TV Drama Review #183 - Kiina 奇异搜查事件簿

No.of Epis: 9
Year/TV Station: 2009/NTV
Cast:
Kanno Miho ~ Haruse Kiina
Hiraoka Yuta ~ Yamazaki Takeru
Sawamura Ikki ~ Miyabi Kazuma
Koike Eiko ~ Endo Sakura
Synopsis: (from Dramawiki)
At first glance Haruse Kiina is a completely normal 29-year-old. However, Kiina is the head of a special investigation unit nicknamed "Beppan" which deals with strange cases. With an unorthodox approach to solving crimes, she draws on her exceptional memory and powers of observation, and gets so absorbed in the pursuit of these cases that she forgets to eat or sleep til she solves the mystery.
Slacker's review:
It's nice to see Kanno back in a new drama! But this time round, "Kiina" seemed to be too similar to her previous drama "Hataraki Man". So what are the similarities? Firstly, Kanno's Haruse was paired up with another rookie in the drama, and that was Hiraoka's Yamazaki. (It's the same in "Hataraki Man" where Kanno was paired up with Hayami.) Secondly, both characters had some super powers-Kiina had a photographic memory, she can just flip the books and rmbed everything. As for her role Matsukata in "HM", she wld be in her "workaholic" mode when she wrote her reports etc. Thirdly, Kiina loved to eat sweet stuffs, while Matsukata loved to eat natto sushi. Fourthly, both Kiina and Matsukata didn't seem to have much luck in romance...haha! Next, both girls had some distinct trademarks when they did their poses..lol! Also, both dramas were based on respective cases in each epi.
Enough of listing the similarities. Even with so many similar stuffs, "Kiina" is still a quite unqiue drama of its own. It's a crime-solving drama, but the cases were related to unexplainable circumstances, supernatural or otherwise. Of course, in the end, the suspects were all humans. Lolz! But it's a nice way to see how they used the unconventional way to commit crimes. What's more? Some of the cases were actually based on real life cases! Even though Kiina might have her way on how to solve the crime, she always went to ask for more scientific explanations from Kudo, who's working as a scientist. (And he's Kiina's ex bf!!)
I enjoyed Kanno's portrayal as Kiina, and she didn't remind me of Matsukata in "HM", which was good. Kiina was a little exaggerating when she's not solving cases, but I liked how she enjoyed her sweet snacks and how she talked to her friends. Once she's following a case, we get to see a different Kiina on a "serious mode". Kiina cld be a little indecisive at times, and she cld be a little "different" when she spoke to Kudo? Ha! Well, I just wished that they cld find some better looking guys to act as her ex la.
Hiraoka's performance was alright, he's more like a complement to Kiina, and their chemistry was not bad la (though no romance b/w them). Yamazaki was quite a funny fella, like how he was so scared of ghost etc. Also, he yearned to join other policemen to solve the normal cases, but Miyabi always put him under "Beppan". So Yamazaki kinda "ren ming" in the end, and slowly, he changed his attitude while working with Kiina.
Other support cast was great, I think two of the cases were linked to the policemen, including Miyabi. Koike was too underused though...
Theme song "Change the World" by Michi.

Birthday Present

--Tuan--
Well, actually I asked the girl to help me buy the album in Shanghai la, but she said it wld be my bdae present...haha! Hey....it's "too cheap" for u liao ok? Lolz!
Anyway, she had got me a backpack with E.W liao...thank u la piggy.
And pls rmb to find me that book. Hahaha!

Belated Birthday Celebration Part 2

--Shokudo @ Raffles City--
This is my 2nd visit to Shokudo after a year (and last yr it was on 29/3 too!). Met up with the teachers and had a nice meal la.
ML's omelette with cheese & ham.
PF's usual fav...sashimi.
Another PF's fav...forgot the name. It's made of potato, and came with egg & sausage.
ML's recommendation...Japanese peach tea!
ML's Katsu curry rice.
Tada! My Hakodate seafood cheese pizza!
My BBQs...tebasaki (chicken wings) & scallop.
And ML ordered calamaris...looked different from normal western styled ones, but it's quite delicious.
--Marina Square--
The gals shopped around in RC before we moved to MS. PF went to cut her hair while ML & I went to shop. Hmm...didn't find any nice clothes leh. Sianz...
--Killiney Kopitiam--
So, we decided to sit down & take a rest before meeting PF again at Chap 2. My first visit to Killiney, which is famous for their kaya toast and traditional kopi. ML had her root beer float, and checked out mine!
Kaya Toast Set! The kopi was nice! I liked the kaya toast too, the kaya was not like those found in supermarkets. Not that sweet & artificial...plus, I like the small pieces of butter in b/w the bread. Finally, my fav soft-boiled eggs! Ok..I gotta admit my "cracking eggs" skills were super lousy, and ML was loling...haha! (Ok i must prac more often!)
So, our dear PF got a haircut, but the hairstyle was not dramatic different la. Hahaha! Hey I'm looking forward to see ur new hair colour soon eh! Hehe!
And, thanks for the present...hahaha! (I will make gd use of it....very soon~~) Yipee!!!

