| Tuesday, September 06, 2005 |
| Top 10 reasons to watch TVB dramas |
Here are my top 10 reasons for watching a TVB drama, in no specific order
1. TVB offer ancient, wuxia dramas. Yes, this is one good reason to watch TVB drama. There are many classic wuxia dramas that TVB had made in recent years, like The Condor Heroes 95 with Louis Koo, or Demi God Semi Evil. Unlike Korean dramas that produce more modern dramas, TVB had a fair, equal amount of ancient series and modern series. Ancient or wuxia drama distinquish us (us as Asian) from the rest or the world's soap operas. Chinese culture is a rich and unique culture that I'm glad TVB portrayed it through their series (like the costume, hair, kings, the way you address certain peoples)
2. Great for family watching. There is no doubt that most, if all, TVB dramas are made for family watching. From the most recent series My Family or The Gateau Affair, the targeted audiences are members of family. TVB are great to watch it with your mom, your grandma, and your dad.
3. Had been around for the longest time and did offered us many great series. TVB dramas had been around for the longest time. Many peoples live and die through TVB series. There are many classics during these time, like Cold Wood Warm Heart, Old Time Buddies, Justice Bao, Journey To The West, etc. We must praise TVB for still being the main television network in Hong Kong and still had many, many loyal fans. There are no doubt that TVB is the television company that most of us love and worship during the past years.
4. TVB is well known for its theme in a drama: Cops series, detective series, cooking series, law series, etc. Unlike most Korean dramas, most TVB series will have a career theme in their productions. Take cop series for example. There are numerous TVB series that talks about cops, how the cops are trained, etc. The most recent example would be The Academy and Shades of Truth.
I think TVB is one of the rare television company that offer us these "theme" series. You don't see this much in ATV/Korean dramas.
5. Not too cheesy and reflects everyday's life (not always love love love). TVB dramas, most of the time, are realistic (their modern series that is). Korean dramas have TOO much love in their series. TVB, on the other hand, focus on family, life issue, etc. The love story will probably happen for one episode to the point that you don't really even know how in the world did so-and-so fall in love with so-and-so. This could be a good thing, because that way won't make you feel goosebumps while watching the series with your grandma.
6. TVB does have some good dramas every now and then that got me hooked. Well this apply to all the television companies out there. TVB did offered a lot of good dramas that i loved. Most of my favorite series came from TVB.
7. Unlike other drama industries, TVB is good at picking up the drama's pace (and not slow like......Korean dramas T_T). I must admit that TVB is really good at making the story/dialouges moving quickly most of the time. While watching a mainland/korean drama, i could not help but fast forward some of their conversation. I think TVB is good at making the pace go fast and not too draggy. However, there are some draggy series from TVB too.
8. TVB repeated a lot of their supporting actors that made you felt attached. Put on any TVB tapes and you'll noticed the same supporting actors/actress all the time. I feel so attached with these same peoples that i feel like it's a part of the series itself. While watching mainland or taiwanese series, i really miss seeing the same peoples in the background, etc.
9. TVB have a lot of beloved actress. Jessica, Ada, Maggie, Kenix. Enough say =) Sorry to say but a lot of Korean actress really annoys me. They either cry like crazy or try way too hard to be cute (of course, not all). Sometime it makes me feel like they're trying to portray that women are weak and inferior to men. But again, it's only my opinion.
10. Familiarity. Most peoples had been watching TVB for like forever so we just have to continue =D
Al right, be right back next time to give top 10 reasons to dislike TVB! =)
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posted by asian obsessed @ 12:31 PM  |
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| Thursday, September 01, 2005 |
| HK pop, modern Asian pop, and dropping quality of canto music, by quadshock |
 This is posted by quadshock @ Hkzone forum. I thought it was an interesting topic so i ask his permission to post it here. Enjoy reading and analyzing about the Canto pop music scene =)
quote from quadshock
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translation of an interview of leehom:
| Leehom wrote: | | Hiphop is already a world-wide pop music. This is the mainstream; this is the music of our generation. |
You really can't argue with that; looking at upbeat Asian pop songs, more borrow from the hip hop style than anything else. In second place would probably be rock (usually with a bit of poppunk flavor now days), but hip hop still dominates the mainstream these days. However, it seems like H ong Kong, which once was the "Eastern Hollywood" and led the rest of Asia in trends, is slow to catch onto this new, hippop culture.
[note: when i say hip pop it's just poppy hip hop. maybe i'm using the term incorrectly. i don't care.]
At the moment, what seems to be the new trendsetter to us Asian Americans seems to be Korean music, which is obviously heavily influenced by American hip hop culture. As a result, many of the popular new singers seem to just be copying (or remaking) korean songs. I'm sure anyone who is fairly updated on the Asian music scene noticed this.
HK hip hop begins
anyway, back on topic: where is the Cantonese hip hop? or even the hip pop? In 1999, the founders of hk hip hop, LMF, released their first indie album, called "Lazymuthaf*ckaz". Warner, the music company, saw how well it sold for an independently produced album, and LMF signed a contract with Warner (*LMF itself did not actually belong to Warner, look below for an explanation). Naturally, the LMF albums became a little bit more mainstream, but they were respected across Asia and were not deemed as posers, as most hip hop pioneers of countries do.
Many people accused LMF of being simply a fad with the swearing as a gimmick. People rarely see through the swearing to see that LMF is more educational than any pop album, encouraging people to be strong, speaking openly about the paparazzi, and warning youngsters about the dangers of the "dark society". However, some people did see the purpose of the album: it was a good purpose, and that's what hip hop's about.
