50fiftillidideeBrain

IMDb member since October 2002

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1,000+

IMDb Member

22 years

Reviews

Sanhujoriwon (2020)

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

17 November 2024

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

When Do Yoon & 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 & metaphoric is that, to have a child, is the death of one's previous life. Children break us down to nothing, & 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 w/ 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, & 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 & tries to juggle family life as well. Most people don't have a choice, & 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, w/o regrets. Not only is judging others useless, but it's harmful to us as it distracts us from the honest introspection & 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 w/ 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 & 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, & ends the call.

That sets the table. Through Jin's journey, the writers show the stress, the frustration, confusion, the bombardment of choices & pressures, all the nosy outsiders - each w/ an opinion, the fear, & the absolute irony involved in childbirth ~ & 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 w/o 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 & Physical Changes〰

Then it's relational stress. Poor Do Yoon. While his wife is being bullied, condescended to, & failing at breastfeeding, she's taking it all out on him. He can't even breathe right. He ends up bonding w/ 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 w/ them gushing over cribs & 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 & 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 - & 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 w/ 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 w/ 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," & "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 w/ 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 & 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 & 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, & worse. The perfect parent has yet to be discovered on this flawed earth - so relax.

〰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 & her career. This is really inconvenient for Jin. When Mom points out her selfish attitude, Jin blows up, in rich irony, & 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 w/ their /own/ parents ~ And around it goes. Jin ends up in a competitive 3-way interview w/ a top-rated nanny & another mother. They cut in a Joseon era sword fight between the questions.

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

Jin has trouble making breast milk & breastfeeding. That's no trifle - Her life becomes ALL about that ~strict diet~exercises~~> She feels like a cow. They flesh out the breast v bottle wars beautifully. Of course, the science is settled. It's better to breastfeed (cheaper, too). It's better to eat organic & 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 & to do /all/ the better things. We really have no idea what other people are going through & 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 & cannot keep it up, emotionally & 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, & it won't make the world a better place. These actions morph into self-aggrandizing superiority rituals, & 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. There's a sequence on the BvB 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 & cause fights on other continents... all over breastfeeding... It's bloody brilliant.

The acting & directing are excellent. The all female screenwriting team ot Kim Ji Soo (Missing Crown Prince), Yoon Soo Min (Stock Struck), & Im Yeon Soo (Go Back Couple) are the stars. They will make pregnancy less lonely. "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 e/o more - whether wittingly or not. They compete less & support e/o 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

📣7.5 📝8.5 🎭8 💓5 🦋4 🎨7.9 🎵/🔊7 🔚 ▪ 🌞5 ⚡1 😅3.7 😭2.5 😱2.5 😯3.5 🤢1 🤔8 💤0

Age 13+

Rated TV-15.

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Chaebeol X Detective (2024)

Boy Wonder 🤞🏼 Batman's Bratty Lil Brother °8.5° °Excellent° 💯%🔍

15 November 2024

"Everyone has their own task in their life. But I've never believed that." It opens up dark and foggy. It's creepy. It looks more like a horror film. "Living with no purpose was not that bad. But now, a question was thrown into my life. Now I start my journey to find an answer."

After that opening we jump back 2 mos. It's bright. It's colorful. Sparkly jazz is playing while bloody Marys are pouring. Su ditches the board meeting in the morning, telling his butler he needs to sleep more. He forces that butler to watch a clip of him swimming with the sharks. He looks like another worthless rich guy, a spoiled brat without a care in the world. Before he goes back to sleep, however, he gets a notification. There's been a kidnapping! The next thing we see is that he's on the SWAT team - Is he Batman? Is he a rich do-gooder, who appears aimless, but actually fights crime on the sly with the vast resources available at his fingertips? Nah, this is the dress-up/role-play swat team. This guy doesn't work hard, but he plays hard. This isn't a spoiler ~ we're still under 10 minutes in.

Soon we cut to real cops (Violent Crimes Investigative Team 1) chasing a real criminal. In the vicinity, our ML, Jin I "Su", has to defend himself against an assailant, but all Hy the cop sees, when she catches up to the action, is Su assaulting someone. He's arrested - Our leads meet that way. Su's chair-dad finds out about the arrest from a reporter. ~ At his press conference ~ He was attempting to announce his candidacy for Mayor of Seoul when he's blindsided by the news. He angrily vows to disown Su... Until the police realize during the course of their investigation that Su actually captured a murderer. He did not commit assault: It was self-defense. Su's father, the chairman, is furious once again, and the police are squirming because they're in a lot of trouble. They work out a win-all-around solution: the police will say that Su's been a cop for 2 months and worked with them to capture this murderer. Now, e'erbody happy. Everybody except Su's "co-workers" and the reporter that is now accused of making a false report, as he released the story that Sue had been arrested. So now....

Su's on the force. The cops are forced to work with him. But they're hoping he never actually shows up to work.

FXC is a 2024 release that is rated 90 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 16 70-minute episodes. It's plenty typical and formulaic, but if you go for cop shows that incorporate humor with a couple surprises, you'll likely enjoy this. I certainly did. The episode about hypnosis is a little bit weak, but all-in-all, one can't ask for more from a cop-edy drama. It's really good - They could turn this into a franchise. The cases are interesting and well conceived. Apparently, S2 has already been announced.

Ahn Bo Hyun (Kairos, See You in My 19th Life) plays the rich & spoiled Su. He's been shows that I loved: Her Private Life-8, My Only Love Song-8.7, & Descendants of the Sun-8.3. He was in a show that I liked: My Runway-7.5, and one that I hated: My Name-5.7. He's completely different in everything, so he's as versatile as he is good looking - and he is a specimen. Su inhabits a world that is entirely unfamiliar to the police. He has an advantage when it comes to investigating people of wealth and status as the son of the chairman - the /illegitimate/ son. Therefore, his stepmother despises him. Su might seem obnoxious at first, but he's a kind-hearted and delightful person. He's a touch carefree, even careless, but he doesn't have a mean bone in his body. His mother died when he was about 7. He has no memory of it, but he's told it was a car accident. His father is concerned that "he'll get his memories back".

Park Ji Hyun (Love All Play, Reborn Rich) is Lee Gang Hyeon/"Hy". She's not the most feminine female. Dad, also a decorated detective, is her drinking buddy. She's positively rough... and RUDE, and she despises Su. Her everyday look is so utilitarian that it was jolting to see her dressed up for a sting operation. She looks great. As mature as she seems, she's actually 6 years younger than her co-star. Ahn Bo Hyun must have some amazing genetics, because he looks like he could play a high school kid, still.

Kang Sang Jun (Marry My Husband, Doctor Slump) is hardboiled detective Park Jun Yeong, who has been alongside Hy since the academy. He seems overly interested in, and overprotective of her. He doesn't try to hide his disdain for Su. Kim Shin Bi (Journey to the Shore, Revenant) is the friendly junior detective and social media follower of Su, Choi Gyeong Jin. Jung Ga Hee (Longing for You,The Glory) plays medical examiner Yun Ji Won. I love this ME. She's got a dry wit, a great attitude, and she's funny. Jokes coming out of the autopsy room sort of write themselves. In one scene she puts a decayed rice cake that supposedly choked someone to death on the metal tray. She then takes a fresh one, bites it, and puts it on the tray next to the one she extracted from the deceased's throat, showing how the one from the dead body was obviously cut, not bitten. Point made, she picks up the one she had started eating off of the tray and pops it in her mouth. The delivery was perfect. I laughed out loud. Ms Jung has a short resume, and I look forward to seeing her more. Her credits are sure to accumulate as she is absolutely darling.

Director: Kim Jae Hong - He's a rock star. His most recent 4 efforts: FXC, Revenant, Through the Darkness, & Begins Youth are all rated 8.7 on MDL. He has 7 other credits; 3 in the 7.5-7.8 range and 4 in the 6.6-7.3 bracket. Not a dud in a bunch. Screenwriter: Kim Ba Da of A Man Who Was Superman & the popular My Name-5.7, which I didn't care for at all.

The cops do everything they can to keep Su on the sidelines, but he's just not the kind of guy to sit quietly in the corner. The next couple episodes deal with him proving himself. They're going to have to work with him, they realize. Money makes the day-to-day stuff easier (being a cop sure is costing Su a fortune), but it can really mess up relationships. That's the theme. Speaking of wealth, Su questions a wealthy person of interest at a tanning salon. Given that Kdramas are so pasty skinned my jaw dropped and I haven't found it yet. This is the first tanning bed I've seen in a Kdrama.

His stepmother is so abhorrent that he ends up moving back to the house where he lived with his mom, only to find out that Hy now lives across the street. This creates situations where he must interact with her parents. "For your information, this will be salty. I recommend not eating it." So Hy advises when she delivers the kimchi that her mother forced her to bring over. (It took 3 days of nagging but she finally caved in). And that's why Hy crossed the road ~ maybe the chicken was following her.

Will the seeds of romance bloom in S2? They aren't there yet, and they have more than one road to cross.

She's drab. Oh, how his presence must hurt her eyes! Lime. Plum. Lemon. Tangerine. Grape. His clothes are colorful, bright, expensive, and capital-F-Flashy. He's a peacock. Her car is really messy. She's more dude than chick. He comments on a sticky brown residue in the cup holder. "Oh, I spilled coffee yesterday." Unsatisfied, he presses further: "Didn't you clean it up?" Her unfazed answer: "I did" Unconvinced, he responds: "Do you have a tissue or anything?" She looks around, "Use this." She hands him a piece of /junk mail/. Only someone who's lived like a slob or has been around a slob would be able to write that. That's too authentic. It cracked me up.

Her Oma falls in love with Su first. Perhaps that's because she sees a potential mate for her rapidly aging daughter. There's nice juxtaposition when he's at his family's home for a press interview. Afterwards, dinner is being laid out, but stepwitch informs him that they are /not/ setting a place for him. When he gets home, Hy's mother insists that he come over and have dinner with them.

They have to do a stake-out which means spending even more time with eachother. That's followed up by an undercover operation where they are forced closer together. Su has things to work through before he can give all to a relationship. As we get to know Su, it becomes obvious that his cavalier attitude is the way he deals with pain. He's got some trauma that he's never dealt with. He's locked it away under the surface as evinced by his reoccurring dream about a painting of a woman submerged in water. Hy starts to hear from people (her father and a psychiatrist, for example) to be wary of Su: He's a ticking time bomb, she's warned. Halfway through the show, he gets his memory back.

