Reviews

a cliche story but alright until the finale

I started monthly magazine home on a whim and i'll tell you i had no big regrets at first but didn't enjoy how the story progressed and definitely hated the last two episodes
As a big fan of Jung so min she was my reason for clicking on that first episode, MMH focuses on
the lives of people who work in a real estate magazine and it shows how they go about in a workplace,
I learned a bit about real-state and some life tips for saving money xd The side characters did come off annoying at first but i still managed to like all of them, ok now the bad part...
I was enjoying this drama somewhat id say even though there were some obvious clichés I could get past that but the final two episodes ruined the whole flow of things, from unnecessary breakup to the very unwanted separation plot in the final episode i literally skipped through the last episode, I was going to give the rest of the drama an 8 but then I barely watched the last episode and hated the ending so I don't think that's fair so 7.5 it is.

Leia Mais

Perfect for the Optimists

I now consider this the best drama I've seen ever! No matter how many times I see it, I always get teary-eyed and touched by the good-naturedness of the characters. Call me old-fashioned but I find nothing wrong with this kind of worldview. Though, I doubt if anyone's as noble as Dr. Koto (he's just too kind and pure!)

As for the actors, I just love Yoshioka Hidetaka! He's amazing! I discovered this drama while looking for Sakai Masato dramas (only to find out later that he only showed up in the 2nd season). But with just the first ep. of Dr. Koto, i fell in love with him (Dr. Koto) in an instant! Some actors were just as convincing like Izumiya Shigeru (Shige), Sengoku Noriko (Uchi), and of course, Kakei Toshio (Wada). Even Tomioka Ryo (Takehiro) did amazingly well!

And who can forget about the OST! It's just perfect. I love the instrumental versions of Gin no Ryuu no Sei ni Notte and Omoide Dake dewa Tsura Sugiru. One of the best drama OSTs I've heard.

This drama isn't getting that much attention b/c the actors here are not the usual "idols", except maybe for Shibasaki Kou. And the story isn't the usual "love story" either. But I'm glad it was well received in Japan.

Leia Mais

Created an account just to review this gem

It's short and to the point -- felt like watching a no filler, speedrun of your average historical C-drama. The dynamic and the chemistry between the leads were absolutely amazing. Had me pausing and giggling!

It's a solid plot too, and doesn't hold back on any of the emotional punches despite being so short. Perhaps because it's so short and to the point, those emotional punches were even more effective. The cuts are efficient. Every scene between the two, my god they are down horrendous for each other. The ulterior, overarching political plot was not too complex nor too simple considering every episode was 11 minutes long. It was just right.

A fun little part I didn't expect was the relationship with the second prince. That was fun. He's absolutely hilarious, I laughed so much at his antics.

I'd dock points for the ending and one little bit I would consider a bit of a plothole. I understand that they wanted to leave the ending open for interpretation hence why they did what they did but it was a bit confusing as it can be with reincarnation/regression storylines. But catharsis was reached and it was a great watch. If you're looking for something to just pass time with, no major commitment, doesn't require a lot of thinking and delivers emotionally, this is the one!

Leia Mais

I am not a fan of horror movie, and yet this movie captivate me! It is a romance-horror film with mixture of Chinese culture and superstitious. The cinematography were amazing and helps the movie alive and not that scary but with more emotions, depth and thrilling.

The pacing is fast and gives off that thrilling and suspense feeling no break. I love the music used especially the ending part, very soothing and classic.

Fan Bingbing, with her almond eyes and soft feature, as a ghost, all the more that you will feel her loneliness and longing to her boyfriend. Rene Liu is good in her acting and her facial expressions always makes me nervous and jumpy. Somewhat she is a doppelganger of Korean actress Hyun Young (The Perfect Couple). Leon Lai, didn't give much of being a wall flower, and what made me have the attention is for the two ladies eager aiming for his love.

After watching it, instead of being flustered with horror, the twist gives the climax color and something to ponder on while on my bed, not feeling scared.