Belated Birthday Celebration

--三盅两件 Soup Restaurant--
Alright...there's no "celebration" in reality la, just a simple meal with my folks plus aunt jo. So, this was my 2nd time dining "Soup Restaurant". Impression of their food was average last time (ordered their set meal). This time round, E.W ordered ala carte, and the food was quite delicious. Hehe!
Soup of the Day: Pork Ribs & Lotus Root.
Steamed San Yu Fish Slices. Yummy!!!
Spicy Chai Po Tofu.
Fried French Beans with minced meat.
Fried Venison Ginger & Spring Onion. Oh my~I didn't know they sell deer meat here. The meat was very tender...ho!
Claypot Sea Cucumber & Duck Wings.
Gotta pardon me for the quality of the pics. My hp's cam suddenly got prob, so gotta use E.W's hp, and the lighting wasn't good at the restaurant. Thus, the pics looked blurred...
Anyway, it's a nice meal, but the crysenthemum tea was 1.8osgd! free flow la...(still kinda ex leh!)
Haiz~My hp's cam is not working leh....jia lat la! Going to change hp in may or june and now this happened! (Samsung phones really know the timing sia...my previous phone also started to switch off by itself when its "dateline" was reaching...haha!)
Bought 2 quilt covers from Aussino after the meal, price not very cheap, but the quality still not bad. Lolz!

Update

Updated "Zettai Kareshi Special" on ZK's drama review.
Go to Tags & search for "Japanese Drama 2008".

致: 自己

3月27日又来了。
今年阿清不会再埋怨自己又老一岁了。
反而是要庆幸自己还能过生日。
最近开始觉得能每年过生日是多么幸福的事情。
因为我们不知道下一分钟会发生什么事。

说到今年的生日会怎么庆祝呢？
还是跟往年一样吧。
不过，今天是有点平淡啦。
因为蒋先生放工时间有点晚，所以跟家人去“庆祝”的计划也要延后到明天。
接下来就是跟死党们一起庆祝了。。。

