This review may contain spoilers
My Journey to…Nowhere?
Let me start with the positive marks. This drama is seriously gorgeous when it comes to visuals, with the attention to cinematographic detail you see in movies more than TV shows. You could even put the drama on mute and still enjoy it just for how gorgeous so many shots are. This is clearly where the director’s talents lie and was my favorite part of the experience.The second thing I can applaud is the cast, who all performed their roles to the best they could as the characters are written. I have to give special mention to Ryan Cheng who was so perfect in his role as Gong Shang Jue that unfortunately the others, even though they were good, were eclipsed by his performance. But really it is on a scale of “pretty good” to “excellent” with no major weak points in acting.
The story starts off exciting in its first episodes with a great focus on Yun Wei Shan being sent on her mission amongst the potential brides, but is soon dragged down to an extremely slow pace it suffers from until the end of the drama. Most episodes follow the same formula of going around in circles, with too much exposition and endless conversations (that were so whispered it was sometimes hard to hear over the background tracks) only to finish up on a cliffhanger to keep you hooked in, and then do the same the next episode. The show often gets lost in flashbacks and forgets to move forward in the present timeline leading to a feeling of “is anything actually happening?” throughout the middle of the drama.
As for the characters, some arcs are better than others. Many have complained about the frustrating arc of the ML character Gong Ziyu who takes a very long time to catch up to speed with the plot, appearing not just trusting and naive but oblivious to a degree that strains belief, only to develop very abruptly in a way that wasn’t convincing. But even worse is the characterization of the FL as Yun Wei Shan, who gets overshadowed by the Gong men family drama and rarely feels like the lead of the show she is supposed to be. For many episodes she plays the role of sidekick to accompany ML on his three trials, so he can grow into his position as Sword Wielder. By the end it feels her character and the Wufeng side of the story got a background seat to the story of uniting the Gong men against a common enemy. Despite being lead it feels as though Yu Shu Xin is not given her time to shine.
As for the plot, instead of presenting a focused mystery that builds with suspense and ends on a satisfactory note, the story gets tangled in its own web of its too many suspects and possibilities, leaving the audience to overcompensate and come up with theories that had way more depth than the show provided, such as the theory that Zi Yu was playing a big long con, or that Gong Zi Shang had more sinister involvement beyond her over-the-top comic relief role. The writer relies too hard on cliffhangers for his own good, so much so that he can’t stop himself from including one even at the last minute. An open ending works for some dramas but here it leaves a bad taste. Aside from the Gong men coming together and Ziyu becoming sword wielder, nothing has really changed and it seems implied the terrible cycles we started with will only continue…YWS’s potential sacrifices didn’t amount to much and in the end the writer lets her fate become another unsatisfying mystery.
To sum it up, this is a beautiful but slow watching experience that lacked focus and didn't end up having the depth I hoped. I doubt a Season 2 would happen but if it did I can't say for sure I'd be interested in watching.
Was this review helpful to you?
A Great Watch
I finished this drama even without the subs in the last 4 eps and that says a lot as a watcher: I loved this drama!Why do I like it? Primarily, I'm a sucker for love stories and this show has a beautiful one. Defying the stereotype of big age gap, maybe 15 years, they made it a non issue as he was just totally smitten and treasured her as she adored him. Their chemistry was off the hook; so many tender scenes, he standing up for her in awkward moments, etc. I enjoyed her cooking, and his pleasure of eating. I was also happy that there wasn't a crazy evil antagonist; pretty mild when compared to many other dramas.
What I wasn't too thrilled about: the side stories didn't latch on. They were more irritating to me than being cute. The plot of adding younger brother as an opponent i felt was added too late that when drama about to wrap.
Overall, I would watch again with skips to the main leads. The story was creative, acting especially by main leads was very good. The accompanying song was good. It had a great ending made to have a second season..Haha! I really loved this cdrama and extending my visits to this group besides kdramas.
Was this review helpful to you?
Second Wind
A refreshingly cool wind that blew a young, heart-fluttering love my way.This far exceeded my expectations. I expected mediocre and was greeted with the memorable innocence of a first love, sincerity in words, actions, and music, conflicts that hit and weren't dragged out, and a beautiful dream small enough to carry in your pocket yet expansive enough as to fly out into the world.
