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An underrated masterpiece
"Reality is just imagination"Their story started in high school - with two teenagers and an imagination. They were one of a kind and unique stars shining brightly amongst many others, waiting to be connected into a constellation.
"Life Senjou no Bokura" can arguably now be one of my favorite dramas of all time. It was such a beautiful and tear-jerking love story between two boys who are growing up and finding themselves. One of them (Akira) grows up from his imaginative phase and starts to live in the realistic mentality that society's imprinted on everyone; a decent job, a "normal" partner, a family, children. Meanwhile, Yuki never wants to grow up from his child-like fantasies, and lives on with his creative imagination and a playful heart.
The story: It was phenomenally portrayed. I loved the concept of showing significant times and events from different times in their lives. The story started off extremely adorable and progressed into something straight out of a masterpiece. I loved the gradual storyline and the realistic approach to everyday struggles and life. I'm still amazed at how they made me feel so many emotions through merely four episodes!
Acting/Cast: It could not have been better. Amazing! The actors were the perfect fit for their roles, and they evoked the perfect amounts of emotions at the perfect times. Their chemistry was one of the most natural out there! There were no signs of any awkwardness, and made me feel like I was watching a real couple. I'll definitely be checking out their future works.
Music: As someone who isn't a music fanatic, I loved the soundtrack! It resonated with me, and it invoked a lot of emotions.
Rewatch value: 10/10. I'll definitely be wanting to revisit Akira and Yuki's story! I'm going to miss them.
Overall: 10/10.
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Don't hesitate just watch this great drama. You can feel that you are living in Joeson Era, You can feel the emotions specially when the king are talking to his people, you can feel the love and care for his countryman.
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Each brother has their own issues and struggles and the drama takes the viewer on a journey of growth with them.
The drama has the right balance between the serious and the comedic moments.
The cast is wonderful all across. Each character is portrayed to perfection. My favorite was Tanaka Misako as the disgruntled and lazy mother.
A lovely family drama with a good amount of laughs and heart.
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‘To My Star’ and to my heart.
The cinematography is excellent, I loved every single episode because of how bright it felt. The energy of the series matched the cinematography. It’s just beautiful.The acting, great. I loved how natural it felt, it didn’t feel forced at all. The younger actor was so edgy and he gave out that vibe (in a good way, lol), and the older actor, DANG he is good omg. Everybody else did awesome too, the cast is truly gifted.
Now, my only complaint, the music. The soundtrack at times didn’t match the scenes. At times I was like, “mmm okay? Why is this track playing in this scene?” but is all good, not everything is perfect.
I wish it was longer, there was a lot of development but no that the one you would get in a 20-40 minu...
visit my tumblr for more BLs reviews 'alienwms'
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Summer Lemongrass
I watched this movie at the 2024 Busan International Film Festival.After the screening, there was a guest session where the director, writer, and lead actors discussed the movie with the audience.
Overall, it's a youth romance movie, so the plot is fairly common—or I should say, very common.
However, the execution of the entire movie wasn’t bad. I liked it.
What I liked:
1. The male and female characters were portrayed as 'normal' high school students, without any over-the-top actions, childish voices, or exaggerated coolness.
2. The male and female leads spoke multiple languages—Taiwanese, English, Spanish, and French—throughout the movie. They’re polyglots, which made me envious!
3. The second male lead was also portrayed as a good character. His moment begging the vet to open the clinic to help the dog of the man the girl he loves cares about was his golden moment. He’s also talented in music.
4. The difficulty of long-distance relationships was realistically portrayed. They drifted apart slowly, breaking up without explicitly saying it.
5. In the reconciliation scene, some people might disapprove of the male lead’s actions, like saying the kiss was without consent, but I support it. His third wish came true. Sometimes, you don’t need explanations—actions can clear the grey areas.
6. The ending was cute.
What I disliked:
1. The title 'I Am the Secret in Your Heart' doesn’t seem fitting. 'Lemongrass of Our Youth' would be better. The English title doesn’t reflect the core of the story. Even by the end, the female lead didn’t know she was the male lead’s childhood friend. Or maybe the title implies that some secrets should remain secrets.
2. The movie’s focus on high school and college/work phases was roughly 2:1, which felt a bit unbalanced. Wanna see more of college-work era.
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This review may contain spoilers
The drama is over but its a beautiful memory which will live on!
i dont prefer romance based dramas/movies much as they have similar storyline with HE/BE, but still i watched this one fr its story & ofcourse RJL, Jeremy.Story:
PY was given the responsibility of making his clan famous, thrive etc by his mother which he complied obediently, until he met JC, he became obsessive (lover kind of) regardless he still kept his clan/mother his priority before JC. His attitude towards JC became better after her master passed away/couldnt save his mother. He got a huge blow whn AC was killed, which led him to fight for his country/injustice/fr bigger cause/ fr people.