咳~可能心态真的变了。
以前小的时候很期待过生日。
不过，现在阿清把这一天看得很淡。
不需要蛋糕，也不需要很多礼物。
有人记得就已经足够了。

那今年阿清给自己准备了什么礼物呢？
我只能够说。。。还在“筹备”当中。
如果我能“收到”的话，到时候再告诉大家咯！

在此，阿清要祝自己生日快乐！
Happy Birthday! 0(^_^)0

TV Drama Review #182 - Perfect Cut 2 一切完美 2

No.of Epis: 13
Year/TV Station: 2009/Mediacorp Channel U
Cast:
Thomas Ong ~ Alex Tan 陈毅杰
Michelle Chia ~ Kelly Lim 林咏琪
Edmund Chen ~ Win Cheong 张乐风
Phyllis Quek ~ Joey Cheong 张乐依
Julian Hee ~ Sky Tan 陈冠天
Michelle Tay ~ Wu Xiaoli 吴晓莉
Zheng Wanling ~ Emily Tan
Synopsis: (edited from http://perfectcut.mediacorptv.sg/story.htm)
All will be perfect, if you can accept imperfection. And ever since Alex understood the meaning of it, he and Kelly began dating proper and are a loving couple despite their usual squabbling.
Alex's clinic is also thriving and he has even earned himself the nickname ‘Doctor with a Soul'. All seems perfect until a particularly tricky reconstructive operation leads Alex to invite his good friend and competitor Win Cheong to work with him for the operation.
After the operation, Alex even asks Win to be his partner in the clinic. His decision will unwittingly bring him unwelcomed changes to his clinic and his relationship with Kelly.
On the other hand, Sky is eager to prove himself, goes against Alex's wishes and joins Joey's modeling agency. She soon grows attracted to his innocence and sincerity. Xiaoli is happy but worried over Sky's success, and wonders if they would drift apart.
Emily gets herself a Facebook account and meets Sean, a young boy looking for a girlfriend for his father Clement. Sean is full of disapproval for Emily; Clement on the other hand thinks she'll be great taking care of children. However, Emily wonder if Clement wants to find a wife or a maid...
Slacker's review:
I'm glad to see "Perfect Cut" again. The sequel might not be as good as the previous season, but there's more emphasis on the main characters, how they faced difficulties in their work & relationships. So overall, I think "PC2" was still not too bad, and I don't mind to see "PC3" in the future. Haha!
The individual cases in the drama were excellent, touching on various topics. One of the case was a continuation from season 1, featuring Stella, who likes to find younger men. I thought her case was a pretty sad one, and I didn't expect that ending to happen. The last case was quite interesting - a teenage guy was bullied by his classmates as he had developed breasts and had to cover it up...and his parents later thought there's fairy goddess inside him & refused to let him seek help from doctors. Well, superstition cld be a scary thing sometimes.
On relationships, the side plots of Sky-Xiaoli-Joey & Emily-Clement-Sean were not too bad. I didn't really like Alex-Kelly-Win's part though. Maybe I was kinda annoyed with how Kelly was treating Alex, and how Win kept testing Alex's limits.
Generally, the original cast did a good job. I thought Julian Hee improved quite alot, probably becoz' there's much more depth given to Sky this time round. I always find Sky too innocent & naive, and it was so true when he entered the modelling world. (Quite unrealistic in reality...) I enjoyed the moments b/w Sky & Xiaoli too, like the scene where Sky gotta piggy-back Xiaoli..laughed like crazy. Haha! I can't say much abt the chemistry b/w Julian & Michelle Tay, since they didn't seem to match. Btw, Xiaoli's mum & bro were so annoying! Hahaha! The way Cruz Teng spoke in the drama was like a DJ speaking sia...sounded odd to me.
Liked the inclusion of Phyllis Quek. Joey is a woman who's ambitious & tough on the outside, but actually she's a lonely woman. Phyllis is quite a veteran actress by now, so acting wise I thought she handled pretty well.
And the next fella who's new in this drama is Edmund Chen. I seriously didn't like his acting and his character Win. Firstly, Edmund tried too hard to speak like someone who was working in US for sometime. I couldn't stand him faking a weird American accent when he spoke in mandarin & english. Secondly, Edmund's acting seemed to be the same all these years. Compared to Thomas Ong, his acting seemed to be stiff or overdoing at times. Win is quite an interesting fella- he's ambitious, didn't like to lose, and he seemed to be like a flamboyant guy on the surface, but actually he did used his brains before he acted. Ha! While Alex was kinda restricted with his title "Doc with a soul", Win shared his opinions in another way, and honestly, his thinking was very true in reality. That's a nice contrast between them actually. Well, though I didn't like Edmund's portrayal of Win, I thought this character was quite interesting as he challenged Alex and pushed him to his limits, thus making Alex to discover something else as he went to Thailand later on. As for Win & Kelly, I didn't like how Win wanna steal his buddy's gf, but at least he didn't use any dirty methods.
Thomas Ong...he was great here. Maybe there's nothing "new" to his character, but I think there's more depth given to Alex as we see how Alex dealed with his relationship b/w his bro, buddy and gf. There's lots of emotional scenes for Alex-enraged, sad, satisfaction etc. Thomas chemistry with Edmund was quite nice here, it's fun to see them "battling" sometimes. However, this time round, I thought his chemistry with Michelle Chia was kinda lacking. Their relationship was practically on the same level until they broke off, and later got back together. Most of their interaction seemed to revolve around the patients or with their families. I didn't like the ending of the drama, though Kelly finally accepted the ring. In fact, the last epi was kinda boring with Kelly texting Alex everyday, like writing a diary. They only shared a few scenes at the last few mins! What a waste!
Michelle Chia was pretty much the same, and we got to see the flaws of Kelly. I agreed with what Kelly's mum said to her...she was so patient and understanding to her patients, but not to Alex. And shouldn't she be more sensitive as Win was clearly "too close" to her? I couldn't believe that she didn't sense anything from Win lo.
Zheng Wan Ling was still funny as usual...Emily's romance with Clement was kinda bittersweet, and I really couldn't stand the Sean! Horrible little fella! Don't let me see such a child in real life ah. Hahaha!
Themesong was "Fang Le Ai" by Guo Mei Mei...I preferred the insert song which was sang by her too..but I couldn't find the title of that song. Also, the previous season's themesongs were also played throughout this series...nice songs!

