10
50
1
Anusaya
Tian
This review may contain spoilers
rape is not romance.
This is the original, and the more down-to earth version; with seasoned actors, and better chemistry. Sadly, this original story is also the perpetuator and source, for the kidnapping and rape, of the female lead, by the male lead in the remake. Even the forced cuddle and dialogue between the rapist (ML) and his victim (FL) were regurgitated intact.ML: "Are you still angry with me?"
FL: "I'm not angry. But, I hate you."
[2002, EP 11, 44:28]
ML: "Are you still angry with me?"
FL: "I'm not angry. But, I hate you."
[2015, EP 10, 55:56]
Both versions are filled with angst driven drama, hateful characters, and a revenge plot you never quite knew, if it rang true, in the end. But, most importantly for this review, in both versions the male lead, raped the female lead. It's maddening to think 'rape culture' was still being scripted, by screen writers in 2002. If it wasn't for the rape, this would be a drama that I would recommend. But, rape is not romance, and doesn't belong in the romance genre. Avoid.
(source; read; My Custom List "Rated One")
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Great ensemble cast. Recommended.
The Warp Effect is an over-the-top comedic teen series, that wanders into something else at episode four. What it plays with is the past, making memory and choices ridiculous. While finding ways for resolution and letting things go, later in life. Even Jean's story, didn't stumble. Because, it didn't ask her to forgive and didn't tell her she had to forget. It is her life, and how she lived it was going to be her choice and her resolution. That teaching moment was probably taken to heart by more than a few people watching this. It wasn't negated by a quick fix, or someone else's idea of how she should feel. So, much could happen in this story and dealing with most of the past was done in the present, and not in the final episode. I appreciated that.It is what is endearing to this drama. If the watcher didn't get all the social clues, healthy moments, and tips that past decisions (or circumstances) are not set in stone defining us forever. Then the final episode tied it all up in a ribbon. Like everyone in this series, none were handed a happy ending. It's a shame we'll never see Alex's later life solution for that other memory, and though I think the final episode was a stumble for the storied resolutions that were accomplished. This is also a fantasy, and the teen audience needed the final touch - that sometimes you need to be cognizant of what you do in real time to make for a happy ending. And, other times you have to turn around and come to terms with it in your own head. Great ensemble cast. Recommended.
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No animals were killed in the making of this movie.
Advertised as a psychological drama, where the absurdity of the male lead's kidnapping of the dog sets an uneasy dark comedic stage for the audience. There is more to this film than just that misleading tag and description. It's no wonder this film finds fans, or criticism. Rarely, anything in between. Watching it can be unsettling. The reality being, it is more of a low key and subtle horror film.The director & screen writer Bong Joon Ho has set the watcher up for a deeper experience than presumed. Every conversation and visual in this film is not wasted. Each moment is calculated to take the characters and audience one step closer to heaven, or hell. The ending is poignant, proving the karma earned was real. Do I recommend it? Yes. Be advised - Watch it with the horror tag in mind, it could help in your enjoyment of this film.
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This review may contain spoilers
rape is not romance.
The rape is a lie. That debated, considered, and re-debated rape tag; I lean toward the female lead victim's reaction. I call rape. With only that lie as a reference, watchers believed the male lead had raped the FL while she was unconscious. Even, as a pretend blow-up-doll for the male lead; Stockholm syndrome was a real part of this series, and the female lead's mindset. It is such a grey distinction, that playing with 'rape to romance' in drama as a lie. But then, 'Rape culture' is a lie. Rape is not romance, and doesn't belong in the romance genre. Avoid.(source; read; My Custom List "Rated One")
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This review may contain spoilers
rape is not romance.
The 'why not' scenario? Why not stop romanticizing rape in dramas in general? Stop airing abusive visuals to audiences as what romance looks like. Stop pairing victims of sexual assault with their abusers in relationships. That's rape culture.Likit Kammathep's sexual assault didn't drive this drama; it's what happened after. There are so many missed opportunities for a non-aggressive intimate moment in earlier episodes that could have replaced the rape. Likit Kammathep needn't have lost its core story, or its main couple in the end. But, common sense did not exist here either, and out of this entire village-missing-its-idiots. Repentance was sadly absent, and ignored too. Rape is not romance, and doesn't belong in the romance genre. Avoid.
