Reviews

Great watch

A 4-star chef is sent 500 years in the past and begins serving the king. With her prior knowledge in cuisine, she becomes a type of right hand for them. The story follows the progression of their relationship, with people trying to ruin the bond they are building. She soon becomes the only one he can trust and her cooking builds bridges with others in the past. Though soon enough her time comes to an end, and she must return to the present. This was such a good watch. Honestly. I'm the type of person to only care about the main couple and no one else, so when villainous characters were introduced, it felt that they had way too much camera time. Though in reality every frame they are in contributes to the story and paints an even more detailed painting. I've seen people hate on Yoona's acting, but i would completely disagree. She played her part perfectly alongside her co-star. He also did amazing (people complained because he replaced another actor who was supposed to play him. The actor who played the trans woman in squid games s2.) But I can't see anyone else playing his role. I feel like he perfectly portrayed the king's coldness and distrust to a strangely dressed woman. Along with his confusion hearing other languages and tasting spice for the first time. You can tell exactly where he began trusting her and saw her as more than just a chef. Amazing performances from the both of them. I would definitely rewatch. Lastly, I just want to add the ending made me cry (maybe I'm just sensitive), but His performance was SO GOOD! so much so that it moved me to tears. It is a happy ending so don't be too scared to watch.

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If anyone is still hesitant to watch this drama, trust me—just dive in right away!

At first, I assumed the story would lean heavily into political conflicts given its 1970s setting, but it surprised me by focusing more on slice-of-life moments and heartfelt romance. That's exactly what makes it so memorable. The sweet love story between the main leads, how they navigate economic hardships of the era, family pressures, and friendships—all of it is portrayed realistically and touchingly. There are no dragged-out, unnecessary conflicts; every character feels well-developed and strong. You truly see the real meaning of karma play out through the consequences of people's actions.
Chen Feiyu and Sun Qian deliver outstanding performances as Fang Mu Yang and Fei Ni. Their relationship is genuinely healthy—open communication, mutual support, and true equality in every way. In dramas set across the 70s, 80s, and 90s, it's rare to see a main couple that's this consistently green-flag and drama-free from start to finish. Their bond grows naturally and smoothly throughout. The ending is beautiful and satisfying: both Fei Ni and Fang Mu Yang pursue higher education and follow their individual passions, stepping into a bright future together.
Overall, this drama offers a refreshing, warm, and grounded take on love amid tough times. Highly recommended for anyone craving a feel-good yet realistic romance! 💕

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just wow

This series is something else. At first, I was a bit hesitant to watch it because of my bad habit of assuming a series won’t be that good. But after a while, I finally continued watching—and let me tell you, this series is absolutely phenomenal. It’s obnoxiously good, fabulous, amazing, breathtaking, and wonderful all at the same time. The two main leads were just meant to be. Their chemistry, especially in every kiss, was incredible and felt so natural.

Honestly, I wish there were more episodes because a story like this deserves to go on forever. I completely fell in love with this series.
I would definitely recommend it. If you watch it… oh boy. Whether you’re single or in a relationship, it somehow makes you feel lonely—but in a good way. It’s the kind of show that stays with you and can even change your life a little.

10/10 from me.

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Brutal and stylish fight scenes.

This series takes gang fights to another level of sophistication and numbers. The ML literally puts Rambo to shame with his body count despite not using any guns. He could also had featured as a professional baseball player with his superlative skills with a baseball bat.

The action started fast and furious and it took 3 episodes before one could catch a breath to figure out the story line. Then it was a rush to the finish albeit less adrenaline fueled as it becomes more apparent that the killings must finish and the ML will be immortal until his mission to end all scum lives is completed.

Overall a good watch for those more appreciative of gruesome violence.

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Reconnection of childhood friends. Slowburn romance

I watched this drama because I was in mood for Xie Yu Wang's dramas back in December & had seen photos of XYW as pilot for this drama. I liked it.

What I liked:
1. Romance - Reconnection, slow burn. Their romance story has this mature feel. Their relationship was filled with challenges from external party but between the two of them, the relationship was healthy.
2. Pilot - I enjoyed the pilot arc in this story.
3. FL characterisation - I liked that she never blamed ML for her tragedy.
4. ML characterisation - He thought he didn't deserve her but he always had her best interests. Protective, loving.
5. Supporting characters - I liked the chairman, fellow actor, FL's assistant & ML's aunt.
6. Murder - I also enjoyed this small arc. The past haunted both leads.

