I enjoyed this drama. I think the characters are well developed, even all the side characters. The relationship of Bai Zi Hua and Hua Gian Gu reminds me of Yang Guo & Xiao Long Nu. Everyone misunderstands them, and condemns them, and in the end they cannot admit they love each other. I was BAWLING my eyes out, crying in the last two episodes. But it was refreshing to see the ending here. The other characters in this drama are complex. A lot of them ended up in misery, due to their own doing and obsessions. I can name several characters that caused their own downfall. Another refreshing aspect is that this drama doesn’t have ONE main antagonist. I was trying to predict the ultimate bad guy in the end, but was surprised about how it went about & how in the end the “bad” sect turned good!
Overall, it's a pretty good drama. I cried, I laughed, and binged watch this. I felt Zanilia and Wallace didn't have too much chemistry/romance because their characters were probably not allowed to. Even in the end, I didn't feel "it." But still an enjoyable ending.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but at the end does it sound like Sha Qian Mo would come back, maybe a season 2?
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This review may contain spoilers
Wow! Nice follow up to the first part “Cuo Dian Yuan Yang.” I definitely suggest watching the first part, but it’s not necessarily needed. This drama picks up right after the last one. Su Huan Er gets caught in the middle of a human trafficking den (no idea why, but totally her to have these antics). This drama focuses on the two younger brothers Wu Hen and Wu Jie’s love life, and the brothers trying to make their business more successful but they keep getting hindered multiple times throughout the drama, and in the end figures out the true killer of their father and Su Guang Ping (Huan Er’s father). The entire plot/story ends on a happy note. I’m glad that even the “side” bad guy Murong Fu ends up turning into a good guy, and appreciates the girl that is by his side. Everyone gets happy endings at the end. I wish they would do a scene like fast forward to the next year, and they all got babies ^_^. Han Dong (Wu Hen) is great here. I felt his pain when Liang Yu Shi was thought to be dead, and his anger with his family and enemy for killing her. Gosh the torment was painful. He has an ugly cry, but I felt his acting was so on point. Guo Dong Dong (Wu Jie) is also a great actor. His character is very stubborn, yet rash and naïve. He’s very loyal to his love interest Qin Qiu Yu, even though she’s a courtesan (considered lowly back then) but still pushes his limits. I think he’s a cute actor, and did great. Wu Ji (Qi Ji) and Huan Er (Zanilia) are still my favorites. I love how Huan Er is suppose to be the main mistress of the household, but she still gets into a lot of trouble. Even when her long-lost brother comes back and plots again the Shi family, she unknowingly lets him in and he steals the deed for the land. Overall great series, I’d watch this again. P.S. Just like the first season, the kissing scenes in here are AWESOME for kissing scenes in c-dramas, they’re using tons of lip and tongue. Teehee. Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Wow. I stumbled upon this drama by mistake and it turned out to be a good one!The first part revolves around Su Huan Er/Yang Yi Liu. YYL is also a daughter of the Su Manor but because her mother ran away and left her behind as a newborn, her father and his family treats her like shit. Su Huan Er and her mom (Yu Niang) pretty much are her own family. When Shi Wu Ji and his brothers from Ao Long Bao find clues leading to the demise of their family, back to Su Manor they announce an engagement and request Huan Er. However, Huan Er doesn't want to be forced so she runs away and falls off a cliff. YYL takes her place and the drama continues, but does she fulfill her father's wishes or becomes a good wife?
This drama is cute. The acting, cast, plot is very enjoyable. I liked the romance between our two leads. The moments before they fall in love is adorable and quite comedic. Huan Er/YYL and Shi Wu Ji are just so cute together, and such relationship goals. They both love each other, wholeheartedly and even sacrifice their happiness at times than admit their feelings are hurt. Their love gave me such anxiety because of their fights, and how they would push each other away when you know they both love and yearn for one another.
