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Friday, 23 October 2009

  • One Step Beyond

    It was one interesting, unpredictable series. It was actually one of those serials that are hard to come upon these days. It was unpredictable in that it was crazy yet did not follow the typical pattern of TVB serials nowadays. The acting was just so awesome also that you can't really hate any one character for so long. Although it was 20 episodes, but it felt so fast with a lot of things going on that you could not feel the drag of it at all since it never stopped long enough for you to think.This was one great Deric, Fiona, and Dicky collaboration. Both guys are great singers and having them in the this same drama was sort of a plan to promote them at that time. However, their acting was really good also - not just singing. I especially love Deric's song for the series. It was really touching and nice.

    Anita Lee showed a surprising performance near the end of the drama since I thought she was just another typical role - in those TVB days. However, she convinced me of her acting at that point, not just recently.) Rain Lau did a good job also and it was a bit funny seeing that she was portraying Dicky's sister in here since they were paired off in 'The Mystery of the Twin Swords II'.

    It was a bit funny to see lots of the typical TVB faces in those days still taking on minor roles or guest starring to contribute to the drama, such as Lui Fong, Alex To, Carol Yeung, and Andy Hui. Derek Kwok was still being robbed in those days but at least there was the definite good acting fiber in him right from the start - even if he was just playing the typical baddie as it was in those days.

    Recommended for those who want to watch crazy slash humorous ghost plots. There are ups and downs of the series but it is not for long.

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

  • D.I.E. Again

    This was a major disappointment because of its inability to live up to part one. I would've expected it to surpass the first part even but I guess it could not. It has lost its essence to the humor and the cleverness of the cases. Though some parts or reasons could be typical because some murders could happen because of misunderstandings or other stuffs in life, but it was too much of a joke to have most of the cases too simple. It reduced their team down to brainless characters. It was too silly for its own good since part I was serious for the majority of the time, but it was just some characters behaving the way they usually did and felt like it was not wrong. Sonija's character became so goofy that made it a big joke. Though I really love the chemistry between Roger and Sonija, but making her too goofy at times killed it. She was supposed to be the serious one. (Yes, she did learn to relax with Roger around but not to the extent that she was jumping around when she found out she was back at D.I.E. A bit too overboard.)

    The additional cast were not that bad since they were juniors and did not expect to strive 100% since they still needed to learn from their seniors. However, making Zac Kao somewhat like Kenneth's character in the past was a bit too lame. The joke with the whole "Jackson" matter was overkilled. They did that for the humor in part I but yet it was so subtle that if you weren't paying attention, it was okay. But this time, they threw it in too many times that was annoying. Him Law and Macy Chan were enjoyable at times since they were funny yet enough with it. Icy was a good addition too since she was an interesting character - totally different on and off work. I enjoyed her moments when she had to tolerate Roger's smart mouth running. My only complaint is in adding the new characters, they had sacrificed Stephen and Mimi's screen time again. (I meant together, not individually.)

    Was I the only one feeling Derek was robbed again? The three Kwoks were supposed to lead the drama but somehow, I felt he just got knocked down again with the side stories. Yes, he was still the righteous guy who worshipped Bruce Lee, but somehow his character has lost its essence due to side stories. When I learned that Margie was not going to be in the sequel, I was really disappointed. But later, I learned about Derek pairing up with Nancy, I was getting my hopes up after seeing some photos of different scenes. I have liked their chemistry in 'Face to Fate' though it was somewhat tragic. So that was a reason to look forward to. But it seemed too trying in here to just rush Derek's character off into moving on. Why don't they just make him wait for Margie since she'll finish with her studying later? They did not make Nancy's character strong enough to take over - though they did try to emphasize matters at various points. I felt it was missing something. The whole idea with Derek moving on and trying to get over Margie made their get together in part I a big fat joke since there was no point in getting together because it did emphasized how he valued relationships and how hard it was for them to get together - with various obstacles. Now the whole thing again with a different girl? I wouldn't mind if it happens again since no one is guarantee to date one time and meet the one, but the story was just too trying that it became too much. Referring back to the last point, I would've prefer that Derek focuses on his righteous acts and wait for Margie so they could increase Stephen and Mimi's screen time together a bit more.

