A decent and wholesome rom-com that was 20 episodes too long

The premise of the Show was interesting, a mix of “To Sir with Love” and “Schoolhouse Rock!” done Chinese style. It worked in parts, but not as a whole. The Show was hamstringed by a messy script with obvious plot holes, one dimensional characters and too many episodes.

Right from the start, the show is asking us to suspense our disbelieves in a big way as a troubled/aging idol is parachuted into a music teacher’s job at a high school. We are told that the idol has all the formal qualifications, but he was also shown to be a man-child and hopeless with life skills. I can understand if he was from an uber rich family and then transitioned into a pampered idol, but his father was a schoolteacher, and he has teaching qualifications so how can he be totally detached from the mortal realm? Needless to say, the show spends a lot of time in transforming him into a good, responsible and respectable teacher. How much time? Basically the first 10 episodes (and counting). It then used the next 20 episodes to play through all the push-pull shenanigans of the two sets of OTP’s. It wasn’t a total waste of time as there are nice, cute moments but it was a long time to watch the same teasing, misunderstandings and will-they-won’t-they tropes. BTW, the 2OTP was cute but it was a marathon as well.

It was a moment of relief when the 1OTP finally have their first kiss at ep.29 but the good time never last. The Show then proceeded to create all kinds of angst and then a breakup that was, frankly, nonsensical. Up to that point, the CP has the support of all their friends, family and students but the FL didn’t want to go public and she couldn't handle the attention from the media and nasty comments from the netizens. Yes, that’s a very tropey plotline but in this case, it made little sense when she was resolute up to that point and her decision was baffling. What added salt to injury was just before the breakup, the ML proposed to her and she accepted. You’d think that meant something solid but it was all forgotten in a flash. The ring was never seen again and there was no mention of a fiancé. There was only one reference to that scene in a flashback and then a throw away line from the ML near the end of the show. That key plot development just went puff?! I have seen shows that would have ended on such a high note. On top of that, they continued to live under the same roof and taught the same class. It served to generated a lot of awkward moments; both leads are pining for each other (too many flashbacks of their sweet moments) and the ML spent an episode behaving like a lovelorn puppy (with silly, upbeat soundtracks). It really made the breakup look comical rather than sad.

At the end of the day, a HEA ending was never in doubt, so we just ended up spending the last few episodes watching the CP picking up the pieces and start the whole push-pull trope again. Seriously, if they cut that whole plot out, it would have made no difference.

This brings us to 2 important issues with this show. Firstly, it was too long. 20 episodes would be optimal with the material at hand. 25-30 would be acceptable if they deep dive into some of the subplots that were MIA or lightly treated. But 40 episodes were a bridge too far and the show moved ponderously (and in circles at times) and there were many filler scenes/plots.

Secondly, there are 4 credited writers including the director for a fairly simple story. I don’t know if they worked on different parts or were brought in as script doctor(s) but the end result was a hodgepodge of ideas and plots that weaved in and out of the central theme. Sometimes, the subplots add to the storytelling but a lot of the time they were inconsequential. Some even illogical or hit a dead end and forgotten. The collateral damage of this is character development. The ML had a lot of growth to his character and his backstory is the most elaborate but the FL was like a weathervane. Her behaviour and moods swung all over the place. Sometimes she is strong and stubborn, other times she is weak and indecisive. You can’t predict where she is heading. Most of the other characters are one dimensional. The SFL was not a horrible person which is a blessing but the SML was weirdly constructed. He is the only antagonist, but he was a grey character for the bulk of the Show and then he was suddenly IT. Why? Is he bad, sad or mad? Was it jealousy of the ML? Unrequited love of the SFL? There are vague hints about his behaviour but it is not very convincing nor coherent.

One good thing about the show is the setting of the school and the students of class 8. They are a lively bunch and provided many distractions from the otherwise sparse central plot. However, where other school dramas might address some serious societal issues and teenage angsts, this Show kept a fairly low profile. Sure, there are some angsty moments, but everything will always come up roses. There are more than one budding young love but there were no confessions, just feels and wistful looks.

OST started off nice and effective. I especially like the jazzed up classical pieces. However, the later episodes really overworked the love songs as they are almost playing non-stop anytime the leads are pining for each other.

As a show to watch in between big ticket items, it is fine but it is way too long to sit through again as a rewatch.

