Reviews

"The truth depends on who tells it best"

Copycat Killer was a copycat of numerous serial killer stories, set apart only by its relentless and gratuitous images of young women been tortured and murdered. Told in a time before social media, it tried to paint television news as bringing as much chaos to society as the brutal murders of imperfect victims.

The drama utilized character types we’ve seen before. Chris Wu played the brilliant and moral prosecutor with a tragic past who is a thorn in everyone’s side for not tolerating any dishonesty and doggedly devoting his life to solving crimes. I found this confusing. Prosecutors in my country use the evidence police bring them to go to court and try the cases, they don’t dig up the evidence themselves. Cammy Chiang was the overly earnest young reporter disillusioned with the news media. The criminally underused Ko Chia Yen was Wu’s ex and a psychologist to help him make sense of the killers’ motivations. Ko is a gifted actress who had few scenes and none of which showed her range. Ruby Lin’s news anchor and producer had potential but the writing let her down as well. The villains ranged from mildly complex to laughable.

Copycat’s writing was uneven and the pacing slow. The first three episodes were more confusing than world building. Story lines that promised follow-ups were dropped. In the initial episode, a killer made the statement, “As long as the evil in your heart is triggered, anyone out there has the capacity to become a killer…Do you think there’s no evil in you?” The writing clumsily tried to push Wu’s prosecutor into that ethical corner. The news media was shown as morally bankrupt, uncaring of how much damage their coverage did to victims and their families as long as the ratings were high. Due to their race to air the most graphic or emotionally volatile content they became complicit in the killers’ crimes.

Aside from the writing and pacing issues, the main problem I had with this drama was its depiction of women. It tried to have it both ways-repeatedly show scantily clad women tortured and murdered in a titillating manner and then call out the media and society for blaming the victims. One character that was written for us to empathize with due to his loyalty and connection to main characters simply emphasized how unimportant young women’s lives were. The noble citizenry vilified the imperfect young women as being unworthy of justice and finding their killers a waste of tax payer money. The old myth of only the perfect victim, the chaste and obedient woman from a good family, being worthy of our sympathy or help was trotted out again and again. Perhaps Copycat was highlighting how victims and their families are often victimized as much by “righteous” people as the criminals who committed the heinous crimes but the lingering shots on chained women or extended scenes of gratuitously murdered women muddied those waters. The drama also briefly addressed the troubling old belief that the family of a perpetrator was as guilty as the criminal and not worthy of a happy life even if they had nothing to do with their relative’s actions.

Copycat Killer was a disturbing drama, not because it dealt with serial killers or had gory scenes, which it did, but because in trying to show society’s misogynistic and limited views of women they simply reinforced violence against women as a means of entertainment.

11/17/23

Read More

The love bond between two lovers manifests in opposite ways, in the way they show to each other. It seems to each other, the other didn't care at all. its the Korean version of the Ali Macgraw/Ryan O Neal Love Story with a back to the past and future twists. Yet it has managed to retain a flavour on its own. I have watched it twice and each time it gives me a different feeling. Though sad, I'm hopeful true love will withstand test of time. If you are a fan of the JJangs, their chemistry shines again here, pls don't get upset bcos this love story is different. After this, I hope they will continue to work together.

Read More

Such a Masterpiece!!

I haven’t watched such a good historical drama for a long time after Nirvana in Fire. I feel like I would have regretted if I didn’t watch it. Here are the reasons why I like Story of Ming Lan

1. Strong Chemistry
Though I know that Feng Xiao Feng and Zhao Liying are husband and wife in real life , I never thought that they would have such strong Chemistry. I love to see Gu Tingye teasing Ming Lan everytime.This strong chemistry between the two main leads is what took me from the beginning to the end.

2.Casts
As a C-drama addict, I saw so many familiar faces in this drama. Like Zhu Yilong from Guardians, Xiao Tao (Wang Zi Wei) from A Love so Beautiful, Gu Si Ye from Battle of Changsha and Surgeons, the new emperor from Nirvana in Fire and even Gu Tingye’s step-mom is from Surgeons. All of these supporting casts portray their characters very beautifully.

