Reviews

This Took A Turn

I could tell this series was going to be an emotional one right away. Let's start off with the good. The series emotionally already started to get to me during the scene where our main character Tian reads Torfun's diary and sees everything she did with her shortened life. His expressions shows how he wants to change and not waste her heart inside of him now. Because he was wasting his life before and wants to do something greater, and fulfill Janes dreams. The musical accompaniment to the show is a much needed added emotional impact. It swells perfectly to the scenes. I also appreciate that they kept a big scar on Tian's chest, because a heart transplant is a big surgery. Maybe it wouldn't necessarily look that (for a lack of a better term) gnarly and painful, but some shows opt to go for "beautiful looking scars or minimal scar tissue" and that's not realistic at all.

I loved the interactions with the kids, kind of like "Oxygen the Series" but better. The kids have distinct personalities and I loved the developments with them. Tian's character too is trying really hard and I appreciate it. We see him in the town too trying to get in with the locals, and help them when they are being taken advantage of financially. He brought back the scale to teach to the kids! So they won't get ripped off like their parents were, omg yes full circle.
After all like the show says; "Where we feel happy, we feel like home".

So initially when Phuapha is introduced I dug him so much. Dude saved a snail, like get outta my face lol. The drunk scene with Tian touching Phupha's face was so wholesome, they had such sweet chemistry. Their relationship was starting to gear up to be one of my faves. Unfortunately that didn't happen, because of some fatal character flaws written into the plot. Which were very uncharacteristic. These were my thoughts once Tian came clean about Torfun and basically everything: "Why are you ruining it show with the village putting literally all the blame on Tian? The rangers didn't want him to tell them about Torfun's death! This is total bs and its making characters unlikable, especially Phupha!" The random question thrown in there of did Tian kill Torfun with his car was stupid too. That would've taken away all likability from his character (luckily it didn't end up that way) and made all of his actions seem not as genuine as before because they are fueled by guilt. This was just all poorly done and it kinda ruined the final half of the storyline.

I also didn't like that they framed it like Phupha is just worried about Tian's future when he tries to convince him to leave. It's Tian's choice whether to stay at the village or not and Phupha basically was not allowing that choice at all! It's really controlling and I keep asking myself why is he leaving again? Like don't tell me what to do Phupha! Sure he ends up finishing teaching school anyway, but still how it was approached was wrong. This is another perfect example of a series that narratively starts off essentially perfect and then flops so bad towards the end with poor character writing that it ruins the relationship for me. Also Tian's mom I understood at the beginning. Her son almost died and she was being overly protective. But then she began to suck at the end. Trying to tell Tian not to become a teacher because its "difficult" which doesn't make sense because so was becoming an engineer? So it was just an excuse, she just thinks its not a reputable enough job. Then when she "agrees" which she shouldn't even have to, she forces the idea of going to a fancy school in America because her friends kids couldn't get in there. Seriously screw you!

Overall, this show is fantastic at the first half and then meh at the end. It's concept is so interesting, so it's a shame parts of it ruined it for me. The last episode was stretched out too long, but once we get the wrap up it's pretty nice. Albeit kind of cliche to end with a peck-kiss on the mountain, I felt some satisfaction from the ending. Though I was highly disappointed that we got no reunion between Tian and the kids or him and Longtae! That would've been great. The after credits ending scene too was a nice addition. Also final side-note, low-key it's mad disrespectful to have a literal ad for a car at the beginning of these episodes knowing full well the story surrounds a character getting struck and hit by a car! XD

Leia Mais

If the actors are improving their performances shouldn't they be given better stories???

First of all, I have to congratulate Boss and Noeul's acting and how it has improved since LITA. It is appreciated, because it is a couple that has great chemistry and it is palpable, but in LITA there were moments when the acting was weak. Here, an improvement is noticeable, although the same thing continues to happen. They are still in the same roles. Boss's character as the protector of Noeul's childish and naive character, which makes me quite angry, since it does not allow us to see the versatility of the actors and the possibility of reaching different characters. It is clear that Noeul can act when portraying a naive and sometimes childish character when in real life his personality is completely opposite. That is why, I wish that in future projects of this couple, they play with other characters and personalities.
In itself, the whole cast is good, but the story does not do justice and does not help to demonstrate their worth.

I really hope Boss and Noeul next project they'll work with a different writer....

The whole plot at the beginning was aiming high and at the end, everything was so rushed leaving too many plot holes and things unsolved. I feel that they 'solved' the problem selling your brother? YES great idea, in one of the parallel worlds, we see Cir devasted and Phu hugging him (we can deduce that is because it's his brother died) but what the hell , I would sell my brother just to spend time with my crush. Also the father appearing like he is going to be someone when in the end is a non player in this whole plot. The second couple they were there just to be there, they weren't important , they develop their relationship in three episodes.... showing how you care about your characters....

I'm fed up with a certain scriptwriter/writer, writing scenes where consent is not respected and perpetuating certain clichés. How can you romantise stalking your crush/partner??? (Girl , if I know that my partner has been stalking me for years I would be afraid and not delighted). Let's see if Boss and Noeul and all the actors in this series manage to get away from this writer... and not make more series with her. The way she made romatising Cir stalking Phu and being obessed over him is something that left me speechless, all I can say: DISAPPOINTED BUT NOT SURPRISED.

