COLLECTION: All 2024 Completed Titles

January 1st

January 6th

"You don't have to own it to be complete." Ah, how I do love my mellow productions. <3

January 6th

Keep in mind that this is, first and foremost, an ad. A cell phone ad.

My favorite part of dancing movies has always been seeing the choreography come together. And that's the bulk of this short film ad. However, only a small segment of this training/practicing/choreography segment got me excited. So that's where it fell flat the most.

January 6th

Can't really say that this one should be on MDL. There was no real story to it. It was too fragmented ?‍♀️ But it served great vibes. I approve.

And lol, that boy is putting way too much faith in their paths crossing again XD

January 6th

It's been a while since i last watched a Cheezfilm production. Once again, they proved that they've been in this game for a long time, and why.

Just the visual quality. And the story quality, even though no words were spoken. I ADORE stories that can be told without dialogue. And this excelled.

I also loved the story of a fictional character taking their fate in their own hand. In fact, it kind of represents reality. Sometimes your characters just do not do what you want them to (a subconscious way of your brain telling you that something isn't right or that there's a better way).

January 10th || My Thoughts

January 14th | Spoiler-Free Review

January 14th

WonderWisdom was right, this short is indeed entertaining. But after a certain point, i just started wondering why he didnt learn from the past and moderate his drinking some. ??‍♀️ The heavy and consistent drinking through the entire time loop kind of killed some of the enjoyment for me. Is the advertised drink supposed to be a hangover cure? Because that would make a lot of sense.

January 14th

Another short better suited to be a full story. T_T One day… one day… ?
From this short, i can piece together a larger story of 2 women around the same age - one a female general going against societal norms, the other, a court lady who succumbed to societal pressure and married a successful older man. And the former giving the latter the courage to live how she actually wants.

January 14th

It’s just pretty fluff. There’s no plot (okay by me) but no character either (this i dont like).

January 14th

I definitely shouldve watched this before season 2. Now the whole Achilles, Wesley, Terrence stuff makes ALOT more sense ?
Besides that, i think this short really speaks to how lonely lockdown was, especially while recovering from broken relationships of many kinds.

January 14th (Rewatch)

January 15th (Rewatch)

January 16th | Thoughts

January 17th

January 23rd | My Thoughts

January 23rd

Beautiful. Cross Dressing, Spies, and Should-Be Enemies. Is there any better combination out there?
"Remember that the peace and prosperity we have now was won by the sacrifice of thousands like them."

January 28th

Episodes 1-2 is one story, while 3-4 is another.
Episode 1 was rather cringe. The female lead's perspective was... odd. The animated/imaginary figures throughout her day to show that she is the type of person who find joy in ordinary things was... a choice. Her inner monologue also gave me secondhand embarrassment. However, the alternative perspective of the Male Lead in episode 2 was cute. That episode was worth watching.
Story 2 (episodes 3-4) was the reason this was on my list. Celebrity Secret Dating.
Unfortunately, episode 4 didn't have english subtitles. But, the story was simple enough that I got the overall gist. Cheesy and cliche. But i will say that the flashback to how they started dating (FL trying to get a story/video of a celebrity (I think him actually) and not recognizing him throughout the whole interaction) was pretty funny. I wish we saw her expression when she realized.
Overall, it's not terrible (except episode 1, that was horrible), but not particularly memorable either. My vote is skip.

January 28th

Aww what a beautiful GL tale of a girl simultaneously wanting and being scared of starting her coming out journey. I loved the messages in it, as well as that touch of romance ^-^

February 4th | Thoughts

February 12th | Thoughts:

I actually really liked this one despite people’s criticisms of “being too short to carry any significance.” Up until the last episode anyway. Felt like poetry. ^-^ And I thought it had more poignance than some other Strongberry short productions (stares pointedly a popular one).

The last episode has me quite frustrated though. Once he picked up the pen, i started wondering how real the rest of the story was. After all, some things felt rather disjointed after that…

February 14th | Thoughts:

Just didn't have any memorable quality to it. Perhaps it would've been a different story in 2018 when this was released.

February 19th

February 22nd | Thoughts:

Lol, i am such a sucker for lesbian bartenders/baristas. ? It was cute, but again lacked character writing. It was just the two of them dancing around their unsaid confessions.

February 22nd | Thoughts:

Now this, this had a lot of character. And domestic relatableness. Admittedly, it jumped around a bit too much imo. I also wonder if it could’ve benefited from some translator notes, as i felt like i was missing something in the convo a couple times in the film. But the interview-style interjections were so fun. Especially the first and last one. Omg, the last one had me laughing so hard. The eyes she gave the camera!

February 22nd | Thoughts:

Justice is expensive, my dear. And poor people like you just can’t afford it.”
For the right audience, i think this would be a great film. It’s very well done. Spectacularly performed. And gorgeously filmed through and through. But i like my revenge flicks to have more action. And less sexual violence.

February 25th (Rewatch)

March 13th

Decent food drama. I found our FL to be rather annoying and judge-y in the first half of the drama. In the last half though, everything seemed to have a nice balance and atmosphere. I also loved the way it featured irl restaurants.

