Reviews

First thing I want to mention is its awesomeness in music department. This film’s music is composed by Terdsak Janpan & Jay Chou. Every track in the album is amazing and gripping. I love every track of album but I frequently listen to ‘Sunny Doll’, ‘Angel’, both themes of Xiaoyu and ‘The Flashback’. The music will grab you and blend you into the atmosphere. Use of Piano in this movie is effective, brilliant, breathtaking and touching. Piano performs crucial role in this movie, in characters’ feelings and emotions like when both leads are playing together and The Piano Battle.
Words of other reviewer, “It’s no exaggeration to say that its background music is another main character. Even if you hate soft music, once you try to listen to its music, it would begin to wear down your defenses. It won't let your ears close even for a minute.”

A reviewer said, “If you miss this movie, it would be one of the goofiest things you've done throughout your life as a movie-goer.” And I'm agree with him/her.
Before starting this movie I thought this movie is going to be average but surprisingly it was far beyond my expectations and now I placed this movie in my permanent favorites list including all Hollywood, Bollywood & all other non-Asian movies.
Don’t think that it’s a typical school romance with tearjerker moments, it’s more than that. I’d say it is beautiful, intelligent and a chiller thriller in a way. It is full of romance and mystery, blending of many genres like School, Youth, Melodrama, Comedy, Fantasy, Thriller, Mystery and Horror (Not horror but listen ‘The Flashback’ and you’ll know what I want to say).
And about ending; it’ll leave you thinking. Story needs some thinking to be able to understand it fully. You’ll probably think that there are many flaws in the story but there aren’t any because you’ve to think and most of things are logical in movie point of view. I know what happened in the end but whenever I watch it again it makes me confuse. I’m still confused about ending.

Visually it is more than satisfying. Its coloring is awesome and special effects are also good (Don’t expect effects like big budget Hollywood movies).

Lun Mei Kwai is beautiful and did brilliant job. She is lovely and charming.
And bow to “Singer/Songwriter/Composer/Actor/Producer/Director” Jay Chou. Before I thought he’s just another guy who looks cool and sings and because of obsessed fans he’s popular but now I take my words back. Now he is ahead of all those ‘SHOWCASE’ actors but still behind those ‘ACTOR’ actors. Now, I’m a fan of Jay (It’s surprising that he’s actually popular in India!).

Overall this movie is a must watch and after watching you’ll know that this movie will stay in your heart forever.

BTW Secret 2 is announced and currently in production. I hope Secret 2 will be as great as Secret and I also hope that it’ll be a sequel to Secret.

Leia Mais

Diplomatic impunity.

Go East starts out as a fresh and interesting workplace comedy about Sifang Pavilion 四方馆, which was an institution that hosted guests and envoys from all four directions 四方/sìfāng during the Tang dynasty. Sifang Pavillion is essentially a Ministry of Foreign Affairs; they handle diplomatic issues from issuing visas, facilitating trade, solving diplomatic cases to negotiating treaties. Yuan Mo is loosely attached to Sifang Pavilion and helps oversea foreign visitors at the city gates, under the indulgent eye of Director Ye Deshui. He is a clever fellow with a predisposition for wine, snakes and bird brains but he lacks ambition and shirks responsibility. Alas, he spots a real strange bird, Ashu, at the gates and makes the mistake of his life by stopping her. She invades his personal space, poisons him, bullies him, frames him, helps herself to his hard earned money and turns his life upside down. This poor man is so alone and lonely that he sucks it all up as if he was deprived of attention his whole life. As it turns out, the Man in White, the deadly leader of the Faceless assassins are after her. To help her, Yuan Mo gets co-opted taking on a proper role at the Sifang Pavilion, where he proves himself by solving a few tricky diplomatic cases.

Ashu as a character did not work for me from the get go. She debuts as an entitled bully who blames the hapless Yuan Mo for all her issues, makes unreasonable demands and causes no end of trouble for him. She doesn't bat an eye when her servants openly disrespect him and never apologizes or feels a smidgeon of remorse. She puts herself in harm's way repeatedly with her noble idiocy and half baked schemes, endangering everyone that has to rescue her. This is an ungrateful creature that tramples all over the male lead and is so lacking in intelligence and survival instincts that it is a miracle she didn't perish long ago. I never connected with any Zhou Yiran's roles and her portrayal of Ashu is callous and supercilious to the point that I didn't root for her. Her piteous and repetitive crying scenes made me yawn and roll my eyes. For sure, these scenes are exaggerated for comedic effect but her constant smug expression made her seem mean instead of endearing or comical. None of the female characters are written in a flattering way. Yuchi Hua is also a termagant and is a cliché gender bender character whose only contribution is as token muscle. But at least she softens up and she shows she genuinely respects and cares for Wang Kunwu. This is the latest in a disturbing trend of dramas where the female characters get a free pass for toxic behavior towards male characters who pretty much just roll over and play dead. When did it become so unfashionable to have balanced relationships where men and women just treat each other well?

