Real characters, real issues, real pacing problems.

This drama was a bit off the beaten track in that it dares explore a lot of current Korean social issues and does not sugar coat things, so it makes it different than most romantic dramas. The 2 main leads start as Landlord and Tenant after mistakenly assuming each other's gender due to their names (she thinks he's a girl and he thinks she is a man). As she is a great tenant, one thing leads to another and they end up in a contract marriage of convenience, which while abhorrent to those who believe in love, actually is a good foundation to start any relationship since once you live with someone and know what type of person they are, compatibility then becomes companionship that eventually leads to love? This is not far fetched at all, in fact, many people kind of do this without the explicit contract.

The second couple has a different issue. The man wants to make it big as an app developer. His girlfriend just wants to get married as she has kind of based her entire identity as a person on getting married to a certain type of man. Her insecurity and his reluctance to give up on his dream are explored fully. They've dated for 7 years but still no proposal. Recipe for disaster. If you think about this, and why she's so weak and insecure, you'll probably realize you know many women who are in the same situation. Of course, you've also advised them to leave the guy. Truth is, men will eventually decide they are ready for marriage, and whichever girl they are with at that time is the lucky one (look at Prince Harry). If the girl lets go of him before then, she loses out. It's a terrible social dilemma for the woman as her "value" as a girl friend or wife diminishes the longer the clock keeps ticking. Just. Terrible.

The final couple has an ambitious girl with a disabled mother, and probably the nicest guy of the bunch. She faces all kinds of sexism at the workplace, that kind of stuff has happened to me in real life. There is honestly no way to beat that system - employing legal means still leaves a woman's reputation in tatters even IF she wins. To say I was triggered would be an understatement. I loved this couple the most. So, all the characters, stories and soundtrack are good.

Where this fails miserably is the pacing. It is slow as heck, and there's many flashback done for stylistic purposes that just messes up the plot. I swear, if the main lead actress could only speak faster and not sound like she. puts. a. period. after. every. word. like. thus. the show would only be 12 episodes instead of 16 and I would have rated this a 9.5 instead of a 8, I was being generous and awarded 2 stars just for "our" kitty the beautiful Ragdoll plus the main lead's brilliant portrayal of being drunk.

Read More

Not as good as the first 2 seasons but still a nice watch

Loved Season 1. Liked Season 2. The stories in season 3 seemed less impactful, overall. There were some that felt like "filler" compared to the previous 2 seasons, but the food is still awesome. Three episodes standouts - the first one with the retired widowed singer, the second featuring Marilyn's and her mom, and finally, the Yakuza and his life changing teacher story was the best. Loved those. But the others weren't up to the same standard.

Even if it's not as good as the first 2 seasons, it's still a lot better than most stuff out there. They did wrap up everything nicely by doing a season 3 recap on the New Year episode. Just to remind us of the more impactful moments. Also the Netflix version teased a Midnight Diner movie! Which is NOT available on Netflix so now I am going to have to look for it.

Read More

Roast Review - too much politics, draggy middle, not enough tomb raiding, epic ending.

First episode grabbed my attention right away as you can see this series has high production values. The sets feel lavish, the streets dilapidated and yet there's a palpable aura of doom surrounding the train. This makes me think maybe the author had the right idea in forming his own production studio to produce his work. Unfortunately the promise shown by the initial episodes slowly devolved into slow and seriously meandering political shenanigans, instead of focusing on tomb raiding.

The acting is of uneven quality. Both MLs (Fo Ye and Er Ye) are not great at acting and need more polish. In contrast, Chen Pi was able to very quickly convey, with just a glance, that he was in love with the Boss's wife. Unfortunately this was the only chance he had to do that, as the rest of his character was pretty much angry one note guy which gave him no more opportunity to flex his acting chops.

The characters are as a whole, not well written, with the exception of the Villains which stole the show, in particularly Hendry, Ban and Tanaka Ryoko which played her bit part to perfection.

