배신을 하면 공멸하지만 협동을 하면 모두에게 이익이 되는 심리게임.

Were you a strategic mastermind in high school? Intelligent enough to build and maintain your own little North Korea in your class and astute enough to instigate a rebellion and tear the empire down? Was your entire school full of lesbians? I don't think so. And that's why we have K-dramas - to see these wild exciting plots come to life!

Since the emphasis on the "game" is stated right in the drama title, I felt compelled to compare just how much of a game was the bullying system that Baek Ha Rin created. If we take Johan Huizinga's play theory, the first element of the equation doesn't seem to match. In his definition, a play:
1. Is a voluntary activity.
2. Separated from ordinary life.
3. Has a distinct location and duration.
4. Demands absolute order.
5. Connected with no material interest.

But weren't you free to not download the Pyramid Game app? Myeong Ja Eun automatically becomes one of the victims when she declines to participate in the voting. If you're punished for not playing, that's not really a game anymore, is it? If Pyramid Game was never a game in the first place, it means that Ha Rin's superiority to the rest of the class was superficial, she wasn't even a charismatic leader. This imitation of freedom is often executed in authoritarian and totalitarian states, and all of them are held up by fear, not the mythical "respect" for the dictator.

Rather than having to deal with a consolidated cult, Seong Soo Ji parachutes in a fertile soil for a coup d'etat, and it makes her task in the drama easier. The main part of the story is Soo Ji navigating her way through the new class in the all-girls school that she transferred to. The whole drama is one big trigger warning for violence and school bullying, and you should consider that before watching. The scenes of violence evoked such primary rage in me, good thing they are only on screen. The scale of violence is almost equal to The Glory, and the eerily smooth intro with cool colors and definite shapes is certainly inspired by it.

The best part of the drama is THE GIRLS. Literally every communication between any of them is low-key or high-key sapphic. Our fantastic couple Lim Ye Rim and Shim Eun Jeong steal the spotlight every other episode. Bona's fiery eyes were a whole another character on their own, but my favorite actress is Oh Se Eun playing a firecracker Song Jae Hyeong with a thing for muscular shoulders. She's such a playful and bright little fox, she caught my attention earlier with her memorable performance in Duty After School.

There are many things that felt off in this drama, including the superficial introduction of the prisoner's dilemma, and there's a lot I can't put my finger on. But I don't feel the need to emphasize the bad parts if this beautiful lesbian world is spinning and making us happy!

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스무살 빚쟁이 이야기

I not gonna pretend I'm an expert in gay mini dramas, but from my experience you can rarely find one of a decent level. You Make Me Dance is among the best of the BL genre (yet. from my experience).

'음악 없이도 춤은 출 수 있습니다. 심장 박동만 있으면.'

🔸️I couldn't miss it out because it's the debut of Choo Yeong Woo (main role in Oasis that I'm currently watching) . And I can't believe it's only his debut, because the level of his acting is already higher than some of the more acclaimed actors. He has a quite powerful warm energy, and potential both dramatic and comedic. This casting is probably the strongest part of the drama as the chemistry between the characters works well.

🔸️While they couldn't miss a couple of unreasonable "taking the shirt off" scenes and tropes, the story overall is relatively reasonable. The dance major student was abandoned by his mother right after attaining full age and left in debt. Shi On was dancing for his mother in hope of her to be proud of him, but soon after she stopped texting Shi On he needed to fill the emptiness in his heart with another person.

And here I would love something dark and toxic. E.g. Hong Seok turnes out to be just the same as his mother because Shi On has attachment issues.
BUT HEY, WHO NEEDS DARK IF IT'S ENJOYABLE NOW?

'나 그 어른이라는 말이 세상에 제일 싫어. 어른이란 말로 통제는 게 너무 많아.'

Yet it's still mentioned how hard it's for Shi On to navigate adulthood. Sadly, this topic is not developed further.

🔸️Overall, the drama is warm, bittersweet, sometimes funny and naive. The acting is better than expected, the third party embarrassment is not strong (so maybe don't go for it if you enjoy extreme lol). The story is not outstanding, but the actor Choo Yeong Woo almost made me cry.

