Watchlist - completed in 2024

A very sweet story between an introverted guy and cheerful girl: not revolutionary but heartfelt ! 

I would recommend this to people looking for a really beautiful high school romance and featuring wholesome friendships. The last arc was a bit less exciting to me but concluded properly the story. If you are looking for a romance without angst, full of green flags and little butterflies inducing moments, this is a really good drama for you ! 

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I wanted to like it but unfortunately, it is a miss for me... 

I would not recommend this to people as at the end it took me so much time to complete it because of the draggy pacing. There are for sure some elements of the story I found exciting regarding the overall revenge plot but the romance did not really work for me unfortunately. I'm left to ponder if I would have enjoyed more the series if it had been shorter (and therefore with less repetition on the storylines and the office/corporation hijinks). 

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Not enjoyable, I could not get behind the rationale of the story and the unconvincing acting 

I would not recommend this to people unless you like the actors/actresses and/or the manga (which I did not read). I found the motivations behind the crimes sometimes really "light" (wanting to murder somebody because of jealousy seems a bit a strong choice) and overall the police felt completely incompetent in their job. The ending was also a let down with an unsatisfactory statu quo. 

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A short queer story : interesting point of view but too short to really leave a memorable impression 

I would not recommend this to people because I have seen other short films that impacted me more around similar thematic. I feel here it remains at a relatively superficial level which prevented me to really connect with the story. 

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Felt like the trailer for a cute GL Chinese historical and fantasy drama - they should make it

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a cute short (very short - 3 minutes) bite of GL Chinese historical and fantasy drama. I'm left to wish they would make it into a full length series because there is a lot of potential in the relationship featured between a Fox demon and a Priestess. 

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Well-written and acted, very entertaining : an enjoyable and emotional ride ! 

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a great and entertaining police movie featuring the department that supervises the probationers. In addition to great acting and filmmaking, there are humor, thrills, emotions and character growth. Be mindful of the tags if you have any trigger, it is pretty violent with sex crimes and crimes against children being part of the storytelling.

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Indie Chinese BL: interesting premise but flawed in terms of production value, editing and writing

I would recommend this to people looking for a Chinese BL which does not shy away from what it is and do not disguise it as a bromance. It has a strong indie flavor which is not an issue in itself but the low budget is clearly felt and there are quite a bit of editing / production issue. There are some interesting and gritty parts in the script but the way the story unfold is far from perfect. I think it is quite comparable to the Chinese BL Addicted in terms of production value. So if you enjoyed it, you might as well want to give a shot to this one. 

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A curse to lift to be able to live : a very meaningful BL 

I would recommend this to people that are looking for an angsty BL story. There are some sweet moments but there are also quite a bit of darkness and trauma through which the characters are evolving. The directing and production was really on point and the writing pretty solid with a lot of little interesting details. 

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Features convincingly a variety of love interests with interesting and different storylines 

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a Chinese historical and fantasy tale with a reverse harem trope pretty well done. It is very difficult after watching season 1 to guess with who the heroine is going to end up, which I found super interesting (even if I have my preferences). 

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Not better than the original but swoony, fluffy and charming in its own way. Worth a watch. 

I would recommend this to people that love romantic story and found-family trope. If you enjoy protective, caring and ambiguous "big brother" character, you are in for a treat. The story is not without flaws and it pales a bit the comparison to the original drama...Still, it is worth watching if you enjoy rom-com with swoony moments, supported by a charming cast and solid production value. 

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A profound and heartfelt movie, an intangible win for its viewers soul : impactful ! 

I strongly recommend this movie if you are looking for a movie that is both heart wrenching and healing. It is really worth a watch and it relates a lot to our common human life experience on earth. The viewer certainly get out of the watch having won something intangible, not measurable but that leaves a mark.

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As I love the group that debuted thanks to &Audition, I had to rewatch it again this year <3

I would recommend this to people that enjoy survival show with relatively lower stake and drama. There is still candidates eliminated as well as difficult to understand voting rules. But overall, no real evil edit and if you liked in "I-Land" some of the cast members, it is very pleasant to find them back here. Obviously, if you are a fan of the group that has debuted from &Audition, this survival show is a must watch to see how the group was created and witness their first interactions and performances together. 

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A staple in terms of idol shows : give it a go if you know the artists, otherwise less interesting 

I would recommend this to people that are fan from groups participating to the event. I think if you don't know anybody, it might not be very interesting. Actually, I think I might even rewatch some of the events in which artists I like participated, but other than that I don't think I will ever rewatch the full broadcast again. There are indeed some parts that are less interesting, and the commentators discussion are quite boring overall. Fancams done by the fans might even be better at providing a view on the various interactions and what happened on the day. 

