Reviews

Repetitive and slow, despite constant action

After the movie ended, the guy next to me turned to his friends and told them that he fell asleep during a chase scene. When he woke up 20 minutes later, the chase was still going on.

And that really is the biggest issue with this movie — it's just a string of action sequences that go on forever AND do the exact same thing over and over again. There are so many chase sequences and gun fights, but I never feel any actual tension during them. It's partly because the characters are all really flat and there's no emotional arc attached to any of them, and partly because there's just so much plot armor. I usually don't mind plot armor for our heroes, but it's not used in any meaningful way to move the story forward; everyone just gets up and continues to do the same running around for 5, 10, or 15 more minutes.

In the final act we're randomly given insight into the antagonists' perspective, and it felt extremely random and unnecessary. The CGI was highly questionable, which ruined my immersion in the story every time there was a close-up, but more importantly, there was no build-up to the characters or the lore. The ending feels really abrupt.

The humor didn't land for me either. There's one car scene that's pretty funny, but other than that I found the constant yelling and swearing really grating and annoying. That one poo joke goes on for way too long.

Maybe it's my fault for expecting something with more emotional substance, but this really was just an action flick, and everything about it — the plot, the antagonists, the humor, the CGI — feels very 2010s (derogatory).

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Unexpected characters drew me in... in the Pursuit of Jade

Maybe I’m just not built for 40-episode C-dramas anymore… Because tell me why I LOVED everything about this show for the first 20 episodes, and then… poof. Slowly but surely, the magic started fizzing out, and before I knew it, I was hitting that FF button.

The production itself was really well done, but I do think some of the writing could have been stronger and more fleshed out.

More backstory for some of the supporting characters?
More riveting character development for the lead couple?
A little more something to keep that momentum going?

We’ll never know.

I think what was missing for me was partly the expectation created by such a strong start. When the first half has you completely invested, the second half has a lot to live up to and unfortunately, this one didn’t quite get there for me.

That said, Qianqian, Su Yuanqing, Wei Yan… yes the Prime Minister were the characters who really drew me in. And the actor playing Wei Yan? Impressive. He portrayed that whole misunderstood, broken-hearted man who is trying his best but somehow keeps getting it wrong thing SO well that I couldn’t help but… take his side.

His character really captured the idea that sometimes, even when your intentions are good, things just don’t work out the way you hoped. And honestly, that was one of the more compelling parts of the story for me.

Overall, a good show and definitely worth a one-time watch just maybe don’t go in expecting the first 20 episodes to maintain that same level of magic all the way through. 😅

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You wanna a movie on bullying? There're far better options...As for more handsome options? Maybe not

My first thought about this movie -- rather juvenile.

Story that can be fed to an elementary schooler and then maybe early high schooler. Even young adult may struggle with this thin-paper narrative. I can name three different dramas dealing with bullying that had some substance. Very low in quality, this one. Whoever is funding this, they gave all the money to two leads to carry this stupid narrative, and the rest were paid in candies.

8.4 of what? those candies maybe. Per person.

From the beginning until the end the story did not make sense...The cat narrative, and the fighting with students...and whole school being submissive to a bully for always the same reason. Bully's parent? Ofc crazy. Where is father? who knows. And whole school bows to her? But of course. The headmaster bows down to the student? Why do you ask. Cmon, how much longer do I need to go? I am yawning as I type. It is getting a bit old, all of this, our k-drama patriots, yes?

Also why was the teacher passionate about teaching? why was she teaching Ethics? what was the depth of issue with the father? The movie started interesting, at the beginning took somewhat comedic tone with Si Min being realistically selfish because her survival was at hand...I got hopeful for somewhat refreshing take on this long-standing topic...and then pam-pam she switches for god knows why into fighter without boundaries or reason. Shin Hae-sun did a good job in her role of So Si Min, don't get me wrong. Her character I have problems with.

