One Wild Ride!

This was a crazy drama! The most absolute insanely addicting Thai drama I have watched! The villian, Prang, is a complete narcissistic sociopath, a master manipulator. Yes, her personality could be seen as over the top, but having actually dealt with diagnosed narcissistic sociopaths in real life, she was spot on, though much more violent than anyone I have personally known. lol She was, at the same time, both infuriating and extremely interesting to watch. Aff Taksaorn Paksukcharoen was brilliant in this role. You could see her put her mask on to decieve and then, when in private, let it fall off. This character earned a spot on my favorite villians list!

Prae was a great character, too. She was a victim that grew up and comes back to seek revenge and justice for the wrongs done to her and her family. She grows to become strong and confident. However, there were times that I got annoyed she let Prang beat her up and didn't fight back.

Pi became one of my favorite characters. This is what a male lead should be! Mature, loyal and steadfast, never wavering in his love, support and respect for the woman he loves. He has always loved Prae and quietly, without her knowing, taken care of her. His protectiveness was so sexy! lol Plus the actor, Nine Naphat Siangsomboon, was remarkable. Gentle and caring, yet firm and resolute. He made the character seem real. Natural, like you are watching a real person, not an actor in a role. Little facial expressions to enhance that. I was extremely impressed.

I was disappointed with Push in this. He is the reason I started this, but his role was small. Usually, I love how he acts, but he seemed very stiff and uncomfortable in his role here.

I don't want to give anything away, but this definitely a lakhorn. It is extremely dramatic with over the top events and scenarios, but despite that, done so well! I highly reccommend giving it a try.

Also want to add:

Thank you to KatAttack and team for subbing this! No one else was and you all took the time and effort all these months. Your work is greatly appreciated!

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A Pretty Good Korean Version of Dangerous Liasions

I'm a sucker for this story. I've seen so many versions. Even though I always know how it ends, and they *always* end the same way, I will watch. This Korean version is pretty darn good. It follows the story fauthfully, while staying authentically Korean. Yet, there a subtle little nods to the original French novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses. The time period, for one, as well as the 18th century score. To stay authentically Korean, however, some parts were changed, such as the Korean Marquise de Merteuil (Here Lady Cho) being the barren wife of an aging nobleman, and the Korean Cecile (So Ok) being the young, virginal new concubine. Those are only a couple of examples. There are a few more, but ultimately none of the changes made ruin the plot nor deviate from the original story.

I won't give anything away, if you have never seen any of the versions. I will say that it's beautifully made and plesant to watch. There is nudity and sex, but I have seen way more graphic. It is all artfully done, which plays into the story, actually. If you watch it, you will see what I mean. Still, I wouldn't reccommend it to younger viewers. It is a very sexually charged story, after all.

All in all, though, I think it's a great version and was really impressed how they adapted it to make it uniquiely Korean story wise. 8.5.

P.S. Watch until the end of the credits. ;)

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WTAF

Seriously. Wtaf, China? Is this the kind of story that is popular over there? The lead male is a freaking psychopath!! A bonafide abusive, obsessive, insane psychopath! Oh sure, he's hot as hell, but come on! How in the heck would ANY woman fall for him after what he puts her through?! Over and over again, at that? He literally beats her up, sticks a gun to her head when she tries to leave him AND makes her drink an abortive! Wtaf?!

The lead female does stick up for herself sometines, at least and in the end, she shoots his ass. So there is that. Then again, she gets amnesia on top of amnesia on top of amnesia. Jeez! >_< I kean, the ONLY trope they didn't have was the crazy mother, but they were dead so. Then the ending. Wtf?! Makes no sense! Literally does not at all.

I do admot that I binged the last half all night because I had never seen a drama so.outright ridiculous and offensive. Btw, MDL, this drama needs a trigger warning. just, wow.

The only good things were that music was nice, the cinematics were well dpne and, despite their characters being insane, the actors were pretty. That is pretty much it.

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A Melo That Surprised Me

Just like the headline says, this melodrama surprised the crap out of me. (Hope I can say that in a review lol) In all seriousness though, it really, really did. I usually pass on melos, though there have been a few exceptions. I wasn't expecting this one to be added to that list at all. After the first two episodes, I even got on the feeds and asked if the whole drama was depressing with these main characters living their lives like zombies. I picked it up again a few days later, wanting to at least give it a fair try. I was, quite literally, suddenly hooked. I have not binged a drama in a very long time. I'd say the last drama that deprived me of sleep was Gu Family Book. I completed Call It Love in a day and half.

