Reviews

Ohm P maybe

I'll grade it as I see it:
Ohm P = B-
Ohm T = C
Papang = C+
James = C
Leng = D
Kidnap = D

Reason:
Ohm P is a very natural actor. Even with a terrible script he still manages to bring some charm to his character and tries to elevate a series that should have been better fine tuned before filming. I truly love seeing him on screen so he gets a pass, though even here he seems a bit too relaxed. His talent was wasted here.

Ohm T is also adorable. He is believable as a sick brother and brings the humor which really helps. Again, the script would have someone who had open heart surgery up and about in a few days like nothing happened. They should have chosen a different medical condition. (Idk....Temporary paralysis due to trauma from parents death. With Min going bankrupt due to rehabilitation and therapy bills. Min feeling guilty due to him causing their death. At one of Mhen's therapy sessions he meets Q.) This scenario might have been more in line with the acting level displayed here.

Papang is a very proficient support actor. He can fit in many roles and he did okay. The thing is, the industry probably doesn't see him possessing the 'IT' factor to carry a series. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love him and have never been disappointed with his acting. They know how good he is that's why he's everywhere. I would like to see him more, even as a second lead with something of substance. Another actor's potential wasted.

Title was all over the place with his roles and I do mean roles. First he was Min's agent, then he was part of the underworld, then surprisingly he became a production assistant, then back to being an informant and finally an actor with aspirations of producing his own film. Couldn't they just pick one? You didn't know whether he was coming or going. He brought some comic relief where needed, so he, also, gets a pass. His acting or his roles could have done with a few more workshops.

Leng is new and one of the downsides of the series. Give him time and he will get better but here it was very obvious. He did fit with Ohm but that is because Ohm is a skilled actor. Leng's body language and facial expressions need work. Real hard work. His interactions came across as rehearsed steps and were not fluid. Out of character, he appears to be fun and open with a big dose of charm. Hoping that he can tap into that for future roles. This vehicle was too much for him.

Script - this was a hodgepodge of scenes stitched together with a plot that verred between a love story, a family drama, an action drama and fantasy. Pick two and mix well, not all four. The expectation of it finally hitting its stride never materialized. This is probably the weakest film for Ohm P but as stated before, he is forgiven. Ohm P makes you believe, even a little. Every Friday, Kidnap did not kidnap me, Ohm P did. The terrible script and sub par acting greatly affected the outcome. At the end, the film within the film, saw Ohm's presence shine more than the original film. So that in itself says alot.

It's watchable but no wow factor. Rewatch....Ohmmmmmm maybe.

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my two cents

honestly i have not been so active in dropping my reviews on MDL but i had to pen down my thoughts on this one. I did a short review in my X account but i will elaborate here on my objective thoughts of this production

disclaimer though, as a haoyan fan, i had been waiting for this collab since 2021. altho the drama production was surrounded by many skeptical comments and slanders, it still came out as a drama that was worth it and even rising to be global sensation with the international results it has achieved.

i shall not elaborate on the synopsis but i will pen what i liked and disliked about the drama:

