Psychological thriller? Yes, please!

A perfectly written psychological thriller that talks about human behavior under unique circumstances. I have to say, I went into this TV series with high expectations, but unlike others who craved blood and death games, I kind of guessed from the trailers that this wouldn't be bloody and would be more like a human experiment on behavioral issues, which I was right about. 

I recommend this series to everyone who wants to see the thrill of miserable people craving money without the death or blood factor. I don't think we need blood and death games to make something interesting, because the human psyche is interesting without them as well. 

The main characters are very different people, so as you are watching, you will probably have your favorite, which you're going to cheer for. I don't think the series showed us unrealistic characters; I would say they chose a big spectrum of people that represent broad humanity. They showed the bad, the good, and the middle, and they also included disabilities and special skills. In other words, there were only 8 players, but they kind of represented a much bigger group of people. 

I love how the production style was very artsy and the background music was classical music.

My biggest positive point is that they managed to wrap the story in just eight episodes, and honestly, they wrapped it so well that season two isn't needed in my opinion, which is rare with Netflix shows. 

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STORY:
Okay i really love these kind of dramas with such amazing cast! I for YEARS tried to find some drama with action/spy AND powerful romance! The romance is very innocent, passionate and deep so if u want to see very deep emotional moments go for it! The action scenes were done also very good and kept the drama in a good flow. For me i did marathon and i NEVER found any moment boring. I know everyone has different opinion but this was....really wonderful. After year and half i finally watched drama guys and i enjoyed it so so much! The plot is very interesting and i never saw such plot so this was something very new and fresh! Keeps ur mind busy and trust me...you will lose your sleep XD

ACTING:
Okay I watched dramas with JCHW before and i knew he had talent but this like...smacked me straight in head and woke me up! I can tell he is a top actor and i don't care what others say. He seemed like he was really the character he was playing. From the first ep his face started to change with emotions..Nothing was too much and nothing was missing. It was perfect! Main lead girl is also great actor and i know her and i can tell this is her best role. I love that in this drama she is also the brave girl who will stand in front and fight for justice ^^

MUSIC:
Honestly the main song '' Eternal Love'' is downloaded on my phone and i listen to it all over again. It's too good. And did u read the lyrics? No? Okay than go and do it! It's so sweet and so real and it fits the main couple!

REWATCH VALUE :
To tell you the truth i started to watch it all over again right now XD It's too good to just watch it once...So right now i'm going at it once again! ^^

This drama is filled with emotions so enjoy it and give it a try i can tell u..that you WON'T regret it :)

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Where should I start?
1. STORY :
Okay, so before it even started to air, based on the trailers I could guess what the story will be about and I was right. A police officer has his daughter kidnapped by a bad guy A, but when he catches the bad guy A he actually discovers....it's a good guy B. Are they brothers? No, they can't be. The story is perfectly made, that it always entertains you. With each episode, you get closer and closer to the cause of the whole chaos. I really applaud the writer, because u can't see such dramas just anywhere. The plot is really unique and with unique twists.

2. ACTING :
I knew that this drama would be dope thanks to Yang Se Jong who I encountered first in The romantic doctor Kim ....and I was right. In this drama Se Jong played 3 characters and everytime I saw them, I had feeling that they are different people. To achieve such feeling in other person, it's very hard thing to do! I never saw other actors jobs so I can't really say whether they were bad before or not, but in this drama EVERY character showed emotions, as if it was a real story and not just acting. Everyone started to LIVE their role for real and that's how this masterpiece was created.

3. MUSIC :
Since it's action/sci-fi drama, u don't get much of the OST but there is one song which I fell in love and it's the ''Nightmare''. Currently it's the most played song on my Playlist, so I really recommend it!

4. REWATCH VALUE :
I don't really rewatch dramas, but I think this could be rewatched (?)
Look, in romantic dramas people rewatch it to see the romance and cheesy dates of main couple, but in crime dramas it's a bit hard cause the audience already KNOWS what will happen next, so it's not as thrilling as the first time.

5. OVERALL :
Amazing and unique plot, fantastic acting, good music, the plot-twists are the real killers

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Okay why no one wrote a review on this yet?!

Story----It's the first korean gay movie and i was so so suprised how good it was...Of course there were some bad moments...But it was okay since this movie wasn't supported at all...The story is unique for me and possible-to-happend because in past ages those relationships happend often so i was happy that finally someone make the hystory come to life!