Cui Liang had less scenes but they were crucial fr the story. Personally he couldn't fight fr his love due to various reasons.
JC, a free spirited girl gets caught up in btwn. Later as story progresses realises both ML's were using her fr their own selfish desires. Although she's clouded by what she hears vs sees, towards the last quarter realises where her heart truly belongs.
WZ's life was not his to begin with, he dedicated it for the people of yueluo city. Out of all characters his was the most heartbreaking one. Frm him hating her fr spoiling his plans to caring fr her/console, be with her in her difficult times even if his life was at stake/decorating their house & many moreeee was portrayed remarkably.
Acting :
Kudos to all actors, actresses fr playing their characters marvelously.
RJL you chose your character excellently, the one that vil stay in OUR HEARTS FOREVER
((its sad end fr his character BUT do we remember all happy endings of dramas/movies???? ......... this one fr sure we will))
Overall:
Gradual progression of strangers - hating - loving each other, shown beautifully although at start i was skeptical abt the theme of this drama however it kept me hooked till the end.
No matter how much i write it doesnt give full justice to this gem.
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Watched it in two days. Now I am actually sad I've finished it so quickly!
AAAH I LOVED IT. I would definitely rewatch it.
OCN never disappoints.
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I have to say because I legit fell for the male lead I'm really biased even though there are definitely a bunch of issues but for me it didn't really take away from the viewing experience and I had so much fun.
The skin ship is just the best you'll see and the leads had chemistry.
Another problem was the sudden disappearance of Jaspers friend because I got so involved in him and Keifei's arc seeing her with someone else just didn't work. But again I still enjoyed it overall.
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I thought this was going to be a Japanese adaptation of "Sex in the City" which I really hated, but it wasn't. Granted there were some similarities, but not enough to make me think "Oh this is just like, that show." The feel of this drama enticed me from the first episode.. the way its written, makes you feel like your one of the girls, because no matter what, as a woman you will identify with any and all of the character's at some point or other.
Acting wise, I was very impressed with all the actresses, but the most impressed by Karina. I didn't recognize her at first, because she was just so natural, I honestly wonder if she was even wearing make-up for most of the show. Her character was more like me than the other's so I probably identified with her more. Even the supporting actors were good too. The music was really good as well. And I will be re-watching at some point.
Now, why this drama didn't get a perfect score.. At places I found myself saying, "Yeah that's true, but..." I felt like that a lot with this drama, so it could have been written a little better.
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Story: It's based on the Korean movie that was made in 2010. It's cute people using technology & a hopeless romantic girl to help people with love. It's just sweet.
Acting: I'm surprised with Sooyoung(SNSD)'s acting. It was very good. I actually felt some chemistry between the leads. Ah Rang's mini arc was so cute & heartfelt. I felt bad for him after his arc ended. It's not ground breaking, but it was not horrific either.
Music: Even though it's music is not the main theme. It was the one of the factors that made this drama so sweet. Ra.D's song, A Curtain Heart Fluttering, was such an amazing song. So does Jessica(SNSD)'s song, That One Person is You, also sweet song to listen too.
Would I rewatch: I don't always rewatch dramas, but it would be nice to rewatch this in a couple months or so.
Why watch?: The comedy, the romance, the love antics, the different arcs get better & better each time. If you like having second lead-syndrome, then this drama is for you. I did root for Master(second lead)for the main lead girl. But the main leads also have chemistry as well.
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first of all i really liked the idea of an idol playing himself. the story didn't have any big suprises, but it had a nice flow of events and was very enjoyable. it's interesting to see the behind the scenes life of a star and lets face it: we all want to see them being humans, just like you an me, sometimes.;)
i have liked nishikido ryo for a while, but still i was surprised by his acting: i think he is a truly great actor! i loved the kids, especially mei-chan, her character was played really well. the whole family atmosphere was very nice, crazy and fun, like they were a real family.
what i was missing was:
the love-story between nishikido and haru-chan. i mean, okay it was set up that they were already in love, then married and it showed all the problems that come with being in a family. but maybe a few more hugs or a little kiss on the cheek sometimes would have been nice. i really loved the relationship of nishikido and the kids. but they got more love and body contact from him than their own mom! poor haru-chan^^° yeah so basically missing the feelings between the main couple. but okay, i get it.. it's more a family drama and not a romantic love story.
