1Switched by the witch.
In Blossom or 花间令/Huā Jiān Lìng (The Flower Order) is a mystery romance with fantasy elements. I checked this out because of Liu Xueyi, an under appreciated actor who is just as good an antagonist as he is a protagonist. Despite some flaws and controversy, this sleeper hit won Liu Xueyi high praise for his good looks and compelling acting.Yang Caiwei is a scarred, inauspicious undertaker shunned by citizens of the sinful city of Heyang. She finds herself embroiled in a murder case with the new magistrate Pan Yue, the most handsome gentleman in the capital. As it turns out, before misfortune befell her family, she was engaged to Pan Yue and he seems determined to honor their betrothal. On their wedding day, she is switched by the witch Shangguan Zhi using dark magic. She finds herself in Shangguan Zhi's body right before "Yang Caiwei" is murdered and suspects Pan Yue of doing the deed! Assuming Shangguan Zhi's identity, she investigates her own murder by working for Pan Yue at the yamen in the hope of finding evidence of his complicity. Body swapping is the only fantasy aspect and it is readily accepted without that much disbelief by the characters in this story.
This production drew early criticism because Zheng Hehuizi guest starred as Yang Caiwei for two episodes and impressed viewers with how she interpreted the role. Her Yang Caiwei is a solemn character; a child whose world was shattered overnight and endured nine years of hardship. She finds meaning in following her shifu's footsteps as a coroner, obtaining justice for victims of foul play. This characterization of Yang Caiwei makes sense to me but unfortunately, there was no meeting of the minds in how the role should be portrayed. Although Ju Jingyi delivers an adequate performance, her depiction lacks depth and gravitas. Her Yang Caiwei is literally only Shangguan Zhi; a happy, pampered young lady who never suffered a day in her life. She is so un-serious as a coroner I just scoffed at her autopsies. Still, she didn't quite ruin the show for me as she is so pretty and charismatic I always have a soft spot for her. I just sigh for the opportunity missed because Yang Caiwei is one of the better written female roles and Liu Xueyi is a fantastic actor to be paired up with. She could have impressed enough with a more layered performance to break her out of her usual typecasting but sadly she did not approach this role thoughtfully enough.
While I watched this for the suspense plot, both romances are nicely written. Liu Xueyi and Ju Jingyi look so gorgeous as a couple that their visuals alone deflect many flaws. To me, Pan Yue’s early obsession with Yang Caiwei was not healthy or well founded but I enjoyed how he fell for her against his better instincts thinking she was the detestable Shangguan Zhi. I never faulted Pan Yue for taking so long to figure out she was Yang Caiwei because both actresses failed to show me of they are the same girl. I like how Zhuo Lanjiang is written to be as capable and powerful in his own way as Pan Yue. He is a credible love rival that does not descend into delusional archetypes. But I wasn't that invested in his romance either.
After the big letdown of Youku's big budget Judge Dee's Mystery, this much more modest production satisfied my craving for a good mystery. The cases, beginning with Yang Caiwei's own murder hooked me from the get go. I enjoyed how each case pulls at threads to reveal links initially to the four major clans of Heyang and ultimately a far wider conspiracy that goes back many years. This familiar formula used in many other investigative series is quite well executed. Despite small plot holes, the focus on the human tragedy aspect of these side cases made me either empathize with the victims or at times even the perpetrators. This is something both Judge Dee's Mystery and Mysterious Lotus Casebook failed to do. The main villain is neither too obvious nor revealed too early, which was my biggest gripe with Mysterious Lotus Casebook. This one does well in keeping us guessing right up till the end. However, this is achieved by concealing information from the viewer instead of hiding all the clues in plain sight.
The narrative hiccups in the final arc back at the capital. It seems like a different writer took over. The villain is revealed shortly after they show up onscreen instead of building suspense for a bit. The final villain is not that smart and only gains an upper hand because two hitherto smart characters are thrown under the bus and exercised their free will in unintelligent ways. It always makes me angry to see good characters get undeserved outcomes so I am not happy with how this ends. Good characters were literally wasted just to squeeze some tears from the audience. Instead of ending on a big reveal, it just descends into melodrama. The chilling ending epilogue however is well done but to avoid spoilers I will elaborate on that below. All things considered, this is still an enjoyable watch. I would have rated it 8.0/10 were it not for the ending. My final rating is 7.5/10.0.
ENDING SPOILER COMMENTS
The ending epilogue is a nice chilling way to end regardless of whether Season 2 gets the go ahead. If there is no Season 2, it suggests that #1 is some kind of arch nemesis of Pan Yue, like Moriarty to Holmes who is still out there; that organizations like The Flower Order are not that easy to wipe out. Note there are actually 9 tokens in total in the end scene.
