This review may contain spoilers
This was an okay watch, but nothing special. It wasn’t ultra-boring or hard to sit through or anything, and the premise was fairly interesting, but I think it fell flat with the chemistry and relationship development. And I thought the show’s messaging about alcohol was flawed.In terms of the overall storyline, I didn’t think the relationship development or the development of Kihoon’s views on alcohol made sense.
From the start, Kihoon agreed to serve Jiyoo food during the restaurant’s break hours, which was a rule he strictly upheld. It didn’t make sense given that he had no pre-existing relationship with Jiyoo and Jiyoo had only ever made a bad, extremely drunk impression on him.
But more than that, the turning point where Kihoon really started to like Jiyoo seemed to be when Jiyoo helped with a large party at the restaurant, but as part of that, he offered them alcohol. He did that despite knowing about Kihoon’s alcohol ban, but Kihoon wasn’t upset and actually ended up removing the alcohol ban as a result. That was totally out of character, given that he vehemently refused any type of alcohol to be served no matter how upset it made customers, and often got angry if he was challenged. He knew that alcohol would make customers happier from the start, so seeing that play out in front of him wouldn’t have been a surprise. Not enough to overcome his trauma and make him do a total 180 after strictly upholding his rules for so long, anyways.
For Kihoon to go from strictly banning alcohol in all forms to serving it in his restaurant, agreeing to partner with an alcohol company, and personally drinking alcohol, all within a span of a few weeks, just didn’t make sense. It seemed too abrupt.
And that brings me to my second point. I didn’t like that the show was about rehabbing Kihoon to be okay with alcohol instead of rehabbing or even acknowledging Jiyoo’s blatant alcoholic tendencies. Because it’s totally valid to not drink, to not want to serve alcohol, and to not want to be around alcohol, and those boundaries should be respected, not treated as unreasonable. Jiyoo was quite literally an alcoholic. He drank every day and with every meal - not just a drink or two, but actively getting shitfaced. He would show up at work hungover and smelling of alcohol. But his behavior was never acknowledged as problematic. Kihoon had trauma about his grandmother who drank daily, but in the end her drinking was framed in a positive light, with him saying that she was drinking to congratulate herself for raising him. So the show ended up normalizing alcoholism while framing sobriety as abnormal, and that didn’t sit well with me.
The chemistry was there, but died with 3 dead fish kisses and not a single proper one. The relationship only gets to the awkward beginning stage. They’ve only known each other for a few weeks by the end of the show, and haven’t even reached the “love” stage yet, so it didn’t feel like a deep everlasting HEA, which is the type of fantastical romance I prefer.
Also, the show opens with Jiyoo’s break up with his ex, which I felt was irrelevant and should have been excluded. Why unnecessarily put in ex-related stuff? I don’t even like it when they put in ex-related stuff that is relevant.
Good consent / boundaries for the most part. The only minor issue was when Jiyoo put his face really close to Kihoon’s and watched while he was passed out drunk.
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This review may contain spoilers
This was really great. My only complaint is that it was so short, and that I wanted a bit more closure at the end.The pacing across the overall series was perfect. I think the progression of the two characters falling for each other was great. In typical KBL fashion though, the actual content feels like it’s playing in slow motion. It’s perfect at 1.25x speed. The acting, from both leads, but particularly Shi On, was pretty good as well. It’s short, and the love story is simple without tons of conflicts, but it was well executed. The dancing was good enough to be passable for the story they wanted to tell. They were clever with the camera angles and cuts, and what was shown wasn’t mind-blowingly impressive contemporary dance, but it wasn’t so bad that it detracted from the story or anything. And props to this show for no dead fish lip presses! Nothing super steamy, but multiple real, proper kisses all the same.
My primary complaint is that I didn’t feel all the loose ends were tied up in the end. Hong Seok was being forced to go to Vietnam. Did his boss just completely let go of that after hearing Shi On’s confession? She was cold and uncaring the whole series so I don’t know why she changed her mind. Is she going to let him quit like he originally wanted to, and if so, what’s he going to do now? And what was her deal anyways? She was inappropriately caressing Hong Seok’s face sometimes, and that was never explained. What happened to Shi On’s mom? Is the end of that story line just that she abandoned him and we’ll never know anything more? And what about Jung Hoon? Is he not going to have any reaction to losing the audition to Shi On? And the show ends right when Hong Seok comes back to Shi On. They hug and kiss and live happily ever after I guess. I needed like 5 or 10 more minutes to see them actually happy together and see some semblance of what their happily ever after would actually look like.
