John Hart

The Many Loves of Dr. Qin Medicine Woman (9.3 out of 10)

1. I'm absolutely stunned by the green screen visuals. I mean I know it's 'fake' but it doesn't scream it. And since it's a fable it's okay if it looks storybook-ish. Obviously they're using some ginormous green screen action but sometimes I'm wondering if they're using that wall of TVs tech too. I normally don't care about visuals over story, but in this case it's worth mentioning.

2. I also normally don't comment on the fight scenes either, since they can come off as so generic. There were not a lot of fights in this series but I really enjoyed each and every one of them. If I ever rewatched this series I'd look forward to them.

3. This is my fourth Li Qin drama. She was fantastic as the Han woman in RUYI, forgettable as chicken leg girl in JOY OF LIFE (Season 1), wonderful in YOUTH MEMORIES, but s-t-e-l-la-r here. Her always understated performances come to life here when extreme situations finally push out her emotions.

4. Our FL has a 'cold disease' and must stay out of the cold, yet her entire life is spent in cold, kneeling on the ice -- you name it. I'm amazed they don't show her eating ice cream inside a fridge. Viewers must ignore this extremely confusing element or risk losing their mind.

5. SNOWY NIGHTS is the definition of LESS IS MORE. It doesn't need 100 characters and as many plot twists. It's a clean perfect narrative with no clutter. It is aimed directly at people who cherish the journey instead of the destination. If you've ever once fast forwarded thru any C-Drama, feel free to skip this one and especially avoid reviewing it. That said --

6. -- in the last third of the series the show becomes obsessed with it's own songs. They're nice songs, don't get me wrong, but they plays them way too often towards the series finale, rendering minutes of each episode as 'music videos' filler.

Not to mention (but I will) it's INSANELY distracting/annoying to have vocalists singing while characters are speaking. I've seen many Broadway musicals and not once do they have characters speaking WHILE the chorus is singing. This one element took two tenths off of my review score alone. But I have to admit --

-- I loved the closing credits song. And like REBEL PRINCESS, I was once again stunned by who was actually singing this song.

7. So although the show slows down a little in the last third, at least this show doesn't commit the dreaded Chinese Drama Cliche: another ending. Most C-Dramas seem to end the story, and then -- end it a second time. I honestly can't figure out what so many of these series end twice, but SNOWY NIGHTS does what every drama should do and simply end ONCE.

8. The first shortcoming I can really name is our ML, Joseph Zeng. There's nothing really wrong with him, but he's just a little too boyish 'perfect' to resonate as real. I picture a warrior like this rougher around the edges, more like a cleaned up 'Eye'.

I don't hate our male lead, but I don't hang on his words like a Wallace Huo or Huang Xuan. I'd have loved a reunion with Xiao Zhan if they wanted such a boyish face. I will say Zeng ripens after the halfway mark. Perhaps he was trying to show that 8 years had passed on his journey from young man to man? I'll say this ladies: my wife thought he was super cute.

9. I'm hearing people here trash the villains. Hmm. I guess you could say they're not as villainous as you'd expect, but I kinda like that their leader looks like a college art teacher (lol), and one of his disciples is always eeriely smiling.

The weakest villain is the Lady in Red is not much more than... a stylish Lady in Red. (Her character rounds itself out towards the series end, but it's kinda late. We needed better hints about her past.)

Weak too is the comic relief fat dude doesn't seem like a believably evil member of this clan. It would only make sense if the gang resented him but kept him around because they loved his cooking. (Well they have to eat!)

Eye seems to be the only monster in the clan besides the leader. Every drama has a lesser known actor who steals the show. Eye is this character and I can't wait for the right lead role to come his way. I'm concerned that I recently learned his voice was dubbed, suggesting a pretty boy lacking proper vocal talent? I hope that dubbing goes away in time.

10. This is not a story set in realism, and so understand it's really a parable on the topic of sacrifice. If you don't accept this, our ML's heroic quest becomes impossible to understand. (Would you keep risking your life as he does for the reason he does?) The theme of sacrifice echoes in Li Qin as well, which produces not one -- not two -- but three examples of selfless love.

Cliche love is about marriage and children. Not everyone goes down that path, sorry. If your heart and soul need to be reminded of humanity now and again -- this series does it ---

SPOILERS below SPOILERS below SPOILERS

-- without one kiss.

