TV Drama Review #384 - Tokyo Airport 东京机场管制保安部

No.of Eps: 10
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/Fuji TV
Cast:
Fukada Kyoko ~ Shinoda Kaori
Sasaki Nozomi ~ Sakai Mana
Kaname Jun ~ Kondo Yukihiro
Seto Koji ~ Yamashita Yuji
Hiraoka Yuta ~ Honjo Keisuke
Seto Asaka ~ Takeuchi Hiromi
Synopsis: (edited from Asianwiki)
Kaori Shinoda is a new air traffic controller. She visits Haneda airport one day before her actual work begins to say hello. Kaori arrives at the control tower and watches the air traffic controllers work in their hectic pace. An airplane that has just taken off has the possibility that a bird might be jammed somewhere in the airplane's engine. Chief air traffic controller Yumi Takeuchi quickly contacts the pilot and other agencies to prepare for the worst. The air traffic controllers guide several airplanes including the troubled airplane to make safe landings. The air traffic controllers are relieved and the ground staffs at the arrival gate become busy dealing with the passengers. On Kaori's first day at work, she is introduced to other air traffic controllers in the middle of a briefing. Yumi takes Kaori to the opposite direction of the control tower. Yumi and Kaori arrive at the simulation room. Kaori gives exact instructions, thinking of costs, but Yumi tells Kaori that air traffic controllers shouldn't think of cost and makes Kaori practice more. After a couple days of strict simulation, Kaori gets the order and she is excited that she can finally work for real. Kaori goes to the control tower and sits with Yumi. She begins to direct an airplane, but ...
Review:
"TA" is an occupation themed Jdrama dealing with airport traffic controllers. This occupation is new on the TV, as the common ones are either airport ground staff or airline crew. The plot is very standard, as each episode feature a cast's story or error. Plot development is routine hence boredom sets in, but I managed to finish the show.
Glad to see Fukada in full form again. She's not the best actress I've seen but she's willing to give various characters a try (not someone who always go for pretty roles). Shinoda is probably one of her most professional/serious roles I have ever seen, and her performance was not bad. Like her scenes with Seto as their mentor/student relationship was one highlight of the drama. Shinoda and Honjo scenes are alright, though romance was not hinted until the last episode.
Good to see Seto back as she's not that active in dramaland these years. Takeuchi seemed cold on the outside but she cares for her colleagues.
The supporting cast like Ssaki are forgettable. Kaname is always stuck in support roles, but Kondo got more scenes this time round. Seto Koji is ok while Hiraoka got too little scenes. Hope to see him leading a drama soon.

2012 Year End Project

Change of plans.

My new year project will become year end project now. A good way to end 2012 :)

Venue would be Gardens by the Bay.
I have delayed this trip for a few months, so hopefully I can make it this time and produce some nice photos.

TV Drama Review #383 - Kekkon Shinai 不结婚

No.of Eps: 11
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/Fuji TV
Cast:
Kanno Miho ~ Tanaka Chiharu
Amami Yuki ~ Kirishima Haruko
Tamaki Hiroshi ~ Kudo Junpei
Synopsis: (from Dramawiki)
The women appearing in this drama are unmarried for various reasons including, they have high expectations, are not able to be themselves in front of men, become attracted to losers, think being single is much more easier, or they think men are unreliable. They’re almost about to lose all hope, however, it’s not that they don’t want to get married, it’s just...things just don’t work out, they don’t know if they’re getting married for themselves or to please others, or they question whether there really is a reason to get married. This drama will realistically portray the trials and tribulations of love, friendship, and work of these women.
Review:
I was excited to see Kanno and Tamaki leading a drama again, but "Kekkon Shinai" is not a rom-com and I did not expect too much on their love affair. True enough, they do not have many intimate scenes together. Each of them have a love line, though Chiharu and Junpei ended up together, while Haruko ended up with the professor. The drama actually falls under the typical Jdrama talking about relationships between a group of people hence the plot is pretty standard. What made me anticipated was Chiharu and Junpei. Their romance developments are slow, but their chemistry built up after each episode. Even though I am not too pleased with the ending, I guessed it somewhat fit the drama's theme...which is romance does not necessarily lead to marriage.
Kanno Miho finally acted in a character which is cheerful and bright. Her scenes with Amami are interesting as they are landlord & tenant, yet they are good friends who guided each other in life. Amami is good as usual, but I was not engaged with her character (not that Haruko is lousy or what, but I am just too engross with Chiharu and Junpei).
Tamaki returns with a new hairstyle and looking younger. He has been acting in all sorts of roles recently, and most of them are serious characters. Glad that he's still willing to act in small budget dramas. Junpei is a slow fella, and I thought nothing wld happen between him and the ladies. Luckily the drama aimed to pair Junpei up with Chiharu or else I might gave up watching. Lol! However, Tamaki's performance was kind of restricted here. Junpei is just a typical nice guy, nothing more. I think the ladies' characters have more layers.
Themesong by Kobukuro is nice.

Japan 2012 Day 1

Updated Day 1 of my Japan trip! Check link below.

Day 1 @ Osaka

CC Gang Christmas Gathering

--Hangoga Grill @ Marina Bay Sands--
Met up the girls for our Christmas gathering. It's our first visit to Hangoga and they are not the traditional type of Korean restaurants. Food choices are rather limited and the Korean bbq was not served with the usual Korean veggie.
Price is slightly on the steep side, but still affordable. 

4 side dishes are quite "stingy" as compared to other Korean restaurants.

Pork belly for bbq!

Samgyetang. Ginseng not very strong so it's not too bad for me.

Got the staff to help us bbq.

Kimchi pancake. Surprised that they don't have seafood version. They also added lemon to the dipping sauce and the lemon flavour is too strong for my liking.

Seafood beanpaste soup...nice too.

Spicy pork belly. Not spicy at all, perhaps beanpaste too strong.
--Coffee break @ TCC--

Had our gift exchange at TCC, and chatted about KH and my Japan trip.
--Dinner @ Ichiban Sushi--
Met up with family at Chinatown. I told everyone that I would refrain from Japanese food for a month, but Mr. Chean wants to eat his favourite Japanese food from Ichiban, so here we are.....

My seafood nabe set with half grilled mussles and salmon sashimi.
--Christmas Gifts--

Thanks CH for my Rilakkuma photo album, and SC's Forever Friends bookmark!

TV Drama Review #382 - Ooku ~Tanjou 大奧～誕生

No.of Eps: 10
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/TBS
Cast:
Sakai Masato ~ Madenokouji Arikoto
Tabe Mikako ~ Tokugawa Iemitsu
Aso Yumi ~ Kasuga no Tsubone
Tanaka Koki ~ Gyokuei
Hirayama Hiroyuki ~ Inaba Masakatsu
Synopsis: (from http://saderach.blogspot.sg)
During the reign of the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, an infectious disease called red smallpox spreads only among young men, causing the population of males in the country to plummet to one-fourth that of the population of females. Iemitsu himself passes away suddenly of this illness too. Fearing that the Tokugawa bloodline would be cut off, Iemitsu’s wet nurse Kasuga no Tsubone sends for a young girl whom Iemitsu sired outside Edo Castle, makes her dress as a boy and secretly brings her up as the shogun within the castle’s inner palace. When the girl is 13, she is violated by a bodyguard who is later beheaded. After that, the girl will not open her heart to anyone. When she turns 16 as Tokugawa Iemitsu, Kasuga no Tsubone forcibly detains the monk Madenokoji Arikoto who has come to Edo from Kyoto and presses him to return to secular life. Together with his disciple Gyokuei, Arikoto is made to serve in the inner palace as Iemitsu’s attendant. In an audience with Iemitsu, Arikoto is astonished to realise that the shogun is a female.
Review:
I think I can proclaim myself an official "Ooku" fan, as I watched all the related dramas and movies. Even though the story is the same all the time, I can never get tired of it. Amazed!
The female shogun storyline was not new as there were already 2 movies on this version. There will be an upcoming movie following this drama featuring the 5th shogun, starring Sakai and Kanno Miho.
"Tanjou" plotline is somewhat similar to the original version, but there are changes as the "concubines" now are men. If you've watched Fuji's "Ooku Chap 1" then the plot is nothing new. However, "Tanjou" focused more on Iemitsu and Arikoto while "Chap 1" focused more on the rivalries between concubines.
It's my first time watching Sakai in period dramas, and I am pretty amazed with his ancient look. Seriously speaking, he's one matured ikemen! Haha! Sakai is quite a veteran but I only got attracted with his performance here. All the emotions were well displayed and you simply adored him. Tabe is actually too young to be his co-star, but their chemistr was not too bad.
Tabe has stablised her position as A lister in Jdrama land, though she has not made it to my favourite actress list. The young actress has lots of experiences in acting, but this is probably her first time acting as such a controversial character. I am quite impressed with her performance, as she managed to display Iemitsu being manly yet feminie at the same time.
Kasuga is an impt character in Iemitsu's story, but Aso failed to impress me much. I preferred Matsushita's Kasuga in "Ooku Chap 1".
Tanaka is KAT-TUN's rapper, and he has been active as an actor too. I thought they cld get someone better to act as Gyokuei. Did not like Tanaka or Gyokuei.....Tanaka's acting was average while Gyokuei was a character gone from good to bad.
Hirayama's Inaba formed one of the most impt sub-plots. I actually pitied this character as his mum sealed his fate. The actor's performance was great.

