pjkblue-35926 Reviews

Resident Alien (2021– )

TWO SEASONS WAS ENOUGH

[6/10 · 26 May 2024]

Well, like many on here we pretty much gave Season 1 high marks. Season 2 definitely had less quality moments of dark humor and comedic nuance. It's the producers, directors and writers under contract that have to produce more shows and wring out every drop of pleasure that was evident.

The cast is quirky-good and they all have a "normal" look to themselves, meaning there isn't any "glamour", but as if you'd go to your local grocery store and they'd be shopping as well.

I was hoping that the series would resolve in the second season and have a traditional, somewhat feel-good ending, but it definitely felt like the train was coming off the tracks.

If they have a third season, which they probably will, I hope they keep the episodes to about eight and stop with the extraneous clutter.

Evil (2019–2024)

TEDIOUS AND LACKUSTER

[2/10 · 8 May 2024]

IngWell. It looked like an interesting series but for me, after four episodes, it was mostly blahhhh.

Katja Herbers' character comes across as a high school girl, with a subtle, yet constant smile on her face even in the most dire of moments; I always got the feeling she'd burst out laughing, not at all what you'd expect out of a seasoned, clinical psychologist. Even at home she acts like a teenager at a slumber party.

Mike Colter was passable, but even his character was prone to stupidity. Then there is the attraction that comes across between the two leads, which we see in fantasy segments.

Aasif Mandvi was a likeable character and it would have been much better as his character was a tech-sidekick paired with Colter as well as another actress with more of a serious affect in the role.

Michael Emerson was an excellent, creepy addition, but that too wears thin.

The four daughters...well, that was in step with the slumber-party household and Christine Lahti as the exy mother with a mid-life, party-girl personality. Don't think I'd want her babysitting my kids.

Leather pants and silver buckles...really?

I gave it up mid-way in the fourth show. Like I always say...at theast the cast and crew got paychecks.

My Country: The New Age (2019)

Fast Forward

[5/10 · 1 May 2024]

This could have been made into 10 episodes or even a 2 hour movie, but I guess they were contracted for 16 episodes.

1. I thought it started off good but then I had to fast forward through all of the swordfights and battles. Why is it in nearly every Korean film or series one guy is capable of knocking off large groups of the opponents. Seems like if the twenty or so just rushed the "hero" he would be done.

2. How many times are these people run through with swords or shot by arrows and never die? You'd think they had impressive medical technology for the1400s. Yet, people drop like flies in the sword battles.

3. They seem to like to wear blood on their faces all the time, right?

4. They are always allowing the "evil" characters so many free passes. If they killed-off their adversaries when they had to, I guess there would be very little intrigue in the storyline.

5. Love story? Even had to fast forward through much of the tedious dialogue and wistful looks. Are all the tears CGI?

Well, like I said it was okay, but it would have had a better interest level if it were shortened. But, as I've always said...the cast and crew get their paychecks.

Smoking (2018– )

OKAY...

[7/10 · 22 April 2024]

Japanese gang/political/cultural/crime bloodletting...it was okay and the dark comedy wasn't over the top...the actors were all above average.

One plenty of holes and weird stuff: Goro has not use of his arm in the final steel cage match, but then BINGO! He starts using it.

When all the "Cleaner" guards draw their guns in the office...why are they all in a circle!

The pacing was fine, you knew what to expect and the best thing was that the episodes were 23-minutes or so.

The one thing that did upset the crap out of me was the entire "romance" with Goro and Minami. It was going so well and then THEY KILL HER OFF!!! The writers couldn't have kept her in the series???

The Pentaverate (2022)

LIVE FROM THE TOILET

[3/10 · 30 March 2024]

It was okay in the first episode or two, with the absurd and sight gags and jokes that only a cretin would enjoy... Yes, it had funny, gross jokes at the start but then all that definitely wore out the welcome.

I give the make-up and Meyers kudos for the characters he played. I'm sure the effort was hearty, but the rest of the episodes I watched because at least they were under 30-minutes long.

Overall, it was like watching a tire rolling down the hill...you hope it falls over but it just kept rolling, rolling with no direction.

Dull, but the cast and crew got paid and that's the bottom line.

Detective Forst (2024– )

Two stars for snow...

[2/10 · 5 February 2024]

That about it: giving two stars for the snow-bound landscape.

The point to this series was pretty much a jumble of scenes that had zero in the way of connectivity. The characters were annoying, unlikable and you know the writers and storyline is crap when they kept putting in obligatory sexual scenes. They made Forst like some type of lothario. Really, writers?

