Fantastic Action, Meh Story

With Officer Black Belt, Jason Kim seeks to further cement his legacy as a master of the action drama, However, unlike previous works such as Midnight Runners, and Bloodhounds, Officer Black Belt is a movie that falls flat in really everything except action.

Let me start by saying that the action in this movie is fantastic. The choreography is really impressive, well executed, and easy to follow. One thing I really loved about the fight scenes is that there is a dedication to truly incorporating the martial arts that Lee Jeong Do knows. I have been practicing Judo for a good portion of my life, and I watched this movie with a friend who does Taekwondo and another friend who does Judo. One thing we could all agree on about the action scenes is that there were a lot of clearly identifiable moves from both Judo and Taekwondo (I won't be able to speak on he Kendo sadly). You don't see that often in dramas, sometimes they'll use maybe a few moves and then it ends up just being a kinda flail of limbs. In this case there were a lot of moments where we could call out the techniques. The action really is impeccable in this movie, and a lot of work and love went into it. It's fun to watch and really exhilarating.

Unfortunately, the action is really the only thing this movie has going for it. The story can't exactly decide what it wants to be, somewhere in between being about following the law, but also about vigilantism. Many characters feel like caricatures of certain archetypes (like gamers, and nerds), and there are a lot of questionable moments logically. Why does no one call the cops early on? Why do people keep turning their backs in fights? Why do people not make sure weapons are out of reach? Why were there no repercussions from authorities? It feels like in an attempt to draw out the action and to have conflict, there are a lot of dumb moves done by characters. There are also a lot of unnecessary triggering scenes, particularly in implied rape and child sexual assault. Which don't really need to be there. We don't need to see a child in distress and about to get assaulted to understand what is happening. At some point it feels like too much, especially for a movie advertising itself as a comedy (the contrast between the trailers I saw and the actual movie tone/scenes really surprised me).

There are odd tone shifts, and the pacing in the movie suffers from a somewhat jilted story-line. The action really is the saving grace of this movie, its fun to watch which is what you want in an action movie. If I were to rewatch this I would probably just skip past all the non-action scenes and just watch the fight scenes. All in all, I think this is a movie you kinda need to turn your brain off for. If you are looking for action, this movie is great, but don't expect anything revolutionary in the way of story line or characters. It's good, not great, and the action really does the heavy lifting in stopping it from being worse.

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A disappointing waste of a spectacular premise

I don't write a lot of reviews, especially for shows that finished airing more than a couple months or so ago, but I felt compelled to write a review for Chimera because of how disappointing I found the show to be.

This show starts off, in my opinion, really strong. The first couple episodes are gripping, and exactly what I (and what I imagine a lot of people) look for in a show whose two main genres are Thriller and Mystery. Unfortunately, the show gets wrapped up in trying to jerk the audience around and loses all of that great momentum. To me, the best thriller and mystery shows are the ones that, as viewers, surprise you first but later realize you should've seen coming. I.e there are opportunities to piece together the mystery along the way. Chimera lacks that in a lot of its aspects. While there are some plot points that are very predictable, there are others that are entirely unfounded, and to which we don't get the evidence until after the fact. To me, that was the most unforgivable let down of the show. Culprits emerge from seemingly nowhere, and plot twists that feel to be for nothing more than shock value are aplenty. Which of course, made the show frustrating to watch at times.

I doubt I'll ever rewatch this show, but if I do it will only be for the main character trio (Eugene, Cha Jae Hwan, and Lee Joong Yeop) whose dynamic with each other proved to be one of the only things I consistently liked about this show.

Don't get me wrong, I still (partially) enjoyed watching this show, especially in the first half. The acting is fantastic, the characters are fairly interesting (Lee Hee Joon's character is particularly compelling), and I love the scientific approach Chimera took to explaining the murders. It was a refreshing difference that set this show apart from many other murder mysteries. Unfortunately, the second half of this show killed practically all the enthusiasm I had for it, which is a shame because I really believe this show could have been spectacular. I left this show feeling unsatisfied, and I really wish it had gone a different direction, or at least kept the tone and pacing of the first couple episodes.

