Reviews

Hello Stranger (2020): A Top-Tier Pinoy BL Series

At least 35 Filipino (Pinoy) boys’ love (BL) series have been announced for 2020. Three Pinoy BL series are “completed” (“Sakristan,” “Truly Very Your,” and “Hello Stranger”) while ten other series are currently “airing” (“Gameboys,” “In Between,” “Kumusta Bro?,” “Even After,” “Hook Up,” “Amore,” “My Day,” "Unexpected," “Safe Haven,” and “Oh My Sexual”). I watch and review all these series. Not all of these series are good but fortunately we have the likes of “Hello Stranger” which can be considered a top-tier Pinoy BL series. It’s not the best (“Gameboys” is still better) and it’s not perfect but it’s an excellent Pinoy BL series especially if you want to be entertained and feel romantic excitement.

“Hello Stranger” had a simple plot/storyline about self-discovery, friendship, and finding love in a time of quarantine and lockdown. Friendship among the Young Padawans was highlighted which is probably what I liked most about this series. Interestingly, this series didn’t delve deeper into the characters’ relationship with their families which is usually a staple for a Pinoy series. While the overused enemies to lovers trope was employed, the context of the new normal brought something new to this series. But don't expect this series to confront larger societal issues related to identity politics and the pandemic though because this isn’t that type of Pinoy BL series (you can watch “Gameboys” instead for that). Even then, reference to the Stonewall riots (1969) is highly appreciated.

While there were a few corny and long lines here and there, the screenplay for the entire series was generally relatable. Featuring, interpreting, and dramatizing Benilda S. Santos' poem "Sa Kasintahang Nilimot Na" (For the Already Forgotten Lover) was also a nice touch.

Everyone in the cast, from the lead to the support cast can act, not particularly outstanding, but they're all good actors. Some of them, most noticeably Tony (undoubtedly the most popular Filipino actor to venture into Pinoy BL series), were underwhelming at times but Tony did have moments to shine especially in the finale. JC had the most improvement in acting throughout this series owing to the fact that Mico had the best character development. XavMi chemistry was ok in the end. All the male actors -- Tony, JC, Patrick, and Migs, are distractingly handsome and sexy. I super love Junjun! I would have wanted more for the female characters on this series especially Crystal but we take what we can get. At least their characterizations weren’t toxic. And Miss Tina Moran was definitely the mood!

Compared with other Pinoy BL series, “Hello Stranger” had the biggest budget and this showed in terms of the quality of production. Production design and camera work were generally very good. I had some issues with the pace and editing of the first few episodes but they eventually improved. The soundtrack "Kahit na Anong Sabihin ng Iba" (Regardless What Other People Say) performed by Seth Fedelin was also good. I also liked all the scenes wherein Tony sang. XavMi confessing each other's feelings by finishing each other's lines in a song and singing together during the finale was cheesy but was really romantic and sweet.

In summary, I would definitely recommend rewatching “Hello Stranger.” If you’re looking for a Pinoy BL series with a simple plot/storyline executed very well with good performance and production, “Hello Stranger” is the perfect series for you. And watch out for “Hello Stranger The Movie”! Maybe in the movie, we’ll get more than the very tamed pinky swear and hugs we got from the finale -- fingers crossed!

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A big disappointment

The teaser, the pilot, the trailer... they were all fantastic and hyped me up for the show.
Then the show started and I felt sorry for Pat, poor soul was crying in the bathroom. Then he cried again... then he whined and pouted the entire episode. Now that I am done with that mess, I can honestly say that Pat is the most annoying characte of this year. Yeah I know it is only July, but there isnt any ex girlfriend with evil plans or homophobic dad that slaps everybody, that could be as annoying and irritating. Pat has great ideas, but he is always staring with his mouth slightly open, in silence...

The other characters are great, the ''villain'' becomes a cool lady, EVEN THE VILLAIN IS NICER THAN THE MALE LEAD!!
If you focus on the other characters, you will have fun. Unfortunately you will have to skip like 20 minutes of the male lead whining and like 10 min of him in silence, but those 15 minutes with Chot, Ae, Mr Jeng, Jaab, Jane, will be great!

I feel sorry for Ben. He deserved a better debut in acting. I will keep supporting his work. And his voice is beautiful.

If you feel like watching... then watch. It is a forgettable show with some good scenes.

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Bloodhounds is back with its sequel and this time it’s less stylized, more brutal, raw and packed with action.. I honestly missed this kind of fight scenes.. I gotta say, this is how a second season should be.. It stays true to its core story of heartfelt friendship, and family.. While bringing back all the gripping elements from the first season.. But this time the action, the boxing, the fighting, it’s just wild, intense and bloody..

WDH really unleashes his talent here.. He was too good.. You can tell he has put in an insane amount of hard work and preparation.. It shows his discipline and mindset as an actor.. And while we are talking about insane hard work and preparation, we have to talk about the antagonist this season.. Rain, you absolute freak.. His physical transformation is genuinely insane and his screen presence is strong.. Ruthless, obsessive, physically intimidating, dangerous, unpredictable, he was a force to reckon with.. Almost unstoppable, one of the most terrifying villains.. And the way he fought?? His boxing, his skills?? Not flashy, just pure ruthless violence..

The visuals and soundtrack were really good as well.. The fight scenes are visceral and intense, shot with a kind of frenetic energy.. And what made this drama even more special was the cast and the cameos.. The whole cast was perfect.. Everyone played their roles to perfection.. They didn’t try to glorify or heroize just one person.. It felt like a true team effort.. Even the supporting cast had some insane fight scenes and showed some mad skills.. It’s a knockout performance from everyone, full of blood, sweat and tears..

The cameos?? Just crazy.. Who would have thought eh?? So many of them.. Park Seo Joon?? Wow.. He was an intriguing character and someone I would honestly love to see more of if there is another season.. Oh and Kang Min Ah?? The transformation, slick.. Give her more badass roles.. She absolutely killed it with her screen presence..

Now.. The script is more straightforward.. It lacks a bit of emotional weight.. It doesn’t feel story driven.. Everything is more or less set up for the fights.. Which I don’t think is a bad thing honestly.. Because they really do make up for the script with some wild action..