Be that as it may, Hy will be the last one to deal with her own feelings. Most of S1 sees her on the fence as to whether she can tolerate Su at all. She wrote up a brutal recommendation to release him from the force, and it sits in her desk drawer. This mindset leads to amusing scenes, for example, when they're about to do a group arrest. She's handing out guns to everyone on the team. Su puts out his hand. Hy gives him handcuffs. There's NO WAY she's giving him a gun. Naturally, /he's/ the one that ends up saving the day and slapping the handcuffs on the perp. Later on, we see that he's had them gold-plated! You can't beat a guy with optimism (and resources) like that. You might as well tune in, then: You know if you can't beat 'em, you might as well join 'em!

QUOTE📢

There's no one who is strong enough to beat everything.

〰🖍 IMHO

📣8.5 📝8.3 🎭8 💓5 🦋4 🎨7 🎵/🔊7.4 🔚8.5 ▪ 🌞5.5 ⚡6.5 😅4.5 😭3 😱3 😯3 🤢3 🤔3.5 💤0

Re-📺? Totally worth it

In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like: Inspector Koo-8.4, The Golden Camellia Blooms-8, Why Her?-8, Sisyphus 8, Tunnel 8.5, Signal 8.6, Blood Free-8.5, Iris-8, D. P.-8.4, The Cursed 8.3, Flower of Evil 8.9, Wonderful World-7.8, The Man from Nowhere 8.9, The Wailing-8.8, Black 9,

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Miss Culinary (2019)

Little Chef in the Big City 🍍 Don't Watch This Hungry °7° °VG° 💯%🔍

14 November 2024

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

📣7 📝6.8 🎭7.5 💓5 🦋4 🎨7 🎵/🔊6 🔚7.4 ▪ 🌞4.5 ⚡3,😅2 😭3 😱1 😯3 🤢2 🤔4 💤0

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:

💓 - 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.

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Woman of the Hour (2023)

Trust the System °8.1° °Excellent° 💯%🔍

12 November 2024

WotH, though the subject matter is most unpleasant, contained a few pleasant surprises for me.

The year is 1979.

My first surprise was that The Dating Game was still being produced then. First airing in 1965, apparently it went on until 1986. One contestant would question 3 potential dates and select one winner - all sight unseen - sorta like the internet sans the fake photos. It was the emptiest fluff on the 'boob-tube', as they called it.

That's how society viewed women, especially females in their teens and 20s - empty fluff. Minority groups had it even worse. Behavioral Science, or the study of serial killers, was an 80's development. The general public hadn't conceived anything so evil. DNA wasn't utilized in law enforcement yet, and even fingerprint analysis was hit-and-miss, as computerized identification was still being developed. Basically, the USA was still part Wild-West where criminals had ample free reign, because people collectively believed that society was good. Many didn't even lock their doors! This was possible because the trust-coefficient in the societal structure, law enforcement, and leadership was so high.

WotH is a 2023 99-minute release that is rated 91/67 on RT & 6.6 on IMDB. I'm with team-critics on this one, for a change. WotH is a tidy little film that is smashingly well done. Anna Kendrick, who donated her earnings to charity, (Pitch Perfect, Up in the Air) is both the director (her fledgling effort) and the lead, Sheryl Bradshaw. She's smart. Really smart. She doesn't fit in - not in Hollywood. Hollywood... don't listen to what they say. Look at what they do. They've always preferred their women and minorities to be vacuous and obsequious. Women are sex objects & minorities, relegated to cartoonish, 2D type roles, serve to feed the pride of the majority - that's been the overarching message coming out of Hollywood for more than a century. Somehow, they've gotten away with their rank, disgusting hypocrisy by putting out a small percentage of positive material and their penchant for activist verbiage. For too many of us, words are enough. We've over-trusted the words of leaders in government and industry without paying sufficient attention to their actions and applying our critical thinking skills, which takes lots of energy. We are all busy, afterall.

WotH carefully stitches together the experiences of 3 women to give us a look at a serial killer from 3 different angles. Autumn Best plays the most heroic role of the film. She's a runaway who survives an encounter with the villain, and is the one who reported him to police, which led to his conviction and incarceration. Nicolette Robinson (One Night in Miami) is Laura, a woman who is in the Dating Game audience and recognizes Alcala from a fateful night when her friend disappeared. He gave her the creeps then. She worried about leaving her friend at the beach, but brushed those reservations aside. She never saw her friend again. 'Don't you think the show would vet their contestants? How could he be walking around free if he's a killer?' ("Trust the System" her boyfriend urges.) She spurns the social-molly and decides to take action. Anna Kendrick, as Sheryl, is the Dating Game contestant who picks this charmer out of a lineup as the best of the bunch. A career corrections officer I know assured me that criminals are the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. They are masters of deception, Alcala included. Sheryl agrees to a drink after the show is taped. Their meet-up is what takes the film from good to pure gold. Kendrick takes us on a date from hell. It starts hopeful, but tension and dread build steadily and methodically up to the "Where is my car; why did I park so far away, I can't breathe" moment where panic settles in.

The acting is excellent, including Daniel Zovatto (Don't Breathe, Flinch) as the creepster, Rodney Alcala. The dialogue is intelligent - Ian McDonald (Some Freaks) is the writer. The directing is great with quality touches and segues, along with good camera work. The message is cogent. It's so cogent that I think all young girls would benefit from a viewing.

"No matter what words are used, the question beneath the question remains the same: Which one of you will hurt me?", the makeup ladies surmise. The answer is much broader than single bad-actors. The system will always default to crushing us. That's where history and the facts point. This is another example of how police didn't take the words of women or crimes against women and runaways seriously.

Society runs on trust. We leave the house and trust the sidewalk to support us. We trust that contracts will be enforced and police will protect us. Reporters always tell the truth. Courts, which run on testimony as much as evidence, are fair. Going with the flow is easy. It takes energy to think independently. If we are too busy we'll never stop and figure it out: This world runs on trust, but this world turns on deception. The older I get, the more I see that. One simply cannot operate without confidence in the system, to a certain extent. The question is: To what extent should we be trusting it? We don't question it enough. We also believe what we want to believe, especially in politics, which I gave up a while ago. {The only thing politics has accomplished over the last 40 years is that we all hate eachother. They could fix things. They don't want to. There are compromises that would satisfy 85% of the population, but they would lose their political footballs. Don't believe what either side says. They have proven they don't deserve it.} One of my friends has been suffering harassment and complains to me that the police haven't done anything. I reminded her that the police have never been about preventing crime as much as punishing crime. I have other friends who have been navigating a legal case and are aghast at the insanity of the courts. They are only surprised because they haven't been paying attention.

Your safety, well-being, and day-to-day needs are primarily up to you. That is the hard truth, and I wish it were different. Too many women have been chewed up by a system that has failed them over and over and over again. Trust should be earned. Don't give it away. Don't deceive yourself over what you /want/ to be true. Don't be lazy about it! And don't be part of the problem. Be the 3 women featured in this film: Speak up. Be courageous. Know when to walk away. And make it a habit to regularly re-evaluate your presuppositions and where you place your trust. What evil lurks out there that we still haven't yet conceived in our minds? Don't be the one to find out.

QUOTES📢

It's amazing how one selfish @$$h0le can £uckup your entire life.

Sometimes it's necessary to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly. Edward Albee

〰🖍 IMHO

📣8.3 📝8 🎭8.7 🎨8 🎵/🔊6 🔚8.5 ▪ 🌞4⚡4 😅2 😭6 😱5 😯5 🤢4 🤔7 💤0

Age: There is violence, murder, and R-rated language including F💣s. It is contained and never gratuitous. However, this is the type of show a girl needs to see sooner, not later. His last victim was just 12.

Rated R - restricted

Re-📺? 👍🏽

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Gan Tteoleojineun Donggeo (2021)

Outfoxed ¤ A Better Marble Trap °7.8° °Excellent° 💯%🔍

11 November 2024

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 📣8 📝7 🎭8 💓6🦋5 🎨7.5 🎵/🔊7.7 Best song - My All 🔚8.3 ▪ 🌞6 ⚡3 😅3 😭3.5 😱3 😯2 🤢2 🤔3 💤0

Age 12+ Sime scary elements. A disturbing evil spiri

Rated TV-15

Re-📺? 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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Gaet-na-eul cha-cha-cha (2021)

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

10 November 2024

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. 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. High School King of Savvy is his first effort and it's solidly rated. 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. 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, 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 a 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. Qite the opposite.

〰🖍 IMHO

📣8.2 📝7.8 🎭8 💓7.7 🦋5 🎨7 🎵/🔊8.8 🔚8 ▪ 🌞6.5 ⚡3 😅4 😭3 😱2 😯2 🤢1 🤔5 💤1

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

Rated TV-14: Parents Strongly Cautioned.

Re-📺? 🆒

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,

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Hwan Hon (2022)

Shifters Grifters Drifters & Heart Lifters °7.9° °Excellent° 💯%🔍

10 November 2024

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 killer; she was made. After her tribe was massacred, 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 that Mu-Deok 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 a string of 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, I'mSorry 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 slightly above 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?

〰🖍 IMHO

📣8 📝7.4 🎭8 💓6 🦋5 🎨9.3 🎵/🔊8 🔚8.4 ▪ 🌞5 ⚡7 😅4 😭4 😱4 😯3.5 🤢4 🤔4 💤0

Age 12+ Scary elements violence gore; S2 language b@$+@rd, $h!+

Re-📺? 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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Sin-gwa ham-kke: In-gwa yeon (2018)

Guardians, Old Souls, & Outlaw Gods °6.7° °good f/u to AwtG2🌏° 💯%🔍

5 November 2024

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.

AwtG2🌏 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 AwtG2🌏. 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;

🎎 - 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

🔮🐉- K🇰🇷: Alchemy of Souls-8.3,

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

⚡/😱 - 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.

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Sin-gwa ham-kke: Jwi-wa beol (2017)

Trial By Afterlife °7.2° °good° 💯%🔍

4 November 2024

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.

AwtG2🌏, 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, AwtG2🌏 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. AwtG2🌏 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

📣7 📝6.5 🎭7.7 🌞5 🎨8.4 ⚡7.8 🎵/🔊6 😅2 😭6 😱4 😯3 😖2 🤔4 💤0 🔚8 and it continues....

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

Re-📺? Down the road... maybe.

