Finally a decent TVB drama in 2021!

"Short and sweet with a bitter aftertaste" - that's how I would describe this TV series. Although I have not finished watching "Hello Missfortune", based on the 7 episodes I have seen, I already know I'm going to be entertained.

Without slagging off nearly all of the other TVB dramas in 2021, it's great to finally see coherent, well-thought-out and creative storytelling in a TVB drama. In my opinion, the cast and crew finally pulled off a TVB TV series that deserves awards.

If we were to compare short TVB TV dramas, I can honestly say "Hong Kong Love Stories" (a 2020 TVB drama) could not hold a candle to "Hello Missfortune". The former had far too many superfluous characters (namely Fred) and storylines and tried to do far too much. I reckon the series would have been much better if, in the editing room, they trimmed down the fat (i.e. the university students) and reduced the number of episodes to say maybe 5.

The other 2 TV series I thought were good this year are "Used Good" (still ongoing - will write a separate review for this) and "AI Romantic". Surprise, surprise the latter didn't win anything because "Netizens" (I call them Trolls) are vehemently against Ali Lee having any form of success, even if she deserves it for a pretty decent performance as the leading actress. Glad I got that off my chest. Back to the review.

Without ruining the plot, I'll just say "Hello Missfortune" has suspense, romance, comedy, tragedy and a surprising amount of gore. "Hello Missfortune" (a decent pun I might add) is definitely not for the faint hearted and touches quite a few serious motifs such as the afterlife, the housing problem in HK and violence so maybe tuck the children in bed before turning on VOD on your TVB box/TVB app.

The 2 theme songs are also pretty good and worth downloading on Apple Music (both singers are in the drama).

Read More

Just a bingeworthy TV series when dubbed in Cantonese

Think Pride and Prejudice, except the story is set in China during, I believe, the Ming Dynasty. I’ll keep the names the same as the English novel because Chinese names sound weird in English.

Lizzy is an independent girl, who can make a living by embroidery. Lizzy meets George Wickham and they instantly get along with each other, like 2 peas in a pod. As the viewer, I can tell straight away that they have chemistry, which is nothing short of magical.

By the way, in this Chinese TV series, George Wickham is actually a decent guy and not the scoundrel who eloped with Lizzy’s sister, Lydia Bennett. As for Darcy, let’s say his Chinese counterpart is pretty much the same guy.

As the viewer, I’m routing for George and Lizzy because they have chemistry. Darcy on the other hand seems to be in a serious relationship with his job; he does not have time to go out on dates and no time for silly, useless things like parties. “Having Fun” is of course out of the question for Mr Darcy!

It so happens that Lizzy ends up marrying Mr Darcy because her older sister, who just happens to be Darcy’s first wife, chose Lizzy to essentially “take her place” as his wife and as the mother of her very young son.

Good bye George – unfortunately Lizzy being your girlfriend and eventual wife is out of the question.

Read More

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, How I, Wonder What You Are

"Decent" - that's the first word that comes to mind when anyone asks me how I found "AI Romantic".

At first, I was very reluctant to watch the Drama because it seemed very Ali Lee-centric. On top of that, you couldn't really expect an Oscar deserving performance from her, the leading actress, if her character is a robot. Her acting literally needs to be robotic for viewers to believe she is a robot!

It turned out that I was wrong. Screen time is distributed pretty evenly between Ah Bo and the family who took her in. Luk Wing is hilarious in this, and to be honest, I expected nothing less from him because he has already shown in the past he is not only a pretty good comic, but also a decent actor. Similarly Mayanne is very funny and amazing as his sister and Ah Bo's other master.

The Promo-Poster was very misleading and again, it put me off watching the drama. I thought the storyline would be really silly and have too many unfunny jokes. I was surprised that AI Romantic is actually quite a serious and creative TV series. It explores serious themes such as the dangers of Man playing God, the pursuit of freedom, and the boundlessness of love.

Given the extremely high number of bad dramas in 2021, this drama shone a positive light on TVB. Given the lack of competition from other actresses this year, Ali Lee really should have won Best Actress at the Anniversary Awards for her performance. It's a shame that the voting was rigged; there's no way whatshername deserved to win Best Actress for her performance in "Battle of the Seven Sisters". See my review of that drama here also. TVB even invited Shaun's celeb father to the awards because they knew beforehand that Shaun would win Best Actor! If that's not a sign the anniversary awards are rigged, then I don't know what is.

