Ok. No time to really put down all my thoughts, so here’s a small selection:
Every Marvel movie or series after Endgame sucks. Except for Spiderman – No Way Home, the rest are just CGI spectacles loosely strung together by illogical plots.
Continue readingOk, this is long overdue, but I just want to put some thoughts down before I forget everything. Also, having stressful assignments just somehow make me watch more dramas. Go figure -_____-
Alchemy of Souls (2022)
I didn’t want to live-watch anything initially, but the recaps seemed really interesting, and now I’m hooked by the fun banter and worldbuilding. Set in Daeho, an imaginary kingdom in the days of yore, Naksu, a feared mage assassin, has soul-shifted into Mudeok (Jung So-min), a blind girl who seems to have a secret past. Now indentured to Jang Uk (Lee Jae-wook), whose murky parentage has restricted him from practising magic, she embarks on a symbiotic teacher-student/servant-master relationship with Uk in a bid to regain her previous powers. It reminds me somewhat of the Jin Yong wuxia stories (The Condor Heroes《射雕英雄传》, Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre《倚天屠龙记》), where the naïve hero serendipitously meets eccentric martial arts masters like Hong Qigong or Zhou Botong who impart sought-after skills to him. The female lead, Naksu/Mudeok, is also reminiscent of the unorthodox heroines in these stories. However, our protagonist, Jang Uk, has more bubbling beneath the surface and a chip on his shoulder like Yang Guo in The Legend of the Condor Heroes《射雕英雄传》. Slated for 20 episodes this season, and possibly another 10 the next, I really hope the Hong sisters will be able to craft a spectacular epic, and not go round in circles (My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, You’re Beautiful), end with a whimper, become absolute boring (Warm and Cozy), or end in a hot mess (Big, Hwayugi). Fingers crossed!
Continue readingArgh! It’s been more than a while. Hopefully, I’ll have time in Dec to write about some of the following:
Dramas:
Movies:
If not, as least there’s a record of my profligate watching…
Well, Shang Chi’s made over US$320 million worldwide (as of 19 Sep 2021), so it’s quite safe for me to say this now: I hated the movie (oh, stop clutching at your pearls – it’s not politically incorrect for me to say it ‘cos I’m of Chinese descent – haha). Will write more at a later date, but seriously, I’d watch it at least 5 times if it were Legend of Wenwu, starring Tony Leung.
Hospital Playlist, which ended last Thursday, is a slice-of-life drama chronicling the workplace interactions of a group of five 40-year-old friends who have known each other since 1999. Planned as a 3-season drama, there is also an extensive supporting cast whose stories scaffold the theme of the week. In addition, 90s Korean music is also showcased through the jam sessions of the five besties.
Created by the PD-writer duo of Shin Won-ho and Lee Woo-jung of Prison Playbook and the (infamous) Reply series (1997, 1994, 1988), Hospital Playlist is almost vignette-like in its approach: there doesn’t seem to be an overarching plot. Like most procedural dramas, each episode has cases-of-the-week, with the protagonists’ lives only lightly threading through. It’s an easy watch, especially if you’re looking for a relatively stress-free drama (totally opposite to the nail-biting The World of the Married) in the time of COVID-19.
Some spoilers ahead though major plot points will not be revealed (I think…)
I love Search: WWW for one very simple reason – the protagonists are kickass women who are professional in their jobs, but are complicated in their thoughts, as well as in their dealings with each other.
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
Image source: http://salamkorea.com/read/kpop-news/2018/11/memories-of-the-alhambra-drama-park-shin-hye-dan-hyun-bin/
(This is really late, sorry!!)
What happens when augmented reality AR bleeds into real life? Twisty and convoluted, Memories of the Alhambra seems to be the latest k-drama crack that anyone interested in a good story (or Hyun Bin’s dimples) should check out.
[SPOILERS AHEAD!] Continue reading
It’s my drama crack weed at the moment. I’ve got serious mixed feelings about it, but I’m tuning in week after week. Will try to encapsulate it in a post soon.
The Singapore film industry is a small one, and if you ask any Singaporean which local films they have watched, the usual suspects would include I Not Stupid or Ah Boys to Men (if you were more mainstream and Chinese speaking), and 12 Storeys, 15, or Ilo Ilo (if you were more arthouse). Crazy Rich Asians might have put Singapore on the radar, ultimately it’s a Hollywood film with an equally Hollywood sensibility. Which is why I’m always excited when a new Singaporean film shows up on the horizon.
In Zombiepura, Singapore’s first zombie flick, a lazybones reservist and his fanatic sergeant have to fight to survive when their isolated army camp is infected with a zombie virus.
Every drama fiend has their drama crack. *shrug* Nothing new under the sun. I’ve had my share of crack drama over the years – Long Vacation, Buffy, Coffee Prince, Descendents of the Sun, and more recently This is My First Life – and I’ve never really thought too hard about it. There’s that special something that hooks you – chemistry in the OTP (or secondary pairing or a doomed ship), excellent plot, nuanced acting – despite certain flaws which may detract from your enjoyment.
Drama Bin 