Great Cinematography, Weaknesses With The Rest.

The cinematography was thoughtful, visually well-balanced, and frequently beautiful in composition (even with grittier settings). The rest of it was okay but had weaknesses and I won't watch again. I didn't feel like it was a waste of time though, so maybe give it a try if you're in the mood for something simple, short, indie, and overall sweet.

FYI: If you watch on YouTube the first episode is actually titled "Ep 0", NOT Ep 1! (At least that's how it is on the Jupiter Entertainment channel in the USA.)

What I loved: The cinematography.
What I liked: The sweet bit with the post-its and how comfortable the actors seemed in their intimate scenes.

The acting was decent but no one was compelling. The music was forgettable but not distracting either. I was glad with how it ended for everyone but I wasn't that emotionally invested.

The weaknesses:

There are six 13-22 min episodes and it's all over the place. The way the story jumps around (between couples and in time) is confusing and transitions are very abrupt. There's too much story for the time constraints. The plotlines and emotional arcs for the two main couples feel very rushed.

The hetero couple seemed so random and out of place; their brief and cryptic scenes didn't add anything of value. I couldn't figure out their purpose. The time on them would have been much better spent on the two main couples.

There is some awkwardness to the English subtitles that seem to be a translation issue so I'll give the script the benefit of the doubt on how natural the dialogue is. The content of what's said, though, is fairly simple and unmemorable (no really deep or moving conversations).

Leia Mais

Great fun through Ep 4, then treat Ep 5 as a fluffy epilogue & stop!

For Ep 1-5 it's an 8.5/10. Great fun through Ep 4, then treat Ep 5 as a fluffy epilogue and stop at 38min. After Ep 5 it slides quickly into very poorly written, clichéd, repetative, annoying, plot-predictable, and eye-rolling ridiculousness with unnecessary melodrama (with unbelievable and poorly choreographed fight scenes).

Ep 1-5: I was hooked within 20 mins. The premise was unique and the story was fun and interesting with relatable lead characters. There was great romantic tension and sweetness. Overall it was lighthearted and enjoyable. I eagerly looked forward to new episodes every week.

Ep 6-8 were a 3.5/10. I stopped looking forward to it and there was so much cringworthyness that I fast-forwarded more and more. I found the ending so cheesy that it wasn't satisfying.

After Ep 5 Kenji becomes the main antagonist. The actor playing Kenji is sooooo bad it makes any scene and plotline involving him lose steam and all seriousness. His over-active jaw movements make me cringe and laugh out loud at the same time. The part isn't written well to begin with, but the terrible, overly dramatic yet flat and shallow acting makes him the weakest link by a long shot and he dumbs everything down.

Some of the transitions between scenes are abrupt and the music is generic.

I can see myself rewatching Ep 1-5 at some point but I will never again force myself through Ep 6-8.

g_jun's review on MDL also sums everything up really well.

Leia Mais

Cleverish plot with humor and some romance and mystery.

(I rate vertically filmed micro dramas on their own sliding scale). General spoilers below. Made me chuckle or laugh out loud multiple times. Overall smartly written and quite enjoyable and satisfying; left me with a smile on my face. Gu Ming Han's facial expressions as the ML are fantastic and so fun to watch (a large part of the high rewatch value for me).

I loved the premise and thought the show did a good job with it. It was fun and interesting that the ML could hear all the FL's thoughts, and the audience gets to hear plenty of the ML's thoughts too. Because the FL gets reborn in the body of a girl that was lazy and desperate for attention, it takes her awhile to change people's opinion of her.
The mysteries of who was behind what schemes was pretty quickly obvious to the audience, yet the leads figured things out at a believable rate and in a logical way (especially the ML).

Though this has a higher rating on my personal sliding scale, my guess would be that the ML may turn some people off. Because the overall tone of the show stayed light, I enjoyed this despite the ML acting like more of a d*ck than he needed to (with his words) for about 2/3rds of it (not sadistic, though there are choke holds very early on before he starts believing the FL is a different person than before). He does start to redeem himself and I can imagine him fully redeeming himself over time (we just don't see their life past their wedding). His actions improve fairly early on as he gets over his suspicions of the FL and starts to like her, but his words send mixed signals as he tends to mask his intentions; he'll protect her, but then make light of it. Two things I appreciated about this character that many in vertical dramas don't do: 1) It's a process, but the ML is willing to question his perception of the SFL and starts to put his guard up around her even before he fully believes she's as bad as the FL's internal thoughts indicate. 2) Later on, he recognizes in his own thoughts that he has some work to do to win over the FL because of how he's previously acted (though his words still take a while to catch up).