The thing that upset me the most is Phu begging and asking for forgiveness to Cir.
How to deal with your stalker: Did you just find that someone has been stalking you five years, what are you going to do?
a) Call the police
b) Leave that person behind
c) The two answers above
d) Ask for forgive because he did it because he love me. (CLEARLY THE ANSWER) .
Take note guys, stalking , enterning in someone house without consent is something right if you do it because you love him/her.

Well, well, let's pray that Boss and Noeul can find a project that isn't written by Mame, that day there will be shooting stars or frogs will start growing hair or whatever weird and strange thing you can imagine.

Last but not least, OF COURSE, THIS BL HAS ONE OF THE THINGS I HATE THE MOST: MISOGYNY. The world of BL is full of misogyny, most of the stories, the women are the villains or characters where they do not let the protagonists be together or it separates them. As a woman, I'm annoyed by the acceptance of misogyny in BLs and how it has been accepted in such a blatant way, when in most cases BL fans tend to be women or the series are dedicated to a female audience. How much longer will we have to put up with women as villains?

Leia Mais

Keep in mind that I haven't read the manga. Thank you.

The events of the drama:
- Two high-school boys (cousins) move in to an apartment in the same building where the heroine (lets call her Yoyo) resides. One is cheerful/friendly (lets call him Smiley), and the other is Grumpy (lets call him that).
- So the Yoyo starts liking Smiley and confesses her feelings to him. But Smiley tells her that he doesn't believe in love and breaks her heart.
- Yoyo gets all sad/weepy whenever she sees Smiley. Grumpy jumps in and comfort Yoyo by telling her that he likes her and she should become his girlfriend. After a couple of therapeutic sessions (aka kind words from Grumpy + a hair-pin gift she receives from him), she starts to fall for him and they become a couple.
- However, Grumpy's ex-girlfriend appears and he starts going out with her because -in his words, not mine- "she is weak" and needs him. So he tells Yoyo that he loves her but he still has feelings for his ex. Therefore, he breaks-up with Yoyo to sort out his feelings for his (older + has a boyfriend) ex.
- Smiley takes this chance to jump back into the game! He comforts Yoyo and confesses that after he turned her down, he realized he loved her. *ehem*
- Yoyo gets all confused and sad/weepy again. This time she tells Smiley that she still likes Grumpy but will try to get over him by dating Smiley.
- Grumpy confront his ex: "who are we kidding? you love your boyfriend, so go be with him! We both need to be with who we want to be with!" Yeah, they break-up and Grumpy (the stone-head) doesn't realize that Yoyo is going out with Smiley to forget him, so he doesn't tell anyone that he broke-up with his ex.
- Time goes by and Grumpy tells Yoyo that he still loves her and that his ex is history. Smiley spots them very close to each other and runs to hit Grumpy on the face. Yoyo tells him to stop! Smiley goes away all grumpy.
- Anyways, now both guys want Yoyo and she can't decide which one she likes because she doesn't want to lose one of them. But then Sad-Smiley tells her that he hates himself when he is with her because of all the jealousy he feels when she is with Grumpy. So he breaks up with her.
- Grumpy tries to win her back but Yoyo won't make a damn decision. Then Smiley tells her that his grandfather wants one of them (him or Grumpy) to travel and take over the family business, so whoever she wants will stay.
- Yoyo can't do it! She can't lose them! Smiley says he will go but Grumpy decides to be noble and leave because he realized that she likes Smiley more.
- In the end Yoyo is happy because she didn't lose both guys! yay! WHAT?!!!

Comment:
Yoyo is a very disappointing character. She should have moved on when from the first time both guys broke it off with her. To be honest, both Grumpy and Smiley are not that great anyways. Okay, both of them helped her when she needed to find someone to adopt a dog (she found) but that's it. There was no depth in her relationship and no real talk about family and life with both guys. Perfect for increasing blood pressure.

Leia Mais

Fun, dramatic and mindnumbingly stupid Season 2 of the Makjangiest Makjang on the block

Even though I enjoyed this A LOT, I have mixed feelings about this show so I'mma break it down into pros and cons. Read till the end before getting triggered.

Cons:

▪︎The first half:

"Can this show get any more ridiculous?" asked my tired brain after it finished yet another episode full of repetitive, pointless misery that was only half as entertaining than what it used to be.

Don't get me wrong. The shock value is still high albeit it gets more and more predictable with every episode. The black comedy is still top notch, I was morbidly laughing my ass off 90% of the time. It's still a fairly easy to watch show. Kinda like junk food, you know it can't possibly be healthy for you but you're still watching. Almost begging for it to get better.

This is a Makjang. So, I trust that if you like those and you've watched season 1 you already expect this to be over the top and exaggerated.

However, despite how OTT it was, season one had a solid direction and the characters were actually built nicely.

Behind all the noise, if you looked, you could find some nuance and thought behind the way characters functioned. So, by all counts it was a well made show and it wasn't a surprise that it became a household name in Korea. That's great but then obviously the drama creators got greedy and they wanted to prolong the victory for two more unnecessary seasons.

By ending the last season the way they did, they found a sure shot way for us to continue. Surely, we were all angered by the triumph of the bad guys and wanted to see justice prevail. Going to watch season 2 was the easiest decision for all of us. Unfortunately, in just a few episodes, the drama writers made me effectively stop giving a shit about everyone in the show.

