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Becky

North Pole

Becky

North Pole
Completed
Living Toward the Sun
2 people found this review helpful
by Becky
Nov 16, 2020
40 of 40 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

Excellent acting and realistic portrayals of hospital and medical procedures

I really like this drama. It is a rare gem among the more commercially oriented contemporary dramas. This is adapted from a real life story and based on a comic novel. The story starts a few days before a comic artist was diagnosed with cancer, how she handled the diagnosis, her treatment, her recovery and subsequent relapse. The production managed to balance this depressing plot with comedy, in the form of the FL who is a very optimistic and straight-forward talker (often talking before she thinks). Yet I could not give it a higher rating because of confusing editing (there are 2 editions) and THAT ending -_-

The Good Stuff
1) No product placement!!! That annoying face mask, 999 flu medicine and nuts snack are nowhere to be seen here! It was a relief to see FL using cucumber slices and other facial products. The only suspected product placement might be Vitagen.... it appeared about 3 times in the drama?
2) Excellent acting. I have no complain on the cast! Jiang Xin is such a good actress, I was confident she would deliver a great performance, and she did. I have worried on Vengo Gao, but the worries are unfounded. This is probably the best acting Vengo has done ;) And the other 2 FLs and supporting cast are great in their roles too. Special mention to the actor who played Xiong Dun's father, he was really endearing and had great onscreen chemistry with Jiang Xin (Xiong Dun).
3) Most convincing BFF friendships in a drama! My first tears were when Xiong Dun wanted to move out of Ai Mi's place because of Ai Mi's mother misconception that cancer is contagious. As a distressed Ai Mi asked Xiong Dun to stay, my heart went owwwww. The development of Xia Meng/Xiong Dun from enemies to best friends is very well done too!
4) Realistic portrayal of hospital and medical procedures. According to a few doctors' and nurses' comments at Douban, the medical aspect in the drama is quite accurate. The interactions between doctors, nurses and patients are realistic too, and the problems that the drama showed are real issues at hospitals.
5) Good storytelling and pacing. There isn't really any "filler" sub plot. Story is kept tight and well paced.

The Bad Stuff
1) Script tried to cover too many social topics... I do not understand why it has the sub-plot on Xia Meng's strained relations with her mother? And that scene with the pregnant lady on the train, trying to stir up controversy on motherhood? I feel that the scriptwriter and director could have focused less on this sub-plot. After all it is not relevant to the main plot, and not related in a medical drama? Instead I would have prefer more background stories on Doctor Lin and Ai Mi. Especially Ai Mi, as Xiong Dun's BFF since they were children, we really do not know much about her. Instead we know more on Xia Meng.
2) 2 editions of the drama. It is not a simple original vs uncut editions.... as both versions have scenes that are not in the other.
3) THAT ending. It completely goes against the "living toward the sun" mantra, seems to hint that Doctor Lin has mental problems after Xiong Dun passed away? Or is the director trying to give a happy conclusion to viewers, even if it is an imaginary? An artistic, open-ended conclusion which you can interpret in various ways. It can also be interpreted as how people deal with the passing of loved ones, coping by imagining she is still there although fully aware she has died.

But I would prefer a dinner gathering after few years. Ai Mi and Lao Zheng with a kid, Xia Meng coming to the dinner with Xiong Dun's parents (she promised to look after them like her own), Xiong Dun's boss with a wife, etc.. and sharing their recent happenings and future plans.

Or an ending showing Ai Mi and Xia Meng completing the bucket lists of Xiong Dun's and Xia Meng's :) and did Xiong Dun give the letters to Doctor Lin? Maybe not send to him yearly but gave all to him after she died? It is a waste to throw away the letters....

Music is okay. Some good lyrics in the title and ending songs. And oh, this has a high re-watch value because of the 2 editions. And I have also just realized the dvd edition at pangzitv has some differences with the dvd edition at Duboko -_- So i had actually watched 3 versions

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Completed
Love Will Tear Us Apart
2 people found this review helpful
by Becky
Oct 18, 2020
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

I would like to be with you...

