Season 2/5: On with the fun!

I don't know by what miracle, but they managed to continue with the same quality drama.
The story is fast moving, there is no time to rest and still it does not seem rushed. The writing is solid, very funny, the acting is perfect, actors have great chemistry and the music is beautiful.

Our novelist is finally in the Cold Palace with Emperor pining for her outside and trying to figure out a way to bring her out without breaking his promise. She is getting bored doing nothing so she dresses up as an eunuch and goes out to the market. Unwittingly she messes up Queen Dowager's conspiracy plans provoking her wrath. There are more subplots there as well: fake poets and poetry competitions, imperial exam candidate who lost the will to fight (so funny!), the doctor she tries to set the Emperor up with only to realize she has feelings for him too, her bickering but adoring parents, her caveman of a brother I want to see more of!

What is surprising is that there is not one single annoying character. The FL is a strong and smart woman with a fast thinking head on her shoulders and who does not let anyone think otherwise. The ML has become a smitten emperor but still keeping his cool when faced with problems.

I am loving this. It has been so long since I laughed so much. It is worth every second spent.

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Season 1/5 The writer falls, the mess begins!

This is hilarious! Nothing new but really funny! And I am very difficult when humour is concerned. I hate slapstick and similar kinds of humour. This is smart funny.

The plot is the usual short c drama plot: a novelist falls into her own book and has to complete tasks in order to get out. Here, she needs to be punished and spend 100 days in Cold Palace in order to leave. But her quirky personality is very much liked by the cold emperor and she has trouble being condemned no matter what she does.

What makes this drama fun are the characters. All of them: main and support ones. They all have their unexpected sides. Even the cold and distant emperor sees his high walls shattered to smithereens by the FL's antics.

Just like any other hitorical c drama, this one is well produced, rather pretty to watch, runs smoothly (I watched edited full version) and is extremely well acted. By the whole cast. The main couple have great chemistry and you cannot help but root for them.

This is the first part of the series so the story is far from over. I just hope they won't mess it up by adding too many new characters. I am curious to see where the story is heading. The emperor is head over heels for the novelist who is currently only interested in leaving her novel and is not particularly drawn to the Emperor.

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Run of the mill revenge drama

Well, actually, since this revenge drama had absolutely zero originality, here are my notes in guise of a review.