3.Cinematography
If u love the best cinematography, this is the right drama for you.The costumes and manors are very beautiful, Action scenes are done very carefully, and even the polo scenes are done with less CGI. Among the series I have watched ,Story of Ming lan is said to be the one of the few dramas with such great cinematography.

4.Strong Female Lead
I have always been a fan of Strong Female Lead and Ming Lan is one of them. Ming Lan is intelligent but had to hide her talents in order to survive. She is normally calm and pleasant but she will attack fiercely when one of her friend faces injustice. Zhao Liying portrays the character of Shen Ming Lan amazingly and as a fan of Zhao Liying, I would say that this is probably her best work since her debut.

5.Director
I was impressed with Zhang Kai Zhou in Battle of Changsha, Ode to Joy 2 and Love Me if You Dare, he did even a better work in Story of Ming Lan.

6.Strong Plot
A strong, tight- woven plot is everything that matters in a drama. This drama not only has a strong but also realistic plot. Unlike other typical dramas, the two leads didn’t fall in love at first sight. I love that their affections for each other grow with time, Ming Lan firstly calls Gu Tingye as second uncle, then Husband and Er Lang. There are also many funny scenes, like Tingye doing the make up on Ming Lan’s face.

7.Moral lessons
We want to gain something after watching a drama,right? I liked a quote that Ming Lan said “Being Moral is in itself a privilege”. She also taught us to be strong, brave and love your family.

8.Music and Rewatch value
I notice only one song by Yisa Yu and Hu Xia but it is not bad.I’d definitely rewatch after some time and enjoy it again.

Most importantly, you need to have patience while watching Story of Ming Lan. This is not a usual drama that will reach climax after 6 or 7 episodes and the character build-up indeed takes some time, but never drop this drama halfway, or you would definitely regret.

Read More

too long & unsatisfactory

I'm starting to lose patience with these big, high production shows that prove to be nothing more than celebrity vehicles. So much so that I'll not bother with a detailed critique. If I have to sit through 40 episodes I'm going to have expectations. A long show calls for complexity and depth, and while Pearl Girl has the backdrop for these elements, the show itself basically doesn't rise much above this: a single arc of a love triangle, introduced early, following the 3 characters as they run into each other from town to town. The main couple discovers their briefly touched upon pasts are intertwined as they both get caught up in a whirlwind of revenge and the show then devolves into an endless bloodbath. By the half way point, I suddenly realize there's no real 2nd or 3rd F/M leads or arcs. The only significant secondary arc follows the embattled cross-dressing daugther of a competing merchant family, who is a villainous opponent but unfortunately not that smart. In the 2nd half of the show the ML who was so dominant in the beginning then takes a head-scratching back seat to the FL, until he literally fades away. Sloppy editing left loose ends as well.

I think Zhao Lusi's career has been so much on fire for the last 2 years, to the point where I feel she is now over exposed. Her acting skill is limited, as is Liu YuNing's, and it's not interesting to watch them try to fulfill the same roles, the same way, over and over.

In looking back overall, the show had some entertaining moments but I basically sat through to the finish only out of curiousity for the ending.

