"Tokyo Tower"

Another Jun Matsumoto movie done in 2004 with Junichi Okada, Hitomi Kuroki and Shinobu Terajima. The story revolves around two college boys—Toru (Okada) and Koji (Matsumoto) who go for older women almost double their age. Toru fell in love with a socialite housewife, Shifumi (Kuroki) while Koji became involved with a plain housewife, Kimiko (Terajima).

The “May-December” affair as a theme is interesting but I find this one dragging. The scenes were devoid of excitement and the characters lacked the “fire.”

For me, Okada did not fit the role of a college student ‘coz he looks matured and his acting was so-so to think he’s the lead. Meanwhile, her partner, Kuroki, really looked class but her acting was also raw.

In fairness to Matsumoto, though he was too lean that time, his playboy character suited well with his looks and his acting was better off than Okada. Same with the character "Yoshida" who was also effective in her role as the other girl who got attracted to him. You can see in her the picture of a scorned woman. As to Terajima, her face was expressionless most of the time yet her character was a bit wild (what an irony). And like Okada and Kuroki, her interaction with Matsumoto lacked in passion thinking it’s an illicit love affair.

I guess, the title “Tokyo Tower” is not suited for the movie since the tower didn’t have any significance on the story. Yeah, Toru and Shifumi met when the tower was lit up and it also served as background when he decided to leave her but other than these, the tower was not anymore highlighted.

Therefore, if you don’t want to be pissed off, don’t watch this crappy movie.

“Batanes (Love Knows No Borders)”

At last, I’ve seen this movie after few months of waiting. When I first heard that Ken Zhu will be doing a movie here in the Philippines, I said, c'mon, that's unbelievable. But when F4 had a presscon in Korea in September, and he was asked about it, he said it's under negotiation. Thereon, I became ecstatic on the said the project.

Anyway, the story started with how Pam (Iza Calzado) met Rico (Joem Bascon) in Manila. When they became couple, Rico brought Pam in his hometown in Batanes, married her there and led a simple life. This romance is then cut short when tragedy struck Rico while he was fishing and died right there and then. But when the sea claimed his life, it cast out another one--Kao--a Taiwanese fisherman who encountered mechanical trouble with his boat and swam for his life. Kao didn’t know that he has set afoot on the island of Sabtang, Batanes. Incidentally, Pam was there to relive the memory of her late husband. At first, Kao was hesitant to talk to her not until she brought him to her place. That’s where a beautiful love blossomed.

Basically, the first hour dwells on the love story between Pam and Rico while the second half is devoted to her and Kao.

So let me start first with what I hated in this movie--it’s Pam’s hair. I swear, the choice of wig was horrible. And she looks awkward with it. I wish she just let her hair curled first since she is a career woman in Manila and then half-way, she used her real hair with extenders until waist. Anyway this length is typical for a country lass and looks more natural.

Second, I didn’t like how Pam and Rico first met. Her phone was snatched on her way to LRT and then she bumped onto Rico whom she thought was in cahoots with the thief. When she was about to call a police, he had a seizure. In real life, who would want a husband with epilepsy. I have nothing against about the disease but let’s be realistic. I know the scriptwriter wants to emphasize that her meeting with him was something distinct. It should have been better if he was the one who helped her to catch the thief…that’s more natural and courageous on the part of a guy.

And third, there were less “moments” for the two of them. Yeah, there was a kissing scene but they were on the bed. How I wish there was also a scene where they create memories together and at the same time used the beauty of the place to its full potential.

Meantime, there are two scenes that I love here--first, is when Kao wanted to swim back to sea to go back to Taiwan and Pam got mad at him. She was nagging in Filipino and Kao fought back in Mandarin. That was really cute. Second is when she was reunited with Kao on the shore. He said something like this: “At first, I didn’t want to talk because I thought there was nothing left for me, but then I met you…” Gosh, that was so romantic.

As to Ken’s characterization, Kao is a far cry from the Ximen we all knew. In “Meteor Garden,” he was a brat and cutie-cutie but here, he matured not just physically but an actor as well. His role is like tailored maid for him. In fact, I also fell for Kao here ’coz this character is sensitive and caring. He didn’t spoke too much words, but you can really feel his gentleness.

As to Iza, she acted pretty well and had chemistry with Ken. But I personally don’t like Iza to be the lead here. Period. I hope the role was given to other actress but due to scarcity of leading ladies in the country nowadays especially that match well with Pam’s profile, she is the best fit (though Judy Ann Santos was the first to be considered in her role).

