A Genuinely Decent Sageuk
Bossam: Steal the Fate was a good drama. However, I will caveat my review with the fact that I am a sageuk lover.When I saw this title was airing, it was already on its 6th episode, and I binged the episodes that were out immediately. I've seen a bunch (and I mean a BUNCH) of historical/palace dramas and I've never once heard of the concept of Bossam. So as a seasoned k-drama watcher, I was excited for something new. What I found was a drama I was so enraptured with, I often found myself watching episodes multiple times throughout the week (once without subtitles and again with subtitles when they were out - THANK YOU SUBBERS ♥) just because I couldn't get enough. And don't believe the people who say there's no romance - more below.
STORY: 9/10
The story isn't anything revolutionary, but it's still my favorite trope in my favorite genre (a Joseon-era cohabitation with palace politics), so I couldn't get enough. Up until around the 18th episode mark, I was determined to give this drama straight 10s, but right at the end I was left with some questions and the feeling that the show had only been a few steps away from jumping the shark. Everything you think is going to happen does - but that doesn't mean it's not worth a one-time watch, because it definitely is.
"So how's the romance?"
In my opinion, nice actually. Other people may disagree (I know they do), but think of the romance this way: love languages. If you don't know what love languages are, basically it boils down to the idea that people show love in 5 different ways depending on their individual love language. Some people give gifts, some people help their loved ones, others wants hugs and kisses and all the typical "romance" things, among a couple other "languages". If you believe couples in love have to be heavy Physical Touch people - you will not enjoy this romance. If you're an Acts of Service or Quality Time person like me you may adore this drama like I do. I thought Jung Il Woo did a fantastic job portraying a commoner man in love with a princess far out of his league, and due to the era they lived and her already shy nature, physical touch would've been totally out of place. If you think of it like this, there's a ton of romance in this show, but for Physical Touch lovers, there's next to none.
ACTING/CAST: 10/10
Fantastic acting. I mentioned Jung Il Woo above but he and everyone else did a great job. This show kept breaking its own record and there's a reason for that. A conflicted peasant single father just trying to get by who falls in love with a strong yet meek princess couldn't have been portrayed better by any other couple. I've never seen Kwon YuRi before, but she's on my radar now. I can't give enough praise to not just the main cast, but the supports too. I am always a fan of Lee Joon Hyuk. I'm convinced every drama he's in is an assured winner.
MUSIC: 10/10
AMAZING. Angular Stones (OST part 4) had me singing every time it came on, and Blossom (OST part 12) makes me feel like I'm staring out a window into the rain pining for the man I love. The OST is so great and I've been listening to it since I found the individual tracks. They've gone onto my all-time favorites playlist.
REWATCH VALUE: 8/10
I was convinced this was going to be my favorite sageuk of all time until the ending where it got a little rocky, but it wasn't bad at all. I wasn't disappointed, and the beginning of the show is especially worth re-watching I think. This show is just so comical. All-in-all, I'll probably re-watch this even though I usually have trouble doing that after I know the ending of shows.
Please do yourself a favor and give this drama a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed if you know what to expect romance-wise. Do keep in mind that there are a lot of palace politics, but that comes with the sageuk genre. Hopefully you find Bossam: Steal the Fate as great as I did. Happy watching!
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"When love is not madness, it is not love."
This became one of my favorite ongoing kdramas this month.It genuinely gets better once you start to get behind the mask of the ML., how he is and his past along with the FL.
I personally didn't find the side characters interesting in any way, the family or the people at their work place. Except the ML's ex who knew when to provoke at a right time.
The ML's and FL's interactions are extremely funny by episode 4 or so.
The story itself is standard with lots of madness from the couple by them being chaotic and quite insane with eachother.
I honestly wish they kept it that way even when they started dating and being all lovey-dovey but to each his own.
Overall, I still enjoyed it. Not too heavy or crazy.
This show kept getting funnier and funnier by each episode. Sure we’ve got a few tropes here and there but the entire drama was shown in fun and unexpected ways.
