The Book of Three Han - The Chapter of Jumong/ 주몽 (Joo-Mong)

If you wondered why this space has not received an update in a while, Jumong is the reason. Spanning an epic 81 episodes (60 originally, but extended due to its popularity) of over an hour each, finishing Jumong is no small feat! But aside from a few quibbles, this is a series that drama lovers should not miss.

Set in about 50 BCE, the writers took great artistic license in transforming the many myths surrounding the Goguryeo kingdom's founder Jumong into a semi-plausible plotline that's both intricate and entertaining. Starting off from Jumong's father, the story takes us to a time when Korea was divided into small nations and utterly under the influence of the nearby Han dynasty of China, who are depicted as the villains of the time. As Jumong grows up to take on his father's mission to drive out the Han and unite Korea, he meets many perculiar individuals who swears their allegiance to him. This grand story about the founding of a nation is done with style. With twists and turns all over the place, I always felt like I had to watch just one more scene. Saying anything more would probably give something away, so let's leave it at that and proclaim the plot a "plus".

Next up are the characters, which often times make or break a series. Fortunately, there were no bad actors, which would stick out like a sore thumb in the series' environment of high caliber acting. The many characters, as well as the important support characters, were all filled by awesome actors/actresses that knew what they were doing. In historical dramas such as Jumong, talking's a large part of what's on screen, leaving the characters to fend for themselves, with no special effects or crazy camera-work to save them. Thus, it is great to see that Jumong got it right. In fact, the only complaint about characters is that the actor playing Jumong isn't expressive enough. Sometimes I felt like being told what he's feeling rather than inferring it from his expression. Character development took on logical routes, and needless to say, the villains in Jumong were exceptionally good and appropriate.

The only real complaint I have is that there were not enough extras. After watching some historical dramas from China, it's hard to go back to seeing a hundred or so soldiers and pretending that it's an army of thousands. This problem didn't occur in much of the series since Jumong employed mostly guerilla tactics, but the few times massive battles took place it was hard on the eyes.

The use of music cues and signature moments (such as Jumong doing this impressive rapid-fire shooting technique) always kept the excitement up. Suspenseful moments tended to be resolved quickly, and almost as a defiance to popular Korean romantic dramas, Jumong kept romance to a bare minimum. There were some moments where the audience may feel like two people should be together, but Jumong is a tale of brotherhood and manlihood, and there usually isn't much time for romance after all the strategizing and fighting.

With Jumong, Korea has shown that it is at the forefront of television drama production. This is definitely one point in favor of the current Korean culture invasion and I can only say, "well earned, Jumong".

Pros: Captivating plotline; good acting; believable characters; good sound mixing
Cons: Bland fighting; questionable pseudo-realism; little basis in history; little emotional attachment
Conclusion: Everyone has something to gain from here, so make time and watch Jumong!
Score: 4/5

Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain /雪山飛狐

Another year, another Jin Yong novel adaptation. This time around, the story is about Hu Fei, who father was killed when he was a child. As he grows up in the martial arts world, he sets out to seek revenge. But who is his true enemy? Of course, the story would not be complete without an ancient treasure thrown into the mix. I can't say I've read the original books, but based on this TV series, the plot's fairly generic.

So what keeps me coming back? The cast themselves. Some of the acting is fairly good (mostly veterans Alex Fong and Anthony Wong), but it's fun to have some recognizable faces such as Gillian Chung of Twins fame. The one big problem with the setting being in ancient times is that bad acting is immediately visible, and these moments do occur. Another potent problem is that the story gets repetitive when the same characters are on-screen scene after scene. Good guy, bad guy, rinse and repeat. This was especially problematic near the end, and I feel that the series would have benefited from a tighter editing. Forty episodes of this quality is simply too much to bear.

Another huge complaint I have is the conclusion of the series. I understand that the original novels ended in a climatic battle, and the scriptwriters have decided to fill in the gaps here. It was a good intention badly executed. The later chunks are so vastly different from earlier portions that I seriously wonder whether the later scripts were hashed out by the TV studio executives.