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An lian: Ju sheng huai nan (2019)

🐔Let's Get to Crackin🥚 °good° 💯%🔍

3 November 2024

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) and crushing on him, from afar, since HS. Sheng never noticed her - She was always behind him somewhere. He did notice the 🐓 however. When she put on the chicken outfit, she wasn't such a chicken anymore, and she approached him. The presence of a large 🐓 ended up being a great distraction that gave Sheng a leg up in an uncomfortable situation. When he removed the 🐔-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 🐥 inside her that one day, and since Sheng lifted that 🐔-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 🐤? 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 or °slow° that's relaxing - and it's widely 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 that make UL worth a watch.

They end up involved in the drama club and put on a production of Shakespeare's 12th Night. {Apparently, 🇨🇳 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 🐔 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 🌏 will crack. Towards the close of the series, 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 🐓, 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 🐓 that moved like a 🐢 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

📣7 📝7.5 🎭7.7 💓7 🦋5 🎨5 🎵/🔊7.5 🔚7.5 ▪ 🌞4.5 ⚡1 😅2.5 😭2.5 😱0 😯2 😖0 🤔5 💤2

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

Age 12+

Rated TV-PG-13: Parents Cautioned

Re-📺? 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, Hidd5 Love-7.8.

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Zui hou jue ding ai shang ni (2011)

Marriage in Hog Heaven 🐷 The Wild Boar Bites The Prickly Pear °7° °good & silly° 💯%🔍

2 November 2024

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, itain'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.

QUOTE📢

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

📣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, 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;

🔮🐉- C🇨🇳: Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9; Douluo Continent 9.4; Handsome Siblings 8.7; Ancient Love Poetry 8.6; Love and Redemption 10

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

Marriage in Hog Heaven 🐷 The Wild Boar Bites The Prickly Pear °7° °good & silly° 💯%🔍

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Zhen ai chen xian zai (2012)

Flush the Fish Farm 🚽 What Happens in Borcay is Meant to Stay °3.6° °interminable mess° 💯%🔍

31 October 2024

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 ...⏳... goes by, though, 🅾 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 Tw🇹🇼Drama. 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 Tw🇹🇼Dramas. 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, 🛁 and 🚽. 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 🔑 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's been running with other women, and Lan Shi De has been 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 fair 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 🔥 or ⛄. 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 ⏳⏲🕰⏱⌚⏲⏰ ⌚⌛ 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

📣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-📺? 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

💓 - 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;

🎎 - 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

🔮🐉- 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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Bulgasal (2021)

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

30 October 2024

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

📣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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Taekbaegisa (2023)

Going Postal °a generous 7° °good but lacking ° 💯%🔍

29 October 2024

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

📣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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Maestra (2023)

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

28 October 2024

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

📣7 📝7 🎭8.3 💓5.5 🦋4.5 🎨7 🎵/🔊8.3 🔚8 ▪ 🌞3⚡4 😅1 😭4 😱4 😯4 🤢3 🤔5 💤2

13yrs+

Re-📺? 👎

⛔SPOILER⛔ 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.

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Xin bai niang zi chuan qi (2019)

Hiss! 🐍 Legendary Bore °4.5° °too cold-blooded° 💯%🔍

27 October 2024

I was watching the show, Unrequited Love-7. The leading couple is teased by being compared to The Legend of White 🐍. That made it an easy choice as to what to watch next. Let me make it easy for you: Don't bother. It isn't worth your time given the many better shows out there.

I love Chinese fantasy. So, I went into TLOWS expecting to love it, which carried me through half the show. I ignored irritation after boring irritation until I finally realized that TLOWS is really, really bad. (Still finished it - waste of time). Its plot slithers around w/out going in a clear direction. It's frequently pleasant & the characters are likable, but it's boring. It stays in the dust & never lifts to greater heights. The primary couple is simply goodness in silk robes, but they're dull. I suppose we could say that it goes into snake-like Brumation.

The logic is insulting at times. Xu's older sister is often a veritable moron in the way she looks at things. She doesn't seem to understand that Bai & Xu are married ~ Ruyi is not part of their relationship. Xu's amnesia doesn't change that. Another example is when Bai believes her own presence is the problem. Ing points out that Ruyi is a schemer. Bai shouldn't let Xu stay around her. Bai lamely replies that Ruyi truly loves Xu & would never hurt him. On the contrary! Ruyi's actions not only caused the current mess, but she has done /nothing but/ endanger & HURT others! There's betrayals w/ insufficient justification - it all happens too easily & is often the opposite of what was previously established. At one point Xu is focused on Bai & what he thinks is a wrong strategy to deal w/ a demon oppressing the family. He calls in the monk to help... w/ BAI, but NOT the demon doing the oppressing? Ridiculous. There's plenty more examples; they pile up. I started to actively hate it north of ep30, & by ep34 my fangs came out.

Lots of viewers enjoyed it, however. Maybe they hadn't seen Handsome Siblings-8.7 or Ancient Love Poetry-8.6 yet. Now /those/ are good fantasy shows. This show has groundwork for something spectacular but it never leaves the pit. The following is from the notes that I took when it still 'had' me.

Per Wiki, TLOWS "is a Chinese legend centered around a romance between a man named Xu Xian & a female snake spirit named Bai Suzhen. It is counted as one of China's Four Great Folktales..."

Tim Pei is Fa Hai, a fighting monk. His Shifu has foreseen a bad omen: A dangerous 1000 y/o evil spirit is in Lin'an. He equips Hai w/ a bowl to catch the demon & an elaborate pixie cane to 🆔 sinister forces. Hai is strictly forbidden to act w/o a sign from the cane. He wants to eliminate Qing, but the cane 💘 her. This monk is adorable. Don't get your hopes up. The monk has the potential to be the best romantic lead of the show, but monks are celibate.

Ju Jing Yi plays 🐍 spirit "Bai" Su Zhen. She's just cultivated into her human form after a millennia of effort. She is kind. She wouldn't dream of hurting people; she wants to be a Buddhist. Request denied: She must live as a human first. Humans have emotions, & Bai must learn how to overcome emotions. Off to 🌏 she goes, where she gets to experience the most wonderful thing on 🌎. Love? NO! FOOD!

Early on she meets physician Xu. She knew the doctor's previous incarnation but finds the current version lacking. He notices her, she's beautiful afterall, but she's not impressed. She leaves, unimpressed. Yu Meng Long plays Dr. "Xu" Xuan (often called Hanwen). Bai encounters a darling young boy whose mother is very ill & offers to help. Guess who's already treating the woman? She clashes w/ the good doctor once again at the patient's house. Each thinks the other is a scammer. As attraction builds, though, he ain't gotta chance. One day when she doesn't want him to leave, she conjures a rainstorm. Still, a more willing victim may not be found. In the end, the romance is cold blooded & nearly emotionless, sadly.

In the meantime, Ruyi is also out to entrap Dr. Xu - into marriage. Yu Lang plays shyster Jin 'Ruyi'. Selfish Ruyi is the source of most of the conflict in the show. Li Lin is one of the best characters as Xu's brother i/l & the constable. Prince Mu looks alittle like Chachi (Scott Baio) from Happy Days.

We haven't even gotten to our 4th lead yet. Xiao Yan is Xiao 'Qing', a naughty 🐍 deity. Qing's exactly what the good monk is looking for ~ to kill. The actress is adorable & the best thing about the show. Asian culture interchangeably translates the words deity & demon, but it's not exactly the Western/Christian concept of demons. In Chinese fantasy, demons can be good, & many are. In TLOWS & many other stories, cultivating power is excessively difficult. For demons, the same result can be achieved by devouring humans, & who doesn't love a shortcut? Many succumb to the temptation. Demons get a bad name from that. Early on, Qing has clashes w/ Bai, but it only sparks Qing's interest. Abandoned by her mother long ago, she's lonely. She was cultivating into a man. So far, she's managed to become 80% woman. When the quest starts (she opts to follow Bai) her cultivation stops, so they are two Sassy-lassies traveling together. Wait. Cultivating into a man is more difficult & takes more time than cultivating into a woman? The opposite should be what's true. Given their reproductive organs, women's bodies seem more complicated than men's anatomy. Even the creation story shows man as a warm-up & woman as the final prototype. Jusss sayin...

Most of our protags clash w/ a 🐺 demon, Lady Nexin. She soon has our 4 protags plotting against e/o. The centipede demon - the really bad monster - is also on the prowl. While the leads are, intermittently, looking squint & wide-eyed at e/o, things are increasingly dangerous. Children have already started disappearing from Lin'an. Soon demons & other bad guys are impersonating our protags causing greater confusion.

"Predjudices are not formed in a day." "We differentiate between demons & humans w/ our hearts." The primary theme is racism. Though genetically human, Ruyi is the actual demon in TLoWS. The monk is the one who struggles w/ the issue & must ultimately fight the monster w/in himself before it takes control & changes /him/ into a demon. When Qing helps Monk Hai fight the centipede, Hai is forced to re-examine his presuppositions. "Common people seek benefit, but wise people seek the core..." once Bai passes on her essence to Xu to heal him, she's no longer fully a demon, & he's no longer completely human. As a literal thinker, this is a conundrum for Hai, & he spends a good deal of the show working it out. We also see a person who is indwelt by a demon accuse another person of being a demon. The message is unmistakable: We are all blind to our own stuff, & we are often what we hate the most. That's one of the funniest (and most tragic) things about racism. The very word is a lie. What is race? There is only the human race, w/ its many ethnicities. Ethnic groups are just large, old families. We all hail from what is now the Middle East & Ethiopia. Scientists & theologians agree - we came from 1 woman. Race & racism are just pride-based lies that we've all decided to believe. It is hard enough to find a decent human being. Limiting yourself to 1 shade of skin makes the challenge all the more difficult.

They do have fun clashing up Qing & the monk. Once he realizes he can't kill her, he thinks it's a good idea that she sit & copy scriptures. She's totally flummoxed that anyone would think copying scriptures is a good way to spend one's time. "All the joy in the world comes from one's desire to help others. All the misery in the world comes from one's selfishness. Sadness & happiness are nothing but thoughts," he reminds her. She reminds him that he has no idea what fun is! What would have been fun is if those two paired up. Monks are celibate, though. Sigh.

There's beautiful shots & lovely action, despite somewhat clunky special effects. At the 🏮 festival they look into e/o's eyes & everything stops. Next, the background blurs by, while they stay frozen. They have fun showing the deities' true forms as translucent overlays, particularly in fight scenes. The opening looks like a Maxfield Parrish / Thomas Kinkade collaboration. Costume & design are usually beautiful in a Chinese fantasy piece, & such is the case here. I love the girls' hairdos, & the wedding headdress is especially nice. Shazamed: A song, by Ju JingYi.