Unexpected

but not surprised.

This was how I reacted when my boss told me that he has resigned.
I did not even expressed that I was shock, and I did not ask the word WHY.
Thinking back now makes me feel weird.
I know I am not an emotionless being, but even I am surprised with my response. Lolz!

Well, everyone comes and goes. It's just the matter of time.
I guessed afterall I am not too attached to him, as compared to my very first boss.

I thank you for your guidance this past one and n months.

But I am more concerned with the future now. It seems bleak....

Back home!

Finally I returned home after 15 days in Japan!
I am glad to be home.
Many things happened during the trip, but I shall blog on it in my travel blog instead.

Got many things to update now!

Ciao~

TV Drama Review #381 - Ghetto Justice 2 怒火街头 2

No.of Eps: 21
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/TVB
Cast:
Kevin Cheng ~ Luo Li Ya
Myolie Wu ~ Wang Si Ku
Sam Lee ~ Ding Jia Fu
Alex Lam ~ Mi Zuo Zhi
JJ Jia ~ Qian Xin Xin
Raymond Cho ~ Liang Bao Shen
Christine Kuo ~ Jing Ling Li
Synopsis:
Luo Li Ya returns to Sham Shui Po after one and half years in jail and is glad to see his girlfriend Wang Si Ku doing well to serve the people in the neighbourhood. Si Ku wants LA to become a lawyer again, but LA is not keened. During LA's absence, his buddies Ding and Mi rented his room to a police officer Liang Bao Shen, who later became their good friend.
A new face appeared in the neighbourhood and she's Jing Ling Li, who opened a clinic and happened to be the guys' neighbours. Si Ku soon finds out that LA knows Ling Li for quite sometime...
Review:
Ghetto 2 returns with original cast plus a few more new additions like Xin Xin, Bao Shen and Ling Li. The plot continue to focus on the cases happening in the neighbourhood, but romance took up more plot this time round. Besides adding a love triangle for the lead couple, other support cast also have love lines. I think the drama was pretty well done, except for the less than ideal ending. I really hate TVB for spoiling the drama with lousy endings.
Kevin and Myolie are already familiar with their roles, but I saw some improvements from Myolie. She's getting better with her emotional scenes. Kevin's acting remains the same, no breakthrough for LA.
Sam Lee was given a new love line with JJ and his character has more developments. I like his chemistry with JJ! 
Raymond Cho is a nice addition as "Liang Bao" is really quite a funny but irritating character.
I did not like Christine's character, but her acting has improved. Her scenes with Jin Gang were better than with Kevin.

TV Drama Review #380 - Ohlala Couple 乌啦啦夫妇

No.of Eps: 18
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/KBS
Cast:
Kim Jung-eun - Na Yeo-ok
Shin Hyun-joon - Go Soo-nam
Han Jae-suk - Jang Hyun-woo
Han Chae-ah - Victoria Kim
Synopsis: (edited from Wikipedia)
Yeo-ok and Soo-nam's marriage is on the rocks after Yeo-ok catches her hotelier husband cheating on her with his colleague, Victoria. The couple filed for divorce, and one day, they find that their souls swop bodies. Yeo-ok's first love, Hyun-woo returns from abroad and happens to be Soo-nam's superior! Yeo-ok is glad to see Hyun-woo again, but her body is occupied by her ex-husband...
Review:
It's good to watch rom-com sometimes, as I can laugh out loud and enjoy the drama without much thinking. "Ohlala" is definitely one good option. The plot is actually about a couple who has been married for years, have a kid and their lives became routine. The husband cheated on the wife and their marriage failed. The fun part comes in as they swop bodies and have to handle each other's new romance. It's super hilarious! Haha! Though it's a pity that the drama ended with no surprises. The couple married again, and the love triangles ended peacefully. I wished the ending could be slightly different, but it's ok.
The plot can be simple, but the cast made the drama lively. I've never seen such a crazy Kim Jung Eun and Shin Hyun Joon, but they are just so funny when their characters swop bodies! Ha! I totally adored SHJ when he gotta act girly in his behaviour, posture and speech. KJE's acting was over exaggerated, quite unnatural, but it's still funny to see her acting manly. I think KJE performed better when she acted as Yeo-ok.
Great to see Han Jae Suk, though he has been acting in supporting roles these years. Hyun-woo is such a nice guy! Till the last episode, I thought Yeo-ok and Hyun-woo might just end up together but the guy gave up la! Haiz!
Han Chae-ah is pretty new to me, but her Victoria was great. She's quite pretty and her acting was natural. Though Victoria came into Soo-nam and Yeo-ok's marriage, I did not hate her that much. She's actually a nice woman.

Japan Trip

Will be leaving for the airport in 2 hours time.
It's going to be a long and tiring trip.
I won't expect everything to be smooth sailing, but at least no big problems like missing in some unknown place etc.

I hope our near 1 year of planning would make this trip a fruitful one.

Will be back in 2 weeks time :)

CC Gang Gathering

Met up the gang at Bugis+ for dinner just now.
Asian Kitchen sells delicious roasted duck!
HM is leaving for Melbourne next month, will work there for 2 months, so she will miss our X'mas gathering.
Had a good catch up with the gals, and we shall meet again for our X'mas exchange!

Thinking what to buy now...hehe! 

TV Drama Review #379 - Five Fingers 五根手指

No.of Eps: 30
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/SBS
Cast:
Chae Si Ra ~ Chae Young Rang
Joo Ji Hoon ~ Yoo Ji Ho
Ji Chang Wook ~ Yoo In Ha
Jin Se Yun ~ Hong Da Mi
Synopsis:
Yoo Ji Ho is gifted in music since young, but his half brother In Ha has to train hard to become a good pianist. In Ha is jealous of Ji Ho as his parents doted Ji Ho more than him. A fire made the boys lost their father, and their mum Young Rang takes over the company and plans for her revenge. Ji Ho is later framed for crimes he did not commit, and he found out that the ones who framed him are the people he treasured the most...
Review:
"Five Fingers" is not in my watching list as I did not like revenge themes, but once I started I did not regret my choice, though the plot has its flaws. Basically the plot can be in 2 parts, revenge by Young Rang & In Ha, and revenge by Ji Ho and Da Mi. Nobody won the game as they ended up suffering from the truths they uncovered. There are lots of twists & turns but they are not too surprising for me, all within expectations. I enjoyed Ji Ho's revenge as it made the drama exciting and I could not wait to see Young Rang and In Ha losing everything they had. Lolz!
It has been a long time since I last saw Chae Si Ra and her acting nailed every aspect of Young Rang perfectly. Young Rang's hatred towards Ji Hoon made me disliked her so much, but I can't deny that the actress is good.
Joo Ji Hoon finally returns after army and he's in good shape. While I liked his performance, I thought Ji Chang Wook's acting outshone him somehow. Perhaps In Ha is a more complicated person in the first place, thus JCW got more opportunities to display a wide range of expressions. JJH's Ji Ho was a nice guy in first half of the drama, so nice until I found him stupid coz' he was so slow to find out who sabotaged him.
Jin Se Yun replaced Ham Eun Jung of T-ara for the role of Da Mi. Actually I expected Da Mi to play her revenge games like Ji Ho, but she turned out to be a nice person throughout....nothing too exciting about her. Jin Se Yun's acting was not bad, but can't leave me with a deep impression.
The support cast was equally outstanding, even the baddies. OST was surprisingly boring to me. Kept hearing the same instrumentals, and I thought such dramas shld have more piano pieces.

