Reviews

A (very) funny and exciting journey into Dong Jae's story

I simply loved it, from beginning to end!

Dong Jae is the kind of character that captured our hearts; it's impossible to hate him, and that's how he went from a supporting character in "Stranger" to the main character in this spin-off.

If you liked "Stranger" and plan to watch this drama, keep one thing in mind: the style is completely different. THIS IS NOT "Stranger" season 3, nor is it intended to be; is's a spin-off from a very different character. Here, the cases are neither important nor mysterious, and everything revolves around the discussion that the name of the drama itself brings up: is Dong Jae, after all, good or bad?

The drama was much lighter to watch than "Stranger", and has many comedic elements; even though I'm not a big fan of comedies and prefer thriller dramas, I still loved it and had a lot of fun with Dong Jae's adventures - his inner monologues are the best!

And here comes the spoiler:

******

I loved the ending!!
I would have been a little disappointed if Dong Jae had left the Prosecutor's Office and become a lawyer, which I thought might happen after SDJ and KWC met.

However, the ending surprised me positively: Dong Jae was finally punished for his actions. Although I would still like to see him as a prosecutor, the idea of ​​a "team" of corrupt people to hunt down more corrupt people was simply brilliant. And it's SDJ's chance to redeem himself for his mistakes from the past.

I would love a sequel (whether it's a 2nd season of SDJ or a 3rd of "Stranger"), and the ending left the stage ready for that.

About the cast:
Lee Jun Hyuk is simply perfect as Seo Dong Jae, once again.
And I loved the characters of Jung Woon Sun and Baek Sun Ho.

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Combo hero-coming-of-age, wuxia, espionage and imperial intrigue.

Good watch. Prob'ly shot in 2018/9, 46 episodes -- only Part One of story! Combo hero-coming-of-age, wuxia, espionage and imperial intrigue. Many truly talented actors as supporting characters creates central focus on balancing nodes of power. The hero Zhang Ruo Yun/Fan Xian has excellent very masculine charisma and utter fidelity to his beloved.

A giant spy agency operating in the bowels of brutalist concrete architecture is balanced by the brilliant Chen Dao Ming as Dad the emperor puttering around with archery in slouchy white robes in his man-cave study, controlling his fractious family and state from afar. Fan Xian's story ties together this portion like the red string of fate.

Out of the city next, the fights get better (to my ignorant eye?) and the hero matures, fighting off various ladies' romantic overtures, and physical dangers, with aplomb, acting as ambassador to a northern country. Lots of cool 9th level masters and very dangerous enemies, and Fan Xian's faction starts to take shape.

To me the feminine rulers he grapples with in a northern enemy country seem like a cynical nod to then-fashion by the author or director (I am watching this during pride month which makes it feel particularly insulting) -- the northern emperor, obviously a woman, unacknowleged by plot (weird), is sismancing a great female martial artist, and then later suddenly one of the more politically ambiguous characters back home develops a bromancy henchman.

first posted July 2024 on Viki

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Big budget, lushly scored, epic romance all 10star.

17 episodes at 1 hr each puts this in classic weekend kdrama territory. Big budget, lushly scored, epic romance all 10star. The script is at least a 12. Unique use of the reincarnation theme. Normally Re-I is played for laughs or to solve a mystery. Here it is used as a frame for healing trauma -- the romantic tragic deaths of a pair of lovers from opposing families scars their communities, families and their hastily reincarnated selves who must work thru negative and positive attachment in order to live freely in their new present reincarnations. Great stuff. I count three amazing uses of this trope... 1. Inter-generational sorrow.. The original lovers (In and Korn: IK) suffered in the homophobic 90's and in the 21st C their reincarnations (Pharm and Dean: PD) in a BL friendly Bangkok struggle to believe in the utopian tolerance surrounding them. Y'all know what I mean, for ex. in the US weeping at gay weddings bec past fears rise in the throat. 2. IK vowed to find each other after death, so PD falls in love but they each live a life plagued with disturbing flashbacks and dreams. We learn more about IK as these increase in frequency, punctuating the narrative of the present love story with the unfolding of the original one. The astounding result is that IK and PD slowly become more distinct from each other, not less. PD cannot trust until they work thru the pain of the IK life, and this also works to support some of the ways in which Pharm, whose IK-suffering was extreme, needs to move slowly in love. 3. the families of IK were riven by the their deaths; PD reincarnated back into each others' families but we do not realize how damaged the families actually were until PD begins to reach out to introduce their loves..missing family members, changed names...so Re-I supports the reintegration motif usual at the end of longer dramas.
first posted on Viki spring 2024

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heart-poundingly wonderful sequel,

Rather than do 2 reviews this is about part 1 and 2. There is also a directors cut movie which I havent watched.

