Box5Red5 Reviews

Meteor Garden (2001–2002)

Got a Few Hours?

[5/10 · 25 November 2006]

Meteor Garden is a Chinese drama/comedy set in Taiwan and is based on a Japanese Manga series called "Hana Yori Dango" (Boys Over Flowers). There are 27 episodes in the first season, all of which I watched on YouTube over the course of about a week (my roommate's bad influence- this was definitely a guilty pleasure stint). The storyline revolves around a poor college student, Shan Cai, and her run-ins with "F4", a clique of four rich male students whose parents founded the school they all attend. Naturally, there's a typical love triangle... more like a love octagon in this series.

I really feel like I should explain my rating. You have to go into this series realizing that most of the actors are actually models (with one or two exceptions). The budget is low. There are a total of about three songs used in the entire soundtrack (very catchy, very cheesy- by the end I had the tears flowing like clockwork when the "sad" music would start). The storyline gets ridiculous sometimes and the characters act like lovestruck middle schoolers. HOWEVER, as for addictiveness, I give Meteor Garden a 10. Like I said, some strange sick force kept me searching on YouTube for episode after episode. I suppose the romantic in me holds onto the dream that the hot, rich boy will actually fall for the plain, poor, and innocent girl.

The popularity of Meteor Garden is actually real- it spawned a mini-series called Meteor Rain, a second season, a Japanese Version of the same show, and the most talented boy band to ever grace the planet, F4 (formed by the original four cast members).

SO. I recommend this series for:

1) Lovers of Mystery Science Theater who have a lot of time on their hands. There's a lot to poke fun of. 2) Lonely single girls with romantic souls and who want to brush up on their Mandarin 3) Bored college-aged kids with nothing better to do over their fall break than waste bandwidth and try to guess whether Daoming Si and Shan Cai will ever get together (guess that's me).

Spirited Away (2001)

A Creative Masterpiece

[10/10 · 16 February 2006]

I think what the director has successfully done here for the first time since Lewis Carrol is that he created a true dream world. As friend pointed out to me, when you're having a dream, everything makes sense in the moment. Of course soot balls would come to life and bounce around, of course ten foot babies would turn into mice and witches into birds... Its only when you wake up that you realize the dream world's disruption of logic. And when you've waken up, your memory is shaken. While you feel the full effects of the fantasy, the sequence of events disappear as rapidly as you wake.

In Spirited Away, we can finally remember those dreams.

This film is full of vibrant colors and is rich in Japan's mythical history (all of the 'spirits' in the movie exist in Japanese storytelling). The score further takes you away from the real world, back to your childhood, into your most delightful and disturbing of dreams. The love story is underdeveloped in a tasteful but mysterious way.

From the beginning we identify with the heroine, Chihiro. From her grumpy moods and stubborn demeanor, to the smallest details in her movement and expressions remind us of our awkward childhood years. She is lonely, she is brave, she is loving and kind- the picture of innocent youth.

When the movie ends, you want there to be more, you don't want the dream to end. This director has captured something very precious on film, and it truly is a work of art to watch.