Reviews

Love Love Love

I have watched this show at least 50 times. I cannot say enough about how I love this show the actors the character the story all of it was wonderful and well written. If you are wondering should you watch this heck yeah please do it. The comedy in this show was priceless, the music fit the show. The acting was so phenomenal I can't even begin to say anything bad about it . I laughed, I cried, I even got a bit angry at times but I never regretted watching.... MUST SEE. The chemistry between the goblin and the Grim reaper had me dying, the bromance was perfect how can a girl like me not wish to be in the same house with these two cuties. The only thing I wish more would be if they did a second season of this show using all the same character because seriously you want to know what happened to them I know I do,

Leia Mais

Absolutely Captivating!

The casting is top notch both visually and acting talent wise with the leads Bright Vachirawit and Mai Davikah as Kimhan and Nubdao who instantly captures attention both individually and as a pair with excellent chemistry along with a very strong supporting cast as well. I really enjoy how both characters have their own goals, struggles, and growth that the show begins exploring from the get go and how their paths align. The pacing is really good and always leaves me looking forward to the next episode. The ost perfectly accompanies the mood of the scene in every iteration of it's arrangement. Overall, Astrophile is a must watch!

Leia Mais

10 stars just not enough!

If I could give this drama 100 stars I would. I don't like to write long reviews so I'm not going to hear suffice to say that, there are so many dramas to spend my time watching but this one will want you to watch it over and over. I beamed at the adorably cute Kim Go-Eun (can we be besties??), fell hard for Gong Yoo, and laughed like an idiot at Lee Dong Wook (hey guys, can we go fishing together sometime?). Their bromance was on another level. I cried pathetically several times. You will relive the series through the OST, and maybe smile and cry again. Beautiful story, perfect drama.

Leia Mais

Opinion after watching - Much better than I expected it to be. I really enjoyed it for the brain candy that it was. :) I think I understand why it was highly praised when it aired and is still considered a classic.

Reason for watching - Well, I kept putting off this drama because of the hype. Even though it follows one of my favorite tropes (couple forced together, bicker a lot and fall in love), I didn't want to watch it anytime soon. But since I've recently resolved to watch the most popular dramas that I've avoided for one reason or the other, I decided on this one. Especially after I ended up loving 'My Girl', another drama that I had ignored previously. :P

My favourite character - Han Ji Eun and Lee Young Jae(when they're together only) ;) I loved their bickering and antics.

Story - Anyone who has watched atleast a few dramas will know this plot - the main couple hate each other at first sight, bicker, pick fights, slowly fall in love while denying it, only to be hindered by the clingy second lead before they finally realize their love for each other and unite/reunite. Been there, seen that.
But still it's worth watching, mainly because of the main couple. Also, the drama doesn't take itself seriously in many situations. The plot turns may seem illogical and crazy to believe. It's a check-your-brain-at-the-door-and-enjoy kind of story which is quite fun to watch even now.

Acting/Cast - I've never been a fan of any of the actors in this drama. Halfway through the drama, I started to see the appeal of Rain(I like him best when he's smiling) and Song Hye Kyo(who does the messy, loud Ji Eun character well). I hated the female second lead, Hye Won(as I was supposed to?!) and I think it shows how effective her acting was. :)
At first, Ji Eun's friends grated on my nerves so much, but near the end I became used to them(probably like Ji Eun herself lol).

Music - This drama has a couple songs that I ended up loving - Chuh Eum Geu Ja Ri Eh, Un Myung(Fate) and I think I. The OST is one of the plus points of the drama.

Full House/Location - As for the house itself, it's one of the best houses in kdramaland. I especially loved the wooden swing seat, helical staircase and the water view.

Rewatch value - I don't rewatch a drama in its entirety usually. I would like to watch only their interactions around the household. Cleaning, cooking, bickering and name-calling(though it's never meant in a hurtful way).

Overall - Recommended for rom-com lovers, those who like watching cohabitation/contract relationship dramas. It's one of the most popular dramas out there for a reason. Watch it and you'll realise how kdramas have evolved in the past decade.

P.S. I adored the Three Bears Song! Song Hye Hyo won me over with this song, actually. She is so cute dancing for this song. Rain and Grandma also are not immune to the song's/singer's charm, it seems. ;)

Leia Mais

Great job, Kanittha Kwanyu!

A Korean original (which I have not seen) and Kanittha Kwanyu as the director – these were two pretty good reasons for me to watch the show. And I certainly didn’t regret it.


