lothiril

Yu Gu Yao (2023)

Beautiful fantasy drama with a lot of heart and tragedy

I have waited to see half of all episodes before writing a review, but now I can confidently say that this is a great drama series! It shines in may aspects:

• Storyline

While it takes an episode or two to fully understand the setting, from then on it's a captivating story with good setups and payoffs, never letting plotlines drag on for too long but also not cutting interesting story elements short.

• Characters & casting

The stars of the show, Xiao Zhan as Shi Ying and Ren Min as Zhu Yan, are the heart of the show. Shi Ying is the tragic center of the story, while the character of Zhu Yan adds the necessary sweetness and a bit of lightheartedness to the story. Especially Xiao Zhan's performance of Shi Ying brings a lot of nuance and heart to the character.

The supporting cast is also very strong: they are well acted and all have their own motivations, ambitions and struggles. They are all written 3-dimensional and make the world and its inhabitans seem more alive (with the only exception so far being the Ice Clan).

• Visuals & CGI

This series is simply beautiful to watch. Sets, costumes, lightning, fight choreography, "magic", CGI background and creatures - they are all masterfully done and really work well with each other. For that alone it's a great watch.

• Music

I often don't notice music, even when it's well done. In this drama however I often notice music in a positive way, consciously realising that it imroves the scene I'm watching even further and motivating me to go back and watch the scene again.

All in all a great drama to watch for any fantasy fan, and definetly a must-watch for any xianxia drama fan.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Adrift (2022)

Too many uninteresting storylines

The second episode is both a step up and a step down from the first episode.

Among the four plotlines, only one could actually capture my interest.

• The Arondir-Bronwyn plot already stopped being interesting in the first episode simply because the characters aren't engaging.

• The Nori plotline was cute although a little pointless in the first episode, but lost my interest in this second episode because of the interactions with the stranger. It is supposed to set up the mystery of the stranger and probably will pay off later, but in the present it's simply boring.

• The Galadriel plotline is frustrating because Galadriel put herself in this dumb and completely unbelievable situation, and the random appearance other shipwrecked people isn't improving the story either. It's a setup to get Galadriel and Halbrand to Númenor, but the settings up itself isn't engaging. We'll see in future episodes if it pays off.

• The only half-decent plotline was Elrond's relationship with Prince Durin. While the rite itself was cringe, the following conversation between Elrond and Durin were heartfelt. Robert Aramayo's performance stands out, although I don't find his casting as an Elf or as Tolkien's Elrond in any way convincing.

This episode, as the first one, lacks any connection to Tolkien's stories, and ignores large parts of his world building. It's still fanfiction, and in no way an adaptation of his work.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: A Shadow of the Past (2022)

Nothing "Tolkien" about it.

There are two lenses that this show can be viewed through - one is its merit as an adaptation of Tolkien's stories, and the other is the quality of the show as it's own thing.

As a story set in Tolkien's Middle-earth it utterly fails. Replace the names of characters and locations, and you get a random fantasy series disconnected to what Tolkien's stories are about. While their is not much written by Tolkien about this age, the show ignores even the few details about the history and the world that are known and turns them into a mockery.

As a fantasy series, the show works a tiny bit better. It certainly has great visuals when it comes to their sets and VFX, and the music is beautiful. Unfortunately, their costume design is as often a miss as it's a hit. And their story leaves a lot to be desired: the division of four different storylines makes the pacing of the episodes difficult & the dynamic of the stories is constantly interrupted. Supposedly emotional moments don't work because we didn't explanation of how we got here. The characters make many dumb or just plain absurd decisions. The acting is wooden at times (although there are some good performance as well), and the dialogue sometimes very clunky. And especially Galadriel's last part in this episode is just very very silly.

I cannot recommend this series to any Tolkien fan. As for the others, I can only say that based on this first episode, you shouldn't expect too much.

Wangpai buduì (2021)

Interesting premise and mostly good execution

Without much experience with military dramas there were no expectations when I started this drama. I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed watching the series. Despite its flaws it was suspenseful from start to finish.

