The show really catches my eye. I almost watched the entire season without any stop. It has fun, laughs and tears as life should have had, the unbrokenable family bound which Chinese cares most and the most interesting characteristic is, Ms and Mr Huang's stingy about everything. Okay, I have to admit, this is truly one of the most recognizable characteristics in a typical Chinese, from a native born and raised by Chinese point of view. And in the episode that Ms Huang forced her kids to CLC (Chinese learning center), I just can't help laughing out loudly. This is exactly a typical Chinese mom would do to her own blood! And I also love the episode that Huang's sister and brother-in-law came to visit, Chinese just can't bare outsiders to see the worst part of them, so they tend to pretend everything goes great even if they have to let their children sleep in the wareroom. And the secret languages between the sisters which only a Chinese can understand the true meaning beneath is so interesting. I just thought this is a good show and I can't wait to see season 2, I want to give it a score 10, the only 1 point I deducted is for the stiff Mandarin that the leading roles spoke, hope they can practice more in the upcoming season 2. Soooo glad to see a show that describes the first generation of Chinese immigrants, so people will see how hard and struggling to live in a completely strange and different mainland, and how much effort people have to devote in order to blend in. Though I am not an immigrant, nor live in the States either. I also moved 3000 kilometers far away from my hometown to an entire unfamiliar society/city, I still believe I have found something I've missed so much in this show.
Reviews
7 Reviews
The Purge
(I) (2013)
Disappionting, drowsy, ridiculous movie, kind of waste of my time
17 November 2013
Warning: Spoilers
When I saw the trailer I'd rather expected a horror and scary production, with the weird masks on DVD cover. However, it turns out to be a pretty disappointment and just wasted approximately two hours of my weekend night. First of all, I have to say the concept of this film is fairly good, it sets the background to release the devils inside everybody. When killing, murdering, torturing become legal and you can revenge just as you wish, the situation could be a really really disaster and even massacre occurs. And audience can see from the setting background, a lot of stories can happen on that particular 12 hours.
Despite the intrigue idea of the script, the director obviously ignore that the audience has logical sense! Here are the groofs in this movie: James Sandins (starring Ethan Hawke) is a huge character hole. How could anyone buy a security system from a guy that his own security system could be opened with a single password? How could a "professional" guy give the password of his house's security system to his stupid naive silly son? How could a security system that simply covers the doors/windows with steel be sold nationwide? How could any family that has any sense will leave the monitoring room unwatched during a purge night and finally let the sheer idiot son Charles make his own decision to take in a bloody strange man who was apparently under hunted? What kind of so-called security system has no defense procedures at all? In an "American" like this, where annual cleanse of the poor and lower level is supported, what sort of house will have no basement or escape tunnel or plan B at all, and worst of all, this one of the "haves" family raised a foolish son who lacks of all common senses as well as a delicate daughter who loves a guy wants to talk to her father in a gun?
The daughter triggers every disaster in her house, and she just disappeared immediately after the mess occurred, then jumped out mysteriously, out of nowhere to go back to her mom or dad oh, when I saw this ridiculous lovely daughter, I just want to slash in her face. Then the son Charles' turn: this even more ridiculous boy has the guts to let a complete stranger in his house without talking to his parents and after everything happened, he never apologized or regret what he has brought to his family, he has this creepy toy rolls around his house and that's it oh my god, I just cannot believe how I expected this little scary toy to carry out a certain mission when I first saw its appearance. The third comes to the mom, Lena Headey is beautiful but useless in any single plot. She creams and run out of the monitor room to look for her stupid daughter or son many times and even when she held her husband's body, she calls out her children who might probably hide well to let them circle around her dead husband and let another bunch of people to kill them all. When I watched to this length, I just wondering did the director ever thought that we audience have a brain that can think logically and emotionally?
Last comes to the also useless husband, though Ethan Hawke has some fight scenes against the hunting young crewed, but that's not scary or horrifying at all, they are just silly childish actions, has no atmosphere which it supposed to embrace. Then there comes the other group of people, actually their neighborhoods, who is envy of the husband's making money for selling security system to them and come with barely unarmed except some knifes. When they tried to kill the family members, the most ridiculous scene happened, Lena screams while her neighbors tied them up, she kept shouting and shouting and shouting, thus these supposed-to-seriously-hated-them neighbors just let the time slip away and eventually killed or stopped by the poor black man they tried to take-in this could be one of the most terrible plots I've seen this year.