First the things I wasn’t so happy about:

- The length. The original has 16 episodes of about 45 minutes, the remake has 18 episodes of about an hour. I really can’t think of a good reason why they had to stretch it like this. Cutting it down to maybe 15 episodes would have helped to avoid getting repetitive (some dialogue was repeated several times with only slight variations) and to keep up the high tension (the “revelations” were mostly announced way too early). I really can’t say that it got boring, but the storytelling would definitely work better in a shorter format.

- The antagonist. I’m sorry, but Tida was just too evil. Especially if the overall message was that at the age of 17 nothing is as serious as it seems etc., you can’t just put in such a psycho. She was not a victim of domestic violence herself (as far as we know) and she didn’t experience any peer pressure, so where ist the key to understanding her behaviour? Although her final moments were very strong, with everything that she did I feel like she needed to be cured in a psychiatric clinic. I refuse to believe that such cruelty could just be a simple character trait.

- In my opinion, they unnecessarily idealised high school as an institution, I really cannot relate with such a depiction of it. Especially when they were wishing goodbye to Mr. Q, it got pretty awkward. Maybe this is in fact the experience students in Thailand (or Korea) have, to me it seems unrealistic.


However, I really enjoyed everything else:

- The production value. It is pretty obvious that the budget for this was above-average, resulting in more episodes, a great ensemble of actors and amazing work in the technical departments. If it results in this, I am certainly able to forgive the annoying product placement!

- The soundtrack. Getsunova stands for quality when you need emotional songs, and they did not disappoint. Also the general soundtrack was really on point, a lot of effort must have been put into it. In some scenes it however went a little over the top and felt more suitable for an epic Hollywood movie than for a high-school TV series; less is more, I would say.

- The cinematography. As a fan of cinema, I do pay attention to the camera work. And generally speaking, (Thai?) TV series most of the time are pretty average in this regard, also because it is mostly not an essential element of the storytelling (after all, movies and series are pretty different formats). In recent years, “Theory of Love” really stood out with regards to cinematography, followed by the great “A Gift to the People You Hate” and now “Who Are You”. It wasn't that outstanding in this case, sure, but the frequent use of inclined camera angles was a memorable and impactful effect. Colours and lighting were also well-harmonised.

- The story. The first episode already played a nice game of confusion with the viewers, showing Meen'a and Mind's parallel, but very different lives, setting up everything that was to come. Afterwards, there were lots of “hints” dropped throughout the series, making it a really exciting experience that (almost) never got boring. I would criticise that after that much buildup, the “revelations” about Meen and June were not so surprising and fell a bit flat, mainly because of the length of the series. However, the series luckily didn't just focus on the stories of Meen and Mind. The side-stories, above all Gun's, but also Pete's, and even Lyla's, really added something relevant and were masterfully interwoven with the rest. Much of what happened in the series felt in one way or another relatable and realistic and there is certainly important messages to learn about friendship and family relations.

- The characters and their actors. I had already seen Namtan in several roles and she is definitely a strong actress. She delivered her role(s) very well, whether she was crying, being fierce or caring for her friends. Distinguishing between Meen and Mind wasn’t always easy though. Krist was definitely better than what I had seen of him before, playing a seemingly indestructible nice guy with a certain underlying sadness. Sing was very convincing as well, I felt his struggles a lot; he seemed so lost sometimes that it really hurt. The adults all delivered great performances (which isn’t always the case in GMMTV productions), except for maybe the mother, she seemed a bit unnatural to me in some moments. Mr. Q was a really interesting character, his initial shadiness soon made space for a striking idealism.

- Kay. The best performance however, and I think many will agree with me on this, was clearly Kay’s. Isn’t it incredible that this is his first role? I haven’t felt that much for a fictional character in a long time (Jaylerr’s performance in “Angel Beside Me” probably came close), in these last episodes he really wrecked me emotionally. Gun’s messed-up relationship with his father, his social isolation and his determination when it came to Mind, it was all delivered perfectly; his character had definitely the most nuanced story arch and the strongest personal development and I heavily doubt that many other young actors could have done such an amazing job.


Long story short, I loved this series! It had an interesting story from the beginning, was technically well-made, could rely on an amazing cast (seriously, Kay alone was better here than the entire cast of “Blacklist” combined!), had a great variety of fascinating characters and managed to convey strong emotions through all of its main elements (story, cinematography, music, acting). I am happy to see that my enthusiasm about Kanittha Kwanyu is justified! Additionally, this series gave me more Getsunova music to get emotional to and a new YouTuber to follow (Kayavine).

Leia Mais

Almost all of the following is in the synopsis of this movie. I just added a lot more detail.

