Eight minute episodes? I'm in!

I've hit a wall trying to find a good romance that isn't long and drawn out, with so much filler that all I do is fast forward through most of it. I found this on Prime. 24 episodes of about 8-15 minutes each. I figured I could commit to this, and if it was terrible, not too much of my life was wasted.

I was pleasantly surprised. It's a cute storyline (but uniforms in college, is that a thing?).

Aside from the problems I had with it:
-It contained not one, but two girls that were willing to do anything to get the guy.
-an overbearing father.
-an arranged engagement.
-acting by most of the adults was bad. The way they talked, the way they moved, just not good.
-the male lead, Ma Hao Dong, had one expression, and when he talked, he talked like he had lockjaw.
-a couple of very poorly executed kisses
-typical tropes like only one hotel room, one mattress when they go camping, you know the drill.

There were things that I really liked:
-Liu Nian as Chu Xia (FL) is adorable, I mean seriously! I loved watching her.
-the main couple together was so cute. She's outgoing, he's stoic. He keeps asking his friend and his housekeeper for advice.
-I love when there's a height disparity between the leads. She was so tiny.
-I loved his mother. Rather than what we normally see, here we have a mom wanting what her son wants. She was very sweet and was so caring of both her son and Chu Xia.
-one of the irritating girls that wants the ML redeems herself
-I was able to put my remote down and give the fast forward button a rest
-I found myself smiling, a lot, while watching this

So, if you have a few hours to spare, want to just enjoy yourself and turn off your brain for a while, you might enjoy this.

Leer más

Beautiful

This is a beautiful movie about love, what people will do for love, and the power of love. When I watch Japanese movies or dramas, the movies seem too short, and the dramas too long. I wanted more of this movie. The editing and what happened in the movie were just to abrupt. I felt that the important things just got a slight mention and then the story quickly moved on.

The actors were all good. This movie was understated and calm. It was living a daily life of a girl that has to start over every day. Reading the signs posted in her bedroom, reading and writing in her journal every day. I was kind of bothered that she spent most of her time with her phone up in her face, taking pictures or videos, but it made sense to the story.

There's a twist that I didn't see coming. And boy, Japanese filmmakers sure know how to wring the emotions from a person!

Leer más

Watch it until after the credits

Satoh Takeru - yup, that's why I watched it. He's intense and, as usual, I enjoyed his performance. The scene where he sent her away was heartbreaking. His hair was too long and you couldn't see his eyes, and it seriously needed to be washed. But, I digress...

This movie is hard for me to rate. It left me feeling dissatisfied, for lack of a better word. Maybe there wasn't enough time to develop the characters more fully (but I don't care enough to watch the Korean version for more story). Part of my problem is that I don't like liars. That part of the story didn't go on for too terribly long. That she was a high school student was a little problematic, but it didn't seem too noticeable.

Everyone just seemed not too terribly likeable. I was bothered by the fact that the ML had money, fame, etc. and walked around like he'd just been given a death sentence. That's the point, I know, but it just irritated me.

Maybe it was my frame of mind when I watched it. If you want to try it, at least you won't be out too much time.

Leer más

Action packed

And I mean literally!

First, let's deal with the important stuff. Hyun Bin was MADE for action roles! That still, quiet, buff, piercing eyes guy...quite effective. I couldn't get over how thin his face was and how sharp his jawline was!!

The action was pretty much non-stop and it was very well done. I vacillated between practically jumping out of my chair and covering my eyes. Really good fight scenes and the car chases were excellent, whether they were in a car or chasing a car on foot.

This was my first time seeing anything that Yoo Hae Jin was in, and I loved him as the South Korean cop. Always in trouble and work and at home, he had that run down look about him. He and Hyun Bin were magic together, going from distrust to brother.

I know most people thought the story line with the sister-in-law was funny, but I was just embarrassed for her. Thankfully, that didn't go on too long.

I'm going to need to recover and then watch the second one!

Leer más

I would have preferred the series, I think

I haven't watched a lot of Thai movies, let alone one that is a fantasy. This movie seemed to have been made on a very low budget. It seemed to be a much older film, production quality-wise. I struggled with the overacting of most of the side characters, and the bad make-up. I think this is what made me not love the movie.