Makjangs always start the same: a dramatic scene preferably a fire and the main antagonists facing each other. And then flash forward or flashback depending whether the scene is the root of the revenge or the endgame!
Half an hour in and this screams stupid abused FL oblivious of being set up! I don't think I can deal with another annoying FL.....And of course it looks like her abusive husband is behind it all! So 45min in and she has lost everything: her reputation, her career, her husband (not much of a loss there!), her house, her bank accounts! All she is left with is her life and the clothes she is wearing! Such a typical makjang beginning! Though nothing is ever what it looks what it is in a makjang ...So, then, paf! the surprise ending! Promised cliffhanger is well and truly there! On with the show!
In ep 2 we are introduced to the chaebol heiress and her father. They look the same age so I looked the actors up: and, guess what? They ARE the same age! Really good casting choices?????? The plot thickens! What is the connection between the lawyer and the FL? Apparently she does not know him, but he....?
Ep 3 so the lawyer is on the revenge path against our FL as well: while pretending to be nice to her, he actually hates her guts. And now they're involving a kid? I do not like it when the kids are being used like this....The FL and her husband are in a mud battle? Who will win?
On ep.4. Fine! I admit it! I am hooked and can't be bothered to notice insignificant details! The revenge on a sleazy CEO acted! Nice! Now for the whiplash!
In ep 5, the FL after the initial success has become arrogant and starts again behaving as an idiot. Back to the beginning! Are you kidding me? An ultrasound photo of a fetus? On a grave? How pro life! Americans would love this!
And the makjang keeps on makjanging: the guy has been stabbed and she asks him if he is ok?Really?!?
Ep 6 is even better: loan sharks human organ trafficking! The writers are using every possible trope there is! Yey! How original!
I have seen my share of makjangs but every new one I watch seems to go further than the previous one. Frankly, Koreans are amazing here! Secret remains my first and favourite one but all the others are just mindboggibly addictive in spite of lacking credibility and realisme.
Ep. 9 and our lawyer is having a change of heart, impressed by our FLs guts. He is starting to feel more than he should and thinks that maybe she is not what he thought her to be! Well we have reached the halfmark of the drama: they must be in love now according to the drama rule book, whether they know it or not! On the other hand, the FL's stupidity rises along with her arrogance and she is being set up again: how can she believe a tv company who is owned by the insurance company she is fighting against, would help her? I cannot watch her any more! And the lawyer is falling apart as well: going down the stupidity road as well and playing the way the big baddie wants him to! The more the revenge develops, the more brain cells are the main leads losing!
I am currently on episode 10 and want to rant about the lack of cliffhanging cliffhangers. Nothing was really surprising anymore after the first episode!
Do people really not notice when a car has been following them right behind for miles, stopping when they stop? It looks so obvious but the bad guys do not suspect anything?!?!?
Would it be possible to have for once a chaebol family where every member is not out to get the other family members, preferably get them killed?
The lawyer, the FL trusted betrays her and she's OK with that? He takes her son away, and she says nothing and continues working with him? Now, in ep 12 they are friendly! She does not seem to care he was instrumental in her probably never seeing her son again!
Ep 13 and the lawyer is working diligently for the big baddie, helping him cheat. I hope he is not because the big baddie is getting a trp ready to get rid of the lawyer. The battle of smarts! Who will win? Do we really need to ask?
So the big baddie has been arrested, but guess what?Surprise! A rotten politician bails him out in ep. 14. Wow, so unexpected! Not! Can't they be more original? Fortunately there is the big baddies daughter who is even worse and completely mad because of a traumatic event and therefore killing everyone who stands in her way. Chaebols are not considered human, right?
Security guards must really be particularly stupid, right? That seems to be the first requirement: be stupid and obey. How can anyone find the private detective credible, disguised as a cook with her hair flying around? Very sanitary! The music in last episodes is like something from american heist movies from the '70s!
So going into the last episode after that ending which wanted to be suspenseful but it was expected: everything that happened was obviously a trap set up by the crazy chaebol daughter. I just hope they have a live streaming camera in that ambulance!
Really how stupid can you be? The mad daughter is attacking the FL and instead of pushing her away you decide to become a human shield? Yes, it is more cinematic, sacrifice for redemption and all that idiocy.....
Last episode and the kid is dressed as a baby chaebol and not a kid!
And of course a corny ending with a hint of romance for the second couple and the "revenge task force" taking on another case and walking all importantly towards new victories.....

Otherwise I could just say that this was another cliché filled revenge drama, with predictable heroes and villains doing predictable things. It was an OK watch, rather suspenseful but apart from the first episode cliffhanger, every other fell flat. The acting was decent, the cinematography classical, the writing lacked originality.

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Sometimes we need a fairy tale!

Do people really fall in love when they are 6 years old and never forget about it? Allow the cynic in me to doubt the veracity of this trope and just consider it a fairy tale! Once this is accepted, this drama can be watched!

It is pure fluff: childhood crush, bickering neighbours, generous friends. This is what I like about j dramas: evil exes never found in these romcoms (unlike the korean ones...) and everyone is kind and sweet, nobody holds a grudge, mistakes are forgiven quickly. Fairy tale, I am telling you!

Two main leads met as kids when Kosuke helped Mako with her toy bunny. They met again only 22years later and get off on the wrong foot: Kosuke ridiculing Mako speaking about her first love. They both have two best friends each who are spectators of their love story, helping them along unwittingly mostly!

The series is a pure romcom. The main bickering couple are fun to watch while they are refusing to admit what is obvious to everyone. The rich friend and the photographer friend like them separately but nothing works out for them. And there is the bar owner who falls for a divorced other but that does work out either.

