Reviews

Cheesy but excellently told and executed

There are plenty of mach man, damsel in distress tropes in this short drama, but the cast do an excellent job keeping them grounded, meaningful and human feeling. I particularly like the scenography, lighting and camera work in this series, they made the most of the location. The main leads have incredible spark, the female lead Chen FangTong projects character growth from sheltered somewhat clueless to in charge of her life, while Dai Gaozheng as always broods well, projects the powerful military man well, and shows of his body (which is a treat even if cheesy). The plot devices are a bit thin and compressed by I've come back and watched this several times and every time it's a treat in setting and dynamic. Also it's nice to see some genuine-feeling desire on screen in Mandarin given its relatively chaste screen tradition. Chen fangtong work very well in that department, affection feels unforced, even the tug and pull of feelings and desire is wellportrayed.

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A criminally underrated treasure.

I do understand the low rating for this drama and at the same time I really don't. The themes are extremely dark and everything is pretty gloomy and unpretentious. If you prefer light-hearted subjects, or breathtaking cinematography, or extremely tight logic with a masterfully written whodunit, this is not going to satisfy you. This is not what it is. Also, the premise is on its own hard to believe. Some suspension of disbelief is needed. However, if you can do that, the writing in general is in my opinion gripping even though some tropes aren't that surprising. The pacing is more contemplative than it is active. But unless you're an action junkie or very impatient or you simply don't care about these characters at all, it's short enough to finish it pretty quickly without getting bored.

There is another complaint about this drama that I don't get, is trying to level it to The Bad Kids. As much as I love that drama, I don't see the point in comparing the two. Of course on a technical level The Bad Kids is probably superior. Does it mean it's necessarily better ? It does not.

This show is powerful on many levels and doesn't need to be ashamed of its identity. I will not say much because I don't want to spoil anything. But it deals with heavy topics, shows us a glimpse of a very broken humanity and what it can do, sometimes, supposedly, out of love, and is overall extremely sad. Basically every time you learn something new this becomes more and more tragic.

Yet there is hope in the same broken love that some of these characters show for each other. Imperfect, sometimes messed up love, it still is basically the core of everything. It is heartbreaking. It's also very human.

The acting is spectacular from most of the cast, the relationships between these characters are fascinating and complicated and the OST is an absolute gem - these three songs are among the most beautiful I've heard and they really suit this show. One of them is sung by the two MLs' actors and becomes the ending song for the second half or so of the drama. It's such a sweet and soothing song, well needed after the emotions this story can make you feel.

If you're interested in thrillers, child trafficking, dysfunctional families, parents/children relationships, and love in general, please give this drama a chance.

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The girl I liked then, was our dream and youth. I am still living that dream.

As a boy who is now living a life of an adult because my age is 28 years. But still to this day I feel best when I think about my childhood love, whom I loved from class 4 till today. This movie depicts the feeling of childhood love in such a way that you will never feel empty, the ending is handled so brilliantly that you will definitely learn something after watching this and you will complete the movie with a smile on your face.
Acting of the Main Leads is great and support cast did well with their part. Music and especially the songs are the cherry on cake they will mesmerize you. There are so many small small things to notice but in the end if you have loved someone and you are a fan of child hood love stories then this is a must watch.

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Character analysis based on traditional Iranian medicine!!

First of all, I have to say that I haven't been saddened by the death of any actor, whether Iranian or foreign, but the only actor whose death made me sad and every time I think of him, my heart aches is Lee Soon-kyun. I don't know why?! I was even more upset about his death than that of my acquaintances, perhaps because I had watched this series shortly before his passing or because he tragically committed suicide due to the accusations of others; I don't know... It's still strange to me, and the pain is fresh...

I want to analyze the characters based on Iranian traditional medicine! Because I see strange similarities between the people in the series and temperament analysis, although I know that Korean traditional medicine is different from Iran, and it's almost impossible for the writer to know much about it.

Of course, in traditional medicine, we have a basic temperament, a dominant temperament, and what I write may be either a basic temperament or a dominant one, which would be a more specialized discussion and not the place for it here, so I will just write my observations.

The writer of this series is the same as that of "My Liberation Notes," and the characteristics of the characters there are almost the same as here.