Leia Mais

An ode to unrequited love

The unrequited love plot is as old as time. Probably five seconds after the love poem was invented. If misused, it can waste a lot of time and energy while creating unproductive angst. Fortunately, with only 4 eps to play with, the Show only have time to fill out the CP's backstory and their present day trajectory and little else. This is a blessing.
While the ML is definitely in love with the FL, the FL is growing more confused about their relationship and has to confront her own feelings towards the ML and decide a course of action that will have a huge impact on their future.
Initially, it can be frustrating to watch because time and time again we hear the age old excuse "I don't want to lose you as a friend. What if we breakup?!" On top of that we get both parties playing the noble idiot card on the pretence that they are doing the right thing by not getting in the way of each others' "happiness" thus compounding their woes.
As I mentioned before, with such a short runtime, we can easily focus on the leads' visuals and their chemistry. There can be no doubt of their close friendship but there is an underlying disturbance. Even when the leads are engaged in playful banter, there is a pensive undertone.
Looking at the story as a whole, it is quite transparent. If you are expecting twists and turns then this is not it. The focus here is on their interactions, reflective scenes and hidden messages. The words that are not spoken. Odes that can't be sung. Pictures that are seen but not see through.
The acting is good from the casts. Other than the leads, there are only a handful of supporting roles. They helped to tell the story and move things along. There is a little bit of skinship but this show is not about that. You will appreciate the swoon worthy moments so much more because you are shipping the CP while wishing and praying that the writer-nim is not going to pull a nasty trick on us.
The OST is wonderful. Moody, pensive and swooning as the mood shifts. Rewatch is there both because it is a nice love story but it is short enough for an easy binge.

Leia Mais

Batten down the hatches! Heavy weather ahead!

I was really looking forward to this show because of the leads and the setting. The first episode was a bit heavy going, but it set the scene and presented us with a tangled web of interconnected relationships as well as set up the meet-cute of our OTP. Speaking of the OTP, they look good together and there was certainly a good deal of chemistry. The show put this relationship on steroid, and it was on a fast track.

The writer-nim was trying to integrate the weather theme into each episode because the KMA is where they work and weather can also affect human emotions and our state of mind. Kudos to them for trying their best and it does work but it is also the show’s Achille’s heel.

The writer-nim picked the more impactful weather events such as storms, heatwaves, flooding rain as subject to make the plot more interesting. Yes, it created drama, but it also meant that the Show is almost a non-stop run of extremes if not outright disasters. When you mirror that with the protagonist’s lives then it is heavy weather all the way.

In essence, all the relationships in this show are in trouble or heading that way. The OTP was a done deal within the first few episodes, but the Show then spend the next 10+ episodes making their lives difficult until they finally broke up. The mid show breakup trope is tried and tested, but this is expending a lot of negative energy to undo something that is supposed to the central pillar of your show. Combined with all the other troubled relationships around a small hub, it becomes oppressive like a monsoon before the storm breaks. It makes you wonder why anyone would want to be in a committed relationship after watching this! May be it is billed as a rom-com but I’m more inclined to call it an anti-rom-com.

Needless to say, the rom-com gods were displeased and smite the writer-nim. Hee hee, just kidding. The show really can’t keep going on this downward trajectory or it will be called Forecasting Angsts and Weather! The show turns around in the final straight and all the broken fences are mended, and the good ship came back on course for the HEA endings. The last episode was sweet and satisfying but it is a long season of bad weather before the sun came out again.

If you were hoping for another Park Min Young rom-com like Secretary Kim or Her Private Life then this is not it. She still has the visuals, but she also spends half the Show looking discombobulated and frazzled. You almost imagine her walking away mumbling “this is a mistake; this is a mistake . . .”. Song Kang has received some negative comments about his acting on the net and you can see why because while he is handsome as always, the script has him looking like a deer in the headlights far too often. It is not a good look, and it certainly will not enhance his acting credentials. Things do improve towards the end, but it is a little late. Most of the support cast were solid, seasoned actors and they pulled their weight. They are probably glad to get more meaty roles and more screen time. The flip side to this “ensemble” approach is that there is less focus on the OTP and some of their scenes felt choppy.

As an ode to all the professionals toiling thanklessly in the service of the general public, the show deserved 10/10. As a rom-com/melodrama it did not reach the same high-water mark.

Production value is excellent. OST is very nice. Rewatch is mostly the beginning and the end of the show for me. Depending what you are looking for, the mileage on this show will differ. Caveat Emptor, my friends.

Leia Mais

Good honest food is the salve for a wounded soul

This show put food back in its place of honour. This is not about Michelin Stars or Insta Moments. It is about the cooking and sharing of a tasty meal with friends and family. Thus, reinforcing the bond that bind us together. That is something that the ML lost when he suffered a life changing tragedy. He became an island where food is just fuel for the body, work is his life. It only changed when he accidentally discovered the cooking talent of the FL. She is the opposite to the ML. She is totally family orientated. She just wants a no fuss 9 to 5 job even though she is capable of much more.

In essence, the central plotline is about as cliché as you can get. Cold, tough, low EQ ML meets warm, smart and lovable FL. The rest is history if you want the TL;DR version but the show is much more than that.

In a relatively short (by c-drama standard) 16 episodes, the show covered a lot of grounds but most importantly, it did not indulge in time wasting tropes excessively. It focused on relationship dynamics and how they impact our protagonists. As you’d expect, it was not a smooth ride. We have unrequited love, love triangles, tragedies and work pressures to deal with.