Liang Liang met Miao Miao in the middle of the road, while she was escaping from a male friend. She just got into his car and asked him to drive her away. Liang was a good-hearted man and thought she was in some kind of trouble, so helped without asking why. They parted ways after that. But fate would let them meet again, in the course of work. How they fell in love was not clearly shown. The plot really started when they moved into a flat together.

The movie title already hinted that the couple would eventually breakup. But I had thought it would be due to miscommunications, insecurity and jealousy issues. Unfortunately no. Although it was not stated in the movie, I suspect Miao had OCD. At the start, when Liang was still staying alone, his flat was very messy. But when they moved in together, the flat was always clean and neat. And the way Miao rearranged his cigarette butts into a neat row, and obsessively cleaned the house when they quarreled, all these hint at OCD. OCD with anxiety management issues. Hence she had problem trusting Liang, and to get a sense of security, she would go to extreme measures to track Liang's movements.

Even if Liang had fewer ex-girlfriends, or had given truthful answers to her questions, all these really did not matter. She had OCD and would be a controlling girlfriend. It was only a matter of how bad the controlling would be. If he could have been more honest with her, maybe the controlling behavior wouldn't have gotten so bad.

Art direction, script and acting are good. But what is the theme of this movie? This is really unclear.... Is it about the regular issues that would breakup a relationship? Not exactly. Is it about how to love someone with OCD? Liang never made efforts to understand Miao's issues.

I would have really like this movie if Miao didn't get so extreme towards the end.

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Completed
Cloud Prison
1 people found this review helpful
by Becky
Nov 7, 2020
9 of 9 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

Fascinating psycho thriller

This drama is shot in a very visual storyboarding style:- director has shot the various clips that made up the story, and put them on computer, and weibo, wechat accounts. We never really see the actors in front of the camera, but in videos taken from computer screens, mobile devices and cctv footage. FYI, the weibo accounts in the drama are real, you can search for the IDs and the content posted are exactly as what is seen in the drama. I have not checked on the wechat IDs....

As there isn't a summary posted yet, here's the brief storyline:- A novelist has written a bestselling crime-mystery novel, however he got the idea for the novel from elsewhere. And the person(s) who gave him the idea for the novel is/are out to exert justice/vengeance.

This is a short web drama of 9 episodes, each are about 20 mins long. There are 3 arcs:- 1) planning 2) cat and mouse 3) final showdown. My favorites are the planning, cat and mouse arcs. This is a first for me, to watch the mastermind research on the victims at his computer screen, and drew a mind map while he made his plans. Ep 1 was very fascinating to watch (even more so when I realized the weibo accounts are live). However, as the computer screens and weibo posts are in Chinese, this will be a challenge for foreigners to watch. Even if there are subs, the subbing team would need to create English captions at all the Chinese words..... near impossible?

The final arc.... well, it has some surprises. For me, I didn't like it. Can't really say more without giving the plot away. I wish the script could have focused more on 2nd arc, the cat and mouse arc was really exciting to watch! We see the actors racing against time in the wechat video calls, frantically trying to pin down the location with the clues that the mastermind gave....

A must-watch drama ヽ(^o^)ノ if you understand Chinese.

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Completed
Sweet Rain: Accuracy of Death
1 people found this review helpful
by Becky
Oct 25, 2020
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

This is not a simple Grim Reaper movie

At first glance, this movie looks like a remake or adaptation of Meet Joe Black. But no, it is more. It is much better than the Hollywood movie (Kaneshiro is also more handsome than Pitt...) in terms of the characters, plot and theme. You get the feeling that if you would meet a Grim Reaper for real, he is probably someone similar to Kaneshiro's version. It is more realistic.

