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The Way We Were
19 people found this review helpful
by Danni
Nov 8, 2014
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers
EDIT: This is NOT a rip off or the same thing as "In A Good Way". I'm going to assume that viewers who are saying that haven't watched more than the first few episodes and feel that because there is a group of characters the story follows over the years that makes them too similar. I feel those people are really losing out on watching a really great drama, but of course that's up to them, it's just a shame.

I have to say right off the bat that this is hands down one of the best Taiwanese Dramas I have ever watched. The last episode is arguably the best ending to ANY Asian drama I've ever seen despite the bittersweet feel it had.

Story (10 out of 10):
Wow. Where to begin with such a thoroughly thought out and beautiful story. If ever there was a realistic drama, I feel this would be a great example. There is such depth and nuance that it is hard to put into words without spoilers. This series takes a story that has been done many times in dramas, but isn't afraid to go all out with it, it packs so many feels that you barely have time to catch your breath. Even if some things were arguably predictable, it didn't take away from the story, because of the realistic way it played out. 16 summers in 16 episodes feels so appropriate, and I feel is one of the best examples of demonstrating the passage of time. Too often it feels that dramas take place over the course of days or weeks. Fang Wei De states at one point how time passed more quickly when everyone was having a good time, and that certainly felt tangible in this show. I just can't praise the ebb of time in this show enough.

I really appreciated that we are presented with our core characters as children and see them through their experiences into adulthood, the character development is real in this. The ups and downs, and how words and actions DO have consequences whether it is in the form of regret or in the form of enlightenment. Often times, I feel like characters will say and do things in dramas with little to no repercussions, but that is not the case in TWWW, and that is why I feel it is certainly one of the best dramas I've had the pleasure to watch. There are no evil type characters, just times when people make bad or sometimes even horrible mistakes... but instead of going overboard, we're able to see each character as a person, with real problems, real emotions, and having to again really deal with what comes after.

Another big thing is closure. This is handled SO well, and it doesn't come off as though the writers were just trying to wrap things up in a nice neat bow, but to further demonstrate life in general. My only regret is not being able to articulate well enough just how great this story is.


Acting/Cast (10 out of 10):
I've only ever seen Leroy Yang in Love Forward (2012) and while I enjoyed his prickly businessman persona in that, I wasn't all that impressed. However, he more than impresses as Fang Wei De. He definitely plays jerkish well, but the latter half of this series, just took my heart and breath away. I'm definitely going to be looking into his other dramas when I can because I could seriously be missing out. I really can't think of any other Taiwanese actor to fill that role than him.

I've seen Tiffany Xu quite a bit and in general it feels like she always plays characters I can't stand. I first saw her in Autumn's Concerto (2009) and later Drunken to Love You (2011) and especially had the urge to want to slap her characters. She's had supporting roles in It Started with a Kiss (2005) and ToGetHer (2009). She's been in many other dramas, but those are the only ones I've seen so far. Having said that, I was glad to NOT hate her character in TWWW. She did something pretty awful, but the way things played out, I was even able to forgive her by the end.

Despite Ruby Lin having such an extensive drama/film career this was my first time experiencing her acting and I have to say it was great. I felt she played a great strong female lead. I always like the spunky female leads that don't take any crap. She's strong, but has a sensitive side and I think she handled them both really naturally.

Rounding out our Quintet is Jason Tsou (Ding Guo Qing) and Melvin Sia (Wang Jun Jie), this is my first time seeing them in a drama, so I really have no frame of reference but definitely I felt they owned their characters and made them feel relevant. I find sometimes when you have more than 2-3 leads in a drama the other tend to fall by the wayside or just blend into the background or at worst are just straight up forgotten. Not in this case though.

Each actor brought their A game as far as I'm concerned and it really paid off.


