News 
This review may contain spoilers
Not your usual sageuk
(Quick review: Worth the watch, good chemistry, ok acting, solid drama 7/10 )I am perplexed on how to feel about The Red Sleeve because it was also never clear on what it wanted to show us.
The drama starts as a normal Sageuk love story, bright and opinionated servant girl meets the prince in disguise. They banter , they bond, the first sparks fly.
It seems like there is a genuine connection from both sides but we are quickly introduced to the palace dynamics that would deem their love story doomed from the beginning(?). She realised their relationship would have never been as that of two equals; even if she likes him, at the end of the day, he is just the king with all the power. The logic was also that if the prince (later king) pursued her, she would be unhappy due to his other duties and concubines. FL told us; she will suffer and it's better to not have him at all, she would rather live a simple life with her friends.
But the problem is, they never really showed us her suffering after they got together, we assume she had to follow a protocol that made her feel trapped? They only hinted at those parts and showed us that the king no matter how much he loved the FL he would put his duty first.
Which I get, from our perspective all these people are slaves. Even the royals were prisoners of their own device never truly free. It was pitiful, however if the FL was still a servant what difference would it really make? We saw her being abused under a capricious master, being in immediate danger, being wrongfully accused and unable to gain her independence or build her own family. As a concubine ,the king was loyal to her, still adored her and treated her with dignity.
So being a slave is more free from being trapped in a gold cage? If that's what they wanted to show they should have done a better job to showcase it. Also, during the scene of her death we saw her beg the king to ignore her if they meet in the after life. She showed immense regret. And then what do we see at the end? Them meeting in the after life ( or whatever it was ) ... being all lovey dovey .
So did they want a cautionary tale about the power dynamics and a feminist ode that women would never be free if they do not have independence or a love prevails all romance ?
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
You either love it or hate it
If you plan to watch this movie with the mindset that it's gonna be the typical Korean romcomthis movie is probably not for you!
I went in with no expectations but I enjoyed every second of it.
This movie is one of the most realistic depictions of modern relationships I have ever watched.
Don't expect any grand gestures or a romance that will make your heart flutter.
But despite that and what some other reviews say, it was never boring.
The plot kept me intrigued, while it injected a lot of comedy that made me laugh uncontrollably.
The plot twist was AMAZING, but its not a very vital part of the story I would have enjoyed it, with or without it.
It just introduced an extra layer to the story which I found fun but not ground breaking.
Krystal was so natural in this I loved her character !!!
*spoilers from here*
This movie is more about the emotional needs and expectations within a relationship and what happens if they are not met.
Nobody was a bad person and they both tried to make it work. The ML was not insightful to realise the hurt he caused by the daily stressors that put a huge dent in their relationship. The mundane state of most relationships was not the fault of either of them cause if both people don't actively try to improve it, it could only lead to sourness. The romcom ending would have been for the ML to meet FL at the airport and for them to have happily ever after but it was already too late, the FL realised that the trust was already broken and she already found comfort in someone who meets her needs.
To people who said that this movie was about cheating ... I never though either of them cheated, they just naturally developed a connection with two different people, but if you watch back neither of them had a slight interest in taking things further and developing a romantic relationship with the 2nd leads. Only after they broke up they tried to move on.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Better than expected
My friend suggested Brush up Life and I will forever thank her.It was such a nice break from pointless and predictable romance dramas out there.
The story is so unique that got me hooked from the 1st episode.
Be warned, there is 0 romance , and it mainly focuses on the bond of these school friends.
As a woman in my mid 30's it was extremely relatable and thought provoking.
Even though I did get frustrated by the main protagonists choices sometime, I understood that this is a realistic portrayal of a person that is flawed, she obviously made many mistakes. Also, coming from a different culture some of her choices to become better person were definitely ... interesting. I saw some other comments here criticising the drama for being too "western" and falling victim of western ideologies; I think this person was watching a completely different drama.
This is a beautiful depiction of Japanese society and beliefs but at the same time it contains universal truths about relationships and the meaning of life.
All the characters, even side characters were well built and were very realistic; just humans trying their best to navigate life to the best of their abilities.
Was this review helpful to you?
Come on guys ... whats with these high ratings ?
Obviously ratings and reviews are subjective ... but 8.10 stars ?I think some of you have a completely different rating system for bl cause most of them are so disappointing.
But if you analyse the drama it has was too many flaws ...
From the bad plot, bad writing, badly written characters, plots that go nowhere, mid acting, occasionally bad audio.
It's just not a good show.
Did it have good moments? Sure, it was fun sometimes but at the same timeI had to fast forward many scenes especially FirstKhao ones. Which was a pity, initially they had so much chemistry but the script killed all the excitement and chemistry with their bad writing.
So what kept me watching? Joong! He was incredible, he was a breath of fresh air and hi acting was incredible ! I can't wait to see him in more projects
Was this review helpful to you?
Not a big Thai BL fan, this was a surprise !
Years, I have been struggling with Thai BL, their production seemed always very amateurish and rushed.However thats not the case for Top Form AT ALL.
Top Form feels like a carefully crafted passion project; from the direction to the cinematography and the music it was very artistically filmed. To my understanding this was adapted from a Japanese source material and I have to admit even while watching it I thought that it gave the subtle sensitivities of Japanese filmmaking. But it never felt like a copy, it was more like a beautiful pair of the best aspects of both cultures. The main actors were good but Boom stands out by far for his impeccable acting. His ability to convey emotions was mesmerising. To my disbelief he hasn't been a protagonist in as many titles as he should. A true tragedy.
Top Form was a triumph and the industry should learn some lessons and try to prioritise quality over quantity.
Easier said than done when, BL dramas are produced as easily consumable fast food that fans would eat up if the main guys are attractive.
p.s I still rated it 8.5/10 because it had some potential for further improvement in the scenario
Was this review helpful to you?
Refreshing but still was missing something
I was really perplexed on how I should feel about Run On. It was one of the few dramas that indeed tried to appeal to a more mature audience as it tries to portray a more realistic depiction of relationships. But these attempts are not always successful and it does falls into kdrama stereotypes that do not fit the realism it tried to create. That's why it always felt lukewarm.The slow pace was times enjoyable but at other times, infuriating. I appreciate it tried to not just focus into the romantic relationships but also into friendship , family dynamics etc but why do I feel some relationship should been given alot less screentime than others. Some scenes didn't move the plot or didn't built any emotional background so they felt unnecessary. And on the contrary some of the most interesting plot were resolved out of nowhere.
Overall the acting was surprisingly good BUT ... why was Siwan the worst actor out of the 4 main protagonists ? I honestly expected it to be the other way around. Not that he was bad, just very one tone (maybe that was the directors instructions for the role?)
6.5/10
Was this review helpful to you?
I'm so confused
Is there something wrong with me? Based on the reviews even if this wasn't a masterpiece I should have atleast been able to finish this drama, but I just couldn't. I finished episode 5 and realised a didn't enjoy a single aspect of it. On the contrary, I just wished for the episodes to end as soon as possible.Despite the intriguing first episode, the drama falls flatter than flat.
The characters are not interesting, just caricatures of people that only exist in kdramaland.
The chemistry between the mains non existent.
The plot has nothing to offer.
Ultimatetly I was utterly bored.
Was this review helpful to you?