TV Drama Review #181 - Triangle 三角迷踪

No.of Epis: 11
Year/TV Station: 2009/KTV & FujiTV
Cast:
Eguchi Yosuke ~ Goda Ryoji
Inagaki Goro ~ Kuroki Shun
Hirosue Ryoko ~ Sachi
Aibu Saki ~ Goda Yui
Kohinata Fumiyo ~ Maruyama Keita
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
"Triangle" starts with the murder of a 10-year-old girl in 1984. 15 years later, after the case goes unsolved and passes the statute of limitations, a doctor named Goda Ryoji suddenly quits his job as a doctor and joined the Interpol. In 2008, he meets Sachi, a traveling artist in Paris, and shortly after Goda returns to Japan, he becomes involved in the expired murder case when a detective, Kuroki, receives an anonymous phone call with regards to the case.
Slacker's review:
Initially, my expectations for "Triangle" was high, because it's not those simple or cliched thriller plots. But well, after watching a few epis, I knew that the storyline would be going round & round until the final epi, where everything wld be revealed. The excitement of the drama didn't continue for long as the suspects were soon "cleared" from the case. There were lots of twists in the drama, like how Goda's friends were involved, Sachi and her real brother, how Kuroki's father turned out to be a good guy, and finally...the murderer who had always been there with others etc. The twists were nicely done, but I disliked the fact that the case wasn't progressing as the storyline moved on. I also didn't like how Goda always knew what happened next or who's involved in the case indirectly/directly. Actually I think the main theme for this drama is to let people know that they should lead their own lives, because living your lives for someone/some incidents was a painful process, and in the end, you might not gain anything. Though for Goda, I think at least he found the person responsible for the death of his childhood friend, and he could finally let go...
It's nice to see Eguchi again, and he hasn't changed much. Actually Goda was not a very challenging role for him, coz' he's one stiff person who's always suspecting other ppl's motives etc. Eguchi's acting was great, but the character didn't really have much development. Liked his chemistry with Hirosue, though they didn't end up together...what a waste~
Glad to see Hirosue back with a lead role...Sachi was an interesting character as there's lots of character development for her. She was a "substitue" daughter ; found her long lost brother, and later how she decided to find out the truth with Goda etc. I wondered if Goda would lose himself if he had not met Sachi. The ending for Sachi was a sad one...but nicely done. Well, Hirosue proved that she could act, and I liked her in "Departures" too. Looking forward to her next piece of work...
Finally, Goro redeemed himself from his previous drama, which I thought was quite a mess. Acting wise, Goro was still the same, though I didn't think he need to do much. Kuroki was just a normal detective who's helping Goda to solve the case. He's more of a support role, but I liked his chemistry with Goda. Sometimes they didn't seem to click, but they could be good partners in work. Kuroki's main problem was his father, as he's one of the prime suspects involved in the case. As a son, he couldn't trust his father, and doubted him. Soon, he gotta faced another challenge as he couldn't trust the colleague beside him. I thought there could be some romance b/w Kuroki and Yui, but nothing happened....haha!
Kohinata is a veteran, saw him in many dramas, and this is one of the few dramas where his role was really crucial. Actually there's only one scene to hint that Maruyama was involved in the murder case, but the plot quickly "dismissed" the fact that he was involved by using Sachi's dad as the scapegoat. So, I think it wld be hard to guess that he's that fella everybody was looking for all these yrs. Hahaha! Anyway, it's still quite exciting to see Maruyama vs Goda/Kuroki.
Thumbs up to other support cast like Aibu Saki, Tanihara Shosuke, Sasaki Kuranosuke & others, they did made the drama "more fun" by contributing more confusion...haha!
Themesong "Sayonara wa Iwanai" by Oda Kazumasa. It's quite a nice song and some of the instrumentals in the OST are nice too.
If you don't mind getting a little confused or likes to see how the characters got suspected, then "Triangle" could be quite an interesting drama for u.

Sunset after the rain

Glad that the rain had stopped for this beautiful sunset earlier on...
Sun setting @ 7.05pm.
Orange sky @ 7.15pm.
Sky turning red @ 7.20pm.

The sky turned dark and the rain returns...

When's the next Wii Session?

--Yesterday Night--
Ah Ching was happily telling E.W about the games played yday, and kept complaining about the aching hands & shoulders. Hahaha!
So, E.W asked, "When will u play again?"
Ah Ching replied, "Err...a few years later."
E.W laughed...

Crazy women & Wii

--PF's Hse--
Helped Ms Fang buy her lunch before gg up to PF's hse.
Poor Sam Soon Pig...u've been kicked out of PF's room! Haiz...luckily mine is still on my bed. 同猪不同命啊~ Haha!
First time playing Wii...very suagu. Anyway, PF's Mii really looked like her! Hahaha! Couldn't stand the "innocent" look though. We had played quite alot of games, from Wii Sports, to a rabbit game (forgot the title), then to Cooking Mama. Haiz....I am not gaming inclined... Had a tough time playing it. Actually my hands were tired after playing Wii Sports...haha! Anyway, PF must have "fainted" after watching ML & me playing the games. Hahaha!
Chop chop chop~!
Pro PF cooking her meat.
Looking good~

Tada~~Pro PF completed her task. But I didn't took pics of my pathetic dish. Same for ML...ours had turned black...lolz!!!!
Next, we played Wii Fit! Tiring~~~~~That's PF doing her hula hoops. We tried the yoga stuffs and played the balancing games. Our final game was the golf, 3 holes game...but ML & I played so long to finish the game...haha! PF got no eyes to see ah...and commented that this was the first time she saw ppl played so long for a 3 hole game. Hahaha!

My arms and shoulders are aching now...

And my weekends are gone....the boring Overseas revision starts tmr.

SIM Job Fair

Met up with PJ this afternoon to check the fair. Well, it's pretty average. It's either too little positions available to fresh grads, or they just ask u to go search their webbie online. Siam those insurance & financial companies (not interested). Others were looking for ppl who wanna do sales, and the rest? Job agencies lo. Haiz...I ended up filling forms, that's all.
Well, it seemed to be a wasted trip ah? Hahaha!
Gotta hunt for jobs when I finish exams~Good luck to me!

人生の意味

人生の全てに意味があるから、恐れずにあなたの夢を育てて。
キープオンビリーヴィン!

Many zeros...

I think most of you would get what the pic above is trying to tell. It has been a long time seeing currency with such a high face value. The other currency I had used with such a high face value was Indonesian Rupiah. I think I will have a "good time" converting the prices when I buy things in South Korea. Haha!

