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 →
Summer totally crept up on me this year, probably because the weather has been unusually chilly with the June gloom. Summer is usually a jam-packed entertainment season since when the students are out the entertainment industry loves to throw more goodies at them. Soon Taiwan entertainment will get back one very delicious goody in the form of Joe Cheng, who … Continue reading →
If ever there was a chance for every Korean actor to try out a sageuk, 2013 would be that there. The television schedule is so jam-packed with sageuks there is literally something for everyone. Even if the drama ends up sucking a transformative performance in a sageuk still counts for something, for example Kim Tae Hee had made me a … Continue reading →
I was on a flight Sunday that was massively delayed, which worked out to allow me to chill at the airport lounge and watch all three of the new TW-dramas premiering that night. SETTV had Love Around with Annie Chen and George Hu, going up against CTV‘s Love SOS starring Daniel Chan, Jian Man Shu, and Patrick Li, and both … Continue reading →