Less violent and worthy remake

First off let me explain the title of my review. I call it a WORTHY remake because that's what it is: a good, solid remake. I don't know if it's good enough to make us forget the original but it's trying. One thing that I like is that they changed the setting of the story and made it a historical. From the clothing, I'd put the era around the 1960s. It doesn't matter too much to the story, but I liked the touch of exotism it added (the clothes and the cars). It also made a few plot points more relevant (like the fact that a rich family could easily bully a single mother, or how one would make a living through painting), which was clever.

It is also less violent than the original drama. Not that there is absolutely no violence, some characters are really mistreated in this, but thankfully our FL is not, and most importantly not by the ML. Oh he's not tender towards her, but he's not physically abusive and even the arm-grabbing is reduced to a minimum.

The story in itself is pretty cliché by now, so I won't go into details about it.
The acting was pretty good, especially Esther carried the show with her talent and her beauty. Jes is not bad, but he didn't fully meet the expectations set by Chakrit for this character. He had me in the beginning but by the second part of the drama, I was a bit indifferent to Jes' portrayal. The chemistry between Esther and Jes is good though. REAL KISSES, though few of them.
The rest of the cast was good, though the 2d FL was given too much screen time, but eh she's pretty so I don't complain.
The kid actor was adorable. And other actors were pretty good too.
I never notice the music in shows, so that's that.
I recommend this whether or not you've seen the 2005 version, it's well worth watching or rewatching.

Leggi di Più

What a very enjoyable lakorn!

This might be the most enjoyable lakorn I've watched yet. There were a few clichés, but they didn't really ruin my enjoyment of the story. I liked that the drama let you make your own mind about the characters. There are no side characters describing the main character and telling you, the viewer, what to think from the get go. Instead you get to watch them act and make your mind. Now I'll go into more details:
-The story: The story is nothing new under the sun. Amnesia plot with a helping of kind hearted island people. There's a lot of action, many murder attempts, and of course secrets, sex and money. But it's all really well done, especially for a thai lakorn. Usually thai dramas have really bad pacing, with a big chunk of filler episodes and then a rushed ending, this drama was the exception. Here things kept happening with sometimes a bit of repetition (especially if you binge watch like me), but nothing too bad. Also the bad guys really are the strong suit of this drama. I always like when a villain is scary smart and compelling. The villains here are all that and more. The comic relief is also extremely well written.
-The acting was overall VERY good. Mik is not my favorite actor but he did okay, same for Sammy. The side characters were on point, except the FL's best friend who's a newbie,and even then she was good overall. The two big villains were extremely well played. But for me the scene stealer was Prapas. What a great, well acted character!
-I forced myself to pay attention to the music, and yeah it was actually very good.
-The rewatch value is very subjective. Once I've had closure, the only reason I would have to revisit a drama would be the sweet scenes. There were not many of these here. The drama is really good, but not enough kiss for me to revisit haha.

Leggi di Più

I thought this was a better version than the Korean one...

This was one really good show. I want to make a comparison between the US, the Korean and the Japanese versions of this show.
The main difference between the korean and japanese versions is the pacing. The korean show encompasses around 5 seasons of the original version, whereas the japanese version focuses mainly on the first season, and some of the second/third season (for the last two episodes). Weirdly enough, it's more fast paced than the korean show. I think it's mainly because of the focus of the show. In the korean version, the focus is more on the wife and her love life; the criminal cases are almost second thought. Whereas the japanese version is more focused on the husband's trial. The wife is still the lead in the story, but it's all about how she deals with the trial (she has more of a proactive role in it than either the us or the korean versions).

Another big difference is on the character of the husband. The US and korean actors were oozing sex appeal, and pulled of being both charming and scary. Especially the korean version, where his personality is more suave and smarmy but also absolutely dangerous. The japanese husband has some charisma too, but he really can't compare to the previous versions. His actions are less grey than them though. The wife really sums it up well by saying "he's a great tactician but a clumsy person".