Despite all these problems, Fox Volant is not a bad series. It took some liberties with an established story and took a few wrong turns. But the core of the source material is still here, and the final product is an enjoyable series. Just don't pay too much attention while watching it.

Pros: Wuxia; good emphasis on the martial arts styles; swordplay
Cons: Repetitive; young, untested actors; hacked-on ending; not memorable
Conclusion: Fun series to watch if you have the time.
Score: 3/5

The Painted Veil

I like to think that I have a somewhat specialized taste in films. I even go as far as to imagine that my taste is refined to such a point that I can categorize films simply by reading its synopsis and watching the trailer. But then films like The Painted Veil come along, and I'm at a loss as to what to make of it.

Two things jumped out at me immediately: that the setting is in the early periods of modern China and Edward Norton is in it. After deciding that one indeed outweigh the other, I was pleasantly surprised at the gentle message the film depicts. Norton plays a very quiet doctor who volunteers to visit China to help with a malaria outbreak while Naomi Watts plays a naive girl who marries Norton to spite her family. When isolated from the English society they were used to, the newlyweds must learn to cope with each other and discover what it truly means to be married.

Norton and Watts do an admirable job at their performances, although this may not be entirely obvious to the causal observer. The film takes on a slow, walking pace, drawing the audience in. Even as the epidemic claims lives in the village, the feel of the film never changes. It is this slow development that proves surprising when the audience suddenly finds that they have established a bond with the characters.

The backdrop accompanying all the action (if you can call it that) is where The Pained Veil ultimately shines. The vast rice fields and the rolling hills convey an excellent sense of the setting, of the lives of the people that possibly existed during this time. I must commend the producers for not following stereotypical white-supremacy views as it makes the film much more realistic.

However, The Painted Veil is not for everyone. This is a very small story, an insignificant story about a couple in the middle of nowhere. There are no world-shattering events here. This is a simple story about two people living together. If you're looking for an epic plot, look elsewhere.

Pros: Great visuals; believable; Anthony Wong makes an appearance; Edward Norton speaks much better Chinese than Tom Cruise (in Misison Impossible 3)
Cons: A greatly simplified look at the relationship between two people; no mass appeal
Conclusion: Prepare for an artistic movie (everything opposite of an action film) - let the characters draw you in and you may find that they have something to offer.
Score: 4/5

Seraphim Falls

Seraphim Falls is something of a peculiarity. The underlying plot is very simple - Carver (Liam Neeson) is hunting down Gideon (Pierce Brosnan) for something Gideon did during the Civil War several years ago. The film attempts to keep suspense by feeding what occurred to the characters in the past in bits and pieces. This works for the most part, but it does tend to get annoying.

The entire story is set amidst a backdrop of the Western frontier, with huge expanses filled with sparsely populated towns a common sight. Western movies have not been a popular genre lately, and this puts Seraphim Falls in a uniquely king-of-the-hill position. The film uses a wide variety of shots such that the audience feels like they're traveling through the new frontier with the main characters. But at its heart, this is a tale of revenge and many elements should be familar to the modern audience.

Both Neeson and Brosnan deliver performances befitting their character. I was very surprised at how well Brosnan fit into the Civil War era (his unshaven beard has a large part to do with this), especially well seeing him brings up images of him in the James Bond films. Neeson, on the other hand, gave the impression of a very stiff character where I would have liked to see more life put into the character.

Overall, this film takes itself very seriously, so audiences intending to watch this should make sure to understand the themes of revenge and the duties of a man in this era. With this mindset at hand, an audience will find that there is a strange beauty in all the senseless killing on screen.

