Reviews

A swirl of emotions

I have seen so many dramas and movies of this genre and I have to say that this is the one of the best I've watched. Watching this movies brings out all the emotions. Joy, sadness and anger. The cast was amazing!! Kim Woobin never disappoints! Even the support casts did an amazing job! The three friends joining him in the end to catch the criminal was just the cherry on top for one of the best movies ever. I watched this movie just for Kim Woobin but fell in love with the entire storyline and the cast. The team leader and his care for his team members, the innocent officer who died on site but left a great impact on viewers with his loyalty towards his captain, the three friends who didn't hesitate for a second to help their friend catch the bad guy, the dad who was worried for his son but wholeheartedly supported him catching the criminal and the little girl who went through one of the most traumatic experiences ever but overcame it strongly, everyone did a great job at bring out the reality of the world these days. Watching this movie made me really wish the world was a much better place for children.

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This is exactly my type of k-darama

I thought my expectations were too high and I was afraid I'll be dissappointed, but it's quite the contrary. This drama was even better than I expected. The actors and the characters were beautiful just as the feelings they expressed and also the story as a whole. The episodes were too short and too few as I couldn't seem to get enough of it, but despite that every single one was top quality from the acting, makeup and background to the lighting and audio and everything else. I can confidently say this is my favorite k-drama and my favorite bl (and I've watched a lot of them). Congratulations to the actors and every single person involved in the making of this series and also thank you for creating such a masterpiece ???

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My first time crying so hard for a movie:

This is the best movie ever and I really was hoping that they end up together but I guess not but it is a happy and sad movie. Also remember when the guy said “He only has one mate in his life well Suni was his life partner that is why he is more protective over her because she is his mate. I love how he listen and waited for her to come back even though it her 60 years to come back. She got married then had kids but now she is a grandma but no matter how old she is he will always find her beautiful. I cried so hard when she got to she him again and it is my first time crying so hard for a movie. I love how he continued to learn to write, read, and talk so that way when she comes back he can show her that he has learned them for her.

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Worth the wait!

Like for real! Its been a long time since ive watched anything starring Kim woo bin and when i heard the news and saw the poster about this movie i was anticipating to watch it and really it was so worth it. Starting from the story, the characters, the acting, plot everything was really nice. Story with the anklet thingy was new for me so it was refreshing. (as it wasn't a cliche)
There are moments when it make you laugh with the humour and times it make you cry with their words and certain situations...
The cast was what pulled me to watch the movie but really, it was so satisfying. Anything starring Kim sung kyun is loved and with Kim woo bin it just became even more lovable and amazing! Loved it!
Spoiler included down:
There's one thing i am really sad about, taht the sergeant Cho died by the hands of those thugs, like he didn't deserve it at all!!

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this movie changed my life.

I’ve seen so many bad reviews on this movie and I’m just in shock as to why. I think it’s because people don’t really like ‘slow’ movies like this but I personally Love to watch people live their lives, if that even makes sense. this was one of those watches where it leaves you both speechless and with so much to say after. It had me in tears at the end. I loved the simplicity of the whole movie but the complexity of the characters and plot. the one thing that truly got to me was this part of the script, it hit me like a brick. I’ve never had a movie script say something that describes EXACTLY how I’m feeling in the moment. “ honestly I’m kind of glad I didn’t hear from you. to tell you the truth I feel like a total loser these days. I’m not really in the mode to catch up and laugh with you. I hate myself. I don’t even want people to look at me. I’m sad. I made all these choices myself so why do I feel this way?” I actually can not explain how deeply this hits. I felt so seen. it brought me a sense of comfort in a way… overall this movie made me giggle and laugh, gave me butterflies and also made me feel seen and heard. I would recommend this to everyone.

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Ended up loving it more than the Parent Story (ULS)

Hello! This counts as my first review on MDL. I usually never write reviews but this was just that good that I felt like expressing my heart out here (also, because I'm one of the early watchers, internationally. Hope this review helps the ones looking forward to watching this beauty ⁠♡)

I'll **try my best** to refrain from spoiling anything ;)

The number one thing that got me hooked right off the bat in this series were the leads and their acting, especially the character of Dong Hee a.k.a Actor Do Woo. The character had the perfect, SPOT ON amount of sensitivity and tenderness as I was expecting from the trailer. It is made very obvious from the beginning that he is fond of Ho Tae, but the way that his POV is portrayed is exactly how I would deal with romantic attractions. His eyes did most of the talking and that was really heart warming to watch. The character of Ho Tae, a.k.a Actor Won Tae Min was portrayed as a "Gung-Ho", straightforward no-bullshitting kind of character in ULS, but since it's a prequel, we get to see a more softer, mellow side of him in this. More like he's playful and all cheery in this one. Their chemistry is no joke guys, I do not mean to compare ULS with this, but I wish this kind of intense chemistry was shown between Won Young and Tae Joon :'(

