TV Drama Review #310 - Queen of Reversals 逆转女王

No.of Eps: 31
Year/TV Stn: 2010/MBC
Cast:
Kim Nam Joo ~ Hwang Tae Hee
Jung Joon Ho ~ Bong Jun Soo
Chae Jung Ahn ~ Baek Yeo Jin
Park Shi Hoo ~ Goo Yong Shik
Ha Yoo Mi ~ Han Song Yi
Synopsis: (from Dramawiki)
Hwang Tae Hee is the daughter of a chaebol and team leader at her workplace. She married Bong Joon Soo, who works at the same company. When Bong Joon Soo's ex-girlfriend, Baek Yeo Jin, who happens to be Hwang Tae Hee's rival as well, begins to work in her team, troubles start to surface. Tae Hee has to juggle her challenges in love with those in work, helping shape her boss and department director, Goo Yong Shik, from an insensitive and uninterested second generation chaebol to a true leader. Tae Hee's seeming success in love, however, presents her with another problem as she begins to realize that marriage involves just as many obstacles to overcome.
Slacker's review:
I was nt too impressed with Kim Nam Joo's previous drama "Queen of Housewives", but I'm glad I stayed through out for this drama. Perhaps the biggest reason is nt for KNJ but for Park Shi Hoo. Hahaha!  I gave up watching this drama when it aired in Korea last yr, but picked up again when it was aired via SCV. I know this drama deserves a chance...lolz! Plot was standard - a married woman divorced her husband; tried to get her work back and her boss happened to like her; things got worse when her ex-boss tried to sabotage her and her husband trying to get back with her. There might be many cliche storyline, but Kim Nam Joo did not disappoint us. She made Tae Hee a woman whom we cld have seen in real life.
Honestly, both Jung Joon Ho & Park Shi Hoo are male leads here. In fact, PSH stole the show. Why? Coz' Yong Shik's romance with Tae Hee is the biggest highlight in the drama! (I know PSH wld nt be the 2nd fiddle given his status in K dramaland now).
JJH's performance was not bad, but not outstanding. Maybe Jun Soo was nt a strong character, and he seemed to be controlled by women ard him. Finally he proved us wrong as he made impt decisions and protect the people he treasured. Romance plot with Chae Jung Ahn was more down to earth, maybe it's because they are not "new" lovers...
Mr Park is such an eye candy here! Pardon me for being bias. Yong Shik might be rich, but he did not enjoy any family warmth, and people tried to get rid of him. It's not easy for him to get Tae Hee's love as well. There are too many obstacles b/w them, but he did not give up. I really liked his devotion. Hehe!
Chae Jung Ahn is not an actress well known for acting, but her performance here cld be one of her best. No stiff acting, no more flower vase. Yeo Jin is quite an independent and strong-willed woman. I liked her bickering scenes with Tae Hee. Their "friendship" is indeed very different from norm.

TV Drama Review #309 - 7 Days In Life 隔离七日情

No.of Eps: 20
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/TVB
Cast:
Steven Ma ~ Yi Zao An Calvin
Sonija Kwok ~ Wang Jia Yu Christy
Bosco Wong ~ Zhao Zhan Long
Patrick Tang ~ Dai Shao Nan
Joyce Cheng ~ Tang Jing
Synopsis:
Criminal Investigation Department officer Zhan Long follows some kidnappers to a hotel while on duty. As soon as he enters the hotel, the medical authorities announce the closure of the hotel after a guest is found positive for having the H1N1 virus. While he was in the hotel, he meets all sorts of people including Calvin Yi, who pretends to be a Thai-Chinese jeweller and his partner Christy, who pretended to be a rich man's wife. Although Long knows that Calvin has nothing to do with the kidnapping, he believes something sinister is going on b/w Calvin & Christy. He join hands with blundering reporter Tang Jing to probe into the case. As they go deeper, they are not only astonished by the guests’ stories but also their identities. The 7-days closure will come to an end...
Slacker's review:
I bet the cast had an "easy" time to film most of the drama in the same place, the hotel. Ha! "7 days" got an interesting background with H1N1, and the whole drama revolved ard the people in the hotel. 7 days in the hotel seemed so long for a 20 episode drama, so it was boring to see the cast at the same place everyday. There turned out to be some good twists with Calvin & Christy's storyline, and the ending for them was not bad. Nice endings don't always have to be happy...
Steven's performance was average here, though it's nice to see him with not-so-good roles. Calvin is a guy full of plans and he hid his feelings very well. Chemistry with Sonija was not too bad, but I felt their scenes together were too little.
I liked Sonija's portrayal of Christy. Christy is a character full of developments, from being a smart thief to being fooled/betrayed by her partner, to finding out the truth of the whole incident etc.
Bosco's character is typical, and you can't fault him much. Ending for Long was a little crappy. I thought he wld end up with Tang Jing leh....
Patrick Tang's Nan is one of the crucial guys in the drama, as he is linked to the kidnapping. Though it's a pity to see Patrick acting in supporting roles, he did nt disappoint us with his acting.
Good to see Joyce Cheng, and I did not think much of her acting previously. Jing is very suitable for her and her acting was natural.
Theme song "Jin Kuai Ai" by Bosco Wong. 