Leia Mais

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this! I really liked it! The story was actually quite compelling and well-reasoned. Where other dramas on similar topic (ghost love stories) faltered with logic (if one can have logic with ghost stories) this one did a pretty good job of maintaining believability. I wasn't sure if I'd like the female actress at the beginning but she really warmed up towards the end - I guess that speaks to her acting. But mostly, I have to be honest and say I watched it for Mark Prin and he was great! This guy is great at subtle facial expressions that convey a lot of depth! I had just come off Kluen Cheewit and Punya Cho Kon Krau and thought he was strong in both lakorns but he did another fantastic job in this one. In all three dramas I never felt that his character was Mark Prin nor did I think his character was Khun Sathit or Khun Tham. His ability to portray different characters so well really speaks to his acting range. I look forward to seeing him in many other lakorns. One nit pick though... why are all the police officers such bad shots?? They couldn't shoot worth a damn. Otherwise, totally rewatching bits of this one. Yeeo and Naamrin were super adorable together!

Leia Mais

Nothing can keep us apart!

This was one of the most well balanced BLs I've watched recently, although I didn't love it 100%. One of the things I liked most here was how they portrayed thai culture and religion; I found it very interesting. Another good point was the main plot, which is also interesting and manages to keep you hooked for most of the episodes. The setting, makeup, and costumes were good too! Overall, I felt it was a well-produced BL with good investment and care from the team.

I enjoyed both couples but the secondary couple was better for me. Jet and Chan were captivating, their cute-hot scenes were more appealing for me and even their reincarnation plot was better for me. I just loved everytime they appeared. I think Khem and Peem had some good scenes but they didn’t have the same level of chemistry compared to Jet-Chan couple and and I felt that the shipp worked mostly because of Keng’s acting. He was just sooo believable in the romantic scenes…

One of my few complaints is about Khem as a character. He’s lovely but the script gave him too much of a suffering and helpless vibe. It becomes a little boring at times. I felt that the pacing here was also a bit unstable too and I fast forwarded some scenes, ngl.

In general I think it’s a good and interesting BL. I wouldn’t give 10/10 but I’d definitely recommend!

PS: Don’t know if anyone knows this one but the reincarnation plot reminded me of Until we meet again and even Khemjira reminded me of Pharm lol

Leia Mais

Side Couple dominating the whole series.

To be honest, this show lacks in everything. The only thing that keep this on trend is because of the side couple, Zeke and Fifth.

There were times that i almost skip the whole scenes for the main lead due to the slow progress of their story and it took so much time to see the chemistry of their connection and acting (or maybe there is nothing at all).

The story is somehow good but the acting is not really smooth. We cannot deny that the side couple really dominate the whole series than the main lead. Also the adventure of the lost dog, Chuk-chuk, literaly more interesting than the main lead. 😂

Leia Mais

Watch this at your own expense

STORY :

1 / THE QING Dynasty era:

This part of the drama has the most horrible and outrageous plotline I have seen in a while. It will present you with:

- a man who kills his godson and is never troubled because of it
- a man who uses the corpse of his victim like an accessory to frame other people
- a man who schemes plenty of plans to harm his brother but he gets away with it because he just misunderstood the situation
- a man who pays a thug to break someone's arm and he is never troubled about it even by his godson who knows the truth
- a man who knows all the crimes his godfather did against his brother but he would not do anything to help the brother out of jealousy but still call him his brother.
- a princess who is forced to marry at gunpoint on the head of her father but the husband does not sleep with her because she is not his "kind of woman". Of course. Like a pig would not eat jam.
....

Plenty of cranky farfetched unrealistic situations with iffy morals and messages like "I caused you to die but sorry for the misunderstanding and justice is not necessary as we are family".

Is this supposed to be entertaining? It is not. It is BS.

2/ THE REPUBLICAN era:

The drama becomes a lot better.