As for the antagonist. Let me deal with Lee Jun-young -- he just does these expressions that scream evil and he does them so well. That being said, no matter how attractive he was, there was too much of him on screen for how little we know about him. Why was he like this? Why were others following him, cos of fear? Lazy work. Why was his mother scared of him? We don't know anything. And we don't ask cos Jun-young can build up tension and chemistry with a tree. And whoever made this movie definitely used (if not exploited) this. I felt none of supporting characters were present in my memory, almost like the script did not exist for them. A shame really, some lazy work. Especially cos supporting cast had potential (like bully Cha Woo Min as Lee Mun Gi or the grandma acted by Son Sook). There were some good actors casted here, but they had no scenes.

This is how I see scriptwriters going about this...they saw that Jun-young does villain great and looks great, so let's make him fight and do crazy laugh for 90 minutes, the girls are gonna eat it up, yes? Well, maybe that is what gives you 8.4 score on this movie.

But the quality of this movie, if it goes over 6, I can delete this account. Very commendable for him to carry this movie but I think also his acting by the end of the movie started to feel repetitive as his character was always on screen and always doing the same thing.

Overall disappointing...I do not suggest you to watch it.

I think if you are only watching it for Lee Jun-young, you can watch Weak Hero, and have a great time along with some great acting (where he also acts as a villainesque character) and it also tackles bullying topic.

Tnx for reading,
RXP

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Don't be fooled by a pretty face and pretty reviews

I watched because my family members love He Yu. Few episodes in, I could already tell this plot had holes like a colander.
Then I watched because MyDramalist reviews fooled me into thinking it'd get better. The plot does not.
I love FL who are cunning and ruthless; she however is just cold and bolstered by plot armour (her sense of smell fits more in with a superhero film, her immediate understanding within 30 seconds of waking up in another body ...make it make sense).
The shameless ML had some truly funny scenes and I liked the second couple (even with their ridiculous plot holes)

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One that sticks with you.

I had only watched 10 episodes before I decided I needed to rewatch it with my family because I was that enthralled by this.
A ML that I didn't expect to love but became besotted by. The definition of "I will support her, even if I have to bail her out of jail". A bratty but confident & capable FL who also grows throughout the series. Some of the supporting cast have very over-the-top almost cartoonish acting (I'm looking at you FL's father), but somehow it doesn't detract from the show and maybe gives a little more levity to it. The chemistry is amazing and I need to go back and watch all their other shows together.

I finished this months ago and was in a rut because I couldn't find anything else that felt was well balanced as this. Definitely give this a chance!

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This could've been a movie.

This could've been a movie. I still wouldn't recommend it, but at least it'd waste less time.
The show absolutely prioritized visual 'coolness' with pretty fight scenes and grotesque demons (which seem nonsensically 'westernized') over a sensible plot-line. The 'twists' were fine, but drawn out (a lot of people repeatedly lamenting about 'the secret' without every any information on 'the secret' being disclosed). I couldn't figure out why I was supposed to care if the evil awful people were being targeted by the evil awful demons/ghosts. The only redeeming quality was the cutest Ggeomeoksali.

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meu texto já fala tudo

Eu já sabia que Ticket to Heaven ia me machucar. Desde o começo eu sabia que não seria um BL que eu conseguiria assistir como assisto tantos outros, porque a história do Tanrak e do Barth toca em uma parte muito específica da minha vida, uma parte que envolve a minha fé, a forma como eu cresci dentro da Igreja Católica e, principalmente, a maneira como durante muitos anos eu enxerguei o fato de gostar de mulheres. O que eu não sabia era o quanto isso ainda seria capaz de me atingir.

Eu comecei a assistir sabendo que existia ali uma coisa que eu reconheceria. Tanrak tinha medo de amar alguém porque acreditava que esse amor poderia afastá-lo de Deus, e eu conhecia aquele medo. Desde criança eu sempre gostei de meninas, isso nunca foi exatamente escondido, mas durante muito tempo eu enxerguei isso como alguma coisa que precisava desaparecer. Eu me ajoelhava na missa, rezava, chorava e pedia para Deus tirar aquilo de mim. Quantas vezes eu disse "Pai, eu pequei de novo" eu já nem sei mais. Eu realmente acreditava que estava falhando com Ele todas as vezes que percebia que continuava gostando de mulheres. Eu pedia para ser uma pessoa normal, pedia para conseguir me libertar daquele pecado e, quando nada mudava, comecei a acreditar que talvez Deus não estivesse me ouvindo justamente por minha causa.

