I can't stand how the male lead, Wei Qing, continuously manipulates the female lead. His actions are indefensible and go too far, again and again, but I continued on because the female lead, Zhou Shi, has a backbone. She calls him out on it and those scenes were very satisfying. She is gullible and not the brightest, but she stands up for herself and sticks to her principles. But then he toys with her again. I find him to be very condescending, and as their relationship changes throughout the drama, including an employer-employee relationship, there is always a power imbalance with him having the upper hand. She even says this at one point - but waaay too late in the drama for it to be developed upon. Even near the end, he has his assistant lie to her! Also, she is an art student but for most of the drama I felt like I didn't know what her own goals were.
The conflict with the male lead's mother felt too contrived. Her words were so harsh and every time they show the flashbacks I cringed. It's not that I don't believe a mother can hate her own son, but I just never felt like I understood it. There are also scenes that are completely nonsensical - for example, when the Wei Qing's uncle invites all his ex-girlfriends to the fancy business event. And it seemed like they didn't know how to fill the episodes at the end and decided to totally change Zhang Shuai's character to add an obstacle?? There were also certain storylines that were underdeveloped or just abruptly ended.
On a positive note, I liked the friendship between Zhou Shi, Fei Fei, and Qiu Jing. They are very different individuals but genuinely supportive of each other. Fei Fei and Qiu Jing gave Zhou Shi good advice and were honest with their concerns. Ming Cheng was also rather condescending to Zhou Shi (or maybe just treated her like a little sister), but I do like Qiu Jing and Ming Cheng's pairing. I didn't really care for the Fei Fei and Ning Fei pairing because, either because of his casting or wardrobe, he came across as a helpless, sheltered child too much.
Regarding the OST, upon further consideration, I do like the songs, it's just that I didn't like the drama so I don't think of the songs particularly fondly.
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totally wrecked Zeke/Fifth (watch ep 1, 2 and 13)
Overall: I liked Zeke and Fifth in My Story because they were flirty and sweet. In this season the writer totally ruined their characters and relationship. I was actively rooting for them to NOT end up together. Our Story is the third in the trilogy (season 1 is My Day which is not needed to watch to understand Our Story, season 2 is My Story which shows the beginning of Zeke/Fifth as a couple and is helpful to watch but not totally necessary) 13 episodes about 37 minutes each (taking out the built in commercials at the end). Aired on Oxin Films YouTube channel.Notes: I watched most episodes but skipped a few because I wanted to poke my eyeballs out, I kept up with comments/what happened overall though. I suggest watching episode 1, 2, episode 9 part 3 at 7 minutes (nsfw scene), episode 10 part 3 at 10 minutes (nsfw scene) and episode 13
Content Warnings: attempted suicide, past suicide, parental abuse, intimate partner abuse, homophobia, non con picture taking/sharing, alcoholism, depression, sexism, gaslighting, manhandling
What I Liked
- Zeke and Fifth were cute/sweet/flirty (ep 1 and 2)
- GL rep (though the pacing was odd/not enough screentime)
- it was too frequent but the innuendo jokes were fun
- Xion Lim (director) played an assistant as Easy Ferrer (writer) as the other assistant
- Zeke's supportive mom (though she was a bit too involved at times)
- opening song and ending credit song
Room For Improvement
- the writing destroyed Zeke & Fifth both as individual characters and as a couple, Zeke said how he was hurt that he was called toxic while he screamed at his boyfriend was terrible writing, Fifth's actions make zero sense to me, so many characters did total nonsense things
- abuse was handled really poorly, Fifth said "he {dad] beat us" and the response was "that means you still matter to him", like WTF?!? and then later Jelai says his ex-boyfriend who was abusing him is awesome and Jelai apologizes to his abuser?!? what year are we in?!? akldfjkslajkdljaidla!!!!!!!
- way too many couples (6 couples/love triangles) and I somehow didn't like any of them
- exposition dump/voice over to start the series
- so many nonsense/unrealistic plot things (I'm not even going to try to write them all out) example 1: that a significant other didn't know of a life threatening food allergy until 6 months of dating, example 2: that a hospital didn't have any A+ (30% of the population has this blood type) or O negative (universal donor) blood?!? they should have had Zeke have AB negative blood because a 5 second internet search showed that number of people with: O positive: 35%, O negative (universal donor): 13%, A positive: 30%, A negative: 8%, B positive: 8%, B negative: 2%, AB positive (universal recipient): 2%, AB negative: 1%
- the comedy sound effects
- toilet humor
- super dramatic thing happened at the end of episode 11 and then the majority of episode 12 we have no idea what is going on, just random side character plots happening?!?
