John Hart

Story and Pacing mangle an otherwise interesting project

I found this series to be so inconsistent I'm simply going to list observations.

1. The first episodes bait and switch the viewer. They imply this series will have lots of fight scenes. They basically fade away by Episode 10ish and are GONE at the finale, where you'd presume they'd come back for a big finale.

2. Our three lead actors (as shown on the poster) spend too much of the series with stoic faces, making it hard for us to care about them. This creates a problem where supporting characters accidentally SHINE --

3. -- like Song Yi. The scene she pouts in is gold. I really want to see more of her after this. The same goes for --

4. -- the underused Empress, Yong Mei, who is even more stoic than our heroes but she's such a gifted actress it doesn't come off as cold but intensely compelling. I'm now desperate to see her film SO LONG, MY SON but can't find it with English subtitles anywhere. (!!!)

5. I've heard Wang Yi Bo is legend. His character is the Chinese answer to Mr. Spock and (brace yourself) I saw no story reason for him to be in the series.

I believe our lead cast should have been Gao Bing Zhu, Wu Si Yue, and the Empress. Gao should have already been in charge of the CIA, Wu already in charge of the guard, and both at each other's throats because of this mysterious Clan wreaking havoc in the Kingdom. So two characters with opposing careers -- suspicious of the other -- falling for each other in the process. I'd have made Song Yi someone who had a crush on Gao, and I'd have her married to the Crown Prince who would have eventually been revealed as the leader of the clan.

Do you see how 'clean' that cast is? LUOYANG doesn't understand that, in this story: less is so much more.

6. Oh, I took a one night break from this series and saw Huang Xuan in the movie MY COUNTRY, MY PARENTS. It's an anthology pic and he only appeared briefly in the 2nd Story called THE POEM. It was funny to have my break 'ruined' by his presence but I knew I'd keep an eye on his future projects too.

7. The visuals are stunning, but the merciless wide angled cameras and relentless candle lit rooms are way over done. STAR WARS fans believe awesome production values are more important than solid story. As I've been saying since 1977 -- you're SO wrong about that. That said -- there are two GINORMOUS sets in this series you have to see to believe.

8. You have to give it up to the people doing the background music in this show. They were completely over the top and utterly out of control. If someone said, "Pass the soy sauce please" you'd hear all these background noises and music cues suggesting they had said, "Kill them... kill them all." It was an artificial way to raise tension where drama was clearly lacking at times, but (amazingly) the music wasn't so obnoxious to make one abandon the series.

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High quality filmmaking, Solid Acting, Mediocre casting, Storyless Story

Hello,

For us Westerners China has this very frustrating style of romantic story telling. I had to go into spoiler mode to explain myself.

In the West screenwriters are aware that a romance cannot be the only plot of the story. In fact it can't be the main plot. You need something bigger and more compelling than their love. In this case it's boy and girl meet, boy falls for girl, boy invests a lot of time and effort to get girl to like him, she finally does, boy mysteriously disappears, boy and girl reunite.

That's not a lot. Consider CASABLANCA. Man tries to run a business during a war and not take a political side. A fugitive shows up and begs for help. He doesn't want to but with the fugitive is an old flame that broke his heart into a thousand pieces. Man tries desperately not to fall in love with her again and discovers that the right thing to do is to set her and her fugitive free, taking a political position because... he loves her enough to let her go.

See the difference? The love story is buried inside a plot full of risks, twists, and turns. BEST SUMMER almost doesn't have a plot. Yes it's a different style of story but young lovers exist within far more compelling plots than simply eyeing each other.

So what makes matters worse for Western eyes is that if you're going to have a movie just be about a couple -- for the love of God -- at least have them kiss at the end. I've since learned that real Chinese people can see 'kissing' as 'sex', which in the West is laughable and ridiculous. Yes, if the two are kissing in a hotel or a lovely bedroom, I get it. But if they're standing in a public park by a tree -- grow up and let them have a kiss.

Regarding kissing, a funny side note here about something that happened in this movie also happened in THE GREAT CRAFTSMAN. In this film there's a kissless love happening and the girl can no longer stand it and LUNGES at her boy and plants one on him anyway. An extremely mild form of assault. CRAFTSMAN did the same thing and had Wallace Huo LUNGE at Yang Mi to offer her an unwanted kiss. Yet that series ends like this film -- without a final kiss.

Sorry but WTF? How does Chinese culture consistently omit a consensual loving kiss but seem A-OK with a kind of rapey kiss? If anything this should be reversed. Am I crazy? Is the rapey kiss allowed because sex won't come of it? Seriously?!?

So, now with all that out of the way, I'd say the actors were pretty good but the production was great. On a limited budget they made this thing look like a major motion picture. The photography was GORGEOUS. And some people don't get photography. They think if they see pretty mountains and sunsets THAT is great photography. It can be, sure, but the real test is filming the mundane in a cinematic way -- which this movie never stops doing.

The score of this film is lovely too. It's just such a shame that all of this skill was wasted on a one ply toilet paper script. The script was so thin you could see through it and watch another film at the same time.

Please don't think I'm mean person. I did love the characters and wanted to see so much more with them. But the idea this story was once much longer as a drama boggles the mind.

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Daisy Delights Again in a Charming Enough Diversion

Wuxia is my least favorite Chinese genre. I know young fans love a cute girl and a cute boy, but since that seems to be the only point of this genre, I need a lot more. I'm not amazed that they're cute. All of these shows star cute boys and cute girls, sigh.

