Danny Yatim
Jakarta, Indonesia
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Childhood friends/neighbours reunited
This could have been a nice story of two childhood friends/neighbours, who were reunited during pandemic quarantine in Manila. It started nicely, where you get to know more about Ben, whose family already immigrated to the USA, and Ben was left alone in Manila, but had not achieved much and had to prove to his parents that he was an independent person. Then came news that next-door childhood buddy, Jim, is returning home from Davao.Ben had a secret crush on Jim since they were teenagers, (and likewise Jim also harboured feelings towards Ben, but you only get to know this in Season 2). I was glad to know that this series only had 7 episodes, so I binged watched it in one day.
It had a cute story line, but could have been made better. Some parts were cliched and some scenes seemed to move too slow and a bit dragging. I liked the music, particularly the lyrics of the theme song was great. It had something to do with what these guys used to as kids: stargazing with their telescope up on a treehouse. I also liked the scenes when Ben was doing his online selling part. Apart from the main characters. I also liked Flo, Ben's supporting best friend, and Olan, the handsome delivery guy who had a crush on Ben.
The things which I didn't quite like were:
1. Peeking into their neighbour's bedrooms, which I think was somewhat rude. Knowing that they were friends, they could just made jokes about peeking at each other, rather than looking like peeping Toms.
2. If there was lots of restrictions during the quarantine, how come they could have a small party at Ben's house? How could Leo appear just like that (late evening, no mask)?
2. Jim's girlfriend was the perfect cliche shown in many Thai BLs: cute girl, who suddenly became possesive, nagging, and bitchy when she discovers that her boyfriends loves another guy. (Yana, however, was more mature in Season 2)
3. the hanging end, where you could neither tell whether this story had a happy or unhappy ending.
I don't regret watching this drama, but there's nothing special that would make me watch it again. If I had to compare it with other Filipino BL series, I still think Gameboys is the best one so far.
ABOUT SEASON 2 (I couldn't find Ben X Jim Forever on the drama list)
I then watched Season 2, Ben X Jim Forever. Oh dear, I don't think I liked this at all. It was too slow, too many side stories going on, and then finally you get to see the accidental meeting between Ben and Jim at the cafe where Jim was working. Many scenes had a slow pace, and despite exciting things happening (such as the political campaign for gay rights) and dramatic moments like Val taking Jim to bathe in the ocean to cleanse himself from the past, but the way these scenes were made did not touch me at all. I can't explain how and why, but it seemed just too dry. Sir Val's character was also a bit ambiguous: was he a nice guy or was he an a**hole,? I couldn't figure out and didn't really care less. The orgy scene where Olan and Yan joined in was something which could have been taken out. A bit too much to put everything in this drama.
Episode 6 of Season 2 was supposed to be dramatic, where Ben and Jim met each other after so many months, but I just couldn't stand the 18 minutes or so of them, including Val and Roy, just staring and gazing at each other, while we listen to a song playing in the background. And the beach party scene in episode 7? Oh dear. Couldn't they just edit it? Why d we have to see all the awkward conversations they all had? Okay, we know that many were feeling uncomfortable, and Flo was trying to change the mood, but this scene was too slow. The only good thing in episode 7 is when we get to hear a more substantial conversation between Ben and Jim. It turned out that Ben had already decided on what he wanted in life. I know I should have felt touched or sad with the ending, but nothing emotional came out of me. If Jim had a gut feeling that Roy was a bad guy, and did some investigation on him, at least they could show us whether Roy turned out to be a really bad guy , or apparently he was a good enough person. I also didn't quite like how their relationship was portrayed. It seemed like there was no chemistry between Teejay and whoever played the role of Roy.
This drama could certainly be made better. It seemed like a waste of time to watch 8 episodes which did not exactly build up to a good climax. I would give this drama a six (6). Not worth watching at all, unless you just want to see the cute actors.
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WISH YOU: Your Melody From My Heart the Movie
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A sweet but not yet complete love story
I did not watch the series, and also did not know there were added scenes to the original story, when I watched this. I think this a beautiful, short and simple love story. After watching the movie, I read some bad reviews saying that it lacked character development. Another review said there was no conflict in the story line. I somewhat disagree. I think the conflict emerged at the end of the film (both guys may be questioning their feelings) and therefore I am hoping there will be a sequel to this one where we get too see how their love relationship develops.Yes, we don't get to know much about Sang Yi's background (family, friends, past love affairs), but does it matter? We also could only guess a bit about In Soo's past, when his manager shared about In Soo's character to Sang Yi. Then we find out that his father was the CEO of the company (I had already sort of guessed that In Soo came from a wealthy family, who for some reason left home). Bu it didn't really matter to me not knowing much about their backgrounds, and this would be the very reason why we need a sequel to this movie. It had a happy ending, but I'm curious to know how the main leads continue with their lives.
