#period drama review

[muchcelebrated]

PSA: If you loved My Lady Jane you should watch The Artful Dodger! It has immaculate romance and banter and angst and the two leads (Thomas Brodie Sangster and Maia Mitchell) have great chemistry!

It’s got great writing and is a part period drama, part medical drama, part romance, and has heist elements! I also really can’t overstate how great the romance is!

[dilirebas]

My review of The Double / 墨雨云间

Xue Fangfei (played by Wu Jinyan) survives a murder attempt by her husband and takes on the new identity of Jiang Li, the eldest daughter of an imperial official. With the help of Xiao Heng (played by Wang Xingyue), she seeks revenge against those who wronged her.

This drama is very much carried by the incredible chemistry between the leads. Every shared scene is simultaneously explosive and subdued.

Wu Jinyan has a great track record for playing badass female leads in period dramas, and you can absolutely see why. Her take on Xue Fangfei is sharp, complex, and resolute.

Wang Xingyue's take on Xiao Heng is confident and charismatic, but as his relationship with Xue Fangfei develops, he becomes increasingly mischievous and...cute?

Shen Yurong, played by Liang Yongqi, was the supporting character that stood out the most for me.

The writing sucks, but it sucks in a way that's easy to overlook? The story is littered with plotholes, the leads have insane plot armour, most of the minor characters are two-dimensional props, the political landscape makes no sense... but if you don't take the drama too seriously, you can think of all of this as a mere backdrop to the leads having badass moments and magnetic chemistry.

I think most people will find that it's a very satisfying drama to watch. There was just one aspect about the ending that I found incredibly unsatisfying, which was Jiang Li's ending. It seems to say [SPOILER]: you get a free pass to be the world's worst father as long as a random person gives you absolution for your actual daughter's death.

Wu Jinyan and Wang Xingyue are both signed under the same company, and their outspoken boss has been quite responsive to fans, so I think there's a good chance we'll get to see them work together again :)

[wellsbering]

maurice letterboxd reviews, ft. thirsting for young hugh grant, Mustache Discourse™, and more

[sessayyys-corner]

GOMBURZA (2023) - MMFF REVIEW

“Vivan Los Filipinos. Mabuhay ang mga Filipino.”

This film is the story of the three martyr priests. Three Filipinos who were part of the native community who were once under Spanish colonial rule and oppression. If you have been updated, or have been listening in your elementary Philippine history classes, it’s GOMBURZA, not MAJOHA. 

Despite it being produced by Jesuit Communications, the film was able to execute (No pun intended) a factual depiction on a turning point of Philippine history without overused emphasis of religion. It was able to capture how the Catholic faith was used as an instrument of oppression during the Spanish colonial period (This was especially ironic considering how return of the religious orders, including the Jesuits, were the reason for the silencing of the secularization movement). What also impressed me is that almost every single detail in the movie, even in the dialogue, came from actual events in history. It is evident that enough research was made to make this film as accurate as possible.

The film’s cinematography was able to capture life during the period whether it was amongst the Filipino liberals, the Spanish priests, the Governor-Generals, or even the three main characters in our story. With every other scenes of the film shifting from light to dark atmospheres, this symbolized the reality of Spanish colonization — warmth, acceptance, and friendship amongst fellow Filipinos; and ruthlessness, inhumanity, and oppression from the Spaniards (and even traitors). Adding emphasis to GomBurZa’s (2023) cinematography is its sound design. Just by feeling the cinema floor rumbling and the deeply-voiced voiceover in the film’s ending segment, this film can come to a point where it deserves its own IMAX screening.

Dante Rivero and Cedrick Juan showcase over-the-top stellar performances as Padre Mariano Gomez (played by Rivero) and Padre Jose Burgos (played by Juan). Both actors have embodied their roles, not only due to the fact that they, especially Juan, share a slight resemblance with the real life Mariano Gomez and Jose Burgos. It is also because that they were able to portray their emotions from having a friendly conversation, to later condemning their unfair arrest, trial, and death.