There are a couple moments of sexual tension, a couple suggestive lines, and a satisfying lip press kiss near the end. The FL shows and has thoughts about desiring the ML too. Happy ending with their wedding and another brief lip press.

All actors were good and fit their parts well. The SFL and SML have some psychological issues and try to murder multiple people to get what they want, but they stay plausible and believable (did not turn into caricatures).

Watched with good English subtitles on licensed channel @RomanticDramaTV (浪漫短劇社RomanticDrama) in Nov 2024:
https://youtu.be/crwP_GO0OYo?si=kc8O7c1IK5OQ43RJ

Leia Mais

Sweet, mature couple.

A vertically filmed micro drama (I rate these on their own sliding scale).
The romance between the leads is very sweet and there's plenty of these moments. It's healthy and balanced. The two support each other emotionally, trust, and look out for each other. Both characters are fairly gentle people, but they have backbones and don't let other people walk all over them.

General Spoilers below.

A fairly realistic approach to domestic abuse and they showed some of the fear the victim can feel. I really liked the line by the FL: "...because with domestic violence, there's only zero times or countless times. And this is the bottom line." What didn't make sense was how the SML was able to freely harass the FL, purposefully cause a car accident, then stalk the FL again with no repercussions or legal restraints. He finally backs off at the end having learned his lesson, but it was really frusterating and disappointing that he was essentially let off the hook.

Some skinship and multiple hugs, though the hugs are upper-body (there's a space kept between lower bodies), and there are no direct kisses. There are a couple flirty moments though, which were enjoyable. The characters were definitely believably in love with each other with their eyes, but their bodies indicated that the actors weren't 100% comfortably relaxed with each other.

I did enjoy the FL's friends, the ML's brother and his wife, and the FL's parents. I also appreciated how multiple characters stood up the the ML's mother.

Overall this is a decent one-time watch, especially if you already like one of the actors, or like sweet and quick romances. I found the plot got more contrived in the second half, but the extended happy ending was a nice way to finish it off.

Leia Mais

ML is the best thing in this Noona romance

A vertically filmed micro drama (I rate these on their own sliding scale). On the fence about rating it a 5/10, because Noona relationships are less commonly explored and it was ultimately a healthy and sweet relationship. But I felt like there weren't enough happy/joyful moments between the leads to be fully satisfying, the FL character was unmemorable, the plot was a bit overdone is spots, and I was disgruntled with how they approached queerness and the topic of AIDS.

It's an okay one-time watch for a Noona romance fan. The FL was good but the ML stole the show. Lu DanDong did earnestness, longing, desire, and heartbreak really well. He was believable as a 22 year old, and the FL was believable as a 35 year old.

General Spoilers below:

FL's godson (ML) is the son of her best friend (who is 40). The ML has been abroad the last couple years, is about to finish university, and is already a famous photographer. He's also quietly working for his father whom his mother doesn't like and seperated from a long time ago.

ML says he's loved the FL since he was 18. He pursues, supports, and protects the FL, though she rebuffs him for awhile. Once she makes up her mind to accept him and her own feelings, they refuse to back down in the face of opposition (mainly from the ML's mom). The mom tries to control the ML the whole show; she doesn't seem to care about his feelings or opinions.

There are a couple suggestive, heart-fluttering, and sweet moments but not much direct physical contact. There is a kiss or two but they were mostly head-blocked.

The ending is okay; happy but brief and without any physical contact.

I was disgruntled with the gay representation and then a bit weirded out by something the FL does regarding a potential infection of AIDS...

SPECIFIC SPOILERS on that below:

... ... ...

- The scum SML certainly deserved retribution, but it didn't sit well that the ML and FL threatened to out him (as bi) to the public to make him step down. In addition to sleeping with the SFL, the SML also slept with an effeminate man and the ML set up a recording of it.
- Also, after a rough fight between the ML and SML, the hospital finds that the SML has AIDS and there's a chance the ML could have been infected through wounds during the fight.
- So the "bad guy" is shamefully bi, sleeps with an "obviously" gay man, and also has a bad "gay disease" that threatens the protagonist. I didn't appreciate the tone they presented all of this in.
- In addition to that, while they wait for the results, the FL wants to stay with the ML but he wants to push her away. He cuts his hand and she purposefully sucks on it! I get that she wants to show how much she loves him and wants to be with him, but that was just stupid and seems to make light of, or brush off, the serious consequences that disease can have.

... ... ...

