1Films from this region can be so painfully true to life, not prone to sugarcoat or providing even the narrowest of escape from the unpredictability and cruelty of human existence. There's no compromise. I don't know what to make of it. I both love it and hate it.
The Intimate Lover poignantly unveils our contrary nature as human beings. When it comes to matters of the heart, we want security and stability, but also a constant supply of that heady rush of new love, of being in love and seeing the stars in our lover's eyes. But it's impossible to attain both at the same time, with the same partner for the long haul.
So where does that leave us? Pretty much between a rock and hard a place.
To not chase that high is to commit yourself to a life of probable unfulfillment and what ifs, and to chase it would be like chasing a rainbow. You'll be going around in circles. If you leave one partner for another just to experience the high of being in love, eventually you'll end up back where you started with the same irrational need to begin the process all over again.
So really that sweet, intoxicating love we all want to experience can only last for a lifetime in our memories; and what this film imparts on us is that it's better to experience that love and end it while you're still on a high rather than let it wane from the onset of familiarity. It is the memory of this intoxicating love that will cradle us as we're delivered into the bosom of death.
It's a powerful message, if a little depressing.
All in all, though, this was a good exploration of the human condition. I think the actors did a good job, especially the female lead. I was happy to see some good physicality between the characters. None of this brushing of the lips nonsense or people who are supposed to be intimate acting like strangers around each other.
I've seen where this film has been described as "erotic". Perhaps by Asian standards, but this was just an average film to me. Explicit, yes, but erotic, not really. Because of the subject matter the film attempts to analyze they HAD to show that level of intimacy between the characters. To not do so would have been unrealistic. When you meet someone and you fall in love with them, you want to be intimate with them. Film, being a visual medium, has to show that intimacy to strengthen the story being told, otherwise the movie would have defeated its own purpose.
I must admit even though I had an idea where the movie was headed, and was okay with it, I held a small hope for a different ending. What can I say? I am a romantic. I know how life works. I know we're powerless to its whims. But I don't need to be reminded of that constantly in my entertainment. Be that as it may, however, I'm glad no one had a terminal illness. No one got hit by a truck. No one died or was dying. Thank goodness.
The ending was appropriate, poignant, but not gut wrenching. If you're in the mood for a film that will make you think and or spur an intellectual conversation afterwards, this is a good choice.
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The female lead was amazing. She was so calm and dignified and yet, there is a subtle change occurring within her throughout, simmering beneath the diplomatic surface. It never explodes or exposes itself completely. You cannot hold that change to one single moment. You can't point at one moment and say "there she is finally!" But you can feel the change constantly, scene after scene. Until it has become a part of her completely.
I love her character. It is so deep and yet we can all relate to it somewhere. The rest of the cast is equally amazing. Nana's character was brilliant. She was so unique in her style and I loved her screen-time, especially with Hye Kyung. I didn't know much about Nana before I started this show (except that she wins the title of "most beautiful face" a lot). But I really look forward to seeing her in more roles (and different ones). I didn't know much about Jun Do Yeon either (except that she was paid A LOT for this drama). But I she was so good here, I ended up checking out a couple of her movies (and loving them!).
The guys were awesome. Jung Won was sooo sexayyy. Like MY GOD. He's like a bad boy who grew up like some really fine wine. I'll be crushing on him for a while. The romance was unexpectedly awesome. The drama is full of sexual tension and I am not complaining.
Tae Joon was another complex character who was a delight to watch. The whole time you are wondering WHO THE HELL IS HE? WHAT IS HE THINKING? This guy had me really confused with his sometimes-bad-sometimes-good character. But then I realized the catch. This is how he is supposed to be. This is how we all are. There is no black or white. There are good sides to us and there are dark sides. And that is exactly how he was. He was a scary man but he was a gentle father. He was trying to do something right using wrong methods. He loved his wife but he succumbed to temptation. A lot. He was human.
The music was perfect for the drama and this drama can definitely be watched again for the complexities and the surprisingly swoon-worthy romance that takes it's own sweet time to build.
