Thursday, May 27, 2010

New Feature: Analyzing Articles - "Kevin Cheng: From Leading Actor to Supporting Actor"

A new feature is finally here! You can find out what this new feature is about by simply reading the article: Analyzing Articles. Nowadays, it's hard for you to believe anything you read. It's up to you to think what is true and what is trash. Like the title says, I will be picking articles I read that I find interesting and posting them on my blog. I will analyze which parts I think are pure gossip, partly right and wrong, or nothing but the truth.

Key

Words in blue = Fact
Words in green = Gossip
Words in pink = May be true, may be false
Words in
purple = General Opinion

*Credits: Thanks hyn5 for the translation of this article! To read her translation straight from her awesome blog, click here. Original article by Sudden Weekly.



Kevin Cheng: To Leading Role to Supporting Role

Originally, Kenneth Ma was supposed to be the second male lead. Whether it is liking from the audience or acting ability, Kenneth Ma exceeds Kevin Cheng by a mile. Logically, he moved from second lead to first lead. The ratings for "A Fistful of Stances" have been steadily increasing. TVB has arranged for the finale (two episodes) of the series to air (April 18th 8:30pm) after "Super Trio Game Master" to go up against "The Hong Kong Film Awards Presentation", which will be airing on ATV.

The writer has been watching this series every night. The partnership of producer Lee Tim Sing and screenwriter Cheung Wah Biu didn't disappoint, as the plot is well-paced. On the contrary, as the male lead, Kevin Cheng's screen time and limelight are inferior to Kenneth's. It seems as though he had been moved from a leading role to a supporting role. Why is that so? A TVB snitch revealed that someone was always sick, and would only do three moves at most while filming fight scenes. [This person] would not be able to remember long lines of dialogue. Thus, action choreographers gave [this person] the nickname 'Three Moves'. Screenwriters gave his screen time to Kenneth Ma.

Kevin Cheng's smoothest fight scenes were with Yuen Chau and Ram Tseung.

Netizens Greatly Criticize Kevin Cheng
It was rumoured that Kevin Cheng obtained his leading role from complaining to executives, but what about it? He can't fight, he can't speak, and he is greatly criticized by netizens.

The writer asked the crew of "A Fistful of Stances", but they were unwilling to respond to the rumours. However, the truth is in front of us!

Facts
  1. Kenneth Ma was originally second male lead of A Fistful of Stances. Kevin Cheng was clearly stated male lead (and was also positioned at the front of the poster).

  2. If you've watched A Fistful of Stances, it becomes clear to you that the plot is more focused on Kenneth and he has a significant increase in screen time.

Pure Gossip

  1. I'm not a fan of Kevin, but people still shouldn't talk about him that way. This piece of the article was clearly exaggerated to make Kevin look bad. Everyone messes up their lines occasionally and longer lines are harder to memorize. Plus, if Kevin was truly "always" sick then we probably would've heard news that filming of the series was taking longer than planned with the [at the time] lead actor not feeling well. Normally, when an artiste is sick, there will be news about it. It's never a big cover story, but a short paragraph and picture tend to be leaked. Remember that article about Raymond getting food poisoning? Also, I highly doubt that Kevin refused to do more than three moves at a time while filming fight scenes. The 'Three Moves' nickname I think is something the paparazzi made up to make the article more juicy. I also find it rude they refer to him as [this/that person].

Might Be True, Might Be False

  1. Kevin is one of TVB's "biological" sons. It may be true that Kevin used his connections to ask for a leading role. I wouldn't be surprised. Perhaps he even complained (but I hope an artiste would not be so vain and immature to do so). However, the latter part just seems like the paparazzi exaggerating things a bit, as usual.

General Opinion

  1. When writing articles, people (such as the paparazzi) like to include the general opinion people have of someone or something. I was about to put this in the "fact" section, but this is an opinion. In most people's opinions, Kenneth performed better than Kevin.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

OL Supreme is coming to an end...


OL Supreme is coming to an end very soon. The finale will be aired on June 11. I am not kidding when I say I am probably the fan most in denial and disappointed by the ending coming near. The sitcom first started airing back in February, which strangely doesn't feel like that long ago. It feels so sudden that it's coming to an end.

I love OL Supreme. I've fallen in love with all the characters. I've become accustomed to seeing the faces of Liza Wang, Denise Ho, Chapman To, Ron Ng, and the rest of the cast almost every day. Watching the theme video and listening to the theme song never fail to make me smile. Every time the theme video starts, I feel at home. In fact, watching the latest episode has become the highlight of my day for everyday I watch it.