Leia Mais

Watch for the spunky lead actress, otherwise forgettable.

General spoilers below.
The lead actors have talent especially the FL, the FL character is feisty, strong and optimistic, the SML is likeable and respectful of the FL's feelings and choices, and the ML puts in a lot of effort to win back the FL. However, character progression is choppy, especially for the ML who feels like he's written as a completely different person about half way through. There isn't really any sexual tension, and the few brief kisses are either DFK (dead fish kisses) or head-blocked. There is the typical obsessed SFL who resorts to immoral means to get her guy and there's no retribution or consequences shown for the last drastic thing that she did. There are a few moments of sweetness here and there, and there is a happy ending.

This is a vertically filmed mini series just under 2 hours, and I watched it in "movie" format on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/8C4y-___VBM?si=C9A-MTS2Kw8uDdmH

Leia Mais

Surprisingly Good

A vertically filmed micro drama (I rate these on their own sliding scale). The screenplay and acting (of the leads) is better than many stories with the same basic plot points (I will refer to these as "plot clones" below). This one had multiple things that exceeded my expectations and thus I've rated it a little higher than I might otherwise; it managed to be more fresh, interesting, and even thoughtful in spots (when compared to other plot clones). I may even rewatch this after some time has passed.

Both leads are good actors (enough so that I'll be looking up their other works) and they have great chemistry, and that's a good enough selling point for many.
What sets this production apart from many plot clones, in my opinion, is that:

General Spoilers below:

- Both lead characters were likeable
- While there was some push-and-pull between the leads (due to misunderstandings from other's lies), there was never any real animosity
- There were a couple of clever/funny/memorable lines.
- The FL was written as a genuine and smart character who was hardworking and had some skills beyond looking pretty.
- The ML starts to admire her quickly, and it actually makes sense, and he looks at her with warmth a lot.
- There are more kisses and intimate scenes than just the one at the beginning (though short they are satisfying).
- There is a wonderfully unique reaction of the FL to an advance made by the ML while he's drunk (I don't want to spoil it by saying more, but you will definitely know when you see it!)
- The screenplay actually shows the leads figuring out and processing all the lies they were each told and some of the emotional impact of that.
- There is satisfying retribution for the main antagonist.
- The SML (childhood friend) remains respectful of the FL and her feelings/choices.
- There's a cute/sweet proposal moment.
- Though not subtle, there are some good messages
- There are likeable and supportive parents or grandparents for the leads.

Now, there IS a reprehensible SFL who is desperate for the ML and does all sorts of shenanigans to get him, but that was expected (it's integral to these plot clones).

The costumes were good and flattering for both leads, and the red wedding dress at the end is gorgeous.

The English subtitles where I found it are sufficient; not great but not the worst I've seen either. The Humor in dialogue still manages to come across. The pronouns are often wrong ("he" instead of "she" for example) but that's a common mistake because, as I understand it, Mandarin doesn't have gender pronouns (just uses "ta" to refer to another person).

Thank you to Jwells who shared in a comment on the main page multiple links for this series on YouTube with English subtitles.

SPECIFIC SPOILERS below on the ending and the very basic plot points that this series shares with other plot clones.

... ... ...

It's a HE with the leads starting the walk down the aisle for their marriage. The actual ceremony is not shown but it's a joyful and sweet ending shot.

Basic plot for this and other clones:
- A drunk/drugged one night stand with a stranger
- FL finds out she works for the ML who is a CEO
- ML doesn't recognize her
- The SFL takes advantage of this and pretends she was the one night stand and makes the ML "take responsibility" by becoming her boyfriend
- The SFL tries to sabotage the FL at work but this only enables the FL to showcase her good qualities
- The FL turns out to be pregnant
- The SFL pretends to be pregnant to force the ML to stay with her
- The ML eventually figures out that the FL was his one night stand and he is the father

There were a few other things that happened with the plot in this version in addition to the basics listed above.

Leia Mais

Bizarre.

Bizarre. A 12min long film that's not worth the time except for a realistic kissing scene at 5min 40sec in. Or unless you want to laugh at the cringness! It's a string of WTF moments.

It felt like scenes were shot to compliment the dramatic classical music chosen, instead of the other way around. Kind of like mini music videos with not much connecting them together. The pacing is weird; more time is spent on the music video vignettes than on conversations or realistic/meaningful interactions.

There's not much dialogue, but what is there is awkward and overly dramatic, starting with a sob story that felt like over-sharing in that context. There's an immediate power imbalance with a director and a newbie actor and after their first meeting, the film jumps to them acting like a couple for awhile, then jumps ahead again. There's nothing to get emotionally invested in because we're not shown any of the progression in their connection/relationship.

