在下晴明 - Qingming is in the house.

在下晴明
Yes! Yes! YES!!!
Qingming is in the house!!!

That is THE most striking difference between Yin Yang Master and Dream of Eternity, where I was like - Huh?...what??? Detective Dee?? Where is Qingming??? Where oh where is my yin yang master? THE Yin Yang Master? And in this Chen Kun just delivers the wickedly enigmatic and alluring essence of Qingming, a diabolically powerful, magical, misunderstood half human half demon that walks the world in between.

This version of Yin Yang Master's plot is much simpler and thus, better executed. It hones in on the life and death bond between a demon familiar shi shen/侍神 and their master zhu ren/住人. Falsely accused, half human, half demon Qingming is estranged from his zhu ren Baini and the Yin Yang Bureau. They reunite in a desperate attempt to recover an artefact that can set a powerful demon free; a quest that tests and lays bare their true loyalties and exposes past betrayals. Chen Kun and Zhao Xun's chemistry never fails to thrill, captivate and move me and they effortlessly convince me of their life and death bond. What I also love is that Qingming is not just uselessly waving his hands in the air reciting incomprehensible incantations. He really jumps into the thick of the fray in a way that leaves no doubt that he is in it to win it. In every life endangering encounter there is that nail biting sense of urgency, intensity and imminent peril. This fantasy world with its human and demon yao/妖 inhabitants has a very adorable, young adult and enthrallingly magical feel to it. In many ways, it captures the essence of Disney in that it speaks to two audiences both kids and adults with its clear message that both humans and demons can be monsters.

The only thing I really did not enjoy in this movie were the second leads - both actors were juvenile and did not deserve the screen time that they got. The animated characters like the Evil Red Ghost and side characters like the Peach Blossom Fairy were far more compelling and managed to capture my heart over those two jokers.

Overall this was a very entertaining movie - Chen Kun fans like myself will obviously be able to find many things to like and I can see kids just absolutely loving it. I rate it 7.5.

Leia Mais

Sleeping with the enemy.

This drama weaves some of the most prominent historical figures of China's Three Kingdoms period into a fabulous and exciting tale of intrigue, adventure, and romance reminiscent of a Dumas plot. This is a highly fictionalized yet disarmingly convincing exploration of the motives and relationships of the key figures of the day that manages to stay broadly true to history.

The last Han emperor has a secret that could shake the foundations of the empire and shatter his tenuous hold on power. Aided by a small intimate circle that includes the empress, his boyhood friend Sima Yi and a dwindling number of old Han ministers, he embarks on a desperate quest to escape the clutches of Cao Cao and restore the glory and power of the Han empire. But the cruel strategies and sacrifices needed are at odds with his benevolent nature and inclination to show mercy to his enemies. Ma Tianyu impressively pulls off a complex portrayal of this seemingly weak and powerless emperor who frustratingly sticks to his guns against all odds to ultimately succeed in winning the hearts and minds of his enemies with his enlightenment and magnanimity. It is very clear that the emperor and the notorious Cao Cao have very similar world visions and goals but their methods are extreme opposites - one rules by fear and sheer brute force while the other kills you with his kindness. Both are pragmatic and when the rubber meets the road, have little choice but to sleep with the enemy in order to achieve the outcomes they are after. We get to decide for ourselves who was more effective, who really won their epic struggle for power and whether it was worth it.

There are no real villains in this drama - even the emperor's enemies are portrayed in a very balanced manner though it is fair to say that the so called villains out-acted the heroes. Guo Jia is my favorite character in the drama - I often found myself rooting for him and oddly moved by his and Cao Cao's loyalty and affection for each other. And Tse Kwanho's Cao Cao must be by far the best Cao Cao I have ever seen - so cunning, powerful and menacing I was actually scared of him. Some of the most gripping and intense scenes in this drama are when Cao Cao and the emperor go toe to toe. My one big criticism of this drama is Han Dongjun's Sima Yi is shallow, boastful and unemphatic. For a highly rated actor to miss the mark on such a key character is just not acceptable. While some of the bromance moments with the emperor are decent, most of the time he is not in character and does not convincingly pull off the legendary strategist. Cao Pi is also extremely well acted but overshadowed by all the other outstanding performances. There is quite a bit of sizzling romance this drama, notably that of the emperor and empress as well as Guo Jia's but Sima Yi's was just kind of flat.

This drama is full of suspenseful moments and action as danger lurks around every corner. The second arc however is a bit draggy and requires some suspension of disbelief but that is also where the awesome Guo Jia emerges so don't abandon it there.

I will stop here and keep this short as it would be a crying shame to spoil this one. I highly recommend this very enjoyable and under appreciated drama that I would rate higher if not for Sima Yi

Leia Mais

Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies.

Mysterious Lotus Casebook is a dark 江湖/jiānghú story about the ultimately futile aspirations and obsessions of the martial world. In an epic battle for supremacy, Di Feisheng of the dark Jinyuan Alliance challenges Li Xiangyi, the leader of the righteous Sigu sect. Both men disappear from the martial world afterwards, leaving a vacuum at the top and their sects in disarray.

Ten years later, aspiring young detective Fang Duobing comes across Li Lianhua, a famous itinerant doctor whom he is convinced is a quack. Determined to expose him, he attaches himself to Li Lianhua as inextricably as a wad of chewing gum in his hair. They run into Di Feisheng, who immediately recognises in him his old nemesis Li Xiangyi. The two old rivals remorselessly keep Fang Duobing in the dark as they try to figure out who sabotaged their fight and search for Li Xiangyi's deceased sect brother Shan Gudao's corpse. An unlikely friendship develops as they work together to solve a series of strangely connected jiānghú cases.

Plot wise, this drama is solid but dry and unremarkable. The cases all unfold at a fast pace and are easy to follow, but do not engage audience participation. They are simply plants for clues to a treasure hunt for artefacts that unlock the main conspiracy. Despite a hint of the supernatural, the cases fall short of chilling or suspenseful. The hidden mastermind behind the main conspiracy is pretty obvious and revealed fairly early on, and even the ironic twist at the end is not much of a surprise. Both villains are one-dimensional jiānghú archetypes driven by vanity and delusions of grandeur. Wang Herun's scarily convincing portrayal of the Saintess of the insane cackle elevated the role beyond its one-dimensional character blueprint.