However, while watching A DREAM OF SPLENDOR -- I absolutely fell for tiny Daisy Li . Her adorable face, her big ears, and most definitely her snark. So I'd give any show she stars in a chance, which is just what I did with FORTUNE WRITER. In that series she starred with Ye Sheng Jia. and they're both the leads here in DRAGON KING'S DECREE.

Because this is a short web series of about 15 normal length episodes of content, the first note I must share is how refreshing it is to have such a small tight cast. Normal shows like this have 40 full length episodes and... well... you can tell they add lots of extra characters to get up to 40 episodes. For this Westerner, keeping all those extra names straight is painful, and really... at the end of the day... it's just too much. Tell your story with your main characters. It's simply better.

The entire thing of magic, realms, dragons -- totally not my bag. If you're like me, know it doesn't get annoying. This fantasy world made enough sense to be acceptable. I presume there was nothing that creative going on here, but the cast enjoyed the story and gave it their all -- creating a fun world to escape into.

This was clearly a vehicle to get Daisy Li seen by more eyes. My problem is her co-star was barely used. He's cute and handsome, but not THAT cute and handsome. It's a shame because his underwritten character spent most of his time posing or walking in slow motion. Based on FORTUNE WRITER, it was a waste of talent.

Be warned the story starts slow but soon a few extra characters are either added or better developed and suddenly the story takes off. So much so it kind of ended abruptly, but hey this is a low budget little web series. There's an actress who plays a mute Doctor, and her face is so eeriely perfect you fear she's AI. I'm not kidding.

Again, nothing much to say here except that it's worth trying for Daisy Li and worth staying for the engaging enough story -- which ultimately hints at more story to tell!

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Okay film with an intense/sublime award deserving performance by Xin Zhi Lei

(I will warn you when the spoilers begin, so feel free to read the first part of my review.)

My journey into C-Dramas started during Covid with RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE. If you haven't seen it, stop reading this and give the show a try. It's star studded. Zhou Xun, Wallace Huo, Li Qin... and Xin Zhi Lei as the unforgettable Princess Jia.

Since that show I've desperately tried to find her as good again, and unfortunately most movies and shows just aren't smart enough for her talent. If you've seen her in other works, the odds are good she's just phoning in her performance. This actress can do great things when given the opportunity, but most C-Dramas use her as a 'sexy' snark monster and waste her talents.

The good news is that the producers of THE SUN RISES FOR US ALL understand her talent and used it. In every frame of the piece. Xin Zhi Lei need not bat her eye lashes, swing her hips, or yell to be noticed. Her nuance in this film is sublime -- and she pulls off a very complex character with the greatest of ease, without the need of her supermodel looks.

The fact she won Best Actress in some big Chinese 'Academy Awards' is utterly earned here. Xin Zhi Lei deserves to be a global actress. My dream is that the people that own Bond (Amazon) would create a series in China starring Xin Zhi Lei, the series would be shot in China (in Mandarin), and she'd play a double agent where both East and West have no idea whose side she is actually on. Trust me -- it would be a ginormous hit.

THE SUN RISES ON US ALL is a great looking film. Instead of buffing and glossing China to look like a perfume bottle, this film appears to show the real China. Crowded, a little dirty, moss growing on rooftops because of tropical weather, etc.. There's such an honesty about how things look I feared the crew were sometimes shooting on the streets without permission.

The editing is fine, the lighting is so natural, the pacing is a tad slow but consistently moves along. Male lead Zhang Song Wen is as realistic as the rest of the film. Every watch a movie and you feel like one of the actors isn't an actor at all? That he's just some normal guy they hired on the spot? I call this "the character is not aware they are an actor in a movie". Zhang Song Wen's performance is that good.

So what went wrong here? I'm going to give you the spoiler free version, draw a big line, and then begin spoiling.

Simply put: the story is a one timer. No matter how good the rest of the film is, one timer stories are not about the journey but the destination. Usually these type of films have a goal (Find the dog!) and the characters say little to each other, and then they do speak it's usually trivial dialogue.

I recently showed my nieces GROUNDHOG DAY. The first time you watch the movie, you watch to see if and how he gets out of his predicament. But the film is easy to re-watch, because almost every part of the film is interesting, funny, and/or romantic. You can show clips of such films to others and they're immediately interested.

THE SUN RISES FOR US ALL doesn't have great scenes. Instead, the entire film is one great scene, if you will, which, unfortunately, renders the rewatch value to zilch. Once you know how the story ends, your interest is over.

My biggest problem? It appears the writer/director team wrote themselves into a corner. How to resolve the dilemma between the two leads? The chose a cheap trick unworthy of a first year screenwriter and then didn't do with it what they should have. I'm the screenwriter type in my family but my wife (who I've been trained by my side for year, lol) came up with the fix in seconds. "Why didn't they do this?!?" she asked, and she was right.

SPOILERS *************************************

The story is about a former couple that seemed cursed. They were happy enough until they had a tragic car accident. They accidentally hit someone with their car, they could have maybe saved the hurt person, but instead they drove off and the person died. Our lead was responsible but her husband took the blame -- and five years of prison -- out of love and gallantry.

