A Great LITTLE Film

-- when you're feeling a little blue and want some company. For as the saying goes: misery loves company.

1. If you're interested to see Eddie all handsome and jokey and charming, either change your expectations or ditch now.

2. There's something ridiculously unique that Eddie does in this film that -- to my knowledge -- no other actor has even tried. To tell you would spoil it but a third of the way thru you'll get it.

3. The production design is stark and simple. The town this movie is set in is rather desolate and depressing. You won't be able to take your eyes off anything, which is also because the photography is perfect.

4. One of the best rock band records EVER has two or so songs featured here. An absolute perfect choice and I'm amazed they got the rights to this epic album.

5. If you put a ticking bomb in a building, we need to know if it went off or not. There's something like this in BLACK DOG and they didn't tell us what happened next. It makes me believe it's a metaphor for something, connected to our lead ditching his... urm... captivity? But granting this it's weird we're not shown the aftermath. But also kinda cool somehow.

6. Because of the recent depressingly horrid American election -- I'm feeling just like Eddie.

7. If you enjoyed the short series TO THE WONDER you'll like BLACK DOG. Just know DOG runs a little darker. And if you enjoyed this film but haven't seen WONDER, why are you still reading this?

RECOMMEND

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Botched story structure damages potential masterpiece

I will warn you when any spoilers are offered, so feel free to read until then.

1. The Western title of this would be, THE LIGHT BULB MAN

2. In general the entire production values are great. The first half of this piece borrows liberally from David Lynch, but in a good way.

3. I knew 3 people in this cast (the Mom, her daughter, and the light bulb man) and they were as good as ever. My only complaint is that the camera wouldn't leave the crying girl. You're not going to force me to cry because a girl is crying forever. That's cheap and it started to become an obvious ploy.

4. A major issue with the film is it changes genres midway -- which is a serious NO NO! You spend the first half of the film selling us on a dreamy Lynchian world only to flip it to a tearjerker melodrama? Nope. Both must be blended from frame one.

5. The major problem with this film was the story. Without spoiling, reveals needed to be re-arranged. And when 'reality' comes into the story, most of that should have been quick flashes, as to suggest we never should have left the dreamy world. And the Light Bulb Man deserved a more central role. And now, as warned, here come the STORY --

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6. In general there should have been a simple and crystal clear quest for our leading lady.

She, like her boyfriend and everyone else, should have 'been' in this weird alter-verse but started to suspect something was off. One by one the others would begin to recall a traffic accident, but never say 'bus'. They would start to recall they were all together, but something is wrong.

Our lead would say, wait, my boyfriend and I weren't in any accident. He'd be like, yes I guess so (for now), and they'd help the others find their bulbs and say their goodbyes. Our lead would help everyone get to that bulb store. She'd often have arguments with the man there, because she knew he was keeping a big picture secret from her.

When the lead and her BF helped the last person, she'd wonder why they were still stuck there. That they had no one to say goodbye too. Only then would the first flashbacks of the accident be seen in her memories, and she'd realized it was BUS ACCIDENT. She'd wonder if her BF was the driver, and he'd say it's time to say goodbye.

Then, and only then, would she wake up at the hospital.

If the above wasn't clear, I've un-divided the film. It's now a dreamy melodramatic tearjerker that still holds a big reveal for the end. This way it's very simple while maintaining a consistent tone.

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The Little Soap That Could!

This No-Budget Soap Opera starts in the 70s with a bunch of childhood friends who we follow thru the decades and their trials and tribulations. What grabbed my interest was how 'communist' it was compared to other C-Dramas I've watched. I really knew nothing about this time in China's history. The other interest here was, well, I was the age of these characters in the 70's in America. And so while I was listening to the Bee Gees, they were doing all sorts of different things.

If you want to know if you should watch this show with as little spoilers as possible, I'll tell you this: I've watched better shows. So if you're new to C-Dramas, this won't disappoint because you have not seen better yet. What I will tell the experienced viewer is that this is a very calm show that doesn't put you to sleep. (I enjoyed THREE BODY but man was that sleepy!) So if you're even curious like I was -- skip the rest of this review and give 3 episodes a try to see if you want to see Ep 4, okay?

