Smiling Pasta (2006)

Cheng Xiao Shi is an ordinary girl - at least in most respects.  She's a bit ditsy, rather clumsy, and is quite average looking.  Her family owns and operates a small Italian pasta restaurant called Smiling Pasta and she is quite contented with her life at present.  There is one thing, however, that sets Xiao Shi apart from all the other third year students at Ding Feng University: her lack of ability to keep a boyfriend beyond three months.  Afflicted by a curse put on her in her first year of university, Xiao Shi struggles to find the man to help her break the spell that has been the end of seventeen relationships in the past two years.  After one such relationship ends tragically with her current boyfriend dumping her in the middle of the street, Xiao Shi is depressed enough to make it literally rain on her parade.  But alas, there is still hope.  Not far away a famous musician named He Qun is facing his own heartache, and is about to encounter the girl that will change his life - for better or for worse.

Ladies and gentlemen, drumroll please!  Today I present to you the very first drama I ever watched!  This holds a lot of nostalgia for me, and understandably so, as I first saw this four years ago when my best friend suggested that I watch it, just for kicks.  Well, four years and MANY dramas later, I think I've had my share of kicks.  But enough of my blathering.  On to the cast.  And it's quite a doozy.

• Cyndi Wang as Cheng Xiao Shi
• Nicholas Teo as He Qun
• Gino Tsai as He Rui Zhe (Ah Zhe) (He Qun's brother)
• Joyce Chao as Rita (He Qun's ex-girlfriend)
• Zhao Shun as Cheng Jin (Xiao Shi's grandfather)
• Jian Chang as Cheng Gang (Xiao Shi's father)
• Wang Juan as Cheng Lin Ma Li (Xiao Shi's mother)
• Hu Kang Xing as Cheng Ming (Xiao Shi's brother)
• Song Zhi Ai as Huang Qian Hui (Xiao Shi's sister-in-law)
• Di Zhi Jie as Vincent (He Qun's agent)

Whew, boy.  This is the longest cast list I think I've ever had in a review.  This review is going to take a while.  But let's get started.  First off is our leading lady, Cheng Xiao Shi, played by Cyndi Wang.  As this was the first drama I ever saw, you already know what I'm going to say.  At the time of my first viewing I had not heard of Cyndi Wang (or any of these people - and understandably so).  However, as I have expanded my repertoire of dramas that I have seen, I have seen Cyndi in a couple of other things.  Nothing comes close thus far to my favorite performance by her in this drama though.  She plays a very good clumsy girl who in someone else's hands might have been very annoying (as it is there are still sometimes when she's annoying as heck).  She's also very good at making the emotion that she's portraying feel real, which is not an easy task.  There are moments in this show when I genuinely felt sorry for Xiao Shi as a character that her life was going so badly.  That right there, I believe, is an earmark of great acting.

Next is the other side of the coin, our main male lead, He Qun (teehee...I love saying his name, because if you say it fast enough and with the right inflection, it sounds like you're sneezing).  He is played by Nicholas Teo, who was a fitting choice for this role, as he is playing a solo artist and he is a solo artist himself.  I can't say he was the PERFECT choice for this role, but it works.  This was the member of the lead couple that I frequently wanted to slap up the side of his head.  He is SO whiny and so spineless for part of the story (I won't say which part - SPOILERS!!).  He gets really annoying during those parts, but aside from that, it's a decent performance.  I won't say it's the best I've ever seen, but it was good.

Gino Tsai is next up playing He Rui Zhe (that is one of the hardest names to pronounce that I've ever come across) also known as Ah Zhe.  As mentioned above, Ah Zhe is the younger, very bitter brother of He Qun.  I can't say that I liked this character when he first appeared, or even that I liked him for most of the series.  But he is the character that I pinpoint as having one of the most developed and wide-ranging character arcs that I have ever seen.  He goes from being totally nasty and bitter to being NOT totally nasty and bitter (SPOILERS!!).  I can't say much more for obvious reasons.  Suffice it to say that Gino's acting is amazing.  He is really good at his job.  For being a character that people are supposed to dislike (not hate...he's not that bad) throughout the show, Ah Zhe is one of my favorites.  Great performance for a great character.

Okay, now comes the girl that I've wanted to reach through the screen and strangle on numerous occasions (she's not NEARLY as bad as Hui Fan...but she's annoying as heck).  Rita, played by Joyce Chao.  I don't have much to say about this character, other than that for reasons I cannot go into (spoilers) pretty much everybody comes to hate her by about episode ten.  I know I did.  It gets better in about episode fourteen-ish, but until then, oh, boy.  Anyway, the acting.  That's what I'm here for.  Once again, I can't say this is the best acting I've ever seen, especially for the part, but aside from the fact that one key plot point revolving around Rita is rather poorly written, Joyce is not too terribly bad.  She's pretty average, but she's rather memorable.  That has to count for something.

