Dillydaydream's Reviews

Mother of the Bride (2024)

3/10

13 May 2024

This was awful- cringe making. It felt like a vacation for actors from a retirement home. It's a poor story trying to succeed by adding some slapstick- like falling into pools, a tennis ball hitting someone in a vulnerable place etc . The scene where Benjamin Bratt interrupts the wedding reception was one of the worst scenes - awful. I watched this on an Oled tv and the two leads looked actually older than their real ages. The acting is universally awful and the whole thing is lifeless and cliched. There is no chemistry between the cast.

The one success about this film is that it should do wonders for Phuket tourism.

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Marry My Husband (2024)

8/10

Thoroughly enjoyable

19 February 2024

This drama is nearly at its end and I have really enjoyed it.

I have liked Park Min Young since City Hunter in 2011 ( I wish Netflix or Prime would show that drama) The first episode has such horrifying ( and well done) scenes in it that I was hooked and was longing to see how she got her revenge.

I believe that Song Ha yoon and Lee Yi-kyung have got high praise in SK for their parts as the second couple but Lee Yi-kyung reminded me of a pantomime villian and I thought over-acted in the earlier episodes.

The biggest disappointment was Na In-woo - he is very wooden and his face hardly changes. He is about to go into military service so won't be seen for a while but hopefully he will be better in his next drama

It got such good ratings in SK that the cast and crew are being treated with a well earned trip to Vietnam.

Looking forward to seeing Park Min Young's next drama.

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Doctor Slump (2024)

7/10

Sadly heading into a slump

19 February 2024

I really enjoyed this up until episode 8. Two people who are qualified and were practicing doctors must surely be in their mid to late twenties and mature. In episode 8 they are like lovesick young teenagers. I'm not suggesting they should fall into bed because this is not Kdramas way but it could be a more realistic age appropriate relationship.

On the plus side the two leads are very good. I have liked PSH since Heirs and it's great to see her back in a drama since marrying and having her baby. Park Hyung-Sik is good in this part and they do have nice chemistry. I'll watch it to the end with the hope that it becomes good again!

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Fool Me Once (2024)

8/10

A good adaption at last

2 January 2024

As someone who is a great fan of Harlan Coben's books I have found many of the adaptions disappointing.

Thankfully at last this is a good one. I read the book when it came out in 2016 and had forgotten the ending! There are plenty of Harlan's twists and red herrings - enough to make the final scenes really surprising.

Ever since she debuted in Coronation Street in 2007 I have rated Michelle Keegan as a good actress and she proves it again in this. In fact the whole cast are excellent

I binge watched it and like it when Netflix drops a whole series all at once instead of having to watch one episode a week.

After this adaptation I have high hopes for the Myron Bolitar series.

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Christmas Next Door (2017 TV Movie)

9/10

A yearly treat!

30 November 2023

This is an annual family favourite which we really enjoy. The two leads are excellent with lots of chemistry, ( Jesse Metcalfe and Fiona Gubelmann) He plays Eric a confirmed bachelor who writes successful books about being a confirmed bachelor! He hates Christmas due to a big disappointment in his life that happened one Christmas Eve. However he is struggling to write his new book and is bereft of ideas. Then he has to take care of his niece and nephew because their parents are snowed up in Norway. The two child actors (Liam Macdonald and Jenna Weir) play their parts really well. It's a perfect Christmas story with , of course, a HEA ending!

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VIP (2023)

9/10

I enjoyed every moment

30 November 2023

This was my first Thai drama and I watched it as I had enjoyed the Korean version a lot.

Firstly the acting was so good- especially the lead actress Pooklook Fonthip Watcharatrakul as Rim There is one scene where she nearly runs down her husband's mistress and the actress portrayed such hate when looking at the girl - it was very well done. Of course it would be easy to pick faults in the story such as - why was the husband prepared to go to such extreme lengths when carrying out his boss's commands.

Payback in the story was brutal and it was good that they hadn't changed the ending to a HEA ending.

