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Low budget BL with unhinged Didi obsessed by his adoptive Gege : poorly produced & written
Let's start with the few positives : I enjoyed a lot Liu Xuan Cheng playing the role of an adopted little brother, madly in love with his big brother....He is super charismatic and I'm looking forward to see him in more roles. The series was very short and despite its numerous flaws, I was never bored. Its bite-sized format made it a very easy weekly watch. That's about it.The production is really bad : the budget is seemingly inexisting so I cannot fully blame the production crew. However, there are some huge issues : the dubbing is just atrocious and worsen over time, the whole sound layering is really not well made, you truly feel the sound is not connected to the scenes played on screen. There are some fight scenes or others where characters are being hurt that are just school drama play level and laughable... The acting is difficult to judge : it is really a mixed bag, with the bad dubbing and script not helping at all.
I would definitely not recommend it unless you are a huge fan of toxic obsessive relationship between brothers and don't mind chopped editing and very low production value. Its ending also kind of left the viewer hanging, with no resolution brought to anything, in a pretty frustrating way. It is super short, so you might want to give it a shot to see the train wreck. Having said that, if there is a season 2 (which I truly doubt), I will likely watch it to get to the bottom of the story. If you want to watch series that handled thousand times better a similar premise, you can definitely give a shot to "Unknown" and "Stay With Me".
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Very bingeable and gripping series ! Loved the friendship and the growth!
This very bingeable series took me by surprise. I was not expecting that intricate level of psychology and mind games from what started as a pretty classical bullying story, between rich and poor high schoolers. But once the Pyramid Game revealed itself : I was hooked ! The friendship between some of the girls was the most memorable part of the series. There was a lot of variety in the characters and their motivations, it never felt repetitive.Where the writing hit the hardest was on putting the focus on the bystanders, sharing the blame not only on the active bully but on the herd mentality that can be so damn damaging. If the script sometimes felt a bit bland for the adult characters, it really stood out in highlighting the relationships between the teens, with all the social dynamics and the hierarchy and power imbalance at play. Despite wishing for a longer epilogue, I enjoyed the conclusion, the pay off of the story made a lot of sense.
The ensemble cast did a very good job. I got very attached to Myung Ja Eun, portrayed by Ryu Da In. This character was incredibly touching, being a mix of good heart and social awkwardness. Despite her being so heavily bullied and ostracized, she managed to build bridge with the heroine Seong Su Ji (played by Bona) and the external world.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for an angsty school drama. If you enjoy psychological thriller, I feel this is a great pick. It is a quite short series, well paced. Once you start, you are in for a brutal ride!
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Impressive cinematography, too short for the romantic relationships to really feel fully fleshed out
Full disclosure, I have not seen the South Korean drama nor read the Webtoon from which this Japanese series is an adaptation. Nevertheless (no pun intended), I did like it for what it was : a beautiful visual object with an enticing soundtrack and a masterfully lighting work. I also relished in the way the drama showcased various art styles as the background of the story is at an Art College. The opening generic of the episodes is in itself a beautifully crafted piece as well.Is it a bit more appearance than substance ? Maybe but the series features various relationship with interesting romantic storylines. Some relationship as well as character background do not feel as fully fleshed out as I would have wanted...Which I can only assume might be linked to the fact that adapting in only 8 episodes of 30 minutes a South Korean drama of 10 episodes of more than 1 hour is revealing to be an arduous task.
The pacing felt rather slow despite all the beats of the various storylines being hit quite quickly. I did not hate though that slow feeling and almost languid camera work because it felt like a purposeful directing choice. Acting was overall pretty good, especially Yokohama Ryusei whom I found particularly mesmerizing in his role. Cast acted well in a nuanced manner, even if I wish that the intensity level and emotions would have been pushed higher for some scenes.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for an artsy series more atmospheric than plot-driven. It is beautifully made even if I wish the story in itself felt more complete and written in a more gripping way.