Here's some thoughts in no order of importance --

1. Damn this thing was shot on a piggy bank. Pocket change. That's what I mean by a 'little' soap, like a small bar of soap in a hotel room. Despite this the show was pretty good looking. The photography wasn't inspired as much as... urm... just nice to look. The sets were crazy cheap but not as distracting as one reviewer had said. Lots of scenes were reported in on the phone as to avoid having to stage them. You don't watch this series for amazing production values. You watch it for --

2. -- this TERRIFIC cast. I came here for the male and female lead. I frankly feel they're much better here than they were in JOY OF LIFE Season One.

Li Qin ran around JOY with a leg of chicken being cute until the writers gave up on her. Here her character starts a little interesting but simply gets more and more interesting as the show progresses, especially in the 2nd half. (Be patient!) And she's particularly deep inside her character in the remarkably intense final episode.

Xiao Zhan is tackling a very difficult role of being a great guy, a dreamboat, and yet humble, and yet magnanimous, everybody's friend but sometimes someone's enemy too. Several someones. To be honest there were times where the demands of this role exceeded his abilities. The thing is he's just a little too handsome and that can be rather distracting from his character's struggles. You're like, "How can this gorgeous youthfun hunk of man be suffering?!?" Yet he did a pretty good job and I'd bet this role has made him a better actor. Give him time and he'll be the new Wallace Huo.

Liu Rui Lin and Cao Fei Ran play the most important supporting roles. As our ML's main 'brother', this Chinese Richard Gere clone has a thankless job playing Guohua... but kinda nails it. His love interest Hongling plays an even trickier role where you want to slap her sometimes but she can't help every last decision destiny has dropped on her. This actress carries a lot of the show's weight in the first half.

So you think that's it for couples in this show? HARDLY.

Zhao Xin and Cui Hang also make the experience worthwhile. Xin's 'Ye Fang' gets more and more interesting as the show progresses, and this poor actress must restrain herself the entire time. Hang's Hongjun is all over the place in a role that shouldn't work but utterly makes sense.

And get this. There's one more pair to tune in for: Zhang Ling Xin' and Lenox Lu are terrific too in an unexpected way. When Qi Tian first shows up in his truly stupid hat -- I didn't expect much from him. But his low weird gutteral way of speaking made him very different than the rest -- and like I keep saying -- his character grows on you.

There's even one more pair of actors that were eeriely like the Chinese Ralph and Alice Kramden (You Xian Chao and Gao Yuan). No, seriously. Check The Honeymooners on YouTube if you have no idea what I'm talking about.

3. The songs and incidental music in this show are lovely. A good soap opera has themes the play over and over and over and over (Twin Peaks) and this soap has them too. Mostly gentle piano pieces, and the lyrics of the songs they play translate well.

4. This show has two sets of parents that are nearly identical to Western eyes. Prying pushy Momma and Pushover Papa. This was the only casting mistake I caught in the series. Or really a writing error where on couple should have been Pushy Papa and Caring Momma.

5. I don't know what the deal is with C-Dramas but several I've seen end early. There's an episode around 27 that gave me the impression the story was minutes from being over. It feels like the producers were only allowed to produce that many episodes but when the studio saw it they said 'add 10 more'. The good news is that the additional episodes work fine, except perhaps the final one.

6. So if the production values are good, the cast great -- the only way to make this thing watchable is STORY. This is a story that relies heavily upon soap opera melodramatic tropes, which can make it feel so generic as to be generated by AI. This sounds like a knock but, hey, it's fun to watch a soapy melodrama as long as it's not stupid. And the inclusion of the military episodes in the first half is more inventive than hospital scenes, although those eventually merge.

As a Westerner and America, I was fearful this story might be propaganda. For the story starts in heavy communism but ends in vibrant capitalism. So which 'team' is this show on. What makes THE YOUTHFUL MEMORIES interesting is that it's on both teams.

(From here on I might get mildly spoilish -- so stop reading now if you want to be surprised. I won't be offended.)

