If plucky and poor Jin Da Hua from the TW-drama King Flower (Chinese title Jin Da Hua’s Extravagant Adventure) had plastic surgery to transform into a ladylike sylph to masquerade as Du Liang Yen, then neither incarnation is anywhere close to the real personality and style of leading lady Nikki Hsieh. Nikki did a few small roles in dramas before … Continue reading →
I’m not gonna get my hopes up, but I can at least express pure unbridled delight when I watched the just released 4-minute trailer for the upcoming TW-drama Just You (Chinese title Just Want to Make You Love Me). This isn’t rocket science and clearly every single rom-com cliche is getting thrown into a blender, but hot diggity this ensuing … Continue reading →
Now that I’m all caught on up Cruel City (Heartless City), it’s neat to work backwards like Memento on its trail of drama goodies. I did keep this drama on my radar when I knew Jung Kyung Ho was cast as the lead in his first post-military service comeback drama. But the inclusion of Nam Gyu Ri totally turned me … Continue reading →
When one’s beloved novel is getting a live-action adaptation, there is always the fervent hope that it doesn’t get butchered tempered by the dream of seeing it finally come to life outside of the words on the page and the images in one’s own imagination. I’ve been through the process so many times whether its English novels, Japanese manga, or … Continue reading →
I continue to love Monstar with a steady affection of the type reserved for my trusty pup. It’s so sweet and earnest, so effortless and straight forward. We’ve got the requisite eclectic group of high school students comprising all the major stereotypes, smushed together by a common goal, and chipping away at their scars and barriers through the bonding experience … Continue reading →
Watching a live drama has its benefits and drawbacks, and this week I worried Monstar would hit that major wall for me whereby the wait is simply too long between episodes when the actual material is darling but just not that gripping. This is a high school coming-of-age story through music, about friendships past and future, about moving past failures … Continue reading →
There must be so much behind the scenes going-ons that I wish I were a fly on the wall in production companies. Sonia Sui, who reportedly turned down SETTV’s King Flower to focus on her movie career, is headed back to the small screen to make GTV’s upcoming The Pursuit of Happiness. Her co-star is none other than SETTV main … Continue reading →
Have you guys ever played “One of these things is not like the others”? It’s an awesome teaching tool because visually children pick up differences quicker than by being told something is different. When I saw the latest stills for the upcoming sageuk Sword and Flower (English romance novel-y title The Blade and Petal), I burst out laughing and that … Continue reading →
I can sum up the entirety of this post in eight words – This. Is. The. Best. Drama. Airing. Right. Now. Three months ago I wrote that the first quarter of 2013 was by and large a disappointment. I wondered then if the new dramas premiering in the Spring would end the quality drought and herald a return to addicting and … Continue reading →
I was initially going to pass the upcoming MBC weekend drama Scandal: That Shocking and Immoral Incident because neither of the two leads Kim Jae Won nor Jo Yoon Hee are that appealing to me to check on solely for them. The title of the drama and the story also sound potentially cringe-worthy, with a birth secret that rivals all … Continue reading →
It would be an understatement to say I’m wickedly looking forward to the upcoming weekend K-drama Goddess of Marriage. Sure, it sounds just like Can We Get Married? as a bunch of married and single couples probe the institution of marriage in modern Korean culture. But there are plenty of been there-done that concepts but if done right there is … Continue reading →
I profess to being an old hand at enduring the once-a-week episode grind of TW-dramas and J-doramas, but even then the unexpected and totally worth it love for Monstar is making me feel like a kid in a candy store. I want MOAR and I want it NOW. LOL, and here I am pretending to be a fully functioning adult … Continue reading →
I may abhor Lin Guan Jun with all my heart and soul in King Flower, but I really really appreciate having James Wen rising up through the ranks in the Taiwan entertainment industry with hard work and dedication. He’s fast approaching Susan Lucci status having been nominated for four Golden Bell Awards (Taiwan’s Emmys) and lost each time. Four is … Continue reading →