Reviews

DEF worth the watch!! the plotwist GOT ME GRIPPIN MY SEAT

bro this movie was like so slow at the beginning, and i was so fooled cuz i was like lol this sucks. I was also comparing it to better days so i was like damn this shit bad. BUT THEN IT ALL LIKE STARTED MAKING SENSE AND I WAS LIKE OOOOOO OKOK AND BRUH. The acting is FIRE, but i personally don't think the main couple had much chemistry but it was bareable cus hs romance is usually not super like intense ykwim. I could really feel the emotion through their acting and honestly had to tear up. The story is kinda slow and doesn't make much sense at the beginning which makes it kinda cringey to watch but later on it progresses and ur able to assemble the pieces together in ur head. Also, im like not even gonna lie, the romance was not the star of the show, but rather the friendship. However, the movie focused so heavily on the romance that it did not live up to its potential. THE CINEMATICS ON THE OTHER HAND, OMFG THEY WERE BEAUTIUFL. I felt like each second of the movie could be paused and would be so beautiful and perfect that it could be like my computer wallpaper. It really helped immerse the audience in the young and youthful typa vibe. But overall, I would say its a great experience and def worth the watch if ur into coming of age films.

Leia Mais

The story line was pretty good. However, the love line is quite confusing in the beginning because the "chasing" because a little later. Can't wait for season 2, it is finishing off the story. However, i would say that the end of season 1 could be somewhat be accepted (I won't be that happy though).
The acting was really good but i didn't give 10 because the main actor didn't really catch me as much as the second main, i hope that he in season 2 can get me into the love line a little more since he is main. The main actress really portrayed the generation difference, and really showed her 'old age generation' side. Overall, all the other actor's and actresses were really good, made me fall in love with some.
There wasn't as much music as i had thought, most of the music came in when two actor/ actresses lock eyes or some 'kinky' things was about to happen.
I would love to rewatch it again cause the story line, and acting was really good.

Leia Mais

When the credits are longer than the story...

This is an odd one. The story could have been very interesting, but the execution was soooooooo bad. Even the murder of the uncle was comical using a butter knife... which does not even have a pointy end... As always I'm not a fan of the dubbing especially because it felt off. They had a big house, expensive car, but could not invest the money and time to tell the story more comprehensible.

And why did the credits run longer than the episodes? To split it in five epsiodes was a waste of time, especially if you have to wait for the next episode for a week. So, the execution lacked a bunch, the story should be much much longer, even a short movie of around 45minutes would have been better than this.

Leia Mais

This was not just another BL

It was obvious from the beginning that this was going to be in another level. But, it still exceeded all of my expetations. Gun nailed it in playing two characters, you could really see the difference between White and Black, you could actually think they were two different people. One complain I have is that I really wish we had seen more of Black, maybe more flashbacks or having him come back two episodes earlier, he pretty much only showed up to be hot and kick ass, but he did those two things VERY WELL.
Off, Papi really went off with this role, everytime I see the scene when they break in Tawi's factory and they have to act only witb their eyes, I still have chills, his voice breaking when he called Black's name while he was beating his ass up...
Now, the story, the polical satire, pushing for diversity, and the fact that they were doing that through art is what really got me. The show ended with a reminder that things can't and won't change over night, but as long theres people willing to fight, there will be hope. The van scene, the people saving them gave me teary eye, because it show how much power the people have if they unite in one cause.