One more thing I need to mention.. This time it felt like Hong U Jin was sort of sidelined.. He got his ass kicked more than once and didn’t feel as strong as he did in the first season.. Maybe that’s because of the five year break and his lack of actual boxing.. Still, I would have loved to see him do more..

Overall this season is darker, more violent and delivers an insane amount of wild, well choreographed, bloody, tactical fight scenes.. It doesn’t pull any punches, it goes all in on the action.. Everyone’s commitment to their character is genuinely impressive.. You can see they have put their whole heart into it.. WDH delivers an absolutely astonishing performance with Rain being purely evil and intimidating.. Season 2 feels bigger and more relentless.. I just hope we don’t have to call this underrated.. It really deserves more recognition..

P.S.. Oh, to be loved by so many people.. Kim Geon U is surrounded by people who love him dearly.. That’s who he is, that’s his character.. And WDH, he portrayed that innocence so well..

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Not the KBS School series I know of.

It's good but it also bad; it'd pretty average. I have things to complain and I got things to praise about. To sum it up, the cons of this drama outweigh the pros and I couldn't avoid to notice them. Let's go.

School 2021 is the latest drama of the KBS School franchise which was meant to be School 2020 but covid19 caused the production to delay and they had to postpone. Although there were uncertainties about starting it in 2021 even but thankfully, they aired it, even so it now ends in 2022.

There is no solid plotline. It's simply is a mixture of many subplotsz keeping the romance plot at the center. Corruption reveal, friendship, bromance line, love triangle, family relationship, etc. are a part of the story. They probably wanted to make the highschool corruption the central plot but it was inconsistent and didn't work at all.

The key difference between previous dramas of the KBS School series and this one is that, the school isn't an ordinary one, rather a specialized skill-based school where students are trained in particular vocational curriculum. It actually could have been a better show if they had made a script about different aspects of such schools, but duh! The thing is, this script could have been any other highschool drama but it didn't fit the concept of the KBS franchise, it didn't have anything that we see in the School series.

Again, no solid plot and hence no steady development; the mixture of different element, makes the overall story messy. The first 2 episodes didn't make any impact as introductory pieces, it wasn't bad but not something to keep you on it. The next few episodes were smooth and gave off an impression of an average show, and I, somehow, wanted the show to retain the same quality till the end but even that was inconsistent. I admit, I somehow got myself emotionally attached till 6th just to get myself disappointed after that. I pushed myself to finish till the end, only because I am bad at giving up , otherwise I could not find a single reason to motivate me to keep watching. It went downhill in the 2nd half and the blame goes to the writers for getting lost within their own script.

Gong Ki Joon (Kim Yo Han) is basically a looser but got character development and his acting improves with episode though it stayed pretty average till the end. Jin Ji Won (Jo Yi Hyun) is a determined and hardworking girl but very typical and outdated of a classical Kdrama FL though her acting is up to par. Jung Young Joo (Choo Young Woo) is a terrible actor and he never improves, adding to it, his character in the drama was such needless and stupid one; he deserves minor roles and not SML.

Special mention to the SFL Kang Seo Young (Hwang Bo Reum Byul) who despite the least experience did the best among the younger cast. Not just her character was was a potential strong FL, she did a splendid role in playing it.

Ji Ho Sung (Kim Kang Min) and Go Eun Bi (Seo Hee Sun) are the 3rd couple with shoddy backgrounds and stupid plots.

Lee Kang Hoon, Park In Hwan, Kim Gyu Sun, Lee Ji Ha, Kim Min Sang, Jo Seung Yun, Kim Soo Jin... are some of the very good actors in this drama but it's such a waste of their talent and time as they didn't have the scope to showcase their skills. The overall acting department, hence, is a big turn off and another reason to drop this.

Kim Min Tae PD a comparatively lesser experienced director but the only 2 dramas he produced before this were actually moderately good shows, Idk what went wrong with the direction here. The screenplay and it's organization were one of the major disadvantages. The pacing is equally messed; both unnecessarily slow and fast at times. I didn't know about Dong Hee Sun jakkanim and I can't really judge from her previous work since I haven't seen any of the 3 movies created by her. But judging the script of this drama, I am sure she had a difficult time writing a drama script, which is a lot different from a movie script.

There are plots of many types which needed a lot better execution but those rather ended up being puzzled. The distribution of plots and elements should have been fairly distributed but they're rather dispersed unmannerly. They either concentrate one subplot too much or forget about that completely. Same goes for the characters, who, in fact, have no solid dynamics to back their personalities. There is no impressive character development either. Simply put, so many unnecessary subplots and so many unnecessary characters.

OSTs are moderately good but not really memorable. I liked "Way to you" by Rosanna the most of all, followed by "Recently" by uri Yohan. "Dream on" by Na Go Eun is the only track that matched the drama, others are mostly romantic songs, and very unrelated to the drama. "Absently" by SWAN and "Can't help loving you" by OMG Mimi are tracks with the vibes of classic Kdrama OSTs.

Things I liked...
# The 2nd Female lead's acting... She was the only one among the younger cast who could act and not just acted, but did very well. In fact her character was the only one with amazingly painted arches; the only reason I went through the ending.

# The love triangle here isn't a mess. It doesn't last long, or turn into a toxic pull and push game between the main cast.

# The first Male lead wasn't very flashy unlike other highschool Kdramas where the FFL is some sorta genius who can do everything; the one here was a loser and we saw a character development for him with each episode though it wasn't really impressive.

Things I disliked...
I have a long list :3

# the 1st Female lead needed more exposure bcs she was supposed to lead the show. I didn't completely dislike the character but it needed some background and a character development method.

# There were relatively less school scenes for a "School" series drama and that too the school scenes were very unappealing.

# There are way too many characters than needed. Not just in School series, also in almost all highschool dramas, there are many students in the supporting characters, but here, there were less than 10 students directly involved whereas others were absolute fillers with 0 contribution to the story.

# Honestly, no romance could have been okay given the genre but I don't really complain about it's existence. The thing that made me off was the overal plot of both the couples. In terms of chemistry, the 2nd lead couples were better but neither of them were really good.

# The mixture of lots of plotlines was a bad decision and in the end, they were missing out on the development of each of the plots on a great deal.

# The not so cool "boys let's punch and make it up" kinda bromance did cut off some points.

#The stupid and entirely unnecessary plot for the 3rd lead couple s, which absurdly funny and could have been avoided.

