Korean dramas in review for 2007

So I completed 18 Korean dramas in total and gave up watching 3 this year. Here’s my boring, uninteresting and shallow round-up post about the K-dramas I saw from 2007. Bear in mind that I didn’t touch any of the popular historical dramas (Jumong, The King and I, Yi San and Legend of 4 Gods).

Addictive:
- Thank You (MBC) => a drama that appears like a tearjerker but ended up being bright and not too weepy!
- H.I.T (MBC) => suspenseful from the beginning until the end
- Surgeon Bong Dal Hee (SBS) => interesting medical drama
- Capital Scandal (KBS) => funny and heartbreaking at the same time
- Legend of Hyang Dan (MBC) => short and sweet
- Time of Dog and Wolf (MBC) => one of the most spectacular drama this year!
- 9 End 2 Outs (MBC) => funny and witty about friendship and love

Enjoyed it but not to the point of addiction:
- Dal Ja’s Spring (KBS) => enjoyed it but it really didn’t have a lasting impact
- When Spring Comes (KBS) => nothing exciting about this drama but I found the family and neighbors of the main character endearing
- Crazy For You (SBS) => a heartbreaking drama, in which watching once is enough
- Bad Couple (SBS) => a good start but went a bit downhill since the middle
- Snow in August (SBS) => good acting from the cast but it’s mildly depressing
- Coffee Prince (MBC) => didn’t love it as much as the mass did
- In Soon Is Pretty (KBS) => it was an alright viewing but slow-moving at times

Disappointing!
- Witch Yoo Hee (SBS) => disappointment of the year!
- Perfect Neighbor (SBS) => shaking my head while watching it
- Get Karl! Oh Soo Jung (SBS) => pretty forgettable if you ask me
- Lobbyist (SBS) => big scenes and big cast but bad script

Started but couldn’t finish it:
- The Devil (KBS) => still didn’t resume watching after 2 episodes…
- Hello! Miss (KBS) => whatever…
- War of Money (SBS) => a bit too hyper for me

Favorite drama of the year --- Thank You (MBC)
=> I was debating for a long time between Thank You and Time of Dog and Wolf. Although Time of Dog and Wolf is thrilling and exciting with a complicated plot but points were deducted because of Nam Sang Mi’s performance. Thank You won because it’s a very captivating drama with a simple plot and setting. All characters had flaws but no one is wicked evil. It carried a humanistic and positive view about life, hardship and illnesses. It taught us to be thankful and grateful for what we have and cherish our loved ones as well. It sounds preachy but it’s really not that preachy. A well-written and well-acted drama.

Favorite female character of the year --- Cha Song Joo (Han Go Eun) from Capital Scandal (KBS)
=> The fact that I admire the supporting female character more than the lead is worth mentioning. As a gisaeng, she’s sexy. As a friend, she’s understanding and righteous. As an assassin, she’s calm, cool and tough. As a lover, she’s giving and sacrificial. What can you ask more?

Favorite male character of the year ---- N/A
=> Surprisingly, I don’t have a favorite this year! How weird!

Favorite on-screen couple of the year ---- Byun Hung Tae (Lee Jung Jin) and Hong Nan Hee (Soo Ae) from 9 Ends 2 Outs (MBC)
=> I find myself liking this pair more and more when I think about the drama. Not the most passionate couple but certainly the most realistic and comfortable pair out of the bunch. It’s a sweet pair without being saccharine (*cough cough like Coffee Prince*).

In Soon Is Pretty

Yay...In Soon Is Pretty (KBS, 16 episodes) is my last drama of 2007...

In Soon Is Pretty Synopsis (from KBS Global):
Love doesn’t judge.
Some say that we live in the era of narcissism, because people have their say in everything these days thanks to the widespread use of the Internet and communication as well as political and social freedom. There are always people on the street using their mobile phones and talking busily to someone. Blogs and personal Web sites have also been developing rapidly. Everybody is the main character nowadays. But despite the abundance of communication, people these days are more lonesome than ever because everybody is talking only about themselves -- about their wounds being larger than the wounds of others and about their needs being more urgent than other people’s needs. Everybody claims that they are the best and the most lonely. But nobody listens to them. In the end, we all think that we are treated unfairly. The greater access we have to communication the more lonesome we feel. That is the downside of the era of narcissism in the 21st century.

Can you throw a stone at her?
There is a woman who was abandoned by her mother as soon as she was born and was raised by her impoverished grandmother. She also served a sentence for accidentally killing someone while in high school. She has the worst credentials to live in this merciless world, and people easily stigmatize her as a “sinner.” But who doesn’t have sins? And what credentials can be better than hers from the standpoint of people who have money and power? What does a “sin” mean to humans? Who will dare to throw stones at her?

Cast:
Kim Hyun Joo as Park In Soon
Kim Min Joon as Yoo Sang Woo
Seo Hyo Rim as Kim Jung Ah
Lee Wan as Jang Geun Soo
Lee In Hye as Han Jae Eun


My comments:
I wonder why I picked this drama to watch because I don’t particularly like any of the main cast, but “In Soon Is Pretty” is an interesting drama title. Just looking at the title, I have no idea what to expect from the drama and reading the not too accurate summary from DramaWiki, it surely looks interesting but depressing. After finishing it, it’s afterall not that depressing even though not everyone has the happiest ending. But isn’t life this? I thought the plot of the drama was very simple and it could be draggy and boring sometime. It’s basically about In Soon trying "to find her herself back” after a chain of (mis)fortune events. She’s a nice girl and all but gets prejudiced because of her dark past. Like she said herself in the drama, she went from a sinner to a heroine to a liar and to someone being pitied. What a life! You cannot help but sympathize her, hoping that there would be no more bad things happening to her. However, it doesn’t help when she has a selfish mother who makes matters worse. I felt that her mother deserved a harsher lesson...