The LMF album sold 80,000, a great success in the HK industry, especially one that has a "18 or older" label on it. After they came out, several other bands, definitely given the "wannabe" label (MP4, for example), came out and failed. After that, HK hip hop culture disappeared from the mainstream.
HK pop songs that strive and fail to sound "modern"
The definition of "modern" here is not to be the most updated with copying Western artists or Korean artists (who seem to borrow heavily from Western artists anyway), but rather, have a refreshing feel that obviously has thought put into it. In my opinion, the reason why hip hop rarely enters HK culture is because everyone seems to think it's a trend, fashion, or anything except culture. People dress hip hop because they think it will make them seem hip, and people listen to hip hop because it's trendy.
here are some examples of "fairly recent" (within 5 years) songs that sound "modern" to me. They may borrow from other types of music, but at least they stand out enough so they do not blend in with other songs. "AGainst the Rules" sounds a little cheap but... eh it's a Mark Lui production so... oh and DJ Tommy is probably the best hip hop music producer to come out of HK =)
Leon Lai - While You're Happy
Leon Lai - Against the Rules
DJ Tommy feat. Paisely Hu + MC Yan - Forget Him
Why people increasingly turn away from HK music
I can just summarize it in several words: creativity, quality, and a simple love of music. Instead of being copied for its good ideas, HK music is copying others more than anything. The unique style formed by the 80's Canto musicians, such as Beyond, is nonexistant today as the same composers work on each and every album. Yet, there is a lack of NEW unique styles, such as what many Japanese musicians create.
When you see singers standing on stage today, perofrming their slow songs, they put on ridiculous facial expressions, trying to seem like they're "into" it. In reality, how many of these musicians do you think really have a feel for their songs, ESPECIALLY since they did not even compose them? Hacken Lee once said on his show, "you should not try to display feelings for a song when you do not have any".
Every industry has its ups and downs, and HK can only go up now. Its peak was probably the 70's and 80's, when originality was at its peak. People had a REASON to listen to HK music: no one else sounded like it. As Koreans moved up in creativity in the late 90's (in terms of pop, even HOT was more creative than most stuff HK put out), and HK singers became more interested in money than anything, and HK audiences looked more at looks (this was when Nic came out, with that new rebel look), the industry started its downfall.
Quality: sound, compositions, lyrics
i guess it's true in every industry: quality has declined ever since we've entered the 2000's. However, Hk seemed to fall particularly far. Once a place where everyone kept their eyes on, the repetitive and cheap-sounding songs drew people away. With sales down, companies like EEG, experts at advertising, focused other methods to make money: including extras with albums, putting more commercials, etc.
Cantonese music didn't even exist until (i think) the 50's. Pioneers usually become legends because it takes a true talent to bring attention. Back then, artists needed to be perfect or they would've been passed as "good tries". Therefore, standards were high and only those who had true musical skill entered the industry.
With the people being more materialistic, the artistic value is declining. How many songs today can you point at and say, "this is a masterpiece"? The lyrics of the 70's could be read out loud, and would be poems. The sound quality back then were actually international-quality. If people don't stop valuing the wrong parts of albums, Cantonese music will surely eventually die out.
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this may seem like a random mess of ideas, and it is. Please excuse me for the messy organization of the thread. FEEL FREE to comment! i love serious topics on music, instead of evaluating albums and fighting teenyboppers all the time.
*a hk band member can explain this much better than i can
| Quote: | | in LMF's case, they became mainstream not by choice, but intelligence. they were given an option after their hugely successful first album to sign A. Room, their studio, to a Warner subsidiary label DNA. they took it and by signing A. Room INSTEAD of LMF, they were free of all major-label obligations. So they were able to throw in one or two more commercial songs here and there (the song with Sammi, etc.), and STILL stay true to their roots with each album they released. of an album with 10 songs - one song may be a bit commercial, but the rest of them were still 100% LMF | |
| posted by asian obsessed @ 7:05 PM |
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| Monday, August 29, 2005 |
| This year's MHK . . . |
 Another MHK was just over! Nothing impressive once again, the winners look so plain and average *sighs* I actually kinda followed this year's pageant since the beginning so here goes my opinions about it xP
MHK2005 winner is #8 Tracy Ip and can I say... she is SO overrated? She seems to be everyone's favorite and has the most fans in HK out of all contestants. Her official pics might stand out from the rest but besides from her sweet face, she has nothing else special about her, her body is T_T (no comment) First runner up #15 Sharon Luk is alright, she looks really cute when she's not smiling, her smile is probably the biggest disadvantage for her because of her teeth aw! Otherwise, I think she is well-deserved and her acting is not bad at all! =D I dislike #16 Carrie Lam and #13 Cindy Lee therefore I'm not going to comment on them. Carrie got 2nd runner up which is bull for me, but I expected it lol.
 The other two awards given out were 'Most Photogenic' (#14 Shermon Tang) and 'International Goodwill' (#7 Natalie Khor). Well I wanted #18 Erica Yuen to win most photogenic, I even expected her to be in top 3! But too bad.. As for 'International Goodwill' #12 Janice Cheung should have won it, her speaking skills was the best.
What u guys think? I don't think any of these MHK will make it big like Ada Choi, Kenix Kwok, Charmaine Sheh, etc. but best of luck to them, hope they won't be another Mandy Cho (she failed horribly in Guts Of Man).. Now I'm looking forward to see Kate Tsui's acting, she's cute xD |
| posted by asian obsessed @ 8:47 AM |
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| Saturday, August 27, 2005 |
| S.H.E Beijing Concert! |
 S.H.E Beijing Concert! A MUST for S.H.E Fans =D
On the 23rd of September, S.H.E will be performing at the People's Stadium in Beijing for the Beijing leg of their "Qi Huan Le Yuan" (Magical Wonderland) concert. This will be their first large-scale performance in Beijing. Beijing fans will thus be able to embark on a musical magical journey with their idol.