I found myself emphasizing so much with Dongjin. Usually, I do that with the female characters, being a female myself, but Dongjin's life was very similar to mine. I, too, had had my heart ripped out by someone I loved and trusted for years and just like him, I fell into a long, deep depression. (It was years ago and I am fine now, btw mostly thanks to dramas actually.) Also like him, I had an absent mother similar to his,that I only saw occasionally until I was an adult. So I knew the character's pain very well and understood why he was like the way he was.

The story is sad, yet there is always this tension there with both characters that give you hope. Also, Shim Woo Jin is usually so straight foward and harsh in her words, yet her actions and especially facial expressions, really betray her true feelings. Lee Sung-kyung was absolutely brilliant there with showing the character's emotions with her eyes. She was also excellent in one scene where she delivers a powerful outburst with perfect emotion and confusion. I won't spoil it, but that part alone had my rating skyrocket because it moved me so much.

I do want to take special note of Sung Joon in this. This is the first drama I have seen with him in a few years and OMG did he suddenly turn from a boy into a man! His acting has improved, too. I used to get annoyed by him in dramas but he was great here and I was very impressed.

This drama hooks you in with wondering when these two will confront their feelings for each other. You are left with cliffhangers making you watch just one more episode to see if that will be the one. Then, eventually you are in the exact same dilemma, needing to watch just one more to see if they stay together snd if they have a happy ending.


In conclusion I would reccommend this to melo lovers. I would also urge those of you that hate melos to give it a fair chance like I did. Watch beyond ep two and see if it moves your heart, too.

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A Masterpiece

Wow! This drama was beautiful! It brought back so many memories of the '90's to me! It really captured that time period perfectly, even down to the little things, like the sudden switch from pagers to cell phones. As someone who lived in that era, I found no flaws at all and at times, it reminded me a lot of the Reply series, though the stories are very different. It was the nostalgia. I could relate so much because I was the same age as the main character during that time. (Yes, I am now an ahjumma lol!)

The music was great, too. It was original, but it had the late '90's vibe to it. I really notice that sort of thing. I also noticed it in Hit the Top. My rating always goes up at least half a point if they have modern music that sounds just like it belongs back in the '90's when I watch a drama set in that time period.

Acting wise, omg! Kim Tae Ri blew me away! She was perfect as Na Hee Do! She could be hilarious and awkward, just like a teenage girl, yet also serious and detetmined. She better get an award for this perfornance! I saw her in Mr. Sunshine and wasn't impressed, but she proved me wrong here. She is freaking 32 irl yet you can not tell at all! She looked and acted the part of an 18-19 year old perfectly.

I have never been a big fan of Nam Joo Hyuk, either. I didn't dislike him, but I wasn't ever impressed with him, either. Again, I was proven wrong. This is the best performance of his career so far. He was such a good actor here. For the first time, though this is only my opinion, he was able to really show emotion. I think he struggled before, but you can tell that he has really grown as an actor.

The other actors and actresses were awesome as well. The one that really stood out to me was the coach, played by Kim Hye Eun. She was great and I look forward to seeing her pop up in more dramas after this.

Before I end this review, though, I have to add something. I don't usually use spoilers in my reviews, but I have to make an exception due to the issue. I have read a lot of negativity from others about how 9/11 was included in the final episodes. I was expecting something quite different because of the comments I saw. As someone who was there during that time, I have to say that it was portrayed very seriously and respectfully and had a purpose. It was not a mere plot device. It was something Baek Yi Jin went through that made him grow as a person. It was, actually, perfectly added, as before, he was still very much an innocent kid, then after, he was suddenly an adult seeing the world through a different scope. For those of us who lived during that time, it was a jolting reminder of the innocence before and suddenly being thrust into a new and more somber world. I think many who were not born yet may not have been able to see and feel that, but I was there and I totally got the meaning those last two episodes were trying to convey.

Anyway, I HIGHLY reccommend this drama to everyone, especially if you are an ahjumma like me and were a teen in the '90's. You will fall in love with it!

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Made Me Nostalgic About My Own Childhood

Just as the headline says, this movie made me nostalgic about my own childhood. I was reminded of my own adventures and misadventures when young while watching this. I, too, did many of the same things, especially during summers at my grandparents' mountain house. I guess all kids are similar! Haha!