If there is a Season 2, the mastermind is either someone we already met or someone that has not yet appeared onscreen. Recall #2 only shows up in the final arc so this writer does not play fair with the audience. In that case, it is not useful to speculate further. If however, the mastermind is someone we already met, I think it is most likely Shangguan Lan. It is evident from the plain cyan sleeves that it is a man and while the cloth is rich, there is no elaborate embroidery on the sleeve like the nobles and high officials like Pan Yue and Minister Pan wear. The Shangguan family keeps a private army and they have the vast resources and network to be behind this kind of clandestine organization. They also have links to witch doctors and dark magic, which is how Shangguan Zhi swapped bodies with Yang Caiwei. So it would not be surprising that they worship pagan gods like the ram god. I initially ruled out Shangguan Lan due to his age, but he could have inherited the token from his father.
There is also a possibility the mastermind is a woman because the Chinese title is The Flower Order. In that case, it could either be The Empress or Qingdi, who now pretty much controls Heyang after Pan Yue effectively eliminated all her rivals for her.
X
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One of the best things is that until about episode 5 the gender roles are reversed. Instead of the "innocent girl" falling for the "bad boy," You have an innocent boy falling for the girl everyone hates.
The casters did an amazing job with casting Show Luo as the main lead, seeing as he's a giant piece of eye candy. Rainie, who played an innocent girl in "Devil Beside You" did an amazing job with an opposite role. Together the two of them will have you wanting to cry at sad moments and yell at the screen as if they can hear you.
This is my all time favorite drama. I've re-watched several times and will continue to re-watch it. At first I had given up at episode three but curiosity took over and I started watching it again. At first you may seem disappointed, watching a dork when you want to watch a hunk. But it's all worth it.
You won't regret watching this.
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--- The wish is not what you expect, and it is the contrary. But at the end, it worked. And I incorrectly thought of who is the "cupid" here, and it comes as a surprise. You might be too! ---
First of all, drop all what you expect form this series based on the trailer or teaser which ever you want to call it. it is not hard core drama romance, it is more of a romance comedy. Once you have establsihed and keep that in your head, you will enjoy this one, and that is for certain. Especially those Earth-Mix fandom.
If you watch Episode 1 & 4 of Our Sky, it feels the same. But the devil lies in the detail. *wink*
The inheritance issue is just a layer of the entire plot primarily focused on self-assessment and realization. Each leg of the journey adds to this enlightenment.
There will be instances that you want to smack off the face of earth Mix's character as he is out of line. But when you realize where he is coming from, the anger mellows down and be tolerant. There are scenes that Mix seems will not stop talking! And I find it cute when he nags. And watch those antics from Win, truly adorable!
When you get to the PMS episode, that is the most fun in this series. Couldn't help myself laughing and Mix is awesome!
And also, this is a departure of the urban life and travelling the rural areas of Thailand. Buddhism, which highlighted, as the major religion of the country plays an important role as well. The lines coming from the abbots can be easily applied if you are of a different belief system.
Lastly, boy don't forget about the food! Sometimes I am expecting Mark Weins of Migrationology will sunddely join the food fest. LOL Thoser river prawns!
If you are single, which probably you are, you might curse them for not being considerate in the sweet moments. Either you want to be Mix or Korn. Earth and Mix are so natural with each other, and I couldn't say more about that and you will surely notice that. They can definitely do another rom-com and surely I will watch it as well!
ACTING/CAST
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I have to give this Mix as Win. As this his only 2nd main lead role, outright you can see how far he has come. He convey emotions raw, much more with intense and conviction. Being paired up a very common close friend makes their scenes natural and not forced or scripted. Watch Mix's eyes as it where his emotions are coming from. Truly, you'll be mesmerized by it.
Earth as Korn, you wouldn't expect any less from him of course. It is just a bit odd that his support is parter in Theory of Love, White as Doctor Non.
MUSIC
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This is one of the the strenghts of GMMTV productions. They know where to put them to enhance the experience especially in those heartbreaking ones.
REWATCH VALUE
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Like I have said over and over again, I am the type of guy who does not watch after I finished. But, to each his own.
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A movie definitely not meant for everyone
Ok, so I think all the people who watched this movie were like NANI TF!? And I'm no excuse lol. This review is going to be mainly for the sickos out there like myself who actually really enjoyed the movie and everything in it.THIS MOVIE IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEARTS. If you can't take things like, kidnnaping, rape, BDSM, tons of sex, mature content, suicide and torture, I suggest you stay away from this movie.
In my opinion I really don't understand why this movie got so many critiques and low rating. The synopsis is out there and so is the trailer and the manga. If you watched and you felt offended by this show, the blame is on you.