I will say that the ML and FL were lovely, both in visuals and in their story line. There was such a calm warmth about both of them (I don't know if that makes any sense). They were very sweet together. The story was somewhat confusing to me, but I love the idea of love that transcends time.

Leer más

Wow, that last episode hit me!!

I happened upon this show quite by accident. The idol group has been done, but get a bunch of guys together, fill the room with their testosterone, and there will be drama! They were young, immature, foolish, just like every other young man in the world. Add to that the pressure of constant practice, your life basically being an open book, and the demands of fans (whether fair or not) and this was an interesting watch.

I was initially concerned about the age gap, but it was very downplayed, and at the end of the drama, they were both adults.

My rating of this show went up mostly because of the last episode. Up until then I was probably at a 6-7. I have to say that I cried through most of the last episode. The struggles/dreams/separation of 8loom are eerily close to a current K-pop band, so this really affected me. I was moved by the heartfelt conversations by the members to their fans from the stage, as well as the beautiful show of support by the fans. It was very touching.

If romance is your main reason for watching this you will be greatly disappointed, it is by no means the focus. After reading a lot of comments, the ending seems to be open enough to allow for you to decide what happens to the couple. I, in my little romantic heart, believe that they were beginning a relationship.

It's a quick watch and I'm glad it found me.

Leer más

Frustration with moments of relief

What I liked:
-decided to give it a try because, for a C-drama, it was short at 24 episodes
-Luo Zhi liked Huainan for years, but quietly. She worked to stay in his world, following him, waiting for him to walk by. It was only slightly stalkerish in my eyes, because he had no clue.
-He actually liked her, not knowing it was her. I liked the attempts he made to find out who she was.
-I loved how they both kept re-visiting the window, the place where they'd actually spoken to one another.
-Watching the main couple, you could get a strong sense of the importance of bravery in relationships. What if she'd been brave and spoken to him years earlier? (This feeling is tempered by the number of things that I didn't like in the drama)
-Luo Zhi's friendship with her roommate BaiLi (BaiLi herself, for me, was another story entirely)
-Ming Rui. He was a good friend.
-The friendships between the male roommates.
-Happy ending for the couple, and happy ending for me that it was over.

However:
-Very poorly edited. The scenes switched randomly very quickly. Two people will be having a conversation, then it quickly moves to a scene of a lake or to a completely different conversation.
-Too many side stories filled with people that I didn't like. The secondary men in the secondary relationships were weak and ended up with women that they didn't love (because they deserved it?) Why couldn't they speak up for what they really wanted?
-BaiLi. Every time we saw her in the first few episodes she was sobbing. She was totally in love with someone, "I'm never getting over him," but then when some random guy shows up and pays her some attention she quickly moves on. Not to mention that the random guy is creepy and a liar, but whatever.
-Acting. I think the problem was more with the writing than the acting, but everyone spent a lot of time wandering around being miserable. I struggled with Luo Zhi and her being in love with Huainan in the earlier episodes, because once he started talking to her, she was mad all the time. What was that about?
-Too many women trying to break other couples up. Multiple women after Huainan, which, to be honest, I just didn't get. He was handsome and nice (not your typical cold ML), but he didn't have that much personality-wise. How many evil women do we need in one drama?
-Dubbing. Some of the secondary men had terrible voices and a number of women sounded the same. And WHY do they insist upon using the woman's voice that is high pitched, shrill and breathy?! With the advancement in AI, they should be able to get voices to sound better in these C-dramas.
-24 episodes and the main couple were together for literally one episode! Shorten the drama, remove all the extra couples, and let us get to truly know the main couple.
-lack of chemistry, mediocre kisses (he was trying harder than she was, that's for sure!). If there are going to be kisses in a drama, have a course called Kissing 101 and teach these actors how to make them look believable.

Leer más

Slow, quiet show that makes you think about "fate"

Though I had a couple of problems with this drama (not going to spoil anything, but some of their behaviors/decisions as adults were highly questionable), it was a beautiful watch. I would suggest watching it in a dark room, because the filming is kind of dark. Lovely cinematography. If you are patient and enjoy watching something for the sake of watching, this is right up your alley. Often, it seemed to me, there wasn't much going on, and being the hopeless romantic that I am, I ached for all their years apart.

