I'll say it - Jayden should have been the lead

What constitutes a good revenge drama: suspense, an intriguing lead, and of course, great revenge.

Doctor Lawyer lacks in all these categories and only makes up for it with the acting of Shin Sung Rok aka Jayden Lee.

The story of a good revenge drama depends on a fast paced and totally lead controlled narrative, but Han Yi Han, the lead here seems to depend upon the actions of others rather than his own to exact revenge. Even when the revenge is served, it feels like a let down when compared to other such dramas.

The acting doesn't help much either, with the other two leads delivering some of their scenes in the stoniest way possible.

The ending was no better, and I don't think the final arc of any character was satisfying enough. Just fell extremely flat.

Admittedly, this is not totally terrible, and has some absolutely brilliant moments too, but in retrospect, the drama could've been a tad better based off of the premise.

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I was promised food..

This may be one of my lowest rated J BLs. Sucks when something promising turns out that way. Nevermind that it was riddled with clichés like the returning ex, subpar communication, break ups over silly reasons just to reconcile, no, the biggest problem I had with this was somehow none of the above.

It was the leads. I still can't figure out why they liked each other, except for a small love at first sight moment. What came after was a cute beginning which then dove into the cliché landfill, only to come out with underdeveloped characters and an underwhelming relationship. It certainly didn't help that one of the male leads was so hot and cold, he was sure of what he wanted, until he wasn't.

Now all of this could have been slightly salvaged, if they had chemical. IF. They did for a while, too bad it was just in the last couple of episodes. It's a jump from not being able to understand why they like each other to believing they do, and it just didn't work.

I'm not really angry about the lack of food, (although it would have helped the rating) because there were tiny moments I guess. It sucks though, because I can appreciate a good love at first sight story, but they didn't quite nail it here.

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Unprecedented emotions

It feels like as the stories progress, the more risqué they get. The ending of this drama cleared things up well, but that's not to say that things weren't a little confusing all the way through.

The story is about fraternal twins Kun and Korn who are at a point in their lives where they're facing the prospect of not being the most important people in each other's lives for the first time. They're incredibly close, so much so that it takes a while to figure out that they're actually brothers, and when a new student named Tod, and an old friend named Pond are added to the mix, jealousy, possessiveness and the feeling of being unwanted flares up in the twins.

I feel like I need to clarify that this isn't romance (although they made it seem like it was, oof), it's more about the feelings of seemingly losing the person you love the most and them being unable to comprehend and adjust to the situation. The romantical inclination they showed may have been a small mistake in expression, they didn't quite nail the closeness of the siblings in the way they intended.

The ending kind of fell flat though, it was obvious that they would follow their own paths, but there was a better way to do it than have them just ghost each other for months. I would have preferred if they had written it to be a situation where the twins are still involved in each other's lives and still close, but realise that there are some things they're allowed to have that are just theirs. But I appreciate what they tried to do, and it's not the worst miniseries in this anthology.

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Childlike Antics and Stone Cold Superstar

Superstar may be a stretch.

Ja and First have so much potential, and Remember Me (which I'm still trying to forget) and this do literally nothing to showcase the chemistry they share.

Their apparent connection is then overshadowed by childish behaviour, talent managers performing criminal acts, and a second couple with only NC scenes. Really, their scenes together are mostly NC.

Most of the scenes are of them filming the drama within the drama, or Punn and his brother fighting like children, or Achi involved in a weird love triangle that doesn't include Punn, or the two managers throwing insults at each other that are frankly hard to watch. Or, it's filled by the cherry on top, the NC scenes. The scenes that Achi and Punn share are in turn filled with a weird sense that maybe these two shouldn't be a romantic couple. Their chemistry is great obviously, but the way their characters are written, it feels like both of them are in very different stages of life and the ability to be in a relationship.

Achi is definitely a grown up, he's seen life, he knows what he wants and that he definitely doesn't want a relationship. Punn on the other hand is a grown up child, and he's irrevocably in love with Achi or rather the idea of Achi he's got from idolising him. They go through a series of events in which Punn shows that he admires Achi, is capable of taking care of him, and even takes a couple of strides in showing that he's maturing as a person. And yet it feels like they go back to square one in every single episode, superstar and doting fan. It's kind of frustrating to see the same thing over and over, just on a loop.