I like how the killing accident was handled in this drama. It was told in a blurry and not too detailed way at first and then you slowly know the bits about it and finally you get a little surprise at the end. Kim Min Joon and Kim Hyun Joo surprisingly has good chemistry and makes a cute and endearing couple. Their interactions and conversations in the beginning of the drama were rather funny.

* Opening credit of the drama

Lobbyist

Lobbyist (SBS, 24 episodes) is a drama that I was anticipating but…sigh…

Lobbyist Synopsis (from SBS Global):
In the mid 1980s, Maria (Jang Jin-young) grows up in a quiet fishing village with Harry (Song Il-guk). Harry’s father died when a North Korean spy snuck into the country and shot him dead because he was an Army commander. Harry and his sister move to America after the incident. Maria’s family also migrate to America soon after and Maria’s father takes a job as a bus driver. While living happily in America, a mugger kills Maria’s father one day. Meanwhile, Harry meets Maria by coincidence. When his uncle sexually molests his sister Suzie, he decides to run away from home with his sister.

10 years later... Maria is 20 years old and works as a bus driver. Her sister Eva graduated from a prestigious American college and works at the naval intelligence agency in Washington D.C. One day, she meets Eva’s boyfriend Tae-hyuk (Han Jae-seok) and begins to develop feelings for him. While working at odd jobs throughout his life, Harry challenges the Mafia to save his sister Suzie. The Korean wife (Kim Mi-sook) of the Mafia boss is impressed with Harry and she offers to let him join the gang. Meanwhile, Maria learns that the FBI is investigating Eva because she is under suspicions of trying to steal sensitive military secrets. When her sister dies under mysterious circumstances, Maria’s whole life changes all of a sudden...

Cast:
Song Il Gook as Harry / Kim Joo Ho
Jang Jin Young as Maria / Yoo So Young
Han Jae Suk as Kang Tae Hyuk
Yoo Sun as Eva / Yoo Moon Young
Huh Joon Ho as James Lee (Maria's teacher / trainer)
Kim Mi Sook as Madame Chae

My comments:
When it’s a big budget K-drama, it always contains these ‘must’ elements: oversea shooting, lots of bullets, revenge and separated childhood sweethearts. Lobbyist unfortunately includes all these. Amnesia is the only element that is left out this time. This drama reminds me of All In, which is absolutely not a good thing because I think All In is one of the most boring K-dramas I’ve ever seen and Lobbyist didn’t meet my expectations either. Although it has oversea shooting, a very capable cast and a large number of Swarovski products, it suffers from a very bad script. There are a lot of events and situations that are so unrealistic that I just burst out laughing and when Song Il Gook gets beaten in almost every episode, it gets very tiring to the point of me getting numb. When the first 1/3 was shot in the States, I felt like I was watching a travel program or an American movie when it comes to action. It gets better when they return to Korea but 24 episodes is too lengthy for this drama and I don’t think it would hurt much if it’s cut down to 20 episodes. I was only more attentive and felt more ‘into’ the drama during the last 4 episodes.

I like Song Il Gook; Jang Jin Young is one of my favorite Korean actress and well, Han Jae Suk is not my favorite but I’m curious at how he’s doing after his military services. I didn’t fell much chemistry between these 3 as I just don’t care if so ends up with so or not. I find all three characters boring (it also didn’t help that both guys had hideous haircut for a large part of the drama) and I’m having a hard time liking Maria. She’s keeps on getting into mess after mess due to her stubborn and aggressive character, which makes people around her suffer. It hurts the drama a lot when the female lead is not too likeable. Huh Joon Ho’s James is a more interesting character. I had a hard time guessing what his motive to accept Maria as his apprentice is. Is it to help her genuinely, to compensate her or to destroy her? You never know what he’s really thinking until the end.

Watch this drama only if you’re die-hard fans of the cast; if not, save those 24 hours…

* Opening credit of the drama

My top 10 Chinese songs of 2007

It’s time to do a recap of the year 2007. First, it will be my top 10 Chinese songs of the year and I’m pretty sure that it will not be the same list with any award ceremony. Oh well…not in particular order…

我懷念的 – 孫燕姿 --- Album: 逆光

Mi – 鄭秀文 --- Album: Show Mi 2007 演唱會

殺手 – 林俊傑 --- Album: 西界

山歌 – 側田 & 吳雨霏 --- Album: In Control

鍾無艷 – 謝安琪 --- Album: 3/8

Love Song – 方大同 --- Album: 未来

仍未解決 – 陳思祺 --- Album: Perfect Disorder

酷愛 – 張敬軒 --- Album: 酷愛

青花瓷 – 周杰倫 --- Album: 我很忙

第三身 – 麥浚龍 & 何韻詩 --- Album: Chapel of Dawn

* All pics from Yesasia

Khalil's 3rd album

Warning: I’m currently in fangirl mode and yes, it’s another post about Khalil Fong. But hey, it’s the album I’ve been anticipating for I don’t even remember how long! I’ll probably receive my copy during the second week of January (seem so long!). I'm expecting a second version including MVs to be released later but I can’t wait longer so I’m getting the first version, especially after hearing the first single Love Song. Ah…I’m melting…Errr, like Jay’s case on 我很忙, I hope that the album cover will be different though…

The very cute promo CF of this album



Why is the kid carrying a cooker? Because 大同電鍋 is a well-known brand in Taiwan and Khalil’s Chinese name is 方大同. Get it?

