Change Your Image
michaelb_mannheim
Reviews
Wandee Goodday (2024)
Great chemistry of the lead characters
I have watched several GMMTV BL shows, and the better ones often thrive on the strong chemistry between the lead characters. That's half the success. In Wandee Goodday, you can definitely feel the harmony between the leads. The story of two very different guys who initially dislike each other but gradually progress from anticipation, through friends with benefits, to lovers is full of fun and romantic scenes. The producers also made a great choice in casting the supporting actors. You might enjoy this series if you liked Bad Buddy, though Wandee Goodday is a bit more mature and serious. As with every GMMTV series, there's some overly obvious product placement, which makes certain scenes unintentionally funny-like a typical champagne scene where they use something resembling special milk in a tetrapak for the celebration, or the inclusion of a vaccination campaign in the storyline. However I recommend the series if you are searching for a better Thai BL with great actors.
Perfekt Verpasst (2024)
Loriot would have enjoyed it
The dream team of Pastewka and Engelke elevates this rather short series miles above the average German romantic comedy. Bastian Pastewka takes on the Lorioesque role of the dry sports retail salesman and newly divorced family man plagued by bad luck, while Anke Engelke plays the bookstore owner whose relationships and job are cursed with bad karma and a lack of tact. Whether the two ultimately find each other is left to the imagination, but their paths cross frequently, defying all odds, yet they somehow manage to miss each other perfectly, as the title suggests. The series gleefully mocks luxury wellness, gourmet restaurants, and false friends. And it does so with such attention to detail and irony that it is reminiscent of the best of Loriot's sketches. Loriot himself would probably have enjoyed these absurd scenes as much as the viewers. A German series with humor? Yes, they do exist.
Eye Love You (2024)
You need patience for this series
A love story in ten episodes, where a Korean blessed with infinite patience and gentleness falls in love with a Japanese woman, who can not only read minds but also possesses an extremely challenging personality. A character who fundamentally gets in the way of herself and her relationship, which she herself doesn't even recognize. Since she doesn't understand Korean, she can't understand her friend's thoughts either, and her emotional intelligence seems to be rather low due to her ability to read minds. Well, there are sweet scenes in this series and also some good acting performances, but I have rarely seen a love story so exhausting for the viewer. Those who find complicated and exhausting characters attractive can look forward to a few really annoying episodes until the big happy ending comes for everyone in the end.
Vice Versa (2022)
In Love with Lays
I'm already used to product placement in GMMTV series but this time they exaggerate it. Let's talk about the series, after brushing our teeth with dent toothpaste. The couple was cute, eating KFC in both universes. With the inhaler stick and nivea anti akne the plot idea was quite interesting. Lets drink a 0% sugar ice tea and look at the nice sixpack of Jimmy. The problem of the series, that is as tasty as the two new Lays flavors, is, that if you would cancel all advertisement, it had only 5 episodes, which would be as creamy as the cake snack. But so there are episodes, where they forget the story line by just making an overkill of advertisement. The guys are cute, the story idea quite cool, but I recommend to make a drinking game of it. If you drink every time a shot, if you find a product placement, you will be very drunk after two episodes and will enjoy even more the series. So GMMTV, please don't do this to your characters, it makes a good idea to a big. Sometimes rather awkward commercial.
Don't Say No (2021)
Better say no
Hmm, perhaps it's better to say no this time. Two couples, the main one, Leo and Fiat, starts in the beginning of the series being together after beeing like brothers for years and gets into diferent couple-problems which seem rather silly and annoying. And I felt no chemistry between the two actors. The second, Leon and Pbop, is the more interesting part, because first Pbop isn't interested at all at Leon. And the relationship of the two guys feels much more credible and yes, also has chemistry. But without telling the end - it's frustrating for Leon, Pbop and the one watching the series.
The basketball matches are as thrilling as those on the playground next to your door. Finally the series was rather boring and I think I better had watched another one again, so perhaps better say no. If there wouldn't have been some nice episodes with Leon and Pbop and those well playing two actors, I would have given just 2 o 3 stars. It's not a good series.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
90 % more Lord of the rings feeling than at "The Hobbit"
I waited until the last episode of the first season to give that rating. Ok, there were some moments in the first episodes, which had some length scenes. And also there was that discussion about diversity, which wasn't necessary - I mean the discussion. After the trailers I heard my friends "wow, I look forward to see it" and I thought "hmm, boring trailers, I hope the series would be better". And it was much better than I expected. The whole scenery was as great as in the big movies. The characters were perfectly developed and now I really look forward to the next season and I am as angry as after watching the first film in cinema to have to wait so much time for it.
Dalriwa Gamjatang (2021)
A romantic-thrilling-crimescene-suspense-dramatic-comedy cosmetic advertisement
I liked Yeo Jin-goo in other series so I was curious about this one. And the good news for his fans: he plays his role as well as always and it's funny to see him as a not very intelectual person with faults. The series starts like a screwball comedy, fast and funny, but already in the second episode it loses its speed like it has lost its fuel. From now on it doesn't know well if it wants to be a parody, a crime series, thriller, drama, romance, comedy or just a big advertisement spot for cosmetic products. The advertisement is even for an asiatic series tooo much. Ok, in thai series it's worse, but in a corean drama I never saw it brutally like here. And it seems, that everything in that series is 100% for the target group of that cosmetic stick. Like in many k-drams, the soundtrack contains a small variety of 3 or 4 songs, which come again and again. Sometimes this doesn't annoy, but if the songs annoy already at the first time you hear them, it doesn't get really better if you hear them always. So it was for me this time, I started to hate them as longer I watched the drama. What irritated me most is that some figures are really serious and have to play dramatic parts and in the same moment there are figures like a parody of themselves...Tge drama doesn't really know, how serious it should be. So after all I liked only parts of it.