April 1st

What?!?! ?‍♀️

April 11th: 

Beautiful! And so well constructed. It immediately called me to full attention and kept it!

April 23rd

April 23rd:

I liked it. Definitely a cheesy short little game ad, but it was a fun mindless ball of action.

April 23rd:

Less sapphically inclined than most of these microproductions, but I liked the reference to history and women's place in it. Rather similar to what was done in Miss Shen and the Warlord.

April 23rd

April 23rd:

Ah, so cute. Wish there was a season 3.

April 23rd:

This natural disaster and the way the Japanese indie scene approaches it in their productions is always so poignant. As someone who also feels the aftermath of a natural disaster years later, it perfectly incapsulates the feeling. Highly recommend this film.

Admittedly the acting can be quite awkward, but i think the overall tone makes up for it.

April 23rd 

April 23rd:

O.o I... Uh... I guess theyre perfect for each other lol. o.O
Wish i knew which song this was inspired by.

April 23rd: https://mydramalist.com/profile/AthenaTheStorierX/feeds/1XddWnhk 

April 29th

April 29th: 

<3
Love it. So much thought went into the direction, editing, and performance of this drama (like for instance, the whole way through you could tell that the two MLs never saw each other truly as brothers, as much as circumstances tried to enforce it). I only wish it was a tad bit longer because that last episode felt rushed.

And indeed, it was perfect for my ChenYi x AiDi hangover lol

May 10th:

Pure 100% Fluff

May 12: | *Rewatch*

Still the fluffiest fluff that has ever fluffed before (and since).

My only criticism remains the fact that these 2 know pretty much nothing about each other.
And for some of you flashback-averse, this would probably be quite annoying. (Though it's probably to fill time since they could only film so much during lockdown)

May 20th:

When you have a crush on your best friend, but she has a crush on your brother.
Beautiful film and well-performed. I've also always been partial to the usage of bodies of water to portray an emotional state - even if it is simply a swimming pool here.

May 20th:

An interesting whirlwind romance between a man down on his luck finding a job, and his free-spirited past classmate.

The reminiscing on the past helps the relationship feel grounded, and we have a decent sense of the characters so far.

Looking forward to Part 2, set to air in June

May 25th:

Really really liked this one.

Very well performed. Loved the actresses. And thoroughly loved the story around a YouTube Couple falling apart bc of the prevalence of social media in their lives. It's something that numerous Social Media Couples have spoken about, some of my own favorites too.

May 28th:

Not bad, but didnt really do anything for me. I dont know who the characters are. I dont know what the context is for one being jealous. And i definitely dont see how the title and ending credits dancing tie into the story/scene we saw.

June 3rd | Review

June 4th

June 8th

grrr. I was expecting an actual throuple out of this. Instead, throuple is just one of the 3 options for the ending question "which kind of happy ending would you want for this episode?"

While cheating isn't exactly uncommon in people discovering they are poly - it's not poly at that point. Polyamorous relationships are consensual. So the title misled me.

All 3 kind of deserve each other. And also need to get away from each other. Messy. But maybe some communication and honestly could fix them? idk.

Well performed though. And you could feel the characters' dilemmas. So, not bad. But I certainly wouldnt call it a poly film.

June 8th

Not bad. Actually, quite on par with most of the republican-era microdramas on the chinese webdrama market. I didn't like how the acting made it hard to suss out characters like i usually do, but perhaps that's part of its charm?

It had some fun moments that I really enjoyed. So not a bad watch.

June 10th

June 13th

MASTERPIECE OMG.

GMMTV, I hate to compare, but why didnt this raise the bar? This very well may be your best production, in all the regards (except this poster... this poster needs work).

Just fabulous character writing and plot writing and performance. I was on the edge of my seat at several points. And while many of my predictions were correct, i was surprised several times too. And the way we connected with each of the characters, even though they have different motives and plans (sometimes even contradicting each others).

Though i do hope season 2 utilizes AJ and JJ more. We barely saw them!

June 20th

Masterfully done. Truly.
The subtlety and somber atmosphere. The character writing. The music, cinematography, and just overall care taken for everything. 1000% what i’ve been looking for.

June 21st

Overall, a great drama. Good pacing. Great performances. Good message about different types of people and lifestyles. I think that some of Khem’s actions in the middle went a bit too far to be forgiven that simply, but that’s my only significant complaint i think.

Also, loved the gay, sapphic, and poly storylines..

June 21st

It’s pretty much the events of the series with Wela’s narration. And expands on some of those scenes we see snippets of in the finale. Granted, with a few new (and much appreciated) scenes for each couple (and a couple of insurance ads again lol).

Also, revealed for sure that Wela was sober during a moment that there was a bit of debate on. Wish they made that clearer in the series, tbh. I figured he was, but then the way it’s played off, i was wondering.

July 31st

July 31st

August 3rd

August 5th

August 11th

August 11th

August 11th

August 11th

August 12th

August 12th

August 12th

August 12th

August 22nd

August 24th

August 28th

September 18th

September 23rd

September 30th