In terms of musical scoring, it lacked drama as well in its theme song sung by Jolina Magdangal. Though there was one song by a guy which I find ok but I dunno the title. What I also like about chinovelas and jdoramas are its theme songs that match well with the story, scenes and pacing, as if you are virtually transported to another dimension, you know what I mean. This is again below my expectations.

Nevertheless, I would like to commend the movie’s producer, Ignite Media and GMA Films for without their initiative, who would have thought of this collaboration. I have lost my belief in Filipino movies but this time, it aroused my interest once more and made me go back to the cinema. I just hope there would be more project like this to help bring back the glory of Philippine movies. And of course, to Ken for believing in the project and squeezing it in his hectic schedule even though his management was against it in the beginning. Hsieh Hsieh ni! I hope this would not be his first and last project in the Philippines.

All in all, the movie has a perfect storyline...yes, it is beautiful but it could have been much better.

ZHU XIAO TIAN

I didn’t dare to watch any live shows of F4 when they visited the country in 2003 and 2004 ‘coz like I said, I was not their avid fan before. I only became one recently. So when I heard they will be having their second tourism promotion which was scheduled last October in Taiwan, I planned to go there. But then I didn’t know that in order to get a visa, you have to show proofs of financial capability unlike when I secured a visa going to China before. Hence, I postponed the trip. Even though I wasn’t able to watch them there, Ken instead was the one who visited my country, just to put it, hehehe. So when I heard that he will be having a fans day in Manila for the promotion of his movie “Batanes,” I hurriedly went to Trinoma last Monday (December 3) to see him in flesh and blood. Unfortunately, I didn’t read the instruction on the board so I wasn’t able to get a better view of him (sigh). I was just on one side together with other fans who didn’t also know about the set-up.

The show is scheduled to start at 6pm but it began 45 minutes late. And the worse thing, Ken was caught in a traffic jam for 2 hours going to the said mall so he came in almost 9pm. Since I was already enervated when he came out and my location made the matter even worse, I didn’t feel the excitement anymore. Nevertheless, from afar, his light complexion and stocky built were noticeable, yet dashing as ever .

It was just a pity that he catch colds and cough when he arrived the country so he was not able to perform on that event for his legion of fans. He was just interviewed by the host, received this “adopted son” thing from the province of Batanes, and then gave out autographs for his screened fans. That’s all he did that night. I felt sad for myself since my effort didn’t paid off.

Even so, I also noticed that the fan base of F4 in the Philippines did not wane since that occasion was jump-packed. What more if it’s the whole group, I could not imagine the crowd. When they last visited here, it seemed that the reception of their fans was not that warm compared earlier. I also remember that the husband of my cousin stayed in Taiwan in 2004, he said that F4 was not hot there anymore. So, I didn’t developed much interest on them any longer not until this year when something happened to my personal life. At least, when I started to adore them, their tourism project and the movie “Batanes” came along, that’s why my admiration for them is not yet late. I understand they are also planning to release a group album once more. And this year, Jerry, Vic and Ken are considered the top 3 highest paid male idol in Taiwan followed by Mike He and then Joe Cheng. So that’s what you called “has been,” eheheh…

In any case, I hope Xiao Tian will continue on believing with the Filipinos and look forward to see other Asian superstars in local productions. Won Bin, Matsujun, Xiao Mei, Xiao Zong…anyone there?!

"Bambino"

This jdorama is the latest treat from Jun Matsumoto that talks about passion and dream. It’s not a love story set in the kitchen but it’s about falling in love with the latter.

Jun Matsumoto as Ban or Bambino (name for a “newbie”) is a college student from Fukuoka Prefecture who had his training in a high-class Italian restaurant, Baccanale Trattoria, in Tokyo. In the beginning, he encountered difficulties because he could not catch-up with the pace of the kitchen staff. But when he adjusted, his training was about to end and he had to go back to school. Ban-chan’s determination and aspirations will then be tested as the story unfolds.
I thought I would not hear any words of wisdom in the story but there was on the latter part from Ban‘s former classmate, Shimine, it goes: “Only one day off and hard work the rest of the days, one day you realize you’ve gotten old. Work is important. People need to eat. But work is work, it should not be your whole life. You should enjoy the moment while you’re young.” Yes, we need to work but we should also take time to smell the roses. Ergo, it’s not bad to unwind once in a while, go to places, meet people, watch movies/dramas, read books, explore and so on. We do also need to understand life and find the purpose of our existence and not just work all the time.

And the second moral of the story is, it’s never too late to what you might have been. Like here, even though Tekkan (Baccanale’s big boss) is way beyond his prime and already stable, he still decided to venture to a new business in Italy, be a first-timer once more and learn again from there. Therefore, regardless of what age we are in, we should dare and continue to dream on for this lifetime is short.

