Poetic Cinematography

As a Guo JingMing fan, this wuxia drama exceeded my expectations!

Production 10/10:
The production quality on this was top-notch, and the attention to detail in every scene blew my mind. It was like watching a painting come to life. The sets & scenery; martial arts choreography; character visuals & costumes - these were all literally a feast for the eyes and beyond breathtaking.



*****************SPOILERS***DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU LIKE SPOILERS*****************



Story 8/10:
The overall storyline is about Yun WeiShan's journey as a Wufeng spy infiltrating the Gong clan; and Gong ZiYu's journey into becoming a worthy leader of the Gong family. This story is full of twists and turns, mystery, and the action sequences are intense! For a story with only 24 episodes, many of the characters were written surprisingly well and with so much depth.
If the last 8ish minutes of the final episode were omitted or written better, then I would have given the storyline a minimum of 9/10 rating. My main beef for the plot was that it was incomplete, with the cliffhanger/open ending. There wasn't closure to some of the storylines, especially for the leads. Maybe if there was a 2nd season, then I'd edit my rating. I also disliked that Shangguan Qian did not get her 'just deserts' and escaped relatively unscathed at the end.
My favourite characters throughout the story were the Gong brothers, Gong ShangJue & Gong YuanZhi. The actions of both brothers throughout most of the story made them seem more like villains, but they ended up being very loyal to the Gong family. I would have liked to have seen more of a backstory for Young Master Hua and Han YaSi, they seemed like fascinating characters. I cried during their deaths, especially Han YaSi's.
HYS's death scene with the playbacks of his and YWS's memories together was emotional yet beautifully written. When HYS tells YWS:

I belong to the sunset,
but maybe you can wait
to see the sunrise that belongs to you . . .

What's gorgeous is not the sky,
but the clouds.
It's colorful,
Like the clothes made by clouds . . .

You are the Yun WeiShan
in my heart . . .

The last line is a play on YWS's name. When he said that, it made me think that he was indirectly telling her that he loved her. I'm still not sure if he felt a romantic love for her or if it was more of love between a family type bond -- either way, it made me cry way too damn hard.

Acting/Cast 10/10:
The cast members were both beautiful and talented. It was great to see Esther Yu as Yun WeiShan, a badass lethal spy but with compassion. I liked that she had a normal tone of voice rather than the cutesy child voice from previous roles. For me, this was one of her best roles.
Ryan Chen is one of the main reasons I decided to watch MJTY, his visuals are just WOW and his performance did not disappoint. As Gong ShangJue, I hung on his every word, with the soft yet masculine cadence in his voice . . . Felt every emotion with his expressive eyes, whether it was suspicion, amusement, pain, affection, anger, sadness, and even contempt. When he gives people the side-eye and when he gives that hint of a little smile. . . Okay fine, I admit it, I'm totally biased towards him haha!!!
Tian JiaRui was quite the surprise and definitely a scene stealer. With this being his first drama role, his performance as Gong YuanZhi was exceptional! He embodied his role perfectly as the immature, sadistically psychotic younger brother of ShangJue. JiaRui really had me believing how menacing his character was, with his sinister eyes and creepy AF smile - there were even moments when I felt like I wanted to smack him, lol. But then he was also able to convey YuanZhi's vulnerable side, his sweetness and undying loyalty towards his older brother and idol, ShangJue. I like to call him 'Beautiful Psycho'. The scene where he thought big bro was dead really broke me *sigh*.
Another scene stealer for me was Lu YuXiao as Shangguan Qian. Although I disliked how conniving and untrustworthy her character was in the story, it was still an undeniably stellar performance. I've only seen her play sweet and innocent characters, so it was interesting to watch her as a spy.


***Notes***
My original rating for this was 8/10 because of the open ending. But now that I'm calm and not so bitter, lol, I've raised it to a 9/10 -- I will just pretend that the last 8 minutes of the show did not happen. I had so much fun discussing this drama with fellow MDL'ers and Asian Drama friends. Re-watched several of the episodes and scenes (some more than others) to search for clues in who the real Anonymous was. It was also fun to come up with possible theories and even having some of them come true!

I highly recommend this drama to everyone, especially to the ones who are into the cinematography and artistic aspects of dramas/movies!

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Slick like John Wick

If John Wick was a woman, her name would be Gil Bok Soon. I quite enjoyed this movie. I just love stories with strong, exceptional women who can kick ass!

This movie is bloody, but the cinematography is exquisitely slick. On the surface, it is about an assassin and the organization that she works for -- similar to the John Wick franchise's world-building of assassin factions/orders with hierarchy and sets of rules. The main character, aptly nicknamed 'Kill Bok Soon' is a highly skilled assassin and at the top of her field - you can see this by what her colleagues have to say about her, both in admiration and jealousy.