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내가 120살 넘었고 이런 아이 같은 짓이 해야 겠느냐!

A drama about a divine creature nurtured on chocolate bars? The drama about a priest becoming an idol? The drama about the price you pay to become popular? It could be one of the best shows about idols if the screenwriter held onto those concepts and developed a strong story.

🔸️When I watched The Heavenly Idol I saw nothing but the land of missed opportunities. It looks like the creators don't have the concept of the world they're making, no wonder the worldbuilding contradicts itself all the time. Take the first scene at the concert: you could've film it like it's an evil coven for Lembrary, and people jump around like demons in hell.

- 좀 더 애틋하고 섹시한 느낌으로 한 가요?

- 언젠가 이 세상 '섹시란 섹시한' 다 부태워버린다!

🔸️Kim Min Gyu saves the remains of the drama with his charisma. He balances playfulness, quirky habits and serious feelings in his character. Especially compared to the villain played by Lee Jang Woo. The casting has made a terrible mistake on him, not to mention the vaguest motives of the Devil and his vulnerability to domestic abuse.

'절 보고 살아길 힘을 얻는 사람들 위해 아이돌을 하고 있습니다.'

🔸️Despite its childish and irresponsible approach, the drama is still loveable for me. There are genuinely warm and funny moments that don't try to preach the audience, just being in the moment. All the shows Wild Animals visits look and feel fake, but I personally like it because it shows how cruel the industry and fans can be towards idols for a smallest mistake.

'좋아하는 아이돌 사진이랑 영상 보고 힘을 얻는 사람들이 많거든요.'

🔸️I started thinking: who is an idol, really, and why do people like them? They're not actors, not simply singers and dancers but breathing creatures that we want to see as innocent angels. They are meant to be role models for some, entertainers for others, and in my case they're inspiration. I'm glad I can find support in someone's art while going through tough times. I find portraying idols as usual puzzled clumsy people refreshing. Even though we didn't get a chance to get to know all the members, there was a couple of funny moments to substitute the utter lack of chemistry.

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"또 다시 돌아갈래!"

🔸I instantly recognized that cold agony described incredibly well in the book "Human Acts" by Han Kang. In my opinion, you won't get nearly as much if you come watch this movie unprepared, not having learned at least what the Gwangju Uprising was and what the deepest scar it left on the Korean society. From the logline I expected a highly personal story of a man traumatized by the Uprising. (The main character is both mentally and physically traumatized here.) But, just as always in Korean cinema, I got the story deeply rooted in societal moods and national fate.

🔸️You simply cannot tackle the theme of that trauma if you're afraid to descend into the blood and shit it brought to the people. Lee Chang Dong isn't. Nobody is justifying Yeong Ho here. It's a very shallow perspective to express in the comments. The director just shows that his life could be different if he wasn't caught up in that massive tornado. There are hundreds and thousands of those like Yeong Ho. The Massacre and political repression destroyed the lives of those who seemed braver and stronger than him.

This is the type of movie that gets better on the rewatch when you know the context. Sure as hell I'm gonna rewatch it, and I intend to pay more attention to all the elements of this piercing ensemble.

Fantastic score. Amazing finding with the train. The actress Kim Yeo Jin from Vincenzo is so young here. I love it for her that her career is good.

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당신이 좋은 이유? 그저 그 사람이라서. 바로 너라서.

I started this first part of the Reply family hoping to get to the bottom of the odious goat bleating sound effect that all the three dramas were riddled with. Needless to mention I didn't find its origins. It just exists. But I was very surprised to stumble upon a respectful representation of gay character Joon Hee. It would probably be a lot to ask for a happy ending of his love line in 2013, but at least there were no mocking or deliberately "awkward" situations to make fun of his feelings.