Read More

I really enjoyed the concept of this show. It reminded me a lot of Side By Side With You on many occasions. Though Our Glamorous Time was not as intense as Side By Side With You. I really enjoyed that there were no obnoxious love triangles.
The beginning and end of this show feel disconnected. The first half of this show was almost entirely focused on Lin Qian as the main character, but the at some point it felt like her story line became second to all the other story lines they tried to introduce with many of the secondary, and even tertiary, characters. The second half og the drama felt like a handful of smaller story lines with no common direction. Story wise I think that it started strongly. Part of the initial story kind of surrounded Lin Qian trying to figure out who saved her. I actually think that this issue, among other initial incidents, was resolved too soon, causing the rest of the episodes to kind of branch off into less interesting stories. I also feel the issue of Li Zhi Cheng’s brother was glossed over a little bit. Like, it could have been a little bit more prominent and deeper than it was.
I did enjoy the fact that this drama avoided a few overused tropes. -There were no extenuating love triangles. -No extremely overbearing parents (mostly, Li Zhi Cheng’s father could be a little much sometimes but in more reasonable ways.) - I really loved Lin Qian’s relationship with her brother. He is super protective of her. Despite having his own opinions of what would be best for Lin Qian’s life, he is generally accepting and respective of her own decisions. They argue and butt heads but just about always make up.
The best part of this show: there are a lot of of fluffy romantic scenes between main and secondary characters respectively. Many of the characters have really great chemistry.
There are two characters towards the end of the show that show up a lot that are not Chinese. I am pretty sure that, like most Chinese shows, this show was dubbed over. But I really have to give it to the two actors and who ever did their voice dubs because I hardly found times were the voices and the movements on their faces did not match. They did a really good job. The voices also fit the characters nicely.

Read More

Indigo no Yoru is my all time favorite drama <3

Most people are unfamiliar with the type of drama. It's a midday drama, so it's targeted towards housewives and stay-at-home-moms. It's a drama that touches on a variety of themes such as marriage, family-life, homosexuality, etc. Not only is it a moving drama, but it is also funny and entertaining. The best part is the cast though. Moriguchi Yoko is a powerful actress who leads the rest of the cast. Along with Kato Kazuki, who as usual is his sexy self. Then there are a variety of fun actors like Takagi Shinpei and Takagi Manpei, Mayame Akihiro, Amano Kosei, Wada Masato, and Kaji Masaki. This is a drama that I would recommend to anyone who is looking for something different and fun, but with lots of plot twists and a detective-style feel. Oh, and bonus, it takes place at a host club. How much better can it get?

Read More

Nice cast, but messy series and so many plot holes

First, I really like the Pit Babe cast and I watched all the Boys’ Journey episodes. So it’s sad to see them being so underutilized in a terrible story. The show feels rushed, and it gets worse in the second half of the season. A lot of development happens off screen and there’s no intention of explaining things. I hope the cast will be utilized better in future projects, specially with some changes in “partners”. Nut and Sailub have so much chemistry, and Ping and Garfield was a great surprise in their scenes.
Now, let’s check on some loose threads:
North and Sonic: Are they a couple? Are they just friends? The series had no interest in trying to answer that because they needed another scene to try to create chemistry for Alan and Jeff. It’s wasted time because that chemistry never materialized.
Babe’s dad: Why? There’s no payoff with him being alive. How did he end up being part of the “cure” team? How did Jeff get to know him and the doctor that helped to fake Charlie’s death? I feel like that was a major plot hole. He just briefly mentions knowing them.
Pete/Kenta/Way: Does Pete like Kenta back? Did Pete like Way or just cared/was worried for him?
Guns that are not used: Why does Tony and his team not kill people?! Tony’s plans would’ve all worked out if he just shot people. Every single plan from Team Babe goes wrong and they end up with guns pointed at them, but the bad guys never shoot. That makes zero sense! We saw Tony killing a child with a sword in the last episode, he definitely would give the ok to just kill random people, like Alan, Kim, North and Sonic.
Also, why would Tony let Kim go?! Unless it was Kenta who helped him escape… but that’s doesn’t get mentioned.
All the kids from the Foundation: what happens to the kids? Did they get rescued? What about the kids that were already sold?

Read More

Why stop at second chances?

A light but enjoyable watch for me. Even though it was 40 minutes per episode like a regular drama, it felt like a web drama production. The plot moved at a good pace, and the issues were resolved quickly. Some silliness here and there but overall, the humor was good. It did come across as a lower-budget drama and the sets and props were not impressive. However, what the show lacked in budget, it made up with good fight scenes and lovely outfits, particularly notable in the dresses, accessories and hair-styles for the FL.

The story was interesting, and refreshingly unique. There has been a lot of "second chances" dramas lately but this one went beyond that with the opportunities to "do-over" in multiple episodes.