It was a jumble, a mish-mosh of a storyline that never connects anything to anything. I thought it would get better as it went on, but in all honesty, six episodes was way too long for this nonsense.

So, if you liked this, so be it.

For me it was just plain bad.

Tale of the Nine Tailed (2020– )

BETTER THAN I THOUGHT

[9/10 · 20 December 2023]

I found few problems with the series, maybe a few scenes dragged but at least the writers didn't screw-up the ending, which turned out to be a happy one, that I'm sure viewers appreciated.

Sure, some things were not explained, some characters just appeared and others disappeared. The main characters were good enough and I know I was hoping for all the "couples" to get together. Even when his brother was reincarnated, that was a nice touch.

The female lead did a nice job going from sweet and cute to evil facial glares. I'd guess that the cast had a good time filming it. Overall, I liked the show and with that final episode: Yeon still has his powers and the character in the mask...probably means another season?

Misty (2018)

IT DRAGGED

[4/10 · 12 December 2023]

Sixteen episodes but it could have been whittled down to ten. Lots of meaningless scenes where the characters are being so reflective, with internal angst. Granted there are scenes that invoke a sense of drama, even melodrama, but these characters are just so morbidly mopey it's just blah moments.

The husband, the golfer and the first boyfriend are so insipidly weak and infatuated with such a cold and vindictive woman that it is well beyond belief, as well as each male being incredibly stupid.

The ending - last few episodes - were so jumbled. I guess the writers wanted to keep viewers guessing and it became an overstuffed bag of murder suspects.

My ending would have been similar to "Primal Fear". The lead anchorwoman is so conniving, so cold and heartless that she actually killed the golfer, but it worked out that she gets cleared of murder while someone else (one of the idiot guys) gets the jail time.

Strong Girl Nam-soon (2023)

ACTORS PAY DAY

[2/10 · 28 November 2023]

It was a very tedious bunch of episodes and could have been done in 8 or ten shows. The female lead is ridiculous and her bouncy, pixie-ish style was literally becoming clownish.

The ending? What ending?

Blahhh...it was a case where I didn't...couldn't care about any of the characters. There should have been a "Pavel" that made an appearance; perhaps there could have been a character twist where this character surprises the viewers...NOPE.

The entire concept was dumb from the beginning and I kept watching to see if the writers would get better...NOPE.

At least the cast and crew got their paychecks.

My Only Love Song (2017)

CUTE

[5/10 · 23 October 2023]

The characters were okay but the ending was dull. They could have made OnDal appear in the present day as a reporter or talent agent, not just popping out of bright lights from a shaky time warp. The biggest fault was that each episode was only +/- 25 minutes and the opening of each episode was five minutes of rehashing the previous one. That's why they have fast-forward buttons! It was entertaining at times and sometimes it was too drawn-out and sappy. A number of things were never explained and like previously written, the ending was rushed. I've seen better, I've seen worse. Oh, well overall it was okay.

The Pope's Exorcist (2023)

YUCK!

[2/10 · 17 August 2023]

Jeez, another muddling movie about the church, demons and possession. This was totally bad to the point of being laughable.

Always good to see the pre-adolescent boy become this monster of the underworld, but he can't seem to get out of bed.

The mother and are tossed into walls, mirrors and shelving but they somehow manage to escape any bodily injury, same for the younger priest who right from the get-go was flipped across a room and crashed into a glass armoire/cabinet in a hallway.

And how about the lights? No one brought any sufficient lighting?

No LED bulbs? Everything has a dark orange tint.

No one eats? No one goes to the bathroom? I can understand the "evil one" not having to do such routine things, but the other humans..."got no time for that!" Anyway, this was a pay day for the cast and crew.

Amen.

All of Us Are Dead (2022– )

ENTERTAINING

[6/10 · 9 August 2023]

One thing about Korean zombie films/series...it's a very fast pace. Like Train to Busan...that was a roller-coaster and you get out of breath just watching it LOL! Sort of... This was loaded with zombies running around with the assorted blood-letting that is commonplace.

Actually, they could have made it eight episodes since a lot of the scenes - like the high school romance stuff - was really out of place.

People are being bitten, eaten, torn apart, chased and beaten, but out of nowhere the writers toss in the teenage "I really like XXX" conversations. Like people in such a situation would be having chats about that. The last few episodes had so many scenes that dragged, so I did have to fast forward quite a lot, but it didn't have any effect on what I viewed. So I guess there will be a season #2 and hopefully they can pull it off in eight shows. But contracts are the name of the game so if NetFlix wants twelve shows...you know the cast and crew love to get paid.

I was an okay series.

