Blkittykat

A sequel that could've been solved in five minutes

I do not think Checkered Shirt needed a sequel. Finishing S1 I thought it was necessary, having finished S2, nope.

The main reason it needed more was because of the cliffhanger, but I just watched just over 60 minutes of footage for a resolution and conclusion that could have been handled with a phone call. I refuse to accept the story they gave us, because what do you mean "you couldn't see him and your phone broke"?

That is a terrible excuse and I do not accept it.

They used this story (it's them, five years later by the way), as a way of introducing angst and character development, which fine, but I really did not like the resolution that came with the excuse, it gave them character but felt like a last ditch attempt.

I guess what I'm trying say is, it was nice, but a misunderstanding is not plot and we need to stop using it that way. Anyway it was cute and kind of angsty and pretty short so not bad :)

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The Love that Never Rose

This is no slow burn, this was a no burn.
It went on and on without actually going anywhere or towards anything.

The plot picks up with Ice returning to university after being dismissed a year ago, and Saint has been tasked with taking care of him, making his student life easier. They've actually known each other for a while though, not talked for several years because of something that happened in the past, but now that they're back together, Ice hates Saint, and Saint wants to win Ice back.

Their entire relationship has been riddled with problems since the beginning - everyone is opposed to them being together for some reason or the other, and the entire story is basically how they get over their past to heal as individuals and a couple, and face all the other obstacles to be with each other.

It's a well established, character driven plot, which always has the potential to be great! But my goodness the pace moved slower than a turtle. Whether it was the conflict resolution or the movement of their romance, it felt like I was the one moving heavy furniture across a room, each episode was a push and a pull, and so much of a struggle.

It's not the worst blunder, especially if you can write brilliant characters. Except..
They weren't really written to be the best.
No argument that both Ice and Saint were quite complex and flawed characters who had good development, but what use is it when the writers seem to have a trauma complex that neither of them can get past?
Saint is always perturbed by his father's presence in his life, which is suffocating, annoying and straight up infuriating. His father's actions made him lose the love of his life, and when he meets him again, the aforementioned love wants nothing to do with him. He has to gain back Ice's trust and defy his father's orders to ensure he doesn't get trapped again. And he was written well.

But Ice.. oh Ice.
He wasn't even the lead in his own story.
He meets someone he loves in a life where he has no one to love him, and gets told that this guy doesn't want him either. He is assaulted, thrown out of space that should've kept him safe, faces the consequences of someone else's actions and comes back to university as a broken man, only to continue breaking everyday because he's dating a POS, and the people who ruined his life the first time around are back in it.
The writers took a hold of this and went 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳?
The man could not catch a break, shots from every direction at all times, like the writers actually hated him. Everytime I saw a glimpse of growth, they just dumped more trauma on him to wreck him more and more until I could take it no more.
Honestly, I reduced my rating just based off of the fact that they absolutely butchered a character who should've carried the story.

If it wasn't for Ja's absolute knockout of a performance as Saint - adorable, charming and enigmatic - I would once again be rating this much lower, but thank you Ja. The rest of the actors were not bad performers by any means, but they barely had the chance to actually showcase their skills or flesh out their characters.
Especially Tae as Ice.. who was the actual main character and deserved much better writing than he got (as covered above) but he did a decent job.

The frustration you feel towards all the characters never really goes away though, because of the bad plot. The affinity towards some of them may come from the fact that they are leads, but the amount of conflict itself is off-putting. Did we really need the dirtbag ex? Or the movie shoot that spans for episodes in a bid to bring the leads closer, only to push them further apart? Or the father who has no boundaries and is an insensitive manipulative jerk just because he cares about his son? Noo
(On that note - let's also stop writing terrible parents a redemption arc? I pray all things in holy BL, let's stop giving horrid human beings redemption just because they shed a few crocodile tears)

The most frustrating thing is not the conflict, but how each one was handled. If you're going to have soooo many things they need to overcome, why not start with actually having the leads talk to each other? If your story is going to be riddled with problems that you can easily face together, why not do it? Or if it's your burden to bear, why avoid the confrontation? It's right in front of you!! Again, the character writing taking a serious blow, we get one step forward and ten steps back for 12 episodes.

