Suffers from the limited screen time.

The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim is a rather well written simple fantasy, high school romance that tells the story of Doo Shim, who rejects her abilities, and would rather live a normal life, and Woo Soo, top student in Songyeong High School who gets himself involved in the supernatural shenanigans.

Was I the target audience for this show? Definitely not. It caters to the younger demographic, and gives me quite a Disney show type of vibes - technically there is a message, but the lack of in depth perspective makes me not care that much.

With limited screen time, the writers did what they could to present a well structured and well paced story, that involves quite a number of characters and their side-plots. With a complex drama like this one, that presents the struggles of the main leads, their sweet romance, the demon hunting in school, revenge of the female lead, villain’s backstory and all the subplots of the students with the lowest grade, 20 minutes per episode with 12 episodes in total is just not enough. With that, some plotlines seemed rushed, some were barely touched, almost none of the characters had an actual depth.

I liked Doo Shim a lot. She had a nicely paced development, as she learned how to care for others and fight for the good. Straightforward, but caring. On the other hand, Woo Soo had little to offer - he was there as a romantic interest and for the sake of driving the plot forward. Sounds like a male lead taking over the usual job given to female leads.

The acting from the whole cast was good. Most roles were given to already popular actors with years of experience - even the two main leads. It could not go wrong in that department.

For a short drama like that, the quality of writing and pacing is still really good. Not gonna lie, the sweet, a bit cringey, but quite realistic teen romance gave me some flashbacks to my teenage years - sentimental vibes, but do I really want to remember the awkwardness that came with it? lol

Overall, it’s a fun, short story focused on presenting the fight between good and evil - both as external and internal conflicts. It sheds light on the competitive nature of high school experience in Korea, and how it looks different from the perspective of the adults (who claim it’s a good thing for teens) and kids themselves.

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Surprisingly dark, surprisingly approachable.

For a drama that tackles a whole list of triggering topics, it had quite a way to put a smile on my face.

While the first half is quirky in the presentation, the second half loses a bit of that charm, diving deeper into the realistic approach. One has to be extremely careful when presenting a story built on misfortune and struggles to not make the audience feel completely hopeless and drained from all energy, while also making it tactful - what jokes are appropriate and which ones could cross the line and make fun of the issues. Definitely Not Today does quite a good job keeping the balance. Keep in mind though: a lot of triggering elements like assault, attempted suicide are shown in rather straightforward manner.

To be honest, I kept thinking how unhinged the drama truly is. The way it presented Mi Chong’s constant suicide attempts with his peculiar, emotionally detached narration surprised me, but in a positive way. The same story presented in a hyper realistic manner would break me into pieces and I would fall into eternal drama slump buried under mild depressive thoughts. Going wacky and unconventional was the good approach - the message is the same, the heart is the same, but you don’t end up in a gloomy mood when you watch it.

What we get is a heartwarming and at times funny journey of two people with a lot of emotional baggage who learn how to appreciate living, how to trust others and show care for people around them. Who learn how to receive and give help. People who learn how to live.

Performance wise, I fell in love with Leon Leong. His depiction of Mi Chong was so heartbreaking, even in his more lethargic state, you could sense the pain and struggle behind the odd narration. Vivienne Tien did an amazing job presenting both the strong and confrontational, but also vulnerable and scared side of Zhi Liao. Complicated characters presented in a skillful manner.

Undeniably the directing and editing help the story a lot. The silly drawings during some scenes, wacky editing, quick cuts between shots - all added to that bizarre, but weirdly relatable feeling.

Overall, great drama. I only wish they kept more of the lighter tone of the directing and editing in the second half.

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Simple, yet surprisingly entertaining.

I went into it expecting a low budget, ridiculous supernatural horror with questionable CGI and awful acting. What I’ve got was a simple yet well presented story with good acting and decent CGI.

I’m gonna say it - this is basically a supernatural horror GL. No one is going to convince me otherwise. The two main ladies were in love with each other and it could not be more apparent. While technically Mei Lin was the main character, I actually liked Yin Xing more - she was smart, loyal and badass. What more can I ask for?

The plot is exactly what the synopsis says and nothing more. They don’t add any true details to make the story more complex - you will get what you expect. That’s not a bad thing. It’s a perfect movie for a late evening when you want to be entertained.

As I said, the acting was surprisingly good. The emotional scene hit well, the actresses were not awkward during the green screen moments, so even if the cgi could (and should) be improved, the end result was still quite passable. Honestly? I saw worse CGI in more mainstream dramas with big budgets.

What to improve? The ending. Last scene rolled and my reaction was - wait… that’s it? I did get a conclusion, just not the one I wanted.