This movie is a portrait of Stockholm Syndrome and how love can appear in many different forms and places. It is a very heavy movie, I'm not gonna deny it, but at the same time I could find a sence of beauty in it. The movie talks a lot about life, death, love, blame and forgiveness. I think it passes a realy nice message on how you can't always blame yourself for the bad things that happens in life and that death in not always the answer. For me the movie was very well made, the acting was really nice, the soudtrack gave a very dark and heavy tone to the entire show, and the story was actually very well written in my opinion. Overall I really really liked this movie but do not recommend for the people who takes everything at heart.
I think it's important to mention that THIS IS JUST A FILM! It's important to separe reality from fiction!! So stop judging people for actually liking this type of film.
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When food is their love language
Every ep made me wonder why is watching a couple talking, cooking and just eating together so wholesome to watch. Like for 33 long episodes? with "no real plot". This is exactly the reason we liked it.I still request everybody to not watch this drama at midnight with no food in your fridge, becoz you'll be dead-ass hungry and no Mo Qingcheng is coming to cook for you. Damn the way all they did was cook, eat, sing, kiss, cook, eat and EAT again xD.
Love me, love my voice is an all cute fluffy drama with your typical shy FL and perfect ML (that you can't help but fall for). Like how was this boy dubbing for popular dramas, a cardiac surgeon, an amazing cook (he even knew origin and history of those dishes), patient enough to let her get adapted to him... and we actually got no bitchy SFL, no love triangle, an all healthy relationship instead with all these green flag supporting characters... Are you kidding me? This is so unrealistic hahaha but gotta agree we love some simplistic romances like this once in a while.
Their romance was sort of slow burn in the beginning which might have tested some people's patience (was okay to me), otherwise you always got that skip button ;)... Zhou Ye also acted satisfactory for the shy, cute FL and gladly did not cross that cringe level. But opinions might differ a lot for these two things.
They actually had several routes to spice up and add drama like the ML is almost a celebrity meanwhile FL is still a newbie in the field but its quite nice that they sticked to this easy-going path. They didn't fail in serving this concept to us in the right way at least.
Coming to Tan Jianci's sexy voice now *coughs* I mean his dubbing and OSTs... Playing the role of a dubbing actor, TCJ himself dubbed all his scenes and sang his songs too (what a blessing for us). From the stunning OST list, I loved these the most! —
• 与君归 (Return With You) - by Tan Jianci and Bu Cai
• 万骨催沙 (Ten Thousand Bones Push Sand) - by Tan Jianci
(This guy is going places, like his acting, charisma as of getting into a character and even voice... Very talented indeed)
• 盛世之疆 (Realm of Prosperity) - by Xian Zi, Li Chang chao, HITA, Xiao'ai Dema, Alex, Lie Tian ....( in every drama there's a song which is just my type of song, this is it )
• 青梅引 (Wintersweet) - by Le Xiaotao (calm, dreamy, so pleasant, love it)
• Slowly - by yihuik (this was the theme song for the main cp and damnnn why is her voice that sweet)
So overall Love me, love my voice is a lovable, sweet drama with all positivity and feel good vibes... And if you're looking for something similar to Hidden Love or Forever and Ever, this is the one for you.
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Great beginning...... That's it
I must be one of the rare few who thinks it was a hot mess. The series started perfect, I enjoyed the first 2-4 episodes, they did suck me in and I couldn't wait to see what happened next. But after the 4th episode it just.... declined. The concept of this drama was a hook for me, I was so interested in how they would expose the bl industry for the awfulness that it is, and don't get me wrong they did definitely do some exposing but after a while, it just felt... flat for better worlds.The series dragged in some places and was just.... boring in other places. The series wasn't dialogue-heavy either which of course you would think means it was action (gestures and whatnot) heavy, but it wasn't. I think if they introduced just a tad bit more dialogue it would have helped a little bit more. I truly do not think the director knew what they were undertaking and felt overwhelmed.... which sadly means it translates into the drama with how lacking it was after a while.
The ending for this drama..... Let's just say it could be a lot better. The fairytale gag in the ending was cute do not get me wrong, but I felt like that just... ruined the whole ending for me. I would rather enjoy that as a bonus scene in the ending, which would have been super cute. The ending was lackluster and needlessly portrayed. During it, I found myself just looking at my phone because I was so BORED. So... the ending was not it and was total crap.. CUTE, but crap... Lol
Now let us get into the acting. The acting was...... well... How do I say this..... good but not great? I'll be totally honest, the best acting in this series was the villain of the whole thing Aey. Bruces acting for that character was top-notch, of course, I hated the character but I cannot deny it was the most talented acting in this drama. The other actors of course are good at acting, but it just felt like the director wasn't.... directing and the actors were just trying to make the best of the situation, so of course, their acting fell through at times. There are quite of few moments where acting was lackluster and it made the scene boring or just dulling at moments. Now like I said, that's not because the actors can't act, but because it just felt like even the director didn't know what they wanted. So acting is good, but not the best.
Overall, the first half of the series is really good, the second half is boring, dull, and lackluster.
