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This was a mess
Full disclosure, I have not read the source material on which this movie is based. So far it seems the movie adapted part of the webtoon but I cannot judge how well they did. However, not knowing the lore, I found the story all over the place, the characterization very poor and the CGI pretty weak.Even though there are some interesting aspect to the story itself and I was entertained to some degree, it feels quite typical of some isekai / leveling up action story already out there. But it also feels super messy with the hero having like a cheat code, making the tension void. There also too many characters to build properly the relationships in the span of one movie. Even if I like the cast, I was not impressed by any of their performances...It might have been more the fault of the script than their acting but it felt flat for the most part.
I would not recommend this as it feels very messy and quite generic overall. I watched for the cast, but even them could not save the movie.
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Icky romance but kind of entertaining
This Japanese movie is centred around the romance between a young highschool yakuza family heiress and her adult bodyguard disguising himself to protect her at school. If I did not find it boring, I for sure also found the romance icky from start to finish...I certainly can watch and enjoy a wide variety of romances : from very cute and fluffy to ultra dark and taboo... However, unfortunately it did not work for me here. The romance took the regular shojo road of pretending that problematic stuff are adorable and charming when in fact they were just not. I have nothing against age gap story per se, but here the following combination :
- 10 years gap between the main lead (26 years old) and the female lead (hypothesis of 16 years old as she is in her first year of high school)
- grooming
- overpowering main lead yakuza
was a bit much to sell as "cute". The fact the male lead is also a real jerk sleeping around while pining for the heroine certainly also did not help...Overal that's a lot to take in for the viewer to root for them !!!
Acting was overall average, with male lead being simply a big block of wood! Honestly, if I found him more handsome maybe I would be less severe but well, he is not exactly my style so better acting chops would definitely have helped. Female lead is better but nothing extraordinary...and definitely looking too old for the highschooler role... However, given the plot, I guess it is for the best because otherwise the romance would have felt even more unpalatable.
I would not recommend this to people as I feel there are better high school romance movie out there. In order to work better, the storytelling should either have remove the gap age aspect, either the tone of the movie should have be much darker without the classic shojo style to showcase properly the relationship, the gaslighting, the imbalance in power.
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More a comedy with some sincere moments than a romance
This quirky rom-com (featuring an aspiring pâtissier possessed by a demon and a jobless guy) is much more focus on the comedy aspect than on the romance which is never very deepened.However, I did not mind at all that is was not really a romance. On the contrary, I liked that the writing put the focus on the demon / human relationship. The ending opened the doors to more and even if it felt a bit abrupt, overall it was a nice watch.
Yoona really did an excellent job showcasing diametrically different personalities while giving the male lead (played by Ahn Bo Hyun) full whiplash effect.
I would recommend this to people looking for a comedy with some heartfelt moments. The romance is really not the main aspect of the story but I think it is worth a shot as I found the storytelling around the fantasy elements super interesting with some very well made background regarding the curse.
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Super entertaining and fun with some touching moments: a healing must-watch
This series features the passionate romance of Thee, mafia heir, and Peach, talented photographer. As the tone of the series is definitely to poke fun at a lot of lakorn (Thai Soap series), Pond delivers an incredible performance playing an over-the-top mafia boss Thee (ready to do everything to make Peach fall in love with him). The deadpan way to which Peach (played by Phuwin) reacts to Thee antics are making it even funnier.Among all the laughs, there are also a fair share of emotional moments, heartwarming and making this series feels very sincere. The two actors are selling very well the dynamics of their characters and the tenderness between them, despite their differences.
The minus of the series definitely resides in its secondary romances. Two secondary couples are sharing screen but I would have preferred the scenario to focus only on one additional couple rather than to come up with those half-baked storylines, especially that one was clearly more interesting than the other and would have benefited from more screentime and better storytelling.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for an uplifting BL with a strong comedic and parodic tone. It will definitely bring you a smile.
