Reviews

Magnificent balancing act of intense emotions. Old school production without high-gloss polish.

"You are my Sunshine" is the international title of this KMovie from 2005 - named after the US country song of the same name from the 1930s. However, the original title is "You are my destiny". Regardless, both are working. The Plot is based on a true story that happened in Yeosu around 2001.

It's about prejudice. About the socially doubtful binding norm and where it is actually coming from. And it's about a man who, fortunately, cares less about what others say and trusts more in what he feels and believes is right. So this is about a positive role model of a man - a man who noticeably sets himself apart from the crowd who dominate the image of men here: Men who buy women, men who buy women abroad as wives, men who beat women without hesitation, men who infect women with AIDS (and don't tell them), men who won't let go of women, see them as possessions and unrestrainedly abuse them... There are the many completely 'normal', 'socially valued' men , husbands, fathers, whose behavior is simply outrageous. As if it were a matter of course, they set the standard of what is right, they set the tone... and yet deny any responsibility.

It's also about love. The sunny, courageous, positive message is embodied by a man who loves sincerely and unconditionally. However, he is generally considered naive. The cattle farmer is considered a hillbilly and a bit peculiar. Not just because he talks to his cow, but because he keeps the word he gave to the woman he loves and stands by what he feels. He is different. (Although, his attitude towards life, women, animals and nature could be considered quite progressive, too...)

And the woman? The female Protagonist could see herself as a victim. On top of that, she might be ashamed of her life. But despite everything that made her tainted and even 'leper' in her life as a prostitute, she was able to keep her soul pure inside. She is straight and clear, she doesn't deceive herself and above all she doesn't get her hopes up, because she knows life as it is - for women like her.

Life in the country is plain, ordinary, vulgar, simple. Also sensually grounded in the changing seasons. Although the ideal of pure, white skin is held high, the story instead focuses on the stigma of the tainted and tanned skin. The everyday scenario of bruises and violets from beating men as well as the darker Filipino and Vietnamese (versus light, pure South Korean) skin of purchased wives thematically dominate here. Finally, it´s about fear of AIDS (spots). That's the rural reality.

Nevertheless, there is this down-to-earth man who puts love above everything else – in good times and in bad... he´s honest, sincere, reliable, devoted, lovable. And there is this woman who can and wants to get involved... until her past catches up with her...

Two wonderful leading actors. Pure KMovie. Intense. Feels lifelike with a deep impact. A magnificent balancing act of conflicting emotions.

Old school production, though. Without high-gloss polish.

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Good acting with good chemistry, memorable characters, average scenario

The story could've been better with 16–20 episodes, the soft-cute vibes should keep on it; most of us like this drama because of this feeling, it's not a revolutionary drama with a unique story, but the biggest reason is that everyone likes it; feeling good dramas are my favorite, and the first 16 and last 4 episodes did this very well, but the other episodes were meh. But I'm not going to drop a lot of ratings because of this because I enjoyed this drama.


Yanyue's podcasts' screen time becomes shorter and shorter with each episode, when the best part of the drama was his monologues, his worlds about the world, and his parallels between reel life and movies.


Two memorable OSTs and three memorable characters People are going to call this cliche but will go watch a wuxia or school drama with cliche stories, rom-coms are their punching bag.

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Thinking back, there was absolutely nothing in this drama. A bunch of useless plot twists and pointless obstacles didn't do it for me. The age difference wasn't a factor for me disliking this drama at all. On the contrary, it made the drama unique. The second-lead syndrome just got on my nerves and the misunderstandings were annoying. Unusually, screen-time was given to sub-plots I didn't enjoy at all. The drama was a whole load of nothingness and was pretty much an empty hole. The meeting of the leads was coincidence after coincidence which wasn't realistic at all causing me to dislike this drama even more. The way the female lead struggled to choose between the men was annoying, overdramatic and unnecessary. The leads had significantly similar interests. Considering that the female lead was older, I expected her to be more mature. But the 25 year old main lead was the calm and collected one while the older female lead behaved like an immature five year old child. The female lead was first portrayed to be a strong independent reporter. But she became a voiceless, immature, whiny character that revolved around the male lead and depended on him for everything.

