"Slow Boat Home" Review

"Slow Boat Home" had promoted itself to be a refreshing youth-oriented and romantic lighthearted comedy. While the first half of the series did manage to be quite enjoyable and deliver many laughs, a closer look and one can easily tell that it quickly morphed into another typical TVB family drama. Although quite funny in its earlier episodes, it became yet another series with poorly written story lines weeded together and love stories that lacked a romantic factor that turned it lackluster and draggy.

The four leads all deliver, but the development and outline of their characters was sloppy.

Raymond Wong is solid as always and delivers as "Cheung Bo Jai". The character would have easily become annoying with his obnoxiousness in the early episodes, but instead Raymond made him quite hilarious. Yet, Cheung Bo Jai found himself primarily pining after Bo Bo (portrayed by Aimee Chan) and caught in the middle of family drama, lacking his own direction in life. Although he has a dream of owning his own boat, not much is ever done with this subplot until - you guessed it - he buys himself a huge yacht in the last episode.

Aimee Chan is surprisingly pleasant and very likable as "Bo Bo". She is charming and appears very comfortable onscreen due to the tailor made role and casual atmosphere. However, it is actually her character that puzzles me the most with her odd actions and behavior. She so readily settled down into life at Cheung Chau and gave up her career as a director that it was simply bizarre. I find it hard to believe Bo Bo would not return to New York when she could, had such a good attitude about working as a waitress when she was formerly a director, and so easily gave up on looking for her father (the reason she came to Cheung Chau) after learning it is not Mui Kei (portrayed by Ngok Wah).

As a huge fan of Ruco Chan, I become giddy every time I start a new series with him as lead. Now, this giddiness literally lasted all through out "The Other Truth", yet wore off for me here after just a
few episodes. Why? "Fit Wing" offers absolutely no challenge to Ruco's acting skills and range, and didn't present much more substance than that of a fool blinded by love.

Selena Li is given more of an acting challenge with "Heidi", who goes from greedy to good to being even more greedy than before and finally back to well, volunteer work doing, no make up wearing good. She does what she can with the role and it's nice to see her exercising her abilities a bit, but Heidi's character changes were abrupt and poorly done.

As said above, the love stories lack actual romance. Ruco and Selena share so much sweet and genuine chemistry, yet Fit Wing and Heidi's relationship was a constant back and forth with Heidi's regression, hurting and using Ruco as well as his loved ones time and time again, only to end with him forgiving her. And then the cycle repeats again. And again. Their relationship was dysfunctional and kept suffering the same setbacks. I feel teased that two such lovable and endearing onscreen love interests were given such a terrible love line.

Raymond and Aimee's line fared better. They were entertaining during their take as the classic bickering rivals turned couple, but I failed to see when Aimee started to return Raymond's feelings for her. Although they were fun together and shared chemistry, they too lacked romance.

However, "Slow Boat Home"'s most significant setback is how disconnected from each other the four main characters are. At first, the series seemed to tell two completely different stories, with one taking place in Cheung Chau and one in Hong Kong. Although this improved when Ruco and Selena's characters relocated back to Cheung Chau, it still couldn't hide the fact that the four were very much disconnected and lacked cohesion.

Friendship was a theme that would have been enjoyable to see develop, but the bonds beyond the two couples was not explored. Aimee and Ruco do not even share a scene together until almost halfway into the series, and Raymond and Selena had almost no interactions despite being childhood friends. It focused almost solely on the two couples and unnecessary family drama.

The most enjoyable aspect of the series though, was the bromance friendship between Raymond, Ruco and Matt Yeung. The three guys appeared very comfortable together and their friendship looked realistic, resulting in fun and warm scenes. However, these scenes were limited, particularly with Matt's minimal screen time and once again, disconnection to the group overall. Poor "Chuen So Kei" was constantly lost about what was going on between the four and almost consistently the last to find out.

Easily the most refreshing thing about "Slow Boat Home" is its location filming in Cheung Chau. It was a breath of fresh air to not see the same boring sets and filming sites yet again and instead see the natural beauty of this small town. Of course, this alone was not able to keep "Slow Boat Home" entertaining and fresh.

What becomes most evident about halfway through the series is that there is no actual point to it. There is no central story line, and just a bunch of poorly written story lines weeded together while the two main couples were pushed apart and back again and again. Not only does it become mixed with trite family drama, but allows itself to fall victim to cliched and random story lines like Oceane Zhu's and Elaine Yiu's. These subplots added nothing to the overall story (whatever that was) and seemed like they were simply included to drag out the series length. In addition, Lee Yee Man's character can probably go down as the most annoying character of the year.

