JoleCole's Station

Recently I have been quite critical of the costume designer for the 2013 adaptation of the Return of the Condor Heroes. I felt the costumes absolutely butchered Chen Xiao's pretty features with his horrendous baggy outfits and the prettiest girl in the story became the least attractive girl in the whole production. Xiaolongn ü is famously known to be this godly beautiful creature, but Michelle Chen looks horrendously out of character in her Xiaolongnu's costumes. Consequently, I held a strong grudge against the costume designer for her failure to bring out the physical attractiveness of Michelle Chen.

I am absolutely in love! Specifically in love with the Wei Wuji 卫无忌 and Xingyue 莘月 in  Sound of the Desert  (formerly Da Mo Yao ), portrayed by Eddie Peng and Liu Shi Shi respectively. I have no new substantive material share except for my random thoughts on this latest drama excitement.  Note : Based on the official pictorial booklet released by the production company, official English title for this drama series is actually  Sound of the Desert . The original novel was named Da Mo Yao or Ballad of the Desert . Due to political reasons, it underwent a name change in Chinese to Xin Yue Zhuan Qi , which literally translates to  Moon Star Legend or Legend of Star and Moon . For the sake of consistency and deference to the "official" name, I shall henceforth refer to this drama as Sound of the Desert . I don't think I ever encountered a drama series with so many name variations in English. X_X

The broadcast of Yun Zhong Ge is slated for summer of 2014. In teaser trailer #2, Chen Xiao's Liu Bingyi takes a more secondary role while Du Chun's Meng Jue and Lu Yi' Liu Fuling are put in the forefront. As the titular lead, Angelababy takes center stage as the #1 character with the most scene exposure. Like Legend of Lu Zhen, Angelababy's Yun Ge is the absolute epicenter of the entire drama. All three male leads revolves their own story around this central character.

Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! More than a year after shooting ended, Tangren Entertainment (aka Chinese Entertainment  Shanghai Limited) finally released its first official "anything" of this drama series ( related posts here ). [ Correction: So I was wrong. This trailer is not the official trailer, but a leaked version. No wonder it feels a little "off."] Unlike Yu Zheng who constantly proliferates the entertainment media with real-time photos, clips, and interviews of his productions, Tangren Entertainment had been particularly low-key about this production. Da Mo Yao/Ballad of the Desert , now officially renamed Xing Yue Zhuan Qi which literally translates to L egend of the Moon and Star (LofMaS) has been thrown under the rug in secrecy and silence by the Chinese censorship bureau. Radical history fanatics heavily bombarded the story with criticisms for the over romanticization of a famous Han Dynasty general and distortion of other famous historical figures. Dud...

Though I am still a bit weird out about the Ruby Lin and Yuan Hong pairing onscreen, the newly released trailer for Xiu Li Jiang Shan: Chang Ge Xing is astonishingly beautiful and promising. I have not seen such quality cinematography and choreography in mainland Chinese TV dramaland for awhile. You can definitely tell a lot of money has been spent on the production of the sets and costumes. Ruby Lin and Yuan Hong do not feel as awkward as I imagined them. Unfortunately, there are no scenes of Ding Rou and Feng Yi, the pairing I am rooting most. This trailer centers on the central love triangle between Liu Xiu (Emperor Han Guangwu), Yin Lihu (Empress Yin), and Guo Shengtong (Empress Guo).

 Known for his comedic role in iAppartment series and Er Kang in Huan Zhu Ge Ge, Li Jiahang is starting to break out into other roles. He tended to play a lovesick puppy boy always yearning for his lady love. My impression of Li Jiahang has been on roles where he always revolves around a central female character. In Xiu Li Jiang Shan: Chang Ge Xing, he will once again revolve around one central female character (Yin Lihua) played by Ruby Lin. But at least this time, their relationship is purely platonic (I hope) and his heart belongs to another pretty lady, Riyiza (Ding Rou). As General Feng Yi, Li Jiahang takes on a less romantic role, engaging in  military affairs and the restoration of  the Han Empire. Feng Yi is a rather introverted character who does not express much with his actions but rather with his eyes. This character portrayal will differ dramatically from Li Jiahang's past roles where he openly act with intense body language. The character Feng Yi d...