TV Drama Review #308 - Myung Wol The Spy 间谍明月

No.of Eps: 18
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/KBS
Cast:
Han Ye Seul ~ Han Myung Wol
Eric ~ Kang Woo
Lee Jin Wook ~ Choi Ryu
Jang Hee Jin ~ Joo In Ah
Synopsis: (edited from Soompi)
An elite beautiful North Korean spy Han Myung Wol is on a mission to infiltrates South Korea to kidnap a popular Hallyu star Kang Woo, but she ends up falling in love with him. Despite being the elite spy, Myung Wol's curiosities tends to get the better of her. Accompany and assist Myung-wol with her mission to South Korea is Choi Ryu, a top notch officer in the North Korean army. Joo Ah In, a heiress who is as famous as Kang Woo, stands in the way when Kang Woo and Myung Wol fall in love with each other.
Slacker's review:
"Myung Wol" had a good start with my beautiful country as the stage. (You'll get to see the usual tourist attractions of SG, and watch Kang Woo swims at the world's highest swimming pool in MBS). 
The pace was rather fast, with Myung Wol trying to get close to Kang Woo; Kang Woo buying a secret book which Choi Ryu is also interested in; Myung Wol becoming an actress; both Kang Woo & Choi Ryu feeling something for Myung Wol; In Ah's grandfather is the mastermind etc....
The drama's developments turn out to be typical, but it's still quite entertaining. Come to the middle of the drama, the whole Han Ye Seul saga occurred, with our lead actress flew to LA & returned to Korea in 2 days time. At one time, ppl thought KBS gotta find a new actress, and the drama became "well-known" in an odd way.
The drama plot actually was better after the whole saga, and somehow we cld relate the storyline to the real life event...lolz! (Are the scriptwriters trying to hint something?) Chemistry b/w HYS & Eric was a little awkward, but they got better as the plot moved on. The drama's ending was quite...crappy. It's too rushed and they tried too hard to make it a nice one. I rather the spies MIA....ha!
Shld I be disappointed with HYS's etiquette for leaving the drama half way? Well, as a professional actress, be it how justified her reasons were, she shld nt leave the production. The cast and other folks waited hours and hours for her to return to the set. We are already in episode 11 and the lead actress just left without explanation! I felt sad for Eric and the rest. I'm glad she came back in the end, but her reputation was tarnished...
HYS's portrayal of Myung Wol was nice, and she's very convincing in her role. I liked how Myung Wol's down to earth, and how innocent she was. Nice chemistry with Eric's Kang Woo. Liked their scenes and conversations.
Eric did save the drama somehow, and Kang Woo is one of his best roles to date. At one hand, Kang Woo was an arrogant fella, but on the other hand, he cld be selfless for his loved one. I think I prefer Eric as an actor than a rapper of Shinhwa now. Oops!
Lee Jin Wook's Choi Ryu is a super woody guy here, and LJW's acting might be too stiff to me. We saw how Ryu opened up slowly, but he's too "robotic". I thought LJW was kinda restricted with this role.
Jang Hee Jin's In Ah is damn irritating, but her acting was ok. I nv liked In Ah so I skipped lots of her scenes. It's funny to see how In Ah felt about Ryu in the end. She likes him lo~! Hahaha!!
Ost was not bad, and the theme song by Lena Park was super nice!

