Romancing the last Ancient God
This is likely my shortest review with no spoiler. JUST GO WATCH IT, this is really worth it!! It has good humour, great chemistry, al the casts’ acting are top notch, fight scenes and CGI are nicely choreographed, great BGM and beautiful scenery.I started this because of Lin Geng Xin and Zhao LiYing, after their cliff hanging ending (of this CP in Princess Agent), I am curious about their second time partnership in a XianXia drama. And I am not disappointed, very satisfied except can’t help still feeling mild awkwardness in this CP’s kiss scenes. But their scenes together are really natural.
After I started this drama, especially the first few ep., the great comedic moments and storyline got me so interested that I finished the novel in two days.
This is a very BEAUTIFULLY adapted story from its novel, it stayed true to the characters and storytelling with very minimal changes. The best XianXia for me so far in 2024!
The actors were all well casts including the supporting casts, all are fantastic in their roles. Especially for ZLY and LGX, they ace their roles! The fights scenes, cinematography were exhilarating and some of scenery were so beautiful. Both the humor and romance were well paced. Great BGM during fights and emotional scenes. My only complaints is there are too many flashbacks scenes, a little repetitive. But I am overall so very satisfied and very much enjoyed this drama. Kudos to the team!
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The first film felt complete but that didn’t stop producers from creating back stories as well as future presumptions and inserting other characters in both Infernal Affairs II and III to make everything sound finalized and perfectionist. Maybe that’s overdoing it but I still wouldn’t consider it wrong.
Infernal Affairs III picks up after the first movie; it shows the life of the remaining character after the last outcome of Infernal Affairs but that doesn’t deny the fact that the first movie’s characters were back in flashbacks to tell a different back story that felt more spiritual than twisted. What makes the matter more complicated that the search for moles inside the police isn’t over yet. This time around, it’s two cops tailing each other in the most twisted suspenseful way.
The screenwriting didn’t lose its touch; it managed to bring great Suspense/Thriller moments even with flashbacks and past moments. Of course, the flashbacks I am talking about aren’t extracted from the two previous movies; they’re specifically made for Infernal Affairs III to give it more depth and a proper back story for the few new characters introduced in this movie. The plot was interesting to follow even if it wasn’t twisty as the first two movies.
As Tony Leung, Andy Lau came back to lead this movie (unlike the second Infernal Affairs), the acting department felt extremely satisfying and with the addition of Lai Leon, it felt like perfection when watching those three around. Of course, Anthony Wong and Eric Tsang are like pepper and salt for the Infernal Affairs trilogy.
The characters’ development was quite appreciated; Ming was really twisted with a pretty convincing turns in here; I was quite surprised by the last twist for his character. The new characters added a great taste to this movie especially Yeung who made me suspect him and sympathize with him at the same time. I think that’s the strength point of both Infernal Affairs II and III; the screenwriters added intriguing characters who don’t allow you to complain about the pacing and characters’ conflict after the outcome of the first Infernal Affairs. What I didn’t appreciate was the somewhat forced addition of Yeung’s character in the past stories when it’s obvious that he wasn’t even mentioned once in the past two movies. Also giving Dr. Lee a bigger role in this movie was unnecessary in my opinion.
Infernal Affairs III is worth the watch if you saw the other two but you can also watch it right after the first movie without looking into the second one since the latter isn’t related to this film’s plot in any way.
Watching the Infernal Affairs trilogy back to back as I did was one of the best things to do when you want to watch all the sequels but watching Infernal Affairs only like many others did isn’t the wrong thing to do but you will be missing two of the better characters’ addition: Hau and Yeung. That’s why I still recommend it as a trilogy.
