This Republican Era genre had less propaganda, good script and acting, especially from Li Zhi Mo.

Shooting Stars is another Republican-era melodrama genre. I wish China stopped producing so many dramas for this era. The plot is pretty much the same for every Republican-era drama. This one focused less on the communist party and more on the relationship between the Unit 4 police station and their friendship.

My Reviews:
1. If you are looking for romance in this drama, you will be disappointed because there is very little romance between the main CP and 2nd CP.
2. The gits of the story about espionage and the intro and recruitment of the communist party.
3. I adored Li Zhi Mo, who plays Li Qiu Shi / Meng Duo Ci's character. This young actress has great potential. She acted so well in the first 10 episodes.
4. In this drama, she acted better than Ren Mi, the FL. I don't like her acting ability, so I dropped most of her dramas where she is the FL.
5. It has an interesting twist about Li Xian's character as he discovers his own journey and how his family was involved in smuggling weapons and selling them to the Japanese. It went against what he believed and eventually went against his brother and family joining the community party.

I give it a 7.5 rating for decent scripts and good acting, especially from Li Zhi Mo.

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Main CP is horrible both with on-screen chemistry and acting. 4th CP had better plots

Men in Love is a romantic comedy about four men who have befriended each other since college and supported each other through the ups and downs of life, especially when it comes to love relationships with women.

My Reviews:
1. The production quality could be better. The screen on my ultra 4K HD TV is too blue.
2. The script is non-original, nothing extraordinary. It is predictable and boring.
3. There were some funny scenes when the 4 men were doing childish behaviors and their interpretation of Love.
4. I like the 4th CP the best because they are funny and are the most solid out of the four CPs.
5. The story of the 3rd CP is more believable and convincing.
6. I am disappointed at the 1st and 2nd CPs, where the on-screen chemistry for these CPs could have been better, and the same goes for their acting ability.
7. I like Liang Jie and her acting skills, but her character was annoying in this drama. Her on-screen chemistry with Hu Yi Tian was awkward and unpleasant to watch.
8. It is also a predictable ending. It does not need to be 40 episodes. I could be better in 24-30 episodes.

I give it a 6.0 rating.

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It is a good relatable family drama that has its dysfunctional twists. Good acting from the cast.

Islands is a women-centric drama about three sisters, each with their own dysfunctional dramas in their family. They hide from each other and keep it secret from their mom. Eventually, through life-threatening events, it reveals how they stood by to support one another in crisis.

Synopsis: Qiao Haiyun has set rules that all family members must go home every New Year. No one had ever broken the rule until the most honest third-generation Li Yijin suddenly broke the tradition of going to her boyfriend's home for the New Year. Qiao Haiyun has three daughters. The eldest, Meng Ming Wei, is not her biological daughter. Because of lame inferiority, Meng Ming Wei had great ambitions for her daughter, Li Yijin, but had a very tense relationship with her. Meng Wan Qing, the second daughter, and Tao Shuna were perfect mothers and daughters. Still, the two accidentally discovered each other's secrets. The process of rediscovering each other is also that of rediscovering oneself. The third daughter, Meng Yian, is like Qiao Hai Yun, strong and independent. Not wanting to be a strong woman like her mother, but by chance, Meng Yian took the same path as her mother. The three generations of women in the Meng family were like a flock of birds. Although they watched each other from a distance, they supported each other and coexisted.

My Reviews:
1. The overbearing mother is annoying. She needs to get a life instead of being a controlling mother.
2. Dysfunctional marriages for the 3 sisters, but the more mature and salvageable were the youngest daughter and her husband.
3. Xu Fan, who played an adopted daughter, Meng Min Wei, did a good job as an overbearing and controlling mother. However, I dislike her as a proud and controlling mom.
4. Sandra Ma played her daughter, who tried to please her mom but was unsuccessful until the end of the drama.
5. The cast acted great, especially Song Chun Li, who played the mother.

I enjoyed the drama and gave it a 7.5 for a decent script and good acting from everyone in the cast.

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I'm not sure why it made into a movie, not sure what the director's vision of it. So boring.

Ten Years of Loving You is a Romantic comedy starring Ren Mi and Ding Yu Xi. I wonder why it was made and released.

Nothing original or exceptional about the plot, and the acting could be better, especially Ren Mi.

Synopsis: At 17, Wen Heng, an adopted child, was finally found by her biological parents and brought back to the family home in Beijing. This heartwarming story explores the challenges of adjusting to a new family dynamic, a situation many of us can relate to. However, tensions arise when her adopted sister feels threatened by her presence and starts throwing tantrums. To maintain family harmony, Wen Heng is asked to move into a family friend's house next door.

There, Wen Heng meets Yan Xi, and the two embark on a journey of self-discovery and friendship as they live together and go to school together. But this idyllic life is soon disrupted, as Yan Xi has to return to America to be with his sick mother, leaving Wen Heng to face new challenges and grow as a person.

