But though the drama teased at a richer story, it failed to deliver. There are many reasons for this but the major one would be that the writing failed the story and the direction didn't do great either. The actors, bless them, tried but when the source material is so cringe-inducing, there is little you can do. A lot of the scenes could have been fleshed out more, elaborated upon to harvest as much emotion out of them as possible but alas. The dialogue was truly atrocious and there was not much of a story once the romance had been established. I feel like KSH got the short end of the stick once again as the female MC had no character/personality beyond the superficial positive/cheerful girl as seen in so many other dramas. There's no depth to her and this is not the actor's fault, mind you. In so many scenes, she has nothing to do but smile and she does so, prettily, but there are only so many scenes this will work in.
Do Joon's character, on the other hand, is richer, more dynamic and grows exponentially from the beginning to the end. Geu Rim, on the other hand, becomes the wish fulfillment of Ji Sooho's character. She has opinions but doesn't voice them and goodness, the romance could have been so much better had the actors been allowed to let their natural chemistry shine through. Instead, whatever chemistry they had was suffocated by the bad dialogue and unnecessarily melodramatic conflicts. However, KSH's inexperience with romance is pretty visible in her acting and I reckon, once she has been in a relationship or two, her acting will improve dramatically. Right now, it felt like she was grasping at depths she didn't really comprehend, if that makes sense.
The love triangle--let's not even speak of it. I feel like this could have been a much drama than it ended up being. Let's hope that whatever KSH picks next delivers what the script offers.
Was this review helpful to you?
Great visuals but no plot?
I don’t usually write reviews but I felt like I needed to do it for this one, since I really don’t know how to feel about it...After watching the trailer I was really excited to watch This movie and in the beginning I did also really like it. The visuals are absolutely *chef’s kiss*. The cinematography, set design, special effects, and styling works really well together to bring this univers to life and I instantly fell in love with it.
I also instantly fell for the main character. He is very charming, which might in part be because Xiao Zhan could make a rock seem charming, and with the introduction he was given its hard not to immediately start rooting for him. However, as the story went on I started getting increasingly more and more frustrated with how passive he is. The main character never seems to really DO anything. Instead things juste sort of happens to him and he never really questions it.
I was also happy to see that the story has several female characters, but all of the side characters feel very underdeveloped. Some of them weren’t even introduced until the last third of the movie, where they were only given a few minutes of screen time.
My biggest problem with the story is the plot - or lack there of... I had to pause the movie somewhere in the middle to go and read what the movie is even supposed to be about, but even then I was watching the movie and thinking “that isn’t what is happening though?”, and when there was only 20 minutes left of the movie I still wasn’t sure what the plot was supposed to be. I spent the whole movie just waiting for it to begin, and it wasn’t until the last 10-15 minutes, that I felt like things were finally starting to get somewhere. I’m excited for the second movie, because the first one left on an interesting note, but I don’t think that this one stands very well on it’s own. I haven’t seen the series, but I definitely got the impression that this story is better suited for a series format rather than for movies.
Was this review helpful to you?
The way this drama is shot, from the scenery, sets, soundtrack which were sung by the leads themselves, costumes and of course, the actors are stunningly beautiful. If you are looking for a good romance aspect to the drama, this one has it, but in terms of chemistry between the characters, it is a little more muted as compared to a good chemistry pair up between the leads like that in ashes of love.
If you like untouchable lovers, you'll be able to stomach princess silver. It has similar vibes except that this one has a more consistent flow to the narrative. There's a lot of background that comes in flashbacks for the lead, so you need to be patient for it to come to a rounded conclusion. I do think they did quite a good job of keeping the storyline as tightly knitted as it could get, and did not go off tangent very often, which tends to happen in long drawn dramas.
Overall, i would rate this as one of my top 3 favourite dramas i've managed to catch since 2018. Will surely miss having this drama keep my company on my chill nights and i'm looking forward to more like that for this year!
Was this review helpful to you?
This drama was one of the best I've ever watched, and every time I hear the music, a wave of nostalgia comes over me. So what if this drama doesn't adhere to the original BoF plotline? There have been so many versions of the same story already, and I think it's great that this Chinese version is bringing something new to the table!
I've watched the Korean version and this version, and honestly, I think they're both amazing (but I've watched Meteor Shower 2 many more times than BoF!) Zhang Han and Zheng Shuang who play the two main leads are a great on-screen couple, and you can really feel the emotion and love they share. The side characters are all great and many times entertaining. Duan Mu Lei, especially, was cast perfectly and his story is heartbreaking and inspiring--and in my opinion, he's much more attractive than Kim Hyn Joong in BoF :)
I loved this drama much more than the first one (Meteor Shower 1). All the actors are so much more attractive in Meteor Shower 2 and the storyline is more gripping. I think that if you want to get into this Chinese version of BoF, start with this sequel instead of from the beginning.
