A Chinese Odyssey Part 1: Pandoras Box Movie Review

Title: A Chinese Odyssey Part 1 Pandora’s Box

AKA: A Chinese Odyssey Part 1

Genre: Fantasy, Folklore, Action, Comedy

Origin: Hong Kong (China)

Release date: January 21,1995

Cast: Stephen Chow, Ng Man Tat, Law Kar Ying, Yammie Lam and Karen Mok.

500 years ago, the Monkey King (Stephen Chow) commits a sin by stealing Pandora’s Box. He is punished by the Goddess of Mercy Guan Yi, and is caught to be executed. His master the Longevity Monk (Law Kar Ying), sacrifices himself to save his soul.

500 years later a lowlife outlaw leader called Joker (Stephen Chow) who lives with his group of robbers in a small hideout in the desert. When a young woman (Yammie Lam) arrives at their hideout, the men are shocked to find out that she is capable of martial arts, and she demands to stay at the hideout. Soon her equally strong sister Bak Jing Jing (Karen Mok) arrives, and they realize that they are surrounded by demons. Unaware that the two women are the demons, Joker falls in love with Bak Jing Jing. The two demons want to feast on the flesh of the Longevity Monk, as they become immortal if they do so.

Soon more demons arrive as they all have heard about the soon to come arrival of the Longevity Monk, who has been incarnated and is to meet the Monkey King, somewhere close to the robber’s hideout. Little do they all know, including Joker, that the Joker is the incarnation of the Monkey King and that fate has other plans for him…

As far as folklores go this movie is rather on the creative side. I am not the usual fan of folklore, but I do know my folklore as they do represent the culture of different times in history. The monkey king is one of those stories that go across Asia, where most Asians know the story. I don’t really remember the Monkey King becoming human at all – which I guess this movie tried to do so that there would be less dressing up as a Monkey and/or using the supernatural powers of the monkey king. Aside from the twist in the story, the other confusing thing is that the characters suddenly pop up. I got confused a few times, but then again, the characters are known to the folklore so if you know your creatures/monsters/ghosts, it won’t be that complicated. But if you don’t, you would be shaking your head and massaging your temples.

Besides that, the humor was so bad it was good. I mean I laughed at the ridiculousness and the silliness. I don’t usually enjoy movies like this, but it was okay to watch.

To sum up: a funny movie, with a hint of creativeness to an old folklore.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

Another Parting Review

Title: Another Parting

AKA: Some Kind of Goodbye / What Kind of Goodbye

Genre: Romance, Melodrama, Fantasy, Action, Web Drama

Episodes: 5

Broadcast period: 2014-Feb to 2014-Feb

Cast: Seo In Guk, Wang Ji Won, Choi Dae Hoon and Oh Cho Hee.

Sent to earth on a mission, alien (Seo In Guk) takes over a human body and is given the task to find out why humans cry. Only given a day he isn’t sure how to do the mission, but is told that many of the prior ‘agents’ failed their missions and didn’t manage to come back. That would happen to him as well of he doesn’t find out in 24 hours. Whilst roaming the streets, he meets Seo Ha Na (Wang Ji Won), standing on a bridge, crying. This gives him hope, believing he can be able to find the reason for humans to be crying. But when she steps on to the fence of the bridge wanting to jump down, the alien manages to stop her. And so begins the story of the heartbroken woman, and the alien…

I have no idea what I was expecting, and I have no idea what the hell this was about. The beginning makes sense, sort of, but somehow the last episode was just weird and I have no idea what went down. I like that In Guk and Ji Won did a great job, really well acted, but that is it. Nothing in this drama works for me. And yes, I know it’s a web drama, but still it should make sense.

Anyhow, it is short and well-acted, but yeah that is it. If you ever watch it, do tell me what you thought of it. And please explain to me what it is about.

☆☆½ / 2½ out of 5 stars

♥♥½ / 2½ out of 5 hearts

Youkai Ningen Bem Review

Title: Youkai Ningen Bem

Genre: Fantasy, Supernatural, Adventure

Episodes: 10

Broadcast period: 2011-Oct to 2011-Dec

Theme song: BIRTH by KAT-TUN

Cast: Kamenashi Kazuya, Anne, Suzuki Fuku and Kitamura Kazuki.

“Nobody knows when they were born. Split from a single cell in soundless world, three creatures were born. They weren’t human and they weren’t animals. But inside those ugly bodies, the heart for justice beats strong. The creatures are… monsters who couldn’t become human.” (Taken from intro)

Bem (Kamenashi Kazuya), Bela (Anne) and Belo (Suzuki Fuku) are three man made monsters who can’t stay out of human problems. Even though the three are scary once they turn into their true form, they are kind hearted and save humans the moment they are facing danger. But this is not seen by the humans, who cannot see past the posterior. That is until they meet Natsume Akinori (Kitamura Kazuki), a cop who thought they were somewhat involved in the cases they happened to help at. He and his family are a nice loving family of three who have emotional baggage in the past. They welcome the three as good friends, and Natsume even accepts them when he finds out the truth.

The three desperately want to become human, but for some reason they lost their memory and woke up in the forest with a new paper clipping of a man creating humans. So they decided to look for him, but little do they know there is much more of their pasts then they were aware off…

I wasn’t really expecting anything except another ‘kaibutsu-kun’- ish drama, and yes I got that. LOL.

The drama is targeted for Japanese kids like Kaibutsu-kun, and it has the same emotional feel to it, heck I even cried in one situation, which is pretty absurd, since the monsters are really badly made. But else I have to admit very good for kids to watch.