 Since the start of the Magical Wonderland Concert on the 4th of September last year, in Taipei, the concert has since spread to the mainland (Shanghai), Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and the United States.
This concert has "Magical Wonderland" as the theme, the concert will be full of colour. The whole stage has undergone lots of planning, and will have several sections of different kinds. The 130 minutes of performance will definitely allow people to experience the magic within.
Besides that, the costumes for the concert will also be very special. Besides Selina, Hebe and Ella's 4 different flavours, East Asia flavour, China flavour, Pakistani flavour and pop flavour, the dancers' costumes will also be very special. They will wear costumes of bees, clowns, small flowers etc. S.H.E themselves will be using skate-scooters on stage, to create a feeling of wonder for the fans.
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Ok, enough said about the concert! >.< I am still pissed off on the date of the concert. I was hoping they will have it during the summer so maybe I can go back to beijing for a trip and also go watch the concert itself -_- |
| posted by asian obsessed @ 11:02 PM |
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| Rewatched 'Endless Love' for the 2nd time and it's not the same |
Hey everyone! =D
Aiite recently I just rewatched Endless Love, an old Korean series, I don't think any of the bloggers here are into Korean stuff like me (I'm probably the only one lols) .. Well I decided to rewatch 'cuz my impression of it .. was like the *best*, the best Korean series ever with all hot people. Hmm then came to it, I was basically skimmed over 'cuz it almost bored me to death!! LOL esp. towards the end, it got so draggy and sheesh, Song Hye Kyo's character annoyed me soooo much. She can never make up her mind. Her so-called brother (Song Seung Hyung..? however u spell his name lol) is alright, but he's too weak... and boring. The two main characters would make a perfect couple though, personality-wise, there are some romantic scenes of them together that made me go "aw" but then I got totally annoyed again when they split up and then back together, overr and overr and overr again =.="
 Okay now to Won Bin, he's so hot in here haha. I love his character as well, I got attracted to him mucho while watching this series, probably cuz of his character. The man can cry too lol xP .. yeah anyway I just love Won Bin in this series. Also, just a small comment on SSH's real sister, she's gorgeous, she has this evil look in her somehow, but still gorgeous.
Overall this series is average, some scenes are extremely boring and draggy, but if you only watch it for Won Bin then you won't regret it! I don't like SHK as a weak girl, I like her much more as an outgoing, snobby character in Full House. I must say the beginning is so adorable, the kids' acting are adorable, it's sad yet very enjoyable, you will get hooked to it from the beginning but as the series progress, it won't be the same =/ I believe many Korean fans watched this series before, so let me know your comments okie! =D |
| posted by asian obsessed @ 9:54 PM |
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| Ron vs. Bosco |
Lets evaluate 2 of the most promising young actors in TVB this recent year (excluding Raymond). The two persons pop up in mind is Ron Ng and Bosco Wong. Both are young and came out almost at the same time - but got promoted at different time. Lets take a look at the reasons why most peoples think Ron Ng is overrated and Bosco is underrated (and start to picking up).
The acting. A lot of anti-Ron choose this reason as the main reason why Ron Ng is overrated. I personally thought that Ron Ng's acting is decent and is not bad as other peoples made it to be. It is true that he is overrated, but there is no way that his acting is the worst and the most terrible in TVB. I personally thought his debut "large" role in Triumph in the Skies as Isaac was convincing and decent for a newcomer. His acting in later series, like Twin of Brothers and Lost in the Chamber of Love was acceptable and pretty decent. I think he is a little stiff at expressing his emotions, but I did see some improvements and his acting is really, really not that bad like what other critics said. However, is his acting good enough to be in simultaneously 4/5 series this year? Definitely not. But, you cannot blame Ron Ng for being overrated. Just think about this: TVB give you job and you get money - do you just not take it? TVB is to blame for the whole Ron-is-overrated issue.
 Bosco Wong, on the other hand, is an even more decent actor than Ron. Even though Ron's acting isn't really bad, Bosco's acting is very likeable and convincing. In Aqua Heroes, i was telling to mysel that, oh, he is another young actor tvb can use to do these players, spoil brat roles. I was wrong when i watched To Love with No Regrets and Wong Fei Hung - Master of Kungfu. Not only Bosco seems passionate about his roles but he can also pull off many emotions. He can act very well and in contrast of Ron, he has no difficulties showing his emotions at all. Recently Bosco is getting more noticed because of his role in War of In-laws. I personally had only watched the first episode in Cantonese, because i am still waiting for the Viet-dubbed version to understand the series. From what i seen and heard, he was offer a very likable role, and he pull it off very well. I, thank god, that TVB is offering him this role - because this may be his lucky chance to shine in the future, like Ron's lucky chance in Triumph of the Skies.
Overall, i believe that Ron Ng's acting is acceptable, while Bosco's acting is way far above acceptable. I don't wish for Ron to be forever out of the televesion business, but i hope that TVB can give all of their actors opportunities and chances like what they gave Ron.
The characters. I think Ron Ng's most decent character is his debut in Triumph in the Skies. That role landed him so much opportunities and fans. I do admit that it is a very likeable role and he did well in there. The worst gotta be in The Academy. Not only this character is childish, annoying, irritating, but also is very immature. Sammul Chan totally shines in this series because of the dull character of Ron.
