Murder on the Orient Express

The Ship of Theseus is the translation of the original title of this drama.

The Ship of Theseus is a thought experiment about whether an object, after having had all of its original components replaced, remains the same object. In Greek mythology, Theseus, the mythical Greek founder-king of Athens, rescued the children of Athens from King Minos after slaying the Minotaur and then escaped onto a ship going to Delos. Each year, the Athenians commemorated this by taking the ship on a pilgrimage to Delos to honour Apollo. A question was raised by ancient philosophers: After several hundreds of years of maintenance, if each individual part of the Ship of Theseus was replaced, one at a time, was it still the same ship? (wikipedia)

So what do mythology, philosophy and japanese time slip drama have in common?

Shin accidentally goes 30years back in time and tries to stop a murder from happening and save his father from being accused of committing it. But every time he goes back in time, the future changes and so does his own future: he finds himself on a parallel timeline. So if he manages to change everything, will his future be same or different? Spoiler alert: his future is the same but with different state of his surroundings. Ship of Theseus: he changed everything and still ended up happily married and having a baby with the same woman but the path (ships parts) to it has been completely replaced. Is he still the same person even though he does not have the original Shin's memories (the original ship)? The question remains!

Time travel is hugely difficult to write about because it is impossible to explain logically. Every alteration in the past, necessarily creates another timeline and he can never go back to his original one.

The main plot is a serial murder killing left, right and centre apparently for no reason. Shin and his father try to discover and stop the killer who always seems to be one step ahead while they pointlessly run around without achieving anything. Red herrings abound; new suspects are introduced only to be murdered in the next episode. The plot moves at a breakneck speed. Until it gets too fast: new characters are constantly introduced, those seen just in passing become suspects: basically in last two episodes, everything goes upside down, the suspects are surprising and their reasoning psychotic! Shin runs around, repeatedly promising to save his family from doom and miserably failing, until the final solution turns out to be the right one!

I found the cinematography odd: I had a strange feeling of a low quality production throughout. It lacked warmth. Yes it is a crime drama taking place in the winter but still, it should not have looked so sharp and crisp. The writing was excellent but they crammed too much in it and I would have preferred it to be slower and more menacing. There are a few loose, unexplained events and characters' fates (two policemen, the book, the notebook, the drawings...) The culprit turned out to be based on the one from the aforementioned Agatha Christie's novel. The make up for the older versions of adult characters was weirs: it did not look natural at all: they seemed to be older than they should be! The music was appropriately heavy, sentimental and sad, stressing the tragic events on the screen.

As for the actors, they were all amazing. Particularly the kid who played Mikio: he managed to show the character's multiple different faces with an amazing ease. He is infinitely talented. The actor playing Shin is in excellent physical shape: there was at least one scene in every episode where he runs breathlessly and effortlessly around, either looking for something or trying to get somewhere

I love time slip stories, and I enjoyed this one a lot until I got fed up with the constant twists and turns and fake culprits and annoyed with asian societies as depicted in many dramas where the family of a criminal is eternally held responsible for its one member's misdeeds. Nevertheless, it was a great watch, i had fun!

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Love & Ghost

Contrary to the majority of watchers, I am enjoying a lot My Universe. The stories are short, to the point, fast paced, original and fun to watch. This one was no different.

Talay and Camp have been friends since highschool but have lost touch. They meet by accident at a camp site and secrets start being revealed. At the same time, the campsite seems to be haunted.

The story started as an enemies to lovers one but very quickly became a ghost story. The transition from a simple romcom to horror was natural and believable. But very soon I started thinking that thee was more than meets the eye here. And while expecting one twist (kind of , one of them is a ghost as well thing!) I got a completely different one. I am very happy about it because it allowed us to get a happy ending. But I was also a bit disappointed because the story suddenly was not as straight forward as promised and some of the backstory was missing. I wish they had just mentioned, in passing the origin of the tale.
The actors are cute and have good chemistry, the cinematography is correct, though often cold even in the nature (digital camera?)

There is just one huge problem with this series(My Universe) which is the music: the same song being played again and again and again....I cannot stand it anymore! Good thing I am not binging this otherwise I'd go nuts because of the annoying song.

