LightHouse74

Must Watch!!!

Wow, this was an outstanding series. This had so many impactful storylines. The best thing about this series is it’s a crime mystery first and a BL series second, which I love. The script has wonderful. It had so many twists and turns to keep you guessing without getting you confused. There are some big surprises towards the end that I did not see coming. All of the actors did an amazing job with portraying their characters. Tul and Max are outstanding actors and have great on-screen chemistry. This series helps show off their acting skills. The cinematography was stunning.

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In the Middle

I like the main story concepts, but fell short on the execution. However, it had a nice ending. The acting from most of the cast was ok. Like many Thailand series, it had to many supporting cast members to keep track of. I’m also not a fan of some of the side characters. The English subtitles had grammatical and spelling errors. They also don’t show English subtitles when printed content appears on screen which does not help with the story progression. There are periods when the audio cuts in and out during episodes 9 through 15, but there is still English subtitles.

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I placed any potential spoilers at the end of this review.

This has such an impactful story. It shines a light on the many misconceptions about gay men that society has and how everyone deals differently with confronting it. At the same time, it breaks some stereotypes some may have on certain communities. The acting was outstanding and the cinematography was beautiful. The script was excellent and had a very realistic ending. I only have three criticisms. See the potential spoiler alert at the bottom if you want more info.




******Potential Spoiler Alert******
1st criticism: This is supposed to be a sequel to a series (His - I Didn't Think I Would Fall in Love), but it has no real link to it. It does use the same main characters’ names and gives silent nods to the series (choice of clothing colors for the main characters for example), but that’s it.
2nd criticism: The movie does not completely explain the main characters past relationship. You have to rely on the movie’s description for this (hence the 3rd criticism).
3rd criticism: The description of the move does not completely match what happens in the movie. It mentions various things but does not actually show it in the movie. However, this seems to be a common thing on Viki.

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Yes, I like this series. However, it was weird at times.

The positive: The cast was great. They did a great job with what they were given. I also like the ending and how they tied up the many storylines.

The negative: It does not know if it should be a comedy or a drama. It seems they did not know which direction to go. There is also no clear main story idea. The script is a bit of a mess and had some discrepancies. Another problem is the logic in the series does not make sense at times. I was also able to predict who was involved with the “mystery” behind the children.

Random note: I watched this series first before I watched the 2008 South Korean film Antique (it’s listed as Antique Bakery on MDL). Baker Boys is not a perfect series but I enjoyed watching it more than the movie.

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Great, except for one thing

Warning: This series does deal with the subject of suicide. I know this is a spoiler, but I feel this is an important thing to know before you start watching the series.

I placed all other spoilers at the end of this review.

This series is not for you if you don’t like paranormal storylines. However, this has a very endearing storyline about the different aspects of family and relationships. It also sends a message about the dangers of not communicating with loved ones. It has an excellent script with one exception. See the spoiler alert at the bottom if you want more info. They did a great job switching between the past and the present. The series has an incredible cast with great acting. I like how they kind of made a parody of GMMTV in various episodes and involved some of the artist playing themselves.



******Spoiler Alert******
My only criticism about the script is the soul displacement. I’m not a fan of the soul displacement/shift storyline concept. This aspect of the script caused an unnecessary conflict of having people questioning Tonmai and Tee’s sexuality. This was an element of the series that was really unneeded.

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A Zombie Fan Must Watch

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

If you love the zombie genre, you should watch this series. Not only does it have a solid story concept, it also has a great script. They managed to cover a lot of ground in only 12 episodes. See the potential spoiler alert at the bottom if you want more info. There are also a lot of twists and turns that keep you guessing, but still manage not to confuse you. They did an outstanding job with the cinematograph. The acting was also very good.



******Potential Spoiler Alert******
They managed to explain why and how the virus was created, and how it was spread. The ending is bittersweet and does have a few loose ends. However, there are hints that there may be a second season. One can only hope.

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Motion for dismissal on grounds of little interest present.