Here's a fun fact: when the series was first proposed, it was supposed to have a music theme and showcase the musical talents of the cast. Ruco and Aimee were to play together on the guitar and piano respectively. Sadly, what showed up in the final script was Ruco strumming random guitar chords two or three times and no use of music as a theme. This is disappointing as it could have helped make "Slow Boat Home" more refreshing, particularly with its musically inclined cast (Ruco can play guitar and sing, Aimee can play piano, Selena can sing and compose and plays the piano, and Cilla was originally a singer). My guess is TVB backed out of this original concept to ease and simplify the filming and production process, since they love taking the easy way out. I would have loved to see music incorporated into this series.

Overall, "Slow Boat Home" is a series that starts off funny and entertaining, but its humor quickly wears off and goes down the trite family drama route traveled a hundred too many times by TVB series. All four leads are strong and likable, but either poor or inconsistent characterization keeps them from being utilized to full potential. If it weren't for the large amount of free time I have on my hands these days and the main cast, I would probably have dropped it by the last five episodes. There was plenty potential, and marketed as a youth-oriented romantic comedy, it had the opportunity to be something fresh. As most TVB series these days though, it is once again wasted potential.

Rating: 2.5 stars

Vote for and help Thanh aka MetalAZNWarrior win funds for his wedding!

Remember a blogger named Thanh, better known as MetalAZNWarrior?  Remember spending hours reading his blog TVB Musings and getting inspired to write because of it like me?  Well, he hasn't forgotten us and and wants our help!

He is getting married soon (anyone remember another great blogger? Nhi or Tkn Portrait ring a bell?), and has entered a contest with David's Bridal to win funds for his wedding.  Please read his marriage proposal story and vote for him everyday here: http://bit.ly/VLM0Gb.  Wasn't his proposal so creative and romantic? :)  Help him make his and Nhi's dream wedding come true!

Now that I've voted and told my readers to vote, I'm going to relive memories (and potentially find inspiration again) by rereading my mentor/"si fu"'s old posts on web.archive.org.  :P

Don't forget to vote!!

Love,
Iris

New banner and layout! Featuring Matthew Ko and STEPSTAGE

After having my 3 year anniversary layout gracing TVB Interaction since, well, my 3 year anniversary back in June, I thought it was time for a new look!

This time I featured Matthew Ko and his recently opened performing arts school "STEPSTAGE". For those who don't know, during the downtime Matthew had from his leg injury, he took the time to make a dream he had come true: start a performing arts training school for young children. This made me like and respect him a lot more as an artist and a person. He seems very bright and ambitious, and looks so adorable and comfortable around the children. I found a lot of cute pictures lying around, so I decided to make a banner out of them! The phrase "The arts are meant to be passed down..." is supposed to show how Matthew thinks of the arts as enrichment and should be exposed to children at a young age. Since the banner revolves around a youthful theme with Matthew and the little students, I decided to pick more fun and whimsical fonts and colors to go with it.

For the first time I'm using one of the new Blogger templates for a change. It looks refreshing, in my opinion. If I still prefer my old template though, I have the HTML code of it saved. What do you guys think?

"Till the World Ends" Episode 3

"Ray, sweetie!  Your first few outfits for your concert are ready!" Raymond's wardrobe stylist Hannah said.

Raymond's short break after his series of concerts in the US was over, and it was back to work for him.  Today was his first costume fitting for his upcoming concert at the HK Colesium, and he wasn't sure what to expect.

Bosco's words from the other night echoed in his head.  "Hey...HK Coliseum concerts usually have some bold and outrageous costumes", he had said.

How bad could it be? he thought.  His stylists knew him and his style, simple and classy.  Surely the outfits couldn't be too bad.

"Here you go!" Hannah came back with a rack of costumes.  Raymond looked up and felt a pang of panic.  One was a bright yellow colored jumpsuit with rhinestones embedded on it, another was made of transparent fabric, and the last one looked decent at first sight, but then he realized there was something that looked like a tail hanging off the back of it.  Outrageous didn't begin to describe the costumes.

"Uh...Hannah, don't these costumes look a bit over the top?" Raymond asked as he bit his lip.

"Of course not, you need to stand out on stage!  You can't just wear your normal boring clothes," Hannah said as she looked Raymond up and down in his button down shirt and dark jeans.  "It's the Coliseum for crying out loud, you need to look like a star!" the enthusiastic stylist said as she waved her hands in emphasis.

"Now go try them on!" Hannah urged.