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An Actor & His Fan

The bl drama about a couple of actors filming a bl drama could have been a hit or a miss. Either you take it the slapstick comedy cringe way, or you make it into a sweet romcom! Fortunately, they chose the right way, the romcom way!

Frankly, it is a perfect ,light watch for the first day of the year. The story of two actors: one , a former child star, trying to have a grown up's career and the other one a huge star and secretly, the other actor's huge fan. The first one has a big self-confidence issue while the other is so impressed to bi in his presence which of, course, leads to many misunderstandings. Since the drama has only three episodes, all misunderstandings were sorted out relatively quickly, the plot progressed at a steady pace and there was no time wasted. And still it did not seem rushed!

The actors were excellent. The support couple (the actors' managers) were deadpan and interesting, sneakily observing the main couple and scheming to get them together. Deliciously twisted and cute!

Of course, it is full of tropes but here they have taken advantage of them and I really did not mind it (fujoshi producer!). They managed to find the right balance between the comedy and the romance: trying to get together but being afraid to speak up, so they decided to pretend to practice being in character which led to a number of funny (interrupted kisses were many!) and sweet moments (date). We are also privy to their inside monologues which contradict so funnily with their actions: they are cool on the outside but falling to pieces inside! They also toned down the often exaggerated comedy they use when adapting mangas!

Cinematography is great, misty and dreamy. This is going straight on to my feel good list! Just the first best romcom of the year! Last year has really been the japanese bl year! They outdid themselves with a string of amazing and different bls! Hope they continue into this new year!

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Reincarnation & Spells

Everything was so average here with the exception of high production value as it was to be expected.

A tragic forbidden love story between a shaman girl and an aristocrat's son, replays when both are reincarnated 300 years later.

The drama meanders between comedy, romance, tragedy and thriller. The characters were interesting. Rowoon in particular since he went from rigid and too serious lawyer to a funny man in love who believed himself to be under a love spell so he explained repeatedly the symptoms of love. Hilarious. The female lead was the usual K drama heroine: tough, kind and brave in the beginning but loosing every braincell after falling in love and giving us a string of bad decisions and ridiculous actions.

Most of the support characters were the comedy part: her work colleagues were the usual gossiping lot, more annoying than funny and his parents bickering. Then there were the "bad guys" his girlfriend and a gardener. They were the most underdevelopped characters because their motivations for being evil was never really explained. Why was the girlfriend, rich and pretty, so jealous of our FL, poor and stubborn? Why was the gardener so obsessed with the FL, so much so he wanted to have a soul wedding and kill her (what is all that about?)? I liked the second ML, whose character was never really clear: was he honest or power hungry?

What about spells? We never learned if they really worked? They did 300 years ago but not today? And the curse he was put upon apparently disappeared when he died and was brought back! Why? The previous sufferers from the curse also died but the curse remained.

Plotholes galore!

But in spite of that, it was a nice watch, nice cinematography, basic story, correct acting. Just that Rowoon is too tall, so when he puts his head of her shoulders, he looks ridiculous!

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Atonement or violence?

Am I allowed to say I did not like this?

Maybe because I did not understand it? Maybe because I did not find the plot and the acting convincing enough?

The movie was all over the place:is it a police vs. gangsters movie, is it a human drama, is it an attempt at redemption?

The only moment I actually felt that the policeperson (the main lead) is maybe trans, was in the last 30 seconds of the movie when he lifted a little finger and looked wistfully at another trans person! Before that: he was a macho policeman,extremely well trained, killing without regret gangsters. Yes, women can be the same: just look at Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. He hid really well his true nature. Is it possible to be so convincing in real life? How exhausting it must be to pretend to be someone you are not for years....

But here his desire to change sex stems mostly from regret: when he was young he refused his best friends who ended up killing himself in front of him while he did nothing to stop him! Regrets can make a person do all sorts of things to atone for past mistakes. Maybe only at the moment he realized who he really is? Allow me to doubt. The actor, himself, looked highly uncomfortable wearing dresses and make up.

The movie is extremely violent, dark and unforgiving. The world is a scary place and happiness is not for people who make mistakes.

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With all due respect, another Cinderella story?

