strawgal

I love JCW acting but the trailer was just a bit naff, with lots of over acting. What is it about growing food that they find so interesting, two of my family were life long farmers, one grew soft fruit and there is nothing that interesting about grow it, or picking it, unless you want to grow fruit.
Clarkson's Farm it the edited highlights of how it's a life of battling nature with the help of sometimes compliant machinery.

Liked it a lot but the curse of the last episode, where everything has to be tied up quickly and neatly was in full force. What I also wasn't that keen on was the fact there was no real character development for the prince, Ongsa is a pretty crier,but when the default response and is I will just look sad and cry it devalues a serious plot.
Pond IMO was the stand out performance and how did he manage to make someone who is so self centred and flawed seem human at the end?

I see it as settled love, the sort that you know every breath of your partner so depending on you mood, you either react or let things go with not too much drama, and a bit more calculation.

Unless you have been around people who have a lot of money ,resources and choices, its hard to understand although they are completely unaware of the everyday pressure most people have, I they have different stresses. You go why the f!ck are you worried about that, but it is still stress to them and because they have 'everything' the guilt of I have all this but I still feel bad/ worthless is some way worse because they have non of the standard excuses.
Having money does not protect you from anxiety, or the private MH hospitals would not be doing well.

I think Luke has to have tangible measured success to feel successful, I think that is pretty much standard for a lot of men, as well as being seen to be in control. I have male family members like this, and what usually happens is they end up with someone who has a strong sense of self worth who realises their own strengths, the FL just hasn't got there yet.

Well another episode which makes no sense plot wise, well it might have done on paper but not in the execution. I suggest they need a proper fight co ordinator and someone who knows how to shoot it.
What ever they are paying the actors they need to pay them more, because they are the only thing going for it, although they do have to stand around looking perplexed, and shocked a lot.

I think the only 'good' thing about this is hair and makeup,

You know when something is perhaps not as interesting as it should have been, when villains/villainess are more memorable that the MLs, not quite as memorising as Hans Gruber, but almost there.
A lot of it was just drama violence, looked impressive but not based in reality of consequences, so after the initial ouch, your brain kicks in a pulls it apart.
What really made me want to laugh was the coach trip feel of getting your crew to the event on a main road, with no 4x4's.

I think BJ is older has money and is used to getting things done by himself, not collaborating. If you know people with a lot of money they often have no idea the choices people have to make when spending money, It's less just buy it.
LJ wants to make his own choices or at least have chance to be involved in the decision and ut at the same time he is used to suppressing what he wants. I actually think good they are having these conflicts now.

I liked this a lot, good production values and direction, and as a detective story it could almost stand on its own, only I had worked out who had done by episode four, and so the rest was just filler. Needed to be more like Columbo if you are give that many tells.
The acting was good , but the star scene has to be the car park,
What I didn't like was it was all a bit rushed too much plot and emotion which made me think how would a Chinese directer handle the same material, and I do have to compare it to Semantic Error, and Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo. It made me think which idea sfor the plot came first.

What I love about this is more like a real relationship where a partner tells someone what they did was wrong, even if they think they are doing the right thing,and they effing do it again because in their they think their control is help. Then perhaps you get people on the outside trying to put their spin on things,

Completed as a couple watch. Just amazing, some of the of the special effects where not only well executed but also atmospheric. The quality of the costumes made it seem you could reach out and touch them.
IMO the script managed to handle the themes and made every character have reason to be there and the twists were not based not outlandish character motivations. The slight comic relief was really part of the plot.
It was lovely to see actors being able to do something different, and be able to portray real, raw and ugly emotions.
This genre is not really my thing, manly because I do not believe in the supernatural, it left enough breadcrumbs that a lot could be rationally explained, because who knows what they were putting in the water?
If you liked The Haunting of Hill House or Midnight Mass its that sort of reality bending motivation, feeling.

What struck me a was the shoe, the shoes, the brogue shoes, with leather worn soles,and the 'riding boot's look like stiff box leather, stiff because they are not made to measure when often officers bought their kit and worn for riding.
The fit of the clothing and the quality of the clothe,s o it looks like a serious attempt at the period.
If you look at Overdo, that is costume done really badly, roughly the same period setting.

The only thing I have to add to this is costume and direction, because both of high quality.
It is directed so the audience are almost in the scene and not a 2D play.

I want to like this because it has some interesting ideas, but it is so flatly directed, which perhaps most noticeable in the 'group chats' and the awful set pieces around the tables. It is as if the directer missed the whole lecture on editing and blocking, so lets not bother, lets shoot it like it is copy and repeat of the Last Supper.

Who ever is directing this is doing a good job, because this has a very natural look.

Again, two actors in search of a plot, or even a script, and good direction.
They are trying but what is supposed to be, because the script is not funny or even interesting and it is directed and edited so flatly it is like DIY or work experience has had a go,
When it works it is because of the actors, and I can see the only way out of this circle of poor material is to split up the pair.

Even if you like this it's a frustrating watch because never since Uriah Heep in David Copperfield have I seen so much hand wringing and head bowing, with a touch of the disapproving old maid.
Guan Yue who plays Lu Xiao Fan must have been exhausted because every twitch and lip purse has to be subtle enough not to become comic.
The setting the 1990's is also a bit of the character, because its a time of change and growth after disruption, and things we perhaps see as normal now were new then.
Just seeing some of the old tech, some of which I have in storage prodded memories.

What I didn't like was like a bad detective story you knew something and going on an the big revel at the end was too rushed and neat, and a character in the story left out for episodes just make it work.

So who was using who, I think they used each other. At the start it was for safety and convenience for various reasons, they used each other as a shield, I do not think Bei Lu Qing realised that Lu Xiao Fan had the capacity or means to make a choice, perhaps he was out manipulated?

This is the best thing I have watched all year, we are on ep 5, perhaps even beating A Knight of the 7 Kingdoms in its consistency so far. Some episodes left us breathless.
The constancy of the eps has been excellent, but what I really appreciate is that despite the supernatural themes and the need for villains the people seem real, and it's nice to be see faces with little make up.
I love the weary slacker dude attitude.

I think there only time they are allowed to look or be less than perfect is the horror thriller genre. Watching The East Palace you see Nam Joo Hyuk freckles, even his FL looks to have a bit of a tan.
Kim Young Kwang, who can do romance has gone for roles where he can play full villain and look ugly.
So far it is not as bad as the C dramas, they use so much post post production editing that some of the actors could be AI.
I find it sad because Korean actors are good and by blanking out the face they are restricting their skill, and reducing a human connection to the audience in the pursuit of the perfect look.

I watched this with my husband, and by the end we both wanted it over quickly to put it out of it misery.
The plot which had a good premise had a good start, but then just ended up as a collection of nonsense, and the end was just stupid.
The only characters who seemed to be at least a little bit appealing where supposed to be the bad ones. The M and F lead were pretty soullessly dead behind the eyes unpleasant, and the neatly wrapped up end illogical.
Namgoong Min can act but he is a bit like Tom Cruise he has set expressions and patterns he relies on, there is a POV that this is getting work (and awards) so why not? When I watch something I do not want to see the acting, I have seen enough of his work that to know most of his facial tics, and IMO they are over used, he doesn't seem to have the range of facial expressions that convey thought in real time.