Speaking of intensity, the next thing that I can't still get out of my head is how the tension between the two is filmed. As an ardent BL enthusiast when I tell you I haven't seen such beautiful tension in a while. It is not rushed, not paced just to be done with it and wrap up, neither does it feel prolonged, depending on how intimate a scene is, the tension scenes are timed differently, cutting off or continuing. I'd like to credit the direction team rightfully here, because everything, from the angles to the movement was like how actually your head would work if you had such interactions with your partner, if you know what I mean. Cinematography is worth appreciating, almost gives off an Indie movie vibe.

There are things that I feel they could've worked on, but those are like minor ones, and would not affect any of my opinion on how good of a watch this was.
Now this is a personal opinion but few might agree with me after watching this series, I feel like this "back story" was more of Ho Tae's and less of Dong Hee's, concerning pov. We only get to take away two things about Donghee's past, only obviously being that he likes the significant other ML, while most of the story revolved around Ho Tae, his past and present (in the story). I get that Donghee's character is a bit reserved but I would've appreciated some more storyline from his side .

Secondly, I do not know why I was kinda(?) expecting some kind of love traingle or introduction of a third person in their love story? There's this one character (I won't reveal) introduced in the first and second episodes that'll give you off the vibe at first, you'll sense a love triangle but that's really not it. It didn't affect any of the story obviously but I feel like something like that would've elevated the persuasion process between the leads or something, also would've given us some more storytime lol.

Thirdly, this one's really worth shaking off but I feel like the cameo of Ji Won Young a.k.a Gong Chan in this one was worth some more screen time with the natural plot flowing. He's literally there for 5 seconds or something ? I did expect a present time cameo where it's like back to ULS universe, but okay. No big deal, just personal wish :')

What makes this better than the Parent Story? (For me)
Mostly, it's in the filming.
I won't deny the chemistry between Ji Won Young and Yoon Tae Joon in ULS was some of the better ones I've seen in Korean BLs, but you could still tell, it's acting, after all. It was very concious, some scenes, you can't tell me, weren't rushed. However, with The Time of Fever, the chemistry between the leads was so magically captivating it'll keep you seated. It'll make you want more of their interactions. In my eyes, this one had more of that artistic vision.

Here, I conclude my review (it's pretty long ?) but I really hope it helps. This has great rewatch value, in my opinion. The long spoken of myth with K-dramas that it's always the secondary leads/characters that win your heart rightly fits in this case. I only hope they get casted in a different drama or like a season 2 of either of the series' cause I know, I'm gonna miss them.

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Beware how you use a gun

First of all, I had no expectations about the movie and I didn’t know what kind of movie this is before watching it. It turns out to be a psychological thriller drama so if that is what you are ready for, this is a gem. But if you expect some intense action, twists and turns, shocks and thrills, you might be disappointed.

Before watching the movie it came to my mind that Kim Ki-duk was making a movie about a gun, so if anything I was interested in the role of a revolver for this movie. Silently I hoped to see a little bit of Kim Ki-duk genre and I would say that I got it. Director Oh Seung-uk is exploring the human psychology in a unique way by showing us a few distinct characters and their clashing with one another. Revolver is still here to push them a little further than they would normally go. The story is simple but is developing in an intriguing way, actors are superb, the production and visuals truly excellent.

I remember the movie “Shameless” from the same director with a similar casting and a similar tone. And I saw other projects he worked on, but they are too few. I see here that all of them have a score around 7 but for me they are all 9 or 10/10. That means I am a fan.

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A Path to Somewhere and Nowhere at the Same Time

I’m conflicted about this movie/series. I think the problems I have with it are not as a result of flaws in the film but rather a flaw in the basic concept and what they were given to begin with. How do you end a prequel happily when the sequel starts sadly? That is the problem they were handed.

We know from Unintentional Love Story that they have a history in which there was confusion on Ho Tae side over his feelings and there was never a romantic relationship between them. They have an adversarial relationship, on the surface, at the beginning of the series and grow closer with an implied ending of them getting together. This is what leads to the problem of what you do with the prequel. They mentioned basic plot points but you’re dealing with a case of they parted for two years and ever since they have met again, they have not had a good relationship. So, you want to tell a story with a happy ending, but you essentially need to retcon the original story in order to obtain that.

