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This review may contain spoilers
So, I have to admit I was very excited for this because it was a long time coming after Love Mechanics, but man am I disappointed. This was not the only En of Love series I have a problem with, all of them were rushed and not upto the standard of some others, but this one is just meh. That’s the problem, it’s just meh. Now despite the fact that there were only 4 episodes, quite a bit of story was able to be told and I can appreciate that, but something was just off about this series, from the very first episode. This series is not problematic, but seems to be riddled with problems, if you know what I mean.THE STORY:
Just like the others, rushed. I understand that there was a need to fit a huge storyline of three novels into 11 episodes, but this series would’ve benefited greatly from creating something like 2moons2. By that I mean making a twelve episode series, with each couple getting their dedicated screen time. This would’ve allowed us to maybe make more sense of the fact that all the relationships moved at the speed of lightning. Neua and Praram are cute, but that’s all. The fact that half their relationship unfolded on a public forum doesn’t really help their cause. Do these people really not know the concept of privacy or private chats?! Besides all these, what was the need to bring in conflict in the last episode, just to have it resolved in seconds? I will say though, Em and Pralak would be a good couple.
THE ACTING:
Despite the fact that they had an episode dedicated to the fact that Prom and Benz underwent acting classes, the final product is underwhelming. The acting mostly fell flat and comes across as akward, owing to the storyline of episode 2. I will admit that they do have chemistry, but that’s not always enough. Benz is a special case. As Pralak, he is awesome, but when he’s playing Praram he just seems so... stiff. Once again the supporting actors stole the show. That seems to be the theme with this series.
THE PRODUCTION:
As specified before production would have benefited from having twelve episode with equal airtime for each episode. The casting I can’t complain about. The actors all fit their character descriptions and that’s a positive.
THE OST:
The OST actually suits the theme of the series very well so props.
THE POSITIVE/NEGATIVE:
What can I say. This series is like Goldilocks. Not very good, not very bad, just existing in the middle. There are no problematic aspects, but that’s just about it. The story itself is very short so it comes across as something ordinary that could have been better. Now that’s not bad at all, just not noticeable enough.
THE ENDING:
Once again, what is with the conflict solved in sixty seconds?! Not just that, but what was that ending? Like everything in this series, it was also just meh. Also who says congratulations for a birthday? It’s like saying congrats on being alive for so long! Sorry, it’s just been a very tiring episode, but good news, they did get together. ( What am I even saying? ).
I usually say that you should try it out at least once, but this series is totally upto the viewer. So may like it, others may not. All I can say is if you find the synopsis interesting give it a try. I can’t promise you will love and neither can I say you will hate it. At the end of the day it’s your decision. Leave a comment about your thoughts. Thank You!
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An action packed, emotionally invested ride
Japan never really shies from the depiction of things as they are as far as I'm concerned, whether it be the mundane or something as high octane as this. One other thing they never fail to do is bring in a level of emotional depth to the story, even if it is as action packed as this one.A third thing Japanese movies and dramas always do is lean into the technicalities of things. And though the movie hits us with a ton of technical terms, not understanding any of them is okay. I didn't, but all the audience really needs to know is that the people doing the work know what they're doing and they're doing it well, because even with all the abrupt cuts and quick shots, this movie was always about the people on the train.
What we got was a fast paced and thrilling movie that felt grounded in many ways. The huge reveal that is inevitably present in such titles didn't come as a big surprise to me, and though the motive for the crime felt a little incredulous, it did produce it's intended emotional effect.
I thought the actors did an incredible job that complemented an already solid script, neither party needed to carry the other and for the entire runtime I was at the edge of my seat. I tend to have complaints about certain or sometimes all characters not getting enough screentime to complement their sudden growth, but I don't here.
If you are a fan of action thrillers with heart feel, I highly recommend.
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I started this thinking it was To My Shore. Complete brain fog on my part.
You know.. Tide.. Shore.. I made a mistake.
Only figured it out halfway through.
But I also figured it couldn't be that bad.