Actors-----The actors..hmmm chemistry was a bit stiff here because they knew what are they risking but it wasn't completely off so i had no problem while watching this!^_^

Music----No no no big no..There was boring music almost non of it so big dissapointment for me!

Rewatch value---I keep rewatching this very often since i love the theme of the movie and i love almost all yaoi made movies/shows.So when i'm in mood for live action yaoi i always watch this!

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Okay so this story and drama was...AMAZING!It was mysterious, romantic and all cheesy stuff you can imagine.Yes you can say ''another vampire drama that is same as Twilight'' but your completely wrong!The only thing they have in common is, that vampire falls in love with human.Some people are sad that the drama was too short- 6 episodes, but i think it was enough to tell us whole story.If it were long drama like 1 hour 1 episode i think i would get bored a bit?This was enough and kept me hooked on it!

Actors...: I think A-JAX boys did a VERY good job!They are not professional actors but they have potential!Main guy Luis was very cold you can say and vampire like.But i like the fact that even at the end he stayed like that he only add some cheedy lines.He showed his love with his body actions or gestures and the main girl got it and accept him how he is!The supporting actors were also very good, i love the two guys who played guards to his master and they kept loyal to him so that was sweet ^^...And now the frenemy as i call him Reika...Well lot of girls had i think hard time to choose on which side they will stand because Reika was damn handsome!He was evil and good..He was friend with Luis but...his relationship was i think weird...He wanted something so...he kind of used Luis?I don't want to spoil the fun so you must watch it!Anyway all characters were played well.The girl acted i think like i would in real life!At first she was afraid of vampires but than she relalized they are not bad!That's big plus because i hate when a girl screams ''HWAAAA HELP ME VAMPIREEEEE''...-.-..Like really?!

Music...:I think A-JAX was amazing and the music..hwaaaa just fit the mood!The lyrics were amazing and fit the drama completely!

Rewatching..?:YES!I rewatched it already 3 times and still i keep doing it because it's just so sweet and amazng that i wish i was in the girl's spot because who wouldn't?!!!!

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The series that breaks all the LGBT stereotypes in filmography

So, I have been following the director's work for a while and honestly, at the beginning I was spooked that he would be directing this series, because if you know him as long as I have, you know that he has done some series that were not done pretty well - at least in my eyes.

But than the concept trailer came out after New Year and I was hooked on the story since the release and I had been waiting for it to drop for like centuries. I may be different from other people - since majority didn't enjoy the concept trailer and feared the drama, while I on the other hand loved the concept trailer and wanted the drama right away.

I really won't be writing about the plot of this drama, since you can read about it on here, but I really wanna point out why the rating is so high and deserves to be high.

The thing that first attracts me with any drama/movie is the acting and with this I knew beforehand that I would be pleased, because Ohm showed everything he could in the movie Dew - it was spectacular. With Nanon, I saw glimpses of his acting only - from teasers and trailers, but I also knew he was super capable and I was right. The dynamics these two have is just over the roof. The script was written as if for them, because they embraces the roles as if they were strictly made for them. I love that the director gave them space to improvise and usually you know how good the actor is based on improvisation and in this case - it helped the plot a lot.

Secondly, the whole relationship dynamic was done perfectly, because they didn't just get together out of nowhere, we got to see that both had the feeling of love in them, but it was suppressed by other people, which is new. Honestly, in a lot of LGBT dramas where there is some issue with other people, the couple decides to selfishly just focus on themselves and give flying F about others, but these two reacted in more realistic way for the culture they were raised in.

Thirdly, I see a lot of people saying that this series has won the hearts of many because of the skinship - which in my eyes is a total bullshit, because the actors only showed how majority of relationships work. I can name quite a lot of dramas where it is clear as a day that the director and whole crew makes money out of skinship (purposely making few kisses or ending an episode with a kiss to put emphasis on how special it is~). Honestly, kissing and touching is normal and favored in a lot of relationships, and the way this director put them in the show was so so unforced and natural that I was in awe - also the actors improvised a lot of kisses as well.

Lastly, the biggest stereotype this series has broken is for sure the uke/seme one, which I always hated. If people just looked at statistics they would know that a big percentage of LGBT community switch in sexual relations, okay? And I loved that they showed this in this series, because believe or not, this is the first. First in the Asian LGBT cinematography and that says a LOT! Yes, it is up to the couple how they want their sexual life to go, but come on! Who would believe that ALL those couples in those LGBT dramas do not switch and are strictly top or bottom!