The show starts with the idea that although communism isn't the most lavish of lifestyles, and that in the 70s if felt like everyone was in the military one way or another, it presented these days with the idea that everyone could have a place. All for one, one for all. Yes, there were misfits who resorted to criminal behaviors, but overall the show suggests that there was a sense of law, order, family, community, propriety, brotherhood, sisterhood, and love. Perhaps thru rose tinted glasses, but you follow me.

By the time commerce smashed into China, and times had changed, a weird thing happens. Brothers turn against brothers. Love and family may not be as compelling as getting rich quick. The unfortunate reality that capitalism generates WINNERS and LOSERS, introducing the idea of MUSICAL CHAIRS to communism. The same misfits and criminals are around societies edges, but this time capitalism is their friend instead of communism their enemy.

The show isn't as political as I'm making it sound. It's really who loves who and when and who doesn't and why, like any good soap. But I will spoil that the show ends with a happy medium politically -- if we meld the brotherhood of communism with the profits of capitalism, maybe life can improve for all in China.

Like almost every C-Drama I've watched, the show's ending was slightly fumbled. Towards the end of the penultimate episode, a new plot is introduced. And it's a biggy. It' s SUPER melodramatic. The problem is it's not what the story was leading up to, it's not named as a specific historical event that happened, and I think was thrown in for sensationalism and nothing more.

Often in American TV shows after 9/11 they threw in a 9/11 like event to rip open the wound and horror, and I believe this show did the same on a different type of tragedy. That said, the show handles this 'big' weird finish well so it's not a failure as much as a fumble.

Hope this helps someone!

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A Summer Romance Novel -- you will LIKE the story, LOVE the cast

My wife and I really enjoyed this series as a 'happy place' to visit twice a week. The sets and cinematography are gorgeous, the story arcs mostly gentle, and I guess what is the shortcoming of this story is really its strength: SPLENDOR is a place to chill.

The story focuses upon 3 (and eventually 4) (and eventually 5) female leads who light up the screen with their humanity. Although a fantasy depiction of women in historic patriarchy, enough of it rings true today. Female viewers will enjoy how strong ladies can but, but compassionate male viewers will swoon for their beauty as much as their predicaments.

Most of this cast were new to me. Only Jenny Lin & Guan Yun Peng were familiar, because we knew them from the director's next project, the must see and incredible IMPERFECT VICTIM. I had heard that people felt Jenny was weak in this piece, but I thought she was fine... especially since her character was weak anyway.

The lead couple were interesting. I've left the series a Crystal Liu fan for lead performance as Pan'er. This is an actress of gentle nuance, and the more you watch her the more you want to watch her. They paired her with new to me Chen Xiao, who was good but perhaps not as riveting as a Wallace Huo or Huang Xuan type which I feel the roll demanded. The roll was nicknamed The Living Devil, so really a more macho offering (like Yuan Hong, the General from REBEL PRINCESS who stole the Princess from her Kingdom). As AvenueX points out on YouTube, though, the leads chemistry was quite real.

On this issue of 'gentle'men, this female written/directed production did a lot of that. We had three men who were constantly swooning over the ladies. Chi the Whiny Child, Du Chang Feng the 'substitute' teacher terrified by bullying boys, and Chen Lian who simply melts at each moment of romance. Normally I'd kinda frown at this Wimp Squadron but it was crazy charming. And Chi was hilarious. So funny I suspect they started giving him extra scenes towards the end.

Our lead ladies? Sigh. They were all terrific. San'Niang definitely grows on you as we roll along, all the imperial supporting actresses were solid, but I must confess our ZhaoDi (Daisy Li) was fantastic and eventually under-used.

Don't overthink this series. Go in and relax and it wraps up like a lovely summer sunset.

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What is it with Zhou Xun starring with... Zhou Xun?

This is maybe the 4th time I've seen the amazing Zhou Xun co-starring with herself. I bet it's killing Meryl Streep it never occurred to her to do the same.

