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2015.

Before posting this, I went back to look at my last post for the year 2014, and it started in exactly the same way that I was planning to start with this. 

“Wow, where does the time go?”

It has been a while since I last posted here, and laziness has indeed gotten the better of me to keep writing. Nevertheless, while I can live with not reflecting on the shows that I’ve watched, I certainly wasn’t going to go without reflecting on the year of 2015 as a whole.

Tying in with my thoughts of the previous year, 2015 continued to be a year of many firsts. For one, a significant relationship milestone, marked by a leap of faith into the unknown. Of course, with that came along a whole different set of challenges that perhaps caught me by surprise. It really isn’t easy, this whole adult thing.

Life and relationships weren’t the only things adding responsibilities to my plate, as work also continued to steadily pile up its fair share. The pressure is slowly creeping up, the hours clocked are gathering pace, and it seems like the start of a long uphill climb ahead. 

With all that’s said and done, I still enjoyed 2015 tremendously. The coming year looks like it’s going to be an even more eventful year ahead, so here’s to hoping for a great 2016!

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144-Year-Old Japanese Pink Wisteria Tree

Covering an area of over 2,000 square meters, this tree has been part of the Ashikaga Flower Park in Japan since 1870. Because of the nature of Wisteria trees spreading, it’s heavy branches are now supported by metal structures allowing tourists to get amazing photo opportunity below its canopy. (Source)

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Marriage Not Dating - Enjoyment/Rating (of 10): 8/8

Ah, the quintessential Korean romance drama with crazy and illogical second leads, meddlesome families, and long drawn-out misunderstandings between the main leads to act as obstacles to their One True Love. It’s dramas such as these that give the entire genre a bad name in general. However, despite using such conventional (and weary) cliches, this drama somehow rises above them to deliver a fun and enjoyable romance comedy. It’s yet more proof that a good rom-com is greater than the sum of its parts, particularly with the winning chemistry between main leads Yeon Woo-jin and Han Groo. Coupled with some hilarious moments, downright wacky cold openings in each episode, and a heartwarming focus on the mending of family relationships, Marriage Not Dating turned out to be quite the enjoyable watch after all.

Aside from the awesomeness that is a well-matched bickering couple with a good dash of jealousy mixed in it, I particularly liked how the drama took its time to develop the family relationships, which are often thrown to the wayside in dramas of this genre. While it may have first appeared as though the family members are meddling characters in antagonistic roles, it quickly became apparent that there were more deeply-rooted issues at play that needed the main leads’ attention. Letting their other half into their lives allowed them to mend and heal their own respective family problems, while the gradual building of a friendship between Mom and Jang-mi (Han Groo) was probably one of the sweetest and most satisfying story lines that I’ve seen in a while.

On the other hand, there was also plenty that this drama did wrong. The second leads felt more like stock characters whose only purposes were to advance the plot. Their motivations and whims changed as the plot dictated, rarely showing consistency (but it’s not like being consistently crazy is good either), while their more nefarious actions never failed to employ the cliched storytelling crutch of developing baseless misunderstandings between the main leads. It didn’t help that some of these misunderstandings were created in entirely illogical situations, and yet they still managed to lead to episodes worth of angst and separation. It certainly resulted in the draggier segments of the show, which served to bog down the zippiness of the drama as a whole. 

All in all, Marriage Not Dating is one of those romance comedies bogged down with some terrible cliches, which are fortunately not bad enough to outweigh the positives that the drama has going for it. With a contemporary take on romance in this day and age, the show is well worth a watch if you ask me.