Silk Road Gang Gathering

--Singapore Botanic Gardens--
Had a photography gathering with the gang earlier on.
Weather was hot, but we managed to snap nice pictures. I was a little disappointed with my performance though. Hahaha!
Below pics are taken by E.W with my Fujifilm F100fd. It's still a good p&s camera! 

My favourite photo. It's just stunning!
Below pictures are taken by my Olympud EP-3. 

--Sim Lim Sqaure--
Bought my dry cabinet for my cameras. $$ gone again.

AYS Gathering

--Lucky Plaza/313@Somerset--
Attended J's farewell gathering with AYS folks yesterday. Well, it's not a real farewell per se as she will be working in another department next mth, and high chance she wld be my "neighbour" when I shift back to HQ in n mths time. Ha!
Nice to see the rest as well. S brought her darling girl too!

I'm glad & thankful that the guys still ask me out for their dept gatherings after I left HQ for a yr plus
:)

Returning to Raffles Place

--New office--
After working close to 2 yrs in this co, I realised I've been changing offices.
From HQ 28th floor shift to 35th floor, then from HQ shift to my current workplace.
In my current workplace, I just shifted my work desk, and now....
we'll be moving back to HQ 28th floor!
The new office is small, and I think it's within another bigger room. (So probably I've to tap my card twice to enter my office...troublesome sia?)
Hopefully I cld get a window seat....Raffles Place's scenery is nice...
Not sure if Boss will sit with us or my AM's dept.
No worries...just that the office seems empty with just 3 of us ard.
Haiz...need to adjust to the lunch time crowd as well, though I can have more lunch buddies la.

Shall snap a good shot of my new office when that day comes.

Sinful Shopping

--TCC @ ION Orchard--
Had my late lunch at 3pm. TCC's menu changed again, and I saw new dishes and drinks. 
E.W had her Olive & Mushroom Tagliate, while I had mine below.

Yuzu Spicy Spaghetti with Teriyaki Salmon. I loved the yuzu and chilli combi! The Teriyaki Salmon was super delicious~! Yummy!

We tried their new Iced Teas as well. On the left is my Peach Lime Iced Tea, while on the right is E.W's Raspberry Orange Iced Tea. Both drinks have Nada de coco, and for mine, small cubes of peaches are included as well.
--Sinful Shopping--
Wanna shop for some winter clothing for the upcoming trip. Went to Uniqlo to buy their Heat Tech items.
After that, we went to Centre Point & I bought a pair of hiking shoes from Timberland. (Looks like I am ready to climb Mt. Rinjani soon...lolz!) The hiking shoes is surprisingly light.
Went to Robinsons to check out winter wear, but I found Korean brand Basic House instead! Tuan told me their clothes are ex in Shanghai, but I found that their prices were pretty normal in SG. Bought 2 tops from Basic House, and I thought their tops are better than Uniqlo. (I prefer Uniqlo's bottoms though).
Finally, need to find a top to attend my colleague's wedding next mth. Found a nice sleeveless top at m)phosis. The material is a little too thin for my liking, but overall the top is very stylo. Hehe!

Alright, I left a winter jacket and maybe a pair of gloves to buy. I must forbid myself from shopping le. Lolz!

Testing

On my way home.

Testing is successful. Hopefully it'll be the same when we cut over to production next Sun.

I bet I'll see more testings in the next.few months.