And now some comments on some sloppiness by this series --

1. One reason I dislike fantasy stories (vs. science fiction) is that it can be license for LAAAAZZZZZYYYY writing. In Ep 26 our ML's bird flies into the valley and Granny needs to ask it a question. Up to this point it hasn't been established that our ML can truly converse with his bird, never mind a stranger that says 'chirp once' if you like potato chips and 'chirp twice' if you don't. WRONG, UNACCEPTABLE, I'm docking the series a tenth of a point just for this one moment.

2.. I gather the ML's Master was recast unless I missed something. Or written out. A bit awkward in such a short series.

3. . In the battle between Eye and his master, three golden needles are popped out. But certainly we just watched Dr. Qin Medicine Woman pull those same needles out some episodes back. WTH?

4. What happened to the bird?

5. Are you the type of reader who skips thru stories and skim's long reviews like this. If you are, you missed the hidden scene after the final credits in the final episode. If you've read these words and missed it, this is your reward for reading this far.

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The Film Devours Its Own Message for Tasty Visuals

Imagine a touching story about a farmer's daughter and her favorite goat. They're pals. But one day she learns her Dad sold this goat for money and she's angry. So she goes on a quest to the city to get her goat back.

That's basically the story of this film, but this version of the story is injected with fantasy, fantastic CGI, animal rescue weirdos, corporate psychos, and frankly as many chase scenes as they could manage to infest what should have been a simple touching story.

I watch C-Dramas mostly. The main reason is that they understand LESS IS MORE. The Koreans have spent too much time watching our Western films and when they try to please us -- these lose me.

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Botched story structure damages potential masterpiece

I will warn you when any spoilers are offered, so feel free to read until then.

1. The Western title of this would be, THE LIGHT BULB MAN

2. In general the entire production values are great. The first half of this piece borrows liberally from David Lynch, but in a good way.

3. I knew 3 people in this cast (the Mom, her daughter, and the light bulb man) and they were as good as ever. My only complaint is that the camera wouldn't leave the crying girl. You're not going to force me to cry because a girl is crying forever. That's cheap and it started to become an obvious ploy.

4. A major issue with the film is it changes genres midway -- which is a serious NO NO! You spend the first half of the film selling us on a dreamy Lynchian world only to flip it to a tearjerker melodrama? Nope. Both must be blended from frame one.

5. The major problem with this film was the story. Without spoiling, reveals needed to be re-arranged. And when 'reality' comes into the story, most of that should have been quick flashes, as to suggest we never should have left the dreamy world. And the Light Bulb Man deserved a more central role. And now, as warned, here come the STORY --

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6. In general there should have been a simple and crystal clear quest for our leading lady.

She, like her boyfriend and everyone else, should have 'been' in this weird alter-verse but started to suspect something was off. One by one the others would begin to recall a traffic accident, but never say 'bus'. They would start to recall they were all together, but something is wrong.

Our lead would say, wait, my boyfriend and I weren't in any accident. He'd be like, yes I guess so (for now), and they'd help the others find their bulbs and say their goodbyes. Our lead would help everyone get to that bulb store. She'd often have arguments with the man there, because she knew he was keeping a big picture secret from her.

When the lead and her BF helped the last person, she'd wonder why they were still stuck there. That they had no one to say goodbye too. Only then would the first flashbacks of the accident be seen in her memories, and she'd realized it was BUS ACCIDENT. She'd wonder if her BF was the driver, and he'd say it's time to say goodbye.

Then, and only then, would she wake up at the hospital.

If the above wasn't clear, I've un-divided the film. It's now a dreamy melodramatic tearjerker that still holds a big reveal for the end. This way it's very simple while maintaining a consistent tone.

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Almost but not quite A MASTERPIECE

I have NO IDEA why users aren't AMAZED by this production. It's so close to PERFECT it's painful.

The story, acting, filming, music -- are you kidding me? I've seen about 10 Chinese Dramas at this point and it shoved its way up to #2 under RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE.

The reason why this series didn't trounce RUYI is it didn't stick the landing. It appears to do so but once a day or so passes you realize there was something off about the end of the story.

About halfway into EP 11 the plot resolves itself. But for the story not only requires another 30 minutes to resolve itself but all of EP 12 to do so. Normally shows wrap up a little fast after the plot resolution and sometimes you feel ripped off because of how hurried the wrapup is. (I'm looking at you GREAT CRAFTSMAN.)

So why did THIS take so long. According to AvenueX on YouTube, the novel this story is based on ends with a dark tone. One of the characters has had a hidden agenda. This final episode looks like it was going to reveal it, since said character eluded to ALSO having secrets, but then -- no secrets revealed.