Utada vs BoA

--Asian singers breaking into US market--
This march, two of my favourite Jpop singers are going to release their english albums in Japan & US. "This is The One" would be Hikki's 2nd eng album, while BoA self-entitled album would be her debut English album.
After listening to both albums, I could only say Hikki's album won hands down. Why? This album is way better than her experimental debut "Exodus", and the songs are very Hikki. Besides, Hikki composed the songs and wrote the lyrics by herself. As for BoA, I read that the americans auto-tune her voice to cut down on her accent and her songs were way too westernised. Where's our BoA? Her english songs' genre was too similar to other singers like Britney. The producers involved in BoA's album are quite famous I supposed, but we don't get to see BoA creating her own stuff. I'm quite sure her singing and dancing cld make up for that though.
I think BoA's new songs won't last too long in my Mp3, but I think it's still a nice try for her.
Hikki rocks!

Da Slacker Talk #15

--未来への挑戦--
もうすぐ２３歳。
未来は暗いです。
どんな仕事がしたいのかわかりません。
無力なぁ～～

せいちゃん！心配ないで～！
今、大切なことは試験です。
従って、試験勉強がんばっています！
ファイトーーオーー！！！

IT Show

--Suntec--
Went to the super duper CROWDED IT Show with E.W, Mr Chean & SC. Actually I didn't plan to buy anything la, just wanna check out Samsung Mp4s prices, and helped SC check out the available Mp3s. Well, the Samsung booths were kinda disappointing, only one of them selling music players and they had phased out a few models, including the not-so-old P2!! I can see they wanna promote the upgraded version P3 la, but it's not the time to buy now.
We decided to check other brands out, but before tt, went up to 6th floor. SC bought her SD card while I bought my Maxtor 250GB portable hard disk.
Went down to check Sony's Walkman...design so so la. Saw Apple's booth also, alot of ipods sold out, left ipod touch, which was out of budget for SC.
Last time, many ppl used to buy printers...but this yr....something edged out the printers, and that is the 32-inch Sony/Samsung LCD TV! Wah saw so many ppl pulling their trollies with big big tv screens ah. Economy crisis? Not so bad lah. (Well, at least ppl are spending, if u hardly find ppl in such shows in the future, tt means the economy has hit rock bottom...)
So we went back to Samsung booth and SC decided to buy S3, but left green for 2gb & black for 4gb. So the girl finally decided to get the 4gb one!
Wanna walked over to Raffles City for a drink, but for some unknown reasons, everybody was told to exit Citylink through the exit to MS. The person who announced the news sounded very impatient and unfriendly...it was raining heavily mah, and she said she knew it was raining but still we gotta use the main road to reach the mrt lo...and gave an insincere apology. Haiz~

SC, hope u like ur Mp4!

Distant Relatives

E.W just received a call from 大姑, my dad's distant cousin & his wife from Hainan are coming over to my house later for dinner! Wah so last minute!
Oh well, I also don't know who is he...faints~
It's kinda weird to see my relatives from China la, not the first time for me...but it's just odd.

