Have I gotten that out of the way? Okay. Yes. This drama is a gem.
This is one of those "it doesn't have to be romance centric for it to be interesting" drama.
I think the best way to watch all 12 episodes is to marathon it. Sung Dong Il depicted the role of an antagonist perfectly that I didn't know how he could be so different in every character.
The cursed is a thriller/suspense/horror drama about a group who heavily relies in the supernatural to stay in power and a child out on vengeance for what happened to her family. While watching this drama I was always at the edge of my seat and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This drama let me keep wanting more especially that ending.
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Yes, I am a Ha Ji Won stan due to the fact that she constantly reinvents herself. She accepted dramas that have had low ratings but the fact that she plays characters which are different every drama brings me joy. When I first heard of HJW and Kang Min Hyuk teaming up together, I was honestly worried. Not really worried about KMH since he was my bias in CNBLUE but because they had an age gap. I'm worried how will they pull of these two outstanding doctor characters perfectly without me realizing that Minhyukkie was way younger than eonnie. But when I started watching this drama I was wrong. Boy, I was wrong. I've actually seen this drama 4 times, the first 2 because I couldn't get over and the succeeding was because it became one of my comfort dramas. So here I am trying to review this. I know people were disappointed but I really loved the story and the characters of this drama.Song Eun Jae is one tough talented top surgeon at a popular hospital in Seoul who got cast out of work in the big city on to the Hospital Ship because she questioned her superior's mishap. Kwak Hyun is an internal doctor who chose to work in the ship while battling his inner demons and family burden. The Hospital Ship's objective is to provide healthcare for elderly people living in the islands that could not afford the right medical care. Each character in the crew of the hospital ship brought weight to the show. I loved the fact that it also centered around the stories of ordinary people they were helping and not just on the lives of the crew. What I hated are two things: Yeong Eun's arrival (Kwak Hyun's former gf) to add spice into the story and Eun Jae's illness. I think the illness part was out of place but I appreciate the fact we see how Kwak Hyun cares for her.
Let me just say this again: Min Hyuk as Kwak Hyun was a surprise. He did pull off the character and I don't know if it is a thing with Ha Ji Won and her male leads but damn, they had chemistry here. (I also found out that they share the same birthday in real life).
The OST: so good. One of those dramas where I loved every song of the OST that I even bought the physical copy.
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This is actually my first Taiwanese drama in a long time. The premise of the drama is that both of them were from the same high school where the female lead is the top student and the male lead is this rich heir who bickers with the female lead and that they both gambled that he could enter this top university and if he did, the female lead would carry his bag all year. He did but unfortunately the female lead never got into the university even though she got the highest marks. This made him want to extract revenge when they meet again. And like all those romcom troupes, they do meet again and bicker a lot. Only to find out that the male lead had liked her all along. No surprise there. The story is light and something you can watch as a filler drama. It had moments too. What I liked about this is that instead of 2 male leads vying for the female lead's attention. It's the male lead and the support female lead who is a lesbian. Which was misunderstood by the female lead, it's hilarious. Was this review helpful to you?
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Finally a season 2 with all the actors intact. And finally a season 2 that really acts like a sequel. I often times have problems with Chinese drama sequels because it's either they change the actors or they change the plot altogether. There's no continuity.STORY:
The story picks up where it left off in the first season. Kind of. Liang Cheng (Xing Zhao Lin) goes into the modern world to look for Tan Er (Liang Jie). He hopes to find her and continue their relationship. Of course, since he was a prince in the past life, he had to be rich in the modern times. Unfortunately, the Tan Er he meets is the Tan Er of the past meaning the Tan Er that didn't know him, the Tan Er that have yet to travel to the past to connect the course of the events. Does it make sense? Liang Cheng is the future of the past times and Tan Er is the past of the modern times. At first it doesn't make sense but it will. So basically she doesn't know him. She is just this real estate agent who is minding her own business. And Liang Cheng being Liang Cheng he couldn't stay away for too long. He had to tease her. Things happen and this Tan Er travels to the past to meet the Liang Cheng who has yet to be betrothed to Xiao Tan. So basically this plot is having to Liang Chengs. I liked the fact that they used another actor as the future Liang Cheng. He tries to divert the events so that no deaths will happen but the thing about fate is that no matter how hard you divert from it , it just comes back to you biting you in the ass. This is basically a retelling of the first season more of like playing with time once again although of course we get the happy ending we deserve. A happy ending with something looming on the horizon
ACTING/CAST:
I have nothing to say about the cast because they had chemistry but I swear Xing Zhao Lin and Liang Je took their chemistry a notch higher. I don't question what they can give. I'm surprised that they can give more.
MUSIC:
I love the music here more than the first season. I loved the opening theme and the song that's played in between the scenes in the drama
REWATCH VALUE:
Yes. I've seen this 2 times and watched my favorite scenes more times than I could count.
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Now that is done, let me just rate the comedy part of this drama as 10/10.
