The end was so good I couldn't help but rate this a 10/10 for capturing Nostalgia perfectly.

We all have that time in our lives when we had great friends that we saw all the time and thought we knew REALLY well. Friends you could tease, talk seriously with, who would cheer you up, support you and help you through the hard times. The ones who understand you well enough to drink with you without saying much else, just because they know that's what you need at that time. Reply 1988 has not one but TWO such friend groups - one involving the parents and the other consisting of their kids.

Initially it moved slowly and took its time developing the characters, outlining the situation and letting things come to a boil. Once it got moving, it was great. It's a mantra to parenting, pressure, has a healthy dose of pop culture and music. At the very first episode I burst out laughing because I had Deok Sun's hairstyle when I was a teenager, and my mom had the amma's perm hairstyle. That was 1988 all right. Slowly we got invested in all the characters. I hated the goat sounds for the funny bits, I felt that wasn't needed.

All was on pace for a 9.5 rating until the final 2 episodes reduced me to a pile of blubbering happy-sad tears and then I couldn't help giving this 10/10. It's pretty much flawless in evoking the feelings and sentiments. Now I have a heartfelt wish to go back to my teenage years and visit my friends from those days, friends I can no longer locate or get in contact with because of geographical and other issues.

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Come contemplate Cute Guys, Cats, Compelling Stories, Cocktails and Catherapy

This is the second season follow up to Taste of Cat, the 4 episodes that started this. It follows three cats transformed into humans. They live with their new Butler, a man who has taken over the bar from the previous butler, but is drowning in debt. The cat guys decide to run the bar, offering cocktail Catherapy to troubled patrons. It has everything season 1 had, but bigger AND better.

Cute guys, check! The same actors return to play 3 man / cats, why replace those amazingly beautiful looking men? Looking at them makes me all languid and I feel like if they petted me I would start purring. Mrrroowwww. Let's face it, if anyone that good looking wanted to date me, I would be ALL IN. Alas, I'm already taken.

Cats and Compelling Stories, Check! Relationships seem to be a main theme in Season 2 - all the stories are MUCH better with higher emotional stakes as we get the backstory of each of the 3 cats. This time you get to SEE the actual cats. My god the fluffy white one is to die for!! How can anyone get anything done with those cute fluffy kitties around them? I'd be petting and playing with them for hours. In some episodes, the kitties meet their previous humans. I may have teared up a few times as some were situations most of us can relate to. There's one of jealousy, one featuring unrequited love and a person's self worth, a third about the loss of a "spark" after many years of being together. Familiar, sad and very common. All the stories were dealt with very well.

Cocktails, Check! They seem to have upped the stake on cocktails. As a real aficionado, I had not heard of Aviation or Blue Moon from Season 1. However I HAVE had Irish Coffee and Rusty Nail from Season 2! I am also looking forward to trying the Velvet Hammer. It does sound like a drink that tastes good and will get you "hammered" drunk. Beware!

Finally, Catherapy, Check! There are various human to cat interactions portrayed in this show. They demonstrate how much cats are a part of the owner's life, and what happens when a cat goes missing. We take it for granted, but if we've had a bad day and kitty comes over to stare at you, and make muffins on your body, things DO get better. Cats are therapeutic, even when seen on a screen. That's probably why Cat Videos are so popular. Catherapy!

Overall, I loved this more than Taste of Cat. If you do watch it, make sure to watch the credits as they show cartoons of the cats in their previous life, which adds to the story. There are unresolved stories, and more stories to tell so please, give us Season 3!

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Well rounded, better food, more serious (deeper) social problems explored.

The continuation of Shinya Sukudo, Season 2 follows the Season 1 Midnight diner formula as an easy way to watch people interacting over food, except they seem to have increased the stakes as far as social commentary is concerned! The goal of this series is still make me cry every episode, and for the most part, it succeeded.

This time around, we get the continuation of a gangster's story and how he went from potential baseball star to gangster just because he cost his high school team the national championships - they got disqualified because the manager went out on a date with him, got harrassed by gangsters so he got into a fight defending her. For this one action - his team is disqualified, he gets a record and basically ends up turning to crime for ONE small mistake. The show doesn't make you judge the unfairness of Japan's system, it just lays out the consequences. That was a sad way to begin the series.