Dream (2023)

MIDDLE OF THE ROAD BLAND

[5/10 · 30 July 2023]

Lots of character actors are in this one, but for me, I really didn't care for or have any "rooting" interest for any of them as they were written.

It wasn't like a "Karate Kid" or similar story where they come back to win in unique ways, overcoming their obstacles and going on an improbable winning streak... NOPE.

It was a subtle way of saying the wins are not important, the satisfaction of being competitive and "up against the odds" deal.

It jumped around a lot, lacked continuity and the acting was pretty much dull as if it was just mailed in, you could say.

Oh well, it was not painful to view, it just treaded water.

Kwaidan (1964)

Well, okay...

[5/10 · 29 July 2023]

I think foreign films especially from the early 1960s were a high quality. Watching this was came about by accident on VuDu.

I say that the first two stories kept my interest sort of like in the old TV show "One Step Beyond" style. They weren't "horror" but more thoughtful in that sense.

But, the third story about the blind servant and the ghosts of the sea battle, well, it was long, tedious and made to fast forward. As a note about the character: the story talks about his ability to tell a historical story in a song playing a biwa. Well, if that was considered any type of musical rendition it was horrible. At least when you enter music into a section, make sure you have a good singer and a more than adequate biwa player to convey the message. Granted, it's supposed to be fantastical, but that musical styling was a horror in it's own right.

The final story was dull as the water in the teacup. I couldn't watch it after five minutes.

Overall, two were good for me, two were bad.

Coming Home in the Dark (2021)

Only because...

[5/10 · 22 July 2023]

The atmosphere was quirky, dark and sinister.

Right from the get-go the two sons get killed-off, which was a bit of a surprise.

It was a ridiculous scenario.

Where did these two guys appear from... the wife kills herself by jumping into a river... the front seat captive doesn't even try to grab the wheel and cause the SUV to smash into the police car before they pass it... figures that the kid's car goes dead when they needed it most... a tire wouldn't explode like that but actually just slow leak... you never see Mandrake reload... Tubs is a silent mess, but gets teary-eyed in the end... Actors and crew at least were paid.

Backstreet Rookie (2020)

Well worth the episodes

[9/10 · 9 July 2023]

It was fun, entertaining with characters you pretty much can get into. There was one part that sort of dragged and was poorly written with the female lead just leaving in the 15/16 episode. Other than that there were so many things going on within the series it was a nice way to bounce back and forth with all the characters. The ending was cute and the best thing about Korean movies and series is that the cast and crew seem to really enjoy the process and the camaraderie on set way more than any American films or series. It probably is always the case but for the appearances, they sure get into it.

Oats Studios (2017–2020)

A MESS! ACTUALLY IT'S A MINUS TEN, NOT A 1-STAR!!

[1/10 · 4 July 2023]

These shorts are the worst I've seen for new, supposedly cutting-edge films/animation whatever or however you want to describe it.

Ten shorts are total...and I mean poorly written, poorly acted and the sense of creativity in what they think are plot lines are not of this earth, but maybe that's what they are striving for.

Maybe if you are a disconnected, disenfranchised loner who lives in your parents basement with heavyheavyheavy metal "musick" pounding through your headphones, these ten globs of digital crap will joggle what little neurons you have floating within the Yoo-Hoo and cheesepuffs inside your brain.

Good luck.

Run Rabbit Run (2023)

YUCK!!

[2/10 · 3 July 2023]

If you want to watch +90-minutes long film with a really lousy plot, get a bag of chips and sour cream and watch this.

Glad it's free on Netflix because I can't see anyone actually leaving their place of residence to drive to a theater and watch this.

The mother and daughter? If I was a neighbor, I'd call the local psych hospital and have them get two beds ready. It plays out that every other scene they exhibit borderline, psychotic behavior. One minute they are yelling, kicking slapping and ranting and the next scene, all is forgotten and we are shown loving, tender moments.

The mother is a psychological mess for causing the death of her sister and the daughter is soooooooo over the top entitled and just as insane, you want to smack them both into next week.

The plot is scattered, the dialogue is rambling and if all the characters were to be killed by a mad slasher it would be a saving grace.

Well, we don't want to kill the rabbit. It was the best acting in the entire mess.

Bloodhounds (2023– )

ACTION IS WHAT YOU GET

[9/10 · 17 June 2023]

It was a bit over-the-top with the fight scenes. I ghet it that viewers are supposed to root for the good guys and suspend the situation reality, but two guys kicking butt of +30 guys... UGH!

That was my biggest fault. It always seems that instead of "bum rushing" the hero duo, the thugs wait and one-by-one get into the fight.