This film is a watch if you enjoy Zhou Xun. It's not her best, it's not her worst. It's pretty good. She's a pleasure to watch and so YAY if she plays two characters even. The shortcoming here is the story.

This Courtroom drama has a rushed feeling to it and we learn why 2/3rds of the way through when it concludes: there's an extra 35 minutes which reveals a handful of secrets. It's a GOTCHA surprise TWIST that, like all such gotchas makes you first say HUH? and the re-examine everything you just saw to understand it a 2nd way.

I've frankly grown weary of these type of stories because it's so tedious to re-examine EVERYTHING and see how the hidden story may have been there all along. Usually these type of stories come off as more contrived than clever and this one is unnecessarily confusing as well.

The twist reveal eats up so much of this tale, wasting time I'd rather see with Zhou Xun fleshing out 3 other characters.

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Almost but not quite A MASTERPIECE

I have NO IDEA why users aren't AMAZED by this production. It's so close to PERFECT it's painful.

The story, acting, filming, music -- are you kidding me? I've seen about 10 Chinese Dramas at this point and it shoved its way up to #2 under RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE.

The reason why this series didn't trounce RUYI is it didn't stick the landing. It appears to do so but once a day or so passes you realize there was something off about the end of the story.

About halfway into EP 11 the plot resolves itself. But for the story not only requires another 30 minutes to resolve itself but all of EP 12 to do so. Normally shows wrap up a little fast after the plot resolution and sometimes you feel ripped off because of how hurried the wrapup is. (I'm looking at you GREAT CRAFTSMAN.)

So why did THIS take so long. According to AvenueX on YouTube, the novel this story is based on ends with a dark tone. One of the characters has had a hidden agenda. This final episode looks like it was going to reveal it, since said character eluded to ALSO having secrets, but then -- no secrets revealed.

AvenueX implied that the real ending wouldn't get past the censors. As a writer myself I believe this production did shoot the dark ending and the censors said, nope -- too dark. And so they had to reshoot the ending to be less dark, which in turn makes the final episode seem a little aimless, long, and pointless.

Even if you're unaware of that angle or the book's ending, my wife said, "Wait. That girl was so perfect despite her parents not being so perfect. Really?!?" And therein lies the problem with the series is that the Tutor character simply isn't believable. Her acting is great but the writing is... undecided.

This knocks DISAPPEARING CHILD out of Masterpiece work into NEAR MISS and ALMOST territory. What a shame. That said, SEE IT ANYWAY you lazy couch dumpling!

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Wang Xiao Shuai had everything but didn't do enough with it

For a three hour film you really REALLY need a GREAT story. I know there are exceptions to this rule but all great stories are told chronologically, from A to Z.

SO LONG, MY SON has an okay story. To artificially make it seem better, the writer/director Wang Xiao Shuai decided to tell it out of sequence. What this does is turn many simple events in this story into fake 'reveals', creating an artificial tension.

An analogy. Everyone knows the alphabet, right? A, B, C, D, E, F... and so forth. Great writer/directors take the very familiar alphabet and make it compelling. Just the way any Christmas tree starts plain and dull but can be decorated into something lovely.

Writer/Director Wang Xiao Shuai decided that simply moving the letters around -- A, E, B, D, C, F is far more interesting.

But not really. All it does is make the story a little difficult to follow. This trick also hides the fact that the sequential story turns are tepid instead of clever. I believe someone should edit this story back into chronology so that you'd see it isn't really a masterpiece but just a long okay story shot beautifully.

You'd also see that despite 3 hours they did very little with the actors. I had just finished LUOYANG and was desperate to see more of Yong Mei. Here she was the female lead and I was waited and waited to see her skills in action. But because the film lacked compelling dialog exchanges Yong Mei was wasted as basically a 'prop' sitting in rooms or disappearing into walls.

The direction, the photography, lighting, OST -- were all the stuff of a possible masterpiece. But the story wasn't as emotional and dynamic and COHERENT enough to justify its length. Wang Xiao Shuai had everything but didn't do enough with it.

I will say this: the 2nd viewing will be less confusing and therefore I may be able to enjoy the story instead of wonder where the hell I am and which boy is which.