I'll definitely be looking for another Thai drama to watch on Viki.

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007: Road to a Million (2023– )

8/10

Close encounter with a crocodile!

13 November 2023

This is so enjoyable. Just watching the scene with the crocodile. That took some guts. The further the contestants get into this the more frightening are the tasks. I love that they are having to do tasks relating to the Bond films - walking on the roof of a train- dealing with a huge snake and with a tarantula. Definitely tougher then Amazing Race!

The contestants are an interesting lot and it's good they retain the money after each task. Some of the questions are quite tough and I wonder if any pair will get through to win the million.

Brian Cox is excellent as the controller. The scenery in the various locations are beautiful especially Venice and as a Bond fan it was fun trying to remember which films were associated with places and tasks.

I'm looking forward to see how this ends!

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Hijack (2023)

8/10

Well worth watching

29 August 2023

This was a really enjoyable series which I binge watched! Of course there are parts in it where you think "no way" but suspend logic and it's good! Idris Elba, as you would expect, is excellent in it but I was still trying to decide at the end if his character, Sam, actually made the situation worse sometimes. The fact that it is in real time did help build the tension and there were many times I was on the edge of my seat - especially the last episode.

Of course it's easy to say the air controllers wouldn't do that- the government wouldn't do that, children wouldn't behave that well, etc etc but why spoil a good yarn.

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VIP (2019)

8/10

Well written, well directed but acting let it down

14 August 2023

I really enjoyed this Kdrama. The portrayal of a marriage breaking down was well done. At first it looked like it was purely due to the husband's affair but as each episode showed us different and difficult times in people's lives and relationships it became less easy to blame the husband. The drama highlighted one of the main culprits as the fact that people did not talk to each other, keeping too many secrets. It was obvious by the end that the wife did not really know her husband.

The drama was certainly absorbing but some of the acting was disappointing - in particular Lee Sang-yoon as the husband had the same expression all the way through- very wooden and stiff and totally unemotional.

All in all well worth watching.

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Numbers (2023– )

8/10

Good but could have been better.

31 July 2023

I had high hopes for this drama, especially as Choi Jin-Hyuk was in it but he mostly took a second lead role and Kim Myung-Soo who had the main role wasn't, in my opinion, that good an actor.

Parts of it were complicated and it often felt like the viewer needed to be an accountant to understand it all and I am not surprised it didn't do that well in Korea's viewing figures (going down to 2.4% at one stage)

Nevertheless I did enjoy watching it - there were some good even great moments in it but it never quite delivered what it promised. For example in the first episodes it looked like it was going to be an enemy to best friends bromance but didn't play out like that. We also had to believe that a rookie accountant could be as knowledgable as Ho-woo was.

Overall apart from the lead actor the acting was good and kudos to Choi Min-soo for playing a great villain.

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The Parisian Agency: Exclusive Properties (2020– )

9/10

Fascinating to see the wonderful properties

28 May 2023

It's ironic that this new series is out the same time as Selling Sunset. Both about selling real estate but worlds apart!

The major difference of course is that this one is as much about the family as the properties, and the family come across as totally genuine.

Majo the grandmother is a real star- seeing her on the back of her grandson's motorbike at 90 was wonderful!!

The viewer sees that whilst the owner of the agency is their dad he is also their boss and in one episode he is really furious with two of the sons.

We also see how the youngest son has to decide if he should join the business or aim for a different career.

I've never been to Paris and am enjoying seeing the city and find the properties fascinating and often breathtaking.

It's a joy to watch and I really hope there will be a 4th series.(hopefully without the awful music)

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City Hunter (2011)

10/10

A brilliant kdrama

21 May 2023

I absolutely love this drama. It's got everything- an excellent cast- great story- hair-raising episode endings- lots of action and a lovely romance.

It's such a shame that this drama isn't streamed anywhere that I could find. I had to buy the dvd which fortunately came with English subtitles.

