Word of Honor

“Wen…Wen Kexing” answered The Chief of Ghost Valley while casually fanning himself with a gigantic traditional hand fan. T-t-that is one of my favourite scene from the series. Also this one:

Thank you for coming to my TED talk, you may now walk out of here. JUST KIDDING! Please stay because I want to scream at you for not telling me about this series sooner I always say this and I always end up blaming myself. Anyway, go log into your Netflix account and start watching this amazing series or else…

Score

Storyline : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ (9/10)

Plot : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ (09/10)

Pace : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)

Acting : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Rewatch value : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ (10/10)

Storyline

The story is about Zhou Zishu (ZZ), a leader of an assassin organisation who wants to retire from his evil job. There is one thing stopping him, though. The organisation does not allow any of their members to retire. In reality, I think the rule is good because they are so evil they don’t deserve a good life (but then I changed my mind at the end so wth). If they really really want to retire, the only thing they can do is to embed nails inside their body at 7 acupuncture points to repress their martial art abilities. But of course there is going to be a catch, after the embedding of the nails, the person can only live for 3 years. Only then they can leave the castle. So, being a brave human that he is (well, he has nothing to lose really because he has no one in the world left to care for), ZZ asked for those 7 nails to be embedded in his body and then he goes on his merry way. You thought it ends after that? Yiu thought wrooong! There are complications, ZZ is going to die slowly. He will lose his 5 senses very very slowly before he eventually will succumb to death. Basically, he’s going to be sick and it will get worse until he drops dead. Because of that, he decided to be a homeless and went to have an adventure to spend his remaining time.

During his adventure, ZZ meets a lot of people. some of them are nice, some of them are not. He still needs to fight people sometimes and that takes a toll to his own body. Well, because he’s not supposed to use his martial art skills with the while dying. So basically, ZZ is a walking deadman. One day he meets this one guy, very randomly. This random guy introduced himself as Wen Kexing (WX). To ZZ’s surprise and annoyance, this guy follows ZZ everywhere because WX was in love with ZZ at first sight could sense that ZZ is lying to him about his identity, so WX swears that he will find out about ZZ identity himself. At some point WX finds out about the 7 nails inside ZZ body and he gets very distraught, so he set a goal for himself to try his best to safe the man his loves ZZ. So their adventure starts from there. They also adopted a couple of children find young friends along the way and help trained them to be better at martial art. Oh yeah, I almost forget to mention that the cultivation world (where ZZ and WX live) was in state of chaos, so people outside the castle were fighting each other to get a secret key. This key, many believed, could lead to an armoury that holds the answers to all the secrets and questions in the world. So, during their adventure, both ZZ and WX get themselves trapped in between the civil war. Mostly because WX have this brilliant idea that he can safe ZZ and prevent him from dying if they both can get this secret key (to open the armoury and then look for a sacred book there). Poor ZZ, he just wants to retire and lives his life as a normal human being but the universe said no. Well, WX is kind of his universe and he also said no to dying, so poor ZZ.

Characters

Wen Kexing is my most favourite character. He’s super stylist, you have to see his outfits on every episode, so beautiful. He’s also dramatic and clingy, so adorable. Can you believe that this man who acts like a worried puppy in front of ZZ is actually The Chief of Ghost Valley? Let me repeat, THE CHIEF! Well, what is a Ghost Valley? It is a far and remote place where evil people and all people who are considered dead to the world live. He is a menace to his employees, but he is a sweetheart to the people he cares about. So f-ing adorable.

Zhou Zishu, I don’t think he ever expected to be able to feel alive again and wanting to life again. However, after meeting WX, I think, he changes his mind. Reluctantly at first, but then he realises that he still has the ability to care about and for someone else. It’s so beautiful. He also is fully aware that he was an evil person and how he need to repent himself for all of his wrongdoings. He is a man of a few words and very chill compared to his partner, WX.

Gu Xiang and Wei Ning are two other people who I love and adore so much. I love them so much it hurts me physically. I believe in love again after watching them, they support and love each other regardless of who they were supposed to be.

Cheng ling, I am actually proud of him. There are some moments that I was very disappointed by him but I understand where is is coming from and what he went through. Finding out about your teacher’s secret and it has something to do with your own family is going to be hard for ALL people. Regardless, I like him, I like seeing what he turned out to be at the end.