Panic! Panic!

3 more days to my trip, and the itinerary is not ready yet!
First time so last minute...haha!

TV Drama Review #378 - Vampire Prosecutor 2 吸血鬼檢察官2

No.of Eps: 11
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/OCN
Cast:
Yun Jung Hoon as Min Tae Yeon
Lee Young Ah as Yoo Jung In
Lee Won Jong as Hwang Soon Bum
Lee Kyung Young as Jo Jung Hyun
Yoshitaka Yuriko as Luna
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
Min Tae Yeon isn’t your typical vampire or prosecutor. Rather than drinking blood from innocent strangers, he opts for blood sold on the black market in the posh bars of Seoul. He also has the uncanny ability to tell where the victim of his cases died, and how they died based on their blood’s smell and taste. The only person who knows his secret ability is Detective Hwang Soon Bum, and both end up working together in a new joint department between police and prosecutors solving murder cases. Joining them are rookie prosecutor Yoo Jung In and intern Choi Dong Man. Together, they solve murder cases, and each time Tae Yeon uses his “powers” to find leads on cases that seem unsolvable. But the one thing he can’t solve is: who was the vampire/serial killer that turned him seven years ago? And what happens when Jung In becomes suspicious of Tae Yeon’s “questionable” tactics in solving cases…
Review:
Finally, VP returns with a 2nd series. We're given more insights of issues which are not explained in season 1. This season was filled with lots of actions, more vampires, more blood and gore. Ha! I personally enjoyed this season, though there's nothing happening b/w Tae Yeon and Jung In again :(
Mr Yun's best role to date - Vampire MTY continues to shine in the drama, though there are 2 people who stole his scenes, one is Dr.Jo and the other, Vampire L. Tae Yeon seemed to be become a little helpless towards the end of the drama, perhaps he found out new secrets from his "brother", and L is a very strong competitor.
Lee Young Ah's Jung In is pretty much the same, though the lady is more feminine this season. I'm not sure if the last episode marks a new beginning from Jung In, as we do not know what happened to her in the end (can't divulge too much here). I hope she will have more meaty roles in the next season.
Stunning performance from veteran Lee Won Jong, especially in the last case. I nearly thought they killed him! Phew~
Lee Kyung Young's Dr. Jo is a new character in this season, but they finished him as well. I liked this character has he's well layered and he was turned into vampire under circumstances. Outstanding performance from the actor.
Nice to see Yoshitaka in 3 episodes. She's very natural, despite speaking Japanese while the cast speaks Korean. Luna is mysterious and Yoshitaka fits her role well. It's a pity Luna was killed by L too :(
Waiting for the next season....still got many unsolved mysteries!

TV Drama Review #377 - The Queen of SOP 胜女的代价

No.of Eps: 33
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/Hunan TV,FTV,GTV
Cast:
Zhang Han ~ Tang Jun / Tom
Chen Qiao En ~ Lin Xiao Jie
Godfrey Gao ~ Gao Zi Qi
Zhang Meng ~ Zeng Chu Chu
Coco Jiang ~ Bai Ji Qing
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
After a failed relationship with her former boss and ex-boyfriend Gao Zi Qi, Lin Xiao Jie decides to start her new career in Shanghai's Huanghai dept store with the support of her internet pal Tom. When she finds out that one of her employees, Tang Jun, is actually Tom, and that he's the heir of Huanghai, she begins to doubt his intentions, resulting in a series of misunderstandings.
Review:
It has been a long time since I last watched a China-Taiwan production.The director is Taiwanese hence the whole drama is quite "Taiwanese". Haha! The plot is the usual idol-styled plot between a commoner and wealthy boys' love story, coupled with lots of corporate issues.
The cast are all quite well known. Qiao En used to be TW idol drama queen, Godfrey is well- known as a model-turned-actor in TW, but I am not familiar with his previous works. Zhang Han is famous for his role as Dao Ming Si in China's version of "Hana Yori Dango". Zhang Meng is an uprising Chinese actress while Coco is a well-known host-model-actress.
Qiao En has been missing from TW drama scene, but I think her acting is getting better after working in Chinese productions for the past few years. Xiao Jie is a plain character because nearly every idol drama has such a female lead. She's not a weakling as she mustered her courage to solve her problems, and she's competent in her work. Qiao En is older than Zhang Han, but I liked their chemistry, very natural. On the other hand, I felt that her chemistry with Godfrey was kinda missing.
First time watching Zhang Han and his acting was not too bad, though still got room for improvement. Tang Jun is the usual super nice guy who willing does everything for the woman he loves without any returns. Nothing too special again. It's the chemistry b/w QE and him that made the drama watachable.
Godfrey has good looks, but his acting is still quite raw. Zi Qi is actually quite a silly guy despite being smart and rich. He gave in too much to his ex gf Ji Qing, but does not know how to break up with her thorougly. Unlike Xiao Jie, he seemed to be quite weak in handling relationship issues.
Zhang Meng's character is meant to be hated coz' she could not get her guy and took revenge of his company. Typical evil role.
Coco is pretty but her acting was not convincing. I could not stand her high-pitched voice either, especially when she quarelled with Zi Qi. It's irritating!

TV Drama Review #376 - Nice Guy 善良的男人

No.of Eps: 20
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/KBS
Cast:
Song Joong Ki ~ Kang Ma Roo
Moon Chae Won ~ Seo Eun Gi
Park Si Yeon ~ Han Jae Hee
Lee Kwang Soo ~ Park Jae Gil
Lee Sang Yeob ~ Park Joon Ha
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
Kang Ma Roo gave up everything for Han Jae Hee, whom he loves, but he was betrayed by her. To get revenge on his ex-girlfriend, he uses her step-daughter and successor to Taesang Group, Seo Eun Gi. Unfortunately, she suffers from brain damage and loss of memory after a car accident, and now Kang Ma Roo works to fix everything that went awry because of his blind sighted revenge and ends up falling in love with Seo Eun Gi.
Review:
"Nice Guy" is a melodrama with a heavy plot, so if you dislike revenge theme, then this is not for you. To be honest, I am not a melodrama fan, but the plot was interestng enough for me to give it a chance, plus I am curious to see Moon Chae Won's role.
The plot have a few twists & turns, but nothing too surprising for me. The 3 main leads ended up playing their own revenge games but nobody succeed. The drama kept a good balance between revenge, romance, and character development. Ending was a great one, though many things are left unexplained, but I guessed it's not that important.
First time watching Song Joong Ki, and I thought his boyish looks would affect his performance as his face is too pretty to act as a guy who have too much hatred. Luckily Mr Song proved that he could deliver more than just a pretty face. His acting was not too convincing initally but he hitted the right notes as the story progresses. Lots of mixed emotions from Ma Roo and we saw a determined man protecting Eun Gi later on.
Moon Chae Won's Eun Gi is a complicated character who suffered from several memory loss, and has to fake one in order to plot her revenge. Actually her life is too tiring and she has been acting strong for too long. MCW's acting is always convincing and Eun Gi gave her lots of opportunity to prove that she can act in more complex roles. Chemistry with SJK was not bad.
Park Si Yeon returns to dramaland with a very interesting character. I am glad she's up for the challenge. Jae Hee actually drives the whole story. Without her, Ma Roo and Eun Gi need not suffer. Even though MCW is the main female lead, I felt that PSY's Jae Hee was more like the main character in the drama. I guessed this is one of the best performance I've seen from PSY.
I am familiar with Running Man Kwang Soo, but actor Kwang Soo is the first time. I think he's alright here, acting was natural but character was kinda plain.
Lee Sang Yeob is a new face to me as well, but apparently he was in many dramas which I watched before. Joon Ha is always there for Eun Gi, but it's a pity that his sacrifice did not get him much returns.