Haha...

I think I found the main reason why I have no motivation to watch anything lately besides being busy...It's because I've been manipulating tons of DVDs at work these two weeks, which makes me alienated when I see them or movies in general. I'm not kidding, I calculated my stats today and I actually had contact with 1299 DVDs this week! Wow...I'm speechless..!

Anyway, vacation time finally!!! YEAH!!!

Snow...more snow...!

Man, isn't it depressing (or maybe exciting for others...) when you look at the blowing snow and gusty wind in Montreal today? Still snowing...bah, 2 snow storms within a month!!! 35 cm again this time?! Noooooooooooo!

Something to cheer me up, Khalil Fong's third album entitled 未来 is going to be released on Dec. 28! Yes, finally!!! All news that I can gather about this album are from Taiwanese sources and it just proves how neglected he is in HK...sigh...Anyway, I will DEFINITELY buy this album Khalil! :p

Boring life...

Haha...I have 3 Korean dramas that I can watch (Air City, Rebirth - Next and Fly High) but I don't really have the motivation to do so. So I was spending my time re-watching my old 獎門人 tapes. Hey, I still laugh like crazy! Maybe I need a dose of silly stuff to balance back my exhaustion for working overtime lately...

TVB Dramas 2008

I got this thing called TVB Corporate and Programme Information 2008 today so why not scan it and put it here?...

There are only 2 dramas that I want to watch from the list:

- The Seventh Day
Reasons: I enjoyed Under The Canopy of Love last year and I already know that The Seventh Day borrowed some ideas from the Korean movie A Moment To Remember therefore I want to see how many Korean references I can spot this time. Haha...

- The Four (what an original title, TVB!)
Reasons: The reunion of the Raymond Lam, Ron Ng, Sammul Chan and Kenneth Ma.

Looks like there will be lots of sequels, which I generally think it's a bad idea...I would watch The Gentle Crackdown II if it was acted by the original cast and also Forensic Heroes II if Charmaine Sheh was not included...Oh well...

The Great Adventurer

It really took me a lot of time to finish The Great Adventurer (ATV/Mainland, 35 episodes) not because it’s bad but because I really have no time lately…

The Great Adventurer Synopsis (from Yesasia)
Great Adventurer is a 35-episode action drama, starring award-winning actor Francis Ng (The Mission), famous comedian Dayo Wong, and also charismatic TV actress Flora Chan. Joined by popular Mainland actors, they unfold a story about triad power struggle, in which people have no choice but to be drawn into a whirlpool of violence! Francis Ng is Fan Shouwang, an ordinary young man who fails to resist the temptation of wealth and power to join the triads. Not before long his best friend vanishes in the thin air, his beloved woman leaves him for another country, his fellow triad members get arrested... At this point, Fan Shouwang decides to turn away from all the illegal activities he has been engaged in before and utilizes his talents in gambling and the stock market. However, he can no longer determine his fate once he has stepped into the power struggle... Shot in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Thailand, the TV series presents a thrilling adventure in the underground world of the triads.

Cast:
Francis Ng as Fan Sau Mong
Flora Chan as Tao Lei Guen (Sharon)
Dayo Wong as Bak Woot
Zhang Ting as Yip Mei


My comments:
First, the synopsis from above is not really accurate but I’m too lazy to write my own so bear with it. I watched 32 episodes in Cantonese and the remaining final episodes in Mandarin dub and that was a major turnoff (I had no choice since the torrent is stuck at 99.3% for who knows how long…). With such a grand cast from HK, I have some expectations. I find it good but not too great. I didn’t find it as slow and draggy as others did and ATV did a good job with ending each episode with a cliffhanger. However, I think that I’m more and more alienated from long dramas about protagonists starting from zeroes to becoming tycoons. Perhaps, for me nothing can top Greed of Man in that genre…

Anyways back to the drama, I can name tons of flaws and mistakes that happened, mostly anachronisms. First, it’s the time background. The beginning tells Sau Mong risking his life bringing a girl from Vietnam during the Vietnam War (the 70s) to developing cellphones with the flip (I think that was in the early 90s) in the middle part. I assume that it was a 20 years time frame but in the drama, it was presented like a 2-3 years frame since the there were no physical change in the characters. How unbelievable! Second, there was a lot of incoherence in the dialogues (that surprisingly happens a few times from Dayo). For example, when A already met B, C says that he will introduce B to A, A says alright, next time…(confused? *roll eyes*) Finally, as a drama setting in the 70s and 80s, the props, hairstyles and costumes look too modern. I even spotted a passerby using his cellphone in the background but I guess it was accidental…

Now, the acting was really good from the main cast. Francis, Flora and Dayo are playing characters that are very different than the ones they did in TVB. Francis’ Fan Sau Mong is the leader, authoritarian and headstrong guy who plays by the rules. I thought that he became more and more irritating towards the end as he was mostly responsible for a lot of unhappy events at the end. Flora’s Sharon is a conniving and aggressive woman who could use dirty tricks to achieve her goals if she must even if it wasn’t meant to harm others. At first, I think she had difficulties grasping her lines but she got better as the drama progressed. Dayo’s Bak Woot (in Chinese, it means ‘living for nothing’?) is an illiterate and naïve math genius who has the ability to predict the wins of horse races and stocks by calculations! Dayo still has his trademark “stand-up comedy” factors in his performance but Bak Woot is really a cute character although his selflessness is a bit over. Everything he says has deep philosophical meanings in it. I must say that Francis and Dayo still look convincing as lads despite being above 40.

