And Now for Something Completely Different °VG° °Romantaholics only°

How does one admit that s/he spent over 16 hrs watching a show about how a con man poses as a wealthy blind woman's brother & ends up falling in love with her? This is utterly ridiculous. The plot summary is ridiculous. What's more ridiculous is that I cried through at least nine episodes. Part of me felt I myself was inside a scene from a comedy. Looks like the joke's on me.

I'll have to accept that I appreciate art with my heart much more than my head. If one can roll with the premise, it's a more pleasurable experience Thus, romance addicts will hop on this cathartic roller coaster & love the ride. Be warned, though, mostly everyone else will hate this.

Between hankies, thoughts jumped to the front of my brain, like: "Hey, this is more ridiculous than a General Hospital, Peyton Place, & Dynasty doing a Reunion-Funny-Raccoon-Video-Holiday-Extravaganza!" Or, "This could be one of the most aburd plot lines ever." As it turns out, this is nothing! Who knew the following plots were being inflicted on the public? Luke & Laura save the world from being frozen. Or, how’bout it was all a dream... a dog's dream. Then there's Timmy, the doll that came to life along with Precious, the obsessive orangutan nurse. Don't get me started on Being John Malchevich, which is really good, but can't be explained. Therefore, TWTWB isn't so bad. I've decided to not be embarrassed for loving it, and it's not the only Kdramas that prompt similar thoughts.

TWTWB is the story of Oh Young & Oh Soo. She is born into one of Korea's dukedoms (her father is a CEO). Her parents had a nasty divorce, ending with her mother leaving the house & taking her brother, Oh Soo. Age 7 at the time, Oh Young longed for them, but she never saw them again.

There's 2 Oh Soos, & they end up friends: Oh Young's brother, born into modern day royalty, & the /other/ Oh Soo, who had been abandoned under a tree at birth. Oh Soo is a grown street kid, sometimes thug, always a gambler, & usually a con man. When the Ohs finally come looking for the long lost son, he has been dead a year. At the same time, the still living Oh Soo suddenly owes a debt to a mob boss that, in the words of ‘The Boss’, "no honest man can pay." So when the family lawyer comes tapping around, Soo jumps at the golden opportunity to make connections with these "well-off" targets.

This sets up a line of obstacles that he & his friends-and-abettors must navigate with thriller style machinations. The irony is that while Oh Soo believes he's moving into that house with his eyes open, ready to plot his course & exit monied & worry-free, he actually went there blind & ended up snaring himself.

TWTWB is a show about isolation, family, lousy or absent parents, dignity, responsibility, telling oneself the truth, & honor. Most of all, it's about forgiveness. The players have a roulette wheel of hurts, slights & other grievances laid out in a circular fire squad formation. Almost every character needs to forgive another in this series. Young's list is by far the longest. The person that forgives can go on to heal. Maybe it isn't possible to pardon somebody out of selfish motives, but the party that gets the most benefit when forgiveness occurs is the one that does the forgiving. As the aphorism goes: Dwelling on hate & anger is like drinking poison & expecting the other person to get sick. TWTWB also underscores that once a person has passed, we must live a little hollowed out if we've missed the chance to attempt reconciliation.

There's nothing novel about the plot's arc: Poor, but smart street thug with a heart of gold, meets innocent, poor-little-rich-girl. Over time, his evil agenda evaporates as love blooms. The journey that matters more than whether it's redundant. Human existence is redundant. What matters most is how they tell the story, and they do it well.

The slow pace mirrors Oh Young's pace. She must proceed methodically & feel everything out prior to stepping forward. The director wants the viewer to FEEL the actors’ emotions. It seems that half of the series is extreme close-ups. That, along with the cello music, is a direct send up to the lauded Ingmar Bergman. When we don't hear the cello or the chimes, there is a thrumming beat to the soundtrack that's intended to build tension. Every episode adds to the taut atmosphere. Given the long close-up takes, the actors are nothing short of sensational showing a range of emotions hidden under poker faces. It should excite lovers of the craft.

Young, who went blind shortly after the siblings separated, was completely cloistered while growing up. She knows nothing of the world or most human interaction, yet she's grown to not trust anyone. Locked away, she's too vulnerable & naive to be left alone. Yet she is very, very alone. Her money blinds everyone around her to her humanity.

Their relationship is adorable. It is as beautiful as it is increasingly uncomfortable as the show continues. He can't take his eyes off of her. Under his nurturing she opens up like a flower. He seems more & more reluctant to go through with his plans. He starts to deflect his agenda and, rather, work on unlocking some of the mysteries in Young's life. Winter is representative of Young's life: A very cold & very long winter. Soo's the warm wind. He blows in and shakes everything up. Soo makes the chimes ring.

Soo & the boys from the street are shown to have limited options in life. At the end of the show, Soo loses all interest in making any excuses, valid or not. He & BFF Jin grew up next to Moo-chul who has a complicated relationship with Soo over a past tragedy and has given Soo 100 days to pay off his debt. Moo-chul may not like Soo, but he sticks to his word, despite being pressured to act earlier. Mr. Kim, the mob boss, is juxtaposed with all of the neighborhood boys. They have a code of conduct, but Mr. Kim respects nothing but his own image. While he likely knows Soo didn't steal his money, he demands repayment anyway, because he's jealous of Soo. Everybody is making deals & promises throughout the show, but Mr. Kim has no intention of keeping his word. Moo-chul may have been contracted to kill Soo, but everyone seems to understand it's just business, and nobody thinks he's lying about anything. It makes for good watching.

Soo is compared to the people around Young. We see that most of the condescending snobs are worse than he is. Young is the center of the wheel that everything turns on. The people around her may seem to care about her, but the money always undermines relationships & corrupts everything. Yes, Soo came to defraud her, but he ends up guiding her to the land of the living. He may have been abandoned at birth, but Young, born to "privilege," was treated even worse, as Soo was taken in by a loving family. The people around Young claim to love her, but from one perspective, they are the #true con artists. Her life has been pain. She is secluded in that secret room, with despair & self-pity infecting the space. She'd given up, out of exhaustion, by the time Soo arrived. She wants to die. Soo is next to Young because he wants to live! These opposite forces draw them together, swirling around each other, as fate tries to bring balance & promote growth.

Now to the Uh-Ohs. There's some /near insulting/ logical gaps & pitfalls. Several things make no sense at all. They did such a nice job with many elements, but some of the mistakes are astounding, given the context. This is a no spoilers review; few examples are possible. One of the worst things that occurs is related to revelations about one character. This person turns out to be delusional & dangerous. It's wildly inappropriate that this person is permitted to linger around. The flaws are severe enough that I can't go higher than a 7 rating. The cropped ending is too brief & klutzy, which is an issue with many Kdramas. Yet, it still is probably in the re-watcher category. I miss them already. Besides, Kim Bum, as Soo's BFF, has never looked more adorable. His parents, who raised Soo, are the only good parents in the show (even Secretary Wang has problems with her dad).

The portentous soundtrack amplifies Soo's (and the viewer's) dread of that fateful day; Young will learn the truth someday. We learn just how sweet & pure she is & how desperate she is to be loved. If you're like me, you'll also tear up from around episode 6, give or take, until the end. Flush out those tear ducts.

Soo was utterly transformed by his time with Young. From doing anything to survive, he now knows what he wants to /live/ for. He makes amends, he shows appreciation for those that looked out for him. He's left his room, joined his family & is open to caring for others. His face radiates a beautiful peace, tinged with underlying sadness. He has accepted truth into his life, particularly the truth about himself. That's even more useful than loving oneself. No excuses. Soo refused to make any excuses. That's not easy. How many of us can do that? He says he wants to pay for his mistakes. It's a touchstone at the gate of the path to redemption.

In the end, the cold winter yields to a warm & blossomed spring. The path of redemption & healing is complete. Love Isn't Blind After All.


〰QUOTES〰

Things end up as you believe.

Certain times are so heavy and long certain times feel so lite and short and at times the two are interchangeable at worst they perish for good...

〰IMHO〰

Age 15+

RATINGS
Directing 7.5
Acting 8
Romance 8
Flutters 6
Sound & music 8
Ending 8

LEVELS
Action/ Excitement 5.5
Thought provocation 6


Re-watch? I intend to


In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:

〰Modern Day -
A Witch's Love 7.8,
Her Private Life 8,
Touch your heart 8.2,
Crash Landing On You 9.1,
Oh My Ghost 10,
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9,
Love Struck in the City 7.3,
Be Melodramatic-8.7
Hospital Playlist 9,
I'll See You When the Weather is Fine 9
The Cursed 8.3,
Flower of Evil 8.9,
The Man from Nowhere 8.9,
Black 9,


〰Bad intentions turned upside down:
Crazy Love-7.8,
Familiar Wife-8.5,
The Golden Spoon-8.1,
Call It Love-8.4,
Anna-8.1

〰Romance junkies only:
My Secret Romance-7 (if you ff thru overdone flashbacks),
Boys Over Flowers-8 ~ melodrama to the max,
The Bride of Habaek-7,
Heirs-7.3,
Something in them Rain-9,
C: Well-Intended Love-7.5 Rom-porn - extra points for the dopamine,
When I Fly Towards You-7.8,
Wait, My Youth-8.4,
A Little Thing Called First Love-8.5,
Find Yourself-8.9,
Hidden Love-7.8

Citeste mai mult

Survival Camp: New Mom Edition °8.2° °every new mom needs this°

“The day I got promoted as the youngest director at work, I became the oldest pregnant woman at the hospital.” Jin desperately wanted both of those things, but she didn't want them to happen at the same time.

Pregnancy? “People blabber that it's a beautiful and joyful process. But it's not always like that for women who actually go through it. Pregnancy is exhausting, delivery is cruel, and recovery is miserable.” In saying that, the BCC director shows she truly understands. Jin finally starts to feel a smidge at ease.

BCC is a 2020 release that is rated 81 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 8 65ish-minute episodes. When Do Yoon and Jin arrive at the BCC, I wondered if Jin had actually passed to the afterlife. It looks like heaven (except for the creepy handmaids-tale-gowns). Massages, room service, baby care, classes, other new moms… What is especially poignant and metaphoric is that, to have a child, is the death of one's previous life. Once a woman becomes pregnant, life will never be the same again. Children break us down to nothing, and we have to build ourselves back up again.

The OM's (the /other/ moms) are in another world, though. It doesn't seem much different than Jr high with their persnickety cliquishness. Jin is sneered at because she intends to return to work. ASAP. Now, I really hate it when people sneer at stay-at-home moms. There's nothing easy or cushy about raising kids, feeding your family quality food, and properly keeping a house up. These days, not many families can afford to do it. (In fairness, if kids could vote, it's possible that every mom would be required to stay-at-home). I also find it very distasteful, however, when stay-at-home moms allow their worlds to become so small that they don't have a clue about what it's like out there. If you're a stay-at-home mom, you have no business commenting on somebody who works full-time and tries to juggle family life as well. Most people don't have a choice, and if you've never done it, you can't imagine how difficult it is. Nobody is living a perfect life. Not one of us. I doubt there's such a thing as parenting, or marriage, for that matter, without regrets. Not only is judging others useless, but it's harmful to us as it distracts us from the honest introspection and personal improvement that might alleviate some of those later regrets.

It's obvious that the screenwriters have been through this. I love the treatment of the birth, along with every other subject. They nail the emotions. The baby has an adorably crumpled frown. That frown is upside-down for everyone else. This couple had given up on ever having a baby. Now, the whole family's ecstatic. “You came through the birth so easily!” Her mother-in-law is all smiles. She's got it wrong, though. Jin actually died on the birthing table and was resuscitated. Everyone is over the moon, except for Jin. She's.just.exhausted.

Jin is an achiever. She immediately gets caught up in the subtle competitions going on between the OMs. First, she starts to feel competitive about breast milk. She calls her friend for advice. Said friend comments that it's been a long time since her baby was a /baby/. The camera pans over to a gangly, pimpled middle school boy. As he leaves, Jin's friend yells at him that he should /shave/ before going to school. The door slams. Then she finds his cigarettes. ‘I really can't help you right now,’ she says, and ends the call.

That sets the table. Through Jin's journey, the writers show the stress, the frustration, confusion, the bombardment of choices and pressures, all the nosy outsiders - each with an opinion, the fear, and the absolute irony involved in childbirth ~ and they show it well.


〰Mixed Emotions〰

Jin feels so out of place. She worked up until the last moment. All the OMs seem to know more. She's far behind. They liken it to the last car on the Snowpiercer train (that ain't good). She sees that work at her job is going on fine without her. She's losing herself. Her identity. Jin doesn't feel the overwhelming love that the OMs have for their babies. It's not like she can force herself to feel a certain way! She feels so very out of place.

〰Marital Strife and Physical Changes〰

Then it's relational stress. Poor Do Yoon. While his wife is being bullied, condescended to, and failing at breastfeeding, she's taking it all out on him. He can't even breathe right. He ends up bonding with another father who teaches him to wear earth tones so that he can blend into the background;) They go shopping together. The whole thing is pretty cute with them gushing over cribs and bottle warmers. But his new friend's time at the center ends first. Do Yoon actually runs after his bro's car in the driveway, then trips and falls as his buddy is leaving. Next, they get into how a woman's body changes. One of the OMs has gained so much weight she's doubled her size - and her career is dependent on her looks. Jin hasn't felt like a woman in a long time. Her body hasn't been hers for a long time. She has to hear how /this/ is a time when men tend to cheat. Then she has to watch her husband head off to his awards show with his beautiful coworker. In a convertible.