The finale was the miserable now that tied it all together - a happy ending for all for the sake of giving one, or forgiveness I guess? This show was filled with horrid, horrid people who should have rotted in prison or in their own misery but yay to extreme pardoning complexes I guess.

This love should've set seven épisodes ago, but oh well. Don't waste your time on this and if you absolutely must? 2x speed is your friend.

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Overthinking - the 13th addition to the list

Overthinking is overrated. Do not do it.

This drama is a perfect example that shows you why you shouldn't do it because what should have been an 8/10 episode arc with minimal drama or angst turned into a minefield of bad decisions and unsaid feelings.

As ever, we started out perfectly - something that many J Dramas do without fail. We got a clear setup, a solid introduction to our leads and not much delay in seeing the plot take center stage. Episode after episode, we saw Suzume and Keishii check things off of Suzume's "10 Things to do Before I Turn 40" list, and we see their relationship blossom as an intersecting plot.

Their growth as a pairing was truly spectacular, it wasn't one sided, they communicated, they were both serious and fun loving, and the direction it was headed in made me believe that this would be a very wholesome series with one episode of angst. I was wrong.

There was an exponential downfall around episode 7 where all the things I admired about them just vanished into thin air. They didn't speak to each other for around three episodes at one point! Misunderstandings, miscommunication and SO MUCH OVERTHINKING. Three to four episodes of unnecessary angst and parallel plotlines that added nothing of substance except to the audience's annoyance. By the time the finale rolled around I was kind of tired because I had just spent 1/3rd of the series slowly falling out of love with two people I adored.

This needed around four episodes less than it actually had, and a much better second half. It was frustrating after a point, and not to say I'm disappointed.. because I'm extremely disappointed. And slightly angry.

If I could, I would probably skip episodes 9-11, and just watch the finale to wrap things up. I don't think doing this will cause any confusion either because not much of substance happened in those episodes. It's a shame really, because remove them from the equation and this is a brilliant drama. But unfortunately, this has become a mid, slightly forgettable piece of work and I wish it weren't.

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To judge me by the color of my bones

Green Bones is a cinematic masterpiece from start to finish, certainly, in terms of plot, acting, cinematography, but most in terms of leaving the audience contemplating upon and questioning their beliefs and morals.

The concept of green bones - that when one's remains contain the green bones, it is a display of their innate goodness. The concept in itself dictates that there is no way of knowing of a person is truly good during their life. But this is the belief that one of our leads, corrections officer Xavier Gonzaga lives with. After a past experience that left him believing there is only absolute goodness or absolute evil in the world, his entire worldview is shaken when he takes up his first assignment. Even then, he is resolute in his beliefs and carrying his prejudice, which has grown to become his safety blanket, he starts off on a path to ensure that our other lead, Domingo Zamora, never leaves the correctional facility.

But this steadfastness only lasts a while, because unlike he trusted, there is no way to tell if a human is good or evil, and there is no absolute on either end. We, along with Xavier, learn about Zamora's past, and all the decisions that led to him as he is in the present. The more he learns, the more he discovers, that Zamora may consider himself a bad person - but there is no way to judge him on the deeds he considered have made him a bad person.

All of this culminates in a harrowing last 30 minutes that changes Xavier as a person, and leaves the audience contemplating on the complex nature of humankind.

This was not an easy watch - it was mentally taxing to witness, not simply because of the scenes, but in their deeper understanding. It keeps you guessing and on the edge, and leaves you feeling completely drained. And honestly, it is worth the watch. It asks important questions, but doesn't really answer them, no, because they are for the audience to contemplate on. The acting completely complements this complex conundrum - both Dennis Trillo and Ruru Madrid give it their all.

I would highly recommend , but fair warning - this is not something that is an easy watch, and it surely lingers on your mind.

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Buy the Lactosoy

Umm.. I don't know how to write a review for this or how to rate this..