1_Park Dong-hoon (Ajusshi): Cold and dry temperament, earth element, black bile humor, extremely introverted and quiet, keeps everything inside, organized and precise as expected from a melancholic person, not seeking excitement and enjoys his routine life or at least isn't looking for change, not ambitious, in fact, his closeness to Ji-an is due to the events that happened, his wife's betrayal, and the accusations made against him at work, that's why he was looking for someone to ease his pain, and who better than another melancholic person named Ji-an?! Although his temperament is warmer than Ji-an's, despite the favorable background and mutual interest, and his wife's betrayal, he was not the type to cheat and was chivalrous, adhering to ethics; melancholic individuals are not prone to divorce, they rarely start something, but when they do, they see it through to the end and do not give up.

2_Li Ji'an: Cold and dry temperament, colder than Dong Hong, very cold! Colder and drier than ice, like stone, he is not satisfied with his condition even if he endures it, hopeless for a remedy and empathy, pessimistic about everyone. It seems his base temperament is cold and moist or phlegmatic, or cold and dry but to a lesser degree because every temperament has its gradation, and due to the problems and misfortunes that have arisen, his temperament has become colder and drier and has developed a strong melancholic disposition. He is not seeking excessive warmth because someone who gives him a little warmth will get him hooked! He showed a green light to Ajooshi a few times, but since he didn't get a response, he let it go; otherwise, if his temperament were warmer or had more moisture, he wouldn't have let it go, and this would have been a separate story!

3_Park Sang-hoon: Cold and wet temperament, phlegmatic and the element of water, despite being a man, he is extremely emotional and sensitive, his tears are like a musk! His temperament is colder than his wife's, which is why their relationship was close to divorce or they had already divorced (I don't remember exactly because I saw it a long time ago). In marriage, the man's temperament should be warmer than the woman's, even if both are phlegmatic or melancholic. Here, his wife's temperament is either warm and dry or warm and wet, in pursuit of love and passion, even though he doesn't think he deserves to seek excitement in his old age ! But he enjoyed seeing Ji-an's affection towards Dong-hoon!, and it occupied his mind as if he was the one being shown affection! He couldn't make a proper decision, which is why he didn't have a stable job; he endured his wife's mistreatment and bitter words because phlegmatic temperaments have high tolerance.

4_Park Ji Hoon, the youngest brother: hot and dry temperament, choleric and fiery element, irritable! Someone who jumps up and down like a firecracker, makes decisions quickly and changes his mind just as fast, separates easily and connects quickly, gets angry quickly and regrets it just as fast, foul-mouthed and abusive! Honest, even if it’s against himself! From one branch to another, from one job to another, he has no patience; otherwise, he wouldn’t lose his directing job. He talks a lot and constantly complains about his circumstances, prone to fights and brawls, but when he sees he can’t win, he retreats, but not in his mind. He is not one to show feelings directly, like saying “I love you” or crying, because it would be beneath his dignity! Instead, he shows it through anger, for example, by defending or yelling, even if he loves someone.

5_Kang Yun Hee, the ajumma: cold and wet temperament (lower degree compared to the older brother), seeking warmth, love, and passion, but not too much, which is why she cheats because the warmth from the ajusshi hasn’t been enough for her (the ajusshi’s temperament is unfortunately colder than hers!). Ashamed of her actions, but since she has developed an addiction to warmth and love, she doesn’t let go as much as she can.

6_Lee Gwang Il, Ji An's stalker: warm and wet temperament (most likely) or warm and dry, wandering between love and hate, which is why he annoys his love to get her attention.

7_Do Joon Yun, the traitor with Yun Hee: likely has a warm and wet temperament due to his ambition, flexibility towards those in power, and variety-seeking nature in women, the element is air.
8_Yura's love for Ji Hon: cold and moist temperament, patient but resentful, both resents and loves Ji Hon because Ji Hon's temperament is warmer and drier than hers, and what could be better than fire for water?!! They could have been a suitable couple, but Ji Hon easily separates from her due to his irritability and insecurity.

9. Jung Jung Hee, the bartender: warm and moist temperament, compassionate, kind, a lover who still hasn't been able to let go, and who is it? A monk! Still hopeful for a reunion! However, I predict that if they met, they would likely separate or have disagreements because the monk's temperament is cold and dry.

10. The monk: cold and dry temperament, generally, individuals who become monks or priests tend to have a colder and drier temperament and are calmer; otherwise, their environment would become unbearable for them.

