Such a beautiful movie! So simple, and yet so powerful! It was especially honest and raw in depicting the fragility of our elders, and the way in which time drives the cicles in our life.
I just love how Thailand keeps creating amazing movies, going out of its "horror" comfort zone... I wouldn say this was a masterpiece perse, but it hit all the right notes with dialogues, acting, direction. Great movie!
And, it ended. Sad thing is, they could have done way better in terms of storytelling if they didn't waste so much time in useless scenes and side moments/adventures, and instead they could have explained important things better (for example: how could Tianzhan be easily brandished by Ye Zhi Xin?).
Sidenote: the last two episodes kept winking to bromance in a very non-subtle way but, although I'm usually a avid BL watcher, it felt very out of place and forced.
All in all it seemed to me they wanted to do A LOT of things with this minidrama, but failed in doing them all. Sometimes it's better to focus on a simple execution and do it well... which could have been the case here. It's really a pity. :(
PS, for those who want to watch: I'm not saying is a total disaster, but there are waaaaaay many better series to watch out there.
Thanks! Although I've been watching dramas since circa 2001, I mostly always watched japanese and thai series so now I'm trying to "recollect" the most appreciated chinese series of the last years - i don't like love stories tho', so i'm mostly watching thriller/brotherhood/wuxia series.
Sing Sing Sing, we're waiting for you to show your face again... :D
This was a satisfying episode for the fluff/ship part (these two really seem boyfriends, they are so damn natural with each other!) but let's completely skip the "investigation" because so many things are all over the place. BUT it's still one of the most engaging and fun series airing right now, so I won't complain.
Sigh - it's a pity but this is really turning into a complete mess, I get where the story is going but the script is completely falling apart. It feels like there are a bunch of disconnected episodes glued together starring the same trio but written without any cohesion.
Basically we keep seeing Weigui&Lingze being beaten by just anyone (they are probably the weakest heroic duo in a wuxia ever, with no sign of really growing up), get hurt, and taking turns saying to each other "don't die!" or similar random scripts... and although they keep being blatantly defeated, nobody steals them the sword. o.o Plus they keep running everywhere for reasons unclear.
I'm liking Lei Lingze as a character AND also the actor - he has this silly/bubbly mood that just fits with the Lei clan... but Weigui doesn't work for me. In dramatic scenes his expression reads "square root of 317 multiplied by 12 to the power of 78 and divided by pi"... sigh.
That said - we're just two eps from the ending so I'm curious to see how they wrap everything up.
This is one of those series you need to watch (at least) twice before "judging" it - I love P'Nuchy, I love the actors, I love the topic they chose (a bit less a fan of toxic stories, tbh) so I'm probably 1000% biased when I say this was a great drama especially coming from GMMTv.
I would have loved a different ending to be honest, because not all love stories are fated to end happily, but this wasn't actually a "happy ending": it was more of a "better start" for their journey, knowing each other's fragilities.
On a sidenote, GMMTV, please: can we get some more Thor please? <3
If it's any consolation, he broke the cycle of rebirth for himself and was reincarnated as a white fox. And the…
Thank you! Although I live in a very small area in northern Italy, close to the border with Slovenia and Austria in a nearby town since 28 years there is one of the biggest european asian cinema festival: it lasts one week and it's centered mostly on popular/commercial movies (although every year they do nice focuses on older and most classic directors/actors or genres)
Last year we could meet Jojo Hideo, Tsui Hark (the last Condor Hero movie, The Gallants, was the opening movie of the kermesse), Sylvia Chang, Mukai Osamu, Pae Arak and soooooo many others!
The program of this year's edition hasn't been disclosed yet, but can't wait! :D
And yes, I am planning to watch Swords into Plowshares too but I want to finish some older series first.
Oh, my... I just finished. In the last couple of episodes I basically deforestated the Amazon Rainforest with all the tissues I used, but everything made sense in the way it happened.
I kinda got some hints here and there about the ending, especially on the nature of some characters, because the drama opened many interpretative doors to us episode after episode and slowly narrowed the options down bit by bit towards the nearing of the end.