Zhang Qi Shan / Fo Ye (William Chan) - stoic but smart. This guy ... had a Bad-Ass moment in the very first episode. Wow.
Er Yue Hong / Er Ye (Lay Zhang) - let's just say no amount of make up can hide the sheer perfection of his features. He is devoted husband but is a few cards short of a full deck.
Qi Tie Zui / Ba Ye (Hanson Ying) - not powerful but ended up being the least annoying "main" character
Chen Pi Ah Si (Harry Hu) - devoted, jealous AND dumb.
Yin Xin Yue (Zanilia Zhao) - fell in love at first sight. She's honestly the smartest character in the whole bunch. And she's a girl.
Ya Tou (Crystal Yuan) - eye candy, weak, useless.
Lieutenant Zhang (Zhang Ming En) - actually the second least annoying character.
Cox Hendry (Andrew Stokes) - Best villain. Even his dubbing was done well.
Ban Jie Li (Li Nai Wen) - Second Best Villain.

Things kind of picked up in the last 3-4 episodes, but by then the damage was done. The ending 2 episodes were as epic as the first 2, if only the story quality had been even throughout this would have been a much better drama.

Read More

Must Watch - Perfect blend of Drama and Hilarious Comedy performed by a stellar cast

Normally I'm not a fan of "Historical" Period dramas as they tend to be overly dramatic, slow and with "cringe" acting. Romance of The Tiger and Rose is an exception. The FL Chen QianQian (Rosy Zhao) is a screenwriter whose drama about 2 different cities, one matriarchal and one patriarchal, has been panned as being illogical and nonsensical by her potential future show's lead actor Han / Han Shuo (Ryan Ding). It's contempt at first sight. Then somehow a supernatural event happens and she gets sucked into the world of a screenplay. Hilarious hi-jinks ensue as she becomes a no good, hated, bit character fated to die from poisoning according to her plot. How will she survive?

This series utilizes the tired old trope of getting sucked into another world but does it REALLY well. I commend the scriptwriter for turning in a fine screenplay, I was impressed by the political messages - sexism is bad, equality is good, people can overcome their shortcomings, parental love is no joke, people do things out of obligation for people they love, storytellers are smarter than you think, love makes you stupid and power is hell of a drug. All of these themes are seamlessly weaved into the story, and the FL at times "rants" about how stupid some of the characters are behaving while acknowledging that it's indirectly HER fault for writing them that way "damn, this is MY fault now how do I fix it?

Things happen as every SINGLE drama trope is explored. Assassination, poison, jail, slow motion scenes to get the leads to fall in love with each other slowly, the FL resisting the ML, who does the same, a 3rd party trying to mess things up, you name it. It's delicious self parody at the highest level, I cannot commend Nan Zhen (the screen writer) enough for creating this world and the situations enfolding within. The budget is well spent - costumes are gorgeous and sets are believable for the most part and the soundtrack and music could have been better.

The show's greatest strength is the acting of the cast. Everyone shines especially Ryan Ding / Han Shuo who is not just handsome he embodies the perfect balance of strength, love and comedy chops. This man can do any type of acting, on the strength of this show consider me a new fan! I've never liked Rosy Zhao, she falls into her pouting spoiled persona easily and she was by far the worst part of this show but the surrounding cast is so good it works.

I particularly want to highlight Zi Rui (Wu Yi Jia) and Bai Ji (Liu Shu Yuan) as those 2 were a HUGE delight in turning up the hilarity to a 11. I've never seen henchmen done so well I almost want another show just featuring those 2 characters but all the acting is great, both sets of parents are fantastic.

This show is a fun, engrossing watch and will be one of my top 5 C-dramas in 2020. It's been a while since film makers took a genre, turned it on its head with a great script and acting, and turned out the rom com hit of 2020 with minimal budget, almost inventing a "new" genre. It's fresh, funny and exciting. Just fantastic. People are going to want more shows like this. The ending leaves it open for a sequel and according to MDL one has been planned thanks to the runaway success of this must watch drama.