I've been curious with Chinese historical dramas lately so I tried this story when I was looking for other dramas to watch and I wasn't disappointed. I loved the fact that even though this is a historical drama, it was like a crack drama. I've never laughed so hard in a historical drama as I did this one. The male lead, Suyu is such a narcissistic, idiotic prince and everything he does is so flamboyant and hilarious. It wasn't the over acted comedy type but really it was hilarious. It even reminded me of Park Seo Joon's character in What's Wrong with secretary kim. This was a lighthearted drama and if you want to laugh out loud without the complicated plot, try this.
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This is probably my first historical Chinese drama in a long time. The first I think was the Chinese adaptation of Scarlet Heart which I only watched because I've seen the Korean drama adaptation (and I'm still bitter but that's another story)STORY:
60 episodes might be too long for anyone when watching a drama but there's this special rule of making it slide when the drama is a historical drama. Ye Zhao (Sandra Ma) is a popular, powerful general who is favored by the king, enemies shiver at her name that is how a powerful strategist she is. Unfortunately, the king had to let her retire because some of the ministers were afraid that she would gain so much power. Plus those ministers are misogynist sons of....(okay). They are afraid of powerful women. So the king had no choice but to let her marry his nephew Zhao Yu Jin (Peter Sheng) who is apparently a good for nothing duke of Nanping. She agrees since there they knew each other from childhood but yep, that's how their marriage starts. What I liked about this drama is that even though this is obviously kind of a low budget drama, the story made for it. The plot was unconventional. The female lead was a strong willed alpha female general who reminds me for some reason of Mulan while the male lead is a dainty prince-ish character. This is kind of like a reverse couple and their scenes together is always a riot. Of course since this is a historical drama, there will always be arcs added in about families in war due to the pursuit of power. It was typical and I liked the part of the plot where her cousin thought she was male and wanted to marry her someday only to find out that it wasn't possible since she was a woman. Though the cousin still was loyal to her, it was funny that she tried to sabotage the leads' marriage. It was too much in a way since it came to the point where she wanted to kill her cousin's husband. There were many intersting plots in those 60 episodes that it didn't feel like it was too much. It was like the story was told in arcs kind of like the book. Plus, the most important thing is that there was character development.
ACTING/CAST:
I liked the leads very much. They had the chemistry and it was funny seeing both in reverse roles. And they played out the characters so well. The other casts were also interesting that it wasn't a bore.
MUSIC:
Finally an opening song that has a recall. The type where if I listen to the song, I would be reminded of this drama. That for me is the most important thing with OSTs. It adds color to the scenes and you will always remember the drama when you listen to the song.
REWATCH VALUE:
Definitely. Though 60 episodes is too much, I wouldn't mind re-watching some of my favorite scenes.
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So when I started watching this Chinese adaptation, I tried to lower my expectations so that I wouldn't be disappointed. And surprisingly, I wasn't disappointed. The leads of the Chinese adaptation captured the essence of the original and they had chemistry. That was surprising. Also the frenemies had also chemistry. What I didn't like in this adaptation is the villain. I feel like the villain in the original Korean drama was more convincing and that his back story had value. The villain here was evil for evil's sake. I didn't quite feel why he did everything.
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This is probably one of my favorite contemporary Chinese dramas. I stumbled upon this drama accidentally and I never looked back. I've seen Gong Jun in another drama and I know that he is really good plus his eyes are expressive so I was curious especially with the plot.STORY:
Lu Fang Ning (Zu Yu Tong) is a domineering CEO. What I liked about her character is that she is head strong, decisive, and doesn't care what anyone thinks. She does what she does and no one can stop her. We need these kinds of female leads in a Chinese dramas to be honest. I'm tired of the damsel in distress and domineering CEO plot. Anyway, she meets the male lead Ling Rui (Gong Jun) who is a doctor and concocts a plan of having him as her husband due to family pressure that she should be married and she should start a family. She chooses him because he's suitable and he's also pretty handsome. It was really hilarious seeing the female lead court the male lead. Of course in all marriage in name plots the leads eventually fall in love. What's new there? I especially love Fang Ning's friends, Su Yu and especially Tang Ping who is too clingy. They added color and fun to the plot. Though my favorite part of this drama is the 6 year time jump and when their son was added to the mix. We can see a reverse in roles perhaps? Ling Rui being domineering and Fang Ning being timid due to guilt. The ending is very satisfying that I didn't think too much of it being 35 episodes long. I wanted more and luckily they had 4 extra episodes which made my heart soar.
ACTING/CAST:
I already knew what Gong Jun was capable of but damn his chemistry with Zhou Yu Tong is off the charts. I loved watching their characters interact with one another and I especially love how natural they are. Me watching the behind the scenes footage doesn't help either. They were too natural it was like they were close friends. Or more than that. Or I don't know. I really, really like how they act together and I hope they get to have another drama together. I also had no problem with the other casts. Whoever casted this drama deserves a raise.