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A not needed sequel, less thrilling than S1
To be honest, I was part of the people that find that season 1 of Squid Game was enough by itself and did not warrant a continuation. However, I still decided to watch the season 2 to see what it was about. Overall, I have the same take away than for the original show: great production value but some flaws in the writing and pacing. There is also of course less of an effect of surprise and an impact that when season 1 was released, as the concept is not new anymore.The ensemble cast remains solid. There a couple of actors that I found were a bit overplaying their roles : T.O.P (as the rapper) and Chae Gook Hee (as the shaman) were clearly doing too much in a almost caricatural way. But there were also a couple of great addition to the cast that did an excellent job in portraying their characters, giving them layers that I think were not necessarily detailed by the script: Kang Ha Neul, Yim Si Wan and Park Sung Hoon.
Production value is impressive. There is a clear cinematography that leaves an impact with the gore and bloody details on top of colorful and childish decors. The soundtrack was quite good in fitting with the angsty vibe of the story.
I would recommend this to people if you have seen the first season of course. I think this season 2 is beneath season 1 but it seems also to be just an introduction to season 3 which I hope will be reaping the benefits of all what's established by the season 2. The production value is still very impressive, there are some ups and downs in terms of writing with less effect of surprise and a filler side quest out of the game.
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Fun and cute travel short show to see again the cast of His Man Season 2
This special show (cut in 6 small episodes of about 12 minutes) features the cast of His Man Season 2 in a format similar(but much simpler and with clearly less budget) to the TV show "1 Night 2 Days" as they all go somewhere for about 2 days and spend the night together.The production value is quite low but the atmosphere among the cast, the good vibes and honestly the pleasure to find them all back together is really satisfying. My favorite couple from the whole dating show is there and they are for sure as lovable as when we discovered them. The poor guys seems to be destined to freeze when filming as they travel during winter times, but at least the weather and activities provide to the viewer a sweet nostalgia throwback.
I would recommend this to people that enjoyed His Man Season 2. Do not expect anything deep, just fun fluff moments between the cast members with not a lot of production. The friendship between the participants feels real, cute and wholesome.
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Creepy cautionary tale about smartphone power, quite thrilling despite some scenario flaws
I liked a lot this thriller about a woman stalked through her smartphone. It is clearly a creepy cautionary tale about the power that have smartphone upon the life of most people and how dangerous it is when somebody get a hold on your personal data and what you do on internet.The premise is really interesting and I wish they would have taken the societal criticism even deeper. It remains pretty on surface of what it is trying to say about society as the scenario put the focus much more on the villain than on the social dynamics. I loved the pacing of the story in its first half, you can feel the anxiety crippling as the heroine gets deeper into the trap set for her. However, I think the second half of the story could have benefited from a better rhythm. It was thrilling but some actions taken by the characters lacked logic.
I found the acting solid: especially Yim Si Wan who does a really commendable job carrying the plot. I'm pretty sure that with a less gifted actor, the scenario would have felt much flatter. He brought a huge range of emotions to his part, making the character he played complex and multi-layered despite the scenario being quite open and vague regarding his motivations. It is my first time watching him in a main role and I will be for sure digging into his filmography for more. Similarly, I'm quite impressed by Chun Woo Hee acting. I thought she acted beyond what the scenario was offering her.
The production was good. I particularly enjoyed the opening sequence with the phone being the window into the life of the heroine. It was super efficient into conveying the point of the movie. The music did not left a lasting impression on me but was appropriate for the angsty thematic.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a thriller supported by good acting. It is pretty horrific in some way as it is centered around a very prominent feature in most humans modern life: the smartphones. It is a quite violent movie, so be mindful if you have any trigger.
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Liked the insomnia / sleeping concept, they should have exploited it more
This sweet sport BL set in university was not memorable but still super cute. I liked the insomnia topic and the solution found to it, it led to very charming scenes between the two main characters. The story is not very deep nor intricate, just a simple and relaxing watch. The flashbacks were incorporated in the right way to make the viewer really curious about what happened between the characters.Chemistry-wise there were some good points between the male leads but overall it felt a bit too timid. Especially given the fact that both the sport and the sleeping concepts could lead to a lot of skinship, it was not exploited enough. Same for the kisses, it was very tame. The secondary characters also were totally bland.
