A Great Way to Care 2

Cast: Alex Fong, Tavia Yeung, Yoyo Mung, Ben Wong, Edwin Siu,

Plot: A  crime investigation series, focusing on psychiatrists solving the cases instead of police, forensics or lawyers.

Review:

I prefer the original.  First thing I notice is they used back a lot of the same people- which is sort of  nice, adds to a sense of continuity though it’s not related to the first at all. Many themes are rather similar like the religious cult, the schizophrenic , and the vigilante. But to be fair, what else is there…lol…..?  

The original focus more on psychology, the sequel on crime  investigation. The first series had Alex Fong predicting the criminal’s next move or trying to elicit the truth from a suspect via psychological analysis. Here, Alex assist  the police solve cases by noticing clues that others have missed. In most cases, it was actually quite apparent that the criminal wasn’t a psycho.

Eunuch:Power Chan

“The Confidant”

And of course talking about break-through roles, there’s Power Chan…. again at his best.  
From being a great bully & eventually being friends with the group, he is probably the most loyal out of that group in the end. Power Chan portrays his character in such a fun & light-hearted way – such a pleasure to watch. I Love it.

Overall, this was a good show.  The major problem is the leading characters of Empress Dowager Cixi  and Li Lianying has been too drastically changed from the conventional ones we know. I do understand the need to surprise & shock but this didn’t do it well. It’s just not entertaining to see a scary cat Li Lianying or a subdued Cixi. It’ll be fun to see Wayne play an evil Li Lianying. Same goes with Michelle .

The surprise comes from Raymond Cho’s & Power Chan’s portrayal of the 2 eunuchs. That really rise the bar for the whole show.

Eunuchs: Raymond Cho

“The Confidant”

For Raymond Cho, I believe this is his ‘break-through” role.
He did it so well.
He switched from being “bad’ to good to being loyal to the ‘brotherhood’ with ease & finesse.
He totally stole the show from Wayne, what a great job !
  
 

The Eunuch :Wayne & Raymond Wong

“The Confidant”

Wayne Lai’s portrayal of  Li Lianying was refreshing and different from his classic roles, but the script failed him.
In the beginning, he is a cowardly, small-time eunuch. 
One would expect him to change but no!!!!!!!!! his self- righteousness, drags on & on & it gets tedious just watching him.
This role- certainly not well written. It’s very bland & lacks excitement compared to Raymond Cho’s or Power chan’s character.

I’ve never been a fan of Raymond Wong.
I never like the way he looks as well- he looks so tense & uncomfortable -he seem to be from another era to me….lol….. The way his character falls in love with the princess just don’t feel right, as in -a person like that should know he shouldn’t have done that. Everything about his character seem off , from going from super good to evil (do you call that evil even?). Quite annoying on the whole, & so much of him…..sigh….

“The Confidant” :The Royal Family

Michelle Yim lacks a presence because of her small frame. Plus we see too much of her compassionate side, everything lacks power & authority. The conventional Cixi is nowhere to be seen, it’s a BIG disappointment. It just don’t seem authentic to have a “nice” Cixi. I don’t understand how she can tolerate being “blackmail” by Prince Gong, regarding the secret imperial edict that could order her to be executed- & do nothing about it! 

In comparison Maggie Siu is more interesting going from nice to evil to delusional. She’s pretty good at it.

Aimee Chan was fine in those cute scenes but I feel there’s too much of her without moving the story forward. However I don’t understand why people have an issue with her accent which I thought is fine! 

Natalie Tong has too little scene time, I feel they should have expand her story line instead of that of Aimee’s. 

Selena Li, appear in the first five episodes, surprised me. She never looked better- it really makes me sit up & notice- well done.

Oscar Leung portraying a teenage emperor did great. He looks the part too.

 KK Cheung as usual never disappoint as  Prince Gong. Unfortunately the focus is not on him, so our lose.

 

“The Confidant”

Cast: 

Wayne Lai as Li Lianying

 Michelle Yim as Empress Dowager Cixi

 Maggie Siu as Empress Dowager Ci’an

 Oscar Leung/Pako Au as Tongzhi Emperor

 KK Cheung as Prince Gong

 Raymond Wong as Yiu Sheung-hei

 Power Chan as Pang Sam Shun

 Raymond Cho as An Dehai

 Edwin Siu as Ling Tim Sau

 Nancy Wu as Sing Yung

 Aimee Chan as Princess Wo-shek 

Plot

You wont find this in your history books- this is solely TVB version of  what happened &

how Empress Dowager Cixi and Li Lianying come to rule over China. Nothing is familiar which makes this rather interesting. 

