Bali

Forever love (2023 miniseries) starring Dai Gao Zheng as Qin Mo Yao/ Zhou Mo and Chen Fang Tong as Lin Xin Tong is a well done mystery romance drama that offers great action scenes, a continuous game of cat and mouse with a constant pursuit, near captures, and repeated escapes between the lead antagonist Chi Shan, played by Hou Dong and the fabulous leading man Qin Mo. The cast did a good job bringing their characters to life and the tug of war concept is well written and executed. The leading couple has great chemistry and their romantic scenes are well delivered. The drama is very entertaining, enjoy it!

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This is a very tenuous coming of age drama that is full of fluffy moments for the leading couple. The leading couple develops a nice relationship that transforms them in subtle ways; they are both steadfast and endearing in their relationship. Although the romance takes time to develop and the romantic scenes are a bit lacking, mostly from the female lead, this drama is quite nice to watch. It is a drama about a group of friends and their journey into adulthood. There are no major conflicts and their passage into adulthood is really nice to watch. The female lead was a tad overly enthusiastic and eager but she also has a sense of maturity and awareness that influences people around her, especially the male lead. Overall, this is a lighthearted drama with a very lovely romantic story and great camaraderie among the group of friends. Enjoy it!

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This drama wanted to give a sense of reality about two people that came to love each other regardless of their age gap (14 years difference) and their financial status but, instead, it became a convoluted mess of slap stick comedy, ridiculous family members that kept doing wrong until almost the end and, in one episodes, they got the mystical enlightenment and became nice in the most ungenuine way. Instead of a well developed romance, the leading man (the gentleman) kept dumping the leading female (the lady) over and over with the excuse that it was all for her sake; and the lady kept dumping the gentleman despite the many times that she said that she trusted him truly and completely. Between this tug of war, their “steadfast” love and romance got stronger and unwavering but, since there was no romantic chemistry between the leading couple, the drama failed to convey the great feel of “love will conquer all”. As much as I tried to like the drama, it failed to even create emotional cohesiveness less alone a romantic atmosphere to save the array of characters in the drama that made absurd decision in the name of “kindness” that spelled selfishness all the way through almost all the 53 episodes.

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This drama is a real disappointment to the viewers and a great disservice to the actors. There’s no real character development and the writers seem to love the clichés interrupt the speaker to create more misunderstandings, don’t tell the truth to “protect” the loved one, a male lead that can’t finish his thoughts and clarifications in a timely manner, a second male lead that keeps causing problems, and an insufferable female lead that cannot keep her own thoughts and feelings under control all the way up to the end. To put it plainly, I’m going to quote a part of solyen’s review: “This is a drama that to be a comedy lacked funny, to be dramatic it lacked emotion and to be romance it lacked romance.”

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This drama is the story of a girl that, in order to find justice for her father’s untimely death enters the palace and how she has to overcome the hurdles that come from rising through the ranks and falling in love with a coveted prince. Lu Zhen is a fictional character within a real historical period that falls in love with a romanticized prince Gao Zhan, which becomes the emperor in the latter episodes. The drama was released on 2013 and it has the feel of an older production with less than perfect war scenes, choreographed fights, and some acting. Been that this is Lu Zhen’s story, the drama was too long and, although she zooms through the ranks and finds a steadfast reciprocated love, the story if full of constant chaos, miscommunication, and sacrifice. SPOILER ALERT: In the last episode, the story gives quick closure to many characters past ten years after the antagonists are gone. The drama is not a bad one, but it is not a great one either. The leading couple has good chemistry and several lovely moments but nothing that will linger in the viewer’s memory for too long.

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Loving, Never Forgetting is a very good drama that will stir all kinds of emotions from the viewer. The drama is not perfect, but it is a very good watch. The leading male characters are quite imperfect and wounded human beings and the lead female can be exhaustingly naïve, but they are the reason that the plot keeps viewers watching. This drama brings about how the decisions and grudges of past generations can exert painful memories and feelings in their offspring that can bring disastrous consequences for all people involved. In this drama there are many obstacles and major character growth before the characters can finally find peace within themselves to be able to move on into a happy ending. The leading couple has good chemistry but the leading lady causes a lot of misunderstanding while trying to bring the family together and she became a victim to her own naivety and simple-mindedness. Still, the drama is a good watch if not for some extreme leniency toward the wrong doers. Overall, a nice drama, enjoy it!

