FILMART 2014 - Part 2

Video Clips credit: Kuangaitvb
Information of Series credit: http://asianuniverse.net/

View FILMART 2014 - Part 1
***btw I'm listing the videos randomly, not in sync with the days that they were released at the event.

UNDER THE VEIL - 無雙譜 - 20 EPISODES
Cast: Wayne Lai, Sonija Kwok, Bosco Wong, Eliza Sam, Raymond Wong, Kristal Tin, Katy Kung, Stanley Cheung, Joyce Koi

Remake of the classic 1981 version. Each pair gets a separate storyline. Eliza plays two roles, 'Lei Yu Ching' and a rich girl who both pursues a poor scholar played by Bosco; Wayne and Sonjia are a married couple; Wayne plays a nice scholar who is an animal lover, and the other role he's married to Sonija, but has many extramarital affairs; Sonija plays two roles, one as Wayne's wife and the other is a prostitute; Kristal and Raymond Wong are a pair. Kristal plays two roles, one as the sister and one as the brother -- she will be dressed as a woman, man, woman disguised as man and man disguised as woman; Raymond plays two roles -- a scholar that lost his memory, has a romance with the sister played by Kristal and the other is a royal prince, has a "male romantic" relationship with the brother also played by Kristal; Joyce Koi plays the Goddess of Mercy.

Interest Rate: 10/10 (yah...I know!!!)
While I was watching, the background music (starting at 40 secs) hit me and made everything feel so nostaligic!  It's been forever since tvb created a mythical series and it is my favourite genre!!!!  The make up and costumes so far looks alright, especially Eliza Sum's but excluding Katy Kung's green costume.  While Eliza is adorable onscreen, I wonder if Katy would be better for the role?  I think Katy is quite underrated.

The fact that it's ONLY 20 eps aches my heart cause I wanna see more....

OHHH!! One thing I gotta mention is Kristal playing as a man.  While I often complain about this, Kristal changed my mind.  In some pictures taken of her, she actually looks quite impressive in the man costume! :D

GHOST DRAGON OF COLD MOUNTAIN - 寒山潛龍
Cast: Kenneth Ma, Selena Li, Lin Xiawei, Pierre Ngo, Power Chan, Raymond Cho, Yoyo Chen, Charmaine Li, Candy Chang, KK Cheung, Law Lok Lam, Mary Hon

As the Song Dynasty is on the verge of ruin, four imperial constables showcase their talents, cracking down a conspiracy with catastrophic consequence; An adventurous story with modern elements. Kenneth and Selena's two roles are in a love triangle. Selena has two roles -- one is Kenneth's wife and the other is a famous prostitute who likes him; Lin Xiawei plays a martial artist and paired up with Pierre.

Interest Rate - 8/10
Oh!!! I totally forgot that they were filming this one. Haha the series was suggested in the 2013 sales presentation and the concept/storyline had changed quite a bit! Thank goodness too since the costumes then were horrendous! haha

Also one of my fav couple is back onscreen!  Kenneth Ma and Selena Li!

THE ULTIMATE ADDICTION - 點金聖手 - 30 EPISODES
Cast: Bosco Wong, Kate Tsui, Sharon Chan, Nancy Wu, Ben Wong, Elena Kong, Toby Leung, Pal Sinn, MC Jin, Stephen Wong, Oscar Leung, Jack Wu, Jazz Lam

A brilliant speculator challenges the Commercial Crime Bureau. Being ambitious, arrogant an egotistical, he is a money-driven man in this new era.This is a finance-themed series. The script was originally written for Michael Miu, but since he withdrew, there was no replacement. Instead, the producer modified the story to make the role younger. Bosco plays a financial expert, Nancy Wu is his wife, who is a high executive at the bank. Kate gets involved in their marriage as the third party; Sharon and Toby are sisters, both are Criminal Crime Bureau(CCB) officers.

Interest Rate 7/10
This reminds me of Bosco's role in "Lives of Omission".