Keeping it brief this time, I rate this 10/10. So cute, funny and nostalgic. You will laugh out loud and remember when you were little and did the same things! It doesn't matter that it was made in 1984. Trust me. Besides some of the kids' fashion and cars, you really don't notice at all. The movie itself felt timeless. I highly, highly reccommend!

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Authentic Portrayal Of Asperger's

As someone who who has been diagnosed with Asperger's herself and as a mother of a son who is diagnosed the same I felt compelled to write a review for this drama. Tang Jung Sang is simply amazing and very authentic in the part of Gu Ru. I cannot stress that enough. Some people might try to disagree with me, but you have to understand, we all have different traits that manifest. Though I, as a female Aspie am totally different than Gu Ru, I still could relate to many traits that the character had and how they were acted out. My son is a lot more similar, though not as extreme, but he also has had professional therapy and has been raised by a mother who is also an Aspie. In the drama, it is shown that Gu Ru's father was the one who worked with him throughout his life, so of course he would still have many issues, though his father did such a a wonderful job just by accepting him and loving him for he is and teaching him. Honestly, the simple teachings his father gave to him were so very similar to how I have taught my son. His father was not autistic but still. He just knew how to get through to Gu Ru in such a patient, loving way. I mean, it is such a simple approach, how he shown doing things, but it is always the *right* way. That is exactly how parents of autistic children should communicate. I saw so many traits, however, that my son had when younger, before the years of therapy began. (Not ABA. I just want to make that clear before anyone jumps on me. I am talking social skills.) For instance, as a child, my son, like Gu Ru, would talk robotically and stim much more when overwhelmed. Also, he still walks very stiffly and won't make eye contact at all.

Another thing that I must point out is very authentic is his ability to memorize what he sees. In my case, I cannot in the way he does, but I can memorize an accent if I hear it once and determine where the person speaking is from. My son can memorize languages and mathmatical concepts. Again, our traits, while similar, can manifest differently.

A number of shows and dramas have been coming out lately that make autism the focal point. I haven't seen all of them, but Move To Heaven nails it. I can also vouch because even though I have explained my and my son's differences to Gu Ru, I know quite a few just like him. In fact, while watching, it is easy to think Tang Jung Sang actually has Asperger's, he is that good at acting it out.

Anyway, on to the rest.

The story is heartwrenching in so many ways, but deeply moving. The main focus is actually the relationship between Gu Ru and his long lost uncle. His uncle appears like a selfish, uncaring slob, but as the story progresses, we get to understand him more and see his heart soften for his nephew. As usual, Lee Je Hoon is excellent. He is such a great actor. He can show a range of emotions and also, just like in Taxi Driver, he kicks butt in fighting scenes.

I give this drama a 9 because it is wonderful, beautiful and doesn't screw up showing autism. I would have given it a 10 but I was kind of hoping for a certain plot twist and it didn't happen. Lol (What did happen was still good, I just really wanted the other thing. Haha!) Also, it left off with something like...not a cliffhanger but something you are left waiting to see what and if anything happens there. It was totally on purpose as an opening for a possible second season on Netflix, I just hate it when they do that when nothing is confirmed. Don't leave peeps hanging! I do hope there is a Season 2. I will watch if there is.

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Sucks You In

I was told this drama was disappointing and almost didn't pick it up. However, I'm glad I did! Yes, it's complicated and there isn't much romance. I still liked it! The acting was superior, especially by Joo Won and Kwak Shi Wang. It was very addicting, as I binged watched to catch up. I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.

Now, the downside. There is a kind of creepy, not so subtle romantic vibe going on throuhout the drama. That bothered me. In fact, that is the reason I only rated it an 8.5. In fact, I was all set to rate it a 9 up until the end. I was expecting something different. Rather, I was *hoping* for something different. Instead, it ended on that creepy romantic vibe thing. That was disappointing. I honestly would have written the ending differently. Plus, where is Min Hyuk?! Seriously. :(

I would like to end this by saying that after watching this, Kwak Shi Wang needs a main role! I fell in love with this guy!

Anyway. I can recommend it if you like a good, mature story and have an open mind. It is really good. Just could have been awesome, had they veered in another direction at the end.