Perhaps my expectations for Chimera were too high, or perhaps I'm too picky when it comes to what I think makes a good thriller or mystery, but this show could've been so much better.

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I Have No Idea What Happened Here

Grid is a 2022 Sci-FI mystery set in a world where a mysterious grid protects humanity from danger. Created by a so called 'ghost,' the main characters seek to track her down after she re-appears in present day and stops a murderer from being arrested. Penned by Lee Soo Yeon, the mind behind Stranger, the show sounds like an exciting and interesting watch. There's one problem however: it's not. Episode by episode this show spiraled into an utterly confusing mess (and that's not even talking about the ending)

Grid starts out with a very promising first episode, but from there slowly drags its feet until about halfway through episode six. Sci-Fi is one of the main genres of this show, but honestly I felt that for the first six or so episodes it was really a pure mystery show. It was slow paced, and the Sci-Fi elements that did exist, didn't really seem to impact the show all that much. Of course this changes drastically half way through episode six and suddenly theres *so* much Sci-Fi that it's hard to grasp the plot line, what is going on, and where the show is going. This also has to do with the pacing of the show being sort of all over the place, and I'm not quite sure what the reasoning behind it was. The sudden sharp veer into more Sci-Fi doesn't serve to further the plot, only make it more baffling. Perhaps this is for Lee Soo Yeon's lack of experience in writing non-realist k-dramas, but her unfamiliarity with the genre really shows.

That gripe aside, the main issue I had with the writing is that the characters always know more than the audience. This can be done well in shows, it's even done in Lee Soo Yeon's other show Stranger, but it works there because the main character discovers things with the audience, and also because that show is literally about deceit and lies. Grid on the other hand is a Sci-Fi show where the ML seems to be one step ahead, and other characters know things or accept things so fast that the audience never gets an explanation. In other words, we're very much hung out to dry. Mystery shows do this some time with the intent of allowing the audience to figure things out on their own, but even then some information must be given to the viewer so they have somewhere to start. Coupled with the more than wacky and abundant Sci-Fi, this means that the show is nothing short of downright confusing. Each episode pushes this chaos further rather than seeking to solve it, culminating in a very disappointing final episode.

The merit in Grid lies in basically every other aspect but storytelling. The acting is superb, Seo Kang Joon always seems to knock it out of the park, and he plays a really interesting and compelling character here (aside from the writing flaws). Kim Ah Joong, Kim Mu Yeol, Li Si Young, and Kim Sung Kyung are also great, as are the rest of the cast, who do their best to salvage their characters from the writing they've been given. Who again, always seem to know more than we think, and act very odd because of it. Many of the characters felt relatively 2-D or had hard to understand motivations behind what they did and said. The music is fun and the other technical elements are fine but not too stand out.

As someone who likes a good Sci-Fi, especially when it comes to murder and time travel, I was really looking forward to this show. And for the first two episodes I was actually really happy. While it was slow after that, I was still quite content watching it, but the sudden plot and pace changes halfway through episode six really lost me. Honestly I probably would've enjoyed this show if it had chosen to be consistent in it's pacing and Sci-Fi elements, whether that had been the more realistic but slow paced first half or more Sci-Fi but fast paced second half. But this show can't decide what it wants or what it's trying to say, and in doing so it jerks its viewers around episode by episode. The real dealbreaker is how this show withholds information from the viewers, so you never really know what's going on even when the characters do, making you feel like some random bystander on the street.

You may consider watching this show for the actors alone, or for the pure chaos of it, but don't be surprised when you're left beyond confused. It's a shame, Grid really could've been great, but it just got out of control.

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A Disappointing Waste of Potential

Let me preface this review by saying that my opinion is in no way influenced by the R rating/the inclusion of sexual scenes and nudity. I have seen the debates, and I know it is a divisive point for many, and because I am rating it on the lower side, I feel the need to make it known that the mature themes in this show have no effect on my opinion (there are some minor things I wish to say but I will say that later). I am a grown woman, I do not care whether or not a show has nudity - I feel that this show lacks for other reasons entirely.