So do I recommend this BL? Yes, I do. Everyone should watch it at least once because it does highlight some very important issues in the BL industry and the drama is good for the most part. So yes, watch it! Just be warned of the dullness after a while lol.
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Do you want revenge regardless of the price?
Dark, suspenseful, violence and heartbreaking, “My Name” tells a story of a woman who lost her father and then she chose to lose herself in order to take revenge.“My Name” is an action thriller with the revenge trope as a main theme so the story doesn’t have much depth and it’s somehow predictable but overall, the drama is entertaining. It has many good action scenes and the choreographed fights are very well executed. The gore is also very realistic so trigger-warning: “My Name” has extreme violence that may not be suitable for everyone.
The story is also well written and it doesn’t lose its interest. The pace is good, not too slow nor too fast and it can be binged-watched easily. The length of 8 episodes is good enough to tell the whole story without leaving anything untold and without making the viewers bored or tired of it.
What was really likable about the story was the building of the protagonist’s character. Yoon Ji Woo has a powerful spirit within an unpowerful body which she eventually manages to build up after living, or better surviving, in a very brutal environment. She is indeed a very dynamic woman who doesn’t let anything or anyone keep her away from her goal, revenge. Seeing her journey through Han so Hee’s surprisingly good portrayal was satisfying and thrilling.
The relationship dynamics in the drama are also impressive. Yoo Ji Woo’s and Choi Moo Jin’s relationship was very unique and special. Their chemistry was perfect and there was always a tension and a mystery between them. Yoo Ji Woo’s and Jeon Pil Do’s relationship was also good and well written. Their relationship played an important role in Yoon ji Woo’s character’s final set up.
The production is of course decent, as we expected from a Netflix original show. The shots, the sceneries, the camera’s transitions during the action/fight scenes were all very well made and everything was on point. The music was very suitable and gave the right mood to the audience in every scene but personally I think that it wasn’t so memorable. All in all, it’s obvious that the production team and the actors worked very hard for this drama.
“My Name” has a lot of good elements that make it a decent drama. However, as its plot is very common, I can’t say that it was an exceptional drama but it’s good enough if you want to see an action mini-series where the main lead is a strong woman who is willing to sacrifice everything in order to succeed.
Last but not least, the way she is realizing what’s the price she has to pay for her revenge which slowly became the purpose of her life and imprisoned her, was very heartbreaking and, personally speaking, the strongest moment of the drama. Is revenge really what we should be seeking for? Is it worth it?
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Touching, moving, stirring, rousing, exciting: Makjang, yes. And Rom+/-Com. And more. Fabulous.
Truths just want to come out. Thus, sometimes they find quite miraculous ways."I Have a Lover" features Makjang. However, the KDrama also and above all offers an unusual love story over 50 episodes.
It also tells about the creeping drama of marriage after the 'point of no return', when secrets and/or feelings of guilt, disappointment and reproaches have long barricaded the couple's way to each other and marriage has become a stale shell or facade, with hardly any space for dear affection left. Eventually, with all those hidden emotions it becomes increasingly difficult to lovingly respond to each other. At last, it may seem impossible to pave a new way towards renewed trust, closeness and genuine intimacy.
Moreover, "I Have a Lover" tells about the trauma that couples as parents suffer from the loss of their child. This KDrama is about painful emotions not being shared, getting in the way of a trusting, loving, intimate relationship. In the most desperate moments the one you need the most seems the furthest away. Missing a comforting connection makes it even worse. Finally, the insincerity leads towards sadness, anger or even indifference and detachment regarding the hollow relationship.
Drawing human characters with their shadows and radiance, the KDrama tells of the whole range of emotions people have and share in intimate relationships. "I Have a Lover" portrays an extraordinary character development process. Will the couple thus be able to reconnect?
The side plots add to the sophisticatedly composed symphony of complex, conflicting emotional worlds. It's about pain and hope, disappointment and forgiveness, sincere love and betrayal, above all about romantic love, but beyond that about love in all possible facets. Family in its ambivalence as bonding and bondage, as an ambiguous place of trust and obligation, forms a creeping leitmotif that holds all the narrative strings together.
The scenarios effortlessly switch between different living environments. The focus is also on lawyers - those 'footmen' serving the elite big corporations and those 'upright' serving the little folks.
At first, I wasn't sure if I wanted to follow an exhausting relationship between estranged spouses for 50 episodes. But it quickly became apparent that the story and its two perfectly harmonizing leads invite you to depart on a wonderfully refined emotional trek through the human emotional worlds.
"I Have a Lover" is touching, moving, stirring, rousing, exciting. It is Makjang, yes. It is Rom+/-Com, and more. Fabulous.
Ps:
The KDrama (despite the 50 episodes) suits for a rewatch, as many aspects and details might then become even more meaningful...