TV Drama Review #375 - What is Love 花是爱

No.of Eps: 16
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/TTV
Cast:
Chou You Ting ~ Li Yi Hua
Chris Wu ~ Bai Zong You
Duncan Lai ~ Zhang Shao Qian
Kimi Hsia ~ Wu Xiao Lu
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
A woman, who is a stickler for romantic love and in hope of a monogamous marry life, meets a philanderer who loves to woo and break women's hearts. In their battle for love, will she surrender her principle and become one of his conquest, or will she succeed in making him a loyal husband? Review:
I am quite disappointed with the drama, because the plot and acting failed to meet my expectations. Initially the drama was quite interesting as Bai Zong You kept on thinking of how to get hold of Li Yi Hua, and when Shao Qian came into the picture, the love triangle became more exciting. However, as the plot moves on, Shao Qian admited defeat and "disappeared" from the drama, Yi Hua and Zong You are together but their romance bored me! The final twist at the last episode was really unnecessary, and I am not even happy about the happy ending. Haha!
I enjoyed Chris' performance when he was the support lead in his older dramas, but I began to doubt his acting when he leads a drama. This is not the first drama with him as the lead actor, but I found his acting to be exaggerated, and typical idol-styled expressions.
First time watching Chou You Ting, who used to act in TW hokkien dramas. Her acting was better than Chris, but Yi Hua was not a perfect character. To be honest, she's quite boring. I liked You Ting's scenes with Duncan more as the couple got more chemistry.
Duncan is missing from the TW drama scene for a few years, but he returned looking more matured and manly now. Noted that he's a Hong Konger, his mandarin was kind of unnatural, though accurate. Shao Qian is rather low-key and reserved, hence I can accept Duncan's rather stiff acting. Too bad, they did not made full use of Shao Qian's character by giving him more storyline.
Support cast like Kimi was okay, not much memorable scenes from them.

Sri Lanka next year?

Yeah I know my Japan trip has not even started...but plans for next year has began! Hahaha!
Just found out that from this year onwards, Sgporeans do not need e-visa to visit Sri Lanka for 30 days! Wow! That's good news!

The next question is....when am I going?

Winter trip shoppng

Went out with family and KH to buy winter clothings for our upcoming trip in 2 weeks time. Uniqlo is definitely the store to go as they got the best winter range.
I bought a fleece turtle neck, 2 pairs of socks and a pair of leggings. Tuan has some other tops to lend me so I have a few more thicker clothing for the trip, can save some money. Hehe!

I hope I am ready for winter!!!

TV Drama Review #374 - Sergeant Tabloid 女警爱作战

No.of Eps: 21
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/TVB
Cast:
Niki Chow ~ Lv Fei Xia
Michael Tse ~ Lan Yi Yi
Mandy Wong ~ Situ Jiao
Matthew Ko ~ Wang Zi Chuan
Oceane Zhu ~ Lan Ai Ai
Synopsis: (edited from Wikipedia)
Lv Fei Xia is a thirty-one year old Emergency Unit sergeant of the Hong Kong Police Force, who has been let down in love many times; so when she finds her perfect man Dong Zhao Liang (Vincent Wong), she jumps at the opportunity, never suspecting that he is a drug baron until she arrests him. To make things worse their relationship hits the headlines when tabloid reporter Lan Yi Yi stumbles upon it while following another story. Fei Xia and Yi Yi's paths continue to cross when pursuing duties and stories, sometimes co-operating and sometimes as enemies, sometimes saving the other and at other times the target of each others practical jokes. A mother goose to her section, Fei Xia comes into conflict with her new commanding officer Situ Jiao, nicknamed by her subordinates as Madam Kill as she demands perfection of her section. Before long Fei Xia finds herself falling in love with new recruit Wang Zi Chuan), but it turns out that he's Yi Yi's cousin. Pushed to her limits both at work and in love, Lui Hap has no choice but to fight back in the name of love.
Review:
This is one of the "warehouse" dramas which is not broadcast in HK, but only to overseas viewers. Sometimes I wonder how TVB make this decision. Anyway, "Sergeant Tabloid" is another police- themed dramas which focused on sisterhood and the main couple Fei Xia and Yi Yi. There is a good mix of actions and romance, and I pretty enjoyed the lead couple's performance. Ending episode was quite crappy as Fei Xia's ex turned out to be an undercop. What the heck? I rather they gave me a simple and straightforward ending rather than a rushed and nonsensical one. 
I haven't watch Niki's dramas for sometime and sad to say her acting was the same all thesewhile. I wished she could try some different roles as I am quite sick of her image as the nice girl. Fei Xia is pretty dull as a female lead because she did all the right things. I thought Mandy's Situ Jiao was more interesting than Niki's role. Luckily, Niki's chemistry with Michael was not bad and I enjoyed their scenes together.
Michael still can't shed his Laughing image, but Yi Yi is different from Laughing. Yi Yi has a "split" personality - he's ruthless when he's a reporter, but he's a very caring son to his family. He's not a playboy as he only loved one woman all thesewhile but that woman took him as a spare tyre. Quite silly isn't he?
Mandy Wong is all over the place! I am not sure if I liked Jiao, but Mandy's acting was not too bad as she portrayed Jiao differently. Her romance scenes with Matthew was alright, not much chemistry. Their romance lines are pretty boring as Jiao's father came in between them. Jiao became a "weak" woman as she chose to be a filial daughter and gave up Zi Chuan.
Oceane Zhu did a good job as Yi Yi's half sister. Her acting was quite convincing and natural. 

SKYFALL

Watched the movie with our old James Bond fan Mr. Chean and Tuan at Shaw Nex just now. Many of my friends who watched the movie commented that it was not good, perhaps due to the weak plotline and the lack of the mega actions towards the end of the movie. I do agree to some extent that the movie has several shortcomings:-
The last major showdown was held at Bond's childhood place, in the wilderness of Scotland. It's just a simple old house, and that means Bond could not use high-tech stuffs to kill the villians. That's why throughout the movie, they kept emphasising that "traditional ways are good at times". Now I got it...hahaha! Saying about this, the Aston Martin featured in the movie was old as well! The only high-tech stuffs are his gun and wireless radio.
Next, they made the villian sound like a very smart guy as he hacked into M's laptop and blew up M16 HQ. However, he was not too smart during the final showdown. Despite throwing so many dynamites into the old house, he could not kill Bond. But Bond could blaze the old house up with two gas cylinders. Hahaha!
This is probably the first 007 movie whereby the Bond girl was killed in a jiffy. There's not even a bed scene! Hahaha! Personally I felt that the Bond girl in "Skyfall" is actually M, who is appearing for the last time. The new "M" is gonna be a guy, and he's the actor who acted as "Lord Voldemort" in Harry Potter series. Interesting huh?
This is Daniel Craig's 3rd bond movie and he did a good job to portray a different side and style of Bond. To be honest, he is not the best guy to act as James Bond. My favourite is still Pierce Brosnan as he got the English gentleman aura. Nonetheless, Daniel has shaped a brand new James Bond through his 3 movies and I am looking forward to his 4th movie. 
It took me sometime to like Adele's "Skyfall". When I first heard the song, I felt it's too boring, even though the music is like the classic James Bond theme. Now I think it fit the movie pretty well...They should get more UK singers to sing the theme song!