All characters and plots are easily destroyable, just the same as their so-called security system. My husband watched it with me and he questioned like "if we're permitted in a country or society like this, how would you react in a purge night?" I answered "I will find someplace hide and would not step out during the 12 hours". "That's it! What kind of people would simply stay at their cozy home and close the doors shutdown their windows or activate a stupid security system to let other know: hey, here's a wealthy family waiting for you to unleash your rages!" he added afterwards, "if I have the chance to design a security system to be used in a world like this, I would definitely allow no one to shut an activated system within the next 12 hours, even with password or fingerprints or whatever else".
I just felt that my IQ is badly hurt by the director or whoever writes the script. It's an unsuccessful movie with plots loopholes spreading from beginning to end.
Despite the intrigue idea of the script, the director obviously ignore that the audience has logical sense! Here are the groofs in this movie: James Sandins (starring Ethan Hawke) is a huge character hole. How could anyone buy a security system from a guy that his own security system could be opened with a single password? How could a "professional" guy give the password of his house's security system to his stupid naive silly son? How could a security system that simply covers the doors/windows with steel be sold nationwide? How could any family that has any sense will leave the monitoring room unwatched during a purge night and finally let the sheer idiot son Charles make his own decision to take in a bloody strange man who was apparently under hunted? What kind of so-called security system has no defense procedures at all? In an "American" like this, where annual cleanse of the poor and lower level is supported, what sort of house will have no basement or escape tunnel or plan B at all, and worst of all, this one of the "haves" family raised a foolish son who lacks of all common senses as well as a delicate daughter who loves a guy wants to talk to her father in a gun?
The daughter triggers every disaster in her house, and she just disappeared immediately after the mess occurred, then jumped out mysteriously, out of nowhere to go back to her mom or dad oh, when I saw this ridiculous lovely daughter, I just want to slash in her face. Then the son Charles' turn: this even more ridiculous boy has the guts to let a complete stranger in his house without talking to his parents and after everything happened, he never apologized or regret what he has brought to his family, he has this creepy toy rolls around his house and that's it oh my god, I just cannot believe how I expected this little scary toy to carry out a certain mission when I first saw its appearance. The third comes to the mom, Lena Headey is beautiful but useless in any single plot. She creams and run out of the monitor room to look for her stupid daughter or son many times and even when she held her husband's body, she calls out her children who might probably hide well to let them circle around her dead husband and let another bunch of people to kill them all. When I watched to this length, I just wondering did the director ever thought that we audience have a brain that can think logically and emotionally?
Last comes to the also useless husband, though Ethan Hawke has some fight scenes against the hunting young crewed, but that's not scary or horrifying at all, they are just silly childish actions, has no atmosphere which it supposed to embrace. Then there comes the other group of people, actually their neighborhoods, who is envy of the husband's making money for selling security system to them and come with barely unarmed except some knifes. When they tried to kill the family members, the most ridiculous scene happened, Lena screams while her neighbors tied them up, she kept shouting and shouting and shouting, thus these supposed-to-seriously-hated-them neighbors just let the time slip away and eventually killed or stopped by the poor black man they tried to take-in this could be one of the most terrible plots I've seen this year.
All characters and plots are easily destroyable, just the same as their so-called security system. My husband watched it with me and he questioned like "if we're permitted in a country or society like this, how would you react in a purge night?" I answered "I will find someplace hide and would not step out during the 12 hours". "That's it! What kind of people would simply stay at their cozy home and close the doors shutdown their windows or activate a stupid security system to let other know: hey, here's a wealthy family waiting for you to unleash your rages!" he added afterwards, "if I have the chance to design a security system to be used in a world like this, I would definitely allow no one to shut an activated system within the next 12 hours, even with password or fingerprints or whatever else".
I just felt that my IQ is badly hurt by the director or whoever writes the script. It's an unsuccessful movie with plots loopholes spreading from beginning to end.
Seven Years in Tibet
(1997)
Impeccable scenery and story, definitely worth a watch
3 November 2013
Warning: Spoilers
First of all, I wanna say that it is not easy for a mainland Chinese to watch such movie that were strictly banned domestically. Just because the recent protest occurred in Tiananmen Square made me eager to discovering the truth behind the so-called "news". I've heard from my US colleagues that Brad Pitt has been refused to mainland China ever since his acting in this film, and I once told my US friends that the only place I wanna pay for a visit within this country is Tibet and Xinjiang, of course, both are notably "question area" with a great deal of political related conflicts.