I came here for Yohan as he's a sweetheart to me. Plus I was excited to watch a drama of School series after 3 (4) years. Another reason that had my anticipations up was the fact that it was delayed a lot. But all my expectations have been crushed and I am left disappointed by the results. I don't at all mind average dramas and okay with a drama not having typical stuffs but it should be a decent watch, which School 2021 wasn't. Even if you don't compare it to previous dramas of the series, this one as a light drama by itself is a failure. I have seen better light themed shows to give this a pass.

Overally, it's pretty average, in fact below average in terms of production values, acting and more importantly, the the entire outcome. I wonder why this show was even made. They should have skipped the entire script or made another highschool drama bcs KBS School franchise is a different thing in whole together and it's a shame this drama let the essence down. I am disappointed and I will suggest you to drop it without even starting.

P. S. Gave it 6.0 only because it's not very bad and I think I am being generous.

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What a waste!

I'm so amused at how I finished this trash, but I did well. And I'm so frustrated at this point. How is this even tagged as romance... there were just bits of pieces of it, which left a bitter taste in my mouth.

This tested my patience level every bit... I was waiting for the moment that it would get better. With the character arcs, their decisions, and most ridiculous not needed twists, it almost had nothing good to offer. The main leads were the worst... specially ml, he doesn't have a thing called the backbone, bro can't you just take a stand for once? rather than crying wailing... acting like ahh, I have to do these things for the sake of the greater good, I'm so done with these types of tropes, and the never-ending cycle of amnesias.

The only good thing about it was the side characters... some of them were good and way more interesting than the leads... but no, they were just thrown out of the plot and killed for convenience or I'd say to keep the story going as I don't think they had anything more to offer.

Ju Ying Yi... I'm so tired of seeing her in the same attire, the same makeup in literally everything and the thing is she's not that good of an actor too, to make the matter worst.

The chemistry between leads felt flat, so even with the little sprinkling of some sweet moments, romance was unsatisfying. The flow of the story was inconsistent. They had all the bad cliches of all xianxias I've seen till together I hated what they did with the ending... so in the end everything was for nothing?

Never thought my review after ages would be a rant but here you go... I guess all I needed to relieve my frustration towards it! And you better not watch it for your own good.

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Do you really know the person you're in love with?

A fast paced, bite your nails, clutch your pearls, sleep with the monster under your bed kinda crime love story that will have you hooked from start to finish.

Cha Ji Won is an excellent cop and a very lucky woman. She has an adorable daughter, a gorgeous husband who cooks, cleans, gives great kisses and is a skilled craftsman. They have a pretty little house and life's pretty good. Except... that her gorgeous husband might actually be a serial killer in the past. Oops.

Flower of evil keeps you on the very edge right from the start. The drama goes to great lengths to write brilliant characters and explore their personalities and relationships with each other and it succeeds for the most part.

Lee Joon Gi (Do Hyun Soo) was phenomenal here. God, his acting often left me speechless. The control he has over his microexpressions is crazy. His acting is so nuanced that it captures you throughout and makes you one with his character. The way Do Hyun Soo flits from this charismatic, doting, loving husband and father to this scary sonovabitch with madness in his eyes and the potential to murder always hit me like whiplash.

Do Hyun Soo is an unreliable protagonist. You're never quite sure of his motivations in the start. He is smart, cunning and manipulative and gives up major red flags. He seems incapable of emotion and you never know whether he is really able to care for anyone or not. But boy, when he comes through, he comes THROUGH. And you can't help but fall in love with him.

I am really proud of Moon Chae Won (Cha Ji Won) for doing this drama. I have disliked some of her work in the past for mostly playing roles that present her as an accessory to the male lead but she really stood on her own here. Her acting was excellent as she portrayed this hard hitting, ball buster cop who is as strong as she is vulnerable.

The drama did a good job with developing a myriad of characters so that all of them feel important. Cha Ji won's police squad, Hyun Soo's sister, the couple's daughter and parents and reporter Moo Jin who is a fan favourite.

This drama is part crime thriller and part romance. On the murder mystery front, I don't think you guys will find anything that's all that new. Yes, the real killer is very deliciously psychotic and smart enough to give our good guys a hard time. Yes, things really frustrate you as we go forward one step to catching the true culprit and are pushed three steps back. But overall the whole investigation and the way things pan out are very kdrama-ish, equipped with predictable plot devices and definitely not unique.

The highlight of the show was for sure the romance. It was just so good. There was no angst and cutesy stuff that comes with new couples. No stupidity or 'he loves me, loves me not' bullshit. They've been married for 14 years and love each other like crazy. It breaks your heart when problems out of their control time and time again stand beetween their relationship and test the trust and love they have for each other. But make no mistake, they are both each other's world and always have the other's back. It's so natural, intense, mature and believable. They have great chemistry and understanding and I loved everything about them. It was amazing for me to see the way they react, deal and feel when they come to certain realizations about each other. It made the show a treat to watch.

However, I definitely have some complaints. I went into the show thinking it will absolutely wreck me. I thought there was no way it will end happily and that it will break my heart. But halfway through, you realize the show is pretty vanilla. And staying true to that, they really cushioned a lot of blows and pulled their punches in the second half.

As a viewer, I was half relieved that my feelings were spared but half unsatisfied because I wasn't hit in my feels as hard as I could have been.

There were also some very cheesy bits and some cliche ridiculousness in the second half as they pulled out the good ol' theatrics. A couple of things were a sob fest that I kept laughing at, instead of taking seriously 'cause of how over the top they went with their crying scenes. I'd go as far as to say that our main leads may have over acted a bit in the last couple of episodes. It was in sheer contrast with the crisply written, full of underlying tension and subtle gravity of the first half.

But overall, it surely kept me invested throughout. I swooned, got teary eyed, impatient, was frustrated, excited and anxious so the feelings were definitely there, to the point that it got me replaying many scenes.

There were plenty of warm moments to compliment the dark ones, steamy kisses and scenes you laugh at- sometimes because it's genuinely funny and sometimes 'cause you find some dark humor in them.

The sound track was great, the pacing was smooth and the acting was excellent across the board.

All in all, a must watch. So what are you waiting for? Go watch it!

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I laughed, I cried, I swooned...I loved it!