- character development. i love that while this was a female centric drama, the development was parallel for both the male lead and female lead.
> For Zijing, no doubt he was a tragic character, carrying the burden of his family's massacre and tainted reputation and also traumatic childhood being imprisoned by his enemy for 8 years!!! suffering an incurable poison at that. his ending was bound to be a tragic one from the get go but it didnt matter to him until duanwu appeared. he lived only for revenge and was determined to die for it too. but duanwu made him rethink his decision ... from having no longing in this world, to having a reason to live... but by the time he realizes this his days were numbered. however, the ending while they didnt show him explicity dying, it was a realistic one. we all know he died in the end... but its just tragic he chooses to die away from his loved ones and perhaps no one will know where he was buried.
> For Duanwu, she was a consistent character. her spirit is to never give in to fate because she believed that everything is possible with one's will and she proved it from escaping the pearl farm, working her way up the yan trade convoy, becoming su muzhe and making a name of her own in yangzhou. she has a painful childhood, and witness time and again her loved ones leaving her ... but she didnt made revenge her only purpose in life. instead, she used it as a driving force to become better and stronger because as i said, she isnt one to surrender to fate. but what really crushed me was, despite her successes in the end, she lost everyone that were dear to her. especially losing zijing... their love enough wasnt enough to withstand the tragic fate that beholds them. like she said, their ending would have been very much different if they werent born into their respective families.
> as a couple: no doubt the chemistry was perfect! second collaboration always work for me because there's already tacit understanding between the two. also no doubts lusi has chemistry with every male lead she had worked with. plus despite the negative comments on the cnet, she recommended yuning to be her costar for this production. and they are serving both visuals, and chemistry way more than my expectations. i love that their love also grew to withstand time, from puppy love at the start, their fateful separation and getting back together where they live a simple life together... it was SOOO GOOD.
> bonus shoutout to jinran because he was such a good second male lead! he was quite forward with his feelings. but i did felt he confessed at the wrong time. he confessed at the time when he didnt understand duanwu like zijing did and perhaps like how duanwu felt, his affections perhaps to duanwu was only a form of protection, which isnt what she wants. she craves for freedom in her way. but jinran does grow to understand that, and was supportive of her and zijing till the end. rendering help to them as a couple and as individuals and telling duanwu he will remain a brother to her. then wanting to release a prisoner so that zijing can get the antidote.... PLUS PLUS POINTS TO THIS SML!!!
- acting wise : for leads acting were stunning. comparing to their previous works, both acting have improved! especially the microexpressions and using eyes to express their emotions. also, thankful they allow lusi and yuning to use their original voices here. it made their emotional scenes 100000x more relatable. the best & most memorable scene for me was their last scene together. even with the minimal dialogue it worked because they the drama allowed us to see their growth, and how their love went through hardships but they still they could not fulfil a simple promise of being with each other everyday in the end. the part where duanwu was drinking the longevity porridge and fed the first mouth to zijing because that was her wish to him. she fulfilled everything she wanted to but she knows she is losing him and he know his departure will mean forever ... she was begging and my heart was breaking. and for zijing, you could tell he really want to said yes to staying by her side, it was just a simple "ok" but... he knew he could not say it because he was about to die. and that hug was so painful because he achieved his lifelong dream and completed his revenge but he wasnt as fearless as before. he has a reason to live now but its all too late.....
- story wise: i liked that the story was rich and they set a strong foundation right from the start. all the choices made were logical given the circumstances the characters were in that we cant even blame them for it. we are moving with the plot as they moved to different cities. it was a good mixture of comedy, tragedy, familial, scheming, i think the emotions were also well balanced throughout the plot.

on the negatives which i could mostly overlooked but i had to point out:
- i felt the pacing in first 20 eps were better. it seems that the writing & pacing had changed after ep 20. i felt more detached. ..perhaps it was also because they killed off the yan's caravan people which we had grown to like in the first 20 eps. it was quite detaching for me as i couldnt had the same intensity of affections to the new family at Clear Mind.
- i couldnt vibe with the second couple (shijiu and zheng zhiheng), their romance didn't seem necessary to the plot. but the scene where zhiheng sacrificed for shijiu did made me tear a little. but still i think we didnt needed their sub love plot here
- too idealistic successes: this is very apparent if you compared the guangzhou and yangzhou days. when still in the caravan, duanwu had so much setbacks in making it to the business troop. but when she just stepped foot into yangzhou, she was almost able to succeed in opening clear mind immediately by making a bet on huanlang... although she did face problems after opening the business but the way she founded clear mind seem to idealistic to me
- duanwu's relationship with shijiu: i really hoped they remained as frenemies. the whole plot of them becoming besties at the end seems too forced...and awkward for me. but perhaps thats the whole intention of a female centric drama...

all in love, the second collab didnt fail me and exceeded my expectations in terms of the storyline and execution. even though the ending was regrettable, it was the most reasonable and realistic ending given the circumstances and situation that we cant even blame the writer for making this ending! that's very satisfactory for me as there are so many bad endings in cdramas that are uncalled for nowadays. it almost seems like they write BE for the sake of it.

my only wish is for yuning to take on happier roles like haodu, he has been dying too much in his dramas (7/9 of his main character dramas that are not cameos ends up dead) that him acting in pain/ poisoned felt so real. also if possible (chances are slim) i wish lusi and yuning can have a third collab in romcom modern please...........I AM WILLING TO INVEST

p.s i rated lower for the rewatch because the pain was too much for me yet i cant blame anyone for it

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This short but unsullied movie, broken into 7 episodes, is surprisingly effective and very entertaining. While a few cringe worthy scenarios brought it down a few notches, there is one big framework that catapults it back up into the stratosphere, making it exceptionally rare for a KBL. This is an obviously low-budget production that has essentially two main characters and only a smattering of other characters. Thus, it is character driven.

