Reviews

A Strong Woman makes a Strong Man sigh

I was not sure what to expect of this drama that started out with grown man pampering and teasing a magical chicken (Phoenix), but I certainly was not expecting another 10/10 drama. I mean maybe it’s not perfect but I enjoyed every single episode and didn’t hit the fast forward button even once.

The female lead is a strong warrior and leader of her people. She’s very much caught up in the current dramas and politics of her time with the urgency of a leader who knows the outcomes are not guaranteed.

The male lead is also strong but he’s absolutely abandoned the majorities of his responsibilities, let’s things run their natural course with both good and bad outcomes, and is overall a chill dude milling about in his garden like a grandpa until our domineering phoenix drags him back into the drama of the realms.

And like yin and yang they are a perfect balance with their matching cores.

This story will take you to heaven and earth, demon realms and magical worlds, wastelands and paradises. It’s gorgeous, too. The costumes, the locations, the sets - all marvelous.

There are also some very memorable second lead characters. A brother and sister duo that I adored who both got solid stories and character arcs as well as unique and funny personalities. A pining but not pathetic second male lead (well he was kinda pitiful but the circumstances demanded it). And there was a slew of other great side characters that really added depth and realism to this fantastical story (sexy snake lady, I’m looking at you).

Most of all the two leads had great chemistry. They played off each other so well - with humor and teasing and sweetness and snarkiness, they frustrated each other, they admired each other, they just seemed so natural side by side I was rooting for their love story even when she was a chicken (which is only the first two eps or so).

My Xianxia Fantasy Lovers, you will love it. Definitely fire it up and enjoy the ride. It’s epic.

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Good show

The show was well paced with a very well developed plot centered around political intrigue. All the male characters were great, and, thankfully there weren't any convoluted plotlines and cliche tropes. My favorite relationships were between Ha Seon and the Chief Royal Secretary, Eunuch Jo, Guard Jang, and the villains. However, the show should've gone without the romance.

This was probably the first drama where I couldn't care less about the romance. It felt like an afterthought. Nothing against the actors. Everyone did a great job portraying their characters. Big props to Yeo Jin Goo being so young but already so talented. He did a fantastic job portraying two completely different characters. However, the romance was lacking. Yeo Jin Goo next to Lee Se Young looked like a younger brother rather than a romantic partner. Their relationship was completely uninteresting and the chemistry was bland.

The story is about friendship, duty, country. If you are watching it for romance, you will be disappointed. The show would've been exponentially better without it.

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Now that's how you do a sword fight

Though it's actually sword vs scabbard fights, but still awesome! Saotome Taichi is mesmerizing to watch. I can't imagine how many hours of training he goes through to be that beautiful to watch. Each fight scene seems like a well choreographed dance. Just beautiful! Add in Endo Yuya to the fighting and it's over the top good!

The series is known as The Sealer on Viki in case anyone is looking for it. The series itself is quite short but doesn't suffer too many from that. The story is quite interesting and different and very dark, so not my typical happy smiley type of series to watch. But damn, it is really good. Even though it looks like a few people have complained about the music, I think the music adds a perfect touch to this intense drama.

The look is gorgeous. I love the costume design for most all of the characters. The Osagami character looks especially good with his flowing black outfits. Gorgeous!

The only complaint I have, which is a repeated complaint from me for a lot of series, is the FL. Good lord, could they make a more irritating, useless person? The FL's only purpose seems to be to fall over and have to be rescued! I do like that there seems to be subtle diss'ing for the character cause she is the only one that wears just awful outfits and hair. Sort of like no one can stand the character so they punish the poor actress. Or maybe that's just me ?

Anyhow, give this a watch. It's short so won't take up your entire weekend. It's worth it just to watch the lovely Saotome Taichi.

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A Gem

You will experience a range of emotions while watching this series. I said spoilers are contained, but not exactly. As it relates to spoilers, all I'll say is the "mother" never grew on me and although I did understand her plight, the sheer realness of her character made it hard to watch and accept during the series. I hoped that once her son confided that she was smothering him - she would back off. not the case. he illness only worsened.