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Conclusion: everyone was wrong and everyone was right.

And I don’t know how I feel about it. I’m honestly convinced a lot of people got brainwashed by how good the last few episodes were, to believe this drama is a true masterpiece, when at the same time most of us agreed that the whole mid section was quite meh.

Here’s the thing - by the end of the drama I kind of wanted everyone dead. Personally, there wasn’t really a character to root for. Everyone was hypocritical and painfully frustrating. On one hand, this was one of the aspects that made the drama objectively good - complex and flawed characters. On the other hand, it left me with no emotional stakes - I couldn't care less about what will happen to all these people. And I’m a character driven viewer: I can watch a boring plot, as long as I like the characters, but I get bored with an interesting plot, if I don’t vibe with anyone.

It started strong. Sure, I disliked fans’ favorite - Bang Won, but I adored a lot of other characters: Sam Bong, Boon Yi, Bang Ji. All characters had distinctive personalities, motivations, and moral values. But the closer to the end we’ve got, the less interesting the majority of the characters became. Some were just stagnant with little to no change or development, some completely lost any individuality and felt a bit too like plot devices. Sure, Bang Won and Sambong were great, dynamic, driven, smart, but also amazingly flawed. But it’s “Six Flying Dragons” not “Two Flying Dragons”.

All that said, Six Flying Dragons for sure had one of the most fulfilling endings of all dramas I have seen - everything just made sense and I could clearly see how all the events and characters led to that conclusion. It was just satisfying and I might have cried just a little bit.

The performances were amazing. I know many people are not on board with Shin Sae Kyeong, but for me, she did exactly what the character demanded from the actress. She was not supposed to be this charismatic and badass fighter, she represented the normal people and for me, her delivery matched that energy well. Objectively speaking I know Yoo Ah In did an amazing job, but I disliked Bang Won so much, it’s hard for me to verbalize what was good about the performance - it for sure made me feel a lot of different emotions… Best performance though: Park Hyuk Kwon. Being able to deliver both Gil Tae Mi and Gil Seon Mi, and make them feel like truly two different people was a phenomenal job done.

As for production - impressive. The fact that even after 8 years the drama does not feel dated at all is surprising. The styling, production value and budget for dramas changed so much in the past few years, achieving this level of quality in 2015 could not have been easy. Best part? Fighting scenes! The choreographies were truly pure perfection. Some I rewatched good 10 times.

Overall, it’s a great and addicting drama with a bit too much filler plots in the middle part.

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Simple yet refreshing, staying away from some well known cliches and tropes we often see in Korean crime shows. Surprisingly, the strength of the drama lies not in the thrilling plot, but rather the heartwarming connections and relationships the characters form with each other.

Not gonna lie, I did struggle a bit watching the first few episodes. It was not bad, it just did not hold my attention. You know how some shows start with amazing first few episodes and then fall into a writing dark hole and misery? Nobody Knows is a rare case of the opposite - starts just fine and only gets better with every episode.

What to love? The variety of friendships and partnerships formed between the characters. The really gradual, but undeniable character developments that are not exaggerated. Strong and empathic female lead, who charmed me with her badassery and emotional maturity. Male lead that overcomes his flaws and trauma and learns how to care about others again. Teens that seem more mature than adults in their approach to life, hardships, unjust behavior and learning from your own mistakes. It’s rare to see a crime drama where the characters are the core of the story and the thing that will keep you glued to the screen.

Sadly, as much as I loved the writing of the protagonists, I cannot say I enjoyed the villains as much. Rather one dimensional and cliche. Sure, delivered some exciting scenes and carried the crime side of the show, but definitely did not present the same level of complexity and depth as the good guys. And with how disappointing that aspect was, the overall plot suffered too and it was especially evident in the last episode.

Luckily, everyone’s performance was stellar. From the older and more experienced cast to the teens and kids - solid acting with some nice nuances in delivery.

Production wise it was great. Loved the soundtrack, the tones and editing - all creating a coherent picture and style.

Overall, not exactly addicting and thrilling making you binge watch, but somehow making you curious to continue watching at your own pace.

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Who comes up with these ideas?

This started so normal if we compare it to how it ended. I was in tears from crying during the last 20 minutes. Undoubtedly they had a lot of creative freedom while writing and filming this movie.

It has everything - decent CGI, awful CGI, small snakes, big snakes, friendship, romance, morality lessons, social commentary - all in the amazing trash quality.

I did laugh because of a few stupid jokes that were perfectly timed and well-delivered. I’m just glad there were exactly zero seconds where they tried to be serious about the plot. The acting was surprisingly fine - ain’t no high production quality mainstream title, but I was expecting something far worse.

Whatever comes to your mind after seeing the poster and the title is exactly what you will get.