Last but not least is Ye Bai Yi. I love this old man, I love how weird he is and I love how blunt and frontal he could get sometimes. His “I don’t fucking care about all these shits because I am tired of y'all” persona is so interesting. I thought he was one of the bad guy at some point. Everything is peak comedy with him. Also, he eats snow, who does that?

Where to watch

• Netflix
• Viki
• Prime video
• For the bonus episode: Youtube, Viki

So I Married an Anti-fan

It has been a minute. I am finally writing again. I have lost all motivations to write and just watch movies and series without thinking of writing the reviews. I am trying to get back to writing but it’s been hard. As usual, I’m going to talk a bit about the series here before jumping in to the ratings. It was a wholesome series and I love how they are communicating well in the series, but there are still things to talk about.

Score

Storyline : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (7/10)

Plot : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (7/10)

Pace : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (9/10)

Acting : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Rewatch value : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)

I would recommend this series to people who are looking for a lightweight romance. It has little comedy, a little family content, and just overall wholesome. I mean, it’s not going to be a kdrama without tears, right? So yeah there are going to be some teary moments, but not too bad that you’d get annoyed with them. This series was not on my radar and was never going to be on my radar until I saw a Tumblr post talked about how the couple in this drama know how to communicate well and then I was immediately sold.

Anyway, back to the kdrama at hand. People who have read my previous review posts might know that I rarely watch romance kdrama because I can’t deal with the whiny female character and the plain toxic male character. I love how both main characters (mcs) in this series are good people (well, essentially). Sure they have their huge misunderstandings and hate each other’s gut at first but they also have conscience and can emphatise and sympathise well with each other. They are likeable as humans, that is what I was trying to say, really. The series itself is no brainer, there was no complicated arc that begged to be solved. The character developments were good, not just for the mcs, but for all the people involved in the story. So I thoroughly enjoyed the watching experience. While the ending gave me a little satisfaction (kdramas need to improve their endings) it still needs a lot of work to resolve and conclude everything that I have watched from episode one to the last. It didn’t feel like a cliffhanger but I didn’t feel resolved either.

Storyline

Geun-yeong (GY) is a hard-working journalist but her boss treated her unfairly until one day she was assigned to attend a press conference (of some sort) for a kpop star, Hu-jun (HJ). Upon meeting, both parties have quite a good impression towards each other. Of courser until a drunk GY stumbled upon a secret meeting between HJ and another girl. After a huge misunderstanding happened, GY ,who is a hot-headed woman, threw one of her shoes at HJ face and GY action went viral. GY got fired from her workplace and asked HJ to make things right so she can get her job back (by protesting outside HJ agency). HJ refused to acknowledge the whole thing until a reality tv producer/director approached him. The same producer/director approached GY and offer her a huge amount of money (she was in a dear need of them). Reluctantly she agreed and it was a whole drama about convincing HJ to join as well. Well the reality tv is about GY and HJ living together in a house as a married couple. Marriage is not something that two people who hate each other usually think as a problem-solver. The story evolved from that and more and more problems came their way, work-wise, and other family/friends problems.

Characters

HJ is a hard-working man. He’s a person that does not forget where he came from. Very dedicated person and you’ll just love them as a kpop star. He is also a good friend but just don’t betray him because he can outsmart you. He has a very complicated background (family and friends), so the story mostly revolve around this. They are the ones who bring problems to him.

GY is a really nice and kind girl. She is a yes man at some point, but she can actually stand her ground once she finds herself being cornered or treated poorly. I like that about her. She is also closed to her parents and is really wholesome with them. I love their interaction with each other, typical parents and daughter relationship. She also has a round of supportive friends. Very sweet, cute, and reliable friends I might add.

HJ’s friends (JJ and In-hyung) are problematics. They were close with each other but business happened, this is why i always said never mix business with friendship. A lot people find In-hyung annoying, but I don’t. I just think that she’s very lost and just need to get the hell away from everything. She is always fighting a losing battle, so I think she just needs to find other dreams because we can’t have everything in life, right? I did not mean she should give up, she just need to find other things first before getting back to being a kpop star. To be honest, contrary to other people, I find JJ annoying. Why can’t he just get off everyone’s ass and let go of his grudges. It was toxic and unhealthy for him haha.

GY’s friends are as cute as I said in the beginning, I need to find more friends like them, so supportive. Lovely.

GY and HJ’s families are different and HJ’s fam is quite nonexistent so that means HJ has more family problems than GY. It is so sad that this man has so many problems in his life and GY and his work are the only steady presence in his life.