I'll finish w/ a transcription tip & other fun facts: GRUE. The Chinese, historically, don't differentiate between green & blue. So you might see Qing's 🐍 form referred to as green. The thought of not differentiating between basic green & blue takes me straight to Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) in The Devil Wears Prada - "But what you don't know. Is that that {Qing} is not just blue. {She's} not turquoise, {She's} not lapis. {She's} actually cerulean." ;)) Bai returns to Mt. Emei to bolster her power. Mt. Emei is a real place. Located close to the country's center, it's the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. Finally, you might notice swastikas floating around the screen. The Nazis co-opted this symbol from ancient times. Per goog "In Chinese, the swastika is called "wan" which is a homonym for the Chinese words "ten thousand" & "infinity". It's a symbol of immortality, longevity, the universe, God's manifestation, & creativity." It's also fascinating to see the traditional Greek scrolling on blankets & architecture. These are small evidences that we came from a common origin. We're 1 race.

QUOTE📢

A moment of beauty may lead to a lifetime of love.

〰🖍 IMHO

📣5 📝4 🎭7 💓4 🦋2 🎨7 🎵/🔊7.4 🔚6 ▪ 🌞4 ⚡4 😅1 😭4.5 😱4 😯6.5 😖2 🤔3.5 💤6.5

Age 12+ Language G0d@mn

Rated TV-PG-13: Parents Cautioned

Re-📺? Not a chance.

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Brave Animated Series (2021)

✖🅿 Don't Think Act Now °7.5° °VG° 💯%🔍

26 October 2024

What a pleasant surprise.

🅱rave is a 2021 🇹🇼Taiwanese release that was adapted from a Taiwanese comic series. It is 1 season consisting of a mere 6 24-minute Mandarin speaking episodes with English subtitles.

It takes a page from Prime's The Boys, in that these heroes ain't always heroic. It also borrows heavily from Chinese fantasy templates in that there are different races (human, demon, Heavenly realm), but special powers aside, they are just like humans and the issue is racism.

Our hero realizes early in the show that he is an operative for an institution that no longer adheres to its own principles. It's rotted from within. Other heroes are not protecting the citizens: They are beating up on defenseless beings merely to increase XP. He stops merely going through the motions and thinks... Then he quickly reaches the point where he can't go with the flow anymore. No more 🙈🙉🙊. It's actually pretty rough, but it ends up quite heartwarming as well.

🅱 is drawn in simplified CGI. The colors are bold and often dark. The look of it is fresh and original. People are drawn crudely with simple lines. Backgrounds are minimalist but often lovely. I think the choice to go with simplicity is to reinforce the concept that these issues are simple. It isn't that it's difficult to figure out what the right thing to do is. It's, rather, that doing the right thing is almost always the hard option, and it usually puts us at odds with the crowd. Overall, the message is positive. 🅱 is absolutely worth the small time investment.

There's bonus material after the black and white credits so fast forward to the end.

QUOTE📢

When people go from "How do I survive?" to "What am I living for?" it would be considered progress.

〰🖍 IMHO

📣7.5 📝7 🎭8 💓5 🦋4 🎨7 🎵/🔊8 🔚6 ▪ 🌞6 ⚡6 😅4 😭4 😱4 😯3 🤢4.5 🤔5 💤0

Age 14+ cannibalism shown when speaking of the past Scattered PG language like $h!+

Re-📺? Absolutely

Recommendations: Land Of The Lustrous 8.1, Legend of Exorcism 8.8 Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? 7.7, Gate 7.9, Reincarnated as a Sword 8, The Eminence in Shadow 8.8.

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Hono no Tenkosei: Reborn (2017)

Swoosh Flick & Flare °6.5° °has its moments° 💯%🔍

26 October 2024

They're messing with his mind. He arrives at his new school. A pretty girl greets him. He's happy... until he's carried off to the underground fights by buff boys in boxers. BTS is a 2017 release that is rated 89 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 8 30-minute groaners, I mean episodes. And boy are they idiotic. They're also pretty funny.

It is simple, childish, and arguably stooopid, but that's its charm. These transfer students each has special abilities. After the fight is sorted, they learn it was part of an evaluation. Their new school is a force for good! They've been selected to clean up schools in trouble. Almost immediately, they are placed on assignment as transfer students at schools in need of reform. They don't know how to use their abilities, however, so they generally get beat up in the field and luck into any successes.

The first mission is at an academy that has been feeding their charges a brain food supplement. The supplement has the unfortunate side effect of turning people into zombies. Another school is all girls; they've taken to kidnapping boys. Our heroes are so distracted by the girls during that one that they forget to rescue the kidnap victim. He had to escape on his own.

Shigeoka Daiki (Kore wa Keihi de Ochimasen!, Higuma) is Kakeru Shigeoka. He falls in love with Hikari at first sight. He is cute, but infinitely average. Kiriyama Akito (Asa ga Kita, Gekikaradou) is Kiriyama Kakeru. He is an old soul. Nakama Junta Ninjani (Calling on! Fight Towards the Future, Gokusen 3) is Kakeru Nakama. His glasses are smarter than he is. Kamiyama Tomohiro (Daibinbo, Switched) portrays Kakeru Kamiyama. He has a thing for moms. Fujii Ryusei (Yokoso Wagaya e, Rokuhodo Yotsuiro Biyori) is Kakeru Fujii. His flowing blonde hair is glorious. He knows that. Hamada Takahiro (Kazama Kimichika: Kyojo Zero, Shotai) plays Kakeru Hamada. He's a brawler. Kotaki Nozomu (Momikeshite Fuyu, Rokuhodo Yotsuiro Biyori) plays Kakeru Kotaki. He's also a brawler - right out of the 1950's. He would NEVER make a woman cry.

Yep, they're all named Kakeru. They're all weird in their own way. One likes mature women, though he dresses like a little boy. One has special glasses that can help him figure out anything. One dresses like a sushi chef at an Edo period themed restaurant. Two are brawlers, one of which has to doowap hairdo. And the last one does seem like a pretty average guy, and he's definitely NOT Hikari's brother.

Kawashima Idaten (Umika Ie, Tsuite Itte ii Desuka) is Hikari, the cutie that's also an aid to the principal. The director is Lee Toshio of When I Get Home, My Wife Always Pretends to Be Dead & Dad's Backdrop. The screenwriter is Kawabe Yuko, who brought us Koi no Yamai to Yarougumi, Koi no Yamai to Yarougumi, Toyama Erika Grandma no Yuutsu & BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita: Crank Up Hen.

The acting is actually quite good in that things seemed effortless. The directing is crisp, something necessary given that the show is just over 3hrs. Comedy is the least respected genre, yet it's also the most challenging. BTS passed the test in that it did make me laugh a few times. It's based on a manga. Manga and anime are all about a child-like sense of wonder and silliness. Viewers that have a silly side are likely to enjoy this. If you aren't the type to roll your eyes and grin at the same time, then enroll elsewhere.

QUOTES📢

Narcissists are invincible.

Luck is a skill.

〰🖍 IMHO

📣7 📝6 🎭7.5 🎨6🎵/🔊6 🔚6.5 ▪ 🌞4⚡6 😅5 😭2 😱3 😯2 🤢2 🤔2 💤1

Age 15+ Language: R-rated F💣s, sex & boob jokes, but not much

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.... But maybe I will...

You may also like:

After the Rain 7.3, Ao-chan Can't Study 7.8, Beyond the Boundary 7.8, Chaika The Coffin Princess 8.4, Chihayafuru 8.5, The Eminence in Shadow 8.8, Flowers of Evil 7.7 (not dubbed), Food Wars 8.2, Girls Und Panzer 8, Kokoro Connect 7.4, Land Of The Lustrous 8.1, Love Chunibyo And Other Delusions 8.4, Made in Abyss 9, Maid Sama 10, Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun 7.7, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU 8, Parasyte the Maxim 8.9, Pet Girl of Sakura Hall 7.3, Real Girl 7.5, Senryu Girl 7.5, Special A Class 8.2, You're Under Arrest 7.8.

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Chu lian na jian xiao shi (2019)

The 🐁 Invades the Lighthouse /or/ Never underestimate the power of a good hairdo °8.5° °Outstanding° 💯%🔍

25 October 2024 - 1 out of 1 users found this review helpful.

"As long as there's a lighthouse you'll never get lost." Mom's an optimist. Even still, business has been bad. Hopefully this location near the lighthouse will turn it around. Speaking of lighthouses, not all are mere buildings: Some people can light our way.

Every element of ALTCFL is solid. It is the best modern-day Cdrama I've seen. Headed up by women, writer Zhao Qian Qian is a force for good w/ A Love So Beautiful-7 (already adapted into a Kdrama), Put Your Head on My Shoulder-7.3 & The Love Equations to her credit. The director is Qi Xiao Hui of Consummation. Gentle piano playing & soft techno-pop creates a soothing effect. Spotify has the playlist.

That doesn't mean it's blemish free. It has typical Cdrama quirks, like when characters complain about the heat, yet they don't take off their jackets, smh. Kai's father falls in the water. In Cdramas, going into the water is treated as a threat of imminent death. Just swim w/ it as a traditional representation rather than realism. Such small foibles can add up, but ALTCFL doesn't have many. What's probably the most offensive is how, when Miao is in her ugly stage, her skin is darker. Asia is under a shared delusion that pale skin is most attractive. Sure, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but just like a sunset is undeniably beautiful, so is a nicely copper-toned skin. For Asia, this isn't really a looks-based preference at all, though. It's an antiquated fashion based on a prideful perspective from the days when fair skin was associated w/ wealth. Field workers were the ones w/ the tanned skin. The important people were the pasty ones. Hey, Asia!! - Pasty isn't prettier than a lovely tan.

Lai Kuan Lin (Don't Disturb My Study) plays ML & human lighthouse, "Nian". I've gotta admit he's delish. Even his coach seems to have a crush on him. He's kind to kids, including Miao's sister. When he says Miao's name, he makes it sound scrumptious. Think his voice is a rich & woodsy bourbon? He was a pop star before he acted. Call him Mr. Asia: He's Taiwanese, a K-pop star, & is now a Chinese actor. He's also a superb romantic ML. What they did nicely in My ID is Gangnam Beauty-7.5 they do even better here. He sincerely seems to find her cute when she's in her "ugly" stage. The viewer believes he's being drawn into her w/ his eyes doing the majority of the work. At times he seems more likable than 🍦... or did I mean lickable? 😜

Zhao Jin Mai (Princess Royal) plays the homely Miao Miao. Her name sounds like "meow-meow", but she's not a 🐈, she's a 🐭. She's got awful teeth & worse hair (it looks like a scotchpad scrubber). One can tell Miao's impy face is cute, but only barely. Miao struggles w/ math, but she is good at making doll clothes for her sister's enjoyment. (When mom finds out why her curtains keep getting shorter - they've been using the fabric - it's not Miao's happiest moment. Mom is scary.)