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Heavenly Ever After? Heavenly break amidst Lives.

"Heaven isn't a destination, it's just a resting place in the wheel that turns for eternity"

i enjoyed this sooo much omg. sooo good! even enjoyed the terrible headache i had after ep11 with all the tears lmao. god han jimin acted out of her body in that episode. it was intense. infact, the entire cast is amazing, not a single miss. even the supporting characters all well casted, well acted. Haesuk & Pastor's relationship and banter has my entire heart. ❤️


I cried with Hae suk's pain and Eun Ho's misfortune so so much. I wish they met again in another life and spent the best as mother and son 🥺❤️

The message is beautiful. Heaven and hell ain't the end of all, just a temporary resting place where you overcome your past regrets and grudges and pain, and continue the journey - I don't necessarily consider the drama religious, whatever religious subtext there is, is mellowed down too so that helps.

The drama isn't perfect definitely, but the last few episodes moved me so much I really can't be bothered about the slower pace or drag in the earlier episodes, or sudden switch in tone from serious to comedy at certain parts.

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A delightful movie about how cinema came to China.

This movie is delightful and deservedly won praise when it was shown. Being familiar with the history of Chinese cinema and the famous 1905 early movie Dingjun Mountain, directed by Ren Qingtai (任慶泰) a.k.a. Ren Jingfeng (任景豐), who was assisted by his cinematographer Liu Zhonglun (劉仲伦), I found it endearing to see these pioneer's life and hopes be portrayed in this movie, including the photograph taking of Empress Ci Xi, and the risks of handling the earliest film strips.

Writer, producer and director Ann Hu's 35mm debut Shadow Magic (2000) won both the Chinese Academy Award and Presidential Award in China for Best film among other international prizes. The film premiered at the 2000 Sundance film Festival and released by Sony Classics in 2001.

Synopsis : "Beijing, 1902: an enterprising young portrait photographer named Liu Jinglun, keen on new technology, befriends a newly-arrived Englishman who's brought projector, camera, and Lumière-brothers' shorts to open the Shadow Magic theater. Liu's work with Wallace brings him conflict with tradition and his father's authority, complicated by his falling in love with Ling, daughter of Lord Tan, star of Beijing's traditional opera. Liu sees movies as his chance to become wealthy and worthy of Ling. When the Shadow Magic pair are invited to show the films to the Empress Dowager, things look good. But, is disaster in the script? And, can movies preserve tradition even as they bring change?"

The movie has a fuller Wikipedia page : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_Magic#cite_note-1

The director also has an interesting story :

Ann Hu / Hú Ān 胡安 born 胡小平 (Hú Xiǎopíng) in 1956, grew up in Beijing. After finishing middle school, she was assigned to work as a waitress but studied by herself in view of passing college entrance examination, when those exams resumed in 1977. She next studied English at Beijing International Studies University in 1977 and came to the USA in 1979 to study at New York University as one of the earliest students to go to the United States after the Cultural Revolution. She stayed there as a businesswoman, working in an international company, shifting carer to study film making at NYU Film School after meeting Chen Kaige in 1987.

In 1992, she wrote and directed her first film, "Old Stories of Mountains and Rivers" 《山河旧话》
In 2000, her film "Shadow Magic" 《西洋镜》 was released in mainland China, and she won the 37th Taiwan Golden Horse Film Award for Best Cross-Media Adapted Screenplay.
In 2005, the film "Still Beautiful" 《美人依旧》 directed by her was released.
On December 4, 2020, the family inspirational film "Confetti" English title of 《五彩缤纷》("Colorful"), inspired by her struggle to help her dyslexic daughter, written and directed by her was released in mainland China. It was also shown abroad in 2021.

Douban page : https://www.douban.com/personage/27515319/

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Promising bl disguised as a dumpster fire

The beginning of it was promising, but after episode 5 it went all down hill. I am a sucker for enemies to lovers trope but this wasn't that. The enemies to lovers trope doesnt have internalised homophobia, SA and intense physical and verbal bullying.

The fact that Seheon forgave both Taeyi and Juhee for sexually asulting him after them just apologising to him was so stupid. What do you mean you're okay with just that?? Those scenes were so uncomfortable to watch.

Where was the character development? There was so much to work with both Taeyi and Juhee for that but I felt zero remorse from them for their actions. It felt very rushed.