The relationships:
White and Sean. Chemistry on point as we would expect from OffGun, well devoloped, cute, hot and the right ammout of angst. They were surprisenly good at communication even with the secret identity between them
Yok and Dan: the acting was on point, they were so emotional and cute. Yok's pain of being betrayed by Dan really hit me, and I loved that by the end Yok fargave Dan without knowing why he did what he did, It was like saying that all he needed to know is that he was sorry and was ready to change and that punch was weirdely satisfying
Gram and Eugene: NOOOO. That made absolutely no sense, we were led to believe Gram was in love with Black and I understand not having time to develop something between Gram and Black wich Im convinced was the initial plan, I know they had to reshoot most scenes from the last episodes so ... I understand, but I was fine with Gram having a one sided crush, why stuck him with Eugene ? Also, who does that to a friend? To me it just doesn't fit Gram's character to go after his friend's ex. It doesn't fit Eugene either, she was obviously not over Black, it also bothered me when Eugene is having her flashbacks remenbering her relationship with Black, most scenes was the ones with White. They did had chemistry, it just didn't make sense.
White and Black: weirdely enough, it actually work, never mind that we had a scene with the twins where Gun actually got naked but had to be cut from the waist down. They had amazing brotherhood, their supernatural connection played it well on the story without being cringey. I dont know what else to say, they were very good together despite the fact that it was only one actor playing both roles.
The Gang: so, this is where the story gets me, the trio Gram, Yok and Sean were awsome together. The rooftop scene, the banter when they were making plans, especially the hug when Sean gets shot, everything was well scripted and the loyalty and brotherhood was there, but, White felt out of place in it which made sense in the first episodes, but towards the end it felt like he still wasn't part of the gang despite telling them the truth, it was like he was just taging along. While Black was barely part of the group, at the beginning we were told that he was their leader but when he comes back and they learn the truth about White nobody stops to ask where the hell have Black went.
PS: those parkour jumps were awful.

Leia Mais

The witness is based on the korean movie Blind.
I write this review, while having seen both of the movies, at the end I will write a little comparison between the two.
The story is quite attractive and unique if it is your first time to see it. I loved how they could come up with tiny twitst and turns. The story overall was good but not great, it had some flaws.
The oscar should go to the dog. Seriously, Chong Chong was a amazing actor in this movie and so cute too! I liked the two main leads, it is so hard to portray a blind person, so she did a amazing job on this one. But I so didn't feel the connection between the two main leads, and that killed it for me because it could have been so much better. What I eventually really liked was that there was no romance involved, yay!
I liked the music, because.. well we all know why :P.
There sadly was much promotion during the movie for certein brands, that also what I really disliked.

In comparison to the korean movie Blind, I was less involved with this movie. With Blind I really felt with the main leads and dog. Also Blind was wrapped up way better than witness, but I could understand where they were coming from. Overall I didn't disliked witness, but I just liked Blind better for the overall story and character development.

Watch this is you like action, drama, thriller and dogs.
Skip this movie if you are looking for romance.

Leia Mais

SLICE OF LIFE

It was such a pleasure to watch this drama. At its heart, it is a story about life and is incredibly rich in emotions, with the murder mystery serving as the icing on the cake. The story revolves around people in their 40s who are doing their best to navigate the struggles of everyday life while still trying to find happiness and a sense of purpose along the way.

What I particularly loved was how the drama gave attention to everyone’s life, including its many supporting characters. Rather than using them merely to move the main plot forward, it gave them their own stories, struggles, relationships, and moments. This made the drama feel much more complete and relatable to me. It truly feels like a collection of different lives and stories woven together, and we get to see enough of each character’s journey to become invested in them.

Although the “crime” is not treated as the most important element of the drama and isn’t one of those major plotlines that constantly drives the story, it does disrupt the seemingly perfect life of Ahn Goong Cheol and Nam Jung Hae and sets several things in motion.

The actors did an incredible job portraying the emotions of their characters. I could genuinely feel the intensity of their sorrow, love, jealousy, anger, and hatred. I even found myself crying when other characters were crying, which is unusual for me because I rarely cry while watching dramas. That’s how emotionally invested I became in their stories.

I especially enjoyed the storyline of the group of friends who had been there for one another for more than 20 years. I also loved seeing the friendships between the other characters, including the female leads. Every character felt relatable and had a certain depth to them. I found myself rooting for every couple in this drama, and Ji Wook was especially precious. I absolutely loved him!

I was able to predict the mystery surrounding the crime fairly early on, so it wasn’t particularly mysterious for me. However, watching everything unfold was still interesting, especially because of how the characters reacted and the choices they made. The same can be said for the individual stories—the character development and the way their lives unfolded were what kept me invested.

Overall, this is a really good watch for anyone looking for well-written characters, meaningful relationships, and a slice-of-life story filled with raw emotions. It may not be a crime drama in the traditional sense, but its real strength lies in its portrayal of people, their struggles, relationships, and the little things that make life worth living. :)

Leia Mais

I absolutely detest writing a review without finishing a drama, but I fear I won't be able to finish this one. My eternal patience has given way to annoyance and even murderous intent - so I'll stop lest I decide to start plotting against the crew. I've come a long way (85 episodes), so I guess I'm not dropping it without trying. So why am I giving up when there are only 15 episodes remaining?