In terms of music, I loved Nanon's songs, but I did quite miss the Tily Birds songs which were hinted from the concept trailer. Yeah, it did make a small appearance, but I want moreeeeeeeeee.

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Mix of Genres With Stellar Cast

I rarely write reviews, but maybe this is the TV series that might get me back to writing them on a regular basis! Hooray, I guess.
 
The premise of the story is very straightforward: we have an established married couple who goes through a crisis, which is very realistic, as nowadays, the percentage of divorced couples is skyrocketing in multiple countries, and with South Korea being one of them, I guessed that they tried to create a series that would give the South Korean audience hope in marriage once again. Did they succeed? We’re going to see that a few years later! Some statistics take some time, folks.
 
Let’s talk about my enjoyment of this series as a big fan of the cast.
 
The acting is marvelous and stunning, and no one can take this opinion away from me—not even the storyline. Going into this series, I knew beforehand that I was in for an acting treat and basically a masterclass, which I was not wrong about. I cannot name all the cast names, but imagine the list being very long. While some are praising mostly male and female leads, I am praising everyone—even the side characters—because even those side characters were played by well-known and talented actors. This is why I just have to give them all 10 out of 10!
 
Now, let’s move onto the music department, which... didn't overwhelm me, but this once again wasn’t shocking to me, as I am very picky with music. I like a lot of genres, but I cherry pick from each, so to have an OST  impress me, it takes a lot! I can literally name the OSTs that truly hypnotized me and are webbed in my memory. Sadly, this TV series simply didn’t have a single OST or BGM that made me shiver, cry, or just directly search for it on music platforms to listen to the full version. This is the reason why I am giving the music department 4.5 points, which isn’t terrible, but quite...below average, let’s say. It’s not that I hated it, but did it make me interested? Far from it.
 
Production value and visual FX—what can I say? Perfect! Yeah, it was an expensive series, and they showed this with various things, not just a stellar cast. I really don’t have a single complaint about the production value, because it was truly breathtaking. The shots were amazing, the locations were wonderful, and they made me feel calm and cozy. The costumes were also amazingly fitted and complimented the figures of all the cast members. A special thanks to the costume designer of our favorite auntie.
 
Now, let’s get to the backbone of the whole series—the plot! Yeah, we have reached the weakest link of this whole series, and it is truly sad because I have been waiting for years for another amazing TV series, not only from Su Hyeon’s side but from Ji Won’s side as well. Both their previous projects didn’t interest me much, so I had high hopes. Me being into more mature romances and overall melodrama vibes kind of made my expectations skyrocket even more. In the end, I was not satisfied.
 
Let me emphasize that the premise served me well and truly fed the melodramatic me, but the execution was the part where the series failed. The long format of the episodes was truly painful, as everything looked like filler, and I swear if you skipped some of the episodes and started in later, you wouldn’t miss a lot. I do think the plot was underdeveloped and lacking in many aspects. Some characters—the main couple—weren't written thoroughly, and for my taste, they were bland, and I honestly found myself not rooting for them at all. I get it; the premise is a marriage crisis and getting back together, but the writer has written mostly about the female lead as a very dislikable person, and I get it—she was born into a rich family, so she didn’t know that her manners were sometimes very... wrong. Still, I felt that the differences between the couple were way too big to overcome in real life, and since the series tried to portray a realistic relationship, I do think they failed. They were way too different, and even though couples can overcome differences and be happy, I felt that what they have isn’t anything too deep, and the love from both came out of nowhere. Other than that, the male lead truly tried to work the marriage out, but the female lead was very rejective of his attempts, and seeing the cycle repeat was very tiring.
 
In terms of the dramatic plot, I have to disagree with others who say that it reminded them of older TV series. I was there, and they were far more dramatic, I would say, and more tropey, while this had only like two prominent tropes: the second male lead being intrusive and loco, and the upgraded version of White Truck of Doom. I do not consider female lead being rich as a trope, sorry. I can vividly say and name the tropes in order with older series, and this series didn’t follow them at all, so I personally didn’t feel as if I was watching an older series.
 
