Second time can be a charm and I certainly hope so for the upcoming C-movie adaptation of popular Chinese romance novel Summer’s Desire (The Bubble of Summer). The first go-around was the miscast and overwrought Chinese-Taiwanese drama of the same name with Peter Ho as Ou Chen, Barbie Hsu (Da S) as Xiao Mo, and Huang Xiaoming as Luo Xi. Watching it made me want to hurl things but this time I’m all smiles checking out the young fresh movie cast with C-actress Huang Can Can (above) as fiery Xiao Mo, HK-actor Him Law as rich complicated Ou Chen, and Chinese-Canadian actor Jerry Yan in the role of black horse misunderstood Luo Xi. The three leads are very easy on the eyes and even better that they look right for their respective parts. I’ve always been Team Luo Xi so obviously I’m setting myself up for heartbreak but at least this Ou Chen doesn’t look nasty smarmy and makes me want to spork my eyes out. Check out all the pretty posters and movie trailer below, with the film set for a July 22nd premiere date.
Trailer for Summer’s Desire:
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The book is crap. With such terrible source material there really should be zero expectations.
From watching Him Law in TVB dramas... unfortunately hes just one of the many average Hong Kong actors... not bad not good and nothing special....
Why do I see Gigi Leung's name on all 3 of the posters?
Ooh she's a producer?
I don't find Him Law good looking. His acting is average at best. I am really surprised to see him as the lead.
This looks more like the high school years focus. But let me take a moment to disagree with you Ms. Koala, Barbie and Peter OTP killed it in summer desire. That drama and autumn concerto are really the only Chinese dramas I have ever enjoyed.
Perceived OTP chemistry is subjective, imho, and Ou Chen+Xia Mo actually really worked for me in "Summer's Desire". And whatever Peter Ho did for his character Ou Chen--and even though Peter Ho is not in the least as good-looking as Huang Xiaoming--well, Ou Chen was for me the most fascinating part of that drama. It was his happy ending that I rooted for, more than any other character's.
Lolol: "[Summer's Desire] and autumn concerto are really the only Chinese dramas I have ever enjoyed."
They're Taiwanese dramas, but I agree with the sentiment, with one addition: Someone Like You, which I also enjoyed a lot. As for Chinese dramas, I quite liked "Battle of Changsha", and I've heard great things about "Nirvana in Fire".
Oh I thought Taiwanese drama still counted as Chinese dramas? I should have said Chinese language dramas. I wanted to watch battle of Changsa but I read somewhere about a sad ending so I decided not to torture myself. I'm going to check out someone like you.
Agree with you Adnana. The Peter Ho portrayal of Ou Chen was superb and this role was one of his best acting work. I rooted for his Ou Chen too and cried many times watching him and Barbie's relationship unfolding in the drama series. For me the chemistry between Peter and Barbie worked very well and it also worked between Barbie and Huang Xiaoming.
I feel that the Peter Ho produced "Summer Desire"was one of the better Chinese dramas produced in later part of last decade.
I strongly recommend "Nirvana in Fire.", it is one of the best Chinese dramas in 2015 along with "The Disguiser" and " The journey of Flower". These three are superb productions and are worth watching!!!
Replying here to your other post.
I'm honestly not trying to split hairs regarding the Chinese-language dramas; I just find TW and C dramas different in style especially, but also content. Not to mention, C-dramas are more likely to adhere to stricter (censorship) guidelines. So in general, I prefer to not lump TW and C productions together.
As for "Battle of Changsha": it has a happy ending for the main romance; the sad part is that no one else from the heroine's immediate family survives the war.
In my experience, maybe 90% of C-dramas are not even worth watching because, regardless of how superlative the budget and the acting talent involved might be, the story seems written by brainless baboons (no offense to monkeys everywhere!) and inevitably goes off the rails, and/or spins in endless circles of noble idiocy or servings of straight-up character lobotomies etc. etc. Amidst that, "Battle of Changsha" is a rare gem, with a tightly written screenplay that holds strong (i.e. stays sane) until the end.
Battle of Changsha was on my to be watched list but seeing such glowing reference has upped it on my list. I'm not a fan of Wallace Huo, found him wooden most of the time and Journey of Flower was one of my most hated series. I thought my brain was going to explode from all the things I hated about it. I never read the book and don't intend to.
I'll give Battle of Changsha a go if only for the lead girl who looks mighty cute in her uniforms.
tyn123,
I agree that Wallace Huo isn't the best actor. He might, in fact, be the weakest acting link in "Battle of Changsha", but even so, the director managed to extract a very okay performance out of him, imo. And of course, the rest of the cast are just wonderful. Definitely give this drama a chance. If it doesn't capture you, you can always drop it after a couple of episodes. :)
I agree. I dont think there was miscast too. All three own the drama and they all acted very well. Ou Chen was intense. You get so drawn to him and his love/obsession for Xia Mao. This movie looks great in my angle but can it be better than the drama? I will wait and see.
I've never read the book but I found none of the three main characters were likable in the old drama. Don't know why. I just didn't appreciate the three main leads.
koala: "I’ve always been Team Luo Xi so obviously I’m setting myself up for heartbreak..."
I think I've read somewhere that the producer said they were leaving the movie (and the heroine's romantic choice?) open-ended. Which would be unlike the novel, and such a cheap copout imo, and disappointing to the point that I almost don't even want to watch the movie anymore (and I was so excited before!), but yeah... there you have it.
I thk this is a miscast as well cause Him law isnt such a great character. Hes not actually bad but i dont thk he can show depth. The trouble with d taiwan version was Barbie Hsu failed to potray the nuances. This movie version i thk i will pass too. I didnt really like the manga which coincidentally i just finish reading
I disagree with Barbie comment, the girl in the book annoyed me with her attitude, I felt like she was leading them on too much. While Barbie made her more human, I could relate with her choices a lot more and admire her for her conviction even though she was pushed into a different path then what she would have chosen.
I enjoyed Peter Ho & Barbie Summer's Desire. It caught me,their performance caught me.They delivered the story so well with their superb performance. Good match.
Actually the one I did not like was Barbie in the role in Summer`s Desire.
Peter was okay for me.
But HIM LAW playing same role as Peter????? Seriously????!!!!
HIM LAW played many roles in HK Drama but his acting is just so AVERAGE (sorry if I offended someone out there but I am only talking about his acting not his look or person)
My personal opinion is that Him Law role is misgast.