The MDL rating is reflects perfectly the quality of this drama: fun but nothing more. In spite of short episodes, it is a bit boring in the second half.

The actors had decent chemistry though I was sorry to see Machida Keita be treated as a second lead (and losing but that is the fate of second leads! lol). Production value is nothing to write home about, just classical and ordinary!

And they lived happily ever after!

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University bubble world BL

It has been a long time since I actually enjoyed a korean BL. This one was not half bad but rather unequal. And it was depressing gray and sad: and even one actor's radiant smile only managed to lift the heavy veil of misery for a few seconds!

The drama follows six guys and how they become couples. Three highschool friends enter the same university. The first one is looking for his old tutor who suddenly disappeared one day without a word. We find out later that he has a heavy life baggage. The other two are best friends and maybe more? The third couple is formed by a TA hit upon by a senior art student.

Here we have an ordinary university bl. The guys are nice and sweet and somewhat hot. The story is one already seen many times (hello Thailand!). The cast of characters is only the guys and two side characters: a best girl friend and an evil ex. The girl BFF helps while the evil ex of course wreaks havoc! The story is smooth sailing a bit slow in the beginning because the six main characters needed to be introduced. Those first two episodes seem messy, the conversations are incomprehensible but that is obviously on purpose. We are given the privilege to spy, look on these guys' lives so they are not going to start explaining everything they say to each other! I liked this process! We are allowed to see a part of their lives. Moreover, they are adults, legally, so we never see their family and therefore they are not worried about being accepted for who they are by friends and family: a question frequently arising in bls.

This series is just the bones, the basics of a drama. But even that suffices! The story is told and we are even given so much fluff in ep.10. Pacing is fine, the cast is a varied collection of cute and handsome and talented. Each couple is give a different level of intimacy: while the oldest couple (art student & TA) start by a one night stand, the others slowly explore sleeping together and the youngest guy (student/tutor) practices dead fish kisses. To each according to their level of maturity!

The drama is filled with usual tropes: childhood friends, friends to lovers, teacher/student, unrequited love, misunderstandings, evil ex, fake triangles etc.

The issuI have with this (as well as with most korean bls!) is the production values. They obviously have a bit more money, but money does not make up for the lack of vision and laziness. The cinematography is the usual ugly colourless sad one. The sound is atrocious, as always: those sounds of kissing are not romantic, they should have maybe switched the mikes off when they filmed those scenes or the echo on empty sets.

One tiny pet peeve: Lee Kwang Hee who plays one of the leads has an uncanny resemblance with Jung Hae In from Something in the Rain and every time he was on screen, I was reminded of SITR and would lose attention. Really annoying! So I tried to look him up on Google: the search result comes out as Hwang Kwang Hee, a korean singer!!!!Not even google knows him! Hope he develops his career and changes the hairstyle!

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Married or divorced, that is the question!

This is a stage play. Probably too long therefore they made it as a series. But nevertheless, it is still a stage play.

The drama tells the story of matrimonial troubles of two couples. To stay married or to divorce, that is the question! And mostly why? Love, companionship, society or family pressure?

There are four main characters who all like talking a lot so often they just talk to strangers or occasional acquaintances about their lives without expecting anyone to answer they flow of words.
The first couple are Hamasaki and Yuka. He is a rigid, serious and set in his ways man. He likes peace and order the most. His wife is the opposite: messy, exuberant, lively and friendly. They have been married for two years and they spend all their time together bickering and fighting over small things. He keeps threatening to divorce her until one day she goes through with it. He is surprised and for the first time he actually sees his wife for who she really is and realizes he loves her very much!
The second couple are Ryu and Akari. Ryu is a man child, spoilt, unconscientious and unreliable. He's married but that has never stopped him from sleeping around. Akari is the serious one in this relationship. She knows what he is like but she loves him and is happy to pretend not to see his wayward ways. Until her sister puts her in front of the mirror and Akari sees she had become who she hated the most: her mother. She breaks it off with Ryu who, just like any child when a toy has been taken away from him, starts a tantrum and decides he wants her. A typical child behaviour: the toy became interesting only once it had been taken away. He does not really care about Akari.