Our story is about how this one choice ruined them both. She was so ashamed of accidentally murdering someone that her 'getting away with it' slowly destroyed her. So much show she stopped visiting her husband in prison, because to do so was a constant reminder of her guilt and his innocence. She eventually has an affair with a married man as an escape, but this further destroys her soul because she's murdering her marriage and her boyfriend's marriage.

We join this story during her affair and when her husband is released from jail. For two hours the reunited couple doesn't know what to do with each other. There's too much pain and resentment to resume their marriage, and yet here they are stuck with each other out of guilt. (Did I mention she's pregnant with her boyfriend's child and he's dying of cancer?)

So this story paints itself into a corner and -- the screenwriter absolutely clueless on how to resolve the story -- has Xin Zhi Lei pick up a knife and suddenly stab her husband. She has decided to put him out of his misery, and in a weird way accepts that being a murderer is somehow in her nature.

Why is the ending not satisfactory? I told you my wife INSTANTLY knew why. What would have been much better is if she and her husband were being interrogated by the police, and somehow she managed to murder him in front of the cops. And I mean KILL him, not just stick a knife in him and have him still standing.

Why is this perfect? Because she not only puts him out of his misery, but she will get arrested for murder and serve her jail time the way she should have in the first place. The police would have asked, "Why did you just do that?!?" and her final line of the film would have been, "Because I'm a murderer."

This ending is so perfect I'd tell the producers to reshoot the ending. I'm not kidding. It would make this MEH movie a SOLID movie. The entire thing would have made more sense this way, justifying the over two hours of cinema.

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Bit off more than it could chew, but still rather TASTY

So I'm a story guy, and a very picky one at that -- and unfortunately the story could have been the strongest point of this piece but unfortunately ended up the weakest element. Not weak, because the idea was really good -- but I gave the story an 8 because it didn't quite perfect master it's impressive and lofty goals.

Of the story --

1. A magical element is introduced into the story. My problem is we don't know why it was dropped off on the road, nor why it was picked back up, nor why it was easy to again find. Too easy and convenient. The story would have been stronger if something a character did made the mailbox come into existence, and something bad they did made it go away again. It was just a writer's device to get the story rolling.

2. I found it rather difficult to keep all the characters straight between the two time lines. Perhaps there were too many?

3. Because the magical element wasn't explained, the 'shifted' resolution was loose end city. I think they hoped that with all the razzmatazz between timelines we wouldn't notice, but we did. (Someone said the same in comments.)

4. I could have used a little less violence. We get it, gang warfare, but so much fighting conflicts with the many romantic elements of the show. It would be like if WEST SIDE STORY was almost half musical, half Fight Club.

Of the rest --

Loved the actors. I was wondering when I'd see Ren Youlun of MAKE A WISH fame. In both series he's great at being frustrated in stressful situations. I guess it's his thing. I was also great to see his MAKE A WISH cast mate Chen Hao Lan as the kind teacher character.

Wang Ying Lu is adorable as Ye Hai Tang, the girl with the Dad from Hell. She also had quite a range. I just wish someone would hand her a damn sandwich. It's bad enough watching a young girl being mistreated by a brute, but the fact she's a small twig of a lady made me cringe each time she was struck. One sandwich a day, Doctor's orders.

Zhou Yi Ran was a standard issue C-Drama cute boy, but at the same time he wasn't generic. He was new to me (Like Wang Ying Lu) and they both did a lot of heavy lifting in this how.

Then we're treated to some great supporting actors sprinkled about two time lines. Too many to list, but standouts were Rat, the guy that played his boss and pool hall owner, the chubby security guard, and the mean/not so mean boy at the school. Which ever company produced this didn't have the big names like many shows but they found some really solid actors.

The photography was really great. So many Chinese shows present China as perfect and beautiful, which is ridiculous because the prettiest city on the planet has... outskirts... run down ghettos. This series got real with locations.

The music was okay but overused a bit in such a short series.

I made one funny rating -- I said this show has a very high rewatch value. I don't see this because it's perfect. I'm saying the confusing narrative may make better sense on the second pass, lol

THE BIG PICTURE -- I recommend the series to anybody, but it's not as good as short series like TO THE WONDER and FORGET YOU NOT and INTERLACED SCENES, which didn't bite off more than they could chew.

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Great Cast, Underdeveloped Relationships

I watched this for Xin Zhi Lei and Huang Jue, only to learn that Zhao Li Ying is a big deal too.

This is a rather simple story about an older sister that sacrificed her future to secure the future of her younger sister. Younger sister becomes a successful actress and brand ambassador, whereas older sister is stuck in an unpleasant life in Myanmar. Older sister's husband decides to extort money from the saved younger sister, and chaos ensues.

Having slept on this film, I think I see a major story issue problem. The husband was a device to introduce desperation and violence to the story, to keep it from being a thoughtful character piece. And that was a huge mistake here. His character should have been erased entirely.

In screenwriting there's a very important question the writer must answer correctly: who's story is this? I don't believe it was the younger sister's story at all. I believe it was the older sister's story of sacrifice given paid off with filial abandonment.

The evidence here is the final scene where the sisters are hanging out together at a street vendor, kind of like best of friends. Well, if they were capable of being such friends, why weren't they already on this page together? Why did older sister show up so mad? Clearly she was dismissed and forgotten, but as the awkward mid-story flashback revealed -- they left on good terms.

I also believe the casting should have been reversed, where Xin Zhi Lei was the big famous actress and brand ambassador, since... she already is one, lol. I would have made the victimized sister more sympathetic, less attractive.