\What makes this drama a success are fascinating main character designs, strong rapport among the three leads, the scintillating dialogues, and well-choreographed and exciting action sequences. The real mystery is about who Li Xiangyi was and why he was killed. The answers are at surface trivial. Li Xiangyi was perched at the top of the martial arts world as the world's best swordsman and leader of the righteous sects. This made him the envy and natural target of virtually everyone. However, Li Xiangyi was far from the perfect hero of Fang Doubing's idealistic imagination. In fact, he was a self-absorbed, pompous ass who believed the universe revolved around him and his worldview. His swordsmanship is matched by a brilliant, cynical mind and a razor-sharp tongue that, according to poor Ai'man, can slay a person with a few words. If there is one thing lacking in Cheng Yi's otherwise stellar performance, it is that his Xiangyi is too empathetic. This masks his many flaws and hides how insufferable and difficult he was as a person. It took me awhile to realise that his sect had some inkling who Li Lianhua really was but they refused to recognise him because they just did not want Li Xiangyi to come back.

As for Li Lianhua, he is just a shard, a detached, sickly, disillusioned and world-weary remnant of the glorious Li Xiangyi. Cheng Yi really compels with his heart rending expression of this facet of the character singing his swan song without a shred of self pity. I lived for the sudden bursts of energy or sheer willpower that momentarily revives the breathtaking, dazzling and dizzying swordsmanship that propelled Li Xiangyi to dominate wuling. Only to all too rapidly diminish back into Li Lianhua again, a wickedly unapolagetic compulsive liar whose mantra is clearly, "Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies." This is how he keeps everyone, and especially the hapless Fang Doubing, at arm's length; to avoid new personal entanglements. Fang Doubing (which literally means "sickly") is a parody character, the typical naive, high-minded, young adventurer raring to make a difference in the martial world. The dialogue is well written and humorously illustrates how grudgingly Li Lianhua is moved by this pesty young detective and tacitly accepts him as his successor. However, this kind of clichéd relationship dynamic of the clueless sidekick that elevates the brilliant sleuth is too common and quickly becomes boring. Li Lianhua's lies to Fang Doubing went on for too long to the point it became cruel and unnecessary. Their relationship is over explored and shortchanges the more interesting relationship in the drama.

What disappoints me most is that the writers opted to very cursorily explore the more complex and interesting relationship between Di Feisheng and Li Lianhua. Di Feisheng is the most layered villain in this story; that rare antagonist who transforms into a protagonist. Like Li Xiangyi, he rises to the top of his sect through sheer martial prowess rather than by winning hearts and minds. They are enemies who become friends, both betrayed and searching for answers. But his story is sidelined for much of the drama, his backstory is rushed, and his relationship with Li Lianhua does not really get a chance to develop and grow. Yet the best moments of this drama, are when all three of them are together, like a found family.

I like that this ends with an action-packed finale and satisfying final confrontations with the antagonists. But as for the plot, the best reveal is when Fang Doubing figures out who Li Lianhua is, which isn't really a revelation to the viewer. And I can't really pinpoint when the plot reaches its climax, as none of the high points make a strong impression. As for the ending, it is fitting but not as definitive as I would have liked. Most of Li Lianhua's journey is about putting his affairs in order and offering closure to those he cared for; to help them move on from Li Xiangyi who in all the ways that mattered died ten years ago. Yet Li Lianhua continues to string poor Fang Doubing (and us) along, which is too cruel and inconsistent with the drama's core message about letting go of past attachments and moving on. These kinds of endings that try to please all audiences really annoy me. I still enjoyed this superbly well written drama, immensely even though I think it had the potential to be much better. For me, this is an excellent 8.5/10.0 and a highly recommended watch.

Leia Mais

This is like a fine dining experience - to be savored and remembered. It deserves an 11/10.

Nirvana in Fire is an exceptional drama by any and all standards - nothing else I have watched comes even close to surpassing it. It truly checks all of the boxes in terms of a complex plot, an incredibly talented cast, excellent screenplay, well executed action scenes and overall movie-like visual impact and production quality.

This is the story of Lin Shu's single minded quest for justice and reform. His father, a powerful general in command of the 70,000 strong Chiyan army is framed as a traitor while away defending the Liang state. Victorious but battle worn, he is slaughtered along with his entire army before they have a chance to return to the capital. Young Lin Shu barely survives and re-emerges 12 years later as Mei Changsu, the mysterious leader of the powerful pugilist Jiangzuo Alliance. His appearance is completely altered and he is a sickly, shadow of the vigorous young warrior he used to be. He returns to the capital amidst a power struggle between the crown prince and his brother Prince Yu as the Divine Talent, a brilliant strategist regarded as an emperor maker. He plays them against each other and is on surface allied with Prince Yu while he surreptitiously advances the out of favor Prince Jing. The complexity in the plot arises in the brilliant and occasionally cruel strategies he employs to uncover the full extent of the conspiracy and all those complicit in his family's murder as well as to advance Prince Jing's position. This is not a story about revenge, it is about justice. It is also about reform as justice is worthless without reform. Making abiding changes to the court and the system that would be overseen by a just and moral ruler was an equally important outcome to Lin Shu/Mei Changsu. To achieve his mission, he had to do many things he considered despicable. Cleaning out the corruption in the court was the only thing he could do to make the senseless massacre of his family and comrades in arms mean something.

This is an impossible show to binge watch - I can at best get through two episodes in one sitting. We learn from the get go that Lin Shu is living on borrowed time. That imbues the drama with an omnipresent sense of sorrow and inevitability that grows as it steadily progresses towards the end. Whenever the mood gets unbearably heavy, there are welcome moments of brilliantly timed comic relief. The first episode is probably the most difficult to follow as most of the key characters are introduced all at once .Thankfully there are many excellent character guides online that are super helpful in the beginning. There are no unnecessary characters in this show; each one was brilliantly cast and has an important role in the unfolding storyline.