The last few months have been rough on me. I've become stressed with everything from school work, friends, the thought of finishing middle school and starting high school very soon, and other personal issues. OL Supreme is a major stress reliever for me. It relaxes me. Everytime I watch an episode, I manage to forget all my troubles for a limited amount of time. As a result, I now consider it one of my fav series.

80 episodes is relatively short for a TVB sitcom. Practically every sitcom nowadays are extended. There doesn't even have to be a reason either. Off Peddar was initially around 260 episodes, but an additional hundred were ordered despite it getting mediocre ratings its whole run. At first, I hoped TVB would decide not to do so with OL Supreme. I thought that extending it would make the quality of the series go downhill. As time past and OL became more part of my every day life, I sincerely hoped that TVB would extend it. I realized that the quality of OL does not go downhill. Instead, I noticed the quality simply fluctuates depending on the character and subplot they're focusing on. I wanted it to become at least 100 episodes.

I was disappointed. The sitcom is truly coming to an end. There have been no news of TVB planning to extend the number of episodes. After the 80th episode of OL Supreme airs, it's all over. The new sitcom Sunny Every Day will start airing. When that happens, my interest in TVB will start to die again.

I really do think that after OL Supreme, I will never be so addicted to a sitcom again. I will no longer feel the need to chase one and download the latest episode everyday as soon as I come home from school.

The cast and chemistry of OL is amazing. Liza Wang, Denise Ho, and Chapman To are just awesome. For a sitcom, the cast is very small. However, that made the atmosphere more 'at home' and sweet. The interactions between all the characters are spectacular. I love each and every one of them.

I do not hesitate to say that this sitcom is what has kept me together the last three months. It got me through all the hard times, but it will sadly not be able to get me through the stress of starting high school. It puzzles me why OL Supreme never experienced higher ratings or any promotion or exposure. It is certainly the best sitcom TVB has put out since the good ol days of A Kindred Spirit, War of the Genders, and Virtues of Harmony.

Goodbye, OL Supreme. Thanks for all the enjoyment, laughs, and relaxation. I will hope that you will get an appropiate finale.

A Fistful of Stances Review


A Fistful of Stances is addictive and engaging. The pacing and length are just about right. It shares the same "formula" as Moonlight Resonance, but I managed to not mind much at all.

Characterization

Practically all the characters bear similarities with those in Moonlight Resonance, but they're developed better and more likable. While Moonlight had two well developed and complex characters (Cho Pa and Sa Yi), Fistful has better overall characterization. Each and every single character is developed either well or decently. In other words, Fistful took what Moonlight had and made it better. I guess second time's the charm. For a more in depth look at the similarities of the characters in the two series, read here.

Performances

Yuen Qiu - "Au Yeung Wai Lan"

With her impressive kung fu and seemingly natural tough nature, Yuen Qiu portrayed the lovable strong yet caring mother well. Kind of puts Lee Sze Kei's portrayal of the ridiculously angelic "Hor Ma" to shame doesn't it?

Kenneth Ma - "Koo Yu Tong"

Having always been a good actor, Kenneth rarely receives interesting roles that have the ability to showcase his talent. That can't be said anymore however, because "Koo Yu Tong" is a complex and lovable character. He is uneducated yet clever, serious yet playful, silly yet hardworking, as well as determined and caring. His character is the most realistic, entertaining, and lovable. Kenneth brings the character to life, making me love him even more. This is probably his best role (and performance) to date.

Kevin Cheng - "Koo Yu Cheung"

Kevin is supposedly the male lead of the series, yet he is out shined by Kenneth. Despite the fact he has been acting for around ten years, Kevin still doesn't seem to have the passion or talent. His emotional scenes are poorly done with a half hearted effort. It was extremely hard for me to pity his character when he first appeared because honestly, these scenes made me cringe like crazy. It's obvious that while Kevin is now 41 years old, he still looks very young. Too bad that handsome face of his can't seem to express anything. Koo Yu Cheung was initially insecure, upset, confused, and just plain lost. Kevin however, made it seem like Ah Cheung simply had a bad temper.