Pros: It's a Western!
Cons: Nothing novel about the storytelling here. Ending's a little on the pseud0-supernatural side.
Conclusion: This is a film for anyone who wants to watch Nature with guns and maybe learn some survival techniques at the same time.
Score: 3.5/5

Heroes, Season 1

Heroes - a show that started with such high hopes. With a truly unique presentation style reminiscent of comic books, Heroes quickly captured America's attention, riding the wave of all those recent Marvel and DC movies. However, Heroes seems to have lost itself in the midst of all the attention and thus finished the season with a mere whimper.

Early on, the show took a slow approach to the whole special power business, very much in line with tagline ordinary people with powers. As time passed, however, many characters were introduced with little or no backstory. The entire story has always been moving toward a nuclear detonation in New York, and the show always gave the indication that all the characters would be connected somehow in the greater story. But this did not pan out. The characters all just happened to be in the same place in the finale episode. This is not how fans should be treated.

Another very annoying aspect of Heroes is that it falls in the new trend in drams to keep the audience in the dark, as if not explaining elements of the plot helps the whole thing succeed. This is a device that should be used with caution, and blatant uses of it here in Heroes are frustrating and serve only to discourage potential viewers. It's hard to going into any more details without spoiling the plot, but I certainly hope that NBC can pick up the slack and deliver something we really want to watch.

Pros: It's X-Men without the license. And everybody likes the X-Men.
Cons: Random characters, random stories, random powers. Is anyone directing this thing?
Conclusion: Now that 23 episodes have passed, Heroes will hopefully get better next season. Good thing each season is a fresh start so none of the bad things of this season should carry over.
Score: 3/5

24, Season 6

So Season 6 is finally over. Of course, I'm talking about the mega-hit Fox show 24, where super-agent Jack Bauer leads the fight against all sorts of crazy terrorists trying to take a shot at the USA. 24 has always been a classic good-vs-evil story: good always prevails. But what 24 brings to the mix is the price of that victory - what cost, if any, is acceptable?

Ever since the first season, 24 has distinguished itself with an unpredictable storyline, quick and satisfying action, and a pseudo-plausible set of events. However, after five exciting seasons, cracks may finally be showing. Are the authors running out of ideas? If this season is any indication, 24's future success may need some re-evaluating.

Quick recap of this season: Muslim fundamentalists attempt to detonate suitcase nukes around the country. Lots of finger pointing occurs while CTU attempts to find out the real mastermind. While it took a lot of episodes in Season 2 for suspense to build up regarding the nuke in that season, this season's nuke just simply went BOOM in the suburbs of LA. Even though it was a nuke, it wasn't very exciting. After that, Jack goes about his usual self and the most retarded end to this whole affair comes about. I'm not going to give any details, but drunk guys in a bar are involved. A completely different storyline spins off here involving the Chinese. We knew these guys would return, so why didn't the producers give them a full season's treatment? It seems very strange that Jack (imprisoned by the Chinese at the end of last season) is released in the beginning only to face his captors later on in the same day. During all this, we're also subjected to humanizing efforts in the form of introduction to Jack's family, which for the most part are rather mundane and can lead only to the conclusion that Jack has one screwed-up family.

Aside from some logical potholes along the way, this season also suffers from copying itself. Things like CTU getting attacked (you'd think these people would have stepped up their security by now), possible mole in CTU (same thing here), Jack getting arrested and asking Chloe for help, etc. are becoming overly repetitive. With the use of torture complained about by the military, 24 really needs to find other outlets to engage the audience. And having more action sequences is not going to cut it. Having Jack unrealistically shoot down a bunch of baddies is not fun to watch anymore. Rather than repeating gunfights in different locales, more creative gunfights need to be arranged, be it new weaponry or team tactics. This series really need a huge overhaul.

Pros: Great visuals. By that I mean Jack Bauer.
Cons: Plot is simple, generic, and repetitive. Need smarter (and better equipped) terrorists.
Conclusion: Definitely the low point of the series so far. Let's hope it doesn't get any lower.
Score: 2.5/5

The Hospital/ 白色巨塔

The Hospital is perhaps the greatest Taiwanese TV drama ever. This is definitely a top-notch production. With a star-studded cast and a great source material (the novel of the same name), the Hospital is great in every respect. While at first glance, this may seem to be a rip off ER or other such established medical shows, the Hospital is original in that it takes the good elements from previous medical dramas and runs with it. It is the ability of the producers to bring out these elements that make the Hospital truly unique.