- in the final episode, did Zeke ever apologize for all the awful things he did?!? why was just Fifth apologizing?!?!!!!!!
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Although I've seen Gong Hyo Jin's previous work I haven't seen anything with So Ji Sub but he blew my mind away! Maybe it was his always demanding character or almost never changing expression but he was sooo different from all the other 'CEO' characters I've seen I couldn't quite believe how captivating he was. I'm a sucker for pretty faces and although Gong Hyo Jin is an awesome actress she is not exactly my style (a girl speaking) but she did her job brilliantly and now I can't imagine anyone else taking her part. Kim Yoo Ri was quite a funny character even if she was a bit bitchy at the beginning later on her antics made me giggle. As for Seo In Guk he was plain cool as usual. Music of course was beautiful too. I still listen to Yoon Mi Rea's 'Touch Love'- such a heartwarming song. I'm really glad I waited until the whole drama finished airing and then watched it in a week or so :D Will definitely was this drama again because it is a pure masterpiece, they should win all of the awards available.
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Would have been better as an ad on YouTube or smth
Don’t expect good writing and character development here.The first issue I have with All The Liquors is that Kihoon has too many problems and they’re solved all too easily. This is a story of a stubborn chef who meets a foolhardy marketing employee. Somehow, the chef manages to break all his personal rules. WHY??? And more importantly, HOW???? To those who say "it's because of love!! love is the answer", come on. The story was seriously underbaked.
Second issue - I’m not sure if it's just me but the couple didn’t look terribly compatible.
I know Kihoon is supposed to be a stiff and antisocial chef, but that doesn’t mean he couldn't have any personality whatsoever. He came off as really awkward in most scenes (I can’t tell if this is intentional), and seriously ruined the vibes for me.
All in all I must say that this isn't the worst South Korean BL, but it's not memorable either.
Full review: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2023/03/24/all-the-liquors-2023-bl-review/
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Up until the end I would\'\'ve given this movie a 10 in story, but the ending just ruined it for me. It wasn\'\'t a bad ending, it just wasn\'\'t my type of ending. Some people will probably love this movie and give it all 10\'\'s but for me the ending just wasn\'\'t how I would\'\'ve ended it so i\'\'m giving the story a 9, the acting was a 10 since all of them were amazing actors, the music an 8 because while it wasn\'\'t the best music it did fit the story just fine. As for rewatch value, while I personally don\'\'t like to rewatch movies or dramas until 1-2 years afterwards, I would rewatch this one so i\'\'ll give it a 7. Overall, i\'\'m giving this movie a 9 because if you\'\'re a fan of any of the cast(lucky me for being a fan of all three of the main actors!), or a fan of the Wuxia genre, or a fan of Chinese choreography, you\'\'ll absolutely love this gem of a film.
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Indie Chinese BL: interesting premise but flawed in terms of production value, editing and writing
This Chinese drama did almost not made it through, it was first stopped while airing after 4 episodes by the Chinese platform on which it was being released...and then it was picked up for full release by another international distribution platform. That in itself picked my interest and after watching it, it is a real BL story (not disguised at all as a bromance) so of course it did not pass the censorship and explains the release issue.Regarding the drama itself, there is a very indie and artsy vibe that I appreciated for some aspects. I liked for example the art school context and the opening generic. I also enjoyed some of the relationship evolution that feel quite gritty. But there is also to my eyes a lot of production issues. The low budget is very clear : it gives a raw aspect to some of the scenes but it explains a lot also regarding the limitations of the series. The director is using too much fish eye effect, most of the time there is no clear reason nor need for it, it is not flashback-driven and seem to be used to hide the poverty of the background/sets. The editing is really odd between scenes: you jump out from one to another and it feel a bit amateurish. The camera moves are also sometimes a bit odd.
If I liked the premise of the story, the artsy context in which the characters are evolving, I was a bit disappointed by the way the script resolved out-of-screen or too quickly a lot of the conflicts and issues. Some situations seemed very dangerous and complicated but their resolution was kinda anti-climatic. The acting was not bad but not transcendent. Guo Jia Le, playing Qi Lu, had the most interesting character growth. He had also a believable chemistry with Zhang Xuan Yu, playing Qin Xiao. I was unfortunately less convinced by the chemistry of the secondary couple: it could have been much more interesting but it was a bit of a letdown (not sure if because of the acting or the script).
I would recommend this to people looking for a Chinese BL which does not shy away from what it is and do not disguise it as a bromance. It has a strong indie flavor which is not an issue in itself but the low budget is clearly felt and there are quite a bit of editing / production issue. There are some interesting and gritty parts in the script but the way the story unfold is far from perfect. I think it is quite comparable to the Chinese BL Addicted in terms of production value. So if you enjoyed it, you might as well want to give a shot to this one.