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Gone Girl - Enjoyment/Rating (of 10): 7/8

Given how much I like thrillers and that this movie was getting some pretty rave reviews, it was surprising that I never got around to watching it while it was still showing in theatres. Nevertheless, I finally watched it anyway, and the end result left me feeling more than a little disturbed (I’m still not sure if if it was in a good way or a bad way). The story starts off a little slow as it takes its time to stretch its legs, before gradually delving into interesting (and murkier) waters while unravelling the story behind our main character Nick Dunne (who was very well played by Ben Affleck). The uneasy discomfort and tension was fantastic, and the audience was left constantly guessing as to what the missing (hah) puzzle pieces were. It was just a pity then that the story chose to give up its trump card by revealing its hand early on (well, halfway through the show), and the rest of the movie was spent as a character study of some really disturbing personalities. It felt like only the “psychological” part of “psychological thriller” remained, which wasn’t quite my cup of tea. Of course, that’s not to say that Gone Girl is a bad show (it certainly isn’t), but perhaps it’s just not a movie for everyone.

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Liar Game - Enjoyment/Rating (of 10): 10/9

Stylish to a fault, and a shining example of an adaptation done right. I was a huge fan of the original manga, and also watched the Japanese drama version before watching this Korean remake. With the exception of the casting of Akiyama (spot on by Matsumoto Shota), I was pretty much appalled at how the Japanese drama got everything wrong (Toda Erika as Kanzaki Nao was disastrous, the mood was too slapstick, Yokoya became a complete chump, my favourite round, i.e. the smuggling game, was completely butchered and ruined, and the whole concept of the game was turned into some rich man's ridiculous avant garde idea of paradise). In comparison, this Korean remake avoided all those pit holes, and even had the time to add their own bold and novel spin on the story's settings and characters. Amazingly, those changes were executed perfectly, to the point that I ended up enjoying the drama more than the original manga series. That is no easy feat for any adaptation, and when coupled with the stylish directing and spectacular acting performances (from Lee Sang-yoon and Shin Sung-rok),  Liar Game is a show you wouldn't want to miss.

The Korean remake's changes to the original story were bold and sweeping, yet it managed to retain the essence and feel of the original. I absolutely loved that about this show, and felt that it only served to further enhance the overall story. Turning it into a reality show instead of an underground tournament sounded like a risky move on paper, but worked surprisingly well in the grand scheme of things. Of course, the most brilliant change was to assimilate the character of Yokoya into the face of the Liar Game as host Kang Do-young, which did amazing things for the intensity and suspense of the plot. A hero is really only as good as his villain (see: The Dark Knight), and pushing Yokoya into the prime position of the main antagonist really amped things up a notch for the Akiyama of this drama (Ha Woo-jin). He was no longer only a foe in the context of the game's rounds, but an ever-present enemy always lurking behind every facet of the shady game that they were playing. 

It certainly helped that Kang Do-young was played by Shin Sung-rok, who turned in a star performance as the charismatic yet genuinely creepy and terrifying mastermind. Granted, Do-young's intellect displayed here falls a little short of Yokoya's genius portrayed in the manga (where he won even when he lost, and Akiyama could never get a clean victory over him), but it was a mind-blowing and unforgettable performance by both character and actor all the same. It's difficult to imagine a more chilling delivery of lines such as Woo-jin's mother's last words, and like our hero, we could never tell what the man was truly thinking. He struck fear into the hearts of even the viewers, and that for me is a mark of an excellent villain. 

Given that the bar has been set so dangerously high by the villain, it is only natural to expect the hero to scale similar heights, like the flip side of an yin-yang coin. However, the Ha Woo-jin in this drama was a very different take on the Akiyama character, one that gave up the stoic and calm image in the manga to adopt a gruffy and prickly personality that was prone to bouts of hot-headedness and vengeance. The personality switch took a little while to get used to, and while I can't quite say that I prefer this version over the manga, it proved to be a good fit for the story in the grand scheme of things. Woo-jin also had his own fair share of badass moments throughout the course of the story, which was in no small part due to Lee Sang-yoon's breakout performance. The constant upping of each other between the hero and the villain was pretty much the backbone of this adaptation, and I am pleased to say that it succeeded on all fronts for me.