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As a person who loved the original this version did a good job adapting this drama. This drama probably has the worse second male lead syndrome. As I try to wrap my head over why the FL picked the ML still hurts. In most dramas I could always find a reason to pick the ML over the SML but in this specific drama it's hard, for both this version and the korean version. When comparing the two versions, each one had their own strong points. I think the original will always be more satisfying and chilling. Kim Sohyun really delivered. Plus the korean ost just gives goosebumps. On the other hand, I liked Gun and Krist's interpretation of the characters more. Nam Joohyuk was a rather dull and boring character, I honestly don't remember him doing much in the drama. While Krist is also quite dull I feel like in the Thai version we get a more in-depth look into Natee's character. My absolute favorite is Gun, he did so well playing a troubled kid. Sungjae and Kay's portrayal of the character were quite different. Gun made me love his character even more. It's sad that the first person he opened up to (Mild) didn't pick him. In the perfect world, Mild would pick Gun and Natee and Mean would end up together. Gun was always there for her and they went through so much together. Gun loved Mild for Mild while Natee fell for Mild thinking she was Mean. Idc what anyone says about Natee falling for the real Mild because he loved Mean first and he continued loving Mild while thinking shes's the real Mean, Natee getting a sweet and nice Mean was just a plus for him. Gun on the other hand noticed the difference and loved only Mild. In my opinion Natee should've ended up with Mean because that's who he loved and the one who helped and gave him hope in life. In the Thai version it didn't seem like Mean liked Natee but in the original you can't deny that Eunbyul did have feelings for Yian. Overall, I still prefer the korean version but I admit the Thai isn't that bad.
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A must watch.. A beautiful love story
A must watch please dont give up because you feel it creapy. You need to look at it from the story it tell and wish we all got that last few days. This was such a beautiful drama that said so much within 8 episodes as we felt and watched their friendship blossomed to love.I believed that Koichi and Mitsuri needed to complete their love for each other and be eaches #1. It was a surprise at the end when his dad went thru the same thing sort of wish he told him before. The cast did a great job also kudos to the writers
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An extremely satisfying watch
This one was pure cuteness with a dash sexiness.The main couple was on fire, so there are lots of PDA, kisses and love quotes.
The dialogs were super funny and the story doesn't go on the angst route, so the obstacles the couple go through are no the typical ones like miscommunication os a crazy ex.
I really liked the FL, she was super down to earth and a totally go-getter, which is cool to watch. She is no damsel in distress, but the ML still is a knight in shining armor, so it's interesting to see them finding a balance in their relationship.
You kind of get the mature side of a couple, so it's a bit different from the "after they get together it's boring " kinda of drama. You stay because the script is nice and their acting is great.
I enjoyed it very much and it's definitely a fluffy romantic watch!
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Story:
Be Melodramatic deals with some big intrapersonal topics in the course of it's run and handles them so well that you truly feel the confusion and frustrations of each of the three main leads. It portrays the life of people on their late 20's in 2019 so perfectly. Admittedly the first couple of episodes are shaky and feel a bit too slice of life. Yet the show pays off its careful setup in spades as it progresses. Following it week by week felt like a old friend that you checked up on, listening to their ups and downs. The meta jokes invite you to laugh at the tropes of kdrama romcoms; it felt like someone on the inside giving you a nod of acknowledgement. Veterans of viewing kdramas will truly belly laugh at the references the show throws at you.
Within the show's sadder topics, it never felt contrived or manufactured. A problem I have with a lot of dramas is that it creates unbelievable scenarios just to create a sense of conflict within the show. Be Melodramatic never tries to fool you or insult the viewers intelligence. It laughs with you at the ridiculous moments and supports you when things get real. The progression of the show is a testament to the careful patience of the writers and directors.
Acting/Cast:
This show is cast pretty perfectly in my eyes. The three main leads are not giant names that instantly catch your attention but each of them portrayed their own stories so well. All three of the leads made you feel for their situations and gave each of the characters a true sense of reality.
Jeon Yeo Bin as Eun Jung especially shone in her role. Her's was the most tragic and seeped in emotion; but it never felt artificial or forced.
The supporting cast of the show is quite large all things considering. But each of them is given ample screen-time and development. I never found myself skipping their parts and was always happy to watch their own personal developments. All of the supporting cast played with the humour of the show well and gave the tongue in cheek comedy of the show life.