Sales Team 2 has just received word of its dissolution because of a management crisis. Han U Jin (Jung Jae Bin) is the team leader and must wrap things up with all the partners in a few months. With no one left to assist him, Yun Su An (Jeon Ju Bin) is assigned to help him with closing details. Unbeknownst to Yun, Han harbored a previous fascination with him. For reasons unknown, he has awakened within Han memories of meeting him many years ago while Yun was working at a coffee shop. He became enamored with him then. Han is now surprised and delighted to see him standing before him as his new assistant. Han is rather inept at trying to win Yun’s attention over and comes dangerously close to harassment on several occasions. That indeed could have been handled better. The term ‘awkward’ comes to mind immediately.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/11/23/my-damn-business-series-review-ep-1-to-7/

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One of My Favorite This Year!!

One man’s yearning to express his hidden desires to his loved one led to “the catastrophe of heaven”!

“Love Game in Eastern Fantasy” premise boils down to one thing- authors can be pretty peculiar, as is Fu Zhou. Terminally sick, he wrote a novel in his childhood about his crush; in the current times, as a popular author, he published the same novel. The unexpected twist being that his supposed childhood crush, Ling Miaomiao is now his biggest fan and somehow she gets pulled into the novel where Fu Zhou himself acts as a supporting character paired opposite her. This show becomes a “revolving door” phenomenon, because of the said author’s vivid imagination; but it is by far the most entertaining transmigration story that I have watched in a long time. Esther Yu & Ding Yu Xi have a naturally affable chemistry, their romance is overrated or loud; their fights, arguments and bickering are epic. Not to be left behind, Zhu Xu Dan & Yang Shi Ze have their own somber romance that is mature and subtle.

Read the complete article here-

https://kcdramamusings.wordpress.com/2024/11/23/love-game-in-eastern-fantasy-series-review/

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Why was this show so perfect?

Okay, so I know some will say this was boring and nothing really happened but literally so much happened! This was a beautifully told character driven show about over coming personally and emotional obstacles in order to grow not only for yourself but for the people in your life. The characters and conflicts were so incredibly realistic and relatable that it has been impossible for me to stop thinking about them. I related to Diew so much and I could see myself in his character. The time he took to open up to God and to feel comfortable was so amazing, I really like that nothing about it was instant. The characters, both Diew and God, took their time getting to know one another and really developing their trust for one another. I was able to understand the conflict from both characters points of view. It was very well acted and I hope these actors have many more projects in the future.

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interesting dynamic

Overall: I like the nervous office worker compared to the collected bad boy gangster; however, only episodes 1-3 are free to watch https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIBpX20YnmIiP897j9WiDoGMXkS_5XZE5&si=pq9pgBL_1VRDtGEo
The rest must be watched/paid on the mov, Inc app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=movie.mov.app&pli=1 / https://apps.apple.com/us/app/short-movie-tv-mov/id6648779972

Content Warning: fight

What I Liked
- their dynamic
- easy to understand plot
- visuals

Room For Improvement
- with only 10 episodes they could have moved the story along a bit faster (episode 3 had a large chunk of flashback)
- fight scene looked/sounded very fake

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OhmLeng make it work it!

I was hesitant with this one at first. I was going to wait until the whole show as up before watching, but Ohm and Leng's chemistry was too hard to resist and definitely carried the show for me. The plot was interesting and I enjoyed the "action" element. I really liked that we actually got to see Leng's character work through his trauma and seek out help and was honest with the fact that he wanted to do it for someone else. It was super refreshing to see his trauma not just magically "fixed" once he and Ohm's character became official. His dad just disappeared in the last episode and I though that was kind of lame since he was a major source of conflict for Leng; he could've had one little scene instead of only being mentioned.

Overall, I would recommend this one, but I don't think I would rewatch it. I am excited though and hope Ohm and Leng do another project in the future.

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Esperava um pouco mais

Fui assistir Goblin com grandes expectativas, afinal, todos falavam muito bem. A história é muito boa, meu tipo favorito, porém, em muitos pontos, deixou a desejar.
A história, em algumas partes, ficou confusa e sem nexo, deixando algumas perguntas sem resposta e ficando por isso mesmo. O principal motivo da nota geral desse drama, para mim, ser mais baixa, foi por isso e pelo desenvolvimento de algumas coisas.
O casal principal não me conquistou tanto, diferente do secundário. Para mim, o secundário foi bem mais desenvolvimento e coerente, me conquistando demais.

