Reviews

In Which Time Traveling gets Fairly Angsty about the Passage of Time

"The Light In Your Eyes" is a fairly deceptive take on a woman suffering from Alzheimer's disease that fits pretty well into the how the disease robs people of their memories and sense of self by exploring the idea of an imagined life. Before that, the series masquerades a time travel rom-com about an aspiring announcer who uses a watch that can manipulate time, but accelerates her aging as a price.

While not comparable to the likes of Sarah Polley's "Away From Her", the show - toward the end - does get pretty heavy once it reveals it hand and deals with the subject on more than a passing level. If the aim was always to tell a story about aging and how the elderly are treated by their community (on a whole), then hiding it behind a fluffy rom-com was certainly one way to see it through.

However, it gets to a point where that I think the constant barrage of melodrama honestly detracts from the message, and borders on comical (unintentionally) at times.

There aren't a lot of dramas I'd recommend, but if I had to choose a show for someone to watch, I'd choose this one (on the pretense that I'd spoil the twist, because I think knowing beforehand will simply make the story better).

Now if y'all excuse me, I'm gonna watch a salary man fight zombies. I'm sure that won't break my heart.

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When the odds is always in your favor

A well-written revenge and vengeance story that unfortunately does not succeed in making the scenarios believable. The rainbow squad is totally invincible and no matter what kind of life-and-death situation they run through, they always make it out alive. I hope one of them should die to make it more impactful.

I admire the concept of putting justice to each featured victim but the scenes are too good to be true. I am not even sure if I would watch the confirmed season 3 as the story keeps being the same. I have no other cons from the show except for making the scenes too overly executed.

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What an amazing finale for an extraordinary drama! This was definitely better than Part I, let me tell you.

Storytelling wise, this movie goes deeper than ever before and touches some subjects I was hoping they would discuss, such as Nodame's actual feelings for music and her initial life plans being changed, and Chiaki's constant need to have Nodame by his side while never accepting it himself or to her. The rest of the characters also get resolutions, Kiyora's and Mine's being my favorite scene out of all of them.

The music here is as amazing, as it always was, yet it was used much better than in Part I. Here it does always help move the plot along, as it did in the drama, and it does so in a way that it never feels like it drags for too long, or at least, it never did to me.

The photography is outstanding and some moments were like postcards on the screen. The use of CGI for some moments gave them a more maga-ish effect which connected the story back to its roots and lightened up the mood by offering balance.

The performances here are at their best. Kudos to Ueno Juri and Tamaki Hiroshi for being not only amazing on their own but also having such incredible chemistry together and creating a couple that you can root for yet see its issues very clearly too.

I couldn't have asked for a more deserving ending to an amazing series and I'm sure this is an undisputable classic (pun intended) among jdramas.

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This was one of the dramas I accidentally stumbled upon while looking for something to watch. To be honest, I didn't know 95% of the cast in this drama but decided to give this drama a chance. Even though this drama is long, it is worth watching. This drama is about heroes such as Qin Qiong and Luo Cheng who fight for justice and to root out all corruptions in the Sui court. There is a lot of corrupted officials who are greedy for money or power. This is a story about brotherhood among heroes working towards a goal of ending the Sui Dynasty. The main idea is how Qin Qiong encounters lost family members or virtuous friends on a quest to fight for injustice during his journey. We have heroes that are not smart but have immense strength, we have heroes that are loyal to their lord even if the lord is corrupted and then we have heroes that have a sense of righteousness and work towards that cause. There are a lot of characters which may confuse you in the beginning, however once you start watching, you will get to know all the characters portrayed. There is some comedy involved in scenes with Cheng Yao Jin but that is because this character is not bright and also causes trouble. I really liked the chemistry between Qin Qiong and Yu Er. Yu Er is one of those type of girls that will go through thick and thin for their husband. There are a lot of things that happen and I wish some areas were more detailed with more scenes. There are also happy and sad scenes where you root for the characters. Overall, I enjoyed this drama. Try watching several episodes to see if this interests you.

