Hlebka

D.P. (2021)

I feel i was fooled.

I'm sorry but i didn't really like it. My expectations were too high,but i couldn't follow all the hype.

I gave half star to pass my average rate only because of the great acting.

Production and music were good too.

D. P. Depicts the reality in Korean army. The same reality exists in every country.

I thought DP is more on the dark psychological side. I thought it was a bold Drama to show the ugliness and the cruelty.

So i prepared myself for a very heavy watch. And damn i was so much disappointed. Because it only scratched the surface presenting all the issues in a very light way. Stories felt rather flat and common. As for the characters-main and side-nothing extraordinary. I was expecting to watch troubled souls dealing with their own demons. I wanted to see evil bad guys causing real pain and ofc i wanted to see the healing process too.(i was expecting something similar to Military Prosecutor Doberman,concerning the evil chars there)

In my family/friends circle every male can talk about his military life for hours. I have heard so many stories i feel like i served myself!

So nothing really shocked me here. I couldn't connect with the characters,they failed to pull me deep in their stories.

I guess is my mistake because i thought it was darker and heavier.

Only the last episode had a kind of intense but still wasn't enough.

Tomorrow i will start S2 but honestly i don't expect much.

The Good Bad Mother (2023)

Directionless and incredulous show with a psycho mom

First of all, the writer can't seem to determine whether they want the story to go into comedy or have serious plot lines. Because the story taking place outside the village is all suspence and serious, but once you enter the village, the characters suddenly become comedic. Take Woobyeok's two secretaries, for example. The show started out pretty good. Initially, I figured the show would be about a prosecutor on a path of revenge or a path of corruption that took away his father's life. Either way, both interesting. Then the accident happen which was an unexpected twist that could've made things more interesting.

But once Kang-Ho came back home, the story devolved into a bunch of country bumpkins acting like fools. There's no clear direction and the writers just randomly tossed in every known K-drama cliche such as family car death, major illness and unnecessary misunderstandings. All happening at once! Once country bumpkins take over, we see less and less of two villains who are much more interesting. They're wasting so much time adding incredulously improbable plot lines during Kang-ho's "recovery" process, it's gotten hard to watch. The show constantly switches from comedy to cringy drama trying to make you cry.

What really gets me about this show is how Kang-ho's mom comes across. I get that she's had a hard life but she's an absolute nut job! The way she treats Kang-Ho is way past child abuse and she should be jailed for it.

Speaking of child abuse, how Min-Joo lies to her two kids about their father is a next level psychological abuse. How will they recover from this?

We also cannot forget newly discovered ways to treat quadriplegic people. Starve them so they can use their own hands and then throw them in water so they can start walking. Someone actually wrote this crap.

Who else is so sick and tired of the main character losing her crap every other scene?

Tou tou cang bu zhu (2023)

Use of aesthetics to cover a lacking story

Honestly, I was not very keen to watch this drama but given the ratings & hype I decided to give it a try. Visually the drama is very pleasing. I liked the first half where it told a story of a young girl having one sided crush on an elder guy who happens to be her brother's best friend. It reminded me of my childhood when I had a similar type of crush. There were scenes which was so relatable such as when she found his name spelling like the excitement was so real.

The second half however was meh and i ff/skipped a lot. There were two reasons for that:

A. The storyline was bland. There was nothing going on plot wise. The leads just met in different clothes & different ambience with flashbacks which was shown like 15 mins ago. Their conversations were like that of a constipated person. The entire line of side characters were made just to make the relationship arc shine which felt redundant. They wasted resources on actors which had no purpose and could have been done by one actor alone. The scope was so limited.

B. The infantilizing of the FL was way worse compared to other dramas. ML attended her PTM, buy pads for her, changed her shoes, cooks and clean for her, picks her from office basically treat her like a 5 yr old. FL parents controlled her too much, yeah one can say this is common in Asian families but that makes you a kid and not a person suitable for romance drama. This portrayal of women is not new in dramaland and has been a constant hit amongst audience so I won't waste my energy on saying like please give us a semi-independent FL or least someone with half a dime of brain, so i'll let it go.

My recommendation- go for a mature plot , there are plenty ones out there. This is not worth it no matter how good looking the cast is and how aesthetically good the production.

Geunyang Saranghaneun Sai (2017)

Hidden gem in k-drama land, masterpiece

This was my first ever drama back in 2019, I rewatched it recently for the second time. Of all dramas I've watched, this is the most realistic. Actors play their roles perfectly, the plot is creative, the storyline is simple, yet with a lot of conflicts that are realistic and really tugs at your heart. Everything is flowing at a perfect pace. This drama deserves an endless amount of awards. This drama really holds a unique charm like no other. In terms of cinematography I can confidently say I have never, in my years of watching k- dramas, seen anything quite like it. Every shot has an amazing authenticity to it and the palette for each frame is stunning, it feels just like a movie. It's good at focusing on the details that create a view of life seen through the eyes of those living it. It strays from the widespread use of commercial lighting and taking one shot from 20+ angles and instead focuses on the brilliant visual storytelling and the raw emotion between characters. To think that this was Won Jin-ah debut drama just proves her excellent skills as an actor! Incredible performance. I've been her fan since I saw this drama.

