This is a Rant...BUT

I went into this with zero expectations. I tried watching the first 2 episodes because AvenueX mentioned that the cgi was beautiful. I thought it would be just another 'xianxia' trope, and truly wasn't expecting to like it. But then, right from the very beginning, the visuals were so f****ing beautiful. Qin Lie's fight with the beast was okay, what I stayed for...was the visuals of Yushi. Her trekking through the heavy snow in the dark,... It was like a scene straight out of some high-quality hollywood production (Think Snow white and the Huntsman or Witcher) . And the intermittent shots of Du Shao Yang being asked to marry a woman, who we know from the way it's shot...is Yushi. And that was it,...the rest as they say is history. I couldn't stop myself from immediately bingeing through all the released episodes. Though I have to admit, that I basically fast forwarded all scenes of Qin Lie and Song Ting Yu. The visuals were truly the best part of the show. The different realms, particularly Ling Burrough, the Frost land, Purple Mist Sea, and the Netherlands. And of course the ost. The song that plays every time Qin Lie is in a fight with the odds stacked against him, and yet he manages to come out just fine, and grows even stronger in fact....I loved that song. Trying to figure out Qin Lie's feelings for Yushi, and the Gao Yu -Yushi- Qin Lie triangle was also pretty interesting. I was even considering to let Yushi and Gao Yu get married, before the scriptwriters forcibly blackened him. I honestly couldn't understand why Yushi was so set on QL, that she completely ignored the other man who basically worshipped her- Gao Yu.
The story was okay, but they could have done so much more with it, there were so many possibilities....I'd been soo looking forward to Wu Chun and Gong Mu Lie's story and yet they turned it into this completely meaningless nonsense, They basically stalked each other for a long time, and thus automatically fell in love...like seriously? Did the scriptwriter suddenly lose his brain? And I hate the ending. It was like going back to square one after 36 episodes. It felt so meaningless. The least they could have done, was provide an epilogue at the very least. The acting was okay I suppose, but yes Cheng Xiao could have done so much better. I know that the character of Yushi is supposed to be cool and calm at all times, but she just seemed wooden to me. And I know Cheng Xiao could have done better, because Wu Chun seemed so much more alive and real.
I suppose this is turning into a rant now, but I'm seriously disappointed at what they did with the script...I had soooo much expectations...Even so, I'll definitely watch this again, because the visuals are truly breathtaking, and you should watch this drama, if for nothing else but that.
There are so many negatives points about this drama, and logically speaking it's merely an average one. And yet as I'm writing this review, I realize that despite its many flaws, I still love the show.

Citeste mai mult

Okay so after Put your head on my shoulder, I wasn't expecting to find another good cdrama any time soon. So it was with a very sceptical mindset that I began watching this. And by Gods, am I so glad that I decided to. I absolutely love it. Put your head on my shoulder, le coupe de foudre, a love so beautiful, rush to the dead summer, or any other dramas that I've loved so much in the past....none of them even begins to compare.
Just an Encore is absolutely beautiful, and heart wrenching at the same time. The characters are not perfect, they get jealous, they can be selfish and petty. And yet it is precisely these qualities that make them so lovable, and more real.
But I won't lie, the reason why I loved it so much can be summed up in three words:
He Xin Liang.
He has set a new record for book boyfriends. He is so damn caring, patient and sweet,..... andjust all kinds of amazing.
Your heart breaks for him so many times.
He is just...too good.

Citeste mai mult

Okay, so I just finished watching the show and came here to rate it, when I saw the other reviews.... and well then, I simply couldn't help but write another review.... because I totally LOVED the show.
Oh it wasn't perfect by any stretch, there were plenty of frustrating moments and less than desirable tropes.... and YET....I Loved it.
The beginning was that good... enough to sustain me through the lack luster episodes.
The things I absolutely loved about the show would include the cast, the amazing music and osts, the acting.... and of course.... the entire tone of the series. All the scenes have been shot in this cozy, comforting hue... it's sooooo aesthetically pleasing.
The cast... particularly Park Eun Bin and Kim Min Jae have done a spectacular job of portraying their characters,...so much so that they seem larger than life...

Citeste mai mult

I've been watching dramas for a long time now. Like most others I began with kdramas and then tried cdramas and jdramas....
Some of the cdramas have been really amazing... particularly Ming Lan and Hao Lan.....NIF has always been on the list of the perfect cdramas of all time... and yet, I could never get past the first episode. This has to be the fourth time I tried watching it....... and man.......was it sooooo worth it. It blew me away.....I cried like a baby so many times.
On the surface, it appears to be just another revenge story...... but no, NIF is soooooo much more. Mei Changsu is an incredibly sad man, and watching him go through everything just breaks you. And it's not just him.....all the characters in the drama are so incredibly deep and layered that at no point of time will you feel bored. Jingyan, Nihuang, Meng Zhi, Consort Jing..... and every single character feels so real.....
This is hands down the BEST DRAMA OF ALL TIME and I don't just mean the cdramas.... I mean all the dramas ever made.

Citeste mai mult

It's been a long time since a drama had me so excited that I couldn't stop squealing and grinning like mad the entire time. I'd been putting it off for a long time even though I had planned to watch it even before it released, because of Jang Ki-Yong. "Kill it" had made me his lifelong fan, and who can resist that dreamboat face?????????
This was even more so in WWW: Search. You can't stop drooling every time he's on screen.
But no, the reason that I loved it so much is basically three words:. Bae Ta Mi. She was just soooo amazing. The very first episode made me love her. She's just...I have no words. And the complex love triangle between Tami, Hyeon, and Ga Gyeong.....
Honestly, I found it more intense than their respective relationships with Morgan, Ji Hwan, and Jin Woo.
But the raw confidence that these three women exude with so much ease, their power....it was just mind-blowing.
And Hyeon,.... she's just so adorable. And the music score, ecspecially their 'victory song' (as I mentally dubbed it) is so apt and catchy.
So yeah, although it does down towards the end, I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
Of the women, I liked Tami the best. But among the men, surprisingly enough it was Jin Woo I liked the most. He's a complete jerk to everyone who's not Ga Gyeong... but I suppose that's exactly why I like him so much.

Citeste mai mult