Chasing Stars

童話戀曲201314 Once Upon a Song

I really like the use of soft lighting to highlight the romantic comedy-drama of the film. Besides the bad acting by a few of the actors and terrible forced dialogue in those 5 minutes, I can’t really judge this series. Some part of me wants to like it.

警界線 Police Boundaries

I have no idea who the actor that plays Eagle is. He may be a very well known actor to everyone in Hong Kong but to me, he really sucked in the clip 11 minute clip. I am not a fan of people overreacting and he did just that. Every time he was talking about the case, I was like, “calm yo ass down.” And it’s only been 11 minutes of the series. There are definitely some nice action shots and you can see the apparent showiness of the camera work and technology. Out of the three series, I anticipate this the most. The ending was kinda just mind blown. I really want to see what happens next!

開腦儆探 Brain Detective

Cool they have Felix in here. Everyone loves him butI don’t have much opinion on him. He’s a good actor and that child actor was pretty good as well. Apart from the acting, there was just too much graphics going on. The story sounds interesting…but it reminds me of a movie or another drama…

I love seeing all the old TVB actors/actresses back onscreen but I honestly wish they were still with TVB. I love HKTV’s use of techonoloy! The camera work is kinda amazing. If only somehow, TVB and HKTV combine, their series would be AMAZING. Not gonna happen in a million years but you never know…

Seems like everyone is bashing on TVB dramas once they saw these clips. I know TVB dramas have sucked the past year but how are you to compare these 5-10 minute clips to one full series? I’m probably one of the few people out there to hold this unpopular opinion, but I honestly cannot see HKTV surpassing TVB just yet. Maybe in a couple of years when HKTV actually gets their dramas running. I mean we haven’t even seen one full drama yet so why are we even comparing?

Golden Faith. 2002

Gallen Lo, Jessica Hsuan, Deric Wan, Michelle Ye, Raymond Lam, Tavia Yeung, Myolie Wu, Anne Heung

One of the better big production dramas of the time. I miss the old TVB days with great scripts and great actors.

These were the days when Tavia, Raymond and Myolie were still young and had second and third leading roles. First time Raymond and Tavia paired up in a series and they were pretty cute.

This series was also Gallen’s second to last drama in TVB before returning years later to film that dog and cat series with Myolie which was a huge flop.

I can’t believe this was more than 10 years ago! Ahhh the memories…

After watching the sales presentation of Detective Columbo starring Wayne Lai, Tavia Yeung, Evergreen Mak and Louise Lee, I was immediately excited for it to be filmed! Then I learned that everything in the sales presentation was going to change…After watching the first few episodes of Bullet Brain, I stopped because it was just so bad.

If the writers had stuck with their original plot and kept their original characters, I think Detective Columbo would have been a huge success.

Let’s start off with the original story: 1950s super skilled and smart detective who lives with a maid who seems to be holding onto a secret. His love interest is a showgirl who constantly fends off other men. He and his subordinates do not get along that well which causes a little problem.  There’s a mixture of comedy and lightness in there as well. Although there is no gimmick to the story like in Bullet Brain, I would have settled for it. Just give me a mystery series with a few good cases and I will be hooked. The cast is also strong as well with the 2012 best male and female actress. Louise Lee and Evergreen Mak are excellent performers as well. This series had SO much potential if only they kept the original cast and story.

Bullet Brain…a detective who has a bullet lodged in his brain which caused his IQ to rise and his conscious to shrink. Sounds like it would have been a great anime. As a series, I just don’t see it happening but they made it happen and it’s one of the worst series of the year.

They wasted such a great potential plot for this over the top stupid series. Not cool.

With 60 more episodes or so to go, Richard and 霞姐finally got together in episode 241! AH! I was fangirling the entire scene :3 heheee so glad my otp from the show finally got together!

Richard and 霞姐 are utterly perfect for each other! I kept smiling and squealing at their little moments in the latest episode. They had many opportunities of getting together on a date but people kept third wheeling them -__-  it was hysterically frustrating to watch the misunderstandings but I loved it! I can’t wait for more of them TOGETHER! arghh the next episode seems to focus on the boss so I guess their story is put on hold for now. I really hope that their storyline will come up again very soon!!