Qin ai de, re ai de (2019)

The people who gave 10 star for this drama must be bots

I haven't watched the whole series yet, but I do not want to anyway. The acting is soooo bad and the plot is just...something. Absolutely boring and cliche. Want better dramas from the Chinese industry. It's the 21st century guys, wake up. Seriously we don't have the patience for people to have childish behaviour. I am usually optimistic but I just can't deal with this drama.

Like hundreds of people, I agree that the rating on Viki & MDL for this drama is bias of the actors. It's only popular because famous Chinese actors are starting in it. It doesn't deserve its rating. We have to change how we perceive our views. This is unfair to dramas which are actually worth watching but are not recognised for their quality.

Don't start attacking me for my opinions either. I'm just being honest. Just watching the first five episodes I could take more in. I found myself frequently skipping unnecessary parts. People who are actually sane and value their time, stay away from this drama. They is no point in wasting your precious brain cells eat hing this. Either find something else to do or watch a drama with watching.

Xiexie Rang Wo Yujian Ni (2020)

Very light-hearted and cute

I really like how both main characters need the relationship. There are a lot of romance drama which are unrealistic fantasy which I'm not a fan of, eg. Naive, weak, ordinary, poor, etc female lead who are deadweight in almost all situation but then there are multiple rich, handsome, perfect male characters who are chasing after her. But in this drama the main couple are both flawed but the other character excel at and therefore compliments each other, together they help each other to grow together. I find this concept refreshing and romantic.

While "opposites attract" drama cliche is actually not that realistic scenario (as in irl people are usually attracted to those who share similar interest and hold similar value), in this drama it is more justifiable and realistic because they started as friends during childhood.

Another thing I liked is there is no stupid annoying cliche found in some other romance dramas, like stupid things that hurts the other lead "for the sake of their own good" which causes annoying misunderstandings. The male lead is very clear that he likes her from the beginning, and actually make his life revolve around her, their co-dependency is really interesting honestly.

An ge li de mi mi (2021)

I wonder why the scriptwriters wanted to sabotage their own show

Finished it. It is.... a pitty. I wonder why the scriptwriters wanted to sabotage their own show.

First half is very good. Third quarter is terrible. Last quarter is decent.

Anybody saying "it is realistic because it is not a fairy tale" should stop. Yes, real life has problems, but absolutly ridiculous coincidences and behaviours just for the sake of creating problems, is not realistic. For the first 14 episodes they create an amazing love story, that then is destroyed by absolutly stupid things.

If you want a very similar show but 3 times better, watch Meeting you. The only thing Our Secret has better is MLs acting, which is amazing.

Details and romance recap below.

• They start bickering a bit
• Soon they become friends
• Soon again they like eachother
• This evolves into a relationship where while not beeing officially together, its obviously for everybody that they are(will be) together. Theres absolutly nothing more important for each of them than the other one. This part of the show is amazing.

• Episode 14: ML gets into a college in another city, since FL doesnt have enough score to enter (and she doesnt care about anything else besides ML) she decides to study one more year to be able to go to his college. This isnt the bad part, they separate on good terms, they agree to join one year later and keep texting and talking often. All good for now.

• Now the ridiculous crap begins:
• They constantly think of eachother, but one time he goes visit her to her city without telling her, and omg what a coincidence, when he appears another guy is precisely comforting her patting her back. He goes back without seeing her and stops texting and speaking with her. Then she goes visit him to his city without saying anything, and... omg what a coincidence, right when she appears a girl is leaning on ML because her leg hurts. FL sees it, and goes back without saying anything. Wow, such a realistic show because it isnt a fairy tale.... Both of them are never with somebody of the opposite sex, but the 2 minutes the other one appears from another city, they precisely are and with physical contact...
• Next problem. MLs father gets sick. So ML has to start working while he studies. So, because of this stupid problem, ML decides that he now has so many troubles that he is not able to protect FL.... from what? Well ask him, because this isnt an action or thriller show, but he literally does it because he "cant protect her anymore". WTF So he decides to cut all ties with her. They have been in love for 3 years, not caring about anything else than the other one, she is studying like crazy just to be with him, and he decides to cut ties because his father is sick, he needs to work and "cant protect" her.... Again, very realistic. Im talking to all you praising it for being realistic because "bad things happen"

Even worse, when he visited her and saw that guy pating her, he heard her say how hard it was being to study to enter his college and be at his level. So this is also a reason he wants to cut ties.... Which doesnt make sense at all because she is already studying and he cuts ties without saying a word so she keeps studying like crazy so what the hell are you helping her with???

