Reviews

A light-hearted, cute simple little love story about two marathon runners in college

While this is not my favourite BL of all time, it is one of the go-to BLs whenever I need a short pick-me-up.
The series and the drama are identical, there are just a few scenes swapped around where the episodes end / start, probably for narrative reasons.

What I liked:
* They chose a story line that is adequate for the length of the series. Anything more complicated, and it might have become frustrating (again).
* The series is focused on the two main leads, which are supported by only a few other characters, which also fits the drama's length. I loved all of them, the coach was like an exasperated but loving uncle, the friend insightful, the two loan sharks hilariously cute.
* They did almost everything to keep the story light-hearted, from the sometimes cheesy dialogue to the upbeat music.
* The story, though straightforward, shows quite a bit of character development for BOTH main characters.

What I did not like:
* To keep it consistently light-hearted, I would have liked if the scene with the loan sharks' boss could have been less violent -- I'm sure there was another way to put pressure on SangHa than to beat him up.

Overall, a sweet and short drama.

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Light and entertaining but a missed opportunity

I was initially attracted to Yong'an Dream because at that time, I was craving something fluffy but it also appealed to my darkness-loving soul because had a mysterious and near-tragic edge. However, while I was mostly positive about Yong'an Dream in the beginning, I ended up fast-forwarding most of it by episode 12. So, what happened?
First, the positives.

What I liked
- Jeremy Tsui was appropriately menacing as Liu Shi Yan. He had the bearing and gravitas to be the arrogant court official who is thinks he knows everything.
- The second and third lead couples were actually fascinating. Shen Ran is a married woman, but how is she and the Zhou Su An supposed to act on their attraction? Su Heng is besotted with Shen Ran, but at least he thinks he is until he meets the beautiful but tom boyish woman who is supposed to be matched with Shi Yan. I legit want a CDrama centred around these two couples!
What I didn't like
- Zilch chemistry between our lead couple. I kept waiting for it to happen, and found it ironic that I was far more interested in the second and third lead couples!
- Jeremy Tsui was good as usual, but sadly Ouyang Nana, while not awful, was not good enough to elevate her very stereotypical, bright and perky, blandly-written character to something special.
- The unnecessary roadblocks to our main couple's happiness mid point. It was an eyerolling, lazy way to create drama and tension in the story. This was when I began to check out.
- The dreams that Shi Yan gets about an alternate life with Shen Zhen was never coherently explained. If I hadn't known about the novel's plot, I wouldn't have any idea what to make of it. Is it prophetic? Hallucinations from too much mushrooms? No idea.
- The whole "she cries and he ends up in pain" schtick got old really quick. I highly suspect it's because Jeremy Tsui's comedic timing is less than stellar, and Ouyang Nana's performance wasn't great. These were cringey more than funny.

Final thoughts

All in all, watching Yong'an Dream is like eating a cake, expecting it to be as delicious at it looks, only to end up finding out that beneath the frosting, the cake was made of cardboard.
I really felt sad for Jeremy, especially after hearing that he's retiring from acting. (He made this announcement while this drama was airing.)
Jeremy is an actor I felt has lots of potential but is quickly aging out from the idol dramas he's always starring in. There are rumors that his agency was pressurising him to act in these dramas and blocking his efforts to branch out, so I don't blame him for quitting if this is true. But as these are rumours, I guess we'll never fully know the truth.
Yong'an Dream was not a drama I want him to end his career with. Fortunately, he has more dramas coming out. So, I hope they will be much better than this one and that he ends his acting career memorably rather than with a whimper.

As usual, this is an excerpt from my blog post review of the drama: https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2024/03/22/yongan-dream-review/

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Good to see the first Korean BL, but not the best by far

Another review said it perfectly: as the "first" Korean BL the short runtime and few number of episodes makes it clear that this show was really to test the waters for the fans.

Good news is that the episodes are mostly 11-12 minutes, so the show is super binge-able. The story is incredibly fanfic-y, which you will either love or hate, but I really did enjoy the premise and the story for the first half of the show. I actually thought Han Gi Chan's acting was better than Eui Soo's, which surprised me. Personally, I also loved the character of a yappy brat that teases Gook, but I know other reviewers disagree and found Gi Chan's character manipulative and annoying!

My main complaint is that the ending seems SO unnecessarily dramatic and does a disservice to the first half. I think they could've ended it with the same "happy" ending feeling without ridiculous angst and drama that came out of nowhere with absolutely no build up. Also, I think the production was not super polished in terms of make-up and things of that sort (who decided to make Eui Soo wear colored contacts??), and the actors definitely feel too old to be playing high schoolers, and should probably be playing college students. Lastly, the acting chemistry between the couple was pretty good (not great), but the kiss was SO bland compared to what Korean BL shows are doing nowadays, that it seems like they really didn't want to do it, which is a shame.