Music:
The OST fits into the puzzle of the show pretty damn well. Some contemporary and classic OST songs wiggle their way in at points in the show that give experienced kdrama watchers a nod and smile. The drama does lean on one song pretty heavily but it never felt unwelcome or repetitive for me. Although I didn't mind the repetition of that song, I do understand that it might feel a bit much for more OST-minded viewers. Though it does attempt to alleviate that by having different versions of the song.
Rewatch Value:
I know I'll be coming back to this show before 2019 ends and right now is my favourite release of the year. The writing and story-line are done with so much consideration, I felt like I lived with the characters throughout its run. I cannot recommend Be Melodramatic enough.
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one thing loved the chemistry,and acting and they actually had love that was expressed in more than stares and those famous back hugs. this was a combination of The Glamorous Imperial Concubine and the perfect couple only these two were somewhat better,for me at least.but i still loved it and enjoyed watching it, but i mostly loved the first half of it and would rewatch it up to there,because the main leads where steaming up.FLAWS(may contain spoilers):with wu jis character traits he fell in love too fast,perfect couple did it well.
i mean you wouldnt fall in love with someone who u believe is your enemy that fast, he also became gullible and changed too fast, even lang ling wang Gao chang gong was not this softened(he was but in a normal way) and he loved yang xia woo like hell.
it kind of went off track and became a match making drama really, i mean too many impossible love affairs.but aside from that totally recommend it
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The story might sound like it's been done before but don't let it fool you. It's actually a quite different and unique story.
For me in order to have a good soul-switch story there must be a killer cast behind it to pull it off and this movie definitely has it.
All four leads are great in their roles, especially the soul switchers.
The characters are very different from one another which obviously makes it even funnier to see them in each other's shoes.
There isn't that much music involved, only in a few scenes.
The only problem I had while watching it were the sexual scenes which took me off guard but I understand they were relevant to the story so I wasn't annoyed by them, just... surprised.
This is a great popcorn movie, to just sit back and relax while enjoying it.
I'll probably watch it again in a few months.
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Probably the cutest gory horror movie ever
I loved this! What a nice treat for those of us (me) who didn't have anyone to celebrate Valentine's Day with lol.Now, I am someone who doesn't usually watch horror movies; I am a scaredy-cat on most levels. But I enjoyed this movie, even if I had to cover my eyes for some bits. It was pretty gory and had plenty of somethings à la jumpscares, but it was all bearable! It had a simple premise of a timeloop where the six main leads had to find body parts scattered around the school; I thought it was brilliant. As a very lovey-dovey type of person, my favorite part of the movie was the developing friendship between the six. Watching a horror movie is much easier when 1/4 of the time is spent with your heart fluttering from both platonic and romantic bonds!
Watching this movie, I realized how big an impact sound has. My heart would start pounding (both in fear and happiness) depending on the music and different noises. BIG kudos to the sound engineers! Overall, an enjoyable watch. I was very close to skipping, but I'm very glad I didn't. Stay tuned for the post-credit scene!
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When reviewing a gory film, I usually start off with warnings so let me put this out. Tetsuo – The Iron Man is certainly not your stereotypical kind of film:
Surrealist: check; it will make you think more than once about its contents.
Bizarre: double check; if you think you saw the entire cinema craziness –think again.
Excessively violent: Triple check; this film belongs to my goriest films’ list and I sure as heck saw a wild bunch of those. It would be an extremely disturbing and trippy watch for gore-haters.
Hidden message: full score check. It’s what makes this picture special in the first place. There was a pinpointed meaning behind the whole mess.
Horror and Sci-Fi aren’t my thing. I don’t like the genres separately and I certainly don’t care for them combined. But I do have a special liking to the underground director Tsukamoto Shinya –a perfect crazily talented Japanese director to add to my favourite bunch.
