What a fulfilling movie this was - gorgeous cinematography, top notch cast and crew, brilliant storytelling and amazingly filmed.

Leung Chiu Wai never compromises on his acting quality. He is unrelenting as the indomitable Mr. He. He exudes total professionalism. When you see his name in the cast, you can be assured of stellar performances.

Wang Yibo, where do I even begin? Acting opposite a veteran, gold standard actor like Leung Chiu Wai can intimidate some young actors but not Wang Yibo. He more than held his own, he is the king of micro expressions but I never had a doubt about him since I first discovered him in The Untamed. His Mr. Ye is a force to be reckoned with, he is steel yet shows his completely vulnerable side. Every single expression is not wasted, translating his thoughts and channeling his intentions, present or future. Wang Yibo’s future is now, he never stops improving even when he’s already so good. He shone so brightly in this movie and I am so looking forward to his other upcoming movies this year. May I also say his multi-lingualism is so satisfying.

The fight scene between the two leads was breathtaking and just A+! Brilliantly sequenced, nicely done.

The ladies are just phenomenal, Zhou Xun as Ms. Chen is queen, she’s grace and beauty. Zhang Jingyi as Ms. Fang had small but impactful scenes, already loved her acting since Lighter and Princess. Jiang Shuying is gorgeousness herself.

I feel like director, Cheng Er didn’t waste any scene, everything has meaning or impact. The food scenes gave a lot of insight into the overall plot. The non-linear narrative was not confusing at all. The end tied everything up nicely. Lastly, if you haven’t heard the theme song sung by Wang Yibo, please do check it out, it totally suits the movie’s noir vibes.

Am already planning to watch it again, truly time well-spent the first time around!

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Passion takes flight and soars

This movie is overflowing with heart, passion, and dedication. The unsung people known as test pilots are so under appreciated. Born to Fly highlights their spirit and determination in their chosen profession, taking on risks to ensure their air force have the best possible equipment to go about their duties.

I love how the director tried to keep it as real as possible (from what I heard in interviews), incorporating anecdotes from real test pilots, showing us glimpses and sacrifices of their lives.

The aerial scenes are breathtaking, so vivid and mesmerizing. I also love how the story takes us through the conditioning and training one would go through to even be considered for a test pilot position in China.

Lei Yu is an eager beaver, going through life fueled by his love of the air. He can be spontaneous to a fault however he more than makes up for it with his intelligence, love of problem solving and drive to succeed. Wang Yibo plays Lei Yu to perfection, injecting his brand of 100% dedication to his chosen craft.

I love the camaraderie between the team and personnel, everyone understood their assignment, gave their all.

This movie is well casted, I especially loved Hu Jun’s role as Zhang Ting, he inspires such loyalty.

You will laugh, cry, cheer but most of all, overflow with admiration for a team of dedicated people at the end of this movie.

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Gripping and intense

This drama really dished out the gritty police world as they try to wipe out drug trafficking in Yunhe (and subsequently to other parts of the country).

Beautiful cinematography that leaves everything to be desired, makes it seem like one long movie spanning 32 episodes. So well-done as it really adds to the mystique of the story and sublime plots.

I love the blend of young blood and veterans in the acting cast, I came for Wang Yibo and stayed for everyone. I had already seen Chen Xiao in A Dream of Splendor so I know he has the acting chops.

The trio of Chen Yu, An Ran and Yang Yi are bold, fearless and eager to perform their duties. Wang Yibo especially is always passionate in everything he takes on, he was already excellent in Chen Qing Ling and he was also excellent in this drama. His transformation from an eager beaver police officer to a passionate person trying to uphold law and order is wonderful to watch.

I especially love all the bits of Yibo’s screen time with Chen Xiao, the push and pull in their relationship is interesting.

The world can be ugly out there especially in Yunhe but you can trust the police force to try their utmost best.

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Came for the main leads, stayed for the second lead

This series started on fire for me. I put Eternal Love on hold to watch this. The first twenty episodes went by so quickly. I was entertained, to say the least.