(source; read; My Custom List "Rated One")
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rape is not romance.
Both versions of Tang Parn Kammathep (2015, 2001) have very little romance between the leads. In this plot-heavy insanity, there just isn't enough time. But, unlike the remake in this original, the male lead rapes the female lead. Initially, disbelief was my reaction. Because, even immersed in all that revenge, kidnapping, and family stupidity. The abusive male lead, didn't cross that intimate line (yet). And, what I thought was going to be the same script as the remake, wasn't. In fact, this melodrama, was the better and least angsty version. Why included? I blame production for perpetuating 'rape culture' - Shame, on them. Rape is not romance, and does not belong in the romance genre. Avoid.(source; read; My Custom List "Rated One")
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All relationships as you go - Are a never ending learning curve.
It is a long drama, and not for its subject matter. Postpartum depression, working moms, home dads, aging parents, getting married, falling out of love, children, divorce, and financial choices were all serious story topics. Living being the main focus, and not in an engaging way.For a family series, there wasn't much warmth. I didn't feel the one-on-one main family dynamic, and the secondary couple were vanilla at best. I truly didn't know why they were there. The parents, and neighbor side stories were far more emotional and investing.
I would blame C-Dramas in general [30+ something married couples not their forte] but with this cast, I blame production for a meandering script that needed to show some love on screen. In a series with far to many episodes to fill with thoughts, diary entries and not much else in that category. I'm so neutral about it - I don't recommend it.
If you watch, stay out of comments. May YMV.
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angering game - have fun
"Mia Luang 2022" is maddening right up until the end of episode eighteen - the last 2 episodes being the lakorn version of loose ends. If you need romance, this is not it, no amount of wanting it, will change that. Walk in with eyes wide open; this is a game and winning is on each messed- up character's terms. Where you are only a victim, if you allow yourself to be, and if you don't know you are playing, you lose by default. This would have been a solid ten, but for the last 2 episodes, and 8 is pushing it. But, a soap-opera that generates an angry following for all the right reasons - As if reason would change the game in any way. I feel sorry for Nudee, a positive ending without getting the man, would've given this story purpose. I still recommend it.Was this review helpful to you?
Lovely - Highly rexommended.
Tags, be damned and watchers drawn for whatever reason. However you got here - It is all good. This series was brilliance in, and of itself. The story was well written, the actors up to the task. And all, without demonizing the characters, with that typical Victorian mindset, and ending that is used far to often."To Sir, With Love "could have gone the way of so many of these Thai stories, but the production respected modern watchers. Giving us a historical reality, in the guise of a world we could navigate unscathed, and still mindful of content. The story of a family, a culture - Where the beginnings of change are better seen in hindsight. A story where viewers, become privy to a character's personal experience and can relate. Where, the writer understood true romance, and didn't try to take the easy way out. Highly, recommended.
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This review may contain spoilers
rape is not romance.
Whether out of silence, sanctioned, or direct involvement - Everyone associated with the male lead abused the female lead. The difference between this and the 2017 version, is the rape (2005). But, unlike that remake with matching kidnapping and imprisonment story-line, 2005 had some repercussions. Where there is a shifting of blind loyalties amongst associates and some onscreen remorse from the male lead rapist himself. Maddening as it is, the culpable second female lead in both versions denied any knowledge of the female lead's abuse, right up, and until, the second female lead's own happy ending. But, even with redemption, rape is not romance and doesn't belong in the romance genre. Avoid.(source; read; My Custom List "Rated One")
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Think soap opera production values, with 5 episodes to many.
Touted as a mystery. A game. That became secondary to angst, hedonism, and those showcased in music video scenes. You know, those brooding montages filled with longing, drinking, and flashbacks, all done in slow-motion to the OST. Till eventually, there isn't a story, just staged shots for eye candy.Some scenes had no plot, nor purpose. Filler comes to mind. The story never made it out of lukewarm, much less that dark thriller it promised. The characters are lackluster and unimaginative. The mains introduced in the first 3 episodes never grasped the script, or their characters. If the acting of the support team hadn't of dragged this from episode three to the finale. I'd have dropped it.