This felt like a secret so gorgeous I wanted to keep it to myself. But I believe it deserves to be seen by many.
Side Note: Don't worry, the chemistry is there and romantic moments aren't brushed aside. This couple shines wonderfully and makes you root for them all along the way.
Was this review helpful to you?
The rom-com is not the point of this drama
The main theme of this drama is not the love story between the main leads, which is why you won't get to see that many heart fluttering moments.I was pretty bored for the 2 first episodes, I wasn't sure where the drama was going, there was no character development.
If you're looking for a good romcom drama, I found this blend on the romance and comedy aspects, and I felt like the romcom was almost a cover-up for the important part.
In my opinion, the interesting aspect is the second plot hidden behind the mainstream romance.
It's about the impact of new technologies and personal data collection from a woman's point of view and how sexism and girl-shaming can be spread though those technologies even though they're supposed to embody progress within our society. And more generally how new technology can impact negatively our daily life.
The ML is the "good guy" because he's out of this overly connected world, which allows him to question things from an outside point of view.
It also depicts all the subtle injustices women can face in daily-life, like not being recognized properly for their work etc...
And above all, this is a BRILLIANT representation of how some people are not inherently bad people with bad intentions but are still unable to see how scary and invasive their actions are in a relationship, and when confronted with it, they throw back the emotional burden on the other and victimize themselves instead (daily gaslightning at its finest).
It's a form of emotional abuse but a very faint one and above all, a socially accepted one, which leaves victims often unheard.
This drama does an amazing job at depicting how gut-wrenching it can feel and how wrong it actually is. The real victim ends up feeling guilt and shame.
Because the seriousness of this show is at first hidden behind a pretty common kdrama storyline, i would not recommand it to people who just want to enjoy a fun drama since the romcom part is actually almost boring.
However, its a very subtle and well-made story if you digg a little deeper.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Sophisticated genre mix. Soulful. Well grounded. At a comfortable pace.
With "My Perfect Stranger" KBS has succeeded in creating a sophisticated genre mix: there is a complex crime thriller that is excitingly intertwined across time and space, colored with its ultimately opaque interdependencies. There is charming time-travel with the chance to heal emotionally troubled family relationships and with the distinctive complexion of the late 1980s in the transition from dictatorship to democracy. There is also the pointed coming-of-age of the protagonist's parents and their classmates of that time. At last, even a (though rather tender, cautious) love story emerges out of the common fate of the two time travelers.The KDrama thus is presenting (in my opinion) a thorough emotional variety, which has a lot to offer from suspense to amusement an even romantic vibes. So all of this comes rather casually. Well grounded. At a comfortable pace. With feeling, especially around the diverse family dynamics, which are allowed to take their distinct twists and turns from the different perspectives of time and space.
A coherent, harmonious KDrama experience. Worthwhile.
Was this review helpful to you?
Since I am going through a massive rewatch mission of old Martial Arts films; I decided to include other old Hong Kong/Chinese films to the rewatch party as well and what’s better than Wong Kar Wai’s genius pieces? After seeing this film again, I can fully understand why I loved it the first time. The magic magnifies even after years of first viewing.
As everyone knows, I am not a romance person or someone who cares about the “moving cinema” at all and I can hardly watch an artistic film and completely appreciate it but all of that is in a world and Wong Kar Wai’s productions in another world. Kar Wai is one of the fewest directors that I look forward to watch their romance tales even if I am not a big fan of the genre. Do you know why? Because he’s a master who knows how to portray love with the intense power of silence to make it feel gripping. The man uses only few pages of script and the rest is told through magnificent ways, the rule in Kar Wai’s films is: everything that’s unspoken is stimulating and even what’s spoken is full of wisdom and hidden meanings.
I am surprised at people who say: “Kar Wai’s films don’t have a plot”, I mean are you sure we’re talking about the same director and films? I am a fan of Wong Kar Wai and his splendid of ways of making love stories because many need to understand that romance films shouldn’t always be: met, smiled, fell in love, kissed and Tada Happily ever after tale story just like they shouldn’t be: met, fell in love, disease, death and cries . Wong Kar Wai’s breaks those rules to create outstanding pieces.
