it never happens on a high enough degree to make up for this horrible story. I know I'm going to get a lot of boos from fans on this review. But I'm tired of how rude-jerky men and stupid female leads are being encouraged and glorified. Yes, I've enjoyed this type of story and plot before. Guilty. Usually those stories have great writing to over come it. The issue is both the leads are unrelatable. The lead is basically a robot. This is a lesson for me about going with your gut and quitting before you start bashing your head in.

Leia Mais

After trying to fill the waiting void from KI, this popped up in a discussion and recommended, I now know why.. This is EPIC scale drama of divine anointed births who are each destined to save and or betray a nation & the struggle to earn love & respect. Lots of twists and turns, with the end being shown first thus the back episodes are retelling the events. This series is focuses on lots of moving parts of conniving 1st & 2nd queens, 2 unbeknown sisters who share the love of a weak man, nation building-destroying & lots of display of any of 7 deadly sins. Lots of backstabbing, strategy, just misuse of power and tons of kingly cruelty wrapped in this drama. The last episode was chaotic and just felt rushed making me somewhat satisfied yet disappointed they rushed it when they had 20ep earlier to work things out better. This is 39 hrs of which I really enjoyed the ep 25 - 38 the best, the rest you can skip around once you get get handle of the many moving characters and parts or just to use as a comparable when you have caught up with KI. Would I re-watch? No - got the t-shirt this round...

Leia Mais

I watched this because the posters catched my eyes, I didn't know anything about it before watching.
I didn't know the actors or the plot, and no one never told me anything about.
I found out it is quite good.

STORY:
The story is good. I mean, nothing great, but it is different.
The kidnapping, the company, the cooking, the weird Wu Di show and so on make the show funny and different, without seem too much absurd.
The commedy is well balanced, but you never feel it is going to end bad, there is also a light even in the bad moments.

CARACHTERS/ACTING/CASTING:
Carachters were perfect with their personalities. Everyone was normal, not stupid or weird.
Wu Di and Shan Bao were really amazing. I mean, I loved the fact that they never misunterstood anything about each other, they were able to face their feelings till the end.
I loved that.
Also, Nicholas and Amber were good with acting. They seemed totally natural and in their part, as if it was their real personality.
Supporting actors were quite good too, from her brothers, to the second lead, to the little cutie little girl!

MUSIC:

Well.... the music was... FUNNY!
The main song is cute and makes you laugh!
The ending too is cute, and the ballad in the show are ok.

I recommend this. It is funny and makes you also think about life and growing up.

Leia Mais

When I read the plot, I asked what the hell would be interesting about a Joseon prince in the present era? Little did I know that the prince had the best collection of subjects he could have picked as he landed on the roof top. My god who ever chose the cast was talented they fit perfectly into their characters, yoon chuns acting is so great that when someone speaks korean I can now differentiate the phrasing of the traditional Joseon korean language from the present one, yeah he is that good!! This drama had it all fantasy,melodrama,Joseon period, day today, mystery etc but wat was really amazing was the fact that I couldn't figure out what really happened till the last episode, no drama has suprised me like this one. It was great from the first scene... Overall SUPERB!!!!

Leia Mais

This drama is awesome, I tell you, it's awesome! Fortunately, I found this drama when I was going through a huge drama slump and I didn't know what to watch. Watching this drama made me smile and laugh a LOT. I mean while I was watching the drama, I got so absorbed in the love affairs like Tenchou was! Additionally, the writers who wrote this drama which aired in 2003, has written one of the best comical scripts that I've seen in Jdramas. Everything was so intricately planned and so detailed. I've never come across a story like this before.

Let's not forget about the actors in the show. Tenchou who barely speaks in this drama was so hilarious! His narrations and his thoughts were so entertaining to listen to. The other characters like Nobuko and Chikura Sensei were really funny also. My favorite lines were "Waaaafffers!" and "I say this from my experience, my life, and my soul."

Leia Mais

This drama is hilarious, amusing, and so entertaining! I saw a couple of episodes of this when it first came out in 2010 but dropped it due to a lack of subs. Four years I finished it and it is totally worth the time. The drama is comical but you there is a dual nature to the acting. It feels as if you can take the characters seriously yet not at the same time. The cast which consists of Nagase Tomoya, Toma Ikuta, Kaname Jun, Nishishida Toshiyuki, Nakashima Mika, and many other big names, ALL made the show shine. Although this is an episodic drama, the acting really pulled through and kept your attention. Oh by the way, there is a reference to Manhattan Love Story (also a great drama!) if you can catch it. The leading man Nagase Tomoya has proved himself to be a fantastic actor due to his gestures,and the way he has said the dialogues. The music for this drama is so addicting and suave that I'm sure you'll love the songs! My favorite line from the show is when Unubore says, "Ore wa ore da!"