〰Choosing a Name〰

The pressure of picking a name doesn't elude this couple. Koreans have 39 days to register their babies’ births, so they don't deal with naming the kids until ep7. Until then they have silly nicknames like Glue Stick or Sprout. A baby's name contains the wishes of its mother,“ and “A name is a vessel that holds a person's fate,” is the verbiage being bandied around. I remember when I picked up the baby name book, the first thing that stuck out was the statement that boys with exotic names have a higher incidence of mental illness. (Yikes!) I've heard psychologists talk about trying to find a mock-proof name for their kids - they ultimately failed. We gave our son the first name of his father and grandfather, but ended up calling him by his middle name to “avoid confusion”. The confusion came when we had to update his records when he turned 18 and was issued an ID. The insurance company didn't want to pay his bills. When he graduated from HS, no one recognized the name they called out, lol. We have survived this, and worse. It's not humanly possible to do everything perfectly. One does need to lighten up and have some humility. The perfect parent has yet to be discovered on this flawed earth.

〰Finding the Perfect Nanny - before any of the other b!+ches do!〰

As their discharge date approaches, the babysitter competitions begin.

Jin's mom was set to babysit, but she needs an emergency surgery. Jin's first thought is about herself and her career. This is really inconvenient for Jin. When Mom points out her selfish attitude, Jin blows up, in rich irony, and blames her mom for not raising her better. Jin realizes she reverts to being a toddler around her loving, caring, giving, self-sacrificing mother. These new moms haven't worked out their relationships with their /own/ parents ~ And around it goes. Jin ends up in a competitive 3-way interview with a top-rated nanny and another mother. They cut in a Joseon era sword fight between the questions.

〰And the bang-jammy of them all: Breast V Bottle〰

She isn't producing milk. Jin has trouble making breast milk and breastfeeding. That's no trifle - Her life becomes ALL about that. They put her on a strict diet and a physical routine of massages and exercises to make her a better producer. She feels like a cow. They flesh out the breastfeeding versus formula wars beautifully. People get very emotional about it. Of course, the science is settled. It's better to breastfeed (cheaper, too). It's better to eat organic and prepare all your meals at home. It's even better to just grow your own food. It's better to monitor your caffeine intake. It's better to exercise regularly. It's better to go to bed early. It's better to not sit all day at the office but to stand once in awhile. It's better to squeeze the toothpaste from the bottom. It's better to brake slowly so you don't wear out the brake pads on your car too quickly. Obviously, these things aren't all of the same importance, but the point is that it's impossible to live a perfect life and to do /all/ the better things. We really have no idea what other people are going through and what struggles they have. This is an issue where the information is out there. They don't need to hear it again from outsiders. It's better to keep our opinions to ourselves. It really is. There are mothers who try their best to breastfeed and cannot keep it up, emotionally and physically. It isn't something that one should comment on to a stranger - someone whose struggles are entirely unknown to the speaker. If it would work, I'd be all-in on it, but It won't work, and it won't make the world a better place. These actions morph into self-aggrandizing superiority rituals, and that's just wrong. Regardless of our past choices, it's better than better to always be improving. Never stop working on yourself; when you're done, fix e'erbody else. In ep3, with around 10 1/2 minutes to go, there's a sequence on the breast v bottle wars that is not only the highlight of the show, it's production gold. They show arguments, fights, car accidents, bar fights, videos of the fights, videos that go viral and cause fights on other continents… all over breastfeeding... It's bloody brilliant.

The acting is excellent. Uhm Ji Won (The Odd Family: Zombie on Sale) is FL, Oh Hyun Jin. I've seen her in The Cursed-8.3, which is fabulous. As a fun fact, the actor who plays her husband in The Cursed, Jung Moon Sung from Hospital Playlist-9, plays the ob/gyn who delivers her baby here. Yoon Park (You Are My Spring, Doctor Slump), nine years Ms Uhm's junior, is her husband, Kim Do Yoon. I've seen him in Forecasting Love and Weather-6.8 and Introverted (My Shy) Boss-6.5. He plays a duplicitous character in both of those shows. He's such a sweetheart in the opening of BCC I couldn't place him at first. { bunny trail - I'm just over 4 years into my Asian programming addiction and I'm still not used to how many Korean actors don't look very Asian. I'm from the northeast. If I saw Mr. Yoon on the street wearing a suit I would think -Jewish Attorney- before I would think that he's Asian. Korea, being a peninsula situated in the center of the coast, was likely a stopping point for many a varied traveler. In addition, the USA has had personnel placed there for the better part of a century. Kcountry seems to have more variety mixed into the population than Japan or the southeast Asian countries (China, a country that also seems to love their Euro looking actors, varies widely by territory). Mixing the gene pool up makes the most beautiful offspring. It doesn't mean anything, it's just interesting.}

Park Ha Sun (Two Weeks, The Veil) portrays Jo Eun Jung. Married to a pro golfer, she's the queen of the BCC. All the OMs suck up to her. The darling Choi Ri (My First First Love-8) is the rebel mom, Lee Roo Da. She has pink in her hair, multicolor nail polish, bare feet, and No, “I won't be breastfeeding,“ thank you very much. Jang Hye Jin (The Red Sleeve, A Time Called You) plays Choi Hye Sook, the BCC manager. She's so perfectly casted it's spooky. She can't hide how much Roo Da distresses her. Director Park Soo Won also brought us Work Later, Drink Now S2.

The all female screenwriting team is Kim Ji Soo (Missing Crown Prince), Yoon Soo Min (Stock Struck), and Im Yeon Soo (Go Back Couple). They are the stars. If you are pregnant or a new mom or if you ever were, they will make you feel less alone. “I never understood why mothers resigned after maternity leave, before.” (Jin is having a mini-epiphany). ”Now, I do.” “Giving birth really takes a toll on you,” we hear in the next scene. Yep, they've been through this.

“The moment we accepted our unhappiness, we could finally be happy,” Jin observes. Midshow, the women start to drop the facade. They open up to eachother more - whether wittingly or not. They compete less and support eachother more. Now that'll make the world a better place.


〰QUOTES〰

…humiliation is a luxury of an emotion that one can only feel when he or she is still a human.

Attachment maketh man. 77% of motiveless crimes are committed by neglected children.


〰IMHO〰

RATINGS
Directing 7,5
Writing 8,5
Acting 8
Romance 5
Flutters 4
Art 7.9
Sound & music 7
Ending 8

LEVELS
Warmth 5
Action/ Excitement 1
Laughs 3.7
Tears 2.5
Fright 2.5
Tension/Anxiety 3.5
Gore 1
Thought provocation 8
Snores 0

Re-watch? possible - I recommend it for every pregnant woman


Age 13+

Rated TV-15

In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:

A Witch's Love 7.8,
Love to Hate You 8.9,
Her Private Life 8,
A Love So Beautiful-7,
Live Up To Your Name-7.6;
Touch your heart 8.2,
Crash Landing On You 9.1,
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha-8.4,
Oh My Ghost 10,
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9,
Love Struck in the City 7.3,
Be Melodramatic-8.7
Familiar Wife-8.5,
Hospital Playlist 9,
Saimdang-8.5,
My Unfamiliar Family-7.9,
Misaeng-9.1,
My Mister 9.5,
I'll See You When the Weather is Fine 9
Something in the Rain-8.6,
The Cursed 8.3,
Mother-8.8,

Citeste mai mult

Little Chef in the Big City ♨️ Don't Watch This Hungry °7° °VG°

Food is good stuff - we all love to eat it. Why do we love to watch it being prepared on TV? One reason is that it's comforting. Another is that it brings people together.

Taew is a small town girl from rural Thailand. We meet her through the words of her son. In order to distract his angry girlfriend, Kelli, who is about to leave him, he tells the story of how his mother left the countryside, came to Bangkok, and became a wildly successful chef in the 70's. MC is a 2019 release that is rated 7.4 on MDL. It is 1 season consisting of 13 50-minute episodes. It feels like a true story but a quick goog didn't provide any intel, so it's hard to verify either way.

Taew's first gig is as a maid. Initially, her boss seems harsh, but as she gets to know and trust Taew, she teaches her how to cook. The woman soon recognizes Taew’s great potential. She pushes Taew out of the nest, telling her that she's FIRED. She gives Taew a letter E r of recommendation for a job at a friend's restaurant. That doesn't work out; when Taew gets there the place is closed. The next few episodes find Taew hustling. Wherever Taew works, she steals - she steals recipes, techniques, and secrets. Her first real break is as a prep cook at Samran Kitchen. There she becomes like family with the rest of the staff. Pol and Jom work there and they will factor heavily in her life. “Do you remember me?” Jom actually helped her catch a bus when she first arrived in town, but that was more than a couple years ago. The beautiful Taew doesn't recall him, but he's never forgotten her.

Gybzy Wanida Termthanaporn (Bumbat Ruk Bum Roong Sook, Mae Lueak Kerd Dai) plays Taew. Her earthy voice is a pleasure to listen to. Jason Young (The Crown Princess, Eng and Chang, The Deadline) is Pol. Handsome and tall, he's a bit of a womanizer - More distant. More condescending. More reserved. He would be the choice in a romance novel. Louis Thanawin Teeraphosukarn (The Eclipse, Only Boo!) plays Jom. He's like a puppy dog - always there, always pawing over her, always helping. Taew has friendly affection for him, but it's platonic. He has an uphill climb if he wants to cultivate her feelings to grow into something more. Jom makes mistakes by sometimes behaving clingy, paranoid, and demanding. They both had some growing up to do. Director E Suphakorn Riansuwan also brought us Win 21 Ded Jai Tur and Something Family.

MC is nicely done and a pleasant watch. Taew's journey to Bangkok is jazzed up with cut-outs and hand-drawn animation. The shots of food, the cooking, and the glorious entrees are seriously appetizing - don't watch this hungry, you'll just torture yourself. It is strange how relaxing it can be to watch food being prepared and cooked on TV. The characters are developed well and they maintain interest throughout each episode. Taew never gives up. She keeps going forward. She's inspiring.

Like mother, like son: Mom had trouble deciding between two men and the son seems to be having the same struggle in deciding between two women. The sexualized modern-day characters that are sharing the story don't add much seasoning to the main dish - I didn't like Shane, the narrator, much in the beginning. After the initial episodes they focus more on the story, which has worthy themes. Sometimes nice guys finish first. Persevering together is the primary theme. Survival is the sub-theme: “Women like us often have to do the opposite of what we actually want to do. Because we can't bear any more pain,” we hear. That's worth chewing on.


〰QUOTE〰

There are times in life when you come to a fork in the road. You know the New Path is better. However you're not ready to take it because you haven't come to the end of the old one.


〰IMHO〰

RATINGS
Directing 7
Writing 6.8
Acting 7.5
Romance 5
Flutters 4
Art 7
Sound & music 6
Ending 7.4

LEVELS
Warmth 4.5
Action/ Excitement 3
Laughs 2
Tears 3
Fright 1
Tension/Anxiety 3
Gore 2
Thought provocation 4
Snores 0

Re-watch? This one's in the good-to-pass-the-time category, but I may never pass this way again….


Age 14+
Language: pr!ck, $h!+ - maybe one or twice each

This is no chaste Kdrama or Cdrama.
The FL offers to do a strip tease for the gods if they grant her prayers. She tells her boss she wants to propose something. Next thing she knows, he's naked. The guys telling the story is a womanizer. Frequently, there's shirtless guys,

In order of ~lite & trite~ to ~heavy & serious~ you may also like:

♥️ -
C:
A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5;
Find Yourself 8.9;
The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8;
The Sleepless Princess 9.1;
Wait, My Youth-8.4

Romance junkies only
When I Fly Towards You-7.8,
You are my destiny-6.8 cute and sweet and 1/2 padding,
Meteor Garden-7.4 - 70% flowing 30% dragging and BOF is better,
Hidden Love-7.8

K:
A Witch's Love 7.8;
Love To Hate You 8.9;
Touch Your Heart 8.2; Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha-8.4,
Crash Landing On You 9.1;
Oh My Ghost 10; Love Struck in the City 7.3,
It's Okay Not to Be Okay 9; ♡When the Camellia Blooms-8,
Hospital Playlist 9;
My Mister 9.5;

Japanese lite romcoms: Maid Sama-10, Mischievous Kiss Love in Tokyo-7.8, Love, Chunibyo And Other Delusions-8.4, Toradora-8.5


Taiwan
Age of Rebellion-9.5
Autumn's Concerto-7.2
The Fierce Wife-8
Two Fathers-7.5

Citeste mai mult

Outfoxed ¤ A Better Marble Trap °7.8° °Excellent°

He /planted/ something in her!

Yeo and Dam don't actually meet as much as collide, which caused the marble he's been cultivating for over 900 years to jump into her bo from his. Whoops. Yeo needs to find a way to get it back from her. If it stays in Dam too long it will kill her. Besides, he's been feeding it energy for nearly a millennium. When he's done, he will no longer be a Gumiho, he will be human. He was nearly done - and he ain't starting over now! So they become roommates. That way, he can keep an eye on her condition until he figures out a way to retrieve his precious property. She declined, initially, until she realized she will feel deathly ill if he's not around to provide assistance.

What's a Gumiho?

It began in old Joseon.

Rumor has it, it's a fox demon that disguises itself as a beautiful human woman in order to devour the liver of its victim. Maybe that isn't /completely/ true. Maybe the Gumiho is only trying to cultivate itself into a human, and eating livers, though quicker, is not required. It takes a thousand years the slow way, which is stealing human energy in dribs and draws by way of physical contact. All animals, including Gumihos, want to be human. Only humans can decide their own destiny.

Living together is no small thing. Yeo lays down some rules: No chicken. Chicken blood will weaken both of them. No men, especially men born in the Year of the Tiger, which is every male in Dam's year at school. No alcohol. What!?! He's gone too far. No booze. No chicken. No men… What is there for her to live for? She hits him back with some rules of her own, like stop smoking. So what if it's a 400 year-old habit? He might like smoking, but chicken is /her/ favorite thing. Company misery doeth love.

The first third of the show is them getting used to eachother and us getting a peek at them and their daily lives. Yeo is in danger. If he doesn't become human by the 1000 year point he'll turn into an evil spirit and be targeted for elimination. Dam has a similar deadline. If they don't extract the marble from her inside of a year, she'll die. In ep7 we are introduced to a baddie that covets the marble, which puts Dam in more danger. This incident directly leads to a plot shift - a reset, if you will.

