Secret

Me, as a Jay Chou fan, of course I have to support his directorial debut!

Secret Synopsis (from Yesasia)
Lun (Jay Chou) lives with his father, Chiu (Anthony Wong), the music teacher of Tamkang Secondary School. Both of them are very good at music and piano.

On the first day of Tamkang Secondary School, Lun walks through the campus with his classmates, a mysterious piano solo draws his attention. He follows the song and finds that an ethereal girl is playing piano in the old music room.

The piano girl is Yu (Guey Lun-Mei), one of Lun's classmates. She is always late for school and hence sits next to Lun at the back row. The two become intimate friends and spend a lot of time together. “What's the melody you played the first day we met?” asked Lun, “That's my secret.” Yu whispered in his ear.

My comments:
When this movie was released in Asia, I avoided all reviews and spoilers, hoping to enjoy this movie fully. I’m glad I did because it’s beyond my expectations and I didn’t see that twist/secret coming. Just by reading the summary, I was like…bah…it’s gonna be a terminal disease twist again in the form of Korean melodramas…but I was W-R-O-N-G! It's not something we haven't seen before but it kinda worked this time. However, with a twist like this, flaws, illogic and confusion are present. I think I understood the whole thing but then again, I’m still confused in some aspect. Anyway, a good movie with likeable performances from the leads (err…I can’t really say that Jay is fantastic in the acting department yet) and great music…haha as a fan, watching my idol playing piano is always a delight! Don’t worry, Secret is not a Jay’s self-promotion, self-advertisement or even self-directing MV type of movie; it has story and ‘heart’…

Flying Boys

Flying Boys Synopsis (from Yesasia)
Yoon Kye Sang of the popular group GOD makes his screen debut as Min Jae, a young man in his last year of high school who finds love in a most surprising place. Min Jae has long adored Soo Jin (Kim Min Jung of Bus Stop), who lives in the same apartment complex, but Min Jae fears approaching her because he's not sure he'll be able to take the rejection.

But Min Jae and Soo Jin are soon thrown together in the most unlikely of places: ballet school! A ballet teacher blackmails Min Jae and his friends into attending his class, where Min Jae meets the also unwilling-to-attend Soo Jin. A cast of oddball characters populates the class, and neither Min Jae nor Soo Jin any interest in actually learning to dance. But the experience allows them to witness some of life's small joys and minor defeats, and brings them closer to growing up...and perhaps each other.

My comments:
Yoon Kye Sang and Lee Jun Ki doing ballet…that’s something to see! I had that movie in my computer for some time but it’s now that I’m digging it to watch. I expected a boring movie about confused youngsters going through a process of growing up and learning about oneself and others. However, it wasn’t really the case as I had a great time watching this movie, especially the dance performance at the end which is totally awesome! I can relate to this movie when I recall back how lost and undecided I was during the stressful college/university application period because I wasn’t sure what program to choose. Well, expect to see an uncool Kye Sang and Jun Ki…hehe! It's also a surprise to spot Kim Dong Wook ('My Chan' guy in Coffee Prince) here in a minor role...

Love Is Not All Around

I have a pile of movies that I didn’t have a chance to watch since I was previously too preoccupied with my Korean dramas. Since I’m waiting patiently for the subbed versions of K-dramas, I killed my time with these movies. Starting with the one I had the lowest of the lowest expectation: Love Is Not All Around (HK).

Love Is Not All Around Synopsis (from Yesasia)
Stephy Tang takes center stage in Love Is Not All Around as Bo, a gorgeous girl with plenty of guys at her beckoning. She comes across her ex-boyfriend Ryan (Alex Fong) whom she dumped three years ago for another guy. Apparently Ryan still likes Bo, but she remains haunted by a series of post-break up misfortunes, which she suspects to be Ryan's doing. Meanwhile, her friend Wing (DJ Sammy) is cheating on his wife (Linda Chung), and she gets pulled into their domestic problems.

My comments:

Alright, the Chinese title of this movie is 十分愛 and my rating of this movie is: 十分爛. Okay, it wasn’t that extreme but I found it overall bad. I might be biased because I find the combination of Alex Fong and Stephy Tang super boring as it’s really done to death whether in singing or in acting. There was a very interesting message in the movie but it was ruined by mediocre acting, annoying characters and random awkward situations (frankly I haven’t seen something as ridiculous as that detergent spraying scene for such a long time…). I only give my thumb up for the last 15 seconds or so because it’s a nice twist to what we expected. So what do we learn from this movie? Love is only a game, and it’s full of deception and betrayal. Ouch…

9 End 2 Outs

After watching the very intense Time of Dog and Wolf, it’s great to watch something light and warm like 9 End 2 Outs (MBC, 16 episodes)…

9 End 2 Outs Synopsis (from DramaWiki)
The drama is about love of singles in their 30s. Hong Nan Hee is an ordinary worker at a publishing firm, she's a girl who always falls in and out of love since she was young until one day when she meets an old classmate, Byun Hyung Tae, who is a team leader of an advertising company again. Hyung Tae may seem to be a good catch in the eyes of many women but he's only a cowardly boy to Nan Hee whom he has grown up with. '9 End 2 Outs' is using the baseball theme to compare to the fates and lives of the people in love.

