Did I watch the same movie as everyone else?

I'm seeing reviews about people crying at the second half of this movie and I'm just a little lost for words because the movie I watched was just so...mediocre? It was certainly a nostalgic and light-hearted rom-com, but overall the plot points and the characters are just really cookie-cutter and cliche. The two second leads are also considered main roles but were not really given adequate personality or character development.

I also could not handle how many times the main female lead had to trip over her own feet — I understand the clumsy aspect of her personality, but there are different ways to do it. Seeing the exact same thing happen so many times grew old very fast.

With that being said, there are more quiet, thoughtful moments in this movie that really stood out to me, and I wish the movie let those moments shine through more.

Leia Mais

A tearjerker

This is a movie about silver linings. I really did not expect myself to shed so many tears over this movie — but I sobbed throughout it, especially the second half.

I was expecting a really depressing movie where it was just one tragedy and no good parts one after another, but there was a surprising amount of hope and friendship in this that made it really beautiful to watch. The two leads had amazing chemistry and really heart-warming dialogue and it felt like the main focus of the movie, as opposed to the bullying moments. I actually felt like the bullying situation at school and beyond wasn't fleshed out very much, but I think this actually worked in the movie's favor for the most part.

Overall, a really really beautiful movie that will make you ugly cry :)

Leia Mais

Had its good moments

I did enjoy watching this so don't let the average review fool you — my only gripe with it is that it just kind of focused on the wrong thing.

I could have done without a lot of the North Korean military commander scenes, and I wanted to see more of the different characters interacting with each other in domestic settings. I loved the ML's scenes with the different people in the community but never got that with the other MLs, who felt very randomly inserted into the community with nobody asking any questions.

Essentially, I feel like overall this movie could have been better served going the Miracle in Cell No. 7 route and being more subtle and heart-warming with the comedy than also trying to be an action flick, even though KSH is absolutely amazing at those.

Leia Mais

Wholesome and subtle

From the cover and the blurb of this movie, I really thought it would be one of those really dark and quiet movies where it was just one tragedy after another and no one ever communicating with each other. But this wasn't the case at all.

This movie was surprisingly wholesome and realistic. None of the conflicts felt out-of-the-blue, dramatic, or blown out of proportion, and the characters also reacted in the same way. They felt like real people and the relationship between the sisters was undoubtedly the best part of the movie.

My only gripe with this might be the ML. While I do love a beta male lead and he had some good moments, some of the things he did and said were just really cringy and he was persistent to the point of annoyance sometimes; he had good conversations with his parents but other than that it was almost as if he didn't have his own personality or life outside of the female lead. I almost would have preferred it too if the FL's character development of living her own life wasn't shown only through whether or not she let herself date this guy.

Other than that, this was actually pretty light-hearted and I loved how it depicted the hearing impaired community. This movie is representation done right.

Leia Mais

Wholesome

This was actually a really fun Princess and the Pauper kind of story — overall really wholesome, though also really cliche. I really liked the relationship dynamic between all of the characters, but I do think that maybe more time would have allowed the drama to go more into depth on a lot of interesting topics that they kind of only scratched the surface of (saesang culture, idol pressure, etc.)

I wasn't a huge fan of the ML; though he had a subplot and background it felt like actual character development was a bit thin. Other than that, this was still a pretty lighthearted watch and I'll still tune into the second season!

Leia Mais

Nonsensical and over-the-top

I get the appeal of an alpha FL/beta ML dynamic but this was not the way I wanted it to be done; the power dynamic was just way too one-sided and it made the relationship seem more physically and emotionally abusive than funny. Despite the ending (which was a nice touch) I felt like the female lead's personality was air-headed and high-maintenance to the point of being just downright unlikeable and annoying.

The plot was actually quite fun for most of it (especially the way they met) but as the plot progressed it kind of lost me; it felt like there was no plot, and sometimes things happened that felt either nonsensical or unnecessary.

This is a light-hearted watch for sure but I'm not sure it aged well.

Leia Mais

Beautiful cinematography and great message, but a little overdramatic

This was almost the perfect melodrama. I really loved the way they portrayed differing worldviews between different characters based on different upbringings.