TV Drama Review #373 - Faith 信义

No.of Eps: 24
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/SBS
Cast:
Lee Min Ho ~ Choi Young
Kim Hee Sun ~ Yoo Eun Soo
Yoo Oh Sung ~ Gi Chul
Lee Philip ~ Jang Bin
Sung Hoon ~ Chun Eum Ja
Ryu Duk Hwan ~ King Gong Min
Park Se Young ~ Princess Noh Gook / Queen In Deok
Synopsis: (edited from Wikipedia)
In the mid-1300s, approximately 1351, Choi Young is a bodyguard to King Gongmin of the Goryeo Dynasty. He’s 29 years old and has no regrets in life, no ambition for women or money, and his hobby is sleeping. Because he lives a life of no regret and gave up on love to be an unflinching warrior, he’s not afraid of death. He is a brave general of the Woodalchi warriors and loyal to the king. Yoo Eun-soo is a 33-year old plastic surgeon in the year 2012. She was originally a general surgeon, but quickly found that it was an overworked, under-paid profession and jumped ship to plastic surgery. Her dream is to someday open her own practice. But one day a strange man she thinks is dressed as a drama extra kidnaps her... and takes her back to the Goryeo era
Review:
It has been a long wait to watch "Faith" as the male lead changed from Lee Jun Ki to Kang Ji Hwan and finally, Lee Min Ho. I am not a die-hard Kim Hee Sun fan, but without her I doubt I would finish the drama. Haha! "Faith" does not have a very strong storyline as they wasted too much time circling around the same issue. I would prefer a much faster paced plot with a solid ending. (That also means I am not pleased with the ending episode, though I am fine with Eun Soo & Choi Young's ending) It's also a pity to see them killing off Lee Philip's character as the actor was injured.
Lee Min Ho has matured alot with his acting and he has been acting in manly roles thesedays. One might wonder if he can match with Kim Hee Sun as he's much younger, but fear not, they looked compatible. I liked how Eun Soo changed Choi Young into a different man and Lee Min Ho did pretty well to reflect on the changes of the general.
I am glad that I did not find Kim Hee Sun's acting exaggerating as this 2012 woman was transported to the past. Eun Soo did sound abit bimbo initially but she adapted to the new environment quickly and started to solve the "mystery". Actually Eun Soo is the most important character here as all the events are related to her time travelling. The sequence of her time travelling could be confusing but that's also the fun part in the drama. I still hope there are more scenes b/w Eun Soo and Choi Young as most of their scenes were pretty serious. Lolz!
Yoo Oh Sung and Sun Hoon acted as the baddies in the drama. Without Gi Chul, the drama would be freaking boring huh?
The next interesting couple is Gong Min-Noh Gook. Seriously, Park Se Young looked awesome here! She's actually quite young but her acting was really natural. This couple took up lots of scenes as well and their love story was equally touching.   
Overall, this is not the first time travelling saguek, and it won't be the last. However, the plot differs from other time travelling sagueks, so do check it out.

Gmarket

Finally my first Gmarket order reached me today, but I realised that I ordered the wrong casing for my handphone! Arrgghh....
Can only blame myself for not reading carefully :(

TV Drama Review #372 - Double Face

Double Face ~ Sennyuu Sousa-hen 潜入搜查篇
No.of Eps: 1
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/TBS
Cast:
Hidetoshi Nishijima - Jun Moriya
Teruyuki Kagawa - Ryosuke Takayama
Emi Wakui - Naoko Nishida
Atsushi Ito - Hiroshi
Fumiyo Kohinata - Taisei Oda
Synopsis: (edited from Asianwiki)
Two men, a detective and a gang member, infiltrate each other's organization. Soon they find their fates intertwined. Undercover cop Jun Moriya has climbed the ranks of a criminal organization and he has developed a relationship with gang member Hiroshi like a real brother. When his handler was murdered, nobody in the police force will ever know Jun's real identity.

Double Face - Giso Keisatsu Hen 伪装警察篇
No.of Eps: 1
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/WOWOW TV
Cast:
Hidetoshi Nishijima - Jun Moriya
Teruyuki Kagawa - Ryosuke Takayama
Emi Wakui - Naoko Nishida
Yu Aoi - Mari Suenaga
Fumiyo Kohinata - Taisei Oda
Synopsis: (edited from Asianwiki)
When Ryosuke Takayama was younger, he was taken under the wings of Oda, the leader of a criminal gang. Since then, Ryosuke Takayama was raised like a real son by Oda. Ryosuke Takayama then follows orders from Oda and becomes a detective. He rises through the police organization, while leaking information to Oda's gang. Following Oda's order, Ryosuke Takayama approaches Mari Suenaga, who is the daughter of a powerful politician. Meanwhile, Ryosuke begins to have disgust his double life and wants to end his relationship with Oda. Jun Moriya is an undercover police officer that has long infiltrated the criminal gang led by Oda. After many clashes with the gang and police, Jun Moriya wonders where his true loyalties lie. The only person that seems to understand him is Doctor Naoko. Ryosuke Takayama then contacts to Jun Moriya, who he believes is an undercover cop. Ryosuke wants to work with Jun to get rid of his double life and start anew. The two men, with double faces, begin to fight for the meaning of their existences and their lives.

Review:
"Double Face" is the Japanese version of "Infernal Affairs" and even though the plot is identical, the vibe of the movie is very Japanese. I would say that this is a good remake of the classic HK movie, but it's a pity that "Double Face" is not a movie.
Nishijima and Kagawa are veteran actors with solid acting. I am quite a fan of Nishijima and watching his undercover role is somewhat refreshing. Actually the 2 actors did not have lots of screentimes together as each episode focused on their individual stories. However, their characters are still very much connected. The ladies in the dramas are obviously flower vases, but I felt the chemistry between Nishijima and Wakui.
Another important character is Kohinata's Oda. Kohinata nailed his character very well and he's such a sly old fox.

CC Gang Gathering: LEGOLAND Malaysia

--Singapore Flyer Tourist Hub--
Met the girls yesterday at Promenade Station. The Sg Flyer tourist hub was quite a distance from the MRT. Found WTS counter and there was a long queue with people heading to Legoland. I think there were at least 5 coaches going to theme park at the same time.
Our coach departed at 9am, and the journey took about 2 hours. 
--Lunch @ Tengu Magic Teppan--
We decided to have lunch first so as to avoid the morning crowd. The restaurant concept is like "Pepper Lunch", but I think they have more choices. 

My Salmon sizzle rice.

 Our soda drinks. I ordered "Golden Right Leg" and it's nice!
--LEGOLAND--

We stepped into the themepark at 12 plus. Actually it's not very crowded. Queues for the popular rides were longer in the afternoon and we spent most of the time at Miniland.
The weather was actually cloudy and humid, but in the afternoon it was really hot and I could feel my face hitting up. The sky turned dark and it rained at 5pm plus. Luckily we managed to finish the more exciting rides like "The Dragon" and "Project X".
Have to skip those water rides as I was not prepared to get myself wet. Lolz! 
Thought of buying some keychains back home, but I found the souvenirs expensive. A simple brick keychain costed about 6sgd, a Lego man keychain costed about 8sgd  and their poncho costed 7 bucks! That is really ex! Well, we are buying things from a theme park, it's sort of expected la. Lolz!

Overall the theme park is pretty with many interesting zones. However most of the rides are catered to kids. So we should not compare to those exciting rides in USS. The park is still expanding with more water rides options and the hotel would only be ready in 2 years time.
Check out my pictures in Facebook.

LEGOLAND Malaysia 2012

Countdown~!

One more month to my grand Japan trip!

Still need to work on the details for our itinerary...have been slacking too much. 

Have to print out the documents, prepare winter wear...what else????