Cast:
Lee Jung Jin as Byun Hyung Tae
Soo Ae as Hong Nan Hee
Lee Tae Sung as Kim Jung Joo
Hwang Ji Hyun as Yoon Sung Ah

My comments:
A K-drama with unmarried women in their 30’s again? Haha…since the success of My Name Is Kim Sam Soon, I can name tons of dramas with similar theme. However, I think 9 End 2 Outs is less fairytale-ish compared to others. It actually explores an interesting question: 'Can a man and a woman be just friends only without love involved?' Well, this is a drama afterall, so our main characters' relationship will change from friends to lovers. But that process was interesting, difficult and twisty. They “chose” to be friends as an excuse to stay with each other since they can’t bear to lose each other. It’s understandable that they don’t want to jeopardize their 30 years friendship. It showed us that since their school days that they had some feelings for each other but most of the time, it was wrong timing as something prevented to them to leap beyond that friendship line. It’s a relief to see them together at the end; they might not love each other the most but they are the most comfortable with each other.

This drama didn’t have too many ups and downs but it wasn’t boring. The funny moments are roll-on-the-floor hilarious. This drama is saying a lot and I don’t think I was attentive enough so maybe a rewatch is necessary. I was especially stricken by one scene with Nan Hee sitting in front of a square shaped table drinking soju and pointing each side, saying something like: “my detainment is sitting here, my sadness is sitting here and my fears are sitting there. Also my youth that is sitting so far away. Cheers, my friends” (okay I suck in doing scene recap, watch the first episode if you’re interested). Seeing a desperate and helpless Nan Hee, I wonder if I’ll be like her 5 years later when I’ll turn 30… Beside the main story, another highlight of the drama is Hyung Tae and Nan Hee’s friendship with their other 4-5 friends. It’s written in a very heartwarming and touching way and I’m envious of that kind of friendship.

Lee Jung Jin and Soo Ae have great chemistry as a bickering pair, I guess they should since it’s the second time that they collaborate (they worked together in April Kiss but I didn’t see that, maybe I should dig it…hehe). Both look so different from the last time I saw them. It’s nice to see Lee Jung Jin back in action after completing his military duties (= looking better) and glad to see Soo Ae in a less dramatic and teary role. I just saw Lee Tae Sung in Time of Dog and Wolf as Lee Jun Ki’s ruthless rival and here, he’s all mushy and sweet, quite a drastic change!

Unlucky event...part 2

It's so true when people say that you cannot escape 3 from bad luck...after clumsily dropping my cellphone 2 days ago (no more vibration as consequence), I dropped my ipod today but it's my earphones that are busted this time! What will I break next leh?! Sigh...

Time to rant...again!

Today, my mood is completely spoiled by 3 things:
1. my monthly enemy came and that already makes me emotionally unstable;
2. caught a cold during the weekend and my throat still hurts like hell as I'm typing this;
3. accidentally dropped my cellphone on the floor at work and tada…the vibration mode doesn’t work now!

I’m pissed…I’m PISSED!

Time of Dog and Wolf

Just finished Time of Dog and Wolf (MBC, 16 episodes) and one word to describe it - WOW! I'm expecting serious post effect...hehe!

Time of Dog and Wolf Synopsis (from DramaWiki)
Lee Soo Hyun belongs to a special international narcotic drug crime investigation unit. He witnessed the murder of his mother at the hands of a gangster as a child. Suh Ji Woo is the first love from Soo Hyun's childhood with whom he was seperated from. Soo Hyun is adopted into Kang Min Ki's family and both grew up to become NIS agents. Ji Woo and Soo Hyun are accidentally reunited when the beautiful Ji Woo caught the attention of playboy Kang Min Ki. She and Soo Hyun are seperated once again because of Soo Hyun's vengence against his parent's enemies.

Cast:
Lee Joon Ki as Lee Soo Hyun
Nam Sang Mi as Seo Ji Woo
Jung Kyung Ho as Kang Min Ki

My comments:
I didn’t have much expectation for Time of Dog and Wolf since I thought it would be similar to Resurrection, which I didn’t find impressive but the majority claimed it was the best. I found the first episode slow but it was to introduce the characters so fine, the second episode, a lot better and since then, it was woah, I couldn’t stop. If I didn’t have work early mornings, I would probably watch the whole drama overnight…hehe! At first, I thought the idea of childhood sweethearts seperated due to some circumstances cheesy and then with amnesia coming to the picture = double cheesy but I can accept it. Even with the overuse elements, I was still on the edge of the seat while watching this drama.

