Review: My Princess (2011 TV Series)

Monday, April 25, 2011 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek
Eager to see what the year had to offer, I picked up My Princess with hopes for finding new patterns in South Korean series in 2011, but it was rather easy to find typical patterns in the plot…


“It doesn’t stray far from standard South Korean romantic comedies—flawed female character meets refined male character, conniving villains and jealous sisters, and a few unimportant ‘crises’ attempting to enthral us with suspense, but falling short. All together, it’s quite typical—but we can expect better for 2011.”


The Rundown

Behind the name: Hangul- 마이 프린세스
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Released by: MBC (MunHwa Broadcasting Corporation)
Directors: Kang Dae-seon (강대선) & Kwon Seok-jang (권석장)
                        Cast: Kim Tae-Hee (as Lee-Sul), Song Seung-Heon (as Hae-Young),  Ryu Su-Yeong (as         Nam Jung-Woo), Park Ye-Jin (as Yoon-Joo), Ryu Su-Yeong (as Jung-Woo)
                        Compare to: A Cinderella Story, Anastasia
Hate it or Love it? Like it

Synopsis in a Sentence: A struggling college student discovers she is the last living member of Korea’s royal family, and the diplomat put in charge of her re-instatement into the imperial family can’t help but fall for her; so will she sacrifice her throne for love?


On Writing: The Plot

The story was good. It was fun, bright and cute, but not a bit more than that. The plot dealt with a good mix of themes like love (of course), jealousy, wealth, and social status, so it was a good mix. On the whole, it had all the good ingredients for an excellent romantic comedy, but fell on two main faults:
1.                    It relied too heavily on unimportant events in an attempt to create unnecessary suspense
2.                    It had too many ‘cute’ parts
I know—how can a romantic comedy have too many cute parts? Well, successful romantic comedies thrive on the ability to create tantalizing and lingering romantic moments. If the story hangs too much on sentimentality, then it’s not quite as effective. Well, this one did just that—we knew what was going to happen before it did—it bared it all out far too early in the story, and so we had no cause to be enthralled by the romance.

(3.5/5)


On Acting: The Cast

It’s a beautiful cast, I must say.

Already South Korea's screen princess,  Kim Tae-Hee plays as bright and bubbly Lee-Sul, the princess. Although she plays the role effortlessly, I must wonder—In the entirety of South Korea, is there no other age-appropriate up and coming actress to play this role? While Tae-Hee is skilled, she was simply more mature than her college-level character. We’d love to see her play roles that require her experienced acting skills, while roles like these can be left to talented emerging actresses.

 Song Seung-Heon, who plays Hae-Young, the diplomat (otherwise known as love interest) is just right for this role. He plays the young, put together, professional quite well. 

Together, Kim Tae-Hee and Song Seung-Heon have great chemistry, and the're fun to watch. 

It was also fun to see Lim Je-Yin (Kim Da-Bok) in this one. She plays “mother of poor household,” once again or, more appropriately, mother of the princess pre-royalty period. Last time we saw her, she was in Boys Over Flowers, and she rocked as the pleasure-seeking mother. Seems like she’s perfected her skills since we last saw her.
And what are South-Korean series without its villains? Others of note include Kang Ye-Sol, for her portrayal of Lee-Dan, a.k.a jealous sister, and of course, Park Ye-Jin, for her rendition of chief villain, Oh Yoon-Joo. Even the bad guys were good…

(4/5)


On Production: The Creativity

Good music—well, one really good track. I had to look for the track the first few seconds I heard it (Kasio-Taru). That’s one really cute track, and a perfect musical rendition of the sentiments in the series. As far as editing, camera work, and transitions, they weren’t bad either. They all quite worked well.

(3/5)                                             
                                        

On Resolution: The Conclusion

What would happen in a predictable romantic comedy? You can guess right from here. Yes, it ended just as you thought—although there were notable attempts to thwart our thinking—but it didn’t quite work, MBC. We were able to guess the ending after the first five episodes…

(3/5)

The Verdict: It doesn’t stray far from the standard South Korean romantic comedy—flawed female character meets refined male character, conniving villains plot evil and jealous sisters tag along, inject a few unimportant ‘crises’ attempting to enthral us with suspense, but fall short, and you’ve got the gist of My Princess. All together, it’s quite typical, but we can expect better for 2011.




