Just as problematic as the Taiwanese original :/

Ok so I only watched this because I watched the original Taiwanese versions so many times (which I think I only ever really liked because it was the first Mando-language drama I ever watched). I was really hoping they wouldn't repeat the same ultra problematic coercive control theme for this version, but they have. To more or less the exact same degree as the original which is a shame (and hence the low rating).

Otherwise, I do feel like this version has a couple of things going for it. First, I am so grateful they changed the story timeline for this version. Because holy moly, the amount of flashback scenes in the original Taiwanese version was incredibly jarring and confusing. This version tells the story more or less chronologically which has saved a lot of grief.

Second, I liked how Ou Chen was written in this version compared to the Taiwanese. No shade on Peter Ho, I think this was a case of scripting rather than acting. Personally I found this version of Ou Chen a lot more believable than the Taiwanese one. He's also a bit more likeable/human in this version because has his business partners alongside him (rather than the Taiwanese version who was a clear loner).

Luo Xi's character I found more or less on par with the original. Other reviews noted that he seems to be younger in this version but if anything, I think that actually might work better in explaining his character's level of immaturity.

I know I said in my review of the Taiwanese version that Barbie Hsu was a bit lacklustre as Xia Mo compared to other roles she's done. But that said, the one thing she did get spot-on was the 'ice princess' side to Xia Mo's character profile. I found Zhang Xue Ying to be a solid all-rounder though without any real stand out moments.

A couple of things I was really disappointed by were, first, a secondary love story that did exist in the Taiwanese one but only as subtext (not being specific to avoid spoilers). Honestly, it should've stayed as subtext because I skipped most of that storyline in this version of the drama. Second, the music in this version was pretty poor compared to the Taiwanese version. The key difference there is that Barbie Hsu and Peter Ho are professional singers and so were able to contribute their voices.

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Lawful Good types are the worst

Di Renjie is your typical cop/detective protagonist archetype – a dude who says they want to deliver justice for the everyday person – but then spends a lot of time faffing around and being a pain in the arse because they unwaveringly stick to their belief in the law. This is also makes him very, very dull.

That's not to say the series doesn't have a couple of good moments. But my goodness, this made excellent watching to help me get to sleep. The pacing is slow. All the characters are underdeveloped. The visual production is nice but the audio was constantly having a bad hair day.

And all in all, am I really meant to like Di Renjie as a character? For someone that cluey, he never does seem to figure out that the law and justice actually don't really have much in common. And yet he's doggedly dedicated to be, well, a dog.

He seems to serve the interests of an empress that we see at the start and then never again until the preview of season 2. I'd perhaps be more interested if that relationship was explored a bit more. Instead, we just have to accept him as a stickler for the rules. Straight laced. Vanilla. Boring.

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This movie could've been an email

I normally avoid watching C-dramas set during the republican era as they tend to be the most heavily lathered in government propaganda. 1911 is case in point.

The film tells the story of the 1911 revolution (or the Xinhai revolution as it's otherwise known). I'm not surprised that this particular event was the subject of such hammed-up propaganda given the revolution is key to the grander political myth-making of the modern Chinese state. That said, you can still do propaganda a lot better than this??

The storyline reads like my high school essays on Bolshevik Russia. It's a boring chronology of events with political commentary slapped across the top. The music and melodrama seems to indicate that you're meant to care about the characters on screen. But you don't.

It's normally a pretty safe choice to start a story in the middle of the action – in this case the failed Second Guangzhou Uprising – but without an emotional hook to the characters, mid action scenes exhaust their oxygen pretty fast. By following a Great Men of History approach, the main characters feel flat and 2D, their entire psyche presented in the form of political speeches or the flashing of guns.

By the end of the film, you're feeling pretty uninspired. There's a lot of monologuing where you start to think the character just likes the sound of their own voice. Jackie Chan is the only one allowed to wear a leather jacket for some reason. And the two normie characters who should've been the soul of the movie are really awkwardly tacked on at the beginning and end.

tbh, it's quicker and more interesting to read the wikipedia page.

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#HottiesForGoodGovernance

I love bad boys. I especially love bad boys with sharp wit, dressed in black, and adorned with a fan to show that fragile masculinity is a foreign concept to them.

What I don't love is when a bad boy turns out to be not a bad boy at all.

Before I go any further, I'm setting PeachBlossomGoddess' review as pre-requisite reading because their review matches exactly my thoughts and feelings on The Double. The point on which I will extrapolate is why I think the drama ultimately undermines itself.