Posted via Blogaway

TV Drama Review #307 - Love You 醉后决定爱上你

No of Eps: 18
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/Settv & TTV
Cast:
Rainie Yang ~ Lin Xiao Ru
Joseph Chang ~ Song Jie Xiu
Tiffany Xu ~ Tang Ai Wei 
Huang Hong Sheng ~ Di Shuo Huai 
Kingone Wang ~ Ren Yi Xiang
Synopsis: (edited from Wikipedia)
Two strangers, both proposed marriage to their respective girl & boyfriend, were rejected on the same day. They decided that the best way to deal with the rejection was to get drunk, real drunk. During the 24 hours of their crazy drunkenness, these two stranger became fast friends and got married... to each other. When they finally sobered up, they embarked on a mission to undo every crazy thing they did while they were drunk and prayed that their girl/boyfriend wouldn't find out. However, it turns out that Jie Xiu's girlfriend, Ai Wei, doesn't want a scandal affecting her movie so she asks him to stay married to Xiao Ru for three months
Slacker's review:
"Love You" is Rainie Yang's 1st Settv drama and she did well in the ratings chart. The plot was not new, but the drama has this fresh vibe which seems to be different from the rest. It's fun to see how these 2 "strangers" got entangled in their fake marriage and how they worked to make it real. Lots of funny and lame side plots in between as well, and I really liked the chemistry b/w Rainie & Joseph.
I think "Love You" cld be one of the best drama Rainie has ever acted in. Rainie's acting is more natural and not that exaggerating as compared to the past. Xiao Ru is also a rather matured character for Rainie as well...It's good that Rainie transformed from a young girl to a young lady. I don't think she wants to act cute forever.
It's a little hard to imagine Joseph in an idol drama as he's more well known for being a film actor, or acting in more serious dramas. Well, I'm wrong. Joseph can be so crappy~! (I mean his acting...lolz!) Ok, his acting was a little stiff initially, but soon, I thought he was really into his character and I don't feel the awkwardness in him anymore. There are so many classic scenes he had with Rainie. Nice couple!
Tiffany is still acting as the 2nd lead actress, and her acting is still the same to me. Ai Wei is a selfish person, and she shld blame herself for pushing Jie Xiu to Xiao Ru. But well, she did end up with another nice guy....
"Xiao Gui" a.k.a Huang Hong Sheng appeared as the 2nd support lead when the drama was half way through. (1st part was focused on Kingone Wang). I've never watched Xiao Gui's acting before, so I thought he's alright...slightly more matured but his character was the typical revengeful guy.
As for Kingone, I wondered why his character did nt stay throughout the show. It's a pity that he's still struggling to become a A lister. Kingone's performance was alright as well, cld nt stand out as his character was quite kns as well.
Theme song is "不按牌理出牌" by Magic Power & ending theme is "好的事情" by 严爵.

Strings Delight 弦弦相惜

--SCO Concert Hall--
Attended my 1st SCO concert for the year just now.
The highlights of the concert were Erhu solos by 2 SCO musicians, Li Bao Shun & Zhao Jian Hua.
There are 5 pieces performed by the orchestra.
1.　听松
2.　空山鸟语
3.　夜深沉　(第一乐章：夜深沉／第二乐章：南梆子／第三乐章：乌江赋)
4.　天影
5.　火祭
Saw Mr Poh performing cello as well, but my seat position was not good enough to see him play.

Going for another SCO concert in November. Time for some Mongolian music~!

New Seat

Think my Facebook status has attracted lots of comments...haha!
After sitting at my old desk for 1 yr and 3 mths, I moved to sit at another desk with my colleagues.
So now our dept is "parked" at a corner with my boss....lol!
Not sure is it a good thing to sit so near to boss (Talk crap also must think twice now...ha!)

Need some time to adjust to the new location.

Wanna shoot better pictures?

Just enrolled my Olympus EP-3 product workshop next month, and I'm wondering if I shld take basic photography course.

Any pals interested? I think it's good for me to learn the basics...

This Week's Updates

--Saturday:SCO Concert Hall--
Yes! Found the opportunity to attend a SCO concert again.
"Strings Delight" will feature SCO's two famous Erhu musicians and they will play 5 music pieces.
I hope I will get to see the whole SCO on stage.

--Sunday: Testing--
My Sunday morning is gone for testing. Hopefully it will not exceed 4 hours.

India Trip Prelude

Gulmarg in winter. (Credits:Rangan Datta Flickr)

Taj Mahal (Amir H. Mahmoodi Flickr)

Well, my trip is brought forward by one week to early mid December. Not sure if I will get to see thick snow in Kashmir.

Winter is fun, but preparing the clothes and gears are not fun at all. Lolz! 

Vacation in Dec!

Went to MS Colors at AMK to buy UV filters for my Olympus lens.
Then, travelled to Chinatown to eat my fish porridge. I am in bad luck as the fish porridge stall I liked is always close when I went!
Went to walk walk at OG and decided to check out Ik Chin Travel for my trips to Sri Lanka & Myanmar.
In the end, we decided to visit India in December!!!
My first winter trip, and I'll get to see snow~!
It's really an impromptu decision as I plan to travel next Feb and India is never on my travelling list.