Overall Score = 13.5/20



Watch My Princess [www.dramacrazy.net/korean-drama/my-princess/]

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Review: Aziatix - Go (Single, 2011)

Monday, April 11, 2011 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek










"
A masterful collaboration: Eddie’s  vocals melt over the beat like chocolate in your mouth, Flowsik’s  rhymes add some solid rhythm to the blues, and Nicky Lee brings in that refined, R&B vibe. To top it all up, Jae Chong (producer) is on fire on this track! Altogether, this single is an authentic rendition of the artists’ skill."



















The Rundown
Countries:  USA/South Korea
Label:  Independent
Genres:  R&B, Hip-Hop
Language:  English
Sounds Like:  N*Sync meets Boys II Men, with better 16s… or the male TLC…
Love it or Hate it?  Love it!

The 411
On the Artists: Aziatix is a group of 3 guys—Nicky Lee (Vocalist), Eddie Shin (Vocalist) and Flowsik (Rapper) [See picture, L-R]. The track came out late March and pulled us in through April.  An independent group from either coasts of the US, Aziatx, was just what we needed in these days of instant, fast-food-music.

On Production & Vocals: Their vocals are diverse, potent, and relevant. Their message is clear, and the production is solid. Nice and solid. Like the proper R&B we know. It’s a masterful collaboration: Eddie’s vocals melt over the beat like chocolate in your mouth, Flowsik’s rhymes add some solid rhythm to the blues, and Nicky Lee brings in that refined, R&B vibe. To top it all up, Jae Chong is ON FIRE on this track. Altogether, this single is an authentic rendition of the artists’ skill.
The music industry has been capitalizing on electro beats these past few years (funny how, about five years ago, Dance/Electro lovers were known as ‘Techno Freaks’ but now all your favourite musicians are going Electro to create club bangers). Well, this track takes us all the way back to the hay days of Rhythm and Blues. It’s all good R&B.

The Good:  No Artificial preservatives—Yup! If this were food, it would be the all-natural, un-artificial, home-grown good stuff. The track is like organic, zero calorie music (which these days, means no auto-tune!). It’s effortless, raw talent and musical skill wrapped up in one. These guys write and compose their stuff, (they even do their own publicity), and publish their music out of an independent studio. It’s much fun watching the group interact directly with their fans, listen, and work, like everyday people- only that they produce mad tracks at the end of the day. I L.O.V.E that stuff like this is produced by a band with no backing from a major company. I love the raw talent and I love the raw skill. I love it. Period.

The Bad:  There’s hardly anything wrong with the track—but for one minute (or so) detail in the arrangement. The track starts with a refrain (or hook) and It would have been be all right, but for the fact that 2:28 mins into it, you hear the ref all over again, which usually indicates that the track is transcending into its ending, but then there’s still over a minute of song left: there's a 16-bar add-on, then the chorus, and then the outro. By the time the outro is up, you would be slightly ‘tired’ of the song (because your mind had calculated that since the track started with a ref, a repetition of the same ref would indicate a near ending). So you might say that the song suffers slightly from bits and pieces in too many parts (although they do blend well together). But then again, perhaps it’s not a bad thing—perhaps it’s a bid to add variety to the track’s musical arrangement. For the most part, it works.

The Verdict: 4.5 Stars Proper R&B—Top Stuff—Can’t wait to see what else Aziatix has in store!  

Get Go on Itunes http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/go-single/id425322658 $0.99 


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Review: Aimée And Jaguar (1999 Film)

Saturday, April 9, 2011 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek

The cover said it all, but I wasn’t quite ready for the whole film…


“Ilse: Has she risked her life? Would she lie and steal and fight for you? Do you think she'd take risks my father takes? She has no idea what it's like listening to every idiot who comes up the stairs. But you know how it is, Felice. Your behaviour makes me sick!
Felice: [long beat] So send me a bill.”