I also like the whole being filial vs finding your own happiness, that Huan Er goes through. It really makes you think about what female lead should do.
Overall the ending is good with most of our characters finding true love. And in the end Shi Wu Ji finds out there's another's killer on the lose, and I assume it'll be part two when they find out who it is.
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Story: Beware; some of the synopses around the internet are a bit off from what the drama is really about. The plot is developed pretty well (although there are a few holes, here and there). The plot is intricate, and at some points left me 2nd guessing what I would predict would happen (I like that because it means it doesn’t FOLLOW the basic C-Drama line). Anyways, just be prepared for plot twists.
Acting/Cast: I don’t speak Chinese, so I cannot comment on whether I think their speaking is on point. However, I feel most of the acting was genuine and sincere. I cried with some of the characters, and smiled at all the lovey dovey scenes. The kissing on this drama is pretttttty “MEH.” The drama was well cast and everyone seemed to have harmony. I like supporting roles and support love lines. I also liked how badass all the female characters were! Not all of them were weak women that needed “saving.” Even Feng Huang, no martial arts skills, was pretty badass and so strong of a character that Lei Jing Hong got his sh*t together! I also wanted to note that Dilraba and Vin Zhang's acting has gotten so much better than the King's Woman!
Music: Very catchy theme songs and especially the ending theme song. The ending song is sung by Dilraba. It sounds so nice to the ears, I would download it if I could.
Rewatch Value: I’d definitely add this to watch again list. I think it’s a pretty overall great drama. Cinematography is great, the landscape and scenes are beautiful. I liked the courtyards in Liehuo Manor. I.e. Maple had all the maple trees, Plum courtyard had all the plum blossoms, etc.
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First off the cast here is superb. I felt all the actors did such a great job, I even loved the bad guys and supporting roles. Starting with Lan Yan Zhi, I loved how Zanilia takes on this role of super smart and bad ass chick, but also shows other range of emotions (unlike Princess Agents lol, sorry for those true fans). For example, she does get to be lovey-dovey, and shows her emotions after she accidentally causes the death of her friend's parents. I thought her acting was pretty good in here (compared to other dramas I've seen her in).
Her nemesis/bestie Feng Man Na (played by Tao Xin Ran), oh man and OMG. I felt so BAD for this character, I hated and loved her at the same time. Two thumbs up for this actress. Her character was so relateable that even when she went crazy, I didn't hate her for it. I totally related with her all the times she is betrayed by who she thought was her good friends. Poor Man-Na. The actress is also very pretty, I'm sad she onyl has 3 dramas listed under her in MDL.
All the male actors did a fantastic job as well. I really came to like Song Mian and Zhou Yu Hao, I was thrown off by the plot twist, with what I thought would he the couples in here. Someone needs to find the male actor that played the doctor. HOT STUFF. If I could change the ending I'd pair him up with Feng Man Na. Song Mian (Yuan Mickey), wow, cute! I loved his character because it was so vague. At times I was watching, I was wondering how they'll pair him up with Zanilia, and if he actually loved Tianmu. HM! Zhou Yu Hao (Lu Yi), I thought he was so ugly at first, but he emerged as a very likeable character. I love how his relationship with Lan Yan Zhi gradually built up, like they weren't too typical, of building up their relationship (i.e. constant bickering).
Storyline is impressive. I loved the plot and how it developed. I loved for the dark side of the Japanese imperialists. So enjoyable to watch it progress. Sometimes when I have a drama I'd spoil myself and read the ending. I didn't do it for this drama. Ending with the Communist spiel was cheesy.
Overall fantastic. Ending was happy and on point. I'd watch again.