Music (9 out of 10):
I'm still upset that I'm unable to download Eric Chou's - Let's Not Be Friends Anymore song on itunes. Some may feel like it was overplayed, but I'm not one of them. It's such a beautiful song that was really much more than a theme song. It was the only vocal that I really liked, but even still, I felt the OST went very well with series and I enjoyed the instrumentals.

EDIT: Eric Chou's song actually IS available now on iTunes, I guess they wait to release OSTs until after the drama airs (I'm so used to K-dramas releasing singles while airing - I'm so spoiled :P ).


Re-watch Value (7 out of 10):
I wouldn't re-watch the entire series only because I don't think my heart could handle the intense feels, but there are definitely some funny and powerful scenes that are worth re-watching.


Overall (10 out of 10):
I would HIGHLY recommend this drama to every Asian drama lover. It really has it all and even though there are drama tropes scattered throughout they don't come off as tropes, but just great moments within a great story. It is not perfect, but honestly I felt especially in terms of writing and story this is pretty damn close. There are no questions regarding the characters motivations, there aren't any WTF?! moments that are never resolved. It's just a really well made drama that definitely deserves more praise than it may receive.

Some have compared this as a knock off of In A Good Way....please. Not even close. In a Good Way WAS a good drama, don't get me wrong, but it was not nearly as thoughtful as this drama, not nearly as well written. What they do have in common is that they begin in the past and you see the characters grow throughout the years a la Reply 1994 and Reply 1997. If you want something more upbeat, sure, that is In a Good Way, and then down right LOL by comparison is the Reply series.

Lastly, the writers did a great job of closing out this drama. The last episode was not filler or BS like most dramas seem to be nowadays. It was beautiful and I highly recommend having plenty of tissues when the onion ninjas come for your eyes.

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Completed
Country Boy
20 people found this review helpful
Jun 22, 2021
2 of 2 episodes seen
Completed 4
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.5
This review may contain spoilers

No BL, but a true gem

The last six months have seen some remarkable BL-highlights, like 'A tale of 1000 stars' or 'I told sunset about you', where a lot of money was spent to create beautiful series. Wayufilm once again proves that it's possible to compensate the lack of a huge budget and lucrative sponsorship with creativity, dedication, and a cast of highly talented and overwhelmingly cute actors. And – to make this clear from the start – although this is not BL, it is a true gem that BL fans will love, I promise.

The plot is simple on the surface: A student from Bangkok visits Chiang Mai to experience life in the countryside and therefore travels with three Chiang Mai friends to a remote rural 'hotel'. This simple plot is, however, used to address some of the problems Thailand (like many developing countries) is facing, not by making the actors elaborate at length on migration from land to cities, left-behind marginal rural areas, unequal distribution of wealth etc, but by seemingly incidentally displaying their consequences in the daily lives of the people.

Let me give two examples. When the country boy's mother tells her son she's afraid she will be left behind alone some day, after her daughter has already escaped to the city with a guest, we see like in a magnifying glass what internal migration means for the countryside. When a debt collector of a money shark threatens Kep his boss will take the 'homestay' away from the family who have run out of money due to the covid crisis, this little scene en passant makes it obvious that the pandemic hits poor people the hardest and makes the rich even richer.

Now this may sound as if 'Country Boy' was a depressing account of poor people's problems, but it is exactly the opposite, thanks to the carefully constructed storyline, which contrasts the big problems with little pleasures on the personal level. In part 2, the film offers a solution to overcome the divide between prospering cities and left behind countryside: the visitors decide to help Kep and his mother improve their 'hotel' and attract more paying guests, and donate their money so that the outstanding debt can be paid. It is a small example of how the problems of marginalized regions can be solved: by the transfer of money and skills, on a much larger scale, of course, supported by many more good-willed people like these four boys, and local people ready to adapt to the changes.

So we have to talk about the characters. Kep is the country boy who succeeds in smiling away all the obstacles of the hard life in the country. However, he isn't the one-dimensional naive optimist, he has his moments of fear and frustration, too, but he always finds the beauty in the little things of life. As his guests expect 'activities', and there are none, he invents some over night: watering the plants, for example, which seems weird to the visitors at first, but then they love it.

The Bangkok student and the three Chiang Mai boys, on the other hand, at first only see the quaint, romantic side of country life, but soon realize that things are not so romantic when you have to face the naked truth behind the pictoresque scenery. They do appreciate the clean air, the beautiful landscape, and the rural life, but they are soon confronted with the basic problem of poverty. Unlike many well-off city people, they don't close their eyes, but do the best they can to help their new friend Kep. At the same time, they learn that the local food that looks like 'dog's puke' to them, tastes wonderful.

Now you may ask, 'where is the BL-factor' in this? Well, there actually isn't much, no kissing, no sex like in previous OakMon movies, just a few secret glances in episode 1, and two hugging scenes in the final part. That may be disappointing to some viewers who have expected more, but honestly, more wouldn't have fit the characters of Kep and Nabdao. Not so soon. But maybe in a sequel? Somehow it feels like Nabdao and Kep will meet again.

Which takes us to the actors, and they are just brilliant. Oak has proven he is able to give depth to his roles at the age of 16 already (if you haven't seen 'Key Love' or 'Night Time', you should watch them, too). The way he expresses joy, fear, surprise, shyness, and love proves he is a natural. With Mon he has a congenital partner which makes these two young actors an iconic couple already (even if they don't become a couple in this movie), and all that without the fan service from a big production company.

But this movie doesn't only rely on the talent and chemistry of the two leads. The supporting actors are all very good. What makes the performance of these five young men so outstanding is their natural way of depicting their roles. In many scenes it feels like the camera is only there to accompany a group of boys for two days, so you get the impression they aren't acting at all.

In some of the big Bangkok productions the main criteria to put together the cast of a series is the cuteness factor; talent and acting skills come second and sometimes are lacking completely. In this movie we have one of the rare cases where all the actors are extremely cute, each in his own way (don't tell me Oak isn't cute. Gosh, this smile, and these eyebrows!), and they are talented and skilled at the same time.

The settings are also carefully chosen. When at the beginning the Chiang Mai boys proudly take their Bangkok visitor to the most popular coffee bar, he's bored because he knows all the coffee bars in Bangkok, and coffee bars aren't the reason for him to visit the North of Thailand (which reminds me, a country boy myself, of proudly inviting my city-friend to our newly opened pizzeria, and he was complaining pizzas are much better in the city. He rather wanted me to take him to the forest which I find boring because it's just full of trees and nothing else. Well, the other man's grass...).

Kep's Homestay feels like a haunted house, opening the opportunity to show that boys from the city are more frightened of ghosts than the country boy who finds it completely normal his late grandmother's spirit still inhabits the room he rents out to the visitors. I had to smile when he apologized to her she will have to spend the next few days in his mother's room. The environment of Kep's 'hotel' is used to show the rural people's love of nature, e.g. when Kep teaches his visitors to water the plants, which for him is an act of pleasure and respect.

The cinematography of this movie (I won't call it a series, it's more a movie released in two parts) is an improvement compared with previous Wayufilm productions. This isn't meant to say the older ones weren't good, but the surroundings of Kep's Homestay allow more attractive shots than a classroom, a small flat, or a dirty alley like in previous productions. It doesn't reach the quality of series like '1000 Stars', but it's still good.

Finally, I must mention the soundtrack. The song performed by Mon and Oak is so beautiful it makes me smile every time I hear it, just like the movie makes me smile every time I watch it. I rarely re-watch series or movies, but I have already re-watched the first part three times.

To sum it up, this movie is a true gem, and a real highlight of 2021, maybe not as BL as you would have wanted, but Oak's smile and the natural acting of all the boys easily make up for that. If you're in a sad mood, watch it (again), and I'm sure you'll feel better. If you're in a good mood, still watch it (again), because you'll have one more reason to feel good.

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Completed
Ojakgyo Brothers
21 people found this review helpful
Jul 20, 2013
58 of 58 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This truly was a drama that reminds you of a cold car that has been sitting for awhile; like that cold car, it takes it awhile to start; so too does this drama. The first 5-6 episodes, I kept asking myself why do people like this? The next 10 episodes were a lot better but I still didn't see the fascination; however, from that point on it kept getting better and better. The bromance between the brothers; the individual romances, even though the second brother and his wife's story will grate on your nerve, hang in there. However, the highlight romance and story, you must give to Uee and Joo Won. I was so glad to see him again and have a great chemistry with his co-star lead. Their chemistry was so sweet and so was their story. You really didn't want it to end. The conflicts, even though serious, you hated to see them. I loved the brothers, the women in their lives, everything. Great story! Great acting!

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Completed
Untouchable Lovers
21 people found this review helpful
Apr 14, 2023
54 of 54 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

It's a good drama overall, but not the best and most productive use of time

So at the beginning of this drama, I'm talking the first 15 or so episodes, it was certainly a drama that any historical-drama lovers would want to binge. The plot, romance and setting was fresh in its own little way which made it easy to watch. With the addition of an amazing cast, it really incited the "butterflies in stomach" feel.
The reason as to why I am rating this show as only 4 stars is simply because of the noticeable discrepancies within the series. The biggest one of note is the inconsistency of the romantic relationship between the leads and their sudden change in personalities after the city setting switched from Song to Wei. After the setting was switched, it felt like the series was split into 2 separate storylines and the memories of the both the male and female lead were wiped or something even though there were no signs of such a thing ever happening. Whatever romance occurred between the two leads seemed to have disappeared entirely, making the second part of the drama difficult to comprehend since they had to rebuild their romantic interest for each other from rock bottom.
Furthermore, the series was dragged on for a tad bit too long. Stopping the series around the 30 episode mark would have been perfectly fine because everything from there onwards was repetitive scheming formed from greed and political power struggles from the antagonist and male lead.
Overall, I wouldn't recommend this drama if you're looking for one that's worth your time and if you're looking for a fluffy, romance-fileld drama, because unfortunately, this drama won't be able to provide that. However if you're still interested in this drama even after reading this review and other reviews, I suggest watching the episodes before the setting changes from Song to Wei (you'll understand what I mean when you get there 😉) coz those were really good.

Happy Binging!!

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Completed
Here's My Plan
21 people found this review helpful
May 23, 2021
4 of 4 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

Compelling Rendition


My Final review take:

This has been 4 very charming episodes.

The way Yoon Ho grabbed-hugged So Hyun in the rain just striking. Palpitating darling moments, indeed.

This drama definitely has that angst, tension, thrills and a-tinge-of-romance which amped up the whole atmosphere on each scenes. And without any brooding bits, just makes it excitingly fascinating.

My first review take:

Why is it compelling? Because:

First. I am hooked with the music. Brit rock rules! Need the OST tracklist stat! Then again with this type of music tracks, it needs a good match. This drama has it, deserving storyline. It tells a story of a troubled girl. And she is even a pickpocket, for crying sake. Looking for her Dad. And just because she has unsettling mother-daughter relationship with an alcoholic Mum that is, does not justify her action for stealing. It still wrong. But, hey. Life is about planning and options with this case.

Second is the Acting. I just loves it when everybody delivers. So okay, the sweetest treats is still about a nice and kind next door boy. Yoon Ho is so adorable, and he’s the kind with Knights honor soul. The lady with vengeance is HeeJin/So Hyun with all of her ocean eleven mind game. Or is it in a way Sherlock Holmes would go the extra miles. Heroin like her and at nineteenth is a character indeed.

Third. The charm.
Attraction is made without hesitation. Confession is within a heartbeat. And that decoy kiss is just a tad of sincerity away. Bullies is tackled. But the suspense retaliation just puts you on the edge. With only 4 episode, this drama has that subtle approach. Let’s wait the next and final two episode...



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Completed
Binary Love
21 people found this review helpful
Jun 25, 2022
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 5
Overall 8.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.0

Warm and Fuzzy, but.....

Watching Binary Love made me feel fuzzy inside. The love between the main leads were organic and it genuinely made sense. The male lead's boldness added to his quirky charm, seeing that he was socially awkward, but courageous in love. The story developed a one-track man into someone who is foolish in love. All while this story is great, it may be worth for the male lead solely.

Dont get me wrong, the female lead was a good lead, but she was kind of flat. In the earlier episodes she seemed to be charming, but as the story progressed her character began to lack dimension. She began a generic female lead that you could find in many other dramas. The plot was great, but it was not in any way due to the female lead.

There was also the UNNECESSARY second male lead and the even more unnecessary third male lead. The second male was inevitable, seeing that he's on the promo cover, but his story went on until the bitter end. He was simply not someone you could route for. At the beginning the series his character was enjoyable because it added some drama, but he quickly became a very annoying entitled man who doesnt know his boundaries. I was fed up wifh him halfway through the show and his forceful behavior towards the female did not end until the bitter end.

And then the show introduced a third lead, who liked the female lead for no reason at all. It was very random and the male didnt even pay him mind, so the third lead was just there for fun I guess. And again the female barely has any depth, so its hard to believe that three men would be chasing after her.

But all in all, this showed had some powerful friendships that were entertaining. The second couple is honestly so cute. And the male lead is adorable, Ren YouLun did a great job acting out his role, and honestly he's the main reason the show was enjoyable.

If you can get passed someone of the negatives i have mentioned this was a good watch. But i have to say it was more entertaining the first episodes then it sort if fell off.

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Completed
Rea(L)ove
21 people found this review helpful
by Emily
May 4, 2018
9 of 9 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 2.0
Rewatch Value 3.5
This review may contain spoilers
The most relevant word I could apply to this show? Interesting. It's interesting.
Of the romance-related shows to see on Netflix (Terrace House, Ainori) this is definitely the lowest tier. In production value, professionalism, and execution, this show leaves a bit of a poor taste in my mouth. It was filmed in beautiful Okinawa- the scenery and sights are probably the biggest draw here. That being said, you don't see much of it- the entirety of it's 9 episode run-time takes place over the course of 3 days which made it extremely difficult for there to be any romances at all formed over the course of this show.

At the onset, the concept for this show is what really drew me- over the course of the show, each of the 18 contestants (10 men, 8 women- apparently 1 man and 3 women dropped out at the last second) confess their all-consuming "deep dark secret". On this front, the show certainly delivered- at the risk of being too spoilery, things like criminal records, debt, troublesome past relationships, and frowned-upon occupations make up a decent chunk of the secrets. Each one was at the very least slightly surprising, and at most downright scandalous- and while they were all interesting, I found it a little bit insightful into the things that Japan considers taboo enough to be considered a deep dark secret. Regardless of the quality of this season, I would watch another hypothetical season in a heartbeat solely considering the possible secret revelations.

The participants were a real mixed bag- some of them were endearing, kind, or strange enough that I found myself rooting for them, while others I found downright detestable initially. Of course over the run of the series you get to know the lot of them better, so even strong initial impressions are for the most part broken up and you're given a more well-rounded idea of who this person might be. The editing shows very little bias in terms of who they give the most screen-time to, or who gets the most favourable cuts, so that isn't too big of a concern in my opinion. There's really only one or two participants I found to be just straight dislikeable people.

The most difficult part of watching this show was the host(s). While the female host was inoffensive enough, my biggest qualm with her is that she mostly stayed silent while the male host was a veritable trash bag of a human being. Perhaps it was a persona, perhaps not, but his lack of sensitivity and humourless attempts at joking insults were appalling. If you're easily angered by slut-shaming, transphobia, sexism, all that jazz- stay far away. This type of concept for a show could have been done with grace and compassion, but that is certainly not what you'll find here.

Now! For the romance! I had two or three couples I was really, truly rooting for, and some of them even pulled through! This show isn't completely unsatisfactory in that sense. But there are one or two people I felt very sorry for by the end, so get really to feel a certain amount of sadness mixed in with the ups of the couples. I don't think any of the couples that ended up forming were framed or set up by the production crew, however I feel like the crew may have had a general idea as to which couples they wanted to pair up based on their similar backgrounds and secrets.

TL;DR: A decent enough show to pass the time, but it might annoy the hell out of you. Don't take it too seriously or expect a masterpiece, and you might even enjoy it.

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Completed
Shining for One Thing: The Movie
21 people found this review helpful
Dec 30, 2023
Completed 4
Overall 8.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 10

Be sure to watch the Post Credit Scene

I saw Shining For One Thing: The Movie this morning in US and if you take nothing else from my review please WATCH THE POST CREDIT SCENE!

Key points:
- Happy Ending
- You don't have to have seen the show to understand or enjoy the movie
- Twists you didn't see coming (just like the show!)

General Thoughts:
The movie took to heart the key theme of parallel universes and expanded on that. Therefore, the movie is more adjacent to the series than a direct continuation but don't worry, we still get our Happy Ending! Of course because it's a movie with a limited run time and not spanning multiple episodes it's unable to create or show a real or psuedo-relationship like the main characters had in the show but it still does a great job of conveying how strongly and deeply they feel for each other. Also, this is all about Zhang Wansen & Lin Beixing; the side characters we also love aren't apart of the story much. As someone who watched the series I found it incredibly satisfying and cannot wait to watch it again.

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Completed
The Dreamlike Seal
21 people found this review helpful
Jun 17, 2021
130 of 130 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 8.5

Short and Sweet - good acting with an entertaining and concise story

This drama is like the best of both worlds combining the length of a longer movie with the juicy details of a drama. I highly recommend this for those who love sweet moments without spending hours fast-forwarding through those unneeded storylines.

I have watched many dramas both of those long 40-minute episodes as well as those that are 2 minute long episodes. While most of the 2-minute episode drama productions are more on the lower budget that compromised on the quality of actors, costumes, and poor directing, etc. It usually makes me feel I am watching an amateur production, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one with quality actor/actresses (both good looking and good acting), pretty costumes, decent directing, etc... the entire production feels just as good as the normal full budget ones, but with a shorter concise story. A story that doesn't need to focus on too much plotting or any 2nd couple that I call the fluff, which I usually just fast forward, but this is a drama that gives you only the sweet romance and just the right amount of character development and story details of the main leads, from start to finish with beautiful chemistry between them.

Overall: The acting was good, both main leads have beautiful chemistry, the story was entertaining and sweet, just the perfect amount of story and romance without dragging on. In fact, it almost leaves you wanting more, wishing it was just a little bit longer. This story is completed with a 2nd season, which even with both seasons combined is still the perfectly nice and concise length. Instead of watching a 60-hour drama for the sweet storyline only, now you can have it without fast-forwarding together in these 2 seasons.

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Completed
Hello Stranger: The Movie
21 people found this review helpful
Feb 11, 2021
Completed 1
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Best PH BL movie by far

I dont want to spoil everyone. But i just wanted to say that every cent that you pay for the ticket for this movie is so WORTH IT!! It’s by far the best ph bl movie by far. I just cant get enough that i had to buy another ticket for tomorrow’s stream. ❤️ A chef’s kiss. 👌🏻
When I saw the trailer, I thought it was that recycled plot where there’s an outing in the beach and all and that’s where they develop their feelings. But when i watched it, i was amazed by how good it was done. The build up and character development is so good, it will make you engrossed to your screen. Hope you guys will watch it. Support them by buying tickets via ktx.ph so that they will reconsider season 2 if it will be that successful... hopefully... ❤️

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Completed
God's Quiz Season 3
21 people found this review helpful
Aug 30, 2012
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
The best out of the three! Everything that you have seen in the previous seasons is nothing compared what is happening in the third! It's a must watch! The plot was geniously developed, would not have expected this after the other two.

Forget about the fact that Detective Kang is not in it, it's not the end of the world, it does not make the drama worse!
The new casts brings a new mood into the whole drama. Before even starting the drama I wasn't especially happy about the cast change but after the first moments and the first episode they grew on me, perfect for the plot that was set for this third season! Ahn Nae Sang was perfect for his role as well and his acting was just amazing! Was blown away! Supporting roles were great as well! Especially the other doctors! By the way, the relationship between the two main characters is hilarious and enjoyable, you just want to see them more on the screen while they argue with each other~ XD

Better watch it because it cannot be compared to the previous ones if you ask me... the ideas that come up are way over what we can handle~ XP

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Completed
To the Wonder
21 people found this review helpful
Jul 23, 2026
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

Here, "living" is the simplest thing.

Being The Winner of Magnolia Award Best TV series of 2024, & Having a Grand Rating of 8.9 in Douban, "我的阿勒泰" /My Altay/ "To The Wonder" is one of the finest & Sincere productions of China that came out in recent years. It's a cultural tourism work of Northern Xinjiang but the Cinematic quality is truly magnificent. A Storytelling like a roaming raconteur, Picturesque Cinematography, Excellent Camera work & Direction, Every shot is immersive, and Every Actor perfectly embodied their roles.

At the age of 19, Li Wenxiu stood at a crossroads in her life and asked a writer she admired what to do during a lecture.The writer said, "Go love, go live, go get hurt". It felt like the original author Li Juan's self narration, this drama is adapted from her eponymous essay collections, the original work is a record of her own life experiences as an adolescent living in the Altay Mountains, living with her Mother & Elderly Grandmother alongside nomadic Kazakh herders for several years. They migrated & moved ranches with the herders, run a general store, worked as small tailors sewing clothes, picked wild mushrooms deep in the mountains, & experienced a close-up look of lives of this ethnic minority, Prolly the reason why this drama felt so Genuine. The best part of watching was the rawness of it, be it the characters or the landscapes, or the relationships & the conversations that came along with it...Customs, traditions & Cultural aspects of the ethnic minorities were interesting to watch, Zhang Fengxia's dynamic with her daughter & mother was chaotic, funny & heartwarming at the same time, the chemistry between Male & female lead was Calm, soothing & refreshing. Ba Tai & His family with other minor supporting roles & their journey with the Main characters created a blended experience of immersive storytelling.

Yu Shi is So Manly Handsome & a pleasant discovery of Acting Talent. Such a natural aura out there with bare minimum Makeup & styling. He is horse-riding, singing, playing musical instruments, doing archery, & speaking Kazakh half-fluently. His Ba Tai is Charming, youthful & gentle at heart. Zhou Yiran is such a pretty lady & she carried her role really well, watching them on screen have been an absolute pleasure.

This drama has a world of It's own, & it successfully made me appreciate that world of vast grasslands.In the remote northwest region of Altay, a land with Snow-capped mountains reaching into the clouds, dense forests, flocks of sheep, horses galloping freely, Kazakh boys on horseback, and Han girls in long skirts—the pure and bright vitality of life leaps off the screen. Everything is so picturesque, calm and natural, When things feel heavy in life, try this drama for a Scenic peace of mind.

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Completed
Crystal Boys
21 people found this review helpful
Mar 26, 2017
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 9.0
It's been a little time since I've watched it so don't remember every episode in detail but the story is great. I thought I would have hated it but I was so happy it had so many episodes to fully get the story across. I felt all the emotions and was really impressed by the acting (not amazing but clearly above what you would expect). It tackled so much on love, lost, family, oppression and culture. This series has a real special place in my heart and I just love that it exists.
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Completed
Bedevilled
21 people found this review helpful
Jul 12, 2014
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This is a very good suspense thriller movie. Before I watch this, I don't expect anything from this movie because this is an independent film!!! Right, this is independent film which means it have limited budget and limited promotion and limited screenings.