For those who are expecting a Francis and Flora reunion ala Triumph In The Skies, you’ll be highly disappointed. Sharon likes Sau Mong but he doesn’t while Bak Woot madly loves Sharon. They opened the business all three together but because Sau Mong and Sharon have ideas and values clashes, they split in a very ugly way with the poor Bak Woot trapped between them. Dayo and Flora makes surprisingly a cute and sweet pair while I think Francis had more chemistry with Zhang Ting than the actress who played Wan Gi. I really think it would be believable if they make Sau Mong and Bak Woot a couple too because they had a lot of mushy talk…bwahaha! The ending has a sad tone; although they succeded and gained buckets of gold, the lives that were sacrificed all along left me a bit depressed...

* Themesong of the drama

Playlist of early December

- 鍾無艷 - Kay Tse => Very 富士山下 feel which is the pro and also the con of this song. Still a top quality song from this year and I wish Kay a successful comeback.

- 悔過詩 - Hins Cheung => Yay for 中國風 and the most interesting factor about this song is that it’s written by 單立文!

Bah!!!

Time to reformat my computer as it got infected by some stupid trojans!!! I have to spend some time doing back-ups...Argh! Headache...!

My Tutor Friend 2

My Tutor Friend 2 Synopsis (from http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr)
Junko, a Japanese of Korean ancestry, comes to Korea to find her sweetheart. She finds lodging at a guest house that provides room and board. Unfortunately, the room that she is supposed to stay in belongs to the owner’s son, Jong-man. On her first night in Seoul, Junko is forced to share the room with Jong-man. Junko wants to find another place, but the owner desires to keep Junko as a guest and offers Junko free Korean lessons from Jong-man. It is going to be some adventure for Junko in Seoul!

My comments:
It’s called My Tutor Friend 2 but it has no connection to the first one starring Kwon Sang Woo. I had a good time watching the first although deep down I found it lame and stupid and I enjoyed watching Gong Yoo more than Kwon Sang Woo…Anyway, back to My Tutor Friend 2, I still found it lame and stupid but I like it more than the first one overall. I thought that the love relationship between the leads was pretty sweet at the end and it was believable. The side characters were mostly annoying but not to the point of killing the movie. It’s just weird that the movie is called My Tutor Friend 2 but it didn’t have that many tutoring scenes. Finally, the movie poster doesn’t do this movie justice! Lee Chung Ah is a cute girl but why make her look like this in the poster is a big mystery to me. She’s absolutely not like this in the movie…

Hwang Jin Yi

Hwang Jin Yi Synopsis (from Yesasia)
Based on the novel by North Korean writer Hong Suk Joong, Hwang Jin Yi tells the story of a 16th-century geisha with the mindset of a modern 21st-century woman. Raised as an aristocrat in an era when class status dictated one's destiny, Jin Yi (Song Hye Kyo) discovers a shocking secret about her birth: she was born in the lower class. After much thought, she gives up her aristocratic status and becomes a geisha. She spends her first night with a man named Nom Yi (Yoo Ji Tae, Old Boy), and gradually falls for him. Though she is constantly surrounded by an entourage of aristocratic men showering her with gifts and admiration, Jin Yi lives a solitary life of tragic isolation. She finds herself traveling a bumpy road, faced with a dilemma that will alter her destiny forever.

My comments:
Either that I was not really in my best shape when I watched this or I generally don’t like watching period movies but I was bored by it. I didn’t watch the drama version of Hwang Jin Yi starring Ha Ji Won last year so I’m not making any comparison and I don’t have any bias. The movie had nice cinematography and lavish setting and costumes but the romance part really failed to move me. It would be more interesting it focuses more on the process of how Hwang Jin-Yi became the successful gisaeng instead. I really think that Yoo Ji Tae is wasted here as he didn’t have much to do. Song Hye Kyo is a beautiful actress but she’s not suited for period drama. There were times that I felt that she was awkward and this movie certainly didn’t bring the best out of her...

Nothing Is Impossible

Nothing Is Impossible Synopsis (from Yesasia)
Cram school teacher Vivian (Cherrie Ying) may have a good job and photogenic looks, but when it comes to fist drinking games and holding down her alcohol, she still has a long way to go. When Vivian loses her boyfriend (Andy On) to speed fists champion Mango (Debbie Koh), she is determined to win back her pride. She teams up with former champion Turtle (Dayo Wong) to learn the tricks of the game, but he has a long list of problems himself, including a money-hungry ex-wife and piling debts. Vivian soon develops a liking for the game and for her tutor, but can she master the game in time to triumph at the speed fist championship?

My comments:
I expected it be pointless and stupid but it wasn’t bad overall. I enjoyed it and found it funny at times although I don’t fully catch the rules of all the “fist games” (I loosely know how to play that 15-20 game…). It was a loud movie and those vomit parts were disgustingly yucky but other than that, I was entertained for 100 minutes. Haha…I think that Dayo wore the same clothes (he only changed the colors of the t-shirts from grey to white) during the whole movie. Andy On always played cool or badass characters but in this movie, he’s uncool so that’s a nice change. I really wonder if those "constipation" and "brokeback" fist games exist for real…hehe!

TVB 40th Anniversary Awards

Although I don’t watch TVB series that often now, however I will watch the annual award show. I’m not going to talk about the winners or if they deserve or not since I didn’t watch much this year and it’s expected to see Heart of Greed sweep the major awards anyway. I just want to talk about the show itself. Before, TVB anniversary celebration had their artists performing and stuff with the awards in one show and it was actually more entertaining and more “alive”. Now with the award show on its own, it’s really boring and the atmosphere is “dead” as everyone looked bored and unattached. This year as usual, it’s messy, it’s rushed (the presenters didn’t have time to finish what they want to say and the winners were rushed to finish their speeches). Bah...