The writing was just terrible, nonsensical and laughably bad in this one. It's like they ate a bunch of plotlines and then vomited it out on screen. There's no point of this show because things happen just for the sake of happening. During most of the drama, there isn't a single character you can root for and the evil characters that were interesting and charismatic asf in season 1 start to seem hollow and one dimensional in this.

It's the same old thing over and over and over again. Bullying, murder (but not really), revenge (but not really) and Repeat. And we are getting no where. It gets tiresome to watch a repeat of season one with none of the wow factor.

The worst thing is that for most of the show, the protagonist is Yeon Hee who is the single most brainless character to ever appear on tv. She was horrible in season 1 and unfortunately, worse in season 2. She functions on half a braincell and only knows how to whine and scream my ears off. That's it. Not a single ounce of sense in that woman.

There are a few hilariously unfunny plot twists that the writers pulled out of their ass and they stank of bullshit.

Yes, the antagonists did deliver their best. Cheon Seo Jin killed her performance as always. The acting didn't suffer and remained at the top but what's the point when you've stopped giving a fuck about the story and the characters?

It's just a cycle of seeing miserable and mindlessly evil adults and teenagers be pointlessly cruel, greedy and annoying for 13 hours straight.

The direction is still crisp, the drama exudes luxury of the Hera Palace and I love the brilliant music pieces but we already saw all that in season 1.

For a show to function, the good guys need to be on equal footing as the bad ones but here the antagonists >>> protagonists. Even when the bad guys suffer it's mostly because of their own stupidity and infighting. Hardly any badass good guy moments in 70% of the show and at one point, you're just wishing for them all to just kill each other and save you the frustration.

▪︎Pros:

So, I wrote all that and you're like um, is there anything left to say? Yes, there is. The show finally picks up in the second half. Don't get me wrong, the writing is still completely bogus and the plot is very silly and unrealistic BUT you finally get a character you want to root for.

This is the 30% of the show that absolutely makes you want to power through sitting right at the edge of your seat.

I don't want to give spoilers but I'll just say a badass bitch is back in the house and once she comes, watching the show becomes much easier.

Episode 12 is literally one of the most satisfying episodes as slowly but surely our good guys get ready to whoop some major asses.

Throughout the show there are some very touching moments in the way the parent and child relationship is portrayed. Some scenes were really nicely executed and I got some major feels even when overall the drama lacks emotion because of the inconsistency in pace and writing.

The ending is also very satisfying but annoying in equal measures.

Overall, is this drama WACK? Yes.
Is it trying to be anything else? No.
Will I be watching season 3? Fuck yes.

This is the crack I run on. You don't have to use your brain while watching it and it's strangely addicting.

So, keep your expectations low, turn off your brain and enjoy it to the maximum!

Leia Mais

I love you in every universe - ft. rags to riches !

If you want something you have to make yourself worthy of it !

Same goes here - If you want to have a good rating you need to make yourself worthy of it ...and this wasn't ...it could have been so much more than just "ENGAGING"! - (cuz first half has great buildup)- yes I believe that's the most perfect word for it!

Synopsis -
Jiang Xiao Yuan finds herself struggling with her identity as she believes to have traveled across parallel universes. Once the owner of invincible wealth overnight becomes an ordinary working girl who has absolutely no idea about how the world works, but is determined to make it through.

All this fuss to cross paths with Qi Lian, who shall lend a hand in uncovering the mystery around her, and in journey of discovering her "real" identity.

To pick or not to pick ??
- well to be honest I am not a Lin yi fan and to me the very obvious reason is his expression that didn't make me feel anything and this goes for all of his projects till date. That does include this one too. But the FL does " make up" for what the ML seems to lack. She's vigilant , self reliant, caring, optimistic, hardworking, determined and everything nice !

So if you can bother tolerating lin yi for some time like me ....go for it ! Warning - ITS NOT THE SCI FIC YOU ARE EXPECTING !
and you'll be finishing it to know how it ends and not how it went !

this drama is very promising except for the fact that they cast lin yi and waste a lot of time in "make up and hair dressing" which apparently lead the story nowhere. The makers are so hell bent in showing us revolutionary make up (i don't know what is so revolutionary about it but yeah fuck it i mean skip it) that even if we have 2 eps to go or even if we are on the last ep ....the talk of the town shall be MAKE UP !
- yes I am so very annoyed !

The journey in the mid episodes is a bumpy ride - a lot of it went in circles and you may feel like quitting but the curiosity of how it shall end will keep you hooked !

the overall idea is so well built that it would be too difficult to actually believe that everything you believe is just a build up ! - you'll know what this means once you reach there ! (spoilers towards the end) - very convincingly done ! like commendable !

The music is nice so is the cinematography ! - the FL looks cute , The SML does look cute too !
Not a lot of time is spent around the mystery - which seems to be a down point to some( like me) - who signed up to see it after reading the synopsis !

But on the other hand ..the couple take time to develop - they are given space and you can see their dilemma - both have an awesome back story - like you feel that there's so much going on no one can be trusted no one knows who the villains are ....and there's just so much to the story. - but they be still crying over make up !

-- SPOILERS ------------------------------------------------------------------
The fact that it wasn't a time travel ....just took off all my excitement and thrill of watching. from then on the leads were nothing but lab rats to me. lab rats who were trying to get out and will probably do too ...but not that any of it was as enchanting to me as the time travel would have been.
that being sad ...even tho I was disappointed the build up was so well done ...so convincing that yes it had to be time travel with some parallel universe !