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Cliché rom-com with the memory of a goldfish

First of all, apologies to all my goldfish friends. ;)
I'm ambivalent about this show. On one hand, taken moment by moment, it is light, fluffy and swoon worthy. On the other hand, the script is weak and too tropey, has pacing issues, plot holes big enough to drive through and one dimensional characters. After episode 5 until around ep. 19, I watched the show at 1.5-2x speed. I didn't skip scenes but I can't be bothered to sit through them at normal speed either.
The start of the show is way too fantastical (I didn't say it was fantastic). It all happened at breakneck speed with tropey meet-cute, accidental first kiss, cohabitation, faked illness, falling into each other's arms (repeatedly) all done and dusted by the end of episode 2. It was bordering on non-sensical. By the fifth episode, the OTP was signed, sealed and delivered. What a shame that the show then expanded all its energy on creating road blocks for the CP. Nothing new there but it was done with little finesse. The simple plots were transparent and with the ML's Super Intelligence™, he was always one step ahead of the antagonists. It might be satisfying to watch piecewise but it also reduced any tension to near zero as you knew the ML will win every time.
Speaking of antagonists, it was very claustrophobic. There are about 6 key characters (plus the usual family, best friends and close associates) but they are from just 2 families and they all grew up together and most of them have a crush/unrequited love of some one else in that group. Even with numerous rejections, the circle just goes around and around and nobody takes no for an answer.
Disappointingly, the FL felt muted. Zhao Lu Si has a lot of screen time but her character was not strong and easily manipulated. Normally, she plays the feisty, bubbly FL that throws down the gauntlet to the world but not this time. There are glimpses of that but on the whole, she was overshadowed by the ML and more suffering than dishing it out. She was totally manipulated by the ML in the early episodes, then she became his pretty partner and cheerleader. She has her own achievements but it was small scale by comparison. I think she was underutilised and frankly didn't shine.
I have no doubt many viewers will ship the OTP but my cynical eyes kept seeing the writer's hand in pushing them onto us. Creating those "moments" that will be talked about and shared.
On top of that, there were endless business shenanigans (just within the key players). Once again, very poorly constructed and involved expositions on some wicked machination and magically, the other company's shares will crash. It paints the Chinese business world in pretty grim lights, TBH. Of course, the ML came through (again and again) and made his enemies look stupid (and they were). That is why I mentioned gold fish memory as all these were done in small cycles. Confession/rejection, business gain/loss, family politics, rinse and repeat.
It got better in the last few episodes but the tone is set and it is really just a race to the finish line of closures and CP happiness.
The secondary pairings provided some relieve but they didn't do much more than that. You don't really feel invested in them.
OST was mostly happy tunes and rewatch is not really there unless you want to watch some of the CP highlights. There were some egregious PPL as well.
Like I said before, moment by moment, it is not bad but sadly, the whole is less than the sum of the parts.

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Stand or Fall

True to its title, you’ll either take a stand or a tumbling fall, you choose. I’ll just try to give my impressions and hopefully
it’ll give you some perspective if you’re on the fence.

Cons: subtitles where I watched was so bad that to really follow the gist of the business side of it, tends to keep you engaged. I mean you can definitely infer a lot (if you’ve seen one business drama you quickly pick up that two sides are working to advance, except there’s the other doing everything to sabotage that effort, right}. It was hard to follow along the business aspect of it, and it wasn’t anything so mind blowing to keep you teetering. In fact, it was a bit frustrating.

Pros: the cast! I always give grace to the hard working cast, no matter how the final product turns out. These are veteran casts and I automatically warm up to this type of series. They did a good job with what given. Whether by choice of what they agreed in contract, I always feel that there’s a hold back in level of chemistry. I’m so glad that one marriage portrayed did not add a cheat tag, but that the workaholic husband became mindful of his wife and supported her. I’m tired of cheating theme dramas so one married couple who worked through theirs was refreshing. The other married couple thought, at least, justice was served. As for main couple, they could have had more ‘them’ screen time but they were cute.

Overall, it’s not a bad production. I mean there’s lots they probably could have done better but still, it was fine. I liked it and if you have time, it’s worth seeing.

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"Your life is more meaningful when you are willing to face yourself'

The Heroic Trio was a weirdly, wildly, stylized superhero movie starring three of the most beautiful women in Hong Kong films at the time. Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, and Anita Mui were caught up in an evil eunuch’s plan to steal babies and install one of them as the new emperor of China. This film had a Saturday morning superhero television show quality to it, if that show had cannibalism, decapitations, and dead babies and children.

Tung is married to Inspector Lau. Little does her husband know that she is the much admired hero, Wonder Woman. When babies are being kidnapped with no ransom notes the duo springs into action in their own ways. Chat, The Thief Catcher, rolls in on her motorcycle armed with a pump shotgun and dynamite and saves the day when she rescues hostages at a chemical warehouse. A superhero for hire, she gives her card to the police chief whose new baby has been targeted. Ching, The Invisible Woman, works for the merciless and powerful eunuch who lives in an enormous fortress in the sewers. The eunuch believes that, “China cannot be without an emperor.” And by that he means an emperor he controls so that he would be the de facto ruler. By day Ching lives with The Professor who invented the Invisible cloak so that when it is perfected, she can steal it and kill him. She may not get the chance as the invisibility process is deadly toxic. The three women warriors collide as the kidnappings become more complicated and deadly. The eunuch’s superpowered minion, Kau, brings danger and loss of body parts whenever he appears.