Horrifically graphic, the film never ceased the use of violence and gore to highlight its events and developments. Even the introduction was brought under the wing of visual grotesque. I wouldn’t deny that brutal violence, dismemberment and bloody chases are to my liking but that’s not the main reason I highly appreciated this. As I said, I am used to gore especially the Japanese type but they rarely have a meaning behind the acts of violence unlike Tetsuo.
Tsukamoto used the incessant gore to imply its vision around deep fears of technology and how far its development can mess a man’s life. He spotlighted the transformation and the resistance in a grabbing visual ceremony of grotesque. Of course, this is an over-the-top pessimistic view of the relationship between humans and the increasing threats of technology. That aside, the surrealistic nature of the film will make you draw your own interpretations as long as you pay attention to the little details.
The choice of the black and white was spot on. It only aggravated the impact of the picture without damaging the brutal gore. It added a striking darker tone to the already pitch black shadowy theme. Moreover, the leads’ acting was obviously matching the choice of colours giving it a monistic feel. However, Tsukamoto Shinya was undeniably the main performer of this picture. He was the one who wrote, directed, edited and even added his own special effects to the film. His camerawork, masterful close angles, engaging cinematography and hard-core choice of music were one of the finest I saw in gory films.
Tetsuo is one of those surrealist crazily bizarre Japanese films. Its heavy load of gore and brutally graphic content is a great mean to ensure its purpose.
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1This review may contain spoilers
Who knew sexualities could be likened to old men's underwear?
I have to be honest, I started this show entirely because I knew Sota was playing a gay character, and the moment I found out he had a love interest, I picked the manga up right away. The manga impressed me so much already, I started to all the more look forward to the drama, and least to say, it didn't let me down.The drama centers around Makoto-san, who's your usual old-fashioned old man. To add on to the synopsis, he's nearly ostracised by his family for always looking down on the things they enjoy and noticeably disliked by his subordinates due to that old-fashioned mindset of his. Nonetheless, it can't be more obvious that he's actually a really good father and tries his best for his family, so you can't help but root for him.
Rather than comedy, this drama focuses largely on the life aspect. It talks about gender stereotypes, the troubles older fans of idol groups have, the contemplation of whether your hobbies can translate to your career and more. Most notably since I tend to watch a lot of queer-centric shows, the issue I enjoyed watching get covered the most, was the difficulties in coming out and the horror of outing. Each issue is touched on in such depth, but in a way that makes it relatable that I believe if there's anyone like Makoto watching, it might get them to reflect and change their mindset, even if it's just by a little.
I like the realism in the character growth too. While Makoto does change his ways, he does make mistakes that he doesn't realise could hurt others around him until it's too late, and learns from it. Personally, I do see my own father in Makoto as a character, and myself in Mika, Moe and Kakeru in different parts, so I can understand some of their own actions, which makes the development from their cautiousness around Makoto and how they slowly open up all the more impactful and realistic to me. The writing's just so good, with how each character is "updated" each episode, slowly and surely, to the point you see the Okita family heal. It's simply satisfying seeing the characters and relationships develop, to the point where the characters that were updated by Daichi, end up updating others around them too.
Acting-wise, it's shockingly good. The ML, Harada Taizo, is mainly a comedian so I wasn't expecting much, but he did a relatively good job playing a character like Makoto, portraying his growth throughout the episode. And while it may be Sota's first regular role in a drama, he actually impressed me. Knowing Sota, Daichi's positivity and friendliness is very alike Sota in reality, so I wasn't shocked to see that, but he even portrayed the little complexities in Daichi's emotions well. Other actors did REALLY well too, but Higashi Keisuke especially impressed me in Episode 8 for the anger, desperation and utter love he possessed in his eyes <3
As for the music, I do think the soundtracks were used in place, especially that ochestra-ish song that plays whenever something impactful happens each episode, mostly when one of the characters is "updated". "Dancing Dreamer" by 4-CaraT as the Ending Theme is so unfairly catchy I was out playing that song all the time the moment it released. And this may be a biased opinion as a fan of the group, but "Update Life" by FANTASTICS (Sota's group) was also a nice addition in the intro! It's a nice sweet balance to the energetic ending song, and the opening sequence is also adorable.