The only thing that salvaged this drama for me is Tan Jianci's incredibly funny and moving performance as Yuan Mo. This is a refreshing role for him and his comedic timing and expressions are spot on. The character itself is not super well written either; he fell for Ashu too quickly and I remain baffled as to why; he lets her walk all over him and he is super intelligent but ultimately only applies himself for her. The gaping difference between Tan Jianci and Zhou Yiran is that he made me love his goofy, slightly wimpy, deeply wounded Yuan Mo flaws and all; a character who seemed to not quite dare to live until he had to find himself for an ungrateful wretch with the brain the size of a watermelon seed. (Why didn't I live thousands of years ago so he could have found me instead?) Even though they looked cute together, the chemistry between them seemed more friendly than passionate so as a couple, they didn't move me. All those wasted Tan Jianci kiss scenes! But I enjoyed the camaraderie between both couples and the broader Sifang Pavilion team and the hilarious rivalry between the East Court and the West Court. Ye Deshui was MVP for me; he delivered as many comedy gold moments as Yuan Mo did and I loved the hilariously pragmatic way in which he ran Sifang Pavilion and appeased domestic and foreign conflicts.

Plot-wise this drama starts out well as I was genuinely intrigued by the foreign relations premise of the story. The first two cases are interesting and tight and the satire made me invested in the team. After that, the romances starts to take center stage and the to-ing and fro-ing between couples I didn't really care for was not funny enough to keep me engaged. That is also when progressively larger holes in the plot emerges and it snowballs into an avalanche at the end. Along the way, the tone of the drama shifts from silly and hilarious to one where the writer kills off good characters with diplomatic impunity. There was only one good twist in the entire plot, which was who saved the Yanle princess. The identity of the princess was too obvious you couldn't have missed it. Likewise, they cast an actor with an unmistakably prominent feature as the mysterious Man in White. He was flagged early on as a suspect in the Red Lotus case and his identity was just given away during Ashilan's kidnapping. Both these reveals were too early, erasing any sense of suspense. I thought Ashu was as dumb as bricks until they get back to Yanle which is when I realized that in the land of the blind, the one eyed woman is queen. The final reveal of the Man in White's motive contradicts the entire plot because given his identity, he never needed any Yanle princess; in fact a cooperative fake one is much better than the real thing. The smart thing for him to do would have been to eliminate her from the start. This is also what Long Tuqi should have done but Yanle is the land of the dumb after all. Even though it ends in a satisfying way, it was a hollow victory because they won because they were out-dumbed by the antagonists. It is this drama's most unique feature; a race to the bottom where the protagonists and antagonists vie to under smart each other.

Overall, the first half of this drama can be enjoyed as a spoof kind of along the lines of the Austin Powers movies but lacking any underlying intelligence. It is worth watching just to see Tan Jianci do comedy and romance watchers who can ship the couple may enjoy it more than I did. I found it a very mediocre watch, one that feels like a 7.0 more often than not. But I am going to throw in a 0.5 for the fresh premise and Tan Jianci's phenomenal, funny and moving acting to call it 7.5/10.0 overall.

Leia Mais

I like the concept of this drama, it's like watching several dramas in the price of one. You get 2 major love stories, 2 smaller ones, some family drama, bromance, revenge, redemption and even a bit of action. The plot is so complex that you really can't get bored while watching. I really admire the writers for being able to intertwine so many stories together. Throughout the whole drama there are new characters appearing, some disappearing for many episodes to appear again and new connections are revealed. Even if you are able to predict the eventual outcome and some ideas are something you might have seen before, you really cannot predict when something new will be added. At some point I was a little bit worried if they will be able to wrap up all of story lines, but they did a great job with that too and the ending is very satisfactory.

I really liked most of the characters. Female leads were really awesome and that doesn't happen too often in dramas. I really love Ja Eun - she is one of my most favorite heroines now, Soo Young was also adorable - hard on the outside, but very soft and warm inside.

Only characters that I didn't like too much was Soo Young's parents, maybe most of their scenes were there for humor but I've found them a bit annoying.

And I really love, love, love Ja Eun and Tae Hee story! If you like romance, I suggest watching this just for them.

Leia Mais

Divine Wrath strikes with unabashed humor, yet healing wounded souls of black, gray + shorn sheep

"The Fiery Priest" is all about Korean humor. You might have to get used to it. At least I did. The first time I approached the series I probably wasn't ready and possibly not in the right mood for such cheerful, tongue-in-cheek fun à la Korean style. I gave up quite early (probably after the first episode). On the second try tough, everything just fell into place. And by now I can say from experience: "The Fiery Priest" is ideal for repeat offenders. I had even more fun then... (And that probably wasn´t the last time I watched...)

Nonetheless. Korean humor is special, especially when it comes to the fascination of the intestines - often enough they are gladly celebrated in a wide variety. Here as well. Utter confusion and frenzy are also a must. Instead of tried and tested bar fights and brawls of the western type however, the focus here is rather on choreographed martial arts.