Who could I identify with the most - the son. The son did everything for his mother and an independent life was not to be had. Which i think was the greatest tragedy. In the end, I hope there would be a happy ending. Still not to be had. Well I guess depending on who you ask, it could have been a happy ending. For me it was not a happy ending. For me I felt joy during the the short courtship, but mostly sorrow.

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rapping is a form of expression

It can be confusing on how you feel especially with no support aiding you in that process.

There was serious character growth for the teacher as he experienced trauma that destroyed most people in life and yet comes out better for it. It made me cry that he died right after he realised his love for Kai. He found a great friend from shota as he was comfortable with him and actually gave him some love advice.

Kai I felt was always rooting for the teacher as he wanted him to express his feelings from the start taking blame for a terrible act no one should have to face. At face value it seems he is uneducated and naive but he understands the world better than most people

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All the couples are great!

I started this drama especially to watch Shin Hye Sun & Sun Hun together and they were so damn good. All the couples in the drama were so well-written. They were loyal to each other, cared for each other, and didn't give up on each other even during hardships. Many of them temporarily retreated but then came back strong in pursuit of their loved, which was so endearing.

I was bit afraid about the Sang Tae being a jerk to Mi Jung not just because of his dead wife but because of his chaotic family. There was that one instance in the beginning when he tried to put a wall between them, but it handled nicely by his father. His father was such a sensible person throughout the series. Apart from the part when the boys were hit on their calves, I really liked the way they handled parenting those kids. With so many of them under a small roof, it could have turned bad but they both handled it so well. Mi Jung's ex was deadbeat father even when he was given the chance to bond with them he always chose to be selfish. He had no business having more children who he might end up leaving in the future. I didn't like that Mi Jung held the children against him when he cheated. But looking at how the ex behaved majority of time, Mi Jung made the right decision. The kids wouldn't have grown up so well-mannered or even nice under his care.

Ho Tae & Soo Young were good for each other as well. Despite their past decisions, they grew up well. It was good to see Ho Tae growth from the thief who stole from his sister to a successful director.

All the parents in the drama were chaotic enough to give me a headache. From the parents in law who didn't want their son in law to move on, to the parents who thought their son were too good for the women they chose. That's the only part of the drama that I could do without.