It seems like I can't talk about this drama without comparing it to its source material, but I guess that's the inescapable fate of all adaptations. This show certainly does well enough to stand on its own two legs without having to be compared, but it is one of the rare examples of an adaptation outshining excellent source material by taking its own creative liberty to add on to the story. Liar Game was a terrific show by all accounts regardless of whether you read the manga or not, and definitely well worth a watch in my opinion.

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Healer - Enjoyment/Rating (of 10): 9/9

To be honest, the drama didn't strike me as particularly appealing in its promotional videos and teasers. However, the rave reviews and huge fandom made me decide to give it a go (well, and its stylistic similarity to City Hunter, which I really enjoyed). While the first few episodes were on the slow side of things in setting up the story and its characters, the drama quickly hit its stride and never looked back, only getting better and better as it went on. Sure, some of the "hacker" stuff got a few eye rolls every now and then but with an excellent story that was superbly paced, fantastically-written characters brought to life by some stellar acting performances (particular props to Ji Chang-wook and Yoo Ji-tae), a romance between the main leads that hit the sweet spots, some well choreographed and badass action sequences and great directing all around, Healer was a show that pretty much fired on all cylinders.

This was the first time that I watched Ji Chang-wook in anything, and I was left pleasantly surprised at how good he was in the different personas of Healer/Seo Jung-hoo/Park Bong-soo. Sure, the character was well-written to begin with, but he was the one who made it work and made it all feel like different facets of one single personality rather than a random mishmash of different identities. Jung-hoo's growth arc, from a man who shut himself off from the outside world after everyone abandoned him into someone capable of loving and accepting people again, was also one that was as enjoyable as it was heartwarming. Much of that character development was a direct consequence of his relationship with Chae Young-shin (Park Min-young), which was adorable and refreshingly direct. There was none of the typical kdrama romance angst and separation, just two people who loved each other and worked together on their issues. Their strong chemistry also made them very easy to root for.

On the other hand, the show had a stand-out performance in Yoo Ji-tae as the character of conflicted reporter Kim Moon-ho. It was an extremely rich and complex character to begin with; one that was always in a shade of grey (... not that movie) rather than black or white. He had that terrific mix of guilt, self-loathing and resentment, charm and wit and what not, and it was always hard to get a handle on him and where he stood relative to the Healer in the early episodes. While he was not particularly enjoyable as a rival/antagonist type of character during those early stages of the show, he quickly became a firm favourite once he stood up to be counted for in his battle against his depraved older brother. It certainly helped that Yoo Ji-tae took the character and ran with it, and the gravitas that he brought to the role was impressive. He certainly was a joy to behold when he was in full flow as a news reporter, and the show was that much better for it.

Of course, there were many other elements that also helped to turn this into such a loved show, some of which include characters such as the forever-gruff-and-loveable hacker Ahjumma, as well as the eternal sidekick for Moon-ho. Although the ending felt a little rushed in order to reach its resolution, the send-off that the main leads got was still a sweet and satisfying one, and the end feeling of it all was that Healer was an extremely well-crafted show. Definitely well worth a watch in my opinion.

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Your Daily "To Do" List

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I Fine.. Thank You Love You - Enjoyment/Rating (of 10): 9/8

It is not often that I watch Thai movies (or do I even?), but I've heard way too many good reviews about this to give it a miss. It certainly didn't disappoint, hitting all the high notes of a great rom-com without missing a beat. Sure, the overall story may have been a little simplistic, but the strong points of a rom-com have always lay in its execution rather than its story and the execution in this one wasn't left wanting. Although some of the humour was on the crass side of things, the overall spirit of the show remained light-hearted and funny, while the romance was pretty much on point and spot on in its gradual build-up throughout the show. The strong chemistry between the two leads definitely helped things along, and the end result was a highly enjoyable experience. I Fine.. Thank You Love You is definitely worth a watch in my opinion.