And I love that he and Krystal are clearly having a blast even behind the scenes.
As much as there were some boring and unnecessary scenes, I overall enjoyed the drama and loved it enough for it to become my favorite thing ever.
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I ‘m a HUGE Mei Nagano fan, and have been dying to watch this movie ever since it came out late last year. With the online release of it this past month, I was crossing my fingers that some blessed subtitling team would pick it up, and just today I was overjoyed to find that a translating team picked it up and released subs for it!!!
WELL, I wasted no time sitting down to watch it, and I say without reservation that I loved, loved, LOVED it!!! I had always known the briefest of plot details: That Satomi Ishihara played a mother with a young girl who hopped from husband to husband dragging her child along, but I had no idea that that would be only the mere tip of the iceberg of what a rich, detailed and lovingly crafted story Baton truly was!
I simply adored this movie and was kept quite intrigued throughout the show by its little twists and turns, surprises and reveals, and though perhaps the ending might be somewhat predictable, I found the entire story to be wonderfully wholesome and sweet as any I've seen in years!
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"One mistake can lead to irreversible regret"
The Pig, the Snake, and the Pigeon was a tough film to rate and harder to review. The film showed how different people react when death stares them in the eye. Do you attempt to mend your ways or seek a lasting legacy no matter how reprehensible?Chen Kui Lin aka the Kuilin Kid made a name for himself by taking out not one, but two mob bosses. While lying low he discovers from a pharmacist who treats gangsters that he has stage 4 lung cancer. She works to convince him to do the right thing and turn himself in. After praying to General Guan and tossing the divination sticks nine times he goes to the police station to do just that. Problem being that an armored car had turned over and people were lined up to turn in the money they’d pilfered. While waiting he sees a wanted poster with the top three fugitives. He was ranked #3. At that moment he determines to take out the top two to improve his legacy.
The first half of the film had numerous brutal, no holds barred fights between Kui Lin and the cop Chen Hui and between Kui Lin and Hongkie. Hongkie was vile, a rapist, and deadly. No tears shed for anything bad happening to him. The second half of the film delved into the spiritual side and repentance. Even a killer like Kui Lin could grasp at the thread of hope. At least before the violence erupted into new disturbing levels.
I’ve never been an Ethan Juan fan but I have to admit he did an admirable job as the killer who could murder people easily but could also be quite affable and charming. He rescued at least two people and tried to save a third. That didn’t mean he was a good guy and it would be wrong to idolize him. His last violent act disturbed me greatly and threw me into a moral quandary attempting to understand his reasoning.* The final twist wasn’t much of a twist and in the end, it didn’t matter, at least to Kui Lin.
The Pig, the Snake, and the Pigeon had high production values and well shot fight scenes. The acting was quite good and Ethan Juan made it hard to not feel some empathy for his character. The story could be uneven and the final third of the film took too long to resolve. Far from glorifying the gangster lifestyle, it showed that three evils no matter how fair or repugnant they might appear to be needed to be vanquished. Interestingly, only one facing death had the courage to do something unorthodox to rid society of the animalistic ills.
3 March 2024
***********Spoiler below**********
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The only way I could resolve the massacre at the cult was that after all the evil they had done including murder and destroying at least one child’s future, he thought they would continue their wicked ways . Many of the people in the cult who did not heed his warning knew it was a scam and were enforcers and the others who stayed behind were either in on it or so brainwashed that would continue to drive people to suicide or murder when ordered. The ambiguity of the ones left behind who were killed was very distressing to me and why I didn’t rate this film higher.
In the end, Kui Lin paid for his crimes and the pharmacist who got her three birds, actually a whole flock, with one stone was also facing a painful death herself.
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This review may contain spoilers
I've read the manhua (the English translations) and watched the anime multiple times so there will be some comparisons...STORY: For at least the first half of the movie, it moves through through the original source material quickly, as there is much to skim over and a short amount of time to do it. There are some obvious changes that fans may not enjoy. (Check out my comments in the comment section for some details and spoilers.) The second half of the movie deviates a lot from the source and that's understandable because I think they wanted a self-contained movie adaptation and the manhua and anime are still ongoing. Still, it was neat to see an adaptation of this.
