Reviews

A Neo-Noir Masterpiece of Visual Poetry

Decision to Leave (2022) is a multilayered neo-noir that skillfully blends mystery with a touch of eccentric, almost unsettling romance. What makes this film stand out from Park Chan-wook’s previous works is its accessibility. Unlike some of his more abstract films, the plot here is easier to follow, yet it still maintains the subtle nuances and hidden layers that make you pause and reflect.

While this film may not hit the same notes as Park Chan-wook's previous films, I was captivated from start to finish. Visually, this movie is nothing short of a masterpiece. Every frame feels meticulously crafted, like a piece of visual poetry. Each cut seems deliberate, adding emotional weight and narrative depth. The film has a dreamlike quality, almost as if you're drifting through a fever dream. I lost track of how many times I paused just to soak in the beauty of a particular shot. I think I took over 50 screenshots because the visuals were just that stunning. Not a single frame was wasted.

Ultimately, the film reveals that sometimes the decision to leave is an expression of love, capturing the delicate balance between loss and sacrifice. It’s a quiet kind of heartbreak, but one that lingers just as powerfully.

Content Warning: Violence, Death, Self-harm, Sexual Content

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Nosy mother, evolving daughter

Even though I didn’t like the story very much, and Yang zi has been choosing dramas that are more about family, relationships, and development of relationships with parents I thought her acting was some of the best she’s ever done . Xu Kai was playing in his role of executive which he’s done numerous times I didn’t think his role was stretched as much as Yang zi’s role. I think it was great acting with a so/so storyline special props to Nai nai who again was amazing in her role as support! I think her character really helped develop Huan Huans, and Yao’s character and their relationship. I also think that this show really demonstrated well how hard it is for a working family to be able to survive in the city like Shanghai with its rising costs. It also shows the dichotomy between the rich and middle class, which is so inherent in Shanghai. overall, I thought the main storyline was interesting and even the secondary romance was interesting to watch develop in its own set of circumstances, which were not the norm as well. I thought the way the Director handled this was really well done. Normally I skip over the secondary storyline as it’s usually just filler, but in this case, it was developed in a way where you really felt for the male secondary lead and his struggles his character was really well developed as well. You could see him growing from young graduate into a man.

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I read 1 good review & abundant of bad ones of this show, yet end up loving it.

Despite the flaws, I could enjoy it, & what I like the most from this show (so I’m willing to rate it high) are:
1. I can feel & sympathize with most of the characters.
-Tan: I hope he can get his freedom with his mom & Eun Sang, also be kind with Won.
-Eun Sang: as the only poor/normal person in this show, I just wish her a normal & happy life with her mom & Tan, but I know the wall between her & Tan is too high to climb.
-Young Do: he has chemistry with Eun Sang, but I ship them to be friends instead of couple. Besides his ‘habit’ of bullying, he has that side of sad boy, that’s why I want to see him happy & heal his wound. I love Young Do & Tan’s friendship & its dynamics, like love & hate rlship, but deep in their hearts, they understand each other very well.
-Chan Yeong & Bo Na: they’re cute couple. At first I thought she’s annoying, antagonist, but turned out she’s kindhearted, that’s why she’s perfect with Chan Yeong. They’re the ones who Eun Sang can rely on.
-Hyun Joo: she’s pretty & kind. I ship her with Won, she’s such a supportive & selfless GF. But I also ship her with Hyo Shin, LOL.
-Won: his being jealous, cold, harsh on Tan is reasonable for me. I’m glad this siblings finally comes to an understanding.
-Hyo Shin: another boy from rich family that I sympathize with. He’s kind, calm, logical, & deserves love. He’s best friend with Tan & I like it.
-Myung Soo: the brightest & the silliest character, the most fun to be with. I can say he’s the only one that I don’t need to worry.
-Tan’s mom: surprised that I can sympathize her. I just wish her freedom from that family & I’m glad Tan can make a move to stand for her mom.

With me being this attached to most of the characters, I can see why this drama be that popular, why LMH & PSH be fav couple, why the other casts also grew their popularities. (I saw a clip of “The Judge from Hell” interview with PSH & KJY, I was surprised that “Kim Tan” was mentioned there, like, is Kim Tan & Cha Eun Sang that popular?? The most popular of PSH’s co star?? Now I get it).

2. Also love the dynamics/storyline, ups & downs of each character. I even enjoy & accept the ending for each character. Some are happy, some are realistic. It’s ok. They all deserve it.

3. Last but not least, I enjoy the love story between the leads, their ups & downs is really something. It’s my 1st time seeing Lee Min Ho, also Park Shin Hye. I think I started to like PSH, will try her other dramas.

