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Interesting journey of the main character trapped in toxic relationship(s) : a wild ride!
This BL drama features the intricated relationships between Da On, a young and handsome salaryman and Seong Hyeon, Jae Min and Su Hyeon all connected differently to him. It is quite a dark series with a lot of toxicity in the various bonds between the characters themselves. The main character is trapped in his past and present feelings and there are a lot of craziness happening, which I found very exciting to follow as the story progressed.There are some strong psychological elements underlined in the scenario and I would have loved to dig further into the layers of the various characters as the series progressed. It could have been even more complex and nuanced but overall given the drama's length, I found the overall main character development and narrative around the evolution of his feelings very believable and gripping. There are a couple of elements in the storytelling and choices made by the characters that convinced me less but nothing dithering my interest for the drama as it unfolded.
The acting was quite solid, especially Kim Jun Seo who played Da On. He was the center part of the story and it is him making his character so attaching and touching that made the series so compelling to follow. Next to him, the three others actors did a good job showcasing properly real range of emotions : from sunshiny to batshit craziness. There were a few instances were I felt they were a bit strained / rigid in their acting but they all fully committed to their parts which I appreciate.
There was clearly not a huge production budget and sometimes the sets felt a bit lacking and poor. But there were some interesting ideas in terms of directing to effectively display the main focus point of the romance(s): the best metaphor for me being the scenes with the ring(s). Such a statement of what worked and what did not work in the relationship(s). The background music could also have been better, it was a bit too heavily handled on top of some scenes. I enjoyed some of the songs but I did not find any of it memorable.
I would recommend this to people looking for an intense BL featuring toxic relationships coupled with some crazy twist and turns. I wish some parts would have been developed more, and that the ending would have been as captivating as the build up to it, but overall, I think this watch is a wild ride well-worth the time.
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Enjoyed the ride but will not make it into my top favorites rom-com if I'm honest
This rom-com series features one of my favorite trope: "friends-to-lovers". I really enjoyed the romance and all the build up that was made around the main couple, they successfully managed to make convincing the shift from friendship to romance. In terms of writing, the first half of the series is the most substantial one and clearly the most heavy.There are a lot going on in the life of the various characters and I think that some stories have a strong resonating power and will not leave the viewer indifferent for sure. I enjoyed to dip my toes into slice-of-life territory with the characters but I regret also some shortcuts taken by the writing regarding some storylines. Despite that feeling, I think that pacing could have been tighter (with definitely shorter episodes) and that the overall drama could have benefited from some streamlining. I feel that the mix of genre between rom-com and slice-of-life elements could have been better balanced and spread through the duration of the series.
The acting was very good with solid chemistry from the two main leads. I really loved Jung Hae In and Jung So Min pairing, I will keep catching up on their respective works. The ensemble cast was pretty great as well: the actors and actresses playing the parents and neighbors really insufflated life in all the family background of the main characters. In terms of production and filmmaking, it is quite standard for a rom-com. I found it pretty and colorful but not really impactful. I have similar feeling regarding the OST, it is already fading away from my memory.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a rom-com with substance and good acting. If you enjoy slice-of-life stories, this might as well be a good fit for you. It is more heavy in terms of topics it approaches than the poster and title would left supposed. So if you are looking for simple fluff and light romance, it might not necessarily the one to pick. In my opinion, it is definitely worth a try despite some weaknesses in the writing.
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Poorly written and disappointing
This BL features the story of You Qi and Yang Meng, two support characters from the BL Chinese Addicted that was abruptly stopped mid run because of censorship from Chinese Government. Having said that, this drama does not feel like a real continuation of that story as we find back the two characters at adult age, after leaving them during their high school year. The series exploit a bit their past but not well enough and the hints about the previous series are too sparse to be anything more than trivial. It feels more like they capitalized on the iconic series rather than to make it cohesive.Still, the beginning of the series was quite fun, the leads had a very good chemistry with swoony and hot intimates moments. However, the writing was quite bad with a conclusion that felt very clumsy and parodic. The series was full of wild shift in tones with the comedy aspect being too much for me and making the most poignant stuff feel not as important. They approached for example the topic of discrimination for actors regarding their sexuality, before brushing it off by more over the top comedy. Similarly, the OST was also a strange mix of genre : Korean, English, Chinese balad...most overpowering what could have been emotional scenes.
I would not recommend this to people as there are definitely better BL out there. The premise of the series and the chemistry between the actors is quite good, but everything else felt a miss. The imbalance of tones, the weakness of the writing and the over the top ending brushing off a lot of things, are making it a watch I would not recommend.