Regarding Matsumoto, I dunno if his walking has somewhat improved or it was tricked ‘coz it seems he is not anymore “sashaying.” At least the director did something on this matter. In "Hanayori Dango" and "Bokuwa Imoutoni Koi Wo Suru", his model walk was very obvious. It’s very him and not the character.

One more, I also noticed his skin imperfections here when I thought it is that smooth. When I saw his interviews and performance over you tube after watching HD, gosh, he’s like the cutest guy to hit the screen ever… I considered him a demi-god then. But when I saw him in here, this belief thawed out.

As to his acting, matsujun has been improving ‘coz as a viewer, I felt his “force” here. As if I’m one with him, promise…But when it comes to his leading lady, they really have no spark at all. They act as if they’re like brother and sister. I dunno if this was intended because Ban still seems to be not serious with his love life.

Another thing that irritated me here is the CR guy whose behavior is kinda weird. It appears that he has a world of his own. He’s also a kitchen staff but does keep pace with the rest of his colleagues. He only spoke very few words, more on facial reactions, and when he delivered his advice to Ban-chan, he did it by singing. Crap! He’s horrible!

But if this guy is irksome, my golly wow, Katori and Masashi are otherwise. Two other handsome Japanese aside from matsujun and kimutaku, hakhak! I hope they will be given more exposures in other jdoramas.

About the presentation of the story, it has side comments, pauses and change of color to black & white on the beginning and latter part of every episode, quite novel for a drama, but I still like the traditional one.

Well, if “Long Vacation” is my most favorite drama to date, this is included in my least favorite dramas together with “Love Contract” and “Beautiful Life.” But then again, if you’re a fan Matsujun, this will do.

* photo credit to AF

"Beautiful Life"

This is a love story between a woman with disability and a male hairstylist. Japan’s resident heartthrob Takuya Kimura plays Okishima Shuji and Takako Tokiwa as Machida Kyoko. “Beautiful Life” was shown in Japan in 2000 and got many awards from the 24th Television Drama Academy Awards.

It was aired here in the Philippines recently over QTV-11 every weekend, from 1:00 - 2:00 pm. Since its time slot was during sleepy hours, I wasn’t able to view it in full. Nevertheless, I was still able to follow the story. Actually, this is the first drama that I’ve seen with this kind of love story--a hairstylist falling for a physically disadvantaged lady.

On the characters…I hated Kyoko because she’s just like into self-pity and most of the time, not true to herself when it comes to her feelings with Shuji.

Contrastingly, Kimura’s character here as Shuji is almost the same as Senna in “Long Vacation” who is also caring and open to the girl he likes. While his profession reminds me of the Taiwanese drama “The Magicians of Love” where 183 Club members also play the role of hair designers. But the latter were more dashing-looking compared to him 'coz he was low-profiled in the story.

Shall I say, the plot is heavy because it deals with a degenerative disease and no character was there to give a comic relief. Kyoko’s brother, Masao, even made the matter worse because he was overprotective to her to the point that he had become unreasonable. Though in the end, he realized that he was wrong. If not only for Takuya Kimura, I would not watch this.

I must admit that I didn’t enjoy this one, but I was carried away in the end. Hence, I do not recommend this unless you’re a fan of Kimutaku.

“Re Qing Zhong Xia”

I happen to encounter this series when I rummaged a Chinese store in Divisoria, heheh! When I saw Joe Cheng on the cover, I immediately bought it because I still had this “Joe fever” since I just finished watching “ISWAK.”

“Re Qing Zhong Xia” or “Summer x Summer” is a 12-episode series based on a Japanese manga "Nice Summer" by Yachi Emiko. It was shown early part of this year but it seems it did not do well in the ratings game opposite “Hana Kimi” starring Wu Zun of the boy group Fahrenheit and Ella Chen of the all girl singing group S.H.E.

The story is so light since it is story-oriented than character-oriented. No heavy emotional scenes but more on how a not so pretty girl attracted this famous handsome model.

Joe Cheng’s character here as Lei seems a bit crazy and a lil mischievous. I just observed that in this series and in “It Started with a Kiss,” he becomes wacky only in dream sequence (maybe his agency does not want him to be more of a comedian like Show Luo so as not to de-glamorize his image as a model) and his character in these two seems “gay-ish” (Mike He doesn’t like this, nyahaha).

As to her leading lady, Cai Yi Zhen who plays Xia Ya, her character is kinda irritating because aside from being ugly, she is also clumsy and loud. In reality, I think it’s hard to attract a popular and good-looking guy with this kind of personality. But with her, it came effortless, hahah! Well in this life, it‘s not always about outward appearance.