I certainly appreciate how the Show deals with many issues. A lot of the time, straight talking works. It is refreshing to find people behaving rationally and can accept no-means-no. This is in contrast to other similar dramas where romantic entanglement drags on and amps up the angsts to everyone’s detriment.

The show also knows how to do romance. There are definitely swoon worthy moments. The OTP has great chemistry, and they are a perfect match once they get past the usual push-pull shenanigans. The 2OTP had sparks flying early on but then did a few laps around the garden paths before finding their way forward.

Obviously, it can’t be all sunshine and unicorns. The writer engineered a 3/4 show breakup of our OTP. I can see it coming and it was devastating to watch. I understand why it needs to happen, but it is also where the Show’s narrative start to unravel a bit. While the trigger for the breakup is largely an issue of work life balance, it was brought to a head by the collapse of the FL’s mother. This crisis made the FL realise she is trying to do too much, and all her plates are in the air. She needs to step back and sort out her priorities. That is all well and good, but the show had her walking off a metaphysical cliff and took the ML with her! Even so, there were opportunities to reconcile and patch things up quickly, but the Show separated them for over a year without any contact. This seemed illogical and arbitrary as both shared common friends and they live in the same city, none of their circumstances changed.

Most of this occurred in the last three, four episodes. There are closures on several fronts, but the main plot seemed to be stuck in a quagmire. Seasons came and went, and our OTP just marked time. Both leads change and grow for the better, but the separation doesn’t need to be this long. I hate to say it, but the Show did drag during those parts.

When they finally reconnect, it was awkward. There was a kind of reset as the ML tried to bring the FL back into his life, but their relationship remained ambiguous until the very end. The Show even introduced a mystery woman that sowed confusion, but that subplot went nowhere. Why include that?

The last episode was a bit disappointing. The reconciliation of the ML’s family was a nice touch but it felt overwrought and out of place, it should have happened earlier. We were looking forward to the OTP reconciling and giving us more of that sweet chemistry but we were left hanging until the bitter end. Why waste precious time on inconsequential things like cooking eggplants a dozen ways(?!). We want hugs and kisses, not a culinary guide to eggplants!

This ambiguity of the OTP's relationship went on for too long and ended up hurting the show. If this is the writer’s way of teasing us then it backfired. The Show did end on a high note (surprise!), but it could have been better and more rewarding.

In terms of acting, the ML had done many shows but mostly in support or in SML type of role, so this was a step up and his acting was solid. The FL was wonderful, and one to watch in the future. The support cast earned their pay even if some of them were one dimensional.

Even with the dip in the tail, this Show was a pleasant surprise for me. I went in expecting a bit of cliché romance and some food porn but the show was much better. It was more about family, relationship and the symbolic role of meals and the building and nurturing of the bonds. There is a certain earnestness and warmth to the show that was refreshing.

However, the Show did drop the ball here and there. There are narrative issues, pacing is not consistent, and some subplots were hit-and-miss. It is still a good show but some form of review/rewrite towards the end would have delivered a better show.
OST was nice and soothing. Rewatch value is good.

P.S. there is a bonus epilogue on YouTube (no Eng sub to date). It is cute and sweet. The video starts after a 1 year time skip. It contained a few minutes of new footages, and the rest are curated recaps.

Leia Mais

To die is to heal and live again

This show has been on my watchlist for the longest time. I've watched several time travel tales that discarded any resemblance of logic for the sake of drama. Fortunately, this show gave time traveling a novel spin and is an integral part of the story telling. While the Show did not pay too much attention to the butterfly effect, it did not treat the temporal shift as a gimmick neither.

I'm sure there is no need to bring up the synopsis again. The important point here is that the ML did a great job portraying the fish out of water aspect of a doctor transported from the 1500's to present day Seoul. He was shown to be super resourceful and resilient. The Show made light of his ability to adapt to the present though. While it helped to move the plot along, it did lacked credibility.

Where the Show injected some novelty into the tropey plot is when the FL was taken back to the Joseon era by the ML on several occasions and it was she who had to adapt to the sudden change of her circumstances.

This jinx position allowed the Show to explore problems in both eras and forced the OTP to confront them as a team. The writer-nim also used their time in Joseon as a circuit breaker to take them away from the fast paced and insulating modern world. This gave the OTP breathing space and opened their hearts and minds to each other.

In the end, this is much more than a rom-com even though the early episodes were heavy with comedy. The Show skipped through several genres without pausing for breath. Tragedy, treachery and conflict were heavy in the second half and it was much more melodramatic. One cannot escape the social commentary which is mirrored both in the modern as well as olden times. The rich and powerful are still lording over their "slaves" and are prone to hide their inadequacies. The more things change, the more they stay the same....

Overlaid on top of such weighty subjects was the bittersweet romance of the OTP. Both leads are damaged and flawed. The Show forced them to confront their demons and plot a path through moral dilemmas so that they grew and heal each other. Their chemistry was so natural and their emotions so raw. While they did bask in the glow of their burgeoning love, their days together were numbered. You can sense their despair when they were separated and their longing for each other was palpable.