Humor reigns supreme in "The Fiery Priest". Humor determines the pace, the timing, the nuances and the ambience. Slapstick, situation comedy, dialogue jokes, parody, irony - hardly anything is left out. "The Fiery Priest" doesn't take itself too seriously. The central storyline says it all: in the robes of a priest a former NIS agent ensures order and justice. Even the Pope has his brief appearance here. But also the 'sects' with self-appointed saviors flourishing in the country.

And yet, the "The Fiery Priest" has some serious tones to offer, too - besides and in the middle of all the slapstick. The plot background is once again fueled by South Korean backroom liaisons between executive, judiciary, politics and crime. With regard to the personality development of the individual characters, touching emotional moments also come along here and there - comparatively modestly, but nevertheless with impact.

Finally, "The Fiery Priest" also plays out another strength of KDrama: Here you can experience a lot of cheerfully and yet subtly touchingly executed bromance and womance. (However, there's no romance. But nobody has to miss it.) Bromance and womance as well as the variety of embedded side plots inspirit dramaturgical facets, that may touch the heart, having quite something to offer between soft touch and punch. It is simply a pleasure to watch the various dynamic personality developments. (Outstanding actors all along, by the way!)

"The Fiery Priest" spectacularly succeeds in balancing a tightrope act - good-humoredly and mischievously dancing above an unspeakable swamp of injustice, bribery, abuse of power and human greed.

Divine Wrath strikes with unabashed humor, thus along the way healing the wounded souls of the black, gray, and shorn sheep.

Leia Mais

Everlasting Love

I started this drama with no expectation because it was a recommendation from YouTube and I decided to give it a try. Here I am being grateful that I found this gem, a drama with pure and innocent love everyone needs^^

STORY: The drama started with Xia Lin Xi a very bright and intelligent high school girl who was given the task to make sure all her classmates were on class,and that was when she met Jiang Zheng Han. Xia Lin Xi managed to make him come back to school and somehow Zheng Han became her tutor just to earn money but he ended falling for her. Later,something happened and Jiang Zheng Han had to leave with telling her about it and Xia Lin Xi thought he broke their promise and was heart broken.
A year passed by and both Jiang Zheng Han and Xia Lin Xi reunited in university and they both became a couple after so many pleas and confession from Jiang Zheng Han and that led to their Forever Love.

ACTING/CAST: Most important reason why I loved and enjoyed this drama was because of the characters acting,it was amazing they displayed and pulled off an amazing acting. Zhang Huai Wu( principal's son) acting was just great,whenever he was on screen I would laugh so much simply because he is so funny just like his father lol.
Jiang Zheng Han and Xia Lin Xi chemistry was great,their scenes were just so sweet and all the time Xia Lin Xi stood beside Zheng Han when he was a nobody despite her mother telling her to break up with him made my heart flutter. They're just the cutest^^
Chen Yu Chuan bragging about being the second best always was just so cute too lol.

The OST used is so beautiful,calming,relaxing and goes well with the scenes.

Overall I would say,this drama is definitely a must watch for those who love college dramas and those who don't too hehe
It's a light drama,just give it a try

Leia Mais

If he says "cute" one more time...

Maybe there are two ways to watch fluffy romance series. One is dressed in your onesie, wearing pink slippers, clipping your toenails with one eye on the screen to admire the soft pout of the FL, or the ML's big brown eyes, and there's nothing wrong with that.
The other is actually paying attention to the story, because you like romance, but this story, I assure you, will reach the opposite effect, in more than one way.
First, there's this FL who rarely leaves her house because she works her head off.
Second, she only goes out because her boss orders her to do so with the command to find the necessary inspiration for her job.
Third, the only guy she meets is a hairdresser who falls instantly in love with her, just because WHAT exactly...because he can't resist a makeover? Or because he is a closet-masochist who likes her disinterest in him? She falls asleep when he does her hair, he's stood up by her...and all he can say is she's CUTE? I know this is the typical male compliment to a female in Japanese series, and he says it at least seven times each episode.
Added bonus seems to be she's a workaholic just like him, and still a virgin, and the very first time they actually did it, she reaches for her note book at her bed side to take notes on her new experience. Not to cherish a beautiful memory, but to store information for her new manga.
I'm so happy this is pure fiction, because in reality, the Japanese birth rate would dip to an all time low with unromantic people like that.

Leia Mais

Unexpectedly good drama

It is  a great drama with cute and good chemistry between the main characters.Not gonna lie but this is one of my favourite drama.Even though the leads seem a little childish.
At a point it was a little serious with tae sung's past and revenge plot.I loved the part were GTS pick on OHB because of his embarrassment.
The people in the story works very hard to create good image of the actors and this also shows a good amount of problems faced in the entertaiment industry.