The role of Lin Shu/Mei Changsu is a complex one and not at all easy to play. This was without a doubt Hu Ge's defining role and he just killed it. Time and again he was able to subtly convey a multitude of intense emotions behind a superficially stoic expression. As Mei Changsu the strategist, he was brilliant, ruthless, calculating, Machiavelli and breathtakingly cruel when necessary while battling his self-loathing for the person he was forced to become. He is filled with longing, regret and fear of discovery as he re-encounters his former love, friends and relatives under this new identity. He masterfully portrays a callous indifference that masks unbearable hurt as his actions and morals are misunderstood by his best loved friend. As they inevitably begin to recognize his old mannerisms and think the unthinkable, he cannot help but tease them with the truth before skillfully evading their suspicions. The chemistry between Lin Shu/Mei Changsu and the rest of the cast and in particular Prince Jing (Wang Kai) is mesmerizing. Twelve years later Prince Jing still misses Lin Shu, his boyhood friend and cousin and was never quite convinced the Lin family could be guilty of treason. Despite his contempt for Mei Changsu's lack of moral scruple, the principled Prince Jing's soul knows him and he is eventually drawn into a strong and touching bromance with him . Equally moving were the rare smiles, flashes of humor and fatherly affection that emerges when Lin Shu/Mei Changsu teases Fei Liu, his lethally skilled and fiercely loyal boy protector. Despite his crushing physical weakness, he desperately lies to shield his loved ones from the extent of his suffering and true condition. I found myself grieving for not only the lost friendships and love affair that could have been but for the Lin Shu that Mei Changsu can never become again.

The character development in this drama is so sophisticated and multi-layered that even the worst villains of the piece are to evoke a sense of pity for their human failings and have some redeeming aspects. The story builds towards an epic climax that sees Lin Shu/Mei Changsu confront the person ultimately responsible for this terrible and unforgiveable betrayal. Both actors in this final showdown were phenomenal but I think the tyrant's rant from rage,to hubris, to denial, to defeat , to defiance and then finally to almost but not quite remorse truly blew me away. It is in this encounter that Lin Shu delivers his most excoriating, most tragic and and most damning indictment -"If you knew your son you would never believe he could betray you. If your son knew you, he would not have refused to believe you betrayed him." The script writing is powerful and we are treated to many emotionallly loaded lines but for me, this one was the one that summed up the root of the tragedy and made me weep for both of them. But Lin Shu/Mei Changsu was beyond tears. It is this ability to convey bottomless sorrow without shedding a tear that made this Hu Ge's unparalleled performance.

{Warning - Spoiler ahead]

I love it that this show pretty much ends after the climatic peak with most of the loose ends tied up well ahead. Even though we know from the very beginning that Lin Shu/Mei Changsu dies, it still broke my heart. Nonetheless, the drama comes to a very fitting and satisfying end. While this was an enthralling, immersive journey from start to finish, I think I need to take a break with something less intense. I suspect this will remain the very best drama I have ever seen for a long time although I still love Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms best.

Leia Mais

Strong on character but short on plot.

A Lonely Hero's Journey is about a young man's brave and lonely resistance to Japanese occupation. It is set in Suzhuo in 1941, just four years before Japanese forces withdrew from China. At the time, Suzhuo was administered by the Wang Puppet Regime; which was formed by a faction of the KMT that defected to the Japanese. The Wang Regime called themselves peace seekers and didn't have much authority but are regarded as traitors in history. While Suzhou was not the epicenter of resistance against the Japanese, it is a gorgeous and culturally significant historical city in China. This drama highlights the scenery, architecture and culture of Suzhou, including authentic famous Suzhou ballads. Its not your typical highly trained spy vs spy espionage story but rather about the defiance of ordinary people.

Gu Yizhong is a Western educated architect and the young master of the prominent and patriotic Gu family in Suzhou. On a rescue operation went awry, he gets framed as a Japanese traitor and is isolated and condemned by friends and family. He infiltrates the Suzhuo Secret Service station run by Zhou Zhifei to find out who the real traitor Cell 8 is. Zhifei of course knows who the real Cell 8 is and doesn't trust him for one moment. Zhifei and Yizhong are parallel characters that at a high level, share a common hatred for the Japanese. As individuals they are pushed to make difficult choices at pivotal moments of their lives. To survive they both have to be flexible; sacrificing a father, or a a son and their first love. Somewhere along the way Zhifei lost himself and became corrupt whereas Yizhong manages to hold on to his beliefs. In Yizhong, Zhifei sees the better man that he could have been but is not. In the guise of a mentor, Zifei goes after him like he is exorcising a ghost; destroying all that Yizhong values to bring about his moral downfall. Zhang Songwen is compelling as this selfish, dark and diabolical character, who occasionally allows glimpses of his lost humanity to shine through in his dealings with the two women he loves, his son and his mentor Mr Li.

This drama is very well cast and in addition to Zhang Songwen, is anchored by impressive portrayals by veteran actors Zhang Fengyi and Zhang Yao. In fact I think Zhang Fengyi's Gu Xixing stole the show. The drama starts to go downhill when Xixing exits and completely falls apart after Ou Xinping exits. The younger cast also delivers credible performances against the older actors. At times, Zeng Shunxi's portrayal lacks intensity and could be nuanced with inner conflict when it comes to how he feels about Haimo and Ruotong. Instead, he gives us nothing there so the way they ended left me scratching my head.

One of the best features of this story is how strong all of the women are in their own ways. Ou Xinping is not just a survivor, she is a killer with immovable convictions. Zhang Haimo is cool headed and calm, someone who is motivated by personal connections and loyalty rather than ideology. Unfortunately Haimo's character is destroyed after her walk away is walked back almost as an after thought to try to salvage the shipwreck of a storyline. This is Chen Duling's best role to date and I must commend her effort in even matching the lip movements of the very hard to sing Suzhou ballads. At sharp contrast is the passionate Xiao Ruotong who is far more emotional and willing to sacrifice for her ideals. Wang Yuwen's acting feels very genuine, evoking a moving picture of a young girl somewhat overwhelmed by the tide of history.

Despite wholehearted performances from the cast, this drama is strong on character but short on plot. The plot arcs lack logic and don't hold up well against close scrutiny. It is debatable whether Yizhong needed to make such immense sacrifices to isolate himself as a lonely boat that infiltrates the Suzou Bureau. His codename 孤舟/Gū Zhōu or Lonely Boat is too close a homonym to his surname Gù/顾 he may as well advertise that he is the CPC spy. The identity of Cell 8 is too obvious, diminishing the sense of suspense and is uncovered without much help from him. I was ready to fling my wine at the TV when the enemy simply allows Yizhong to walk away with the only key piece of military intelligence he obtained because he shamed his country for occupying China! After Japan lost WW2, it was absurd that Zhifei still stuck around simply to try to frame Yizhong rather than fleeing like the rat he is. But I guess in these kinds of stories the bad guy doesn't get to sail off into the sunset with his ill gotten gains. This is one of those dramas that can only be enjoyed if you watch the character stories and completely turn off your brain when it comes to the plot.