This is that tragedy when a rough draft isn't refined but made into a film instead. The film is certainly watchable, and the direction and production values are solid -- if not sometimes compelling -- but I have so many other Chinese films I'd recommend to someone before I'd recommend this one I'm sorry to say.

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Not perfect, but still a RECOMMEND

Watching a show about PR firms at war with each other over clients? Doesn't sound that great, right? And if I told you there are four romantic couples at various stages of coupling, de-coupling, or re-coupling -- I'd understand if you yawned.

So this show isn't about the premise. It's about the very interesting characters. You will become attached to them and start to hope this series will have a Season 2 maybe. The Gray Whale firm ends up feeling like family, but we also feel for Song Jia's character as well. I will miss them all.

So if I'm this attached -- why only 8.5? Again, Public Relations is only so interesting. Also, the lawyer couple didn't quite work. The show devoted a lot of time to their Mom/Son confusing relationship, but it seemed to go in circles to the point I wanted to see more of the young office girl and the young rich boy instead. Those two simply had a more interesting story.

But now that I've dealt with the show's weakest point, the strongest was our leads Tang Chen and Shou Bing. Song Jia is what dragged my eyes to this show and that girl doesn't disappoint. Fans of SHE AND HER GIRLS won't recognize her here, not at first anyway. But as the story progresses you'll see her stubborn self rise and it's another gem of a performance.

Jin Dong's 'Tang' was new to me and ladies -- he's easy on the eyes. I'm a Wallace Huo man myself but Wallace just may be too good looking for his own good whereas Jin Dong seems more like an actual normal man. You'll absolutely adore every second Tang and Bing spend on screen together -- and they're why this imperfect series get a RECOMMEND from me.

I love Tian Yu's 'Old Sha'. I remember him from JOY OF LIFE but find his performance here very endearing. He's got a sweet Nathan Lane thing happening and really delivers as Tang's best friend in the world.

It was so refreshing to watch a series that didn't have a soundtrack of pop songs pummeled at me non-stop. I think they had 2 songs, and they were only played once. That background music was gorgeous, however, and sets an example of how most shows should use music.

The set designs were appropriately bleak in corporate settings. The informal sets were much warmer, including the nicest hospital room I've ever seen. You hope to get sick enough one day just to be in it, lol.

Three negative notes --

1. Xin Zhi Lei fans will see her in the opening and go OMG and wait to see her appear. The wait is surprisingly long and her stay is surprisingly brief. Almost a bait and switch scenario for fans like me, but she finally got to play a role of a nice beautiful girl instead of a serpent. And what happens to her is so simple and yet so heartbreaking. It's a shame she wasn't made into an actual supporting character.

2. There's a disturbing misogynistic tone that pops up enough times to mention here. You'd presume the series was written by a man and will be shocked to learn it was written by Li Xiao, the feminist A TALE OF ROSE scribe. I just didn't like how Tang would grab Bing. How Bai Ying was dangled before men as (let's face it) 'virgin' bait. And the worst was when moments after a character was in the process of being raped -- there's this God Awful scene in an elevator with the victim that was played for yucks. That one scene prevented me from giving this otherwise solid series a 9.

3. If you devide this show into 4 acts, the second one -- where the new firm is put together -- felt padded at times. It also ran too comedic, straining the more dramatic tone of our leads. But since the first quarter and the second half moved along nicely, I can look the other way here.

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CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS AND A DOG

Overall, a very smooth journey with only minor bumps. Good story, great acting -- RECOMMEND as a brief diversion between longer more intense series. Bullets --

1. I don't know if its Chinese censors or Chinese sensibility, but I find so many of these C-Dramas set at a tone that's as intriguing as it's non-stressful. In American TV, we're assaulted with sex and violence to keep us awake, which if seen at night can make it harder to get to sleep. In China, even in a murder mystery, the settings are simply gentler, the people more normal than 'Norman Bates'. Can't deny I feel relaxed afterwards and ready for good sleep.

2. I know it's a translated title, but I just don't like it. Too technical for this piece. Something softer like DREAMS OF A GIFTED NOVELIST or THE WINDMILL MURDER. (We learn where this title comes from in the final episode, but the payoff isn't worth.)

3. It's hard to believe the female lead here is the same female lead from TO THE WONDER. (And I suspect I'll have the same reaction after BLOSSOMS SHANGHAI, which is next.) Here, Ma Yi Li's understated performance could be mistaken as phoned in, but instead is perfectly suited for her troubled home life.

4. Actress Lan Ying Ying was driving me crazy. She seemed so familiar, but in an American actress way. Each episode I could almost identify her. Then I was like, no -- she's very similar to Zhu Zhu from TALE OF ROSE. But then nope again -- until I realized Lan Ying Ying was in ROSE. Lan grows more and more interesting each time she returns. Such a great role for her. Also, a great ROSE reunion with her and --

5. Tong Da Wei. I forgot that I was introduced to Tong in THE DISAPPEARING CHILD, and so this is my third outing with him and now I'll watch anything he's in. Like Lan, just plain terrific.

6. Christine Zheng's performance is so... moving. It's not that her acting is exemplary. She just nails the role. She wouldn't hurt a fly, and we love her for this. To me, she's the Chinese answer to Elizabeth Hartman, an obscure but great actress from 1960's America. While we're on the look alike thing --

7. -- Liu Huan's portrayal of our FL's husband is great, but I'll be damned if he isn't the Chinese answer to Anthony Perkins. (That's the second reference to Norman Bates in one review.)