Leia Mais

If you liked Meteor Garden I, you will like the second half of this drama. Episodes 1 and 20-30 are really good. The story focuses on the rest of the cast, all of whom are wonderful. Of course everyone wants to see the adorable Shan Cai and Si get together. Just skip the ridiculous amnesia episodes where everyone looks for Si as he is befriended by another woman. The boring episodes are 2-12, but you could also restart with episode 20. The ending is wonderful and there is also romance for Mei, so it is definitely worth watching Season 2. I differ with others. I like Meteor Garden better than the Japanese version. Shan Cai is tougher and more charming than the Japanese version. But I enjoyed both.

Leia Mais

This drama is quite different from all other revenge dramas I've seen. It seems to take more the point of view of the initial murderer turned cop. (That's not a spoiler as you quickly learn this in the beginning.) You don't ever get much of a feeling of compassion and sadness for the initial young victim because little time is spent on that storyline. This drama reminds me of a war: there are no winners. Indeed, I never found any of the characters likeable, so I never had strong feelings about the consequences. As in real life, everyone is held accountable for their evil deeds.
The beginning seemed long and tedious. Things were revealed as the plot developed, however, I never felt there were any big surprises. Joo Ji Hoon did a great job as a cold loner, but his character was too zombie-like. It would have been better if he found some more awareness like in the revenge drama Sorry I Love You. The best thing was the acting here. The actress Shin Min Ah was in A Love to Kill a revenge drama I liked better.

Leia Mais

Huh, finally i finished this drama, it was a (quite) long journey with lot of breaks, but i finished the last few epidsode today.

...THE STORY.......
I think the main problem with this drama is that, it's too long.
10 episode will be more than enough for the story line, but with this 16 episode it became more and more tiresome beacuse of the (unrealistic) problems and the "i love you, you love me, but we can't be together" repeating. (Just like in the Heirs.)

In the beginning it seems very promising, i enjoyed the funny situations and misunderstandings caused by the fake marriage, it was fresh and quite interesting but (about) from the middle of the drama it started changing, the (waaay to much) tears and suffering started dominated the story, and it's okay and understandable for a couple of times, (love is complicated, or what) but when i saw the main leads (especially the female ones) crying the third and fourth times in an episode for just almost nothing - well, it just killed the show for me.

...CHARACTERS and ACTING.......
It was problably because of the character of Ah Jung, whom i can't understand, she also can act really stubborn (on a positive way) and confident in situations, which was quite likable, but sometimes (mainly in the end) she was just the opposite and act weakly, or just walk away while crying. Also, she was on my nerves, because she never talked about her problems with the man she loves (and whom can maybe solve the problem, or at least cheer her up) no, she just usually said "It's nothing" and was suffering alone with a smile on her face.)
I also wasn't keen of the male lead, Ki Joon, but it wasn't beacuse of the character but the acting. That was the first time i saw Kang Ji Hwan playing a role, and (sorry for the big fans, but) i found his acting unnatural and overact. He's handsome, no doubt, but his acting skills didn't convincing me. (Maybe he improved since this drama, and get better.)

The most likable characters were supporting ones, Manager Park and the assistant guy of Ki Joon, they were always themselves, and almost every words of them were pure gold (especially Manager Park). And of course it also thanks to the good acting, both Park Ji Yoon and Kwon Yool performed their characters really well, it was delightful watching them.

...THE ENDING.......
The couple of last episode was just an overwrought suffering with too much tears and unnecessary situations (with newspaper articles and what's people thinking), so mostly didn't happened anything significant.
Maybe, the very last episode was some kind of returning to the starter mood of the drama, it was quite lovely and i think it was a worthy ending to this drama, but the way while we get to this end, it was a little bit too long-drawn.

Leia Mais

One thing that actually made me watch this drama was the glamour. It reminded me so much of Boys Before Flowers just without the theatrics of over acting good looking boys. Not that this show is short of good looking guys, its actually the contrary. There's just the absence of humor because this drama has too much angst and is money driven that eventually it became too tiring to watch. Viewing this drama felt like my brain cells would deteriorate anytime because I don't even had to think over about the situations... I could count my hair and I would still be able to follow on with the story and predict what's going to happen.

The story was very typical. Rich boy falls in love with poor girl and vice versa. So what made this interesting to watch? Well honestly it's not the story line because that had me lost in the middle of the series. What actually made me continue on watching was the characters. I was very much interested in the character development of the actors that I couldn't help but finish the drama because of them. Yes the male lead Kim Tan was a mopey teenager with so much daddy issues while our female lead did nothing but cry her eyes out on all the bad things that has ever happened to her. And so I waited for their progress, thinking that maybe something drastic would happen in their lives and their characters would evolve on that awaited change but unfortunately - Heirs failed me big time.

But!!! One thing that this drama did right for me was casting Kim Woo-bin. It was my first time to see him in a drama and I fell in love with the bad boy image of his character that I had a hard time moving on from his role. I had a bad dose of second lead syndrome because of him.

Music wise, there was nothing note worthy but it did add to the onscreen chemistry, so I have nothing against it. I would recommend this drama for the Lee Min Ho and Kim Woo-bin fans out there. But over all... this isn't going to be in my list of must watch drama of 2013.

Leia Mais