ACTING/CAST: I quite enjoyed the cute actors they cast except for the grandmother of the house who they turned into a senile old woman for no reason whatsoever.
MUSIC: It was the standard sweeping epic type music you'd expect. Side note: I love the music for both the Chinese and Japanese versions of the anime openings, specially the Japanese version of Season 2.
REWATCH VALUE: Well, I dunno. I think I'd rather rewatch the anime or catch up on the translations. The Chinese is over 275 chapters and English is only around chapter 70 (as of this writing 4/2/18).
OVERALL: They did a decent job adapting open-ended source material while not being an exact copy of the anime. Cheesy special effects. :O)
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Ghosts playing matchmakers
It was a fun ride for sure. I think the cinematography is beautiful, I really liked the filming locations. The OST was very catchy as well. And I think the plot was well written, things connected right and made sense. The reoccurring characters had some sense of purpose, which pushed the story forward in one way or the other. The comedic aspects are nicely incorporated and fit in well with the plot.To be honest, at some point the ghosts appeared to be good wingpeople. Whenever they annoyed or scared poor Bu Xia enough, he would run to Jiang Chi. And while I do agree that the idea that he only wants him close to keep the voices out of his head is problematic, they do address this problem and I think that’s important. Communication makes things easier (too bad it’s not Bu Xia’s strong point).
Jiang Chi & Bu Xia: The two are adorable together! They seem to be quite different from one another, but they still make a great pairing. Bu Xia might not be the best academically and can be quite awkward at times, but he is still a cutie. He is afraid of ghosts. Or at least afraid of ghosts trying to get them do their bidding. Jiang Chi is both smart and athletic, but he is also confident and goes after what he wants. And that’s Bu Xia. They start as enemies, but things quickly make a turn for the better. The two face plenty of troubles, but I do think they balance each other nicely. The two actors did amazingly and had great chemistry as well.
I really liked Bu Xia’s sister too. She was a fun character, and I absolutely loved her relationship with her brother. They teased each other but were also the person the other could count on. Always and for everything. That’s life with siblings!
The ending is kind of open, so it makes me think they might be planning for S2. At least I hope they are. I considered such an ending a possibility, but I wasn’t sure what route they will take. It might be considered finished, I guess, but to me it still feels like there is more of the story to follow. So fingers crossed for another season.
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2
1"Look at the trees and grass on the grassland…
They are called useful if people eat and use them. But if no one uses them, it's perfectly fine for them to simply exist in the grassland. They are free, aren't they?"To the Wonder is the type of drama that will not really leave you with many thoughts, but rather many feelings. There is no deep and complex plot that will mess up your brain as you try to figure it out. There are no intense conflicts that will make your blood boil. It’s just life - with ups and downs, but steadily flowing no matter what, like a river stream.
What amazes me the most is how even the supporting characters that showed up for a few minutes here and there felt like real people. While the synopsis highlights the romance between Wen Xiu and Batay, the actual story is far more equal in representation of different arcs. Rather than a love story, it’s a community journey that also includes a love story. But it’s so much more.
It’s a story of learning how to move on from loss, how to take risks in starting anew and accept if we make a mistake. A story of finding new ways to chase your dreams, to experience life and understand that there is a beauty in the simplicity of existence. We get to witness the fear of losing what you found to be the comforting lifestyle, the anger that comes with it and the slow acceptance of change. We experience the clash of old and new traditions. We get to know people who understand how to appreciate what they have, and those who are never satisfied.
As a person who loves the comforts the city life gives, even I was moved by the stunning scenery shown in To the Wonder. It evokes in me this want to explore, to experience and to appreciate nature, the harmony in which some communities live with it. Just 8 episodes and yet over 500 screenshots in my folder. Every second was visually breathtaking. The vibrant colors of nature and the cultural heritage.