Tho makes sense that in FL's imaginary world everything was as she would have wanted in the real world !

The ML's reveal of being a lab rat himself - great
but his friend not existing - mehh - You emotionally invested me so much to come up with that ...and then lin yi didn't act it well on top - he cried and I knew it was all fake - so unbelievable that I skipped through it! - yes what was supposed to be a scene I cry for ...was skipped without a thought ! - at last all of those memories are fake and the wrap us is so unbelievable ! - wasn't it a car accident ?
When did we decide it wasn't ? like wtf ? - explain ?

At some point I just started watching for the curiosity and nothing else - so this lacked fun !
The villain has no motive what so ever and has no story at all ! - she's just bad bec she is bad ...it's 2024 bitches ...that shit ain't likable now !

I feel so bad for SML - like his story is the one I liked the most - less time consuming , well done, well portrayed ! - and they even turned him into a puppet ...any sort of redemption arc ? Like hello pls ? - he's also sick ...wth ?

Also the neck choke sucked ...like WTF bruh !
Even in the end it's MAKE UP ! - wow ! they wasted ep 29 and ep 30 doesn't give good enough closures but they have time for Make up !
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- The show is good but not worth the 30 eps it took ...more like if they just had more fluffy moments instead of make up or maybe more efforts towards unraveling the mystery I'd have liked it a lot more !

tho still hooked ....just so to say ...the makers did a good job making me curious enough !
Watch if you are good at skipping !


PS. I am not here to argue all of it is just my opinion ! - lin yi fans pls note !

My Fav part of the show
"People's memories determine who they are. Erasing their memories is equal to erasing them.
If one day you find out all your memories are fake, would you be willing to forget them ?
would you let yourself become someone you don't even know !? "

Leia Mais

call hr

...basically an HR training video disguised as a romcom. The writers took the usual cold lead trope and used it to justify blatant corporate abuse. It is wild that they expect us to find sexual coercion and retaliation romantic. Really, it is just a rich guy throwing a tantrum because a woman walked out of his bedroom with her dignity intact. It is a symphony of ego where arson is sold as extreme home renovation.

The lead claims to hate his father, but I watched him copy-paste the old man’s abusive tactics for the entire second half. He just did it with better skincare.

The blue dress situation was the peak of the rot. The writers expect me to swallow the idea that a man’s history can be wiped, yet his brain sparks back to life because of a fabric color.

t is a special kind of stupid. It isn't about the dress being important. It is that the writers were too lazy to find a human way to reconnect these characters. They chose a wardrobe change over actual development. It turned a reunion into a shallow fashion show where the logic is as thin as the thread holding the dress together.

It did not help that the leads had the collective chemistry of two damp sponges. I did not feel any undeniable force pulling them together. They just looked like coworkers contractually obligated to stare at each other while a ballad played. When there is no heat, the fate and destiny stuff feels like a lie. I did not see a spark. I saw a production schedule.

Watching them navigate the memory loss was like watching a rehearsal where everyone forgot their lines and just decided to pose for a catalog instead. By the end, when the amnesia made him reject her because he reverted to his pre-infatuated self, I actually laughed. It was so bad it was honest. It was a slap in the face to anyone who invested time, but the fourth-wall credits and the supporting cast kept me from totally hating it. The drama is a mess. It has that nostalgic, cliché energy that makes it a decent enough way to kill time between shows that actually have a soul.

Leia Mais

At first I tell you why I decided to watch this one. Like many others I started this for the same reason: Lee Da Hae and Micky Yoochun. I know it's a shallow reason to start a drama but I'm glad I did.

I started this one in May this year (2012) and marathoned first eight episodes at one go. Then my laptop started to have issues and I was without a laptop for last 2 weeks of May. At the beginning of June I got new laptop and watched other dramas.

Then one day I decided to get back to this one and watched 1st part of ninth episode. I lost interest to this show EVERY time I tried to watch episode nine. I tried to watch that episode for so many times that I don't even remember.

And finally this week (in August) I picked this up again and continued from episode 9. Then 10 and 11. After that I knew I would finish this in no time. After episodes 12 and 13 I was really hooked. And today I finally watched episodes 14, 15 and 16.

This drama basically is a drama that has really amazing and strong start and it gets somewhat boring in the middle. Then after episode 10 it gets really good.

If it wasn't for the strong beginning and superb last 3 episodes I would have given this 6. But thanks to those 2 things I gave this 8.

In my opinion this had a perfect ending. It was a bit rushed but I think it was still perfect. It was different from your usual romantic drama.

Watch it and let me know your thoughts ~~

Leia Mais

I initially attempted to start this series with my Mother on Christmas night. The immediate violence turned us off and the show got turned off only a few minutes into the first episode. Something about it still kept floating about in my mind, so I figured I'd brave the violence and try another go alone a few days later. A great decision-maker I am. I almost missed out on a fantastic show that will make my eyes shimmer whenever I speak of it for years to come.