For me, The Double fails to follow through on what is a very powerful swing during the first half of the series. And this is for two reasons. The first, as PeachBlossomGoddess describes, is weak plot lines echoing those of other dramas of this genre.

The second reason, I argue, is the second half kills a boner. No, seriously, bear with me here. This drama is horny AF. In the first half, you have a FL and a ML equal in terms of looks and wit dancing around each other as they glide from suspicion to mutual trust to deep thirsting for one another.

The appeal of the ML derives partly from mystique. He has a sharp mind and, as explicitly stated, he is projecting himself in a similar direction to the FL. Although he doesn't ultimately give up his dom position, there's enough switching between the two to keep the power dynamic infused with sexual tension. At the initial stages of the drama, we don't know the ML's background nor his intentions. The fact he appears to be a bit of a lone wolf lends him an even sexier air; the idea that he isn't at someone else's beck and call.

Or is he?

It was a disappointment to find out that the ML, all this time, has been in cahoots with the emperor. I feel like you'd be disappointed too if you were crushing on a silver-tongued, hot and brooding colleague at work only to find out they're actually the boss' right-hand man. idk about you, but that gives me the ick.

Sorry but maintaining the status quo isn't sexy. I'm not saying everyone has to be a rebel or underdog in order to be attractive. However, if you're going for the Bad Boy Hottie approach, supporting the vanilla and (assumedly?) benevolent monarch kinda takes the edge off.

Honestly, this isn't an issue unique to The Double. It's probably safe to say that, to get government approval at all, the good governance narrative must endure in these historical C-dramas. As I've mentioned in other reviews, it's a common trope to have the FL and ML protect the emperor's power (or help the 'rightful' emperor ascend), even though at no point do we see proof that the emperor actually does anything beneficial for his people.

Which is why, by the end of the series, there's not much substance to the political plot. Oh goodie, #HottiesForGoodGovernance win again. I'm shocked. How grand, the ML and FL have mellowed and now have domestic bliss. Sly smiles and black coats be damned.

And y'know what? If it wasn't for Shen Yurong losing his cool right at the end, he could've been a great Bad Boy Hottie. Uxoricide aside, I'd personally love for a morally ambivalent (and conveniently good looking) scholar to come brood in my corner. Let's hang out, shall we? I know a great graveyard.

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And that, kids, is how you unionise!

From that start, the plot didn't feel right. Why would a domestic servant have any real romantic feelings for their master? So needless to say the final episode was a big 'ah now that makes sense' moment.

That said, as much as I enjoy lower class insurgency and rooting for underdogs, the plotline was terribly executed. Because it spent more time delving into the backstories of the Evil Masters Of The House more than the servants, you had very little sense of who the servants were as human beings.

I understand why the storyline worked that way. It would've been very hard to explore Khaimook's character in-depth, for example, without giving away the big plot twist. However, it does mean the ending feels shallow. Sure – I want these people to land on top. But only on principle. Not because I feel any sentimental attachment to the individuals themselves.

Also, just as a heads up, this series does stray into torture porn territory at times. You can skip those scenes: it's lazy writing and doesn't really contribute much overall.

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Finishes what Princess Agents (2017) started

I watched this drama purely for the sake of the FL and ML who most of us know from Princess Agents (PA). I was disappointed by what I saw as an unresolved ending to PA and so was very excited when the Legend of Shen Li popped up on my radar. On that point, I feel like the drama's creators had an easy job on their hands. For me at least, it seemed they could rely on the romantic chemistry pre-existing between the two lead characters (even if it was non-canon) and therefore develop a love story quickly and... weirdly?? The Chicken x Human romance gave me Bee Movie (2007) energy... Take that how you will!

In the end, I was incredibly satisfied with the romantic plotline. The rest of it, however, was pretty underwhelming. The side characters are poorly developed and the fantasy conflict elements are hodgepodge. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed it as an easy watch.

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Inspiring sports film? Nuh-uh, this is a political drama, baby

Did I know anything about sumo before watching Sanctuary? No. Was I even notionally interested in sumo beforehand? Not at all. Did I binge all six hours of this series in one go? Absolutely.

Our protagonist, Oze, becomes a sumo wrestler so he can financially support his dad. He has no emotional investment in sumo nor respect for its traditions and thus is quickly marked as a troublemaker. But don't let the premise mislead you: the sport should not be taken at face value. The power politics of the wrestlers and the vested interests means this series has just as much intrigue as a political drama. It's also just incredibly deeply and darkly funny.