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If you're looking for flaws in this drama then you're going to find it but as they say when you fall in love with something/someone it becomes perfect to you, I fell in love with this drama so to me I didn't see any flaws.
The acting was really good, Yang Jin Sung actually did a great job, you really love her as Doo Rim and want to strangle her as Yi Kyung so I'd say she was successful in her acting.
Lee Hong Ki was also really good and all the supporting acting was great too.
One of my favourite things about this drama was the character developement, I love Kang Ju's character from the begining but at the end I loved him even more because you can really see how he's changed and opened his heart, another great character developement was Roo Mi, you really dislike her in the begining because she's like every other second lead but as the story progresses she actually becomes pretty awesome ^^
The music was lovely, I really loved Words I Have Yet To Say, and Come Into My Heart was nice too :D
The story was really interesting, I started watching this when only the first 4 episodes had aired so I had to wait every week for the last 12 and it had me crazy waiting till next week so it was really interesting for me, although I will say that over half way through the show when you find out something about the plot it does seem less interesting because that aspect of the drama isn't really there anymore (people who've seen it should know what I mean) but nonetheless it still get's interesting in other ways.
I really loved that it was all the female characters that caused everything in this drama haha, they were the ones playing the males ^^
I'm really going to miss this drama, I just finished it and I already miss it :( I have already watched this show twice (expect the last episode since It just aired) and I actually watched the whole thing without subtitles and was proud of how much I understood :D
Anyway If you haven't watched this, you really should give it a try, it might suprise you, as I said it's like your typical drama but like something really new at the same time. I really can say that I loved and enjoyed it but of course there was moments that annoyed me but that's to be expected, the ending was satisfying, although it could of been better but at least it tied up everything, anyway you should defintiely watch this, for me it's the best drama of 2014! I already miss Kang Ju and Doo Rim! :(
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This review may contain spoilers
A Well Perfectly-Balanced Show. Search came out at the right time for me. I was having a hard time getting over another drama (It’s Okay to Not Be Okay), when Search came along. This drama has been in my radar since last year and was curious by how it will turn out.
It is a fast-paced drama since it only had 10 episodes. Each episode was really entertaining. I knew that this drama will be a military-thriller but the romance, comedy, birth-secret, hidden-identity was a surprise for me. They’ve really made a well-rounded show.
The casting was perfect. Jang Dong Yoon is so natural. I watched some of his previous works and I can really say that the he really emerges into the characters he portrays. Just the transition from Jeon Nokdu into Seargent Yong Dong Jin is amazing. Jung Soo Jung casting was a little surprise for me, I only saw her in The Heirs and I can’t imagine her playing Son Ye Rim however, she really did pull off playing a cold, strong female character. I was actually surprised by JDY and JSJ’s good chemistry. Their banters were so funny and sweet that it’s making me ask for more scenes of them. I hope JDY and JSJ can work again together in a Rom-Com. Another good chemistry was between JDY and the dogs (lol), their scenes displayed his love for dogs.
The scoring was also good that it became a very intrinsic part of its thriller/horror genre. The eerie sound in the intro really represents what the show is all about. Search may not have an ost but their song choices in some “romantic” parts of the drama were perfect.
The ending was not rushed and was very well-executed. It was thrilling up until the end. I thought there should have been Season 2 but, all the story lines were tied and everything already explained.
All in all, it is a very engaging. I recommend this drama, despite some bad CGIs in the beginning. It has a perfect pace and has multiple genres. If you’re looking for something different, go watch this one.
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I don't completely know how to feel about this show. I did find it compelling; I breezed through the episodes because Nanno is a fascinating character. Chicha Amatayakul did a great job of portraying Nanno's emotional extremes; she transitions smoothly from Nanno's cute, happy-go-lucky, fragile, and innocent facade to her true dangerous and sinister self. I didn't care much for that maniacal laugh of hers (sometimes less is more), but I feel like that was more of an intentional choice that didn't work for me rather than bad acting on her part. The music was beautiful, but also appropriately unsettling, so it was effective in enhancing the emotional quality of the scenes and the tragic nature of the story.It is never really spelled out who, or even what, Nanno is. Each episode begins with her transferring to a new school to terrorize a new set of students. The first two episodes seemed to imply that she focuses on punishing people guilty of a specific type of crime, but the crimes her victims commit actually vary quite a bit. Therefore, she doesn't appear to have a particular motive, and there's no implied catalyst for her behavior. It seems that she simply has a good eye for other characters' weaknesses and she chooses targets based on who is most likely to give into their dark impulses. Why? There probably is no particular reason, other than finding it fun.
Nanno is quite happy to tempt and lead her targets onto this path of destruction, however in many cases, she asks them more than once if they are sure that that is what they want to do - apparently giving them a chance to reconsider and back out. When they continue to act against their conscience, the rest of the episode is the subsequent unraveling of their lives as they reap what they sow.