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A Pile of China Can Do Stories INSTEAD OF One Compelling Feature

I was tricked by the description of this film. On this site it says, "It tells about the Chinese people's blood connection and spiritual inheritance." I knew it was four short films and presumed it was a generational story, meaning a character that was, say, a boy in the first film would be a man in the second one... and... perhaps that man's daughter would be a woman in the next film. A 'blood connection' that would have made these four films a coherent whole.

Instead what we get is a 'pile' of 4 stories, moving forward in time but really with no relation to each other. No, there's no 'spiritual inheritance' to speak of. It's simply 4 stories about what China CAN DO when they set their minds to things, and in this way is like a cultural victory walk.

I'd say the first two segments (war, space research) were excellent dramatic pieces. But the second two segments change to comedy and sort of silly sci-fi, which is a little jarring. It leaves the viewer with the feeling these four films were part of some contest and were never intended to be shown together.

I gave the overall story rating a 6 out of 10 for this reason. Please understand each individual story was better than that, say about an 8 on average. But the feeling these were all originally different projects just stapled together really hurts this otherwise well made, well acted and well intended film.

By the way -- Zhang Zi Yi stars in another film just like this, RUN FOR LOVE, except the theme tying it all together is love. It feels even more disjointed than this and I'm convinced it's simply some short films by graduate school students. Zhang's "So Long My Love" is rather excellent. Better than her segment 'Poem' in this film that is also rather amazing. I must confess I'd love Zhang to create another short or two and tie them all together as a Zhang Zi Yi collection of stories.

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Worthy Premise, Good Execution, but Slightly Lacking Somehow (MIld Spoilers)

I eagerly awaited to see this film because THE GREAT CRAFTSMAN makes anybody a fan of Huang Yang Tian Tian. She is one of the young leads here and I was willing to forgive the TV movie budget just to see more of her.

In CRAFTSMAN Tian Tian was a dynamic character that demanded your attention and fellowship. Here she's kinda wasted as one of two girls with physical ailments. Anyone could have played either of the female leads. I actually found the Dad and Mom giving the most nuanced performances.

Don't get me wrong. If the trailer entices you to try this movie, your instinct is correct. But I felt they got lost in some unnecessary subplots. The violent man in the hospital, the 'Carrie' apartment, and the helicopter sequence were all 'alarms' to keep the audience awake. The Mom's Dad was so unnecessary the story itself removed him midway.

I think the better story would have been to have the Dad pursue the Mom romantically, only to learn he had an additional motive. And everyone involved, including the audience, would wonder did he actually love her... and suspect 'yes'. In this way the four leads could have become this lovely accidental family and therefore make an important family 'decision' together rgarding the daughters.

I'm not saying the film doesn't drift towards that idea. I'm saying it would have been a much stronger movie if it had committed to that idea.

One last thing: this is the DEFINITION of a weepy cry cry flick. Oddly it didn't pull as many tears as the premise warranted. Maybe if the Doctors didn't seem so aloof.

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A short student film stretched out to 90 aimless minutes

I found this film because I'm a fan of THE GREAT CRAFTSMAN. In that show an actress looks like Betty Boop and I wanted to see more of Jiang Hong Bo. Despite her being one of the three leads -- she spent very little time on screen.

This is because this director has no idea how to create dramatic scenes with actors. So many opportunities were missed. It was as if a cinematographer made this film instead of a dramatist.

It's not a student film. It's the 4th of 6 features by this director. But it sure feels like a student.

I know some will defend this director and say, "Not all films are action packed super hero films!" I know it. Get it. The problem is this film was the complete opposite. The premise is promising but almost nothing happened inside the film.

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An Elusive yet Potential Masterpiece

The show boasts a fantastic cast, terribly engaging soapy story, in a Republican Era setting that is needed break from Imperial Chinese dramas. It is way better than a "7.8" thanks to Wallace Huo and Yang Mi knocking it out of the park.

