Deirdre19

I care a lot more about what is in front of the background 😂
Acting and plot are what makes or breaks a drama.

There is a spoiler button, in case you haven’t noticed 😉

I think one of the great strengths of this drama is that it doesn’t just rely on the lead characters to carry the story, but that it has an overall strong cast where all of the side characters are allowed their moment in the limelight and shine through their acting.

Ce n’est pas son choix, C’est son agence qui l’oblige de prendre ces roles. Il a essaye de partir mais ils ne le laissent pas aller (c’est la raison derriere sa “retraite” du moins de mars.)

Don’t blame the director, blame Jeremy’s shitty agency for selling him out on every single project!
The trainee actress/starlet female leads (who just to add insult to injury usually get 1st billing), the childish plots and unchallenging roles, it’s all their choice, not Jeremy’s.
He has long outgrown this genre and would do much better in a grown-up project aimed at a grown-up audience.

You can watch Trace with English subs here, but the last episode is missing.
https://goplay.su/57452d69366b7a33706e7066356633326374/Trace/

Yes, Jeremy has done quite a few poetry readings, there is also this one:
https://weibo.com/tv/show/1034:5042060978225186?from=old_pc_videoshow
(Turgenev - Little Flower)

As you say, it’s a pity about the dubbing of his later shows. I don’t know why he stopped doing it as he clearly is able to do it. Maybe it is related to his agency (he joined them 2017) or it could be due to time constraints because of his father’s situation.

The most recent ones are The Autumn Ballad and Trace. He also uses his voice in Fairyland Lovers (guest role, but well worth watching).
Some of the pre-2018 modern dramas also have his real voice.

Yes, he somehow reminds me of young Wu Lei in Nirvana in Fire.

C’mon, who are you kidding? They ALL had stuff done, but some just have a few fillers while others have their face completely plastified.
I’m well aware of filters and you will see me complain about them all the time, but in this drama, all the others seem to be quite capable of showing facial expressions, even Hou Minghao, who certainly is no stranger to “medical beauty”. Are you suggesting the excessive filters were only applied to Tian Jiarui?

Watched the first three episodes and found it very entertaining with beautiful visuals. It has just the right amount of cheeky humour which make a nice change from the silliness in many of the recent fantasy dramas.
Hou Minghao’s acting doesn’t disappoint and it’s nice to see Chen Duling in a leading role.
It’s the first time that I see Tian Jiarui in a lead role and I’m seriously wondering what Guo JingMing sees in him. His looks are average, the permanently contracted eyebrows are irritating as hell, especially since nothing else in his face seems to be able to move and so far his acting is nothing to write home about.
The little guy playing the doctor is really funny! I’m impressed with his acting!

More like too many fillers, his face looks completely frozen. If he could still use his face the way any normal actor does, he wouldn’t need to rely on “micro expression” (which basically is a euphemism for ‘cannot move his face’).

Yes, the story (which goes downhill in the 2nd half) and the weak FL are the two main problems with Legend of the Phoenix.
Nonetheless, I like it very much for Jeremy’s performance. The fight scenes in the last episode are something that you will never forget and well worth the heatstrokes that he suffered while filming them.

Oh, there definitely is something like too many female revenge stories.
This plot sounds like we’ve seen it already a hundred times.
When will these scriptwriters ever come up with an original idea instead of copying from each other?

It depends on what you like…
If you’re into cushy romance with romantic scenes set to music, this one isn’t for you.
If you like family stories with a strong supporting cast, then go for it!

It’s mostly about family dynamics, a bit about politics. There are some good fight scenes. The romance is so far one-sided and not the focus of the story.

Yes, the “romance” is slow to non-existent, but there is so much more going on!
I actually like the fact that the focus isn’t on the romance or even on the main couple. This drama has so many interesting characters, played by good actors that every episode is a joy to watch for the ensemble, not just the main leads.

I know he is the SML with LSS, bu I hope they will have a few interesting scenes together. He had nice costumes in that drama, too. The two of them look very good together and if they partnered again we could have a martial arts fest.

Someone who can act, so Dilreba and Naza are out 😂 plus they are both so stick-thin that I just can’t take them seriously in any martial arts role.
Zhou Ye is ok, just not my type of girl…
I liked his ‘pairing’ with Liu Shishi (BTW I read we’re getting this one in December). Otherwise, I think Meng Zhiyi would look great with him and she’s got a bit of oomph acting wise.
Wu Jinyan or Zheng HeHuiZhi would also suit me fine.

Correction: it’s not the drama with Liu Shishi that is upcoming, but the one with Tan Songwen.

Slowly, there’s a bit more colour in the costumes…
https://weibo.com/tv/show/1034:5092040409808952?from=old_pc_videoshow

If the plot is bad, no amount of fancy clothing can save it for me.
There are many recent examples of S-level productions that tanked despite the generous clothing budget because either the plot or the acting (or both) were sub par.