Overall, to me it’s a heavy drama, melodrama. I need to stop twice to finally finish it. First, in ep5. Like I wasn’t ready to watch the bullying in a hi-so school, what kind of life Eun Sang will face when she gets there. Second, in ep17. Like why the problems are getting more complicated like there’s no way out. I needed to watch anything light to refresh my drained energy, LOL.
Overall this drama tells about rich families with their typical problems. Yes it matches the title “The Heirs”. Tan & Won’s family, Young Do’s, Rachel’s, Hyo Shin’s. Wealth, position, heirs, greed, unsincerity. With all of those negativities, it’s good that they show us the side of human from the “antagonists”, like Chairman Kim, Young Do, Rachel, Rachel’s mom, etc.
I keep thinking “ooh, how childish” when Tan, Young Do, Rachel, etc deal with their problems. But in the end, they’re just 18, rich, & spoiled. It’s just normal for them to act that way. Another thing, I’m okay with Eun Sang’s character. She’s just a normal girl who wish a normal life. It’s normal for her to avoid any kind of dramas around her. Also normal for her to be hesitant in dating Tan. But I’m glad she finally can show her feeling, support, sincerity to Tan, & fight together.

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I would say that this drama captures family and relationship dynamics. It is relatable to everyday life ; we have a couple facing divorce due to misunderstandings, a working mum trying to balance work and family- This is an everyday dilemma of working mothers , who most times lay down their career for their young family . We have a Father/ Husband who is scammed and is ashamed to tell his family, and we have a daughter who has worked hard all her life , leave her job and fiancé. All these events strengthen family bond , helping each other thru the ordeal and overcoming them. I would recommend to anyone to watch.

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Utterly Disappointed

I'm a big xu Kai fan and loved him in "she and her perfect husband" and "falling into your smile" so I decided to give this drama a try. The story seemed decent enough (very common, nothing new) and starting few episodes were well executed however as it progresses both xu Kai and tan song Yun acts bad and feel so disconnected from the character they are playing.

I'm dropping at 32 episode and there are sad scenes where the actor needs strong facial expressions to show overflowing emotions and xu Kai is doing literally opposite, same facial expressions throughout the whole drama, he doesn't even have tears in his eyes (even when he is alone and deeply sad). On the other hand tan song Yun is overreacting so much that her expressions seems fake (especially when she laughs).

The story is a mess too, started good but too many characters and little to no character development makes it hard to watch.

Sorry xu Kai ? even though I'm your big fan, i still can't finish it ?.

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The Guilty Pleasure

Rated ~ 22.5/50 ~ 4.5

I had just finished watching Not Me and was in desperate need of more motorbikes. I initially was going to ignore this because it's MAME but decided to watch it anyway.

I am not a fan of MAME. S*A appears in her work like a fetish but your one true love will heal you, and her female characters are guaranteed to be trash. It's quite sad.

But I was in a mood to turn my brain off and just be dazzled by all the pretty men and their motorbikes.
There's really nothing new here. Both stories follow the same narrative.
Story one - Genuis architect falls for naive young student and manipulates the situation to let him think student is pursuing him. They fall in love and have hot steamy sex. Kidnap episode for drama.
Story two - Naive student's so called bestie, despite the pair telling each other very little, is forced into having hot steamy sex with genuis architect's friend in order to get out. hm. Rich wealthy who happens to be the fastest biker, because he has to match the excellence of his friend, proceeds to stalk and force his way into a relationship before realising he's in love. The sassy bestie turns tsundere and then a meek kitten as we see his ptsd emerge, get retriggered, retraumatized by the ex and friends who assault him again, but being in love will make it all better.

Really... This is why I dont like MAME. It's not a hate wagon. There's a lot of issues happening here and surfaces in her work. The plot is absolutely wack.

But I watched with my brain off and just enjoyed the visuals. And I absolutely enjoyed the visuals. The actors are gorgeous. I wanted to fix pyah's hair a little but he kept it back for the most part so I dealt. The actor for Rain is stunningly beautiful and they kept putting him under warm lights, which lit up his eyes and skin tone. The scene in the kitchen, with the sunlight behind him is screensaver material.
The sex scenes were very heated and more like how het couples have sex which is probably why they are enjoyed so much. Anal is a little trickier to keep to a position so it has you thinking that the bottoms are really flexible and the tops are really big lol But I have to give credit to the actors for going full on with those scenes. I was a little turned on. Cant lie.

And that's all I can really say about this series LOL The actors are pretty, the luxury visuals are enjoyable and the sex scenes are hot.
I dont even remember the music.

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Cops and Robbers

The First Shot 雪迷宫 is a classic cops and robbers crime thriller featuring China's early efforts to combat drug trafficking in the late 1990s. It seamlessly fuses together proven themes of friendship, loyalty and betrayal, and good vs evil; all the elements that make this genre enduringly popular. It is set in a fictional city Halan in frigidly cold Northeast China and is about a newly established anti-narcotics team's early efforts to combat an influx of drugs into the region. Lacking basic knowledge of synthetic drug manufacturing, Zhang Bei is sent to Huazhou in Southern China to recruit Gu Yiran, an expert chemistry professor to join his team. Due to the initial influx of drugs into Southern China in the earlly 1990s, Gu Yiran's familiarity with the habits and tactics of the traffickers proves as invaluable as his knowledge of chemistry.

