Prison Playbook (2017)

Prison Playbook is one of those dramas that reaches your heart. Since I watched the first episode it got on my top 5 (and i’ve already seen a bunch of them).
In the beginning I was very reticent to watch it, because I am not a fan of prison shows (as Prison Break or Orange is the new black), but on the other hand I’m the biggest fan ever of Jung Kyung Ho. So, yes, he was the main reason why I started it. And I have to admit that I didn’t regret it for a second since the first minutes of the show.
This drama is something really special. It can make you laugh for hours and later on, you would like to cry of emotions (and most of them are not sad feelings). That’s probably the best thing the writers, directors and actors have done here. They could make you feel thousand of different emotions watching the same drama.
Acting: I know this wasn’t the best role for Jung Kyung Ho, but anyway he’s the best brother-friend there could be for the male lead. Everybody’s casting in this drama was perfect. Overall, I liked very much Lee Kyu Hyung as “Loony”, he was amazing, and Jung Woong In as Lieutenant Paeng. Moreover, the interaction among the inmates was sublime.
Without a doubt, everybody should watch it.
Don’t hesitate for the prison main subject (as I did for a long time), the episode’s length or the almost non-existant romantic subplot (you are not going to care anyway that it doesn’t exist). I miss this drama already, I could continue watching it on and on and on. And I assure you, it’s the first drama I watched where I was not interested on what would happen at the end, because the development was so much more important than the ending. I’m sure I’ll rewatch it again.

Lire davantage

Overrated trash

One of the biggest mysteries of Kdrama land is the rating of this trash drama. I literally barfed my entire lunch when I saw old dude kissing Krystal and playing as a universaty student bleaaaaah. I just wish I could unseen it an easy 1 for me. Could have gotten a new reply series instead of this trash. The prison Drama didn't move me as well it's was underwhelming like everything about this drama, there are plenty prison Dramas that tops this, I think if the reply series directors wasn't in it, it would have flopped. Anyway don't reccomend unless you want cliche drama that want to move you but does, an unwanted romance and edgy characters

Lire davantage

I'm writing this at 5am in the morning, that should give a little bit of insight on how great this drama is, it really is on a level on it's own. If you are thinking of watching this, just give it one episode and I guarantee you will be hooked.

Story was exceptional, the way they told the story of the main character, the other prisoners, officers and more and what occurs in prison was entertaining and exceptionally done. Even the writing, the relationships build, the humor that was placed in all episodes was out of this world.

Acting/Cast - Every single person cast in this drama, it was as if they were made for the role. Great acting from the main leads and supporting roles.

Music - The music helped to set the theme and tone very well, I even liked the theme song a lot. But something that I really liked was when someone would sing a song for a scene and then they wud play it after. I liked those moments for some reason. Great song choices throughout.
Rewatch Value - Yes,  I would watch this again.

I really enjoyed this drama, before I started it, I didn't think I would enjoy it so much. It even made me cry, which is hard to do. I will miss it.

Lire davantage

I am not a fan of cheesy romance drama  so this drama was already on my watchlist.... I am way more impressed  with the amazing story line.. brilliant cast and direction.....It focused on the character development  and building bonds between them....There was not a single dull moment in any episode , again thanks to the perfect amount of humour  at perfect timing....It would have been just another kdrama if writer had given a happy ending to every character....... even though  felt bad for some  character but this was another flavour that writer added in his unique recipe...waiting for another work of the writer/ director...actually sequel would be great  in the near future..

Lire davantage

Corre y mírala!!!!

Hace tiempo que tenía Prison Playbook en mi lista de series para ver. No me había decidido aún porque el tema de prisiones es duro y tenía ganas de ver algo más light. Las calificaciones estaban claras, es de las series más valoradas en MYD y está en el top junto a otras series maravillosas como Goblin o las Reply y no es para menos. Si estás en la misma situación que yo, dudando, no lo hagas y corre a verla, porque netflix está haciendo sitio en su catálogo de dramas y están desapareciendo algunas joyas. Y esta es una joya que reluce de verdad. Tantos valores tiene este drama, tantas enseñanzas, es una gema maravillosa, una serie para ver y revisar no una sino muchas veces, con actuaciones asombrosas, superlativas, historias muy tiernas y emotivas, y uno de las amistades más maravillosas de dramalandia y un romance que es muy "cute"!!!! Además todo está contado con tanta maestría, que sus capítulos de hora y media se te pasan en un santiamén y tienes la tentación de ver otro capítulo cuando sabes que es una locura y que la noche está para dormir. Esta serie es un arte, nada es excesivo, todo está muy bien hecho, los flahsbacks donde conocemos las historias de los diferentes personajes son un 10, la música es fantástica, los momentos comicos son hilarantes y los momentos emotivos son buaaaa, he llorado sin parar con ellos!!! Para siempre en mi top de series "slice of life". Además y eso es importante para mi, tiene un final satisfactorio para casi todos los personajes!!!!

Lire davantage

It might have been titled WISE PRISON LIFE, but believe me when I say that the drama dabbled in more that just prison life.

Story/Plot: It's one of the best one's ever narrated and put to film to be honest. I love how each character was so unique and complex and flawed that it's easy to love everyone of them. Je Hyeok is the lead we all never knew we needed. He is kind and soft and fluff but he is also manipulative and resourceful as he has displayed multiple times in the drama. It breaks my heart to see Han Yang end up the way he did but it was realistic. Would have wanted to see how Captain Yoon's case go or how Min Cheol adjusted with living out of prison after 2 decades but that's that. There was never a dull moment in the drama. It was full of plot twist in every episode that I finished it in 1 sitting. That's how good it was.

