Completed
The Eclipse
0 people found this review helpful
14 hours ago
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Loved it !

Having become disenchanted with recent BL offerings, I started looking back for older shows I hadn't watched.
I am so glad I tried this one as it was a very engaging story and the acting was gold standard.

The story did seem a bit vague as to its point, was it about the school being homophobic, or general bullying tactics? And the complete turn around, near the end, of one of the main characters made even less sense to me.

However, all that aside, the acting from all the actors was astonishingly good. From happy to sad, all the angst friendship and emotional journeys were beautifully done with great feeling.

Give it a try :)

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The Water Margin
2 people found this review helpful
14 hours ago
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 6.5
The Water Margin was based on the famous 14th century novel of the same name. Overly ambitious and only partly successful, the story covered chapters 64-68 in the book. Shaw Brothers brought out its stars for this 2-hour extravaganza.

When Brother Chao is killed by The Golden Spear, the Liangshan gang of righteous outlaws vows revenge. The only problem, Shi Wen Gong is too tough for any of their fighters to confidently defeat. Timely Rain decides they should call upon the Jade Unicorn and The Prodigy to take him down. Two of the members attempt to trick Lu Chun I into helping them but he sees through them with the aid of Yen Ching. Before he can send the two outlaws home, his adulterous wife and her lover set him up with the corrupt Grand Secretary Liang. While everyone escapes, Lu is captured. The Heroes of Liangshan won’t abandon an honorable man who is suffering because of them and the race is on to save his life before he is executed.

This synopsis sounds interesting and it was once the story got rolling, but it was a tediously slow start. The movie spent 12 minutes briefly introducing characters-27 of them! But that’s not all! The introductions kept going. I counted 46 actors introduced as important characters. It could make the mind reel, especially since most of the heroes don’t show up again until briefly at the end for the final fight. Despite the number of characters, the primary focus was on Lu and Yen Ching. Welcome/Timely Rain, Clever Star, Black Whirlwind, and the Fearless One were also integral to the story. Leopard Man/Lin Chong had fights at the beginning and end of the movie.

David Chiang as The Prodigy was an interesting choice. He has legions of fans, I have just never warmed up to him much in these old films. His fights were underwhelming. Yen Ching’s ability meant he barely touched men and they flipped through the air which seemed odd coming from such a slight actor. The stuntmen earned their money twirling and flopping from what looked like imaginary contact at times. Tamba Tetsuro was far more intimidating as the Jade Unicorn. Ku Feng as Timely Rain was truly welcome for me, he’s one of my favorites. Wang Chung threw himself into the energetic role of Fearless. The final fight pitted five of the heroes and their different styles against five of Shi Wen Gong’s men. The two Japanese actors, Tamba Tetsuro and Kurosawa Toshio also had their chance to face off. For 1972, the fights weren’t bad. Some were clearly better than others and more realistically gory.

Shaw Brothers opened up their check book for this film. The cast of stars may have been large but the cast of extras involved was huge. There were three directors and two assistants (John Woo and Godfrey Ho) along with four fight choreographers.
The sets were massive and the costumes were unique for the different characters although poor Ti Lung had a laughably bad outfit and wig. The biggest drawback for me was the soundtrack. It was wildly anachronistic, synthetic music sounding like it came off of a 1970’s US cop show with hints of Shaft and Clint Eastwood westerns thrown in. Somehow if didn’t match up to this ancient story. And story is what this movie had going for it once it actually started. Unlike the hundreds of thinly plotted kung fu films churned out by Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest, Water Margin had layers of story within it. There were times it could be repetitive, the Jade Unicorn was rescued and captured several times and the Heroes of Liangshan weren’t always well coordinated in their efforts which nearly led to tragic events. It also seemed pointless to spend so much time introducing the heroes when most of them were never seen again or only briefly at the end of the movie.

If you go into The Water Margin with the understanding that most of the characters in the lengthy introduction will have little to no screen time, it will help. The focus was on Lu being wrongfully charged with a crime and the efforts to clear or rescue him with the revenge against Shi served up for dessert. Though this was epic for a Shaw Brothers production, it will still only be of interest to fans of old martial arts movies or maybe those fans of the novel.

