First Impressions: Divorce Lawyers (Chinese Drama)

After an extremely hectic 3 months, I'm gradually getting back into my drama and variety show game in terms of both watching and blogging. I'll be updating in the next week with some quick thoughts on some shows I've recently picked up (Divorce Lawyers in this post, Orange Marmalade, The Girl Who Sees Smells, Warm & Cozy) and some closing thoughts on Healer and Roommate.

If there ever was a pop culture oxymoron, here it is: Divorce Lawyers is a good mainland Chinese romantic comedy. (Not to be confused with the Korean drama, Divorce Lawyers in Love, which I have never watched and haven't heard about much either, but as far as I can tell, the two are not related.) I know! It's crazy! But it's true! And not only is it a good drama, it's a very good drama. I first chanced on this show on my recent trip back to China. Because there's nothing for me do at my grandparents' house, my mom and I often kick back to whatever we can find on TV, which are extremely rare moments, so I treasure times like this even when there's nothing but insipid war dramas on TV. But this time, we happened to find a show - this show - that was actually really funny, endearing, and enjoyed by both my mom and I.

2014 Year End Review of Dramas

Better late than never (at least relatively in time for Lunar New Year??) - here's a mess of thoughts on a smattering of dramas that I enjoyed and kept me company through some of my hardest times in 2014.  (Just to clarify, I'm only talking about dramas that I haven't covered in other posts. So, other dramas that would've made the cut are Healer, Misaeng, and I'm So Smart.)

Healer: Mid-Series Thoughts

Alas. This post has been a long time coming. I only hope I can recall all my thoughts and do them and this amazing drama justice.

(Note: These are my thoughts - no summary, sorry - on episodes 1-14, so definitely spoilers ahead.)

There are those dramas that speak to your mind - on the intellectual level, like the recently finished Pinocchio starring Park Shin-hye and Lee Jong-suk. Then there are those that get your heart - about those basic human wants and emotions we've all felt at some point. This is the crux of Healer, and I think what is drawing such an explosive online attention. Because let's face it, at the end of the day - heart >>> head. Put that in a world with intrigue, scandal, and high stakes, and it's easy to see why it's such a captivating watch.

Snowpiercer: An action-packed allegory of social class systems

I recently re-watched Snowpiercer with my boyfriend and former roommate the other night on Hulu Plus, and I was once again struck by how director Bong Joon-ho made his interpretation of the French comic book Le Transperceneige both immensely entertaining in a mainstream way as well as thought-provoking. Snowpiercer was out on limited-release this summer due to conflicts between the director and the distribution company (supposedly, the director wanted to keep an extra 20 minutes that the distributor wanted to lop off), but don't be fooled by its relative obscurity in the U.S. - it's got an all-star cast. An almost unrecognizable Chris Evans stars as revolutionary leader, Curtis, who plans a rebellion to take control the perpetual-motion engine of the train hurtling across the frozen Earth holding the last of humanity after a climate experiment gone wrong. Along the way, he picks up allies such as Tanya (Octavia Spencer), Namgoong Minsoo (Kang-ho Song), and Yona (Ah-sung Ko) to fight against the mysterious train conductor/inventor Wilford (Ed Harris) and his cronies.

Winter Fashion Trends: Plaid & Checkered Wool Jackets

FIRST, A RANT
Ah, I had a nice 3 day weekend...and I spent TOO MUCH time online shopping and pinterest-ing. I've also thought a lot about how I want to do future fashion posts on this blog. I started off wanting to be like other Asian fashion blogs, notably Eiffel in Seoul, identifying name brand pieces, comparing their styling versus the original runway styling, yay-ing or nay-ing...but after 2 days of trying to figure out what the heck people were wearing without (1) a good enough reading fluency in Korean or Chinese nor (2) an adequate knowledge/time ability to keep up with ALL the fashion shows (fall/winter, spring/summer, coutoure <- I still botch the spelling of couture collections, ready to wear collections, resort collections...o...m...g...). So, I quickly scratched that idea. So, then I thought maybe I could just write fashion trend posts without all the fashion id'ing, which I did on my last post (all white outfits), but that was very time consuming not just in putting it together but also in researching it beforehand. I realized in retrospect that my focus was too broad and my ambitions too large. The perfectionist in me peeking out again.

White to Keep Warm & Cool, a Fashion Color for All Seasons

When the temperature drops low and the days get shorter, we tend to reach for our autumn and winter colors - brown, orange, red, black. However, this fall-winter season, white is the new black for me. Don't get me wrong, it's super easy to throw on an all-black outfit and look classy and put-together any day, but there's something different about an all-white outfit. White reflects light and seems to make our faces glow. White also makes it easier to see little details in the fabric that black just sometimes drowns out. Black might seem appropriate for the winter, but if you're trying to beat the gloominess not only in color but in mood, then white is the perfect remedy for these cold, dark days. If you're going to go for a monochromatic look, white is the way to go this season - it just seems to give you that extra sparkle and glow.

I've also included summer looks, because I don't think I'm going to do another post just on all-white outfits for the summer. White looks great under the bright sunshine of spring and summer, too. It's funny, because while it seems to fight the cold in the dead of winter, white double hustles by also giving a cooling effect in warmer weather - both on the eyes and in reality.

People Who Mistake Impulse for Love (Song Translation)

Sometimes, your life just sucks. And you don't want to analyze it. You don't want to talk about it. You just want to curl up in your bed and just be. This drama did that for me. It's called I'm So Smart (我叫郝聪明 - the English translation is a play on words of the original Chinese title, which I will explain in another post). I loved loved this drama, but because it's a web-drama, it didn't get much publicity in either mainland China nor the international online community. As such, I'm going to do a review of it, and maybe even a recap if I feel ambitious enough. But, small steps right? First, a teaser of sorts - the ending theme song replete with a music video including scenes from the drama and a translation of the song. It's really sweet in both the melody and the lyrics - it's actually been receiving a lot of plays on my phone ever since I watched this drama almost a year ago in early 2014 (!!!).