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Beautiful cinematography and amazing chemistry
I have liked a bl after a long long time.. BL these days are just not making me interested. its either the acting or the story or the chemistry that lacks. This BL, and i think Japanese BL its itself are really really really good as compared to other countries. they have better acting better direction and mature themes.This is absolutely beautiful. I loved it from the first episode. The characters are flawed but so are we and thats what makes it relatable. Highly recommended if you are bored of shitty thai bl these days.
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This review may contain spoilers
I pushed my way through the entire series because there were some sweet moments that made it really worth watching, yet I still feel like I'm writing this review to criticize more than compliment.But let's start with a compliment:
I enjoyed the lead female character. This kind of nice, independent, no-nonsense lead female character has been a rare item in the Korean drama industry. I'm saying she's strong as in not TOO comically strong or bratty as well. Eun Hawon character is really likable, and it's the only part that makes sense why this kind of reverse harem plot works. The boys in the house genuinely like her, and I accept it. Most of the Korean dramas that go for either this generic reverse harem plot or the strong lead girl plot usually fail to deliver them naturally. I grew fond of her the most and her character made me stick around.
Another good point that somehow kept me around was the sweet moments and the chemistry between the lead characters. I could feel that they really care for each other. Nothing was forced. The love story wasn't rushed. I enjoyed it. Sometimes the sub plots dragged on for too long and their sweet moments would restore my faith for this show.
Now onto the bad part:
From the title: Cinderella and Four Knights, there are no four knights at all. They're trying to sell that this is a reverse harem kind of story, with one lead girl and four lead guys and such, but it only lasted probably up to the first few episodes. The first few episodes promised you a love triangle which was cliche but still entertaining.
From somewhere early in the series, however, out of *four* knights: 1) one of them loses complete interest in the lead female and goes back to the second lead female he ditched long ago for unexplained reasons, 2) one of them grows to like the lead female yet takes care of the second lead female to an unreasonable extent, 3) one of them likes the lead female genuinely but, of course, the plot won't allow them to even meet and talk properly, 4) and the last one of them leaves the *knight* title ever so quickly and branches out to his own super cliche sub plot although he has so much potential in everything from acting to his looks to his chemistry with the lead female.
It felt so much like the writers lured us into such F4 - Boys Over Flowers kind of settings, then ditched us to an extremely cliche plot that revolved more around the second lead female – who I have to use the word "annoyingly boring" to describe. I like Son Naeun as a member of A Pink, but I believe her acting is very bad – or this character does not shine a light on her as an actress at all. Her character is an "I-only-look-at-you" kind of pitiful(?) girl, but somehow the story (or her acting) made her evil. I thought she was going to grow into a likable second female lead because she was one of a few second leads that don't act evil towards the lead female character. However, her damsel-in-distress situations only turned her into a "I don't care if I look evil, I just want to own one of these rich guys" kind of character.
She has the looks and she's from a well-raised background. She was also incredibly stubborn for (literally) unsaid reasons while she could just go out and have a happy life while forgetting these main guys. Plus, her interest in fashion design seemed useless. It played no part in the plot, and I wish writers would stop stereotyping fashion design major as a "high class" thing. Beautiful barbie-like female characters don't need to like fashion to look sophisticated. Try harder.
Likewise, I didn't enjoy the stereotypes in this story at all. Jung Ilwoo's character (Kang Jiwoon) was built around a quiet, rebellious guy with a troubled past, so they gave him a street-racer persona while in the story it was just him fidgeting with his toy cars from time to time. It didn't look cool and rebellious. It looked pathetic.
Ahn Jaehyun's character (Kang Hyunmin) – the playboy successor of Haneul Group – can he be even more cliche than this? I mean, playboy chaebols are fun to have in a story, but this characteristic of him progressed to nowhere. He was out with random girls for only 2 or 3 episodes at the beginning. At the same time, he's a supposed successor of their family business, but I see him lazing around inside the mansion the *entire* series. In fact, he doesn't seem very aloof. He has a heart, but they didn't make use of it at all.