- The FL disappears as the plot is only centered on the ML
- The ML discover a new city (Shanghai), new people, new challenges. He starts to build his career and success.
- The Republican era is a time of change so the drama is richer of ideas and events
- The directing is better with nice slow mo
- The plotline is crafted with a good twist
- Then back to Beijing , back to family dumb misunderstandings
- FL appears again. Her story is quite sad.

3 / FIGHT VS JAPANESE

The usual great patriotic courageous Chinese brothers vs. the evil monstrous Japanese who kill innocent people just to bully and coerce and achieve their goal. Grotesque ending to give the bad guy his redemption when we have barely a glimpse at the main leads happy ending.

CHARACTER :
- Kang Ning : beautiful and smart and courageous, the writing of her character turned ludicrous and made her a props for 2/3rd of the drama
- Lu Yuan Zhi : idiot guy who improved himself as a great tailor but his personality is bland always trying to save his love and help his brother who constantly creates troubles for him.
- Jiang Mo Sheng : Terrible brother insecure and jealous. Does plenty of mistakes but accuses the others.
- Zhao Li Jun: Fun endearing and a fighter. I liked her.
- Su Pei Yao : Spoiled daughter
- Bai He Nian : Guy should have died sooner for the sake of his family.
- Guo Fei Yu : started a fool but had a good character development. Good guy.

OST:
Nothing special

REWATCH:
No. Packed with outrageous schemes. Nothing really enjoyable.

OVERALL : This drama is well produced with great costumes, places, props, many characters... It is too bad it drowned itself in family schemes and misunderstanding to promote usual family values and forgiveness and redemption blabla. The story is also amoral : the person who kills his Godson is never accountable but lives free. Also the endings of the master of Si He house and the bad brother are quite ridiculous.

Leia Mais

Thought-provoking KMovie, sailing close to the wind when it comes to duty of care and child welfare

The KMovie "Highway Family" is set at the bottom of the social pyramid in South Korea in the year 2022. It portrays a homeless family who seems to have found their own lifestyle at the country's highway rest stops. A happy family sleeping in a tent, living on scrounged money and having lots of fun together.

That's one side of the medal. As audience, however, one cannot help but see the other side of the coin despite all the family idyll. The heavily pregnant wife has no medical support during what is now her third pregnancy. Her two children, being five and nine years old by now, miss out on any schooling. The parents claim that they do the teaching themselves, but reading, writing and maths are obviously not on their curriculum. A playground on the highway rest stops, which are heavily frequented by cars and heavy trucks, is dangerous, and the parents' duty of supervision is by no means guaranteed. The father is (as so often) the head of the family and objectively speaking, his decisions about the self-chosen outlaw family life sometimes border on violating his duty of care. Supposed (motorway rest stop) idyll and freedom may correspond to the father and his outlook on life. Wife and children, on the other hand, are now stuck in this boat. They love each other as a family and especially the children know no different. They rely on their father.

The KMovie sails close to the wind when it comes to moral issues concerning work, economy and society as well as duty of care and child welfare. Camps may form in the audience. And that is intentional.

The second protagonist, alongside the Highway family, is a married couple who lost their own child and who run a second-hand furniture store. Solid. Prosocial. Responsible. However, emotionally deeply wounded and unhappy.

Worlds clash. Two families meet. One is shattered deep inside, the other formally. Together they build something new - an alternative family patchwork, grounded in a rather simple normal life, which obviously doesn't have to be the worst, at least when kids are involved. Yet, can it be as simple as that? And at the disturbing end there is the question about the end of the story... which remains in the eyes of the beholder...

A thought-provoking KMovie.

Leia Mais

What experiences in life contribute most to your growth as a person? What are you willing to sacrifice for the greater good of your colleagues and maybe yourself? What is your selling point?

An incredible depiction of the real struggles that average, mundane, normal, people have to go through in their everyday lives. Yet, the story itself is nothing but mundane. We get to look at the turmoil that goes on in an office setting and in within the people themselves. It's hard to believe that an office drama, of all types, can get your heart racing, keep your eyes glued, and feed your anticipation for the next scene. As someone who frequently cries over dead characters in fantasy/historical dramas, I found myself crying over simple decisions made by these characters that had such great impact on their colleagues.