What I disliked:
1. Antagonist - The guy who pursued FL was a scumbag. I also disliked ML's father & uncle. ML's father was evil.

Favourite scene
When ML gave flying lessons to FL

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Wonderful chemistry but the deception is unacceptable

I was in the mood for Yue Yu Ting's dramas so I selected this drama because of Meng Jia Hui and the runtime. I have mixed feelings about this drama.

What I liked:
1. Acting - Yue Yu Ting & Meng Jia Hui had wonderful chemistry. I also liked their performances as individual characters.
2. Romance - While I didn't like ML's motives for approaching FL and the lie / ommission of truth, I enjoyed the romance between the two. I could feel the growing attraction and love between the characters. They were steamy kisses and tender moments.
3. FL characterisation - I liked her because she was nice. I also liked when she comforted and made moves on ML.
4. Length - This drama is less than 2 hours. It helped with keeping melodrama down to a minimum.

What I disliked:
1. Deception - I got it that ML wasn't honest about asking FL to marry him but the fact that he kept it a secret from FL was unacceptable.
2. Antagonists - Wow the green tea / ML's supposed fiancee was mean. I also disliked ML's aunt for her greediness and ML's grandfather for his controlling behaviour.
3. Supporting character - I rarely disliked supporting character but in this case, I disliked ML's doctor friend. He went against ML's wishes. There were also other questionable acts that he did but can't remember exact details now.

Favourite scene
When they were intimate for the first time

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"There's no relationship worth 50,000 taels of gold"

Duel for Gold starred Ivy Ling Po and her husband Chin Han. Ivy’s films can be hard to find so I was excited to stumble across this bloody story of betrayal and gold lust.

Two acrobats put on a street show in a town known for silver (and gold) and beautiful women. These sisters, Yen and Ying, are looking to rob the bank that is filled to the brim with hundreds of thousands of taels of gold and silver. A swordsman without equal heads the security department repelling any thieves. When their plan is discovered, the sisters escape. Also looking to make a score is Teng Qi Ying, The Invisible Loner. Even if it means death, the gold is simply too tempting for the thieves that begin to infiltrate the town.

The film begins at the end, lamenting how people kill for gold, then rewinding to the beginning of the sad tale. As the story went along, 6 people became connected to the gold. Not quite Ocean’s Eleven or The Sting because no one was safe from the dragon’s gold fever that infected every single person. Love, family, friendship--no relationship was worth sharing the shiny bars within their grasp. Watching them all lose their humanity as they betrayed each other was difficult to watch at times.

My two favorite performances were Ivy’s as the duplicitous and not too bright when it came to men Yu Yen and Lo Lieh’s. Lo’s master of disguise thief brought a modicum of levity to an otherwise chilling tale of betrayal. Chang Yi was initially hired to play the bank’s swordsman Wen Li Hsien but it sounds like there was a change of actor and perhaps director. I didn’t find Richard Chen Chun very compelling in the role. The swordfight choreography reflected the style from 1971 which to modern eyes could be more stilted. What they lacked in speed they made up for in quantity. The fights were surprisingly bloody with more than one limb flying and bodies being impaled. I knew when I saw the Shaw Brothers pagoda in the opening shot that my favorite set piece was going to be featured in the final fight.

Duel for Gold plumbed the darkest depths of human nature, showing the lengths people would go to possess a fortune in gold. It started out slow, but gained momentum as the characters were revealed as well as their abilities to justify their loathsome actions. No good guys in this one folks, so if you need at least one hero in your old kung fu flicks, you might want to skip this one. As always, rated on a curve.

“I’m not ruthless. It’s just that the gold is too tempting.”

4 March 2026
Trigger warnings: Dismembered limbs, one was graphic but also a little funny. Gruesome impalements. And a little brain goo. The #2 red finger paint blood helps keep everything from looking too realistic though.

