"Daddy Good Deeds" Review

While "Daddy Good Deeds" doesn't offer anything much besides simple entertainment, it is still a fun and humorous series.  No breakthroughs were made here, but I unexpectedly found myself quite enjoying it.

The key to "Daddy Good Deeds" turning out to be enjoyable was that it was a light family series, reminiscent of the warm family series like "Family Man" from the good old days of TVB.  While it can't compare to "Family Man", I like that it's just a comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously.  Once you remove the excessive and unnecessary family feuding of series like "Moonlight Resonance", I actually quite like family series for their sweetness and warmth.

The series is silly, but manages to still be funny without becoming too over the top and ridiculous.  It doesn't try to preach anything, but still offers good morals. Additionally, the rhyming of the dialogue's lines were witty and upbeat.  All the pop culture references were funny too!

The whole cast performed decently.  Ha Yu once again pulls off the father figure with warmth.  Linda Chung proves to be endearing and likable when she's not forced to cry in every episode.  Evergreen Mak and Nancy Wu were definitely mismatched as a married couple, but still performed well with what they were given.  Even Cilla Kung, whose acting could even be described as cringe worthy in the past, was surprisingly natural, adorable, and lovable.  What anchors and makes "Daddy Good Deeds" so fun though, are superb performances from Steven Ma and Edwin Siu.  It is definitely Steven and Edwin who are the shining stars here!

Steven's character may have not been high profile, but managed to be his most memorable and lovable role in years.  "Fat Dat Gor" is a breath of fresh air from Steven's recent boring and righteous roles.  He is caring and generous, but knows when to stand up and think for himself as well.  He's not ridiculously selfless, which makes him realistic.  Steven finally gets to bring a great character to life again, giving "Fat Dat Gor" the humor, charm, and sincerity. This was a fantastic way to end his TVB career with a bang - though I hope this is not his last TVB series ever.  Watching Steven in such a wonderful character and performance again makes me love and miss the respectable actor even more.

Edwin continues to slowly rise in popularity and status again, and it's all deserved.  He's played some more minor supporting roles since his return to TVB, but gets to shine here.  "Ah Yap" is such an adorable, endearing, and unique character and Edwin was the perfect young actor to play him with his cute charm and liveliness.  He has vastly improved and proved his comedic timing here, and is therefore already my choice for this year's Most Improved Actor.  The character seemed to experience an abrupt change, in terms of wardrobe and personality (he became less goofy and more intelligent as the series went on), but I didn't mind too much since Edwin pulled it all off so well.  I hope he keeps becoming more successful and gets to portray more great roles!

Besides Steven and Edwin's individual performances, the next best thing was hands down their bromance together.  They made such convincing and cute "brothers"/good friends!  The "broke back mountain" scene was hilarious.  They genuinely seemed like the close friends they were supposed to be.  I loved how even when they fought for Linda, they played fair and maintained their maturity, as well as still looking out and thinking for each other.

Steven, Edwin, and Linda's friendship was also very sweet and enjoyable.  I loved how they were so supportive and helpful to each other.  The scene where Edwin and Steven pretended to be Linda's boyfriend at the police station in front of Awesome Sir was too funny and cute.  Linda retained her likability all through out here, and it was cute watching them fall for each other.

Conclusion

"Daddy Good Deeds" is not amazing and had some more boring moments, but is notable for performances from Steven and Edwin, and there are lots of hilarious moments.  I can't remember the last time I laughed so much in a recent TVB series.  It's silly, but not stupid or lame.  It may not be for everyone, but I recommend it to someone who wants some good hearted fun and a couple laughs.  I love Steven and Edwin even more after watching this, and others probably will too.  They make it worth watching.

Rating: 3 stars

Top 10 TVB Artists of 2011

Every year, Next Magazine holds an awards presentation.  The main component is the list of top 10 TV artists for that year.  The results have recently released, which is why I have decided to put together my own list.  The results are based off on the whole 2011 year, and does not include series that started airing in 2012.  These artists have been picked based on onscreen performance (i.e. notable performances in actual series) as well as offscreen performance (work ethics, personality, improvements, etc).