For me, this is a work of cinematic art! ✨ I loved everything about it, and honestly it's hard to come up with highlights, because it seemed like everything was a highlight!

What immediately comes to mind that left an impression were (i) the performance of the main couple, played by CXX & LYX, and (ii) the way the story flowed & came to life so beautifully. CXX portrayed XZY so perfectly, with depth & nuance. I loved the range of his expressions, from distant & aloof to warm & caring. He is a stellar actor! Very dashing & handsome in this role, determined & clear but vulnerable too. I have become such a fan! Then, there's LYX who brought her acting skills to another level as HX. I already thought she was great after seeing her in MJTY, but here she played kind of an opposite character, very bubbly, positive, and kind, and like XZY, is very determined but can be vulnerable too. How they fell in love was so real and entirely believable, which is interesting seeing how it started in the VR world. I was amazed how they went from playful teasing to mutual affection & concern to fiery passion & back again. Their chemistry was so good that it felt like they were together IRL! I so enjoyed seeing their friendship & love blossom, them overcoming all odds, & of course being together at the end. My favourite modern Cdrama couple 💞.

Actually, there were so many moments while watching LBL when it felt more like an award-winning film rather than a 28-episode drama. Aside from the amazing acting (not just by our MC but really the entire cast was great!), the way this drama was filmed was too beautiful. From the opening credits with the very cute cartoons layered on top of the MC's more memorable scenes plus the theme song, to the closing credits with the architecture sketches & closing song, and every frame of each moment shown to us in between, everything was beautifully and thoughtfully done. The BGM & OST perfectly complimented the scenes, the framing & angles, the cinematography, the nature scenes, examples of modern & traditional architecture in Shanghai - it was a feast for the senses. The director & his team really put a lot of thought & heart into each still / frame of each episode, giving a certain feeling as I watched, a warm and cozy ambiance. There is a continuity in this feeling throughout the drama despite going from different settings (virtual to real world) and moods (playful, hilarious & romantic moments, flashbacks, stress & angst). So I really loved this connection and flow in the story. Maybe that's why I felt like it was more of a cinematic experience.

They say the devil is in the details and here the details elevated LBL. A beautiful sense of aesthetic permeated every scene, from their outfits (especially loved HX's Republican era outfits in Rongcheng!), interiors, exteriors, cars, buildings, streets, balloons - really everything was selected with purpose. I even liked the beautiful simplicity of the picture frame HX got for XZY with its clean lines. I also loved how they showed how much the MC cared for each other with the little details during certain moments (where if you blink you`ll miss), like how XZY charged HX cell while she was sleeping.

Definitely can go on and on...I mean the plot, character development, script/dialogue, everything was great! No real plotholes, no overdone tropes, no prolonged tangents. I appreciated how they focused on the MC throughout, with the side characters & revenge back story serving more as vehicles to develop the relationship & character of the MC. I also liked the parts in the script where they left a lot unsaid, leaving it up to us viewers to figure things out.

Thank you to the cast, crew & direction for gifting this absolute gem of a show! 👏👏👏 I am definitely coming back to this, I'm sure many times.

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I lie to myself all the time.

A famous quote by Virginia wolf goes like, "If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people." Just because something ain't a lie doesn't mean that it ain't deceptive for a liar knows that they are a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction. This drama and the original novels are quite vocal of it, that you'll realize as you set out on a journey alongside Anna, a woman who made choices out of bravery yet found herself in an endless pit.

Produced by ‘Content Map’ and edited by ‘Studio Briv’“, ANNA (안나)” is a mini Korean web drama, based on the full-length novel “Intimate Stranger (친밀한 낯선 사람)” authored by Chung Han Ah. Lee Joo Young takes charge of both screenwriting and direction of the drama which is the 2nd venture for ‘Coupang Play’, an emerging and rising OTT platform in South Korea.

ANNA follows the story of Lee Yu Mi (Bae Suzy) who lives a life full of lies that resulted from her aspirations to do big but inability to make it up to anything. In short the story keeps at centre a woman who has Ripley’s Syndrome. I think this is enough for a drama with only 6 episodes and less than 50 minutes runtime. The MDL bio says nothing of the story, nor can the show be described with a particular plotline. This can be considered a roughly 5 hours long movie.

“Ripley's Syndrome” is an antisocial personality disorder that causes patients to believe lies about themselves. Sometimes, these lies even urge patients to commit crimes. The condition got its name from Tom Ripley, a con artist and serial killer in Patricia Highsmith's 1950 psychological thriller novel "The Talented Mr. Ripley."

Many familiar faces other than Suzy that you see in the drama are: Jung Eun Chae, Kim Joon Han, Park Ye Young, Kim Jung Young, Kim Soo Jin Baek Ji Won and Woo Ji Hyun. There are also some known faces in guest roles.

The story and plot development of the show (won’t say is not for everyone) will be likable among viewers who appreciate cinematic values and are avid movie fans. The beginning sequence is intriguing for sure; starting from 1986, i. e. from Yumi’s early childhood to her late-30s in 2022, the chronicle is a portrayal of what kind of life she has been leading. As the story begins with her getting involved with a lady of knowledge and receiving life-lessons from her as a barely 5yo kid, the furtherance takes us to different phases of her life, showing her ‘the then’ status with year stamps.

Her journey is not a smooth one, as she thought it would be, until she messes up with something and ended up getting abandoned. To save herself from miserable judgements and due to personal insecurities, she starts lying and to cover one lie, she lies further and further, she didn’t look back or she couldn’t look back? Well, there lies all the confusions and criticisms, giving scope for reasonable debates and a horrible yet beautiful in-depth character analysis, which I won’t do in the review in order to keep out the spoilers.

Creator and Director of the acclaimed 2017 movie “A Single Rider”, Lee Joo Young-nim might still be a rookie but possesses great creative cinematic skills, which is in fact adequately reflected in this miniseries. The performance of the actors in their respective roles, particularly the central character Anna, and the insights put into the arcs and the overall outcomes, say a lot about the ideas of the maker incorporated with sumptuous sense of creativity. Well written and well directed, in short.

Cinematography by Lee Ui Tae is of great essence, which is quite unexpected but as evidently showcased. The time-shuffle in a sync through years and ages accompanied by growth, was gratifyingly presented. The definite structures in hazy premises and plain tones of the backdrops were of appropriate for what the maker wants to narrate through the story. Additionally, the background theme and composition of various scores is good and did blend well with the show's essence.