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This movie is the worst thing I've seen this year.
This movie is the worst thing I've seen this year, and it will probably stay that way until the end of the year. Some fans of the actors have been discussing very enthusiastically about the actors' looks and self-improvement in acting. I can't imagine how horrible their acting in previous movies was if they call that stiff and lifeless acting progress. This is definitely the worst movie of 2025, bad from acting, plot, visuals. I only rate 1⭐ because I can't rate 0⭐ or negative, 1⭐ is too high for this disgusting thing.Was this review helpful to you?
REAL Exhausting!!!
The series started with two strong individuals that found themselves in unique situations at the same time and respected each other enough to want to help the other. But in the end, it became two individuals with no backbone that go through a constant obstacle course of abuse and torment with no peace in sight. Messy and sloppy scripting. Inconsistent character development. Over exaggeration of torment and relational links. Extra ineffective and unnecessary side storylines which makes the torment drag even more. Chemistry between the leads is nonexistent when considering what they had to endure 'in the name of commitment and love'. The 'villains' continue to have an unrealistic connection to continue tormenting the leads with everyone knowing. Are these the only 2 families in the city? This is not what anyone wanted to see. Even when the ML and FL have a 'moment' of happiness it is lack luster and more of a relief than swoon worthy. Even for a soap the script isn't clean enough to see. STAY FAR AWAY from this MESS on FILM!Was this review helpful to you?
Probably the best korean drama in terms of its execution. Brilliant cinematography elevates this drama to a league of it's own. Tight editing and fast-paced narrative will leave you wanting more. Rewatching this one because it is that good. Highly recommended.
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Useless changes that never happened in the novel./manhwa, that ruins the movie
I find it really disgusting how they changes absolutely Everything about orv in the movie, I don't know why but I find it really disgusting, Because in my opinion, the story of the original orv was already amazing. There was no need to change it. Changing small little stuff, I get it. It's understandable but changing the major arcs in the novel/ manhwa this makes it feel like you just went to chat gpt and ask it to summarize the whole entire novel/manhwa in 100 word or smth. And changing major plots like them using a sword to them using a gun, it feels like the producers didn't even read the novel. I feel like this is not a orv anymore, this is a whole different story. I don't really care about the cast that much in my opinion.Of course we as the viewers have opinions on who we would like to have in the cast , but I don't personally don't really care about it that much. And it pisses me off so bad how they butchered one of the characters. (Bihyung) there were so many ways to make it loor accurate but they fucked it up A LOT , Also, something that pisses me off is. What the fuck do you mean they made Yoo Sangah a healer and that kim dokja is a bully and that they made joo jonghyuk a side character!?!?!?!? Lets be honest the only people who are gonna watch the movie and give it a good review are people who never knew about orv(the novel/manhwa) to begin with or are blinks and want to support jisoo. Even though I don't really care about the casting that much.I feel like it all started with the casting and then they butchered everything that came right after the casting.
Anyways after my stupid tiring rant, all that I can conclude Is, don't watch the movie it's gonna be ass. But then you might be like. " But you didn't watch It.". But I read the novel and everything is completely different from whatever they're yapping about in the trailer. Like wdym they use gun????? The whole movie was just a big waste of money. And a big mistake. There was no need to even make a live action to begin with... anyways i'm really tired of typing all of this bye. Lololololol
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Beauties of the Emperor is based on the difficult faced within these critical eras of war, when the females also have a large role to play in the growth of a nation. I like how the four main characters developed their personalities and emerged with a strong belief in their dreams. The actors worked hard with the roles, even though at some points it was sort of ridiculous to see how desperate some people are for their love interests. I think the overall point in this drama is how emotions play a enormous role in the development of any dream, and it is the ones close to you that influence your choices. From the beginning it had a sad, sweet and overwhelming desires to reach for our own dreams and wants. However, it became engulfed in tragedies and many innocent people being killed, or lost in the dangerous situations. There are a lot topics to discuss and think about in this drama.
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First point...Jessica. She was not a good actress. She was annoying sometimes. That's why the cast got 9 instead of 10. However, by the end I actually really liked her character and even felt her acting improved. I don't know Jessica, I'm not her fan, never heard of her before this...so this is totally unbiased. I LOVE Lee Dong Wook with all my heart, and he was just adorable in this! It was so neat to see him in this kind of role. The main chick...I saw her first in Playful Kiss and BOF and was so shocked to see her character in this drama. She did SUCH a good job. I was seriously impressed. She can definitely act, since this is a complete 180 from the characters I've seen her play. She was so cute!
