Sony-sajangnim
Lookin for a unique drama w/realistic dark and depressing themes. You arrived at your destination.
A unique tale discussing the dark reality of cult groups and the tragedy of people being lured there. It goes straight to the point, 16 episodes of stress, thriller, melancholy, FRIENDSHIP and HOPE.Even though I'm disappointed with so many characters endings, I loved the ending as a whole since it had a realistic element for each character as if they were really telling someone's tale.
On one hand, I'm glad this didn't get dragged out to ruin the show. But on the other, they could have made it 20 episodes long to better showcase the aftermath.
Music:
I loved the starting theme piece, while the ending OST songs were quite average and because they were only played at the ending I didn't feel any attachment to them or love.
Rewatch value:
Honestly, I wouldn't want to put myself under this much stress and depression again, UNLESS it was for another similar great show ?
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ADORABLE highschool romance that requires your attention to fully enjoy it
So m.y review might be abit weird, because for me this movie wasn't near a 9 for the first 45min of it, and that's not because the movie was bad but because I wasn't really paying attention to it.. I was feeling secondhand embarrassment and cringing because I never really recieved the right signal until way later.The moment things hit me the movie's atmosphere changed drastically! I was drawn in a sea of cuteness and loveliness washing away everything and leaving me with nothing but fluff inside.
I must also note, that this is a really good romance where it stood its grounds without the need of comedy which isn't something I'm used to nor do I like to watch usually.
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The only thing that carried this movie is the FL acting
The 1st third of the movie felt like a fever dream and made me almost quite the whole thing. It has horrible first person camera work that leaves you dizzy, confused and board.It took me until the last third of the movie to finally understand the plot.
The 2 thirds of the movie where good and kinda interesting but some scenes felt like they are too abstract to the point of seeming out of place.
The acting is good but the only notable performance was from the FL. SungJoon's 1st scene at the apartment was his only shinning moment, while the rest didn't even get the chance to show anything.
I liked the plot but it barely had any details, it felt like a mold written for others to fill in and make it a custom movie with the same general plot line.
A generous 7.5/10 (If it wasn't for the FL's performance, I wouldn't have given the awful camera work anything higher than 6!)
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Maybe a video edit of the drama would have saved me the time
The writing is so bad I could complain about it all day and the production isn't that good either. The "doctor" characters are no doctors and the plot is a strainer from all the wholes it has!But I did watch it all because the little boy is adorable and the concept of a previous marriage child was very intriguing but to my disappointment it wasn't used to it's full potential.
Overall: 7/10, not bad but isn't good enough, if it wasn't for the boy who carried the show and the acting of the characters which I loved, I would have rated it 5/10
Recommend: NO, just watch some edits on YT and save your time from the horrible plot and pacing.
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It has been so long since I watch such a funny comedy
When wasthe last time you enjoyed and lol-ed at a comedy the whole watch time. For me it has been so long ! But Secret Zoo made it all up!This movie might have it's "too silly" moments but honestly never for a second did I doubt my desire to continue watching, it's actually the opposite! The movie is so light hearted and fun to watch that you would find it too short.
The comedy is topnotch!!! I laughed almost the whole time!
For once not knowing more about the characters was actually a good thing, since the movie doesn't discover much of the staff outside the zoo situation, we didn't have to carry the burden of sympathy and sadness so the movie kept this fun light flow of it.
Recommend: 100%
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Felt like a drama recap were if you haven't watched the drama you wouldn't feel the connection
Such a missed opportunity! I was so excited seeing the leads and so disappointed as I finished the movie.The story is your usual youth stories, the main characters were really interesting, the hopless playboy, the female school leader, and the mysterious new Seoul girl. They had so much potential but got totally sidetracked by the mix of everything in a small pot.
Like so many side stories shouldn't have been there because we got barely any attachment to anyone in the movie. The 2nd female lead had an interesting story that was left vague and never told.. even the fl was kinda never really explored. The story losses the way from the very beginning, you end up not knowing what was all of this about.
Like there are even characters (the beared guy who's always in MLs house) that serve no purpose but to take up screentime as if the movie has alot to spare!
6/10 It's watchable until the end
Rewatch value : never
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If Only The Writers and Director Spent alittle more time working on the plot
At the end of this drama I find my initial thoughts on the ghost related plot to be messy right on point! The consistency of combining afterlife with reincarnation was nowhere to be found.. maybe because it's a flawed concept to being with, so them trying to be extra imaginative with it made fall in shambles.An example would be when making the dead able to roam around the living in some cases ( there was no rule!) They sometimes can affect the living while others can't (depending on the plot needs) and so on.. even Fantasies need rules set in the world to make sense to the viewers.
Even the couple's drama suffered from this inconsistency that something which was strongly emphasized was never used or mentioned in the finale!
Aside from that, the drama of our hotel family and the reaper - love his character- was really good that i cried a river in the finale. Everyone had an impact which isn't always the case when we have a main couple to focus on, though our ML had weak presence compared to the other 2 second leads which iscrazy considering they aren't even in the same timeline!!!
The setting wasn't that special for me, while the MUSIC was everything! Halfway through the drama I started humming along with teary eyes everytime one of the osts starts playing.
If only the writing wasn't this sloppy, it's a tragedy considering the cast being superb actors!
To top it all the drama was 50% repetitive slowmo scenes..