From there we get the policeman's poor sister who is working herself to the bone to support her "scrub/moocher" boy friend who is trying to make it big in comedy. The struggling food store owner who bonds with a girl who HAD to work as a prostitute, to pay off her parents debts. What?? Are Japanese daughters this filial? Wow. There's a "ghost story" episode! A man who has walked out on his family with huge consequences on his daughter. The screenwriter adultery story AND someone who fell in love with a man accused of manslaughter. Then the saddest story of all.

This was the subtle mystery in season 1, when he kept on lining up peanut shells only to reveal a peanut abacus in the final episode. In season 2, he was lining up egg shells. I was WAITING to see what he would make, but alas. He had a girl in his past, got caught and tried to go back to the past. In one of the most moving scenes, Master tells him to give it up. Then the rest happens and well, tissues are in order. I enjoyed this just as much as season 1.

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Good Sci Fi flick with heart. Would have been great if it had ended a little earlier.

This Sci Fi flick has awesome production values - the CGI and action scenes are top notch. There's a very simple story. The space sweepers are the "poor" from earth that make their living scavenging waste left behind by the rich and powerful, who have all escaped into space since we didn't take care of earth and it's now dying slowly. The protagonist's daughter died in an accident and he's doing everything he can to get enough money so the official channels can find and retrieve her body before decaying orbit causes it to burn up on re-entry. Then, one salvage mission discover "Dorothy" a robot captured by terrorists that contains a bomb.

The reaction of crew of his vessel, The Victory, is mixed, but the acting is top notch. The captain is suitably bad-ass, the former gangster with tattoos and dread locks is EVEN more bad ass, and the funniest and baddest ass of them all would have to be ... the robot. Yes. The former military assassin robot who is SUCH a capitalist he/she cheats his/her crewmates at cards, so that he/she can get skin grafts. He/she is awesome! They should make a whole movie based on the adventures of this wise cracking robot. The little girl is cute and supporting characters do well, including the villain.

The story is quite predictable in parts, but the father-daughter and family bond are both effective and heart warming enough to tug on one's heart strings. Who isn't going to melt at a cute kid drawing pictures of you? *arrow slams into heart* aaak you got me, you got me good.

If this movie had ended with the crew sacrificing themselves with the bomb, it would have been a 9, maybe even 9.5. Heroic tragic endings, THAT is the Korean Way. But somehow, they introduced a Deus Ex Machina, which made me immediately feel cheated. It turned it into more of an "American" movie, to let the crew live, and each member then has a happy ending. Still okay, but no longer great. I don't know, maybe I'm jaded, but it seems to me the sad ending would have been a better place to end and the movie would have been more of a "Korean" movie.

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Quirky Time Travel Action Comedy Historical Modern Crime Thriller Tragic Rom Com

That's right! The title is not a mistake. This drama suffers from a case of trying to be everything to everyone at all times, which leads to some stuff getting muddled. It got slow towards the middle but the ending cements this as a truly memorable drama.

It starts off as the typical fish out of water story of the ML Zhen Jun (Chen Zhe Yuan) who is supposed to have died in Historical China, but is saved and wakes up in contemporary Modern Day China 1800 years later, meeting the FL Zhen KeYi (Dong Qing) who he has an instant connection to since she looks like his half brother! The man out of time ends up living in Zhen Ke Yi's house, and it's revealed he has "super" powers plus he's insanely cute once he gets a modern haircut.

All the acting is good, even if the budget isn't there and some parts look cheap especially the stunt doubles , special effects and dubbing. The chemistry between the ML and FL and secondary male and female leads, is palpable and realistic. They do look like they are a real couple who really care about each other! So the entire rom com part is very well done, and the romantic song is moving and fits the story.

Bonus Cat-meos: The starting parts have 2 really beautiful cats making cameos whenever it's set in Zhang Keyi's apartment. Soooo cute. Cat-meos were done better by the cats than by the food, which did not look appetizing at all.

Halfway through the show takes on a more crime thriller X-files type vibe as it turns out there's a tragic story behind why Zhen Jun ended up in suspended animation for 1800 years! And why the 3rd male lead is protecting him! As the flashbacks continue more and more is revealed and in modern day the supporting characters end up doing things too! Talk about a complete turn around.

The last part is straight up tragic drama when the final plot twists are revealed. The last 2 episodes are some of the most sad, romantic stuff ever filmed, guaranteed to move the toughest heart. I admit I actually cried a bit and after the ending I upgraded this series from a 6 to a 8. This drama has something for everyone and is one of the more surprisingly good things I'll remember watching in 2020.