Given this pattern of leading her prey into temptation in order to enjoy witnessing their downfall and despair, along with her obvious supernatural nature, the figure she ultimately is most reminiscent (to me) is Christianity's Satan. (Note: I'm not saying that this is what she is or that this was the actual inspiration for her character.) Often, Nanno also serves as a scapegoat, becoming a horrific visual representation of the violence and hatred of the other characters. Even when she is attacked and brutalized, Nanno laughs because she has already won by manipulating them into committing such atrocities.
Horror, and especially psychological horror, are genres I generally avoid. The trailer of this show looked intriguing, so against my better judgment, I decided to give it a try. There were a couple of episodes I was sure would push my buttons, but that never actually happened. I'm relieved that's the case, and I found that this was a tolerable level of creepy for me. However, if you're interested because you're a big fan of horror, you might be disappointed. When it does cross into gory territory, it looks pretty unrealistic. A few episodes have little to no obvious supernatural elements (such as "Ugly Truth"), while others heavily depend on it ("Wonderwall," "BFF").
"Girl From Nowhere" is somewhat reminiscent of "Black Mirror," which is a comparison I've also seen a few other people make. This show has the same relentlessly pessimistic view of humanity as being inherently corrupt and ugly - except rather than focusing on the ugly future we might create for ourselves with technology, "Girl From Nowhere" focuses on the horrors ordinary people are capable of now, with just a little push in the wrong direction.
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A Journey Too Late
This was originally 2 different comments I made on the message board that I have slightly reformatted to make a review. I get it lacks some of my normal wordsmithing and is brief, but it gets the job done easily enough.Watched entirely in 1 sitting starting at realease time to around 6:30 am in the morning in my neck of the woods. I wont go too in depth here.
So let's quickly breeze over the strengths.
Great acting, good intimacy, some strong chemistry, appropriate realistic skinship, 3 dimensional characters, some real-world struggles, heartbreaking moments, and adorably cute moments. Directing was strong, cinematography solid, texture and feel to the series was complete and both realistic yet simutaneously dreamlike. Hour long episodes in a Netflix-like 8 episode dosing with a decent budget and a cast with some recognizable faces and not just no-name-this-is-their-start actors.
I do want to interject here that our main lead Nam Yoon Su gives an outstanding performance. He brings the character to life and doesnt hold back allowing our Ko/Go Young to be a fully realized being. He should be proud of his performance, and more than any role he has yet had, shows his acting chops.
I also want to give a shout-out to the deft Jin Ho Eun. He is a true chameleon on screen. He has a sturdy list of shows under his belt and has skillfully shown how to be both a monster to, as in this series, a cute as a button bright eyed engenue. I feel he is overlooked a lot as he has delivered strong performances one after another and again doesnt dissapoint here. I also am happy to see him in a role that actually highlights how attractive he can be.
HOWEVER, it has some flaws and shortcomings which hold it back from being an exceptional experince. Which I'll list in a spoiler tab below. Thus, it's held back from being great to instead being a solid good show. It is worth your time but its real world approach and overall sad and depressing ambiance and general story will keep it from being most peoples favorite or go to series.
BELOW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS
The flaws:
1) Usage of time.
There are a lot of missteps in how the 8 episodes covers almost 10 years of the main characters life. This is aggrivated by how they break the story into 2 episode mini stories, thus the 8 episodes tell 4 different love/encounters. Making large swaths of time defaulted and inserted inbetween the blackout of 1 story and the fade in of the next.
Since they only have 8 episodes many of the significant relations come and go very quickly and are delt with too clean and neatly. Our main character's relationship with Mi Ae seems little more than a blip on the radar with no lasting significance. Same goes with the loss of his complicated relationship with his mother, who if you add up the time jumps had a very slow march towards death over at least 3 years. The main characters childhood is told in blink or your miss it clips that bring up some serious trauma and issues that are mostly left unexplored or dealt with but seem just to be reasons for his bahavior, sadness, and state-of-mind.
Also, the clothing, accessories, look of the world and characters doesnt change from begining to end...which for a decade of time...especially for hip 20something city boys, is not realistic.
The final 2 episodes are dreamlike in their delivery and feel like a very different show compared to the previous 6 which make it a pain point that this is where we end our journey with these characters. In a weird sexual depression fever dream while having an affair with a married man who takes our lead to various hotels around the world while he recalls the love of a relationship he had ended, as far as i could tell less than a year ago, these episodes are supposed to symbolize the end of this era in our leads life, but they are so whimsical and non-concrete, it comes off more like a mental exercise than true substantial growth and a solid seal to this slice of our pritagonists life. The relationship that plays in our Go Yeoung's mind didnt yet seem to hold the gravity and importance it should as it was still very fresh. Youd expect this type of story after many years have expired and with age you look back and realize that was love and you lost it. The wisdom of old age making you see your regrets. It was further exacerbated by the relationship being mere minutes ago in the viewers mind as we had just spent 2 episodes moving through it begjning to end and seeing many of the scenes already...again a failure of how they use time
2) Stunted emotions and growth.