8. It's cool how there are two mysteries that divide the series in half EXACTLY at the halfway point of the middle episode. This makes this 15 episode series fly.

9. One picky note is that the series dispensed with characters or mentions of them a little too eagerly. The cop's husband falls out of the story completely in the second half, where a phone call between them could have reminded us of his persisting relevance. Similarly, the lady in the wheelchair had an arranged marriage fiance who disappeared from the story more out of convenience than much else. You'd think Wheelchair would be spend a lot more time complaining about his selfishness, but the story had a romance to tell and cleanly pushed this man out of the way.

This last note is a little spoilerish --

10. Again, this was an enjoyable diversion and frankly I'd like to see the 'Master' and her partner return for another mystery, joined by the separated husband, their daughter, and the cops good friend 'on wheels'. Plus we'd get to watch our FL's journey towards sensitivity and love.

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First time I've ever said this: the series is too SHORT!

Greetings,

Daisy Li showed up midway in A DREAM OF SPLENDOR and stood out in an already fantastic female cast. Short, scrappy, moody, pretty with big ears -- what's not to love? That's why I decided to give this micro-series a roll.

This series is decent but it suffers from a bumpy premise device. A Book of Fate makes all the rules in this story, and we don't know why the book exists, what rules it must follow, what rules it can break -- and eventually -- it came off to me as a device making all sorts of twists possible instead of believable. The twists also came too many too fast.

Whereas most series seem to be longer than they need to be, this series was too short. I think somewhere between 12 - 20 full length episodes would have covered it. But I chose this series as a bit of bubblegum between more serious series and the sweet taste lasted the entire time, so maybe shorter was the right idea.

I can now say that Daisy Li should be getting more lead roles. She's looks 23, is actually 31, but whenever she lowered her voice in pain and sorrow you FELT her actual age and it was perfect. Yes, she's likely going to get impish roles for the next few years, but I hope they give the edge she sometimes had here.

Speaking of an edge, this series had a little too much choking and stabbing of women for my taste. I love many Chinese romantic dramas because they pull back some on violence, but in just the three years I've been enjoying the 'sex' and violence have been ramping up to Western media excess.

(I put 'sex' in quotes because actually the ramping up there is good. No, I haven't really seen many sex scenes. What I have seen is couples actually kissing instead of the story going out of it's way to removing kissing from romances. My favorite scene of this short series is a great kiss. Wife and I have rewatched it about 10 times, lol.)

The male lead here was generic during the first third of this series but came to life afterwards. I'll keep an eye on his career too.

All in all a satisfying tale, but I wish the entire book thing was simpler instead of jarring. (I would have gone with a lady that talks to her in her dreams and begins appearing as a ghost in real life.)

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REVENGE THRILLER BANKS INTO A FASCINATIONG WHODUNNIT

A young dude kills a young lady in a vicious way. Fisherman Dad is pissed and plans to avenge his daughter's death. This man doesn't care who knows his quest because he's willing to die as long as the killer dies first. Our ML is tearing the place to shreds in a really scary yet entertaining way because Daddy Don't Take Prisoners.

But just before this long movie's middle it struck me -- wait -- they never showed us the killer killing the young lady. And all of a sudden we're inside a fascinating whodunnit. I won't drop any hints here but tell you the quest for the killer makes this a THUMBS UP to watch.

What I will say is the movie slightly fumbled the reveal of the executioner. We discover that someone inspired the killer to kill the young lady, but the inspiration was fumbled instead of compelling. Once you've seen this film -- and you should -- see my comment below that says REVEAL SPOILER and tell me if you agree.

I watched this because of ZHOU XUN (RUYI, IMPERFECT VICTIM, IMPERFECT LOVE, etc.) and ZHOU YI RAN (TO THE WONDER). They didn't disappoint.

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The Little Soap That Could!

This No-Budget Soap Opera starts in the 70s with a bunch of childhood friends who we follow thru the decades and their trials and tribulations. What grabbed my interest was how 'communist' it was compared to other C-Dramas I've watched. I really knew nothing about this time in China's history. The other interest here was, well, I was the age of these characters in the 70's in America. And so while I was listening to the Bee Gees, they were doing all sorts of different things.

If you want to know if you should watch this show with as little spoilers as possible, I'll tell you this: I've watched better shows. So if you're new to C-Dramas, this won't disappoint because you have not seen better yet. What I will tell the experienced viewer is that this is a very calm show that doesn't put you to sleep. (I enjoyed THREE BODY but man was that sleepy!) So if you're even curious like I was -- skip the rest of this review and give 3 episodes a try to see if you want to see Ep 4, okay?

Here's some thoughts in no order of importance --

1. Damn this thing was shot on a piggy bank. Pocket change. That's what I mean by a 'little' soap, like a small bar of soap in a hotel room. Despite this the show was pretty good looking. The photography wasn't inspired as much as... urm... just nice to look. The sets were crazy cheap but not as distracting as one reviewer had said. Lots of scenes were reported in on the phone as to avoid having to stage them. You don't watch this series for amazing production values. You watch it for --

2. -- this TERRIFIC cast. I came here for the male and female lead. I frankly feel they're much better here than they were in JOY OF LIFE Season One.