Pepe Diokno's time and effort in conducting research and including every important detail in the production is evident in the whole film itself, as it was not only ACTUALLY based on true events, but was able to evoke emotion and outrage, just like how the Filipinos of the 1870s did at the time.

With all of this said, GomBurZa (2023) is not only a history lesson, but also an immersion into the Spanish colonial rule and the lives of the three priests. Being a history nerd and a cinephile who has since learned the names of the three martyr priests as a little girl in elementary, I can definitely say that this was one of the only film experiences where I had witnessed the breaking of the fourth wall. The whole time I was in the cinema, it felt like I was part of their conversation, like I was a witness to their lives and execution.

What also added to this experience was that I watched the film on Rizal Day, and what better way to commemorate our national hero's contribution to Philippine independence than to learn about where it all started? Like what I always preached to my family:

Without GomBurZa, there will be no Jose Rizal. Without Jose Rizal, there would be no Andres Bonifacio. Without all of them, the Philippines and the Filipino would not exist.

GomBurZa (2023) is a cathartic experience that is definitely for the family. This film is a testament to the importance of appreciating and learning our history. Hopefully it serves as a reminder of our collective past, national identity, and the importance of our freedom.

[Metro Manila Film Festival 2023]

(my film review of "GomBurZa" is also available on letterboxd!)

[tailsbeth]

My friend asked me about Mary & George and I think I summed it up pretty well 💁🏻

(also very aware I butchered Nick's surname, I stayed up for the Oscars & had got through the day without some how napping fyi)

[enyoalkis]

“In a rotten, blood-soaked island kingdom, cursed by plague and riven by religious unrest, there was once a queen by the name of Katherine Parr. She was the 6th wife of an angry and ailing king.”

FINALLY THIS MOVIE IS OUT! I've been wanting to see Firebrand for a while but now me and Reina just watched it together!

Review

Firstly, the costumes are GORGEOUS. Although I was taken aback by the ending, I genuinely enjoyed the movie (maybe an unpopular opinion despite the historical inaccuracies?) It’s a different from all the other Tudor dramas I’ve seen. As my first impression from the trailer initially thought, it definitely has the horror thriller vibe that really does show how you have to be very careful treading through Henry VIII's court.

Alicia Vikander is a great Katherine Parr: beautiful and looks like someone at the same age as the real Katherine when she married Henry. I enjoyed seeing her religious ambitions and political role as regent, along with her friendship with Anne Askew (I'm not sure if they were ever friends irl but it's nice to see genuine friendship in Tudor dramas). Definitely the best Katherine Parr portrayal I've seen.

But I especially really like how the camera often pans to a young Elizabeth I as a major background observer to all the events as she definitely was very perceptive in real life. I heard the book the film was based off depicted Elizabeth much more negatively (ew?) but the movie doesn't. Katherine has a positive relationship with all her stepchildren in the film as she did in real life.

I do wonder if the film is intended to show both Katherine and Elizabeth's POVs of Henry because his personality is very explicitly monstrous and more violent. I was actually genuinely terrified of him while watching, and Jude Law really is unrecognizable in his role there. I did like though how the film shows his children, even young Edward, being scared of their father because I can imagine you would be after hearing all the crazy shit he's done and pulled throughout his reign.

I don't have much issues with the movie, but I didn't like how young Mary I is portrayed as just... being there? She doesn't have as much of a speaking role as Elizabeth, and her personality came off as bland. Edward did have more moments in the movie but just him being a kid.

Overall, I think this film is mostly worth a watch.

[animehouse-moe]

Raven of The Inner Palace Vol. 3: The Ao God

This cover image is pretty sneaky, very sneaky, even. But truthfully so is the story. It can take you through the motions slowly but surely, letting details build up in the background before open the gates and allowing all of the information to hit you in full force. It's a really good volume that builds on the uncertainty provided by the ending of the second. Not a lot to talk about, but it will be spoilers, so be warned.

This volume got me in a lot of different ways, but I think the most interesting thing is the Ao God. It's a very curious and interesting thing, because it can make you wonder "why did it only show up now?". But in reality, there's two answers. The first is that, like the Raven's elder brother, it awoke/became interested due to Jusetsu's ongoings/changes. The second, it awoke due to the sibling's spat at the end of the second volume. Both of which are very interesting and show how in tune the realm of the gods is with one another.