Possibly it was just the time limit but a lot of the emotions came and went with the wind. Like mentioned above in the time problem, it bleeds over here into a stunted growth and emotional problem. Our main lead has many revelations but changes very little of himself due to them. He deals with major life altering hurtles, death of a lover, death of his mother, suicide, and of course contracting HIV, but all of it comes in a scene and leaves in the next. This could be a societal issue, yet other Korean shows do not operate as such. This could be a character issue, but then the whole point of the show is about the emotional and mental growth of our lead andnwhat he wants and expects out of life which makes this here then gone approach to the story feel misplaced. It may be the fault of the writer of the original work or the writer of this adaption, as in they all have Peter Pan complexes, much like our lead, and thus do not know how to write true explorations of healing, moving through trauma, overcomming, and changing ones life. Instead its shed some tears then run to the bar and get trashed and then never talk about or deal with it again. Its solved, the emotions were let out...
It makes a lot of the issues, which are devstating and hefty, feel skin deep and easily managable. When he is driven to suicide by a toxic closeted self hating lover while trying to mend the broken relationship of his mother dying from cancer who has the same Christian damnation outlook on him...it grows until he tries to check out...but then wakes up saved, gives a thumb heart to his friends, and then moves on never talking about it again. Like well he didnt die...lets go get drunk....and party. And this his how the show handles every truly emotional milestone. As if acknowledging it happened is the same as healing through it.
3) The HIV card....
It is the gay plague after all...even though world wide, it is more prevelant in heterosexuals than homosexuals since the late 90s...but still this is a gay story, we must have HIV.
For Korea, and where they currently are on LGBTQ+ representation and stories, as well as real laws and overall societal view of homosexuals, I can see how having a realistic story that represents the trails of a realistic homesexual and what he faces including the taboo HIV seems bold and groundbreaking....
As a westerner this is 30 to 40 years too late...this whole series was reminiscent of a 90s gay story. From the film Jeffrey to the show Queer as Folk to even the 80s independent film (which too has a splattering of famous male leads) Longtime Companion. Let alone award winning Angels in America...which is currently being performed by famous Korean actors in Seoul as I type this.
At least they didnt make him die in the end.
But Korea has had films, that have dealt with these themes already, and are much older, let alone the western stories that can be watched. It made the story seem archaic and out of place. Made too late.
This is exacerbated by the fact the story would not have changed at all, if the character DIDN'T have HIV. It affects nothing. It is even brought in only half way through as an almost suprise twist. His contracting it is a brief monologue. He tells only 1 person that he even has it, he has no health issues because of it. It does not cause him to loose any relationship or sexual encounter. And it is little more than a plot point. Thus, simply having him NOT have it was an option as its only point is for him to say its with me till i die. Again it feels superficial and a stunted and an unneeded poor use. Thus, just as point 1 bleed into point 2, now point 2 bleeds into this point 3.
Last note on this, the way they introduce the HIV was confusing..as in did he contract it between his mothers dying and meeting this new boy. But then he meets the boy on the night of his mothers funeral. And it has only been 1 year since his last relationship...and then he says hes had it for 5 years...and then your like...did i miss a time jump...there are alot of them...and then you relaize wait...this happened b4 the show started. Hes been HIV positive since the first frame. And it slowly sinks in that you watched him have sex with mutliple partners and carryon two meaningful relationships without telling anyone involved that he is HIV positive. He then has more partners and doesnt tell them...this weirdly, at least for me, makes the HIV have a detrimental effect on the character. This is a serious sexually transmuted disease and he selfishly and irresponsibly goes around and does whatever he wants while hiding it so he wont be stigmatized or ostricized. He pretends....and it kinda makes him a really bad person.
8.0 = B+, 4-Stars. A solid all around entry that will likely not disappoint.
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Where’s the heat? Disastrous Results of an Uninspired Direction
Unforgotten Night premiered while KinnPorsche, the most r-rated BL series ever produced in Thailand, is still airing. With the same setting of a mafia world and based on an ultra-steamy novel, I am sure the producers are aware that it will be compared to the blockbuster but is most likely willing to ride with the achievements of KP. Hoping that the similarities of UN and KP will boost its ratings and popularity.So it boggles my mind, WHERE IS THE HEAT? Heat in the chosen actors, specially Kamol, and definitely heat in the numerous supposedly steamy scenes?! WHY ARE THE ACTORS SO RELUCTANT TO KISS? Were the actors not warned that they will have open-mouthed kisses and heated exchanges? Why get actors not willing to give the requirements of their characters?