Leaves a powerful impact in your heart. The painful and stubborn refusal of one of these true lovers to move beyond a performative servility deprives the *beautiful man* of the love and acceptance he needs. Their constant quarreling overlays a stop-and-start rhythm of personal growth which (oh glorious dorama) results in harmonious equality. Pure beauty. The domestic aesthetic is very japanese. 6 eps of 25mins ea.

Much of what is intimated in MBM 1 is articulated here. Quarreling and weeping, these two men discover a rough outline of what their life together will be; Hira begins to move forward towards a career and Kiyoi begins to be more patient with him. This is a heart-poundingly wonderful sequel, possibly even better than the first 6 episodes. Other reviewers have given such perceptive remarks -- thanks, I feel a little overwhelmed -- I need a couple of rewatches before I can calm down!4 eps at 25 mins ea. A total of about 4 hrs betwen MBM 1 & 2

first posted on Viki March 2024

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The producers had $100, some motorbikes, and a dream.

My dear fellow, eating a spoonful of Tabasco would have hurt less than watching this show. The producers had $100, some motorbikes, and a dream.

Love in the Air embodies the fetishizing fantasy of gay relationships. Watching it feels like seeing a poorly adapted Wattpad story written by a 12-year-old girl about Harry and Louis, starting with the need to categorize characters by their sexuality and as either “top” or “bottom.” The show is literally good looking “bottom” number 1 and 2 plus good looking “top” number 1 and 2.

The NC scene with the first main couple—in short, watching the ?alpha male? force himself on the main character—was terrible. I didn’t last long, so maybe the others were better (I hope so).
Moreover, love doesn’t heal trauma; therapy and long-term personal work do.

I'm giving it a 2 instead of a 0 or 1 only because of the actors' chemistry and Fort's charm. The motorbikes were cool, too.

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deft, realistic love story

How is it possible to tell a true love story in only 4 eps of 30mins ea.? So often BL is limited to this size. Let Ninomiya Takashi show you how: deftly, economically, realistically, beautifully, with two supertalented actors and one hell of a screenwriter. Watch, watch this.

Only one caveat and a stupid one because so much has to be intimated and inferred in such a short piece; I cannot think of any portion of this I would like to excise in order for Itou to truly seek forgiveness at a certain point, but for Nishi's sake I wish I could.

First posted on Viki May 29th 2024

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Feeling cheated...

The series started out so fantastic in almost every way: the plot, the characters, the visuals, the pacing, the charisma. It was a strong 9 or 9.5 score for me for the majority of the series until the last 10 episodes or so, where it all went terribly wrong. The downfall was almost predicted as around episode 30, I was wondering how they can possibly wrap up the story in only eight more episodes.

However, not only did they completely rush through to its finale, the steady and beloved personalities of the characters declined in such a way that it made all of the prior episodes feel like a bad investment. The plot that was so carefully paced out and so well done... became mush. As just one small example, when the ML sacrificed his precious hand and was stabbed multiple times, apparently it ended up not being a sacrifice at all. His hand was merely wrapped, still usable, and the rest of him just miraculously recovered overnight. This type of nonsense didn't occur previously.

The FL and ML's relationship was developing quite naturally but then devolved into an abusive/victim/guilt-ridden one in the end. Both of their characters were almost unrecognizable from where they started. Let's not forget the scene where they slept together and the ML decides to propose after (as if this is a modern day setting with no consequences for the women). Or how he tripped his own kid multiple times because despite having settled down with the FL, his jealousy is still out of control. What in the world happened? Did a writer just get swapped out towards the end? It really is such a shame. If they hadn't ruined the ending arc with such nonsense, the series would have been on the top of my list.

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very literary depiction of powerful trust and desire

Cinematic gem. Jdrama BL. I love this show beyond reason. A tight focus on the interactions of two characters, like a stage play rather than a drama, but with sex as part of the character arc. Total concentration on a domestic relationship partially closeted in a real world setting -- subtle and super interesting . Great, great directing by the three women who also wrote the script. A good and very literary depiction of powerful trust and desire.
The classic "unreliable narrator" is the hook which draws us into the story, rooting for Yoh and fearing that he is being abused, a feeling which slowly slips away as we realize this long relationship is actually going through a quiet adjustment matching each other's needs as they change.
Non-verbal communication is important in this story. I advise taking the subtitles loosely as a key to meaning and to depend more on other meaning clues: body language, facial expressions and delivery, the cinematic frame of the dialogue's dramatic rhythmn, and the visual clues of the camera for emotion, especially color and light. 8eps at 25 mins ea.

first posted on Viki Dec 21st 2023

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The story and characters are terrible. The actors are great though and some scenes are good.