Bosco Wong's most likeable character, to most peoples, is in War of In-Laws. Since i haven't watch that series yet, i think his most decent character is in Wong Fei Hung. I enjoy his relationship with his father, his aunt, and Rain Li. He did very well in here. He can look serious when it is necessary, but also caring and loveable when the time is appropriate. The least favorite character of Bosco gotta be....nothing. He is just too likeable in all the series that i seen him in. Oh, the worst character is probably in The Last Breakthrough. Why? Because he got such a small role in there =(
The role as an actor. I heard that Bosco had only learn kung fu recently, but he seems very professional and passionate in Wong Fei Hung. This is what i call versatile because it seems that he prepare well. Also, he seems very funny and friendly outside. Ron? all i really heard about is how arrogant and late he was toward work. But, this is all rumors due to his popularity, so i won't count on it. I don't know, but to me, Bosco seems enthuthiastic in his work, while Ron is just acting the role.
The singing. It is incredibly depressing to see that giving the amount of teeny bopper in the Hong Kong music industry that only have looks and no voice, this year, Ron Ng can also be added to this list. His singing is not bad, but it is obvious that BMA is trying to sell his popularity and looks, other than his music. Ron Ng is extremely lucky, so i hope he realize his chance and be more serious about singing. The Hong Kong music industry is almost unbearable due to all the little kiddos singers who can't sing but is doing successful - while the talented, serious one are getting no work from their company just because they don't look as good.
I had heard Ron sing and I think he has somewhat potential, but not good enough. I think if he is serious toward singing, then i have no problem with him joining the music industry.
I just heard Bosco's 2 cartoon songs and i think Bosco is a better candidate for a singer, if they must really have to choose an actor to become a singer. He sounds more energetic and is very, very decent for a newcomer. He probably can sing better than a lot of young singers in Hong Kong. Too bad he didn't have the chance.
The looks. Extremely controversial. First of all, i honestly don't think Ron is that handsome and hot like many girls made him to be, and i am a girl myself. He is good looking and has an attractive figure, but there are way too many other Hk celebrities who are just as handsome. Here is what i think: a lot of peoples like Ron because he is one of the few above-average looking guy who is in their 20's in TVB. I mean, if you look, all the other TVB actors are l ike 30 years old - Bowie, Sunny, Moses, Michael Tao, Frankie, Bobby....the list go on.. The 20's years old are Ron, Raymond, Bosco, Kenneth, Sammul, Lai Lok Yi, Jack Wu, etc. Other than Raymond, Ron, and Bosco, the rest are out of the question because they had never given a leading role and isn't just noticeable enough (even though Jack Wu is one HOT dude).
Raymond had already have a large fan base and is already popular. So they can only pick Ron and Bosco. Most choose Ron because Ron is photogenetic and is more popular. Other than that, i don't see Ron as the most handsome actor in Hong Kong, not in another 50 years. If Louis Koo, Daniel Wu, Nicholas Tse, Aaron Kwok, etc are still alive, Ron can only be one of the most hottest actor in TVB. In Hong Kong? that is out of the question.
Bosco Wong might not be photogenetic (can barely find any good pictures), but he is adorable and just as handsome on TV. I think we all have different opinions about looks, so i understand the fact that most peoples thought Ron is more good-looking. In my personal view, Bosco is very cute and handsome, and is equal or even above Ron in term of looks.
In conclusion. I think we should all accept the fact that Ron is being promoted into one of the top actors. Why? because you don't want to forever watch Michael Tao and Bobby Au on your tv screen, even though they are both well-beloved and good actors. Once they retire, someone just have to take over their place. Kenneth, Sammul, Lai Lok Yi are good actors and should give more roles, but in TVB eyes, they are not leading actors material. That is why Raymond, Ron, and Bosco are being promoted. Back then TVB also promoted Raymond from newcomer to leading actor. But i think Raymond is gifted in acting, so there are not many complaints or talks about him being overrated. Ron Ng is getting promoted, and that just the way it is. He isn't gifted as acting like Raymond - so there are talks about him being overrated.
Bosco , on the other hand, is getting to be promoted. After War of in-laws, there are many Bosco series coming up. So lets all pray that TVB will give Bosco the same chance as they did with Ron. Bosco likers and fans should be happy that he might get this same opportunity soon.
By the way, i hope i'm making sense when writing this entry. My thoughts just went around and i started to type things randomly =D These are all base on my opinions so I am sorry that you don't agree with me. I am not intending to forcing anyone to agree with me.
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| posted by asian obsessed @ 12:30 PM |
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| Friday, August 26, 2005 |
| Cecilia Cheung's rumor of dating foreign man |
Someone ask me to post some gossips/news on celebrities, so here is a news on Cecilia Cheung
Click here to read the article
 Quote for the article: Stepping out of the shadow of former beau Nicholas Tse, the great Cecilia Cheung - actress, singer and all around playgirl who consistently makes for fantastic gossip - has a new boyfriend! Since her start in the Hong Kong entertainment industry five years ago, the beauteous creature's love life has been a public affair with all involved. With Cecilia we fall in love, get our hearts broken and pine for those we lost - her life is anything but private. So now that it appears that Ms. Cheung's heart is on her sleeve once again, the Asian gossip circuits waits with batted breath - who is this new mystery lover? Ah! But this time Cecilia has thrown a curve ball - her new interest is not another Asian cutie, but a blue-eyed Westerner. Let the media feeding frenzy begin.
On August 2nd, when it was reported that Cecilia was down and out with a fever, the paparazzi caught the hot star wandering in the rain with her new man. The gentleman kindly held the umbrella for his sweetheart, but he was careful to hide his face from the camera. If this man wants to be Cecilia's new boyfriend, he will have to toughen up and get used to the paparazzi.