Acting was superb! Super impressed by Bai Jingting who was able to shed his outer "idol image" and give us such a pure Sun Yiqiu. Loved how all the other actors portrayed their characters in a way that was so believable. I especially loved the portrayal of the "villain" characters, as they did such an amazing job making the characters look like people that we really could picture to appear in our lives.

I'm disappointed that there doesn't seem to be available Eng subs for a wider audience, but I hope that gets done in the future.

Leia Mais

Warming, Fun and Very Enjoyable

Short: Warm romantic drama with two characters that have clear chemistry. Cast are fantastic and there are some great sparks between several of them, a really good job picking the cast for this I think. Music was great and fitting, without being overbearing. The story goes through a few turns but nothing really unexpected, all issues are tied off with a nice bow and the ending is nice too. Really enjoyed this one, seems a little while since I was having *so* much trouble stopping watching at 5am, but this one was definitely hard to put down.

Detail:
He can't forget anything and she has lost a chunk of her memory. She's an actress in dramas and movies, he's a celebrated news anchor. They meet by chance, and wind up having to pretend that they're dating to avoid an inconvenient scandal breaking out. As the story unfolds, you find out more about the past, more about the memories that she has lost and the pains that he has to endure - an unrelenting perfect memory as far more of a curse than it is a blessing.

They're both great characters, played by excellent actors. I picked this one up specifically because I was enjoying Moon Ga Young in True Beauty and saw this one popped up on Netflix - but there are many more great cast members to pull you into this one too. Delighted to see Jang Young Nam whom I enjoyed a lot in It's Okay to Not Be Okay, and Kim Seul Gi who had a fun role in Oh My Ghostess has another key role here (i'm really not sure why it's classed as a support role when there aren't many scenes she isn't in).

There are some fantastic sparks of chemistry between various cast members - whether it's Kim Seul Gi and... well... everyone (she's just that fun), Jang Young Nam and Kim Dong Wook at the office - and I particularly enjoyed the way they handled the relationship between the Young Nam and the team leader (Kim Chul Woong) at work as well that was nicely done and fun throughout. Not to forget ofcourse the blend between the two leads was fun to watch as well.

My favourite character was probably Kim Seul Gi's - to the casual observer she comes off as the "little sister", small, fun etc - but she's absolutely the one in charge and you had better not mess with her. She's her own boss, she's her sisters manager and she will fiercely protect those she loves. A really great character overall and superbly represented by Seul Gi I thought.

There's no triangle in this (yay! I hear you cry), there are a couple of other standard tropes however they are written much better than I've seen in some other stories I've watched lately so no complaints from me on the "abuse of trope" front :)

Emotionally this one actually does an interesting job in riding a gentle path between laugh-out-loud moments and some sad ones that will have you feeling a little wet on the face.

There is some misdirection that's quite nicely done and even just the mention of the "suicide" tag effects some degree of that (though it is completely appropriate) - don't prejudge, let the story tell itself to you and enjoy the ride.

Overall, the main benchmark for me on this one is:

a) i'm actually writing a review for this, and i've been extremely lax on that front - but after just completing it, I wanted it to linger in my thoughts a while longer, and share my thoughts.

b) lately while i've been enjoying the dramas I've watched very much, not many have had that extra "10/10" that means when it says "Next Episode?" i'm smacking the button hard going "GET ON WITH IT!!" and at 5am struggling to pull myself away.

Can't think of anything I didn't particularly enjoy to be honest, which, combined with the above, is why I gave it a high score.

Leia Mais

Where should I start?? There are so many good things to say!!