Selena Li - "Wing Chi Ching"

No matter what, Selena always exerts that sweet and adorable charm of hers. Out of all the current fa dans, I must say Selena is one of few who portrays their emotional scenes the best. While I didn't spot many tears in her crying scenes, at least I know she's portraying the crying naturally instead of using the aid of eye drops. Kate and Shirley, you might want to learn something from her. The scenes where she's working as a doctor at the hospital and dealing with Koo Yu Tong as her patient were adorable. She and Kenneth have so much chemistry!

Natalie Tong - "Ying Ngan Ming"

It was a smart move on TVB's side to give Natalie a significantly larger role than she's received in the past. I've always thought she has a lot of potential as an actress, and she was able to prove so with her portrayal of "Ah Ngan." Her emotional scenes weren't done all that bad either. I found the portrayal of the trauma she went through after getting raped was quite realistic. I was also cheering for her when she stood up for herself. Natalie is very cute, and surprisingly has chemistry with Kevin despite the age difference. This is probably because the two have collaborated as brother and sister twice.

Dominic Lam - "Wing Tak"

Why Wing Tak was so keen in making life difficult for the Koo family was unreasonable and never really justified. Dominic delivers a solid performance, as he is convincing as the selfish and self absorbed villain. The fact that Wing Tak never admitted nor believed he did anything wrong and yet hung himself the day before his execution cracks me up. I thought Wing Tak was simply evil and stubborn, but I guess he was a coward at heart. *sarcasm*

Jacky Heung - "Wing Man Kwan"

Is Jacky Heung the newest kung fu "bad boy"? Upon finding out more about him, I saw that most of his past movies are all kung fu flicks. The new actor will also be filming Female Fist alongside the Olympic kung fu gold champion, John Chiang, and Kenneth Ma. While his acting is not all that great, he has the look to make his portrayal of the immature bad boy more convincing. Something about his voice bothers me though, and it seems unfit for his appearance somehow. It was still touching to see Man Kwan turn good, and I must admit it is probably my favorite part of the finale.

Angela Tong - "Chow Fong Fong"

There's something else I'd like to admit, and that is the fact that I adored Angela's character and performance. Some would probably find her annoying, but I actually loved her. She was so cute when arguing with her husband and forbidding him from doing kung fu. She even put up a sign in her company saying that no one can perform, talk about, or even mention anything relating to kung fu. Her relationship with Leung Cham (Ram Chiang) was cute and hilarious. It was sad to see Fong Fong mourn over the sudden death of her husband, especially with the regret she had for not making up with him. I enjoyed seeing her fall back up again and doing everything she could do to expose Wing Tak's wrongdoings. However, I found the times she called Wing Tak "Chicken Face" to be extremely unnecessary. Come on, it almost cost Fong Fong her life.

Ram Chiang - "Leung Cham"

I've always loved Ram Chiang as a supporting actor and he always manages to make me laugh. This series was no exception although his character was nothing too special. Like I said above though, he was so cute with Angela. His sudden death made me sad and this makes it the second series where Ram had a good character but died out of nowhere after Beyond the Realm of Conscience. I see how it was necessary for the finale though.

Stephen Wong - "Koo Yu Yan"

Stephen might be tall and quite cute sometimes, but he doesn't have what it takes to be a solid supporting actor. His emotional scenes still make me cringe. There doesn't seem to be much improvement from his performance in 2007's Steps.

Alex Lam - "Koo Yu Leung"

How tall is Alex? He's so short! Nevertheless, he is a decent actor. He exaggerates at times, but he is so much easier to watch than Stephen despite not being handsome.

Shirley Yeung - "Koo Yu Kuen"

I'm actually surprised Shirley had so little screen time. Her "status" with TVB is falling quicker than Ron's. Then again, I'm relieved. She constantly screams all her lines in all of her performances. I couldn't find the difference between Shirley's portrayal of "Ah Kuen" and "Ah Fun" in A Chip Off the Old Block, except for hair and costume.
Nancy Wu - "Chow Bing Bing"
I was expecting more from the character, but Bing Bing made no impact on the overall plot whatsoever. She gave Ah Ngan a hard time, got dumped by Ah Cheung, then disappeared. This role brought no justice to Nancy's talent.

Tavia Yeung - Young "Au Yeung Wai Lan"

All I have to say is: TVB, just because Tavia is very good at crying, it doesn't mean you should force her to cry in all her scenes.

