Reviews

Tough one. Stuck with it - Kinda...

This one was a tough one to watch. In the beginning, some of the characters are so irritating that I was disappointed to find that they would be a love interest or, still in the story 4 episodes later. I thought, casting wise, this group was a bit of a mess. Maybe, closer to reality? But, I just couldn't see the two leads together - at all. She was so mean and so unforgiving. He went out of his way to continue to patronize her business, replace the phone, etc. and she still couldn't let anything go. Who cares if we see a character show regret if they don't follow through? A character should not be rewarded for being a thorn in someone's side.

As usual - some stellar performances - the only reason I watched a portion of every episode. , Ji Dong-hee (Shin Jae-ha) was brilliant. To change his personality on a dime like that - perfect. I could understand why he chose to die in the end. All the actors/actresses for the high school characters were perfect. Lee Chae-Min's breakdown while taking the exam was perfection - you really felt what he was going through.

Jeon Do-yeon's Nam Haeng-soon and Jung Kyung-ho's Choi Chi-yeol - did not work for me. I could not get to the point of accepting that they were suitable for each other as a couple. I could see them helping each other out in their own ways but, it would have been nicer to see them end up with other people. The late addition of the true mother was a waste of time on everyone's part. It wasn't even needed - especially, since she had zero redeeming qualities. Jae-Woo(Oh Eui-Sik) - eh - did not like that his issues all pertained to what the story needed to keep moving. Writer's convenience = lazy.

Also, regardless if it is life-like or, what - just because characters are together in a scene - you don't have to fill every waking moment with their nonstop conversation. I got to the point every time certain characters showed up - I knew I could fast forward through their whole time and not miss a single thing.

Really hated how hard the writers worked at making the whole cast have a happy, fairytale existence in the end. Villain? Takes his own life. Leads? Happy successful life. Teens? Exciting happy college life - not a speck or, mention of therapy or, how they healed anywhere. Parent's - awful to the core - ruined people's lives? All forgiven. Ruined and nearly put your own children in the hospital or, the morgue? All forgiven. Ruined marriages because you focused on all the wrong things? No worries.

Thank goodness for the fast forward button.

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firstkhao meus pais??

que dorama!!
achei a temática bem diferente de outros bl's, que assisto normalmente mas tem algumas coisas que eu pessoalmente não gostei, mas dependendo a pessoa nao vai importar!

uma das coisas que eu nao gostei muito foi a questão de ter 3 casais, sou acostumada a assistir dramas simples e curtinhos de 1 casal principal e pronto, mas isso é so uma preferência minha

também acho que em poucos episódios ja tentaram trazer muita informação e muitas tramas que sinceramente nao sei se seriam necessárias agora

nao consegui simpatizar com os outros dois casais além do sanray, principalmente o secundário, nao acho que eles tenham química alguma, também pelo fato de ser uma relação complicada, acho que mais pra frente isso pode melhorar

e espero de verdade que tenham mais cenas do first e khao, fiquei um tempão esperando pra ver eles atuando juntos novamente e ate agora to achando perfeito, eles sao a única coisa que ta realmente me prendendo nesse bl

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A deeply romantic, atmospheric, nostalgic story packed into two hours . . .

In 2 hours, I loved and connected more with these characters than I do for dramas that are 16 hours in length.

It's a simple story just enough hurdles, love triangles and other dynamics to keep it interesting. But it isn't the plot points, it's the way the actors, writing, and director were able to build out full characters that grow to love each other on screen. It's also the way this is it shot with a poetic, dripping with golden nostalgia, millennial way.

By the end, this show hits on the high school dreams of many of us, to find love, unexpected, spontaneous and early with someone caring and mature and good looking. It's the thrill of realising that you can have a crush on someone and they can have a crush on you back. It's the knowledge that some of our best life moments are behind us, and there is no way to get them back.

For lovers of slice of life, love set in a short period of time, stories tinged with equal hope and sadness, this one is for you.

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muito fofo e simples !

de todos os bl's q eu ja vi esse foi um dos mais simples e fofos, obvio que segue o mesmo roteiro de todos os bl's coreanos, sendo lento e a relação dos dois evoluindo devagarinho, mas esse tem algo a mais que é muito cativante, a química dos personagens é muito boa!!
qualquer cena q eles aparecem juntos se torna confortável de assistir (obviamente as cenas fofas)
uma coisinha so que eu nao gostei muito foi a relação do casal secundário, acho que poderia ter sido melhor explorada!
criei um carinho muito grande por esse drama, assistiria muitas mais vezes

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Amar é cuidar e cultivar

Eu consigo entender por que o primeiro diretor quis desistir dessa história. Uma história de amor em que o homem (nem tão) mais velho se apaixona pela irmã do melhor amigo, a qual ele conheceu quando ela ainda era muito nova, realmente é um enredo difícil de não cair no desagrado do público. Porém, estou feliz que não desistiram desse projeto, pois o resultado foi simplesmente lindo!