For story - much like Boys in Love, there was none. They played a different game every episode and by the end, Shane and Kit revealed they had feelings for each other. Sorry, Shine and Gem.
I guess you could say the story was getting them to realize their feelings for each other through the games, but the description itself says it's an ad for Lactosoy, what do I say?

For cuteness factor - yes, it was cute. Kind of nice to see the leads from Boys in Love, and they were as sweet and adorable as they were in the 12 episodes series.

For the advertisement - for being a straight up ad, they didn't really have much promotion did they? Couldn't tell if this was to promote the recently concluded series or Soy Milk, but I'll take it, I'm sick of PPL and for a series about PPL, this had barely any. When it did, it couldn't have been more obvious.

So yeah. Buy the Lactosoy and go watch in Boys in Love. Simultaneously or separately.

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Funny, requiring a bit of background study

Let me clarify lol - it doesn't actually require any studying.

The movie is about three friends who all need to get ordained for different reasons, and decide to get ordained at the same temple. They soon find that the temple is haunted, and they may not be able to get ordained because of the strange events that are happening in the temple.

The story relies heavily on mythology and folklore, and though it is explained, the narrative could have benefited from a longer and better explanation. The plot is heavily tied to the explanation, and with a better explanation and execution, the story would have flowed better.

The horror - it wasn't actually scary. I'm not a huge fan of "horror" horror, so I usually choose to watch horror comedies, which tend not to be too scary. Even on that scale, this was relatively low on the fear factor scale.

The comedy was good. It had a mix of absurdist comedy with dark humor, and had some moments that genuinely had me laughing out loud.

Overall, this was a decent movie that could have been executed better. It's definitely not the top - notch level when it comes to horror comedies, but it gets the job done if you're in a pinch.

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Fool me thrice..

Oh Club Friday, I should've gotten used to the fact that all the stories with that label are burning garbage, but here we are..

I mean, it's not bad storytelling by a long shot, it's just that everything that happens and almost everyone in it is.. trash. That's about it and watching horrible people be horrible people has some weird appeal because I ate this up. I hated it, I hated all of it and yet, I binged three episodes and watched the last one without subtitles.

Sometimes, you just want to watch it all go down in the worst possible way and I got that. Mom and son are in love with the same man, mom doesn't know her son and her husband are hooking and no one knows if this guy actually likes either of the people he's seeing! You've got other characters who are also interested in the leads and undoubtedly bring the chaos with them, I mean, it's so messy and messed up but so entertaining.

Since it's told from the perspective of one of the leads (the son), I thought the narrative was very well done without it seeming too far off and descriptive, in a way that he couldn't have known. The acting was good, the mess was messy and I happened to watch this right when I needed something terrible, so it was great.

Maybe it's worth a try, or maybe not, but it was strangely enjoyable. Even despite the fact that there wasn't a single kiss. You would think there would be at least one, but no! They always went straight for the neck, like vampires!

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ALL THE FEELS

I was not ready for this. The angst, the romance and the chemistry! I was not remotely prepared for how emotionally taxing this would turn out to be, especially considering the fact that this is a prequel.

It reminded me of small, indie productions. Ones that are set around a particular location that holds significance to the leads, with rich emotional backgrounds that may not be fully explored to facilitate smooth storytelling, but you can still situate it to the leads and their actions. The music they used, the cinematography and the bright yet blurred colours, it was beautiful. And above all, the tension. I've noticed it many times, but the way it's filmed just increases the already solid romantic tension between the leads two-fold.

The use of random and ambiguous dialogues at certain points really accentuated just how much of their relationship was the same way, there was a lot of certainty, but it was encompassed in chaos and heartbreak.

The ending made me want to revisit Unintentional Love Story so bad, it's the perfect set up to watch it again, now knowing the backstory between Ho Tae and Dong Hee, watching how it changed and how it will change again. Plus, Gong Chan's cameo, I mean, it was incredible and just made me want to revisit it that much more.

This genuinely served, those yearning gazes, genuine chemistry, paired with an emotional story and a romantic lens made for such a touching story.