Length

I wasn't impressed with A Fistful of Stances when I first started. The flashbacks were necessary to foreshadow the plot, but were boring. It was a big 'sob story.' While I appreciate that they went with the 'show, not tell' method, I would've preferred that they didn't waste so much time with them. Flashbacks are cool, they give you a taste of what the characters were like before, but TVB always goes overboard with them. I continued to be not impressed when "Koo Yu Cheung" was introduced. Yes, he was pitiful, but it's frustrating to see a character throw a big tantrum. The series first started intriguing me after Koo Yu Cheung started settling into the Koo family after his kidnapper/adoptive mother's death. The family at that point was reunited and the plot finally started to develop. Fistful's turning point was definitely the rape of Ah Ngan. (The rapist was potrayed by Eric Li, who gave a very convincing and rather haunting performance!) The family's chemistry (as well as Ah Ngan's blooming friendship and crush on Ah Cheung) finally came full circle. From then on, the series flew by. The pace after episode 8 is very fast and very addictive.

Overall Thoughts

A Fistful of Stances is clearly a Moonlight Resonance rip off. However, it's hard to hate the series for it because it took everything Moonlight had and made it better. All the ridiculous bickering was toned down. The issues dealt with the Koo family were much more tragic than the silly problems dealt with in Moonlight. Fistful, in my opinion, holds many more merits. It ties together drama and comedy much better. While some family scenes were included, they didn't occur as often and were not as forced. There weren't a bunch of family scenes included just for the sake and fun of it. Fistful is engaging, addictive, and definitely one of the better series of 2010.

Rating: 4 stars

Monday, May 17, 2010

[Message From Iris] 5/17/10

Hello, lovely readers! It's been quite a while since I've left a message on my blog. This is just to let you guys know I'm still alive! :)

So what have I been up to lately? I haven't updated TVB Interaction in over two weeks, but that doesn't mean I haven't been writing anything. In fact, I've written two articles recently. One is a spotlight on Kenneth Ma while the other is an article about series to look out for this year. However, they are written exclusively for the first issue of TVB Central Magazine. These two articles will be made available to view here after the release but if you want to read it first hand you'll have to read the magazine! It is due out at the end of the month. Make sure to check it out! It will be focusing on The Mysteries of Love and its main cast members Raymond Lam, Tavia Yeung, Kenneth Ma, and Bernice Liu.

The reason I wrote not one, but two articles in such a short amount of time (within a week)? I miss writing. Even though I normally don't dig out what's at the bottom of my heart and throw it into a post, writing is a type of therapy to me. It relaxes me and makes me less stress. In a time where things have gotten crazier and more tense, this therapy is just what I need. Plus, I'm still in denial that I will be finishing middle school in just one more month. It's safe to say that I've regained my inspiration and interest back. I'm sure that's good news to my loyal readers! :)

Hopefully, my review for A Fistful of Stances will be up sometime this week.

The Mysteries of Love

English Title: The Mysteries of Love
Chinese Title: ????
Cantonese Title: Tam Ching Suet Ngon
Broadcast Period: May 24, 2010 – June 25, 2010
Genre: Modern Drama
Length: 20 episodes
Producer: Lau Ka Ho
Scriptwriter: Wong Yuk Tak & Leung Man Wah
Cast: Raymond Lam, Tavia Yeung, Kenneth Ma, Bernice Liu, Lisa. S., Ruco Chan, Mary Hon, Law Lok Lam, Lee Kwok Lun, Jazz Lam, Evergreen Mak, Jess Shum
Synopsis

This is a love story between a professor and a policewoman. Their dating experience is enhanced with sense and sensibility through the application of interesting physics theories on the investigation of various crime cases.

KING POK (Raymond Lam) is regarded as the youngest genius in physics and he is appointed as an associate professor in a Hong Kong university. Invited by his good friend LO TIN-HANG (Kenneth Ma), Senior Inspector of Police at Regional Crime Unit, POK assists in cracking many mysterious crime cases and he also meets the policewoman CHUI SIU-LAI (Tavia Yeung) during the process. The rational POK evaluates that he has fallen in love with LAI because of a love hormone called “phenylalanine”. However, owing to the huge difference in their family background and life value, POK fails to tackle their ever-changing relationship problems with formulas.