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The main plot in this drama, is about Tian, from a wealthy family, trying to find where he belongs in life. He is given that awakening from a very dramatic tragedy. I thought the plot was excellent and well thought out. The acting between the two male leads were good, as was the rest of the cast. A few silly unnecessary parts, but that’s what you get with dramas. Tian was a very believable actor, especially when he looked at Phupha with adoring puppy dog eyes. The drama wasn’t perfect, but it kept my interest. It seemed more like a bromance through most of the movie, rather than the intended BL theme. If you are looking for a lot of physical contact between the male leads, you won’t find it here. One short kiss at the end, some hugging and hand holding, but that’s it. But, the drama really didn’t need it to be good, because the story was good. For me, in any love story, whether it’s BL or not though, I would have liked more on screen affection with the actors.

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The production team's best drama to date!

This drama starts off really promising, with Zhang Xin Cheng's amazing body-switch acting (okay Liang Jie lacked a little at the beginning but gets better) and a very upbeat funny script
and superb comedic timing when it comes to the background music (waiter! please give the BGM teacher one extra chicken leg!)
but as with the two previous dramas by this production team (Go Ahead and Find Yourself), I was worried that the scriptwriter would also give up on the earlier successes and like, disappoint us in the end
so I was hesitant to recommend this until I had watched all of it.

By episode 24, I was like, wow this is really keeping up
and by episode 26, I thought this was probably one of the best Chinese dramas I've seen this year.

The strengths of Find Yourself -- ridiculously funny character settings + breaking the 4th wall humor (oh my god that *one* scene hahahaha)
and the strengths of Go Ahead -- family love and reconciliation
minus the weaknesses of the two earlier dramas -- draggy plot, irrational character decisions, single-faceted villain characters

In this drama, not only all the main characters are lovable, but even the side slightly-bad villain characters get their redeeming moments
and I guess the 26-episode shortness kind of helped keep things contained and to the point
so we got the comedy and the fun and the romance without the draggy plot

I've already mentioned Zhang Xin Cheng's acting, but I got to mention it again.
Best female lead of 2021.
When he plays the female lead's soul, his attention to small details... 100% resemblance holymoly.
Would recommend even if you're not into rom coms and are just into enjoying good acting, music, and cinematography.
And even more recommended if you love a good rom com too. Cus this one is pretty great.

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The "Second Lead" Won

So this is my first time writing a review just because it is plain painful how this drama is not getting the attention that it so deserves.

After watching Put Your Head on My Shoulder, I thought it will take me a long time to move on. But upon watching this, poof, I forgot about PYHOMS and was immediately hooked up with this series. Until now, I haven't move on from this yet. Have you ever watched a 60 plus episode drama which you think should have ended at 10 plus episode? Okay, so yes. Now, have you ever watched a 30 plus episode drama which you think should have reached 60 episodes? This drama, at least for me, belongs to the latter.

So what made this series stand out from the rest of the C-dramas I watched?

Story: The story is a typical C-drama school romance played for so many times already. Being typical, however, is not necessarily bad when it is done so well. This, I believe, is an example of it. The characters were believable and one can relate with them (although they are still exaggerated at an extent because well, of course, this is still a drama). Nobody was portrayed to be perfect. And unlike other C-dramas which tend to portray the female lead as literally dumb and bullied, this drama gave leadership ability to the heroine and made her likable to her classmates. The character development was also good. Additionally, the parts touching family and friendship were heart warming.

Cast and their Characters: Most of the actors and actresses are apparently newcomers but guess what, they certainly did not show it. They have the emotions, they have the timing and although there are still some toe-curling scenes, they are still manageable. Each of them have given justice to their roles, delivering it so well. Their chemistry is also great especially the male lead and the female lead (their chemistry is purely insane). As each episode go by, I can't helped but be drawn and attached with everyone of them, especially to the character of He Xin Liang. Casting Ding Yu Xi for the role is definitely a winner as I cannot imagine someone doing it better than him. He Xin Liang undeniably raised the standards for internet boyfriends. He deviates from the stiff, cold, snobbish male leads who, for some reason, always gets the girl. I guarantee you that in here, you will not be infected by Second Lead Syndrome (except if you prefer the typical male lead). As for Ji Xiao, although you may not jump in his ship, you will definitely still love him. I think this is where the beauty of this drama lies--you do not have someone to entirely hate on. There may be times you get annoyed with a character but it doesn't last.

