Completed
Seven Samurai
5 people found this review helpful
2 days ago
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 10

"When you think you're safe is precisely when you're most vulnerable"

Seven Samurai is not just a movie about fighting samurai, this film calls out the injustices prevailed on the common people by the warring ruling classes and class delineations. Kurosawa’s 3 ½ hour film would appear to be too long, and truthfully on previous viewings, I felt that way. But this time having learned to be comfortable with his world and character building, I settled in and watched as he wove a complex story out of a simple one. Kurosawa is a master at teaching and rewarding patience.

“You all make great scarecrows. Problem is, the enemy isn’t a bunch of sparrows and crows.”
A small village of peasants whose crops are routinely plundered by the local bandits make a desperate all-in decision. Rather than risk starving and losing their women to the thieves they determine to find samurai hungry enough to protect them for food but not so strong as to be a more dangerous alternative than the bandits. Kambei is recruited first after he rescues a small child from a thief. From there Kambei puts together a team of six willing samurai. A seventh “samurai” refuses to be dismissed and follows them anyway. Kikuchiyo will prove vitally important as a link to the farmers. Kambei develops a plan to protect the village from 40 bandits on horses and armed with muskets with only seven warriors and untrained villagers with bamboo spears. Though the odds are not in their favor this new team of uneasy allies does not back down.

“In life, one finds friends in the strangest places”
The story occurred in one of Kurosawa’s favorite settings, the Sengoku period during the 16th century. While the classes were separated, there was still miniscule room for movement. At the same time, there was a belief that poverty and suffering was the fate for peasants and many of the samurai interviewed refused to help them. There was no reward, no chance for glory or increased rank, no lord to serve. Only those who enjoyed battle or were hungry or had sympathy for the peasants were willing to join.

“Who turned the farmers into such monsters?”
Civil wars had been devastating for the peasants who always have the smallest of safety nets in any time period. For these farmers, the samurai were not much different than the bandits. In a key scene, brilliantly played by Mifune Toshiro, Kikuchiyo upbraided the six when they were horrified to discover armor the farmers had stolen or killed fleeing samurai for. He quickly put things in perspective. Samurai murdered, pillaged, raped, and burned just as the bandits did only under the guise of “honorable” warfare, the end was the same for the farmers. Inviting samurai into their village could be the same result as bringing a tiger to the front door to chase wolves out the back. Someone always coveted the valuable rice and barley the farmers grew. Powerless farmers were left with little to barter with except their women and their lives keeping them in a perpetual state of fear.

“By protecting others, you save yourself”
Samurai Heihachi designed a flag displaying the growing cooperation between the disparate groups. Kambei and Kikuchiyo along with the other samurai and lead peasants forged a transformation of societal boundaries. The two sides slowly learned to trust each other building something new and important. But would it last?

“There’s nothing heroic about selfishly grabbing for glory”
Kurosawa regular Shimura Takashi played Kambei Shimada, the leader of the samurai. This is by far my favorite role of his despite loving Ikiru. Shimura was calm, wise, wily, and also had a sense of humor. He owned every scene he was in and it was quite believable that he instilled confidence and commanded respect from both samurai and villager. His performance was brilliant as the leader who eschewed the need for glory and demanded complete selflessness. Another Kurosawa regular, Mifune Toshiro, and one of my favorite actors, played the slightly and sometimes not so slightly, unhinged Kikuchiyo. It was a role similar to the one he played in Rashomon. Overflowing with kinetic energy and emotion, he never stepped out of character, never reverted to the ultra-cool samurai he was capable of playing. Kimuro Isao as the youngest samurai, Katsushiro, displayed the awe of the men around him and the fear of first battle and first love. The other samurai were capably played and carefully developed as individual characters instead of bland backdrops. Even several peasants were highlighted.

“I defended my post”
Using his three-camera technique for the first time, Kurosawa blended the action to convey the tension of death and battle. His customary blowing dust skittered across the scenes as moods changed. While there was emotional music, his most successful background sounds for me were the beating drums of war approaching even as songbirds sang and flowers bloomed. As the rain fell during the final battle, it was hard to distinguish samurai from peasant. Side by side they fought viciously and heroically regardless of the consequences, regardless of rank, regardless of whether they or their alliance survived. Seven Samurai fought not only bandits but distrust and social injustice with only one side in the triangle of power capable of winning. If you can let Kurosawa slowly envelope you in this world he created with good and evil and every shade of gray in between you’ll be rewarded with a captivating film superbly made.