Then we have the performances. There was one scene in the last episode that especially emotionally touched me (everyone who saw the show knows exactly what scene I am talking about) - the emotions were just so real and raw. But the whole drama was filled with moving dialogues, subtle expressions of rich emotions, variety of personalities and motivations delivered by a skilled cast.
Overall, it’s a small story that feels larger than life, because it encapsulates all that’s important in human existence. It shows that keeping the community requires work and care, but it’s worth the effort you put in. It teaches you how to balance individualistic motivations and needs, while respecting the traditions and understanding the hopes of the community. I was getting more and more frustrated as I watched the episodes, because I did not want it to end.
This is one of the dramas I could write a review for a week, tweak it, rewrite it and I will not be happy with it because it's impossible to describe the beauty of this show, you just gotta experience it.
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Takumi-kun Series 2: Rainbow Colored Glass
12 people found this review helpful
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Experimental series on connecting stories, the so-called metacinema and "not fulfilling its premise"
I wrote an initial review for the first episode of the series. As usual, I modified it as the episodes were broadcast. Subsequently, several readers have encouraged me to review the series in its entirety. This is that review:Does destiny exist? Everyone has their own point of view, there are those who say that everything happens for a reason, there are those who say that destiny exists and that we cannot escape its designs. Therefore, if so: are we directed? Does our life have meaning if we are already anchored to a future that, whether we want it or not, we cannot avoid? I, personally, do not believe so, I am a little more scientific, so to speak, and I believe that each person takes the reins of their life, and that there is no destiny, but rather cause and effect... However, this already remains within each person.
Whether you believe in destiny or not, soul mates are a myth about love that has remained alive for centuries, perhaps because we are all searching for it, because we know a story that reinforces it or, possibly, we have seen many movies and romantic television series.
Film and television have delved into the search for perfect, magical and lasting love, and have shown more than once that soul mates exist and are in the places you least imagine.
If destiny wants two boys to remain united in an indissoluble bond, so it will be, regardless of whether they both live more than a thousand lives, and in each of them they somehow manage to fall in love with each other. This is the premise of the Thai LGBT+-themed romantic drama 'Every You, Every Me', from director Sutida Singharach, university professor and director of the Film and Creative Media Arts program at the Faculty of Communication Arts (International Programme) Bangkok in his official debut behind the cameras, based on the script by Saipirun Chaichiangpin, renowned author of BL series such as 'Love Sick: The Series Season 2' (2015) and 'Reminders' (2019), and also debutant Jeong Thunyathorn.
However, will this be a story about destiny? Will it be about reincarnation or time travel? Will the viewer be able to discover how the characters will live the more than a thousand lives indicated in the synopsis? Will the plot develop according to the initial premise?
This is an innovative series in which the creators apparently play with the audience by offering false clues about the "accuracy of a synopsis."
Through independent plots, without a visible thread that unites them, without a tie that connects each of the stories, we will sometimes see stories with happy endings, at other times with closures that will make us cry; often with performances by part of the well-known supporting cast, occasionally with supporting actors who have recently entered the series. But yes: always with the presence of the two stars who dress in luxury and touch the sky with their performances..., always to tell us a better story than the previous one, which will keep us intrigued and expectant.
The truth is that with complete naturalness the two protagonists exchange personalities, characters, attitudes and characters from one chapter to another, since each story is completely different and if they have a connecting thread it is the performance of the same actors in each episode. The series is perfect for giving Mick and Top the opportunity to showcase all facets of their acting skills, something they achieve superbly.
'Every You, Every Me' is discussing these topics, through magical and lucky encounters, and these encounters occur between the characters played by two handsome and talented actors with meteoric growth within the BL industry in the country from Southeast Asia: Mick Monthon Viseshsin and Top Piyawat Phongkanitanon.
Through the interpretation of several characters that have no apparent relationship with each other, Mick and Top demonstrate that there is no series that cannot stand out for their presence, both being the type that BL lovers find attractive and intelligent; In other words, pine for them.
