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  • Last Online: 3 days ago
  • Location: Lost in the Cloud....
  • Contribution Points: 3 LV1
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  • Join Date: December 4, 2022
  • Awards Received: Flower Award4

Giuca

Lost in the Cloud....

Giuca

Lost in the Cloud....
Completed
Made on the Rooftop
1 people found this review helpful
by Giuca
Aug 27, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

Acceptance

On the surface, it is just a silly romcom about people meeting and breaking up. Something seen so many times. But just on the surface. Because the moment you throw in the mix gay main characters the story gets to be so much more than a simple romcom.

The plot follows two best friends, HaNeul and Bong Shik and their relationships. HaNeul has been in a long-term relationship with a closeted man who does not dare tell his family that the person he loves deeply is a man. HaNeul finds that so frustrating and they keep fighting and breaking up repeatedly. Until one day HaNeul is kicked out and goes to squat with his friend Bong Shik. He is a youtuber who pretends he plays badminton. One day he catches the eye of a real badminton player who persist in hitting on him. Bur BongShik is does not want a relationship because he is HIV+.

The main characters are worried about acceptance, how the others see them and will they like them for what they are be it gay or ill or both. The actors are all extraordinary and the award goes to the actor who plays HaNeul, Lee Hong Nae: he is handsome, cute and so talented. He manages to bring to life the emotions and conflicts and fiery temperament. The other actors are just as good! And of course there is the staple of korean cinema and tv: the ajumma herself, Lee Jung Eun, brilliant as always.

Production values are rather low: this looks and feels like a short web movie. The kind you find loads of on youtube. But a bit longer. I guess they did not have much of a budget and the cameras they used must not have been very sophisticated because everything is so cold and clinically sharp. Because of it, I had a bit of trouble getting into the movie, I could not feel anything special about it. And then I realized I did. There is one song and it was hilarious: the guys at one point sing a silly song during their podcast and it is to be seen to be believed. Magic!

The director managed to make the film seem light and fluffy while correctly treating serious issues. Kudos! Well done!

This is a lovely movie and definitely a very good, uplifting rewatch! Go for it!

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Completed
Our Relationship Ended Before It Began
1 people found this review helpful
by Giuca
Aug 26, 2023
4 of 4 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 4.0
This review may contain spoilers

Cute and short: perfect!

Actually there is not much to say about this short GL web drama. Between the synopsis and the coments, everything that can be said, has been. So why am I writing this review? I wanted to gush about so much cuteness in a korean drama. Definitely something new and refreshing!

It could be said that this is an office or better yet, a workplace romance. A boss/employee kind of a series. True, this year has been the year of office romance bl/gl series. This one takes place in a cafe. Not much of a budget so no customers in this café. The manager teases her employee so much that they fall in love but are scared to say anything. The arrival of the ex girlfriend pushes the relationship in the right direction.

The manager is very masculine looking: tall, thin, very short hair, dark clothing and no make up and even her voice is rather deep. People (customers) often mistake her for a man. She feels hurt because of that but we are still conditioned by certain ideas about gender that the mistakes of this kind are easy to make. In her previous relationship as well she was assigned the role of a man which displeased her immensely. Her employee is a very short, petite and very feminine girl (long hair, girly clothes, make up). In a way they look like your typical manga characters!

The drama obviously did not have much of a budget but they managed to tell the story correctly. As usual, the sound in korean web dramas is atrocious, it is cavernous and has a slight echo to it. Music is generic, probably free elevator music heard many times before.

Nevertheless, it is a cute short watch, a very good gl mini drama leaving you wishing for more but, storywise, perfect as it is. Well almost! I do not get the title: what does it mean?

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Completed
Siew Sum Noi
0 people found this review helpful
by Giuca
Aug 26, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 2.0
This review may contain spoilers

Dead fish kiss country musical

In a gist! LOL

Coming from the makers of campy, silly and highly enjoyable Love Poison, SSN is another offering featuring Isaan, the region, the language and the music!

The story is nothing original: your ordinary enemies to lovers in high school while playing football and singing!