Overall, I think this show is way too underrated and deserves to be widely known and watched by all families around the world. It's an endearing drama that manages to balance itself out well in all aspects. If you're looking for comedy, this may not be it, but it's a heartwarming show to watch, which I'd even suggest watching with your family if possible. By the way, the little 0.5 taken of the rewatch value is simply because I don't think the impact of the character and relationship developments will hit as hard on a rewatch, but still remains VERY rewatchable.
P.S. whoever styled Kakeru every episode deserves a raise and MadoDai (Madoka x Daichi) I love you so much please be happy together forever
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The ending felt... unfinished, but that's okay
I just watched the last episode of this series and wow. I didn't expect it to feel this way. After last episode I did question how episode 14 would wrap up the entire series, and it felt kind of wrong and kind of right. I have questions to things that didn't get answered and it was just left there to be seen. How did the crowd against Tawi know their friends were in the van? Not like it didn't look suspicious enough, but still. How did no one catch Black as he was leaving the hospital? There were more than 3 policemen. I don't know.But I felt like an open ending is kind of what this needed. Many might disagree, but we don't know what might happen to them in the future. Anyone of them could die, and that was the whole point of the ending I believe. The whole goal was to make people aware of what Tawi does and will continue to do.
What happened to Todd felt a little right. He got what he deserved in the end. Was I expecting him to die? Yes. But it almost ties into how Black isn't that person. He isn't a murderer. That's what I found to be great about his short character arc. First he's an ass, then he's all secretive, then finally he becomes honest with others and himself.
The happy endings I felt needed to be there almost to wrap up that longing feeling, especially for Yok and Dan. It felt too sad if Yok continued to stare at his drawing of Dan for the rest of his life. Sean and White's happy ending was already a given, I think everyone knew that was gonna happen.
Some open endings are great, this one was okay.
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Daily dose of laughter
If you're looking for a regular drama and would be disappointed with a sitcom, please give this a pass. Don't say you weren't warned, giving this a sucky rating because it's not in the format you wanted. But if you're the open, adventurous type, give yourself a treat and tune in.The series is packaged in 30-minute sitcom-style episodes. It revolves around Planning Department 3 of Gaofa Electronics Group that is responsible for coming up with new products for the company. While the prevailing theme is comedy, there are also heart-tugging moments. As with any other sitcom, some episodes might not be your cup of tea, but there are many that I consider masterpieces, like the costume/historical segment in episodes 33 and 34. And even episodes that are not spectacular are useful in getting to know the characters better.
Here are the flawed but endearing members of Planning Department 3 who can tickle your funny bone and warm your heart if you let them:
Li Tianran (Zheng Kai) - wishy-washy but cool guy whose ambition is to be a team leader
Fan Si Si (Chen Yu Qi) - competent worker who has had enough of being duped into working overtime thus gets herself transferred to Planning Department 3 after noticing that the team area is usually dark after 5 pm indicating nobody works overtime there
Bai Ma Shuai (Dylan Wang) - incredibly rich intern who does not want to depend on his dad's money to get ahead in the world
Ji Wa Wa (Liang Chao) - devoted family man who sometimes has to choose between home and work
Yu Qi Miao (Zhang Shao Gang) - the department head with a fiery temper
Jiang Mei (Zhong Li Li) - pretty, earnest and pleasant but turns wild after a few sips of alcohol
Yao Si Wen (Wu Ya Heng) - lonely bachelor who forces his officemates to have dinner with him
Wu Yi Mei (Cheng Zi) - beauty-obsessed professional whose face has been rendered expressionless by too much plastic surgery
Wu Ming Shi (Zhang Yue Chi) - introvert who oftentimes feels invisible but is the team's unsung hero
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The music is excellent, the acting is superb, surpassing Japanese drama normal acting standards, the story topic addresses a needed outreach. The whole show was carried out very well, props to the director.