But to be far, Cecilia maintains that this man is not her new love, but just a friend - but aren't they all?
"In fact he is my tutor and friend," Cecilia firmly told journalists and urged them not to bother her "tutor" anymore. "We've gotten to know each other over a long period of time. My English is not very good so he teaches me English. This thing is so simple, it's not like you imagine." But it is not only the paparazzi that has taken an interested in this purported love affair; after hearing the news, ex-boyfriend Jordan Chan said, "So her English must be improving a lot." I guess it depends on how much pillow talk is involved.
So who is this mystery man? Well, it's been discovered that his name is Jeroen and his is over 30 years old. His dress leans toward casual street wear, but just two days after his loving umbrella pics with the lovely lady, he appeared at the airport in a formal suit. Let me just say that my male English tutor has never shown up at the airport to meet me in formal wear. So it seems that Cecilia has this guy under wraps - from street wear to formal wear he's still just chasing Cecilia's skirt.
But Cecilia still needs to protect herself against a broken heart, as this Western guy is reportedly a playboy. Jeroen's neighbor leaked to the media that he is quit the ladies man and has been seen bringing a string of women into his apartment. Note to Cecilia: Tuck your heart back into your sleeve - this Western cutie is not to be trusted.
The duo maintain that they are just friends, but one should remember that two years ago Cecilia said that she was interested in the prospect of a foreign boyfriend and caught the fancy of her then English teacher. Does anyone else see a trend developing? Or maybe she just has a thing for learning English.
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I have no business whatsover on who she wants to date, but i want to contribute these following interesting pictures i found across forums. Credit to Lady ?? from Cecilia Cheung's forum @ Winglin: http://forums.cinple.net/ceciliacheung/ & http://www.beautyexchange.com.hk/
Well,rumors said that this mysterious guy on the left is the same guy as this foreign guy on the right. Whoever they are, Cecilia surely have some attraction to foreign men. The article on the left is irritating. I can't beleive that the hk directors can ask such straight forward question like that. That guy is smart for replying "Haha" and the end.
Also, noticed the guy's hands on the right? Yes, he is grabbing her.........X_x
I think this is just rumor though. As for the picture on the right, i think Cecilia was just having fun at the party. It's not like the paparazzi haven't caught her partying before.
Well, anyway, guess that's too much gossip for today =D Whatever it is, Cecilia, keep up your good work and give us more memorable roles in your movies. That's all it matters!
If you haven't know, I am the biggest Cecilia Cheung. Don't think i post this up to bash her or something O.O |
| posted by asian obsessed @ 7:16 PM |
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| Joey Yung's Bi-Heart & Pure Niki album reviews |
All are based on my opinions and I have no intention of forcing anyone to beleive with me.
I had been caught up-to-date with the Canto music scene lately, and here are the 2 recent albums that i have a chance to listen to: Joey Yung's "Bi-Heart" & Niki Chow's debut album "Pure Niki".
"Bi-Heart", the latest album by Joey Yung is actually a very decent album to listen to. And when i said decent, i mean it is better than her last album, Give Love A Break. First of all i had been a somewhat Joey fan all these years until after her album "Show Up". I do have positive views on her because i think she has great live singing skills base on today's standards. Her "Show Up" album was decent and was entertaining to listen to. However, she went downhill from there. She released simultaneously three dissapointing albums in a row. First was the
 Mandarin Album "Solo Photo", then "Nine 2 Five", and then "Give Love a Break". All three albums have few varieties and mostly focused on ballads, which sound entirely the same everytime. Give me any ballads on her past 3 cds and i wouldn't even know what is the difference. She is like a singing robot in my view. EEG give her songs, and she uses her singing "skill" to make the song passionate. Not only it didn't turn out to be passionate (i aint feeling the songs at all), it even make her unbearable as a singer. If you want to be the next queen of canto pop, then at least pick good songs and stop singing those same tunes all over again. You have voice and looks, so start improving on your selections of songs. You are a loosing a fan here because of your overwhelming ballads and k songs.
 Anyway, back to her newest album. They contain a lot of interlude music which did annoyed a lot of peoples (i personally do not mind). The first plug, "Sing More Strongly", is annoying and plain crap. A lot of peoples like this song, but to me, this is another example of "poor selections of songs". I do credit her for plugging a non-ballad song for once, though.
After i survived listening through "Sing More Strongly", the album got so much better. The ballads in here are at least somewhat interesting and enjoyable to listen to. Even though it isn't any different from her previous stuff, at least it does not sound like "My Pride" or "Split Technique". I personally enjoy the ballads much, much better. If she must sing ballads all the time to show off her skills, then at least pick these ballads, al right?
There are actually more upbeat songs in here, which give me some light of hope that Joey is finally having more varieties unlike her past 3 albums (and the Chihuahua single - don't ever attempt to do silly rap again). I enjoy some of the upbeat songs on here, like "Mixed Peoples", and "Useless Good Deeds". They are very fun & entertaining to listen to.
Overall, this album in general is dissapointing due to her popularity in the music industry. However, it is decent compared to her previous albums because it has more varieties and the ballads are at least very decent to listen to. Rating: 6/10. Recommended tracks: "Mixed Peoples", "Useless Good Deeds", and "Horizon's Courageous Girl".
