Zíza

Apart from the fact that the film had plenty of tone-deaf moments, I was particularly bothered by its lack of balance and continuity. It starts out as a human drama that switches to a crime thriller, at which point supernatural elements are introduced, all for it to end with a view of the setting sun... It wouldn't have been so bad if the different elements had been well put together, instead of leaving me with the feeling that I'm watching three different movies at once. One of them about sibling love, the other about a psycho murderer, and the third about a misunderstood girl who sees ghosts, but thankfully finds someone who believes her. It's a shame, because I like Joo Won a lot, but it's as if I've never seen him in a single thing that was good as a whole. He's great, but the projects he chooses just kill me. To be honest, even now, shortly after having seen it, I don't really remember much from the movie. Which in my opinion doesn't say much about the quality of the film; for this reason I can't give it more than 2 stars.

Again – beautifully shot, some of the masks are excellent, but even though it is not that long, you get the feeling that it's taking forever; they aren't that great at creating the atmosphere and some things didn't quite make sense to me. But I guess I'm in the same boat as LangiJ; I didn't pay too much attention and probably "skipped" something. I think it would have been much better if it hadn't been a period piece, i.e. without the end of the war. And if instead of a rat the village had been taken care of by a proper virus... but that would be a different film.

I'll start off with a bit of a confession – historical TV series, above all the Korean ones, are really hard for me to stomach. For some time now I haven't been able stand them, or rather I find them terrible, there's always so much crying, wailing, and plotting. It's not a genre where I can relax or enjoy great performances because they're all the same – the same uniforms, the same teary and snotty faces because someone just killed someone they love. So I debated for a long time whether to give this series a try, but there was so much interest and praise that I wanted to know why. I very much enjoyed the beginning, and while I hated the eighth prince, that does seem to be the point of the show and his character. It's quite well filmed, great sound, and the actors showed they can act. Of course, the passing of the seasons, and indeed the passage of time altogether, did seem a bit clumsy to me. At times I was lost (especially at the beginning) as to how much of the time Hae Soo was actually there with them. Another thing that bothered me all the way to the end of the series was the language. It was so incredible that she understood them all and they understood her... well, except for a few expressions like “stress" or the “thumbs up" gesture. After all, that dynasty was established over a thousand years ago, not to mention the strong linguistic influences from China at the time. It's just not possible that the Korean language has been preserved like this for over a millennium and everything is relatively easy to understand. My point is not that the characters should have spoken the same language they spoke back then, my point is that they should have shown the differences that are definitely there in the language, which dear Hae Soo would have had trouble understanding. Just since they’re playing the historical accuracy card. Otherwise, I don’t really have anything to take issue with. For me, the historical series syndrome kicked in about halfway through and I stopped enjoying it. If the series had been shorter I probably would have enjoyed it more; now I’m leaving it feeling basically nothing. Yes, Lee Joon-Gi's acting was excellent, clearly the best of the bunch. IU was cute, she kept bugging those peepers so much you were afraid they were going to fall out. The princes were interesting; there was something for everyone. But it didn’t thrill me. Anyway, if you're not allergic to historical series, you'll like this. A better 3 stars.

I liked that the series is an accurate reflection of how religion works in Japan – the complicated intertwining of everything, the fact that just because one works doesn't automatically mean the other doesn't work or have substance. That's why I liked this syncresis. Another plus was the heroine, because she was exactly like a sixteen-year-old girl – she wasn't just relegated to the "he's handsome so I must automatically like him" box, but she wasn't a bitch either. She was just a real human being, and that's something I rarely see in a sixteen-year-old girl in anime. Otherwise, it's a perfectly ordinary ghost story, episodic, with the house in the mountains story sticking in my mind the most because of its atmosphere. If you're in the mood for exorcisms and a pretty decent group of people, don't skip this one. A weaker 4 stars.