Overall, it's definitely not the best BL show (or even Korean BL show) that I've seen, but I do have to give it a lot of respect as the "first" that paved the way for all the ones that have aired since!

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Immersive

The movie relies on the element of the dark and suprise as its main source of horror and it works.

The POV is shown from a vlog camera and it really makes you immersed and feel the horror through the screen but imo it also made me heavily dizzy at times, and quite frankly frustrated.

The story is scary, with eerie surroundings that go on throughout, and occasional gore, but I wasn’t on the edge for the entire movie, mostly on some tense parts.

70% of the film is spent in the dark which isn’t very fun but the movie is okay. The constant switch of time makes the story hard to follow and could have been done more efficiently tho I do understand why it switches back and forth.

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Fantastic character development in a meaningful workplace romcom

Cunning Single Lady has its issues, and watching it now does make some of the storylines feel dated. BUT overall it’s a really great show with some of the best character writing in kdramas.

The lead actors do a fantastic job portraying the rocky relationship between the ML and the FL, and the ending really feels satisfying given all the struggles they go through to get there. Plus, both actors have impeccable comedic timing, leading to many laugh-out-loud moments.

I would recommend this drama to anyone looking for a romcom with some more mature leads and deeper storylines relatable to older viewers.

Tropes:
Workplace romance
CEO ML to working-class FL
Enemies to lovers
Pre-established relationship; leads start out divorced
ML falls first
Double love triangle with scheming second leads

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Love without boundaries

I really like the story and I also understand the development of the characters. Amazing story overall besides Gap the series
Since many Asian GL series focused on young love, I am really looking forward to a more mature story line and real life problems in the society.
Many lesbian couples also have an age gap and come forward with understanding each other.
I also share a 10 year age gap with my female lover and she is the opposite of me. Being both women it doesn’t feel weird with the age gap. On the contrary she shows more understanding and life lessons with me, which Blank the series also captures. The main actresses are lovely and verg bubbly and so fitting as I have imagined while reading the novel before I watched the series.

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Tutor and Yim both sooo cute!

I really enjoyed this. The actors all got along well and did a good job. I suspect the director didn’t really control some of the cringy scenes- some could have been done better. I am hoping Tutor and Yom can do more dramas together. I’d like to see Yim get to be more himself- they seem to want him to be comic relief, which is ok, but not so much yelling. Thai dramas do tend to feature this. …………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….:…………………………..

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Day drinking with The Tiger Killer

The Delightful Forest is one of the Shaw Brothers films that has been restored and it looked good. Shaw Brothers put forth the money for nice sets and costumes. Ti Lung was young and athletic, always a plus. So why waste Ti, watching him drink and eat more than fight? Apparently, the movie did follow the book, The Water Margin, regarding this part of the Tiger Killer’s life, so maybe that’s what the legendary strong man spent his time doing. I'll leave it to the readers to decide.

Legendary Wu Sung who killed a tiger with his bare hands comes to town with blood in his eye after discovering his sister-in-law and her lover murdered his brother. In quick order he kills the murderers and turns himself in. On the way to prison he fights The Witch who owns an inn and then becomes sworn brothers with her shirtless husband. At the prison, the chief warden’s son has plans for him. Golden Eye wants Wu to defeat Jiang Zhong who has taken over The Delightful Forest, a village of inns, brothels, and casinos that had been paying Golden Eye tribute. What Wu will find out is that Jiang has powerful friends who also want control of the Delightful Forest.

“When people are drunk, the world and time don’t exist”
Ti Lung seemed to be having a lot of fun playing the cocky, heavy drinking, and heavy hitting Hero Wu. I’ve never seen him so light-hearted in a film. Wu drank on the way to prison, he drank in prison, and he stopped at the 12 places on the way to fight Jiang to drink 3 large bowls of wine at each. He drank heavily at the bad guy’s lair. This wasn’t even drunken kung fu fist, apparently the booze powered him up even when he wasn’t fighting. However, like Sampson, he stupidly told the bad guy the secret to beating him.