Tibet, with its beautiful scenery and culture and religious charm, has attracted a lot of people all over the world to see this heaven land, the highest plateau on earth, the closet place to reach the gods in sky. I was amazed by the stunning views in this movie, as well as the mysterious religious-based culture it showed, the ceremonies and the kindhearted people there. And it truly broke my heart when comes to the plots that the liberty troops invaded this holy place and made it as part of people's republic of China. Though without showing the audience too much bloody scenes, the moment that the communist party delegates step on the gorgeous prints the humble monks are praying for, is just like a needle stamp into my brain nerves and I trembled. Furious with such bandits to ruin others' religious belief so easily and without regret, angry about how they are acting and no wonder that so many years has passed, these group of people are just exactly the same as 60 years ago. A lot of officials nowadays are just the way like the delegates in this movie- rude, arrogant, disrespectful, no manners at all. Shame on me, oh gosh.
I don't know why the paramount leaders always have this desire to control other race and expand the territory. Those people have their own culture and religious beliefs, they are totally different with Han ethnicity, from head to toe. Why bothers controlling their homeland and trying to brainwash to make everyone like an ethnicity that actually has no religious no beliefs at all? I cannot understand any single one massacre in human history, though I know the saying, every nation is built on blood and tears. And as a result of retrieve Tibet, there are Han Chinese crowd in Lhasa and as a consequence of protests that never stops in Tibetan, there are tons of liberty troops quarter in Tibet autonomous region and can put down every single "counter-revolutionary" riot by military force immediately. I know there are racial discrimination between Tibetan and Han ethnicity nationwide, Dalai lama's expelled from his people and homeland (which is a taboo topic within red China), how situation deteriorates to today is never my or a peace-loving person's wish.
Apart from the politics inner depth of this movie, the loving and honesty Tibetans moved me a lot. How I wish this holy place, the reputable nearest city (Lhasa) to heaven, will never ever destroyed by anything from outside world, neither party itself nor Western civilizations. The world needs colorful cultures and races and religious beliefs, thus will leave something valuable to our offspring.
Tibet, with its beautiful scenery and culture and religious charm, has attracted a lot of people all over the world to see this heaven land, the highest plateau on earth, the closet place to reach the gods in sky. I was amazed by the stunning views in this movie, as well as the mysterious religious-based culture it showed, the ceremonies and the kindhearted people there. And it truly broke my heart when comes to the plots that the liberty troops invaded this holy place and made it as part of people's republic of China. Though without showing the audience too much bloody scenes, the moment that the communist party delegates step on the gorgeous prints the humble monks are praying for, is just like a needle stamp into my brain nerves and I trembled. Furious with such bandits to ruin others' religious belief so easily and without regret, angry about how they are acting and no wonder that so many years has passed, these group of people are just exactly the same as 60 years ago. A lot of officials nowadays are just the way like the delegates in this movie- rude, arrogant, disrespectful, no manners at all. Shame on me, oh gosh.
I don't know why the paramount leaders always have this desire to control other race and expand the territory. Those people have their own culture and religious beliefs, they are totally different with Han ethnicity, from head to toe. Why bothers controlling their homeland and trying to brainwash to make everyone like an ethnicity that actually has no religious no beliefs at all? I cannot understand any single one massacre in human history, though I know the saying, every nation is built on blood and tears. And as a result of retrieve Tibet, there are Han Chinese crowd in Lhasa and as a consequence of protests that never stops in Tibetan, there are tons of liberty troops quarter in Tibet autonomous region and can put down every single "counter-revolutionary" riot by military force immediately. I know there are racial discrimination between Tibetan and Han ethnicity nationwide, Dalai lama's expelled from his people and homeland (which is a taboo topic within red China), how situation deteriorates to today is never my or a peace-loving person's wish.
Apart from the politics inner depth of this movie, the loving and honesty Tibetans moved me a lot. How I wish this holy place, the reputable nearest city (Lhasa) to heaven, will never ever destroyed by anything from outside world, neither party itself nor Western civilizations. The world needs colorful cultures and races and religious beliefs, thus will leave something valuable to our offspring.
The Lone Ranger
(2013)
successful entertainment, definitely worth watching
17 October 2013
As a foreigner I obviously don't know the background of Lone Ranger, before watching this 2013 version I know nothing about Tonto or John Reid. However, I personally think this movie isn't as bad as critics said at all, on the contrary, I consider it a fairly successful one. It contains the Hollywood celebrities Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and William Fichtner etc. it contains entertainment elements, I actually laughed now and then at scenes like Tonto's deadpan humor. It contains the action and adventure part, the beginning bits and the last 20 min plots are both exciting and you'll never want to have a pee time. It also contains myth and unnatural staff, such as the native Indians and the white spiritual horse. All of these factors are on the right track of making a good movie.
