Review: Ode to Joy (2016 TV Series)

Monday, August 8, 2016 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek
I have been scouting for a story from Mainland China, and I just happened to be craving something based on young women, and luckily a friend recommended this fabulous series that I couldn’t stop watching!

“Grit your teeth ‘til you make it through…
Dreams and love, they all belong to you… ”

The Rundown
Behind the name: The name of the apartment complex that brings the girls together
Country: China, 2016
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Metropolitan, Drama
Network: Dragon TV, Zhejiang TV
Director: Kong Sheng, Jian Chuan Su
Writer: Yuan Zi Dan
                  Cast: Liu Tao (as An Di), Jiang Xin (as Fang Sheng Mei), Wang Zi Wen (as Qu Xiao Xiao), Qiao Xin  (as Guan Ju Er), Yang Zi (as Qiu Ying Ying), Zu Feng 祖峰 (as Qi Dian), Wang Kai (as Doctor Zhao), Zhang Lu (as Wang Bai Chuan), Zhang Xiao Qian (as Yao Bin), Jin Dong (as Tan Zong Ming)
                   
                  Compare to: Age of Youth

                  Hate it or Love it?  Love it!

Synopsis in a Sentence: Five womens' lives cross paths on an apartment floor in the Ode to Joy building, and we watch them navigate work, love and life from the perspectives of a rich spoiled-brat turned business tycoon, a timid new-entrant employee, a (kind) social climber, a finance guru and math genius, and a clueless, happy-go-lucky small-town girl trying to make it in the big city—can they all get along?


On Writing: The Plot
The story is fun and didactic and entertaining and fabulous!  It gives us a unique, modern window into the lives of different young Chinese women working to make it in Shanghai and we don’t quite get this perspective often. It also offers different perspectives and the nuances into the lives of different people.
The plot is layered and we get to see the viewpoints of people from different walks of life—rich and poor, ambitious and unmotivated, privileged and not-so-privileged, and everything in between. It gives us a little think about the clashes between social class and age and opportunity. A great one!
(4.5/5)

On Acting: The Cast
The actresses and actors are very well cast! I hear some of them are some of the best from the Mainland so there’s no surprise here! So we have, from left to right:
L-R: Wang Zi Wen (as Qu Xiao Xiao), Liu Tao (as An Di), Jiang Xin (as Fang Sheng Mei), Yang Zi (as Qiu Ying Ying), Qiao Xin  (as Guan Ju Er)

(4/5)

On Production: The Creativity
Production is the weakest link n this one. It’s all right but needs to up its cliff-hanger game. These are some of the weakest cliff-hangers I’ve seen since I cannot even remember! Other than that the techniques are quite routine standard so they quite needed some creativity, and the opening music was… blah. The interesting thing is that I
(3.5/5)                                             

On Resolution: The Conclusion
The conclusion is quite the star! The first season ends wonderfully and we can’t wait to get more of these girls! By the ending, looks like production learned how to deliver—the end has the best cliff-hanger!
(4.5/5)

The Verdict: A fun, meaningful, entertaining watch!

Overall Score = 16.5/20


The Complete Main Cast




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Book Review: Desperate in Dubai

Monday, July 4, 2016 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek
So for years I’ve searched the lands of the Arabian Peninsula and beyond for a book like Girls of Riyadh. Luckily, on a recent trip to the Middle East, I found Desperate in Dubai fabulously flaunting itself on a centre shelf in Kinokuniya bookstore. It was lust at first sight! And my fleetingly superficial feelings turned out to be spot on and even better!




The Rundown

Country: The United Arab Emirates, 2011
Author: Ameera Al Hakawati
Genre: Novel, Fiction
Languages: English & Arabic
Publisher: Random House India
Pages: 551
Love it or Hate it? Love it!

Synopsis in A Sentence: What do a rich Emirati-British heiress, a Maghrebi-British housewife, a successful Lebanese bombshell, and a British-Indian school teacher have in common?—They all have dirty little secrets and they can’t wait to unravel eachothers’ stories; which of these desperados will outdo the others in this fabulous city called Dubai?

Think: Desperate housewives for the unmarried  

The Good:  It’s a packed story reflecting the modern challenges of girls in one of the world’s most luxurious cities! It’s layered and honest and diverse and complex and light and true-to-life! Frequent visitors to and residents of Dubai alike may learn a thing or two about a city they perhaps have not completely known all about.

It also does not shy away from touching heavy subjects like cultural clashes, stereotypes, women’s rights and national prejudice, while managing to discuss them fairly. Books that touch on these subjects typically do so from a singular cultural lens, but with this we are exposed to a multi-dimensional exploration of the life and culture of real people. The plot is based on real women’s stories and this is a refreshing outlook into lives of men and women so many of us know too little of.

The prose is quite direct and conversational, making for a light read, but of course the subject matter delves into deeper issues without dowsing its reader with the typical trite stories of restrictions in the Middle East from a foreigner's perspective. What I especially appreciated about the book was that it explored the experiences of diverse people; Africans, Asians, Middle-Easterners and Westerners. Very few Western books explore stories of different people with diverse perspectives (and in fact I cannot think of a recent one right now that does so). Our lives and experiences are shaped by our racial, gender, religious and socio-economic features and this book somehow almost comprehensively covers many of these bits and more, so this is indeed a rare gem!