Without giving away too much, the story is about the Grim Reaper, Mr Chiba, and 3 of his intended victims. Pay attention to the stories, as they would be interwoven into a meaningful finale. It isn't that hard to see how they are related to each other. But the rainy skies part, you might have to watch the movie twice to understand it.

The cinematography is reminiscent of Japanese manga. And the dialogues as well... Feel like I was reading a manga while watching the movie. Because of this, the movie lost 1 point for me. I feel the director has not fully utilized the camera to give us a 3D view of the movie. I particularly love the 1st story, the story development is engaging and innocent. But the 2nd story is a bit boring for me... while the 3rd story (finale) more than made up for it. Its final message is especially meaningful. Throughout the movie, it also has a message of not judging others too hastily. What seems like harassment, might not be harassment; what seems irresponsible, might actually be a painful decision. The movie theme is the biggest plus for me, really love its message.

The acting is good enough, it is a quiet movie hence the acting is very subtle. No big action scenes or big emo scenes. Just a few points here and there, that could be better done. Kaneshiro's smoking scenes. It is evident that Kaneshiro is not a smoker (fingers posture was convincing, but when he blew the smoke out of his mouth... that was a dead giveaway). I understand the director wants the scenes to be convincing, but why is it mostly Kaneshiro smoking? He could have just smoked 1 cig and let the rest do the smoking. And the robotic helper. I don't see how the inclusion of a robot was necessary. Was it to set the scene that this is many years into the future? If so, how about the barbershop,... the items used are quite 2000s. It is unbelievable that in 2050 (estimated time of the setting) we would still be having the same fashion, same type of houses, same haircut tools, etc. and the only technology advancement is robotic helpers.

In conclusion, Sweet Rain is an above average movie with very good theme and social messages on life and death. It is not a very heavy movie, as it has some comedy and play with words, especially in the first half.

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Completed
Detective L
1 people found this review helpful
by Becky
Aug 31, 2020
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 3
Overall 7.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0

Good detective drama

I am a fan of Sherlock Holmes and Elementary, and spent my high school years reading all the Japanese detective manga and some Agatha Christie.... So this drama is a bit boring for me. The title song already hint that it is copying elements from other detective stories ;) But I watch this serial for Bai Yu, and it is only 24 episodes, not a bad show when you have time. If you have not watched the Holmes dramas of UK and US, and not familiar with Japanese detective stories (eg: Kindaichi), you would enjoy this drama! It segments the detective cases into 3 episodes per case, and there's extra scenes (slice of life tidbits) at the end of every 3 episodes, reminded me of Japanese manga ;p But this stopped after 10+ episodes, not sure why? Overall experience is above average! Good acting and good cinematography. Quite an enjoyable ride ^_^

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Completed
It's Okay to Not Be Okay
1 people found this review helpful
by Becky
Apr 15, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 8.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

It is a Romance drama, with mental health issues as a side dish

I've come full circle on IOTNBO. It was on my PTW prior to release, then got onto CW, then I put it on hold after ep 1.... watched 2 more eps and shifted it to dropped list. Ironically, due to the scandal that Seo Ye Ji is unfortunately pulled into, my curiosity on IOTNBO is reignited and I binged the remaining eps in 2 days. This is the first drama of Seo Ye Ji that I have watched, and I am mighty impressed!! I see why she is nominated for Best Actress now. And honestly, if not for Seo Ye Ji's performance, I might be rating this drama 7. Going to watch her Lawless Lawyer after this. So hey, not all scandals mean bad publicity! IMO, I can't see why she is wrong? It was a private conversation and it is unfair to pass judgement based on a small snippet of a long chat.... but I have digressed.

