The TV Roundup #13

Has it been a week already? My, my, time sure flies. I wanted to say something about clichés and then I realized the song playing in the background right now as I'm writing this is Cliché by mxmtoon lol.

You Are My Hero | E32-E40

All's well that ends well. For me this was a Ma Si-chun show all the way but I am VERY biased. YAMH, though not completely my cup of tea, is actually very nice fluff. There's an earthquake and one too many hostage situations but no one important to the story dies. In fact, I don't recall there being ANY deaths even among background characters. No wait, I remembered wrong. There was at least one. His death was plot device though and not even an important one lol. Overall, I'd say the show is a relaxing, feel good watch. The OTP has great chemistry and they communicate! They're a breath of fresh air and are honest to God couple goals.

I also love the character growth of Mi Ka. She went from a fresh med school graduate who was a (justifiably) nervous wreck when she was in a life-or-death situation in episode 1 to the incredibly brave and professional physician in the finale's hostage sitch. She was scared for her life but she did her doctor duties and went through it all with an admirable calm and grace despite the threat to her life. Love her!

Heaven's Official Blessing | E01-E04

The story is going at a snail's pace. I forgot how slow animated series can get. Things do happen I guess and yet I'm not...satisfied? I'm not sure that's the right word. Anyhoo, my interest only ever ticks up when the OTP is getting too close for comfort. I'm of half a mind to just check out the source novel, but at the same time, I want to check out and do a million other things as well.

Gifted (2017)

This isn't a TV show but I saw it on Netflix so I'm lumping it in here. I'll probably put films I see on here too. I can't be bothered to create a separate post for movies unless I feel inspired to write a whole post on a film.

Back to Gifted. It's the story of Frank, a single man (Chris Evans) raising his intellectually gifted niece Mary (McKenna Grace) and the ensuing custody battle that occurred when his exacting and ambitious mother Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) finds out about the kid's intelligence. Octavia Spencer also stars as Frank's no-nonsense neighbor and McKenna's frequent babysitter/friend.

McKenna is the star of the show - no contest. Close second would be the easy and natural rapport she had with her "uncle." Chris and McKenna both shone best in their scenes together. You cannot help but root for the uncle and niece they played and the strong bond they share.

Lindsay Duncan as Evelyn the grandmother was excellent. On paper, Evelyn was very easy to hate. It appeared that she was trying to realize her failed (frustrated?) dreams of academic superstardom in her daughter Diane, a one in a million kind of math geeeeeenius who had the talent to potentially crack a long unsolved math problem. That obviously didn't pan out because Diane dies, and then little Mary comes along. Cue drama. Lindsay Duncan's nuanced portrayal turned Evelyn from hateful snob to... well, she's still a snob but one whose viewpoints I could understand and even concede. In her own way, she too wants the best for little Mary.

Octavia Spencer. Siiiiiiigh. Octavia Spencer was criminally wasted on this. Her character was not really necessary to the plot. I can't believe they cast an award-winning actress to basically scold Chris Evans when his character's being a dumbass. Such a waste.

Verdict? It's a good film. I cried a little bit. Very straightforward story elevated by its talented and charming cast. 3/5 stars.

Four Sisters Before The Wedding (2020)

Another one released on Netflix today. This is the prequel to the wildly successful 2013 family comedy-drama Four Sisters And A Wedding. FSAAW is ICONIC. It is easily one of the most memorable and meme-able films in the last 10 years. The pressure is high for FSBTW. Did the prequel deliver? I think yes. It didn't blow me away but I wasn't disappointed either. The movie was very well cast and the young actresses, while still relatively green, were able to channel the OG actresses' portrayal and at the same time put their own stamp to the characters. Charlie Dizon as Teddie was a particular standout.

There were moments, some lines, that made me cringe but that might just be me and my dislike of typical Pinoy cheese. Overall an enjoyable watch. 3/5 stars.

Prequel and OG movie posters.

And now some of my favorite moments from A Wedding. These ones are often memed as well.