All right, now we can speed up a bit with the character analysis.  This next bunch of characters is mostly comprised of Xiao Shi's family, immediate and extended.  First is her grandfather, whom I didn't even know the name of until I saw it on the cast list (Cheng Jin).  Zhao Shun has got to be one of my favorite older actors ever.  Cheng Jin is probably my favorite old man character in any drama that I've seen, ever.  He's so goofy, but yet kind and supportive of Xiao Shi, just like he should be.  As for the acting, it's pretty great.  He does a good job of making the character feel like a real person, which is important, especially for the situations involved here.

Next are Xiao Shi's parents, Cheng Gang and Cheng Lin Ma Li, played by Jian Chang and Wang Juan respectively.  These two are quite interesting characters.  It is rather evident in this show that Xiao Shi's parents are in fact polar opposites in most ways.  Her father is more conservative and traditional, especially on the subject of premarital...anything.  Her mother, on the other hand, is way at the other end of the spectrum, even going so far as to get excited when rumors are going around that Xiao Shi is pregnant.  This dynamic makes for some of the best humor in the show, as well as some of the major conflicts in the middle of the story.  The acting from these two is not great, but it's real, and that's what's more important in this situation.  They feel like they could be a real married couple at certain points in the show, even at sometimes making it seem as though Xiao Shi is really their daughter.  And THAT I like.

Another married couple is up next, but this time it's Xiao Shi's brother and sister-in-law.  Cheng Ming and Huang Qian Hui, played by Hu Kang Xing and Song Zhi Ai respectively.  These are two characters that definitely mostly around for comic relief (ESPECIALLY Qian Hui).  These two are a little closer to the average line in terms of acting than previously mentioned, as the acting is more cartoony and goofy than the others, but it still works given the context of the show.  And Qian Hui is one of the most memorable parts about this drama.  You learn how to say her name pretty early on (it's complicated).

And last (FINALLY) but most certainly not least, a character that I really love no matter how many times I've seen this show (I'm up to about four now).  That character is Vincent, played by Di Zhi Jie.  This guy is one actor that I'm sorry I haven't seen in more things.  He's really good, at least in my opinion.  Vincent is a character that I think a lot of people get attached to because he's not the heartless Hollywood backstabber that we've come to expect from people in "the industry".  He's a genuinely nice guy who really cares about He Qun and making sure that the press don't tear him to shreds.  The acting here is great, as I said.  But I can't go on without mentioning one thing: Vincent's clothes.  He has some of the brightest and most colorful shirts that I've ever seen, and I thought he looked really good in them too.

Whew.  Let me take a breath real quick.  Okay, back to the grind.  Next up, the writing.  Now, from my perspective, this show encapsulates a lot of what a Taiwanese drama is and should be.  Where this is most obvious and clear is, I believe, in the writing.  The tone of this drama is very much goofy and a bit soap opera-ish (not really in a bad way, just kind of like, yes, this is important, but only for those that choose to buy into it).  It tries to never take itself too seriously, which I liked.  Just when there's a bit of actual drama going on or something bad has just happened, something goofy will happen to lighten up the tone a little.  Granted, sometimes it takes a few episodes for that to happen, but it always does happen.

This was also one of the first instances I'd ever seen of adding cartoon images on top of live action footage.  I don't mean integrating it either.  I mean adding it to make a point or to do something like they might do in an anime (particularly the crow coming across the screen whenever a majorly awkward moment was happening...as they often did).  I really liked this use of animation as well as the jokes that it brought along with it.

About warnings, I don't think there's really anything worth mentioning.  There is a little innuendo in episode seventeen, but it's mostly played for laughs and thus is not really a problem.  There's also some gang-related violence that some people may notice, but it's only in the first few episodes and it's not really that intense compared to some *other* shows.

On the flipside, this drama definitely has heart.  The key themes in this show range from how you treat your family to how your family should treat you to how you should treat someone you're involved with romantically...on and on and on.  The strongest focus is definitely on family though, and I think that was the best theme of the bunch to really focus in on.  A secondary theme that I think is worth mentioning, however, is the theme of accepting the past and moving on with your life.  This, along with the others, was woven quite well into the overall grand scheme of things.

So, by way of wrapping up this tremendously long review, I shall say this and only this: I liked this drama.  I thought it was rather well done, had compelling characters and interesting situations, and made for some really good inside jokes.  Overall, I'd recommend this to just about anybody that likes slice-of-life drama pieces that are full of goofy humor and a lot of heart.  Also, fans of certain soap operas may enjoy this just as well...I don't know what that says about the drama or those particular people, but let's leave it at that, shall we?