I was looking forward to this series since the lackluster of recent cute/heartwarming dramas from TVB. Season of Love proved to be another fail.

Spring and Summer were pretty cliched and boring. With the hype of Nancy and Oscar taking leads in the Autmn story, I thought it would be more interesting but I ended up being confused and dazed after watching their story. I didn’t really like the three different timelines because it made things more frustrating and confusing. I didn’t get why Nancy’s character changed in the 3rd story as it was constant in the first 2. The performances by Nancy and Oscar were amazing as always but the story lacked sense. The Winter season was a disappointment. I was intrigued by Myolie’s mysterious past and the whole hunt to dig out the dirt in the beginning. The point where things started getting ridiculous is when she remembered everything. After that there was more skipping and yawning then actual watching of the show for me.

I really like the idea of different stories and wouldn’t even mind that they all intertwine with one another at some point. I hope TVB does something like this again but with much better stories!!

Come Home Love. Episode 185

Do I detect a hint of jealousy? :D I need more Richard and 霞姐 episodes please!

I was on the fence about this series because I hated the Michael-Tavia pairing and thought the whole law series was way overdone. But to my surprise, this series was actually pretty good.

Michael Tse as JJ and Tavia Yeung as Chris

This pairing was cute in the beginning with all their lovey dovey moments. I really liked how the writers handled their relationship after the break up. It wasn’t as ugly as I thought it would be although I didn’t like how all the misunderstandings could have been easily resolved if Chris told him the truth! The rationale behind Chris’ decision in breaking up with JJ was kind of frustrating. Their friendship-relationship really opened up in the later episodes and Chris finally accepted him!

Sammy Leung as Kam Bo Tei and Sharon Chan as Ai Mei San

Surprisingly, this couple had a lot a cutie scenes. Sharon and Sammy both proved themselves to be adequate actors as well as main lead material. This is my first time seeing Sammy onscreen and he did very well! I really liked how Mei San continued to be nice to Bo Tei even though he was painfully mean to her. Their characters complemented each other well and I literally LOLed when Bo Tei was about to kiss Mei San but it was his first kiss so he didn’t how to. SO CUTE. haha Sharon didn’t get to showcase her acting in this since Mei San was an all around goody goody and her character wasn’t very well fleshed. Looking forward to her series with Roger! Hope her character development and story would be better!

Oscar Leung as To Yik Hang and Samantha Ko as Kiki

Samantha Ko. A rising actress in the years to come. I did not get to witness her performance in The Last Steep Ascent but she did a great job in her role as Kiki in this drama. She held it together and delivered a great performance after the rape scene and in the series overall. Kiki is strong and someone to admire because of her righteousness and faith in law. I can’t wait to see her in other upcoming series! I think I’ve seen Oscar in these type of roles before so I’m going to make it quick. He was great and his character as the lovestruck hotheaded intern was your typical Oscar.

Derek Kwok as Hung Jan To and Alice Chan as Pong Tit Sam

I didn’t feel much from Derek except that he’s super competitive for no reason. I wanted to see what happened after he was betrayed by Pong Tit Sam and his  story with JJ. A little disappointed. It was my first time seeing Alice onscreen and I felt that her acting was average. Hope to see more of her! I like seeing fresh faces rather than the same old boring people all the time!!

Benz Hui as Gam Bo Cheung

I love this guy. His character and acting moved me so much in Dicey Business. HE SHOULD HAVE WON BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR FOR THAT ROLE BECAUSE IT WAS DAMN AMAZING. But sadly, TVB was TVB and gave it to Louis Yuen from Heart Of Greed probably because Heart of Greed was such a popular series. Anyways, Benz Hui is amazing as always in his roles. The only thing that bothers me is how Bo Cheung managed to ride his bike back to his place after he was hit by a car.