MUSIC:
There was one song that I really liked. And I'm grateful for OSTs that are good. It adds color to the story.
REWATCH VALUE:
Yes. And I recommend this drama as well. Yes, I've seen this for 3 times and I'm proud of it. lol
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This was my first time seeing the leads Liang Jie and Xing Zhao Lin in a drama but I've heard good things about them. So I tried watching this adaptation. I've seen the first two by the way: Taiwanese and Korean.STORY:
Nothing new about the story here. It's just the names of the characters like Chen Jiang Xin (Liang Jie) and Wang Xi Yi (Xing Xhao Lin) that differ, I guess. They had the same formula: female lead gets pregnant while mistakenly in a cruise ship and they get married while the male lead had a girlfriend who ditched him in favor of her career as a ballerina. Female lead is a pushover at the start with her sticky notes and all that and the male lead at first just keeps the pretense of marriage to appease his grandmother. No surprises there, actually. The female lead's family is still there but I think the only difference is rather than Jiang Xin having 2 sisters, they only gave her 1 sister and the other character that's supposed to be her sister that would fall in love with Wang Xi Yi's assistant is her best friend in this adaptation. What I noticed though is this adaptation is bit more serious than the others. There were funny moments, yes. But in this adaptation the girlfriend is a bit more clingy? Plus they only got back together at the end? Meaning the last 30 mins of this drama that I didn't get to enjoy a bit of their married life like the past adaptations. That's my only issue I guess.
ACTING/CAST:
The rumors were true. Liang Jie and Xing Zhao Lin both have chemistry. And not just chemistry but explosive chemistry. I'm not sure if them being paired together for the 3rd time is a factor to that working relationship but damn they were so natural in this drama that I would think they were dating or married. Nevertheless, I didn't question their chemistry. Maybe I'm going to watch their first 2 dramas. The other cast were also perfect for their roles.
MUSIC:
Finally, one of those CDramas in which I loved the OST. It had this recall I was looking for. The kind where when I would listen to it, I would be reminded of the drama or certain scenes in the drama.
REWATCH VALUE:
Yes. If just for the chemistry, yes.
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I heard that this is a Chinese remake of the Taiwanese drama with the same name. The plot wasn't entirely new though. It was the same romcom formula of the leads knowing each other since they were kids, the female lead like him, and the male lead kind of liking her but had misunderstood that kind of formula. What I liked is how the female lead's friends urged her that she haven't moved on from her high school crush yet. There were funny moments I really liked to so I guess even though it was cliché, I was a bit entertained.
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The plot is nothing new but damn the chemistry is there. This drama is also a gem people should give this a trySTORY:
I'm not sure if this is classified as a coming of age drama since the story spans from high school then time jumps to their working life. The story has been adapted from a novel which was written based on the author's real life married life. This is the story of how the author met and fell in love with her husband which was sweet. If I didn't know that this was based on the author's life, I would've had thought that it was loosely inspired by the drama "It Started with a Kiss" since they follow similar plotlines. Like for instance, Zhao Qiao Yi (Janice Wu) is someone who is not that intelligent in class who gets to befriend the smartest kid of their grade, Yan Mo (Zhang Yu Jian). It wasn't love at first sight though but more of a slow burn relationship between two desk mates and their struggle to meet halfway. I liked the way the way they had build their relationship from friends to have affection with each other. Yan Mo is that cliché quiet, intelligent male lead while Qiao Yi is the typical optimistic female lead. No surprises there. I also enjoyed the second leads, Zhao Guan Chao (Eden Zhao) who is Qiao Yi's intelligent twin brother (he always comes second to Yan Mo) and Hao Wu Yi (Ma Li), Qiao Yi's bestfriend. Add Fei Da Chuan (An Ge) to the mix and we have a hilarious group of friends. I like that at the start we know that the leads got together in the end so this drama is sort of a reminiscence of how they got together. It was like they were reminiscing while being interviewed all throughout.
ACTING/CAST:
YES! There was no doubt that there is chemistry between Janice Wu and Zhang Yu Jian. They even gave me the impression that they were dating especially when I saw the behind the scenes footage. It was either they were really good with their craft or there was a relationship behind the scenes. I heard that this was the second collaboration between them after The Oriental Odyssey and I'll try to watch that. They were a natural. It didn't feel like they were acting AT ALL. On the other hand the second leads portrayed by Eden Zhao and Ma Li also held their own ground for the story. Eden Zhao was so convincing as Janice Wu's twin brother that I could think they were actual siblings.
OST:
The OST is perfect for the scenes. This is one of those Chinese dramas where I appreciate how smart they used the music.
REWATCH VALUE:
I did. I already watched this 2 times. I might go on to a third but who knows? Maybe when I have nothing to watch but yep, try to give this a whirl because you won't even regret the chemistry between the leads. Plus knowing that this was based on the author's love story made it more interesting.
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