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So much better than season 3 and 4 !!!
Even if Paradise feels still a bit underwhelming and Inferno could be made much tougher, I truly think the production team did an incredible job at casting this season participants as well as putting together the various storylines. There were a good variety among the cast, not just models and CEOs of their own company (with only 1 employee -aka themselves), some people providing really good TV, without those feeling over-produced. There were some production hijincks but honestly it was done quite skillfully to amp the angst and create a little bit of thrills...The challenges were overall quite exciting and fun, even if sometimes quite (maybe even a bit too much) aggressive. Once again the panelists elevated the watching experience with their relatable reactions.I would recommend this to people looking for an exciting dating show. The production did a great job at correcting the flaws from previous seasons, and provided some memorable TV moments. I screamed and laughed at the screen, I swooned, I theorized and had many discussions on it. Even if the finale was very predictable to me, I had such fun time and I will for sure be looking forward the next season.
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Artsy, dark vibes, oozing toxicity and bad decisions...And frustrating!
This Thai BL features a trio of characters that meet in a bar and are trapped into ultra toxic relationships (professional and romantic) inspite of themselves. The series can feel highly frustrating because of the waste of potential, however, there are also quite a lot I appreciated. Do I regret spending time on it ? No, certainly not because it made me think a lot. Unfortunately the attempt at social commentary regarding Art and AI fell apart with the conclusion, which was truly disappointing.Cast is one of the strong point of this series but also one of the downside. Indeed Gun, Off and Dew are doing a very good job at acting out those broken human beings. The tension scenes with the intimate moments or the painful moments were also very well acted. However, the way couple pairing are working in Thailand clearly removed part of the interest / turmoil of the series as the ending seemed predictable because of the CP but was not convincing because of the plot itself.
I would recommend this drama to people looking for an artsy BL featuring a fare share of angst and pain. It is for sure not without flaws because of its odd and too slow pacing, unconvincing ending and frustrating because of the waste of potential. But it is also a very different kind of story, truly thoughts provoking, with a captivating muse-artist relationship. Even if it unfortunately does not hold its promises, the actors and the very good production value with some truly impactful and memorable scenes, make it worth the watch.
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Less good than Season 1 but still a lot of mouthwatering food.
Not gonna lie, this second season is less good to me than S1. Maybe because the novelty factor is not there anymore...But also because the production team made some doubtful choices during the elimination process, they could have found a better balance between the white spoons and the black spoons chefs to make it more interesting.Still, even despite the disparity in screentime, I got attached to a couple of candidates and there were enough variety in the casting to features a wide range of food and cooking style. The editing lacked subtlety, it was pretty obvious from one point which candidates were going to make it into the finale which felt pretty anticlimactic.
I would recommend this to people that enjoy cooking show. It features a wide range of cooking that will definitely make you hungry. Editing and production choices could have been better, as it clearly reduced the suspense and thrills of the competition, feeling overall pretty predictable.
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"Us, meeting like we did, wasn't a coincidence. It was inevitable."
This movie took me in a totally unexpected journey. I expected a cute romance featuring an artist but I got so much more than that. I grew very attached to both characters and what they were going through. The fact that their love for Art intertwined with their relationship was amazing. Visually there were some beautiful moments as flowers were an essential points for the romance : the symbolism was super powerful.The acting was very solid and brought me a lot of feelings...It was my first time watching the leads (Nagase Ren and Deguchi Natsuki) and they really impressed me. It felt very sincere and pure, without overacting but rather appropriately measured.
I would recommend this to people looking for an impactful romance, very sweet and cathartic. It is both light and heavy, and it will take you on a very emotional journey. It broke me but at the same time was healing.
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You'll protect the world. I'll protect you.
This movie features the relationship of two broken teens that find solace in each other in very dark moments in their life. The way they care for each other and how their bond was formed through trauma was both heartbreaking and amazing. It is a dark and heavy watch which still had some welcome (while unexpected) moments of hope and light shining through the pain.The cinematography was great : there a lot of striking scenes that left me a memorable impression. The way the director managed to bring to screen the tension felt by young people going through exams and social pressure at that crucial moment of time was excellent. The way the few moments of freedom and carefreeness shown among the heavy burden carried by the leads was very moving.
