Reviews

"I had no regrets until I met you"

Happy Together was a haunting, gut-wrenching look at love and loneliness with stellar performances by the main cast. Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Leslie Cheung played an on again, off again couple who were often lonelier when they were together than when they were apart.

Ho Po Wing and Lai Yiu Fai have traveled from Hong Kong to Argentina. On a trip to see the Iguazu Falls they become hopelessly lost and Ho breaks up with Lai and not for the first time. Lai finds work as a club doorman while Ho starts turning tricks to make a living. As Lai watches Ho with other men, a deep sorrow and homesickness overtakes him. He doesn’t want to inevitably “start over” as they usually do, he wants to go home to Hong Kong. He needs to make enough money first. When Ho is beaten by one of his clients, Lai lets him in and takes care of him, but refuses to sleep with him. At a new job, Lai makes friends with Chang, a young man from Taipei, which causes friction between the two lovers.

Ho and Lai were in a “can’t live with him, can’t live without him” dynamic. Ho had a reckless streak that Lai tried to tame, but would cause Ho to chafe at the constraints. Every scene was filled with raw emotions-longing, agony, passion, and despair. While Leslie Cheung gave a wonderful performance as the erratic Ho, it was Tony Leung who captivated me with his. I’ve seen Tony in numerous films, but this was the best performance of his I’ve seen so far. He has never had a problem with the too cool for school vibe, but in this film, he tore through emotions left and right without going over the top. It was impossible to not empathize with Lai when the heartache and misery were visibly eating away at him. In a scene where Ho taught him how to dance, the desire not just for this man, but also a longing for something more, something unattainable was quite moving.

A young Chang Chen as Chang Wan brought a breath of soothing air into Lai’s life. The friendship was easy and a reminder of home. Chang had a tender scene as he tucked a sorrowful, intoxicated Lai into bed. Their friendship was a lifeline for the floundering Lai. When Chang left Buenos Aires, Lai was truly adrift and found that “lonely people are all the same.” Lai became more convinced he did not want to ever “start again” with Ho, regardless of his deep feelings for him. Ho was like the prodigal son who had to occasionally self-destruct knowing that Lai would always be there for him in some capacity.

This film had Wong Kar Wai’s trademark palette of greens, yellows, and reds along with scenes in black and white. There is no denying his aesthetic gift, but sometimes I don’t connect with the story he’s telling. Happy Together connected everything for me. The plot was thin, almost non-existent, as these men struggled to make a living and struggled to alleviate their desire to return home and to somehow survive their complex disparities. I thoroughly enjoyed the varied music, which ranged from Tango Apasionado to fittingly enough, Happy Together originally by The Turtles. The songs flowed naturally through the film as stark emotions ebbed and rose.

Happy Together’s unflinching exploration of a tempestuous relationship was hard to watch at times, but impossible to look away from. Tony Leung peeled back his stunning façade and poured out an impressive array of emotions both nuanced and heartbreakingly real. Much like the Iguazu Falls, Ho and Lai’s bond was powerful, chaotic, captivating, murky, and completely unforgettable.

8 May 2024

Read More

Average but Enjoyable

This series is nothing to write home about but this is a light, fun, quick romance watch. Even with more than 30 eps it's a quick watch. I mostly watched b/c I really like actress Qin Lan and she is good here even if she is type cast. I have only seen her in the Rational Life and I really enjoyed her character there as well and they are definitely similiar.

I liked the friendship of the 3 FLs and I liked that there was growth in the 2FL's story arc and that her husband was supportive and they worked thru their issues. I really did like the mature cast even though some of the plot is a bit childish. I liked the ML and his bestfriend too.

If you watch be prepared for terrible subs if you're an English sub watcher. Even on Prime the subs are atrocious.

5/8/24

Read More

Not quite there yet as a real Romcom.

If you look at the trailer or read the description you will immediately think this a great Romcom. However, this fell short in so many ways. Let me first say the highest rating I gave is for the story. The story had real potential to be a blockbuster hit. It had all the makings to start a good Romcom. It just never got there. If I had to sum it up it was just boring. It never had two parts that go together. You know, peanut butter but no jelly, bread but no butter. The title does not go with anything. So a great story but the leads were not enough to pull it off. Individually they were cute but together no chemistry. I tried to give it every chance I could. I watched objectively until the end. I gave up better dramas for this. But when you start fast-forwarding through most of the episodes, you know something is wrong.