Really?

Anyway, that's the crazy fun of those scenes.

I've always said that Korean films have the best villains and this one has them, Tae Won-suk as the muscular henchman is a creepy one!

I actually fast-forwarded much of the last two episodes because it was dragging.

Overall, if you like insane action...get your seat ready.

The Good Bad Mother (2023– )

A decent series

[9/10 · 8 June 2023]

It wasn't too melodramatic, not too saccharine and although some parts were a bit over the top. It was a good series to view.

The bad guys get their punishment, the good guys are happy and the ending was as good as it could get.

Thoughts...

I'm glad they showed Mrs. Son's face at the end!

Fourteen episodes were enough and what ever happened to the first pet pig - Lion??

One thing about Korean films/series is that they seem to have more character development than say American series. Like the two ex-criminals with their lettuce farm...the boat captain who raised the baby...on and on.

Thumb's up!

Tin & Tina (2023)

Wanted to give 1/2 star...

[1/10 · 4 June 2023]

What a piss-poor movie, but like I always say... the cast and crew got a payday.

Kill the family dog?

No problem. Kids being kids.

Tie Mom to the bed prepped for some injection?

No problem. Kids having creative family time.

Storage box of crucifixes and other religious items?

No problem. Kids need a hobby.

See God by suffocating your sibling?

No problem. Kids were just playing.

This film is a total mess, poorly acted and terribly written.

Husband on fire...crawls to the front door...becomes even more of a walking blaze as he stumbles into the living room and doesn't she say "Keep out!"? Or some such line. So why does he burst into uncontrollable flames?

Oh, yes...how could I forget the "baby baptism".

This is an example of the way Netflix spends a-gazillion dollars for filmmakers to showcase crap.

My ID Is Gangnam Beauty (2018)

CUTE, BUT...

[6/10 · 28 May 2023]

The main characters were full of anxiety, swollen with neurotic behaviors and so dysfunctional that I had to watch it just to see where it was going to go!

No one I've ever known (I'm 70- years old) has ever been remotely close to the borderline, narcissistic and psychologically damaged behaviors that have been written for the characters. I've worked in a psychiatric hospital for years and these characters as they were written, would have a nice bed waiting for them.

At least, the last last 30 minutes or had some degree of closure for many of the side stories.

The series was okay: it was pleasant, yet frustrating but overall it's a thumbs up.

Vampus Horror Tales (2020)

This was low-budget and PizzPoor!

[1/10 · 21 May 2023]

A horror anthology is a fairly good way to provide entertainment but wat would possess people to create such a dull, tedious and downright uninspired mess.

The acting is pretty bad, so I'll attribute that to the level of talent and the directorship.

The set designs are average and since the film was shot in black & white at least that scores you one point.

This seems to be a case of "going through the motions" and like I always have said, at least the cast and crew got paid.

The writing was rushed and left a lot of explanation on the table.

It was so boring that I had to pause the film and come back the next day just to see if there was a hope of redemption.

Nope...it was still bad.

Familiar Wife (2018)

Pretty Darn Good

[10/10 · 11 May 2023]

I have been a watcher of Korean movies/series for about six years now and have come to the opinion that they take more pride in their craft that the stuff they churn out here in the USA.

Familiar Wife had such quality acting and it made this viewer believe that you were really watching the lives of other people.

I can't get over the comradery that is evident in the "blooper" reels as it seems that all the cast and crew are so focused and actually are having a great time; like they 100% love to come to work to shoot their scenes.

I still give it a "10", but as with many Korean series/movies, I was waiting to the final shoe to drop, that writing change that would screw up the happy ending which has occurred in a lot of the films I've seen. At least, this wasn't tampered with. The viewers put their effort into wanting a good ending and this show delivered.

Mr. Queen (2020–2021)

A Pleasant Journey

[8/10 · 28 April 2023]

For the 20 episodes it was a harmless series, cute, funny and weird journey.

The theme centered about a "time travel" but there is minimal viewing of "today's world" and was centered in the Joseon Dynasty. If there was a "switch" or "time glitch" the viewers were never really able to see the two "halves".

Although it was a good series, perhaps it could have been shorter, but the ending was like it was pulled out of another film. We've watched 19 episodes about ancient times and then we are given the "current Korea" aspect. It was like "where did this come from?".

Sure, it was pretty much a happy ending, but I had thought they would have brought in the reincarnation theme where many of the Joseon characters would have in some way been a part of the "now Korea". I think it would have been a better way to tie in or connect the time glitch.

It was entertaining and fun.