Congratulations to all winners!

The most touching moment of the show...

Eye In The Sky

Eye in the Sky Synopsis (from Yesasia)
Yam is Mike, head of the SU (Surveillance Unit), a dedicated unit of cops whose job is to follow, listen, and learn - but they must never engage their quarry. They've just taken on a new member, rookie cop Bo (former Miss Hong Kong Kate Tsui), and she receives a trial by fire when charismatic criminal Shan (Tony Leung Ka Fai) stages a daring daylight robbery. The SU immediately begins searching for Shan, using every resource at their disposal, from camera surveillance to smart card tracking to plain, old-fashioned legwork. But Shan is no ordinary criminal, and seems to be as smart as the cops on his trail. When the game escalates to life and death stakes, Bo becomes the only one who can track down Shan and bring him to justice.

My comments:
By looking at the cast, it reminds me of Election. Well, this is an interesting and tense movie and it’s expected to see good performances from the male leads but surprisingly even Kate Tsui managed to do well. The scene stealer is actually Maggie Siu as the swearing chief and I wonder what’s the point with Simon Yam wearing a fake tummy for this role. If I didn’t put the subtitles, I think I’ll be lost while watching because there were a lot of technical and inside terms, which I’m absolutely clueless. I hope for a better ending with how Tony Leung is off…the way that it’s resolved is unconvincing…

Jay Chou On The Run

I received my copy of 我很忙 Tuesday but it’s only today that I really took the time to listen to it. I listened on repeat mode at work for 6 hours today (haha…I’m bragging that my job allows me to listen to my ipod…) to come with the following conclusion: I like it overall. The album flows well and it’s less melancholic compared to his previous works.

01 - 牛仔很忙 => Like it. I remember myself fainting when I first heard it but I’m used to the song now and it’s even better once you read the lyrics. It’s the only song in this album that is un-Jay.

02 - 彩虹 => Skip it. I find it forgettable

03 - 青花瓷 => Love it. The only 中國風 of the album and I have to repeat it: I LOVE IT! It’s very elegant and gentle.

04 - 陽光宅男 => Like it. I don’t know how to describe this song, it sounds very popish but I think it’s fresh.

05 - 蒲公英的約定 => Skip it. Another slow ballad, which I don’t have any feeling.

06 - 無雙 => Love it. It’s rockish and I can guarantee that you’ll freak out at 3:19, now that’s無雙

07 - 我不配 => Love it. I saw the MV first and I have a confession: I cried! It’s very touching and heart wrenching at the same time since Jay said that it’s real-life experiences.

08 - 扯 => Love it. Jay raps with some kids and he sounds different in this song.

09 - 甜甜的 => Like it. The feel of this song is like its title, sweet. It’s so pop, cheery and bright that I wonder if I’m listening to some pop idol instead.

10 - 最長的電影 => Skip it. Another slow ballad.

Calendar as goodies for pre-ordering the album...

Men Don't Cry

Men Don’t Cry (TVB, 21 episodes) is the first and (probably will be the only) TVB drama that I watched in full in 2007…

Men Don’t Cry Synopsis (from Wikipedia)
With the support of the head of the Police Authority, Guangzhou’s top villain Ho Kei-Kin (Dayo Wong) has been riding roughshod over everyone around him. He is so manipulative that he has explored every possible means in his fight for a house with the buck-toothed owner Ling Yuk Tsui (Cecilia Yip). Tsui is happy to have met the upright and honorable Wong Fei Hung (Lam Kar Wah). The pair quickly falls in love and even feels ready for marriage. Interested in stirring up trouble, Kin tries to recruit more students for his kung-fu school by portraying himself as the hero who has defeated one of the Ten Tigers of Guangdong Wong Kei-Ying. For the sake of fairness, Hung is resolved to have a contest with Kin. Unfortunately, Kin manages to make Hung give in with the help of the ancestral tablet of his late father. Thinking that he is a hopeless coward, Tsui decides to break off her engagement to Hung. Kin quickly grabs the chance and begins to woo Tsui. Tsui agrees to transfer her house to Kin after much persuasion from him. Kin shows his true colors as soon as he has secured the property. Tsui is left homeless and has to put up at Po Chi Lam, the martial arts club set up by Hung. Kin has lost his power and soon becomes an object of contempt and hatred. With nowhere else to go, he decides to turn to Hung and asks to be his apprentice. Hung has tried his best to bring out the human side of Kin, for which he has received a lot of criticism from others. Despite Hung’s support, Kin does not repent and behaves even worse than before, leaving Po Chi Lam in a state of total chaos…

Cast:
Dayo Wong as Ho Kei Kin
Lam Ka Wah as Wong Fei Hung
Cecilia Yip as Ling Yuk Tsui
Hui Siu Hung as So Fei
Charmaine Li as Jenny
Vivien Yeo as Ling Yuk Bek


My comments
Right, it’s TVB’s 40th anniversary this year and they chose Men Don’t Cry as one of their anniversary series. It had lots of promotion and buzz before airing but once it aired, it failed in rating and even earned a lot of criticisms/complaints for being bad, offensive and crude (anyways HK viewers complain about everything so it’s no big deal…). Is it really that bad? I have to admit that I watched it for the sake of Dayo Wong since I worship him like God (ha!). Compared to his previous dramas with TVB between Justice Sung II, War of Genders and To Catch The Uncatchable, Men Don’t Cry is indeed the weakest. It’s still funny and entertaining but not as witty as the others maybe because the producer is different this time. To fully enjoy the drama, you have to be very fluent in Cantonese and aware of what they are parodying/referencing/making fun of (Ong Bak, Mission Impossible, Prison Break comes to mind).