Ruk comes to Bangkok from countryside Isaan on football scholarship and immediately clashes with IG, school and internet star. They are friends with a group called Good Guys Gang within which there is another couple in the making, (friends to lovers trope) . During school break they discover they originate from the same region where they both go for vacation. There, their respective brothers (cousins?) are in a relationship they are hiding from everyone. Relationships are created and undone and afterwards they all go back to Bangkok to finish the school year. The misunderstandings are eventually resolved, there is overall acceptance and they all live happily ever after. The usual BL plot format!

Cue in, the musical part where these couples all suddenly burst into song expressing their love for each other. Read the lyrics of these songs, they are hilarious :
"It melt, melt I want to swallow you whole"
"The economy is bad, my house is in trouble"
"Wanna feed your dog and cat, just order me to do so"
"In Bang Khae you help your mom sell chicken rice"

The guys can barely sing, it is bad but the feelings are there and they are really invested in it.

The support characters are a colorful lot: the all accepting and understanding fujoshi mother, the authoritarian and funny grandma, the macho set in his ways father, the girl childhood friend who wants to be more and cannot, the ex girlfriend who keeps going back and forth. And the comic relief Good Guys Gang! As if the series was not funny enough!lol

The main characters are all the usual high schoolers: immature, high on hormones and thinking they are invincible! I did not like the height difference (another one of my pet peeves!) between Ruk and IG but they had decent chemistry.

There is a lot of kissing in this series: there are so many accidental kisses it became hilariously ridiculous. Unfortunately the majority of kisses between Ruk and IG, even when consensual and not accidental, are cute but frozen in time dead fish ones. The other couples go at it with gusto: not these two!

A fun watch, though not as good as Love Poison! It might be also that the novelty wore off pretty quickly as well: the first time was amazing, the second serving of the same is not as amazing. Production is low budget but they managed to make it look nice, nothing exceptional but nice.



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Completed
Someday or One Day: The Movie
1 people found this review helpful
by Giuca
Aug 25, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

What would you do for love?

"It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all!"

I have a huge headache!

I should stop trying to find logic in time travel movies! It is impossible to find seeing how complex the very notion is.

I saw the series a couple of years ago, I have no memory of it only a vague feeling of total incomprehension and loss: all that travelling back and forth was headache inducing. The movie is just the same only shorter. So the headache arrives really quickly!

I think that the movie is loosely connected with the series. Again, it is a story of lovers who travel back in time, using a walkman, in order to save the loved one from dying! Eventually I realized that there were four different persons trying to change the past. Unsuccessfully!

Only when they learn the lesson quoted above (and at the end of the movie) can they sort everything out!

It is a sci fi movie so let's just leave it in the realm of fantasy and enjoy it for what it is , a fun ride! So I have no intention to nitpick and overanalyze the plot point and the travel plans.

I liked it better than the drama: it is shorter. The actors are back but did Greg Hsu sign a contract demanding to be the only good looking person in the movie? Alice was made to wear frumpy clothes and horrible wigs and Patrick a moustache!

The music was nice though if I never hear Last Dance by Wu Bei again it will be too soon! The rest was better since we heard it less!

Anyway, the movie is fun. And now let me go and get a paracetamol! My head is killing me!





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Completed
I Wish I Had a Wife
1 people found this review helpful
by Giuca
Aug 24, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 5.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 5.5
This review may contain spoilers

That music....

Well, I know why this movies has relatively low rating. It is definitely not for everyone and the problem is not only the content but the pacing as well.

The story follows two lonely people yearning for companionship and family. He is a bank teller and she is a teacher in the cram academy across the road from the bank. They keep bumping into each other and though she is well aware of his existence, he seems not to notice her. When she invites him out for a meal, he rejects her coldly mostly because he has a crush on an former schoolmate and a current artist. One day he is left heartbroken when the artist ran away from debts and from him. His favourite pastime after work is watching old surveillance tapes and one evening he sees the teacher on it and realized the mistake he had made. He goes up to see her immediately and slowly they build a relationship.