The drama is about the relationship between these four people. There is a host of support characters but they are there only to show the main characters' off.
The cinematography is original. Very static. There are not many different sets and the drama rarely ventures outside. First there is the interior of the first couple's tiny apartment which is filmed with CCTV cameras placed in ceiling corners. The fisheye effect is disturbing. And then there are many static scenes with the cast just talking without any music, and camera barely moving. Another thing giving it a theatrical vibe! And they talk a lot! And they talk very fast! In spite of that the drama is gripping, never boring but because of all the talking you need to pay attention while watching because in those torrents of words, the truths are told and secrets are revealed. Definitely not a lightweight watch but a high quality one!

By the end, most misunderstandings have been resolved though that does not mean they are going to stay together forever. They know each other's qualities and flaws but their personalities are too strong and too different for the compromise to last long time.

The actors are all excellent. Moreover, Eita sings beautifully!

The cherry on this excellent cake are the closing credits: a dance number slightly different in every episode! Amazing!

The only good version I found was on kissasian.mx but the site does not allow ad blockers. The version present on other sites is of atrocious quality! I could not find any official link! Unfortunately!

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Dead fish kiss country musical

In a gist! LOL

Coming from the makers of campy, silly and highly enjoyable Love Poison, SSN is another offering featuring Isaan, the region, the language and the music!

The story is nothing original: your ordinary enemies to lovers in high school while playing football and singing!

Ruk comes to Bangkok from countryside Isaan on football scholarship and immediately clashes with IG, school and internet star. They are friends with a group called Good Guys Gang within which there is another couple in the making, (friends to lovers trope) . During school break they discover they originate from the same region where they both go for vacation. There, their respective brothers (cousins?) are in a relationship they are hiding from everyone. Relationships are created and undone and afterwards they all go back to Bangkok to finish the school year. The misunderstandings are eventually resolved, there is overall acceptance and they all live happily ever after. The usual BL plot format!

Cue in, the musical part where these couples all suddenly burst into song expressing their love for each other. Read the lyrics of these songs, they are hilarious :
"It melt, melt I want to swallow you whole"
"The economy is bad, my house is in trouble"
"Wanna feed your dog and cat, just order me to do so"
"In Bang Khae you help your mom sell chicken rice"

The guys can barely sing, it is bad but the feelings are there and they are really invested in it.

The support characters are a colorful lot: the all accepting and understanding fujoshi mother, the authoritarian and funny grandma, the macho set in his ways father, the girl childhood friend who wants to be more and cannot, the ex girlfriend who keeps going back and forth. And the comic relief Good Guys Gang! As if the series was not funny enough!lol

The main characters are all the usual high schoolers: immature, high on hormones and thinking they are invincible! I did not like the height difference (another one of my pet peeves!) between Ruk and IG but they had decent chemistry.

There is a lot of kissing in this series: there are so many accidental kisses it became hilariously ridiculous. Unfortunately the majority of kisses between Ruk and IG, even when consensual and not accidental, are cute but frozen in time dead fish ones. The other couples go at it with gusto: not these two!

A fun watch, though not as good as Love Poison! It might be also that the novelty wore off pretty quickly as well: the first time was amazing, the second serving of the same is not as amazing. Production is low budget but they managed to make it look nice, nothing exceptional but nice.

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Komorebi is not a word, it's a feeling!

Komorebi{ 木漏れ日 } is the Japanese word for sunlight, which is filtered through the leaves of the trees. In particular, it means the visible light rays. “Komorebi” is composed of several parts of the word: “Ko” means tree or trees. “More” means: something that comes through, something that shines through or seeps through. “Bi” means: sun or sunlight. The word “Komorebi” reflects the romantic and emotional love of the Japanese for nature. Komorebi is that feeling, walking through the forest in the morning when the day wakes up or the afternoon when the sun goes down and the sun shines through the trees. When the sunlight kisses the ground. This light wind, this smell, this unique moment that makes every morning a special morning.