Alone at a new school, Miao is transfixed by Nian. W/ her new house being on his route to school, they /always/ seem to run into eachother. He is /always/ kind. Miao is seatmates w/ the surly "Kai" who is antagonistic towards his cousin, Nian. He's got a "thing" for family members: It's love or hate. But even he is patient w/ our sweet 🐭 who gets into everything, everywhere. The prim "Xin" initially is awful to our 🐭, but after a couple random acts of brave kindness they become friends. Xin appears snobbishly self-important at 1st, but she has a warm 💗 & she's true. Wang Yi Miao is the special topping on this confection as Miao's lifelong friend, 'Xia'. I'm jealous. I want a 'Xia' too. She doesn't get to shine until the summer before college. Mom has a sharp tongue. Dad is warm & quietly content to let mom take the lead, but will step up when bravery is required. Miao's alot like dad. Little sis is a touch entitled & bratty but still endearing (she's alot like mom).

Soon, Miao starts to want to do more, to be more. Like a 🐭 grabbing crumbs & dedicatedly working the wheel, it all starts to add up to something good. In bangs she reminds me of actress Maisie Williams who plays Arya Stark. Like Arya's journey, this'll take awhile. Miao's teeth are even worse than her hair, & the viewer has to put up w/ them until the end of ep4. The braces don't come off until ep7. She still has dreadful hair, but she is a cutie-pie w/o a doubt. Ep7 also sees Nian going to college as the other 3 go into grade 12.

ALTCFL is a superb romance. They slow-walk it, yet every moment is delightful. I had just finished watching Ms📝Zhao's PYHoMS, which starts strong, but falls off in the 2nd half as they drag out the romance in a frustrating way & don't seem to have enough content for all the episodes. In ALTCFL the director stretches it out perfectly. Nothing feels like filler. Nian excels at everything he does, afterall. So, when it comes to love, we shouldn't expect anything less.

Physical appearance is a theme. Many truths are parallel despite seeming opposite. "There are no ugly women in the 🌎 just lazy ones," Xin avows. 'No matter how pretty a woman is, someone out there is tired of putting up w/ her $h!+,' on the other hand, is a common saying. People love to complain about the privilege of beauty, but it seems that 90% of us are part of the problem. Respecting, trusting, or going after a person merely for looks is as common as it is foolish. Drying up the deep-end, too many people treat beautiful people like collectible figures, & shallowness begets shallowness. Be that as it may, we will never stop people from judging external appearance, & looks will never NOT be a part of romantic attraction. Protesting it is like protesting the color of the sky. Wrongs should be called out, but complaining & name-calling are rarely (if ever) the right tactic. You will never complain your way to the top. (Complaining is a communicable disease that attacks emotional health but will never change core designs. It just drives them underground). True, beautiful people have a great advantage in life, but most of us are average. The good news is that confidence is the sexiest thing, & true lasting beauty comes from w/in.

Too little focus on appearance, on the flipside, is almost as imbalanced as too much. The physical, emotional, intellectual & spiritual are the 4 legs of the table that is humanity. To be fully developed, a person should work on & derive pleasure from each. Humans, by nature, take everything too far - people aren't good at balance or moderation. I've noticed that many of my fellow nerds refuse to compromise, believing they shouldn't have to change a thing to fit in. That's choosing to believe a lie. (The word for such a person is: Mumpsimus). We ALL need improvement, & most people should pay more attention to their looks (even moreso, their health). Don't spend 1 moment feeling sorry for yourself, Miao teaches. Keep going forward. Keep picking up crumbs. Keep improving. Steadily foster good habits. Life can get hectic & our busy schedules can be murder, but if all your energy is going into your job or being a mom then you aren't a wife or a completed woman. Try new looks - accessorize - put on makeup - try a new hairdo (it grows out, don't be scared) - pick up HEALTHY habits. If all your energy is going into work or worse things (like sports or video games) then you aren't a husband or dad. One could argue that there's a self-indulgent arrogance to neglecting one's appearance, especially if one is married. That person is saying that their mate is not worth the effort.

Don't want to put in the effort? That's a personal choice. Just accept the truth about the likely outcomes of your decisions. Don't carp because things align w/ the standard profile. "Just because I'm fat doesn't mean that I'm not aware of how society operates," snaps the zaftig Xia. Xia inhabits reality. She understands what she must accept. She's made her choice about who she is, what she's about & she doesn't complain. She embraces life & she elevates the lives of those around her. She will always be loved just the way she is. She's the healthiest person in the show & the one we all want to hang with. If one looks at a photo of the writer, Zhao Qian Qian, it's easy to imagine that she wrote herself into Xia. I'm a fan, so I'd like to think she did. My biggest criticism of the show is that in the 2nd half, Xia devolves into a caricature of herself. She becomes a background eating machine as her character stutters & goes into neutral without continuing her arc. After building her up, they left her half done.

Finally, don't be part of the problem. Awareness is the key. Attractive people are given more deference & generosity. That ain't fair. Try to ignore looks & treat everyone the same. Don't be the 10,000th person to make a height joke or ask about a scar, birthmark, or some other anomaly over which a person has no control. Can you imagine having to hear the same jokes & comments from everyone that you meet? What a nightmare. Scripture talks about how when we help a stranger we might be helping angels, unawares. If angels do exist among us they probably do take on the appearance of street people more than celebrities. So be an angel & treat everyone w/ respect. You never know...

"You never know what the future holds." The math teacher encourages Miao after she failed the exam. (Only one other student failed, & he's been absent since a serious accident). Her teacher wants her to keep plugging away. Don't give up. That's the theme: Stay on that wheel. Adjust. Try things. Maintain hope. Always be decent. Do your best. No quitting. Soon, YOU will be the lighthouse.

QUOTES📢

This is learning. You learn because you don't know it.

Attitude is Altitude

〰🖍 IMHO

📣8.3 📝8.5 🎭8.2 💓8 🦋7 🎨7.5 🎵/🔊7 🔚8.5 ▪ 🌞7 ⚡2 😅3 😭2 😱2.5 😯3.5 😖0 🤔3.8 💤0

Age 11+

Re-📺? Definitely.

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Conan the Barbarian (1982)

Prehistoric Pumping Iron & Legendary Roid Ragin °7.5° °VG° 💯%🔍

24 October 2024

Ah, the 80s. Happy times. The money was flowing, there was a sense of optimism, and steroids had men looking like an anime-Hercules. The 80's brought us big hair and big biggness. Breast implants and plastic surgery for the masses were right around the corner. Arnold led the way, pumping iron in the gym and pumping all kinds of iron in movies. That isn't all they're pumping; CTB features sex in a more graphic way than had been common at the time.

CTB is a 1982 release that is Arnold's first lead role. It is based on the popular novel series by and directed by John Milius. Prior to CTB, Mr. Milius has 4 credited works as a director dating back to 1970. His only film to score at least "7" on IMDB is the surfer film, Big Wednesday, with Jan Michael Vincent. I was just a high school kid, and already an Arnold fan, when I saw CTB and I loved it. Valeria was a hero to me - my kinda girl as she challenges Conan: "Do you want to live forever?" Next, she jumps off of a tall tower. She's awesome. I just watched CTB again because it's leaving Netflix. I'll admit that I'm not certain I am able to be objective, given my preexisting fondness for the film.

We open to a village pillage with out-of-place, near cheerful opera music in the background. Mid 20th-century depictions of such scenes were typically stylized and sterilized. CTB ratchets up the roughness, but the scene is designed to set the table, not knife the viewer in the heart. Being in the grand epic style, the opening feels closer to a mid 20th-century film than one from the late 20th. The narration sounds like it's spoken in an institution shower room with echo and reverb that almost seems like parody now. Conan is just a boy when the raiders come and kill all the villagers except the children, which they take as slaves. Heavy labor makes him strong over the years. Within 15 movie minutes, our ML is all grown up in all the right places. This just brings more trouble: Next, he's forced into the fighting pits before he can make an escape. When he's finally on the run, he falls into a cave where he finds his sword.

When Conan is free, he is able to pursue his strongest desire: Revenge against the snake cult that killed everyonehe ever cared about. He picks up an assistant on the way and meets Valeria when she's breaking into the Snake Cult temple on the same night Conan and Co are. They pull off a daring theft, and are able to coast down easy street for a spell, but the King eventually summons them. He wants his daughter rescued from the Snake Cult's headquarters. Conan is the only one in the gang that wants to take on T e this quest. He was going there anyway, and now the operation is well funded.

CTB wasn't just thrown together. It's actually inspired by classic mythology and laid out like a Wagnerian Opera. To quote Wiki:

"Milius's concept of Conan the Barbarian as an opera was picked up by the critics; Elley and Huckvale saw connections to Wagner's operas. According to Huckvale, the film's opening sequence closely mirrors a sword forging scene in Siegfried. Conan's adventures and ordeals seem to be inspired by the trials of the opera's titular hero: witnessing his parents' deaths, growing up as a slave, and slaying a giant serpent-dragon. Furthermore, Schwarzenegger's appearance in the role of Conan evoked images of Siegfried, the role model of the "Aryan blonde beast", in the lecturer's mind."

There was concern about the optics of an Aryan hero killing a brown-skinned villain. Such allegations shouldn't be perfunctorily dismissed. If one looks at what they do, rather than what they say, it's obvious that Hollywood's record on race is horrible. Racism can be like planter's warts. They grow undetected by our immune system on the bottom of the feet and they can get huge. One of the cures is to put duct tape over them which sends a signal to our defense mechanisms that something is wrong here that needs attention. Racism is woven into the fabric of our society and it takes emotional and mental effort to examine our dusty presuppositions and slay the infectious ones. If you are Caucasian and you've never shed a tear over the horrors our country has inflicted on one group of people, ask yourself why not? Are you ignorant of our history or do you just not care? Is there a valid excuse either way? Despite Hollywood's sketchy history when it comes to racism, though, I doubt that was on the show creators minds. I wouldn't want any of the main cast changed.