The acting was superb from the main cast. The range displayed by the M/FL was exceptional. The script is intricate with a solid core as foundation. However, some aspects of time travel were a bit contrived. The odd plot holes were just brushed aside. The oriental medicine aspect also took on an almost mythical quality so you might want to suspend your disbelief.
I do wish the ending was more fan service. We demand hugs and kisses, not a walk down a crowded street! The epilogue was very cute. The SML is in for a fun ride. :)

It is a quality production and it showed both in the set design, costumes as well as the OST.

The final caveat, this show is not for you if you dislike historical drama, cruelty, brutality, graphical medical procedures including acupuncture.

Leia Mais

Space cowboy meets Vincenzo meets WALL-E

It must be really hard for writer-nim to come up with new ideas for a space movie that has mass appeal and yet be as original as possible. In the case of Space Sweepers, they got 1 out of 2 right.

As an adventure movie, it is a blast (figuratively as well as literally). The 2 hours run time flashed by with little drag. Action was the centrepiece of the show and it runs the gauntlet of thrilling space flights, hand-to-hand combat, full scale space battle and zero gravity gun fights. In between, there were rare moments of the crew taking a breather and giving the found family trope a decent airing. It is a bit of a shame that most of what I have described are derivatives of a number of movies that came before. Classics like Star Wars, Blade Runner, WALL-E and others all casted a shadow on this film.

That is not necessary a bad thing. Many successful films have stood on those mighty shoulders. In this case, the script was good enough to allow it to be seen as paying homage rather than outright plagiarism. It was not quite original though but it got the job done.

Being a Korean production, the Korean leads all delivered strong performances. Even the child actor and the CG android have strong personalities. However, the same can't be said for the international casts. The evil antagonist was the strongest showing of that bunch but minor roles can be a real mixed bag. The least said, the better. ;)

The budget for this movie is over US$20millions (cheap by Hollywood standards). The CGI was really well done, the cyber punk inspired settings were expansive with grimy and edgy interior designs. Space structures are impressively huge and intricate. It is rated M but there is little blood nor graphical violence shown. Dead bodies were surprisingly "clean" even after being shot multiple times by an assault rifle.

As to be expected with this type of sci-fi drama, there are inconsistencies with future techs and pseudo sciences. One particular issue I have has to do with the "indestructible" nanobots floating in space. They are used as a kind of deus ex machina but that also contradicted with an overarching plotline so who is correct? There are other causal effects and subplots that were presented to us as fait accompli so it is pretty much 'ask no questions and you will hear no lies'. :)

Finally, the ending was actually not my favourite. I would have preferred the grittier ending as the story suggested but they must have done some market research and decided to go with a fan service version. They rammed it through but you really have to suspend your disbelieve.

OST is generic techno, heroic, eerie tracks which paired well with the scenes but ultimately forgettable.
Finally, please watch this in the original Korean/multilingual soundtrack. The English dub wasn't bad but it is not the same.

Leia Mais

A sandbox movie with a deep and dark rabbit hole in the middle

This "review" is unlike any I have written before because this movie is not about just watching the movie. It is much more than that. A back-of-a-napkin review will read like this; beautifully acted, beautifully shot, artsy, slow, a bit quirky but there doesn't appear to be a lot to it.

Wait, don't tune out yet! :) This is why I called this a sandbox movie. I believe that there are 2 phases to this experience. Phase 1 is just watching the movie. Phase 2 is taking your time to digest the clues, images, metaphors, etc. You have to play in that sandbox with the pieces given to you and look beyond the obvious.

Because of this, I can understand why this movie would get a lower rating. If you stop at Phase 1 then it is an artsy, quirky movie (see short review above). Some may just dismiss it as an indulgence especially if you are not in the mood to dive back into the movie after the end credits rolled.

However, if you get into Phase 2 then it is a Pandora's box! There are multiple layers and POV's. There are clues, messages (such as the hopelessness of their youths vs the Korean Gatsby's) and more. They point to different experiences, intersecting plots and even alternative realities! I have my own theory on what happened to the protagonists but I'm not going to discuss it here because a) spoilers b) I could be utterly wrong and c) you need to go down that dark and twisted rabbit hole yourself. Have fun!

In the end, I would compare this movie to a modern art installation. I appreciated the superb acting, evocative cinematography, multi-layered script and skilful directions but I don't fully understand it. It got me to think about it (and lost sleep). It will leave an indelible mark in my mind.

So while I can't say that I loved the movie because it is not a genre I normally gravitate towards (thanks LM for the recommendation), I can definitely express a deep appreciation tinged with a sense of awe and discombobulation!