The Rundown
Behind the name: Based on the true stories of Lilly Wust and Felice Schragenheim, and a book by Erica Fischer
Country: Germany, 1999
 Genre: War Drama
Distributor: Senator Film
Directed By: Max Färberböck,
                  Cast: Maria Schrader as (Felice Schragenheim/Jaguar), Juliane Köhler (as Lilly Wust/Aimée), Johanna Wokalek (as Ilse), Heike Makatsch (as Klärchen), Elisabeth Degen (as Lotte), Detlev Buck (as Günther Wust), Inge Keller (as Lilly Wust- 1997), Kyra Mladeck (as Ilse-1997)
Compare to:
Hate it or Love it?  Appreciate it  

Synopsis in a Sentence: A Jewish woman living in Nazi Germany develops a relationship with a married German woman, but how will life in Hitler’s Germany treat them?           

On Writing: The Plot
The plot’s a unique one. We’ve seen a few holocaust movies but none quite like this. The storyline includes issues that touch on injustice, racism, socio-political hardship, and homosexuality. It’s based on a true story, and a book: original, noteworthy, and authentic. An interesting plot.
(3.5/5)

On Acting: The Cast
It’s a good cast. Maria Schrader quite carries the film on her shoulders, but not without a little help from Juliane Köhler. Together they are good, but Schrader is quite the star. Other supporting actors also do justice to their parts. Good work overall.
(4/5)

On Production:
The production is good. Well relayed and delivered.
 (3/5)                                             

On Resolution: The Conclusion
Because it’s based on a true story, it makes you think. You’ll want it to end they way you’d like, but it doesn’t, because it’s a true story. A good resolution.
(4/5)

The Verdict: A good and insightful watch. Beware of sexual content though.  

Overall Score = 14.5/20 

 

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Review: Girls of Riyadh (Book, 2008)

Thursday, March 24, 2011 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek

Running on an Arabian-tale high, I picked this one up after reading Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia, and Girls balanced the weighty after-effects of Princess quite well. I knew that Princess had a deliberate, slightly outdated outlook, and I wanted to read something more current, balanced, and varied.

I found Girls of Riyadh sitting valiantly on a front-row shelf in the Mid-Manhattan NYPL. I already had the books I wanted: I passed it. I walked back. I picked it up. I smiled: Just what I was looking for!


The Rundown
Country: Saudi Arabia, 2005 (Saudi Version), 2008 (English Version)
Author: Rajaa Alsanea
Genre: Novel
Languages: English & Arabic
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 300
Love it or Hate it?  Love it!

Synopsis in A Sentence: An anonymous writer reveals the escapades of her 4 girlfriends, Sadeem, Gamrah, Lamees, and Mashael (Michelle) through weekly-emails.
Think: Gossip Girl meets Sex and the City
The Good:  A fun read! It’s extremely enlightening and insightful: light-hearted, yet politically heavy. It’s the kind of book you’d read to take a break off everything serious, only to realise that you’re actually reading something serious!
The Bad: The tone may be a bit too bubbly and vivacious for some male readers, but if you’re bold enough to pick this up, you’d be too engrossed in the story to be bothered by the tone… and it’s a fun tone too!
The Verdict: 4.5 Stars- A complete guilty pleasure! Much fun! Do read.

Memorable Quotes:
1.     “Ladies and Gentlemen: You are invited to join me in one of the most explosive scandals and noisiest, wildest, all-night parties around. Your personal tour-guide—and that’s moi—will reveal to you a new world, a world closer to you than you might imagine. We all live in this world, but do not really experience it, seeing what we can tolerate and ignoring the rest…”

2.     (After quoting a poem from Nazir Qabbani) “Right you are Nazir Baby! Your tongue be praised, God bless you and may you rest in peace. Truth be told, though you are a man, you are indeed ‘the woman’s poet’ and if anyone doesn’t like my saying so, they can go drink from the sea!”