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Perfect main pair bromance, terrible special effects. Could have been great with more budget.

I started this as people said it's got a similar bromance to The Untamed. It started out pretty well. There was a mystery, that got solved over one or more episodes. We got backstories of the main and side characters. There's amnesia, hiding stuff and misunderstandings galore as the 2 male leads figure out how to work together. It is paired with a brilliant soundtrack and one of the best Opening songs of any drama - just majestic, powerful and wonderful. The ending song becomes more and more relevant towards the end of the series and when you finally get it, it breaks your heart.

Both Main Male Leads are fantastic, and that is the greatest strength of this series. One knows about the past, the other about the future. It's a pairing fated by destiny and time. Shen Wei the Dixing guy who can REALLY act is gorgeous, the actor Zhu Yi Long is so handsome every time he comes on screen my heart flutters. His soul mate Zhao Yun Lan (Johnny Bai) is smart, stubborn and mischievous. It's a wonderful pairing and that sort of chemistry cannot be faked. Loved it. This is the series that taught me even an innocent lollipop can be considered erotic food in the hands of the right actors. Yaaasss .... That innocent lollipop had a huge emotional payoff in the last episode. Damn, pass the tissues.

The supporting cast was varied in their acting ability and likeability. Old Chu wins best actor. You really FELT his feelings. That part when he was all girly made me laugh so hard. He's equally good at anger, regret and pathos. Someone give him a best actor statue already. The lovesick girl(s) got annoying. I wish the script was better for them. The cat guy - what idiot thought it would be a good idea to dress him in white turtleneck paired with denim overalls? He's a cute guy and cute as a cat, but dressing him like some failed lumberjack / farmer is visually unappealing. #wastedopportunity

There are several drawbacks. The amateur hour special effects. Terrible wigs that don't fit well and look ... fake as hell. Inconsistencies in costumes. Why are some Dixing people in formal fantasy attire, while others are dressed like casual earth people? If they at least dressed the Dixing people differently from the earth people it would be easier to visualize them as being from different worlds. Same criticism goes for the Yashua clan.. The plot kind of meanders and slows down in the middle before picking up again.

One of the strengths of this series is the ending. The unspoken love between the 2 male leads who both sacrificed themselves to "save the world". That's pure, and beautiful. Similar to the Untamed, I wanted them to end up together. So much I cried at the end reunion. Those 2 guys can REALLY act and I will probably start watching other shows that feature those actors. I'm a fan for life.

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Crazy characters, some seriously original laugh out loud scenes, blah ending

Through a series of events, the leader of a failed rock band ends up inheriting a farm when his grandmother passes away. He decides to get the band together to farm cabbages so they can make enough money to put out a new album. City boys start farming is the premise for this fish out of water story.

The village is populated by all kinds of personality types, with their own quirks. And once we learn more about them you know there is ripe opportunity for these character quirks to be exploited. There are several completely HILARIOUS parts in this series, so funny I was hitting the chair sofa while laughing. Some are running gags, some are new but the comedy in this series is top notch. So is the soundtrack, the music and the acting from the ensemble cast.

There were a few particular characters I did not care for, and I did not love the ending, but overall, this is a fun show to watch.

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Okay movie, good story, bad CGI. Series was WAY Superior.

Continuing my journey to "complete" watching all the Candle In The Tomb media I can locate, per my list.
https://mydramalist.com/list/1zEn6nQ4

This is a movie version of Candle In The Tomb: The Wrath of Time with some tweaks. Considering how great the Wrath of Time Series is because of the wonderful story, I had high hopes. The movie delivered on some, but not on others.

The good: Luo Law Ai KILLED it. His character was despicable in the series, embodying #sexualharrassment101, but in the movie they made him even more EVIL. Like Star Wars Anakin "killing younglings" evil. I wanted him to die so badly because he DESERVED to die!!! That was well done. Casting for the rest of the actors was on point. The tombs explored and the story within was exciting, with personal conflicts, so this portion left me satisfied. The translation I viewed had some hilarious "F" bombs in there that made me laugh out loud at the translator's sense of humor.