My Reviews:
- The story is dull and has little excitement.
- The acting could be better, especially in the case of Ren Mi.
- I watched it on YouTube, where the audio was silent for almost 1/2 of the movie; it was so bad that I didn't bother to finish it.

I gave it a 4.0 rating for the bad story and the acting ability of the entire cast.

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Decent drama about friendship, but it could have been better if it cut short to 24-30 episodes

In Youth is an old (2019) romantic comedy about friends who support each other through difficult situations.

The Synopsis: Li Zi Yu is a simple, kind-hearted, and righteous girl. She starts working at a public relations company but unfortunately meets a difficult boss. The boss, Fan Shu Chen, is a talented, hidden rich heir who is very hostile towards Zi Yu, making Zi Yu tremble with fear every day. She doesn't know that company secrets have been leaked since she started working, and Shu Chen is thus heavily suspecting her. But gradually, the two start to appreciate and admire each other. However, Shu Chen's three best friends have their theory on Zi Yu's identity, confusing Shu Chen. When Shu Chen's rival, Luo Zong Liang, appears, it becomes known that Zong Liang and Zi Yu have some relationship, which arouses suspicion that Zi Yu could be a spy sent by Zong Liang. What is the truth behind everything? And will Zi Yu and Shu Chen's love-hate relationship have a happy end

My Reviews:
1. The drama could be much better if it were reduced to 24-30 episodes instead of 38.
2. Maggie Huang, who played Ji Xuan Li's character, acted better than Qiao Xin, who played the female lead, Lin Zi Yu
3. I like Li Yang Yang's character, which Dai Si portrayed, and she did a decent job.
4. The friendships between these five characters are good. Still, the plot gets draggy because it involves a competition between two PR companies and revenge.
5. Lin Zi Yu's character is naive but also stupid. She lacks common sense and does not figure out that her stepbrother is using and framing her.
6. The ending is stupid, where her stepbrother doesn't even pay for the crimes that he has committed.

I give this drama a 6.5 rating because the acting was decent, especially from Maggie Huang and Dai Si.

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Time-travel drama with a suspenseful plot, but too draggy and repetitive that I lost interest

Derailment is a romance, time-traveling drama involving killing people to shake the life gaming system.

The Synopsis: Do you believe that countless parallel universes exist that are exactly like the world you live in?

Jiang Xiao Yuan struggles with her identity as she travels across parallel universes that never seem to intersect. In her original world, she is an invincible, wealthy daughter. Still, she becomes an ordinary working girl with absolutely nothing in another place. Along the way, she meets the mysterious Qi Lian, and together, they search for the truth involving the mystery surrounding her. Stripped of wealth, family background, appearance, and education, Jiang Xiao Yuan sets herself on a journey to find pieces of her "real" identity.

I am giving this drama a 6.0 rating for the following reasons:
1. Lin Yi plays different roles. He played a nice but also ruthless character.
2. The FL acted well as a newcomer to the entertainment industry. This is her first drama, but she has acted in various movies since 2020. She is young and has good potential.
3. The story started interesting but spiraled into repetitiveness and confusion, with too many minor characters to drag the drama longer. I lost interest along the way between episodes 15 to the end.
4. I ended up skipping an FF with 1.5 to 2.0 speeds.
5. The acting is good, and it could have been better if it cut to 20 or 24 episodes.

I would not recommend this drama, but if you are interested in time-traveling with some suspension, You may want to check it out.

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A business melodrama that it is decent to watch. Elaine Zhong did a great job in this drama.

"Rising with the Wind" is a modern about the failure of a shoe company and how Jiang Hu, with Xu Si's help, rebuilds her dad's company and retains his legacy.

The Synopsis: The story revolves around the revival of a national brand in the face of the impact of e-commerce. Xu Si, an investment professional who moves back to mainland China from a Hong Kong investment bank, meets Jiang Hu, the only daughter of the chairman of a national clothing conglomerate. Due to their differing business philosophies, the two are at odds with each other.

When Jiang Hu's father's company suddenly goes bankrupt, she is plummeting from the heights of success. Meanwhile, Xu Si—who has always been ambitious—sets his sights on the rubber-soled shoe brand "Tengyue," which was once created by Jiang Hu's father. Determined to save "Tengyue" at all costs, Jiang Hu—despite her downfall—engages in a fierce battle with Xu Si. Ultimately, their interactions and struggles will determine the fate of "Tengyue" and whether it can be revived.

I really enjoy this drama, and Elaine Zhong is a good actress. I think Simon Gong is better in modern drama than in historical dramas. He played a calm and collected investor with smart and wits as he guided Jiang Hu in saving her dad's company after his death.

Their on-screen chemistry is good, and I think the 2nd CP was an unnecessary filler, even though she played the designer for the TengYue shoe company. Wu Xuan Yi cannot act.

Can't wait to see how Xu Si and Jiang Hu develop their love interest for each other; at least in episode 20, Xu Si tells Jiang Hu that he is pursuing her. She is unsure and doesn't want to ruin their mentor/mentee relationship.