THE STORY

The basic idea of showing the changes in the military through several decades is an interesting premise that worked quite well overall. The change in uniforms, technology and strategies as well as the different challenges in the lives of the soldiers and the military in general was fascinating to see. With that basis the series is also able to tell several smaller stories throughout the years. The variety of stories keeps the drama from being repetitive. While not all of these stories work equally well, the show offers a lot for many different viewers.

THE CHARACTERS

Experiencing the lives of the characters throughout the years was quite an emotional journey. The actors do a good job overall and make the characters feel real.

Among the main cast Gu Yiye, played by Xiao Zhan, stands out. His story is a major highlight of this series, both in terms of acting and writing.

Gao Liang, played by Huang Jingyu, and Jiang Nan Zheng, played by Zhong Chuxi, also have their moments, but unfortunately their relationship is a bit irritating at times.

The series also profits from a well developed supporting cast.

EDITING

The quality of editing within the scenes usually works well - it's usually smooth and not distracting. Many scenes are very well done and hit the tone just right. However, at times the show fails in transitioning from serious to light-hearted moments, especially in later episodes the show struggles to integrate Jiang Nan Zheng's romantic feelings adequately into the plot.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the overall plot the editing is the show's main weakness: it becomes obvious that there was more scripted and filmed (planned were about 60 episodes) than what made the final cut (in parts due to censorship), and the story and pacing of the show suffer because of it.

For that reason, some parts of the show can feel incomplete or inconsistan, and the pacing is affected as well: some parts of the story feel too short in comparison to others or when considering how significant they should actually be, some parts of the story are missing completely.

EFFECTS AND MUSIC

In terms of cinematography the series looks really good. Effects were mainly needed for the war and drill scenes, and they were all convincing and well done. The music in the show is also good, with nice intro and outro songs, a fitting soundtrack, and a few well placed military songs.

On the con side: in a few scenes the audio quality of the dialogue noticibly drops. I think it was most noticible during Gu Yiye's and Gao Liang's fight in the rain.

OVERALL

The show was enjoyable to watch and gave an interesting insight in the change of military in China from the 80ies to the recent years. The director, screenwriter and producer all have military background and could draw from their own experiences and their comrades's stories, and it shows.

The impact of the bad editing on the story is very regrettable.

Heart and soul are the individual characters' stories, starting at the beginning of their military service and accompanying them on their paths. Xiao Zhan shines in every scene he's in.

Dou Luo Da Lu: Episode #1.1 (2021)

Very good start into the show

I really love the first episode and have already rewatched it even though the show is not yet over. It gives a good introduction into the world of Douluo Continent, and you get a good first impression of the main character as well. Xiao Zhan is in most parts of this episode, and we can already see here that he can carry the drama very well even in scenes with not much or no dialogue at all. The plot progress feels natural and not forced (as can easily happen in pilot episodes), and has good pacing.

The whole atmoesphere of the first episode just feels right, supported by good soundtrack and settings. I had a good time watching this episode, and I enjoy coming back to it.

Dou Luo Da Lu (2021)

A very good drama - highly recommended

I have seen now more than half of the episodes of this series, and I have enjoyed it a lot! It's good story with both emotional and funny moments and a very likable group of characters, and at the end of every episode you look forward to starting the next episode.

The show has a natural and realistic look, including sets and costumes, and for the low budget that they had they made it work. It's a good visible seperation also to the animated series and helps to establish it as it's own work with its own strengths. Nevertheless is the CGI great, the camera work is also well done, and both support the action scenes and make them fun to watch! The music is beautiful and supports the atmosphere of each scene successfully.

The story itself is well paced and the episodes develop the plot smoothly. Exposition moments to explain the world are usually well placed and kept as few as possible. The characters are very endearing and convincing, and fortuantely all get some time for development. Xiao Zhan is doing a great job in portraying Tang San as good hearted young man, who is supportive and caring, yet firece when it comes to protecting his loved ones. I like Wu Xuanyi as Xiao Wu as well, she is funny and adorable.

I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the series!