Reviews

Paolo Rivero in movies 10-15 years ago, that's my big weakness. Moreover, here in a movie that is not subpar at all compared to a bunch of same old Pinoy movies where men like men. Unlucky in love, Raymund (Paolo) seeks relief in occasional one-night stands. His sister goes to Hong Kong for a few weeks and entrusts him with the care of her son Zach (Renz Valerio played it flawlessly). At a get-together party, Raymund meets Tim (Douglas Robinson, also from Symposium) and their love ignites... But how to combine the love of two men who have never experienced it, in addition, when his nephew Zach is also at home? Nicely acted, enjoyable and Pinoy movies also include such stupid things that I can see, for example, Raymund urinating in the toilet bowl over a folded board (seat) or wiping the floor in only one place, but that's just Pinoy and somehow horrified by it I'm not ...

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This movie was so funny... and so unexpected. Suppose it's because Kanna was in this as Akazukin, this whole setting felt like just another Gintama setting but it just made for an amusing setting. Just throw away all of the previous fairytale lore that we used to know of these characters because we're in for quite a different adventure!

We already know the original story of the Red Riding Hood, yet this movie was not about the young girl's trip to visit her grandmother and encountered the Big Bad Wolf. Akazukin has set out on a journey, yet along the way encountered an incident that led to the discovery of a murder! And it's up to Akazukin to identify the real culprit.

Akazukin met with Cinderella, and decided to help her to go to the ball. Yet they ended up involved in a murder investigation. And the truth later on end up unlike what anyone could've expected.

I totally didn't expect how Gintama-like this movie end up being. And Sato Jiro playing the king just brought back the old Kagura-Henpeita banter that always amuse me. And seriously I love the different take on the 'fairy god mother' trope in which in this movie was just an old witch who's a bit bad on magicking people's shoes and her niece who's a bit better at it.

I really enjoyed this movie, and it's a pity that it's not a serial drama. I would've love watching what other kinds of adventure that Akazukin would encounter.

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Incorporates Many Aspects I Didn't Think They Would

(Very Light Spoilers!) Unexpected surprises in this series! A perfect slice-of-life genre!

I did not expect them to talk about life, discuss various relationships, autonomy of one's own body and love and choices, even older generation talking and understanding about their children's life.
I loved it.

Krist's acting can be a bit of cringey at times but I will give him benefit of doubt because I believe the character he is playing is supposed to be like that. Krist's character is immature, whiny and self-deprecating. While I can dislike the continuous negative self-talk, I can empthaize with him.Because only if you are in a disadvantaged position and a bit accustomed to stay in your own head, that is how you will act.

Also, it is Kawi's predicament that has made him cynical. His mother left him, his father is sick and they never had enough money and people tell him that he is ungrateful son because he has chosen a stream to study that is not very lucrative in job market (this part hit me the most because I find many similarities with my country and the people's mindset here) .
It is really easy to fall into self-deprecating behaviour. It is his own insecurity that makes him stay away from people in fear of judgement.
And as a side effect, that distance creates a rift among people who could have actually helped him.


Krist's acting has become very natural. He does not shy away from the bold scenes. Even though there is not much, he has become far better since SOTUS. I found Kawi to be a great character full of follies and foibles who slowly understands and rectifies his mistakes.

Gawin Caseky is brilliant. I am his fan since NOT ME Series and he did not disappoint.

Aou as Max is probably my most favourite character aside from Kwan. He plays the role of the conscience in the story, giving advice, pointing at the mistakes and lending a helping hand whenever needed. Aou looks fabulous, acts even better. Whoever designed his costumes and did the hairstyle deserves a raise.

I will add my precious feelings for Kwan. She is a great friend to Pear, protects her when needed, throws great sardonic punchlines and sees good in people even when those people have hurt her. The actress of Kwan Justina Suvanvihok is not a brilliant actress but she has been an assistant director and screenwriter previously. Colour me surprised!

Absolutely amazing how they gave space to talk about the side characters. I feel the female characters in BLs are often not much talked about in the plot. But we see a beautiful storyline for them too. I saw Aye first in A Tale of Thousands Stars as Torfan and while she had very little space to act her parts, she definitely shined. I am so happy to see her in this series where even though she is a support character, she has her own story and arc. And she did it deftly.

Overall I absolutely enjoyed the message of the story.

The shots, the lighting, the locations are well chosen. Especially the last scene where they are sitting in a beach, WHAT A SHOT! Extra props for Krist and Gawin's improptu singing. I loved the OST and bgms.