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Nothing to see here 

I would not recommend it. In the same vein, a short Chinese movie featuring a same-sex relationship between two women and providing in a very short amount of time some interesting storytelling is "The Fox Spirit and the Little Priest", radically better. I strongly suggest you watch it rather than this one. 

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Even if it broke me in little pieces, totally worth it ! 

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a thrilling series with a great gallery of grey and interesting characters. It is not for the tender hearts as I feel there are some horrific elements that can be tough to go through and you mind want to check the triggers if you have any. I really think it is a worthy watch that will take the viewer on an emotional rollercoaster. It might need a bit of time for the viewer to connect all the pieces of the puzzle together, but once you got there, it is immensely rewarding.

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Less good than season 1, felt a bit monotonous at some point 

I would recommend this to people that enjoyed the first season. It is less good in my opinion and I hope they will improve for season 3 on the elements that were a bit lacking. 

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Interesting dystopic universe but lacking on many points 

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a different type of series. It has some strong YA dystopian book vibe, so if you are an adept of the genre, I would suggest to give it a shot. In my opinion, it is lacking on many points: romance, acting, writing but I cannot deny the fact that it was pretty entertaining to follow, with a great production value. 

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A repetitive tale of lies and deceptions 

I would recommend this to people that love Xianxia drama. Even if it is a recent one, it certainly feels like a staple in the genre. There is a lot of qualities to the series overall but it unfortunately did not work enough for me to enjoy it all throughout my watch. There were a lot of things repetitive in the story that either frustrated me or bored me. The noble idiocy trope is a pet peeve of mine and I must say there was clearly too much of it for me in this show. 

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Despite obvious budget and format constraints, enjoyed it quite a bit ! 

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a short BL with an indie feel and some elements of master-servant relationship. It approaches heavy topics such as bullying and discrimination which I found interesting but lacked a lot of time and budget to make it really good. It remained as well quite surface level on the societal criticism it was attempting to propose. Still, given the after-credit scene, I'm wondering if a sequel is planned. If that is the case, I will watch it for sure because it was quite entertaining and I see room for further development. 

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Some excellent ideas not developed enough, I could not connect to the acting 

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a very different kind of BL story. Given the fact I found the context in which the characters evolve super interesting, I was in overall disappointed by the drama. I felt the writing did not exploit well enough the doomsday setting. The ending felt also a bit like a cope out even if I understand why it concludes that way. My main issue is with the acting as well as the writing of the main characters. It prevented me to empathize and support the characters as well as to connect with the emotional scenes who felt cringy. 

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Too short to really exploit the potential of the story 

I would not necessarily recommend this to people unless you are looking for a short BL with a messy premise. I'm left to wonder if a slightly longer format would have help amping the stakes and emotions for the characters. 

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Not my cup of tea : it went above my head 

I would not recommend this to people. I found the story pretty bleak. It is a very short movie of 13 minutes, so you might want to give it a shot and make your own opinion on it. 

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Hwang In Youp stole my heart in this rom-com !!! 

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a romantic comedy set in high school. It is a pretty light watch overall with some good comedic scenes. It is not that deep but the overall message is positive. A lot of fluff, not that much substance but enough for what it is supposed to be. Even if the romance did not go in the way I would have wished it to go which frustrated me to no end, I still had quite a bit of pleasure watching the drama. Sometimes, that kind of fun is exactly what you need. 

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Could make an interesting series 

I would recommend this to people that enjoy short film. It has a pretty interesting plot in a short span of 9 minutes.

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Took a bit too long to get to the heart of the story, once there, very interesting 

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a romance with an interesting twist. Pacing is probably my biggest issue with the film as well as wanting a bit more of the acting as well as for the script that could have dived deeper into the impact of the fantastical element on the characters. 

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Lee Joon Gi in this era of his career will always make my heart flutters ~~~~ 

I would recommend this movie to people that are looking for a romance mixing culture and that will take you into a discovery of Tokyo. If you are a fan of Lee Joon Gi, I think it is a must watch for sure. I feel that the overall arc of the romance could have been better but it was still satisfying. 

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Just fun and entertaining - quite bunker at time 

I would recommend this to people looking for a fun action movie. Was it absurd at a lot of time ? Yes. Did I raise my eyebrow more and more as the plot progressed ? Yes. Was it entertaining? Yes. It is much more a comedy than anything else, it has a cartoonish feel to it, so if you are looking for something scary and serious, this is definitely not the movie to watch. 

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Entertaining gangster movie in the context of nightlife / clubbing, featuring numerous twists

I would recommend this to people looking for a gangster action movie. It is not that memorable and quite standard for the genre in terms of storylines. But it is an energizing watch thanks to the main character drive and the context of the nightlife and clubbing is always an interesting setting for that kind of story. 

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