This drama is the perfect blend between light-heartedness and seriousness--it's not completely a sappy melodrama but it's also not a fluffy, light rom-com drama. It's a great watch for anyone who loves romantic dramas and Boys Over Flowers!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
"Bad things happen, but you can still live" - Joe Lamb, a schoolkid telling an alien how to move on in life; in the hollywood movie 'Super 8'.Well, 'Re-encounter' takes a step further and asks our lead actress to choose between moving on ahead in life to a better future or to mere exist in the world giving up on dreams and hopes. For her, its easier to just exist and you will understand her choice once you see her story in the early parts of the film. Or you can just read the plot on MDL. It's on you ! But I'll try to convince you to watch this beautiful film without giving any major spoilers.
The film doesn't open with her back story, the viewer gradually finds out soon after first few scenes. The back story is that she was totally abandoned when she was pregnant at 18 and also lost her child on birth. It was like the world closed down on her and there is no one accepting her. So how does one reply back? You would try to live on but it would be damn difficult. This film doesn't show you how our lead went through that phase. It shows you how she deals with the situation she confronts when her past comes back (re-encounter).
Any dog lovers around here? You all will love her. She currently works as a vet's assistant and in her free time goes around and rescues abandoned dogs. Her present life aptly describes how the society is divided. An abandoned woman rescuing abandoned dogs !
The story starts when she is 23 years old and has quietly settled down and her ex-boyfriend comes to visit her with a heart dropping fact. Yeah, FACT.
It's upon her to choose now whether to move on from her own comfort(negative) zone or to just destroy her ex's chance of redemption. Life has given her a chance to abandon him ! How does one respond? If you were in her shoes will you do a tit for tat? The film goes on till the very last scene where her choice is finally revealed. And that is one very good aspect where the writer-director has won my praise. Her action is aptly justified not only in the beginning but in the end as well. The viewer can never really understand what is going on in her mind. The director gives tiny little clues to us so that we could get into her mind and exactly know her state of play.
The plot is an intelligent, well written and displayed with realism. You won't feel as if anyone is acting. You will be in their world. There are fairly countable dialogues. The film is slow paced but it requires to be slow. It is the one of the best indie-films yet so far in my view.
As you watch, you will notice a that the performance given by the two leads only excavates the realism of the narrative. You will be able to understand the loss and pain suffered by each of them which ironically, both of them initially aren't aware of the depths of scars faced by themselves.
The film is a combination of human drama and 'tense' suspense which will make you follow the story until the climax reveals the meaning of how to live even when bad things keep on happening. The film shows metaphorically as to how to treat other's mistake.
If you like this movie, please message me. I guess that then you too will have liked the very last scene.
P.S - This is definitely not a 6-7 rating film. More people need to vote !
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
It's been a few years since I've picked up a survival show and I didn't think I would be as hooked as I was before, but this was so worth it!! Even though the show wounded up in some controversies and the finale was canceled, I still think the rest of the show before it was still very enjoyable.I honestly didn't think any other seasons that followed Idol Producer would have such a unique and talented set of individuals on the show again but this season (at least) has proved me wrong. All the trainees are so talented!
The selection of music was fire despite what others may say. There had been some rumors saying iQiyi was running low on budget and that's why the song selections were a majority the mentor's songs. Personally I haven't heard many of the songs before so I found it entertaining. The way in which they created groups this season is interesting too. The first evaluation was position and they allowed trainees to select their own groups but also intervene with others selection, and kind of battle it out by persuading the trainee to join them. Then the second was split by age groups and it was based on who was able to snatch the song first rather than by rank (which I found was a bit unfair in the past for the lower classes). These are only a few examples of how they did song selections.
In terms of the editing, I would say its changed a bit but I still appreciate the extra clips they put in of the trainees. In comparison to Produce Camp (another survival show), there's a lot more content and screen time showing their practice sessions leading up to the stage day. The episodes are very oddly separated into parts, but I guess that only means more content! However, unless you are VIP there isn't much extra clips to watch, at least from my standpoint. It's also hard to navigate around the website for the studio recordings and performances especially since some aren't available on YouTube. There has been some talk about how this season isn't as entertaining as the past seasons in terms of editing and music performances but I disagree I thought that it was pretty entertaining. I do agree with some aspects such as the unequal distribution of screen time like during the press conference in the early episodes and also training time leading up to performances.