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I read the book a few months ago. I absolutely loved it. I enjoyed the drama, too, but the reason I felt that I could not rate it above an 8.5 is because I was left scratching my head as to why they changed some of what they did to the story.

First off, let's talk about Er Lang. In the book, he was pretty badass. Like, could turn into a dragon badass. Was manly and herouc. I adore Chris Wu, but why in the world did they opt to make the character into such a low level weakling? I was greatly disappointed in that. Even if the special effects of making him turn into dragon would have been too expensive, couldn't they have made him still be a strong, competant male lead? What is up with the wuss factor?

Second, I have no clue why they opted to have all the supernatural elements be known to the mortal characters. Like, Li Lan and Er Lang just tell everyone and are totally believed, not questioned and no one thinks they are crazy at all. I also can't understand why they made Li Lan's father a victim when that never happened in the book. I can get why they cut out him being an opium addict, but why make him go to the netherworld? In the book, it just her.

Next up, the main villian from the book is turned into a woman and turned into a very minor character. The main villian is turned into Tian Ching. In the book, he is an idiot and a pawn, though I must admit that he is written much more interesting here. I also hope to see more of the actor.

Then there is Isobel. In the book, she is not even a character, really. She is just someone Tian Bai had feelings for in Hong Kong. Here, they made her a jealous second female lead and a villian. In the book, she is hardly mentioned it all.

The last thing I am disappointed in is the absence of an imortant character, a villian female ghost and a huge part of the plotline at the end. It really made the story much more interesting and without her in the drama at all, it felt like a huge chunk was missing in the plot.

Despite my complaints, however, I did enjoy the drama overall. If you haven't read the book, none of these is likely to concern you or affect your opinion of the drama. The acting was top notch, the story solid (though made very formulatic and predicible, imo) and the visuals are awesome. Very creepy, with the music was hauting and chilling. I do reccommend it highly, despite my qualms with it. Perhaps if they had a bigger budget and could have added more episodes, the story could have remained more faithful to the original work.

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This could have been considered a decent movie had it not touted itself as an adaption. Since it did, I could not rate it above a 7. The main reason for that is, quite simply, besides the names of a few characters and the time travel thing, A Time To Love has absolutely nothing in common with the original Startling By Each Step at all. It is a completely different story altogether.

In this version, there are three princes that make appearances. Crown Prince, 4th Prince and 14th Prince. The Crown Prince is seen as the villian for most of the movie and is determined to capture and kill Rue Xi for some reason, though I never could understand just what the motive was there. 4th Prince is a mash up of the 4th and 8th Princes in the original. Rue Xi is living with him, but again, this is never explained why, as there was no sister in this version. She was basically just living there, as a princess, though they were not married or related. Made no sense. 14th Prince is another mashup, this time of 13th and 14th Princes. He's the playmate and drinking buddy.

So, story wise, thoufh it does not follow the actual story like it claims, and though some of the reasoning and motives of certains aspects were not explained or did not make much sense, it was still pretty good on its own. However, because of the whole adaption thing and being that I am a fan of Scarlet Heart, I could not ignore the differences. Plus, there is a plot twist near the end that totally made me go WTF.

In conclusion, if you are looking for another version of Scarlet Heart because you love the story, you will be very disappointed with this version. On the other hand, if you have not seen Scarlet Heart and don't know the original story, you will probably be able to enjoy it.

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The Legendary Tycoon is a loosly based adaption of the life of legendary Hong Kong film mogul, Run Run Shaw. When I say loosely based adaption, however, I am very serious. Honestly speaking, the only true to his life facts in this drama are the family background and the time spent building up the film company in Singapore. Everything else, from the character names down to the characters themselves, are fictional. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and indeed, it worked well in the beginning. The issues started after the first one third of the drama, though.

My biggest problem with this drama started with the introduction of the charactets of Kong Lin Jie and Xaio Yu. From that point on, the story changed from a history of how the brothers established a movie company from nothing into a messy love triangle between Gu Yan Mei (the character bassed on Run Run Shaw), his fictional life long rival Lin Jie, and his simpering yet manipulative second love Xaio Yu. I had a huge dislike of Xaio Yu. None of it comes from the fact that because of the Hallayu ban in China, Ku Hye Sun was replaced with a Chinese actress. I would have intensely disliked the character no matter who played her. She was written awfully and I could not fathom why those two male characters would love her so much. I could go on and on about that, but I won't. I will just leave it at the character being awful and unlikable.