Finding Mr. Destiny (aka Looking For Mr. Kim Jong Wook) (2010)

Seo Ji Woo is a disheveled theater director who can't seem to forget her first love, a man she can barely remember.  Her father, whose lifelong priority is to see Ji Woo get married, drags her by the ear (figuratively) into the office of a company that specializes in tracking down first loves.  The man who runs this company, Han Gi Joon, is a fastidious man whose number one focus in life is cleanliness and order.  After some cajoling from her father, Ji Woo finally agrees to let Gi Joon try and find her first love.  There's only one problem: she can only remember his name.  Kim Jong Wook.  Throughout the process, Ji Woo insists Gi Joon should not continue with the search, as she really is not interested in finding her first love.  But being who he is, Gi Joon in turn insists that he must complete the task, since she is his first client and it is important that he finish what he was hired to do.

I love this movie.  I know I say something like this every week, but who cares?  I have a lot of movies I love.  There are a few problems with this movie, but I'm getting ahead of myself.  First, let's see the cast.

• Im Soo Jung as Seo Ji Woo
• Gong Yoo as Han Gi Joon
• Lee Chung Ah as Seo Ji Hye (Ji Woo's sister)
• Chun Ho Jin as Colonel Seo Dae Ryung (Ji Woo's father)

All right, I know I've done this before, and it is mildly annoying, but it's my review, so I'll do it if I feel it's necessary.  I'm sure it's pretty obvious that there are far more than four actors in this movie; however, for the sake of the review and the fact that most of the remaining side characters are either comic relief or barely in the movie to begin with, I'm only going to talk about the two leads (which will get a little complicated in a minute, but you'll see that when we get there) and two particular side characters.

The first of the two leads I'm going to call out is Seo Ji Woo, played by Im Soo Jung.  This woman is a pretty good actress, in my opinion.  Seo Ji Woo is kind of a difficult character to play.  She lives a high stress life working with difficult people and dealing with flak from many different sides.  There are scenes when Ji Woo must be tough without being abrasive, but still she is the main focus of the romance in this movie, so she needs to be subtle as well.  Soo Jung is great at both sides of this coin, but particularly in pulling off the subtle part.  The romance in this movie isn't overly sappy at all, and I think we have Soo Jung to thank in part for that.  Great performance overall.

Now the next lead I want to discuss (I'll try to keep the fangirling to a minimum) is Han Gi Joon, played by Gong Yoo.  This is another one of those actors that I've decided that I must watch everything he's been in.  Not only is he a fantastic actor, but he's very good-looking as well (as he should be).  As to this particular character, he's playing a very goofy and dorky character who over-prepares for everything and is totally obsessed with order and cleanliness.  That coupled with the natural charm he embodies practically everywhere makes for a wonderfully adorkable character.

This leads me to the complicated piece of things I was alluding to earlier.  Gong Yoo actually plays two characters in this movie, which was (I believe) a very smart and clever move on the part of the director (and whoever else had a hand in that decision).  He plays the Kim Jong Wook character in Ji Woo's flashbacks, which tell the story of how she met and fell for him originally ten years earlier (this isn't really a spoiler; the fact that Gong Yoo plays Kim Jong Wook in Ji Woo's flashbacks really has nothing to do with how the plot plays out; I just think it's worth mentioning...that and Gong Yoo looks pretty good with a mustache).

The only other characters that I shall mention at all are Ji Woo's sister, Seo Ji Hye, and father, Colonel Seo Dae Ryung, played by Lee Chung Ah and Chun Ho Jin respectively.  I mention them because Ji Woo's father is the driving force of this movie to a large extent, and because Ji Hye is wonderful comic relief when the tension gets too high in the story.  The acting from both of these two was at least believable and I give them credit for breathing life into these two rather interesting characters.

Now, on to the writing.  The writing in this movie is good in one sense, and not so good in another.  I'll explain.  The dialogue is great.  It doesn't feel campy or overly deliberate (as some films like this one have been before) and when the characters speak it really feels like they mean what they're saying (in other words, they sound like real people...for the most part).  The romance is also well written.  There is a lot of subtlety in this story and I like that (I think I'm not the only one).  The slow and subtle (yes, I like that word) process of change that the characters go through throughout the movie is quite well paced and well planned out.  The other thing that I think is well written is the comedy aspect of this movie.  The moments of comedic goofiness that pop up from time to time don't feel forced or thrown in your face (too much; there are a couple that could've been planned better).  For the most part the goofy moments are placed in just the right spots to make the audience lighten up a little (I mean, after all, this ain't a sad movie...for once).

There are a couple of things that definitely could have been done better though.  For one thing, there are a few moments when something important happens and it's definitely not explained as much or as clearly as it should be.  There are times when the audience is left to assume too much, and that can lead to confusion and a required rewatching of the movie to understand what really happened (mind you, since I do love this movie, I didn't mind watching it again...and again...and again).  I do believe there is a time and a place when leaving certain pieces of information up to the audience to figure out is a good thing, but there is a line that must not be crossed, and this movie crossed it.  On a side note, there's also a scene right at the beginning of the movie that I still haven't figured out what its significance is...and I've seen this movie nine or ten times.