AvenueX implied that the real ending wouldn't get past the censors. As a writer myself I believe this production did shoot the dark ending and the censors said, nope -- too dark. And so they had to reshoot the ending to be less dark, which in turn makes the final episode seem a little aimless, long, and pointless.

Even if you're unaware of that angle or the book's ending, my wife said, "Wait. That girl was so perfect despite her parents not being so perfect. Really?!?" And therein lies the problem with the series is that the Tutor character simply isn't believable. Her acting is great but the writing is... undecided.

This knocks DISAPPEARING CHILD out of Masterpiece work into NEAR MISS and ALMOST territory. What a shame. That said, SEE IT ANYWAY you lazy couch dumpling!

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Worthy Premise, Good Execution, but Slightly Lacking Somehow (MIld Spoilers)

I eagerly awaited to see this film because THE GREAT CRAFTSMAN makes anybody a fan of Huang Yang Tian Tian. She is one of the young leads here and I was willing to forgive the TV movie budget just to see more of her.

In CRAFTSMAN Tian Tian was a dynamic character that demanded your attention and fellowship. Here she's kinda wasted as one of two girls with physical ailments. Anyone could have played either of the female leads. I actually found the Dad and Mom giving the most nuanced performances.

Don't get me wrong. If the trailer entices you to try this movie, your instinct is correct. But I felt they got lost in some unnecessary subplots. The violent man in the hospital, the 'Carrie' apartment, and the helicopter sequence were all 'alarms' to keep the audience awake. The Mom's Dad was so unnecessary the story itself removed him midway.

I think the better story would have been to have the Dad pursue the Mom romantically, only to learn he had an additional motive. And everyone involved, including the audience, would wonder did he actually love her... and suspect 'yes'. In this way the four leads could have become this lovely accidental family and therefore make an important family 'decision' together rgarding the daughters.

I'm not saying the film doesn't drift towards that idea. I'm saying it would have been a much stronger movie if it had committed to that idea.

One last thing: this is the DEFINITION of a weepy cry cry flick. Oddly it didn't pull as many tears as the premise warranted. Maybe if the Doctors didn't seem so aloof.

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A short student film stretched out to 90 aimless minutes

I found this film because I'm a fan of THE GREAT CRAFTSMAN. In that show an actress looks like Betty Boop and I wanted to see more of Jiang Hong Bo. Despite her being one of the three leads -- she spent very little time on screen.

This is because this director has no idea how to create dramatic scenes with actors. So many opportunities were missed. It was as if a cinematographer made this film instead of a dramatist.

It's not a student film. It's the 4th of 6 features by this director. But it sure feels like a student.

I know some will defend this director and say, "Not all films are action packed super hero films!" I know it. Get it. The problem is this film was the complete opposite. The premise is promising but almost nothing happened inside the film.

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Action Movies are TEDIOUS but this one isn't bad at all

MILD SPOILERS, nothing terrible

I see a lot of people harshing on this film. I don't know why. I find this genre tedious and so I expected to abandon the film before the first hour. Turns out I made it all the way thru and was happy for the two hour diversion.

This movie isn't entirely cohesive and so I'll just drop you some notes and hope it gels into something useful.

1. Eddie Peng stars? I'm in.
2. Xin Zhi Lei as the female lead? I'm not only in but watching this mostly because of her. (If you have no idea why someone would flip their shinola for her -- you haven't seen RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE, have you?)
3. I'm not sure rescue forces exist to this degree. If they do, wow. If they don't -- I love Gerry Anderson's THUNDERBIRDS.
4. The visuals/FX are rather stunning. However, I'm not used to Chinese films spending THIS much $$$ on them, and so -- sure enough -- the film can get talky sometimes to save money. Mainly revolving around --
5. -- a cute young kid. I've watched enough C-Drama media to know cute kids are a thing to kinda force 'endearing' onto the movie. In America we don't stick cute kids into all sorts of movies for fear of damaging the premise. What was wrong here is that --
6. -- with him came scenes with dopey cartoon music. With little bells ringing 'comically' in a movie they don't belong in. Are we in an action drama or not? Later on that kid was used for another classic trope --
7. -- which I can't spoil but is the stuff of soap operas. Not action movies. However, the way they ultimately resolved this trope (inside the closing credits) made it almost worth it and definitely tolerable.
8. Xin Zhi Lei was great when she was given something to do. Unfortunately the story didn't give her enough to do. There was a natural coupling she needed to be a part of but the story got either scared or distracted.
9. The original 'Stand By Me' song appears in this film and, sorry, the film by the same name owns the song and no one else should be using it. Like I don't want to hear Garland singing 'Rainbow' in this film anywhere for the same reason.
10. If a sequel is being planned -- I'd see it. Because it might give Xin Zhi Lei more time.