TV Drama Review #180 - Survivor's Law 2 律政新人王 2

No.of Epis: 20
Year/TV Station: 2007-2008/TVB
Cast:
Kenneth Ma ~ Xin Wan Jun (MK)
Ella Koon ~ Sun Li Li Lily
Sammul Chan ~ Zuo Wei Ming Vincent
Selena Li ~ Zheng Cai Yu
Synopsis: (edited from Wikipedia)
Xin Wan Jun (MK) was wrongly accused of taking drugs. Despite his background, he hired a famous lawyer to help him, and not surprisingly, he won. The lawyer, Brandon (Waise Lee), became his idol, and MK aimed to be a lawyer like Brandon.
Years later, MK beats Brandon's wife, Brenda in a case, and starts working in TB&B. There he meets a stubborn, rich, and spoilt lawyer, Lily, who only cares about her looks and likes to go shopping. They became enemies soon after that.
MK also meets Vincent, who's lawyer licence was suspended for three years. After splitting with his former girlfriend, Jessica, Vincent falls in love with Cai Yu, who's working in a cafe. After Vincent resumes his post as a barrister, he represented Lily's father's company as their lawyer and went against Cai Yu, her family, and his best friend MK in court. Cai Yu thought he betrayed them and only cares about himself & initiats a breakup.
In a court case, MK finally confesses to Lily, but she didn't like him because of his background. But after MK jumps into the sea (to swim back to get to a court case) and ends up in the hospital, she starts to like him. During the court case over Bao Bao's custody, she proposes to him and asks for custody, which they got, and they eventually get married in court.
Cai Yu is admitted into hospital after being hit on the head & falls into a coma. She later gives birth to a baby boy named Jophy. Vincent, while trying to uncover Noel's crimes, knocks his head against a drawer & suffers from amnesia. Vincent is later accused of murdering MK's friend and injures Lily's father...
Slacker's review:
I didn't watch the first series of "Survivor's Law", but basically the plot for the sequel is not related to the previous one. So, no worries! Sammul's character Vincent was the only one remained in the sequel, while the rest were brand new characters.
"SL2" plot was pretty similar to other lawyer-themed dramas. There's romance, family relationship, various court cases etc. Some of the cases were pretty short (less than an epi), and there were no big twists from most of the cases. I thought I enjoyed the interactions b/w characters, lots of humourous incidents and touching scenes-MK & Bao Bao. The only unrealistic part of the drama was how the lawyers behaved in court. We get to see confessions of love, lawyers late for court, lawyer wearing a wedding gown to court etc. I thought that wouldn't happen in reality? I could see that the drama wanna make MK and Lily out of the norm, but it's just so unreal.
Nice to see Kenneth leading a drama, and I liked MK, though he was quite crappy at times. MK was not those typical lawyer who came from a upper class family. He seemed to be flirtatious with girls (but he's just being nice to them), and he didn't look professional (he didn't wear suit to work, except when he has to appear in court etc). So of coz, he didnt' seem to gel well with the rich girl Lily la. Haha! But I really like seeing them together, it's just funny to see that MK couldn't handle her. Nice chemistry with Ella & the child who acted as Bao Bao.
Had seen Ella in her previous drama, I thought her acting was not bad. She did a great job in portraying Lily, who's actually quite a naive person. I didn't like Lily initially coz' she wasn't serious about her job, and the reason why she became lawyer was really...childish. But nonetheless, I saw the change in her as she worked with MK & Vincent. Liked her scenes with Bao Bao too...but she really spoilt the child la.
Long time didn't see Sammul's drama. I wasn't impressed with his portrayal of Vincent. His expressions seemed to be stiff, and Vincent was quite a boring guy actually. I hoped to see Sammul in a refreshing role someday, his acting didn't seem to be improve over these yrs.
Selena's Cai Yu was a self-sacrificing woman, and I only started to like her after she broke up with Vincent, and became an independent woman. Cai Yu became one of the impt roles towards the end of the drama, though she was "aslp" most of the time. Nonetheless, glad to see her ending up with Vincent, though the guy couldn't recall their past.
The other support cast was great, especially Brandon & Brenda. Their r/s was one of the major side-plots in the drama. Brandon's psychological problem did dragged throughout the drama, and he finally overcomed it on the final case (kinda unrealistic too). I just wished that Brandon cld have regained his confidence sooner. Another major side-plot was the romance b/w MK's bro Wan Jin & Lina, it's a bittersweet romance.
Themesong "Xuan Ze Wo" by Kenneth Ma. His singing was alright, but there's still room for improvement.

おくりびと Departures

--Crystal Jade Kitchen @ Junction 8--
Havent stepped into Junction 8 for years...our malls are always expanding. Anyway, first time drove to Bishan...and to drive E.W & Aunt Jo..kinda stressed. U must be thinking why I went to watch movie there? Coz' downtown GV cinemas all full house for "Departures" la! Haiz...
Well, lunch at CJ Kitchen again (gotta clear the vouchers...). The place was a little crowded, and service was average...plus they were a tad slow in serving food. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the Crispy Roasted Duck , Har Gao & You Ji Mian. Didn't like the pork ribs though.
Tasty food~~~
--Departures--
Another excellent movie to brighten my day. "Departures" won the best foreign film in Oscars, and there were many positive reviews about it. I think I do not need to go through the plot here. Basically there were two parts which left me a deep impression. First, cello. Watching Daigo playing the cello reminded me of the good old times again. Suddenly, i realised that I had missed playing the instrument so much. Nice melody and mellow sound filled the cinema when Daigo appeared with his cello. I liked that scene where he played the cello in an open area, with the Japanese Alps in the background. (Wow!!) Second, the job-encoffinment. Dressing up the deceased and applying the make up in front of the family were no easy job! After seeing how Daigo and his boss did all the procedures for encoffinment, I really gotta kowtow to the Japanese. They were so careful and delicate...and they gave the upmost respect to the deceased. There's scenes when Daigo gotta removed the yutakas from the bodies, cleaned them up, then dressed them up in new clothing...all covered up with a top layer. The method to help them wear the clothes was just super professional as they didn't even need to lift up the body.
The story was actually a little plain, but it's not boring, and there was lots of humour. Every character had his/her touching little moments. As for Daigo, many ppl didn't understand why he took up the job, as Japanese also see this job as undesirable (death is a taboo topic). Even his wife Mika wasn't understanding and said that his hands were unclean.
Thumbs up to Motoki Masahiro & Hirosue Ryoko. Excellent acting from them! Motoko is not a cellist, but I think he had trained hard to play the instrument, and I liked his professionalism when he did the procedures for encoffinment. Hirosue's character might not seemed to be that impt, but I think Mika was an impt person in Daigo's life. I loved the couple's chemistry, and it was clearly showed in the scene when Daigo needed some comfort. (Hirosue did sacrificed quite alot for that scene...wow! )
In our society, Chinese are "pangdang" over jobs related to death too. Is death really that scary? Maybe I should just quote from the old man who's in-charge of cremation in the movie..."death is just a gate to another world". It's a natural process in everyone's lives.
Last but not least, the music used in the movie was great. Maybe I would consider buying the OST, if i can find one. Hehe!

Sunset

Sun sets down @ 7.13p.m.
Sunset @ 7.23p.m.
Sunset @ 7.30p.m.

