Dull and repetitive!

As expected of Netflix´ standards, the directing, the cinematography and the musical scoring are outstanding; full of eye candy scenes. Quite beautiful and very melancholic heavy, which I´m a sucker for. So the experience was a joy for my eyes and ears, with that in mind it was easy to sometimes overlook the non interesting story and the lack of character development in the early episodes. But once it hit episode 12 everything just fell apart and the story/writing/main and supporting characters shortcomings became apparent. Once the main leads´ internal conflict was resolved which happened in episode 11 the remaining five were just abysmal and the beautiful cinematography was not enough to keep me interested.

Should I recommend this series? Yes, if you´re into young angst, love beautiful productions and you´re willing to overlook story and characters.

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Surprisingly AMAZING!!!!

I am usually attracted to dramas where the main character goes through some sort of transformative journey. Pale Moon is very far from being one of those, but it is still amazing.

The main female character is a rarity in these type of stories, she goes from being a good friend and a trophy wife to embezzling money and cheating on her husband with a handsome young guy without losing her essence throughout. I find that aspect of the drama very fascinating.

She does horrible things for the right reasons, or so it seems, which is very strange because you’ll have people saying that stealing money is a crime and cheating on your spouse is morally wrong, but somehow here is totally justified and to some extent needed. So is she a bad or a good person? I guess that’s up to the viewer to decide.


In my book Pale Moon is a master piece!!!!

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WTF summarizes it!!!!

The first episodes were totally misleading. The set up was great and just perfect for a romcom that makes fun of its genre, which I found to be very refreshing not to mention hilarious. Every trope and cliché which we are used to was exaggerated and worked to perfection. But then midway, can´t tell exactly when, the drama started to take itself seriously and that was the beginning of its demise… like a domino… all the build up of situations and wonderful characters started to go to shit.

The imposed chemistry of the leads that was charming at first became quite uncomfortable to watch and root for it throughout. The whole contract or blackmailing between leads, and the ML stalking and harassing the FL at work, kicking her out of the car at night in the middle of nowhere just because “apparently" he is too traumatized by the rain and yet he can still drive. WTF???? That was all ridiculous. And on top that, when he sees her again back at the hotel he flaunts his money in order to win back her trust and heart. I find that behavior absolutely unacceptable. ML does all these horrible things in a non-fun, non-charming way to impress FL. Those actions cannot be considered sexy or attractive not for a girl like our FL or anyone really. Just a biggo NO. NO. NO.

Yes, ML is handsome. YES, he is filthy rich, but he is also a bland entitled brat that no woman with self-respect would stay around. So that leads us to our master piece of a final episode with the WTF ending, which I find quite fitting for a messed up series like this one.

On that memorable final episode the writers gave us that "WONDERFUL" scene between the FL and her chef crush. Throughout the whole series she is in LOVE with this chef and in that final episode she bluntly tells him that she is STILL in love with him. Seriously? who thought that that would be a great resolution for a rom-com where the leads are supposed to end up together in love? Weird? YEAH, you bet! Isn’t that by at least, the last episode the FL supposed to be dead over hills in love with our main guy, even if he is a total red flag? Were the writers on drugs? Did I miss something? I must’ve because I really cannot make any sense of it all.

And oooooh you know what´s even more wonderful? That final scene where our bland entitled brat proposes to our FL and she hesitates, not giving him a straight answer and then they walk off happily(???) side by side. Oooh how romantic. Just PERFECT!!!!! WTF did I just watch????? Yes, I have watched my fair share of stupid series, but this one, actually, don´t know what to do with it. It deserves to be in the same WTF genre as Forecasting Love and Weather.

Would I rewatch this series? Hell no, not in a million a years.

Would I recommend it to others? Yes, if you´re brain dead. If you want a fun rom com with a ridiculous plot as well, but great acting to watch, please do yourself a favor and turn to Lucky Romance.

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Glad is coming to an end….

And that might be an understatement. This series can’t be any more boring. I do love the two main actors in other series, but the plot of Dr. slump just gets stupider by the minute. Can’t get any more bland. It isn’t sexy, it isn’t interesting, it isn't anything really... It is just so blah…. Yoon Park is once again playing a pathetic boring character with a super boring life. Oh my gosh! how many times does he have to grace us with that same stupid character with a pathetic story line? He is definitely not breaking away from those characters any time soon… talk about typecasting!! My advise to you is if you see him in the cast line up of your next kdrama to watch, do yourself a favor and run away.

Ufff... I have nothing good or terribly bad to say about this one except that it is bland to its core….