The 2nd album i want to review today is actress turn singer Niki Chow, Pure Niki. Not only this album is surprisingly good and enjoyable, Niki is actually decent as a newcomer. Yes, you can hear her breathing in the recorded songs every now and then, but she is still acceptable as a newcomer from these recent years(Stephy, Fiona, Theresa, anyone?). There are very few songs on this album, but to my surprise, the songs are actually very happy-go-lucky and entertaining. I had no expectations for this album that all, so i think it's the reason why i enjoy it so much. Niki Chow is a talented actress, and i hope she can even improve more on her singing, because she shows great potential. I had seen her performing live, and she seems promising. The most noteable song on here is "Too Bad He Has A Girlfriend". It is a very catchy ballad and absolutely heart warming to listening to. The most recent plug, "Want Wind Have Wind" is a summerish song which will take a lot of listens to let it grow on you. You will like it if you are a regular fan of TVB themesongs, because it sounds like one of those. My favorite track, "Turtle Rabbit Race", is a fast and decent song that is surprisingly from Niki. The other song, "Moonlight's Kiss", isn't too bad either. I actually like 4 songs out of five on this album (exclude instrumental music of course). It isn't too bad for an actor-turn-singer album! (compared to..Bowie Lam, Benny Chan, Gigi Lai, Nadia's old albums O.O).
Overall, if you are looking for some change or shift in the Hong Kong music industry, this album isnt' for you. But if all you are looking for is some entertaining, the usual-hong-kong-pop stuff, this album might be worth checking out. =) Since i did not expect anything from this album, and it is surprisingly easy on the ears, i'll rate it a 6+/10
I hope Niki will continue to show us more improvements in her singing and contribute more of her acting talent to TVB and hong kong movie industry =)
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| posted by asian obsessed @ 5:17 PM |
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| The Gateau Affair: Another TVB Typical Series |
 After much debating whether to rent this series or not, I decided to give this series a try after all. The cast to me wasn't striking therefore I had a hard time deciding to watch it or not. First off, Joe was top of my Hate List, for most of his recent series in which he leads in. Joe isn't what I call handsome, but not ugly, he is just an average looking guy. I had nothing against him really…but when TVB promote him to leading roles, it just annoys me.
For starter, I didn't have a good impression on him to begin with when I watched Lady Fan and A Handful of Love. His roles in there were somewhat the same, dull and unlikable. The second reason was Myolie Wu. Yes, I admit the girl could act a lot better than recent TVB newbies, such as Shirley, Mandy Cho, etc. However, she isn't very attractive, and it really upset me how TVB promote her like crazy, and having talented artists such as Annie Man played a supporting role. Well although I had a difficult time, but I decide to rent it anyways for the sake of Annie Man, Bobo Chan, and Jack Wu.
The plot is very similar to many of TVB other food series, so I won't go into much detail...but basically Joe Ma took the role of a master in making cake, and Myolie played a naive girl who became the student of Joe Ma. Myolie get hook up with Joe Ma through the connection of his little 9 years old son. Through misunderstanding Myolie became a little insane and challenged her own master. She wants him taste the feeling of losing, ah sound like an ancient kung-fu series being put into making cakes. LOL. But seriously, if you watched this series and see how they transformed making cake techniques into these weird names, you would thought that you are watching a kung-fu series.
 Like I had explain earlier, I don't have a good impression on Joe Ma, but I must say after watching this series, and since Myolie played such an annoying character and was opposite of Joe Ma it really changed my mind about Joe Ma. Alright, Myolie role in here is somewhat a fool to me. She was used by Annie, and she didn't even trust her own boyfriend, in fact she accused him of stealing her mom's skills! I swear to god, she was the most annoying character in the story, and even when in the end when she had cancer, I didn't feel sorry for her. I just felt sad for Joe Ma, since he lost his career and even the woman he loved did not trust him. Sigh. But in the end, she recovered and they lived happily together.
Annie Man played a really spoil rich girl in this series, and was somewhat the villain in here, however I still enjoyed her performance and although she was evil, I wasn't annoyed by her. At least not as much as I was annoyed by Myolie. Annie is pretty, and her acting ability never fail me, she could play cute, tomboy, nice, and evil. She is what I call a versatile actress, too bad TVB is too shallow and don't value her. I hope Annie will further her career outside in China now. TVB had lost another great actress :( Sigh.
So should you rent this series? I say yes, even though it was typical, but it was enjoyable. Oh and if you are a Joe-hater, don't worry, you will like him after this, I promise you! Having Myolie in this series really made Joe Ma shines. |
| posted by asian obsessed @ 3:12 PM |
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| Thursday, August 25, 2005 |
| Initial D Review |
 Hello everyone. This is Nhu and I'm here with my first post at the blog. A few days ago, I have just watched Initial D, a movie based on a Japanese manga starring Jay Chou, Edison Chen, Anne Suzuki, Anthony Wong, Chapman To, Shawn Yue, and Jordan Chan. After hearing of its success at the Box Office and many comments about it, I was expecting a lot from this movie. However, I was quite disappointed. Perhaps my expectation was too high but Initial D did not come out to be as good like everyone had said.
Firstly, I thought the relationship between Takumi (Jay) and Natsuki (Anne) was weak and uninteresting; however, it did of make the movie more amusing to watch, so I guess it is acceptable. The racing scenes were quite entertaining but there were times when it put me yawning because everything was just SO predictable. Another thing that bugged me is the acting.
For his first time, I think Jay did a superb job. His acting is natural and I enjoyed watching him playing the role of Takumi, a tofu delivery boy who was recognized for his talent in racing. However, as much as I am a hardcore Jay fan, I think his acting was a bit wooden and there are definitely some improvements need to be done. I don't know whether he portrayed his character well, for I have not read the manga but I found his character pretty convincing. I especially liked his crying scene.... I think it was special... hehe.