Overall, the film holds up just fine. It's from another era, but it's contained, orderly, and cohesive. The filming is skillful. The city scenes are good. The characters are adequately developed. James Earl Jones. He plays the snake cult leader and he's ruthless with an inhuman look in his eyes. It's always good to see (and hear) the icon, JEJ. It's always good to watch Arnold, too. If you've seen the documentary that catapulted Arnold to stardom, Pumping Iron, about the competition between Arnold and Lou Ferrigno, it's obvious that Arnold is gregarious and overflowing with that X-factor. Arnold's plain /funny/. Even his grunting is funny. Idk how Arnold's groans sound German, but they do, which only adds to the fun.

〰🖍 IMHO

📣7.4 📝7.4 🎭7.5 💓6 🦋5 🌞4 🎨7 ⚡6 🎵/🔊7 😅4 😭6 😱4 😯3 😖5 🤔4 💤0 🔚8

QUOTE📢

There comes a time when the jewels cease to sparkle, when the gold loses its luster, when the throne room becomes a prison, and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

Age 18+ Violence, gore, heavy sexual content & nudity

Rated R - restricted

Re-📺? Guilty.

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Pandora: Jojakdwen Nakwon (2023)

Smart Patches Diabolical Minds & Victims' Circles °3.9° °disastrous° 💯%🔍

23 October 2024

The 1-sentence review: Don't let the snazzy opening fool you. Keep the lid shut on this show or suffer.

Pandora, in legend, was created by the gods as payback for people obtaining fire from Prometheus. As the 1st woman, she carried a jar (or box) that contained all evil. When opened, evil & misery entered the world. Therefore, the title only serves as a metaphor for the show. Open this "jar," & misery will follow.

Not convinced? We'll keep going.

Introducing Clover, a neural implant smart patch. It's a revolutionary medical device brought to us by Hatch. It allows direct input of data into the brain. No more studying! The chimp they've been testing on, "Red", has an IQ of 120. After the demonstration that opens the show, Hatch is primed to make gazillions.

What could go wrong here?

The viewer is tipped off that things will go horribly wrong in many ways. The filming is dark & near psychedelic at times, while the soundtrack is heavily portentous. 'This isn't going to be a lite feel-good watch,' I was thinking. That woulda been OK. The problem is that 🅿 is patched together worse than Hanul Psychiatric Hospital's worst attempt at reconstructing Frankenstein.

🅿 is overrated at 89 on AWiki, which is just shocking to me. The IMDB crowd is at 6.2. It gets off to a hot start. The opening eps are fantastic. I love how Tae, the main protag, wears a very heavy gold chain that's wrapped around her neck twice. It's emblematic of being shackled. At times the action is great, especially early on. They promised the audience more, but their promises were unfulfilled. The filmcraft is outstanding - truly stunning, at times. (It's a shame that it was wasted on this effort). "So far, I don't understand the low ratings," thought I. Turns out, the crowd is overly generous & must have weighed in before completing the show, b/c 🅿 is a disaster. It just doesn't become obvious until the 2nd half.

Gradually, it comes into focus that there is no focus, no cohesive plot. They bring up tantalizing possibilities w/o follow-through. 🅿 is not an assassin or girl-kicks-butt thriller; it's not a political nor a science thriller. It dips his toes into varied waters but never dives in. Characters haphazardly shift their allegiances. There's also gross over-acting. Bottoming out at downright insulting, it's so thoroughly incompetent that it really is breathtaking.

These people, who seem so happy, sure do turn on eachother.

The women:

Lee Ji Ah is FL Hong "Tae" Ra. On paper her life is perfect but she has no memory of her past. She's starting to get creepy flashbacks. The actress plays someone who inspires disgust in My Mister-9.5, a show that all should watch. Here she's relatable, which speaks to her skill. She's a victim. Her family life ended when her parents were killed in a car "accident " that may not have been an accident. As an orphan, her victimization intensified.

Jang Hee Jin (Flower of Evil-8.9) plays Ko Haesoo "HSoo," a reporter who is also a victim. Her husband & Tae's spouse head up Hatch. Her father is a former president who was assassinated & the crime has never been solved. Heartbreak drove her mother to suicide. HSoo's also an irritating lunatic. It's hard to root for a person who is that toxic & self-absorbed, even if she's been through legitimate trauma. She acts like she's the only one who has suffered loss, but none of these protags still has both parents. Something true of mentally ill people is replete self-absorption. HSoo is unhinged & blind to everyone else's pain. What's more tragically ironic is that too much self-focus only leads to despair, & HSoo crossed that threshold long ago. Later on, they try to turn her into some kind of mastermind, but it isn't convincing, nor is it emotionally satisfying as she's still so tediously odious.

Han Soo-Yeon is Tae's sister& business partner Hong Yura. She has a new bf, but she's cryptic abt him. She seems perfect ~ at 1st glance. Soon we see that she's horrible. Yura ends up a victim as well. Kyeon Mi Ri is HSoo's mother i/l. She is often the rich mom for shows like Revolutionary Love-5.7 & Backstreet Rookie-6.4. She's a cutie, but she's distasteful in most of 🅿. Shim So-Young (Alchemy of Souls-8.3) plays the loathsome mental hospital director, Kim Sun-Deok. Her laugh is really too much; even for a heavy show, her part is over the top.

Let's hear it for Red, she really wowed the crowd before she becomes a victim.

The men:

Lee Sang Yoon (Lovestruck in the City-7.3) plays Tae's husband, Pyo "Jae" Hyun. They are deeply in love, & he seems unfazed by her shrouded past. He's preparing to take a sabbatical as Hatch CEO so that he can run for president. He's a victim. His mother was killed in the same accident that took Tae's parents.

Park Ki Woong/KiW (The King's Affection-8.3) is Jang "Do" Jin, the other half of the Hatch helm & HSoo's husband. Early on we see that KiW is not the devoted partner that Jae is. When we meet his toxic parents, we understand: He's a victim caught in his family's web. Bong Tae Kyu plays the nerdy creative force behind Hatch"s success, "Koo" Sung Chan. He's weak, which turns him into more of a victimizer. Hong Woo Jin (Squid Game-8.4) is Jang Kyojin/"Kyo". He's a victim. He's been comatose since a motorbike accident that was prob NOT accidental.

Jung Jae-Sung is politician Han Kyung-Rok. Actors from Korea do the arrogant "knowing laugh" better than anyone in the 🌏, & he's among the best. (A funny guy I know does a mock "knowing laugh," so while it used to make me want to strangle the person inflicting it on my eardrums, now I giggle instead). He's often casted as an @$$h0le w/ power. I've seen him in Hospital Playlist-9, Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency-7.4, My Mister-9.5, Clean w/ Passion For Now-7, The King's Affection-8.3, & Big Mouth-7.4. He's been in many other wildly successful shows that I intend to get to asap. On MDL, his only sub-7 show is The Interest of Love at 6.8. He must have eaten magic beans that make him entirely loathsome but wildly successful to be in that many stellar features.

This is Screenwriter Hyun Ji Min's 1st credited work. The director is Choi Young Hoon of One the Woman, & the original creator is Kim HSoon Ok of The Penthouse series.

The theme is Victims. Sadly, most of us have been victimized in small or big ways. Being victimized leaves a person w/ a choice: Heal & move on, or let the pain rule (and ruin) your life. Healing must, at some point, involve forgiveness. (That has nothing to do w/ justice; for the benefit of society, crimes must be punished). HSoo personifies the concept that becoming a victim does not a saint create. Being victimized will tempt a person to wallow in anger, hatred, unforgiveness & bitterness. It's understandable, but in the end, those dark indulgences will only rot us out from within. Almost every character in 🅿 has been victimized, & almost every character chooses the path of bitterness & revenge. A mess it does make.

In ep2 we go back 15 yrs. The president is being inaugurated... & assassinated. Flashes of this past jolt Tae. A furtive missive, delivered by an untraceable tattooed motorcyclist, entices her to come to the Hanul Psychiatric Hospital, a visit that breaks the lock on her past. Soon we are looking at shades of the show Hanna-7, which is about teen girls being turned into assassins. This isn't the first time such a plot has come out of hiding: The 1990 film, La Femme Nikita, also involves young Iron Maidens. Bridget Fonda starred in 1993's Point Of No Return, which was Hollywood's version of the same film. (The French one is better). Let's not forget the absolute bang-jammy of the dudette insurgent bunch - Kickass. Ooo, the Swedish version of The Girl w/ A Dragon Tattoo (+2 sequels) is also as good as it gets. Once again, skip Hollywood's variant of these flicks. When thugs come at Tae, muscle memory kicks... then punches, slashes & tosses. It's SO (swordless) KILL BILL - for a scant moment, but that excitement goes away & never reappears. Whaaaa?

There's too many logical gaps, eg: It makes no sense that enemies seem to have unfettered access to a helpless person who has suffered a stroke. There's a USB that supposedly contains research files but it's inexplicably necessary to run Hatch's programs. Jae's campaign should have been dead after a voice file was released, but the problem evaporates. It's alittle too easy for enemies to sneak up on Tae, who's flawless until the show renders her impotent to push the plot. It's inconsistent & sloppy: Is she a female terminator, or a pathetic woman in distress? When we are introduced to Tae, we should have seen her vigorous workout routine. It would bolster credibility when she starts kicking butt out of the blue. In ep13, CEO Kummo is sent a packet of shocking evidence. He's elated. The problem is that all of it had already been on the national news - as reported by his own daughter i/l.

In the last half, I no longer cared what happened & rolled my eyes at every development. Eps14-16 status: 'Officially offended'. This is when they attempt to manufacture emotion w/ some deaths, but it all falls utterly flat. They attempt to wrap it up w/ pretty bows, but it's too little too late. While ep16 is not as painful to watch as the previous 4, it's painful, still the same w/ a sacrifice that is unnecessary & plain silly. Not that I cared who lived or died by then. Kill 'em all. Ease my pain.

Another thing that will ease my pain is by helping anyone who stumbles onto this review avoid that pain altogether. Try It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9, Law School -8, My Mister 9.5, or Blood Free-8.5 instead.

〰 IMHO

📣4 📝3 🎭5 💓3 🦋2 🎨8 🎵/🔊5.5 🔚2 ▪ 🌞3 ⚡5.5 😅0 😭4 😱4 😯4 🤢2.5 🤔1 💤4

Age 15+ for graphic, heavy violence Language: R-rated $h!+, b!÷ch F💣s

Rated TV-MA: Mature Audience Only.