What I do not like

-- This drama has mental health as its packaging and romance + family at its core. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I would really prefer it to have been romance as its packaging and mental health + family at its core.
-- The pretentious beginning. If you have seen IOTNBO, even if you love it, please think over the 1st few eps.... it was really quite pretentious. The over-the-top scenes were just there to bait us into continue watching it. And that beautiful animation in ep 1, they never repeat that again.... The baiting intention was so clear.
-- The 'mystery'. By ep 10, I was guessing that the Head Nurse is the mother, and that patient, Ms Park, is only a pawn that she planted. I am quite disappointed that I had guessed correctly so early.
-- I do not understand why there is so much screaming and raised voices in this drama? Especially for the ML character. He is a normal man who is stressed-out from caring for his brother for the past 20 years, never having much personal time. So it should have been a gradual release of his stress and letting go, but the script had him from quiet and nice guy to screaming at all unexpected changes....
-- They never really explained on Jae Soo, why and how is he so attached to these 2 brothers? JS is not an orphan, so why is he not with his parents and why did his parents allowed him to give up on building a future for himself and just tag along the Moon brothers? Maybe this works in a webtoon but in drama, scriptwriter should have given his character some backstory. JS is like a poor extra character, who is just there.

What I like

-- The 2nd half. The drama dropped its pretentiousness and focused on telling the story (2nd half is much better than 1st half, imo).
-- I love the depiction of the sibling caregiver burden and struggles. This is quite accurately depicted.
-- FL's acting. Especially in ep 14, I took 1.5 hr to finish that ep as I was rewinding and re-watching some scenes. ML did well too, but FL was more outstanding.
-- I like the CP scenes, the chemistry between ML and FL was sizzling!! Although I would have prefer more scenes on the mental health issues in the hospital.
-- The 2nd couple. I like Joo Ri and Sang In's characters, they are well flashed out and the actors have a 'couple look', lol!

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Completed
The Sleepless Princess
1 people found this review helpful
by Becky
Oct 23, 2020
35 of 35 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0

A surprisingly enjoyable rom-com period drama

I really wasn't expecting much when I started watching ep 1 of The Sleepless Princess. Was watching The Heiress and waiting for new episodes, so jump into this and Su Yu to pass the time. I almost dropped the drama at ep 3, was watching it at DramaCool and the subs was so bad, it was a comedy act on its own! So switch to another site without subs, less distracting :) Not sure if this drama has been updated with better subs, but be warned. Check if you have proper subs before starting this.

The Story
This is adapted from a web novel, and it has a very unique, original plot. FL is a princess and stricken with a 'curse':- whenever she sleeps at night, she would dream and the dream would come true. If she attempts to alter the future (prevent it from occurring as per the dream) she would turn into an animal for a few hours. And she has only 12 times, as this follows Chinese Zodiac wheel. At the start of the drama, she has only 3 times left. The Emperor made the decision to marry her off to the General due to political reasons. General wasn't interested in the marriage but accepted it in order not to offend the Emperor.....

The Leads
Zheng Ye Cheng is Xue Yao (ML). If you have seen his earlier dramas, you know he is a very good actor dedicated to his craft. Zheng Ye Cheng studied Chinese opera and wushu from young, hence his sword fighting scenes are to watch for :) and there are several sword fighting scenes here. Hu Yi Xuan is Xu Chu Yue (FL). This is the first time I watched Hu Yi Xuan acting, and she is a good choice for this mysterious, can't sleep at night princess. Although she has the average Chinese next-door-girl look, her face possesses the camera... not sure if this is work of makeup but she 'glows' on the screen. Her eyes has this magical charm and you won't be able to stop looking at her! Although Chu Yue is the usual weak FL, making silly mistakes and needing ML (and 2nd ML) to save her, she is not annoying, not at all :)
Both put up great performances and has good onscreen chemistry.

The Production
Drama probably don't have a big budget.... B grade settings and costumes, and average cinematography. Good plot but uneven pacing. Plot could have moved faster in the beginning episodes, it picked up pace later.