This movie was off the rails bonkers and not for the faint of heart. In Western films, killing and torturing children is right up there with killing pets, it’s rarely done, or at least not done onscreen so the cruelty toward children was quite disturbing for me. The Flying Guillotine survived the ages from the 1975 movie and made a cameo here. There were also a variety of throwing weapons, explosives, razor bladed chains, and poison darts used. The women’s most powerful weapons were the humanity and sisterhood that had almost been trained out of them. Only through their combined powers could they take down the maniacal eunuch. Many of the actions scenes were filmed in low lighting as the characters climbed, leapt, and fell repeatedly. Despite the darkness, the wires showed at times, at other times the train broke through the fourth wall. While exploring the superhero genre, the film kept its feet firmly flying in Hong Kong wuxia history as well.

What was the draw to this absurd superhero movie? The cast! Michelle Yeoh was gorgeous with her flowing hair and impeccable timing, completely believable as the conflicted anti-hero. Ching had the most painful character growth spurred by her inconvenient love for the professor. It would take Chat and Tung to give her a reason to live and break free from the eunuch’s hold. Maggie Cheung went from cocky bounty hunter to the vulnerable middle child caught between two sisters she loved. Anita Mui alternated as the devoted wife and ferocious heroine who was the moral compass of the trio. The three women each had tortuous pasts that they had to come to terms with in order to move forward.

The Heroic Trio was not a great movie but it was entertaining. At times it veered into so bad it was good, especially near the end with an unhinged final fight. Regardless of the movie's shortcomings, it's always refreshing to have competent women warriors and superheroes even if the movie didn’t always serve them well. For fans of these actresses, if you can keep your expectations low, it’s definitely one to give a try.

10 April 2024

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A must watch!

Some people put low ratings on this Taiwan Drama because they get confused because of the lack of knowledge of time traveling or they just watched a few episodes and stopped because they didn't understand what's happening (tbh I was confused at first too). But let me tell you, me as a high core fan of time traveling, this drama exceeding my expectations of what was going to happen next. So if you are confused about what is happening watch until the end it explains everything throughout each episode you see. And when you reach the final episode and you somehow think it's over, well let me tell you it's still not over yet until the end (and there is even a bonus ending that satisfied me and made me accept the ending.)

With all that said if you are interested in time-traveling, a first lead romance that will make you cry almost every episode (I personally cried every single episode.) [p.s if you think it the romance can't get any more beautiful and emotional you are definitely wrong.], a second lead chance of a romance with the one he loves (like if there is a single drama that I have watched were there is no one with a second lead syndrome well this is the one and this doesn't contain a first lead syndrome either), the most beautiful ost's, crime-solving, episodes that will exceed your expectations dramatically, unexpected twists, youth, heartbreak, and healing, say no more and watch this right NOW!

And have I mentioned yet that it has one of the most beautiful romances? Oh, sorry, it's just that reading the title again brings me into tears and gives me a hint of nostalgia T^T

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It's a coming-of-age, very slice-of-life story of friends to lovers.

Fight for my way centers around two childhood besties Ae Ra and Dong Man, who are chasing after their dreams in their 30's despite their lack of the best resumes. Dong Man is a retired Taekwondo fighter and Ae Ra works the information desk at a shopping mall but her dream is to become an announcer.

The first thing I want to mention is the heartful performances of all the cast. The characters are so well suited for one another that I forget that they're acting. I think this is another best performances I've ever seen from Park Seo Joon since Itaewon Class. It's not over the top but it's just so believable and realistic and subtle, really brilliant! Each character is written to be very loveable, everyone is very flawed and they make mistakes, which makes me eager to watch their journeys.

However, the storyline around the first quarter of the series seems to have no reason to be there, I didn't feel its urgency and they have no arc at the end of the series. Because of the pacing and progression of the plot and all of the subplots is very loose to me. Had it been tightened up a little bit I think I would have enjoyed this much more. I wish they would spend more time maybe focusing more on the impact that Dong Man's sister had, knowing that he's losing the competition for her health because I was so interested to see this storyline being developed a bit more. I feel the ending is rushed and thrown out there, so it doesn't give a satisfying conclusion.