27 March 2024

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Completed
Twinkling Watermelon
4 people found this review helpful
by Twizz
2 days ago
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 3.0
Story 2.0
Acting/Cast 6.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Charming Characters with Frustrating Storyline

Recently, I have a bad experience with all these new dramas with an overwhelmingly positive reviews and ratings. So, I went on with the intention of changing my opinion on this one, but sadly, that didn't happen.

I have watched enough dreams to distinguish what the writers main focus is on, which definitely not the story in this one. Their main focus was just to capture the attention of the audience by charming and endearing characters when they couldn't make up for the lose and boring storyline.

1st episode after the second one, it started to get boring. I get it that every drama has a boring phase but this one just didn't get better. Boring, dragging and remains always the same. Everything that happens seems like a straightforward continuation of what was previously established. When it comes to the characters they have a mindset of a 10yo. No one was willing to give up anything in order to get what they want and in the end there were no negative consequences , only the positive ones.

In conclusion mostly teenagers and new audience are the watchers for this show who calls everything they watch a masterpiece. Hope soon mature audiences will pick up the show and the ratings will got down a bit. The storyline remains unfinished in the end and the fate of several characters remains undecided.

Final Note: Don't trust MDL ratings and waste your time on this one there are many drama's better than this one.

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Completed
Cherry Magic
1 people found this review helpful
2 days ago
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.5

i like it, really recommend it.

This series is really good, I really like it and really enjoy every second, minute and every episode, basically this is a really recommended series,

In fact, almost every romantic moment I kept screaming so enthusiastically, that I thought my family at home was crazy, hahaha

Well, it can't be helped, this series is that good,
That's all from me, basically
"very good" and a recommendation too.

i love you ???????























i like it.
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Completed
#Remolove: Futsuu no Koi wa Jado
0 people found this review helpful
by Ciepao
2 days ago
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

This is Grass Mochi 2 writing

Since this is a short drama, all episodes are simple and fast-paced. This is my first drama seeing a doctor working in an office, and I had fun watching. I love how the relationship between Aobayashi and Ozakura Mimi doesn't feel forced, and they took their time getting to know each other. They depict life when the COVID pandemic starts accurately. This drama is not only entertaining but also informative. All characters are adorable, but I find the tandem of Yagihara and Otomaki the cutest.

If you are looking for a fun and innocent love short Japanese drama, then you can try this one. I think I didn't hear any OST in this drama, but still, it is enjoyable. A 7/10.

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Ongoing 12/12
The Impossible Heir
1 people found this review helpful
2 days ago
12 of 12 episodes seen
Ongoing 0
Overall 2.0
Story 3.0
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Good storyline but the female lead cannot act. Might drop this drama

The casting and storyline are pretty good, but the female lead's acting isn't up to par, which is affecting how well the show does. I find myself skipping her scenes because she doesn't do a great job of showing emotions, and it's confusing. If they keep trying to force the main guy and girl to be together, I might lose interest. They should give more screen time to characters like Huiju to make the show better. Despite these issues, I stuck around until episode 10, hoping for some interesting twists with Huiju's character.
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Completed
A Killer Paradox
0 people found this review helpful
2 days ago
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 5.0

A fresh thriller that really needed a bit more time

Killer Paradox is an interesting K Drama as it’s plot in the first couple episodes is really interesting: it’s like a serial killer focused hero-esq story that starts really strong with cool visuals and incredible acting; however, it kinda falls short as it feels like the show should’ve had two-ish more episodes. The way I describe it is that it set up a plot, and then right when it got going you immediately go into the climax arc right when the main *thing* gets underway. It’s bizzare, worth a watch, but definitely not perfect.
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Completed
Lost in the Stars
0 people found this review helpful
2 days ago
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

"Explore the ruthless cycle of betrayal and karma's vengeance on the noble."

This is awesome in it's cinematography of night shots and whole movie is taken in red and black themed shots. Which will keep you hook up to the story till the end. For me, the plot is ok because i am a big fan of thrillers so i can except this kind of twists. If you are new and does not watch the thriller genre, you can give it a try! Everything is great in the movie like acting, as i said cinematography, Ost's everything is epic. Which will make you immerse in the ML's world, ML's guy acted so nicely because he is the hero as well as the villain too so to pull of both the characters is amazing. As i said in the headline, Karma is a Bitch, why i said that you will understand that by watching the movie. I believe that the most dangerous thing in whole world is "Betrayal". This movie also gives the reality of the society, which i personally loved it. The movie starts off nice, as the story progress it became predictable as a viewer , i feel this a drawback in the whole movie. The actors they have casted perfectly suited for that role, I have to give big round of applause to our hero and director selected the hero for this movie is the one of the perfect choice i have to say it.