This was not a good roller-coaster ride for me. The first episode started off well, but led to a second episode that was a chore to watch. It then glided into Episode 3 through 5 which was a boring donut with a few sprinkles of interest. Although episode 5 ended with a crumb of curiosity, it’s a case of too little too late for me. Everything about this series (vague story concept, romantic storyline, the other multiple storylines, court cases, and characters) lacked interest. When a script is lacking, I usually can find a few characters to help keep me engaged. Unfortunately, not here. The characters were ok, but the script didn’t give me enough to keep me invested in their storylines. I like many of the actors in this and thought the entire cast did a decent job. However, they even seemed bored with the script at times.

Random Note:

The few interesting parts was the mysteries firm merger and the character Kim Hyeong Min.

I actually started watching episode 6 but got so bored within the first 12 minutes that my brain checked out.

The house used in the second episode (time marker 35:58) is the same house used in the series “Cherry Blossoms After Winter” (Seo Hae Bom and Cho Tae Seong’s house).

For a change, the synopsis on Viki is more accurate than the one on MDL.

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Interestingly awkward with a side of boring

As I’ve noted before in other reviews, I need more than good-looking actors to make a series good.

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

The series started off very interesting, but slowly washed away due to very poor execution. This was unfortunate because it had a lot of potential. The one positive thing about the script is it did a decent job keeping me interested enough to get invested in the characters. Although the script did a nice job introduction the merman premise, the rest of the script quickly became tedious with the most basic story elements. This became surprisingly bland at times considering the multiple storylines and conflict scenarios the views were given. This takes some real talent, or is it a curse? I’ll let you decide. The production team was smart enough to give the views just enough at the end of each episode to make you want to see the next one. The script did a lot of telling instead of showing which was paired up with a lot of awkward dialogue. It also did not utilize a core storyline very well. This could have been an island mystery series involving a BL couple instead of a BL series that happened to turn into an island mystery. Another execution problem was really poor director choices. It’s not a good sign when we get a flashback scene 17 minutes into the first episode on something that happened 6 minutes ago. This continues by giving the audience at least 1 visual or voiceover flashback in each episode. The worst is episode 7 in which we get 24 flashback scenes with only 3 of them serving an actual purpose. There is even a flashback montage (7 in total) that last about 2 minutes. Another thing that wasted a lot of screen time was the very long pauses between the actors’ lines. I guess this was supposed to make the scenes dramatic and/or romantic, but it just made the already awkward dialogue worst. On the positive side, the acting was very good considering many of the actors are new. I give them kudos for doing their best with what they were given. Even though it has beautiful cinematography and locations, this also became a problem. The production team relied heavily on this by giving the viewer excessively long scenic location shots. I will say the merman costumes and CGI were good. As for the background music, it was nice but the volume was too loud during many of the scenes.

Random Note:

New Drinking Game: Take a shot for every flashback scene. Caution: Only do this if you have a high tolerance for alcohol.

The ending, although happy, was a little lackluster. They also tried to jam in all the information about the island mystery in the last episode.

If you eliminated all the poor director choices that added to the wasted screen time, this could have been a 4-episode series (6-episode max).

The English subtitles on Viki were good with the exception of the timing.


******Potential Spoiler Alert******

I wish the production team focused on just a few storylines. This series could have been more interesting if the production team had slowly incorporated what happened on the island 20 years ago. Instead they just randomly introducing vague information about it midway through and wait for the last episode to give all the important information at once.

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Sweet Acting Hindered by a Script Cavity

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

Overall, this was a very cute series. The script was not great at times, but at least it was entertaining. It did a good job with setting up the premise and introducing all of the characters. The main problem is the quality of the script was not consistent. It started off very enjoyable, but then episode 4 – 6 became frustrating. Then the enjoyable factor came back by episode 7. Unfortunately, some of this was lost with episode 9 because the script and editing was a mess. There were random unneeded scenes that didn’t really make sense mixed in with scenes that introduce key facts about Jay. Because of this, those scenes lost some of its emotional impact. Although emotional, episode 10 regain a good quality. However, the quality suffers again in episode 11 because it was very rushed. Another weak aspect of the script for me was the storyline involving Kak and Yada. For a random positive aspect, they did a great job using different screen formats to establish the flashback scenes involving Jay and Sant first day they met. I also like the use of cinematography with the scenes in episode 10.

