Reviews

Love and joy in all their forms, told through the medium of Good Food

This show may have permanently rewired my brain and I don't regret a thing. This show Gets Me. It gets what it means to be human, what it means to love and let yourself be loved, what it means to reach for the joy and wonder that can be found in every day life, what it means to yearn for something. It explores what it means to desire; desire a feeling, desire food, desire change, desire a person. I could (and have, shoutout to my friends and my sincere apologies) spend hours ranting about the beautiful and complex use this show makes of food as symbolism, but I won't subject you to that.
Instead I will tell you this:
If you have ever known or wanted to know what it's like to outgrow and shed the shell you've been confined to all your life, to let go of "would have"s and "should be"s and grab for happiness with both hands, then this show is for you.
It is beautiful, it is intense, it is unafraid, it is pure joy.

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I Ship Pam & Dino

I enjoyed this drama.

I am not familiar with Thai dramas. I am, however, a connoisseur of the romance genre. And My Dear Donovan fits into the romance category perfectly.

It is a straight-forward romance drama where you know the players at face value - good guys, bad guys, grumpy grandfather. The hurdles the lovers have to go through to test their love for each other are adequte for this 16-episode drama. 

What I like: 
- The lovers liked each other from the start, and they were revealed their feelings early part of the series.
- Chemistry between the main actors is cute enough.
- You know exactly who the bad guys are. 
- The FL - she can do crying scenes well. Her puffy nose and redish eyes. Perfection.
- The ML - Great screen presence. 

What I find meh:
- The intrigues, reasons for break-up, and family dynamics were weak. However, it provided me with reasons to fast forward bits and pieces.
- Mr Aood - the apparent 2nd ML. He is unfortunately overshadowed by the ML's strong screen presence.
- Closure of the hurdles for the couple - it felt a bit of a rush towards the end of three episodes.

For romance genre lovers. This is not an epic intergenerational drama. My Dear Donovan is a drama to watch simply for enjoyment. 

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It's based on a true story although not everything but the main story is.

So first of all, I have watched this AMAZING k-drama twice because it's SO GOOD. And Ik that watching it twice is not enough since it's such a good drama but I couldn't bring myself to watch it again any sooner. And that is because it's too much of an emotional rollercoaster for me ... it feels like your heart is being shattered into pieces. The only k-drama that gave me this much heartache was 'moon lovers scarlet heart'. If you haven't watched it already then you're missing something.
The ending of this drama is where you can't help yourself but to bawl your eyes out (I did ever single time). I mean who wouldn't? You won't be able to move on from this drama after you've finished it for some time. "What if....?" Is the question I had to ask myself every time. I don't want to spoil anything big but just know that you need your tissues.

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The Wizards Entertained Me

This show was just plain charming. It does fall into the "overly sanitized" category of Japanese shows, but the romantic chemistry between the leads was so palpable and they expressed their affection for each other so often and so genuinely that I even started to have a little bit of fun with how much the show was teasing the audience with almost showing the two kiss but then stopping short at the last second. Sure it was frustrating (as, personally, I am someone who doesn't place too much stock in more explicit scenes, but does value realistic physical affection between characters who love each other, be it romantic love, or platonic, or any other sort) but by the end it felt almost tongue-in-cheek and some of those moments (looking at you, closing-elevator-doors-scene) honestly made me chuckle.

Some personal highlights (aka Things I Loved):
- The entire concept. It's silly, it's goofy, it's weirdly romantic, it shouldn't work but it really really does.
- Tsuge and his friendship with Adachi. Tsuge is a strange little man who feels too much, too often, all at once and it only seems to make him more determined to figure out what he wants out of life and how to be there for the people he cares about. I find him delightful and his relationship with Minato, while fairly uneventful, is quite sweet.
- Fujisaki Nozomi and everything she represents. While the word "asexual" is never explicitly used to describe Nozomi, she did set off my spidey-senses, my ace-detector if you will, and by the end I was convinced, yes this is an asexual woman not just existing but thriving and I adore her to pieces. Her storyline touches on the importance of self-love and directly counters the idea that romantic love is what makes life fulfilling. Not only is this an important and meaningful topic to address, it also serves to balance out the fairly romance focused main plot and lends depth and complexity to several other characters' arcs that may otherwise have been lacking.

