Thanks for the VIP voucher, iflix!!!

I am a big Korean film and TV drama addict, and it seems like iflix has taken notice of my humble little blog. So it seems like I’ll be having my fill not only of Korean films and TV dramas, but also Filipino films and Southeast Asian films, too, for (ja-jjaaaan!!!)….one…full…year!

This is just to say a quick thanks to iflix. Since I have access to a wider variety of premium content now, I’ll be exposed to more films from other parts of Asia. And in turn, I can share my thoughts on these in the coming weeks.

But as a Korean film fan, can you guess what I watched first with my new iflix VIP access?

Of course I downloaded Korean film “Veteran” right away. I’ve seen it in its original Korean version years ago, liked it, but was curious on how it feels like to watch a Tagalog-dubbed one. Please watch for my thoughts on this on Wednesday!

Korean Films Dubbed in Filipino Language in iFlix

I recently noticed that iFlix now also offers Korean films dubbed in Filipino. Woah.

Two Korean films dubbed in Filipino that I tried watching are “The Wailing” and “The Handmaiden.” I watched these films expecting to cringe at awkward translations in Filipino, but, surprisingly, the Filipino dialog and the Korean characters seemed seamless. I didn’t even notice that I was watching a foreign film dubbed in Filipino. I was just…totally immersed in the story.

The voices matched well with the actors’ looks, unlike dubbed versions of Korean TV series and films I see in Philippine TV. The lines in the dialog were also spot-on. The quality of dubbed Korean films shown in iFlix is quite good. I didn’t even notice that those were not in their original Korean. It. Was. That. Good.

I look forward to watching more Korean films dubbed in my native language.

Weekends with Viu and Netflix

These days, my weekends are spent on Viu and Netflix…and a couple of hours on Coursera learning random courses for free. But it’s mostly on Viu and Netflix because let’s face it, escapism is best acted upon on weekends.

Netflix, I feel, is like the Facebook of films and TV series. It just sucks you in once you open your TV screen. You tell yourself you’re only going to watch an episode of say, Terrace House: Boys and Girls in the City, but because the synopsis that appears at the end of the episode seems intriguing, you stay for another episode. You want to know what happens next and next and next. Until practically the whole day has been sucked by Netflix.

Or when Netflix beckons you to open the app because of updates on new shows. You open it out of curiosity. You add it to your “To-watch” list. But you end up clicking the triangle button, anyway.

Sometimes, it’s an American film like Annihilation. Sometimes, it’s a Korean film like Steel Rain. Sometimes, it’s something Japanese like the live action version of Fullmetal Alchemist.

I’ve bookmarked an Indian film called Love Per Square Foot which appears to me like an Indian rom-com. I’ve also bookmarked a Thai film called The Last Executioner which seems to me like a docu-drama. And then there’s the Spanish film called Veronica which is supposed to be a really haunting and scary horror film. And there’s a lot more in my viewing list. So many shows, so little time!

And that’s what I like about Netflix. I get a glimpse of what the world has to offer in terms of film and TV series.

But when I feel like watching something Asian, you know, the type which you won’t likely find on Netflix, I turn to Viu. Right now, I’m into a Korean TV series called Welcome to Waikiki. For around an hour (which is the duration of one episode), I just laugh and laugh and laugh at the hilarity of the situations the characters find themselves in. I have also watched several good films in this streaming site, both Korean classics like You are My Sunshine, The King and the Clown, Spellbound, and Il Mare, and relatively new releases, some of which seem to be on their way to becoming classics such as A Taxi Driver, The Last Princess, and The Throne.

Most of my viewing used to be on Viu, Netflix, and Tribe, but Tribe got a bit boring with their offerings so right now I’m just living with Viu and Netflix.

I wrote in a magazine called 2nd Opinion (2.0) about how if you want to watch East Asian offerings, Viu is your go-to streaming site, and that if you want Korean and Southeast Asian offerings you should go visit Tribe. But among all the streaming sites I’ve tried,  Netflix offers the most variety in terms of TV series and films to watch from all over the world. It has a little bit of everything. But of course, Viu is still good for Asian stuff that Netflix probably will not add to its viewing list. So for a weekend binge-watcher like me, Netflix and Viu are good companions.