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A nice little film and diversion

Many of these lower budget films start okay but get kinda lost. This one hangs together well.

The tale debates how communities should work together when possible riches await. You'll enjoy this film for that, the lush soundtrack, lovely visuals, and most of the verite acting of the kids and villagers.

The lead girl was kinda a two trick pony: big sweet smile OR tears down her face. But that's okay because the rest of the cast had lots of wonderful moments. Don't miss the Mouse Guy or the Leek Man. Or the two tiny boys who didn't seem to be aware that they were in this charming little movie.

I'm not sure I'd recommended a paid rental for this, unless inexpensive. I found it on America's YouTube for free and in 1080p.

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Relentless video game

I'm a RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE fan and so Zhou Xun brought me here. I predicted she's be a bait and switch -- and she was -- but it was nice to see another RUYI actor in the lead.

To me this film felt like a video game staged for the big screen. The quest was a video game quest, the actions the stuff of video game players. It didn't feel like real people at all -- which great diminishes a work like this. The story was so busy with plot the characters were nearly irrelevant.

I fear this film is for younger generations who cannot stay awake if two characters speak quietly in a room. That said it is an impressive spectacle. But I had to pause it several times and go take a mental break. If you have a mild headache this piece will turn it into a migraine with 20 minutes.

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INSANELY CHARMING, PAINFULLY CONTRIVED

In some ways this series is trash. In other ways it's transcendent. I've never experienced a story so conflicted this way. So let me tell you right now it's a soft recommend -- a great show for your heart, but a migraine for your brain.

I normally would have abandoned a series this contrived. All sorts of things happen because of 'fate', which is a poor screenwriting trick. And it's such a shame because the characters are so endearing.

The core question of this series is: what would you do if you discovered you had a doppleganger? Someone who looked exactly like you, but behaved differently. In Western stories this would be an actual twin brother somehow separated at birth, but I love how the Eastern story simple accepts the doppleganger as real and proceeds forward.

The problem is that from this point forward the writer/director filmed a really rough draft. He needed input from another writer to make this thing make sense -- and there's SO MUCH WRONG here.

1. Characters ping-ping between cities in contrived confusing ways. Towards the end of the series I honestly lost track of which city we were in half the time. The entire series should have been set in Beijing.

2. We have four main characters: Memory Issues Li Qin, Ballerina, Photographer Boy, and his clone Qipao Boy. The story struggles with having these characters all cross paths by coincidence again and again and again. There was no need for this. The first time the boys crossed paths was fine, but after that --

3. -- these four characters should have become fast friends. Eliminating the need for coincidence entirely. They should have been friends before the major plot twist happened. A month or so would have made the looming tragedy 12 times more tragic.

If you've made it this far, you have a feeling you should pass. You're probably right. But I was happy to watch these characters despite the illogical elements of the script.

Here's why --

1. The male lead isn't your run of the mill Idol Drama Pretty Boy. Instead he plays two different roles really well. I definitely want to see more of this guy.

2. The ballerinas are fantastic because... they're actual ballerinas! Instead of tiny emaciated actresses buried in makeup, they're simply fit young ladies that exude beauty. The lead ballerina is TERRIFIC and I'll watch anything with her going forward. Her emotional depth is the anchor of this show. Her snarky best friend literally has almost no credits on MDL but is so natural she steals half the show.

3. What brought me here is Li Qin and her constant ability to pick interesting stories. Her role is so delightfully different for her and yet she's pulling of her subtle acting thing yet again. She can smile with a slight tear in her eye and kill me everything. The problem is her character's psychological flaws are so all over the place that even the great Li Qin can't quite fix her.

Reviewing this is so hard. Let me say I loved the performances, loved the ballet, loved the young actors, loved what they tried to do with the story, but felt the page by page story became an embarrassing mess after Episode 17. Yet there was something about these characters and actors that got me to the end just the same.

I guess I'd say give this a try. If it grabs you a little, see it through. If not at all, run away, lol.