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Sword Art Online 2 - Enjoyment/Rating (of 10): 4/6

The sequel to the ever popular Sword Art Online. I highly enjoyed the first half of the original series back then, but found the second half of its run (the ALO arc) to be a letdown and a major disappointment. Unfortunately, this sequel here continues along the same vein as the ALO arc, failing to recapture the magic of the show at its greatest heights (during the first SAO arc). I guess the constant changing of the settings of the story doesn't do it any favours, and none of the arcs that have followed have managed to even come close to the narrative tension of the death-game (yes, not GGO, and not even Mother Rosario). It certainly begs the question of why the producers chose not to stick with the story that worked, but I guess that's a question for another day. Of course, that's not to say that Sword Art Online 2 is downright bad, because it does have its moments in sporadic bursts. It's just a pity that those moments remained too few for my liking.

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Bad Guys - Enjoyment/Rating (of 10): 7/7

As mentioned earlier, my main gripe with the drama was with its pacing issues and repetitive scenarios. The overarching mystery developed a little too slowly and awkwardly for my liking, while the individual cases of the week often felt irrelevant and too heavily padded with fighting scenes. How many times did we get to witness gangster Woong-chul and hitman Tae-soo taking on a whole bunch of thugs (and coming out on top)? How many times did we witness half-hearted attempts on Jung-moon's life? The short answer is that it was more times than necessary, and the amount of repetition took away from the seriousness of the story. It diluted the overall intensity of the story that the show wanted to tell, which was a disappointment because boy was the story intense when it wanted to be (namely when it chose to focus on the overarching mystery).

Much of that intensity in the story owes to the stellar acting performance of Kim Sang-joong as the dogged detective Goo-tak. Sure, the actor wasn't perfect all the way, and there were times that the character came off as bratty and childish (although that may be more of the way the character was written). However, he turned on a powerful and emotional performance when the time called for it, and helped to add many layers of depth to what could have been a potentially one-dimensional character. The eventual reveal and fake-out behind his true motivations kept the story interesting and intriguing as it continued onto its final home stretch, and the show was definitely much better for it.

It was just a pity though that after having such a strong and engaging mystery, the show faltered and mis-stepped in the resolution of its story. The final villain's identity was all too predictable; his downfall too easy and lacking impact. I might even go as far as to say that his "defeat" at the hands of the Crazy Dogs felt campy and contrived. The eventual reveal of Jung-moon's mysterious past also proved to be a let-down as it turned what was a morally ambiguous and grey character into someone that was pure white. In comparison with the rich and well-wrapped up stories of Wong-chul and Tae-soo, Jung-moon's story felt like a huge waste of a potentially terrific conflict.

All in all, it may sound like as if the show had a lot of flaws and that I didn't enjoy watching it, but you do tend to expect more out of a story that is brimming with potential at its onset. Bad Guys' inability to ultimately fulfil that potential only served to detract against itself. However, that certainly didn't stop it from being an entertaining watch.

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2014.

Where does the time go? The last time I posted a personal entry was an entire year ago, at the dawn of the year.

In the blink of an eye, 2014 has flown by. It was a year of many changes, ranging from graduation to the start of my working life. This change has been quite a gradual process, and while I can't quite say that I've seamlessly adapted to all the changes at every step of the way, it has been quite the pleasant experience all the same.

Starting my working life was a first in what I suspect would be the first of many other firsts soon to come. While the transition wasn't as hard or as daunting as one might imagine, working life still proved to feel like a strange new world. Some people may seem to have their lives made as they comfortably ventured into this new stage of life as a self-sufficient adult, but I'm sure everyone felt that discomfort all the same. No adult instinctively knows how to be one, and everyone fakes it until they make it.

It has only been the first few months of the chapter known as "the rest of my life", and I'm sure that there are many more uncomfortable truths that will emerge as I stumble along this rabbit hole of life. Nevertheless, all you can do is to enjoy this wild roller-coaster ride as you go along.

Here's to a great 2015!