The other less important thing that could've been done a little better is the pacing.  This movie is S L O W.  It takes a good third of the movie to really get the story going, and once it is going it really takes its time.  The plot points are spaced out REALLY far, at least until the final quarter of the movie.  I think with all the subtlety in this movie, it was probably a good idea to keep the story slow for the sake of not making things feel rushed, but this is a two-hour movie, and I think it could easily have been cut down to an hour and a half (that's just me...I know nothing about film technique).

As far as warnings go, I don't think there's anything really of note in this movie that would make anybody uncomfortable.  There's no sex (surprising for a Korean movie, I know) and there's no swearing that I remember.  All in all, it's pretty G-rated.

On the flipside, this movie is kind of just a really well-made romance comedy.  It's a chick flick, basically.  But I don't mean that in a bad way.  Even with all the subtlety in the story and all of the depth of character that is achieved so well in this movie, it's a chick flick.  It's a feel-good movie.  However, if I had to settle on something of a message, it would be that making peace with the past and moving on is a crucial part of life and that if you never complete anything in your life you will never truly live.

Overall, as I've already said, I love this movie.  This movie is in my top five favorite Asian movies of all time.  Despite the fact that it does have a few problems, the story is really unique and well told, and the characters are really interesting and totally likable (in some cases lovable).  With all that being said, make sure you understand that this is, in all honesty, a chick flick.  If you are not the kind of person that enjoys a good rom-com or the occasional very girly movie, you probably won't enjoy this as much as I did and still do.  But hey, not everyone likes the same things.  If they did, the world would be boring.  So with that, I say go check out this movie.  It's really worth watching, if only for the eye-candy involved (Gong Yoo!!).

Paradise Kiss Live Action (2011)

Hayasaka Yukari is an average high school student who is trying very hard to be above average.  She attends a prestigious high school, but can't seem to find any sort of meaning in her daily routine.  She feels as though she has not truly lived.  One day, a strange boy approaches her on the street and "asks" her to be a fashion model for a small group of students attending a fashion and arts high school, the school that Yukari views as being beneath her.  Given her snobbish attitude and reluctance to join the project, it takes intervention from Isabella and George, two other students in the group to get her to stay.  Once she's in, though, she's discovered a whole new world where she may just find the meaning in her life that she's been searching for all along.

All right, despite the rumors and opinions floating around out there about this movie and how it "doesn't compare to the anime", I don't care.  I still love this movie, mostly because I've decided already that I don't want to watch the anime (personal reasons), and so this movie is a great stand-alone feature for me.  But we'll get to all that later.  First, the cast.

• Kitagawa Keiko as Hayasaka "Caroline" Yukari
• Mukai Osamu as Koizumi "George" Jouji
• Yamamoto Yusuke as Tokumori Hiroyuki
• Igarashi Shunji as Isabella
• Kaku Kento as Nagase Arashi
• Omasa Aya as Sakurada Miwako

So, let's dive right in.  First up is our leading lady in this story, Hayasaka Yukari, played by Kitagawa Keiko.  Now, unlike ninety-five percent of the actors I've discussed so far in previous reviews, I have heard of Kitagawa Keiko, and I have seen her in a couple of other things.  I was rather pleased to see her in this movie, as I know she is a good actress and quite beautiful to boot.  That being said, however, I will say most of the acting in this movie from her was good, but there were moments where it definitely felt over-dramatized (I don't know, maybe I'm just not catching the spirit of the anime...or whatever they call it).  I don't think this detracts too much from the story, but it did get a little irritating sometimes.

Next...oh, my goodness.  I love Mukai Osamu.  He's so amazingly good-looking (sexy too).  They couldn't have gotten anybody better to play George.  The first time I watched this movie I remember staring in awe when George came on the screen and fangirling every time he had a closeup.  Anywho...on with the review.  George is a somewhat...interesting character, and I think Mukai Osamu did a good job of capturing that.  He has a quirkiness to him that really draws the audience in (or maybe that's just the looks...and the hats).  From what I've seen of the anime (I did watch the first couple of episodes before I swore it off entirely) I think George is actually supposed to be a little bit more...I guess it could be described as assertive...than he is in the movie, but frankly, as if you couldn't already tell, I don't care.

And now, another familiar face...well, to me anyway.  Yamamoto Yusuke plays Tokumori Hiroyuki, the soft-spoken quiet boy that Yukari has a crush on.  This character is one that I think exemplifies just how good of an actor Yamamoto Yusuke is.  This is the only time in all of the things I've seen him in that I've seen him play a quiet character.  Every other character is loud, boisterous, silly, goofy, etc.  It was quite surprising to see him in this role.  He did a great job too, given that the character really isn't all that interesting and he doesn't really do very much.  I still prefer Yusuke's role in Atashinchi no Danshi, but here he did a good job too.

