Thursday, December 20, 2007

Land Of Wealth- my final thoughts

After 6 interminable weeks, I finally finished the series Land of Wealth. Remember some time ago I gave quite a positive review about the first 10 episodes of LOW? Well, I guess it's time for me to turn the tables against this series which has one of the most major disapointment of the year.




Don't leave, read on to find out more



If you have read Metal's review before, he mentioned that it was only after 18 episodes when "LOW wakes up and realises that it has a story to tell". That is SO true. I liked the first 10 episodes because they managed to trick me into thinking that 'everything is just building up' and that 'more excitement is ahead'. Unfortunately after the next 8 episodes I was going to switch off my television. But I still pressed on.


For the next 14 episodes, things did get more exciting. Not only exciting, but also messed up, and screwed up. I feel like the producers are still in control of the story line. That's a good thing. But I do not understand why did they choose to mess up the story line like that.



I couldn't make myself love the story. The political and banking parts are not exciting enough. The love parts were messed up, vexatious, and left the audience with lots of regrets. It was so twisted, everyone married the person they do not love, no one gets to be w/ someone he or she truly loves. Couples are ripped into pieces and the pieces are thrown everywhere and anywhere.



ok I'm exagerating, but i'm just trying to show my disappointment.


It could be a masterpiece


Look at the grand costumes, the gorgeous scenery, the upbeat themesong and themevideo, four lovely main characters, and the awesome performances from the leads and supporting cast. All these is useless if the story line sucked, but it's also a waste of money and resources to create these beauty. LOW could have been the best series of the year, but because of the lousy story, it has become one of the worst series of 2006. (Not as bad as War and Destiny which I gave up on after 8 episodes... at least i made it thru 32 episodes of LOW)


The perfect couples broken up

I wasn't paying much attention to Moses and Sonija as a couple but soon realised that they were very much the focus of the series. I started to like them tgt quite quickly, especially because Sonija's character was so energetic and cute, all the way up till episode 22 or 23, when a stupid misunderstanding changed their relationship so badly without any turning back. It just made me miss those days of their innocent and cute interaction.


Steven and Tavia were the number one reason why I wanted to watch LOW, but also the number one disappointment. Their chemistry was definitely present, and it really rocked. But the scenes with them are really WAY TOO LITTLE. In fact MANY of their scenes were cut. It gives me a feeling that the producers hate them tgt. Also, in the end the story got really twisted as well. Another stupid misunderstanding break them apart. Tavia marries Moses and all of a sudden does not seem to love Steven anymore. Steven gets tagged by a not very pretty girl called Erica Yuen. Tavia dies, and I don't even see Steven at her funeral...



the scenes which got cut:

- the snow storm scene which looks totally gorgeous got so truncated. I still enjoyed it, but it was WAY too short!

- The scene where Tavia and Steven were getting buried alive by horse thieves. I saw the filming of it and I cried, but in the actual series it got cut...



- Steven standing at the side looking and crying when Tavia dies. In the version I watch, there is no Steven at all when Moses carries Tavia out of the prison


Give me those scenes! I want to watch them so badly...

In the year of 2006, the costume dramas looked the most promising, but also turned out the most disappointing. Watching LWOLAP, DOP and LOW gave me quite similar feeling. It made me thinkg 'Why can series look sooo awesome from the outside but turn out to be just a beautiful empty shell?' This can make u feel very dejected and upset. Of course, among the bunch, LWOLAP was a much much better series, with awesome characters and a story which kept me very much interested, unlike DOP and LOW which i was watching half-heartedly most of the time.

The Verdict

My suggestion, give this series a cursory glance, don't skip it totally. You need to have a feel of teh grandness and beauty of Land Of Wealth. It's cinetography is one of the best in recent years. However, don't pay too much attention to the story, it can make u very vexed. Like I said, performances rocked but the story sucked. Browsing and watching selected scenes where ur favourite actors and actresses perform is more than enough.

Monday, December 03, 2007

Maiden's Vow- the Review


Finally completed this series! Here is my long review... pls enjoy (:
This review is really hard to write, because this series is made up of 4 different stories and 4 different sets of characters. Maiden’s Vow is a story which lasts 4 generations, showcasing how the gender concepts and Woman’s social status have changed over the past century.

Dai Sze Ga (Charmaine She) narrates the story right from the first generation, that is, the story of her great-great grandmother Ngai Yu Fung (Charmaine She), who lives in the Qing Dynasty. At that time, women had no say at all in their marriage. Their happiness was always put last, everything else was more important. Yu Fung and Yu Ci fell in love from young, but to save the Ngai family, Yu Fung had no choice but to marry into the Wong Family. Wong Yue Lam (Sammul Chan) is Yu Fung’s terrible husband. He is very stupid, unreasonable, and only knows how to squander away his family’s wealth. Yu Fung had to suffer a lot in the Wong family. Thankfully, Yu Ci, who became a cook in the Wong family, was there to be her guardian angel. After the downfall of the Wong, Yu Fung and Yu Ci started the ‘Phoenix Restaurant’ together to support the useless people in the Wong family. From a small teahouse, the restaurant became bigger and bigger, and even the Empress Dowager patronized their restaurant. Finally, all the struggles are over, Yu Fung and Yu Ci can finally be together. Yet at this time, tragedy struck and both of them died together in a bomb incident…

The second generation is the story of Sze Ga’s great grandmother Wong Ji Kwan (Charmaine She), the daughter of Yu Fung and Yue Lam. She is a passionate, patriotic teenager, who loves to study. Ji Kwan also believes in ‘freedom in love’. Everyone thinks she is very rebellious, but she only wants to be with the one she truly loves. Ji Kwan falls for her teacher Lei Kat Cheung (Joe Ma). However, due to their teacher and student relationship, everyone objected to their relationship, and they had to elope. Kat Cheung was also a revolutionist. Eventually, he became a spy who works for the country. The couple had to go through a lot of separations and reunions. In the end, Kat Cheung had to escape, and never came back, leaving Ji Kwan and her unborn child…