I'd like to start by acknowledging that there is a lot to be enjoyed in this show. The technical side of production, that is the costuming, cinematography, music and so forth is very very impressive. I will say, the costuming especially is gorgeous. Nothing looks cheaply made, and nothing looks out of place. There's also clearly different choices for different characters, and a lot of time what the characters are wearing or even their hairstyles do a lot for them symbolically. Similarly, the music is well placed, the sets are impressive, and the cinematography is very pretty (also very dark at times in the night, which is just a pitfall of modern shows in general).

The acting, for the most part, is also very impressive - especially from lead characters. Jeon Jong Seo is a force as the titular character Queen Woo, and she puts a lot behind making her a fleshed out character. She is strong, smart, and she does what she must for her country - a nice breath of fresh air from the Queen's in a lot of historical dramas. Ji Chang Wook makes a compelling king, one that makes your heart hurt when he dies, and Kim Mu Yeol is magnetic as Eul Pa So - the most intriguing character to me by far. Many of the side actors are also wonderful, the Princes do well especially in making all of their personalities clear. I do however, think some of the acting from minor characters and extras was over the top, although I'm not sure at what point that is their fault, or the fault of the writing and directing.

As you'll notice, there is a lot about this show I like - which to me is a huge shame because it is completely marred and overwhelmed by the bad writing. This show suffers from the fact that is is based off true events - in other words, the viewers know how it ends (if you are one of the many who was curious and did research). So it faces a challenge: how do you make something interesting when people already know the whole plot? The answer of course is to take creative liberties. You see this a lot in adaptations of webtoons as well, the problem is that they often fall through. I very much feel like this is the case in this drama as well. The drama is also under the restriction of almost happening entirely in one night - you must find a way to fit a lot into a little time. That being said, the choices feel very poor - especially the amount of shamanistic intrigue. Yes, shamans were a thing in these times but their portrayal is often confusing, especially towards the end.

Due to this, the show can't really decide if it wants to be historically accurate, or something else entirely. There are moments that feel very ridiculous that take you out of the show because they feel so out of place for the time. Yes, the sex scenes included. We can acknowledge that people did in fact have sexual desires even in older times, but this show is not attempting to do something revolutionary such as changing the outlook of what life was like in Goguryeo. A lot of the sex scenes happen with no good reasoning, and many are sexual assault or border on such. At some point you have to ask yourself 'if this scene was taken out would the plot be the same?' and the answer is yes to practically all of them. This is an 8 episode drama, it only has 8 hours, and there are many scenes I feel wasted time that could have been spent elsewhere - for example in elaborating on the relationship between the King and the Queen. It is clear that the drama is trying to have that as an emotional strand, but it's hard because it doesn't have enough time to do so. It doesn't have enough time to follow a lot of its plots, which makes some of the writing choices so bizarre.

The thing is, this part of history is a lot scarcer when it comes to documentation than more modern Joseon drama. In fact, historians tend to disagree on if there were even five princes, or if there were four. That means the writer has more leeway with what they want to do, but what they choose to do with their creative freedom falls short. For example, portraying the Fourth Prince (who will later become king) as a coward and a pervert obsessed with the queen, seems odd when we are supposed to be supporting him. And also because he ends up being an important figure in Koreas history (that is not say he needs to be portrayed well because he is a historical figure, a lot of historical figures are bad people, but deliberately going out of the way to make him so unlikable is weird, especially if you consider what happens in history afterwards and what his end relationship with the queen as documented is). If there is one benefit of this show, it is that it has made me want to do research on this time to see what is actually true. I think this show would have benefited a lot more from being marketed as loosely based on something that happened because I feel that the historical inaccuracies in the writing are one of the worse parts. To be clear - I am not someone who is that knowledgeable on this time period, and there are many who could speak on it better, but even as an outsider, it feels odd.