Now, let me just stop here or I won’t be able to refrain myself from talking about that brilliant director.
There’s a story behind this film. Actually, Wong Kar Wai found a problem with editing his film “Ashes of Time” (that was releases the same year by the way) so he left it behind then wrote and directed Chung King Express in the meantime. The film is about coincidences, brief encounters, loneliness and painful love but that’s not what this film is all about, there’s also warmth and fun to enlighten the watch.
Chung King Express is divided into separate narratives about two policemen; the first is about the dark heartbreaking side of love led by Takeshi (who gained his breakthrough due to this film) and femme fatale; the inside-conversation he had were simply intriguing in a way that would make you completely understand the character and its suffering. The second story outclasses the first if I may say. It’s not only because it’s less dark or because it had more run-time but also because it takes on other interesting turns. It’s about Tony who suffers the problems of post-breakup until a cheerful soul came along.
The acting was good and the characters were quite fitting for the storytelling. Takeshi still didn’t gain much experience while doing this film so Tony and his female lead merit more credit.
As usual, Kar Wai’s camerawork was amazingly done and the cinematography was quite alluring for the film’s theme. And let’s not forget ‘California Dreaming’ that was a great choice of theme music.
Watch this if:
-You like Wong Kar Wai’s films or you want to meet his work.
-You appreciate different types of love stories.
-You like artistic love films.
Do not watch if:
-You think Kar Wai films “don’t have a plot”.
-You dislike any of the cast.
Chung King Express is a stylish storytelling of love tales orchestrated by the excellent love stories’ director Wong Kar Wai with a notable set of cast.
Was this review helpful to you?
Choices Make the Person
Story:A slice of life that did a remarkable job portraying how specific life choices molded people into who they become. They all didn’t start off as great or evil characters but because of the people they chose or the choices they made. I think the best part about this story was that it felt true to real world circumstances. The writers truly made you analyze every individual character and the choices they made. It wasn’t easy to just stamp good or bad on them because they didn’t make the choices because of ill intentions but because of human characteristics such as jealousy, sadness, etc. The storyline was cohesive and fluid and allowed us to understand where it went wrong or right for every character. Really a well written script!
Acting:
The actors in this drama did an exceptional job including the supporting cast members. There are 3 actors that were great and really showed their acting prowess - Xiao Zhan, Li Qin & Liu Ruilin. Xiao Zhan really impressed me with how much he improved and how well he was able to portray his character. The scenes where he was supposed to portray grief really hit hard. It wasn’t over the top but felt that he understood how his character would portray that specific emotion.
Would I Recommend:
Yes! I understand the time span of this drama might not be the most appealing and it even swayed me a little. I thought it would be a drama that I would come in for the male lead but not enjoy the story as much except for maybe certain parts. However, I was truly impressed by how much I enjoyed it and even rewatched episodes while waiting for new ones. So, if you could get past the 70s era than I think people can truly enjoy it because it really is a great slice of life drama with an incredibly written script.
Was this review helpful to you?
That being said, the acting and casting choices, I thought were actually perfect. Each actor portrayed their role as they were given (Though I'm not happy what they were given), the did a marvelous job. I despised the bad girl, I feel in love with the main character, and despite my best judgement I was drawn in by the male lead. The chemistry is what really made me keep watching this drama if nothing else.
The music didn't take me out of the show nor did it really fully bring me in. It was good, and fit with the type of teen drama.
Due to the mental and physical violence this portrayed I would say the re-watch value is a 2. I would re-watch the ending, when he redeems himself (barely) and the part where she is falling in love with him again, but skip mostly all the episodes but two.
Overall this drama is a 5.5 on the scale.
Was this review helpful to you?
Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss!
48 people found this review helpful
This review may contain spoilers
One For the Books
I can't explain how much I was moved by the series to the point where I stayed up at the ass crack of dawn to binge-watch. Then to be told that episode 8 would be another few hours hurt to hear, but I waited and waited, and finally, it came out, and my heart is overjoyed with something that I haven't felt for many Japanese BLs. Mr.Unlucky is an extraordinary series full of happiness, speculating luck, and a heartwarming romance.Let's Dive In.
Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice But to Kiss is the story of Kota, a boy born unlucky who has unfortunate circumstances happen to him every day, from falling ceilings to stepping in dog shit, he has to endure it 24/7. Until he meets Naoya, a boy born lucky, who has the best things happen to him anytime he wants them. When Kota finds himself around Naoya, he sees how his bad luck fades away, and he can have a good time. Through a misunderstanding, they both become boyfriends and their lives are forever changed. What initially drew me in was this wacky synopsis that I was curious to see play out on screen. I was a little skeptical at first, going into this with only the synopsis and that's it, but this was a gem. A bright bright gem that I'm so thankful I ventured to. While most of this series was everything I needed and more, there was a key aspect that dimmed my overall joy, but for the most part, this series was as close to perfect as perfect can get.
One thing that Japanese series can do is either be extremely vulgar or super clean and from my understanding, there is no in-between. Even looking at Cherry Magic, a story based around a virgin, was as innocent as ever, and so was Kieta Hatsukoi, with neither shows even showing a kiss between leads, and yet, I still loved them to my fullest potential. Mr. Unlucky happens to fall in the super clean category. Part of me doesn't mind that intimacy doesn't play a big role here, because they were still able to evoke strong feelings out of me without that aspect, but gosh, does it suck not to see the climax of something the writers did so well at building up. Kota and Naoya have built such incredible sensual tension that it's almost infuriating with every passing second Kota avoids kissing Naoya or doing anything else. This series is so prude in itself that it draws back its own ability to be even greater than before, and it sucks. I wish there would've been a moment where Kota finally felt ready to kiss Naoya, and instead, we never get that. Besides a very chaste kiss in the beginning, we the audience are left to fend for our own and make up the rest of their story as it ends.
And while I do complain that intimacy should've played a bigger role here, I can't help but applaud how respectful and patient Naoya was. He kissed Kota in the beginning because that's what his past girlfriends had liked, but he realized Kota was different and was willing to wait to kiss him again until he was ready. Although that moment never happens, it's heartwarming to watch Naoya be so sensual and yet hold himself back for the one that matters to him the most. Consent was superb here, and I will deathly miss it.
Now, getting into their romance, of course, because of it being a misunderstanding, the connection isn't as strong in the beginning as it is in the end. But we get to watch with every passing moment it build and build until we're desperate for more. Getting to watch Kota be happy and do things that he normally keeps himself away from because of his bad luck is another level of rewarding. His smile, the way his eyes light up, his skips and jumps and cheers, it's all very gratifying to see. To see that Naoya is able to bring him something he hasn't had in years. Anytime they were together, my heart was aghast to watch them grow in chemistry and understanding. I was sure that Naoya would have a similar situation as Kota: using him so that his good luck isn't always there and people can stop relying on him. But nope, that's not the case. Naoya just loved Kota from the very second he saw him, and it only grew from there. That is fucking precious. I will miss seeing these two on my screen, only if it were for a day.
Onto the side characters, who were a lot less memorable, but they played helpful roles in getting the leads to where they needed to be. The two best friends were valuable attributes to Naoya who saw them as his real friends and not people needing him for his luck. I was more so intrigued with Miki's story who seemed as positive as ever about love, and Anna, who seemed very negative about love. I have my speculations that the bracelet Miki was wearing somehow stopped her from forming relationships instead of being in one, and once it broke, she seemingly started to realize her feelings for Anna, and it's quite an adventure to take part in. I wish they had more screen time after Miki subtly (but not so subtly) admits her feelings to Anna.
Ratings:
Story: 9 - It's the strongest aspect of the series. It was able to keep me entertained throughout without any skips or FF. The romance is well done, and so is the explanation and the play out of luck and sharing it. I'll only take a star off since I think the romance could've taken that one step further, and instead, the writers hold us back.
Acting: 9.5 - Great! Literally! Sota (Kota) does a fascinating job, playing up the extraness and expressional person that his character was. Sato I learned is a Japanese idol, and in some parts of his acting, it's not as strong as it could be, but still, he does a good job at getting the message of his character across. All the side characters did excellent as well.
Music: 7 - the theme song was good to me! Other than that, I didn't really pay too much attention to it.
Rewatch value: 6 - I could see myself rewatching this whenever I need my heart to flutter for whatever reason.