Regardless of how it awoke though, the Ao God is very interesting as its implied to exist within the human realm, just at the bottom of the ocean. The reveal behind Ui was super interesting and surprising though, considering the Ao God's origins.

Even crazier is how they weave a deeper story with it to provide interesting history. It's stated in this volume that the Raven's brother wants to help Koshun save both Jusetsu and the Raven, but that he doesn't know how. Well, thanks to Ui and the Ao God there's potential. Jusetsu potentially being a part of both the Ran Dynasty as well as the Hi Dynasty from nearly 2000 years ago presents potential in how to save her, as she's able to separate herself from the role of Winter Sovereign.

Let's tone it back down though and look at the bigger picture. The use of weather, flowers, and birds is incredibly interesting still. The Ao God (and by extension the Saname clan due to the jewel they hold) is able to influence weather by inducing droughts or heavy periods of rain, which are featured heavily in this volume to allude to the fact that the god has been awakened.

Then there's the Gardenia that Banka, the Crane Consort, places in Jusetsu's hair. What's the meaning? Well, it's a bit of a double edged sword. While it can equate to trust, it can also be a symbol of knowledge past what you should have. The knowledge in this case being that Banka, thanks to placing the flower in Jusetsu's hair, know that she dyes it. An incredibly subtle bit of foreshadowing for what she does later on in the volume.

And finally, the birds. The star raven is the symbol of the Owl, or the Raven's older brother. We see it featured somewhat frequently in the volume, showing how Owl is watching over his younger sister, and actually providing assistance to Jusetsu. Is it possible that Owl understands the intentions of the Ao God and those that convene with it? It's hard to say, so let's move onto something else.

The way that Shirakawa is able to create stories that feel like they appear out of thin air is really something. Was the connection between Ishiha, Injou and Hakurai, and the Ao God a surprise? Yes and no, as we learnt a little bit about Ishiha's circumstances early on but don't think much of it. It's not until Hakurai talks about buying Injo that all the pieces truly fall into place. Similarly, the reveal between Eisei and Jusetsu. We've known for a decent chunk of time about the histories of each, but this volume puts the pieces together for readers.

And really, I could keep going on and on about this sort of stuff. How the volume continually speaks to the weakness of the Raven and the struggles of Jusetsu, or that the more Jusetsu interacts with others the more her facade crumbles and that that's a representation of Jusetsu taking control over the Raven with her body, and so on and so forth. It's a wealth of carefully crafted details that form a colossal spider's web of interconnected information, and it has me incredibly curious to see how the next volume goes considering how far we've come with this third one.

[alinacapellabooks]

Review: We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre(s): Romance, period drama (The setting is 1950s New York)

Tropes: Friends to lovers, slow burn, found family

Rep: Gay Italian-American MC, bisexual and autistic love interest (It’s never directly stated that Andy is autistic, but it is made very, very clear that he is)

My Thoughts: This book, you guys. I love it so, so much. It was such a gentle, comforting read, like a cup of hot cocoa on a cold morning, and so very domestic.

The main thing I liked about this book was the domesticity of the relationship between Nick and Andy. I loved seeing them just exist together, cooking, shopping, having dinner parties with their friends, and even adopting a stray cat, and from the moment Andy moved into Nick’s apartment, it truly felt like the two of them were married, but didn’t know it yet. They do know it by halfway mark, however, despite living in a time period where they can’t get married, or even be public about their relationship without risking legal action, but by the end of the novel, all of their friends know that they’re together, and they’ve even built up a network of queer people at work. I also really liked exploring the complex relationships that Nick and Andy had with their families, with Andy being fiercely proud of his mother’s work, even though she was never there for him when she was alive, and his improving relationship with his father, who wasn’t much better in terms of parenting, but he’s one of the first to know, and accept that fact that Andy is in love with Nick, and he bonds with Andy much more as an adult. Meanwhile, Nick is firmly in the closet to everyone in his family, except for his cop brother, who very much does not approve of his sexuality, mainly because it puts his career at risk. He agrees to keep Nick’s sexuality, and his relationship with Andy a secret, but it is made very clear that he would prefer for Nick to be with a woman, if only because of his career as a cop being at risk.

