Bali

This review is for Season 1, 2, and 2 short extra episodes!

Season1 @ 2: This is a wonderful drama in matters of production, cinematography, beautiful costumes, faithful to Xianxia’s theme of heaven, mortal, and back to heaven realm plot and setting, fantastic CGI’s and action sequences, and great acting from most of the cast. The OST’s are good but the drama could’ve had some scenes in which using just sounds and rhythm would’ve been a better choice since there is a lot of metaphorical dialogue on this drama. ChengYi (as Ying Yuan) and Yang Zi (as Yan Dan) did a great job portraying their character. They truly delivered their emotions well and they have good chemistry throughout their interactions. The reason the drama is not a rating of 10 is because of how Yan Dan’s character was written. Although Ying Yuan made mistakes in the first part of the drama (Heavenly Realm) that gave Yan Dan a painful and heartbreaking experience, he was equally disconsolate and miserable as he was also harsh toward himself. As much as Yan Dan loved him to the point of sacrificing herself, she wasted precious time with him. She forgave others with ease and warmth, but her demeanor and harshness toward Ying Yuan made her character insufferable and nonsensical, almost to the end. Still, taking in consideration that these characters and plot are intrinsic to Xanxias, theses drama is excellent and very entertaining. Enjoy it! (PS: The 2 short extra episodes provide closure to many characters and bring a happy ending to the drama)

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This drama is a “slice of life” that intends to muse the viewer into the life of 4 individuals that finds themselves entangled and falling for each other in spite of their different socioeconomic and emotional circumstances. These characters will have to face difficulties from dysfunctional familial relations and interference to personal insecurities and other dilemmas that, although somehow seem to find a good level of resolution, there is a sense of emotional disjointedness by the end of the drama. The cast did well delivering their characters but the dialogues, although they were well written, sometimes felt muddle and erratic due to the complexity of the characters’ thoughts, feelings, actions, and reactions. The last episode seems rushed but the very end is creative and fun to watch. Although the most emphasized part of the drama seems to be the relationship between the lead and secondary couple, there is no romantic chemistry; but they developed a nice friendship by the end. The drama’s synopsis end with the question: Could romance be in the cards for these two couples? The answer is yes, but the romance lacks character and definition, to say the least.

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This is a really nice drama set during a historical period that offers intrigue, mystery, some comedy, great friendship with mutual trust, and a nice and steadfast romance between the main leads. In this drama, both leads are smart, equally capable, and unwavering in their love and commitment toward each other. The action scenes are well choreographed and, problems and misunderstanding are resolved quickly within a well paced plot. Both leads possess great moral qualities and remain true to their love and friends. Overall, although some acting was not the best, the cast worked well together to bring about a nice and entertaining drama. Enjoy it!
12/10/2023:
Still a high re-watch value!

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“Believe in Love” is a historical romance drama with some comedic undertones that is enjoyable to watch while waiting for a great one to come. The leading couple has great romantic chemistry and nice interactions that bring out authenticity in their numerous intimate scenes. This drama could have been a great one if the last episodes were not charged with bizarre characters and plot holes towards a playful ending that could’ve been fantastic if the leading couple shows how they overcame misunderstandings and managed to remain steadfast to their love and mutual understanding instead of giving the viewers an insipid and childish happy ending that lacks substance.

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This is a drama that was supposed to be great since the leading couple is cute together and, at times, have good chemistry. Although the plot was supposed to be about a first female accepted as a student at the Imperial College and her accomplishments to open the doors to other females, the drama became a game of cat and mouse chase by an obsessed second male lead with a revenge storyline that falls flat and ends without justice been done. The emperor is laughable on his decision making and the writers are worst. The leading couple’s steadfast relationship is put to the test every so often that the great feel starts to fade with each clichéd twist that is thrown at them. The chemistry between the main leads is not the worst but the male lead’s expressions lacked passion on this drama. Zhao Lu Si as Sang Qi exudes cuteness and can really express her emotions but, sadly on this drama, there’s not much to say about her romantic chemistry with the main lead. The action scenes are well choreographed and some members of the supporting cast did quite well, but the drama was basically controlled by the presence and disastrous action of a few obsessive characters. So, overall, if you choose to watch this drama, prepare yourself to a good amount of fast-forward motion since you will not miss too much of anything by doing so.

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A Dream of Splendor is an adaptation from the opera "Zhao Pan Er Feng Yue Jiu Feng Chen". The story, although it has a nice romantic storyline, is more about three woman that are going through trials and tribulations and work together to overcome societal prejudice and injustice. This drama is delivered in a very artistic manner through the strong, smart, beautiful, witty, and charismatic Zhao Pan’er (Liu Yifei) and her lover, Gu Qianfan (Chen Xiao) who is equally intelligent, highly skilled in planning action or policy, and a great protector and benefactor. Their love story is one of mutual admiration, respect, and a beautiful and sweet steadfast love. A Dream of Splendor is an ode to three women that are willing to work together and support each other throughout adversity and good times to walk through life in splendor. Overall, this is a well written drama and the cast did a great job bringing their characters to life. Although the romantic scenes are soft and restrained, the leading couple certainly exudes a great loving chemistry. Enjoy it!