No consent issues, but some minor boundary issues. Their first meeting, Hong Seok ties up and carries Shi On away over his shoulder — he’s a debt collector and Shi On was running. Following that, Hong Seok signs as the guarantor for Shi On’s debt, which Shi On plans to pay off by getting the lead role in his audition. Hong Seok starts entering Shi On’s house uninvited, essentially moving in, trailing him around, and micromanaging him, including force-feeding him and preventing him from working instead of practicing. Shi On says he’s uncomfortable with this, but it’s not really acknowledged. Hong Seok also demands that Shi On answer the phone whenever he calls. Hong Seok is very grabby — there are multiple scenes where he grabs Shi On by the arm to prevent him from leaving.
But overall, both consent and respect of boundaries were relatively good compared to other BLs. When Hong Seok starts staying over, he never presumes or insists that he sleep in the same bed as Shi On, and instead sleeps in a sleeping bag on the floor, even though the heat isn’t working. When Shi On tries to hold Hong Seok, and also when he tries to lean on his shoulder, Hong Seok immediately rejects him and Shi On immediately backs off. When Shi On first kisses Hong Seok, he gives him ample time to stop the kiss before making contact. When Hong Seok stops them and says it can’t happen again, Shi On listens. When Shi On says he wants to be alone that night, Hong Seok listens. I also appreciated that despite the creditor / debtor dynamic, there were no power dynamics between Shi On and Hong Seok. Shi On was confident and assertive, not afraid to voice his opinions, stand up for himself, or say no, and he was often the one making the first move.
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felt that I was missing the first part of the story
Overall: I was plopped into a story that didn't make a ton of sense. Why did a character love the other character? Maybe there were censorship/budget issues at play. 21 minutes long. It has a sequel. Watched on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/6067/find-you-in-the-crowd-one-2017Content Warning: slaps, homophobia
What I Liked
- wish the dream at the end had been reality
- music
Room For Improvement
- started in the present then flashback and then present
- choppy
- cliche evil woman character
- love rival (needed to focus on the two main characters)
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It took me almost 3 years
As the title says, "It took me almost 3 years" watching this movie and has been sleeping on my laptop since 2023.I'd say that the movie is good but it's tad BORING. Despite bringing in good actors (a.k.a Yakusho Koji and Yoshizawa Ryo), the writing is just boring. It really took me almost 3 years watching the whole film just because I can't focus on how boring the story is especially on the first hour. It only got interested for me after an hour.
As the story title says, "Familia", it focuses about the main character, Yakusho Koji and the people around him are "families" of their own.
Aside from the story being boring, I wished they did a bit more of a research. I've read another review here that it's not how they are in Algeria. Even though it was made ""fictional"", they could do more of a research about that part. Also, casting a more of a Southeast Asian looking actress, they could have shifted the story into something about Middle East Asia as that would make it 'more realistic' as they are also focused on the same industry and also wars are happening in the said area. I just wished they stayed realistic despite being 'fictional'. By the way, Nadia's actress is quite cute, she can improve more of her acting in the long run.
The Brazilians in the story are good actors too. I appreciate how they delivered their lines and how they portrayed their roles. Their expressions are good, especially the one who portrayed Marcus. There's something on how he looks and how he delivered his lines.
About Miyavi and his guys, I think that's just how thugs look? For an acting perspective, he could just do more. I really feel less effort coming from him until the end of the story. Most of the story, he's either talking or just sitting there with a BORING expression in his face. He had decent lines but for me, his expressions all throughout the story isn't making much. I don't see much of the supposedly hate in his expressions and just saw his face as plain bored.
My overall rating is 6 as I had enjoyed the movie especially the last hour. It was quite fast paced at the last hour but at least that's where I understood the story better than the first hour. They could have either made it as a movie with a sequel or even a 6 episode drama series instead.
My rewatch value is actually 0.5 but MDL won't allow me to do so. Lol. If you have a lot of time to spare, feel free to watch it. Haha.
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This review may contain spoilers
wish it was a full two hour movie
Overall: there are interesting concepts introduced but it was much too short and I was a bit confused (more story past the initial credits). Aired on YouTube https://youtu.be/_b96Y29V-fo and later GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/6066/love-ever-after-2023Content Warnings: self harm marks, past suicide mentioned
What I Liked
- interesting concept, just wish it was more fleshed out
- production value (styling, cinematography)
Room For Improvement
- choppy/confusing, maybe they could have cut the sister character to give more time to the other parts of the plot
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Difficult but desired re-watch
It's a beautiful but tragic story where I shouldn't feel bad for Jo Dol-seok because he made the bed he laid in, but I simply mourn for the friendship between the two tailors. I just love people who have a passion for what they do, and the shift between politics to love/inspiration is such a painful thing to watch because there is so much happiness, but Jo Dol-seok was blinded by a dream created by fear and pain that if he had a more peaceful upbringing, he wouldn't be so vigilant in the wrong way.I do rewatch it when I want to see the beautiful outfits, and have the stomach to deal with the tragedy.