    The cases? Things only get a tad more interesting around the two last cases however it was a bit repetitive with Derek's mother's family. It was like they were running out of things to do or they just want to let history repeat itself again yet they were trying to get clever. Although I only watched 'Saw I' but I could feel it stealing the formula of the Saw movies. That was a bit disappointing. (Though we could say all psychos are nuts that way but having it down to the details with the pattern? Eh....)

    Am I watching if there's part 3? Probably but won't have much hope. It's just that the three Kwoks are so addicting to watch!

Friday, 11 September 2009

  • Revolving Doors of Vengeance

    I wish I could say that this is one of the better TVB serials but with a lame title. But this one has both - the title and lame plots. I must admit I was curious after reading some comparisons between this and 'The Brink of Law' and how people say that there are similarities between both. However, I honestly think that 'The Brink of Law' was ten times better - even if they managed to kill off half of the cast. This one was too messed up and gift wrapped toward the end. Although I must admit they wrapped it well with some plots intertwining to catch John Chiang's character, but it was not a satisfactory series with so much loops and stupidity in here. Sounds judgmental to death but I felt like morality was not even clear in here or no one had any to begin with.

    Likes:
    • Felix Lok as Ng Gam Kuen. He was the only one I actually like in here among the cast that had anything to do with the whole plot. He was loyal to the father (Lau Dan) and was doing his best to help but would always worry to death while others are doing stupid things. 
    • Lawrence Ng as Koo Ka Hyun. The kid was so cute and had a lot of potential. His acting was great. 
    • Lo Hoi Pang as Martin's father. I think his parts were the most fun in the series since he played tricks on people so much. His attempted plot was a bit funny and his bond with his son was real touching too. Some parts with his disciple was fun while others memorable to watch.
    Dislikes:
    • The fact that Kit (Ron) and Hoi Sum (Ella) end up together. I think Hoi Sum loves to torture herself or something since he was the one who did not know what he want or both or whatever. But she kept wanting to hurt herself by doing that. Kit is also an idiot and a rash person throughout. Nothing was significant about him from the beginning to the end. He was also so hot-headed and did not listen to anyone. Yes, he eventually learned but it just made their relationship a joke that he was firm or stubborn with a lot of his principles but was not able to resist temptation thus going with Chloe (Elaine). Using Hacken's song 'Yat Sang Bat Bin' (Never Change In This Lifetime) as Hoi Sum and Kit's song was a big insult to the song. Honestly, if he was that loyal, he would've more self-control.
    • Chloe (Elaine) and Mark (Derek) ended up together. WHAT?! Another dumb pairing and was too gift wrap. Not saying that he did not deserve happiness but HER? Seriously? There are no other girls in the whole wide world? These people seriously forgave too easily or are just looking for self-torture. She no longer had anyone to rely on, that was why she chose him in the first place. NOT convinced that she was turning good. It was just that she needed someone to lean on since she had no other hope after what happened to her father. 
    • Everyone kept jumping back and forth. I swear the Wong family is so wishy-washy. They kept shifting focus and all, especially fighting with their uncle and then coming back to let him use them some more.
    Things that I DIDN'T LIKE but could accept:
    • Martin (Joe) and Becky (Kenix) ending up together. If we were keeping score, she lied to him right from the start - to which he just ignored it most of the time because he was interested in her. Okay, so he used some techniques to test her later but that was just to see if she was lying to him or not. So it was okay that she lied and deceived him BUT it was not okay that he tested her? GREAT. But still, it was acceptable to a level because it was all confusing and how she wanted to have enough money for her aunt's surgery. But still...it was quite a low attempt with using her son to bait Martin.
    Who got robbed:
    • Raymond Cho. It was a shame that he only appeared a bit and he is one of those with great potential and it was too bad that he did not rise as much back then. It was until recently that he got more focused but still did not make up for anything. It was because those other 'supposed' handsome faces that kept hogging the screen that made him lose out on opportunities. He's quite good-looking actually and with potential also. Not to mention, he did sing the song better than someone else.
    • Nancy Wu. Seriously, I love Maria more than the rest of the main cast in here. None of the girls in here could live up to Nancy's fiber, except for let's say Kenix Kwok. Too bad.
    • Tsui Wing. It's funny how I didn't notice him until I watched 'Off Pedder' but I must say he gone a long way. It was a shame he could not rise in the earlier serials.
    • Other potential cast. I think most of the bearable cast or the great characters were actually the supporting ones instead of the main cast.
    So, overall, who got the most out of this drama? I swear it is Hacken Lee since they used some of his songs for the series. I had a feeling they were boosting him (which was well deserved) but other than that, this series tried to set all the hype around the characters but failed to deliver with an exact goal as an overall. It's a bunch of randomness thrown together. I could only feel that the ones who appeared a little were the more decent characters than the main cast combined.