Read More

No Holds Barred Roast Review - Eternal Love

This series puts the CAPITAL D in DeerrrRama! It's basically like a longer version of one of those horrible, trashy American reality shows that make you feel cheap and dirty for watching it, but you can't stop, because deep down you love it and its fascinating like a train wreck. Except this show has a pretty good story, great acting, the highest of production values, beautiful Sets, long wigs and luxurious, gorgeous costumes. It looks "high class", so don't feel guilty for indulging in this dramatic love series set in Fantasy China. The look and feel of the series is just appealing.

The story was long, but good, albeit predictable in spots. The more interesting discussion is the characters, which are fantastically portrayed. Everyone acts their hearts out, with the characters they are given. Now, nobody in their right mind would do what some of these characters did, but that's why this DRAMA is such a great, fun watch that I got invested and found myself yelling stuff at the Screen even while half my brain was logically telling me "you know they can't hear you, it's a show". Yup. The show is THAT good. So, on with the main and some supporting character roasts!

Mo Yuan - She could have been mine - You had her and knew her secret for centuries but did nothing, and you're supposed to be smart. *shakes head*

Ye Hua - Boyfriend Goals Saint - Initially I though the story would have her as the protagonist, but on watching this HE was the main hero, with every single virtue in full display. He ate the raw meat she fed him while in baby dragon form. Cooked for her. Married her. Stayed Loyal. Even tried to die for her, twice. If that's not boyfriend Goals, IDK what else could be on the list. In addition he is fine as hell, with that long hair spread over his shoulders, the pillow or whatever handy arm is within reach. Sinfully handsome, smart and a great kisser too. Needed WAY more shirtless scenes. Why anyone would have problems marrying or staying with him is a mystery. But then you have ...

Si Yin / Su Su / Bai Qian - Intractable Insecure Idiot - this is what happens to people when too much Alcohol has killed many of their brain cells. That and parents who didn't discipline her when she was younger, plus enabling family that lets her run wild = recipe for disaster Princess. I'm okay with being rebellious but she takes things way too far! Pouts when she doesn't get her way, rebels anyway and basically pisses off a lot of people by being herself. It's a good thing our Heroes are such saints, no normal guy would put up with this crap. She's the definition of the crazy - hot scale girlfriend. Also, what's up with that insecurity?? I don't know what else Ye Hua has to do to prove he loves you but you should stop doubting him all the time until he's taking his final breaths and then you're all holding him "Ye Hua" after you let him stand outside your house in the rain for 10 days while he was sick! Get it together, girlfriend. We're all rooting for you but could you sometimes take a break from being such and idiot? And stop drinking so much! You're either bi-polar or a functional alcoholic, which would explain a lot ...

The love triangle wasn't as much as expected, yet we STILL BADLY wanted 2 of the 3 to end up together. And they did. Happy Endings, hurrah!

Dong Hua - Stubborn Silver Fox - He should be called Emperor Heathcliff for all the long, brooding stares from those lidded eyes. Damn, you're so handsome with that long white hair, I can barely think straight when you're on screen. I would like to comb your hair too. With my fingers.

Bai Fengjiu - Lovesick teenager - so he saved you that one time and you've gone all hero worship love forever? Did your brains leak out of your ears or were you hit in the head too much as a child? Oh, it's because of his looks? Why didn't you say so in the first place!? I get that. But still, girl, he told you love is not in the cards. He chose that long ago. Why are you so stubborn? This couple is a straight out historical Chinese Harlequin Romance tragedy.

Su Jin - Manipulative Home Wrecker - He's just not that into you. Stop trying so hard! I know he has a title and status but the man is bonkers in love with someone else. It's not like there are NO other men in Heaven! 3rd Prince was still available last I looked but oh no, you had to go chase someone who's NEVER been and will NEVER be interested in you that way, because, face it, you've been SISTER-ZONED, which is kinda like friend-zoned, with those you consider family that aren't necessarily blood related. That's STILL better than being taken for granted, like a Pencil Case.