This is a well made drama if you can excuse the meagre, cheesy 1990s look and feel that gets a much needed boost by Jacky Cheung's top Cantopop and early Mandopop hits from the day. It is definitely not Zhang Yimou behind the camera but the camera angles are quite innovative and the spectacularly choreographed action scenes kept me on the edge of my seat. The crime plot unfolds at a decent cadence with a few really interesting and unpredictable twists and reveals. The bromances were deftly written with each relationship: Zhang Bei and Gu Yiran; Zhang Bei and Jiang Xiaohai and Jaing Xiaohai and Liang Jiaju; illuminating different facets of both Zhang Bei and Jiang Xiaohai.

The investigative unit's rapport resonates and carries the story from the get go with every member doing their own small but crucial part in this tightly knit team. The rabidly feisty Mad Dog Yao kicking butt in any brawl only to be too easily subdued by Zhang Bei cracked me up no end. While I appreciate the narrative taking the time to flesh out the important roles, this drama falls into the usual trap of these plot driven stories of digressing too far into too many personal stories of peripheral side characters. It comes at the cost of the momentum of the investigative plot and the narrative sags in the middle. While Lin Boyang is lovely, I wasn't invested in her sweet but trite romance which went on for so long it bored me silly. This would have been much tighter and more exciting as a 24 episode drama.

I was initially skeptical about Huang Jingyu in this kind of super masculine hero cop who carries the weight of his team and the world on his shoulders kind of role. He has done it too many times and indeed there is nothing about the way the character is written or portrayed that makes Zhang Bei stand out from this tired archetype. Yet maybe its his personal charisma or how he just looks the part so perfectly that his Zhang Bei just "works" in bringing all the other roles and performances together. As much as I like Wang Qizi, Gu Yiran is the character that at the end I liked and cared about the least. He is at surface easy going and amiable but in reality he is lonely and guarded and he has his own agenda. Unfortunately I found his obstinate and repeated Lone Ranger stunts so selfish and boring that it overwhelmed my sympathy for his personal trauma. Although he isn't at Zhao Xiaoguang's level of comically terrible, he is also too obviously not a native Cantonese speaker to successfully pass himself off as one. The role just didn't come to life onscreen in a convincing way and was overshadowed by vastly superior performances by Zhang Yu and Qin Junjie. The truth is fate is random and Lele could well have been any one of them and it is this character that stole the show and made me incredibly conflicted; sad, manipulated, scared, revolted and resigned. It is the best written and best acted role; one that stands out among other stellar performances.

As an avid and frequent consumer of the suspense thrillers, this drama has an excellent ending twist that shocked me and then gave me that aha! moment as all the details just clicked into place. I haven't been surprised like this in a long time and I enjoyed it thoroughly. That said, there is nothing that new or special about the story itself, the plot should have been tightened and there were just so many hidden identities that when you put it all together it looks quite implausible. I am happy to I rate this a very entertaining and enjoyable 8.0/10.0

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So Bad It's Good

PLEASE watch it!!! Its So good! I see every one giving it low ratings and saying it's so bad, but heres the thing, it's suppose to be! it's a comedy that was actually executed really well! The internal monologs KILLED me! It's ssooooo cringe though and made even me embarrassed to watch at some points! I know there are probably comments about the acting being bad but if you actually pay attention the acting is actually really good!

If you need a comparison to understand why I'm saying it's actually really good then watch Dumb and Dumber, Nepoleon Dynamite, Tropic Thunder, Zoolander, ETC. those kinda of movies are so bad, on purpose, that they are good, just like this series! It's a type of comedy that may not be for everyone but it definitely does not make them bad movies or series!

Long Lee being so full of himself and some of his internal monologs were just RIDICULOUS! Honestly it's been about 10 minutes since I finished the series and I'm still cry laughing when I think of specific scenes. I hope this brings some clarity and understanding to the "bad" series.

i here for a season 2!

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too much headache

the same story happened all over again from the very first episode until the second last of the episode. everyone went mad, insecure, absurd, crazy, and stupid. the story was childish sometimes. The ML was stupid for not helping FL about his mother, FL was insecure, shouted a lot, went mad a few times. the mother couldn't stop angry until the end of the season. the male brother went to rape her but get to justified!? absolutely mad.

suddenly, everyone were changed and reconciled in the last two episodes? after 25, 28 episodes!? I skipped a lot of episodes and went straight to ep 20 because I was bored and frustrated.

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