Li Qin ran around JOY with a leg of chicken being cute until the writers gave up on her. Here her character starts a little interesting but simply gets more and more interesting as the show progresses, especially in the 2nd half. (Be patient!) And she's particularly deep inside her character in the remarkably intense final episode.

Xiao Zhan is tackling a very difficult role of being a great guy, a dreamboat, and yet humble, and yet magnanimous, everybody's friend but sometimes someone's enemy too. Several someones. To be honest there were times where the demands of this role exceeded his abilities. The thing is he's just a little too handsome and that can be rather distracting from his character's struggles. You're like, "How can this gorgeous youthfun hunk of man be suffering?!?" Yet he did a pretty good job and I'd bet this role has made him a better actor. Give him time and he'll be the new Wallace Huo.

Liu Rui Lin and Cao Fei Ran play the most important supporting roles. As our ML's main 'brother', this Chinese Richard Gere clone has a thankless job playing Guohua... but kinda nails it. His love interest Hongling plays an even trickier role where you want to slap her sometimes but she can't help every last decision destiny has dropped on her. This actress carries a lot of the show's weight in the first half.

So you think that's it for couples in this show? HARDLY.

Zhao Xin and Cui Hang also make the experience worthwhile. Xin's 'Ye Fang' gets more and more interesting as the show progresses, and this poor actress must restrain herself the entire time. Hang's Hongjun is all over the place in a role that shouldn't work but utterly makes sense.

And get this. There's one more pair to tune in for: Zhang Ling Xin' and Lenox Lu are terrific too in an unexpected way. When Qi Tian first shows up in his truly stupid hat -- I didn't expect much from him. But his low weird gutteral way of speaking made him very different than the rest -- and like I keep saying -- his character grows on you.

There's even one more pair of actors that were eeriely like the Chinese Ralph and Alice Kramden (You Xian Chao and Gao Yuan). No, seriously. Check The Honeymooners on YouTube if you have no idea what I'm talking about.

3. The songs and incidental music in this show are lovely. A good soap opera has themes the play over and over and over and over (Twin Peaks) and this soap has them too. Mostly gentle piano pieces, and the lyrics of the songs they play translate well.

4. This show has two sets of parents that are nearly identical to Western eyes. Prying pushy Momma and Pushover Papa. This was the only casting mistake I caught in the series. Or really a writing error where on couple should have been Pushy Papa and Caring Momma.

5. I don't know what the deal is with C-Dramas but several I've seen end early. There's an episode around 27 that gave me the impression the story was minutes from being over. It feels like the producers were only allowed to produce that many episodes but when the studio saw it they said 'add 10 more'. The good news is that the additional episodes work fine, except perhaps the final one.

6. So if the production values are good, the cast great -- the only way to make this thing watchable is STORY. This is a story that relies heavily upon soap opera melodramatic tropes, which can make it feel so generic as to be generated by AI. This sounds like a knock but, hey, it's fun to watch a soapy melodrama as long as it's not stupid. And the inclusion of the military episodes in the first half is more inventive than hospital scenes, although those eventually merge.

As a Westerner and America, I was fearful this story might be propaganda. For the story starts in heavy communism but ends in vibrant capitalism. So which 'team' is this show on. What makes THE YOUTHFUL MEMORIES interesting is that it's on both teams.

(From here on I might get mildly spoilish -- so stop reading now if you want to be surprised. I won't be offended.)

The show starts with the idea that although communism isn't the most lavish of lifestyles, and that in the 70s if felt like everyone was in the military one way or another, it presented these days with the idea that everyone could have a place. All for one, one for all. Yes, there were misfits who resorted to criminal behaviors, but overall the show suggests that there was a sense of law, order, family, community, propriety, brotherhood, sisterhood, and love. Perhaps thru rose tinted glasses, but you follow me.

By the time commerce smashed into China, and times had changed, a weird thing happens. Brothers turn against brothers. Love and family may not be as compelling as getting rich quick. The unfortunate reality that capitalism generates WINNERS and LOSERS, introducing the idea of MUSICAL CHAIRS to communism. The same misfits and criminals are around societies edges, but this time capitalism is their friend instead of communism their enemy.

The show isn't as political as I'm making it sound. It's really who loves who and when and who doesn't and why, like any good soap. But I will spoil that the show ends with a happy medium politically -- if we meld the brotherhood of communism with the profits of capitalism, maybe life can improve for all in China.

Like almost every C-Drama I've watched, the show's ending was slightly fumbled. Towards the end of the penultimate episode, a new plot is introduced. And it's a biggy. It' s SUPER melodramatic. The problem is it's not what the story was leading up to, it's not named as a specific historical event that happened, and I think was thrown in for sensationalism and nothing more.

Often in American TV shows after 9/11 they threw in a 9/11 like event to rip open the wound and horror, and I believe this show did the same on a different type of tragedy. That said, the show handles this 'big' weird finish well so it's not a failure as much as a fumble.

Hope this helps someone!

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What is it with Zhou Xun starring with... Zhou Xun?

This is maybe the 4th time I've seen the amazing Zhou Xun co-starring with herself. I bet it's killing Meryl Streep it never occurred to her to do the same.

This film is a watch if you enjoy Zhou Xun. It's not her best, it's not her worst. It's pretty good. She's a pleasure to watch and so YAY if she plays two characters even. The shortcoming here is the story.