Many of the comments ask why the ratings are so low. This has a slow pace and never really goes anywhere. It reminded me of those short dramas on YouTube that give you different versions of the same plot. I fault the director for not knowing where to go or lead this drama to make it more exciting and loveable. I fault the writers for giving the actors too much dialog that they could not pull off. Thus, making the actors look like bad actors.

On a positive note, it is a rom-com and there were some funny moments. There was a hint of romance but it was barely fulfilled because it took so long. It has a happy ending.

Read More

Oh my my I watched half of the show for villian rest half for the ML

The main cast was amazing ...the ML FL villain vamp all of them ... And this was the show where I enjoyed watching the villian even more than the ML ... Gosh he acting and the way he delivered the script ... Mind-blowing ... The story was good ... ML is having long time crush on FL and he helps her gety ng revenge against her fiance who cheated her with her bestie ... It was so heart breaking to see how ML struggles to win her heart even after lobing and supporting her for so long ... seriously I cried everytime I watch him say " is your heart made of stone" to FL ... Poor boy ... There were practically negligible boring spots in the story it went by a consistent pace ..there were heart breaks ,romance ,fight, betrayal, office conspiracy, good girl turn bad and dynamic slap scenes ... .
I thoroughly enjoyed watching .. totally recommended..

Read More

Cinematic Magic!

In a sense, this story is deeper than in season one. While still about Haruta, the story circumvents him to encompass more individuals around him and does so in a deeply, introspective, and immensely emotional fashion. To be sure, the keystone remains parallel to season one. The Captain, an older distinguished-looking man, falls in love with Haruta, a much younger and energetic man. Yet, in the end there is such a surprising twist that it caught me off guard. I honestly did not know what to make of it. Was it real or a profound cry out of a desperately lonely man? I cried at either prospect as Haruta, for the first time, truly seemed adrift. This is effulgent and, along with the previous “Ossan’s Love” productions, are worthy of our reverence. This is a jewel of virtuosity and therefore I would consider it a ‘Masterpiece’. They may be archival but should not be forgotten. Treat yourself to pure joy!

Read More

Beautiful! Has fabulous & talented cast all sights for sore eyes!

This was my first time seeing Lee Seung Gi act and I was smitten. Never have I ever seen someone rock that hairstyle in the same way. No one can do it better, while Park Sae Roy in Itaewon Class came close, he still ranks second. Normally, I do not like characters who dress like Son Oh Kong, not because of the clothes but because very few can pull it off, especially as well as he did. The character was just wow!

Cha Seung Won's Ma Wang was just as incredible to watch. He is another actor that I enjoy watching. The plot was simply perfect. Since I have just watched it for 2nd time and am more happy with it this time around, I can't find fault.

During my first watch, I was frustrated with the ending, but seeing how motivated Son Oh Gong in getting Jin Seon Mi back, I'm 100% sure he succeeded. Would I love to watch a second season with him following her to netherland and rescuing her in the process? Hell yes, but I don't mind that it wont' be coming since I have gotten my closure.

Read More

Happy ending (because that is very important not just for me, but for so many).

It had me on the edge trying to figure it out and I can say… I was wrong…lol. The story is very cute with a message of the importance in mental health (I’m a caseworker so with more reason, I liked it). Furthermore, it did make me wish one of my toxic relationships would have ended in a good and nice tone as one of the couples did (you will find out which one…lol). But the plot twist was very good, and it did made me feel bad (in a good way… if that’s possible).

Overall, I cried, was laughing, and cried some more once I was done with the show. I just wish it had more episodes.

Read More

QOT MY BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE YEAR.

“What soapy tragic trope will we put in?” writers: “ALL PLS” ☺️
I think my harsh criticism comes with how excited i was for this drama, and how much I truly enjoyed it at the beginning. I tuned in week after week, I was sure this was would be drama of the year but wow was I wrong—

I’ll start with I loved THEM. I really do love Kim Soohyun as an actor and really watched for him. I was really impressed with KIm jiwon despite not liking her previous work.

The leads were amazing they were a real match made in heaven. I think if there’s something the directors did good is cast the people they casted. The leads had such an amazing chemistry, and I hope they win couple of the year because they truly deserve it.