3.     “My hair is now fluffed and teased, and I’ve pained my lips a shameless crimson red. Beside me rests a bowl of chips splashed with chilli and lime. Readers: prepare yourselves. I’m ready to disclose the first scandal!” 

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Karthik Calling Karthik (2010 Film)

Monday, March 14, 2011 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek

It’s the first Hindi psychological thriller I’ve seen! And an excellent one at that.

 “Can your mind play tricks on you?”

The Rundown
Behind the name: Watch, and you’ll understand
Country: India, 2010
 Genre: Psychological Thriller
Distributed by: Excel Entertainment, Magic Beans
Director: Vijay Lalwani
                  Cast: Farhan Akhtar (as Karthik Narayan) Deepika Padukone (as Shonali Mukherjee) Ram Kapoor (as Mr. Kamath) Shefali Chhaya (as Mrs. Kapadia) Vivaan Bhathena, Vipin Sharma, Yatin Karyekar
                  Compare to: Itself
Hate it or Love it?  Love it.

Synopsis in a Sentence: Karthik keeps getting calls from a person who knows everything about him—what he does, what he’s going to do, and how he’ll do it— who is this that knows so much about him, and who keeps calling?
           

On Writing: The Plot
A fresh, unique plot. Bollywood really has developed range with this story. It’s a new angle, a new idea, and a new delivery. The story flows well, and develops well. There are a few, slight bumps, but you might not notice them at all. You’ll be entrenched in the thrill that this story will have on your psychology.
(4/5)

On Acting: The Cast
Great casting. Thy all play their parts quite well:
 Farhan Akhtar plays Karthik’s development from timid to confident easily. He’s the hero of the story and acts the part.
Deepika Padukone plays Shonali, the heroine, otherwise known as ‘hot girl’. She definitely plays more than just hot though, and save for a slight bump in the details of her character, she sails very easily through her part.
 (3.5/5)

On Production: The Creativity
Very well produced. Nice symbolism, good shots, a great production overall. No complaints here.
(4/5)                                             

On Resolution: The Conclusion
It ends well. The end makes the film, and is well worth it. Very nicely resolved. You’ll have to trace your steps back to the start, but that’s the thriller in it. A good one.
(4/5)

The Verdict: A thrill, not only for your mind.

Overall Score = 15.5/20 



Watch Karthik Calling Karthik 

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Pasta (2010 TV Series)

Friday, February 25, 2011 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek

Pasta seemed like the modern re-invention of Korean romantic comedies, and it started like that, but quickly turned into a series of events strung together by pasta-making contests.


“It’s food, 'romance' and competition.”

The Rundown
Behind the name: That’s what it’s all about—seriously!
Country: South Korea, 2010
 Genre: Romantic Comedy
Released by: MBC (MunHwa Broadcasting Corporation)
Director: Kwan Seok-Jang
                  Cast: Kong Hyo-jin (as Seo Yoo-Kyung), Lee Sun Gyun (as Choi Hyun-wook), Lee Ha-nui (as Oh Sae-young), Alex (as Kim San)
                  Compare to: Tarzan? Lol no.
Hate it or Love it? Like it, I guess

Synopsis in a Sentence: A kitchen assistant falls for her arrogant boss and they spend the rest of the series trying to get together, against his own “rules”.

The romance was just like pasta—twisted & displaced, and the comedy quite the same.

On Writing: The Plot
It’ all about making pasta and what’s supposed to be “love”. 
But it’s not a bad plot. The writers obviously intended for it to be better than it turned out. On the bright side, the plot was original, unlike many other Korean romantic comedies, and included “cute bits” that highlighted the story. On the down side, after seeing what Korea’s capable of, the story turned out to be a series of events stringed together by contests—literally, it was one pasta contest after another after another after another—and that went on throughout the series. I’m quite sick of Korea telling stories of “clumsy female meets refined male” characters—it’s not cute! Much rather annoying. And that’s exactly what Pasta does
Will make you either love Pasta, or hate it.
(3/5)

On Acting: The Cast
Quite good. Most were good, or great.
Props to Lee Ha-nui,  who played the female head cook. Lee Sun Gyun, who played the lead male was okay, but not quite great. His character wasn’t fun either.