The scenes that I find cute…first, is when Xia Ya and Lei were walking holding hands along the street and the former saw the billboard where the latter was on it whose arm was around a partially-hidden girl. In real life, if this happens to me, of course I will feel very proud and exultant because it’s like a dream come true having one of the most fantasized guys as my bf. And second, when Lei taught Xia Ya how to do the catwalk on a busy street. That was so brilliant and at the same time romantic (sigh).

Tang Yu Zhe as Tian Guang Zhen was Lei’s antagonist here. I first noticed him on the preview of “They Kissed Again” (ISWAK 2) because he’s cute there and since then I begin to wonder who that guy was. But I only knew his name after watching this drama. Well, this is another cute guy to watch for.

Unfortunately, the copy of this drama that I bought has no subtitle, I only understand very minimal words such as why, what, where, thank you, sorry, happiness, because, but, right, therefore, 1-2-3...nyahah! Luckily, there’s this character half-way, an English guy who can’t speak Mandarin so I managed to understand some scenes. And even though I could not fully comprehend the dialogues, I could still understand the flow of the story because of the actions and reactions. But just to make sure, I downloaded it and chose some parts which caught my attention. At first, I thought I would not be tickled by the romance between Ou Yang Lei and Xia Ya. In the latter part, I became drawn to them but the story immediately came to a halt…tsk, tsk…

But then honestly, I am now biased with Ariel Lin after watching “ISWAK.“ I guess, this show would be a hit if Ariel Lin was the one who acted as Xia Ya. But many of you will suppose it is just like a sequel of “ISWAK” like Rainie Yang being teamed-up again with Mike He in “Huan Huan Ai” this year where most people think it’s like a sequel to “Devil Beside You.”

Well, I watched this show mainly because I have started to admire Joe Cheng. Again, like “Magic Ring,” this is a must-see for all his fans out there.

“E Zuo Ju Zhi Wen”

This is based on Japanese manga "Itazura na Kiss" (Mischievous kiss) by Tada Kaoru and considered the third most popular drama in Taiwan. It was aired in 2005 with Zheng Yuan Chang (Jiang Zhi Shu) and Lin Yi Chen (Xiang Qin) playing the lead.
The story goes…after an earthquake destroyed Xiang Qin's house, she and her father moved in with the family of her father's college buddy, Uncle Ah Li. To her surprise, the kind and amicable aunt and uncle are the parents of her cold and distant schoolmate Jiang Zhi Shu, a genius with an IQ of 200 whom not too long ago rejected her. With this close proximity, a cute romance will blossom.

Cheng fit’s the role of Jiang Zhi Shu because when he is not smiling he looks snob. At first, you will really hate him but in the latter part, his heart softens.

On Yi Chen, my impression on her was not good, especially after watching “Love Contract.” I realized that it was not only me who has this antagonism towards her, I guess most people do. But when I watched this series, I started to adore her, promise. She is not that beautiful but acting-wise, her brand of comedy is better than Yang Chen Lin and Ella Chen. She is simply funny.

Aside from her, Zhang Bo Han (Yu Shu ) and Jiro Wang (Yuan Feng) also gave comic relief to the story. Though at times, they seem to be annoying, lah!

The part that I like here is the hospital scene when Yu Shu was confined due to stomach ache. The three funny characters---Xiang Qin, Yu Shu and Yuan Feng joined forces which made that part totally hilarious. Another one is when Yuan Feng stole the food from Zhi Shu which was prepared by Xiang Qin. But the food didn’t taste good so he forced himself to eat it even though he already wants to throw up. His reaction was so funny.

The part that I least like here is when the character of Pei Zi Yu (Xu Wei Ning), entered the picture and she wants Zhi Shu and Xiang Qin to break apart. This girl is half-American and half-Taiwanese and beautiful…a very big threat to Xiang Qin.

Ironically, the title is “It Started With A Kiss” but the two main characters didn’t even have any passionate kiss. The title should have been it “It Started With A Letter” because that is the first scene and the letter also seems to be the reason why Zhi Shu realized that he is attracted to Xiang Qin.

I must admit that I can relate to the story, especially to Xiang Qin, because I see myself in her when I am attracted to a guy whom I feel also likes me. Here, Xiang Qin joined the Tennis organization just to be with Zhi Shu and even followed him in the restaurant where he works. Not only that, she did this miniature bakeshop painstakingly just to show her love for him. Aiyoh! It made me remember the stuff which I did for a guy years back…well, it paid off somehow, heheh!