I really don't know how to rate this drama. Frankly, I never felt so many contrary emotions about a show. I loved it and I hated it, I was amused and I was disgusted, I was hooked and I wanted to drop it - all at the same time. It is another fairy tale mash up with an american soap opera with a very japanese twist to it. In the first episode there is a food and pillow fight together with hair pulling: I really thought I was watching Dynasty! The opening credits' still was a photo of the cast in the typical US soap poses so...The reason I was so confused by it is that I could not pinpoint exactly which genre this belongs to: comedy, satire, drama, makjang, soap? It has everything in it!

So what happens when Cinderella marries her prince and goes to live in his castle? Will she obey to rigid antiquated customs or will she rebel? Well, this is the 21st century, the women empowerment has swept the world and has even reached Japan where young women of today refuse to submit any more. Sato, our Cinderella, is someone like that and she does everything in her power to change the stale atmosphere that reigns in her Prince's castle. And she does it all with kindness and with a smile on her face, understanding even the meanest persons trying to hinder her and destroy her. And those people are many! Fortunately her Prince is there!

The drama was actually really about women in japanese society: their position and how they are seen by the male dominated society and how they need to work hard to obtain their independence and freedom. But should I look at it from that point of view (criticism of contemporary Japan) or consider it just some fluffy, meaningless entertainment, far from reality?

The cast of characters was very colourful. Cinderella was a kind, strong willed, intelligent and sweet women: an ideal. Her Prince was a kind, sweet, supportive man. They unwaveringly loved each other (even when the last problem - amnesia!!! I kid you not! LOL) was thrown at them!

The horrible Pater Familias was the only one who did not show any character growth : his ending was rushed and frankly ridiculous!The others: the submissive mother, jealous brother, envious sister-in-law etc. all went to many trials and tribulations and came out stronger. I actually loved to hate the sister-in-law: the Prince's older brother's wife. She was funny when she was mean, singing nursery rhymes to mock our Cinderella, gloating but deep down hiding many insecurities.

Everything is so OTT here! The lifestyle of the indecently rich people is frankly indecent: huge scary mansions, the bling bling everywhere, dozens of servants lined up like army troops accompany them everywhere, ugly ostentatious cars, clothes. And still, the mansion which is on top of the hill, looks like situated in the desert, everything behind the entrance gate is yellow, cold and desolate! Cinematography was really good: it made me feel very uncomfortable!

I watched it on viki and they forgot to edit out the in-episode previews: I guess the episodes were cut in three parts while airing and there were previews before every commercial break. But on viki, there are no commercial breaks so it took me some time to realize what was going on with these scenes out of context!

Should I recommend watching this? Well: "All's well that ends well!" so it is up to you!

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Cliché, so what?

I guess, I watched this at the right moment for me: I needed something light, fluffy, with minimal angst and drama. And I got exactly what I asked for. And liked it a lot finding it almost perfect until they hit us with the last episode. This is a story of second chances at love, rectifying past mistakes, repeating the same errors, learning from others, growing as a person, accepting one's flaws, getting better.

Four years ago, they were poor but in love, he had big dreams, she worried a lot. Until she could not stand it any more and she broke up with him. He went on to become a successful internet producer while she stayed down in the doldrums, trying to find a way out and failing, repeatedly. She has a big chip on her shoulder, huge inferiority complex and refuses to accept kindness and help from others. They meet again, sparks fly and in spite of past unresolved conflicts they start dating again. But it is, again, a disaster! Until she finally realizes the error of her ways and mends herself and her relationship. He is a saint basically! He loves her and forgives her all her mistakes and wrong judgements while she holds him responsible for making her feel inferior. All he wants is to help her achieve her dreams, be there for her. She gets it wrong every time. He asks to talk everything out, while she keeps saying he does not understand her without explaining anything. Talk to him so he can understand you, you idiot!

I liked the story. It is nothing new or groundbreaking just a story of second and third chances at love. The first five episodes were extremely well paced and the story flowed nicely with them bickering and fighting, him trying to push out gently the other man in the picture, nice and caring friends (who of course crush on each other!). And then they almost ruined everything with the last episode which was rushed, illogical and unnecessary! So halfway through another one of her depressions, she has an epiphany, gets aware of all her errors and gets back with him! She definitely needs therapy! This is where dramas go so wrong: being in love cures all ills! No! She was traumatized by her injury which stopped her from playing the piano professionally but she never addressed the problem!