Acting/Cast: The dynamic of the cast is amazing. I can't stress enough how perfectly fit or how amazingly portrayed every character is. Yes, even the Warden and the Deputy was on point. They were beautiful to watch interacting on screen. I feel like their acting spoke to me as a person.

Music: on point but not as exceptional as the story itself.

Rewatch Value: Definitely a must watch and if you're feeling down, or want a good laugh or two or just in the mood of binge watching anything, this should be your first choice.

Lire davantage

This is my first time writing a review because this drama deserves the praise.

This has been the best K-Drama in a long time for me. The humor, the acting, the story, the music, EVERYTHING.

This story was overall, amazing. I have been looking for a drama that consists of comedy/crime and holy cow did this deliver everything I was looking for.

The acting was the best of the best for me. You could tell these actors and actresses knew what they were doing and they did it astoundingly.

But the best feature of the drama was the comedy. It wasn't cringey or mellow. It consisted of the most funniest lines and scenes I have seen in a K-Drama in a while and for that I praise the writer for this. I don't find anything funny easily but this had me laughing so hard I nearly choked on a lung.

I wasn't so much for the romance side, I felt like the were just added to fill in some gaps. Maybe not so much with Je Hyuk and Ji Ho but the relationship between Joon Ho and Je Hee was completely unnecessary to me. The drama would have still been amazing without it.

I must say though, Han-Yang (Looney) was my favourite character, not only did he make me laugh all the time, he was just open about everything but he was stupid at the most basic stuff (which is why the ending SUCKED [But I won't spoil it for people]).

The OST went well with the scenes, especially when Nostalgia by Woo Won Jae played in intense scenes.  Overall, the OST was beautiful. It had different types of genres and all of them are enjoyable.

The only downfall was the ending, I was more interested about the other characters over the main character and wanted to see more of where they ended up but unfortunately I feel like they just vanished? Became irrelevant in the end?  I would have preferred to know what happened to EVERYONE (i.e Looney, Min Chul, Kaist, Dr. Go, Jean Valjean etc.) But this is just my preference.

Overall, this drama is everything I want, need and love. I've already re-watched this and still find this to be highly entertaining. We need more incredible dramas like this in the future.

Lire davantage

Won't feel bored but plot holes will keep you wondering

A really fun series to watch with it's own weaknesses.

The Bad(s) :
Character storylines go missing for characters who developed good enough.
Not a good ending for everyone, especially the BL/LGBTQ part and will keep making you ask "why?" (Korean series are well known for this but still could have been worse though)
Some storylines can feel like being clichéd.
The rap is really misplaced and ruins the really good bg music.
The negative roles didn't always get the same level of punishment that the good ones feared they will earn if they went rouge (this comes under the clichéd section I guess).
Once you finish, you may not want to re-watch it.
And yes, you will feel like a few cliff hangers too if you watch all characters as closely.

The Good(s) :
Amazing direction by the director.
Even though the episodes are so long, you will enjoy every second of it and never feel it is over-stretched.
The mix of emotions are phenomenal, you will be laughing out so hard and be touched really deep too, not to mention hit really hard by the sadness at times. The transitions will make you go crazy.
A never ending movie watching experience that you won't regret and you will never know when you passed almost 2 hours for every episode.
Great cast.

Conclusion :
Overall it was fun to watch with it's own frustrations and cliff hangers which probably will never be cleared and hence you won't feel like watching it again.

Lire davantage

Fell in Love with Loony

I've been watching this show for the past several days. I wouldn't say this is a show that is great for binge watch since each episode is long and has a gamut of feelings in it. I was often either crying my eyes out and also laughing at their little antics. However, I decided to see what others commented on the show because I wanted to steel myself in case the main lead has a tragic ending. What I found was the typical decision to give the gay character a tragic ending where they can't overcome their tribulations. Also, when watching the show I noticed how they did not show the ml romance kiss even on the cheek and just focused on their feet? I know that they may been constrained from being able to showcase their romance but I found it irritating, so along with the fact that Looney does not get his happy ending his love life is shrouded in secrecy. This left a distaste in my mouth and while I loved the main character and want to see him get his happy ending and overcome everything I can't move on with the drama knowing that the gay character doesn't get to see his own victory.

Lire davantage

Story (9.0/10):
The story is very different and runs away from the cliché of dramas. It may seem boring at first but believe me, it's very interesting and each episode will get you more addicted to the drama.
Even focusing on the main lead, the drama tells different stories of the prisoners of the prison, so the drama never gets boring. The story is touching and very fun to watch.

Acting/Cast (9.5/10):
The actors acted very well. Each character had a very different personality and they all knew how to interpret each one well.  It's very difficult to choose one favorite character because this drama have a lot of great characters.
Both the prisoners and the cops were interesting to watch and was really cool to see their friendship growing during the drama.

Music (8.5/10):
Music isn't the strong point of the drama and doesn't have so much presence ( at least for me ). The OST was comppose by rappers so anyone who likes hip hop will probably like it. They had one song that i really like it :)

Rewatch Value (9.0/10):
The drama is very interesting. They had a lof of funny scenes and the friendship of the prisoners is very cool to watch, so I think it's worth watching this drama more than once, it's probably going to continue interesting and fun.

Overall: (9.0/10):
This drama was one of my favorites of 2017. Didn't impact me so much in the first episodes but after episode 3 I started to loved it. I loved the story and especially the characters. Give a try and watch, I think all of you will like it :)

Lire davantage