Two reasons:
1. Every drama has lovable characters who keep the viewers occupied. This drama has no consistent ones. Even the supposedly good characters behave like retards more than once.
2. After 85 episodes, I feel like the story so far could've been as well been covered in 8 episodes.

Lets start with the synopsis - "A drama about a woman who finally becomes a part of a family after re-adoption and man who chooses love over family." I seriously wonder how this synopsis was written (gets my nomination for the worst synopsis reward). After around 43 hours, I'm not convinced that she's becoming a part of the family but I'm already convinced he's not choosing love over family.

Coming to the story, this features the most hopeless and pointless love quadrangle I've ever seen seen in a drama. Seems more like mere obsession and rivalry rather than love. The so-called hero keeps jumping all over the place with his decisions. Every drama has characters you'd like to kill off so that the rest can be in peace. But if you start doing it here, there'll be no one left.

The only redeeming point was the music - I kinda liked the opening theme.

Rewatch: The "watch" value itself tends to zero - the rewatch might as well go into negative.

Concluding Thoughts: I might've been critical and exaggerated here and there, but I'm at the pinnacle of vexation and have been ruing the wasted hours of my life. There are loads of good family-oriented dramas out there like Glorious Day, Family's Honor, Assorted Gems and Daughters-in-law. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this contraption.

Leia Mais

At the beginning of the story, I could not understand whats happening in the drama :/ . I felt bored and nearly gave up on it. However, this drama wasn't that bad after all as the story was getting more interesting and funnier when further watching the episodes. Hehe the skills a bit too cool but I like. To my surprised, this drama was able to catch my feelings at the right timing and kept me watching it. There were times where this drama was humorous (XD) and heartbroken (T_T). Even though the sad moment was short at the back of the few episodes but, the disaster that the couple had was heartbreaking :( ! Therefore, I was tempted to continue watching it and kept me curious in it.
As I had researched, the main actress was a rookie and, to my surprise, she actually performed well in this drama. For the other actors and actresses, they were amusing and had cooperated well to show humor in this drama. Well done :).
This drama may not be the perfect one you guys are looking for but its worth to watch something new isn't it :)? Hope you guys will watch this too and have fun watching it!

Leia Mais

Trying to tell too many stories, but a VERY lovely main romance & First experience

Subjective Gut Rating: 8.25

Stumbled upon “Ripe for the Picking” on Netflix as it silently shows up without much fanfare. As I read the synopsis, I was expecting another over-the-top rom-com about a 30-year-old virgin and a socially awkward guy. But I was pleasantly surprised that this is lovely and heartfelt love story between two vastly different individuals.

This is a very short drama, only 9 episodes and less than 30 minutes each. I would say my biggest complaint would be too many side stories. As much as I enjoy learning each co-worker’s individual journey to love and finding themselves, they are too short and take away screen time from the leads. The leads’ love story has become an afterthought in the first few episodes, while the drama spends its precious limited time on:

A working mom trying to find work/life balance, and her own identity.
A career woman whose sole focus on work jeopardizes her personal relationships
A girl with low-esteem struggling to find love in all the wrong places and being shallow as hell.
A asexual co-worker whose story was mentioned in passing without much depth

These are all interesting stories individually, but with such limited time, they just seem to be stories that hit all the checkboxes. They are not given the proper time and effort in developing them into meaningful ones.

Having said all that, the main romance is lovely. The leads are both awkward but sweet individuals. Their encounters and subsequent development are lovely to see. Oh, and there are quite a few frustrating moments with communication, but I’ve learned to forgive them because they tug my heartstrings.

Female lead is pretty and quite successful at work, yet she hasn’t had a boyfriend since high school (hard to believe!). She’s embarrassed to be a virgin at 32 and is on a mission to sleep with someone. That drive and desire propelled her to take the initiative in approaching our socially awkward ML. I have to applaud FL’s shy forwardness because she is the one making all the moves and trying to clear all misunderstanding/miscommunication. My heart breaks for her when she was ‘rejected’ and was so confused about what happened.

