Watched/Completed in 2025

It's reminiscent of the kdramas I fell in love with. I really loved it. It's a simple enemies to lovers plot. It was cute and fun. It can be predictable, but I was expecting it to be so. The main cons I can think of is that there is a disconnect between the older actors and the actors playing their younger selves. The younger actors killed it. The older actors weren't horrible, but there was less chemistry. Also, FL felt like a weaker actress in comparison. Another annoying factor was ML's dad. He was over the top annoying with his revenge obsession. It was a bit too silly in that aspect. I like how no one was truly evil though, except for the main antagonist.

Short Review: The first half was boring. It struggles with pacing issues, bogged down by an overabundance of characters who fail to leave a lasting impression despite the star-studded cast. It's filled with boring scenes of men discussing, planning, and excessively smoking in a dark room. This slow buildup feels tedious, making it difficult to invest in the story or its players.

The second half becomes more thrilling as the plan to assassinate General Ito comes into fruition. It is packed with more action and suspense. One thing I loved is how they depicted the inner conflict of one of the characters. The film takes a nuanced approach to representing certain historical figures such as General Itō Hirobumi. The climax was intense. There was great use of sound mixing to capture the thrill and suspense of certain moments. Overall, this patriotic film is a great one time watch. I don't think I'll be watching again unless I'm a huge fan of war or historical films.

I suffered. I suffered so badly. It was mainly due to the episode length. This drama went on for way longer than it should have. Don't get me wrong, it's got some solid jokes and comedy in it that had me laughing, but that ended in the second half. I liked the "modern" scenes better than the "ancient" ones. ML + FL's lil bro duo was the cutest. There was also a sweet Flower King. That's about it. I didn't care for anyone else. This is basically a B-list production with cheap graphics. The plot is a mix of overused tropes (girl goes to ancient times and ML with the fish out of water story). I really think they should've ended it at halfway point when the first arc ends. They added this unnecessary, draggy, and repetitive second arc involving the SL that no one asked for. Basically, ML gets severely injured in a fight or is on the verge of death, they go to great lengths to save him, and then he aggravates his injury again and is on the verge of death again. This just repeats for like 4 times. The ending had a lot of holes in it that they never go back and address.

It's a remake of a South Indian film (Drishyam) and they maintain that style of direction. It was personally too overdramatic for me, especially for a cmovie. The suspense was good I guess.

This light drama was just what I needed at the moment. Don't be deceived by the title though. Just because FL is a comedian and the title has the word "smile" in it doesn't mean it's all fun and games. The drama has its serious side with many heartfelt scenes that can make you teary eyed. FL can be a bit annoying and dumb, but her smile is infectious. ML has his problems too, which can also get annoying, but I liked seeing his *very* slow growth. I was really rooting for the guy. I feel like the stand up comedy bits weren't that funny. Maybe it's a cultural difference/preference or maybe stuff got lost in translation. What annoyed me was the toxic parents of some supporting characters. Also, it annoyed me how irresponsibly piss drunk characters would get in this drama...especially the FL. The drama still ended up being worth the watch for me. It's cute and managed to make me smile and laugh. Also, the soundtrack was very pleasant to listen to, even if they might have overplayed the intro song to get their money's worth. xD Oh, and I absolutely loved how it ended. It was a perfect conclusion to the main romance arc.