The cast did overall an excellent job with Zhou Dong Yu and Jackson Yee being incredible. I did not know Zhou Dong Yu and but I already knew that Jackson Yee was amazing...Here they both impressed me so much that I for sure plan to watch more of their filmography. The way their eyes bore so much weight and pain and care : simply striking !
I would strongly recommend this to people that are looking for a well-written story supported by excellent acting. There are some minor flaws regarding its pacing and the fact I would have loved to see even more deepened some elements but overall it took me on an intense journey that I will not forget.
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Lackluster ending which spoiled the drama for me
I truly enjoyed the beginning of this BL : the plot highs and lows could be seen from miles away but despite the lack of surprises, it was a really compelling watch because the characters were so cute together with a touch of angst and twisted start that I loved. Unfortunately, pacing was a huge issue as main conflicts were resolved halfway through the series and that the plot felt pretty void after than with a very lackluster finale.I would recommend this to people looking for a cute BL. Despite the issues in pacing and storytelling that felt less compelling in its second half, it is just a very soft and sweet watch (while pretty forgettable).
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Every shojo trope, everywhere, all at once
This drama was bonkers : it was entertaining in a way because of all the cheesy and over-the-top storylines. But it also felt very rushed, as you literally jump from one issue to another, most of them being quite nonsensical, without ever really deepening the characters and the romance. What the relationship is in episode 1 stays identical by the end of the drama.Acting was also a mixed bags but I will not fault too much the cast as the scenario does not leave a lot of room for acting range. The characters are really stereotypes and one note, with the actors and actress committing but never really convincing. Despite the overall plot stupidity, I salute Sakurada Dori committment to the super cheesy lines, without him, I might not have found a lot of interest to the drama. Despite him being super hot, I found his chemistry with Fukuhara Haruka not as good as I would have expected. Maybe it is linked to the heroine role, which was truly a bland character.
I would not recommend this to people unless you are looking for some palate cleanser drama, to refresh (or annihilate) your brain cells before moving to another title. It is somewhat entertaining but also very repetitive with little evolution in the characters dynamics and multitudes of cliche storylines.
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FirstOne / Tle good chemistry could not save trashy series...But props to them for committing!
This short BL series made of 81 episodes of 2 minutes, clearly low budget and badly edited, was overall quite entertaining thanks to the excellent chemistry of FirstOne and Tle. It was their BL acting debut and they for sure did not disappoint me, despite the low quality of the series itself.The scenario was really bonkers but also very entertaining as it features two "fake brothers" forbidden love with a touch of cohabitation and a lot of obsession for each other. Their relationship was very toxic and really trashy. Other than FirstOne and Tle having solid chemistry and doing quite a good at saying their lines despite the crazy script...unfortunately, nothing worked. The editing and subtitles, the acting of the remainder of the cast, the limited soundtrack with violin coming from nowhere : everything was really poor quality.
I would not recommend this to people unless you're a fan of Tle and/or FirstOne and if you don't mind trashy show with nonsensical and over-the-top scenario. It was definitely an entertaining mess with a mediocre story, poor subtitles and editing, in addition to a very limiting format.
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Quite symbolic encounter between two slightly odd human beings
I liked this indie film with the image of the rake, it really made me think. Are you erasing your past ? Are you erasing yourself? If this central question of the story is interesting, pacing could definitely have been better, even for a short film.The soundtrack was ok but nothing really memorable, and I also felt the acting was very green. It is very understandable why the characters gravitate towards each other, but the attraction factor was missing from the acting. While those elements felt lacking, filmmaking was good, with some striking moments illustrating the questioning of the movie.
Overall, I was pretty impressed by the meta aspect as the film, featuring students of an Art school while the movie is really made by aspiring filmmakers from the Film School of Tokyo.