• So a year passes without him texting her back and she enters his college. She goes right to him, yells his name at his dorm, they go speak, she confesses her love (they never did in high school).... and now the crappiest episodes begin. Hfe rejects her coldly, and then when he is alone cries because he loves her. She cries too. Then she confesses again, he rejects again, both cry again. And so on for about 4 episodes. RIDICULOUS
• Now its turn for the opposite! FL gets tired and angry and decides to stop pursuing him... and now ML wants to get back with her! At the same moment! Realistic again. So now we get 2 episodes of ML pursuing FL and saying sorry but she rejecting him because she is still mad.

• Oh, almost forgot. There was a very mild love triangle in highschool. ML and FL were so madly in love with the other one that it wasnt a problem at all. But they decide to bring it back on steroids during this episodes. Now it is very annoying.

• So in episode 21 they get together. Are the last 3 episodes of being together worht all this crap? Nope. These episodes are cute, but not amazing either. Maybe mosstly because of the previous episodes having destroyed both characters for me.

• Also, theres some very annoying timeskips. Not annoying because they are bad, they are just... weird. Theres several timejumps where you didnt almost realize it happened. For example you hear a support couple is getting engaged. You continue watching scenes without any notice of tiemskip, and suddenly you hear they have been married for 2 years. And things like this happene several tiems along the show.

All in all, the show isnt as bad as I make it sound, but the dissappointment after the great first half is so big, that the feeling it leaves is very bad.

Roboti Aniya (2017)

Overrated

If you are over the age of 13, this is probably not the show for you. I selected "I am not a Robot" because of its popularity on this site. While I did get through the entire series (because I'm a masochist), I rage watched it, expecting it to improve. That's time I can never get back!

There are many of the standard K-drama tropes. The rich guy who is super smart but spoiled, self absorbed and socially awkward, and the poor girl who is contantly bullied and denigrated by the men in her life. We are also told over and over again that the female lead only has an IQ of 94 (never mind the flaws in using IQ tests, or that this would be within the range of normal people)...we get it...she's ordinary and a little bit simple. From the very first episode, he mistreated her in a way that made me not like him. If he wasn't really good looking, even the teeny bopper fan girls wouldn't be rooting for this guy.

Secondly, there's the plot itself. I like weird stuff, but this was too weird. First, you have to suspend disbelief that this supposed genius couldn't figure out that this "robot" was a real woman (I promise you, a caveman would have figured this sh** out by episode 2). It was so awkward watching him be attracted to what he essentially believed to be a really pretty appliance.

Finally, the pacing. If it had been written so that only for the first few episodes he thought she was a robot, then the reveal, leading to the development of a genuine romance between two real people, there would have been a chance that this could have been salvaged. Instead, we had to suffer through cringeworthy moments for 2/3 of the show, making it difficult (for me at least) to invest in the characters and their love story.

Now I've seen comments and reviews of other people who didn't like the secondary characters. I don't have an issue with the older guy/younger girl romance. I think the secondary characters were actually better to watch. They injected the realism, humour and drama and showed the most character growth.

To cut a long story short, watch something else!

Chang Yue Jin Ming (2023)

It felt like more care was put into earlier episodes versus the latter

Xianxia tends to be hit or miss with me, but I was drawn in by the appeal of seeing Bai Lu and Luo Yunxi together again after the Love is Sweet. Their chemistry doesn't disappoint. I really loved the first 3/4 of this drama. Though both leads are good, Luo Yunxi really owned the show as the tortured Tantai Jin, and I found two of the lifetimes (Ming Ye/Cang Jiu and Tantai Jin/Ye Xiwu) equally absorbing and the CGI above the usual. But once we returned to the "present," the storytelling fell apart quite a bit for me. The pacing became uneven, the cut from scene to scene disjointed. The logic of the characters became inconsistent and subordinate to the plot. Sometimes it lagged, sometimes it was too hurried. The ending was not, for me, satisfying. It just felt sloppy. I don't know what happened in the production, but it certainly felt like more care was put into earlier episodes versus the latter and I only ended up finishing because of my investment from the earlier episodes . I went from wishing the drama would never end to wondering if it ever would by ep 33, a big disappointment. That's not to take away from the actors. I hope to see Bai Lu and Luo Yunxi collaborate again.

Geunyeoui Sasaenghwal (2019)

Trite plot, boring developments, predictable outcomes.