#10 - Steven Ma
2011 was a year full of ups and downs for the well respected and gentlemanly Steven Ma.   His series "7 Days in Life" was moderately well received, but like most of his series, aired at a bad time slot.  For the first time, his ancient series "The Life and Times of a Sentinel" was able to snag the "golden" time slot as it aired during the summer.  Known as one of TVB's most loyal artists, Steven's career took an unexpected turn when he shocked and saddened many by announcing he would be leaving the TV company after 18 years of hard work with little recognition. In an effort to get him to stay, TVB executives offered to give him the Best Actor award. No longer interested in awards and just wanting to peacefully leave the company and start a new life in China, a tired and worn looking Steven refused and put his effort into filming his final TVB series, "Daddy Good Deeds" and hosting variety show "Book of Words". Steven worked hard this year as well as all the other years he worked for TVB, and deserves a fresh start and success elsewhere.  However, he will definitely be missed.

#9 - Raymond Wong
Raymond may have played second fiddle to Ruco Chan in "The Other Truth", but ended the year with a bang with his captivating portrayal of lead character "Tung Book Sin" in the unexpected big hit "Bottled Passion". His performance was met with critical acclaim and gained him even more fans, securing his status as lead actor. Fans on JayneStars.com even voted him as the Best Actor of 2011 over Kevin Cheng!

#8 - Nancy Wu
Known for her solid and interesting performances in supporting roles, Nancy delivered a breakthrough in the role of the lawyer "Eva Chow" in "Forensic Heroes 3".  Despite only appearing in a handful of episodes, she maximized the screen time she had and left viewers with a deep impression.  Nancy's performance was met with praise and she became the "black horse" candidate for the race for Best Supporting Actress, making it into the top 5.  This year looks like it will be an even brighter one for Nancy.  Will she finally be boosted up to lead actress status?

#7 - Sharon Chan
Viewers only saw Sharon once in the whole year of 2011.  However, with a role like "Ho Lai Ching" in "Ghetto Justice", that was all she needed to make an impact.  Portraying a pitiable and well meaning prostitute, Sharon became one of the most successful breakthroughs of the year.  Her portrayal of "Ho Lai Ching" did not come without hardship, as she broke her collarbone while filming and spent many months recovering.  Instead of giving up, she toughed out the rough filming conditions that came with the character.  Deservingly and not surprisingly, she took home the Best Supporting Actress, after years of unappreciated and overlooked hard work.

#6 - Linda Chung
"Yes Sir, Sorry Sir" may have failed to boost the careers of Moses Chan, Tavia Yeung, and Ron Ng, but unexpectedly generated a huge amount of press coverage for Linda's "Ms. Cool", who was only playing a supporting character.  "Ms. Cool" was so successful and loved that a spin off series for the character was filmed.  In one of the year's biggest shockers of the year, Linda did not take home the "My Favorite Female Character" award despite predictions and buzz.  However, I think having an entire spin off series based off the character is enough to make up for it!

#5 - Kate Tsui
2011 was an extremely busy year for Kate.  She graced television screens in Hong Kong almost all year round, with six of her series aired (including the previously warehoused "A Great Way to Care" and mini series "Dropping By Cloud Nine").  Her partnership with Bosco in "Lives of Omission" was the most talked about on screen couple of the year.  What made 2011 a great year for the actress though, was the improvements made in her acting.  She appeared much more natural and even cute in "Forensic Heroes III", while still retaining the fierceness and power that makes her, well...Kate Tsui.

#4 - Bosco Wong
Bosco seems to have been demoted to second male lead lately, but this didn't stop him from achieving even more popularity and praise.  His performance as gangster "Michael/Bai Co" in "Lives of Omission" was critically acclaimed and generated a lot of buzz.  Despite only being second lead, he emerged as the black horse candidate for Best Actor as well as My Favorite Male Character, competing against co-star Michael Tse, "Laughing Gor" himself.  Some even noted that Bosco out shined Michael.  It seems being demoted to second lead has only made Bosco more likable and popular!

#3 - Kevin Cheng
As an actor who was starting to be more known for his good looks than acting, portraying the role of "Law Ba" in "Ghetto Justice" gave Kevin the career push he needed.  Usually appearing uncomfortable onscreen and even somewhat wooden, Kevin successfully emerged himself in the unique role of "Law Ba".  It seems that 2011 was not only the year his career was resurrected, but also the year he learned to be more laid back and not take himself so seriously.  The result?  A much more likable and charming Kevin.