Overall, I think the series would stand out more to me if it had shorter episodes and maybe even fewer episodes, and most importantly, a set genre. As I said, going into this, I expected melodrama, but in the end, it was a mix of melodrama and comedy, which ruined it even more for me. They dealt with serious topics (which I praise them for), but they set them in very bad times, I think? Like, writer, please decide if it’s going to be a comedy or a melodrama. Some say that because of the heavy topics, it was a melodrama, but I have to disagree. For me, it had very little melodrama vibes, even with the serious topics, and I hated that. I think if they strictly kept it as a melodrama and shot it with the same vibes as well, I would have enjoyed it far more.

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Hey here, review after such a loooong time but with this drama it couldn't be helped!
Let's get start with each section of this drama! :)

PLOT/STORY:
Since from my childhood i loved mysteries and the ''tomb curses'' movies i was excited so much when i discovered this drama. I never watched chinese drama which was adventure type so i was a bit skeptic at first, because i think chinese dramas are way too humorous for me. But anyway, the curiosity about it made me to open Viki and watch it. First episode finished....and i was left in shock. It was completely different then i thought. Humor was on place, which means not too much, it fit just right. The action was on 80% and 20% was covered with talk about next missions. After just one episode i became addicted, i got the feeling right away that this drama will have more seasons because i could see the details they put to each ''mission'' or ''tomb digging''. Trust me if the drama was real i would add myself to the team! The plot kept me up whole night just to know more. I was so sad when i reached last ep, because i can never get enough of the mysteries~

ACTING:
Wu Xie, who is the main protagonist in this drama wasn't so pleasing...Oh come on, we all fell in love with Zhang who is very mysterious, sexy, smexy, hot looking guy who we want to see have more screentime...( Can we have him onscreen nonstop please?~) Anyway, back to Wu Xie. His character is funny, strong and developing as the story goes forward. He looks mature with every episode as he sees the new dangerous world he got himself into. I like the mature side of him. Zhang played by Yang Yang, perfectly fits the role. Not only with the looks but just the simple vibe he gives off. It's very dangerous vibe but also it lures you in. I love his personality there, because even though he is cold person he was always there for others even if they knew each other just for a short period of time. And come on, was it me who saw the bromance between him and Wu Xie?

MUSIC:
There wasn't much music, and if there was it was only 2 songs playing all over again which was quite dissappointing.

REWATCH VALUE:
100%, rewatching this and i can't wait for next seasons!

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Short But Gold!

Japan has done it again!

It's a known fact that Japan is known for their awesome horror movies that scare the living soul out of you, but it's also true, that they have been in decline for the past few years, with only small productions.

When I first saw that this movie has only thirteen minutes runtime, I was skeptical. I mean, who makes such short horror movies? It takes a lot of courage to bet everything on those thirteen minutes, because eventually it means, that you have to grab the viewer right at the first minute.

Was it successful in my case? Yes!

Let me say that I am big chicken and a masochist who for some unknown reason watches horror movies, when I am very scared of them. I haven't found the reason yet, so don't ask.

So, for someone who is scared of a lot of things, this was absolutely perfect and at the end I was close to changing my panties (for obvious reasons). I know that the story isn't so unique because it is ''another haunted house'' tale, but still, it had a nice twist to it! You also get those classic ''ghost in the back'' shots which are old-school, but still freaky and make you anxious.

The acting was on point, but music was hard to rate because overall...it had very minor standing in the plot.

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Sad? Happy, or bittersweet?

Everyone has different opinion on this drama, because everypne's feelings are different. Some tell themselves that it's like a history lesson, while others feel and live with the characters while they watch the drama.

Even before I started this drama, I said to myself that based on the plot I could guess the ending so I tried to prepare my heart. I even decided NOT to watch it but then, gave it a try. Was it a curse or destiny? I can't decide because I was hooked from episode 1! The plot is very interesting and u can't get bored. Because in every new episode a new obstacle and drama will be added. The politics are wicked and whole country is in turmoil.

This drama did not only potrait the strong love between Yi Yeok and Chae Gyung but also how the country works and how politics change. I could really feel the misery that people had to go through while Yi Yong was on throne. Do I feel sympathy with characters? Yes and no. I can see why Yeok fights against his brother. And honestly, it is good because ask yourself if you would let YOUR people, your Juseon die under your rule. He was a strong leader who many times chose people over Chae Gyung which was wonderful but sad at same time? It's not easy for wife to see her husband go to a''war''. Many critize Chae Gyung's character that she is going back and fort between Yeok and Yong but all I can see is brotherly love for Yong. Why does she help him? Because even tho he is cruel and bad...he is family. In those times family ment a LOT.