I found this on YouTube in the USA.

Leia Mais

Silly and more fun if not taken seriously. *Not a romantic story! The twist at the end was unexpected and somewhat humorous; it felt like a lot of build up for one big joke though. 29min. I was expecting a little more depth (with characters and emotions) in this longer short film since it's produced by Strongberry and they can do so much with 10 to 20 minutes. If you don't expect that, you may enjoy this more.

The comedic style didn't really work for me (didn't make me laugh) but it was consistantly applied throughout by the actors and director. There was a lot shown for the sex scene, but it’s also done in a comedic vein and I didn't find the way it was approached very enticing.

Edited: The Hangul that shows up by each person at the end are not speech bubbles (as I originally thought) but the names of the character / actor.

I won't rewatch.

Leia Mais

Lovely, With Heart-Warming Plot Twist.

The plot twist is easily missed because the translation of a word at the end is ambiguous in English! When the word "couple" is said during a phone call, think of it as "life partner" or "romantic partner". That will clarify the twist. This is based on Stongberry's (the production company) responses to viewer's comments here & on other platforms.

20min. Loved this, only wish there was more, but it ends at a good spot. The 2 leads actually interact like an established couple. It's realistic and so cute/sweet. The arrival of the brother leads to both humorous and emotional moments. The twist at the end made me rewatch the film immediately and I enjoyed it even more!

Yes, the brother is rude and annoying when he arrives, but there IS a reason for this that the shift in perspective at the end explains. (Details under "spoilers" below, but I highly recommend watching the movie first.)

A nice comment from Strongberry on Vimeo said, "Sometimes we argue, but I think trying to understand each other is a true family. This movie wanted to show that kind of family."

Watch the movie first, then, if you still want clarification on why the brother acts as he does, I've shortly explained it then pasted another viewer's comment below that summarizes the situation AND Strongberry's response confirming it:

.........

SPECIFIC SPOILERS

.........

At first, the brother is rude on purpose to test out his brother's partner. At the end, a month has passed and the way all three of them walk up the hill with arms around each other shows they have grown a strong comaraderie, which indicates the brother doesn't stay unlikable.

Comment by estar:
"This was so sweet - especially when u get to the end and u "get" that the mother and brother know all along, and are just checking up on the big-brother's partner to make sure he is an "ok" worthy person. Yeah at the start Yeong Min is a total abrasive brat, that u wanna punch - but "getting" that he's not being a d*ck just to be a d*ck, it was a sweet conclusion to a otherwise fun, well thought out plot."

Response by Strongberry:
"...You have a good grasp of the meaning of this movie. Thank you."

Leia Mais

Made me laugh. Only the idea is interesting.

Made me laugh... because it was terribly done. It's kind of an interesting idea for the premise, but you can probably imagine it better than this film shows it. 14 minutes long yet with some slow filler shots that don't add anything. Obviously low budget. Nothing good to say but it didn't mentally scar me, so it gets a 1.5.

SPOILERS:

........

The "sex" is very awkward bunny bumping, the classical music chosen doesn't fit at all, the stalker walks around so blatently creepy there's no way people *wouldn't* notice him, the "pervert" acts like another stalker actually who wants to be in a relationship and gets upset when the other guy doesn't want to, the non-consent & rape struggle goes on for a bit before it's interupted, and what exactly is keeping the cloth in the perverts mouth at the end- he could just spit it out, but doesn't because that would mess up the end tableau!

Leia Mais

Laughable Attempt At Both Realism Or Fantasy.

General Spoilers about the first 33min only.
Not much substance, the dialogue is corny, and the acting is wooden. The club setting is dark and grimy so I was, appropriately, expecting more gritty physical transactions rather than romance. Even so, I got to the first sex scene and... burst out laughing! That's just... so unrealistic it was awkward to watch; it's not how anal sex goes at all, especially for someone's first time receiving (stradle and down immediately with no prep and no lube).

And the cringey "love confession" in the middle that's based on nothing, especially since there is basically no foreplay, was weird (even for the lust-at-first-sight angle they were going for).

Also, no condom with the guy who says he's had sex with 2-3,000 guys? Yes, thousands. I shudder in horror at the thought.

The film already felt like it was probably a waste of time but that sex scene clinched it and I dropped it at 33 minutes. It didn't leave a mental scar though, so 1.5/10.