I ended up watching all of it because I really like the characters and their chemistry, both between the leads and also between the side characters. They're undeniably very interesting and fun to watch. I like how they emphasize the start of their relationship, their cute childhood scenes, and then the ending or potential ending of one. I love when shows do that, it reminded me a lot of "Because This Is My First Life". This is not a high-stakes romance drama, but more about the adorable romance of characters with big personalities and big goals of theirs. The true progression of friends to lovers is one of the best I've seen. So overall, this was a really entertaining watch, just expect some plot detours. :)

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Better finish that I could ever hoped for

Reminiscing about season one, which I only watched a few weeks before starting the second season, was an energizer in my day to day life so I had huge expectations about the following season and I claim therein this review that those expectations were met. Honestly it even went above all my expectations, that said I will be waiting for the third season.
For those who are wondering about whether is the first season a must-watch before starting this season all I could say that it is. Be reassured that those ten episodes will be as entertaining as it gets and there will be no time wasted.
Our hero, sure I can call him that, does not need an annoying cape floating behind him nor a grandious entree, he is one of the common folks whose aura alone outshines those of sparkly "superheroes". It is a story worth to be told and a hero made to be admired. That being said I must confess something: unlike in the first season I had felt less tension especially in the second part of the series mainly because I was "too" certain that he will overcome anything thrown in his way. However the plot being more intriquite and well-balanced so overall I can only admit that it had truelly won me over.
The acting was of superb quality, the characters well-planned out, the events well orchestrated even if the music was non-existent at bests and mainly a part of a valid background harmony, it is one series worth to be recommended. No need to be afraid of the world of banks and its mysteries everything is well-explained and no distracting plot-holes were present. I especially loved those "ball-crushing" scenes reminding me of a Napoleonesque stature.

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Great friends-to-lovers with internal struggles story, with a "Who's done this?" saggy plot.

No Ji Wook is a workaholic no-nonsense type of prosecutor whose career is on the rise. When a rookie attorney Eun Bong Hee becomes the suspect in her ex-boyfriend's murder and Noh Ji Wook is assigned to her case, their lives become intertwined.

This drama really had a little bit of something for everyone, slice-of-life, court debate, mystery, and a natural friends-to-lovers trope. There's a lot of humor, and Bong Hee is one of the funniest endearing female leads I've ever met. The show switches tone between light-hearted scenes and very creepy and suspenseful scenes. What happened in the first eight episodes kept me engaged because I didn't know what's gonna happen next. I wanted to see them catch the bad guy and I wanted to see the leads together. There is also an interesting discussion about stalking, it brings up the question of where obsession begins, where is the line between a harmless infatuation and an unhealthy obsession

I enjoy watching Gi Wook and Bong Hee together in their chaotic work meetings. Their dialogue is really snappy, it's really fast and both have clear motivations for why they decided to take the judicial system as a career path. Their characters are very fleshed out. Both of them are flawed and they see each other's flaws and they still care and respect each other. He is a prosecutor but then messes up, loses his job, and has to start his own home office. Bong Hee was a mess too and then she's an even bigger mess when she gets thrown into jail. But she could fight and I love her portrayal of being realistically in a mess, she doesn't look perfect yet still gorgeous. I love how Ji Wook falls for her even though she's a mess, he has to take action as her prosecutor and put her in jail, but he is still fighting for her at that point even though he doesn't quite understand why. I appreciate the slight time jump done early on, as it catalyzes our lead's relationship progression, it's very believable.

If you're a Ji Chang Wook fan you need to see this. He is hilariously grumpy, He screams "IC!" all the time and he shows a lot of spice to his role as Ji Wook. He's also damaged from his childhood, and he needs skinship so badly that he's touching the walls. I had to mention that his behavior of dragging his fingers across the walls was because he is so lonely so he was like seeking touch... this part really lasts in my head.

Although I have many pros, my minor con is that there are very cringy scenes. My main con is the saggy middle. This part did annoy me, they filled a lot of episodes with the villain playing a whole guessing game back and forth, and I wasn't as invested because it kept repeating, my mind wandered while watching. I prefer some more development with the secondary romances instead because their relationship was interesting to me and I thought that they had the potential to be interesting.

(Spoiler part)

I want to give Dong Ha a shout-out for his role as a great complete villain. He was hard to pin down until the very end. He doesn't look scary, but rather a very unsettling one. A worthy opponent who is truly calculating, manipulative, and delusional. He did some impactful little quirks on Hyun Soo like he whistled and his whistling tune, which I thought really elevated the creepiness level. Overall, I really enjoyed how Dong Ha played the character and it made me want to see him in a romantic lead.