I would recommend this to people that enjoy indie movie . It has a subdue atmosphere and feels almost phylosophical in its meta aspect and the constant questionning made by the characters.
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ARASHI Anniversary Tour 5×20 FILM “Record of Memories”
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A must-watch concert movie if you are a fan of Arashi !
I truly enjoyed my time watching this concert of Arashi. Being a fan, the nostalgia factor was very strong and it moved me quite a bit ! They played most of their iconic songs and it was a real pleasure to see the japanese public singing along with the idols.If the songs were great, the atmosphere and the view of this huge audience really impressive, I must admit that both costumes and dancing could be better. Most of the dance routine felt relatively easy and similar. It absolutely did not diminish my enthusiasm but I surprised myself several time watching the concert thinking that the moves were a bit repetitive. For costumes, I admit that it is much better than years and years ago, they are not doing as much bulky/box costumes with many layers...But still, some felt a bit plain or simply lacking a wow factor.
What remains a constant in the group and ultra visible through the screen is the friendship between the members, their charisma and their happiness to be there, performing all together. The way they adress the public : they still have the same manner and it made me slightly tear up to see how much fun they had. If dancing did not blow me away, singing was really good. Listening to Ohno and Nino singing, Jun and Aiba specific tones and Sho rap was great and brought me up many good memories.
I would obviously recommend this to people that are fan of Arashi. If you have seen some of their past concerts, you will for sure experience nostalgic and happy feelings, remembering the past. A really uplifting watch !
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A healing journey on Jeju Island
A cute mini drama that takes the viewer on a friends road trip, one of them is heartbroken and the other two take their bestie on a trip to cheer him up. The friendship between the three boys was definitely the best part of the series : all their moments felt believable and sincere. However, I wish the romances(s) would have been better as I felt the chemistry was a little bland on that aspect of the scenario.Casting-wise, Hwang In Youp was clearly the stand out of this short drama : both his acting and his role itself. The remainder of the cast did an an okay job but were a bit lacking in the strong moments.
I would recommend this to people looking for a short series featuring friendship amongst heartbreak. If you like Hwang In Youp, it is very worth your time as he has some really impactful scenes in the series.
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A thrilling series with a lot of unhinged moments and serving culinary esthetics treats !
This Japanese drama is at its core a enemies-to-lovers romance combined with a murder mystery set up in a reputable traditional Japanese sweets shop. It is a series that push the viewer to theorize about a lot of elements, as the pieces of the puzzle revealed themselves. If I very quickly guessed some of the twists, I must admit that the finale did surprise me. I was both happy of the surprising outcome but quite disappointed because it felt relatively illogical to me.There were also a lot of forced misunderstanding in the relationship which I felt were a bit heavily handled writing-wise. But overall, despite my frustration at those and the consequent wounds (self-inflicted and totally avoidable), I really loved the relationship between the leads.
Casting-wise, I really liked finding back Hamabe Minami and Yokohama Ryusei in the main roles. Their dynamics together was very convincing : I believed in the twisted love they shared. I wish the script offered them even more moments because there were so many possibilities to make this even angstier and spicier given the nature of their characters' relationship. The ensemble cast was pretty good with maybe the exception of Mizuki Alisa who had quite an unbalanced performance. Some of her scenes were really over-the-top and taking me out, while some others were excellent.
In addition to enjoying the romance as well as being quite invested in the story, I definitely appreciated the most the esthetics of the drama. The way a wide variety of delicate Japanese sweets was featured into each of the episodes, as well as the numerous beautiful kimonos worn by the cast, were the biggest part of my enjoyment of the series. I was really captivated by the atmosphere highlighted by chilling nursery rhymes...
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a mystery series set up in a traditional Japanese house. The artisanal talk around the Japanese sweets making, as well as the overall elegance of it all was my favorite part of the series. I come out of it having learnt a lot on this art form. I really liked the story in its first half but then felt that soap opera scenes got overboard. The ending felt definitely lacking to me as the mystery unfolded in a unhinged way. If you enjoy melodramatic moments with a lot of shock factor, you will be served for sure !