Overall, story was amazing and very unique in some way. It potraited reality, which in some way is sad.

Acting was phenomenal, those actors owned their roles and showed us also great chemistry.

Music...oh I keep listening to Junggigo on repeat guys, it's just amazing love song ( and this comes from someone, who hates love songs )

Will I rewatch it? No, but it IS worth it for sure...it's just my heart is too weak.

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I am BIG fan of my sweetheart Kang Dong Won and i will support him in anything he is but why he always breaks my heart?!

Story:
The plot is great and it shows the people that there are such horrible cases as the sickness the main boy had. Our Dong Won played amazing father and he was simply...amazing. I think every kid should have such amazing father as he was. The emotion he showed me..i just couldn't watch it without any tears. The story whole is so beautiful that i have no words for it.

Acting:
Great. All actors did amazing job.

Rewatch value:
Since first time i didn't rewatch it because i don't want to cry but it's too beautiful so i will rewatch it rght now :)

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I must say that i love every version of Tada Kaoru's Itazura na kiss but this was second best after It started with a kiss which is Taiwanese version.The plot is as always the same but the acting was completely new for me!The actors took their roles really well which i love!Miki Honoka is a young actress but the way she act is so mature!The lead couple have amazing chemistry and that's why you enjoy the love scenes between the two even more!I highly recommend it to watch!If you liked the Playfull kiss and It started with a kiss you will also fell in love with this version!

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Premise is amazing, but that's where the good things end....

Honestly, i've been waiting to watch this TV series since they announced it. I was well aware that it will be once again short format story, just like all korean TV series which has LGBTQ romance. I was fine with it and expected some things to be lacking, but honestly, I was really disappointed.

The premise is literally amazing and so many things could have been done with the plot, but sadly, the goal was not accomplished. The first episode was amazingly done, with the character and background development, but than, with each new episode it went downhill.

The leads became childish and just not rational at all, and the dialogues were confusing - no it is not problem with translation, since I speak Korean. The only good character was our gumiho - Sin Bi.

The ending was underwhelming and just confusing - at least for me. I don't know about you, but if I heard something shocking about my partner I would like to know the story, but here, the leads somehow got together without any proper conversation or explanation.

Acting was underwhelming as well, I didn't know if they were crying or squinting their eyes, just...take acting classes please because going into cinematography and starring in LGBTQ series does not bring you overnight fame - you have to earn it with proper acting.

In terms of music I got nothing to say, it was so-so, nothing to remember.

Rewatch value? None, sadly.

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Low budget gay historical TV series

Just like the headline says, that's about it.

Just like with all the LGBT content we are getting from S.Korea, even this drama is low budget and it shows tremendously. The plot itself is very fascinating and I believe if they had bigger budget, more screen time and maybe even better script-writer this TV series could have done well.

The acting of ML that came from the present was done well and that may surprise many, since originally he is a singer, not an actor and the paradox of this piece is, that a singer acted better than people who are originally actors. Yeah, you can feel that through my words I am touching the whole prejudice about acting idols - well, here I am to prove, that idols can oftentimes act better than actors.

The characters were not built well, we basically know close to 0 about them, so this drama honestly just focuses on the romantic aspect, which honestly, came out of nowhere. Just kiss and BOOM - we got a couple. There is really no build up to being a couple, it just happens.

As I said the plot is really something different and if nourished it could have bloomed nicely, but because of the reasons I have mentioned the whole idea was swept under the rug. If I were to compare it to some other case where low budget killed the plot, but later got revived it should be a drama called The Silent Sea. It also started from a short movie with dope plot base, but because of the budget couldn't bloom, but years later when the budget got a lot bigger the outcome became a jewel - at least for me.

Who knows if S.Korea is heading this way as well - produce low budget series only to redo it years later with bigger budget.

The only good aspect - at least for me - was the music and partically the song from one of the ML actors. It was soft and just suited the atmosphere, but that's it.

You may be asking, why am I constantly watching low budget LGBT TV series, well here is my answer - it is short and good to kill time, alsooooooo sometimes I do find a jewel.

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