Until the last episode, the character go around in this exact same circle, doing exactly what they did the last 11 episodes. This definitely had it's potential, but there's only so much chemistry can do.

I do need to watch the drama they're filming though, the acting is so over the top, the story seems like a mess, and yet it's the most popular thing out there, I just need to know what it's all about

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It's about the circumstances...

What would you do if you and your friend are caught up in a multi million dollar debt, being chased around by a hoard of gangsters and a very handsome club owner who just so happens to also be your creditor?

You would inadvertently end up creating a comedy of errors.

It's made very clear from the beginning that the lead of the series, Mote, is a victim of his circumstances. He has his rag tag team of friends who have similar situations and their solution is to come up with a "risque" app to get out of this. Obviously, this leads to murder mysteries, murderous henchmen chasing our heroes around and a whole lot of threats. Nothing exactly new or ground breaking.

The charm of this series comes from the circumstances. The lead trio somehow always find themselves in comical situations, and this is not slapstick humour... The comedy is so subtle that it gives the drama life without taking away from the fact that this is not exactly a comedy. Add to all this a very handsome but kind of psychotic Sun (played to perfection by Mond might I add), and you've got yourself a top notch show.

I would recommend it to a friend.

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The blurred lines between law and attraction

The line between love and hate is barely visible, but the distinction between lawful good and chaotic good is clear as day. The very first scenes establish the characteristics of our main characters, Charn, a high profile lawyer who is ruthless and not above bending the law to further his will. One the other side is Tin, a martial arts coach who believes the law is just and the law will do it's job. These two are brought together on several occasions, the most notable being when they meet as plaintiff and defense in the case involving the death of Tin's niece.

The story moves along with Tin and Charn joining forces once Charn realises that something doesn't sit quite right with the case, and from here on out follows the adventures of the gang as they try to figure out the truth behind the accident.

The series is through and through a lakorn, from the gratuitous violence, terrible parents on one end, and incredibly supportive parents and guardians on the other, a villain who's not really a villain, and the plethora of other lakorn tropes that make it interesting (yet sometimes horrifying) to watch. Another great part is that this is also a character driven drama. The story and situation plays an important role in progressing the plot forward, but the involvement of the characters keeping in mind their personalities and allegiances make this a series where it is impossible to predict the next movement of any character. The story is fairly predictable, but the way the characters interact with each other in addition to the fact that you can never predict what exactly they're going to do next keeps it interesting on all fronts.

The best part though is the chemistry. Charn and Tin have this undeniable chemistry between each other, and they seem to have it with everyone else as well. The dialogue flows when they interact with each other and during those moments you almost forget how their relationship started out.

This is a genuinely good series, and while it does have its fair share of gruesome scenes (some of them were hard to watch), it's definitely worth a watch, especially for the romance.

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A SHORT AND SWEET LOVE STORY

What do we expect when we start a series?
In accordance to the tags, or the trailer, or the review, we expect it to be a certain way.
So, in keeping with this theory, when you watch this series, you should swoon, feel the love and finish it in a small amount of time, and you will.
Honestly, you could finish the series in the time it takes you to read this review completely.
(Just kidding 😀. This will take 3 minutes at the most)

See You After Quarantine? may be an extremely short series, and I mean one that you could finish in one and a half hours short, but there is quite evidently no problem in the story telling or the acting. Even the production value seems high, considering the series was filmed entirely using a phone.

The series tells the story of Bo Chun and Itsuki Sato, who although from different countries, find common ground through an antique camera, leading them to form a friendship, that turns into a relationship.

This story of mistaken identities and love at first sight has been written in a way as to reflect not only the time of the pandemic, but in a way where it would be genuinely possible to happen at any and all times.

Ultimately, if you want to watch a series with literally no drama and just tons of cute moments, this is the one for you. So if you find yourself with a little time to spare, do give this a try.