Where to watch

• iQIYI
• Viki

The Untamed

C-c-can we talk about this poster first because HAWT DAYUM, they are so attractive. I have no idea why I didn’t watch this series sooner? I didn’t know about its existence until 2020 and finally decided to watch it in 2022. Did I just waste 3 years of my life sitting around and watch trash dramas? YES AND I REGRET EVERY SINGLE DECISION THAT I HAVE MADE.

Score

Storyline          : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)

Plot                  : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ (09/10)

Pace                : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)

Acting              : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Rewatch value : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (9/10)

Let me sit for a bit and cry. I finished the show last night and I still can’t stop thinking about it. This series was adapted from a BL novel. LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, THIS SERIES IS BASED ON A BOYS LOVE NOVEL!! But of course, because of China’s restriction on LGBT+ content in their media, the production got clever and found the best solution for it…THEY MADE IT BROMANCE. But of course who are they kidding here? No friends would gaze longingly at each other like Lan Zhang and Wei Wuxian. I mean, it’s pretty easy to read their love for each other. Despite my initial irritation after learning about the restrictions, I have to give it to all the casts for their great performance. UGH I just love them!!

Storyline

The story is about Wei Wuxian (WWX), he’s the adopted son of a Clan Leader. He is a young, powerful, cultivator with authority problems. Despite his rebellious nature, many people love and adore him, except this one guy, Lan Wanji (LWJ). LWJ thinks they’re rivals. Knowing LWJ thinks of him as a rival made WWX likes to tease him even more because LWJ is just so easy to be teased.

Moreover, WWX is very close to his adopted brother and sister (they’re like triplets). One day, the triplets’ parents were killed in a civil war that was happening in their cultivation world (the war that was instigated by an evil clan, Wen Clan). Swore to protect his brother and sister, WWX made an ultimate sacrifice that left him without power. In order to replace the power that he lost, he had to do something and found a very unconventional way (it’s borderline scary) to made do with his powerlessness which is a demonic cultivation.

Many people disapprove of his method even when he doesn’t really bother or harm anyone. To the point where LWJ (who swore that he doesn’t care about WWX), feels concerned and becomes very protective. Because of this unconventional way to cultivate, a lot of people become more suspicious towards him and started to make up stories. People also blame him for everything that’s going wrong in the cultivation world (I guess it’s very easy to just blamed things on the scary guy).

However, when everyone turn their back on WWX, his rival, LWJ, was actually the only one who stands up for him and the first to offers help. Then shit hits the fan, causing the death of WWX. Sixteen years later, though, WWX reincarnated into someone else’s body. WWX and LWJ are reunited once again and a new adventure ensued.

Characters

Can we talk about WWX? I love his smiles, he only smiles very sweetly at his brother, sister, and LWJ. I just love him, I love his relationship with his sister Yanli. So so adorable, he’s like 5 every time Yanli is nearby. He’s very funny, considerate, and brave too. The only thing I want from him was to tell the truth to his brother so all these drama don’t have to happen (but I mean if there’s no drama then the series would not be here).

LWJ is a very quiet person, there are times where I think this guy has the patience of a rock because no matter how many people antagonise him, he stays calm. Except when it comes to WWX, somehow that guy knows how to push his buttons. The conversation that they had after their reunion was very touching, I love that scene so much. He doesn’t say much but you can see that he cares about WWX from all his actions.

I have mix feelings about Jiang Chen, WWX brother. I love him throughout the episodes but I just can’t stand him after WWX reincarnation. I mean, it changed again at the last episode but I still can’t believe all the things that he did. Like, wow, your love is so fucking cheap man. He was always volatile as kid but I never thought that he would be like that even after raising a kid of his own.

the villain is actually fucking genius, I feel so sorry for all the things that made him evil but at the same times I just want him dead. How can you do all those things just for power? I mean I know many people have done evil things for less but dayum. I just want to ask him why? Why WWX? Like whyyyy? I mean he answered that question at the end of the series but I still don’t understand whyyyyyy.

I love Yanli and Zixuan’s story. It was so annoying but was so cute. You can see the love just by looking at their non-verbal interaction. Zixuan really knows how to create such a unnecessary drama, he’s acting like a child LOL.

Wen Ning and Wen Qing, I just love them. They are so precious. I want more of them to be completely honest with you. AAAAAA.