STORYLINE/PLOT
Like other romcom it is based on entertainment industry.The male is an actor and female lead is a PR head who cleans up the mess.It has a lawyer working together with FL who likes FL.Both fl and ml were college mates and have love/hate relationship.There are Ml's manager and another manager working in the same company.Ml's manager has a great relationship with the ml except for a point where their relationship becomes little strained.
And there are characters who work on the drama in which ml is the main actor.There is some relationship  problem between ml and his mom who is an ex actress who wants to resolve their issues from the past as she becomes ill.
There are some other plots where some people who hate ml try to sabotage his acting career.Some scenes you will be laughing like a hell and many times you will feel sad for th MC.

CAST
Honestly I didn't expect much from this and started this because I had free time and ended up loving this show. I saw Kim young dae in Penthouse and lee sung kyung in dr romantic 2 .I felt like they were tailor made  for this drama 

REASONS TO WATCH
-Good chemistry between the leads
-Slight bromance
-Good friendship
-Funny
-Some quirky humors

REASONS TO NOT WATCH
-Annoying family plot
-Unwanted revenge plot
-Scheming housekeeper

This drama is definitely worth watching with good chemistry between the ml and fl lead .It had a good amount of humor , family relationship and show a side of suffering for main actors.I think you won't regret watching it.

Leia Mais

Not sure what happened here, but if anyone is looking for some advice whether to watch this drama or not....don't bother. I literally made an account on mydramalist JUST to vent how frustrated I was with this drama.

Aint going to lie, the first 12 episodes are pretty good and suspenseful. But then it just went downhill. It's as if the director/writer of this drama either changed to some freak and decided to kill off the entire cast. I'm sorry but that is just a lazy excuse of any creative writer could think of.

First the villain is way over powered, absolutely making no sense whatsoever. Then introduce some Jedi S**t, where he can control everything and everyone. Then make him invincible and to top it off after spending 12 hours watching the first 12 episodes, start killing the entire cast.

The writer is a sadistic freak that needs help. Shake my head....have you even looked at that genre? It's almost everything in the list. I feel like the producers just wanted to check off everything on the list. Love - check, Comedy - check, Crime - check, Thriller - check , then after, kill everyone; now you get tragedy thrown in the mix too. What makes it even more stupid is that, not 1 person decided to outsmart the villain. Really??? Honestly, if this guy was as evil as everyone makes him out to be, then why would anyone even trust him.

Don't waste your time with this. I'm just so angry I wasted my time with this.

Music and Cast are pretty good. Everything else...is a flop.

I'm done my rant, have a good day. Hope other agrees with me.

Leia Mais

Beautiful Forbidden Love

Love Between Fairy and Devil is a xianxia drama, which narrates the story of forbidden love between a devil and a fairy. The drama has everything a xianxia drama has: forbidden love, reincarnation, a cold male lead falling in love with the warm and bubbly female lead making it his only weakness, female lead with hidden identity and more. But what makes this drama stands out from other xianxia drama is that it has a VERY BEAUTIFUL visual sequence, graphics, and cinematography. Love Between Fairy and Devil successfully brought the 仙（fairy） element into their drama, and I think the drama has raised the standard high for the next xianxia drama.

The narrative of Love Between Fairy and Devil is straightforward, about a fairy unaccidentally saving the demon lord and they gradually fell in love. The screenwriter managed to write a very cohesive and compelling story, also with a coherent storyline making it easy for the audience to understand. The drama also manages to seamlessly combine comedy, romance, also angst in the latter part. Every character in the drama also has their own background story with their own personal motive, each character is there not only for the sake of getting the male and female lead together nor just to make the drama plot more lively, but each character is there making their own decision which gradually leads and builds up to the whole drama plot.

What makes Love Between Fairy and Devil distinctive from other xianxia is definitely its art department and how well they articulate it. The drama manages to articulate the vision of the fantasy world and everything that comes with it. It is beautifully and enchantingly portrayed that you would actually believe the presence of such world, where there are pink skies with whales, a pavilion full of flowers, a castle on top of a hill, and more. It has been a while since there is such beautiful and mesmerizing graphics in a drama. You can see that the drama spends most of its budget on its art department, starting from costumes, CGI, graphics, more (IQIYI also offers the drama in 4k quality!).

Firstly, the drama costumes are very beautiful, the costume department puts a lot of thought and effort into their costume. Everyone's outfit is fitting to their character and demeanour. DongFang QingCang’s outfit is mostly black but also with a hint of gold, showing his sovereignty as the moon supreme. Xiao Lan Hua’s outfit is in bright pastel colours fitting with her character and personality as a fairy with a bright and bubbly personality. Other than the main characters, the side characters also have very pretty costumes, such as Chang Heng’s war costume. Moreover, the drama also has very beautiful headpieces, especially for the male characters, which are rarely seen in other historical dramas.