Lee Jungshin's character (Kang Seowoo) is a musician. Why? There's no back story to his characteristics. He's popular and is a good singer and he's very nice. Rich and romantic, yet he seemed the most unattached to the entire chaebol family. Again, there's nothing bad about this, I just feel like this musician character is very stereotypical. And again, for a chaebol grandson who's *finally* nice and decent, he's out of the picture from the first half of the series. He likes the main girl alone, feels sad alone, and lets her go alone. His music plays almost no part in putting his character together with the main girl or other guys, and despite that, there's no explanation in why he fails to convey his love to the main girl at all. (Oh, wait, why? Because the writer doesn't want that. Then WHY did they even make his character up at all?)
I still forced my way through the end purely because of the lead female character. She was the only decent one in the entire series. The "missions" and "part-time job" that put her in these guys' mansion made me cringe though. And although she's naturally kindhearted, genuinely wanting the boys to reunite as a family was a bit odd, given that she hasn't been raised in a warm *family* as well.
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TAKE ALL MY MONEY
This is such a gem!!!! This is hands down the best GL that I’ve watched. The acting is top tier and the natural chemistry between Faye and Yoko is untouched. The acting feels very comfortable and nonscripted. I am really enjoying these little details with the directing as well!The delivery of the script is so good. I fear that I won’t be able to move on from this drama. Anueng
must be protected at all cost!!!!!
And the side couple as well is chefs kiss. Also not to mention the plot is giving very soap opera and I’m eating it up lol. You should definitely watch!
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That's actually quite simple. At one point, I thought « Wow ». I was already hooked from the start (or rather around episode 3 because that's when the main leads actually meet for the first time) but later I really fell in love with the characters and the story. I was impressed, which nearly never happens. I was so eager to see the next episode that I ended up reading the novel... only to be frustrated by not being able to finish it. Yes, unfortunately for now, you'll only find the first half translated in english on internet. (EDIT : now completed! Advice: watch the drama before reading the novel.)
Story :
It's a little difficult to follow at first because there are a lot of characters and informations to remember. When it started, I thought it would be roughly one case every three episodes. So I didn't really care about the criminals identities and that's where I was wrong. It's actually one big case. The first case leads to the second, which leads to a third even bigger, and so on. Episodes are short but intense on informations. You have to stay focused to follow this drama, be warned.
Drama vs novel
Personnaly, I love them both in a different way. In the novel, I love how intense the main leads relationship is. We don't have their inner thoughs in the drama, so the focus is more on the investigation, which gives off an intense feeling too. Hence, I did not mind the difference, but I'll surely see a lot of things in a different way when I'll rewatch it. For instance, Ji Bai feelings are less obvious in the drama. He smiles at her, confides in her, stays by her side... They just made Xu Xu realization of her feelings more obvious than the novel through her drawings. Still, I think you'll appreciate the drama more if you watch it before reading the novel.
Acting and characters reactions
Realistic. I have to word it that way because, when it's a romantic comedy, chinese and taïwanese dramas tend to exagerate situations. Fortunately, they choose to focus on the investigation for this drama, so the acting is also very serious. The one thing that actually doesn't feel right is Xu Xu drawing cartoons. I felt the way she was portrayed in the novel, being someone really mature and logical, was more realistic.
Music and cinematography
I loved the opening song and even more its clip. So beautiful and kind of sensual, even with animals drawings. It goes well with the cinematography. Some sequences are beautiful. I loved how they make use of some silent moments. One little thing bothered me in the first few episodes. At times, the camera trembled too much, probably to give a suspens feel. But overall, it was really well-done.
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I wanted to see this movie because of Lee Joon, his acting in this movie was brilliant, amazing, like let me stand up and clap, you just can't dinied that it was awesome.
i read some comments about this movie, that this movie is a mess, only beating up each other, sex and nothing more.
this movie is about how a fame can ruin a life, starting from nothing, becoming something, and in the end again starting from beginning.
if you want to see how good is Lee Joon, then you can watch it, but be ready for a lot of sex scenes and fights.