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The Girl Next Room series strikes again, this time with a story about forbidden love. This was admittedly not one of the most popular parts, but it certainly holds up well against the rest and might I even say better than some. It’s modest and funny and seems very likeable, but all of these virtues do not hold a light to the way the leads are written. View Wiwa seems conceited and airy, but that’s just a character she portrays. Underneath all that, she is just a simple and down to earth girl, quite evident from the very first episode. Faigun. Man, Fai is honestly the best character I’ve ever encountered. He’s funny, smart, handsome, hardworking, truthful and so much more, but his most endearing quality is that he’s real. This is a couple you can honestly root for and rightfully so.

THE STORY:
So, View is an up and coming actress who moves into the dorm. Fai is this down on his luck character, who gets the security job at View’s dorm after saving P’Jam from a burglar. He also saves View from predators and she starts falling in love with him, but there is this evident gap between the two, causing cracks in what seemed like a smooth journey. Jealousy, a gap in financial income and societal status accredit to some of their issues. What will become of their love? That’s the main theme followed.

THE ACTING:
I’ve seen Gigi in a few other series ( Yes I’m talking about Pam ), but this is the first series of Kao’s I’ve watched and I can already say I love him. He just portrays Fai in a way that nobody else could. Also how cute was his intro?! Kao is one of those actors who just seems to thrive in every role. He has the acting chops to carry out those happy scenes as well as those serious scenes. Neo as usual is awesome.

THE PRODUCTION:
In my review of Richy Rich, I said that it had the best production, oh boy was I wrong. This one is right up there. I think it’s mostly because of Kao and the way he portrays Fai. Fai has been written as this sweet and innocent guy with an unwitting genuinity. Kao portrays him exactly as such. That’s what’s so endearing about this production. You can actually see the hard work that went into this. Also that reference to Kao himself in episode 4? Golden.

THE OST:
Still pretty standard stuff. Nothing different from the rest.

THE NEGATIVE:
The way View is treated by her manager and everyone around, no wonder the only person she is herself around is Fai. She’s being spoken for and one of the worst things you can do to a person is toy with their individuality. At this point she is being treated as a mere sexual figure and nothing more. Honestly, how disgusting do you have to be to demand sex from someone as a favour ? So frustrating!

THE ENDING:
What a cute ending! Remember the grilled fish shop Fai wanted to open? Well he did, and he set it up just like View asked him to, with the karaoke and gumball machine. ( Also well played GMMTV, with the Off Gun reference ). So now that she’s well established and so is he, they get back together and all is well. The rap at the end though. So cute! It gave us an update on all the couples after a year and spoiler, they’re all still together. A great ending to a great series.

I know this has been turned into a Faigun fan page, but don’t let that take away from the fact that this series is worth checking out. The story is cute and quite drawing. I hope everyone gives this a try because it’s worth the watch. Thank You!

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IF LOVE WAS ENOUGH, BREAKUPS WOULDNT EXIST.

This line is uttered by Earth in episode 11 and there could not be a more suitable tagline for the show than this. In life we are all separated into three factions, the few of us who have no idea what to do with our lives, the others who do know, but have no means to achieve them, and the rest who are perfectly clear about their life's timeline. The characters of this show can also be classified in these categories. None of their lives are perfect, even if it looks perfect on the outside. Filled with real life problems, the show is relevant, but underwhelming.

THE STORY:
The series follows the life of a group of people, some friends, some acquaintances and some relationships. Cheating, lying, and trust issues form the crux of the story. While some may argue that these problems are dealt with everyday in real life, it gets exhausting after a point, both in life and in the series. The title is very well suited as the characters contemplate everyday as to whether they must leave the friend zone, and enter a relationship. All in all, most relationships within this show were toxic to the extreme, with very few exceptions, them being Boom and Earth's friendship and the brief relationship between Boom and Bern. Good and Boyo's relationship begins with a one night stand, Boom and Tor deal with his insecurity towards her job, Amm and Bern have a give and take and never give back relationship, while Sam and Earth's relationship is ruined by Stud, Earth's snake of a friend. As the show progresses each of these problems, with their relationships only get worse. Boyo falls in love with Good, but he does not reciprocate because they had decided to keep it just purely a one night stand. Tor believes every rumor about his girlfriend without consulting her first, leading to their breakup. Amm doesn't believe Bern would be able to do anything but use her money, and they breakup. Sam cheats on Earth with Stud and they breakup. The rest of the story follows the aftermath of these events.