Raymond went into the dressing room and hesitatingly tried on the jumpsuit.  He closed his eyes to keep himself from seeing how he looked until the jumpsuit was all on.  He opened his eyes slowly and shuddered.  A star?  I look more like a lemon, he thought.  How could he even walk out like this, never mind perform in front of millions of people?  This wasn't him.  This wasn't even him at a drunken Halloween party.  He looked fake.  He felt like a phony.  He...

"What's taking so long!  Let me see you!" Hannah yelled, interrupting him from thought.

Raymond slowly opened the door.

"Well come out here, I can't see you from here!" Hannah complained, then caught a glimpse of him and gasped.  "Raymond, darling, you look fabulous!"

"I do?" Raymond asked shocked.

"Yes, now try on the second costume!" she said, pointing to the transparent one.

Raymond obeyed his stylist and drudgingly went back into the dressing room to try it on.  It exposed his whole bare chest and back for everyone to see, and he didn't even have that much muscle to show!

"I feel objectified," he muttered as he walked out for Hannah to see.

Hannah turned him around and gave a nod of approval, completely ignoring what he just said.  "The girls are going to love it!" she said.

"Now just try on that last one for me please," she added.

Raymond looked at the costume with the tail with dread.  He did not want to try that thing on.

All of a sudden, his phone rang.  Yes, a distraction! he thought.  "Excuse me," he said to Hannah, and answered the call.

"Hey Ray, it's Ella!" she said.

"Hey!" Raymond replied, breaking into a smile.

"Are you busy?  I cooked some soup and thought I'd bring some to you when you're free," Ella said.

Raymond's ears suddenly perked up.  He smelled opportunity.  "Oh, mom, you fell?  Well, are you okay?  It could be serious, let me come visit you!" he faked.

"Wait, what?" Ella asked, confused.

Raymond cupped his ear over the phone and turned to Hannah.  "My mom got hurt!  I need to go see her right away, I'll try the last one on tomorrow, same time!" he told her as he started to dash off.

"Wait, get back here!" Hannah cried.

It was too late, Raymond was already off.  "I'll explain later, you can come over now", he whispered into the phone and took the first taxi back to his place.  He'd have to try on that animal costume eventually, but chatting with a good friend and getting his mind off it for now sounded more promising.

He arrived back home before Ella came had just kicked his shoes off and made himself comfortable on the couch when he heard a knock at the door.

He opened the door to see Ella and his face instantly lit up.  The bright and sweet aura around Ella always made him a little happier.

"Hey!  I made you some soup.  You need the nutrition, it's good for you," she said, holding up a thermos.

Raymond moved his face closer to hers and stared at her intensely.

Ella made a nervous face.  "...What?" she said.

Raymond blinked and said "Oh, I was just checking to see you weren't my mother in disguise," he joked.  "You know, bringing me soup and telling me how I need more nutrition."

Ella blushed.  "Well, I was cooking at home and made a big pot of soup.  I brought some to Fala too," she replied, then proceeded to make herself at home on the couch.

"So what was that about your mom falling?  Is she okay?" she asked with a genuinely concerned expression.

Raymond laughed.  "I was using you as an excuse to get away," he answered.

Ella raised her eyebrows.  "Why...?"

"My wardrobe stylist gave me all these costumes to try on for my Coliseum concert, and they all looked ridiculous", he told her.  "I was just about to be put into a get up with a tail when you called and saved me," he said.

"Oh come on, how bad can they be," Ella replied.

"It had a tail!" he repeated with emphasis.  "This other one made me look like a bedazzled neon lemon, and then this other one was all see through so you could see my whole torso," he described.

"Oh...that sounds bad," Ella said, wrinkling her nose.

Raymond stared at the floor pondering.  "It's not just the appearance of the clothes.  I feel like I'm becoming more of a machine made idol than a musical artist," he said.  "I definitely don't mind having so many girls fawning over me," he said as Ella rolled her eyes.  "I want to be known as an artist though, not some glorified blow up doll, but I can't just refuse to do what I'm asked."

She listened with understanding.  "I get what you mean.  You're just going to have to find a way to satisfy both.  Own what's been given to you, no matter how much you think it resembles a lemon, but also show everyone who you really are," she said.  She looked down at her watch.  "I have to go!" she said, getting up from the couch, causing Raymond to look slightly disappointed.  "Don't forget to drink the soup!  Bye!"

She opened the door and started to walk out.  "Oh, and one more thing Raymond," she said, stopping and turning around.  He looked up.  "Remember that you love music, and that's the reason you decided to enter this industry in the first place," she said with a smile, and then closed the door behind her.