Villain Kin is indeed very evil in the beginning. When I have a little sympathy for him when he shows a little human side, he will then do something bad to make me fume. When he turns good, he becomes too sacrificial and too good to be true. Wong Fei Hung is humorous with his straight face telling long stories to bore people...haha! The love relationship between the main characters is really not deep. Kin and Chui did not have any intimate moment at all after Kin scammed Chui and since then carry this love-hate relationship. But I really wonder when Kin started to love Chui. Wong Fei Hung and Chui didn’t have anything at all; it was one-sided from Wong Fei Hung. It is somewhat unexpected at how this triangular love relationship ended. I think the ending is original but it is disappointing if you’re a sucker for happy conclusions. But the fortuneteller said that Kin and Chui are a fated couple for 3 lives so…Also, there are a lot of characters that are left out at the ending that makes you wonder what happen to them…

Performance wise, everyone is doing a fair job. I didn’t find anyone spectacular. Overall, this series is entertaining to watch, just don’t have high expectations…

* Themesong of the drama (haha...Dayo changed the Wong Fei Hung theme with his wacky lyrics!)

Still gave up...

I reached episode 74 of Lotus Flower Fairy but I really don’t have the motivation to continue it. I really tried my best to continue but I still have 100 more episodes to go and that’s tiring…Oh well…

I’m embarking on TVB’s Men Don’t Cry next...I have to see if it's that bad...

Recently watching...

I told myself to avoid long Korean dramas since Be Strong, Geum Soon (that was 163 episodes in 30 minutes per episode length) but now I took the challenge of trying to complete Lotus Flower Fairy, which is 174 episodes in total! I’m currently in the 50s episodes. Frankly speaking, this drama moves at a snail pace with repetitive dialogues, very LONG karaoke scenes and occasional annoying flashback scenes. Why am I continuing then? First, it’s good to see Lee Da Hae in a more serious role before My Girl fame and after being slightly put off by her recent Hello! Miss. Second, I’m expecting a very touching love story between Cho Won (Lee Da Hae) and Moo Bin (Kim Sung Min) in the upcoming episodes even though I think they seem too coy as a couple until now. Last, I always found shamanism fascinating and it’s interesting to see a Korean drama involving this theme and their approach to it.

My favorite singers

Since I did a shallow post about my favorite K-hunks so why not a post about my favorite singers as well…I listened to mostly American pop during my teenage years (I’m not ashamed to admit that I was an obsessed fan of Backstreet Boys!) but since 2000, I shifted back to Canto pop and Mandarin pop and the following artists are really the ones that I will buy original copies of their albums. Mostly male singers, haha…I guess because opposite attracts. Being a singer-composer also scores extra points too…

Jay Chou 周杰倫

First song I heard => 可爱女人
First saw him in => I think it was on JSG when he played two keyboards at the same time!
3 Favorite Songs => 可爱女人, 暗號 and 四面楚歌
Comments => I became a fan since his second album so it’s been 6 years already! Time flies! I still remember how shy and wordless when he debuted and now he’s the multi-tasked Director Chou. People can be really harsh when they criticize his music. Honestly, give the poor guy a break! When he doesn’t change his style, he gets bashed for being boring and repetitive and when he changes, people will go ‘WTF!” and bash. Perhaps, people are expecting too much from him…

Khalil Fong 方大同

First song I heard => 我們能不能
First saw him in => CR 903 Awards 2005 when he got silver for newcomer awards
3 Favorite Songs => 每天每天, 蘇麗珍 and 詩人的情人
Comments => A very low profile artist, who you rarely see on news reports. It’s a shame that he’s so underrated! I became an absolute fan when I heard his second album This Love as it’s one of the best things I’ve heard in recent years. His songs have a very comfortable, laidback and elegant feel and his live performance is amazing! I have a feeling that he will dethrone Jay as my absolute fav one day…By the way, I can’t wait for his 3rd album hopefully coming out soon!

Gary Chaw 曹格

First song I heard => 少年
First saw him in => 少年 MV
3 Favorite Songs => Superwoman, 沉默玩具 and 3-7-20-1
Comments => When I first heard Superwoman, I was really blown away! When he debuted and went to those Taiwanese variety shows, he was clueless and quiet most of the time but once he opens his mouth to sing, we see a different Gary who is so energetic, confident and powerful. He can sing well in Mandarin and Cantonese and I think that’s his biggest advantage. Sometimes, I hope that his songs can have better lyrics because I found some of them overly mushy/sweet.

Justin Lo 側田

First song I heard => 好人
First saw him in => Err…was it in a random episode of Scoop or JSG?
3 Favorite Songs => 命硬, 我有今日 and Erica
Comments => The king of newcomer in back 2005 but also a controversial singer who says wrong things occasionally (or maybe the media twisted his words) and is accused of plagiarism. I, at some point lost faith in him but his ballads always managed to touch me. He’s really good at singing songs about the pain of being dumped or that he’s not good enough for the girl he likes. Hope that he will continue to write good songs...


Notable Live Performances:

Jay’s live performance in 2002


Justin and Khalil acoustic performance on JSG


Gary singing My Way in duet mode by himself

Get Karl! Oh Soo Jung

I had some expectations for Get Karl! Oh Soo Jung (SBS, 16 episodes), but I'm disappointed after finishing it...

