Deena Glover

I am a die-hard kdrama junkie with a most-serious addiction to historical kdramas of the Joseon era. This one, however, seemed to be more of a platform to showcase martial arts fighters (who'd abruptly jump into fighting for seemingly no reason), along with the constant OST performances playing in the background during too-frequent freeze-frames, which I eventually found to be somewhat annoying. Halfway into this kdrama I realized that I was way more interested in the decor and costumes than the disjointed storyline. Sorry, just trying to keep my review an honest one. Speaking of storyline, the "Gu Book" was barely briefly mentioned at the beginning of this drama and not referenced again until the very end, or was it? I can't remember. Perhaps this title was a misleading mismatch for the story. That said, I still don't have the heart to give a low rating here, mostly bcuz of the tremendous amount of effort put forth into the acting, the scenery, every segment setup and the awesome cinematography, all of which was vividly evident. Kudos. If you watch til the end, hold on and do not fast-forward or exit just yet bcuz it's not "The End." Not quite. AFTER the credits roll, comes a byline, "422 years later...." and then, there's more, sort-of like a mini-post episode. These last scenes make the ending so very complete and satisfying , so don't miss it. Would I recommend this one? Sure. Although I found it to be a bit uneven in some parts, it was entertaining, nonetheless, and it certainly beats a Hollywood flick on any day in any genre, hands down.

I loved absolutely everything about this movie, from the acting to the cinematography and beyond. Rather than give a point by point recap of the wonderfulness of this movie, I want to share with you Reviewers and readers the 45 minute phone rant I had today with the world's largest retailer (whose name begins with "A" and ends in "n"). I called them to say that I find it very suspicious that the top Korean films that have been available for FREE "in my Watchlist" now, all 22 of them, have a rental fee attached to them. "Is this to deter your viewing members from watching k-drama?" I asked. I was told, "No, it's just that our license agreement with THAT particular company has expired." I replied, "Oh, really? And is that the SAME case with the movies whose language is Chinese, Japanese and Thai? Or, were ALL of these Asian movies under the SAME contract as the one handling the Korean movies?" Of course, the rep began babbling, tripping over her tongue-tied words and I finally told her to just stop because she sounded ridiculous. I asked her if she was aware of the Asian hate that being exhibited in cities across the U.S., esp. in San Fran Calif of all places, as liberal as they are supposed to be, with atrocities shown toward people who share a common facial trait, i.e., slanted eyes, for example. She said, "Yes," she was very familiar with the hatred shown. We'll, then. I asked if it was possible that there was a wise-guy employed at "A" who might feel that same hatred and, at the push of a button, make Asian films only viewable by payment? AND, I added, "Why have ONLY the Asian movies converted from free to a rental/buy fee, but NOT the Top Box Office Hollywood Hits, made in America, spoken in English? Are you hoping to bring down the popularity of Asian films, because after all, why would folks PAY to watch a movie when there are thousands available in the video app for free?" The rep could offer no reply, other than to say she would pass my comment on to some other Dept. So much for that and a good example of how NOT to waste your time. In regards to" Sunflower," which was FREE, I watched approx half of the movie, but had to turn it off to run a quick errand. When I returned home 30 minutes later, I could not resume viewing, but rather had to PAY $2.99 to pick up where I'd left off. Oh, hell naw! THAT'S when I blew my top and called this bazillion dollar company and gave them a piece of my mind. I had already been way beyond p.o.'d anyway by what I could only surmise as subtle racism, so this little "A" company's bait and switch tactic just took me over the edge, for real. The rep listening to me could care less, of course, but I got to blow off some steam. Now I'm headed to my laptop to address a letter to the "Investors" Dept to explain why I am selling my stock and canceling my 9yr membership with this company whose middle letter is "z." Nevermind their 2-Day free shipping, endless book list library. I am done. Is my letter-writing another waste of time? Maybe, but I gotta do it. (By the way, I am an African American senior citizen, married, military veteran. I have seen and felt so much hurt which was never addressed as being important enough to anybody within listening distance. But I must continue to speak up until my days of living are gone. Who will speak for Asians, and for the LGBTQ community, and against Neo-Nazi groups, etc., in an effort to bring people closer to each other? Like I said, I gotta do what I gotta do).