28 March 2024

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Completed
Extraordinary You
0 people found this review helpful
by MIA
14 hours ago
32 of 32 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 3.0
Rewatch Value 4.5

unique and refreshing storyline

The storyline really was something monumental. I was hooked on every episode! The acting was phenomenal, I fell in love with all the characters! I was uncertain in all the right moments, allowing myself to be caught off guard and fully swept in by wonderful and confusing new aspects of the drama. My only criticism is the ending felt a little rushed, causing a bit of disappointment. while both characters had a brilliant happy moment at the end. something was missing. I wish I could tell you what.
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Completed
I Hear You
0 people found this review helpful
by MIA
14 hours ago
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 3.0
Story 2.0
Acting/Cast 3.5
Music 3.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Fun easy watch

The drama "I hear you" is a fun and easy watch. Perfect for nights when you just want to lay down in bed and not follow some complex storyline. It's filled with lots of sweet moments and the fl is a very cute character. It was fun to watch her chase her dreams and fall in love. While I did enjoy my first viewing; I would not rewatch just because for me it was nothing monumental. The conflict towards the end of the series felt a little rushed and unnecessary. I am however happy with the end result just not the execution. I LOVE a happy ending, the delivery was just a little off.

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Completed
Was It Love?
0 people found this review helpful
15 hours ago
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 4.5
Story 4.5
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

So Underwhelming

I knew this wasn't going to be great but this was even worse than I thought it would be in so many ways it's hard to keep track. Had a slight Mama Mia vibe to it with the story and ending. Thank goodness for the kids who were the saving grace of this show. Them, the gangster and the bar owner were the only characters I really liked. The story dragged and at times felt messy and a bit all over the place. I don't think I could have gotten through the whole thing without the FF button. The FL was so frustrating and annoying. She thinks he cheated but she didn't look longer than a couple seconds since it shows he pushed the girl away pretty quick. Never speaks to or confronts him but after one phone attempt, and a text, (both of which he never sees) disappears and never let's him know he has a kid. Even putting that aside, after the misunderstanding is cleared, and she knows he's a good guy, she is awful to him. Cruel even. Telling him he can't have a relationship with his own daughter and to stay away. Even saying something to the effect of it's almost funny how great they've been without him was horrible and cruel. This while he is reeling from suddenly finding out he has a 14 year old daughter he never knew about. She causes problems after problems with her continuous bad decision making. She is selfish, self righteous, and smug. She spent most of the time blowing up and getting pissed off at people. Yelling and giving dirty looks constantly. Even her pushing away and assuring everyone she was okay and strong even though she obviously wasn't came across more as her feeling self righteous and superior rather than feeling she was doing it to protect others or keeping them from worrying. More like it was a self affirmation for her own ego. Like assuring herself that her stupid decisions were best instead of self reflecting and realizing that she was not only hurting herself, but everyone around her. Especially her daughter.
The ML had a nice transition at first with him realizing his hate was much closer to love than he had ever imagined but the FL was written so poorly that after awhile I started feeling like he needed an intervention. It felt like he was just blindly obsessed and in love with his memory her so much that he couldn't see the real her. That all these guys were falling over themselves for her was just bizarre and weird. She had such an awful temper and a scowl over her face so much of the time it was like, why??? It didn't help that there was basically no romance between the leads the whole time. One small kiss and one peck on the cheek. Made the chemistry even more underwhelming.
One part I did think was funny was when I first heard that Korean song version, I thought, "That sounds a lot like that Cranberries song." only for them to play the actual song later.
The actor and actress characters were both the whiny "I liked them first!" characters which is a trope that is so annoying and lame and I wish would just die. For the actress, though, it seemed they were trying to rewrite history with her being that way. It comes across in the story that ML's family troubles come after they've gotten together, thus starting a strain in their relationship because he doesn't share what he's going through. Part of that, is his taking on tutoring students to bring in extra money which is where the actress comes in and causes the misunderstanding. So her whining to Ryu Jin about liking him first is wrong and put in there just to have her have the same rant as him. Poor writing.
The ending was just as bad as the rest of the story. There is a separation for no good reason. Who is going to wait around for years with no contact for someone? For all you know they could be dead, and there is no good reason to wait around for someone who can't even stay in contact with you. Another trope I wish would die. Weird Mama Mia-esque ending for no real reason and is just weird.