The story...I gave it a nine. Only because it wasn't the best drama I've ever seen, but as far as entertainment value it was great! I'm watching several dramas right now and this is the one that I actually watched unsubbed first just because I couldn't stand the wait! There was drama, romance, bromance, and towards the end there was really good suspense!
There were a lot of different characters in this drama and some of them you don't like at first, but by the end you will love them all!
I would have to say two of the side characters had the best drama romance I had ever seen. Seriously, they are the most adorable couple ever, you could watch this whole series just to see the parts with them in it an it would be worth it. They are like in a whole different world odd balls. It was awesome and hilarious and sweet.
One of the complaints I've read about this drama is that there wasn't enough romance, etc. However, I thought it was really well done. It was different than other dramas and had other things besides the romance going on, but once it started I felt it was always there and not lacking. I was not disappointed at all in the romance department with this drama, and I'm a huge romance buff.
The main plot line, that wasn't about the romance, was done really well in my opinion and added a good amount of suspense for the characters. I absolutely loved how it came to a climax and the resolve. Seriously. I was impressed.
The music was excellent. I don't know Korean songs and singers...but I really enjoyed the main song.
The rewatch value is a 10 because I will definitely be watching it again in the future. The first several episodes of this drama are hilarious! Seriously funny. There is good humor throughout and I literally laughed out loud at some point in every episode...usually several times. So the humor is always there. I enjoyed the progression of the romance between the leads and enjoyed the romance between the side characters just as much.
Another plus is that all the side characters were fleshed out and in the end their stories were wrapped up as well. Nobody was left hanging.
I hope this was half way understandable...I just want people to appreciate/enjoy this drama as much as I did!
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Revolutionary Sisters is a great form of emotional therapy, but not for everyone
Revolutionary Sisters is NOT for everyone, I acknowledge that. Even though I ended up absolutely adoring it, it really isn’t for everyone.The first ~15 episodes are painful - not because they were poorly executed or portrayed poor acting, but because watching the way the characters treat each other is just awful. After the death of the 3 sister’s mother is resolved, the plot really does improve. All of the characters get fleshed out and each one grows and changes for the better. Yes, in the beginning the daughters are particularly awful to their father, but the whole story is about their growth as daughters, sisters, and women. You come to understand them, why they turned out the way they are, and witness their beautiful metamorphosis when they see the faults in their ways. Watching the sister’s feel awful toward their father upon realization of their horrific behavior is the most heartbreaking, yet satisfying part of this drama to watch.
I will be completely honest: the first ~15 episodes had me wondering if I really wanted to watch Revolutionary Sisters. The murder/mystery genre really isn’t my thing - add that on top of the despicable treatment of the father by his 3 daughters and it really was a tough call. But, as shameful as this sounds, it was the affair of the oldest sister’s husband that kept me going. At the time, I was the most angry and disgusted with her (the oldest sister, Gwang Nam) behavior. She was awful to everyone and stuck up. But the affair tears her apart as a person and it destroys her world. She humbles due to the new hardships she must face on her own and really changes into this beautiful person. I identified with her the most and I adored her story with her husband the most.
My husband and I have been together for almost 10 years. I could really sympathize with the feelings that Gwang Nam experienced in her position, as the oldest sibling/daughter and in a long-standing committed relationship. No, my husband and I have never *knocks on wood* had to deal with infidelity, but the raw feelings and struggle this couple experienced, I could feel compassion for.
To be clear, I don’t really care to watch a drama revolving around characters who are cheating, but this was so different. Maria, the woman Gwang Nam’s husband cheated with, took advantage of him once while he was black-out drunk and conceived a baby (let’s say it how it is guys). While he’s not innocent of adultery and lying, he still sincerely loved Gwang Nam, he was just stuck between a rock and a hard place of doing the right thing. And through finding out about her husband’s affair and recognizing her responsibility and role in their failed marriage, Gwang Nam realized how much she still loved her husband. But it was too late. Things couldn’t go back as they were because a baby was now involved. Watching her come to terms with the aftermath of his affair and letting each other go had me sobbing like a baby. I can’t imagine going through that, but the feelings hit right like they should. From there on, I had to know what happened to them.
I next liked the second sister, Gwang Sik. She was the best out of the 3 sisters to start. She was a little too perfect for me, but her flaws, albeit relatively minor compared to her 2 sisters, became more apparent once she became married. Her romance with the aspiring trot star was pretty adorable and left you with mostly happy feels. The way their relationship impacted the prior generation was sad, but I think it turned out right.