also i think they could have had a little bit more of the guest star thing. it was fun and it would have been a nice fan-service!also the rest of kanjani8 should have at least met nishikido's family.
even though i am not a big fan of kanjani8 maybe they could have showed more of them being in a concert or.. dunno.. doing fun stuff together. but i guess there is enough of that in japanese tv already.^^°
the music was mostly from kanjani8 of course and went very well with the story.
i wouldn't rewatch it... unless i am missing my family and want to see another family having fun...or i want to see nishikido ryo's face :P
all in all it was a nice family drama with funny and touching moments. i'll recommend it to anyone who wants to take a break from overly emotional love stories and of course to fans of nishikido ryo!;D
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This one is an insane tear-jerker but also belly-acher
This movie has EVERYTHING.It made me laugh and made me cry SO many times over just the one and a half hours. My mom cried. My brother cried. It was a crying fest in the theater I was in. No one left their seats until the ending credits were over because of how we were still reeling from our emotions.
The characters made me just fall in love with them and their story. The acting is INCREDIBLE, especially from the little girl. She’s just adorable and thinking of her makes me tear up again lol. Her precious relationship with her father teaches us so many things about what we should be grateful for in life- namely love, life itself, and each other.
Being Chinese, the English title didn’t make sense to me until I watched the movie because the direct translation of the Chinese title 人生大事 is “The Big(gest) Thing In Life.” But “Lighting Up The Stars” makes so much sense and I don’t think I could come up with a better title.
The delve into Sichuan culture specifically was also heartwarming to see on the big screen. I don’t often get to watch Chinese movies so it was really a treat to get to hear the Sichuan accent/dialect and catch a glimpse of life there.
As an ABC, this movie was everything to me. It gave me a peek into a life I would never live, but also made me reflect on the life I DO live.
10/10 on everything. Acting, music, story, production. This one gets all the stars.
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The grey areas, handled with care
“What are you more afraid of? More than people harming your body?”“Afraid of the end of everything. Afraid of losing the future. Afraid of losing the present. Afraid of losing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Afraid of confronting.”
The story started simply with the police receiving a report of a rape case happening between a CEO of multinational company and his subordinate. The CEO suavely said it’s mutual relationship, while the lady just seemed shock and unable to affirm anything.
What’s interesting is the approach and direction the Imperfect Victim took to unravel this case through the perspective of Lin Kan, who is the defence lawyer of the CEO, Mr. Cheng. It took a very very long time to figure Lin Kan’s true stance. On one hand, we know she will competently, and perhaps, flawlessly defend her client’s case as a professional lawyer. On the other hand, we remain unsure and intrigued on her next steps as it seems like she empathised, more than any other, with Zhao Xun as a woman herself. I appreciated the dynamics between Lin Kan and Zhao Xun. The kind words and silent understanding that Lin Kan offered when dealing with Zhao Xun. It might be too idealistic, I loved how the former was able to do it in ways that protected both her professional integrity and the latter, despite being the opposing parties.
What really caught my surprise was that I enjoyed how the show patiently and tactfully showed the psychological journey of Zhao Xun go through, as the imperfect victim in this case, from silence to speaking out, from self shaming to facing it, from stepping up to doubting to giving up to accepting herself.
It also tactfully showed the discussions from multiple parties - at the police level on how they deal with cases like this, the honest view of how both genders would interpret the situations, the relationship dynamics between the CEO with his wife and mistress, as well as the impact of seemingly harmless comments by the public and coworkers.
I am not one that seek for dramas that deals with such heavy social topics, but Imperfect Victim did perfectly capture the dilemma that many modern women face in the workplace - on compromise, on tolerance, on numbing, on consent, on support and on asserting.
The visual storytelling, camera angles, story directing and actors / actresses are done well. I can’t imagine how this story will turn with a less capable production team and cast.
This is not a show for everybody, but it is made with everybody in mind, including the men despite being a women-centric show. For a show that deals with such complex social issue - sexual harassment and perceived consent - it somehow manage to bring out the multi perspectives and interpretations tactfully and carefully.
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A town somewhere in China, Chen Jing, sophomore Chinese Music at Zhongxia Academy of Music's Afiliative High School, sees the handsome classical music student Wang Wen practicing on the piano and immediately falls in love with him ... The film goes far beyond the novel, it teaches about Chinese music and proper classical music in a rather energetic, rather entertaining, but fun, youthful comedy driven by an animated performance by TV actress Xu Lu.
The film sustains its energy from a mass of small details and quirky ideas, beginning with the two music departments being so hostile to each other that they are separated by an iron gate in the same building. An innovative film full of energy and innovative ideas that is worth watching.
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