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Memorable movie...even if the plot never fully reach destination
I truly loved this movie centred around 2 ballroom male dancers, one (Sugiki) being specialized in "standard dances" and the other (Suzuki) specialized in "latin dances", as their rivalry relationship evolved as they work teach each other. It is very much a characters-centric film with the main focus being on Suzuki and then Sugiki. I loved to see the ennemies-friends-to-lovers bond that formed in a very organic way, even if the reason for them to work together is a bit forced.I loved the production value, there are some memorable and impactful scenes, with the chemistry being excellent between the two main actors. Overall, the cast did a great job at emoting and at dancing and showing proper dance stances and figures. The two secondary female roles were ultra interesting and it is a bit of a shame they are not put in a more central position in the movie.
My main regret regarding this movie that I truly enjoyed is that the main characters never reach the destination of their journey. The movie never got to the 10Dance event and the other competitions felt a bit like a letdown. I also had the feeling to always watch the same kind of dances rather than the full variety of each of the style. It is understandable as the cast are not professional dancers and might not have been able to carry more challenging moves or to cope with a lot of variety in addition of showing properly emotional luggage of their characters. Still, I would not have minded a bit more of variety in the dances themselves.
I would recommend this to people looking for a ennemies-to-lovers BL with a dance twist. Despite the fact I found some elements odd or contrived for scenario purposes, the payoff was worth it for the journey that the characters are going through... Even if the destination (with the goal of the story set up from the beginning) is never really reached.
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Too predictable and bland, where is the needed angst ?!
This harem (?) BL was super average overall and brought nothing new to the table. I was overall happy with the endgame because the chosen guy was my fave among the suitors but too be honest the competition was quite bland and it is mainly because I enjoy the trope of the "main" relationship that I rooted for the endgame pair.It lacked surprise overall, with the main character Do Ha being a super innocent pushover... The series tried to show his progress and growth but overall, it felt very flat and easy, with him being super passive, dragged from one guy to another before finally "deciding"...But the choice lacked angst and passion, even if I still think it was the only one making sense given the relationships dynamics and what was shown from the four main protagonists.
Acting was average, I liked a lot Cha Se Jin (very charismatic) as well as Cha Yu Hyun but I found Jung Su Bin and Lee Do Han too meek and monotonous in their expressions...It might be because their parts were the less interesting ones but for sure it would not have hurt to see them demonstrate more variety in their approaches of their respective roles. Production felt very standard for a South Korean BL, very proper and colorful, without anything really outstanding.
I would not recommend this to people because overall it is just a basic run-of-the-mill BL. I also feel that the harem factor was not exploited well enough to make it interesting, which is a shame. However, it is an easy watch, with some hot actors, so you might want to give it a shot if you have run out of option in the genre or if you are looking for something harmless that will put your brain at rest...
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This SP lost all the entertainment value from the main series
It was so boring !!! Part of what made the main series entertaining was the high level of toxicity, the gaslighting and the overall mess. Here, what remains in this SP is empty storylines, cringe, poor acting and NSFW scenes which felt honestly lacking compared to the main show. Sorn, one of the ML, also became tamed and lost (most of) his unhinged and toxic side which was making the show crazy but entertaining.The directing and filmmaking was very poor and the hair styling crew kept failing with their work on the series being even worse in this epilogue than in the main series, which I did not think was possible.
I would not recommend this unless you loved the main series and are just looking for something to watch with the actors serving some steamy scenes. For me it was even more a miss that the main series because of how tamed and empty it felt. The unhinged and entertaining factor went missing...And when that's gone from a trashy show, there is nothing left to have fun with...
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Toxic and painfully romantic road trip between two Yakuza
I loved this BL drama featuring twisted and broken characters. I did expect nothing from it and I found myself completely immersed in the journey of the protagonists. Especially Odajima character who is played by Takahashi Hiroto and took my breath away at multiple points of the series. His cast counterpart Wada Masanari, playing the role of Kataoka Kinji, did also a solid job. I truly believed in the feelings shared by both their characters and the evolution of those...In the mere span of 6 episodes, it is quite astonishing how much they managed to convene, proof of a solid storytelling. The series definitely left me simmering in a bath of angst and pondering quite a bit over the course of my watch.The opening generic song and art is really good. You feel the road trip / slice of life vibe in the scrap booking effects. It is done tastefully and very much fitting into the series. Overall the directing of the series was quite good, except in one of the action sequence that felt a bit cheap and artificially dramatic in its overuse of slow motion and its setting. It is of course minor details and did not decrease my overall enjoyment of the show.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a quite dark BL story with some toxicity and power balance. The ray of light and hope the two main characters find in each other despite the dire circumstances in which they met, really tugged at all my heartstrings. It is certainly not withouth flaw as I felt the ending was a bit too easy and plot armor a bit too much at time. I would not have minded a longer epilogue but I am quite astonished at how much the script and actors manage to communicate, especially on the psyche and mental space of the characters in such a short length.