Soo Hyun and Mi Ki’s brotherhood/friendship is really good to watch, so is the father and son relationship with their dad. You can see that they are willing to sacrifice and die for each other. Their scenes with the Ajusshi were great too. At first, I thought that there was something fishy about certain characters but it turned out I was wrong. You know that in these kind of drama, there is a traitor for sure within the organization and this time, it was hard to guess who it was…

Lee Jun Ki, well known as Korea’s pretty boy, shook more or less his feminine image here, having lots of action scenes and displaying his takwondo skills. However, there are times that I still found him too pretty…haha! He gave an amazing and awesome performance as you can see how his character is different pre-amnesia and post-amnesia. I ached for him for what he had to go through. Jung Kyung Ho is good too but I’m a bit disppointed with Nam Sang Mi’s performance. I think she was too preoccupied to look pretty in a lot of scenes in the beginning and she didn’t display the right emotion at certain scenes and that affected the romance part with both her male co-stars. I thought she didn’t have much chemistry with both guys as couples or maybe I didn’t care since I found her character annoying most of the time. The ending is not the best one but certainly a reasonable one. Sequel? No please!

Wish that they could smile more like that in the drama...

* Opening credit of the drama

Legend of Hyang Dan

Ah…a short drama like Legend of Hyang Dan (MBC, 2 episodes) is what I need these days…

Legend of Hyang Dan Synopsis (from DramaWiki)
The drama is a twist to the well known classic story of The Legend of Chun Hyang. The big question revolving around this plot is what if the one that Lee Mong Ryong loves is not Chun Hyang but Hyang Dan? The drama will deliver a refreshing new comedy style.

Cast:
Choi Si Won as Lee Mong Ryong
Seo Ji Hye as Hyang Dan


My comments:
I normally don’t watch Korean ancient drama, but this one is only 2 episodes, so it’s harmless. I also enjoyed watching the twisted snippets of Delighful Girl Chun Hyang, and this time it’s Lee Mong Ryong loving the maid instead of Chun Hyang, so why not give this a try as well? It turned out that I enjoyed tremedously this short drama, it’s hilarious funny and I did get teary at some point. I espceially like the parts where they use musical segments when people gossips…it’s very cute! Since it’s a twisted version of such classic story, I had no idea what to expect coming, so there were some surprises. I burst out laughing when they were playing the song from Fantasy Couple and when the thieves and Byun Hak Do’s men kept on throwing back the evidences back to each other…so juvenile haha! It seems like they fused stories and characters from other folktales and because I’m not familiar with the language and the original stories, I missed a lot of jokes and gags. Sigh…

The tales that I’m sure they incorporated are:
Chun Hyang’s story
Shim Chong’s story

Grr....

Just when I have nothing to watch currently, my relative lend us Into The Sun (SBS, 20 episodes with Kwon Sang Woo before Stairway To Heaven fame) and 90 Days, Time To Love (MBC, 16 episodes)…The bad news is that both sets have defective discs and while I was watching the second episode of Into The Sun, it just froze. I tried on 3 DVD players, my computer and even my bro’s Xbox, it still won’t work…too bad…

I was interested to watch Into The Sun because it was THE drama that made my mom a fan of Kwon Sang Woo! I had my chance to watch it back then but it was a dubbed version so I skipped it. I just have to see it to find out the appeal of Kwon Sang Woo once more. Speaking of him, I saw a lot of his works in dramas and movies but I never fell for him more or less thanks to my mom’s random comment. She was gushing about his looks, smile, and body blah blah blah; but then commented that he has a pair of “lusty eyes” (淫眼 in Chinese). Ever since that comment, whenever I see him gazing passionately at his co-stars, instead of being smitten, I burst out laughing instead. I didn’t finish Sad Sonata partly because of that. Now, that I kinda want to watch him one more time, the discs prevented me…oh well…I guess it’s fate! No offence to his fans...:p

Metro Radio Guo Yu Li Awards 2007

Haha...I'm like a month behind for mentioning about this show. Since I had nothing to watch, I caught the 2007 新城國語力頒獎禮 airing on Fairchild last night. The show suffered a lot of cuts from Fairchild; I was so worried that they’ll cut out the performances of my favs. I was basically watching the show for the sake of Andy Lau, Gary Chaw, Khalil Fong and JJ Lin. To my relief, I saw them perform at least one song on stage. Although not a very representative award show since Metro Radio is known to be a “pork dividing” station when it comes to awards but if they don’t split the awards that way, I think the chance is slim to see them together in another award show. Well, there’s still the upcoming 第七屆全球華語歌曲排行榜頒獎典禮 from RTHK…

Playlist of early September

- 如果你 也 (聽說) – A-Mei Zhang => I thought that it was rather plain boring when I first listened (it’s composed by Jay!). However, it’s a song that grows on me on every repeat. Very sad song…

- 月牙灣 – F.I.R => Felt in love at first listen…very beautiful song…