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2
3Immaculate vibes, hollow script.
I was scrolling through Netflix when I stumbled across Left-Handed Girl. Right from the beginning, the visuals in here are enchanting. Taipei is beautiful with its blur of vibrant lights and humming traffic. I liked that some of the scenes were shot at the eye level of I-Jing; it perfectly emphasizes how vast and wondrous the world feels when you're only five years old. Nina Ye, the child actress who played her, is my favorite part of the entire film.Sadly, aside from the aesthetics, everything else fell flat for me. There isn't much of a plot, but somehow there are plenty of plotholes and unanswered questions. I'm not entirely sure what the film was trying to achieve with the story, but the way it uses cultural superstitions — such as the left-hand taboo — feels more like an afterthought than anything else. It comes across as superficial rather than thought-provoking. The characters aren't just infuriating; they are poorly written and lack depth. Except for I-Jing, I didn't care for anyone else.
An underwhelming film, I don't recommend.
Although, thanks for the stunning cinematography, I guess?
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An interesting film that doesn't really know what to do with itself.
Short review, it's worth watching if you're there for a specific reason, but I can't see myself recommending it to anyone. It's so non-committal to a lot of what it tries that it leaves you afterwards just thinking about what could have made it better and questioning what it was trying. Try it out if you fancy it, it's got some diamonds in the dirt, but they're small gleams of what could have been great.Longer review, every bit of it feels as if they just got a slightly better person onto the job, it'd be wholly a very solid movie, but as it stands, it's weak. The premise is interesting, and it's got good foundations, but it tries to layer too many things on at once. The movie would have been so much better if it simply focused on two of the main characters, as it seems to not quite solidify itself into what it wants to be. Does it want to be a romance between an assassin and an innocent girl, or does it want to be a gritty tale about two assassins who worked together since childhood? It tries to burn it at both ends and ends up fizzling out.
The script is just okay, it does the job. It does some lacklustre attempts at being deep in areas, but again, the lack of commitment to what it wants to be doesn't help. It tries a lot, some hits and some misses. The highlight was the actors themselves. Ryoma and Yuki give some great performances, not their best, but if you like either of them, then you'll see them really get into their role here. Even with a slightly poor script, they gave it their all, and you'll get some good moments out of it. It does have some rather good visuals in places, but it's not exactly idealistic to look at half the time, either. It attempted, but didn't quite reach the mark.
The worst part, personally speaking, was the weird unattentiveness to detail with the whole premise of the film, that being the assassination business. The tone the movie sets wants you to think to be realistic and gritty but it takes you back out of that over and over again. Countless times, you see things that would clearly not work, nor be done in the underworld that it tries to portray, and it ends up looking stupid. It takes you seriously out of the moment, and I personally found myself in fits of laughter at the ending sequence. It tried to have a serious moment and yet it turned around into being goofy. After you've stepped back from the film after the fact, you realise half of what was going on wouldn't have worked in almost any situation but the movie. If it set a different tone, then it'd probably work in it's favour, but it just doesn't know what it wants to do.
In conclusion, it's an interesting watch, but that's about it. You won't get anything deeper than that, particularly. One can enjoy it still, but it's really a form of something that could have pulled off something better.
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Loved it's slow pace.
It's a beautiful movie, family expectations, inheritance, same-sex relationships and the pressures facing traditional crafts. The fact that she wasn't looked at as a potential to keep the family gift says alot about how women often have to prove themselves. In the end I'm glad everyone made peace and the dad was even proud of her.Was this review helpful to you?
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Not scarry
This drama is divided into three stories, and each one gave me a very different feeling.First Story – Fake Couple
The first story, about the fake couple, honestly felt too much and unfair to me. The idea that the princess kills the person who prayed to her as part of a fake couple was already okay, but what I really didn’t like was how their friends were killed for no reason. Those friends didn’t do anything wrong. They didn’t pray, they didn’t go to the “princess,” so why did they have to die? That felt completely unethical.
Another problem is how the story just ends after the girl is killed. There is no proper closure. Older people and others clearly saw what happened, but the drama doesn’t show the university finding out the truth or any consequences afterward. That made the ending feel incomplete and unsatisfying. Even though I didn’t like the story, I must say the actors did a good job.