The second half of the show is them trying to make their relationship work. A Gumiho isn't supposed to be in a relationship with a human, so they have more to work out than the average couple. Like good foxes, they dig through it all. There are some physical incompatibility issues, the main one being that his desires get confused. He loves her. He wants to kiss and hold her, but he also has a primal desire to drain her energy. It sounds alot like Edward and Bella from Twilight along with any number of similar vampire love stories. In a moment of passion it could be rather dangerous. An ancient deity doesn't like what they're doing and throws a wrench into the works that becomes more fodder for relationship issues they must work out. It advances the plot well.

MRiaG is a 2021 release that is rated 91 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 16 65-minute delightful episodes. It's an excellent romcom - no more, no less, and that is good enough. My only complaint is that some of the drama was poorly manufactured since he can teleport. Any emergency can be instantly addressed so their consternation sometimes seems misplaced. Jang Ki Yong (Sweet & Sour-7, My Mister-9.5, The Atypical Family) plays ML Shin Woo “Yeo”. If you haven't seen him before, you would probably be surprised to hear that he can play a first-rate thug. It's nice to see him play a sweetheart here. He's not just a sweetheart. He's got to walk a fine line between stoicism and experiencing brand new emotions. “When you live for such a long time, everything feels like a season that will eventually pass. Everything feels meaningless. But you seem true to yourself every moment. I like your honesty.” So says Yeo to Lee Dam (Lee Hye Ri of May I Help You). Ms Lee is the central character of Reply 1988-8.6, a comfy show about friends, family, and neighbors. She has a genuine infectious exuberance that she brings to everything. Previously dubbed “The Nations Little Sister” after appearing on the show Real Men, SHE is the reason this show is as fun to watch as it is.

The secondary romances are also nice. Kang Han Na (Familiar Wife-8.5, Just Between Lovers, Start-up-8) is Yeo ‘s longtime (we're talking 700 years) friend, Yang Hye Sun. She was a Gumiho, but she recently became human. She has more to do in this series than most shows where she often plays an ice queen/human figurine. I like her in this. Kim Do Wan (Moment at Eighteen, Doona!) and Park Kyung Hye (Goblin, Destined with You, My Lovely Liar) are Dam's BFFs, Choi Soo Kyung and Do Jae Jin. Bae In Hyuk (Under the Queen's Umbrella, Why Her?-8, At a Distance, Spring Is Green) is Gye Sun Woo, a popular guy at school who first comes onto Dam as a farce but ends up developing a thing for her. As cute as this actor is, with double-deep-double-dimples, I've seen him twice and both times he plays second fiddle. Go Kyung Pyo (Chicago Typewriter, Private Lives-8.1) makes a surprise appearance mid-show. It's fun to see him across from Lee Hye Ri in an echo back to Reply 1988. They can't hide the warmth they have for eachother in their scenes. The screenwriters are Baek Sun Woo (What's Wrong with Secretary Kim-6.8, Doctor Slump) & Choi Bo Rim (Touch Your Heart-8.2). Director Nam Sung Woo also brought us the very popular Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, Because This Is My First Life-7.7, and 100 Days My Prince-5.5.

This is a cute couple. “This is our first date. You think I came unprepared? I've been keeping myself updated with the latest culture via news and books. And I've been watching romantic comedy dramas, so I'm very well aware of the latest dating trends. Plus, I can use magic. You won't be disappointed.” So says the 999 year old fox. What he thinks is current intel on dates is actually 20 years old. (For him, that IS current;). “I'm in love. I can't describe this feeling. It's soft and hot. I can't either swallow it or spit it out.” Dam is quite elegant in delivering these lines. “This doesn't mean anything. It's another meaningless relationship that will end soon.” That's what Yeo tells himself, until he can no longer deny it. They are mellow and comfy. Her joy is contagious, he caught it, the viewer catches it, and almost no one has any desire to turn back. They spent some time apart, but it didn't take.

“According to Mingxin Baojian, one's mouth and tongue are the door to anger and worries, and they are the axes that kill one's body,” we hear. Amen - preach it! While I've relegated this to simple romcom status, MRiaG is not low IQ. The writers show their depth-of-field in several places. The most popular boy at school supposedly is interested in Dam. Not believing that she can truly be attractive to him, Dam is skeptical of his motives. Yeo (already outfoxed by her himself) quotes poignantly from an old story: “To him, she seemed so beautiful, so seductive, so different from ordinary people, that he could not understand why no one was as disturbed as he by the clicking of her heels on the paving stones, why no one else's heart was wild with the breeze stirred by the sighs of her veils, why everyone did not go mad with the movements of her braid, the flight of her hands, the gold of her laughter. He could not understand why anyone wouldn't fall in love with her.” (Excuse me while I fan myself). ‘If you live long enough, you begin to become indifferent to everything,’ Yeo realizes. “Feigning love is not love. The more it's done, the emptier one feels.” Yeo had been posing and faking and acting for a millenia. Dam came to his house knowing his secret. He could be real in her presence. He became comfortable with her. That will make an average looking person a “10” to the beholder. “According to Sajasohak, one must be clean-cut and well-dressed. It means you should be neat and dressed nicely.” Dam is alittle casual about cleanliness. Instead of berating her, Yeo appeals to her best nature.

The entire show appeals to our best nature. Not much happens, yet every episode is a treat. It simply works. They also tie up the last episode very nicely. Not all shows do, so it's appreciated. Any romcom fan will find MRiaG to be their natural habitat.


〰QUOTES〰

There is always some madness in love, as Frederick Nietzsche wrote in "Thus Spoke Zarathustra”. That you like someone means that you are misunderstanding that person in your own way.

Dishonesty cannot beat honesty. Never.

The more you know the more you see.

〰IMHO〰

RATINGS
Directing 8
Writing 7
Acting 8
Romance 6
Flutters 5
Art 7.5
Sound & music 7.7 Best song - My All
Ending 8.3

LEVELS
Warmth 6
Action/ Excitement 3
Laughs 3
Tears 3.5
Fright 3
Tension/Anxiety 2
Gore 2
Thought provocation 3
Snores 0


Age 12+
Sime scary elements. A disturbing evil spiri

Rated TV-15

Re-watch? Sure would


Loving someone from “another world” - In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:

99 days with the Superstar-7,
The Legend of the Blue Sea-7.2
Live Up To Your Name-7.6;
My Secret Romance 7 (if you ff thru overdone flashbacks),
Boys Over Flowers 8 ~ melodrama to the max,
The Bride of Habaek 7,
Hotel del Luna-8.4,
A Korean Odyssey-7.2,
Romance is a bonus book-7.9;
Heirs 7.3,
That Winter, The Wind Blows 7,
Something in the Rain 9,
C: Well-Intended Love 7.5 Rom-porn - extra points for the dopamine,
You are my destiny 6.8 cute, sweet & 1/2 padding,
A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5,
Find Yourself 8.9

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Jack & the Hedgehog Take a Bite Outta the Hood °8.4° °Excellent°

Yoon Hye Jin (HJin) loses it one day. Total Mariah-moment. She quits. She drinks. She trashes her boss online. HJin is a skilled dentist with a conscience. This, invariably, put her at odds with her greedy boss who expected her to prescribe unnecessary, but expensive treatment for their unwitting patients. She couldn't take the pain anymore, and extraction was necessary. Now she's jobless and no one wants to hire a ‘poison pill’. Going keyboard commando on her employer put all her potential employers’ teeth on edge.

What does she do? She goes for a ride. Her wandering takes her to a quaint seaside town. Her love affair begins with the sign over one establishment: Coffee in the middle of the day. Beer in the moonlight… But she ends up having a fateful day: She loses her shoes. Then her phone dies. She can't find her money either. At every turn she received reluctant assistance from a local yocal, Hong Doo Shik (DShik).

HCCC is a 2021 release that is rated 90 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 16 70-minute episodes. Shin Ha Eun of Love Next Door and The Crowned Clown is the screenwriter who brings small town magic to life here. The deep-dimpled and lovely Shin Min Ah (Chief of Staff, Oh My Venus-7.4, My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho, Our Blues-8.5) is HJin. She's the hedgehog - get too close you'll get stuck. Kim Seon Ho (Welcome to Waikiki S2, 100 Days My Prince-5.5) is DShik, our Jack-of-all-trades. Since Start-up-8 and Strongest Delivery Man-6.6, I've been a fan. It's wonderful to see him play the romantic lead. Lee Sang Yi (Youth of May, When the Camellia Blooms-8, Han RiverPolice-7.4) once again shows his range as Ji Sung Hyun. The magnificent Lee Jung Eun has a guest appearance in ep1; I think she's my favorite actress right now. The rest of the cast is wonderful, and the music might even be better. After Shazaming ‘Wish’ by Choi Yu Ree I pulled the entire playlist up on Spotify. All of the music is sensational. It compounds the delight factor. HCCC is excellent. There's a little bit of filler in double-digit episodes, but it doesn't suffer much from it.

I'm a fan of the director, Yoo Je Won. He's brought us Oh My Ghost-10, and the popular Love Next Door, & Crash Course in Romance. This Director exudes warmth, has an appreciation for good food, and really “gets” good music, particularly jazz. Like OMG, the soundtrack for HTCCC is stellar. Top tier. After some bold & underlined question marks (CV overview follows review), I am so happy that he's settled back into his own and is cranking out such amazing stuff, like I know that he can.

The main character in HCCC is the home town. HJin is from Seoul. She is used to high fashion and upscale amenities. The people that live in her new home lead different lives and rely on eachother heavily. We have the young, the old, the men, the women, the silly and the wise. There's a full cast and wide variety of well-developed characters that help push the plot. They also like to sink their teeth into some juicy gossip. After taking the plunge and opening a dental practice there, HJin offends everyone with her unconsciously elitist attitude, but with DShik's help from the shadows, she eventually settles into small town life. The next closest dentist is an hour away, so customers begin to wander in.

When HJin & DShik finally start dating, she wants to keep it a secret. The town is full of busybodies, afterall. Most of it isn't mean-spirited, but that's besides the point. Every time someone happens upon a sweet moment they are sharing, she turns around and slaps or kicks him. She even gives him a bloody nose in an effort to throw the dogs off. He almost doesn't survive their initial secretive phase. As it turns out, none of it was working anyway. Everyone saw through it.

They run into relationship static at one point. She knows he's keeping hurts from the past bottled up. She wants him to open up. She comes to the conclusion that she should wait for him. She tells him that if he promises to open up to her one day, then she'll wait until he's ready. He can take as long as he wants to “open wide”. I think that's the right answer instead of drilling him for what she wants, when she wants it.

HCCC digs into the root of things once or twice. One of the characters gets a beautiful speech followed up shortly by quite a beautiful death scene. Rather than the sequence feeling sad, it is a triumph of a simple life, lived well, to the fullest satisfaction. That is the theme of HCCC: A simple life and being content with just enough is the key to happiness. We let our endless wants create discontent and dissatisfaction. Choosing simplicity and contentment is choosing joy and peace. Love will always follow Along those lines, HCCC is a pleasant trip to the seaside with nothing complicated or heavy. Quite the opposite.


〰 IMHO 〰

RATINGS
Directing 8.2
Writing 7.8
Acting 8
Romance 7.7
Flutters 5
Art 7
Sound & music 8.8
Ending 8

LEVELS
Warmth 6.5
Action/ Excitement 3
Laughs 4
Tears 3
Fright 2
Tension/Anxiety 2
Gore 1
Thought provocation 5
Snores 1

Re-watch? Likely

Age 12+
Language: PG-13, but there isn't much of that

Rated
TV-14: Parents Strongly Cautioned.

In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:

Fish out water tales:
Live Up To Your Name-7.6;
Mr. Queen 8.5,
The Legend of the Blue Sea-7.2 - It's exceptional except for 2 episodes,
Touch your heart 8.2,
Crash Landing On You 9.1,
Hotel del Luna-8.4,


Modern Day Kromcoms-
Mad For Each Other-7.7 ~silly fun;
Crazy Love-7.8,
My First First Love-8,
A Witch's Love 7.8,
Love to Hate You 8.9,
Her Private Life 8,
Romance is a bonus book-7.9;
Oh My Ghost 10,
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9,
Love Struck in the City 7.3,
Our Blues-8.7,
Descendants Of The Sun-8.3,
Familiar Wife-8.5,
Because This Is My First Life-7.7,
Hospital Playlist 9,
My Mister 9.5,
I'll See You When the Weather is Fine 9

Historical/Period -
My Only Love Song 8.7 ~ excellent comedy,
My Sassy Girl 8.5,
Saimdang 8.5,
The King's Affection 8.3,

Romance junkies only -
My Secret Romance 7 (if you ff thru overdone flashbacks),
99 days with the Superstar-7,
Boys Over Flowers 8 ~ melodrama to the max,
The Bride of Habaek 7,
A Korean Odyssey-7.2,
Heirs 7.3,
That Winter, The Wind Blows 7,
Something in the Rain 9,
C: Well-Intended Love 7.5 Rom-porn - extra points for the dopamine,
You are my destiny 6.8 cute, sweet & 1/2 padding, When I Fly Towards You-7.8, Find Yourself 8.9,
Hidden Love-7.8,
Wait, My Youth-8.4,
A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5.