I don't usually ask for second seasons, cause it's unnecessary and not needed, but I severely hope this gets a second season to wrap up that endearing part of Kota and Noaya that we don't see. I still think there is a story there to tell, and I need it immediately. This had shot up to being my new all-time favorite Japanese BL, and not too far from making an appearance as my top 10 favorite BLs. I will cherish this for as long as I can. I heavily recommend this for anyone interested. If you can take yourself out of the real world and watch this fantastical series that will make you feel every emotion in the book, then give this one a shot.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Don't be deterred by a supposedly dry accountants´ world. It´s feisty. Suspenseful. Emotional, too
"Numbers" is about auditors, balance sheets and accountants. It's obviously all about numbers. That may put some people off. It's also about what lies behind those numbers, and that may at times seem even more complicated to the uninitiated. However, deliberately illustrative examples are repeatedly interspersed. And it is even more gratifying that it is not necessary to understand all this in every detail in order to enjoy the series. “Numbers” is about a rational and clever mastermind. Yet it is also about having the heart at the right spot. It´s feisty. It´s also emotional. It stands up and means it. Great!"Numbers" is definitely worth it getting involved in the abstract world of accounting specialists. Especially since their decisions, in turn, have consequences for a world that juggles numbers even more aloof - Investment Fonds... While the auditors keep an eye on the current state of the balance sheet and put its potential through its paces, investors only care about future returns and often want the maximum profit regardless of the losses - which others have to bear for it.
Numbers are numbers. But the decisive factor is who has the sovereignty of interpretation. Numbers sound clean and objective, apparently. Yet, they stand for people, their visions and their decisions. Hidden underneath are solutions, too. As always, the question you´re asking, will make the difference – leading the way for your attention and focus. And as always, different possible perspectives exist. Also in the world of numbers.
"Numbers" is about a revenge campaign – again. There are actually several. It is about those who, with good reason, do not want to be intimidated by the power of the powerful – again. They have nothing (more) to lose. The bad guys are really bad. They have long lost their heart or never had one to begin with. This makes for plenty of interesting relationship dynamics.
"Numbers" also offers an interesting variety of intelligence and competence. Bottom line for revenge candidates – again: just on your own it is almost impossible to make a difference. However, someone courageously has to make a first clever and striking move ahead. With heart and soul. Then maybe others will remember that their heart was once in their right place, too. (In a rational, hierarchical world that takes for granted that there is no room for irrational emotions or personal interests, it's easy to forget just that.)
"Numbers" is a bold story about rather impure moves in the world of accounting and investment. A complex story. At the same time, an exciting, thrilling story that is fun, too. No matter how remote this world of dizzyingly high numbers may be for most of the audience, watching the story feels good overall. You get a high-flying, intelligent mixture. The actors show a strong presence in their roles and thus contribute a lot. The pace is right. OST fits fine.
My suggestion: don't be put off by suits, ties and a supposedly dry, conservative, number-dominated accountant business world. Sure enough, "Numbers" has it all!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Side Note:
Banks in South Korea have been taboo for investors since the Asian crisis. For the bank sector, on the other hand, financial investment transactions are not permitted. Just now, in 2023, fundamental reforms were launched - some are even talking about a revolution. The banking sector is just now being opened up to new players in order to stimulate competition.
Was this review helpful to you?
I don’t honestly dislike it because the cast was immature, I disliked it because for me to see a person change their life goals to follow someone is not great or to see someone so infatuated with someone that they completely ignore the realities in front of them, it’s toxic and it’s scary to me. There was no real plot, no major events. Just a bunch of immature people infatuated with each other. Sadly it took about 25 episodes for our crushers to acknowledge their feelings. This is tooo long for a 32 episode series. So what we got was our female lead being pursued by those who wanted to be with her and her disregarding them to be with someone who hasn’t acknowledged or shown a love interest in her. This went on for many many episodes.
The positive is that....the acting was good.
Was this review helpful to you?
A worthwhile watch!
