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Light and fluffy romantic story that finally has its leads not at polar opposites. Hate those stories about most popular, handsome, smartest guy falling for the dumbest, weakest girl in school (I blame you ISWAK!) They got one end of the spectrum, with a genius but socially awkward scientist paired with a girl who has some brains on her head. No desperate clinginess from the female character which is a bonus. I docked half a point because the second couple annoys me, because they "settled" into the relationship after being rejected by their love interests. Otherwise, cute drama. Was this review helpful to you?
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I was glad I gave this tropey drama a chance, as I'm not into ISWAK vibes (cold but smart man, warm but clueless woman). But their story was too sweet (without being too saccharine) to pass up. Miles Wei does justice to his character, an upright, socially-awkward and emotionally-stunted university professor. And so hot too boot! Xu Ruo Han manages to portray the naïve, "unfortunate" student without pissing me off, by being too whiney or clingey as other "dumb FLs" ought to come across. Together, they make an adorable couple who navigates through their contractual marriage and growing feelings for each other. Their marriage of convenience is mostly due in part of the ML's grandfather (a great supporting character!) whose dying wish is to see his grandson happily married, and circumstances led to Yun Shu as the chosen wife. Other supporting characters are also well-fleshed out, including the secondary coupling of the ML's Best friend and FL's sister. The love rivals in this drama weren't hateful and even the "villain" of the story (FL's cousin) served as a catalyst to bring the two MCs together. All in all a cute Rom-com that includes steamy kisses. Was this review helpful to you?
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I was interested at first until the actions of the FL towards the second half of the drama irked me. Her self-righteousness became overbearing, and I don't think it's the fault of the actress. Just the way the characters are written are mostly one-dimensional, particularly the side characters. Towards the end I have very little love left to what could have been a good drama. Loose ends are forcibly tied and I didn't like the way how the "bad" characters ended up getting redemption, and some even receiving praise for the necessity of them being mean. I guess I should be more forgiving and carry with the thought that there are no bad people, just bad decisions made by people, but somehow this didn't fly with me in this drama. Was this review helpful to you?
Not sure what I need to say more about this drama, except that it is a delight to watch and I am excited to see the sequel if it is the same cast. Hopefully, this time set in the modern era.
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Another drama about a celebrity and a commoner. Not necessarily an anti-fan but a non-fan. Add to this a dash of the supernatural, body-swapping and you get a tropey drama. Stephen Zhang and Liang Jie were brilliant as the aloof idol Jiang Yi and the spritely entertainment reporter Yu Sheng. Their meticulous performance continues when they were purportedly inhabiting the other's body. What made me give this drama less than a full mark are a variety of factors. For one, the pacing is uneven, very slow in some parts, and quick to escalate on others. Secondly, the supporting characters had their own backstory and also, their own selfish agendas where I cannot feel for any of them, aside perhaps from Yu Sheng's parents. The second pairing is not a pairing at all, and it seems the writers tried just to grasp at straws to make the 2nd couple feasible. And finally, the most glaring error is the last 5 minutes of the drama, which threw the whole narrative into whack, and hence unforgivable in my eyes. Was this review helpful to you?
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Cast: The mother's acting stood out in this short film for me, but then the story and also the production (though not big budget) helped propped her character up to be a mother who has to choose between her happiness and her son's happiness.
Music: Nothing that stood out.
Re-watch value: I could only because it's short, but I wouldn't as I don't re-watch, and usually move on to the next drama / movie.
One of the lead characters also directed and wrote this short film, which is really something to me. Not that he did something super amazing, but at least he tried and did not end up with a bad film as some bigger productions do. It was even nominated at the local London Film Bunch, a net-working community based in London that features mainly short films. I was mainly happy that this film did not end up like most BL films, especially coming from China.
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A drama where revenge is personal, time travel is emotional, and justice is fashion-forward
I normally don’t like to watch revenge dramas, but after “The Glory”, I became less reluctant to watch this sub-genre. I don’t like time-travelling shows either, unless it is done well. So I went into this drama with not much expectation, except I haven’t seen Min Young since “Her Private Life”, so I thought I should give this a chance, and boy, I’m glad I did.This drama asks: what would you do with your life, if given a second chance to relive it? Ji Won travels back in time to do just that, after dying not from terminal cancer as she was pre-destined to do, but from an argument with her husband and her best friend about their infidelity. Ji Won uses this second chance to turn her life around, refusing to become the doormat she once was, and using the knowledge she gained from her future, to mitigate her losses and transfer them to somebody else.
It was also during this time travel that she learned about her unrequited boss’ feelings for her. It turns out that Ji Hyeok has been quietly supporting her all along despite her obliviousness.
This drama was filled with so much angst and intrigue that I relished every moment of it. I also liked the brooding Na In Woo when he shoots heart eyes at Park Min Young’s character. It is the first time I’ve seen In Woo as a main lead in a drama and he didn’t disappoint. I’ve loved Min Young since "Sungkyunkwan Scandal" so I already knew what I was expecting and she delivered.