**********

"No, this just doesn't give me the right feeling," Myolie said, stressing the word "feeling".

Kate gave her a puzzled look.  "What do you mean it doesn't give you the right feeling?" she asked.

Bosco, Myolie, and Kate had spent the afternoon checking out sites up for rent to place their cafe in.  They had looked at five different locations that all showed promise, but Myolie had found something wrong with all of them.  "This one's too small!"  "This one's too big!"  "Do you think we're opening a cafe or operating a drug factory?  This place looks so shady!" were just a few of the things that had come out of her mouth that day.  

"It doesn't make me feel anything, doesn't exert anything special," Myolie explained.  

"It's just an empty room right now, of course it doesn't feel overly special.  We still have to renovate and decorate the place!" Kate said, rolling her eyes.

Bosco inspected the place.  "This is a pretty good place," he said, and began poking fun at his girlfriend.  "Not too small, not too big, doesn't look like drugs are being made here," he said into Myolie's ear from behind, making her jump.

Kate looked out the windows.  "It's a good location too," she said.  "It's near the local university so we'll attract a lot of students, and a moderately busy street," she added.

"I don't know," Myolie said.  "I feel like it's missing something."

Kate sat down at a seat by the window and signaled Myolie to sit down next to her.  "I don't think so.  Just imagine what it'd look like once we renovate the place," she said.

Bosco joined the two girls in their vision.  "Yeah, come up with a nice color scheme, decorate the walls, a large display of cakes could go there, the sitting area there," he said.

"Ooo, we could decorate the cafe by theme!  Do something different as the seasons change," Myolie proposed.

"That sounds like a great idea!" Kate replied.  "See, don't you think we could do a lot with this place?"

Myolie looked around thoughtfully.  "Yes we could," she said.

"So is this going to be the site of Myolie and Kate's to be named cafe?" Bosco asked.

Kate and Myolie looked around again, putting together a vision in their minds, and smiled.  "Yes," they both said at the same time and laughed.

"Ok, I'll call the landlord," Bosco said with a smile, and walked to the other side of the room to make the call.

"So what are we going to name the cafe?" Myolie asked Kate.   And that was the next big question.

**********

Now in a good mood, Myolie was back to cooking and making her delicious but healthy dinners.  Bosco and Edwin came over to join Myolie and Kate as usual.  It was just the four of them tonight, and they were throwing around possible names for the cafe.

"We should combine our names!  What about Myate's?" Myolie said while placing the plates onto the table.

"No," Kate said, slightly cringing at the idea.

"Kayolie's?"

"No."

"Mate's?"

"You're not going to say yes to anything I suggest now are you?" Myolie asked.

"Probably not," she said back playfully.

Edwin browsed a list of the things they planned to offer including different hot chocolates, smoothies, cupcakes, cookies, brownies, and other sweets.

"Gosh, everything on this list makes me want to give into my sweet tooth," he joked.  "Hey, how about  Little Sweet Things?" he asked.

"Oh, that's cute and catchy!" Myolie said excitedly.

"I like it!" Kate replied.  "It's short and sweet."

"No pun intended right?" Bosco teased, and the other three rolled their eyes at the joke.

Edwin put his glass of water up.  "Cheers to Little Sweet Things, the next cafe to hit Hong Kong and take it by storm!" he said, cheerfully.

"Cheers!" Four glasses clinked together in joy.

===============================================

Comments: It was nice writing again!  Having already come up with the outline for two episodes, the writing process of this went a lot more smoothly.  I like how once I know what I want to write, I'm able to go with the flow more and let the dialog just come to me, which makes it more enjoyable.  There's focus on Raymond and Ella for the first time, and continued development of Myolie and Kate's cafe!  I hope this sitcom of mine is still enjoyable and fun to read!  Comments appreciated.  Next episode's focus will be on Fala and Edwin.  One relationship will be explored, and a new character will make their entrance!

TVB 45th Anniversary Awards Results + Comments

Another year has flown by, the anniversary awards season is finally over, and it's time for the TVB machine to (literally) churn out more productions for the upcoming new year.  After months of speculation, we finally have the year's award winners, and they're actually all quite deserving!

Best Actor: Wayne Lai, "The Confidant"
Top 5: Wayne Lai, Kenneth Ma, Moses Chan, Raymond Lam, and Damien Lau

Comments: Although the press had made speculations that Wayne would win "Best Actor" a third time, I was still surprised when he did.  I knew it was unlikely, but at the last minute I started cheering for Kenneth even though I didn't watch "The Hippocratic Crush".  Nevertheless, you can't deny Wayne is definitely "Best Actor".  However, I also feel slight pity for Raymond because with his loss this year, he probably won't ever win it now with his announced focus on his movie and music career.

