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Lee Joon Gi in this era of his career will always make my heart flutters ~~~~
A nice romantic movie, mixing both Korean and Japanese language as the main lead is a South Korean student moving in Kyoto with his father and the female lead is a Japanese student. I really liked the way the movie makes the two culture meet, the way the two characters are reaching to each other despite not speaking the same language.To be honest, I am not sure that I would have enjoyed as much the movie if Lee Joon Gi was not playing the main protagonist. His looks in his era brought so much sweet nostalgia to me that I could not help to be totally swooning at every romantic gesture he made. That man can emote for sure !!!! Miyazaki Aoi was a good counterpart to him, maybe not on the same level in terms of emoting but at the same time she was playing a rather quiet and shy character.
The production was really lovely as the movie takes you on a journey of discovering Tokyo. The viewer see the city through the main lead's eyes and it is really good.
I would recommend this movie to people that are looking for a romance mixing culture and that will take you into a discovery of Tokyo. If you are a fan of Lee Joon Gi, I think it is a must watch for sure. I feel that the overall arc of the romance could have been better but it was still satisfying.
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Not my cup of tea : it went above my head
The story is very simple but I think the title of the YouTube English subtitled video for this short movie spoils a bit what might have been left as an interrogation point for the viewer. Not sure what were the intention of the writer regarding that aspect of the story. Overall, it is a gloomy and dramatic story which did not really interested me.The internal voice of the main character was I think supposed to be poetic with a juxtaposition of saxophone and piano music. But it absolutely did not work for me. I felt totally detached of what was happening on screen and what the character was saying.
I would not recommend this to people. I found the story pretty bleak. It is a very short movie of 13 minutes, so you might want to give it a shot and make your own opinion on it.
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Some excellent ideas not developed enough, I could not connect to the acting
The premise of this series is great : the news get public that an asteroid is estimated to hit Earth in 10 days, wiping the human race. With this imminent threat on the life of the characters, the stakes could not be higher. It leads as well to some self reflection on what to do when all hope seem lost. What would you do if you had only 10 days left on Earth in a context where it is the same fate for everyone ?Despite this excellent plot idea, I unfortunately was unable to connect with the acting. Most of the emotional scenes felt quite cringy...The main issue for me is that I found both main leads really unlikeable. I could not manage to get invested in them and their relationship. The acting I resonated the least was done by Seto Toshiki playing Nishina Masumi, the hero that as the viewer your are supposed to empathize with and support. I just could not do it !
The production value was okay overall. Some nice sets in nature but also some special effects sequence that felt a bit cheap. The soundtrack was alright with a really nice song which might have felt a bit repetitive at some point if I'm honest.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a very different kind of BL story. Given the fact I found the context in which the characters evolve super interesting, I was in overall disappointed by the drama. I felt the writing did not exploit well enough the doomsday setting. The ending felt also a bit like a cope out even if I understand why it concludes that way. My main issue is with the acting as well as the writing of the main characters. It prevented me to empathize and support the characters as well as to connect with the emotional scenes who felt cringy.
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Less good than season 1, felt a bit monotonous at some point
I found this season 2 of the Physical 100 show that put in competition 100 candidates in top physical shapes less exciting than its 1 season. It might be linked to the fact that the novelty effect from the first season is not there anymore and there are some aspects relating to the mechanics of the show that are repetitive. Some of the challenges get monotonous and lack variety.The production value though is very good: the set up of the challenge, the industrial set in which the contestants are evolving led to a lot of impactful images. The way the camera film the physical exploits is also very good. I wish we get to know better the participants in between the challenges. It felt lacking in terms of interactions. Other than a few famous faces from the South Korean grand public that the production seemed to advantage in terms of screen time, there are very few participants that made a lasting impression on me.
I would recommend this to people that enjoyed the first season. It is less good in my opinion and I hope they will improve for season 3 on the elements that were a bit lacking.