This short movie is just like that: it is all about feelings! Sometimes things not need to be said, just alluded to and felt!

The story tells of tergiversations of a man: he would like to tell his mother about being in love and getting married to his boyfriend but is afraid, he thinks he's going to hurt her if he comes out to her. But as the story progresses, we see the looks she keeps giving them and by the end we realize she knows without ever having been told. And of course, there are the socks....

The feelings are everything here: insecurities, love, kindness, understanding, possibilities, hope, happiness. The mother expresses all of these with a look, a gesture, a smile. Everything is so subtle so one needs to pay attention.

Nice short watch about how parents can unexpectedly and pleasantly surprise us when we are dealing with difficult issues.

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White hat of black hat?

So what do I take out from this mini c drama? Appearances can be deceptive. That is the only thing I really appreciated about this drama: it is not important how you look but what you do. Actions speak louder than white garb you wear. I felt it like a pique to today's righteousness at judging everyone by their outside features be it creed or colour.

The story about good and evil, the demons and the immortals but who is the real evil between them?? The story of star crossed lovers, dying every time they get close to each other. They are not really meant to be... but they announced that this was only season one so let's hope they'd manage to finally be together eventually without dying in the process. Or spitting so much blood! That was funny too: every time they got touched a bit too hard by the opponent, they would not strike back or fall but bend over a tiny bit and spit blood! For gods and immortals they are easily wounded!

The star crossed lovers did not have any chemistry together so maybe that was the reason they kept dying? It took some time to figure out which one of two men was the main love interest and it was unfortunately the one acting like clown (WWX like!), charming but zero credibility in romance department. Moreover, the actress looks too old compared to the actor!

The fighting scenes, the special effects, the music: the usual chinese xianxia fare pretty but forgettable. I'd probably rewatch it though if they ever make a second season!

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Seven year itch

Secret Love is an early bl or rather LGBT movie (2014) by GMMTV's house prolific director Jojo Tichakorn. That guy is seriously talented. Like seriously!!!

Even this short movie in spite of bad cinematography and looking amateurish, is better than a big number of currently airing bls. Apparently it is based on a true story. But the synopsys is misleading, to say the least.

Wan and Tar have been in a happy relationship for years. when Wan got a new job. In the office his immediate superior, Ohm, is kind, attractive and very touchy feely so much so that Wan falls completely for him. Tar realizes something has changed and when he confronts his boyfriend , Wan prefers to break up instead of trying to figure out what went wrong. Tar even contacts Ohm hoping to get his boyfriend back. They start talking and a connection is created between Tar and Ohm as well. Ohm actually falls for both of them!

The short film touches on important issues: adultery and sexual harassment at work. Nothing is sorted out and they eventually all go their separate ways. But the movie shows how easy it is to succumb to temptation and that there is a thin line between being friendly and harassment. The tension and the chemistry between the characters are palpable, so much so that I wanted them to finish all three of them together. No such result but still....

The actors are a mixed lot: Gun is just awful! I hated him in 2gether and here he is just as bad: he cannot help grimacing while trying to be cute: it does not work, it is just annoying! The other two , Ten and Pop as Tar and Ohm respectively, are excellent showing a range of emotions with restraint. By the way, where are those actors now? Why aren't they acting anymore? What a waste!

The movie is an early project and it shows: it is a bit all over the place (low budget +lack of experience probably) but the story is gripping and it is an excellent watch if you overlook the low production values (and a very bad quality video of it on youtube! ).

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Women empowerment!

I do not think, though I may be mistaken, that patriarchy and matriarchy are interchangable. The man rule the world in one way. If the women were on top, would they really behave like men? Permit me to doubt.