Best Actress: Tavia Yeung, "Silver Spoons, Sterling Shackles"
Top 5: Tavia Yeung, Charmaine Sheh, Kate Tsui, Linda Chung, and Michelle Yim

Comments:  We all knew that in the end, Tavia would win.  I think even TVB knew giving Best Actress to Kate now would just be too premature.  Tavia's lost her spark to me since becoming a leading actress, but that doesn't keep me from truly believing this award belonged to her.  It was such a touching moment hearing Fiona Sit's powerful theme song for "Silver Spoons, Sterling Shackles" play as Tavia was hugged (and got french kissed by Fala!) by her colleagues, including co-stars first wife and third wife Mary Hon, Elena Kong, as well as Kenneth Ma and Kevin Cheng.  The most memorable thing for me was seeing real life boyfriend Him Law shedding tears of happiness for Tavia.  While I'm neutral against the couple, it felt like I was seeing such a genuine and special moment.  However, it annoyed me that Tavia did not go to hug, or even mention Him in her acceptance speech.  Surely she could have at least given an indirect thanks?

Best Supporting Actor: Koo Ming Wah, "Divas in Distress"
Top 2: Koo Ming Wah, Power Chan

Comments: TVB made an interesting twist in the presenting of the Best Supporting categories this year!  Instead of just announcing the top 5 nominees, the top 2 announced the winner themselves (how nerve wracking for them!).  Both are fantastic actors, but Koo Ming Wah was victorious!  This was the perfect way to complete this actor's unexpected and extraordinary success story.

Best Supporting Actress: Nancy Wu, "Gloves Come Off"
Top 2: Nancy Wu, Mandy Wong

After winning Best Supporting Actress categories from various other awards shows, Nancy finished off the year by sweeping up the one at the TVB Anniversary Awards too!  She has been a strong contender for this category for a while, and the mute and deaf boxer role finally gave her the breakthrough she needed.  With the physical limitations of her character, Nancy really needed to rely on her acting skills to portray it.  Next stop: leading actress!  On another note, it's a shame to see that after getting so much buzz, Elena did not even make it into the top 2.  It was still nice to see that despite winning Most Improved, Mandy was also "runner up" to Best Supporting!  It proves that despite being relatively young and new, her acting is already at such a high level.

My Favorite Male Character: Kenneth Ma, "The Hippocratic Crush" as "Dr. Cheung Yat-Kin"

A deserved win!  Kenneth's acceptance speech was very sweet.  I loved how he was genuinely happy for winning the award, especially when he said how it's a dreaded award as it has become to be known as consolation for the Best Actor/Actress award, but he wouldn't mind winning it every year.  Yay Kenneth!  The Best Actor award is still in his future.

My Favorite Female Character: Kate Tsui, "Highs and Lows" as "Chan Ka-Pik/Pat Chan"

Kate could have shown a "black face" in response to winning this award, but she was genuinely happy as well.  Her acceptance speech was so touching, especially when she talked about how she is not very well liked, and said she never thought she would be "favorite" anything in tears.  This may be dubbed the "pork chop" award for Best Actor/Actress, but after working so hard, this was the boost Kate needed.  She may have been the target of much criticism in the past, but by winning this award, she has risen above it all.

Most Improved Actor: Oscar Leung
Him Law may have been pegged to be the hot (black horse) winner early on, but after much delay, it finally landed into Oscar's hands!  Oscar has always made the best of even the smallest characters, and is another great success story this year.  I'm happy for all the recognition and accolades he's received this year.

Most Improved Actress: Mandy Wong
Mandy was at a slight disadvantage as her critically acclaimed performance in "L'Escargot" had aired so long ago, but still took the award home.  And honestly, after getting robbed last year, her name was written on it all this year.  Who could picture anyone else so rightfully winning it?

Best Drama: When Heaven Burns
This win was either the result of 100% online voting, or 100% executive decision.  "When Heaven Burns" may have not been well received overall, but the small cult fan base has proved to be very loyal and very avid. If TVB really allowed the results to rely fully on online voting, who said this fan base couldn't have made their favorite series win?  On the other hand, this could have also been a lame move on TVB's side to get Charmaine's attention and potentially get her back to film with them.  No one expected WHB to win, which was shown through Moses' stunned reaction to when its name was announced as Best Drama.  The biggest "what the heck?" moment of the night.

