Taiwan Drama: Down With Love 2010

I am currently watching Down With Love starring Jerry Yan (of Meteor Garden) and Ella Chen (of the female band S.H.E.). This is Jerry Yan's best idol drama since Meteor Garden. Needless to say, Jerry provides the eye-candy while Ella Chen lends the cutest comic relief in the series.

Down With Love is yet another Cinderella story - leveled up to the max, with Ella Chen playing Yang Guo, a poor, hardworking, tomboyish girl with the most emphatic facial expressions, and Jerry Yan as Xiang Yu Ping, the cold-hearted, cynical divorce lawyer who doesn't trust girls.

I like the themes of the series which include some child psychology, same-sex issues, and tough love on errant parents (so far) - which is a refreshing change from the "magical thinking" mechanisms usual for Asian TV series. Of course, as it is, Down With Love, with the central Cinderella motif is magical thinking in itself, but I highly appreciate how the writers peppered the fairytale storyline with pressing issues of the day (ahem, here I am again defending my beloved Jerry Yan dramas).

I thought I wouldn't like Ella Chen as Jerry Yan's leading lady. Being used to the likes of Janine Chang and Barbie Hsu, willowy and dreamy, Ella Chen is a refreshing difference. I like how natural her beauty is, with the apple hairdo only some fashion mavericks would dare to sport. She has this cute stray cowlick that makes her look anime perfect! What makes her stand out is her acting abilities - slapstick but not awkward, downright funny, you can't help but love her! She shifts from silly facial expressions to a more serious appearance with natural grace. Ella Chen's Yang Guo grew on me after 2 segments, I could actually empathize with her character.

If you're looking for a good laugh and a live-action-anime-style series, Down With Love is it!!

Pretty in Pink: The Electric Sound of the '80's

I'm still not over the magic of Pretty in Pink. Here are some youtube videos of Psychedelic Furs' "Pretty in Pink" and Suzanne Vega's "Left of Center".

The first song was reportedly John Hughes inspiration for the movie. He wrote the script of the movie for Molly Ringwald. It couldn't have been played better by any other actress. Her acting is fluid, charming and very natural.

The second song, "Left of Center", was written for the movie by Suzanne Vega ("Luka"). The sound is very contemporary, as one viewer commented, and I couldn't agree more.

I couldn't find a youtube video of "Wouldn't It be Good?" performed by Danny Hutton Hitters. I loved how that song segued the scene from Andie's school to the street leading to the record store where she worked.

Here's the amazon.com music sample. Click here to listen.

Hope fans of Pretty in Pink and new recruits will enjoy these videos.

From RetroVault2's youtube channel:



From SuzanneVegaVEVO's youtube channel:



The '80's rooooock!!!

What Should I Do? Jisun

I gave up my lunchbreak nap to listen to this song and look for What Should I Do? by Jisun - the English translation.

Here are youtube clips and the heart wrenching lyrics of the song.

Spoiler/comparison: This is approximates to Broken Vow of Meteor Garden. Both songs are a trip to a lonely path in heartbreak meadow! Enjoy!!!

You ask me how my day was as if it is same everyday
I say I’m okay but you really don’t know how I feel
Do you think I’ll be okay without you?
Are you okay without me?
The world without you is so hard that I blame myself for still breathing

What should I do? Even now, I live each painful days because of your words
Tell me if this is a bad thing to do
Are you living each day painfully like I am?
You and me

Are we too late? Do we not have a chance?
I still think about you and you might know this
Finally is this it? Are we going to end like this? Is it okay with you?
I don’t think I can do it. The love I find with you, I won’t find it anywhere even if I die

What should I do? If it isn’t you no one else can hold my heart
Please hold me. And you know that even though the whole world tries to
No one can erase your memories. So please hold me

What should I do? Even now, I live each painful days because of your words
Tell me if this is a bad thing to do
Are you living each day painfully like I am?
You and me

Is it too late? Do we not have a chance?
But me, I still think about you, and you might not know.

http://redgeofsanity.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/what-should-i-do-by-jisun-ost-boys-before-flowers/