Hanson and the Beast (2017)

A great movie, made me laugh a lot with its ridiculous lines and action scenes. Liu Yi Fei looks like a fox in human form. I can see it in her face when she makes those fox faces - the cute one. Otherwise she did a great job in this movie in my opinion. The actor did great as well. The movie overall isn't too serious but when it does, it ends being hilarious as well. Its a fast paced storyline.. Han Shuai is a guy with a big debt so he goes around looking for blind dates with rich women just to pay off his debt. He saved Xiao Bai [Liu YiFei] when he was a kid and her as a fox from kids throwing acid at her. Xiao Bai wanted to pay back the debt by marrying him or doing whatever makes him happy. Of course, she insisted in marrying him. Her childhood friend is hilarious, he's suppose to keep her in check but he tries his best to protect her from harm. Which he failed to do in the climax so he and Han Shuai went tot the demon world to get her back. Enough of the spoiling but I loved the CGI - the transformation was fantastic! :] I would rewatch it again because it was quite funny.

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Lovely movie, of the fantasy genre, where the beast is she, the female/vixen/actual fox, and the beauty is he, that is well, just a man.
Lovely performance of Feng Shao Feng (who played the epic male role in “The Story of Minglan”, as well as the dramtic role in “Life is a long quiet river”). This actor is unafraid to show his skinny naked self if it is to go for comedic effect.
A joy to watch indeed.
Still, while laughing my head off I kept feeling a bit uneasy about the switcheroo of the sex of the main characters. I mean, really? A female who is a vixen, a fox? How lame is that? To fall on an ages old preconception, across all cultures, that is. However, I could not stay long concerning myself with women portraied in a stereotype manner. I was too busy laughing.
Cudos!

Lire davantage

Story was ok - nothing too new, but it was presented in an entertaining and modern manner with a humour

Acting was good (while there are even more extraordinary that I have seen, but they are good, no complain there)

Music was catchy, uplifts the mood with a touch of humour when played with its actions in the movie

I liked the director's touch on how the story was played. This film has successfully earned "Romantic COMEDY" genre. While many comedy I watch just found it to be stupid and boring. I actually did laugh a few times with this one and it isn't stupid humour like running into a wall nor rude languages.

Overall, Its a humorous and fun to watch film, thus the title of this review. If you are looking for a light hearted movie with funny moments to pass time by, this can go on the list.

Lire davantage

Human x Demon story but they get a happy ending

How many times do I have to watch about a snake demon and human go through turmoil just to get a sad/inconclusive ending?? (@ Legend of the White Snake smh) Anyway, Hanson and the Beast is a contemporary fantasy romance between a demon and a human with - YES - a happy ending and minimal angst. I knew I was off to a good start when the very first minutes of the movie was a narration from a child talking about their father and mother meeting. Bless!! It's cute, sweet, funny, and has all the classic feel-good Cdrama tropes mixed in. Definitely recommended for a light-hearted fantasy romance!

PROS
❀ Fun main cast | The ML is a debt-ridden zoo-keeper who's going on dates to marry for money, but his plans keep getting foiled due to our innocent (and very pretty!) FL getting in his way. She tries seducing him in the naive way that a fox demon who doesn't interact with humans much would do, and hijinks ensue. Both actors were quirky and energetic with their roles, lending a comical tone. It was also refreshing to see the FL use her powers to defend/protect the ML, lol.
❀ Fun storyline that follows the main couple's romance | While the main couple is falling in love, the antagonist is dead-set on drawing the line between humans and demons. This includes capturing the rare fox demon (our FL) and spreading false news that humans tortured her. It gives the opportunity of a role reversal, where the ML has to save the FL this time.
❀ Hilarious supporting cast and scenes | This movie was like an exciting roller coaster ride. I loved the cat demon childhood best friend (why was he so funny??) who supported the FL through and through, the antagonist vulture demon whose evilness was sometimes mocked at throughout the movie, and all the minor demons featured as well. For hilarious scenes, we got an amazing bed scene (or, the prelude to one) that was wayyy more comedic than I expected, the debt collectors accidentally getting involved with the demons, and this movie set scene where the actual demons are hiding within an army of actor demons. A++ entertainment.

CONS
✕ Rushed romance | FL has loved the ML since he saved her when she was a small fox, and ML falls in love with FL after she supports him as a "fan." I mean do I buy it? Yesss because it's a fantasy romance movie but am I giving it a lot of leeway? Yes as well.
✕ No resolution on the dad plot | Man, I expected more on the dad plot! I guess they were running our of time to fit a resolution for him in, lol.
✕ Misunderstanding level: 0/10 | FL reveals her demon self pretty early on upon meeting and the main couple work together to beat the baddies.

OVERALL
Y'all know how hard it is for me to find a romantic Chinese movie with a HE? Maybe I been looking at the wrong sites, but... most of the time it's either a youth movie or a sad/'realistic'/open ending. I'm happy to have found Handson and the Beast. It may be silly at times, but overall it's a heartwarming and fun watch about a man who's struggling to fit into human society and a fox demon who refuses the limitations of her society.

Note: I just found out that this screenwriter also has a drama with the same concept of an organization that deals with monsters/demons in the human world, called Bureau of Transformer. Going on my to-watch list!

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