To be honest they cannot be measured the same way other dramas are, and I simply enjoy these kinds of kids show. It is not as tacky as power rangers, again due to the emotional part, but it is - simply put - made for a younger audience.

So based on that - a good drama.

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

Nail Shop Paris Review

Title: Nail Shop Paris

AKA: Nail Salon Paris

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Fantasy

Episodes: 10

Broadcast period: 2013-May to 2013-Jun

Cast: Park Gyu Ri, Jun Ji Hoo, Song Jae Rim and Cheon Doong.

Hong Yeo Joo (Park Gyu Ri) is an online writer and has a big number of fans. When being approached to get published by a publishing company, she immediately agrees, but is surprisingly accused of plagiarizing several books. She gets the offer to write a new book, though to make sure it isn’t someone else’s work. Unable to starts a story she goes on the street to get inspiration; that is where she encounters Alex (Jun Ji Hoo), a flower boy who saves a woman in distress. While following him she finds out that he works at a nail shop, which excites her since she is sure no one has ever had a lead that is a manicurist. Entering the shop she meets two other flower boys: Jin (Cheon Doong) and Kay (Song Jae Rim). That is where she sees the sign of help wanted - but male.

So she decides to dress up as a boy to find the last few details in order to make a story based in Alex…

Hmm…? Okay, so if you are going to make a story about a girl dressing up as a guy, first off: why do they all suddenly have to fall for her? Second, what’s with the weird storyline? Third, GUMIHO? GHOSTS? SHAMANS? WHAAAT? I think I was more confused than ever while watching this, not because it is complicated, but because of the ridiculous screen play and plot. I mean it is as if a child has taken 5 different plots and added it in one short drama. Adding a girl in an all pretty boy shop + having the main and supporting actor fall for her + adding story of a GUMIHO (yeah you heard me) + adding “crime solving nail artists”… And that is just the beginning. I cannot say I was bored, and I did actually watch it till the end, so its not all that bad.

☆☆½ / 2½ out of 5 stars

♥♥½ / 2½ out of 5 hearts

Who Are You Review

Title: Who are you?

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Horror, Melodrama, Mystery, Thriller, Action

Episodes: 16

Broadcast period: 2013-Jul to 2013-Sept

Cast: So Yi Hyun, Ok Taecyeon and Kim Jae Wook.

While on an undercover mission Yang Si Ohn (So Yi Hyun) hears gunshots and runs to aid her partner and boyfriend Lee Hyung Joon (Kim Jae Wook), whom she in horror sees being shot. When she is seen she is hit and becomes unconscious.

After spending 6 years in a coma Si Ohn wakes up, not remembering a single thing of that event, nor her boyfriend. Even after spending several months in recovery she still isn’t able to feel comfortable with herself. But she noticed one thing: she is able to see people no one else sees. Not only is she the only one able to see them, but she sees them in the state they died in which most of the time makes her scream out in horror. When she is assigned to the lost and found unit, she is assigned the role as the team leader, much to Cha Gun Woo’s (Ok Taecyeon) annoyance.

While working she is visited by ghosts who want her help, and as time goes on Gun Woo gets more and more curious about how she is able to know thing without any form of evidence…

I had a hard time watching this drama because of the way the story was going, but luckily it didn’t as I expected. The drama is okay, kind of interesting in sorts, and also kind of confusing, but I wouldn’t say that it was all that thrilling. I sort of knew where the ‘twist’ was going to come and was rather bored with it. Besides that I expected it to be draggy, but it was pretty okay, even though I yelled “Come on!” most of the time. Also, this is my very first time actually liking the lead actress with both supporting actor and lead actor.

This is my third drama (I think?) with Taecyeon, and compared to the one I do remember this was pretty great. I actually found myself thinking he had improved. I didn’t mind the main actress before, kind of do now. I think it has to do with her facial expressions so very often, but I can’t really put my finger on it.

All in all the drama is okay, little better than your usual melodrama, even though it comes pretty close.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

Vampire Prosecutor 2 Review

Title: Vampire prosecutor 2

Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Crime

Episodes: 11

Broadcast period: 2012-Sep to 2012-Nov

Cast: Yun Jung Hoon, Lee Young Ah, Lee Won Jong, Lee Kyung Young, Kim Joo Young and Kwon Hyun Sang.

The second season continues with Prosecutor Min Tae Yeon (Yun Jung Hoon) trying to find his sister and the man that bit him 7 years ago, and the appearance of a new enemy.

Now with a new boss and new office the team is made official as “Special Case Division”, but for some reason the boss is not happy with the way the team is handling cases, especially since they tend to do things their own way instead of following the rules or asking the higher-ups. The team still continues with their cases in the way they are used to, and when they get a new member, Forensic doctor Jo Jung In (Lee Kyung Young) joins, they swiftly make him feel at home. But little does Tae Yeon know, the new member is linked to the past - the past where he was bitten by a certain vampire…

Compared to season one this one is way better. They either got a new director or they got a richer producer, because everything seems so good here. The best way to explain it is: think about the old Korean dramas where they pretend they are rich but you can seriously see that the characters have suits they have never worn on, and that they are all wearing fake Rolexes, even if you don’t know the difference. This drama seems more new, and the actors seem more into their characters. And I remember reading a comment that the main actress seems too feminine and weak in the new season, to that I say, just because you got a new haircut, did your eye brows and started wearing expensive makeup doesn’t make you weak, seriously. She is so badass even if she is ready for the catwalk! Besides her everyone else got character development, which is nice, and they storylines are more connected to the main characters than the supporting characters.

So watch it? Hmm, yeah, but you should watch the first season too, even though it isn’t that great compared to season 2.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts