Reviews

Absolutely Adorable (So Far)

I don’t know… there’s just something so refreshing about it. I found myself laughing so much throughout the first episode, and not because it’s trying too hard to be funny. It’s just funny.

I think my favourite part so far is that these characters don’t just feel like teenagers, they actually are teenagers. The actors themselves are around that age, and it makes such a difference. It’s nice watching young people just be young while they figure out this completely new environment. They’re awkward, clueless, dramatic, and chaotic in the cutest way. When I say it’s adorable, I don’t mean in an “aww, look how cute they are” kind of way. It’s more that it’s refreshing to watch kids actually behave like kids instead of acting like tiny adults.

And as usual, we have the classic Thai series “convenient inconvenience” trope (at least that’s what I call it), where two people who can barely tolerate each other somehow end up having to spend even more time together. It’s such a funny setup because it’s almost always expected, but it’s funny every single time it happens.

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Came for the comedy, and stayed for the life lessons (and the zombie shark)

This movie was so funny in the most unexpected moments, but also surprisingly meaningful. I know it isn't that deep, and that I shouldn't take it so seriously, but I am truly fond. As someone who deeply hated my previous job (which I think a lot of people relate to), it is so relatable (and almost touching) for Akira to light up with pure joy after finding out he didn’t have to go to work, and even funnier for him to act so carefree in a zombie apocalypse as a result.

Despite every other aspect of this movie only getting an 8.0, something in my soul tells me to give it an overall 9.0. And I think it's because it hits so deeply with me in some aspects.

Even though the parallel between the zombies and Akira trudging through his job was pretty obvious from the get-go, it still hits very hard when the movie directly states and confronts it. Every adult on MDL who has ever worked a full-time job has likely struggled with work-life balance and has wished they could fall sick (or worse) so they could rest for just one day, but feel guilty and eager to be productive on days when they are actually ill. And, like in the movie, it’s often the people around us to remind us that we can’t be robots all the time and need to live life for ourselves.

The entire list Akira wrote was endearing, and I’m seriously considering making one of my own (I am also one of those few people who have never made a bucket list). I love a good montage, so seeing items on the list being crossed off was satisfying. I loved the cinematography and production. The zombies were great and looked realistic (as much as zombies can be). All of the acting was great as well. The OST surprised me a lot, and I have saved some songs to my playlist. This movie WILL make you smile and laugh.

Conclusion: zombie shark — you should watch it!

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Did not get the attention as Double Helix and Sammy's Children Day

While we were in a slump with most thai BLs, China got us three good shows. Sadly for this show, it was overshadowed by Double Helix and Sammy's Children Day even when in parts it was much better than the other ones. First of course there is the historical settings, gorgeous costumes and a budget which got strained, so we only have two nice fighting scenes.

While the script was not as polished as it could be, the actors compensated for most of it. Especially the scheming crown price was a delight to watch. Of course it was a bit too gay. 🤣 We not also got a BL we also get a GL but in subdued undertones but very obvious. Combine this with great cinematography and you get a good show.

You get the scheming, the fighting, the fluffyness, tasteful nc-scenes and a bit of sillyness (6th princess). Of course, they could not go with a sad end, because it's a BL after all. You get everything you can wish for in a setting which is interesting with a story-arc which made sense and compared to most other chinese BLs a story without toxicit., Just a fairy tale where the good gals/guys win. For me it was very entertaining, everything is like a small river flowing evenly and then comes the thunderstorm and water is cascading down the hills and flooded everything in it's way. And after the flood comes the time to rebuilding, in this case the search for a cure for Yanzhi with an happy end. So, this is definitively worth a watch!

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How is it humanly possible to make such a brilliant cinema? I’m still awestruck after finishing the movie. The depiction of the main story would come in such a roundabout but in a meaningful way that it was incredible.

I CAN SPEAK – this name is used symbolically, is what came into my mind while watching the movie. It is actually a pseudonym for the main story. Surprisingly viewers cannot speculate what kind of seriousness the story holds at the beginning of the movie. The starting is more or less about the introduction of the characters, their characteristics and their individual lifestyles. It was filled with joviality, frustration, lawlessness, boredom and grouch.

The character of Na Ok Boon aka Goblin Granny is dreaded by everyone. Her main task is to pinpoint her neighbours about the wrongdoings, seditious behavior and illegal practices which disrupt the smooth social order. She is nonchalant and valiant. No amount of scorn or condescend towards her can back her down. She would be always ready to file a complaint against any atom amount of illegal doings to the district office. Apart from this which is her regular work, she is highly eager to earnestly learn English for a special reason. Thus the revelation of her main reason for learning English Language on the second half of the film makes it simply wonderful.

Besides, Na Ok Boon another main character called Park Min Jae, a 33 year old civil servant, is a regular office worker. He had dreamt of being into another profession but somehow ended up as a govt. official for familial reason. Fortunately or unfortunately the fates of Ok Boon and Min Jae are intertwined and with much hesitation at first, eventually Min Jae gives up and starts to teach English to Goblin Granny. He becomes his English teacher and along with his younger brother becomes family of the granny.

As the story progressed, through dramatization of few incidents, it is gradually unraveled why the granny is so enthusiastic and adamant about learning the language. It becomes intelligible that why she wants her past predicaments to be hidden from everyone and what importance this language holds in her life.

The movie is made about a sensitive issue which is heart rendering and capable of making the viewers’ hearts warm with reverence.

Both Na Moon Hee and Lee Je Hoon portrayed exceptional performance of their character. Not even a single moment it feels like they are acting. Their performance was natural especially Na Moon Hee being a veteran actress knows the exact thing to do with her role. They were utterly impressive.

Reviews should be written with critical analyses of important scenes and about the story line by line. However, in MDL it is difficult because we need to maintain caution for not spoiling the story for other viewers. Therefore, I’m forced to keep it short otherwise I had galore of good things to write about this movie.

This is the kind of movie I’ll always cherish and would encourage others to watch. “I Can Speak” is a genuine representation of real cinema – a real art and a true masterpiece.

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Story: Ling Hu Chong (played by Wallace) is a carefree and honourable man. He was the eldest disciple of the Hua Mt Sect and a favourite amongst his juniors and teacher. However, Ling Hu Chong's teacher is an ambitous man with ulterior motives masquerading as a virtous person. As Ling Hu Chong ventures through wulin (the martial arts world), his easy and honest personality garnered him many friends from the 5 mountain sects and the Sun Moon Holy Cult. Eventually, his teacher turned Ling Hu Chong into a scapegoat for all of his evil deeds, including heaping blame of the murder of one of his student on Ling Hu Chong. Lin Hu Chong got kicked out of the Mt Hua Sect. That is when his true adventures begin. The love story in this 2013 version has a good ending, unlike the original story from the novel where all the women Ling Hu Chong loves dies and he is left alone as a wanderer. The most notable change in the storyline comes in the form of Dongfang Bu Bai (played by Joe Chen). In the original story, Dongfang Bu Bai is a man who became the powerful leader of the Sun Moon Holy Sect. He mastered the Kuai Fa Manual. However, in order to master this manual, which is very "Ying" (feminine) in nature, he must castrate himself. The more he learned from the manual, the more feminine he became. Eventually, he regarded himself as a woman and developed romantic feelings for Ling Hu Chong. It was this hint of homosexuality that did not sit well with audiences of the previous versions and readers of the novel. Therefore, in this 2013 version, Dongfang Bu Bai has a new story - one that begins with Dongfang Bu Bai being an actual woman, but in order to succeed in the wulin and not to be bullied ever again, she lives her life as a man. When she meet Ling Hu Chong, she developed feelings for him, but Ling Hu Chong is conflicted as Dongfang Bu Bai is a cold hearted killer. How could an honourable man loves a monster??? Watch and find out.

Acting/Cast: The chemistry between Wallace's Ling Hu Chong and Joe's Dongfang Bu Bai is siiizzzzzling! This is the only version so far when most ppl who had watched it wanted Ling Hu Chong to end up with Dongfang Bu Bai! It is because of this that I give the acting 9/10. It is 1 mark away from perfect because the chemistry between Ling Hu Chong and Ren Ying Ying is neutral at best and yet, it is Ying Ying that Ling Hu Chong ended up marrying at the end. Imagine the frustration of fans of Wallace-Joe! LOL (btw, I do not consider this a spoiler as it is widely known knowledge amongst fans of wuxia series and readers of Louis Cha's novels. There are many versions of this story made in the past. Me thinks the 1996 version is the closest to the novel).

Music: I love the opening OST, "Carefree". Am listening to it as I am writing this review. :)

Rewatch value: It is 42 episodes if you watch from the DVD version and 56 episodes from the tv version. I might re-watch this a few years later when I have the time. I am quite impartial to Swordsman aka The Smiling,Proud Wanderer. I still think that the best novel of Loius Cha comes in the form of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils and the Condor Heroes Trilogy. I am waiting with abaited breath now for the 2013 version of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. Rumour has it that it is due to be released mid this year. Fingers crossed!

Overall: It was entertaining while it lasted. I love the scenes between Wallace and Joe... they are the best features of this drama. Joe Cheng makes the most beautiful and coldly powerful Dongfang Bu Bai ever! The other parts are passable. I give this an 8/10. Not bad but not the best wuxia around.

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Plot set-piece driven rather than character-driven

Any story needs to be about characters, and the plot driven by the characters. What I mean by that is that a characters' nature or past trauma, etc. needs to drive how they behave and and react to things. For example, if a character was bitten by a dog as a child, he may have an irrational fear of dogs - and maybe falls in love with a vet. That's organic drama rather than artificial external crises or relying on very implausible misunderstandings, which is one of the laziest sins in writing.

The way characters behave in this series make no emotional sense, because the author wants to get from point A to point B, and so that determines how the characters behave. Points A & B were almost always just tired cliches that were not integrated into the plot and did nothing to advance it but were rather just there to be there. A couple of examples:

- The Past Connection. This appears to be irresistable to BL writers (actually a lot of Asian drama genres) - a past connection between Souta and Mahiro serves no plot purpose - it's just there to be there, and as a result it leads to Souta implausibly not remembering Mahiro, because if he did remember him, that would complicate the plot. And so he doesn't.

- The Restraining Hug Fom Behind. Mahiro thinks Souta is leaving, but it turns out that instead he's staying forever. Does that make him happy? No, he gets upset and tries to leave. Why? Why would that upset him? It wouldn't. But then Souta wouldn't need to grab him from behind to prevent him from leaving.

- The Implausible Misunderstanding. Souta drives four hours from Tokyo and arrives at just the precise moment - it couldn't be one second earlier or one second later or the misunderstanding wouldn't have happened - to see Souta hug his boss, who Souta assumes is Mahiro's boyfriend, despite the fact that he knows them both, the boss has actively encouraged Souta to be with Mahiro, there is zero evidence that they're dating, and it was clear Mahiro was upset, so it is clearly a comforting hug, not a romantic one. But the writer needed to insert the next cliche, and so Souta has to misunderstand, and for no apparent reason decides to become the boyfriend of...

- The Interfering Woman. Ugh. I don't even want to dwell on this, but it chews up an enormous amount of runtime.

The end result is two unrelatable and unpleasant characters who behave inconsistently and are annoying.

The acting is OK. The Souta actor is pretty good, Yutaro is one-note and has no presence or charisma. There is almost no chemistry whatsoever. Mahiro behaves like the wife of an alcoholic in an abusive relationship - he actually recoils from Souta every time they're near each other, and he just looks afraid all the time. Souta manages to express some repressed longing, but it's still not convincing. There is no romantic chemistry between them, and certainly no romance. They barely even touch each other, at least not on purpose.

A positive is it's well-filmed and the setting in the countryside is lovely. Well, Souta gets naked sometimes, and he has a nice body, so there's that, I guess.

Another positive is the Taiwanese store owner, who is an appealing character and causes a plausible (!) misunderstanding when he reads a note that contains kanji characters that mean "former coworker" in Japanese, but mean "ex-lover" in Mandarin, which leads to the series' best comic moment.

Overall this was a total waste of time, and a disappointing squandering of an interesting premise and a strong start. But it goes nowhere, is frustrating to watch, and is way too long for the amount of "plot" in it. I would skip it.

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Perfect side story

This side story if not really a side story for me. It's more a glimpse of what changed between Oh-aew and The since the end of part 1. It helps us to understand better how their relationship evolved and thus we'll not be lost at the beginning of part 2. It's real transition, The says it himself. Now that there is no sun to watch, they have to watch the moon. And I think it's very beautiful. PP and Billkin are so comfortable with each other, I love the sweet gestures between them and Teh doesn't seem afraid of showing publicly his affection, I know we'll have angst but I have hope for so many good moments in part 2.

I thought it would be a fan service video with only cute moments between those two . But I was wrong because in this 10 minutes video, Nadao still deal with coming of age theme. When you have to study elsewhere, far for home, when you life is gonna change for real and it's scary but also exciting. For instance, I like the fact that, during the scene on the beach, Oh-aew is not crying because he'll miss Teh. He's crying because he is saying goodbye to his younger self and his past life.

Last but not least, I'm always so much impressed by the cinematography. It's so beautiful, and it's only 10 minutes! The shots, the light... it's real art.

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Intriguing enough to keep going...

Story is interesting but you can't ignore dumb decisions made by leads. First 10 ep were good, a solid 8/9 then one particular moment changes the perspective of how you see things and start questioning things. Then not so perfect story falls apart and you can't enjoy it quite well. Major spoilers ahead!!!
Now talking about the moment. Gu sanyeong was inside line of prohibition on a rainy day. Then evil spirit threatens her to kill her mom, then she freaks out and goes out to save her.
Another dumbest of them all moment goes to FL's mother when she listens to evil spirit and goes to kill yeom haesang. Then comes back and leaks info about thumb search and asks to spare her daughter. Lets assume that her brain got fried after all the shock. That way its better. Other minute things, maybe they used to give certain thrill to audience. Yeom haesang, the one who has most knowledge about ghosts among those alive uses subway, where he has no control over doors. When older detective got killed, he says dont open door until I get there.
Plotholes: 1) the very purpose of a horror story is how to contain/get rid of evil spirit. They should be clear and fault proof. In this there are 2 methods. One method, which includes 5 objects and name is stupid no matter how I see it. Evil spirit needs 5 objects to take over human body, and leads need them to seal evil spirit. This way spirit wins everytime, the moment they found objects it takes over their soul, and if they get objects/name wrong they die.
2) they found the skeltal remains/5th object, spirit didn't touch this object yet, but still took over Gu sanyeong. Existence and someone finding out the objects is enough?
Despite all the complaints I enjoyed most part of the drama. Acting is great and background score is refreshing. Na byeong hui (evil grandmother) is the only consistent thing lol. She's trash alive or dead. One thing for sure is evil spirit is genius and other characters are dumb.

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I watched this drama not expecting anything because as far as my experience modern cdramas turned underwhelming in its later part. BUT i watched this and as i progress i never realized i was already at its last 5 episodes. Its light fun drama that makes you smile. Although Wei Qing was such a jerk in the first parts, he make it up in the later parts. He supports and understands Zhou Shi although his ways are kind of cunning, he wished nothing but the best for Zhou Shi. Also the second fave couple and character is the Genius jiejie she's not like those smart boring genius type. She cares for her friends without losing that genius image. So all in all i very love this drama! :)

Definitely will watch this again again. I hope more modern cdramas are this great and fun. ♥

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Honestly, I started watching this because I love Uhm Tae Woong. I really had low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised by a drama full of life. The characters of the three main lead women are fully developed. The writer does a good job of transitioning from one woman's story to the next. The women are friends since child hood, but they don't know everything about each other. Makes me wonder what I don't know about my close friends. The writer also does a good job of resolving issues quickly rather than dragging them out. The ending was a little rushed although complete. There is still some Korean cliches such as abusive mother-n-law and birth secrets, but for the most part it was about real life, every day situations.

I adore Eugene. She is wonderful as Yoon Jung Wan with a great mix of strength and sweetness. I also love Kim Yoo Mi. If you haven't watched Cruel City, then I recommend it highly. She plays a more likable, strong character in that drama. In this one I loved to hate her. While understanding her character there were times when I would have loved to hit her. I was unfamiliar with Choi Jung Yoon, but she won me over totally as Kwon Ji Hyun. Her acting is stellar. The male leads are also great. Uhm Tae Woong is just too cute to me. I hope Park Min Woo does more because he is a really good actor.

I HATED Kwon Ji Hyun's appa and brother (can't remember if he was older or younger). They are some hateful people that treated her like a cash cow. Then blamed her for the consequences of their actions. I just wanted to kick their butts.

The music is nice.

I may rewatch this at some point.

If you like romance, family, angst dramas, then I recommend this drama.

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I'm not particularly fan of romantical dramas but when it comes to Taiwanese and Chinese dramas that's my favorite genre ! I decided to give this drama a try for only two reasons , firstly because I'm a big fan of Zhao Zanilia and Secondly for the romance as I enjoy Chinese romance dramas !



I won't say that this story is innovative but the drama was really heartwarming that's why I enjoyed it that much !

The main couple is so cute , it's a real pleasure to see them joking and smiling together and see their love growing and growing ! At first Feng Teng was very cold and distant but as he is in process to know and understand Shan Shan's feelings he started to open his heart little by little to her . be careful //// SPOILER///// About their couple I think there is only one thing missing , we did not get to see them doing activities together like the ones that a couple would do : going to cinema , on an amusement park , eating at a restaurant , travelling ... that kind of things so i'm a bit disappointed that I did not see them having more fun , they were only eating , eating and eating again or staying at home ! ///// END OF SPOILER/////



Now I'm gonna talk about the characters :

Shan Shan is an adorable and cheerful girl , as her friend Liu Liu said she never complains when she is facing some problems whether with Feng Teng or work and maybe that's what I love the most about her !

Feng Teng as I've already said he is a bit cold but he only needs to be loved , and when it's the case he is the most adorable guy in the world , he knows how to take care of his girlfriend and how to please her ! And I admit I'm guilty , I love when the guy is cold outside but just so sweet inside !

For the other characters I really appreciated Liu Liu who always gives precious advice to Shan Shan , Feng Yue who is an adorable sister to Feng Teng and still encouraging her Ge Ge and Shan Shan stay together , Zhenf Qi : the womanizer hehehe but actually it was only a facade to hide himself .

I really want to write a paragraph about Li shu , to be honest the first time I saw her ( she made her first appearance in ep 4 or 5 , don't remember well ) I found her very confident of herself & arrogant, so yes my first impression of her was good ; I mean that I was right about her true intentions ; I don't like people who backstab their -so called- friends however fortunately she evolves and learns from her mistakes !



About the Music : I really enjoy the opening but the ending did not catch my attention and truthfully I always skipped that song , as for the background music it was just so so !





So I recommend you this drama if you're looking for a good Chinese romantical drama and if you're in the mood for something light to relax a bit !



It's my fist time writing a rewiew for MDL so I'm sorry if I made mistakes .

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