THE ACTING:
I've got to give props to every single actor who worked on this series. They've all played their characters very well. It takes serious skill to make you want to slap a character, but they've managed to do it. Special props to Singto, Namtan and Plustor. They really bought out every quality of their characters exceptionally.

THE PRODUCTION:
The production could have been handled better. It was very dissapointing to see the characters go through no actual growth throughout the series, and for the characters that did grow from their mistakes, it was ruined by making them return to their old habits.

THE OST:
Nothing to hit home about. Your standard OST.

THE POSITIVES:
Though this series had a ton of negativity, there were several positives spewed her and there. The friendship between Boom and Earth was just beautiful and not toxic at all like some other friendships in this series. Another great example was how Boyo handled her sexual assault attempt. She handled it extremely well and with the utmost bravery. Other than that there is nothing else to rave about with this series.

THE ENDING:
Among all the things to be dissapionted in within the series, the ending takes the cake. Every piece of character growth was thrown out the window just for them to end up exactly the way they started out, miserable. Boom and Tor start dating again, and Earth gets back together with Sam. The only person you could actually see the growth in at the end was Stud. Every other character does nothing but fall back into old habit for the sake of the storyline. Very dissapointing indeed.

Overall this show does a good job at keeping you reeled in with the drama, but it soon gets annoying and repetitive. The story doesn't exactly hold up well and if any lesson is to be learned through this series, they are certainely not good lessons. Hopefully all the characters get a half decent storyline in the second season and actually go through some character development. I hope this review helped anyone struggling with the decision on whether to watch this series. Thank You!

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That was.. a trip..

I'd like to say I understood, but I'm clueless. I mean, I understood and I know what happened, but it's still beyond comprehension.

The plot revolves around Third, a bird watching enthusiast who hires Pai, a social companion to accompany him on a weekend trip to a national park to go bird watching. Each of them are in the midst of their respective personal turmoils and this excursion is the perfect excuse to forget everything and just have a fun and relaxing time. This is where it get convuluted, with the introduction of two other characters who contribute heavily to the plot.

And then just like that, it got.. boring. There was no big plot twist of any sorts because there were literally only four characters, the dots connected themselves way before they actually wanted us to connect them. All this mixed with incredibly repetitive flashbacks (that were also incredibly unnecessary) led to a truly weird ending. That ending literally came out of nowhere and contrasted every word and action of the main characters. They tried to make it seem like an open ending, but again it was incredibly obvious.

I'd like to say I'm disappointed, but that's not it. While everything is clear as it can be in the story, there's just general confusion while watching it because you don't know how you feel, about everything that happens in just two episodes.

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What Did YOU Eat Yesterday?

Every once in a while, when the drama and conflicts feel too much, when you find the need to watch something that feels like a warm embrace, when you want to watch people navigate real issues with grace and sensitivity, I hope you'll think about this series.

I'll keep this short and sweet. Watching two people in love, handling their lives in the best possible manner makes you incredibly happy. Watching them influence the lives of those around them and get influenced by the very same people, watching them grow and evolve as they solve problems big and small, issues important and relevant, all while maintaining the healthiest of relationships is something admirable.

So I'll just say this. If you ever find yourself searching for a drama where every scene feels like a conversation you can witness in real life, where food plays an important role, whether it's to discuss issues or bring people together, or simply satisfy your craving, where you may get the sense that you're somehow part of this huge family, where it's just genuine happiness on screen, I hope you'll think about this series.

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Food and Love

There's something incredibly beautiful about watching two people already in love developing their relationship, handling issues together and just being incredibly in love. It's even better with food.

There isn't anything to say when asked what I didn't like, it's just that sort of wholesome vibe you get when you see a couple who've been together for a while and are just comfortably in love now. Yes, they have their issues big and small, but you get to watch with the confidence that there isn't going to be some overly dramatic, long drawn out fight. You can watch with the confidence that the only overly dramatic moments will be their reactions.