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If you start watching Lost just for eye candy Ryu Joon Yeol, buckle up! you´re in for a ride!!!!

Possibly one of the most compelling and wonderful shows in Kdrama land. It is truly fantastic! It exceeded my expectations. Very rarely do I find character driven series interesting from beginning to end. The intimate camera work reminded me of twisted Japanese series in sensibility, but LOST surpassed them by far. Japanese series have perhaps the most original premises in asian dramas and wonderful close up shots, however they usually fall apart midway and I'm left with a bad taste in my mouths. In LOST the audience gets to go through an intimate and unsettling journey that resonates with the viewer from the start to the last scene. The writing, the directing and the acting of all actresses and actors is simply subliminal.

All characters were perfectly casted and totally believable in their roles. And once again RYU JOON YEOL will steal your heart!!!

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One of the weaker rom coms of 2022

I´m a sucker for well-made rom coms. Even if they are full of clichés, I actually don´t really care as long as they are successfully played out. Of course chemistry between the lead characters and supporting cast are a must; story line, strong and/or witty writing, great acting and well developed main characters with an appealing arc are also a must.

Unfortunately Love All Play does not check all the boxes, actually it only has two things going on for it, great acting and great chemistry from the leading actors, the rest ìs MIA.

I´m surprised I´m saying this because I loved the opening two episodes, the set up and badmigton as the background was just very promising. I fooled myself thinking that if Love All Play was half as good as Racket Boys I was in for a treat, but oh boy oh boy it turned out just as bad, if not worse, than other recent droppable series such as 2521, Forecasting Love and Weather, Business Proposal, Our Beloved Summer, Shitting Stars, etc… list goes on. You got the point.

In 2022 the only two shows that I have actually enjoyed are Crazy Love and My Liberation Notes (which is not considered a rom com, but a slice of life).

What a waste of talent in Love All Play seriously. I really hope that Park Ju Hyun choses better projects with great characters in the future since I consider her one of the most talented and promising actresses of South Korea. Her portrayal of Bae Gyu Ri in Extracurricular set the bar quite high for herself and positioned herself as an actress capable of playing intense and complex characters. So I have to say that Love All Play is a total letdown.

Would I rewatch it or try to finish the series? No way in hell.

Would I recommend it to others? If you really don´t have a choice or if you´re brain dead, yes go ahead.

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Great acting master class by Yeo Jin Goo ;)

This is quite a good series thanks to the amazing charisma and fantastic acting shops of our handsome leading actor and supporting cast. Yeo Jin Goo was already great when he played young Kim Soo Hyun in Moon Embracing The Sun, so it was expected of him to try to emulate Kim Soo Hyun and try to have a decent if not a bright acting career as an adult. But I must say that he has surpassed my expectations, after seeing him tackle such complex roles in Circle, Beyond Evil and The Crowned Clown I can easily say that he is definitely one of the most talented and compelling actors in South Korea.

Most of the cast in The Clowned Crown were great, the only character that was underwhelming was the queen played by Lee Se Young. Her passive character, lack of good story and forced chemistry with the ML was probably to blame. Perhaps this was her warm up role for The Red Sleeve, in that series she really shined. She had a better character arch in The Red Sleeve and her costar wasn´t as intense as Yeo Jin Goo. YJG knows how to work the camera; he commands it and steals it. His costars need to be on their A game or he would just swallow them.

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Call it… why, a biggo WHY

WHY would you cast the handsome Kim Young Kwang if you´re gonna use that UGLY pink filter throughout the drama?

WHY would you cast the handsome Kim Young Kwang if you are not going to exploit his charismatic smile and just have him play a one dimensional depressed character? It was interesting and engaging in the early episodes, but it soon got old… to the point where I grew exasperated with him and that´s criminal. I watched the entire The Secret Life Of My Secretary with a big smile, even though it was a stupid romcom with a questionable premise I loved watching Kim Young Kwang. With him alone and his killer smile was so worth it!

WHY would you waste some potentially interesting cinematography with that UGLY pink?

WHY would you introduce great initial characters and midway just let them go to shit?

WHY in the second half of the series everyone took forever to get the words out of their mouths? Especially the leads in the last 4 episodes… my God what the hell happened, were they on Valium or something? Did I miss the part where they visited their psychiatrist and were prescribed a speech impairment drug?

WHY would you turn such a potentially strong, endearing and adorable FL into a wimpy FL?

If writers knew that they had 16 episodes to fill WHY did it feel like they ran out of material and they just went on circles the second half of the series?