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Something fresh, light with a little bit of mystery

Watch this if you are looking for something light with a little bit of intrigue. I was in a drama slump wherein I couldn't get pass first few episodes. I found this drama light, intriguing and entertaining that I was able to binge watch it upon release in the streaming platform. I found the two lead actors quite refreshing, as well as the supporting characters. It was very light and funny. The SML and SFL were so funny. It was your usual troupe but I like the twist in the end which I didn't expect. Although not a perfect story continuity-wise, but it was cute an okay and entertaining drama - enough for me to finish the whole thing. Bonus -- I love their scenes in the farm. I look forward to the future dramas of the leads! Ending was simple but sweet.

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Who said found footage doesn’t work?

I tend to watch coming-of-age dramas in bursts then I'd swear I'll never watch another one! I must be in my manic phase when I watched 3 such dramas recently . . . in a row.

Let’s focus on this show for now. Our leads are 16 years old high school students when we meet them. Typically, such shows would cover the period leading up to the all prevailing college entrance exams and some would go beyond that. This show walks the same well-trodden path. What sets this apart is a well written script that contains all the usual tropes, but it uses them rather than being subsumed by them.

On top of that, the leads played their roles well and they infused a certain warmth and je ne sais quoi to their story. The FL is in her elements. Her spunky personality and infectious smile make her so lovable. She takes no prisoners when it comes to dealing with love rivals, but she'd let her suitors down gently.

The pacing of the show is nice and steady. This is helped by a shortish 24 episodes run. There is little need for mindless filler subplots. However, I would venture to say that they probably spend too much time in their early years. Two third of the show is taken up with the first 2 years of their senior high school. The critical Gao Kao year is greatly compressed. Ditto their college years. The first year did get some attention but then it largely skips ahead to their college graduation. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with this because their school related plots are quite constrained as some topics are simply too taboo for the censors. They can finally explore their relationship to the full after they left school.

Acting overall is solid from the ensemble cast. The 2CP is well matched but they are a bit awkward around each other until they finally confessed their feelings and change status from friends to lovers. Overall, the show is very cute and sweet. The FL's parents are gems. The ML's more problematic but they do change for the better later on.

As I mentioned before, most of the plots are well written with one exception. When the FL worked as an intern, she was taken to a banquet for a big client. The setup is the classic honey trap with the pretty young thing sitting next to the middle-aged client. Of course, he starts to get handsy. This is nothing new to c-dramas and many nasty subplots start from there. Luckily, she managed to excuse herself but her manager later sent her a text saying that she is in the wrong and should self-reflect on her mistake.

Ok, I’m not a prude but in a show full of positive messages about youths and new horizons, this stood out like a sore thumb. How can a young intern be at fault when she is a victim of harassment? Should she have seduced the client instead?! This just served to propagate the horrid cliché. I understand that it allows the ML to play hero and comes to her rescue but the payoff is not worth it, IMHO.

Nevertheless, I still consider this to be a superior show. The positives far outweigh the negatives. I can recommend this show wholeheartedly. OST is nice and catchy. Rewatch will not be a chore.

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In friendship, age has no bar.

"If we only accept pretty things, then this whole town will be wiped out, won't it?"

Let's go karaoke is a random slice-of-life movie where you meet two bizarre yet perfect combination of characters in a questionable wholesome situation. A 40yr old yakuza Kyouji asks a 14yr old choir boy Satomi to teach him “how to sing”. After reading the synopsis you would expect a scary looking yakuza threatening a timid school boy to get what he wants. But in reality it's the opposite. How? That's for you to discover.

The movie is pretty much about the adolescent boy teaching him how to sing and founding himself in unusual situations with scary yakuza members. The absurdity of the whole plot is the juxtaposition of scary yakuza image and them taking karaoke singing competition so seriously like their life depends on it. Thanks to this film I found another banger “Kurenai” >.<
The bgm and hilarious singing adds up to it.
It's only possible for Japan to deliver this kind of unique plot. Throughout the film you watch two mismatched people come closer and forming a bond. Both the actors skillfully depicted the intricate emotions of their distinct characters.

I'm that type of person who reads the manga/webtoon first before diving into the series/movies. The mangaka, Yama Wayama has my heart and soul. Her art style is just my type. I read and watched “Captivated by you” long ago which I absolutely adored it but sadly was unaware of this manga. The way she combined and delivered all the essence of characters in panels is just phenomenal.

Definitely recommend them, both the one-shot manga and its lovely adaptation.

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