Personally, I thought the cast did a great job. They did their best to make this work. There is only so much an actor can do with a poorly constructed script. Another factor that needs to be considered is the director’s choices. I think views forget that actors don’t always have much freedom with creating their characters. Ultimately, they have to follow the director’s view of how they want the characters to be portrayed.

Random Notes:

The guest spot with Sea Tawinan was cutie.

This is just a theory, but I think the quality of episode 9 and 11 suffered because they decided to eliminate episode 12. This would explain the odd editing choices which made each episode seem rushed by throwing a lot of information at the viewers. There was also a lot of things that was introduced in the last episode that didn’t make sense.

I don’t know if this was just a bad translation or a cultural difference, but the term tomboy has a different meaning in the U.S. This usually just refers to an individual that tends to express themselves with masculine character traits, not someone’s sexual orientation.

******Potential Spoiler Alert******

I was already annoyed with the “I’m not going to say it first” back and forth between Jay and Sant when they had to add the stupid love triangle in episode 5. This just added another level of frustration, but thankfully this did not last long. I understand this was probably in the novel, but not everything in the novel needs to be in the series too.

I just could not get into the storyline between Kak and Yada. I like the characters separately, but not together. this also felt like it was used as a time filler. I winded up skip all the scenes involving them.

I actually didn’t mind the 3-year time jump because it made sense. What I didn’t like is they didn’t explain some things. Why did it take Sant longer to graduate and when did Kak get involved with music or have a band. I must have missed something.

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Good as a standalone.

Overall, this was a very cute series.

This part is about the series as a standalone without any comparison to the Japanese adaptation of the manga. This was a very enjoyable series and had a good script. However, the execution was not always the greatest at times. For the positive aspects, the cast was great and did an incredible job with their characters. It also had a great sound track. As for the negative, the pacing was a little rocky at times. There were many episodes that were spot on and then others that dragged on. The main problem for me was the overuse of sound effects. I’ve become use to sound effects in Thai series and even appreciate it when done strategically for a purpose. Unfortunately, this series overused it to the point that it really became annoying.

This part is comparing the Japanese adaptation. Again, I know this is not a remake but I would be lying if I didn’t compare both. Just like Cherry Magic, I like that this was not a carbon copy of the Japanese version of the manga. I thought the changes they made were great and help the story/character progression. I also like how they went further into the relationship development with both couples. The ending was perfect and helped bring everything to a full circle. Although I did enjoy this series, it was somehow missing the same whimsy that the Japanese version had. Again, I think it was the overuse of sound effects that caused this. I also think 12 episodes was too much. This easily could have been done with 10 episodes.

Random Note:

Sin’s café is the same café location used in the series “Why R U”.

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Enjoyable story that clashed with poor execution.

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

Overall, this was not a bad series. Unfortunately, the script and editing were not it’s friend. This was a shame because the series had a lot of potential. In its defense, the series main goal to keep views interested was good. If the idea was to keep you confused about the storyline to keep you watching, it succeeded. I kept watching because I was trying to figure out what the hell exactly happened with Ji and Achi in the past. However, the script was underdeveloped in some areas and lacked direction at times. The first episode did a great job grabbing the view’s attention but set an expectation for the rest of the episodes that was not met. The script also did a poor explanation on many things. I did not mind the slow pacing of the series, but they did not use their screentime wisely considering this is an 8-episode series. They could have eliminated some unneeded aspect to help fully develop the more important parts of the script. All of the characters were great and likable. The actors did a great job considering what they had to work with. Overall, it had beautiful cinematography but the editing seemed a little off. There were scene sequences that appeared out of order which caused some continuity problem. Actors made references to things that happen in the past from previous episodes as if it was still happening. However, the flash back scenes were done very well and not confusing. Most of the songs they used were good, but they made some odd background music choices that did not fit the mood of the scene.


******Spoiler Alert******

They were actually very smart on keeping us in the dark about what happened between Jirawat and Achivich in the past up to the second to last episode. I was so confused as to why Ji was giving Achi the cold shoulder which made me want to finish the series. Thankfully this only had 8-episodes.