Secondly, the graphics and CGI of each realm, location, and power special effects are rendered so smooth that it resulted in an ethereal and mind-blowing result. Such as DongFang QingCang’s hell flame, when he summoned the dragon, the arbiter hall, and more. The drama is meticulous in every aspect from its colour palette, visual art, CGI, and lighting, everything is well thought. I especially love the scene where Rong Hao and Chang Heng entered the painting, they really ook like they're in a painting, they look 2d, which beautifully reflects the beauty of China's culture.

Thirdly, I also love how the drama sets a certain persona and design for each tribe and realm meticulously. For instance, in the fairy realm, the gods use bright and light outfits and headpieces with overexposure to the lighting. The fairy realm has a very heavy element of the Chinese culture, meanwhile, the demon/ moon realm has a hint of medieval elements in its location, outfits and more. The drama team also paid attention to those small actors/extras like the guards, their outfit is not sloppy, it is fitting to the overall persona they set. Such as the moon palace guards has dark and big outfit which looks intricate!

Yu Shuxin plays Xiao Lan Hua (the orchid fairy), but she’s also Xi Yun, the goddess. I think she did a really good job in acting as Xiao Lan Hua, a character like Xiao Lan Hua can be easy to hate since she might come out as being too fake or too flamboyant, but Esther Yu manages to pull off the character effortlessly. She is able to radiate different energy in different situations but still remembers the essence of her character, a warm and bubbly fairy. Some may dislike her character because she is a damsel in distress, often waiting for others to save her, but it’s understandable since she is only a “lowly fairy” with limited power. Other than acting as Xiao Lan Hua, Yu Shuxin also acted as DongFang QingCang and the goddess, and she's able to pull off the three characters flawlessly. She is versatile, she is able to change her demeanour and articulation according to each character. Yu Shuxin also used her own voice here, I personally love her voice, I find her voice very fitting to the character. I am definitely looking forward to her future work!

Wang Hedi showed tremendous improvement since Miss The Dragon. His acting is much more natural here, he is able to show real expressions and blend into the character. Despite being the moon supreme with no emotions, he’s still able to show slight emotions and show how his icy heart sea slowly melts. I think he did a great job portraying the emotionless moon supreme, DongFang QingCang, through his body and eye language, he is especially good when he is being majestic and when he is attacking others. As he is also slowly transitioning into someone with emotions, he gradually makes more micro-expressions and gestures to show how he’s gradually starting to fall in love, have empathy and more. His crying scenes are also very infectious, you would empathize with him and feel what he's feeling as well because that is how good his crying scenes are.

Moreover, Love Between Fairy and Devil also has a very beautiful soundtrack and background music. The soundtracks are very ethereal and fitting to the drama, it is stunningly beautiful that it will make you think of all the magic, beautiful places and situations in drama. The drama also has notable music scoring, the music scoring used in the drama intensifies each and every scene.

Another special mention to the whole production team of Love Between Fairy and Devil. The actors, production team, and marketing team, all have done a very outstanding job, they are passionate, putting in all their heart into it, thus producing such a best drama! The production team doesn't hesitate to spend money to where it should be spent, such as the special effect, outfits, music scoring and more. The production team also spend a lot of effort and thought on the drama's posters and artwork. The drama soundtrack artwork is STUNNING, unlike other dramas where they just used background or a picture of the couple with some borders and stick the title on it, Love Between Fairy and Devil has some really meticulous and well-thought album artwork. The soundtrack's artwork is paintings of their character with very beautiful scenery, if you haven’t seen it, I am highly suggesting you take a look at it because it will definitely render you breathless.

One thing that I find a pity is that the ending is too rushed, I would love to see more of DongFang QingCang and Xiao Lanhua's happy life :"))

Overall, do give this drama a try! Love Between Fairy and Devil is definitely a top-tier xianxia drama, there isn't any dull moment in it, and the drama will definitely make you hooked and render you breathless.

P.s. do check out their behind the scenes video!

Leia Mais

All aboard the angst train. This is going to be a bumpy ride!

This show started light-heartedly. A bit of awkward meet-cute sets up the love line between our OTP. I have to give credit to the FL for her portrayal of a 16 year old even though she is 30 in RL. In fact, most of her roles tends to be in that late teens to early 20's range.

While the romance is a slow burn, it is engaging and quite cute. It did turn dark when the FL "accidentally" poisoned the ML. He fell into a coma for a long time and when he woke up, he has the mind of a child. That is a shock for all concerned because he was an intellectual giant before the accident.

This brought about the second phase of their relationship. In his dim-witted state, he latched onto the FL like a chick onto a mother hen, In turn, she dedicated all her efforts to cure him and be with him. Around this time, the show really went to the dark side. The melodrama dial is turned up to the MAX when the FL's whole family was killed. It is excessive, but not 100% shocking when you consider the historical setting. It was designed to hit us with the feels, and it works.

I'm shipping the OTP at this point because they both suffered so much and yet they are trying their best to be happy in their little world. However, the show starts making questionable decisions from this point onwards. They piled on the angst and dragged out the ML’s plot. While his childlike innocence was a novelty at first. It went on largely unchanged for 1/3 of the entire run. What was cute earlier is now wearing.