The Bad: Because the story is so layered and interwoven, it may be hard to keep up with all the different characters and their stories and the details that go with them. If you’re not ready to take this down in one go, get ready for a bit of back-tracking and mind-juggling because the details are important for the juicy conclusion unravels!
Also, guys, don’t be intimidated by how girly the story line seems. Haven’t you always wondered what girls in the Middle East have going on? Well this is your guide!

The Verdict: Deliciously ambrosial, yet a complex and comprehensive pleasure! A fun, enlightening, honest read! 
4.5 stars!

Memorable Quotes:
1.     “’I never ask for a lady’s number,’ he explains, ‘and a real lady will never give it anyway. So here you go, Princess, the ball’s in your court.’ With that, he shakes her and Leila’s hands gently, bids them farewell and disappears, leaving both girls in complete awe but also surprised. It’s not normal for a decent Arab guy to just leave two girls alone without offering to drive them home, or at the very least, seeing them to a taxi…”

2.     “I spot him standing outside the cinema, by the big wooden ship in the China Court of the mall and wave at him. Although I prefer Mall of the Emirates to Ibn Battuta as the atmosphere is friendlier and warmer, there is no doubt that the latter is stunning to look at, especially for first timers…”


3.     “Lady Luxe lazily opens her eyes and stretched out on her bed, enjoying the sensation of the soft, 100 percent pure Egyptian cotton sheets against her skin. For a moment, she forgets who she is, who she is expected to be, as she relishes the warmth of the glorious morning on her arms. The fear she felt when falling asleep has faded away entirely and she is already wondering what devlish acts she should commit after sunset…”

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Review: Descendants of the Sun (2016 TV Series)

Sunday, June 5, 2016 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek
It’s the biggest thing in K-TV since My Love From the Star! The internet broke with this series written by the writer of our other faves: The Heirs and Secret Garden. Get ready for fantastic female leads and magnificent male eye-candy!


“He is rich and he has no worries, so he works at an NGO… to create worries!”

The Rundown
Behind the name: 태양의 후예; Have no real idea...
Country: South Korea, 2016
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Drama
Network: KBS
Director: Lee Eung Bok, Baek Sang Hoon
Writer: Kim Eun Sook, Kim Won Suk
                  Cast: Song Joong Ki as Captain Yoo Shi Jin of the Alpha Team (aka Big Boss), Song Hye Kyo as Professor Kang Mo Yun (aka Beauty), Jin Goo as Chief Master Sergeant Seo Dae Young (aka Wolf), Kim Ji Won as Lieutenant Yoon Myung Joo (Orthopedic Surgeon), Kang Shin Il as Lieutenant General Yoon (Myung Joo's father) (aka Yellow Tiger), Park Hoon as Sergeant Choi Woo Geun (aka Snoopy), Choi Woong as Staff Sergeant Gong Chul Ho (aka Harry Potter), Ahn Bo Hyun as Sergeant Im Kwang Nam (aka Piccolo), Lee Seung Joon as Song Sang Hyun (General Surgeon), Seo Jung Yeon as Ha Ja Ae (ER Nursing Team), Onew as Lee Chi Hoon (1st year Resident of Thoracic Surgery), Park Hwan Hee as Choi Min Ji (ER Nurse)
                   
                  Compare to: My Love from the Star
Hate it or Love it?  Love, love, love it!

Synopsis in a Sentence: Impressive surgeon meets impressive special ops. captain—together they save the fictional country of Urk and each-other—and the chemistry and electricity is too hot for TV! 


On Writing: The Plot
The plot is right up there, chilling in the heavens with the gods. And by this, I’m really talking about the screenplay and the witty banter between our heroine and hero! And between the fabulous cast and side romances we get to see. Oh the writing is gorgeous!
It’s original, it’s intelligent, it’s entertaining and it’s on its own level. The mutual respect for male and female characters—and in fact even the upliftment of female characters—is quite unlike what has ever been seen in K-cinema! Writer, Kim Eun Sook is responsible for churning some of our faves such as Secret Garden and Heirs, and she is at her best yet!
The dialogue and puns exchanged make the screenplay and we CANNOT wait to see what project she has next! We’ll be there just for the story!
(4.5/5)

L-R: Song, Song, Jin, Kim

On Acting: The Cast
In addition to the gorgeous, gorgeous eye candy! We absolutely loved this cast! All of them! Especially…
Our heroine, Song Hye Kyo as Professor Kang Mo Yun (aka Beauty) is engaging and multi dimensional. Song carries her character well and we love her!
The Big Boss is Song Joong Ki, Captain Yoo Shi Jin of the Alpha Team and he is everything! This is what the ROK military can do to you celebs, watch and learn.
 Jin Goo as Chief Master Sergeant Seo Dae Young (aka Wolf)  and dare we say he might be even more enticing than the lead?
 Kim Ji Won is First Lieutenant Yoon Myung-ju, AKA Rachel from The Heirs. She’s great of course!
And so is Onew from Shinee, and the entire cast who make up the Alpha Team and the Haesung Hospital Medical Team! L.o.v.e the cast!
(4/5)


On Production: The Creativity
Production is light and creative in the way that tvN does well! They’ve mastered the delivery of their romance-infused real life dramas and production is an art!
The transitions are quite on another level and the series is shot beautifully! A job well done!
(4.25/5)                                             


On Resolution: The Conclusion
The resolution is quite unique! For an almost-sappy, almost-melodramatic romantic drama this is a good, good conclusion, but I can’t give it away. You’ll have to see it to the end to know what I mean!
Go on, it’s only 16 episodes!
 (4.25/5)

The Verdict: A fabulously enjoyable series worth all 16+ hours of your time!  


Overall Score = 17/20


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