I knew it would be completely different, but maybe not bad.
It was bad.
The first thing - there's no actual story. The entire series is an hour and 40 minutes, and of those, 50 minutes are the two leads making out. The other 50 is one of leads giving us pointless monologues. It starts off as a contract relationship between the two of them and then divulges into utter stupidity from there on.
The acting is bad too. Which is both fair considering there's no story and really unfair to us because why can't we get something good?
There were a lot of NC scenes.. probably too many. I cannot tell if they were any good because the sheer volume somehow melded them into one full scene that felt like a replay of a single one every two minutes. I also don't know if the leads had chemistry because
1) Bad story
2) Bad acting
A complete mess. But I was glued to it nonetheless because.. I don't know. I didn't have fun but it was pretty fun? Luckily it's very short and can be watched very quickly.
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Frozen Fist Frustration!
I am a little disappointed in this one because despite the actors being at top form, it just completely failed to deliver - as a comedy or a romance or even a heartfelt story.Fist Foot Fusion follows Khlairung, a Tik-Tok boxing influencer who has been at odds with Sunshine, an influencer debunking influencer (he basically goes around "exposing" people's online presences). Sunshine says Khlairung is a fake boxer, so he asks for help proving that he's a real boxer from the shrine of a former Thai traditional dance teacher, by promising that he will dedicate a performance to the shrine. But when he forgets to do it, his fist is frozen into place. So to fulfill this promise, he enlists the help of Malai, the teacher's granddaughter who is an aspiring idol.
And that's it. That's the story. They say so and so has to happen, it happens. Done.
I loved all the performances - acting and dancing. Sky was his usual best, I actually enjoyed Prim's performance, Mark just gets better and better, and though we don't get to see much (or as much as I wanted) of Piploy or Thank, I think they did a solid job.
The script just let me down though. Everything felt like a half attempt. Hingeing on a few reactions for the entire comedic plot. The romance not really hitting the spot. And I think there may have been a encouragement/heartfelt try at writing but it fell flat.
It's a nice little addition but definitely the weakest of the anthology (until now) for me. The other three until now had a balance of heart and comedy and/or romance, but Fist Foot Fusion tried so hard to have all three and ended up with almost none.
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This review may contain spoilers
When I First Met You
Before everything else, let me clarify some stuff. I know this is a remake, and I have not watched the original or any of the other remakes. I do not know why I decided to start with this one.I knew the entire plot before I even started the movie, not because it's predictable, but because I found out what the entire plot was a while ago, around the time the Thai remake came out. So again, I do not know why I decided to watch it.
But I watched it, and it was pretty sweet.
Though the love story left me unfulfilled, not the ending, their love story itself, more often than not there's a bittersweet tone to first love, full of unfulfilled promise and the longing look of yesteryear.
That's what this movie felt like, a nostalgic lens on your first love, which doesn't quite leave an impact as itself, but does make you look back fondly on your first love.
That's a win in its own way.
The actors did a good job, it's the first time I'm watching either of their works and I know Jin Young has acted before, and that it's Dahyun's debut, and they both did a very nice job.
There's not much else to say, it was a nice flashback disguised as movie and it wasn't half bad.
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A sweet show that always had me confused
I've never watched a casting show that felt so much like a dating show, let's just say that. The show is to find a new pairing amongst the eight contestants so they can star in a BL together but this is a show that truly must be watched to understand just what I'm talking about.There isn't much to say when it comes to variety/reality television, you're mostly hingeing on the charm of the contestants to pull through and on some occasions, drama. This didn't have drama, which for me was a huge plus (not a fan of unnecessary drama). Actually, there were some dramatic moments and I did not like how they were framed, but for the most part, both the series and the cast were calm and chill.
The cast were awesome, they were nice and friendly individuals who actually seemed to develop some great bonds with each other through the show and I love to see it.
The Auntie Squad was amazing.
A good panel always adds something great to a show and they were brilliant. Accurate representation of each person watching the show and the interactions between them just felt so natural and fun. I do wish Poom had live translation to help him seamlessly talk to everyone, but that's also great because towards the end you could see that they could understand each other without the translation, showing just how much they had gotten to know each other.