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Dark, toxic, flawed and wildly entertaining
This unhinged Chinese BL is a real guilty pleasure that made me go through a wild roller-coaster of emotions. Despite its final arc not meeting fully my expections, I had a such a good time watching this series ! The relationship build up was well paced and captivating with even the set up with business talks featuring interesting layers of the personality of the main characters.Fan Xiao with his obsessive and manipulative behavior might be one of the biggest red flag I have seen in dramaland making it very much impossible to actively root for the romance as you want Shu Lang to escape the trauma inflected on him by his partner and heal. Still, I was completely invested in their relationship and was always looking forward to see what was going to happen. Shu Lang, far for a damsel in distress, was a great character, with a strong backbone, making their story even more fascinating.
Both main actors did a very good job at playing those intense roles with some amazing heartbreaking scenes. Their chemistry was fiery and a big component in my enjoyment of the drama. The remainder of the cast did not really impressed me but it was alright overall, as they were mostly fading in the background of the intense romance.
I would recommend this to people that enjoy angsty and twisted romances. It has a lot of shaddy, muddy stuff and power imbalance, in the most gripping way. I was surprised at how good and intense it was : the traumas felt brutal and raws, characters being hurt so much. It is featuring a very unhealthy relationships with some elements that could be triggering and the last arc could definitely have been handled better, however the wild ride the story takes you on is worth it !
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Got super boring : disappointing jiejie-didi romance
Unfortunately, I had some issues / things that interested me less with the way the series was written : the double timeline removed a big part of the angst and thrills from start...then it started to get boring to me even more until the last 6 episodes which I had trouble to finish.Best part of the serie was the set up, the beginning with them getting to know each other, the jiejie-didi relationship. However then I truly had issues with how the couple got together : it felt too fast paced and anticlimactic. Overall what I liked the most was when they were not yet in couple, so that's a bit a downer for a rom-com...there were also big pacing issues...We got so many fillers scenes/episodes towards the end.
I would not recommend this to people as I feel there are better older woman - younger man romance out there.
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The swoony romance made me forgive a lot
The romance in this drama took me by surprise by how swoonworthy it was. The episodes 1 to 16 were simply amazing with some of the most butterflies inducing scenes I have seen in dramaland. I will definitely remember it for a long time. I must admit that the second part of the series was less good with some noble idiocy trope that I wish could have been avoided. However, even if this is one of my pet peeve, I had much more leniency for the main lead that I would usually have...Proof that I was completely smitten by He Yu. Indeed, I totally fell under the actor's charm.I am not sure that I would have loved as much the main lead as a character if he would have been played by a less charming actor, the role was reaĺly swoony but also kinda reckless and selfish, even when doing things to "protect" the heroine. He did understand stuff by the end and still was amazing in many romantics scenes but still, I know that I would have probably nitpicked much more usually. The combo of fighter / car racer / obsessed gege was definitely the winning combination to make me forgive everything.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a swoony romance and that do not mind noble idiocy.
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A family story around Tapei night market
This movie grabbed my attention thanks to its original storytelling and filmmaking as we follow 3 generation of women/girls from the same family : mother - sister - daughter, adult - young adult/teen - kid, it is fascinating to see their interactions as they are resetting their life in Tapei night market.The market (and Tapei) are characters in itself. The way the director is filming it, so buzzy with noise and people feels super real. There are a lot of interesting scenes where the camera put itself at the level of the 5 years old daughter navigating the bustling with life market that are truly immersive. It just feel real and raw at so many levels.
Acting was quite good with the young actress Nina Yeh making an excellent job as the adorable 5 year old daughter. Ma Shih Yuan and Janel Tsai complete the family in a very believable way. You feel the love, the rebellion, the fights and the disappointments in their relationships.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a familial movie which rather than leaning on the wholesome aspect goes into greyer sides of poor & women-only family.
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Youthful and sweet : loved the friendship aspect
This high school BL is quite classical in its storyline : it is all about the budding romance between introverted Hioki Asahi and popular Watarai Tsukasa that start with a school trip in the beginning of their second year of high school. They go together through all the cliche milestones of Japanese school romance but it is done in such a lovely way that it hits all the marks.The romance was really cute and fluffy : it was a very appeasing watch, devoid of angst and full of green flags. What I loved the most was the group friendship : seeing introverted hero grow in his own skin and feel comfortable with those seemingly unapproachable "F4-type" guys was really satisfying. I loved how the friends acted regarding the main couple romance, it was a breath of fresh air to see them all so open and cool about it.