The mentor line up was also great! You could tell each mentor really cared about the trainees and were very respectful of everyone. They took their time speaking and did their best to help each person. Will Pan didn't get frustrated at all during his sessions with the trainees, he instead would pull those who weren't as comfortable or familiar with rapping aside, giving them advice and helping them figure out their parts. Then there is LISA who I'm not too familiar with but before, but I was always in awe seeing how she was able to so easily catch the problem with each groups' dances and point out how to make it better. I'd watch and be like "oHH yeah that looks SO much better woW!" And finally, Li Ronghao's class sessions would be in the recording studio and it's so funny and cute seeing him come out of the control room and into the recording booth to help out the trainees if they weren't getting a high note or something. Li Chun wasn't exactly a mentor, she was the MC for the most part of the show, but she never failed to show her care and generosity. She often asked about the trainees and would bring them food. The most memorable would probably be giving a Doreamon to Li Junhao (Rimiko).
Overall, the show was really really good! I just wished the finale had happened before the show ended, and Yu Jingtian (Tony) didn't get wrapped up in a controversy as well. Fan or not, I just felt bad and it was very unfortunate that it came right before the last episode was able to air. Same with the rest of the trainees, they worked so hard but in the end were not able to debut (especially Lian Huaiwei). However with that being said, it wasn't a *complete* waste because the trainees at least got some exposure and the show helped each and everyone of them grow in some aspect. We don't always get the ending we want, but we can always pick out at least one positive to hold onto.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Draggy towards a happy ending
Title should've been Love of Irrational Beings. Spent almost half the show watching draggy scenes of irrational people go through the motion of falling in love.Starting with the FL's bestie; what's with her attitude towards relationships? Like it's should come with expiration date, end it before it expires...
Or the FL's irrational choice to choose to work for the ML's nemesis over and over again. Or the ML's decision to push the FL towards her dreams, even if it meant pushing her to work for his nemesis, it's sweet but a little to much..
Anyway actors were ok, OST too. And it has a happy ending so it's all good. Rewatch, not likely though.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
If you LOVED Sweet Home then you’ll LIKE this
Firstly I want to start off by saying that I finished this series in a day which is a first for me. It’s not a story that kept me at the edge of my seat but it’s still entertaining enough that I continued watching even when the characters pissed off, and many of them did.Our female lead Su In is actually such a sweet girl who went through a lot of traumatic events. She’s introverted, self loathing and lives a pretty mundane life. It was nice seeing her go from that to a mutant badass who fights for what she believes in and learns that she’s not unlovable, she was just around a lot of toxic people. Male lead was very unconventional for kdramas. I kind of liked his development from the cowardice and selfish gang member to the fearless, loyal and trusted companion. I won’t say much for the other characters because while they all had good development too, they annoyed me for 90% of the drama.
In comparison to Sweet Home this kdrama places less emphasis on its characters due to its shorter length of only six episodes. Instead, it delves deeper into the world of monsters, which I found refreshing. I appreciated the focus on the monsters forming their own organization, showcasing their intelligence and adaptability. Their dialogue is noteworthy, featuring engaging social and political commentary. It was intriguing to explore their perspective, although unlike SH there isn't much sympathy for them as they are *mostly* serial killers. The monsters who aren’t simply killers, are just like most humans, trying to survive and learning to navigate complex emotions.
To be honest the last episode was a bit underwhelming, but I can understand because this not a very climatic drama. The monster fight scenes were a little funny sometimes (they kinda look like giraffes fighting 😂). The cast’s performance, music and CGI (for a kdrama) was good too, no complaints in those departments. All in all, a good watch. Would’ve loved if it was longer. 8.5/10
PS: I did not read the manga!!
Was this review helpful to you?
Well crafted and underrated legal drama
"Out of Court" is a tightly woven legal drama with superb acting, directing and scriptwriting. Intricately crafted, the story unfolds in two chapters, both of which primarily centre around the legal procedings and investigations of three death penalty cases. The first part is six episodes and takes place over the span of 16 hours, while the second part is told over 14 episodes and takes place before and after the events of part one. Xia Yu's Lu Nan is the main protagonist in "Blind Spot", while Luo Jin's Qiao Shaoting and Jiao Junyan's Xiao Zhen are the main leads in "Drowning Man" ("The Last Straw" in English). Both male leads appear throughout parts one and two.Out of Court is more than a legal drama, however -- there are mysteries to solves, side cases to crack, and some action thrown in as well. While the story doesn't waste much time getting into the personal lives of the characters (except for perhaps Qiao Shaoting), the ensemble cast still somehow comes across rich and nuanced through their actions, anecdotes of their past, small details sprinkled throughout, and subtle scene elements that might convey anger, arrogance, indifference, compassion, etc. For the longest time, viewers are left guessing as to the motivations of some of the characters (in a good way) -- are they a villain? Ally? Somewhere in between?