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The loss of innocence

In a confusing way, 'My Dream' explores the loss of innocence, as it follows the lives and relationships of five young people who are united by friendship, love and blood: Runway (Best, Cholsawas Tiewwanichkul), the main narrator; his friends Guide (Fame, Chawinroj Likitchareonsakul) and Yim (Ellfa, Chollatee Bampen), Doctor Good (Boom, Jiratpisit Jaravijit), Guide's brother, and Tanai (Taro, Shatree Suwanvalaikor), Runway's athletic, slightly older neighbor than him, who is in love with the young protagonist.
Directed by Job Piyawat Chaithiangthum, at the time of its premiere in 2018, the series 'My Dream' meant a pleasant change within the BL universe with the mixture of youth themes, romance, fantasy and supernatural.
Runway is a brilliant high school student marked by nightmares since the death of his father. Thanks to her father's old dream catcher placed near her bed, Runway manages to fall asleep, in which a mysterious man named Dream (Fluke, Pongsapat Kankam) appears to her.
However, Runway, who lives alone with his mother, has not created an imaginary friend in his mind, but rather an imaginary lover who makes the teenager not only fantasize and invent various conversations and situations, but also leads him to confuse fantasy and reality.
Instead of helping Runway find an escape from the situation, Dream, who has been present in Runway's dreams since he was a baby, will help immerse him further and further into an imaginary world that will be difficult, if not impossible to escape.
Dream won't stop the teen from interacting with other humans, but he will be upset when Runway comes into contact with Tanai, the boy who has a crush on him. This is how Runway will ignore Tanai's declarations of love and her constant worries about him.
I don't like Tanai that she loves Runaway because "she sees him as a girl."
Runway's personality is wonderful, being the good son and good friend of his friends, always attentive to the feelings of others.
At the end of the series we will see a meeting between Runway and Dream in the real world, and thus we will have new elements about the relationship that exists between Dream and Elle and the bond between both of them with the dreamcatcher, since Elle will be Dream's companion on that occasion.
Another of the main characters is Guide. This intelligent high school student tries to help Runwai deal with both the imaginary relationship and the real world, but everything changes when he suspects that his girlfriend Yaimai (Noon, Pitchatorn Santinatornkul), has been unfaithful, and decides to separate from her afterward of three years of courtship.
At the same time, Guide begins to feel attracted to Tanai.
Regarding the character played by Noon, I don't like that she doesn't mind sharing Guide with as many men as he wants to be with, as long as she allows her to be the only girl. I don't understand these types of female characters obsessed with boys who have lost interest in girls, among other reasons because they are homosexual. Instead of accepting to be her friend, Yaimai will try again and again to get Guide to return to her side, causing tensions between the two and their family and friends.
For his part, Yim, who has lived his adolescence without complications, will suffer a sexual violation and will find supportive arms in Runway and Tanai, to whom he confesses what happened.
I don't like how Yim's rape story is handled.
Not even Tanai, because he is of legal age, suggests that he seek justice and report the sexual assault, after Yim demonstrates that he feels affected by the events. On the contrary, we see the boy being driven home by the rapist in the same car with which he was previously taken to the place of the rape, which would mean greater stress and suffering for a person after suffering a tragedy like this.
Other scenes, such as the "farewell" kiss when the rapist finally recognizes his mistake and asks for forgiveness, also make it seem like Yim suffers from Stockholm Syndrome.
It is true that Tanai hits the aggressor, but this seems insufficient punishment to me, since the possibility of the rapist acting in the same way in the future remains latent.
These events contribute to the loss of innocence of adolescents.
At the same time, the young doctor Good will be trapped in a strange supernatural relationship with a mysterious girl who turns out to have the appearance of Kafe (Anna Glucks), his old girlfriend who died in an accident five years ago, but in truth is a strange being who He changes gender depending on whether he comes into contact with the water, because when he is dry he transforms his appearance and becomes a boy named Elle (Choot, Cherdchanin Vitapinan), who is somehow connected to the dreamcatcher and the tragic outcome that cost him life to the woman that Good still has not been able to forget.
The three teenagers will lose their innocence when each one knows pain, evil, and deception. As the series progresses, Runwai, Guide and Yim will realize that things in real life are different from how they saw them.
The series also tells us about coming of age and that, coupled with the loss of trust in the world, human beings can activate their capacity for resilience based on affectivity. The more love and understanding the characters receive, the greater their ability to overcome obstacles.
After the dreamcatcher is burned, Runway wakes up from a coma and asks for Tanai. He is worried about him, but not only in the sense of knowing his state of health after the accident.
Upon arriving home and left alone with Tanai, Runway laughs at Tanai's jokes for the first time. He has lost his innocence. And Tanai asks him again the question of whether he can take care of him, in the sense of whether he can be his partner. And if until that moment he had rejected it, Runway asks him for time to think about it, a response that makes Tanai happy.
In the next dream, for the first time Runway finds Dream and her father in the same vision. Call the father. But when you look at the place where Dream was, it is no longer there. It seems that Dream has recognized that Runway has chosen to be with her father.
However, instead of moving forward, the series goes backwards, keeping Runway lost between fantasy and reality. Apparently, the creators thought to resolve this situation in a second season that never arrived, leaving all the stories unfinished.
Some viewers will point out that the series is slow in the sense of the action of the actors' and actresses' movements being slow, but I consider that the long shots and wide spaces for reflection do not make 'My Dream' boring. On the contrary, the slow rhythm has been used with precision in the Thai series, and the music and other arts related to television easily adapt to the feeling that the musical themes and the story have wanted to express.
Likewise, the static camera and silences contribute to telling the story and recreating the general feeling of the series. What is interesting is how 'My Dream' takes its time to build the stories and characters step by step.
What I enjoy most about the series is the slow and wonderful relationship that Guide and Tanais have been weaving. Fame achieves a good performance by showing how his cute character falls in love with Tanai, who in turn has been in love with Runway, but he remains obsessed with Dream.
The moments of interaction between Guide and Tanai are wonderful. Among these, the kiss on the beach or the one that the two enjoy in front of the door of Guide's house when Tanai takes him on his motorcycle and says goodbye to him at night before Yaimai's prying eyes. Or when Tanai places food on his plate while the three teenagers and Tanai's friends celebrate the latter's birthday.
It is extraordinary how the characters show the relationship that they have been developing in silence, even with their backs turned to themselves, and how they transmit anxiety, restlessness, nervousness... all those common symptoms that can surprise people in love.
I must also highlight how striking it is that the characters do not react with surprise to the supernatural phenomena they are forced to face. Accepting the supernatural without drama contributes to the development of the story, since it is evident that all the mysterious supernatural events and characters have the dreamcatcher in common.
We will be looking forward to seeing Yim and Asawin (Beer Rapeewish Sangiamwong) interact, since we only got to see it for a few minutes in the final episode. The chemistry between the two characters is undeniable. In case of a second season, I would be interested in seeing the evolution of this couple and that of Tanai and Guide.