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Completed
Always on the Move
0 people found this review helpful
2 days ago
39 of 39 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Golden Journey...

Contrary to the summary that mistakenly reminds one of communist propaganda series, is a very light-hearted series about the life of train employees who live together in a small neighborhood and go through small and big adventures. From the meeting about the theft of Mr. Wu's chickens to solving the problem of buying eight Phoenix brand bicycles for Sai Xuan's wedding. We can see everyone and couples who get married in this neighborhood and their love story on television.

This series has romance. The romance of the series is not much, but it is very charming and beautiful; But the most important and main point was Wang Xin's relationship with Makoi. A special student teacher relationship. Like a real father and son who go through many adventures together and learn many things from each other. We see how this old teacher guides his student and how he cares for the small and big people around him in his own way. Like the blind old man who was looking for his daughter or the shepherd who always waited at the station for Makoi to send him something.

You are going to live with this neighborhood. This series has all kinds of things in it. It never stops surprising you. Of course, in his own way. It's like riding a train for several years and living with its employees. It's like a train journey of several hours that you get off at the end of time and say goodbye...

The osts of the series are wonderful... especially the retirement speech of Sai Schwan, which made me cry at the same time as that ost played...

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Completed
Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka
0 people found this review helpful
2 days ago
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

A Series That Spins Its Wheels

This series looks and feels good, superficially. It had all the earmarks of being a very good story but fell so flat as the story progressed. It seemed to lack an ending that wanted to make a definitive statement; so, it chose to go cute. The series is just too short to develop any meaningful characters, which is a serious problem. It tried to be light fluff with a serious matter which I wish they would have treated with solemnity. Also, quit treating gayness with kit gloves. If you are going to show two men trying to be in love, give us something that shows that. It languished so much.

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Completed
19th Floor
0 people found this review helpful
2 days ago
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

In another world...

The series has an interesting script. The first half is emotional, and it goes more into the concept phase than the second half, which lowers the tension a bit. There is a lot of positive characterization growth for all the characters, but the characterization of the main female character is really difficult and the author completely transforms her into someone else.

It have romance. They are two couples who are very beautiful together, but I would have preferred the romance of the main couple in the series to have a different form and instead of childhood love, they gave us a hot couple, which is just my personal opinion. I wanted their feelings to spark during these games and I really wanted those romantic relationships...

The special effects of the series and the locations are really good. I don't say it's great, but it had good special effects. It was a successful series. action sequences were no joke. In some places, it was really stressful to watch. The theme song that was playing also helped in this matter. Between the osts, I loved the ending ost.

In short, if you are looking for a series in the style of survival game, it is interesting to see the series for once. If the screen writer had worked better at last 10 eps, it would definitely be one of my suggestions...

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Completed
Angels Fall Sometimes
0 people found this review helpful
2 days ago
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0

Humanity is still there...

This series has a very clean and well-crafted script that was not made just like that. The characteristic of screenwriters is to consult both with doctors specialized in this field and with a series of experienced psychologists and write the screenplay with full details about this issue. In the first part, they allow us to slowly see the life of Lin Tu and the people around him and immerse ourselves in his world until his sudden fall knocks us down, while being extremely sadistic, it was a neat thing...

The series has the most beautiful and thoughtful dialogues. From the name of the topic of each episode to the simple words between the characters, it remains like a treasure. The actors officially live this series. Step by step, completely sinking into their role as if it is not the world of a series, it is real.

The romance of the series is sad and at the same time sweet. The series is full of friendship and humanity that is still alive. The songs made me cry even more. Damn, sometimes I couldn't watch the series because I was crying so much. I would go and sit in a corner to stop crying and then come to him...

In short, this series became one of my most beautiful Chinese moderns. From the first part to the end, I only saw beauty and cried, but it was worth it. Let me say that this series is about a person who has an incurable disease. In short, it depends on your taste and, of course, your mental strength, whether you can watch it or not. For me, this series was really beautiful and I recommend it to everyone.

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Completed
Man Suang
0 people found this review helpful
2 days ago
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 2.0
This review may contain spoilers

فیلمی با خط داستانی عالی اما پرداخت ضعیف

بعد از دیدن تریلر و مخصوصا موزیک‌ویدیویی که از این فیلم منتشر شد، به شدت منتظر ریلیزش بودم. با انتظارات بالا و دید مثبت شروعش کردم... ومتاسفانه با ناامیدی به اتمام رسوندمش.
تیم تولید امکانات زیادی در اختیار داشت که میتونست به بهترین نحو ازشون استفاده کنه و یه اثر به یادموندنی بسازه:
بازیگر هایی که شناخته شده و محبوبن
خط اولیه‌ی قوی داستان
المان‌ها و اشاره‌های فرهنگی
طراحی لباس عالی
دکور و صحنه‌سازی باکیفیت و‌...
اما متاسفانه همشون قربانی فیلمنامه‌ی به شدت ضعیف و تدوین پیچیده و بی‌نظم شدن.