TV Drama Review #179 - Perfect Cut 一切完美

No.of Epis: 13
Year/TV Station: 2008/Mediacorp Channel U
Cast:
Thomas Ong ~ Alex Tan 陈毅杰
Michelle Chia ~ Kelly Lim 林咏琪
Julian Hee ~ Sky Tan 陈冠天
Michelle Tay ~ Wu Xiaoli 吴晓莉
Zheng Wanling ~ Emily Tan
Synopsis: (from MOBTV)
A plastic surgeon, perfectionist and skeptic when it comes to love, Alex never believes in eternity. That is, until he met Kelly, a psychologist. Both of them find it hard to come to terms with each other's definition of beauty. When his daughter and ex-girlfriend return unexpectedly, his relationship with Kelly becomes strained with obstacles. One day he loses his vision temporarily, and that is when he finally becomes brave enough to go after his true love.
The kind and caring psychologist Kelly, is not exactly what she seem to be. She has long been secretly admiring Alex since their university days, however due to misunderstandings, the relationship never worked out. When Kelly’s mother decided to remarry, Kelly was distraught but with Alex’s constant encouragement they both become closer. When Kelly found out that Alex is taking a step back in their relationship in order for his brother to woo her, she is furious and dates Bobby Low (Alex’s friend and rival in cosmetic surgery) instead to spite him. Little did she know that actually she is being used…
Slacker's review:
You must be wondering why I didn't do a review for "Perfect Cut" up till now. Well, since I wld be reviewing the sequel soon, might as well do the review for season one first. Hehe!
It has been years since I last watched a SG drama, and I was glad that I happened to switch over to Ch U tt day when the first epi was shown. Overall, I liked this drama...it's a good production and very different from typical SG dramas. The theme was unique, and the drama explored the meaning of "beauty" through different people. I liked to see the different cases as they showed us why people wants to pursue external beauty, though many were sad cases. I also like the side stories with regards to Alex & Kelly's relationship and Alex's family.
That reminds me of ZWL's character, who's a mortician. I couldn't stop laughing when Emily went for her matchmaking sessions. Hahaha!
Sky's romance with Xiaoli was interesting too. Imagine a hunk with a plump girl? I wondered if it would really happen in real life, but I won't dismiss the fact that it may happen somewhere else. Compared to Sky & Xiaoli, Alex & Kelly were the couple lacking chemistry. Their mindsets were different, and there were many things which just made them worlds apart. Well, that's why they attract each other right? Haha!
Thumbs up to the other cast who was involved in the individual cases. Most of their performances were great (I missed one or two cases though).
Opening theme "Wo Zhi Dao Wo Bian Piao Liang Le" & ending theme "Ni Mei Xiang Xiang Zhong Ai Wo" were sung by Shi Xin Hui. (Really nice songs!)

Time to look for jobs?

--SIM Job Fair--
I always wonder why the job fairs are never held on the days when I have classes. Haiz~ Anyway, I shall make a trip down specially for it this month. Saw the list of companies which would be participating, got a few cos which I am interested in leh. Wondering what kind of jobs they're offering...hehe! Hopefully I cld find something la.
Anybody wants to go too? Haha!

Da Slacker Talk #14

"Being a housewife and a mother is the biggest job in the world, but if it doesn't interest you, don't do it - I would have made a terrible mother." -- Katharine Hepburn

Just a few moments ago, ML was asking me if I wanna join her for cooking lesson. The first reaction from me was "Nah..." (not interested at all). Hahaha! I even told her I could just learn from E.W. Well, that girl is an interesting fella. Perhaps, she's my first friend who have already thought about her future-when do get married, when do have first child, learn the skills needed to be a good housewife etc. Isn't she amazing?
I believe there are girls out there who are like my dear friend, but I think many are like me too. Honestly, marriage seems to be a faraway event for me, and to be a mum or housewife? Oh my...can't imagine. Ha!
Ah Ching is a "flower in the greenhouse" - can't cook, can't sew, can't carry clothes out for drying (bamboo damn heavy leh...wonder how E.W does it. Lolz!) & can't do many other stuffs. The things I've been doing now....are mopping the floor, wash some plates, and use the washing machine to wash clothes. (but I don't know how much to pour the washing power & liquid. Faints...)
Well, I think the main issue here is if you want to do it. All those mentioned earlier are excuses. If you want to be a good wife, then you would want to learn everything. (but some wives would want their hubbies to compromise la.) I already can imagine in the future, ML's kid would be telling me the delicious food she had cooked, the little clothes she had sewed, the values & knowledge she had taught etc.
So, would u want your child to be proud of you or see them disappointed when other kids boast about how capable their mums are? I think the answer is obvious right?
Looking at my mum....I think I would want to be like her too, if I get married one fine day. Wahaha!

And to ML....give your best shot ah. Hehe!

