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12/03/2006
Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion
Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion
Starring: Raymond Lam Fung, Charmaine Sheh Si Man, Bosco Wong Chung Chak, Derek Kwok Jing Hung, Sonija Kwok Sin Nei, Sharon Chan Man Chi
Rating: 4.5 stars (5 max)
Summary:
The Mongols and the Haans have a long history of political struggle. Most of TVBs ancient series drama are based loosely on that brawl. Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion (LWOLAP) is based, also, on a Wu Xia story. I have to say that if I knew how to read Chinese, I would be devouring all of the stories because all the stories spun are engaging and very dramatic. And I want drama.
The Haans overthrew the Mongol King in an unscrupulous way – killing young boys for fear that the living Mongol Prince is still alive. A massacre occurred and countless Haans and Mongols died in the battle. Haans emerged victorious and the Haan King took over China.
Story
This story is fictional, as far as I know, but it is absolutely riveting! Nothing less. After China took over the reign, the King became obsessed about the Mongols coming back to get the throne back. Part of the reason why he was obsessed was because he killed many young Mongols while battling it out with them – he didn’t want the Mongol Prince to be alive.
Unfortunately, the Mongol Prince is…and Raymond Lam took the role of Fung Hang Lit who is basically non-chalant about life but focuses his attention on the girl(s) he loved. What he wanted out of life was peace and quiet. Fung Hang Lit lost his memory after the battle due to a wound to the head. Pong Ban, a devoted Mongol, wants to bring back the anger in Fung Hang Lit and went about doing it in an unscrupulous way – including sacrificing the person he loved to Fung Hang Lit. All this because he wants to bring back the Mongol Prince so that he can lead their troops to regain the throne.
After finding out that Gan Bik Wan (Sonija) is not REALLY in love with him, and that she is actually a Haan who defected to the Mongol’s side because of Pong Ban, Fung Hang Lit is distraught. And this is when Chun Mong Yiu (Charmaine Sheh) comes in to support him and bring him back to his feet. A slow and stable understanding develops between the two. They each sacrifice a lot to help each other and the love deepens.
Later on, Fung Hang Lit finally finds out that he is actually the Mongol Prince. Reluctantly, he takes on the role. Deep inside, all he wants is still a peaceful life and no war. But he is bound by duty to protect his people and to avenge the death of all the people who were killed – including his parents. And worse yet, the enemy is someone he loves and the people who have welcomed him into their homes despite the fact that he is actually a Mongol.
Unwillingly, Fung Hang Lit had to use the advantage that he had – and that is the trust that his Haans friends had in him. He used it to find out information and to form plans.
His betrayal is hurtful but he had no other choice. He could not let his people down and yet he couldn’t let the people trust him down either.
Review
This is one of the most engaging TVB ancient series shows I have seen for a long time. It’s all very well balanced out between the drama and the love story.
Raymond Lam (my fave) did an extremely good job in this series. He’s only 26 (if I am not mistaken) but everyone else who is older or same age as him has to call him ‘Fung Tai Kor’ therefore, he has to look much older than them. His girlfriends, BOTH OF THEM (different times, of course) Charmaine Sheh (30) and Sonija Kwok (31) is older than him and yet, he is supposed to be the Tai Kor (big brother) in the show! I had my doubts because to me, Raymond is actually a very youthful personality. He’s funny and very cheeky too – can he actually carry off this role?
The answer is – yes, he can! The makeup and hair had a lot to do with it, of course, but his bland acting, slow and steady speech, subtle reaction all gave Fung Hang Lit a very mature and sensible personality.
Charmaine Sheh – What do you expect someone who can just ‘cry on call’. During a show in China, there was a contest between Gigi Lai and Charmaine to see who can cry the fastest. And Charmaine shed tears within the first 10 seconds! Raymond Lam and Charmaine Sheh plays lovers in the show and they did a swell job! Their eyes spoke to each other and told a whole story in itself. It’s no wonder that Raymond Lam won the ASTRO Best Actor award and Charmaine Sheh won the Best Actress award recently.
Bosco Wong (picture right hand side) – Very funny and his acting has been improving all this while. In this show, his improvement shows because he goes from absolutely rib-tickling to angry to sad to powerful. His range in this series is much wider than Raymond’s and he has got the chance to show the audience what he can do in one single series.
Derek Kwok – Never doubted he could act. Although he’s not ‘leading actor’ material (don’t know why), I consider him to be a charismatic screen presence to be reckoned with. He can play good and bad at the same time – which is precisely what he did in this show. He didn’t fail me.
Evergreen Mak – Another riveting actor! He’s not handsome-handsome and I’ve seen him being funny-funny but not serious-serious like this. He’s the next in line to the throne. He’s fair and honest, noble and trustworthy. Sounds like a simple character to play? But Evergreen added new dimensions to the role to help audience understand his character more. An incredible job, I’d have to say.
