Of Swords and Parasols

Kdrama:

Hwayugi 
Laughter in Waikiki
Misty

anime:

Grancrest Senki 
Kinono Tabi (2017)
Mahou Tsukai no Yome 
Toji no Miko eps

US/Brtish/Canadian/TV:

Black Lightning 
Burden of Truth 
Colony
Murdoch Mysteries 
Requiem 

Full disclosure: I own almost every Poirot episode and movie starting David Suchet, and have seen every episode and movie two or more times, except for Curtains, which I've only seen once.
 
This is one of those movies that is a perfectly decent movie in and of itself, but is...not good in terms of being an adaptation of the source material.  The acting and production values and costuming can't really be questioned, but it...was not Poirot. Kenneth Branaugh is an excellent actor, but he's physically all wrong for Poirot.  Poirot is small and egg shaped.  You don't take him seriously until he opens his mouth to explain exactly how you are going to fail at your life because you tied your shoes wrong, and through no fault of his own, Kenneth Branaugh will never be considered small or unnoticable.  He has a "larger than life" air about him no matter what he does.

But really, Murder on the Orient Express, though one of the more famous and acclaimed Poirot stories, is very much not a standalone.  I mean, the plot works well as a standalone, but the character work for Poirot doesn't because because, while the final resolution of the mystery is effective any way you do it (unless you just do it terribly) what it means for Poirot himself isn't felt as much if you don't have a history with Poirot.

So while I get why they chose this as the first movie for a potential new Poirot franchise, I think it was also a bad choice for the story to choose to introduce a new Poirot.

Apparently they're doing Death on the Nile next, which should be interesting.  I grew up watching the Peter Unistov versions of that and Evil Under the Sun because my parents had them on VHS.  (But not any of the others. Don't know why.)

 165 x Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries



( here )

 Teaser trailer for Grand Prince, the year’s first sageuk.  Not much content, but they’re definitely going for a traditional sageuk feel, which is a relief after the bulk of the 2016 and 2017 sageuk offerings.  It’s going for the same premise of two princes in love with the same woman and a lot of political strife and drama surrounding that, and, well, I found both Moon Lovers and  The King in Love to be let downs despite strong beginnings (and actually pretty much just forget to watch the last few episodes of each, then decided it wasn’t worth it to finish after reading spoilers) and you couldn’t pay me to watch more of Seven Day Queen than I did.

 

But it’s by the writer of Maids, and I’ve heard good things about most of the PD’s other works, though Hometown Legends is the only thing from his credits that I’ve actually watched (a few others are on my list of things to check out though), I thought Jin Se Yeon was excellent in The Flower in Prison, liked Joo sang Wook in Queen Seon Deok and The Huntresses, and Kim Mi Kyung is around, and she can do no wrong.  Quite frankly, there is a bit of a “beggars can’t be choosers” going on with sageuks right now as well.  I know of 3 sageuks due out sometime this year, but none even have casting rumors yet, and Lee Young Ae’s Occupation Era spy drama and the pre-Occupation Mr. Sunshine show aren’t due out until I think around summertime.

My favorite Chinese and Korean dramas that I completed in 2017.  Some of these came out before 2017 and some started in 2016 and finished in 2017.  Qualifying criteria was "did I watch the whole thing and finish it this year?"
In no particular order:



 (+) = kdrama
(*) = cdrama

Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People (+)
Circle (+)
Nirvana in Fire (*)
Tree With Deep Roots (+)
Avengers Social Club (+)
Lost Love in Times (*)
The Package (+)
Girls Generation 1979 (+)



Honorable mentions (aka, dramas that probably would have been up there if it weren't for network shenanigans and meddling):

Perfect Wife (+)
Saimdang: Light's Diary (+)


This is not a full list of dramas I completed and enjoyed (much less of dramas I started and dropped) this year, just the ones that left the strongest positive impression.

anime:

Kino no Tabi
MahoTsukai no Yome

kdrama*:

Black Knight
Doubtful Victory
I’m Not A Robot
Money Flower

cdrama*:

Nirvana in Fire 2: The Wind Blows in Changlin
Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy

US/Canadian TV:

Frankie Drake Mysteries
The Gifted
The Librarians
Madam Secretary
The Mayor
Murdoch Mysteries

(And I think everything but The Librarians is going on hiatus after this week, or did and I haven't realized it yet.)

*=Resuming Iron Empress and Rakshasa Street if I manage to get current with airing shows.

 Ear verdict: Infection is gone, but it was caused by too much fluid in my ear from drainage, which is still there and could cause another infection, so I got a shot and a lot of pills to take for the next few days.

 

Better than a neverending infection, I guess.