Overall this was a very nice, albeit confusing concept for a show but this is the first time I'm seeing such a basis, so I can appreciate that and recommend it as well, because it was a very nice watch.
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A tale of youth, friendship.. and love
This show had me in my feels, I'm not going to lie.Above it all, this is about real people and real feelings, and I appreciated just how well that came through. As the hosts put it, “people tend to be drawn to the dramatic side of reality, but their stories were beautiful.”
Each of the participants were endearing in their own ways, a mix of different personalities, with different life experiences, thoughts and views. Living together, working together, sharing responsibilities, discussing finances, it tends to bring out all different sides of people, and despite being a dating reality show, they depicted all of this in good detail.
The romance didn't take a backseat to this though, it was up and down, and toyed around with the minds of everyone involved and the viewers but don't believe me if I say I didn't find it adorable. It was adorable. Whether I was frustrated, or confused, or ecstatic, these were relationships worth watching, seeing them grow into themselves and grow their romance.
My favourite part though will always be the friendship. The kind of bond you develop living in such close quarters and dealing with such big emotions can't quite be described coherently, or at least I can't, but I will consider that this may be one of the biggest and best things they'll all take away from the experience. The way they could all talk to each other openly, give advice respectfully, take another person's feelings into consideration.. there are so many moments I can point out where the kind of friendship they developed simply warmed my heart. Through all the confusion and the heartbreak, the bond never wavered and I loved it.
I must also mention the hosts, who were wonderful. They were watching it as we were, and their reactions were so similar to the way anyone watching would react. It was also very interesting to see their perspectives and thoughts, to see them discuss everything with thoughtfulness and sensitivity.
It's strange how a reality show can leave you wanting more, but between the lack of the dramatic drama and the general wholesome vibes of the cast, it's understandable why this feels as genuine as it did. And I appreciated it all.
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I should've AT LEAST liked this, but I didn't
You know what the toughest part about sustaining a good love story is? It's the fact that you actually need a good story to get the love stories started and to keep moving them along. If what you have is basically the story of how two people met and fell in love, you need to be able to tell it in a creative or down to earth and heartwarming way, but if the only thing you've got is two people falling in love, you have the formula for a very basic, two hour romantic comedy. That's not enough fuel for a 17 episode series.Two couples, falling in love over the course of 17 and maybe 10 episodes, give or take. One couple's screentime starts a little later than the other's, but both their love stories started years before what we saw on screen! Secret crushes that spanned years all around, that Pi/Nong power dynamic which I thought we'd moved on from, and some really bad communication all around as well, at one point the two different love stories just started to merge as one as far as I'm concerned, I'm still not sure which storyline were for Easter and Hill, which ones were for North and Johan, or if every single plotline they had was just repeated for both couples.
After a while, it's a chore to watch when the same things happen over and over again, even if it's just a love story, you need something new to happen to be interested in it.
Of course, this was also in addition to not having any other character or storyline have any impact on the plot. None whatsoever. There were four characters in this series, no other character, no other plotlines. No friendship moments in a series that was essentially billed as four best friends, falling in love with four best friends, which also made me question why there were no side couples??!
Even if South and West and their respective partners from the Faculty of Medicine boyband weren't main couples, they could have gotten some screentime as side couples?? One of the four directions didn't even get to interact with his love interest as far as I can recall! And the other direction and his love interest just looked at each other, full of angst every time they interacted, and I have no idea what that was about. Yet, I'm somehow more interested in two love stories that barely got any start, because there's no way they're both just versions of the one here?? Right?
I guess there was one side couple, but again, they got around a minute of screentime together in each of the episodes they appeared in.
Just off of a surface level look, this is something I should like. I love series' that are first just love stories, but if it is JUST a love story, it's a lot to take in. Even more so when even the love story isn't written all that well. There were some cute moments between the two couples, but story wise, character wise, the writing was a miss for me. I would love to see South West and their love interests get a series, but I'm a little worried it'll turn out something like this, a swing and a miss.