Another thing I really liked was the handling of Andy’s relationship with his ex fiancée, Emily. Despite their relationship not working out, she remains very present in Nick and Andy’s lives, and there’s never any animosity between them. She, Nick, and Andy become genuine friends, and she’s arguably the most supportive of their relationship in their circle of friends.

Overall, this was a great read, and I would highly recommend it. If domestic gay fluff is what you’re into, this one is for you

[hollywoodhandle]

Heeramandi Review: Bhansali Brings A Cinematic Experience To The Small Screen.

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, first announced back in 2022, has been touted as Netflix India’s most ambitious and expensive venture to date for any series. It has been on the top end of my and most others’ most anticipated list, and it is finally streaming on Netflix. The 8-episode series is created by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who also directs all episodes and handles the music for this epic…

[thepalerimitation]

Phantom Thread is a movie that feels like a wonderful and awful dream. Hazy colors and half remembered beautiful moments, but when you wake there’s a bitter taste of blood on your teeth, and you wonder if you’ll ever be able to describe it.

[mandoreviews]

📽️ Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022)

This was better than the first movie. I felt like this story was more cohesive than the first movie’s, even though it’s basically two stories in one. I think the problem with the first one was that there were too many subplots to be handled well in a movie. This one didn’t have as much of that problem. I also felt that this one really wrapped things up. I wouldn’t be mad if there were another movie because I really like these characters, but I also think that their stories have been given their proper closure. All in all, this is such a great franchise, so I don’t think anyone would regret watching this or any of the others.

Sex/nudity: 2/10 (kissing, flirting, mild innuendoes)

Language: 1/10 (very mild)

Violence: 0/10

Overall rating: 8/10

[threecheersforinking]

Drama Review: Reply 1988

**spoilers ahead**

*if you haven't seen the show, read my spoiler free WYSW post first!!*

This post will continue what I started with Boys Over Flowers (where I wrote a long unsolicited dump of all my thoughts on a show I really loved). And, needless to say, I really loved this show too. I honestly haven't cried this much at a tv show in a long time, and that's saying something because I cry very often. I think I teared up at least once every episode, and don't even get me started on the final episode because I'm pretty sure I was full on crying for at least 1 hour straight.

I guess the reason I was so attached to this show, and likely the reason this show is so popular, is because it's so relatable. Even if you haven't lived in that one particular alley in Ssangmun, most people can relate to growing apart from friends, moving out of their parents' house, leaving their childhood behind, etc. I felt like I watched this at a really appropriate time in my life, and maybe that's why I was especially emotionally impacted by it.

Characters

If you've ever read my blog before you'll know that I love a large cast of characters! So I was very pleased with all the characters and the different dynamics they had in this show. As an anime fan I'm used to teenagers/young people being the focus with adult characters being kind of an afterthought, but I really loved how developed and important all the adult characters were. The parents weren't there just to be parents, they had their own goals, lives, and struggles.

Sunwoo was probably my favorite character, but it was hard to pick a favorite because they were all so great. Funnily enough, Bora was originally my least favorite character (due to how cruel she was to her siblings at the start), but I'm happy to say she really grew on me. The development she went through due to her relationship with Sunwoo made me like her a lot more. The two of them were so cute together and I really enjoyed their secret dating era in 1989.

I also loved Taek and Sunwoo's blended family, I thought it was so nice how they became brothers after being friends for so many years. The way the show handled the two boys' reactions and adjustment to their parents dating was really well done as well.

The Romance Subplot

As I've said before, I like love triangles, and this show was no exception. Coming directly off of my watch of Boys Over Flowers (in which the love triangle lowkey had me ripping my hair out), this love triangle was a breath of fresh air. Honestly I have never been so conflicted as to which love interest I'm 'rooting for' before. I think I may have been subconsciously rooting for Junghwan because that 'fake confession' episode hit me right in the gut, but I loved both Taek and Junghwan so much I genuinely didn't even care.