The third big difference is the part of romance. This is a japanese show, so I wasn't expecting much, thankfully. Yes there are feelings going around, but everything is very subtle. Many plot points that appear on both US and korean versions were changed here to much safer versions (a family picture instead of a pack of condoms for example LOL)

The fourth difference which makes the japanese show better than the korean, is pertaining to the cases. The korean show is competent, but the writing was a little lazy, since it was almost a perfect translation of the US version, which is fine except it leaves very little in terms of suspense. The japanese show is an adaptation in the true sense of the word, and the cases have been rewritten in a way that make them new and exciting. Also the denouement of the japanese show is better than even the us show.

The acting is top notch for all characters. The casting of the firm's investigator is excellent, she even has that "exotic" factor that added to the aura of mystery around her character. Unfortunately, the wife is not as stylish as in the other versions, but that didn't bother me because it was in line with her story too. All in all, this a very good show and I'll recommend it over the korean version for someone who already know the original show. If romance (and skinship) is a must for you though, I'll say the korean version is a safer bet.

Leggi di Più

I'm new to the thai entertainment. Of the douzain of lakorns that I've watched, I think the majority were either slap kiss or comedy. So my judgement may be biased by my lack of knowledge. Still this drama has much more qualities than I would have expected, from the ratings. I'll try to make this review simple.
What is great about this drama:
-The acting is really good, especially from the main leads and the older actors. Some of the support cast were not as great but at least everybody was on tone. Nobody was overacting or stomping their feet. Not even the antagonist. No shrieks, no sharp breathing...
-The relatable characters: the characters were very realistic, with very clear and simple motivations, and a rather sound way to get what they wanted. The protagonists were flawed and the antagonists were reasonable in their evilness.
- An almost feminist portrayal of women. Women are not passive victims in this drama. They have agency and make their own decisions. I was flabergasted to see an independant single mom working to support herself. And though I may be mistaken, I don't recall anyone talking of women as single use commodity. How refreshing. Also, miracle, no violence towards women per say in this lakorn!!
-The treatment of queer people as human beings. Nobody is caricatural and I really applaud the actors for that. They acted like all the gay people I've met (i.e in a normal way). And the gay relationships are really compelling and interesting. I only liked one of the gay characters and it was because of their actions, and not the "attitude".

As for the negative, I'd say there was not enough passion in this lakorn. Although the chemistry was sizzling between the main leads, and I even felt embarrassed watching some of their scenes in the beginning (I felt like peeping at a real relationship!), there is just not enough cute scenes throughout the drama. I think that may explain why the ratings are so low over all. But I was not too disappointed by that fact, I like well executed, well acted stories.
Overall I'd recommend this drama for the days when you don't want just a funny, cutesy story but something a bit heavier and more mature.

Leggi di Più

This is a good drama with some good looking and very convincing actors. The story is nothing extraordinary and the premice reminded me a lot of the old Harlequin books that my aunt owned and I used to sneak and read them, I was pleased with that. The heroine is great, she's not loud but she can fight her battles. The male lead is the typical arrogant rich guy but he's not the worst I've seen in Lakorns, far from it. The real annoyance that I had is with the second female lead but I think I just didn't like the actress, she was overacting and really odd looking.
Some people said the drama dragged towards the end, I for one didn't feel that. I liked that for once the problems didn't disappear just because the second FL was out of the picture.
The strongest point for this drama in my opinion is the characters, they are all rational people, even the antagonists. It's really believable in that aspect and you can understand the actions from everybody. Overall I think this is not the best drama in the world, but compared to the other slap/kiss I've watched to this day, this deserves a solid 8.

Leggi di Più

Chicklit come to life

This is a cute little (as in short) drama, that I would recommend to anyone who wants a break from high stakes drama, and a change of scenery from Korean and Chinese landscapes and faces.

Every episode is a vignette starring a different woman facing romantic problems, and Yanna is the through line. It gave me the vibe of a chicklit book turned into a show. You also get nothing more nor less, no big romance either, this is all about women finding themselves, despite a romantic relationship that took a wrong turn.
Though this is a good enough show considering thelow time investment, I don't see a reason to watch this again. I hope we get a second season, I'm really curious about what happens next to Yanna.

Overall good little show, don't expect much and you won't be disappointed.

Leggi di Più

This show started with a BANG and ended with a fizzle.