However, there did exist some under the average level plots and odd lines for the characters. As to one of the most mysterious and Gothic woman in the world- Helena Bonham Carter, I think her part is not that brilliant as Tonto or John Reid, there should be some deep buried secrets for this red hair madam but it didn't show up throughout the movie. Another weak link in my perspective, is the leading actress- Rebecca (stars Ruth Wilson). Ruth is gorgeous, but she's not charming enough to have like 4 or 5 men entirely at her feet. I'm not so familiar with what characters she has played but I know if Rebecca changes to Miranda Kerr or Jessica Alba etc, it will make better sense to the audiences.
Other credits I want to say about is the absolutely amazing views of the Western America, which makes me sooooo wanna go there someday! All in all, Depp and William Fichtner are great actors, one plays the queerish man as effortless as he always does, while Fichtner give us a scary horrible villain who can eat human's flesh. I can hardly recognize Fichtner at the first sight as he disguised his teeth, which really makes him scarier. I will definitely introduce this film to my friends because I think it is a fairly nice movie and worth applause.
However, there did exist some under the average level plots and odd lines for the characters. As to one of the most mysterious and Gothic woman in the world- Helena Bonham Carter, I think her part is not that brilliant as Tonto or John Reid, there should be some deep buried secrets for this red hair madam but it didn't show up throughout the movie. Another weak link in my perspective, is the leading actress- Rebecca (stars Ruth Wilson). Ruth is gorgeous, but she's not charming enough to have like 4 or 5 men entirely at her feet. I'm not so familiar with what characters she has played but I know if Rebecca changes to Miranda Kerr or Jessica Alba etc, it will make better sense to the audiences.
Other credits I want to say about is the absolutely amazing views of the Western America, which makes me sooooo wanna go there someday! All in all, Depp and William Fichtner are great actors, one plays the queerish man as effortless as he always does, while Fichtner give us a scary horrible villain who can eat human's flesh. I can hardly recognize Fichtner at the first sight as he disguised his teeth, which really makes him scarier. I will definitely introduce this film to my friends because I think it is a fairly nice movie and worth applause.
Blind Detective
(2013)
Master Johnnie To plus Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng equals box office as well as applause
8 October 2013
After 7 years waiting, Johnnie To finally successfully reunited Sammi Cheng and Andy Lau as a couple again, which with no doubt, worth the weight of fans' expectation. I personally is a big fan of Sammi Cheng since I was in junior school, she technically 'disappear' like about 5 or 6 years from Hong Kong entertainment with all the ups and downs of her life buzzing beneath paparazzi's papers. Just about when people getting to forget her voice and smile, she suddenly came back to life with eye-catching Blind Detective.
Being one of the top directors in Hong Kong showbiz, Johnnie To's definitely smart. He produced Drug War last year using Louis Koo and another mainland Chinese actor Sun Honglei as leading actors, which in my perspective, somehow lost the eye-catching element in the first place, though the story is not bad, and actually, it's really a nice film, even better than Blind Detective. Sammi Cheng and Andy Lau, the magic couple in screen lightening all chemistries between them on fire, make this movie on the right track of being a huge success both in box office and in the acting itself.
Sammi Cheng plays her usual role- blur girl and effortlessly presenting a cute character, while Andy Lau jumps out of his comfort zone to play a retired blind detective who majors a foodie, instead of a disciplined police officer, both of them make the characters alive as requested. Though Andy Lau joins some other terrible movies these years, such as Switch, this one isn't one of them. He totally deserves applause as much as he's in Running Out of Time and Infernal Affairs.
And I agree with other reviewers that the plot sag for this film is the unrequited love of Andy Lau towards the tango dancer who featured by mainland Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan, this scene is flavorless no matter how gorgeous Gao Yuanyuan is. I can understand why Johnnie To adds this arc as it's tailor-in for the mainland China market (the same reason using Guo Tao as the police officer, who is also from mainland China), however, I cannot deny the fact that these irrelevant characters dragged down the whole level of the movie a little bit. As a fan of traditional Hong Kong production movies, I really hate it that every single movie has to have a mainland Chinese actor/actress nowadays, and the worst part is, almost every one of these characters seems to be ponderous, irrelevant, abrupt and if not for the marketing purpose, they will definitely not exist at all.
All in all, the movie is good and above the average level, comparing to other movies in the cinema which are completely nonsense to me.