Acting-wise, I particularly liked Fujimoto Kodai who played Hioki Asahi. He acted well the innocent side of his character with his relatable inner voice. Sometimes that kind of role can be annoying but here, he really found a nice balance, never feeling too weak or wishy-washy. I have more mixed feelings with Kan Hideyoshi who plays Watarai Tsukasa. Sometimes, his fixed glaring eyes on Hioki felt more unsettling than lover like (even if I guess he was aiming for obsessive vibe, it felt a bit forced). Chemistry was alright but not amazing, most of the story is very platonic in itself and sweet but I wish the steam would have been increased as the relationship progressed rather than remaining at a very mild temperature level. Not necessarily because I wanted NSWF scenes but I think the progression on the way they looked at each other peaked a bit too soon and that it never really leveled up as the story progressed.
I enjoyed overall the production value, it was quite standard for high school romance dramas. I liked a lot the opening generic song from DXTEEN, such a earworm.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a sweet high school BL. It is cute and fluffly, while very classical in its story, it hits the right marks and provide a satisfactory viewing experience.
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Lengthy but quite entertaining overall
Even if not produced by the same company, this survival show is clearly inspired by the various "Produce" show. There are a couple of twists but overall it is pretty similar in the way it dedicates a solid chunk of time on the participants and the relationships with each other around practices and challenges, as well as during the elimination announcements with extra "filler" content showing the guys playing games and interacting.The show started with a whooping amount of participants : 200 guys with a vast difference in terms of skills and training. The audition part was really fun and served to skim off half of the number, allowing the viewer to focus on a more manageable size of candidates. I really enjoyed the cas t : some participants were known to me from other survival show but I appreciated to see them under a new light, while some were totally fresh faces. I also liked a lot the coaches (again some I liked already from other shows), they felt all invested and committed to the program and providing advice to the participants without artificial meanness to foster drama. Lee Soo Hyuk, acting as the MC of the show, did also a solid job with his soulful voice and gravita while seeming genuinely interested in the young talents and creating a nice soothing atmosphere for the cast.
Despite all of those positives, pacing and episodes length could definitely be improved. The survival announcement episodes as well as the final arc leading to the finale, the finale in itself were ultra long ! Do we really needed a +4 hours finale ? I don't think so. Other than that, the first half of the survival was the best part with all of the teams "arrangements" formed for each missions but it could have been more innovative in the concept itself and the last part definitely copy-pasted the "Produce" way of doing it, letting the concept of "assembly" feel more like a gimmick than something truly influential. Contrary to some survival shows, the performances were good but not that memorable to me, with very few I would rewatch even if I did enjoy the overall show and the outcome of it.
I would recommend this to people that like survival shows. The participants are really likeable and the storytelling is good without too much artificial drama nor evil edit. It is a pretty lengthy show that require quite a bit of time commitment because of the duration of the episodes and just the sheer amount of candidates. If you are nostalgic of the "old school" Produce shows, you might definitely want to check it out.
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More episodes were needed to conclude properly
This dance survival show from Mnet features dancers specialized in either Contemporary Dance, Ballet or Korean traditional Dance, all three genres rarely showcased in that kind of competitive program.The beginning with the auditions and ranking of the participants, each showcasing specific techniques from their respective genre, was really enthralling. Even if I wish there would have been more focus on relationship and personnality, I still was able to discover enough of the participants to get some favorites dancers I rooted for during the competition and I found super interesting how the techniques were evaluated by the various judges.
Despite having a quite good cast with the dancers, the bad pacing of the various arcs of the competition, as well as the way the format evolved to reach a very anticlimactic conclusion, really undermined my enthusiasm for the series and made it difficult for me to want to finish it. The last challenges felt short compared to the beginning ones and I got almost the feeling that the show was cut short. Instead of spending so much time on survival annoucement, I wish the storytelling would have focus more on the relationships, team work and practice.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a dance survival program featuring rarely seen genres. Despite the bad pacing, boring announcement episodes and the anticlimactic finale, there are some beautiful performances that are worth a watch.