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SUPERTRASH. (I'll try not to spoil too much)

I only watched this because of Xin Zhi Lei. My wife and I adore her. The producers of SUPERSTAR, unfortunately, seemed blissfully unaware that her best roles are where she plays strong women.

Here, in this train wreck, she plays a lonely hotel owner. A hotel where we never see her do any work. A hotel with no staff. And here's the best part: you'll never see ONE guest. And the writers didn't even bother to have her say, "Business is slow these days." Nope, nothing. You're just supposed to overlook this because LAZY.

The show is rated 13 and over, but a pathetic relentless flaw like this makes it really 10 and under. And that's an insult to many 10 year olds. And it's not just this mistake.

Our lead male -- Zhang Yi -- is treated like garbage by her. Yet this doesn't make her strong in the viewers eyes but instead a complete jerk. So she sits in her 'hotel' hoping this okay guy will fall in love with her, which is ridiculous because Xin Zhi Lei is one of the prettiest actresses on the planet. Her character should be fighting off constant advances from men (and women) but instead sits in her home cooking and sighing... waiting for her white knight.

Meanwhile our lead is presented with a real romantic prospect, a charming young lady who is head over heals for him. The audience loves her but she might as well be invisible to Yi who really remains only interested in Xin Zhi Lei because it says so in the script. And this fine young actor's worst scenes are with Xin Zhi Lei because neither can figure out why their characters would be interested in the other. It's THAT bad, trust me.

In Episode 1 we learn funny aliens from space have decided to rescue our hero and make him live a virtual life re-do. We don't really know why, though. Like if the aliens wanted to study mankind -- why a simulation? Why not just look down and observe with the tech they already have? And why not use alien 'tech' to manipulate the real players in real situations instead of nuking the dramatic tension with a simulation?!?

These aliens insist our hero achieve great fame to escape the simulation, but why do two aliens from across the galaxy care if this suicidal kid becomes famous in a simulation? And these aliens don't quite give us a way to know how close he's getting to his goal AND WORSE disappear from the story almost altogether.

So really, at the end of the day, this giant piece of trash is just an excuse to have some of the cast singing songs. Which could have been achieved with a simpler and far better premise. This isn't just the worst C-dramas I've ever seen -- this is one of the worst TV shows I've ever seen period. And I started seriously watching TV in 1974.

Sure, I could say the lead was doing a great job. Or that most of the cast is pretty good. But what's the point in a story that makes absolutely no sense. I wasn't feeling bad for our hero. I was instead numbed by the idiocy of the story.

Don't get me wrong. I can enjoy and was actually looking forward to light-hearted bubblegum. For that I recommend MAKE A WISH, also on iQiYi.

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A Mediocre Soap Opera featuring Cops

1. Pacing is too slow
2. Way too much makeup on both leads, sheesh! (The finally eased up 2/3rds of the way thru!)
3. Mediocre production values across the board. Direction, lighting, sets, costumes -- everything was subpar.)
4. MDL rating way too high
5. Female lead (Elvira) is a weak actress for such a complex role, seems lifeless too often -- and her performance drags down the more than capable ML. And she's ridiculously small and thin for the role. Yes, we see that high heeled boots with lifts.
6. The story has some nice twists, although most are predictable. The plot is the strength of this show, and it gets better as it goes. It's the only thing that got me to the finish line
7. Qin Jun Jie fans should watch this series because he steals the show. I suspect it was really his story all along.
8. This isn't a quality crime drama with MEH soap opera moments. This is actually a quality soap opera with MEH crime drama elements. So sometimes you'll see scenes that make no cop sense but instead romantic sense. If that makes you nervous, don't watch this series.
9. Joker fans will enjoy the villain, but more and more I see queer looking actors exploited as villains. Hmm.
10. The title annoyed me as a bad fit.

Overall I'd tell anyone to pass on this series.

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ALMOST A MASTERPIECE

Outside of the story, absolutely everything about this production was top shelf stuff. Acting/casting, pacing, cinematography, score, editing, costumes, production design -- all perfect. I'm not going to wax poetic, just see for yourself.

The story was quite interesting. I give it an 8.5 because it only had two shortcomings --

1. In the second half, it started resorting to melodrama as a device. Shock and awe, as like to call it. It could have gone down a notch or so for this otherwise gentle toned film.

2. I'm not sure the ending quite nailed the landing. For a movie this subtle, the ending has to be perfect. It seemed like a happy ending was tacked on, or that they never had a satisfactory ending. The ending isn't bad. It's just not as perfect as the film.

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