Trite plot, boring developments, predictable outcomes. I started watching months ago, and as much as I somehow managed to plod along to the end of episode fifteen- well, I cannot bring myself to watch the final one; it feels like a waste of time (I only got through the fifteenth episode because I just have no notion of doing things by halves... but this one is proving to be quite the hard task to carry through).

Park Min Young seems to be stuck in the same role over and over again, and this whole set-up of the annoying to-be-caring boss who orders her around as she talks back at any given chance has gotten old quite some time ago if you ask me. I find it irritating and see it as an attempt at following in "What's Wrong With Secretary Kim?"'s steps in order to get the same success as a result but it just doesn't make the cut; as silly as that was as well- it was supposed to be perceived as that because it was pure comedy while this one is not funny nor does it come off as purposely silly but rather- ridiculous.

Feng huo fang fei (2017)

Not enough

Bille August is definitely a better director of a more intimate genre, and he confirms it in this case as well. All "action" scenes stink of cheap production, tricks are more than transparent. Especially at the beginning it looks terrible, during the bombing of Tokyo, I wanted to give up right away. After about 20 minutes, the "CGI mess" disappears and it moves towards a sad story about the Japanese occupation of China. Where the local people suffer. The plot revolves around two strangers who found their way to each other despite the adversity of fate. The depiction of the Chinese village and its customs are among the better, but that's not enough.

Geomeun Taeyang (2021)

This drama was a fairly enjoyable watch

This drama had a compelling start, and one strong aspect it had was its well-executed action scenes. However, I feel that as the story continued to develop, it became convoluted with the introduction of additional characters and the amount of information that needed to be processed. I also noticed that nearly every episode had a misleading ending. For example, Episode 5 (spoilers ahead) ended with footage of Ji-hyuk shooting Soo-yeon, and Episode 6 (spoilers ahead) ended with Je-yi seemingly betraying Ji-hyuk. This pattern felt repetitive, and I think it stripped away the anticipation and suspense for me since I could assume that it was merely a false lead.

Nevertheless, although I feel a little disappointed by the writing's direction and the last episodes, I still think that this drama was a fairly enjoyable watch, especially for Namgoong Min and his acting. Without a doubt, he gave an impressive performance as Han Ji-hyuk.

Hilleo (2014)

Parkour guy gets revenge on everyone for missing out on the olympic gymnastics team.

I really got baited by the positive reviews but Healer is not special at all.

The series looks very low budget and the "action" is a joke. It is so badly cut with weird effects and most of the time the fights are in slow motion for whatever reason.

The locations are always the same and we don't really get much variety.

The Characters are a bit too cringy and too stereotypical for my taste. Typical nerdy hackers, the "cool" fighter and "I keep everything a secret to protect all" good guy.

The only good character was Park Min Young.

And the Story? Well, it's like in most K-Dramas nothing special as well. Something happened in the past and some rich powerful ppl are behind it. The MCs share the same destiny and want to take revenge and with time the truth unfolds more and more.

I did not feel any tension while watching because I already know what will happen.

And the soundtrack was TERRIBLE. Every time when some action happened it played the same soundtrack which was way too loud and absolutely not fitting. Did you remember the soundtrack from K2? THAT is a good and fitting soundtrack to actions and tense moments, not this bling bling stuff

I'm a bit disappointed because I really liked K2 and the MCs. It was on a whole different level than Healer.

It is not a bad series but there is just nothing special.

Wan mei xian sheng he cha bu duo xiao jie (2020)

Unoriginal, cliche-fest

15 episodes in and I can't take this anymore. This drama is so unbelievably tacky, stuffed with a nauseating dose of cliches. I'm annoyed that i did not give into my initial instincts and drop this way earlier.

The Ripper (2020)

Not as good as Night Stalker

I started this miniseries right after the newer and great Night Stalker and I can't avoid the comparison, where unfortunately Ripper loses to Night Stalker. Both miniseries have only four parts, but here you have to drag me into the story until the middle of the third part, the English are far from as sympathetic as the Americans, there is not a single narrative character who could capture, it occurred to me that absolutely important important video recordings here (for example at the end in court) and instead of the last part intensively culminating, it is somehow on the below-average to average wave. Quite a failure. 4 out of 10.

Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel (2021)

Waste of time

They literally spend 4 HOURS of the doc letting conspiracy nuts blame this on homeless people, two uninvolved serial killers, the innocent people who work at the hotel, ghosts, and a freaking musician in a death metal band. Then they spend only 10 minutes going over the fact that they KNOW she was off her medication, she was acting paranoid and disruptive, was leaving threatening notes around, and was wandering around parts of the hotel she shouldn't have been in even before the night she went missing.

This **** is straight up irresponsible. It's a blatant attempt to profit off of a creepy story that's popular on the internet. It villainizes entire communities without any proof of involvement and then minimizes the truth of the story. Disgusting.