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Nirvana in Fire Season 2: The Wind Blows in Chang Lin
4 people found this review helpful
This review may contain spoilers
WOW! I was one of those that when I first heard of this drama, I was thinking "Oh heck no, I would NEVER watch this." I LOVED Nirvana in Fire 1, it was different from other dramas in terms of schematics and revenge. After I started watching NIF2, I was like WOW!!! It took a while to recall characters from part one, and figure out who is who, but after you do it's a really great drama. The storyline and plot moves well, and doesn't drag. The writers did a really great job with this sequel. Although you do not need to watch the first one (you should anyway lol) to follow this drama, it's nice seeing all the easter eggs and cameos/mentions from NIF1. The thing that makes NIF and NIF2 so captivating is the writing. Usually when I'm watching dramas, I can GUESS what will happen. I could't ALWAYS guess what the outcomes would be. For example, I thought Ting Sheng just had a evil face and would have thought he WOULD take advantage of the emperor(s). But I was sooooo wrong!
Cast: I'm not familiar with any of the actors in this drama (that's why I didn't want to watch it lol), but everyone did a great job. Liu Hao Ran came through shining, his was BLAH in the beginning but he did great in here. I'm surprised. Huang Xiao Ming also was fantastic. The supporting cast also did well, and I really enjoyed watching all the supporting cast as their characters develop.
Overall, great drama. I'd definitely watch this again! Drop some easter eggs in the spoilers if you caught any!
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.Story: Grace Chan is Wong Tai-Mui a HK Police Officer that helps save a tycoon from being kidnapped (several times), she's very "black/white" with her ideals. For example, all bad guys are bad guys, regardless of what they're doing. You'll see her change her views as she goes back 200 years into the Qing Dynasty. When she goes back into the past, she gets into all kinds of antics, including trying to pair up her great great grandparents (because the weren't going to come do it on their own). She also joins the pirates and helps them fight against the Qing Dynasty, and then gets the pirates to try join the Qing government. Huge plot twists in this drama.
Acting: I thought acting was good, it wasn't the BEST I've ever seen but thought it was good because it fits the story. I really like Grace Chan playing Wong Tai Mui, I think it's funny they play off the fact that she looks foreigner, so many times they referred to her as the Western Girl and even asks if she's part white and if her mom loved a white man.
Tony Hung is hilarious as Cheung Po-Tsai. I liked him from the get-go and it's great seeing his character develop. I especially thought he was funny when he got transported into the modern realm.
Ruco Chan does a great job as Prince Man Ho with his serious role. He ends up being quite loving, and likeable. He has a great face for playing a prince, or even if they re-do old wuxia classics. I found him to be quite handsome in historical costume.
There's a few cameo's in here at the end when they bring in the Qing dynasty characters, as modern folks. They don't play the same characters, just happen to pop up at the end (perhaps their descendants).
Raymond Wong who was suppose to originally play Cheung Po-Tsai pops up at the end, and we even see Evergreen Mak pop up in here at the end too. I believe he played a character with the same name in another drama.
Overall, great drama with cute ending.
Note: There are things that bug me about this drama, like the how fast Wong Tai-Mui's character switches love interests. I just wasn't sure who she would pick, and am still perplexed with how fast people move on in this drama. But perhaps because Wong Tai-Mui had a rough relationship at the start, and she's a strong independent woman she don't need no man she moved on fast? If you've seen this drama and would like to chat, feel free to message or comment. :)
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This is a comedy, it's light hearted and very hilarious. You also see growth in compatibility between our two leads Charmaine and Moses (so unlikely to be together at first!). I'd recommend it because it's funny and cheesy. Currently available on Drama Fever 02/01/18
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First Impression (judging from cast/drama cover): I thought the cast would be too old to make this drama interesting. BOY, was I wrong!
Final Impression: I love this drama. I like the acting from our leads. I love the smaller plot lines. I watch a lot of historical dramas, and this one was pretty accurate from my research. I love the themes they introduce into this drama, some we've never seen before especially that dives into the lives of maids and eunuchs. Usually, I like to steer away from those dramas because eunuchs are always depicted as the old, creepy, scary, and manipulative guy (there's one of those in here though). But this one introduces brotherhood, love, loyalty, and friendship between our eunuch friends.