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This review may contain spoilers
Buddy Cop Comedy, and what else?
This drama has everything you would expect out of an action/mystery drama with a basic premise: a brash male lead whose curiosity knows no bounds, his sunbae who is unwittingly dragged into his schemes no matter how hard he tries to get out of them, a maknae who seems like an amateur but is the one who's doing most of the work, or at least most of the work they're actually supposed to be doing.A female lead who is kind of a badass but becomes kind of childish around the male lead (as does he around her) to depict their contradicting personalities, another sunbae the crew used to work with, and now the male lead dislikes for a reason that is very intricately connected to the plot and of course, a very handsome villain who puts his fists to use first.
We have the storyline of several different cases converging to seemingly become one case, and all signs pointing to our villain being the one behind all this. There are tons of characters and you don't really know what's going on, until you do, and of course, it all culminates in the final few episodes.
So what else? Well, the comedy is pretty good, as is the mystery. The drama being set around the Han river also makes it a pretty new addition to the genre. The pacing is good and for 6 episodes, they tie up the loose ends pretty well. And the crew actually seems to do their jobs (in addition to the crime scenes they inadvertently come across, of course). The small plotholes and few of the conclusions being not so satisfactory aside, this was a fun watch.
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The winner takes all
And boy how.Let me prelude everything by saying - this season, objectively - was not bad.
They switched up the concept a bit and it worked wonders, changing the game to have at least one elimination at the end of a game day was a really good move.
The players - they got the brief. They came, they played, some of them slayed. They played within alliances, they played individualistic strategies, they even played their own alliances to get ahead and this is where it started getting on my nerves.
Nothing wrong with doing that, at the end of the day, you need to do that in this game and I'm completely sure not one person who actually played the game would feel chided or put off by it.. but I did.
Oof, I did not like this season as much as the first one. The winner in season 1 absolutely deserved to win, and the winner here probably did as well, but it's hard for me to see it.
The concept of the show is to literally manipulate your way to the top and the winner did exactly that, and oh so perfectly, but call it me being a goody - goody or whatever, I just really didn't like it.
The first few episodes were exciting, things were just getting started, I had anxiety watching every single episode, you know, fun.
But the more I watched it became incredibly obvious what was going to happen.. come on.. there was no way anyone but the person who won could have won. And just like that it got boring.
Netflix sort of baited me into watching until the end by pushing me on the UNEXPECTED twists and eliminations, but there was nothing unexpected about that. If you're watching and you think you know who's going to win, stick with your gut, you're probably right.
To be completely honest, I did not like any of the people who got to the semi finals by the time they got to the semi finals, and I could not have cared less who advanced and won, but I watched it and.. it was fine I guess. I wasn't really having fun by the end, what with all the betrayal and manipulation.
Maybe it's me, maybe I'm a little too emotional to be watching people behave this ruthless and crafty, and maybe someone else can see the rational side of this. But I'm going to stick with my emotional side and say.. I didn't really enjoy this.
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Dissapointment noises
What did I expect really? That it would somehow become exponentially better after that dissapointment of a second half of Love Sea?It didn't, and I'm not surprised. It's a bunch of nothing, which I've come to expect from specials, but this is also a bunch of BORING. And a bunch of nonsense, but I couldn't pay attention to most of it.
The island visuals were the only good thing, I'm just glad they didn't decide to split the time between that and Bangkok like Mut and Rak were going to.
The end credits were easily the best part.. the beach views and the crystal blue ocean.. and the fact that it was over, of course.
But hey, I finally figured out what his tattoo is. It's a quill and an infinity sign. Yay.
