Q F – Google

I have not read the books, but I have watched the Chinese series, which is way superior than this Netflix version. Why were the characters flown to London and Oxford? Why did Ye Wenxie have a daughter with Evans? This differs so much from the original plot. Isn't it possible for Western audiences to relate to a story developing in China, with Chinese characters and values? The Netflix version loses important viewing time depicting the weakness of the characters: This one drinks, the other does drugs, the next one is about to die, this one is forever depressed and guilty. Boring and irrelevant. Evans speaks with the inhabitants of the three-body solar system as if he were speaking with god....can't Western audiences watch a movie with no religious overtones? And then the music...loud rocky songs, with bad lyrics, now in vogue in so many movies and series....really awful. All which reminds me why I have been gradually drifting away from Anglo-related media.

Interesting idea, with many cliffhangers, but very poorly developed. The series has so many illogical, non-sequitur or wrong situations, that they are difficult to enumerate (they girl not paying for the flowers, the police not investigating computers or tracing phones, the officer visiting a relative of the victim with his son, detective investigating a serious case on his own, detective kisses girl, guy who helps girl attempts to kiss girl...subplots not developed, which are there for no reason at all). Typical American series which intends to be very politically correct, therefore the couple is mixed ethnicity, the policeman is Muslim, the journalist is gay...sub plots totally irrelevant to the central story. Media products have really fallen in quality.

Interestingly that reviewers assess this film on the basis of their political leanings. However, the quality of the movie and the politics in play are two different issues. The Movie: Although I find war movies boring, I acknowledge this is an excellent film. The battle scenes are epic, the Chinese actors are great (huge fan of Jackson Lee, among others). The actors playing Americans sound weird, probably because they may not be professional actors? Anyway, a great movie. The Politics: The Chinese decided fight this war because General Mac Arthur made a statement about attacking their country (please, research history) This film is clearly not glorifying war. War is presented as a tragedy, something that should never happen. Soldiers fight because they hope this will ensure the next generation leaves in peace. Is it propaganda? Yes. So are countless of Western war movies.

Based on real characters and events, this fiction story of the Prince of Lan Ling (purportedly, one of the four most handsome men in old China) is entertaining and brings together a great cast (Feng Shao Feng, Ariel Lin, Daniel Chan, George Hu and others). A love story having as background the fall of the state of Qi due to its inept emperor, and the ascent of the State of Zhou, governed by an intelligent king who cared about his citizens. The costumes and make-up are not realistic or top quality, and the story is not great. Definitely not the top Chinese drama, but worth watching, nonetheless.

Nice drama, especially at the beginning. At the end, the writers sort of lost the plot, even when they had to comply with historical facts. Great acting and production. Ha-KJi Won, Ji Chang Wook and Joo Jin Mo were fantastic, as well as the rest of the cast. My favourite character was Tal Tal, laconic, expressing more through his eyes and attitude than through words, witty, sensitive, scholarly oriented, wonderfully played by Jin Yi-Han.

Nice fantasy saeguk set in the historical time of Admiral Yi Sun Shin, who confronted the Japanese sea incursions into Korea and presided over the design of the first armoured ships in history (turtle ships). A gumiho (supernatural being) falls deeply in love with a human abused by a corrupt and evil official wielding a lot of political power. It is an ill fated love, that produces a half breed gumiho child, who is condemned to repeat his father's ill fated love affair with a human. But this boy, as a man, is willing to challenge his destiny and find the Gu Family Book, that contains the secret steps to be followed in order to become fully human. The ideas of fate, challenging family traditions, the nature of being human are powerful, and make for a great drama. Unfortunately the drama then loses the plot and all these powerful ideas remain undeveloped. Another negative point is the casting of an alternative actress to play older Seo Wah. This change was unnecessary and distracting. The role should have been played by the same actress with make up for age, as it happened with all the other characters. I still give it four stars for top acting. All actors were outstanding. Beautiful OST, especially the theme My Eden.

Interesting fantasy period drama based on a Korean folk story of the Miryang area. In this adaptation, the ghost of a young magistrate's daughter, Arang, returns to the world to find out why and how she died. She approaches a series of town magistrates who die of terror when meeting the ghost. Only young and handsome Kim Eun Oh shows no panic and, interested in Arang, becomes a magistrate to conduct this investigation with the help of a shaman and of his loyal servant. Meanwhile, deities in Heaven are watching the deeds of humans and playing with their destinies. Enquiries into Arang's death lead to puzzling discoveries. Great acting by Lee Joon Gi and cast. Worth watching.