The romance was sweet and the leads looked good together, with the chemistry between them adding to the appeal. I liked the leads - both seemed pretty new and could certainly use more experience improving their acting. However, the potential is there, and they already have a good start with their good looks and charisma. Hankiz Omar is gorgeous, and Yan Xu Jia is attractive even though I think he could have been styled better, especially his wig.

The OST was nice, my favorite was the romantic song (不宣 - Bù Xuān: Unannounced by 司鴻博 - Si Hongbo) that came on during the poignant scenes between the leads.

The supporting cast felt mostly amateurish and certain characters were over-the-top annoying for the most part. However, the ending was good, wrapping things up, showing character development for most. Given how fast-paced the show was, the ending felt appropriate rather than rushed.

Overall, I would recommend this if you are looking for a light-hearted and engaging diversion.

Read More

WANNA BE / HELLO MODEL: Simple yet deep, straightforward, fast paced mature romance drama.

"Wanna Be / Hello Model" is a hidden yet beautiful drama that explores the complexities of the modeling industry through the eyes of its compelling characters. The story revolves around a famous supermodel, portrayed by Cici Wang, who finds herself in a life-altering accident that forces her into a three-year hiatus. Upon her return, she grapples with PTSD while meeting a witty and ambitious fishmonger, played by Daddi Tang, who is also facing the challenges of a hereditary eye disease. Their paths intertwine in unexpected ways, leading to a journey of self-discovery and resilience.

The storytelling is refreshingly straightforward yet deeply engaging, ensuring that there are no dull moments.

Each character is richly developed, with even the side characters adding their own unique charm to the narrative.

The female lead, portrayed by Cici Wang, is a captivating blend of intelligence, beauty, and complexity. Initially cold and distant, her character gradually reveals layers of vulnerability and warmth as the series unfolds. She possesses a delightful mix of laid-back charm and fierce savagery when necessary, making her both relatable and intriguing. Her work ethic shines through, and I can't help but admire her stunning wardrobe—her wavy long hair and chic outfits perfectly reflect her profession as a model.

On the other hand, the male lead, played by Daddi Tang (Tang Xiao Tian), is equally compelling. He's witty, ambitious, and refreshingly straightforward, never one to be taken for a fool. His ability to stand up for himself, even in front of the female lead, adds depth to his character. With his kindness and cuteness, you'll find yourself rooting for him throughout the series. Their dynamic is fascinating, as their personalities complement each other; they share similarities yet maintain distinct differences, creating a captivating on-screen chemistry.

The romance between the leads is definitely my favorite aspect of the show, just as I anticipated. Their relationship is beautifully mature, characterized by a directness in expressing their feelings rather than dancing around them. Initially, they start off as bickering enemies, providing plenty of cute banter and humorous moments as they constantly challenge each other. As the story progresses, they transition into mutual friends and colleagues who support one another in their professional lives.

The development of their romantic attraction is natural and engaging, featuring flirty moments that gradually evolve into a deep connection. Their chemistry is electric, filled with tension and those delightful butterflies that make every scene captivating. What stands out is the mutual effort they both invest in the relationship; it’s refreshing to see both characters looking out for each other and providing support without one feeling more invested than the other. This dynamic makes their journey all the more rewarding to watch. So far, they are undoubtedly my favorite couple this year!

The acting is impressive, and I must say, it’s my fourth drama featuring Tang Xiao Tian, and the second where he takes on the male lead role. I sincerely hope he lands more lead roles in romance dramas because he truly excels in them. His eye acting is phenomenal! As for Cici Wang, I'm definitely going to keep an eye on her future projects; she’s really talented.

In summary, this drama checks all my boxes: it offers a simple yet profound narrative, straightforward and fast-paced storytelling, a natural buildup of romance, interesting and complex characters, and great sizzling chemistry between the leads. The acting is top-notch, and the original soundtrack is beautiful. Plus, with each episode being only 30 minutes long, it perfectly caters to my attention span. I highly recommend this drama if you're looking for a simple yet beautiful romance story!

Read More

Uncomfortable at first but a truly emotional resonant drama

I give it a begrudging overall 9/10 .