I loved the music, especially the theme song, I found out that both actors are singers in real life and they recorded the music together. This perhaps explain why the chemistry between In Soo and Lee Sang (Sang Yi) was s great. I also think Lee Sang brilliantly acted his role as a closeted gay guy who was kind of shy, or uncertain about his own feelings. All those awkward moments, like when he saw In Soo passing by on the street, and he chased In Soo who was in a cafe, and the scenes in the company, where he wasn't sure whether he should enter the studio or not, knowing that In Soo was there, was probably something everyone experienced when having a crush for someone else. And in this particular story, it's about a guy having a crush towards another guy. Lee Sang brilliantly expressed the confusion a closeted gay would get when attracted to another guy, especially one who remains mysterious, ambiguous and enigmatic like In Soo. The subtleties in their interactions were really what made this movie interesting, like the casual hug at In Soo's place, the physical closeness they showed while singing together, and finally the kissing scene and the awkwardness they both felt after the kiss.
I liked this movie, even though the story was somewhat simple. The music also helped build the mood to make this movie a memorable one. A sweet, yet not yet complete, love story.
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When the Camellia Blooms
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Slow pace, but great acting
Some friends told me that this drama was too slow and boring. But I just thought I had to watch it since Gong Hyo-Jin and Kang Ha-neul are two of my favourite Korean actors/actresses.Yes, I do think that 20 episodes seem to be too long and drags on with unnecessary moments to add to the storyline. They could have made it into just 16 episodes (the usual case) or even less than that.
What I did like about this drama, is about life in a small-town (not Seoul) and the struggles of being a single, unwed mother. The child actor who took the role as Pil-Gu was so great. I've seen him in other dramas too but usually only for flashbacks of the main lead. Here he had a more important role and is a great, promising actor. I'm looking forward to seeing him act as a teenager or adult one day in the future.
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Mixed feelings about this BL
I have never seen the two leads before, so I cannot compare it to their previous roles. I dont even know who they are. I saw many reviewers giving a 10 to this series, which I find interestingly funny. What? 10 for a drama which is quite flat, no suspense, no romantic sparks? I find both guys irritating. The synopsis above only mentions the "irritating Southern guy" when in fact the writer is much more irritating to me. I just couldn't stand his spoiled, arrogant city boy attitude, and yet I kept on watching this series. Ha ha.I'm already watching episode 3 now. Yes, you get a glimpse of the family and past lives of both leads, but it all seems like being 'cut and paste" for the audience to hear. Not sure how they will fit into the story. I also don't get the connection with the side couple, an actress and a secretary, and dont see how their role fits into the story . This is not a BL which makes me anxiously wait for each week. Ther is no excitement. It does not make me feel emotionally involved with the story. But oh well, Im patient enough to see what will eventually happen with the two guys. So maybe I'll just binge-watch it when it comes to the end or near the end.
I may change my mind later, but so far the only things I like are the scenery: the sea and the beach and the two leads' cute faces.
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A Tale of Thousand Stars
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Beautiful story
I may be 3 years late in watching this series. Have been binge-watching it in two days. Love it. Love the story, love the acting, love the music. I have both main leads in Midnight Chicken before watching this. Love how the lead characters have different personalities in each series.I liked the surprises we all got at the end. If Tian was hiding a secret which he revealed towards the end, little did we know that Chief Phupha was also hiding a secret all along. Among the supporting actors, I liked Dr. Nam a lot. I like the Khama, the village head, and the school children. Interesting to know that the villagers are speaking in a dialects, as I noticed there were subtitles in Thai (I also read that Mix is actually fluent in this dialect, but since the role he played as Teacher Tian from Bangkok, he never used this dialect in the series)
Overall I loved the story, although towards the end (episodes 8-9) some scenes seemed to be a bit slow, which could be shortened, and sometimes become a not too melodramatic.