MC Jin is in here!  Good to see him back with more dramas!

LINE WALKER - 使徒行者 - 30 EPISODES
Cast: Michael Miu, Charmaine Sheh, Raymond Lam, Elena Kong, Sharon Chan, Oscar Leung, Sammy Sum, Patrick Tang, Toby Leung, Benz Hui

A police action-crime drama about undercovers and struggles in the police force. Raymond is an undercover, disguised as a gangster; Charmaine is an undercover disguised as a foot massage spa owner; Charmaine and Raymond's relationship started before they knew the other was an undercover, but their attraction grew stronger when they knew they were both undercover; Sharon is an OCTB officer (O Gei); Sammy Sum is Sharon's boyfriend; Elena is a housewife; Oscar Leung is a gangster and Raymond's good friend; Patrick is Sharon's ex-boyfriend, a OCTB inspector.

Interest Rate: 7/10
Police dramas are always a hit or miss for me so I may or may not give this a try. Aside from that, I'm not a big fan of Raymond Lam. Haha I don't even know why either cause I don't think he's a bad actor or anything but I just have no interest to watch him. If I were to choose this over the other series with Bosco Wong, I'd choose Bosco's. Lately, I've also lost interest in watching Sharon too. Dunno why but I don't want to watch her either.

REAR MIRROR - 載得有情人 - 20 EPISODES
Cast: Wayne Lai, Louisa So, Elaine Yiu, Natalie Tong, Tony Hung, Stanley Cheung, Susan Tse, Mary Hon, Amy Fan

Wayne plays a near 40 year old bus driver, he and his girlfriend has a 6 year old son. His girlfriend later leaves him, and Louisa So hires him as a personal driver, the two slowly develop feelings for one another; Louisa plays a CEO of a large corporation.

Interest Rate: 5/10
For the sake of Louisa So, I gave this a higher rating :P Honestly though, the story sound too bland and so was the trailer.

BATTLE OF TOMORROW - 再戰明天 - 20 EPISODES
Cast: Lawrence Ng, Kate Tsui, Josie Ho, Vincent Wong, Kenny Wong, Jacqueline Wong, Tracy Chu

Drama revolves around criminal punishment and life in prison. Josie Ho plays a pitiful role, she is a prisoner with a young son who has never met a good person. Vincent was negatively influenced at a young age, and almost joined the triad. One time he was caught shoplifting at a convenience store Josie worked at, but she gave him a chance and since then he went back on the right path. He became a correctional officer and eventually develops a relationship with Josie; Vincent ends up going to jail because of Josie and gets bullied; Lawrence, Kate, Kenny and Jacqueline are all correctional officers; Lawrence and Jacqueline are siblings; Tracy is a social worker.

Interest Rate 6/10
I'm on the edge for this one. Don't know whether I'll like it or find it boring. Why does it sound like the story will revolve around Josie Ho? For those like me, who have no idea who Josie Ho is, she's a movie actress.

VINEGAR LADY - 醋娘子 - 20 EPISODES
Cast: Myolie Wu, Ron Ng, Him Law, Louis Cheung, Alice Chan, Eliza Sam, Gigi Wong, Susan Tse, Derek Kwok, Jerry Koo

A light-hearted comedy. Myolie and her mother Gigi roams around selling and cheating people. One time when Myolie was being chased, Him Law rescued her and it was love at first sight. It turned out she and Him had an arranged marriage. Later, the two were married with Ron's help. Him's family owns an vinegar production business, after marriage, Myolie learned how to make vinegar. When Gigi was accused of murdering her husband, she was jailed and Him's family forced Myolie to draw a line with her mother. Him doesn't help her, but instead falls for Eliza and she later becomes his mistress. Ultimately Him divorces Myolie; Ron and his sister Jade Leung owns a bath house, he has skin disease and gets cheated by Myolie and her mother. Later Myolie cures his skin disease and they became good friends.