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Audacious proposal but deeply flawed. Hua Yong is such a memorable character!
How astonishing is it that we got a CHINESE Omegaverse BL ?! It was on the 2025 bingo card of no-one and still here we are...Kudos to the production team and cast for this wild proposal.Having said that, was it fully successful? Unfortunately, no. There were a lot of issues with this series and if I can give flowers for the daring choice to bring to light that relatively obscure universe, I cannot go past through some fundamental issues that hindered my enjoyment of the story overall.
There are some major issues :
- Pacing is atrocious. The series spent a tremendous amount of time on business talks rather than on the relationships progression.
- The secondary relationship is frustrating and has little to no screentime to the point I'm left to ponder if the series would not have been better without it.
- Ending is a real let down (and even more a deception for the ones that were fan of the secondary relationship).
There are also some minor flaws :
- The series does a commendable job explaining the lore as I found it pretty clear while being a complete newbie on the topic (beside just having watched Pit Babe). However, it felt a bit too much like a tutorial than really well interleaved into the story.
- Some of the special effects linked to the genre (the marking, the scent...) as well as the few fighting / action scenes felt really cheap and poorly executed.
- Casting is a mixed bag : Huang Xing (playing Hua Yong) is clearly the MVP of the series. He literally carry the show on his shoulders. It is a shame that I cannot say the same for his three costars that ranged from average to mediocre in terms of acting skills...
Of course, not everything is negative and there are quite a bit of positive as well.
- Following the series while it was airing was really entertaining.
- The universe in itself was quite interesting, even if I am still on the fence on some aspects. It was intriguing and felt fresh to me.
- Hua Yong character with his unhinged and obsessive love was amazing !
- Chemistry was quite good with the main couple. Even if I feel they tamed down some of the NSFW scenes, passion and feelings were quite believable.
Given all its flaws, I would not necessarily recommend this to people unless you are a fan of the genre and want to see it live-action. With a better pacing, less useless business stuff, more consistent storyline for the secondary couple and overall better writing, the quality of the series would have drastically increased.
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From entertaining to super bland... Disappointing...
This drama was so entertaining with its first arc : it had everything for a fun watch...- Cold office manager aka hidden Yakuza-Boss? Checked.
- Unhinged and entertaining moments with an overall cheesy vibe? Checked.
- Entertaining story with a cheating boyfriend and devilish colleague? Checked.
- Hot shower scene showcasing a tattoo as well as glasses and office tailored suit fashion? Checked.
But then....Past the halfway mark, it became super bland... While the heroine was kinda a Mary Sue / blank canvas from start, the male lead became super tamed. From being a spicy and domineering Yakuza boss to a standard basic male lead from any average middle-of-the-road romance... I would have loved for the hero to remain on the ruthless outlaw side of Yakuza night life and to bring the (bland) heroine into the dark side...But the script decided to remove any darkness from the main lead and to absolve him with a conclusion that felt really too easy, which was really disappointing.
I would not recommend this to people as I found it to be so bland past its half-way mark. The heroine is kinda a wet towel of nothingness but it could have worked if the hero would have maintained a dark and unhinged yakuza side. Unfortunately, he became tamed and his hotness did not manage to save the series which became boring.
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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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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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How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies
3 people found this review helpful
A profound and heartfelt movie, an intangible win for its viewers soul : impactful !
This movie centered around a Thai family and more particularly the relationship between a grandmother and her grandson was a huge critical and box office success, setting up record for a Thai movie release and rightly so ! The story is very deep but relatable and anchored in a reality that is both sad, full of pain but also full of love and moments of joy. The family bounds around which the movie articulates itself is complex and can resonate I think with most human beings as we are all confronted to life's thematic faced by the characters, as parents and grand parents gets older.Acting was excellent, especially on the male lead part with Billkin playing the grandson. He is really good in it: he maneuvers a greyish character with blurry motivations at first as he grows into his own individual and learns. It is extremely interesting. The grandma is amazing in this: the writer and director choose to make her a very nuanced character, flawed both with good and bad which I found particularly judicious. You love her for her quality and all the good she brings, but you also need to bear a lot of things while trying to help her, her personality being not so easy to handle.
The production was very good, pretty real and gritty with the house in which the grandma live being almost a separate character. You learn also a lot of cultural elements that are not often depicted (or at least not in so much details) regarding the culture of Thai family of Chinese descent, care of elders and so on. I love a lot the soundtrack, the ending song (sung by Billkin) is beautiful.
I strongly recommend this movie if you are looking for a movie that is both heart wrenching and healing. It is really worth a watch and it relates a lot to our common human life experience on earth. The viewer certainly get out of the watch having won something intangible, not measurable but that leaves a mark.
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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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