Review

 

The scenery was beautiful.  They went to Hengdian to film in the replica Forbidden City.  But what I don’t understand is why the formal meetings with all the officials & emperor is being held in a tiny crampy room? A little odd there. But in this way, they actually show us how Empress Dowager was the one who actually decides on things, sitting behind the young emperor, hidden by the curtain. Thought that was an interesting perspective.

In terms of plot, The Confidant is different from other palace dramas because it focuses on the life of being a eunuch, rather than political struggles or concubines fighting for the emperor’s affections. The beginning offers a glimpse of how life was for the different levels of  eunuch. The ambitious ones like Edwin Siu, peaceful ones like Wayne Lai, powerful ones like Raymond Cho & bullies like Power Chan.

The love story between Raymond Wong & Aimee Chan the princess, was I thought a waste of time.......... Didn’t like it one bit.......... draggy. Wayne and Nancy’s story was even worse because he can’t make up his mind on being with her, which really bugs me!

Liza Wang

In recent years, Liza Wang has dap with more comedies & it’s working. We get to see the other side of her & it’s rewarding as fans love it. Her role is well written, she played a multi-faceted , ‘flawed’ character-a celebrity at the centre of the universe, with the world revolving round her.

She gave a good performance. She’s mean, sad & mostly funny . It’s just so fun watching her make a fool of herself-priceless!

Koo Ming Wah as So Kei

Before this, noone knows his name. This is the role of a life time for him. We see him in numerous supporting roles before  but this is the one. The character So Kei is fun to play & the “look” is perfect. Love the wardrobe!!!!

Love the way he switch from playing a very fun So kei & sometimes he gets all serious. He did it well & it’s fun to watch. Mandy should learn from him. It’s like he gives it all,  so it makes it believable. Well done!

Eliza Sam as Hannah

She clearly has the “IT” factor. She’s - pretty, VERY CUTE & my whole family loves her  instantly ! That’s the power of charisma!!! Her look in the show suits her perfectly, pony tail- excellent, cute!

Acting – as this is only her second show I think, I thought she did it well. She dare to express herself without going overboard. She’s funny & cute at the same time. I see her gaining lots of fans & having a great career after this!

Chin Kar Lok as Long

It’s always fun to watch him, as we don’t see much of him in series. They always give him roles which almost seem tailor made for him &  in this case it’s the same.  His portrayal of Ka Long is pretty good- spot on. No complains there.

 I like the fact that most of the time he remain sort of silent when the MIL & his own mother lose their temper with him due to all kinds of circumstances- good acting there.   I feel the character of Long is very well written, like Vincent he’s trapped in various situations & he has to balance them gently. His Mother-in-law ,his child, his own mother & now his new growing feelings for a much younger girl.

Him Law as Vincent

He looks so bright in this show, very handsome. Just don’t like the clothes, a little tight. His character is actually quite well written, he is trapped in between everything:  A controlling mum who has lost her daughter, & now only has him, so he made up for it by  giving way to her.  On the whole I find his acting  to be ok.

 First saw him a few yrs back in an old show with Bobby Au yong (cant remember the title) he played a student, even then he stands out. He has that “IT” thing going for him, that’s most important isn’t it? The bad thing is  for his co-stars, not easy to pair up with him, as we can see, Mandy just cant measure up.

Love all his romantic “actions” it’s funny in a way, & super romantic, any girl will be pleased by what he does. He played it well, it's believable. The only problem is the casting of his love interest. Mandy is just not right. I just cant see why a guy like him would do so many things for someone like her.

Mandy Wong as Hei

OK I’ll admit I’m not a fan, probably because she’s not exciting as an actress.  It’s clear she’s a hard worker & probably even nice but some people are just not that versatile . I just cant connect with her. 

I find she cant play this romantic role. Especially when the love interest is Him Law, the bar is raised further as he’s so good looking & cute.  Her character Hei must have something extraordinary to be able to convince viewers to accept that this talented , rich, handsome guy will fall for her. But we don’t see that, her HEi is so ordinary & SUPER annoying . Maybe it’s not totally her fault as the writers try to create a couple that’s poles apart- BUT it’s not possible if the female lead has not enough charisma to play such a role.  It’ll take someone who will catch your attention instantly someone like Eliza sum. But Definitely not Mandy. Wrong casting.