Second Story – Hazing
The second storyline, which is about hazing, is kind of okay. However, I don’t understand why horror dramas always have to be so dark—literally. Everything is shown in deep darkness. Even when the characters are in a university, they walk around using their phones as lights. Why are there no proper lights in the university? It honestly feels like the production tried to save money, and that affected the quality.
Also, I don’t think this story truly ended. I feel like Sun might still be possessed. He hummed the ghost’s song, and in the morning scene, his eyes looked red. That detail made me think the ghost was still inside him, or at least that the ending was left open on purpose.
Third Story – Comedy
The third story is my favorite. I laughed a lot while watching it. It has a proper storyline, good comedy, and well-balanced scenes. Everything worked well together, and the actors did their best. Compared to the first two stories, this one was much more enjoyable and entertaining.
Overall
Out of the three stories, I liked the third one the most. The first one disappointed me, the second one was just okay, but the third one was fun, light, and engaging. Overall, the drama is not boring, and you can enjoy watching it—especially for the third story
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it could have been better
this short story is about 2 guys who have girlfriends but one of them was feeling horny and the other guy helped him out.the end shows they both still have girlfriends but secretly holding each others hands, im honestly not a fan of cheating stories (its a huge turn off) ,other than that, the ending showing them all 4 like that looking happy and i see nothing happy about it, they are "secretly" together, the girlfriends kept getting cheated on, whats good about this?
more things not shown like: id appreciate if they shown them struggling with figuring out their sexuality ,maybe their parents being so agaisnt it etc idk i feel like this short movie could have been done much better
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What a wonderful movie
I loved, loved this movie. One of the best coming of age stories I have ever seen. Beautiful, intelligent storytelling with wonderful, talented young actors. Chen Fei Yu is not only gorgeous but also an insanely talented young actor. I suppose it helps to have a famous director dad and talented actress as mom, so Chen Fei Yu' s enormous talent maybe partially due to DNA but one can also tell that he is an extremely hard working actor who is only relying on himself and hard work to perfect his acting skills. As for the FL, this is the first time I have seen He Lan Dou and like her a lot. She is also a very talented young actress whose talent is not relying on appearance ( like many other actresses in the entertainment industry) but on her great skills. This was an excellent casting as the ML/FL have really made this story very real and memorable. Thanks to the whole crew and actors for making this great movie.Was this review helpful to you?
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HOLY F**K, what a ride!
The idea alone is enough to hook you. Talking to someone 20 years in the past sounds cool on paper until you really start thinking about the consequences. One small change doesn’t just fix things, it warps everything. And this movie leans hard into that. Every time you think, “okay, maybe now it’s safe,” it immediately proves you wrong. The butterfly effect here isn’t subtle, it’s brutal.The movie kept me locked in almost the entire time. No dead air, no boredom. Just constant “wait… WHAT?” moments. The tension ramps up fast, and once it turns dark, it doesn’t let go. Watching the past and present collide in real time is genuinely stressful in the best way. It messes with your head because you start realizing that sometimes the worst thing you can do is interfere at all. Some things are just meant to happen, and trying to outsmart fate can literally turn someone into a serial killer.
The acting absolutely carries this movie. Both leads commit hard, especially the villain. She’s unsettling in a way that sticks with you. It never feels cartoonish, it feels wrong, which makes it scarier. Visually, the movie looks great too. The atmosphere does a lot of heavy lifting and adds to that constant uneasy feeling.
That said… man, that ending.
I was so on board until they decided to pull that final move. I’m fine with dark endings. I’m fine with unhappy endings. But this one just felt like it tripped over itself trying to be clever. Instead of feeling earned, it felt like the movie flipping the table at the last second just to shock you. It took me from “holy shit this is great” to “why would you do that?” real fast.
Still, even with that ending, I can’t say I regret watching it. The concept is strong, the ride is wild, and it keeps your brain working long after the credits roll. Just be prepared: you’re probably going to love most of it… and then get pissed off right at the end.
Worth watching. Just don’t expect to walk away fully satisfied.
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Everyone did great, and the lil girl was so adorable and cute, I loved the adoption story the most, also this is all connected stories which is something I like.
I'm not a pet person at all, I can't bear to watch them go which is why one of the stories was hard to watch for me, but still it was very lovely movie I'd recommend it for pet lovers and owners of dogs.
The big golden dog was so cute 🥰
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A sad but great story
I really liked the story; it's one I think back to often. It's not a happy story, but it's a really good one. It's definitely more of a movie about gay people than a BL (if that makes sense). The characters really intrigued me in this. The spice factor was pretty decent as well. The actors did a great job.Was this review helpful to you?