Plot: From the first synopsis read on MyDramaList, I brushed it off thinking it was going to like other youth Chinese dramas, but boy was I wrong! It may seem like it is, but it focuses not only on the youths on their personal journey through the "gao kao" but their families too. It shows how their parents grow and learn from certain developments and how no parent is perfect. No mother is perfect. No father is perfect. No one is born knowing how to be a perfect parent. The growth of the parents is seen evidently through the 49 episodes as well as the 4 children.

Characters: I already briefly mentioned earlier, but the growth of each main character in the 3 respective families is so touching and as an Asian child myself, I can see certain traits in the parents in my own upbringing and my own parents. For instance, the emphasis on getting good grades as done by Tong Wen Jie and Song Qian reminded me so much of when I was younger. The question of "do grades mean everything" is brought up a lot because of the "gao kao," especially when Fang Yi Fan wants to do dance and singing instead of studying for the "gao kao." Ying Zi's fall into depression was very sad, but shows the reality of the result of so much pressure from parents to do well. The episodes focused on her was really emotional and successfully touched my heart.

Acting: This leads to acting which was major 100%. 120% I would like to say. Every character seemed so real and the actors truly embodied their roles. Even though I know some actors were new like the actor who played Yang Yang and Fang Yi Fan, but I could not even tell. All the children seemed experienced. The tearjerker scenes all brought me to tears. Lei'er... was brilliant at certain scenes like his broken phone and the heart-to-heart talk meeting near the end. T_T I was bawling. The adult actors were all experienced from my knowledge so they were no problem at all. NO ONE was awkward, everyone was so compatible with another on screen with amazing chemistry!! I loved Tong Wen Jie and Fang Yuan's family dynamic the most with their son and nephew. :) "where did Lei'er go again?"

Music: There was a variety of songs played with instrumentals and they matched the scenes so, so, so well! Sad piano BGM for the sad scenes and comedic sounds for the funny ones. Editing was very well done to flow everything together, I loved it!

Rewatch Value: YES YES YES, I am going to once I have time, but later on, so I can maybe learn some more from this drama :) There were many life lessons mentioned like the perspective to look at things, to not always compare your child with other children. 10/10

Leia Mais

This drama could have easily been a 9/9.5 drama. Easily. The plot's general concept was very alluring, something that grabbed my attention and kept it there enough to make me commit 17.3 hours of my life to this drama. For the most parts, I'll say that I enjoyed this drama very much. It's not a bad drama, definitely, and I'll recommend this to everyone! But it definitely has some faults that I could not overlook. I'll list the positives and negatives down below for easier reading.


>> SOME POINTS THAT I DID NOT LIKE:
1. The second female lead is obnoxiously irritating. One thing I really hate is when people do not know their social status. She was a snake that bit the same owner who took her in as her secretary and gave her a good life just because of her own insane jealousy and delusion that she could even compare to Pat. A good load of great things that gave her in the end. *rolls eyes*

2. I do not want to say that Pat/Lan (the female lead) was very dismissive of the body that she has acquired and the responsibilities and reality that comes with it. But she was.

Firstly, after she comes 'back to life' in Lan's body, she completely disregards that the body she is in has a family of her own and is actually married. She completely decides to give no face to Lan's father and refuses to live as Lan at first, which I felt was very sad for the actual Lan who was now dead.

Secondly, Pat/Lan totally ignored the fact that she had a husband, which could really bring up a lot of problems in the future. Of course, Pat/Lan did not like her 'husband' at all. Therefore, I do not see why a divorce was not something she seeked first and foremost after finding out that she's married in this new body.

Finally, When Pat/Lan realised how evil and high-reaching Kaew is, she still endured her 'feces' and let her pull and push her around until the almost end. A lot of things, I believe, would have been better if she had just revealed the truth about Kaew to Win (Especially since she had proof).

>> SOME GOOD POINTS:
1. This drama was not draggy. It was conscious in that it knew where it was going and went there swiftly.