Kamol in the novel is a big muscled, ruthless mafia. He is frustrated with his sex-life coz nobody can endure his preference for extreme bdsm . Why get an actor who is baby-faced, with luminous fair skin, and small framed with not a single abs in his body? So many actors will put this lead into shame in terms of sexiness, willingness to do r-rated scenes, and with better acting skills. Kamol is a big disappointment.
Although in fairness to the main leads, I have a feeling both did not have a solid grasp in what was expected of them. The chemistry between the two improved starting ep.5. Ton as Kim is turning out to be charming with his character falling for Kamol but reluctant to give his all. Now I’m curious if these two were given enough preparation or workshops to make them at ease with their roles and bdsm/love scenes. I wonder if they had a sit down with the director to thoroughly thresh out the characters they’re portraying. Coz the leads’ acting were more on external nuances but lacks in-depth understanding, specially Kamol.
A big miss too is the character of Cherry. Why do some BL resort on this cliche of a jealous vicious woman? Really? Fight for a man who would obviously not be sexually attracted to me?! Even the novel does not have a Cherry, so why put a character like her? It’s an insult to my sensitivity as a female.
Overall production is uninspired. Is the director even interested in doing this? The soundtrack is horrible and the editing sophomoric. And the big elephant in the room, have they even thought out the type of BDSM Kamol prefers? For someone who practices INTENSE erotic play, where professional partners give up on Kamol, the sex between the male leads is too vanilla and bordering to comical..…
The saving grace of this series is that Unforgotten Night is willing to show mafia Kamol and his underlings are hardened and ready to kill or cut off body parts when they are being merciful.. This is a positive difference from KinnPorsche, which romantacized it’s characters; Kinn hardly does the dirty work with most of his time dedicated to flirting with Porsche. But most significantly, the UN screenwriters, with the exception of the addition of the Cherry character, stuck to the original popular novel of the same title. The romance between a heartbroken man and his mafia, his unlikely knight in shining armor, is the major reason why this drama has its loyal audience. Kim’s line, “Help me forget his embrace!” is definitely UNFORGOTTEN.
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This review may contain spoilers
Pavane
I love how real & raw this story is. It’s not perfect. No Sunshine/rainbows, crazy sparks, 2 hot leads, girl gets makeover, happy ending... Something SO unrealistic. Is it kind of boring? Maybe. But that’s what makes it charming, IMO. I was captivated by how not over the top romantic it was. This just hit different. & I hope it gets the recognition it deserves. It’s definitely not what I thought it would be. I’m not gonna lie. but I was pleasantly surprised. Even if I feel duped & my heart hurts. 😅😭Was this review helpful to you?
Talk !!?? In the this economy ? We don't do that here. We let miscommunication cook and feed on it !
Another K-Bl where the miscommunication trope takes center stage. Unfortunately , I really don't have much to say because honestly not much was meaningfully said , felt and understood in the drama itself. Somehow the conversations and conflict resolution were half baked and even though this was a short drama it still felt unnecessarily stretched.While I understand humans are complex and everyone's brain works differently, here it felt like they made it a point that no logic will back the decisions of both the leads. It felt like everything was going in circles. The characters would start , make progress and in the next week's episode, they would be back at the square one.
Back and forth is not something that usually irks me. I enjoy fun banters and angst but here it did. It was fun till some point but then just became redundant as no real character development happened.
Do Ba Woo was someone who lived in his own shell. Even if you tell him it's night, he will still argue and will refuse to believe because he is too afraid to face his demons and insecurities in the dark. He is relatable but likeable only if this drama were 40 episodes long and we have a clear arc of him going somewhere. Here it felt frustrating. Half the time I was just screaming "Just ask him sir, please!"
Ji Hun was as thick as it gets ( Quoting Henry here) ! He was adorable and kind hearted but seemed to share 1 brain cell with his friends. Still, I don't blame him much because I don't think he ever got clear answers or clarity from Da Ba Woo. His confused stance was kind of justified.
Jung Ha Min was the stirrer. I had a soft spot for him but till the end I didn't get his purpose in the drama.
The chemistry between the leads was lukewarm at its best. It wasn't outright bad but it wasn't convincing either. The drama did try to sell this as deep, emotional connection but vibes were giving more like mild acquaintances.
Honestly,
Did I want Ba woo to end with Ji Hun ? No!
Did I want Ba woo to end with Ha Min? Also, No!
He clearly needed to take a step back and work on his issues before he could question anyone else's feelings.
Acting was good, the production quality also seemed decent but I think everything got weighed down by weak writing.
Overall, this wasn't a masterpiece, more like a pretty poster covering the cracks on the wall. But self discovery and working on yourself aren't trending in KBLs, so we will roll with this recycled trope, swoon over Jihun's smile as if it can solve all their problems and move on.
I will only recommend it if you want to watch a BL that's short and don't mind frustrating characters!
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