Valerie's Room

Title: Mr. Sunshine (2018)
Country: South Korea
Director: Lee Eung Bok
Genres: Drama, Historical, Romance
Episodes: 24
Summary: In 1905, a Korean American U.S. marine officer returns to his homeland on a diplomatic assignment. Coping with his painful past in Korea as an orphaned servant boy, he finds himself in a complicated relationship with an aristocrat’s daughter.

Title: Sailor Moon Crystal (2014)
Country: Japan
Director: Munehisa Sakai
Genres: Animation, Action, Fantasy, Magic
Episodes: 26
Summary: Usagi Tsukino was a normal second-year middle school girl whose own life changes one day when she encounters a black cat. The cat's name is Luna who can talk and bears a cresent moon on her forehead. Luna tells Usagi that she is the chosen guardian of justice with the power to transform into Sailor Moon. Usagi now has a new responsiblity which is a mission to find the Illusionary Silver Crystal as well as the other chosen guardians to protect the Moon Princess. During her mission, she must deal with various enemies sent by Queen Beryl who is also after the Illusionary Silver Crystal.

Title: Unknown (2024)
Country: Taiwan
Director: Ray Jiang
Genres: Drama, Romance, LGBTQ+
Episodes: 12
Summary: Wei Qian has been the breadwinner of his family since he lost his parents at a young age. Besides providing for his biological little sister, Wei Li Li, he has also adopted Wei Zhi Yuan as his little brother. Wei Qian puts his life at risk and works illegally to support his siblings. Luckily, his childhood buddy, San Pang, gets him back on the right path.
As life gradually falls into place, Xiao Yuan admits that he likes Wei Qian and forcibly kisses him. Overwhelmed with anger, Wei Qian sends Xiao Yuan abroad. Yet, Wei Qian feels as if something is missing. Both of them, who are not related by blood, are no more than brothers? Or will they cross that forbidden line and end up becoming lovers?

Title: Bridgerton [season 3] (2024)
Country: USA
Director: Chris Van Dusen, Tricia Brock
Genres: Drama, Romance, Historic
Episodes: 8
Summary: Penelope has finally thrown in the towel on her longtime crush on Colin. However, she has decided it is time to find a husband, preferably one who will give her the independence to continue her double life as Lady Whistledown, away from her mother and sisters. But Penelope's attempts to succeed in the bridal market fail miserably. Meanwhile, Colin's heart is broken when he discovers that Penelope, the one person who has always loved him as he is, is now turning her back on him. Eager to regain her friendship, Colin offers to mentor Penelope to give her confidence in her search for a husband. But when these classes start going too well, Colin doesn't know if his feelings for Penelope are real or if it's just friendship. Another complicated issue for Penelope is the rift with Eloise, who has found a new friend in a very unusual place, while Penelope's ever-increasing presence in high society makes it harder to keep her alter ego as Lady Whistledown a secret.

Title: Shôgun (2024)
Country: Canada
Director: Justin Marks, Rachel Kondo
Genres: Drama, Mystery, Historic
Episodes: 10
Summary: In Japan in the year 1600, at the dawn of a century-defining civil war, Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village.

Wild Wild Country [docu] [24/01/24]

Such a "meh" documentary about the Rajneesh movement, an indian cult that moved to Oregon country and all the ruckus it caused with local residents.

Joâo de Deus: Cura e Crime [docu] [24/01/24]

wtf. This documentary shocked me enough. It's always sad when awful and manipulative people use religion as a way to abuse others, but to also take advantage from sick people is repulsive.

La sociedad de la nieve [movie] [12/03/24]

I like watching things related to these survivors because it's an amazing story but I do think this might be the best of them. Loved the acting a lot.

Code 8: Part II [movie] [12/03/24]

I like watching shitty sci-fi movies. I don't know why but it's always interesting how people defend their vision of a sci-fi story. I kinda liked the ending of this one, even though it was a little bizarre.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes [movie] [18/03/24]

Sooo, I haven't read the book but some people said that the movie romantices completely the fucked up relationship bewteen the protagonists and I kinda agree even though I know nothing of the book. There's something really fucked up about Coryo, I don't know if it's his smile or what, but that dude is a sociopath. Great acting, tbh. I liked how Rachel Zegler portrayed Lucy Gray and Tom Blyth made an impecable job too. In general, I really liked the movie but I have to read the book to have a better understanding of it.

The God Bad Mother (나쁜엄마) [tv series] [20/03/24]

Amazing k-drama. It had perfect balance between drama and some comedy relief. The acting was 10/10 and the plot twists were really great too. Lee Do-hyun is an amazing actor and the way a smile transforms his whole presence is unbelievable.

The Call (콜) [movie] [21/03/24]

I really like horror asian movies. They have a really great way of telling a story and building tension. This one is no different. Great plot twists, good actors and sufficient amount of gore.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live [tv series] [17/05/24]

I really like TWD, unfortunately I fell out of love of the main show. But, I think this mini tv series was the perfect way of ending the franchise. Danai and Andrew are amazing actors and they have a great chemistry; I think that because they were so involved in the whole show that that's why it felt like a such an honest story.

