Spotlight on South Korean issues with the military

I'm gonna be honest upfront: D.P. is a very interesting and insightful drama but I am not as praising as the rest of the reviews. I rarely review, mostly because of lack of time, but I thought a little diversity in opinions wouldn't hurt. If you want to read the rest of this review, it is then up to you.

So, shall we?

D. P. is the first drama that leaves me with a very strange feeling both as I was watching it and when I finished watching. It's not about the chilling violence, both psychological and physical, these men endure, nor is it the disturbing truth about the south korean (and I'm sure, from other countries) military.

I suppose I should start with the good pointsI found in this drama :

- The drama's message is well (and painfully for the viewers) transcribed and delivered. Of course, the numerous explicit scenes of abuse shows you just that, but the silences, whether it's from the other soldiers, Jun Ho, Ho Yeol or other characters, also manage to convey another insidious form of violence. Add to that the "Netflix production" label and you have a drama that will be talked about by a large number of people (thanks to/because of the short format and its easy accessibility) and who will be praised for it's directing and photography.

- This is no light topic the drama is dealing with and it's very rare to find medium be this critical and this brutally honest of such a big part of the South Korean life. Even if I'm becoming wary of Netflix productions, I must admit that the streaming platform has allowed recent dramas to explore more and more themes that are usually taboo in SK (homosexuality in Move to Heaven and So Not Worth It notably comes to mind). So hats off for the whole team who developped this story (inspired by true events I read) who makes you feel for these young men and empathise with their pain while shedding a huge spotlight on an important issue.

- The acting of the main cast was good. My congratulations to Jung Hae In and Koo Kyo Hwan especially who did well to portray soldiers scarred and troubled by their experience, yet still brought a touch of light comedy with their antics. Jumping from Reply 1988 right into D. P. was kind of a shock when I saw Kim Sung Kyun in such a different role but it simply highlights he has many cards up his sleeves. Jo Hyun Chul was also very sincere in his portrayal of private Cho Seok Bong and showcased well the slow descent into hell of a once kind-hearted man.


Having said that, you would probably assume my grade for the drama would be "good" (meaning as up to the average grade) and that my opinion is similar to that of others singing D. P.'s praise. But this is where the problems arise, so to speak. As much as D. P. has qualities, it also has flaws and it simply fell short, for me, as regards my own taste and appreciation of medium. Once again, let's detail this a bit:

- I simply. Felt bored. As much as the drama unveils a heavy story with an impactful message, I found myself looking at the clock more often than once despite the episodes being shorter than your typical drama episode. I felt that the plot was repetitive with a "deserter of the day" kind of plot whose backgrounds (except for episode 3) were more or less the same. I suppose it's to show just how large this instutionalised abuse is but in the end, even for a 6-episode drama, it fell short in keeping me interested in the plot, especially after the first two episodes when the interest started to dwindle down the drain until a slight rise in the last 20mn of the drama. Even though I admire the acting of the main cast, I couldn't get attached to one character or another (not that there are many to get attached to to begin with) and this something that prevented me from being truly connected to the story.

- The violence felt at times like a simple device of cheap shock-value to the point that I felt some of the gruesome scene simply lacked... something because of how much violence is shown. There are many ways to put violence into a story and I felt that the production often opted for a visual, almost voyeuristic, representation of it. Implication, black screen and sound and such can also represent violence, sometimes in an even more bone-chilling way than the graphic one.

- The music wasn't anything remarkable except the opening credits song. One could argue that for such a heavy drama, music becomes secondary but even the background music wasn't exceptionnaly good or even well timed. Moreover, dramas are famous for their OSTs and using songs and musics as "scene enhancers" and it's a shame to notice that the Korean Netflix productions (Kingdom, Move to Heaven, So Not Worth It, D. P. and others) are not putting in the same investment/interest. This may sound trivial in reviewing a drama but I'm a person who puts emphasis on the music so this is something I pay close attention while watchings dramas, movies and any other type of media.


Overall D. P. is an interesting drama whose message should be heard because it is important and they did well conveying it. But it wasn't enough for me to think of it as the masterpiece everyone is saying it is.

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A Fun and Entertaining Movie to Pass the Time

Showing you the daily life of a family so desperate for money they are willingly hurting themselves to get insurrance money and become professional scammers, Just Do It! is a fun and nice movie to watch when you're not sure what you want to watch and you don't want something too serious. The introduction scene already shows you what the movie will all be about : a blind man who can in fact see the money bill in front of him ? A passerby stealing it to buy a lottery ticket? The movie invites you into a world of "Scam or be Scammed".

The story went straight to the point and developped rather quickly (which is rare for a korean film) which I appreciated: they knew the subject was fine but not that fine to warrant a 2h long film. The characters alternate between being so desperate you understand where they may be coming and being pathetically ridiculous at times (which also is the point, I think). But they were quite nice, not much over-acting if at all and convincing performances overall.