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This is a nice historical drama to watch while waiting for a great one to come. The drama’s title could be misleading since most of the drama is spent in trying to find a solution for the lack of marriage interest that was accidentally prompted by the leading male. The leading couple has a good playful chemistry but most of their romantic scenes were insipid or interrupted. The leading lady is lovable and she can deliver a dramatic scene nicely. As for the cast as a whole, the acting is average and, for a series about romance, the drama failed to deliver. The drama is not bad, it is just unexceptional. (Don't expect much from three Epilogue episodes, they don't provide any furtherance or plot improvement, quite the contrary, meant to be funny, it ends been disappointing!)

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This is a nice and sometimes frustrating romantic comedy within the world of ultra-competitive e-sports. Although the female lead gets better once the romance starts (episode 21), she was insufferable and judgmental while showing an emotionless expression and acting impulsively and meddlesome. Although the romance is definitely there, the male lead was the force behind the fuzzy feelings in the romantic interactions. It is not necessary to have knowledge on gaming, but the drama spends too much time showing the ugly side of media shaming and its effects on the public figures, in this case, e-sports players, the thrill of gaming, and the influence of the fans on the players’ rise and fall of/from fame within the online gaming community. If the viewer is interested on e-sports and its culture, the drama provides much to watch, but the leading lady, maybe because her acting might have been asked to emulate an e-sport’s emotionless character, failed to create a nice romantic chemistry with the leading actor, even as much as he tried : (

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This is a really nice comedy saeguk drama which gives glimpses of the era without making it a history based drama. Although the drama has some dark and dramatic undertones, it is just fiction and it is not to be taken too seriously. It is a star studded drama and the acting is great. There is a fantastic rendition of the character Park Tae Seo performed by Lee Jae Kyoon which had the most fleshed out and poignant character, from his villainous beginnings to his final redemption. The drama touches some historical events of the era through the palace deceptions and social stigmatization of the women and children taken by the enemy during the Second Manchu invasion of Qing forces during the Kingdom of Joseon, cultural and social issues of the role of women and men shown in a female centric plot with some strong female characters, delicious showmanship of Korean cuisine, a nice leading couple with great overall chemistry but weak romantic scenes, and a well delivered creepy farcical villain (Park Do Soo) that was not fun to watch. The friendship and camaraderie of the main and supporting characters makes this a very entertaining drama to watch if you’re not looking for a saeguk with historical accuracy. Enjoy it!

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This is a great slice of life drama for the first 21 episodes which depicted family, high school, and neighborhood interactions; a group of kids growing together and supporting each other while highlighting family and friendship connections as well as outlining cultural and social issues. The parents are excellent on this drama, their mutual friendship, love, and care was genuinely portrayed and it was wonderful to watch. Episodes 22-25 are about college and choices. Then finally, the very slow burned romance forms into a relationship and the drama suffers a decline as it was full of clichés, misunderstandings, and even bad advice and cover ups from their shared friends. The love story works better as friends that love and deeply care about each other than friends to lovers’ plot line. The lack of proper communication from the main leads makes the rest of the episodes, and their romance, overwhelming to watch. The drama has a happy ending but it is rushed and unamusing!

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My Sassy Girl is the remake of the 2001 Korean movie “My Sassy Girls” but, in this remake, although it differs from the movie, the plot is a seaguk in the Joseon era. It's a light romantic- comedy with some palace intrigue, action, and melodrama. It is a lighthearted drama with some heartbreaking moments and a happy ending. The leading couple has a cute chemistry and they portrayed their characters nicely. The ending seems rushed but, overall, it is a nice comedy with some romance, palace scheming, funny moments, and the conflicts are quickly resolved. Enjoy it!

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This is a great slice-of-life drama depicting the experiences of a group of young man and woman as they navigate through the ups and downs of college life within the backdrop of short track speed and figure skating. Although there are conflicts and misunderstandings among the characters, these young man and woman learn how to confront struggles in their lives and become stronger through challenging themselves and each other as they pursue their dreams. The leading couple has great chemistry and is a delight to see as they start to fall in love and support each other throughout the drama. Overall, this drama is really entertaining and the cast did fabulously delivering their characters within a great story of romance and sports.

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Crazy Romance (also known as The Most Ordinary Romance) is a crazy, fun movie. It is just a movie about a group of ordinary people that work in the same place. The movie shows aspects of their work, interpersonal relationships among a group of people that know a bit too much about each other. The cast did a great job bringing their characters to life. Kim Rae Won (as Jae Hoon) and Gong Hyo Jin (as Sun Young) were great together as they portrayed two individuals that were hurting from past relationships and how they stumble into each other and started to heal and move on into what seems to be a great blossoming relationship.

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