So basically the story centers around a narcistic female lead with a terrible personality and a pathetic ML who can't move on past his first love even though she did. There is not 1 redeeming quality that the FL has but all these guys are obsessed with her? I'm sorry but there is nothing romantic about a guy who can't get over his ex for 8 years even though she moved on. They make the ML this nice guy who helps everyone and is a genius weather forecaster, but ultimately he is just a pathetic guy that was hung up on his ex for 8 years which the entire town knows about. The story is very focused/centered on the FL and the ML is basically a side character.

Do not get me started on the ridiculous love triangle that makes the ML even more pathetic. I wish they made these love triangles more organic than forced. Like they always show these sad scenes of the 3rd wheel being sad that the leads are together. Cmon now. Do the writers think it's romantic that 2 guys stay single and hold onto love for their childhood friend for decades into their mid 30's? At least the ML and FL have history, but the 3rd wheel has always just had a platonic relationship with the FL. One pathetic character pining over the FL was not enough they had to add another side character that was even worse. The amount of screen time the SML got one-sideingly chasing after the FL was ridiculous. Like he sees them kiss and hug and everybody in the village knows they like each other and in his crazy head still thinks he has a chance? No matter how much sad background music you play, it will not be sad...it is just pathetic and weird. By episode 5, I could tell where this story was going and had to skim through the rest and the story goes exactly how you would expect.

I really enjoyed the first few episodes but man does the show go downhill. The actors are great though, their characters and the plot are just poorly done.

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Espionage done right, a balance of style, grit and gore.

Wonderful show. Espionage done right, a balance of style, grit and gore. Murky office politics, alliances that break and are reformed and just enough of the lone wolf, Nam Koong Min, stubbornly struggling to understand himself and to find the perfect mole. Very nice plays on the genre. Lots of fights. I like them but you may not. My favorite things: 3 fully characterized female colleagues sharing the screen time, none of them all good or all bad. NM, as a stoic muscular handsome beast, both puzzled and pugnacious.
My warning, requires as much intellectual fortitude as much shorter novels or movies but for 12 hours. You Must Take Breaks, or you risk breaking your mind. Eps 13-14 are a prequel set in the 20teens.

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Utterly charming even with all the overacting and pathetic print

This was a 2004 release, and watching this movie felt like taking a glimpse into South Korean society in the past—when it was less about plastic surgeries and designer brands, and more about their reserved culture. The makeup was abysmal, with all that chalky, single-tone foundation and dusty bubblegum-pink blushes. I’m certain there were no such things as acting classes back then, judging by their overacting. Yet, still... still, there's something about the love stories from that era that makes our hearts skip a beat every now and then. The leads don’t kiss readily, they don’t smooch, but viewers will get goosebumps just at the sight of them holding hands—if you know what I mean.

Moving on, the plot wasn’t something you haven’t already seen; it’s quite overused by today’s standards. The story was cute, revolving around a high school girl and a handsome college guy. The love story began with fights, frustration, irritation, and those classic "wait till I kill you" vibes, which soon blossomed into a sweet friendship and eventually into love.

Background music was BOMB

The plot was silly, the acting was atrocious, but for some reason, I enjoyed it immensely. I found myself laughing at their absurd chases and feeling butterflies whenever they came close. Honestly, what more could you ask for?
Recommended ❤️

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As entertaining as they come

You know your film is off to a strong start when you aren't even 5 minutes in and it's already staging its own lightsaber fights, albeit with fluorescent bulbs. Marking the end of Sammo Hung's greatest period as both star and director with a mighty bang, Pedicab Driver exemplifies the type of cinema that Hong Kong loved during the 80s. What that means is it's a mismatched series of bizarre comedy, heightened emotions, sudden tragedy and yes, incredible fight scenes. The extended fight between Sammo and Lau Kar-Leung in the gambling den stands as one of the film's most memorable moments, despite its complete irrelevance to the plot. Although it seems a little overambitious at times in its storytelling, with several seemingly unrelated threads running parallel, the film does manage to hold it all together in a way that only Hong Kong cinema can. While the story threads are certainly only diversions from the main spectacle, they do enhance the film somewhat, thanks largely to the cast's terrific performances and great music. It all starts happy-go-lucky but by the end, revenge is the name of the game and it is one Sammo delivers tenfold with some fantastic direction. For its uneven mishmash of genres and tones, Pedicab Driver succeeds wholeheartedly thanks to its easily empathetic and loveable characters and their plights, it's as entertaining as they come and features something for everyone. While not quite a masterpiece it is well worth seeing.

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