{Yoo Je Won Career summary: The solidly rated High School King of Savvy is his first effort. Oh My Ghost, as highly rated as it is, is still under-appreciated. Not only are the 4 leads (as well as supporting actor Lim Ju-hwan) absolute savants, but there is not one wasted line of dialogue. Everything points to something else. There's constant use of foreshadowing, metaphors, and other techniques that don't stop. Every viewing of the show reveals only more. Furthermore, it's a laugh-out-loud delight in the first half and then gets genuinely teary later on. I suspect it suffers because things don't get rolling until the very end of ep1, so a chunk of viewers probably didn't stick with it. Nevertheless, it is a masterpiece and catapulted this director and the lead actors to super-stardom. Tomorrow With You-7, which also stars Shin Min Ah, was next. I liked it very much, but some of the logic is deeply flawed - so much so that I cannot rate it above a 7. The positives outweigh the bad, but it should have been better. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes was well received and followed up by Abyss-4.7, which is a complete failure in every way possible. It is a debacle and there is almost nothing redeeming about it, other than the good looks of the ML. It is over-rated by kind viewers, many of which are likely reacting to a dearth of good romantic content from Hwood. Abyss is better than most Hwood gunk, but it is not worth watching once, given the many better features Asia has to offer. Hi Bye Mama!-6.5 has plenty of positives, but I wouldn't choose to watch it again. It was intended to be a ray of hope for people that have suffered loss, which was exactly what I was going through at the time, but it didn't do it for me. With HTCCC, CCiR, and LND he seems to have recaptured his magic.}

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Soul Survivors - AoS Concludes

AoS-2 is a seamless continuation of S1. It picks up about 3 years after the dramatic events of S1's close.

They switch up the FL and she's got a very different personality than our S1 FL. She's also suffering from memory loss which explains part of the change.

As the show opens it appears that they've spent a lot of money on the special effects. It's quite beautiful. The music is top tier also. Blue Flower by LIA is Shazamable. Aching, by Kassy, is too, as is I′m Sorry. by Ailee, and Raindrops, by Gummy.

AoS doesn't take itself seriously. In S2 I would have preferred for them to go lofty, but they opted to go lower - they get more nonsensical than I would prefer. It's still a fantastic watch.

If I wasn't already familiar with Chinese fantasy, I may not have had those thoughts. Chinese fantasy, despite its often clunky special effects, is arguably the best in the world, and AoS has Chinese influence written all over it. If you like it, alchemize your watch list to include these amazing Cdramas:
Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber 9-Kung-fu!,
Eternal Love-8.3,
Douluo Continent 9.4;
Handsome Siblings 8.7;
Ancient Love Poetry 8.6;
The Sleepless Princess 9.1;
The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8,
Love Between Fairy and Devil 8.9,
Love and Redemption-10

AoS-2 drops off slightly from S1, but it is a solid conclusion to the popular show. I wrote more about it in my S1 review.

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Shifters Grifters Drifters & Heart Lifters °7.9° °Excellent°

Being the King's son has only brought Jang Uk misery and danger. Why? The Alchemy of souls. The name itself is a riddle. It is a spell that switches souls and bodies... and it's forbidden: We can't letl the bodies of the rich, young, beautiful and gifted all be stolen by people who know the spell, afterall. As AoS opens, the king is dying. He knows his mage is mastering the spell, so he demands that the mage switch bodies with him, as the king is determined to produce a royal heir. Jang Uk is that heir. He's got the DNA of the mage, whose body fathered him. The man who took over that body is really the one who created him, yet, they have no DNA in common. It's almost like Jang Uk has no father, which is kind of sad. Nevertheless, according to the maxims of AoS, Jang Uk is of the royal line. Even though the King's star, which marks the birth of a future king, appeared in the sky several months after the King's passing, the court believes the king died childless. Another man becomes king, another child becomes the crown prince, and the mage is forced to raise a child that isn't his.

While this is going on, an assassin has also been born. She (Naksu) wasn't actually /born/ a ruthless kiler; she was made. After her family was killed, a master adopted her with the intent to transform her into a killing machine. Over the years, She was fed pain and pressure until her bloodlust raged. The more skilled she became, the more difficult she was to control. Once she breaks free of her captors and starts mucking around, her quest for revenge against those who wronged her, coupled with her past crimes, land her on the most wanted list. As she's hunting, she's /being/ hunted - relentlessly. In fact, in ep1, she only escapes death by switching bodies via the AoS spell. Her emergent escape is incomplete, however: Her soul now resides in the body of a blind, weak woman named Mu-Deok, and Mu-Deok is not free. Mu-Deok is a slave - a slave that has just been sold. Who bought her? A mage. This mage is a near powerless man who's had his magical energy sealed from the day of his birth. Though his family is privileged, he lives as a lower class being in a world of powerful mages. What makes it worse is that his parentage is always questioned. His father has never acknowledged him, so the general perception is that he's a b@$tard. What's his name? Jang Uk.

Thus they meet. Jang Uk quickly realizes she has abilities and knowledge that he desperately needs. In private she becomes his tutor - his master. In public, she's his servant.

What's so marvelous about AoS? Director Park Joon Hwa has brought us hit after hit, such as Because This Is My First Life-7.7, What's Wrong with Secretary Kim-6.8, and Touch Your Heart-8.2. He does not disappoint here. The filming is gorgeous. The sets, art, and costumes are impressive. A poetry book with blank pages becomes a scene of lofty elegance. Jank Uk's azure robe is resplendent. It's one visual sensation after another.

The acting is everyday Kdrama - it's excellent. Lee Jae Wook (Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol, When the Weather Is Fine-9) is the ML. Give him his Grade-A Korean Beef sticker. He's just another everyday Korean male lead. 'Everyday' means looking very (VERY!) fine, likely very tall, with a rich baritone voice, and excellent acting skills. Per Capita, Korea trounces Hwood when it comes to cranking them out. Jung So Min (The Smile Has Left Your Eyes, Love Next Door) is S1's Mu-Deok. (Lee Jae Wook's head is twice the size of hers. It's unsettling to look at). In flashbacks, her character is deadly serious. In her new form we gradually see that she's clever, moody, and always ready with a quip. She has a dry wit, a no-nonsense manner, and she's rather likable. When she's fighting back tears it's a nifty bit of acting. The pair's interaction is tangible. Mu-Deok must also have an overload of pheromones because she catches every guy's attention. I must say that Oh Na Ra (Racket Boys-8.3, My Mister-9.5) who plays maidservant Kim (a mother figure to JU) and Park So Jin (Sh**ting Stars, The King: Eternal Monarch-8) who runs the guesthouse/bar in town are both adorable. Oh my, the Crown Prince's voice is divine. It's impossible for me to dislike the prince because Shin Seung Ho (from Moment at Eighteen) is so pitch-perfect. {Before we get into it further, if you're watching this with the English language dubbing, you're missing some beautiful voices, particularly the men. You're also missing half of the performance. If that's the only way you can tolerate it, then it's better than not seeing AOS at all, but try an episode in the original language and see how it goes. Subtitle proficiency often takes mere moments.}

There's laughs. An attempted book burning ends up as a lark. Half of the jokes are connected to one mage's tea. Some would rather turn to stone than give up their libido. Jang Uk and Mu-Deok are on the run and hide out at this master's place for a spell. This powerful master's secret is his chaste tea, which negates one's sex-drive. Jang Uk decides to give the brew a try and becomes a happy little busy bee. So busy. So SO happy. Working and chumming around with his new master; they're just two bros having a great day. Mu-Deok is irritated, but she can't figure out exactly why. When that tea runs out, things do get tangled. One must have a libido to understand true desperation and sadness, it seems.

The soundtrack is magical. In S2 I shazamed Blue Flower by LIA, Aching by Kassy is too, I′m Sorry by Ailee, and Raindrops by Gummy. There's a bar / guesthouse scene with wonderfully original music that takes me right to Mos Eisley Cantina in Star Wars. There's even some cool rock riffs here and there.

There's also love and bittersweet loss.

The best thing about AoS, though, is how it does Chinese fantasy! The screenwriters are Hong Mi Ran Hong & Jung Eun who collaborated on Hotel del Luna-8.4, My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho, and more. These writers have already revealed their fascination with Chinese culture in A Korean Odyssey-7.2, which they based on the ancient Chinese work, Journey to the West. If you like AoS, just be aware that this show is pretty much a Chinese fantasy piece with Korean touches sprinkled everywhere. Despite some clunky special effects, China does amazing fantasy. AoS has more showmanship (or flare), and a kitschy sauciness that departs from the elegance that China breathes out, but the fact that the writer and director got inspiration from China is undeniable.

AoS could be improved upon. I love actress Jung So Min in Because This Is My First Life. Initially, she didn't seem like the best fit for Mu-Deok. The spark was missing, perhaps? I couldn't pin it down. It became clear that it is the writing and direction that falls short, not her performance. The story fails when it comes to fully realizing her character and motivations. Her personality is ill-defined as are her internal struggles. JU's early attraction to Mu-Deok, before he realizes what's going on, is played for cheap grins. it's slightly off and takes away from the grace of the show. The bad guys should have been scarier. The FL is flipped over to Go Youn Jung (of The School Nurse Files-7.6 & Law School-8) in S2. She has no memories and he doesn't recognize her, so they need to fall in love all over again. It should have been awesome, but their delivery is barely above average. After wondering if Jung So Min was right for the role, I ended up missing her quite a bit in S2. Finally, they are inconsistent with the rules they laid down, especially in S2.

I'm sincerely a fan of these writers. Anything with their names on it is a draw for me. My love for them is warm and cozy but not ‘Firebird hot,’ to borrow from the show. Sci-fi/fantasy is my favorite genre (they are commonly lumped together as one genre though they are actually quite different from eachother, but there's no need to get into that now). The Sci-fi fantasy genre is not one for dummies. The best authors are masters of intricate world-building with everything fitting together like a hand-crafted 1-second repeating pocket watch - Parameters are laid down and strictly adhered to - The lows are heartbreaking - The highs are euphoric. AoS isn't like that. Its weakest link is the writing. More for fun, AoS doesn't take itself seriously. Besides the levity, there's a fair amount of sheer stupidity. With a perpetually average IQ, they stay in the shallow end, while I would have preferred the series to carry more weight. It manages to stay in an acceptable range (Look at the ratings! People are crazy about it!). A lower degree-of-difficulty does lower the maximum score, though. The writing prevents my fingers from going beyond a 7.9. Just can't do it. But I still liked it very much.

If you like AoS, alchemize your watch list to include these amazing Cdramas: Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber 9-Kung-fu!,
Eternal Love-8.3,
Douluo Continent 9.4;
Handsome Siblings 8.7;
Ancient Love Poetry 8.6;
The Sleepless Princess 9.1;
The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8,
Love Between Fairy and Devil 8.9,
Love and Redemption-10


QUOTES~》

If you're not going to do anything, just die.

Evil always does what it wants without ever stopping. Why does virtue always have to prove itself over and over again?

RATINGS
Directing 8
Writing 7.4
Acting 8,
Romance 6
Flutters 5
Art 9.3
Sound & music 8
Ending 8.4

LEVELS
Warmth 5
Action/ Excitement 7
Laughs 4
Tears 4
Fright 4
Tension/Anxiety 3.5
Gore 4
Thought provocation 4
Snores 0

Age 12+
Scary elements violence gore

S2 language b@$+@rd, $h!+

Re-watch? Likely

Kdrama romances with a fantasy element:

My Only Love Song 8.7 ~ excellent comedy,
Mr. Queen 8.5,
The Legend of the Blue Sea-7.2,
Live Up To Your Name-7.6,
Oh My Ghost 10,
The Bride of Habaek-7

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Guardians, Old Souls, & Outlaw Gods °6.7° °good f/u to AwtG2W°

Rated 85 on AWiki, AwtG49 is a 2018, 141-minute continuation of Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds. It picks up right where the first left off.

As the flick starts out, we learn that one of the Guardians has to go on trial for crimes that he committed while protecting our protagonist in the first film. (Who knew the Afterlife was so litigious? It's Hell, indeed). The other reapers are tasked with collecting a soul that's been protected well past his death date by an outlaw god, Sung Joo Shin (played by the adorable Ma Dong-Seok). God-Sung won't let the old man die before his orphan grandson graduates from school. Speaking of orphans, Korean features aren't kind to them and this trend continues here, sadly.

AwtG2W follows Kim Ja-Hong, a fireman who dies in the line of duty. When he reaches the Gate of the Afterlife, where he can be reincarnated after completing seven trials: betrayal, violence, filial piety, murder, indolence, deceit, and injustice.

Much of the cast here is the same as AwtG2W. Why mess with excellence? Cha Tae-Hyun (Narco-Saints, Assassination,1987: When the Day Comes) is the lead, Kim Ja-Hong. Cha Tae Hyun (Team Bulldog: Off-duty Investigation, Moving) portrays Kim Ja Hong. The dolorous Ju Ji Hoon (Kingdom-8.3, Blood Free-8.5, Team Bulldog: Off-duty Investigation) is Hae Won Maek. Kim Hyang Gi (Innocent Witness, Salon De Nabi) plays Duk Choon, and the wonderful Ma Dong Seok (The Bros-7.4, Train to Busan-7.8, The Roundup, Bad Guys) plays outlaw deity Sung Joo Shin. Lee Jung Jae, the lead of Squid Game, portrays King Yum Ra God of Death. The screenwriter/director is Kim Yong Hwa (200 Pounds Beauty-6.5, The Moon).

AwtG49 is, all-around, more of the same. Same strengths, same weaknesses. Its biggest deductions come from a failure to fully explore its potential emotional range. The fighting is excellent with a particularly grand battle scene. The cinematography is beautiful. It's a great movie-night-movie.

If you enjoy fantasy, even though China is often guilty of sub-standard special effects, they still put out the best stuff in the world. Anyone who enjoys the AwtG films should like Douluo Continent-9.4 and Handsome Siblings-8.7 even more.


QUOTE〰

Those who meet must part at some point.


Re-watch? It's not unlikely

Age 14+ Language: PG-13 language, probably less than 5 occurrences.