Thursday, 03 September 2009

  • Just Love II

    This was surprisingly better than the first part - in my opinion. It was possibly because of how the father-in-law is no longer around. Of course Mr. 13 is not any better with his sabotage schemes and rude behaviors but it was better for them because they could choose not to care about him. And maybe because Johnson's more tolerable than the father-in-law's character that made me like this part more. They kept most of the characters' personalities intact for the most part. My only complaint is Mr. 13 since I barely remember about him being more likable. Or it could be because they needs someone to play the ruthless part after the father-in-law is out so they had to sacrifice Johnson. However, he turned out all right in the end, which was convincing enough since there were enough events leading up to that point. Although there were still traces of his smart-mouth running but that was him, he could not change that or it would not be him at all.

    Like Factors:
    • Sunny Chan and Jessica Hsuan as a couple. I really like their collaboration in the past part and could see the chemistry but was turned off at the story paved out because of their unreasonable behaviors at various points in the previous part. It carried over for this part also but I like how their relationship is developed into something deeper than just the usual one night stand and trying to make it worked afterward for the sake of the baby.
    • Johnson Lee and Joyce Tang as a couple. It was strange at first although I could see it happening because of their characters and background. However, I'm glad it worked out in the end since he curved his attitude a bit. Besides, he really cared for her so it made sense that he is capable of taking care of her and giving her the proper attention, making sure she won't suffer in the future. 
    • How the Ko family and the Ho family still treats Hei Man and Sau Sau as their daughters. It was a mistake from the hospital and it was irreversible but it was great to see how both family still accept and care for both as their own daughters despite what happened. 
    • Gill Mohindepaul Singh as Ap Ba Deen. Although he only appeared bits and pieces here and there but I really enjoyed his character and performance in here. Very funny. One of the funniest scenes must be him diving into the pool to save Ho Si Fu (Hui Siu Hung) because he was instructed by Hoi Tung (Mandy Wong) to do so.
    • Mandy Wong as Ng Hoi Tung. I really like her although this is the first time watching her. Although she was a bit too materialistic at times with handbags and all, but she really cared for her god-father. She was also very funny in her performance at various times. I hate those tricks with the whole one night stand and then the whole dramas afterward but I really like this one since Mr. 13 deserved some of it too since he was always so foul-mouthed toward others. (Of course nothing happened but he took her words for it and was so burned out by her demands later.)
    Dislike Factors:
    • The ongoing thing with CK (Ken Wong) and Bowie (Natalie Tong). I don't know. Although I'm all right with their characters but the pairing seemed odd to me. Are they continuing the idea with how Bowie's into older man? But glad she matured over time and how he learned to stay away from the sticky situations. 
    • The fact that everyone was DNA testing happy. Yes, it was the proof in uncovering some of the most unbelievable mistakes made by the hospital ages ago. But it was like everyone and anyone could do it. It made me feel like they abused it too much and wondered if that was how it worked over there.

Monday, 24 August 2009

  • The Obedient Cat

    Yesterday afternoon, I was wandering around in the garden and talking to my mom about some random stuff while she was doing some of the usual gardening tasks. It was until we were by the big tree that I realized a gray cat has been tailing me. (It was the same cat that refused to be near me even if there were only the two of us in this world.) I dismissed it as one of my imaginations and decided to settle with it was tagging my mom since she usually feed it. So I continued to tag my mom around the garden, continuing our random conversation. It was when I made my trip back into the house to get water that I realized that the cat was still following me although my mom was still out back. I tested it again by wandering around in different directions, seeing if it was still following me. It was! Why was it following me when it usually would avoid me like the plaque? I shrugged it off and went inside to get water anyway.

    When I came back outside about five minutes later, it was not following me anymore and headed off running into the garden, tagging my mom again. I thought it was strange with its sudden change in behavior but did not care more than that. I went back inside to get some more food and walked back out to see where my mom  was. It was then that I realized why the cat had been following me all along because it was doing the same thing as before. Yes, I was holding food before. I did not have food with me the second time I came back out. Then the food was there again thus the tagging.

    So do cats like hot dogs?

DTLCT

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    • Name: Karen
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