If that is not enough, the moment the ML recovers his memory and mental capacities, he plays the noble idiot card. As expected, the OTP suffered even more. I still don't quite understand his logic. At first, he thought she has feelings for her senior. However, after she clarified the misunderstanding and declares her undying love for him, he continues with the charade even though he is in pain and pining for her. The brakes are off the angst train by now.

There are a number of opportunities to reunite the leads. The show could have profited from their love and longing. Hit an emotional high and gift us some much-needed fan service. Alas, it was not to be. I'm not going to spoil the last few eps, but let's just say the writer doubled down and went all-in on their sufferings.

Before we all reach for the Suicide Help Line, the writer parachute in a happy ending but it was literally in the dying seconds of the show. There is no preamble nor extra fan service. The scene is so contrived, I'm speechless. I can only imagine the writer being told by the upper echelon to cough up a happy ending or else. In hindsight, maybe it'd have been better if the writer decide to die on that hill and insists on delivering a torture porn unto the bitter end. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Acting wise, the cast did ok. The FL was in her element. The ML is handsome and not too wooden. I like his earlier portrayal of the man-child. However, the same-y role becomes boring to watch eventually. The ensemble cast is standard issue for a costume drama of this ilk.

I was ok with the angst . . up to a point. It is that type of show after all. However, the last few episodes really throw everything at the OTP including a weaponized kitchen sink. We have all manners of weird plot twists inserted solely to pull the leads apart even though they more than earned their rights to be together. That was too much for me. I am posting a lower score as a warning to others. Peace out.

Leia Mais

Lost and White Christmas had a gay baby named The Stranded

I usually review underlying social commentary and filming/directing techniques so my reviews mention other shows and lots of excitement about camera placement and editing.

Let's get it/

Season 1 of The Stranded aired worldwide in its entirety on Netflix on 15 Nov 2019 with 7 x 50 min episodes. It reminds you of Lost, White Christmas and Lord of the Flies all at once while still being fairly unique in this genre.

Lost is an American television show that aired 2004 - 2010 about survivors of a plane crash on a deserted island dealing with the Lord of the Flies narrative on top of everything getting weirder and weirder. Due to the time and place Lost as a series was coming from, the patriarchy in it makes the show almost unwatchable for me. So my first title for this was "Lost with less Patriarchy."

You can't help but be reminded of Lost when you watch The Stranded. You have an almost identical and equally pivotal scene of the main character waking up on the ground in the jungle at one point. You have the unwordly creepiness that can't be explained and the mysterious suspense wrapped around everything.

I'm not sure how much influence Netflix had over this series. The lack of product placement throughout was almost jarring to someone who has only seen Thai webseries before. The 24 frames per second vibe and scene changes dramatically split with relevant intriguing backstories were reminiscent of so many Western shows in this genre. Idk, it's so interesting to me, the points where Sukdapisit derailed from that. That's what I was looking for, broken tropes and throwbacks that have nothing to do with Western media.

During The Stranded I also found myself reminded of White Christmas, a short Korean series from 2011 about a group of students trapped at their elite school in the mountains in an avalanche over Christmas break.

There's nothing supernatural about White Christmas, it's purely psychological. The Stranded has a psychological vibe that runs deeper than the character relationships in Lost. The repeated filming of hot shirtless guys and lonely girls with fucked up pasts also were very White Christmas-like.

There's something that The Stranded, White Christmas & Lord of the Flies have that Lost could never. The way the characters react to being trapped on their own with no help changes whether you're writing adults or children into such roles. The internal war between despair, communism*, escapism and hope gets completely skewed and more so than when writing adult characters.

*communism in the desire to successfully work together. Quote from The Stranded; "We must cooperate. Work together and trust each other. That's how we survive."

A lot of these stories show how this kind of purely conceived idealism breaks down against the desperation to survive.

I can't leave out Krit & Jack in social commentary. I didn't want them to be token innocent queers in the background. Props to show how normal gays are to hets. So from a social standpoint, I'm grateful they were sexually active, depressing, and dangerously in love. They're not there to promote a harmless depiction of teenage boyfriends. They add to the whole way the situation of being stranded can carve out human ugliness on all sides.

In the West our need to strictly label genders and sexualities puts me in a difficult spot to describe what "girls" refers to in Thai media. But you will see it here. We're used to it more than the average American clicking on a foreign show on Netflix. The male characters who are there doing "girls" chores. I love that they're not trying to pass and that they don't even have to explain their existence. I love that they are just socially accepted from the beginning without it becoming a plot point. I love that you see the Thai thing where it's less about fighting to be trans than being trans and fighting for your personal gender's rights irrespective of their bodies' anatomies. But I still hate that these characters are minor and still mainly used to inject humor by their default flamboyance. I also wish there would be at least one transboy or nb person at some point in whatever I watch.