Now we come to a character that honestly creeps me out just a bit.  I suppose you get used to her after a while, but still...  The character I'm referring to is Isabella, played by Igarashi Shunji.  Isabella is the major player in getting Yukari (or Caroline, as they start calling her) to stay with the group and be their model.  I don't know what to say regarding how well this character is done, as I have nothing to compare the performance to and that's that.  As far as I can tell, she is played convincingly and I think for the movie she plays the part well.

Next is another strange-ish character named Nagase Arashi, played by Kaku Kento.  This is one of those times where you look at the character in the anime and you think, "How on earth are they going to find someone who'd be willing and able to play a character like that?"  Well, they somehow managed to pull it off.  Arashi in the anime and Arashi in the movie are honestly so close in personality, character (which they should be), and looks (apart from the hair) it's amazing.  Granted, his role in the story apart from being an art student and being the one that ropes Yukari in in the first place is not much, but I still really liked his character.  He's obnoxious as heck, which is one trait I think it can be difficult to pull off and still make the character likable.  So overall I think Kento did a good job with this one.  I'm just really glad they didn't actually put a safety pin through his lip.

All right, now comes the token annoying chick.  Filling this role in the story is one Sakurada Miwako, played by Omasa Aya.  This character really annoys me.  Her only role it seems is to add a minor subplot and help make clothes, aside from being Arashi's "playmate" (if you know what I mean).  I understand why she's there.  I think were she not there the group wouldn't feel quite as cohesive or realistic (I never thought I'd be applying that term to this story), but still...  She annoys the heck out of me.  As for the acting, it's decent.  It's not stellar, but it's not terribly bad either.  Overall, she fills the shoes of the anime character as well as she can (once again, having only seen two episodes of the anime, I may be a little out of my comfort zone in saying that; still, I stand by my opinion).

Okay, writing.  This is another one of those tricky sort of movies where the source material is regarded as a very well-done story with great characters and good writing.  I can't fairly assess whether or not this truly translates to the movie, but as I mentioned before, as a stand-alone this movie is pretty decently well done.  The writing, while it feels a bit forced at times, is not terrible.  It does sometimes feel like they were trying to cram too much story into too little time, but that is easily understood given the original source material.  This is a rather complex story, so to try to cover every facet of it in two hours is really stretching it.

That being said, the reason why I love this movie so much (apart from George...eeeeeee!!) is mostly because it's about a bored high school student trying to find her place in life.  That is something I can totally identify with and get behind.  The writing in general does convey the difficulties of Yukari's life appropriately and convincingly.  There are certain spots where the melodrama does get a little out of hand, but that's forgivable (again, my opinion).

As for a warning section...  Oh, boy.  There are some rather adult subjects touched on in this movie (far more so in the anime).  Most of it involves sexuality of some sort, but it's not nearly as strong as it is in the anime.  Fair warning has been given.

Apart from that, though, there is a very strong, very complex message about being who you are and following what you feel is your "calling".  Yukari struggles with the pressures of a very strict mother who values grades and academia above everything else, and this pressure is dealt with in a rather mature way.  The message is very much "do what you want to do with your life" and "don't live your life for someone else".  Both of these are things I can get behind.

On the whole, as I said, I love this movie (or rather I'm IN love with this movie).  While it might not be the greatest adaptation in the world (understandably so), it still makes a pretty good stand-alone movie.  The characters are strange, the world they live in is different, and the story overall is very much a sort of coming-of-age kind of story.  Learning about where you want to go in life and what you find meaning in is a rather important thing for teenagers (well, for anybody, really), and I think this issue is dealt with rather well in this movie.  It could've been better, but it could've been SO much worse.  So now go watch this movie.  But don't watch it for me.  Watch it for George.

Romantic Princess (2007)

Xiao Mai is a poor girl who lives in a small rundown apartment with her loving parents.  Life is not good, but manageable as Xiao Mai works to earn enough money for a down payment on a house.  One day, however, a very polite but adamant butler arrives to tell Xiao Mai she is actually the long lost granddaughter of the richest man in Taiwan, Huang Fu Xiong.  Xiao Mai doesn't believe him at first, but as time goes on and she's introduced to the old man, she begins to accept it.  Upon being ripped away from her adopted parents, however, Xiao Mai discovers it's not quite as great as she imagined being a rich girl if it means she can't be with her family.  Along the way she also learns that she must marry the successor to the Huang Fu company, which will be one of four boys from the Nan Feng family who were brought to the house to study in hopes of becoming said successor.  Not all of the Nan Feng boys are happy about this arrangement, however, and soon pull Xiao Mai into the whirlwind of complicated business transactions that make up the life of a Huang Fu heiress.

Now before I get into the meat of this review, I must preface it with this comment: this is one of the first dramas I ever saw.  When I first saw it I thought it was great, but that was four years ago.  Now coming back to it and seeing it again, I see a few things that I missed the first time around that I shall address as I come to them.  Now, on to the cast.