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Paddington - Enjoyment/Rating (of 10): 7/7

It’s yet another former cartoon brought to life in the movies, although I’ve had no prior experience of this one beforehand. It turned out to be a pleasant if predictable watch in the end, which was probably already more than what I could ask for. I guess the animated movies that pull through for me nowadays are those with plenty of heart, sprinkled with comedic moments that are centered around a heartwarming story. Paddington Bear certainly doesn’t fall short in any of that with its loveable bear, even if the villain was laughable and the ending typically saccharine. An easy and enjoyable watch if you ask me.

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Doraemon: Stand by Me - Enjoyment/Rating (of 10): 8/7

While I did read some Doraemon comics on an occasional basis when I was younger, I have never really been a big follower of the robot cat and his endless amount of gadgets. Hence, my impression of this movie was that it would turn out to be one long kiddy cartoon. Imagine my surprise then that the story actually proved to be touching and emotional at times, with particular emphasis on the strong relationship between Nobita and Doraemon. I guess these are things that you only notice about cartoons when you are older, and I found myself looking at the Doraemon series from a whole new perspective. Well worth a watch if you ask me, even if you aren't a big fan. 

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Cantabile Tomorrow - Enjoyment/Rating (of 10): 7/7

Although I didn't actually watch the Japanese drama or read the manga for the original Nodame Cantabile, I still heard enough good things about the series to give this adaptation a try (and getting to watch Joo-won of Gaksital fame again didn't hurt). While the show certainly didn't blow me away, I thought that it was a pretty decent example of an underdog and coming-of-age story done right, even if it had its fair share of flaws. The classical music pieces were surprisingly pleasant and well-worked into the show even for non-music lovers (yes, I have probably not heard a single classical piece in my life before this), and the end result of Cantabile Tomorrow was that it proved to be a heartwarming feel-good story and an enjoyable experience overall. 

On the other hand, his co-star Shim Eun-kyung didn't quite deliver as the eccentric Seol Nae-il (Nodame in the original), which was a pity in my opinion. It's hard to tell whether my disappointment lay in the way the character was written, or in the way that the character was acted. I guess it is a mixture of both reasons, because I didn't really enjoy the story's slapstick nature that was so prevalent in the original Japanese drama. It may be a stretch to conclude that of a whole series based on just one episode, but that was my overriding impression.

As much as the the romance between the two main leads took the spotlight, I appreciated that the story was never really about the romance, and was always centred around the students' dreams as well as them finding their paths in life. It is perhaps for that reason that I can forgive the rather lacklustre romance, which was sweet in an understated way but didn't exactly set off any fireworks. The show's storylines also got a little repetitive at times, especially with the constant use of the disbanding card to act as a threat to the fledging orchestra. 

All in all, Cantabile Tomorrow isn't perfect and never will be, even without having to compare it to the original source material. However, its earnest and heartwarming ways ensured that it did well in what it wanted to do well, and that for me is good enough to have enjoyed it overall.

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London Snow  (by Powered by Geek)

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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 - Enjoyment/Rating (of 10): 4/6

The third entry into an increasingly popular trilogy. (is it still a trilogy if the third chapter has two parts?) I really enjoyed what the second movie did with the series, which was to finely balance the action and adrenaline, character growth, plot development and the broader commentary on the political struggle of such a dystopian society. Unfortunately, instead of riding along that wave of momentum created by the second movie, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 decided to take an introspective step back and watch as everything came crashing to a halt. Let's just say that I didn't really like it.

We were treated to a mopey and mood-swingy Katniss for the entire duration of two hours, powerless to take any action against the Capital. Pretty much nothing happened for the entire movie except for the saving of Peeta, and even that was done off-screen without any involvement from our main cast (no I don't count Gale as part of the main cast). It felt like the movie was saving up all the action and everything else for the finale, perhaps to the extent that it forgot that it needed to have enough to stand on its own. The end result was a movie that served as a link bridge between two other movies, but little else. Disappointing really.

We can only hope that the finale is good enough to make up for it.