The delivery from the rest of the character was up to par as expected albeit Suzy did shine extra in the show; definitely not her best performance but surely stands out as a unique one and I'm certain she did her homework of understanding the character Anna well.

The central character is flawed and radically unideal but who says the devil can not have it's own story? It's always welcoming to witness different perspectives of and particularly the portrayal of a character like Anna with reasonability to her circumstances, is pretty much delivered.

Greed, money and power make us egoistic and arrogant and the through Anna, the writer has done a detailed analysis of how arrogance has the ability to become our prime characteristic feature and can land us in misery, from where, it's sometimes difficult to turn back. Greed also makes it easier for us to give a nod to everything that's offered to us without hesitation even with the realization of guilt.

Loved the manner of storytelling by the creator and the amount of naturally and realness she has decorated in the narrative with the intentions to put forward the shades that we often forget/deny to acknowledge.

Two of the most striking dialogues from the show are...
"Remember! The poker face!"
"Even the way we breath has some meaning and we can get evaluated on it."

Final Remarks... "Anna" is not something not extremely intriguing or exciting as it might seem from the synopsis but it surely has insights of truth and reflections of reality, that help you dissect characters and their psychology, in a manner that might not feel realistic, but makes you realize by the end of show, that lies require commitment and to fulfill it you must sacrifice one thing or the other. It surely was an interesting watch for me and would like to recommend to those who are into movies or are suckers for intellectualism.

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Are These People Afraid of Lips?

Literally, how the eff did this cast look like supermodels and kissed like stale bread? Also why did I think Pond’s name came second in his couple tag? LMAO, imagined my surprised when he showed up acting all aloof and cool, talking about needing his junk repaired for 200k baht. I was like, 'Oh, okay, so this is where we going, arite.'

Anyway, here is my quick review:
First, this series had no business being 16 episode. How many times did they have to go do something with water? The last 3 or so episodes were super unnecessary. We get it, Peem likes water, move on to something more interesting, please!!

What I liked.
FRIENDSHIP. No, their friendship group was beautiful and so chill, and brought back good memories. I love how supportive they all were to each other. Whenever they had a scene together, I had a big grin on my face. I enjoyed the scenes when they tried to get Q to admit his feelings, and every time they tried to fit into Peem's tiny arse bed.

What I didn't like:
1) The acting: Open back the acting school, cuz like... some parts of this was so awkward and cringy. Though, I think AouBoom improved from when I first watched them in Hidden Agenda. Tan was a bit hyper but I liked his character. Truthfully, most of the cast looked ready to shoot a catalogue than they did acting. They all moved as if they were camera shy. No, like, every time Peem tried to act serious I went, 'Dude, stop doing that thing with your eyebrows!!'

2) Stale kisses and cringy scenes: Dafug was up with most of the couples in this? Out there acting like they were afraid of lips. I blame it on the stiff acting. No, I did not want KinnPorsche level of kisses. I just wanted like a normal one. You know like that penguin couple who kissed in the last episode. They moved their face and were enthusiastic, and that was a-o-kei. In the scene where Peem and Phum were kissing beside that canoe by the sea, Peem literally looked like he was in pain, legit, Phum would have had a better chance making out with that canoe cuz... yikes!

3) Meh plot-line: Don’t ask me the voice of nobody. The plot did not keep my interest, so I watched most of this show at 2x and they all sounded like alvin and the chipmunks to me. Peem, is going directly to my list of characters who deserves to be slap with a rubber chicken, cuz dafug you mean a dude asked you to be his slave and you fell in love with him while cleaning his apartment and doing his laundry? Also Phums father 'issues' had me going, 'Damn, and to think those of us who's father went out to get milk and never came back brood less.'

I guess, this show was mostly about the friend group each finding love? than it was about anything else, so in that aspect, it was fine, but it wasn't anything extraordinary.

Also was there like one random friend who didn’t have anyone? I felt like everyone was paired off except that one guy. Poor dude, don’t even remember his name. Oh well.

Which reminds me, why won't Phum kick a ball into Peem's painting? Homeboy dragged that sorry arse painting everywhere with him, unprotected. Like in one scene he straight up left it and went to go chase Phum around a park. I was surprised it survived until the end.

Please, why was Q always threatening us with a song every second scene? What in this plot called for his singing? After the second time, I rushed to skip whenever he got near a guitar. You will not stress me today child.

And lastly, I can’t believe they put Peem’s ugly arse painting next to Q’s, lol. No, hear me out, the first time I saw the wave painting, I wanted to write poems about it. It was so beautiful, such incredible art. Then he went and added those flowers and the whole thing became tacky. Nah, I was sad he ruined it. That being said, his future works looked very beautiful, so there's hope for him after all.

But yeah, if you like any of these actors, I'm sure you'd enjoy this. I will recommend it for the friendship scenes, cuz those were heartwarming. Unicorns, Rainbows and whatnots.

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"What's It Like to Date a Walking Red Flag"

That's what this title should be called...

I watched the animated version, (The Girl Downstairs) and now having watched the live version, my opinion hasn't changed. I was very surprised when I heard that they were making a live version of this because IMO, it really wasn't worth it. While the storyline vastly differed from each other (webtoon vs live action), the main characters were the same. This is probably one of the shallowest k-drama I've ever watched. Usually, you might see some immature ones like you find with some high school genres but this one certainly had no real, true depth.

The FL was a huge, walking, waving RED FLAG right from the beginning. She had no charming traits to her at all. A smoker, a drinker and basically a hothead. She obviously had some serious mental issues and was very unlikeable. The only reason you can think of why the ML falls for her is because of the physical attraction and all the moves she was pulling on him. After finding out the reason why the SFL, Jin-ju, left him in the first place, you sympathize with her and honestly, I was baffled as to why he never chose her. Jin-ju was way better than Doona. You only get glimpses of Doona's life and whatever the ML read about her online but she never once really opens up about herself at all. She just expects the ML to put up with her closed off attitude and he embarrassingly does.