• Angela Zhang as Mai Qiu Sui/Huang Fu Shan (Xiao Mai)
• Wu Chun as Nan Feng Jin
• Calvin Chen as Nan Feng Cai
• George Hu as Nan Feng Lin
• Lee Ang Lin as Nan Feng Ying
• Gu Bao Ming as Huang Fu Xiong
• Genie Zhuo as Gong Mo Li

Let's start with our leading lady, the "romantic princess" herself, Xiao Mai (aka Huang Fu Shan, aka Shan Shan, aka Mai Qiu Sui...you get the picture; she has a lot of names).  Angela Zhang is an actress I had never heard of then because I had just been introduced to Taiwanese dramas (or Asian dramas in general), but strangely enough I still haven't seen anything else with her in it.  I don't know if I'm just not watching the "right" things or whatever...I digress.  Anywho, overall her acting is pretty good in this show.  She has moments where she's really annoying and just plain irritating, but she brings out the emotion of the whole affair in a credible way that makes the audience sympathize with her plight.  I can't say hers was a stellar performance, but it wasn't at all bad either.

Moving on to the brothers.  The Nan Feng boys are arguably the most memorable characters, mostly for their widely varying personalities and opinions about what Huang Fu Xiong (whom they call "Emp") is putting them through.  First of these is Nan Feng Jin, played by Wu Chun (or Zun, depending on the translation).  He is a very interesting character, mostly because he's the only one who's willing to stand up to Emp and fight back against a future that he doesn't want for himself.  Wu Chun is, for the most part, a very talented actor and singer, and I think that's pretty obvious in this drama.  He has his great moments and his moments that are just good, but he does have moments when it feels like he might have been trying too hard.  Overall, still a good performance with no particularly bad moments to mention.

Next is Nan Feng Cai, played by Calvin Chen.  Now, I have no doubt that Calvin is at least a good actor.  Also, having become familiar with his actual personality and habits, I can say I have no doubt he's a good playboy as well (playboy is a general term here; I don't mean that in a derogatory way AT ALL).  He's probably the one that gives the most solid performance throughout in this drama, having no real changes to his character or personality overall (that's not counting the second half of the drama; SPOILERS).  He gives a good performance as the polite playboy that's not only interested in bedding women (if you know what I mean).  He actually seems truly interested in getting to know them as people first, women second.  This also goes for Xiao Mai, but I'll get to that later.

The third member of the Nan Feng foursome is Nan Feng Lin, played by George Hu.  Now, I am a pretty decent fan of George Hu; I've seen him in a couple of other things since I watched this drama, and I'm fairly certain in this assertion: he's capable of better acting than this.  Before anybody gets mad at me for saying that, let me say I do understand that this character is supposed to be childish and immature.  I get that; however, there are some scenes in which the acting from this dude is just a bit...how shall we say...over the top?  I don't have anything against this character or his acting in this drama, but I just think some of it is a little bit overacted and just the slightest bit annoying for that very reason.  Overall, good performance and I still really liked the character.

The last one to round out the group is Nan Feng Ying, played by Lee Ang Lin.  Okay, people who have already seen this will understand me when I say, I don't really know what to say about this guy because he's hardly in this at all.  He's really only there to pad out the cast (that's my opinion; he does have a pretty good running gag though; ANGELA!!!).  He doesn't do anything in the story that I know of and I don't really know why he's in this in the first place.  But from what I do recall of his acting, it's good.  He's a decent actor (I've seen him in another series where his role was far bigger).  Nothing bad to say about him.

Another key character in this story (in fact, he's the driving force of the whole plot pretty much) is Huang Fu Xiong, played by Gu Bao Ming.  This is one of the few older actors that I can actually recognize because he's been in a few other things I've seen (like Down with Love).  Huang Fu Xiong, whom I shall call Emp from here on out, is one of those characters that you don't really know if he's good or bad.  He just is.  One minute he's doing something to make Xiao Mai hate him, the next you find out that he did that for her own good.  He simply exists to please his granddaughter and run his business.  With a character like this, I'm convinced Bao Ming is a really good actor.  He can make you hate his character and feel sorry for his character AT THE SAME TIME!  That, my friends, is one of the marks of a great actor.  Great performance from him.

The last character that's really worth calling out is a really annoying pipsqueak named Gong Mo Li.  She's played by Genie Zhuo (or Zhou, or Cho...I can't keep track anymore).  Her acting in this is good, but I've gotta at least mention I've seen her in far better roles than this.  She plays wonderfully in a serious drama.  She's good at being REALLY irritating as well, but I think the fact that she pops up at the least opportune moment and causes such a fuss (again, spoilers) is most of the reason why I didn't like her in this drama.