In conclusion: This is a charming and easy-to-watch rom-com with some unexpected yet very welcome depth to it. It's fun, it's wholesome, go watch it with your friends, your family, hell, watch it with your grandparents, it's so clean and inoffensive they might just love it.

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MY SOUL BELONGS TO THIS DRAMA

More than 15 years of watching television and almost 9 years of watching Kdramas, I've stumbled upon a million different stories and various cinematic masterpieces. Many dramas have made me feel like home and gave me the best experiences, but no drama or series has ever resonated with my soul the way this drama has. For many it might just be a love story amidst war and chaos but for me its a million times more than that. Every episode made me feel the emotions that I CANNOT even describe through words...My eyes are filled with tears as I write this...
This drama is everything I could ever want. The story is perfect, the cast is spot on( seriously I love Ahn EunJin and Nam GoongMin sooooooo much), everything is PERFECTION

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I KNOW YOU WANT TO WATCH IT FOR BINBIN BUT DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS DRAMA!

I usually watch any drama after reading few reviews and judge whether it is worth my time or not and I did the biggest mistake by not reading the reviews in this one and directly jumped in to watching it because of the soul reason - VIN ZHANG
On personal basis, it was not a whole time waste for me as I got to learn one thing from the drama, infact, from the negative character, Lin Hao, is that when we have a breakup with someone who was so close to us and we loved them truly, we often romanticize their personality, their traits and everything, but in real when someone does wrong to you and you find yourself blaming your own self is the biggest sign that you are not wrong and above that, the other person is never going to change or come and apologize to you (in real sense). even if they do, they will be there for some benefit only and not because they love you just like LIN HAO. I find this cruel and not so comfortable thing very real in this drama. Yes, we do have so many Lin Haos moving around us and over lives- the ultimate manual of RED FLAG was portrayed by the single chatacter and that was simply outstanding for me.

The drama has the capability of making you frustrated by thinking that in the poster they have shown Vin Zhang as the lead but the whole drama has surely more frame of the negative character than the male lead.

Some good points about the drama:
1. The character Yan
2. The learning of how to deal with a toxic ex.
3. Han Shuang's dressing style.
sorry no other...

Negative points
1. LIMITED LIMITED screen presence of both the leads.
2. Terrible trust issues among all the characters makes me feel like how come they have. shown the solid friendship amongst the people who have basic trust issues.
3. Too much stretched. (utter wastage of time)
4. Non sensicle entry of ML's ex
THERE ARE MANYYYY MANYYY OTHERS!

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Good potential but badly written FL

It had really good OST and great acting by the cast and but that was it.

I never wrote a review for a drama but I had to for this one as at the start i really enjoyed the show and thought it might become one of my favs but with how bad and irritating the FL was, it went downhill

So the story started off really good but slowly things got weird, is the FL a superhuman too? She's getting thrown around, fighting off a group of trained men and sometimes even when they had weapons and is ready fight again the next day. Things were good during the middle but In EP10 she was so heartless to her so called husband that she wanted him gone and never see his own daughter ever and even went as far as to say that they committed a sin by giving birth to their daughter because of his cured genes and she said all this based off what the people that were trying to kill them and threatened to kill her daughter and easily convinced the whole damm country that she's a murderer showed her and the story of black arm guy and red hair girl was much better than the ML and FL, they both wanted to protect each other while here at first the FL wanted to kill th ML then she married him then she wanted him gone and at the end she wanted him to come back like make up your goddamm mind. All he has done from when he met her is save her life again and again though she did took a bullet for him at the end when she wanted him to come back but it was too late.

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The First And Best

I'm pretty sure there is nothing I could say about this show that hasn't already been said. It is a masterpiece (or, as I have lovingly taken to calling it, a monsterpiece). It was the first Thai drama I ever watched and it irreversibly pulled me into the weird and wonderful world of queer Asian dramas and for that alone I will always love it.
But it's much more than just personal fondness that makes this drama so incredible to me.
This show takes what could easily have been a contrived, Romeo-and-Juliet-esque plot and turns it into a fiercely loving and genuine story about first love, self-determination, and the struggles of learning how to be yourself in the face of constrictive, sometimes even crushing, social and societal expectations. It touches on topics of sexuality, identity, compulsive heterosexuality, performative violence, and intergenerational trauma (in a "the sins of the father are the sins of the son" type of way) with a sensitivity and care that is still all too rare in cinema these days.
Now onto some (mild) spoilers.