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Unconvinced by the writing but properly subjugated by Kim Young Kwang's character
This drama focus on an interesting question : what would happen if illegal guns were spreading in South Korea, one of the nation with the lowest gun per habitant rate ? I was pretty intrigued at first but at the end I found myself quite unconvinced in the hypothesis offered by the showrunner on how the situation would unfold in terms of collective impact. I think the writing did a great job when focusing on individuals in circumstances in which they would be brought to litteraly push the trigger of a gun obtained illegaly. However, the big picture for the overall country felt definitely less believable to me. The plot armor of the hero, who was really strong and smart, was also a bit too thick for my taste.The acting was overall good for the main characters. Kim Na Gil was solid even if I wish he had a role that allowed him to emote more because he was quite "stone"-faced all along the series. Kim Young Kwang was incredible in this : all his scenes (except the ones in English which were unfortunately quite a fail), all his attitudes and costumes were just chef's kiss. He gives a lot of charming vibes and craziness to the overall series. The filmmaking was excellent with some very powerful imagery. The tension and urgency were palpable, making the series quite thrilling.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a thriller exploring a very interesting hypothesis regarding the impact of guns on a population with very low firearms usage. The deep diving on the psychology of targeted specific people (when in possession of an illegal gun) was really frightening and captivating at the beginning. Unfortunately the way it devolved into a larger scheme was much more doubtful.
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Lot of unexploited potential, writing weaknesses and a WTF ending : quite memorable but frustrating.
What would happen if people were able to see "red lines" connecting sexual partners ? This intriguing idea hooked me from start. Unfortunately, I feel the writing failed to exploit well enough this powerful concept. There were a lack of logic at many points of the series. The "one crime by episode" format prevented to build properly the overarching common arc. It led to an absurd ending that what quite stylish but clunkily constructed with little rhymes nor reasons.The acting was good. It is my first time watching Lee Soo Hyuk and I found him incredibly charming in his role. Lee Da Hae does also a good job providing nuance to a part that could have definitely been better scripted. It is a bit of a shame both did not interact even more. Given the length of the series, I wish the showrunner would have spend less time following the teens (played by A Rin and Lee Eun Saem) and focusing on the adults side of the story. Especially because A Rin's character remained so much of a blank caneva during the course of the drama, I was disappointed that the focus was so much on her.
Visually, there were a lot of impactful scenes. It was quite icky at time with a really immersive dark atmosphere and a fitting soundtrack. There is an artsy vibe to the series that I really appreciated. While I feel the story in itself never really reached its full potential with an ending that felt very lacking, production and making remaining of a very good quality from start to finish.
Despite all its fails in writing and the failure in exploiting fully the concept, I would still recommend this to people that are looking for a dark thriller with an innovative central idea. It is a let down for many reasons but at the same time the premise in itself is so strong that I think it is worth giving a shot to this quite short drama. Be mindful if you have any trigger, there are some very dark and disturburing scenes that could be upsetting.
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Bingeable, uncanny and dark but felt lacking as ended when entering the real good stuff
A really enjoyable short series featuring a very odd family surrounded by mystery and violence. I loved the characters and their dynamics : especially the parents roles hold by incredible Bae Doo Na and excellent Ryu Seung Beom. Their characters' strange relationships with each other and their kids was the best part of the drama. If the pacing was good, the storytelling could have been better, in particular regarding the growth of the kids and their evolution. Production was excellent : it was gritty and violent fighting scenes were well-filmed.I would recommend this to people that are looking for a thrilling action series with a solid cast. It is quite comparable to the manga "Spy x Family", in a darker version with a touch of "Black Widow" and an "Adams Family" vibe. Quite a tasteful combination ! Unfortunately, it can feel a tad frustrating because of its short duration. I wish some of the most interesting elements regarding the family relationships would have been exploited more, especially regarding the past of the characters. If there is a second season, I will watch it for sure.
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