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Completed
What Did You Eat Yesterday?
1 people found this review helpful
15 hours ago
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 8.5

Food and Love

There's something incredibly beautiful about watching two people already in love developing their relationship, handling issues together and just being incredibly in love. It's even better with food.

There isn't anything to say when asked what I didn't like, it's just that sort of wholesome vibe you get when you see a couple who've been together for a while and are just comfortably in love now. Yes, they have their issues big and small, but you get to watch with the confidence that there isn't going to be some overly dramatic, long drawn out fight. You can watch with the confidence that the only overly dramatic moments will be their reactions.

Above anything else, it tackles a lot of relevant and personal issues with a lot of nuance and sensibility. I loved seeing that.

A really sweet movie and a worthy sequel.

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Completed
The Romance of Hua Rong
1 people found this review helpful
by Blluna
16 hours ago
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

Freakin' cool!

The story I've been looking for all of my l- I mean ever since I started watching cdrama. If you like FL who doesn't give a damn about being saved, then must watch! FL is a heroin who you might find impulsive but her resourcefulness and courage made you vouch for her flaws. Formidable FL indeed. I had been looking for an FL with unclimbable persistence yet bearing a carefree life, till I met her! Her personality really suits the ML.

In most of what I watched, when the FL has an uncontrollable temper, ML balanced it with calmness and posture. Yet this duo defines the doom of the world with both rebellious traits! ML is a pirate! First cdrama I watched that kinda is not inclined to royalty and the mess of politics. You can see the changes in ML's perspective and how he tried and understand FL's dream.

If you're looking for a story in which the villain was just a subtle part and the series focuses on the development of the main characters, then try this one! You can hate the villain or just ignore it nyahaha because it was kinda not deep or so.

And at last! 2nd character shined! He deserves to be happy too AHHHH! I like that ML and 2nd character become friends after all.

Honestly, all I did was smile and blush the way the main character progressed throughout the series. It was short but it felt long the way so many things happened. not rush, not slow. Just right!

I think this would be my first series that is really worth rewatching!

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Falling Into Your Smile
2 people found this review helpful
by bea
16 hours ago
31 of 31 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.5
This review may contain spoilers

Women Power and Cutest Cats

First of all: THIS SHOW HAS CATS SO CUTE THAT IT WILL CAUSE YOU DIABETES !!!!!!!!

Now, let’s get it started. It was my first time watching a e-sports show and i must say the graphics were so damn beautiful, and once they actually explain the rules you kinda of understand what’s going on. Although i must admit that I’m really bad at games so.

The important thing here was definitely the woman power, Tong Yao character is so rich and full. She’s so strong and her character development is brilliant. She showed everyone that games don’t have genders. Girls are as much powerful as boys, and games are for everyone.

The main couple is adorable, although in my opinion it took them so many episodes to finally be together, i understand that the point was probably to grow their feelings and learn more about their love, still for me who’s an anxious person, it was tooooo much timeeee, just kiss already.

The team work was also so precious, Tong Yao has everyone wrapped around her little finger. Her best friend is so supportive and i loved her character so much. Lao K, Yu Ming, Xiao Rui, Xiao Ping and Lao Mao are the best teammates and friends everyone could ever asked for. Lu Sicheng is so green flag, goddamn i need one like him. Both the character and the actor please. Lu Yue and Lao Mao are the absolutely funniest people ever.

Overall this show is amazing and it’s really worth watching, you are definitely going to fall in love with everyone. There are some parts that you can “skip”, if you are not into e-sports/games.

………Last but not least: shipped Lao K and Lao Mao so hard, they are soulmates so bad.

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Dropped 6/9
Koi wa Deep ni
0 people found this review helpful
16 hours ago
6 of 9 episodes seen
Dropped 0
Overall 5.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 6.5
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 5.5
This review may contain spoilers

An unexpected turn that left a bad after taste

I want to start with the thing that i like first; ishihara satomi's smile. Even though she usually played a bright, happy go-lucky role, i esp noticed her smile in this drama. It's so blinding, i cant even. Also i like the environmental awareness this drama tries to bring in unique light.