The setting from The Stranded creates the uniqueness and non-Western cultural framework that makes it special. The setting is more intense and beautiful than most things you will see in film. The ratio of camera time given to nature over characters is noticeably greater than many films set in remote locations. The intro's lens filter over the drone filming of the forests and beaches is so simple and so effective. You know you're looking at something that is ultimately skewed and that's thematically really important to remember from the beginning until the last scene.

The intro and the show itself have music that is arguably way cooler than what we usually see in foreign media. Passively, it's youthful and non-commercial. When it's used climatically it's a bit intense in a cliche way that I wish would just die in this genre.

Scene cuts come abruptly at times to weave together similar dramatic events been different characters. These types of situations make me so grateful to the writers for their timing of revelations and events.

The actors are all so so good. You never think they're faking anything and you become immersed in each of their fucked up lives. You want to see some of them rise up and some of them fall down where they belong but you're at the mercy of the story. To compliment both the writing and the actors, nothing feels forced out of character and so many points of interest are created between these characters in this story.

I really want to see everyone's theories on what's going on in the story. At first I thought ok, they're all dead and they don't know it. Now I don't know what to think but with what's happened, I just want Mark to come back so much<333

Thank u for reading x

Leia Mais

Life is short, cherish the moment.

Unhampered swordsman, Huo Zhan Bai seeks treatment for his sworn brother's child. His sworn brother's child needs to be treated by the most skilled doctor to have a glimmer of hope of survival. So for his sworn brother's child to receive the treatment he needs, he set out on a journey to the Apothecary Valley. His journey leads him to encounter the most skilled doctor, also know as a Divine doctor, the master of the Apothecary Valley, Xue Zi Ye. Their encounter isn't exactly all that great, but as time flies, they grew closer, developed mutual understanding and trust. And eventually, love blossomed between a free-spirited swordsman and a divine doctor who's always refrained from involving herself in the struggles of the Martial Arts World. However, due to the heavy responsibilities on their shoulders, a love that could have lasted for a lifetime couldn't be expressed fully.


I loved the premise of Snowy Night Timeless Love mainly because right from the first four episodes, I got to see the chemistry of Li Qin and Joseph Zeng. Plus, the stunning cinematography mustn't go unmentioned.


I've always known this one would have a sad ending cause the synopsis itself is a big spoiler, but I wasn't swayed from watching, I picked it up still. Why? Mainly because not all love lasts forever. And not all love gets a happy ending, or the forever after thing. There are love that you want to protect but couldn't. A love full of heartbreaks and sufferings. Not every love is all rosy. Love is accompanied with sadness, tears, heartbreaks, and separation. A love with regrets. There's that one person you wish to save but couldn't. That one person you'd sacrifice your life for in a heartbeat if sacrificing could bring the person back. That beloved you never want to get separated from. A beloved who bacame a memory. There's always that love. That beloved you can't help but miss as the day passes. That's the reality of life. Life is short. If there's one lesson I learnt from this drama, that'll be, "cherish the moment while it's last. More importantly, cherish the person you love while they're still around." Spend time with them, cuz you never know what will happen in the future. Don't leave regrets. Live your life spending time with the people you love. There's no eternity in this, life is but for a short while, so don't waste it. How long you live is not what matters, it's how well you live your life, spending time with your beloved, loved ones, and doing what you like that does. Regrets can be a very tormenting, so live your life without regrets.

The problem with Huo Zhan Bai is he puts others needs before his own happiness. He couldn't express his feelings, nor was he able to make too many happy memories with Xue Zi Ye. But then again, the time they spent together was fulfilling, they'll turn to memories to cherish forever. This is a sad romance that refects reality. I can't help but be reminded of "Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi.

That said, Li Qin did her role as the cold Chief of the Apothecary Valley justice. The way she portrays emotions sometimes leaves me speechless. I've always known she's a great and versatile actress, still I can't help but be impressed by her acting skills everytime I watch her drama. Her acting moved me to tears in this one. Her facial expressions is spot on. She portrayed her role as the cold, aloof, yet kindhearted Xue Zi Ye wonderfully. Indeed, Li Qin doesn't disappoint.

And without excluding our selfless ML, Joseph Zeng. I enjoyed his performance in this one thoroughly. When he's pain, he acts it so well. I've seen him in a lot of dramas and have always been impressed by him. Snowy Night Timeless Love made me love him more. The way he acts when he's in pain left an impression on me. He also didn't disappoint me.

Not to mention the chemistry. There are no kisses like the other dramas I've watched, but the chemistry was there. The gazes, hugs, and their time together was enough to keep me going. If there's any complaints I have about this one, it's that Huo Zhan Bai never put his happiness first. It's looking for Mo's medicine today, and bringing justice to the Martial art world tomorrow. I didn't like this about him.

After much thought, I decided to give this a solid 9.5 for the lessons, the acting, and the chemistry of the leads.