This is a slice of life slow burn movie and therefore its pace is really slow. The characters are not very likable: he's on the rude side and she is a kind of a busy body. The actors were made ugly with with glasses, bad hair, ill fitting suits and frumpy clothing. The costumes do change towards the last quarter of the movie when they start seeing each other. The actors, portrayed these characters as barely living, monotonal voices and stiff attitudes.
The plot, as I mentioned earlier, is centered on two people looking to get married in order not to be alone anymore and to be happy would be an added bonus. This tells a lot about the korean society and the acceptability within it. The main characters are boring characters, everyday Joe and Jane, there is nothing special about them, they are just ordinary people trying to get through life without too much pain and suffering. Most of the people in the world are like that and though the movie is well made, do I want to watch the movie about my life? No, not really!

The movie is over 20yrs old and the video I watched was not the best of quality so it is a bit hard to judge cinematography. One thing though was nice to watch: rain and shots of umbrellas from above. The rest was nothing special.

What WAS special was the music: JAZZ in a korean romance drama? Umbrellas and the jazzy score at the beginning made me think of all those great american movies. That score was so unexpected and frankly made the movie that much more worth the watch.

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Completed
Komorebi
0 people found this review helpful
by Giuca
Aug 24, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 5.5
This review may contain spoilers

Komorebi is not a word, it's a feeling!

Komorebi{ 木漏れ日 } is the Japanese word for sunlight, which is filtered through the leaves of the trees. In particular, it means the visible light rays. “Komorebi” is composed of several parts of the word: “Ko” means tree or trees. “More” means: something that comes through, something that shines through or seeps through. “Bi” means: sun or sunlight. The word “Komorebi” reflects the romantic and emotional love of the Japanese for nature. Komorebi is that feeling, walking through the forest in the morning when the day wakes up or the afternoon when the sun goes down and the sun shines through the trees. When the sunlight kisses the ground. This light wind, this smell, this unique moment that makes every morning a special morning.

This short movie is just like that: it is all about feelings! Sometimes things not need to be said, just alluded to and felt!

The story tells of tergiversations of a man: he would like to tell his mother about being in love and getting married to his boyfriend but is afraid, he thinks he's going to hurt her if he comes out to her. But as the story progresses, we see the looks she keeps giving them and by the end we realize she knows without ever having been told. And of course, there are the socks....

The feelings are everything here: insecurities, love, kindness, understanding, possibilities, hope, happiness. The mother expresses all of these with a look, a gesture, a smile. Everything is so subtle so one needs to pay attention.

Nice short watch about how parents can unexpectedly and pleasantly surprise us when we are dealing with difficult issues.

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Completed
Seal of Love
0 people found this review helpful
by Giuca
Aug 23, 2023
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 7.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 3.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers

White hat of black hat?

So what do I take out from this mini c drama? Appearances can be deceptive. That is the only thing I really appreciated about this drama: it is not important how you look but what you do. Actions speak louder than white garb you wear. I felt it like a pique to today's righteousness at judging everyone by their outside features be it creed or colour.

The story about good and evil, the demons and the immortals but who is the real evil between them?? The story of star crossed lovers, dying every time they get close to each other. They are not really meant to be... but they announced that this was only season one so let's hope they'd manage to finally be together eventually without dying in the process. Or spitting so much blood! That was funny too: every time they got touched a bit too hard by the opponent, they would not strike back or fall but bend over a tiny bit and spit blood! For gods and immortals they are easily wounded!

The star crossed lovers did not have any chemistry together so maybe that was the reason they kept dying? It took some time to figure out which one of two men was the main love interest and it was unfortunately the one acting like clown (WWX like!), charming but zero credibility in romance department. Moreover, the actress looks too old compared to the actor!

The fighting scenes, the special effects, the music: the usual chinese xianxia fare pretty but forgettable. I'd probably rewatch it though if they ever make a second season!

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Completed
Secret
1 people found this review helpful
by Giuca
Aug 22, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

A love story with a twist

Wow, just wow! This movie has been on my list forever and I only got around to it today. Why did I wait so long?

I want to talk about the movie but I am afraid I am going to spoil too much. So I'm going to go just with a few remarks.

The plot: a love story between two piano prodigies Jay and Rain, in a special music class. But the girl misunderstands an event and disappears instead of talking. Then she goes on to confide in a teacher who spills the beans to her classmates who ostracize her afterwards. Good teaching? I don't think so! And of course, who does demolition work in the middle of the night? Still, it did wonders for suspense and the scene was well choreographed: a dance between a piano and a wrecking ball! Still the plot was tightly woven and there were no holes so well done writers!