#2 - Myolie Wu
Myolie has always been the young TVB actress with the most versatility and skill, but recent years had her plagued with undeserved criticism for weak roles.  This was the year she finally fought back and won over viewers again.  "The Rippling Blossom", "Curse of the Royal Harem", and the sleeper hit "Ghetto Justice" all did well and gave Myolie much praise.  She won Best Actress for "Curse", making her the first rising "fa dan" to win the coveted title.

#1 - Ruco Chan
Ruco may not have won any anniversary awards, but 2011 truly was his year to shine.  After 17 years of hard work in the entertainment industry, 2011 was his break out year.  He won critical acclaim for his first leading role as "Keith Lau" in "The Other Truth".  As a result, he became the new favorite among producers when casting people for their productions, particularly Amy Wong.  In a mere 3 months, he pocketed $500,000 HKD from promotions and functions.  He became the new hot topic and household name in Hong Kong, dominating the tabloids and tvb.com blogs much longer after "The Other Truth" finished airing.  To finish off the year, he won Jaynestar's Sexiest Man Alive poll, beating out Kevin Cheng and Raymond Lam.  With "Ruse of Engagement" to be aired soon and the upcoming "Chok Crew" and "Seaside Love", there's no doubt that 2012 will be an even brighter year for Ruco.  He has secured his status as leading actor, and there's no kicking him out.

In my opinion, these are the 10 artists in 2011 that stood out in particular.  They all exhibited something outstanding and made great accomplishments.  We are four months into 2012, so it will be interesting to see what they will be able to accomplish with the remainder of the year.

What are your thoughts?  Who do you think stood out this year?  Comment with your own top 10!

"7 Days in Life" Review

The end and beginning of the year is always the worst time for TVB because it is during this time that all the mediocre series are aired.  After months of being suffocated with bad series, TVB exhales its first breath of fresh air with "7 Days", a series about many different people getting quarantined into Wonderful Hotel for seven days after an outbreak of H1N1 (aka "Swine Flu") is reported there.

"7 Days" showed promise and potential since the series was first unveiled at the sales presentation last year.  Despite major cast and script changes, its potential did not go to waste.  Its storyline was new, different, and taken from a true event.  The humor is completely unlike TVB.  When you laugh, you laugh out loud.  If you're looking for a comedy, "7 Days" is right for you, although there are dramatic twists.

Perhaps one of the most anticipated things about the originally proposed series was its star-studded cast, which would've consisted of Bobby Au-Yeung, Yoyo Mung, Bowie Lam, Krystal Tin, Sammul Chan, Myolie Wu, and others.  Unfortunately, it was later announced there would be a new cast.  Fortunately, the new cast did a superb job although they did not boost the biggest names.  The supporting characters shined in their fun and lovable roles characters, eventually proving to be more entertaining than our two leads.

Patrick Tang and Mimi Lo, whose roles originally belonged to Sammul and Myolie, delivered the biggest surprise of all.  Appearance wise, the two initially seemed incompatible.  Patrick is older than Mimi, but still has a kid-like look while Mimi looks more mature.  From Mimi constantly referring to Patrick as "Fei Chai" to the two of them looking after the kidnapped kid (played by Coleman Tam), their interactions were hilarious and adorable.  I would've loved to see Sammul and Myolie pair up again (and still do), but Patrick and Mimi brought something fresh to the screen.  They are unexpectedly my first favorite couple of the year.

Lately, Bosco Wong seems to have been demoted to second lead roles.  This is best for him, because he is still not able to carry a series by himself.  While I doubt Bosco's versatility in portraying something besides a cop, he looks the part.  Other than that, Bosco needs to work on getting into his characters.

Joyce Cheng may not have been blessed with beauty or exceptional talent, but she works hard.  Her hard work pays off because she has improved since her "Off Pedder" days.  Joyce gave a decent performance and actually became quite endearing and fun to watch.  I hope she gets more diverse roles in the future (this is her second time playing a blundering reporter, and she's only been in two series!).  She and Bosco were cute as brother and sister like friends, so I'm glad it never developed into anything more than that.

Yuen Wah was comedic when it was called for.  Other than that, his character added an extra layer of mystery that kept things interesting.

Many of the minor characters contributed to the fun atmosphere of "7 Days".  Oceanne Zhu was cute and shows potential.  It was nice to see Koni Lui in a different role, although "Karen" was quite silly and naive.  Eric Li was hilarious as the mean manager who yelled at all his employees but constantly kissed up to his rich guests.