I gave it a whopping 8 out of 10. Well deserved.

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Such a great watch

This is a Comedy and Murder Mystery. There is no romance between the leads.

Now that we got that all cleared up.
Let's talk about some pros and cons shall we.

PROS:
◇The acting
◇The OST (Original Soundtrack)
◇The plot
◇The Writing
◇The foreshadowing was ??
◇The way they had as guessing till the last episodes was amazing.
◇The FL best friends crew they were so much fun!
◇The chemistry

CONS:
◇Not much because it stayed true to the genres. I would say maybe pacing in the middle.

Overall this was a fun show and enjoyed it while it was airing.

Rewatch? Probably not a good one time watch for me.

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Cute but couldn't avoid cliches

"Hello I'm at your service" is a lovely office romance that is both binge-able and cringey. One of those sweet, sugary dramas that we get every year from China but it still has some elements that you would enjoy. For me, it was a unique CEO male lead and the concept of your workplace being your family.

Our ceo male lead, Lou Yuan (Miles Wei) appears like a cold, aloof, very typical at first but he is rather friendly and nice. He is not a total introvert either. Behind this perfect ceo is a down to earth, frugal guy who dotes on the female lead.

Contrasting to him is the female lead, Dong Dong En (Xu Lu) who is quirky and efficient at her work. As a customer service representative she is good at flattering people too. She is just too smart and knows how to talk through her way.

She works for a small company called Ba-Er (Eighty two studio) which has less employees but they all are like family members who go through hardships together. An amusing company which barely makes any money but stays up for nights to meet the client's requirements. The founders are like elders of the family where an employee is casual enough to nag or stare at the boss. They even dine together daily. Her bonding with them was one of the parts I loved in the drama.

Now coming up to what took 2 stars away. Its the stereotypes of a Chinese Romcom. You get a CEO, rich ML- poor FL story (which gladly is the main highlight here although they presented a very healthy relationship since Lou Yuan was not domineering and rather understanding), you also get a bitchy childhood lover out of nowhere (with zero self respect obviously), a toxic Ex (who you wish could die bald, many might enjoy this arc tho becoz I laughed a lot at the end).

But anyone watching this for the romantic story wouldn't get bored for sure. Along with these adorable leads we also get two second lead couples who have interesting stories going on parallely.

And all throughout this drama one thing you can definitely learn is how to butter up people. Like no one here is talking in a sane way without adding compliments. Its so cheesy at some scenes but its funny too. Comedy makes this drama light and an easy watch.

Overall, it was quite a mid, okayish drama that you can binge watch over a weekend or keep as a side dish for a strong ongoing angsty historical you're watching.

Sweet, a lot cliche yet fun!

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amazing when you haven’t seen the original

having not seen the original, i was able to appreciate this drama on its own and i found it incredible. in fact i HAVE to watch the original now because i was in disbelief when i heard it’s better than this already is. i think it’s inevitable to compare two versions of something, but if you haven’t seen the original don’t let the negative reviews steer you away because this was really good too.

it also makes me sad that some people are dismissing it because of its complexity. time travel plots should be confusing, if they’re not, then they’re not doing it right. another great example is donnie darko. i don’t like a lot of time travel stories because they fail to consider how one small thing would change the whole future, but they understood the concept really well with this one and used it to create one of the most clever storylines i’ve ever seen. i guess not everyone will understand it, admittedly there were multiple moments where i had to pause and wrap my head around what was going on, but in the end everything adds up so perfectly it had me wondering how on earth people come up with stuff like this

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An intriguing and complicated story of time travel

The characters crisscrossed time into the future and back to the past so many times that I lost track. However, it is an interesting drama. I followed it through continuously and completed watching it across three days while recovering from a flu.

Two lovers from different time periods were star crossed and their shared memories were eventually erased. The drama cleverly kept its audience guessing the identity of two individuals- the missing boyfriend and the real killer, and wondering whether the killer could be stopped on time to save the lead lady.

The main actress Ko Chia Yen was excellent. She acted two completely different characters very convincingly - a timid depressed young teenager with an inferior complex and a confident university student who grew up very assertive.

The actors and actresses were good looking. The main cast acted their parts well. Some of the insignificant minor characters were not so convincing; however their less than a minute duration parts did not impact the overall drama. The backdrops were appropriate for the scenes.

The pace of the story was quite slow, so you have got to be patient. I nearly wanted to skip to the last episode.

As for the music, it's just that one piece 'Last Dance' and that's about all.