Leave behind your judgements for a while and give this series a chance. It is not what you think whatsoever!Zhang Yi Xiang is a 17 going on 18 year old high school student who is known to be a bit of a spoilt brat. Xie Shu Fen is his mother and a helicopter parent. She is also the chairwoman of their school and thus a very influential person when it comes to the school's decision making and manages to get her son out of trouble every time. Chen Meng Yun is her son's teacher and a new hire. Yi Xiang takes a sudden interest for his teacher and creates problems for her by crossing the line however she discovers that he is acting out at school mainly because of his overbearing mother and is actually helpful towards his peers.
There is a lot to love about this drama. Although it appears like an inappropriate relationship, it is not because of the teacher's direct actions. There are a lot of unexpected plot twists and a whole mystery subplot that makes this series a brilliant and exciting watch. The series also deals with relationships of children with their parents and the stress of parents in trying to help their children do their best.
The show has a decent pace that keeps you engaged. Each actor did a wonderful job at portraying their characters. The chemistry between the actors is good too.
One of the best aspects is the ending. Things are not always as they seem.
I hope that more viewers are able to give Lesson In Love a try and you might just discover something unique.
Was this review helpful to you?
1Actual dumpster fire
Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps you are confused by the fact that I call this drama a "dumpster fire" and yet give it a rating of 8, and I can understand that confusion, so allow me to explain.Imagine, if you will, just a random stinky drab dumpster. Now normally we don't think about dumpsters, because why would you. And when you have to put your garbage in one, or if you see one overflowing on the street with disgusting things, and you actually are forced to think about a dumpster or be near a dumpster, you're like "augh gross" and you hold your breath and try not to look too hard at it or have to smell it's fumes.
But imagine that one day you are walking down the street in an average neighborhood, and out of a perfectly average looking dumpster, is a giant raging bonfire, like a huge dramatic bonfire just blazing away. And the smell off the thing is probably terrible, but yet at the same time it is so magnificent and extraordinary looking that you are mesmerized and cannot look away.
Well that is this drama. So let's break this down into 2 parts. The Dumpster... and The Fire.
🎬THE DUMPSTER.
Well first we are talking about PLOT. The whole foundation of the dumpster is messed up. The FL from the beginning was not written to be likeable. If you want to try to like her, you can. But her backstory is SCANT. They don't give you a home address for her from which you can relate and get behind her and feel like you know her and care about her. Sure they throw a pittance of a backstory at you, just enough to fill in the blanks and create the plotline. But there's no empathy for her built into this plot. So no matter what actress you cast in the role, it was ALWAYS gonna come out lookin bad. The story tells you she is an infiltrator fighting for justice. And yet your heart tells you she is just an ice donkey. But perhaps that's an insult to donkeys because even donkeys aren't as cruel and stupid as she is. And when I call her stupid, I mean all the way around. Because not only is she intellectually unable to keep up with her surroundings, but she also sports a rock bottom EQ. In the infamous words of Mitch Hedburg, "that's a double whammy".
Halfway through the drama, there's a scene where she rather dramatically threatens to unalive herself and I'd put 5:1 odds of any person who makes it that far in this show thinking to themeselves "meh, g'eiahead"
Now second biggest problem was with STYLING. I know. How bad does it have to be to actually be "second biggest problem". Well, it was pretty bad. Not for the men so much, but for the women, they were done dirty here. It is as if Stylist is maniacally driving a steamroller of vindictiveness, created from literally every current year social media chinese beauty trend, and PLOWED it over all the ladies with a merciless cruelty. You got your crown heightening hairstyle, dragon-lady french manicure, silkworm eyebags, "eye sparkle" contact lenses, fake eyelashes, sticking out ears, baby lipstick.... and all of it is done BADLY. These ladies clearly have natural beauty, and the stylist has marred it to dumpster-tier levels. Congratulations, stylist. Your revenge is complete.
And then you have just random stinky things in the dumpster, dumb clothes, thrift store furnishings, tropey crap, unconvincing acting, drab dialogue, random cliches (i tripped in these high heels on the pavement because idk how to walk right oh my ML broke my fall how sexy and fortuitous!)(oh no, the power's out and we're all alone in a scary storm!)
🔥THE FIRE.
Now THATS a fine red-flag ML. Obsessed, check. Possessive, check. Devoted, check. Borderline yandere, check. Gangster badass, check. Shitkicker, check. Gorgeous face = you know it. Good kissing, YES. Zhi Jie just NAILED this brand of sexy, he so owns it. And for some reason, HIS stylist did a great job. He looks so gangster, he is selling the sh*t out of it.