Music: Opening OST was good and memorable. Other background music was suitable where it was played. The song sang by Ding Yu Xi is also good.

Rewatch Value: I have rewatched this drama and still do, especially on times when I just need a light and fuzzy drama.

Overall, I think this drama captured the essence of youth, of young love, of first love, of family, of our dreams and ambitions and of friendships the way we see it when we are still 16 or 17 years old. It takes you back to the days when you were still in high school, reminding you of your silliness and immaturity. It brings back the fuzzy feeling of having your crushes and your so called love. Most importantly, it shows how some things do not turn out the way we wanted to and how, at some point of our lives, there are greater things more important than being in a relationship with the person we love. It also portrays how love, although true, can also be shown by letting go.

This series is highly recommended for everyone who loves light dramas and who are tired rooting for the second lead to no avail. Many have dropped this from the first episode because of the female lead's hair but please, please, please, try to overlook her rather unflattering hair and you will see (maybe) that this show is a gem.

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Watch for main leads

The synopsis turned me off...plastic surgery? No thanks. The poster with the leads drew me in. Male lead isn’t the typical “pretty” “gorgeous” type everyone fawns over. He is also older. If anything like Dating in the Kitchen, I wanted to try.

Sure enough, I enjoyed it. The business side of it showed some brilliance in ideas. Like other stories, there’s the schemers and conspirators trying to oust the top guy. While there’s some crazy twists, there’s some nice surprises that are noteworthy.

Synopsis seeming to focus on plastic surgery is wrong. Except giving the idea that it’s dangerous if not done right, that plot was gone right after one of the sisters had one. I guess how a person changes not just physically but mentally fits in.

Janice Wu as the kind sister Xiaoting was excellent. She encounters lots of degradation but handles them with her head held up and a maturity beyond her age and experience in work field. Edward Zhang as Lian Sheng turned out to be exactly the character I wanted to see. He is very matured, quiet and thoughtful. Their meeting should of never happened and as it goes with Chinese dramas going around circles when if they simply ask, lots of dumb runaround would be avoided. His disguise at initial meeting is hilarious and he’s perfect. From there, the relationship development slowly made its way to one that was so beautiful. She’s young, he’s a lot older yet when he fell first, it was just adorable. Their chemistry was so good and I appreciate this a lot in artists acting ability. There’s a twist that springs out late that adds spice.

The supporting cast were good, when not annoying. The second leads were immature and their relationship was weird. Writer sort of dropped them towards end. The nice thing added is that there were no super evil characters, slappers, screamers (well, that’s more of kdramas to be fair). It was a pretty smooth storyline and I watched all the way through..even un subtitled few last episodes.

I could actually go back and rewatch this. It’s a 9/10 for me.

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Up close and a little personal

I got served something I didn't expect. Unlike many ...I came and stayed for Hu Bingqing. She is quite the action star but what she's great at is emotive acting. She's definitely one of those actors who acts with their whole body. Her eyes tell you more than what she says. I thought this was her story ...turns out she had seven sisters and six brothers. Telling a group story is tough and purely up to the director's vision. How much time do you spend on everyone? How much time do you spend on action and training? If you're familiar with commando films ...you expect certain things.

The representation of military women was the focus and I would say this production team did a great job. BTW...these operators are not teenagers. Most are career military with personal achievements in marksmanship, martial arts, communications, linguistics, tactics, munitions, demolitions and medicine. We still don't know what Gu Xiaowei specialty was outside of talking trash?...lol. These women are fiercely proud and self aware. Females in the military walk a different path than their brothers. I wanted to see if this production would represent the female POV without the silly cdrama troupes. They did pretty well except for a few things. I reminded me of GI Jane mostly due to the FL and ML relationship.

The brothers were impossible not to love. They were incredibly supportive and uplifting. All they cared about is having each others back. If you could do that...then you're family. Their continued support for each other as brothers and sisters...speaks louder about their sense of community than any flag or anthem. That's where they got us and that's why we stayed to watch this drama.

I would agree that the villain was unorganized. Someone forgot to tell them ...they're an organized crime syndicate. Organized being key. It made the counter attack seem excessive...police tactical could have handled them just fine to me. Blue Lighting didn't seem necessary. China has 1.5 billion people and a long history with bandits. They also have extreme and long established criminal organizations which deal arms, drugs, human trafficking and treason. So much crime to pick from and they chose energy...? I don't even know what they were trying to do.