Nice atmosphere, decently filmed for a series, excellent opening (visually), great sound, excellent teamwork between the three main characters – there's no sucking up but just pure police work, so thumbs up. But while I was watching the series, I actually realized I was bored. Although it had the makings of an interesting work, there was no spark jumped between us. What’s more, the seemingly intertwined character of the case was more of an inconvenience than a portrayal of a complex and sophisticated case. The characters' backstories didn't grab me either, I'm kind of hoping a great cop will come along who doesn’t have a painful past, but is just good. Once you grasped the principle on which the writers were basing their rules, none of the breakthroughs in the case were surprising, because even though it doesn’t seem that way at first glance, it's the same thing over and over again, so it became a bit empty over time (I may have to take it easy next time with all the analyzing so I can enjoy it more :-D). If you want a stylish crime drama with a complicated case, with no romance but an open ending... go for it!

It's a lovely story. About a family where a bunch of its members live under one roof along with the dusty old books they love. It has an interesting cast and a wonderful opening and ending. But while it has good moments, the series doesn't quite give the viewer warm and fuzzy feeling that so many other Japanese works do. The main thing that spoiled it was that everyone had their own personal tragedy, and yet the Hott family stepped in and everything was resolved right away. Quite theatrically at times. It's a nice series, if you want something to relax to, I'd say this is the one. But there are better ones that don't make do with some of the cheap crutches you find here. Plus the ending feels like it was kind of thrown together out of everything and the kitchen sink. But you can certainly smile and grieve with them. Other than the songs, though, I won't remember the show in a few days.

Good dialogue, strong female lead character, her man is a real man, it's all quite human and some things that tend to be glossed over elsewhere are handled here the way real people would handle them. And yet the writers still tried to help it along with terrible crutches that ticked me off (the motorcycle accident – it was so obvious and so unnecessary...). It's watchable, but it's soooooo looooong and it feels even longer. I had a hard time finishing it; even despite the pluses I had to push myself to watch the whole thing because I wasn't particularly interested or able to connect with the characters enough to really enjoy it. Anyway, it's not bad, anyone who likes relationship drama, a bit of revenge, and a medical setting should check it out and let me know if it meets their requirements. ;-)

It’s so rushed that you can't form any kind of bond with the characters and you don't care when they die. I suppose in the prequel some of the deaths were much more interesting and emotional, but it just doesn't work here when they die on a treadmill without the viewer being able to get to know them properly. That's why I was affected when they showed the backstory of one of the crew (I don't count Ito and Takei, that was kind of a joke), though it didn’t quite fit. Apart from proving that Japan has made progress with special effects, this doesn’t have anything to offer. Even though it has such a great cast, none of them can express themselves properly and basically everyone is either a maniac or one of those Shōnen-esque goodguys who scream when injustice happens and then stand up to "evil". Basically the only character I liked was Honda Ko, but that would also be because he was portrayed by Oguri Shun, who knows how to shine in a small space. A weak 3 stars. I'd say the viewer who will enjoy this the most is the one who knows the premise, all the relationships, and the past, present, and future of the characters...

It's not the best series under the sun, but it's such a treat and a joy to watch. They are all ordinary people that you can meet anywhere and anytime. It's a very sweet story that will warm your heart; there's not really even a single character I would cut. Not to mention that it's almost cliché-free and there aren't any of those artificial lubricants to move the story along. A mature story about two people who would rather have given up, but in the end proved to themselves that all was not yet lost. It’s just a sweet story that is fun to watch and can warm the cockles of your heart. That's all.

Four stars, but with a lot of blinders on. Basically, if you want interesting cases from a legal background, don't look too hard here. From that standpoint, it's completely mediocre. But if you're looking for interesting personalities, so you're not just looking for a single interesting character but for many more vivid characters with their own aspects, this might be what you're looking for. The verbal shootouts between the central duo were excellent, but pretty much all of the interactions between the staff of the Genghis law firm were of a very high standard. You're watching a work environment that isn’t fake or afflicted by the kind of rivalry where colleagues throw each other under the bus to get ahead. It's actually a nice change from all those shows where colleagues are assholes trying to outdo everyone else because the system demands it. There's not even any workplace bullying. From that point of view, it was very enjoyable to watch.