At the end of the day this is a drama with a lot of potential that loses out because of its writing. You can really see where the high budget went in making a quality production and a having star cast, but that can only do so much when the script is poor. This is an incredibly intriguing historical event, there is a lot that can be done with it, but instead the script chooses to muddle itself down with odd creative choices which really seem to only be there to be 'different' or 'gritty.' I'm just, disappointed. I was enjoying it at the start, but the further it got with more characters, more side stories, it slowly became less and less interesting to me (in fact, I had to rescind it as a recommendation I made to a friend after the last four episodes came out). Queen Woo as a historical figure deserves better, and thats saying something because she's one of the best characters i the show. Overall, a fine watch, you can get through it because of the production value and the actors, but not something I would recommend or watch again.

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A Wonderfully Grim and Enthralling Show

Through the Darkness is a 2022 Crime drama that follows criminal profiler Song Ha Young during the late 90's to early 2000's as he carves a place for behavioral analysis in South Korea. Based upon the experience of Korea's first criminal profiler Kwon Il Yong (who helped write the show), the show contains 2-3 episode mini arcs, each with their own main criminal. Thus the connecting factor of the episodes is Song Ha Young and his colleagues' journey into becoming more comfortable with the art of profiling. The show is stunningly realistic, and does not shy away from dark matters such as murder, and sexual assault. The show stands out from others in the same genre due to its faithfulness to real life, which makes it both gripping and horrifying.

If the show has one flaw, it is that at times, it is too realistic. As it is focused on accurately portraying the process of catching criminals and creating a whole new method of investigation, it at times is very slow - understandably so considering real life investigations aren't often magically solved in a couple days. In fact, I had trouble getting through the first episode but I decided to watch the second and was so hooked I never looked back.

Because of this realism, the characters at times can be frustrating, or not that very stand out. I see that most people who didn't like the show did not like it because of the characters, and I believe it is because of how realistic they are. They aren't written to be sensational or quirky to catch viewers eyes like most characters are, but rather are very nuanced and subtly fleshed out. To some, this means they are boring or annoying, but to me, they were not stagnant at all. Most characters experience slow and slight changes to their personality and ideals throughout the show, as most real people do. Plus, the main character Song Ha Young is incredibly compelling from start to finish. I felt that his character arc (this slow descent into the minds of criminals and how he copes) was amazingly written, and you can really see the differences in who he is from episode 1 to episode 12.

On the topic of Song Ha Young, Kim Nam Gil is brilliant in his portrayal of him. If I liked him in Fiery Priest, then I loved him in this. His acting is so well done, particularly in his expressions (I mean, his gaze really makes you feel like you're being analyzed and broken down) and he lends himself perfectly to Song Ha Young who as a character is mostly well composed yet brimming with justice and anger. He breathes life into this character and does a fantastic job in carrying the show and making you invested in him. I really believe that no one else could have played this part like he did, he's perfect for it.

The other actors are also wonderful, although it's harder to comment on them since the shows focus is mainly on Song Ha Young. Yet they do well to make the show feel realistic and make their characters feel like actual people. Major props should go to those who act the criminals, as they often put on chilling yet human performances.

This show is not a 'whodunnit' show, but a 'how catch em' show, reminiscent of shows such as Mindhunter and Columbo. Thus, it is very different from conventional thrillers, which again to some, coupled with the shows slower pace makes the show boring. To me, I felt that this made the show brilliant, and even after finishing the show I just wish I had more of it. It's one of those rare shows where I just know I'd watch season after season of Song Ha Young and his job. It will most definitely be a show I come back to time and time again, because the joy of it is not figuring out a criminal (like many mystery shows) but rather the process of criminal profiling and bring justice to innocent victims.

I understand that this show is not for everyone, especially those used to fast paced and plot-twisty mysteries, but it is a masterful show nonetheless. As someone who loves watching content about criminal profilers, this show is definitely my favorite k-drama regarding to topic to date, and one of my favorite portrayals of a profiler as well. This is a must watch for people who like things about criminal profilers, alongside those who enjoy the investigative and crime genres.

Even if this show seems to differ from your usual tastes, I implore you to give it a chance. You won't regret it.

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Highly Recommend this Show

I don't write many reviews (so bear with me) but this show is just so amazing that I felt like I had too. I've just finished rewatching it for the 2nd time, and I still love this show as much as I did the first time around. Ever since watching it, it's remained in my top two k-dramas.