2. Kawin's loyalty is precious. Even though he was a little slow in the beginning, he was still firm.

3. Noojoon is a treat to my heart. He really was a great best friend and comic relief.

4. I appreciated the variety and complexity of the characters in this drama. You could see that there are good people, and bad people, and good people that do bad things intentionally or unintentionally and repent. It was more close to real life. I liked that.

5. The plot is good for most parts. Because it's not draggy, not a lot of 'arguments' carry on for a lot of episodes unnecessarily. I liked that.

6. The bad guys really got their karma back.

>> CONCLUSION:
After watching the drama and sleeping on it, I really like this drama despite its shortcomings. It made me laugh and smile and cry and get really pissed off. But I liked it a lot, still.

8/10.

Leia Mais

OMG I don't even have words to describe this movie. I never cried so much in my life for a movie.

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE should see this movie.

The plot is just amazing and one of the most original ones I've seen. The actors (I didn't know any) convey you the story perfectly which has a very deep meaning.

The message it delivers it's just unspeakable you have to see it to understand.
Above all this movie show us todays society and how independent we got, so much we stopped caring for anyone else but ourselves. The 'Superman' in this story show us that it is still alright to care for others, to help them, to be good and that it's actually a very good thing.

He show us that even though there are many bad people in the world there are also good people and that to make a difference in someone's (or everyone's) life it depends only on yourself.
Everyone has power, you just have to use it.

Go by me and see this. It's definitly worth the time...

Leia Mais

To the ends of the earth.

The Lonely Warrior is a crime thriller about one man's obstinate, obsessive thirteen year quest for justice. It is a highly dramatized account of a real life case. The movie version Endless Journey is led by Zhang Yi whereas this drama version is led by Qin Hao.

In the middle of a tense, emotional criminal case, an interrogation accident ends the careers of the elite Third Brigade investigative unit led by Cheng Bing. After a ten year stint in prison that costs Cheng Bing everything, he emerges hell bent on hunting down the violent killer Wang Dayong who eluded them all those years ago. He reunites with his squad, all of whom have at surface moved on with their lives but are still haunted by this cold case. They initially go to great lengths to help Cheng Bing but as a result of life commitments end up dropping out. Cheng Bing soldiers on deliberately, methodically pursing the vicious Wang Dayong seemingly till the ends of the earth, leaving no stone unturned.

The strongest aspect of this drama are the chase scenes and the way tension builds in a gripping and chillingly suspenseful way. What I didn't like was how Wang Dayong barely appears in the latter episodes. It was done to raise doubt over whether Cheng Bing was doggedly on the right track but it also made me quite frustrated with his obduracy. They failed to capitalise on Chen Minghao who delivers an incredibly menacing, ruthless and unpredictable Wang Dayong, a hardened criminal with exceptional survival instincts. I was also dismayed with what they did to his appearance; effectively obscuring all the nuances of his expressions. This would have been a lot better if they focused more in the cat-and-mouse chase between Cheng Bing and Wang Dayong with heart stopping near misses instead of pushing Wang Dayong off-screen for such long stretches.

My biggest issue with the narrative is that it delves too deeply into Cheng Bing's and the Third Brigade's personal stories. Qin Hao never fails to impresses in how he conveys deep emotions and he really out did himself in making us feel the weight of everything he loss. But I was not convinced at all by his relationship with Miao Miao. This is not a necessary character even though Ren Min does a good job with it. Add Tong Tong to the mix and I was just rolling my eyes. Even though I enjoyed the Third Brigade's camaraderie, they should either have had them see the case through all the way with Cheng Bing or not at all. It is very annoying to watch the narrative build up all of their personal stories only to see them drop out half way through. The most relevant and interesting relationship is the contentious one between Pan Dahai and Cheng Bing. These many digressions come at the cost of losing the momentum of the chase. This would be a much tighter and better drama with fewer episodes. As such, I am not surprised that the movie version has been better received than the drama even though I personally think the drama has a better lead cast.

Despite some pacing issues, this is overall a very enjoyable suspense thriller anchored by a stellar cast. Happy to rate it 7.5/10.0.

Leia Mais