And Gwang Tae. I *disliked* her for the majority of Revolutionary Sisters. She was manipulative and conniving. Money was the most important thing to her and I just don’t identify nor sympathize with that. Her constant business with the loan sharks didn’t impress me either. She just came across as you’d expect of the youngest sibling: spoiled, whiny, and used to getting what she wants. BUT in the last ~10 episodes (after her huge blow out with Gwang Sik), she really turned a new leaf (and things kept happening that kept positively impacting her character, which I approve of). I personally feel that her romance was the most shallowly written as I didn’t feel the build up of emotion and feelings as distinctly as I did for the other couples, but by the end, I really liked how they grew together and supported each other despite their flaws. I especially love how she defended her brother-in-law. At least she’s loyal! :D
There are many other characters in Revolutionary Sisters, but since it’s a family drama, that’s too many to analyze in my review here. But there’s someone I’d really like to mention...
Young Hee - the woman who finally makes Appa, Cheol Soo, happy towards the very end of the series. I love her happy demeanor, her loud, but classy style, how she’s attracted to Cheol Soo and how she wants to take care of him. It was so nice to see him happy and treated so warmly considering how poorly he was treated by his wife and how unhappy she made him. I was so happy that Cheol Soo finally found happiness with someone.
The conclusion of the drama was done through multiple time jumps - 8 months later, another year later, etc. I both liked and disliked this because it was a bit odd to have so many time jumps, but seeing the sisters with their families, plus seeing how the other characters and extended family were doing was nice.
Unfortunately, there were 2 loose ends that weren’t resolved to my satisfaction:
What happened with Gwang Nam’s father? Who was he and is it really okay for Gwang Nam to think he’s passed away?
What about Aunt Bong Ja and her love, Dol Se? I know things were complicated with Gwang Sik and Ye Seul being married, but we didn’t even get to see resolution with their matching necklaces...
In regard to music, I enjoyed the music, especially the instrumentals! They were well selected and well placed to really build the scene.
So overall, I *would* recommend Revolutionary Sisters, but warn that the first quarter of the drama is truly difficult to stomach; have patience and it’ll pass. You really need that awful beginning to adequately depict the character changes that occur over the course of the story. If you can get through the beginning, it seriously pays off. I will definitely be rewatching.
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vertical series are a pain to watch...
Besides vertical, the story is also not thought trough. The question my mind asked from the beginning is, why does Nam know that Han is a killer... And why is the title "next door" when they live together. There is no explaination or background.Acting was decent, the "BL" parts are ok, but besides that, is quite stereotypical. There is not much to say, besides that the episodes are too short, the shortest just 45 seconds, that you NEED to binge-watch all of them otherwise it makes no sense and the better option would have been to make them at least 8 minutes long.
This is a series nobody needs to watch, if you do, you might like it and it's for sure not terrible. But I would have prefered much more episodes to explain the background and of course a better storyline. For a Korean productions this was weak.
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That’s the question that this drama want you to answer.
I watched this drama just because Kyungsoo was in there. And, I’m afraid to say, it was the only reason why I didn’t drop it after two episodes.
The plot is quite interesting. A family is crashed by a young and clever serial killer. That handsome serial killer takes away the little kid of the family, making the older one crave for revenge.
The plot itself isn’t the real reason why I gave this drama 6 out of 10.
It had a great potential : an epic battle between two brothers and the man who teared their family apart. BUT, as we all know when it comes to korean drama, the only thing that spoiled it all was the romance that the screenwriters tried so hard to gave us.
Two completely opposite characters : the dumb, nagging and useless female cop, who didn’t act once as a heroine. And the clever criminologist, who’s character was pretty good but got ruined by the female lead toward the end of the story.
The little brother, Lee Min, was the sugar to pour in this bitter tea.
He was educated by a serial killer, so in the end he became one himself. His personality, his appearance and his morals were fascinating. Yet, he was a huge attention seeker, he forgot really quickly about his revenge toward his brother, making the plot lacking some good concepts.
Lee JunYeong was supposed to be a creepy and dangerous man. Unfortunately, he wasn’t.
All his charisma, the charisma that Kyungsoo gave to the character while playing his younger self, was totally outshine after growing old.
He was a pure and innocent man who had two choices : to forgive his family or to punish them.
They tried to give him a sad story just to make sympathize with him. His characters became pathetic in the end. Just a poor man who just wants to built a family with those kids.
Cha JinHa was a pain in the back. A stalker, useless, sleepyhead girl who just wanted to make Lee Hyeon her boyfriend. She was such a bad character that I couldn’t stand her for only two seconds.
This drama had a good plot. But once again, korean screenwriters spoiled it with a romantic and stupid love story.
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