Bolin Chen and Ivy Chen Teams Up Again for Campus Confidential

Third time’s the charm. Though it does not necessarily mean that the first and second were duds. On the contrary, Modern People was great. I was happy that Hong Guo ended up with Fei Fan (Hu Ge) but had she chosen Ling Lie (Bolin) it would still be a good ending for me. BBS: Silent Code also did pretty well at the box office. And on their third team-up, the two may actually have a happier ending.

Campus Confidential 愛情無全順 is about a campus legend. According to rumors, there is a mysterious lake in the campus where according to legends, if a couple meets by the lake they would be bound by a spell of love and will be destined for life. Liang Xiaoqi (Ivy Chen)is the envy of every girl and the fantasy of every guy on campus. She’s the campus “it” girl with a hot boyfriend Zhang Sheng (Jiang Kang zhe) She wants to refute the story after accidentally falling into the muddy lake straight into the campus nerd Wi Zhuan Xun (Bolin Chen). However, after the incident a series of unfortunate events follows which seems to be bringing them even closer to each other.

It may not be the most original concept but seeing Chen Bolin with pimples,warts and all is worth it. He absolutely looks the part! Plus the two of them together is just fun to watch. They have a certain dynamics that works for the camera. I’m definitely not gonna let this pass.

Trailer:

“Bel Ami” Fashionable Individual Character Posters

I could have included this in the gallery for my previous post here but I thought this merits another post altogether. There’s nothing dramatic about the posters nor are they the best I’ve seen. But for one, it is true to its theme. Hip, young, and current. I was not expecting an artsy poster because first of all this drama is considered to be a teen drama. Oh all right, a young adult drama if I may correct myself. The four main leads actually look like they are just having a casual photo shoot.

Jang Geun Suk in my book is one of the best 20 something’s I’ve seen in a suit. He can defnitely make a statement. The hair suits the description of the character and I think he got the physical essence of Dokgo Ma te. He may not be the most beautiful man per se, but he certainly exudes charm as exhibited in his previous work You’re Beautiful. I think the challenge for him is how to make this character different from that characterization.

IU looks as cute as a button with her short coif and head dress. But her yellow dress looks  too drab for me like she borrowed it from her older sister or her mother. The second outfit however is much better. I especially love the very colorful,printed pleated skirt. I need to get me some of those! The yellow sweats plus minimal accessory makes her innocent girlish personality pop out.

Han Chae Young , one word — “va-va-voom” or maybe that’s three. Those sexy serpentine sandals are so fierce she could give Tyra a run for her money. She definitely knows how to highlight her assets. Check out those gams! She’s not called Korea’s living Barbie for nothing.

But Lee Jang Woo, I can’t even begin to comprehend what he’s wearing.! Whoever convinced him to wear that fishnet should be fired and he better hire another stylist. Okay, that maybe just a tad cruel but his outfit is just too much for my eyes to handle. I don’t know if this was a photo shoot for a costume party of what. Or maybe he’s channeling the early 90’s. Please heavens forbid! Don’t let him go on with this fashion faux pas in the drama.

Beautiful Country with Ruby Lin and Yuan Hong Drops Official Trailer plus Poster

The first trailer is finally out! Was that fast or what!

 

My Thoughts:

It’s good to see Ruby Lin in something other than her soft feminine roles in most of her period dramas. I don’t really see her as great actress but she’s good in this one. But I also think that she has to toughen up a bit more to convincingly portray a cross-dressing, sword wielding girl. It’s a bit too much to compare her to the likes of Shu Qi or Zhang Zi Yi. However, it’s great to see the variation in her acting skill.

Two words, YUAN HONG. I’m trying not to overpraise him but forgive my bias. I am just a girl (all right I’ll stop there). He does brooding really well and when most people would rather overact, he on the other hand, underacts. I like it when he does that. With his eyes and mannerisms telling the story. This has got to be his best so far.

Ma Tian Yu. Where did the pretty boy go? What I see here is a MAN! And the older version of him with just a little bit of stash, is surprisingly so magnetic. I never thought he could do well as a rogue.

The backdrop plus the sad, soft music does justice to this series’ title — Beautiful Country.

 

Beautiful Country official poster  

 

The couple Liu Xiu and Li Hua in their matrimonial garbs. I’m guessing it’s for their second wedding. Or it could be the first (but I highly doubt that since they were pretty young and poor then) Or the third (when he’s already the emperor of  Han) They will be married thrice after all.

 

 

The Four 2 Drops Fashionably Stylish Cast Posters

Trapped — Liu Yi Fei, Deng Chao, Liu Yan and Jiang Yan.

I remember watching the first film adaptation of Wen Ruian‘s novel series The Four Great Constables 四大名捕 last year which was aptly called The Four. It starred Deng Chao (Cold Blood), Liu Yi Fei (Emotionless), Ronald Cheng (Life snatcher) and Collin Chou (Iron Hands) as the titular characters. I watched it just out of curiosity and afterwards I remember feeling like I got the short end of the stick. It held a lot of promise in the beginning but sort of dwindled somewhere in the middle and gave itself a final shove towards the end. It didn’t help that you can practically compare it to Marvel’s X-men complete with a mind reading, wheelchair wheeling mutant. It’s not all snoozefest though. I like the action sequences and the infusion of wuxia and fantasy but I thought that the movie lacked that which propels a movie towards a satisfying end.

Anyhow, I wasn’t expecting a sequel to come out this soon. The first movie was released just last year and it did okay in the box office both in Hongkong and in the mainland.  The Four 2  is in 3D so I expect better special effects. If the people behind this movie paid attention to what Di Renjie: Rise of the Sea Dragon has done, they would know that it relied heavily on 3D special effects and look where it’s at. It’s currently the highest-grossing film this year. and breaking records to boot!

The Four 2 (which should not be confused with the TV adaptation) still has most of the characters from the first movie including Divine Constabulary’s head Anthony Wong with some notably female additional cast members. Gordon Chan once again directs. According to press release, this version is more tangled, the chase more complicated and the suspense more intense and I suppose this story will also focus not only on the cases and characters’ past demons but on the love angle which was missing in the first movie.  It hits theaters on November 22.

Check out the gorgeous and fashionable photos of some of the cast in an emotion-themed style  posters. Can I just say that I love them!  If these posters are any indication of how good the movie is, then I’d say sign me up quick.

 

Ambiguity

Innocence

Desire

Loyalty

Decision

Chaos

Control

Escape

Lure