There were few significant fights and most were over quickly. The rest of the time Wu spent eating and drinking. It took 52 minutes before Wu had drunk enough to meet Jiang in a quick battle in the town center. One of my favorite fight choreographers, Lau Kar Leung was one of four on this film. There didn’t seem to be enough fights to warrant that amount, but Tang Chia, Lau Kar Wing, and Chan Chuen all contributed. Some of the most impressive fights were the ones with Ti Lung wearing a cangue. Even if it was made out of Styrofoam or a lightweight material, the awkwardness of it seemed like it could have been highly problematic to work around and not get injured engaging with various stuntmen. Right before one of these fights they showed Shaw Tower, the pagoda Cheng Pei Pei had to climb in Lady Hermit (1971). The pagoda made cameos in many SB films and I’m always on the lookout for it. The final rampage was impressive but lasted all of 9 minutes and there were some serious editing issues with it. This was a Chang Cheh film which meant there were buckets of blood in those final minutes.

If you want to see the live action version of this part of Wu Sung’s life you might really enjoy this. I felt like the only sober person at the party. Wu Sung’s drinking just wasn’t very interesting to me. When they finally let Ti Lung loose, the fights were good and he was quite charismatic. The Delightful Forest falls in the slightly below average category for me from this time period and genre, more like the Drunken Forest.

27 March 2024

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One of the better Rom-Coms

I was fresh from watching The Red Sleeve and needed something funny after that and My Dearest. I was also so impressed by Lee Jun Ho and needed to see him in something else, so I picked up King the Land. This rom-com was light-hearted and funny and I liked Jun Ho's performance as, Gu Won, the debonair chaebol with the heart of gold. When he meets a lovely staff member taking care of business in his hotel room, sparks fly even though they claim to dislike each other.

The show is rife with silly moments, sound bites for gulping and eye batting, and over-the-top performances by Ahn Se Ha, Gu Won's trusty sidekick. While this can get old real quick, it manages to stay fun. The secondary main leads don't overtake the main leads and still manage to pull off an interesting to watch love story. I even like that there is a big age difference between one of the couples, which is never an issue between the two. I found myself rooting for them.

There were some cliches that would have been better left out, but the bigger disappointment was the rushed wrap up of the drama and the use of the redemption arc for the villains. Personally, I like to see villains get their just desserts, so the writing choices left me feeling a bit cheated there. Definitely, the best part was the romance between our main leads. The kisses were smoking hot! Lee Jun Ho is incredibly attractive and talented. I am looking forward to seeing him in more dramas.

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A lightweight thriller+action drama

If you are looking for a thriller but with less messy/bloody scence but with a touch of humour than go for it.

Particularly, It isn't a thriller drama but for a beginner it is a good option.......Even if you are not a beginner and want relief from mind boggling investigation ,mysterious plot and anxiety you can consider watching it.

The drama is lightweighted with a touch of mystery, action, thrill and comedy...........may get vibe of Batman or rich man getting in trouble on purpose for fun because why not.

You don't have to rack your mind as the story unfolds all your doubts will be solved.

Yes, it is a good watch.

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Story is a real mess

I only watched this for Xu Kai and the trailer looked ok, but this series was disappointing to say the least. The story had so many issues...... with so many stupid and unintelligent characters and stupid/unintelligent decisions by Council members, Masters/Teachers, etcetera. Way to many episodes which were filled with unnecessary re-runs of certain Arcs (just in a different way). CGI was also bad - expected better than this for a 2023 production.

********SPOILER ALERT********

The story was all over the place, inconsistencies and contradicting at times with so many plot holes and issues. So many stupid and unintelligent characters and stupid/unintelligent decisions by Council members, Masters/Teachers, etcetera. Script writer and Producer really made a mess of the novel in my opinion.

There are actually too many issues to discuss so I'm just mentioning one that frustrated me the most. Some of the characters, specifically Ji Rong was basically forgiven for all her wrong doings, nobody truly suspected her of any wrong doing, both the uncles, Zong and Tang which were 'commanders' , or people around her didn't question any of her actions (can forgive Qingshi as he was in love with her and didn't want to believe she's bad), all other characters around her were portrayed as 'dumb or blind' to everything she did wrong, causing numerous deaths. Her death was not specifically shown in the the last encounter with QingShi but assume she died.

The acting of main leads were the best they could do with the script they had to work with. Some of the supporting actors didn't do that well, to mention a few Tong San played by Tong Hu, Zong Ling played by Zhou Zhong and Moyang Chen played by Geng Lee.

Production and Visual FX were ok but not great.

Sound effects: the sound the spear made when used by Xue Ying was too loud and distracting at times. Demon King voice sounded like a crazed cat or rat and was super annoying.

Sound tracks were great.

Rewatch value : Definitely won't rewatch.

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