This mini drama takes this premise and does not do anything with it. So the women are a stronger sex and the men the fair one.

The story folows a macho, cocky pilot with numerous girlfriend, love them and leave them kind of guy. Until one freak accident projects him into a paraller universe where the gender roles are reversed. He has hard time ajusting until he meets Jacky, the counterpart of his current girlfriend and he falls hard for her while trying to find a way to go back home.

As I said, I love the idea but I find the execution lacking. In this parallel universe the women are behaving and dressing and mostly looking like men from this universe (kind of butch, mostly) while the men are just brainless pretty and apparently allowed to wear only bermuda shorts! I frankly did not like the simple reversal of roles because I do not think that women would behave like that in a matriarchal society. What comes out, on the surface in this drama is that the women in parallel universe are like butch lesbians and men like fem gays. Clichés and stereotypes abound!

That is why I am so disappointed with this drama since they could have done so much more with it instead of using the gender reversal roles for silly comic effect. The summum of cringe was the wedding!

The ending could be considered open: they each stay in their own universe never to meet again. Good thing that the writer did not pair him up with his world's version of Jacky. The only positive thing is that this drama could be used in heavily patriarchal societies (in Asia but not only!) as a teaching tool to have men realize the way they are treating women is far from correct. It worked on our male lead so why not on others? Or am I being too optimistic?

There is some original cinematography and the music is not bad either. But why did they use that old russian song "Moscow Nights" so much? It was distracting since that song is so well known in my part of the world and moreover, once you hear it it never leaves your head. An annoying earworm!

All in all, a very original idea that could have and should have had a better treatment. Maybe next time?

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Good things come to those who wait!

Well how do you rate a drama that keeps getting better and better over three seasons, so far? I could clearly see the evolution in production values, acting, storytelling but the episodes are painfully short! And even then they managed to deliver a comprehensible story.

This is the review for all three seasons!

I'm A Fool For You is about three highschool friends who suddenly meet again after five years. The center is Hin, a beautiful boy, with head full of dreams about becoming an idol and a toxic personality. His best friend Hugo has been in love with him forever and though he returns those feelings, Hin does not want to date him because he does not believe in love forever after and prefers having Hugo as a friend. He ends up losing him anyway. They meet again years later at the university, Hugo still carrying the torch for him. Hin still does not want to hear him out but hooks up with Yiu, another friend from school on a dating app. The first season features only these three characters. See the poster.

In second season we see the arrival of additional characters: Victor, Hugo's flatmate and Cory, Hin's BFF. This season tells us more about Hugo's backstory: the love confession to Hin and subsequent rejection, deception and sleeping around and finally being practically kicked out by his father. Hugo is a weak man, serviable, obsessively in love with Hin, addicted to him and does not know how to move on. Hin decides to pursue his musical career in Taiwan so he rejects Hugo again this time pushing him to the brink. Hin proved himself to be a selfish, uncaring man, only interested in himself, a real narcissist.

The third season takes place some time later: Hugo, depressed, attempted suicide. Unknown to anyone, Hin has come back from Taiwan with his tail between his legs, having failed to get his singing career off the ground. He now works as a server in a bar. He meets there Tony, who is kind to him but it turns out that Tony is just his twin, someone who cares nothing about others. When Hin is abandoned, just like he abandoned people who loved him, he breaks down and realizes that he should have held onto Hugo. Hugo, on his side, even though he still pines for Hin, decides to move on with his life when he meets Oliver. There are many new characters in this season, giving us a deeper insight into the lives of the three main leads.

Everything about the first season screams amateurs: the writing, the acting, the filming and I almost dropped it after 5 minutes since it was really unwatchable. But then the song started, a beautiful song and I was hooked because of it. And I said, it is short, let's just finish it. I was in for a really nice surprise since I did not expect anything in particular!