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Wonderful World (2024)

🏵 Choose: Keep the Bitter Score or Live More 🌟 °7.8° °VG° 💯%🔍

21 October 2024 - 1 out of 1 users found this review helpful.

♻ "Everything started with the incident that summer." What started was a cycle of hurts followed by vengeance between parties on the periphery. Meanwhile, the 🕷 relaxed smugly in the center of the 🕸.

The opening episode is heartbreaking. Eun "Soo" Hyun is a successful writer who is married to a reporter. They have a beautiful son together, but he disappears one afternoon when he is 6, leaving a single shoe on the sidewalk. Emergency crews eventually find him, but he's badly injured from a hit-and-run. He doesn't make it. After the perp's trial in which he's released, and it appears connections and corruption are playing a hand in the leniency he's granted, Soo falls apart. Her husband falls apart. Everything falls apart.

WW is a 2024 release that is rated 86 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 14 60ish-minute episodes. It is painful to watch. I could only handle 1 ep/day. The pressure doesn't start to let up until ep11 or so, when the main characters make a directional change. Like the best among us do, Soo takes her pain and attempts to channel it for good. She sets out to protect other children from suffering like her son did. Before all of that, though, she is compelled to dispose of some trash.

Her reward for taking out the 🗑 is a prison stint. She bonds with another inmate, Jang Hyung Ja. Soo's new friend is in jail because she had set fire to the room where her husband was having an affair and ended up killing several people, including an entire family, save for their 8 year old boy who survived. Jang Hyung Ja elicits Soo's commitment to contact that boy upon her release as it looks like Jang Hyung Ja will never be released: She's dying. She's too ashamed to face the kid anyway. As it turns out, this 8-year-old boy, who is now grown up, is loosely involved with disrupting corrupt men. Meanwhile, Soo's husband has been investigating🔎 connections between the man who caused the accident that killed their son and his corrupt cronies, including judges and politicians.

By the time Soo is released, her husband is on foreign assignment. The one time she accepted his visit during her incarceration was to tell him to leave her be - She had nothing left for him. On the first day of freedom Soo falls asleep on her son's grave and wakes to a young angelic looking man holding an ☂ over her. Does she know how he will factor into her future? Of course not. Right now she's an aimless wanderer. No direction. Nothing to live for. Dead inside. Yet she promised Gunwoo, her son, that she would survive and live a meaningful life. The first order of business is her promise to Jang Hyung Ja to find that boy who survived the fire.

Soo finds her cellie's 8 y/o victim; it's the boy with the umbrella. Otherworldly looking Cha Eun Woo (Rookie Historian-7.6, True Beauty, My ID Is Gangnam Beauty-7.5) portrays Kwon Seon Yul, now fully grown. Soo sees that he's not living a quiet, safe life. He also isn't pleased to get the message she's delivering. He shuns her, but they continue to meet. It's as if strange forces are drawing them together.

To err is human; to forgive, divine. Forgiveness, release, and going on with life is WW's theme. Not only are there huge things to forgive, like the killing of a family member, but also cheating, lying, general indiscretions, and everyday insults are thrown in the path as well. Mistakes are creating roadblocks all over the place. Most of the characters in WW have committed grave blunders and have also been greatly wronged. Once forgiven, a perpetrator may feel release, but the person who benefits most from forgiving is the one who is doing it. It isn't easy (not by any means!) but to hold onto anger, unforgiveness, and bitterness is to rot oneself out from within. It is the opposite of a free life. It is being controlled.

"I won't ask for forgiveness..." we hear that several times. The logic behind the statement is that the wrongdoers feel too much shame to 'ask for forgiveness'. So don't. Don't ask to be forgiven. However, a person that has done wrong should apologize - without excuses, qualifiers, demands, or reservations. That is what decency demands. It's what a person of good character and principles does. A mature person will understand that everyone makes mistakes. Learn from them, make it right and move on, burden free. An immature and self-absorbed person will turn an apology into an excuse fest, a look-at-me-I-am-not-so-bad-think-better of-me party. Pathetically, this doesn't work, it only shows poor character, and it doesn't make anyone like you more. Denying one's mistakes and not apologizing is a form of living in denial and lies. One can't face h/h shortcomings because s/he needs to think better of h/h self. That is a contemptible life of delusion. Let your ego go. Nobody else likes your ego; only you do. Let it go. Be free.

😢 Going into ep9 ain't nobody free. All I could think is: 'What a downer! This show is so sad!' Just in time (almost too late), there's a plot shift that allows the viewer some breathing room. Things move into the deep end, more evidence comes to light, and not everything is what it had previously appeared to be.

WW is a quality production. The acting, directing, and writing all supplement the show. Kim Nam Joo (Misty) is FL Eun "Soo" Hyun. Kim Kang Woo (Circle) plays Kang Soo Ho, Soo's husband. The intrinsically likable Kang Ae Shim from Bad and Crazy & Be Melodramatic-8.7 plays Jang Hyung Ja.

Kil Hae Yeon (If You Wish Upon Me) is Jung Myung Hee, Soo'smother i/l. This woman excels at playing a supreme b!+ch. I've seen her in Beyond Evil-7.4 & Law School-8. I've also seen her in 2 shows that are like stamps of eachother: In Something in the Rain-8.6 she plays the ultimate narcissistic mother who ruins her family. One Spring Night-7.8 is nearly the same show (same director/writer combo) except it's the father who's a narcissist and Ms Kil is a sweetheart of a mom. Both shows are good, but OSN is like the 2nd, lighter stamp. It doesn't mean much on its own, its value is as a follow-up to the heavier, gut-wrenching Something in the Rain. Regardless, this actress has a powerful presence.

Im Se Mi (Terius Behind Me, When the Weather Is Fine-9) is Han Yoo Ri, Soo's BFF and unofficial sister. Won Mi Kyung (The Hoechun Gate, Great Vocation) plays Oh Go Eun, Soo's mom. I've only seen her in My Unfamiliar Family-7.9, and she's wonderful. The screenwriter is Kim Ji Eun (Lie After Lie) and Lee Seung Young (Voice S2, Special Affairs Team TEN) directed.

The direction is competent with flashes of excellence. The color palette is dark, muted and grey, but the colors in Soo's memories are so vivid! The tempo is steady. The show never rushes and it never drags. Stopping at 14 episodes may have been the smartest thing the director did. Too many shows suffer because they don't have enough content to fill 16-20 episodes competently. The 🎶 is quite good as well. The classic, Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive, makes an appearance and Imaginary Future & Kina Grannis do a melancholy, jazzy cover of What a Wonderful World.

🌱 Soo is able to find justice, release, and peace by the time the credits roll. This painful show ends up with a positive message that is brilliantly summed up when Soo declares this: "Let's not live like a bare tree anymore. Let's sprout and live." Only free people can say and do that.

QUOTES📢

In the middle of life's journey, I got lost and wandered. I've heard no matter how much time passes, losing someone precious to you will always be lonesome. But I will try to keep going. If I keep going, one day the pain will lessen. I hope all those grieving find comfort. I hope the world will be more friendly to those in pain. I hope a beautiful world will come while you overcome your pain.

When you live this long, leaving someone properly is as important as meeting someone.

〰🖍 IMHO

📣7.5 📝8 🎭8.3 🎨7.6 🎵/🔊7 🔚8.3 ▪ 🌞4⚡4.5 😅1 😭5 😱2 😯5 🤢2 🤔6 💤0

Age 14+ Mature subject matter.

Re-📺? Possible but unlikely. It is definitely worth watching once.

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, Law School -8 It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9, Love Struck in the City 7.3, Hospital Playlist 9, My Liberation Diary-8.9, Anna-8.1, My Mister 9.5, Blood Free-8.5 Mother-8.8

Action/Crime/Sci-fi - K2 8, Private Lives 8.1, Why Her?-8, Tunnel 8.5, Signal 8.6, Flower of Evil 8.9, The Man from Nowhere 8.9, Squid Game 8.4, Kingdom 8.3, Sweet Home 8.4.

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Missing: Geudeuli Itseodda (2020)

The Mysterious Village in the Deep Deep Woods °8.3° °excellent° 💯%🔍

20 October 2024

For as much as I liked this show, I don't have much to say. In part, that's because not much can be said without spoiling something. I went into MTOS knowing nothing and I'm glad I did. The mysteries undergo a gradual-unravel. The viewer that comes into the show with even half of the answers is MISSING half of the fun.

MTOS follows a string of murders and missing persons - some new, some old, some very old. The viewer watches police as they investigate, and follows the families, friends and the victims themselves. It is utterly heartbreaking, yet it is lined with hope. It is a 2 season 2020 release, rated 89 on AWiki and consisting of 26 60ish-minute episodes. Currently, the very popular S2 is not available for streaming. S1 is just 12 episodes.

The acting is truly superb. Go Soo (Heart Surgeons, The Flower in Prison) is Kim Wook. He witnesses the abduction of a woman which makes him the next target of the gangsters - they saw him seeing what they did, and they don't like witnesses. He must run for his life and his running takes him to a very strange village.

Heo Joon Ho (Kingdom-8.3, Why Her?-8) plays Jang Pan Seok, a man who lives in the village. His life ended when his daughter was abducted over 15 years ago. He spends his time handing out fliers, visiting the police, and chasing leads - most of them false. Ahn So Hee (Thirty-Nine, Eulachacha Waikiki S2) plays Lee Jong Ah, one of Wook's coworkers. She is super-cool. Her part is cool, but the coolness really seems to the actress herself. I'm looking forward to seeing more of her. Ha Joon (Black Dog-8.2, Destined with You, Crazy Love-7.8) plays Shin Joon Ho, a cop who appears to have much more head than heart. Two residents of the village are Seo Eun Soo (Dr. Romantic, Duel, Chief Detective 1958) as Choi Yeo Na and Song Geon Hee (SKY Castle, Lovely Runner) as Thomas Cha. Ji Dae Han (Chicago Typewriter) really shines as Officer Baek Il Doo. I can't explain it, but midshow I realized that every line he uttered amused me immensely. I'm looking forward to seeing more of him as well. The director is Min Yeon HongInsider from Ugly Alert. The screenwriters are Ban Ki Ri from Who Are You and Witch's Romance, and Jung So Young - a first effort.

MTOS is more a crime thriller than anything else, but it is quite unique. While many horrible things happen, it somehow manages to send the viewer off strangely uplifted. It's a horrible world with horrible things going on all the time. We are blessed if we can find any decent companions with whom to brave the elements. Wook navigates heartbreaks while forming firm alliances with worthy allies. By the end, he's missing much less despite his losses. He is able to reconcile with his past and go forward as a better man. Would that each one of us could.