The main negative is the ending did not flow well. Suddenly, the main couple was on a bike appearing from nowhere - how they met again was not explained - if it was from the time when the female lead was a child, it would be very tacky.

If I were the writer, I would let them meet in the future with a role reversal - with Li Zi Wei returning from Canada, walking into a cafe and ordering his coffee. The waitress whose back was toward him, answered in affirmative, prepared his coffee and turned to hand him his coffee. Their eyes met, they found each other very familar, stared and asked each other simultaneously 'Have we met before?'

Overall I would highly recommend this drama.

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Romanticizing abuse in relationships..

Okay so first of all, this movie is veryyyyy graphic. In terms of sexual content and abuse. I spent half of my time pausing this movie because of the very very nauseating scenes. I may sound extra, but as all the other reviews say this movie includes rape.

What I don’t like about this film is the fact that it leads the victim back to his abuser and accepts him back to whatever you call a toxic relationship. I feel like stories like these just make out the victim to be clueless and “ask for it”. Like the amount of trauma this character had been through. Like the first chapter of the story was already upsetting, but the next one is a whole different story.

The only thing I could pick from this was, “there’s not much left until you experience the reality of life.” In the sense of this whole movie and manga included, that this movie is essentially about life and death.

One character wants to die but cannot bring himself to die. While the other character just wants to die. There’s nothing more to it. The overall story was compelling and it was very intimidating. I guess it would somehow make you think in the end.

But this also all roots down to consent and what to bring in a relationship. What the second main lead had, to him it was something special, and because he never had that closure of his other partner passing, he chose to “save” the first main lead. And sort of keep him away from him doing anything to himself. And I think because he chose to set him “free” in the end was because he knew he’d come back.

“Dangerous drugs of sex” has nothing to do with sec other then the dynamics of a toxic relationship with an abuser and a victim that has been affected by Stockholm syndrome. Because no one in a sane mind would willingly go back to such a person.

But regardless I think everything else was good. The acting was good, the music, etc.

I just would’ve liked a much less predictable and graphic story.

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easy to binge in a day if you want a good laugh!

so i watched all 6 episodes in a row and thoroughly enjoyed it!

here is what i liked about it:
- the teams dynamic is great, i loved their friendship and banter, you can tell they get on really well
- the comedy aspects in this had me laughing out loud multiple times
- the acting from everyone was great, i especially enjoyed lieutenant han
- it is easy watching

i don't quite understand why people are saying its boring or that they didn't like it, however i suppose we are all different.. BUT i would definitely recommend this to someone if you want some easy watching action filled drama, it did not disappoint!

i just hope we can get a season 2!

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When the characters regress and you are questioning reality.

After watching one episode one would think the female lead will get an amazing character development and slowly will learn how to prioritize her own needs. One could not predict she will infect male lead with her Jesus complex - and yet this is kind of what happens.

Not gonna lie, Takumi was adorable. The twist on the contract marriage and the initial presentation of him as a cold male lead was done perfectly and set my expectations for the rest of the show slightly too high. On the other hand, Yae was just frustrating. While at the beginning the situations she put others’ needs ahead of her own made at least some sense, later it was just too much to handle and the script was leaning into some ridiculous territories.

I think the writer just fails to deliver a character development. I know not all characters need one, but her behavior was truly pathological on a whole new level. If anyone needs character development, it’s her. What’s worse, I feel like her “giving up so others can be happy” persona started to influence male lead too, which led to at best questionable last episode.

That said, I did enjoy them as a couple and their scenes were adorable and blast. The actors had amazing chemistry and as a viewer it was clear to me how in love they are. I also really liked all the side characters - which, surprise surprise, actually got more character development than our leading lady…

Overall, a decent rom-com that is lacking in some major areas.

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inutile

Affrettato e infantile, pieno di buchi nella trama e, in definitiva, abbastanza inutile.
La coppia principale, che è anche l'unica, tutto sommato ha una chimica decente e la recitazione non lascia troppo a desiderare, così come i costumi, per quanto abbastanza dimessi, e le ambientazioni decisamente anonime. i combattimenti almeno, non fanno rabbrividire come quelli di altri drama. Il lieto fine è d'obbligo, ma il colpo di scena finale è talmente telefonato che la produzione deve aver pagato un capitale in bollette.
Il fatto che ne abbiano fatto un film forse l'ha penalizzato, magari ci avrebbe guadagnato un po' con la formula del mini drama, alla quale si perdona qualcosa di più. Il fatto che, invece, si trattasse di un film, ha fatto brillare tutte le cose negative. appena sufficiente, buono se si hanno un paio d'ore da buttar via.

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