Outstanding Artist Award:
Chin Kar-lok
Benz Hui
Sunny Chan
Henry Lee
Carol Cheng

This year's "pork chop" awards did not go to the younger actors who lost out on Best Actor/Actress, but five of the many great veteran actors at TVB.  This was surprising, but a very pleasant surprise!  All five of these artists are so deserving.  In particular, Carol's face when she found out she was one of the winners while at her podium was priceless!  I bet she never would've guessed that the host would win an award.

Lifetime Achievement Award: Liza Wang
We all knew that Liza would eventually get this award, and this was her year!  She is truly the "#1 sister" of TVB!  There is no one quite as loyal to TVB as Liza is.

Overall, it has been an enjoyable and exciting awards season and I'm quite satisfied with all the results!

TVB 45th Anniversary Awards: My Predictions and Picks

Despite the continuing pattern of artists leaving TVB and mediocre series after mediocre series, it has been an interesting anniversary season full of twists and turns.  The favorites to win have changed over the course of just a few months, with people having been pegged to win since early on in the year and unexpected last minute top contender emerges.  There's also the implementing of the online voting system, but knowing TVB, executive input for the results would not be surprising.  Following TVB Interaction tradition, I will be voicing my predictions as well as personal picks for the winners and top 5 nominees.

Best Actor

Predicted Winner: Raymond Lam
Predicted Top 5: Raymond Lam, Wayne Lai, Damian Lau, Kenneth Ma, Bosco Wong
Most Deserving: Damien Lau
Personal Winner: Raymond Wong (for "Bottled Passion")

There has been back and forth on who will win Best Actor, Raymond Lam or Wayne?  If given to Wayne, he will film for TVB more often, while Raymond has already announced he will continue only filming one series per year.  Regardless, I choose Raymond as my predicted winner.  The characterization of "Happy Sir" and his performance left much to be desired, but it feels like the time has come for Raymond to finally take the award home.  Kenneth is the black horse candidate that TVB will hopefully not choose to exclude from the top 5, especially since he won Best Actor at the Astro Awards. On the other hand, Raymond Wong is my personal choice for Best Actor, even though he is not a top contender and nominated for the wrong series.  How can he be nominated for "Gloves Come Off" instead of "Bottled Passion"?!

Best Actress

Predicted Winner: Tavia Yeung
Predicted Top 5: Tavia Yeung, Kate Tsui, Michelle Yim, Fala Chen, Linda Chung
Most Deserving: Tavia
Personal Winner: N/A

It's been a tough and close competition between Tavia and Kate, but my prediction and vote goes to Tavia. While her last few roles have been nothing to yell excitedly about, she has the most "Best Actress" material with the best acting chops after Myolie, and like Raymond, it just feels like the right time now. While Kate's character has undoubtedly received the most noise and she continues to grow as an actress, she is not at TV Queen status yet and for her to win now would be premature. She has shown considerable improvements, particularly in her commanding of the screen, so I won't deny a deserved win in another year in the near future. Having only watched a couple episodes of "Silver Spoons", passed on most of the series this year, and the lack of strong female lead performances, I don't have a personal winner.

Best Supporting Actor

Predicted Winner: Power Chan
Predicted Top 5: Power Chan, Koo Ming Wah, Oscar Leung, Him Law, Edwin Siu
Most Deserving: Power and Ming Wah
Personal Winner: Ming Wah and Edwin Siu

It's a hard choice between Koo Ming Wan and Power Chan. Both are so talented, underrated, and deserve it so much. It's a toss up between the two, with a slight leaning towards Power. I have not watched "The Confidant", but am thrilled Power is finally getting the attention he deserves and don't mind seeing either winning. Edwin also delivered a spectacularly comedic, lovable, quirky, and adorable performance as "Ah Yap" in "Daddy Good Deeds" and takes the cake for the best supporting performance by a young actor. As much as I love Edwin, this is still a race between two previously unappreciated veterans.

Best Supporting Actress

Predicted Winner: Elena Kong
Predicted Top 5: Elena Kong, Mandy Wong, Nancy Wu, Aimee Chan, Helena Law
Most Deserving: Elena
Personal Winner: Elena or Mandy

I'll be ecstatic if either Elena or Mandy win. I've always enjoyed watching the captivating Elena, and Mandy shined as "Kwan Yi So". Both always deliver such consistent and strong performances. Mandy may either win this or Most Improved Actress. Nancy has been getting Best Supporting Actress awards this year though, most recently at the Astro awards, so maybe this black horse candidate could also finally go home victorious?