Something not too important, but I couldn't help notice is that Tian came to the village bringing a medium-sized backpack. How come he has so many different outfits throught the series. We rarely see him wear the same clothes in different episodes :-)
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Not that great, but not bad either
I started watching Season 1 in April 2021. After finishing all 8 episodes of Season 1, I immediately turned on to Season 2.Season 2 brings us to see how some of our characters have matured, particularly Jojo and Hye-Yeong who eventually became a couple. However, Sun-oh still remained the immature, demanding and possessive guy (although, yes, I could understand his frustrations throughout these years, not knowing why Jojo suddenly broke up with him with no strong reason). We even get to see Gok-Du who has matured enough, even when facing Gulmi.
It was also interesting to see changes in how each of them viewed love. Sun-Oh seemed to really take Love alarm seriously in Season 1 (which explains why he wanted to know so much about Jojo's love for him), but in Season 2 he insisted that Jojo was in love with him just by looking at her (this was never said in nice, romantic way. Sun-oh still had those temper tantrums and showing how possessive and self-centered he was). On the other hand, Jojo and Hye-Yeong who didn't care much about the application, were now so much into it in Season 2.
The ending on season 2 was more bearable and realistic to me compared to other Korean dramas. There was no fairy-tale happy ending showing wedding of our protagonists.
I liked the soundtrack songs in this drama (most of them were in English). I'd like to google and listen to them again.
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Love Alarm - worth watching?
I did not see this drama in 2019. When I noticed it on Netflix in April 2021 and that it had only 8 episodes, that made me motivated enough because it means I could probably watch the whole thing in 2 days. Not to mention that I have this great interest in teenage love dramas. I’ve already seen Kim So Hyun in other dramas, including River Where The Moon Rises, which was still ongoing. I also saw Song Kang in Navillera, also still ongoing. So I thought, this drama must be a good one since I like both of their acting.I read both good and bad reviews about this drama, but never mind, I’ll just watch it anyway. So in the first episode we are introduced to this cool phone application called Love Alarm, where you get notified if someone within a 10-meter radius likes you. Then we get to know three students, Kim Jojo, Hwang Sun-Oh and Lee Hye-Yeong who goes to the same school, and as you could probably guess, would get caught in a love triangle.
There were so many questions in my mind about the three of them. Jojo seems to have gone through a traumatic childhood, which I never understood exactly, until I got the answer in episode 6 of Season 2. Hye-Yeong as we know is childhood buddy of Sun-Oh, the son of a wealthy politician and beautiful actress. We then understand that Sun-Oh has a dysfunctional family, with self-centered parents who can only care about their public image.
Then we get to know that Hye Yeong’s mother works in their mansion, more like a head housekeeper, and so basically they live in the same house, but different quarters, but not much do we know about the family background (until Season 2)
I have seen some Song Kang’s temper tantrums as Chae-rok in Navillera, where he still remains to be a good boy, but the character Sun-oh in this drama was so unbearable to me. Sun-Oh was a rich, good-looking guy but he was also arrogant, conceited and somewhat bossy, as if the world revolves around him. He was annoyed that Hey-Yeong did not pick him up at the airport when he returned from the US. He also didn’t approve Hye-Yeong working part-time in a restaurant, because he wants Hye-Yeong to spend more time with him.
What I found also really annoying was he even stalked and kissed Jojo, whom he barely knew, and he already knew that she was Hye-Yeong's object of affection. How could you do this to your very best friend? But then again, I thought, this is a teenage romance drama. You do all sorts of stupid stuff when you were young and immature, and this was part of growing up. So I thought this would be the core of the story, a love triangle among Jojo, Sun-Oh and Hye-Yeong.
The script was a bit disappointing though, and sometimes confusing. We keep on seeing the same flashbacks of Jojo’s childhood, but as each episode continues, we still don’t get a grip on what was going on. Jojo’s cousin, Gul-mi (another annoying character) kept on mentioning about what happened in Jeju with her parents, and even threatened to tell people about it. Still we never understood what happened, and surprisingly, I was not that curious.
Anyway, Love Alarm showed the usual ingredients for teenage drama: love triangles, unrequited love, school bullying, family matters, and the ups and downs of friendship. This was illustrated using the usual K-drama formula, but there were more serious issues on the dark side which were touched briefly, such as school bullying, homosexuality (or more likely gay bullying), suicide (and mass suicide), murder and data privacy.
So how would I rate this drama? I think the acting was superb, but the script needed more substance. I don’t even know what it is, but it seemed like it could be done better. I must say I do like the soundtrack songs (some were in English) and might google to find them after this.
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