The comedy did not hit me all the time I must say (they really had something with peeing, I do not see it, what was up with that) but overall it was still fun most of the times. The soundtrack was quite nice, good taste in the music department to choose some nice songs I like.

I also had fun trying to spot a young Jeon Seok Ho but sadly to no avail: maybe next time!

Overall, Just Do It! is nothing exceptionnal but does have these early 2000s vibes I like and if you have nothing better to do, it's good to pass the time and not think too much about it. Some interesting scenes here and there as well if you like to analyse films but nothing too big.

The only way to know if you'll like it is to...... Just Watch It!

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Netflix Sensationalism With Poor Substance

To quote a great poet "I expected nothing and I'm still let down".

I checked All of Us Are Dead out of curiosity: labelled as a Netflix show but with a kdrama more usual format (12 episodes of roughly 1h). I think this is the first time I wished this drama had been shorter like the other Netflix productions.

The Story

It drags on. The main plot of the students can be summarized in one sentence : a dozen students try to survive a zombie epidemic, moving from safe spots to safe spots while having encounters with zombies and see their group thin out. That's....... basically all there is to that main storyline. As the epidemic spreads, we follow for a while other storylines, notably two : that of Captain Song Jae Ik (Lee Kyu Hyung) and firefighter Nam So Ju (one of the female leads' father). While the first brought a well-needed comic relief and some adorable moments of Lee Kyu Hyung adopting kids left and right (and being his usual great self), the other managed to catch my attention more, balanced action scenes with calmer ones better than the school storyline. Maybe I was more receptive to these two particular part of the story because I like the actors involved or it moved quicker than the students' and gave more information to the stakes of the storyline. But, in my opinion, the part outside of the school were just..... better. Which is quite sad considering the main point of focus of the drama is youth in the midst of a zombie epidemic and the emotional impact such epidemic has on them.

In addition, I was really uncomfortable by the scene of sexual assault at the start of the drama which........ Served no purpose and was never really resolved unless punishing and blaming the victim even further was the point.

And generally speaking I'm just very tired of bullying plotlines. This is an important topic that should be addressed but lately it seems it's in every drama I watch and there is only so much I can take.

The drama could have easily been just 10 episodes or even less, but instead we got long boring scenes of the students talking and talking and talking and being suspicious and fighting (plus some plotholes) not to mention two "love" storylines that were quite honestly kinda cute but unnecessary imo.


The Characters

Going in pairs with my boredom to the students storyline, I did not really get attach to any of the students. I liked them, the actors did a good job portraying them but they were..... Just there. I did not particularly care what would happen to them and even if some scenes were sad I barely felt anything. It just did not click for me. HOWEVER, once again, Lee Kyu Hyung portraying a police captain trying to grapple with the last shred of hope he can find and Jeon Bae Soo in a desperate father role were two highlights and I was disappointed when their arcs were done (especially Lee Kyu Hyung's which was cut way to short for my taste).

Visuals

The zombies make-up and their choreography was really well done (one of the few positives in this drama for me). They truly looked the part and were chilling at times.

As for the rest... I know this is a horror drama and that gory scenes are likely to happen. But this drama really had me think that some gore scenes were simply there just because Netflix can have them - in a "in-your-face" kind of way. Just like with most of their dramas, it seems to me they massively take the route of violent, gritty dramas and just go and escalate what they show each time. I'm not sure why. Is it provocation? Is it cheap shock-value? Is it just to "buzz" on social medias and thus receive extra publicity? I'm not sure, but this Netflix Sensationalism is not IT. And it's frustrating because Netflix knows just how to make shows with violence and still have it be a natural part of the story (Kingdom comes to mind particularly) and not...... the whole personnality of the drama.

The cinematography was subpar at best, not that I was expecting anything in that regard.


In conclusion

If you like zombies and have seen several dramas and movies on the subject, you will probably get bored though you might still want to check it out. If this is one of your first dramas, please check out other dramas. If it's zombies you're interested about, Kingdom is right there waiting for you. If it's simply dramas in general, Netflix and many other platforms like Viki, Viu and others have many titles to offer with better stories, better development, better crafting all around.

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Enjoyable Slice of Life drama to pass the time

A nice little drama with likeable characters. Good slice of life, ideal to pass the time.

The OST is not exactly memorable except from Englishman in New York by Sting, Motoki's character's theme.

Motoki Masahiro delivers an earnest performance of a man who cannot say no and bends over backwards to please customers as much as he can. His journey to learn to think about himself and care for himself is rather cute. The different characters were rather likeable although at times the gay-coded character fell into all the stereotypes and it's a shame. However, I liked how this odd personal shopper department learned to work together and care for one another, like a team.


All in all, simply nice and that's okay.

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