meganbmoore (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
meganbmoore) wrote2007-11-08 02:03 am
meganbmoore) wrote2007-11-08 02:03 am
Entry tags:
cdrama: Twin of Brothers eps 1-10
ToB is my shiny new wuxia. While not as amazing as the last few wuxia I've seen, it does the trick. It's about two orphans, Kau Chung(Raymond Lam) and Chi Ling(Ron Ng) who are travelling to meet a kung fu expert they're told can fix Chi Ling's eyesight when they meet, in rapid fire succesion, two very important heroines. The first, Sau Ling(Tavia Yeung) is beautiful, clever, and elegant and very involved in the political affairs of kung fu. Kau Chung falls for her, but anyone remotely used to shipping and/or wuxia can tell he's destined to end up with Sau Ling's cute friend, Yuk Chi(Li Qian) who he's always arguing with. The second is Fu Guan Chek(Christine Ng) a Korean swordswoman, who they kinda-accidentally-but maybe-not-really steal a magic kung fu vest from(I knew I was in for a treat 10 minutes in, when they said the vest had kung fu abilities) and then try to escape, only to end up her disciples/foster sons when she realizes they're the only ones who can activate the vest.
They also meet Wan Wan(Nancy Wu) a young martial artist whose music hypnotizes people and gives them visions. She's a bad girl with a good heart who wants the kung fu vest and inexplicably wants Chi Ling. They also meet Fei Huan(Leila Tong) a rather sanctimonious woman from a sect rival to Wan Wan's. Chi Ling inexplicably prefers her to Wan Wan. it should be noted that every review I've read basically said Chi Ling and Fei Huan were boring and he should have chosen Wan Wan. There's also Derek Kwok. I don't know his character's name, but he plays this gloriously ambiguous(on all possible levels, I suspect) guy who challenges everyone who comes into his territory to a duel. I'd try to go into more detail about him, but I'll put it in the most succinct manner I can: He's a wuxia hero who kicks butt with a fan as his weapon of choice. If you've seen wuxia, you know they are the best. I'm sure he'll be evil or something at the end, but I don't care.
The only major drawback is this: Ron Ng cannot act. I don't mean he's a bad actor. I mean the doesn't act. He stands there, recites lines, and occasionally makes facial expressions. I have to force myself to focus in any scene where he's more than another body. Fortunately, Raymond and Nancy can take up the slack for him, but Leila? Nuh uh. I think Leila Tong is an actress who mostly complements her costars instead of really standing on her own legs. I loved her with Tae in Strange Tales of Liao Zhai, but Tae is also an extremely active, engaging(if sometimes annoying due to his natural dorkishness and uncontrollable eyebrows) actor and I have a hard time seeing anyone playing off him being bland. But Ron? Ron and Leila put me to sleep in War and Destiny, and I'm already FF-ingtheir scenes here(seriously...why the two bland goody-two-shoes? Chi Ling actually has some life and pertsonality when he's around Wan Wan...it would be so much better.) But hey, it just makes the show go by faster so I can watch the fun stuff.
Aside from Derek Kwok and Nancy Wu's fan fight(only way to describe it...no other way...it was awe inspiring) the most amazing thing so far is one of the main bad guy's love for/obsession with Guan Chek. Every time they fought, he'd manage to cut off an accessory and would smell it. It should have been creepy but was oddly charming. Sadly she died in ep 4(which sucked because she was my favorite) ordering him to not save her when she fell off a cliff in their fight. They were stranded together on an island, and when his troops found them, she didn't want to be taken prisoner so she forced him to fight her.) It was very impresive and I was sad, BUT she had a twin sister, Guan Yu, who has come to China to get revenge. I am promised that the enemy general falls for her, too, and spends the series simultaneously trying to win her over and stay alive. I suspect this will be my favorite part.
The only thing I really ship right now(Kau Chung/Yuk Chi hasn't really started yet, nor has Guan Yu/enemy general) is Sau Ling's maid and a man who betrays his leader because he tried to take her, Sau Ling and Yuk Chi hostage during a truce meeting. They are a small part, but very obligingly fulfill wuxia shippy requirements, like dramatic rescues and then ordering her to flee while he holds pursuers off, only to have her stay(in hiding) in case he needs her. I am easily pleased by such things.
Honestly though, I keep getting sidetracked by how amazingly pretty Tavia, Nancy and Christine are. Speaking of which...there's no way in *hem* that Christine Ng is old enough to be Ray and Ron's mother figure. She's...what...maybe 10 years older than them? A motherly older sister, sure, but not someone they'd call Mom(which they do...and the relationship once she starts training them is very charming and sweet, but she's just not old enough for me to think of her as a mother figure to two grown men...it's easier now that she's playing their aunt, though.)