Conclusion
All in all, I think anyone who is interested in TVB drama series should go rent this. It’s really quite good although the ratings in HK were not very encouraging. HK people just have different taste from the rest of the world – and as far as I know, the rest of the world is often right. HK people want silly stories that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever…like Virtues of Harmony (yikes!! Hate it). I want good acting, I want good script, I want excellent editing and good chemistry among all actors. Pretty people, in HK, make the ratings soar.
Well, if you’re not into renting videos, stay glued for this show on your ASTRO Wah Lai Toi a year later. I am quite sure Raymond and Charmaine are making a go for the Best Actor and Best Actress award this year.
05:15 Posted in TVB | Permalink | Comments (5) | Email this
11/03/2006
Penerbitan Filem Negara Malaysia
I am like….Oh My God!!! I was watching 8tv a moment ago and then you know what? I saw this ‘message’ from the Government of Malaysia produced by Filem Negara Malaysia educating people about how to prevent snatch theft and it was OH SO EFFECTIVE. The police who went on air was an officer by the name of ‘Mohamad’ (don’t even think it’s his real name) and he was like looking into the camera, looking at the script, looking at the camera, looking at the script, pause, look at script again, look at camera….
Sad to say, the quality of the clips or films produced by Filem Negara Malaysia (FNM) sucks to high Heaven. I know I am using a lot of religiously sensitive words but this blog is categorized under ‘ramblings’ and I can ramble on, right? Don’t read if you don’t like swearing. :-)
I mean, they’ve had all those years to improve. Even the Malaysian film industry have changed…they’ve progressed. We pay taxes and they get loads of money from the government, right? Where’d it all go? Can’t they like….do SOMETHING….ANYTHING to improve the quality of the film they produce?
Honestly? It looks like something even I can do, you know what I mean? You have that Windows Movie Maker on your computer, right? I bet you can come up with something better. With a better actor, of course. Try training your kids to do it. I believe they can do a better job than that Mohamad guy.
And besides, all they (that Mohamad guy) said was to carry as little money as possible (we have credit cards these days), don’t show your money to other people (OF COURSE, duh???) and keep your handbag or purse very close your personal self (aaarrrrggghhhh!!!).
Oy, make some sense, can or not? If you want to educate people about how to prevent snatch theft, tell us something useful, something we don’t already know. GET IT????
18:48 Posted in Ramblings | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
The next American idol is…..
The standards for American Idol is much higher than that for other countries…for reasons that are quite obvious. Americans are more ‘vocally’ inclined and parents tend to nurture the talents of their kids from young. For us, Asians, if you tell your parents that you want to be a singer, you’ll get a smirk, a pat on the back, a shake of the head and ‘Sorry, son/daughter. You aren’t going to be rich being a singer in this country’.
And the truth is…it is true.
I remember telling my dad about me wanting to be a singer. He didn’t disapprove of my ‘hobby’ or ‘talent’; in fact, I think he was (and is still) kind of proud of my singing because he is quite a proficient singer himself. (Heard he serenaded my mom when he was courting her. Ahem!) But the harsh reality of it is, you’d have to be damn near perfect if you want to be a singer in this country (Malaysia, by the way) if not, you have to sing in a certain way (read: Rock or alternative) or be a certain race/religion in order to make it here. Chances of making it big as a singer in Malaysia is rather slim for non-Malays because the market is too small. Chinese would rather listen to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singaporean, Korean singers. Indians would rather buy albums from REAL Indian singers. Therefore, the market is limited to Malay songs. If you don’t sing it, you won’t make it. As simple as that.
I have to admit that over the years, the market has changed a bit. For alternative groups like Too Phat and all that (no pun intended but it sounded lyrical), they’re unique and superb in singing and churning out catchy songs. They successfully emulate the West culture and intertwined it with Malaysian culture to make them so sellable. In fact, I had friends (actually Clients) who asked me if Too Phat was Malaysians.
Anyway, Paula, Randy and Simon (bless his mouth! Love him cause I always agree with him although I don’t agree with his delivery) have trimmed the troop down to the last best 12 contestants. And I have my favorites.
And they are….
First choice….Katherine McPhee
Young, beautiful, and possesses an incredibly addictive voice! The last song she sang (cannot remember the title but it goes something like ‘Freedom, Freedom, Freedom….’ Absolutely ROCKED. Even Simon Cowell was bowled over. And we all know it takes a lot to impress Simon Cowell. She’s got the whole package, really. In the music industry, you have to be beautiful too…that’s the sad truth and without it, chances are slimmer. Talking about slimmer….my second choice is….
Mandisa
GAWD!!! That voice! That voice! She puts everyone to shame and make everyone else look like Kingergarten students trying to impress the headmistress with their ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars”. She’s got that voice but….she doesn’t have the body. Like is said, in order to truly make it, she needs an image. The image goes with the body and that is why some people make it and some people don’t. No matter how big your voice is, if your body is big, your chances are not. And this is my opinion of Mandisa. Poor girl. She might NOT become the next idol, but she will definitely get a lot of recording offers!
