Reviews

Wasn't Expecting Much & Not Much Is What I Got

First things first, this is my genre. All things supernatural, horror, and psychological thrillers are my jam. They make me happy. Somehow I knew from the trailer that Hellbound wasn't going to make me happy, but like a moth to a flame or a cat to a shiny thing... well you get the picture.

The story had potential. It was obvious from the trailer that the supernatural was going to be on the back burner and the story was going to be more humanistic. It's a slice of life with CG monsters. In a series this short either the story has to develop quickly and you forego character development or your characters have to grow by leaps and bounds. Neither happens in Hellbound. The fault lies squarely on the shoulders of writer/director Yeon Sang Ho. The first 2 or 3 episodes are spent setting us up the characters that disappear by the end of the 3rd episode. You really only know what happens to one. Unless I dozed off, you get no closure on the main character in the first few episodes. I mean none. He's just gone. Then the story jumps 4 years and the 2nd set of characters are tied to the first by the only character from the first 3 episodes to still be around.

The writing was disappointing. I felt like Yeon was trying to preach, but couldn't figure out how to start his sermon. So he floundered, changed his mind, and started again. I don't know if he wanted to take on zealotry and idolatry or religion in general. It really did seem like he was trying to sneak in a message. Yeon also fails at directing. It's a dark series and I don't mean the subject matter. Even when the characters are outside on sunny days, the shots were dreary. We get it. Bad times ahead. Honestly, some scenes reminded me of film school projects. I'm starting to feel the same about Yeon as I do about M. Knight Shymalan, concentrate on the writing son, leave the directing to someone with more talent. Train to Busan may have been a happy accident because of the cast not his talent. But, hey, the visual and sound effects were great!

The cast does a good job with the material given. However, there is no character development. Park Jung Min gave a solid performance. Overall, his character may have been the best written or well rounded followed by Yang Ik Jun's character. Kim Hyun Joo was window dressing. Her character was a caricature of a strong female lead instead of actually being one.

I scored the music high because it does a great job supporting and setting up scenes. The rewatch value is 0. If you have ever read any of my reviews, you know I almost always say I rarely rewatch a drama. I can tell you with absolute certainty that unless inebriated, paid, or under duress I will never watch Hellbound again. Mind you it ends on a cliffhanger so I may watch part 2.

Overall, it's a 5.5- 6.0 primarily because the visual and sound effects and because there is something there. I like the idea of the story but it's just not told very well. I'd only recommend it to die hard supernatural genre fans like myself. For the average viewer I'd say skip it or at least wait to see if there is a season 2 and then watch them together.

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CUTE AND CLICHE BUT STILL WATCHABLE

What's wrong with the female lead? She was pretending as a boy and still expressing cuteness or "aegyo"? It does not make any sense, to be honest. She had eyeliner, and her voice was too cute and soft. And in the end, she was surprised that some characters knew she was a girl; of course, you were too obvious, girl.

However, this drama was not bad. It was enjoyable at some parts, while some were too unbearable thanks to the female lead. Fortunately, I started this because of boredom, so I didn't have any expectations.

Watch this if you like...
Cliche story
Prosopagnosia
Narcissist male lead
Kisses, slight tension
A girl pretending as a boy
Figure skating and hockey
Male leads fighting and making up--repeat.
The female lead acting cute, but she's cute. Too cute.
Misunderstanding but will quickly resolve by the end of the episode
An Overly handsome male lead that can weaken your knees
An overly cute female lead that is sometimes weak and strong depends on the mood of the scriptwriter.
A handsome second male lead that frequently misunderstood the situation and was kind of in denial of his feelings, but whatever, he's cute.

Or just watch this if you are bored maybe you will enjoy it more than I did.

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Light hearted BL

This is the most popular BL Thailand every produced. The reason - 1. Good looking leads, it's ridiculous how good looking they are (ii) Light hearted, easy to watch and simply sweet- VERY HIGH REPEAT VALUE. To be honest, this is not my favorite show in terms of plot but i can simply rewatch any episode at ease because it's really easy to watch, not forgetting its funny.