I feel she holds back too much- there's no spontaneity in her acting. To me she looks old, even her voice sounds old. Sorry fans!

The couples: Eliza / Chin Kar lok

I prefer the  love story between  Hannah (Eliza ) and Ka Long Chin Kar Lok) . It’s a better story, very heart felt, a man burden with sadness & guilt over the loss of his wife.  He felt guilty for ‘causing’ his mother in law to lose her only daughter,  his son to lose his mother & his own mother for having to give up the custody of her grand son. He suffered in silence until he met a super cute younger girl Hannah. She’s sensitive & saw through his sufferings, his talents, pain & she fell desperately for him. She practically pursue him non-stop , & it’s really fun to watch because of the charisma of Eliza. From a person who has almost given up on a life of happiness, he saw glimpses of it as the story progresses we see him very slowly realise he can & could love again.
 

By the way Chin Kar Lok is getting married to Angela Tong & they are expection a baby..... all the best!!!!

The couples: HimLaw / Mandy

Though the story is hugely entertaining a large part of it don’t quite make sense.  Like the love between Yi Hei (Mandy)  & Vincent (Him Law) . Here we have a very sophisticated , handsome, talented guy educated from abroad working as a successful art director & he falls for someone like Hei- she cant even read or write,  no fashion sense & she could be rude too! It’s just not believable.

One could understand if she’s like super beautiful, but she’s not.  Of course we could argue that she’s a good person- yes- but hello look at the guy, he’s like a prince.  And she kept refusing his advances why would someone like him even try or kept on pursing? Truth is Vincent’s “chauvinistic attempts & advances” were really cute & made even my heart skip a few beats. ....lol......Rich , handsome nice  guy treat me this way – I’ll follow him to the ends of the world!!!!!  Any girl being pursue by a guy in this fashion will surely buckle! But not Hei, she kept refusing him which is the most annoying part of the show!!!!. 

The worst part is the actors themselves are not even compatible! Mandy is just not right for romantic roles at least not now….  The pairing is just not convincing enough. It’s a good role & she’s not right for it! What a waste!

Diva in Distress...overall comment

I  highly recommend this series, as I’m enjoying it so far. I’m slightly half way through now. It’s probably the best show from TVB,  in recent history. After 3 Kingdoms, this is a breath of fresh air. This is a drama with abit of everything:

1. rivalry between 2 divas (thus the title) through 30 odd years played by  vetern stars Liza Wang and Gigi Wong thus anchoring the series

2. family drama with the usual pain & heartache

3. love : a few couples

4. with just the right amount of  comedy thrown in

Certain things stands out for me, new comer Eliza Sam is exciting to watch, she’s a natural & super cute. In recent years with the  exception of Myolie, not many other female stars has wow me. Eliza certainly has that “it” factor. I’m sure we’ll see lots of her soon.

I enjoy Vincent’s character & the way he went after the one he loves it’s exciting & very fun to watch.

Then we have Characters like” So kei” played by  Koo Ming Wah – it’s a breakout role for him & he played it well. The clothes he wore stole the show sometimes …lol…. The only miscast is Mandy Wong will elaborate later…..

Divas In Distress

Sheung Ying Hung (Liza Wang) and Miu Sing Ho (Gigi Wong) were vetern actresses. Both were taught by the same teacher  Fung Hun Man (Chung King-fai ) since young.  Miu Sing Ho shot to fame first but after an accident, Sheung Ying Hung took over the No 1 place. This ‘spoiled’ their relationship & they have been fighting for 30 years. Hung remain a star till the present day. Ho got married to a contractor, lost all the initial glamour & is now a total opposite to  Hung

Has fate have it, Ho’s son Long (Chin Kar Lok) fell in love & married  Hung’s daughter, Chak Ding-yam, She died 7 yrs ago , due to cardiovascular disease while giving birth to their baby son, Michel. Hung who was against this r/s from the start due to the difference in social status was devastated. Long felt sorry for his MIL so gave up the custody of his son to Hung. Hung continue to make life difficult for Long by restricting his access to Michel , thus making the r/s between she & Ho worse!

Long is a talented reporter working in a TV station. At the start of the story a wealthy girl Hannah (Eliza Sam) join the station working alongside Long. She fell for Long.

Meanwhile, Hung’s son Vincent (Him Law), groomed from young to be a gentleman  falls in love with Ho’s niece Kwai Yi Hei (Mandy Wong)-a renovation worker working with Ho’s husband. Hung was horrified when she found out that history is repeating itself. She went all out to sabotage the r/s.