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Anguishing Allure

The journey of Lada and Earn in rediscovering their spark was a painful one for them and us, but at the end of that path, there always seemed to be a glimpse of hope.

Misunderstandings, parental pressure and prejudice, scars of the past, rivals in love, these were just a few of the obstacles the leads had to overcome in order to resolve their issues and discover that they never stopped loving each other, but no one makes it easy for them, least of all themselves.

It was frustrating through and through to watch, but that was part of the formula, part of the experience. I found myself saying multiple times that none of this would have happened if they had just had communicated like they constantly did before it all went down and out, but all the drama and angst was part of the appeal. When one thing began to get resolved, the next problem cropped up, and that's just how it went along.
Weirdly enough, this is something I've seen a lot, but it's been quite a while and it took some getting used to before I was able to sit back and enjoy the drama as it came, because it kept coming.

Until that happened though, it was the chemistry between the leads that kept me in it. A healthy relationship and not, the leads definitely had enough chemistry to move the story on even when it seemed to be stalling. The acting was extremely good from the both of them, all their emotions were on full display and you could feel their pain and sadness as they did.

It was good, a good balance between romance, drama and slight comedy. It may take some getting used to, some of the scenes may seem extremely over the top but stick with it, and it may be a happy ending for the viewer as it was for them.

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As advertised

This was as advertised, literally nothing else happened.

Both couples are shown after a year of dating, with Yi coming back to Thailand and meeting with Plaeng, and Gene and Nuea navigating their relationship after a year of dating.

They decorate the café for Christmas, teach each other how to make coffee and play the guitar and discuss stuff that happened over the past year and also what they have in store for them in the future.

There are two episodes, the first featured Yi and Plaeng, the second featured Gene and Nuea. Besides a ton of cute moments and a lot of conversations, there wasn't quite much else.

Also, this is the follow up to the finale of Coffee Melody, and in retrospect, it's a choice. The finale did have some updates on all the characters, but I would have preferred them in the special as well. It's just a weird production, a finale that didn't feel like one and a special that didn't feel like one either.

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A return to teamwork thrillers

I'm incredibly glad to see the return of investigative thrillers, and with it some great teamwork. Crash is innovative in some ways and follows the formula in others, creating the perfect balance. While maintaining the formula with the episodic arcs, typical rich boy villains and fathers, the very basis of the TCI (Traffic Crime Investigation) team was a very new concept.

Add to that an ensemble of dynamic characters, and subtle comedy, I was sold after the first couple of episodes. Despite the simplicity of the solution for each case, the teamwork displayed by the TCI squad made each of them worth the watch. That's what set this show apart from many other investigative thrillers for me, there was never a hint of distrust among the team, even when they weren't a team.

I was a little dissapointed with the main villains once again being rich jerks and their corrupted parents, but the direction in which they took the story, and the character arc of each individual, protagonist or antagonist, definitely made up for that disappointment.

I've missed my crime dramas with good teamwork (I realise I've used that word so many times, but it's true! It's really good), and Crash nailed it. Despite starting on a slow note, each episode picked up the pace with the fast plot, attention to detail and yes, incredible teamwork. It very much reminded me of some older crime shows and I can say with confidence that this is very much an underrated title. An underrated title you should give a try.

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The highs and lows.. of a wedding.

This is what I would categorise as an ensemble comedy, where each character gets their time to shine. Because this wedding was not only about the bride and the groom, it was about everyone who came together for them, and then a few more.

From the groom, to his boss eager to make a comeback, and the bride and her father wanting to display his skills, their friends nervous about the wedding performance, juniors and seniors wanting to make an impact on the wedding and the world, teachers, mentors, and family. And the wedding planner. Each character had a purpose to fulfill, closure to attain, goals to achieve, and all of it came to a head on this wedding date, and of course, chaos and hilarity came with it.

I loved the in depth look we got into not just the wedding trade, but the traditions of modern day Japanese wedding and the role of everyone part of the ceremony and reception. I didn't quite understand the need of the roles of the ex and the random thief, except for maybe comic relief (which I still think was unnecessary).