My Favorite Male Character

Predicted Winner: Kenneth Ma
Predicted Top 5: Kenneth Ma, Raymond Lam, Wayne Lai, Bosco Wong, and Moses Chan
Most Deserving: Kenneth
Personal Winner: N/A

I honestly did not watch many TVB series this year, which is probably why I don't have many favorite characters this time around. However, Kenneth is definitely deserving of some much needed recognition, and his character in "The Hippocratic Crush" was highly beloved by audiences during its airing and still is. My Favorite Male Character? I think yes. Raymond could also have a double win, but it'd be unnecessary, especially with how Wai Sir went from attractive and playful to incredibly irritating and underdeveloped. Bosco is also another black horse candidate as "Hui Sir" was also very loved.

My Favorite Female Character

Predicted Winner: Kate Tsui
Predicted Top 5: Kate Tsui, Tavia Yeung (for "Silver Spoons, Sterling Shackles"), Fala Chen, Myolie Wu, Eliza Sam
Most Deserving: Kate
Personal Winner: N/A

While the depressing and tragic life of Kate's "Chan Ka Pik/Pat" may not categorize as a person's favorite character, no other character made such an impact on the press and general public. "Pat" was hands down the most talked about character in all of Hong Kong and the online world, and it's hard to see anyone else winning (unless TVB switches it up and gives Kate Best Actress instead and gives this to Tavia as consolation).

Best Series

Predicted Winner: The Confidant
Predicted Top 5: The Confidant, The Hippocratic Crush, Silver Spoons, Sterling Shackles, Highs and Lows, Tiger Cubs
Most Deserving: Tiger Cubs
Personal Winner: Tiger Cubs

Two words: "Tiger Cubs"! If it was purely fan voting anyway. Full of great performances, captivating action, and a fast moving story, "Tiger Cubs" was the most fresh and entertaining thing to be churned out by TVB in a long time. However, I can see "The Confidant" winning this award as it's been quite a hit.

Most Improved Actor

Predicted Winner: Oscar Leung
Most Deserving: Edwin Siu
Personal Winner: Edwin Siu

Most Improved Actor is probably the category with the most competition! Everyone here has justifications for their nomination. Him Law originally had the lead, but the fact he is not a TVB managed artist pegs him as a black horse candidate. Edwin is the true "Most Improved", having portrayed very different characters in different series taking place in different periods. Sadly, he was unable to ever make as much "noise" as Him and Oscar to make him a top contender. Oscar on the other hand, has been a consistent, reliable, and strong supporting actor for years. He is a great actor, but this was not a year of improvement for him as much as it was for delayed recognition and opportunities. At the last minute, he has emerged as the predicted winner and as much as I want to see Edwin win, I will also be very happy to see Oscar take the award home.

Most Improved Actress

Predicted Winner: Mandy Wong or Eliza Sam (if the former grabs Best Supporting Actress)
Most Deserving: Mandy
Personal Winner: Mandy

If Mandy wins Best Supporting Actress, Eliza will win Most Improved. If Elena or someone else wins Best Supporting, Mandy will win Most Improved. It would be too ridiculous for her to not win anything at all though. While it's odd that Eliza is nominated for and likely to win the Most Improved award when this is only her first year in the industry, I have an easier time accepting her winning than Christine.

It's been an interesting anniversary awards season with its competition and unexpected twists and turns, and tomorrow, we'll see how accurate the press' and our personal predictions were. Any last minute predictions? Do share! A lot of these categories seem to be a toss up between two contenders, and after months of consideration and guessing, we will finally get our answer tomorrow.

"Ghetto Justice 2" Review

"Ghetto Justice" unexpectedly became the sleeper hit of the year when it was released in 2011, becoming a critical and fan favorite.  Since then, many people had anticipated the sequel, including myself.

"Ghetto Justice 2" was set up very nicely.  It was one of the few sequels that truly felt like a continuation from the original.  All the principle cast members had returned, the ones who did not were heard from and had explained absences (Eddie Kwan and Joyce Tang), and the new characters (Raymond Cho, JJ Jia, and Crystal Li) were introduced well.

It all goes downhill from there though. The cases were weak, forgetful, and overall just uninteresting.  They failed to command attention, and with the excessive family related cases settled out of court, it strayed from the fact "Ghetto Justice" is a law series.  There were no captivating court scenes here.  Even the cases that had potential, such as the building collapse, were written poorly and ended abruptly. 