As for Luo Jin fans, Qiao Shaoting is a great character, and he plays him with the coolness of Harvey Specter but with a lot more grittiness.
I also found the drama to be an interesting glimpse into China's modern legal system, which dates from the late 1970s following the Cultural Revolution, but really did not gain a footing until perhaps the mid-1980s. (Prior to that, during the Mao period after 1949, law schools and courts were all shut down, with lawyers out of a job.) The story makes references to when certain laws were passed, and at least one side case is inspired by true events. It is impossible for me to gauge how accurately everything is presented; at the same time, viewers should not judge its “accuracy” based on Western civil and criminal laws (as I saw in some of the comments), since even the broad strokes in some legal areas and roles may be quite different.
The drama has a well-deserved Douban rating of 7.7 (at the time of this writing); but by that scale, this really should at least be in the high 8s on MDL. I couldn't decide whether to give it an 8.5 or a 9, since I think it belongs somewhere in the middle, but I opted for 9 to counter the current 7.7 on MDL. (Albeit with just over two dozen ratings only so far, I am not giving too much weight to the score just yet. I will be interested in seeing where it lands once at least a few hundred viewers have weighed in.)
"Out of Court" is not a drama you can watch "in the background" -- I really needed to focus and pay attention to the great dialogue, and if I had more time (which I sadly don't) I would rewatch it again to catch everything I missed the first time.
Was this review helpful to you?
ONE OF THE BEST ROM-COM BL!
I really love this series, it's one of the best! I like how light-hearted, innocent and funny this show like every episode I laughed so hard and feel the romantic excitement with the two. For me, it's the perfect stress reliever when you're burned out and love to watch bl. We need this in this trying times. The actors were so great and their visual are so freaking out of this world. The scene of every episode has a lot of originality, and especially the OST! So magical, Mix and Louis who act as Muang Nan and Meen are really a good singer. The editing and directing is on point. No heavy plot, just a typical drama, but they carried it in a wonderful way! The plot is so good and relateable. The kiss was so natural and also there were so many lessons to learn which is appliable in this modern world like having a confidence with yourself and respecting others privacy. Also, I love how they portrayed the magic of love that no matter how you feel bad about yourself, there is always someone who will gonna love you and accept for who you are and there's someone who will look at you like Fish Upon The Sky. It's cheesy and chaotic, but not gonna lie, this series gives me a 90s Rom-Com vibe. It's refreshing and gives the feeling of being young and in love like I want to fall in love again. If you haven't watch it yet, well I recommend this to you. IT'S WORTH IT! I don't care what people say, but this series was so great and I can't get over from it. Not gonna spoil anymore! Love youu!~ THESE ARE SOME GREAT LINES THAT I LOVE FROM FISH UPON THE SKY ~
"Don't afraid I'd feel bad if they criticize me. Be selfish all you want because I'm so damn happy when I'm with you. Those people don't make me happy like the one I love does." - Mork
"When you love someone, you like who they truly are. When you love someone, you love what lies inside." - Pi
"If you really like me, your heart should beat faster. I believe you used to like me, but I think you're scared. You're scared of falling for someone else." - Muang Nan
"Apart from risk of having hypertension, you have one more risk, a heart disease. Not a common, it only happen when you're close to someone you love" - Mork
"If you are not ready to open your heart, we can start by being friends." - Mork
"You see that flowers? If you want to own them, that means you're obsessed with them. But if you want to take care and let them grow, that means you love them." - Mork
"You want to be yourself, I want to be myself too." - Meen
"I can be you vaccine, Pi" - Mork (thiss mann!😭 can you also be my vaccine mork? HUHU)
"I'm okay whether you want to tell people or not. But I just want to love you. I want to love you without caring what people think. The kind of love that I can hug you when I miss you. Kiss you when I'm tired. Hold your hand without caring about the world." - Mork
Was this review helpful to you?
Pretty boring with a large cast of evil characters
I was looking forward to this because I loved Rosy Zhao in Dating in the Kitchen. I was so disappointed! This drama could have been greatly improved by cutting the number of stories and the number of episodes. It seemed to go on and on forever. They have GOT to work on the dubbing! The thing that I noticed most in this show was everyone's footsteps, whether they were wearing tennis shoes or dress shoes. Why? I have no idea.The concept for the story was cute, but it didn't feel cohesive to me. I understand that you have to have a "bad guy" in these shows to create drama and problems. Why were there so many in this show?