TV Drama Review #178 - Terroir 泰勒瓦

No.of Epis: 20
Year/TV Station: 2008-2009/SBS
Cast:
Kim Joo Hyuk ~ Kang Tae Min
Han Hye Jin ~ Lee Woo Joo
Ki Tae Young ~ Joy (Jo Yi) Park
Yoo Sun ~ Ahn Ji Seon
Synopsis: (edited from SBS global site)
When Tae Min was young, his uncle took him to France and let him explore himself in the world of wines. It’s there that he met Ji Seon, who was adopted, and Tae Min feels his wounds healing with the help of Ji Seon and the wine. One day, Tae Min leaves for Bordeaux, France to grant the long-cherished wishes of Mir Trading President Yang Seung Geol and his uncle who is now in the final stages of his cancer. Their wish is to taste the 1945 bottle of Chateau Mouton Mayer. Meanwhile, Lee Woo Joo was raised by her grandparents in a traditional Korean winery called Nancho. She decides to leave for France after her boyfriend studying abroad in France hasn’t called her for a year. At last, Tae Min gets his hands on the wine, but the bottle ends up being switched with Woo Joo's raspberry wine. Tae Min reveals that he lost the bottle and President Yang thinks that he hid the wine from him and begin to be suspicious of him. Later, Tae Min's uncle passed away and Tae Min receives Nancho from his uncle's will.
Woo Joo's grandfather has to move out and Tae Min changes Nancho to Terroir, a western restaurant. Tae Min couldn't buy any wine as President Yang gets into his way, while Woo Joo constantly bickers with him. Woo Joo gets acquainted with Joy Park, who happens to be responsible for Tae Min's parents' deaths...
Slacker's review:
Terroir is one typical Korean romance drama which features red wine has its central theme. This is the 1st Kr drama to feature red wine, but the plot was really standard, u can guess what happens next and there's no twists. Well, the drama had lots of backstabbing from Yang and his employee who didn't want to see Tae Min succeed. Also, there's the typical love triangle b/w Tae Min, Ji Seon & Woo Joo, plus Tae Min, Woo Joo and Joy. And, there's the cliche plot of grandson working against grandfather. Although the the flow of the drama was expected, it's still watchable as a whole, as I was really curious how Tae Min would fall for Woo Joo. Hehe!
It has been a long time since I last saw Kim Joo Hyuk in "Lovers in Prague" and "Love Me Not". I really liked his performance and he didn't make me disappointed in "Terroir" as well. TM may seemed to be strong and confident on the outside, but he can be pretty weak inside. Initially, I like how arrogant TM was...but I didn't like how he reacted as the drama moved on, especially how he handled his relationship. But I thought this wld make TM a more realistic person as nobody is perfect in real life. Chemistry with Hye Jin was great, and with Yoo Sun too.
I think I havent watch Han Hye Jin's previous works before, though I watched some parts of "Jumong". Anyway, I liked HHJ's portrayal as Woo Joo. I like her short hair cut (made her looked younger) and she's always cheerful, before her relationship with Tae Min became closer. Also, I like HHJ's scenes when she learnt about red wines, and when she's competing with other pros in a competition.
Long time didn't see Yoo Seon...and she's quite a veteran actress la. Nice performance from her. Ji Seon was quite a pitiful character here, so u can't hate her though she wasn't nice to Woo Joo after she knew what happened b/w WJ & TM. Luckily, Ji Seon did end up with somebody in the end. **Happy**
Joy Park...another sad character. Nice to Ki Tae Young again (he was in "Star's Lover" too..) and in this drama, he's finally a support lead. I bet nobody will dislike Joy till he turned bad. Perhaps even some of you wld want WJ to end up with him. He's such a nice guy, but the closest ppl beside him could'nt forgive him for what he did. That made him guilty and sad for so many yrs, and finally...he walked to the wrong path and nearly did the wrong things. Like Ji Seon, I didn't dislike this guy though he nearly ruined TM and his grandpa. Well, KTY's performance was quite good la, as compared to his character in "Star's Lover". I liked to see him with HHJ too, nice chemistry.
Support cast was not bad, though WJ's aunt was rather annoying. The chef was quite a funny fella la. Didn't like the restaurant manager as well....she's always picking on WJ! Haha!
OST was alright, there are some nice insert songs. Can't rmb much of the instrumentals ne...

Update

--Koshonin--
Updated "Koshonin Special". Go to "Tags", then "Japanese Drama 2008" to see the drama review.

P.S: More drama specials coming up.

It's the 5th Year!!!

WOW! Ah Ching nearly forgot that today is her blog's 5th anniversary. Oh My...Time really flies huh? Blogging is part of my life now, and I think I have "work hard" to keep it going for these past 5 years. Haha! Wanna give myself a pat for all my efforts, blogging all the big and small events that happened to me and people around me. **Smilez**
I'm not quite sure if there would be another 5 years coming down the road, but I think I would keep on blogging till that very day- when I'm sick of it. Lolz!
Last but not least, wanna thank all my friends who have check out on my blog on and off all these years.

Yummy~!

--Yesterday's dinner--
Finally! Got to eat some Stingray meat yday! Hehehe! (Not quite easy to find them thesedays in the markets.) Ok, I know that the presentation of the food didn't look good, but nevertheless it was delicious!
Nice food just brightens your day...