But what I love best about this drama is how it gives us a sweet, awkward but very realistic portrayal of a first sexual experience. I’m glad so much care and thought are put into writing their intimate time together. It was beautiful to witness (and quite embarrassing as I feel like a voyeur). When they do open up to each other, no matter how weird and awkwardly frustrating it is, it feels honest and intimate. And special brownie points to great kisses that feel romantic, tender and a lot of desire.

This drama might not be for all, especially if you usually get upset with a lack of communication. We have some of those frustrating moments, but they get cleared up pretty fast. I had a lovely time watching this and shed some tears of (seemingly) heartbreaks for the leads.



Completed: 4/21/2024 - Review #431

Leia Mais

HEAL THROUGH A JOURNEY OF THE WINDY PLACE ❤️

MEET YOURSELF
I don't know where to start this drama has been HOME I cried when I realised it has ended maybe because I've been soo attached to it🥹 now why should you watch meet yourself ( 5 reasons they could be 100 because it's worth all that but I'll sum it all up into five😅😇

#1. The storyline
Unique refreshingly, slow but intriguing and indulging, full of life, healing amazing I can't find more words but this has a story I needed, I was hooked from EP one which made me cry alot by the way till EP 40 which made me cry too because I couldn't believe it had ended🥲🥹

#2.THE CAST
All characters be it the leads or the supports every single one of them did a great job, every character was given room to bond with the viewers every story was given time, every character was soo good I felt so connected to each and every one or them thanks for bringing this beautiful story to life🤍🥺🙏

#3.The healing life lessons and dialogue
Usually when iam watching a drama I screen shot funny scenes 😅 but with this it was the dialogue that was so relatable I couldn't help pause to agree, the lessons of life I've learnt in this series were more than anything... thanks to the writer....for such relatable life lessons 🥺

#4.The cinematography and scenery

You know how you feel calm by just staring at the breath taking scenes in a series, that's how I felt I even wished I could pack up and go to the windy place too 😂 every one needs that freshness thanks yunan village for the breathtaking scenery🥰

#5.The osts and because it's that good

The osts were soothing, amazing to here and catchy🤍

This is my current top one drama of 2023 it's gonna take alot to take its place so good luck to all dramas iam watching you have got your self a tough competition 😅

Lastly if you want a healing drama, slow but amazing then this is your pick😌
TITLE: MEET YOURSELF
PERSONAL RATING: 10/10 I BADLY WANT IT GIVE IT A 💯❤️🥺

A special appreciation to Janice wu and all the other cameos for portraying their roles amazingly too❤️

Leia Mais

Lessons on Life, Love, and Letting Go

Moonlight Chicken is, arguably, the best BL series to come out of Thailand. If, that is, we regard it as BL at all. This series defies expectations associated with dramas from the BL genre many times over, while never quite betraying its roots as a BL drama. For a genre associated with same-sex romance, BL series seldom explore what being gay means to the characters, whereas that is the calling card for series in the LGBTQ genres. Rather than claim a confused sexual identity or espouse some version of “I don’t see gender,” Moonlight’s characters and themes are unapologetically gay. Where the typical BL series peddles an idealized courtship fantasy between virginal men aspiring to a meaningful first love (that will, obviously, last forever), this series focuses on men trying to recover from failed past relationships. The lead characters are neither virgins nor under the illusion that love will be permanent. Instead of two characters overcoming obstacles as they move toward something, this series centers on characters struggling in different ways to let go of their past. The shards of their broken prior romances comprise the obstacles to be overcome before they can contemplate moving on to someone new. Many of the support characters must also learn to let go of some event or person from their own past. These personal demons anchor their present and future. Moonlight Chicken is an extended rumination on the pain of letting go, rather than the straightforward courtship story many viewers might have expected. As a consequence its themes, characters, and plot obstacles will resonate to an audience both older and more conversant with life’s hiccups than the audience that consumes BL solely for the vicarious thrill of (re-)experiencing the bloom of first love. The fantasy elements of BL romances usually revolve around situations designed to infuse reliable doses of serotonin in the brains of viewers. Grounded in the rigors and mundanity of adulting, Moonlight Chicken eschews the fanciful for realism. Anyone who has been burned by love, struggled to make ends meet, or invested time in pursuing someone who is emotionally unavailable will relate to these characters.