〰🖍 IMHO

📣8.3 📝8.4 🎭8.8 🎨7 🎵/🔊8 🔚8 ▪ 🌞6 ⚡5 😅3 😭7 😱4 😯4 🤢3 🤔4 💤0

Age 15+ Violence and extremely sad subject matter

Re-📺? Yep

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

Crazy Love-7.8, Mystic Pop-up Bar-8.2 Inspector Koo-8.4, Oh My Ghost 10, It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9, Hotel del Luna-8.4 Black Dog: Being A Teacher-8.2, Move To Heaven-8.4, My Mister 9.5,

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Dang wo fei ben xiang ni (2023)

Every Sunflower Needs Its Sun °7.8° °cuteness overload° 💯%🔍

19 October 2024

Adapted from the novel, "She's a Little Crazy", WIFTY is as cute as cute gets. Zhang Miao Yi (Exclusive Fairytale) plays FL Su Zai Zai. She might be alittle crazy, but she's also like sunshine. Crazy, in this case, means an uninhibited, hyper-focused go-getter. She's gonna go get herself Zhang Lu Rang (Zhou Yi Ran from The Legend of Zhuohua, Falling into Your Smile-5.7). He's gloomy and more like the moon, but he likes sunflowers. Lu Rang is good at every subject but English. Languages are a snap for Zai Zai, but she struggles with everything else. They end up tutoring eachother. After you meet Lu Rang's mother, it makes sense that he likes Su Zai Zai.

WIFTY is a 2023 release that is rated a high-flying 9 on MDL. (Romance fans love it, yo). It is 1 season consisting of 24 cuddly 35-minute episodes. They fly by quickly. Jiang Zhi Nan (The Best Day of My Life) as Jiang Jia & Bian Tian Yang (Bright Time, Song of Youth-7.2) as Gu Ran round out the 2ndary couple. They are fun. ("As dumb@$$ he is, he actually didn't fall for my trick. This is so odd. What's more, how does he manage to be so obnoxious?"). Actor, Bian Tian Yang, and his part, are adorable. The director is Mao De Shu (Lovely Us) and the screenwriters are Yue An & Tao Kai Xin who also collaborated on Let's Meet Now.

The original creator is Zhu Yi of the wildly popular show, Hidden Love-7.8. Consequently, WIFTY and HL are very similar. They are both low drama ride-alongs. The viewer hangs out with these simple characters throughout several years of their simple lives, but not much happens. That isn't to say that WIFTY isn't lovely. It is absolutely darling. WIFTY and HL are low on complexity, shade and tension, but they are high on romantic charm and the Prozac effect. They both include likable characters with some growing up to do. They both feature a FL who suffers from an instant crush that lasts for (presumably) a lifetime. Both cover from middle school to first post-grad positions. And both promote relaxation and tranquility. The viewer is unlikely to cry, will probably smile but not laugh, won't experience much angst or frustration, and will feel at peace. There will always be a place for such entertainment. To be fair, I will rewatch a feature that is of sub-standard quality yet it touches the heart before a piece that is intelligent and technically perfect but emotionally flat; but when it comes to rating a show, technical skill and the way it moves the heart are both important. A low degree of difficulty does lower the maximum potential score.

What they do in WIFTY they do well. The music is solid. They play a snippet from Brit rockers, Queen, for a hot 5 seconds. It was amusing and quite unexpected. Before, by Zeyué is Shazam-worthy. The acting is excellent. The protagonists are engaging and there's some great dialogue. Long before they become a couple, our couple works on English prepositions and contrapositions together.

"If I exist, my love for you exists."

"If I don't like you anymore, that I would no longer be me."

It's a sweet scene.

"You don't necessarily have to become the sun. If you're willing to, you could be a star, a street light, or a firefly. They're all capable of shining when they want to shine. When they don't feel like shining they can slack off," we hear in a challenge to shine as brightly as possible,

WIFTY shines as brightly as possible. Su Zai Zai is as unforgettable as she is adorable. While it's unlikely to appeal to anyone who isn't a serious romance fan, the show is simply delightful from one end to the other. If romance is your thing, make sure to exult in its warmth.

〰🖍 IMHO

📣7.8 📝7.7 🎭8 💓7 🦋6 🎨5.5 🎵/🔊7 🔚8 ▪ 🌞7 ⚡3 😅4 😭2 😱1 😯1 🤢1 🤔3 💤0

Age 13+ It's very clean. They do cohabitate prior to marriage

Rated TV-PG: Parental Guidance Suggested

Re-📺? Very Possible

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

💓 - C🇨🇳: Well-Intended Love 7.5 Rom-porn - extra points for the dopamine; 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;

🎎 - 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

🔮🐉- 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

⚡/😱 - C🇨🇳: Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber 9-Kung-fu!; K🇰🇷: K2 8; Private Lives 8.1; Sisyphus 8; Tunnel 8.1; Signal 8.6; The Man From Nowhere 8.9 Black 9; Squid Game 8.4; Kingdom 8.3; Sweet Home 8.4

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

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Tou tou cang bu zhu (2023)

Grasp Those Stars & Hold Tight °7.8° °VG° 💯%🔍

18 October 2024

Here's a romance that's a warm and sticky sweet bun with a nice cup of chamomile tea. We're talking very low drama. Romance fans will find it charming and relaxing. I certainly did. Others might be underwhelmed. We meet Sang Zhi (Zhizhi) in middle school and follow her through several years of her life. In ep1 big bro brings his friend, Jiaxu, home. Zhizhi is smitten. Jiaxu is thoughtful and kind towards her. He always has time for her, which only fans the flames as the years roll by.

HL is a 2023 release that is rated a whopping 9 on MDL. It is 1 season consisting of 25 45-minute episodes. Zhao Lu Si (Who Rules the World-7.5, I Hear You-7, The Romance of Tiger and Rose-9.8, Love Like the Galaxy) is FL Sang Zhi. I've liked her in everything I've seen so far, but my respect for her abilities took a leap forward with this show. Feisty and full of life describes most of her characters. Here, she's shy and demure (though she's capable of pulling some bold moves, we'll see). Even her body language says she's not fully grown. While in HS, her gangly walk is the pièce de résistance of her act. She's extremely impressive, particularly when one factors in how different she is from her other performances. I am a fan.

Chen Zhe Yuan (Our Secret, Handsome Siblings-8.7) play ML Duan Jiaxu. He's a sparky, mischievous brat in HS, a show that I love. In HL he's calm and thoughtful. Victor Ma (Detective Chinatown, Moments We Shared) is big brother Sang Yan. He may be the big brother, but he's a bit of a brat, always calling Zhizhi "Little demon". The director is Lee Ching Jung (Go Go Squid!, Everyone Loves Me). The screenwriter is Ou Si Jia of Mirror: A Tale of Twin Cities, and the original creator is Zhu Yi of the show, When I Fly Towards You-7.8.

The day Zhizhi meets Jiaxu she has a dilemma. She's in trouble at school and her parents have been called in for a teacher conference. She somehow persuades Jiaxu to pose as her brother for the conference. He attends, explaining that the parents are out of town. Crisis deleveled. That favor creates a bond between them that will never be broken. Zhizhi ends up at college in Jiaxu's hometown, and he is the only person she knows there. Sang Yan asks friend, Jiaxu, to look out for his sister. Jiaxu does. Zhizhi was already looking at Jiaxu... and only him.

I watched HL back-to-back with When I Fly Towards You. They are similar - same author. They're relaxing, they really couldn't be sweeter, and they both lack depth. Other than a stalker connected to Jiaxu over a mistake his father made, the biggest problem the characters face in HL is Zhi's milk allergy. (The show presents the 5 year age difference as a big issue. It certainly is for teens, but once they are both in their 20's it isn't worth mentioning).

That's okay; there's a nice big space with comfy couches for such wind-down watches. It does lower the degree of difficulty, though, and thus the maximum score. One the one hand, to do a slice-of-life feature in which not much happens, yet it is still a great watch, takes skill. On the other hand, for a feature to be in the high 8's and above, there should be complexity and these 2 shows have none. They can be every bit as enjoyable as, and the ones we rewatch before more highly rated shows. Entertainment that touches the heart is meritorious regardless of technical lapses. WIFTY gets a higher cuteness rating because the female lead's character is ridiculously and relentlessly cute, while HL is more tranquil. It's almost plodding, but never boring. These shows are for romantiholics only, and look at the ratings - romance junkies are very satisfied. If you want to expose a friend, who is only a casual romance watcher, to a youthful Chinese romance, I suggest A Little Thing Called First Love-8.5 or Wait, My Youth-8.4.

HL may lack deeper shading but it has no flaws. Every element is done well. The music is quite nice, however Shazam only had titles in Mandarin. Some did pop up on Spotify. Modern-day Cdramas have gotten better. Before 2019 most are deeply flawed, though not without their charms. One of the best things about Cdramas is what I call their Prozac effect. They are designed to quiet the mind and calm the spirit. If anxiety is up, a Chinese modern-day romance like HL could very well help level the mood. At one point Zhizhi pumps her fist in the air and gives Jiaxu the common Kdrama encouragement: "FIGHTING!" The most recent Cdramas have been acknowledging the popularity of Kdramas, and I suspect it's a call out to what has inspired their growth. I love it.

I also loved HL. Will you? If you call yourself a romance fan, maybe. Probably. If you consider yourself a romance /junkie/ then there can be no doubt; check it out!

〰🖍 IMHO

📣7.5 📝7 🎭8.3 💓7 🦋6 🎨6.5 🎵/🔊8 🔚7.7 ▪ 🌞7 ⚡3 😅3 😭3 😱1 😯2 🤢0 🤔3 💤0

Age 12+ for mild sexual content

Rated TV-Y7: Directed to Older Children

Re-📺? It's not impossible, but there's a long list of other shows that would precede it in a rewatch.

Grasp Those Stars & Hold Tight °7.8° °VG° 💯%🔍

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

💓 - C🇨🇳: Well-Intended Love 7.5 Rom-porn - extra points for the dopamine; 🌐 I Hear You '19 7.3, so cute but with many flaws 🌐 You are my destiny 6.8 '20 cute and sweet and 1/2 padding Find Yourself 8.9; 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;

🎎 - 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

🔮🐉- C🇨🇳: Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9; Once upon a time in Linglian Mountain 7.5; Douluo Continent 9.4; Eternal Love 8.3, Ancient Love Poetry 8.6; Love and Redemption 10

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

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