Interest Rate: 7/10
The synopsis sounds much more promising than the goofy trailer.

TIGER CUBS II - 飛虎II - 20 EPISODES
Cast: Joe Ma, Linda Chung, Oscar Leung, Him Law, Benjamin Yuen, Timmy Hung, Mandy Wong, Christine Kuo, Grace Wong, Patrick Tang, Matthew Ko, William Chak, Nancy Wu, Jade Leung, Sam Tsang, Jerry Koo

Following the hit of the last series 'Tiger Cubs', the new one has valiant policemen and undercover policewomen that are fully equipped for another lethal mission; A total of 10 stories, each 2 episodes long. The sequel incorporates more dramatic elements that would make audience want to keep watching, such as the resentment among the SDU brothers. There are more large-scale scenes in this sequel compared to the last. The characters from part 1 will continue in the sequel with addition of new characters. Joe continues as "Jin Sir", he has become even more matured since part 1; Linda plays a cold CIB madam, who is an undercover in the triad. The triad eventually discovered her true identity and traumatized her, which turned her into a ruthless and violent madam.

Interest Rate: 8/10
I liked the first installement, so hopefully this will be able to follow its predecessor's footsteps.
Hmm...Jade Leung is really making a comeback to tvb? She's also in Vinegar Lady.

FILMART 2014 - Part 1

Video Clips credit: 小淚_TeArs 
Information of Series credit: http://asianuniverse.net/

MASTER OF DESTINY - 風雲天地 - 40 EPISODES
Cast: Liza Wang, Angie Chiu, Hawick Lau, Tang Yan, Kimmy Tong, Monica Wang, Edwin Siu, Kenny Wong, Wayne Lai (guest), Selena Li (guest)

A family fuel drama. The success of a legendary woman entrepreneur in a world of deceit and betrayal. Filming in Tianjian and Beijing. CHO KWAN YEUT NAM (Liza Wang) is a legendary woman. In the early years, her husband (Wayne Lai) committed suicide because of a failed business. As a single mother, she raised three boys and an adopted daughter, and established her own company. YUET NAM progressively handed over her company to her children to take over, but unexpectedly the big brother CHI WANG (Kenny Wong) secretly pursued his adopted younger sister HAU YEE (Kimmy Tong). Unfortunately, HAU YEE only loved her second brother CHI YUN (Hawick Lau), but YUN had his heart for someone else. Their relationship went through subtle change. Because of YUN's girlfriend fell ill and dies, he concentrated solely on his career and got into a dispute with his elder brother, whom was suppose to be the successor of the company. Beautiful girl SONG CHI WAH (Monica Wang) stormed in on WANG's life, not only did she start working at the company, but also provoked WANG to act violently towards his wife. YUET NAM decided to hand her company over to YUN. WAH told WANG that he is actually not YUET NAM's biological son. The two plotted against YUN and framed him. YUN ends up in prison and WANG takes over the company.

Interest Rate: 4/10 (very harsh but I seriously have no interest in it haha)
This remind me of "Growing Through Life", also a mainland and tvb production.  While it is a star studded series, I'm not too interested in it.  Personally like the joint mainland and tvb ancient series better than modern.  Such a pity though cause I actually want to see Angie Chiu.

OX HEAD LOVES HORSE MOUTH - 牛頭愛搭馬嘴 - 20 EPISODES
Cast: Johnson Lee, Joey Meng, Oscar Leung, Mak Ling Ling, Harriet Yeung (Hatao), Rebecca Zhu

A comedy series. Johnson Lee and Joey Meng will be a pair. Johnson plays a police officer; Mak Ling Ling is a chief magazine editor.

Interest Rate: 6/10
I don't like that Johnson is leading here but since it's a light hearted comedy and he's good in those, I'll be giving it a try.  Of course the big reason here is Joey Meng!  For those who can't recall who Harriet Yeung is, she's the one who played Dayo Wong's crazy 'girlfriend' in "Bounty Lady".  She was pretty funny so I'm also looking forward to seeing her again.