The music: classical and original piano music, variations on classical themes. Those actors are real musicians and Jay Chou is fabulously talented pianist, composer and actor. Piano battle scene is legendary.

The poster is perfect: the shadow a colonnade in school makes looks like piano keys.

Cinematography is top notch: everything was filmed in warm tones of brown, almost sepia, and combined with the music, leaving you feeling like wrapped in a soft cozy cocoon.

Acting: excellent. They have decent chemistry.

In short, a beautiful movie.

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Completed
Romance Written Differently
1 people found this review helpful
by Giuca
Aug 21, 2023
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 3.5
Rewatch Value 4.5
This review may contain spoilers

Remembrance of things past

I am always amazed at cop shows and how the witnesses remember everything exactly as it happened. I do not remember what I had for breakfast this morning nor when I took it. I wonder how many people really remember accurately the events they took part in.

The memory is the premise of this mini web drama. It is interesting to see how people remember same events differently: the gist of it is the same but everything else is different starting with clothes, what they said, where they went....

The main characters are both in relationships with high speed controlling people while they are themselves more easy going and relaxed. When they meet, it is love at first sight and while the woman breaks up immediately with her boyfriend (who does not listen to her...), the man does not have the guts to do the same thing and keeps on lying to his girlfriend. That was actually the only problematic bit here. Other than that, this drama is cute, fluffy, interesting and easy watch. There are a lot of PPLs so I guess this must have been an ad based drama.

The actors had good chemistry and the romance was credible.

Unfortunately, I am not a fan of Hwang Chan Sung having seen him play a baddie in a drama which left me a lasting impression of him as an actor. Even here, where he is playing a cute and a bit lost guy, I keep finding him sleazy and dodgy (which was eventually confirmed when he did not break it off with his girlfriend before dating another woman!). But that's just me.

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Completed
Secret Love: Love Behind One's Back
0 people found this review helpful
by Giuca
Aug 20, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

Seven year itch

Secret Love is an early bl or rather LGBT movie (2014) by GMMTV's house prolific director Jojo Tichakorn. That guy is seriously talented. Like seriously!!!

Even this short movie in spite of bad cinematography and looking amateurish, is better than a big number of currently airing bls. Apparently it is based on a true story. But the synopsys is misleading, to say the least.

Wan and Tar have been in a happy relationship for years. when Wan got a new job. In the office his immediate superior, Ohm, is kind, attractive and very touchy feely so much so that Wan falls completely for him. Tar realizes something has changed and when he confronts his boyfriend , Wan prefers to break up instead of trying to figure out what went wrong. Tar even contacts Ohm hoping to get his boyfriend back. They start talking and a connection is created between Tar and Ohm as well. Ohm actually falls for both of them!

The short film touches on important issues: adultery and sexual harassment at work. Nothing is sorted out and they eventually all go their separate ways. But the movie shows how easy it is to succumb to temptation and that there is a thin line between being friendly and harassment. The tension and the chemistry between the characters are palpable, so much so that I wanted them to finish all three of them together. No such result but still....

The actors are a mixed lot: Gun is just awful! I hated him in 2gether and here he is just as bad: he cannot help grimacing while trying to be cute: it does not work, it is just annoying! The other two , Ten and Pop as Tar and Ohm respectively, are excellent showing a range of emotions with restraint. By the way, where are those actors now? Why aren't they acting anymore? What a waste!

The movie is an early project and it shows: it is a bit all over the place (low budget +lack of experience probably) but the story is gripping and it is an excellent watch if you overlook the low production values (and a very bad quality video of it on youtube! ).



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Completed
Double Mints
2 people found this review helpful
by Giuca
Aug 19, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 4.5
This review may contain spoilers

Someone said obsession?...Ready to watch!

Recently I keep coming upon series where the main theme is obsessive love. Well, this one is in a class of its own!

Double Mints is a story of two men with a same name who cannot live apart no matter how bad they are to each other. We know nothing about the two characters: what is known is their relationship: toxic, codependent, raw, addicted, obsessive, damaged.