This is not the first time that both actors have met on the filming set, nor is this their inaugural performance as a couple in an audiovisual production. Already in 2023 the first plays Korn in 'My Universe', specifically in the story 'You Are My So(ul) Mate' Korn, while the second got into the shoes of Butr, his partner in this BL series.
'Every You, Every Me' keeps the audience's heart in its hands from the first to the last scene and, although it squeezes it at times and leaves a bitter taste when learning about sad endings or relationship problems that could cause the breakup of the itself, the series goes much further, as it reflects on how much of love is destiny and how much is a choice.
The main reason this series works where other romantic dramas fail is the casting. Mick and Top are affable leads with solid chemistry that mesh well enough and quickly enough for the audience to become reasonably invested in their activities and their romance in each of the stories the series tells.
Added to the mix is Meen Nattakrit Hamontri ('On Cloud Nine', 2022), and although his work is unaccredited and he acts only in the first story, he steals every scene in which he appears. For its part; Fiat Patchata Janngeon ('Shadow', 2023) and Ball Peeratad Promted play various characters throughout the series.
The beautiful photography of Danupat Thananurak, a skilled craftsman in his craft, helps the series take off with the growing closeness between the two young people, physically and emotionally, in each of the stories.
There are sad, boring, dull series... But that is not the case with 'Every You, Every Me'. And there are also those that serve to make you laugh, to make you sing, to make you cry, to make you have a pleasant time, to make you feel emotional. And this is useful for all that, but it can also be used to identify yourself.
Or even to extract reflections, for example on destiny or on the hooks, false or not, that creators let slip to draw the public's attention to their product. Which is behind everything. When decisions are made, perhaps it sends signals, it will depend on how we interpret them to be happy or not. Or if that assertion, practically shattered today, is true, that if a single person appears in your life that you really want to be with, don't hesitate, this is your series.
Philosophical disquisitions aside, this television delight of romanticism and the BL genre is a breath of fresh air, of legitimately sentimental and involving audiovisual production.
The protagonists are irresistibly charming, adorable; one follows them in their smallest and largest gestures with great delight.
It's one of those beautiful series, really really beautiful. And although it exudes a certain bitter aftertaste, both bitterness and sadness, although it may sound strange, can generate a strange happiness, as is the case. And so, once the final credits roll, it is easy to be overcome, as happens to me every time I review each episode to write the review, with a feeling of lasting happiness and a tremendous desire for this couple to continue meeting in one and a thousand more lives.
Of course, the soundtrack is in charge of doing its thing to recharge the cake even more and one ends up thinking that it is worth trusting and believing in destiny.
And already in the final episodes, the magic increases: you can see the love that the director has for the seventh art by using cinema within cinema or metacinema as an artistic and narrative resource that has been used by filmmakers from all over the world throughout of cinema history.
Experimental and innovative series, it seems not to care about the synopsis itself and fully immerses the audience, in episodes 6 and 7 (even at the end of 5) in metacinema, something little or never seen in a Thai BL.
Sutida Singharach deploys her arsenal of knowledge about the seventh art and manages to place cinema at the center of her series. It uses the characters Roy Inn, played by Mick, and Pun, played by Top, two actors who are going through a breakup in their love relationship, so during the filming process both have difficulties showing their acting skills in a scene in which they must kiss.
Under these circumstances, the director and production company of the series in which the actors participate decide that Roy Inn and Pun need to participate in an acting workshop to ensure that they adjust their behavior, or else the film project runs the risk of being stopped due to the incompatibility of the actors.
In this way, the series appeals to metacinema to peek into the processes of film creation and the professional performance of directors, producers, performers and scriptwriters. Likewise, the viewer obtains privileged access to the backstage of the cinema, and suffers and enjoys the conflicts that emerge behind the camera.