At the center of Moonlight Chicken stand Wen and Jim, played by Mix and Earth respectively. The series marks the actors’ third pairing as the showpiece couple of a GMMTV BL series, after A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) and Cupid’s Last Wish (2022). Wen and Jim showcase the actors’ emotional range better than their prior pairings, where the nature of the roles trapped those characters in a single lane. Here, Wen and Jim each have some emotional trauma to process—leftovers of events that unfolded before the two met—so that the actors have some real work to do. Before Wen and Jim can embark on a relationship themselves, each man must confront the emotional baggage he has carried from the past. Wen has recently left a relationship with Alan, who cannot understand why their relationship failed. Jim lost his lover twice. Once when he discovered that the man had a fiancée and a second time when an accident claimed the man’s life before he could choose which course to follow. In the five years since those events, Jim has never trusted another with his heart. That high wall effectively froze out Gaipa, whose mother runs the chicken stall that supplies the product for Jim’s restaurant. Rounding out the principal cast are a pair of high schoolers, whose incipient friendship blossoms into an incipient romance. Their tale provides a more traditional BL side story, to temper the angst of the main characters.

Steering the whole shebang was Aof, scriptwriter and director. His prior works often have moments where a semblance of queer authenticity crept into the BL proceedings. This go around, the studio allowed him free reign to represent an overtly gay sensibility. Another difference between Moonlight and most other BL series is that four characters—Wen, Jim, Alan, and Gaipa—are all out gay men, well-adjusted to and self-accepting of that identity. For these characters, being gay structures not just personal identity but also dynamics between themselves and their families, friends, co-workers, and lovers. It positions where they believe they fit within society, and what opportunities society offers and forecloses on that basis. Too often BL series believe having two men hop into a bathtub together suffices as a basis for “gay.” Moonlight Chicken understands the difference between gay-as-entertainment and commentary about gayness. In the later episodes, the series even gets a little preachy in its advocacy for accepting same-sex attraction as a perfectly ordinary type of human possibility.

The authentic queer sensibility emerges in the opening scenes of episode 1. A drunken Wen has patronized Jim’s late-night diner, only to pass out in a stupor. The type of person to take responsibility for the well-being of everyone around him, Jim stays with Wen until a friend can arrive to claim him. Because “plot requirements,” the friend never arrives. Instead, the two end up in bed that very night, after a carefully negotiated agreement that their sex was to be a no-strings attached one-night stand. They do not even know each other’s name. That sort of negotiation is quite common among gay men in real life but quite rare in BL. While exceptions exist, the standard BL character is shocked—absolutely stunned!—at the suggestion that two virile men could even contemplate a physical relationship outside of a genuine love. As everyone knows, sexual relationships cannot be consummated until after all the dramatic plot obstacles delaying courtship have been removed. Such thinking reflects the “good girl” standard, that very patriarchal prescriptive model of behavior that regulates the sexuality of single women. (Remember, BL originated as a genre written by women for women. That the sexual comportment of men sleeping with men in BL would resemble the expectations society foists onto women is unsurprising.) Moonlight Chicken favors the descriptive model—portraying how people actually behave in lieu of adhering to some moral standard. Even more than featuring four out gay men, that simple “no strings attached” negotiation helps make this GMMTV series the most authentically gay series ever to emerge from Thailand. That kind of queer authenticity, blended with the theme of letting go makes Moonlight Chicken a compelling drama.

Leia Mais

Sweet and pretty...

This Is the sweet and dramatic cautionary tale reminding all viewers of the importance of introducing your soon to be spouse before the wedding, especially if you are marrying some one your parents may disapprove of..

It also tells us the important of planning the wedding well and knowing your guests...

Other than that it is pretty sweet and has a lovely beach setting as well as both drama some geometry all in less than one hour.

Was it great, no, but the acting was good enough and it did show a nice palette of ways to relate to the LGBTQ+ community... Some unexpected funny lines and well great use of hoodies and video...