Por isso foi impossível assistir ao Tanrak sem me enxergar nele em algum momento. Quando ele percebe que está apaixonado pelo Barth e começa a evitá-lo porque está com medo de que alguém descubra, eu não estava apenas entendendo o personagem. Eu estava lembrando de uma versão minha que também teve medo de existir. Mas foi quando ele entrou naquele confessionário e disse ao padre que tinha pecado, que estava apaixonado por alguém que não podia amar, que eu senti que alguma coisa dentro de mim tinha sido puxada para fora. Principalmente quando ele começou a perguntar se, caso terminasse com Barth, Deus voltaria a amá-lo, se voltaria a ouvi-lo. Porque eu também já tive medo de que Deus não me ouvisse. Eu também já achei que precisava abrir mão de uma parte de mim para continuar sendo digna do amor Dele.

E talvez seja por isso que a frase do Barth tenha me destruído tanto. Quando ele diz a Tanrak que o ama porque Deus o ama, eu não ouvi apenas uma declaração de amor entre dois personagens. Eu pensei em tudo que eu já vivi e em todas as vezes em que eu achei que precisava escolher. Durante a minha adolescência, eu ouvi pessoas dizendo que eu iria para o inferno por gostar de mulheres, que eu era pecadora, que eu era um demônio. Pessoas apontavam o dedo para mim, pegavam meu número e mandavam versículos da Bíblia como se precisassem me convencer de que havia alguma coisa errada em mim. Em determinado momento, até ouvi que precisava descobrir qual trauma havia me feito gostar de meninas e que só poderia ser curada quando aceitasse Jesus. E eu vivi tudo isso enquanto continuava amando Jesus.

Foi justamente isso que Ticket to Heaven me fez lembrar. Não porque hoje eu pense da mesma forma que pensava naquela época, mas porque eu percebi que algumas coisas que eu achava que já não doíam ainda estavam guardadas em algum lugar. Hoje eu me entendo, me aceito e não escondo mais quem eu sou. Eu sou católica, amo Deus, amo Jesus e continuo sendo uma mulher que ama mulheres. Eu não precisei abandonar a minha fé para conseguir aceitar a mim mesma, mas durante muito tempo eu achei que precisaria.

Eu contei para a minha mulher sobre essa frase do Barth porque, de alguma forma, foi impossível não pensar nela. Eu pensei que aquilo era algo que ela diria para mim. Ela não vive a fé da mesma maneira que eu, não gosta de igreja e questiona muitas coisas sobre Deus, enquanto eu sou completamente devota de Cristo. Mas eu não preciso que ela acredite em tudo exatamente como eu acredito para que ela entenda o quanto Deus é importante para mim. E talvez o que eu tenha sentido lendo aquela fala tenha sido justamente isso: a vontade de ser amada sem precisar esconder nenhuma das partes que fazem de mim quem eu sou.

Eu chorei muito nos episódios 5 e 6. Muito mais do que eu esperava. Eu precisei pausar várias vezes, mandar áudio chorando para a minha namorada, para meus amigos, sair do episódio para responder alguma coisa e, mesmo longe da tela, começar a chorar novamente só de lembrar do que tinha acabado de assistir. Em determinado momento, eu já não precisava nem estar vendo a série para ficar mal. Bastava pensar no Tanrak e no Barth para começar a chorar.

E acho que foi aí que eu entendi que eu não estava chorando somente pelo que estava acontecendo com eles. Eu estava chorando por coisas que aconteceram comigo e que, naquela época, eu talvez não tivesse conseguido chorar. Eu precisava continuar vivendo, continuar indo para a igreja, continuar tentando entender o que estava acontecendo comigo, continuar ouvindo as pessoas ao meu redor e tentando descobrir se eu estava errada. Quando finalmente encontrei uma forma de me aceitar, talvez eu tenha seguido em frente sem perceber que algumas daquelas dores continuavam comigo.

Ticket to Heaven encontrou justamente esse lugar.