WHY the pretentious and repetitive shots? Actors taking turns to eat side by side, actors taking turns to walk side by side, actors taking turns to look at each other from a few meters away, actors taking turns to look at the camera with a solemn face…. You get the point… repetition that made no freaking sense in a non beautiful way because of that UGLY pink filter.

WHY the bland ending?
I read some comments where viewers say that they were satisfied with the ¨happy ending¨ Frankly speaking I didn´t get it or by that time i was too jaded to appreciate it.


And then it got me thinking were they trying to emulate the ending in LOST or were they trying to emulate LOST the entire time? If so, they failed miserably. Actors take note: check out Ryu Joon Yeol and Jeon Do Yeon because that´s how you play a depressed person on the brink of despair. It does´t have to be boring!! In Lost the ending made perfect sense after the things that they had been through. In Call It Love, the ending looks like two slow and dumb people looking at each other, very stupid in my book.

So WHY did I watch this? Because I LOVE Kim Young Kwang and I liked the first half of the series to the point where I was willing to overlook the ugly pink filters.

Please Kim Young Kwang stay away from complex characters they are not for you or work with directors that can really use your strengths to build characters like in Mission Possible, Hello Me, The Secret Life Of My Secretary, The Guardians… playing those characters you were fantastic!!!


P.S. The OST, Flowers by Kim Roy was the true STAR of the series. Stunning!!!!!

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Nevertheless... NEVERMIND

Please Song Kang choose better proyects in the future. I thought that Love Alarm season 2 fiasco was a one time thing. Everybody makes mistakes, but Nevertheless came along...
Where do i start with this one? Perhaps... the things i liked?

The production value was consistent with Netflix' productions. Very beautiful and visually stunning scenes, nothing surprising there.

The two first episodes were solid, they provided a great set up for a potentially an "out of the box" romantic drama, but oh boy was i wrong.

The supporting characters were interesting, unfortunately more so than the leads. The same sex romance totally overshadowed the main characters' love arc. Midway the series i had lost all interest in the FL and that was fine, but to lose interest in Song Kang, that was just ludicrous. (Love alarm Season 2 was disastrous, but at least Song Kang remained gorgeous). Something was completely off with Nevertheless Song Kang's spark, his charm was missing in action. How can a production team managed to do that?
SACRILEGE!!

Would i rewatch this show? Probably yes, if i get paid to do so ;)

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Guilty pleasure at its best!!!

So where do I start with this one?

I would normally never praise something of this genre since I usually drop them after a few episodes in, but not this one. I binge watched the whole thing with a grin on my face.

Disclaimer: The story in itself is nothing special, if anything i would say it is so bad that it is so good!

It has all the ingredients of a regular soap opera. You have the typical female lead with a very pitiful past and an even worse present, the sad rich handsome male lead, the bad to the bone antagonists, all in all, just what you should expect from the usual tropes in a revenge story. Nothing out of the ordinary.

So, what sets this series apart from the ones of its genre?

The pace of the story (editing) and the chemistry of the whole cast. The leads are great together and you cannot help it, but cheer them on and wish them a happy ever after. The antagonists get their well deserved horrible end.

Big KUDOS to the writers, director and production team because the execution is at its best. Not one dull moment.

Overview:
Story: Crazy!!! Loads of shit happening constantly and lots of twists and turns as well, silly at times but super great.

Acting/cast: Perfect casting for this genre. I specially, love the lead actress, she is fantastic. She really grounded this character without turning it into a wimpy lead and I think that’s the main reason it worked so well.

Music: Nothing spectacular, far from memorable. However it wasn’t irritating, so I give it a pass.

Rewatch value: I wouldn't be surprised if i find myself rewatching it in the future.


Overall: This series is as crazy as addictive and satisfying as any great melodrama can be. So give it a go, you won’t regret it!!!

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BLAME IT ON THE WEATHER!!

Okay, here we go… I´m sure that producers, creators, staff and talent worked hard and thought that having an A list actress and a handsome rising star was enough to secure a hot spot in our hearts, well as we know now the boat sank like the titanic.

I agree with a lot of the reviewers that stated that they had high hopes for the drama after the first couple episodes. The set up was quite promising with beautiful actresses and handsome actors playing the main couple and supporting couple, but around the fourth episode the series started to go downhill and the good looking talent wasn´t able to keep it afloat. The writing or the direction of the series just went nowhere. At some point I thought that the second couple story line was more interesting and the writers decided to explore that, and forgot about our main couple.