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As I love the group that debuted thanks to &Audition, I had to rewatch it again this year <3
This survival show released on YouTube in 2022 has for objective to launch the first Japanese Boy group of HYBE Labels Japan. It can be seen as a Japanese sequel of the South Korean survival show "I-Land" (which aired in 2020 with Enhypen being the resulting debut boy group at the time). Indeed, the competition includes 4 former participants from the prequel who did not debut at the time and who are now participating in the program as part of the debut group. During "&Audition - The Howling", those 4 members already part of the debut group will be working in team with 11 other trainees. Some of the trainees will be able to debut with the 4 members as part of the new group.Casting-wise, I was super happy to find back the 4 former participants from "I-Land". I absolutely adored one of them and I grow to love a lot the 3 others. It was also particularly satisfying to know that those 4 will be debuting in any case and that the objective of the program was more to complete the group with additional trainees than to make those guys suffer once again. The program leaves the room open for the group to not debut at all if the team formed is not strong enough (at the appreciation of the producers). But honestly, this threat does not seem very credible and the level of angst is low regarding the future of those 4 participants, which I appreciated.
Regarding the 11 trainees, their future is much more uncertain as the number of members being part of the group is not known at first and it seems unlikely that they can all debut with the already selected 4 members. I found them overall quite likeable, I had some favorites such as Yuma, Harua, Gaku and Hikaru while some others did not leave a very strong lasting first impression on me. It is mainly due to the fact that the episodes are quite short overall, with the focus being on performances and teamwork but not necessarily in highlighting individuals talent and characters. There are very few storylines and the drama is kept at a minimal level with no fight between the participants.
Regarding the missions itself, I don't have necessarily performances that I would want to rewatch a lot (maximum a couple of those) but I enjoyed them as well as the original songs and covers they did (most being HYBE songs of course). I also liked the few cameos we had from other HYBE groups members. Some appearances felt a bit forced and artificial, but I appreciated it in any case. The Japanese judges were also part of the team training the candidates and if at first they felt a bit cold to me, by the end it was obvious how much they liked and cared for the boys, which was really touching.
I would recommend this to people that enjoy survival show with relatively lower stake and drama. There is still candidates eliminated as well as difficult to understand voting rules. But overall, no real evil edit and if you liked in "I-Land" some of the cast members, it is very pleasant to find them back here. Obviously, if you are a fan of the group that has debuted from &Audition, this survival show is a must watch to see how the group was created and witness their first interactions and performances together.
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Felt like the trailer for a cute GL Chinese historical and fantasy drama - they should make it
It is a super short movie (3 minutes !) that almost feel like a trailer for a cute GL Chinese historical and fantasy drama. Of course, given the short length, it felt a bit disjointed, but the compilation of scenes was enough to give a very good idea of relationship arc between a Fox demon and a Priestess and what could be a series around them.I would recommend this to people that are looking for a cute short (very short - 3 minutes) bite of GL Chinese historical and fantasy drama. I'm left to wish they would make it into a full length series because there is a lot of potential in the relationship featured between a Fox demon and a Priestess.
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A short queer story : interesting point of view but too short to really leave a memorable impression
This very short movie (a bit more of 15 minutes excluding the outro generic) is centered around a delivery guy from a Chinese restaurant who has a crush on one of his customer.The story shows in snippets of life experience of the main character how difficult it is to be gay and accepted in South Korea. The intentions are good but it is too short to really get deep into the discrimination details and it remains at a quite superficial level. Similarly to the story, the characters are very simply brushed up, not for lack of care but rather because of lack of time to deepen them more.
I don't think the cast did a bad job but neither is it very memorable. I found the camera work quite sluggish and maybe a bit too slow, which dragged the storytelling.
I would not recommend this to people because I have seen other short films that impacted me more around similar thematic. I feel here it remains at a relatively superficial level which prevented me to really connect with the story.
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Not enjoyable, I could not get behind the rationale of the story and the unconvincing acting
It might be a case of "it's me, not you", but I did not enjoy my time watching this movie. The overall moral remains blurry, as well as the reasoning behind the action of the main villain which is a surface level antagonist. The heroine was such a let down, instead of a badass and resolute cop, she felt not in charge and completely manipulated by the bad guy from beginning to end.The cast really did not satisfy me more than the story. No idea if it is directing related, the fault of the script or simply the actors/actresses performances being average, but the acting certainly did not convince me. None of the characters were very likeable and most of the lines sounded fake and maybe it is because I was not onboarded with the plot.
The ending song was pretty good with its rock vibe but I really disliked all the church choral going on during the movie. I'm assuming it was supposed to instore a mystic aura around the main villain, but I found it super artificial and distracting. Similarly, the visual effects were really over-the-top and rather than being frightening, it gave an unrealistic feeling to the movie.