In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:

Crash Landing On You 9.1;
Oh My Ghost 10;
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9;
My Mister 9.5;

Period -
C: Overlord 8.4,
Under the Power 8.6,
The Rebel Princess 9.1,
The Sword and the Brocade 8.6 (in ancient Chinese opera style),
The Rise of Phoenixes 9
K:
My Only Love Song 8.7 excellent comedy;
Mr. Queen 8.5;
My Sassy Girl 8.5; Saimdang-8.5,
The King's Affection 8.3;
Mr. Sunshine 9

Fantasy
K: Alchemy of Souls-8.3,

C: Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9;
Ancient Love Poetry 8.6;
Love and Redemption 10

Thrills -
C: Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber 9-Kung-fu!;
K:
Mystic Pop-up Bar-8.2, K2 8; Uncanny counter season-1 only °S1-8.4 S2-4,
Private Lives 8.1;
Sisyphus 8;
Tunnel 8.1; Train to Busan-7.8,
Signal 8.6;
The Man From Nowhere 8.9,
Black 9;
Squid Game 8.4;
Kingdom 8.3;
Sweet Home 8.4

Citeste mai mult

Trial By Afterlife °7.2° °good°

It opens at the close, for our ML, a fireman who dies while heroically saving a girl's life. The next thing he knows, he's walking toward the Gate of the Afterlife, where he can be reincarnated after completing seven trials: betrayal, violence, filial piety, murder, indolence, deceit, and injustice.

AwtG2W, a 2017 239-minute release that is rated 86 on AWiki, is about these trials in conjunction with static from the living world as his family's drama continues to play out. It's a review of the hard decisions he had to make in his life, and it's quite moving, in spots. Along with his two grim reapers guides he barely escapes a couple of the trials. Quick thinking, and a look at things from another angle keep him from sinking to the bottom. (‘All you cared about was money? You are guilty!’ ‘Wait, he only cared about money because he had to provide for his mother and brother!’ ‘Not guilty, then.’)

The acting is seamless. Cha Tae-Hyun (Narco-Saints, Assassination,1987: When the Day Comes) is the lead, Kim Ja-Hong. Cha Tae Hyun (Team Bulldog: Off-duty Investigation, Moving) plays Kim Ja Hong. The somber Ju Ji Hoon (Kingdom-8.3, Blood Free-8.5, Team Bulldog: Off-duty Investigation) is Hae Won Maek. Kim Hyang Gi (Innocent Witness, Salon De Nabi) is Duk Choon. The Screenwriter & Director is Kim Yong Hwa (200 Pounds Beauty-6.5, The Moon).

The special effects are excellent (they are almost overdone) and the sets are beautiful. The Gate of the Afterlife scene is jammed with extras, creating a sprawling feel. The chase scenes are mad-good. There are no flaws. Despite its strengths, AwtG2W does not take our spirits and emotions along for the full ride. I liked this film quite a bit, but I didn't /love/ it. It's a fantasy thriller - a big budget one, and it's visually spectacular. At the same time, it is a simple tale of afterlife excitement with the message to not give up. Per Wiki, it is based on the webtoon series by Joo Ho-min & inspired by Joseon dynasty Buddhist paintings and early Buddhist texts of the Ten Kings of Hell.

Maybe it won't put your emotions through a trial, but it isn't dumbed-down in the least, either. “A sin that has been forgiven in the real world will not be judged in the afterlife,” one judge says. Would that were true. Work on forgiveness. I find that I cannot forgive without divine assistance, but the release of anger and hatred does enhance peace. It is something we can all work on to make the world less of a hell. AwtG2W has the right combination of fun, excitement, and depth to make it a good weekend watch for a family with teens&older as it reinforces the best ideals. None of us wants to be found guilty of betrayal, violence, filial impiety, murder, indolence, deceit, and injustice, afterall, do we?



〰 QUOTE 〰

Can we think about it while we run?

〰 IMHO 〰

RATINGS
Directing 7
Writing 6.5
Acting 7.7
Art 8.4
Sound & music 6
Ending 8 and it continues….

LEVELS
Warmth 5
Action/ Excitement 7.8
Laughs 2
Tears 6
Fright 4
Tension/Anxiety 3
Gore 2
Thought provocation 4
Snores 0

Re-watch? Down the road… maybe


Age 14+ Language: scattered R-rated - $h!+ × 3, B@$+@rd, F? × 2, Pr!(k, Pu$$y

In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:

Modern Day:
Mad For Each Other 7.8 ~silly fun;
My Secret Romance 7 (if you ff thru overdone flashbacks);
A Witch's Love 7.8;
Love to Hate You 8.9;
Her Private Life 8;
Touch your heart 8.2;
Romance is a bonus book 7.9;
Boys Over Flowers 8 ~ melodrama to the max;
Crash Landing On You 9.1;
Oh My Ghost 10;
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9;
Love Struck in the City 7.3;
Hospital Playlist 9;
My Mister 9.5;
More Than Friends 8;
I'll See You When the Weather is Fine 9;
Something in the Rain 9

Historical/Period:
My Only Love Song 8.7 ~ excellent comedy;
Live Up To Your Name 7.6;
Mr. Queen 8.5;
My Sassy Girl / Yeopgijeogin Geunyeo 8.5;
Saimdang 8.5;
The King's Affection 8.3;
Mr. Sunshine 9

Try a Chinese historical fantasy romcom: The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8

Action/Sci-fi/fantasy:
K2 8;
Private Lives 8.1;
Sisyphus 8;
Tunnel 8.1;
Signal 8.6;
Black 9;
Squid Game 8.4;
Kingdom 8.3;
Sweet Home 8.4

Citeste mai mult

Let's Get to Crackin °good°

Sheng turns to say something and LZ isn't there. “Why are you walking behind me?” ”I guess I'm used to it,” our FL replies.

In UL, both of our leads need to come out of their shells. Zhu Yan Man Zi (Love Endures, Women Must Be Stronger, The Hypnotist) is our FL, Luo Zhi. She's clever, cerebral, composed, and classy. She's downright chaste, but even moreso, she is candid and considerate. She has enjoyed Sheng Huai Nan (Zhao Shun Ran from Memory Lost & Alliance) crushing on him from afar since HS. Sheng never noticed her - She was always behind him somewhere. He did notice the chicken, however. When she put on the chicken outfit, she wasn't such a chicken anymore, and she approached him. The presence of a large chicken ended up being a great distraction that gave Sheng a leg up in an uncomfortable situation. When he removed the chicken head to thank his savior, viola! There's a /girl/ here.

The handsome Sheng, who has had to deflect unwanted advances his whole life, doesn't realize that he DID notice LZ in HS. They were anonymously exchanging notes about schoolwork for a period of time. LZ knew who her pen pal was, but she prefers clandestine operations, so she never revealed her identity. The first year of college was uneventful, but now the 2nd year has started. She un-chickened the chick inside her that one day, and since Sheng lifted that chicken head, she's been walking around exposed. Guys are noticing her now, like Sheng's BFF. Hiding is LZ's safety mechanism. LZ prefers the periphery - a 5 meter minimum distance from Sheng; anything else is super-duper uncomfortable. So, when he asks her to accompany him to the amusement park on a group outing, she declines. “He is a victorious general in the examination field. But on the field of love, he is utterly defeated.”

There's nothing more tantalizing than a club that won't have you as a member. As a professional woman-deflector, being turned down is something new for Sheng. Who is this chick? He can't help but be interested…

UL is a 2019 release that is rated 7.8 on MDL. It is 1 season consisting of 24 30-40 minute episodes. It is NOT to be confused with the 2021 release that is of the same name, rated 7.5 on MDL with 38 episodes. {Why do they do that? China put out two versions of Love 020 in the same year. Hollywood has the same problem with overlapping similar projects.} Sheng’s BFF, Zhang Ming Rui, is played by Zhang Yi Chi (Rattan). The more he talked, the more I loved his voice. Credit when Gu: Actor, Li Jin Zhe (Zhong Guo Di, The Youth Memories), plays CEO Gu. He exudes sex appeal and it exceeds his mere looks. Part of it is his dreamy voice. This is director Ding Pei's first effort. She has nothing rated under 7.5 on MDL and, given the acuity of UL, I will actively seek out this director's works.

UL2019 is slow and steady. It moves at LZ's pace. Simple, cheerful piano and strings accompany the scenes, making it feel like romance-improv night at the coffee house. There's °slow° that's infuriating and °slow° that's relaxing - and a wide band of it is up to individual taste. UL works because the characters are well formed while the tempo, softly spoken words, and the soundtrack are like a caress. °Slow° works; Slow-and-stupid doesn't, and UL is never stupid. That is the value in this show - The actors are fine. The story is uneventful. The pace is plodding… the value here is in the writing: It is the witty dialogue, the intellectual quotes, & the insightful commentary on humanity.

They end up involved in the drama club and put on a production of Shakespeare's 12th night. {Apparently, China is in love with Shakespeare ↪ and Shakespeare's works seem akin to China's historical pieces in many ways.} The translation-of-the-translation is beautiful:

¤Women are not big-hearted. A woman's love is like a person's taste. It can be tasted on the tip of the tongue but not in the organs. My love is like a hungry sea, which can digest everything. Don't compare them to each other¤

◇I know how women love men. One of my sisters fell in love with a man◇

¤And what was her past?¤

◇It's blank. She never told anyone about her love, and she let depression bottle up inside of her until it destroyed her, ruining her beauty. She pined away. Illness and sorrow tormented her while she waited patiently, smiling despite her sadness. Doesn't that sound like true love?◇

Thus is their version of 12th night and, quite obviously, some of the inspiration for the show. Actress, Zhu, is marvelous in the scene. She's acting as a person who pretends to be acting but what she's saying is true, so she's not really acting. Anyway, the acting is great.

Rain Shen (Alliance) plays LZ's roomie, Jiang Bai Li. Each of these girls is getting major interference from the exes of their love interests. The always composed LZ doesn't handle attention, nor interference, well. (“You are too cautious!,” LZ's mom laments). Hanging around Sheng, the campus lightning rod, is crossing a wide and dangerous road for a timid chicken like LZ. She had reinforced her protective bubble-of-isolation over & over again. It's talon-proof. This is just another form of pride, and it will alienate a person. People can be horrible, but isolation becomes a sickness in the bones. Too much alone time will make a person very, very off-kilter ~>> weird. It's difficult to find decent people. When we do, we shouldn't shut them out over fear. That is what LZ begins to do with Sheng, once he notices her. As Sheng makes overtures, LZ becomes terrified and shrinks away.

Nevertheless, things get cluckin, and they're going well. Her shell starts to CRACK. At the first sign of static, LZ runs away like a roadrunner. The agenda-driven mean girls are hen-pecking, and try to make it look like LZ manipulated a situation. Sheng's forced to “major” in interpersonal analytics that semester in order to sort out fact from fiction. Part of the sorting process is managing fear. The mean girls played on his fears. Author Terry Goodkind writes that people will believe a thing because they want it to be true or because they're afraid it's true. Fear is useful if it guides us, but not if it rules us or turns us into fodder for manipulation.

The Legend of the White Snake is brought up as an analogy. Per Wiki, it is “a Chinese legend centered around a romance between a man named Xu Xian and a female snake spirit named Bai Suzhen. It is counted as one of China's Four Great Folktales.” In the show TLOWS-4.5, unrequited love turns a young girl into a villainous monster; she is a constant pest and causes lots of trouble. Sheng’s friends keep bringing it up.

Before the end, Sheng's world will crack. Towards the close of the show, they get into a drama that seems plucked out of nowhere. There are a couple of tiny hints at a family issue from the past, but the build-up is insufficient. That last story arc didn't play as well as the rest of the show. It is worth noting that the secondary romances aren't bad, but they aren't nearly as good as the primary one.


▫ ▪✴Now for some Scooby Snacks✴▪ ▫

✴They each buy a seed with a word burned into it. When the seed grows, the word appears on the plant, itself. How awesome is that?

✴They are in law school and they do a mock trial of the OJ Simpson case.

✴Always dignified, even though she is a bit chicken, LZ won't be pushed around. “You have to try this drink or your life won't be complete,” Sheng urges. ”I prefer a flawed life,” she shoots back.

✴I love how the walls in the girls' dorm are a tribute to Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. LZ frequently mentions the anime Only Yesterday which is a 1991 Ghibli movie. Sheng also likes the film.

✴“Misunderstandings happen when two people are not direct with each other. It results in frustration… Face him bravely,” A wise friend cautions.

✴They are studying for the upcoming Marxism exam. “What's Marxism?” One of the guys wants to know.

✴On break they don their HS uniforms and sneak into class together. Cute.

✴“When an attractive man tells a lie, he could be quite good at it.” LZ is warned by a woman who got burned.

✴Have you heard a quote from Mencken? “A man makes love by braggadocio and a woman makes love by listening. Once a woman passes a certain point in intelligence, she finds it impossible to get a husband. She simply cannot go on listening to men without snickering.”

Thank goodness our capable LZ didn't pass that point. She's been a chicken that moved like a turtle all of her life. But in the second year of college, she joined the human race.


(more) 〰QUOTES〰

People expect too much of women.

Heaven favors the courageous.


〰IMHO〰

RATINGS
Directing 7
Writing 7.5
Acting 7.7
Romance 7
Flutters 5
Art 5
Sound & music 7.5
Ending 7.5

LEVELS
Warmth 4.5
Action/ Excitement 1
Laughs 2.5
Tears 2.5
Fright 0
Tension/Anxiety 2
Gore 0
Thought provocation 5
Snores 2


Poli-wagging 1/10. They discuss Marxism. One of her professors says he was labeled as an intellectual and was about to be locked up! Yes, this is what is is to live in China, but it shocking they allowed that in a show.