They met in high school where one becomes the owner of the other one calling him "the dog". Every time "the dog" tries to break free, he is pulled back into the weird relationship. So much so that "the dog", even adult, has no will of his own before his master. But when he realizes that his master is someone else's dog (in this case, he has become an errand boy for the local yakuzas), he starts to change. They are still addicted to each other but the erstwhile dog decides to become equal. And they understand that they are the two halves of the same . Soulmates sounds too fluffy for this damaged relationship. But that is what they ultimately turn out to be! Unhealthy it may be but they need to stay together.

What is it about these toxic , obsessive relationships that is so fascinating?

The movie is dark. The cinematography is appropriately black and bleak. The acting is perfect: the actors managed to portray complex feelings through posture, voice and facial micro expressions. The cello music is ominous and rather scary not allowing for a glimmer of hope in this world filled with cruelty. The editing is a bit messy: the timeline seems stunted and it is difficult to understand how much time has passed between the scenes.

It is a hard watch, long and draggy at moments with minimal dialogue. They did not need to say anything, everything was crystal clear from the way they walked and behaved.

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Completed
The Other Half of Me and You
0 people found this review helpful
by Giuca
Aug 19, 2023
32 of 32 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 2.5
Rewatch Value 3.0
This review may contain spoilers

Women empowerment!

I do not think, though I may be mistaken, that patriarchy and matriarchy are interchangable. The man rule the world in one way. If the women were on top, would they really behave like men? Permit me to doubt.

This mini drama takes this premise and does not do anything with it. So the women are a stronger sex and the men the fair one.

The story folows a macho, cocky pilot with numerous girlfriend, love them and leave them kind of guy. Until one freak accident projects him into a paraller universe where the gender roles are reversed. He has hard time ajusting until he meets Jacky, the counterpart of his current girlfriend and he falls hard for her while trying to find a way to go back home.

As I said, I love the idea but I find the execution lacking. In this parallel universe the women are behaving and dressing and mostly looking like men from this universe (kind of butch, mostly) while the men are just brainless pretty and apparently allowed to wear only bermuda shorts! I frankly did not like the simple reversal of roles because I do not think that women would behave like that in a matriarchal society. What comes out, on the surface in this drama is that the women in parallel universe are like butch lesbians and men like fem gays. Clichés and stereotypes abound!

That is why I am so disappointed with this drama since they could have done so much more with it instead of using the gender reversal roles for silly comic effect. The summum of cringe was the wedding!

The ending could be considered open: they each stay in their own universe never to meet again. Good thing that the writer did not pair him up with his world's version of Jacky. The only positive thing is that this drama could be used in heavily patriarchal societies (in Asia but not only!) as a teaching tool to have men realize the way they are treating women is far from correct. It worked on our male lead so why not on others? Or am I being too optimistic?

There is some original cinematography and the music is not bad either. But why did they use that old russian song "Moscow Nights" so much? It was distracting since that song is so well known in my part of the world and moreover, once you hear it it never leaves your head. An annoying earworm!

All in all, a very original idea that could have and should have had a better treatment. Maybe next time?

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Completed
I'm a Fool for You
0 people found this review helpful
by Giuca
Aug 18, 2023
4 of 4 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 5.5
This review may contain spoilers

Good things come to those who wait!

Well how do you rate a drama that keeps getting better and better over three seasons, so far? I could clearly see the evolution in production values, acting, storytelling but the episodes are painfully short! And even then they managed to deliver a comprehensible story.

This is the review for all three seasons!

I'm A Fool For You is about three highschool friends who suddenly meet again after five years. The center is Hin, a beautiful boy, with head full of dreams about becoming an idol and a toxic personality. His best friend Hugo has been in love with him forever and though he returns those feelings, Hin does not want to date him because he does not believe in love forever after and prefers having Hugo as a friend. He ends up losing him anyway. They meet again years later at the university, Hugo still carrying the torch for him. Hin still does not want to hear him out but hooks up with Yiu, another friend from school on a dating app. The first season features only these three characters. See the poster.