 Props also to Lee Seong-Min,  who played the comedic villain. Overall, the cast presented a good cast, with the characters blending easily together. 
(3.5/5)

On Production:
Great music. Quite well designed. The soundtrack was unique and fresh, with tunes that embellished the story, the set was great, and the direction was good. It’s overall a good production.
 (4/5)                                             

On Resolution: The Conclusion
Hmm. Not quite sure what to say about it. It ended quite well, but didn’t quite ‘resolute’. It left us hanging, and not quite sure what to do about it. I’m guessing an attempt to end the story with a twist fell flat.
(3/5)

The Verdict: Recommended to lovers of food, specifically pasta, Italian food… and um, displaced romance?

Overall Score = 13.5/20



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Falling (2006 Film)

Friday, February 18, 2011 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek

I was quite excited about this one. It was my first choice in the German collection, judging from the cover and the recommendations from Time Out, the New York Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival, but this film simply fell flat.


“I sat and fumbled empathy, searched for the climax, and begged for action, but alas, they never came, and I was left Falling through the rest of the film.”

The Rundown
Behind the name: Fallen (Also Known As)
Country: Austria, 2006
 Genre: Drama
Distributed by: Kino International Corp.
Directors: Barbara Albert
                  Cast: Nina Proll (as Nina), Birgit Minichmayr (as Brigitte), Ursula Strauss (as Alex), Kathrin Resetarits (as Carmen), Gabriela Hegedüs (as Nicole), Ina Strnad (As Daphne)
Compare to: Romy & Michelle’s High School Reunion (But drier than ever)
Hate it or Love it? Hate it L

Synopsis in a Sentence: Five women get to have a reunion when they meet at their teacher’s funeral—they may have gone separate ways, but how much have they changed?

Patience—this one requires patience.

On Writing: The Plot
A film in German, produced in Austria.
The plot’s actually not bad, but as viewers nowadays are accustomed to entertainment so that they can be entertained, the plot of this film didn’t do much of that. Actually, the plot did much of anything.
The dialogue itself wasn’t bad. It was a real production for realistic ideas through realism—but that’s the problem—that was all this film had to offer. Seasoned viewers know that for realism to be effective, equally skilful tactics in film production have to be employed. But no technique at all was used to motivate the viewers of Falling to follow the storyline. It starts with a good formula for realism—five females re-discover one another in the wake of tragedy, but it falls flat after that, with minimal connections throughout the story’s plot, virtually no climax, and no emotive motivation. Actually, the film goes on as though it doesn’t care that that a human will have to watch it one day!


(2.5/5)



On Acting: The Cast
They’re relatively good actors stuck in a story without connections; so we watch them struggle. It was hard to find a relatable character, and just when hope was rising in the horizon, the character would do a 180º and flip on you, and then you’re left wondering again—until you meet another one that does it all over again.
We were also made to wonder if this was Ina Strnad’s first film, because she was relatively disconnected from her character throughout the film.


(3/5)


On Production:
Not bad, but nothing of noteworthy mention. No particular part stood out as memorable, (*should I mention, that the cover photo is the best moment of the film) but we can appreciate the snap-shots of good moment throughout the film. J


 (2/5)                                              

On Resolution: The Conclusion
High and dry. That’s what the end leaves you feeling like, and after 88 minutes of sitting through this, you may regret not picking up some German words as the time passed by because that may have been all you got to learn (and enjoy) from Falling.
(Unless you’re going through the pains of one of these women, it’s hard to feel the empathy in the film, even then). L


 (1.5/5)


The Verdict: Alas, I would only recommend this to someone stuck in a desert with nothing else for entertainment.

Overall Score = 9/20

In the end, I might be wrong about this film. See Falling for yourself and decide at a local screening [http://www.siff.net/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=22027&FID=32]. 



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