I’ll start with this drama was falsely advertised as a rom-com but its full drama which starts to fall apart by ep 12. I feel like the writers room was a complete mess and i don’t know what happened. Memory loss ✅ car accidents while crossing the street✅, murdering step mother ✅ kidnapping and lying to the amnesiac✅, taking a bullet for the lead✅, almost getting killed MULTIPLE TIMES✅, falsely accused of murder ✅ Our hero saved fl in the past ✅, met as children✅ villains stole all the money✅ I know I am missing so many more but-

NAME A TROPE AND I CAN GUARANTEE THEY PUT IT IN.

I’t was excessive in my opinion to the point it became boring and extremely predictable. i have to be honest and admit that after episode 12 I hated this drama and skipped all the unnecessary banter of the villains, and other characters I did not care for. I can be honest and say that WE DID NOT NEED THAT MUCH TIME FOR THE AUNTIES RELATIONSHIP. The mother getting forgiveness so easily was another down-head. I can say at the beginning despite her being a horrible mom i did not dislike her and found her character quite entertaining. But after her being forgiven so easily is when my dislike began.

I think the biggest character disappointment was the grandpa. WHO THE HELL SIGN CONTRACTS BASED ON VIBES LMAO. Prob the most unbelievable story line of them all. I feel the writers couldn’t pick between making him a silly little guy or a serious chaebol grandpa.

The character I enjoyed the most was Soocheol i honestly didn’t expect to like him as much as I did, and if there’s anything to take away is that HE WILL STEAL YOURT HEART WITH HIS PURE LOVE FOR HIS WIFE. I am soooooo in love with him and his character and I am excited to see him acting again hopefully as a lead this time.

I thought I wanted this drama to win drama of the year and now that I’m pretty sure it WILL win i am feeling quite upset.

The writers put every single trope out there, and forgot the most i,portant which is the leads rekindling their love in the country side and she get magically cured with the power of love. Who really cares about a power fight? I just wanted to see THEM but even them reconciling was surrounded by hurt and bad energy that it’s hard to even feel relieved by the end. Why was she acting so weird by the end? After crying so much for him to wake up? I get wanting to get to know each other but then we should’ve gotten all that an episode before the end.

The ending was beautiful it was nice to see her welcoming him into heaven but i say this with a smear on my face because in the end i ended up hating this drama n and eating up all the praises i gave it at the beginning of the drama.

I have a huge feeling this will become a fan favorite and I’m already dreading it being called a classic in a couple pf years.

Read More

Long awaited but a dismal disappointment

I was so eagerly waiting for this series to come out because of this main couple's unforgettable chemistry and performance together in Princess Agents, and the ML is one of my favorite actors. Unfortunately this series was a dismal disappointment in so many ways. I skipped through a lot of it, it was so boring. I cannot even list out any redeemable good things about it.

- The dubbing was so awful! It was so distractingly bad and was a disservice to the actors and ruined the overall experience. No proper background sounds or anything - just silence and then the dubbed voices.
- ML (Lin Geng Xin) is one of my favorite actors. His performance fell flat in this role. I understand that these types of roles for ancient gods they are supposed to be stoic - but he just came across as a boring character with little depth and lack of effective emotional expression.
- FL (Zhao Li Ying) - I am not a big fan of this actress, I don't think she has good acting range or facial expression/emotions. She's really only good at playing a cold & tough fighter. And half of her lines were delivered as voice narrations of her inner thoughts! The entire series, she barely actually spoke to the other characters!
- Chemistry - the main couple could not replicate the intense chemistry they had in Princess Agents
- The last episode was completely unnecessary! In the 2nd to the last episode, the storyline wrapped up, the main couple had their happy ending. So WHY the need to drag out 1 more episode to showcase that random other couple getting married? I just don't understand it.

I am so upset that my eager long awaited anticipation and time spent watching it was a total waste!

Read More

Unnecessary screen time for the villain

Unnecessary screen time for the villain at the end. There is no need for him to run over ML with his car, there is no need for him to kidnapped the FL and there is absolutely no need for him to shoot anyone.

Instead of having those scene, they should have more of these storyline/plot:
1. How did main lead become so cold to each other? Their baby? How?
2. ML and FL found out that ML save FL when they were kids
3. Queen Family found out that villain killed FL brother -> FL didn't caused her brother's death
4. Why the villain's mother hate Queen family?

As much as the villain actor portrait his character very well. It is a drama that better without a very strong present villain.

The main lead is the reason why I'm still watching this. KJW and KSH have great visual and acting. They also look great together. I am sad that we don't get more FL and ML moments in the final because I definitely wanted to see more.

Read More