The acting by the main characters was top-notch. Satoh Takeru had the perfect look for this drama. His face has hard edges that really fit right into this show. I have to say that the actors that played the teens were excellent. I actually felt more invested in them, because we saw more of them than the adults. When the teenage male writes to the female for a time capsule, oh my gosh, it was so beautiful - the way it was filmed, our look into when he first saw her, her reaction to reading his thoughts...all the feels.

The music was beautiful as well.

Leer más

Liked it more than I thought I would

TBH, I watched it because I've watched the other versions and I wanted to compare them. This one was better than I thought it would be. I don't watch a lot of shows from Thailand because there is a lot of melodrama and a lot of over-acting, but this surprised me. In the interest of full disclosure - I skipped A LOT because of the bullying. The bullying was excessive and over the top (and I don't think it's ever okay to hit a girl, just saying).

This version was shorter than the Korean version, which was a plus. Some of the storylines were changed/omitted/combined, which I appreciated.

There is a lot of yelling. It seems like everyone yells. I don't particularly care for this. As far as the ML and FL are concerned, she wasn't a pushover (for the most part) and the ML wasn't as bad as in other versions. Honestly, I've never bought her liking the ML in any version, just because he's so toxic. However, this is the first version that I didn't ship the FL with the 2ML. They were better as friends in this version.

ML - his hair wasn't as ridiculous as in other versions (petty, I know, but it really bothered me!), and I did like this actor's take on the way his personality changed because of knowing the FL. He wasn't as high-handed, and I could sense some vulnerability in him.

Story - they took out a few of the overabundance of terrible things that happened to the FL and her family, which was great. Especially in the Korean version, it was one thing after another, just to make the story longer. I liked the way they treated the amnesia segment toward the end because they didn't bring in yet another girl to compete with the FL.

The ML's mom - oh my goodness, she was chilling to watch. I thought she ought to have something happen to her because of all that she put everyone else through, but her scene at the end was touching.

The ML and FL were interesting together. I can't really say they had "chemistry" as we know it, but they certainly had arguing down to a science.

Leer más

Just no!

Though season 1 had its issues, this one was just a mess. I, personally, have problems with triangles, especially if they go on for a long time. It's a short show and the leads were hardly together at all. I also struggle when the second female in a triangle is obviously a terrible person, and everyone sees it except the ML. Use your head, not your hormones! Then, when the evil girl is trash talking the FL with a group of people, no one calls her on it, not the FL, not the ML, not even the others sitting at the table. You can see from a mile away that she's bad news!

Thankfully, this was short, or I'd really be ticked off.

Leer más

Cute watch, but...

I loved the actors in this. Mori Nana as KiKi was just precious. Though often immature, which was slightly problematic for me if I was supposed to believe her with Asaba, she changed those around her. I liked her energy and how she wasn't the typical J-drama female that kept her head down and apologized for absolutely everything she did. Nakamura Tomoya as Asaba - he needs more romantic ML roles! He's very charismatic, and there were a couple of times where he would suck on his bottom lip slightly...my! Nakano Taiga was just lovely. It helped that, for the most part, I liked his character, but he did serious very well, and he's got good comedic timing. He portrayed Makoto's sweetness, but also his caring that he had for KiKi. I enjoyed watching him.

Which brings me to the problem that I had - the romance part of the story. My biggest complaint - if I'm supposed to believe a romance, part of that is convincing me that you are in love. If you are in love, you don't want to be with anyone else. 1) Asaba's relationship with his past girlfriend bothered me, not only because I didn't buy them as a couple, but they were basically living together. Call me old-fashioned, but one of the things I like about romance (though I know I'm living in a dream world, which is why I like watching these things!) is when the couple hasn't been with others. This one left an especially bad taste in my mouth, because the girlfriend had LITERALLY just broken up with him, and she had to tell him that he liked KiKi. - Get a clue, dude! 2) KiKi - she's pining after Asaba, but then suddenly decides to date Makoto. That, to me, was wishy washy, and unfair to Makoto. She's even ready to pick Makoto before Asaba shows up. 3) Which brings me to Asaba confessing to KiKi when he knows she's in a relationship with Makoto. Asaba and Makoto have been friends for years - not cool! You had your chance and you blew it. 4) Extremely short time for Asaba and KiKi being together - not only once they were actually together, but the lead up. There really wasn't anything to show us them beginning to like one another, not much of a build up. I felt like they ended up together because they were the leads and it was SUPPOSED to happen. I even cheated and watched part of the last episode when I was only halfway through the show, because I had no idea who I was supposed to be rooting for! The scene where Asaba and KiKi are running to one another and he is telling her that they have nothing in common and have no chemistry, was sadly true up to that point.