Sobre a protagonista feminina: apesar de gostar de alguém mais velho, em nenhum momento o seu tempo é desrespeitado. Ela não buscar fingir ser mais madura do que o que de fato é, ela não pula etapas pelo relacionamento que quer ter. E, embora a família a trate com o cuidado dado a crianças, ao reservar ela se mostra muito madura emocionalmente - sem deixar de ser meiga, delicada, atenciosa e muito fofa.

Sobre o protagonista masculino: que show de atuação! Senti muita sinceridade nas cenas dele, em especial quando o assunto era a sua família. Gostei que ele foi construído como alguém que aprendeu a ser uma boa pessoa, apesar de tudo. Gostei, também, de como ele se mostrou decidido uma vez que entendeu que seus sentimentos pela prota mudaram de cuidado para amor, que é um detalhe que faz toda a diferença nessa história.

Os protagonistas mostraram que o amor é cuidar do outro, mas é também cultivar no outro felicidade, conforto, confiança.

É um dorama simples, no fim das contas, mas que mostrou personagens como pessoas reais. Nem perfeitos, nem caricatos. Os pais tem suas questões quanto aos filhos, os irmãos brigam, quem se ama tenta dar o seu melhor pelo outro, e é isso.

Muito grata a atriz principal que deu o melhor de si para fazer esse projeto acontecer, valeu a pena cada segundo gasto.

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Action movie with a sci-fi angle: not that original but beautifully acted and produced

This movie is about the encounter of former intelligence agent Ki Heon and Seo Bok, a human clone whom the mere existence might have a huge impact on the globe if made public. The story is not really original in terms of concept as well as pacing and resolution but it hits at the right times the right notes, making it an entertaining watch.

The biggest flaws in terms of the story relies in its villains which are really dislikeable and lack too much of nuances to be interesting. The dialogs between Ki Heon and Seo Bok with some of their most peaceful moments really strike a chord with me but at the same time, it was totally counterbalanced by the antagonists scenes which were worth quite a few eye-rolls.

The acting was amazing. It is a well known fact that Gong Yoo and Park Bo Gum are great actors, and here they are really stellar and bouncing back on the talent of each other. The secondary cast did a good job overall despite the lack of subtlety and substance for some of the roles. Moreover, the foreigners performances were okay overall and not distractingly bad like it can happen sometimes.

The production value was really nice. I was super impressed by a lot of the action scenes, with both main male leads totally credible in it. The props, accessories and scientific aspects of the film were well conceived and believable. The soundtrack did not necessarily leave a deep impression on me but was suitable.

I would recommend this to people looking for an action movie with a sci-fi angle and some stellar acting. It is not original at all and the antagonists actions and dialogs can be a little cringe, but if you love Gong Yoo and/or Park Bo Gum, it is for sure worth the time.

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PLS...I was stressed...but I LOVED this concept for a dati g show

...i need a therapist after watching this. So the contestants are living together for a month-ish...and every person has screen time except for Yena. Gurly is either only shown cooking, drying hair for the other girls or being their source of confort. Literally...for the first 8 episodes (10 in total) I was like...how does no one have romantic interest in her...she's perfect...and she had so little screentime because of that lack of couple interaction. Then in the last 2 ep...suddenly...she decides to go after a guy...and he starts liking hef back...ditching another girl who had feelings for him for her. But then at the end when he chose her...she was like "i still need more time" and ended up choosing no one. Like pls...why do they gotta hurt me like this. For 8 ep she has no one...and she finally got a guy and gurly said she wasnt ready...and rejected him after she flirted with him and made him leave the other girl. Like Yena didn't do it intentionally and she would never steal another girls guy...but he fell for her...and it's just kinda sad she didnt hold on to him after like flirting with him and making him fall for her.
ANYWAYS...imma go watch another show to distract me from the tragic ending of this couple T__T

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Layers upon layers

Aug 2023
Why did I wait so long to watch this?
I really enjoyed the pace and intrigue, and binged in a day, staying up 'til silly o'clock.
Great mix of characters, with the 3 sisters it centres around being each very different.
It really was gripping drama with some well placed, but nothing standing out as being really childish, humour.
The story twists and turns, with more layers than an onion.
All 3 sisters end up entwined with one ultra powerful, sociopathic family.
The story follows their struggle to unearth past and present secrets, lies and fraud.
More than a few surprises along the way.
There were a few times when things got more than a little ridiculous and characters did do truly stupid things for the circumstances they were in, but overall it's not badly written and is a pretty intelligent story.
I'd have liked more on the youngest sister, as I felt her character's story was sacrificed somewhat for the main plot.
I also wish one particular character had a more fitting end; they didn't suffer nearly enough for my liking.
I adored Choi Do-il, played by Wi Ha-joon; a great character that kept me guessing to the very end.
Well worth a watch.