Some personal highlights (aka Things I Loved):
- The deep respect and love Pat and Pran have for each other. Their relationship is tender, realistic, and frankly just plain fun as well, and seeing them both work so hard on building a healthy and lasting connection is beautiful and incredibly satisfying to witness.
- The pacing, specifically during episodes 6-10 in which the two of them just get to exist and grow together while tackling different problems facing them together and advancing their relationship step by step each episode. I know this sort of relationship progression isn't for everyone and hey, I get it, I love a good slow burn as much as the next guy, but personally I find that nothing compares to watching such an achingly real relationship unfold and grow, and seeing two people who love each other fiercely progress through their lives together rather than each of them struggling alone and pining from afar.
- The realistic depictions of sexuality. Specifically Pat letting go of his former infatuation with Ink and allowing himself to explore a romantic relationship he wasn't expecting until finally coming to the conclusion that he is attracted to all genders, which he then expresses out loud, with his words, as a direct response to a "oh but aren't you only gay for him" comment. Revolutionary, I know.
- Ink and Pa. I love my girls so much, they are both incredibly charming and compelling characters, yes I have huge crushes on both of them, what's your point
- The way the typical langkorn staples of sound effects, over the top silliness, and even the product placements (shoutout to Nivea, inexplicable make-up removal scenes my beloved) are utilised to underscore and enhance the story's genuine emotional moments. Beware, beware the danger of the artists who figured out how to use The Silly And Goofy to tell clever and touching stories.

Some personal lowlights (aka Things I Didn't Like):
- The ending. Don't get me wrong, I was very pleased with it being a happy ending and the end of episode 12 was just so goddamn charming it had me grinning from ear to ear, but I really disliked the whole "hiding their relationship" aspect. I would have loved to see them further develop the plotline of Pat and Pran actively defying their parents and refusing to live with and suffer for mistakes and heartbreaks they themselves had nothing to do with, and seeing the parents actually learn to let their kids live their lives for themselves. And if not that, then I could have at least done without them faking a break-up at school, that was just unnecessary in my opinion. Sure, there's a chance their parents would have found out about their continued relationship had they not hidden it that way, but that was seemingly a non-issue previously when they were openly dating so I don't see why they wouldn't have risked that. And lying to their friend groups (with the exception of Wai and Korn) just felt weird to me.
- Korn and his ilk in the early episodes. God but they were pricks, the lot of them. Korn especially irked me. He had a few moments that made me think he was actually becoming a redeemable character, but nothing came of them (see: that one moment in one of the early episodes where Korn reprimanded his friends not to make sex object jokes about women only to then just sort of continue making those jokes himself).
I will say though, that he did win me over by the end. His character arc wasn't as fleshed out as it could have been, but he did manage to pull his head out of his arse and learn to support his friend and put his needless feud with Wai to rest, so I am somewhat willing to overlook how much I wanted to punch him for roughly the first 70% of the show's runtime
- Wai forcibly outing his friend and how little it was discussed. I love Wai as a character (he is my little gremlin, my little weirdo, my scrungly boy) but forced outing is one of the most traumatic experiences a queer person can go through and for Wai to experience essentially zero consequences for his actions and even had Pran apologise to him really rubbed me the wrong way.

In conclusion: This is a wonderful, wonderful show by queer people for queer people and it remains a stand-out success and an absolute highlight among not just Thai shows, or queer Asian dramas, but among queer films and shows in general. Go watch it.

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Sizzling Yiran-Sabrina chemistry, cute dimple couple!

I'm only a third in but am writing this review to convince those hesitating about 白日梦我 (I prefer the Chinese title than the nonsensical English one!) to PLEASE WATCH THIS Yiran gem!

First watched Zhou Yiran in When I Fly Towards You (WIFTY) and was charmed by the dimples and 'simple' acting/plot there. He's a little bit broodier and mature here. He's also reunited with Guran (WIFTY) and in this school, he's the bad boy with good grades - we find out that he's repeating a year because of what had happened to the uncle who cared for him as a child.