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Two full semesters of developmental psychology flashed before my eyes as I was watching…

And with that, I just could not with this romance. That said, the drama was still extremely entertaining and fun to watch and had a lot of other great elements working for me quite well.

What I loved about it was the whole supportive community around Yuri - each and every character trying to help him, putting aside their own feelings. It was heartwarming and extremely enjoyable to watch. I especially loved his interactions with two 2nd male leads.

I also appreciated Harumi Junko in the context of her work - slowly learning how to enjoy what she does, what her strengths are and how she can motivate her students to strive for improvement and enjoy learning.

Sadly, it was hard to watch her in terms of romance. Being indecisive when you don’t know how you feel about people around you is one thing, but with her, she knew she has little to no romantic interest for the guys, yet still did not set proper boundaries for quite some time. Not only the truly questionable age gap (the romance became legal literally almost at the end of the show), but also the female lead’s personality made me not really interested in her journey to a happy relationship. Not to mention the lack of chemistry between her and the male lead.

The acting was quite good. It’s a rare case when the cast truly matches the age of the characters they are playing (we all know that mid 20’ actors usually play all the characters in the late teens to 40’), which helped a lot with creating a realistic portrayal.

I don’t really have much to say about the production - it’s a rom-com and it fits the standards of the good quality one.

Overall, it works better as a motivational and heartwarming slice of life than romance drama.

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Why was it so wholesome?

And why did I enjoy it so much! Give me a gory slice of life with amazing friendship and sweet romance. How does this combination make sense? No idea, but it was fun.

This movie is not scary, this movie is entertaining, heartwarming and silly. Yes, the deaths are gruesome, but the stakes are non-existent. This is probably the most chill horror I have ever seen - no worries, no true tension, just pure enjoyment.

The plot could be separated into distinguishable sections depending on the characters; knowledge of what is happening around them and the growing friendship. With that, it never felt boring, and surprisingly not repetitive at all. We’ve got a cute slice of life during the day, and nightmare in the night - how did it click so well? No idea, but I loved that format.

Production value was fine. I’m glad we only saw the Red Person in the dark and shadows, because giving us a good view of it would ruin the fun - the design was just too silly, looking like something from Five Nights at Freddy's.

Overall, initial confusion about the tone of the movie turned into a tiny excitement and overall a pleasant experience, which is a rare thing to say about a horror movie.

Ps. Don’t even watch the after credits scene - it’s dumb. They thought they got the viewers with a twist, but it makes literally no sense.

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Great buildup with a bit too much overexplaining.

How much you will feel the thrills and how much you will enjoy this movie depends on how fast you will guess the plot. The later you figure out the puzzle pieces, the better. For me, it was around an hour into the story, and after I understood what’s going on, it was a bit too predictable.

Still, the movie was for sure well crafted. Perfect pacing, with well written characters and outstanding performance from the cast. A bit of red herring and vague storytelling that helped create the suspense. Even after you figure out what’s coming, it’s still enjoyable. You start to pay more attention to details, dialogues and interactions between characters to see if they all support your theory.

It’s a psychological thriller that truly masterfully builds the layers of the plot and characters’ state. It’s a bit heavy on the explanation at the end, going the “tell not show” and not “show don’t tell” way. I believe the audience is smart enough to make sense of the clues and hints they have seen without the director literally showing what happened and why.

The best aspect of Anchor? Performances. I’m a massive fan of Shin Ha Kyun, and he did not disappoint in this project either. He delivers the lines and expressions with such an ease, you truly believe the character is a real person. Chun Woo Hee did most of the heavy lifting, being the central part of the story, and she aced the role. It was not an easy task to complete, and yet she made it in a phenomenal fashion.

Overall, a nice watch that did not feel long even though the run time almost hit the 2 hours mark. While the charm of it fizzles the moment you figure out the plot, it’s still a great movie with a good amount of twists and turns.

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This was sweet and funny, but at the same time left me thinking: what the heck have i just watched?
It felt a bit like nonalcoholic drink when you crave some percentage. It was so short, it did not really have time to set the mood, vibe and hit me in any way.

I still appreciate how they managed to give some nice and relatable messages that can apply to many different contexts, not just a specific one presented by the customers. Universal takes that could make your life better.

The acting was also good for a short web drama like this. Especially impressed with Kim Wook in episode 2 and his quick and effective change of performance.

My biggest issue? Lackluster production. The music was too loud, the cat sounds were cute, but at some point overwhelming. I was bombarded with different auditory stimuli, I struggled with focusing on what I was watching.

That said, I loved the fake cat paws. That was probably one of my favorite small details from the whole show.