A random comment here, why is Mak Ling Ling in here?  Isn't she a feng shui master or something?  She've filmed with tvb before?

ALL THAT IS BITTER IS SWEET - 大藥坊 - 30 EPISODES
Cast: Linda Chung, Ruco Chan, Raymond Wong, Natalie Tong, Pierre Ngo, Shirley Yeung, To Yin Gor

One A story revolving around a pharmacy. Linda plays a rich girl, whose family runs a large pharmaceutical business. But the pharmacy later gets hit by a huge epidemic. Linda is the first female pharmacist in China, she helps resolve the issue in a strong manner; Linda-Ruco-Raymond-Natalie will be involved in a love square.

Interest Rate: 8/10
You all know I'm a fan of Linda and so I'm definitely interested in this.  The story also interests me since it will be revolving around a female hero protagonist instead of a man (which I often think is the situation).  

Btw the trailer is basically the same as the one released out last year with just a few minor tweaks towards the middle and end.  It's a bit disappointing since I was hoping to see more new clips.

NOBLESSE OBLIGE - 宦海奇官 - 20 EPISODES
Cast: Kenneth Ma, Tavia Yeung, Joel Chan, Benjamin Yuen, Cilla Lok, Lau Dan, Susan Tse, Yoyo Chen

A young guy with street-smarts challenges bureaucracy, unfolding a journey of political infighting and scandals. Kenneth is a righteous young man whose ambition is to catch corrupted court officials. He's the illegitimate child of Lau Dan, he has no status in the family and everything he does was to get his father's attention. Tavia is an orphan raised by a Buddhist nun, she‘s a skilled martial artist.

Interest Rate: 6/10
I personally prefer modern comedies over ancient comedies, so it is probably why I'm not too interested with this series.  At first I was also hoping to see Tavia in a comedic role but no, it's apparently one with a 'tragic' past.  I really want to see her take on some modern comedy roles.  Despite this though, I'll probably be watching it for the cast.

BLACK HEART WHITE SOUL - 忠奸人 - 30 EPISODES
Cast: Roger Kwok, Ron Ng, Kristal Tin, Jason Chan, Kiki Sheung, Louis Cheung, Matt Yeung, Leanne, Li, Lisa Lau, Vivien Yeo, Siu Bo, Claire Yiu, Becky Lee, Waise Lee

Is guilt worth nothing among human emotions? What is beneath the justice and sympathy is the unfold secrets. In this world full of absurdity, the line between good an evil is blurred; Roger Kwok was a very positive lawyer, but because of Ron Ng, he gets into a car accident that paralyzed his legs. He became handicap since then, but believed he could get back up and start over.

Interest Rate: 7/10
Cross out Jason Chan and it'll be one great cast!  Haha I really don't like that guy as an actor since he's so wooden.

That aside, the storyline sounds interesting and I'm always excited to see Roger Kwok onscreen!  He's also pairing up with Kristal Tin again and so hopefully, their story in here would be better than the one in "Return of the Silver Tongue".

Like "All That is Bitter is Sweet", the trailer for this series was also released last year.

MADAM CUTIE ON DUTY - 師奶Madam - 20 EPISODES
Cast: Edwin Siu, Priscilla Wong, Mandy Wong, Raymond Cho, Anderson Junior, Susan Tse, Jacqueline Wong, Rachel Kan, Leung Ka Kei, Stanley Cheung, Mary Hon

A savvy housewife is a capable Madam in disguise. Its a comedy full of wisdom of life. Edwin is an undercover cop who gets close the housewives in the village to investigate a case; Priscilla Wong is an undercover explorer who disguises herself as a housewife to fit in with the housewives in the village; Mandy is a housewife, married to Raymond Cho; Priscilla and Edwin eventually develop a relationship; Edwin also has a relationship with Mandy; Susan is Priscilla's mother.