There are so many characters and they have their own stories and their stories are so touching. Even the villains got their own backstory that made us more sympathetic to them. I love them all, I love the casts as well :’) this series truly exceeded my expectations.

Where to watch

• Netflix
• WeTV

LORE

I feel like people judge me for listening to non-educational podcasts. Apparently there’s an unwritten rule out there for podcast listeners to only listen to educational podcasts. However, I wouldn’t be me if I listened to that kind of negativity, so here I am recommending you something different.

Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)

What is it about?

If you’re a fan of dark, twisty stories then this is just right up your alley. Lore is a podcast where Aaron Mahnke tells you stories about the horror of the world. They’re non-fiction too. There are 100+ episodes available for you to listen to. It’s a very well-put-together (successful) podcast with intro and outro. Mr. Mahnke’s voice is so soothing too! Sometimes I got chills because how contrast his soothing voice to the cruel stories he was telling. You can support him by joining his Patreon page too!

If you read my last podcast review I think you’ll understand the trend. I love non-fiction horror podcast. Listening to other people do bad deeds makes me lose faith in humanity so many times but I always have a large stock of videos and stories that will restore those losing faith.

Review

I have talked about this podcast so many times before, but never officially like this on this review blog of mine. Never elaborately. I’ve been a fan since 2017 and I found this podcast because I was bored out of my mind during a road trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas (so frickin loooooong and my dad didn’t let us sleep in the car, to keep him company).

Mr. Mahnke’s voice is so soothing that sometimes I fall asleep listening to how people burn their relatives alive in an open fire for being different. How cool is that? Other times I woke up to Mr. Mahnke talking about how I am not supposed to go to a certain swamp to avoid a curse or something. Thank you Mr. Mahnke for the great advice. I’ll try to listen to you.

There are so many episodes that I’ve listened to and I can’t tell you which one is my favourite but I still remember listening to a very creepy story about a hotel which then Mr. Mahnke explained, at the end of the podcast, that the hotel inspired Stephen King to wrote The Shining.

There are so many creepy stories that will keep you engage with the podcast. I recommend you to listen to the podcast with the noise cancellation thing on. Just to help you immerse in the creepy vibes. LOL.

Where to listen?

• Apple podcast
• Spotify

Bad Buddy

Without preamble, I’m going to say that this is by far one of the best Thai series that I have ever watched (and tbh I have watched so many of them). Don’t be fooled by the happy-go-lucky poster. By the time you guys read this, I’ll have you know that this review has been sitting in my draft for weeks. I just finished watching episode 5. Saying that I have to grab my jaw from touching the floor is an understatement. I’ve watched many Thai BLs but the ones that I like can only be counted by one hand. I’ll say this and I will not say this again, HATE TO LOVE TROPE ATE ALL THE TROPHIES.

Update:

Just finished rewatching episode 12 because I was so tired by the time I came home last night and I was not focused enough to follow the story. All in all, I can say that the series has one of the best endings for bl (I have watched so many bls and left disappointed so many times too). This time, the ending left a smile on my face, not a frown or confusion on my face.

Score

Storyline : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (7/10)

Plot : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (9/10)

Pace : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)

Acting : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Rewatch value : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Storyline

I would say that this is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet or Romeo and Julio (if you want to be more specific). Two rival families taught each of their offsprings to hate each other. They have to compete, be rivals, and fight each other since they were little. The pettiness went above and beyond because one of the parents transferred their child to another school just to make sure the two children won’t be friends. Basically, the parents are toxic and they want their children to be toxic too. However, of course the universe says “F U LET ME MAKE MY OWN STORY” by making Pran and Pat be friends (in secret) and later become lovers. But of course the story won’t be smooth sailing like this recap, of course there’s going to be some high level of violence, pettiness, and drama along the way. You should watch it! If you’re like me (I swear by waiting for a series to finish before watching them in one sitting) you have to wait for a couple of months. But I was nosy and I have zero patience, so I am torturing myself by watching the series when it’s still on going (I will never repeat this mistake again).

Characters

Pat and Pran are polar opposite. Pat is messy, loud, and energetic. Pran, on the other hand, is neat, moody (melancholy type), and calm. Ohm plays Pat and Nanon plays Pran. By watching Ohm and Nanon’s interviews, these two characters aren’t so different from their real-life personalities. They are also close friends in real life, so the chemistry was already built way before the making of the series.