Being one of the top directors in Hong Kong showbiz, Johnnie To's definitely smart. He produced Drug War last year using Louis Koo and another mainland Chinese actor Sun Honglei as leading actors, which in my perspective, somehow lost the eye-catching element in the first place, though the story is not bad, and actually, it's really a nice film, even better than Blind Detective. Sammi Cheng and Andy Lau, the magic couple in screen lightening all chemistries between them on fire, make this movie on the right track of being a huge success both in box office and in the acting itself.
Sammi Cheng plays her usual role- blur girl and effortlessly presenting a cute character, while Andy Lau jumps out of his comfort zone to play a retired blind detective who majors a foodie, instead of a disciplined police officer, both of them make the characters alive as requested. Though Andy Lau joins some other terrible movies these years, such as Switch, this one isn't one of them. He totally deserves applause as much as he's in Running Out of Time and Infernal Affairs.
And I agree with other reviewers that the plot sag for this film is the unrequited love of Andy Lau towards the tango dancer who featured by mainland Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan, this scene is flavorless no matter how gorgeous Gao Yuanyuan is. I can understand why Johnnie To adds this arc as it's tailor-in for the mainland China market (the same reason using Guo Tao as the police officer, who is also from mainland China), however, I cannot deny the fact that these irrelevant characters dragged down the whole level of the movie a little bit. As a fan of traditional Hong Kong production movies, I really hate it that every single movie has to have a mainland Chinese actor/actress nowadays, and the worst part is, almost every one of these characters seems to be ponderous, irrelevant, abrupt and if not for the marketing purpose, they will definitely not exist at all.
All in all, the movie is good and above the average level, comparing to other movies in the cinema which are completely nonsense to me.
Christmas Rose
(2013)
nice story reflects the hot spot of the society, worthy of your 90 min
2 October 2013
Charlie Young's directorial debut- Christmas Rose. When I first saw the title 'christmas rose' I thought this might be a little too naive and cliché, I cannot find anything interesting from the title or any of the storyline. But I always believe there's a reason for the script that wins foundation from Asia Film Financing Forum, there it is, I bought the DVD and it eventually turns out much better than I expected. There's no doubt Charlie Young has an enchanting script which focus on the vulnerable group of the society and the justice. The theme is sexual harassment, which happens to be one of the most highlighted social events nowadays. Leading actress Gwei Lun Mei effortless played a paralyzed girl Jing Young who was sensitive and paranoid, she came from a humble family that presented people from one of the most low-class community, she was raped by her stepfather and was injured ever since, which resulted in the courtroom drama finally. Aaron Kowk also impressed me in his part in this film. He played a prosecutor who was confused by the media and his own six-sense, people always tend to believe what their first thoughts are, rather than the real fact buried deep beneath. Other supporting actors like Chang Chen is as good as he usually is. Director Charlie Young's care and kindness for the vulnerable group of the society, and her profound introspection of the whole mess that media might cause, all impress me and proved her to be on the right track to become a renowned director. However, the weakness of linking the title Christmas rose and the paper roses that Jing Young made in the film together is somehow lessening the entire suspense drama-effect.
The Big Wedding
(2013)
amazing scenery
17 August 2013
funny beginning and happy ending.
i'm super love the great view of the house, how i wish i had a house like that~ a wooden plank straight to the beautiful lake!
all the actors/actresses are great, the plot makes me laugh frequently.
it's suitable for a family weekend get together movie watch, and for romantic lovers who is planning a wedding party, or when your mood is really down, you can just watch for some laughs and joy.
only one so-unpleasant thing is, i think this movie is a little short and it will be better if filled with more funny parts and meaningful lines.
in my perspective, only the proposal lines that Robert De Niro said to Susan Sarandon are good but, as i said, if there are more lines like that, it would be better. at least the viewers have more to memorize this film.
also love the sound trailers, save the last dance for me & gently down the stream.
i'm super love the great view of the house, how i wish i had a house like that~ a wooden plank straight to the beautiful lake!
all the actors/actresses are great, the plot makes me laugh frequently.
it's suitable for a family weekend get together movie watch, and for romantic lovers who is planning a wedding party, or when your mood is really down, you can just watch for some laughs and joy.
only one so-unpleasant thing is, i think this movie is a little short and it will be better if filled with more funny parts and meaningful lines.
in my perspective, only the proposal lines that Robert De Niro said to Susan Sarandon are good but, as i said, if there are more lines like that, it would be better. at least the viewers have more to memorize this film.
also love the sound trailers, save the last dance for me & gently down the stream.
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