Combine complex power dynamics, high end production (those slow-mo shots are *chefs kiss*), impressive character development, and you find yourself deeply sucked into the rich world of Sanctuary. The episode length times put me off from watching this at an earlier date, but when I did finally hit play, ohhh boy. The plot raced me through all eight episodes in one day,

That said, I can't give a full 10/10. At one stage, the series does teeter dangerously close to cheesy sports movie territory. Despite opinions expressed in other reviews, I think the ending worked well and redeemed the series from its brief foray into inspo-porn.

So yes, I highly recommend giving this series a shot. The blurb doesn't do it justice. I'll end this with a note on Ichinose Wataru's stellar performance. I'd seen him in a support role in the film, The Valley, and was disappointed that he didn't get more screen time – his talent seemed so much larger than his character. With Sanctuary, his acting skills are on full display and he's a wonder to watch. Brilliant work.

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Larger-than-life tragedy about... work health and safety?

Yuu, when we first meet him, is in a state of misery. He works at his village's mega waste facility as a garbage sorter by day and illegal waste dumper by night, coerced into the work due to his mother's gambling addiction. His life takes a turn for the better when his childhood friend, Misaki, moves back to the town. The two share a love of Noh: an important tradition in the village.

From the start, the stakes are clear: environmental destruction, worker exposure to deadly hazards, and deep corruption among local authorities. In many respects, this film could have been a documentary. The tale it tells is one currently happening around the world.

But to avoid banality and hitting too close to home, the film's creators have opted for a larger-than-life tragedy approach to the story. The result is a high quality production with beautiful cinematography, especially the shots focussing on the Noh tradition of the village. Unfortunately, this comes at a cost to narrative cohesion, character development, and pacing.

The split focus of The Village means it ultimately fails to pack a punch. While it does have a strong tragedy element that explores the morally ambiguous nature of coerced labour, the supporting characters are just a little too underdeveloped to make it work. Maybe give this reel a sharp edit and try again.

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Just go watch Lost instead

Anatahan is a fictional retelling of the Japanese soldiers stranded on the Pacific island of Anatahan from 1944 to 1951. In both the real story and this one, they refused to believe the war was over.

This film features a Japanese cast and has dialogue all in Japanese, but the director (who also narrates the story in English) is a white dude who lathers the story with a heap of racist exotification and sexism. All in all, it's a pretty Western production.

As such, the story ends up as a crude Lord the Flies with the one woman on the island tossed around as part of the ongoing power struggle. The narrator and the other characters spend the entire film objectifying and harassing her (also content warning for domestic violence and rape, if you plan on watching this).

It's a shame because the premise of the story is an interesting one. Holding out on a stranded island for years on end has been the premise of many of a good piece of cinema. Yet this film flops. Badly.

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It makes sense that a pen solves anxiety

After all, what Nervous Translation depicts so well is the eclectic reasoning of childhood. Following the character of Yael, I'm reminded of the way I made sense of the world at a similar age. Snippets of TV, bits of adult conversation, the intensity of school mathematics.

Yael's mum, Val, juggles exhaustion due to work, keeping her own private boundaries, and looking after family. She is real. We all know a Val or we are a Val.

Nervous Translation is a slice of life. I found the pacing to be a little too slow but, then again, the emotion did creep up on me near the end. At times, it verges on surrealism, sometimes with effect, sometimes less so.

A good film with a gentle touch on life's anxieties.

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Body swap done perfectly

Normally I find body-swap to be incredibly cringe but I found myself enjoying it for the first time since watching Freaky Friday as a kid. Yu Shuxin and Dylan Wang really show off their acting skills. Because they do this very early on in the series, I was pulled in by the comedic element and kept watching from there.

The romance is sweet and although the FL/ML chemistry was strong, I never fully bought it. The support characters are fun albeit predictable.

But the real downfall for me was the plotline. I felt we were just starting to get somewhere in the storyline when the drama ended – similar to how I felt Princess Agents was cut short although at least this time it was a lot less jarring.

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Political intrigue with a lil bit of unionism snuck in too :)

~Review of Part II only~

And here the plot thickens! We have emerged from the initial shock of invasion and now must deal with the logic of Arthdal. We are introduced to new characters and the storylines are separated for most of these six episodes.

Normally, I don't enjoy multi-perspective narratives because you almost always end up hating one storyline. But this was a rare exception for me – I thought they were interesting and well paced. It's a balancing act you don't see done effectively in cinema often enough.

Also big yay for the unionism :) We love worker solidarity.