The OST
Oh My God..... the title and ending songs are probably the best in cdrama for 2020. If I can put the score as 12/10, I would. Both songs with lyrics translated into English at YouTube ==>
https://youtu.be/oNUEwrywwCQ
https://youtu.be/IEMf6_4lRPg

This is a fun, rom-com set in historical times with some mysteries in an unique plot (and a little palace politics), which will leave you wishing for more after it ends. Just the leads staring at each other, and the OST playing is enough..... lol

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Completed
Cloud Prison 2
0 people found this review helpful
by Becky
Nov 8, 2020
7 of 7 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

Part 2 is all about psychology

I prefer the story of Part 2 to Part 1. For Part 1, I am still debating (with myself) if Zhang Yan was wrong to copy the murderer's diary? The thumb drive was planted in his bag, and he had expanded on the notes, gave it meaning and make it into a novel, so it isn't a direct copy..... Anyway, back to topic. Can you watch Cloud Prison 2 without watching 1? They are related, it is more meaningful to watch 1 first.

While Cloud Prison 1 focus on the technicalities and viewer's experience with this unique storytelling style, Cloud Prison 2 focus on the motivations and psychological implications of all involved. Hence the plot pace is slower and there is more dialogues. Midway through, I felt like I was watching a 1-man play in the theatre. It must be difficult for the actors in this drama, as they have to emote directly to the camera. Natural acting is really difficult when there is no opposing actors, and you might get too self-conscious and overly dramatic. Which is the case for the main character in Part 2 (not revealing his name as this is meant to be a surprise, if you haven't manage to guess the identity of the mastermind in Part 1), he would feel overly dramatic at first. But on hindsight, after I finished the drama and was reflecting on what I have just seen, I realized his character had been in hiding for many years. All this living alone and plotting schemes to entrap people, and finding out their secrets and weaknesses....... it would drive anyone to the edge of madness. Rather than saying he is the mastermind, he is only a fish in the bowl. So who is the mastermind? Ah.... the people viewing the fish in the bowl ;)

The 2nd main character, is the daughter of the main character. It is difficult to describe her without giving away the plot.... Maybe I can say she can be a study subject of human nature and psychology. Her inclusion in the story is 1) to give the main character to show his humane side 2) to talk about depression. I really love the scriptwriter's way of presenting her. When there are depressive people in dramas, we usually see them looking very melancholy or acting out. But here, she is quite calm and rationale. Instead, director use other ways to show her "unbalanced" side. The weibo account that is full of food images and her smiling face, a bandaged wrist (to show she had slashed her wrist), etc.. little details which feel very, very sad when her story is revealed.

For music, there is actually no music in this drama, more like ambience music to mock the situation.... But what little it has, is really enough. And I definitely will be re-watching this drama soon.

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Completed
Weighed But Found Wanting
0 people found this review helpful
by Becky
Oct 10, 2020
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

The most commercially successful movie by director Lino Brocka

Lino Brocka's films are usually dark and tragic. Most of them are very artistic and hence not popular (I watched 1 that was based on world war 2 time, the rape scenes were very disturbing....). Weighed but Found Wanting is 1 of the few films that Brocka managed to strike a perfect balance between art and commercial. Saw this film many years ago (20+ yrs ago, I think) and it is still my fav Philippines film.

The plot is melodrama:- A beautiful woman was pursued by a wealthy playboy in the village, she gave in to him and got pregnant. The man did not want the baby and forced her to have an abortion. The trauma of the abortion and pain of losing the child made her went mad (some really good scenes here, of her as a mad woman going around town, hugging statues and talking to herself). The film introduce a young, handsome and rich teenager here, show him going to school and talking with his friends, etc. There is a scene of him and an older woman, exploring sexuality. He is kind hearted and wants to treat everyone equally. So befriended the madwoman and a leper. The leper was happy with the mad woman and fell in love with her, and got her pregnant. Which is against the village perception, as they are outcasts and should not have a family.....

I can't remember all the details of the film, it is very heavy on plot. The main theme of the film is on the outcasts of the society. It questioned if outcasts should be unseen and unheard, do they not deserve to live? Sub themes on teenage sexual exploration, and abortion.