I haven’t gotten halfway through the episodes so I won’t know other characters other than Wai and Korn. These two are just ready to fight wherever whenever. They’re also quite perceptive since they notice that there are something between Pat and Pran. I hope they won’t be obstacles between the lovers.

I have yet to know more about Pa (Pat’s sister) and the parents. I will update you again once I finish the series.

Update:

Korn is just the best. He’s a friend that you would want to keep close with you all the time. I have a dilemma about Wai, I understand where he’s coming from and why he did what he did. However, I just can’t forgive him 100%, I understand him but I can’t accept the fact that he actually went through with his plot. Just too cruel for my liking.

Let me tell you something, Pa and Ink are just AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH CUTE. I love them, they have a little (to none) screen time but they’re just the sweetest and I really want to see a spin-off series with them as the main characters. Very compatible and zero drama.

The parents…ah the parents. I’m glad with whatever Pat and Pran chose in the end. They seem happy with their decision and I’m, being a proud mama (they don’t know that I’ve adopted both of them), support them 100%.

I CAN’T RECOMMEND YOU ENOUGH TO WATCH THIS SERIES. I WANT TO SHOUT IT OUT ON THE TOP OF A CLIFF. I WANT TO SHOUT IT OUT IN THE LOBBY OF MY FACULTY BUILDING HAHAHA.

Where to watch

• WeTV (somehow I can’t watch it here)
• Youtube

Rahut Rissaya

It has been so long since I posted last. I got a new job and haven’t watch anything since. However, right before I took a leave for a couple of days, I found this series on youtube. Anyway, as you may know by now, I adore fake relationship trope so much that I am always on a hunt to find the best one. So far, though, I haven’t found one that temps me enough to click the play button or I’m just fricking lazy. I was kinda worried before watching the series since I always find that lakorn guys are almost always violent. I just don’t like violent people, they turn me off. However, when I was doing ‘research’ on this lakorn, I read a review from somewhere saying that the male character in this lakorn is quite different than your usual lakorn guy. Intriguing!

Score

Storyline          : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/10)

Plot                  : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (7/10)

Pace                : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (7/10)

Acting              : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (7/10)

Rewatch value : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (6/10)

Storyline

Let me give you my two cents. You must be wondering why I gave such low ratings. The storyline and the timeline were kinda confusing at first. The first scene of this series was the meeting of our two main characters (Palai dan Siwa). However, in the scene where they met for the second time, they somehow have forgotten about each other and reintroduced themselves to each other. It doesn’t make sense, but ok. Enough complaining and I didn’t really expect much from soap opera, they have their quirks of course.

The story is about this woman, Palai, who just lost both of her parents in a car crash. Not long after, Palai’s evil step-aunt and cousin stole all of her inheritance. With the help of good people around her, she’s trying to get all of her stolen inheritance back from her aunt and cousin. Meanwhile, Palai’s boyfriend, a lawyer called Thana, is in the middle of a conflict. His Dad is missing and presumed dead. The only thing that connects these two conflicts (stolen inheritance and kidnapped dad) is Siwa.

Siwa is the son of an evil doctor. He’s the one who took Thana’s father and presumably killed him too. Siwa is also the boyfriend of Palai’s evil cousin, Jangjen. So, in order to get her inheritance back and get justice for her boyfriend’s father, Palai decided to blackmail Siwa by threatening to put Siwa’s evil dad in jail unless Siwa agrees to marry her. I know, I know, it’s a very strange blackmail case but she had her reasons. When I watch this, I feel so bad for Thana because he’s actually a good guy that only wants justice for his dad.

So yeah in conclusion, Siwa marries Palai in secret to keep his evil father safe. Siwa and Palai will eventually fall in love while Thana knows nothing about everything. I told this story to my best friend and he said Palai is quite evil herself LOL. Also, #JusticeForThana for sure.

Characters

I like Palai, no matter how evil her plans could be, i like her because she wins. She’s smart and kind to people who matter. She loves her parents so much, so I can resonate with her pain after losing both of her parents. I actually never dislike her, she punishes people who should be punished and for me that’s fair since the evil people around her are pure evil. For me she’s just a baby evil hahaha.

Siwa, oh Siwa. I want to say that he’s dumb but he’s not. He’s actually quite smart but he’s just oblivious. He’s blinded by his loyalty and love for his dad. I don’t blame him, it’s hard to see bad things when you love someone unconditionally and hero worship them since you’re a child (I’m not like him tho, when it’s wrong then it’s wrong lol #nomercy).