Xmas in India? Sounds cool.

TV Drama Review #306 - Gun Metal Grey 刑警

No.of Eps: 30
Yr/TV Stn: 2010/TVB
Cast:
Michael Miu ~ Mi An Ding (Mad)
Felix Wong ~ Shi Dong Shen (Stone)
Jessica Hsuan ~ Xu Wen Qian (Kim)
Nancy Wu ~ Xu Wen Shi
Vincent Wong ~ Gao Ji Yang (Carson)
Synopsis: (edited from Wikipedia)
When a cop expresses his grievance and anger onto the world, he becomes the most dangerous man in the force. Taken from the top ten famous unsolved cases in Hong Kong, Gun Metal Grey depicts a cop’s road to destruction as well as the very truth of human nature. Fifteen years ago, upright police officer Shi Dong Shen was falsely accused of murder and sentenced to prison. Now that he has been discharged, he decides to get to the bottom of the case. Unfortunately, he is unable to bring the culprit to justice because of lack of evidence.As a result, his suppressed anger continues to churn within him and whenever the law fails to carry out justice, he takes matters into his own hand.The sudden change in his character and behavior places his friendship with his teammate Mi An Ding to the test. Later, when he is trying to prevent Ding from looking further into the case, he even hurts Ding’s girlfriend, Xu Wen Qian. The competition begins to intensify between the two good friends and Ding is determined to deal with Shen according to the law.
Slacker's review:
I'm glad that I picked up this drama. "GMG" is one of the most interesting police drama I've seen recently. The main focus of the drama was not the cases, but how Stone's beliefs changed and committed crimes in the name of justice. The cast got a strong chemistry, especially the 2 veterans Michael Miu & Felix Wong. 姜还是老的辣! The romance plots in the drama was slightly weaker, and the ending was satisfactory.
I guess the most saddening part of the drama is Carson's departure. The plot after his death picked up in terms of pace and atmosphere. It's intensifying as Mad tried to nail down Stone.
Michael Miu is well-known for his "not-serious" look, and Mad is a perfect role for him. Mad is not what he seems on surface, while Stone is the opposite. His vengeance and hatred was clearly shown on his face. Felix Wong was really damn good in his role, and to get a super A lister to act as a baddie is not common in Canto drama.
I liked Jessica's performance. Kim is not her usual type of roles, and Jessica was very expressive! However, towards the end, I felt that Kim lacked screen time and her character became a mere "tool" for Stone to threaten Mad.
Nancy Wu and Vincent Wong's performance were equally impressive as well. This is perhaps the 1st time I thought the supporting roles were given depth and enough development. I thought Wen Shi & Carson were given more plots on their budding romance, though they were supposed to be enemies. Nancy did well when she had her emotional scenes after Carson left. You deserved the award gal!
Theme song is "Hui Se Kong Su" by Super 4, and ending theme is "Wo de li kai ye shi ai" by Alfred Hui.

Silk Rd Tour Mates 2nd Gathering

--Photo-taking @ Marina Bay, 04/09/11--
Took my E-P3 to snap some pics before the gathering.

Marina Square & surrounding hotels.

Saw a sail boat @ Marina Bay.

Marina Bay Sands.

Raffles Place CBD area.

Esplanade.

Outdoor performance @ Esplanade. The young ladies were singing "Edge of Glory" by Lady Gaga.

Tried my new 40-150mm zoom lens. This is Merlion across the bay.

Duck tour vehicle in the water.

Our 榴莲壳 is a good place to snap pics. Loved the architecture!

Marina Mandarin Hotel.
--Kuishin-bo @ Suntec--
Our silk rd tour mates met up again for the 2nd time and the buffet was a treat from LF & ST.
This is also my first visit to the Japanese restaurant.

This was my first plate of food, consisting of sushi, sashimi and Alaskan crab. The crab meat was fresh and tasty!

E.W's vegetarian sushi.

E.W's paper hotpot.

E.W's tempuras and udon.

This was probably my 3rd plate.
Kuishin-bo's food variety was quite wide, covered most Japanese food. However, I still find the price kinda steep. Haha!
Had a great time chatting with the group. We already have plans for our 3rd gathering! Hopefully I wld be able to make it. (Haiz~~my Sundays are gone for testings....terrible!)