Beanie level: Errand boy

Hey so I’m looking for a good Mandarin Chinese film to show my middle and high school Chinese I-IV students. Nothing racy, with good production quality, preferably recent. Any suggestions?

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    I’m no expert, but I though of these:
    — Lighting Up the Stars (on Netflix in my region) is getting good reviews all around.
    — Or Big Fish and Begonia (not recent though) for animation.
    — Or one of the IP Man films for action entertainment…

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    I really liked Kung Fu Hustle (2004), it’s hilarious.

    I think it’s safe for students, I don’t remember any +18, it’s just comedy. But maybe you should watch it first just in case. I never remember that kind of stuff tbh.

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    One film I can highly recommend for all is Andy Lau’s LOST AND LOVE (2015) (108 min.) which is available on Viki US and other platforms. I watched it on a long flight home from China and I was in awe of his performance and the performance of young actor Jing Boran. It is based on a true story and heart breaking about a father for years searching for his abducted son. Based on a true story. Also filming took place in different provinces so one gets a great view of rural China.

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    Thanks all!! I’ll check those out for the big day 🙂

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Once upon a time I thought FT Island’s song “Puppy” was really weird. Then I rediscovered the live performances, and now it’s SUCH A BOP.

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#2021RoundUp

That mess I watched… I don’t even have to think about this one.

L.U.C.A.

(And I appreciate that there are fans who liked the drama/the ending, too… it was just too sad for me)

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    This was the only mess I dropped. And on episode 8, wow… it was certainly a mess.

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Was it really just a few days ago I was saying I had only watched 16 currently airing dramas this year? Lol I crack myself up. Sometimes, you’ve just gotta go read the complete broadcast list more carefully and then maybe binge a few dramas. I’ve upped the count to 20, here they are so you know what I’m pulling from for my awards (the 20 is my currently watching and completed shows only):

Chimera
Happiness
Hometown
Jirisan
Melancholia
Oh my Ladylord
The Red Sleeve (literally I started this last night and stayed up until 5AM. I just can’t with this show)
At a Distance, Spring is Green
Dark Hole
KBS 2021 Drama Special
L.U.C.A.
Law School
Navillera
Police University
Sell your Haunted House
Sisyphus: the Myth
The Witch’s Diner
Voice 4 (Don’t ask me why I finished this. I think it’s because my husband and I really wanted to see a dwarfic serial killer. Way to kill to my dreams, show)
You are my Spring
Youth of May

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#2021RoundUp
Lol don’t ask me about kdrama wardrobes. I have terrible fashion lol TT TT But, I’ll do my best! Hmm…. who am I kidding? I’ll just put the drama that first came to mind.
Navillera
Now, I can’t say I have much memory of their actual wardrobe half the time, but this drama was so precious. The way the grandfather wanted to dance, even since he was a boy, his insecurity about it, and the decision to don the practice suit were all so beautifully executed, I think it counts as the best wardrobe.



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    It definitely does!

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    This was an inspiring drama. It showed how if one person had the courage to step up and to take hold of their dream, it would free up so many others.

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#2021RoundUp

Best ML

Why is it that I always have an easier time finding male actors I really appreciate? It’s not even for their looks–I just feel like I can name more guys who give really subtle, layered performances than I can women. Musings aside, let’s look at the contenders:

Park in Hwan and Song Kang as Shim Deok Cheol and Lee Chae Rok Navillera

Kim Rae Won as Ji Oh in L.U.C.A.

Park Ji Hoon and Bae In Hyuk as Yeo Joon and Nam Soo Hyun in At a Distance, Spring is Green

And the winner is….
Kim Rae Won as Ji Oh in L.U.C.A.

Don’t get me wrong–that show was a mess. A downwrite ball of chaos. And I hated the ending. Why would you do that to me, show?! I can’t say I would rate the show more than a 6/10, but I was really impressed with Kim Rae Won in the drama. He did a great job portraying all of the ML’s emotions–confusion, childlike innocence, a desire to be cruel, anger… he did a great job with a character that could be very difficult to relate with. It’s not like any of us have experience with mind wiping powers and jellyfish DNA. I… can’t say I would highly recommend the drama, or even recommend it at all… but was it a fascinating ride? Yeah, I guess so. 9/10 performance in a 6/10 drama! 🙂



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Ok, playing catch-up here! A little bit depressed I may only complete 16 dramas this year, and not a single one of them scored a 9/10 rating for me overall. It’s been a bit of a letdown year, to be honest. Still, there have been some great performances!

Best FL in a drama this year: Han Ye Ri as Jo Jung Hyun in Hometown.