The main nostalgic attraction point of the drama is the first wave of K-pop with H.O.T. and SECHSKIES and cultivated insanity of K-pop fandoms. The female lead Shi Won spends a considerable amount of runtime in lines to concerts and fan meetings and makes it a part of her personality. The male lead Yoon Jae though spends most of the time struggling to confess his feelings to Shi Won, and by the end it gets quite annoying and stagnant. There is a lot of charm from the supporting characters because the writers don't shy away from portraying teenage awkwardness in relationships and "inappropriate" obsessions like porn tapes that influence their perception of dating.

I cannot leave out a giant walking screaming red flag that the teacher Yoon Tae Woong is. All the drama he is almost grooming Shi Won and buys her attention with expensive gifts so she, a high school student, would agree to date him, a rich adult man working at her school because Tae Woong's previous girlfriend was Shi Won's older sister who died. It's fucked up. And you know, it's obvious why Shi Won is susceptible to his grooming. Her own father is so crazy entitled that he finds it appropriate to tell his daughter she looks awful and to shave her hair for any "wrongdoing", and the boys in the drama agree with him. The grooming is portrayed as romantic and totally normal behavior while the dad's repulsive character is portrayed as humorous and caring. No, thank you, don't drag this shit to the next generation of K-dramas please.

If I had to rate the Reply series, it would go like this:
1. Reply 1988
2. Reply 1997
3. Reply 1994
If you have watched 1988 you don't have to look into the other ones as they're on absolutely incomparable levels of quality and you won't find anything new. But Reply 1997 is much more laid-back and gives you the vibes of both 2013 and 1997. It's a double nostalgia shot.

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"I did not lie to you. English lie is hard"

The best way to wrap up this film would be to interweave the two stories about the unsuccessful Japanese writer and the unfortunate Korean actress so that the woman all this time has been the character in the writer's novel, to end with the interview with the journalist scene. It would make a great complete story. Right now you're going for it, but it just doesn't feel eloquent.

🔸I'm very offended that they repeat several times that writing and acting is lying, and then don't explore that claim.

Let's break it down. What is the purpose of lying? To conceal some unpleasant information, to manipulate somebody. What is the purpose of acting/writing? To open up your feelings, to be honest, to conduct them to the audience - which some may argue is also a sort of manipulation. Both acting/writing and lying require special skills to make people believe. If you believe in things that don't exist and you're telling about them, then it's not really lying, it's your own truth. So let's examine this similarity! Let's go from here. Seriously, guys, what you're so busy with slacking off on this gold mine of a story?!?

And why is the title translated as "Worst Woman" if it is actually "Worst Day"? The perspective changes from the perspective of Eun Hee to some misogynistic one, as Eun Hee is such a "bad" partner for both of her toxic exes.

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The dull middle child of Reply

This is the specimen of the famous Reply trilogy that I highly DO NOT recommend dedicating your time to. There is neither the charm of the first Reply 1997 nor the emotional complexity of the hit Reply 1988. Nor there was created an ambient nostalgic vibe to keep it afloat.

🔸Even though this boring middle child of the trilogy was twice as big as its seonbae 1997 and hit 10% viewership rating, it essentially has nothing to say but offer a demographic group some historical recap to ponder upon. The years 1994-1995 were memorable for South Korea as the era of 삐삐 pagers and rapid progress, but I didn't see much life in the screenplay that would shadow that global change on the characters. There are also no good period needle drops - not a single song I wanted to hear more than once!

The characters have their moments, but during the 90% of the unjustifiably long runtime they are very predictable, vague and boring. Never did I feel any human connection with them but in one episode with the medical student Bing Geu Re who couldn't bear the dread of pursuing his parents dream and wanted to follow his own calling. The writers ruined that storyline later, and it felt like they killed all the hope for this drama. Many viewers will also find the actress Go Ara playing Na Jeong inauthentic and ungenuine, or simply annoying. Not to mention the romantic storyline and a kiss played by an 18 y.o. girl and a 30+ grownup actor.

Although, one good thing about the casting is that all the actors in the hasuk were born in the provinces and spoke authentic saturi. I enjoyed hearing it so much!