Get Karl Oh Soo Jung Synopsis (from DramaWiki)
Go Man Soo is a world known golf player who was dumped by a former beauty queen, Oh Soo Jung, seven years ago. Their fate becomes reversed when Oh Soo Jung who is now known as an old maid comes chasing after Man Soo who is now a 'golden bachelor' with good looks and money.

Cast:
Oh Ji Ho as Go Man Soo / Karl
Uhm Jung Hwa as Oh Soo Jung
Kang Sung Jin as Jung Woo Tak
Park Da An as Yook Dae Soon

My comments:
I have to confess that despite I like the leads, I didn’t find this drama particularly exciting or funny. In fact, I found the whole “vengeance- testing if the woman really love me" thing very 無聊 and lame. I needed 4 episodes to warm up to this drama and the characters. The fat makeup/suit that Oh Ji Ho wore in the beginning was an attention grabber and it looks convincing face wise because he was really unrecognizable under it.

Character wise, Soo Jung was shallow, matrerialistic, shameless, rude; she almost had no redeeming quality at the beginning. In the middle, we understand that she is like this because of her responsibilities toward her family (a father who is jobless, a young stepbrother and a mother who is always in debt!), she had to choose financial security over love. She became a pitiful character and the victim since then. It’s also interesting that she cannot tear even when she’s sad but when she is betrayed by Man Soo, she teared for like 10 hours. Uhm Jung Hwa is really good at holding her tears and I cried with her when she bursted out.

However, I wasn’t really into the romance between Soo Jung and Man Soo. I found myself rooting for the second lead, Woo Tak, more and more instead. His change from being a swindler with the mission to deceive Soo Jung to ending up loving her for real was more interesting to watch and could be expanded. It’s great to see Woo Tak as someone who is not despicable for trying to separate Soo Jung and Man Soo; he even became Soo Jung's reliable friend and helping Soo Jung and Man Soo to get back together at the end. Now, Dal Soon is an evil witch. She presents herself like an angel in front of people but she can stab you behind. I think those kind of people are the scariest. Finally, I think the biggest problem with this drama is that the four leads don’t have much chemistry with each other. When it the drama ended, I didn’t have any lingering feeling.

The Perfect Neighbor

I didn’t realize that I took a 3 weeks break from K-dramas! I must be too bored lately to be able to finish The Perfect Neighbor (SBS, 20 episodes)…

Perfect Neighbor Synopsis (from DramaWiki)
Baek Soo Chan has nothing in his hands but he lives a life under the belief that he will become the man any woman who sits next to him wants. However, his belief is questioned when he starts to realize true love. This drama will be focusing on the relationships of four persons who are living in the company's dorms. A professional con-man, a successor to the company, a lawyer and her meddling assistant.

Cast:
Kim Seung Woo as Baek Soo Chan
Bae Doo Na as Jung Yoon Hee
Park Shi Hoo as Yoo Joon Suk
Min Ji Hye as Go Hye Mi
Son Hyun Joo as Yang Duk Gil
Kim Sung Ryung as Jung Mi Hee

My comments:
The Perfect Neighbor is indeed peculiar. First, it’s hard to tell who is the main male lead in this drama: Kim Seung Woo or Park Si Hoo? Then, it’s hard to classify the genre of this drama. It looks like a rom-com but it’s not really one. It seems like a mystery drama, it’s not really as well. Well, it has mixture of familiar elements: bickering pair, Cinderella plotline, opposing rich mother, evil second female character and family secrets etc. The first scene starts with someone being potentially murdered to keep the suspense and by the end of episode 2, you already have three characters dead.

However, this drama didn’t quite work for me as I watched it in an on-off mode. The biggest problem is that it doesn’t have a central focus and the scenes just jumps here and there. I wasn’t particularly interested in the romance. Soo Chan and Yoon Hee are better and have better chemistry as friends while Joon Suk and Yoon Hee’s relationship is too cliched and too draggy. I find their fairytale love irritating before the exposure of the family secret. Joon Suk was basically a coward. He wants to keep Yoon Hee by his side but still plans to marry Hye Mi who he doesn’t love because of his mom’s suicidal threats! Yoon Hee is willing to be the ‘mistress’ and Hye Mi who I have trouble telling if she even love Joon Suk or not back then just follows her parents’ arrangement to marry him and accepts it as ‘fate’. Man, what are these people thinking? The ending is somewhat incomplete. There are a lot of matters left unresolved and unexplained…

The only thing I like about this drama is the bonding between the neighbors. It’s touching to see the neighbors supporting and encouraging each other during difficult times but they are also realistically portrayed as nosy people gossiping behind each other’s back. The kids are also fun to watch. Kids in K-dramas are always portrayed as extremely smart and aware of what the real world is…haha!

Jay Chou's new song

When I saw the following potential cover for Jay's upcoming album “On The Run”, I fainted! I’m still praying that it will be a different cover image when the album officially releases next month. I believe in miracles…

Now, I just heard his new song 牛仔很忙 and I fainted again! Huh?! Is that really Jay? I think I need time to ‘digest’ it. I do give him my thumbs up for trying something so…different…Anyway, since I’m a hardcore fan, I’ll still buy the album even if it stinks :p

Wonder Women

Wonder Women Synopsis (from Yesasia)
Gigi Leung stars as the main "Wonder Woman", Joy Shing, a respected professional and a loving mother, who is promoted to Chief Financial Officer of her company on the very same evening that her husband To Lam (George Lam) is ousted as CEO. His replacement is the handsome, Mainland-connected Ching Bit-Chung (Nie Yuan), who has his own romantic designs on Joy. But Joy has little time for romance, with both financial and personal losses mounting. Her neighbor (Hui Siu Hung) cheats her out of millions of dollars, leading to a bitter falling out with her childhood sweetheart (Kevin Cheng). Also, her husband falls deep into debt, and the ensuing spiral of misfortune threatens to tear their family apart. But with the outbreak of SARS comes Joy's most terrible loss of all.