Thana, oh my dear poor baby boy. He’s just one clueless human being. Accidentally betrayed by his girlfriend. He’s just lovely and funny and I don’t think he deserves all these headache. Also, I have a bone to pick with his mom, like dang ma’am, your husband is missing and you didn’t show any worry one bit and you asked your son to stop investigating this? If I were your son, I’d report you to the police LOL.

Rasika and Janjeng, Palai’s evil aunt and cousin, respectively. I pity Rasika but she deserves every failure that’s coming to her. Good riddance Rasika and boyfriend. I said I pity Rasika, but I pity Janjeng so much more than I pity everybody else. She was actually pretty nice and friends with Palai, but her evil mom controls her every move. Poor baby girl. She deserves better and knowing Palai still loves her despite all of her shortcomings was wholesome.

If I have to choose my favourite character in this lakorn, I’d choose Khun Wut. Lol I like him, he gets things done and his brother-sister relationship with Palai was really wholesome.

Where to watch

• Dramacool (I don’t think the lakorn is available on any official website)

The Silver Skates

Hello! Hello! Hello! We stan period drama in this house, so when I found this movie at midnight after my vaccine shot, I wasted no time watching it. I mean, come on! Who is going to pass up the opportunity to watch an aesthetically pleasing movie? The only complaint I have for the movie is the ending is too short to my liking ehehehe. I just want to see more! Let’s skate into the review ;)

p.s: this is the first Russian-speaking movie that I’ve ever watched and it was a great ride. I might need to find more Russian period drama films after this.

Score

Storyline          : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (7/10)

Plot                  : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (9/10)

Pace                : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)

Acting              : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Rewatch value : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Storyline

Matvey is the son of a lamplighter, he works hard trying to make honest money for his dad’s treatment. His dad is suffering from TB and judging from the way he coughs (a lot), it’s not looking very great, either. You know what they say about period drama films and coughs, the odd of survival is zero to none for the coughing party.

One day, Matvey has to deliver a pie (in 20 minutes on foot) to a rich guy’s house but is late because there’s a roadblock. He stood up for himself when being treated poorly by the boss and that made him getting fired. At least he stood up for himself, kudos to Matvey. Anyway, because his dad is sick, Matvey needs money and need it quick. There’s this doctor in Germany that can save his dad’s life. While trying to find a job, he came across this group of pickpockets. I was kinda suspicious but turns out they’re a good bunch, especially Alex (love him). Well, as good as thieves can be.

The first day he joins the group, they make him jump into the balcony of a rich family and caught by Alisa, the daughter. There’s a little incident but everyone was safe. Anyway, Matvey and Alisa meet again at a skating ball party where Alex and Matvey are trying to steal every shiny thing from the partygoers. Alisa knows about this very calmly blackmailed him into helping her with something. After this encounter, the story of love and friendship begins.

Characters

I like Matvey, a lot. He is responsible, loyal, and just overall a good human being. And husband material, I might add. At some point in the movie, I said to myself, I want a husband like him. Like, damn. He’s so good to Alisa, I want to cry. Yo, tell me where to find a husband candidate like that!

Alex, the chief of thief is odd but overall an awesome human being. I think he’s cool and he cares about his friends. He taught Matvey the art of pickpocket and is the one that has faith in him first.

Alisa is a very likeable character too, she just wants to learn science and become a scientist to help people and I’m all for that. I loooove her voice so much, it’s so soft and calming, wow. Her dad was kinda a dick at first but I think deep down he loves his daughter.

The prince, Arkadiy, is complicated. He is supposed to be the villain in the movie, but I didn’t think he was evil enough to be a villain until I watch the last 30 minutes of the movie, at least. Also, he never really hurt Alisa, I just think that they’re not a good match.

All in all, I love the cinematography, the cast, and the plot. I like the skating and thieving aspects, it was so fun to watch. The storyline itself was okay, since I’ve probably watched too many romeo-and-juliet-inspired movies. Please watch the movie!

Where to watch

• Netflix

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I’ve been in a movie slump lately and have been trying to hype myself up to finish a movie. I knew about this movie from a fellow period drama lover, they told me to watch it but I wasn’t feeling enthusiastic enough to type the title on Netflix search bar (it’s very long, you know). That was just an excuse btw. I’ve been very immersed in gaming lately and that is making books and movies taking the backseat. I was looking for a movie to watch with my mum and told her about this movie and she was intrigued since she loves period dramas too (my parents are fans of the genre).

