This review may contain spoilers
When You Only Watch for the Male Lead
Admittedly I gave this as high a rating as I did because of Li Jiu Lin. I love this guy. He is gorgeous. He has such an expressive face; he doesn't need a lot of talk for you to know what he thinks or feels - and that body! Wow!Didn't care much for the FL, nor the SML, or the SFL. Their characters were weak and useless. Their story arcs were sloppy at best. The story itself was vague and going nowhere fast. It had potential, but the writers do what writers seem to do best these days, made a mockery of it. There wasn't even any real sizzle between the lead couple despite such a smoking hot ML.
Talk about not tying up loose ends? The SFL got away scot-free with her shenanigans. She even wrangled the ML into her bed, which made me sick to my stomach!
The direction of the writing and quality of Chinese dramas these days is falling fast. No matter how good looking, appealing, or even talented the actors are, they can only perform the roles they are given. I stick mostly with period dramas anymore because the modern-day ones are fraught with domestic violence and abusive relationships.
Is anyone paying attention to the rapidly falling standards of these dramas? Doesn't seem so.
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At last a good series with Li Jiu Lin
At last a good series with Li Jiu Lin. Thanks to the director Jiang Xuan Yi for having directed him in a way his talents are displayed. Since his great success in ‘Decreed by fate’ he had received only poor roles of the big guy with no expression, whom lusty women want to touch all over … What a shame! In ‘Eaglewood as a dream’ he has the opportunity to express his strong and gentle character and it is worth it. This series has also many beautiful aspects. First the ladies in front of him are beautiful as it should be in front of such a handsome man. Also, thanks to the production for taking us to settings still unfamiliar, rustic and elegant decors. The cast is perfect, including very charming children appearing here and there as the main leads in their childhood. Finally I found the plot interesting, pleasantly surprising and over all coherent, a quality rare these days when to follow a popular 40 ep series we have to shut down our reasoning because of so much implausibility and endure a descent into more and more morbid plots when the imagination of the writer got dry in the middle of the series. Here during those short 20 episode, the flow remains fine and we are even given a happy ending. A real treat !Was this review helpful to you?
Fed up with long lasting dramas ? Try this one.
I really didn’t expect enjoying watching this drama. First of all, because most of the actors were unknown to me and I also considered the story development to be superficial : each of the twenty episodes last less than 15 minutes.On first day I watched the 11 first episodes. On day 2, I got frustrated : is the drama already over ? Just like that ? Oh my God, I am already missing the ML.
Of course, it is fast to watch but everything you expect from a good drama is in here : love, hate, jealousy, revenge, twist plots.
Now, FL and ML have not that much chemistry but ML‘s acting is enough to make you dive into the story and make you watch the drama till the end with great pleasure. I'm sure, whether you are a girl or a boy you will fall in love with Li Jiu Lin before the end of episode 10. Wanna bet ?
I really loved ML and FL relationship, you can « feel » their love, or at least you can believe in it. Not just because of the acting but also the filming. Some scenes are sensual but nothing as erotic as what you can see in western films. ML is really good at playing emotionally.
For this kind of production, with clearly no ambition to deliver a piece of art, everything is perfect : settings, costumes, scenes, dialogues, actors and soundtracks. Unexpected twist on episode 12… Almost shocked…. Noooo !
The storyline may be a bit stereotypal, progressing really fast (maybe too fast, with real shortcuts) but who cares when it comes to thrilling entertainment ?
You may not rewatch this drama, but you’ll eventually go and look for shows in which Li Jiu Lin plays.
Not that bad I guess.
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Addictive despite the mess
From the very beginning, the conspiracy plot felt weak and underdeveloped. The execution of FL’s mother solely based on a child’s testimony just wasn’t convincing. For such a serious crime, the lack of proper investigation made the foundation of the story feel unstable.Then came the revenge plan, which honestly felt like it was written under a rush. Of all possible ways to destroy a man, she decided to become his concubine and sleep with him. The same man who, as a child, accused her mother and got her killed. Like… girl, when your father was murdered, the culprit didn’t seduce him first. Mind taking some lessons.