What did I get from watching this? Money makes you right, and the unmoneyed are guilty until proven innocent. While if you say you're sorry enough, you can get the girl in the end. And maybe, I will forgive a badly written and produced drama in the hope that these actors are given a script worthy of them next time. Maybe. Not recommended.
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rape is not romance.
Rape by a significant other is just as criminal as a stranger, and in this case an extra helping of trauma was heaped on in the form of domestic abuse. But, in the end and seven years later, friends and family handed the victim (female lead) and her innocent young son over to her unrepentant male lead abuser, during a parental kidnapping. While the male lead and his toadies escape their karma. The abusive male lead with a 7 year time skip disappearance. The violent second female lead-mistress with a plane ticket complete with tearful airport goodbye scene with the other second male lead. And vicious mother-in-law, who died less-than heroically after trying to murder her grandson by proxy (abusing his pregnant mom). And I thought, it was 2020. Rape is not romance, and doesn't belong in the romance genre. Avoid.(source; read; My Custom List "Rated One")
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This review may contain spoilers
abuse is not romance.
Whether out of complicity, condoned, or ignored - Everyone associated with the male lead abused the female lead. Exactly like in the original; a matching revenge-marriage-plot, with ongoing kidnapping and imprisonment story-line the mainstay. But, unlike the original, there are no repercussions. Though there is a shift in blind loyalties in support characters, there is silence from our unrepentant male lead. Those drunken floor scenes are some of the best, albeit time waste, wallowing in self-pity moments I've ever seen come from an abusive male character. Add the cringe-worthy suffering second female lead's pity-fest in culpability, and this remake becomes the 'sniveling version'. "Barb Rak Ta Lay Fun" is a toxic and venomous cruel mess under the guise of revenge. A depressing remake of a bad drama. Not recommended.Was this review helpful to you?
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Average series. Total 26 episodes.
What began as something fun, then whimsical, became a frustrating watch for some viewers - me included. The last third of the series a jumble in editing, with a story line that became confusing and commonplace. The first stumble for this series; was the writing.As an example; adding a second female lead want-to-be [a.k.a. 2nd princess] the last seven episodes was a slap in the face of the characters that lived this story till then. Wasting screen-time on a superfluous character with no story history; that looks and dresses like the teenage female lead character from the beginning of the drama [A FL placeholder?]; whose appearance lasts right up and until the last 20 minutes of the official finale; was an annoyance that wasn't needed. It was the moment, the writer, abandoned their purpose.
There were so many loose ends, a continuing story, and characters that should have been fleshed out on screen instead. Sadly, the writer didn't appear to care [ie - the male lead becoming a misunderstanding-cliche], but ultimately production seemed to regret their choices. Culminating those editing and writing decisions, into giving watchers the last few minutes of an extra episode with the main couple on-screen together. An average series - With a frustrating story arc. Watch accordingly.
Note, Review based on 26 episodes count.
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Love appreciated. Recommended.
"A Cunning Destiny" was a fun, well-balanced drama with multiple couples - Its past mystery and shadowy undertones guide a slow burn relationship. That develops into a mature love story, that is appreciated for its romance. It is one of the best airing series, I have watched faithfully. Each episode, was well written; the cliff-hangers were near perfect.Then, in episode 14; Perfection tripped over a writer's stupidity. Adding a cliche, that I know our couple would never be caught in, to fill in an episode. It was frustrating, and with that. The rushed finale (ep 15) was crammed with loose ends being tied up, and relationships being finalized. It would've been too long otherwise, but what it needed was to skip that frustrating cliche in fourteen. It tarnished an otherwise almost perfect series.
Despite that writer hiccup, this series is wonderful; you will love the characters. You will appreciate the love, when it is acknowledged. Though, the finale rushed to the end - I highly recommend it.
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