Despite the fact that I liked the snippets of the OST spread through the series, it felt very strange in the way those were edited. The music feeling both too overpowering and on the nose at many moments while leaving me at other points with the impression there was not enough time to listen to it for the songs I liked...It was quite jarring and strange. Other than that, I found the rain sequences and summery vibe enjoyable.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a short and sweet BL in a university setting with some sport element. It is cute but not really memorable and I think they could have done better in terms of chemistry as well as exploiting the insomnia/sleeping concept that led to some charming scenes.
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Artsy and unfathomable Chinese thriller - will leave you pondering
This Chinese thriller is centered around Detective Ma Zhe as he investigates a series of murders that happened in a rural area nearby a river in 1995. It is not a typical "Who's done it?" mystery as it focus much more on psychological aspects (with some quite crazy / feverish scenes) and an unreliable narrator... The spectator is left to ponder about the resolution of the mystery. I'm unsure if I enjoyed the film or if I am more perplexed by how to interpret it. I also think pacing could have been better.Acting was good. Especially the performance of Zhu Yi Long who brought a lot of gravitas to his role. I personally enjoyed as well the actor playing the sidekick of our main detective. His role was a much needed relief to the overall pressure felt by the main character in his resolve to find out the truth.
Filmmaking is properly impressive as it clearly makes the viewer feel that the movie is shoot in the 1990s. The dark colors, the gloomy atmosphere of the story under a lot of rain contribute tremendously to the heaviness and almost thickness of the unfathomable plot. The background music with a lot of classical tunes has a melancholic vibe properly fitting the story.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a thriller supported by good filmmaking and acting. It features rural China in the 1990s and is quite dark with the scenario deeply rooted in exploring the darkest aspects of people in small town. If you enjoyed series like "Mare of Easttown", you will likely enjoy it. However, there is a part of frustration bounded to the resolution of the mystery as it left a lot to the viewer's interpretation.
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So much more than a romance: poetic and beautifully filmed <3
This movie showcases an amazing story, pretty deep and far from a conventional sweet romance. As I never read synopsis, I had no idea from looking at just the title and the poster how raw and pure the story was going to be. It exceeded my expectations on a lot of aspects as it is a powerful tale featuring captivating characters developing a strong and beautiful relationship, bounded through their inner and external wounds. It is gut-wrenching and I was on the edge of my seat towards the end.The pace of the story was pretty good in setting up the characters, the relationships as well as what's at stake in their lives. The last arc is truly compelling and I just wish they would have given even more time to the ending...But that's likely me being greedy.
I was totally impressed by the acting. I picked up this movie because of Yamada Ryosuke which I did not see since a while on my screen. I found his acting very convincing. He really worked on his micro-expressions and was able to emote really well. I am honestly so astonished on how good he has become. His chemistry with Hamabe Minami was also very credible.
The sounds are super important in this film: it is the music, the voices, the light noises that are the driving strength of the story...from the beginning into the conclusion. The filmmaking is truly beautiful, there are some pretty brutal sequences and you feel in your gut the pain of the characters. There are also some really pretty and poetic moments.
I would strongly recommend this to people looking for a deeply romantic and lyrical tale. Do not expect sweet and fluffy romance here, that is not the point of the story. It is for sure highly rewatchable for the acting and cinematography itself that bring out the best of this poetic and gut-wrenching story full of sensibility.
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Too bad the storytelling around the stakes and the editing hindered my enjoyement
I was quite disappointed by this action movie. More specifically because the most interesting aspect of the plot (with the submarine scenes, all involving a deep and gutwrenching psychological aspect) is only coming up past the 2/3 of the movie. I'm left to wonder if I would not have appreciated much more the film if it had been edited in another way around rather than creating a false suspense regarding the identity of the antagonist.The performance of the casting was overall good but not stellar. At the end, surprisingly enough, it is two of the guest roles (played by Cha Eun Woo and Lee Min Ki) that grabbed the most my attention. I wish that Lee Jong Suk would have been given a bit more room to shine and do more in terms of dialog as well as characterization. Once again, maybe a different edit of the story would have allowed to have much more powerful stakes for the story.