The bad: Special Effects. This was better than Mojin Mysterious Treasure which featured the same Giant Centipede, but still wholly unconvincing. They needed to hire whoever did the Wrath of Time series, to craft believable fight scenes featuring a realistic Giant Centipede (even the little ones) because they at least got those right. There was too much Wire-Fu that was badly done (having seen many movies where they do this "right") so I wasn't terribly impressed with the action. Not the actor's fault, but it felt like they had no budget and were doing their best with the clunky stuff. It really detracted from the enjoyment of the movie.

The Worst: Character's morality was turned upside down and I had trouble reconciling it, especially for both male leads. Zhu Gu Shao leaving the Giant Centiped to kill Evil Luo felt a bit amiss, he was always more hands on and having a creature kill his foe because of cowardice wasn't in character because it was horribly dishonorable! Similarly, Chen Yu Lou is portrayed as turning a blind eye (to sexual harassment from a mass murderer) in order to find the tomb, it FELT like he was happily sacrificing his "brothers" for that. The series has a more nuanced and less hypocritical Chen Yu Lou. This guy is supposed to be a Sect Leader, the best Mojin Xiaowei, and his morality is in the TOILET!??? WTF!! This made me quite sad, and also made me love Zhu Gu Shao (from the series) even more, as the only BaShan tribe to learn Mojin Xiaowei techniques which made him the UBER tomb raider. Seriously, if the Author was smart, he should write more Zhu Gu Shao adventures so they can film another series with Vengo Gao.

In conclusion, this is okay, but a pale copy of the Candle In The Tomb - The Wrath of Time series. Watch that instead. Review for the series below. https://mydramalist.com/profile/Stormy_77/reviews/115241

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Horrible sets / CGI, can't believe this was a 2020 film (feels like a 1980s one)

Mojin: Mysterious treasure is set in the present day, but has numerous flashbacks to the Republican Era raiding of the Xiangxi Tomb where we first meet Shirley's ancestor, the great Zhe Gu Shao. Even though he's dead in the present day, his scenes are STILL the best in this laughably boring movie, because (1) he is COOL and none of the present day generation has half his charisma and (2) the effects and production values are just low.

If you compare the biggest, baddest creature - the 6 winged Giant Centipede, all the scenes featuring it are completely unconvincing from a sets and creature effects standpoint. The fight choreography is terrible and even the physicality required for tomb raiding are not evident in this movie. If you have watched the Candle In the Tomb: The Wrath of Time series, the one with Vengo Gao, you'll be SHOCKED at how much scarier, more exciting and dangerous that centipede fight was. AND it was convincing and believable, instead of the mess they made of it in this movie. So much promise, such terrible execution.

There are also various illogical, bad script decisions. Why does someone have to yell loudly while jumping to or from danger? Why does Hu Ba Yi get the upper hand only to give it back to Villainous Joe who is intent on killing everyone on Hu Ba Yi's team? Like he does it 3 times, as if he forgot the first 2 times he was betrayed. What do they call making the same mistake again expecting a different outcome? Oh Hu Ba Yi levels of idiotic decision making. And he's supposed to he the "Deliverer", the smart one who can get the rest out of the tomb ....

Maybe I've watched too many Candle In The Tomb series and movies, because this one was plain boring. Which is sad because the books clearly have great content, this movie just failed to capitalize on it or execute it well.

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Mark Chao as Hu Ba Yi in a somewhat confusing Kunlun Advernture

This review is written by someone who has not read any of the books.

The movie starts with some background of chronological order in which things happen:-
1934 Dragon Corpse found
1956 Underground Palace Unearthed
1972 "Ageless" female mummy discovered
1974 Ancient fossils found in Kunlun mountain, there's an explosion, expedition sent that discovers Kunlun Shrine. Hu Ba Yi is the only survivor losing the expedition leader Professor Yang and his daughter Yang Ping.
1979 Hu Ba Yi goes to try find the Yang Ping who is back but renamed "Shirley"

The first half of this movie is about why they went to the Kunlun Shrine, what its mysteries are, why it's remained hidden all these years and what secrets are involved. Once the backstory is finally told, the second half of the movie changes into a basic survival vs. monsters (demons) movie which wasn't very interesting.

What's good - great acting by a handsome male lead as Mark Chao plays Hu Ba Yi as someone you not only can root for, but actually I'd want to be rescued by him because he is that good looking. The other actors do a credible job too. The special effects and action are top notch.

