I know that I haven't been blogging here since last year. The blog was originally created so that can post reviews of dramas I have watched but I haven't "watched" any drama all the way through to actually give a fair review. I've been focusing on school because I'm not doing as well as I have hoped in my Economic courses. I should blog more often though since I need to improve my writing skills before I have to take my upper division writing class.
On another note, one of the many blogs I am following is doing a giveaway. There are a total of 5 giveaways. It's very easy to enter. I've actually never seen a blog doing a giveaway using this raffle generator so it's pretty cool. Check it out and enter yourself (:
http://www.ohhellofriendblog.com/
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Review: Journey to the West (2010) 西游记
I started watching this series about two months ago or so when it was aired on a Vietnamese channel. I originally saw the first few episodes on Viki but after the 6th episodes, all the links were broken. Fortunately, chnent2009 from Viki fixed those links at the end of last month if anyone is interesting in watching this version of Journey to the West. I personally still enjoy the 1986 version better in terms of plot wise. The computer effects are definitely more advanced compared to the '86 version but that is understandable since CGI was still a fairly new application back then.
While the 2010 version has a plot line that flows from one episode to another as oppose to the 1986 version, the depictions of the characters annoyed me. I don't think I have ever been as irritated with Zhu Bajie character in any of the other versions as I was with him in this one (I have watched the 1986, 1996, and the 2002 version titled--Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra 齊天大聖孫悟空). The character development of Bajie wasn't written terribly because I felt as though his character didn't undergone any changes as compared to Wukong or Wujing. I hated Bajie constant complaints and his reaction to immediate troubles was always to divide the luggage and give up on the journey. I heard him talked more than I saw him fight. The scriptwriter could have tone down this flaw personality of Bajie towards the end but they didn't (and if they did, they didn't tone it down enough!).
One aspect that drove me up the wall with the 1986 version which I have now come to term with is that multiple actors played Tang Sanzang. I'm glad that so far only the '86 version has that problem because I'm not a big fan of multiple actors playing one role unless there was a point to it in the story. Victor Chen as Tang Sanzang in the 2010 version is okay. I don't take much fondness to his character either. What's with the wide eyes expression?! That expression made it seem like he was trying to gasp for air or something.
And I believe the reason I love the 1986 version more is because I love Sun Wukong, and his depiction by Fei Zhenxiang was alright here. He got better as the series goes on. He really was the only reason I decided to finish this series. Overall, I wouldn't say this series is terrible because I like some of the things they did with it such as those moments when the protagonists reflected on the event that just happened and make an insight about life. I also like the interaction between Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing as a whole. I rate this series above the 1996 and 2002 version but below the 1986 version. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to watch the 2011 version because I can't find it with English Sub or Cantonese/Vietnamese-Dubbed but that version looks really interesting and different!
While the 2010 version has a plot line that flows from one episode to another as oppose to the 1986 version, the depictions of the characters annoyed me. I don't think I have ever been as irritated with Zhu Bajie character in any of the other versions as I was with him in this one (I have watched the 1986, 1996, and the 2002 version titled--Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra 齊天大聖孫悟空). The character development of Bajie wasn't written terribly because I felt as though his character didn't undergone any changes as compared to Wukong or Wujing. I hated Bajie constant complaints and his reaction to immediate troubles was always to divide the luggage and give up on the journey. I heard him talked more than I saw him fight. The scriptwriter could have tone down this flaw personality of Bajie towards the end but they didn't (and if they did, they didn't tone it down enough!).
One aspect that drove me up the wall with the 1986 version which I have now come to term with is that multiple actors played Tang Sanzang. I'm glad that so far only the '86 version has that problem because I'm not a big fan of multiple actors playing one role unless there was a point to it in the story. Victor Chen as Tang Sanzang in the 2010 version is okay. I don't take much fondness to his character either. What's with the wide eyes expression?! That expression made it seem like he was trying to gasp for air or something.
And I believe the reason I love the 1986 version more is because I love Sun Wukong, and his depiction by Fei Zhenxiang was alright here. He got better as the series goes on. He really was the only reason I decided to finish this series. Overall, I wouldn't say this series is terrible because I like some of the things they did with it such as those moments when the protagonists reflected on the event that just happened and make an insight about life. I also like the interaction between Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing as a whole. I rate this series above the 1996 and 2002 version but below the 1986 version. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to watch the 2011 version because I can't find it with English Sub or Cantonese/Vietnamese-Dubbed but that version looks really interesting and different!
Monday, September 12, 2011
To A New Beginning
I've been wanting to start a new blog for awhile now but I supposed I never had the determination to actually start it until today. It's a little disappointing to read blogs of friends and strangers and realized that my writing seems to be declining instead of improving. Hopefully I can look back months later and find that my writing has improved.
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