The story deals of addiction to someone, of obsessively loving someone even though they are not nice to you. The person Hugo loves is beautiful on the outside and immature and damaged on the inside. We do not know much about him, his family and upbringing but everything he does, the way he treats people who love him screams of a traumatic event. Hugo himself is not handsome and has low esteem but is kind and sweet, very vulnerable. It takes Oliver to have him realize he is worth more than he thinks and that he should stop demeaning himself. And finally enjoy a loving relationship between equals.

The posters for the two first seasons were what initially caught my attention: a drawing with cartoon drawn main characters. The intro (blink and you miss it!) is also a cartoon and is really pretty. I liked how they added new characters to it in every season.

The actors get better with every season with the exception of Pius Kung who played Hin and unfortunately seems to be losing his acting chops along the way. He found them again in the last episode: too little too late.

And of course, the music was the best part of the series: three dreamy songs....

This is a good short watch just don't expect high production values but they gave it all. There is also a blooper reel/BTS at the end of every episode. I hope they'll make another season!

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Love is a solution or a problem?

When I decided to watch the Substitute, the remark I noticed most people give in comments was "low budget" so I was a bit worried. I should not have been! This movie is a proof that one does not need huge budgets to make a good movie. More than good, an excellent movie.

Han Lu is a girl but her mother is convinced she is the reincarnation of her brother so she dresses her as a boy and makes her do everything her brother would have done. Han Lu follows the adventures of Ni Ke on line. She is an openly gay sporty girl. They meet at a sporting event and sparks fly between them. But when Ni Ke unwittingly takes away an opportunity to be an actress and is asked only to be her understudy, Han Lu is disappointed and abandons everything. Ni Ke suddenly disappears and the acting offer goes back to Han Lu . Three years later, Han Lu is a famous action actress and they meet again on a set where Ni Ke is a stunt woman for her.

The movie is split into two parts featuring one of my least favourite tropes: time jump. The first part is drama heavy. The relationship between Han Lu and her mother is poignant. Han Lu wants to be recognized by her mother for who she is but the woman is so lost in her grief that she does not want even to consider her daughter might not be her brother. Han Lu is fascinated by Ni Ke and admires her for the adventurous spirit and open mindedness and her "devil may care" attitude. When they meet the attraction is mutual but Ni Ke's character appeals to the producer more and he gives her the role intended for Han Lu who is disappointed when she realizes that she had lost the chance to flee from her mother.
This first half deals with grief (mother) and how the family copes with someone who refuses to accept the reality. The pressure of the customs and habits are to heavy for someone as insecure as Han Lu to break free so she just folds, every time.
Ni Ke is for her a symbol of freedom. When she disappeared(the reason is a bit unconvincing), Han Lu gained that freedom but at the expense of losing a person loved deeply.
This first half of the movie is amazing: the acting and the cinematography are excellent, the hand held camera filming was just what was needed to enter the inner worlds of two women and show their emotions. Perfect!
The second part takes place three years and is less interesting. They meet again, they clash since Han Lu is still hurt because she was abandoned three years earlier. Now Ni Ke is the substitute. Han Lu's costar is a macho who feels humiliated when Han Lu rejects his come on and when he realizes that the two women are in love, he keeps making homophobic remarks and tries to get Ni Ke hurt physically. The women eventually kiss and make up. This part of the movie seems to have a different camera operator: the colours are cold and everything is gray, empty and morose. The story itself is not sad, but the sets give that feeling.

How does it feel to be a substitute for someone else? This movie answers beautifully this question.

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A day in the life of...a coffee shop table!

An oval table in a small coffee shop in a quiet part of the city. A tiny vase with three small flowers decorate it.

This is the backdrop of this omnibus movie which tells the stories of this particular moment in the lives of four women. They have arranged meetings and have chosen this table because it was the only one with flowers on it. We find out the reasons behind these meetings but do not know what happened afterward
The first to come is a famous actress meeting her old boyfriend frow way back when. The conversation is stilted, they are obviously uncomfortable and he keeps asking her if the rumors going around about her are true and not believing her. He is impressed by her success but is jealous at the same time and is trying to find a way to bring her down. She's very much aware of it and after a few minutes leaves politely but very certain never to see him again.
Cautionary tale of never looking up the past, you are bound to be disappointed when you see the true face of the people you were so much in love with ages ago. Let the past stay in the past.