There's nothing I didn't like. I wanted to dislike the abrupt way the episodes end, sometimes mid-conversation, just fading to the OTS out of nowhere. But after 5 episodes, I started to understand the concept and appreciate it in relation to the were presenting the story. It's like one continuous movie that doesn't lose the flow or momentum despite the episode ending. Each episidoe ending is merely a slice in the whole rather than a distinct sub-portion. It gave me the feeling of placing a bookmark in a book where I'm ready to end, then picking it right back up where I left off. It's unique and refreshing.
I wanted to hate the villains, but I couldn't. While I deeply felt they were evil, I couldn't help but have some pity for them. I wanted to dislike the other-wordly feel of the ambush flashbacks, but it gave merit to the intense emotions surrounding the event. I reeeeeeally wanted to dislike the intro, but soon found myself mesmerized by it and failing to skip it. For the first time ever in dramaland, I couldn't dislike a thing.

The sets were gorgeous. The costumes were splendid, especially the headdresses. The cinematography kept you engaged and evoked even more emotion. The actors were stellar. It will be hard for me see anyone of them as anybody else other than their characters here. All of them owned their roles.

My review is vague because I feel you should go into this one fresh and gradually be dazzled. It's a beautiful series that will captivate you and redefine "friendship" for you.

Leia Mais

The Cooks Who Moonlight As Assassins

Here is the sitch. Kant is a love bombing, manipulative snitch for the police. Bison is a cheeky, deadly, adorable hitman, Fadel is a moody, no nonsense hitman who loves cooking burgers, and Style is an annoying gremlin, stalker mechanic who is unknowingly dating an assassin to win an old car. Between the four of them, someone is about to get burn, and it's sure as hell ain't the hamburgers!

Listen, this drama promised a recipe for disaster and chaos, and it cooked and delivered it perfectly. This was an emotional rollercoaster and I enjoyed the ride very very well. As someone who read the novel I had a lot of expectation and they were exceed to the maximum.

CHARACTERS
Both FirstKhao and JoongDunk delivered a wonderful performance. I'm one of those people who believed after watching Hidden Agenda that JoongDunk took their acting lessons from one of them red bricks, but this was their best role yet. Dunk embodied Style to perfection, making me like that annoying character so much. So kudos to all four main cast, great job, clap clap. FirstKhao and JoongDunk were the perfect cast for this role, and it was great seeing them bring the characters to life.

BISON
So like we all agree Bison is crazy right? Sure he dresses like a middle-age divorce woman from Santa Barbara, and his adorable face makes him looks like cute a plushie, but don't be fool, dude had the personality of a ticking bomb, you never know when he was gonna blow while giving you one of those adorable smiles. LMAO, the scene where he was imagining all the ways to off Kant after he found out he was a snitch had me going, 'Damn dude, yous is a cray-cray'. No, he had one solution for every problem he came across. 'Let's kill it.' Bison's character was the most intriguing to me, so of course he was my fav, and Khao as always was great in his role.

Also, I knew Bison was batshit crazy, but he's borderline psychotic, cuz who the hell eats their cupcake muffin from the centre? And when he took Kant to use that laundry line, out there in the open? In the prison when those men were bothering him, I shook my head like, 'Ah, so you want to die this morning.' They did eff around and found out. I don't know what it says about me that the psycho with the cute face is my fav, but Bison was my fav... so.

KANT
Kant. Oh, Kant. What a giant red flag you were. Sure he did all he did so he could clear his grand theft auto charges. Which sure, who wouldn't wanna be free from the popo, but all that love-bombing in the beginning was just cruel. Plus he let his best-friend flirt with a gun firing, steak knife wielding assassin and didn't tell him. Sure, Style would have screamed 'hell no' but letting your friend flirt with someone you suspects murder people for a living is sucky. Homeboy sucks, but, snitches do get stitches, or in his case lungs full of water. He lucky Bison decided to save him in the end. Fadel would have let him be fish food.

I did like how all out Kant went when he finally realised his feelings for Bison. Homeboy even managed to find a pro-bono job in the prison just so he could be closer to Bison. Ah the things crazy people do when they are in love. I also liked how he cared for his brother, what he had to go through to give his brother the best life he could, which makes him like 16% less sucky for his snitching era, but I just remembered Bison and Fadel's heartbreak when they learned the truth, sooo taking back that percentage. I'll give him one thing though, he was brave and one lucky mfker, cuz he faced both Bison and Fadel's guns and lived to tell the tale.

KANT & BISON
Okay, but first question, did FirstKhao take a masterclass in kissing cuz... fam, those smooches were on a whole new level of eating. Now how this people go back to being co-workers/friends after these scenes? I can never be an actor cuz what do you mean, 'no we are not married, I shaved my tongue down your throat for work'. Na ah, yous is my husband now. Shit, after a kiss like the one in the empty pool or on the hammock swing, there's no way I'm leaving without a ring. Unless the police throw me for prison, I am stuck on you like glue.

Anyway, the moment Bison started doing his little inlove-ness-ness cute thing with the tissue like a disney maiden in a musical, I knew he was a goner. These two should not work, but they did, cuz they both had pasts the other understood. I'm glad they found each other, kinks and all. Cuz only two crazy people will do it in a prison courtyard behind sheets. No shame whatsoever. Oh, and that titanic empty pool scene. FirstKhao's chemistry is really one of the best in the bl industry.

I am so happy that they finally got to see the northern lights, in that episode when Kant showed a projection of it, as a way to spend one last day with him, so he could betray him the next day, I was so mad at him, like, why are you doing the most romantic stuff with the worse of intention?? Was so happy when Bison made him jump into the sea, he deserved it for that one scene alone. Though, with everything they've been through, I know they gonna last forever.