I would not recommend this to people unless you like the actors/actresses and/or the manga (which I did not read). I found the motivations behind the crimes sometimes really "light" (wanting to murder somebody because of jealousy seems a bit a strong choice) and overall the police felt completely incompetent in their job. The ending was also a let down with an unsatisfactory statu quo.
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A very sweet story between an introverted guy and cheerful girl: not revolutionary but heartfelt !
I truly enjoyed this very healing drama about the blossoming romance of Zhang Lu Rang and Su Zai Zai who met in high school. There were a lot of sincerity in the love and friendship displayed on screen and I really appreciated following the journey of the main couple (as well as their friends). The latest arc of the drama was not my favorite, it was good for rounding up the story but I'm not sure why it grabbed less my attention.The acting was satisfying. The female lead (played by Zhang Miao Yi) was such a cutie and bubbly girl that you immediately understood why the male lead (played by Zhou Yi Ran) was drawn to her. Zhou Yi Ran's character was such a green flag, he had a lot of kind attention for the heroine that really gave me butterflies in the stomach. He is really charming with his dimples and I'm looking forward to see him in other shows.
The production value was pretty nice. I loved the fact that the heroine was filming the hero and doing her own commentary on her life. It was such a nice and realistic touch which came into play several times in an interesting way. The soundtrack was good, nothing really outstanding but fitting the romantic and healing vibe of the series.
I would recommend this to people looking for a really beautiful high school romance and featuring wholesome friendships. The last arc was a bit less exciting to me but concluded properly the story. If you are looking for a romance without angst, full of green flags and little butterflies inducing moments, this is a really good drama for you !
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A 2 minutes Jollibee ad - too short for me to care
Full disclosure, I watched this as part of the MDL 2024 Challenge, otherwise it would probably never caught my eyes.There is not a lot to say : it is a Jollibee ad with an attempt at doing an emotional story set on Valentine day. I see what they tried to do but the over-the-top and thick product placement (which is the point of course as it is an ad) prevented me to connect emotionally to the story. But I must admit the ad team had the merit to try some storytelling instead of just putting up a fluffy ad. It is just I did not connect to it.
The cast did not do a bad job but it is very neutral and average overall.
I would not recommend this to people, I did not get a lot from it. Unless you are looking at it for completing a challenge, then it is just 2 minutes of your time...
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I did not exactly like it "per se" but I found it interesting
This movie is foremost a dark comedy about marriage as the main male lead Doo Hyun cannot stand living with his wife anymore but do not know how to face the situation other than being conflict avoidant. I found this premise very interesting but at the same time some of the over-the-top comedic moments mixed with some really dramatic moments did not work well with me. I did not enjoy the way the humor was set, it was a bit too absurd while trying to make it as what felt like a life lesson on marriage and relationship overall.Except the "Casanova" character that I found properly repugnant all along, the main characters (Doo Hyun, the husband and Jung In, the wife) who were really not likeable at first to me, grow on me as their story unfolded.
Despite me liking the cast (- with Lee Sun Kyun, Ryu Seung Ryong and Lee Kwang Soo being actors that I enjoy), I found the acting was bad in the most absurd and comedic scenes (especially on the side of Ryu Seung Ryong but maybe it is because I disliked strongly his "Casanova" character). Lim Soo Jung was probably the best in terms of acting and with the evolution of her character.
I found the production value pretty good, there are a couple of scenes with mouth-watering food which is always a nice bonus in my book. However, I'm not a huge fan of the soundtrack tough it clearly fulfilled its purpose at creating a certain ambiance fitting the plot of the story.
I would recommend this to people looking for a dark comedy. It is for sure not a fluffy romance and there are a lot of absurd moments that are a bit strange because of the shift in tones given the intention of the story. Despite its flaws, it has an interesting premise, so I think it is worth a watch.
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Heartbreaking and painful watch
This short movie of about 31 min. was quite heartbreaking and painful to watch. It was not bad for sure and it made me emotional in a kind of angsty and melancholic way. The "what could have been" thought and "timing is everything" life lesson are the key points of the story.It is very unlikely that I will rewatch it as it was not that enjoyable "per se" but it was evocative and thought provocative while depicting a somewhat very classical melodramatic and romantic story. The ending scene was brutal and gut wrenching.