Tyson also deserves a shout out because he was by far the best "robot" in the series, even better than Ah Bo. He is a seriously underrated actor - should have won best supporting actor for his spectacular performance in this. I really felt sorry for his character when it said it was programmed to sacrifice itself for humans. Tyson is always able to give his characters the sense that they have a layered personality.

I don't recall an opening or closing theme song but the music was ok. The only other bad thing I would say about the series is I heard that AI Romantic is based off a film, so the director worked on both projects. It makes sense to me though because the storyline felt far more suitable for a film than a TV series.

Read More

You know what they say - the higher your expectations, the harder the fall

The trailer and the ending theme song after the first episode showed so much promise: Vivien Koo's song is very catchy; it's filled with so much angst and passion, I'm tempted to say it's the best TVB song of 2021. The trailer also seemed to imply each of the sisters would have their own unique backstory. After watching the first episode, I imagined the terms of their father's will and their inheritance would ultimately bring them closer together, as a family. And I assumed at the time that by episode 10, they would have developed as strong a bond as the brothers in "10 Brothers", to defeat and arrest a big time mob-boss or their father's killer or something.

None of that happened because the sisters do not share equal screen time. The TV series mainly focuses on the stories of 3 of the sisters and mentions the other sisters' stories offhandedly. Not going to lie, I was particularly drawn to this drama because of Hera Chan, who I find super cute. I expected this would be a breakout role for her. It wasn't because she barely had any screen time (maybe 1.5 episodes in total).

The storyline also forgets about the importance of their inheritance, as a large chunk of screen time is given to characters who have little to contribute to the main plot (i.e. the lawyer's assistant Judy and some stand-up comedian who cannot tell a joke if his life depended on it). Youtube that SNL sketch when Jimmy Fallon was hosting; learning basketball at a Performing Arts School is a terrible idea because you should really learn basketball in PE or from playing in the park. That actor from the original "Love: Come Home" should have spent more time researching actual stand-up, instead of trying to act like a stand-up comic.

I won't waste any more time criticising such an utterly disappointing drama - I've wasted enough time looking up time and time again from my phone (i was on Instagram) as it was playing in the background, hoping something funny, interesting would happen. I'll end this review by saying I should have known better because the nonsensical title was already a clear sign of thoughtless storytelling. The literal English translation of the Chinese title is "The Seven Princesses". Look, none of them come from royalty so they can't be princesses. Also saying that their father treated them all like princesses is a downright lie because the seventh "sister" was not spoilt rotten and had no idea of his existence! As for whatshername winning best actress - not sure what the top 10 robberies were in 2021 but her winning Best Actress is definitely right up there on the list, considering the standout performances of the award winners in 2020 and 2019.

I'm just glad Hera Chan was in the promo poster and had some scenes to show off how she is a good crier and good at being stealthy and mysterious in the shadows, like a ninja.

Read More

I really wanted to like this reboot but it was bad, really bad

It actually pains me to write this review because I really wanted to like this reboot. For starters, no Nancy Sit already gave this drama the perfect opportunity to be at least as good as the original TV series. Add on top of that sexy Regina and Hubert Wu, the star of the "Exorcist Meter" series, who also sings some of the best TVB songs, and you have a pretty good chance of making "A Love of No Words" a hit.

I definitely blame the writers far more than the actors because they got the storyline wrong. First of all, the reboot should have been set in Macao like the original. Macao is known for its Casinos and Shows. Think of Britney Spears in Vegas. In her heyday, Q Yee, like Britney, would perform and sing on stage in shows. Like Britney, Q Yee was tremendously popular. There is just no way Q yee performed in Hong Kong. It's like saying Britney began performing in Bristol instead of Vegas, which is a far louder city and never sleeps.

Not setting the TV series in Macao also meant that none of the characters had to travel anywhere outside of Hong Kong. So the setting not only ruined the characters' background stories, but it also restricted what they could have said and done to and with each other in the other episodes.

Second of all, Regina was unbearable as Kwan Ho. She put on this totally unnecessary, high-pitched voice, wouldn’t stop yelling and just seemed to refuse to act her age. Wearing her stupid, tea-cosy sized berets, it came to the point I couldn't stand seeing her on screen. And it's really painful for me to write such a negative review about Regina because she has proven time and time again that she is very, very talented. She is definitely my favourite host on "Home Sweet Home"; she is the professional KOL, who can make crazily overpriced properties in HK sound pretty nice.

She was also excellent in "Airport Strikers" and "Armed Reaction 2021" because in both TV series, she was a sex symbol. In "Airport Strikers", as Yeung Ming's young, attractive girlfriend, she was creating quite the buzz online with her online videos. Her character cheated on him but it was impossible to hate her because Yeung Ming's character just didn't get her career ambitions. The same can be said when she played Fred Cheng's character's sexy but loyal girlfriend, who sacrificed her life to save his. She knocked it out of the park both times!