One of my favorite scenes in the show is how after Sunwoo explains to Taek that you can tell how someone feels about a person by how they look at them, the episode ends with Taek noticing how Junghwan is looking at Deoksun. It's a great dialogue-less moment and really sets the tone for their dynamic for the rest of the show.

While I liked this love triangle, I do think the implications of the time jump put me off a bit. As I said, I was kind of rooting for Junghwan, and the episode where he realized he lost Deoksun to Taek was heart wrenching. But as Junghwan said himself, what exactly had he been doing for the past 5 years? It was a bit hard to pity him when he had so many opportunities to ask her out and beat Taek to the punch.

Other Stuff

Honestly, I didn't love the 2015 flash-forwards too much, they were too few and far between and took me out of the immersion of the 80s/90s setting. I think the first one was ok, the others felt a little less necessary, and then it went so many episodes without a single 2015 scene that I almost forgot they were a thing. I enjoyed the 2015 scenes in the last episode after we knew who got married to who, but it still felt like the show could've done without those scenes. The most important/emotional moments in the series happened in Ssangmun anyway.

The time skip from 1989 to 1994 had me kind of displeased at first, and I didn't know why, because I've watched tons of shows with a time skip before and had no problems with it. I think it was in part because the first 17 episodes of the show took place over the span of less than a year, and then all of a sudden in the last 20 minutes of the 17th episode it jumped ahead 5 years without a warning.

But to be honest, I think my dislike of the time skip came from the fact that I really enjoyed these characters' daily lives and the regular pace the show had been going at that such a far jump ahead was making the end of the series feel more imminent.

I'm really glad I gave Reply 1988 a chance, especially because I barely knew anything about it before watching. I'm really enjoying kdramas so far and glad I've been trying to watch more of them.

Thanks for reading!

-threecheersforinking

[magnificentposting-fabrizioart]

Oh no the soft power is working

On a real note tho, I love how the show seem to obviously want to say "man this was great why is this over" while being surprisingly (maybe unknowingly) honest enough to show pretty well why an imperial system is quite unhealty to even its rulers.

I guess Erdogan was not SO wrong in crying about the show not being neo-ottoman bootlicking enough?

[dilirebas]

My review of My Journey to You / 云之羽

Yun Weishan is a trained assassin who infiltrates the powerful Gong clan. She finds a friend and protector in the young master Gong Ziyu, thus beginning a delicate dance between those who are tricked and those who do the tricking.

Massive compliments to all of the actors. Everyone is so expressive and convincing, and you can tell that they deeply felt their characters. This is especially impressive when you consider that the cast mostly consists of young idol-type actors.

The chemistry between Esther Yu and Zhang Linghe is crazy. The pureness of the glances between them, the held back emotion, the cadence of their voices, it's all perfect.

Among directors, Guo Jingming's dedication to ~aesthetics~ is unmatched. This drama is beautifully shot, with a consistent tone and look that fits the story perfectly.

(The whole cast also looks beautiful, which is definitely a Guo Jingming signature.)

Okay so... Chen Chusheng sang a lovely insert track, but tbh that song sometimes showed up a little too suddenly in the middle of a scene and it would give me a jump scare. What was up with that lol...

I thought the writing was very strong. The worldbuilding was unique and immersive. Each character was distinct and fascinating in their own way. And it's always a good sign when everyone is speculating about what happens next and looking for clues in the tiniest details. I saw so many interesting fan theories while the drama was still airing.

Not everyone loved the ending, but I honestly thought it was the right ending because it was true to the story.

I know I already mentioned the acting, but listen... Esther Yu is so impressive in this drama. It's a different character from the type she usually plays, but it's also the best performance I've ever seen from her. That girl can really act.

The fight scenes look fantastic as well.

Did I mention it's a wuxia drama? But it's not overly genre-focused and can definitely be enjoyed by those who don't have an interest in wuxia.