Suddenly so many things to do....:p

TV Drama Review #371 - Arang and the Magistrate 阿娘使道传

No.of Eps: 20
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/MBC
Cast:
Shin Min Ah ~ Arang / Lee Seo Rim
Lee Jun Ki ~ Kim Eun Oh
Yun Woo Jin ~ Choi Joo Wal
Han Jung Soo ~ Mu Young
Im Joo Eun ~ Mu Yeon
Yoo Seung Ho ~ Jade Emperor
Synopsis: (edited from Wikipedia)
A nobleman named Kim Eun Oh comes to town searching for his mother after hearing a rumor that she is staying at the village of Miryang. He has the special ability to see spirits, but pretends he doesn't because he gets annoyed when spirits come up to him asking for a favor. Arang has lost all her memories when she became a ghost and is unable to rest in peace until she finds out how she ended up dead. However, after appearing to three magistrates, none of them survive the fright of seeing her. When she finds out that Eun Oh is able to see her, she begs for his help. At first, Eun Oh rejects her request. However he changes his mind after seeing that Arang is somehow in possession of the hairpin that he gave his mother at their last meeting. He believes that if he helps her, Arang will regain her memories and give him information about his mother. Eun Oh teams up with her to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death, which may involve the mysterious nobleman Joo Wal and have supernatural ramifications. As Eun Oh and Arang gradually unravel the mystery behind her death, they find out the events that have been set in motion have been a trap of the Jade Emperor, in his attempt to capture a rogue Fairy of Heaven who feeds on human souls. The gods cannot touch her as long as she is in a human body. Arang and Eun Oh's participation in the events is crucial because this Fairy also happens to be the sister of Mu Young, the Grim Reaper of Hades, who cannot forget the love he once bore for his sister and is unable to bring her to justice.
In this game of supernatural stakes, Arang and Eun Oh who fall in love gradually have to pay the price because Arang has only three full moons in which to solve the mystery of her death and defeat their enemy.
Review:
Quite an interesting drama involving ghosts, jade emperor and grim reaper. Such theme is not common in K dramaland hence the high anticipation to see how they deliver the story. "Arang" basically has a good plot which flows well, despite some dragginess towards the end of the story. I was more interested to see how the couple defeated Mu Yeon rather than watching the couple's romance line though.
Shin Min Ah returns with another interesting character, but I saw traces of her previous role (9 tail fox) in "Arang". I am not sure if I am really impressed with her acting, but her emotional scenes were not bad.
Lee Jun Ki returned to small screen after serving his nation, and he's very man in the drama. He has successfully shed his girly image. Lolz! Eun Oh's role is less interesting as compared to Arang, but his storyline with his mum was pretty touching, and Lee Jun Ki delivered his acting very well in this story arch.
I believe many people are impressed with Yun Woo Jin's Joo Wal. This character was well layered and Yun's acting was very convincing. In fact Joo Wal is the most pitiful guy in the show. The ending is quite sad for him as well, but I like it. Ha!
Han Jung Soo and Im Joo Eun did a good job as the ill-fated siblings. I liked their story - entangled with love and hatred.
Last but not least, Yoo Seung Ho's Jade Emperor is perhaps the most youthful and handsome god I've ever seen on TV. I thought his role was just a cameo, but he has lots of scene with Hades. Lolz! These 2 guys are in fact one of the important characters in the drama as the whole story was controlled by them.

TV Drama Review #370 - Queens of Diamonds and Hearts 东西宫略

No.of Eps: 25
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/TVB
Cast:
Roger Kwok ~ Qi Xuan Wang
Fala Chen ~ Zhong Wu Yan
Sharon Chan ~ Xia Ying Chun
Synopsis: (edited from Wikipedia)
King Qi is the inept ruler of Qi, a state surrounded by larger neighbours and beset with hidden internal and overt external threats. The guardian spirits of Qi come to the aid King Qi by arranging for Zhong Wu Yan to become the Queen of Qi. Zhong Wu Yan is skilled in magic, martial arts and the use of strategms, however she is born with a prominent birth mark on her face and King Qi finds her ugly. The opponents of Qi in turn arrange for King Qi to become infatuated with Xia Ying Chun. King Qi takes both Wu Yan and Ying Chun as co-wives, with Wu Yan becoming Queen of the East Palace and Ying Chun becoming Queen of the West Palace. Although naive and kind hearted, Xia Ying Chun is jinxed by Qi's enemies and all of King Qi's attempts to please her lead to disaster after disaster, problems that only Wu Yan can defuse and fix. Although originally she only married King Qi out of duty for the people and nation of Qi, Wu Yan comes to desire to be more than King Qi's troubleshooter and a wife in name only.
Review:
The story of Zhong Wu Yan has been used many times in different Chinese productions, and this is my first time watching the HK version. The plot followed the original story on high level, but much of the details were changed to fit the genre of the drama - comedy. I would say the drama is pretty lame most of the time, but it's still watchable.
Roger is good with comedic roles, though I consider his King Qi to be quite a lamer. It's a waste that Roger still needs to play such shallow roles with exaggerating expressions and actions. His acting is better with layered characters.
Fala did well in her role, though I find Wu Yan too skillful. Lolz! There were a few soul swapping scenes for her and she did very well to differentiate different characters.
Sharon Chan is getting better, and she portrayed vixen Ying Chun very well. Hahaha! Like Fala, Sharon also had soul swapping scenes, and she handled the change well.
Other cast was not too bad, and I realised Raymond Cho is getting smaller roles as compared to the past. He's not even getting 2nd lead roles and I am quite puzzled. Already seen him acting like a C lister in several dramas. Quite a pity....

New Phone!

Thanks to Facebook!
Managed to secure a Galaxy Note 2 with E.W & Mr. Chean's help this afternoon.
Have to sacrifice my $600 including changing of nano sim card, and my plan turned out to be more expensive as the corporate offer was reduced to 10%. Pathetic!

Realised there are so many new apps and functions and I think I really need to spend at least half a day configuring and setting up all the stuff. Haha!

Tuan will be joining me next month!

Welcome to NOTE world :)

Upcoming CC Gang Gathering

Finally my Legoland is confirmed!
Thanks to Groupon for the good deal, saved quite a bit of money.
This will be our gang's first overseas trip, though Legoland is only 15 mins away from Tuas checkpoint. Haha!

Looking forward!

TV Drama Review #369 - The Hippocratic Crush On Call 36小时

No.of Eps: 25
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/TVB
Cast:
Kenneth Ma ~ Zhang Yi Jian
Tavia Yeung ~ Fan Zhi Yu
Mandy Wong ~ Hong Mei Xue
Him Law ~ Yang Pei Cong
Synopsis: (edited from just-tvb.blogspot.sg)
Zhang Yi Jian is a higher trainee in Neurosurgery department. He takes his work seriously and strictly follows the rules. His group of medical interns respects him just as much as they fear him. Jian wants to fulfill his younger brother's wish to study overseas but he is paralysed. Jian works hard and concentrates on his job in order to save enough money and did not think about relationship until he meets Zhi Yu, who's the daughter of Jian's mentor. Yu initially dislikes Jian as she sees him as a bootlicker, but soon she realises that Jian is a kind-hearted person despite his cool surface. Yu takes the initiative to pursue him. On the other hand, intern Cong also falls for Yu, and is disappointed to know that she likes Jian instead.
Yu finally found her long lost younger sister, Mei Xue, who happens to be one of the interns as well. Mei Xue learns that Yu likes Jian and decides to fight for her love, causing Yu to avoid Jian as he realises that Yu is the one for him.
Yu suffers from backaches and realises that she has a tumour near her spine...
Review:
"On Call" has made it to one of my favourite TVB medical series, and perhaps one of the best series in 2012. The script was well written and the characters were well layered in terms of characteristics and developments. The drama as a good balance of medical cases and relationships. This is one thing that I like about HK medical dramas as they are not lopsided, unlike their Korean counterparts (just too much focus on rivalry and medical scenes. Too dry!)
The ending of the drama was considered "happy", though to me it's more like an open ending as they did not kill off Tavia's Yu. We all knew her cancer will never be cured....On the other hand, I like the pairing of Mei Xue & Benjamin. Their scenes are spicier than Jian-Yu. Haha! 
I always enjoyed Kenneth's acting, even though he can be quite woody at times. Yi Jian can be very strict and friendly at the same time, and Kenneth managed to show these difference. His emotional scenes were not overdone, and I thought he did better than Tavia in terms of emotional display.
Tavia has finally rised up to super A lister and no doubts that her acting is good. However, sometimes her acting can be a little over, and sometimes Mandy Wong outshined her.
I've sort of "complained" that I am seeing Mandy everywhere thesedays. While I thought she's "overused", I have no doubts that she's a good actress. All her characters were different and she portrayed each of them different with distinct images. This is good for an actress as I don't see the shadows of her previous role. (Many TVB artists are suffering from that...) I won't be surprise to see her leading in a drama soon, though she is still green to be a A lister.
Tavia's real life boyfriend Him Law is getting attention as well, but his outlook restricts his acting and choice of characters. I am afraid he will become another Ron Ng.
Other supporting cast are great, and I like the side plot of Jian's younger bro. Very touching but sad moments in the drama....
"On Call 2" will come very soon. Highly anticipating!