This aired at the same time as Hometown: Cha Cha Cha, which is a bit unfortunate because the two dramas could not be more different. Hometown was a twisty thriller which toyed with the supernatural and Hometown: Cha Cha Cha was… not that. (I didn’t fall in love with that drama, but I mostly watch thrillers).

Jo Jung Hyun as a character was so multilayered in a way that you don’t normally get for a FL, even if they’re written with a past that should make them interesting. She was filled with a lot of hate, and a lot of love for her family. One of the most intense scenes I think was when she visited the church in the rain (I won’t spoil it for you, but it was a wonderful performance by Han Ye Ri that I think really boosted my interest in the rest of the cast). 10/10 performance for an 8.5/10 show. Good job!

A second kudos also goes to Lee Re, who played her younger sister. She was so ditzy and goofy on screen, and yet… there was always a little something more that just made me wonder.



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    Completely agree with you on this is somewhat of a letdown year for me. HYR is always great in her roles!

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    “but I mostly watch thrillers” “yeah, I know I like cop shows”
    Finally I’ve met somebody who’s more into mystery thrillers than rom-coms! Hello chingu!!
    If you’ve seen my recent post on round up 21, you’ll find more than 90% are thrillers, so apart from them any recommendations?
    Btw so glad to meet you!☺️😊

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      Nice to meet you too!! Hmmm… as for recommendations, I 100% agree we have similar tastes (I’ve seen 14 out of the ones you listed, and skipped the others mostly because I try not to watch if it’s 18+ by the Korean rating system).

      If I was to add any others… maybe Circle and Children of Nobody (thriller)? Also Just Between Lovers, and One Spring Night (a bit of a melancholy tone like Human Disqualification) Prison Playbook and Come and Hug Me. 🙂 Prison Playbook is just a good solid drama, and I have a soft spot for Come and Hug Me lol

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        Oh I see… Well I’m wondering which were of them were 18+, cause I skip them too!🙂
        I was really waiting for One ordinary day, but after reading review I dropped it!
        Noted all your recs!
        I’ve seen Prison playbook till 6 eps…then dropped, felt nothing’s much happening, was a bit slow for me! But yeah I’ll try once more!

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    Han Ye Ri is awesome!

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I\’m a little bit embarrassed to ask since I used to be such a DB regular… but what is the End of Year Round Up? It seems like fun and I\’d love to have a place to squeal over dramas again…

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Dude. Mouse is INSANE. Is anyone else out there watching and going: ooooh now I get it… and simultaneously screaming inside? All I wanted was a hero I could root for!!

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    Me 🙋🏽‍♀️ First, I can’t believe the happy go lucky dad from 5 Children is a serial killer! I don’t know what I will do if Seung Gi is the killer. Sigh, it’s stressful. Lol.

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      spoiler plz 🙁

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        Why do you need a spoiler tag for the first episode that was weeks ago? I was unaware of there being spoiler rules for the Beanie wall. I’ve seen plenty of spoilers on the wall.

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    I just had to scroll through these pages to hear someone say exactly this.

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    🙋 This is me every time I watch an episode. I swear, the ending better be worth all the mental hoops I’m jumping through!

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    I’m now ready to go out on a limb and say that I suspect Shin Sang, the rookie detective working under detective Go Moo-chi. He is “the precious late-born only son of a wealthy family”. His “inadvertent” destruction of evidence may not have been an accident. Also he was in the place for the ferris wheel murder. I’ll revise my opinion if he reveals his phone conversation with Sung Yo-han, but for now, I’m pointing my finger at him.

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Any other mildly outraged LUCA watchers out there? I finished it last night and went: WHAT? I didn\’t watch 12 hours for that ending… Lol

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    I’m so glad I dropped on episode 8, and even so it felt like a total waste of time…

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      I’m still so ticked. I can’t believe it. Do you want to know the ending?? I’m so sure. And the way they did it, I KNOW it was all on purpose. It wasn’t even like a “we ran out of plot so what the hey, we’ll just ruin it all”. No. This was coldblooded purposeful torture.

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        I read something on the wall: does GoReum die and lots of baby JiOh’s take the world?
        Please, tell me because I’m never going to check the ending, that’s for sure.

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          YEAH! He gets the slicked back bad guy evil hair and a bunch of baby Ji-Oh’s start shooting electricity everywhere. Like I would EVER go back for season two after they killed my ship and buried it, and took one man’s redemption arc in the ENTIRELY wrong direction. I was so upset.