A couple of other minor points. The "villain" (corporate guy) did everything he did just because he didn't like Asaba - that's not a good businessman and you going back to doing things the way they used to be done (but weren't working) out of spite? Nope! Finally, in Japanese dramas, why is there always at least one person that is completely overacting? The older convenience store worker was too over the top.

So, my bottom line, it's a short, cute watch at 10 episodes, so you don't have to make too much of a time investment. It's enjoyable if you don't want to be too invested in the outcome.

Leer más

Easy, mindless watch with a message

It's a web drama so the episodes are short. I finished this in one day. My expectations weren't very high, so I wasn't disappointed. Most of the actors are new/relatively new, so the acting is kind of stiff and unnatural at times. The male lead was gorgeous, but only had one expression for most of the show.

It's a story about being re-invented accidentally. Would you confess or let it ride? If you have always wanted to be popular and suddenly were, though it literally had nothing do to with you personally, would you tell people the truth? This addressed this issue, as well as the usual teen drama subjects (though in an abbreviated manner) of bullying, gossiping, etc.

I liked the friendships in this drama. Things were definitely not as they appeared to be at all times. Who can you trust? Is it safe to trust anyone with your secrets?

I would say this is a good watch when you need a break from heavier fare.

Leer más

Easy watch

This is a great show to watch if you don't want to get totally invested in the characters. It's very simply told, a little unnatural at times, but still watchable. I watched this because I have seen other works of the actors and have enjoyed them.

Granted, this is from 2015 and they've all grown as actors. I thought that Choi Min Ho smiled too often, and at inappropriate times. Kim Min Jae - love him. Park So Dam - I've always loved her voice. The characters she plays seem to be the same, of the shows that I've seen her in.

The storyline was pretty simple. It's about first love, opportunities given, and opportunities missed. I did like the importance of friendships between the characters. I really liked the ending; it demonstrated their bonds of friendships in a sweet way.

Plus, I LOVED the cameos of Yoon Hyun Min and Jung Kyung Ho!!! I wished that scene lasted a lot longer.

Leer más

living your dreams as opposed to the dreams of someone else

Very short at only three episodes, but they managed to pack a lot in that time. I like these actors (though Ji Soo tends to overact) and they showed very good progression of the characters.

As far as overbearing mothers are concerned, I really felt for the FL. When what you do is never enough, how would that make you feel? When you are living your life based on someone else's expectations, how empty that must feel.

I didn't buy the rapidity with which Ji Soo's character learned to play the piano, but again, with the short number of episodes, it was necessary.

Leer más

Being bullied and liking it?

All I could think of was Stockholm Syndrome. He approaches her, says that she is his slave and must do whatever he wants, she puts up with it and falls in love. Why? Japanese dramas often give the ML a tsundere personality, but that concept really needs to be able to show that the ML actually has a humane and "soft" side to him. That was not in evidence here. He was just mean, in his words and his actions. Then, suddenly he frees her, saying she bores him. The constant manhandling by him, she would have had bruises all over her face from the way he was grabbing her all the time. So, this was not a character I could root for.

Then there's the FL. Grow a spine! I know that we often like to watch things that are not realistic, it's part of what makes us watch dramas, to escape from real life for a while. But she would have had to had absolutely no self-esteem to put up with and actually be drawn to his behavior. She would have had to fall in love with him BECAUSE he treated her badly, because there was certainly nothing else going on in him that was likeable.

Then there's the 2ML, sweet and gentle, that likes her too. All I could think was that if he really liked the girl, he would have insisted that his friend treat her better. Instead, they bet on the outcome of a one-on-one basketball competition for the honor of being with her.

I did like the idea of him showing his feelings in his music, but that didn't happen often enough to make up for his poor treatment of her.

Leer más