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Twisted family, twisted relationships
This short movie managed to do a lot over the course of 21 minutes. The story in itself was intriguing with the "eleventh" brother of a really dysfonctional family. I think there is enough content in this interesting premise to make a full fleshed series or movie about it. There is for sure definitely a part of me that wish it would have been longer, even if I like the grey area and the flow of thoughts the ending left me with.Casting was alright, nothing outstanding if I'm honest but nothing too detrimental to the story itself as well. The production felt of course super indie and the music did not leave me a strong lasting impression as it was pretty much absent from the movie.
I would recommend this to people that enjoy short movie and psychological titles. Far from being a classic BL romance, it is more about mystery and dysfunctional family and worth 21 minutes of time despite its flaws.
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Gripping intro, felt repetitive and flat halfway through
After a compelling introduction and exciting first arc, the series fell apart. Scenario started to feel more and more repetitive, plot armor more annoying, dynamics between good guys and bad guys shifted but in a way that felt uncompelling and not deserved. Overall the drama got draggy and felt lacking. I'm left to wonder if the series could have been better under a 8 episodes format, with a tighter scenario.Throughout the series, the most interesting character was An Yo Han, played by D.O with his insane relationship with his governess played by Jo Yoon Soo. The dynamic between both characters would have deserved more screentime. Overall, casting was good and Ji Chang Wook did a great job as this hero seeking revenge and having great fight scenes. It is clearly in his wheelhouse and he nailed it. D.O. also raise to the occasion and performed incredibly well and in a chilling manner his machiavelic role.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a revenge action thriller. The beginning is amazing and if I am disappointed by how the second half went through, I feel if you are a fan of Ji Chang Wook and/or D.O, it is worth a shot to watch their performances.
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Cute but...not really memorable
I quite enjoyed this movie which features high-schoolers in the 90's navigating friendship and romance. The overall vibe is vibrant and fun, with the heroine being a very lovable character. If I enjoyed the period era in which the movie is set up, I had trouble believing in the heroine "ugly duck" problem with her hair as she was just peak adorable.Acting was good with Shin Eun Soo shining in her female lead role but unfortunately, I felt that the main male lead role was miscast. Gong Myung acting was alright but clearly I could not buy him as a high school student, even one repeating a year. That gap between the cast and the story was a bit an hinderance in my appreciation of the romance, even if there were a lot of sweet moments.
I would recommend this to people looking for a sweet 90's youth rom-com. It is not very deep for sure and it did not leave me with a strong lasting impression but I had a good time watching it despite thinking the main lead was a bit of a miscast.
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Same flaws as part 1 but worse because of the liberties taken with the source material
If part one was disappointing, part 2 was worse. There were some differences with the source material that really further impacted negatively the overall interest of the story.I was glad they avoided the childhood connection trope but truly disappointed at how they handled the Sun Ho (aka Kanda Shun) and Seo Joon (aka Igarashi Yu) storyline. The band twist did not work as well as what happened to their bandmate. It dramatically reduced the stakes of their relationship, and I would truly have preferred they went the idol road, like in the source material.
There were other poor scenaristic choices : all the storyline around Kanda Shun mother did not work, especially because of the clunky acting of Watanabe Keisuke who had chemistry with no one, making neither the romance nor the bromance work nor the painful family aspect. The way they concluded the romance was also a mistake in my opinion...The many writing issues, combined with poor acting and mediocre chemistry, really made the second part of this adaptation annoying to watch.
I would not recommend this to people as I don't like how they dumbed down the plot...Not saying that the source material was without flaw but I think it was an error to adjust the background stories of the male lead and the second male lead. Unfortunately, the heroine felt so bland that I struggle to find anything worth mentionning regarding the character. To be transparent, I am influenced by what I know from the original material and from the South Korean drama, if you haven't seen / read it, maybe you will appreciate it more than I, without the disappointment factor.
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