Halfway through this, I was getting sick of watching the ML just get used and abused by the FL. He was constantly apologizing to her and putting up with her tantrums, mood swings and silent treatment for no good reason. He put up with so much of her BS that you lose respect for him early on. By the time EP7 came around, the minute she got into the Manager's car, I basically threw my hands up and gave up on both of them. The ML remains a pushover the entire time. It never stopped right from beginning to end and there was absolutely NO character growth from the FL at all. Four years go by and yet she remained self-centered, obsessive, whiny, and demanding til the very end. She never seeks any professional help. She could've used some serious therapy. In all honesty, it would've been good to see her talking to a therapist or doing some kind of work on herself like meditation. At least then it would've shown some self-reflection or inner work and it would've shown the audience that there's professional help and some options available to those who need it. That even "idols" could use some help.

In regards to the side characters, they contributed almost nothing to the story. The writer just couldn't write anyone having a real, heartfelt conversation. Like why did the FL's mother even bother making an appearance and nevermind the ML's family or best friend? All the side characters were just fillers. All the non-verbal communication was just irritating and frustrating to watch. I didn't even care about all the intimate scenes because I didn't care much for the ML and FL and especially the side characters. At least the side characters showed some changes and personal growth and I didn't even care for them.

It was really strategic and lucky that Netflix dropped all episodes at once as I think it would've been a lot different and worst if we had to wait for 1 or 2 episodes weekly. Overall, a hard pass on this one.

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Love and Redemption for the Beauty and the Beast

This is a long awaited drama. Many viewers have come to watch Xiao Zhan's other dramas after his phenomenal acting in The Untamed. The storyline for The Wolf is intriguing. Perhaps more so for the original story, but in the drama adaptation, the supernatural elements have almost disappeared; there are no "werewolf" nor "interspecies" as tagged. The "wolf" here is a real human raised by wolves, without any human's social skills but with some traits of a wolf and extraordinary capabilities,

This is an amazing story that should not be judged prematurely; viewers must be patient with the beginning CGI wolf scenes (they are not of their best but they don't really bother me), and also not be put off by what happens to the Ma family. Persisting in continuing viewing, you'd be rewarded as the drama gets better and amazing in later episodes. The story turns and twists with plots within plots.

The Story
This is the love story of a wolf boy and a daughter of a general. Their odyssey for finding each other and reuniting takes them through a lot of pains and sacrifices; their devotion for each other finally wins.

Langzai (wolf boy, played by Wang Dalu) and Xing'er (Ma Zhaixing, played by Li Qin) have grown up together, each day accompanying each other and playing in the wolves mountain (where the boy lives). They care and love each other deeply. She teaches him human skills and he teaches her about nature. Something happens and they are separated for years. Both grow up and the wolf boy is adopted by the Emperor and becomes a prince. They meet again and she is to become his consort. Due to some misunderstanding in the past when they were first separated, he has mixed feelings for her but falls back in love with her when he realizes his mistake, and for her, she still misses and loves her wolf boy. Unbeknownst to her, he is involved in the killing of her family. When she finds out his involvement, she is devastated. Despair and revenge overwhelm her. And for him, he is buried in remorse. They become enemies - one searches for revenge, the other searches for redemption. Their rift is irreconcilable and they part ways. When she eventually finds out that he has not directly killed her family and has been trying to make amends to redeem himself, she comes back to him, only to find him dying. She knows she cannot live without him. With uncompleted missions he needs to carry out before his death, she helps him and perishes. As with wolves that mate for life, he follows her in death soon after.

The Plot
A ruthless, suspicious, manipulative and power crazy Emperor creates a war machine from the Wolf Boy and makes him one of his sons to conquer lands around his kingdom. To bring peace to the world, Wolf Boy eventually restores his youngest and compassionate brother to the throne.

One amazing viewer pointed out that some of the characters did exist during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom periods. I was so shocked to learn that Bo Wang (Prince of Bo) was actually a real person, and how the events happen in the palace are actually based on some of the real historical events.

The Romance
Unmistakably, the romance is one of the best and the selling point of this drama. The heartaches, sacrifices, agonies, remorse, separations make this such an unforgettable watch. There are various reasons for Prince Bo (Wang Dalu aka Darren Wang) to sever ties with Ma Zhaixing (Li Qin) and push her as far away as possible despite how much he loves her. Firstly, he's involved in the killings of her family (though he hasn't given the order) and secondly, he is trying to protect her, because he knows she is his Achilles' heel and she would be hurt by others to hurt him. But on the other hand, he loves her so much that it's painful to hurt her in order to push her away, hence creating the push and pull romance that I love so much here; my heart hurts seeing his agony and her misery. Despite himself hurting her with his words, he would not permit anyone else doing it; the outcome of any disrespect towards his love is pretty serious, like losing all one's fortune or demoting from a city mayor to a standing city gate guard. He's remorseful for the killings of her family. To redeem, he helps her take her revenge on himself; he teaches her how to hit himself hardest and deadliest. However, he also knows for her to go against him, it means she's also going against the Emperor whom he is still loyal to. He needs to make her hate him so much that she's strong enough to stand up for herself and fight him. He figures, if she can fight him, that means she is strong enough and will not be hurt by the devious Emperor. He uses hurting words to make her hate him and motivate her to stand up to fend for herself. What he says (the nasty words) and how he acts (the seemingly despicable actions) are not how he feels inside. As much as I love Xiao Zhan, the chemistry between Li Qin and Wang Dalu is so incredible that Xiao Zhan stands no chance at all in overtaking it; Ma Zhaixing and Wolf Boy make a perfect pair with contrasting visuals and yet beautiful chemistry -- they are the Beauty and the Beast.

From Episode 38 onwards, I cry in almost every episode thereafter. Seeing how the characters suffer and continue to be devoted and determined really makes one tear up.

The Characters and The Acting
The acting by the whole cast is fabulous, in particular the main leads. They all have made the story come alive, some with inner animal traits, adding more intrigues into the story, mesmerizing the viewers.