I highly recommend this drama to everyone. There were many good lessons, and episodes, but what really struck me is how well the drama did to show how not to be judgmental. Its really hard not to judge people and let that show, but this drama does well to illustrate how its done. Its such a powerful lesson to the rest of the world, especially japan, since embedded in the culture is to judge others.
I hope this drama gets a chance, its powerful, yet soothing, a real gem.
Thank you for reading.
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Through Sick and Sin
Vanished Name is a suspenseful story about women who have had their identities stolen or hidden for reasons not entirely within their control. The story opens with an infuriated and vengeful Ren Xiaoming, whose husband—acclaimed novelist Liu Xiaoran—has stolen and published her diary as his new coming-of-age novel. She is not amused by this gross violation of not only her privacy but also that of everyone she grew up with. Her cold fury, the way her eyes scrunch up vindictively, is more chilling than any tears or yelling. But this very foolish man thinks that the royalties from book sales will heal all wounds. The diary, along with the discovery of a long-hidden corpse, pulls Xiaoming back into old relationships and a past she long left behind.The core themes of the narrative are women's struggles and friendships spanning two generations over 36 years (1987–2023). It mostly alternates between Xiaoming's coming-of-age years around 2004 and the present (2023). Xiaoming was a difficult child—brilliant, prickly, selfish, and judgmental. Her mother, Ren Meiyan, whose life's mission seemed to be marrying her way down the list of 100 surnames, was my favorite character. Her ability to smile through her many struggles as if "the sky falls down to be used as her blanket" (天跌落嚟当被冚) moved me unaccountably. It baffled me how such a ditzy, optimistic, and joyful character could have produced such a pompous and narrow-minded daughter. The number of times I itched to smack Xiaoming for judging her and giving her such a hard time!
The narrative alternates between two timelines that reveal the ties binding two generations of women and their complex entanglements. This is one of those dramas I couldn't stop watching because so many questions popped up from the get-go. What on earth possessed Xiaoming to marry such a turd as Liu Xiaoran? How did the bright, mischievous sparkle in Bai Shu's eyes fade into such a dull, cold, and colorless person? I don't particularly like Liu Yase's acting, but her appearance as the grown-up Bai Shu screams that something soul-destroying must have happened to her—and it broke me. I needed to know what happened to her, to all of them.
The young actors got a huge amount of screen time, and they carried this drama. Wang Shengdi, of The Bad Kids fame (Pu Pu), is riveting as the adolescent Ren Xiaoming lashing out at the world (mostly her mom) with her frustration. Her natural and unique chemistry with Bai Shu, and how they came to understand and change each other's worlds for the better, made me smile. Na Yi is another young actor to watch—her transitions from careless joie de vivre to off-the-charts tension in her quiet, passive-aggressive rebellion against Ge Wenjun are flawless. The young He Yuqiong is the unsung hero of the group: generous to a fault and always there for Xiaoming.
The drama's biggest problem is that it was difficult to really see the child in the adults. Even though it's hard to find fault with Ni Ni or Zhou You's performances, I just couldn't see the young Xiaoming or Yuqiong in either of them. As for Zhang Fang, this role was completely miscast and took me out of the drama. I am usually a huge fan of Liu Mintao, but I found her acting a bit over the top here. Among the adult roles, Yan Ni (Ren Meiyan) and Dong Jie (Zhou Yun) delivered the most convincing performances. But by the time the adults took over the narrative, the kids had already gotten me too invested in the story.
The most laughable part of this drama is the suspense plot—it is a giant nothing burger. So if you are here for the mystery, best give it a skip. From the nameless corpse that remains genderless for the longest time to the dumb cop who refuses to read the book, this is far from a fast-paced crime thriller. Instead, it is a sober coming-of-age story about friendships that survive through sick and sin—the kind that get you through all the things you can't change in life. Yes, there is closure at the end, but twenty years later is just too late. So late that all the unlimited potential of youth had passed them all by.
I rate the main plot arc about women's struggles and friendship an 8.5/10, but the mystery and ending barely a 6.0/10—for an overall 7.5/10.
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