If you have not seen this movie or have been hesitating over seeing it because of the subject matter and the fear of being overwhelmed by it, I encourage you to watch. I was, surprisingly and shockingly to me, not emotionally as devastated by this movie as I feared I would be. Bullying is a tormenting subject for me and I normally cannot abide movies about it, especially knowing that, in this case, the result is the suicide of this young girl.

This movie is so different from 99% of the bullying movies. All the others seem to deal with the physical aspect of bullying and the devastating psychological damage caused by it. And most of the movies deal more with boys. This movie presents bullying done in a more insidious, psychological way, as I think girls are more likely to engage in. It's sneaky, done with smiles and rumors and pretend friendliness with intimidation and,in this movie, the victim is fully aware of what is being done, but unable to escape as these are her only 'friends'. She is dragged into it repeatedly as it comes in waves between bouts of being ignored, getting benign attention, and then, when the mood strikes them, they attack her again. There seems to be one ring leader, as always. But no one is exempt as the followers themselves attack her in their own snide ways.

The Thread of LIes analogy is beautifully done as her older sister and mother, in their need to know 'WHY?', follow the thread of lies and omissions and half-truths her school mates tell them. At the same time, these children also lie to themselves and each other in their own fear and full knowledge of their own guilt and responsibility for what happened. The movie gradually exposes the cracks and fears in the perpetrators own lives that drove them to torment her and the guilty repercussions that begin to eat away at them. The thread analogy is also beautifully and heartbreakingly used as the older sister and the mother finally discover the notes Cheon-gi left for them in the balls of yarn she was constantly using in her knitting. She tells her sister there are 5 notes and it is this that sets her sister on her mission to expose the lies but, as she discovers 2 more notes, it is also revealed to her how mentally disturbed the main culprit is, and how devastated the second culprit is due to a simple misunderstanding and subsequent attack and betrayal of Cheon-gi. Even the mother and the daughter's notes reflect this sweet child's realization that they will be not only grieving but battling their own fear of what they missed or where they did not see what should have been seen.

The final ball of yarn and note is a bit of a cypher to me. (see below in spoilers-I would appreciate others' views on the meaning behind this final note and it's location)

A beautiful movie, superbly acted and directed and written. A must watch. I wish it could be shown in many many schools.

I wouldn't rewatch, just because I got all I want to out of it the first time around.

Leia Mais

Feels unfinished

I liked this short film, it has an interesting story line. A group of gay friends and one of them is very popular which all the other guys flock too while another is extremely jealous of his popularity that he curses him with a ghost. Only this backfires and the two (ghost and human) fall in love which only makes the jealous friend more determined. There's a pretty raunchy sex scene and some worthy acting. But it almost feels like a teaser to more in depth story. I think that's where the story falls flat because we don't know why this guy is so jealous in the first place, his motivation feels weak, although he comes off as unstable and manic so maybe he doesn't need a deeper motive. But why is this ghost beholden to him. How he came to have this knowledge of summoning ghosts/devils etc. Just little unanswered questions that would have strengthened the story. Others have commented about the story being scary, I don't know what most peoples tolerance for horror is but this felt fairly tame to me. I enjoyed it and it has much promise, I just wish there was more. Congrats cast and crew, well done all round.

Leia Mais

A last-minute, under-the-radar contender for one of my favorite dramas of the year! And really, a favorite from the past few years. Relatable, funny, heartwarming, and sometimes totally chaotic (the multi-episode club arc, I'm looking at you).

There have definitely been a lot of dramas lately that center around a group of female friends, but I've rarely found myself truly loving them. The charm of Delicious Romance is that it explores various relatable issues like divorce/ending a long-term relationship, re-entering the workforce, and changing careers, but also manages to feel light-hearted instead of stressful. The episodes are about 30 episodes and there are also 20! What a rarity! That means this drama never drags. I would actually love a second season.

This drama just surprised me in so many ways. Also, I loved that Xia Meng worked on developing dramas for a streaming site, and had some sharp commentary to offer. A total delight!

Leia Mais

I finally finished this after like 2 years and I have to say WTF did I watch?

So the story is split into two parts. 1-17 and then 17-54. In 1-17 we follow the story of the princess in her home country in the latter her life in a diplomatic marriage to the neighbouring Wei. The story didn't make sense. This was based on a time travel novel so that part was changed and censored. It seemed like the adaption team didn't know what to do or that they went for something complex that got chopped on the editing floor. There were parts where the writing was great - the story of the second female lead was excellent, the last episodes were pretty good as were the first 17. So it's not that the writers were bad writers.