The second woman to come to the coffee shop was invited by a man she met months ago. After a one night stand, he left to go travelling the world: India and Europe. She did not really want to see him again but he had left his watch in her place so she wants to return it. Again, the conversation is stilted while she incredulously looks at him saying nonsense about his travels. Suddenly he takes out a present he bought for her in Europe. And another one and another one.... She realizes their one night stand had left a lasting impression on him and that he actually wants to get to know her better. They leave together!
This story is a love story in the making. The actors were cute and we could see the changes in the woman's face as she realizes that he actually never forgot her. Very subtle and sweet: she starts off very guarded, suspicious and on a defensive but melts as the story progresses.

The third encounter is between a woman organizing her own fake wedding and a fake wedding planner. As they talk about the people they need to hire to pretend to be her family and friends we discover that she is actually a swindler who fell in love. The wedding organizer works on the edges of illegality and has regrets because this job has prevented her from attending her own daughter's wedding. She offers to play the bride's mother in order to feel, even if it is fake, what it is like to be at one's own child's wedding. The bride, behind her strict and professional cool exterior hides a person changed by love who dares not hope for a happy future. Still she tries! This is a poignant story of missed chances and bad decisions which ruin lives.

The coffee shop's closing hour sees the encounter between an older woman about to get married and an ex boyfriend. She offers him to spend the last night together. The feelings linger heavy in the air, he is sorely tempted to accept and she is aware of it so she keeps pushing. But he manages to resist the temptation sensing it would be so wrong to succumb. They have strong feelings for each other and the reason they broke up is not really evident but since she is apparently getting married to a rich guy....To be or not to be tempted? Did they make the right decision about their lives? Are they going to keep living with regrets or their story is well and truly over?

The movie focuses on women and their emotions and it shows them to be strong, intelligent and responsible, open minded and reasonable. The men in these stories are just the sounding boards for the women to make decisions about their own lives.
The actors are all excellent. The cinematography is soft, pretty and mostly in muted tones. The way we follow the life of the flowers on the table is so symbolic of the events happening around it. The flowers wilt slowly until they are picked apart by the man in the last story to the chagrin of the woman.

I am a fan of omnibus movies. This one was interesting, very slow burn and rather static: just people sitting and talking. The only person really moving around was the coffee shop owner serving coffee and clearing the table. It is not a very long movie or particularly exciting for that matter but it is rather for the people who enjoy the kind of a movie where everything happens through conversation.

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The year of time travel bls?

For me, this is a long trailer giving us some ideas about the drama. It looks interesting and I'd watch anything James is in since I loved him in Bed Friend. A pilot would be a full episode or a short movie introducing the beginning of the series: something along the lines of Check Out ep.0. This is just probably best scenes from the first two episodes or so.... We'll see when it releases!

The story is nothing new: an unlucky guy has an accident and finds himself in the past. He is now someone else who, knowing he was going to come upon a tragic end, makes a wish to go back in time and fix things. But it is actually his future reincarnation that goes back in time.

The main question that remains unclear is why is the past guy murdered: a family feud or a love triangle?

Time travel and reincarnation are always going to get my attention so I will be certainly watching this one when it comes out. But there is another bl coming out soon with the same premise. This trailer shows more acting skills and more chemistry than the other one (I Feel You Linger In The Air- beautiful title!). It seems well filmed. The story is filled with tropes: love triangles, friends to lovers, murder mystery, the rich against the poor etc. but in a new setting so that's original. The chemistry is there and it is hot!

The acting in this trailer is top notch: these actors never disappoint, they can definitely carry a show and Love Upon a Time seems demanding it. So let's wait and hope for the best.

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