[INÍCIO DO SPOILER]
Uma das coisas que mais fiquei indignada foi, depois que o goblin morreu pelas mãos da Euntak, quando ele voltou, ele continuou sendo imortal e com os mesmos poderes. Isso não fazia nem sentido visto que, ele tendo morrido, a maldição dele em ser um goblin teria acabado. Se fosse assim, a Euntak não correria mais risco de vida e eles poderiam ficar juntos durante uma vida inteira sem preocupações.
[FIM DO SPOILER]

Enfim, odiei o final por motivos acima (menos do casal secundário, a história deles foi perfeita) e queria que algumas coisas tivessem sido mais claras.

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Um dos melhores dramas políticos.

Durante os primeiros 8 episódios não estava muito cativada pelo enredo, mas continuei pois tinha curiosidade de saber como as coisas iriam caminhar.
Ainda não finalizei ele por motivos de: estou agoniada com a parte em que estou e eu só queria meu casal juntinho e em paz.
Eu só sei que esse drama me cativou DEMAIS depois de alguns episódios. A atuação dos atores foi EXCELENTE e a história, por mais que as vezes um pouco arrastada, acaba sendo ideal para o tipo de história.
A química dos casais, principalmente do principal, é absurda de boa. Na primeira "interação" da Changge e do Ashina Sun (os protagonista), eu já estava completamente rendida por eles. E, durante todos os episódios seguintes foi assim.
Só achei a história, em alguns aspectos, um pouco confusa e, em algumas partes, acelerada demais, ocultando algumas informações/cenas que gostaria de ter visto como aconteceram ao invés de só deixar subentendido. Também fiquei um pouco chateada/confusa que, na sinopse, faz basicamente um resumo dos primeiros 16 episódios. (até agora não entendi porquê contaram tanto)
Enfim, eu espero ter coragem de finalizar esse drama, mas eu, por enquanto, estou sendo covarde e não quero ver tudo dando errado.
Mas, por favor, dêem uma chance e assistam pois ele é MUITO BOM.

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soap opera-y vertical micro BL series

Overall: it was decently entertaining and I liked one of the MLs. Aired on the app ShortMax.

App Info - this series takes about a week to watch for free. Episodes 1-7 are free and then I could watch 5 episodes with ads. The daily check in, watching 6 more ads got me about 4 more episodes a day (so 9 episodes each day and 62 paid episodes). Some of the other apps only take 2-3 days but it wasn't as bad as Please Teach Me which took me 13 days to watch for free.

Content Warnings: attempted murder, past suicide, trauma, kidnapping, violence, drugging, slaps, non con touching, manhandling, non con photo taking/posting, choke, manipulation

What I Liked
- a main character stood up for himself/decided to get what he wanted
- good kissing
- caring moments

Room For Improvement
- the cliche wannabe fiancee character
- did both teacher/student and boss/employee tropes
- voice overs
- bad crying
- 3 kidnappings in 2 hours runtime, 1 guy was slapped by 5 different people

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Simplesmente o melhor romance que já vi.

Não sou muito chegada a romances modernos, mas esse me prendeu de uma forma...
O desenvolvimento dos personagens é simplesmente INCRÍVEL, principalmente depois que a protagonista foi para faculdade.
Lembrando que: mesmo o protagonista tendo conhecido ela quando criança, ele não tinha interesse amoroso nela !!! Ele a via como uma irmãzinha, enquanto ela tinha a paixonite por ele. O romance entre eles só realmente começa depois de ela, já adulta, vai para a faculdade na cidade natal dele. Dai, depois de saírem juntos (a princípio, como amigos) e passarem por algumas situações que os sentimentos dele mudaram.
Inclusive, se seu medo era do relacionamento deles ser estranho por causa disso, não tenha!!
Recomendo muito assistir.

