Zogitt

Heat death of a drama

I’d normally drop a show because it is bad and unwatchable. In this case, it is due to apathy and the need to ration my time. After 6 eps, I feel like I've seen it all before and in much better productions.

For instance, I gather this show follows Will Love in Spring in the schedule. Ouch, that must have hurt because while WLiS has enough chemistry to warm your house in the dead of winter, there is no chemistry here. We get the meaningful glances, but I get more feels looking at a slice of chocolate cake.

Ditto, the topic of disappearing traditional Chinese craftsmanship is well documented. Several shows have highlighted this and one prime example is Meet Yourself. MY is far superior in every way. Not only is the story and acting better but their predicament is woven into the plot in a humanistic way. You feel for the old masters and respect them for their dedication. In this series, all we get are buyouts, shady deals and naked greed. I will quit too if I have to put up with those shenanigans.

The opening scene of this series is so confusing. It literally dropped our leads in front of us with no preamble and then immediately does a flashback. Did that scene gave half the story away?!

Backstabbing, underhanded deals, and betrayal is the only way Chinese knows how to do business, according to this show. We are 5, 6 eps in and there is no way I would do business with any of them. This extends to the FL's family. Her family is willing to renege on their promise to sell the FL shares in the family business. All in the name of keeping the investors happy and benefiting their useless son. To paraphrase an adage, who needs enemies when you have family like that.

Speaking of friends and family, while a lot of series have quirky and interesting supporting characters, so far, I have seen none. They are all either nasty, scheming, useless and/or parasites. I suppose it means our leads have nobody to rely on except themselves . . I shall just refer back to my point on zero chemistry. Touché.

Let's talk a little about our leads now. Vic Zhou has been absent from the small screen for many moons. He is still dapper and quite stoic in this drama, but he is a little stiff as well. Need to loosen up those acting muscles.

Speaking of acting muscles, Victoria Song is quite lively and animated this time around. This is a departure from her usual stilted and pouting way. She is also playing a woman somewhat younger than her real age. Picture Zhao Lusi in that role and you'll get the picture. It is a bit of hit and miss though. I see it as a welcome change but is it too little, too late? I don't know and probably will never find out.

In the end, too many tropes, poor chemistry and dodgy characters rules this series. There is no good reason for me to keep watching. It might come good, or it might get worse. Regardless, with Joy of Life 2 going live, conservation of viewing hours is a no brainer.

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What is the point?

I was really looking forward to this drama as the cast is stellar. The synopsis sounds delicious as well. After watching the first 2 eps, I'm lost for words.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is a bad show. There are fine performances from our leads. It is just my feeble mind kept thinking this can't be it. There has to be more. The plot just seems so banal. I hope it is the longest setup.

I have watched excellent office comedies like Gaus Electronics. They are clever and cutting. This is not it . . at least not yet. There are funny moments, but they are low brow and cliché. Consider I just finished The Art of Sarah, my mind is doing somersaults!

Sure, I appreciate their comedic timings, but this is not how I envisioned a show lead by this stellar ensemble would go down. It would be like hiring Shakespeare to write jingles. There are hints that the writer-nim has bigger plans though.

I hope the FL is playing the long game. Behind the bitchy boss exterior, she is all seeing and insightful. Why was she sent overseas? Maybe she recognises the ML as the best auditor, but he needs tempering so the FL drops him back to earth with extreme prejudice.

We also have the tropey chaebol secession bum fight. Even the hapless Team 3 looks like the cliché "underdog comes good" in the making.

All the ingredients are there for a top show. I just don't know when will the writer-nim bring on the real A-plot. I'm hanging in there because I have faith in our leads, but it is getting harder and harder.

As such, my current rating is based on what I have watched so far and is highly subjective. I will gladly eat humble pie when the show changes my mind.

Think of this missive as an invocation to the drama gods. I beseech thee, deliver us!

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This movie makes 50 Shades look dirty and depraved . . . oh . . I see . .

First of all, this movie is not as challenging to watch as you'd think even though the subject matter is BDSM. Yes, there are graphical scenes but they are not gross nor exploitative. The fact that both leads approached their relationship with open minds, set boundaries and formal consent left the viewer with a clear understanding that this is not about gratuitous violence nor evil purposes. This is BDSM done by the book, probably an university text book.