What's not so good - the second half had some exposition which was rather confusing as they kind of melded elements from Candle In the Tomb and made a right big mess of Shirley / Professor Yang's daughter Yang Ping's story, to the extent it is a mess and doesn't line up at all with the Candle In the Tomb series, or the Mojin movies. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure if this is a Mojin series movie since it doesn't actually have the word Mojin in the title.

This is more of a Creature Feature with maybe 10% tomb raiding in it, so not the best of the movies.

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Frustrating drama, needed more bread scenes

This drama is from 2010 and "feels" like a dated soap opera. It has all the usual tropes - Evil Chaebol wife unable to conceive a son, getting one from an affair, workaholic father, bastard son (and mother who was the Chaebol's love interest in their youth), meddling Mother in Law, Smart daughter, Dumb daughter, Beaten daughter, over optimistic super talented Gary Sue male lead, resentful brother, all of it. It's Drama with a capital D. Nothing original, but the dramatic effect scenes were all shot and played well within the script.

There are some serious and unbelievable plot holes that kill the rating for this show.
1. I hate the script writer for contriving situations where no normal sane human being would react that way. For example when the mother and father reunite, he doesn't tell her that their son is alive. And she never asks. HOW? That should be the initial number 1 question considering both parents repeatedly profess to love the bastard son.
2. The father and mother are portrayed as being Stupider than stupid, constantly being manipulated by the bad guys and being unable to learn from their mistakes. The mother reveals herself by falling for a "meeting your son" trap despite being counseled by her friends not to fall into the trap. Stupid stupid stupid. Every time I think it can't get any worse they do something even more stupid than before. Crazy stupid.
3. The gifted genius smell baker, Kim Tak Gu, has no choice but to be stupid considering he inherited a double does of stupid from both parents. He goes through life like Forrest Gump, oblivious due to his stupidity, and yet being lucky enough to always somehow escape from bad situations unscathed. UNBELIEVABLE. He speaks as if he's shouting at everybody, which he is doing. Dude, this isn't the army and you're not Forrest Gump. This shout talk would get old and people would actually start hating him for his speech problems.
4. The Chaebol wife can't move on and is constantly slapping various people, none of whom ever press assault charges.
5. There's not enough baking to call this show King of Baking.

There were a few saving graces
1. The acting was great. Especially by the "child" actors, Grandma, Artisan Baker Palbong, Mr Han (the villain), the step mother and that convict turned baker deserve special praise.
2. Fashion, jewelry and hair are on point. Mrs. Gu wore a particularly attractive black and white patterned jacket that looked classy and designer. Her clothes were fantastic except for that one outfit which looked like it had plastic flowers pasted on to the blouse / skirt, just bleargh.
3. There is a satisfying conclusion.

Overall if you can handle insanely unrealistic drama where people can't communicate to save their lives (which literally in some cases communication could have saved a lifetime of trouble) and want some minimal food porn, this might be for you. I kind of regretted watching it all but couldn't stop due to the "trainwreck" nature of this series.

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Must Watch Excellent Medical Drama tackling serious Moral Dilemmas

This drama was a complete blast, it was so entertaining from start to finish that I basically binged all 20 episodes in a matter of days, and am still in shock at how good it was. This Drama revolves around 3 main characters and their lives as Doctors at Doldam Hospital. Master Kim (excellently portrayed by Han Seok Kyu) is a super surgeon hiding out at a very run down rural hospital. Dr. Kang Dong Joo (Yoo Yeon Seok) is still traumatized by how his father died at a hospital and decided to become a doctor. Dr. Yoon Seo Jung (Seo Hyun Jin) is a promising doctor who had an accident and disappeared off the radar.

PLOT
This series does not shy from discussing serious medical and moral issues. Triage and the prioritization of who gets treated first and why (money, time, urgency). There's an episode featuring MERS and how selfish people will try to break quarantine and infect others (all to relevant as Coronavirus rages out of control). The risks of new / novel surgeries. How experience matters and the hours it takes to get enough experience to be board certified. Long surgeries. Mistakes ending careers. Office Politics. This has it all. The best part is how PACKED this drama is. Something is always happening and there's basically zero filler. This drama won't leave you waiting or let you get bored as the stories play out at what seems like breakneck speed. Approved!