This is a gorgeous, gorgeous drama with a unique cinematic quality. I strongly recommend giving it a try!

[mylittleponygrrl]

Full review from vox.com:

Hidden Blade / Wuming

Wang Yibo’s performance as Mr. Ye and the art created by the film’s director, Cheng Er

::-::-::-::-::-::

The shadowy puzzle-box pleasures of Chinese spy thriller Hidden Blade

Satisfyingly cerebral, Hidden Blade features a masterful Tony Leung and a breakout performance from Wang Yibo.

By: Aja Romano on February 28, 2023 7:30 am

Wang Yibo and Eric Wang in Cheng Er’s moody, shadowy spy thriller Hidden Blade, now in cinemas. Well Go USA

Toward the end of Hidden Blade (无名), the arty Chinese World War II spy thriller that has now reached US cinemas, everything comes to a halt.

“Matte kudasai,” Wang Yibo, playing the canny, careful Secretary Ye, says in silky Japanese. Wait, please.

And then we all — the character he’s talking to, the camera, the film score, the audience, the movie — slow down and wait. We wait for him to light a cigarette, take a drag, then another. We wait for him to look at his reflection. We watch him, wreathed in smoke, take his time.

With a lesser actor, this would feel excessive, showy; it would flatten the moment. But this is Wang Yibo, star of The Untamed and Street Dance of China, former K-pop idol, sometime motorcycle racer, multitalented polymath, and multinational heartthrob. In the pause, tension and dark purpose coil in his jawline, his shoulders, in every flick of his wrist. I have never wanted to look at anything more in my life.

Hidden Blade has gone largely unnoticed in mainstream US media, usually getting name-checked as the legendary Tony Leung’s latest film. The New York Times gave it a kind but mixed capsule review. Other outlets that bothered to review it did so poorly, with multiple reviewers unable to tell cast members apart from one another (!), a handful misunderstanding and misstating the plot, one reviewer dismissing the entire cast apart from Leung. Several wrote it off as a propaganda film.

But Hidden Blade, from writer-director Cheng Er, deserves a much better critical assessment than this. It serves propaganda only in the way that the average war movie might glorify the homeland — think Top Gun: Maverick. In this case, that means a homeland battered by a brutal Japanese occupation. Our timeline centers around Republic-era China, several years after the Nanjing Massacre. The country’s combative factions — the Japanese occupants, the Kuomintang leadership, the current puppet government, and the underground communist resistance — all vie to control China’s future as the war wages around them. Our main characters, Director He (Leung) and his subordinate Secretary Ye (Wang), both work for the Japanese regime in Shanghai, rooting out members of each of the opposing factions and doing the governor’s bidding. But spies are everywhere, and their allegiances aren’t always obvious — sometimes not even to themselves.

Hidden Blade’s production house, Bona Film Group, loosely placed this film into a “trilogy” called the China Victory Trilogy. (The prior film, The Battle at Lake Changjin (2021), was a mega-blockbuster; this film had a far more lowkey release, though it’s been such a success — closing on $1 billion RMB, it’s reportedly the top-grossing art film in Chinese history — that there’s talk of a sequel.) Each film, linked thematically but not materially, highlights a different group of ordinary people battling a war. This outing explores the pressures placed on WWII spies who often had to work in complete isolation for months and even years; the film’s Chinese title translates to Anonymous. Cheng takes the smoke-and-mirrors obfuscation of the spy genre literally: Ye spends much of the time he’s onscreen symbolically mirroring He, while studying himself in mirrors, being looked at through mirrors, and functioning as a looking-glass for the film itself.

This could all easily feel like shallow gloss with little substance, and the plot seems relatively thin; but over the course of the film, that plot reveals itself to be a tightly edited jigsaw awaiting your assembly.

This is a big part of why repeated viewings of Hidden Blade are such a pleasure (I saw it six times in four days). The film is a metaphorical escape room you find your way through, muddling at first, then quicker and quicker until you arrive at an open door. Cheng’s aesthetic style flickers through the muted action of the first half, from Godard-like formalism to von Trier-esque visual war poetry to outright Tarkovsky homages. But steadily the stylistic flourishes give way to a riveting, sparse thriller with phenomenal fight scenes, staged with excellent attention to setting and detail by fight choreographer Chao Chen. Cai Tao’s cinematography has lingered with me for days, with some shots cracking the whole film wide open for me on third or fourth watch.