- Wolf Boy (Prince Bo/Chu Youwen) and Wang Dalu
Wolf Boy (Wang Dalu aka Darren Wang) is an orphan raised by the wolves. He is kind and compassionate. Having grown up with the wolves, Wolf Boy has extra ordinary power – he's agile (he can survive jumping into the abyss), he has sensitive senses (he can see winds, hear the flapping wings of the butterflies, smell and see in the dark), and his powerful physical strength is unmatchable by any humans (he can single handedly kill two attacking tigers). It is this incredible ability that the Emperor takes him in and makes him a prince, only to use him as a killing weapon. Since then, he becomes heartless and cruel. He is sent out to fight all the wars; he is an unbeatable war machine. He rehumanizes when he meets up with Ma Zhaixing (Li Qin) again. She is given to him to be his future consort. Prince Bo does not have a beautiful face, but he has a beautiful heart. Despite being a wolf boy or a cold hearted war machine, he is always gentle and loving towards Ma Zhaixing. He loves his subordinates and his adoptive brothers, and always willing to die for them. He is loyal to the manipulative cruel Emperor because he wants to repay the kindness that his adoptive family has given him, in particular to the Emperor who has saved his life. Though he kills but he doesn't hurt innocents. When he refuses to kill for the Emperor, it becomes a predicament because to disobey means to be ungrateful to the one who has given him a second life, and to obey means he has to numb his own feelings. This predicament is central to his character development and the decisions he makes later. Despite losing his innocence as a wolf boy, I would have loved to see more scenes of Prince Bo retaining his prowess as a wolf, powerful and unbeatable; I wish he were as ferocious as he looks at the beginning.

Wang Dalu is the perfect actor for this character. With natural tan skin and a well built body, he really looks like a man who has lived in the wild and exposed to the elements. It is exactly this look that makes him a convincing ferocious wolf king. Carrying a sly hideous smile that tilts at the corner of his lips, Wang Dalu projects a fearsome and chilling image. As I get more familiar with the actor, oh boy, he grows on me. By the end of the drama, I find him so attractive, charismatic and irresistible. As I re-watched some of the episodes, I come to realize how difficult his role is. On one hand, he has to show he is a cold, war machine with no emotions, but on the other hand, he has to let the viewers see his agony, turmoil and most of all his love for the woman of his life. Despite some viewers criticize him for not emoting very well, I feel Wang Dalu has done exactly what he is supposed to do - his expressions should be subtle and cannot be easily understood by others. He has to hide his emotions, and with any feelings that he may show, it's always fleeting. I can definitely feel him when he is in turmoil and agonizing over his love and loyalty. Wang Dalu's acting is perfect!

- Ma Zhaixing and Li Qin
Ma Zhaixing (Li Qin) is the daughter of a general who controls the Armies of Ma. She is beautiful, kind, intelligent and delightful like a butterfly. She loves Wolf Boy whole heartedly and doesn’t care how he looks and what he is; she just loves him as he is and his kind heart. As the story unfolds, Ma Zhaixing’s experiences are painful and heart wrenching, hurting over and over again by the man she loves. She’s forced to become strong and take charge to avenge for those she’s lost.

Li Qin is beautiful and adorable as Ma Zhaixing as a young girl (about 10 years old, it's a long stretch but well... ) or later as an adult. She has that gentle and delightful demeanor, and has played her role so well and convincing, bringing out the pains and agonies Ma Zhaixing is going through and making the viewers empathize and sympathize with her.

- Ji Chong (Prince Chuan/Li Juyao) and Xiao Zhan
Ji Chong is a wandering prince disguised as a mercenary. He can communicate with the eagle and has excellent martial art skills. He falls in love with Ma Zhaixing who takes him as a good friend. Despite not reciprocating his love, he continues to help Ma Zhaixing getting through her most painful moments. Like an eagle roaming the sky, Ji Chong is free-spirited and resourceful, and a very well-loved character.

Xiao Zhan has an untamed aura that fits perfectly into the Ji Chong character here as a flamboyant and yet compassionate person. However, Xiao Zhan doesn't come on screen until Episode 11. Once on screen, his character is colorful and mesmerizing, and his performance is natural and believable. He compliments the character of Prince Bo who has a more serious and solid personality.

- Other Cast
Other cast members are equally impressive. As the Emperor of Yang, Chu Kui (Ding Yongdai) is ruthless, suspicious, manipulative and power crazy. Ding Yongdai’s acting is simply amazing, capturing all these elements of the character, making the viewers hate and yet fear him. All acting is just fabulous and immaculate.

The Official Sound Tracks (OSTs)
This drama produces some amazing OSTs. As a lover of classical music, I wasn't into the rapping parts in the song Who Am I initially. However, as the drama grows on me, the song sinks deep into me; I come to love it. Another song I love is the OST Heavenly Wolf Star. The instrumental Bo Wang's Heartache is another of my favorites. Each song digs deep into the listeners, helping the viewers feel the resignation and helplessness of the fate of our characters. The instrumental tunes are sad, mysterious and heart pounding, capturing everything in the story. Must listen!

My verdict
This drama has attracted a lot of attention because of Xiao Zhan after The Untamed. The Wolf was made before he became a superstar, therefore there is dissatisfaction with his fans for him playing a second male lead. Despite being a fan of Xiao Zhan myself, Wang Dalu has made a more convincing wolf king than Xiao Zhan would have; Wang Dalu has the look, physique and charisma for the role. The production team has made a perfect selection.

This is a rather heavy drama, with few dark jokes, such as the mantis analogy (the Khitan princess Bao Na [Guo Shuyao] depicts the relationship between Ma Zhaixing and Prince Bo as if they were the mantises, one eating the other after copulation, and Prince Bo rebuffs that it's the male mantis that gets eaten - I've laughed for days over this joke).

The storyline is intriguing and the characters are well developed and acted. There are no indications of any interspecies nor werewolf as suggested by the tags though there is supernatural power exhibited by The Wolf. The overall cinematography is fantastic despite some poor wolf CGIs in the beginning (actually they're not too bad), but others are pretty decent, especially the CGI tiger scenes (those are epic together with the acting of Wang Dalu). By looking at the cast that have not appeared and some disjointed editing, it is pretty obvious that some interesting scenes may have been cut abruptly to shorten the length of the drama (or due to censorship?). Whatever it is, this is still an amazing and enjoyable drama that depicts love and redemption, loyalty and betrayal, sincerity and deception, remission and revenge, humanity and atrocity, harmony and warfare, with amazing fighting scenes, and most of all, a beautiful love story of a beauty and a beast.

The ending may not be placatable for some viewers, but it is beautiful at the same time, regretful. For me, a good drama should not depend on whether it is a happy or sad ending; it is about the overall story and acting.