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There are some movies that are obviously cheaply made, but you can see that at least some people cared while making them. This ain’t that. No one gave a shit about how the end product is going to look like.

The production was just awful. The continuation of movements and even the pacing of the walk was off almost every time the camera cut to a different angle. There is no excuse for the bad CGI either. Youtubers who do special effects as a hobby at home on their laptops can deliver better results.

Don’t get me started on the storytelling. Literally there was no way of differentiating between the present time line and flashbacks. And I truly mean no way. It made everything painfully confusing. You kind of need to guess what scene belongs where and what is the past and what is part of the present.

Where was the demon fighting? Where was the action? Where was the doom? It was all a basic love story. That horror genre is a joke and should be changed to romance…

Overall, while the performances were decent, everything around them was not even mediocre.

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So, it was not a comedy?

Halfway through the movie I truly had to go check the genres, because I could swear it’s a cheaply made comedy that was supposed to jab at some social issues and horror tropes. To my surprise, the comedy genre was nowhere to be seen.

Kuta did one thing well, and one thing only - they truly presented the characters as realistic and annoying social media influencers. They were surprisingly realistically written. Sadly the performances were mediocre at best, awful at worst. I mean, one side character literally laughed at the joke he was supposed to deliver for the viewers…

The directing was quite chaotic. The mix of found footage and normal filming is always annoying. You show me all the vlogs to give that feeling for realism, but then the other half of the movie is shot in a normal fashion? Either commit to the found footage or not.

The worst thing about this movie was how bored I was watching. The writing, directing, filming, editing… nothing truly holds viewers attention.

Overall, saying it was mediocre would be a compliment.

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Maybe it’s a good movie, but the initial character introduction and the set up for the plot was so long I lost interest and struggled to focus on the plot later on. The movie is only 1 hour and 30 minutes long, so why did it feel like a 3 hour deal?

On paper the script probably sounded like a fun quirky comedy with a twist. Yet, it was not really that fun, the pee and puke jokes were juvenile and the twist was obvious from the start.

Random complaint, but the color grading was truly not my style. Everything was orange/yellow, the color saturation too high, but at the same time the whole movie felt dim and dark. It just felt heavy for the eye.

On the bright side, the acting was truly solid and I loved the job makeup artist and practical effects team did on the ghost.

Overall, I guess it’s just not a movie for me. I can see it being a fun watch as long as it’s viewed by the target audience.

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Dark heartwarming comedy drama - mix I never thought could work.

Korea back at it again - making completely unrelatable scenarios feel relatable. The emotions were raw, the characters complex and the story both warm and heartbreaking.

It was unexpectedly funny. Yes, I know it was tagged with the comedy genre, but honestly speaking, many drama comedies have more bitter sweet takes on what’s supposed to be funny. Here, I actually smiled and laughed quite a few times. The story was dark and yet they managed to create some funny moments even from quite gore and violence driven situations.

The best part of the movie was for sure the (in my eyes) one sided connection between Tae In and Cho Hee. The way Yoo Ah In presented the character of Kim Tae In was both beautiful and painful. A character that seemed to give up on everything, just following whatever others told and not presenting even a slight of active behavior. The gradual and minimal and yet impactful change we see after he had to take care of Cho Hee was amazing to watch.

That said, I think it’s a movie you have to read the synopsis for. I honestly don’t think it would be obvious and easy to understand Cho Hee’s character if it was not for what I read about the plot. She is the center of the plot and one of the main characters, so the vague understanding of who she is that we get from the movie itself, could have been improved.

Acting wise - perfection. Yoo Ah In did not say one word during the whole movie, and yet I perfectly understood what he wanted to convey during his scenes. Moon Seung Ah did a phenomenal job with her portrayal of Cho Hee - a character so complex I am amazed a child was able to deliver a believable performance.

On the production side, I don’t think any compliments can truly express how beautiful the movie was. The wide shots gave such a warm and, strangely slice of life feeling, that grounded the movie in reality, even with the not so mundane plot.

Overall, a great movie with great performances and amazing visuals. One that I could easily recommend to anyone.

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This movie is painfully 3D.

It’s so over the top, I honestly think I would get sick if I watched it in 3D in a cinema. Honestly, the makers had no chill. They thought “What elements can we make in 3D?” and went with the answer “all”. Because of that it feels as if the whole movie was done on a green screen…

It just felt cheap? It feels closer to 2004 than 2014 production. Technically speaking, with good storytelling and production this could be a horror movie with a social message… Sadly the delivery of… everything was off.

It just borrowed plot lines, stories and twists from other horror movies without adding anything new and refreshing.

Overall, rather skippable. It's one of the movies that ends I the viewer has little thoughts about it.

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