My theory:
Then it got me thinking that perhaps the second couple was the main couple at the start of the project, if so that would have been way more interesting, but then Park Min Young and Song Kang were casted as the other characters and the creators had to compromise by changing the story. As a result we ended up with Yoon Park overshowing everybody and even the story line. It does feel like the SML had to carry the entire show. And the funny thing is that his character isn´t supposed to be likable. He cheated on Park Min Young´s character and came out triumphant. Seriously, I have never seen that happening…

My advise:
Song Kang please choose better projects in the future or simply fire your current management and hire Park Seo Joon´s ;)

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SIMPLY DELIGHTFUL!!!!

This series is an acting masterclass on how to turn a silly character in a ridiculous plot into something very appealing. I finished watching this crazy show totally captivated and mesmerized by the charming CEO, Je Su Ho.

KUDOS to Ryu Joon Yeol and director!

I agree with most of the reviewers that said that the first two episodes which focused on the life of our weird FL, Shim Bo Nui, were quite unattractive and once you get passed the set up and Je Su Ho takes the lead in carrying the show the fun begins and it quite grows slowly on you.

Hwang Jung Eum is a beautiful actress, but unfortunately she has been typecasted into playing the same character in everything’s she´s in. You could easily place her character in She Was Pretty in Lucky Romance and viceversa and it wouldn´t make a difference. Either way, she's also great in this series. However, it is clear that Ryu and Hwang come from different acting schools. Hwang looks really pretty even with such peculiar fashion. Her character starts out annoying, but slowly becomes charming. Same with Ryu his character starts out pretty meh, but without you realizing he grows on you. He's a natural and knows how to make love to the camara. He fills every moment that the camara is on him. I'm sure that for the editing team is a blessing they don't have to use the slow motion and repetition when he is acting.


Since I watched other works by RJY I realized that he is quite a skilled actor with an incredible range, so it is no surprise that I would grade this show so high and the rewatchable value tripled hehehehe!

The supporting characters were also very amusing, they added to the fun; hence I would happily give it an 11/10.

Quite an accomplishment!!!!

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STRONG start, BORING ass middle and LAME ending

I loved the first episodes; they provided a great set up for a very promising ride. The office setting, the jerks, the gossipy tellers, the asshole boss with a double life, the intricate main characters, and above all the social class and status being a very important aspect, it almost felt like another character in itself. In short, this series had everything going for it, especially the angst.

So what happend? Shallow writing that's my guess.
Midway I realized that the writer decided not to dig deep into the characters’ lives and just stay on the surface. What was interesting about the main characters at first became irritating.

If you want the viewers to do the work please give us a bigger taste of the meat, just like in LOST, it challenged the viewer in a very powerful way, by not shying away from very profound emotions, difficult situation and ultimate despair. That series was slow and silence was a big part of the whole, but it never felt like the characters stared at each other endlessly or spoke in an unnatural slow speed just because.

In TIOL silence was just empty, we as viewers weren´t challenged instead we were asked to be patient and imagine a whole world just by looking at the main characters face, especially the FL´s wide eyed face. In the early episodes her face was intriguing, but at some point I didn´t know what to do with it. Was she being surprised, annoyed, embarrassed, worried, grateful, flirtatious, sad, happy…? I asked myself what does it mean, what is she thinking... Soon after a few episodes I gave up… when i realized that perhaps there was nothing there. I felt tricked into believing that there was more than meets the eye.

So, what am i left with? The one-sided love story of our ML which was done masterfully by the actor? If so, is not enough for a 16 episode series, if that´s all there is. This series in my opinion lacks content, lots of it to put it blunty. I haven´t seen the final episode, but I doubt that I´ll get all what it is missing in that one last episode. I hope I´m wrong and if I am, I´ll come back and update my review.

I still recommend this series, the production value is high, the acting is excellent, the directing choices not so much, the writing is lacking especially midway onwards.

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A ROM-COM AT ITS BEST!!!

Is Lovestruck In The City romantic? Hell YES!

Is it funny? No, it is hilarious and witty!

Have you ever found yourself watching kdramas labeled as a rom-com and wondering why? Where´s the comedy or the romance? You just can't find it. But in LITC is never the case. It stays true to the genre throughout. Thus I would put it up there with my most favorite kdramas of all time. Everything about it is pure perfection; smart and poignant writing, fun direction, high production value and a marvelous cast through and through.

I agree with some of the reviewers that pointed out that at first they found annoying the interview format, and I also agree that once you buy into the story you get hooked and the interview format becomes another character in itself and you can´t help but be mesmerized by the whole experience.

I think that this is a truly ensemble production, the six main characters are well developed and it is a joy to watch the actors do a fantastic job on their roles as their group chemistry is insane.