This drama is one of my all-time favorites and deserves a rare 10/10. Don't miss it!

TWO THUMBS UP!

Want more about the actual historical story? Read this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhu_Wen

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Light and Shadow

“An artist should recognize a metaphor” a character tells the show’s protagonist towards the end. And like Jin Soo Wan’s earlier shows, this one uses metaphor (in this case the trope of time travel) to explore how pain can become the garden in which art and joy grow, how parents can fail and save their children, and how it is not luck or fame or fortune but love that keeps us rooted in this broken world.

Most shows hesitate to mix comedy with serious themes, as if by merging the two, they’ll either destroy the lightness of the former or dilute the gravitas of the latter. Twinkling Watermelon explores child abuse, neglect, suicidal ideation, and discrimination against the deaf community, but it does so amidst a candy-colored swirl of music and unbridled teen exuberance. Its characters face real trauma, but they also laugh and flirt and rock out with their friends and wear their hearts on their sleeves for all to see. There are few dramas as unapologetic in their delight as this one, and even when plot points get messy or a random gang of thugs appears, the show’s warmth never falters. And in the end, it suggests that’s what truly matters both in art and life.

So to judge it by this criteria, does this show spark joy? Yes. So, so much. And its happy moments shine all the brighter for being set against the darkness.

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Slice of life murder mystery with some dark and over the top humor.

It’s such a weird mix of genres and tropes, but somehow it works perfectly. You get yourself a crime murder mystery, slice of life with some deep and meaningful moments and conversations, comedy that at times is rather dark, and in other scenes slapstick and over the top. It might seem like a silly comedy at first, but it gets dark closer to the end.

The whole story is led by a genius idiot Ahn Dae Seong. He is what I would call a smart person who is unable to make smart life decisions. How can anyone have such a strong brain power, but still be so street dumb is beyond me, but it works in this scenario extremely well. That said, he is actually a truly nice and genuine person. He apologizes when he does something wrong, works hard if he thinks the cause is worth it, and he cares for people in his life. Even though he might make everyone frustrated, it’s hard not to like him and not to root for him.

The supporting cast is also to die for. Well written and built personal stories and backgrounds with well placed hints made each one of them a perfect suspect, until we found out the truth. It’s hard to predict who the killer is (at least for the first half of the show) and why they do it. As I watched, I might have felt frustrated with how Dae Seong is suspicious and calls everyone a suspect, but when you look at it from his perspective, everyone was in fact acting suspicious, just for vastly different reasons than he assumed.

From all the supporting characters, Fish was my favorite. Truly adorable little potato, knew it from the start. They also have one of the more powerful and interesting back stories of them all, that is presented in a sensible manner.

Of all the characters, the one that annoyed me was the detective and 5dollar, but I still understood where they were coming from. Dae Seong truly did everything he could to seem like a potential killer, and literally no one in that neighborhood was helping with the real investigation. And from 5dollar view, he might have seen himself as a victim, no matter how twisted it might seem from our perspective.

That said, even though I truly enjoyed the premise and many side stories, I feel like at times they tried to do too much in too little time. Since everyone was presented as a potential suspect, they all had to have their own individual stories told to explain the circumstantial evidence. Since the number of supporting characters was high, some stories were bound to get less screen time and felt more like fillers. Since some were not explored enough, they got a little bit boring for me, as I was not that engaged in them. Yet somehow, they were able to give a perfect closure for all presented plot lines.

There were also some situations that I questioned why the characters had barely any reaction to, and took barely any actions to solve them.

The last thing that was a bit unsatisfying was the reveal who the killer was. While for the most part it was not easy to predict who it might be (since everyone seemed equally suspicious), when all suspects started to be proven innocent, all hints pointed in one direction so the suspense died.

I was truly positively surprised by the acting too. Lee Kwang Soo brings a comedic aspect to everything he does, it’s hard to deny it. I was quite scared it would be impossible to create any suspense and a more serious mood when he is on screen and I was completely wrong. He aced the emotional scenes. I actually liked his more serious takes more than the silly comedy ones.

Kim Seol Hyun shined the most closer to the end. In the first half of the show, her character seemed a bit like a plot device, but it all led to quite a prominent role in the later episodes.

All the cast members did their best to present realistic and relatable characters, and for me, they all delivered. Ahn Se Bin as Yul? Amazing performance for a child actress, especially with such a demanding role!

Production value was extremely high for a mini series like that. Aesthetic wise, it had a bit of a retro vibe. Not making it look like a big production was a good choice, since it fits the world building - all happening in a small neighborhood with just a few characters - it should feel familiar.

I have to say, one song from the OST gave me chills when it was first played - Nokdu’s Orange Dream. From the arrangement, instrumentation, vocals, to the lyrics, it truly is a perfection. It serves as a good introduction to Dae Seong as a character - someone stuck in the past glory, dreams and hopes, who is unable to move on. The whole OST was lit and extremely fitting every scene specific songs were played for.

Overall, such a surprisingly good watch. I expected nothing, and got more than I could receive even if I had rather high hopes.

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I just marathoned this drama and I loved it. Wow can Kang Ji Hwan act his pants off! Typical of the Hong Sisters, this drama starts off looking like a comical farce but develops into a much richer, more dramatic story fairly quickly. I liked how they start out before the legend of Hong Gil Dong has begun and show you how it all started. Hong Gil Dong goes from a layabout wastril to reluctant hero to deserving of his legend and a true hero to the people. Kang Ji Hwan is so good at playing a carefree and careless rogue on the outside who is boiling with sadness, rejection and abandonment on the inside.

There is the central theme of the Gil Dong legend running through out, a series long plot to restore a displaced king and lots of love triangles all around. (love quadrangles?) In the mix, there are several short plot stories and baddies for Gil Dong to fight as he gathers his "band of merry men", rights the wrongs he sees, tries to protect those he loves and begins to suss out the worthiness (or lack thereof) of a future king.

The fusion sauguk element is fun. I wish I was even a little adept at Korean language and culture so I could truly appreciate the popculture and slang built into the language of the characters.

It's swashbuckling, over the top and a lot of fun. The writing is clever with some twists you just don't see coming and game changers that keep you moving along with the 24 episode tale.

I recommend it very highly.

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