The heart and soul of "Ghetto Justice", embodied in the character of Law Ba made infamous by Kevin Cheng, lost his touch.  His ego seems to have inflated since the original, making him go from lovably cocky to just plain obnoxious at times.  His laziness and playfulness has elevated, and the brilliant lawyer failed to be exhibited much.  All of the subtle characteristics and flaws that made him special and likable in the first one were unnecessarily magnified.  He's still a likable enough character, but just not the same Law Ba that the audience came to love.

Myolie Wu delivers a repeat performance.  She reprises the role and shows small improvements, but doesn't present anything too new or impressive.  She and Kevin still have a great amount of chemistry together, and appear very natural.

"Ghetto Justice 2" wins the award for bringing in the most unnecessary plot device for its story ever: the love triangle.  The sequel saw challenges for Law Ba and Wong Sze Fu through Law Ba's ex-wife Lynette, played by Christine Kuo, who somehow managed to remain unknown to any of the other characters for so long.  The idea already seemed bad in theory, and its execution was no better.  Lynette was irritating, and almost singlehandedly makes the series a long draggy, mess.  There were some redeeming traits in the character, such as her wish to truly help people as a doctor, but her foolish love for Law Ba masks her potential likability.  Christine gives a mediocre performance with jumbled Cantonese and unnatural crying scenes, but the scene where she challenges Myolie to fight for Kevin showed she can be pretty fierce. 

Between the weak cases and overall storyline, the decline in Law Ba's level of likability, and the addition of Lynette, it was the supporting cast that kept me watching (that, and I didn't want to just drop the series since I enjoyed the original so much).

"Ah Dan" (Sam Lee) was already likable in the original, and continues to be.  In fact, I held a higher appreciation of the character of Ah Dan and Sam's subtle yet real portrayal of him this time around.  He is kindhearted and concerned of the well being of society to a fault, but has a tendency to neglect family.  Regardless of how small the appearance, it was also great that Sharon Chan was able to make a cameo as Ching Ching through the form of Ah Dan's memory and mind. 

I had major doubts of the pairing of Sam Lee and JJ Jia, but they turned out to be the pair I enjoyed watching most, from their initial dislike and misconceptions of each other, to their friendship and mutual understanding, to their eventual realization of their love of each other.  At first, JJ Jia's character Ah Sum seemed like she'd be very annoying, but she turned out to be a sweet, kind, caring, but smart girl.  JJ performed quite well, bringing out the heart and wisdom in Ah Sum.  She knew to remember the memories forever, but not let the past keep her from being happy in the present and future.  Her unwavering care of Ah Dan and willingness to help him through thick and thin was touching, particularly when she steered him to learn to accept his mother's death and mend his relationship with his father.  It was a plot line that could have been draggy to watch, but one of few things that were executed well in the series. 

Jazz Lam reprises his endearing performance as the adorable and gentlemanly MJ with ease, and it continues to shock me how he emerged into the character so naturally with his record of playing more rough and immature, younger characters.  Raymond Cho as "Leung Bao" was an appropriate replacement for Eddie Kwan, and had no trouble filling the void left in Law Ba's gang of friends.  Crystal Li did not have much development or screen time to work with as "Grace", but was very likable and shows potential as well as a certain aura of sweetness and intelligence to her.  However, the oddest character and casting decision was Elena Kong, who is pictured on the poster and initially appears to be a main cast member.  Her character had potential for development and another storyline.  Yet, she disappears after her divorce case and is never heard from again.

"Ghetto Justice 2" is deceiving.  It looks the same and as good as the original the outside with the return of its original cast and smooth entrance of new characters, but it's not.  The overall vision and point of the series did not mirror up to the first one.  It tried to expand on what made the original so beloved, but along the way ruined itself.  The sequel holds little novelty and things to praise about, but is full of weak and sloppy writing.  Perhaps it would have been better if the original producer Tong Kei Ming had returned, as he was replaced by newly promoted producer Joe Chan after announcing retirement.

Overall

"Ghetto Justice 2" feels more like a chore to watch than a pleasure, and definitely does not live up to the hype or the original.  With the exception of Christine Kuo, the series does boost solid acting.  However, the point that good acting can not save a bad script has been made and beaten to death by TVB a thousand times over, and "Ghetto Justice 2" is just another example.  The story is not engaging and sloppily written and should not be linked to the original.  There were some entertaining moments and I enjoyed watching the cast (mostly Sam and JJ), but the bad and weak outweighs the good.  Now that this review is written and done, I can now pretend there was never a sequel made for "Ghetto Justice".

Rating: 2 stars