Perhaps the movie gets better because the average MDL rating is a 5.4, but the first 33min didn't make me interested to find out.

Leia Mais

2 parts. Review for One Night only.

2 parts! Night Bug and One Night. I watched One Night. *My rating is for that only. Watched on GagaOOLala (Dec 2023).
General Spoilers below.
The theme of expectations vs reality came up repeatedly throughout, in big and little things, though in a way that was intrinsically part of the storytelling (not hit over the head with it). It was a well done 35min film. It is not a happy ending but it's not tragic either, and it IS a realistic young adult gay experience. The feelings can be relatable for others too- the ease and naivete of young crushes, especially when sex is involved, and disappointments from realities.

The bond and playfulness between the three young friends is great and often humorous. I loved them. For two of them, their experiences from their visit to Seoul will leave an emotional wound but they will continue on with their lives. The acting felt natural, especially from the three boys, as did the intimate scene between Geun Ho and Joon.

Leia Mais

Toxic Adaptation Removes The Fun.

An unsettling adaptation from both the manga or the Japanese movie. The comedic elements that make the manga and movie work, get twisted oddly in this melodramatic re-imagining. The plot and characters (especially the secondary and tertiary characters) are all over the place and poorly written. I only got through these 10 episodes by watching at 2x the speed and fast-forwarding in addition to that.

General Spoilers below.
There is so much toxicity in this series. Everyone treats Anda like sh*t and emotionally manipulates him. He's always made to feel like he should say sorry when other people are the ones out of line. Parents are abusive (forcing him to do entertainment work when his stage fright is so bad that he can faint or get fevers) and his brother is massively controlling and secretly installs a gps tracker on his phone. Ryou does become supportive eventually but before then his actions are disturbing.

The way Ryou forcibly removes Anda's shirt to make him "prove" he isn't a girl is so wrong. And he NEVER apologizes, instead turns what happens in that scene into a way to coerce Anda into doing a photoshoot with him- knowing it's going to trigger his anxiety but wanting to make him "conquer" it, which is also the wrong way to go about that (and Ryou doesn't apologize for that either). Ryou non-consentualy kissing Anda repeatedly when he's sleeping is uncomfortable enough in the Japanese movie but at least they try to keep the tone light and only do quick pecks on the lips; though it's tasteless, it's kept as a joke. In the series, Ryou very seriously fully makes out with Anda's lips while he's dead asleep and it is flat out creepy.

The makeout scene in Ep 6 part 4 and love scene in Ep 7 part 3 are passionate (though the characters have drunk a lot for the first one). Sadly, that's the best thing to say about this series.

There's more that is uncomfortable/unsettling, silly, or frusterating with this series, but I don’t want to waste any more time on it so I'm ending my review here.

Leia Mais

Realistic And Quietly Touching.

Spoiler only at end of review. A beautiful, somber yet hopeful film. Thoughtful, touching, and deeply resonating. Addresses multiple thoughts and internal struggles in a realistic way. I really appreciated how the film explored the relationship between a gay man and a heteroflexible man. The story shows how insecurities from past experiences, societal expectations, and different gender identities can influence someone to hold themselves back from happiness out of fears that are often warrented in the real world.

I found on YouTube (in The USA Jan 2024). In the comments I learned that the word written on the cigarette box means "forbidden". This is really helpful to know because it has a symbolic tie-in with the characters.

The physical intimacy was a little stilted but part of that could have been the editing. It ultimately didn't detract from the film.

The thing that frustrated me was how many wide-angle shots there were. Even though it was beautiful cinematography, it was emotionally distancing. Watching scenes from half a room away meant that I often couldn't see the actor's faces clearly (and sometimes not at all). I think the film could have been even more emotionally powerful had I been able to tune into the character's emotions playing across their faces as they talked and looked at each other. This did impact my satisfaction and my rating.

Otherwise, the cinematography and lightning is gorgeous and had a beautiful lonely feel to it that underscored the long-standing psychological state of the characters. The composition of frames and the contrast of light/dark and colors was masterful, especially in the longer still shots. The instrumental music was understated and complimented all the scenes well.

Side note: I also like Yuan's review on MDL.

SPOILER ON THE ENDING:

While the technicalities of how the two will proceed when they work in different cities is left up in the air, the reunion and reconciliation is successful. The ending is mostly satisfying. The end shot felt like an add for Marlboro cigarettes though, which wasn't to my taste (and it wasn't like that in the manga). Update: However, after learning that the translation of the word on the cigarette box is "forbidden", the ending tableau makes a lot more sense.

Leia Mais