Setting aside the game and the story, what I loved most were the characters - they felt so real, embodying strenghts and sufferings/fragilities of so many people we probably know in our everyday life. Ruan and LingLing bond, and how they grew together, was a pleasure to watch - both actors acted their asses off, but I am especially amazed at how Xia Zhi Guang managed to be sassy, menacing, frail, detached, caring, passionate, idealistic, elegant, cruel and so much else by embodieng a single character: Ruan is definitely a character that straight goes into the A++ list of my favourite main heroes in fiction ever.
As for the (b)romance part... ok I'm a avid BL/queer watcher so I might be biased, BUT the hints they gave us were far too many to say "nah guys we're only friends". And I loved that: I feel like having "romance" in the story would have distorted the focus and the attention. Plus, no matter what "tag" we'd put on Ruan/Ling bond, be it brotherhood or platonic love: that's for sure one so strong that trascends time, reality, life.
10/10 for me.
PS, and I must add: Li DongYuan forever in our hearts, that's another unforgettable guy. <3
Hope this might help, because or non-game players, it may not be familiar, but because of the game theme of the…
Thanks! I'm actually a pretty nerd gamer myself, and since quite some decades already XD So I find myself at ease with the "gaming" context, the proops, the npcs and so on... but I wasn't clear on the "setting" VS "door number" part... ie, is every D1 for every player always the snowy village? But since there are several "newcomers" in LingLing's higher-numbered doors I guessed the door number has some "set difficulty level" but then the actual scenario inside of it might change.
Like if you play an arena game and the maps and scenarios can randomly change inside a match, but the difficulty level will stay the one you chose
I'm very curious about the novel too! but i have way too many books on the "to read list" so I think this might not make it. XD
Not the best, but not the worst either - actors are doing fine (but are not memorable) and artistic department is ok.
I would say, if you are looking for a great wuxia then look somewhere else! XD But, if you miss this worldbuilding it's a nice story - just don't expect the epic greatness of the main three series.
A lot of people didn't know the sword couldn't be broken and it was left to leave the martial arts World in chaos.And…
There is no need to be offensive towards other watchers. If you don't like it, just don't watch it - easy peasy.
And btw, already a few episodes into this minidrama we are made to understand (and later even directly told) that the sword wasn't broken and it was all a set up. So, it was enough to be patient to see where the story was going.
I think the progression isn't fixed, is more of a lottery ticket, you can tell the type with the clue and symbols.…
That's the same thing I was speculating too - something like: you enter the Door number X and inside you might find, say, ten different types of scenario... like when you do an arena game and the difficulty is set but the scenario is randomic.
Theyve annouced their new series recently, the pilot is on youtube, u can go check it out (the grim lover)
yeeeeeeeees i've seen it, looks very cool! i loved series with a similar theme already (like "dear doctor i'm coming for soul"), but this one look darker and more fantasy-oriented!
I'm binging this and I'm on ep23 rn and liking it a lot - not my type of drama usually, but the plot is very intriguing and the leads are a pleasure to watch!
there is one thing I don't understand tho': there are 12 doors lined up for difficulty level, and inside every door they meet different people who are either newbies or more experienced players who accompany other players. But how come there are people inside, let's say, the 3rd or 4th or 5th door who are unexperienced? do the "themes" of the doors come up randomly every time, so the progression of the doors is not really fixed?
1 
I just love how Thailand keeps creating amazing movies, going out of its "horror" comfort zone... I wouldn say this was a masterpiece perse, but it hit all the right notes with dialogues, acting, direction. Great movie!
Sad thing is, they could have done way better in terms of storytelling if they didn't waste so much time in useless scenes and side moments/adventures, and instead they could have explained important things better (for example: how could Tianzhan be easily brandished by Ye Zhi Xin?).
Sidenote: the last two episodes kept winking to bromance in a very non-subtle way but, although I'm usually a avid BL watcher, it felt very out of place and forced.
All in all it seemed to me they wanted to do A LOT of things with this minidrama, but failed in doing them all. Sometimes it's better to focus on a simple execution and do it well... which could have been the case here. It's really a pity. :(
PS, for those who want to watch: I'm not saying is a total disaster, but there are waaaaaay many better series to watch out there.
I put both JOL in my to-watch list, thanks!