Age 12+

Rated TV-PG-13: Parents Cautioned


Re-watch? This was great to watch once

In order of ~lite & trite~ to ~heavy & serious~ you may also like:

♥️ -
C:
A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5;
Find Yourself 8.9;
The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8;
The Sleepless Princess 9.1;
Wait, My Youth-8.4


K :
A Witch's Love 7.8;
Love To Hate You 8.9;
Touch Your Heart 8.2;
Crash Landing On You 9.1;
Oh My Ghost 10; Be Melodramatic-8.7

It's Okay Not to Be Okay 9;
Hospital Playlist 9;
My Mister 9.5;


Romance junkies only -
My Secret Romance-7 (if you ff thru overdone flashbacks),
Boys Over Flowers-8 ~ melodrama to the max,
The Bride of Habaek-7,
Heirs-7.3,
That Winter, The Wind Blows-7,
Something in them Rain-9,
C: Well-Intended Love-7.5 Rom-porn - extra points for the dopamine,
When I Fly Towards You-7.8,
Wait, My Youth-8.4,
A Little Thing Called First Love-8.5, Hidden Love-7.8

Citeste mai mult

Marriage in Hog Heaven ¤ The Wild Boar Bites The Prickly Pear °7° °good & silly°

Here's to Hammin it up.

We've all heard first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage... in LY (aka Drunken To Love You), First Comes Love, next the breakup, followed by marriage, /then/ comes love... the Baby Carriage can't be far behind. They trampled the standard template like wild boars.

Song Jie Xiu and Lin Xiao Ru are in love. Not with eachother, with their sig-others. They each think that first comes love then comes marriage. In their case, the breakup comes in between. After their relationships are skewered on the same day, they end up at the same bar, and they're STOINKED!.HAMmered!! They decide to marry eachother. They are very rowdy drunks, so everyone knows they got married. (The flashbacks are hilarious. There's enough to fill a week but supposedly it all took place in the span of several hours). They even swung by to pick up his boss as a witness and then moved her out of her apartment. Though schmasted, they even remember to break her lease. They go hog-wild and make a big drunken mess.

LY is a 2011 release that is rated 7.5 on MDL. It is 1 season consisting of 30 45-minute episodes. It's flawed, childish and silly. It's also very cute. As a lover of romance, I enjoyed it. It is doubtful that anyone who isn't a fan of the genre would like it.

Why don't they divorce? Xiu's gf, Ivy, is an up and coming actress. She can't be involved in any relationships or her career will be dead in the water. When a paparazzi catches Ivy & Xiu together, Ivy talks Xiu into staying in the marriage for a few months so that the scandal goes away. They offer Ru money to keep up the farce. The contracts are signed, and now Xiu & Ru are living together. They actually get along really well, when they aren't smoked up over how much they dislike eachother.

Rainie Yang (Devil Beside You Series, Life Plan A and B), portrays Lin Xiao "Ru". She's so adorable and bright. She's got a feisty side which leads Xiu to nickname her the Wild Boar. Raised in an orphanage, she took the pain of ner childhood and channeled it into doing better, being better, and helping others avoid pain. She is the best thing about the show and what keeps it afloat - or should I say happily rolling in the mud. Joseph Chang (The Victims' Game, Crystal Boys) is Song Jie "Xiu". He is grumpy: He even frowns in his sleep. He's a designer and is as fastidious and picky as they come. Daddy left early. His mom wasn't around much. His movie-star gf wasn't around much either. He's been alone most of his life.

Tiffany Hsu (Autumn's Concerto-7.2, Shards of Her) is Tang Ai Wei, Xiu's gf at the show's opening. She gets annoying. In fairness, they've dated since HS, so it's understandable that she would feel a sense of ownership and want to hang on to Xiu. But she wants everything, and she wants it her way. She doesn't think about anyone else. Alien Huang (Rock Records in Love, Go! Crazy Gangster) plays Geng Shuo Huai, Ru's new boss. Chung Hsin Ling (Tavern by the Lethe, Rainless Love in a Godless Land, Oh No! Here Comes Trouble) is Ru's BFF Cai Meng Jun. She's supposed to be the plus-sized comic relief, but her part is cartoonish and squeaky. She's portrayed as an eating machine. It's not that amusing. The director is Chen Ming Zhang of Across the Ocean to See You & Remembering Lichuan.

The writing has its moments. It's quite good at times. They have a discussion about marriage and what it means. Xiu says that if one of them is walking faster than the other, that person needs to adjust their pace. I love that - adjusting their pace to the other's. She responds that she's tired of walking alone so she's willing to do that. Xiu's mother hasn't been around and she certainly screwed up quite a bit. Asian programming tends to be very generous to parents and elders. When we get to meet his mom, we find out that not everything is as awful as Xiu's recollections of the past. Some of his worst memories were not her fault. I actually know some people like this. Their father did do some horrible things (nothing criminal, he's just a vile jerk). From the outside looking in, it's easy to see that, while the negatives to outweigh the positives, there were some positives. Furthermore, their father gave more than what he himself received. He never knew who his father was, grew up in foster care and was subject to constant abuse (that IS criminal). The grown kids don't feel a thing for his pain because they despise him so much. I can't make any judgments as to their feelings. They are exceptional people who completely broke the cycle and raised wonderful children. It's just sad. All around, it is so sad that we do these things to eachother. Hurt is shared like germs and it's completely unnecessary. Xiu is able to get his relationship with his mother on better footing with Ru's help.

HAMlet, it ain't. They ham it up in the opening episodes, which showcase some overacting. Feeble writing leads to ham-handed scenes containing arguments and other mini dramas that are near nonsensical. They slow-walk the physical contact- even I was getting frustrated on behalf of the ML - a totally new sensation. A wedding is busted up in ep23 in a near insulting manner. There were better ways to forward the plot. At least the episode recovers before it ends. Ep29 is ridiculous, but it ends well - We can forgive them. The moms pull a stunt in ep30 that crosses the line. Entirely. It almost makes Hollywood look tame. LY probably would have been better at just 25 episodes, but it holds up acceptably.

Whether or not flaws can be overlooked is something mysterious and personal - even the most analytical among us are powerfully influenced by emotion. I watched LY alongside the over-long monstrosity, Love Now, which starts fine but quickly declInes (yet goes on forever). I liked LY despite its shortfalls, while I loathed LN.

Why?

Both have likable actors and characters, but LY is better in that category. LN is 80% inane dialogue; the writing in LY is bad in places but has its bright spots and is far better, overall. The soundtrack of LY is better. I shazamed one song by Yen-ji but didn't get an English title. I think what captivated me the most is Rainie Yang's slop-happy Lin Xiao “Ru”. She brings home the bacon. She's the reason LY is worth a romatiphile's time.

QUOTES~

You don't love someone for who they are but for who you are when you are with them.

Family doesn't just mean relatives. It's everybody who watches over you and cares for you.

〰IMHO

RATINGS
Directing 7
Writing 6
Acting 7
Romance 6
Flutters 5
Art 5.5
Sound & music 6.5
Ending 7

LEVELS
Warmth 5
Action/ Excitement 2.5
Laughs 3.5
Tears 2.5
Fright 2
Tension/Anxiety 2.5
Gore 1
Thought provocation 4
Snores 1

?7 ?6 ?7 ?6 ?5 ?5.5 ?/?6.5 ?7 ▪ ?5 ⚡2.5 ?3.5 ?2.5 ?2 ?2.5 ?1 ?4 ?1

Age 14+
Language: $h!+, d@mn,
References to sex and rape

Rated TV-PG-13: Parents Cautioned

Re-?? I probably won't

Taiwanese shows

Age of Rebellion-9.5
Autumn's Concerto-7.2 - it starts strong but declInes in the 2nd half
The Fierce Wife-8 starts iffy, ends strong
Love, Now-3.6 - it's terrible
Two Fathers-7.5


In order of ~lite & trite~ to ~heavy & serious~ you may also like:

♥️ -
C:
A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5;
Find Yourself 8.9;
The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8;
The Sleepless Princess 9.1;
Wait, My Youth-8.4

Romance junkies only: Accidentally in Love-6.5 ‘18 B-level scripting, acting, and directing, but still fun/strangely relaxing to watch,
Well-Intended Love-7.5 Rom-porn - extra points for the dopamine but many object to an outrageous stunt the ML pulls,
When I Fly Towards You-7.8,
You are my destiny-6.8 cute and sweet and 1/2 padding,
Meteor Garden-7.4 - 70% flowing 30% dragging and BOF is better,
Hidden Love-7.8

K:
A Witch's Love 7.8;
Love To Hate You 8.9;
Touch Your Heart 8.2;
Crash Landing On You 9.1;
Oh My Ghost 10;
It's Okay Not to Be Okay 9;
Hospital Playlist 9;
My Mister 9.5;

Fantasy
C: Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9;
Douluo Continent 9.4;
Handsome Siblings 8.7;
Ancient Love Poetry 8.6;
Love and Redemption 10


Japaneselite romcoms: Maid Sama-10, Mischievous Kiss Love in Tokyo-7.8, Love, Chunibyo And Other Delusions-8.4, Toradora-8.5

Citeste mai mult

Flush the Fish Farm ¤ What Happens in Borcay is Meant to Stay °3.6° °interminable mess°

The quickie review: Leaving Borcay was a mistake. That's when LN starts it's loooooong flush. Don't take this trip; not before you watch everything that's better (and that'll keep you busy for years). Just be aware that more than half of LN is an extended skidmark.

LN is a bit ironic in that time is a central theme, but it has some of the worst time management I've ever seen. The leads are likable and the romance gets off to a hot start. I was thinking it had lots of promise. As …time… goes by, though, none of its promises are kept.

LN is a 2012 release that is rated 7.6 on MDL. It is 1 season consisting of 72 45-minute episodes… SEVENTY-TWO!!?! That's so Taiwanese. They put out slice-of-life romances with a high episode count and relatively low drama. The viewer lives with these characters for awhile, with the effect being either tranquil and decompressing or extremely frustrating. This is only my 6th TwDrama. One reviewer that I respect claims that she's completely fed up with their repetitiveness and her eyes have ‘left the island for good’ ~ She’s done with TwDramas. I'm still brand new to them, and out of the 6 I've seen, I love 3, like 2 (though one of those is carried by the beginning of the show and declInes in the 2nd half), and hate just this one. And, boy, do I hate this show. 1/10th in I couldn't fathom what would fill 72 whole episodes; 1/2 way through I tried to figure out what's filled 36 episodes - just everyday life with a heap of sugar on top. Sadly, nothing fills the last half of the show but pain and aggravation.

With 27 eps to go, I was tempted to abandon the show (something I rarely do) as it was leaving Netflix in 13 days ↪ That is more than 2/day, with no break, and it was starting to feel like a job. In the balance, I liked the characters (though nearly all of them are a bit annoying), but not much was going on. One character is pregnant and a big controversy is whether they should allow her to work. This debate goes on for 2 or 3 episodes, not 2 or 3 minutes. It's too far removed from anything I find familiar. It's astounding that Yi Ru's family supports her ex, Qi Ming, who is a serial womanizer. Sure, he's charming ~ Great guy to hang with ~ Worst guy to marry. The people Yi Ru works with are too goofy. Lan Shi De's mother is sweet, but something about her fawning relationship with grandma (her mother i/l) was too much for me. I wanted to shake her free. Perhaps I'm projecting. Sure, this show is 12 years old, but even still, some of the wardrobe is hideous in any decade. Taiwan seems to have a thing with men wearing low-cut tops. It just doesn't look right.

By ep50, I realized I never should have started this. Anything positive in the first half is obliterated by the doldrums of the second half. I played every single episode in its entirety. It was easy to force myself to do that. What I couldn't force my eyes to do was actually watch it, and I couldn't force my ears to hear it anymore. It became background noise as I did other things and peeked in every now and then just to keep up with the plot. This has nothing to do with the length of the show. I've seen Two Fathers, another Taiwanese series that has over 70 episodes, and I loved it. Here, the dialogue and plot are spread too thinly. There's too much filler and some cheaply manufactured drama. It would be much improved in the 20-30 episode range.

That isn't the fault of the actors, though. The romance starts strong. Yi Ru reluctantly falls for Shi De. Sure, he's good looking, but it goes deeper than that. There's something lovable (and sexy) about a man who truly loves a woman and doesn't expect anything in return. I've read that the 2 leads are a couple. That makes sense because the scenes they spark up feel genuine. Annie Chen (Inborn Pair, My Goddess, Tears on Fire) is FL Yang Yi Ru. She's pretty - pretty aggressive and driven. She's a workaholic. She has a horrible temper but a beautiful heart. The actress is not bad but her voice is too nasally, which gets tedious.

Yi Ru's family tricks her into going on vacation in Borcay by making her believe she has cancer. George Hu (Wacko at Law, Shards of Her, Prince of Lan Ling) plays ML Lan Shi De. Weaknesses in the premise aside, Briefly, I found the romance less than convincing, because he's prettier than the female lead. He's prettier than most women. I settled into the flow after a quick adjustment period.

His family owns a company that makes sinks, tubs and toilets. He's known as a stern and cheerless boss. He's been cheerless ever since his father died and the head-of-family responsibilities were foisted on him at a young age. He's on a business trip in Borcay - until he sees Yi Ru and his mission changes. His top business then becomes bagging her. You see, they were in college together. She doesn't remember, but he sure does. He's been looking for her for 6 years. When he's kind to Yi Ru, she has an emotional outburst and admits she's dying. She will never marry or have kids. Shi De talks her into marrying him. Why not!?. Yi Ru's in the mood to do something crazy.

Bobby Dou (The Little Fairy, Proud of You) plays Sun Qi Ming, Yi Ru's ex. He still hangs around, has a key to her house, and calls her father “dad.” He functions as a mischievous gremlin and causes much of the trouble. According to Yi Ru, the upper half of his body is delightful - that's not the problem: The lower half is the problem. He's an irredeemable philanderer. All those years he was running with other women, Lan Shi De was devoted to Yi Ru.

Vivi Lee (In Time with You, Luo Que) plays Lan Shi Yun, the elder Sister of the ML. She's a relationship expert, author, and (to her embarrassment, given her profession), terminally single. The actress is attractive and does a nice job. I'm not sure if it Is her or the directing, but they kept her part in the 68°-72° range. Slightly cool -to- slightly warm. No fire or ice. I grew weary of her slightly concerned stares. Harry Chang (Autumn's Concerto-7.2, Marry Me, or Not?) Portrays Zheng Yu Xiang who is a younger fan pursuing a relationship with Lan Shi Yun. Esther Yang plays Yi Ru's bratty but cute little sister, Yang Yi Qing.