Okay, moving on.  Writing.  Oh, my word.  I mentioned before that I saw this drama four years ago.  I was in a different frame of mind and not quite used to what to expect from a Taiwanese drama.  Thus I did not see all of the flaws I am about to point out in annoying detail.  This series is, on the whole, decently written.  The dialogue isn't ridiculous or recycled or at all stupid (like it could be; OH DEAR it could be SO much worse).  The situation, while a bit spontaneous in the light of the circumstances of the first episode, is somewhat believable and I gotta give it credit for that.

I do have some serious bones to pick with this series, however.  Firstly, about the whole long-lost-granddaughter thing.  I know it must have been difficult to come up with a reason for Xiao Mai to have been lost in the first place that wouldn't be so ridiculous as to be laughable, but really, people.  Try a LITTLE harder.  The scenario is that she was kidnapped when she was three years old by the "mortal enemies" of the Huang Fu family and abandoned on the side of the road to be found by the person that delivered her to the Mai family.  Okay, I can buy that...I suppose.  I'm just asking for a little more creativity on the writers' part.

Okay, so maybe that was a little nitpicky, but my next point is DEFINITELY not.  In the first few episodes we are led to believe that Xiao Mai is romantically interested in Cai, if only a little bit.  Yah, I don't think so.  That vibe is totally not there.  My personal opinion is that this is because the two actors, while good in and of themselves, have little to absolutely no chemistry together.  I'm not faulting either of them.  I'm just pointing out something that I'm pretty sure could have been avoided, but given the circumstances is difficult to get around.  It really takes away from the "love triangle" element that could've been there if only the two of them had had more chemistry together (or any at all for that matter).

Lastly, I have to point out something about the flow of the story.  This is kind of more of a general observation than anything else, but it really annoyed me through the course of watching this series again.  There are some MAJOR plot points that feel really contrived and the flow of the events is just kinda...sticky.  I don't know if that's the writers' fault or the editors' fault or whatever, but whoever is to blame for that, it really bugged me for most of the show.

All right, enough of my ranting.  There's not much to say as far as warning people.  There is a TINY bit of innuendo in some parts, but it's mostly played for laughs or played up so much as to be ridiculous.  There are some parts that are obviously meant for adults in terms of complicated business stuffs or grumpy grandpas doing things to make life difficult for young people (again, spoilers).  There's nothing really noteworthy, in other words.

On the upside, the message of this drama is mostly focused on being who you are regardless of your situation and living your life the way YOU want to.  A lot of it is focusing on a couple of the characters getting out from under Emp and making their own way in life.  There is a little bit of a focus on family and who qualifies as family, but that's mostly in the early episodes.

On the whole, I have to say that after watching this through a second time with a different point-of-view and a bit more perspective, I still like this drama.  It's not great, but it's not bad either.  I'd have to recommend this to people that like big businessy type stuff and romantic melodramas (it's a soap opera, basically, but without most of the ridiculous crying and bad acting).  I also really like this drama's view of the whole "I wish I could wake up one day and suddenly be rich" sort of thinking that a lot of people seem to have.  This drama shows that, no, it wouldn't be that great because you'd be taken out of your old life (family, neighborhood, etc) and thrust into a new one that might not be so great as you imagine.  Anywho, if none of that appeals to you, watch it for Wu Chun and George Hu.  That's a good reason to like a drama, isn't it?

Fly, Daddy, Fly (2006)

Jang Ga Pil is a typical salaryman who works hard to provide for his wife and teenage daughter.  One day he comes home to discover that his daughter, Da Mi, has been assaulted and raped by a group of boys while out at karaoke.  The leader of the group is Kang Tae Wook, high school boxing champion and the son of a powerful congressman.  After persistently trying and failing to get a proper apology and acknowledgement from Tae Wook and his parents, Ga Pil becomes so desperate as to try to stab Tae Wook on his way home from school.  This poorly thought-out plan fails, however, and Ga Pil meets another high school boy named Go Seung Suk.  Seung Suk is the only one to have ever beaten Tae Wook at boxing, and after some persuasion, Seung Suk offers to train Ga Pil so that the middle-aged man may get his revenge through a proper boxing match on even terms.

Oh, my goodness.  I've been looking forward to this review for so long.  I freaking LOVE this movie.  But before I start on a five-page essay about why this movie ROCKS epicly, let me start with the cast.