The cast did an overall good job. Nothing really outstanding, as there were almost no dialog, I wish they had pushed even more the gazes and silent acting work. But it was suitable enough to get the feelings across.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a short movie featuring a rather melodramatic story in a library setting. Personally I found it quite painful to watch but well done for what it is trying to say.
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Hyung concept brought up a very savory flavor to the romance and made my heart flutters
This BL series of 6 episodes (which has also been released under a full length movie format) features a gripping story between two childhood friends. The "Hyung" cultural aspect gave to the drama a very savory flavor that I particularly enjoyed. I would have loved for the epilogue to be a bit longer but was overall happy with the poetry of the conclusion.I really enjoyed and believed in the chemistry between the two main actors: more specifically, I was fascinated by the infirmary scene. It was beautiful and made my heart flutters. There might be room of improvement for some of the most serious scenes but they were credible together.
The budget felt relatively low but in a quite expected way I feel for this type of production. Filmmaking was efficient in conveying the story, but not really outstanding and the overall soundtrack was quite forgettable as well.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for BL with a well executed childhood friends-to-lovers trope. Chemistry and story was good and overall 6 episodes are highly bingeable (which is expected with the original format being a movie).
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Enchanting tale, beautifully filmed and acted with a strong message despite some flaws in writing
I truly enjoyed the thematic of the series and the atypical mix of the genres the writer and director went for. I like the message of the series and the take it took regarding some of the more fantastical elements. Pacing could maybe have been a bit better and I wish the heroine would have had some stronger moments to shine like it was the case for the two other main male roles. The mystery side was pretty easy to figure out but its resolution was also satisfying.The main cast was really key in insufflating life and feelings to the story. With less talented main actors and actress, what was a magical tale could have felt very bland or at the least relatively not as fresh and original as it was. Indeed some of the storylines were pretty common for the fiction school genre and still they managed to get me invested in what was happening to the characters. In particular, Ji Chang Wook and Hwang In Youp are both excellent and took my breath away several time with gut-wrenching emotional moments. Choi Sung Eun did a good job as well but her character was less interesting to me and did not evolve enough throughout the series for me to be totally satisfied.
In addition to the acting, the overall making and soundtrack are the most impactful part of the series. There are numerous beautifully filmed and directed scenes, it is a feast for the eyes in addition to be very symbolic and elaborated tableaus. There are a couple of very memorable musical numbers and I was impressed by the singing voices of the main cast. The quality of the production is impressive, up to part with some high budget movies.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for magical tale with a tad of mystery. If you enjoy Disney animated movie, musicals pieces of cinema such as La La Land or The Greatest Showman, or even if you have some affinity for the Peter Pan fairytale, I would strongly advice you give a shot to this atypical drama.
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Dramatic & angsty romance with fantastical twist that got me hooked despite filmmaking limitation
This drama features an intricate romance intertwined with a well conceived time slip concept. I was properly captivated by the story of Huang Yu Xuan and Li Zi Wei : it was pretty dramatic, with a lot of angst and high stakes which made it an intoxicating and enchanting cocktail. The nostalgia factor was also a key aspect that got me hooked.The series is not without flaws. First, I think that even if I found the ending in overall satisfying, I wish the landing would have been smoother and better paced. I also would have appreciated a longer epilogue so that the writers get to the bottom of the time slip gap between their main characters. Second, I truly wished that the budget limitation will have felt less strong. There were quite a few time when I could not help myself to think that a better budget and filmmaking would have elevated some of the scenes to give them an even more fairytale and nostalgic vibe.
Regarding the main cast, I found them pretty good overall. I was completely under the charm of Greg Hsu (not sure if it is character or actor related but for sure he had me swooning during the whole duration of the series). The main actress had what I felt was the most complex part and she did a good job handling the various layers of the role. I honestly wish sometimes that she would have upped her acting game even more for some of the most emotional scenes but it was certainly not a deterrent to the story. I also felt that having the female lead and male lead playing high schoolers was unrealistic but at the same time, I understand that this choice was necessary for the sake of clarity in very entangled storylines.
I would recommend this to people looking for a captivating and quite dramatic romance with a fantastical twist. There is some minor writing points that I would love to be improved and I also wish they had a bigger budget for some of the sequences. But despite these few nitpicking points, it is really worth your time and will take you on an emotional and mysterious journey. I will be curious to give a shot to the other remakes of the story at some point.
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