Ok, moving on to things i feel lukewarm about; the acting. Ishihara's acting is, as expected, top notch. I could feel her love to ocean, the connection between her, her insecurities, her happiness, it's all up her face. Ayano Go's performance, however, felt a little bit bland. Not bad, but bland. For me good actors are divided into two; those who are good playing the character, or those who embodies the character wholly. Ayano matches the first category. This is not a bad thing, however, i expected more since i love him in MIU 404 and this series is called Koi wo Deep ni. Its about LOVE. And i dont feel none of that between the two of them.

And then things i dont like, the story. Seriously wtf? When Nagisa kept talking to the fish i pegged her as another quirky japanese drama heroine (because there are A LOT of them who did weird things, like nodame for nodame cantabile for instance. I would NOT like nodame if i watched her in my age rn) but then it turned out... I'm watching a fantasy romance drama? And not an oceanographer x CEO drama? This is the reason why i dropped this drama. BECAUSE EVEN THO I SAW THE TWIST FROM A MILE, IM STILL SO SHOCKED BY IT AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY. more like in "wtf did i watch" way.

There are also, a lot of ANNOYING characters in this drama. Like for instances Eitaro the deadbeat brother. Or that youtuber who kept pestering Nagisa. Or the hikikomori researcher who kept suspecting nagisa. Why are the annoying characters HAVE to be annoying all the time? Is it because i dropped the drama too fast? Should i just went on to see the silver linings of these characters???

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Completed
Flex X Cop
0 people found this review helpful
16 hours ago
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 8.0

interesting and fun to watch

i loved it. give it a try and find out for yourself. a different plot from the usual ordinary police trying to catch evil cheabols. now we have a cheabol assisting with his weird ways. I loved his relationship with his brother. it was refreshing to see that they did not fight over the company like most other dramas. I thought he really cared about his little brother, but you know. tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttthhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttttttttttttttttttttt iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssssssssssssssss aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaavvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeerreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ssssssssssssssssssssssssaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy

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Completed
You Are My Sunshine
5 people found this review helpful
17 hours ago
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

Magnificent balancing act of intense emotions. Old school production without high-gloss polish.

"You are my Sunshine" is the international title of this KMovie from 2005 - named after the US country song of the same name from the 1930s. However, the original title is "You are my destiny". Regardless, both are working. The Plot is based on a true story that happened in Yeosu around 2001.

It's about prejudice. About the socially doubtful binding norm and where it is actually coming from. And it's about a man who, fortunately, cares less about what others say and trusts more in what he feels and believes is right. So this is about a positive role model of a man - a man who noticeably sets himself apart from the crowd who dominate the image of men here: Men who buy women, men who buy women abroad as wives, men who beat women without hesitation, men who infect women with AIDS (and don't tell them), men who won't let go of women, see them as possessions and unrestrainedly abuse them... There are the many completely 'normal', 'socially valued' men , husbands, fathers, whose behavior is simply outrageous. As if it were a matter of course, they set the standard of what is right, they set the tone... and yet deny any responsibility.

It's also about love. The sunny, courageous, positive message is embodied by a man who loves sincerely and unconditionally. However, he is generally considered naive. The cattle farmer is considered a hillbilly and a bit peculiar. Not just because he talks to his cow, but because he keeps the word he gave to the woman he loves and stands by what he feels. He is different. (Although, his attitude towards life, women, animals and nature could be considered quite progressive, too...)

And the woman? The female Protagonist could see herself as a victim. On top of that, she might be ashamed of her life. But despite everything that made her tainted and even 'leper' in her life as a prostitute, she was able to keep her soul pure inside. She is straight and clear, she doesn't deceive herself and above all she doesn't get her hopes up, because she knows life as it is - for women like her.

Life in the country is plain, ordinary, vulgar, simple. Also sensually grounded in the changing seasons. Although the ideal of pure, white skin is held high, the story instead focuses on the stigma of the tainted and tanned skin. The everyday scenario of bruises and violets from beating men as well as the darker Filipino and Vietnamese (versus light, pure South Korean) skin of purchased wives thematically dominate here. Finally, it´s about fear of AIDS (spots). That's the rural reality.

Nevertheless, there is this down-to-earth man who puts love above everything else – in good times and in bad... he´s honest, sincere, reliable, devoted, lovable. And there is this woman who can and wants to get involved... until her past catches up with her...