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Não tenho palavras para descrever o quanto amo

The Untamed foi meu primeiro drama histórico chinês. No começo, eu estava completamente perdida, não entendendo nada do que tava acontecendo. E, ok, é normal, já que a linha do tempo desse drama é um pouco confusa (de estar no presente, voltar ao passado e depois voltar para o presente de novo).
Primeiramente, reclamei bastante de ter basicamente 30 episódios só de flashback, mas acabou que, desse jeito, foi muito mais fácil de entender do que se ficasse indo e voltando entre presente e passado.
Em relação a obra original, mesmo com todos os empecilhos de censura, The Untamed fez uma adaptação excelente. Mesmo que a história do Ferro Yin tenha sido um pouco confusa (e algo a mais, pois não tem isso na novel) provavelmente foi uma manobra para deixarem os Wangxian tendo mais tempo juntos.
O desenvolvimento deles, apesar de toda a censura, foi uma das coisas mais lindas que eu já vi. Os atores conseguiram também transmitir muito bem todos os sentimentos dos personagens e dava para entender apenas pelos olhares. A confiança e o conforto que eles possuem um no outro... É de outro mundo.
Não posso deixar de falar do elenco, que foi simplesmente FANTÁSTICO, eu não tenho do que reclamar. Todos foram incríveis em seus papéis. Em especial, deixo um apelo ao Xiao Zhan (que interpretou o Wuxian), pois ele realmente se entregou de corpo e alma para esse papel.
Por fim, recomendo MUITO The Untamed, recomendo também a história original "mo dao zu shi" (só cuidado pois a história não é censurada e é mais pesada).

obs.: quem gostar da história original, recomendo "tian guan ci fu"! Eles até gravaram uma live-action chamada "eternal faith", mas tá difícil sair por conta da censura ??

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When the phone rings I’ll answer your call

I have been waiting what seems like ages for this drama. I’m a fan of both leads and know they are great at what they do. What I haven’t seen from the both of them was a genre like this for the pair, so I’m happy to see something sort of new.

Dramas are getting stale for me these days but I always knew I was going to tune into this one. I’ll be honest though, say what I like and what I don’t.

What I’ll say right away is that the first episode hooks you in through the first scene alone. You wonder about the relationship of the leads and how it go to that point. Why is the husband so narcissistic? Why does the wife stay silent? How and why are they together?

It is clear it’s based on a contract, but I hope it goes into each layer and detail as to why. Thriller is a perfect genre for this idea and I know I’ve seen many contract marriage drama before.. but going the thriller route with it is such a smart move from a writing standpoint. Having all these questions hook the viewer, and to add to that you’ve got great visuals and chemistry.

I’ll comment briefly and add each episode though. I’m used to dramas being great the first few episodes and then really showing their true colors of not knowing what they are doing. Dramas greatest weakness are the runtimes being too long or too short these days. Thrillers have an advantage of being a slow burn though, so I am ok with a bit of slow build up as long as there are visual clues and smart dialogue that tie into each mystery.

Cha Soobin took a great role. She is very sincere with her acting and has a charm to her the same as Yoo Yeon Seok does. It’s seems like a pairing made from the heavens to me. What I’m happy to see is tension, the isolation within the relationship. I really wonder if the romance will work out or if it will be entirely a thriller and have one against the other. Soobin as I said is genuinely full of charm, and is quite cute in all her roles. Here although she isn’t as outspoken, she is just as cute. She is styled amazingly and her straight and long hair looks so stunning. She is quiet but has the acting chops to fill up her role with subtle expressions and emotions.

Yoo Yeon Seok is playing a tricky character. I don’t really know what to say of the lead he’s playing for now, I am enjoying that he is a demeaning figure. Obviously he is oppressive, but to play that sort of role and still have likability.. the man is doing it and it’s impressive. Also he of course is styled so well and looks beyond handsome. If only the couple were actually happy and perfect as they look haha

This is the only kdrama I’m watching at the moment but seriously that’s a lot for me. It means it is worth while and worth my time, so I would recommend.

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First Impression: Winter is Not the Death of Summer but the Birth of Spring

Overall: I'm intrigued based on the unique premise. Airing on YouTube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0Njz75725bXKH1h92Yn-RCgu5EZb_SW-&si=P7Jx-VCWqEIUqr_b

Content Warning: non con touching

What I Liked
- unique premise
- caring moment/head on shoulder
- aired 4 episodes at once (as they are all less than 9 minutes if you take out the end credits)

Room For Improvement
- voice over exposition
- I'm not familiar with the Thai prison system but it seemed odd they had a fully stocked music room and library based on the other facilities
- not sure where they are going based on the ending of episode 4

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