“Terrace House”: The Kinder, Gentler Japanese Alternative to Reality TV
"Terrace House" improves on the standard reality TV format by affording its cast privacy, freedom, and respect.

Lou is seventeen and thinks she has her life under control. On her prom night, she decides to run away from her father and her stable life. She seems to be keeping it together, until she comes head to head with a strange woman that has been stalking her through the halls of the school. Losing her composure, Lou spirals and starts to question everything.
"Terrace House" improves on the standard reality TV format by affording its cast privacy, freedom, and respect.
The Lighthouse is patient and hypnotic, pulling us in with its mysterious atmosphere and characters. The film’s slow pace proves to be monumentally effective, showcasing the tedious nature that comes with isolation and poor two-way communication.
Tran Quoc Bao succeeds in telling us a story about martial arts, human decay, and friendship. The originality shown by his filmmaking is admirable and brings fresh air to the classic Chinese martial arts genre.
It's sexy, regardless of what else is going on.
Everyone needs a BFF and a "wing person" like Yumi (Chloris Li). Li brings the "straight person" persona, literally and figuratively balancing James Aaron Oh's perfectly timed comedic delivery as the unlucky-in-love.
A family comedy that combines fantasy and normal school life.