*Chef's kiss*

The TV Roundup #5

So a life update. I am back to doing physical internship, but with much more favorable hours than I would've had pre-pandemic. Today marks day 5 of hospital work. Things are hectic but honestly a lot less stressful and tiring than I was expecting. Basically my anxious self overprojected the potential physical and mental toll physical internship was going to put on me. Don't get me wrong, I am still tired as a dog at the end of each day, but it could be a lot worse. The consultants, residents, and nurses were all SO NICE and supportive. That alleviated a lot of anxiety honestly. It is such a different culture here than I am used to and it fucking blows my mind. I'm so grateful that I chose to intern at this hospital. Also because of the work hours, I still have some time to keep up with the blog. For now I can see myself, posting at least the TVR each week albeit with much less shows on it.

To All The Boys: Always And Forever

This is probably the most boring of the 3 films, but it gets by on the oodles of charm of Lana Condor and Noah Centineo have individually and together. I appreciate the messaging though, and I'm glad Lara Jean chose New York, chose the path that lead to self-growth and development. For a hot minute there, she was turning into THAT girl, who gave up her dreams for her SO, and we know that rarely ever ends well. Because few people, let alone teenagers, know themselves well enough at this age to know if this was what they truly want out of life. You need to get to know and love yourself first before you can be in a healthy, loving relationship. And part of that process is opening yourself up to new experiences, new places.

Peter K also did some growing up and patched old wounds. As much as he loves LJ, I disliked that HIS vision of their future, his growth, his needs, seemed to take precedent over hers. I don't think he did it intentionally, but it felt like he made plans without considering if this was the best move for her objectively. It could've been, yes, but it wasn't. To be fair, before Lara Jean went to New York, she didn't have any solid plans or anything she wanted for herself beyond being happy with her beautiful boy. When she finally did realize that, Peter K was surprisingly mature about it. He was sad but he didn't lash out (much) or insist that she come with him. It was surprisingly less dramatic than I was expecting. A breakup was expected. Their paths were diverging, they were moving literally cross country from each other.

During this difficult time, Peter K reached out to his dad. And he gave some pretty solid advice about putting in effort and not giving up too easily on a person you loved. He has apologized for his past actions and they've formed a tentative relationship.

At the end of the day, alls well that ends well. LJ and PK get back together and agree to LDR. Will they survive the distance? Who knows. They're certainly confident. We're different, says Lara Jean. I may have rolled my eyes so hard I had to manually unstick my eyeballs from the top of my orbital sockets. Probably the the tropiest, most cliche thing in the entire movie. Really wish they hadn't added that line. Oh, well. 3/5 stars for this film. Solid, enjoyable YA fare.

Lana Condor is cute as a button.

She Would Never Know | E10

Hurray hurray they're together and we have lip contact! I am enjoying everything about this couple. They talk, they listen to each other, they consider the other person's needs. Lovely.

The director person and the designer noona are my other favorite couple. They're actually even cuter than the OTP. The director is so freakin' earnest and forward, he's like a puppy on a mission. He knows what he wants and he goes for it without hesitation. It's adorable. It says a lot that I can call him adorable because the actor played a very effective cheating asshole in My Name is Kim Samsoon and I still haven't forgiven him for it. He has that classic asshole face you love to punch. But it's all good because my gosh he's really selling madly crushing on Wang Bit-na. Can't blame him though. She purty.

Song-Ah's cheating ex - I keep forgetting his name - is surprsingly a non-issue. He has moved on essentially and busy dealing with his own demons. Lashing out at his entitled fiancee (and wow she's going full Harpy in the previews). He's still scum, but he's almost pitiful now. Almost. He needs to learn how to cut off toxic people in his life. That's his biggest problem. After a certain point, he can only blame himself for not being decisive in cutting out the cancers in his life (his dad, the obsessive fiancee then suicidal admirer). He's his biggest obstacle. 

The most annoying character on the show is Song-Ah's mom. I have zero patience for her and her pa-victim (playing victim) ways. Even more than the cheating ex and the harpy, this character is the one that inspires violent passions. I can't help but feel for Song-ah and scream my support that YES, SHE SHOULD LEAVE YOU. The mom's an emotional vampire sucking all the joy out of Song-ah's life, a dead weight pulling her into the miserable black hole the mom lives in. Their relationship is a perfect example of not liking someone you love. And it sucks.

This is my face whenever the insufferable mom shows up.

Mr. Queen | E18

I think I managed to watch half an episode before I got busy for work. I'm going to savor this and watch when I have more time.

I am going to miss them. [cries] Source: IG @zzang_cowdragon