Can i just say wtf is wrong with the last episode. Totally makes no sense. So the entire competition only had 2 bands competing and Sarawat can just confess on stage and they ended off with a hi-5. They acted as if the competition was Oscars.. And Mil lost, so he can be with Phukong? Ok?????

Acting wise - much can be improved. The stand out in this show is Green. I might be cancelled for this but Bright needs to work on having more expressions.
Music wise - Absolutely fantastic - all of them are already in my spotify.
Plot wise - Typical BL, nothing special.
Chemistry between leads - Pretty underwhelming and poor vs other couples you see out there (OffGun, EarthMix). THey progressively become more and more awkward.

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The Best BL in history - A new standard

Honestly, this single series should be the face of BL in Thailand. From the casting (Earth as Phupa was the best fit and Mix as Tian showed many surprises), theme song (can we just say the first 10 seconds of the opening song send chills down my spine every episode), the filming location and even the flavors added in by the supporting casts (and the kids) are nothing short of amazing.

What surprised me more was the chemistry EarthMix had and, there's a twist! I was surprised and also bawling my eyes out every single episode after episode 7. The only series i can think of that can rival 1000 stars in terms of storyline and cinematics would be ITSAY.

The series goes beyond BL and encompasses many other learnings as well. Mix impressed me as this is his first acting film and to be honest, he is already better than many other veterans out there. Earth convincing acting as Phupa was the one that impressed me the most. His subtle expressions and micro aggressions really caught me, His role as a captain needs to be less dramatic in terms of expression, but i could really felt his sadness throughout.

That said, this is a very heavy show and although this is my best and most favorite BL series. I didnt really rewatch it much because it's quite hard to watch - too much emotions needed and i would say not very light hearted.

To end off, if you are looking to start a Thai BL. This will be the best one to start but dont compare this with others because ATOTS is simply just refreshing and legendary.

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Great acting, Typical Storyline

The 2 actors acting are great! What adds to it is they fantastic chemistry. Other than EarthMix, they are the one that I felt with really good on-screen interaction in a series. What's lacking is the story line. To be honest, we dont have to finish the series to know what is going to happen the next few episodes. The story is probably going to be like the other BL drams that we have watched - i would say something along the lines of Kiss Me Again. However, i think it's already performing better than Tonhon Chonlatee and Fish Upon The Sky though :)

But will i be watching though? Yes. I think it still serves as a good entertainment value with high rewatch value - easy to watch and have fun on a friday night.

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Hard core gore.

This review covers both Season 1 and Season 2 as it does not make sense to review them separately.

This is a gripping and fast paced psychological crime thriller that explores the dark side of justice and how the road to perdition is paved with just intentions. In a desperate race against time with few promising leads, Captain Tan's investigative team are under intense pressure to put a stop to a bunch of brutal serial killings. Prison inmate and gifted former profiler and attorney Liang Yandong, is on trial for murder and is convinced that his case is linked to the serial killings. He persuades hungry young rookie cop Ren Fei to share information in the case with him in exchange for his assistance with profiling the serial murderer. The first season solves the first case only to reveal a larger conspiracy that intertwines with a devastating unsolved cold case.

I really enjoyed Vic Zhou's performance as the inscrutable Liang Yandong, especially in the beginning when he teases us with the question of whether his motives are benign. Among the big name cast, his performance pulls the production together as his rapport with each of the main characters seems the most natural. Sandrine Pinna also pleasantly surprised me in her ability to pull off a complex role although some of her scenes in the latter half could have been more nuanced and less forced. Although I like Christopher Lee, his Captain Tan did not really connect with me or with the other members of his investigative team. Part of the problem is that Zhu Tingdian's performance as Ren Fei is hit or miss and his character interacts the most with Captain Tan. His Ren Fei "clicks" with Liang Yandong and Teresa Daley's Ji Siqi but not so much with Captain Tan and the rest of his team. The broader investigative team's dynamics is also not convincing enough to inspire me to root hard for the "good guys" and feel pulled into their mission. To some extent, the cops in this show are dumbed down a little bit too much so that Liang Yandong can look really smart.