This was a satisfying episode for the fluff/ship part (these two really seem boyfriends, they are so damn natural with each other!) but let's completely skip the "investigation" because so many things are all over the place. BUT it's still one of the most engaging and fun series airing right now, so I won't complain.
Basically we keep seeing Weigui&Lingze being beaten by just anyone (they are probably the weakest heroic duo in a wuxia ever, with no sign of really growing up), get hurt, and taking turns saying to each other "don't die!" or similar random scripts... and although they keep being blatantly defeated, nobody steals them the sword. o.o
Plus they keep running everywhere for reasons unclear.
I'm liking Lei Lingze as a character AND also the actor - he has this silly/bubbly mood that just fits with the Lei clan... but Weigui doesn't work for me. In dramatic scenes his expression reads "square root of 317 multiplied by 12 to the power of 78 and divided by pi"... sigh.
That said - we're just two eps from the ending so I'm curious to see how they wrap everything up.
I would have loved a different ending to be honest, because not all love stories are fated to end happily, but this wasn't actually a "happy ending": it was more of a "better start" for their journey, knowing each other's fragilities.
On a sidenote, GMMTV, please: can we get some more Thor please? <3
Although I live in a very small area in northern Italy, close to the border with Slovenia and Austria in a nearby town since 28 years there is one of the biggest european asian cinema festival: it lasts one week and it's centered mostly on popular/commercial movies (although every year they do nice focuses on older and most classic directors/actors or genres)
Last year we could meet Jojo Hideo, Tsui Hark (the last Condor Hero movie, The Gallants, was the opening movie of the kermesse), Sylvia Chang, Mukai Osamu, Pae Arak and soooooo many others!
The program of this year's edition hasn't been disclosed yet, but can't wait! :D
And yes, I am planning to watch Swords into Plowshares too but I want to finish some older series first.
I kinda got some hints here and there about the ending, especially on the nature of some characters, because the drama opened many interpretative doors to us episode after episode and slowly narrowed the options down bit by bit towards the nearing of the end.
Setting aside the game and the story, what I loved most were the characters - they felt so real, embodying strenghts and sufferings/fragilities of so many people we probably know in our everyday life. Ruan and LingLing bond, and how they grew together, was a pleasure to watch - both actors acted their asses off, but I am especially amazed at how Xia Zhi Guang managed to be sassy, menacing, frail, detached, caring, passionate, idealistic, elegant, cruel and so much else by embodieng a single character: Ruan is definitely a character that straight goes into the A++ list of my favourite main heroes in fiction ever.
As for the (b)romance part... ok I'm a avid BL/queer watcher so I might be biased, BUT the hints they gave us were far too many to say "nah guys we're only friends". And I loved that: I feel like having "romance" in the story would have distorted the focus and the attention. Plus, no matter what "tag" we'd put on Ruan/Ling bond, be it brotherhood or platonic love: that's for sure one so strong that trascends time, reality, life.
10/10 for me.
PS, and I must add: Li DongYuan forever in our hearts, that's another unforgettable guy. <3
So I find myself at ease with the "gaming" context, the proops, the npcs and so on... but I wasn't clear on the "setting" VS "door number" part... ie, is every D1 for every player always the snowy village? But since there are several "newcomers" in LingLing's higher-numbered doors I guessed the door number has some "set difficulty level" but then the actual scenario inside of it might change.
Like if you play an arena game and the maps and scenarios can randomly change inside a match, but the difficulty level will stay the one you chose
I'm very curious about the novel too! but i have way too many books on the "to read list" so I think this might not make it. XD
I would say, if you are looking for a great wuxia then look somewhere else! XD
But, if you miss this worldbuilding it's a nice story - just don't expect the epic greatness of the main three series.
If you don't like it, just don't watch it - easy peasy.
And btw, already a few episodes into this minidrama we are made to understand (and later even directly told) that the sword wasn't broken and it was all a set up. So, it was enough to be patient to see where the story was going.
What episode are you at?
there is one thing I don't understand tho': there are 12 doors lined up for difficulty level, and inside every door they meet different people who are either newbies or more experienced players who accompany other players. But how come there are people inside, let's say, the 3rd or 4th or 5th door who are unexperienced? do the "themes" of the doors come up randomly every time, so the progression of the doors is not really fixed?