What's Up; #4.

So, besides finishing up my holidays, starting class back up again, having computer problems and procrastination, what's been up in the world of TVB?

Love Exchange

As you can see from the new banner, I'm enjoying this series. Although it seems like a let down in certain ways because the intriguing sales presentation promised so much more, but I'm really loving the series not so much for the plot, but for the acting alone, mostly from Anita Yuen.

While I don't ever remember seeing her in a TVB series before, that doesn't make a difference. I warmed up to her immediately on-screen. Anita really is such a brilliant actress. I don't know how much TVB paid to lure her away from her adorable baby boy and back to film but she is worth every single cent. She is wholeheartedly Sit Chi Yiu, from top to toe, in and out. If I didn't know better, I'd say that was how Anita is in real life too. And well, what can I say? Gotta love Michael Miu too. Surely it must be illegal to still look so good at his age? He's my George Clooney of Hong Kong.

I didn't expect much from the Michael/Anita pairing, but the sparks between them on-screen is so evident and so natural.

Power Chan and Krystal Tin are perfect choices for the second leads. Often underrated, both of them have been great so far and I expect we'll see a lot more from them soon as the plot thickens. Special shout out goes to the guy who plays Kei Chai, Chi Yiu's little brother-in-law (I think his name is Alex Lam?). Gosh, this kid is hilarious! I've never watched him before but my dad keeps on eagerly informing me that he's the disciple from Men Don't Cry, so I deduce he must've been good there as well because my dad rarely gets that excited. Heh.

In terms of the plot and the mystery it promised in the sales presentation on the other hand, there's nothing yet. So far most of it has been filler, but we'll see. I think there's definitely more to the death of Dick (Eddie Kwan) and Bonnie (Angela Tong). I get this feeling that Jackie (Krystal Tin) might be tied to it somehow since she has that one "great love" which they've mentioned a few times now. Might it be Dick?

On a different note, I don't know why they named him Dick, considering they have to mention his name so many times in the series. Heh.

I also really, really love the themesong. Every Kary Ng song that I've heard, I've liked. This one is no exception. As usual, I haven't a clue what it means, but the melody fits the series quite well.

*

The Speech of Silence

I expected SO much more from this. I enjoyed the first few episodes, watching the dubbing, enjoying the initial squabbling between OK Chai (Kenneth Ma) and Tong Tong (Kate Tsui), but as the series progressed, I found myself dragging through the episodes. Lau Dan is great as usual, but I couldn't have cared less about the entire she-bang with him and OK Chai. Ditto for the Tong Tong and Mary Hon storyline. Stephen Huynh is atrocious, awful, whatever you want to name it. The only thing that I actually enjoy are Chris Lai and Elaine Yiu. Chris cracks me up whenever he's on-screen, and Elaine has improved in spades. I'm not saying that Kate hasn't, but I can't help but feel that her acting pales when she's next to Elaine on-screen.

I'm the kind of person who can't bear to watch a series out of sequence or not finish a series I've started watching (Part of the reason why I haven't attempted Gossip Girl, because my first episode is missing) but last week I missed Episodes 10-14 of this series and I didn't even feel like catching the re-runs on Astro On Demand. Right now, I'm just catching bits and pieces here and there when I walk in and out of the TV room when my family watches it. I suppose I'll try to finish it, but at the rate I'm going, this might be the first series I abandon in 2008.

It's such a shame though, that an interesting theme had to be wasted in this way. There was so much potential for it to be the underdog series of the year, but that title still remains with A Journey Called Life, I reckon. I've seen people comparing the series, saying that Speech is superior to Journey, and I just absolutely have to disagree.

(Ehh, this may be an unpopular opinion but part of the reason I might not continue is also because I cannot stand the themesong by Joyce Cheng. The tune is fine, not so much her singing.)


Moonlight Resonance

I love the poster. It's quite crowded, but then again, I didn't expect anything less. I also may be biased because purple's my favourite colour, heh. The trailers have gotten me all hyped up so far. I just worry about it production value-wise because it was so rushed to be in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Didn't they just finish filming about a month ago or something?

I enjoyed Heart of Greed, so obviously I have high hopes for this one. So many of my favourites are in here - Moses, Tavia, Raymond, Bosco, Michelle, Wayne. Can't wait to watch all the veterans in action again too. This time round, some of the rest have also grown on me - Linda, Fala, Chris. Let's see if Fala handles acting a disability better than Kate in Speech of Silence. I do wish they'd kept Yoyo, though. First, she had a much reduced role in Forensic Heroes II, and now completely ignored for Moonlight Resonance. Poor thing.

Will Moonlight surpass its predecessor, the ratings-darling Heart of Greed? Guess we'll all find out really really soon.


What's been on your playlist? Are you watching Love Exchange or Speech of Silence? Are you anticipating Moonlight Resonance?