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The drama that felt like the most beautiful poem!
Was it the plot that caught my eye? was it the acting? was it the ost? Well none of these. While browsing through reels I found a reel of this drama of the first episode when Sou and Tsumugi meet again. Without even knowing the context, I cried. Later, I searched for the synopsis of this drama and boy, did my heart wrench! I decided to wait for more episodes but after sometime this drama still found itself in my reels. I binge watched the available 7episodes and those 7 hours I cried 14 times. But honestly, it was not the tragic element that moved me but how beautifully the drama was written. Sometimes, when you find something beautiful that makes you think so much and calms you down, you cry.There was not any stress element but I liked the conversations between every character. I felt myself to be in the pov of every character. Every small detail of the drama holds a beautiful meaning and when you will reach the last episode you will see a loop of beautiful and brightening elements. However, to bind such a precious creation needs comprehension from the actors' part and indeed every character justified their roles, its emotions and every part of it.
A memorable drama that taught me so much and maybe when I will watch it again, I will learn more.
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This review may contain spoilers
Addictive Hot, Unsatisfying Mess with Irredeemable ML
Summary:* An irredeemable ML
* Too much skinship between ML and SFL. I lost count of the, “Ohhh, no he didn’t,” moments. Seriously!
* Happy Ending (although the ML didn't deserve one) is only 15 min out of 15 episodes
* Wavering and confusing (but gorgeous I know) SML. He should have stuck with FL. I would have rated this much higher
* They went all Edward Scissorhands and cut scenes that created a hot, chaotic, disappointing post production mess
* Series is like an old wooden roller coaster ride..in the end, it will leave you dizzy with a massive headache...
I just want to say that I REALLY hate giving bad reviews. It breaks my heart to leave one for Praomook. Maybe because I'm coming off the drama high of Tra Barb See Chompoo, a series that had almost the perfect formula for a revenge to love troupe. To say I was disappointed with this one is an understatement. I wanted to love Praomook because of Pon and Bua; HOWEVER, the first golden rule in romance writing is to NEVER make the ML's character irredeemable. The second golden rule is to NEVER show more skinship between the ML and SFL. The series managed to break both rules in one agonizing, infuriating, and disastrous fell swoop.
I do think because of the slicing to get this from 22 to 15 episodes, the show skimmed over fleeting signs of some good qualities in Lan. Also, Mook was a little too aggressive and unbending in the beginning. I kept wondering when someone was going to break to begin the healing to come to the inevitable happy ending. Unfortunately, the disappointing happy ending only happened with 15 minutes left in the 15 hour series. . Toward the end, I believed it was too late to save this relationship. I sort of hoped to see Mook (who matured in the end) ride away and maybe meet up with a Thai Idol, fall in love, and have two adorable kids with a cutaway of Lan languishing on a beach somewhere reflecting on what he did wrong.
Side Note: I've actually read forums where they were rooting for Lan's BIL (played by Ta Warit Tipgomut) to succeed in killing off Lan. This is how bad his character was written. I've never seen a ML's character become so disliked before. Honestly, I just want Ta Warit to star as a ML in something like My Secret Bride. REALLY love him.
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Love the story (mostly) and characters, but it is not flawless for sure
Apart from the fact that the series is adapted from a BL work, I see no reason it would be taken down. In fact, suggestions of BL are few and far between even though the relationship between the two main characters approaches the intensity of romance.I think the story has some basic changes from the original work, but the story in the series is pretty strong overall. It is highly engaging as the characters enter the virtual world represented by one door after another. The progress in the dangers of the different levels of the virtual reality game is also nicely calibrated. But the story would have been much less engaging had it not been for a group of interesting and likable characters that the audience will care about. A case in point is the character, Tan Zaozao, a female actress who starts off being a character one doesn't take seriously but ends up with one we might cry over.