Also, the plot felt like it dragged on. I watched around 2 episodes at a time due to the fact that it felt like we were going around in circles or just repeating the same plot points over and over again. It’s very weird in my head because it felt like there was a development in their relationship, but it felt like we kept stuttering to get there and it felt both like we got somewhere and also that we got nowhere. Was it maybe the repetition of Ho Tae’s actions towards Dong Hee. The repetitive promises he gave didn’t really change much. They were supposed to show forward change, and it just felt like we were going back to the last time this happened and were doomed to relive similar events again. Maybe it would have been different if I had seen it as a film as opposed to separate episodes, it may have flowed better that way but that’s not what was available to me.

It kind of feels like we got both somewhere and nowhere and that I think is the fault of the original story because in that story, we started just after nowhere, so this story had to end at nowhere. The ending felt rushed and empty and that is due to the limitations of the beginning of the original. I also believe that this was a very one-sided story.

In my opinion, Ho Tae is the main character and Dong Hee felt very much cast to the side. It felt like we were watching the development of Ho Tae’s feelings and his story and how Dong Hee fit into that with only a sprinkle of plot development for Dong Hee but only how it impacted him in relation to Ho Tae. That’s just the feeling I got.

Overall, I didn’t dislike it, but I’m sitting with a lot of opposing feelings.

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Not as comedic as I thought, only 1%

The first half was too ridiculous, like why trap 5 ppl in a hotel in a shaky tunnel if there were options especially with better studying and better tools

So the first half was done to have a “unexpected team building” so the second half made sense when they cared for each other

And it needed a better ending, like Hot voices villain was a psychopath, id have wanted him on a death sentence or atleast have his chaebol dad send someone to kill him off

The double cross, double cross, was ridiculous cuz, villain was offering burnt leg 100k, when if he stayed he’d have had to cut 5m between 5ppl

Poor old guy dying so coldly as well was just to add angst
villain dude was never gonna let them live , and ml with his fancy car and clothes and watches, he didn’t need another 1m to even take that job, again a 30b job put on 5ppl, one sick, one hurt, without any research or equipments, they only found out about the new pipeline cuz old guy randomly had that info, when again, if a crazy rich dude did something , he’d plan it better from the start

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"Only mold grows in the shade"

The Secret Scandal was infuriating and discouraging. Loosely based on actress Jang Ja Yeon’s maltreatment and suicide, it caused this film to be even more painful because behind this sordid fictional story of abuse of power was a real woman who was let down by everyone. If you have triggers, please read the tags carefully.

“Why is one actress so important to you?”
Lee Jang Ho has become an internet reporter after being fired from his television job. He’s diligently covering the trial of men accused of “coercion” and “abetting coercion” for an incident that happened in a club one night. Actress Jung Ji Hee committed suicide after being repeatedly coerced into sexual acts by her manager for himself and other men in power. Bound by a punitive contract, she was unable to get out of it unless she repaid 30 TIMES what the agency had spent on her. A new prosecutor’s mettle is tested when the good old boys draw ranks in order to thwart justice.

“Why would I remember your name?
Ma Dong Seok played Lee Jang Ho in a role where the only thing he fought was injustice. The famous ahjussi hitter did a good job as the reporter fighting to find and reveal the truth, one of the only positive male roles in the film. Lee Seung Yeon felt out of place as the tenacious prosecutor with a baby voice. I would have preferred an actress with a more dynamic screen presence. The film’s execution wasn’t as taut as it could have been. Jumping from character to character and also with numerous flashbacks, it had a tendency to feel disjointed which reduced its emotional punch.

“She’s just a girl”
The Secret Scandal’s story is an important one because 11 years later, the #MeToo movement has petered out against the solid wall erected by authoritative men. A 2010 report claimed that 62.8% of Korean actresses had been asked to perform sexual favors. Since this film came out there's been the Burning Sun scandal and now female acquaintances, co-workers, even family members are being turned into AI porn with few consequences. Men’s reputations and careers are too often valued over the careers and well-being of women’s as this film painfully pointed out. One particularly disturbing scene reminded me of a real-life rape that occurred on camera during the filming of Fatal Vacation (1990). Maybe when there are more women lawmakers, judges, film directors and producers, etc. something will change. It’s just taking too damn long. RIP Jang Ja Yeon, your suffering and life are still inspiring people to fight for the right to be safe and not be treated as a sexual commodity.

12 September 2024

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