• Lee Moon Sik as Jang Ga Pil
• Lee Jun Ki as Go Seung Suk
• Lee Joo as Kang Tae Wook
• Kim Ji Hoon as Chae Soo Bin (Seung Suk's friend)
• Nam Hyeon Jun as Oh Se Joong (Seung Suk's other friend)
• Kim So Eun as Jang Da Mi
• Lee Yeon Soo as Ga Pil's wife

So let me just head this off by saying, oh, my gosh, the acting in this movie ROCKS!  Everyone did a fantastic job, but I'm getting ahead of myself.  First is the focus character of the movie, Jang Ga Pil, and he's played by Lee Moon Sik.  Now, being the relative newcomer that I am to Korean movies, I only know a handful of younger actors and only one or two older actors.  Thus, you already know what I'm going to say.  I'd never heard of Lee Moon Sik before this, but he did such a good job as Ga Pil that I don't even care about that.  He is SO good at portraying emotion properly and convincingly.  It is absolutely amazing.  Almost from the first moment he comes on screen you begin to sympathize with his character and the pain that he's going through.  This movie is built around Ga Pil, so his believability as a character is essential to the success of this story.  Moon Sik did such an amazing job carrying the movie all the way to the end.  This is one character you will most certainly be invested fully in by the time the big fight comes around.

Next up is my personal bias in this movie, Lee Jun Ki.  He's playing Go Seung Suk, the reluctant trainer.  The reason I say he's my personal bias is not because I'm a squealing fangirl (well, okay, I kind of am), but because he is one of the most mesmerizing and enthralling actors I have ever seen.  I have only seen a little bit of Jun Ki's work, including this movie, but oh, boy, is that gonna change.  I'm sold.  I've pretty much decided from seeing this movie that I must see everything else he's been in.  His ability to keep the audience not only interested but personally invested in what's happening on screen is quite amazing.  Jun Ki does a wonderful job acting as the strong quiet guy who's had a tough life and needs somebody to look up to.  Although he really isn't the full focus of the movie, I love Seung Suk as a character.  He has a wonderful emotional foundation, he has a tragic past that doesn't seem cliched, and Jun Ki delivered a performance that I will not soon forget.

Moving on from that, what is a movie without an antagonist?  That role in this movie is filled by Kang Tae Wook, played by Lee Joo.  This character isn't all that deep, but he doesn't really need to be.  We can tell from his actions and his attitude that he's a jerk and needs to be taught a lesson.  That is thanks to Lee Joo's acting.  He does a good job as the really perturbing jerk who doesn't understand what manners are and thinks the world pretty much revolves around him.

The next two characters I will only mention in passing, simply because they don't really do very much in the story.  They are worth calling out though because they are both lovable and serve their purposes in the grand scheme of things.  I am of course talking about Seung Suk's friends Chae Soo Bin and Oh Se Joong, played by Kim Ji Hoon and Nam Hyeon Jun respectively.  These two are really only there for two purposes: two rather important plot points and comic relief.  In my opinion, both purposes are served well.  The acting from these two is decently good, being goofy enough to still fit within the tone of the movie and yet allow for a little relief from the emotional pressure of the story.

The only other characters worth mentioning are Ga Pil's daughter Da Mi, played by Kim So Eun, and Ga Pil's wife (she doesn't have a name), played by Lee Yeon Soo.  The acting from So Eun is good.  She acts like a real teenager and nothing feels fake or anything like that.  Yeon Soo's acting is also good, but you don't really see very much of her in the movie, so a stellar performance isn't so important.  I'm not saying she didn't do a really good job bringing the emotion of the story across, but her character isn't so important overall (in my opinion; I don't want any skewering to occur over this comment).

All right.  On to the writing.  Oh, boy, this story is well written.  I mean, REALLY well written.  I've already talked about the emotion that comes across in the actors' performances and how well it's portrayed throughout the whole of the movie.  Now I get to talk about the other reason that worked so well.  The first reason was good acting; the second reason is good writing.  The emotion in this story is almost overwhelming, as well it should be.  This kind of story can't work without a good emotional foundation.  If we as an audience don't care about the lives of the characters, Ga Pil in particular, this movie is worthless.

That being said, however, emotion without a solid premise is pretty flimsy.  This story and the concept behind it are quite well thought out as well as being amazingly realistic.  I don't want to gush too much, but aside from the incredibly believable circumstances that allow for this story to occur, the way this premise works with a high school student being the teacher of a middle-aged man in something so hardcore as boxing is very well done.  I don't know any other way to put it.

Ah, the obligatory warning section.  There really is nothing to warn about.  Aside from a little bit of foul language and a bit of "gang"-related violence, there's nothing to really note on that front.

On the flipside, however, there is a ton of heart in this movie.  There is a very strong focus on the importance of a father figure/someone to look up to.  There is also a heavy message about what it means to do anything for your family.  It really is encouraging and heartwarming to see what lengths one man is willing to go to for his daughter's sake.

So on a final note, as if it wasn't painfully obvious enough by now, I LOVE this movie.  I've seen it twice and I'm going to see it again very soon, as well as making several people I know watch it.  This is one of the best movies I've ever seen, Asian or otherwise.  It's definitely at the top of my favorites list and will continue to remain there for quite a long time, I can assure you.  So watch it for the action, watch it for the family drama, watch it for the heartwarming story.  But for whatever reason you decide to watch this movie, you will not be disappointed.