I am giving this drama an 8.0 rating because I like the main CP and acting. The ending is a bit cheesy, but overall it is a decent drama.

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Predictable RomCom with good acting from Elaine Zhong (FL).

"The Furthest Distance" is a rom-com between a designer and a doctor.

Elaine Zhong has had a good year with three decent modern dramas.
- Imperfect Victim, where she played a supporting role.
- The Furthest Distance
- Rising with the Wind
She is a good actress who can play silly yet career-oriented women. She has range as an actress, and her onscreen chemistry is not bad with Leon Zhang. In my opinion, she is a better actor than Leon Zhang. The character he played in this drama is a bit weak but nice.

Their relationship is being sabotaged by her ex-boyfriend, played by Zhang Tao, and his deceased girlfriend's twin sister, Mi Su, played by Sabrina Chen. The supporting cast is cute and funny, especially her best friend Du Hui Xuan, played by Li Xi Rui, who is clueless about love.

I am giving it a 7.5 rating because the plot is nothing special, but the acting is good, only from Elaine Zhong, whereas the rest of the cast was mediocre, including the ML, Leon Zhang. The drama is predictable, and the ending is okay. I would expect them to get married, but it didn't happen. It is implied.

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Good crime drama plot out of HK, but acting is so bad from entire cast.

Dead Ringer is an HK crime drama about Wei Xiao Chen, a Chinese-American female captain who leads a SWAT team that breaks up the base of a human trafficking syndicate and discovers the body of a woman who turns out to be her twin sister, Liang Xi. Xiao Chen is devastated and vows to spend the rest of her life tracking down the truth behind her sister’s murder.

Wen Xiao Chen disguised as her twin sister and came to Hong Kong to investigate her death. As she unravels the evidence, surprising twists happen when her twin sister, Liang Xi, is not dead. Her sister was involved in money laundry and did illegal kinds of stuff.

The plot is interesting, but the acting was bad from the entire ensemble, especially the FL, Chrissie Lau, and Raymond Wong. They both cannot act. Serious and emotional, she has the same stoic face without much emotion. Raymond Wong is the worst actor I have seen out of HK drama.

I give it a 6.0 because the acting of the entire cast is below mediocre. The production quality is much better than those from Mainland China, with bright light, and everyone is white, especially in historical/Xian Xia costume dramas.

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It is a good-centric drama about vengeance on a cheating husband. Good drama.

Alliance is a modern drama about Lin Shuang, a brilliant student with great potential who ended up giving up her career to be a full-time mom. She was betrayed by her husband, who had an affair with a co-worker.

She teamed up with the mistress to avenge her husband and, in the process, rekindle love with an old classmate, Gu Xu.

I like the plot, and the flow of the drama is good. It kept me engaged in the story. The acting is okay; I wish there were more romance between Lin Shuang and Gu Xu.

Li Ze Feng was good at playing a selfish and conniving bad husband. Overall, I enjoyed this drama and recommend you should check it out.

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I did not like the plot because it kind of depressing, but the acting was exceptional.

A Time Called You - a Kdrama recommended by a friend, and I fell asleep watching it. So far, I have not enjoyed this drama. It is too slow, and the flow of the story is not engaging me.

The Synopsis: Han Jun Hee's boyfriend, Koo Yeon Jun, died one year ago. She still hasn't gotten over his death and misses him a lot. One day, she time-travels back to 1998 and finds herself as a high school student, Kwon Min Joo. There, she meets high school student Nam Si Heon. She is surprised to see how much Nam Si Heon resembles her late boyfriend, Koo Yeon Jun. Nam Si Heon is outgoing and attractive; girls adore him. His best friend, Jung In Kyu, develops a crush on Kwon Min Joo.

I went back and watched it again, and I didn't like the story that much because it dealt with dark issues with mental health and suicide. The acting was exceptional, especially the actress Jeon Yeo Been, who played both Han Jun Hee & Kwon Min Ju characters.

Overall, I enjoyed the acting of this drama, but not particularly the plot. I give it an 8.0 anyway because the acting was so good.

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Good lesson about work life balance because hard work may not worth it if one lost love and health.

"Fake It Till You Make It" is a 14-episode drama about the riches and the ordinaries as they try to co-exist in a business legal firm based in Shanghai where not everyone is genuine. They have to fake it till they make it.

I greatly enjoy this drama, and Elvira Cai and Elvis Han's onscreen chemistry is great. I like their intelligence, pretentiousness, and non-committal Conversation/relationship. They are both too proud and stubborn to admit that they like each other, and they are playing pretentious games with each other and with others they are interacting with.

It is all about money talk and showing off one's possession of material things to feel accepted in the highly rich society in Shanghai. I have watched 8 episodes already and can't wait to see the last 6. I give it an 8.5 rating.

It is a good and relatable drama about hard work and is it worth it in the end? It is about work life balance because har work may not worth it in the end if one has to loose love and health.

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