On the other hand, the romantic and uninhibited HANG has been maintaining a sex only relationship with the journalist LING MAN-KA (Bernice Liu). HANG doesn’t believe in eternity and he is only looking for sensual pleasure in a woman. However, his belief is suddenly shattered when he learns that MAN is going to get married.
Comments: It's finally here! Can't wait. The cast is awesome and we already know they'll have chemistry. Not only does it have four popular leads, Raymond Wong and Ruco Chan will both join the supporting cast as intelligent villains. Phew, I thought I wouldn't see Ruco for quite some time. I love case solving series and this looks like it'll have a couple good ones. Hopefully, it doesn't turn out to be copied too much from Detective Galileo, the series The Mysteries of Love was based off of. The physics theme is fresh and sounds interesting. I really hope this series doesn't disappoint!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

In the Eye of the Beholder Review


In the midst of all the crappy series that have released this year, In the Eye of the Beholder is like a gemstone in a pile of rocks. It is fun, refreshing, witty, and something new. This series successfully proves that the ancient comedy is indeed not dead (just very endangered). To me, the series is easily comparable to A Chip Off the Old Block. That is not because the two are similar in any way, but because for both, I initially had no expectations. During the costume fitting and filming, I had no interest. I paid no attention to the process of the making of both series. And yet, both series gave me a pleasant surprise. Enough comparing it to Chip though, because this is definitely a series that should be praised by itself.


Characters and Performances

Moses Chan - "Tong Bak Fu"

Tong Bak Fu is an extremely intelligent, witty, and clever scholar, making the character completely lovable. He is one of my fav male characters this year. The beginning of the series where he disguises as a servant (Wah On) to try to court Chau Heung was so sweet and adorable! Moses brings the character to life and makes the character even more entertaining to watch. While rather boring in dramas like in Beyond the Realm of Conscience, Moses has a lot of comedic talent. His portrayal of Tong Bak Fu finally made me his fan.

Myolie Wu - "Chau Heung"

It is unfair that Myolie was judged for not being 'pretty enough' to play Chau Heung instead of her actual performance. Chau Heung may not be as entertaining and unique as So Fung Nei, but still lovable. Myolie's performance was solid and it was fun seeing her as a 'fighter girl.' Surprisingly, she has great chemistry with Moses.

Johnson Lee - "Wat Kei"


Johnson is a terribly underrated actor with a lot of comedic talent. He has amazing co star chemistry with Moses and I could feel the friendship between the two. What a shame that his pairing Shek Lau came out of nowhere. I would've loved to see the two of them develop.

Fala Chen - "Chu Ting Yuk"

Normally, I hate watching bratty princess characters. They are typically annoying and try too hard to be cute. Fala however, nailed the role! She was so lovable and her cuteness came off so natural. For her first ancient series, she did very well. She's also showing us that she has potential in comedy. I love Fala even more after watching her as Ting Yuk, and I also loved her costume and bangs. They made her look so adorable!

Elaine Yiu - "Shek Lau"

Her acting has improved tremendously and it continues to do so. Elaine also seems to become prettier each day! She was cute as Shek Lau, but much was desired from her character. I wish she had more screen time.

Ha Yu - "Wah Hung San"

Veteran Ha Yu showed us his versatility with his performance as the complex and developed 'Cho Pa' in Moonlight Resonance, so this role was a piece of cake for him. However, his role felt rather unnecessary. He had a limited amount of screen time. It makes you wonder how Ha Yu went from Best Actor material to....whatever this role was.


Lai Lok Yi - Emperor

We were all tricked into thinking Lai Lok Yi would be part of the Beholder cast as a major supporting (and I was hoping he'd pair up with Elaine again). Turns out he is not more than a guest appearance, and I certainly don't mind. Lai Lok Yi isn't the worst actor in the world, but he does not look or have the ability to act like an emperor at all.

Highlights

  • Tong Bak Fu disguising as servant Wah On to try to court Chau Heung
  • Watching Ting Yuk and Bak Fu argue and try to outsmart the other
  • Seeing Ting Yuk slowly mature through out the second half of the series
  • Bak Fu always being able to come up with a plan to any problem he's in
  • Tong Bak Fu and Chau Heung's scenes

Ending

The ending for Ting Yuk was very fitting and I really liked it. On the other hand, the last two minutes just made me go 'WHAT?' The tropical island scene with Moses, Myolie, and Johnson was totally lame. Johnson, however, makes a very realistic (and rather pretty!) girl.

Recommended? Yes! It is a very enjoyable comedy and the script doesn't feel as silly as Chip. The whole series is entertaining and will make you laugh, smile, and so much more. Don't give it a miss!

Rating: 4 1/4 stars