Also, those boys SERIOUSLY need to reconsider their parental figures. Ok, mother figure was a nice, awesome woman, but she devoted a fair chunk of time to hunting them down and had no qualms about killing them at first. But father figure? He's the one who tried to take the girls hostage, then captured them(they went back to save Yuk Chi, who wasn't able to escape at the time.) He likes to kick their butts and then tell them what they did wrong, promises to let them go if they call him dad, and gives them fatherly advice even while talking about how he'll kill them. It's actually rather fascinating. So, Mom: spy, tries to kill them at first. Dad: bad guy, tries to kill them a lot. Aunt: spy impersonating a Japanese princess. Has yet to try to kill them, but it could happen yet.
I leave you with the Derek and Nancy fan fight scene. I am convinced drugs were involved in its conception.
They also meet Wan Wan(Nancy Wu) a young martial artist whose music hypnotizes people and gives them visions. She's a bad girl with a good heart who wants the kung fu vest and inexplicably wants Chi Ling. They also meet Fei Huan(Leila Tong) a rather sanctimonious woman from a sect rival to Wan Wan's. Chi Ling inexplicably prefers her to Wan Wan. it should be noted that every review I've read basically said Chi Ling and Fei Huan were boring and he should have chosen Wan Wan. There's also Derek Kwok. I don't know his character's name, but he plays this gloriously ambiguous(on all possible levels, I suspect) guy who challenges everyone who comes into his territory to a duel. I'd try to go into more detail about him, but I'll put it in the most succinct manner I can: He's a wuxia hero who kicks butt with a fan as his weapon of choice. If you've seen wuxia, you know they are the best. I'm sure he'll be evil or something at the end, but I don't care.
The only major drawback is this: Ron Ng cannot act. I don't mean he's a bad actor. I mean the doesn't act. He stands there, recites lines, and occasionally makes facial expressions. I have to force myself to focus in any scene where he's more than another body. Fortunately, Raymond and Nancy can take up the slack for him, but Leila? Nuh uh. I think Leila Tong is an actress who mostly complements her costars instead of really standing on her own legs. I loved her with Tae in Strange Tales of Liao Zhai, but Tae is also an extremely active, engaging(if sometimes annoying due to his natural dorkishness and uncontrollable eyebrows) actor and I have a hard time seeing anyone playing off him being bland. But Ron? Ron and Leila put me to sleep in War and Destiny, and I'm already FF-ingtheir scenes here(seriously...why the two bland goody-two-shoes? Chi Ling actually has some life and pertsonality when he's around Wan Wan...it would be so much better.) But hey, it just makes the show go by faster so I can watch the fun stuff.
Aside from Derek Kwok and Nancy Wu's fan fight(only way to describe it...no other way...it was awe inspiring) the most amazing thing so far is one of the main bad guy's love for/obsession with Guan Chek. Every time they fought, he'd manage to cut off an accessory and would smell it. It should have been creepy but was oddly charming. Sadly she died in ep 4(which sucked because she was my favorite) ordering him to not save her when she fell off a cliff in their fight. They were stranded together on an island, and when his troops found them, she didn't want to be taken prisoner so she forced him to fight her.) It was very impresive and I was sad, BUT she had a twin sister, Guan Yu, who has come to China to get revenge. I am promised that the enemy general falls for her, too, and spends the series simultaneously trying to win her over and stay alive. I suspect this will be my favorite part.
The only thing I really ship right now(Kau Chung/Yuk Chi hasn't really started yet, nor has Guan Yu/enemy general) is Sau Ling's maid and a man who betrays his leader because he tried to take her, Sau Ling and Yuk Chi hostage during a truce meeting. They are a small part, but very obligingly fulfill wuxia shippy requirements, like dramatic rescues and then ordering her to flee while he holds pursuers off, only to have her stay(in hiding) in case he needs her. I am easily pleased by such things.
Honestly though, I keep getting sidetracked by how amazingly pretty Tavia, Nancy and Christine are. Speaking of which...there's no way in *hem* that Christine Ng is old enough to be Ray and Ron's mother figure. She's...what...maybe 10 years older than them? A motherly older sister, sure, but not someone they'd call Mom(which they do...and the relationship once she starts training them is very charming and sweet, but she's just not old enough for me to think of her as a mother figure to two grown men...it's easier now that she's playing their aunt, though.)
Also, those boys SERIOUSLY need to reconsider their parental figures. Ok, mother figure was a nice, awesome woman, but she devoted a fair chunk of time to hunting them down and had no qualms about killing them at first. But father figure? He's the one who tried to take the girls hostage, then captured them(they went back to save Yuk Chi, who wasn't able to escape at the time.) He likes to kick their butts and then tell them what they did wrong, promises to let them go if they call him dad, and gives them fatherly advice even while talking about how he'll kill them. It's actually rather fascinating. So, Mom: spy, tries to kill them at first. Dad: bad guy, tries to kill them a lot. Aunt: spy impersonating a Japanese princess. Has yet to try to kill them, but it could happen yet.
I leave you with the Derek and Nancy fan fight scene. I am convinced drugs were involved in its conception.