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Kill Time

What a captivating start!
Jeon Do Yeon surprised me with her fighting skills and her dual identity, a top-notch killer and a single mom. It's quite a contrast from her role in "Crash Course in Romance," where she played a kind aunt. Not that she's unkind here; I found her character to be very human, despite all the victims she's dealt with.

The plot was decent; I wasn't bored, but I didn't feel fully immersed either.
It felt like we were watching two separate stories—the one about the MK organization and Boksoon dealing with her teenage daughter.
However, the ending felt a bit lacking?. There were many loose ends about MK that were left unresolved, and I doubt there will be a season 2, not that it's really necessary.

I enjoyed the fighting scenes, even if I've seen better.??
Overall, I liked the whole cast, and there were many actors that I missed seeing. The production was solid, making it a fine movie to kill time with.

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Really meh in my opinion

*April 28th. It aired 3 days ago ! Never started a series so early. Almost right after its release lol*

The series is super cute and funny. Many parts were so amusing. It’s suoer interesting. I loved most characters and the OST were just…INCREDIBLE and matched perfectly !
Now to be honest irl some things would have been a huge NO for me. Even in the series, it’s still borderline.
Let’s start with Gi seop because he’s the one I’m actually targetting with this one.
He was being a huge red flag the moment Jin woo said he was a two-timer and then explained how he litteraly would be cheating on his girlfriends and blatantly. Like who tf would give their number to someone clearly interested in them and in front of your partner ???
Then I was triggered when he started being really intrusive like at the beginning maybe it was funny but not when you are rummaging into people lives and things !
When he said he would leave a week to jin woo for him to ask him out or else he would leave.
First you shouldn’t pressure someone into asking you out especially when you know you say ´yes’ to litteraly everyone.
Second, you shouldn’t follow them around and then refusing being rejected when they keep saying ´no’.
Like what kind of people are you to litteraly wants someone to aks you out because you are used to it and can’t stand them saying no.
Also when he said no, you pulled out a contract stating you would get out as soon as he would say you failed eventhough he just told you that a few seconds ago and you said you won’t leave ?…
I think it’s also super messed up to want someone to ask you out just for you to say ´yes ´ because ´you have to’ and not because you would actually like them. It’s super twisted because the person could end up destroyed at that…Especially if you are two-timing or worse ten-timing them as Gi seop did numerous times…

Other than that he is a cute and funny character..?Also why is the boy everywhere else but the school/part-time job lol ? Btw he is so whipped for jin woo that he got a mole tattooed ?. Hope they couple will last long !

Then another red flag of this series is that public confession lol. I would be seriously throwing a tantrum if someone was asking me out PUBLICLY, in front of tons of people especially if they are pressuring me into accepting. I mean they should not pressure someone into dating another person because it could have serious consequences !

Jin Woo is super funny and was being so real from ep 1. Single-since-birth team lol ! But that one line in which he litteraly described himself as the type of girl he would like to date, I was kinda triggered tbh. But other than that, he’s being pretty realistic!

I LOVE Baelgeum’s character so much ! He is so cute and realistic ! I’m so excited to see more about the side couple because they seem to have some background.

Those crosses in jin woo’s note (next to gi seop) are prolly to mark how many times he got Gi seop’s attention (?) That would explain their small amount. But this is just my attention.

kudos to the actor for not pulling off the floating kiss !!!

I love how Gi seop might be the most dense person but he knows how to read the room sometimes and avoids us so many miscommunication clichés.

I felt bad for baelgeum because when he was down Gi seop was halfy there for him bug ig at least he tried !