Brocka's films are not for the faint hearted. And they are so old, most do not have English subtitles.... I watched this movie with no subtitles in the 2nd half. But it is still a great film! Even if you cannot understand the dialogues, can still watch it for the scenes of the madwoman going around town, the interactions between her and the leper, that was remarkable acting.

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Completed
Il Mare
0 people found this review helpful
by Becky
Oct 9, 2020
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0

One my Top 10 movies since 2000

I have seen many movies, but Il Mare is the only movie that even after 20 years, I still remember which cinema, that it was a very hot day (in fact I decided to watch the movie on a whim, after a friend cancelled on me and being a hot day, I thought chilling in the cinema is a good idea), and how I felt when the movie ended-- omg, I have unexpectedly watched a masterpiece! Back in 2000, Korean movies and dramas were not "a thing" yet, it was almost 2 years before the Korean wave. And as I had not seen a Korean film at that time, I really wasn't expecting a lot when I bought the movie ticket.

I was a movie buff back then, had watched a few arthouse films in foreign languages. But Il Mare was the first movie that I watched that focus completely on the viewer experience (I had thought movies are about storytelling), to convey that feelings of loneliness and desire for companionship using imaginary and music. Because really, plot? script? acting? These usually important key factors are negligent in Il Mare!! The synopsis says: sci-fi time-travelling romance, forget that! I get the feeling the time-travelling plot was written in to support the director's desire to create a movie that represents the loneliness, desires and wishes of single people. This is a movie that is completely about cinematograhy and music. So if you are the type that needs a good story or realism, you will not like Il Mare. This movie is an art piece whose purpose is to invoke feelings of loneliness, of love and desire. Plot and logic? The scriptwriter couldn't care less...

It must have been 1 of the easiest movies for the 2 leads..... simple script with simple dialogues. FL was very new to acting and her fresh face helps the role; ML was already a seasoned actor, so all that was required for him is let his charisma show. It was also a smart move to set the story in December-- end of the year, Christmas lights, 1 woman standing under a barren tree.... this might be seen as cliché, but in Il Mare, it is an additional stroke to the masterpiece.

It has been 20 years, and I had lost the soundtrack CD that I bought after the movie. But the theme song, the tune, the lyrics "we must say goodbye~" is always there at a corner of my mind, ready to pull out whenever I feel like reminiscing on the movie.

ps: I rated re-watch value at 9.0 because if you do not have a big screen with good surround sound, the movie is not worth watching...

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Completed
The Bad Kids
1 people found this review helpful
by Becky
Oct 5, 2020
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 10

Watch only if you are willing to invest time to further analyze on the plot

Up until the last episode, I thought I would be giving this drama 9 or 9.5 rating. Beautiful cinematography, realistic portrayals of characters that makes you feel anyone of them could have been your next-door neighbor or office co-worker or classmate, and I love those little scenes of no dialogues such as Chaoyang hiding his mother's valuables and setting a trap so he would know if his friends tried to search his house for items of value to steal (this is in ep 1, so I don't consider this a spoiler).

But, but-- the frustration and anger that arise in me at the last scene.... Made me decide to give this drama a 7 rating. Then again changed it to 7.5 becos director has successfully made me feel about 5% of the frustrations that Zhang Dongsheng would have felt. Why such a sharp drop in my opinion of this drama? Here's why:-

I was expecting some flashbacks scenes in the last episode, that would give some clues or hints as to at which point in the drama that the narrative becomes unreliable. But lo and behold, they leave this completely open-ended to our own interpretation! The very obvious "fairytale" parts I have understood (who are imagined to be alive), but no hints, no clues given as to at which point in the narrative that things are "enhanced" and not what it seems.

I wouldn't mind if this is a movie or telemovie (in 4, 5 parts). But this is a 12 episodes drama!! Are we actually expected to rewatch from ep 1?.... Because for those who have watched this, isn't it suspicious that only Chaoyang can hear the whistles that his 2 friends made (when they want to meet him)?? Notice how no one else complain about the whistling, I mean an adult could have opened a window and shout some profanities about the whistling! So, should we doubt that this form of communication, the whistling never happened?? ..... there lies my frustrations.