Ronan Pak as Oscar

I felt that he was annoying both as an actor and as the character. He over exaggerates his expressions and I notice that he likes to lift up his chin whenever he’s trying to be evil or smart. He’s better than some newcomers so I can’t complain. We shall see how he does in his next drama.

Storyline:

Some parts of the series were a little bit ridiculous and over done. What happened to Vincent’s character? Did he go to jail? How did Benz have the energy to get up and ride his bike back? If he went straight to the hospital, would he have survived? His death reminded me of Raymond Wong’s death journey in Bottled Passion. THEY COULD HAVE SURVIVED but TVB took the illogical route and decided to be more dramatic. I wish the interns could have had more lines/use in the series rather than sitting at their desks. But I’m not complaining…

Cops and law dramas are way over done but this series was pretty good for its time slot. A 3.5/5 for me!

I really liked the recent episode of Come Home Love. It provided a great back story to Richard and also defined his character a bit. The theme of beauty was put into question and I liked how the writers handled it. Sometimes inner beauty does win in the end.

And I squealed when the girl told him that he should find someone who doesn’t care about their appearance or put effort in their appearance because 霞姐 is that person! It was a while back but one episode focused on 霞姐 and her inability to present herself properly. In the end, she chose to dress better but she still didn’t really care much for appearance overall. HINTHINT ;D Richard and 霞姐 are perfect for one another!

Don’t know how many times I’ve said this but I love this sitcom!

I was a little hesitant to watch this series but I grew to like it after each episode.The cast was a little weak but the concept of the series was definitely new and refreshing! I really enjoyed watching all the stories/cases and the actors in the stories were the highlight of the entire series. A big shout out to Raymond Wong, Elaine Yiu and the little girl who played Siu Wan. They were great guest stars!!

Jason Chan as Si Yik Him

Jason isn’t new to the show business but this is his first time as the lead so if I were to grade him, I would give him a D. The character Yik Him is completely one dimensional. Yik Him is too much of a pushover and he’s just too nice to be true. Even during his emotional moments, Jason was basically a brick. His weak emotional tolls really brought down the character. I think with Jason’s experience and his boring one dimensional character, Jason couldn’t show the audience his acting capabilities. If Yik Him was written with more depth and character…I think we would see a different side to Jason. Hope to see him more in the supporting roles from now on.

Linda Chung as Hong Yu Feng

As always, Linda did a great job in this role. Yu Feng’s character is a simple girl and it’s shown in the first few episodes. Although they showcased her OCD in the first two episodes a lot, the later episodes toned it down to none which was a little bit disappointing. I would have liked to see more of her OCDness. Like Yik Him, Yu Feng is also a bit of a weakling, especially when it comes to emotions. She acted like Jason was her very first crush. Which may or may not be true but she was just too emotional when Marcus asked her about her previous crushes/love.

Lin Xiawei as Vincci

The other series I remember her in was in the sitcom, Til Love Do Us Lie. As somewhat of a newcomer, she’s not that bad. She played Vincci pretty well but I think she really needs to work on controlling her emotions. Whenever she yells at Linda or Jason, it gets really annoying because she just overdoes it. Other than that, I think Lin Xiawei will rise up in the years coming, granted she’s also Raymond Lam’s cousin. Vincci as a character is competitive, selfish and stupid. As I ranted in my other post, what Vincci really needed was to get her mind and life together.

Cilla Kung as Sin Kit Ching

I remember the first time seeing Cilla in The Four. She improved heaps from then. I think Cilla is typecasted as the bratty young adult as shown in Witness Insecurity, Yes Sir Sorry Sir and Missing You. Her role as the bratty kid is always super annoying but she did have some moments in this one. One scene that stood out the most is when she and her friend were arguing. Cilla had a genuine and heartfelt moment that really changed my opinion of her as a actress and her character in the series. It’s a pity that we didn’t get to see much of her and Calvin in this series. I hope Cilla would get different roles other than the bratty ones. As the audience, I really want to see a different side to Cilla!

Calvin Chan as Yeung Tse Gei

I think this was my first time seeing him onscreen. Like I said before, I didn’t get to see much of him and his character so I can’t really pinpoint any improvement. But from what I’ve seen, he did okay in this role. More opportunities for him please!