As I mentioned in my interview for Part I, one thing I like about Arthdal Chronicles is how it treats spiritual agency. By spiritual agency, I mean the role of the spiritual world (rather than necessarily 'religion' because that's often associated with a man-made institution). This is the first piece of historical fiction I've seen to treat the spiritual world as a legitimate agent and as a political tool at the same time. Too often, historical fiction sees a belief in a spiritual world and then a political cynicism of religion to be mutually exclusive.

However, as seen in the characters of Tagon, Taheala and Tanya, they all have belief (of varying degrees) in higher powers but also will use those higher powers – and their religious institutions – for their own ends. I have a sneaking suspicion I'm probably the only person who's watched this series who cares about this point, but I'm a politics nerd, ok? (But if that does catch your interest, I do recommend reading Provincializing Europe by Dipesh Chakrabarty and where he critiques secular histories.)

Don't get me wrong, Arthdal Chronicles isn't perfect. One big downside for me was I started noticing in this section of the series that the music can be a bit lacklustre at times. I can't remember if it was in Part II or Part III but there were some awkward audio cuts too.

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A standard revenge-romance watch with some poor taste (CW: mention of rape)

Normally, I don't care about watching rich people deal with rich people problems, but there was just enough happening to pull me through all eight episodes. The strong acting provided support where the plot failed to provide substantial meat on bone. I think the writers had a good preliminary concept here but just failed to bring it to its full potential.

However, what bugged me thoughout the entire show was the 'woman lies about being raped' trope. First, it falls into the sexist myth of 'if a woman claims rape, she is most likely lying'. Of course, this is not true. I don't know international stats, but in Australia, studies find, on average, only 5% of rape allegations are found to be false (and remember, most survivor/victims don't report and so aren't in the data). In other words, when someone says they've been raped, they're very very very likely to be telling the truth.

Second, the show refuses to grapple with the fact that someone can co-exist as a survivor/victim *and* as a bad human being. As far as characterisation goes, it meant the writers could draw an easy 'good/bad' line between the main characters. Thus, not only did the 'good' character not owe the 'bad' character any pity , but the 'good' character's own refusal to believe the rape claim goes unchallenged throughout all eight episodes.

Apart from that, I did enjoy this series as an easy watch. It was actually a lot of fun once I stopped taking it too seriously.

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A wholesome and fun YA drama with some refreshing originality

I was intrigued by the premise of The Underclass: a school where everything hinges on academic rankings. I had no idea what BNK48 even was until I'd finished the the series and read the other reviews here so that connection wasn't a factor for me.

For me, the appeal was how the drama depicted the joy and struggle of teens figuring themselves out while simultaneously combatting unfair demands and expectations. It did so without being overtly didactic or condescending.

Although there were very recognisable clichés underpinning the entire series, there were also moments of refreshing originality in certain character dynamics and plot points. Most of the characters felt real (with the exception of the more artificial 'bad guys') and, despite the clichés, the school ranking system was actually only a slight exaggeration of my own school experience. I found a lot of my teenage-self in the characters.

That said, at times the ensemble cast felt a little unwieldy – there were perhaps one or two supporting actors too many – but the acting quality itself was of okay quality among the cast. Some of the production quality was patchy every now and then.

Overall, this is a fun Young Adult drama with a good mix of originality and reliable tropes to make it an easy watch.

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Don't take it too seriously – it's a fun mixed genre Young Adult drama

The Ghost Bride has its faults but what drew me in was the rich world-building. I've never watched anything set in historical Malaysia before nor had I ever encountered the idea of 'ghost brides' before reading the YA novel this series derives from. Those two elements plus the Underworld setting meant that I wasn't too fussed about the characters because the variety of settings became fascinating characters in their own right.

I think other reviews have assessed the actual characters well. Special mention goes to Chris Wu just because of his range: I've now seen him perform beautifully in huge different roles in Ghost Bride, Autumn's Concerto, and Shards of Her. Boy, can he act!

I think it is important to remember that this is meant for a younger audience. I was more forgiving than I would normally be about the lack of depth for some of the characters because of the 'Young Adult' genre. There tends to be a certain naîve sheen that comes with that. Normally, I'd be critiquing the class politics too – notice how Amah and Lao Wong are uncritically loyal to the Pan family – but, again, it's a YA audience in mind so I can understand how it could've complicated the story too much.

Overall, this is a fun mystery/fantasy drama with a touch of romance that strays just far enough away from usual YA tropes to stand on its own two legs.

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