CHARACTERS
The characters are who we fall in love with. Teacher Kim is honest, realistic and blunt in his approach to life and teaching the "junior" doctors. No surprise he's a fan favorite, Han Seok Kyu is a great actor and the viewer really ends up rooting for this underdog. The "Romantic" in the title refers more to idealism which is something to admire. All the supporting cast is great, Nurse Oh and Nurse Park both also become fan favorites. Manager Jang and Dr. Song shoulder a lot of the comedy and do it well. Approved!

ROMANCE
As for "Love", we aren't disappointed. Yoo Yeon Seok as Dr. Kang and Seo Hyun Jin as Dr. Yoon give us some of the steamiest kisses ever seen on any K-Drama. The first one occurs on Episode 1 and by the end of that I had to fan my face to cool down. That man is a fine kisser. There is another series of kisses in the Christmas necklace episode which put the F in Foreplay. Wow. Their romance actually plays out more like a slow burn, so it seems natural. Approved!

FOOD
There soup, there's dumplings, there's lots of noodles. All the scenes at the restaurant made me hungry. We must also concede that Papa John's Pizza must have sponsored the show considering how many times we saw them eat Pizza.

SOUNDTRACK
There are English songs used, some from the 80s, and used to very great effect. The first time I noticed the tape was when Master Kim muses "Madonna sounds better on Cassette" as "Material Girl" plays. It fit perfectly with that scene. The songs on the tape are an eclectic mix, there's also Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle". I guessed early who the Tape was from, and when it was finally revealed the emotional payoff was still there. The ending theme is Billy Joel's "The Stranger" which has lyrics that somehow fit the show. The music in this series is great.

FLAW
The only drawback I can think of that prevents me from giving this excellent series a 10 is some of the doctor's reactions. In real life, there's no way they could or should get away with some of those things because of lawsuits so some parts were borderline unbelievable. I understand the screenwriter wanted more D for Drama but it would be great if it was more realistic. I'm probably nitpicking for flaws.

CONCLUSION
I should have watched this much sooner, and I can't wait for the second season.

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No Holds Barred Roast Review - I Hear You (could have done so much better)

So this is one of those "forced to become a couple fake couple becomes real" trope shows, where we get an unlikely couple entering into a "fake" relationship because of the female lead's best friend, producer of a dating show called "Love In Progress" and the male lead's cousin, the production company director. The concept is predictable, so we know what to hope for (that they fall in love). What this show does really well is show the toxic culture of fandom in China. The series would have worked had it had a better script (parts are retarded), Characters (some are annoying), acting (inconsistent) or more realistic violin playing. So let's start the roast:-

The violin scenes - I only watched this drama because I was expecting violin music and a good love story. Thanks to watching too much TwoSet Violin on Youtube, I was COMPLETELY disgusted by how unrealistic the violin playing was. The fingering was off, and the bowing had zero reflection to the music. ARGH!!! I guess I'd better stick to The Devil's Violinist if I want to see realistic violin performances. Sad sighs.

Bei Er Duo (Rosy Zhao) - Female lead is a bimbo who relies on looking cute and pouting as her primary way to get along in life. The character doesn't try very hard and is a loser because of it. The male lead actually encourages her to go "all in" if she wants to achieve her dreams. The character is annoying but FL's acting is sub par and she's completely forgettable.

Ye Shu Wei (Riley Wang) - his character is the stoic hero whose heart gets melted. This worked most of the show as he was not required to show much emotion, but honestly his range is limited so he comes across as wooden. There are many stoic male leads that CAN act, the most recent one I've seen was the guy who played Captain Ri Je Hyeok in Crash Landing On You. Please, Riley, I think you're pretty handsome when your hair is done right but you need more acting lessons. Shout Out - His character is Mr. Piggyback ride. He gave so many piggyback rides ALL the time, he must be the #1 Most Piggyback Rides given Male Lead I've ever seen.

Yu Sheng (Yuan Hao) - his character is a playboy but at least the actor is pretty good.

Tang Li (Gratitude Dai) - her character was the playboy's taken for granted doormat until she decided to choose love for herself. #Girlpower, she's tied for best acting in this show.

Le Tian (Zhang Jiong Min) - tutored by the female lead he's the obligatory Friend Zone guy.

Bei Er Duo's Mother (Tian Miao) - she's the one you love to hate. Unfortunately every Asian will recognize some aspects of the judgmental moms like her in real life. The actress is convincing, and tied for best acting with Tang Li.