Funny, chaotic, maybe tapering off a bit for a while, fun nonetheless.

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Historical Accountancy

I'm pleasantly surprised by this movie. I won't go as far to say that it's perfect, but for being two hours long, there wasn't one dull moment.

The trope of being thrust into unfamiliar situations is usually one well done, and when the lead experiences it here, he rises to the occasion as one would expect, doing it better than I expected. With his rag tag group of friends and advisors, and adversaries unexpected, from all directions, it's up to our hero to gain the support of those he meets and turn their accounts around.

I especially loved the setting around accountancy and finances. Watching them come up with various solutions, and seeing how they handled the financial records was fascinating.

The principal takeaway though was the sense of family the lead created with all those around him. Not just with immediate family, the lead's persistence and positivity won over people left and right, making for a surprising and enjoyable watch.

Although it is foremost a comedy, I found it to be so much more as I watched on. This is the kind of title that can be watched on a lazy afternoon, and I assure it will keep you engrossed.

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The story of a man and his school meals.

This is the saying "good food, good mood" in cinematic form. I've always thought there's a correlation between the enjoyment of food and the environment we choose to consume it in, and I liked seeing that as a movie.

The story revolves around junior high teacher Amarida Yukio and his love for school lunches. We watch him navigate his enjoyment of school lunches, his relationship with the others in the school and the feeling of enjoying food in general. He also has a rival in the form of his student, Kaminou Gou, to see who can come up with the more creative way to eat lunch with the dishes they are presented with.

I laughed, I cringed, I was moved by something I had no backstory about, even though they did (two seasons and a movie prior), and somewhere between the childish rivalry to see who can enjoy food more and the pure instict to just enjoy good food, I saw the development of a wonderful mentor/mentee relationship.

Eat well, in your favourite environment and then give this movie a try :)

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Give it a try

This review is a LONG time coming because I watched the show months ago, but I couldn't think of what to put in my review once I finished it. I thought giving it some time would help and then I promptly forgot to actually do it.

Since High Street (sequel to Senior High) just started airing, I decided to write it now.
Here's the review:

⚠️ CONTENT WARNINGS ⚠️
The show contains depictions of bullying, violence, SA, murder and much more. I found it pertinent to include this because the depictions are rather explicit, and caution may be exercised before watching.

I started watching this because I came across some clips on YouTube, but I decided I wasn't going to watch an 50 episodes (100+ with both seasons) just to catch a glimpse of two people who may or may not become a couple. I decided the clips were enough until I realised that I didn't really have the complete context of the story, plot wise or romance wise, since both seemed to be integral for my understanding.

I then caved and started watching it, deciding that if I didn't like it, I could just stop. And would you know it, I couldn't stop. The show is dramatic, a little cringey, and downright impossible at times (most of the time), but it keeps you invested.
It's the kind of series where the kids have more common sense, compassion and just plain humanity compared to the adults. It's more dramatic than it needs to be and that's probably what worked.

The story follows Sky Love Cruz, a recent transferee to Northford High, the school which her twin Luna Amore Cruz attends. Not long after, Luna dies of an apparent suicide, but Sky thinks otherwise and decides to investigate. As she rules out suspects and gains allies, she discovers the deep, dark secrets of the school and the people in it.

Without giving away much about the plot (which I won't either way because it's far more complicated than one would expect) the story manages to keep you on your toes the entire time. Yes, the scenes are drawn out, yes plot points could have been concluded much faster than they actually did, but there is a high chance that you'll be invested either way. It very much reminded me of the soap operas we get on television where I live, and maybe the familiarity made me like it a bit more.

Now, I will admit that both seasons have sort of become one in my mind because I watched them at a stretch, but I do vaguely remember where they made the cut, and season 1 provided quite the setup for an even more dramatic, over the top and traumatic viewing.

Give it a try and see if you like it. If I'm being completely objective, this is not everyone's cup of coffee, maybe even not mine but be what it may, it surprised me and maybe it'll surprise you as well.

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