Unfortunately, the biggest drag of "7 Days" were the relationship between our two leads, played by Steven Ma and Sonija Kwok.  The premise of a couple who are both thiefs sounded fun, but TVB decided to go in a different direction and make their relationship as rocky as possible.  Mistake?  Yes.  "Calvin" and "Christy" were attempts to create complex characters that ended up backfiring.  In the end, they were a chore to watch.  It was an even bigger chore because they were our main characters.  I don't necessarily dislike Calvin and Christy, complicated love stories are not TVB's thing.

Steven Ma gives his all in portraying his first semi-villain/villain role.  He brought the coolness needed for the character and even brought out Calvin's arrogance.  While some scenes seem forced, I think it had more to do with my positive impression of Steven's real life character and his countless righteous roles from the past than his unconvincing performance.  An even bigger factor was Calvin's complex characterization, which ended up turning into inconsistent characterization.  The transition from an arrogant thief to a man dying from illness who just wanted to be with the one he loved was sudden and abrupt.

Christy was betrayed in love and decided to become a thief with Calvin to toughen up herself.  Unfortunately, she ends up falling in love with him resulting in some unfortunate events, misunderstandings, and more heartbreak.  Sonija is likable to watch, but I fail to see her as a good actress.  The way she speaks her lines still feels unnatural.  While she wore too much make up here, Sonija Kwok looked beautiful with her long curls and feminine wardrobe.

Like all TVB series these days, "7 Days" quality was not always consistent.  It hit a snag around the middle (focus on Steven and Sonija's drama), it quickly overcame it and became more addictive than ever.  Comedy, drama, romance, and even some mystery, "7 Days" has something to offer for everyone.  It is a joy to watch and by the end, you'll feel like the series flew by.

"7 Days in Life" is the best TVB series that's released since TVB's anniversary.  While it has some cliches we've come to expect from TVB, it is refreshing and the most original thing they've come up with since "You're Hired".  I definitely recommend it!

Rating: 4 stars

In Their Face #3

While browsing through my blog in the shoes of a visitor, I saw that I haven't posted a new "In Their Face" in almost a month. Feedback for the feature has been good, and I enjoy writing it. So, please enjoy the newest issue of returning feature In Their Face! :)

Bernice Liu

With her not too skinny yet not overweight appearance, Bernice boosts a unique and sexy image that other fa dans don't have. She is one of the fa dans who can actually pull off 'sexy' without making herself look promiscuous or overly suggestive. While I'm not a big fan of Bernice's acting, and probably never will be, I have instantly fallen in love with her personality. The TVB actress is an active Tweeter and all her tweets drip with her loving off screen personality. She is a happy go lucky optimist. She's one of those people who love life and won't let an obstacle keep her down and will be positive no matter what. It's no wonder too, because although Bernice has been in the entertainment industry for almost 10 years fighting off criticisms and rumors, she is still here as beautiful as ever with a big fan base.

Steven Ma

Steven has been with TVB for quite a while, and receives many lead roles. He is very hardworking, and doesn't mind sacrificing for his career. (He's shaved his head 4 or 5 times to film costume series, which is why he is usually sporting a buzz cut.) He is currently 37 years old, and yet he doesn't look like it. Steven is slightly dorky. In pictures, he's always flashing a sometimes goofy smile. His slightly dorky and youthful spirit give off the impression he is younger than he really is. Unlike a majority of the men today, Steven is quite the gentlemen. He cares for his co-stars, particularly his female co-stars, posing as their 'big brother.' He has been there to comfort Linda as well as Fala. He also seems to be shy.

Patrick Tang

Unlike TVB siu sangs like Raymond Lam and Ron Ng, Patrick is not handsome. However, I think he's cute and has a certain charm. It's hard to believe the guy's 35 years old, as he looks the same age as all the other artistes. When Patrick smiles wide, he can look very goofy. Like Steven, he also gives off the 'slightly dorky' vibe, maybe even more so than Steven. It just proves even more though that Patrick is a big kid that does not look like his age. Along with being dorky, which also makes him seem shy, he appears to be serious about his work. Over the years, Patrick has always classified himself as mainly a singer and it seems that music is what he's more passionate about. Unlike other TVB actors/actresses turned singers, he's also a music composer, and writes some of the songs he's released. Patrick took a two year break from TVB to find better opportunity for himself as a singer, proving that he's serious about what he does and wants to make the best out of everything.