Perhaps the only thing that prevented me from throwing a bottle at the TV is my hope that justice will be served in the end. It was frustrating to see Min Hwan and Soo Min acting so entitled and devious, as if the world owed them something and both blaming others for their misfortunes. Min Hwan’s mother is no better. I wanted to rip her hair out for treating her daughter-in-law so badly.
Despite these frustrations, “Marry My Husband” is a highly entertaining watch.
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Acting/Cast: I did not even realize that Chris Wu is in this short film, until I saw the credits. What a waste of talent but I guess everybody has to start somewhere.
Music: Head-achy, the same as the strobing lights filtering throughout the short film.
Rewatch Value: Once is enough.
Overall: This short is trying to pass as film noir by interspersing the dialogue with the lines of two poems, but it came across more as a low-budget porn film that does not even satisfy. Please give me back 13 minutes of my time.
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Xu Qin is still under her mother’s thumb despite being a hotshot doctor. Also, the push-and-pull games she plays on Song Yan would also make me exhausted, even just by watching. I could not understand how a character, who has so much sass when confronting her colleagues, becomes like a cowardly cat with her tails stuck between her legs when she goes home. It looked like Wang Chu Ran had only two speeds, and I was lulled to sleep with her flat delivery.
And what the fahk are all those coincidences? Am I supposed to believe that after years of not meeting each other, all of a sudden they cross paths like every five minutes??? Really?? Is Xu Qin the only doctor in the city??? Is Song Yan the only firefighter in that area??? And all the safety protocols they seem to abandon, just so they can get a love shot between the two, is just making me shake my head vigorously that I could have suffered from whiplash.
I only stuck around for Vin Zhang’s character, but after he left the Fire Dept, there was no more reason for me to hold on. Even Yang Yang’s pretty boy face could not make me watch this long, drawn out drama which is more like a PSA for the front liners. Yes, it was commendable that it portrays the livelihood of firefighters and doctors, and how they make decisions that save countless of lives. But it wasn’t enough for me to continue the story.
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Learning to Love? More like, Learning to Leave.
I usually have a soft spot for noona romances — something about older-woman-younger-man dynamics hits that sweet mix of maturity and yearning. But this one just didn’t click. I made it past the halfway mark hoping the emotional core would finally show up, but the pacing and editing made it impossible to stay invested. Every scene faded out like it was afraid to commit, and the constant cuts made the story feel like someone stitched together a bunch of half-scenes and called it a drama.Now, about the male lead — I’m not saying he’s unattractive. He’s got that clean, polished “Smart-from-Top Form” appeal. But there’s a certain aesthetic — the ultra-smooth, almost lip-filler-adjacent kind — that just doesn’t resonate with me. It’s purely a matter of taste, of course, but I tend to connect more with performances than symmetry — and here, neither the prettiness nor the chemistry filled that gap.
And don’t even get me started on the fiancé. Why is this man spending more time talking to Manami’s friend than to Manami herself? It felt bizarrely misplaced, like the show forgot who his fiancée actually was.
Manami ended up being the least likeable for me. Her arc had potential, but the way she handled the breakup—absolutely not. The guy was already struggling, and instead of respecting Kaoru’s space, she bulldozed right over it. What made it worse was how the show framed it like some grand romantic gesture, when really it just made her look emotionally tone-deaf. I actually thought the breakup was a rare moment of mutual clarity—finally, something adult. But then she immediately backtracks, ignoring everything they’d just agreed on. She’s the older one here, supposedly the more grounded one, yet she completely disregards Kaoru’s boundaries like they were optional. At that point, I was out. I couldn’t root for them anymore, and I definitely wasn’t going to stick around to watch the show pretend that was growth.
By the time I dropped it, it wasn’t out of anger, just fatigue. The setup had promise, but the execution felt like it was trying to mean something without ever earning it. Sometimes, the most grown-up thing you can do — both in love and in viewing — is just move on.
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Please watch and judge for yourself.
I have to admit, I hated this movie. Maybe it's just me, but there I said it and I'll say it again: I hated it. Even that is an understatement and I am being nice already to give it a 2.5.
Story: I normally read reviews before watching any movie or drama, and since this movie is really new and only had 1 amazing review, I decided to give it a whirl.
Bad decision on my part. Good news is: it only wasted less than two hours of my time. The story was so draggy, I fell asleep that I had to rewind again to see what I missed.....nope, I didn't miss anything apparently. It's like watching those daytime soaps where a scene of somebody slapping can run from a Friday episode to next Monday's. That's why I don't watch daytime soaps, and I shouldn't have watched this movie.
Acting/Cast: Despite my bad review, we have some pretty decent acting over here. I was only able to finish watching this movie because of the eye candy provided here. The mother's acting was poignant, and but not good enough to feel her pain.
Music: I fell asleep....was it a lullaby? I couldn't tell.
Re-watch Value: Once is enough. Unless I'm a masochist, I won't watch this ever again. EVER.
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