My comments:
I didn’t have much expectation before watching it because I read contradictory opinions. I like it and I find it meaningful and moving although it’s way too dramatic and sometimes manipulative. I haven’t seen an unfortunate character like Gigi’s Joy for such a long time in HK stuff. It talked about her ups and downs within the last decade and there were more downs than ups in her case as she really lost a lot of things. Was it necessary to it that depressing? It’s sad to see her going through so many hardships but it’s also a relief to see her succeeding at the end and finding hope. The movie included real news footages of the big events that happened in HK since the handover and it’s actually sad to recall back the economic crash and SARS.

I haven't seen Gigi Leung in a long time; I'm glad that she chose to play a bold character in this movie, a very different her and I think she did great. She shows signs of aging though. Fiona continues to irritate me with the way she speaks but I like her character’s attitude at work. I cracked up when she said “Actually, I dislike giraffes”…haha…those who follow her news will know why it’s funny. Nie Yuan is quite charming as the young CEO and I was rooting for him to end up with Gigi…too bad that most men in this movie are portrayed as jerks! Sigh…

Invisible Target

Invisible Target Synopsis (from Yesasia)
Loose cannon cop Chan Chun (Nicholas Tse) is perpetually on the edge, having lost his fiancée when she was killed during an armored car heist. Six months later, Chan finally gets a lead on the perpetrators, a gang of vicious Mainland thieves, led by the deadly duo of Wu Jing and Andy On. The thieves are looking for the mysterious person (or the "invisible target") who masterminded the original heist, and then took the money and betrayed their gang - and they're willing to take down as many cops as they need to gain their revenge. Chan wants them caught, but he's not the only one out for justice; the tough and smartly-dressed Inspector Fong Yik Wei (Shawn Yue) also wants a piece of the action, and rookie cop Wai King Ho (Jaycee Chan) suspects that the thieves may have something to do with his brother, a missing undercover cop. Individually, the three cops can't stop these guys, but through teamwork, righteous determination, and plenty of head-busting, flying-fists action, they just might stand a chance.

My comments:
This movie is actually 130 minutes long but I didn’t feel so when I watched it. It did have some draggy scenes with some preachy talk but still an entertaining movie overall. Lots of explosions and bullets here for those who love action movies and there were some over the top action sequence, featuring the guys flying (er…I mean jumping) from one thing to another! I can see that the guys put a lot of efforts on the stunts, well they were believable at least. It’s so easy to guess who the mastermind is and where the money is hidden, so there is no surprise here. But I’m a bit surprised by the ending…aw…so sad! I’m glad that the romance element is light here but it was not really a great idea to cast Elanne Kong as Shawn Yue’s girlfriend. She delivered her lines like she reading straight from the script, in other word very emotionless but she didn’t have much scenes so whatever…Hey, just a shallow comment: I totally enjoy that shirtless moment with the three main guys…haha!

Diary

Diary Synopsis (from Yesasia)
The dour and volatile Winnie (Charlene Choi) likes to make wooden puppets and write in her diary. After her boyfriend Seth leaves her, Winnie becomes increasingly emotionally and psychologically unstable. At the urging of her friend (Isabella Leong), she starts a new relationship with Seth-lookalike Ray (Shawn Yue), but the relationship soon makes the same downward spiral as before. As the situation worsens, so too does her grasp of reality. Or perhaps none of this is real in the first place. The answers all lie in her diary...


My comments:
An ex-coworker recommended Diary (well, Twins girls are his guilty pleasure!) and my cousin also said it wasn’t too bad (did you, p.w? :p) so why not watching it despite my biases against Twins. I might turn off the radio or switch channel when I hear/see them sing but when it comes to acting, I’m more lenient toward them. Also, it’s the movie that got Ah Sa 2 best actress awards so I have to see how great she is here…Anyway back to the movie, wow, it bores more than thrills! It’s messy, disjointed and slow at the beginning and it’s visually dark for like 85% of the movie. The first 30 minutes didn’t have much happening and I was constantly checking the time. It tried to build a mysterious atmosphere but it didn’t work for me; however, the ending managed to surprise me a bit and gave me some chills though. Ah Sa did improve and became more mature as an actress and I also found her pronunciation better but that’s basically it…

Playlist of early October

- 男人KTV – Justin Lo (Cantonese version)/Anson Hu (Mandarin version) => I heard both versions and the feeling is actually not very different. The sampling of 吻別 and 你的背包 works better in the Mandarin version but comes odd in the Cantonese version. Still, a very karaoke-friendly song and I’m predicting that Justin’s version will be big this year at the award ceremonies.

- 你是我心内的一首歌 – Wang Lee Hom & Selina => The lyrics in Taiwanese dialect makes this song special. Also, I really like the retro feeling in this song despite the title sounding really cheesy.

- 左右無緣 – Gary Chaw => Gary’s second Cantonese song and it’s a great sad song. Will he ever release a Cantonese album?!

- 我的天 – Hins Cheung => Another sad song and the melody reminds me of his other song Dear U.

- 風生水起 – Fama featuring Mak Ling Ling => Yes, that’s really the Fung Shui master 麥玲玲 rapping. Very amusing song here!

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…