The Hospital stars Jerry Yan, formerly of F4 glory and is directed by Tsai Yueh Hsun, who created the hugely successful Meteor Garden series. Yan's character is rising surgeon who gets caught up in the political strugle within the hospital that occurs as two department heads fight for the position of chief-of-staff. It is a vicious battle, with sacrifice and loss on both sides. Unwittingly, Yan's character is dragged deeper and deeper into the struggle, and soon he must choose a side. Adding to the confusion is a female coworker Yan has chased after for 10 years. As his personal and professional life become indistinguishable, Yan must decide what his real goals are and what he is willing to give up to realize them.

Political struggle is not something one would normally associate with a hospital, and it is amazing to see it realized on screen. The Hospital shows that such struggles are commonplace, in every aspect of life. They continue onwards, bringing forth a vicious cycle, as each succeeding generation is forced by the system to rise thru the ranks. As one of the characters say, that's the way the game works. In order to do what he wants, he must first amass power. And if sacrifices have to be made along the way, so be it. Such brutal executions bring forth many questionable judgements, and the audience will find that their ethical sense is challenged at every turn of the story. The surprising thing is that, as the audience gets to know the characters, it will appear that no one is wrong. There're winners and losers, but no one is right and no one is wrong. The two do not equate, and The Hospital exemplifies this beautifully. It is when the audience begins to take sides that the twists in the plotline prove all the more astonishing, and ultimately satisfying.

The characters in the story are all very dynamic. Each of them come alive, as they each strive toward their own clear purposes, with many of them changing their perspectives along the way. This great feat is achieved in part due to the spectacular acting. There are a lot of actors/actresses present, lending a greater feel to the story. There is never a point where the drama felt repetitive or slow, as is often the case with long dramas with a rather small cast (The Hospital is 39 episodes long). I was pleasantly surprised at the believable performances from the cast, which was helped in part by the small use of "young" talent. Contrary to Meteor Garden, where the entire staff seems to be under 30 and the acting was sub-par, The Hospital aims to be a serious drama, and it largely succeeds due to the realistic setting it employs. Other than the main actor/actress, the rest of the staff appears to be veterans, giving the drama solid production values. With an emphasis toward portraying human-human interactions in as realistic a manner as possible, the "sappy" feeling that may otherwise surround The Hospital does not exist. Although some viewers may find that this detracts from the romantic elements in the story, I find that the concentrated bursts is more akin to real life. Work doesn't take a break for personal relationships, and the two intertwine at the hospital where everyone works, creating a hotbed of drama potential waiting to be unlocked in the series.

One area I found disconcerting was the pace of time progression in the story. Many major events occur in short succession, and a change of scenary often indicates a passage of several months. This quick movement of time occurs throughout the series, making the story sometimes a little hard to swallow. Even as the characters all behave plausibly in their life, the situations that crop up are not entirely so. This is noticeable many times, as important characters move on in the story. While one would expect them to return at some point, the story seemingly abandons them and continues on with the remaining cast. Thus, sometimes the drama does seem to get carried away, trying too hard to distinguish itself, to be different, to be captivating at all times, with no dull moments. This actually creates the opposite effect at times.

But these are little concerns in relation to the entire production. The Hospital is a great drama series that is well worth watching, if only to reach the end and understand the overall themes and morals being expressed throughout the story. The Hospital does not try to answer questions about life; it merely raises them. That is perhaps its greatest asset - it tends to ask the right ones.

Pros: Great depiction of the inherent struggle in life; great acting all around; good message!
Cons: Some elements that are not entirely fleshed out; not for those wanting a mindless show (especially the younger crowd)
Conclusion: This should be on everyone's must-watch list!
Score: 4.5/5