Above anything else, it tackles a lot of relevant and personal issues with a lot of nuance and sensibility. I loved seeing that.

A really sweet movie and a worthy sequel.

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A few ups and downs, but mostly serves

Man Suang is a solid production.

Though this may be a fictional story, it is intricately connected to the events of the time period, including the societal norms of the time period. The movie also showcases the political and cultural landscape of Thailand in a realistic way. When you produce a fictional account set in a very real and turbulent political and historical period, it is bound to get confusing at times, but for what it's worth, they did an admirable job.

Coming to the actual story, it was quite predictable. Like I mentioned, historical stories require a certain amount of explanation and background to be fully appreciated, and while I would have preferred that, the storytelling was solid for the most part. The characters are well fleshed out, the motives were clear and despite the fact that the mysteries were easily solved and the plotlines were succinctly wrapped up. The ending left something to be desired, but I guess that's what the sequel's for.

One thing that needs to be cleared up: there's no romance. This is a political thriller through and through, and even with the occasional glances, I'm glad it didn't develop into a romance. Including a full fledged romance would have taken a lot of time, and this was already chock full of events that including more scenes would have messed up something that already felt like it lacked a few things.

I probably wouldn't re-watch this, maybe if I wanted to see if I missed some details. More than anything, it was a pretty good watch and it will keep you invested.

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It's a wide universe..

First off, with the sheer amount of stories, they probably should have aired two episodes a week. It is an anthology, but several characters appear in multiple stories and there is a sense of continuation to them all. They are set in the same universe after all.

While there wasn't anything extraordinary about these stories, some of them were mildly interesting, others were plain boring, and some seemed borderline criminal (before they changed the synopsis), but something they all had in common was the fact that the premises were kind of interesting. This seemed like a set of pilot episodes to determine which one would garner the most attention and love, that would then be developed into a full length series, like an En of Love type of deal. Fair, but considering they had neither the airtime to fully develop most stories, nor the fact that they didn't realise if they weren't going to fully develop it, there wasn't a need to extend it for as long as they did just to fill the runtime was a huge misstep on their part.

That isn't to say that the anthology didn't have it's moments. I enjoyed several stories that had the hints of a good plot, solid acting and most importantly, potential to be done better, in case they do. While the rest didn't lack in potential, they failed to capture my attention because of repetitive and boring scenes, weak acting and poor execution.

I would definitely watch stories like Marry Go Round (although that's mostly for the leads), You Are My So(ul) Mate, Lucky Love and The Camp Fire if they were developed into full length series', as is. As for the rest, even though I'm interested in seeing if they would be remade, it'll take a great executional overhaul for me to give them a try.

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Mirror mirror on the wall..

Why weren't you used at all?! I genuinely thought the mirror would play a bigger role than simply making all the characters dream, but I'll let it pass because they did actually use it to set up the story.

I Wish You Love is the story of Pond, who takes extreme pride and caution in his looks and the way he presents himself. Naturally, he has a huge collection of mirrors and takes extremely good care of them. When he accidentally breaks one of his mirrors and obtains a replacement from a second hand store, he discovers that he can see his old junior Marwin in his dreams.

Initially terrified and later curious, he visits Marwin in person and finds that he's sick and confined himself to his house. Seeing all this, he decides to help Marwin step outside and hopefully fulfill some unresolved wishes he has.

The rest of the series pretty much follows all the things Marwin wants to do, and them doing it which is sweet yes, but.. that's it. It's difficult to create emotional depth and a steady story in two episodes, but it's definitely possible. While the message they tried to get across with all the scenes was obvious, it only managed to be displayed in bits and pieces. There was a lot of time wasted on unnecessary scenes, heavy dialogue that didn't quite cut it and a plot that was half baked to give room for another plotline. This is the kind of story that required either a longer runtime or more episodes, but in a bid to keep it interesting and short, they messed up the execution.

They tried to do the best they could and you can see they put some effort into it, but unfortunately it was just missing that spark that takes it from an okay story to "okay, this story is heart breaking and amazing".

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