The relationship between the FL and SML were undoubtedly the best part of this movie; I kind of wish they'd have gone more into that because it was short-lived and kind of one-sided. Other than that, the SFL also was a really great character and I also wish she got more screentime. The pacing overall was okay, but plot points aren't really explained much. This movie is more about the feeling.

The anti-bullying message was really powerful, but I kind of wish it didn't get so explicitly didactic near the end of the movie with all the political and legal references.

With that being said, I think sometimes the way the movie was filmed really felt just a tad bit over-the-top, with monologues that were beautiful but so literary sometimes it kind of took me out of the movie because "who talks like that?" Other than that, the filmography is pretty great; there's a lot of time dedicated to montages and stuff though, so if you like a more in-the-scene sort of movie, this isn't it.

I really liked the ending (unfortunately I didn't really cry at all) but overall this was a decent watch.

Leia Mais

A little endearing but mostly cringy and over-the-top

This is pretty much what I expected from a 2011 Taiwanese rom-com; it's a lot of ridiculousness and slapstick humor, and a lot of the main female lead just bumbling around, being clumsy, overreacting, and making questionable decisions.

Something about this is a little endearing — I appreciate the absolute mundaneness of the male lead, and of the entire situation, despite many of the plot points being common tropes.

However, the weakness of this movie is really with its characters; the male lead is mundane but uninspiring, the female lead is dramatic to the point of being cookie-cutter. It's pretty unclear why they fell for each other, and the addition of a mean female second lead felt pretty unnecessary. The positives were the aunties, who were pretty much there for comedic relief and succeeded at doing exactly that.

Leia Mais

Fun and endearing

This was a really nice no-brain watch; there were moments that were quite endearing and yet had harsh and realistic implications for the larger policing system. At the same time, because of the humor, I found it hard to feel invested because there never felt like there were high stakes. You always knew things would work out in the end, and even at the most harrowing parts the movie never felt serious.

Even so, this movie worked well as a comedy — KHN and PSJ have really great chemistry together and the bromance scenes in this have become so iconic it was fun to see.

Leia Mais

Could not connect with it

There were some good parts that I (objectively) could tell were good moments of build-up or touching moments, but for some reason I was never able to fully connect with (and distinguish between, tbh) all of the characters.

For that reason it also just felt like the movie was a little longer than it had to be — a lot of it was about people I didn't really care much for.

I think perhaps I've just seen too many war movies and this one didn't do anything different, so nothing about it stood out to me (other than the fact that there was no plot armor for the main characters, one thing I appreciated).

Leia Mais

Slow burn, different

So this one was so different from the rest of the other Rurouni Kenshin movies; it was much more of a slow burn and less of an action flick, but it still fit perfectly into the franchise.

It was kind of odd watching this and already knowing everything because I had watched The Final before, but that didn't stop this from being any less enjoyable. I'm a sucker for these sort of tragic origin story romances, and this movie was no different.

I loved the chemistry between the two leads, and I loved how the plot played out with its small nuances and future references. There were a little less action scenes than I had wished for (the first two movies had the best fight scenes I'd ever scene) but I understand that that wasn't the focus of the movie.

Leia Mais

Great vibes and story, but needs more

I felt like the allegory here was really captivating and I actually loved the entire vibe of the movie — I know there have been complaints about the CGI and VFX but I had no issue with it; it actually fit in with the vibe of the movie really well.

I really liked the theme of betrayal as well, but for some reason, I felt like it didn't really have the same impact that it tried to have. I kind of have mixed feelings about the dual timeline style — I did like how things were revealed later on, but the way it also played out also seemed to dull some of the power of the reveals.

I don't love the plot itself and how social/political decisions were partly romance-driven; it always seems to cheapen plot developments to me.

Leia Mais

Endearing sometimes

There were some parts of this that were endearing and funny; something about how old it is filled me with nostalgia.

That's not to say that this movie was perfect by any means — it was really really cringey and overall I wish it had gone in more deeply on the plastic surgery/kpop industry instead of just sort of treating it like a plot device. The romance was something I could have done without as well, although I do have a soft spot for the Secret Identity trope.

Another plus for this movie is that the songs are genuinely catchy — I wish they dived more into that as well, you could sort of tell some of it was just included in order to show the actress' singing chops.

Leia Mais