If I had been asked to rate this drama after episode 8, I would have given it a 9/10. Why? Because it's a refreshing story, a detective story with a funny sherlock type lead (with the disguises to go with it). Also the Female Lead is far from a damzelle in distress, she's very resourceful. I liked the mix of supernatural and very practical elements. And there's a good chemistry between the leads (Pope is SO charming!).
But after 8 episodes, things start getting repetitive and I started fast forwarding the show and ticking off some points.
Half a point of because of the repititiveness: I mean, at some point it was just ludicrous how Joe would run for an entire episode after a lead that would end up having just been a complete waste of time. I also feel that the writer started contradicting themselves. So was Joe really unlucky or was it just a coincidence that lightening hit this guy right after he had given him money??
Half a point because of the lack of sweet moments between the leads. This is highly subjective, but as for me, I like it when the leads get together mid-drama and we get a good amount of tenderness before the end. It was not the case for this drama, and even though the chemistry was there, it still was a very low burn romance!
Half a point because of stupid plot devices like: pointless deaths. I don't understand why lakorn writers feel the need to always gratuitously kill at least one (mostly) innocent minor character towards the end of a drama, but I really think they ought to find some other plot device to insert gravity and stakes into a story. Not every consequence needs to be death.
Half a point because of lack of consistency: Joe is such a GREAT detective, uh? Well this show completely contradicts this premise towards the end. I won't say more as not to spoil. Also, I'm sorry but you can't introduce a crucial character in the last 2 episodes of a show and expect me to just stay on board with the story.

By the end, this show was saved by the chemistry between the leads and my desire for closure, not by the plot. What started as a funny and smart romcom ended as a dragging melodrama with heavy handed moral lessons.

Leggi di Più

The best thai lakorn I've seen so far

The story is great, very well done. It's actually one of the better written show I've seen in a long time. The stories are intricate but, the writers pull it off really well. The show has a lot of foreshadowing and misdirection, which tends to make things quite unpredictable and exciting. The characters are really well rounded except for two minor characters (Jom's brother and sister, the roles are redundant).

The acting is on par with the writing, very good. I salute the antagonists, they were the salt of this show. There were three stand out scenes in the show for me, all emotionally charged. I think they'll live with me for a little wile.

Rewatch value is pretty low because this show has very dark themes, and I usually tend to rewatch feel good shows with a lot of laugh.

Leggi di Più

I really liked this drama. In terms of production it's not the best drama that I've seen. But the characters and actors' portrayal are amazing. Every little character is developed and you learn to like and understand everybody. All actors in this drama have amazing chemistry: the love interests, the family, the friends, and even the group of young lawyers at the firm. I don't know if it's due to an amazing casting director or a great writer. Maybe both.
At the end I almost forgot that it was all make belief and not a real family in front of me. The casting choices are excellent, the acting is great, the directing and writing is really, really  good. This drama made me laugh and think and for that reason will always stay with me.

Leggi di Più

I watched this drama for the first time in 2018 and I'm not biased when I say that it has aged very well. Yes, the cell phones are enormous, and the fashion ridiculous. But other than that really, it holds up very well.
I think the story is really good, the show is packed with content: young love, delinquency, "forced" marriage, and most importantly the growth of this young couple into adulthood.
The casting is great, except for the second female lead. But I was simply blown away by Jae Hee' acting skills. He is great, and super handsome. I wish he would be in better productions nowadays.
The music was something special in this drama. I don't usually pay much attention to the music, unless it's horrible. But the OST for this drama is really good, from the kitsch opening credits song to the music throughout the show. It feels surprisingly contemporaneous and I will definitely listen to it often (if I can find it).
Overall a really good drama, not without flaws but endearing enough that I decided to overlook them in this review.

Leggi di Più

I feel bad that my first review on this site is such a lukewarm one. But that's pretty much how I felt.
Story: from the get-go we know who are the bad guys. I watched to the end just because I wanted to see how they would get caught.
Acting: the male lead (Chakrit) also kept me watching because he was really good. Anne was really bad in this drama (in my humble opinion). I was really surprised by how unlikable the character turned out to be. I simply don't know if it was because of her acting or because of the writing. Other than her, every single character did a great job.
Rewatch value: though it was not the worst drama I've seen, I will never rewatch it again. It was hard enough to finish it the one time.

Leggi di Più