Story: This is based around the lives of famous Eunuch Li Ling Ying (Wayne Lai), and his friends and his relationship w/ Empress Dowager Cixi. They go through many "arcs" in here (I won't spoil it) but it's very accurate to history. As mentioned, I love that they introduce that eunuchs can take wives in here. There are three storylines involving our Eunuch friends that you can't help but to watch and "ship" the eunuchs with their respective lovers.
Acting/Cast: Was superb for all our leads and guests. Although I do not speak Cantonese, I can't judge if their speaking is great, but I really felt the emotion. Michelle Yim is a great Cixi and has such a stern, resting bitch face. I legit HATED her throughout the drama, but at the end I realized she wasn't THAT evil. Lol. I love Power Chan in here, he was a hateful character, but turned good and I just loved him from beginning to end. He and Wayne Lai are perfect buddies in this drama. I also loved Raymond Choi as An De Hai, Li Ying's bestie/bro. His character had a lot of development, and at times you're unsure of what side of the fence he is on. But that's what made this series so great, the character development and the outcome.
Overall, I'd watch this again and I'd suggest this for anyone looking for a historically accurate drama, with HK drama written into it.
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Story - too long, boring, not creative or unique.
Acting - The cast grew on me. At first I thought ZXF was ugly asfk (still do). I thought JY and CSS were more likeable and liked whenever they had screentime. The female cast is great, and they're all very pretty. But too many annoying romances that you don't get to dive into and clear up what happened i.e. Senior Brother Wan & You Ji (Bi Yao's aunty). IDK why, but the Azure Dragon (William Yang) really caught my eye.
Rewatch value: NOPE.
Note: I kept reading reviews and comments, and so many people kept labeling this as "bro-mancey" with ZXF and JY, I mean yea they were pretty bro-mancy but there is obviously love between Bi Yao and Zhang Xiao Fan!
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Basically the back story is that, Good and Evil has always been battling. The representative of the good side (heaven) was Ah Yat's father. His nemesis, the devil king, jealous that he can't possibly win a fight, impregnant Ah Yat's mom with his own demon seed, and plots that when the boys grow older they'll have the most epic show-down because the Good son will probably hesitate to kill his own brother. The devil king and Ah Yat's father have a showdown, which the Devil King gets locked away in a cave, and Ah Yat's father and mother pass away.
Years later the boys grow up along side their adoptive mother, and their sister Kieu Kieu (**I watched in Vietnamese, so I don't know the Chinese). The three are quite comical, and often get into trouble and fights with each other. The three pretty much tear apart the little village, beneath the mountain, with their antics. Throughout the drama, they'll be introduced into several characters Thanh Thanh (Ah Yat's girlfriend), Yen Phien Thien (Their awesome martial arts friend), and many more characters. Thanh Thanh is a pretty violent/bossy girl towards Ah Yat, but he still tries to pursue her. Yen Phien Thien is a hit-man and the two brothers ask him to teach them martial arts, the three get into a lot of trouble in casinos (by scamming people). Throughout the funny stuff, there are several arcs where they all face the devil king's minion.
This drama is from the 90's so the CGI sucks on today's TV. It's also quite goofy. But it's a great drama and really showcase all the actors. Roger Kwok and Dicky Cheung were REALLY handsome when they were young. If you get a chance to watch this drama, it's pretty good.
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This review may contain spoilers
This was a cute drama, and the ending was satisfactory to me. Plot/Story: The story and plot was interesting. From the beginning we only know that Qu Tan'er tried to commit suicide when her love the 1st prince is married to her sister. From that point, she has amnesia, not realizing it's because there is another "person" (Qu Xiao Tan) sharing her body and when it's their turn to "sleep" they do not have any memory of what the other person has done/said. The plot/story was enough to keep me watching, so that I can find out WHY Xiao Tan suddenly was sent to this world.