The third generation features Sze Ga’s mother, Bak Wai Zan (Charmaine She), who is Ji Kwan’s granddaughter. Wai Zan and Doi Lap Yan (Joe Ma) were a happy married couple. However, there are some problems. Lap Yan believes that the man should go out and work and the woman should only stay at home and complete the chores. Hence he does not allow his wife to go out to work, even though she is very smart. Wai Zan decides to go out to work secretly, and ended up having to opposite Lap Yan. This whole story then became an office battle between men and women. Meanwhile Wai Zan and Lap Yan’s relationship became worse. At the end, Wai Zan realizes that the Phoenix restaurant is her family’s business and decides to take over it and save it from closing down. While combining efforts to do so, Wai Zan and Lap Yan finally made up. Lap Yan also realized that his chauvinistic ways were unacceptable and changed for the better.

The story fastforwards to the 21st century. Sze Ga and Ah Zan (Sherming Yiu) are best friends. Sze Ga believes in true love, but not marriage. She thinks that marriage is just using a certificate to tie each other down, and they can file for divorce any time, any day. Ah Zan is a more ‘promiscuous’ girl. She goes out with multiple guys and toys with feelings, but she is still a nice girl. Fong Ka On (Joe Ma) is Sze Ga’s cohabiting boyfriend, but they broke up due to misunderstanding. After Ka On leaves, Sze Ga finds herself pregnant with Ka On’s child. Sze Ga decides to be a single mother, with the support of ah Zan and ah Kat (Sammul Chan), her ex-boyfriend who turns out to be homosexual. Meanwhile, they were all working together to reopen the Phoenix restaurant. In 2 years, Sze Ga transformed from a nameless beer promoter to a top famous successful business woman. At this time, Ka On comes back. After many twists and turns, all the misunderstandings finally come to an end and the two are reconciled. Ka On proposes to Sze Ga, however, Sze Ga knows that marriage is not the best option for her…


Love Factors

Charmaine She- the last generation Doi Sze Ga
I have to say this is the character which stands out the most in the entire series. From the first episode, you start to hear her voice already, and look forward to seeing her, wanting to know what Sze Ga’s character is like. When her character first appears, you may be very surprised to see that Sze Ga is a very wild and ‘not-so-good’ girl. But soon enough, you’ll find that she has a very warm heart, she is strong, and she has a very uniquely likeable character.

Charmaine She- the best actress
I don’t know if any actress can be as versatile as Charmaine. I have to say that Charmaine’s performances are AMAZING. She is able to make all 4 characters shine, and prevent us from getting bored with her performances (unlike Joe Ma). Her tears were tragic in the first generation. In the second generation, acting as her very own daughter, she convincingly acted cute and youthful (really loved her in here). Her comedy expressions were very successful in the 3rd generation, and I don’t need to say anymore about the last generation. In a way you’ll feel that this series was specially made for Charmaine to win the Best Actress award.

Sammul Chan- the best supporting actor
Sammul only appeared in the 1st and last generation, but both times his appearance took me by surprise. In the first generation, I was surprised by how thrashy his character is. This is the first time I see Sammul play such a completely hate-able character. He was definitely convincing, and I really felt like slapping him. In the forth generation, I was surprised again when Sammul’s character turns out to be gay and falls in love with Joe! Oh my god… Despite that, this unique character turns out to be another success. I loved ‘Ah Kat’. I loved how he supports Charmaine as a friend. He is the greatest friend you can ever hope for.

So-So Factor

Joe Ma
I cannot say Joe’s performance is bad, but to me it was just plain. I only liked Joe in the 2nd generation (his teacher look was very refreshing) and the last generation, where he is the rich and high-class accountant. I think Joe Ma suits high-class educated characters the best. His ‘innocent’ character in generation 1 and his ‘funny’ character in generation 3 just wasn’t the best…

OVERALL COMMENTS

The Story
All in all, the story wasn’t bad, although I found the last part of the 2nd generation boring and most of the 3rd generation flat. The rest of the story was a laudable effort. The last story was the highlight of the entire series, and also my favourite. I was able to enjoy it from the beginning to the end without feeling bored at all.

The Chemistry

Charmaine and Joe
I cannot say they don’t have chemistry, but I also cannot say that their chemistry rocked. But after seeing them for so many episodes in so many different stories, I must make myself believe that they do have chemistry…

Charmaine and Sammul
100%- match-able, whether they are ‘sisters’ in the last generation or ‘hardworking wife and useless husband’ in the first generation. I love their chemistry together!

Sherming Yiu and ‘Pang Pang’
I don’t know who this actor is, but the two of them were quite cute in the last generation.

The performance
Charmaine She gets the best actress award, I don’t have to say more. Joe Ma is good, but Charmaine is better. Sammul is the ‘most improved’ and ‘best supporting’ actor. He is a good actor. Sherming Yiu can be the ‘best supporting actress’. Her performances were great, even though her character was too mean. I would also like to mention Elaine Yiu. I know she sucked in Safe Guards, but this time her character in the 2nd generation was very comfortable to watch. Let’s hope to see more improvements from her (but no more leading roles please)

The Verdict
If you are a Charmaine or Sammul fan, you can NOT miss this series. If you’re not, you should still watch this series, but you may want to get your fast forward button ready for the 3rd generation.

I'll be there with you, cuz you are my friend...

Hit Counter