I didn't find the lead actor very attractive, but I loved the height difference between the two. There were some good kisses and some really bad kisses, but I didn't find the acting very good at all.
This was one of those dramas that, while I was watching it, I was wondering when it was ever going to end. And once it did, I was so glad!
Was this review helpful to you?
Story line: Nothing surprising or intriguing. I'd say it was rather boring. I won't spoil it, but the plot seemed interesting at first, but the plot just started slowing down and nothing was actually happening each episode.
Acting/Characters: I'd say everyone's acting was pretty decent, with Dilraba's being the weakest (I hope she continues growing as an actor though!). However, their characters were written in a way that didn't give them much to work with. For example, I think Zhang Bin Bin is a promising actor, but he was limited to the same, one-dimensional character during the whole drama. I was expecting the director to let him finally say/reveal something that would break my heart, but he really was like a stagnant river the whole drama (like, he was GOOD at the role he was given, but that role sucked!).
Idk. There was so much potential. Again, this is another example of a drama that could have really won the crowd over, if only it was a good drama in the first place.
Was this review helpful to you?
One of the better High School BL Dramas - cute and sweet
Completed - 12/18/2021I can see why this drama has so many good reviews. It's a somewhat realistic high school BL drama with a lot of cute and fluffy content. It's really short that you can binge watch in a few hours. It's a good palate cleanser in between more serious dramas. Let's start with what I don't like about this drama.
What I don't Like:
1. Over-dramatic acting - This is personal taste as I don't usually enjoy the over-dramatic manga/anime style of live acting. I felt that our male lead, Aoki, is a little too much and I get annoyed with him at times. I understand he's made out to be a contrast to our other male lead, Ida, who is a little more serious.
2. Repetitive doubting - For such a short drama, Aoki doubted his relationship with Ida too much. After his confession and they started "dating", every episode following that, he's been questioning whether Ida likes him or not, or if Ida really wants to date him. I understand the uncertainty but it feels repetitive after a while.
What I Like:
1. Ida - I enjoy Ida's character. It's nice to see a quieter and more serious character that is not the traditional cold and mean male lead. He's just different and expresses himself different. He's serious in considering his answer and cares about others. I enjoy watching his slow discovery and realization that he does like Aida. I like how he protects Aoki through quiet actions.
2. Ida + Aoki - They do make a very cute couple. Their contrast in personality makes for a very enjoying and fun experience (albeit the Aoki's overacting). You can't help but smile when you see the together and they have great chemistry.
3. Supportive Friends - How nice it is to have such supportive friends of their relationship. It's a stress-free drama where you don't have to worry about jealous and mean-spirited friends.
4. Realistic Concerns - Even though this is a sweet and fluffy drama, it also addresses the issues facing a young same-sex couple, esp. a couple who never thought they could be attracted to someone of the same sex. Aoki is concerned about others knowing they are together and that is very real, not just in high school but in life. We have a teacher who is conservative and doesn't know how to deal with the knowledge of Aoki being with Ida. All these issues were handled well in the drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
Ji Zhang Da Ren, Qing Wu Pian Li Xin Dong Hang Xian
10 people found this review helpful
Girlboss meets Green Flag Pilot: turbulence guaranteed.
This vertical drama serves pilot uniforms, workplace tension, and revenge plots with just enough shirtless scenes to qualify as emotional CPR. Our FL, hilariously named Deer Spirit (yes, really), walks in on her trash boyfriend cheating and does what any sane woman should: ruins his life and upgrades to first class.Deer Spirit is that rare FL who’s smart, competent, and refuses to be anyone’s emotional punching bag. She’s bubbly without being brainless and sassy without losing her job. For once, we’re not watching a wet napkin in distress—we’re watching a woman execute psychological warfare in heels.
The ML? A surprisingly healthy man in a genre built on trauma. He’s rich, calm, communicative, and possibly allergic to shirts. The man enters in full captain mode and immediately starts making eyes like he knows he’s the algorithm bait. Bonus: he mops floors. Yes, really.
TL;DR:
Hot pilot. Smart FL. Abs. Drama. Emotional manipulation engineered by AI overlords.
I watched the whole thing in one sitting like it was my job.
Was this review helpful to you?
Recent Discussions
-
OST songs and music for Rebirth (Princess Agents sequel)13 seconds ago -
FL searching for missing/presumed dead ML?6 minutes ago -
BL Drama Lovers Club12 minutes ago -
First C-Drama You Ever Watched?21 minutes ago -
Drama characterization of the main characters34 minutes ago