Now I need a stiff drink and a good lie down. ;)

Leia Mais

Short fluffy romance done the Japanese way

In a nutshell this show is a workplace romance/age gap love done the Japanese way.
It is short, fluffy and pain/angst free. The meet-cute is, honestly, illogical but j-drama excels in carrying this type of setup forward and creating a whole drama around it. It worked but this is no high drama and it will not get your little grey cells working overtime.
What this show gave us are swoon worthy moments and skinship with the works. The cute and naïve FL trope is on steroids so we have the whole (cough) inexperience package. Thankfully, the experienced and much older ML did not exploit this but just ate her up with his love and lust.
There is barely enough material to last 8 episodes but they padded it out with lots of flashbacks. A few red herring subplots and a half hearted love triangle tried to raise the angst level but it was never going to be effective against the rusted on OTP and it is all about the OTP.
A decent watch in the end but goes down better with popcorns. :)

Leia Mais

Great CP chemistry and romance but questionable values did not sit well with me

So many c-drama are set in the corporate world that is itself a trope. Sometimes it works but a lot of the time the plots are filled with jargons and then a bit of magic drama dust to create a company collapse or save the company in the nick of time. This show is heavily business focused and there was no ends of "intrigue" and dirty tricks.

The basic story is straightforward. Two old school mates met up again after many years apart and found love. The twist here is that the ML was in love with the FL since their school days and he tasked himself to protect her. The reason is because she is allergic to tears and it could kill her if she is not treated quickly. He tried to toughen her up so that she won't cry but it was seen as bullying. He was going to confess to her before he went aboard to study but circumstances made them part in bad terms and he missed that chance and lost touch for years. This misunderstanding lasted well into their new working relationship as he became her boss in her new job.

There were no doubt that the pairing of Bai Lu and Leo Luo was a masterstroke. They looked great together and have bucket load of chemistry. They did not shy away from the touchy feely stuff either so there were lots of skinship. The 2OTP was cute and they tried hard to tell their story but there were a number of plot holes. In the end, it was underdone as their romance felt contrived. The 3OTP (noona romance) came out of nowhere and it was a stretch. 2 other pairing of fellow workers overflowed the CP quota.

The romantic story of the OTP would have been good enough to sustain a shorter run but they had a lot of business subplots to get through and it is here that the tone and plots did not sit well with me.

Most of the early episodes have the OTP investigating various companies as part of due processes before the company goes public or are bought out by another company. However, instead of doing the sums and highlighting dodgy transactions so that the authorities can follow up, they (including junior analysts) behave like private investigators and some kind of corporate crusaders riding out to right wrongs. That would be ok if the message is clear but again and again, the punishments do not fit the crimes. We are talking about someone who embezzled a lot of money as well as a manager who drugged and raped a young worker. That is a criminal offence, is it not? This type of moral greyness ran right through the whole show. The FL was drugged and dumped in a hotel room (unharmed, thankfully) and even though it was obvious who did it, there was no retribution. Other people who did wrong were just spoken to or cut a lot of slack. With that, what appeared to be a righteous stance soon turned into a mess of confused messages. It speaks volume about the business environment in China if it is even partially true.

I also have issues with the SML storyline. There was little chance of a second lead syndrome from the start but he was given a lot of screen time in the last few episodes. Once that subplot started, there was little doubt how it would end. It did little to progress the main plot but managed to turn the SML into a despicable character.

There were funny moments and lots of swoon worthy moments. I did liked how they set up the OTP as competitors after the time skip and their interactions were cute but it ended almost as soon as it started. If they did the time skip and just have them working in their own small company or even in competition, I'd ship them even more. The ML's proposal short movie was clever and the doggie is so cute throughout. :D

Production value is high but there are gaps. OST was fine. If I ever want to rewatch this, I would start at ep.20 and then watch the next few episodes where the OTP was white hot then skip to the last episode just for the feel good fan service.

Leia Mais

Sweet healing romance that managed to be underdone and overcooked

As a rom-com I can't fault its setting, both M/FL and support casting. OTP chemistry and swoon worthy moments. They are all present and accounted for, if anything, someone must have done a checklist so that every item was ticked and double checked. The problem lies more in the show's desire to please "everyone". To be honest, the writer-nim largely succeeded in doing this but it was also its Achilles heel.

The premise of the show is simple, the FL is forced to restart her dentist career out in the boondocks and there she found love as well as new friends and found family. It is a well used trope and with the show navigating a fairly safe path meant that for the longest time, it never hits any real highs or lows. I think that may well be because it is the FL's first show after 2 years away from the limelight. She probably wanted a high profile hit and this definitely delivered.

Having said that, the meet-cute and the OTP's journey to true love was well done and there is always something happening to push them closer together. The seaside village of Gongjin cannot be more idyllic. It was picturesque day and night. The FL is in her 30's (ML is 1 year older), well dressed, sophisticated and pretty. She became all giggly and with aegyo dialled up after she fell in love. To be honest, it was a little jarring. This was initially matched by her best friend who also fell in love with a local and formed half of the 2OTP but she is a lot more grounded as the relationship progressed. The ML was handsome, charismatic, chilled, helpful, friendly and a bit eccentric. A total opposite to the usual cold, rich, man-child of a ML. The local villagers were a eclectic bunch. They are classy actors who knew their trade and will steal the scene if you let them. It was clever of the writer-nim to drip-feed their backstory slowly so that what appeared to be just the usual nosy neighbours and busybodies were shown to be true friends and have raison d'être for their behaviours.