What they failed to do was to link the two stories together. Until the second last episode I was under the impression that the second segment was a "what if these two characters met in an alternate timeline". I'm actually still not sure that it wasn't the case. For me there's no way to link the Chuyu and the Rong Zhi of the first story to the later one. Basic stuff like if he's the regent or even just the brother in law of the Emperor of Wei there's no way he's going to hang out in the Princess' mansion in Liu Song just in the hopes of influencing the government there (esepcially not as a "concubine" lol). As for Chuyu - she went through a lot of shit in the first section there's no way she can be so clueless in the second. Anyway not linking those two or explaining it made it confusing and left the viewer spending a lot of their time trying to work out if the previous episodes had happened or not in the "new" environment. This made it difficult to focus on what was actually going on.

Pacing wise the story was fine for the first 17 and the last 4-5 episodes but everything else inbetween was filler and not very interesting (mainly because it was so confusing).

The second part of the problem was the acting. Rong Zhi is supposed to be this genius level schemer. Some people say the whole blank face that the male lead had for most of the drama was an example of his great acting skills and that it was in character. I say that's a load of ****. If you watch political/intrigue dramas you'll see that there can be cunning political operators who have the blank face. However always the viewer will be given an insight into them when nobody else is around (for example you'll see micro-expressions of them being worried/happy/etc). Sometimes this will carry over when they're with other characters they'll turn to pour the tea and they'll have some expression. The ML had nothing. Right until the very end nothing. At one point he cried and still had a blank face. They could have put a cardboard cutout there and it would have been the same. What makes it worse is that the actor can act, even back then. I don't want to get into spoilers but there's a part where he isn't Mr Blank so he does have skills. That said for me he failed to carry the role well enough (I think part of it too is age - he's the Prince Regent and he looks likes he's about 16 years old for most of it).

That was the other issue I had - casting. Especially for the second half. The cast is great don't get me wrong, however this drama suffered from a case of everyone should be young and good looking. The Prince Regent looks 16. The empress dowager looks like she's in her 20s tops. The emperor looks like he's in his early teens except his favourite consort looks like she's older than the empress dowager. They didn't try to add some grey or some fine lines or anything so it made things very confusing, especially when it came down to the interactions. If the emperor is just a teenager that's fine (obviously because he has a regent and that kind of thing happened historically) but why does his favourite consort look the same age as his mother? Why does he still have a regent if he's making most of the decisions and getting people pregnant? (At least there should be talk of - oh the regent will hand over at this time or when you reach your majority blah blah) Esepcially because there is tension in that area there should be some discussion of removing the regent from his post? (I wouldn't consider this a spoiler every regent/emperor is going to have some tension so don't read into it too much)

Now that I have the negatives out of the way...

Wow the props and costumes. Chuyu's clothes and accessories were gorgeous as was the open minimalist throne rooms/props. Not historically accurate but it was restful on the eyes and it was nice for a change. Kind of like they shot everything in a really fancy IKEA (those pale floorboards lol). I really love historical accuracy but it was clear that this drama wasn't going for that, so I liked that they changed things up and tried a minimalist aesthetic and made good use of the lighting crew.

The music was good, nothing jarring or out of place. Although personally there was nothing that drew me to listening to the OST again.

I would not like to rewatch again because it was confusing and mangled but at the same time I kind of want to rewatch again so I can try and work out what the hell was going on and if the stories were supposed to be connected or if they were a "if the two characters met in an alternate universe" thing. Luckily I don't have to rewatch as apparently there is a novel. Hopefully I'll understand what they were trying to do by reading that lol.

Leia Mais

So this is another of my top fav dramas. I dont think Ive ever laughed so hard from watching a drama before watching this and I dont think I ever will. If you're seeking a series of good laughs then you should start watching this right now. It seems quite long at 50 episodes but it could be over before you know it if you're a drama lover as you'd find yourself laughing through each episode. You could also try out the highly successful 1992 movie versions of this (Its broken into part 1 and 2) as they are shorter and still hilarious. Then if you find yourself wanting more, you can go for this. But this tv series is at least 3 times funnier than the movie and has much better production. Your choice.

The synopsis for this has all the info you need and even some extra I'd consider spoilers but even that wont stop anyone from enjoying this show. The story is based off a Jin Young novel which I think is titled The Duke of Mount Deer. The show basically revolves around this lazy lecherous street rascal, Wei Xiaobao, who is thrown into the wuxia world (or martial arts world) of conspiracy and life-threatening situations and thus he constantly has to rely on luck, his glib tongue, cheap tricks and street smarts to survive his way through because he barely knows any martial arts. A lot of laughs would come from the show revealing the thoughts that go through Wei Xiaobao's head but even besides that, this show would have you laughing one way or another. Another major character is the Kang Xi emperor and the story revolves a lot around Wei's relationship with him.