My favourite character was definitely Doyoon even tho I still feel bad for him after what Johee did to him. I know that Johee was struggling with internalised homophobia, but I don't think that topic was explored deeply enough, or at all for that matter, for their relationship to feel genuine and healthy. The same goes for Taeyi and Seheon.

The way Taeyi behaved when Seheon kissed him in the classrom was I guess understandable because he was still greaving and saw his brother in Seheon (although it has already passed two years from his brother's death), but it was still a shitty way to treat someone.

The ending was nice but I couldn't enjoy it properly because of all of this.

5/10

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It has Seoul so far

Better than I expected so far, it tries to reflect the realities of modern life of two young women without the filters or being too light hearted about it but yet doesn't become so depressing you lose hope as a viewer. Park Bo Young plays twin sisters who are opposites but are trapped in their respective lives. One is an academic superstar who has suffered health issues when she was young and is employed in an "office" job in Seoul which helps the family financially. She is overly serious and suffers from depression, anxiety and possible PTSD from her work situation. The other is an athletic superstar with a happy go lucky personality whose athletic career in school was cut short. Fast forward to her 30s, she feels aimless with a lack of direction or qualifications in the shadow of her sister. In the mix is Park Jin Young a teen friend who grew up with them in the countryside, he is a steady kind presence and the first two episodes gives a hint who he may have a romantic attachment to. I am excited to see how their relationship will develop, the last scene in the second episode sent off a few butterflies 🦋.

Both sisters are on a path of taking detours from their lives where they felt confined and one was on the desperate path of self harm to try to have a temporarily reprieve from her circumstances. They are both navigating the often invisible yet deeply felt terrain of identity, burnout, and family expectations. Park Bo Young plays both roles beautifully with subtle shifts in mannerisms, ways of speaking, and maturity.

Will they find the transformation in reclaiming their lives to live not as what they are expected to be but how they were meant to be when they switch places?

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90 minutes of nothing...

I know I am not the target audience for this kind of movies but I watch them just to get some "comprehensible input " practice for japanese cause the dialogues tend to be really easy.

would I recommend this movie to anyone?
yes, probably my 13 old self.
this kind of supercial, cutesy movie would have been my shit at the age, but know as an adult I cannot overlook stuff...like acting or plot.

the story is really simple.
a girl confesses her love to a nerd who rejects her. heartbroken she talk about her struggle to the most popular guy at school and together decide to "play" a one sided love.

she basically starts a game where she stalks the popular guy for fun just to forget her previous love.

of course we all know he liked her all the way from the very beginnen and that slowly she LL fall eventually for him as well.

the plot is fine but tl what's annoying is that the movie is so mid. there is no highs ..never.
it is not particularly sweet, or funny, or cute or whatever.

the ml is also a big issue. his dead pan acting was so bad I kept laughing.
on the other hand the FL was marvelous.

would I recommend it? I mean.. this is literally a nothing burger. totally forgettable.
if you don't want have anything to watch and just want some white noise in the background give it a go

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Watch this drama right now you won't regret that is why i won't give spoilers

Honestly i watched a lot of bl dramas and there were really good ones too. But this drama is another thing. It is amazing . Normally when i watch dramas i will skip somee scenes because i got bored. But Top Form omg i couldn't take my eyes off the screne so that i won't miss even a second. Actors did really a good job. Dramatic scenes were so well done. It did made me cry a lot. The way Boom portrayed Akin and Smart with Jin was captivating. I know i might be biased over this how i can't stop watching it cause it the best bl show i've seen lately. We reallyy needed something like this. And Boss, our director did really good too even though it was his first work. I want to thank all the actors and others for creating this masterpiece. I won'ever forget this.
SmartBoom ❤️Auralis
(Sorry if i made mistakes eng is not my first language and there is a lot more i want to say but let's stop here right)

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You will need a huge suspension of disbelief...

...as Coleridge said. Nothing makes sense in this drama, starting from Ever 9.
An AI created to treat emotional issues that has more emotional issues than the human he's supposed to help. Please tell me that I missed something or I missunderstood something because this doesn't make any sense.
It's the classical fast-paced BL, so I didn't expect many explanations or a slow-burning story, but the cold-hearted main lead fell in love without much esitation with this robot and it doesn't make any sense to me. May it happened because Ever 9 kissed him straight away without any apparent reason? No sense.

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