The deft hand of the writer-nim is evident else where. There are lots of tropey plots and cliché scenes but they were seldom over the top to the point where you facepalm and groan out loud but they can also be undercooked so that it became a bit superficial. One area where the writer-nim went a bit overboard was the fate motif. There were just too many coincidences to be believable.

Hence, it was quite odd when around episodes 14,15 the story became a potboiler/melodrama. There were certainly buckets of tears (have tissue handy). The whole plot about the ML's role as a fund manager was overcooked. Seriously, it wasn't really his fault and certainly in regards to his friend's death. So it was drama for drama sake and not very convincing. After all the hints of a dark past, it turned out he was even more saintly than he already is.

The "tread lightly" approach also meant that there was not a lot of growth in the characters but more like story progression. Old wrongs were righted, broken or strained relationships were healed. Naissance love triangle morphed into a bromance. The snobbish and judgemental FL became someone who appreciates the country lifestyle and her new friends but she was essentially the same decent person. The ML stays the same except now everyone knew his backstory and loved him even more.
It was no surprise that everybody got a happy ending. Sunshine, rainbows and a herd of unicorns roamed the land. :D It was sugary but it brought the show to its own logical conclusion. At least it was not rushed and there was enough time to give everyone a proper sent off.

OST was nice and breezy. Production value was high. Quality cinematography captured the lovely sceneries. I really enjoyed this show so rewatch value is there for the swoon worthy and feel good bits but skip ep.15 if sentimentality is not your cup of chai. Almost forgot to mention the PPL, there were quite a bit of it. Not egregious but more than I'd care for.

Leia Mais

Surprisingly good rom-com that managed to tiptoe through the cliché minefield

This show has been on my watch list for a long time but the synopsis gave off the wrong tropey vibes for me so I kept skipping over it. Recently, I dropped a bad rom-com so I thought, "I can't do much worse". I'm glad I finally committed, it was surprisingly good.
First of all, this is not a big budget production. There are no big names or famous city as a backdrop. The production value is good through and there were not a lot of PPL, certainly not egregious. The OST is nice and totally serviceable. I liked that the ML's are handsome but not idol level good looking. The FL's are attractive and looked natural which made them more relatable.
The first half of the show is pretty much as expected. A head strong manhua artist decided to use a cold college professor as her template for the ML in her next comics. She has never been in love so she sucked at drawing romantic scenes. At first, he was just an interesting research subject but over time she fell in love with him. Of course, there were lots of push/pull and ambiguities. Nevertheless, she was brave and focused in her pursue of him. By the mid way mark, he was in love and they became official. Yes, there were cliché moments but there was no shock twists. Clichés were handled with a deft hand and you won't get worked up about stupid plots holes. But then I was overcame with anxiety because I have seen many shows expending all their energies in getting the CP together and then after a bit of CP bliss, they'd turn their laser focus on breaking them apart by any means just so that they can engineer a 11th hour happy ending. I'm grateful that this didn't happen. Sure, there were lumps and bumps along the way but their love was strong and they were the A-team and push back against all the Forces of Evil. Hazzah!
Another aspect which I found satisfying is the communication between the CP's. Of course, there were misunderstandings, jealousy and doubts but issues were never left to fester and they were resolved quickly with some straight talking. Another one is the age gap between the CP's. All the CP's have significant age differences and while some show will milk that for tension and be judgemental, this show just took it in its stride. It was part of the story fabric and you can take it or leave it. There was also growth in all the characters which was good to see. For example, the ML went from a cold and aloof character to become a kind, considerate and hot blooded BF. The 2FL was a bit of a seductress in the beginning but she became a super loyal GF to the 2ML.
In so many Chinese rom-coms, the 2/3OTP is either angst filled or just a convenient way to park the M/FL's best friends and provide a bit of down time for the 1OTP. Our 2OTP also had a rough start but while they did not have as much screen time as the 1OTP, their trajectory were similar well plotted and had more attention in the second half. Their love also grew stronger with every challenge. The strong 2FL definitely wore the pants in this relationship.
This brings us to the FL's. All three were forthright with their approach. They didn't hide or play dumb but push hard towards their goals. Ok, may be not so much for 3OTP because their pairing was a bit iffy but the 3FL knew what she wanted in her heart as well.
I'm glad that the show can see the tropes coming and it is wise enough to use them in a positive way and not be subsumed by them. Time and time again I expected the worse but good things happened instead. That made the show engaging and very watchable in my book.
The show is not perfect. There are script issues and some of the younger actors are still a bit rough around the edges but the positives outweigh the negatives. It is light, funny and sweet but not to the point of sugar overload nor was it overran by non-sensical plot twists. I enjoyed it so much that I binged it.
P.S. I watched this on Tencent official YouTube channel and every episode had the same audio issue whereby the dialogue track would randomly drop out for a minute or two and for no apparent reason.