There was hardly any dialog at all during the first half of the movie except for a cute little 6 year old and 10 minutes later he's a grown man in a full-on sex scene? Gimme a break. The 2nd half of the film is a snoozer, too. If I was a twenty/thirtysomething year-old, I'm sure I would find some sort of "deep," symbolic meaning to this film. But I grew up in the 60s as a flower child/hippie sorta chick, so I've been there, done that & this movie, at my old age now of 70, is just pure junk to me. I don't have enough years left on this good 'ol earth to waste on nonsense movies and so sorry I can't get a rebate for my time spent watching this one.

This is a powerful story, no doubt about it, albeit heart-wrenching. I wanted to turn away from it, press the fast forward button or turn it off completely, I really did. But it had me hooked, bad, and I stayed fixated on it while feeling like I was enduring some sort of a self-punishment. This film tells a very unique story, indeed.

This movie reminded me so much of my (female) mindset of the sheer freedom during my post-college days in the early 1970s. I found it absolutely refreshing in its blatant, in-your-face telling of the vulnerabilities of my (and probably your) youth at a time when you should've been more grown up by age 27. But whom among us is really, I mean really, grown up in our mid-20s? I believe that this movie will be an eye opener for male viewers, as well. When was it, exactly, high time for us to finally break away from old school chums, as shown in this movie, to start thinking about settling down with a permanent partner? And how to do? And why should we? Oh, yeah, because of plight to become a grown-up loomed ahead, right? Remember those days? Those who do recall, as well as those who have yet to be clobbered by real life, might very well enjoy this movie. It is way beyond a coming-of-age flick, it's more like a come-hither-now type of movie. And I hate to say this, but as a side note, I was thrilled to finally watch a movie with true American actors and hear dialog in perfect English. I've been up to my neck & at my wits end with the ever-growing selection of foreign films with subtitles and the British films with actors' hard-to-understand accents. Sorry, O chaps, I'm just say'n.

To all you people who are giving this movie a 5-star rating: What planet did you come from and who is paying you for your Bogus Reviews? This movie get a high rating ONLY for being the biggest snoozer of all time. So boring. Don't waste your time watching this one!

It seems that there are plenty of positive reviews for this movie so it must be me who's one off. So be it. There are thousands of movies just waiting for me to watch, rather than spending precious moments in my life trying to read the tiny on-screen print of text messages between characters and the string of 'chat,' sentences on their computer screens, with the annoyingly perpetual ding notifications, which by the way really got on my last nerve. I'm showing my age, I know, but does such a blatant display of technology really have to dominate and replace old fashioned dialog between actors? This type of modern day movie would never cut the mustard at a drive-in movie theater, especially for those who are parked in the very back of the parking lot. How exactly would that work out for moviegoers? It would not. It didn't even work for me watching at home five feet from my TV screen.

Oh my goodness! This movie is the ultimate thriller, with suspense and action that will keep you on the edge of your seat. If you want to know what high anxiety feels like while searching for the true definition of your worst nightmare, then watch this movie. While my heart was pounding and my eyes bulging, I wanted to look away from the screen, but I could not, as I way past the point of being totally fixated. Be prepared to cringe and to pick your jaw up from off of the floor during scene after scene, right up until the very end. I watch a lot of movies and this one gets a top rating in my book. The acting is superb and the storyline is well-developed with twists and turns you won't see coming. It is not for the faint of heart, nor for the tweenagers or for any viewer hoping for an occasional chuckle. Nope, not here. Kick back and be ready for an awesome ride, for sure. This movie is rated top billing among the All Time Best Korean movies, but it's a brilliant piece of work in any language of any country, in my opinion.

If I was 50 years younger, I would have been lapping up all the yuppiness going on here and loving it. But at 70 years old, I thought if this movie went on for one second longer I would puke first and face-plant into a bed of nails.

Just how lowdown will politicians go to get what they want? Or, the better way to ask that question is: How high up will politicians reach to get ahead? This movie will take you every which way but "straight and narrow," peeling back the skin of snake-politicians at every level. This movie shows the brutally frank truth, I believe, about what goes on behind closed doors of the highly favored privileged scum political figures who can never get enough power or money to be satisfied. Right alongside these bottomfeeders are the thugs who want a piece of whatever they can get in their illegit life. And, yes, the two shall meet. From the first second into this film until the very end, pay close attention to each character and the role s/he pays in the political world, or in the back office. And don't lose track of whose side you're on. Fantastic acting, great scenes and action. By the way, after watching one kdrama after another, for a couple of years now, I can never ever go back to the fake visual effects and totally unimaginative Hollywood poop-films. I did try it awhile back, tho, and was bored outta my mind. I'm done with that. Stick with Korean movies like this one, or of any genre, for sheer thrills and top entertainment.