It is a little ironic that a series that toes the line in so many ways is taken down after an hour, with most attributing the cause to censorship. If one has no idea that the series is based on a BL work, one might not even imagine that there is any romance going on between the main characters. No doubt, there is a strong bond between them, but it could either be a strong friendship or romantic interest that never really gets a chance to be expressed. I would even say that one of the major flaws of the series is how it toes the line politically, making it thematically simplistic. In the series, it is none too subtly suggested that America = Capitalist = Evil. (No prizes for guessing which country it is antithetical to.)
As a critique of capitalism, what the characters say may make sense at a certain level. However, it is a different matter to posit that evil Western capitalists will go out of their way to corrupt a virtual reality game (or some sort of game where the line between the virtual and the real is blurred) and fill it with violence. Look, in the series, it is not as though the capitalists can make money when:
1. people who start playing the game have no choice but to continue--they can simply go through any door and be transported to one of the worlds of the game even if they do not wish to play and presumably even if they are too poor to pay to continue playing the game.
2. people who die in the game also die in real life, so they cannot continue playing (even if we assume that they have to pay each time they play)--and it it VERY easy to die in the game.
3. people actually actively discuss the game on the Internet and it is quite possible for the game to gain such a bad reputation that not many are adventurous to even start playing it
4. such a game must take an immense amount of energy to power even if it were technologically possible: which profiteering capitalist will foot the bill?
Another issue here is the pitting of the main characters against the agenda of the evil capitalists. You mean as long as the main characters triumph, the evil capitalists won't be able to replicate an older, corrupt version of the game that can cause people to die?
I suspect the original work is more coherent than this, but alas, it probably runs into censorship issues. But if only someone had the foresight to see that the series would be catapulted to the status of a cult classic because it would be taken down after one hour of release, perhaps a decision could have been made to stay more faithful to the original work.
In the last couple of episodes, the series becomes quite perplexing. It does not make sense to have an "it was all a dream" sort of ending, especially one that ends up being self-contradictory. There are at least three key interpretations we are invited to consider:
1. It was all a "dream"--ok, but why would Ling Jiu Shi's dream reveal to him the names and even personalities of people he sees after the dream and not before, and why isn't Ruan Lan Zhu amongst these people?
2. The game has started earlier than Ling Jiu Shi realizes at first, but when he completes the game, he is transported to maybe 15 minutes after the start of the game. This would mean that all the so-called real-life characters for most of the episodes are game characters. Ok, but why are these characters so similar to random people Ling Jiu Shi later sees around.
3. Ling Jiu Shi is still in the game (not mutually exclusive with 2). Maybe there is a challenge he must overcome. Who knows? He chooses to spend the next 50 years creating a replica of the game (presumably without the awful parts) or basically Ruan Lan Zhu and other people he cares about during the previous 70+ episodes we see him. Ultimately, though, this seems to be an act of self-deception... it it suggested that no matter how real we make the virtual world or "merge" it with the real world, we can escape the fact that our physical bodies age in the real world. That is unless we ditch our physical bodies (die physically) and upload ourselves into the virtual world (which can be sustained by god knows what)... I guess this is one way of achieving a happily-ever-after for our leads. Then again, it is a solution that involves cutting oneself off from the people in a different realm.
I think the series makes things unnecessarily complicated and not quite in a purposeful way. This is where it falters despite being a really engaging series to watch about 95% of the time.
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It makes no sense this show happened…
Since it seems like a miracle to get all these people in one place for 3 days filming. We were blessed and we should be grateful.There were so many things done well in this variety show. Allowing the actors and actresses to relax a little bit among cast members they know during the opening. Later, implementing mixed groups, so the viewers will get to see interaction between different people. Games that allow them to get closer and relax, which is also something that viewers would like to see, since there are not many situations when we can see these actors just doing normal things, outside of interviews and promotions.
