Short Trailer of Swordsman with English Subtitles

-
 Wallace Huo's fans and semi-wuxia fans, the new Swordsman trailer is finally out today! And it already comes with English subtitles. Double hooray?!

Quick Random Thoughts:
  • Some nice scenery and cinematography
  • Yu Zheng = melodrama
  • The bright colors of the costumes got toned down a lot onscreen
  • Overall feel of the drama is more fantasy feel than "wuxia" feel
  • Joe Chen looks the best, second is Wallace Huo. Yuan Shan Shan doesn't even leave a lasting impression.
  • A little too much CGIs, but not as bad as Tang Ren's Xuan Yuan Jian.
  • Not looking forward Dongfang Bubai and Ling Huchong's "romance"

Popular Posts

Character Guide to Nirvana in Fire 2: Wind Blows in Changlin

-
Image
Like Nirvana in Fire I, Nirvana in Fire 2: Winds Blow in Changlin has a plethora of characters that are not strictly good or evil. In terms of story execution, the sequel can be split into three phases, each driven by one of the three leading male characters. The central figure of the first phase is Huang Xiaoming's Xiao Xiaozhang whose intelligence and political shrewdness are well exhibited from Episode 1 to 25. The second phase is led by Liu Haorang's Xiao Pingjing. Although Xiao Pingjing also figures prominently in the first phase, his moment to shine is actually from Episode 28 onward. The focal character of the last phase is undoubtedly the antihero, Wu Haochen's Xiao Yuanqi. His slow progression into darkness and moral conflict bring the story into a new climate.

This drama is officially being subtitled by DramaFever and Viki. You should go check out the series if you want to watch something that is not cheesy and has substance.

Xiao Pingjing 萧平旌 - Second Young Mast…
Read more

Understanding the final episode of Sealed with a Kiss

-
Image
Are you unsatisfied and frustrated with the final episode? Expected a happily ever after? Apparently, the scriptwriter succeeded in getting us all hooked onto this series for 28 episodes and suddenly bombarded us with a really CRAPPY open ending. My reaction when I first finished watching the final shot of Mo Shaoqian  walking lonely toward the police station was like this...

I so expected the last scene to be the novel's ending where Tong Xue cried at the airport, and not Shaoqian at the police station!  At minimum, I think they should have put Shaoqian's police station scene before Tong Xue's airport scene. Then show us Shaoqian at the airport watching Tong Xue's cries from a distance, as described in the epilogue.

To cure my poorly frustrated mood, I rushed to reread the dreamily happy epilogue that the author wrote for Sealed with a Kiss novel. After reading various analyses by different viewers online and the scriptwriter's comments about the ending, I still…
Read more

Nirvana in Fire Character Profiles

-
Image
The political plotting and myrid of characters in Nirvana in Fire or Lang Ya Bang may get a little overwhelming for non-Chinese speakers. When I was first exposed to the story, I got drowned in the many names and relationships of the characters. I hope the character profiles will give you a better understanding of the story as well as the trailer. 
Read more

✿ Chinese Drama ✿ Sealed with a Kiss

-
Image
Title: 千山暮雪 / Sealed with a Kiss/ Qian Shan Mu Xue
# Episode: 28 TV; 30 DVD
Genre: Modern romance
Director: Yang Xuan
Release date: October 2011
Broadcasting Company: Hunan TV
Original Novel by Fei Wo Si Cun who also wrote Too Late to Say I Love You
Cast: Hawick Lau as Mo ShaoQian, Ying'er as Tong Xue, Wen ZhengRong as Mu YongFei, Zhang ChengGuang as Mu ChangHe

Read more

Upcoming web drama Goodbye My Princess based on Fei Wo Si Chun's novel Eastern Palace looks promising

-
Image
Goodbye My Princess is based on the popular tragic romantic novel Eastern Palace authored by Fei Wo Si Chun (also created Sealed with a Kiss and Too Late to Say I Love You). There has been talks about adapting the Eastern Palace novel into a TV production for years but the execution never proceeded until last summer. Plenty of fan-made videos are available on the Chinese video platform bilibili using contents from Liu Shi Shi and Hu Ge's past costume dramas.

Many many years has passed. Liu Shi Shi and Hu Ge have moved on to play more matured roles and the two major roles landed on two relatively unknown actors, Chen Xingxu and Peng Xiaoran. Some may be familiar with Chen Xingxu from his performance as Yang Kang in the 2017 version of the Legend of the Condor Heroes.

Even though I never read the novel because I couldn't stand to go through another tragic heartache, I heard this novel is perhaps one of Fei Wo Si Chun's best works. The tragic love story is between the politi…
Read more