In second season we see the arrival of additional characters: Victor, Hugo's flatmate and Cory, Hin's BFF. This season tells us more about Hugo's backstory: the love confession to Hin and subsequent rejection, deception and sleeping around and finally being practically kicked out by his father. Hugo is a weak man, serviable, obsessively in love with Hin, addicted to him and does not know how to move on. Hin decides to pursue his musical career in Taiwan so he rejects Hugo again this time pushing him to the brink. Hin proved himself to be a selfish, uncaring man, only interested in himself, a real narcissist.

The third season takes place some time later: Hugo, depressed, attempted suicide. Unknown to anyone, Hin has come back from Taiwan with his tail between his legs, having failed to get his singing career off the ground. He now works as a server in a bar. He meets there Tony, who is kind to him but it turns out that Tony is just his twin, someone who cares nothing about others. When Hin is abandoned, just like he abandoned people who loved him, he breaks down and realizes that he should have held onto Hugo. Hugo, on his side, even though he still pines for Hin, decides to move on with his life when he meets Oliver. There are many new characters in this season, giving us a deeper insight into the lives of the three main leads.

Everything about the first season screams amateurs: the writing, the acting, the filming and I almost dropped it after 5 minutes since it was really unwatchable. But then the song started, a beautiful song and I was hooked because of it. And I said, it is short, let's just finish it. I was in for a really nice surprise since I did not expect anything in particular!

The story deals of addiction to someone, of obsessively loving someone even though they are not nice to you. The person Hugo loves is beautiful on the outside and immature and damaged on the inside. We do not know much about him, his family and upbringing but everything he does, the way he treats people who love him screams of a traumatic event. Hugo himself is not handsome and has low esteem but is kind and sweet, very vulnerable. It takes Oliver to have him realize he is worth more than he thinks and that he should stop demeaning himself. And finally enjoy a loving relationship between equals.

The posters for the two first seasons were what initially caught my attention: a drawing with cartoon drawn main characters. The intro (blink and you miss it!) is also a cartoon and is really pretty. I liked how they added new characters to it in every season.

The actors get better with every season with the exception of Pius Kung who played Hin and unfortunately seems to be losing his acting chops along the way. He found them again in the last episode: too little too late.

And of course, the music was the best part of the series: three dreamy songs....

This is a good short watch just don't expect high production values but they gave it all. There is also a blooper reel/BTS at the end of every episode. I hope they'll make another season!

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The Substitute
0 people found this review helpful
by Giuca
Aug 18, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 6.5
This review may contain spoilers

Love is a solution or a problem?

When I decided to watch the Substitute, the remark I noticed most people give in comments was "low budget" so I was a bit worried. I should not have been! This movie is a proof that one does not need huge budgets to make a good movie. More than good, an excellent movie.

Han Lu is a girl but her mother is convinced she is the reincarnation of her brother so she dresses her as a boy and makes her do everything her brother would have done. Han Lu follows the adventures of Ni Ke on line. She is an openly gay sporty girl. They meet at a sporting event and sparks fly between them. But when Ni Ke unwittingly takes away an opportunity to be an actress and is asked only to be her understudy, Han Lu is disappointed and abandons everything. Ni Ke suddenly disappears and the acting offer goes back to Han Lu . Three years later, Han Lu is a famous action actress and they meet again on a set where Ni Ke is a stunt woman for her.

The movie is split into two parts featuring one of my least favourite tropes: time jump. The first part is drama heavy. The relationship between Han Lu and her mother is poignant. Han Lu wants to be recognized by her mother for who she is but the woman is so lost in her grief that she does not want even to consider her daughter might not be her brother. Han Lu is fascinated by Ni Ke and admires her for the adventurous spirit and open mindedness and her "devil may care" attitude. When they meet the attraction is mutual but Ni Ke's character appeals to the producer more and he gives her the role intended for Han Lu who is disappointed when she realizes that she had lost the chance to flee from her mother.
This first half deals with grief (mother) and how the family copes with someone who refuses to accept the reality. The pressure of the customs and habits are to heavy for someone as insecure as Han Lu to break free so she just folds, every time.
Ni Ke is for her a symbol of freedom. When she disappeared(the reason is a bit unconvincing), Han Lu gained that freedom but at the expense of losing a person loved deeply.
This first half of the movie is amazing: the acting and the cinematography are excellent, the hand held camera filming was just what was needed to enter the inner worlds of two women and show their emotions. Perfect!
The second part takes place three years and is less interesting. They meet again, they clash since Han Lu is still hurt because she was abandoned three years earlier. Now Ni Ke is the substitute. Han Lu's costar is a macho who feels humiliated when Han Lu rejects his come on and when he realizes that the two women are in love, he keeps making homophobic remarks and tries to get Ni Ke hurt physically. The women eventually kiss and make up. This part of the movie seems to have a different camera operator: the colours are cold and everything is gray, empty and morose. The story itself is not sad, but the sets give that feeling.