My third choice is...
Taylor Hicks
Now, he looks to be oldest of the lot and has the least chance to become the next idol. Everyone is young and beautiful. Taylor is neither young nor beautiful. But he’s got this charismatic quality about him…you know, that star quality in him that is really quite hard to deny. You look at him and go…”Man, this man can sing!” Not only is Taylor a good singer but he’s a brilliant performer. Unafraid, unique and absolutely confident in himself and his ability, this is what Taylor Hicks has and this is what is needed to be the next American Idol.
16:15 Posted in Leisure | Permalink | Comments (6) | Email this
10/03/2006
Rambles on
Judging from writing style, you will understand why I say I am fighting for every single second in a day. Every single second counts. Sitting down, lying down doing nothing, dreaming and surfing around aimlessly on the Internet is out of the question. Absolutely so. But….
Lydia made me do it. Tried the “Desperate Housewives’ test although never watched it before. No time. But I am technically now partially (most of the time) a housewife struggling to find time to fulfill my business obligations…so, why the heck not??
RESULT:
You gave up a great job for this? No one really appreciates you, and yet you slog on, with very little sleep and very little thanks. Who can blame you when you occasionally lose it? Hang in there. Just lay off the Ritalin.
How true, how true. But….what’s Ritalin. Might want to give it a shot if it helps. J
Wanna try the quiz yourself? Go here…
http://abc.go.com/primetime/desperate/quiz/index.html
On familial front….
Jared fascinated with sunglasses – he’s a vampire, you see. He’ll hide under my shirt whenever we go out into the sun. We found old his old sunglass and he decides to wear in everywhere he goes. Night time, I told him he can’t wear it because if he did, he wouldn’t be able to see where he’s going. He said, “But mom, I can use my mind”. Absentmindedly I said, “I can’t use my mind to see, honey” and he said, “Oh, mom, you can use MY mind. I can see with my mind, mom”
What a laugh I had.
In the meantime, Joshua is going through this…’ghostests and monsters are hiding under my bed’ phase. He’s never had this problem before…well, ok, he occasionally is scared by stuff (like me, easily scared and overactive imagination and all that) but never this bad. Well, thanks to Scooby-dooby-doo. He’s watched it a couple of times with his cousins and now he thinks red-eyed skeletons with sagging green skin is hiding behind every door and translucent hands are going to come out from mirrors.
He’s never going to watch that show again. EVER if I had it my way.
03:40 Posted in Ramblings | Permalink | Comments (3) | Email this
08/03/2006
The only way out….sex education
Disgustedly, I continue to observe the rise in number rape cases in the country. Worse yet, most of these rape cases are done by family members! I think it is sickening and my stomach churn and threaten to throw out remnants of last night’s dinner. Imagine the effort required to bring these girls back on track – back to believing that they can trust the people who are closest to them.
I try to make a very wild guess about why these girls are raped by their brothers and fathers, uncles and grandfathers even (Yikes!!!) and I conclude that there are many reasons but pornographic VCDs are one of the minor ones. The major problem with rape is lack of sex education.
In our culture, sex is like…taboo…it’s a reticent, mysterious, therefore, it transforms into something enigmatic and magnetic. Like they always say, the harder it is to get a woman, the more ‘intrigued’ a man will be. That’s why women play hard to get, right? It’s the same theory for sex. The less we talk about it, the more importance we place on it being a taboo subject, the more intrigued with it the young will be. The more nonchalant we are about it, the more relaxed kids or fascinated with it the kids will be – the lower the chance of them being drawn to rape their siblings or female relatives!
I don’t understand why Asians have this belief that parents do NOT talk to kids about sex. I mean, sex is a very natural thing – it happens to most of us and it happens in the animal kingdom. We reproduce kids through sex (with intervention of technology, there are other ways but it’s less conventional, wouldn’t you say?) and this should be discussed. Liberally tell them how they came about – they don’t come out from stones or boulders and the stork didn’t bring them. They didn’t suddenly appear or grow from a plant. Along with the discussion, we should also discuss the repercussions.
Back to point, rape. Most of these youngsters (even oldsters) blame porn VCDs or videos in court when charged with rape. Because their female relative is ‘convenient’, they become the victim of ‘convenience’. While pornographic material is a contributing factor as to why these men rape their own flesh and blood – it’s not the major factor. We keep ‘sex’ in such a veiled light that it sometimes becomes such a stupidly enormous mystery that they feel compelled to give in to their libido.
Sure, rape is rampant everywhere but the rise in the number of rape within the family in Malaysia is frighteningly alarming. The only way out is to educate those kids about sex, why, how and what. We should also let them in on the main purpose of sex and also IF they did it (which is not encouraged), what they should do to prevent dire results. And young girls should be taught how to prevent these things from happening to them, how to protect themselves and bring justice to those who did this despicable act to them.
02:43 Posted in Being human | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email this