I feel like I’ve fallen into a twilight zone and I can’t get out. In that weird place, a bunch of folks are cosplaying characters in the classic epic wuxia novel Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils by Louis Cha. Wallace Chung, having made a name for himself playing wimpy or douchey or emo wuxia heroes, has decided to wig out and don … Continue reading →
Okay, I’m either getting easier to please or I’m just desperate for a good drama adaptation of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils since the last one I liked was the now completely out-dated 1982 TVB version. I’ve tried three times to watch the Zhang Ji Zhong 2003 version and I fall asleep each time. Maybe I need more cheesy in my wuxia. … Continue reading →
Director Lai wasn’t joking when, after hitting ratings gold with his craptastic drama adaptation of the wuxia novel The Magic Blade, he announced that he was setting his sights even higher and remaking Louis Cha‘s masterpiece Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. Apparently the ninja assassins I sent to kidnap him and brainwash this idea out of his head didn’t work, as the … Continue reading →
I need someone to hold me before I collapse from laughing too hard. The first teaser and stills have been released for the upcoming C-movie adaptation of the K-drama Secret Garden, and I swear this looks as bad as I expected it would. And maybe just a smidge worse. Starring Wallace Chung, Tan Wei Wei, and Korean singer-actor Kangta, the … Continue reading →
I’m still shaking my head at the inexplicable success of The Magic Blade (Tian Ya Ming Yue Dao) this summer in reviving the pure wuxia genre in C-dramas, because that drama was so crack-a-doodle and nothing like its source material the Gu Long novel that the result was like watching William Hung sing “She Bangs” on American Idol. The collective psyche … Continue reading →
I may loathe Secret Garden despite it starring two of my all-time fave actors as the leads, but I acknowledge how wildly popular it was all around Asia. China has been planning to do a remake for the last year, and the planning stages dragged on as the project went from a drama to a movie. Now it’s definitely happening … Continue reading →
Hurray for fervent prayers being answered! The cast of Best Time (the drama title for the adaptation of Tong Hua’s modern novel Secrets Hidden in Time has been changed to 最美的时光) held an open media day recently and tons of goodies were revealed. The best tidbit came from the PD who said 3 different endings for the drama are being filmed (which … Continue reading →
The filming for the drama adaptation of Secrets Hidden in Time continues to chug along, and I continue to be fascinated by it. I don’t think I’ve ever shipped two leads this hard before the drama even began, but here I am drooling over every new still of Janine Chang and Wallace Chung. This is bizarre, since I’m not a … Continue reading →
The miracle of casting really echoes how dramas are a visual medium and how the actors look does affect how I react to it. While I love Tong Hua‘s Da Mo Yao the novel and loathe her Secrets Hidden in Time, when it comes to the drama-adaptations of both, I’ve flip-flopped my interest because I dislike the casting of the former while … Continue reading →
After five Tong Hua novels in a row, I’ve confirmed that I’m not her fangirl. I happen to be a fan of some of her novels and that’s about it. If I were her fangirl then I wouldn’t have to heart to do this. But it simply must be said – Tong Hua’s modern novel Secrets Hidden in Time is … Continue reading →
2013 is going to be the year of the Tong Hua novel-to-drama adaptations, with three of her novels ranging from currently being filmed to being cast, all aiming for a 2013 broadcast. All three are being helmed by different production companies, so it’ll be a competition to see who did the best with the casting to the filming. Da Mo … Continue reading →