Shen Hai Yung (The Perfect Match, Better Man) is the most childish character of the bunch as grandma, the matriarch of the Lan family. Grandma's infantine fits are used to forward the plot into fill time. Yen Chia Le (True Meaning of Love, W Series: Love Yourself) is grandma's spinster daughter, Lan Yi Ping. Her part is a little overdone. She ends up shamelessly chasing a man and wearing the worst clothes of the show while doing it. Yet, I still found her adorable. That's some serious presence. She plays a sharp-tongued director in the show, Love You, which is imperfect yet still far better than LN. Mandy Wei (Memory Love, Piggy's Counterattack) really shines as He Cai Rong, though her bangs direly need a trim. She's the best character in the show. She is intuitive and, out of all the characters, she says the most intelligent things. The screenwriters are Lin Pei Yu (We Best Love series) and Shao Hui Ting (A Thousand Goodnights).

LN does have a couple themes even though it doesn't take any deep dives. The title is Love NOW and time is a running theme. Shi De has been wanting Yi Ru for over 6 years. There's ⏲⏱hourglasses and watches⏲⏱ featured frequently on screen. "Women are used to sacrificing while men are used to enjoying women's sacrifices," we hear. 'Fish farms' vs committed love is showcased: Qi Ming calls his floozies his "fish farm" and Yi Ru's little sister thinks that's pretty cool. She starts one of her own. When Yi Ru falls for Shi De, Qi Ming has a major identity crisis. He tries to get her back, but no-nonsense Yi Ru moved on long ago. His character goes through the most growth and change by the time the credits roll. There's quality touches and real smiles in the first part of LN. Someone is always sneezing because they are being talked about, and it makes for nice segues. I think when the series first aired it was popular which led to an unplanned expansion of episodes that the creators couldn't sustain, quality-wise. LN is a broken ⏲ that's only right twice a day. Don't trust it; in the flusher it goes!


〰 IMHO 〰

RATINGS
Directing 3.5
Writing 3
Acting 5
Romance 5
Flutters 5
Art 3
Sound & music 4
Ending 5

LEVELS
Warmth 5
Action 2
Laughs 2.5
Tears 2.5
Fright 1
Tension / Anxiety 2.5
Gore 1
Thought provocation 2
Snores 7
?3.5 ?3 ?5 ?5 ?5 ?3 ?/?4 ?5 ▪ ?5 ⚡2 ?2.5 ?2.5 ?1 ?2.5 ?1 ?2 ?7

Age 13+ Adult/sexual situations
Language: @$$h0le and other rare PG-13 verbiage.

Re-watch? Ain't gonna happen -shoulda skipped the first time

In order of ~lite & trite~ to ~heavy & serious~ you may also like:

Taiwan
Two Fathers-7.5 (73 episodes of slice-of-life and i loved every one)
Autumn's Concerto-7.2 (declInes in the 2nd half)
The Fierce Wife-8 (starts iffy, ends magnificently)
Age of Rebellion-9.5

Romance -
C: Well-Intended Love 7.5 Rom-porn - extra points for the dopamine;
Accidentally in Love 6.5 B-level scripting, acting, and directing, but still fun/strangely relaxing to watch
You are my destiny 6.8 ‘20 cute and sweet and 1/2 padding
A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5;
Find Yourself 8.9;
The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8;
The Sleepless Princess 9.1
K :
A Witch's Love 7.8;
Love To Hate You 8.9;
Touch Your Heart 8.2;
Crash Landing On You 9.1;
Oh My Ghost 10;
It's Okay Not to Be Okay 9;
Hospital Playlist 9;
My Mister 9.5;

Period -
C: Overlord 8.4,
Under the Power 8.6,
The Rebel Princess 9.1,
The Sword and the Brocade 8.6 (in ancient Chinese opera style),
The Rise of Phoenixes 9
K:
My Only Love Song 8.7 excellent comedy;
Mr. Queen 8.5;
My Sassy Girl 8.5;
The King's Affection 8.3;
Mr. Sunshine 9

Fantasy
C Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9;
Once upon a time in Linglian Mountain 7.5;
Douluo Continent 9.4;
Handsome Siblings 8.7;
Eternal Love 8.3,
Ancient Love Poetry 8.6;
Love and Redemption 10

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In Pursuit of the Cursed Soul °6.1° °great elements, avg writing°

The short review: BIS has an all-world soundtrack, great acting, excellent artistry, and solid directing. It's the writing that fails to transform this monster into something worth protecting. The plot is a haphazard mess and the dialogue is nothing special. If you are a fantasy junkie, you'll probably tolerate it well, but for all others it's a mangled mess. If romance is your thing, you will be sorely disappointed.

We've got a three episode set up, folks. So let's gouge into it. BIS opens 600 years ago. We get a brief look at the life of a Bulgasal and move on for a peek at the regular folk, who are terrified of such creatures. When Hwal is born, his mother insists that he's cursed and hangs herself. The shaman affirms that the Bulgasal has a grudge against this cursed child from a prior life. Since Bulgasals are immortal, it will pursue this baby forever. What in the crazy world is a Bulgasal? An immortal. A monster. A flesh eater.

Next we see that it's people that are the true monsters. Young Hwal is shunned by everyone and cruelly despised. Under the shaman's bidding, the village surrounds the boy and tries to kill him, but the military is passing by. The general intervenes and adopts the boy, raising him to be a warrior. A monster killer. When he's grown, he's the best of the best. Now people say that he is blessed by the Bulgasal.

The very last monster Hwal must eliminate is that Bulgasal. What happens instead, though, is that during their confrontation, the Bulgasal steals Hwal's soul and turns HIM into the Bulgasal. This begins Hwal's centuries long quest for revenge. Not merely revenge but a reversal. A quest to make things right - he wants his soul back! During the Japanese invasion of 1593 Hwal learns that the ‘Bug’ who stole his soul also stole his ill fate. All the monsters that Hwal killed are reborn and seeking revenge. They're all going after /her/ because she possesses his soul. This former Bug has been living life after reincarnated life of fear and misery while being relentlessly chased by gruesome monsters. A human soul has brought her no pleasure whatsoever.

Before ep2 is halfway over, we make it to 2006 where she has morphed into a set of twins and the show's logic morphs into them sharing a single soul with no plausible explanation. One twin is darker skinned, darker tempered, and remembers everything, while the other one, the sweet one who is the shade of a kleenex, is oblivious. She thinks her sister’s weird. Failure to heed her sister's warnings turns into another tragedy. And that'll bring us to present day. The chess pieces have been realigned with many of the same cast from the past reincarnated & together again at last.

What's abundantly clear by the end of ep4 is that our female lead thinks she knows something, but she knows virtually nothing. That goes double for her sister. Our male lead knows a whole lot more, but there are clearly players and motivations afoot of which he knows nothing. Thus, the viewer's gaze remains shrouded, and they never do give us a clear picture. I always felt like the show was a moving streetcar that I ran to catch but never successfully boarded. Just like Hwal and Bulgasals are outsiders, the audience is also left on the outside. If a person wants to own a horse, s/he will feed it, maintain it, care for it, and nurture it. BIS tries to skip all of that, go to the butcher shop, buy random parts, and sew them together. That ain't gonna work.

BIS is a 2021 release that is rated 92 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 16 60ish-minute episodes. Ep1 is depressing. That heavy feeling never lifts. Lee Jin Wook (Sweet Home-8.4) plays Dan Hwal/the Bulgasal. This dude was born to act in period pieces and wear ancient armor with his hair in a bun. It's not that he doesn't look good with short hair and a modern day look, but he looks right at home as an old time warrior. He believes he's the only Bulgasal left. He also believes immortality is a curse. Jung Jin Young is the general who adopts him when the village tries to kill him. Boy, is this actor different as the father in My Unfamiliar Family-7.9. The lovely Kwon Na Ra (My Mister-9.5, Itaewon Class) is Min Sang Un, the original Bulgasal that steals Hwal's soul. Lee Joon (My Father Is Strange) is Ok Eul Tae, the bad guy. He does a nice job. (It's possible that I think that because his voice is so mellifluous). Gong Seung Yeon (Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency-7.4, My Only Love Song-8.7, Introverted Boss-6.5) portrays Min Shi Ho, who was Hwal's wife in the past and is Min Sang Un's little sister in the present. Lee A Ra (Kairos) is yet another fabulous Korean child actor. She plays the 2006 version of Min Shi Ho. The screenwriters are Seo Jae Won & Kwon So Ra who co-wrote The Guest, and the director is Jang Young (Woo Queen of Tears).

Let's munch on the good morsels and leave the substandard scraps for later. It is not the worst watch. Many things are done well and the characters are likable. There's gorgeous cinematography. The soundtrack is easily K-top-10 for me. Some of my shazams: Kim Kyung Hee's ‘Floating’, ‘Leave,’ by 4MEN, and ‘Beyond The Time,’ by Janet Suhh. Not only is this soundtrack a monster, but the sound in general is excellent. They come up with all kinds of unique delicacies for the ear, such as creepy scritching sounds.

The good is not enough to save us from the horror of Bulgasal, however. Their past, covered in the first couple episodes, is cruelly heartrending. It's really too much to process. It's more like an alternate timeline where everything is wrong and out of balance. They don't plant seeds or hint at another layer of backstory, early on. Therefore, in the final third of the show, when they spring a couple surprises, it is impossible to tell if developments were always intended or if they are making it up as they go. They do drop weak hints at something more, but it's feeble. That always feels sloppy. Killing off the kid is horrible. And they do it …twice… or do they? Ep13 gets alittle irritating and smells suspiciously like filler with the protags vacillating and having unexplained, out-of-character outbursts.

It starts to feel a bit incestuous. In the present, he encounters his father, his wife, his son, and his mortal enemies from that past. However, in the present, he seems to be attracted to his mortal enemy, his wife and his son seem like they could have a thing starting up, one of his former adversaries is now like a daughter to him, and his father is an outsider for much of the show. Perhaps everything was aligned wrong then and it'll be aligned correctly now? The questions and annoyances built up without enough positives to balance them out. The big reveals at the end were a bunch of hooey. Too little. Too late.

While they tack on a hopeful ending, BIS is dark, bleak and sad. There is very little romance and an overabundance of heart-stomping. They are loose with the rules that they laid down and the backstory, when finally revealed, is not convincing. Knowing what I now know, would I still watch it for the first time? My health has been such that I can't do very much but watch TV. Even given my ample time to spare, this is a tough question. I'll say “yes” with 50.00001% certainty. If your time is limited, there's so many better things to see. Don't be buggin over this one unless you have an unquenchable thirst for fantasy. .


〰? IMHO

RATINGS
Directing 7
Writing 5
Acting 7.5
Romance 3
Flutters 5
Art 6.5
Sound & music 8.8
Ending 7.9

LEVELS
Warmth 3
Action/ Excitement 5
Laughs 2
Tears 5.3
Fright 5.3
Tension/Anxiety 3.5
Gore 5.5
Thought provocation 2
Snores 0

?7 ?5 ?7.5 ?3 ?5 ?6.5 ?/?8.8 ?7.9 ▪ ?3 ⚡5 ?2 ?5.3 ?4.3 ?3.5 ?5.5 ?2 ?0

Age 15+ for violence and gore. This would be too scary for younger children. It opens to a knife fight and then a body floating in the water. Monsters eating bodies. Hwal sets his own compound fx.

Re-??
This one's in the okay-to-pass-the-time category, but I refuse to pass this way again….


In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ here's a list of better time spent ventures:

Modern Day -
Love to Hate You 8.9,
Crash Landing On You 9.1,
Oh My Ghost 10,
Descendants Of The Sun-8.3,
The Golden Spoon-8.1,
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9,
My Mister 9.5,

Historical/Period -
My Only Love Song 8.7 ~ excellent comedy,
Mr. Queen 8.5,
My Sassy Girl 8.5,
Saimdang 8.5,
The King's Affection 8.3,
Mr. Sunshine 9

Action/Crime/Sci-fi -
Glitch-8, The school nurse files-7.6,
Mystic Pop-up Bar-8.2,
Uncanny counter season-1 only °S1-8.4 S2-4, K2 8,
Private Lives 8.1,
Inspector Koo-8.4,
When the Camellia Blooms-8,
Vagabond-8,
Sisyphus 8,
Tunnel 8.5,
Signal 8.6,
Blood Free-8.5,
D.P. -8.4,
The Cursed 8.3,
Flower of Evil 8.9,
The Wailing-8.8,
The Man from Nowhere 8.9,
Parasite-9,
Black 9,
Squid Game 8.4,
Kingdom 8.3,
Sweet Home 8.4

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Going Postal °a generous 7° °good but lacking°

There was the c☄met. That was 40 years ago. 1% survived. Most continents are underwater. Kcountry looks like the set from Mad Max Fury Road-9. Breathing is only possible with the assistance of the Aircore, which is basically a massive air purifier. People reside in the core districts - at least the lucky ones do. Others must try to survive in the wilderness of the outer districts and breath through masks. One way to improve one's station is to become a postal worker; in this world they're called deliverymen. It's dangerous. "Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds," is the famous pledge. But there's much worse out there now. Apart from the harsh terrain, there's the thieves, hunters and raiders.

BK is a 2023 release that is rated 88 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of only 6 45-minute episodes. This dystopian future is one in which a few have all the privileges at the expense of the many (sounds familiar). Those on the fringe are used up, and once the oligarchy has used them up, they want to throw them out. "5-8" is the premier deliveryman - He's a legend. Through the course of the show he uncovers the plot to eliminate the outer circles of civilization. He forms allies, willing and reluctant, to fight the diabolical power structure.