However halfway through, it became apparent to me that the lead characters have no flaws. Even Jin Mi’s lack of certain feelings are blameless because of her mother’s actions. Xu Feng exhibited all the same flaws as Run Yu however, he was celebrated for being “in love” and was willing to do anything to get his girl (Read: manipulative). On the other hand, Run Yu was portrayed as obsessive and selfish for similar actions.

Xu Feng was blind to all his parents’ flaws and cruelty. I’m not sure how a character who’s touted to be so sensitive and attuned to everyone’s well-being and feelings can lead such a bliss life, unaware of such things. Even when he was made aware of certain things his parents did, they seemed to explain themselves away.

Jin Mi’s lack of character development for such a long time was also frustrating. Another point of annoyance was how everyone pretty much ignored Run Yu and showered heaps of attention on Xu Feng only. This man could DO NO WRONG. I guess it wasn’t difficult for Deng Lun and Yang Zi to play these types of characters.

On the other hand, Run Yu’s character arc was excellent. Not going to lie, from around the halfway mark of this series, I pretty much gave up on everyone except Run Yu. His turn of character was done so well and that was what kept me going to finish the series. I don’t condone some things he did however much was couched by circumstances.

Suffice to say, around episode 30ish and onwards, I was rooting for Run Yu only, the main couple pretty much deserved each other.

The only thing I had no issue with in this series is the music, it’s excellent.

Will not rewatch this, I’d rather watch fan-made videos of Run Yu.

Acting rated for Luo Yunxi only.

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Emotional

Warning- these are ramblings..

I had to deal with many raw emotions while watching.

Why did I rate this higher than the prequel? This movie didn’t shy away from many of the issues that exist in dealing with a closed-minded society. Nagisa’s self-deprecation that resulted in a spiral that in turn hurt so many people wasn’t sugarcoated. His family/personal issues/insecurities were in fact examined and flayed open, his actions had devastating consequences.

Yet, this movie also showed kindness: in an ex, in the rural town Shun lived in, in how people closed ranks because they didn’t judge, acceptance, forgiveness, family. Through Sora’s role, it showed how such innocence could simplify one’s prejudices and priorities.

I’ll put it plainly: Nagisa did many stupid things, *I* wouldn’t have forgiven him for a long time. But I’m not Shun and not his ex. It’s challenging enough for them to accept love is love (Please, I urge you to watch the sweet prequel) and we as audience, didn’t see the ups and downs they went through in their relationship. Shun felt deeply, and I commend the lead actor for this.

All in all, it’s the ugly side of love: loving, wanting, taking, forgiving, accepting, believing.

“Live proudly.”

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Frustrating

I would have given up halfway if not for my favourite het CP. Luo Yunxi and Bailu’s undeniable chemistry kept me watching.

It felt like storyteller said let’s take all the suffering every character has ever gone through and give it to Tantai Jin. He endured and endured and endured but the universes said, “Umm, not enough.” Also, “Let’s give the antagonist every misunderstanding we could ever conjure up because Tantai Jin must suffer more. We must break him.” I thought I had seen it so bad when it came to these two themes but this drama set out to decimate my belief.

By the time some things started to come to fruition, I was already exhausted. Angst does not even begin to describe TTEOTM.

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So good

I am in love with this short series. The last time I felt this way about a gay couple was with HIStory: Trapped (what about The Untamed, you say? I’m not worthy of WangXian, they’re in their own universe).

I loved the main characters, both were effectively played by the actors, especially Tak Woo Suk. Yeon Seung Ho was also very good in his role. I adored their tenderness and devotion. The skinship scenes were tastefully done and the first one was quite hilarious yet sweet. Felt like I was intruding on their private moments.

The background story was also interesting and more than kept me interested in the whole thing. I did not rate this series a 10 because there are certain parts of the plot that kind of faded away on its own, this is the only downside.