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WELL BALANCE ROMANCE AND GREAT CASTING!

The Finale is almost upon us all and I must say Jun and Jun delivers a well balanced rom-com BL series. Like any other Korean BL that I've already reviewed, Korean BLs are like Pizzas, you cannot NOT like it and it's always good (no pineapples please LOL). I mean, who doesn't like Pizza right? It fills you and satisfies your hunger, korean BL always offers just the right amount of love, comedy and drama.
Can we stop and acknowledge how Hot Ki Hyun Woo (JUN) and Park Hyeong Seop (Simeon) are?? I mean that right there is a manifestation of a "boyfriend material". In episode 7, I just love when Jun and Simeon fight Over Lee Jun, Choi Jun's possessiveness is so adorable.
I just hope and i know the last episode will end well, I just feel it in my bones.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND WATCHING JUN & JUN TO EVERYONE. CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TO LOVERS, SUCH A NICE STORY!

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"Beauty co-exists with its wounds"

If a person wrote a love letter to Taiwan extolling its people, land, food, and history it might look like A Thousand Goodnights. An adopted daughter sought to finish her father's rail trip of exploration and found an unfinished story needing reconciliation. Later in the drama the journey diverted off the main itinerary into melodramatic territory stranding passengers hoping for more scenic destinations yet still continued the search for meaning between generations and what constituted home.

Kindly Station Master Tai Chia He took an abandoned little girl, Tai Tien Ching, home and raised her as his own along with his daughter, Tai Tien Yu. On the day of his retirement, Cheng No, a young man he had corresponded with through the years returned to Taiwan. Chia He set out the next day on his long awaited rail journey complete with itinerary in hand. When Chia He unexpectedly died Tien Ching and Cheng No decided to finish his trip for him. Along the way they discovered relationships that needed healing-a first love, a birding club, an old friend's birthday party gathering, and a child who needed a family and desired to be a station master.

New friends were made and new family members discovered and romance blossomed along the way. The drama dealt with healing the sins of the past and the problems of the present. It covered a multitude of issues-infidelity, lost parents, dementia, plagiarism, gambling and the trials of becoming an idol. The older generation learned from the younger generation as the younger generation learned from the older generation.

I loved seeing the beauty of Taiwan and learning about some of its history. The rail travels were my favorite part. The healing message and reconciliations were heartwarming if a little too simple. As one character said, "I really miss those days when we traveled together." Me, too, buddy. The story lost some of its magic when it veered off course.

The biggest problem I had was the female lead, Tien Ching. As one character asked her, "Were you born to be exploited?" She was terribly bland and being an artist could not be used as a substitute for actual interesting characteristics. She mumbled quite often and had trouble standing up for herself which led to people taking advantage of her. The actress who played her was limited to pursing her lips and darting her eyes around to convey emotion. Her every movement looked staged and awkward and very rigid in comparison to some of the more natural performances around her.

Overall, A Thousand Goodnights conveyed the value of handing down our stories from generation to generation as well as expanding the friendships to the next generation. Most family and friendship problems were handled respectfully and with compassion. The characters also found the value in home and family and not letting past family heartaches determine how they would treat each other in the present. This charming drama showed not only the beauty of Taiwan and her people, but also how we are all tied to the earth and to each other.

5/31/23

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don’t waste your time…

first! it is 0,5 because there is no 0 optio! it is terribly boring, actors are rookies, the story is a mass!!! slow, dumb, boring, predictable! Dropped!! if you want to be confirmed about who is who and who’s in love in who than give it a try.
secondly: it has nothing to do with the original Thai story. this is not an adaptation! not even close!

Korea have a lot of good Bl actors, why r u is a great story and has a history already! making this version is basically a crime! bad acting, bad story!

also! if there is an option for rating 0,5, why cannot? why should be between 1-10??? this one doesn’t even worst 1