Even though this starts well and the acting is good, it starts going downhill just before the halfway point. I can only recommend watching this if you are a fan of any of the main actors or if you are interested in Suzhou culture. If not, there are too many better Republican spy dramas out there with tight and suspenseful plots. My overall rating 6.5/10.0.

Leia Mais

Gangsta's Paradise

I bounced off walls with joy and excitement when I came across this movie. It has been too long since we have seen a hard core Hong Kong style triad martial arts movie like this. Not to mention the cast - Louis Koo, Sammo Hung, Raymond Lam; literally a Who's Who of veteran Hong Kong action super stars. Adapted from Andy Seto's manhua "City of Darkness," this movie is set in the 1980s in the Kowloon Walled City, or Hak Nam/黑暗 as it was known to locals. Dismantled in 1993, this was once the most crowded place on earth, packing 35,000 people within 6.4 acres. This infamous den of iniquity was a gangsta's paradise; a dystopian, lawless enclave of mostly refugees where crime proliferated and triads kept the peace with their own brand of street justice. The replica of the Walled City is viscerally authentic down to the chaotic claustrophobia of structure piled precariously upon structure and the stench of overflowing humanity permeating the dank, narrow corridors.

This fast-paced action-packed movie that pays tribute to the golden age of Hong Kong cinema exploits tried and true themes of loyalty, brotherhood and vigilante justice. Chan Lok-Kwun (Raymond Lam) is a mainland refugee that sneaks into HK in the 1980s. He runs afoul of triad boss Mr Big (Sammo Hung) and in a thrilling chase, jumps from the frying pan into the fire of the Walled City. Through blood, sweat and bone-crunching fights, he earns the grudging respect of Typhoon and his underlings, who keep the peace within the Walled City. The narrative rushes through not that well fleshed out subplots involving past grudges and shady business deals but who cares? They are simply excuses to stage one innovative, physics defying action scene after another featuring fighters dressed to kill at 1980s comic-con. While Typhoon and his rival Mr Big anchor the narrative, the younger crew really hold their own up against the intimidating cast. I laughed out loud at their moments of dark humor and brash camaraderie.

One of this movie's top highlights is the the gritty, awe-inspiring recreation of the dystopian underworld within the Walled City; a place that spawned countless video games and works of fiction. The action scenes pay tribute to the manhua with outlandish cartoon-like combatants and the death proof brawls featuring wildly exaggerated superpowers. The fight scenes got more fantastical as the movie progresses and climaxes in a crazy, all-out extended take down of an almost invincible villain. I was on the edge of my seat with excitement and anxiety the entire time; thinking more than once that the bad guy was gonna win. Nonetheless I felt the best fights were early on, where despite the astounding athleticism, they were still grounded in some semblance of reality. I had my heart in my mouth watching Chan Lok-Kwun's opening shattered glass skirmish, the way he fights his way out of tight spaces on the bus and his parkour like first foray into the Walled City. This is how real martial arts action scenes should be choreographed and filmed. Later on, while still inventive and gripping, the action strays a bit too far into the realm of the fantastical.

This movie is a must watch and not just for old times' sake; preferably in Cantonese and on the big screen. It shows that Hong Kong cinema is still alive and well and stands the test of time. I am only rating this an 8.0/10.0 because the plot could have been better but the overall entertainment value vastly exceeds this rating.

Leia Mais

Soul searching.

This is an absorbing sci-fi suspense thriller built around themes relating to the immortality of the soul and its ability to reincarnate after death. The city's top prosecutor Liang Wen Chao (Chang Chen) takes on a high profile, inexplicable and grisly murder of a terminally ill tycoon. As Wen Chao examines the key suspects - the son, the young wife, the deceased ex-wife and the business partner, cutting edge technology and superstitious rituals intersect to further muddy waters already tainted by greed, love, hate, misplaced loyalty, revenge and man's futile quest for immortality.

Without spoiling it, I think the whodunit aspect of it is quite well done from the way the suspicion shifts from one suspect to another until the impossible is eliminated down to what remains as the improbable truth. I did not completely buy into some of the motives of the key suspects and I was irritated by the over-acted supernatural twist that failed to deliver the chiller thriller effect it was striving for. As for the howdunit aspect I will just say it was much more fiction than science but this is the case with most sci-fi thrillers. Since it does deliver an interesting twist, it is very forgivable so just go along with it and suspend disbelief.

This movie's strongest selling point is Chang Chen and Janine Chang's performance as the core investigative team and lead couple. The kind of stoic, desperate soldiering on Chang Chen does as a terminally ill man desperate to do his best for A Bao and their unborn child with what little time he has left is heartbreaking and moving. This is really Chang Chen's best role in terms of how he conveys such deep emotions and soul searching with so few words and how his journey gives him unique insight into the victim. Beyond his incredible weight loss, I was also riveted by how effectively Chang Chen conveyed the impression of a man calling upon the last legs of his energy, whose mind is very much alive as his body fails. This is not a love story but because of amazing acting by the lead couple, I can see the depth and complexity of their unspoken emotions, how well they just fit together, understand and sacrifice for each other. This is the part of the movie that will stay with me.

Leia Mais

A kiss is just a kiss.

This drama is set in 1949 during the prelude to the Communist Party of China's descent upon Shanghai the most strategic city in China at the time; which the nationalist Kuomintang had vowed to defend. The loss of Shanghai paved the way for the CPC to sweep into power and the rest is history. Given this backdrop, it is no surprise that this drama is often mischaracterized as a spy thriller. And certainly while espionage is a prominent feature, it is not at all what this drama is really about. It is much more a slice of life drama that explores the social economic challenges and shifting political ideologies that affects friends, families and lovers at this great inflection point in modern Chinese history.
 
I normally heartily dislike dramas set in tumultuous times like this because one cannot realistically expect happy outcomes. So I put this off for the longest time even though I am a huge fan of Chen Kun. But to my surprise, I enjoyed this drama almost from start to finish. The drama deftly avoids being melodramatic or maudlin by telling the story as a witty and intelligent dark comedy; effectively masking the sad, somewhat cynical undertone. I laughed my head off at the comical antics of the flighty widow who tries to turn back time with her first true love, a married man who is clumsily both tempted and terrified by her. It was only much later that it struck me what an ironic and cruel trick fate played on them and their families. Beyond Chen Kun, this drama is well cast with actors with excellent comedic timing.
 