Just when I thought the plot couldn’t tangle itself more, boom, they drop the “they’re siblings” bomb. Then minutes later, nope, not siblings. By this point my brain was twisted into origami as the narrative had already lost clarity, especially when it was revealed she belonged to the same family that once accused her mother. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE!
Jiulin was, as expected, absolutely brilliant.l, Just in the right amounts ..not overdoing anything . The FL was new to me, but I can’t deny she delivered. Their chemistry? ⚡ ⚡. Their romance?💋💋. The love scenes?🔥 🔥
Overall verdict: yes it is messy, logic seemed undersupplied, And yet… somehow… despite all this chaos, i just couldn't drop it.. you might not be able to do it as well ...This show challenges the masochist in you. I kept rolling my eyes on screen , questioning the writer’s life choices, and still binged till the end.
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Short, which is kind of good
A short drama, both episode lengths and number of episodes.The story was so-so, so it's good they didn't drag it out more.
I guess the most original with this was the incense making aspect; even if that was superfluous.
All in all, this feels like a rather forgettable series. I finished it some hours ago and it's already dissipating from my memory.
Still, it was OK to watch in between other things due to the short episodes and rather uncomplicated plots.
ML actor is probably what I will remember the best.
FL actress was also OK.
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This review may contain spoilers
Really good drama, Same ol' What the... Ending
This drama has so much going for it. I normally steer clear of short drama's, they always leave so much out, feel choppy, and I find I am rather let down and rather annoyed by the short episodes and having to click onto the next scene cutting off at least five minutes of introduction and exit credits each time. However, I really like this ML, he can act. He is by far one of the BEST actors. Therefore, unless the story is an absolute wreck because the script writers are in the wrong carrier, he can pull the story through.In fact I believe all the actors did a very good job, you have the usual c-tropes, with a few interesting twists that a longer running time could have really made use of.
I thought the OST was actually lovely, and the costuming was nicely done.
The story is actually quite good, well written for the most part, although being a short drama, it is choppy.
However, the ending. Can I just rant. I am truly hoping that this is just a styling phase and that whoever keeps encouraging the open ended, sad/poignant endings for these writers and studios will get some happy pills, or maybe go for a hike in nature to soak up some sun to brighten their views on life. And while this ending thankfully, does not ruin the drama like some endings do (I am sure we all can name a few if not more REALLY crappy endings that just tank the viewing pleasure of any drama, in ANY genre) , this ending leaves the viewer thinking this soooo COULD have been better had it JUST had an ending that was fitting.
All in all though, I would say this is worth the watch. And maybe someday the ML will get more full length drama's. Here's to hopping.
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review
- kết phim : HE- nội dung : những tập đầu thì nội dung khá logic với hay, nhưng càng về sau mình thấy khai thác nó bị vô lý với không còn logic nữa, có rất nhiều sạn là đằng khác. Cũng không khai thác được rõ tại sao nam 9 không die, xong lúc nam 9 bị đâm nữ 9 nhìn bình tĩnh ác =))), xong còn khúc nữ 8 nói mình có thai, mà bản thân nam 9 chưa từng động vào nữ 8 thì lấy gì có thai vậy mà ai cũng nháo nhào. Phim ổn thì chỉ ok những tập đầu, càng về sau nó drama theo kiểu làm con dân tức thì đã đành , mà còn khai thác theo hướng nó bị vô lí xong không rõ nội dung nữa nó cứ mập mờ
- Diễn viên : riêng phần này vẫn có lời khen cho diễn viên, diễn tốt, nội tâm thế nào ra thế đó, ráng coi tới cuối phim chỉ vì diễn viên diễn tốt 🥹 với cũng tò mò nó sẽ khai thác sao nữa
- Quay phim: ổn, nhưng có 1 số góc không hợp tình huống lắm nhưng nói chung vẫn chấp nhận được , vẫn uci
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