The Shipper: Chin nai klai pen chan (2020)
Much better than expected after Episode 1
I won't let any spoilers here. After episode 1 I thought, that perhaps I was choosing the wrong series. It had everything of a superficial school comedy with crazy girls, dumb guys and a overdose of sweetness and product placement.
But you should give it a chance. Not only to those good actors, also to the script. Because it's much more than a cheesy teen drama. It develops to a really cute story about friendship and real love. So finally I liked all those characters. Even the very special Angel of death, who is much funnier as the name or task lets suspect you.
Nabillera (2021)
A really big drama
Although I'm not very interested in ballet, this doesn't matter in that drama. I thought it would be just another "you can reach everything if you try" series, but it's so much more and ballet and dance is just like a platform for a really big story. I cried tears in the last episode and I swear, I don't do that in many occasions. You must see that drama.
And thanks to all actors especially the two main characters, who did an Oscar-worth job.
Wish Dragon (2021)
Entertaining and good for the whole family
I liked it and it wasn't boring at all. Nice animation and a funny dragon. Chackie Chan is the producer and it has his fingerprint. And it's not the first creative and interesting (co-) production of Tencent Pictures. I'm looking forward to the next series and films of them.
Wang Qiu Shao Nian (2019)
Martial Arts Tennis, some obvious weaknesses
First I have to say: I didn't watch the anime and I'm no fan or player of tennis. Nevertheless I was curious and watched the series until the end. The really good parts are the matches and championships. That's not tennis, that's martial arts. Also I liked the main characters, the whole tennis team. But some characters around them keep very faint or like a silly comic figure. So the upcoming girlfriend in many episodes has to say just silly things and fails in taking care of a cake like in organizing umbrellas. Perhaps that should look sweet, but finally it's just lame.
In scenes with low importance the filming team misses continuity. For example in one scene two guys talk sitting next to another and during their sentences they change their position 3 times so far and near to each other...everybody can see that, except the director. Finally it isn't a bad series and especially the last episodes I liked much. Why in the short future scene of the national championships are only the same teams like in the provincial championships will be the secret of the filming team... or is it just the lack of budget in the end. And one last critic: in the ps4 FIFA game the crowd is more alive than the cheerleaders in that series. I don't know chinese cheerleaders and can't say, if that's the normal way, but I think it was lack of motivation.
But don't take those things to serious and you will have a good time, even if you're not that interested in tennis ;)
Sanjûsai made dôtei da to mahôtsukai ni nareru rashii (2020)
Funny, sweet and never sappy
The series is really heartwarming, great played and all over in a good quality. In some aspects it's also a view into japanese society and business with surprising moments. I really liked it and recommend it. It has the magic to show a deep love story without getting cheesy.
Wo de shìyou shi hu xian (2016)
Nice idea, but strictly made behind the possibilities
First, sb. on Youtube tells, that you could like this series, if you liked "the untamed". I tell you, that you would like it even less, if you have seen the great series "the untamed". Because the "fairy fox" has nothing of its quality or of a good storyline.
Second, this series is played and directed like a school project youtube series. I never saw such a bad "die scene" in hospital including the "don't be sad, you have to be strong now" to the sister, when her brother just died.
Last but not least it's all about appearance. The guy turns to another and liked person after his friend took him into expensive shops and a "high class hairdresser", where they get coffee in paper cups. Wow, this was the best storyboard since the cosmetics hour in the teleshopping program.
2 stars only for some small nice ideas. But this series is not worth the time to watch it.
Rák Màt-nàk (2020)
Surprisingly good
Well, thai dramas are not as perfectionist as korean ones. And often they are full of product placement like a long comercial. The sound engineering seems like in the school project group and sometimes the cameras show things, which are not meant to be part of the series. So why 8 points? This sports / family drama is interesting from the beginning until the end. Especially the male main characters of Man, Saifah and Kawin have a strong and good acting. Not the love stories are the interesting part, more the underdog story of the Thai Boxers and the family dramas. I liked it much. And because it's not so perfectionist, the authentic amateur sport scenery seems nearer and you get deeper into the feelings of those nice people. There is no false smile in the whole series, you see how much fun they had to produce it for you. And... Thanks the finance of Netflix without the product placement overkill of other thai dramas. Recommended!
Hwarang (2016)
Entertaining friendship story
It's a nice drama with a big friendship story. Every episode ends with a cliffhanger, which doesn't let you stop watching. The scenery, the cast - everything is nice to watch. Even if obviously you learn as much about the history of Silla as you learn about the Roman life in "Asterix". There's much anachronism in all of that drama. But it's entertaining from the beginning until the end.
Saikojiman Gwaenchanha (2020)
First it doesn't look like a K-Drama, then it gets one in the best way
After the first two episodes I was surprised of the dark humour, it looked a bit like a Tim Burton Tale. It's not a too big spoiler to say that this develops to a very deep love story. There are other K-Dramas with a more surprising screenplay. But not so many with just a good and likeable cast, a great cinematography and deep interest to its characters.
Dashi Mannan Segye (2017)
Say goodbye to friends
Surely one of the most sentimental Korean Dramas. There are more creative ones, yes. But when finally the main figure has to say goodbye to each friend, brother and sister, it was for me like saying goodbye to them, too. It's one of those dramas, in which you had learned so much about the characters, that you don't want to let them go.
So with a better soundtrack (for me a 2 of 10 points for soundtrack) and less too obvious moments where all the bad people regret and get nice - that would have been a 10 point Drama. The actors make it worth to see it.
Otherhood (2019)
Verschenkt
The idea sounds interesting, but better meet your own mum than watch this boring movie. They could have done much more with that story. But it's not funny, nor creative, just something to watch while you try to get asleep. It works.