This is more of a disappointed rant than a review. I still enjoyed it but it could have been much better!

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Short and funny

These two episodes are a pilot released to see if the audience is interested in concept. Apparently they were since two seasons were made.

The story follows three best friends, students at the university, meeting regularly in a restaurant called Just One Bite to eat deliciously spicy food and talk about their love lives. This pilot focuses only on one girl and her dating adventure.

The drama is full of clichés about young women: excessive drinking, blackouts, misunderstandings, bitchy rival. Again, and I find this a repeat offence in K dramas: drunk women are considered cute and amusing. I really do not understand that. I wish somebody would explain to me what is cute about someone staggering around, talking nonsense and stinking of alcohol? Her friend, eats too much as well as drinking and her boyfriend also finds it cute. Any kind of overindulgence is just too much for me.

Fortunately(for her!), her boyfriend is the epitome of understanding, respect, honesty, fidelity....as well as being really smart and handsome! And of course, there is the rival: his friend who wanted to be more but did not succeed.

The production is on the normal webdrama level: cold, underfunded (awful make up) but not too terrible. The music is nice. It is just a typical Playlist Global web drama. From the bottom half of their list unfortunately! I should watch the full drama to see if any improvements were made, but this is actually quite good for a pilot!

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Love yourself

I watched this because the beautiful poster caught my attention!
A two part pinoy short movie (there is also a version where they put those two parts together to make a 25min movie) about two broken hearted guys who bump into each other in the night. They end up spending the night together because of the storm, healing and recovering hope for a happier future.
It is a nice little movie about hope and how not to give up on love. It is about strangers helping each other because it is often easier to talk to a stranger than to a friend.
The actors had good chemistry and managed to portray the sadness really well.
I liked the nightime cinematography: it conveyed well the feelings of loss and despair. On the other hand , the rest of the movie is rather ugly, it seems like they used up the most of the budget for those night shots! The sound in the scenes inside the hotel room was awful: echoing and hard to understand.
The story was well written though the dialogue was full of clichés. Like when you don't know what to say, you say some banality, a lesson from a life coach. I appreciate the producer's effort to provide us with subs but more often than not they were hard to understand unfortunately (I had to pause to reread them again and again!).
The background music was nothing special but the songs were rather good!
Strangers remain strangers!
All in all a good single watch!

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Are we there yet?

So this was not bad but not good either. Based on a manga I have not read, after a promising start it became boring very quickly as the plot started to go round and round in circles!
I wouldn't have minded the repetitive plot of there was a semblance of character development!
And that is what I did not like at all, not one little bit!
Minato is supposed to be an adult who falls for Shin at first glance and that scares him since he is underage! Thereafter his behaviour is erratic: he either tries to be a responsible adult but fails miserably or is like a 18th century virgin who faints at the very thought of touching hands not to mention kiss or, god forbid!, more. At first it is funny and endearing but is becomes annoying as it is repeated many times!
Shin on the other hand is a high school senior who fell for Minato ten years previously. He behaves like a predator which in other worlds would be considered as harassment! But since Minato gives mixed signals, that behaviour is acceptable especially since he is a minor and therefore his stubbornness and adult attitude is considered cute and sweet?!? Actually i found him scary, hiding an iron, uncompromising will behind a cute smile and those dimples that are to die for!
They do not change from the first to the last episode: Shin forcing his way in and Minato blowing hot and cold!
The final problem, and the most important one in my book, was a total lack of chemistry between them!
There were some nice side characters; Shin's friend and sister were very supportive of him and quite a fun double act! Then there were two teachers: one seemed to be suffering from an early stages of alzheimer's while the other seemed like an alien from another planet, judging by their reactions. But they were more fun to watch than the two main leads!
Cinematography was ok. The production was of quality and there were some nice beach and night shots and the intro credits were good, cheerful though seen before (filmed with phone camera!).
Music was there, unremarkable!
I am sort of half sorry to have wasted my time on this but since the episodes are thankfully short(20min) it went by quickly!
This is one of those super hyped dramas that took nosedive after a few episodes and never recovered.

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Meals, rommies and maybe more?