The show genre promises thriller, suspense, and mystery and that's exactly what you get. The plot is full of a lot of twist and turns, with the big twist in particular being fantastic. What I like about it is that the twists don't come out of nowhere, there are a lot of hints that you can pick up on to see where its going (which is also why this has such a great rewatch value, because there's so many small details you initially miss). I can understand that there are moments where it gets just a bit frustrating and heavy handed, hence why I didn't give the plot a 10/10 but overall, it's a great story. The ending is also in my opinion perfect, and one of my all time favorite k-drama endings.

The acting, especially from our two main leads is spectacular. Their characters are smart, fun, but also vulnerable and quite three-dimensional. Lee Joon Hyuk and Nam Ji Hyun also give their characters great chemistry, so you get very invested in the relationship between the two of them as well. As someone who has seen many of Lee Joon Hyuk's drama's, I can easily say this is my favorite role of his. It's very dynamic and full of emotion, and his acting is great. I cannot speak too much to Nam Ji Hyun because I've only seen a couple of her other shows, but she does a fantastic job in this, and her character was refreshing from most typical female leads. The side characters also act quite well, in total lending to a very interesting cast that helps support the show.

The music isn't that memorable, but it's definitely fitting. It does a good job of setting the atmosphere and emotion, even if you don't really notice it that much.

As I said earlier I believe the re-watch value to be very high, because there are so many little clues that you can catch onto the second time around. It's a show I find myself going back to when I don't know what to watch, because it never gets less enjoyable for me.

All in all, I highly recommend this show. It's my favorite time travel show of all time, and if you're looking for a shorter watch, but one that still has a fulfilling plot and well-fleshed out characters, this is definitely the one for you!

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Your Run of the Mill Supernatural Show

Monstrous is a 2022 supernatural k-drama with short episodes. It follows a town that plunges into mania after digging up an evil Buddah statue that enchants people with it's eyes - driving them to madness and bloodshed.

I'll spare this show a long review because I wasn't even planning on initially writing one, since this show isn't particularly stand out in either the good or bad sense. I've been excited for this show since it was first announced, especially since both the plot and cast were appealing to me, and although it failed to deliver, I didn't feel necessarily disappointed. Perhaps it was because I looked at other people's reviews beforehand, but I feel like you get exactly what you expect with this drama.

The plot is pretty average when it comes to "zombie-esque" shows, although it does bear a striking resemblance to OCN's 2021 show "Dark Hole". You have all your typical characters - the ML with family issues, a police officer, a morally righteous teenager, an overly violent man who's all too happy with the situation etc... There's nothing particularly wrong with having cliched characters in a drama, but they have to be done right. Unfortunately the fact this drama is so short means that this doesn't happen.

It's also a waste of great actors. I was so excited to see Kwak Dong Yeon, as well as Nam Da Reum in a leading role (rather than a child actor one), and they do the best with what they're given, all the actors do, but what they're given isn't a lot. Honestly something about Shin Hyun Bin's acting bothered me, but I think that's less her fault, and more because her character spent practically the whole drama just kinda writhing around on the ground.

Really the drama lacks a lot of substance in every way that isn't violence. It has *a lot* of gore, which I wont hold against it since that's to be expected of this type of show, but it's definitely not for the faint of heart.

But the only reason, and I mean only, reason that I am writing this review instead of just rating it and moving on is because of the sound design. Oh my god it's awful. Not the music, the music is fine, but the sound design itself. They use that generic, canned crowd gasp sound (the one that is literally called "THAT crowd gasp" when you search YouTube), whenever there's a group of people together that's shocked at something, which is very often. It completely takes you out of the show. Breaking realism is one thing, but I found myself laughing every time I heard it, which I feel is not something you want in a dark fiction show.

Overall this show is fine. It's not the most brilliant thing to watch, but it's not downright awful either. I definitely wish it had been better, especially because these actors are all capable of handling far better scripts, but I wasn't that upset that it didn't turn out to be amazing. I'd say it's a good filler drama for when you just need something short and "meh" in-between other drama watches. Still can't get over the sound editing tho lol.

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