Xue Zi Ye and Huo Zhan Bai's love will live on in my heart for a very, long, long time. I learnt a lot from their love. I can't help but love this drama because of how it reflects reality.💞


There are many controversies and mixed feelings on the ending, mainly because the ended was a sad one. And because Xue Zi Ye died in the end. But I loved it still, even though it's a sad ending, I learnt a lot. Snowy Night Timeless Love is beautifully written and executed. 💞 It's painful but I was still glad to see Xue Zi Ye die thinking of the one she loves.

Snowy Night Timeless Love is a drama that'll move you to tears. A drama about separation. A drama that moved me, even though it has its flaws. Don't miss it. However, make sure you have your tissues close by if you an empathetic person cuz this drama is emotional!

Leia Mais

Incomplete Life is nothing special except it is special. There is no epic romance, no suspense, no action, no melodrama, but there is life. I normally hate dramas like this. Nothing is more boring than watching a drama about real life when I watch dramas to escape it. However, there was something uniquely captivating in watching these characters navigate life. I started this because I love Kang Sora, but I fell for these characters in a big way. This drama isn't about the story line as much as it is about the characters. They have great chemistry and development. We all look at life in different ways. What is success to one person may be nothing to another and there is society's view of success. My view of success is to be the best person that I can be with all my flaws included. It isn't about money, prestige, or power. It is about being happy in the life that I live with the people that I love. What is your view of success??? Are you living an incomplete life???

It isn't necessary for me to name all of the actors, because it is already done. Just know that they all were excellent. I felt connected to each of them in different ways.

The music is appropriate.

It is rewatchable, but I probably won't.

This drama isn't for every one. I can see why some people would get bored with it. However, I highly recommend it.

Leia Mais

It was a chore and a half finishing this drama, but I can now say with hesitant satisfaction that it’s over.

In a society that has been enraptured by the potential of AI and robotics, it’s unsurprising that there’s been a recent influx in dramas that deal with such topics. Despite being based off an older manga, My Absolute Boyfriend is yet another title to add to that list. It addresses the issue of robots assimilating into the human world, a problem that is bound to become increasingly relevant over time.

It all sounds interesting, but I wouldn’t recommend this show to anyone who is in need of a captivating storyline. As is the case with most Korean dramas, the first couple of episodes are all fun and games. The further it gets, though, the faster it tumbles downhill. You’d think that this show should be about the struggles of a robot in human society, and it is…but only in theory. Instead, My Absolute Boyfriend overflows with unexciting conflicts and equally unappealing supporting characters. It’s a romcom that pretends to be intricate and emotional, but lacks any of the proper delivery to make it a worthwhile watch.

Ma Wang Joon is one of the least likable second leads I’ve ever had the bad luck of experiencing, yet he rears his ugly head so many times that it makes for a rather toxic drinking game: take a shot every single time you want to punch him smack in the jaw. His constant, unnecessary interventions in the main couple’s relationship stunt its development so much that it’s hardly satisfying when they’re together. It’s like its own subgenre of jump-scare horror—every time Da Da and Young Goo are having a moment, I’m not enjoying it; I’m nervous, waiting for Wang Joon to poke his head around the corner and interrupt. Diana isn’t much better. Despite her intriguing introduction, she ends up as an incredibly boring villain and contributes nothing but shallow inconveniences to the story. All of the conflicts are uninteresting and oftentimes feel unresolved.

Frankly, the number of episodes does far more harm than good and put the writers in over their heads. The amount of sloppy writing in this show is too much to bear and makes the main relationship a tad unbelievable. Had the drama been shortened to 16 or even 12 hour-long episodes, the story would have been so much tighter and left no room for such plot filler.

What’s truly odd about My Absolute Boyfriend is that the acting is good. While the overall performance of the actors and actresses is nothing to rave about, they’re all pretty impressive, especially for a drama that’s ridden with flaws. I can only sadly imagine what could have been if it were written better. For example, Yeo Jin Goo does an excellent job of portraying a puppy-like boyfriend robot and is exemplary when it comes to showing raw emotion. Yet, his talent mostly goes to waste because the writers have no clue as to what the hell to do with their own main character and just push him off to the side for a disproportionate amount of time. Similarly, Min Ah, Jong Hyun, and Seo Young all have the capacity to act well, but their characters are too flat for their acting to feel completely natural. This becomes increasingly obvious over time, when the writers are so busy trying (and failing) to make the story itself interesting that the characters lose the traits that make them compelling.

Altogether, I would have to recommend a pass on this show. Even if you’re a diehard fan of one of the actors, this can be a tough one to get through (I’ll voluntarily admit that I persisted in watching because of Yeo Jin Goo, and even then, it was a struggle). In an industry that pumps out romcom after romcom, My Absolute Boyfriend isn’t particularly special whatsoever.

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(For in-depth review/analysis with spoilers: https://dramavixen.tumblr.com/post/186224304109)

Leia Mais