I think these are the 2 main reasons why this drama is a flop. Although all the other actors and actresses did a sterling job, without the right setting, and without a leading actress who can put her signature stamp on a character, "A Love of No Words" was destined to fail miserably from the start.

Read More

Hera Chan is the lead actress? Now that's what I call Must See TV!

Yes, massive Hera Chan fan here. So clearly spotting her in the Promo Poster and trailer won my vote of confidence in "used Good" way before the first episode came out.

I'm now on Episode 12 and let me tell you, '"Used Good" has been one heck of a ride! Forget about meeting my expectations, the storyline, the acting, the photography, the music definitely exceeded my expectations. Then again, maybe I'm enjoying this TV series very much because most of the other TVB TV series in 2021 have been so incredibly awful.

"Used Good" is great at creating suspense - like I said, I'm on episode 12 and I am still trying to work out what secrets Ho Kwong-Pui's character's Mother and Uncle are keeping from him about their old pawn shop, as well as his relationship with Hera's character.

Hera's character's brother is also very easy to despise because he is so good at portraying a useless dandy, born with a silver spoon in his mouth. It's about time TVB found more actors/actresses, who are willing and able, to take on the villainous roles; if I may quote Satan's song from The South Park Movie , "Without evil there could be no good".

As for Hera Chan, first of all, she is so much more than just eye candy. Her character is funny ("who is the girl in your dreams?" she innocently asks Ho Kwong Pui's character, as if he has a stronger relationship with another girl other than Hera!); she is an Eco warrior (laughed out loud when she brought out the metal straw, and the time she had Ho Kwong Pui's Uncle's straw removed from his drink), and definitely pulling off that "girl next door" look, if you happen to live in an affluent neighbourhood.

The writer/director also deserves a Gold Medal for using inanimate objects so effectively to tell different storylines without straying away from the main plot. Character development is strongly supported by these different subplots: Though Hera's character's boyfriend is extremely sceptical of the strange things that Ho Kwong Pui's character says he sees, she is happy to follow her intuition, and believe Ho Kwong Pui's character is speaking the truth. Given he has been right every time so far, it's hard to say her faith in him is misplaced.

Bottom line is, check out this drama because I'm excited just thinking about the new episode tomorrow. If they released them all in one go on TVB VOD, I would have binge-watched the entire series within a week for sure. That's how good this TV series is.

Read More

Looking for a drama that is so bad it's good? Look no further!

This is a first for me. I'm actually going to compliment a drama that Chin Pang is the lead in. But, of course it's not because of the reasons I imagine most people would expect in a positive review.

Have you seen "The Room" or "Samurai Cop"? I'm sure you have. These 2 movies are the ones I instantly think of when asked "can a movie be so bad that it is actually good?" I would definitely put "The Righteous fists" in the same category.

Let me start off with the first theme of this drama, which is the dream of starting a new life through emigration. In the opening scene, you see the three families of the main characters on a boat, out at sea, heading to Thailand (I don't recall them saying they were going to Bangkok, but I guess that's where they were heading). Each family knows traditional Chinese martial arts and believes Thailand is a land of hope and opportunity: they were basically chasing the American dream.

The irony of course is, Thailand really isn't for them. I would even go so far as to say, it's the worst possible place they could have picked on the world map to call home.

The fighting is non-stop. The fathers of the main characters fight on the boat because pirates were trying to kidnap the women and children. There's more fighting when they are in Chinatown because there is a seedy underworld in the heart of Chinatown. The fathers end up fighting and killing each other because I guess one of them betrayed them. Their children are separated because the house they were trapped in gets burned to the ground. I imagine you would agree with me when I say no-one wants to live in a place where there is constant violence and a high risk of tragedies. I guess, when deciding to emigrate, they never sought the advice of a realtor because a decent one might have told them: the three most important things to consider when buying a home is "location, location, location".

The police are corrupt, the triads run Chinatown, there are foreign soldiers, from I guess America, who enjoy sexually assaulting girls, drugs are everywhere and killing people, and the stash house can be found quite easily by the heroes, which I find particularly annoying because surely stock management would have improved after the first raid. I hope you can see where I'm going with this - the plot is so bad, it's actually very funny to watch.