I knew Wallace from RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE and thankfully he's given more breathing room here. I can't imagine he's had a better role than Qi Nan. He is just terrific here. But as good is my first introduction to Yang Mi -- who has as difficult a role to pull off. My wife and I watch an hour of this 3 times a week, but after the halfway point it was around 5 times.

All the supporting actors were great, many of these faces new to me. For American viewers like myself having trouble keeping all the names straight, I recommend these nicknames: Daddy Fu, his wife Nasty Fu, Dandy Fu, Minister Du, Momma Du, Dandy Du, Minister Wu -- and for that woman in the club that looks like an older Betty Boop -- simply 'Boop'. It made it much easier for us to speak about them without getting confused.

Okay, the single worst thing about this series is the availability in America. It is ELUSIVE. So much so I can't recommend the series until Mango fixes these issues.

The main issue is that there is no way to see the series unedited with proper English subtitles. The series on YouTube 'forgot' to include subtitles for about 10 episodes in the middle and I think Ep 58 the subtitles were broken. And the subtitles themselves were poor quality. And anytime a song happened instead of muting the song they simply cut the entire sequence out, often eliminating important story moments. ARRRGGGHHHH! There's a 'cool' 'Drama' site that has the series in low quality resolution. The subtitles are better but, get this, the audio is out of sync the entire time.

With all these headaches I can't recommend the series to anyone until Mango offers a proper version of CRAFTSMAN with quality English subtitles, which I'd gladly pay $20 for the series.

What's maddening is the series is nearly flawless otherwise. You can count the mistakes on one hand.

1. The series starts with terrific child actors. When they are replaced with adult actors, you can't believe you must let them go. Thankfully they re-appear in flashbacks a lot. My complaint is the older actor playing eldest brother (Li Dong) looks nothing like the boy he replaced. Not even close. It took me like 25 episodes to accept him where Qi Nan, Han Jun, and Lucy took seconds to accept. Don't get me wrong: the actors playing Li Dong were solid, but I guess they needed a different skinny intense kid to play him young.

2. The series spent a little too much time discussing architecture. As well as too much time speaking about business deals. Yes, it was interesting, but often I suspected it was 'filler' to extend the length of the series. I'd say about 20% of all of it could have been cut. That could have shaved about 3 episodes off the series.

3. The last 10 episodes were getting a little sloppy or lazy. Maybe they were all exhausted and the show's amazing quality was slipping to merely 'good' sometimes. I felt the entire elevator incident was rushed. And there was a scene going on between Momma Du and Dandy Du that seemed... odd. It was like the series didn't know what to do with her character and that scene showed it. I also felt the explosion in the flour factory should have shown who that was the flew out a door. But I felt

4. -- the final episode let us down. It seemed more interested in resolving Minister Du than providing the romantic climax we were all waiting for. What was delivered wasn't as majestic or poetic as I hoped. And Li Dong's departure and discovery off camera in the last moments seemed rushed. Certainly there could have been a way to tie in the 'discovery' into the court scene somehow. That person could have read the court case and made the connection to show up?

That's really all I can complain about. The final episode failing to be what this series deserved took an entire half point away, dropping from 9.5 to 9. But still -- despite all the agony of finding a way to watch this show -- a solid 9 is a WOW.

FUN TRIVIA

I can't be certain but I'm nearly certain that a music composer from the show was inspired by Ennio Morricone's work on DAYS OF HEAVEN. There are scenes where Qi Nan is out in fields and that entire movie is about people working in fields. Go to YouTube and seek out Track 9 (The Return) from the DAYS OF HEAVEN soundtrack. It's not a theft, but I'm pretty sure the similar theme from this show HAD to be inspired by that track.

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Action Movies are TEDIOUS but this one isn't bad at all

MILD SPOILERS, nothing terrible

I see a lot of people harshing on this film. I don't know why. I find this genre tedious and so I expected to abandon the film before the first hour. Turns out I made it all the way thru and was happy for the two hour diversion.

This movie isn't entirely cohesive and so I'll just drop you some notes and hope it gels into something useful.