The hype about how cute this movie was got to me! I should really be stronger and resist better! I am weak!

Apparently there is a sequel to this movie which I hope will clarify their relationship more.

It is story of two best friends from high school who decided to share a house when they enter university. One is a neat freak and the other is a messy and lazy cook and they complement each other to perfection. But they are only room-mates. The problem is that it is obvious to everyone who knows them that they are deeply in love with each other. It's only that they had not realized it yet! Once the neat freak starts getting busy with studies and projects for the future, the cook feels abandoned and wants their roommates' bliss to remain unchanged. It takes both some time to accept the inevitable change and in the process they realizes also that their feelings for each other are more than friendly.

Japanese are experts in food themed movies and dramas and this one is no different. The love goes through the stomach, as one character points out! The movie is cute, sunny and cheerful. The small world the two have created barely accepts anyone's intrusion: real life is lurking and they are taking their time in letting it in. They eventually find a right balance for themselves as they currently are. What the future will bring is uncertain! I need to read the manga, I guess...

The huge problem I had with this movie is the character of Aki, the cook. He looks like the usual cute FL, screeching and finishing sentences with prolonged high tone wails: unbearable but so japanese manga !He is also very good at avoiding problems and difficult questions, lacking maturity though by the end he gets better. Still screeching but showing a sliver of maturity!

So basically this is a first half of a love story: the bromance part.

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Almost absolute zero!

Well, I finished watching it! Incredulous and hoping against hope that the producers would realize the mess they had created. And what is the most infuriating and disappointing is that the drama had a great premise and an even better start and then nosedived and barely resurfaced in last two episodes. I really, really wanted to like this! And what I liked the most were CGI butterflies!

DISCLAIMER: I am not shocked by age gaps or age gap romances, student/teacher love stories as long as they are both consensual, adult, legal and informed.

There are two parts in this drama: the first half is told from the point of view of Soon and the second from Ongsa. They were given the choice; either they get together as teens and one of them dies ten years later or they get together only as adults!

The story of star crossed lovers on a time travel mission to save each other was a great idea. And it starts great: Soon and Ongsa have been blissfully living together for the past ten years when Ongsa gets into an accident and dies. Soon, devastated, makes a wish upon a star and finds himself in the past. And that's when everything starts going wrong.

The following is really the biggest problem I have with this drama. Soon, a 29 yr old adult goes back in past and meets the 18yr old version of his boyfriend before he himself met him aged 18. The kid hits on him, and Soon falls head line and sinker for the teen! Never really telling him who he is. This whole relationship was odd, unhealthy and wrong.Yes they are both adults but the 10 year gap is something important at that age and the fact that Soon does not question his own behaviour towards the teen is huge red flag. Their relationship is neither cute nor acceptable. Another factor influencing the perception of that relationship is the actor playing adult Soon: an extremely wrong choice since the actor is 37 and it shows: he cannot pass for a 29 year old so his behaviour with the teen looks even more creepy! On the other hand, Soon's level of maturity is of a 7yr old while teen Ongsa behaves and acts like an adult. The whole dynamics between them is wrong! This plotline goes on for 5 episodes until Soon goes back to his own time! The method of time travelling: making a wish in a taxi going through a tunnel!

In the second part we follow Ongsa who, armed with the knowledge about the future from Soon (who ended up spilling the beans eventually!), gets in the relationship with teen Soon. Ten happy years ensue until that fateful day of the accident when a future Ongsa shows up in front of the present one and tells him he needs not change the future but the past and sends him back to his teen self. In order to save both their lives, Ongsa decides not to meet Soon as teen but to wait. They meet as adults, with all their memories from past timelines intact. Happy ending!

How does Ongsa time travel? That is never explained! In one instance he dies in an accident, his wristwatch starts going backwards and he is suddenly a teen! I guess there are many different means of time travel!

This series deals with grief (they cry a lot!): and the solution is time travel! Time travellers like manipulating their boyfriends by not telling them the whole truth. While in the first half, Soon was sleeping with the teen Ongsa, in the second part teen Ongsa stalked bigtime teen Soon! Ongsa had an accident because he knew he was going to be in an accident that day and was lost in thought thinking about the accident: could this be a self fulfilling prophecy?