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This review may contain spoilers
The best short film I have watched. A beautiful story about first love, a mother’s love and love in all.THE STORY:
The story follows Than and his mother. Than and his mother have a close relationship and know almost everything about each other. What Than’s mother doesn’t know is her son is gay and in a relationship with Palm. When she discovers their relationship, she is angry and causes Than to storm out on her. While staying with Palm, he realises that he must right his relationship with his mother and returns home. At this time his mother does not talk of his sexual identity. All the while he has been chatting with a secret neighbour, who is revealed to have been his mother all along. Than realises his mother has always known. The next day, while he tries to apologise, his mother apologises instead. He also apologises for hurting her and they make up. The short ends with Than and Palm hugging signifying their happy relationship.
THE ACTING:
What great acting! Although this series has War as Than, the mother turned out to be the breakout star. The way she cried when apologising to Than had me crying.
THE PRODUCTION:
The production could have been handled better, but I believe for a short it did its job.
THE OST:
The OST is awesome. Boy Sompob is on the track list so you know it’s going to be good!
I hope everyone tries this at least one time, as this movie deserves way more love. I also hope this review makes you watch it. Thank You!
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This review may contain spoilers
What a Series! I was skeptical about watching it at first when the initial trailer was released, but I changed my mind after watching the pre series trailer. I was hooked from episode one and I still am. This was one of the series that everyone was looking forward to and it does not disappoint!THE STORY:
The story is so fluffy! It will keep you smiling throughout the episode and is extremely addictive. It is sweet at times, makes you cry at times, but at the end of the day, it is extremely satisfactory . The storyline follows Tine and Sarawat and their relationship, most of the times. The rest of the time is dedicated to Mil, Phukong, Type and Man. Every single episode is so cute and makes you feel all warm inside.
THE ACTING:
So natural. The actors suit their roles very well and have executed them very well. The leads as well as the supporting actors are very good. Props to Win as this is his first series and he’s already amazing as Tine. He surely has a very ‘Bright’ future ahead of him?( Sorry for the pun). This series has made me fall in love all over again with actors I’m already familiar with, that’s how good it is.
THE PRODUCTION:
The production was handled very well for this series. The story has been consistent and so has the quality of the series. The team has done a very good job with this series.
THE OST:
The OST man! Every time I hear it I start smiling like an idiot and my grandma has started giving me dirty looks about how often I’m smiling to myself. It perfectly encapsulates the series and the feel the series is trying to give out. Bonus, I also love Scrubb now.
THE NEGATIVE:
The only negative of the series was how the story progressed. Until the minute, Sarawat and Tine were pretending everything was perfect, but once they became an actual couple, the story was thrown out the window. Also, it seemed like Tine was way more into Sarawat once they were dating. The last few episodes were extremely out of character for Sarawat, who at the beginning was very intent on announcing to the world that he loved Tine, but when it came to telling one girl, he was suddenly hesitant? This was what I didn’t like. Other than that still a great series.
THE ENDING:
This was seriously such a beautiful way to end the series. While I will admit I would have liked them to at least hold hands, this ending was perfect enough for me. All the couples got together in the end, and I would like to believe they’re all happy. I just finished it and I saw a lot of people complaining about the lack of kissing, so I’m saying this once again, it’s not just physical touch that matters. Every time I see Tine and Sarawat on screen, I can feel their chemistry and love, and I feel that’s enough. A great end to a great series.
I hope this review was helpful to everyone and helped you make the decision as to whether you were going to watch 2gether the series or not. Thank You!
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Miscommunication ≠ Plot
Let's break this down before we even discuss just how badly the series itself broke down.Misunderstandings do not equal plot.
If you're still basing your 10 episodes on your leads not being able to have a mature conversation, you need to do better.
Just off the premise alone - meeting your ex while you raise your niece and they are raising their kid is such a rich vein for storytelling. Especially when you have unresolved feelings and you want to get back together because not only are you exes, there are now two children involved in your life, depending on you, and your decision must have them involved in some capacity. I'm not going to do a deep dive into just how complex and well written a story about navigating dating your ex when you're both caring for children can be. Why should I when they didn't?