Shen Juan (Yiran) is trying to run his uncle's silversmith shop (no spoilers) while studying. At the start of the school year, he gets a new desk mate - the gorgeous and clever Lin Yu Jing (Sabrina) - a transfer student from a 'broken' home. The unfolding of their friendship is natural and the pace exactly right.

There's a spate of youth/high school C-dramas but this hits different because of the amazing chemistry between the leads. What's refreshing is also a FL who is not coy, shrill, flirty or too stupid to live but with her head firmly screwed on the shoulder. When she discovers that SJ is having trouble paying the shop rent, she and the other 2 friends (Yi Yang & Song Nan) find ways to make money to cover the rent.

Ten episodes in and there's still no romance in the grand sense but you KNOW the ML cares for the FL and vice versa. They enjoy a day out at an amusement park, they have a hot pot with their buddies, they spend a couple of days at a farm - these are things that make youth memorable but there's nothing forced about them.

We get a sense that Yu Jing's divorced parents are troublesome adults but I don't really care and just am rooting for this adorable couple to get together! Special mention, too, to Yu Jing's stepbrother - the cute and hot lawyer
Fu Ming Xiu (Chen He Yi).

Can't wait to watch the other 20 episodes! Must add that Mango TV subs are HORRENDOUS! There are some auto-translate howlers e.g. Shen Juan = 'aunty' but it's free on YT, so can't complain.

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Sweetly Sung

Sing My Crush is a sweet, breezy little drama that manages to keep a good balance of fluff with a little bit of angst and drama to keep it from being cloying. It's easily bingeable and can be completed in an afternoon and is a great de-stressor after a long day at work. I speak from experience. The characters are endearing, the plot simple, and the music divine.

The story is simple and it's simplicity is an asset considering the limited number of episodes. There are no deep dives into the characters' backgrounds, no real flashbacks, just a steady progression as the characters grow and it works. The story is overall cohesive, there are a few loose threads, the issue with Sangin doesn't feel fully resolved, for example, but nothing huge to complain about. The pacing is steady and overall well done despite a few laggy moments, but they're not enough to hold the story back too much.

The characters aren't overly complicated; on the surface, they're fairly transparent.
-Han Ba Ram is a sweetheart who, after being burned by love, is a bit hesitant to confess again. Being gay also complicates the matter and elevates his fear, so he keeps it a secret and continues living with the man he loves until his first love re-enters his life and complicates things. There's an element of frustration with him, the feeling that wouldn't it be better to just confess and get rid of the proverbial sword hanging over his head. But, having been in his shoes, I can also understand how incredibly difficult it is to confess, especially when you're afraid of ruining the friendship that you have. I was impressed with the character growth seen in such a short period of time. You can really see his confidence grow both in his music and as a person.
-Im Han Tae has to be one of the most dense characters I've seen. I truly thought he was already in love with Ba Ram up until Ba Ram confessed and he was totally clueless. His actions and behaviour afterward left me alternately laughing in exasperation and wanting to bash my head against the wall. It's a good thing he's cute. Nevertheless, I appreciated his loyalty and steadfastness when it came to Ba Ram and even when he wasn't 100% certain of his feelings, he still took care of and protected him.
-Sangin annoyed me from the get go and just got worse from there. He was far too handsy for any kind of reputable teacher and the way he baited Ba Ram into trying to kiss him to prove his love was disconcerting. Coming back after the fact and trying to steal Ba Ram's song was the cherry on top. I found it disappointing that he never once took responsibility for his actions, but continued to blame Ba Ram till the end. As a side note, he seemed too old be debuting, not that I'm any kind of expert on that and frankly I think expanding the age range would be great, but realistically, I didn't buy it.
-While they didn't play huge roles within the story, I liked Young Mi and Jeong Pal. They were cute as a couple, but I also liked their friendship and dynamic with Ba Ram and Han Tae.

The acting was good all around. Do Yoon and Hyun Woo had good chemistry. Even their first kiss, which I would normally consider a dead fish lip press, actually worked for them. It was hesitant and sweet and felt realistic for a first tentative kiss. They just seemed very comfortable around each other and I liked them together. I felt both actors did their character's justice.

I loved the music. Both "Letter of Apology" and "Second Wind" are beautiful songs. "Letter of Apology" was utilized throughout the run but it was done in such a way that I didn't get tired of it or feel that it was overplayed. The rest of the music was pretty generic but those two definitely stood out.