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alla gente non va mai bene nulla

una volta ho letto una recensione che cominciava come: l’utente di my drama list è come quello di Reddit, non gli va mai bene nulla. e lì per li non capivo (anche perché non uso Reddit), però uso MDL e finalemte ho capito. la storia non è la più grande piece teatrale della storia dei BL, però voglio dire, non fa così schifo come ho visto molti commentare. ripeto, Ae è un po’ una lagna (che io lo capisco che è triste e tutto, però praticamente tutta la sua storia gira attorno a questo e io lo capisco che Perth non voleva che venisse sostituito Saint, però forse ne avrebbe giovato), ad una certa comincia a piacerti anche Tul, ha e non comprendi come Tum e Tar che nel primo sembravano tutto forché fratelli di sangue si trasformano in tali. ecco, ora non è male, certo c’è di meglio, ma è molto lontano dalla cosa peggiore che ho visto. Mean e Plan hanno una discreta chimica e le scene di loro a letto post sex sono molto dolci (e Tin ha almeno un terzo dei complessi in meno nella prima parte quindi te lo rendono leggermente più piacevole) solo che non comprendo come sia possibile che due persona che hanno così tanta chimica in tutte le scene non ne abbiano quando si baciano. a me comunque non interessa, non sono quella che cerca il bacio in ogni episodio e non me ne può fregar di meno se la serie è piena di scene NC meno. sono contenta che abbiano parlato dei problemi delle scene di Kengla e Techno e come al solito, appena vedo una scena di Mark mi sono ritrovata n volte a dire “mamma come mi piace come attore” (però questi sono problemi miei). detta la cosa di Tum e Tar e detta quella di Tul (che come per magia si riscopre anche lui appartenere al mondo dei BL, anche se già lo sapevo perché alcune cose delle storia già le sapevo) e sottolineato che amo Perth, ma il suo personaggio era un po’ una lagna, devo dire, c’è di peggio e che se si vuole vedere la continuazione delle coppie del primo (tranne Tin e Can che secondo me hanno giovato del riscoperto protagonismo) merita anche perché Tin e Can hanno una caratteristica che mi piace come coppia: si parlano (o almeno Can lo fa) e I misunderstanding durano molto poco. quindi Kudos per questo. poi già la prima stagione non era la cosa migliore del mondo (quindi uno non si aspetta che lo sia anche la seconda) però c’è as always molto peggio.

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Captivating show - well done.

I've went into this show with little expectations since I haven't really found any good shows with middle aged leads. I was clearly wrong since this show quickly became one that I would recommend to many. It was well written, quite funny, enjoyable and not boring at all.

Whenever you see MANY side stories in a drama it is really easy to get bored. However it wasn't the case. We had VARIETY with both the adult leads, all 4 teenagers, the suspense regarding the murderer and so on. It was captivating and easy to catch on.

We had all kind of moments you would want... beautiful, sad, funny and so on. We've seen great CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT and the bond between Hae-yi and Haeng-seon was really beautiful.

So yes, this is drama is pretty enjoyable. And TMI it is quite FAMILY friendly I'd say, ofc except some kiss scenes.

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Best example of "How to ruin a drama"

I had better expectations. Everyone had, I guess. I first saw Yi Ran in Falling into your smile, and after watching him as Zhang Lu Rang in WIFTY, i wanted to try this one out .
Initial couple of episodes were so freaking good , thati thought to myself " wow! Thismight surpass WIFTY".
But alas! Ever since they got together, the way the script writer butchered the story and a perfectly good chemistry between the leads leaves me with just one word: Terrible

I felt that the drama had its plotlines spanning 30 eps, spread haywire. Its like they reach to conclusion on one issue, and then they begin with next one. I think, this approach to the story didn't work out very well.
For example, initial couple of episodes, they were exclusively fixed on silvershop and ML's uncle, then their relationship and after they got together, they set in another direction with Shen Juan's shooting career (which was pretty much everything in the second half of the drama). The FL' s mom getting crazy & then sick .... ughhh
Next, after he did achieve something professionally, they introduced the jealous outburst of Xi (his uncle's apprentice). Near the end they diverted the story again towards wan Yi Yang 's career.
And in the end Lin Yu Jing got some job away from him, for which they didn't show them communicating, or talking it out. And what a horrible way toend the drama? What ? They graduated.. the end ?seriously. What about herjob , what did she decide on.
This felt like watching Avengers Infinity war. The story just ended midway.

On the contrary, if you compare this with HL, they had the basic framework planned very well, and as the story progressed, they wove a beautiful story by the end.
Same goes with WIFTY. Where nothing came out of the blue, every transition was gradual, and hence worked out very well.

Every story has its highlights, & this one had some too. I gave this an initial rating of 9 based on 1st half of the show, and due to the above stated reasons, brought it down to 7.5

I loved the strong and independent female lead, who's qualities are much more than just being cute and following around ML, like a puppy. The ML on the other hand hashis qualities as well. He's got cute smile (and oh! those dimples), he has his flaws and is ready to accept and work on them (the wasy he talked to FL's mom when she was sick, Shen Juan won my heart). He was cool, he worked hard, he fought & won his battles. Shen Juan is a strong character . It was a pleasure watching the 1st half drama. It would've been better had they ended it at 20 episodes max. Because the last 10 eps are useless.

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