Otherwise, this is just a lovely contemporary office rom-com. The leads played their roles well and they have great chemistry. The CP fell in love organically and they went through the usual CP trials before confessing their love for each other in one of the best scenes in the drama. It was the level of care and consideration for each other that made this a surprisingly sweet love story, much more so than shows that heap on the artificial sweeteners without much appreciation of what love truly is. The BDSM was a plot device used with care. It was not done for shock value nor exploitation. There is also a streak of humour running through the show and it is not crude at all.

Pacing is steady and the plot moved along with little drag. The support cast is generally interesting but they don't distract you from the OTP. The production value is good with clever use of lighting and sets. They walked a fine line between erotic and sexy. They managed to give off a lot of sexy vibes while keeping their cloths on. That takes skilful direction and good acting.

The writing is very good and sensitive subjects are handled deftly. I particularly liked the way our CP turned the table on the naysayers. Always remember, the pen is mightier than the sword. ;)

All in all, an enjoyable rom-com (if you have nothing against BDSM) which managed to be sexy and pure at the same time. Not a bad combo if you can pull it off!

So, is this movie realistic? I don't think it was the intention of the movie creator to make this a reflection of reality. Just think of it as a romantic fantasy and try not to dream of collar and chains. ;)

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Heavily scripted drama that will give you a whiplash

I can see why there was so much hype around this k-drama when it was first released. It was quite different to your typical parcel of k-dramas being released and the main leads definitely got the netizens talking. However, watching the show a few months after it finished its run, the rose tinted glasses cannot hide all its rough edges.

On the positive side, the ML is handsome and overflowing with charisma. Whether you believe he is a Mafia consigliere is your decision. The FL was flamboyant and matched well with the ML so the OTP's chemistry was signed and sealed. There were quite a few stylistic moments and quotable quotes just right for memes. Action sequences were generally well executed and impactful. Production value was high. OST more than serviceable with classical music taking a prominent role.

When observing the show from a distance, like war and art, you start to notice a coda that ends with the death of a key character (and those were obviously marked for death). The odd thing is that in most cases, the in-between space was filled with comedy, sometimes slapstick and quite farcical. This swing in mood did give me a bit of whiplash. I don't know if part of the problem stems from the drama being 20 episodes long and each almost 1.5 hours in duration. If it was trimmed down to 16 episodes, it might be tighter.

Most of these comedic sequences were supplied by the occupants of the Plaza. They were a motley crew with hearts of gold. In that sense, I was disappointed that they were largely used as comic relief and had little growth. They reminded me of characters in the movies "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" and "Kung Fu Hustle". A bit derivative, to be honest.

Oh mama mia, the overacting. There were so much overacting. The main villains were racing to see who is more evil and the said support cast amped up their traits to the max, most of them became caricatures. Subtlety was the main casualty and there were more than just gallons of blood on the floor. Ditto the violence. It is over the top and the impact waned over time.

Now we come to the biggest problem for me. There are quite a few plot holes and some illogical story telling. The show started well and we have the lone wolf arriving to help the beleaguered "village". I can accept that Vincenzo is an anti-hero and very grey when it come to the definition of good and evil, it does add spice to the proceedings. However, the longer the show went on, the more problematic the story telling became. There were lots of shouted intentions but mostly just milling around until we hit one of the key event I mentioned before. Scenes like the ML fighting 3 mafia hitmen and was saved by Inzaghi, reward for good deeds? The scene when the ML confronted the Interpol officers, one sequence was shown at the end of one episode and when the next episode starts, a completely different scenario was played which contradicted the earlier scene. The role of the Guillotine file which was supposed to be the ultimate deus ex machina but it sort of works but eventually watered down. The gold plot went rogue, why a bed and does it really ends there? Sometimes the plot twist were clever but a lot of the time you can sense the writer-nim's hand on the steering wheel to make sure the show stay on a given course. Several times during the show, it could have ended "logically" but it just kept going.

Vincenzo is handsome and oozes charisma, the show is enjoyable in parts and it will pull your heartstrings from time to time, the found family trope can be cute and heart warming. There is no question about the chemistry between the OTP (I do wish they devoted more time to them). A grand opera of revenge can be sweet music. However, the inconsistencies will pull you out of immersion. Personally, I find Itaewon Class a superior David vs Goliath drama but nobody ever goes to watch a James Bond movie for empathy and sensitivity.

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