This is not a deep drama, it's too short to delve into any kind of real issues, and again they were smart to keep it simple. But simple doesn't mean without it's merits and it does touch on elements like having confidence in yourself, growing as a person, and pursuing what you love. I found it to be an enjoyable diversion for an afternoon and one that I would recommend and will likely come back to in the future.

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I’m emotionally attached, you’ll do too! ❤️

If it wasn’t for my friend who kept on recommending me to watch this show, I wouldn’t even try watching it. I’m not someone who enjoys watching reality show, let alone a dating show. When she told me, “Just try watching it! It’s different,” I thought I’ll try. Never have I imagined myself getting so immersed in the show, really enjoying watching all of the members spending 2 weeks with each other.

My heart fluttered, my eye got teary, and I felt irritated just like some of them did. I was emotionally attached and I really felt like I experienced all these myself. It became one of my comfort shows, I’ll watch them before going to bed, on the way to school, and even in the middle of classes. I’ll never forget this show! I promise I’ll rewatch them again as soon as I turn 20!

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Worthy wuxia show to binge watch for 2023

If you like Sword Snow Stride and other wuxia movies, I think you will like this one.

The script is not as good as Sword Snow Stride but the pace and fighting is better. The characters we meet throughout are interesting and with interesting powers but I think side characters are kind of weak.

The main characters are interesting and sort of flushed out. The 3 male leads are excellent characters.

I thought it was a good balance of seriousness and a few bits of light hearted humor. But fortunately, it doesnt have too much silliness or silly romance humor.

Fighting is top notch and way better than Sword Snow Stride. Whoever did the choreography and action did a fantastic job.

Direction and pacing was great. Nice work with pacing and camera work.

Overall, not too draggy and great show. I enjoyed it.

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Honestly not the worst thing I’ve seen, but I disliked it more than I liked it.

The first and larger portion of this series was an annoying cycle of fight, friends, fight, ignore/pine and repeat. The last portion of this series was 50% dramatics and 50% wholesome montage.

I liked the found family aspect and watching how everyone’s relationships change and grow. The story itself isn’t half bad, and some episodes were definitely better than others, but the delivery was uninspired and cliche. This series takes itself pretty seriously, but as a viewer it is very hard to take the cheesy montages, over-the-top dramatics, and editing seriously.
For example, what can a gang of 20 bodyguards do to one pretty young man seeking revenge for his sick boyfriend? Nothing apparently.

By the end of it, I was just wondering if there was any reason for it to be this long? I don’t mind watching a long series, but do I really have to watch the entire parent-teacher conference?! I didn’t really have the desire to watch the boys dance to Mario Kart-esque music either.

When it comes to the relationship between our main characters, I understand their situation is delicate, but at times their relationship was so fragile I could blow on it and it’d fall apart. One day these boys are two peas in a pod, and obsessed with each other, and the next day their relationship is beyond repair. Every time they resolved their problem, it wasn’t because they were honest and talked it out, but rather they decided they weren’t angry anymore.
This felt like running in circles. I thought you were best friends, brothers in arms, but no, they can’t even say two sentences to clear the air. And they want us to believe there is something more going on?
Their relationship was cute once they were dating, but still not satisfying because we never really got to see progression of their romantic relationship. I understand that this is because of the tight rules and censorship, but for most of the series their relationship was swampy and vague. This made the skip to hinting that Wu Bi and Su Yu were intimate with each other feel unbelievable, and most of the time it came off as fan service or a montage that checks the boxes for what is "supposed" to happen in a "BL relationship." Despite the tropes their relationship fell into, it still had a few endearing moments.

The acting and dialogue was really stiff, and this was actually emphasized by the editing. This was one of the fatal cheapening flaws of the series. A lot of conversations would finish and then the camera would hold a pause until cutting to the next scene. Sometimes it just felt like the actors were standing around until they remembered their queue.

I just finished watching this today, and looking through my notes has proven to me that I have already forgotten half the plot.
Overall, it’s just too soapy and melodramatic. I would say the highlight of the series is Su Yu’s face and the low point is Wu Bi’s face. I’m joking, but I really do wonder how they found a face that can look that miserable. In his defense, he looks much happier once he has a boyfriend.

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