I also understand that this series was shot in different seasons which resulted in goofs. But I didn’t notice that there were, actually the flow of the scenes was smooth and it looked natural. In other series, some details of the scenes were overlooked which resulted in obvious discontinuity. I guess, the credit here goes to the director, Qu You Ning.

As to the musical scoring, like most dramas that I’ve watched, I love its opening theme “Say You Love Me” by Jason and Lara. My first rap to hear in Mandarin and it sounds great. It reminds me of the theme in the Japanese drama “Long Vacation” which also has this hip and funky musical scoring.

Anyhow, this is a “must see” since its sequel “They Kissed Again” is currently airing in Taiwan. I am also looking forward to watch this one on DVD.

* photo credit to AF

“Ai Qing He Yue”

I am finally done with the 20-episode of “Love Contract” (“Ai Qing He Yue” in Mandarin). Outwardly, Xiao Feng (Ariel Lin) is a stubborn tomboy and the captain of the Kendo Club at her college. In her group of friends, she is the leader with her demanding nature and abrupt ways. Inwardly, however, Xiao Feng is a girl scarred by her past and searching for what she wants most--love. Her friends, Ah Kai (Zhang Rui Jia), Xiao Bai (Lai Zhi Wei ), Mu Tou (Lin Yi Hong), Xin Lei (Zhong Xin Yu), and, Xiao Xiao (Yang Pei Ting) don't know about that part of her past but they are all loyal friends to her…not until Xiao Bai and Ah Kai leave the Kendo Club for the Swimming Team. Nonetheless, the two are immediately regretful when the captain of the Swim Team, Ah Ken (Mike He), turns out to be a captain as grueling as Xiao Feng. One night, Xiao Feng announces to her friends that she wants “love” the most so what Xiao Bai and Ah Kai did, they devised a prank called the “love contract.” Written in it is that they will find team members for the swimming team to recruit but Ah Ken must court Xiao Feng. So that’s where the story started.

Honestly, among the series that I watched this is what I like the least. First, because the leading female character here is fierce and the guy is docile like the Korean movie “My Sassy Girl.” I pity the guy in this kind of set-up so I’m not happy with it. Second, the girl who plays this fierce character happens to be Ariel Lin whom I find unpleasant. I am bothered by the way she looks…it must be the eyes…though I find her cute.

But what irked me most here is the part where the three male friends of Xiao Feng mistook her for a Filipino maid. Take note, there’s a nationality before the word “maid.” This is racial slur from our neighboring country. I dunno if the scriptwriter or anybody behind the production has a big grudge on Filipinos. Or maybe they are indirectly referring to Ariel who looks like a maid, hahah! But this part is unnecessary and can be deleted in the story, it’s not even crucial to the succeeding scenes. Actually, this is the second time where Taiwanese looked down on Filipinos. I read somewhere that Zheng Xue Er who played Ye Sha in “Meteor Garden 2” was called “fei yong,” something like a Filipino maid because she is dark skinned and they don‘t like her for Dao Ming Si. Gosh, that’s very insensitive. I know Chinese people would not be happy if we say they stink. So I hope this remarks be avoided in the future so as not to result to more misunderstandings. I love Taiwan and it’s people that’s why I am hurt when they associate Filipinos as domestic helpers. Yes, I know that many of our countrymen resort to this kind of job because this is the only way they know to escape from poverty. But this is more dignified than stealing or selling your body, right?! And not all Filipinos are household workers, there are a lot of Pinoy professionals in every corner of the world because they are the most preferred by foreign employers. We have seaman, doctors, nurses, engineers, teachers who are sought after and doing well in their profession. It’s not only because we can understand and speak English fluently but because we have the right attitude that cannot be equaled by any race. And I’m proud to be a Filipino and will always be proud of my heritage.

Going back, there’s a part that I find here very amusing and that is the ending. You know why, it has three endings, it seems you will choose the more appropriate conclusion of the story and that’s very funny.

I heard that others consider this as an “Art” series because they said it is character-driven as compared to the typical Taiwanese series that are story-driven. I think their reason for this is the part where Xiao Feng became comatose after the accident which evoked much acting on the part of Ah Ken. Honestly, when my cousin and I were watching this part, we were both crying. The scenes were so heavy to the point you will not be able to contain it.

Nevertheless, the only reason why I watched this drama is because of He Jun Xiang who for me is the most dashing Chinese actor so far. Even though he was still lean during that time, his eyes and lips are very promising. I will not get tired watching him and hope to see more of him in other stories.

Obviously, I will not recommend this series but if you are Xiao Mei’s fan, you may give it a try.

* photo credit to AF