As for Anne who played Jay's lover in the movie, I have to say that I am not fond of her acting. Her crying scene was bad and I feel no emotions toward her. I don't even feel sympathy for her when Takumi (Jay) left her in the end of the movie.
Chapman To was the comedian in the movie. He did a nice job of cracking a few laughs from me but I guess it is because he's acting like himself. I would like to see him taking a new kind of role in the future though....
As for the rest, I have no comments.... I guess their acting is acceptable....
Overall, Initial D is a superb movie that will get you glued to your seat and watch until the very last minute! I really enjoyed watching it. It is good enough to push away any bad comments you might have during the watch.... The song at the end of the movie by Jay was awesome. I love it a lot! (Haha, what else can you expect from the r&b King of Asia?) So if you're looking for something entertaining, Initial D is your movie! I recommend it to anyone, Jay's fan or not, you'll enjoy it. |
| posted by asian obsessed @ 8:18 PM |
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| The Herbalist Manual = underrated? |
 Recently I am watching The Herbalist Manual and I am amazed at how underrated this series is. Surely that a lot of us don’t care if a leaf can cure a leg or if some insect can cure your face. We just go to the doctor’s office and get a prescription for the pharmacy office, right? Haha. But you must credit tvb for its research in these old medicines (if they really did) and produce a series based on a true historical story. (with somewhat madeup plots, I assumed) I know a lot of peoples think this series is boring and stopped halfway through. I won’t deny it and will admit that there are parts in here that bored me to death. However, I think if you give this series more time and patience, it will grow on you and you will learn to appreciate it. To me, this series is pretty addicting and convincing. It is doubtful that this is one of the best series this year; however, it is definitely one of the decent ones.  I want to comment some of the main actors in here. First of all, I have no doubt with Frankie’s acting ability because he is somewhat a veteran. However, his role in here really requires no acting whatsoever, so I find it hard to pinpoint out Frankie’s acting talent. His character is a likeable one, but also – a dull, insignificant one. All Frankie fans should cross fingers and wait for his next series – Ten Brothers with wife Kenix Kwok.
The character that really shines in this series is Michelle’s character. I am glad that she picked this role because it is a very sophisticated and versatile role. I am in no way a fan of Michelle or her acting, but this series really changed my mind about her. I think her acting had improved drastically and she seems very natural in this series, unlike what I seen from her in the past. I hope that her future outside of tvb will give me an even more respected feeling toward her as an actress.  Selina Li’s acting is really weak and stiff in this series, but it is an improvement from her past performance in Just Love. I hope she can improve later on because she has some potential. I am fine with her as a supporting actress, but in my opinion it will take a long time to convince me that she is leading actress material.
Kenneth Ma’s acting and role had always been the same, so no comment – because all he did in here was…talk. I am a fan of Kenneth by the way, so don’t get me wrong. In general, I think this series is worth your time – that is, if you give it more time. Most of your parents will like this series, but me, a 17 years old teenager, like it too. And if you know me, I usually dislike ballads and slow-paced dramas. One more thing I must comment on is the instrumental music. They fit the scene very well. Also, the theme song by Frankie Lam isn’t too bad.
Note: the pics on this entry are from Asian-fanatics.
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| posted by asian obsessed @ 5:33 PM |
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| Vicki Zhao:: Prove she is multi-talented! (Double Review) |
You might recognize Vicki as the cute immature girl in famous ancient drama Hoan Chau Cat Cat. Releasing her newest album this summer, Vicki surprised me with her singing ability. I remember listening to her songs from popular drama such as Romance in the Rain; her voice wasn't very pleasant to hear, for it sounds rather>childish. But in her newest album, Double, her singing sure improved! If you have listened to her recent album Piao, you surely would be surprise by how she transformed her sweet tender voice into rap. I like many tacks in Double, especially number 1,2, 6, and 7. I recommend all Vicki-fans out there to buy the album and listen to it. And even if you are not a fan, just try it out, and I am sure you would like it as well. But keep in mind that if you usually listen to Cantonese music, then Mandarin would sound a little weird at first. Listen to it more than once though, for even I had diffcultities at first, but the second time really changed my mind! |
| posted by asian obsessed @ 4:58 PM |
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| Memoirs of a Geisha + Moments of love trailer |
saw 2 trailers today! The first one was the ancipiated Hollywood movie Memoirs of a Geisha starring Zhang Ziyi, Ken Wantanabe, Michelle Yeo, Gong Li, etc. The trailer was exactly what i expected. Zhang Ziyi's english isn't as bad as i thought it would be. However, the movie is sorta out of place since it's an ancient setting but everybody in there speaks English. Even though i am not a fan of Zhang ziyi, i am glad to hear that this movie can be a wide, big budgeted movie starring Asian actors. (unlike your typical shaolin soccer, infernal affairs which released in limited theathers, after like some freaking 2 years after the original release date).
I heard the novel , Memoirs of a Geisha is a very good and famous novel so i might grab it if i have a chance =)
Watch the trailer here:
http://www.movies.co.jp/sayuri/trailer/sayuri_trailer_500k.asx
THe japanese official site: http://www.movies.co.jp/sayuri/
My cap:
The 2nd trailer i watched was Moments of Love, which is Ron Ng's first widescreen release. It also starred a lot of Hk youth idols: Deep Ng, Yan Ng, Vivien Yeo, Natalie Tong, Hins Cheung, Steven Cheung, Race Wong, etc.
Even though i am a fan of teen series because i am a teenager myself, i really don't wish Hk movies will always aim toward 12 years old. However, the trailer looks pretty decent for a low-profile production. It looks like one of those teenage drama with lots of fake crying and 20-years-old-girls trying to be cute.