The newly widowed Huang Liwen (Wan Chen) encounters Qiao Zhicai by chance as they both return to Shanghai. Having just lost her husband, a communist agent, Liwen tries to stay connected to him or perhaps give meaning to her loss by embracing his cause. Qiao Zhicai on the other hand is a a street savvy rogue and a bit of the black sheep of his family who ably navigates through the hyperinflation and shortages during those chaotic times. Their antagonistic initial interactions and misunderstandings blossom into a touching friendship and they become increasingly entangled into each other's lives. Together they try to protect the work of Qiao Lijie, Zicai's identical younger twin and a brilliant nuclear physicist. Their activities invite the scrutiny of the brutal secret police, putting them and their families in harm's way.

Where this drama shines is in its satirical portrayal how the main characters respond to provocation, conflict and deprivation. On the one hand, the drama mockingly lays bare the shallower, superficial and baser human traits of many of the characters and then redeems them by actions that also reveals their capacity for good. This darkly humorous depiction of familial bonds, sibling rivalry, love and betrayal as well as loyalty and friendship is vivid, hilarious and wistful. The overarching plot however will not satisfy true spy buffs although there are some thrilling, suspenseful moments and twists. It amounts to little more than a bunch of rather amateur spies pitted against a bunch of equally incompetent villains and making huge sacrifices for a mission that is ultimately of dubious historical significance.

I cannot praise Chen Kun's stellar performance in this drama enough. He pulled off both twins with such different personalities so convincingly I really believed there were two of them. Some of my favorite moments were when the brothers switch places - when Zhicai pretends to be Lijie he gives you the barest glimpse of Zhicai's concealed personality and vice versa. That is incredibly difficult to pull off and I don't believe I have ever seen it done better. I ended up loving both brothers and to me, Qiao Zhicai has become an all time favorite drama character. On the other hand, I found Wan Chen's Huang Liwen somewhat lacking. To be fair, it is a complex, messy role - a widow who is struggling to find meaning in her loss and existence. But she never convinces that her zeal for her cause is grander than love or friendship or even life itself. And she needs saving all the time. She only has three expressions - woebegone, helpless and cold. For her, a kiss is just a kiss; a means to an end with little true passion. I find her feelings for and attitude towards Zhicai unfathomable and frustrating. I don't think that is what the writers intended. Although she almost redeems herself at the end, I still find her unworthy of the sacrifices and risks Zhicai took for her.

For me this is an 8.5 that would have been a 9.0 if a better actress played Liwen. Nonetheless, I very much enjoyed the story and dark humor - it is very rare to see it done so well in c-drama. I can highly recommended watching this even though as a consequence, I suffered a major relapse and started cyber stalking Chen Kun again.

Leia Mais

We are back!!! 铁甲依然在 (tie jia yi ran zai).

Novoland Eagle Flag is about a time in fantasy world Novoland's history where the outlawed Tianqu warriors are revived for an epic showdown with growing evil forces of the supernatural Chenyue cult.

These are tumultous times in Novoland, where the ruling Yin Empire only has a tenuous grip on its power over its vassal kingdoms. The emperor and the ruling nobles of the various kingdoms are protected by their own armies led by skilled generals. By coalition and mutual self interest, an unstable balance of power is maintained. Internal politics and power struggles within the empire and the kingdoms complicate the plot. These sub threads are quite well written but can be ignored or followed loosely without losing track of the story-line. This inherent instability is manipulated by the Chenyue cult who preys on the superstitions, insecurities and ambitions of the ruling elite. As war breaks out when a powerful warlord seizes power, the might of the Chenyue's undead Redteeth army grows surreptitiously with the death count. This sets the stage for the return of the formidable Tianqu warriors, historical protectors of the realm until banished for killing a despot. Only the Tianqu warriors, lead by their chief suzerain with a legendary sword, had been able to suppress the Chenyue.

Our three main characters are destined to play a critical role in Tianqu's return. They are bound together by a touching friendship as they come of age during these troubled times. Asule is crown prince of the nomadic Qingyang tribe who are fierce warriors in the harsh wintry North. He is sent at young age to Eastland as a political hostage. Yuran is an orphan from the elite of the Winged Tribe who is a princess in name at the Xiatang court. Ji Ye is the unfavored elder son of a nobleman whese mother was a concubine. They were lonely children whose paths crossed in Xiatang and essentially become each others' families. Yet they are pawns in this ruthless world where their friendship is constantly tested by ambitious and powerful actors who use them to achieve their own agendas. Asule is an idealist who wants to use his power to save the world. Ji Ye wants to prove himself, he is a conqueror who wants to rule the world. Yuran doesn't care about the world or the future, she just lives in the moment for herself and her friends. The relationship between the three leads was one of the best parts of this drama and well written. They balance each other out perfectly. Asule is a gentle soul who cannot bear to kill even when it is the only way to achieve the greater good. Ji Ye has no such reservations but his ruthless ambition is checked by Asule's goodness. And Yuran is the glue that binds them together and keeps them grounded on what is truly important - their friendship and the importance living for oneself.

The cast was very strong as this big budget production spared no expense with veteran actors. Many did not like the actress Song Zuer but I thought she was the perfect Yuran, which is not a deep character, just a very vehement one. While Liu Haoran did a good job portraying Asule, the character was poorly written and waffled in the back half. Don't hold it against him that the scriptwriter turned him into a brainless incredible hulk-like killing machine whenever he is angry. And while Chen Ruoxuan overdid the petulant youth in the beginning, Ji Ye's character is a strong one that showed tremendous growth towards the end.

The script-writing which was fantastic and gripping in the first half turned into an epic disappointment in the back half. It became repetitive, deviated into half heart-ed ill fated romantic tropes and took odd and messy turns with several core characters including Asule. I realized too late that this is the same dastardly Linmon Pictures that similarly destroyed the back half of Legend of Fuyao. It is their signature gimmick of replacing the production team with Team B so that Team A gets to move onto new projects. At that point you are so invested that you end up watching the rest of it anyway. The only thing that helped Novoland is that it is backed by the substance of a real book whereas Fuyao descended into 100 pct script-writer induced train-wreck. Given the record budget, the popularity of the novel, serious hype and the veteren cast this should have been a 9 or 10, one of the best of the year. What an epic let down - despite some truly superb battle scenes and cinematography, it ended up as just an OK overall production due to the messy writing.