They didn’t do a good job showing the progression between how Ji and Achi became friends in the past and how they became friends again in the present day.

The kiss in episode 2 was unnecessary and served no purpose to the script.

I wish they gave more screentime to Ki and Kambee. As much as I loved them, don’t introduce a second couple if you are not going to give them a proper storyline. Again, a miss use of screentime.

Although it had the mostly used story element to drive a classic story concept, I like that they did not use any of the predictable conflict scenarios in the last two episodes.

What the hell was up with Ki's college degree? What was that all about?

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Just as good in its own way!

I think it is possible to like, or love (in my case), both the Japanese and Thai adaptation of the manga. I know this is not a remake of the original series, but it is hard not to compare it with the Japanese adaptation. I loved that series, but I’m the first to admit that the script had some weak elements.

This part is about the series as a standalone without any comparison to the Japanese adaptation of the manga. This was a very good and cute series. They did a great job with the story pacing and introduction of the characters. It was also refreshing to have a more mature BL series with characters that talked to each other about their problems. Overall, the script was good with the exception of episode 8, which was ridiculous. I understand the overall idea behind it, but the execution was not good. Although Rock and Pia’s storyline was cute, this felt out of place and was added as a time filler. However, this was only a minor problem for me because their storyline didn’t take up too much screen time. As for the ending, it was perfect. All of the actors were incredible portraying their character. Great cinematography and music.

This part is comparing the Japanese adaptation. Again, I know the Thai version is not a remake but I would be lying if I didn’t compare both. Originally, my main concern was how they were going to fill 12, 45 minutes long episodes. Thankfully, my fears were relieved as I watched it. The only exceptions are the ones I noted above. The main thing I really liked was the Thai version didn’t completely mirror the Japanese version. For me, this series was able to keep the same charm while creating a way to fit into Thai culture. I really liked the added scenes with Jinta and Min that created more depth to their story and relationship. I thought it was smart, and funny, that Jinta was also able to read the cat’s mind too.

Random Note:

I like the silent nods to the manga.

The Thai adaptation incorporated story content that was used for the Japanese series and movie adaptation of the manga which I think was a very smart move.

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Outstanding!!!

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

This was an outstanding series. Overall, the script was nicely done and successfully connected multiple elements and characters together. It had a few weak elements, but it did not distract me from enjoying the series. The first episode did a great job giving brief introduction about mental health, as well as the stigma and prejudice society has about it. It tackled so many aspects of mental health in a very considerate way. This series not only showed how it impacts individuals diagnosed with a metal health disorder, it included how it impacts family members and the medical staff caring for them. The series often used a whimsical/fantasy aspect to help represent certain disorders without it being disrespectful. My only critique is that I was not a fan of the romantic storylines. See the spoiler alert at the end of this review if you want more information. The cast was incredible and did a beautiful job portraying their characters. They did a wonderful job with the cinematography and special effects too.

Random Notes:

I anticipated this series since Netflix announced it and happy it didn’t disappoint me.



******Spoiler Alert******

The romantic storyline between Hwang Yeo Hwan and Min Deu Lae was not bad, but felt a little misplaced within the series. The other romantic storyline was slightly bizarre. The series introduced a love triangle between Dong Go Yoon, Jang Da Eun, and Song Yu Chan in the beginning of the series, but then this completely disappeared by the end. However, I was cool with it because I hate love triangle storylines.

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One Disappointing Spell

I guess my expectation was set to high for this series because I really enjoyed the first one. This had a very creative story concept, but it failed with the execution. The first episode was a little chaotic, but it did succeed in grabbed my attention. Unfortunately, the script quickly unraveled by the end of the second episode. I was done after watching 12 minutes of the third episode because the script became a complete mess. I love supernatural storylines, but this went beyond my threshold of suspended belief. Weirdly, it was the non-supernatural story element that had no logic which did me in. On a positive note, the whole cast did an amazing job. I give them kudos for trying to make what they had work (well in the two episodes I watch). This also had outstanding cinematography, special effects, and FX make-up.

Random Note:

This had a great cast and production quality, it just missed a good script.

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