BUT CAN WE TALK ABOUT GI TAE’S SISTER??! What a supportive and loving family member! Her unconditional love is everything. Every BL series needs a similar character in it.

REWATCH VALUE: Hell, yes!

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Nail biting

Ye Xiu is the bar we set for ourselves when it comes to personal comportment. His understanding of his strengths and weaknesses, the unfailingly professional way he treats everyone, especially his opponents, the way he supports his teammates and friends. Yet, we ache with him when it comes to the estrangement with his father, the regard he had for his best friend, we shed tears for his pain.

The story is such a feel-good one, celebrating triumphs, losses, personal achievements, camaraderie amongst a group of strangers whose bond at the end is stronger than ever. Their ups and downs, their joys and bad moments. Each one has a ladder to climb, a challenge or two to overcome, a loss to come to terms with. Every story is a teachable moment.

I’m not into gaming at all so I’m not even a beginner when it comes to judging the graphics however they look so good to me. I wasn’t bored at all, in fact, the tactical moves by each team were a delight to watch.

Last but definitely not least, what an absolutely wonderful portrayal of Ye Xiu by Yang Yang, he’s a consummate actor. Not only is he the foundation, he is also the load bearing wall. It is a joy to watch his calm demeanour, his myriad of expressions. His on-screen presence is so powerful. I’m so glad this isn’t a romantic drama, and that we get to see so much of him in every episode as he plays such a central character.

I’m so stoked for the sequel!

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There’s something about this couple

This is not the best BL I’ve watched however I can’t seem to get over this couple.

The aesthetic of this movie was pleasing, I liked the softer look. I liked how Lu Feng went after who he wanted, homophobes be damned. Xiao Chen was dealt with less favourable cards in life, he wanted to fly under the radar however time and distance would not make Lu Feng give up on him.

Gao Tai Yu was the better actor here, he had a wider range of emotions and was able to convey them.

I got a feeling Xiao Chen’s mother would be the bane of their existence.

Note- I’ve watched Part 2 and that review is a rollercoaster...be forewarned.

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The boys are back and oh my, they are back with a vengeance.

From Zi Yan’s “don’t mess with my man or I will mess with your face” attitude and his willingness to overcome mountains to be with Mai Ding to his expressions of love, very explicitly, I might add (!). From Mai Ding’s “I will take my man’s expressions of love anywhere, anytime, thank you very much” to him upping his trash talk game with..you guess it, his man.

Their continuing banter is one of the highlights for me in this sequel. “Our romance comes with bromance” could qualify as their theme!

I’d say this is equally enjoyable as the first series, and sequels rarely live up to expectations for me.

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I watched the alternative ending version only. Honestly, I don’t think my heart could take the first version.

This second half of the movie did not disappoint. Again, the leads were the powerhouses leading the way.

Meng Rui is impressive, this movie is my introduction to his acting and I was more than satisfied with what I saw. Wang Bo Wen quietly made his mark as well, as Nian had to grasp certain realities in his life. The chemistry between Meng Rui and Bo Wen is off-the-charts. BTS videos of these two definitely confirmed this.

There were some wacky moments thrown in for good measure to keep things interesting. Don’t miss the extra scene towards the end of the credit roll.

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Toxic relationship

I’d seen so many fan-made videos of this movie on YouTube that I told myself I had to watch it.

The two leads were really good, especially Meng Rui. He played a thoroughly conflicted person who was struggling with what’s considered as unnatural feelings by their society. As Xie Yan, his emotions were swinging back and forth with the object of his desire, his so-called life servant, Nian, who was brought into the family when the latter was young. You could see Xie Yan’s inner struggles as he channeled them, unfortunately, towards Nian in a very bad way.

Wang Bo Wen who played Nian’s role was gentle, kind and submissive, yet I saw him fighting back against certain people. As first, I thought he was a submissive person overall however I noticed he was only so with Yan and the Xie family.

The leads definitely carried this movie. The music was good especially for the song sung by Wang Bo Wen.

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