The ending is controversial and felt rushed. Unlike most, I believe the Eagle Flag chapter of Novoland ended where it should have. One of the biggest misconceptions of this drama is that the story is character driven. It is not. The three leads may have their own subplots but all of the plot threads converge in the final conflict between Tianqu and Chenyue. The characters are relevant only as far as their roles in the build up to an epic climatic clash between good and evil. What happens to the characters after that is not important since the story is not really about them. A sequel or season 2 seems unlikely in this context although there could be spin offs that once again touch upon some of their subsequent paths - someone who read the books will know better than I.

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Demon in red.

Zhao Yao is a fun fantasy love xanxia drama where both leads belong to the dark or demon sect. The unconventional "good vs evil" plot challenges the idea of what is "good" and what is "evil" as the good guys are really the bad guys in this drama. The best thing about this drama is the sizzling chemistry between the two leads. What totally really drags it down is that it is littered with fillers - it should at best a 30-40 episode drama. That made me grumpy and is the main reason for the less high rating.

Zhaoyao (Bai Lu) the female lead is an unapologetic bad-ass she devil who falls for the Demon King's son Moqing/Li Chenlan (Xu Kai). Li Chenlan is imprisoned by his father until he can free him from the powerful evil demon force within him. Zhaoyao is raised in solitude by her grandfather; it is their sacred duty to guard Chenlan until the Demon King returns. Led by the powerful immortal Luo Mingxuan, the righteous sects decide to preemptively kill Chenlan before he can wreak devastation on the world. Instead, they accidentally free Chenlan and an injured Mingxuan is rescued by Zhaoyao, who becomes infatuated by his chivalry and righteousness. She is outraged when she discovers his plans to kill Chenlan and boldly rescues him, earning his undying love in the process. She is captured and tortured by the thwarted Mingxuan and her freedom comes at a devastating personal price. Enraged and disillusioned, Zhaoyao forms and builds up her own formidable Wanlu Sect that wreaks havoc on Mingxuan and his "righteous" sects and protects those persecuted by them.

While recovering a legendary sword, Chenlan accidentally releases a deadly force that kills Zhaoyao. Boy is she pissed!!! She returns as an angry, vengeful but much weakened spirit that is hell bent on killing Chenlan dead. By then, Chenlan is practically invincible and it further incenses her to discover he has taken over as the leader of the Wanlu sect. This man enjoys living dangerously - he is so besotted with Zhaoyao that he is amused by and even welcomes her efforts to alternately kill and/or seduce him. The best moments are all centered around their occasionally funny and wholly adorable interactions. He is totally putty in her hands and cannot deny even her most dangerous requests. The sparks literally fly between them and their body language and obvious affection for each other is mesmerizing. All the early to middle episodes of them falling in love were the best and totally re-watchable. Bai Lu's Zhaoyao is just simply phenomenal - she is fiery, fearless, impetuous, occasionally wicked and completely bewitching. She also really brings out the best in all of her co-stars. However, outside of Bai Lu and Xu Kai, the cast is rather dull and didn't to engage me. Two of the other main female characters have a tendency to wail, which always has me scrambling for the fast forward/mute button. Sigh! When will they get it that wailing, whiny and noisy female characters are a nuisance?

The second female lead in this drama plays Qin Zhiyan (Yan Xiao), whose body Zhaoyao shares in the first half of the show while she tries to reclaim her own. The two are polar opposites yet form a strong and cute friendship. I wasn't wowed by Yan Xiao's overall performance, she got too much airtime in the first 20+ episodes that her cuteness turned into boring/whiny. The editing is sloppy - it jumps ahead, flashes back and in some cases explains what happens much later. I would rewind thinking I missed something that gets explained much later on - like how Mingxuan was out of the blue in a sealed state by Zhaoyao. I have FOMO so I hate fast forwarding but there were too many flashbacks and boring conversations between the righteous sects. Both the female and male love rivals were total cliches - they each sought to win Chenlan/Zhaoyao's love by killing off their rival. Wow -such a time tested losing and deranged strategy. The other main antagonist Jiangwu was an immature and swaggering pest until he redeemed himself slightly at the end. There are also a bunch of forgettable side love stories. The pace overall is painfully slow.

This drama went downhill toward the end. It didn't help that they randomly (and unnecessarily) killed off secondary characters. The ending was a bit rushed, garbled, messily executed and a bit wishy-washy when it could have and should have finished very strong. What is truly baffling is the countless wasted filler moments that could have been cut so that the ending could have been done properly.

I still recommend this but wouldn't bother to watch the whole thing. It wouldn't be a bad idea to drop it after Zhaoyao and Chenlan get together somewhere in the early 40s. Fast forward with impunity every time one of the two excellent main leads is not on. I will be looking out for more dramas with them (together would be great) and especially Bai Lu.

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My dear, I don't give a damn.

Gone with the Rain is one of the few Chinese dramas out there that has a very apt English title. It is also set in a time of civil war and the design of the four main characters are unmistakably inspired by Margaret Mitchell's epic classic novel Gone with the Wind. It is very much a character drama that is at surface a romance, but the true love story is the one between two women who are almost diametric opposites of one another.

This story takes place in a fictional Jing state but the costumes and background suggests this loosely is late Tang dynasty when the powerful local military governors rebelled. Vast swarths of the country was thrown into civil war during which the central government had little knowledge or control over what was happening. The drama's greatest failing is that it is very sloppy in terms of clearly explain who the different factions and what their agendas are. Events unfold conveniently and not always logically simply to enable character conflict and development.

The story is told largely from seventeen year old Tang Moxi's perspective. She breaks the fourth wall in the beginning and continues to share her thoughts via very vivid, at times funny and at times silly daydreams. Moxi is illegtimate and orphaned at an early age, she grows up on sufference in the household of her uncle Bai Wentao a scheming mid-level official. Her first cousin Bai Fengyao its the only one that cares for her. The drama opens with the country on the verge of civil unrest. The cousins are colluding to evade their family's efforts to marry them off for advancement. Moxi rescues a dashing wounded soldier Wan Jiagui and falls for him. She also encounters an infuriating general Chen Wende. Through a series of misunderstandings, some self inflicted Moxi finds herself caught between both men while Wan Jiagui finds himself engaged to both women. A tortuous romantic quadrangle between the four plays out as the country slides into chaos. The romances are secondary to how the relationship between the women navigates civil war and a messy love rivalry.