Talk is also cheap in this fictional world. No-one talks away their problems; when two characters have an argument, it takes less than three sentences before they both realise the only way to resolve their differences is to duke it out. One truth every character seems to accept at face value is "let your fists do the talking", hence the title of the series "The Righteous fists". Might means right. Simple. But if that is the case, then I don't really see how this would make Thailand a place of hope and opportunity for good, law-abiding citizens. The main characters definitely come across as such. Sure, they like fighting but I never got the impression they emigrated to Thailand because they wanted to fight all the time.

One thing that I find immensely funny is when characters take a particularly hard beating, they cough up a mouthful of blood, which stains their teeth, then they get right back up and keep fighting! Internal bleeding is as serious as it gets and I highly doubt anyone would be able to get up after being injured that badly. Speaking of getting hurt badly, Chin Pang's character gets stabbed in the back, literally and figuratively, and he still manages to win his fight against someone who isn't hurt at all! His character then takes a machete in the stomach, in maybe the next scene, and he is still not killed off! Again, it's crazy how plot armour works in Chin Pang's favour.

That's why I'm giving this series an overall rating of 5/10 despite the bad, no awful, script. I'm entertained and ultimately, I guess that is the best measure of a good TV drama or movie. Nevertheless, trash TV like this should not be encouraged.

I'll end this review by saying it's good to see Philip Ng in this because he is a legit action movie star. He is the guy who played Bruce Lee in the 2006 movie "Birth of the Dragon", and in this drama, he beats up so many people, it's like he's Neo in the Matrix. It's just a shame Chin Pang upstages him in the fight scenes they are both in: afterall, Chin Pang's character can literally punch people through walls! Crazy stuff but I expected nothing less from the joke that is Chin Pang's acting career.

Read More

Very Bingeworthy drama when dubbed in Cantonese

So I tend to use a classic piece of English literature when writing my review of Mainland Chinese Dramas. The hard part is figuring out which story I should use to describe this TV drama... I know, Romeo and Juliet because it is also about 2 star-crossed lovers; they should end up together but they don't get the "happily ever after" ending they deserve due to a predicament outside of their control. I’ll tell you all about it, in as few words as I can, if you read on! :)

Chinese Juliet is a Khitan noblewoman living in the 11th century I believe. She can ride on horseback and beat up suitors in a fight. Think of the “Courtship of Atalanta” – Juliet is like Atalanta in this drama. The biggest difference is to win her hand in marriage, a suitor must beat her in a fight, as opposed to a race like in the Greek myth.

Enter Chinese Romeo, who is a very skilled Khitan warrior and close friend to the prince. He wins the fight against Juliet, gives her his prized horse and they get along like a house on fire. They have this chemistry which is quite awesome to watch. I was routing for them to be together.

Juliet warns Romeo that he should marry her as soon as possible which Romeo says he will do. But surprise, surprise he delays the wedding; I guess it’s because he’s a very busy guy – he’s got battles to fight, intense training to do and I guess a prince to protect (Romeo seems to be his personal bodyguard). Juliet also seems to keep meeting the prince for Chinese tea. To me, in those days, that’s not just a sign of interest, no, but a clear sign of dating!

Surprise, surprise, when Romeo’s good friend the prince becomes king, the king instantly asks her father for Juliet’s hand in marriage. Unlike the play by Shakespeare, as this drama is only 10 episodes in (it’s a 39 episode TV series), there’s no way the 2 star-crossed lovers will commit suicide and put an end to their screen time.

Read More

Another unwatchable drama starring Shaun Tam

Shaun never fails to disappoint me with his poor portrayal of characters and poor choice of projects. Or maybe he's just exceptionally good at picking characters that are 2 dimensional and extremely dull. At this point, I don't know if he is genuinely trying to annoy me or if he is just a terrible actor. It's most likely the latter.

I'm pretty sure every TV series I've seen him in on TVB is unwatchable. It's like he is competing with "Chin Pang" to be the most unwatchable actor on TVB. They're tied this year at being unwatchable in my books because their dramas should have been rejected before production. Period.

As for "Take Two", it feels like a complete rip off of "Over Run Over" starring Vincent Wong, Tracy Chu and Ben Yuen. Time travel is such a severely overused plot device on TV. Add on top of that the bad CGI of a collapsing building, and the constant flashbacks of the 2 female leads suffering life-ending injuries, and you have a recipe for disaster.

The funniest thing about all of this is Shaun actually won Best Actor of 2021 for his performance in this dreadful piece of work! Can't say I was surprised he won because the TV execs invited his famous celeb father Ti Lung to the awards ceremony. Talk about something being rigged!

