Gripping story with well-crafted characters

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Absolutely amazing

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

It's actually 5.5, rounded up to 6. I love the casting of the two main characters which are Didi and Kouzi(Button). I am especially impressed by Hsu Dee (Didi). Her acting is by no means on a par with those Oscar- award winners, but the delivery of the emotions was sincerely felt. Perhaps the main reason could be the comparatively bad acting by the rest, which made it quite difficult for me to not cringe when they are their lines. The plot twist is unexpected, it kinda reminds me of Inception's layered dreams. However, it's not really clear whether the dreamer and her "kinds" are extraterresterial species or just circus clowns. Maybe it's just me. Due to the low cost budget, the cinematography seems immature and hard to appeal to the audience, if they are not the Hsu Dee's fans. The transition of the music from upbeat to melancholic is too sudden, it could be done better. Overall, it is a typical Korean or Chinese drama, where the person either died of some kind chronic illness, accident, or murdered. Same goes with the choice of musics too. But hey, the target audience is those who are also like the Chinese/Korean drama so that could explain it.

I am not a fan of the now-defunct Taiwanese talk show Mr Con & Ms Csi, which I know ended abruptly last year. It was a hugely successful TV programme that was not afraid to grill its guests with difficult questions and it is not surprising that it had garnered a legion of fans. With Didi's Dreams, the fans are reminded of how much they miss the dynamic duo – Mr Con (Kelvin Tsai) is the director and Ms Csi (Dee Hsu) is everything including the kitchen sink. Get ready for pizazz and a zany ride on the wild side.Didi (Dee Hsu) is an aspiring actress who can't catch a break, but she will stop at nothing to realise her dream of becoming an actress like her superstar sister Lingling (Lin Chi-ling). At night, she dreams of her alter-ego, a noodle seller in outer space. Then one day, at the doctor's, Didi receives distressing news…Being a fan of the beloved series, one would immediately catch all the inside jokes, especially the cameos by the show's frequent guest stars such as Evonne Sie and Chen Han-dian. Even the casting of supermodel Lin Chi-ling is probably a deliberate choice since she was often verbally jabbed by Hsu for being prettier than her. Unfortunately, I knew nothing of the series, but I do enjoyed this film for what it is – a wacky and goofy satirical look-in into the internal workings of popular talk shows and the farcical audition process of movie studios.Tsai and Hsu are in their element as they milked the situations for what they are worth and more. Hsu, especially was gamed enough to look "ugly" for the camera, earning huge guffaws along the way. In one scene she is a wriggling germ and in another she is a zombie who refuses to die. Both scenes show her desperate for screen time. Tsai, in his directorial debut, shows off his philosophical musings via voice-over narration. At one instance, he enthuses that our best memories feel like a dream, and we should never feel sad when it is all over because at least we can still dream it.IMHO Didi's Dreams works only in parts and the sum total didn't quite hit its mark. The dream sequences of noodle seller, also acted by Hsu, don't feel symbiotic with the rest of the film, so in that respect the ending flourish was only decent and didn't quite hit a resounding crescendo. Lastly, I literally shook my head when Didi receives that piece of sad news from the doc. This is like the number one cliché of Chinese dramas (you already know what I am talking about eh) and it feels like a poor choice in choosing to go down this typical road of melodramatic infinite sadness, but that last flourish did earn back some good graces.There is still a lot of fun to be had and it is not a poor film by any means. It is a hoot to see Didi go through all the crazy auditions and I love how the narrative takes jumps in unexpected directions.

I went to this movie not really knowing what to expect or what the story was about. Sometimes, that is the best way to be pleasantly surprised or disappointed. In this case, I was pleasantly surprised. I can't believe how little this movie cost to make. The story is solid, with elements of comedy, drama, and love that just plain work. Kevin Tsai has directed a cohesive story that never gets dull, encompassing themes of self-worth, family-ties, fantasy, and love. The pacing is even and just long enough to pull you into the story and its characters without boring you. Dee Hsu does an excellent job as the main lead and definitely has great comedic timing. When it's time for the dramatic scenes, she really knows how to switch gears into the serious moments of the film. There were sci-fi elements of the film that were definitely dreamlike. The cinematography for the non-sci-fi scenes were very grounded and palatable. This is easily one of the most enjoyable foreign movies I've seen this year and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the end of the film.