I laughed so much watching this show. Hwang In Youp has such an unintentional comedic timing he should be invited to variety shows more often. We all know the industry can be exhausting and these actors and actresses need to deal with a lot. It’s great to see them have fun among themselves. Yes, technically speaking it’s still work, but I honestly would not mind a job like that.
Then we have the amazing cast. Funny enough, in many cases, my favorite interactions came from people who were not part of the same show:
Bo Gum and In Youp, Dong Yeon and Kyung Soo, Yoo Jung and Bo Yun, Soo Bin and Dong Yeon.
The only thing I wish they changed, was the length of the episodes. This should have been one hour and 30 minutes long. I’m sure they had enough content to maybe even make the whole show twice the length it was. One hour episodes just seem like such a waste of this cast. What are the chances we will ever get a variety show with such a cast again?
Overall, except for the fact I wanted more, I had no complaints. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes even just one of the cast members.
Also, as an Atiny, I have to say the opening song was amazing ;)
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This review may contain spoilers
Iconic romantic drama!
Best Taiwanese drama ever! Great storyline, music, visuals and graphics.As for the storyline I really liked how the FL managed to break the stereotypes of FL despite of being shy,emotional,pity character the FL was brave, independent smart and quirky and fought for her love until the end. Marcus chang really portrayed two characters well, from changing into an overbearing, arrogant CEO to calm ,composed CEO. The switching of roles were portrayed really well. Second ML was also very good in terms of acting. I really liked how ML chased the FL until the end despite of getting rejected again and again. The chemistry between the leads was great and full of sweet moments. If you are looking for an iconic, fantasy, emotional romantic drama it's highly recommended. Don't jump into conclusions early the plot is outstanding . Overall it's 10/10 drama for me.
Kudos to screenwriters,cast,crew and dramasettv channel for bringing this drama. I really wish that lost romance drama gets recognised in international platforms and become a major hit series in other countries also. Thanks to all people who bought this amazing drama to viewers in times of pandemic where people are so sad and depressed. These type of dramas really lighten mood in free time.
Note: Watch this drama it's highly recommended for viewers who are looking for an iconic rom-com drama..
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So so good
I know I’m in the minority here but my god I loved every second of this drama . I loved Kim Seon-Ho in this drama as much as everyone else, but in my heart Dal-Mi was always going to end up with Do-San as she showed absolutely no interest in Ji-Pyeong from the beginning. I wish Ji-Pyeong had more closure and didn’t have to work with them for the rest of his life but in my mind he’s found a nice partner and living a great life while also staying close to halmeoni. All in all, I loved this drama and will definitely be rewatching <3Was this review helpful to you?
While Lu Tian Xing was pretending to be Xiao Lu and both parts of him were falling in love with Tao Le Si, the show was full of cute and entertaining romantic comedy moments. But soon it became full of weepy, pity-party moments and those were less enjoyable. The biggest problem, however, was the aftermath of the reveal. They just couldn't figure out how something like a fake identity would end so they did a 180 into melodrama land and the only real evidence of that half of the show was the opening. With the shortened length, the ending felt rushed and there were small plot lines that got dropped.
For what they were given, I enjoyed the cast. Aaron Yan was good at the dual role and even into the later episodes. I did prefer some of the minor cast- Butler Fu was the best part of the show in the beginning and I was sad that his role diminished so much. Out of the supporting cast, I liked Miao Miao and Ting Wei. I kind of hated Gai Xian mostly because he came off as a creepy stalker. Personally, I think the standout in this show was Beatrice Fang as Huan Huan. Huan Huan was awful but she was supposed to be. The slow personality shift was really good.
I liked the music in the show, specifically the opening theme.
I just don't think I would watch Fall in Love With Me again. While I enjoyed the beginning of the show, nothing stood out as a scene I'd want to go back and rewatch.
Unfortunately, this show lost it's way. The first half and the second half didn't mesh well, making it feel like two completely different shows shoved together. It's sad because I liked it at first and then didn't like it so much anymore.
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