Night of the Living Dead [movie] [26/05/24]

Honestly, WOW. I didn't think I was gonna be entretained by an old zombie movie, but it was an amazing story, great actors, shocking ending. I don't think I've been that shocked by a zombie movie ending before. Loved it.

Ginger Snaps [movie] [26/05/24]

I get why this is a cult movie. I really liked the story and the cinematography. The ending was *chef's kiss*.

The Hunger Games [movie] [27/05/24]

I rewatch this story all the time. It's one of my favorite ones.

Blade Runner [movie] [29/05/24]

I get why this movie is such a beloved one. It puts a lot of focus in the human aspect of it and at the same time it delivers a great sci-fi universe.

Blood Quantum [movie] [02/06/24]

The dialogues sometimes were a little forced, but otherwise I liked the movie. Shoutout for that last scene, really good composition.

Dune: Part Two [movie] [06/06/24]

I think this movie falls short because I couldn't stop thinking about Palestine when I was watching it. I know it's fiction and like zero related to the actual conflict, but I just drew those paralels and I couldn't enjoy it that much, it feels kinda flat. Which is a shame because the cast acting is good. Maybe in a couple years I can enjoy it, idk.

Exhuma [movie] [08/06/24]

OMG, I don't care if this movie plays with korean religion and traditions in a disrespectul way (I'm probably talking shit), but I think it was a great fantasy worldbuilding and the actors were really good, Lee Do-huyn, specially.

One Cut of the Dead (カメラを止めるな! Kamera o Tomeru na!) [movie] [08/06/24]

Hilarious movie. It keeps you confused at first and it's kinda bad at that point but once you pick the complete plot it's just great. I think is a good satire, not just of the zombie genre but also of the tv industry.

Red White & Royal Blue [movie] [10/06/24]

A cheesy movie, to be honest, but I kinda like it. It's the type of content LGBTQ youths deserve to have.

3 Body Problem [tv series] [12/06/24]

I really liked this show. The sci-fi aspect of it it's kinda confusing but you pick it up easily. The ending is at parts hopeful but also kinda depressive. Great plot twists, loved the acting.

Bridgerton (S3 [tv series] [19/06/24]

I really like the tv adaptation of Bridgerton, it's just so different from the books (which i read like 15 years ago, probably) and it adds a lot of refreshing stuff while keeping the essential things that make Bridgerton a historical romance piece. I was entranced by this season, which i liked too not as much as the second one, but thats because Johnathan Bailey and Simone Ashley have an unbelievable good chemistry, like wtf. But Niccola is also an amazing actress and the plot had sufficient twists and interest. I found myself shocked by the amount of queer representation, I suspected that the show was gonna play the bi card with Benedict but to be confirmed by it was priceless, also wtf with Francesca??? I was absolutely surprised by that twist. In general, I really liked the story and I can't wait for next season.

Arcadian [movie] [19/06/24]

Ok, so there's two types of Nicholas Cage's movies: great ones and absolute disasters that managed to be entertaining in a weird and ironical way. This movie was… kinda good? Idk, his movies tend to be pretty average tbh, but the dialogues and the general plot in this one were interesting and the delivery of all the actors was pretty good.

Everything Everywhere All at Once [movie] [19/06/24]

HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT. Like I now understand why this movie got an Oscar, wtf!!! I absolutely loved it. It was funny, dramatic, entertaining and it made me cry at the end. Honestly, best movie ever. I loved it a lot and like I'm mad because I could have been yelling about it for two years but most of the time I end up watching popular movies years after they were released and I could have been rewatching this one for months on end, omg.

Quiet on the Set: The Dark Sude of Kids TV [docu] [23/06/24]

Amazing documentary. I think it covered a lot of issues really well and it felt respectful towards the victims. I was shocked, tbh by some of the revelations made in the documentary but it really puts into a different light a lot of weird behaviors from certain people. I was also so shocked at how normalized and socially accepted sexism and toxic work environments were, like a lot of those disturbing behaviors Dan Schneider exhibited would not be socially acceptable right now. It's amazing how culture can change in 20 years.

Captives [tv series] [07/08/24]

Filler movie about child traficking and how police is sometimes unable to solve these cases, kinda boring.

St. Trinian's [movie] [18/08/24]

This is an interesting movie about the teenage girl experience, although I like the characters and the plot in general, there's several scenes that aged really bad and imply an adult trying to pursuit a relationship with a teenage girl. That sucked, but if they were deleted, it would be a great movie. I loved Colin Firth in this one.

A Quiet Place: Day One [movie] [18/08/24]

Although this movie was shoot by a different director than the last two, I think it remanied faithful to its predecessors. It has great undertones of grief and learning to love life even if you're dying.

The Platform [movie] [18/08/24]

A distopian Spanish movie that examines prison conditions and human nature regarding social inequality but to an extreme. Really grotesque, disturbing ending, but great nonetheless