The real story (IMO) is Bok Soon's relationship with her daughter and her attempts to understand her as a blossoming young adult. Even though Bok Soon is successful in her field both financially and skill-wise, her role as a mother is an alien concept to her. Her ability to read people and predict their next move just doesn't work on her daughter. Although it is shown as more of a 'side story' (probably due to the time constraints of movie form), you can read between the lines. If this were a drama, I'd definitely be interested in watching it.
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*The following contains spoiler scenes, DO NOT READ if you don't like spoilers!!*

Personal thoughts on scenes and things of interest:

* scene with Shinichiro Oda, both sitting on the ground and conversing while having a cigarette as if they are long-time friends (before the fight) -- had me giggling

* when she foresees her death while looking in the puddle of water (fight scene with Shinichiro Oda), right before she asks to change her weapon -- scene is somehow funny, surprising (I was like "What? She dies so quickly in the movie??), artistic, and a parody (of the iconic "who am I" scene from Mulan) all at the same time.

* scenes with Lee Jae Wook ❤️❤️❤️, who plays a young version of Cha Min Kyu -- had me smiling literally from ear to ear. What can I say, I'm a fan of his, he is sooo sexy and absolutely magnificent . . . what I would give to [insert daydreams of possibly X-rated wishes and situations with Lee Jae Wook ;P] . . .

* the sex scene with her younger colleague, Han Hee Sung (it's not explicit) -- the expression Hee Sung makes when Bok Soon holds him down and denies his request made me cackle hysterically and then wheeze from being out of breath :D

* Can you believe that Jeon Do Yeon is 50?!?! Wow, I hope I can look that fantastic when I'm her age!! Other than this movie, I have only seen her in Crash Course in Romance and Memories of the Sword - but I can totally see why she is known as a chameleon with her ability to transform into her characters. She looks super cool as Bok Soon, her outfits, her demeanor, her expressions and actions as both an expert assassin and an insecure mother were all top-notch and believable. She is a talented actress indeed.

*when her daughter finally tells her why she hurt the ahole student -- I can't imagine how difficult this was for her character nor how difficult it would be for people IRL. It's not often you see LGBTQ themes in Korean content unless it is BL genre - so it's nice to see it gaining more exposure and provoking empathy and thought (one would hope anyway - NOTE: don't read the comment section of this movie here - it's really shameful to see that bigotry and downright stupidity still exists. . .)

* when Bok Soon confesses that she knew she was in the wrong regarding her initial reaction upon learning that her daughter prefers women -- I like that she admitted it, brief moment but poignant. It's an idea and thought process that could have been expanded upon if it was in a series rather than a movie.

* when Bok Soon tells Cha Min Kyu she knows that SHE is his weakness - made me wonder how long she knew this fact; did she ever have romantic feelings for him?; were they ever an item and/or is it possible that he is the father of her daughter??

Negatives:

* would be even better as a drama since there were several questions left unanswered

* characters could have been more developed (downfall of a movie structure)

* Cha Min Hee's character was confusing. It is stated that she is Cha Min Kyu's younger sister, but the way she was portrayed seemed like she was possessively and obsessively in love with her brother -- gross.

TL;DR: A visually striking movie with a badass female assassin who struggles with being a mom to her adolescent daughter. Beautiful and talented cast members. Highly recommend.

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Second Season Pretty Pretty Please!!

I don't normally watch reality/variety shows but I was drawn to this one because there were so many of my fave actors in it -- Kwak Dong Yeon, Ahn Bo Hyun, Ji Chang Wook, Park Seo Joon, Park Bo Gum, Choi Sung Eun.

This is the first reality show that I've laughed so much with throughout every episodeLoved every minute of the season? The different reactions from each star during the haunted house scenes had me gasping for breath from laughing so hard. Started the show with my fave actors but now that it's done, I'm a fan of everyone that participated:) Great to see the veteran guest actors as well!

I'm sad it's over though. I really hope there will be a second season with either the same cast or with new cast members from different shows!! Wouldn't it be amazing if this was a regular variety show like the Running Man series?? I'd be over the moon if cast members from shows like Vincenzo, Alchemy of Souls, Strong Woman Do BongSoon, Mr. Queen - (too many faves to name them all) would also be able to participate in future seasons ❤️??

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Spice level is HIGH on this one!

Writing this review after watching it for the second time:

This was such an enjoyable drama to watch, sit back, relax, and enjoy! The misunderstandings and antics here are actually quite hilarious ? The acting is way over-the-top, but it should be easy to see that this is intentional. In my opinion, this is a satire that is absolutely well done.

***If you are looking for something more serious, then you probably won't care for this one.***

The chemistry spice level between the leads is on ?????! I even liked the side story couples which is a rare thing for me.

This is a short and sweet drama (compared to the usual 40+ episodes CDrama) with plenty of laughs along the way. It is absolutely silly, full of ridiculousness, but 200% full of FUN!!! This show doesn't take itself seriously, so neither should you.

The first time I watched this, it took a couple of episodes for me to warm up to the FL character. I think it was because she didn't look believable pretending to be a male. Once I got over that part, I quickly began to enjoy the strength and wits her character possessed.

Hands down though, my favourite characters are what I call the three stooges - her fake father and fake brothers - their buffoonery just killed me???!!!

Also loved the "best assassin in the world" character and the princess, they were such a funny couple.

One complaint that I have is the villain, she really creeped me out. . . I also thought her acting skills were sub-par.

The ending was really funny, I especially liked the micro-expressions between the leads - Liu XuanMing trying to be sneaky and thinking he was pulling one over Zhao Nan but also being indignant and adamantly denying any wrongdoing hahaha.

Be sure to stick around after the last scene for behind-the-scene clips and extra scenes!

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