Phone woes

Went to M1 @ Nex just now. Looks like Samsung is getting rid of 3G models.
S3 3G version costs $398, and its 4G version is another $100 more. Note 2 4G is only $70 more expensive than S3 4G, which means I either get S3 3G or Note 2 4G.
I've no intentions to get Note 2, but if M1 does not carry S3 3G or I have to go to some ulu stores to get, then I will get Note 2 instead.
$500++ for a phone is quite ridiculous, but the telcos made other phones not worthy of their price tags :(
So, both phones are not available in the stores now, and I don't when I can change my phone. Have to make do with E.W's Galaxy W for now.

Haiz~~~

It's time for a new phone

My mobile phone went haywired this morning as it kept showing no service. Ended up need to borrow colleague's extra phone for work. I think it's really spoilt as it could not read my SIM card. Haiz~
That means, I can change a new phone this weekend. To my disappointment, I think Galaxy Note 2 will only be here with LTE version, and I am not keen to use 4G. Haiz~~~
Looks like I just need to settle with a 3G Galaxy S3...

Will there be miracles?

TV Drama Review #368 - Haeundae Lovers 海云台恋人们

No.of Eps: 16
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/KBS
Cast:
Kim Kang Woo ~ Lee Tae Sung
Jo Yeo Jung ~ Go So Ra
Jung Suk Won ~ Choi Joon Hyuk
Nam Gyu Ri ~ Lee Se Na
Kang Min Kyung ~ Hwang Joo Hee
Synopsis:
Lee Tae Sung, an elite prosecutor, went to Busan to investigate on a drug boss and bumps into So Ra, who's the daughter of a former gangster. Tae Sung lost his memory after an accident and falls in love with So Ra. Choi Joon Hyuk comes to Haeundae Hotel as the new vice president, and he is interested with So Ra as well. Tae Sung is identified as the successor of the hotel, but this also means that he's the son of President Yang, whom So Ra's family hates as he snatched the hotel away from them.
Tae Sung's real identity is later revealed as Joon Hyuk realises that he's legally married to Lee Se Na...
Review:
The plot is actually not very appealing to me, but I watched for the cast. For normal rom-com production, the cast here is considered stellar as they got pretty well-known actors to act as supporting roles.
I found that the scriptwriter added too many elements into the drama. It's targetted as a rom-com, but there are too much focus on the hotel issues and on Tae Sung's identity and crisis. So Ra's character became pretty minor towards the end.
Great to see Kim Kang Woo back in drama land, and this is perhaps the first time I saw him acting in such a not serious role. He did very well to different Tae Sung & Namhae (his name when he lost his memory).
I was pretty impressed with Jo Yeo Jung's performance in "I Need Romance", and I just watched her movie "The Concubine" as well. Her acting is very versatile and I enjoyed her So Ra very much. Like her Busan accent as well.
Jung Suk Won returned to small screen at a pretty fast rate after "Rooftop Prince", and Joon Hyuk is quite an interesting fella. While he is very nice most of the time, he's not an angel. He still did some bad stuff due to his feelings for So Ra. At least he's not an one dimensional character.
My last impression of Nam Gyu Ri was in "49 Days", and I thought she was not bad. It's a pity that Se Na's role is under developed. She's just there to make things worse, especially when she found out that Tae Sung's still alive. Unlike Joon Hyuk, Se Na really turned from angel to devil...lol!
Kang Min Kyung is the famous half of Kpop grp Davichi, but she is pretty plastic to me. Lolz! Her acting was not too bad, but Joo Hee is not a nice character.  
Other idols like Park Gun Il (Supernova) and Park So Yeon (T-ara) also appeared as So Ra's family members. Realised that So Yeon's character went MIA halfway through the drama, and apparently she was dropped by the drama production la. Must be due to the T-ara controversy. Haiz~

危险关系

"Dangerous Liaisons" is a Mandarin movie, directed by a Korean director. It's great to see Jang Dong Gun acting alongside with 2 well-known actresses Zhang Ziyi & Cecilia Cheung. This movie is based on a French novel, and there were many movie adaptations. The other version I watched many years back was "Untold Scandal", acted by Bae Yong Jun & Jeon Do Yeon.
Back to the movie itself, the plot was easy to follow, and the characters' development was straight forward. It's not an artsy movie, and neither is it filled with intimacy. What I really like was the actors' chemistry and their acting. The director's filming is also different from other Chinese directors with his unique angles and style.
Jang Dong Gun is definitely familiar with his role, as he just acted like one in his korean drama "A Gentleman's Dignity". I appreciate the actor's efforts to speak his lines in mandarin, though his voice is still dubbed. JDG controlled his emotions very well within his eyes, loved his intense look at Zhang's character.
Zhang Ziyi is quite a well established actress so there's no doubts with her acting. Even though her character is not the female lead, she definitely stood out against Cecilia Cheung's role. Haha! As for her character, I felt that her change in liking JDG's Fan was abit too "sudden". What made her craved for his love? Being alone for too long? Can't stand his sweet words? Not very convincing to me that she suddenly loved him so deeply, till the extent that she willingly gave us her husband's legacy.
Cecilia's past works were never interesting to me, but I know she can act. She did not disappoint me with her brlliant performance as Ms. Mo. She had this very classy look and all her dresses looked so well on her. Ms. Mo controlled all the events within her hands, but she ended "losing" the game.

Maybe it's time to read the original novel :)

3rd year working anniversary

Time really flies~
Saw my entries for my first and second work anniversaries.
Every year I tell myself I must leave soon, but in the end, I am still stuck in the same place.
I am not working hard enough to leave this place...thanks to my laziness.

This year is filled with mixed thoughts and events.
Cracks appeared everywhere, be it people or work issues.
Trust falls apart.
Unfairness starts to pop out from somewhere.
Uncertainties arise as my team is not stable (in terms of manpower).
I am tired, so are my colleagues.

Knocking off on time is nearly impossible, so I really treasure the days when I can step out of office before the sky turns dark.

Not looking forward to next year.
I want to move on.
I need to move on.

Month of Farewells

Two colleagues leaving this month.
Wonder who's next? Perhaps the "little girl" from my team. Haha!

I am getting less contented with my job recently.
Maybe maybe....

First day at new office

My first day ended 2 hours ago.
Everything went well today as we're more or less settled down.
Good to work with my colleagues again, but need sometime to adjust to the noisy environment. Haha!
Weather was freaking hot in the morning, and I did not manage to step out for lunch. Heard the weather was terrible during lunch hours. OMG!

Luckily, the air con is working :)

New Office

Unpacked my stuff at my new Mountbatten office this morning.
My unit reunited with my boss's unit, still need to get use to it after 9 months of separation. Haha!
Office space was much bigger, but I am not pleased to know that we do not have direct access to pantry and toilet. In order to go to pantry and toilet, I've to walk out of my office and walk pass the carpark. Imagine when it rains...I have to carry my umbrella out leh!
I also need to get use to long distance walking to Old Airport Rd hawker centre, which is a good 10 mins walk, provided weather is good.

Good luck to me on Monday.