The first episode sets the story up nicely. Because this is a revenge story it's important that the viewer understands the motivation behind the revenge.

I believe Lee Minho did all his own stunts and looking at behind the scene clips he got injured several times.

The chemistry between him and Park Min-young is lovely to watch (they were a real couple at the time)

I can't say much more without giving spoilers.

If you can find it it is well worth a watch.

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The Last Thing He Told Me (2023– )

6/10

Jennifer Garner is awful in this

12 May 2023

I enjoyed the first few episodes but sadly it's gone downhill since.

I have always thought Jennifer Garner was a good actress but not in this drama. She actually gets worse in each episode and in today's (episode 6) she seemed to sleepwalk through it with her eyes half closed. I find it impossible to feel any sympathy for the dilemma she and Bailey find themselves in as they are both unlikeable and after six episodes there is little sign of their relationship improving.

Hanna thinks she knows better then anyone else and spends a lot of time bossing people about - like her best friend without considering she may be leading them into danger.

Someone described it elsewhere as dry and dull- I agree.

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Reborn Rich (2022)

7/10

A really good chaebol based drama.

16 December 2022

I think Song Joong-ki is very good at picking good dramas to star in. He is a good actor rather than a great actor but he surrounds himself with a very good entourage. He did it in Vicenzo and again in this one. Lee Sung-min is a terrific actor and is brilliant playing Jin Yang-cheol the head of the family. The tension in this drama builds and builds brilliantly. I really like how the writers Kim Tae-hee and Jang Eun-Jae use Jin Do-Jun memories from his previous life to help him get his revenge. The only slight criticism for me is that sometimes the subtitles go a bit too fast but that's down to Viki which is the streamer I am watching it on. I can't wait to see the remaining episodes.

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Persuasion (I) (2022)

5/10

Very disappointing

15 July 2022

As someone who counts Persuasion as a favourite book I found this so far removed from Jane Austen's original. On the plus side I liked Dakota Johnson's Ann and quite enjoyed the way she talked to the audience.

I didn't enjoy her being turned into a lush. The actor who played Wentworth was awful- instead of an heroic, handsome character he came across as a real drip and looked scruffy all the way through. In fact there was far more chemistry between Ann and Mr Elliot and in this version they looked a better match. There were some good comic moments with Ann's dreadful family,

In an earlier film or tv version of Persuasion the drama built up so well that you really wanted Ann to catch him up at the end- in this version I couldn't have cared who she ended up with.

This was such a disappointment.

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Here to Heart (2018– )

8/10

Shorter would have been better

11 July 2022

Warning: Spoilers

I watched this as I had enjoyed Zhang Hans other dramas Boss and Me and Sunshine of my life. This drama was too long and would have been much better had it been shorter. The main premise is that Zhang Han (Nanxian) and Janice Chang ( Wen Naun) had been madly in love when she suddenly dumps him, won't tell him why and disappears off to England for years aided by her friend Linlu (Jing Chao). During the 7 years Nanxian is supported by BonYixin ( Jenny Zhang). Yixin is in love with Nanxian who has never gotten over losing Wen Naun and Linlu is in love with Wen Naun.

Wen Naun returns to China and takes a job as assistant to Nanxian ( why would you do that) and the story begins and goes on and on and on!

I certainly didn't dislike this series but did skip through quite a number of episodes. Zhang Hans as always is excellent but compared with the chemistry between him and the FL in Here to Heart the chemistry in this one fell flat and I actually wanted him to end up with Yixin!

There are some very good business dilemmas in this which made it more interesting. I felt a bit sorry for Janice Chan as she spends so many episodes miserable without a lot of dialogue.

Watchable but not great.

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Sunshine of My Life (2021)

10/10

Enjoyable series

26 June 2022

Having watched and enjoyed Boss and Me I looked for other series with Zhang Hans in and came across this on Viki.

At the start Tang Mingxuan is portrayed as a rather lonely character immersed in his work but not very happy. His early scenes when Mo Fe ( Xu Lu) burst into his life were very well done and set up the future romance beautifully.