However, from what i seen, the story looks decent. I must compliment on how impressed i was with Deep Ng's acting in the trailer. Lets hope he won't dissapoint me when i watch the real thing. Moments of Love is released on Hk theater today, august 25. Dvd/vcd will came in about 2-3 months?
Watch the trailer here: mms://202.153.125.198/IN-3483.wmv (thanks Mrslesliecheung @ hkzone forum)
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| posted by asian obsessed @ 4:19 PM |
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| Coloring Stephy & All About Love album review |
Hello all this is trang and this is my first blog entry in Asianobsessed. As you know, this blog is a blog where you can find our opinions, reviews, and articles on Asian entertainment. Of course every now and then we will start to blog about personal issues and life too, but our main blog will be about Asian entertainment (mostly Chinese). We do accept new members to our blog! So if you want to write anything about TVB, hk music, korean dramas, etc. - join our blog! Just leave your name and email at the tagboard and I will contact you.
Also all of my reviews, articles, and blogs are based on my personal opinions. They are not facts and i do not wish for everybody to agree with me.
So let's first start with the 2 most recent albums that had been released in Hong Kong. First of all is Stephy Tang's Coloring Stephy. My overall opinion that this album gotta be one of the worst album in 2005. I had always thought Stephy got the weakest singing ability in Cookies and that her team members Kary and Theresa are a better candidate to go solo.  But considered that Stephy is the leader and the most popular Cookies member, it is not a surprise that she got promoted and overshadowed her Cookies members. However, Stephy's voice is too weak as a solo artist and her company did a poor job at selecting her songs. Stephy's singing live abilitliy is incredibly bad for a solo singer, and sometime she even went off key in the recorded song! You can almost hear her breathing on almost every single songs on this album - to the point that it is unbearable. The songs on this album are all ballads which are incredibly boring and repetetive. Almost all the songs sound the same: piano instrument and some chorus that fits with the K songs trend in Hong Kong. There are absolutely no creativity in the songs which lead to a total dissapointment. The only good track in here is the 1:41 English introduction track "Colors". Other than that, the rest of the songs on the album are absolutely tiring and boring.
However, i do give credit to her company for the "Colors" theme in this album. There is some creativity in the theme Colors - but it contributed nothing to the word music in general. What worse, it is obvious that her company is trying to push up sells by having THREE versions for this album: a red, blue, and green version. This album is also selling well in Hong Kong for a newcomer. There is no word to describe this depression.
Recommended track: track 1 Colors. Rating: 3/10
Andy Lau's All About Love
Heavenly King Andy Lau came back with a Mandarin album!
Andy Lau is no doubt the most hard working and most respected artist in Hong Kong, having multiprojects in his hand this year! First of all TWO of his movies are releasing on Hong Kong's theater at the same month (September) this year. Then he got a radio drama also titled "All About Love" coming up. What's more, there is also a comic book also titled "All About Love" is set to release very soon - featuring Andy Lau as the main comic character.
First of all i want to stated that i am a huge Andy Lau fan and I, in fact, worship him. However, this album does not lived up to its hype and is very overrated. The songs in here have no varieties and once again the entire album are filled with BALLADS. If you are a ballad fan then this album is definitely the album just for you.
I must also stated the positive sides of this album. Even though they are filled with ballads, there are some romantic and mesmerizing songs on here. The first plug "Say I Love You Again" is a romantic love song and is probably one of the most noteable songs on here. The music video is sad and is very decent in quality (camera angles, colors, etc). Andy Lau seems to put a lot of feelings in this song and he sounds very passionate. Even though it is not comparable to Andy's past love songs, this song somewhat reminds you of the music in the 90's golden day.
Other songs i recommended are "One Person", "Cruel Heart's Lesson", and "Cruel Fate Liang Wishes".
Overall i think this album is good for ballad fans and is extremely soothing and calmed to listen to when you're alone. I just wish there are more varieties in here and not just ballads. The last time i heard, this album had sold 1,200,000 albums. Congratulations to Andy Lau and hope you can give us even more of your quality and respected works.
Rating: 6/10
Say I Love You's music video caps: (featuring Charlie Yeung) |
| posted by asian obsessed @ 1:28 PM |
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| Wednesday, August 24, 2005 |
| A total dissapointment |
| Hi people! This would be my first blog I just finish The White Hair Maiden 1994 version with Ada Choi. This isn't my first time watching it; the first time was when I was nine years old or so. My memory of the drama was very blur that was why I decided to rent it over this long boring summer to watch. I most say it was a total disappointment. If you are looking for a series like The Condor Heroes, this is not it. The series talks about random people at different time, and the characters don't actually have any connection to each other. I think the reason why TVB decided to release it on DVD was because of Ada. Ada role was striking comparing to her recent roles in TVB, and this series could have been GOOD, but too bad they wanted to rush everything and having too many sub problems that wasn’t important to the series at all. They even killed Tit San Wu! Ngok Ming Ngor and Tit San Wu was the reason that I continued watching this series, yes of course Ada too, but her chemistry with Timmy was just ZzzzZzzzZzzzZzzzZzzZ...San Wu did so much for Ming Ngor, I mean until the end she even died for him and that was when he recall his memories and remember her. Gosh! Such a pitiful ending! What worst was that it never tell us if the flower blossom! Ada end up never forgiving Timmy. Sigh, this series just make a person so depressed! Now I am just upset over this series, I need to go rent some comedy! |
| posted by asian obsessed @ 11:16 PM |
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| About Asian Obsessed |
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