Leia Mais

It is all about the CP, silly, and now some messages from our sponsor.

Watching this show is a guilty pleasure. You know that the leads are too beautiful and perfectly matched, you know the storyline is pure fluff but nicely done and everything is just so romantic. If you want to forget your worries for a while then binge watch this.

There is a coherent story but nothing overly dramatic or deep (at least by the usual c-drama standard). The romance is sweet and wholesome. There is a good deal of skinship and when they play in bed they weren't doing crosswords! The show is so full of nice people that it must be a record. The FL's agent is a mother hen type but without any manipulative behaviour of the typical talent agent. The young assistant is not a slave but a happy, bubbly soul. The parents are all lovely people. Most of their friends are sweet and some are a bit nerdy or gossipy but likeable. The senior staff members are all father figures with wisdom to spare. Even the antagonists (and I used this word very loosely) were not trouble makers. No breakups, no forced separations, except for one patch of misunderstanding, it was plain sailing for the whole show. It is a funny thing to say but taken in totality, it actually made the show felt a bit odd.

Why? I think the answer lies in the Chinese government wanting to change the narrative around the entertainment industry and the greed culture. Consider the recent controls placed on rabid fandom, cancelling of several high profile celebs and the push for "common prosperity", I can see some subtle messages imbedded in the show. For instance, early on, the FL actually asked the question "am I worth this much?" during a discussion about a new contract (and in RL reference to how much some actors are paid for a few weeks of work). As the show progressed, Dilraba got more and more grounded and they even got married in a group wedding (to much acclaim from netizens) when most c-drama would have gone all out for a lavish wedding as the finale. Social media played a fairly neutral or even positive role here instead of a hot bed of venomous slander. Paparazzo were made fun of and "chased out of town". National security officials were helpful and understanding(?). Yang Yang is an aerospace engineer and that is topical as China has successfully landed a Mars rover just recently so there should be a lot of interests. But more importantly, he was considering joining an investment bank for the money but changed his mind. The message here is that greed is no longer good but contribution to the society is more rewarding. This is reinforced by the fact all the "loser" characters were bankers boasting about their pay checks and their excessive consumptions. The FL's ex was a stereotypical rich CEO type but in this show, he definitely did not get the girl and Dilraba made it very clear why. Ditto when the rich BF of a co-star arrived with in a convoy of fancy SUV's and truck load of fancy food for the casts and crew, it was not well received but when the ML arrive in an old jeep and fixed their internet with his own hands, it gained the approval of the upper echelon aka the Director. May be I'm over thinking this but this show certainly have a mix of PR and subtle messages to promote Chinese aerospace achievements and also amped up the positive feedbacks when you are perceived to be doing the right thing by society.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this show a lot because it was so sweet and entertaining. They knew their ace is the OTP and they dialled up their chemistry and gave us as many swoon worthy moments as we can handle. Is this a realistic portrait of modern Chinese lives? I would say it is better than one that is filled with devious plots to breakup our CP and manufactured dramas just to stir up angst but is the pairing of a movie megastar and a chief aerospace engineer likely in RL...?

There were some issue with the YouTube dialogue soundtrack but otherwise, the OST was very nice. Production value was high but some early science stuff was a bit dubious.

Leia Mais

Light and fluffy rom-com that is weighted down by its setting

If you look at this show purely from a rom-com perspective then it is quite good but tropey. Nice cute CP with not a lot of "drama". Some swoon worthy moments but I can't help but feel that the ML did most of the heavy lifting. The FL is cute and pretty but for the longest time, she has minimal facial expression and a pout. When they do kiss, I felt that she was kissed rather than they shared a kiss, if you know what I mean.

The elephant in the room is the backdrop of the e-sport scene. There has been several other shows using that theme but this one has a very singular focus on one MOBA game and it does felt a little claustrophobic as all the antagonists and protagonists came from that pool. Sometimes it is the fans or management or players behaving badly. No wonder they got some backlash from gamers saying that they portraited e-sport in a bad light. To be fair, the show did expend a fair bit of energy on promoting the goals and aspirations of the players but they do live ostentatiously so the message is definitely mixed. It would be interesting to see how much traction this show will have in the current push by the Chinese government to limit online gaming by the younger generation. Just to round out the topics de jour, we also see the issue of rabid fandom and cyber-bullying. Maintaining the light tone, things never get truly out of hand.

OST is light and fluffy and rewatch value is limited as the show is padded out with a lot of gaming sequences which you will either love or be confused by.

Leia Mais

Speaker for the Dead meets Rain Man

TL;DR: Move to Heaven is special, go watch it. We need season two. Now.

The longer version: Let's try to keep it short before it turns into a postgrad thesis.