It's a good watch for 35 episodes. Definitely want a season 2 with a bigger villain. I miss everyone already...

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Yumi: Journey of self love

Great marriage of animation and drama.

Yumi's animated cells, every single one of them, we didnt know we need them until we saw them and love them so much. Lust cell cracks me up. Hunger cell is too cute. Interestingly my fav cell is rational cell. What makes it good is how relatable it is. Everyone has many sides to them. Similar with yumi, today fashion cell takes over and she makes a splurge. Or emotion cell takes over and she does a reactive reaction that she may regret. Even how the weather reflects yumi's feelings.

What makes it good is seeing the journey of the cells which infers yumi herself learns from experiences- every fall, every heartbreak. And seeing how the cells lobby for her happiness.. its really a journey of self love. Learning how to open up, how to take intiative, how to flirt/be coquetish, how to give, how to stand up for herself and ultimately how to let go.

Romantic interest wise comic readers knows Woong and Yumi's rollercoaster. He may not be perfect but both him and yumi shared alot, experienced new things together and were once very happy. Hes definitely in a few volumes of encyclopedia in yumi's central library and forever will be up on her wall of special moments. He helped unlocked alot of things in Yumi's heart. I was glad he entered Yumi's life.

Lastly I noticed Kim Go Eun seems much more carefree in her acting here. Both her and Ahn Bo Hyun were truly great in their roles and played off each other so well. There may not be that much of Woong in the sequel but I still hope to see him.

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If it were somehow possible to convince everyone on this planet to watch SOTUS, I would do it in a heartbeat. This drama has impacted me in so many ways. As long as I watched this, I felt like there was nothing else going on the world, the world was just this drama. Perhaps not the healthiest feelings to have, but it really drew me in in a way that I cannot explain.

Dramas have made me cry before. But I've never cried because one ended. I found myself unbelievably heartbroken after finish the last episode of the second season. Little things would remind me of this series, and I would become sad after remembering it's over. I spent so many hours watching fan videos and interviews with the actors. I convinced my friends to watch it, and I'll keep trying to convince even more friends to give it a go.

SOTUS is very unique in that it can be enjoyed by many people. One of those friends I mentioned is a straight male - and he really enjoyed it (although he had to look away during kiss scenes!)

At first, Arthit might seem like an asshole - the hazing process might not make any sense - but you'll start to understand by the end. Rewatching this series was just as great as it was watching for the first time, because now I know what the hazing really meant, and why Arthit does the things he does.

The romance is just so well done, it isn't forced in its development. They don't try to like each other, it just happens, without their control.

Even the side couples are adorable.

My only wish in life is for a season three.

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Just your usual gangster film, but worth it for the romance

Gatao: The Last Stray is a Taiwanese action-romance film directed by Jui-Chih Chiang and starring Rexen Cheng (The Victims' Game) and Nikki Hsieh (Meet Me @ 1006).

In many ways it's just another predictable gangster film, but the romance and great chemistry between the leads makes up for where the rest of the film is lacking.

It's worth watching this for the romance alone in my opinion, it's very sweet. The chemistry feels very natural and convincing and it makes the rest of the film bearable, even nice to watch.

The plot itself is very predicable and easy to follow, in many ways it lacks depth and could've used a more interesting and dark approach. The fights were underwhelming and unrealistic which took away the feeling of true danger for the viewer. I also think that the ending could've been more emotional to feel more satisfactory.

I recommend you to watch this without any expectations like I did. If you're after a good gangster flick then you should probably look elsewhere.

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I had such high hopes for this drama, but the ending left me disappointed. The drama is beautifully shot, and the side characters are wonderfully written, but it threw away the unconventionality that had originally kept me watching. I had hoped that the drama would dive into the character development of the female lead and her struggles with love after leaving a toxic relationship, but it did none of that. The main couple had chemistry, but halfway through they got incredibly boring, and I found it hard to believe either of them changed for the better since the drama rarely bothered to show it. While it's arguable that it was more realistic this way, I found that it fell into the same tropes of the female lead ending with the toxic male lead, and the theme of choosing romantic love over choosing oneself.

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