All in all definitely an ok watch

Leia Mais

Before you get yourself started with this drama, you have to prepare yourself to go through with the endless flashbacks in every single episodes. Overall, I actually find the drama quite enjoyable to watch, given the story plot with background on business setting, which in many dramas either made redundant as supporting environment for the characters or become too boring with all the talks on business and power politic stuff. For me, the drama made the drone business sounds rather compelling and for something techie like this, it was not too complex for audience to grasp the business matter depicted in the drama. To me, this the drone business is a refreshing point in this drama.

For this drama, I see the key theme as focusing on human intertwined relationships. We all have relationships from the past that somehow stretched to present life - good or bad regardless, these past relationships made us who we are now. This drama tried to have good coverage of all kinds of relationship stories for all the characters featured in it. Other than the expected romantic relationships, there are friendships (esp on man to man buddy for life between Shiyue and Chang Jianxiong), boss with co-workers and among colleagues of Future Up, family members of Nanqiao (esp on father-daughters and even mention of mother-son between Nanqin and Zhenghao and issue on aging!), 'debtors'-'creditors (not just monetary per say but being life indebted and faithful to 'jianghu' aka the underworld sorta relationships), grief relationships with the dead person, and even trying to inject how we can be connected through animals! I though it was a nice play on the whole vet shop and relating to the 3 dogs of Shiyue (little things reinforcing faithfulness and kinships theme). As the relationship stories made progress for the characters, we get to see how people made choices in their lives, what they would do for love from their perspectives and learning to let go, and then to wrap things up mainly focusing on acceptance, which is not easy to do in real life to be honest.

So if you have patience to watch the unraveling of these relationships then you may be interested to stay on till the end of this drama even if you possibly able to predict the outcomes of these relationships but to watch them unfold quite worth the journey. Undoubtedly there were quite a number of what I perceived as unnecessary scenes towards the development of the story plot (aka fillers) and also in terms of characters development, not that smoothly illustrated but these became easily oversight for me when I chose to remember the meaningful conversations about the strong female MC, Nanqiao's dream in this drone business and always on the exchanges between Shiyue with Anning. I seriously thinks Qin Hailu's acting shone brighter than Bai Baihe in this drama. At times I even feel Bai Baihe's acting a bit stiff and I could not really feel strong chemistry between Bai Baihe and William Chan in this drama as a couple. William Chan was great in carrying out his role though, almost to the point of being himself at certain points in terms of being playful.

When talking about meaningful conversations I recalled two intertwined dialogues on Shiyue, Nanqiao and Anning. Between Shiyue and Anning: "What we have is the past but we don't have a future", which is so true because what was once lost you can never go back and even if you do, it is never the same anymore. Then followed up with conversation between Shiyue and Nanqiao on accepting Shiyue's past and stating, "I did not make it in time to be with you in your past but I will definitely be with you in your future". I believe it is the many meaningful conversations that keep me watching the drama because they made me feel connected to the drama. Also after all the flashbacks fast forwarding, for me, Ep34 was the most memorable episode as the plot gets a final strong hold to build to the finale momentum. Oh, oh and I like the opening and closing theme songs. Both songs' lyrics aptly depicting the drama itself.

Leia Mais

It's rare for horror movies to get much of a rating. When you look at their ratings, you look more for anything above a 5, because if it has 8 or above, it must be a unicorn or something. While this wasn't a unicorn, it hit all the buttons for me in terms of creepy.

I tend to not like supernatural stories that much, as I find that people can be far scarier than ghosts. This story managed to balance a line with the aspect of a haunted place and not feeling so focused on this abstract supernatural being. It was a haunting. Not a martian or a big bad wolf. The movie also played with timing, which I appreciated. In typical horror flicks, you have a 1-2 reaction with something popping up. There were points in this where the image held and so if you closed your eyes for a second and opened them expecting it to be done, you'd be wrong. Even at points when there was looking away and back again, it didn't follow a 1-2-bang punch. You kept thinking this would be the time, and so when it finally was, it was like being grabbed by the throat.

The music was just right to get an eerie feel and add that essence of "this sounds sweet and playful while also sounding ominous and like I may lose my head." The acting was solid, and while the story is not original, it was done in a way that didn't feel like I was watching the exact same movie with different actors. What really shows that the images held up for themselves is that the subtitles were less than perfect, and yet the aspect of terror was still projected.

Horror movies are incredibly subjective, but this one definitely had me covering my eyes for a minute and is something I would rewatch with a friend.

Leia Mais