The plot overall is fairly tight and it fast paced, full of good twists including a hidden antagonist that reveals themselves a tad on the early side. There are some holes and some suspension of disbelief is needed but it moves so fast and is so action packed you won't have time to dwell too much on on them, which is fantastic. The ultimate villain is known fairly early on and their motives are not that convincing or well explained but there are enough other interesting characters. By pretty much the same team as the highly acclaimed and more memorable Victim's Game, I like this better as a pure suspense thriller for its better focus on a well explored big case that ties everything together and its lack of digression into social issues.

My main problem and reservation with this drama however is that it goes far beyond hard core gore. In general I am fine with dark themes and I don't get triggered that easily but what I found deeply disturbing about this drama is its heavily in your face misogyny. You will be repeatedly treated with gratuitous, extended gore images of women being tortured and mutilated. It is completely unnecessary to the plot or the exploration of the killers' psyches. To give the production the benefit of the doubt, I can tell from The Victim's Game that this team overly delights in showing off their technical prowess at detailed, realistic and almost pornographic gruesome scenes. However I cannot help but be offended and put off by the almost exclusive focus on abusing women and in such loving and repeated detail. So I am really struggling with this review and avoided writing it for quite some time. If they had toned things down (a lot), I would be tempted to give this an 8.0/8.5 but my anger at the extreme misogyny makes me think 6.0/6.5. I am just going to make life easy for myself and call this a 7.0 while acknowledging that is maybe a bit unfair. If you can get past the hard core gore, this is a very enjoyable thriller for fans of the genre.

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NOTHING OVER THE TOP BUT SPECIAL!!!!

This kind of series is not really my top-pick but I love it! Idk what this series has on me but I was hooked by this. There's a lot cliches and awkwardness here but u know, I didn't mind it, at all. Cooper and Poy chemistry is cute and they might not shine so much in this series but I love their sweet moments. Ryan and Intouch chemistry, for me, is meeehhh it's fine but not the best. Like, sure they can exist I don't mind. Ryan's dubbed voice is overwhelming, not matching his looks and aura. I know because he's Chinese that's why his dialogues were dubbed (he's not probably fluent in Thai). Talay and Perth did their thing. The other couple is good but the actor portraying Thara is so manly and attractive. I'm not really fan of a lead being easily jealous but sulking moments are fine. This series got me, the episodes are getting better and better. When it comes to acting, the actors need a little more polish. Overall this series is enjoyable and recommendable to those who wants to breathe fresh air after watching complicated bl out there.

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This drama was really just off the top. The cast was amazing, Ye Ming and Jin Xingjian really do look like a perfect made couple. I loved Xiao Qing and Lian Xuan. I also love how there are like a few episodes with different couples like the first few were on Xiao Yu and Bai Yushu, and later it focused on Bai Yi and Jia Beile. It honestly really sad and selfish how the main character's do anything for each other whether it hurts the relationship of other people. Like most of the couples didn't really end up having a good ending, racially Xiao Qing and Lian Xuan, I really pitied them. They were really good people but because of the chaos that Ye Ming, Yu Shaobai and Jin Xingjian had caused thousands of years ago, it brought trouble to them as well.

The ending was really not what I had expected, the perfect ending in my opinion would have been all the couples had a happy ending and the Ye family choose to stay because now they are very lonely.

Another thing to point out is that I didn't really like Ye Ming's character through some parts of the story, some parts made it really hard to watch was because the minute she let Yu Shaobai out of the painting she had a feeling she didn't love him, yet she still stayed with him, I hate the fact that she is a bit too stubborn and can't see how other people treats her sometimes.

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This is as far as I will go.

Based solely on the first 12 episodes.

.

The story is good. The acting is okay. The music is great. In almost 12 episodes, RFY was able to give me a wonderful costume drama with riveting palace politics, a flawless coup d'etat, a heart racing love story and Ju Jing Yi in not one, but TWO gorgeous wedding dresses.

What more could I ask for?

There is no need for me to continue. I don't want to see them struggling with love rivals, easily resolvable misunderstandings and an unnecessary breakup for the next TWENTY EIGHT EPISODES.