I was planning to rate it an 8 but after summing up my review a solid 7.5 is all my mind could spare.
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A New Light Shed on the Eternal Search for Happiness
* On a starting note:You would wonder why I gave an overall score of 9 when I rated the story 7.5! My numbers don't add up because this work is just as complex.
* "Happiness" is a depressing apocalyptic take on the classic Search for Happiness, I thought it would be another survival story but it was so much more.
I would say the story is the weakest factor this drama has, while the acting, twists, and characters are one of the best I've seen taking into consideration it's a 12 episodes show.
* After the Ending note:
I feel dizzy.. like I know it's a 12 episodes drama but dang I wanted it to last longer.. guess the producers did everything they could to cook such a deep show in only 12 episodes.
Even with all the plotholes, I still rated this a solid 9/10 for the drama, characters, and development! It's been a while since I got this immersed on a show! I even was waiting for someone to jumpscare me until the very end of the credits ?? cuz I was already so traumatized over all the jumpscares.
My favorite part is how much you would see from each character and the development of many - be it for the bad or the good-! The twists were quite good too! The acting was superb that almost every character had its own light. I sobbed a few times and was fumming at others.
I liked that this time it wasn't poor people are good, rich people are bad, this time the drama adapted the reality approach that a person cannot be judged until you have lived with them!
People's true nature isn't something easily discovered nor judged. This is the core charm of Happiness for me.
And of course another charm was showing us what is the real HAPPINESS whithout mentioning it once in the drama!
This work kinda reminds me of webtoon I've read years ago called DeadDays, I can't remember the details but I totally get the dejavu.
* just wanted to end this saying that you will be left thinking and appreciating the Happiness you have in your life through the misery of HAPPINESS
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Another Great Squad to Remember! Indeed a Very Exciting Movie
9/10 It's all about the enjoyment.Story:
The story is quite new to me but believable and interesting to watch unfold, though there are a couple of plot wholes that were unexplained it didn't affect the enjoyment much. Like how they got their tools the sec time, or if the kid is real..
Character:
With the work being a movie it's understandable that most characters don't an indepth look,but for the main character to be barely explored is something I consider as a weakness. We finish the movie with knowing barely anything about anyone. It was kinda disappointing especially with the funny credits cuts they could have added something about them instead. That is my main problem with the movie.
Aside from that, the cast were great! I only knew SIG which obviously is why I knew about this movie in the first place, and the villain forgot his name but this guy is always an A+ as a villain! These two as always meet my expectations, and surprisingly the other cast members were just as great! I loved every single one of them! Definitely gonna check their other works! Even the policemen were interesting and shined over their small roles!
Enjoyment:
I'm quite impressed by how good the movie is, it had everything, thriller, comedy, action! I was kinda skeptical that it would turn out as slapstick comedy with somescenes being borderline silly but the movie didn't fail to amaze me with how genres are well incorporated. I laughed, was on the edge of my seat, had teary eyes, and showted loud as if they could hear me.
Rewatch:
Although I don't see myself watching it anytime sooner, but I think I would definitely do a year or two from now if I was alive.
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Reality and logic aside, A funny, lighthearted, heartwarming story of 3 women empower each other
The suggested score was 7 but I gave it an 8 bcuz if you analysis the drama in details you woud find many flaws, which would give it a flat 7 but the end product is so captivating and loveable that it deserves a higher rating just for that!The best thing about it is the friendship of the ajummas?? , the topnotch comedy, and the bonds between the parents and children was heartwarming too.
The concept of the story is great and so the characters and casting are. But the plot fails to do things logically since it focuses on the 'we can do it' and comedy elements. And I think for a 12 episodes drama everyone did the best they could, and if the plot wasn't carried the way it did things would have been either rushed or ruined.
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One of ZE BEST historical dramas!
Every now and then I come across one of the osts of Scarlet Heart, and all the feelings I had while watching it start gushing out with tears in my eyes. I was so invested emotionally with this drama, everything in it was painted in the most moving way to get us caught in it's story forgetting the real world and drawning just like IU in there ~The production work was great, acting was extremely good, and the settings were beautiful.
I loved IU's acting since this was my second time watching her after Dream High. She might have not reached her best performances yet but she conveyed her character's emotions in the most neat way I could imagine. I cried whenever she did and felt happy whenever she smiled.
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Plot: Shion/Minjin/Taemin a genius with Einstein's brain (LITERALLY) joins the team of Ryo/Shota a policeman with a scarred past. And there are mysterious people trying to kill Shion.
+: Skilled cast(Shota,Miori), Fresh-face Taemin , cool ending OST, ?tempting tags?, the genius guy who joins the police plot, having hopes that this might get better as you watch.
-: shaky and bad camera work, editing is even worse(The flash-backs are edited/written poorly and are inconsistent with the rest of the scenes), bad lighting work "As if they were experimenting different styles in each shot", TOO SLOW paced (Half the episode passed and we only know that Taemin got amazing hair), the 'investigation' part was by running around and taking close up shots of Taemin's face (they didn't bother to discuss anything), extremely weak origins.
On a side note: The scene with Minjin and Kana under the tree was cringy (adding the fact that they seem so out of place with their angle-like outfits!) and just let them speak comfortably in Japanese if they both could speak the language! The dialog with the 'Best Friend' would have been enough to convey that they're in an English speaking country.
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