Qu Tan'er is a noble lady. She's soft-spoken and very polite, but also intelligent.
Qu Xiao Tan is from the modern world and is a real-estate agent, at times she seems selfish and narcissistic, blunt and loud. She's also quite intelligent, and makes a lot of modern day references especially to movies, "Avatar, Matrix and Avengers."
Acting: I was only familiar with one cast member and that was Xing Zhao Ling, whom played the 8th prince (main male lead). The rest of the cast I was not familiar with. Liang Jie does a great job switching between both Qu Tan'er and Qu Xiao Tan, going from subtle to loud and crass. Xing Zhao Ling also does a great job as playing pretty boy that is arrogant, but sometimes caring. He has a really pretty face. His role was almost like YWY from Princess Agent, which he also starred in along Kenny Lin. Overall, I thought the cast did a great job.
I'd rewatch this drama because it was moved pretty fast, kept on point, had enough "drama" to keep me interested, and it's pretty short.
*I'll post spoilers in my comment below. So please go to the comments and expand if you'd like.
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Charmaine (Sam Ho) and Tavia (Kam Ling) are besties, but as they grow up rivalry to excel in the imperial household (basically they are "maids" that are in charge of creating clothing and jewelry for the Harem), grows between them. Sam Ho is naturally kind and caring. Her mother was once a worker of the imperial household, and was considered one of their top jewelers, however due to a mystery she is executed for creating faulty jewelry. Kam Ling is raised along Sam Ho, but her ethics and moral are slightly different from Sam Ho and doesn't follow the teachings that Sam Ho's mother left behind for the two girls before she dies. Kam Ling eventually schemes her way to being a concubine, but cannot give up the fact that Sam Ho's kindness has "touched" many people including the emperor, so she consistently goes out of her way to "get her."
I thought this drama was done quite well. The costumes are beautiful, as well as the jewelry pieces. I also thought both leading actresses were great. Tavia is such a great evil b*tch! Charmaine can be kind of dull, but I thought she looked great in here. Kevin Cheng adds on the extra eye-candy for this drama ;)
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The New Heaven Sword and the Dragon Sabre
5 people found this review helpful
*Note: I watched Alec Su's version before this one, my mom told me this was one of the original ones that TVB made, so I ended up watching this one. I just liked the cast better, because I grew up watching these ladies and gentleman in these dramas.
If I had the availability to, I'd rewatch it over and over. I'd also watch it in order from LOCH, ROCH to HSDS. :)
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The storyline can get somewhat "annoying" with all the love triangles, there are many love storylines in here and it's too interwoven at times, and too "convenient" that some of our brothers fall in love with the same girl their nemises is in love with. Towards the end of the drama, I was sick of 6th son love drama, on how the girl he was friends with went psycho. I skipped past most of the scenes with her in it, it was too much for me. However, some of the love scenes are quite cute. I was fond of Peter Ho and Ceciliu Liu's roles, as well the General Yang and his wife. If you like a drama with lots of intense emotions, this one will suck you in. Every scene that involved 4th son w/ his parents had me on verge of crying.
Acting: This drama has a superb cast. It's not as big as the 1980's version made by TVB (which featured TONS of TVB actors at the time), but it's pretty decent. I thought the 1,2,3 sons and their wives were pretty plain and not memorable. 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th sons are played by Peter Ho, Chen Long, Hu Ge and Eddie Peng, excellent cast for the younger bros. Their little sister, played Zhao Zi Cun is just adorable!! She's probably one my favorite characters in this drama.
The actors that portray General Yang and his wife take the cake on this drama. You would think Hu Ge is the main actor in here, but nope. Those two did a fantastic job of their parents. Dad is strict, stoic, and often torn between family and state affairs. Mom is strong and the backbone to the family. Such a awesome couple.
Overall, it's a pretty good drama. Don't expect too many happy endings because in the legends and in history, there were no happy endings.
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