Por isso eu não consigo dizer que terminei o BL e simplesmente gostei ou não gostei. Eu terminei carregando uma sensação muito difícil de explicar, porque foi como assistir à minha própria história sendo contada por outra pessoa, só que com personagens diferentes e em outro contexto. Eu já sabia que ia me machucar. Só não sabia quanto.

E talvez seja isso que mais ficou comigo depois de terminar. Eu passei anos acreditando que precisava escolher entre amar a Deus e ser quem eu sou. Hoje eu sei que não quero mais viver dessa forma. Continuo amando Jesus, continuo tendo fé, continuo sendo católica e continuo amando mulheres. E depois de tudo que vivi, talvez a coisa mais importante que essa história tenha me lembrado seja que eu não preciso mais olhar para mim mesma como aquela menina que precisava ser "curada" de alguma coisa.

Eu só queria que ela tivesse sabido disso antes.

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I'll miss my family.

Ok, I'll be completely straight and honest about what I felt while I've watched this. The start point to me was that I'm not used to watch this type of cdramas (Xianxia) but I'm finally open to watch new genres and explore more of this through the pass of the months; etc. I fell in love with this drama, at first I got a bit skeptical over the idea that I'd like this one. The first episode had me thinking something like "Mmh, okay this is fine" but on the 3rd episode I got hooked. Now I have so much to say, I'm totally involved with the main idea of let's not love only my partner but let's love all the people that it's around me and care and also appreciate me (for me, this is the principal idea of the drama). I saw all these characters choosing each other over and over again, with correct and wrong choices as well. How important is to have someone that has your back and would do everything to see you gain strength and even better, to see you happy.However, I appreciate a lot the mindset of "Okay, we made mistakes" but giving people new chances ain't always wrong because sometimes people must do what they must do, for real. Also, finding new actors like it's the case of Tian it's amazing and really melts my heart, also the 4 main cast and as well the rest. All of them made me obsessed over watching but Ji Ling definitely portrait the feeling of stop being innocent and naive because the world and the path of growing, force you to. I think this is a love drama but not because of the couples but every character showed love for each other like Wu Ji and Wang Yang as sisters or Shiguang and You Chi (mind you his death made me sob so bad) as best friends and more. I loved this deeply and won't forget this cdrama and all the feelings and good actors and actresses that I got introduced to (Joseph makes me giggle fr).

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Beautiful and Difficult

This film was inspired by events surrounding the Battle of Okinawa towards the end of World War II, and focuses on the experiences of two Japanese soldiers — one, a regular officer, and the other a very raw recruit, local to the island on which the film is set. After their island has been taken over by American forces they hide in a giant Banyan tree, waiting for reinforcements to arrive, not realizing the war has ended. The film explores their relationship and how they navigate the considerable differences in their social standing, life experiences, and expectations. Both actors do a great job. Shinichi Tsutsumi plays the older, embittered, officer and Yuki Yamaha the young recruit. I found Yamada’s character the most poignant — he saw so many of his friends killed. The film is largely structured in terms of the relationship between the two men who are forced into close confinement. An almost fatherly bond forms between the older officer and the new recruit. It raises larger questions of how difficult it is to navigate profound loss — not only personal loss, but loss of an identity that structured a person’s day to day life in Imperial Japan when old answers to questions about how to be a loyal citizen and a good person don’t seem to reflect reality anymore.

The film has a strong anti-war message. I thought this was a very good film. I watched it right after having seen the Chinese film Dongji Island, about Japanese atrocities which also took place partly on an island. It was an interesting combination.

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Just chose Racism

This was a hard watch as Chinese Dramas have me in a chokehold. I figured why not. Shanshan is written as an overthinking, gullible person that listens to a jealous cousin, a manipulative female who wants her man. She listen to jealous people at work & no matter what Feng Teng did she found problems. It was episodes 20-21. You mean to tell me that this writer worships whiteness so much that they had random white kids playing with Zheng Qi & Lishu with the kid kissing Lishu on the cheek because that’s realistic but made the only two black people in the film are vagrants. The way they go out of there way to write & depict their racism in this movie in so indicative of how poorly thought out this film was. Throw random black men in & criminalize them.

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