Li Jing Ghost Tribe Second Prince - Irritating Imbecile - He felt like the obligatory character who thinks with his pants instead of his brain. A little illusion and all his principles fell away along with his clothes. So he was caught! Big Oops! Then he married the home wrecker and killed any chance with Si Yin. But he messes up with new wife, new kid, his bro, his sis, his dad and his life too. Geez, can't you get at least ONE thing right? Poor guy.

Xuan Nu (Li Jing's Wife) - Another Home Wrecker - Honey, if you have to make yourself look like someone else in order to seduce a man and get him to sleep with you, best know that he doesn't love you and will turn on you the minute you show your real face. Seriously, all those handsome disciples isolated at Kun Lun mountain with very, very few women, and this is the best you can do??? Benefit of the doubt - maybe none of the Kun Lun disciples were stupid enough to sleep with you and Li Jing was your best bet.

Zhe Yan - Switzerland Boss Dealer - This neutral party and renowned doctor is also the major alcohol, amnesia potion and other drug trafficker in the worlds. Everyone asks for him! Everyone!

Bai Zhen (4th son) - Best Drinking Buddy - will start you gambling too. He and Zhe Yan would be the magical mafia syndicate, controlling drinking, drugs and gambling. Bai Zhen and Zhe Yan sometimes even do delivery!

Heavenly Lord Hao De - Someone with a Bedazzler went Berserk on his costume. It's fabulous!
Si Ming - Meddling Matchmaker - at least he had good intentions.
A Li - No filter kid - geez, the things that come out of his mouth ...
Qing Cang - Horcrux Evil Daddy - sorry for the Harry Potter reference.
Zi Lan - Dumb Awesome Paladin - at this rate he'll die a Virgin.
Yan Zi - Naive Do Gooder - why didn't you go after Zi Lan??
Mi Gu - brainless obedient servant - should learn to think for himself.
Fire Qilin - Cute Blameless Animal - awww, poor Qilin. *pet pet*

Read More

Hi quality adventure with a super sexy Shirley.

Also known as Dragon Labyrinth, this Wanda? produced version of Candle In the Tomb is set in the Gulan county where there's a labyrinth and a clue that might help them break their Mojin Clan's curse.

The good: this version has probably the best chemistry I've seen between Hu Ba Yi (Lin Yu Shen) and Shirley (Connie Kang is gorgeous) as both seem like they have that great love hate relationship. There's one particular scene that's simultaneously funny AND steamy, so much that my eyes were falling out of my head watching it until it resolved in a comedic manner. The rest of the cast is believable, so this movie's acting is top notch. There's enough tomb raiding, traps and puzzles shoved in to satisfy this viewer.

The bad: special effects CGI wise are pretty inconsistent. Some are great and believable, and but there are a few bad ones. The fight choreography could be better, it was very simplistic and not exciting to watch.

Conclusion: This is one of the better Candle In the Tomb movies I have seen, to the point where I wonder if the people who gave the good ratings to the Wu Gorge version (also called Mojin for some reason) have mistakenly watched this one and given its ratings to that movie instead.

Read More

Action Hero iteration with bad CGI and confusing plot

Mojin: The Worm Valley is widely considered the second CGI movie following Mojin: The Lost Legends. It is not as good as the first, but it's still decent fun. In this movie the heroes are of course still on the hunt for a mystical round globe (sometimes called Pearl or Orb) that can maybe cure them of their "Eye" curse or disease.

The heroes in this version are super amped up in their fighting skills. Shirley (Gu Xuan) has turned into a Legolas Wannabe who possesses and "Endless Quiver" (that never runs out of arrows). Hu Ba Yi (Julian Cai) has become Machete Kills and gained the skill of swimming, fighting and climbing while holding a Machete and chopping at everything. This version of Wang Pang Zi (Yu Heng) is perhaps the LEAST annoying as in this movie I actually don't recall him doing his usual job of prematurely opening something or setting off a trap! Maybe it's because there isn't much in the way of Tomb Raiding in this movie, which is more of a creature fest. Professor Sun (Cheng Tai Shen) does the majority of the good acting, as he doesn't have much "action" chops. The others are kind of mehhh.