🔸I am particularly dissatisfied with the drama because my own parents belong to the generation that "saw both the analog and digital world", albeit not in Korea. To be young in the early 90s was a very challenging and exciting experience. I was hoping to see that enthusiasm, ardour and rebellion, and also the life circumstances that made the young adults mature so fast. I was hoping I could understand my parents better. Unfortunately, the drama brushed all over the underlying events and emotions confining barely to the trite question "who will Na Jeong be married to".

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A Potentially Problematic Tale

Why do I feel like Eun Ji was inspired by Mathilda from Leon?

This is a drama about the intellectually handicapped man wrongly accused of s=xual assault of the little girl he was friends with, and the consequences that come with the societal shame that ruins his life and cuts the ties with the people who communicated with him before. It's definitely on the tear-jerker side as it's supposed to show how certain people are defenseless in front of the world if there is no one ready to help. But, honestly, if there was no evidence proving Seok Gu's innocence, how else would you expect the society to react?

🔸The final shot with Seok Gu looking into the camera and breaking the 4th wall should've never happened. For the ending to be more tear-jerking, it would be much more effective if the camera was far away from him showing his unprotectedness to the world. Breaking the 4th wall you are asking for action, but for which one? Legally, the issue was resolved pretty fairly. Socially, there are enough real s=xual perpetrators already that were let slide because nobody believed they could commit such crimes. I don't think you should have strong faith in each and everyone's innocence, if you're asking us for that.

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"그러니까... 나 좀 구해주세."

There have been fewer dramas about solo K-pop singers with a truly moving and outstanding screenplay. Until now! This drama shows how the performers not only have to compete with each other but fight their own fears and regrets as well.

🔸The wide scale of an ocean with myriad stranded islands and of Seoul seething with individuals aspiring to become someone is the ultimate metaphor for the show about breaking free to pursue your passion. The theme combination of domestic violence/not being allowed to dream and performing arts makes it even more impactful and relatable, as for me. Abusers don't deserve to be remembered, passionate artists do.

🔸It is definitely a terrible exaggeration to imagine 15 to 10 years for Mok Ha to stay in great physical and vocal shape on the deserted island. It's so much more effective to demonstrate how fast the world - specifically, the K-entertainment industry - changes if the period of Mok Ha's isolation lasted 7 or even 5 years. In addition, it would be great if the story included Mok Ha's attempts to preserve her voice, practice guitar chords on some bamboo stick and composing songs with the sounds she could imitate with improvised tools. As we all know, it is art and creation that helps you cope with difficulties and heal your traumas.

Said that, Castaway Diva is still the most wholesome and inspiring story that takes its place in my heart forever. Thank you, amazing actors and the crew! Park Eun Bin's saturi sounds so cute, and the young actors did an incredible job!⚡

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"누구든, 의심해야죠. 그건 내 직업이니까."

🔸️How hypnotizing the two leads are! They both resemble two feral territorial cats fighting for domination - and very shrewd ones! Shin Ha Gyun's magnifying asymmetrical eyes stare right into the depth of your soul, and they just won't let you go. Yeo Jin Gu and Shin Ha Gyun are the ones who make this show work because, honestly, the screenplay alone wouldn't be engaging enough for me. Just like any other crime/thriller it focuses a lot on the antagonist supporting characters we don't want to observe for an extended period of time. Instead, who would refuse to watch Han Joo Won and Lee Dong Sik filling the screen with borderline erotic tension and hold onto each other in the moments of pain?

🔸️Other K-drama directors produce, Shim Na Yeon creates. She is the master inside a genre. If it's a drama - Good Bad Mother - then it is deeply traumatic and affectionate. If it's a crime - Beyond Evil - then it throws you head-first into the darkness. The editing - that could be irregular like in any TV project - is under perfect control; the actors are living through their characters; the score is filled with passion. What will this wonderful director gift upon us next?

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"우리집은 진짜 왜 이렇지?"

Just as I expected, The House of Us by Yoon Ga Eun is far more mature than it's ressentimental predecessor The World of Us, and far more skillfully written and shot. The kids in the story are left parenting themselves, feeling obliged to care for their parents and their wellbeing. And they actually try to deal with all those problems they face, everyone in their different ways, and they discover something unique as a result of their journey.