Read More

New talent should be given opportunities to flourish but not at the expense of the viewer!

I'm keeping this review short - but my review is definitely not sweet because the truth hurts. My review hurt me when writing it because I liked watching Kelly in "Home Sweet Home". To put it bluntly, this whole drama is a mess and should never have been made.

The only good thing about "Freedom Memories" is it is only 15 episodes long. Cutting the series short at 15 episodes reduces the amount of suffering viewers have to endure when watching TVB.

I know what TV Exces were trying to do: promote new talent. The problem with that is, a decent drama needs to have some reliable Star power. Without a single proven TVB star, you know, one that actually portrayed one character well in a good drama, this drama just falls flat. It's hard, no impossible, to believe, the characters depicted represent in any way the careers of Stephen Chow, Maggie Cheung and Andy Lau, all of whom have their place in Hong Kong TV and movie history.

Whoever was in charge of casting should be fired because it's a terrible idea to have Dickson and Ding whatshisface, who stole the best supporting actor at the 2021 anniversary awards, play leading roles. I won't start on the girls Tiffany and Kelly but I'll just say they are not ready to play leading actresses yet. Tiffany sticks out like a sore thumb because she instantly comes across as an ABC (American Born Chinese) and it's hard to see her as a Maggie Cheung inspired character - she seems more like a basketball player than an actress. Kelly has bad body language, struggles to deliver lines and can't effectively portray emotions through facial expressions. In short, their acting is very, very wooden.

This time I won't have a go at the script because the careers of TVB stars in the 1980s is an interesting concept, and could have definitely been a good breeding ground for comedy, like in "Old Time Buddy", an immensely funny 1997 TVB drama. I feel they just needed to get the casting right to pull it off. The casting was crap and that is the main reason why this series is unwatchable.

Read More

Just unwatchable - Chin Pang pulls it off again!

Don't know what more I can say really about Chin Pang and this drama given that I couldn't sit through the first episode.

I just can't stand Chin Pang because he keeps trying to come off as a hotshot, you know, that guy who is too cool for school (he's definitely too old to pass off as a student at a school or university) and irresistible to women, like he's China's answer to James Bond or something.

The TVB projects I guess he picks always has far too many unnecessary action scenes. Someone really should tell whoever is in charge of these projects that even the best fight choreography is not a substitute for good dialogue, a good script that at least tries to explore the human condition on some level beyond just the literal. The annoying thing about his TV dramas is he always seems to be having more fun than the viewer. That to me is not only extremely selfish, but also a sign that there is something seriously wrong with casting and the creative process at TVB. I'm not saying someone should be fired but there should be some training programmes in place for the script writers. Some script writers at TVB would then be able to learn how to write something that doesn't rely exclusively on action scenes, and a TV star who can't get over himself.

Quite honestly, I am unable to believe in any of the characters Chin Pang plays. When I watch Chin Pang on TV, I am reminded of his short TVB Covid interview. In it, he says in the past he had doubts about whether he would one day become a lead actor, and had to work really hard to get to where he is now (the top of the TVB acting food chain I guess). What's wrong with being a supporting actor? Maybe instead of trying to stand out from the crowd, how about just trying to play the part you've been given to the best of your ability? Like I said, I really can't stand Chin Pang.

Read More

Bobby, step out of the way for the younger TVB actors!

Bobby was an absolute joke in this. Actually, that is kind of ironic because Bobby thinks he's funny when really, he is just a loud, mentally challenged old man, you know, the kind who can't stop laughing when he talks. There's nothing worse than an old actor who can't get out of the way for the younger TVB actors to step up. If I may quote Bob Dylan's song "The Times They Are A-Changin": "Your old road is rapidly agin'/Please get out of the new one/If you can't lend your hand/For the times they are a-changin."

The trailer and the opening theme song video both seemed to say that the storyline is too clever for its own good. I may have only watched 1 episode, but I felt my hunch was right. It's a bad idea to base a TV drama on chess when it's not about playing chess! It's a particularly bad idea to use playing chess as a metaphor for mind games because "Queen's Gambit", a very-well received Netflix series that needs no further introduction, only came out a few months before this drama.

I praise the other actors and actresses in "Shadow of Justice" because they had to put up with fat-headed Bobby who improvises when he can't remember his lines. Anyone who has watched "House of Spirits" (a 2016 drama Bobby was also the lead in) would know what I mean. I think he gets away with stuff like that at TVB because he is a senior citizen and in Chinese Culture, respecting your elders goes without saying.

In short, don't watch. Go wash your hair or clean your room because that would be better time spent.

Read More