The good. This is a nice B-grade creature feature. Swimming scenes are well shot. There's a lot of action and various locales. They added in a love interest for Fatty/Pang Zi - that was nice for him! The traditional music is wonderful and fits with the movie's style.

The bad. The action choreography could use some work. CGI is unconvincing and plain not good. Some of the sets looked like ye olde Star Trek 1960s paper Mache rocks quality, which is cheesy. Acting was rather wooden in places.

Overall - a fun creature feature, nowhere close in acting, production or story quality to the much superior Mojin: The Lost Legend.

Read More

Okay story let down by inconsistent acting and laugably bad CGI.

Watched in iQiyi where this was just titled Mojin (like the poster). This movie is one of the 4 books sold to Wanda by the author, but it's clear the script writer didn't really read the source content wise as this adaptation has some consistencies in it compared to the previous series and movies. Here, Shirley (played really badly by Yu Xin Yan) is pregnant by Hu Ba Yi and both are worried that their curse will be transferred to their child. Thus they journey back to China at Professor Sun's behest, to raid King Wu Yang's Wu Gorge tomb in hopes of obtaining the Ressurection Herb.

There are some nice, small moments, like the one where Hu Ba Yi tells Shirley what he would sacrifice for their child, and there's some decent comedy and good acting by Professor Sun. Unfortunately all this is marred by the Shirley actress's inability to act, she might just be the worst portrayal of Shirley from all the series and movies I've seen thus far. The CGI is so laughably bad, even video games have better effects than that hole collapsing at the start.

Overall I felt like this could have been done loads better with a good budget and acting. I'm sure a better adaptation or reboot will be forthcoming soon.

Read More

CGI heavy tomb raiding action fest based on Candle In The Tomb

This is a movie version of Candle In The Tomb: The Weasel Grave with some new content written by the Author for Wanda Studios. I'm not sure why the author sold half his work to Wanda and the other half to China Film Group Corporation as this will just create confusion among fans, but I'm guessing money has something to do with it. In any case, this is a much better adaptation of his work than the very average Chronicles of A Ghostly Tribe which deviated from the source content so much the author distanced himself from that film.

The best thing about this movie is the CGI, casting and Tomb Raiding adventure and puzzles. CGI was convincing, and this had a relatively star studded cast. Shu Qi is a feisty Shirley Yang, part of the tomb raiding trio along with Hu Ba Yi (Aloys Chen who can play 20-40 easily with minor facial hair changes) and Fatty (Huang Bo). Angela Baby is gorgeous as Ding Xitian and Cherry Ngan does her best impersonation of a psycho Japanese girl killer. As far as action and adventure is concerned, this movie gives us everything we want.

There are flaws - IMO they made Shirley's character a little too ... brazen? I'm not a prude but I felt there's some things that didn't need to be played out just to pander to "western" audiences, and I'm not referencing anything at the start of the movie, but the Shirley bit and also one scene with excessive swearing. It condensed a lot of the Weasel Grave Tomb items and placed a much larger emphasis on the mystical Equinox flower. The villain once revealed did not accept reality even after things didn't go according to plan. 1969 brainwashed communists portrayed as excessively stupid. Not sure if this is meant to be satire or not. Many things felt rushed and incomplete.

In conclusion, this is a fun, "block buster" type movie that is pretty enjoyable if you don't think too much about it.

Read More

Heavily padded and takes a while to get going. Tomb raiding and scenery are great.

This is the main Candle In The Tomb series. It's an adventure. They've been to grasslands, the Himalayas and the desert. We get to experience various tombs AND Locations so action, cinematography and scenery wise this series has it all.

The Good: Shirley Yang (Joe Chen) the main lead girl is the rich daughter of a hobby archaeologist who has gone missing searching for some Lost City filled with treasures. She mountaineers and can handle a gun real well. She's the best part of the series. Hu Ba Yi (Jin Dong) is great. They keep changing Fatty around but the acting is believable. Fan favorite here is An Li Man. He has a different accent so you could tell. He was the best guide ever and #1 camel lover. There's minimal politics so this has been quite enjoyable. They have even introduced these things called "Fire" bugs, that are aflame and can set you or your equipment on fire. Whoom!

So-So Average: Characters. Some are great, others are horrible. I hated Fatty's greed and stupidity. Seriously how can you make the same mistake 4 times??? #facepalm. All the archaeologists were written as if they were idiots that can't follow basic instructions or make hard decisions. Breaking news: if you're weak, sick or old, maybe stick to desk archaeology since if you go out on the field you will be the first to fall and cause hardship and long winded difficult decision making full of angst amongst your compatriots. While they're hand wringing other disasters happen and people die that should not have died. I swear one third of this show felt like "let's take bets on who dies next". Not good.

The bad : story is probably better than this adaptation as it is slow as all hell, takes WAY too much time to do some things (1 episode for a burial is probably excessive) and they padded it to an extent this show could have finished 4-5 episodes sooner making it more enjoyable if only the editing had been tighter.

Read More

Roast Review - Weasel Grave - too much propaganda & completely useless females

Watching Candle In The Tomb (CIIT) in chronological order, Weasel Grave is the second series following the very excellent Wrath of Time, which I loved. It started super slow, we are introduced to Hu Bayi (Ethan Juan), "Fatty" Wang KaiXuan (Ryan Liu), the lovestruck Yan Zi (Daisy Li) and cold Hua Mei (Lulu Xu) early. The are various levels of annoying as they start investigating a weasel grave near their village.

The constant "revolutionary" propaganda is SERIOUSLY off putting because we know that real communists would have executed or work camp indoctrinated the smart ones like ML and SL instead of bringing them to a village. Despite how distasteful this was I gamely plowed through till episode 10 when things started to move (plot wise) in Mongolia, and we were treated to some spectacular landscapes and a real Tomb, except WW2 Japanese built a base next to it so their Scientists could conduct Nazi type experiments on human/animal subjects in order to get weapons superiority and win the war. Evil!

The good news is the introduced monsters and undead ramped up the action and excitement since the series becoming a SURVIVAL HORROR video game. The CGI monster graphics are pretty well done so action wise this was satisfying.

The bad news is lazy script writing leads to entire episodes where all 3 girls do no acting besides screaming "HU BA YI!" over and over every time he's in danger, as if it does anything productive? Like pick up a weapon of opportunity and help him instead of being useless!! Screaming his name doesn't help. Literally this is all they do from episode 10 to 20. By the 100th plus scream, I was done. All 3 of them are so annoyingly useless collectively they are not even worth 1 fingernail of Miss Hong Gu Niang from Wrath of Time.

The story doesn't even feel like it concluded properly from a human relationships point of view. What the hell happened here? The only thing I'm not surprised at is Hu Ba Yi was smart enough not to end up with any of the 3 (although Ding SiTian was less bad than the other 2). This is sad as it might be the first series I watched where I actually disliked every single character. Poor Weasels. Here's to hoping the rest of the CIIT series has a better story, portrays the MLs better and has stronger female characters.

Read More

Must Watch: CRAZY Good E-sports, friendship, time travel crime thriller

Yes. E-sports, friendship, comedy, romance, slice of life, crime, time travel, revenge thriller.

I think that says it all. I went in with zero expectations and ended up pretty much binging the series because it was SO good. If the King's Avatar, any Sports Drama, Signal and Reply 1988 had a baby, that would be Cross Fire. This show has a little bit of everything and one of the most satisfying final episodes you'll ever see. Everything is really well done:-

Big props to Xu Su, the screenwriter. The script cleverly flips between past and present, connected by a mythical "gaming" bridge across time, that enables our 2 main protagonists to meet, learn about and become friends with each other, all the while trying to "change" fate. The situations, the gaming, the relationships and character development are all very well done, the editing is seamless and by the end of the show we pretty much love everyone except for the main baddie, who is shockingly revealed one third into the show, but I can't even hate him as much as I want to because I understand where he came from and why he did what he did. Good writing, great villain.