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On The Romance of Hua Rong 2, the first episodes are the same old mistrust story from the female lead toward the male lead and the playing hard to get when they have been together as a couple on and off, but it really gets better on episode 9 and on. There is a clip at the end of every episode that sheds light and, sometimes, some humor to something that happened during the episode. There are more allusions to modern time (waterbed on episode 4- hilarious!)and a strong but obvious antagonist that really puts the characters in ridiculous situations. Although the drama is full of clichés and the tiring feminist attitude of the female lead when it is obvious that the male lead is not trying to stop her but to protect her from her own impulsivity, there are many sweet (episode 9- is beautiful when he doesn’t allow her to give him her eyes) and romantic moments between the lead couple that make the title more plausible. Season 2 is nice to watch and delivers entertainment. Enjoy it!

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This is a very good historical romance drama that has great action scenes, a nice steadfast romance, wonderful camaraderie amongst friends and family, palace antics, an obsessed antagonist, and a bizarre and unrealistic imaginative plot involving plastic surgery that, if the viewer can overcome this far-fetched part of the story, then, it will be easier to enjoy the rest of the drama. The leading couple has a fantastic, playful, and intense chemistry that gets better once they get together as a couple. Although there was not a lot of romantic intimacy, it is very pleasant to see the way they gaze at each other, their embraces, tenderness, mutual understanding, and a devoted love that was constant throughout the drama. The female and male lead on this drama are of equal emotional, social, and intellectual standing and it is very entertaining seeing them working as individuals as well as a couple as they confronted issues and found resolutions. The drama is not flawless, but it is exceptionally entertaining. Enjoy it!

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The drama Time to Fall in Love is a nice watch while waiting for a great one to come. Although the drama is full of clichés, it is the lack of good acting and a female lead that, even when the male lead is sincere toward her, shows no trust in his feelings and desire to protect her. The storyline of the secret that can’t be reveal is insubstantial since it is the switched sister that was liked since the beginning. What saves this drama from been considered a complete flunk is the male lead and the romantic scenes. Overall, push the forward button for those unnecessary filler scenes, and you will find that the drama is not great but it is entertaining enough to watch.

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This is a very good coming of age/slice of life drama. Although the leading couple didn’t get together until the last four episodes, their playful, cute, and fluffy chemistry during the high schools years was performed very nicely, College life and their adult interactions were almost a continuation of their high school romance but with some conflict and just more cute interactions. Their romantic scenes were also nice but still more cute than passionate, Overall, the drama, although it is full of clichés, is entertaining and the actors did well bringing their characters to life. Enjoy it!

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This drama is a Chinese spin-off of the 2007 Korean romantic comedy “Coffee Prince”. Although it is a nice watch, the changes done from the Korean adaptation made this drama failed to produce the expected effect of the male lead’s struggles as he finds himself falling in love with his tomboy employee; which made Eric Le Yang’s character (Jiang Shang Wu) seem delusional and his reactions were almost illogical. Xu Lu (as the tomboy Gao Xing) played her character well, but there was no romantic chemistry with the male lead. It seems that the changes to the story were brought about because of Chinese censorship which it would have been better to create a whole different drama. Overall, the drama is nice to watch if the viewer knows nothing about the original story! Aside from the changes to fit censorship demands, even the acting from the second leading couple was not the best as expected from a seasoned actor as Wang Yang.

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This is a nice drama that illustrates how children carry the burden of their elder’s mistakes. The drama has a sullen aura throughout all 70 episodes and, although it has its beautiful, lovely, and tender moments, it is packed with characters that are scarred from the actions, selfishness, misunderstandings, and lack of proper communication of their parents and grandparents. The entire drama packs one punch after another on the leading couple and most of the supporting cast. Although it is not a binge worthy drama and the characters take too long to reach emotional maturity, the drama does have some redeeming qualities. The male lead is one of them; he’s steadfast on his love and care for the leading female. The most disturbing aspect of this drama is how most characters failed to see and understand that Jiang Sheng’s feelings and yearning for Liang Sheng stemmed from a sisterly deep, pure, and strong love toward the brother that she grew up with and their symbiotic relationship.

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This is a nice romantic comedy with plenty of melodramatic tones, some fairly good action, palace antics, and a leading couple with a nice romance. It is a nice drama to watch while waiting for a great one to come. The drama moves back and forth from satire to serious and earnest plot and a few heart wrenching moments. There is good chemistry among the leading couple that remains throughout the duration of the drama. The leading lady is the one that keeps the drama going, she is hilarious, tender, loving, earnest, and loyal, not only to the Emperor, but to her friends and family as well. Although the story tries to develop two other romantic stories, the way that the couples come together seems forced and unnatural. Still, the drama is entertaining.

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