Score

Storyline          : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (7/10)

Plot                  : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)

Pace                : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)

Acting              : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Rewatch value : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Storyline

Juliet is a writer and at the beginning of the movie she was looking for an apartment to live but she was showing some kind of flashback that wasn’t really elaborated further in the movie, but it was an important aspect to the main character. I think I have to read the book to understand more about Juliet’s back story. Juliet is looking for inspiration for her next book when she was contacted by a random man saying that he is looking for a new book for his book club. After corresponding several times with the man, she decided that his stories were very intriguing and told her publisher, Sydney, that she’s going away to the man’s village to write about the book club. Before she broad the ship, she was proposed to by her boyfriend. As soon as she arrived, she looked for all the people from the book club and finally meet the man who wrote to her and was surprised that he was actually quite young (she thought he was an old man). The story about family, friends, and love starts from there and it’s a wholesome movie.

Characters

I like Juliet, she’s very likeable and friendly but she was a stranger in a small village where people have always known each other. The villagers were quite closed-off (and some were quite rude) at the beginning but they’re pretty fun when it comes to the book club, tho. You can see that Juliet was having fun and didn’t really take any offence when they want to keep their secrets. She instead got more curious about why the villagers are behaving like that.

Dawsey is a sweet and kind man who only wants to take care of his daughter. I can see that he has a huge crush on Juliet the first day they met and it’s just cute.

Mark, Juliet’s boyfriend is actually nice and he genuinely loves her. I don’t see any red flag coming from him, I just don’t see them as a match, that’s it really.

I was actually very intrigued with Elizabeth and Christian’s story and I wish they elaborated more about those two. I want to know more, I want to see more about them but alas, I can’t have everything I want. I just thought that it would’ve been nice to see more of them in the movie.

Where to watch

• Netflix

Recommendations

The Moon Embracing The Sun

WHAT? WHERE HAVE I BEEN IN MY LIFE? I didn’t find this show much earlier probably because I have been convinced that no kdrama could enrapture me. I’ve been wrong and I admit, I’m very wrong about this one. I’ve always loved period dramas, I love seeing people clad in traditional clothing and they’re just so interesting for me to watch. Traditional clothing is awesome but they’re such a hassle and very heavy, I can say this because I know firsthand about traditional clothing since I’m Balinese and still wear them from time to time when there are traditional ceremonies. Let’s talk about how awesome this show is.

Score

Storyline          : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)

Plot                  : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (9/10)

Pace                : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)

Acting              : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (9/10)

Rewatch value : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (9/10)

Storyline

So, this story started when a shaman witness a murder of a prince. The shaman tried to escape and almost failed until a pregnant noblewoman helped her. She then vowed to protect the unborn baby but failed because she got caught eventually. Before she was executed, though, she told one of her friends to protect the unborn baby (the friend got really confused because she didn’t specifically say which unborn baby to protect)

Years later, the young lady (the baby that the shaman vowed to protect) fell in love with a crown prince. She joined The Selection and were chosen to be the future wife of the crown prince (she was just thirteen or probably eleven years old at that time). I know, I know, bear with me, this was in the olden days when things like this were normal. However, something devastating happened a day before the wedding.

Years after that, the crown prince has already grown up and became a king. He’s either in his early or late twenties now. He met this girl who looks exactly like the girl he was supposed to marry years ago. HOWEVER, this girl is a shaman, not a noblewoman. Sooo, that’s kinda forbidden, innit? aaaand the story got more interesting because of it. I mean, the bits where they were younger were fun, heartwarming, and heartbreaking at the same time but you’ll get more understanding of what happened as the timeline move up.

Characters

Yeon-woo is honestly a great woman. She was very wise for an eleven-year-old girl and that wiseness stayed until the very end. I love her character, I love what she said to shaman Jang at the end of the episode. She was angry but she was grateful too. OH, I LOVE WHAT SHE SAID TO THE PRINCESS MINHWA. DAMN, she got a big heart man, her brother as well, I wouldn’t be so forgiving if something happens to my family.

The King? I like the king! He’s funny and I love the relationship her has with his bodyguard and the head eunuch, aah so cute and fun to watch. His love towards his wife is exceptional too, damn, he waited for years just to be able to see the love of his life. I like his complicated relationship with his brother too.