Despite their different personalities and perspectives, Moxi and Fengyao share a touching and unbreakable bond. Moxi is fiesty, selfish, cynical, manipulative and tough as nails beneath her lovely exterior. She is above all a survivor; she has to be as there is only the rather helpless Fengyao in her corner. Fengyao is pretty much everything Moxi is not - selfless, well educated, gentle, sentimental, idealistic,and impractical; in other words quite useless. Their strengths and weaknesess complement and together, they are able to acutally fend quite well for each other. Unfortunately they both fall for the gallant, noble hero in heroes clothing Wan Jiagui who when tested is actually a weak character. Moxi spends most of the drama fighting her devastating attraction to Chen Wende, a rough, uncouth warrior who is more than what he appears to be. He is the only character that remains charismatic and likable throughout the drama. After awhile, it is quite obvious where these four main character blueprints are from.

The first half of the drama is quite enjoyable as Moxi and Fengyao find their strengths and struggle with their flaws in trying times. However, Moxi's wilful blindness and her obstinate pinning for her first love went on for so long it became tedious. I wanted to hurl my remote at her and yell "My dear, I don't give a damn!" Even though all the portrayals are well done and the characters are multi-dimensional, this drama spends too much time rehashing character flaws without a well fleshed out plot to keep things engaging. The conflict and attraction between Chen Wende and Moxi is the only highlight of the second half of the drama which made it less of a struggle. I also enjoyed the casting of an actress in the role of Wu Yin. The second relationship however is not sufficiently developed because all of the men can only have eyes for Moxi. The final arc is rushed and Moxi's ability to transform herself is not well explained and frankly impossible. The story does come to a satisfying ending with the final episodes making up for the sag in the latter half. This is different enough from the usual run-of-the-mill historical Chinese drama that I enjoyed many aspects of it. It is quite well acted and had it been shorter and more tightly written, I'd probably rate it better than 7/10.

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Cops and Robbers

The First Shot 雪迷宫 is a classic cops and robbers crime thriller featuring China's early efforts to combat drug trafficking in the late 1990s. It seamlessly fuses together proven themes of friendship, loyalty and betrayal, and good vs evil; all the elements that make this genre enduringly popular. It is set in a fictional city Halan in frigidly cold Northeast China and is about a newly established anti-narcotics team's early efforts to combat an influx of drugs into the region. Lacking basic knowledge of synthetic drug manufacturing, Zhang Bei is sent to Huazhou in Southern China to recruit Gu Yiran, an expert chemistry professor to join his team. Due to the initial influx of drugs into Southern China in the earlly 1990s, Gu Yiran's familiarity with the habits and tactics of the traffickers proves as invaluable as his knowledge of chemistry.

This is a well made drama if you can excuse the meagre, cheesy 1990s look and feel that gets a much needed boost by Jacky Cheung's top Cantopop and early Mandopop hits from the day. It is definitely not Zhang Yimou behind the camera but the camera angles are quite innovative and the spectacularly choreographed action scenes kept me on the edge of my seat. The crime plot unfolds at a decent cadence with a few really interesting and unpredictable twists and reveals. The bromances were deftly written with each relationship: Zhang Bei and Gu Yiran; Zhang Bei and Jiang Xiaohai and Jaing Xiaohai and Liang Jiaju; illuminating different facets of both Zhang Bei and Jiang Xiaohai.

The investigative unit's rapport resonates and carries the story from the get go with every member doing their own small but crucial part in this tightly knit team. The rabidly feisty Mad Dog Yao kicking butt in any brawl only to be too easily subdued by Zhang Bei cracked me up no end. While I appreciate the narrative taking the time to flesh out the important roles, this drama falls into the usual trap of these plot driven stories of digressing too far into too many personal stories of peripheral side characters. It comes at the cost of the momentum of the investigative plot and the narrative sags in the middle. While Lin Boyang is lovely, I wasn't invested in her sweet but trite romance which went on for so long it bored me silly. This would have been much tighter and more exciting as a 24 episode drama.

I was initially skeptical about Huang Jingyu in this kind of super masculine hero cop who carries the weight of his team and the world on his shoulders kind of role. He has done it too many times and indeed there is nothing about the way the character is written or portrayed that makes Zhang Bei stand out from this tired archetype. Yet maybe its his personal charisma or how he just looks the part so perfectly that his Zhang Bei just "works" in bringing all the other roles and performances together. As much as I like Wang Qizi, Gu Yiran is the character that at the end I liked and cared about the least. He is at surface easy going and amiable but in reality he is lonely and guarded and he has his own agenda. Unfortunately I found his obstinate and repeated Lone Ranger stunts so selfish and boring that it overwhelmed my sympathy for his personal trauma. Although he isn't at Zhao Xiaoguang's level of comically terrible, he is also too obviously not a native Cantonese speaker to successfully pass himself off as one. The role just didn't come to life onscreen in a convincing way and was overshadowed by vastly superior performances by Zhang Yu and Qin Junjie. The truth is fate is random and Lele could well have been any one of them and it is this character that stole the show and made me incredibly conflicted; sad, manipulated, scared, revolted and resigned. It is the best written and best acted role; one that stands out among other stellar performances.

As an avid and frequent consumer of the suspense thrillers, this drama has an excellent ending twist that shocked me and then gave me that aha! moment as all the details just clicked into place. I haven't been surprised like this in a long time and I enjoyed it thoroughly. That said, there is nothing that new or special about the story itself, the plot should have been tightened and there were just so many hidden identities that when you put it all together it looks quite implausible. I am happy to I rate this a very entertaining and enjoyable 8.0/10.0

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Catch me if you can!

Thirteen Years of Dust is the best Light On/Mist Theatre suspense thriller iQiyi has released since The Bad Kids and The Long Night in 2020. This tightly written mystery cum police procedural is gripping from the start. An eerily staged crime scene reminds Lu Xingzhi of a serial killer that had terrorised Nandu thirteen years ago, when he was just a rookie detective. Starting with his mentor Wei Zhengrong, he gets the old investigative team that had profiled and hunted the killer back together again. They have unfinished business to get down to. Thus begins a thrilling chase for the long hidden killer who seems to be taunting them, "Catch me if you can!"