The actors and actresses give their all and all the performances are solid. There is fun, there are feelings, there are friendships so real that I wish I had friends like this too. Xiao Feng/7 played by the handsome Lu Han is sweet and righteous, his friendship with Lu XiaoBei/North played by the equally handsome Leo Wu is a natural bromance. An Lan (Cecilia Boey) gives the best "new gamer" comedy ever seen on screen. Chu Ge (Dai Lu Wa) moved me by reading just one letter. And that one kiss. Ooooh boy, that was a good, long, juicy kiss. A Great kiss. Approved! The acting is so good that I cried MULTIPLE times in this series, because I got emotional (especially at that reunion, wow).

Let's not forget the stellar soundtrack, OP and ED are each sung by one of the 2 main leads. Then there's "Pure Heart Of Chasing Dreams" By Gala. The message is there are people willing to sacrifice their youth for a dream, going through all kinds of heartbreak and adversity, proudly fighting, to live the life THEY want, rather than one that will make them unhappy. That's inspiring, profound and uplifting all at the same time. Because who among us hasn't given up 1 or 2 dreams in their lifetime, and still has regrets? (Besides me).

I could write many more paragraphs about how Crazy Good the show is. The pacing is great, there's almost no fillers, things move fast. Acting, sets, special effects, costumes and ACTION choreography are fantastic. The funny parts are hilarious. The emotional ones make you cry. It was fresh, new, appealing, intriguing and entertaining. This show has something for everyone. Please, go watch it!!

Read More

Great food, cute dog, extremely annoying characters dragged it down

This follows the same formula as Season 1 of Let's Eat. The only character that returns in the Male Lead, our Empty Plate food blogger. Season 2 is just blah because we were let down by the terrible storyline, vapid and often annoying characters and ridiculous situations.

The Good things about this series is they still did great justice to the food, which looks both mouthwatering AND Tasty. They sprinkle in bits of "food" education, but if you're watching this series for the food you'll be completely satisfied. The Male Lead also does a great job at keeping his character fresh, interesting and likeable. This is despite him being surrounded by a collection the most annoying characters ever, including:-
* obligatory nagging busy body elder
* stingy landlord
* drunk , needy co-dependant boss / friend
* social climbing gossiping co worker
* crazy loner psycho tenant
* excessively swearing rich love interest
* beautiful lady who "uses" men
* formerly fat neighbor with food hangups who exercises a lot and basically her tortured relationship with food kind ruined a lot of the happy eating scenes for me. Also the acting was kind of one note for this character.

Also I have mixed feelings about them not calling animal control or some rescue group to take in what is clearly a very cute, purebred dog, who has been "dumped" in the streets. Poor doggo deserves better. One of them should have adopted him, really.

I did finish the series for the food and the cute dog, but contemplated dropping it numerous times just because I was too tempted to just fast forward through the annoying story.

Read More

Dream job is to star as a Lead who gets to eat the dishes in this superior Food Porn Drama.

I love food Porn Dramas and movies and this Drama is one of the best when it comes to Food Porn. The FL is a foodie who loves to eat. She's also a big fan of the ML, a food blogger who posts pictures of empty plates which the FL defends as "the food must be so good they finished it before they remembered to take a picture". I know I've done that, and most recently at our 2020 small Thanksgiving feast because after cooking for hours I was hungry. Here is my failed Asian card for forgetting to take a picture before taking portions out of every dish *cringe*. Anyway the point I'm trying to make is if the food is REALLY good sometimes a person should be forgiven for forgetting to take pictures, right?