1. Eddie Peng stars? I'm in.
2. Xin Zhi Lei as the female lead? I'm not only in but watching this mostly because of her. (If you have no idea why someone would flip their shinola for her -- you haven't seen RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE, have you?)
3. I'm not sure rescue forces exist to this degree. If they do, wow. If they don't -- I love Gerry Anderson's THUNDERBIRDS.
4. The visuals/FX are rather stunning. However, I'm not used to Chinese films spending THIS much $$$ on them, and so -- sure enough -- the film can get talky sometimes to save money. Mainly revolving around --
5. -- a cute young kid. I've watched enough C-Drama media to know cute kids are a thing to kinda force 'endearing' onto the movie. In America we don't stick cute kids into all sorts of movies for fear of damaging the premise. What was wrong here is that --
6. -- with him came scenes with dopey cartoon music. With little bells ringing 'comically' in a movie they don't belong in. Are we in an action drama or not? Later on that kid was used for another classic trope --
7. -- which I can't spoil but is the stuff of soap operas. Not action movies. However, the way they ultimately resolved this trope (inside the closing credits) made it almost worth it and definitely tolerable.
8. Xin Zhi Lei was great when she was given something to do. Unfortunately the story didn't give her enough to do. There was a natural coupling she needed to be a part of but the story got either scared or distracted.
9. The original 'Stand By Me' song appears in this film and, sorry, the film by the same name owns the song and no one else should be using it. Like I don't want to hear Garland singing 'Rainbow' in this film anywhere for the same reason.
10. If a sequel is being planned -- I'd see it. Because it might give Xin Zhi Lei more time.

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A nice little film and diversion

Many of these lower budget films start okay but get kinda lost. This one hangs together well.

The tale debates how communities should work together when possible riches await. You'll enjoy this film for that, the lush soundtrack, lovely visuals, and most of the verite acting of the kids and villagers.

The lead girl was kinda a two trick pony: big sweet smile OR tears down her face. But that's okay because the rest of the cast had lots of wonderful moments. Don't miss the Mouse Guy or the Leek Man. Or the two tiny boys who didn't seem to be aware that they were in this charming little movie.

I'm not sure I'd recommended a paid rental for this, unless inexpensive. I found it on America's YouTube for free and in 1080p.

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PLEASE READ -- I'LL WARN YOU before I start SPOILING

This is my 5th Chinese series. RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE, MISSING PERSONS, REBEL PRINCESS and IMPERFECT LOVE preceded. This was my first 'junky' or 'bubblegummy' series, what we in America might call a 'CW' show aimed at teens or younger. I'm here to tell you it's far better than I expected -- a must watch if you want something lighter -- but they didn't quite stick the landing, as they say in Olympics.

Okay. What is this show without spoilers? It's kind of like the 60's classic I DREAM OF JEANNIE... but they change so much it takes a few episodes to realize how similar it is. In many ways it is an improvement because JEANNIE lacked a compelling romantic story whereas MAKE A WISH is all about our two leads. Not to mention other couples in the story as well.

THE REASON TO WATCH THIS SERIES are the standout performances:

#4 is Chen Hao Lan who plays a more serious young lady in the series, but as the story progresses you see her art is subtly and nuance. They pulled her pretty back a few notches (as to not compete with the lead) but it eventually peeked thru.
#3 is Wang Tian Yu, the 'Roger Healey' of this series and comic relief. This kid is FUNNY.
#2 is Zhu Min Xin, whose small role in this series stood out anyway. He is lead material for future projects!
#1 is the WOW and WONDER that is Gia Ge. This young lady SPARKLES. Her beauty is beyond belief. Her energy and charm is why you finish watching this series. Producers must be fighting tooth and nail to get her right now. I'll watch anything she shows up in next. And she must have the best hair on TV. Check out when Chi Yan lifts and spins her in the closing credits. WOW.

That list leaves out the male lead. Ren You Lun was terrific. Yet his perfectly under-stated performance doesn't make me wonder what he'll be in next, if you know what I mean. So no slur against him. He's the 'straight man' that makes Gia Ge shine all the more. I think young ladies drawn to cats and bookstores will adore him.