"언니가 계속 우리 언니 있을 거지?"

This is such a great progress from the director and amazing acting from the kids. I hope we soon see her first post-pandemic movie, because currently this one is the latest released.

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"우리 엄마 나한테 한번도 예쁘단 말을 해준 적이 없거든."

Happiness for the two young lesbians!
🔸One of a few dramas that go beyond just "everybody wants to look like idols, teenagers are suicidal, and social media is bad". The story unleashes its full potential with all ways and underlying reasons to get respect and acceptance in a society. There is much more violence in the world than school bullying, and disregard is another contributing part of it.

The identity of the actress Lee Han Byeol who played the first Kim Mo Mi was revealed on a press conference just before the premiere. That's quite an interesting move, also considering that this role is her debut, and she absolutely nailed it! I hope to see her more and I hope that Korean entertainment industry will slowly shift its unflinching standards of beauty.

🔸I've been waiting for this drama for about a year, and hell it paid off! I just love how Kim Wan Seon's electrifying "Dance in the Rhythm" contributes to the energy of the show. Wasn't it in Reply 1988 too? My favorite song of her has been "Let's forget it", but looks like I'm about to change the favs.

I absolutely loved the episode about Mi Mo and her friend, both the writer and the young actress made such an amazing hedgehog-like strong personality who desperately needs love, protection, and understanding. 💚

Overall, the drama felt like the mix of Celebrity and The Glory, talking both about popularity and revenge. The amazing actress Yeom Hye Ran who also performed in The Glory made me want to murder her character so bad. 😅

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"귀신보다 더 무서운 건 사람이에요."

What could be better than Kim Tae Ri fighting demons? Kim Tae Ri, Oh Jeong Se and Hong Gyeong fighting demons. A truly stellar invincible cast.

🔸I feel the beginning could be much more exciting. The story could play with the viewer's expectations regarding the existence of supernatural powers. You could throw in evidence for both humans' and spirits' involvement in a felony, and let the detectives battle with professor Yeom. The middle part is also pretty monotonous and doesn't bear much significance. There is no cat-and-mouse play, no riddles either.

🔸Yet I still appreciate the emotionally and visually beautiful ending. A sneak into the ancient Korean rituals and beliefs made me understand better why many elders believe in spirits and what traditions do they follow.

If you are about to watch Revenant, you might've picked it because of the cast, but be prepared for the thick layer of folklore and many grafic suicides as well.

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생일 축하합니다!

I haven't had my birthday celebrated for so many years. I can totally understand how you wait for that day to feel appreciated, and it turns out just like any other day that brings you closer to death and updates the count of "friends" who forgot about you.

🔸️As for the movie, one major issue, in my opinion, is that the rhythm doesn't really change making it hard to feel where is the beginning, climax, and the end. The movie is too shy, too quiet, just like the main character, and I would like it to stir me up a little bit more. Otherwise, it's still bottled up and not resolved. Yet I like this short a lot for its beautiful picture, vibrant environment, and good acting. 응원합니다, 감독님!

If you want to watch this short film, contact the director through email and request the link politely. The email address is [email protected]. (It took about a couple of weeks to get a response on mine)

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아름다운 청년 전태일 편히 쉬세요.

🔸️Can you imagine what level of despair one has to reach to set themselves alight and die the most horrible death publicly? Will their sacrifice change anything at all? In 5 years? And in 50 years?

🔸️Jeon Tae Il used his last resort by the end of the Third Republic of Korea. Two more Republics would change before the democracy is established, and many more bloody years were ahead. Self-immolation is not an effective form of protest but the most shocking one. It does leave an indelible impression on witnesses, making them question their situation. It is only up to the living if the horrible act of sacrifice has a real impact later. In case of Jeon Tae Il, it wasn't forgotten.

The camerawork in the movie is absolutely fantastic. The depth of shadows and light gives sometimes dramatic feel or sometimes the feeling of being trapped. The leading actor Hong Gyeong-In is perfect. It would easily go to my favorites if not for the slightly undercooked screenplay that made me stray in between the two story lines with the newest one less clear.

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