There are 2 MAJOR reasons to watch this show:-
#1 is Food Porn. It's just some of the best ever filmed and they covered all kinds of foods - buffet, chocolate, Italian, Korean BBQ outdoors and at a restaurant, Crab, and that immortal seafood ... I have to stop now as my mouth just started watering.
#2 is Good Doggo. BEST character in the show is actually Che Gue"Vara" the well trained golden Pomeranian so fluffy and cute I want to pick him up, dress him up and kiss and squeeze that good boi! When he knows he's in trouble he gets into his cage and closes the door. Squeeee! Adorableness +1,000. I'm not even a dog person so this praise does not come lightly.

The story is quite meh, characters are a mixed bag with varying degrees of annoying. Character Roasts inc.
* Lee Soo Kyung - this FL could would win if she ever played the game Paranoia. And she's cheap like only Asians can be cheap. I loved her eating scenes though. Give me your job please!!!?
* Yoon Doo Joon as Goo Dae Yeong - I learned a ton about food AND Life from this character who knows ALL the ropes. His place is messy but practical. Stay out to save on heat? Check. Storing his clothes at the dry cleaner? YES! /salute
* Yoon So Hee as Yoon Jin Yi - the fluffy naive rich girl actually grows up and has the second best character development on the show. You go Girl!
*Shim Hyung Tak as Kim Hak Moon [Attorney] - He had the second best character development, as he admitted his old crush, stopped torturing FL, gave it his best shot (it was a great attempt honestly), then let go (the mature thing to do) and finally moved on. Virtual clap. Good for him. He's hot and rich, so won't have troubles dating. IDK if he'll be in Season 2 since there's not much left to do with his character.
* Lee Do Yeon / Oh Do Yeon [Attorney] - Desperate lawyer living in a world of fantasy that just needs to "get real" and avail herself to the wonders of the best or second best (after Colombia) plastic surgery country in the world.

The rest of the cast do a credible job and there's no "bad" acting per se but the script doesn't give them very much to work with. This is not going to win Baeksang awards for story or acting, unless Food Porn is a category in which case it might sweep. But it's still an enjoyable story that takes you through a wonderful foodie journey with our friends.

Read More

Beyond the Mouthwatering Cakes served by Gorgeous Gentlemen is a serious story about social justice

Based off a successful manga and anime, this is the story of a Kim Jin Hyuk (Joo Ji Hoon), a rich man with a tragic backstory who decides to open a bakery in hope of getting some closure on his past. He hires Min Sun Woo (Kim Jae Wook) an old classmate to be the chief Patissier knowing the man has been fired from MANY bakeries for causing issues as he is a "Demonic Gay" and everyone, male or female, ends up falling i love with him leading to drama and thus him getting fired. Everyone, except the owner, who happens to have rejected Sun Woo's advances in High School as he is not gay. The 2 men open Antique bakery and have a hard time finding or keeping any male staff until Yang Gi Beom (Yoo Ah In) an ex boxer shows up, who also happens to be immune to Sun Woo's demonic gay vibes.

This starts off as a foodie lovers show with some comedy thrown in. The nightclub scenes showing the "Demonic Gay" are particularly hilarious. Then we are quickly made aware of the social issues (homophobia) and the owner's tragic past. All this amidst the backdrop of cakes and handsome men, both of which are enough to make this female drool. The cakes ... the cakes look GORGEOUS and if possible, even more edible than the men. Imagine a bakery where you can be served by 4 different types of handsome men - the stylish debonair owner, the sensitive talented gay patissier, the macho but crude ex-boxer or the strong silent screw up? What a brilliant marketing plan. I'd be visiting for sure and the cakes would just be an excuse.

The only place I think the producers messed up is not putting enough effort into the soundtrack as I guess all their budget went to clothes and cakes. There are several musical type montages which are pretty well done. The show doesn't shy away from depicting gay men, there's kissing and a hand placed possessively on one character's butt.

Overall this is a great movie with a nice mix of comedy and cakes making the rest of the content more palatable to those who may object, so when the movie ended I was satisfied with the show except it left some cravings and had to go get some ... cake.

Read More