One other problem I had with it is the editing. I don't really even mean the obvious CGI edited in actress switch to scenes, either. I mean the editing of the whole drama in general. It really gets choppy in the final third. Characters are suddenly written out, things happen without explanation, new characters show up without back story. The characters you came to be attached to in the beginning are no longer there. It is hard to invest in the new characters. To top it all off, the last few episodes feel really weird. I won't spoil it, but I will say that new characters show up and things happen that do not make sense. It is only for overdramatic purposes.

Finally, my last complaint is that characters became inconsistent. Their personalities, motives and behaviors changed in order to force dramatic events in the plot. I hate it when drama writers do this! It is a major peeve of mine.

In the end, I can say again that The Legendary Tycoon started off really well and had a lot of potential but it lost itself along the way and became a chore to complete.

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I truly liked this drama. It was extremely addicting! The acting, by everyone, was simply brilliant and supurb. However, it did have flaws, which is why I couldn't, in all honesty, rate it above an 8.5.

Flaw #1.- There were times I thought the characters' thought process did not make sense.
Flaw #2- I was able to guess what was going to happen very early on. However, it was probably because I have seen so many dramas, but the plot seeemed to really mimic Gap Dong at times, which is what I kept thinking.
Flaw #3- There was one inconsistency that really bothered me, though I can see how it would be missed by some, especially if they watched it while it was airing. In the very first episode, a certain object is shone in one location. However, later on, it is changed to be in a completely different location, which changes the story.
Flaw #4- The ending does not really explain itself. You are left wondering what happened for it to end that particular way. It could have been on purpose, but I think that the writers could have done a better job at explaining.

Besides those flaws mentioned above, it was a really good watch. I would still highly recommend it to fellow drama watchers.

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This Thai horror movie is an ok watch, but nothing new or special. The plot has been done countless times before. A group of high school kids contact a ghost who died in the school years ago via a ouija board. Murder and mayhem then ensues. While not a creative story, this one does do one thing different. Usually this story takes place at a girl's school. Here, we are treated to the opposite, a boy's school. Again, it was ok, but I have seen far better. I wouldn't rewatch and I probably wouldn't recommend it to others, either. Unless you are specifically looking for a '90's Thai teen horror starring '90's Thai pretty boys.

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Wow! This drama is the best action/suspense drama I have ever seen. From the writing to the execution of the story to the acting. It is simply brilliant! So many writers of this genre tend to rely heavily on the action and thrill parts, while slacking off and leaving the story with a lot of plot holes. Not the case here! The story is tight and if there were flaws, they were so miniscule that I did not notice. It also is one of the only dramas around that actually has a believable psychopath character. Trust me. Psychopaths are not sweet and sexy deep down. They are cold, ruthless and lack empahy towards others. Here, it is shown exactly like that.

The acting was superb. Every actor, from the main leads to the supporting characters were incredible. I am especially impressed by Kim Young Kwang's performance. I have always liked him, but here he shines. His character is very complex and right from the beginning he steals the spotlight from the other leads with his charisma and presence. My favorite scenes of him are the close ups of the face when he laughs, and in his eyes, you can see that the character is somewhat insane. Definitely one of, if not the best, lead male performances I have seen this year.

I also want to remark about two of the other lead actors. Kim Seul Gi was also already a well liked actress for me, but she really impressed me here. As someone who suffers from social anxiety disorder myself ( though not nearly as extreme as her character here), I thought she was very authentic, right down to the spot on panic attacks. This was the most honest portrayl of it I have seen in dramas.

Also Key. Him being an idol, I was not expecting much in the way of acting chops from this young man. Well, he proved me wrong, alright. He most certainly is one to watch for in future projects.

In conclusion, if you are looking for a good action/suspense drama, this one is the one for you. In my opinion, it is darn near perfect. Check it out. 10/10

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This was my first BL experience and it was extremely disappointing. I think what little actual video was shot with an iPhone, but I could be wrong about that. The big issue here is that only a tiny bit of footage was actual video. The rest was just pictures with the actors voices in the background. It was really weird. Storywise, it was very simple, about two boys who are friends, and are attracted to each other. A female friend that likes one of them is thrown into the mix, as is a former friend, in flashbacks. I thought it was rather boring. The whole thing is only around 20min long, so at least it wasn't a lot of wasted time.

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