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The film is worth watching and rewatching

In this sci-fi blockbuster, Dylan Wang plays an astronaut named Xu Tianbiao. The plot revolves around a virtual dream system called "Sweet Dreams," which allows people to create their own worlds, but it's fraught with danger. Dylan takes on over 15 different roles in these dreams, from a warrior to a gangster. The film is captivating in its cinematic dynamism, and Dylan has an excellent sense of camerawork. In scenes where reality around him collapses or changes color (like a kaleidoscope), his movements make the action believable, even if it's purely visual. The contrast between "image" and pain is palpable, as you see an incredibly beautiful background, but Dylan's face reflects rage or despair. This dissonance compels you to keep watching, wanting to understand why the hero feels so miserable in such a beautiful world. When he fights in a space where there is no up or down, it looks like an expensive art object. The sheer scale of the film is a joy in itself. Dylan conveyed his character's loneliness through his facial expressions as digital reality crumbles around him. The scene where the character realizes he's just code in the system was the most emotional, revealing his soul, not just his face. With a cold, almost lifeless gaze, Dylan managed to convey his natural charisma and warmth, becoming a frighteningly beautiful instrument of the system. The actor demonstrated his ability to play abstract states.
The film is worth watching and rewatching for its fantastical narrative, beautiful visuals, music, acting, and thought-provoking content.

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Why Perfect 10 liner is peak

Omg DONT even get me started with this show. First of all this is my number 1 bl and I could literally watch this over anything any day. So I lowk kinda forgot how many episodes there are but I’d say there’s about 25, u may say thats a lot but each couple (there’s 3, forcebook, perthsanta, and juniormark) they each get like 9 episodes each , there’s also some other background couples like marcpoon, aouboom and I forgot the guy name but emi is there to. Anyway the first couple is with forcebook and I wanna say it’s enemy to lovers but they don’t really hate each other, it’s mostly how arm character was scared of arm and they were really cute and they are just fun to watch if u wanna have a good laugh. Next is yothagun (perthsanta) it’s about yotha who is very cold and gun has a problem, he cant sleep without the lights on, so eventually they ended up staying in the same dorm and gun is trying to break yotha wall down and they eventually get close and next thing yk gun likes yotha but there’s a problem , yotha doesnt know how to love. U gotta watch to see what happen next brooo. Anyways last couple is faifawine (juniormark) they are a really cute couple but wine gotta problem…. He’s heartbroken, and faifa is the only person who he can talk about it to, so like basically trying tho break his wall to. And wine feels weird bc usually ppl dont except him for who he is (bi) and he felt weird having all these ppl around him saying it’s normal. Anyways they were really cute. Aouboom were sooo toxic, I love it… and their ending Broo.. u gotta watch it.

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"We're heading to Ghostly Village, not hell!"

Perils of the Sentimental Swordsman was not actually a sequel to the previous two Sentimental Swordsmen despite Chor Yuen and Ti Lung teaming up for it again. Similar to the last film there was a huge cast and numerous flyby guest appearances.

General Chu Liu Hsiang attempts to murder the 8th Prince and escapes to the Ghostly Village with the help of an old man who had just murdered much of his extended family. The mist hidden village run by Old Hawk is filled with criminals who would be hunted down and executed if they ever left. Chu befriends an inveterate gambler who is terrified of ghosts. In the village there are people who hold grudges against Chu and others testing his loyalty. It was hard to invest in any of the characters as they swooped in and either swooped back out or were carried feet first out. Ti Lung’s sentimental swordsman wasn’t that sentimental. Fortunately, he was not nearly as gloomy as the other two films. Lo Lieh gave the film a boost of humor with his strip dice gambling and gravitas when it was called for. Aside from vets Ku Feng and Yang Chi Ching, the rest of the main cast was underwhelming.

The sword and wild weapon fights were solid for the most part. It was funny watching the guys in gold costumes in the back looking like they were line dancing by themselves to give the big fights depth. Interspersed with fast action there was also kung fu dancing almost bordering on kung fu posing. The wire work and trampolines while primitive carved out creative moments. The fights might not be memorable, but Yuen Wah, Yuen Bun, and Huang Pei Chih acquitted themselves well as the martial arts choreographers.

The Perils of the Sentimental Swordsman kept the action and double-crosses coming along with hidden identities---even a “who’s your daddy moment?”! I didn’t enjoy it as much as the last two but it was still entertaining in that convoluted manner that only old kung fu flicks can offer. As always, rated on a curve.

4 March 2026
Trigger warnings: Violence though considering the genre, nothing too gorey.

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A Layered Drama of Revenge, Power, and Hidden Identities

This is one of my favorite dramas, but the ending is open. So that is a major caveat to watching it. With that said, it has several elements that make dramas work. It has revenge, assassin groups, strong women leads, power struggles, anti-heroes, second-lead and third-lead syndromes, palace conspiracies, and hidden identities. Its storyline has depth and builds complicated relationships that blur the line between good and bad. There are also levels to each character's psychology, making their characterization impactful and dynamic. And many poignant and poetic scenes make it easy to connect to the plots.

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