Time travel stories are notoriously difficult to write and this one is at the base quite good. It is that everything that had been piled on the skeleton is wrong! The pacing and the structure of the story was correct for a slow burn drama. The side characters were really nice: the coffee shop owner, the loving parents, the friends. There was also a mysterious old man watching them from the sidelines and giving them cryptic answers with an old clock ticking and blue butterflies flying around (butterfly effect?). We never find out who he actually is: a god, a demon, an angel or an ordinary man?

Beside the wrong casting choice for adult Soon, the actors are ok though the chemistry between them is rather flimsy and literally sickening when the adult Soon is cuddling with teen Ongsa.
Music was annoying: the same song played over and over again with a lot of high pitch singing: my poor ears!

Every episode starts with an inspirational quote, very positive! The last episode ends with a 5min flashback of the entire series: so you may as well just watch that!

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End of innocence

What an amazing short movie! What an incredibly talented couple of actors!

It has been a long time since a movie, short or otherwise, provoked such strong feelings in me. The story is nothing new: two best friends, apparently joined in the hip since forever see their feelings for each other change. Will those feelings bring irreversible changes into their relationship, for better or for worse?

The story is told with no dialogue to speak of. English or any subs for that matter are unnecessary!

Everything is told by looks, gestures, emotions...The actors are extraordinary. The showed us how the feelings change, their reactions, the gap between them closing and then widening, emotions overflowing, things done that cannot be taken back, the courage needed to stand up for your feelings....

If you are looking for butterflies: they are here!

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Office & Smiles

I do not understand why is this drama called Liar. Does anyone really lie in it? No. But they do not talk to each other.

Narita and Ichikawa are desk neighbours at work. She has a crush on another coworker and he is dating a girl his father chose. They bicker a lot and before you can realize it, they are sleeping together and had fallen hard for each other. The problem is his character: he is abrupt, direct, brutal with a few words he utters. Misunderstandings keep piling up because of his lack of communication that they end up breaking up. They meet again four years later and continue where they left it off but this time around she demands he talks to her and tells her how he feels.

I loved the characters: she is sweet, strong and independent woman. He seems like a brute but he is actually incapable of expressing his feelings. The drama has an interesting structure: the story is told by the both of them, each taking turn in telling the same events. That was original. The opening credits were something special as well: the main actors blindfolded and having paint thrown on them while they silently scream. Metaphor for the pressure the society puts on people?

There were of course a couple of things that were off: the kissing scenes were awkward, they seemed not to know what to do with themselves. The actors were great in everything else but the love scenes were really strange. Another one was the unnecessary subplot with father: since this started as an office romcom there was really no need to go into the makjang territory with the rich father paying off the unworthy woman.

This was a fun, quick watch. I had actually dropped it a few months ago, 10min into the first episode because of a cringy love scene but someone posted about it so I gave it another go. I enjoyed it immensely actually!

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BL & Makjang

As I was skipping through the last episode, (actually FFW a drama for the very first time EVER!) while trying to avoid the ultimate cringe that episode is, I was just trying to comfort myself justifying watching this by its relative shortness. There were some good things about this drama and then there was the plot.

Good things: actors, cinematography.

The plot: BAD! Nonsensical and cringy. The story follows some mobsters who are ALL gay of course: from the Boss in a a happy 30 years old relationship with his secretary down to the minor players. What kind of mob is that? The criminals themselves were extremely unconvincing, unnatural! They just looked like a bunch of PC schoolkids putting on a show in which they imagine what real criminals might look like,behave and dress! Ridiculous!
The characters are not really explained: we do get to hear a kind of a back story but it does not explain their situation at the beginning of the series! Why does he have to work three jobs in order to put himself through high school? Why is the other guy a member of the mob? They all talk about killing people but look like they'd apologize and start crying if they accidentally crush an ant? Apart from the four main characters, everyone else either cannot act or they got unclear direction?
The second half plunges deep into a makjang with rich families, paying off the unsuitable lover, amnesia...classic!

It is still watchable under one serious condition: turn your brain off. Then you can enjoy the two love stories with decent skinship and a lot of cringe. Especially in the last episode. A lot!!!!!
All in all, this was bad. Barely watchable short drama: its saving grace being the short duration. LOL To watch only when there's nothing else!

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