STYLE
Style can annoy a ghost back to life. Homeboy was so in love with himself and the sound of his voice, even his father found out his son has been dating a killer for the past years and he was like 'Honestly, good, only a hitman can handle your dramatic arse. Good luck Fadel, hope you can survive him.' No, but, that child was crazy. Him still taking that car he won for the bet made me love him more. Also, Fadel has the patient of a saint, cuz if I was the one who kidnapped style i'd have brought him back within the hour. Heck, I might have just turned over my weapon to him and asked him to put me out of my misery. LOL, that boy had me laughing and shaking my head. I've never met such a friendly, yet, annoying stalker like him. And I don't know what that says about me that I love him this much. No, he's so annoying, but like... he's the best. When Style showed up in his tank-top in ep1, I knew he was going to be annoying as hell, and immediately I went, yes, more please,

There were so many Style moments I love in this drama, but my fav might just be when he was kidnapped. Like he had demands, even had Fadel stop so he could purchase a better outfit to die in, cuz he couldn't die in an ugly shirt, which, sure, understandable, no one likes an ugly corpse. But he even had them attending, and officiating a wedding, wanting kisses and a good time, that bathtub scene. Nah, I'd definitely had un-kidnapped him. And like that scene at the bowling ally, boy literally forgot there was a crazy person with a weapon because Fadel said he was someone else's boyfriend. Child, this is not the time nor place. Oh, how I love his dramatic arse.

FADEL
Mr. Cool assassin who comes off as cold, but is really soft at heart, and just wanna be in his kitchen all day cooking. Fadel had a heart of gold, and the will power of a mountain, cuz the strength it took for him to not kill Style needs to be studied. That scene when he took Style to the creepy forest place, I for sure thought Style was a goner.

Of the four characters, Fadel came off as the most broken. He didn't have expectation of anyone, and he kept everyone away so he wouldn't get hurt. The boy had his grave ready. Legit, was he just gonna go off one day, lie in it, and wait for someone to fill it with soil? Lol. He felt things the most, which is why I understood him when he was being difficult in the prison when Style didn't show up to teach. He was afraid of getting hurt again. Even after they found out Style and Kant betrayed them, and he wanted to get rid of Style, he still couldn't help but care for him. All it took was him thinking Style was gonna get hurt in the ocean for him to give in. So yeah, heart of gold, probably the best of the four.

Plus he really cared for Bison. He was his whole family and he took his job as brother/mother really seriously. Which good, cuz that mother of theirs was the devil.

Naaah, let my man cook in peace, he was born to be a lover not a hitman. The scene when he almost kill Kant but was talked down, and then then went back to his cooking had me laughing. Plus every time he looked at Style with such loving eyes, ahhh, no really, lover not a killer.

FADEL & STYLE
Fadel is like one of those people who are like: 'Dear dairy, I went out today, and the humans are still there. I hate everything.' And Style is one of those people who pets random dogs on the street and talk with everyone in the park. These two are so opposite they shouldn't even work as friends, yet their love story expand years. Fadel is someone who has been hurt so much from his last love, and now guards his heart, but here comes Styles, he walked right into his heart like a bulldozer, just forcing his way in and making a home there for himself until Fadel had no choice but to accept him. No, their love was really beautiful, and I enjoy every moment of it.

They drove each other insane, in a good way. JoongDunk have also grown in the kissing department. These two used to serve fish kisses, given us basically nothing, but look at them now. No, did the four cast take a masterclass in lips locking, where? when? who is teaching it? Boss? How can we sign up for it? Asking for a friend. Cuz... literally Fadel went from 30% to 60% with just a neck kiss. Anywho, personally, I wish Fadel all the best growing old with Style's dramatic arse. I mean it took years and he still couldn't teach him any mechanic's cuz all he did was yap. And yes, JoongDunk also did really well in their roles here, and I was very impressed by how well they brought their characters to life.

PLOT
As someone who read the novel while waiting to the series to air, I knew what was going to happen. I am so very grateful, that for the first time ever the screenwriters did more to the story than the novel. This was much more better than the novel. We got more plot, Style had more personality and wasn't two dimensional and the other three had more depth as well. So thank you khun director and khun screenwriter for this.

That being said, although the plot was interesting, made me laugh, cry, and laughed some more, there were a few things that had me question stuff. Like, what the hell was up with the episode where they tried to get dirt on the Mother? Are these two really sure they're professional hitman? How they stayed alive until now? Cuz Fadel went on a stakeout with Style who wore the brightest outfit he could find, homeboy might as well had gone with a neon sign that read, 'Yes, I'm following that one guy over there.' And of course he got caught, why won't he, in that hotel he and Fadel were literally just standing by the corner, like, three steps from Keen's vision. Also whoever put that hat on Fadel's head deserves prison or whatever powder they gave the mother. The moment I saw him in that hat, I said out loud to myself, 'See head, like bucket' and then laughed so hard I couldn't breathe.

The way I was rolling my eyes when Style was able to disarmed Keen, and then at one point the gun was basically pointing at nothing. And the Mother, she couldn't spot Bison there on that golf course? Bison was literally standing like one umbrella away from her, he wasn't even in disguised, and the mother still didn't recognise/see him? Like??? And and, did Style leave to change his outfit before he went out to comfort Fadel? Priorities, am I right?