I just want to start of by saying that Goblin is a really sad drama . I just want to put that out there because all the top comments and reviews out there on the World Wide Web rave on in a fan girl manner that you would think it’s Boys Over Flowers . I was misled and the sadness genuinely caught me off guard. It’s SAD.

Now that’s out of the way - let me address why I give it a begrudging 9/10.

Goblin did not convince me at all that it is a perfect show. It’s age gap and high school lead was really uncomfortable for me to fathom .Why did they have to make her into a high school kid though ? And though Gong Yoo is hot and all ; he really looked considerably older than his female lead and that was just uncomfortable. But that’s an internal personal bias and has nothing to do with the plot unraveling . Creep factor aside - this was a really original story with an interesting and dare I say new premise. I admired how the writers stayed true to their intentions and you could tell they never fell off but kept focused . It had great quotes too and I loved the deity aspect of the show - it gave it a divine elegance.

However - This is a tricky review to write because as a romantic drama - it ticks all the right boxes . Great sweeping love declaration scenes ? Yes . In fact they are touching. Angst ? Yes - sure to cry like a baby . Great supporting leads with equally engaging angsty story lines ? Yes , yes and yes. Great romantic kissing scenes ? Yes.But nooo. It’s not a 10 . The plot was not tight enough . It was repetitive using the same set ups over and over again that it actually wasted time in setting up other important relationships such as the supporting leads relationship progression and the reincarnated relationships that were discovered along the line. Kudos though to the plot twists which were very much appreciated. Sure to keep a viewer tuning in.

It also had time in its 16 episodes with rich story to insert a villain which I thought was deft. I also liked the way they handled the past informing the present and the notion of reincarnation and it’s supporting motifs. The romances were also lovely. Emotional resonance was very strong too. I cried like a baby in Ep 13 which is one of the best moments in tv history . The last episode was so poignantly sad too. Comedy was also very well done .

The acting and cast were unblemished . Gong Yoo was so funny and melancholy at the same time . The Grim Reaper was gorgeous and grim at the same time and the female leads were assertive , spunky yet passionate in the same this show
The soundtrack is quite possibly one of the best of the best and does much to bolster the ratings . I loved every song and my standouts were Beautiful Life , Hush ( Goblin lullaby, the second leads song I miss You , I Will Go To You Like the First Snow, oh my word - I’m listing the whole sound track ! That’s how good it is !

The fashion was off the charts! Deok Hwa’s coats and suits , Grim Reaper’s cozy oversized sweaters and Goblin’s coats were amazing! Sunny’s outfits are worthy of a Pinterest board alone.

Rewatch value is quite strong once I get over the creep factor . Souls are apparently immortal and ageless right ? So we will stick with that and suck it up ...

As for the OVERALL - don’t waste anymore time and go ahead and watch it ! If there’s anything this show convinced me of other than a sad love of a lonely and great god Is that it’s definitely one of those shows you need to have under your belt for posterity reasons . Also ,If you loved My Love From the Star , you will surely find this pleasant too. If you like some supernatural and super sadness then this one is for you .

Read More

Unfinished & Incongruent Plot Points

I think they did a good job of continuing the story from Sweet Home Season 2 and keeping it interesting with the questions of the neo humans, Lee Eun Hyuk reappearing, the origin and possibility of destroying all the neo humans, and the genetically created infected people including the girl with the tentacles, the rock guy, and liquid metal guy. There was some tear jerkers with the Wang Ho Sang turning, Yi Kyung dying in the tunnel trying to save her daughter, and the little boy turning into slime. I'm kinda glad that they included the slime boy even if he didn't do much for the story. I guess it is stuck to the webtoon story as I don't remember the little slime boy doing much of anything besides guiding somebody somewhere and I think the mom recognized him like they did in the drama.