Knowing that filming is, in effect, a stage in which ego struggles, asymmetrical power relations, unforeseen events and human limitations are unleashed, the director of the series, like a magician showing his tricks, uses ' Every You, Every Me' to reveal the strategies that allow the cinematographic illusion to be generated. It also plays with the transfers that occur between reality and fiction, between life and cinema.
Many viewers have reported that the series does not fulfill its premise, as they expect the stories to be clearly connected to each other.
Sutida Singharach does not care about complying with the classic regulations of Aristotelian linearity, the narrative clauses... in short, the guidelines of the dominant historical decalogue.
In other words, the creators break the traditional narrative scheme. They ignore the three units that serve as literary rules, designed especially for theater, but that have a broader extension as aesthetic criteria and art theory, by requiring that an artistic work (specifically literary) must have a certain unitary character.
According to this part of the audience, everything seems to be upside down by not having a visible link that unites the stories, with the non-compliance of the premise of a thousand lives for the two protagonists to live together. For these, nothing closes or pretends not to close. I have even heard it said that Sutida Singharach shows no interest in making the viewer feel safe, satisfied.
Quite the opposite: 'Every You, Every Me' seeks complicity with the audience, unsettling them, annoying them, taking stories and characters down unexplored paths, so that the audience puts alternative instances of appreciation on the offensive.
In concert, the director and screenwriter ensured that the series – as a source of worlds and stories – fostered new experiences for the public when appreciating a work. What they formulate is a proposition that invites, not only the intervention of the viewer during the 8 episodes of the series, but also after the screen goes black.
The above is more than plausible when both cinema and television like the inflexible point of view of closed discourse, reluctant to grow after the visualization of the product has concluded.
In this way, showing its condition as an interactive neural work, of passion and drive, of tension and restlessness, the series ensures its permanence in the BL Olympus.
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and love at the end. What i loved more was the One night stand guy i love the symbolic play in words and scene how towards the end he achieved what he had said in the beginning to make it real. to him it didnt matter the room or if it was a stall or not it mattered the meaning behind the act to him. and towards the end i loved how the main character pulled through and showed his emotions like i said he did well in riding the emotion rollercoaster and beat it with a smile on his face.
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1. The plot is so solid. This drama doesn't waste your time with over-crying, over-kissing, etc. It really provides you a pure story. Every episode WON'T let you get bored.
2. Every episode will make you laugh. Yes, although it's crime/thriller/action, but this drama is also a comedy. The director twists so many scenes that—I believe—will make you laugh.
3. NO shitty useless romance scene. Unlike other drama, this drama doesn't have 'romance' things. So, the 16 episodes really give you different feels. It's only between laugh or nerves, no lovey-dovey waiting for the actor & actress to kiss.
4. The acting of the actors and actresses are so damn good! The main actor really acts like a stupid guy, and he acts like a psychopath seamlessly. You know, it's so hard to play two roles in one character. The main actress shows her emotions very well. She doesn't need to over-cry to express her sadness. Instead, she shows her meaningful expression through her beautiful face.
5. Haven't come to my mind, I'll add them to here once I remember.
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GreeeeN made its debut in 2007 as a group that does not show their faces in public. In addition to the fact that all members are registered dentists, little is known about them.
The film is more publicity than a biography, but one of the best I've seen, its narrative is perfect, cinematography fits the band's very pleasant soundtrack, if short J-Pop and has an interest in knowing this band revelation, Do not miss out on this movie!
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A HIDDEN GEM LIKE NO OTHER
This movie gave me what any other drama series couldn't. So pure, so innocent, delightful. This movie will remind you of your first love, your unrequited love, and your fantasy with them.A plot where you can help but feel wholesomeness and warm-hearted. A cast that can make you experience life, longing, fluster, love, regret, and sadness all in just 1 hour and 30 minutes. It would have been even better if this was a drama series. As a person who doesn't get emotional easily, tears started rolling down towards the end. It is indeed rare to see such movies nowadays. Two individuals unsure about each other feelings want no regrets but have to make sacrifices. There is no kissing scene but you would still feel chemistry burning and the romance thriving .
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