This Courtroom drama has a rushed feeling to it and we learn why 2/3rds of the way through when it concludes: there's an extra 35 minutes which reveals a handful of secrets. It's a GOTCHA surprise TWIST that, like all such gotchas makes you first say HUH? and the re-examine everything you just saw to understand it a 2nd way.

I've frankly grown weary of these type of stories because it's so tedious to re-examine EVERYTHING and see how the hidden story may have been there all along. Usually these type of stories come off as more contrived than clever and this one is unnecessarily confusing as well.

The twist reveal eats up so much of this tale, wasting time I'd rather see with Zhou Xun fleshing out 3 other characters.

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Wang Xiao Shuai had everything but didn't do enough with it

For a three hour film you really REALLY need a GREAT story. I know there are exceptions to this rule but all great stories are told chronologically, from A to Z.

SO LONG, MY SON has an okay story. To artificially make it seem better, the writer/director Wang Xiao Shuai decided to tell it out of sequence. What this does is turn many simple events in this story into fake 'reveals', creating an artificial tension.

An analogy. Everyone knows the alphabet, right? A, B, C, D, E, F... and so forth. Great writer/directors take the very familiar alphabet and make it compelling. Just the way any Christmas tree starts plain and dull but can be decorated into something lovely.

Writer/Director Wang Xiao Shuai decided that simply moving the letters around -- A, E, B, D, C, F is far more interesting.

But not really. All it does is make the story a little difficult to follow. This trick also hides the fact that the sequential story turns are tepid instead of clever. I believe someone should edit this story back into chronology so that you'd see it isn't really a masterpiece but just a long okay story shot beautifully.

You'd also see that despite 3 hours they did very little with the actors. I had just finished LUOYANG and was desperate to see more of Yong Mei. Here she was the female lead and I was waited and waited to see her skills in action. But because the film lacked compelling dialog exchanges Yong Mei was wasted as basically a 'prop' sitting in rooms or disappearing into walls.

The direction, the photography, lighting, OST -- were all the stuff of a possible masterpiece. But the story wasn't as emotional and dynamic and COHERENT enough to justify its length. Wang Xiao Shuai had everything but didn't do enough with it.

I will say this: the 2nd viewing will be less confusing and therefore I may be able to enjoy the story instead of wonder where the hell I am and which boy is which.

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PLEASE READ -- I'LL WARN YOU before I start SPOILING

This is my 5th Chinese series. RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE, MISSING PERSONS, REBEL PRINCESS and IMPERFECT LOVE preceded. This was my first 'junky' or 'bubblegummy' series, what we in America might call a 'CW' show aimed at teens or younger. I'm here to tell you it's far better than I expected -- a must watch if you want something lighter -- but they didn't quite stick the landing, as they say in Olympics.

Okay. What is this show without spoilers? It's kind of like the 60's classic I DREAM OF JEANNIE... but they change so much it takes a few episodes to realize how similar it is. In many ways it is an improvement because JEANNIE lacked a compelling romantic story whereas MAKE A WISH is all about our two leads. Not to mention other couples in the story as well.

THE REASON TO WATCH THIS SERIES are the standout performances:

#4 is Chen Hao Lan who plays a more serious young lady in the series, but as the story progresses you see her art is subtly and nuance. They pulled her pretty back a few notches (as to not compete with the lead) but it eventually peeked thru.
#3 is Wang Tian Yu, the 'Roger Healey' of this series and comic relief. This kid is FUNNY.
#2 is Zhu Min Xin, whose small role in this series stood out anyway. He is lead material for future projects!
#1 is the WOW and WONDER that is Gia Ge. This young lady SPARKLES. Her beauty is beyond belief. Her energy and charm is why you finish watching this series. Producers must be fighting tooth and nail to get her right now. I'll watch anything she shows up in next. And she must have the best hair on TV. Check out when Chi Yan lifts and spins her in the closing credits. WOW.

That list leaves out the male lead. Ren You Lun was terrific. Yet his perfectly under-stated performance doesn't make me wonder what he'll be in next, if you know what I mean. So no slur against him. He's the 'straight man' that makes Gia Ge shine all the more. I think young ladies drawn to cats and bookstores will adore him.

When I watch any show I rarely notice the hairstylist. You're kinda not supposed to notice their work. But when I realized Gia has the best hair on TV -- I noticed each cast member has interesting hair as well. And so I guess the stylist was showing off a bit and hoping nobody noticed. (I did!)

So before I start spoiling, I'll say this series was likely 4 episodes too long. I sensed everyone on the production was younger and less experienced, and this became clear in the writing towards the end. Before I pick it apart know the series is worth watching, rewatching, and recommending anyways.

SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Around episode 20 we get an extremely dramatic twist: cat girl awakes on an Earth that doesn't remember her. Her relationship with Chi Yan is erased, as well as the love affairs of their mutual friends. This is really REALLY dramatic and fascinating at first. But then it sends the story into an unnecessary spiral of trying to repair all the damage. This repair job is compressed into the final episodes and I started to feel... the entire idea... was stupid.

Perhaps they were planning a 2nd series... or second 'arc' with 24 more episodes. That would have made the 'everyone forgot her' a fantastic cliffhanger at the end of Season 1. Right? It's as if the following episodes were really supposed to be much longer and season of their own. But then someone said that was a stupid idea.

I'll share with you now what I think is a better cleaner way to end the series.