How does it feel to be a substitute for someone else? This movie answers beautifully this question.

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The Table
0 people found this review helpful
by Giuca
Aug 16, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 3.5
Rewatch Value 5.5
This review may contain spoilers

A day in the life of...a coffee shop table!

An oval table in a small coffee shop in a quiet part of the city. A tiny vase with three small flowers decorate it.

This is the backdrop of this omnibus movie which tells the stories of this particular moment in the lives of four women. They have arranged meetings and have chosen this table because it was the only one with flowers on it. We find out the reasons behind these meetings but do not know what happened afterward
The first to come is a famous actress meeting her old boyfriend frow way back when. The conversation is stilted, they are obviously uncomfortable and he keeps asking her if the rumors going around about her are true and not believing her. He is impressed by her success but is jealous at the same time and is trying to find a way to bring her down. She's very much aware of it and after a few minutes leaves politely but very certain never to see him again.
Cautionary tale of never looking up the past, you are bound to be disappointed when you see the true face of the people you were so much in love with ages ago. Let the past stay in the past.

The second woman to come to the coffee shop was invited by a man she met months ago. After a one night stand, he left to go travelling the world: India and Europe. She did not really want to see him again but he had left his watch in her place so she wants to return it. Again, the conversation is stilted while she incredulously looks at him saying nonsense about his travels. Suddenly he takes out a present he bought for her in Europe. And another one and another one.... She realizes their one night stand had left a lasting impression on him and that he actually wants to get to know her better. They leave together!
This story is a love story in the making. The actors were cute and we could see the changes in the woman's face as she realizes that he actually never forgot her. Very subtle and sweet: she starts off very guarded, suspicious and on a defensive but melts as the story progresses.

The third encounter is between a woman organizing her own fake wedding and a fake wedding planner. As they talk about the people they need to hire to pretend to be her family and friends we discover that she is actually a swindler who fell in love. The wedding organizer works on the edges of illegality and has regrets because this job has prevented her from attending her own daughter's wedding. She offers to play the bride's mother in order to feel, even if it is fake, what it is like to be at one's own child's wedding. The bride, behind her strict and professional cool exterior hides a person changed by love who dares not hope for a happy future. Still she tries! This is a poignant story of missed chances and bad decisions which ruin lives.

The coffee shop's closing hour sees the encounter between an older woman about to get married and an ex boyfriend. She offers him to spend the last night together. The feelings linger heavy in the air, he is sorely tempted to accept and she is aware of it so she keeps pushing. But he manages to resist the temptation sensing it would be so wrong to succumb. They have strong feelings for each other and the reason they broke up is not really evident but since she is apparently getting married to a rich guy....To be or not to be tempted? Did they make the right decision about their lives? Are they going to keep living with regrets or their story is well and truly over?

The movie focuses on women and their emotions and it shows them to be strong, intelligent and responsible, open minded and reasonable. The men in these stories are just the sounding boards for the women to make decisions about their own lives.
The actors are all excellent. The cinematography is soft, pretty and mostly in muted tones. The way we follow the life of the flowers on the table is so symbolic of the events happening around it. The flowers wilt slowly until they are picked apart by the man in the last story to the chagrin of the woman.

I am a fan of omnibus movies. This one was interesting, very slow burn and rather static: just people sitting and talking. The only person really moving around was the coffee shop owner serving coffee and clearing the table. It is not a very long movie or particularly exciting for that matter but it is rather for the people who enjoy the kind of a movie where everything happens through conversation.

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