When I watch any show I rarely notice the hairstylist. You're kinda not supposed to notice their work. But when I realized Gia has the best hair on TV -- I noticed each cast member has interesting hair as well. And so I guess the stylist was showing off a bit and hoping nobody noticed. (I did!)

So before I start spoiling, I'll say this series was likely 4 episodes too long. I sensed everyone on the production was younger and less experienced, and this became clear in the writing towards the end. Before I pick it apart know the series is worth watching, rewatching, and recommending anyways.

SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Around episode 20 we get an extremely dramatic twist: cat girl awakes on an Earth that doesn't remember her. Her relationship with Chi Yan is erased, as well as the love affairs of their mutual friends. This is really REALLY dramatic and fascinating at first. But then it sends the story into an unnecessary spiral of trying to repair all the damage. This repair job is compressed into the final episodes and I started to feel... the entire idea... was stupid.

Perhaps they were planning a 2nd series... or second 'arc' with 24 more episodes. That would have made the 'everyone forgot her' a fantastic cliffhanger at the end of Season 1. Right? It's as if the following episodes were really supposed to be much longer and season of their own. But then someone said that was a stupid idea.

I'll share with you now what I think is a better cleaner way to end the series.

1. Xiao Xiu gets hit on the head with the pipe. Falls down like we saw. Chi Yan runs over to comfort her.
2. As her friends gather around her, her ears emerge. She cries. Panics in front of Chi Yan. Her tail emerges. Her friends are all WTF.
3. She transforms into a cat. Chi Yan picks her up, holds her close, but she disappears into a portal. Gone.
4. Xiao awakes in Meow World, an animated cat. There she meets Lin Mo and his friend, who are confused as to why she is there. Eventually her Dad finds her and, despite being happy to see her, knows where she really belongs: alongside Chi Yan. The problem is Xiao has no way to return to Earth.
5. Her Dad takes her to a temple and ask the elders for help. They say there is nothing they can do.
6. Chi Yan on Earth is distraught. Ruined. The friends can't believe she was a cat. But find it magical.
7. On Meow Planet, in the temple, Xiao's Dad won't stand for this. Since Lin Mo has learned who killed his GF and Xiao's sister. Xiao prays at the Temple... and her Sister appears as a Goddess. (Instead of that other lady who they forced into the story.) Xiao is told she can make a wish to return to Earth, but this time -- she'll never leave it. Her father insists.
8. If you've seen this series notice what is now no longer necessary. What was with the new bookstore and the new apartment? A total waste of time. We loved the old ones. What was with Chi Yan's grandfather being connected to the cat world? I mean I get it but it wasn't really necessary. Which means neither was the goddess character. And why OH WHY destroy 3 love affairs only to quickly force them back into existence? No no no. All we needed --
9. -- was our 'Scooby Doo' club going back to Earth and finalizing the Doctor story. Oh, and his entire angle on why he did what he did wasn't the slickest. That needed some focusing. I got this weird VIBE that the Doctor was in love with Chi Yan and somehow this confused about everything. (Did you feel that too?)

I want to add the Gia Ge had to sell this bumpy ending -- and gave it her all. There was absolutely nothing more heartbreaking than watching this bubbly innocent soul LOSE EVERYTHING. Many dramas make 'the girl' cry here -- but she was beyond crying. It was like that look a kid gets when they first learn a loved one has passed on. Gia was a MARVEL here.

Anyway, if the story had ended more cleanly -- it would have been a 9.2 in my book. Still worth seeing at it is, though.

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Relentless video game

I'm a RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE fan and so Zhou Xun brought me here. I predicted she's be a bait and switch -- and she was -- but it was nice to see another RUYI actor in the lead.

To me this film felt like a video game staged for the big screen. The quest was a video game quest, the actions the stuff of video game players. It didn't feel like real people at all -- which great diminishes a work like this. The story was so busy with plot the characters were nearly irrelevant.

I fear this film is for younger generations who cannot stay awake if two characters speak quietly in a room. That said it is an impressive spectacle. But I had to pause it several times and go take a mental break. If you have a mild headache this piece will turn it into a migraine with 20 minutes.

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