Two wonderful leading actors. Pure KMovie. Intense. Feels lifelike with a deep impact. A magnificent balancing act of conflicting emotions.

Old school production, though. Without high-gloss polish.

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Well-Intended Love
0 people found this review helpful
17 hours ago
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.5
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 3.5
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers

i love it to a degree

This show was honestly amazing at first. I loved the chemistry between the ML and FL. I also love how fast paced the romance is. It was really refreshing to me who usually watches jdramas and kdramas. I enjoyed it and all its plot twist up until she got kidnapped. I just wanted to finish the show and see what happens in the end at that point so I found myself fast forwarding a lot. I enjoyed it to a degree but would not watch again.
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Completed
Duty after School: Part 2
0 people found this review helpful
by mnlght
17 hours ago
4 of 4 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 1.0
Story 1.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

If you liked the first part DO NOT WATCH PART 2

After watching part 1 of DAS I thought I had an idea of what was to come. I knew that of course our cast was pretty big so there were going to be some deaths. But I did not expect the last plot twist.

First, where TF is Mr. Won Bin?

Second, the plot of the prisoners.. was that really necessary? I mean we get to know that it has been a month since when Mr. Lee and the explosion at the university. It is not bad to assume that the prisoners have been there for more than a month... how are they still alive? and how did the spheres not make an appearance to them? The prison is empty so that would've shown the prisoners that something was going on.. and there were windows in the cells too. Aside from the illogical holes, the sexual harassment plot of the prisoners to Ae Sol was also not necessary like we get it.. they are prisoners that probably murdered someone but really?

Last, and most definitely the most disappointing part was Guk Yeong Soo's arc.. I mean what? Honestly, I would have been fine if the characters that died, died in the spheres instead of GYC.. i would've been fine if they all committed suicide together because they decided not to return to society or something. But really?
If they had to go this route, why not develop this arc more throughout part one? The foreshadowing that GYC is slowly going crazy in would have been better than just snapping due to the CSAT being canceled. No, PTSD - or having the science Uni kids making our cast fight each other in order to obtain the resources... or literally anything.

+ small point: the main conflict of the drama (the spheres and how to kill them, etc) was handled off camera?!

I have seen some reviews saying that the joy at the amusement park was the ending but for me, the ending was with part one of this series. This show died when Mr. Lee and Won bin died. But I would like to commend the actors and actresses on this drama because even though the writing was bad, they did such an amazing job with the script.

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Everyday I Love You
0 people found this review helpful
17 hours ago
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

Real Love is Letting Your Girl Pursue Her Dreams

I watched this in 2015 but I never really appreciated this movie until now. Also, watching this in 2024 feels oddly satisfying. I feel like the real relationship of LizQuen is closest to this fictional couple among all the couples they played (second being the couple from Alone Together) as I get the impression that Liza and Enrique are both passionate in filmmaking and making shows and Enrique is selfless in how he loves Liza. They have good chemistry in all their movies, but the chemitry here is just really amazing. The way Enrique looks and speaks to Liza! Both Enrique and Liza portrayed their characters really well. I really enjoyed the love story, glad the girl Audrey chose someone (Ethan) who lets her be who she wants to be and dream what she wanted to do rather than someone who wants her to change. Wih Liza's hollywood career and both her and Enrique insisting they never broke up, I feel like Enrique's love to Liza is similar to the way Ethan loves Audrey in this movie, he encourages the girl to make her dreams come true and loves her for her true self. Plus he's willing to sacrifice his happiness just for the sake of her own. That's true love!
It may seem to some people that Audrey is cheating on Tristan (played by Gerald Anderson) with Ethan here, but I totally understand why she would fall for Ethan, Tristan was a really toxic boyfriend who wants Audrey to change for him and does not love her for who she is (unlike Ethan).

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I Saw the Devil
0 people found this review helpful
18 hours ago
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 1.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 1.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

It's not really that good.

This movie is fcked up. It's a slow burn to get to the point of the whole movie. I expected more from this movie. Personally for a few scenes that I didn't really care for. It kind of wish they weren't in the movie but it is what it is. It's not as good as it was made out to be. The acting was solid. I mean I don't have much to say about the movie. A lot of people recommend it. I'm not sure what they liked about it but everyone has their own taste in movies. I started to get a little bored with it.
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