I was very confused with Prince Yangmyung. I liked him when he was a boy and then he went kinda a bit obsessed but then overall, he’s just a lonely man and just want to be loved by the people who love him. My heart breaks for him, I understand why he’s mad about a lot of things. Fair to say that life hasn’t been very fair to him.

Yeon-woon’s brother thooooo, my heart goes out for him. I hate liars, I hate hate hate liars so much. I might fight ugly truth with teeth and nails but then I will appreciate it later. He just loves his sister so much and I just wished that he had a different storyline. I am honestly so sad for him even when things got better in the end. Poor darling, he was so cute.

I have no words for queen Yoon, I felt like she deserves something, at least, a little better. She was not a bad child, she just need a different father. Nobody was on her side. Damn, the ending killed me, man. I feel so sorry for her, she was just a victim in that cruel world.

As for princess Minhwa, oh my Gawd, she was spoiled and loud. It was cute at first, but then as the story progresses, oh ma Lawd. Even when people say that she was just a child when the thing happened, I beg to differ. I was waiting for her to just tell the truth to someone but she did not. Also, things she said to Yeon-woo towards the end of the episode, I was like don’t you know what you did wrong? she knows she was wrong, but the pride she had despite knowing how wrong it was irked me soooooo much. The ending was too nice for her tbh, don’t @ me.

Overall, the storyline was exceptional, reminds me of old classic stories. This show is probably already considered a classic to many people.

Where to watch?

• Netflix
• Viki

Recommendations

Kingdom

I’ve tried watching kdramas for years now and I almost always ended up hating them or just didn’t finish them (then forgets about them). It’s thoroughly my own fault for choosing the ones with romance as the main stories, I’m not a big fan of them. There are, however, some romance kdramas that I’ve finished over the years but nothing has ever left an impression on my mind. A few weeks back I tried to look for kdrama that are available on Netflix and I saw the poster of this series. I mean, who am I kidding, everyone was talking about this series way back. I know I’m a bit late. I finished this series with my brother because his girlfriend is so opposed to watching anything remotely resembling zombies (LMAO).

Score

Storyline          : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)*

Plot                  : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Pace                : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Acting              : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Rewatch value : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

*I honestly gave that 8 out 10 scores for the storyline because I’m still bitter that season 3 is cancelled and there was a big plot at the end of season 2. Also, there are many questions that I want to be answered.

Storyline

I honestly don’t know where to begin but I will try to explain it as brief as possible so I won’t spoil the entire story. Prince Chang, the crown prince is banned from seeing his sick father. People told him that The King is sick but the Prince becomes very suspicious, probably because rumours are saying that The King is in fact has died from an illness. He sneaked into the King’s palace and discovered that there was a monster living there. Curious and wanting to know what really happened to his father, The Prince and his sole bodyguard went to find the royal physician that took care of his father while he was sick.

The royal physician brought back his dead assistant with him. The assistant died from an illness that he contracted while he was attending to the sick King at the palace. The people where the physician lives are so poor and sick. For the patients to be healthier, this mysterious guy who also lives there cook the dead assistant to give them something to eat, especially meat. Those people become very sick and they turn into blood-thirsty monsters. So, just like any other sicknesses, it spread across the area and went bigger and bigger and then there’s chaos.

There are some politics, science, and a whole lot of blood in this series and if you don’t like gory things don’t watch this. But if you don’t mind them, this series is one of the best out there to watch.

Characters

There are a lot of people in this series, reminded me of Game of Thrones. So it’s a bit hard to keep track if you have a very short term memory like me but after some time, they caught up with me.

I enjoy watching the Prince interacting with the people around him. He’s very wise, smart, and just a good human being that is not greedy and thirsty for power. I just love him and my brother and I agreed that the guy who plays the prince is a great actor (well, every single one of them is great, no kidding).

What kind of people would hate on Young-Shin? Those people deserve pain. LOL joking, but I just love how minimal his lines were but it just feels like everything is going to be okay every time he’s there. He’s an awesome fighter, he uses his body as a weapon, throwing himself into things, really.

Seo-Bi, the woman physician amazed me. Just like Young-shin, her lines are not plenty but she is just so damn smart and not a damsel in distress. I just love her character, she is basically the greatest scientist out there since she found the ‘cure’ to disease without any help from anyone (I mean there’s this book but let’s pretend that it’s not there).

I don’t want to talk about Moo-Young. I’m just letting y'all know that I love him so much, all he wants is just to eat meat.

Where to watch

• Netflix
• Viki

Recommendations