Also, during that kidnap Style scene, like was Fadel serious? Homeboy had his gun out, pointing at Style, inside an opened window car, on a busy road, full of witnesses with eyes... like, hello Mr. Hitman are you new here? What in the sorry arse kidnapping is that? It was like he wanted to get caught.

Of course there were scenes I loved: Like the scene at the beach when Bison was crying and asked if Kant was trying to lie to him again. I was a mess. When Fadel showed Style his empty grave. I was crying into my popcorn and pointing at him on my screen like 'Child, why you making people emotional on a random Wednesday, huh? When Kant kept saying Penguin. Look, personally I had more ways to add to Bison's list on how to off Kant's snitching arse, but that scene made me go, 'please, forgive him, he said penguin. Penguin, that's your thing, you can't kill him now.' Then, when style worked so hard to buy back Fadel's restaurant back for him. Our boy grew up so fast from his days of stalking Fadel and going 'Fadew, Fadew, Fadew.' Oh and the scene when they got arrested and they were both crying but Kant was trying to be strong to comfort Style. And when they were taking their mugshot, I was throwing popcorn at my screen hiccuping like 'booooo, set them free, that ugly prison outfit ain't even their colour.'

Ah, this series was supposed to be a romantic comedy but really, only Style understood the genre, the rest of the time the characters were out there making me too emotional.

So like is the Mother dead or what? These two are professional hitman, and they just left that woman sitting there, looking perfectly alive. What if she has an antidote? What if it was powder and she was bluffing? Prison softened them.

That being said, I know Fadel and Bison were like the reddest flag, dudes killed people for a living, but Kant and Style were also red flags. Cuz we have Kant's arse love bombing poor Bison, ready to snitch on him so he'd be free of his crimes, and Style stalking and disturbing a quiet gentle soul all because he wants an old car. In the end, all four really dd deserve each other.

All-in-all a very good drama, one of my favs, and a good way to start the year of bl. I'd recommend it to all bl lovers looking for an entertaining show, you won't be disappointed. Looking forward to FirstKhao and JoongDunk's next work, I am very much seated.

Leia Mais

I am Ruby Lin's Fans so dont blame me if i say Ruby many good words..

many people wrote the reviews already i am just adding some facts about this series :
1. this is Ruby Lin's first series as a producer. She is an investor as well and asking many other party to join the production including HunanTV which already bought this series before it filming (also as one of the inverstors)

2. Ruby is the one who keep asking Wallace Huo to acts in this series, she said she need asking 3 times to him till he accept it (according to Wallace in his interview he said that he only had 1 month to finish this series since he using his holiday time to accept ruby invitation). Ruby is keep say Wallace Huo is the one who fit in this character (although many other actors already in her waitlist to replace Wallace, but she keep asking to Wallace Huo until he accept it).

3. Liu Kuan is the first actor confirmed as man lead months before filming starts, he knows ruby from the other series which cooperate together.

4. HunanTv is the one who need to be blame of the ending parts. It keep changing the time schedule to this series. N suddenly HunanTV announce that this series airing right after Bu Bu Jing Xin (due to high rating of BBJX Hunantv take the chance to make this series had a good rating too). but the editing team dont have time to edit right away, with the 3 eps each day mon-fri, no time to do a good cutting for the last episodes.. thats why if u watch seriously, u will feel the different plot from the beginning and the ending, at beginning it quite slow introducing one and one characters, at the end kinda rushing to finish). PLUS, HunanTV also change the total episode (it just rumour that HunanTV is the one cutting those ending episodes from 48 to 42 ep so the original one is 48 episodes >.<)

5. this series makes Ruby Lin as Best Producer in TV Drama Award in China in that year.

6. Ruby was hurt by Wallace Huo's furry cloths, her eyes were allergic to furry so during filming she was go to doctor for few days to check her eyes.

7. this series is made from a high recommend online novel. about one woman who loved by 3 Kings but she can't be the Queen forever.

I know this series isnt perfect but i do know my idol, she doing her best to this series. i dont satisfied too much to this series, but i can understand why.
Many of actors(actress) who come this series because of her. Like Wang LIn (who played as Ruby Mom in other series) said she thanks to Ruby who give her a chance to play her character so she can change her image and do have change to act with Kara Hui (both are well known actress)

Leia Mais

Considering the excellent reviews I expected an epic plot, perhaps with peculiar characters, but still faithful to the events of the historical period in which it is set. Unfortunately the plot is extremely fictional, the main theme is revenge and the story revolves around this lady Ki and two men who are infatuated with her, basically it's more a makjang than an historical drama.

This revenge is perpetrated using an endless amount of subterfuges, traps, deceptions and secret exploiting the palace policy. Also this whole conspiracies fits perfectly in a way that is all too convincing, sometimes ridiculous, and repeats itself in a continuous loop that led me to exhaustion. The plot is therefore extremely repetitive and many times my intellect has been insulted by the author. Don't get me wrong, I love revenge and I don't dislike makjangs, so the problem here is not my personal tastes but the way this drama was written and performed. The more the plot progressed, the more I realized that it was failing in the three elements that I consider fundamental to the success of a drama: plot, characterization of characters and love story.