Interest Rate: 8/10
I've watched all of Priscilla's series since her debut and I've always enjoyed her performance. While some may not like her, I find her very cute onscreen and her acting is quite decent to me.

Aside from that, I'm always looking forward to modern comedies!

Storm in a Cocoon Episode 1-3 thoughts

Have had this post in the drafts for so long!!  I'm already up to episode 13!  Gotta catch up with posting :D
The first episode begins with scenes of Poon Ka Yeung (Steven Ma) in the battlefield.  While rescuing one of the wounded, he found out that the person he was saving is in fact a member of the opposite army who disguised as one of their men.  When Ka Yeung saw the man's family picture, he told him that he also misses his own family.  In the end, Ka Yeung decided to help the man escape by telling the guy to take him as hostage.  The man then managed to escape.

Personally, I would love to see the man return in the later half of the series to repay Ka Yeung's help.  It'll probably happen too...just when?

Wing Tai Lung is a large silk factory in Guangzhou and in charge of it is Poons' second daughter, Poon Hau Yee (Akina Hong) and the eldest, Poon Ka Hin (Evergreen Mak).  Even though Ka Hin is the eldest, his father found him incapable of handling the business and so the factory is mainly maintained by Hau Yee.  Third son, Poon Ka Yeung, is a military doctor who's away from home.  Lastly, there's the fourth brother, Poon Ka Seng (Yeung Chiu Hoi), who's dream is to be an opera actor.

The women working in the silk the factory is somewhat divided into sides.  One follows the senior silk worker, Bik Wan (Maggie Siu) and the other works with Tong Bing Bing (Tavia Yeung).  Bing Bing is favoured by Hau Yee.  On the other hand, Hau Yee sees that Bik Wan shows her no respect because she's (Bik Wan) a long-time worker at the factory.  While Hau Yee has Bing Bing's back, Sis Wan seems to have Ka Hin on her side.

I'm really happy to see Maggie Siu back onscreen since it's been awhile.  There's definitely going on between Bik Wan and Ka Hin.  Bik Wan is a celibate and that is probably because of her past with Ka Hin, which will be revealed in the later episodes.

Aside from Bik Wan and Bing Bing, there's also Yin Foon (Cilla Kung) who works under Bik Wan.  Cilla is growing as an actress and it'll help her alot if tvb stops giving her loud/obnoxious roles!  In the later episodes though, her character would become a bit more mature (I've watched up to episode 13 haha) and both her story and Bik Wan's will get alot more interesting.

On the day of the annual festival, Ka Yeung makes a surprising return to the village.  The family was thrilled with his return but things soon turn sour when they found Hau Yee dead in an abandoned shack.  With her, they found a divorce letter from her husband and so therefore they concluded that her death was an act of suicide from shame.  At the sight of sister's corpse, Ka Seng fainted and becomes bedridden.  Ka Yeung doesn't believe that his sister committed suicide and therefore began to investigate the reason behind her death.  Helping along his side is Bing Bing.

Just when I thought Akina Hong scored a big role here, she dies!  I didn't expect her death to be so soon but I guess it does help with the pace of the story.  Hope to see more of her in the flashbacks!

The uncle, Poon Wing Cheung (Joseph Lee Kwok Lun), and cousin, Pang Kwok Leung (Stephen Wong), of Hau Yee's soon stir trouble in the factory right after her death.  While the uncle is happy about Hau Yee's death (because he now have the chance to step into charge at the factory), Kwok Leung obviously shows remorse for her death.  Why?  :P

Originally, they thought that Hau Yee died because she overdosed with opium but Ka Yeung, with his medical expertise, concluded that it was put in there after she died.  Since she was not poisoned, she could've possibly be suffocated.  Another clue they had is the bruises on her wrists.  Bing Bing also said that she couldn't have possibly commit suicide over her husband because Hau Yee once told her that she've already given up hope on him.