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After a long dry spell, dramaland finally seems to be looking up. Actively watching Train, Model Detective, Flower of Evil, and looking forward to Forest of Secrets 2!! (yeah, I know I like cop shows)

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    There’s something about cop shows that’s so enticing.

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      Right?? I just get sucked in. Do you have any all time favorites?

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        Oh gosh, I absolutely loved Signal, Tunnel, and Voice. I’m also planning on binging watching Forest of Secrets (for the first time) ahead of season 2!

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          Yaaaas Tunnel and Signal, and Forest of Secrets are 3 of my all time favorite dramas!! I’m so stoked for Forest of Secrets 2 🙂

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            I’m planning on jumping on the FoS train soon so I can be prepared when S2 releases!!

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            Yaaas please do. It was so good–I’m not normally someone who watches dramas a second time, but I did with this one (I’ve also watched Tunnel and Signal twice haha^^)

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            Hahaha I’ll be sure to do so then!! Soooo many Beanies rave about the show so I thought I’d give it a shot 😉

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Is anybody else on here super late at night, when they should really be getting their medical interpretation HW done? Aahahahahahahaha TT TT

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… Considering posting a picture a day of Lee Jong Suk again. Those were good days. Very… kdrama filled days.

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    Then again, that feels juuuust a tad stalkerish to me now. Maybe I could post a picture of a DIFFERENT actor every day?

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      Liking and appreciating an actor isn’t stalkerish, right…. Right…….

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So forgive me if I\’m being ignorant, but is posting here how it ends up on the \”Recent Fan Posts\” wall? I took a drama hiatus not long after the site switch over, and haven\’t gotten back in since.

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    Yes you’re right about the fanwall thing.

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      Haha thanks. I feel so silly not knowing what’s what around DB anymore, and it seems like Post comments have gone down a lot… is everyone just using the Fan Walls to communicate more now then?

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Can we just take a moment and appreciate how EPIC Seventeen\’s new album is? An Ode, would highly recommend 10/10 + alpha.

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    I didn’t expect to like it that much. How could I doubt Seventeen??

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    Aaaaand Also their newest mini album, Hengarae. Literally amazing, just what I needed recently.

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Beanies, help! I am in dire need of a promo poster I saw once, don’t remember the drama… but it featured a couple, sitting on this bench ahahahahaha ^^ Thanks in advance!!!
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    I think you should try posting this again in the first couple of hours after Open Thread is up tomorrow.

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      I think I definitely will^^ thanks!! I need to show it to a friend, but I can’t remember what the name of the drama was!! ㅠㅠㅠ’

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    You could also post this in Name that Drama with a link back here to this photo. It wasn’t recent like at the time Kill Me Heal Me was aired? The couple did sit in a lighted up thing like this in that show… I believe. Or rather the seats were opposite each other rather than a bench by itself. Sorry, I”m not more help!

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    It took me forever, but I found it!! It was Lawless Lawyer!

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Lololol every time I hear the \”mysterious music\” in That Psychometric Guy, I can\’t help but hear: \”doobie doobie doobie doobie\” as the words. It\’s great, but hilariousㅠㅠ

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    Well, thankyou.Now, I will start hearing those words too 😋

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      I’m so sorry. I can’t unsee it, either!! They’re running to catch the sketchy shackle man and then… “dooobie doobie dooooobie doooo…” ㅠㅠㅠㅠ still in love with the show, can’t wait for Monday. ^^

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Lolol decided to start \”Fight My Way\”. Bad idea, episode 6 and too much in love, but super ticked at his ex.ㅠㅠ

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    She turns out alright eventually! Keep watching!

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    Lolol, the ex is gonna go support him at his match now (ep 8). She looks so scary. Much tiger-like.

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      Literally the most I’ve hated a villain in a while. Episode 9, and that ex is just… mm… something else.

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First 3 minutes. That was terrifying.

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    … … … *deeply breathing* I need to take a break. This is… *breathing* terrifying. Door Lock, everyone. who knew. (just over halfway through)

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      Ah, blessings. At least the police believe her now.

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        Checking to make sure her friend has both of her hands still… legs too. Ack this is ridiculous.

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          Oh my flipping heck I don’t know if I can watch the rest of this. She’s stuck in a house with an iv drip in her arm and a killer. This is terrifying.

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            Much more a fan when she picks up the scary killer axe, nice choice for self defense upgrade. (PS sorry for all the doorlock spoilers)

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            I don’t think I can sleep tonight.

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The real question is: will I be able to survive watching \”Door Lock\” by myself? Or do I need a tub of ice cream, or maybe to watch it when I can finish in still daylight hours… here goes!

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