As I said before the political scheming is endless and it steals all the screentime, each character is used as a pawn and moved at convenience. There is no space to tell their personal story much less for character development, and this also affects the main leads. Each character stays in the same way it was at the beginning, for this reason not only I had an hard time to ship for any of them but I could easily predict their next move, taking away all the drama suspense.

Wang Yoo is often sent to deal with futile tasks, created ad hoc to keep him away from the main plot but at the same time all his actions always end up creating a favorable situation for his beloved lady ki.

Ta Hwan was the biggest disappointed, heir to the throne of Yuan is actually a puppet that is manipulated by everyone, including his beloved lady ki, too childish and afraid to react, he spends his time drinking, fainting or in bed sick, his character has no evolution whatsoever.

Empress Ki is the only true protagonist, her character is perhaps the only one to have some development, transforming from a tomboy to a conspirator. But the writer's obstinacy to portray her as the absolute "good girl"prevented me to appreciating her. She is always good, super intelligent and very good in any field and discipline, she is the heroine of the story while all the others are all bad people. Sorry but not sorry, this kind of role is not what I associate with revenge.

If all this is not enough for you, the love story is almost non-existent, the distance between this three characters, physics in the case of Wang Yoo and Platonic in the case of Ta Hwan prevented me from feeling strong emotions for this supposed love triangle and on the whole I didn't like nor support any of the two couples.

Overall Empress Ki was unable to take advantage of the excellent cards it had in his hands, a stellar cast wasted to make way for an infinite political plot that steals screentime from various interesting characters, a historical period exploited to a minimum to make room for so much fiction . And finally a revenge that leaves a bitter taste in the mouth as it is fought with ridiculous subterfuges.

Leia Mais

Strong beginning, flat over most the time and ridicilous story...

First let me say, I liked the second season more than the first season, even if the story did sometimes not make sense. Most of the actors improved a lot and especially the newcomer "Milk" was really great in his role.

The story arc of "Alan" was a bit of a WTF moment. And the biggest minus was the pacing. There was a lot of lost time with incosequential story but not enough focus on the other couples. NorthSonic should have started much much earlier and KimKenta should have much more dialogue and not just some kisses in the finale.

So was it bad? Not really. I don't really like the script, but I like most of the acting. While "Pooh" is a nice "boy", he will never be a great actor as sofar I see it. The rest of the cast were good or even very good. Alan felt not like Alan because of his story. Don't know what the script-writers thought, but it does not work for me. The races were as lame as in the first season - I have more fun watching Formula 1. But of course the finale left some things to be desired. It was all rushed in the last two episodes and before it was partly boring and the characters "run in circles" and nothing really happenend. While Charlie is nearly dead he wakes up some time later, but we don't know when, because they cut that out completely. It's one year later and because he drives he remembers every thing... OMG, what a cliché and a point of lazy writing! And they get paid for this!

I'm not a fan of the Omegaverse and to call themselves Mama and Papa still feels cringe - and why did Mama not get pregnant, they could do that too!. The script was the mess I expected it to be (because I never had much hope for that), but overall it was an ok series compared to every other crap series Thailand produced in the last two years. So it's not good, it's above average because of the acting and the cinematography, but it's not bad either even when the script is the worst part of this show.

Leia Mais

Story/Plot: 2.0
The overall plot of the childhood friends falling in love is what initially got me to watch this film. But with how it was directed and portrayed, it felt like a recipe of everything a relationship wasn’t supposed to be. The fact that she is taught not to like nice boys, and that he is trying to portray that in order to get her, is slightly disturbing and shouldn’t be really celebrated.
The story is a romantic comedy, but the comedy parts with their heads adult heads being transported on a child’s body, made me think it was a horror flick. There is many questions, I have over this, and I think this is one Manga that was best left alone as it was.

Acting: 3.0
This was not executed well. The acting was over the top and it was cringe to watch. I give them points for trying, because there were moments that they portrayed emotions well. But overall I think this production was just a mess from start to finish.

Music: 2.0
There was a lack of music throughout, it felt unnatural. Sometimes, the lack of music is the point, but with the music either being too soft in the background where you can’t hear it or it just not being there, it created a weird suspense kind of feeling, that didn’t mix well with the comedy that was trying to be portrayed on screen.

Re-watch Value: 1.00
This drama is insanely awkward, portrayal. I would find great difficulty in rewatching it or even recommending this film to anyone.

Overall Score: 2.00

Leia Mais

I watched this movie last night and I liked it. This story is more than just a romantic comedy. It's also sad. This movie is said to be like a prequel to the movie "My Sassy Girl." For those who have not seen this movie, I would recommend it (and to watch it first before watching this movie). Mostly because in the movie "My Sassy Girl" you don't know that much about "Miss Sassy Girl" (you never learn her name for one). But putting that aside - this movie is worth watching. It starts off light and fun but things take a turn towards the middle.



The acting was great, don't have any complaints about it. This was the first movie I've watched with Jang Hyuk in it, I had to laugh at some of his expressions in the beginning. His acting is good, though.



There was some music in this movie, but I'm not sure what they were. The only song that stuck out to me was the song "Stay" that they played in the first half of the movie. The other songs went along with the movie, though.



I think I might rewatch this movie again sometime, it was a good movie.



Overall - I think this movie is worth watching. Also, make sure to watch "My Sassy Girl" (: You'll find out why people see this as a prequel.

Leia Mais