Kim Woo Bin, the person who makes The Heirs-7.3 worth watching, plays 5-8. He's a superb male lead and he only adds to BK's value. He shines in Our Blues-8.5. Kang Yoo Seok (Growing Season) is solid as Yoon Sa Wol, his charge. Esom, one of the brightest stars in Because This Is My First Life-7.7, plays Jung Seol Ah, a military officer that does things by the book. No partiality. Song Seung Heon (Saimdang-8.5, Player, Black-9, Wonderful Nightmare) plays villain Ryu Seok. What are they doing to my guy? This actor is a fabulous romantic lead. I hate seeing him as someone odious; and odious he is. His rigid facial expressions and body language make him unrecognizable compared to how he appears in Black or Saimdang, the only exposures I've had to him. His range is a credit to his acting prowess. I still don't have to like it. The screenwriter / director is Cho Ui Seok of Cold Eyes.

BK is executed well which is why I'm not sure why I didn't like it more. The action is respectable - quite good, actually, and at times fabulous. The artistry is big-budget, a very cool windstorm being one example. There's shades of Planet of the Apes in a shot of a toppled Namsan Tower smack in the center of the dust bowl. The story is solid and the acting is strong. In this case, the individual elements weirdly add up to something less, though I can't pinpoint why. Things that come to mind are, first of all, it is all retread - there is nothing original at all in BK. That's a criticism that means little, though, if the execution is solid. Thus, I must surmise that there's something lacking in the execution. It's put together alittle too loosely; the cadence and direction are uneven. I almost wonder if a re-edit could fix it. The tempo is mostly slow and brooding, but that only works when the writing is dynamic. Here, the writing does not have a high enough IQ - There's nothing to brood on. The same criticism can be applied to the fact that BK did not engage me emotionally. For a feature to be truly good it must tickle the heart or the head (or both), and BK does neither. Despite some stellar action scenes, it lacks sufficient adrenaline to be qualified as an action piece, and it lacks the proper tension to be a thriller. What we're left with is some dusty vanilla ice cream.

Hey, I love ice cream. I love it enough to lick through the dust and enjoy the good stuff (AKA Kim Woo Bin;). My favorite genre is sci-fi / fantasy with romance being hitched right behind it (action and comedy follow closely). Apart from comedy, sci-fi / fantasy is the most demanding to write. Coming up with new worlds has endless challenges - just check with GRRM (George RR Martin) on that. So from my perspective, BK is worth watching, at least once, for what it does offer. I /know/ I overrated it at “7”. I was tempted to go lower but it didn't sit right. I'm convinced a larger than average portion of the viewing population will not enjoy BK. I trust that will help you decide whether to hop in the truck and take the ride or sit this one out.


〰 IMHO

RATINGS
Directing 7
Writing 7.6
Acting 7.7
Art 8
Sound & music 7.3
Ending 7.8

LEVELS
Warmth 3.5
Action 8
Laughs 1
Tears 5
Fright 4
Tension / Anxiety 4.5
Gore 5
Thought provocation 5.5
Snores 0
?7 ?7.6 ?7.7 ?8 ?/?7.3 ?7.8 ▪ ?3.5 ⚡8 ?1 ?5 ?4 ?4.5 ?5 ?5.5 ?0


Age 14+ for violence
Language: $h!+

Rated TV-MA: Mature Audience Only.

Re-??
This one's in the good-to-pass-the-time category, but I may never pass this way again….


In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:

Crash Landing On You 9.1,
Oh My Ghost 10,
The school nurse files-7.6 & Glitch-8 - both are 80's indie style quirky Sci-fi,
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9,
When the Camellia Blooms-8,
K2 8,
Private Lives 8.1, Vagabond-8,
Uncanny counter - S1 only °S1-8.4 S2-4°,
Sisyphus 8,
Tunnel 8.5,
Signal 8.6,
Blood Free-8.5,
D.P. -8.4,
Uncle Samsik-8.4

The Cursed 8.3,
Flower of Evil 8.9,
The Man from Nowhere 8.9,
Black 9,
Squid Game 8.4,
Kingdom 8.3,
Sweet Home 8.4
The Wailing-8.8

Chinese
Douluo Continent 9.4;
Handsome Siblings 8.7;
Ancient Love Poetry 8.6;
Love and Redemption 10
Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber 9-Kung-fu!;

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The Reverb of Ugliness: Must the Top Be So Lonely? °6.8° °good°

String theory is the most recent attempt to reconcile traditional physics with quantum physics. It postulates that, on a subatomic level, the universe consists of vibrating 1D strings. Perhaps that's a reason why music, which is glorious vibrations, fundamentally moves us. It connects what's seen and unseen. It blends the dimensions. I believe music and art are divine gifts.

MSoT is a 2023 release that is rated 86 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 12 60-minute episodes. It's a drama, a high-end soap opera, really, about a small orchestra. They've been coasting, not thriving. It's time for a shake up; a reset. Seeum brings many changes with her as she takes the podium, and the musicians don't appreciate any of it. She makes enemies, and soon her enemies are acting out. Managing Hanphil is a handful.

The use of sound in M is so good, it's almost astounding. The show creators have a deep appreciation for music, and they sell it. The soundtrack isn't an afterthought: It's woven into the fabric of the series, elevating it to float with the clouds at times. Classical music fills M, and it fills it on tempo, beautifully enhancing scenes. Low hanging fruit: At the height of the drama they start practicing Beethoven‘s 5th. It's coming to end, by MADDY, and Story, by Kim On Gi, are VG. M, with its attention to detail, is small and tidy, yet it's expansive. I liked M; I didn't love it. As the episodes went on, it diminished, somewhat - they peaked too early. I wouldn't care to see it again as it left me a tad underwhelmed. But I have respect for M and the many moments of blended harmony it generates.

It opens dark and slick. Classical music fuels the energy. These people are at odds. “I hope I never see you again.” “I'll still come to your funeral.” That's the final exchange of another conductor and the woman, Cha Seeum, who briskly returns to her homeland. Less than 5% of conductors are women, but she is among the best of the best. She's also scary as he!!. Her reputation is not one of warmth.

In Korea, she takes the helm of Hanphil Orchestra. The first thing she does is force the top violinist to step down. That he used to be her music teacher and is close to her father didn't help him at all. Call ‘em like you “See-um” is her rule. Emotions are not a factor.

Lee Young Ae is the FL. She is a superb actress that can carry a whole production on her shoulders. In Inspector Koo-8.4, she plays a kook-savant, an investigative genius that is correspondingly poor at self-care. In Saimdang-8.5 she really shines as a modern-day art historian as well as a Joseon era artist. Saimdang was a real person. The show gives us a peak back juxtaposed against a look at the contemporary art scene in Kcountry. They limited the dramatic license with the historical portion, therefore the ending isn't an ending: The show drifts away, which some viewers surely won't like, but it is excellent, nonetheless. In M, Ms Lee's acting is her everyday superb. She IS a conductor. I love how they make sure her hair gets messed up ~just so~ to showcase her energy and state of mind.

Seeum is a loner. So much so, that she's difficult to identify with. This is probably true for alot of exceptionally talented people. They just don't have many peers. She's obsessed with her work to the detriment of all other relationships. She is also one to avoid unpleasantness. Her mother is afflicted with Remingtons disease, a slowly encroaching degenerative condition that is not unlike Alheimers. It rots away the body and mind gradually, over years, and Seeum has a 50% chance of inheriting it. That has her so freaked out that she won't visit her mother.

Kim Young Ah (Hyena, Be Melodramatic-8.7) is her BFF, Lee Hye Jung. Ms Kim is a Competent actress, but she doesn't have much to do here. They don't build up the relationship so she's on the periphery and seems irrelevant. Having said that, let's get the rest of the bad news out of the way. At one point Seeum's talking about resigning from her post and even suicide, when she hasn't even been tested for the horrible disease she might have. She resists being tested over the years, but once she starts exhibiting symptoms, being tested is the only thing that makes sense. We have to suffer through her epic avoidance disorder. As ep10 began, irritation started to well up in me. I would have liked the show a tiny bit more if Ajin would just take her hand off of her stomach. She started to rattle my nerves. The lighting and/or makeup were off in some scenes. I was surprised to realize how distracting it is to see noses, covered with large skin pores, that are 2 shades lighter than the face they are attached to. The villain, and other surprises, don't generate any thrills as the build-up is missing something. That last concert is arguably silly, but even so, it was exciting.

Lee Moo Saeng (Blood Free-8.5) is Yoo Jeong Jae. He had a past relationship with Seeum that she seems to want to forget. He's the opposite: He wants to relive their time together. So he buys the orchestra. Kim Young Jae (Mouse, Mother, Under the Queen's Umbrella) plays Seeum's husband, Kim Pil, or “Phil,” as in philharmonic. Lee Shi Won (Misaeng: Incomplete Life-9.1, When the Camellia Blooms-8) portrays Lee Ajin, the horn player at Hanphil who is a thorn in Seeum's side. She becomes more and more loathsome as the show progresses. It was frustrating to not be able to slap her. Choi Yoon-So (Love to Hate You-8.9, Woman of Dignity) is Go Yu-Ra, a reporter and Yoo Jeong Jae's ex. Hwang Bo Reum Byeol (The World of My 17, School 2021) plays Lee Roo Na, the new first violinist and Seeum devotee. Ye Soo Jung portrays Seeum's mother, Bae Jung Hwa, who is disabled and mostly non verbal due to a degenerative disease. She's a superb actress. Her resume is jammed with hits: Land of Happiness, Stranger, Prison Playbook, Mother, The Worst of Evil… I've seen her in Link: Eat, Love, Kill-6.7, an average show in which she's one of the best things, Black Dog-8.2, Strongest Delivery Man-6.6, the Along With the Gods films (7.2/6.7), Train to Busan-7.8, and as the moral center of Mine-8. She's always an asset. The director is Kim Jung Kwon (Love to Hate You-8.9) and the screenwriter is Choi Yi Yoon of Love Tractor.

“No matter how hard it gets, keep going!” Seeum almost sounds unhinged. That's because her life has become unhinged. Bickering~Plots~Jealousy~Resentment~Gossip~Rumors~Hatred~Partiality~Phoniness. It's lonely at the top. The stage is like a battlefield, Seeum asserts. Talent alone isn't enough. It takes perseverance, hard work and knowing when to give & take, and when to make demands.

Obsession is a string that ties some characters together. Seeum is obsessive about conducting, Jae is obsessive about Seeum, and the perpetrator obsesses over Seeum. I can't say that obsession is always a bad thing. It propels people to do magnificent things - People like Seeum. But obsessing over a person is never a good thing. One-way crushes and obsessions are not only a complete waste of time and emotion, but they are often based on illusion. Most one-way crushes are about a projection of what we think of the person, not the real person. They are a poor substitute for self-improvement. Put Your time and energy into being the best version of you. Love and friendship will follow.

‘Are you capable of doing anything on your own, without me?’ Seeum queries her spouse. At first, Phil seems like the salt of the earth - A decent guy, certainly… Right? Wrong! He's just quiet. As we get to know him better, we'll see that he's actually obsessed with himself. He hasn't composed anything in 3 years. People that are self-absorbed often can't create art that will speak to others as they lack a view of the bigger picture. Kim Pil married a person more skilled and accomplished than him. If he truly loved her, he would be thrilled at her successes. Instead, this egotist only felt smaller next to his wife. Self-focused people don't like feeling smaller. They're the biggest thing in their own little worlds and they don't like their delusions being interrupted. He struggles to find relevance in all the wrong ways. The measures he takes to hold on to his cushy life only reveal how unworthy he is of her devotion. To be fair, it doesn't seem that Seeum is the easiest person to be in a relationship with (though Jae doesn't feel that way). It's a 2-way failure, but Phil has more of the fault than does Seeum. His attitude probably led to her withdrawal. For years he fed the self-monster. People prefer lies to truth, particularly the lies we tell ourselves about ourselves. He believed the lies he told himself about himself, so he failed to learn and grow. When things got rough, he had no core. He had no clue about the right thing to do (not that he would have done it anyway). He implodes. Then he rebuilds himself into a soulless, ego-feeding villain.

There's a romance afoot, albeit a minimalist one. Jae is devoted. Most men would have given up or frozen to death. He's easy to read, but she's an ice sculpture. The closer the viewer watches her performance, the more we get from it. He carries it the whole show, while her expressions morph subtly as the show matures. In ep7, suddenly, these 2 characters start to (unconsciously) match their clothes. There's no true romance until she cracks a smile towards the end of ep11. What they manage to convey in the last scene, by way of minimal dialogue and micro expression, is really impressive. It ends on a high note.


〰? IMHO

RATINGS
Directing 7
Writing 7
Acting 8.3
Romance 5.5
Flutters 4.5
Art 7
Sound & music 8.3
Ending 8

LEVELS
Warmth 3
Action 4
Laughs 1
Tears 4
Fright 4
Tension / Anxiety 4
Gore 3
Thought provocation 5
Snores 2
?7 ?7 ?8.3 ?5.5 ?4.5 ?7 ?/?8.3 ?8 ▪ ?3⚡4 ?1 ?4 ?4 ?4 ?3 ?5 ?2


Age 13+ Violence and scary elements, affairs and pregnancy
Language: relatively rare PG-13 verbiage like @$$h0le, $h!+


Re-?? I'm borderline on this. The music is wonderful as is Lee Young Ae's performance. I think it reduces to a question of time. Due to physical issues, I watch lots of tv now, so M was worth a look. In my old life, my viewing times were limited, and there's a long list of better dramas that would queue up in front of this one which would place it on the back-burner indefinitely.

⛔️SPOILER BELOW⛔️
They never reveal the test results. Seeum opens the envelope, reads them and walks away with Jae. She's moving on with life. She's going to live - and not alone. It doesn't seem like she has the disease.

In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:

Modern Day -
A Witch's Love 7.8,
Love to Hate You 8.9,
Touch your heart 8.2,
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9,
Love Struck in the City 7.3,
Why Her?-8,
My Liberation Diary-8.9,
Misaeng-9.1,
Call It Love-8.4,
Mine-8,
Anna-8.1,
My Mister 9.5
The King's Affection 8.3,

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