I thought Xu Lu was terrific and she and Zhang Hans made a convincing couple as well as both being really attractive.

The supporting cast also did a good job - I particularly liked Ruizi Wang. Some of her scenes with Xu Lu, when they got in real slanging matches, were great to watch!

Yao Hong as Fang Xiaoyu did a good portrayal of someone in torment whilst acting as a bit of a playboy.

Li Xin Zhe is also to be commended for his role as Mingxuan's long suffering PA!

Unlike in Boss and Me the boss here did have parents- one of whom was a really bossy and interfering mother.

All in all a throughly enjoyable series.

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Pachinko (2022– )

10/10

Perfect in every way

25 March 2022

I really loved the book and was slightly worried if this series would do it justice- but wow the critics were right this is wonderful. Everything was right- the acting, the directing, the incredible script, the music. The life-affirming opening dance was a surprise but so right. The three Sunjas are perfect in the part which we would expect from Youn Yuh-Jung but the two younger actresses were just as good. For a newcomer Minha Kim is astounding.

I've always considered Lee Minho to be a good actor, but apart from Gangnan Blues he has never had a part to really show what he can do when he gets a multi-layered character to play. He is great in this- and brings Hansu to life so well. The chemistry between him and Sunja was so well done by the two of them.

Three episodes in this could be one of the best series I have seen for years. Awe-inspiring!

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The Snitch Cartel: Origins (2021– )

5/10

Change of cast ruined it

11 August 2021

I agree with a lot of the comments on this. Episode 27 ruined this for me. OK it's 12 years later than episode 26 but surely they could have stayed with the original actors. It's a shame as it was really good up to this episode.

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The Rational Life (2021– )

9/10

Really enjoyable

21 June 2021

I decided to watch this as I had seen the lead actor Dylan Wang in Meteor Garden and enjoyed his performance in that. This is a really enjoyable series-witty, clever, and it tackles some interesting Issues. The two leads are great together. Dylan Wang and Qin Lan seem to have a good rapport.

All in all a well acted very watchable drama.

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Million Dollar Beach House (2020)

3/10

Not great

11 May 2021

The main problem with this is that the main people aren't very nice. Noel is a big head with no apparent reason to be one. Micheal the dad to be is hard to like, JB is ok but none of them have personality like the Million Dollar Listing people. The Hamptons and the properties are gorgeous which is the one redeeming feature!

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The Innocent (2021)

10/10

The best Harlan Cobden adaptation yet

2 May 2021

As a big fan of his books I have never particularly enjoyed any of the adaptations, mainly because the books are so engrossing that the tv versions have never held my attention as much - but this one was brilliant. The acting, the script even the English dubbing worked so well. I was on the edge of my seat. Highly recommended!

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Misty (2018)

10/10

A real cliff hanging who done it

20 August 2020

A famous Korean golfer lays dead in his crashed car - but what was the cause of death? Did he die because of the crash- or was he murdered. One dogged and determined detective is convinced it was murder. But who did it- was it his lover from the past who is now a famous news anchor and whose brooch was found in his car. Or someone else- or was it just a car accident. If the news anchor is convicted of murder a lot of influential people will be pleased so is there a plot against her? This is a brilliantly written drama with a faultless cast. It keeps you guessing to the end and I have to say the end was totally unexpected.

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The Woods (2020)

5/10

Disappointing

14 June 2020

I love Harlan Cohen's books but for some reason the various TV adaptations don't live up to the books. I am used to watching sub titled dramas as I watch Korean dramas which are generally slickly produced and have great cinematography- this Polish drama fell way below in these two areas. It was mainly filmed in the dark which didn't help and the 4K UHD did nothing for the actors.

The build up in the first episode went on for ever and it took ages to get going.

Harlan's books keep me enthralled; and really invested in the hero and wanting to see him solve the mystery. But I really didn't care about Pawel in this.

The main problem is I never got engaged in the story on screen.

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