Now are the things that they just mentioned and hinted at, but didn't give a conclusion too. First off is Dr. Lim and the infected monsters he created and the vial that was in their stomach. That was just mentioned towards the end of season 3 and I don't think he explicitly said how they worked and even what they were composed of. Sergeant In Hwan mentioned that it was Sang Wook's blood, but I don't think Dr. Lim said that and he was just saying that to stall him when the crow platoon was sneaking residents out. Dr. Lim took the vial out of Ja Yeong, girl that could sprout hundred of arms out of her back, but it didn't seem to affect her when it was taken out, but she already was hinting at her pain before that.

One other big plot hole and I thought it was going to make a big impact in the last fight was Chief Ji's son that transformed and was hanging from the ceiling. It maybe was a cocoon, but it seemed that it ate people in that form and it was also hinted at neohumans being drawn towards it. The neohumans were killed outside of the entrance by Sang Wook on a whim and he hinted at them being drawn to something after being reborn, so I thought Chief Ji's son was going to come into play later. Tak In Hwan also mentioned they were going to eliminate her son, but they never followed up on that and Chief Ji was so hung up over it and I don't even think she made an appearance after that talk about her son and her suicide attempt.

Biggest plot point and one that the Sang Wook was worried about was the source of the neohumans, because they were immortal in comparison to Sang Wook. They mentioned this in like 6th episode when Hyun Soo and Eun Hyuk were in the church after they met up. They talked about it like they were going to stop all future neohumans by destroying the source, which I thought was going to turn out to somehow be Chief Ji's son, but I guess they didn't have enough budget to finish that plot point.

Kim Young Hoo the rouge soldier that was sent out to the lab in season 2, I didn't care much at all for his plot line as it felt like it was just used as a bridge to help bring together Eun Hyuk and Hyun Soo and Eun Yoo. One other character that I didn't care at all for was Father Peter and Sun Hwa, the one person who stayed behind while others was evacuating, as they didn't have much character development. It seemed like they were hinting at a relationship, then it randomly shows a flashback of her briefly showing monsterization symptoms, but it felt like those two where an after thought when it came to the plot.

One thing that I thought they did well was the internal conflict that was often brought up in the original webtoon and I liked how they portrayed that in the drama like when Hyun Soo initially brought Yi Kyung back from monsterization and when he was fighting within himself between his true self and monsterized self.

I felt like they made Yi Su so much weaker then she could've been, because she summoned the giant buff monster to show off to Sang Wook. If she could do that, then couldn't she have an entire army of over powered monsters at her hand, instead of just turning residents and making them pretty much just meat shields with no attack ability.

I felt like they were just killing of people to make for tearjerker moments, but the way they were going about it didn't have that much impact for me. The only death that impacted me was Yi Kyung, but even then I felt like I couldn't dwell in the death, because it immediately moved onto the next scene where Yi Su was being dragged off. Eun Yoo showing signs of monsterization all of a sudden and then going off on her own felt like they didn't know how to end her story line, so they just choose something easy that wouldn't affect the main plot. Yi Su's character absolutely killed the acting, as her acting was on point when it came to the crucial scenes. I think her character stood out most for me, as her character was most congruent throughout the story and made sense.

Lastly I think it was fine to end it how they did regarding the rooftop scene to pay homage back to the beginning of their encounters with each other. The neohumans coexisting with humans was so rushed and did not make much sense for how the plot was being setup before with them possibly destroying the source of the neohumans. That point felt hashed together to put a cap on what they would do regarding the neohumans.

Read More

1 litre of tears (which this drama is a remake of) was one of the first Asian dramas I ever watched and it left a very deep impression in my heart. To surpass it, in my eyes, was quite a task. Regardless, this drama surprised me. It was really good! Of course there were quite a few changes. For instance, the cast in this version was a little older. But I enjoyed these changes too. This drama made me cry just as much as 1 litre of tears did. The cast was perfect and the acting was just brilliant.

I would recommend this to everyone, regardless of genre preference. The only problem is that this drama is very difficult to catch hold of. This is probably why it's not as popular on the internet. I didn't even know a Chinese version existed until a classmate of mine told me about it. She gave me it's DVD and I dramathoned the whole thing in 3 days. I hope this drama gets more attention and I hope someone uploads it somewhere with subs.

Read More