This film basks in tiny thematic details — the timing of a musical cue, the symbolism of a tableau, the way a character’s face is lit between light and shadow. Then there’s the symbology; my friends have been discussing the thematic element of food in this movie for days: The symbolism of an intimidating bowl of drunken shrimp, the political nuances of debates over French cuisine, the secrets of an unassuming box of pastry.

In other words, Hidden Blade’s cerebral challenges invite you to play the games its characters are playing. It opens itself to the audience more and more with every repeat viewing. The supporting cast makes the most of limited emotional real estate; Eric Wang and Zhou Xun sink their teeth into their very different roles in the spy game. Tony Leung’s performance in particular grows craftier and more intelligent on every viewing as you begin to understand the veneer of polite soullessness around which he layers his real, veiled emotions. The moments he lets them peek through are masterful to behold.

But as much as Tony Leung was made for subtle but heady roles like this, Hidden Blade belongs to Wang Yibo, and so does this review.

A production still of Hidden Blade featuring Wang Yibo, released for the film’s ¥500m box office. The film has since grossed nearly ¥1 billion. Bona Film Group

This is Yibo, after all, a 25-year-old wunderkind who spent his childhood training in Korea to become a K-pop idol but who returned to China and became a Chinese entertainer slash dance star slash actor instead. I first wrote about Yibo here in 2020 in my review of the historical fantasy series The Untamed. I described him then as “conveying Grand Canyons of emotional depth” through “mesmerizing infinitesimal facial adjustments.”

A screen cap of Wang Yibo as Lan Wangji from the global phenomenon, Chinese tv series, Chén Qíng Lìng / The Untamed (2019) Tencent (New Style Media Group)

Since then, I have watched Yibo disappear into one strikingly different character after another, embodying them all with talent and skill beyond his years; I have watched him deliver performance after performance, transforming himself onstage and off. He has a star quality that’s hard to describe until you truly get acquainted with his performances and his persona. On first impression, he’s rarely the hottest or the strongest or the glitziest entertainer in a room — but he’s the one who unfailingly blows you away in the end, the one you can’t stop talking about.

As Secretary Ye, Yibo packs the same intensity: He smolders and throbs and pulses his way through Hidden Blade, talking only rarely but speaking volumes with the soulful eyes that first captivated me and a jillion other fans three years ago.

Since The Untamed, Yibo has become a massive star in his home country. He was originally scheduled to make his film debut in the much more high-profile Born to Fly (now scheduled for a spring release), in which he stars as the equivalent to Tom Cruise in Top Gun. As much pressure as a role like that must be to play, the weight Yibo carries in Hidden Blade feels almost heavier. Cheng has talked at length about how the more he saw Yibo act, the bigger his part became; he rewrote the film around Yibo as production progressed, eventually transforming Ye from a smaller part into the soul of the movie.

That’s a huge responsibility, but Yibo shoulders it effortlessly. He immerses himself in Ye’s tortured psyche; he trembles and seethes and changes the mood of an entire scene with a single sharp glance. A debut like this, from an actor this young, in a part this intense, carrying the entire film beside one of China’s greatest living actors, all while juggling four different languages (Japanese, Mandarin, and Cantonese and Shanghainese dialects) feels remarkable. Yibo’s performance seals Hidden Blade’s status as an unexpected pleasure. Once finally assembled, its cinematic intricacies yield infinite rewards.

[dgspeaks]

Rediscovering a Classic: A Review of "Little Women" (2019)

As a long-time admirer of Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” and a fan of the original classic film adaptation, I approached Greta Gerwig’s 2019 version with a mix of excitement and curiosity. The story of the March sisters has always held a special place in my heart, and I was eager to see how this modern retelling would resonate. I can confidently say that Gerwig’s interpretation not only…