The way the narrative unfolds in parallel between the present and the past is mesmerising and immediately made me invested in the main characters, including potential antagonists. In the present, the characters are older yet wear unmistakeable vestiges of the past that make them seem still touchingly familiar. We see what they were like juxtaposed against what they have become. This invokes a haunting sense of nostalgia over what was lost and what could have been. This captures the essence of what made CBS's Cold Case one of my favorite police procedural series. Wei Zhengrong seems the most markedly affected. In sharp contrast to the rather rough, dismissive, and bitingly cynical cop in his prime, he becomes a muted, wiser and oddly broken shadow of his former self. Lu Xingzhi on the other hand has delivered on his early promise and come into his own but his family life is disrupted.

Chen Jianbin and Chen Xiao anchor the stellar cast in this production. Both are charismatic and convincing actors with such incredible chemistry that it evolves to reflect the passage of time. They each subtly take on some of the other's traits thirteen years later, indicating how deeply they influenced one another. It is not easy to play characters that have aged and changed over thirteen years, yet remain essentially that character. Beyond both leads, every main character in each of the many cases delivers riveting portrayals of both their younger and older selves. This brought the victims to life through the eyes of people who knew them, loved them, feared them, envied them and may very well have killed them! The side story that moved me most was that of the gangster and the dancer.

The plot is very well designed and is a lot more whodunit than howdunit. It is set in a time when use of forensic technology was nascent and primitive. So the cases had to be approached the good old fashioned way of narrowing down suspects to who had motive, means and opportunity. The evidence and clues are all presented in an even handed manner; there is no attempt to hide anything from the viewer. From early on, the audience has enough clues to credibly build a case around at least two suspects at any given time. While the solution is not a huge surprise as the killer is well concealed but far from invisible, it still comes with a decent twist. It is a surprisingly dark story with a chilling ending for a c-drama. The production maintains an unsettling tension of a disturbing and menacing presence throughout. If I have to criticise, the staged crime scenes are a bit pretentious and the explanation of the painting and its significance is on the weak side although it just passes muster.

Overall, this is a well written and nicely executed crime thriller that will satisfy exacting crime buffs. A highly recommended watch that I rate 8.5/10.0.

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Everybody lies.

This psychological suspense thriller featuring a female hardcore detective starts out well. Ran Dongdong investigates the death of Xia Bingqing, a young woman with secrets. To figure out what happened to her, Dongdong has to piece together who Bingqing was and why someone wanted her dead. As the list of suspects in this complicated murder case grows, it is clear that everybody lies whether they are doing it consciously or not. The way Dongdong nails down inconsistencies in the various testimonies by unreliable narrators and incisively teases out the truth is riveting.

Work and life collide for Dongdong when it is discovered that her husband Mu Dafu crossed paths with the victim and he had twice rented a hotel room at the likely scene of the crime. She explores the complexity of love, marriage, and fidelity in both the work and personal arena and the lines start to blur. She begins to interrogate him like a suspect. In fact, he gets the worst of it because there are no professional restraints at home. Not that he is a paragon of virtue, far from it!! He was always a bit of a narcissist humanities professor that openly indulges in deeply intimate, highly flirtatious but ostensibly intellectual discussions with professional peers and students. She was fine with it until inexplicably, she is not. Likely because they fell out of the idealistic love phase of their relationship or maybe because he stopped telling her about these women that fall for him.

I did not expect to see this suspense plot devolve so deeply into a dark exploration of marriage between a dislikable and messed-up toxic couple. Both Song Jia and Wang Yang deliver mesmeric performances as flawed, complex, egotistical, and ultimately selfish characters. I did not like either of them. In fact, there are no heroes in this story. Other than the poor kid, pretty much everyone is a terrible person. Even the victim is too much of an architect of their own fate and is not empathetic. Neither of the two parallel plotlines is satisfactorily resolved. The whodunit mystery ends up being a howdunit procedural with too many plotholes and a weak, trite, cop-out motive for the murderer. The way the relationship is resolved also leaves unanswered questions although there is closure in the sense that Ran Dongdong and Mu Dafu really deserve each other. May they live tortuously ever after.

I enjoyed this drama up until episode 10 after which it turns into something I had no interest in watching. I can see how it may hold some appeal to people who like difficult relationship stories. My rating of 6.5 is for the very mediocre suspense plot, which is what I came to watch.

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A wrinkle in time.

This is a surprisingly enjoyable short love story with a novel premise. He Zhengyu, a hot shot lawyer experiences a series of setbacks that lands him in a modest apartment. Every night, he is "haunted" by rookie reporter Chen Jialan, who occupied the apartment four months ago. A wrinkle in time brings them together each night at 10:06pm for 46 minutes. During this time they must solve a few cases that they were involved in professionally that may have set them on the road to perdition.

The initial encounters between Zhengyu and Jialan are hilarious and intriguing as they both scare the hell out of each other. They had me rooting for them from the get go. But as their relationship progresses, I find Jialan remains too sweet, childish and cutesy. I expect to see their chemistry take on a more mature and adult tone later on but this doesn't quite happen. Nonetheless, I stayed invested in their story throughout and kept going even though the whole Jirong saga bored me to tears. I have not seen such bland and monotonous acting in a long time. It is almost criminal to pair up such an insipid actress with such a hot actor as Dai Gaozheng. The cast overall is not strong and it is Yang Xuwen's convincing and charismatic portrayal of Zhengyu and how he is changed by this wrinkle in time that elevates the main relationship and saves the entire drama.

The biggest plot hole in this story is He Zhengyu's lack of curiosity about who Chen Jialan was and why she vacated the apartment he moved into. You would think his first instinct would be to find out everything about her and to try to track her down. But no, he waits till very late in the game to do this. The cases are only mildly interesting and the villains are quite obvious. While the drama does a good job transitioning between the past and the present, the main characters traverse back and forth too often and too inconsequentially. The plot does become slightly convoluted towards the end, with too many twists. Despite some obvious flaws and plot holes, there are enough fresh and engaging moments that make this an entertaining watch. This is a 7.5/10.0 that will nicely tide over a dry spell.

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