Regarding the production value, it was pretty good. There are some rather thrilling action sequences and good ideas in terms of directing. There are a lof of variety in the dangerous situations faced by the main protagonists. The soundtrack is quite absent from the movie, not that memorable but there is a pretty sorrowful song that I enjoyed during the ending generic.
I would not necessarily recommend this to people as I did not particularily enjoyed my watch. My main issue with the film is coming from the scenario and the way the story is building up the characters. I did not manage to engage with the main roles and in an action movie, rooting for the good guys and understanding from where they are coming from is critical to really get me invested and care about the story. Here, I started to care much too late and felt that the 2/3 of the movie was not as exciting as I would have wished.
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Loved the intention of the story, the main actors chemistry...A bit too short to conclude solidly
A bitter sweet BL story where two former high school lovers meet again in their thirties after breaking up in quite ambiguous circumstances. I truly enjoyed the intention behind the script: to go from the nostalgia and bitterness of young love to the passion and uncertainty of love at adulthood.Given the short duration of the series, I felt the scenario managed to accomplish a lot in the development of the relationship, at least until its last episode where I felt the resolution of the external conflict a bit too easy. I would have prefer they kept the issue and evolution mainly internal to the couple because there were clearly not enough time to conclude properly on what felt as a last minute external obstacle.
I liked a lot the two main actors as well as their younger selfs counterparts. I found both iterations of the couple had great and palpable chemistry. The secondary roles were less convincing to me, they were either transparent (e.g. the office coworkers) or too caricatural (e.g. the "antagonists/rivals").
I enjoyed the original soundtrack, it was very slice-of-life, not that original but very pleasant and completely fitting the story. The production was quite standard for the genre with not a lot of variety in the sets and decors. There was obviously not that much budget but it was not detrimental to the storytelling.
I would recommend this to people looking for an adult BL story, which manage to bring together an innocent youth love with a mature romance when they reunite. It is a bit of shame that the last conflict and the conclusion are less solid than the introduction and middle part of the series but it is overall a very enjoyable watch.
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Uninspired BL movie: banal story + bad acting
This BL movie depicts a quite banal romance. It had some cute moments but honestly I could not get behind the romance. I felt no chemistry and I really think the way they set up the romantic elements make it difficult to support it. Too much "destiny" stuff preventing any real character development. Destiny is pushing them together (-at least we are told so) but there is not much else there to show why they would develop mutual romantic feelings. It feel very surface level despite the fact that the film address some concern faced by the protagonists regarding their sexuality and their acceptance within society.Unfortunately, the actors skills are pretty weak. Most of the dialogs felt super flat though strangely enough, there are also so many over-the-top and overacting moments. I cringed at so many scenes, which I am pretty sure was really not the purpose.
The production value was overall ok, it felt like your standard / middle-of-the-road high school series. The saving grace of the movie was a couple of songs sang by one of the main character. It was nice without being very remarkable.
I would not recommend this to people as there are much better BL highschool romance out there. It is only the second production from Philippines I watch and I must say that so far, I'm not convinced about what I have seen. I still want to discover more from this country because I think I might just be not lucky so far with my picks.
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Wei Wu Xian and Lan Wang Ji stole a place in my heart ~~~
The story is beautifully built. Each of the narrative arc is interesting not only for the storylines but as well because they participate so much to characters development. There are a lot of clues spreaded through the script that results in highly satisfying payoff. The characters are very well written: they remain consistent during the whole saga and their motivations and actions make sense, which given the length of the show is quite an achievement in itself. The pace of the series was very good, you feel immediately compelled to watch the next episode. There might have been a bit of overexplanation scenes toward the end (it can feel slighlty repetitive, especially if you guessed some of the revelations like I did)...But at the same time the ending offers so many rewarding and great moments for the viewer that I was really happy with it.The acting was really good. Especially regarding the actors playing the central protagonists: Wei Wu Xian and Lan Wang Ji. Wei Wu Xian was my favorite character and Xiao Zhan portrayed him with a lot of charm, candor and charisma...The variety in his acting game really seduced me. Wang Yi Bo who portrayed Lan Wang Ji had a difficult job as his character is very cold/reserved but he managed to do a lot in terms of micro-expression and you can see the evolution of his character as the series progresses. The secondary cast was also very convicing in incarnating the support roles (such asJiang Cheng, Jiang Lan Yi, Wen Ning...so many interesting parts who shined through with amazing and emotional scenes.) Overall, the ensemble cast was very good with maybe some weaklinks on a few very secondary roles.