MtH doesn't hit dramatic highs but it works slowly and steadily to breakdown your emotional defence until you can't help but be touched by the many emotional moments presented by the show. On the other hand, it is not a non-stop tear jerker either. How the narratives affects you will depend on your background and your EQ. Have tissues handy, you have been warned.

It tells simple stories of people who have passed away and became clients of this specialist cleaning company. Each short story was handled touchingly and delicately. Their lives seemed mundane on the surface but that was the whole point of the show. These cleaners do more than just clean and pack up the belongings of the deceased. The father and son team have the knack of seeing beyond the flotsam and jetsam of a person's life and see some of their essences and what was their last unfinished task. Their goal is to try to complete that task on their behalf and bring closure to people closest to them, in a sense, they are the speakers for the dead. Along the way, the show touched on many societal ills such as domestic violence, bullying, elderly neglect, etc. They are not unique to Korea but they are certainly prevalent.

The show is almost perfect but not quite. The writer can be too clever and withheld information from the viewers and then did the big reveal and tell you what the clue was after the fact. Most of the heavy lifting was done by the young ML who has Asperger's but also a savant . While he is surrounded by a very supportive found family, they don't seem to do a lot other than bicker among themselves or provide the contrary views to move the plot along and for which the ML debunks as par for the course. It is not quite an ensemble cast in that sense. The uncle's cage fighting and back story added a nice action component and complexity to his character. However, some misunderstanding that lasted for years was too easily resolved in the end.

Speaking of back stories. The show was arranged sort of back to front so the show started with the forced cohabitation of basically strangers and the second half of the show revealed their complicated back stories via lots of flash backs (have tissues handy) and explained how their lives were changed. It worked quite well but the problem we have here is that the show felt like it came a full circle and then it ended. If it was the standard 16 episodes, it could have ended properly. In the 10 episodes we got, we got revelations, character growth, some closures and everything was in place for the show to go forward but it just stopped. There were hints of budding romances, the cleaning company was finally on solid footings, an antagonist that was set for revenge, even a curious new job offered in the dying minutes of the show. If that does not hint at a second season I don't know what does. Please, please give us another season. We besiege you, Old Mighty Netflix!

Leia Mais

Counters trapped in a maze of their own creation

May be I'm swimming against the tide but I have some serious issues with this show.
Not saying that it is a bad show and there were certainly elements which were very well done and some scenes were thrilling, heart warming, uplifting or gut wrenching but it is not perfect, far from it.
One of the biggest problem with the plot was the writer laid down rules that counters must obey while they are hunting evil spirits so that they have minimal impact on the human world. The problem is that the counters kept on breaking them because the bulk of the story is about them seeking revenge or meddling with societal issues. It got very awkward and painful to watch as they constantly tried to bend the rules or fix damages a la wiping people's memories and healing the wounded baddies. The writer ended up just throwing the rules away mid show by having the counters appeal to their handlers to let them have a free hand. It made half the show felt claustrophobic.
Another issue were the villains used. In the beginning of the show, school yard bullies were the main antagonists. It starts with typical bullying and extortion but it quickly escalated to attempted murders. Just remember these are technically minors. The Rules made all the counters' corrective actions meaningless. Those bullies were behaving worst than the thugs and gangsters used later on in the show without being possessed by evil spirits so why were they so nasty? It got real bad for the junior counter until the problem was pushed aside by his ultra rich benefactor. So all the special powers of the counters achieved nought but money and connections did. Consider how much the show was about money, corruptions and secrets, this was sending a very confused message.
Most shows have plot holes but this show have more than its fair share. For instance, after the counters were assumed killed, they closed their restaurant but continued to live openly inside. The thugs showed up once, rattled the door a few times and said no one is here so they must really be dead. Geez, anyone could have chance upon them for the longest time. Similarly, the level 4 evil spirit was being chased by the police as a mass murder and his face was on TV and posters everywhere. However, once they faked his death and the police made the announcement, everyone seemed to forget he existed. He was walking around everywhere without any disguise. Why didn't anyone noticed? There are a number of other holes or subplots that went nowhere.
The effect of these problems made the middle section of the show seemed adrift and suffer from some kind of identity crisis. All the characters were there and there were great fight scenes, more death and destructions and the odd funny subplots but it doesn't feel like it had much to do with the original uncanny counters concept (aka super heroes vs evil spirits). Maybe uncanny eco-warriors, uncanny thieves? They expended so much energy setting up the central theme and yet it was underused for a good half of the show.
There was also a writer change after 12th episodes. The standard "creative difference" reason was given. There was definitely a change in the plot and tone with the last few episodes. The bulk of the last episode was very much sugar overload with resolution of plots and closures for all main characters and even a MiB style makeover for the team.
Generally speaking, the acting were good. The junior counter probably had the most growth but then again, he was stuck in self pity mode for half the show so it was expected. The found family trope was well used and there were good warmth between the fab four. There was little romance, certainly nothing more than wishful thinking.
OST was good, I probably won't rewatch it as the problems would annoy me even more on a rewatch.

Leia Mais