The Kang Xi emperor as well as many other characters in this are real historical figures that existed in Chinese history because even though this is a fictional story, it is based on real Chinese history (I actually learned more about Chinese history due to this show ^__^).

Unlike the movie counterparts, this show starts off with Wei as a child, who is equally as hilarious as his grown up counter part. One reason I mention this, is because I was really taken aback as to how exceptionally good the child actors were (I sincerely hope they won oscars or some sort of award for the roles they had). They could really bring in a sense of realism to their roles. Perhaps the older actors performed really well because they didnt want to be outdone by them lol. The other reason is because the child actor scenes last for about the first 6 - 8 episodes (Perhaps their screen time got extended because they were that good? Idk). You might miss their faces when they're gone but their older counterparts did just as good so you might not mind too much.

The only downsides of this show I remember is that towards the end (I think during the last 10 episodes or so), you start to get a lot of scenes that drag on or feel boring. Still it ends on a good note (both happy and sad things occur but it'll probably leave you feeling nice and warm inside) and overall it carries meaningful messages on conflicts that occurred during its time period. Honestly, just do yourself a favor and start watching this whenever you can. You can thank me later ;)

Leia Mais

I absolutely love historical dramas and if you add in romance that is a major bonus for me. I was hopeful that this would give me the warm and fuzzy I was looking for.

The series starts out at a descent pace and you get an opportunity to see our two leads in their youth. It was fun and gave you the young love feeling. Their personality/character was revealed in the beginning so there is no mystery about whether or not they are bad or good. You can just tell. You will get a lot off political scheming and a hint romance (that’s right a hint). Although our leads performed well together you you don’t get to see the real chemistry between them together/together. You know they have feelings/love each other but you don’t feel it.

This series definitely highlights reform int this culture in the sense of foreigners, trade expansion and etc. I believe the overall premise for the series was growth of the culture, Progression and adapting. Well displayed.

What I enjoyed most about the series was the acting. The overall plot was well maintained.

What I didn’t like was the the lack of clarity and gaps. So many things were left out. How do I know? There were so many 3 years later or 1 year laters. After a while things got a bit confusing. There was a sudden infatuation by a character. Just strange. In truth, after the female leads identify was revealed I couldn’t understand why she lived where she lived and why these people were left to care for her. These things made absolutely no sense to me.

I do love the male leave. He starred in a similar series title “princess man. “ Some of the same events happen.

Important notes
-90% politics
-little to no romance but you do get love
- nice fight scenes.
-no redemption for those that were done wrong (yeah, you heard me)
-no major power plays (aka -shocker moment)

Leia Mais

All the actors played their roles very well and made their characters seem very human and believable. Each character had their flaws and good points. It was very easy to see the family resemblance between the characters because of their actions and helped give a more real feeling to the drama.

The writing was amazing for the sitcom and there were many times where I was rolling on the ground laughing.

The pace of the show was very good for a sitcom as each episode had it's own kind of mini-story but with many story arcs still prevalent.

The story was at times predictable, but at other times not what you expect.

The downfall of this drama would be the ending. If not for the ending I would have given this drama a perfect for writing and casting.

There is nothing extraordinary about the soundtrack of the drama, on the other hand the ost for the drama went well with the scenes and emotions of the characters.

The rewatch value score would be rated higher for me had the ending been different.

Personally, I didn't really like some of the coupling in the drama, but that's a personal taste.

The relationships were very well built and evenly distributed between the characters.

I would recommend watching this drama, even if you're told the ending is surprising.

Leia Mais

Looking for romance?

This drama is pretty much Princess Ling catching her man lol. Overall it's a cute rom com to watch. The plot is not heavy so if you're looking for hard core palace intrigue and schemes, not this one. Definitely recommend if you're looking for lighthearted, flirty girl chases cold guy drama! Some of their scenes are definitely not period drama appropriate but we like it! I'm sure if the drama had more episodes, we would get a better indepth version of our lead couples as well as the plot. YBY and ZYC is cute. Merxat looks good in here and for once, he's not chasing the female lead. I would rewatch the episodes just to see the two leads shamelessly flirt with other but that's about it.

Also, aside from the villains, most supporting characters were likable. All the grandpas or dads (besides one) were supportive and acted cute in their own way. Even some characters who we thought would be the typical villain turned out okay (ML childhood female friend).

Leia Mais