"搬家"

明天很忙啊！
提早收工后得准备搬家，星期六还得去新的办公室整理一下。
第5次搬家。。。希望一切顺利！

TV Drama Review #367 - Higashino Keigo Mysteries 东野圭吾推理系列

No.of Eps: 11
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/Fuji TV
Cast:
Nakai Kiichi ~ Kurashiki/the navigator (ep1-11)
Karasawa Toshiaki ~ Ishigami Junichi (ep1) Tanaka Rena ~ Mochizuki Naomi (ep1)
Sakaguchi Kenji ~ Sato Takuya (ep2)
Matsushita Nao ~ Tamura Atsuko (ep3)
Mizuki Alisa ~ Asano Yoko (ep4)
Sorimachi Takashi ~ Nakagawa Nobuhiko (ep5) Kato Ai ~ Nakagawa Naomi (ep5)
Nagasawa Masami ~ Aoyama Yayoi (ep6)
Toda Erika ~ Nakamachi Yukiko (ep7) Hiraoka Yuta ~ Morita Hisashi (ep7)
Miura Haruma ~ Nakaoka Ryo (ep8)
Hirosue Ryoko ~ Iida Tomomi (ep9)
Shinohara Ryoko ~ Yamaoka Asako (ep10)
Tanabe Seiichi ~ Murakami Teruhiko (ep10)
Suzuki Kyoka ~ Nakao Akiyo (ep11)
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
11 mysteries, 11 actors. Japan's favorite mystery author, the world of Higashino Keigo comes to life on screen through an assortment of short stories. For every episode, there will be a different lead actor and story, it's themes varying from mystery to comedy to horror to human drama. Kurashiki is the navigator as he takes you on a journey through each episode, seasoned with Higashino's authentic spices, failing your assumptions with vivid story composition and an even bigger betrayal before the finale.
Review:
It has been sometime since I last watched a Japanese drama which consisted of several stories. If you're familiar with J detective dramas or novels, Higashino Keigo would be a familiar name to you as many of his works were adapted into dramas and movies. I did not know that Higashino has written so many short stories, as his usual novels are much more popular.
The drama managed to secure many Japanese A-listers to act as the story lead, but the drama flopped in ratings. Once again, it's proven that plot is an important factor that determines whether the drama wld do well. Actors are somehow secondary.
Personally, I only found some of the stories entertaining, like Ep 1 featuring Karawsawa, Ep 2 featuring Sakaguchi, Ep 7 featuring Toda (who performed very well), Ep 9 featuring Hirosue (the story got a nice twist, but Hirosue's acting was average) and Suzuki's Ep 11. The rest was medicore in terms of plot, mystery factor and acting.
The stories are not connected to each other, so you can just watch the episode featuring your favourite actor. It's a pity that this drama somehow affected Higashino's "brand name", but then again, there are too many mysteries authors who wrote similar stuff.

Sound of Samadhi 2

Got free tickets to attend this concert, organised in conjunction of a Buddhist meditation centre's 22nd anniversary.
The concert is held at Kreta Ayer's People's Theatre, which is not a common place for such concerts. Haha! The audience are mostly followers of the meditation centre hence Tuan and I felt awkward as we don't know anyone.
The two Japanese musicians performed instrumentals with Japanese flute and Irish Harp. Their music is very soothing and peaceful.
Bought their CD, can play at home :-)

posted from Bloggeroid

BIG BANG ALIVE TOUR 2012

--Singapore Indoor Statdium--

Attended my first paid Kpop concet just now. Most of the audiences are teens, and they started screaming before the show started. Super exaggerating! I felt that I am getting old...lolz!
The 5 guys made the crowd went wild from their very first song and we waved our lightsticks non-stop. (I was actually quite tired..lol!) They sang most of their songs from "Alive" album, covered some of their older hits, and each member had their solo sessions, except for GD & TOP, who sang their songs together. Their encore was pretty long, but to my disappointment, they repeated the songs from "Alive". I thought it would be better if they sing something else.
T.O.P is the most "un-high" member during the concert. He just injured his arms a few days ago, so he did not dance too much, but he did made the crowd crazy with his flying kisses.
Taeyang pleased everyone as he stripped his shirt..not once but twice...lol! Daesung was pretty covered up this time round while Seungri and GD were as usual.

Overall, Korean concerts focused alot on stage design and effects. Their HD screens were super clear and sharp. The concert was only 2 hours inclusive of encore, not as long as Mandpop concerts. The crowd was really high throughout, and I've not experienced that in Mandopop concerts though.
Language is not a barrier at all as many people can sing their songs in Korean, but it's a pity that the guys cld not fully conversed in English. Haha!

My seat is not very cheap, but I am pretty satisfied with the view. Haha!

Finally, thanks GC for accompanying me, and your lightsticks :)

Hectic Week

My crazy schedule will start later.

Need to stay in office and wait for my testing to commence at 11pm till midnight.
Friday morning also can't be report to work too late as I got no cover.
Friday evening must knock off at 6pm sharp and rush to Indoor Stadium for Big Bang concert. I wonder if I got time to buy dinner....
Saturday afternoon I have to OT as I need to clear my backlogs.

Can't wait for Sunday to come. I need to rot at home :)

Unproductive month

This month my team has to overcome with a ridiculous work volume, but no increase in manpower. My colleague has "make noise" to the person up there, but we're still waiting for people to join us.
Is it really that difficult to find people?
He could find replacement for his team immediately, but I waited for 2 mths just to cover my original team strength, and till now, that space is still empty.
I am not pleased with him taking away someone who is supposed to join my team.
I decided not to show my displeasure.

But who knows? If I still don't see someone next mth, I might just do something.

Haha!

TV Drama Review #366 - Rich Man, Poor Woman

No.of Eps: 11
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/Fuji TV
Cast:
Oguri Shun ~ Hyuga Toru
Iura Arata ~ Asahina Kosuke
Ishihara Satomi ~ Natsui Makoto
Aibu Saki ~ Asahina Yoko
Synopsis: (edited from Asianwiki)
29-year-old Toru Hyuga is a wealthy man. He first started to run an internet website from his small room and his hobby began to make a lot of money. He dropped out of high school and formed software company Next Innovation with his friend Kosuke Asahina. The company became very successful. Today, Next Innovation is the top tech company where young people want to work the most. However, Toru has trouble recognizing the faces of people and he is looking for Chihiro Sawaki, who is his mother. His mother left Toru when he was very young. One day, Toru finds a woman named Chihiro Sawaki in his company...
Makoto Natsui is in the 4th year at prestigious Tokyo University, but she still has trouble in finding a job. As time goes by, she gets more nervous. One day, Makoto sees a magazine featuring an interview with Toru Hyuga. She goes back to her apartment and does research on his company Next Innovation. Makoto then attends a presentation for new recruits at Next Innovation. Toru walks up to the platform and gives a speech to the potential new hirees. While giving his speech, Toru humiliates Makoto in front of the others. She is embarrassed, but stands in front of him and talks back to him. Toru asks her for her name. She tells him her name is Chihiro Sawaki. As soon as Toru hears the name, he becomes confused.
Review:
I have not found a Japanese drama so addictive for a long time. RMPM is somewhat a romance drama, but I think it's more about Hyuga's story. Basically Hyuga is mirroring Facebook's creator Mark Zuckerberg. Hyuga is an IT geek, besides coming out with creative innovations, he cld not seem to "function" well in his daily life. Unable to remember people's name is one good example. The drama's main plot direction is the relationship between Hyuga and Asahina. Asahina's betrayal was quite dumb, but this also made Hyuga grow and become a better man. The next side plot is Hyuga and Natsui's romance, which most of us waited for more developments. Haha! I am glad we got a satisfying ending, and the ending itself was properly done.
It has been quite sometime since I last watched Oguri's drama. He did a good job as Hyuga! The geeky aura came out so naturally from him. Lolz! Chemistry with Arata was amazing, though they are both guys. Haha! I actually looked forward to Hyuga and Natsui's scenes in every episode, and I really heart them.
Ishihara did not impress me with her previous roles, but for once, I found that she's great as Natsui. Many people mentioned she resembled Ariel Lin, and true enough, she looked like Ariel, and her character was somewhat like Ariel's Xiang Qin in ISWAK. Haha! Natsui is not a montone character. She is growing as well - from a grad who cld not find a job, to someone who assisted Hyuga to achieve something, and most importantly, she changed her man! Haha!
I was surprised to see Aibu in supporting roles recently. What happened? Anyway, Yoko's image was quite matured for Aibu, who is commonly seen with a more kawaii image. Yoko is a very straightfoward and daring woman, unlike Natsui. She chased after Hyuga, but did not help him when she found out about her brother's wrongdoings. It's a pity that I did not like Aibu's character here.
Enjoyed Miwa's songs in the drama. I've been playing them in my mp3 :)

Haw Par Villa 虎豹別墅

I've not been to Haw Par Villa for more than 10 over years, and I could not remember much of the things as well. Thanks to Circle Line, it is so convenient to travel to the attraction nowadays. You can visit the attraction free of charge, and there are more tourists than Singaporeans. Haha!
Took lots of photos today, and I am quite pleased with some of them. It's a long entry so enjoy the photos!

Ten Courts of Hell begins...

Pavilion & Pagoda.

福禄寿

白蛇传

西游记

Pond of Legacy