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Completed
Love and Destiny
0 people found this review helpful
by Becky
Oct 16, 2020
60 of 60 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

A flawed drama but still a 10 for me

It is a struggle for me to give this a rating..... This drama does not have the perfect execution, the plot is full of angst and tragedies too, but in the areas that it is strong in, it is so strong that these inadequacies become negatable.


Its weaknesses
-------------------
- Plot is quite old-fashion, and full of tragedies. In Chinese, I would describe it as 老掉牙的剧情。 Especially when FL was a mortal, it felt like I was watching a ‘90s Taiwanese soap opera.
- Inconsistent plot development and pacing. This drama has 3 acts, acts 1 and 2 are well-connected but act 3 felt out of place. Plot development and pacing slowed down a lot in act 3, making the finale felt rushed and left out a lot of details. Giving it a somewhat incomplete (but happy) ending.
- Time and Logic. Unlike AOL and TMOPB, where it was explained 1 year in mortal realm is 1 day in immortal world, there was no such explanation in this drama. Time pass in a very illogical way when FL and ML were in mortal realm. Eg: while everything is progressing in mortal and heavens, when Jing Xiu left FL to go to the wounded princess, he seems to take a very long time to reach her. As an immortal, he could have tele-transported or flew there? And getting the pill to recover the princess' health, shouldn't have taken him such a long time?
- Overdose of background music. Sometimes the background music got too much, that it overpowered the dialogues.
- Hairstyle designs for the men. Hairstylist gave the best bald design and hairstyle for the male villain (Jing Xiu), while ML and the supporting male characters have really boring hairstyles. Hairstyles for female characters are average. Only in act 3 that the FL got a more interesting hairstyle and beautiful costumes.


Its strengths
----------------
- The sets and CGI. It really invested in building the sets for the key places, and director made full use of them in the shoots. In most cdramas we do not get a full view of the houses, but here the wide angle shots and characters movement give you a clear perspective of both interior and exterior of the sets. It makes the houses feel real as you can actually count how many rooms are there on each level. The CGI is also much better than the average Xianxia drama.
- The dialogues. If you understand Chinese, you would appreciate the scriptwriters’ efforts in the writing. Especially Qing Yao’s lines. She has some of the most philosophical lines in this drama. There are a few scenes of Qing Yao’s that I re-watch a few times because the words are so wonderfully written. Unfortunately, subbing is a challenge here. Its English translation can only capture the meaning, the beauty of the Chinese words are lost. The dialogues for comedy effect are very original and exaggerated too!
- The acting. ML and FL gave phenomenal portrayals of their characters. Chang Chen’s God of War is the best that I have seen. He played the silent, stoic God of War very well, and the tender and sweet moments after he fell in love. Ni Ni….. she’s got a very good role with a wide array of emotions, and gave it a best actress level performance. Ethan Li’s Jing Xiu is captivating to watch-- he conveyed his character’s hopelessness, tenderness and sinister-ness just with his eyes. The remaining supporting cast did good work in their roles too, especially FL’s 2 fathers.
- Attention to details. I love-love the little scenes with extra mundane details, of FL doing everyday tasks (cooking, washing clothes, sweeping). In most Xianxia dramas, they only talk about winemaking, here we witness FL preparing the peaches for wine cultivation. These scenes add to the realism of the characters.
- The OST. This is a 60 episodes drama, yet I seldom skip the opening and ending songs. Both songs are wonderfully melodic and express the drama’s theme well (they are written for the drama). A cdrama reviewer has even done a cover of the opening song on Qin https://youtu.be/DgHz88f6z6o


In conclusion, this drama is not the most perfect, but the acting, dialogues, etc are so good that you are left longing for more (wish there are more episodes).

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