At first early minutes, the movie itself is slow and I don't really understand what direction it is going to be. However, it got slowly crawling into my mind and become more and more interesting and suspense. Actyally, the first half of the movie is quite slow but really really important to the 2nd half of the movie, otherwise, you will not understand and feeling anything later.
The 2nd half of thie movie is really intense and suspense, it makes me shocked because never expect it will be that interesting.
I will recommened this movie for those who like suspense thriller, with gore and bloody scenes.

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Completed
I Am Your King
20 people found this review helpful
Oct 6, 2017
5 of 5 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 7.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers
This show is a very "to each it's own" kind of show.
To me, I thought it wasn't as bad as people had said & I actually enjoyed it. Of course I wouldn't say that it's the best show in the world, but I definitely wouldn't say it's the worst. It had a lot of potential too. It seemed rather rushed as well but I guess that could be because they're apparently breaking them into seasons.

The overall story idea was very interesting to me, but the development was too quick. I found the chemistry to be pretty good but the acting wasn't always the greatest. (I still wouldn't say it was the worst.) I don't want to drop spoilers but I don't know how else to bring this up & I think it's an important scene to bring up to prove my point about something, but the scene where they're giving orders while playing the King game was probably one of my favorite scenes. Not because it got "steamy" (if you want to use those choice of words) but because it showed how comfortable they all were with each other.
With Newyear actually being gay in real life, I like that they all were still very okay with the touchy-feely scenes. That scene actually looked the most real to me. It looked as though they were all genuinely having a fun time joking around. Nothing about it seemed awkward or uncomfortable & I felt that was probably the most important scene to show them as actors & people.
Now outside of that scene, the acting seemed to digress a bit. However, I think it was more for all the less intimate scenes to be honest. BrightxAugust was the most interesting to me & I paid the most attention to them. I felt Mark (August) played his character very well & him & Best (Bright) had really good chemistry with each other.
Junho & Matt's scenes were a bit odd to me. More on an acting level though, Like they weren't the most comfortable together or they just couldn't completely figure out how to portray their characters. I really like their trailer-like episode for the next season though! It looks like it's going to get interesting so I'm quite excited for that.
New & Pound's scenes weren't as awkward as JunhoxMatt's scenes, but they weren't as great as BrightxAugust. Again, I really love the comfortableness they all have with Newyear, especially Kris since he played his love interest. I seen a lot of people dislike their storyline specifically because Newyear's love interest wasn't his real life boyfriend, Both. The thing is though, folks, is that Newyear is an actor. He won't get to have his real life partner play opposite of him all the time. But that doesn't mean that they would break up over it. I doubt Both was upset with any of it because as most partners of actors (should) understand is that acting is acting. Having a couple kiss scenes with another actor doesn't mean they'll fall in love & dump their current lovers. Despite having a boyfriend, I think Newyear still did really well as his character & I'm really proud of him for being able to land a role since he wasn't able to get the last role he tried to audition for because of his sexuality (which still makes no sense to me that he was refused the role of a gay character because he's actually gay, but whatever).

To avoid this review from being 14 pages long, I'll end it with a few more things. This show, in my opinion, isn't as bad as it might seem. Some might not like it, & that's completely okay, but I don't think you should be afraid to give this one a try if you're curious about it. People may say that you shouldn't waste your time, but I truly find it to be anything but a waste of time. I say you should try it out; there's only 5 episodes (so far because as of right now only season one is out) & they're each 25ish minutes so it won't be like you wasted a whole 10 hours of your life if you end up not enjoying it. & who knows, maybe they'll improve for season two! ?


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