Mars, The Italian - he's the best written character in the series and qualifies as the Ideal Boyfriend for many reasons. A rival Italian violin maker, he makes us laugh with his misunderstandings of Chinese idioms, but damn, who wouldn't love a guy who's TRYING so hard?? When Tang Li tells him the meaning of the idiom is pretty girls who are kind will have a lot of men chasing them, he asks innocently "Oh, you mean, like you?" My daughter and I both gasped and I swear my heart skipped a beat. Now THAT Is how you successfully execute a pick up line, best one I've seen in many years. I can't find much about who the actor is but his Mandarin is pretty good, he does end up winning Tang Li with his love and sincerity so that part of the plot actually worked really well. I mean, Tang Li stopped being taken for granted and married someone who actually loves her. I wanted them together and they had a beautiful wedding. If it wasn't for this couple, this series would have had a rating 2 stars less.

The fashion - some really quite seriously questionable outfits from a fashion sense. Please, get more budget or sponsors as some of the clothes look like project Runway ran out of time reject clothes that got trashed by the judges, and that's why the outfits are asymmetrical and look poorly finished. The only good costumes were all the ones in the Maid Cafe especially the cosplay ones, at least they got THOSE ones right.

Overall, if the plot, characters, violin playing or even costumes had been better, this might have been a much more enjoyable series. I was disappointed.

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Never underestimate a father-daughter bond, or how good or evil some people can be.

This movie is a showcase for three major things and does all 3 of them very well.

Firstly, it showcases the strength of the father - daughter bond. From the start you can tell these 2 have a special and deep relationship and love each other very much. They have their own peculiar way of saying goodbye, and the child actress, in particular, is STELLAR. Everything she did seemed real and she was also SO cute throughout the movie. The father was also very convincing as a mentally challenged individual willing to give up his life to save his daughter's life. Total strangers, some of whom were her father's fellow prisoners, picked up on it and eventually a lot of people decided to help them out. People don't do that unless they believe the bond is real, and worth risking something for. It was so convincing I didn't even question it. All the way to the bitter end.

Secondly, this also shows how people in positions of authority can decide to bully Autistic or Mentally Challenged people. The disabled ones are easily threatened and made to look like liars. Even if there are others who questioned the validity of the charges, nobody would listen to them until YEARS later. Because a person who is "not all the way right" is presumed to be guilty somehow. That whole thread frustrated the heck out of me because I can totally see this happening even today in many countries.

Finally, the ones in prison at cell number 7 were not all bad people. The gangster started off an enemy then became a staunch ally. Those prisoners are SUPER resourceful at working with other prisoners and even guards, to come up with various plans for smuggling the little girl in and out of prison. Seriously, if they're that smart, someone should give them a small, start up company to run and see how that goes, who knows it might end up being a huge success. There seem to be no limits on their imagination, ingenuity or intelligence.

It's one of the rare films where once I finished watching it I realized I could find no fault. There's nothing I would add or take away, the movie was great, just as it is. Completely worth watching.

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New folks visit the Master of Food Therapy

Have recently realized that Master is a Food Therapist. In every Midnight Diner episode whether it is the series or the movies, there are people who come to his diner for "comfort food". As he feeds them and as they taste his wonderful food, they relax in the atmosphere and camaraderie. Each guest has a back story, and the regulars all know each other. This movie focuses on 3 new diners, and thus is able to get more in depth views of their lives because more time is devoted to each diner.

The 3 stories are centered around problems women face.
1. Yakiniku Set - A female editor cosplays as a widow to escape the sexism that causes stress in her career as an editor. As someone who has experienced this daily, I could 100% relate to her frustrations at being unable to challenge, complain or change the status quo.
2. Grilled Udon - A widow who runs the family soba noodle shop worries her son is "useless" at taking care of himself or the family business. Unknown to her, the son is dating a much older woman, a woman the widow considers a "good catch" and friend.
3. Tonjiru Set Meal - An elderly Yukiko ends up at the Diner after being scammed. Patrons of Master's diner try to help her, and Michiru (from the first Midnight Diner movie) takes the woman in as she resembles her grandmother. However, the woman has some secrets from her past.

In each case, Master comforts them with food, and just a few, sparse sentences, full of meaning. Upon reflecting on what Master has said, various characters do take action and that's what makes Midnight Diner a magical show for how it depicts then resolves issues. Here is hoping for more!

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