In the finale of the series, there's a massive montage of scenes that show us how the relationship between the leads would have gone down if they could talk like actual human beings. It was over in maybe 10 minutes (I think, I watched it sped up), and to think that the series itself could have been over in 10 minutes was a huge slap to the face. Because I sat through ten episodes of the most bland, boring and irritating pairing who couldn't set aside their stupid pre-conceived notions or their ego to have a proper conversation.
Both of them were horrible people. There's not a single redeeming quality about either of the leads because you don't even have time to get to know them or understand their thought process. They're so involved in making their lives harder for themselves, and we should care why? It took two children, actual children, to get them together in a civil manner. Children! That should tell you enough.
Through all this, the one bright spot (as far as romance went, because the leads had as much chemistry as a piece of wet cardboard), were the second couple. They had chemistry, they had banter, and though it wasn't much, they actually spoke to each other. Much more than the leads did anyway. But of course, the writers had to go and do that. Did the contract of one of them run out? Is that why the writers just had to do that? I can't say it out loud, and because it's a massive spoiler, I won't say it out loud but I am still furious about that writing choice.
Everything just closed in on itself the more the story went on. Again, this could have been a 10 minute episode. Just one, 10 minute episode. Instead we got 10 HOURS.
Don't watch it. Yes the kids were absolutely adorable and carried the show, and the grandparents were so iconic, but don't watch this mess.
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When the sky meets the sea breeze
First up, let me just confirm that Tonfah and Typhoon may be my comfort couple.With that out of the way - wow?! I enjoyed this so much. The thing about being a show purely about romance, is that you need to get the romance right - and thank you because they did. They are my comfort couple, but it's actually a little unbelievable that they did because I'm someone who did not enjoy S1 of Fourever You. Before we talk about Fah and Phoon, let's discuss what actually made me flip.
It's only a couple of reasons, the first being, giving them their own part in the umbrella series. The wonders it did must be watched. Instead of doing three couples all at once, I'm so glad they gave us just one of them and have decided to give us the other two couples in their own parts, in the same timelines. Doing this made sure that the audience focuses on the leads without getting too caught up in the specifics like "which storyline is for which couple" and "why are there so many couples?!"
The second thing they did well was have the F4 and The Directions play an actual role in the plot. The fact that Fah and Phoon's respective friend groups not only shaped the plot, but also shaped their character growth was the best improvement they could have made, as compared to last season where each couple was in their own world with much else to do. Each interaction between the friend groups made my heart soar.
Now that we've got that out of the way, let's talk about THEM.
Beside the Sky follows Typhoon, a first year university student who is deeply scarred by his past. When he moves to Chiang Mai for university, he meets Tonfah, the older boy who lived next door, after three years. In those three years, Phoon's life has changed completely, but Fah does not know that. So when they meet, Phoon is caught between the truth and his feelings for Fah, which may be ruined if he ever tells him the truth.
I finally understand the appeal of slow romance. In my experience, slow romance is often filled with excessive trauma and too many misunderstandings, but Beside the Sky is executed in such a way that I think I can watch other dramas with the same trope.
Not because there wasn't excessive trauma. No this was brutal. Terrible parents all around, tormenting and blaming their children. Typhoon himself blaming and punishing himself because of his past, and doing it forever because of his family. It was downright despicable. But the thing about this plot was, they could've so easily jammed in a hundred misunderstandings between Fah and Phoon as a result of all the things Phoon did and said to protect himself. They didn't and I'm so happy they didn't.
Tonfah is a literal green grove - filled with green flags, he's such a perfect male lead when it comes down to that. He will always look after you, keep up your facade to make you comfortable, spoil you with trips to Japan so you can meet your estranged mother.. what won't he do?
And Typhoon is a green flag as well - just a flag for him, not the entire grove. Because he is a deeply scarred person, and our Maew needed some closure and some comfort before he could come out of his shell. Obviously, thank goodness for the other directions and Fah, but mostly good on him for being able to identify the toxicity of his family. And he is such a sweetheart by the way, they're both genuinely amazing and sweet characters.
I hope now you can see why this is my comfort series, yes it was a little too slow for me, but hey, I don't mind. Eight episodes of Fah and Phoon was well worth it.
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