The production value was good but lacked in some way. I'm probably nipicking because I loved this series very much but I truly wish they had a bigger budget for some scenes (the battles ones), the fights in small numbers were good and special effect were okay in overall. But clearly there were some obvious limitation when showing scenes in an impactful / big picture way, the grandiosity was not there (or at least not as much as I feel the story deserved). I wish the special effect make up would have been much better because it was frankly not good. The music was lovely: mainly the musical themes, as some of the characters plays instruments to fight, the soundtrack theme was of utmost importance. It was very nice and pretty.
I would strongly recommend this to people looking for an historical saga splendidly built, with amazing characters and relationship developments as well as some great acting. It is an adaptation of a Chinese BL novel (which I have not read -yet) and despite the censorship in China regarding those, they manage quite successfully to make the viewer understand the subtext behind some of the relationships.
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This drama is like catnip to me <3 Love it !!! I'm emotional thinking back about it...
This excellent BL series really brought me a lot of feelings and emotions. The thematics approached in it resonnated so much with me...It contains tropes I love (in particular a fantastical element with the virtual reality/game aspect) and I really enjoyed so much watching this series. Because I'm greedy sometimes, I wish it would have been longer but it has a very good duration when comparing to most Korean BL I have seen.The casting was very good. I believed in the different friendships and bounds forming. The romantic scenes were amazing and honestly I am still a bit sentimental thinking back about them just after finishing the series. The main characters had a lot of emotional bagage to carry and the actors really portrayed convincingly the broken parts of their roles. The evolution of their relationship felt very natural and organic from both sides. Both main male leads did an excellent job but I must say that Lee Tae Vin is the one who impressed me the most...He succeded in playing with many layers and I hope to see in in more dramas.
The soundtrack was really good, it had a KPOP vibe that I usually enjoy and really brought a great energy to the overall series. I enjoyed as well the filmmaking. I do think they made the most with seemingly a limited budget. There were some really strikingingly beautifully filmed moments (especially some of the most romantic scenes).
I would recommend this strongly to people looking for a Youth BL, it is very fluffy but at the same time deeper than it appears. It is an healing watch that will brought you all the feels. If you enjoyed "Our Dating Sim", I really think this one might win you heart as well. It left me with such a lasting impression on me and I will gladly rewatch it <3.
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Despite its short length, this series still felt like a loss of time...
This short length series (26 episodes for a total duration of 3h42 minutes) follows the relationship between Yan Zhen (acting as CEO of the company instead of her husband who mysteriously disappeared while trying to invesigate some corporate issue) and Chu Ze An, the twin of her lost spouse. Does it sound bonker but interesting with a lot of soap elements ? Yes. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy my time watching this series, the writer chose the safest and blankest way to develop the plot.I wish they went crazy with it but sadly enough, it remained all along very timid and safe...In addition to that, none of the choices made by the characters made a lot of sense...All their issues could have been resolved much more efficiently, the scenario makes a point to tell us how smart they are, but honestly their actions are dumb most of the time...I must admit that the heroine is the smartest of them all, so it alleviated a bit my frustration with the scenario.
The acting was very bad. There were so many "WTF" moments where the actors almost did not react...I did not feel the chemistry between the leads and separately they were not able to carry any of the dramatic moments. I know they were not helped at all by the writing but I wish they would have at least made some minimal effort to emote any kind of believable emotions...They were really generic all along the series. The secondary roles were not portrayed in a more inspired way and the actors playing them had also what felt as limited acting chops.
The production value was average at best, which I expected given the short lenght series format. The soundtrack was pretty nice, a bit repetitive and overpowering given the length of the episodes but overall probably the best part of the series.
I would not recommend this to people as there are much better dramas out there. Even if you are looking for some soap, brainless series to just entertain yourself, there are for sure more fun and better things to watch. It felt like a loss of time, the story was really uninspired, boring and overall badly acted.
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