Bing Bing's first suspect is Sis Wan because of the feud between her and Hau Yee.  That is ruled out though because on the night of Hau Yee's death, Sis Wan was looking after Yin Foon who had a stomach ache.

While I'm glad to see Stevia Back onscreen, Tavia's Bing Bing can rather be annoying at times.  It almost seem like her character got split personality since she acts so cautious and understanding in front of Hau Yee but in front of Ka Yeung, she's all about the yelling.  Impulsiveness is not a crime but the yelling does get on my nerves haha.  Luckily her character will tone down in the next few episodes and also becomes more likable.

Hau Yee's husband, Po Ching (Stephen Huynh), was not around during her death and they couldn't find him after her death either.  The divorce letter that was found with her corpse wasn't delivered to her by him either.  Instead, Po Ching gave the letter to Ka Hin and it was Ka Hin who gave it to his sister.  No one else knew about the divorce letter until her death (or at least the show haven't shown anybody else beside this trio yet).

Doesn't this make either Po Ching or Ka Hin the prime suspects since they were the only one who knew about the divorce letter aside from Hau Yee?  I don't think Hau Yee will be carrying her divorce around and the murderer did deliberately leave it there to make everyone believe that she committed suicide.

To me, Ka Hin seems like the most likely person to kill Hau Yee.  I'm just praying that he's not though because that'll be way too predictable.

Even though nobody was able to find Po Ching, he suddenly shows up running into the funeral hall on the day of Hau Yee's funeral.  He said he was out of town during the time of Hau Yee's death but Bing Bing actually saw him in the village on the night of her death.  This means that he's very likely to be the one who killed her.

While Ka Yeung tried to investigate further into it, Bing Bing's impulsiveness got the best of her and she charged right into the Poon's house to announce that Po Ching is the killer.  Don't think the case will be solved so easily ;)

No one can come back fine after a war.  When Ka Yeung's thinking alone, he often have flashbacks of what happened when he was on the battlefield.  Looks like he was traumatized from that time and I'm glad that they showed this side of him.  I'm now quite intrigued to find out what happened to Ka Yeung.

Ruse of Engagement - Synopsis and Official Screencaptures

Synopsis
Widow TONG SUK-FAN (Louise Lee) is saddled with hardship alone, struggling to bring up her two sons CHONG YAU-CHING (Ruco Chan) and CHONG YAU-KIT (Ron Ng). The brothers join the Intelligence Unit and the Operations Unit of Anti-Terrorist Force respectively, and both gain recognition from their superior SHUM CHI-NGO (Eddie Kwan), which is supposed to be a comfort to their mother. Unexpectedly, their brotherhood is turned to enmity owing to an intelligence. Through a reliable source from a journalist YIP TING (Yoyo Mung), YAU-CHING probes into a secret organization, during which he nearly gets himself killed and cannot resume duty immediately. After seeking aid from his girlfriend CHUNG YAT-KA (Aimee Chan), who accesses the database in secret by leveraging her duty as the intelligence analyst, he uncovers that there is a mole in the intelligence agency. His younger brother YAU-KIT not only suspects him of being a traitor, but also takes advantage of his absence to court YAT-KA. Just as YAU-CHING is caught helplessly in a dilemma, fortunately, he gets help from YIP TING, and the two gradually develop romantic feelings for each other. However, in an attempt to ferret out the culprit, YAU-CHING does not hesitate to use himself as the bait, walking to the path of no return. Long-gone seems to be the days when fidelity, love and righteousness still mattered to him... (credit asianuniverse)

OFFICIAL SCRENCAPS (credit http://starphoto.joinbbs.net)
PISCASA Web Album for Ruse of Engagement

Ruse of Engagement was produced in 2011 and is finally being release in 2014!!  So many feared that it was going to be warehouse but luckily it didn't ;) 

Yoyo Mung is no longer a tvb artiste, so I wonder her screen time is going to be cut or not.  Let's hope it's more than what she had in A Great Way to Care 2 =.=