TWENTY EIGHT.

This drama has a happily ever after right here, right now at the start of episode 12.

I'm okay. Now I'll listen to the OST on repeat.

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Strong cast stuck with scattershot storytelling

Need an actor to silently glare sideways at the camera and incinerate everything in sight? Kang Han Na should be the first choice. Maybe the second and third and even the fourth too. She’s a talent as an actor in general, but at this specific thing, she’s unrivaled. That “Bite Sisters” asks her to do this on a frequent basis shows a keen sense of self-awareness, to both good and bad purposes.

The cast is a legion of stardom for a web drama. Credits of the top four billed actors include a string of recent hit shows like “Crash Landing on You”, “Start-Up”, “My Roommate is a Gumiho”, “River Where the Moon Rises”, “Be Melodramatic” and “Mystic Pop-Up Bar”. The production most takes place them in a fashion boutique giving the wardrobe crew license to deck the cast in some of the most fashionable threads the screen (web or otherwise) has seen this year. Now make the three female actors vampires to add a little supernatural twist and this well-known cast that looks amazing should be a slam dunk.

A full length drama with sixteen hour long episodes can struggle weaving more than a single storyline and their supporting characters together coherently. In a web drama with only ten episodes averaging around ten minutes, it’s madness. “Bite Sisters” has a backstory, an arc where Yi Na (the main character played by Kang Han Na) blows up as an influencer on social media, there’s the youngest of the three vampires Ji Yeon who has multiple issues at her job outside the boutique, Yi Na’s old flame has been reincarnated, a cheating boyfriend of a customer, a young girl with a terrible father and even a neighbor lady that’s trying to feed a street cat. It’s a stew of undercooked, overused themes that don’t really get any fresh treatment. Instead of a show about all of these things, it’s much closer to a show about nothing because none of the narratives end up with a fraction of the depth necessary to engage a viewer.

Give it a good silent sideways glare because “Bite Sisters” is terrific eye candy. But it’s just a shiny veneer without any substance beneath the surface.

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That series defines the meaning of a blessing in desguise

Geu- ru, portrayed by a magnificent Tang Joon -Sang, loses his (probably) everything, his father. He has asperger's syndrome, so he relied in his father for all Life up to that point. So here there Is his uncle that take on stage ! He Is not the best option, but here we are, when It seems to be like a mess, he becomes for Geu-ru his new family.
Emotions are really difficult to understand, sometimes also for people without autism and the fact that the protagonist as to deal with It, makes the things more difficult. I can't describe how beautifully made Is this series, it heals my soul. This teaches me to not miss the boat and never give up! If you have an hard time, you have to rest yourself and if you have, like the protagonist, to let someone new in your Life, give them a chance. Maybe they will became your " a blessing in desguise" !

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Nostalgic

The plot and message of the drama is very touching. Really encourages me to enjoy my youth more instead of worrying so much about the future. Most importantly, seeing the family slowly come together again is so heartwarming. Also the concept is funny and interesting, which is what got me into the drama in the first place. I mean the father becoming young again, experiencing school life. The entire cast did an amazing job portraying each of their character,and I love the comedy, it is not cringy or over the top. This is good if you don't want too much drama and messy plot and just want to relax a little after work

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Not a perfect drama but is still good nonetheless

It is the type of drama you would watch for relaxation or after a day of pure tiredness, the comedy is not over the top like how some other dramas are and actually lifted my mood up. They realistically highlighted how easily our self-esteem can be damaged by the current standardised beauty expectations in the media and how it is not a piece of cake to just learn to love yourself. I love the actors and actresses in this drama, especially Shin Sung-rok with the way he portrayed a shy yet straightforward man that had a bunch of phobias. The character is iconic and is a whole mood. I really don't know how else I would expect a character like that to be portrayed in the drama, and there was not really a cast member that dragged the drama behind in terms of acting skills. There are some times where I cringed at Min Kyu's parts but I don't know if it's because of his character or acting, I'll need to watch more of his projects to know. The wholesome chemistry between the ml and fl kept me watching this drama and I would love to continue following their future projects!

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