1. Xiao Xiu gets hit on the head with the pipe. Falls down like we saw. Chi Yan runs over to comfort her.
2. As her friends gather around her, her ears emerge. She cries. Panics in front of Chi Yan. Her tail emerges. Her friends are all WTF.
3. She transforms into a cat. Chi Yan picks her up, holds her close, but she disappears into a portal. Gone.
4. Xiao awakes in Meow World, an animated cat. There she meets Lin Mo and his friend, who are confused as to why she is there. Eventually her Dad finds her and, despite being happy to see her, knows where she really belongs: alongside Chi Yan. The problem is Xiao has no way to return to Earth.
5. Her Dad takes her to a temple and ask the elders for help. They say there is nothing they can do.
6. Chi Yan on Earth is distraught. Ruined. The friends can't believe she was a cat. But find it magical.
7. On Meow Planet, in the temple, Xiao's Dad won't stand for this. Since Lin Mo has learned who killed his GF and Xiao's sister. Xiao prays at the Temple... and her Sister appears as a Goddess. (Instead of that other lady who they forced into the story.) Xiao is told she can make a wish to return to Earth, but this time -- she'll never leave it. Her father insists.
8. If you've seen this series notice what is now no longer necessary. What was with the new bookstore and the new apartment? A total waste of time. We loved the old ones. What was with Chi Yan's grandfather being connected to the cat world? I mean I get it but it wasn't really necessary. Which means neither was the goddess character. And why OH WHY destroy 3 love affairs only to quickly force them back into existence? No no no. All we needed --
9. -- was our 'Scooby Doo' club going back to Earth and finalizing the Doctor story. Oh, and his entire angle on why he did what he did wasn't the slickest. That needed some focusing. I got this weird VIBE that the Doctor was in love with Chi Yan and somehow this confused about everything. (Did you feel that too?)

I want to add the Gia Ge had to sell this bumpy ending -- and gave it her all. There was absolutely nothing more heartbreaking than watching this bubbly innocent soul LOSE EVERYTHING. Many dramas make 'the girl' cry here -- but she was beyond crying. It was like that look a kid gets when they first learn a loved one has passed on. Gia was a MARVEL here.

Anyway, if the story had ended more cleanly -- it would have been a 9.2 in my book. Still worth seeing at it is, though.

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As Interesting and Beautiful as it is Overlong and Sleep-Inducing

This is a weird duck. And so bullets --

1. The production quality is really movie like, especially in the flashback sequences set around the Red Coast. The only time it strangely looks like Cheesy TV is during the International Board Room meetings

2. This is post modern Arthur C. Clarke/Issac Asimov stuff, where the science is science fiction is meant to be your only entertainment. As a kid in the mid-70s, I read this type of SCIENCE fiction a lot but in no time backed off of it because they were slow lifeless reads. All good stories are about the human condition. THREE BODY had the perfect opportunity to explore this very topic because a character within makes a major decision about humanity -- yet -- it barely touched upon it.

(There's a funny irony here. Okay, when I was a kid I was reading a monthly Sci-Fi magazine called ANALOG. There was a story once about a really cool concept but the story itself was dull beyond imagination. It was simply an excuse to share a hard science idea and make anyone go WOW.

The idea was that if man could manufacture a strong enough material that was also very lightweight -- we could build an elevator shaft from Earth and attach it to a satellite in space, hence eliminating rockets. Imagine -- you could have a giant bar in space that people would travel up to for the wildest cocktails ever. And imagine the damn view of Earth and Space!

I forget most of what I read in that magazine over the decades -- except for this. And the same exact concept is mentioned inside of THREE BODY in one episode. And so... I was either reading this Chinese author all those years ago... OR... he was reading Analog magazine, lol.)

3. So many characters just... stood there. It was like COVID all over again where no one was allowed to touch anybody, social distancing, you know? Yes, of course, it's trite to create a love story just to make it like any other Chinese drama -- but this one really needed it. BADLY. If it doesn't matter later in the series, I would have made the ML a FL scientist -- so that -- there would have been some sexual tension between the lead and our favorite cop ever, Shi Qiang (Yu He Wei). That said --

4. -- if it wasn't for this cast I would have walked after six episodes. I knew two of them from other dramas (Yu He Wei, REBEL PRINCESS and he was even better here) and (Johnny Zhang who was better in THE GREAT CRAFTSMAN). I loved being introduced to Chen Jin and Wang Zi Wen, two ladies who masterfully played Ye Wen Jie in two different eras.

5. In general this show literally induces sleep. I'm not kidding but there were about 12 nights I had to fight from sleeping to finish it. Perfect for early day viewing but it's Ambien after 9PM. I'm not being mean, this is the truth. The characters rarely clash with each other, they're often shown in shadows in dim rooms, and there's this droning song at the end of most episodes which could best be described as a Trisolorian Lullably.

6. Okay so our lead dude with the glasses has a special clock that ticks and ticks downward. Was I asleep when it got 'turned off' or did they simply forget to show us where the clock was by the end of his part of the series. I thought our Trisolorians were going to arrive just as his clock reached zero.

I'm happy I saw this and somehow I want to see the 2nd Season of this but I can't recommend it with any enthusiasm. Oh, and I don't give a damn about how good the books are -- because I'm not reading the book. I'm watching a series. If the series puts me to sleep, they either picked the wrong series of books or they've made the series way too long.

A third of THREE BODY should have been clicked and erased to make the rest of this stronger.

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