<اسپویل>
قرار بود خِم و وان که به اشتباه به قتل متهم شده بودن، برای پاک کردن نام خودشون به مان‌سوانگ بیان و اونجا اسناد خرابکاری یه عده که گمان میرفت در حال آماده‌سازی برای شورش بر علیه تاج و تخت بودند رو پیدا کنن.
بعد از اومدن به مان‌سوانگ هم فهمیدن با چاترا منافع مشترک دارن و تصمیم گرفتن همکاری کنن.

انقدر باگ فیلمنامه زیاد بود که واقعا نمیدونم چجوری فیلم رو تموم کردم و واقعا باید ازش چه نتیجه‌ای بگیرم؟
شخصیت‌پردازی‌ها به شدت ضعیف بود. وان دچار یه تروما بود که به شدت روی رفتارش تاثیر داشت اما هیچ جوره این تروما رو برای بیننده توضیح دقیق ندادن.
چرا خِم به این راحتی به چاترا اعتماد کرد؟
چرا صاحب مان‌سوانگ یجا در حال همکاری با فروشندگان اسلحه بود و چند روز بعد مقابلشون؟
هونگ فقط برای گیر انداختن یه مهره‌ی ساده مثل پسرعموش مرگش رو جعل کرد؟ و بعد از اونهمه تلاش برای افشای هویت فروشنده و خریداران اسلحه جلوی شاه راما، تقریبا هیچ اتفاقی نیفتاد به جز اینکه وان بی دلیل و احمقانه کشته شد.
صحنه‌های احساسی انقدر بدون مقدمه و در موقعیت‌های نامناسب قرار داشت که هیچ تاثیری نمیذاشت.
و در نهایت قرار بود به داستان یک رقصنده و نوازنده پرداخته بشه که کل تبلیغاتی که در این زمینه شده بود محدود شد به یکی دو سکانس که واقعا حیف بود.

برای یک‌ بار دیدن خوبه.
ولی به هیچ عنوان هیچ انتظاری ازش نداشته باشید.

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Dropped 20/24
Intense Love
0 people found this review helpful
2 days ago
20 of 24 episodes seen
Dropped 0
Overall 6.0
Story 5.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 5.0

started of fun but soon got boring

i started watching this drama with a lot of excitement, because i loved the drama's: ''love you seven times'', and ''romance of a tiger and rose'' in which ding yu xi is the main lead like this one. but i stopped watching after about 20 episodes. the reason for this is because it got boring for me, they got together pretty soon and after that there wasnt happening much so for me that was the reason to stop watching it. ofc, i dont know what happend in the next episode's but i was pretty disapointed.
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Ongoing 5/16
Queen of Tears
5 people found this review helpful
by Joshua
2 days ago
5 of 16 episodes seen
Ongoing 0
Overall 10
Story 1.0
Acting/Cast 1.0
Music 1.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Queen Kim Ji Won

I'll be honest... I don't know what I am watching... I think it's somewhat boring...and messy...and basic...

but I can't stop staring at Kim Ji Won, lady cast a spell on me. Was she always this beautiful?? Damn...

My rating is purely for Queen KJW.
I will revise again when I complete the show... I hope it gets better… Kim Ji Won I am still here…
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Completed
Why R U?
0 people found this review helpful
2 days ago
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

loved itt

I loved this drama..it's short and sweet...I'm not fan of very long dramas so this one was a short a plus for me
first of all I haven't watched the original so idk if this one has covered everything from the original drama..but if it did cover everything then hatss off to the maker of this drama since wrapping everything up within 8 eps that too like 20 mins each is no easy jobb

the actors were all nice...the story development was nice as well...just before this I watched "the director who buys me dinner" i didn't like it since it felt rushed and offered no development...while this one being almost the same length as the director who buys me dinner offered great development and the romance also didn't felt like it was just there for fansercice...the kisses ahhhhh gave me butterflies ahhh

but one thing to complain about is..the second couple like I like them but it just felt weird..like sunwoo says he can't date GO because GO is dating dohyeon but at the same time he also kisses him???? like doesn't makes sense...I didn't like that u don't kiss ur best friends mann bruhhh

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