2nd couple is so good like they have a strong background. I love both of them and their relationship is so wholesome (and realistic !)

About the girl that appeared (forgot her name) she’s so cute and funny. She has the bestie material he needs ngl. also if they were going to end up together i would root for them but its a bl so they obviously wont but she so cute. They are
cute together.
Hope writers won't make her look toxic or smth.

I love the music though ! Shazam isn’t shazaming rn tho ?

*11/05/24
EDIT : I’m dropping this because I’ve lost interest in this. I still love the second couple but it isn’t strong enough to keep me on in this show.*

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A truly inspirational story that is light and full of comedy to make you laugh. I had little expectations considering I prefer darker genres but I am glad I put aside my prejudices and dived in.
The story brought everyone together through one 1 action a footballer did, through his leadership individuals dealt with their trauma and expectations throw at them.
The pacing was excellently executed with me never feeling like I got too much information at the time.
So-min was a great producer but needed to fix her personality of forcing interaction and emotion as it made her seem she only did it for the money and not the humanity of the task.

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Blind red eyes

A blind girl who regains her sight and a boy who has lost it. They meet again after twenty years.
She became a painter and he became the king's supervising astrologer, also known as the "red-eyed monster".
The young prince and the astronomer fall in love with her, but her heart belongs completely to her old friend.
As a divine painter she should restore the portrait of last king to trap the evil spirit that has taken possession of the young man's body . This proves more difficult than expected.
Great OST.

NB how can a blind boy give a vote in a painting competition?

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My face hurts from smiling so much

Another completely biased review from me to you!

What can I say, I absolutely love this series/movie! It's on my permanent playlist. If I'm feeling down I will watch it. If I'm in a good mood and want to stay that way I watch it. It's a sweet easy show to watch with adorable boys, a great soundtrack and background music, and an interesting story. This is another show to please disconnect the logic portion of your brain and just go with it. If you start thinking logically you'll get bogged down into the why's and lose enjoyment. Just go with the flow. Also, I recommend the movie version instead of the series. There is an extra scene there that doesn't change a lot but gives me bigger smiles.

The music is spot on. I know I've read other people complaining about the background music but I beg to differ, it's great. And as soon as I hear the song Star by Runy I start smiling, it's so infectious and fun. I'm listening to it now on repeat. And the title song Florida is sung by the cast members, which makes it extra special. The MLs are incredibly cute together, just watch them smile at each other. Can you say dimples? And also can I say, what a waste of the best abs ever, not seeing more of a shirtless Yoo Hwan! Really, the entire cast are just adorable. Fun fact - zeze and joon together make up seoulitestudio https://www.youtube.com/@SEOULITESTUDIO . I watch all their videos, even though most of them don't have English subs. They are so fun together.

Highlights for me that makes this so special SPOILERS AHEAD:
The opening scene, chasing the suitcase down the hill and into each others arms. Much better than the usual trip into each others arms trope ?
The zoom in with hands to see a close-up. Yes, it's cheesy and it's been done before, but it's executed so well and Hae Won's smile is just so....
Absolutely love the "Place your left foot back...that's your right foot" then the little hop/skip to switch legs. Cute!
How adorable Hae Won looks when putting on his uniform first time!
Sexiest way of putting an apron on someone ever... 'a little harder' and then the tucking the hair behind the ear is a sweet little swoon-worthy scene
The additional scene mentioned above isn't much, just showing the MLs in bed together, 2 pairs of bare feet tangled together, 2 naked (well, shirtless anyhow) bodies cuddled up together sleeping.
The tight, tearful hug at the end ?

I really wish there was an additional episode where we can find what happened with Yoo Hwan's father!
What was up with that throw away line in the beginning "the guest house's owner came". Does that mean Hae Won own's the guest house? Inquiring minds want to know ?

So anyhow, watch it, enjoy, smile more ?

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A complex romance that delves into reality and yet is quite accepted.

I quite liked the story of a more experienced actor supporting a newbie to the industry and yet the rehearsal is full of passion and love it becomes reality.
Their movie they created was the highlight as real issues came to play but no one realised so was an unique confrontation as the wife stated "you ruined your own life."

What I didn't enjoy was when the wife wad emasculated him all because of his actions that she saw, I felt she could've been more open and have an adult conversation about what they wanted.

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