Even though the show is driven by the six characters and their stories equally interesting to watch, there is a main couple just like any other rom-com. Is no secret that Ji Chang Wook is sexy and a damn good actor whose charisma is off the wall. I would even go as far as to say that perhaps this is my favorite role of his. His range as an actor is quite incredible; he can play the cold bad ass action hero and the vulnerable heartbroken dude with the same credibility and gorgeous smile. Playing alongside Kim Ji Won must have been fun since she is also, in my opinion, one of the best actresses of her generation. And I admire that she always chooses great projects, whether she plays the main character of a drama or a supporting character she always pulls you in and makes you root for her. Her characters are always so grounded that you never question why the MLs love her or in this case why the ML is so obsessed with her. She is simply fantastic, never disapoints!

The writer did such a terrific job tackling subjects such as falling in and out of love, sex in a non cliché way that was super fun to watch. There´s never a dull moment in the series and the closure that all 6 characters and the police man got are all consequential, nothing feels ¨out of the blue¨ therefore I am satisfied with the ending.

Would I recommend it? Hell YES. However if you´re a sucker for unjustified love and slow motion tight lip kisses in your kdramas do yourself a favor and SKIP this one.

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Love how DUMB you are!

I´m one of those people that really liked the original version of this series. So when I read comments saying that they liked the Kdrama, but they prefer this version better because of its lighter or fluffier feel, I get a little suspicious of people´s taste. It is impossible for someone who claims to have really liked the kdrama version to find this one better or half as good or even passable. It just makes no freaking sense. Here´s my reasoning:

In the Kdrama, Something In The Rain, the FL goes through a self-discovery journey. When she starts to hang out with the young ML her path to transformation begins. Even though he is much younger he is also more mature and assertive due to his harsh circumstances early on in life, he lost his mother at an early age and his father remarried leaving him and his sister to care for themselves. Later he goes to USA for 3 years for work. So it is not surprising that he has had more life experience than a sheltered 35 year old woman that is still living at home. To this point the FL has only dated horrible men that never respected or loved her, so her self-esteem is on the floor. In the workplace is no different she is mistreated and sexually harassed by her superiors. At home she is an unworthy daughter because she isn´t marrying a socially qualified and wealthy man. She basically just takes it from everyone, unable to stand up for herself.

When the ML returns from abroad he also brings back a different set of values that challenges hers, he says early on something along the lines that in order to be professional you need to break taboos. They constantly joke around age, how she is older and should be the wiser, but it is clear that she isn´t, so this dynamic among intricate characters, smart writing and intimate directing is what makes this series interesting.

In my opinion the cdrama version is not grounded, it lacks depth in all aspects. The main characters are just your typical leading couple in the majority of cdramas; FL can´t hold her liquor ML gives her a piggy back ride, FL needs a drink ML shares his coca cola, FL gets a superficial paper cut ML provides a Band-Aid, FL loses her lipstick ML picks it up. Are these situations supposed to be bonding or romantic???? This type of childish behavior was a big NO NO in the Korean version, that´s the main reason why I liked it. Obviously the Cdrama creators when doing the remake totally missed the point; they only focused on one aspect of the whole, the older woman younger man. That´s it! And they copied frame by frame some of the intimate scenes from the Korean, whereas in the kdrama made total sense versus the Cdrama where these scenes just feel empty.

This show is totally droppable, I first got a hint in that early scene at the airport when ML returns from years of hiatus. He spots the FL and sees how she drops her lipstick, he picks it up, but never tries to call her. She is his family, someone that he is supposed to have a crush on and doesn´t say ¨hey it´s me your step brother¨…. Silence, he picks up the lipstick and carries it around like a pervert waiting for the ¨perfect¨ time to give it back. And what is even more mind-blowing is when the FL fails to recognize her own step brother, they share a cola and eat side by side. Seriously in what universe you´re unable to recognize your own brother??? Yes, he is her step brother, but he is still her brother. I know that for some westerners all Chinese, if not familiar, might look the same. But they are Chinese and family for God's sake!!! This whole scenario very far from setting up the romantic vibe it just presents two very dumb leading characters and the dumbness just continues as the story progresses…. So I only had one and only choice.... to DROP THIS SUCKER!!!!

P.S. I´m very sick and tired of drunk FLs in cdramas that always need piggy backs from MLs or SMLs. If Cdramas are a reflection of society, then society needs to do some social work and teach girls not to get shitfaced, it is not safe or sexy.... Especially NOT SAFE!

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