Matt’s character completely turned 360 and I did not see him coming and ruining Jason and Lin Xiawei’s relationship. It’s kinda sad that Matt doesn’t have any bigger roles.

Ram is great but has very limited screen time. What I realize in this series is that most of the characters aren’t well very fleshed out. I would have liked to see more of Ram’s character instead of all the ridiculous relationship problems.

The couples:
Jason and Linda - They made a cute couple but their relationship lacked a story. It wasn’t until the last episode when we finally see that Jason realizes his feelings for her. He confesses and they hug it out. THE END. It was really rushed and I didn’t care for it at all.

Jason and Lin Xiawei - I think the writers did a terrible job writing off their 6 year relationship. As a couple, they were kinda cute but she totally overpowered him in their relationship.

Calvin and Cilla - It was hinted towards the end that Calvin has some feelings for Cilla but not sure about Cilla’s feelings. Although they weren’t officially a couple, I thought they were cute. If only their story was more developed…these two lacked screen time which is huge downer for this series.

Raymond and Elaine - I loved them and also loved the older versions of them portrayed by Helena Law and Chow Chung. Their story was pitiful but I was so glad they finally found each other in the end. In my opinion, they outshined the leads!

This series is a filler series and I can see why it was placed in a deadly timeslot. I simply can’t express how much I really like the concept and the cases in this series. Hopefully there will be something like this soon but with a better script and stronger male lead.

There are so many things wrong with the relationships between the characters of Jason, Linda, Matt and Lin Xiawei.

First of all, if you loved and trusted your boyfriend, none of this would have ever happened. You’ve met your love rival and you know she’s a goody goody and won’t ever steal your boyfriend from you. Your love for him is obviously not as strong as you thought it was if this thing is shaking it up. How long have you guys been together? OH YEAH and LET’S CHEAT ON YOUR BOYFRIEND because it’s obviously the same thing since he’s “cheating” on you with the girl who had repeatedly denied any relationship with your boyfriend. If you don’t have any hard evidence on the two of them cheating then you don’t assume. I get that it does get annoying when Jason mentions Linda in almost every conversation but he works with her everyday and he even denied it so many times. What more do you want? Just because you work with someone every day doesn’t mean something will come out of it…OH WAIT. Lin Xiawei’s Vincci is so bi-polar and stupid. Get your mind together dude.

Jason. Oh Jason. He needs to be more masculine and actually take control over his life. They’ve been together for so many years and yet this little hiccup is causing a rift between them.

Matt is such a jerk. It’s like he had a plan to break up Jason and Lin Xiawei before he even met them. He came out of nowhere with that break up plan…

Linda…what to do with you? She is the most innocent one in this messy relationship line. She’s being constantly thrown under the bus. It’s like having a crush on someone is wrong. It’s JUST a crush. If she’s acting on her feelings for Jason then that’s wrong but the moment she found out that he had a girlfriend, she stopped. You can’t stop feelings but you can stop your actions. She’s actually done nothing wrong at all.

I can’t wait to see how ridiculous this relationship will get.

This two episode story arc reminded me of the film, Love Actually. The different storylines represents different aspects of relationships and it tied well with the Christmas theme. I’m looking forward to see the blossoming relationship between Richard and 霞姐!! They are pretty cute. Also, 尚友 and Water seem to be hitting it off ;) Too bad there wasn’t enough time to focus on the 馬 family.

This is why I love sitcoms. I always end the episode with a generally happy and comforting feeling.

Read an article about Raymond Lam and Kate Tsui refusing to film for TVB because of their loss at the 2012 awards. Not sure if it’s true or not…but I honestly don’t think it’s true.

But really though. If an artist refuses to film just because they didn’t get an award, that’s a really low of them. An actor’s passion lies in acting and performing, not award receiving. Receiving an award is just something extra. Sure, you can be a little upset but then you get over it. I really hate actors and actresses who are like that because that just truly shows their rudeness and ungratefulness.