The script and plot is biased toward him completely. He is put in situations that bring out this badassery and this possessive black hot energy. The dumpster is, shall we say, the VEHICLE for this absolute 3000 degree blazing majestic bonfire, that is Zhi Jie as a near-perfect specimen of red-flag hotness.
Sometimes the best things can be found in the dumpster.
In this particular dumpster, is a perfectly good perfectly sexy TEN OUT OF TEN RED FLAG ML. I mean how does one even go about scoring something like this.
So I gave it an 8 because it's like hey... I'm not saying this is top shelf. Nooo, no no, not at all. But is it watchable and possibly re-watchable? YES, if ONLY because the ML himself is a red-flag masterpiece.
Stinky? Absolutely, without a doubt. But also glorious and hypnotic. I would recommend watching this, but only with proper personal protective gear, such as nose plugs and goggles, inhaler, possibly a gas mask or hazmat suit.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I loved it but it was stressful
I have watched this a long time ago, but I realized I haven't made a review yet. I rewatched it recently, coincidentally. I love this couple very much. I relate to both of them in many ways. This is one of those cat and dog BLs and I was very happy with it. But it took me some time to find that happiness since every episode Dao cries because Kluea can't communicate. I love Kluea, but the guy didn't help himself nor Daonuea. It was a little frustrating, but I could take it. My BIG problem was that Typhoon guy. He was so annoying and his face made me angry. He wouldn't leave Dao alone and it got me so mad, the way he would pry into Dao and Kluea's business being so nosy and not giving up like, dude, get a hint. Dao got me stressed when he decide to "date" Typhoon too. I'm glad it's over and they're happy now being the cutest in Our Skyy 2.Was this review helpful to you?
Let’s start with explaining why did I decide to watch this movie. Well, there are two main reasons: firstly, because Eita is in it and I always wanted to watch something with this guy and secondly, the poster – it intrigued me and reminded me of a movie Amelia; it also fooled me to think this will be a hilarious comedy. So I gave it a try.
Reasons why did I give it a 10:
1. It’s beautifully shot – every scene is like a work of art. Bright colors, intriguing details, breath-taking scenery… Even those moments when it is obvious that there are used some special effects (like the amusement park at the top of the building or prison walls,)they are not cheap like in many other movies I’ve seen, they just deepen the unreality of this world. I’m not an extreme aesthete and I don’t attach particular importance to those things, but in here the beauty of the movie was just overwhelming and couldn’t be overlooked.
2. It has amazing actors – although at first I thought Eita would have a bigger part in this movie, I wasn’t disappointed at all. He did a good job portraying a lost young man with no particular purpose in his life who tries to know more about his aunt he never met. As for our main heroine, Matsuko… well, Nakatani Miki did an awesome job portraying her. Her acting felt so real, that sometimes it was really painful to watch this movie – I was thinking while watching it that this woman was suffering so much, too much for such a fragile person, I could understand her pain and why she was making a mistake after a mistake, and all that thanks to this amazing actress who made this character alive and real.
3. Its story – there wouldn’t be so many praises from me if I didn’t find this story captivating and judging from my score you can guess that I found it as such. This movie showed in a very realistic way the life of Matsuko - from a child who was craving for her father’s attention to a miserable woman who was betrayed by all men she loved and who was sorry for being born. I’m a psychology student, so I’m always looking for reasons for one’s behavior and here I found perfect explanations for Matsuko’s self-destructing ways of acting. It wasn’t like some things were made just to amuse the viewer or just for a sake of making things more dramatic; it was more like a study of a person’s life, a very realistic study may I add. It left me crying many times (and I’m considered to be a cold-blooded person), because it made me see how easy it is to make yourself miserable and feel like there is no way out. And another advantage – even if this movie tells a heavy story, it is not extremely depressing, more like it's emotional and touching. It leaves you with warm feelings and wet eyes.
To sum it all up, I cannot praise this movie enough, I gave it a 10 without hesitation. If you’d like to take a break from overly dramatic, clichéd movies, try this one – I'm sure you won’t regret watching it.
Was this review helpful to you?
